It has been a quite underwhelming transfer window for Arsenal fans so far, and the only player that has already been officially announced is Nuno Tavares, who actually played in yesterday’s friendly against Rangers, but the fact remains that we are only halfway through the window at the moment.
Ideally, we would have preferred to get as many of our targets on board well before our opening game against Brentford on the 13th August so they could be integrated into the squad and get some training in Arteta’s tactics, and the Spaniard has now given fans some hope that we will have some more announcements before the Gunners fly to America next week.
Arteta told Arsenal.com after the Rangers match when asked about the Florida trip: “Now a little bit of recovery. We trained really hard, played two games, and now we’re going to be travelling to America in the next week. We didn’t have any injuries which is really positive in the first week. We’re going to have some new faces arriving probably, so very positive.”
The first names Arsenal fans are going to say will be Albert Sambi Lokonga as a certainty, but could it be Ben White that would be finalised before going on tour? Or perhaos Edu and Arteta are setting up a big surprise for us to put us all in a much more postive mood for the new season.
We certainly hope so…
Arteta will succeed at Arsenal ,he is nice coach after what I am seeing in transfer, addition of Naves,Gk and,RB will rescue his position, make use of Auba, Balocona ,martenell and add Laca One year contract he was our top scorers last season.we can’t put all mongoose on our basket at one time.we can build again upfront in January after seeing deep between two who can move on, Again you need to change captain give to either Gabriel or Tieny becouse it afacted Auba performance and is also soft to be
If Ben White plays, I think he’s going to be an RB in Arteta’s dynamic 4-2-3-1 formation. He can cut inside occasionally to be the right CB and right DM, similar to what Chambers did in 2021
About Lokonga, I’m not sure whether he can play better than Maitland-Niles or not, in left DM position
So we have just payed 50 million on a CB to play him as a RB ?why wouldn’t we just pay 50 million for a world class RB
I believe Arteta would like a versatile defensive player who can dynamically change his positions and is smart enough to play with positional-based tactics
Or maybe Arteta will use a three-CB formation like Tuchel and Conte, that uses the right CB as a pop-up RB or element of surprise occasionally
Two for the price of one is a good thing.
Somebody said Ben White can play at DM too. Now, that’s three for the price of one!!!
I think you are way off the mark with your suggestion concerning White and Lokonga will prove to be a much superior central midfielder than AMN who will only be effective on the right side of the pitch.
Before end of the season Arsenal was talking about two main positions of cm and am. The players we all knew as supporters were Buendia and Bisouma who both are premier league players. Arsenal missed on buendia to Aston villa, Bisouma is still available but the management is still it’s sweet time. Arsenal still have a chance to recruit him and add Auoar for AM now that his price is within Arsenal reach.
Torera and Saliba to me are still good players who can build on Arsenal defence and midfield respectively. Ben white is good addition in defence, he reminds me of Tonny Adams
Let’s wait and see what will happen. In my opinion, White is perfect for that role
Actally it needs to be given to another person be it tierny or evn gabriel
I think Arteta should sign Madison inorder to fight for top position and even win trophies
I cant see Albert being a starter 1st thing.He will need time,looks like a decent player tho from what iv seen of him.Arsenal desperately need to replace Xhaka if they are to significantly change there midfielder fortunes for the better.dont get me wrong he is a decent player and Arsenal miss him when he dosent play but in order for Arsenal to move forward quicker(in every way)we need someone more Athletic and quicker on the ball.we must be careful tho as losing side show bob and the swiss will hurt the long part of our game.these two are or were our (only)main long ballers.i guess Bissouma (sorry about spellings)fr Brighton would be a decent replacement not sure about his passing tho.id be quite happy with that announcement.we generally dont sign many Italians so cant see loci being signed.hopfully Edu will surprise us all!im definitely happier now the Ben White deal is done its an upgrade and Arsenal need a lot of those!
Is the money spent wisely on n Ben white while MF positions are a priority? Arsenal need 2 good MF one of them a goal scoring & then a backup Keeper. Rest of the positions should be based on replacement or bargain buy.
Vithal, I have no issue with buying Ben White, even at £50 million, provided the positions you identified of starting DM to play along side Thomas Partey, ACM and back up goalkeeper are filled.
Onana or Mat Ryan would have filled the GK backup role, but Ryan has now gone to Real Sociadad.
There are numerous options available in midfield; however it will be very disturbing if Arsenal runs out of money, with only Tavares, White and Lokonga being brought in.
Arsenal are prepared to spend bigger than ever this summer plus they have so many player’s to move on which is also extra money to spend.i know how bad last season was but im quite excited.Ben White is an upgrade what ever position he plays in at the back.
Robert , where is the evidence for your bizarre claim about “spending bigger than ever”? You are surely joking as you seen to think we will get large collective fees in for our many misfits. We WILL NOT!
I see no real evidence at all, considering the many holes we still need to fill across the squad. A world class playmaker for example and a PROPER right back, even assuming we can replace XHAKA WITH A PROPER UPGRADE.
GOD KNOWS HOW DESPERATELY WE HAVE NEEDED TO DO SO, EVER SINCE THE DAY HE ARRIVED!
I’m rooting for Teun Koopmeiners to replace Xhaka ( an Upgrade I believe).
SO IS MY LONG DEAD GRANDMA!
jon fox, old friend, may i respectfully suggest that you include your old cat TOM to your list that includes your long dead grandma(with respect).tom should have been given a trial at one stage , but, i believe mr.wengers dislike of all things feline soon put a stop to that.hope you are keeping well these days jon,my very favourite justarsenal contributor.
We need Arsene Wenger around Arsenal. I don’t think it was a good idea to let him go for good
Bring back David Dein more importantly. Also Sven Mislantat should have been offered Director of Football so that he stayed.
David Dein was a nobody without Arsene Wenger. The old boss held the fortress for 10 years after Dein left. He was there when we needed him the most and kept us in Champions league for so many years without a deserving squad. Yes Dein gave us a better squad but it was Wenger who molded them to champions. Wenger without Dein, not a total disaster. But Dein without Wenger, Im not so sure.
But yes I agree with your 2nd point. Mislintat over Edu any day.
before you provide such a ridiculous retort, please have the decency to do your due diligence first…without Dein there would be no Wenger at our club and once he was removed from the equation, we were never the same…Diamond Eye could have been a real gem for a club looking to reinvent the wheel, yet somehow we ended up with the train wreck that was Raul
👍 TRVL4e, Wenger, Bergkamp, Viera et al. It also should also be pointed out to Gu4l that David Dein did not “leave” but was forced out by Kroenke and the then Board.
The indesputable fact is that Arsenal under Wenger without Dein was a shadow of Wenger with Dein.
First of, a good run out in yesterday’s pre-season against a very good side. The result isn’t fair on us as we missed many chances in the game to have won very convincingly. I saw some progress in the way we pressed and Tavares will certainly be a good competition for Tesco. My worries are the goals conceded from set paces and the missed chances.
Now on the question of the topic, the players I would love to see in midfield are Aouar/Teun (the AZ player), Madison if it’s possible or PEREIRA from West brom.
We also need a right back. My choice will be Mert Muldur or Max Aarons. Back-up GK, I would have Johnstone from west brom too. I would also move for a proven striker. Lastly I would bring in manor Solomon as a right footed winger (to replace willian) . This one is a bit tricky cos i would sell Eddie and one of Auba or Laca, preferably keep Laca and bring in Edouard from celtic.
Now possible outgoings I will sell; Elneny, Willock, AMN, Bellerin, Cedric, Xhaka, Willian, Nelson etc.
Gogo, crazy to sell Willock. Tavares will end up being the first choice RB, as he has played that position in Portugal. As well as being predominantly left footed, his right foot is also strong and given his age he should be adaptable.
I doubt if Willock will have a season such as last…
Might be the last time to sell.
What ?! Remind me of people happy that arsenal made a 18m profit going from Emi to runarsson… Willock is only 22 next month. If he is sold now maybe he will be sold 15. What will we loose if he makes an average season ? Would be sold maybe 5/6/7 millions less at worse. Half the salary of Willian. There is wiser moves in my humble opinions that hurrying in selling Joe W. Especially when we have still a bunch of overpaid guys still on the wagelist. Do you réalise that we still have runarsson at the club ?! This guy cost 2m a year. For barely any contribution. If we can throw out money like that, we can wait to see how good can joe willock can be
Fair enough mate. I’m all for selling Wilock to raise cash is need be for a player more suited to our style of play. Obviously he’s more suited to the Newcastle system. For me get the 30m and invest it on a better CM like Caavinga.
The manager giving him a chance would be a start. If the roundly criticized Steve Bruce can get performances out of Willock, why not Mikel Arteta?
MA is seemingly more and more proving to be a cheque book manager.
Relying on his own skills as a coach we ended 8th twice in a row.
If we are going to spend alot over the next 2/3 years I’d feel a lot better if we had a manager thats proven himself before rather than a complete gamble with those funds.
What do you want forarsenal please?
You have got to start improving the team somewhere sometime why not start with a centre backup grade.with Ben white,Albert and the left back thats around say £72 million.We all know we need a top draw midfielder,it will cost upwards of 35-40mill i would think.i dont think 1 more signing is Arsenal done for many reasons.Thats why im saying Arsenal will spend.Basically because the time has come when they have to or we will disappear into the the mid table for the foreseeable future.not even the Yanks want that.
Unless the midfield is upgraded, Arsenal will miss out again on Europe and the revenue that brings in. Robert, being out of Europe will make your prediction come true.
White will be another cornerstone along saka, Tierney and ESR. It is sad that we don’t have Martinez anymore. He could have stayed as a cornerstone for 10 years. We sold him 18 just to see now that an average keeper like ramsdale cost twice…apparently we won’t sign onana because he would like being guaranteed some 1st team playing time. But can we rely long term on Leno ? He is under contract until 2023. So we will have a problem soon with him. Also, he did not seem clear in his words that he would stay longer here. Given the resentment of many fans about the emi mistake, it fuels even more doubts about his future. And Leno cost a lot in wages. Only Chelsea and Man U splash more on GK position.There is sometimes opportunities you just have to take. Martinez rise was one of them and arteta did not dare playing him ahead leno. Now arteta has the chance to have another one as Onana might be one to make because of his ban that cut his price. But Arsenal have to make the jump and offer Leno to another club. Now Ryan is gone. Personally i would have kept Ryan, sell Leno and signed Onana.
Emi is gone! Move on already
Does anybody think the addition of the three new players we have supposedly recruited will be sufficient to move Arsenal back into the top 4 next season?
If not, how do we raise more funds to recruit additional players?
We have a cornucopia of average players in the squad, who it seems we cannot sell at the prices we want, probably because of their current wages. So if we cannot sell them for what we need, how will we raise sufficient funds to buy some top class players to get us back into the top 4?
Sadly I feel we are dependent on KSE to pony up more funds, and I am not sure that will happen, but hey, maybe we need to believe in miracles!!!
I am pretty sure the club needs also to save some money on wages. We spend a lot on wages (badly) as we are the 5th team in PL. Closer to being 3th than 6th. That’s facts and truth… There is money splashed on average players that did not even went into 1st team last year : bellerin 110k/week, kolasinac 100k/week. William 200k. That is insane. 410k/week for players with no future at the club. This is deadwood for a club that aims to return to it’s old glory without billions like PSG or Man City got. Having also both Aubameyang (who absolutely underachieved too when you considered he is paid like two Harry Kane) and Laca is a lot. Personally i would keep and extend Laca and sell Auba. We don’t need him anymore. His level plunged and Saka/ESR are now the future up front. Get rid of bellerin/kolasinac/William/auba and that is 660k/week. This is 34m a year. Not even mentioning the transfer fee, probably 650/60 minimum for all of them. Then just play some homegrown guys that won’t / can’t bring less but come at a less less big price.
Totally agree with your assessment
A simple review of Arsenal’s wage structure compared to other EPL clubs, shows that the Club has it wrong.
No!
On the assumption that the new signings coming that were mentioned by Arteta don’t include Lokonga and White, It’s possible that Neves may sign, plus several sources suggest that Houssem Aouar is about to be announced, although I don’t believe that. I would like to see one of Auba or lacazette sold, as well as Nketiah. Martinelli needs to be a first choice, so no Tammy Abraham please.
We are 4 weeks away from start of season … xhaka bellerin willian kolasinac nketiah Nelson elneny all still on the books … a surfeit of central defenders … don’t have a quality partner for partey … no creative attacking midfielder and questionable goal scoring talent … what could possibly go wrong??!!!
History repeating itself..
Big plans, blah, compete with the best, blah blah,blah…
Yes this comment doesn’t add much but neither imo do our two latest signings.
Another underwhelming window so far and Arteta ‘unhappy’ with the result.
How many times we gonna hear that this season;)!
Arteta’s strategy
Gogo – I’m all for selling Willock to raise cash for a player more suited to our style of play.
So what is ‘our style of play?’
Ozziegunner Re: Joe Willock
If the roundly criticized Steve Bruce can get performances out of Willock, why not Mikel Arteta?
That would be because Bruce has a plan on how to best use his players and Arteta . . . oh dear.
gotanidea – I believe Arteta would like a versatile defensive player who can dynamically (huh?) change his positions and is smart enough to play with positional-based (huh?) tactics.
Glad that’s all clear then. But what about your famous inverted wingers?
If anyone has a clue as to what Arteta’s strategy is please let me know.
Thank you, most grateful.
GJ, I knew the answer, it was a rhetorical question regarding the much maligned Steve Bruce.
I too am waiting for an answer from gotanidea or others on what Arteta’s style of play or strategy is?
Yes I knew it was rhetorical and I used your post as it nicely summed up my own thoughts on the subject.
The problem for me is that I’m not conviced Arteta actually has a strategy. He seems to make it up as he goes on.
Bielsa – all out attack whenever possible
Mourinho – defensive counter puncher
Arteta – ???
Come on, Jack. It’s not easy. Bielsa is old school and have all his tactics on paper from his 40 years managerial career. It’s not Ctrl+C and then Ctrl+V. Arteta is just a year and a half into management. Give him some time to copy all that stuff, understand and learn from it before putting them into practice at Arsenal. Plus, Arteta is tasked with the time consuming task of clearing the slates of every player in the squad at the start of the season. Patience, Jack.