According to the latest Arsenal transfer gossip, there are two central defenders that Arsenal manager Unai Emery has added to his wishlist.
The defenders in question are Daniele Rugani of Juventus and Olympiakos’s Pape Abou Cisse.
Now, as things stand right now both these rumours are absolutely unsubstantiated and could merely be the usual tabloid fodder but because of our desperate need for defensive reinforcements, any speculation regarding the potential signing of a central defender is worth monitoring.
The Pape Abou Cisse one is about a week old and I basically ignored it at the time because it did not emanate from a reliable source and the same applies to the Daniele Rugani one, which has come about in the last 24 hours but I have now decided that I will start to keep an eye on these ones more in hope than anything else.
The idea that Arsenal does not sign a centre half is beyond comprehension and I have to think that Emery and the powers that be at the club have finally woken up to this most obvious fact.
With regards to Cisse, it has been reported that Wolves are set to beat us to his signature with a fee of £10 Million being touted.
If Arsenal is genuinely interested in Cisse then I would be shocked if we lost out to Wolves, especially for a fee of £10 Million.
Rugani is more interesting because the Juventus defender is reported to be surplus to requirements in Turin since the signing of Matthijs De Ligt from Ajax.
That makes sense to me because the Italians will have to balance the books and it is only natural that they would sell after splashing out a significant sum of money for the Dutch teenager.
No fee has been mentioned for the 24-year-old who has played just 69 times in Serie A for Juventus in seven years.
So, there you have it, two central defenders being linked with a move to the Emirates which may well be just tabloid bull right now, but who knows, anything is possible.
Please buy Cisse!!! Will regret if Wolves get him, he is 6’6 athletic and composed and at the age of 23 will mean we can let Mustafi go cheap or offer him to Palace with jenks and monreal. We cannot loose, even if it takes 15-20 mil Buy Cisse Please.
Calm down these are rumors and nothing else. Remember it’s the Kreonke,s we are dealing with.
I watched Cisse play more than 30games so far, as i am Greek and i watch Olympiakos frequently.
KEEP HIM AWAY from our beloved club, unless you want to see djourou no2 in our club.
Cisse is very good in the air, extremely athletic and pretty fast for a guy this tall.
BUT unfortunately the player lacks football sense, he is as error prone as mustafi and is also completely incapable of passing successfully if the distance is more than 5-6 meters.As if these were not enough, he is completely unable to adjust to any changes in the formation of opponents, he doesnt participate well in team tactics (eg offside trap, buildup with passes from behind etc) and in general, olympiakos fans are eagerly expecting someone to overpay for him and they have already signed 3!!additional center backs this window, so they expect him to leave soon.
Apologies for the lengthy post, but this player is not even huddersfield material and should not be purchased.
If he does sign for an english club and he does perform well, i will be the first to admit i was wrong
Unsubstantiated or not Martin we desperately need them so I can see some truth in both rumours. Looking forward to this last couple of weeks of the transfer window like never before. Always thought the £40 Mill was fake news put out by the bias media. Afterall, we are the most hated team in the country by the media especially Sky Sports.
Let hurry up and buy the two defenders before they were hijack, abou cisse can replace mustafi for now please act fast. Delay is dangerous
Replace Mustafi? Mustafi is still in the team and is not going anywhere. Why buying a 24 years old defender when we have soon to be 22 years old in Biesik. This rumour is bullsh..t and clickbait. I’m sure we will get link to Canavaro before August 8????
I honestly believe that until Koscielny threw his toys out of his pram, Emery had no desire to buy a new CB, He had Saliba lined up to replace Kos at the end of the season, Holding back from injury and hopefully Chambers, Movropanos, Bielik or Medley can cut it in the Prem with Sokratis as back up. Tierney or another LB is essential as much as I like Monreal age has caught up with him and you just cant trust Kolasnic. I do think we may get Zaha with Jenkinson, Iwobi Mkhitaryan being part of the deal. So if we get the 4 targets and a new CB offload Elneny and Mustafi we ain’t done to bad considering our budget.
Am I the only one who doesn’t want to see Chambers as CB? Reason, because he performed so much better at CDM or CM rather than CB last season. I rate him much higher than Elneny, who I think we should sell on.
That being said, I really hope we give Bielik a chance.
CB opportunities should be given to Bielik Mavro & Chambers. We really have nothing to lose compared to seasons past. Give them more playing time and I’m sure they’ll come good.
I’d rather we buy a defender, bielik might turn out good but are you ready to risk it all?
We loaned Chambers out twice and both teams got relegated is that not telling you something
You can’t rely on Mavrapanos, Chambers, Medley, Bielik
They are hardly tested in the premier league
We need a strong, experienced pair of centre backs
Innit, you forget Arsenal bought Chambers from Southampton where he was already a regular though as a full back.
Daniele Rugari’s transfer fee is reported to be about €30 million. He is tall, experienced, yet at 24 has his best years ahead of him and has played alongside some of the best defenders in Seria A.
Either Rugari or Cisse or both would be good acquisitions for Arsenal, at very affordable prices and would height to the defense. These transfers, plus the others Arsenal are connected to, such as Tierney, would make a great transfer window.
Everton Soares instead of Wilfred Zaha would provide the funds for one, if not both of these CB’s.
Perhaps a swap deal that includes Mustafi could intrigue Juventus or Olympiakos and lower the price
Juventus taking Mustafi? I thought I have heard it all from. Yes he will do Van Dyke or Canavaro and bench De Ligit. Man go easy on whatever you are smoking before you comment.
Both CBs look very interesting because of their achievements, but I highly doubt Arsenal would buy one of them. Most likely a loan deal, if Arsenal are serious
Rugani used to be a Serie B Player of the Year in 2014 and was included in Serie A Team of the Year 2015. Whereas Cisse has good goal and appearance ratio
10 M is too low for a good CB from a top European league, hence I hope Arsenal really examine those CBs thoroughly. They could get another gem like Holding, but they could also get another Mustafi
Thanks for the info gotanidea, I honestly don’t know anything about those two players. Rugani seems good, sometimes players deemed surplus are still good and in the past Italy tend to produce good defenders with tactical prowess.
All you need to know is that Cisse is worse than Mustafi. 🙂
Holding a gem???what’s got into you guys,we won’t challenge for anything with these kids
Holding is the best CB we have at the club right now remember before his injury we were 20 games unbeaten. I would rather him than Musty, Kosc or Sokratis to be fair
We really need two center backs and that Celtics fc LB with that Wilfted zaha money and we use Eddie Nketia on that wing
Needing 2cb when we already have like 7/8? How much do u think we will be using per match?
Needing to 2CBs so we wont be obliged to use 7/8 average and below average CBs next season
Eddie Nketia is not a winger so that’s a stupid idea,, yes palace are asking a price that’s too high but the player can deliver he has shown that.
The biggest problem for Arsenal is not the defense,, The biggest problem is Xhaka who offers no protection to the back line and doesn’t really help transfer forward quickly enough, so we end watching a game where the ball is constantly being passed backwards. That is why he gets the best stats but no impact on the pitch
Unfortunatly if arsenal decide to join the bid the price would be hiked, most team like to sqandle english top teams, D. Suarez that we were suposed to buy around 25m later went to celta at 13m, Tierny deal may have been resolved had it been some small club but celtic is trying to dry every penny out of us.
I just saw a report ‘spur about to bid for Dyabala’ and when i look at the reported amount, juve valued the player at £80m same as cp value Zaha. Interesting isnt it
Agree that the biggest problem we have is Xhaka. Hopefully if we can pull Cebalos in Xhaka can be beached for most serious games.
why so much hate for xhaka here?He was easily one of our better performers last year conducting play from deep with many passes upfront .He is NOT a DM and finally having a proper DM alongside him torreira has allowed him to play our natural game.And obviously cb is problem there is no one dependable after sokratis and holding,considering Kos is leaving .Unless chambers comes up a cropper ofcourse.So we do need an experienced cb for next season rugani would be ideal.Even saliba isnt coming till 2020 so the need is still there
Since xhaka has joined arsenal he has most errors leading to goals in the the entire Premier league ? trust me that is not a good stat for any player. Out of position or not. Too slow and very sloppy He can play football yes but a lot of errors the lead to losses so no thank you on Granit
What games are you watching Arjit Who cost us champions league football Xhaka giving away 2 stupid penalties That’s who
I’m surprised that we still hear of Zaha, remembering that he could not produce at Man U, but UE is still intent on getting him, I’d rather that he goes for Everton or Fraser who are cheaper but also have the ability to produce. What makes think us that he can do it at Arsenal. I also think that he is overrated, and price, No way!!
If Arsenal is seriously serious, a player like Everton is needed with Zaha and with two solid defenders…
Believe u me, Arsenal will achieve top 3 this season
We or not signing anymore players we or done for this window we or letting youth players av a go this season so we will finish 8-9 th bye bye good old arsenal let stan build a new ranch with our money
Either one of these two would be a huge boost,they both have good qualities, I would prefer Cisse purely on the value side,he is 6’6 Has a massive frame and is very mobile for his size,the biggest plus’s are his age and cost, however i don’t want to get carried away with this one as it is probably just media trying to stir a story.
Emery’s record at PSG and in Spain was 40 to50 goals conceded a season. He is incapable of understanding defence, just like Liverpool of course who threw away money on a Sunday League centre half and got nothing from it. I’d love to know what Leno and Martinez think of our back line. It must be like being in the 1st World War trenches with a wooden stick instead of a rifle, even when the gun was jammed.
Cisse for me but I think it’s all guff made up by reporters with nothing better to write about.
If we don’t manage to keep Bielik it will be criminal.
Off topic but a nice 6 minute hat-trick from Balogun against the mighty Barnet last night.
If we had signed all the players we have been linked with we’d have a squad of about 50 !! It’s just lazy journalism. Some reporter writes that we are interested in someone ( most probably made up ) and everybody jumps on the bandwagon and gullible supporters get excited. Arsenal certainly don’t announce who they are after so best just to ignore all rumours and wait until signings are announced .
haha…zaha…no no no.i will prefer nelson. or even fraser.
and lets buy A CB.
but i know arsenal thinks otherwise.
if we cannot buy a CB please lets use beilik. i do not understand the snubbing this guy is good.
for the record chambers will not do well as a CB for a top club.
he has played CB many times in various club and did not do well. commit unnecessary fouls in the penalty box, commits hand ball errors. not decisive.
i will be looking at arsenal this season from one corner.
in fact i will give chambers plus elneny plus with 10M for Fraser and use beilik to replace mustafi.
More links than a long toilet chain..
With..Less money than a mute beggar..
UE came out and said he was happy with the wonderful job his defenders were doing and spoke of how what he has can be used, so I would suspect we aren’t getting jack S***!
It is good news and I hope to see Rugani at arsenal.
lol you want arsenal to ignore zaha and instead buy Fraser or use Nelson, how anyone can even choose Fraser ahead of zaha is beyond me, yes the money crystal palace is asking for is too much even for zaha and I saw someone saying dybala is going for 80million so zaha should go for less, what makes you think dybala is better than zaha, this is the best ball carrier we have in this league and dybala has been playing for a juventus team that has been dominating the league for 7 years now. Zaha will not only be an improvement to this team Zaha will definitely take us back to the top4, just imagine what the front line of ceballos zaha lacazette and aubamayang will do. This is for lekan gunner.
thank you sir,
when zaha was at man u, did he perform.answer is no.
what does he contribute apart from seeking penalty a or a yellow card offence. does he score free kicks. answer is no.
he now went to a lower club with lesser expectation.
if u are basing ur fort on his goal against us after mustafi error. u wrong sir. mustafi has been crap.
fraser plays with tenacity. and his assist is very much up there close to harzard.
so for me zaha is a no. for 35M may be.
fraser 30m or zaha 80m.i will take fraser.
Zaha is better than Dybala!!!?
Are you sure on that?
I’d have Everton over Zaha any day of the week. He’d be a dam site cheaper too. AFC aren’t paying out for Zaha.
AOT, exactly?
He will deliver because arsenal is not as big as united
If Emery does not sign a centre back I will start to believe he is not fit to be Arsenal coach. Why? It would mean having Mustafi playing and who is clearly going to destroy our defensive capabilities. If you have a hole in your bucket….you fix it. I am losing patience with those running Arsenal. I supported Emery but that belief is beginning to crumble. If they don’t fix their CB leak then they are bonkers. Sadly it looks like Cisse is going to Wolves. Emery…..are you a dickhead? Maybe. Seems like Spurs are about to buy big again. They just built a stadium. Every big business…. and I mean EVERY big business borrows money to stay at the top. Whether it’s Proctor and Gamble or Spurs. Kroenke borrowed billions for his LA property projects, and he borrowed to buy Arsenal, but he won’t borrow FOR Arsenal. Satan Kroenke and Son of Satan are opportunistic parasites, who should not be allowed to own five franchises, because that means Arsenal can get no focused attention or normal business borrowing. Arsenal need a CB…. Emery are you a man or a mouse? Buy one!
I am already waiting for Emery to get fired. We already know the outcome to expect with that defence. Next season has been wasted even before it has started.
Sean and QD, Emery is only on a two year contract with Arsenal holding the option to extend. Emery is being set up to be the “fall guy” for the Kroenkes and their management team.
At the end of the 2019/20 season, either Emery’s contract will not be extended or if he feels he hasn’t been supported in the transfer market he will walk.
The Kroenkes and the management team know that they can (and many supporters will) blame Emery as coach. They have considered that it costs less to churn through coaches on short contracts, rather than spend the money necessary to address the real issues of player quality and squad depth at Arsenal.
The difficulty will arise that, despite the contrary views of some on this site, Unai Emery is well respected by his peers. Having seen the situation at the Emirates and the lack of support given to Emery, what well credentialled coach would want to come to Arsenal. With a bit of luck, Freddie Ljungberg might wish to take on the job, before he is shown the revolving door.
ozziegunner
Sadly what you write is true. I would have hoped though Emery had the courage to make it clear he expected the ‘management’ to sign a CB. It defies all logic not to sign a CB. We have all become so cynical nowadays. What has happened to us when a man who could not give a shite about the club becomes sole owner? Maybe Karma will deal with him. That’s our only chance.
pls tell them oh. some are saying we need winger when our CB is crap.
pls pls pls better by a good CB and let neslon play on the wings.
liverpool had goal threat but a leaky hole. they bought VVD and see the outlook.
Liverpool rebuilt from the front too though….. Defensive acquisitions like VVD came later.
Why? Because in order to play the high press you need the right players further up the pitch.
For those who think we should get Fraser as a winger…. I have to disagree, fantastic player but not the winger we need. We have people who can cross the ball in, what we need is someone who can run at defenders and with 0.6 dribbles per match that’s certainly not Fraser.
As for the reported CBs…. I won’t hold my breath but if we do I hope its Cisse and not Rugani…. We have enough defenders giving away pointless fouls without picking up another one.
Sorry mates, the boy is still raw and not ready. He should be loaned out to a top Championship or Premier League Club.
and we are buying 19 year old sabila.
beilik- the guy is ready.
i followed his matches.
he will be a master with time like koz.
he passing is neat and he is not jittery like mustafi or chambers.
moves forward with ease.
?
He played in league one for crying out loud, bielik is not ready and we should get an experienced badass defender.
Zaha is way over priced and Fraser is a better team player while providing the necessary assists whereas Zaha is a showboater.
Anyway we don’t need either at present and should be concentrating on the defence, once that’s sorted the attack takes care of itself.
Anyone thinking Zaha is coming is somewhat deluded, perhaps it’s something to do with the hot weather….?
We NEED a winger! Remember, if we don’t get Zaha/Fraser/Malcom/Everton its Mkhitaryan again on the RW unless we stick to a 2 man strike force. If either of Lacazette or Aubameyang is injured, Mkhitaryan will be in the team!
I like a little show boating ? I can’t see us getting him, Declan – too much wonga!!
Sue Zaha is the sort of player to get you up out of your seat. We haven’t had a player like him for years. We should break the bank to get him. Shirt sales would go through the roof. A front three of Aubameyang, Lacazette and Zaha, how mouth watering.
On another note obviously we so urgently need some quality defenders. Come on “THE KRANKIES” Splash the cash!
???
yes sir,
we need to sort our defense so that our front line can play with freedom.
zaha is not what we need now neither fraser.
but if we are to take at 80m for z and 30 for F, I will go FRASER.
what we need now is CB.If we play mustafi again, we will ship goals.
I am happy with Koz any day even if he plays for under 18 ars team.
I think usmanov will most likely get zaha for Everton just to get arsenal fans on kronkes neck
Surely buying a centre back (or two) is just a matter of managerial outlook and expectation, as I’ve already said about Emery. He seems to go for fluidity and movement even if it breaks down when it matters in the PL and EL. Bear in mind that even seas have sea walls when it matters, but Emery is sailing his own boat.
Perhaps we should instead get the club to recruit a skilled defensive coach. Bould surprisingly didn’t do it. But even then if the players are weak on organisation and defensive skills what’s the point. This defence confusion and mystery leaves me cold. Don’t know what will happen at Newcastle, Liverpool and Spurs in August. It’s the most confused I’ve felt in years and I first went to Highbury aged 6 nearly 70 years ago.
arsenal just signed Dani Ceballos.
waiting for a CB
The story of The Huunter,The Straw Man and The Tiger: We Arsenal Fans are The Tiger fighting with The Straw Man(Wenger and Unai) instead of The Hunter(Mr. K…The owner of the club)