Little better but not quite there - 2020 Summer Transfer Thread

If your changing players in January you have to be able to change registrations.

Re Mustafi, I believe both he and Mari are expected to be back in training after this international break.

 

I hope it works out guys.

 

Regardless of formation, assume you have Leno, Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney, Auba, Laca and Willian/Pepe. I'd rather fill that out with Ceballos/Partey/Saka than Ceballos/Partey/Xhaka. Whether Saka is a LWB or 10 or RW with Willian as a 10, doesn't really matter to me.

If Xhaka is squeezed for playing time by the arrival of Partey, I could see him wanting out next summer. That could leave a lot of work to rebuild the midfield (permanent deals for Ceballos, Guendouzi, Torreira, a Xhaka sale, one or two new signings).

 

RIP Gunnersaurus. I don't know how media signs off on that one.

 

Yeah.

And I did note Earle & Howard's exuberance about Partey, they are the first pundits I've heard to get that excited. Some Lique1 expert on an Arsecast seemed to rate Aouar higher than Partey IIRC, but it's possible I'm mixing that up.

In any case, if Partey's coming, I will just cross my fingers as I've done with virtually all new signings, with a few exceptions... like Ozil.

 

BRING HIM BACK, this is bs!!

 

Partey should be on like 80-100k/week, not two-********ing-sixty

 

Welcome Partey #NoThomasNoPartey pic.twitter.com/CnmXzWNRoK

— Simpsons Arsenal (@SimpsonsArsenal) October 5, 2020

 

all the "insiders" have been tweeting he's in the air or in London getting a medical. Ha!

 

“Atleti were furious at the lack of notice. A senior source described Arsenal’s approach as “incredible”, amid claims the relationship between the clubs is irreparable.

Arsenal will say that deadline day is no time for courtesy — it is a time to be bold.”https://t.co/PwNdV5wK80

— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) October 5, 2020

Athletico are mad lol

 

I really hope I’m wrong about Partey (especially if the wages being touted are true, but I can’t imagine that’s real).

I basically have no choice but to get excited about the player people claim he is, rather than the player I think he is based on his data. It is true that Athletico throws up some super weird numbers for their players because they are unique in style and approach. Hopefully the scouting is right.

 

Yeah this is an odd one. I'm not so much against signing Partey as I'm surprised, as it cuts against a lot of things we'd been led to believe about the direction of the club.

There's really only one scenario where this deal works for us, that is, the player plays well on the pitch, enough to justify his very large wages and transfer fee. I'm not completely sure I believe the reports that he's getting 250K GBP/week, but that is what's being reported.

He's got no sell-on value, and doesn't help lower the wage bill. Whatever can be said about this deal, it's not done in the financial interest of the Kroenke family, so for that reason I'm surprised it got finished.

 

I like Partey. He offers us muscles and grit that we’ve lacking in the midfield for a long time since Vieira. We’ve have creative players like Aouar before but we were always soft. We have a reputation of being soft. Hopefully Partey changes that

 

Dreams do come true. Welcome, @Gunnersaurus! ⚪️🔴 #AnnounceGunnersaurus #DeadlineDay https://t.co/2xlJ0WWRnA pic.twitter.com/yxFDMr4yry

— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) October 5, 2020

 

Forgive us Gunnersaurus, forgive us

 

I have a plan to bring back Gunnersaurus, but I'm going to need frog DNA, an ostrich egg, and a mosquito that bit Gunnersaurus and then got trapped in amber.

 

This will bite us in the ass. He will be back with vengence.


On a serious note, I am not as frustrated with this transfer window as I have been in the past.

1. Covid-19 really screwed things up which probably meant that is why a few players like Sokratis, Mustafi, and Kola didn't leave. The downside is they are still here, but the plus side is we have emergency back up if needed.

2. Areas that needed to be addressed did for the most part: 3 defenders(the two loans became permanent + Saliba(like a new signing) + Gabriel), 2 midfielders(Partey and Ceballos) and 1 forward(William). Plus Auba signing a new contract is like a new signing.

3. More than 1 player was brought in. See point 2. Could more have been brought in? Yes, but still, see Point 2 compared to majority of the past transfer windows in the last 20 years.

4. We have 3 months before the next transfer window opens.

5. The club played hard ball. I can think of plenty of times when the club would sit back and accept no as the final answer even if there was a release cause.

6. We still have 2 choices of formations at any given time in a match: Back 4 or 3

7. On paper we had a better transfer window than a number of clubs.

8. According to some reports, the individual deal with Partey was already done about a month ago. It was just the transfer fee holding things up.

9. Hard Ball II: Sticking it to Athletico Madrid. How many times have we seen clubs screw Arsenal over transfers? It is nice to see Arsenal take the gloves off for once.

10. Only 3 more months before some of the deadwood can sign for other teams on a free which might mean they leave earlier. See Point 4.

11. Just because I can, we have a chance to bring JFW home on a free.