Winter Transfer Missed Opportunities and Regrets

[HCZ_Reborn]

There’s three types of loan deal

No option to purchase, which is basically when a bigger club wants one of their youngsters to get more game time than they are at the parent club

Option to purchase, sometimes a try before you buy sometimes just a sticking plaster…I think Sterling was in the latter category

Obligation to purchase, which was what we had with Raya where we clearly wanted to sign him outright but wanted to shunt the actual purchase onto next year’s books.


Mathys Tel, The Dopey Irish boy from Brighton, Vlahovic etc all been touted as options on loan. I suspect all would come with option to buy…although who knows maybe we don’t want to be obligated into buying is why we haven’t sealed the deal with them

[Mac76]

Duran would soon have his ability to score worldies coached out of him anyway.

I have to say I'm increasingly of that opinion, it doesn't matter who we buy, Arteta will play them out of position or in a system/role that doesn't get the best out of them

I think players like Martinelli would be a revelation in another side which played more to their strengths

[HCZ_Reborn]

I have to say I'm increasingly of that opinion, it doesn't matter who we buy, Arteta will play them out of position or in a system/role that doesn't get the best out of them

I think players like Martinelli would be a revelation in another side which played more to their strengths

Yet interestingly he doesn’t seem to buy a type of player that does play how he wants us to play. A big lump of a striker. As one of my few Arsenal supporting mate often says, someone even like Chris Wood would clean up for goals in our team.


Trossard, Martinelli, Saka and Odegaard whatever their other attributes are good at creating chances for others. Now even with the laboriously slow build up play, you look at some of the crosses Trossard has put in, in the last couple of games. Player like Wood would gobble those up like Pac-Man.

Yet in five years never remotely shown interest in that type of player

[Mac76]

Yet interestingly he doesn’t seem to buy a type of player that does play how he wants us to play. A big lump of a striker. As one of my few Arsenal supporting mate often says, someone even like Chris Wood would clean up for goals in our team.


Trossard, Martinelli, Saka and Odegaard whatever their other attributes are good at creating chances for others. Now even with the laboriously slow build up play, you look at some of the crosses Trossard has put in, in the last couple of games. Player like Wood would gobble those up like Pac-Man.

Yet in five years never remotely shown interest in that type of player

yes the striker role for him seems a bit like his attitude to LB - he simply doesn't like the trad LB role, even though whenever Tierney plays he clearly demonstrates what it can bring both in defence and attack.

likewise he wants a stiker to do multiple things including defend etc, all of which waters down their effectiveness up front.

tbh even Havertz would probably look less kanckered and miss fewer chances if he was just told to stay up front

[HCZ_Reborn]

Arteta for me seems to want attacking football that doesn’t risk anything at the back, and it just doesn’t exist

Even on the counter attack, you can get dispossessed by pressing teams, you can misplace a pass and put yourself in trouble

21_Gunner_Salute made the argument that it feels like we don’t go for goals to kill off games even when we are in front. And often when we’ve been pegged back it’s been a result of sitting back on what we have. With the paucity in striking options I can understand that with ten men, but I think take Villa for example…the reason it got back to 2-2 is because we dropped back at 2-1.

[HCZ_Reborn]

yes the striker role for him seems a bit like his attitude to LB - he simply doesn't like the trad LB role, even though whenever Tierney plays he clearly demonstrates what it can bring both in defence and attack.

likewise he wants a stiker to do multiple things including defend etc, all of which waters down their effectiveness up front.

tbh even Havertz would probably look less kanckered and miss fewer chances if he was just told to stay up front

If I’m being hugely generous I can understand the inverted full back role when you’re playing away at city or Liverpool etc. Basically it’s putting an extra man in midfield and means you have control of the game. It’s not something I especially buy into because what you gain in control you lose in attack, but I can understand it and it’s proven reasonably successful

Against most teams it’s utterly unnecessary.

RE Havertz, the one thing that fucks me off about Jesus is that he doesn’t show for the ball, I can forgive players missing chances if they are getting themselves in position. And for all Havertz’s running off the ball he’s always there on the end of chances even if he is fluffing them….which seems to me more about confidence than exhaustion

[Niall_Quinn]

Yet interestingly he doesn’t seem to buy a type of player that does play how he wants us to play. A big lump of a striker. As one of my few Arsenal supporting mate often says, someone even like Chris Wood would clean up for goals in our team.


Trossard, Martinelli, Saka and Odegaard whatever their other attributes are good at creating chances for others. Now even with the laboriously slow build up play, you look at some of the crosses Trossard has put in, in the last couple of games. Player like Wood would gobble those up like Pac-Man.

Yet in five years never remotely shown interest in that type of player

That's why Gyokeres is the most obvious answer. Not only can he do a convincing impersonation of Chris Wood but he often be mistake for Shearer on occasion (not kicking players in the face but getting into the danger area and bullying his way into the net), but he can also do a lot of the other things that appeal to Arteta. Vlahovic is not far behind though definitely more Chris Wood than Chris Waddle. Cunha not so much, he'd definitely be your tippy tappy "danger" man with his back to goal for 90 minutes. I don't even think Isak would be guaranteed success here, we just don't play that slashing transition from back to front that Wenger spoiled us with. Isak at 3mph would be much of an improvement over the ret of the team chugging along at 1mph.

Why don't we just show a bit of ambition, break the bank for Gyokeres and go on and win the damn thing? Even if we didn't win it this year I;d be a lot more confident we could give it a go next year and the years after.

[Niall_Quinn]

If I’m being hugely generous I can understand the inverted full back role when you’re playing away at city or Liverpool etc. Basically it’s putting an extra man in midfield and means you have control of the game. It’s not something I especially buy into because what you gain in control you lose in attack, but I can understand it and it’s proven reasonably successful

Against most teams it’s utterly unnecessary.

RE Havertz, the one thing that fucks me off about Jesus is that he doesn’t show for the ball, I can forgive players missing chances if they are getting themselves in position. And for all Havertz’s running off the ball he’s always there on the end of chances even if he is fluffing them….which seems to me more about confidence than exhaustion

Probably confidence AND exhaustion. The focus is on him fluffing his lines up front, but he covers a serious amount of ground over 90 minutes. You put Cunha in there and see what happens.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Arteta for me seems to want attacking football that doesn’t risk anything at the back, and it just doesn’t exist

Even on the counter attack, you can get dispossessed by pressing teams, you can misplace a pass and put yourself in trouble

21_Gunner_Salute made the argument that it feels like we don’t go for goals to kill off games even when we are in front. And often when we’ve been pegged back it’s been a result of sitting back on what we have. With the paucity in striking options I can understand that with ten men, but I think take Villa for example…the reason it got back to 2-2 is because we dropped back at 2-1.

Exactly this, it's been like it all season.

When we get in front it's like we shut up shop and only go for a goal if the opportunity is gifted to us.

Incredibly frustrating.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Probably confidence AND exhaustion. The focus is on him fluffing his lines up front, but he covers a serious amount of ground over 90 minutes. You put Cunha in there and see what happens.

We already did at the weekend, a shot over the bar, one wide and not much else.

We have plenty of that already.