There are many very worrying reports that the 30 year-old Arsenal star Santi Cazorla is keen to move back to Spain with Atletico Madrid this summer. Arsene Wenger has totally denied that could happen, but with just one year remaining on his contract Arsenal may just cash in if he refuses an extension.
But the point of this article is ‘who could replace him’ if he goes? One Arsenal rumour going around is saying that the Hoffenheim midfielder Roberto Firmino is the frontrunner, after the Gunners sent scouts to Germany to make enquiries. It has now being reported that the Brazilian will cost the Gunners at least £21.94 million to persuade Hoffenheim to sell. The 23 year-old has been very impressive for the German minnows and is said to be in-demand across Europe.
Another rumour being touted is that Arsenal will make a £70million move for Paul Pogba, but I wouldn’t believe that in a month of Sundays and would be gobsmacked if it actually happened!
Of course we already have lots of classy midfielders in the squad, and the up-and-coming Krystian Bielik has now made his debut for the U18s and could be a possibility.
There is also Serge Gnabry, who has just returned from a long term injury and could return to the squad after playing 10 games for the Gunners last season, and is very highly respected as an all-rounder. Or perhaps even Ryo Miyaichi could come back from Holland as an improved midfielder. Or even Joel Campbell? Or maybe Jon Toral after his exploits this week?
Who would be your choice?
Could Ozil perhaps not do the job unless he is sold on too?
Schneiderlin, as Ozil and Sanchez can play 10. So it has to be b2b or DM, and schneiderlin is my choice.
Isco maybe ? Or promote Crowley
Yeh..think I’d keep Alexis left (his supposed preferred position) and bring Ozil in there after giving him some ‘orientation’ sessions with Tony Adams, Keown and Dixon so that he was less easy to persuade off the ball.
PMSL the thought of the Keown and co giving Ozil a good guttying to toughen him up.
I’m laughing but you never hear me bashing Ozil, I see what he he does for the team.
Seems that the news is a bit slow today. This is a useless article. Just mention any name and than people can think they can write articles.
I’d rather have no articles than read articles that are thought out while the writer is in the loo….
Jeez I can’t please anyone today! I could NOT have picked any player. This article came from 100 headlines saying that Wenger is looking for Cazorla’s replacement. Put it into Google or Newsnow and see for yourself….
make Cazorla a good offer to stay
The fact is that wouldn’t it be just like the management to sell cazorla off to athaletico to maximise their profit on a player? and while Im fully conversant with the idea of running the club as a profit making enterprise, it really wouldn’t surprise me if the Likes of Gnabry was put in as a replacement to save money that they would otherwise spend n a world class replacement.
Ozil will never really be consistent and has not even half the work rate of Cazorla even on a good day and Gnabry is nowhere near as insightfull or skillsfull. Pogba at 70 Million ??? as you say theres about as much chance of that as there is of me kissing a spuds shirt badge, even if it were true that would mean NOT buying any other players for about three seasons.
Bring back Jon Toral, slot him in to deputise for Santi…
Theres also Milner. The rumour that i would love to be true is the one that said we are going after Schneiderlin and Kramer. To really beef up our team you would ideally want more than one warrior. Also in future whenever we are looking at replacing attackers i hope we get ones who are capable of mixing it up like Giroud Sanchez Welbeck, Sanchez is the benchmark. Rocky Diaby Poldi Flamini and if Santi, at least three of them should be gone and two are aging, tall technical robust and of leadership quality is much needed.
If we ever waste £70 million on over priced Pogba then I would lose yet more trust in Wenger. We have overpaid once let’s not make it a norm…
Back to Cazorla replacement, This is why I was so desperate for us to get Cesc back in the summer due to Rosicky, Cazorla, Arteta’s ages. And I hope we can get a real CM if we can, no more experimenting by playing players out of position, this is killing us as a team and club, we are not progressing. Let’s get a real CM or Rosicky type of high energy / high intensity attacking midfielder.
And I would add a strong B2B monster to replace our Ramsey, I love Ramsey and want him to do well be we need a stronger and more athletic player in that position to rotate him with. Schneiderlin, Sissoko, Pogba like but not exactly Pogba himself because to me he is so over priced and he ain’t no Messi or Ronaldo or even Suarez for that price tag.
I think Sissoko is a wonderful player who would thrive @ a club like Arsenal. His pace, power, and direct style is sorely lacking in the current Arsenal set up, and his versatility allows him to slot in @ the No. 10 or B2B when needed. His summer acquisition could actually spell the end of both Santi(sadly) and Jack(time to recoup what ya can).
I could see this line up this fall and honestly it is a more balanced starting 11 than the current squad.
Dybala/Lacazette
Alexis……Ozil/Sissoko…THEO/OX
Schneiderlin….Sissoko/Ramsey
Gibbs…..Koz…..Gab…..Bellerin
Cech
The midfield needs some re enforcement with rosciky arteta flamini ..diaby and particulary if carzola decides not to renew his contract
Beliek and the U18 lost last night and there over all strength seats at the 11 position to have a constant local tap in the U18 must be in pole position U21 must be in pole position to be sustainable club to move players up and across
I like psj verratti ..How expensive would he be would he come to Arsenal and would he fit in arsen wenger system ?
I like Veratti’s combative style, and grace on the ball in midfield, however his transfer fee would demand somewhere between $25-35M. Personally I stink Arsena needs a physical, more direct type of player like Sissoko. Arsenal IMHO is currently unbalanced in the midfield, with Le Coq providing the only semblance of physicality. Pairing him with Schneiderlin, and occasionally slotting him in @ the No. 10 for Ozil(allowing Ramsey B2B role) would bring much needed pace, power and steel to the Arsenal squad.
hanging on to him as long as possible would be preferable, but if he feels he wants to finish his career in spain at athetico i would not as a fan begrudge him that move if that was the only move that was on.
but to let him move on to another rival would be disastrous for us and wenger, if we are looking to replace him this summer then if internally it has o be zelalem or crowely,
if bringing someone in then it has to be someone who is equal in all aspects of his game i.e equally two footed highly technically skilled great dribbling and great vision and work rate.
wenger should consider draxler or pedro(who i personally think would be value for money replacement and gives you the same qualities as corzola and at 27 would be around for his peak)if you sell corzola for £10-12 million then pedro only cost about £10 million once you take off the selling funds that’s a bargain for a quality replacement, draxler would be a more expensive and long term replacement.
as for firminho i am not to familiar with how go he is so i am going with i do know for certain would make good replacements based on requirements needed but lets see what weneger has in store
Here are my alernatives for Cazorla:
• Julian Draxler – Wenger has been a long term fan of Draxler who plays CAM and LW at Schalke 04. We tried to get him in the winter transfer period of 2013/2014 season but ultimately we failed. He is young and regarded as one of the biggest talents in Germany. Julian has been injured most of this season, which is a worry.
• Dennis Praet – We all remember how good Dennis Praet was in the 2 games we played against Anderlecht in the Champions league. This was not a one off, he has been the Golden boot winner in Belgium this year. He is 20 and is a CAM with great close ball control and can deliver splitting passes. A young alternative to Cazorla and affordable.
• Georgino Wijnaldum – Not much in the news in the UK , but this CAM who plays for PSV Eindhoven is having a great season with PSV totally controlling the Eredivisie. He has a total of 13 goals and 2 assists this season. Him and Depay have a great partnership.
• Nabel Fekir – This CAM who plays for Lyon has declared his love for Arsenal. He works extremely will with France’s current top scorer Alexandre Lacazette. If we get both we can continue this strong partnership. Fekir has 10 goals and 6 assists this season.
• Isco – If there is someone that can out do Cazorla on ball trickery it has to be Real Madrid’s Isco. With Isco not getting enough playing time due to Ronaldo and James he could be for sale. However the prices quoted have been ridiculous. I read somewhere € 65 Million. Isco has made 5 goals and 7 assists this season.
• Sterling – One of the biggest talents in the UK at Liverpool. He is holding out on his contract. If Liverpool do not qualify for the Champions League he could be a player that will leave. I am not so sure if Liverpool will sell him to Arsenal though. Sterling has 6 goals and 6 assists so far this season.
good list there i like the isco name drop he would also be a fantastic replacement but very pricy if we could bargin them down to the £30 million mark that would just about do it maybe.
– nabil fekir(could remedy the long standing problem on the left too someone ozil could hit on the counter too) looks good also lighting up the ligue 1 with partner in crime lacazette this i feel would be a double act worthy with a place in our front line and for that i would only except that both come together
– draxler is my personal favourite as he looks the part skills wise and very tactically sound for one so young plus two footed as corzola but as you mentioned injuries might be a hindrance to this one and high price again for one so young
– sterling out of the question me thinks liverpool would not sell him to direct rirval he will be of to real soon anywhoo
– praet looks the business to and price should be reasonable to under the radar like wnegers style, once again great list coyg
i wonder if we get this fabio patricici from juve in the summer, what impact he would have on all future signings would he be under wengers instructions still or would he have full independent control over all aspects of transfers with dick law (i.e prices and wages he seems to have a good contact book of agents from the players he has brought in at juve and a good deal broker, and it might make it easier to work with jorge mendez represented players also as wenger wont have to deal with him at all)
i think if we are getting him in it is a major step and thinking from the boards point of view towards wengers potential replacement and that person not having full control over the club, but football coaching only matters just a though would be interesting to see how it plays out if true.
i would like to see if we got de boer in as manager would he bring overmars in to some kind of director of football as a conduit between the board and coaching staff that would also interest me if were the case but all fantasy talk and way off in the future yet
It’s really funny that so many of you think Cazorla were better than Ozil. If people in England really think so, its absolutely not surprising how ridiculous English football is, when you compare it with the rest of Europe 🙂 It appears as if many many so-called supporters of the game, don’t have the slightest clue of football^^
Its actually simple and most of our options are right in front of us!!Özil is the first and I think the best one:being sidelined and doing some work in the gym might have done wonders. He is playing really well and I think can go 1,2 gear higher hes contributing the way a #10 should with assist and killer pass in the final 3rd and a couple of goals (Just need to assert himself more in big games)…2nd is Wilshere: talent is there, passion is there, tecnique,vision and way more physical than Özil…but it all comes down to him being healthy and consistent I think he needs to make next season he’s own and do just that and no need to buy…#10 is where we have the most talent more than any team in EPL
Also a case could be made for both Sanchez and the Ox