Poll – In which position do Arsenal need to strengthen the most?

Plugging The Urgently Needed Gaps

Arsene Wenger gets paid the big bucks, for among other things, to make the big the decisions. If rumours are to be believed, at the moment Arsene is trying to sign the midfielder/ left winger Thomas Lemar. One must conclude from this that Arsene must have identified this player to be ideal to fill in a position of weakness in the squad. However, after assessing our team in their preseason friendlies, it raises doubt that this area that Thomas Lemar will operate in (despite the fact that we may lose Sanchez) may not be the position that deserves the most urgent attention for the benefit of the team.

If it were up to you and you could only strengthen our team with only one signing in one position, which of the following areas do you think urgently needs attention for the up and coming season?

Which position do Arsenal need to strengthen right now

  • A Midfielder (62%, 557 Votes)
  • A Defender (24%, 213 Votes)
  • A Winger (11%, 96 Votes)
  • A Striker (2%, 19 Votes)
  • A Goalkeeper (2%, 19 Votes)

Total Voters: 904

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By Anonymous

42 Comments

    1. Agree we need someone who scares the opposition, imposes themselves on the game & makes teams fear playing Arsenal, which just isn’t the case nowadays. coquelin just isn’t good enough.

      1. Coquelin’s defending is excellent.In fact i’ve watched many DM’s Arsenal have been linked and he’s better than some of them defensive wise.How many top DM’s will keep the likes of Silva,Coutinho and Modric(12/13) quiet throughout a match?It takes top defending to do that.His biggest problem is that he’s not adventurous and doesn’t hold the ball with authority.It’s just that I feel he’s not given the appreciation he deserves.He’s a good squad player to have and when on form can do well against top teams.

  1. We all saw how Sevilla controlled the game, especially the second half, and that steams from midfield. I like Xhaka, and although he didn’t have a great first season, but I’d give him at least one more season. After Xhaka we have no one of any real quality in central midfield, and even Xhaka himself isn’t on the same level as a Santi, or Modric for example.

    We badly need a WC midfielder, but I expect Wenger to stick by Ramsey for yet ANOTHER season. New season, same problems.

    1. This is what he said today…..
      Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claims letting players contracts enter final year is an ‘ideal situation’
      Arsene Wenger claims dressing room benefits from those fighting for a new deal
      Arsenal have seven first-team players whose contracts expire next summer
      Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere are among those in their final year
      Wenger insisted he has no problem with the uncertainty surrounding his squad

      This is shameful, he is really taking the p… It’s unbelievable, how stupid does he think everybody is?
      With comments like these, he deserves no respect. He sounds as dumb as Trump and that is saying a lot.

      1. What did you expect, he’s a business man after all. I’m just pondering why he did not do the same with our non-performing players such as Walcott, Wilshere, Ramsey and amongst others and instead rather with performing players like Sanchez? Surely if you want these non-performing players to fight for their contracts before you slap them a huge pay rise? It doesn’t make sense it just sounds like hypocrisy and more lame excuse making to me. Not even big clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern would make such a bold statement.

      2. Name the last real solid player, except Alexis, at Arsenal who was allowed to go into their final year? No one else, right? So what is the fuss about then?
        Once in this life I won’t be the sugar daddy of all EPL mediocre players when it comes to contracts. Let them run down their contracts and put a poor performance in their last year of contract and see who’s wiling to pay huge salaries for them.
        They all have a generous offer on the table right now at the end of a season where they performed absolutely under their strengths except Alexis, of course.
        I don’t have to tell you what’s the salary Ox or Ozil will receive after one year they played so poor or not playing at all. Let’s see if I am right.

          1. You are incorrect. They were sold with one year left on their contract. I hoped you will say Sagna but see the first line where I have said “solid player”.

      3. I really hope fans aren’t expecting Arsene to openly admit this is a problem. That will only have negative effects on the club overall morale and eventually performance. It’s better he manages an already bad situation, then let’s see where we get to from there. I think Arsene doesn’t need to be “flogged” on this comment but given the chance to try right the wrong of allowing contract negotiations/renewal linger into the wee hours.

      4. All true. He does not grasp the fact that all the dressing room will be talking about is where these players are going and how much money they will get.

  2. Definitely the Midfield (assuming we get Lemar and Alexis stays this season)

    We never really replaced Viera so either a holding Midfielder like Carvalho, Gueye, Matic or Krychowiak And/Or a box2box Midfielder to replace Cazorla like Veratti, Goretzka, Seri, Nainggolan, Pjanic, Matuidi etc.

    We have a lot of players whose contracts end next summer
    Alexis
    Ozil
    Oxlade
    Cazorla
    Wilshere
    Gibbs
    Campbell
    Macey
    Jenkinson

    That is a lot of money gone if they all leave free next summer. Interesting

    1. Its looking like he is building a new team I support Mr wenger why sell sachez now for 40 million while his replacement will cost us 80 million we need to get players of good quality first and then we can let go and I am sure if a club comes in with 80 million for sanchez Mr wenger will go for it
      savilla keep the ball well and circulates the ball well so many back passes to retain position they play a shape of 3331 and very close there was no gaps and they were not afraid to dig in to our players I must admit i like their system….I believe we are a bit short could welshire provide the filling for carzola boots ?? next weekend we will know how ready we are for the season

    2. Wilshere,Gibbs,Campbell,Macey and Jenkinson we work hard to shift them this summer even. Cazorla is not on a huge pay and if we can get 20 games out of him this season then he paid off his last contract.
      Oxlade-Chamberlain will have to prove that he can play more than 12 decent games a season to earn more than 100k/week. If he does that then he will definitely get a bumper but we won’t make the same mistake as with Walcott, that’s for sure.
      Ozil can go anywhere else if they pay him upward 300k/week. We consider 200k/week is actually a lot of money for a player like Ozil but this is the offer we made him regardless.
      Patience. It will all fall into places.

  3. Which of Ramsey,Xhaka,Coquelin,Ozil and Elneny would get selected on a regular basis to play for any of the other top six sides?…Unfortunately we know the answer and this wasn’t the case up until a couple of years ago.

      1. I agree Ozil and Xhaka

        No way Ramsey, Coquelin, and definitely not Eleney

        We have Cazorla who is World Class but he is injured and in 30s

        That’s exactly why we need another Top Central Midfielder to keep up with the others ie. Pogba, Kante, Gundogan, Matic, Wanyama, Carrick, Yaya, Dembele, Henderson

        God I hope Wenger gets Lemar and a Top Central Midfielder minimum

        1. Ramsey is a Wales international and he will definitely walk into a top 6 team. Coquelin is not going to do that although this is having a lot to do with the international status as well. Elneny is not a regular starter even at the Arsenal therefore adding him to the list is a mistake.

          1. Ramsey wouldn’t start for any team in the top 6. He is injury prone, a liability defensively, dwells on the ball for too long and despite him making good forward runs, his goalscoring return is not great, except for that 6 month period where he was on fire.

    1. Xhaka is an overrated player.He’s also part of the reason why we’re facing problems in the centre.What’s his role in the team?Is it to be a DM or a CM.If it’s a DM then i’d definitely start Coquelin over him as his style of defending is what we need.We’re naive in possession and he wins the ball a lot.When he’s at top form he should start.You don’t stop the likes of Coutinho,David Silva and Modric to be called useless just because you’re not world class.If it’s a CM then he’s not the best either in Arsenal team.He can dictate play from deep but we need someone who can drive the team,hold the ball and also dribble when the need be.If things continue like this I see him losing his place.We’ll probably let it come back to haunt us then we’ll realize.I for one think Wenger’s selection of players for games is poor.

  4. Can Some Please Tell Ignorant Wenger To Sign Up Idrissa Gueye Already. Naby Keita Is Good Enough But Is Too Expensive At 70million Pounds. William Carvalho Is Too Slow For The Intensity Of Premier League. Gueye Is The Best Available Choice And He’ll Never Disappoint.

  5. Ramsey is positionally indisciplined, he is more like an AM than a CM… should be converted to CAM like he is utilized in Wales… come from d bench for Ozil during games.
    in other cases he simply plays poorly
    Wilshere and Cazorla are injury prone..hence unreliable.
    Hence, we need a reliable and classy CM to partner Xhaka at the heart of midfield.
    Thought Lemar was the player because of his versatility and I don’t see Arsenal changing from the 3-4-2-1 cos it has worked for them and they’ve been practicing it all preseason.
    ….which means it’s unlikely Lemar is signed to play LW or AM unless Alexis is sold..
    or RW unless we switch back to 4231.

    1. I concur, both the the way Arsenal plays and the fact that we have both Ozil and Ramsey on at the same time are reason why we cannot control our midfield. I don’t know why Wenger cannot see this since he’s so determined to play him in any way he can, possibly because that would mean benching Ozil and we know what that means.

    2. Ramsey plays where I put him to play. For him to play like he play for Wales would mean for Arsenal to switch to 4-5-1 formation Wales is playing. You understand the subtleties for you are a smart person. Obviously it would be wrong to adjust the whole squad to benefit only one player. You all remember 2014 season when Ramsey was easily the best player we had despite his injury. Remember what formation and what position he played? Exactly.
      Ramsey issue is mental even now after the injury, not technical. He is one of the most committed players in the squad. If everyone would be committed just like Ramsey is then we would be much stronger on the pitch.

  6. in CB… we now use 3CB formation which means we need at least 3Reliable CBs that can play together every weekend.
    Koscielny is reliable but his injuries lately mean he can’t play as many game as he used to n needs to be managed prudently….. GETTING OLD
    Mustafi is reliable when Fit, which was why he struggled in d 2nd half of last season after he was rushed back. …POOR WHEN NOT 100% FIT
    ..Holding is good but still young and inexperienced to keep our EPL hopes on him, he can start week in week out in EPL yet….. INEXPERIENCED.
    Gabriel is not bad but he is more brawn than brain,n that gets xploited against technical teams like City,Bayern n also gives unnecessary fouls like he did vs Kane…. NOT INTELLIGENT ENOUGH
    ..Mertesacker is another defender that is past it but can still put in a shift n do a very good work when he is properly protected, so he is basically a sweeper….. LACK of PACE IS XPLOITED IF HE’S NOT PROTECTED.
    …Monreal is often jittery n affords opponent too much space in dangerous positions, his shadowmarking technique is also poor as he literally escorts the opponent into the box.
    …JITTERY, POOR SHADOWMARKING
    Chambers… doubt if he will be an Arsenal player by September 1… still yet to prove he is cut out to play for a big team regularly..

    1. An acute analysis of our defence problems and precisely points out individual faults. I think we need a strong and tough tackler with pace; wit and grit. Someone like Virgil Van Dijk but seems like good centre backs are going for crazy money nowadays. Rudiger was once an option but Chelsea has now snapped him up. The other and only option I can see is officially giving Holding the first team role and have Mertesacker mentor him throughout the season.

      1. You’re spot on our defence needs somone like Van Dijk evn if we have to pay over the odds.
        We could have bought him for under £10m. Holding will develop into a great CB but we have to be a bit careful not to put too much pressure on him at such a young age.

    2. Chambers did well yesterday against Benfica and should shine if given the opportunity

  7. We really need to have more possession and reativitt in midfield because if we don’t then teams are going to run over us. Either we get a versatile central player in the mould of Cazorla so that Ozil can be free to play his CAM role or we get two very dominant guys who can retain possession as well strong attacks yet still allowing Ozil or Ramsey to play freely upfront.

  8. With the limited budget that the club have,(no comparable with our mains rivals) plus the attitude of Wenger in relation to bring new players I think that the team needs at least one very good and expensive midfielder and retain Perez instead of going for Lemard.If they need a wing; Nelson will do it.
    At the moment nor Ozil neither Iwobi are producing anything.
    Team for next weekend:
    Cech
    Chambers- Mertersaker- Koscielny
    Ox -Ramsey -Xhaka -Kolasinac
    Ozil(?)
    Walcott- Girou
    With Ox and Kolasinac the strikers will have plenty of service.

  9. Our biggest problem is not WHO we have in midfield, but HOW they are organized and HOW they are told to play.
    For years Wenger hasn’t been able to organize the midfield defensively, and he is still allowing our players to defend the “old way”, which means allowing opponents to control the ball, turn, and play.
    Just look at how Tottenham, Chelsea, Man C, Barcelona, Bayern etc. defend. Their midfielders are like hungry animals, straight on the heels of their opponents when they receive the ball. Give them no time at all. This is the big difference.
    The only midfielder we have, who does it, is Coquelin.

    1. I agree with your comment,but how you teach now to Ozil,Ramsey and Elneny to change.So there are 2 radicals solutions:
      1: bring 3 new players
      2: wait for another 2 years.

  10. We need two players, if Sanchez stays, but three players if he (Sanchez) leaves. We need a defender and a defensive midfielder, so I think Wenger should go for renato sanchez and vigil van dijk.

  11. Love to see Kolasinac play in middle alongside Ramsey or Xaka-

    He’s built like a tank, defensively minded – but can attack too

    I don’t think it’s a role he’s done much before – but it really could work.

    Imagine him and Coqueline together would provide huge barrier to opposition attacks if wanted to play defensively against higher class opponents!

  12. Above all this team needs title winning mentality. Having lived through the stadium building and paying-for years, we have had to sell our best players and replace with average ones. Somewhere in between we developed a mental block. When we overcome this mental block, we will be winners again. Now, will that need new players or new manager or new owners, I do not know.

    I sincerely believe that once we sort out the mentality, the current first 11 is as good as most top teams.

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