Hello all! by dgr8xt
As we all know, the closer we get to the end of the season, the more the rumour mill spins. That said, I wish to say that as fans of The Arsenal Football Club, we should enjoy the rumours (I do too) but also be aware that 99% of them ain’t happening. So what’s likely to happen? Let’s see:
GK- Ramsdale/Turner: Arteta isn’t going to change from Turner because of one bad game. No transfer activity
RB- White/Tomi: Seems very stable. No activity
RCB- Saliba/Holding: I believe Holding has shown on several occasions that he can be a capable backup. And who remembers a certain Trusty? No activity expected
LCB- Gabriel/Kiwior: Gabriel just signed. Kiwior is new and promising. No activity
LB- Tierney/Zinny: Despite the rumours, I strongly believe that Arteta will not want to lose a player like Tierney. No way. Instead, I believe Tavares will be sold. No incoming activity expected
DM- Partey/Elneny/Jorginho: Given our January transfer activities and the fact that we’re going to be in the Champions League, I strongly believe that we will bring in one defensive midfielder as a Partey long term replacement. Sure fire incoming expected
RCM- Ødegaard/Viera: Whoever thinks that Viera isn’t a good player or that Arteta will dispose of him has clearly followed Alice down the rabbit hole. No activity
LCM- Xhaka/Smith Rowe: Yes, this one is a bit controversial. But I can bet my left kidney that ESR is being viewed as a long term Xhaka replacement, and rightly so. There’s no place for him on the wings, he’s more suited to playing from the left of midfield and he can produce more than Xhaka in terms of goals and assists. No activity
RW- Saka/Trossard/Nelson: While Nelson hasn’t signed a contract, I strongly believe he will. Given Trossard’s performance there against Leeds and the fact that we’ve still got Nelson and Marquinhos, let’s forget talks of Diaby or Raphinha cos it ain’t happening. No activity
LW- Martinelli/Trossard/Nelson: No activity
CF- Jesus/Nketiah/Balogun: As I’ve said many times before, we’re not going to bring in a striker, not while Balogun is banging them in and is likely about to become a full fledged first team international for the USA. Turner and Trusty are Americans and there’s an air of marketing strategy surrounding their arrivals. Why will we now give away their first choice striker? No incoming expected
Given all that’s been written, it’s obvious that my prediction is that the only thing we should be expecting is a defensive midfielder and nothing else.
Who that signing may be is anyone’s guess at the moment.
dgr8xt
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I don’t think so, at least 5.
Well dgr8xt I think your article is basically spot on and all things being equal I agree with your thoughts. The only way I see any changes is if Saliba and Balogun fail to commit to the club and also if Arteta decides ESR will be used farther forward and a long term replacement for Xhaka is needed. A sensible point of view for once, thank you 👏
So one signing ?
I cannot see that ,to progress we need to continue to upgrade not stand still on our laurels .
I expect 2 midfielders to come in ,especially if these rumours of partey don’t go away .
Maybe a left back and another forward player if some are moved on .
I can’t read Arteta’s and Edu’s minds but I agree with the sentiment expressed above that one signing is insufficient with the CL beckoning.
To stay at or near the top you need to be continuously thinking 2-3 years ahead.
Eddie has had over 120 games for us, not good enough even as a squad player. Need to sell. Bring Balogun back and look to sign a striker.
We need a DM/B2B, everyone knows that.
We should also start involving Kiwior to challenge Holding, we can’t keep letting players get no game time
If we can buy 2 quality players instead of 4-5 average players I think we’ll be in a great spot. Also need to be much better with contract management and selling player surplus to needs while they have value.
Kiwior is a lefty, he cannot challenge Holding because he cannot play with Gabriel M. in the center. Two lefties in the center is a no go.
2 questions:
– are you saying that professional footballers than get paid millions can’t use both feet?
– then why did we sign him if he is never getting game time?
If GM gets injured and he goes thrown in with zero experience then what’s the point of that? He should be playing cup games at least, he needs to be playing. How someone can disagree with that is beyond logic.
It’d depend on the departures
We’ve got Partey, Jorginho and Elneny for one CDM role, so we won’t sign a new CDM unless Partey becomes unavailable next season
If Nketiah and Balogun get shipped out in the summer, we’d probably sign a new CF
We will absolutely sign cover for Partey. He is too important and I don’t really expect Jorginho to be with us next season and Elneny is nowhere near good enough.
Jorginho just came, so he’d likely stay next season
Well, I hope you’re right because I think he’s excellent. I feel we still need more in there though. Zinchenko is more than capable of subbing for Xhaka but MA doesn’t seem likely to move him from LB any time soon.
Agree. Elneny is only for local cups not for CL.
No word of a transfer budget yet, but should £100/80ml become available then I would expect just the defensive mid plus one or two youngsters plucked from Brazil or Spain to go to the academy.
I’d say that we don’t need defenders, strikers, or wide players unless Tierney does leave & late in the window, then we’ll have a problem.
The way that the team has been playing and how it’s playing now, just shows that our squad is capable of making and maintaining the challenge, but just needs a bit of a boost for the extra workload of the Champions League.
…and nobody with an …ic or…vic at the end of their name arriving to disrupt or destabilize the group harmony.
We are constantly being linked with wingers, which unless someone is gonna leave or play elsewhere, I can’t see us having room for. I expect us to get a midfielder to cover Partey and/or Xhaka or to play alongside Partey. Additionally, I think we could well see a central striker come in. If that is the case then I think it needs to be a proven goal scorer such as Vlahovic, otherwise it’s pointless. We have the youngest team in the league, so are future-proofed to a degree.
My 2 cents in a top midfielder, and maybe another if they sell lokogna. Cover for Partey is a must, would love to see SMS brought in for 25-30 million with his contract winding down.
Onana, Caicedo, or Rice, and SMS if we can sell Lokogna.
Striker is a bit harder to guess. Sell Nketiah, get a plan B type, and loan Balogun.
Balogun is very talented, but have not seen him play, and if he can provide the service in attack that Arteta wants. The lad can score, but can he do the other things? Dribble defenders, link up, pass or create? Time will tell.
I’m thinking 2 top incoming, then maybe 1 or 2 projects for the future.
Seems our esteeemed article writer can’t face the situation that we MUST and WILL let some players leave this summer.
My choices are these: ALL the ones currently being loaned, save only Balogun AND CERTAIN REAL YOUNGSTERS WHO HAVE NOT YET HAD OUR FIRST TEAM CHANCE
PLUS Elneny for certain, if I had my way, as he is useless AT THE LEVEL WE NOW NEED and must try to bring in.
I would try to bring in a better player to replace Holding too. THAT is unlikely to happen though.IMO.
As for who we will buy, I honestly have no idea, though I do think we will TRY for Rice, probably unsuccessfully.
I can guaranteee that we will NOT want, nor try for the ridiculously constantly rumoured Tielemans though. Though JA Admins appear not to know it, the object of a top manager is to improve a squad and NOT to weaken it.
What’s with all the CAPITALS? Do you think it adds flair or something? It detracts from whatever it is you are trying to infer.
We are going to need more quality players for next season. We have got CL and Cup games to consider too.
This season has clearly shown that our second rate are not yet up to level. We have lost all the cup games because we tried to rest our first 11 and integrate the backups. I don’t know why in Cup games our players seemed so demotivated, unbothered and nonchalant, hence we got knocked out of all of them.
But then after each Cup loss we just looked more motivated in the League games after. Weird.
We can’t be a one dimensional team next season, we have to go for more than one Trophy.
With everyone fit, it’s tough to better the starting XI, but we do need long-term replacements for Xhaka and Partey. We could bring in a big name like Rice, and easily start all 3, or rotate plenty of times given the tough schedule we’ll face next season with the Champions League returning.
As for the rest of the squad, it’s about adding better quality in reserve.
I love Tomi, but he’s very injury prone, as is Tierney on the other side, and both are also too good to be sat on the bench when fit. I would consider cashing in on one, if not both of them.
You won’t find better backups, but you will find fitter, and make some profit as well.
Another winger would be a good addition as well.
I think we need one marque signing in central midfield, and 2 or 3 more additions to beef up the squad. Although a lot will depend on outgoings.
dgr8xt for your information I can’t see just one single player coming in, not with our hungry gaffer at the elm.
Am expecting a minimum of three players and a maximum of five, am also expecting a few out going as well.
Nuno Tavares
Lonkango
Eddie or Bagulon
Marie
Nicholas Pepe
Eleney
In comings
One defensive midfielder
One box to box midfielder
A top striker.
A dynamic wing back.
Once we lay our hands on that elusive big jug the core of the team will be significantly strengthen in an attempt to tighten our grip on the mug.
Smith Rowe, Viera, Jorginho, Elneney…that midfield definitely needs an upgrade in quality. 2 maybe 3 players
1 LB if Tierney leaves.
The rest to be determined whether or not we win the league this season and any bottle jobs who can’t handle the pressure.
Upgrade on holding since Mari will leave, upgrade on elneny since they extended stay since it was inhuman to realize him while out injured so next mid transfer he will leave, one left winger since Saka is uncovered and lastly a striker which I don’t know how it will end up with balogun either stay or another loan……. To leave Cedric, Pablo, Niles, Tavares, lokonga, pepe…
Right wing and left wing are two positions for which we have only 3 players. I am counting Marquinhos as he is still too raw to play in the CL. We need another experienced winger.
I would agree, we will go for a DM who can cover Partey or Xhaka both. But I expect Tavares and Tierney go to if we are getting good sum, and get a LB. Along side, we will get some young kids like Marquinhos and send on loan along with him, Trusty, Runar. We might also sell Lokonga Mari Soares AMN Pepe and that would generate enough cash to buy a young first team striker rotation options.
I feel Arteta will buy an attacking right back as an alternative for Ben White. And probably a young superstar like Jude Bellingham as successor to Granit Xhaka will be welcomed. The rest of the squad is steady and ready to rumble.
No activity for the positions mentioned? April fools or fools paradise? This way stagnation lies.. Never stand still dude.
To be a top top team, playing 60+ games in a season,
We will need TWO top class midfielders.
We seem to be stuck on Rice, which is okay (I have said this many times before) as a back up for Xhaka.
We will really, really need a younger back-up for Partey though
Jorginho is NOT that player. When games get really competitive, his lack of pace will let him down!!
So, TWO DM’s please!!!!
If Tommy gets back to full fitness, and some intelligence makes a guest appearance with Edu and MA, we might just KEEP Tierney.
I am NOT impressed with Viera, especially as an Odegaard back-up in the big games!!
Honestly, I have not seen a real back-up the big O in any other team in the EPL.
If he was just two or three years younger I would have gone for Bobby Firmino, but I think he is past his best now.
Do we need a replacement for Rob Holding? I am not that sure we do.
So, Mr Kroenke, what can you do?
Can you get us two top class DM’s in the summer please, I think we can get by with that until the following January!!!!!!!
I have lighted a candle for you (on my Menorah of course)!