With only nine more days of the transfer window, we’ve seen quite a few Arsenal departures but no new signings, bringing cause for concern. Guest post by Sarah Rohan
Seems like the AFC wants to make all of us supporters sweat on any new signings again! There’s been plenty of gossip on who’s coming to join us but nothing concrete. No pen to paper and gaining these important signatures to improve our ever-decreasing squad numbers.
So we’ve got all these players in the pipeline but are we even going to get any of them in by the 31st? We have a habit of late signings. So late in fact that quite a few of our big signings have been on the last day, with only a few hours to spare. Aubameyang, Ozil, Tierney, Partey and our very own Manager Arteta were all last minute Deadline Day deals previously.
I know everybody loves a bit of D-Day drama, myself included, but for once Arsenal board, can’t we just get these new players in now and leave the panicking to the other teams??? For once I’d love not to be watching my screen all day with that clock ticking down.
Are we putting all our eggs in one basket relying on the signing of Vlahovic? Time is running out and there’s still no actual proof he will be with us come February. Although Edu is apparently trying his hardest to bring him in. He doesn’t seem to be that eager to join us and maybe he even had a little watch of both our cup exits? So this is one signing I won’t get my hopes up for. Along with Arthur Melo, one minute he’s coming; then it’s off again. Another one we just can’t trust on how it will work out.
How long are we actually going to give it for the players their agents and clubs to agree deals? The last day again? Then the deal doesn’t go ahead and we end up having to sign players that we didn’t really want don’t really rate but forced to because it was left too late and our squad is depleted so are desperate.
If we’re talking who I would definitely bring in, I definitely agree with many that Wijnaldum would be a great signing for us. He’s got the experience and would definitely steady our midfield. Probably an easier signing too as he wants to leave PSG. Also stated that we are one of his favourite clubs. With a lot of interest coming in from other teams including our foe Spurs and money-bags Newcastle his former club.
We’d be mad to leave this too late and along with a much-needed forward whether that’s Vlahovic or someone else, he would be my main priority to get ASAP. Even if it was for only six months. We need the man-power now. We’ll worry about who comes and goes come the summer.
I think it would be an absolute waste of a season with this team of youngsters how exciting they are and could be even stronger if we bring in the players that will strengthen our squad and take some of the burden off of their young shoulders. I also feel if we don’t get the signings correct it’s going to be a tense final end to the season and would have to rely on every player in this already small team not getting injured.
Most importantly it could determine where we end up in the table and will be the difference if we end up in or out of the top six. Yes, we probably do have the easiest run out of the other teams, but we can’t take this for granted. These teams are also fighting for something and could be a banana skin for our end position in the league. The players we bring are pivotal to the end result too.
We still have the question of if our other forward Aubameyang is going to be gone. Maybe it will end up that we don’t sign any strikers and Auba gets back into the team. Now I don’t think that would be a popular decision amongst the supporters.
Hopefully before our rescheduled game against Wolves on Feb 10th we will have a fuller squad to finish our season off with top four contention. All my fingers and toes are crossed!
For now, a good win against Burnley tomorrow would be great!
Until Next time!
Watch Mikel Arteta talk about Arsenal v Burnley and the pressure on the race for Top Four
None of the top 7 have signed anyone.
All of them have let squad players leave.
All of them have at least 1 cup still to play for. We are the only team in the top 7 that only have the league to focus on.
No need to panic, looks like we are wrapping up the huge deal for a 2nd choice keeper.
Our squad is fine, no need for good signing.
Is it sarcasm PJ-SA? I don’t think our squad big enough as compared to the other top six teams. I don’t even know what’s up with too many red cards against our players!!
it’s way too early for any incoming players, this is Arsenal after all…see you on Monday the 31st at around 11:00pm, as that’s our “sweet” spot
Then need 1-2 months to integrate and be slowly bought in
if we somehow manage to free ourselves from Leno, Chambers and Auba this winter, I’d call it a very successful window. We just have 18 games to play and players are back. Signing the US goalie is a major coup. Rest clear out this summer, followed by sensible signings(which is a norm with Mikel) and extending Mikel’s contract and I’m a happy Gunner.
We’d better try to loan other players, because we just have one week left
Edu & Arteta are weak. We should have had players 2 weeks ago. They knew AFCON would leave us short….. months ago. They told us they wanted 4th place but are way off squad wise now all because they negligently did not get business done. Get Jonathan David if you can…..it’s OK.
👍 Been saying this for time. Stop wasting time on Vlahovic and go get David from Lille and whilst you are at it get Renato Sanches on loan with option to buy in the summer.
Maybe if we lose to Burnley we might see some action in the transfer market in the coming week.
It might take a loss like that to finally wake the board up.
To be fair to Arteta and Edu, they have very little impact on player transfer deals.
Most transfer deals in the league, especially those involving “big” players, are negotiated by club owners or executives above their level.
If Arsenal had a senior executive in the stature of David Dein, our transfer business would be a lot slicker and faster.
This club will not get back to the top without significant changes to the board.
Here’s my issue:
Between transfer windows management has 4-6 months to be planning and scouting and targeting exactly who they want, this includes back-up signing if your main target falls through.
Part of this planning has to include viability analysis which looks at potential price + wages + likelihood that the target would want to join Arsenal.
Bids should be placed early in the window for main targets with a pontential increased bid if need be and if stalls, you move onto your backup plan.
Not sure what Edu and MA have been doing but seems like they’ve just been stuffing around. When other top teams go after a player, they do it early and get it done.
To be honest, very few transfers happen until last week of the transfer window anyway
None of the top clubs have done anything of significance in this window. It is more difficult to get the players you want in a January window. Why not have confidence in what is being done?
I’d rather have us sign no players, than signing players, that won’t improve us, just for the sake of spending.
The issue is that even if Aubameyang is returned to the team by Arteta to resume playing for Arsenal. But could he be trusted he’ll not disappoint but return to his old self way of regularly scoring goals in their numbers at the top level for Arsenal once again as he was regularly scoring goals for the club before? Well, I wouldn’t know if he will or not.
Arsenal as us Gooners would have known them. Have fast become a specialist big club side who are reputed as the specialists in concluding one big player incoming transfer on Deadline Day. And they have also on Deadline Day transfer out temporarily or permanently some of theire players at the club too to make ways for the incoming signings.
So therefore, I’am keeping my peace to not be worried nor become disturbed as to whether if Arsenal will do some top quality incoming new player signings transfer. And the necessitated necessary outgoing transfers or not during this winter window. For they have for the past seasons been doing Deadline Day transfers.
But who are the Arsenal players that have already left the club or could still be leaving permanently or on loan out during this winter window? It has been confirmed that AMN and Mari have been loaned out by the club so far this window. While there is a suggestion that Leno maybe loaned out or sold this winter, Kolasinac has permanently left Arsenal after many months of inactive by him for Arsenal.
So, 3 senior team players have temporarily and permanently left the club so far this winter. And one other player or more could still leave the club before the expiration of the winter window to make rooms for some new players who will be joining Arsenal this winter.
But who are the new players who have been lined up by the rumoure mill who could Join Arsenal this winter? The 3 main names who have seriously been linked with Arsenal in the media to join them on the permanent and loan deals this winter are: Dusan Vlahovic, Arthur Melo and Wijnaldum as us have already know this. But who despite he is at advanced age, he is reported to still has the appetite for scoring goals at the top level. But scoring regularly now at PSG? Well, I haven’t check.
Nevertheless, if Arsenal sign Vlahovic this witter, his signing could turnout in the short and long run to be a great striker signing by Arsenal this winter window. To replace one of Auba, Laca and Nkethia? Well, I’ll again say I don’t know. And who will Arthur Melo replace in the team if Arsenal sign him this winter? The Fernabache bound Mohamed Elneny? Well, that I don’t know too. If Arsenal sign Wijnaldum, who in the team will he be replacing? This I figure out. But I am sure Arteta and Edu have figured out everything.
You have no idea who does or does not want to join us. Stop reading gossip. Any respectable team/player/agent will listen, negotiate, and never burn any bridges by publicly telling a club off.
We should be grateful we are finding teams to take our deadwood. (And the players aren’t terrible, just not elite for EPL). We have freed up 47 million in wages in the last 12 months. If that’s all we did in the last year it would be a great season.
If clubs are taking the so called deadwood, are they really deadwood?
I would have loved a MF and Striker in two weeks ago. Having said that, after today we have a long break before the next game. So not really bothered now if deals are last minute.
I’m increasingly thinking Arsenal have zeroed in on Vlahovic as a swing for the fences signing who they feel they can get this window. If he doesn’t come in, then they are still confident of a top six finish and will keep powder dry for summer.
So a midfielder who can help now and lots of outward movements may be all thay happens this window.
After 2 defeats against Forest and Liverpool where we were shameful……..as bad as against Villareal, we are in the last week of the January window. We seem to take 3 steps forward and 4 steps backward. Arteta/Edu knew we would be short of Players die to AFCON, why did they not ACT? Negligence?
I think the big plan now is get rid of what we can now that is not needed anymore and add at the last few days if needed to which we do.
If we can manage to get Auba & Elneny gone in the next few days we could replace them come the end of the window.
If we want European football then with the squad we have atm we are on course for a top6 finish, if we want to be ambitious now due to where we are at in the table we can at least gamble on maybe Top4 with 2 big signings to push us on.
Was reading there if Juve get Vhalovic we are gonna try and sneak Dybala from them who is in a contract stand off!! Be a good replacement for Laca but not the deadly striker we need.
If we know by the summer that Dino, Mari, Matteo, Lucas, Elneny, Niles, Auba, Laca, Eddie, Leno and possibly Xhaka could be gone with them then we should be planning now for the summer with some additions in Jan to give them time to settle.
Still think Dino & Matteo are huge mistakes letting them go. Hope Saliba returns though
Really hope Dinos and Matteo are able to return somehow, maybe there are some clauses that would allow that, seems unlikely though . Imagine a squad like this for the 2022/2023 season
GK: Ramsdale, Turner
RB: Tomi, Spencer
CB: Gabriel, White, Saliba, Dinos
LB: Tierney, Tavares
Dm: Bissouma/Guimaraes, Sambi
CM: Partey, Matteo
AM: Odegaard, ESR
RW: Saka, Nelson?
LW: Martinelli, Pepe
ST: David, Laca, Balogun