LG10
Well-Known Member
Is Edu in charge of getting fees for our player? Thought he was more about identifying transfer targets
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Lets rate our 2021 summer transfer window.
- Thread starter El Duderino
- Start date
- Replies 286
- Views 19,606
boxerumble
Baked Canadian
Country: Canada
Hard to even score this window now when we haven’t gone a season seeing everyone get relegated together
Atlas
Lost a sausage bet on Xhaka 😭
Not sure how people are judging White to be a poor signing after just 1 game. Did you not see the likes of Mustafi and Granit Xavi having a few good games at the start of their career here and realize that judging players on a small sample of games is a pretty dumb thing to do?
I think it looks underwhelming for now because you would expect a lot more from a record spend in the window. However we’ve keep to a consistent theme of signing young players with high potential so this batch of signings is really something you need to assess over the long term. 6/10 for me.
I think it looks underwhelming for now because you would expect a lot more from a record spend in the window. However we’ve keep to a consistent theme of signing young players with high potential so this batch of signings is really something you need to assess over the long term. 6/10 for me.
Country: England
White is a poor signing because it’s very debatable that he’s better than a William Saliba with a year of PL experience (which he would have if we had embedded him last season). Very debatable.
That’s 50M we’ve spent on that. We could have kept Guendouzi added that 50M to Lokonga’s fee and signed a legit top class CM or RB.
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Atlas
Lost a sausage bet on Xhaka 😭
Exactly why you can’t say he’s a poor signing. It’s very debatable.
Blankety Blank
emoji merchant
Tavares- Cheap back up/Cover for KT needed.
Lokonga- Promising but will need time. Think will turn out to be a very useful/good signing
White- Has many attributes that will benefit the team but obviously not the best in the air. Hopefully will become a John Stones type.
Ødegaard- Class player, we need more like this.
Ramsdale- A lot for backup but Leno was looking woeful without competition. I think he can be a decent replacement for Leno who will likely leave in 12 months.
Tomiyasu- Well if he can defend better than CC or CS & be useful in the air he will do.
Its difficult the top 4 are way above us anyway without the likes of Chelsea & Man C spending £100m on single players.
I said on another thread man u have spent over £440m in 3 years since Ole took over and they have not won a trophy & were above us anyway.
Thats the top 4 level now.
Top players are not going to come here so i would sooner we tried to build with younger players for the future & this has obviously been the plan this window rather than signing 'experience for a payday'.
Considering where we are as a club & that we cannot compete with the top 4 for players i would say we have done reasonably well if not spectacular.
its very much one with an eye for the future & we may need a couple of years or even longer to see if this transfer window really bears fruit?
I would say a hopeful 6
I am also hopeful that we can finish top 6 this year and with a young squad in the midst of a major rebuild that would obviously be progress.
Lokonga- Promising but will need time. Think will turn out to be a very useful/good signing
White- Has many attributes that will benefit the team but obviously not the best in the air. Hopefully will become a John Stones type.
Ødegaard- Class player, we need more like this.
Ramsdale- A lot for backup but Leno was looking woeful without competition. I think he can be a decent replacement for Leno who will likely leave in 12 months.
Tomiyasu- Well if he can defend better than CC or CS & be useful in the air he will do.
Its difficult the top 4 are way above us anyway without the likes of Chelsea & Man C spending £100m on single players.
I said on another thread man u have spent over £440m in 3 years since Ole took over and they have not won a trophy & were above us anyway.
Thats the top 4 level now.
Top players are not going to come here so i would sooner we tried to build with younger players for the future & this has obviously been the plan this window rather than signing 'experience for a payday'.
Considering where we are as a club & that we cannot compete with the top 4 for players i would say we have done reasonably well if not spectacular.
its very much one with an eye for the future & we may need a couple of years or even longer to see if this transfer window really bears fruit?
I would say a hopeful 6
I am also hopeful that we can finish top 6 this year and with a young squad in the midst of a major rebuild that would obviously be progress.
CaseUteinberger
Established Member
Country: Sweden
I am making it easy for myself. A 1 as we ended up keeping Xhaka when we were inches away from offloading him! 
gunner4lyfe
Established Member
One midfield signing (not counting Ode since he was here last season) when that's our main concern. Should have replaced Xhaka and Elneny because, lets face it, they'll get regular game time which will be detrimental to how we play. That plus Arteta still being here....well....buckle up guys.
grange
Losing my brain cells 🥸
Country: USA
Player:Havertz
I would give it a 7 or a 8 if things were running well at the club but it's been one titanic disaster after another. I have no problem focusing on youth signings to rebuild the squad with young guys with potential to grow together and be midtable for a couple of seasons while offloading bad contracts. However, so many things have been mismanaged that I don't believe they know what their actual plan is therefore I can't get excited about the signings until they start showing good performances.
It seems most here still think there was a chance to build a top 4 side with what we have and improve on that with more established signings so I get a lot don't see it as a positive window.
It seems most here still think there was a chance to build a top 4 side with what we have and improve on that with more established signings so I get a lot don't see it as a positive window.
CaseUteinberger
Established Member
Country: Sweden
Amen to that! We are in for a rough patch that is for sure!
MartiSaka
Join my "Occupy A-M" movement here 🗳
So we spend all that money and its highly debatable whether we have improved the team quality; maybe we have or maybe we haven't. When u spend a 150 million it should be crystal clear. I think a 4.
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RunTheTrap
Kai Havertz Offense League
3 out of 10. We needed two CMs, AM, RB, and a forward because Auba was stinking it up during preseason. We instead overpaid for White and Ramsdale and our we have effectively ended Saliba’s career.
Pros: Getting Ødegaard for cheap. Not my first or second choice but it’s a good deal.
Lokonga looks bright.
Tomiyasu looks like Chambers if he had testosterone in his body.
Nelson going out on loan. Hurrah, hopefully his career isn’t dead yet.
Cons: Giving Xhaka a new contract. Basically rewards mediocrity.
Buying White. Nothing personal but unless he becomes one of the very best CBs in the world I see this as a vanity signing to stifle Saliba’s chances here. Should be converted to a DM though.
Ramsdale. Should’ve signed Onana instead but tbh if he can kick a ball under pressure that makes him a lot better than Leno has been for awhile.
Sending Saliba out on loan but keeping Mari, Holding, Chambers and Kolasanic over him. Sackable offence.
Elneny is still here. Nketiah still here. Kolasanic still here. Cedric still here. Mari still here. Lacazette still here.
No loan deal for Balogun.
Arteta and Edu still here
Pros: Getting Ødegaard for cheap. Not my first or second choice but it’s a good deal.
Lokonga looks bright.
Tomiyasu looks like Chambers if he had testosterone in his body.
Nelson going out on loan. Hurrah, hopefully his career isn’t dead yet.
Cons: Giving Xhaka a new contract. Basically rewards mediocrity.
Buying White. Nothing personal but unless he becomes one of the very best CBs in the world I see this as a vanity signing to stifle Saliba’s chances here. Should be converted to a DM though.
Ramsdale. Should’ve signed Onana instead but tbh if he can kick a ball under pressure that makes him a lot better than Leno has been for awhile.
Sending Saliba out on loan but keeping Mari, Holding, Chambers and Kolasanic over him. Sackable offence.
Elneny is still here. Nketiah still here. Kolasanic still here. Cedric still here. Mari still here. Lacazette still here.
No loan deal for Balogun.
Arteta and Edu still here
Aussie_gunner123
Established Member
Country: Australia
We should have signed a top CM like Bissouma or Aouar. Thats the only position I feel we missed out on that we needed. What are we going to do when Xhaka is regularly on a suspension & hopefully not often but Partey is also out with an injury? Would really leave only El Neny & Lokonga because imo Ødegaard & ESR are higher players, not particular CM's like those 3. Otherwise I'm content with it apart from the amount we paid for White. I suppose White & Chambers are capable of playing there. AMN aswell if he is allowed to play with us again haha.
chessygoal
Well-Known Member
It's hard to rate this window because our whole strategy is based on our ability to develop young players with potential into top players.
Problem with that strategy is that Arteta doesn't look like the guy to bring the best out of Lokonga, Ben White or Ødegaard.
if we were trained by someone like Bielsa, I would honestly rate this window as a very promising one and I'd be a lot more excited about this season.
Problem with that strategy is that Arteta doesn't look like the guy to bring the best out of Lokonga, Ben White or Ødegaard.
if we were trained by someone like Bielsa, I would honestly rate this window as a very promising one and I'd be a lot more excited about this season.
GunnerShy
Well-Known Member
An optimistic 4/10.
Ødegaard and Lokonga look great buys. Tavares solid at his price.
£75m on the Brexit boys was too much and unnecessary. An indulgence of Arteta's inability to manage his current squad. And the hangover of a shocking decision to back Leno over Martinez.
We addressed every position we needed to this summer except the highest priority. A quality CM. We are one injury away from a potential El Nenny/Xhaka pivot at any point in time. That may be solved by playing White at CDM which may also save the issue of spending £50m on a bloke that would lose an aerial duel with Peter Dinklage to play CB
And come AFCON, Mikel is going to have to put the boots back on.
Ødegaard and Lokonga look great buys. Tavares solid at his price.
£75m on the Brexit boys was too much and unnecessary. An indulgence of Arteta's inability to manage his current squad. And the hangover of a shocking decision to back Leno over Martinez.
We addressed every position we needed to this summer except the highest priority. A quality CM. We are one injury away from a potential El Nenny/Xhaka pivot at any point in time. That may be solved by playing White at CDM which may also save the issue of spending £50m on a bloke that would lose an aerial duel with Peter Dinklage to play CB
And come AFCON, Mikel is going to have to put the boots back on.
gunner4lyfe
Established Member
Yeah the signings aren't bad (except xhaka) but when you add that to what Arteta has been doing lately, the outlook is bleakThe lack of faith in Arteta is permeating into the lack of faith on the signings.
This would have been a title push equivalent transfer window for Wenger.
So I don't have any problem with the age profile, but I think we made massive mistakes which will affect us this season.
Going into a season with Xhaka, Partey, Elneny and Lokonga as midfield options isn't good enough when you consider what we could have had.
The lack of sales and the slowness with which we did this part of our business basically hampered us.
I think the major mistake purchase wise was Ramsdale. Firstly I don't think Leno is so bad that he needs to be replaced immediately. I also don't believe that Ramsdale would not have been available for a similar fee next window. He shouldn't have been a priority especially when he doesn't take the shirt off Leno straight away. How can you say that having 2 competitive number 1s is more important than a CM.
Say we didn't buy Ramsdale. A back up goalie would have cost us maybe 4 million, maybe less if a loan. So that is an extra 20 ish million. Add the sales of Nketiah and Xhaka to that and we have 40 million. Then you DECIDE on your competition for RB. AMN or Chambers. I prefer AMN, but the point is it doesn't matter which one you sell as they would be roughly the same price and second choice anyway. Say 12 million.
That leaves you with 45 million to buy a first choice CM. Whether it be Bissouma or Neves. It literally doesn't matter. The point is that Xhaka is gone and the midfield is revamped. We could have even got Renato Sanches as a loan also.
Gk: leno, back up on the cheap
Rb: Tomi, Chambers
Cb: White, Saliba
Cb: Gabriel, Holding
Lb: Tierney, Nuno
Cm: Partey, Lokonga
Cm: Neves or Bissouma, Renato Sanches on loan
Am: Ødegaard, ESR, Martinelli, Saka, Pepe
Cf: Auba, Laca
Loan: Balogun, Cedric
Sell: AMN, Elneny, Mari
Release: Kola
That's with keeping Saliba ffs.
Going into a season with Xhaka, Partey, Elneny and Lokonga as midfield options isn't good enough when you consider what we could have had.
The lack of sales and the slowness with which we did this part of our business basically hampered us.
I think the major mistake purchase wise was Ramsdale. Firstly I don't think Leno is so bad that he needs to be replaced immediately. I also don't believe that Ramsdale would not have been available for a similar fee next window. He shouldn't have been a priority especially when he doesn't take the shirt off Leno straight away. How can you say that having 2 competitive number 1s is more important than a CM.
Say we didn't buy Ramsdale. A back up goalie would have cost us maybe 4 million, maybe less if a loan. So that is an extra 20 ish million. Add the sales of Nketiah and Xhaka to that and we have 40 million. Then you DECIDE on your competition for RB. AMN or Chambers. I prefer AMN, but the point is it doesn't matter which one you sell as they would be roughly the same price and second choice anyway. Say 12 million.
That leaves you with 45 million to buy a first choice CM. Whether it be Bissouma or Neves. It literally doesn't matter. The point is that Xhaka is gone and the midfield is revamped. We could have even got Renato Sanches as a loan also.
Gk: leno, back up on the cheap
Rb: Tomi, Chambers
Cb: White, Saliba
Cb: Gabriel, Holding
Lb: Tierney, Nuno
Cm: Partey, Lokonga
Cm: Neves or Bissouma, Renato Sanches on loan
Am: Ødegaard, ESR, Martinelli, Saka, Pepe
Cf: Auba, Laca
Loan: Balogun, Cedric
Sell: AMN, Elneny, Mari
Release: Kola
That's with keeping Saliba ffs.
The need of the hour is to get back into Europe, hell Arteta told Willian in 2020 that the aim was to WIN the CL in 3 years.
Thus the objective is: Get back into Europe as quickly as possible, if there was a year to do it , this was the one as we don't have Europe the need for squad depth should take 2nd place to improving the team. We somehow focused on squad depth without actually improving anything.
Of the 143m , 98m was spent on defenders , now we do need better defenders but look at who we have bought in
Ben White
Ramsdale
Tomi
None of these massively improve our defence in fact looking at how White struggles aerially there is an argument that he is worse than Luiz.
If the focus is on youth why not do the following:
Keep Saliba don't buy White (Save 50m and get a defender who can actually head the ball)
Loan out Ryan for another year (Save 30m for now)
Our priority should have been midfield and attack looking at the lack of chances and goals, Ødegaard is fine but adding a marquee signing like Maddisson would at least lift the mood of the club and we would get someone with g/a output.
We dilly dally on prices and don't sell players who are on high wages with no quality, what has resulted in a very bloated, very average squad and we haven't addressed the key issues.
3/10 and that is only because the hope is some of these young players can be sold at a profit.
Arteta and Edu are actually destroying the club value and standing at an alarming rate.
Thus the objective is: Get back into Europe as quickly as possible, if there was a year to do it , this was the one as we don't have Europe the need for squad depth should take 2nd place to improving the team. We somehow focused on squad depth without actually improving anything.
Of the 143m , 98m was spent on defenders , now we do need better defenders but look at who we have bought in
Ben White
Ramsdale
Tomi
None of these massively improve our defence in fact looking at how White struggles aerially there is an argument that he is worse than Luiz.
If the focus is on youth why not do the following:
Keep Saliba don't buy White (Save 50m and get a defender who can actually head the ball)
Loan out Ryan for another year (Save 30m for now)
Our priority should have been midfield and attack looking at the lack of chances and goals, Ødegaard is fine but adding a marquee signing like Maddisson would at least lift the mood of the club and we would get someone with g/a output.
We dilly dally on prices and don't sell players who are on high wages with no quality, what has resulted in a very bloated, very average squad and we haven't addressed the key issues.
3/10 and that is only because the hope is some of these young players can be sold at a profit.
Arteta and Edu are actually destroying the club value and standing at an alarming rate.
