Summer Transfer Speculation and Shit

[Power n Glory]

I think there could be a little flexibility in terms of the star quality of any CFs that we're looking at, depending on who else we might be signing, and how we intend to play once everyone is in? If all we're planning on doing [with regards to strengthening the attack] is to bring in a single CF, then i'd say that player needs to be something pretty damn special; if, on the other hand, we're looking at making 2 or 3 signings across the attack (e.g. any combination of a CF plus a goal-scoring winger, and/or cover/competition for Walcott, and/or cover/competition for Ramsey, etc), then I think we could realistically look at some of the less exciting CF options that we've been linked with? Someone like Mandzukic, for example, who is still a good player, but is largely dismissed as being 'only an upgraded version of Giroud', could work well for us, if we beefed up some of our other attacking options, as could someone like a Bony or a Benteke (i.e. PL-ready strikers who can hold their own up front, bring others into the attack, and some attributes that we lack like pace, even if they won't win us games on their own)? Obviously the ideal option would be a combination of those two choices, where we get two or three players in, and every one of them is super-awesome, but I'm just don't think that's likely - I think it will be one or the other at best (and, incidentally, it doesn't sound like Morata really fits the bill either way).

At the moment, and as appealing as the elite striker option is, my gut-feeling is that option two might be the smarter move? I can't think of too many elite strikers around at the moment who are realistic options, and who would satisfy everyone, but there do seem to be dozens of quality wingers, wide-attackers and goal-scoring midfielders around at the moment who I think we could get (some of which are available at extremely low prices), and several very good (if not-quite-world-class) CFs, who I also think would jump at the chance of moving here? I'm also worried that we'd be wasting our time going for anyone too elite, and that we could end up getting dicked around all summer only to end up with nothing again?

That's fair enough. I'm not so bothered about the name, it's more about the quality. I just don't want some kid whose getting his first taste of first team football.

[Heisenberg]

We certainly suffered from the fact that it was Walcott and Ramsey who got injured. There were spells in the first half that one was out but we still had the other making the runs in behind. Had we lost almost any other two players, say Cazorla and Wilshere, for that period of time, we would obviously have missed something but we probably wouldn't have lost such a big part of our attack. As a result, I hope we sign someone to go on the left who can do a similar job to what Walcott does from the right, ie. makes runs down the wing or in behind. Even if Giroud is still spearheading the attack, if we have enough runners from behind, that's what's going to let Ozil excel if he's running at a defence with options either side of him.

[I am invisible]

That's fair enough. I'm not so bothered about the name, it's more about the quality. I just don't want some kid whose getting his first taste of first team football.

No, me either. Obviously anyone who comes in has to be of a certain standard (i.e. good enough to come in and do a job straight away), but I think Pedro at Le-Grove has been talking a lot of sense when he says that we need to be scouting attributes, and not necessarily names and reputations (and price-tags) - pace, power, and ultimately more goals is what we need to add, and there's several ways we can do that...

[Kano]

The way I see it, we suffered just as much from losing Ramsey and Walcott as we did from not having a second striker to rotate Giroud with, and we need to make sure that situation doesn't happen again. Up until Christmas (i.e. before we lost everyone to injury) there was no great problem with how we were playing - in fact we were top of the table, on merit, and that was with Giroud up front and just one other willing runner / goal-scorer in the starting XI (Ramsey) - so I don't think it's unreasonable to think that we could have kept that run going, if we'd had two or three extra players across the attack to keep everyone fit and fresh, and to cover for absences (even if our competition for Giroud was only a slight improvement on him)? We definitely need to inject more 'world-class' into the side, but I'm not as hung up on it absolutely having to be through the CF position as some - I think there's other ways we can make this work.

The biggest problem the club has to overcome is the injury issue. Even when we had 4/5 strikers our team would be decimated in key positions, be it defensive, midfield or upfront. The way we train and prepare has to be changed otherwise we'll just go through the same thing again and again. With a manager at his age, the idea of changing things like that is very unlikely. Of course as a man steeped in the sport for so long he has earned the right to be stubborn with his knowledge, no doubt about that. However, the injury problem won't just go away by itself and without new ideas, we'll probably keep falling off as we do every season.

[I am invisible]

We certainly suffered from the fact that it was Walcott and Ramsey who got injured. There were spells in the first half that one was out but we still had the other making the runs in behind. Had we lost almost any other two players, say Cazorla and Wilshere, for that period of time, we would obviously have missed something but we probably wouldn't have lost such a big part of our attack. As a result, I hope we sign someone to go on the left who can do a similar job to what Walcott does from the right, ie. makes runs down the wing or in behind. Even if Giroud is still spearheading the attack, if we have enough runners from behind, that's what's going to let Ozil excel if he's running at a defence with options either side of him.

When we have everyone fit, then I think the balance we have [between big, burly target-man and more mobile, technical runners and goal-scorers] is a good one, and something that's quite hard to defend against: sit too deep to counter the technical ball-players and runners (as teams have done against us for years) and it plays to your target-man's strengths; push high to force the target-man away from goal and it plays into the hands of the runners. The problem, as with all collective strengths, is that it gets less effective the more component parts you lose, so the trick is to make sure that you have plenty of spares!

[I am invisible]

The biggest problem the club has to overcome is the injury issue. Even when we had 4/5 strikers our team would be decimated in key positions, be it defensive, midfield or upfront. The way we train and prepare has to be changed otherwise we'll just go through the same thing again and again. With a manager at his age, the idea of changing things like that is very unlikely. Of course as a man steeped in the sport for so long he has earned the right to be stubborn with his knowledge, no doubt about that. However, the injury problem won't just go away by itself and without new ideas, we'll probably keep falling off as we do every season.

Fact!

Although, to be fair, more players would go a long way to helping ease this problem - when you're constantly working the same handful of players to breaking point, then it's one of those things that can very quickly snowball.

At least Wenger has mentioned the need for an inquest in this area - whether or not they'll find the right answers and make the necessary changes is another matter, but at least it sounds like there's a chance o fit happening, which is something.

[Munchies]

@SkySportsNews

SKY SOURCES: Liverpool make improved £25m bid for Southampton's Adam Lallana #SSN

--
Alot of money!

[Grebbo]

I hope not Grebbo, another summer like last season scrambling around at the close of the window will not be acceptable. We all know what we need, there are no excuses not to make the necessary signings, the money IS there.

I am not panicking yet...but I would hope to see us doing business pretty early, if It means we have to overpay to get the necessary quality in this summer then so be it.

I do kind of agree that we must have sold the clubs vision/our future to Ozil pretty well...but whether that means we sold him a vision of our "Player recruitment policy" remains to be seen.

Of course everyone would prefer to get the business done early but surely you'd be happy with another last minute scramble if it resulted in us signing another world class player like Ozil??

Surely the scramble is better than buying someone now and then finding out later that we could have got someone better like Benz/Di Maria etc if we'd of waited for RM to sign their annual Gallactico.

I really don't see many big players moving before the world cup has finished.

I'm just gonna enjoy the fact that we won the FA Cup and sit back and enjoy the WC. Whatever happens in the transfer market isn't going to bother me this season as much as it used to. I really think the Ozil signing was a sign that we're not shopping for average any more.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

They rave about his potential in Spain (the pundits), seems to be based on his reputation with the B team though as whenever I see him for Real he's like a headless chicken.

Yeah that's him.

He Guillem Balague or just the English Journo's abroad?

I tend to agree though....he does strike me as somewhat of a project. He hasn't exactly made it in Spain yet never mind coming over here and being roughed up. Plenty of tackles for him to make in midfield if he wants to though. That said, I haven't seen a terrible amount of him (no pun intended, or maybe I do) so I don't really know how much potential he has.

I'm still hoping we go back in for Draxler to be honest because I think he probably has the ability to be as good as he wants to be and Wenger is obviously an admirer. I think the cost as is often will be the issue though but I strangely agree with the hipster pop cultural view that he just be an awesome CF one of these days.

[milla]

I'm still hoping we go back in for Draxler to be honest because I think he probably has the ability to be as good as he wants to be and Wenger is obviously an admirer. I think the cost as is often will be the issue though but I strangely agree with the hipster pop cultural view that he just be an awesome CF one of these days.

Both of Reus and Draxler would make a perfect fake no 9 striker for Arsenal.