Summer '21 transfer lunacy and overpayment

[I am invisible]

It’s just another example of him trying to run the club like we’re Man City. Pep might be able to torch players like that - cut their throats, you’re dead, onto the next buy - but you can’t keep doing that shit at Arsenal. We don’t have the wallet for it, and the squad is starting to fill up with his unsuccessful assassination attempts now…

[I am invisible]

I just dont know what Arteta thinks he will achieve here. Some of the players just then leave on a free when we could have got money for them. They obviously cause problems for squad morale if he doesnt want them and its not exactly a ringing endorsement for new players to join us if they think thats what hte manager will do to them.

Again, pinch of salt here, but according to newspaper reports, we could have generated 80m in transfer fees for some players like AMN, Nketiah, Xhaka but we have rejected that. Now most will leave for free & Arteta wont even play them. It’s just lunacy
Yeah, I’d take that with a truck-load of salt. We had an offer of 9m (euros) for Xhaka, 11m for Nketiah and Everton’s offer for Ainsley was apparently a 2 year loan without so much as an option to buy at the end of it. Bellerin is going to be a loan, Nelson is going to be a loan, and we’re probably going to have to buy out Kola and Willian. Have there been offers for anyone else? Probably not 60m’s worth, I’m guessing.

[selassie]

AMN is good midfielder and potentially a great one. I hope he can get out of the club and go somewhere that will allow him to progress.

No he isn't. He played enough games in Midfield at West Brom last season and didn't amount to much. He is a decent enough RB though under the right coach.

[selassie]

Apaprently in for some Japanese fella from Bologna.
Right back.

Any good? Who knows?

Will it matter? Probably not

Hotel? Trivago.

From the reviews I have read and the bits on You Tube i have seen he looks a very good prospect. He is highly regarded too...but he has Arteta as his new Coach so he will probably not amount to much. I think the potential in these new signings is very good, they just need a decent coach to develop / have them performing at a high level.

[Mac76]

No he isn't. He played enough games in Midfield at West Brom last season and didn't amount to much. He is a decent enough RB though under the right coach.

i agree - the irony is he's convinced he's a midfielder which is really holding back his career

[GP]

Nelson to Feyenoord on loan.

Bellers to Real Betis on loan.

[I am invisible]

i agree - the irony is he's convinced he's a midfielder which is really holding back his career
He’s nuts! As a fullback he was making it into the national side ffs - as a midfielder he barely scraped interest from West Brom on loan (and even then his manager said he should go back to Arsenal and play whatever role he was given). Really think he’s shot himself in the foot with that Insta post - whatever his grievance with Arteta, any potential buyer will take a really dim view of that. It’s like some unspoken code between clubs - a line you don’t cross.

[Mac76]

He’s nuts! As a fullback he was making it into the national side ffs - as a midfielder he barely scraped interest from West Brom on loan (and even then his manager said he should go back to Arsenal and play whatever role he was given). Really think he’s shot himself in the foot with that Insta post - whatever his grievance with Arteta, any potential buyer will take a really dim view of that. It’s like some unspoken code between clubs - a line you don’t cross.

i'm a bit more split on that, it's maybe not wise of him but equally I think it's symptomatic of a club that's completely lost control and is hopelessly mismanaged.

Ollie was right to say above that this'll be really bad for morale at the club - loads of sulky players hanging around seeing Xhaka no doubt get straight back into the team when he's served his ban...

[I am invisible]

From the reviews I have read and the bits on You Tube i have seen he looks a very good prospect. He is highly regarded too...but he has Arteta as his new Coach so he will probably not amount to much. I think the potential in these new signings is very good, they just need a decent coach to develop / have them performing at a high level.
He looks a really good modern defender from the bits I’ve seen - fast, two-footed, comfortable on the ball, decent in the air. He also looks like the Japanese Ben White. Are we actually signing him as a RB, or is this a reaction to the absolute shit show of the opening 3 games in central defence?

[Mac76]

He looks a really good modern defender from the bits I’ve seen - fast, two-footed, comfortable on the ball, decent in the air. He also looks like the Japanese Ben White.

aren't those statements contradictory?

[I am invisible]

i'm a bit more split on that, it's maybe not wise of him but equally I think it's symptomatic of a club that's completely lost control and is hopelessly mismanaged.

Ollie was right to say above that this'll be really bad for morale at the club - loads of sulky players hanging around seeing Xhaka no doubt get straight back into the team when he's served his ban...
Yeah, I agreed with Ollie somewhere above. His “we need to be ruthless” speech was incredibly naive in this market - as soon as that left his lips, a third of the squad knew they were neither needed nor wanted, and another third were probably left thinking “shit, was he talking about me?” How can you expect players to put in a shift for you after that?

If you’re going to try and kill someone off then you need to do it quick and clean, and you sure as shit don’t leave survivors! It was the wrong tactic to begin with - we don’t have unlimited resources like City so we can’t just casually bin players off like that - but ffs if you are going to do it then at least do it competently! Don’t just piss off most of the squad and then leave yourself having to rely o them! Jesus Christ.

Re: Ainsley, I don’t think there’s anything to be split on here - it’s possible to hold two competing views at the same time and for both to be true. Arteta is a petty tyrant, we all know that. So does Ainsley, which is why he’s also been incredibly dumb. Not only has it angered his vindictive current manager, it’s probably closed a lot of potential moves for him too because I guarantee you most managers and owners have the exact same rule at other clubs: you don’t leak to the press or go public.

[I am invisible]

aren't those statements contradictory?
Ha, yeah the second one, fair enough.

Don’t give up on White though - he’s a very good player who’s just walked into a shambles of a team, who clearly haven’t been prepared properly for the season to start. That’s on the manager.

[Chippy]

Ha, yeah the second one, fair enough.

Don’t give up on White though - he’s a very good player who’s just walked into a shambles of a team, who clearly haven’t been prepared properly for the season to start. That’s on the manager.

Totally agree on the Ben White comment. I believe he will come good. He will improve being alongside Gabriel.

[I am invisible]

Clear the air talks between Ainsley and the club now, apparently. Hope that’s true - both sides really need their heads knocking together and to realise that they’re the best option for each other. Utterly ridiculous situation.

[Bumble]

what position does this Japanese guy actually play? is it right back or centre back or mix of both. Does clearing the air with AMN mean he will play right back or just be in the match squad and be used on the odd occassion.

[I am invisible]

Interesting… apparently we actually had a deal agreed with Palace for Nketiah, but it collapsed because of his personal terms?

[Bumble]

Interesting… apparently we actually had a deal agreed with Palace for Nketiah, but it collapsed because of his personal terms?

obviously most people dont want to move jobs for less money but if that is less money is 15k a week instead of 20k or whatever he is on... is that an issue.

[I am invisible]

Runarsson gone on loan.

[I am invisible]

obviously most people dont want to move jobs for less money but if that is less money is 15k a week instead of 20k or whatever he is on... is that an issue.
More likely it’s because he’s down to his final year and can smell that free transfer next summer…

[I am invisible]

what position does this Japanese guy actually play? is it right back or centre back or mix of both. Does clearing the air with AMN mean he will play right back or just be in the match squad and be used on the odd occassion.
Both by the sounds of it. Your guess is as good as mine here, but at least we have a couple more options than we had yesterday…

[Bumble]

More likely it’s because he’s down to his final year and can smell that free transfer next summer…

hmmm he isnt exactly Mbappe.... a season of not playing isnt going to get that many interested parties.

[Bumble]

Both by the sounds of it. Your guess is as good as mine here, but at least we have a couple more options than we had yesterday…

well hopefully he isnt as bad as some other japanese players we have purchased in the past

[I am invisible]

hmmm he isnt exactly Mbappe.... a season of not playing isnt going to get that many interested parties.
He couldn’t get many less, that’s for sure.

Kolasinac has just done the exact same thing! Priced himself out of the move he wanted to Fenerbache with demands of 3m a year, 3 year contract and a 3m signing on fee! Idiots.

[GP]

The Japanese fella is confirmed.

[I am invisible]

well hopefully he isnt as bad as some other japanese players we have purchased in the past
Oh good God, I forgot about the school boy! Thought it was just Inamoto for a second there.

[Letters]

The Japanese fella is confirmed.

He could well be the chink in our armour :cool:




Am I doing this right?

[Marc Overmars]

Bellerin was sent on loan to Real Betis.

[I am invisible]

Ok, so there’s a couple of profile pieces out there now about Tomiyasu - sounds like he’s quick, v. good at 1v1s, calm in possession, a good distributor with both feet and strong in the air (6’2, fwiw).

As a RB, it sounds like he’s going to be more defensive than offensive, so if I had to guess at the thinking here I would say this is to a) balance Tierney down the left and free him up to get up and down that side with less worries, and b) protect our big, centrepiece defensive investment in White by bracketing him with two fast, aerially dominant players.

I think we might get away without the rampaging attacking RB because Ødegaard naturally drifts towards the right allowing him to double-up with the winger on that side. That’s probably bad news for Pepe, who I think really needs that overlapping fullback to be effective - think we’ll probably see Saka on the right now.

Whether it will work like that in practice is another matter, but that’s my thoughts on why we’ve gone for this guy.

[Mac76]

Ok, so there’s a couple of profile pieces out there now about Tomiyasu - sounds like he’s quick, v. good at 1v1s, calm in possession, a good distributor with both feet and strong in the air (6’2, fwiw).

As a RB, it sounds like he’s going to be more defensive than offensive, so if I had to guess at the thinking here I would say this is to a) balance Tierney down the left and free him up to get up and down that side with less worries, and b) protect our big, centrepiece defensive investment in White by bracketing him with two fast, aerially dominant players.

I think we might get away without the rampaging attacking RB because Ødegaard naturally drifts towards the right allowing him to double-up with the winger on that side. That’s probably bad news for Pepe, who I think really needs that overlapping fullback to be effective - think we’ll probably see Saka on the right now.

Whether it will work like that in practice is another matter, but that’s my thoughts on why we’ve gone for this guy.

all logical but i can't help wondering if Arteta and Edu are capable of that level of detail...

[I am invisible]

all logical but i can't help wondering if Arteta and Edu are capable of that level of detail...
I don’t think Arteta sees anything but detail sometimes! He’s so laser-focussed on it that he doesn’t see anything else, and then misses the blindingly obviously because he’s so zoomed in. Sometimes you just need to play a striker as a striker, etc…

[selassie]

Ok, so there’s a couple of profile pieces out there now about Tomiyasu - sounds like he’s quick, v. good at 1v1s, calm in possession, a good distributor with both feet and strong in the air (6’2, fwiw).

As a RB, it sounds like he’s going to be more defensive than offensive, so if I had to guess at the thinking here I would say this is to a) balance Tierney down the left and free him up to get up and down that side with less worries, and b) protect our big, centrepiece defensive investment in White by bracketing him with two fast, aerially dominant players.

I think we might get away without the rampaging attacking RB because Ødegaard naturally drifts towards the right allowing him to double-up with the winger on that side. That’s probably bad news for Pepe, who I think really needs that overlapping fullback to be effective - think we’ll probably see Saka on the right now.

Whether it will work like that in practice is another matter, but that’s my thoughts on why we’ve gone for this guy.

The only thing that worries me about this signing is that he appears to be our fourth option for the right back spot. If reports are to be believed, our number 1 option was Hakimi, that was always nothing more than a pipedream and clearly a big step down for him. After that, we were linked with Tyler Adams of Leipzig, again a step down right now for him. The third option appeared to be Emerson Royal who joined Spurs, if reports were to be believed, he chose Spurs ahead of us.

So we signed what appears to be our fourth option in Tomiyasu who Spurs deemed not good enough for them.

Despite the above, I have also read profile pieces and seen bits and pieces of him in action on You Tube and Tomiyasu looks decent enough and a very good prospect, but was this signing a desperate last minute move after all our favoured targets chose not to pursue a move?

[I am invisible]

The only thing that worries me about this signing is that he appears to be our fourth option for the right back spot. If reports are to be believed, our number 1 option was Hakimi, that was always nothing more than a pipedream and clearly a big step down for him. After that, we were linked with Tyler Adams of Leipzig, again a step down right now for him. The third option appeared to be Emerson Royal who joined Spurs, if reports were to be believed, he chose Spurs ahead of us.

So we signed what appears to be our fourth option in Tomiyasu who Spurs deemed not good enough for them.

Despite the above, I have also read profile pieces and seen bits and pieces of him in action on You Tube and Tomiyasu looks decent enough and a very good prospect, but was this signing a desperate last minute move after all our favoured targets chose not to pursue a move?
If true, it’s nice to actually have several names on the list that we can work through, instead of just leaving it if the best option in the world isn’t available.

Doesn’t sound right to me though - those 4 names are just too different in terms of profile and style to make me think they were options on the same list or part of the same strategy.

I guess what might have changed is these last-minute ‘clear the air’ talks with Ainsley? If he’s genuinely getting another chance, and is prepared to commit to RB, then that might have suddenly covered off the need for an offensive / overlapping option and allowed us to switch to a more defensive target?

Or maybe this guy was always the target and we were just waiting for one of our 4 existing RBs to leave before we could move?

[selassie]

If true, it’s nice to actually have several names on the list that we can work through, instead of just leaving it if the best option in the world isn’t available.

Doesn’t sound right to me though - those 4 names are just too different in terms of profile and style to make me think they were options on the same list or part of the same strategy.

I guess what might have changed is these last-minute ‘clear the air’ talks with Ainsley? If he’s genuinely getting another chance, and is prepared to commit to RB, then that might have suddenly covered off the need for an offensive / overlapping option and allowed us to switch to a more defensive target?

Or maybe this guy was always the target and we were just waiting for one of our 4 existing RBs to leave before we could move?

Yeah the list is quite scattergun but i guess Hakimi and his agent let it known we were not an option quite early on, especially as he was linked with both Chelsea and then PSG who he joined. The other 3 are all different profiles, but close in age and experience I guess even though they are all young. Adams for instance plays DM as his primary position for Leipzig so he could have well been a Xhaka replacement as he looked Roma bound earlier this summer. Adams is also very good at right back. Emerson and Tomiyasu are actually very different, Emerson being a very offensive right back and Tomiyasu being more defensive and solid. I guess we will see who fairs better now that Emerson has joined the Spuds.

I do think Tomiyasu was always a target, just a backup option more than a primary one though. He is here now so I'll get behind whatever happens.

[I am invisible]

Yeah the list is quite scattergun but i guess Hakimi and his agent let it known we were not an option quite early on, especially as he was linked with both Chelsea and then PSG who he joined. The other 3 are all different profiles, but close in age and experience I guess even though they are all young. Adams for instance plays DM as his primary position for Leipzig so he could have well been a Xhaka replacement as he looked Roma bound earlier this summer. Adams is also very good at right back. Emerson and Tomiyasu are actually very different, Emerson being a very offensive right back and Tomiyasu being more defensive and solid. I guess we will see who fairs better now that Emerson has joined the Spuds.

I do think Tomiyasu was always a target, just a backup option more than a primary one though. He is here now so I'll get behind whatever happens.
:good:

I’m guessing the way these things actually play out is that we have a series of plans drawn up where complimentary targets are grouped together rather than having individual lists for each area that we work through - if we sign CB A then we pair him with RB X, if we sign CB B then we pair him with RB Y, etc. You sound out everyone to begin with to see who’s available, and everything is on the table right up until one of the signings drops - at that point you’re all in on that battle plan. We probably landed on Tomi because he’ll be a good foil for White, and it probably happened at the last-minute because none of our existing RBs moved until then.

I’m glad we’ve signed him though - it’s tied some of our other moves together a little bit more for me and I think I can see a bit of joined up thinking there now. Seems pretty clear that we’ll switch between a back 4 when we defend and a back 3 when we attack, and I like every combination of the 3 that would stay back, e.g Gabriel-White-Takehiro / Tierney-Gabriel-Takehiro / Tierney-Gabriel-White (I expect Gabriel will always stay back).

Worries: can Arteta now execute it properly? And what’s the threshold for absentees before the system starts to fail?

[I am invisible]

“Judge us at the end of the window,” Edu said, so let’s judge the shit out of this!

The plan (A-F)
Incomings (A-F)
Outgoings (A-F)
Overall (Success / Fail)

[Mac76]

“Judge us at the end of the window,” Edu said, so let’s judge the shit out of this!

The plan (A-F)
Incomings (A-F)
Outgoings (A-F)
Overall (Success / Fail)

The Plan - Well the plan to stop bringing in Willian types and get in younger players is good in principle, however there's the fact that they loaned out Saliba again plus even with the players available Arteta will no doubt fail to make the most of them - the plan should have included a new manager so it's a B for the younger players but an F for the manager part

Incomings - they seem decent although not sure about Ramsdale and we clearly massively overpaid for White - if we ought to have bought him at all - so a C

Outgoings - as the Arseblog pod said, "Joe Willock sold Joe Willock" by his performances so basically Edu's failed to sell anyone - ok, it's great Willian's gone but we're lucky he wanted out rather than stay and pick up the cheques for another two seasons. Turning down offers for Nketiah and Xhaka was also a massive mistake - so it's an F


Overall - a mixed picture but if you made me choose it would be a fail.

[I am invisible]

Yeah, I’m not far off that, although I’m not including the manager in this because we can make that change at any time (and the signings look like they’ve been chosen to outlive him).

—

The plan - B+
No issues with the plan - the plan was sound, and I 100% support it. Should have done it 3 years ago, in fact! Question marks over execution, but the idea was right, and I could clearly see what the thinking / logic was.

Had to knock it down a grade because of Edu’s non-committal answer when asked about targets in his interview - if there aren’t targets then how can we set expectations or measure success? How is anyone held to account?

Incomings - B-
I’m actually very happy with all of the signings we did make - might have overpaid for a couple (HG tax) but then got some bargains on others, so value is kind of neutral for me. Can’t give it anything higher though because we weren’t able to refresh CF and CM. A very high bar this window.

Outgoings - E
The only thing that’s saved this from being an F is the Willock sale and Willian walking away for nothing (and that was more luck than judgement). There’s still a chance we could make some sales / loans to the continent, but it’s still a pretty sorry list on the outs. I expect Nketiah, Lacazette and Leno will all leave for nothing next summer now.

Overall - Fail
Tbf, I’m not sure it was even possible for this window to have been anything other than a fail, given the dead market and the squad full of overpaid crap that no one in their right mind was ever going to take off us (even in the best of times), but that is where we find ourselves as a club, and nothing short of a double-A for incomings and outgoings was ever going to make this window a success. Could anyone else have done any better? Maybe not, but it was certainly too big an ask for Edu.

[Mac76]

The only thing that’s saved this from being an F is the Willock sale


like I say he sold himself, nothing to do with Arsenal

[selassie]

“Judge us at the end of the window,” Edu said, so let’s judge the shit out of this!

The plan (A-F)
Incomings (A-F)
Outgoings (A-F)
Overall (Success / Fail)

Edu would be out of a job if he held the Technical Director role at any of the other top 6 clubs, he has been a disaster in this role here at Arsenal. I read the other day we could (most likely will) have up to 6 players walking away on a Free come next summer, now admittedly most of the players are ones we need rid of....but to not get a fee for any of them is a sackable offence. The players off the top of my head who will be free to leave in the summer are as follows;

Leno
Lacazette
Nketiah
Chambers
Elneny
Kola

We should have got fees for at least Leno, Lacazette and Nketiah this summer, criminal really. Even Chambers and Elneny are transferrable IMO. Judge Edu? 1/10.

P.S. I wouldn't be surprised if we offer the likes of Chambers, Elneny and Kola improved deals just to save face!!!

[I am invisible]

Edu would be out of a job if he held the Technical Director role at any of the other top 6 clubs, he has been a disaster in this role here at Arsenal. I read the other day we could (most likely will) have up to 6 players walking away on a Free come next summer, now admittedly most of the players are ones we need rid of....but to not get a fee for any of them is a sackable offence. The players off the top of my head who will be free to leave in the summer are as follows;

Leno
Lacazette
Nketiah
Chambers
Elneny
Kola

We should have got fees for at least Leno, Lacazette and Nketiah this summer, criminal really. Even Chambers and Elneny are transferrable IMO. Judge Edu? 1/10.

P.S. I wouldn't be surprised if we offer the likes of Chambers, Elneny and Kola improved deals just to save face!!!
Chambers I could see getting an extension - his home-growness might still make us some money when things pick up, esp. in a post-Brexit market - but the other two? Nah. Getting them off the wage bill will make us more money than any fee. Still have my fingers crossed that we might be able to get rid of at least Kolasinac before Europe closes for business - he’s probably just waiting for us to pay him to fuck off. Personally, I’d do it in a cold minute.

[Mac76]

We should have got fees for at least Leno, Lacazette and Nketiah this summer, criminal really.

And Xhaka

[selassie]

And Xhaka

Yep, we are stuck with him now! :o

[dazthegooner]

Are we :threaten: :unsure:

[selassie]

Are we :threaten: :unsure:

:lol:

[dazthegooner]

Great Elneny's staying <_< https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12401584/mohamed-elneny-arsenal-reject-bid-from-galatasaray-for-midfielder-before-close-of-turkish-transfer-window

[Mac76]

Yeah another offer we've turned down - just think we could've sold Xhaka, Elneny and Nketiah, bringing in like, money and saving on wages

Edu :bow:

[I am invisible]

Ffs, they couldn’t have made that offer a week or two ago?

[I am invisible]

You can have Kolasinac and Cedric if you like? We don’t need replacements for them if they go.

[Bumble]

£45m for Sterling - that is very tempting. definitely would enhance our team and squad. also while we are still have a good chance of top 4... he could be interested.

[Mac76]

no we've got better than him in Saka and ESR

[Letters]

ESR just came on for England :bow:

[Globalgunner]

£45m for Sterling - that is very tempting. definitely would enhance our team and squad. also while we are still have a good chance of top 4... he could be interested.

Bloody hell!. Arsenal fans never learn. Always looking for someone to replace Ozil in the idle waster category. No please to Sterling

[Letters]

ESR just came on for England :bow:

:doh:

Thought this was the general Arsenal thread

:getcoat:

[I am invisible]

:doh:

Thought this was the general Arsenal thread

:getcoat:
Thanks a lot, Letters - if he gets sold now it’s your fault.

[I am invisible]

no we've got better than him in Saka and ESR
Yeah, hard to see where he fits atm? Can’t see us spending £45m on a wide attacker when we already have Saka and ESR there, and I think we’ll be after a different profile for CF.

Doesn’t seem to fit the recent financial profile either - wages would be too high and there’d be no resale value to protect the investment. This one’s not adding up for me.

[Letters]

Thanks a lot, Letters - if he gets sold now it’s your fault.

:lol:

[Bumble]

Yeah, hard to see where he fits atm? Can’t see us spending £45m on a wide attacker when we already have Saka and ESR there, and I think we’ll be after a different profile for CF.

Doesn’t seem to fit the recent financial profile either - wages would be too high and there’d be no resale value to protect the investment. This one’s not adding up for me.
Hes a quality player. Hes only 26. Wages yes will be high but surely you want options beyond over using esr or saka until burn out. You can put esr in the laca role as well

Its about options and flexibility.

[selassie]

no we've got better than him in Saka and ESR

Lol, neither Saka or ESR are anywhere near Sterling, they don't post similar numbers to him and haven't done it on the big stage. Sterling would be a risky signing (money wise) but potentially a very good one for us. He is still only 26, he has a good few years left at the top.

[Mac76]

Lol, neither Saka or ESR are anywhere near Sterling, they don't post similar numbers to him and haven't done it on the big stage. Sterling would be a risky signing (money wise) but potentially a very good one for us. He is still only 26, he has a good few years left at the top.

well it's a debate as to whether they'll get to being as good as him at his age, but Sterling is notoriously inconsistent, plus he woudl deny them the chance to keep a regular place in the side. We're jsust off fourth with this side, let's see what they can do (plus a new striker in Jan maybe).

[selassie]

well it's a debate as to whether they'll get to being as good as him at his age, but Sterling is notoriously inconsistent, plus he woudl deny them the chance to keep a regular place in the side. We're jsust off fourth with this side, let's see what they can do (plus a new striker in Jan maybe).

Sterling was miles better than either player at their current age, he has been consistently one of the best wide players in Europe since he was a teenager. Whether either Saka or ESR can post up similar stats remains to be seen but if they can we would have two top players on our hands. Saka and ESR whilst young, are both very inconsistent too, far from the finished products. I like Saka and ESR but they are not better than Sterling, certainly not now and Sterling was a top level talent as a teenager. He might not be as prolific right now...but he has world class competition for starting places at City, players like him are more than good enough for us.

I'm not totally for signing Sterling, but if we did, I would play him on the right or left and move ESR to number 10 and bench Odegaard permanently.

[Mac76]

I'm not totally for signing Sterling, but if we did, I would play him on the right or left and move ESR to number 10 and bench Odegaard permanently.

can't disagree, Odegaard's looking like a really big disappointment

[selassie]

can't disagree, Odegaard's looking like a really big disappointment

Yep, we spent over 100million on Pepe and Odegaard combined and they are getting outperformed by two of our academy graduates! Only at Arsenal :d

[Mac76]

Pepe still hasn't been given a good consistent run in the team, he's much better than Odegaard or Auba on current form, and we should try bringing ESR inside to accomodate him on one of the wings for a few matches

[dazthegooner]

Also Martinelli was more dangerous when he switched to the left (though if he'd been in the position to get the chances presented to Saka he might have taken one).

[Mac76]

Also Martinelli was more dangerous when he switched to the left (though if he'd been in the position to get the chances presented to Saka he might have taken one).

Yes he had a good game overall

[selassie]

Pepe still hasn't been given a good consistent run in the team, he's much better than Odegaard or Auba on current form, and we should try bringing ESR inside to accomodate him on one of the wings for a few matches

Aye, Pepe looked very good towards the end of last season. He’s really out of favour now, looks like Arteta has more or less frozen him out. I agree he should definitely be given more of a choice. His time here looks done though as Martinelli is back in favour and looking good TBF

[I am invisible]

Bringing on Cedric for Tomi at the weekend really did highlight a) just how important that signing was, and b) that we need to be looking for decent cover for him in the next window or two.

Also please just pay Cedric off and move him on.

[Mac76]

Bringing on Cedric for Tomi at the weekend really did highlight a) just how important that signing was, and b) that we need to be looking for decent cover for him in the next window or two.

Also please just pay Cedric off and move him on.

Chambers is a much better option at RB IMO, I'd be quite happy with him being the second option, he's less convincing in central defence though, although i recall last time he was there hwe was surrounded by morons lke Luiz, Xhaka, etc

[Bumble]

Chambers is a much better option at RB IMO, I'd be quite happy with him being the second option, he's less convincing in central defence though, although i recall last time he was there hwe was surrounded by morons lke Luiz, Xhaka, etc

Yeah keep Chambers as RB/4th choice CB. thats decent. think we need a striker to give flexibility as Martinelli can play there but also on the wing as well.

[Mac76]

can't disagree, Odegaard's looking like a really big disappointment

me

:pal:

[I am invisible]

Chambers is a much better option at RB IMO, I'd be quite happy with him being the second option, he's less convincing in central defence though, although i recall last time he was there hwe was surrounded by morons lke Luiz, Xhaka, etc
I’d have Chambers in over Cedric, no questions, but he still kind of feels like a “that’ll do” solution. Plus any kind of modest bid and I think he’ll be gone too - really doesn’t look like he’s in our plans at all.

Probably the closest like-for-like we have for Tomi right now is White (and vice versa for White at CB), but we’d have to be talking about a handful of games and nothing long-term. Still feel like we need a signing here.

Interesting that Ainsley isn’t even in this convo any more - guess he’s finally got everyone thinking of him as a CM.

[I am invisible]

We expecting anything to happen with strikers this window? Auba looks like he’s played his last game for us, but I’m not sure I see anyone coming the other way until the summer.

Which puts us in a really weak position with Laca and Eddie - might not be able to sell either in Jan now, so I can see there being a contract offer for one of them.

[Marc Overmars]

Sounds like AMN could be going on loan to Roma.

Arteta hates him. :lol:

[fakeyank]

AMN is 100 times better than Xhaka. Quite how Xhaka even plays at the highest level is a miracle.

[Mac76]

AMN is 100 times better than Xhaka. Quite how Xhaka even plays at the highest level is a miracle.

:gp:

[I am invisible]

Both need need new challenges tbh - by next season I expect they’ll both be gone.

My feeling on Xhaka was always that we extended his contract to defer his move for a year, hoping that there will be more money in the market next summer.

And with Ainsley, I don’t see him taking us to the next level as a starting midfielder, and I don’t think his primary motivation is doing what the team needs as a squad player, so I’m not sure where we go with him? I think he wants a settled position to make his own, but I just don’t see what options are open to him in this team where he doesn’t still end up as a backup / squad player?

[Bumble]

Both need need new challenges tbh - by next season I expect they’ll both be gone.

My feeling on Xhaka was always that we extended his contract to defer his move for a year, hoping that there will be more money in the market next summer.

And with Ainsley, I don’t see him taking us to the next level as a starting midfielder, and I don’t think his primary motivation is doing what the team needs as a squad player, so I’m not sure where we go with him? I think he wants a settled position to make his own, but I just don’t see what options are open to him in this team where he doesn’t still end up as a backup / squad player?

Ainsley not going to play regularly so he is at an age where he could get game time at a Villa or Everton and there is nothing wrong with that.

Auba to Newcastle?

[Letters]

Rumours that Auba could be off to Newcastle.
Off you pop :wave: