I am not sure that’s true but Arsenal has a higher win percentage without him than with him But sample size may be too small and not all variables taken into account
The big reason Odegaard may be leaving is the lack of talk around a new contract when he has two years left. He is going to want to be one of the highest earners, and that’s not possible with Rice, Saka and even Saliba.
The club would be crazy to sell Odegaard for less than 20m and equally crazy to turn down a 100m offer. At the same time, I wouldn't feel great about giving him a new 5 year, 300k/week contract. I dont want to "run him off" but for 65-70m I'd sell.
I probably should've used "perceived" instead. I think there's data out there to back it up but the change in play is more subjective.
Agreed. I'd love to be wrong on this and he stays next season and completely turns it around, plays most of the season and significantly impacts the scoreline routinely.
I just heard Ornstein say that this summer Arsenal won't have to sell before they can buy. And I was thinking why? Because we're doing so well this year, going deep in both UCL & EPL, first or second place in both, that the extra revenues from that will give us more funds and headroom? Or if not just that, then what else... healthier balance sheet in general this summer compared to last? Or ??
Sky has been reporting that we will be the highest earning English team this season (thanks to the CL run). Well over 700m in revenue in their guess - so even after what we spent last summer, we are going to have plenty of room to spend.
€294m in spending last summer versus only €14m in sales is not sustainable. And already have a net spend of €35m this summer with Hincapie and Kiwior deals becoming permanent. Selling the likes of Jesus or Norgaard or Trossard for nothing isn't going to be enough, if no one wants to sell Odegaard, who are you will to sell instead? MLS? Nwaneri?
Today's game is an example of why MO is important to the squad. He made a huge difference when he cake on.
Understatement. Collectively we had a poor performance today I thought. But won the game (and perhaps the title as a result) for 3 reasons: Raya, Ode & VAR. Raya made consistent saves, as he did all game and all season. But Ode changed the whole complexion. After we weathered a period of scary WHU dominance, he grabbed the game by the scruff, did things that nobody else was doing or able to do. And VAR was there when we needed it most.
There is only one Fabregas but I would love to bring in a player who can pass like him or Ozil. I thought that would be Odegaard but he doesn't do enough. I thought Zubi would be that guy and he's a good passer. I want an elite passer. We have more than a few midfielders who can attack, Eze, Merino, Nwaneri, even Rice but who is/are our best passers? Has to be Zubi and Odegaard. I long for a player who can do some or most of the things Fabregas, Ozil or Bergkamp could do. The vision to see where the next run is and surprise everyone with a decisive pass no one saw coming.
I think mls is the midfielder we need that has a separate profile from rice and zuba and is more like a dembele in a 2 with rice, they offer more than zuba imo who is better in a single pivot with 2 8s I’m happy with the backline unless white wants to leave. We have good players in all positions but injuries have taken their toll. Hincapie is a great pickup as he offers great ability as a cb and defensive minded left back (show signs of getting forward as well) maybe a more attacking right back? Califiori, Gabriel, Saliba and timber is pretty good and raya is class the issue I have is with zubamendi. We could see more with rice and mls as pivots and potentially odegaard and eze battling for the 10. Wouldn’t mind seeing dowman in there as an option, maybe try Saka there and dowman rw? saka looks a shell of himself at the moment due to his Achilles, I dont rate madueke. The dream would be Olise but I can’t see it. See how Saka is in terms of his Achilles as he has been pretty anonymous for large spells this season. I would see trossard and look at bringing in a world class lw like barcola or take a punt on the lad at Everton whose name escapes me. Don’t rate Gordon’s output. Not sure how good diomande actually is, how often do bundesliga wide forwards work out? I hope nwaneri comes back into the team as an option too and we have dowman. Shame he’s left footed as he would be great out wide I think we see Havertz go, I’m not keen on gyokores as a permanent fixture so a younger guy coming in to challenge him that is also a goal scorer but capable in build up. A young Jesus would be nice he’s definitely gone, I see Havertz leaving too and potentialy nwaneri. I can also see white gone if another club come in for him and I would offload Kepa as well. in a dream world I would sell madueke as well and look to strengthen elsewhere if nwaneri wasn’t sold in terms of who to bring in, there are not many exciting players about that are attainable I don’t want a slow winger who plays in serie a. They won’t cope in the prem with the shit refs allowing people to kick you all game we need raw pace, power and technique
Unless Norgaard pushes for a move I'd be shocked if he leaves. From what I've seen he's good to have around, good for morale and experience, plays the cups in MF or CB. And if we cop an injury or two in midfield we know he plays for EPL standard.
Good post but who would pay Havertz salary (his contract runs until 2028) It Havertz is healthy - he should start in the final up top - he is our best option And if Havertz continues to have fitness issues - maybe - but moving him won’t be easy unless you want to take cents on a dollar before 2028 As an aside Arteta should retool the position and cut his press to preserve him because he has great value
Agree on MLS. Really happy he finally got his shot. Think a 3 man rotation of Rice, Zubi & MLS in the DM/CM role will help develop him further while giving Rice & Zubi some much needed rest. Will also likely save us from spending 60-100m on a similar player this summer. I'm happy with the backline in theory. The major problem is Cala & White being unable to stay healthy and a lack of other options at RB causing Timber to get worn out. Think White needs to go somewhere and play RCB in a back 3 so he isn't asked to cover as much space. Cala is young enough to role the dice and see if you can work through these issues but we may have to make a tough decision in the next year. Even if we have no departures, I think we really need to add a young FB that can play both sides equally. That makes for a short list but a list can/should exist. Mingueza can play both sides. Not as young as I would like but would be a free transfer. Liveramento can play both sides, though he is injury prone as well. Fresneda (Sporting) & Seys (Brugge) would be worth a look. Personally think part of the issue with Zubi is that he simply wore down. Early in the season he was quite good but he has played more minutes this season than any prior season. Think you start rotating MLS in and get his total minutes down then you get the best version of him. That best version may not be our ideal DM/CM but I think it would work fine for now as MLS develops. In 1-2 yrs MLS takes over, Zubi can be sold back to Spain and we find a young DM/CM to be MLS future partner with Rice rotating with them. Don't see anyway we look to replace Saka, atleast not now. Hopefully he rebounds. Being a WC year doesn't help. I don't really rate Noni either. He is good at creating chaos but he has no finished product. If we could find a good offer I would sell and use Ethan & Max as backups to Saka. As noted above, if we could find a buyer for Noni I would lean on Ethan & Max next year to provide Saka some rotation. I would also look at giving them some time in a AM/SS role in cup matches. LW is tricky. My top 3 attainable in no particular order would be Yilmaz, Godts & Barcola. The underlying problem with them and frankly anyone you want to add to the list is that they are ALL a risk. There is no attainable LW that is a guaranteed improvement. I honestly could see him wanting to move on. I'm seen some rumors of interest from Bayern. Not sure he goes anywhere unless he is the starter. His salary & our likely valuation would be problematic for most.
Depth chart heading into the summer as I see it right now..... GK - Raya, Kepa, Setford LB - Cala, Hincapie LCB - Gabi, Cala, Hincapie RCB - Saliba, Mos RB - Timber, White DM/CM - Rice, Zubi, MLS, Norgaard CM - Merino CM/AM - Eze, MO, Merino AM/SS - Eze, Havertz, Jesus, Merino, Nwaneri, Dowman LW - Trossard, Marti RW - Saka, Noni, Nwaneri, Dowman ST - Vik, Havertz, Jesus *Separated MF out into generalized roles rather than specific position GK - I want to see Kepa gone but I am betting he stays and runs his contract out (1 more yr I think). Barring a Kepa departure, Setford likely needs a loan so he can prepare to be the #2. Defense - White should be moved but I think his injury likely kills that. If he stays we need to add some FB depth that can play both sides. If he is moved, I would heavily consider adding 2 (LB + RB) and play Cala inside a bit more to give Gabi some rest. Midfield - Think MLS is our cheap answer to getting Rice & Zubi some rest. We need to figure out what we wanna do with MF next season and adjust the roster accordingly. We need to inject some youth whether that is Nwaneri, Dowman or someone new. Norgaard needs to be moved if he isn't gonna play. I saw claims of interest from Ajax back in Jan. Wings - I'm betting we don't do anything at RW. Noni should be sold bit I think Arteta likes him. Personally would rather see Ethan & Max eat up his minutes. LW we should sell Trossard. Given his age, we aren't getting much. If we have any PSR/FFP concerns, Marti may be the better sale but I think we will miss him unless we absolutely nail whoever we bring in. ST - Jesus is gone. After that, IDK. Could see a scenario where we run with VG, Kai & Merino. I'm thinking it is unlikely we buy a young ST unless we move one of VG/Kai or it is a young, cheap borderline academy ST.
Very long, thoughtful post, with very few typos or grammar mistakes. Who are you and what have you done with @thebigman?
I continue to scratch my head about Norgaard. He's had virtually no minutes this season while appearing to be perfectly fit, well-liked in the squad as you say, etc. Why the F have we not used him more? If he's not at the level we need skills-wise, or not consistent enough, or a poor fit for our system, then why did we buy him??? Seems a recruitment error to me, and if so we should fix it.
I wonder how he would do next to rice with eze as a ten? Never tried it as he does come very deep (pause) when he plays as an 8 or 10 i think we may get a good fee for him and should at least look at anything over 40 mill personally
He likes to drop deep so utilizing him as DLP in a double pivot might make sense. My biggest concern is whether he can continue to direct the press from deep and his general poor defensive skillsets. I agree with the financial logic of selling MO but where I get hung up is whether & how we could replace the positives he brings. I'm not sure we have anyone on the roster currently that could quickly & fully replace him.
His defense is basically nonstop running around. He cuts angles down but he doesn't defend well. In fact, after his recent injuries, I've seen him pull out of tackles. Moving him further back would cause issues defensively for the team.
For me, those stats are a reflection of the deep runs this team has made in every competition, not how Zubi is (over)used by Arteta.