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If we knew it would be hard getting a 3rd choice CB, we shouldn’t have sold Vermaelen, regardless of whatever any on GW thinks of his quality. Monreal shouldn’t be an option as CB and will most likely be needed to fill in for Gibbs whose very injury prone. We’re stretching ourselves thin for no reason and making negotiations harder for ourselves.
With Tommy V's sale our net spend has been approx 48 mill this summer - but have we actually strengthened what should be our starting line up. Sanchez prefers to play in a role that Walcott does, so unless we play him elsewhere it could be argued that we only have a stronger squad. Debauchy is no stronger than Sagna & Chambers is defensive cover.
Most of us on here would agree that the area of improvement for the past few years has been a proper defensive midfielder ( the last one we had was Gilberto ) & since RVP's departure a proper goal scorer. As stubborn as he is, Wumger knew we had to improve up top which is why we made the moves last year for Suarez & Higuin. Those moves didn't happen & we spent a club record on Ozil & it could be argued that this didn't strengthen our starting line up.
I am not asking Wumger to have a world class player in every position, some may agree that someone like Gibbs makes too many errors but he's just about good enough but the real strength of a team is its spine. Our starting spine includes Atreta & Giroud which simply isn't good enough, we know it, Wumger knows it but at the moment it seems another window goes by without doing anything about it.
I think we’ve strengthened in attack and will be stronger in that area compared to last year. I’m still hoping Wenger will play Sanchez through the middle and it’s interesting to see where he plays Walcott once back fully fit. Sanogo will hopefully get his act together, same goes for Giroud, Ox will get a full season, Campbell adds some pace and firepower….Ozil has more targets to aim his passes. I think we’ll be dangerous on attack with or without a traditional 30 goal striker. We have a couple more players that can add something different to the squad so we won’t have to resort to playing midfield players like Jack, Rosicky, Cazorla on the flanks all the time. A top striker would be a bonus though.
My main concern is at the back and our strongest area last season could be at its weakest. We have to pray we keep the starting line up fit through the season. Also, Arteta as captain means we won’t be buying a DM any time soon, which is a disappointment. That’s another weak area we should have addressed. Other than that, we’ve improved. We’ve got a better back up keep as well who will be pushing for the first team.
That's exactly what we needed. Our 'starting line up' was top of the league for much of the season last year, it was when we got injuries to key players and the players coming in weren't up to it that we struggled more. A fit Walcott and Ramsey last year and we'd have been much closer IMO - and we were only 7 points off as it was.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
Yeah I find it strange that we have let Vermaelen leave without any replacement in place. I actually thought the move for Vermaelen was delayed because we were searching for a replacement before we sanctioned his sale. I dunno...Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
Obviously Chambers has given Arsene something to think about with his displays at CB since he has joined, but it is an unnecessary gamble having to rely on him in his first season to cover such an important position.
I am not panicking just yet but hope/expect to see some sort of action in regards to a new CB coming in.
Monreal should be discounted as a legitimate CB option...he would get eaten alive against physical strikers in PL, it's absurd to even suggest he can play there at a high level.
Ofcourse its important to strengthen the squad but my point is that we have spent £40+ mill on Ozil & £30+ mill on Sanchez & not improved the areas where we are weakest. When we spend that kind of money it has to be on a top player that is going to start most weeks & greatly improves us as a team. You don't spend that kind of money with the idea " at least we've improved our squad ".Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
I don't understand why you keep harping an about last year. City started poorly, if they hadn't the 7 point gap would have been larger & they have improved their area's of weakness ie Mangala to partner Kompany at the expense of the suspect Di Michelis.
Chelsea have addressed their striker issue & added the quality of Fabregas in midfield.
With the teams we're up against this year would Arteta & Giroud get anywhere need their stating line-up?
Sonogo, Giroud & Campbell wouldn't get a sniff as strikers in the teams we're competing with. Simply not good enough. We can't rely on "hopefully" Sonogo will get his act together, the guys legs don't react to his brain - not if you want to compete with the teams we're up against.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
The Arteta captain is another typical Wumger move. Our lack of leadership on the pitch has not been resolved since Viera left. Are we going to keep naming captains that actually aren't good enough to be in the starting 11 - who else does that?
You have to believe a fit Ramsey and Walcott would have been worth at least 7 points. And I'm not even talking about the big defeats. We lost to Stoke ffs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
I don't understand why you keep moaning your tits off when we've just won the FA Cup, got our highest points total for years and spent well in the summer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
After years of frustration we've finally won a trophy and we've now got the money to improve the squad, which we've done.
Your comparing the striker position. That’s one man. But you don’t think we have the 3 strongest players playing behind the striker and either side in Cazorla/Ox, Ozil, Sanchez/Walcott? I don’t think we have anything at all to fear when looking at our rivals on attack. In fact, if Wenger finally decides to play Walcott as striker or plays Sanchez as the striker, I think we have no problems at all. It’s the defensive midfield and lack of options at the back that’s really thin. I’d be happy for a beast of a striker to come in but the foundation of our success last season was down to good defending. I think we could be trouble this year with one or two injuries.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine