He literally says he wanted Zaha because he wanted results now but the club went with Pépé because he was one for the future
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Can sympathise that he wanted Zaha instead of Pepe (Didn’t he want Partey too?).
However I’m not sure on the willingness to keep Koscielny and Monreal for ‘leadership’. They were both finished at by then and to be quite frank the leadership and mentality of that last Wenger squad is questionable at best. Clearing it out was one of the better things we done. There was something rotten about them. (As we said back then @sevchenko GUT THE SQUAD)
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Emery had exactly the same reasons to sign Zaha. Zaha would be 60+ million pounds to. That would have been a shortsighed buy too? 18/19 were 8 or 9 penalties. Good chance he is not going to reach those numbers indeed.
Like I said last time. Ozil got stuff put on him because of fee/wages that really doesn’t fit his character. Some how people are really bothered by that. That he isn’t who they think he was or want him to be.
If the scouting was done on the basis of one season then I’d say yes but Zaha has maintained a solid body of work in the PL for a number of years now. He is a known quantity in terms of ability and mentality compared to Pepe who we signed primarily on the basis of his 18/19 season. Then again I haven’t got an issue with signing Pepe over Zaha, it feels to me Pepe had a good profile and was worth a punt even if the scouting wasn’t fully comprehensive.
With Pepe is just not about numbers either, plenty of people on here have noted his inefficiency in the build up and inconsistent attacking play. It’s fair enough to expect more from him at 24 having cost £70m
Ozil’s fee/wages hasn’t got anything to do with it. I just think it’s telling he wasn’t appointed one of the captain by his fellow team mates having been the dressing room since 2013 and being a key attacking player. It just confirms my thoughts about his mentality
Going entirely off the headline here… if a manager needs protecting he probably isn’t right for the job…
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Yup. Fees and wages don’t matter indeed.
Alas, in the end it was us who needed protection from him :unai:
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He showed up with a big interview in the spanish press the other day.
I repeat: this guy is the epitome of uninteresting. Fucking clueless bore.
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I never said they don’t matter in general lol, it’s irrelevant to me when discussing Ozil’s beta mentality and inability to thrive at Arsenal’s level.
Tbh I fall into that category
Yea he still thinks it was a good idea to make Xhaka captain. Drown him at sea.
Arsenal hired him because they thought they could outsmart the system and use the EL as a shortcut to the Champions League. It almost worked. Emery similarly wanted a guy like Zaha so we could continue our “win now” strategy and rebuild on the fly with UCL money during the 2019-2020 season.
Should we have spent the money on Pepe? In hindsight it’s looking like we got duped by Lille but at the time I understood why the club would rather get a younger winger even if I’m a big Zaha fanboy.
Should Emery have let the players vote on captain? Absolutely not.
It’s also weird he wanted Laurent to continue as captain after he basically played him into the ground because Mustafi was so terrible. Not sure there was a lot of warm feelings between the two.
And the Ozil stuff? Whatever. He didn’t like Ozil. Raul or Edu or whoever ordered the Code Red and tried to have Emery freeze him out. It didn’t work and we looked like idiots.
He thrived. However there was a disconnect with the former manager and him and he got old. I’m not against selling him since he is going into his age 32 season for the record. But too demand, because that is what it is, leadership from him since he has been here long is just rubbish.
Btw. There is probably a reason Zaha is at Palace still. Either Palace or he, or both, is just asking too much money for him. There the team is also built around him etc. I think he might have done a job if the only goal is 4th place. That is his ceiling. But too pay 50-60 million for that?
Even if this was true Dave (it’s not, and you know it! 
), you didn’t swindle your way into the Arsenal job the first time it opened in 20 years.
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This thread should go the way of the Rvp thread
Emery is a good enough manager imo. Just not for a big club though. He could keep a club afloat, sure, but isn’t someone who could make them swim. PSG fans had been fed up with his playing style for long. And even majority of the Valencia fans. We tried a “safe” appointment, someone who is good enough to win the EL/get into Top 4 to get us back into CL. It didn’t happen, and it went downhill from there. Think he’ll do well at a mid table club in the future. Just doesn’t look like someone who can cut it out at the big stage. He’s to us what Moyes was to United. Left a really sour taste in the end.
Not really, if you’re a player with a lot of influence on the pitch due to your ability, you’ve been at a club a long time and you’re an older pro with tons of experience at a high level that naturally gravitates to a leadership position whether you like it or not regardless of wage or fee.
It’s fine if Ozil has a beta/passive mentality in the dressing room, plenty of players avoid the spotlight but the issues arise when it affects his “attitude and commitment” to the point where he avoids responsibility on and off the pitch. These are issues that have existed and were visible to supporters before and after Emery.
It hard to say, not sure how Zaha would have changed the outcome the first half of the season under Emery. I think Pepe is better value, that’s because I have a high opinion I’m aware other do not moving forward
Again. You, and others, are projecting what you want/expect from a player with such a profile onto Ozil. But that doesn’t mean he is that or he is going to be that. Just because in your eyes he should be that.
It’s on the manager to manage these things. But reading that piece Emery wasn’t a strong leader either. He puts blame everywhere.
Also, if a manager is known to be shit, then he probably isn’t right for the job.
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Wish we’d never had this cunt