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On 22/05/2018 at 10:21, sne said:

Apparently looking at Danilo Pereira from Porto.

A younger and more mobile version of N'Zonzi, sort of anyway.

Would be an hilarious signing, such an average player in keeping with what they already have.

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22 hours ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

Would be an hilarious signing, such an average player in keeping with what they already have.

To be fair this is quite high praise for you, so I'm expecting him to be a world beater ;) 

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I think Emery is actually a good manager, and Arsenal have one of the better attacks in the league. Problem is they lack a true DM, and their defense is crumbling. They need two new center backs, and a DM to actually compete for top 4. 

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1 hour ago, Czechlad said:

I think Emery is actually a good manager, and Arsenal have one of the better attacks in the league. Problem is they lack a true DM, and their defense is crumbling. They need two new center backs, and a DM to actually compete for top 4. 

Gueye from Everton would be a good buy for them. He can pass a bit in addition to doing the dirty work. Great engine.

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22 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

Gueye from Everton would be a good buy for them. He can pass a bit in addition to doing the dirty work. Great engine.

Nah he was shit for us remember so he has to be a terrible player.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This seems a totally legit way to spend your country's money right?

Especially when 30-40% of said country's budget is made up of aid from other countries.

Quote

Rwanda's £30m Arsenal sponsorship divides opinion

The deal with the football club will pay for itself in increased tourism, insist officials

Former Arsenal player Tony Adams with President Paul Kagame  

Anyone confused as to why Rwanda chose to spend £30m putting its name on the sleeve of Arsenal’s football shirts could begin to answer their question by looking at President Paul Kagame’s Twitter feed.

In common with many of his countrymen, Kagame is an avid fan of his “beloved club” and the president – who has been Rwanda’s head of state for almost as long as Arsène Wenger led Arsenal – has regularly offered his view on club matters over the past six years.

To critics, the deal is an example of an autocrat who runs one of the poorest countries in the world indulging a private passion while subsidising one of the richest clubs in world football.

But to Kagame’s supporters and some in the marketing industry, it’s a canny move that is already getting people thinking about the impoverished country’s tourism industry, which offers lakeside resorts and walks with mountain gorillas – with one expert estimating that the £30m investment could help to bring in £300m of new revenue.

“Rwanda wouldn’t have occurred to me as a place for tourism, so perhaps you do need to shock people,” said Kelvyn Gardner, the head of international development at the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association. “What you’re buying with sponsorship it’s brand recognition. Football shirts can be overmonopolised by things like online gaming companies, so it will stand out.”

Kagame, a former army commander who emerged victorious at the end of the Rwandan civil war, has been president of the country since 2000. He recently changed the constitution to enable him to run for a third election, which he won with 98.8% of the vote, amid accusations of dirty tricks against those who dared to stand against him.

In that time he has attempted to transform the mountainous central African country into a prosperous nation. The capital, Kigali, is largely safe and clean, with a construction boom that includes five star hotels. Despite this there are few dissenting voices in the media, limited political opposition and it remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

Much of the development work locally has been assisted by aid from western nations, with British and Dutch politicians this weekend complaining that they are sending money to a country that is now supporting a high-profile football team.

Clare Akamanzi, the Harvard-educated chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board, defended the agreement, saying the money for sponsorship came from a different pot from international aid.

“Anyone who criticises our deal with Arsenal on account of Rwanda being poor or an aid recipient, either wishes for Rwanda to be perpetually so, or doesn’t understand that in any business marketing costs are a key component of a company’s expenditures,” she said, insisting the country is determined to double its revenue from tourism to $800m over the next six years.

That said, the deal could be as beneficial within Rwanda itself as abroad. Premier League football is ever-present in the country, with countless radio phone-ins dedicated to the Premier League. Fans crowd into bars and betting shops to watch matches while local minibuses are covered in the colours of English teams – with the north London club among the favourites.

“Many Rwandans, especially in urban areas, are fans of Arsenal,” explained Rwandan accountant Charles Sac, who is a supporter of Unai Emery’s side. “I think it’s entertainment and associated success; involvement of black players in earlier years was a factor.”

Sac said the reaction to the sponsorship deal had been positive in his country: “Rwandans were pleasantly surprised by the news and still excited.”

As part of the deal Arsenal players will visit Rwanda to hold training camps, while the country’s logo will appear at the side of the pitch at the Emirates stadium and on the backdrops for post-match interviews.

“This decision demonstrates Rwanda’s continuing reorientation from a francophone to an anglophone country,” said Timothy Longman, a professor at Boston University and author of Memory and Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda.

“The group that dominates Rwandan politics, society, and economics today grew up mostly in refugee camps in Uganda, They brought back to Rwanda with them a connection to many things associated with Britain, including Premier League football.”

He speculated that while the decision “may be popular with the English-speaking elite in Kigali” many Rwandans could think of a better use for the money.

Regardless, at least one person will be happy. Earlier this month Kagame delivered his verdict on Arsenal’s recent performance after they were knocked out of the Europa League by Atlético Madrid.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/29/rwandas-30m-arsenal-sponsorship-divides-opinion

Gotta spend money to make money and all that, but not sure about this one.

 

Edited by sne
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the tourism element of it is nothing new, if you look at how emirates. ethihad, visit malaysia even azerbaijan with atletico have all approached football previously and yeah to be fair to him its shocked me too, rwanda isnt going to be on many peoples holiday destination lists

the main story here is £30m for a sleeve sponsor

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 03/06/2018 at 17:29, sne said:

This seems a totally legit way to spend your country's money right?

Especially when 30-40% of said country's budget is made up of aid from other countries.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/29/rwandas-30m-arsenal-sponsorship-divides-opinion

Gotta spend money to make money and all that, but not sure about this one.

 

Interesting article. You have to procure outside investment at some point, especially being only 25 years removed from a massive genocidal killing spree. It's a huge hurdle for the country, so if Arsenal FC can help raise the profile of an emerging Rwanda, good. But you can't help but think that maybe that big swath of rainforest will be gone one day as a result of outside investment. These last areas of deep dark continents are poor as f*ck and nobody seems to care about them. Let's hope they don't sell the soul of their nation to MacDonald's.

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Don't really rate him as a keeper, much better around in Bundesliga. I think Timo Horn is better for example even if Koln had a terrible season.

Torreria is what they need in midfield though. Busy and can get tackles in. Amuses me they waited for WC to start before announcing they've given Xhaka a new long term deal. :lol:

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So, it looks like Kroenke is buying out Usmanov and about to take full control at Arsenal.

What does this mean for Arsenal. Will this make them more competitive financially now only one person is pulling the strings? Or worse off as they only have the one Billionaire?

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hard to tell, kroenke is apparently the owner out of their lot who wants a stable self sufficient money making machine, the corporate side of it and the non match day money side of it will be more him, usmanov was always more likely to search for loop holes and throw a load of cash at the team, the thing is even if kroenke does just see them as a way to make money he must see that they need CL as the bare minimum, its his ambition after that that can be questioned

usmanov will be linked to everton, everton's problems aren't necessarily cash for players ones, they need a new stadium and keep buying shit, need an overhaul at the top

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