All the transfer talk on Arsenal sites seem to be concerning how our defensive line-up will be looking like next season if Ben White arrives from Brighton as expected.
David Luiz has moved on and the young Frenchman William Saliba is currently keeping his fitness up in preparation for joining the Gunners for pre-season. The Gunners have Pablo Mari and Gabriel Magalhaes likely to battle it out for the left-central role of defence, while Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Saliba will be competition for Ben White for the right-side role.
That is obviously too many defenders for one squad, especially without European Football, and this article in the Times is suggesting that Holding will be the one that is sacrificed to make room for White and Saliba.
But the fact is that last season Holding, along with Luis at times, was easily our most consistent defender and always seemed to be in the team when we kept a clean sheet, so why would Arteta want him to leave?
The Arsenal Insider Chris Wheatley certainly doesn’t think Holding will be sold. In fact he sent this message to the Arsenal faithful…
Rob Holding is away right now working hard ahead of pre-season. Arteta considers him as part of the Arsenal leadership group and highly unlikely to be going anywhere next season. #AFC
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) June 25, 2021
Wheatley then displays the stats that tell us that Holding was integral to Arsenal’s successful defence….
A player who rarely gets the credit he deserves 👇 pic.twitter.com/qtSR3L9YRn
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) June 25, 2021
So let us see who can predict which of our defenders will be in the squad next season, shallwe?
My suggestion is that Calum Chambers will be sold, unless he agrees to be right-back backup yet again. I will controversially suggest that Ben White will actually play as right-back in place of Bellerin, and Holding, Gabriel and Saliba will be fighting our for the central positions, And that leaves Mari out as the final reserve for emergencies.
What do you think?
I cant imagine Chambers being sold, he is so versatile and plays his heart out. Probably all will be there and MA will go in for a 343 system and probably Belerin is leaving.
Yes, reverting to 3-4-3 makes more sense. This is to accommodate Aubameyang’s playing style and maybe to follow Tuchel’s/ Conte’s/ Low’s tactics
I hope we stick to 2-CB formations though
Aubameyang has been excelling(Dortmund, under Wenger and Emery) before Arteta’s arrival and with 2 CBS too
He scored ten EPL goals under Wenger, but many of those goals came after we had nothing to play anymore in 2018. He was also just joined us at that time, so he worked harder and took higher risks in the field to impress his new fans/ manager
He also scored many goals in Emery’s first season, because Emery’s tactics were more counter-attacking than possessive. In December 2019, Arteta replaced Emery and Aubameyang strived to impress his new manager
However, his effort changed after he signed his new mega contract
You don’t even know your stance
Age,tactics or motivation
You are just circling without making any decisions why your claim is valid
I believe Auba can excel even in 4-2-3-1 considering how he played in Germany and under Wenger. He only needs to adapt and opt his game. And then with good creative Midfielders he will perform better he has pace and can run in behind defenders. Watch out for Auba next season.
He’s still pacey, but he was faster in his younger years in Germany. Even Bale recently said about his decreased pace because of his age, in a Sky Sports interview
I believe Auba can excel even in 4-2-3-1 considering how he played in Germany and under Wenger. He only needs to adapt and opt his game. And then with good creative Midfielders he will perform better he has pace and can run in behind defenders. Watch out for Auba next season.
I prefer 2 centre back.
I wouldn’t write Aubameyang off after one poor illness affected season.
There’s no explanation for signing White unless the back three is coming back. Unfortunately, that’s what cost us last season.
Arteta complained about having so many defenders that unbalanced the squad and we were happy to let some leave. How are we back to this again n just few months
Saliba is one that will cause many questions and bring many divisions because he was treated rather too badly in my humble view.
Arteta himself is not helping because he is too afraid to trust youngsters that explains why oldies got many underserved minute ahead of the untested young stars
I understand that he has worked with Guardiola where they are spoiled by money and buys everything needed.
This is arsenal and it’s the Emirates things are done a little differently
We want to see players like saliba and Balogon given chance, this is why must of us grew up loving arsenal
I was expecting Arteta prior to his arrival to be able to slowly build a team not buy a team which virtually most managers out there can do. I want to see us buy big when necessary then buy smart turning them into world class
I take pride in watching players like Martin Martineli,Saka,Smith and want to see the list increase with players like saliba,balogun,willock etc. It’s true they all won’t succeed here but at least give them a far chance to fail
Buying a player for 50million isn’t buying a team in today’s market please understand. Why can Leicester spend 40million on a player and be called good business but arsenal can’t spend 50million and have peace?
We Dont really know what we what as arsenal fans and we should make up our minds quickly.
While I am not against Ben signing I have to be honest and say I don’t understand it unless there are expected departures from that position. I think 50 million is too much for him, way too much especially when we are told clubs don’t have funds due to the pandemic. And we won’t get that money back if we end up selling him down the road.
So I hope he will have a huge impact for us to get value of that 50 million. I too think that there was no need for a central defender with the record we had last season and we are not strong in both RB and LB.
While I don’t understand this signing I will give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they are following a proper plan in signing players.
HH, Just to note that you have never yet given MA or Edu ANY benefit of doubt. You have constantly said you want him gone, so who are you referring to when you say “I will give THEM….” etc. Who is “THEM”?
It cannot possibly mean MA nor Edu, that’s for sure! Not unless you have had a sea change!
I don’t think I have ever mentioned Edu in any of my posts. And I like many others who are against the coach right now was an avid supporter of him (you are a witness to that even if you choose to deny it) until it was obvious that he cannot improve results on the pitch.
My stance on the coach won’t change unless I see us in the top 4 for the majority of the season and finish in it not miss by a single point or goal difference. Even if he accomplish that I will support him but not like him.
I cannot criticise the signings when the window has just started and while I agree with the signing of Ben it is puzzling considering we have urgent positions to address so I believe there are going to be some departures there, or at least it might be that Saliba is not part of the club plans. And I don’t believe they are that stupid to go for a player we don’t need and not addressing what we need so there will be new players for required positions.
By them I mean all who are responsible in recruiting not only Edu and the coach. I think Mr Garlick is part of the that team and many others even in smaller capacity?
I don’t like that we are easily paying 50M for him while had it been another team they would’ve gotten away with 20 to 30 millions. Our bad reputation of selling for peanuts and buying with diamonds has to stop. I believe other clubs know this that’s why they will devalue our players when buying them and overvalue their players when we go for them.
@HH
A proper realist (can’t stand the word TBH )
You speak for, I would say a good majority of Arsenal fans and humble and polite in your words ,don’t ever change that has you don’t bury your head in the sand and speak as you see
May it continue and I second every word you have written 👍👍
I will add that some slow slow thinking fans will tell you different trust me I count fans like you as proper fans no matter what some will say .
Hope to meet you in the later rounds of predictions to put you in your place though so no love affair just yet GL .
Thanks Dan and thankfully I am not alone in that. I can quickly think of you, Durand, OG and TRVL (even though I am not in sync with the way he post) and many others who speak as they see it and are not shy to express their opinions. And Sue who always put a balance to different opinions.
The beauty of the comments section is the difference in opinions otherwise we would have the first post and endless replies of “I agree.”
How nice it would be for Mr Fox and Co to understand that even though we support the same team and want the same thing we will always see things differently. Football after all is an emotional game.
Regarding predictions if I make it to the semis I win it by hook or by crook. There is no stopping me. But I have to worry about this round first and the next if I go through.
Agreed.
50m is too much for Ben
Even Upamenceno and Kanote does not cost more than 35m
Arsenal are buying what appears in their minds as a YOUNG quality CH. That is their entire reason. Good business in my mind.
@HH 👍👍
Regarding TRVL I can only admire the way he posts ,very distinctive and one of a kind takes me a few reads to get it through my think head but you can only envy the way he writes even though we fall out when he first came on here going back and forth like teenage virgins I hope he can see that it was only the the fact that we are both passionate Arsenal fans that we clashed because of a difference not opinions .
But I think the names you mentioned are pretty much on the same page .
Dan.. I wonder why you can’t stand the word ‘realist’ 😂
Nice words for HH, Dan. I agree with you, I love what he stands for – a really nice guy.
I also hope to see you guys fight it out in the predictions – battle of the heavyweights 😉
Agreed sue
The constant back and forth we all go through now grates on me and the last year with a few older members (not Ken and you Phil )that constantly try and make the younger generation question what they believe in because they don’t agree with their said views really riles me up .
Getting asked if you have ever kicked a football or questioning what you have achieved in your private life ,it borders on weirdness For me .
Luckily going forward on here I will only interact with the fans that I feel I have a connection with .
Regarding predictions like I said to HH no love affair if I come up Against you sue 😂.
I’ll be lucky to reach the next round 🤪
Yes, engaging with a select few is definitely the way to go, some just aren’t worth your time! (Or mine 😂)
I would sell Mari i think he is the least talented.
But u think Saliba will be shipped out. On loan i hope and not sold!
Chambers… gosh i love that guy he hardly ever puts a foot wrong. Holding too. Not flashy but so solid and reliable.
I actually like chambers at rb. Was really good. White is fab he can do it all. But we need to shorten the numbers a bit…
And what about a LB backup? Maybe AMN? Cedric can leave too in my opinion.
Either Chambers will be sold or he will be assigned to DM role. If Guendouzi and Elneny are sold, we’ll have these options in central midfield:
– DMs: Xhaka, Partey, Chambers, Willock, Azeez
– CAMs: Smith-Rowe, Willock, Willian, Nelson
We still have Cottrell, Patino, Cirjan and Hutchinson waiting for their turns
In CAM let say the only quality we have there is Smith Rowe plus Willock if he can turnup for Arsenal coming season. If Xaka leaves then our only reliable DM would be Patient plus Elneny and he isn’t good enough. The reality is that we really need additional quality in CAM & DM if we must compete next season.
Hope after buying White we can pay attention to CAM & DM.
Willian showed a glimpse of high level technical abilities, in the only game when he started as a CAM
About Nelson, we’ll never know his capabilities in the CAM position. Until we try him there, like what we did to Smith-Rowe
In CAM let say the only quality we have there is Smith Rowe plus Willock if Willock can turnup for Arsenal coming season. If Xaka leaves then our only reliable DM would be Patey plus Elneny and Elneny isn’t good enough. The reality is that we really need additional quality in CAM & DM if we must compete next season.
Hope after buying White we can pay attention to CAM & DM.
The majority of fans can never know what Arteta is planning for the defense.
I believe when Ben White is completed, he will not sit on the bench with such hefty price. So he takes one spot in the central defense, leaving one left if Arteta goes with 2 center back partnership.
We will have 6 center backs.
That is a good healthy selection dilemma for him.
I think Arteta might rank the center backs in this order.
1. White
2. Gabriel
3. Holding
4. Mari
5. Chambers
6. Saliba
So therefore, Gabriel and White might be the partnership he has in mind.
After Luiz left we were left with a big decision to make
We have Gabriel, Holding, Mari, Chambers, Saliba and as we have seen Arteta prefer to play mari and gabriel at left side of CB leaving saliba, chambers and holding for the right side then we have seen chambers excelling in Rb and played mostly there and just maybe that is where Arteta see him filling in a cap going forward then we are left with Holding and Saliba. I want to see Saliba but Arteta seems to see things differently
It is hard to see a 19/20 year old CB playing in a top level club especially in epl and also have not played in the country. He doesn’t trust Holding and Saliba over a whole season that explains his pursue of white, a good ball playing defender experienced enough and already settled in the league.. as much as it pains me the most likely outcome is moving/loaning Saliba
If the manager had planned for David Luiz departure they would have do everything possible to loan Saliba to an Epl team last season with guarantee of first team football inserted in his loan that would have given everyone the opportunity to make a clearer decision now and the save all this drama.
This is as a result of not planning ahead
Tony Adams, Martin Keown and prior to them David O’Leary did just fineas young CB’s playing for Arsenal in the top division. Why not William Saliba given his performances in Ligue 1 and selection for France’s Olympic team?
Ozzie I’m with you 27 million payed out on saliba when he was getting rave reviews as a teenager before we signed him ,sent on loan and by all sounds of it as got even better ,looks like anyone who questions Artetas decisions is sent on his way no matter what he could bring to the club ,if reports yesterday are to be believed about him and the club parting ways then I’m comfy just as you are .
Imagine Wenger having a young french player what he could have done with him ,hope I’m wrong that the rumours aren’t true .
Dan, George Graham would have drilled William Saliba into a “beast” CB, given his size, pace and ability to learn. When you consider the strength of French football, making the Ligue 1 team of the year and the French Olympic team is now mean feat.
👍
One of the leaders? So that’s why we’ve been doing so badly!
Going with 3 center backs in some games against teams like Man. City and Liverpool might be a good idea.
So it will be these 3 –
Gabriel, Holding, White.
I desperately want to see Saliba play, because I believe he is a great young talent.
Honestly do not know why Arteta does not rate him.
Will he play him, loan him out, or sell him???
Let’s see the decision he will take with Saliba in the coming months.
I don’t understand the rationale behind buying a central defender when we have other priorities. Why buy a central defender when we have Mari, Holding, Gabriel, Saliba, and Mavropanus? I don’t trust Arteta’s judgement at all. Our problem is in attack. We don’t have players who can dribble and move with the ball in midfield. We need goals from midfield. We should rather prioritise buying 3 players:
Sterling: 50m
Aouar: 30m
Bissouma:30m
Getting Bissuoma would give Partey the freedom to move freely as a box to box player.
Sterling is a proven goal scorer who has worked with Arteta before.
The three signings above should have been prioritised ahead of Ben White. If we need leadership at the back, we can get Sergio ramos on a free transfer and spend money on other targets.
Chambers Saliba Gabriel Tierney
Partey Bissouma
Aouar
Pepe Aubameyang Sterling
Sell Guendouzi, Torrera, Xhaka, Nketiah, Kolasinac, Bellerin, Willian
Loan out Reis Nelson.
We need to consider the start of the season, and pre season. Depending on how far teams go at the euros and the olympics.
Saliba and Gabriel will miss all of pre season. Saka and Leno could miss a fair chunk too. Without Leno our only senior goalkeeper is Runarsson. Okonkwo is currently refusing to sign a new contract. If we sign White he could be in the same boat as Saka, meaning we will have very little choice at centre back Holding and Mari are sure to start the season.
As for the team selected skills1000 4 of that team will miss 2/3 matches at the afcon and with Elneny also going we need to be wise about how many players from afcon countries we do actually sign.
👍 Skills1000
So we have Holding, GM, Mari, Saliba. thats 4
Chambers is much better at RB than at CB but he can 100% play there if needed and still be better than most regular CB’s.
I honestly foresee CC playing at RB this season, he is much better tactically, defensively and can cross better than HB, and going from the past few seasons, is probably on par with HB on speed.
Signing White IS a priority imo and heres why.
How many times between Leno and Holding did they mess up under pressure playing out from the back? if its one or the other putting each other under unnecessary pressure or putting a team mate under even more pressure when they had better options that were safer and could lead us up the pitch.
the answer is too bloody many.
I cant knock holding for is defending, not at all but he cant play ball like white can.
Saliba is un tested at EPL level, Mari is always in the physio’s room, GM is good, solid and will look to kick on this season after the olympics
So the start of the season we will have Holding, Mari if he’s fit ( CC and KT who can also play there)
Not really the start you would want right?
TBh, I would sell Holding if it means we have too much there.
He’s never going to get any better, his sell on value is probably the highest it will ever be, so it could well be that the time is now to cash in on him
Our priority should be in attack and not defence. Saliba, Mavropanus are good enough to start. Arsenal that I know won’t spend 50m on a defender and another 50m on an attacker in the same window. We should be thinking of getting Raheem Sterling, Bissouma and Auoar before looking at the central defence.
Mavropanos has left
Thanks Atid.
Skills1000, Arsenal’s priority has to be midfield.
So you will buy sterling in place of Saka?
No. We need squad depth. Saka can’t play week in week out. He has been overplayed. When injuries set in we will all blame Arteta for playing him too much like the case of Jack Wilshere.
And back to Sterling, he is a proven goal scorer. Scoring 20+ goals CONSISTENTLY for more than 4 seasons. No forward presently in Arsenal is not the same level as Sterling except Aubameyang.
So if Sterling is available, you would turn it down because we have Saka? We are talking about squad depth.
considering we only have domestic football this season, squad depth is already there.
All i can say is if we hadnt had so many individual errors from our back 5 last season, next season we would be playing UCL football.
We dropped too many points playing out from the back.
Yes i get we need more attacking options but that imo is not sterling, he is consistent over a season.
But we have Pepe, who played quite well since January, Saka is Saka and then we have other options for rotation in Martinelli and god forbid Willian.
Most fans here think we can just go buy this player and that and just think 8th position last year, a few results and we would have been in top 4, thats how slim the margins were last season.
We have a good squad, shipping Xhaka out and bringing in a top CM will only improve upon that and hopefully drive our consistency up as to me that is all we were missing alongside Auba last year
Lets just wait till the window closes and you can all moan about how bad our club is then
Arsenal needs an upgrade in midfield to assist Partey and take the pressure off injury prone ESR, lest he be played into the ground.
Leno
Chambers Holding Mari Tierney
Smith-Rowe Partey Saka
Pepe Aubameyang Martinelli
That would be my starting x1 if we don’t sign anyone. Saliba and Gabriel (missing because of Olympic duty)
With Saliba going to the Olympics with France it might give MA the excuse to ship him out i can already see the headlines”he didn’t have a full pre-season with us ..he had too short of a break…he came back tired….he needs to get some PL/Championship experience it looks like a loan to a British club or being sold all together.
Siamois, Arteta, should he make a decision like that, would be working himself out of a job!
You reckon?i hope I’m wrong but if it does happen MA will have difficulties explaining his previous claims of having the player’s best interests at heart that’s for sure!
If we buy white, saliba will be moved on. I believe the issue is not saliba’s ability but his attitude which is similar to Guendouzi’s case with Arteta. Chambers and Holding should be retained partly because they are ready to play second fiddle, they are versatile and are home grown. We can’t afford to loose home grown players now. Whites, holding, Mari and Gabriel at CB, while Chambers should be fully established as our RB. Kolacinac, MLN, Guendouzi, Torreira, Bellerin, Lacazette can be allowed to move on permanently, while balogun, Nelson, Azees, should go on loan for more game time and experience. We had one of our best defense in recent years last season, addition of white will be upgrade, even to Luiz errors. Where we need to upgrade is attacking midfield, creating chances and scoring goals.
Five more goals could have given us champions league spot.
Games against Fulham, Burnley, Sheffield, everton, man united, and wolves. A goal each more in those games would have seen us celebrating the team. We need to be killing games off.
We can get started with 1 very good scoring attacking midfielder in the mould of Fernandez, White and a ball distributor like Santi Carzola or fabrepass
Raheem, on what evidence do you criticise Saliba’s attitude?
You should put up or apologise to the player, as he has conducted himself well given his treatment and situation.
@skills1000: And where is Saka in your line up? Our best player by far. I feel we dont need Sterling having Saka with us.
I am a Saka fan. My worry is he should be managed properly to avoid injury and fatigue. We need another top signing upfront.
Top signing guarantees competition for places. We need more goals. Sterling is a goal scorer. Very direct at running at defenders.
Man City will get either one or both of Grealish and Harry Kane. When that happens, Arsenal should bid for Sterling.
Left side of attack: Sterling, Martinelli
Right side of attack: Pepe, Saka
38 PL games to be played. FA Cup, Carling Cup. We need quality and squad depth. Winning the league should be the target next season.
My Line up so far will be –
Aubameyang.
Saka. Smith-Rowe. Pepe.
Willock. Partey.
Tierney. Gabriel. (White), Cedric.
Leno.
OR –
Aubameyang. Lacazette. Pepe.
Tierney. Willock. Partey. Saka.
Gabriel. Holding. White.
Leno.
3-4-3.
The biggest mistake that Arteta and Edu can make will be to think of parting with Rob Holding and
Smith Rowe. How dare any body think of selling Rob Holding; the man who played for David Luis who suffered multiple injuries!!!!!
Who dares think of selling Smith
Rowe an up coming versatile attacking midfielder who came up just in time to salvage Arsenal from the great gap that Ozil created.
What does Aston Villa want behind Arsenal Stars????
Arteta and Edu, kep these two players
Gabriel cannot support air duels from corner kicks like Holding. Gabriel should move up front as 6 should always do. Leave Holding and whoever behind. This is my humble plead.
I think you are correct Siamois, a loan to a Championship Club could be exactly the right next move for Saliba, I think that’s what would have happened last season if we could have made it so.
Reading through all these just shows how difficult it is for Arteta (and all Managers for that matter) to please all fans all of the time, no real credit when they get it right, slaughtered when it appears not to have worked straight away.
It all sounds so easy on here, buying players is just like popping to Aldi and selling players like putting an unwanted gift on eBay, I don’t think it’s as simple as that and most Clubs probably don’t achieve what they would really want to in the market
Just to throw my own wobbly in, I think we would have sold Auba had Barca or somebody like that come in for him before he signed his new contract and I still wouldn’t rule that out, although after the season he had that’s probably even less likely now, I’m not convinced he is a key part of our future myself
FF, managers should only be judged on one thing; position in the table given the player resources at their disposal.
Arteta can’t afford any missteps after eighth place, early exits from Cup competitions and a semi final loss in the Europa League in his first full season.
You’re not wrong Ozziegunner, that’s how it should be and I agree that last season’s results and final League position were/was disappointing
However just reading these posts regularly that isn’t what appears to be happening, Arteta is being judged daily on things that may or may not be true or could or could not have happened/be happening and all I was trying to say was that there are some things that he has no control over and just like all other Managers he has to manage as best he can with what he can control
Not all perceived missteps are necessarily down to him, he has made mistakes and will make more, unfortunately I don’t think that too many fans who contribute to this site will wait until we see the end of season results and position next term to judge him but I agree that if they are no better then it would be time for a change, I reckon Arteta himself would agree with that
Question is, which players can raise their game to get us back in contention as challengers. I’m not sure Holding can. Sometimes he looks so disciplined, but more often nervous and very slow. If we sign Ben White, then who will play alongside him in a 2 or a 3. Gabrielle obviously, I’m not convinced about Mari, and not sure of Ben White as a full back for 50mill. I can see a 2 of White and Gabriel, or a three of Ben White, Gabriel and William Saliba, with White being the one with the job of link with Partey or whoever else is in deep midfield. Chambers was bought as a RB and plays well there. The big issues are about midfield. Clearly Partey will be part of it then who? Seems like this guy Albert Sambi Lokonga may come in, but we also really need a midfield controller to direct the team and help ESR. I would like James Maddison or Nabil Fekir….but would they come to Arsenal? If they see Kroenke/Arteta willing to spend on the side…..maybe. If, Arteta can motivate a formation like that, then maybe they could do it, but I’m not sure Arteta’s extreme micro-management style will allow much individualism. So if we get Ben White, Lokonga, and one of Maddison or Fekir, we could have a meaningful team and a chance. Of course we need a good back up for Tierney too who gets injured regularly.
I agree with you Sean”Arteta’s extreme micro-management style” is a big issue. He needs to allow the guys play with much freedom. I’m looking forward to the new season.
Saliba, Saliba and Saliba but we haven’t seen Saliba play in the Epl yet think the 20yr is capable of holding his own in the EPL
Too much noise also on Bissouma
Having watched him several times he’s average nothing special
Havyn, Ligue 1 team of the season and selection for France in the Olympics, plus Wesley Fofana’s performances for Leicester City, indicate William Saliba can!
Holding is not good enough and he never will be , the sooner we get rid of him the better .
Our standards have dropped so much that we have accepted mediocrity. Holding is no different from mustafi, he’s just the English version. If I pull out mustafi’s stat he won’t seem so bad too .
Holding is 6”2 and little players like sterling and jota won headers against him , that’s just one of the few nonsense he constantly does .
If we ever want to get bad to where we should be we need to be brutally honest with ourselves and admit that most of these guys are not good enough. Same goes for chambers , bellerin, xhaka, leno etc .
For a centre-back, Rob Holding is still very young, but in Arsenal’s bevy of defenders he is probably the most experienced.
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt as he is becoming more consistent and shows leadership qualities…
I hope you’re right, White would be almost ideal as an inverted right back. He has the speed and skill to play as a fullback and his experience as a defensive mid would serve him well when sliding into the midfield. Arteta could look at White in this role as key to the way he wants to play. But they were looking at Tapsoba before they settled on White and he doesn’t seem to fit the same role, so I suspect the are trying to buy White as a RCB to partner Gabriel.
If Arsenal sign White they will not use him as a RB or a RWB.He is an excellent CB which is a position where we have lacked real quality for some time.I have not seen Saliba, but having watched Gabriel all last season I very much doubt if he will make it in the EPL.I have seen an oil tanker turn quicker and positionally he is all at sea.Part of his problem may be difficulty in communication with his fellow defenders, which hopefully will improve over time.I really hope he proves me wrong but based on what I have seen, he could turn out to be yet another bad buy, unlike Holding who to my mind has been good value for money.
I agree we have too many cbs but the question should be how many top 4 level cbs do we have? The answer is none and in two weeks when we sign Ben White it will be one. I truly believe we have the reported 250 million war chest available and it would be silly to show our hand this early. First will be White and the lad from the Netherlands. Next up will be a top class cm and acm, hopefully Renato Sanchez and James Maddison. Finally we will try and offload Lacazette and Willian and bring in a top drawer cf like Isak or Andre Silva.
One thing that we shouldn’t lose sight of is Arsenal’s recent history with injury (some serious) to defenders, particularly CB’s. Holding, Koscielny come to mind.
CB is a position where hard physical contact is prevalent, thus a successful season may depend on having competent backup. 6 CB’s may end up being required, particularly if Chambers and White are competent in playing other positions such as RB and DM.
It leaves me speechless bcz we still have the problem of goal drawt which is not yet solved and the patchy players are hard to be sold bcz of their poor market and the best players will keep sleeping away from our hands due to long negotiations. The idear is we need to get Isak and sell 2 strikers to create room for him to replace Belerin after selling him re-introduce Chambers as DM get back up for Tiene and we sot our goalkeeping error .