I am not really sure whether Arsenal should even be trying to sign another striker in the January transfer window. We have bigger needs in other positions to fill for one thing and Arsene Wenger has already let the Germany international Lukas Podolski and the France under 21 international Yaya Sanogo leave the club on loan deals because they were not getting into the team.
There are even some Arsenal transfer rumours suggesting that Joel Campbell could also be on the way out, although Wenger has previously declared that the young Costa Rican is part of his plans for the rest of the season. But even if Campbell does go and there is room for another forward, I do not think that Mattia Destro is the right man for the job.
A Metro report claims that the Italian forward’s representatives are already in London to hold talks about a possible transfer to Arsenal. I hope this is not true because, if he struggles to get into the Roma starting line-up ahead of the aging Totti and the former Gunner Gervinho, how is he going to displace the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Walcott, Welbeck and Giroud?
Destro got a rare start and scored at the weekend, but that was about all he did. I watched the game and was not impressed with him at all. He does not work hard and link up play like Giroud and Alexis and he has nothing like the lace and finishing of Theo. His goal was a poachers goal and apart from it, he showed very little and I do not think we should go anywhere near him, especially at the £15 million that the report mentions.
Destro! Destro!! Destro!!!
No need. if anything, we could buy Dybala aka. Agüero v.2 or Lacazette – two really fast goalscorers to differentiate from Giroud when we want to play fast and deadly counterattacking football.
Bellerin-kosc-Mert-Gibbs
Coq
Ramsey-Cazorla
Walcott-…-Sanchez
Dybala/Lacazette
(would need a defensive midfield to ease off the defensive work rate for our wingers / striker
Mate, that pace 😀
Destro is more a central ST, Lyon won’t sell Lacazette mid-season, and Dybala with that price tag isn’t coming to Arsenal. I could see us wanting him as an alternative to Giroud…not sure Welbz has endeared himself as ST to Arsene from a goalscorer perspective.
Destro = goals. He’s brilliant in the box and only 23 so maybe Wenger sees him as someone who could be very useful should he polish other areas of his game? He’s better than Sanogo, isn’t static like Podolski, and offers something we haven’t had maybe since Eduardo, which is a proper goalscorer.
On the face of it, there’s more pressing needs CB and DM…but for 12-15mil he could be a savvy buy.
Exactly. Why are we even talking striker when the clear shortcomings have been at CB and DM and this is the Jan window when Wenger avoids transfers anyway.
I think CB is coming before anything, but perhaps Wenger is giving himself until the summer for the DM position and trusting Coquelin to keep us ticking over until we can go out and get a top talent.
If so this Destro thing (if true at all) may just be an opportunity not to pass? Idk, but I’m certain CB will be covered before any possible Destro deal either way. I wouldn’t mind a deal for him given Podli and Sanogo have left us, after Giroud it’s hard to say who is our guaranteed #2 central striker….a few can play there (Alexis, Welbz, Theo), but they all fall short in some way whether it’s goals or hold up play. Maybe Destro is remedy to that? Maybe he’s not even on the radar?
Wouldn’t be opposed to him coming in once we seal a CB however. Remains to be seen.
Agree. Regarding Welbeck not endearing himself – it is a shame how he was candid about wanting to play centrally but already looks as if his Arsenal future will be playing cameo roles when needed in a wider left position. It is like his career has just re-wound and is now re-running the same theme as his OT days. I think he has been fairly true to his word when he said that if he plays centrally he can score, he has done it for us in the few games he has played there and has become quite regular for England from that central position.
Why are you calling my name?
So Destro is the rumor of the moment?
Seriously, how would a fan decide which rumor out of a thousand might have some validity.
Remember the Monreal Jan. signing. He was one of the few players in Europe NOT connected with Arsenal that January.
As long as we head into February with a full compliment of 25 fit players born 1992 or before I will be happy, then together with a few of our rising stars born 1993 or later, we will have the depth to challenge for the two cups winning at least one and hopefully contest a top 3 finish.
That for me should be the minimum this season and it would represent an improvement on last season.
Give akpom a chance to show his worth! Coyg!
Akpom is not ready…he should go on a loan like the rest Fab, Viera and etc… for a few seasons….
there is always another room for a forward….and Campbell has been playing on the wings….
Akpom not good enough and overated.If we need a striker bring back the man with the killer left foot(de Prince Podolski)
I love Poldi…… but his quality has nothing to do with Akpom who is a fine YOUNG talent.
Akpom is not really even rated by most followers/pundits so how can he be over-rated?
No no to destro. Just read wh lining up nicolas nkoulou to repalce winston reid. Instead nkoulou better and more versatile than reid?
We must to make important purchases to defender and defensive midfields, Scnheiderlen. Not destrop, even forhead is better!!!!
What’s happening to ajayi these days
Off topic looking at the next 6 games.. Who will be in a good position for the CL positions..?
Manure can potentially amass 18pts in the next 6 games realistically-They have no distractions..
Southampton can potentiall amass 16 pts
With Us I’d say 16 pts too and that would see us in 5th place still with a tricky run in after that..
I couldn’t call it and although there will be points dropped unexpectedly- if Arsene would only sign a defender or 2 to allow for injuries as anymore slip-ups and 4th will be over..
Also will biliek get his debut in the cup..?
Let’s just play like we did on Sunday and we’ll be good.
Still be 5th tho if the others maintain their form..
But yeah.. Keep that desire and performance and we will be there or thereabouts..
PNT – You strike me as too wise to make any assumptions in this league about teams amassing max points in their next 6 games! I quite like our remaining fixture list; we have played 6 of our 8 “mini-league” games against the 4 teams above us, after TH our remaining away games are Palace, QPR, Newcastle, Burnley, Hull and Man U and with 8 home games where I don’t fret so much. Although even having just said that – away games against bottom 6 sides facing possible relegation are often a lot harder than facing any mid-table team. Having gone through the fixture list I am predicting 36 points from a possible 48 giving us 75 points. Don’t know where 75 will place us.
Oh no. It seems Michael Owen has taken back his blessing of the Arsenal Victory. After initially praising Arsenal he now says Monreal took a dive.
Please Michael take it back. How will I ever be able to sleep again?
Seriously, when did the media decide that Owen’s opinion actually meant something, to anybody. He seems to be quoted more than Nitsche and Ghandi combined.
it was a dive…..
well Ashley young dived and Rvp utd won and media kept quiet……
Paulo Dybala’s contract runs down in 2016, so next summer he only got 1 year left. What I’ve seen him, he looks magical and if he continues like this, he’ll have better stats than Cavani just before he moved to Napoli. And we all know what happened with him there? Next summer we should totally try to sign him, as he won’t cost more than what Welbeck cost.
Lacazette – what can I say? For over a year I’ve mentioned him here and I say what I said back then: for a long time I haven’t seen anyone remind me so much of Henry than him – albeit he’s little shorter. He started it last year and hasn’t slown down this year. Whoscored.com rates him the best player of Ligue 1 and with a big margin as well, a lot better stats than Cavani or Ibra or anyone else there.
Destro – what I’ve asked about him from my Italian mates, they don’t really rate him at all. He’s very inconsistent, like an Italian Welbeck 2.0. Not long ago him and Icardi were regarded to be quite equal but Icardi has improved while Destro hasn’t. Total waste of money if you ask me.
I really, really hope we’ll go for Dybala or Lacazette as it seems we have totally wasted the money on Welbeck.
Italian Welbeck? So far off piste. Destro is the quintessential modern poacher, while Welbz has all the tools but none of the finishing talents. Put them both together and you have some footballer, but I’d argue a stronger case for Destro maturing into a better player. Some things are hard to teach, and inside the 18 yard box Destro is just awesome.