So Sven wanted another 30 year old, except this one is coming off the back of a poor season?
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You know what? Fuck this bum.
He’s the reason we’re stuck with Mkhi and Sokratis when they were not the best targets to pursue for those positions.
Guendouzi was a Cagigao guy 
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You could say he’s Mislintat eye he had for talent back in his BVB days
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Spil the tea sis 
Long story Short:
That actually sounds rather comfortable, why did you leave London?
Last summer there were leadership changes at Arsenal. It had actually been agreed that I would become technical director, so then I would be around the team on a daily basis. But the new leadership had their own agenda and other candidates. On top of that, we had different approaches.
Like what?
Previously we had a strong systematic approach to transfers, a mixture of watching things live as well as quality data and video analysis – Arsenal actually owns their own data company. That meant that we acted independently, we knew about all markets and players in all positions that came into question. However, the new leadership work more strongly with what they are offered from clubs or agents through their own networks.
Kinda glad this didn’t happen in hindsight, after my tantrum at the time I realised that.
Would have ended up with Nuri Sahin and Schmelzer as signings this season.
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Though we would have got piss check in to cover for Bellerin while he’s injured. Swings and roundabouts
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Remains to be seen but Sven’s work here is highly underrated, as @Flexo pointed out. I’m happy to see us opening up to South American markets under three fids and Edu and I’m open to see where they take us this summer, like the only signing so far in Saliba, but then three fids’ approach was part of a disastrous Barça directive team and what’s going to be most determinant in our future frankly is the next managerial signing/how quickly we fire wanna be Julio Maldonado, and I would feel more confident about that if a more forward thinking type like Sven was still on board. Then again perhaps Sven was really on board with USB drive, and it was a consensus as Gazidis said (rather doubt it, but you could see Sven falling into some bad statistical/analytical argument for USB), so maybe we were/are just fucked either way 
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How about getting us Reus?
Be fair, so far his BVB signings were not bad. Auba was our top scorer, and Sokratis was one of our best (if not THE BEST) defenders. They were all “upgrades”.
Sven doesn’t like to use contacts, preferring to uncover players through data and video analysis as well as in-person scouting, yet somehow Arsenal ended up with Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan and Sokratis during his short time at the club. OK then.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have imagined Saliba, Tierney or Zaha as being players Arsenal became interested in because other clubs or agents offered them up. Certainly the negotiations have been pretty tough for players who were offered up on a platter. Martinelli, I suppose, could have been such a player, except we know that Cagigao has had an eye on him for quite some time and Edu knows him very well. Ceballos? Well, who knows who made the first contact? But it seems a very astute and opportunistic signing in any case.
Sven has his own view of things, but looking on from the outside it doesn’t really seem to fit with what’s going on.
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Sokratis = our best CB
Leno = our best GK and displaced Cech
Torreira/Guen = our two best midfielders
Auba = won the golden boot
Sven in his 1 and a half windows brought in pretty much every decent player we have at the club 
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Maybe so to a certain extent, but Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan and Sokratis still came because of his relationship with the players, not because he uncovered them in scouting. And I see no evidence that any of this summer’s main targets are players who were offered up to Arsenal by other clubs or agents.
It seems to me as though he’s just trying to put himself in the best possible light and those he fell out with in the worst. The truth is usually somewhere in between.
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It looks to me like his plan was to bring in some players he knew would improve us immediately, all the while going after the other 3 guys as young players who would be with the organization long term. Miki is an outlier considering we didn’t target him but was part of moving Sanchez on.
The task Sven was given wasn’t easy. We had an immediate need to improve, but at the same time everyone knows the real opportunity for the club to get better lies in finding guys who are a step away from turning into top class players and then developing them further. The guy was here for like 3 Windows and brought us the following.
Immediate improvement short term players:
Sokratis
Auba
Miki (who filled a hole maybe not our best player but good squad depth)
For the future (who also improved our team):
Leno
Guendouzi
Torreira
Mavropanos (looked good initially but his stint here has been marred by injury)
I think his work speaks for itself. Guendouzi on his own is rated as one of the top young players in the game, several places I’ve seen his value placed at £70m. The squad he was able to put together in a short period was capable and should have been a top 4 side, even despite the terrible players inhabiting the team. We picked up 7 more points from the previous season and it quite honestly should have been a lot more if not for the management.
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Totally agree with this part.
Which is why it’s important to look at the results.
As a4tt outlines, the results under Sven are decidedly good.
Let’s see how the new regime does.
I’d also point out that Sven was able to spend 125 million on those players, so it isn’t like he worked miracles. It is more of a case that we have had so many summers of absolute shambles or paucity and we finally did a good job both spending and getting decent players.
People are mixed on Sokratis, but I think it was astute buy… Guen - its too early but it looks good. Leno and Torry solid. Auba was a great buy but expensive and obviously not a long-term pick-up.
If the current regime spent 125 million this summer I think everyone would be praising them as well, especially if it includes the players we already think it does (Saliba 25, Tierney 25, Martinelli 5, plus Zaha (?) for 60-70?)
I also think we tend to underrate how much of a team effort these things are, but I don’t disagree that last summer was a very competent summer that could end up quite good if Torry and Guen turn out to be gems.
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I assume you put some stock in that valuation then?
Cos it seems fucking wildly over the top to me. In what world has he demonstrated himself to be worth £70m?!
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It’s very analytically based, his stats are impressive compared to other top midfielders and equally so for a kid his age, I’m sure that learning curve he’s already displayed was factored into that.
They must be the same analytics that convinced us to buy Mustafi 
He is certainly worth two Mustafis.
In the same world Joao Felix goes for £126m.
Both players looked more than comfortable in their first season in top flight football.
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