Claudius wrote:

Don’t stress about what you can’t control in the moment.
What will be will be.

Meatwad wrote:

y'all are worried about nothing. they are still tottnumb. finishing a point ahead of us doesn't change that. no french player is choosing to play for tottenham over arsenal.

Ndombele says hi

Well to be fair the club never went in for Ndombele, much as we all would have loved him here.

Yeah most likely because we knew we had no chance of getting him. The cold reality is that Spurs are a more attractive prospect for the majority of players now. We look like a club on the decline, or at best stagnant, while they are ambitious and can offer champions league. 

Or we just couldn’t afford him.

All part of the same problem. 

Do not underestimate 3 years of Europa financials for a team carrying Champions League costs. We are hurting. The idea of taking on a £60m player when we can’t affford the players we are currently carrying is fantasy

flobaba wrote:

Or we just couldn’t afford him.

More likely we never heard of him until he moved to Spurs. When Mislintat came he signed players like Guendouzi, evidence for someone actively looking for talents to sign. Now our scouting department is run by Barry Zuckerkorn from Arrested Development

Arsenal has decided to react to this advantage taken by its rival by aligning with the offer of Tottenham in recent hours! [@mohamedbouhafsi]

St Etienne for now, want to delay things, to study the player's wishes and see if the two clubs raise their offers. [@mohamedbouhafsi]

ASSE president confirms Saliba will be joining a Premier League team. And adds "Saliba is contacted by many clubs. We hope that the club and William are happy with what will happen in these days to come."

Meh, kinda boring now.

We really fumbled this. Should’ve wrapped it up weeks ago.

Reading between the lines it sounds like they want to drag things out to give Saliba time to change his mind. Small time wankers.

goon wrote:

Reading between the lines it sounds like they want to drag things out to give Saliba time to change his mind. Small time wankers.

i see it a bit differently. i think we bid X, then spuds decided to bid Y, and we agreed to match Y, now they want to see if spuds will bid more, which will force us to bid more, because it seems like he wants to come here. they know we are a bit hapless, so they are willing to let us dangle in the wind.

What would suck (although not as much as not getting the player) is if aligning our offer with that of Spurs would mean paying the majority now so that it comes out of this summer's transfer budget after all.

But that would also mean we get him now instead of loaning him out.

Either way stupid of us once again not to seal the deal before others come in.

Clrnc wrote:

But that would also mean we get him now instead of loaning him out.

Source for this?

Clrnc wrote:

But that would also mean we get him now instead of loaning him out.

Either way stupid of us once again not to seal the deal before others come in.

i dont think thats the case. i think the agreement will still include that we loan him back, they just want the money up front, because spuds were offering to pay up front

Spurs need to get the player now because Aldeweireld is at risk of going to Serie A this summer. This is why they are hijacking our bid. It's not purely out of spite. They have a present need.

Yeah but ASSE aren't letting him go right now regardless of the fee are they?

mdgoonah41 wrote:

Clrnc wrote:

But that would also mean we get him now instead of loaning him out.

Either way stupid of us once again not to seal the deal before others come in.

i dont think thats the case. i think the agreement will still include that we loan him back, they just want the money up front, because spuds were offering to pay up front

Foyth, Sanchez, Saliba fighting out for two positions is the kind of ambition I have just never seen us have at centre-back. Djourou, Senderos, Song, Toure, Gallas is the closest it gets.