Since the Jan window is closed it's time for a new thread. Looking through the roster and we should be in store for a HUGE overhaul the next 2 summers. Will post my roster thoughts later. For now the really big questions that need to be answered... 1. What kind of transfer pot will Stan give us to work with this summer? 2. Will Emery/The Board and Ozil sort things out or will he be shopped to every big club this summer?
My roster assessment based on the feeling that we will start moving permanently towards Emery's preferred 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3... GK - Leno is the #1 (for now). Cech is retiring and needs to be replaced. Ospina will likely be sold to Napoli permanently. Rumored amount was under $5m. They would be dumb to walk away. Martinez may be retained so we don't have to find 2 GKs in one window but I would be really surprised if he is the #2 next season. CB - Holding looked good before the injury. Strong recover and quick rebound of form would be nice. Sokratis can/should be retained. He is a good vet leader and looked strong when paired with the right partner. He is atleast a really strong backup if we end up adding 1-2 quality players at CB. Kos has looked good since his return. We need to decide if we think he is good enough to stick around or if we should go ahead and cash out. At his age we won't get much that's part of the equation. Mustafi should be sold and replaced. Mav is the wildcard. He is still young and hopefully gets some minutes the rest of the year. If he isn't gonna play much next season I'd like to see him on loan and see one of the other U21s get 4th/5th CB duty. LB - Nacho still looks solid but he is no spring chicken. They picked up his option so he can't walk away free this summer. Need to decide if he is worth keeping around or cash out. I feel like he wants to return to Spain. Kola has some defensive deficiencies but i'd guess he is on the roster next season. Emery gives him one more season and then decides on his future next summer. RB - Licht is a FA Jenks is crap. Really need a solid backup for Bellerin. I'd be inclined to find someone that can play multiple positions (CB/RB or DM/RB) since Bellerin likely gets the majority of starts when healthy. CM/DM - Would like to see us sign a starting caliber player and/or a true DM but I don't see it happening this summer. I think we are gonna sell ElNeny and then stand pat until the following summer. Between Torreira, Xhaka, Duezy, AMN and Chambers (has been doing very well as a DM at Fulham) the rotation is gonna be too crowded without a bunch of sales/loans and we have too many needs in other areas. CAM/W - Ramsey gone. Ozil likely gets sold if we can find any takers. Think there is a good chance that Miki is sold as well. That leaves us with Suarez (assuming we pick up the option), Iwobi, Nelson & Smith-Rowe. Bare minimum you need 1 starting quality player here. Maybe 2. ST - Playing with 2 ST up top has been a positive for the offense. I'd like to see it continue. Though I suspect to see make moves like we are going back to 4-2-3-1. Welbeck will be gone PAE & Laca are solid but are both getting older. Nelson could be used at ST if we run 4-2-2-2 or 4-3-1-2 Think we need a young ST (maybe ST/W for versatility) that can rotate with PAE/Laca in both a 1 & 2 ST setup. Recap... Out Cech Licht Ramsey Welbeck Should be gone Ospina Mustafi Jenks ElNeny Possibly gone Kos Nacho Ozil Miki Not likely we end up with turnover of 12 players but everyone on that list is a very possible change in our roster next season. Depending on how many of those are sent out, we could be looking at needs at GK(1), LB(1), RB(1), CB(1-2), W(1-2) & ST(1). Ideally that would include starting quality at LB, CB & W.
Some day we will be completely rid of the team that so underperformed that it got the old man fired. Sanchez, Welbeck, Giroud, Wilshere, Oxlaide-Chamberlain, Coquelin, Injury Carzola, already gone. Next up: Ramsey, Ozil, Nacho, Cech, maybe Welbeck, hopefully Mustafi. So I'd hope they are bringing in at least two fullbacks and two centerbacks, along with another midfielder.
I'm excited to hear about how they have no money and to bring in some guys that no one else has any interest in.
I hope Kroenke sells the team to a passionate football fan that actually cares about Arsenal, but that’s just my imagination. Anyways, Arsenal need to sign a new CB and RB.
Oof, Nacho, underperformed? Sorry, love that guy. Not disagreeing that we need to buy like a billion defenders though.
My views Gk - look at an older guy who can play backup for cheap as Ospina is gone and Cech is retiring Lb - I would love a young talented player to battle with kol and take his spot, chillwell or tierney? I wanted kol gone but he has shown some very good offensive signs recently Cb - sell mustafi, bring in a quality player like manolas or rugani. I like ake at Bournemouth too as a quick cb. We then have holding, sok, mav, new guy and kos with monreal also capable here. I assume kos is a lifer (looked good this year) I love nacho but a new lb and cb means he can go Rb - upgrade required. Hector is out for ages, we should be looking at an athletic player with pace, same as lb really. Not sure who to target here? Cedric is a more experienced player I thought we could look at but he’s off to inter. Cm - would love an experienced b2b player to come in who is proven. We have enough cover here and chambers looks good as a dm but with Ramsey leaving I want someone who can be a threat and cover ground. A cheap attacking cm could be perreya at Watford. Wingers - iwobi, mikhi, Suarez, nelson. Wouldn’t mind selling mikhi and bringing in a pace merchant with technique (not cheap) and maybe an older guy with a bit left? We often get injury plagued players here so numbers are required for consistent width availability. We also have some young creative tens coming through and Suarez can play there if we go 4231 St - nothing required So in short 2 fbs, 1 attacking cm, a cb and at least one winger About 150 mill lol
Most likely. He looks significantly better at DM. Would be to our benefit to keep him there either for our own squad or to maximize his value. It's funny that when we bought him AW mentioned the possibility of trying him at DM but it took a loan spell after AW was gone for that to really be attempted.
I'd like to see a 21-24 yo CB, a 18-20 yo RB and a 21-24 yo LB signed. Keep Kos and Monreal around. They don't have enough value to sell, and it allows the club to ease the new signings into things gradually without blocking them in the near or long term. Of course sell Mustafi, he might actually bring back the biggest fee of any player that is expendable. Sell Elneny. I probably like him more than most and think he is a solid player if he plays regularly, but Emery doesn't seem to be a fan and you don't lose anything replacing his minutes with AMN/Chambers/Willock. I'd be okay with selling Ozil and Miki, but I think the most likely outcome is that they sell one and keep the other while buying an established winger. Backup GK, whoever he is, should be homegrown to save a foreign roster spot. Nketiah needs a loan and playing time. So another striker is needed even though he will rarely play. Maybe Saka takes a big step forward. Maybe sign a 30+ yo on a free. Can Asano get a work permit, play some cup matches and generate some resale value? Yeah, probably not.
As I mentioned in the MD thread, I'd send Iwobi out on a 1YR loan to a good team in a top a league where he will play and develop. To put it nicely, he needs a "seasoning"
Noise levels of everyday sounds 🙉 pic.twitter.com/tgolSf1uzf— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) February 4, 2019
Yeah, and he's not improving very quickly is he? Certainly not in any kind of steady trajectory. So I say let Alex try to develop next season at the expense of another team, and then we'll see. If you don't agree, that's your prerogative. And if he miraculously becomes a consistent star for us in the last third of this season, I'll be very happy to reconsider his loan.
He's gotten a lot better. He just got caught in possession deep against a high press. It happens. Emery's system with overlapping fullbacks is perfect for Iwobi, IMO - he's at his best in the left half space, which is perfect for feeding the overlap.
Several FAs (assuming my sources are right on the contract dates) we could look at to help with the budget. Been linked with a few... 30+ but maybe worth a look... Godin (I'd be a little surprised if he left) Filipe Luis (same age as Nacho, might as well keep Nacho) Kompany (doubt he would play anywhere but City) David Luiz Mata (linked) 1st team guys under 30... Brahimi (linked) Rabiot (linked) Ander Herrera Young guys that could be worth a flier... Alex Remiro Andreas Pereira (HG, linked) Jordan Jukaku Roger Guedes
Also reading this morning that we should get some immediate salary relief from some departures... FAs Ramsey 110kpw Cech 100kpw Lichtsteiner 90kpw Welbeck 70kpw Jenkinson 45kpw Others that could be moved Nacho 65kpw Mustafi 85kpw ElNeny 60kpw Ozil 350kpw Ignoring possible transfer fees that is between 415 and 975kpw that could be freed up.
Of the FAs above, I'd avoid the 30+ guys. Many solid players there but no need to buy someone that we can't sell for decent value in a year or 2. Of the rest I would take a very serious look at... Brahimi - think he will be 29 to start the season so age isn't ideal but he is a top (in Portugal) winger with a good work rate. For the right price he could be a good stop gap for the wing. Rabiot - Not sure DM/CM is gonna be a huge need but if Emery thinks he can contain the attitude/drama, he could be an incredible partner for Torreira. His game can be (doesn't always want to play the position/role that he best fits) that of Xhaka with actual defense which would make him perfect for the DM/HM role with Torreira as the ball winner. Alex Remiro - young (23/24) Spanish GK. Could battle Martinez for the #2 spot and later push Leno. Andreas Pereira - young HG that can play wing or AM. May not be much more than a rotational guy for us but as noted he is young (23/24) and HG. Jordan Jukaku - young (23/24) LB/LWB/LM. Has had some injury issues but has played well when healthy. Romelu wants ManU to sign him but they are stacked at LB at the moment and he likely wouldn't get an opportunity to start ahead of Shaw considering his form of late. Could be a good option to compete with Kolasinac and could even be used as a multi-position rotational guy even if we keep Nacho. Roger Guedes - young (22) Brazilian winger playing in China. I've seen some claim that he was better than Vinicius Junior (RM winger) when they were both in Brazil. Could be a cheap wing option to give us some speed & creativity on the outside.
Yes. But the level of insanity varies I suppose, depending on what your perspective is: the wages across top teams in Europe, or the wage discrepancy between players on our squad. That's where it's truly wrong... Licht @90k, when Nacho @65k and Jenks @45k? OK, maybe it's more understandable if Stefan's contract is so much newer? (but didn't Nacho have a renewal recently?) Or if they truly believed they were getting a much better RB than he's proven to be (and that's really on mgmt no?) Edit: Oh, I now see @chjoak's reply about him being a FA on a 1YR. We really signed him for just 1YR??