Good player with bags of experience and won’t cost anything and will sit ok the bench and do a job when called upon.
Can’t wait for us to sign a GK and a CM (a CB too but with only 50m in the back I can’t see us signing any of of note)
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Good player with bags of experience and won’t cost anything and will sit ok the bench and do a job when called upon.
Can’t wait for us to sign a GK and a CM (a CB too but with only 50m in the back I can’t see us signing any of of note)
The more new defenders we bring in the better. Especially experienced title winning ones that can make us mentally stronger.
I think these football videos are a sneaky way for seriously shit "music" to get airtime.Quote:
Originally Posted by I am invisible
The Torygraph have suddenly decided that Kroenke has given us an extra £20 million for the transfer budget. :lol:
It'll be back down to £40 million in a couple of weeks.
It's almost like they're making things up, but that can't be right?
Might be able to give Bellerin one or two tips too. Especially on his crossing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gooner23
Fiction can still be lucrative if you find the right publisher, especially for the likes of Ornstein and the BBC who literally force the consumer with menaces to buy their (very, very organic) produce.Quote:
Originally Posted by I am invisible
Any publisher will do on the Internet - all you need is the right audience.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
http://elderprops.com/wp-content/upl...e-670x1024.jpg
A 34 year old defender who will turn 35 years old midway through the season? Played for Juve who dominate their league and notably was only trusted to play twice in CL - both as a sub. We would've laughed Wenger out of town for this sort of signing and if true, this is some statement of intent to make for the first signing - a freebie old man full back who would get the run around in this league. Bellerin can sit back without a worry.
He made 32 appearances.
In fact I'd rather have him playing ahead of Bellerin.
Damn straight we would have laughed at Wenger. Because we wouldn't be signing this accomplished 34 year old, it would have been an unaccomplished, mediocre 34 year old.
And that player would 100% have regressed and been a disaster under the old goat.
Who cares what would have happened under Wenger? It doesn't matter anymore. Also, the fact he didn't play much in the CL is of no concern to us.Quote:
Originally Posted by SMatthews
I still think he's a bit old.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
must admit i think you're right - Cech proves what happens when you get someone towards the end of their career - they can lose effectiveness and reaction times quite quicklyQuote:
Originally Posted by Goonermerree
it's fine if you're someone like Villa taking John Terry but we need to invest in longer-term bets
My guess is Emery is fully aware of just how much shit Wenger has left the defence in. This signing is obviously an emergency stopgap. A quick and cheap import of experience that can be done immediately and influence the pre-season without protracted negotiations for a 50 mill quid Johnny Bumblefart from Crewe who will be the next big thing (again). The real transfers will come, but there's major surgery to do in the meantime just to get the patient off life support. Hopefully this old guy can bring some knowhow to our know nothings and won't die of old age in the process. I don't expect to see him playing many games, but I'm sure he'll be a permanent fixture on the training ground.
Bellerin has become really shit. See how our former LB Debuchy has prospered since leaving us, almost making the WC squad. Not surprised Bellerin didnt make the Spain squad. He was wholly ineffective for us. The new guy at least should be able to tell him how to do the basics like cross the ball and be in sync with your teammates.
Think one thing we've learnt is not to question SASIE because their judgment has been pretty damn good so far.
I'm really looking forward to see how they all shape up to a new manager. Who will make it and who will be out? We are stepping out into the unknown.
So was Wenger's in the early days.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cripps
The new team should be treated like any other. Supported when they are giving 100% and getting results, hounded to the ends of the earth if they let things drop by even 1%
That's how it works at the very top of any competitive sport. That's how you get out of the also-ran league.
Yep, let's give them a chance. I know you and PnG are eager for it to come crashing down but lighten up :lol:
AbsolutelyQuote:
Originally Posted by Cripps
Except Welbeck of course
Isn't Chiellini out of contract too? Why wouldn't we be trying to bring him here first!?
Emil Forsberg for 50 mill?
Why would we need him? Unless one from Laca, Ozil or Mikki are heading out.
So crates!
Arsenal are close to signing centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund for a reported £16m.
The 29-year-old Greece international has a year left on his contract with the German Bundesliga side.
It is the latest step in Arsenal's drive to rebuild their defence with experience and leadership.
The Gunners are also working on a deal to sign Switzerland right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, 34, on a free transfer from Juventus.
The Premier League club intend to bolster their squad with signings who are immediately ready for first-team football and, over time, continue to recruit younger players for the medium to long term.
An example is Papastathopoulos' countryman Konstantinos Mavropanos, 20, who joined in January and was the first signing overseen by new head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, formerly chief scout at Dortmund.
That month Arsenal also brought in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Dortmund and Henrikh Mkhitaryan - yet another ex-Dortmund player.
Former Genoa and AC Milan defender Papastathopoulos continues the trend and will help compensate for the loss of captain Laurent Koscienly to an Achilles injury.
The departure of manager Arsene Wenger and arrival of head coach Unai Emery has seen Arsenal adopt a continental model in which Mislintat will lead on recruitment alongside Emery, head of football relations Raul Sanllehi and chief executive Ivan Gazidis.
Emery will contribute to the decision-making process and retain power of veto, while it is understood proposed signings were discussed with head coach candidates during the interview stage.
We are going to have to reduce the font we use on the players names at the back of the shirts. Those Greek names are long.
We're going to have the oldest defence in the world at this rate. Read a bit about Sokratis and it seems he's been really poor in the last couple seasons, not too sure about this signing.
As someone said Chiellini may well be available on a free if someone made him a decent offer, top class player and if we're going to go for ageing players he'd be the kind of player we should look at.
I'm ok with the Lichtsteiner deal as he's just a bit of experienced back up.
Bit underwhelmed by Papastathopoulos though, think we need to push the boat out and sign a top class CB.
I mentioned Chiellini.Quote:
Originally Posted by Özim
I don't get the need to sign a load of mid range players. I don't even recall how good either of them are, but seriously aren't we supposed to be trying to reach another level? The Juve guy fair enough if he's out of contract but this Sokratis guy?
I know Arsenal aren't going to sign him but if money really is tight I'd rather we spunked 60-80 million on a truly world class keeper in Oblak, offered Chiellini and Iniesta offers they cannot refuse (I think Iniesta has agreed on a Japan team though now) then try and bring in Dembele of Barca on loan. Then use the funds of next year January/Summer to sign another world class player. We aren't going to make up the difference with average players rotating in for some of the average we already have.
So crates could be just the first of a couple of CBs - still being strongly linked with that Turkish lad, Soyuncu (amongst others) so let's see what happens.
Looks like we're definitely chasing a certain personality type with these early moves - Lichtsteiner and Sokratis both look like serious fuckers who have more than a bit of the Lehmanns about them! I don't imagine many players slacking off in training with these guys around, and I'm hoping this is as much about addressing the casual attitude in the camp, as it is about replacing tje experience we've lost and providing quality cover...
Beggars can't be choosers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gooner23
I don't think we have the pull anymore of signing a top class CB, we are no longer a CL club.
Honestly, I think we are going to need to improve our squad with buys like Sokratis and unearthing decent young talent that are going under the radar.
We can't even compete with the likes of Liverpool and Spurs to a lesser degree for highly rated young talent, I don't think we struggle with the transfer fees or paying the player wages...but we no longer have the pull, I don't think players see Arsenal as an attractive option at the moment.
Fuck me! Is Wenger back??Quote:
Originally Posted by AFC Leveller
Arsenal made a late attempt to sign Fabinho before he joined Liverpool from Monaco, according to Sky sources.
The 24-year-old midfielder is admired by the Gunners' new boss Unai Emery, who tried to sign him at Paris Saint-Germain.
It is understood Arsenal made attempts to land the player over the weekend but he had already decided to join the losing Champions League finalists.
So we are signing a defender who played on one of the worse defensive units in a league with really terrible defending:doh:
I think these are times where we see what was really Wenger's doing and what was the club's doing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy
I'm not happy and, to be honest, very disappointed that we are signing old players, don't care if they're on a free or not, they still require wages. If we want to get 'back up there' we need to be signing younger, proven players. These old players will be out with long term- injuries be fore you can blink twice. Where is the ambition???
There is no point in jumping to conclusions until we've seen what the new coach is capable of. We've appointed Unai Emery for a reason. I think we're going to continue to try and develop youth talent. We have Chambers, Holding and that Greek kid. I think the strategy behind these older signings is to bring in players that can help mentor the youth but also steady the ship and pass on their experience.
I want to see how Emery can improve the current defence before we decide to spend a huge sum on players. If Unai has done his research like they said he did in the interview, this should be part of the plan on how to improve Arsenal and some of the current players.
Koscielny needs to be let go. He is not half the player he used to be and that isnt even world class to start with. Mustafi is a lost cause so lets get what we can for him. I would keep Chambers and Holding. They may be redeemable under a manager who actually knows how to coach. That gives us 3 young CBs with the kid just signed. Lets get 2 wise heads like Chiellini and Lichstensteiner to show them the nuances of defending. Dont know why we after the other 2 Greek guys unless we are dumping both Chambers and Holding.
It's a bit of a gamble though.