If we aren’t going to buy a top-tier elite prime age center half anyway, I’d just sell Mustafi and ride with Chambers and Bielik to fill out the numbers for this season. Saliba rolls in next summer and we reassess based on his and the others’ 2019/20 seasons.
Assuming the budget is what is claimed, after Tierney and Saliba we can't afford anyone until we start selling. Once we offload some guys the players we are linked to recently/consistently... CB - Upamecano, Zagadou, Izzo, Bailey, Gbamin, Kimpembe, Umtiti CM - Nkunku, Ceballos, Kessie, Bourigeaud, Szoboszlai, Gotze W - Thauvin, Vazquez, Carrasco, Fraser, Ziyech, Neres In addition to those we have also been linked to Meunier & Dani Alves as cover/competition to Bellerin.
Yeah that was my main concern with price point for Saliba. The fact that we won't have any more money to spend and he's young but he won't help us now. Whereas with Zagadou, (worth about 28) or Dicka (worth 25) can play us for now.
Think there is still hope. We have several players that can pull in some cash for us assuming we find a buyer. There are also several less expensive options out there. CB - Assuming we keep Sokratis & Kos we aren't in horrible shape. Get a young guy to add to Holding and you have a solid enough base CM - Honestly think this is the bigger issue with our defense. Need a CM that can better protect the back line and allow Xhaka/Torreira/Duzy roam a bit more. W - I don't see us getting any of the guys we are currently linked to unless we offload several guys. I'd guess we add 1 speedy guy to the mix and then rely on youngsters for depth. Here's hoping Nelson steps up big. Bottom line though, we aren't getting any of the big name guys unless we offload someone big (PAE, Laca or Xhaka) and if we do offload one of them we will need to replace them in some way. If we lose PAE or Laca we will need to replace them with a proven scoring winger. Xhaka wouldn't be a huge loss as long as we get a DM to help out the defense.
Koscielny is well past it. He basically looked like Lichsteiner in those final few games of the season. We desperately need a CB in this summer because we won't get top 4 conceding 50+ goals yet again, and we don't know what condition Holding will be in when he returns. It could take him all season to get back to where he was before he got injured. If we go into the season with Sokratis + Kos/Mustafi, that's basically conceding top 4. With regard to the midfield we need to replace Xhaka. We are likely playing 4-2-3-1, so Xhaka goes, or we stick with what we have because if there is any addition, it will be at CAM.
- If Arsenal do this Saliba deal with a loan as indicated is it possible that fee is credited against next summer's spending budget? It is more an oportunistic investment rather than a purchase for this year. - With ManU closing in on Wan-Bissaka does that lower the price for Meunier? - I could roll with using Bielek and Chambers as the replacements for Mustafi PROVIDED the team makes the right moves at other areas of need.
Starting the season with Sokratis & Kos as your starting CB pair is most certainly a risk but I think it is one that could work IF... A) you bring in 1-2 young CB to rotate in B) Holding recovers well and gets back into form. C) you add a more physical 6/8 to provide better defensive cover from MF. To me C is more important than adding a starting quality CB. You could add a world class CB and still have issues giving up goals if we don't shore of our defense from MF. We saw the same issues under Wenger when we all screamed for a DM for years.
This isn't true at all. With several recent explanations about amortization, both in these forums and the other day on ESPN, Salina's fee (26M pounds) and zero salary next season will be looked at as 6.5M on the books for next season (that number based on the assumption he signs a 4 year deal). Im not digging up Tierney's details, but we still have money to spend this summer.
At CM I think Arsenal need a box to box player or an 8/10 hybrid rather than a 6 that allows Xhaka/Torreira/Duzy to roam more. Allowing them to roam doesn't do as much for the offense as good box to box player or an 8/10 hybrid would. Personally, I've never been sold on Xhaka, so if Arsenal received a decent offer for him I think they should take it.
I'm not as concerned as what a new MF does for the offense. I want a DM that will cover for the backline. Xhaka sucks at defense. Torreira is solid but undersized. Think he could be a good ball winning b2b if he had a stay at home 6 to cover him. Agree that an offensive 8 or pressing 10 would be good too but I think that becomes less a priority if/when we play PEA and Laca together (4-2-2-2).
Bennacer played 37 games for Empoli in the league, 29 of those the full 90 minutes. 21 yrs old. He's going to cost 10-12M at most. It's going to be very difficult to find another midfielder for such a low price. I don't understand what the club/Emery/whoever doesn't see in him. This screams low risk-high reward. Wouldn't he help meet one of the HG quotas as well? If Xhaka is sold and we are after a sitting DM, Nzonzi is available now that Roma signed Diawara. Prob cost 30-35M.
Agree on Bennacer. He is a little small (not as small as Torreira) but his skillset compliments our other CMs. Not sure why we aren't giving him a better look. Maybe we are waiting to see if Empoli gets an official offer. Supposedly we have the right to match any offer they receive or take a cut of the sale. Don't think he would be HG. Don't think he was with the team long enough to qualify. Ideally I'd like to see us sign Rabiot or maybe work a deal for a young DM like Weigl (rumored to be available for 25m). Someone tall, strong and defensively sound.
Just to clear this up, as it has come up a few times now, amortization is a P&L, non cash item. So in other words, a write off in the book value of an asset as it ages. We should not confuse this with cash flow. if the budget means £40m cash to pay out this window then it is true they'd only have to pay the first instalment on Salina. But you'd also have to factor in instalments from prior seasons becoming due, not to mention incoming payments from players Arsenal sold. IMO budget is simply a shorthand which refers to the transfer fees either net or gross - so it's neither a cash or a P&L figure but a media construct that fans can understand. We know that clubs themselves approach transfers on a total cost of ownership basis, which adds together the salary over the contract plus all the fees. So in other words they attempt to keep the payroll within an acceptable headroom, as well as the transfer fee spend within the budget and it is the combined figure that matters. In any event the cash impact of Salina is very low this summer - so I doubt he is eating up much of the hypothetical budget
I think the current state of the game is moving away from pure Makelele or Gilberto style shielders. I don't think that even Kante plays that sort of role anymore. I'd prefer another all-action man very mobile and athletic to increase our ability to press all over the pitch.
Agreed Busquets is one of the few high end proper 6s around IMO. But he has quite a rare skill set combination as he is excellent on the ball and has very good passing.
I think the game did this a while ago - you can have a sitter who shields, but that player has to be able to get the ball forward too, unless you want to sit back and play on the break. If you want to play with the ball, that player has to be able to move the ball as well (though Cazorla/Coquelin worked because Cazorla was so incredibly good at linking up defense and atttack - this may be the way forward for Ozil).
I'm not gonna argue with that. However you still need a defensively sound MF to create a cohesive team defense (or protect the back line) right now we do not have that. We are trying to use Xhaka & Torreira. Torreira is the better defensive player of the two but he is having to focus too much on defence because of the short comings of Xhaka.
Agreed. Bielik deserves a solid chance with the first team. Chambers has been given more than enough chances in various positions... none were successful IMHO. Even his moderate success at Fulham playing DM doesn't make we think otherwise. But then again I don't pay the bills at Arsenal and that may be an overriding factor in keeping Callum.
Sure. But I think you can get that sort of soundness with another strong athlete playing in the same MF as Torreira, ie., someone who can defend and press but can also progress the ball forward.