Xhaka in! A good start, but where will it end up? by KM
Hello fellow Gooners! I know a lot of people have probably written their say on Xhaka so I’ll try to keep it short on him and what his impact on the season will be. The transfer is a no brainer! We needed a DM and we’ve added him. Interesting what will that midfield partnership be like? Xhaka – Coq/Elneny/ Cazorla/Ramsey/Wilshere? Considering the latter will be most-likely injured, it still leaves questions.
For me Coquelin and Elneny are the contenders, because of Cazorla’s age and Ramsey inconsistency and the fact you cannot name his best position. Xhaka – Elneny, two former FC Basel players, duking it out in Arsenals midfield? For what I know about Granit, he is a fighter with a record that doesn’t spare cards. He’s also a player that is known for hitting out at his team-mates if they don’t fight for the shirt – a characteristic we’ve really missed.
It’s an interesting start of the transfer window because Mourinho and Guardiola will be duking it out for the Manchester glory, Klopp will be building his vision of Liverpool and a little bit of a forgotten team of Chelsea will be back with Conte in charge, who’s domestic record is pretty good. Has this struck Wenger with the fact that things cannot go on like this anymore?
We’ve spend around 30 million for Xhaka, which is the third highest we’ve ever paid for a player! It’s true we are the team that got the most out of TV money this year, but it’s still so unlike Arsene to spend so much on a player that is not proven talent like Ozil and Sanchez. We’ve taken a gamble on a player who is a wildcard – he might be the missing piece of the jigsaw or a spectacular failure.
Is the fact that Arsene is entering the last year of his contract and he has some of the fans turned against him that sparks this transfer and how much more will we do? We cannot settle with just this. Welbeck’s injury means a new striker is badly needed. As another season proved, Walcott and the Ox are not to be trusted for a longer period so a winger would be nice (I’d love Draxler).
I fear that this transfer will be the dust in the eyes of people and we’ll again ignore the real problem. It’s great to do business before the Euros, because prices skyrocket at those tournaments. But have we been linked with anybody else? A striker and a CB are a must and I’m fearing this might be a similar story to Cech last year. We’ve spent 30 million, and at least 60-70 more are needed if we are to have the bodies to put in a serious challenge.
A lot of the Premier League squads need to rebuild. Hopefully we’ll act quickly. Hopefully Arsene has learned a lesson. Give me Mahrez, Draxler a CB and a Striker and I think we’ll have a genuine chance. It’s a good start, but work is still to be done.
Konstantin
I forgot to draxler!!! I say we do the double scoops: RYAN MAHREZ and N’OGOLO KANTE!!!!!
Not going to happen. Kante is the only player that will go in Leicesters team.
What… you don’t think that wily fox Ryan will leave?
ok more can leave. But between Kante, Vardy & Mahrez only Kante will leave.
Who is this ‘Ryan’ y’all are talking about?
Buttflaps started with RYAN MAHREZ
@ KM “Give me Mahrez, Draxler a CB and a Striker” ?? Seriously dude? Idea’s like this are the ones that raises the expectations of people. I think most logical Arsenal fans Know this is not gonna happen.
Asking for Mahrez and Draxler is a lil greedy. Where are you gonna play all this guys together with the other players we have?
I am very happy with the addition of a CB and a striker only. I also know We have signed a kid call Maxi Romero who is 17. That’s typical of Arsenal.
A CB and CB would be fantastic. anything extra is a bonus.
I disagree on the Maxi Romero signing being typical.. Yes we invest a lot in our youth. But to buy an extremely promising youngster for a large fee (4.5mil reportedly) with only joining up with us two years down the track isn’t something we’ve typically done before. I know it’s lazy.. But the last youth player we’ve signed from south america is Wellington Silva if I’m not mistaken?
Silva & Campbell come to mind.
“A CB and CB would be fantastic…?!”
I’d say a solid reliable goalscorer (be he a CF, Winger or AM) capable of finishing off our moves 80% of the time would be fantastic.
Defense don’t seem to me to be as big an issue right now as it was before we acquired the trio of Gabriel, Elneny and Xhaka.
Mertesacker and Koscielny aren’t half as bad as some will like to think. Gabriel and Chambers provide adequate cover.
Here is the trick though..
This year our intention is clear: To own the middle of the pitch. Hypothetically speaking, Coquelin, Elneny, Xhaka and Cazorla are the exact set of players you need if you want to dominate central midfield with energy, aggressiveness and movement.
This group of disciplined, hardworking midfielders will provide the protection that the likes of Mertesacker have lacked.
Still, an additional CB signing don’t hurt nobody. But I’d suggest we rather divert that money and effort into getting a 2nd solid and reliable goalscorer. This team -with 2 additional solid and reliable goalscorers in it- will be ready to compete for the everything until the last day.
I see what your saying about Owning the midfield BUT without a goalscorer of repute, owning the midfield will still come to nowt. We had the PL assist king this season yet still we fell short in front of goal when it really mattered.
Great buy Xhaka, a leader and someone with a bit of bite and an excellent long ball passer. Now lets look at our midfield 3.
Number 10 is for Ozil, but I could see Cazorla, Willhere, Ramsey, Iwobi, Toral as a backup.
As for the 10 more defense midfielders it is between Xhaka, Coq, Willshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, Elneny, Toral, Oxlade (maybe even Isaac Hayden). That is 8 to 9 players. I think between them someone will get sold and the most likely ones are Cazorla, Ramsey or Toral.
With Cazorla it has nothing to do with his ability, he is a meastro. Howver he is 31 and as per transfer market he has only 1 year left on his contract. He also desires to play in Spain. I hope there is a cheeky clause in his contract where Arsenal can extend it with 1 more year.
Ramsey – Xhaka will most likely take his place and he will be forced to play right wing. He will be played out of position. If there is still interest from Barca, I think he could be sold and Arsenal will get good money which can be used to buy top striker.
If Cazorla & Ramsey stay and if Toral still has some contract left I can see him being sold. He counts as homegrown and he was our best Loanee. We would get decent money for him. However I think he deserves a chance in first team, for the sake of the academy and other players on loan, that if you do well you get your chance.
Hmmm… If Barca are still keen on Ramsey, I dunno what i’d think if he was sold. If we immediately brought in Kante as his replacement though…. 🙂
‘Cazorla’s age??’ Waaaay too many Fifa managers on here who seemingly just write players off once they reach 30.. It’s ridiculous!! Santi is class and unless another injury hits, he’ll play a big part this coming season. A key player for us who was sorely missed second half of last season.
Sorry, but Xhaka – ‘not a proven talent.’ I disagree wholeheartedly!! He’s a 22y.o. captain for both club (A CL club at that) and country. Put in some stellar performances in the Champions league particularly against Juve.. Read any of the comments from previous managers and other players in the league. He’s a proven talent!
Absolutely ridiculous if you think we’re getting Drax, Mahrez, a CB and a striker.
Don’t forget it is transfer season, aka – The Season of Dreams.
Remind me.. how old is Xabi Alonso? Ibrahimovic? 34? And dudes’ still kicking it strong. Even at 32, no one will discount Iniesta’s relevance at the top level of Barca’s game.
Barring any unfortunate recurrence of injuries, my Santi will come back to dazzle and shine in central midfield next season. More than any thing else (titles, protests and whatnot) about AFC next season, I fully expect Santi to prove with his magical displays that he is top 3 best in the world in the position he plays.
I am just stating facts here Cazorla is 31 and he has 1 year left. If you can make £18 mil now or get nothing at the end of the season. Plus you just bought 2 midfileders in Elneny and Xhaka and you have a loan player in Toral coming back. What would you do?
I am not saying I want Cazorla to go but I do think his odds to go are the highest, higher than Ramsey.
Last year all fans were screaming for Rosicky to stay, and he did and we really did not get much out of him.
From a pure business standpoint, 18 mil for Cazorla would be difficult to ignore. But I don’t believe he will really fetch that kind of fee because of his age.
Who? Who would pay 18mil for Cazorla?
18 million is a ridiculous sum to pull from the air…
He’s said he would like to finish his career in spain. Unless it’s one of the big three, shelling out that sort of sum for any player, let alone a 31y.o is a stretch. The league just doesn’t have that sort of money.
@Super, can we please stop talking about selling the only saint we have? Must complete player in our squad of curse. We have to sell at least 10 players before we even think about selling Santi, you give reference with Rosicky yeah we didn’t get a lot from him and we don’t expect a lot from him either, he was always injured anyway, and I don’t there’s any gunner who regretted keeping Rosicky for one more year, in fact I won’t mind him retiring here, he was like a symbol of Arsenal and that’s what Cazorla is now, beside he’s not injury prone like rosicky, and age is just a number. Santi Must stay.
If it was my emotions I would keep “Saint” Cazorla. I am just speculating on the likelihood of players leaving. We have a stacked midfield and that culd mean someone is leaving. I think £18 mil is not too far fetched. Look what we got on Vermealen when he had 1 year left at 28 and he was a bench warmer.
Agreed with exclamation marks on all points.
My comments refers to josh last comments…
I keep reading about the great interest in Morata and his massive valuation. Can someone please help me understand this??
Morata has exactly 12 goals in 49 appearances for Juventus. That is less than 1 goal for every 4 games. Is that now worth 50+mil and 150,000 a week?!? Giroud scores far more often and many fans want him throw out of the club?
What am I missing here?
It is called premier league inflation. Any player linked gets inflated.
It is good we go for Maxi Rodriguez. Good strikers seem to come from South America.
I am quite certain Maxi Rodriguez is retired. He was old when he played as a part-timer for Liverpool 6 or 7 years ago??
Haha i think he meant Maxi Romero
you are right here.
I would think Xhaka would be paired with 1. Cazorla or 2. Elneny.
If Wenger pairs him with Ramsey I will lose my mind. Even with the current roster I cannot imagine how Ramsey could keep a regular starting position unless his form improves drastically. Where would he play? On the wing? Ugh.
Ramsey was player of the season when he played alongside Arteta, Xhaka is a bigger, stronger and better version of Arteta, who’s to say Ramsey will not rediscover his form of that season playing with Xhaka Zulu?
So Dani Alves is on his way to Juventus, meaning Barca are likely to come for Bellerin now. Please no…
Convert Bellerin to a right winger to compete with Walcott and whoever, if he succeeds [and he’s got massive potential to succeed], he’s not gonna go to Barca to play as a right back just like Bale won’t play left back for any team 🙂
Keep Debuchy too, he’s quite experienced, Jenko fills in as a back up. We need squad depth and can’t afford to sell good players, we need everyone competing for spots on the team…all hands on deck. Victoria Crescit Concordia!
Or even “Victoria Concordia Crescit”! Lol.
OT:
“The last thing I want to see is United being happy with finishing fourth and winning the FA Cup. Arsenal do that.” Paul Scholes
Unfortunately, it is true, many of our fans are satisfied with finishing fourth and winning the FA Cup … Wenger and his crew level …
Scholes said that when United actually had a shot at 4th… Pre-West ham game if i’m not mistaken. We finished 2nd. It’s amazing how Owen, Scholes, Carragher keep slating us while their depiction of their previous clubs seems unwavering. United have a long way to go before seriously challenging. A looooooong way, Mourinho or no!
“”United have a long way to go before seriously challenging. A looooooong way, Mourinho or no”.
I don’t agree. I know the last thing many AFC fans hopes to see next season is a resurgent United under Mourinho. But the possibility of that happening is more likely than not. United are desperate to come back strong, and they are willing to do more than we would ever dream of just to win the PL title again.
I don’t thing Wenger would play Xhaka in the DM position. I believe Coquilin will maintain his DM position while Xhaka will take over the CM position from Carzola who I think will become a sub for Ozil. And If Walcot is going (I pray he does) then I think we should add to the proceeds we will get from selling him to acquire Mahrez.
Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny are both great players but both have a weakness for defending set peaces “as the rest of the team”
this last season we let in so many soft goals from set peaces i think Granit Xhaka was brought in for that reason
and for a striker we should buy Mario Gomez the guy tore up the Turkish league for Besiktas
that is if we can’t get Lewanddowski
What’s your point???
My earlier comment was for Sam need a striker..talking about Scholes and Arsenal’s satisfaction with top4 and Fa cup, that’s bullshit talk…
OT:
Madrid are said to now want 38m for Morata..can you take him for the price now???
Personally, I will
Madrid now want 38m for Morata..
Would you take him for that amount???
Personally I would!
Every single KM article starts with a promise, but ends with “Wenger Sucks” or “Wenger Out” or “Wenger needs to do this or that” or similar. Dude, stick to your topic. The season is over. At least wait ’til August to start your annual Wenger bashing again. Oh, and this was priceless: “Give me Mahrez, Draxler, a CB and a Striker” – thanks for a good laugh. Why not “Give me Messi, Neymar, Suarez”? Because chances of those are pretty equal.
el blaze, are you for real? Cazorla a reserve substitute for Ozil……you mean the only complete midfielder we have should be on bench for Ozil…..Santi is miles ahead of ozil…..what is wrong with all this Ozil fanboys…..don’t u guys have eyes