With the title race over, Arteta and his boys set to finish second, can we look forward to what the summer awaits for the Gunners?
A few weeks ago, a report showed that Arteta had a 6-man summer wish list. In that list, Bayer Leverkusen winger Mousa Diaby was featured. There was a suggestion that Arteta sees Diaby as the perfect alternative to Bukayo Saka.
Over the last few seasons, Saka has been relied on for the right wing; with no one available to challenge him for that spot The 21-year-old has delivered, but at times fatigue has held him back.
With Champions League football back in the Emirates, Arteta needs Saka to be fresh, and for that to be so, he needs to rest occasionally. There needs to be a reliable deputy for Saka, and Diaby could be that. So what are the chances Diaby moves to the Emirates?
David Ornstein doesn’t see Diaby moving to the Emirates. He notes that a winger could be signed, but he feels it is unrealistic that Diaby will be signed. “They’ve been heavily linked with wingers; I see Moussa Diaby mentioned a lot. I’m not sure that that is, despite perhaps admiration for him, as credible in terms of a realistic signing as some may imagine.”
🚨 @David_Ornstein on Arsenal: “They’ve been heavily linked with wingers – I see Moussa Diaby mentioned a lot. I’m not sure that that is, despite perhaps admiration for him, as credible in terms of a realistic signing as some may imagine.” [@FIVEUK] #afc
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) May 19, 2023
If Diaby isn’t signed, one may ask, “Who is a realistic winger signing? Or should Jesus’ versatility come into play? He could sometimes be played on the right wing, meaning the dream of getting a new physical striker should be a priority.
Daniel O
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Arsenal and anyone concerned should not be talking of back ups. Thats part of the problem and why we are becoming “backups”
Spot on. One of our biggest problems this season was that the manager didn’t seem to trust that we could win without Saka and certain other players.
That’s one of city’s strengths – you can’t be certain if Grealish will start, or mahrez, or alvarez or even de bruyne, so it’s harder to set up against them. It also means they can sub first team players into the game if they need to change it.
We need a pool of first team players, not a starting 11 and backups.
Bowen ,quality player and could be as good as saka if playing in a better team .
As for Diaby ,no thanks he would be another Pepe who IMO is better .
I think Samuel chukwueze is a perfect back up for Bukayo
I honestly agree we should stop thinking about Back ups as we’ve always treated them as such, believing or Arteta always thinking “they aren’t ready”. Arsenal should buy a player that can challenge Saka for that position and as such bring competition and rotation to bear. If we want to challenge Man City, we should buy like Man City. Quality players of equal strength and value. If we buy to improve our Squad, we must learn to use the players, not only as spare tyres.
We buy backups and then people complain, the backups are not good enough when the starter is out. What do people expect. If we do buy backups, which i would hope we dont, then we will always struggle.
The Engine room of a team is the central midfield and the fullbacks. Arsenal need energetic Athlete players in those positions which was lacking towards the end of this season. So Caicedo and Rice are perfect options and one quality energetic flexible full back that can play across the back four. I would use tossard as a permanent no 9 first option started and have Jesus and saka rotate on the right. Tossard should only play as number 9 not as a singer because he lacks the pace but he is creative and intelligent and has close ball control to be an excellent false number 9. I would promote Tierney to rotate with Martinelli on the left because they can both carry the ball with energy with Martinelli more of a drbbler and Tierney more of a crosser of the ball which we lack sometimes. Sak a fan also cross the ball better from the left side so he needs to switch wings during the game sometimes to both provide crossed and shake off the double marking which he can’t seem to beat.
Get a top striker who can deliver goals. Jesus can compete with Saka for RW. All the years with Man City and this year with us have shown Jesus is not a striker to lead the attack.
He has proved himself and Arteta wrong. He isnt a striker, Pep knew that and is rubbing his hands with glee.
Durand true said bro, with our pacey wingers we need a center forward, which Jesus is not. We need Balogun back next season, and make additions to the midfield, defense and forwards. The we are good to go and compete for both the League and Champions League. We are still hurting not winning the League.
Use one stone and kill two birds by bringing in an attack bully as in Vlohovic leaving Jesus and Saka to compete on the right
Never mind back ups .The need for a stronger C.F has been evident since Jesus returned from injury as he has been distinctly average at best imo.Many well known central strikers have been mentioned in despatches and most would cost upwards of 60m.Bearing in mind the need for quality recruits in central midfield, our Budget is unlikely to extend to a high cost CF.However there is a young central striker currently playing for Coventry City who may well be available for nearer 20m.I refer to Victor Gyokeres, the young Swedish international.I have seen him on 4 occasions this season and he has impressed me and many professional pundits.At 6’2″ ” he is physically powerful and adept at holding up the ball. While he is not a flier, he makes great runs between the lines and is a good finisher.He is a handful in the Championship and while he may find it more difficult in the Premier League we should not lose sight of the fact that the likes of Toney and Watkins served their apprenticeship in the lower division and have gone on to do very well at a higher level.
Grandad, I watched that Swedish striker the other night and totally agree with you. He looks a right handful.
I always like hearing your recommendations – I hadn’t heard of this player, but he looks interesting.
One player I’m interested to know about is chuba akpom – he’s had a fantastic season from the looks of it. Have you had a chance to catch any of his games? I’m wondering if he’s finally blooming and if you think he would be useful back at arsenal?
The cheaper option for a CF is Victor Gyokeres, the championship is a tough league. Once this lad signs for a big outfit he looks capable of achieving it big in football. He is a strong finisher and is not shying away to take on defenders. His shooting from range is wonderful. Definitely someone for the future.
I gues leo of ac Milan could couilddo a lot in my own opinion
We should take a cheeky look at Kulusevki if the clause to sign him permanently has not been activated by Spurs yet, would be genuine competition for Saka, however I think us making a signing in that position is heavily dependant on whether Nelsen signs a new deal or not and I would not mind that if it means we focus on bringing in a striker like Hoijlund to offer us something different in attack.
Although I like the look of Kulusevki, I would go for Bowen, as I would say with Bowen there’s more end product.
Yes Davi I’ve seen Akpom a few times for Middlesborough and while he has done well, I think Gyokeres is better.I also agree with HD and others on JA who appreciate Bowen .He must be one of the hardest workers in the EPL with great attitude and skill and he can finish.A cut above Trossard imo.
Thanks for the reply – I have no idea, but it would be nice to bring back one of our former youth players. Has to be at the level though!
The cheaper option for a CF is Victor Gyokeres, the championship is a tough league. Once this lad signs for a big outfit he looks capable of achieving it big in football. He is a strong finisher and is not shying away to take on defenders. His shooting from range is wonderful. Definitely someone for the future.