Scouting for Arsenal – The five affordable players to make us formidable next season

Five summer signings that will strengthen Arsenal next season. by Kandy Theodore

So, it turns out that Unai Emery will have around about 50 million pounds to spend on new signings this coming summer, that figure could however rise from potential player sales and success in the Europa league. Still, we won’t be able to afford crucial players to our cause who’d most likely cost around 40 million each, and we need about four of those, a composed central defender who likes to get his house in order, two defensively sound fullbacks for both flanks who are just as capable of being a threat in the final third, a technical, pacey winger with a decent end product and a robust central midfielder with good technical ability to complement Torreira and the promising Guendouzi.

Ramsey and Welbeck seem to be on their way out, and the futures of Mesut Ozil, Mohamed Elneny and Shkrodan Mustafi are anything but certain at this point. I’d hate to see Mesut leave, I think there’s still a lot to come from him if he’s around the right players, but we’ve been at this for years now, he’s not getting any younger and the club is never going to bring in the players to make us a complete team. We’ll have weak players here and there, and the reality is he’s always going to be the scapegoat when we lose a match. The best thing that can happen for both parties is for him to leave and revive his career at a more stable club, while making some room in the wage budget for players better suited to Emery’s tactics.

With that said, here are the players I think would make us a formidable force next season with the likely transfer budget at our disposal.

1. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crystal Palace – Hector Bellerin needs competition at right back and given his bad luck with injuries, he’ll be in and out of the team most of the time. Wan-Bissaka is a threat on the break and a tough nut to crack at the back, a great deal of nuisance to wingers and let’s be honest, he’ll be more than welcome. However, Palace rate him highly and he won’t come cheap. Maybe Jenkinson plus some 15 million pounds will have Palace thinking about a deal.

2. Ben Chilwell, Leicester City – All has been said about this guy and we’ve seen him play, most importantly we NEED him. He won’t come cheap and Leicester may even be reluctant to sell, but 20 million pounds may test the waters here, for a necessary signing I’d say.

3. Yacine Brahimi, FC Porto – Out of contract in the summer, tricky, pacey and deadly. He’d be a coup if we were to land this deal and not to mention he’s at his peak at 29 years old. Our flanks could use him.

4. Sander Berg, Genk – A 6’4 towering central midfielder, combative and pacey for that figure, reads the game well, good passing and boy he can tackle just as well as he can drive the ball up field with a great deal of determination. Other than that, he’s still just 21 and as composed and confident on the ball just as good as Guendouzi if not better. Think of him as an offensive yet faster Matic, second to none in aerial duels and strength. However, how much he might cost I have no idea.

5. Kostas Manolas, Roma – A quality central defender, he’ll probably cost us our whole transfer budget leaving me with little faith of a deal ever being completed. Another sensible alternative is Nacho at Real Madrid, good luck with that one.

6. Kai Havertz, Leverkhusen, – If Mesut leaves, this kid should be his replacement. He’s as unique as Mesut is, brilliant on and off the ball. But let’s be honest, we’ll have a better chance of coming fourth this season than landing this deal.

Kandy

35 Comments

  1. You said five affordable players, but you mentioned six pricey ones

    Suppose Emery would only get fifty millions, he has to rely on the youngsters, some free signings if Arsenal manage to sell the highly paid unwanted players and hopefully some smart buys like Guendouzi purchase

  2. I believe at one time we were in the hunt for Manolas and I was hoping to get him. Really shouldn’t miss out this time .Btw we would then have three Greeks in the squad.

    1. Three Greeks yes. And do you know what ELSE they have in common with ALL others in our squad? YES, THAT’S RIGHT ; THEY ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS. I will tell you what is important with any new players and also what is not. IMPORTANT are quality of talent, great and hard working attitude, decent and well rounded human being. And NOT IMPORTANT are nationality or skin colour. NOW YOU KNOW!

      1. Jon, I dont think georgie was being racist there, he was just simply stating an interesting fact that we would have 3 Greek central defenders, which is actually extremely rare, or maybe even the first time a team outside of Greece has had 3 Greek defenders. I mean if it were French defenders at Arsenal it wouldnt be news, but 3 Greeks, I think is worth mentioning as an interesting story.

        1. I agree with JimBeam Jon, don’t think georgie b was being racist in any way whatsoever, more likely, just stating a fact. Jon, the fact that we could possibly have three Greek guys in the back four will not only help with communication but also help with the new players settling into the club. Jon, I admire you stance against any forms of racism and how consistent you’ve always been regarding such behaviour however as a friend I would like to point out and genuinely think you may have jumped the gun on this occasion. Don’t like making myself busy but just like other people to know your good intentions at heart

          1. But Kenny, I fail to see what is so exciting about having 3 players from ANY particular country. In a squad of 25 approx ALL CLUBS HAVE at least three players from at least one country, even two or three countries. What is so exciting about our Greek players? Just being Greek? Sorry, I don’t get that at all! They, our present Greeks, are hardly proven worldbeaters are they! I can understand excitement about all the wonderful French players we had in Viera’s, Henry’s, Pires’s etc time. France were a consistent top national team then, as now, so French players could generate real excitement because they were then almost certain to be top quality if we bought them.

            Kenny, I did write a very full reply to Jim explaining that I did not think georgie b a racist nor was his post a racist one. Mr Admin chose not to let it show , since it was all about humanity and social attitudes today ,compared to decades ago. Shame really, as it was one of my better posts though I say so myself. Mr Admin constantly allows a host of home and social life and thus “harmless non attitude to life” posts,esp from Sue and John Wick, who often have their own private social conversations on here. That is fine by me – I am all for freedom, as you know, BUT there are double standards applied on here by Pat the Admin ,when it comes to non Arsenal related posts. I never thought georgie b ‘s post racist, THOUGH IT DID THINK IT POINTLESS, since Greeks are usually white, whilst racism though wrongly, is often thought to be ONLY when white people decry black people, which is nonsense obviously, even though that IS RACIST.

            I make no apology for realising there are more important things in life than merely our common obsession on here and even football generally. There is room in mature well adjusted brains for interest and passion about a host of subjects and blunder headed attitudes to life DO offend my sensibilities. I am probably too sensitive BUT I would far rather be that way than the dull witted polar opposite we all see so often on social media sites. THIS site is one of the better, more decent sites, which is why I am so attracted to it. I also acknowledge the hard work Pat puts into running it. That does not save him from my strong opinion when I think he is wrong, as we all are, more than we ever even realise.

            1. In which case I apologize if I misinterpreted your post, I thought you suggesting that georgie b was using racial undertones however I do agree with you that your post to georgie b explaining your exact meaning should have been heard. I also agree with you that Pat does an incredible job running this site which brings me on to ask him if someone from the JustArsenal organisation could arrange an annual get together. maybe a well known pub in the Arsenal area. My choice would be the “Gunners” in Blackstock road. Would be perfect.

            2. Being verbose or writing in caps doesn’t make it right Jon.
              It is newsworthy, hence worth mentioning if there are 3 Greek defenders in a top club in the UK. I’m pretty sure it would maje it to the sports pages in Greece. I’m sure it would be news if they were Norwegian, Albanian, Austrian or Turkish as well. It probably would be less interesting if they were from Football powerhouse countries like France, or Italy or Spain.
              As you know “dog bites man” is not a news story but “Man bites dog” is.
              So things out of the norm are always interesting tidbits for people.
              3 Greek defenders at Arsenal definitely is unique.
              So instead of trying to come up with long winded, incoherent and off-subject arguments peppered with caps (which equates to screaming when you’re writing) just say you’re sorry to Georgie B for your hissy fit and call it a day. 🙂

  3. Seriously don’t get too excited abt new players. It’s likely we have only 35 mil at most. The club basically been lying to fans for years about the actual transfer budget for years so not really worth carrying too much hope.

    Maybe we can only loan players most.

  4. Kroenke will invest some of his own funds into the squad! Nah that wouldn’t even be believable on April fools Day ? we just have to accept we will always run on a tight budget with Kroenke as the owner, until he leaves we might just have to accept mediocrity unfortunately! Anyway hopefully 3 points tomorrow ?

  5. Can I get Sander Berg on FIFA 19? Hope so

    Bigger stronger quicker better than anything seen before!!!

    We don’t need to add. Just sell Mustafi and we have a greater chance of top 4. An empty hole would be better

  6. Out of the list, the only player I personally fancy and admire is Aaron Wan-Bissaka. I do think he’ll be a great buy and he’s got age also, someone tough to battle it with with HB for the RB position.
    That said, I don’t think even 50 million will get you two players out of your list, not including free transfer. Teams have a knack for ripping Arsenal off when it comes to player fees

  7. I think that rather than all this window shopping for other team’s players, we should look at what we already have
    Holding was shaping up beautifully until that tragic injury; I think he will be the real deal when fit again
    Smith Rowe is looking like Jack Wilshere MK 11 only more likely to be a goal scorer too – my favourite young player right now
    Chambers who has become a better player on loan at Fulham and operating well in midfield
    Maitland Niles who is improving all the time and I believe a better defender than Bellerin
    Bukayo Saka who when he came on against Qarabag looked just what we are missing; a fast tricky direct winger. I am worried thouigh as he does not appear in the squad on the Arsenal website – anyone know why ?
    If we sell some of the dead wood like Mustafi and free the wage bill of Ozil’s ridiculous salary. then bring on some of the above; this could free up funds to buy one or two super players, especially a much-needed centre back

  8. If Emery doesn’t want Ozil why would he want Havertz? I mean, he is an Ozil that actually works, but it seems Emery doesn’t want that type of player at all. And 20mill for Chilwell will get us a good laugh from Leicester. At LEAST 30-35mill. That’s the price of English players nowadays.

  9. of all the players you mentioned only kai makes sense as he’s young, 6’2″ with good pace and build. can carry ball, dribble, and more importantly TACKLE!!

  10. Van-Bissaka and Chilwell would be great acquisitions but to get them we would have to sell Bellerin and Kolasinac to have any chance of funding their likely costs of £60m+.Not a bad idea as neither B nor K have been entirely convincing?

    1. Have you watched Lucas Digne of Everton? You’ll change your mind about Chilwell, he’s arguably the best left back in epl.

  11. 1) Rabiot FREE
    2) Audero/reliant back up GK £10m
    3) Grimaldo £20m
    4) T Hazard £30m
    5) Orban £15m
    6) Aarons £15m
    7) Pepe £50m

    Ramsey
    Cech
    Lichsteiner
    Welbeck
    Elneny 10m
    Özil 20m
    Mkhitaryan 20m

    Thats my wishlist, 100m spent!

    1. Solid list MCL, but if AFC decide 2 bring in
      multiple wingers I think both Hazard and Pepe
      SADLY is a little ambitious. One and a bosman
      like Brahimi from Porto is more likely.

  12. If the reports of arsenals transfer budget is so out in the open and everyone thinking it’s true u are all daft as the stupid bloke who wrote the article.. no one knows wot our transfer budget will be!! It depends largely on where we finish in the league and our success in hopefully a decent Europa run.. if our transfer kitty is out there for all to know.. why isn’t it as or city’s or Chelsea etc..
    dont forget we got a new sponsorship with Adidas kicking in next season.. which hopefully will boost the kitty.. we then have players like Cech, welbeck, monreal, leitchstinner, Ramseyout of contract and leaving which will save maybe 400k if not more a week.. plus let’s hope we can sell mustafi, Elneny, chambers and hopefully Ozil for half decent money.. saving on those wages will improve our chances.. but if we not in champions league we will have to spend big in the summer.. time for the club to back the manager..
    we also need to replace milistat.. who left for some reason no one seems to know.. was it to much was asked of him? Or the board were not backing him.. but hopefully we will get in overmars to replace him.. and his first signing would be to bring ajaxs young cb de ligt with him.. followed by chillwell and wan Bisska I think would instantly improve our defence.. but they will prob cost 100+ to sign all 3.. then we stil need a ball winning midfielder.. at least 1 if not 2 out and out wingers.. pepe and either dacoure or ndidi would be a good start..

    We can only dream eh? Anyway Let’s give Huddersfield a good stuffing tomorrow.. COME ON U GOONERS!!

    1. I do remember the rumours about our summer transfer budget for the new manager was between £50-70M and guess what, we spent £70M on Torreira £26M, Leno £19M, Sokratis £18M, Guendozi £7M..So the rumours actually had some truth in them! The rumours also claimed Arteta was the new manager but that turned out to be bs! I still think though where there is smoke there is fire. If they say we only have £40-50M to spend I definitely won’t expect us to be splashing the cash.

  13. If £40m is all we have to play with then ultimately we will need to look for bosnans (for me much preferable than loan deals).

    We are crying out for a winger or two, and I think Yacine Brahimi for free from Porto would be great business.

    Defensively, Lichsteiner is out of contract so we’ll need a backup RB – I hate to say it but Jenkinson just won’t be good enough (I can’t believe he’s 27 already!). Matteo Darmian is out of contract in the summer and it is only backup we’re looking for.

    City’s Mangala is also out of contract in the summer and is still only 27. Would he be worth taking a risk on to replace Mustafi, potentially partnering Holding or Sokratis?

    Rabiot for free would be an excellent acquisition.

    We would also need to source a first choice LB to take over from Monreal, as I feel Kolasinac would be best suited as a reserve/impact sub.

    Whatever we have left needs to go in to a backup keeper (though I can see our youth being relied on here) and a support striker to replace Welbeck.

  14. So it seems the great Unai Emery as given up on top four already. Sooner he goes the better now Martin Keown is criticizing his tatic of changing formation every game.

    1. jah son, give it a rest; your constant undermining of Unai Emery is boring.
      You are yet to answer my question that, should Unai Emery walk because of the failure of Kroenke and the board to support him in the transfer market who would replace him?
      Which highly credentialled well respected coach/manager with an equivalent or better CV to Unai Emery would follow him to the Emirates given the quality of the existing squad, the available transfer budget, Arsenal’s self sustaining financial model and Scrooge Kroenke as owner?

      1. I vehemently agree with you Ozziegunner. These guys are constantly moaning about Emery disguised in the name of fair/constructive criticism but fail to ever give any name of who they think would do a better job than Emery. Don’t bother pointing out problems if you can’t offer even a single solution. It doesn’t help.

        1. Newton was asked to work out gravity, the person who seen the ‘problem’ was not the one who came up with the answer.
          Intelligent people will share their thoughts and allow others to aid in the growth of their own opinion.

          I would be surprised if someone had all the answers and those answers was universally agreed to be correct. Humans need to talk to each other to help grow our comprehension.

          What idiot thinks that humanity got to where it is without raising concerns for things that they didn’t have a solution already decided upon?

          What should humanity do if an asteroid too large to blow out of space came hurling towards earth?

          Should we all bend over and kiss our backsides goodbye or should we debate and question solutions?

          Your attitude is to bend over and kiss our ARSEnal goodbye. That doesn’t help.

      2. You can see something is wrong without needing to find the solution to fix it before talking about it.

        Luckily enough everyone I know, knows that to resolve an issue you sometimes need to talk about the problem in general, so you can get a better understanding of the issue. Before answers we need to comprehend the issue as well as we can. Talking helps to comprehend it better.

        As for who can replace Emery, that is for the board, not me or some other faceless person on JustArsenal to decide. We are not the board. We didn’t need to find Wenger after Rioch. You keep bringing up that BS excuse and I’ll just post pointing to Rioch and how it was the board who found him and it was the board who found Wenger to replace Rioch after only a season. The board, not the fans.

        Keep asking your question and feel high and mighty over the fact that people are seeing it for what it is and ignored the stupidity. Just because we do not have an answer doesn’t mean we have to shut up.

        As for Arsenals self financing model… Fine excuse for the idiots. The guy doesn’t but his nose in on transfers or who the manager should be, he left that to the people he hires to do a job. Arsenal have funds but business plan of keeping a kitty for a rainy day keeps those funds locked in the bank. It was released not long ago that prior to the summer window, Arsenal had over £230 million in the bank.

        Silent Stan isn’t saying “Do not spend that!”, no, he is saying, “If you spend it, make it back” which fits the self sustaining model. Arsenal made it themselves in the first place, Silent Stan has never blocked Arsenal from signing someone if we had the money.

        Then it comes down to business. How much do Arsenal get on transfers as an example of part of this. Do we get £70 million for our star players… Or UCL qualification money because the CEO was too pathetic to play hard ball. Liverpool played hard ball well, they done business well, they made funds to spend big on CB and GK. Not from owner going “Here you go little puppet”, no, they made the money by doing good business and then reinvested it into the team.

        Arsenal got… Well, nothing for Ramsey. Nothing for Wilshere. Loss on Perez…. Do I need to continue to highlight the bad business that Arsenal have done over the past decade? This eats into how much we can spend as a club.

  15. When the club is tight with paying then I don’t see them being keen or a few deals too, even if the total deals value doesn’t change.

    A lot of talk about little money and needing lots of changes. But next season has 2 transfer windows. It’s just as much about the time it takes to move players on.

    A lot of work to do but we don’t need to create the perfect squad but next step is push up behind City and Liverpool.

  16. Guys Manolas has a release clause that activated this summer and the figure is 35m. If we can sell mustafi to generate funds. We can build a Greek wall with papa, mavro and Manolas.

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