Arsenal need one defender, one midfielder and Dusan Vlahovic and we are good to go….

Players Arsenal Shouldn’t Buy This Summer by Ben Dungate

The season has ended, so in the absence of any actual sporting news, the tabloids will spend the next few months thinking of new ways to peddle the same old tripe, where they link a player on holiday in Dubai and posting it on his Instagram as a direct plea to whatever club happens to play in the colour of shirt he happens to be wearing in the photo. And we can expect Arsenal to be right at the top of the merry-go-round when it comes to ridiculous transfer rumours.

And rightly so…

After the lacklustre end to the season, Arteta and Edu are probably going to spend all summer sweating because they have to get this summer right. Coming 2nd has done MA no favours at all. And coming 2nd in the manner we did was the worst possible scenario. Far better to be gallantly plugging away all season just to be pipped at the end than to see a title challenge collapse like a flan in a cupboard. It puts pressure on the club to get the incoming transfers right, because having spent so much time leading the league expectations are now high. Perhaps unrealistically so.

Arsenal have some outstanding players. We also have some good players, some ok players, some players who might be good one day, and some dross. Unfortunately for us, I expect Chelsea to get it right under Pochettino, Liverpool to recruit where they need to, and for Man Utd to get even better next season.

This makes it even harder for Arteta. Our midfield is not great. It’s not as bad as Liverpool’s, but even Southampton’s midfield is/was better than Liverpool’s! Partey needs help or replacing. It has to be one or the other. He is a magnificent distributor of the ball and can look imperious on occasions, but can also look all at sea. If Declan Rice comes in he needs to replace Partey in my opinion.

Personally, I would prefer we keep him and recruit more sensibly than paying over the odds for Rice.

Rob Holding. A fine character, a decent player, a great squad man, but just not good enough. Kiwior showed enough in those final weeks to make me think he is the real deal and could actually replace Gabriel. In any case we need another CB or we need a RB so Ben White can alternate between the 2 positions as cover.

But I do think we only need 1 defender providing we keep Kieran Tierney. I see retaining his services as critical for next season, and I think he needs to play. Zinchenko can take Xhaka’s role in midfield and can fill in for KT when he inevitably gets injured. And of course we have Tomiyasu. So providing we keep KT and Saliba, and bring in one other we are good at the back.

And we need a striker. We need Vlahovic. Someone who can get 20-30 goals every year. I think the goal spread across our team is fantastic, but imagine Odegaard or Saka or Martinelli getting injured or losing form… I think a club having someone like Haaland or Harry Kane is amazing for the team. Would we not want prime a Van Persie if we had the choice? Of course we would. Every single time. Vlahovic could be the catalyst for something very exciting.

In short then, I think City should be docked points for winning too often, Liverpool should be fined for continuously claiming van Dijk to be the best CB in the world when he isn’t even the best CB at Liverpool, and Chelsea should be thrown out of the league for being deplorable scum lords who ruin football, managers, young players, have no soul and somehow ended up with a worse owner than Ambramovich.

Also, we should buy Dusan Vlahovic, Denzel Dumfries and Sergij Milinkovic-Savic.

Ben Dungate


Now the season is over, it’s time for the summer Arsenal quiz from our friends at Dublin Arsenal – It’s always a laugh and helps while away the time while we wait for Arsenal’s first signings to come in!

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Tags Arsenal transfer window

43 Comments

  1. One defender
    One Midfielder- Moses Caicedo
    One CF like Dusan Vlahovic, Yousuf En-Neysri
    One Right Winger to compete or Back for Saka Possibly, Jarrod Bowen, Olise or Leon Bailey…
    And if funds permits then James Maddison because he can play as Xhaka’s role and Odegaard’s role as well..

      1. We really need at least 4-5 people to keep our momentum which we have got this season…
        One defender must
        One Midfielder must
        One CF must
        And if funds then only we can add another 1 or 2 signings
        But 3 players are must

    1. I’d take Michael Olise in a heartbeat. I’d think he’d be perfect to switch with Saka.

  2. A new CF should be our main priority. Look how Man City made their first goal in FA Cup final and how Haaland handled De Ligt/ Upamecano in UCL with his physical prowess

    A new CB would only be necessary if Saliba, Holding and Trusty leave. I bet Partey and Rice can work as Rodri and Stones did for Man City

    As for a new fullback, it would likely not required because the best two EPL teams this season don’t play with conventional fullback. If Tierney and Tavares stay, we could convert them into wingers and let our new towering CF receive their long crosses

    1. Tavares is a good shout to be a winger but I think Tierney is a fullback and should remain so because there is no guarantee we will stick with the inverted fullback next season.

      KT plays as a left-sided CB for Scotland so could cover for Gabriel at a push. Luke Shaw has demonstrated that shorter fullbacks can play at CB.

      1. I think tierney’s very good in the left of a back 3 – I think he’s done that for us before? That’s how he plays for Scotland right? – but I’d be very worried seeing him at CB in a back 4

      2. Tavares is not well liked by MA and his staff apparently, which is why he was sent to Marseilles. He supposedly has discipline problems. He started extremely well in France even scoring quite a number of goals, however, he became an irritant to his coach and team mates there as well !
        Who knows for sure what the truth is, but it seems unlikely that he will be reintroduced unless he “pulls his socks up”.
        As you know he is physically right for the PL, but I’m not sure that he is susceptible to taking instruction from his coaches !
        There is a caveat regarding everything I’ve just said, because unless we are their in the midst of what is going on, we can not possibly know the truth. If we fail to properly harness him, it will be just another failure by our recruitment team.

      3. If we play with Guardiola’s 3-2-4-1 tactic, we won’t need a fullback and Tierney could play left CB in that formation

        1. Yes! I’d be very interested to see something like this tried. In white and Tierney we have two players who could absolutely thrive in a back 3 with a bit of freedom to step forward.

        2. I am a huge advocate of us trying a 3-4-3 formation. It suits the players we have. It gives us the potential for Tierney to operate as the LCB or wide midfielder. We have better cover to play 3 at the back than we do a standard back 4. White, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Tierney is perfect in my opinion, we just need to stop Zinchenko coming inside or actually play him there or as the wide left in a 3-4-3.

          You have to admire what Howe has done at Newcastle because they use this sort of tactic where it’s really a back 3 with Trippier almost as a RWB. It’s very clever because it allows Schar and Burn to both push forward when they have the ball and leave Botman, their best defender, as the last line. I’d feel very confident having Saliba handle that part should we ever try it.

          1. Arteta tried 3-4-3 with Lacazette, Aubameyang and Willian, but it was a failure. We would likely need a more dominant CF or a towering one like the prime Giroud, Vlahovic and Osimhen to receive long-crosses from the wingbacks

            Howe has Wilson and Isak as target men. Conte is another manager who successfully used that formation to win major trophies, but he did it with strong target men like Vucinic, Costa and Lukaku

            1. And let us not forget Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel, although he used more of a 5-2-3. It’s all about the personnel. Eddie Howe may well have been forced into that formation because his choices at left back weren’t amazing, so by using Dan Burn in a hybrid role it allows Trippier to get forward. We could do exactly the same thing with Zinchenko or Tierney.

      1. I totally agree. I am deadset against us just taking their (and Chelsea’s) hand-me-downs.

        1. Ben – you’re right about hand-me-downs, but do you recall when City was building their empire they took a number of our players. Adebayor, Clichy, Sagna, Nasri, K.Toure and then at the end of his career Patrick Vieira (though not directly from us). Whilst it could be argued that the first five of those named may not have been “cast-offs”, I equally wouldn’t say that City got them necessarily at their peak either, despite winning the PL with them. That might sound like a contradictory statement, I know.
          I guess the point I’m making is that recognising talent from a particular club can reap benefits.
          Admittedly Chelsea cast-offs are generally not successful at our club these days.

          1. I can’t argue with your logic or accuracy of your statement, I guess I just want the club to think a bit bigger. Getting players Like Martinelli and Odegaard has been huge for the club and whilst this is a difficult skill, because not every acquisition will work out, it is worth persevering with because when you do find players like those aforementioned it transform a club and elevate it a level not even the most optimistic fan could’ve predicted. I just don’t think you’re going to get that with players 30+ who have won everything there is to win at least domestically.

          2. This doesn’t hold any water
            City took our best players can we say that the players we are taking are there best players?
            Let’s not get it twisted we will take best players of any top 8 club in EPL not only city, but not there squad players because they are coming from city…. The players we mentioned were our best players and starter’s city didn’t take our fringe players

            1. Gun down –
              “Hold water” – what like a pale, a bucket ?
              “Best players” is a matter of opinion. I was not as big a fan of some of those “best players” you mention. By the time he left Arsenal, I was more than ready to see the back of Kolo Toure as some of his defending became rather “Keystone Kop” in nature (you may or may not remember some of his antics). Clichy to me was never as good as some thought and at best ordinary. I didn’t miss him either. Nasri and Adebayor were probably in their best moments. But this site is, after all, about opinions and my opinion is that I wouldn’t turn down – Gundogan, Cancelo, Mahrez, Dias, Stones – I’d take them all if they were available !

              1. Regardless
                They were key players for us, and best we had in their positions when they moved to city, whether you rate them or not, I want us to take a key player from city then we will not be having this discussion, not their surplus or aged players they are looking to move on, let’s take Diaz,foden,De Brynne, Rodri etc then we will not be here debating, as stated above, I will take best players from any EPL top 8 side not only city, if we can’t take their best then let’s move on and look elsewhere, this is arsenal not city 2nd 11

                1. Oh yes, I forgot about Foden. I’d have him as well. One thing I would say about MA is that he shouldn’t try too hard to imitate his mentor
                  and he should have his own brand of method. Mind you he’s still feeling his way around (I know it’s three and a half years and counting).
                  I think he is comfortable with players who he knew well at City and I wouldn’t blame him for trying to recapture that.
                  Do you believe he will bring us honours or do you have serious doubts ?

                  1. Still feeling his way around?
                    He will be 4 years in the job in few months, how many years does he need before we stop this his a young manager? How many years did it take gadiola to establish himself as one if the best, lampard is just a year older in coaching, and never had the luxury of working with Asene or Gadiola..

                    1. I am on the fence as to whether he will take us to the promise land, he had shown so many good stuffs at the same time he has shown quite some lapses, the way he manages his weakness is what will show if he will be successful or not.. We have invested a lot into his project so all we can do is hope it works well for all parties and he makes it as one of our greatest managers, his success is arsenals success regardless

                    2. GD – let’s keep our fingers crossed for the guys next season. We’ll probably have a better idea of what the future holds in time to come. Take care.

  3. Let’s say we bring in 5 new players.

    GK – we are fine in this position, maybe promote Hein..?

    Wingers – we are okay here too as it seems Nelson is stating. Saka, Martinelli, Nelson, Nketiah, ESR. We could do another winger but this position is not the most urgent.

    Fullback – White, Zinc, Tomi, Tavares, these are our options at the moment as KTs departure seems immident. Tavares likely to follow. Buying a RB probably means White playing occasionally RCB. A new LB is most likely to happen.

    CBs – rotation for Saliba needed. I think Saliba will extend.

    ST – very much needed. Jesus will need competition.

    Midfield – the most urgent position, 2 new players required.

    So if we are prioritising and we would bring 5 new players, I’d say:

    Midfielder (DM)
    Midfielder (CM)
    Striker
    Fullback
    Winger

  4. Ben,

    I support your idea of signing Dusan vlahovic as main straker , some time Jesus can play as winger, then Eddie Nketiah should be dispatch and give balogun chance to prove himself

  5. Guarantee to succssed if ;
    Priority one; We get Declan Rice to partner Partey
    Priority two; We get Vlahovic, to play alongside Jesus, Martinelli, Saka, Trossard.
    Priority Three: Extend Saliba on long term contract.
    We must break the bank to acquire the players we need and shift the dead wood, Pepe, Cedric, Maitland Niles.

  6. CF-to Compete with Jesus (Elye Wahi)
    RW- to compete with Saka (Michael Olise)
    CM-Xhaka’ replacement (Teun Koopmeiners)
    DM- Rice/Caiceido
    LB-If Tierney leaves
    CB-to compete with saliba
    Seems Arsenal are interested in signing a RB both Fresneda/Sacha Boey linked with a move to Arsenal

    3 players won’t elevate the Arsenal squad to UCL standard 6/7 signings then we ready

  7. “We need Vlahovic. Someone who can get 20-30 goals every year”
    I don’t think think this is the argument for getting a cf like Vlahovic – it’s his ability to hold up and use the ball intelligently, to make sure our attacks are not ended too quickly when the pass goes into the striker, as can happen when the CF is too easily bullied. It’s not about the goals the CF scores, we have enough in the side already, it’s about team cohesion and bossing opponents.
    We could theoretically sign the greatest goalscorer in the world, but if they aren’t well rounded in their general play or don’t fit well into the team, we would end up scoring less, conceding more and winning less overall. This is why utd re-signing the ageing Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t work, for example.
    I *do* think (but don’t know) that Vlahovic is the right kind of cf for us, but this is still an important distinction because we could well end up signing someone else who is better at holding the ball, but is weaker in front of goal, and they might still be a great signing.

    1. @Sekitya, nice, IMO, Vlahovic doesn’t want Arsenal so let’s pick good players from a box of gunner lovers not the ones we have to beg,

      Ivan tooney, Watkins, Lukaku 😁, and a host of others in other unpopular leagues,

      We need technical players with stamina and speed in our midfield,so IMO, it has to be either Rice/Caicedo and 2 others (Zubimendi, Savic and Urgate),

      Cancelo, Dumfries and Matt Cash, should be defenders we should at.

    2. Ivan Toney could be a bargain.

      His suspension ends in the middle of January 2024.

      If we could get him for say $30m, it would be much cheaper than the other forwards we have been looking at.

      He could train with us, he just couldn’t play until January, but would be available for the end of season run in!!!

      We could sell Jesus to Real Madrid, keep Balogun and see how he works out…

      possible win/win

  8. Reasons we lost the titles were Partey loss of form, Saliba/Tomiyasu injuries and lack of replacement for Jesus/Saka.

    2 CM/DM one to replace Xhaka and another to alternate with them. Partey, Rice, Caicedo and Jorginho to challenge for the PL and CL. Rotate between the 3 and Jorginho as the experienced back up. Partey is 30 this year Caicedo can be lured to compete/cover him and take over in 1 or 2 season.

    A CB or RB to cover for Saliba as both White and Tomi can play CB.

    A striker who can also cover RW or only a winger if Balogun proves himself a worthy replacement.

    If we can afford it a cover for Odeggard as Vieira isn’t ready at all.

    1. ESR is the major unknown here, He can be the ideal cover for Odeggard but it seems he is being trained to replace Xhaka. He can also cover on the wings

  9. Kiwior is not to replace Gabriel and Zinchenko is not meant to replace Xhaka in midfield either. It’s like you never studied Arteta’s tactic at all. We need total control and dominance to suffocate the opponents. With back 4 turning back 3 with either fullback inverting (Zinchenko and now Partey) while Kiwior can play all 3 CB variations. Further backups in Tomiyasu as inverted role or CBs while Tierney now can stay and learn to play LCB like White did with RCB. We tend to think new players are automatically better than existing players but never gave existing players time to improve. Just look at Man City players who’s been there for years now. Especially Stones and Rodri. And look how Akanji plays. Any role in defence. We buy new players for the very reason that they had time to play and improve their craft in other clubs. Every first eleven players at Arsenal are miles better than how they were when Arteta arrived. Just look at Odegaard, Xhaka, Martinelli and Gabriel this season. Such absurd thinking is the reason why we let Gnabry go and complain while complain to let Nelson go. Ridiculous.

  10. @Sekitya, nice, IMO, Vlahovic doesn’t want Arsenal so let’s pick good players from a box of gunner lovers not the ones we have to beg,

    Ivan tooney, Watkins, Lukaku 😁, and a host of others in other unpopular leagues,

    We need technical players with stamina and speed in our midfield,so IMO, it has to be either Rice/Caicedo and 2 others (Zubimendi, Savic and Urgate),

    Cancelo, Dumfries and Matt Cash, should be defenders we should at.

    1. Jonathon David and Ollie Watkins are both Arsenal fans. If Balogun wants to be a Prima Donna he can do it elsewhere. David would be a fabulous player for us, although I worry he might suffer from the same problem Lacazette did, where he is a great team guy and leader but just doesn’t score enough, and we’ve already got one of those.

  11. The three wise men.

    Tapsoba
    Caicedo
    Vlohovic

    They would equip us enough to wrestle away the big jug

  12. Pretty much on the ball there. Depends on the quality though, and it would make a huge difference if we had a proper wing back and allowed White and Tomiyasu to play in their natural positions.

  13. I agree to the idea of going for Vlahovic but I doubt Dumphreys is coming, he wants to stay on at Inter. Also, I think Caicedo is being linked strongly to Arsenal and also Lavia and JWP of Southampton are good choices for the midfield. As for defence, I would go in for an experienced PL defender rather than a high money overseas defender.

  14. Gabriel Jesus out
    E.Nketiah out
    T.partey out
    Holding out
    Jorginho out
    Elniney out
    B.white out

  15. I would opt for;y
    CM- Rice, Caicedo
    CB- Back up for Saliba
    RB- A top RB
    CF- Vlahovic along side Martinelli,Saka, Jesus, Nelson,Trossard
    Get rid of Nketiah as he easily gets bullied when facing top defenders as in champions league clubs.

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