We offered 8m for Jones in January. They wanted 10m. Wenger refused.
At the end of the season Fergie buys him for 16m. And even at 16m he looks like being great value, is already ahead of Ferdinand and will play for England for 10 years. We could have had him for 8 million...in January, which is less than what we paid for Mertesacker. Per is a decent buy but he's nowhere near as good as Jones.
We could have had a Cahill-Jones CB pairing for a little north of 20 million. We wouldn't have conceded 12 goals against United and Blackburn if we bought those two. We'd have close to the best CB duo in the comp.
That also reminds me of Joe Hart. Although it's been made less painful with the rise of Szc~, a couple years ago we had the chance to buy Hart for very cheap. Wenger thought he wasn't Premier league standard.
Now he's the best keeper in the premier league and will be the #1 for England for 15 years.
People whinge about us not being able to compete financially with Chelsea, City and United. Well that's bullshit, there are good cheap buys on offer every window. And not diamond in the rough types, but 100% no doubt buys, and for every great bargain buy Wenger has pulled off, he's missed on two out of sheer stubborness.
I never knew that the details of private player negotiations were made this public? :roll:
Coulda,woulda,shoulda..
There's zero point discussing who we 'could' or 'should' have had. It's meaningless. I suggest re-watching the game with your bias aside. Maybe the facts will come more obvious :
* Two conceded O.G's - when was the last time that happened to any team, let alone Arsenal? Incredibly unlucky.
* A blatantly offside goal stood.
* On any other day, we would have scored at least five - there were some very, very good chances. Compared to last year, when the squad would merely dominate possession. RvP, Chamakh and Per should have all scored.
On paper, it looks terrible. And overall that's exactly what the result is, terrible - those are the exact words of Arsene Wenger as well. But if you watch the actual game, there are enough positives there to stop the sky from falling.
I didn't understand Djourou at RB though? Yes, he has pace. But as we saw his crossing is non existent and is unfamiliar with the position. I would have thought Gibbs or Santos on the right would have been a more likely option.
