If Mahrez were to be sold...

[lgfualol]

1 hour ago, FIF said:

He couldn't get in.

 

It'd be interesting for those naming other teams to say who would be dropped in order for Mahrez to play.

 

I think the highest team he could get into is Burnleys.

I reckon he'd get into at least 3 of them.

 

Arsenal - Iwobi + Sanchez and Ozil are off

Chelsea - Pedro or Willian

Man U - Mata

 

Man City, Liverpool and Spurs would use him a lot for rotation. 

[Tanya]

I like Liverpool and I like Klopp so I voted for them.

 

Arsenal would be the worst. Wenger's always having a dig at Leicester and while I know some lovely Gunners fans it's a terrible club who have done nothing for years and usually go missing when the going gets tough. At least Liverpool play with real vigour.

 

But honestly I'm almost praying he stays. Give us one half a season to admire this gem.

[AlloverthefloorYesNdidi]

Yanited, but only with Jose in charge. Just because it would be funny how much Mahrez is a fun player and they are a boring team - wouldnt work at all

[ealingfox]

He'd absolutely walk into Arsenal's team. They've been looking for someone to hold down the wide right attacking role for years. Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain have had a ton of games there ffs.

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

He'd get into any side in the league bar probably Man City and maybe Liverpool given Salah's form. Wouldn't swap him for Pedro or Willian and think he'd get in Spurs or Arsenal's sides.

You need to say who he is replacing. Pedro and Willian are not starters.

 

14 minutes ago, lgfualol said:

I reckon he'd get into at least 3 of them.

 

Arsenal - Iwobi + Sanchez and Ozil are off

Chelsea - Pedro or Willian

Man U - Mata

 

Man City, Liverpool and Spurs would use him a lot for rotation. 

Maybe Manu for Mata but that'd make united weaker in some areas too.

 

Sanchez and Ozil may be off but people said the same about Mahrez and Vardy.

 

Iwobi - he isn't a starter is he?

 

I hope Mahrez stays ans think that'd be best for him instead of being a big 6 bench warmer and final 15 minute player.

 

If he leaves I hope his team fail to make Europe. Sorry but that's how I feel.

[shen]

46 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

That's like just accepting that because we're currently a middle of the table side that we should not even strive to go one step further even if you had the means to do so.. One teams consistent 4th or continual qualification for Europe is a another teams failure, ask many an Arsenal fan, I think you'll find them unhappy. When theyve qualified they usually exit quite quickly through fielding weakened sides due to their obsession in the Premiership merely to requalify to obtain more dosh year on year. They've had money to spend, they haven't. They've consistently needed certain types of player that the fans and pundits all agree on but have bought yet more of the same. 

 

Marhez is quite obviously not their first choice anyway, he'd be a make do because the real player they want doesn't want to go there. When Sanchez and Ozil go, if Marhez goes there he'll just add to the 'all fur coat and no knickers' illusion of a team they are. He will be nothing more than ephemeral icing on a mythical cake. He would waste his career, he's better than that. Arsenal will not achieve anything until Wenger is gone and there are big changes in personel or direction in their board.

It's not, really.

I'm just stating that they're performing at the level expected of their squad. Should their squad be better? Maybe.

They've still won the FA Cup in two of the last three seasons, which is substantially better than what Liverpool and Spurs combined have achieved over the past decade.

And Liverpool are arguably a bigger club than Arsenal.

 

They've become the whipping boys for many and I know a couple of Arsenal fans who are in the main disgruntled.

Truth is they've been spoilt during the early years of Wenger and haven't adjusted to the changing hierarchy since.

I think it's wrong to question the ambition of the club too after their stadium move and the way they got both Özil and Sanchez, who many would argue were beyond their reach at the time.

 

But I agree with you that they could do with some fresh impetus, both on and off the field, even if it might destabilise an otherwise ably run club.

Would Mahrez be an improvement for them? I don't see why not. He's exactly the sort of player you'd associate with Arsenal and someone they could get the best out of.

 

[ZeGuy]

13 hours ago, browniefox said:

Least unbearable would make it the most bearable can I change my vote? I voted wrong.

I second this. I voted Arsenal.

[ZeGuy]

4 hours ago, volpeazzurro said:

For me, thinking of the player himself and not my own predudices, it had to be Arsenal as it would be a waste of a career with such potential .  They are a team on a downward spiral lacking ambition and vision, when Sanchez and Ozil go this year then what? Apart from wanting to live in London, what top player would really want to go there now. They are serial underachievers who aspire to nothing great. Even when in Europe they never give it their full effort, they are a waste of a place. Marhez would be propping up more of the same and disappear into obscurity. This is his one big chance if you must move don't waste it!

Spot on. If he ever goes to Arsenal he signed the death warrant of his career. ManU too as the Moaning One would him toss without any second thought if he fails to achieve what he'd expect from him. See Mkhitaryan.

[Gerard]

If he goes I'm more concerned about how much for than the destination.

 

I just hope Liverpool don't sell Coutinho for the reported £133m and then think they can do a Roma on us.

 

I respect Mahrez wants to go to a club which will be in the Champions League and has realistic ambitions of winning trophies every year. I just want us to get a good fee for him when it happens. I still think we'll have been had over if we get £50m for him if Liverpool think Coutinho is worth £133m and Oxlade Chamberlain is worth £35m with a year left on his contract.

Edited 3 January 2018 by Gerard

[Buce]

 

Mahrez should be going nowhere.

 

a) He signed a very lucrative contract - I expect him to honour it.

 

b) We won't be offered what he's worth to us.

 

c) If we aspire to be a successful club, we should lose this small club mentality and stop bending over every time a big club comes calling.

[Redouane]

1 hour ago, FIF said:

You need to say who he is replacing. Pedro and Willian are not starters.

 

Maybe Manu for Mata but that'd make united weaker in some areas too.

 

Sanchez and Ozil may be off but people said the same about Mahrez and Vardy.

 

Iwobi - he isn't a starter is he?

 

I hope Mahrez stays ans think that'd be best for him instead of being a big 6 bench warmer and final 15 minute player.

 

If he leaves I hope his team fail to make Europe. Sorry but that's how I feel.

I'm not sure about Vardy's situation, but Mahrez had no release clause and a contract until 2019 (i believe). So, it's not like he had much room for negotiation. 

 

The situation with Ozil and Sanchez are different, as their contracts are nearing their end, therefore if they wanted to stay they would've signed already

[Redouane]

2 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

Mahrez should be going nowhere.

 

a) He signed a very lucrative contract - I expect him to honour it.

 

b) We won't be offered what he's worth to us.

 

c) If we aspire to be a successful club, we should lose this small club mentality and stop bending over every time a big club comes calling.

I agree with everything but the first point. Let's imagine you are a programmer and you sign an employment contract with a big tech company, and your wage is great; would you reject the prospect of signing with Google if the pay is even greater and the missions might be more beneficial for you in the long term?

[Buce]

Just now, Redouane said:

I agree with everything but the first point. Let's imagine you are a programmer and you sign an employment contract with a big tech company, and your wage is great; would you reject the prospect of signing with Google if the pay is even greater and the missions might be more beneficial for you in the long term?

 

The big difference being you can resign from your tech company.

 

If we say he's not for sale, he's not for sale. Simple.

[shen]

43 minutes ago, ZeGuy said:

Spot on. If he ever goes to Arsenal he signed the death warrant of his career. ManU too as the Moaning One would him toss without any second thought if he fails to achieve what he'd expect from him. See Mkhitaryan.

I'm sorry, but that's just a ridiculous statement. How is moving to a bigger club, playing regular European football, earning more money (which is probably the biggest factor), increasing your chance of winning trophies, added exposure and higher quality staff, facilities and players in general a bad move for his career? 

 

No point in arguing he'd be less successful there.

He's had one hugely successful season in his career, three other seasons for us where he's fluctuated between poor to decent.

Going to a big club like Arsenal would be viewed as the pinnacle of most players' careers.

[volpeazzurro]

1 hour ago, shen said:

It's not, really.

I'm just stating that they're performing at the level expected of their squad. Should their squad be better? Maybe.

They've still won the FA Cup in two of the last three seasons, which is substantially better than what Liverpool and Spurs combined have achieved over the past decade.

And Liverpool are arguably a bigger club than Arsenal.

 

They've become the whipping boys for many and I know a couple of Arsenal fans who are in the main disgruntled.

Truth is they've been spoilt during the early years of Wenger and haven't adjusted to the changing hierarchy since.

I think it's wrong to question the ambition of the club too after their stadium move and the way they got both Özil and Sanchez, who many would argue were beyond their reach at the time.

 

But I agree with you that they could do with some fresh impetus, both on and off the field, even if it might destabilise an otherwise ably run club.

Would Mahrez be an improvement for them? I don't see why not. He's exactly the sort of player you'd associate with Arsenal and someone they could get the best out of.

 

I think that your missing the main tenet of the question and the point of my answer. It's not about whether Marhez would be an improvement for Arsenal  (he undoubtedly would be, particularly when they lose their 2 main players), it's about Marhez himself. For me if his ambition is to win something on the European stage then Arsenal as a club being run and financed in its current state is out of the game. Both Manchester's are a much better bet, then Chelsea and Spurs.

[ZeGuy]

Just now, shen said:

I'm sorry, but that's just a ridiculous statement. How is moving to a bigger club, playing regular European football, earning more money (which is probably the biggest factor), increasing your chance of winning trophies, added exposure and higher quality staff, facilities and players in general a bad move for his career? 

 

No point in arguing he'd be less successful there.

He's had one hugely successful season in his career, three other seasons for us where he's fluctuated between poor to decent.

Going to a big club like Arsenal would be viewed as the pinnacle of most players' careers.

Arsenal have to let Wenger go and rebuild from scratch. They have no leader on the pitch and the dressing room seems to do at it pleases. They're seriously challenged by Spurs and Liverpool for the last CL spot and I can see them out of the top 4 for a couple of seasons. Mahrez wants european football which is fair enough (he'll get it) but also win titles, which Arsenal aren't not able to offer at the moment. I'm not saying that Arsenal isn't a big club mind you, but they are at the end of an era and it will take a long time to rebuild. Just like ManU. Mahrez could just end up as collateral damage if there is a manager change. He won't be the first one.

 

[shen]

2 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

I think that your missing the main tenet of the question and the point of my answer. It's not about whether Marhez would be an improvement for Arsenal  (he undoubtedly would be, particularly when they lose their 2 main players), it's about Marhez himself. For me if his ambition is to win something on the European stage then Arsenal as a club being run and financed in its current state is out of the game. Both Manchester's are a much better bet, then Chelsea and Spurs.

I'm not arguing that there are better choices than Arsenal (should these become available), but the point of departure is Mahrez as a Leicester player.

The simple question therefore is, does Mahrez playing for Arsenal rather than Leicester increase his chances of trophies and European football?

I'd argue yes every time, both in the short term and the long term.

 

Can he sit around and wait for Barcelona, Man Utd et al to come, window after window?

He'd be cheaper if they buy from us rather than Arsenal, but that hasn't hindered either Barcelona, Man City, Man Utd or Chelsea buying Arsenal players before....

[Bob Weasel Fox]

Manchester United are the only option really, would hate to see him play for any other Prem team in fairness though 

[shen]

2 minutes ago, ZeGuy said:

Arsenal have to let Wenger go and rebuild from scratch. They have no leader on the pitch and the dressing room seems to do at it pleases. They're seriously challenged by Spurs and Liverpool for the last CL spot and I can see them out of the top 4 for a couple of seasons. Mahrez wants european football which is fair enough (he'll get it) but also win titles, which Arsenal aren't not able to offer at the moment. I'm not saying that Arsenal isn't a big club mind you, but they are at the end of an era and it will take a long time to rebuild. Just like ManU. Mahrez could just end up as collateral damage if there is a manager change. He won't be the first one.

 

Ironically, as I mentioned earlier, Arsenal have won the same amount (and higher calibre) of trophies as Liverpool and Spurs combined over the past decade, so it's a bit of an odd one to claim they cannot offer trophies.

And Man Utd are still winning trophies despite of all the negative press Mourinho is getting.

I don't disagree with you about Arsenal's problems, but that's beside the point.

 

The point is that Mahrez cannot reasonably expect Barcelona or Man City to come knocking. But they're more likely to do so if he performs to his current level playing for Arsenal and in Europe.

[volpeazzurro]

7 minutes ago, shen said:

I'm not arguing that there are better choices than Arsenal (should these become available), but the point of departure is Mahrez as a Leicester player.

The simple question therefore is, does Mahrez playing for Arsenal rather than Leicester increase his chances of trophies and European football?

I'd argue yes every time, both in the short term and the long term.

 

Can he sit around and wait for Barcelona, Man Utd et al to come, window after window?

He'd be cheaper if they buy from us rather than Arsenal, but that hasn't hindered either Barcelona, Man City, Man Utd or Chelsea buying Arsenal players before....

I'm sorry, but the original question of this thread was not whether Marhez would stand more chances of winning European trophies with Arsenal or Leicester it was, and I quote:

1. If Mahrez is sold to another PL club - which is least unbearable to you?

My answer for me personally was Arsenal and I merely explained my reasons why i felt that way. As someone else put on here, it would be like signing a death warrant on his career. It's all academic in fairness as no one yet appears to have come in for him that we know of BUT hypothetically, if all of them made an equally acceptable offer to our owners, out of the particular teams named above, Arsenal for me would still be the club least likely to fulfill his dreams, just my personal opinion, I'm not saying I'm right. 

[SheppyFox]

Arsenal or spurs, both mediocre.

[shen]

2 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

I'm sorry, but the original question of this thread was not whether Marhez would stand more chances of winning European trophies with Arsenal or Leicester it was, and I quote:

1. If Mahrez is sold to another PL club - which is least unbearable to you?

My answer for me personally was Arsenal and I merely explained my reasons why i felt that way. As someone else put on here, it would be like signing a death warrant on his career. It's all academic in fairness as no one yet appears to have come in for him that we know of BUT hypothetically, if all of them made an equally acceptable offer to our owners, out of the particular teams named above, Arsenal for me would still be the club least likely to fulfill his dreams, just my personal opinion, I'm not saying I'm right. For me, thinking of the player himself and not my own predudices, it had to be Arsenal as it would be a waste of a career with such potential .

But you're reasoning was that joining a club like Arsenal would equal a wasted career, saying that you were looking at it from Mahrez' perspective.

I understand your sentiment, but I disagree with your reasoning as it's a) lacking objectivity; b) there are at least two other sides who would statistically be worse choices for Mahrez; and c) I believe there are factors you've overlooked.

I've just tried to look at it from Mahrez' perspective, like you.

 

 

[ZeGuy]

11 minutes ago, shen said:

Ironically, as I mentioned earlier, Arsenal have won the same amount (and higher calibre) of trophies as Liverpool and Spurs combined over the past decade, so it's a bit of an odd one to claim they cannot offer trophies.

And Man Utd are still winning trophies despite of all the negative press Mourinho is getting.

I don't disagree with you about Arsenal's problems, but that's beside the point.

 

The point is that Mahrez cannot reasonably expect Barcelona or Man City to come knocking. But they're more likely to do so if he performs to his current level playing for Arsenal and in Europe.

That's why I said at the moment. An they won't win the league for a little while. Or the Champions League for that matter.

 

Of course there is no chance in hell Man City and especially Barcelona would come for him now, no one in their right mind would argue with that. That's wishful thinking and i sincerely hope he's aware of that. My point is that Arsenal is the riskiest choice (I sincerely believe that Wenger has 2 seasons tops left at Arsenal and that's being generous) even if it's one of the sides where he has the most chances to slot in. 

[shen]

7 minutes ago, ZeGuy said:

That's why I said at the moment. An they won't win the league for a little while. Or the Champions League for that matter.

 

Of course there is no chance in hell Man City and especially Barcelona would come for him now, no one in their right mind would argue with that. That's wishful thinking and i sincerely hope he's aware of that. My point is that Arsenal is the riskiest choice (I sincerely believe that Wenger has 2 seasons tops left at Arsenal and that's being generous) even if it's one of the sides where he has the most chances to slot in. 

They are the current FA Cup holders so...

Had it not been for our fairy tale season (where they did the double over us, ironically) they could well have finished top of the pile that season too.

I too think Arsenal are in decline, but they're still performing to a reasonable level.

Spurs, Liverpool and Man Utd for all their occasional scintillating performances haven't shown they have the guile to win either the Prem or the CL yet either.

 

Along with Spurs, like you, I think Arsenal are the team he'd most likely be first choice, which is more important than being sat on the bench at Chelsea, Man Utd or PSG.

I see that as less risky and therefore I will maintain that if he could play to his current level at either of those teams, he'd have a much more realistic chance of joining the very elite in the future.

Edited 3 January 2018 by shen

[volpeazzurro]

9 minutes ago, shen said:

But you're reasoning was that joining a club like Arsenal would equal a wasted career, saying that you were looking at it from Mahrez' perspective.

I understand your sentiment, but I disagree with your reasoning as it's a) lacking objectivity; b) there are at least two other sides who would statistically be worse choices for Mahrez; and c) I believe there are factors you've overlooked.

I've just tried to look at it from Mahrez' perspective, like you.

 

 

No problem, we'll just have to disagree, it's no problem. Statistically though you're looking in the past of course whereas with the loss of such influential players I fear for Arsenal's future (relatively speaking of course at a high level). The Manchesters and Chelsea will continue to throw money at it and invest. Spurs are a little more uncertain due to the potential  tightness of Levys purse strings but currently have the better manager and players  (if he can keep them). Without Ozil and Sanchez Arsenal require quite a big rebuild ie 2 at the back, and a proper defensive mudfielder before even replacing those two important players. Are you confident Wenger would be the man to do that, would his board give him the money? (They'll be getting bugger all from Ozil and Sanchez to fill the coffers!)

 

Forgetting past statistics, if you were to bet a grand on any of those teams doing well in Europe in 4yrs (Marhez 27-30yrs of age, in their present situation, could you put your money on Arsenal? Three of the others are more favourite for me and  Spurs pip them as well, in the higher echelons of things I think they're in trouble.