My $0.02 on the MF (outside of Rice & MO)..... Havertz - I would only use him as a L8 in specific tactical situations. Should spend the majority of his time going as a CF & backup to MO. With 2 stronger defensive MF (Rice + new guy) with him he could do really well as a AM/SS when MO needs a break. ESR/Vieira - probably should offload them both but I doubt they both go this window. If I am keeping one I lean towards keeping ESR. While he has had a difficult time recovering his impact from a few years ago he atleast (a) is physically stronger and (b) has some level of proof that he is capable in the EPL. The key is whether or not he can stay healthy. I don't see us recovering our original investment on Vieira but if we could break even or make a small profit I might be inclined to pull the trigger. Otherwise loan him to a less physical league to try and raise his value. Now if someone comes in with a 50m offer on ESR, I may change my tune and try to give Vieira a bit more time. Partey - I would sell him assuming you can. Have no faith that he can stay on the field. Starting to think that he is one of the African players with a forged birth certificate and is actually 35ish. Jorge - would love to keep him around for vet leadership and allow us to space out the MF purchases a bit but I get it if he is getting better offers from abroad. El Neny - good luck to him. Ins - I'm thinking that we need to sign 2-3 depending on who leaves. I would target a starting quality 6 or 6/8 to start with Rice & MO. Then a young 6/8 (Manu Kone?) that can provide depth/rotation. I would also heavily consider integrating Nwaneri in for atleast the first half of the season. Give him FA cups and as much garbage time as you can until Xmas and then decide if he should stay or be loaned in Jan. The end result of the above..... DM - new guy 1, Rice, new guy 2 CM - Rice, new guy 2, ESR AM - MO, Havertz, Nwaneri
I think it comes down to 2 questions, how badly does the club need sales for PSR/FFP compliance? And do they believe Vieira ever amounts to anything? The sporting preference might be to keep ESR, but 40m in pure profit might be too good to pass up. And with Vieira, I'd sell now if possible rather than hope for a good loan spell. But maybe Arteta still has faith. I'd go more attacking with the 2nd purchase. Rice is very durable, if you add another durable 6 like Zubimendi, I don't think you need another 6/8 and can go with more of a pure 8. Although Kone may be the best of both worlds as an 8 who could one day evolve into a 6.
Agree My thoughts here were that we have a number of player that can play in a more attacking role both in the first team and the academy but our quality 6/8 options are limited. Also forgot to mention above, if retained I would shift OZ into an 8 or 6/8 role to add to MF depth. Doing so could also reduce the need to purchase too many in this window and/or could cushion the blow from moving ESR, Vieira, Partey, Jorge & EL Neny.
Seeing claims out of Spain that we have offered Barca 30m euro (20+10) for Ferran Torres but LaPorta is holding out for 50m.
Surely if everyone keeps saying why aren't we playing Zinny in midfield, Arteta has had that idea too right? Seems so weird we need legs in midfield, Zinny can play very good hero balls to forwards, but we are hurting ourselves with him at LB.
To be clear, i also see him as a 3rd choice. Basically a squaddie who covers 2 positions and already plays many minutes at the top level so we know he is good enough - he's better than Niny for example. More than good enough for certain games or as a sub, and he's at the club already
If Zinchenko was ever going to get a run out in midfield it would have happened already. We tried Trossard, unfit Partey, Havertz, and ESR in midfield. We even play Jorginho more minutes than he can handle rather than have Rice as a 6 and Zinchenko as an 8. The coaching team clearly don't think he can play as an actual midfielder opposed to a LB who steps up to join 3 other midfielders.
Seeing claims from Spanish media that Real plan to devote a majority of their summer transfer pot to buying William Saliba.
We need a killer, an individualist, whatever you want to call it. That could be a striker, winger, or left 8. We need someone who can do something with nothing. Andrew on the Arsecast mentioned that Alexis was that for us in the past, and I agree.
Think the gist was that Mbappe didn't count or this was the remaining pot as it referred to him a a given.
I wouldn't disagree. But that's this season. What about next season when we buy a more lethal striker (he says wishfully) then does Kai drop to the bench as backup 9 or move to our starting L8? (assuming LW is not a likely option, and assuming Rice is playing 6)
Free transfers often have substantial sign on fees (the agents need to get paid), so I suspect his signing will have a significant impact on their transfer pot.
Are you aware of what Mbappé will require in wages and sign-on fees? Edit: casoccerdad47 beat me to it.
Wow no, never heard of them! Thank you so much! Real will have internal numbers on what they'll spend on transfer fees, signing-on fees, agent fees, wages, and overall expenses. Mbappe, who I'm 100% sure they've already accounted for when conjuring those numbers, will not take a dime from pot 1. But thank you for attempting to explain the economics of soccer to someone who has been here for 16 years. Much obliged.
Zinchenko appears to be driving a lot of our transfer speculation. If we’re after a new left back, then we assume he will either be sold or moved to the midfield. Clearly what he provides as an inverted left back is a very progressive passer at the base of the midfield, something Jorginho provides and to a slightly lesser extent that Rice provides. He doesn’t read the game as well as Jorginho, but he duplicates one of Jorginho’s primary strengths, so if Arteta finds a left back that can provide close to the same progressive qualities in an inverted role that Zinchenko does, while providing better defense, I see no reason that Arteta wouldn’t move him into the midfield, especially if Jorginho leaves. Re this new left back, I think he’s probably already on the roster. While he is right footed Timber was the presumptive starting left back going into this season and I think go into the summer as the presumptive starting left back for next season. I believe he is too good to leave out of the starting lineup. In the brief time we saw him in the pre season and first game he looked very good and in his time at Ajax he was a very progressive passer and progressive ball carrier (something Arsenal could use more of). This leads to the question of whether Edu and Arteta add to the defense this summer. If they do, I’d like to see them add a different profile to the mix. I’d like to see a fast tricky fullback who is very creative in the attacking third. I don’t know who that might be on the left, but I think Jeremie Frimpong might be a good shout on the right. He currently plays as a wing back in Alonzo’s 3-4-3 and has 12 goals and 7 assists in all competitions this season. In addition, he offers the flexibility that in a pinch he can play on the right wing.