General Mirth wrote:
asajoseph wrote:
Well, to be fair, ALL quite a lot more established apart from Mikel and Anderson.
Mikel doesn't count though - he initially went to Utd for £4m.
...and Ramires?
Had just won the league in Portugal, the Confederations Cup.
Still though, the point is when you pay that kind of money for someone, you are making a statement about the kind of return you get on the field. Nothing is certain in football, but the more experience a player has, on bigger & comparable stages, the more sure you can reasonably be that your faith will be rewarded.
If you pay £20m for a player and they don't perform, people DO notice. It's precisely the kind of mistake we are continually told we (Arsenal) cannot afford to make too many times.
Anyway, money is really not the problem. We, of all people, can't get worked up about whether Arsenal is paying what a player is worth.
Well, my complaint is more that he's the wrong person to break the bank for. If we go and sign an Eriksen (or whoever), AND retain van Persie, you won't see me shedding too many tears if it means Alex Song (a player I like) leaves to be replaced by M'Vila. But I just don't see us spending in that kind of bracket this summer, regardless of who goes.
I think Podolski was a very smart addition at a good price, but I think the attack needs more than that to transform itself into a dynamic unit instead of the one-man-band we've had last year. My big fear, even if Robin stays, is that we'll blow our beans on M'Vila and end up shopping in the bargain basemen again (i.e. middle of the road Ligue 1) for our remaining attacking reinforcements. If we're willing to make a big outlay this summer, I hope we don't miss an opportunity and spend our money in the wrong places.
