The Football.....

[accountantpete]

Arsenal confirm £42.5M for Ozil from Real Madrid.
This figure will increase with trophy win bonus so total payment of £42.5M!

And they will be paying him circa £9 million a year inc bonuses.

I think there may be a queue outside Arsene's door today.

 

[AndyRM]

By giving Real £45m for Ozil, Arsenal have essentially cut Bale's cost to them in half. The £85m that Real spent on Bale has all but covered Spurs' massive spending over the summer.

Arsenal have helped strengthened Spurs!

 

[Boris Bajic]

Arsenal confirm £42.5M for Ozil from Real Madrid.
This figure will increase with trophy win bonus so total payment of £42.5M!

Whilst I liked this observation, I also resent it deeply. The upper tier of the Emirates was DESIGNED not to have trophy wins emblazoned on it after a certain point.

By giving Real £45m for Ozil, Arsenal have essentially cut Bale's cost to them in half. The £85m that Real spent on Bale has all but covered Spurs' massive spending over the summer.
Arsenal have helped strengthened Spurs!

You have your logic all arse-facing-side-wedged-lateralised about the key data on this matter. Arsenal paid Real some money to tempt them into bidding for the big Welsh lad to ruin Spurs' squad. Don't you see it? Arsenal are the clever ones here! Spurs are stupid! Real Madrid are stupid! Bale is stupid!

In using the fee for Ozil to tempt Real to splash out on Bale, Arsenal also prized away from the Spaniards their only player of any true quality (apart from the Portuguese lad). The Portuguese lad and the Welsh lad will now be consumed by jealousy for one another and it will all end badly like a dinner-dance for Greek Gods.

This will leave Arsenal to scoop up the Champons League to go with their almost-casual victory in the FA Cup and their total domination of the Premier League.

Did the headlines in Madrid yesterday read Vale Bale? If not, why not?

 

[AndyRM]

I have laughed at many of your posts on here Boris. That may be the best yet!

 

[mark st1]

Gooners are still shoot they are just 1 player better off than they were yesterday. Bit like United really.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

What is a Gooner supposed to think now?

Highest transfer paid until yesterday? £15 million, which at the time I thought was an excellent buy... and I still sort of do despite recent evidence.

But there was always this inner smugness among Gooners that we didn't have to spend big. We didn't win anything for a few years, but we were never far from the top of the barrel and were usually entertaining to watch.

I do not see Arsenal as natural year-after-year trophy winners and I feel the early Wenger years gave a false impression of the club's true position.

But now, despite coming to think that Ozil will at least keep the cost of lettering on shirts down and score or make a few goals, I feel that this HUGE jump into marquee signings makes Arsenal feel slightly grubby in a Chelsea, Man City and Anzhi sort of way... Slightly.... We even have our own oligarch....

Yup! You've finally caught the spending bug. Spuds too. Welcome.

Has been amusing the last decade listening to Gooners and Spuds whinging about RA's spending but the whingers are looking more than a bit hypocritical now - at least the ones who have got excited about the big spending that's just occurred.

Are there any plans for any breakaway protest groups in Gooner-land?

 

[bof]

Not to me, the others seem to have a scatter gun approach to buying with every new manager. Arsenal have the same manager, the same plan and have funded a new stadium in the time Chelsea and Spurs have squandered a new stadiums worth of cash. W.

Yup! You've finally caught the spending bug. Spuds too. Welcome.

Has been amusing the last decade listening to Gooners and Spuds whinging about RA's spending but the whingers are looking more than a bit hypocritical now - at least the ones who have got excited about the big spending that's just occurred.

Are there any plans for any breakaway protest groups in Gooner-land?

Spurs net spending this window around minus £3million. £106.7m received, £103.7m spent.

Gareth Bale the golden goose that's kept on laying.

 

[Archie_tect]

I see Roy Kinnear has failed to do anything yet again.... he's good at that at least. He's even provoked Cisse to say something... nobody knows what yet but they're working on it..

 

[MarkF]

Spurs net spending this window around minus £3million. £106.7m received, £103.7m spent.
Gareth Bale the golden goose that's kept on laying.

I watched the derby, seems like Spurs lost a genuine world class talent and bought a lot of runner arounders.

 

[bof]

I watched the derby, seems like Spurs lost a genuine world class talent and bought a lot of runner arounders.

Paulinho for sure is better than that but he had a nondescript game for Spurs on Sunday and Soldado had no service. However how can you replace the world's most expensive player? Lamela will be the one to watch as he is pretty similar to Bale - and is three years younger

Norwich next in the PL. I saw last year's game, which was at the same point of the season, at the Lane and Spurs, Bale included, were pretty dire - will be an interesting comparison.

 

[bof]

The most worrying thing about the transfer window IMO is that only Spurs and Everton ended the window with more money in than out and Liverpool was the only other club to rake in transfer fees: several acquired nothing from transfers out

Real paid a silly price for Bale, but Spurs transformed a 17 year old they bought for £10m to a player who was really worth at least £40m. Almost everyone else just seems to be raiding other clubs for the finished product, hardly developing anyone, based on what the numbers say.

 

[musa]

Well bale was bought as a business to out do the signing that Barcelona dis of neymar.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I watched the derby, seems like Spurs lost a genuine world class talent and bought a lot of runner arounders.

I do not wish THFC well, but I think they are in a good place (I don't mean WHL, which is a BAD place).

Bale was going anyway and they screwed the maximum out of the deal. He played happy, left happy, said kind words on leaving and made them a stack of money.

He is an extraordinary player, but the fee has made the cynics decry his abilities because somehow he now needs to prove himself quantifiable 'the best'. He is extraordinary, but not really the best or very close to it.

Meanwhile, Spurs have left the window with a strong squad. Very strong. They have a good coach (very good) and he bought what he thought he wanted. He is probably right. They will gel as the season progresses and they may become quite a fearsome unit. The return match at WHL may not be happytime for Gooners.

I think those 'runarounders' may yet prove to be astute acquisitions. It gives me no pleasure to write this, as it may detract from Arsenal's treble-winning season.

 

[MarkF]

The return match at WHL may not be happytime for Gooners.

We'll see, with the addition of Ozil, I think Tottenham's athletes might be doing even more running around.

I like the deadwood clearing, it's the easiest way to improve a team and I fancy Arsenal to win something this season, if not a treble.

 

[thom]

I do not wish THFC well, but I think they are in a good place (I don't mean WHL, which is a BAD place).

Bale was going anyway and they screwed the maximum out of the deal. He played happy, left happy, said kind words on leaving and made them a stack of money.

He is an extraordinary player, but the fee has made the cynics decry his abilities because somehow he now needs to prove himself quantifiable 'the best'. He is extraordinary, but not really the best or very close to it.

Meanwhile, Spurs have left the window with a strong squad. Very strong. They have a good coach (very good) and he bought what he thought he wanted. He is probably right. They will gel as the season progresses and they may become quite a fearsome unit. The return match at WHL may not be happytime for Gooners.

I think those 'runarounders' may yet prove to be astute acquisitions. It gives me no pleasure to write this, as it may detract from Arsenal's treble-winning season.

I loved the way the ball stuck to the feet of the spurs players and they dominated possession in the 2nd half. At the end of the game on Sunday I saw Arsenal celebrating a 1-0 win like a cup final victory. Although Arsenal were forced by injury to adopt a defensive style in the 2nd half, spurs did seem able to manoeuvre the ball improbably through midfield - really high quality. The psychology has changed there quite a bit - spurs are more confident and self assured but need time to crack the attacking play in the final 3rd. We know we will get a lot better through the season (winning the first 2 games on penalties is not ideal).
There are not as many GB players in Spurs squad now but Dawson, Rose, Walker, Townsend, Lennon, Defoe all look to have important roles at Spurs. How many GB players does AW use ?