It has been a long and frustrating June for Arsenal fans, with the Gunners being linked to all and sundry, but without making any confirmed signings.
That changes from now, as Fabrizio Romano has confirmed in the Guardian that, not only have Arsenal concluded their first deal, but are very close to making our second signing as well. And both players seem to be reasonably priced and are at an age that their value can only increase with improvement in the Premier League.
Here is an extract from the article…..
Arsenal have secured a deal to sign the left-back Nuno Tavares from Benfica for an initial €8m (£6.9m) and are close to buying the Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga.
The club will finalise the purchase of Lokonga for an initial €17.5m provided agreement is reached over what percentage of any future sale would be due to Anderlecht. Lokonga and Tavares are 21 and have played for the Belgium and Portugal Under-21s respectively.
These two clearly show that Arteta and Edu are trying to build a young, talented side to grow and improve together, when you add these additions to our young core of academy graduates like Smith-Rowe, Joe Willock, Balogun and Saka, and also young arrivals like Tierney and Martinelli of course, we can be sure to keep them together for many years into a successful Arsenal future….
Is the player in the picture Lokonga?
Coming to the topic, seems two good deals to start off the window hopefully leading to one or two more high priority signings like Locatelli.
Yea.. that’s Lokonga
Anderlecht captain at 21..
Seems like a young leader like Tierney
Ohh looks like a good prospect.
Thought the same thing Sid. my god is that our new signing? The idea is a good one, but hope it is not just being done because they are cheap. Now a big signing like Maddison or Locatteli is essential to make a statement to fans, Arsenal players and opponents that Arsenal are serious contenders.
Yup was a little confused. I think a little more muscle and he can become a beast of a cm, though time will tell. Completely agree regarding a big signing, both for a statement of intent and also to fulfill our need of CAM, GK, RB or any other problem positions.
Looks like its going to be Ben White,Lukonga,Tavares,Locatelli and a Goal Keeper.Maybe Odegaard on loan too.If you cant go the route of ManCity that can throw 100Million on Kane and another 100 on Graelish,then get them young and teachable
But you won’t catch Man City anytime soon
Neither can Arteta teach. He’d really do well at a PSG I think.
Hoping he does well next season although.
Man City have now come in for White, as a replacement for Laporte.
Fee and Wages no problem.
Buy camavinga, fantastic young talent who is a deep laying play maker pretty similar to pogba, this team needs a play maker ever since Santi went I am not saying he is on Santi level but the boy has all the talent and age in his side with right attitude and guidance he can be a superstar of future.
I can’t profess to have been following Tavares but in his Youtube clips he looks energetic and forward moving. A young lad who looks big, fast and strong. It will be about discipline. We don’t want another Andre Santos. As a young backup I think he looks a good prospect as does Lokonga. Once again we are held ransom by a players wages……Willian. If we could somehow get the OAP Willian to America then we could maybe make a move for Manor Soloman. It pains me to see Willian doing an ‘Ozil’ and collecting £200,000 a week……you couldn’t make it up that we’ve repeated the Ozil situation with Willian, who is even less effective than Ozil..
We never learn, if Auba don’t turn up this coming season it will me the same old story. Relaxing after the big pay.
I will be excited if we land Locatelli. It will compensate for us not signing Bissouma. But it seems like Locatelli prefers a move to Juventus who are underbidding for him.
Tavares – LB
Lokonga – CM
White – CD
Locatelli? – CM
So for me, the positions that will be left to fill is the GK, AM, and RB.
All these positions listed out has to be added up for us to have a balanced squad.
Who would you have Bissouma or Locatelli if the choice was your and why pls cos i don’t know myself.
A good beginning for the summer signings, 2 young and energetic players. If locatelli does not sign up, Bissouma can be sought after. A RB, CAM and a GK should be the next signings.
who is Arsenal eyeing as a replacement of Bellarine incase he leaves the club amid Inter’s interest
Chambers and Soares
Logic
We so desperately need a new Santi. Santi and Sanchez, both amazing players and in their day Word Class. All our energies and finances should be finding our midfield maestro. We have had such a poor uncreative midfield for so long we have been slowly ground down and bored to death. Maybe Camavinga is that maestro player.
Yup, Sean. I wonder what would have happened last season if we had prime Santi running our midfield. Probably Top 4, because with him I dont see those horrendous results we suffered during the first half of the season.
👍
The policy of going for young up and coming prospects can only be supported on the basis that these players will grow and develop together. Success may not be instantaneous, but if they can be kept together it should come. Hopefully other Arsenal prospects from the Academy will develop to provide competition. Combination with existing experienced professionals like Aubameyang, Lacazette and Partey can only help.
It should be noted that Arsenal is now being connected with Marcel Sabitzer, the 27 yo Austrian international midfielder currently at RB Leipzig. He would add a lot of leadership, class and experience to Arsenal along side Thomas Partey.
Positive transfers should they go through. DM, LB – (back ups) done.
Locatelli would be a quality replacement for Xhaka, which leaves RB, AM, and GK to complete a very successful window (regarding recruitment).
Aarons, Maddison, Ramsdale would be my dream signings. PL proven, and good to go.
Clear the deadwood, start preseason with a full harmonious squad, and bring on the PL
Onana, Pereira and Aarons
I starting to get a good feeling about this window, just maybe edu and arteta are sensing a real opportunity to do something big here I.e challenge for top 4, title challenge re Chelsea dropping out of Europe then wining the title the next season. In:onana/ramsdale mulgur white tavares lokongo locatelli sabitzer
Onana/Ramsdale
Mulgur White Gabriel Tierney
Locatelli Partey
Sabitzer
Saka Pepe
Auba
Doesn’t look like the arsenal we’ve gotten used too😂😂😂
Muldur is very average..
I think the two young players’ arrivals are mostly because of Arsenal’s current transfer policy, instead of solely based on Arteta’s and Edu’s decisions
I believe Arsenal have reverted to their previous player investment strategy, by recruiting 23 years old and younger players. So if those youngsters can’t adapt to EPL, they can still be sold two years later and we might even get a high resale value if they succeed
If Arsenal have to recruit a 25 years old or older player, he has to possess special skills like Partey. I heard about Locatelli, but hopefully we get a direct replacement for Xhaka instead
Locatelli would be xhaka’s replacement they’re both deeplying playmakers. Locatelli is just a more mobile version and has better defensive qualities
Moves at last although always a doubt until its official. Key as Sean said to success of the whole window is a top c/am. Great we made an offer for locatelli, thats a start. Early days and we only have so many lawyers to go around!
Woo; the two signing can be more better in years to come.
Buying youth is great and offers potential for the future and if lucky some benefit in the short term too.
However, we stand absolutely no chance of being competitive unless we are provided with the financial clout to compete for ‘game changers’ to compliment our team too.
Willian is a bang average player incapable of affecting a game whereas grealish and Sterling are ‘game changers’. Because they are they come with a hefty price tag but that is the price needed to make the difference..
You need game changers and luckily we have at least one in Saka but you cannot rely on youth alone.
Stan put ‘your’ (or some) of your money where your sons mouth is!;)
Mate, we’re a top 6 club when you honestly look at things. KSE will never invest big and because of that, Arsenal will spend more time out of the top 4 than in it. Competing for the title can happen only by chance, like it did with Leicester.
Let’s not forget that Arsenal still finished below the out-of-form Liverpool and Chelsea. Next season, the 2 clubs will drop fewer points and the gap might be bigger.
This approach is the only one that can work under the current ownership.
Is that the out-of-form Chelsea side that won the Champions League?
Two young talented players about to arrive! Surely a good reason to praise MA and Edu, eh HH, MOBELLA ,LOGIC, DAN KIT, and all your fellow daily demanding MA out brigade!
Watched them both play have you Jon ?
I would imagine you have not seen 1 minute of gameplay out of the two players mentioned so how can you call them talented .
I’ll praise Arteta when he gets us into the top 4 not because he signed 2 players 99%of our fan base hadn’t even heard of before this week .
Why does it bother you if I want Arteta out anyway ?
Don’t you post daily of all the players you want gone from this club ,Guendouzi (creep) Xhaka ,Bellerin,elneny,auba (weak lazy )to name a few ,what’s so different from wanting the manager sacked because he’s useless to wanting players moved because they are useless ,you talk about some of us as fans but not supporters does that mean you are now in that camp also ?
Dan, “Imagining” on false behalf of someone you have never met nor even know remotely, is unwise. I’d be grateful if you will speak ONLY for yourself.
As for your false allegations against me they are also untrue. I do post to want the above out – though not Auba, whom I do call lazy, its true, but I do not do this daily, as so many like you do about wanting MA out.
It is the sheer tedious regularity of giving exactly the same opinion , but without any proper context, or explanation why that so appals my sense of fairness. By contrast, I always mention WHY I wish such as Xhaka, Bellerin out.
All opinions are fair enough but wiser ones carry explanations with them. Or perhaps you don’t agree!
I may be pessimistic but I think I will wait until these signings are officially confirmed by our club before I get too excited about the signings, in the case of Lokonga we still have to reach an agreement over the sell on percentage and we know with us and transfers things can go spectacularly wrong. Good signings if they do happen though.
Just watched a few clips of him. He reminds me of Diaby. Some what similar in the way he plays.
Arsenal will loose out to city for ben white cos of all the stalling over a few grand will cost us typical Arsenal in the transfer window the club is a complete joke and then sign 2 players no one has ever heard of and absolutely pointless will be in bottom 6 at end of season!!
Danny, unless I am mistaken £5 million is not “a few grand”?
That’s some positive news. I hope they’ll be able to become upgrades on the player’s they’re replacing.
Everyone is being fooled by the media. These funny leaks about huge bids and a 250m transfer budget.
We are in debt, we have borrowed 120m to stay afloat, we are selling off u23s, letting players leave for free just to get them off the wage bill. We are making huge redundancies in the non playing staff.
Yet we have dreamers, thinking we can sign a Brighton player for 50m plus? We cannot even meet the asking price for players from Anderlecht and Benfica. Wise up people interest in players of 50m and 80m are leaked by the club to sell season tickets. The club stretched themselves with silly wages for Ozil, Aubameyang, Willian as well fees for Pepe, BCOS the Champions League was a potential prize. Now we cannot even qualify for UEFA’ s 3 rate tournament, is it any wonder why we wanted to join the ESL. We are done without it!!
Whilst Tavares is a good backup to Tierney, we haven’t hit real change, real upgrade in the real positions we need change. Lokonga sounds a good’un, but until we get a midfield creative maestro we will not really, as things are, upgrade last season’s poor football. So looking forward to see if we get James Madison, Eduardo Camavinga. or Nabil Fekir. Without a new Santi we will not become a real force. We need players like Santi or Alexis Sanchez, who made things happen. We have played a robotic, uncreative football, and need to get our soul football, our dance and creative swagger back. Can we still dance or are we so micro-managed that we have become a bunch of robots carrying out binary management commands…..instead of free flowing, player generated, soul football.
The Kroenke’s are very clever. Start a rumour there is £250 million to spend. Of course as pre-season comes, in reality, we have not used an iota of that. By the time we get our breath, we will realise that there will be excuses etc etc and we will in no way spend anywhere near that. We are still waiting to sell, to buy. How clever the Kroenke’s are in managing to avoid spending, and supporters ‘buy’ the Kroenke’s manipulation.
SEAN I disagree that at least MOST Gooners fall for Kroenkes lies, Most of us and certainly most of those on here see through his con tricks all too well.
To my knowledge , only ONE fan, Wyoming, still supports Kroenke. THAT MAKES A DAMNING CASE AGAINST KROENKE BEING BELIEVED.
Jon
You see through his lies, clearly. What I would say is that many others waste time sit in hope, rather than ‘know’ it’s a con. It is more than obvious Kroenke will spend as little he possibly can and that fantastic feeling spending £250 million is a lot of old ******cks.
👍 👍 Plus the Kroenke’s ineptitude in selecting and maintaining a Board and “management team” that mismanages the financial and player assets of this Club. Transfer budget wasted by buying high, often strengthening positions well stocked and ignoring areas of need, paying high wages, then selling low often at a loss, or allowing players to run down their contracts on high wages, because no one will match them, to leave on a free transfer.
if arsenal can land this players lokonga,locatteli & bissouma i’ll be excited