truth_hurts
but Holding’s hair transplant was painless
Leno
Bellerin Sokratis Dunk Tierney
Nelson Xhaka Torreria Bailey
Willock
Lacazette
The board would love you for this. You've had a negative net spend.
Leno
Bellerin Sokratis Dunk Tierney
Nelson Xhaka Torreria Bailey
Willock
Lacazette
Realistic want list
IN
Zaha, Tierney, Izzo, Nkunku
Saliba - buy and loaned back
BACK FROM LOAN
Chambers to replace Elneny
Riess Neilson
Martinez
OUT
Özil, Mustafi, Monreal, Mhyki
Elneny, Ospina
Leno
Bellerin, Sokratis, Izzo, Tierney
Xhaka, Torreira
Nkunku
Zaha, Lacazette, Aubameyang
The board would love you for this. You've had a negative net spend.
Better defender than Dunk perhaps? This realistic though.
Would need to find a competent striker who can challenge Lacazette whilst provide more opportunities for Nketiah. It's possible.
I wouldn't say no to Sturridge on a free. Season long deal. He probably doesn't want to swap Liverpool's bench for ours though.
Godin Inter, Rabiot JuveWe should be smart and pick up some guys on a free: Godin, Alves & Rabiot.
Then bring in some youth with some experience: Saliba, Tierney, Zaha & Ziyech.
Ship out the deadwood: Özil, Mkhi, El Neny, Mustafi & Jenks.
Bring back our promising young guys: Emi Martinez, ESR & Nelson.
Promote the young guns to help with depth: Saka, Willock, Nketiah etc.
Out:
Aubameyang (€75M)
Chambers (€15M)
Kolasinac (€10M)
Mustafi (€5M)
Elneny (€5M)
Ospina (€4M)
In:
Nicolas Pepe (€75M)
Thomas Partey (€15M + Xhaka)
William Saliba (€25+5M + Loan Back)
Kieron Tierney (€25 + Jenkinson)
Ryan Fraser (€25M)
Gabriel Martinelli (€7M)
.............................Leno (27)
..........................Martinez (26)
................Sokratis (31) Koscielny (33)
....................Bielik (21) Holding (23)
Bellerin (24).................................. Tierney (22)
AMN (22)..................................... Monreal (33)
..................Torreira (23) Partey (26)
................Willock (20) Guendouzi (20)
Pepe (24).............. Özil (30)........... Fraser (25)
Mkhi (30)........... Iwobi (23).......... Nelson (19)
..........................Lacazette (28)
...........................Nketiah (20)
..........................Martinelli (18)
The key IMO is to get Xhaka out. His inadequacies put pressure on every other player in the team, especially the defense. Any plan that involves keeping him at CM will fail, IMO. Partey would be perfect.
I'm okay with losing Auba if we can use the funds to bring in a player like Pepe. Lacazette is younger, on lower wages (esp if Auba signs a new deal), has three years left on his contract, and is a more well-rounded player with better hold-up/link-up play and better pressing. Pepe can replace some of the goals we'd lose with Auba leaving.
In general I'd prefer to give more minutes to our young players rather than signing stop-gap veterans. If more funds need to be generated, I'd sell Mkhi or Iwobi and give more time to Smith-Rowe.
Just not good enough with the CB's here..
Holding wont be back at the start of the season and when he comes back we dont know in which condition.
Can't play Sokratis and Kos.
Means we have to buy another starter this window or we are going to finish 8th in the league this season.
Well, we haven't really had any strong links to CBs other than Saliba. My personal feeling is a young guy we bring in (such as Bielik) will be no worse than Mustafi. Tierney will also help the back four, but the most important thing is that Partey will be shielding the back four rather than Xhaka. That to me will be more impactful than any improvement we could afford at CB. Regardless, should be a better situation than last season even without signing another CB, then Saliba joins next year.Just not good enough with the CB's here..
Holding wont be back at the start of the season and when he comes back we dont know in which condition.
Can't play Sokratis and Kos.
Means we have to buy another starter this window or we are going to finish 8th in the league this season.
Torreira is our DM who is responsible to shield our defence, not our DLP Xhaka. Xhaka’s job is to dictate the tempo and make good passes.Well, we haven't really had any strong links to CBs other than Saliba. My personal feeling is a young guy we bring in (such as Bielik) will be no worse than Mustafi. Tierney will also help the back four, but the most important thing is that Partey will be shielding the back four rather than Xhaka. That to me will be more impactful than any improvement we could afford at CB. Regardless, should be a better situation than last season even without signing another CB, then Saliba joins next year.
But if you don't like the four I have listed, there are options:
- Keep Mustafi
- Play Monreal at CB
- Sign someone cheap/free (such as Cahill)
- Loan somebody (perhaps the lad from Dortmund)
- Spend ~€25M on a CB instead of on Fraser and start Iwobi at LW
They both are. Do they have somewhat different roles? Sure, but that mainly comes down to Xhaka's immobility and his DLP skills. Ideally the guy sitting deep between the two CBs isn't 5'6" and the guy driving the ball forward and joining the attack doesn't have the mobility of a sloth on Xanax.Torreira is our DM who is responsible to shield our defence, not Xhaka.
Absolutely, just like xavi, scholes, pirlo. They do have to defend, but it’s not their main task. They have busquets, keane, gattusso to do more defending for them.They both are. Do they have somewhat different roles? Sure, but that mainly comes down to Xhaka's immobility and his DLP skills. Ideally the guy sitting deep between the two CBs isn't 5'6" and the guy driving the ball forward and joining the attack doesn't have the mobility of a sloth on Xanax.
Think Motta (6'2") and Veratti (5'5") at PSG. Motta sat deep with the more mobile Veratti orbiting nearby, and Rabiot flanking and/or pushing up and providing an outlet for switching play.
Regardless, both central midfielders have defensive responsibilities and defensive impacts.
Partey positioning is poor. He always try to not be in his assigned position. That’s dangerous for a central midfielder.I disagree that decent mobility and decent passing are mutually exclusive. Yes, you pay more but what I'm suggesting is that we do exactly that. You don't need to splash 100M for that kind of player - Partey, IMO, fits the bill quite well.
Xhaka cannot handle pressure well, and that's unacceptable in the modern EPL for a deep midfielder who serves as the fulcrum for the team's buildup. It's not a skill he can learn either - he has physical limitations (stiffness, slow feet, lack of agility, lack of quickness, one-footedness, poor dribbling ability) that aren't going to go away. Aside from that his positioning, awareness, and decision-making when Arsenal do not have the ball are poor.
If you play him in a more advanced role he does not have the mobility to recover in time, especially in Emery's system where the fullbacks are pushed forward leaving acres of space in behind. He's just not a good fit for the league or the system. Torreira is better suited to the more advanced role - he's a better dribbler and has enough mobility to recover when the team loses the ball.
Arsenal are going to struggle to get CL football as long as Xhaka is a regular in the first team - away against the better pressing teams he's a clear liability. At this point I'd rather spend funds replacing him than buying an experienced CB.