Right now Arsenal are in a defensive injury crisis of mammoth proportions, with Mustafi, Bellerin, Holding, Kolasinac and Mavropanos out at the moment, but we do have Koscielny, Sokratis, Monreal and Lichtsteiner fit and fresh, and no matter how many rumours there are about the Gunners buying yet another defender, then what would he be doing once everyone slowly returns to fitness?
I expect we will have a few of our crocks to return before the transfer window even opens, and as Unai Emery already told us, it is not a good idea to buy in January anyway. When asked if we may spend, the boss said: “I don’t know now, because we don’t have a lot of possibility in January but if we can [we will find] someone to help us. But only if we think they are the player than can help us with good performance. January is not good for this reason, but we are going to look and the club is working for this in January. Our progress is also with young players and we need to give them more chances to play and show us their progress. But also for our big demands, we need a high level on the pitch and in the squad.
“It is not easy, I don’t believe a lot in this transfer window because it is not a very big possibility with the players. The club is working only if some players can help us with a high level or better than [what we have].”
As Raul Sanllehi said the same thing (about not liking the January window) just a few weeks ago, I really can’t see us going into the market. It’s not like it will make the difference to help us win the League is it? I think we should wait for the summer and pinpoint our weaknesses and address them, just like we did last summer.
What do you think?
Admin
As to me, one center back, one winger and if possible one box to box attacker are highly required in the January transfer window.
@tatek you clearly play football manager / fifa too much.
We have holding out for the season so Just get Cahill as a stop gap measure, ship off mustafi in the summer.
Get a youngish 24ish CB in the summer.
Spot on
Any top quality defender will represent a meaningful upgrade on the centre backs and full backs currently available for selection.The trouble is top quality players are rarely available in the January window so we will probably have to soldier on with what we have.
Oh come on Pat the Admin! How can you say we should think twice before buying a defender. You will have noticed like millions of Gooners world wide that our current lot are way below par. I agree we do not want a temp but a, or several actually, top quality defenders from the top draw. IF WE ARE EVER TO SERIOUSLY CHALLENGE FOR THE TITLE WE NEED VIRTUALLY A WHOLE NEW DEFENCE, AS WE HAVE DONE FOR SEVERAL YEARS PAST TOO. IMHO, the ONLY better than adequate CB we have at the entire club is Holding and he is out for many months at least. I harbour real hopes for Mavropanos BUT you cannot expect to challenge with so far unproven youngsters . Sokratis is just about acceptable in the short term, Mustafi is being ludicrously over hyped for the obvious but just slight improvement on his last two disastrous seasons. Kos is finished and in my view was even before he got that achilles injury which had already been plaguing him for ages prior. I still don’t think Bellerin can properly defend, EVEN THOUGH he is a danger going forward. Likewise Kolas; Monreal is or was adequate at best and is ageing and injury prone. You know me; I tell it as it is and do not gild the lily by talking up poor or moderate players beyond their obvious limits. We need at least 5 outfield defenders if we are to have a real defence. Happy with Leno, despite a bad day at Saints and with Torreira and Guendouzi. That is about it for me, along with Holding when fit, as to who i rate enough to keep long term.
I have to agree with you 100% Jon. Our defence (or the lack of it) has been our ‘Achilles heel’ for a number of years now and AW was responsible for it. He seemed to have a blind spot when it came to buying defenders. Van Dijk was a case in point when he left Celtic for Southampton and is now arguably the best CB in the EPL (he probably thought Senderos was better). It’s going to be a long haul I’m afraid, I’m convinced we have the right manager but unfortunately we have the wrong owner, Scrooge Kroenke. I thought I would end on a festive note!!
Andrew E, like you I still bemoan Arsenal not signing Van Dijk from Glasgow Celtic.
We have had a wonderful run since the start of the season under Emery, I think he is a very shrewd manager and tactician, but there it is still obvious to me that we are not good enough at the back yes we have injury problems but even when those players are fit and in the side we are still very wobbly, This is where we need a big injection of better players this defence is below the standard we expect of a team fighting for a champs league place,everybody in front of them has improved no end including the hapless xhaka, so yes it is important to try and solve this problem in the january window in the summer.
I don’t know what the problem is with our defence. Is it the personnel or poor coaching? Claudio Ranieri turned average defenders Morgan, Huth, Simpson into an impregnable fortress on Leicester’s way to winning the EPL title three seasons ago. We may need to reevaluate our defence coaching. Nothing has changed in that department. Why am I surprised as Steve Bould is still at Arsenal. May be we should lure the man in charge of defence coaching at Atletico Madrid to Arsenal. Otherwise, we will continue to leak goals even if we change the defensive players and not improve the coaching.
I did not mention AM-N in the above post as he is NOT A DEFENDER, despite being played as one. He is a midfielder and should be played as one and not in defence at all.
He could be a great RB though
Arsenal need a new RB, because Bellerin rarely dribbles past the opponents nowadays and Lichtsteiner is not as good as Bellerin in attacking
Is it me, or did Emery’s answer sound oddly familiar? Seems as if I’ve heard it all before, except with a French accent rather than a Spanish one.
Perhaps Ebenezer Kronke is the one they should ask about bringing in a new defender. Seems like he’s sending Emery the same memo that Wenger was getting, “quality,” blah blah, “if they can help us,” blah blah, “always looking to improve the squad,” blah blah. You would think I would be used to them trotting out this garbage by now, but nope, I’m not. Why?
Because I care and love this club. A winger (2 really) and a CB could boost us to make a run. We’ll see what happens in January, but I expect Scroogery from Kronke, and dust bunnies under the Christmas tree rather than shiny new players.
Yeah, maybe you are right but somehow I believe in Sven… they did not birng him to sit tight in London, I hope… 🙂
SVEN DOES NOT CONTROL THE MANY MILLIONS NEEDED TO IMPROVE OUR SQUAD ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE FOR THE TITLE. KROENKE DOES AND HE WON’T SPEND.
jon, Maks has a point though regarding Sven’s (“diamond eye”) ability to identify an unpolished gem in the UK, Europe or the Americas. Given the number of professional footballers out there, hopefully Arsenal can get another (but better) Holding from the lower leagues, who would thrive at Arsenal.
Yes of course Sven is a top scout. BUT TO RELY ON THAT AS A WAY TO GET REGULAR TOP PLAYERS IS TO FOOL YOURSELF. No man can be expected to keep bringing in diamonds year in, year out, while our top rivals spend real money on proven diamonds. That is just common sense and one of my main FRUSTRATIONS is that so many fans overlook the obvious and stress the less important assets, like Svens undoubted scouting ability for el cheapo diamond players. THAT CAN NEVER PROPERLY REPLACE NECESSARY LARGE SCALE FINANCIAL INVESTMENT. NOW TELL ME I AM WRONG IF YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE I AM. You are a bright guy and I firmly believe you know I am telling the plain truth.
Durand, see my points regarding the conversation you and Jon were having about maureen and your views would be appreciated.
On this one, I am gald you are seeing the same old same old coming to fruitition again.
It also seems that Unai is doing the exact same thing as AW did, shielding the people above him.
But Declan’s observations (I can see the smoke coming out of your ears Declan!!!) about giving Kronkie a chance n the January window does make me hesitate to completely give up on the man.
sauce NY also reports on Kronkies other sport ownerships and how they are succeeding, your views on his points?
Chicago bears destroyed Rams last week, and they will not even make NFC championship game, forget superbowl. I made money last year when Rams folded in playoffs, and I bet $200 they fold again this year.
Sounds just like rd of 16 in CL; good enough to get in, but missing couple pieces to be a true contender.
I make money every year betting against his teams, but never bet against Arsenal, just cant because my heart gets in the way.
Ken I’ve been saying all along Kronke is a cheap, uninterested snakeoil salesman. He craves cash not trophies. Save yourself the heartache and lower expectations.
Durand, You sure can see the plain truth like few others on here can. Though I can too and say so loudly and clearly. Kroenke is our poison and we need him gone before we can ever again win the Prem. He has owned the club for a decade and not spent adequately yet. He won’t start doing so now. To think he will is fantasy based on nothing but blind, foolish, unrealistic hope. I make decisions based on evidence and never fool myself something will turn up for the better , unless I have evidence. And I DON’T. None of us does.
Jon you are supremely correct. I’ve seen Kronke’s teams for over a decade here. Rams won Superbowl quite a while back, then disappeared. Would have been relegated if NFL had that system.
St Louis was hoping he would financially support team with couple players to return to playoffs. Alas, we know what happened.
He hasn’t addressed Rams problems from last year, and big surprise, they fold against better teams still. Sound familiar?
Kronke is supreme business mind and acumen; look how quickly he got people spending big money on Arsenal again.
All that and he got people saying top 5 is accomplishment now; while he got Wenger to resign for 6th. He is thrifty businessman, while our defense has not improved, and we’re still lacking wingers!
I bet against him because he values money more than trophies or titles; therefore I’ll make $400 on my $200 dollar bet, wait and see. No Rams as NFC champs was my bet. I’ll even bet they won’t win there division next year right now. Probably not even finish 2nd.
In 2 years they won’t make playoffs. Guarantee; remember when i say money not titles. Titles cost too much, and Kronke HATES high expectations.
What would be the point Admin?
The point is, apart from Mustafi, yes Mustfi, and Sokratis who is getting on in years, and Monreal when he’s fit, all the others are basically useless. Lichsteiner is past it, Bellerin is not that good going forward anymore and his defending is somewhat shocking at times. Kos is finished and was over a year ago. Mavropanos is relatively untried and may not be back for weeks yet. Xhaka should never be played as a defender! I have high hopes for Medley but he’s still very young and untried. So, we need a proper pair of fullbacks and a centre half. That’s the point Admin.
By the way, just by the bloody way. Let’s call Kroenke all the mother effers under the sun when we know what sort of owner he turns out to be. There’s a transfer window coming up so can we give him a chance? I’m open minded but believe in giving a person a chance before I slag them off.
A chance? Ye Gods! That Scrooge has had a decade already and not spent nearly enough. It is madness to hope he will start now!
With our poor defense a top quality defender is most welcome
We need some desperately
We dont need anymore poor or average ones. We have enough lol
Koscieny – not long term obviously but we must accepting his help this season because we need it, and he needs it. Win win
Monreal – experience is key but now we need to buy a talent to learn from this experience
Sokratis – offers 2 years minimum good service and his attitude is of value.
Mustafi – the moaning then playing is what bothers me. Does he not believe he can be the player as good as fellow Germans hummels or alike?
Holding – talent and shame he’s injured.
Bellerin – I would give him another proper season under unai before deciding on his defending.
Mavropanos – long term investment, still a lot to learn.
Litchsteiner – middle-short term solution.
Kosalniac – squad player
Holding is back in action approx this time next year. If by the end of next season we have holding and Mavro either side of sokratis in a back 3 and we can consider holding and Mavro in a back 4, or one of with sokratis then in the summer buy an older leader to lead arsenal for the next 3 years like a 27yr old van dijk does for Liverpool.
This way we become less dependant on current few experienced but either not good enough or getting on players.
I’l like to see a top left back come in. CB we have numbers. Unless we move them on Now (unlikely), work with them.
I like Chilwell from Leicester and if we can get him for 35m I’m do it. Be one man city missed out on and his stock will rise being only 21yrs old.
i agree with you tom good read, i personally think lich is definetly short-term like end of the season or maybe one more if we really push it…. and chillwell well he is a fantastic player! would love to have him in the team, i think it would cost us abit more than 35 mil but he would be perfect for the outgoing montreal or Saed eventually/hopefully… great spot man, to me he looks solid and great going forward, and like you i think he’s underrated when you compare him to Maguire which everyone in the media seem to be raving about… i like Tierney too in that position, and i’m a huge fan of B henrichs even though he is having an awful season at Monaco 🙂
i
We can’t continue this way. Defence is an obvious deficiency and the sooner we fix it the better. We recruited the diamond eyes. Let him see like a diamond for us. Kosielny and Leno lost us the game against Southampton. Enough said!
side note on Kroenke– his NBA team, the nuggets, are currently in first place ahead of the greatest team of all time Warriors and Lebron’s Lakers… also, his NFL team, the rams are in first place in their division.
is this a good sign for Arsenal in terms of improving mediocre teams? or does it mean Kroenke’s attention will have shifted and won’t care so much since his other teams are doing great? something to think about regarding the january transfer period
Interesting!
The old
Cech 35 (contract expires this summer)
Lichsteiner 34 (contract expires this summer)
Monreal 33 (contract expires this summer)
Koscielny 34 (contract expires this summer)
Sokratis 30
The ugly
Martinez not good enough
Bellerin not good enough
Mustafi not good enough
Kolasinac not good enough
Jenkinson not good enough
The good
Leno jury still out
Maitland-niles looks better in midfield
Holding out for the season
Mavropanos jury still out
How’s that?
I agree, although, I would put Holding in the Ugly category. Yes, he has had some good games, but he really is too slow.
Either way, we need to buy good defenders if they become available.
I remember Liverpool signing a WC cb for 70 mil in Jan and that one signing improving the other defensive players around him and being the catalyst for a soon to be defensively resolute team. better start “believing” or lag behind
If anything, our new recruitment team can’t be worse than the one we had five years ago. Remember we signed an injured player on loan…
We basically relying on Sven’s diamond eye to unearth the next Van Dijk… cos that is exactly what we need in CB.
..i believe Jonathan Tah will be perfect.
…mustafi has to go in d summer.
….
We also need at least one winger… iv not seen much of them but it appears it will be one of Pavon,Pepe,Cengiz.
…
Personally, i prefer Zaha n if we can get Felipe Anderson from WHU.
The fact is guys that due to the financial restrictions imposed by our owner and his cohorts, Emery has been obliged to shop at Primark while others frequent Harrods.No disrespect to Primark intended.
Unless we can sign a top quality centre back (or someone on a free transfer) to replace Mustafi in January then there’s no point.
We should use what we’ve got and in the summer go hell for leather in signing a top defender.