Edu's Transfer Targets: Summer Holidays 2021

[berric]

He's actually the only person I trust on the footballing side as things stand.

Really hope he gets Edu's role in the future. Would like him to eventually be CEO if he delivers in the academy side of things, but I don't know how much he could bring to the table comercially.

Agreed. He always struck me as a cerebral person that understood the game really well.

I remember his interviews where he said he hated playing and couldn't wait to move to an executive role.

Also seemed to be on the same wave length to Arsène which is a big plus. Seems like a natural for a football director/executive position. Interested to see where his career goes.

 

[GDeep™]

Terrible summer so far. Still think we’ll finish 5th as Sp**s and Leicester will fall off.

This might be it for me. Not watching if we aren’t competing for CL.

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

Really need to start completing deals for the the first team now - all the talk about plans, this window being crucial and they were aiming to go up levels etc. are all looking like hot air atm. We're in a desperate situation where the top 4 could be sealed for a long time this season, we badly need to assemble a team able to compete with whats above in the next few weeks and have them firing very quickly.

 

[Heavy Duty Rom]

Arteta said we’d have some new faces for the Florida Cup. Well the Florida Cup would have been well underway now and the only new face would have been Lokonga. (Taveras had already signed)

 

[Makavelii]

How do we let Leicester city get Patson Daka for 23 mill?
This is the sort of moves we should be making. Why we messing around with backup goalkeepers for the same price?

 

[The_Playmaker]

I don't understand this attitude. We have signed guys like Pepe in the past who at the time was super exciting yet his performances have rarely matched what we were expecting from him. We should be judging players on how they're going to fit into the team and improve us with their particular skill set, not based solely on their talents which may or may not improve us.

Maddison for example I don't this is a massively talented player and there are plenty of 10's out there who are a similar level overall but his particular strengths are areas where we are lacking. Our crossing and shooting from dead ball situations is dire, Maddison is very strong in this area. Our goal threat from outside the box is lacking, Maddison again is strong in this area. He may not unlock opposition defence or carry the ball as well as other options out there but we have the likes of Saka and ESR who can. There are obviously more areas to his game that he is both weak and strong in but I think the strong interest stems from how he fits with our existing options. Sadly 50-60m doesn't buy you a complete player like it did 5-10 years ago.

The CM situation is anyone best guess at this stage.

I feel like Ramsdale is being judged too harshly based on a few people watching a few of his earlier games and then pretending to watch Sheffield run home. If you watched his later games then 20-30m for a young english GK who has already spent two seasons in the PL and has plenty more growth ahead of him is no where near of a disaster as some have made out. Doesn't help with all the revisionism around Martinez either. Im not necessarily advocating for him but I do see some of the appeal.

Abraham is an opportunity buy. At the very least he is good back up which with Lacazette and Eddie likely leaving will be needed. Ticks a number of boxes and as a fan base we need to stop comparing every striker to the likes of RvP and Henry. We were incredibly blessed with the run of elite strikers we had from wright through to RvP but how many up and coming strikers on the market now can put in the same conversation as those guys. The likes of Mpabbe and Haaland yes and are way out of our league at present, then there is a massive drop off. Abraham actually stacks up favourably to nearly every other up and coming striker, which speaks more for the lack of quality than it does his talent, but until such time as the next wave of elite strikers come through we are going to need players like him. Even if that player ends up being Balogun who realistically is going to need a loan or two before he is ready for that responsibility.

Rightly or wrongly our ability to bridge the gap to the top 4 is going to fall at the feet of the likes of Saka and ESR mostly. We are banking on their development to take us back to the top and their ceilings will ultimately decide how far we go not so much for this season but future seasons. I don't think you can question the players we are bringing in based on their age and the timeline being in sync with these two and their qualities are ones we are lacking and complement our existing players. Hopefully they are good enough overall and do provide the support to bring us closer to the top.

I like this outlook.

Really need to start completing deals for the the first team now - all the talk about plans, this window being crucial and they were aiming to go up levels etc. are all looking like hot air atm. We're in a desperate situation where the top 4 could be sealed for a long time this season, we badly need to assemble a team able to compete with whats above in the next few weeks and have them firing very quickly.

I would say the club has done all it can and can't really do anything else until we see outgoings, but they need to pull the trigger as soon as these players leave.

Laca, Xhaka and Bellerin should see three players in those positions if you count Ben White as done, with possibly a keeper coming in too.

It is a squad game this season. Teams can go down with covid at anytime. Liverpool could be flying and then lose Mane and Salah to covid. Then what? It is all about having two players for every position and a system to fit into. Currently the only position we lack sufficient quality in is Partney's partner and rb.

 

[The_Playmaker]

How do we let Leicester city get Patson Daka for 23 mill?
This is the sort of moves we should be making. Why we messing around with backup goalkeepers for the same price?

Because we have Balogun who is the exact same profile of forward.

 

[bingobob]

Just sign him now.

 

[Heavy Duty Rom]

Ødegaard rumours surfacing again. I’d be delighted if we get him, but if we do, we’ll leave it late.

 

[Tom349]

i agree about Abraham being a good opportunity buy. I’m onboard with that transfer.

But I disagree with you fundamentally about buying to fill weaknesses/plug gaps.
That’s the sort of strategy that just shifts our problems back and forth. It’s like playing wack a mole.
E.g. We don’t have enough physicality in midfield so we buy physical players. Then we created ourselves a new problem of not having enough creativity in midfield etc.

We need quality to get back to the top. That can be found with smart strategic buys and the manager getting the best out of players, without completely breaking the bank. Liverpool & Leicester did it recently.

I didn't say that. I said we are targeting players to complement our existing players. So you example is essentially the point I am making. Instead of targeting a physical player like Bissouma, we are seemingly after someone whos strengths are they can control the game in Locatelli or Neves. But even those two are different players beyond controlling the game. Neves is far more stationary in the role he plays versus Locatelli who plays with more freedom.

Simply put the perfect player is few and far between. 12 months ago when we were linked to Jorginho everyone laughed at Arteta but Tuchel comes along and finds the right role for him and next second people are putting him up for Ballon D'or, although they are laughable suggestions given guys like Messi exist. The point being its more important to target the right player for the role then it is to focus purely on quality when most of the time the difference in quality is marginal.

 

[ArsenalInMyHeart]

Our transfer business is too weird. We don't focus on finding solutions to the main problems (No10 and a partner with Partey). We just spend too much time on other target (GK Ramsdale - 40£).

 

[GDeep™]

When are we signing someone?

 

[GDeep™]

Ødegaard rumours surfacing again. I’d be delighted if we get him, but if we do, we’ll leave it late.

It’s late now, season starts in two weeks.

 

[Heavy Duty Rom]

It’s late now, season starts in two weeks.

Late for us fans, yes. But we know Arsenal and most clubs don’t move until the last few days of the window.

 

[berric]

Not a big deal leaving Ode late. Would be great to snap him up. Already knows the team etc.

 

[Sanchez11]

Nothing new its a Monday ffs. Poverty stuff!!

 

[MikelHadADream]

As it stands it will be another season of sniffing around 7th, good job we will have a home grown back up keeper though.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

It is a squad game this season. Teams can go down with covid at anytime. Liverpool could be flying and then lose Mane and Salah to covid. Then what?

Strangely enough the two players you mentioned did get covid last season. Both only missed one game. For most players getting covid means they won't be available for one or two games. That is less than the average minor knock sidelines a player for. Only problem is if your whole team catches covid at the same time, but even then usually the league or FA postpones your next game anyway.

 

[boonthegoon]

I think I know who the xhaka replacement is

It is..... Lucas Torreira!

(Seriously what the **** are we doing? Still he's here with no info on leaving.)

 

[bonzka]

We're yet to break par with last season's first 11. Weapons grade feckhousery.