As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
I’m hearing that the deal is done in every way except for the legal documents, which is just a matter of formality.
I don’t know if he’s the answer but at least the club have managed to make a big signing early in the window. We’ve been a laughing stock for a few years over our transfer sagas so it’s nice to see a change in that.
Agreed.
Coupled with how early we got our business done last summer, the days of Wenger and Gazidas acting like a couple of drunks stumbling out of the pub at 2am looking to shag the dregs of deadline day appear to be well and truly behind us thankfully.
Ohhh Declan is a gooner
He wears the red and white
He told West Ham he’s leaving
Coz they are fucking shite
City tried to buy him
He told them fuck off too
He only wanted Arsenal
And Xhaka’s fucking pooh
Arsenal will continue negotiations with West Ham United today over the structure of the deal for midfielder Declan Rice. Overall fee worth £105m not an issue but work to do before clubs find a resolution. Once agreed, Rice sign off on personal terms & have medical. #AFC #WHUFC
West Ham are still waiting for Arsenal to compromise on their £105m payment plan for Declan Rice. SunSport has been told by sources close to the deal that ‘the ball is in Arsenal’s court’. It is not expected to become an issue that will derail the move & a settlement is said to be ‘very close’. [@jordandaviesj, The Sun] #afc
Am I misreading you Augie or do you really not want us to sign Rice?
I honestly believe he will surprise quite a few people just how Good he will be for us... Of course I could be Totally Wrong, but I prefer to be "Positive" and see what transpires, than be All moan, moan, doom and gloom and "Negative" a before he's even signed on the dotted line or kicked a ball wearing the Beloved Red & White Arsenal.
Am I misreading you Augie or do you really not want us to sign Rice?
I honestly believe he will surprise quite a few people just how Good he will be for us... Of course I could be Totally Wrong, but I prefer to be "Positive" and see what transpires, than be All moan, moan, doom and gloom and "Negative" a before he's even signed on the dotted line or kicked a ball wearing the Beloved Red & White Arsenal.
Surely you can only make a judgement based upon what you've seen of a player and how you've evaluated his performance?
Myself, Augie and DB (amongst others), have accepted Rice as an ok to good player, but not one worth anywhere near 100 million. As for Havertz, 3 years of underperformance at the chavs...and 3 years is a long time....can only lead one to think that it's a baffling and risky purchase. Personally I wouldn't have been after him at all, but I'm staggered that Arteta has paid 60 million for him. Even those on here that are behind the deal, can only offer "they've played him out of position" and "he might come good at ours, because other flops have come good" (completely ignoring that most flops remain flops). It's an incredibly Micawber-ish mindset.
Once they're in our ranks, I'll be rooting for them to prove me wrong and make a huge positive impact, but to be "positive" when the evidence (as I see it) doesn't justify it, is only self delusion. Bluntly, it's the behaviour of "super fans" and 12 year olds. No offence intended to all of you that are positive about these transfers of course.
Am I misreading you Augie or do you really not want us to sign Rice?
I honestly believe he will surprise quite a few people just how Good he will be for us... Of course I could be Totally Wrong, but I prefer to be "Positive" and see what transpires, than be All moan, moan, doom and gloom and "Negative" a before he's even signed on the dotted line or kicked a ball wearing the Beloved Red & White Arsenal.
Surely you can only make a judgement based upon what you've seen of a player and how you've evaluated his performance?
Myself, Augie and DB (amongst others), have accepted Rice as an ok to good player, but not one worth anywhere near 100 million. As for Havertz, 3 years of underperformance at the chavs...and 3 years is a long time....can only lead one to think that it's a baffling and risky purchase. Personally I wouldn't have been after him at all, but I'm staggered that Arteta has paid 60 million for him. Even those on here that are behind the deal, can only offer "they've played him out of position" and "he might come good at ours, because other flops have come good" (completely ignoring that most flops remain flops). It's an incredibly Micawber-ish mindset.
Once they're in our ranks, I'll be rooting for them to prove me wrong and make a huge positive impact, but to be "positive" when the evidence (as I see it) doesn't justify it, is only self delusion. Bluntly, it's the behaviour of "super fans" and 12 year olds. No offence intended to all of you that are positive about these transfers of course.
Well, one would think so... But the amount of negativity on here towards him - seems out of proportion; I think he is a very good player and will improve oodles.
Those who think Rice will be a success could be wrong - Or maybe turn out to be correct. Time will tell.
However the levels of Negativity on here about nearly everything seems to be the way G2G now is.
It is and always will be about "Opinions".
Sadly I can see why some forum members no longer bother saying anything and avoid the forum; which is sad. It seems that as soon as anyone says something that is either positive or questions the Absolute Negativity of opinions and comments they are seen as being Arteta Fans or whatever.
I guess some people live their lives with their pint glasses half full and some with their pint glasses half empty.
Am I misreading you Augie or do you really not want us to sign Rice?
I honestly believe he will surprise quite a few people just how Good he will be for us... Of course I could be Totally Wrong, but I prefer to be "Positive" and see what transpires, than be All moan, moan, doom and gloom and "Negative" a before he's even signed on the dotted line or kicked a ball wearing the Beloved Red & White Arsenal.
Surely you can only make a judgement based upon what you've seen of a player and how you've evaluated his performance?
Myself, Augie and DB (amongst others), have accepted Rice as an ok to good player, but not one worth anywhere near 100 million. As for Havertz, 3 years of underperformance at the chavs...and 3 years is a long time....can only lead one to think that it's a baffling and risky purchase. Personally I wouldn't have been after him at all, but I'm staggered that Arteta has paid 60 million for him. Even those on here that are behind the deal, can only offer "they've played him out of position" and "he might come good at ours, because other flops have come good" (completely ignoring that most flops remain flops). It's an incredibly Micawber-ish mindset.
Once they're in our ranks, I'll be rooting for them to prove me wrong and make a huge positive impact, but to be "positive" when the evidence (as I see it) doesn't justify it, is only self delusion. Bluntly, it's the behaviour of "super fans" and 12 year olds. No offence intended to all of you that are positive about these transfers of course.
Well, one would think so... But the amount of negativity on here towards him - seems out of proportion; I think he is a very good player and will improve oodles.
Those who think Rice will be a success could be wrong - Or maybe turn out to be correct. Time will tell.
However the levels of Negativity on here about nearly everything seems to be the way G2G now is.
It is and always will be about "Opinions".
Sadly I can see why some forum members no longer bother saying anything and avoid the forum; which is sad. It seems that as soon as anyone says something that is either positive or questions the Absolute Negativity of opinions and comments they are seen as being Arteta Fans or whatever.
I guess some people live their lives with their pint glasses half full and some with their pint glasses half empty.
This, people moan when we don't spend money then they moan when we do. And of course when we spend money we overpay/the player isn't very good. I never do anything other than flick through the forum these days, on my way to Whatsapp were you can have realtime discussions or other Social Media platforms.
I agree with a fair amount of the posts above but you always have to be mindful of the dynamics in such negotiations. Arsenal are after West Ham's No 1 player. We're going after him because of his supposed talent that can allegedly strengthen a top premiership team. We've made loads of noises about 'Number One Target' etc. Given all that, the ball sits very clearly in West Ham's court. They have the power in this situation. it isn't the same when the negotiation is the other way around though. When a club like West Ham come after an Arsenal player it is normally someone on the fringes that isn't quite good enough, or someone Arsenal want to get off the payroll. The power in that situation also sits with West Ham. It's the curse of being a big club.
If we have offered payment over 5 years West Ham would be right to say no. Whatever we've offered though they know they can keep saying no until they get what they want. They know Arsenal cannot now walk away without getting some egg on face. In all negotiations there is a point where you have to be prepared to walk away. I don't think Arsenal will allow that to happen so they'll end up giving West Ham exactly what they want.
Whatever chaps. Not everyone gets excited and positive about everything the club does, or everyone they buy. If you watch and understand the game, you'll have an opinion about players. Opinions may differ, but to set aside your judgement and don a cloak of positivity just because the club have bought a player isn't the approach of either someone who thinks clearly, or even more importantly, someone who wants the best for the club.
I want us to buy the best, something we largely stopped doing about 20years ago. There are plenty of worse players than Declan Rice, but that doesn't make him worth anywhere near 100 m in my opinion. I do, however, expect him to be an improvement on our current shower of centre mids...although that's a very low bar btw.
Havertz is a different kettle of fish. It makes no sense to me to buy a bloke that has failed for 3 years at a club that, last season aside, always outperforms us. It may be that Arteta has seen something that few others have seen, but it's quite telling that Chelsea supporters are delighted to see him go and are pissing themselves that we paid 60 odd million for him. In my opinion, it's a risk we can ill afford and that money would have gone a long way to landing Caicedo, who was the guy we wanted in January.
We'll see how it all plays out and as I keep saying, I'll be absolutely chuffed if both players are a roaring success. I'm fairly relaxed about Rice, I just think we've well overpaid for a guy that is unlikely to raise us to the level required, but I have genuine doubts about Havertz and can't understand how anyone who's seen him these last 3 years doesn't share those doubts.
Whatever chaps. Not everyone gets excited and positive about everything the club does, or everyone they buy. If you watch and understand the game, you'll have an opinion about players. Opinions may differ, but to set aside your judgement and don a cloak of positivity just because the club have bought a player isn't the approach of either someone who thinks clearly, or even more importantly, someone who wants the best for the club.
I want us to buy the best, something we largely stopped doing about 20years ago. There are plenty of worse players than Declan Rice, but that doesn't make him worth anywhere near 100 m in my opinion. I do, however, expect him to be an improvement on our current shower of centre mids...although that's a very low bar btw.
Havertz is a different kettle of fish. It makes no sense to me to buy a bloke that has failed for 3 years at a club that, last season aside, always outperforms us. It may be that Arteta has seen something that few others have seen, but it's quite telling that Chelsea supporters are delighted to see him go and are pissing themselves that we paid 60 odd million for him. In my opinion, it's a risk we can ill afford and that money would have gone a long way to landing Caicedo, who was the guy we wanted in January.
We'll see how it all plays out and as I keep saying, I'll be absolutely chuffed if both players are a roaring success. I'm fairly relaxed about Rice, I just think we've well overpaid for a guy that is unlikely to raise us to the level required, but I have genuine doubts about Havertz and can't understand how anyone who's seen him these last 3 years doesn't share those doubts.
Arteta has turned a RM flop in Odegaard into one of the best AM's in the PL, he was getting rave reviews from all quarters last season.
Havertz is in a similar position, he was mustard at Leverkusen. Chelski has been a mess for quite a few seasons now, the CL win only really papered over the cracks for me, they haven't come close to winning the league for years. If Arteta thinks he can do a job on Havertz and bring out the potential, then I am all for it. Arteta is earning the right to gain our trust IMO.
And the background work he was doing to sign Rice, who this week was quoted as being absolutely buzzing over joining us, just shows what an attraction our club are becoming once again. Rice will flourish at Arsenal, he is made for us.
West Ham are still waiting for Arsenal to compromise on their £105m payment plan for Declan Rice. SunSport has been told by sources close to the deal that ‘the ball is in Arsenal’s court’. It is not expected to become an issue that will derail the move & a settlement is said to be ‘very close’. [@jordandaviesj, The Sun] #afc
