Arsenal are believed to be very close to agreeing two key transfers this week, but will there be more big signings?
The Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has claimed he is looking to bring in three big signings this summer, before playing down his own statement by insisting that Rob Holding was a big signing, albeit for only £2.5 Million.
Riyad Mahrez is widely reported to be very close to completing a move from Leicester City in the current window, with his club believed to have agreed to allow him to leave should he see out the previous campaign.
Alexandre Lacazette is also believed to have had a similar agreement with Lyon, with his club having revealed that they agreed to allow the French striker to quit the club this summer.
The 26 year-old was believed to be close to agreeing a move to Atletico Madrid in recent months, before the Spanish giants lost out on their appeal to lift a transfer ban, and are subsequently unable to register new players until the new year.
Arsenal have since waded in with their own move for Lacazette, and are now confirmed to be extremely close to completing a deal, at least according to the French side.
A striker and attacking option being brought into the side may well open the door for Alexis Sanchez to quit the club, which looks extremely likely following his comments whilst on international duty with Chile this week, and his exit will surely bring in money which will be spent on other areas.
His fee will likely cover a huge portion of the deal with Lyon, but our squad needs much more added to it if we are to seriously challenge for the Premier League title this term.
Will we continue to add strength to our squad this term? Will we need further attacking players with Mahrez and Lacazette coming in for Alexis?
Pat J
Lacazette and Mahrez alone will not be enough to cover if Sanchez leaves but they were good additions to compliment Sanchez. l personally don’t think we will complete all the deals this week because you have someone like Sanchez who might be waiting to see who we sign before he makes his decision (that’s if he hasn’t made it already). We still need reinforcements in the midfield depending on whether Ozil and the Ox will stay. The transfer window is far from being concluded and we will still be checking for update every second minute like we are doing now till the end of July.
Ozil? No single expression of interest in him lol.
I saw the brief post match interview that Sanchez gave during the Confeds Cup. I weren’t too impressed as it really looked like he just wanted to come and say f*?@ Arsenal and seemed a bit indignant.
However, given what’s been flying around the press, and the internet of recent weeks, it could also be that my perception is a bit skewed and I’m reading things that aren’t necessarily real ! Probably to hide my own disappointment if he does go
Definitely not completing the majority of our business this week. The thing that I’m most confused about with our transfer links is that Mahrez and Ozil essentially like to do the same things. They like to dictate the game from the right side with their left foot. While their skill set is different they are very much the same player. Of our two superstars Ozil seems the most likely to stay so how Wenger would incorporate both lefties into the lineup would be interesting to see considering he’s gone on record saying he wants to keep the system we finished so strongly with. Lemar I think he sees as long term Santi replacement in the middle of the park but with Seri, Goretzka and Ceballos all available he might be missing out here on someone young and established in the middle whereas Lemar has been on the wing more often.
The gap with some of the top 7 teams is too big to reasonable set the PL title as our goal. It will be difficult enough to get back into the top 4 and an achievement that would be good enough in my book, anything more is simply upside.
I think if we set the PL title as our goal we are once again going to be divided and at odds with each other come January – March next year. Why set a reasonable goal and be happy with it. Wenger is capable of delivering a 4th place (but that is no guarantee) anything more is not having learned from the past 13 years and he is here for at least 2 more years.
So I support him on what I think he can deliver but I won’t demand a pl title from him.
For a PL title, we need radical change and that won’t happen anytime soon. So we can refuse to accept that and suffer for the next 2 years or we can embrace that and hope and support the team in their effort to get back to the top 4.
Guess there will be many angry and disillusioned fans (not me) next April when it dawns on them that winning the PL is not going to happen.
Just out of curiosity can someone of the 18 who thumbed me down on that, explain to me what makes them think we can win the PL next season and why that is a reasonable target?
How many teams that have played Thursday night Europa League have won the PL?
I think we need at least five players to have a chance of winning the premiership, lazarette and mahrez won’t be enough to compensate for the loss of Alexis Sanchez, but still good players and i think a goalkeeper and a defensive midfielder is. Important too
Leno is a decent keeper, we have quietly been linked to him and he would cost half as much as Butland. But I doubt that Wenger would want to spend much on a keeper, what with Rob Green been linked ? ? his probably just looking for a cheap third choice option.
i support your comment but not really a defensive midfielder.. i would go for an attacking midfielder in place of cazorla who is struggling to come back from his injury. when we lost him (cazorla) we lost the engine of the team. So for me Mahrez yes but he is winger and lacazette yes, but these two are not enough. two more signings will do, an attacker and a gkeeper.
Reading the most recent tea leaves it seems the following players have at least one foot out the Emirates door.
Giroud
Sanchez
Ox
Gibbs
Losing Ox and Sanchez would be painful, esp to hated EPL rivals but if Arsenal were able to sign Lemar, Goretska and Carvalho with the proceeds from these sales wouldnt Arsenal be a stronger and much younger squad for the future.
Laca
Lemar…Ozil
Saed…Xhaka…Goretska..HB
Boss…Mustafi…Holding
Or
Laca
Lemar…Ozil…Welbeck
Carvalho…Goretska
Saed…Boss…Holding…HB
Cech
In a perfect world
Laca
Sanchez..Ozil..Lemar
Xhaka…Goretska
Saed…Boss…Holding…HB
Cech
I hope Arsenal sign Riyad Mahrez too.He’s those kind of players who you expect to beat almost every defender.He makes dribbling look so easy.I remember him tearing us apart in 14/15.I heard some funny things from our fans saying that him and Ozil being in the same team will be bad and that he’s lazy.It’s a shame that our club has turned into this.Can someone name a season where a team lost the title because of a player’s laziness.Even in the csse of Arsenal no one has ever blamed us for not winning the title due to any player’s laziness.The thing is about looking at the bigger picture.You need to look at whether the players in team are playing to their strengths.That’s the most important thing.If Ozil played to his strength no one would mention anything about laziness.I hope we sign Riyad Mahrez.
I don’t believe this Mahrez of a thing. Wenger should, and I believe he will, look for a younger midfielder. German preferred but French is not bad either.
That’s why I think Lemar option is still alive. Monaco coach, Jardim, is touted to replace Wenger. He might just be feathering his ‘future’ nest.
just saying my opinion.
Riyad Mahrez has suddenly became the Gooners’ favorite winger summer signing for Arsenal. Have the Gooners jettisoned Thomas Lermar possible signing by Arsenal this summer? Is it because Lermar’s Dad is reported in the media to have said: “Arsenal should look elsewhere, his son will not leave Olympique Lyonnais this summer”.
Notwithstanding, Arsenal should take note, when a Dad of a rising football star makes such a noisy comment, he needs money. He wants Arsenal to include him in the deal payment for his 21 year old son so that he’ll get paid too before he’ll give his blessing to his son to accept Arsenal proposal to hire his services. Apart of the transfer fee which Monaco want Arsenal to up before they’ll say yes, If Lemar’s father will constitute the final hurdle to be crossed before Arsenal get Lermar, let Arsenal pay him then to get what they want provided by doing that will not get Arsenal into trouble with the football authorities.
I think Lemar is in Monaco, not Lyonnais
We need a defensive midfielder as number one priority.william from sporting lisbon for me will do.a good goalkeeper and a proper striker.
what we’ve got to remember is even though we’re linked with every player under the sun right not and everybody……..well at least on this site are working out their own permutations and line ups. even if we do get all our targets / signings, if everybody’s just gonna be doing there own thing on the pitch then we won’t be any better equipped than last season.
Get the players, get a proper working defensive and offensive formation, get the tactics right for every game and not just every second or thirds saturday, then we’ll have a team capable of producing
There are just three more players I long to see arrive:
Thomas Lemar
Antoine Lacazzette/Kylian Mbappe
Nainggollan
Sell all the deadwoods