Summer Transfer Temps and Journeymen

[I am invisible]

Oddly enough, I’m actually warming to the idea of Willian, after an initial ‘WTF’. He’ll add more goals and creativity, he’s happy playing left, right or centre, and even if the game isn’t going his way he still generally works his arse off. Question marks over offering a 3 year deal to a 32yo, but then we do seem to be hitting a time where more and more players are playing for longer into their 30s as sport science gets better at managing recovery, so maybe he’ll be one of those guys like Auba that just keeps going? His fitness record is certainly encouraging.

And, of course, it’s a free transfer, so we don’t have to worry about finding money for big, upfront payments to Chelsea and resale values. When you look at our other wide options - Saka, Martinelli, Nelson, Pepe - there’s a lot of inexperience there, so this could buy us a year or two to develop some of these guys properly (ditto for our options behind the striker, where we only really have Willock and Smith Rowe).

If the idea is that we then have more money to go out and get a decent CM and CB, then I could be OK with this.

[Letters]

Actually, the ludicrous story on that one was that we’d buy Coutinho for £109m and then sell them Guendouzi for £100m, all to help them get around ffp rules?!! Seriously, why would we do Barcelona any favours? Let their DNA get them out of whatever mess they’re in.

Maybe I'm being stupid, but how does that help? The net difference is the same.
[When I was 6 my parents moved house and, unusually, the people they bought from moved into my parents' old place - they effectively swapped houses. So they both lowered the prices as the only thing that mattered was the difference. I guess that got around stamp duty, if that was a thing back then. Not sure how that applies here though?]

[Gooner23]

Oddly enough, I’m actually warming to the idea of Willian, after an initial ‘WTF’. He’ll add more goals and creativity, he’s happy playing left, right or centre, and even if the game isn’t going his way he still generally works his arse off. Question marks over offering a 3 year deal to a 32yo, but then we do seem to be hitting a time where more and more players are playing for longer into their 30s as sport science gets better at managing recovery, so maybe he’ll be one of those guys like Auba that just keeps going? His fitness record is certainly encouraging.

And, of course, it’s a free transfer, so we don’t have to worry about finding money for big, upfront payments to Chelsea and resale values. When you look at our other wide options - Saka, Martinelli, Nelson, Pepe - there’s a lot of inexperience there, so this could buy us a year or two to develop some of these guys properly (ditto for our options behind the striker, where we only really have Willock and Smith Rowe).

If the idea is that we then have more money to go out and get a decent CM and CB, then I could be OK with this.

Yeah I also think Willian is a solid, if not exciting, signing. As you say we have a lot of young players in the wide / forward areas so bringing in an experienced Prem proven player on a free could make sense. Age is the big issue with this one but his injury record is excellent and physically he is miles ahead of the likes of Mhiki and Ozil.

Can't help but be envious of Chelski shelling out on the likes of Werner and Havertz, but we're just not in their league financially. With money tight, centre back and centre mid have to be the priorities.

[I am invisible]

Hadn't seen that rumour, something we should be running a mile from if true. Sounds like we've cooled on Coutinho anyway now that Willian is on his way.

Good - there’s a few too many parties in that one that I just don’t trust (Barca, Kia, the player himself), and it’s not the best use of Guendouzi as our major saleable asset...

[I am invisible]

Maybe I'm being stupid, but how does that help? The net difference is the same.
[When I was 6 my parents moved house and, unusually, the people they bought from moved into my parents' old place - they effectively swapped houses. So they both lowered the prices as the only thing that mattered was the difference. I guess that got around stamp duty, if that was a thing back then. Not sure how that applies here though?]

Don’t ask me, man, I just work here!

Probably just deferring the problem for another day until the “Guendouzi deal” needs explaining?

[I am invisible]

Yeah I also think Willian is a solid, if not exciting, signing. As you say we have a lot of young players in the wide / forward areas so bringing in an experienced Prem proven player on a free could make sense. Age is the big issue with this one but his injury record is excellent and physically he is miles ahead of the likes of Mhiki and Ozil.

Can't help but be envious of Chelski shelling out on the likes of Werner and Havertz, but we're just not in their league financially. With money tight, centre back and centre mid have to be the priorities.

Yeah, exactly- I’m sure they were looking on enviously at everyone else last summer when they couldn’t spend, and a lot of what they’re doing now is simply replacing Hazard (and I guess Willian).

That’s just football, though - we don’t all have the same resources and the same needs at same times, so you can’t look at what anyone else is doing. As you say, most of our funds need to go on a CM , securing Dani, and maybe a CB (if funds will stretch)

[selassie]

I was disappointed that Holding didn't give a better impression of himself to Arteta. Not entirely his fault because Arteta threw him in at the deep end against Leeds, and then froze him out. But that little run of games he got was a really good opportunity to make the position his own, like Martinez has done at GK.

Both Holding and Chambers are at an age where they need to take their chances when they get them. Saliba is here now and hopefully we'll be signing a top quality CB this window too, so they might not get the game time they want.

Holding is a limited player IMO due to his lack of pace. He has put in decent performances the last few games but I never feel confident when he’s in the team and he never puts in 9/10 performances which is also kind of a flaw. That’s what sets him and Chambers apart IMO, Chambers has put in some top class performances for the club over the years.

Defence is the biggest area we need to look at for rebuild IMO. We need to get it right this time because we have wasted millions on defence over the past few years and our defence is now in worse shape.

The one thing I have hope with Arteta and those above is that they do genuinely seem to know what’s needed, it’s just about finding those players.

[I am invisible]

I don't think Holding is the answer to our defensive problems, but then again I think he's only on something like £40k/wk, so he's also nowhere near as much of a financial burden as other hangers-on in our defence.

I guess the difference between Holding and the likes of Sokratis and Kolasinac is that he's young and English, so if someone came in with a decent bid for him I think that might decide it (ditto for Chambers, who I think is at least fit enough now to pass a medical, even if he still needs another couple of months of rehab to get up to match-fitness)?

[I am invisible]

Holding is a limited player IMO due to his lack of pace. He has put in decent performances the last few games but I never feel confident when he’s in the team and he never puts in 9/10 performances which is also kind of a flaw. That’s what sets him and Chambers apart IMO, Chambers has put in some top class performances for the club over the years.

Defence is the biggest area we need to look at for rebuild IMO. We need to get it right this time because we have wasted millions on defence over the past few years and our defence is now in worse shape.

The one thing I have hope with Arteta and those above is that they do genuinely seem to know what’s needed, it’s just about finding those players.

Holding is a bit like Luiz in terms of consistency and reliability: occasionally brilliant, occasionally terrible, but mostly just OK.

Tbh, it's really difficult to properly assess our defence and attack right now, because we haven't had much in the way of protection in front of the CBs for years, and we don't have much in the way of supply for the forwards (we're also extremely thin on ball-carriers and line-breakers in midfield so there's not been much linking defence to attack). Some defenders obviously need to be moved on asap, but others might actually be OK if we sort the midfield out?

Ideally we invest in both areas this summer, but if funds are that tight then I think I'd prioritise CM over CB. We already have Saliba to add to the defence, and we've also seen very, very little of Tierney across a full season so far, and almost nothing of Mari, so we already have 3/4s of a new-look back 4 there - bring in someone like Partey to sit in front of them (and secure the post-lockdown Dani Ceballos) and that might be enough to buy us a bit more time to look at the defence?

[fakeyank]

Looks like Auba is going to sign a deal to stay till 2023 (as per telegraph)