All situations where the club have brought a player in/offered higher terms as they’re scared of missing out, and then getting lumbered. Then there’s the other side of it too - like Messi, where his wages are so crazy big it puts the club itself in ruin, as all the other stars want more and more and more.
Makes you wonder why FSG are cautious with their wage structure, and try to keep things sustainable, whilst the club remains competitive.
Right at the end of Kobe’s playing career his final contract with the Lakers was one that retained his status as the league’s best paid player despite him being a shell of the player that led them to titles. Klinsmann was manager of the US team at the time and used the example to illustrate what US soccer could not afford to do - to pay for past glories that will have no positive impact on its ability to win moving forward. He got almost universally torn apart in the US for it, with people telling him he didnt know what he was talking about, xenophobic shit about needing to “go home”, etc.
The Lakers then proceeded on a several year span of historically poor results saddled by Kobe’s enormous contract on a player who was by then no longer a competitive basketball player but simply a fan attraction, and one who often didnt play. And not a single high profile person ever apologized or revisited the reaction to those comments.
Yes, it is a bit of a departure from their era of magical thinking (‘we need Auba for the Champions League!’), and a more pragmatic acknowledgement of where they are. Leaving aside his crap status as a role model, he is 32. He is relevant at best to Arsenal’s plans for this season, and a sober look at their state makes it clear, those are inherently limited. His wages were the same as three of the kinds of players they need put together. For years now, their reaction to this sort of problem has been to sign the likes of Aubameyang.
I will be fascinated to see who they can land in the summer. With martinelli on one side and Saka on the other, if they can add someone like Issak, with Oodengard in behind them and an improving Smith Rowe to fit in somewhere, that has the potential to be a really effective group if they can get their shit together behind the ball.
For once in a long time, they have a pretty compact first team squad. But quite a few still out on loans, too. I guess more “cleaning” will be done next summer. Perhaps reintegrate a few of them for next season, offload a few others to raise money to spend.
Low-key doing okay is Arteta. Win their two games in hand over West Ham United and they’re 5 points clear of them in 4th. He’s transitioning this squad, shifting the deadwood, clearing wages etc. Relatively good young spine to that team too.
I’d rather they stuck it out in the run in for CL spots and Man U and Spurs miss out.
Agree. I don’t think they’re good enough to finish with a CL placing, but he’s doing no worse than the last 2 guys (taking only the last couple of years of Wenger’s time) and doing so while managing the process of getting out from under the terrible decisions the club has made in the last 5 years or so. They will have a job to really establish themselves, but if Arteta is not that guy he’s at least made it easier for the next guy to achieve that.
Particularly given the form and somewhat disjointed squads at Spurs and United. I think, in terms of the squads and what we’ve seen so far this season, it’s actually West Ham and then Arsenal that are best equipped to nab the last slot - assuming we and Chelsea don’t drop off.
But football is a sport always full of surprises - you never know which team will suddenly find form, and which will drop off.
