21 in June 6'3" Contract expires in 2027 TM says he is worth 35m euro 4g 6a in 1100ish min across all comps at Inter 17 league goals in 2700 min for Spezia in Seria B last season Very much a classic #9 I would assume that would mean Kai to RCM would be a bit more permanent
Could be a solid purchase. Competition for Gyokeres up top. We'd still need a new LW to balance out the attack.
100% Think this team needs..... - Young ST to understudy VG/Kai - Starting quality LW (sell one of Trossard/Marti) - Young MF that can rotate with Zubi & Rice to help keep them fresh and eventually replace one of them. As things stand now, I think we could address the above and head into next season ready to defend the various trophies we win this season.
Absolutely. Between the potential of moving MLS into midfield and possibly buying Stankovic, assuming Inter don't trigger their buyback, that gives us good, young depth. Bring in one of Nusa, Fofana or Barcola along with the above-mentioned young 9 and we're set.
A couple of days ago I came across an article whose author was confident that Inter were going to activate Stankovic’s buy back clause. I don’t think he will be available. Re left wing, we seem to be overlooking the fact that in all competitions, Martinelli and Trossard are Arsenal 2nd and 3rd leading goal scorers, respectively, behind only Gyokeres. Nusa or Fofana are not guaranteed upgrades on either Martinelli or Trossard. In league play this season Nusa has two goals and two assists and Fofana has two goals and one assist. Barcola would likely be an upgrad. He can also play as a striker. The other left wing that would probably be an upgrade based on his production this year is Yildiz.
Other than Barcola or Yildiz, the other LW options would be more for depth. That being said, maybe we need to get two LW's. Trossard is 31 and it's not likely that he continues to put up similar numbers as he continues to age. Martinelli's CL numbers, while great, are a bit of an aberration relative to his history. In the league, he has 1G/2A. Not great production. Unless Arteta is going to change his system to suit these guys, we need someone that produces under him.
Agreed. 4 league goals in 22 league appearances is not exactly the title winning output we are looking for.
Martinelli’s one goal and two assists in league play came in 626 minutes, most as a late sub. Here’s a stat to boggle your mind, in just league play, Martinelli’s goals plus assist average per 90 minutes is 0.43, which is better than Saka’s 0.40 and Madueke’s 0.35.
That's not all that unusual to have a higher ppg # for mostly sub minutes. That usually drops when the minutes increase. Saka's having a poor season of production relative to his previous seasons so it's not a huge achievement to be higher than him right now.
Seeing some reports that Arsenal have already submitted an offer for Alvarez, along with PSG and Barcelona. There's no details on the offer so it might be click bait.
Alvarez has 5 league goals from open play this season in 24 appearances. He hasnt scored since November outside of cups. I do not understand the hype around him.
My point is, the right wing hasn’t been as productive as the left wing this season, but many are ready to get rid of both Trossard and Martinelli
Despite the dry spell he's been in, he has a history of scoring goals for both City as well as Madrid. I'd probably spend the money needed to bring him here elsewhere, though.
That's a fair point. Our goals from open play are down this season. We've (fans) been looking to upgrade our left side for a couple of years now, though. Trossard is aging out and Martinelli just doesn't seem to fit with Arteta's system. Now, if we open up and become more direct, Martinelli instantly gains value.
I think it's probably agent driven, as discussed earlier he pushed his way out of City when Haaland took his job. Berta spent 75m to sign him so it's believable that he might be interested again. And if Arsenal fail to win the league and the pressure to win gets even greater, he might be the most instant-impact option, 26 with PL experience. But his 17g last season was propped up by 4 penalties, I don't see him as a 9 figure player. Esposito or someone like him makes more sense in terms of size and how much he would cost.
Contract decisions will force the issue on Martinelli and Trossard. I believe both are only signed thru 2027, with Martinelli having a club option for another year according to reports. Trossard always seems kind of miserable when he doesn't play. He's getting older and less productive, the summer seems like a good time to upgrade. I can go either way on Martinelli. He seems happy with his role and doesn't complain, he's fine as a depth and rotation option. But it comes down to what he wants financially. Maybe he's happy to extend on similar wages. But if he wants a payday it might be time to move on. I'm not sure what the market in terms of fee/wages would be for him.
Don't wanna reply to everyone above so I'm just gonna write up a "multi-reply"..... Alvarez - only makes sense to me if we (a) convince him to play LW or (b) switch up our formation to more of a 4-4-2. A makes all the sense in the world. He would be a phenomenal replacement for Trossard and provide left vs right balance to the attack. B makes a little less sense as we already have several players that are capable in operating in a SS role. What we would need in that scenario is a ST and Alvarez isn't a ST. He is a false 9, SS or W. Young ST - As noted above, we need one. Esposito looks interesting but if we are gonna go with a target/hold-up style ST we really need to adjust our tactics a bit. Target/hold-up guy is not gonna be as effective in a possession offense but would be very effective if we began moving quicker and more direct. LW - In general, I've been happy with Trossard. He isn't perfect but he has done some good things to improve the team. For a CL team, he isn't quite good enough to be a guaranteed starter when healthy and there is a strong argument to be made that he is at his best as a sub. So we have 2 LWs that seem to be at their best when used as a sub. The difference is that Marti seems to be happy/content in that role and Trossard is not. This summer is time to make a move. If you can convince Alvarez to take Trossard's spot and Marti to provide the same role he is now, the LW spot would be significantly better.
I saw a chart that showed every team in the Prem is down in Open Play xG this season over last with the exception of Yanited - and who knows what they are and will become. Arsenal and Everton had the lowest drop-offs. Can't seem to find the chart though.
Not gonna argue on the money but part of that statement makes no sense to me..... "who isn't an elite scorer when playing as a striker." What W is an elite scorer when playing ST? Typically players that are elite scorers when playing ST stay at ST because they are elite when playing there. If he was an elite scorer when playing ST we wouldn't be talking about him as a W. We would be talking about him potentially replacing Vik. I agree he isn't a ST but he is a very capable scorer and dynamic player which is why I think he could be a strong acquisition IF we convince him that his future is at LW.