I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this is a season in which Arsenal should demonstrate that they’ve learned from their mistakes from the last campaign.
Last season, Arsenal was in the title fight but did not win it. In the end, some of the mistakes they, made directly or indirectly, hindered them from winning.
One thing they need to do now to rectify last year’s problems is to sign their top targets.
Though he has not gone on to become a Premier League hit, Arsenal did not sign their top winter transfer target, Mykhailo Mudryk. Yes, Mudryk hasn’t been terrific since joining Chelsea after Arsenal beat them to the race, but as a Gooner, you should agree Arteta has an eye for quality, and he wouldn’t want a player if he didn’t know how he fit into his plans.
We’ll never know if he would have been a hit at the Emirates, but I believe Mudryk would have been a success if he had joined us.
Many various issues at Stamford Bridge (such as different coaches, a lack of cohesion among players since the whole team is new, and the difficulty of standing out in a struggling squad) could have caused him to fail to click.
That said, Gooners, now the club is on the mend, will be hopeful that lessons learned will prevent them from being beaten in the transfer race for their top transfer target this winter.
Arsenal is reportedly settled on Ivan Toney as its top target. Many regard him as the answer to Arsenal’s attacking woes. If you’ve been following the Toney transfer rumours, you’ll know that Chelsea and Tottenham are also interested in him. Arsenal must be clever and watchful to ensure that these two teams do not beat them to the Brentford man, who will not come cheap.
To win that transfer war, Arsenal may have to be willing to pay a respectable sum. Fortunately, Gabby Aghbanolar has provided them with an excellent strategy for raising funds to make a reasonable bid for Toney. The ex-Aston Villa man believes Arsenal can make a significant profit by selling Emile Smith Rowe, and that profit might help them in their pursuit of Toney.
On talkSPORT, Gabby said, “I think what Arsenal need for Christmas is a goalscoring striker. Some Arsenal fans say, ‘Oh it’s boring; we’ve got Martinelli, Saka, Trossard, Nketiah, and Gabriel Jesus will all share the goals.
“But what could they be doing? What could they get with another striker? What could they do with Ivan Toney in that team? How many goals would Arsenal score with Ivan Toney? These tight games they’re winning, with Toney in there, what could he do for that team?
“Can they sell Smith Rowe? The academy graduate has his own song, but he’s not going to get in that team, let’s be honest. You’ve got good money sitting there with Smith Rowe. Sell Smith Rowe and use that money towards Ivan Toney.
“Go out and get him, because otherwise Chelsea or Spurs are going to get him, and you’re going to regret it.”
Do you mind if Smith Rowe leaves?
Like Gabby, I believe he will struggle to break into the Arsenal first squad. The midfield with Havertz, Odegaard, and Rice continues to strengthen, and on the left wing, Martinelli, Trossard and Reiss Nelson are options ahead of him.
If it means getting Toney on board, I’d sell Smith Rowe.
Would you do the same thing?
Daniel O
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NO, NO NO
YES, YES, YES!!!
Where are the exclamation marks? !!!!
Yes I would, IF it meant getting Toney.
And I do not agree either that MA ALWAYS HAS an eye for quality. Viera? Not for me!! Keeping Elneny? Why!! Raya? Not needed!
Elneny is a strange and impossible to understand why decision.
I am not more than so so on Jorginho either and hope he was just a short term buy , soon to leave, with any luck!
I would be sad to see ESR leave, like many of us would, but the sad fact is he is rarely fit for long and as such is draining our finances for next to nothing in return. As is Partey too, for the same sad reason.
I am a staunch supporter of MA but I must say his transfer dealings, both in and also those not sold or let go, are far from being his best qualities,when taken as a whole.
There are still several weak links in our squad, esp when compared to Citys and Liverpools squads, IMO!
NO!
If Arteta plays Smith Rowe against West Ham in the absence of Havertz then we might see that ESR can be a useful squad member to have around for the second half of the Season…If…instead…he chooses to keep him on the bench then we have to deduce that Arteta really doesn’t rate him…and the best course of action would be to sell him and use the cash for a player who would make a difference…Towards buying Toney…for example…
ESR is a good playmaker. If he plays tonight, watch his passing and turns. We should keep the kid
There are doubt over whether Jesus and Nketiah can fire us to the big jug and with January transfer window less than three days away, We have been link with almost every player that has a number nine printed in their back.
The cold, hard numbers highlight we are not scoring at the same rate as in the last campaign, we had scored a total of 88 goals.
Yet there is a reason behind our scoring habit this season.
We have spent a pisspot load of money in the summer, but our primary focus was on the defensive side of the game..
Probably the big German is the most attack minded of the players brought in but he too has been use almost exclusively in a compact midfield alongside Rice and captain Odegaard
The big one got away last season was largely due to our inability to keep clean sheets in the final weeks of the campaign, the gaffer has set out to make the side more difficult to break down and it has worked
So while our numbers are down on last session, stats shows our efficiency in the final third is similar to the last campaign..
Our foward line is not exactly feeding on scraps, the gaffer ought to trust his current crop of strikers to get the job done rather than potentially wasting money Ivan Toney in January in which there is no guarantee he will click right away
I agree. This season Arteta concentrated on the defensive side of the team. The transfer purchases proved that. Last season, he unleashed the team offensive side after the previous defensive season. That’s great team building right there. I can understand the team’s limitations in attack this season but I hope Arteta will unleash the boys after January. Tomi, Partey and Timber will back by then.
Mike you are way too optimistic about Timber I regret to have to tell you. He will be unlilkely to play again this season and even if he does, it would be ONLY at the very end part.
Ivan Toney could be the answer but not at the expense of ESR
I doubt we would get much money for ESR. One thing AFC re good at is destroying the value of their fringe players…Maitland-Niles, Mari, Pepe, Leno, Torreira, Holding, Mavrapanos and countless others were sold for far below their value.
We should have gotten at least 50M for Pepe given how Chelsea got 65M for Havertz. How on earth did Chelsea almost got back what they paid for Havertz remains one of the greatest mysteries in football
When Arteta came in hard for Havertz, Chelsea knew his value. And now he looks like a 80M player. Soon will be one of the best players in EPL. Pepe clearly was overvalued by the previous regime and they paid that mistake with their job. Fair game.
I’m truly shocked by your claim that Havertz looks like an 80M player now. He has certainly improved, but I seriously doubt any clubs would even be willing to pay 60M for him at the moment, let alone 80M.
Arteta went in too hard for Havertz, so much so that it surprised Chelsea and their fans who are still grateful to us for bailing them out of a sticky situation. They were reluctant to renew his contract, yet concerned they might not be able to offload him without incurring a substantial loss., then came our moment of madness
In stark contrast to your views, I suggest a number of fans vastly overestimate the possible transfer value of their own teams players.
I suggest you are in that category.
I would add this : the only realistic way a lesser player would ever fetch a higher fee than some fans think possible(or even probable!!) would be for THOSE players to be regularly picked for the first team, thus disadvantaging OUR OWN TEAM, as mainly, they are NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE REGULARS.
Which is, self evidently, WHY they do not feature as regulars.
Logical thinking , my friend, answers many questions which, somewhat depressingly, puzzle SOME fans.
If I were in charge of Arsenal project, I would only trade Smith-Rowe for a 25-year-old or younger CF
Toney would likely bully all EPL CBs for Arsenal, but he’ll be 28 years old in March
I’d prefer to gamble on younger CFs instead. The high risk of failure could be mitigated by loaning the player first, as we did with Odegaard
Nope.
An injury to martinelli or Saka he plays a lot more.
Why is 28 too old? If he’s able to bully cbs for the next 4 or 5 years, I don’t see the problem.
Younger players often take more time. Odegaard wasn’t great for us when on loan and only showed a few promising signs before we signed him – it was quite controversial at the time. Toney could make the all difference *this* season – imo it just depends how confident arteta et al are that he would do so.
Gai, if you ask me 27/28 years not all finished for a striker you can still get 2 solid productive years from the striker if he is on top of his game. Salah and Kane are 3plus and still delivering the goods for their club it’s all about Toney form. However, it’s a NO NO for me ESR shouldn’t be traded except for a midfielder we are becoming short. We also need a defender Saliba and Gabriel are playing many games I am afraid of Injury.
At the start of the “project” it was reasonable to focus on youth as there was little evidence that the squad then would be competitive against the best teams.
At this point however there needs to be some flexibility in thinking and strategizing. Otherwise you can end up preparing for a future that never comes.
If there is an available player at age 28 who can propel Arsenal towards a championship it is quite to reasonable to invest that money now.
Spot on!
Yeah, he’s 28, but that doesn’t mean he’s dying. I prefer a player who is proven top class regardless how old he is, rather than a wannabe who most likely never will become anything. You can’t plan for decades to come. If the club have a reasonable hope for 2-3 good years for the guy, that’s good enough for me.
Then it’s another question what shape Ivan Toney is after his time in Las Vegas and Monte Carlo.
The amount of fee involved for 2-3 years doesn’t sound convincing at all. He will come and disrupt everyone in the club.
Shouldn’t it be a like for like swap as in Toney coming and Nketian going the other way. Brentford are badly in need of a striker and Eddie could do well there. Smith Rowe is too good an asset to lose. I still have confidence that he can overcome his injury issues. We have no better player currently who can keep the ball moving forward and two seasons ago he also demonstrated that he can score goals as regularly as Harvertz.
Maybe he needs to go since he isnt being treated fairly in the name of being “protected”.
I think its only fair enough that ESR gets a good run of games and proves himself whether he is or he isn’t worth of keeping. If the coach has been patient with the likes of Fabio Vieira, Eddie Nketiah, Martin Odegaard, Kai Harvertz all these players struggled initially but grew to the occasion with a consistent run of games, then ESR deserves that chance too. unfortunately even in a cup game he only gets 10 minutes or less. how will he pick up rhythm. The boy is only one goal away from blooming again. Trossard, Vieira and Eddie are only good as impact players from off the bench but ESR can be a good starter and may give the team stability.
This is part of the problem though. He was part of the team until injury issues took over. It’s bad luck for him but who or what do you put first? Arsenal or ESR? The players you have mentioned have been given patience as you have so rightly said but so far they have a superior fitness level.
I have mixed feelings about Smith Rowe because he does have a poor fitness record. The same applies to KT. It really isn’t sustainable to have too many on the books who break down regularly. Partey and Tomi have issues too but at present, not so severe.
Emile had broken through and looked to have a rosy future, but if Arteta has had to nurse him back to fitness several times for it to go wrong again makes ESR’s position harder to justify- regardless of his potential and ability.
If the boot was on the other foot, and he played for, say Brighton, would you risk signing him for big money knowing his injury record?
I don’t tend to second guess who Arteta would be looking for. Raya for instance. Rice’s name was in the public domain as coming to Arsenal but I’ve not got those vibes regarding Toney
For me, it doesn’t make sense to keep players who can only play when other players are not available. That’s why in spite of the relatively large squad in Arsenal, the depth of quality is not there. There are too such “squad players” who cannot be used to deliberately rotate the match day squad without compromising the quality.
Unfortunately ESR is in this category of players. His case is worsened by his persistent injuries
So, if a good offer comes I’d say sell .
Arsenal needs a squad of 22 players who can square up 11-a-side against each other and produce a good game of football
100% on point. Arteta is operating with a squad of 13 players and beyond that is crap shoot. it’s not sustainable and we are just one injury away (Rice and Saliba) from imploding
Oh no, Ivan Toney is a bad news. Any player that got banned for gambling should never come near our club. He has exceptional aerial ability and that’s about it. Gabriel Jesus is better in everything else. And I will never disrespect Nketiah, who himself a great servant, for a mindless poison like Ivan Toney.
ESR is an Arsenal boy, thru and thru. He is basically our prodigious son, way before Saka. He is not as injury prone as popular belief. He saved Arteta’s job a few seasons ago with continuous excellent games. Now, he has fixed his groin problems and in the verge being unleash to terrorize defences like he used to. He just needs to prove he is better than any of the front 5.
For various reasons (mainly injury) ESR, has not played much in the last 3 years, so his value would be minimal and certainly wouldn’t fund Toney at all.
No! Nketiah should be the one traded for ivan toney with some few extra millions
If we are to be lethal let’s sell smithrowe and nketia and bring in three great players. These are my options.
Victor Boniface
Ivan toney
Susan vlahovic for the striker position.
Midfield bring in Douglas Luiz/ zubimendi/ Onana/ diomande/ khalvin Philips.
Defence inacio would complete it so well.
It is a pity that his fitness can’t be relied on because he’s a bit of quality in the depth department such a deceptive dribbler with an eye for goal. I’ll be honest here I don’t see him overcoming his injury problems I think they are here to stay, such a pity. We’d need to replace him if sold