Per goonermaui's excellent suggestion...... New transfer thread is now here........speculate, prognosticate, prevaricate to your hearts' content.
Assuming that the announced 20 million pounds is "real," just how much can that get us? I know that Wenger isn't really the shopping type, but clearly boosting us for those injury-filled weeks isn't a bad idea. But almost all of the shopping lists people talk about contain superb players who would cost a majority of that--or a least a hefty chunk of it. I rarely ever pay attention to cash flow in sports--the dollar/pound signs just don't excite me--so I don't know how much/how little this wo million really is...
To be honest I dont think Wenger will want to buy in numbers. His faith in the youth isnt just for the cup competitions so I believe there may be only two significant signings along with a few wonderkids. Im really starting to think that Almunia will get a chance as No.1 next season. We tend to hype ourselves up over signings all the time when historicly under Wenger the trading seasons are very low key.
I'd like to see an experienced Central Defender picked up for depth. After Toure and Gallas things get a little too dodgy IMO. Senderos is fine against most sides but he is, and always will be, Drogba's bitch.
id like to see woodgate brought in. and it will never happen but id like to see senderos sent away to a top club somewhere out of england to gain some more experience as he is stil young but can prove to be costly on the occasion
Priority should be Goalkeeper, Winger then possibly striker. It's odds on that Lehmann will leave this summer. I would like to see either Akinfeev or Buffon. Winger I would love to see Ribery come in, he would give our midfield some depth and pace that it's lacking plus the all important goal threat. Robinho would do too. Striker is not so important as we'll have a fresh Henry back after a 5 month rest, Van Persie will be back better than ever, Adebayor will come back an improved player hopefully in his finishing dept and Bendtner will come in to prove a point that he can cut it in the Premiership. Defence we're pretty well stocked up with Djourou 3rd choice CB after Toure and Gallas.
Buffon will never come. Kahn/possibly VDS are retiring which means we're pretty much third choice. speaking of munich, schweinsteiger is immense. He doesn't have much of a goalscoring record but he pretty much creates every single munich chance. He's totally superior to Robinho, IMO.
I mentioned this before, but would Buffon come on loan? If we're willing to sign Lehman to a one year deal & he doesn't want to, why not take Buffon for the same terms timewise? He would most likely get a chance to play in Europe with us & it might buy Juve some time to try to keep him. Regarding Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich won't sell him....he's already too big of a name for his country & Bayern will not get rid of a local star that young. Too bad because I agree with you regarding his skill.
Djourou isn't dodgy. Senderos is okay as a fourth choice Centreback, aslong as he plays in position and is sent out of the country when we play Chelsea. We need a true winger. I still want Ribery. I think we get Ribery, Akinfeev and leave it at that. No way we get Eto'o, Villa or Torres. Baps will be sent back and Reyes sold off on the cheap to Betis or Atletico. Freddie, Jens and Ali should be sold off. A healthy RvP and renewed Henry solves our striker problems. Adebayor is a solid third choice striker, best in the league. After that it gets a little interesting but Bendtner, Walcott and Vela (if his application gets accepted, I think it will) is good enough for me. Who does Manchester United have after Rooney and Saha? Ole? Rossi? Chelsea after Kalou? We just need to stay healthy and sharp and we'll be fine upfront. Although I'd love to add either Eto'o, Villa or Torres, I just don't think the boss will do it. I'd keep an eye on Huntelaar also. Maybe Babel if Wenger sees something special in him. We do this every year though, we wait and pray for the big money transfer signings and it never comes. I'm not getting my hopes up again. I'll take the wait and see approach.
Sorry to re-hash my post the previous thread, but I would be really interested to here from any Bundesliga officianados regarding M. Klose. a.Are there any "confirmed" rumours regarding him being available on the market in the summer ? b. Do you feel that he would be a good addition if we were able to sign him ? Thanks.
Seriously guys, the Buffon fantasies have to stop. If he didn't leave Juve when they got relegated, why would he leave now? And if he did why would he choose a move to England over staying with an Italian team? Reportedly, Berlusconi has set his sights on bringing him to Milan if he chooses to leave Juve, and i doubt that Arsenal is going to outbid AC Milan. Its just never going to happen. Let's try to be realistic.
Djourou will be good, but he is 20 and has a bit to learn, hence my call for "experienced". Another year of cup ties and maybe playing relegation fodder will do him good in the long run. So I'd agree Senderos is fine at 4th choice, I just don't think that Djourou should be third yet.
a) I heard there was a chance he'd be headed to Juve. b) Yes, but Antifan is probably right...at 29 I doubt it.
Antifan has some good points here, i think everyone is just dreaming what if he did. What do you think about Akinfeev though?
I also want us to sign Akinfeev, but i have to admit its more of a gut feeling, as i've only seen him play against Arsenal. But he's young and his record is impressive. If he is as good as advertised he could be our goalkeeper for the next 15 years. And i don't think that he would be too expensive, as they're aren't alot of big teams in the market for a keeper right now.
No offense, but you're delusional if you think Djourou "will be good" and that Djourou isn't good enough to be our third choice CB. He's already there, mate - and the facts are quite obvious. May I remind you that BOTH Djourou and Senderos have started for Arsenal at EVERY competition level (including CL) and both started for a WC team that didn't give up a goal during the entire compeition. This year has definitely been a step back for Senderos, no question. But he missed nearly half our season due to his shoulder injury during the WC. He WILL return to form. I'm certain of it. I fail to see how getting either of these players more "experience" at a club fighting relegation benefits them when they've each already succeeded at the world's highest possible stages (CL and WC). And please, do tell where Arsenal can find more "experienced" central defenders than Djourou or Senderos that have already excelled at every level for club and country? Expecially given Arsene's pension for young talent, you certainly don't think we can find another up-and-comer with more "experience" than these two. And obviously, we won't pay top dollar for an established world class center back when we have other needs. We have other needs: but Toure, Gallas, Djourou, and Senderos is a pool that any squad in the world would die for. Central Defense ISN'T a problem...
I think he would be a good signing. Everything i read about him is good. He could be one of the better buys because like you say we wouldnt need another keeper for the next 15 years (him being only 20). That is if he realizes his potential. All good points. However, you have to admit that Senderos does have some issues that need to be addressed over the summer. I think most of us would like to see us sell him and buy another prospect who doesnt have these issues. We could also make a profit off this transaction because im sure AW could find another gem for cheaper then the price we could get for Senderos. I think i would sacrifice Senderos experience for a less experienced player who isnt slower then molasses going uphill in January and who can position themselves correctly on the pitch when defending people.
Djourou reminds me alot of Toure, He's naturally a midfielder, (Though Toure did play striker I do recall...), He's fast, athletic, he's actually taller than Toure. He's already powerful, in a different way than Senderos, and he's likely to gain alot of muscle before he turns 22. Senderos on the other hand, isn't going to get much better, or stonger, the only things for him to learn are the things that kept Cygan out of the team, the ability to pass short (cygan was I feel one of the best long passer and headers we had when he left) and read the game well.
I'm no Senderos apologist. Just trying to keep some common sense around here. I'm not opposed to selling him, but I just don't think there are any better (and younger) options to be had for less money. To be sure, there aren't any up-and-coming talents we can acquire and expect to step in right away. So I'm skeptical, but listening. IF we were to sell Senderos, how much could we expect? I'd estimate 5-6M GBP. I'm not sure how much this helps us... unless we have another ready-made replacement to slide in for Senderos What's the status and progress of Connolly and Gilbert? If Senderos is sold, one of them is the possible replacement that makes the most sense to me. I still think Senderos is better than anyone we can (realistically) bring in. Unless we already have someone in our reserves who can step in, I'm not interested.