The Wish List

[dashsnow17]

Lb is much more of a problem. Bellerin is as reliable as it gets and AMN is very good back up.

How is LB more of a problem? Monreal is still playing at a high level, he's not ready for the retirement home just yet. Kolasinac is young and adapting, plus AMN can fill in there. I mean I'd trust AMN to fill in at RB too, but shouldn't we have more than one designated RB?

Fabinho would be a handy solution to this problem I guess. Fabinho plays at DM and Bellerin at RB, if Bellerin gets injured Fabinho slots in at RB and AMN at DM or AMN at RB.

 

[dashsnow17]

I'd argue a new winger is too important to ignore. The top teams have quick, tricky wingers who chip in handsomely in the goalscoring department, and we no longer have that.

Playing devil's advocate, isn't it time to put some real trust in Iwobi & Nelson? A new expensive winger pretty much blocks their paths for the foreseeable future.

 

[Toby]

I'd argue a new winger is too important to ignore. The top teams have quick, tricky wingers who chip in handsomely in the goalscoring department, and we no longer have that.

I know and I thought about that, too. But I feel Wilshere could do a job on the left, and Mkhitaryan has got loads of goals in him, he's proven that numerous times in his career. With Aubameyang up top there's one of the most lethal strikers of european top flights in recent years. I think the team might be able to ope without another winger, especially if you'd add someone versatile as Meyer.
Another factor might be the development of Iwobi's end product and Reiss Nelson.

All things considered, I think the defense is more of a priority than the offense, and to get that done you need at least three players. A DM, a CB and a GK, which will, going by today's fees and Arsenal's spending habit, consume the transfer budget.

 

[Aevi]

Playing devil's advocate, isn't it time to put some real trust in Iwobi & Nelson? A new expensive winger pretty much blocks their paths for the foreseeable future.

They'd be immediate backup to Mkhi and said new winger, which is more than fair. As much as I'm all for youth, I think it would be unwise to make them starters. Not only are they not ready for such pressure and responsibility, but what happens if one of them gets injured? We'd then have noone.

 

[Aevi]

I know and I thought about that, too. But I feel Wilshere could do a job on the left, and Mkhitaryan has got loads of goals in him, he's proven that numerous times in his career. With Aubameyang up top there's one of the most lethal strikers of european top flights in recent years. I think the team might be able to ope without another winger.
Another factor might be the development of Iwobi's end product and Reiss Nelson.

All things considered, I think the defense is more of a priority than the offense, and to get that done you need at least three players. A DM, a CB and a GK, which will, going by today's fees and Arsenal's spending habit, consume the transfer budget.

Our defensive issues have diverted attention from the fact that we are also struggling in attack. Both facets of our game need to be addressed, and it's time we attend to all our issues instead of constantly leaving lose ends. That is why we always fall short.

 

[Toby]

Our defensive issues have diverted attention from the fact that we are also struggling in attack. Both facets of our game need to be addressed, and it's time we attend to all our issues instead of constantly leaving lose ends. That is why we always fall short.

It actually is. And going back to the winger case...I'm equally not sold as you are about Iwobi and Nelson being the instant and only backups to what we have right now.

But going from experience, we won't start to suddenly spent 200 to 250m in one window on a quality winger plus all the guys needed for the defence, especially if one is supposed to be Oblak, who'll definitely sell for about 80m alone.

You could save some money here and go for Horn from surely relegated Cologne, but that again would be going for the budget option of the player you actually want/need. Like signing Gervinho when we wanted/needed Hazard. And that's not got us anywhere, too.

I mean, going for Lacazette in the summer for 50 and then bringing in Aubameyang in January for another 60, could point to a new direction in spending. But then again Walcott, Giroud, Oxlade, Coquelin, Gabriel, Szczesny and Gibbs have been sold for roughly 120...which again paints the picture of an Arsenal that doesn't want to or cannot spent without selling.
And in that dire situation I'd rather go for the much needed revamp of the backline and try out with Wilshere, Iwobi and Nelson.

 

[LG10]

How is LB more of a problem? Monreal is still playing at a high level, he's not ready for the retirement home just yet. Kolasinac is young and adapting, plus AMN can fill in there. I mean I'd trust AMN to fill in at RB too, but shouldn't we have more than one designated RB?

Fabinho would be a handy solution to this problem I guess. Fabinho plays at DM and Bellerin at RB, if Bellerin gets injured Fabinho slots in at RB and AMN at DM or AMN at RB.

It's great seeing Monreal score goals but he is not up to it at lb anymore. Got destroyed by Dyer the other day. Play him as a cb in a back three and he's fine but think Wenger's given up on that formation. Kolasinac I just don't rate.

 

[dashsnow17]

It's great seeing Monreal score goals but he is not up to it at lb anymore. Got destroyed by Dyer the other day. Play him as a cb in a back three and he's fine but think Wenger's given up on that formation. Kolasinac I just don't rate.

I agree that defensively Monreal is on the decline at LB in terms of dealing with the pace of opposition wingers, but personally I don't think he's finished just yet. Plus it's way too early to give up on Kolasinac. Monreal took a while after arriving here to really get going. I mean I'd love Kieran Tierney or Ryan Sessegnon, they're both exceptional players, but it's hardly a priority right now.

 

[dashsnow17]

They'd be immediate backup to Mkhi and said new winger, which is more than fair. As much as I'm all for youth, I think it would be unwise to make them starters. Not only are they not ready for such pressure and responsibility, but what happens if one of them gets injured? We'd then have noone.

Isn't it the case that we could fail to buy a high-quality winger and still have a good transfer window, but we couldn't fail to bring in high-quality defensive players and still have a good transfer window. If we somehow bought Oblak, Koulibaly & Fabinho, I'd be ok with putting some faith in Iwobi & Nelson. But if we came away with a Malcom, Mahrez, Bailey etc etc etc but without the game-changers in defence, we'd feel great right up until the point we realise we haven't actually improved as a whole.

Obviously I want a flashy new winger who's gonna beat their man and provide something we've been lacking, but it's definitely at the bottom of the list of priorities. Auba/Laca/Özil/Mkhi/Iwobi/Nelson/Nketiah is a fine attacking selection. If Mislintat can find us a hidden gem of a winger for not much money, like Ismaila Sarr or someone even more hidden, then go ahead. But if a new winger is eating up 50m of the transfer budget at the expense of defenders then it's not worth it.

As @Toby Andrl pointed out we've spent a lot recently but only in the context of selling a lot too. At this point we still don't know how ambitious the club is gonna be in the transfer market. I'm not getting my hopes up that we're gonna spend a clean 200m on everything we want like Pep does.

 

[Toby]

While we're at it...the only young Bundesliga CB Arsenal should go for is Pavard. Saw him again today and he's a phenomenon. He's flying under the radar a bit cause he's playing for Stuttgart, but he's great.

He's everywhere in defence and he's rock solid. He's so calm and relaxed about his game, he's got great perception of what's going on around him, it's baffling. And he's got it all, the defensive abilities, good in the air, passing, reading of the game, tackling, anticipation...If Deschamps isn't a complete tool, he'll take him ro Russia.

 

[dashsnow17]

While we're at it...the only young Bundesliga CB Arsenal should go for is Pavard. Saw him again today and he's a phenomenon. He's flying under the radar a bit cause he's playing for Stuttgart, but he's great.

He's everywhere in defence and he's rock solid. He's so calm and relaxed about his game, he's got great perception of what's going on around him, it's baffling. And he's got it all, the defensive abilities, good in the air, passing, reading of the game, tackling, anticipation...If Deschamps isn't a complete tool, he'll take him ro Russia.

Plus he looks like an Irish Water Spaniel. He's got it all.

 

[HBL]

New GK/Cech/
Bellerin/AMN
Kosc/Mustafi
New cb/Holding or Mavropanos
Monreal/Kolasinac
Ramsey/Wilshere
New dm/Meyer?/Xhaka
Mkhi/Nelson
Özil
New LM/Iwobi
Auba/Lacazette/Nketiah

Probably another cb or rb needed as well.

The dream would be:

Oblak
Koulibaly/Manolas
Fabinho/Torreira
Bailey
Pavard/Diallo/Evans?
Back up rb

However, that’s probably about £250-£300m so I can’t see that happening, if we got two of those first four I would be ecstatic. Alderweireld is an unrealistic signing, no chance that one will happen.

If we get Meyer, does that spell the end of Xhaka? Perhaps not if Ramsey refuses to sign a new deal.

We need to try and cash in on a few players in the summer, hopefully they perform in the Europa league.

Chambers- £20m
Welbeck-£15m
Perez-£10m
Ospina-£5m
Joel Campbell-£7m
Elneny-£12m
Xhaka-£25m
Holding/Mavropanos-Loan

 

[Tom349]

Should really be trying to load up on all the young defensive talent coming via France. So many talented young defenders coming through at the moment, such as Pavard, Diallo, Diop, Lenglet, Sarr, Mukiele and Kounde. Get two of those guys, preferably two of the first 3 I mentioned and have them be understudy to whichever more senior/experienced defenders in the off season. Which in turn will allow the likes of Chambers, Holding, Bielik and Marvopanos to go out on loan where they will either improve to a level good enough for Arsenal or be eventually sold for a nice profit.

 

[marblehallstv]

Ospina should replceCech as our number 1 GK.

Evans or Kolibaly as CBs.

Nzonzi as CM.

No forwards, at the least a back-up (Richarlison/Mahrez) if Welbz leaves. If Wenger or these new guys (Mislintat/Sanhelli) get another forward without defensive options, then something is wrong.

 

[Windowlicker]

Ricardo Pereira 30m
De Vrij 0
Ndidi 40m
Fekir 50m
Butland 30m
Pavard 10m
Other than Nabil none of this players would require a big wage so we would be ok. Isnt Ndidi HG aswell?

Welbeck,Ospina, Elneny ~40m
Per,Santi,Akpom wages

 

[dashsnow17]

Oblak*, Cech, Macey, Bellerin, Koulibaly*, Kos, Mustafi, Chambers, Monreal, Kolasinac, Fabinho*, Xhaka, AMN, Ramsey, Wilshere, Özil, Mkhi, Malcom*, Iwobi, Nelson, Auba, Laca, Nketiah

Serious sh*t.

 

[dashsnow17]

Sell Ospina, Martinez, Jenkinson, Elneny, Perez, Campbell, Welbeck & Asano. Get as much as possible but just sell them to whoever. Maybe even Chambers. Send Holding/Mavropanos out on loan.

Empty the cash reserves. Wouldn't need to spend significantly for a while afterwards. A small squad loaded with quality and use our talented youngsters as reserves.

 

[Token Yank]

Realistic wish list with eye on the future.

Out:
Chambers (£15m)
Elneny (£8m)
Ospina (£6m)
Campbell (£7m)
Welbeck (£15m)
Holding or Greek kid (loan)

In:
Alban Lafont (£22m)
Wilfred Ndidi (£40m)
Leon Bailey (£40m)
Benjamin Pavard (£20m)

Lafont: We can bring in Lafont and have him ease his way in behind Cech for a season, then make him #1. We will be priced out of Oblak and need to spend the money elsewhere.

Ndidi: The guy is a beast and versatile. He is PL proven with CL experience and can play next to Xhaka or next to Wilshere/Ramsey. Still young at only 21. Our **** Defense will instantly improve with Ndidi in the squad.

Bailey: We need an explosive winger. I would like him or Malcom. I think Fekir is too similar to Jack, Mhky, and Özil. Bailey looks class. Dembele is a pipe dream and we will probably be priced out.

Pavard: I know nothing about him and haven’t seen him play but AM is raving about him and he seems like an Arsenal signing. I would rather Kouibaly but I can’t see the club spending that sort of money. Pavard can develop behind a declining Kos and inconsistent Mustafi.

Obviously I would rather we break the bank on Oblak, Dembele, Fabinho, Kouibaly, etc but this is Arsenal, I just can’t see it happening.

......................Auba
Bailey...........Özil............Mhky
...............Ndidi....Jack
Nacho.....Kos....Mustafi.....Bellerin
.......................Cech

Lafont, AMN, Sead, Lacazette, Pavard, Xhaka, Ramsey

 

[Aevi]

My dream summer would be...

Aubameyang
Bailey --------------------- Mkhi
Wilshere --- Özil
Fabinho
Monreal - Koscielny - Manolas - Bellerin
Lafont
​

Cech, Mustafi, Kolasinac, AMN, Meyer, Iwobi, Nketiah

2 huge signings in Bailey and Fabinho with 3 bargain buys in Manolas, Meyer, and Lafont. I reckon this batch of players would cost us about £150mil, which I would partially finance by selling Xhaka, Chambers, Perez, Welbeck, Ospina, Martinez, Ramsey and Lacazette. I rate the latter two but I think their sales would be required to be able to afford the incoming players. Meyer on a free would fill in for Ramsey and compete with Wilshere, while Lacazette's absence would be more of a gamble as I'd let the academy strikers take his backup role. These signings would inject us with some quality youth to complement an aging squad, I'm hopeful we're at least looking at these players as options.

 

[SpookyDukey]

Sergio Rico is a reliable and experienced keeper despite his young age. Might be a viable alternative. Yes Oblak or Allison would be preferred but realistically can’t see us goin to then limits financially. Have been keeping an eye on Pavard to since seeing his name on here and he looks immense. If we could get Rico, Pavard and Lascelles I’d be a very happy guy. And a DM from being amazing. Praying to God we don’t look for any more offensive players. Also not to keen on the ages of the recent additions. Great players but short shelflifes. Feel like a quick injection for the short term with still no long term gain plain. A few younger (progressive with potential) but ready to be in the first team or just out of initially would be a real step forward imo.