Rival Watch / Other Teams

Yep maybe. Wenger has come out and said again that the decision is made, Sanchez is not for sale. I expect the club to stick to that.

 

Things to take into account:

- Have we planned a replacement if we sold Sanchez?
- Are we getting someone else if we keep Sanchez and is Lemar or Mahrez the replacement or addition?

If we keep Sanchez and don't get anyone else in, we have Oxo, Walcott, Iwobi and Welbeck to cover the right wing? We do have a lot of forward players when you think about it and it would mean selling one or two of those before we consider another player. Part of me thinks it's something Wenger won't do, he doesn't like dramatic changes or is ruthless enough to do that. He seems to like Oxo and Welbeck especially, so those guys are staying.

I think our window for forward players could be done chaps, unless a fire sale happens.

 

I doubt it.. but some sources are saying Moussa Demebele is seen as a potential replacement. Marca is claiming Benzema is being looked at as a replacement. Both of these guys are straight CF's though. Which is kinda weird considering we just bought Lacazette.

I actually think Lemar is seen as almost a Carzorla replacement. He mainly plays out wide (can play in midfield though) but he's more of a creative player than anything else.

 

Spanish sports publication Marca report that French champions Monaco have accepted Real Madrid's 180m euros offer for their 18-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.

They say the France international's fee will be split - "160m euros up front with 20m euros worth of add-ons".

 

Now instantly denied on BBC.

If they've rejected €180m then I fully expect us to bid €90m shortly.

 

I was saying on the Chelsea board I actually feel Chelseas transfer dealings have made them weaker this Summer.

Costa(Out) vs Morata (In) -
Costa is an absolute asshat but he's top draw. He fights, decent in the air, can make a goal for himself and is absolutely deadly in the box. What's more he's a player that scares defenders.
Morata is big but isnt a particularly physical player. He's a good footballer, good on the ball and is a decent finisher. But he couldnt hold down a staring place at Juve or Madrid and does'nt have a particularly impressive goalscoring record.

Matic(Out) vs Bakayoko (In) -
Matic is 6'4 defensive midfielder. He's unflashy but does the job exceedingly well. In fact he was instrumental in Chelseas last two EPL titles. He rarely gives the ball away, helps organise the defence and provides a solid platform fro the rest of the side.
Bakayoko is an athletic DM/Box to Box. He will give Chelsea more going forward (providing his distribution is good enough) but I think they will suffer defensively.
Kante is a workhorse and alongside Matic he can feel free to roam the pitch. Bakayoko will do the same and I think unless they are super well drilled this could cause Chelsea issues.

 

I'm hoping we will be better but:

Costa out Morata In. Costa will be a big loss as he smashed it in the first half of the season. We will need to change our style slightly as i don't think Morata can do what Costa does. I would say weakened but i think our highs will not be so high but our lows will not be so low if we can make that transition in style (Costa was absolutely horrible in some games after january and since things went through him, we just squandered possesion)

Matic for Bakayoko i'm happy about. I don't know much about Bakayoko except that apparantly he was an absolute beast in a 2 man midfield (like Kante) and he's got a great aerial presence. What i will say about Matic is that he was pretty solid defensively, but Kante was far more solid than him. Going forward Matic is pretty much useless and i'm happy about the move as i do feel in a 3-5-2/3-4-3 formation, you don't need that super solid holding midfielder. More than happy to sell Matic as i don't think he's all that since the first 6 months of his move (he was for me an absolute rock in those first 6 months).

You've also forgot we have Rudiger who should be an upgrade to Cahill as Cahill is allergic to people running at him and playing out from the back

 

You may be right Bear, though I would disagree with some of your assertions.

He has a goal scoring rate of 1 goal every 87 minutes. I would say thats impressive, or will be, IF he can keep up that momentum as a starter. (Thats the big IF I know). As for not holding down a starting place at Madrid, nothing to be ashamed of, Sanchez wasnt a starter at Barca, didnt do him any harm.

True, but we have Kante now, he can do everything Matic can, but is quicker, younger and better. A midfield of Kante and Matic is far too defensive, and a midfield of Kante and Fabregas is from one extreme to the other, I can see what Conte is doing with Bakayoko, he is going for balance. True, it depends on whether Yoko cuts the mustard but we will have to wait and see.

I get what you mean with Costa, a kinda, if it aint broke, dont fix it, sort of thing. And I agree, I would love to keep Costa, but he has his heart set on going back to Spain, so **** him.

 

Also will be interesting to see of this Rudiger guy is any good, and whether he can win a place in our starting line up.
Never was a huge Cahill fan, so if he is an improvement, its all good.
As always, time will tell

 

We will have to see. It's very often that I read complaints about defensive midfielders nor being good enough going forward. Its a silly argument IMO. I would argue Makelele, Roy Keane and Gilberto Silva are probably the best DM's in EPL history. None of which were particularly great going forward.

Conte's first title was really won on the back of a solid defensive unit. Not as defensive as some sides but still you wouldnt call it an attacking system.
Both the signings suggest to me that Chelsea are looking to be a little more offensive next Season. We will have to see if that's a good thing or not. If It aint broke...

 

Roy Keane was very good going forward. Same with Vieira who i think we're trying to emulate with bakayoko.

Gilberto Silva wasn't brilliant to begin with and Makelele is an absolute beast. The thing is, i would have no qualms sticking with a very solid Matic if:

1. He was still at his level that he was in the first 6 months (he's still solid but not as solid as he used to be)
2. We were not playing 3 at the back. You need your midfield to offer a bit more than you are 3 at the back and i would suggest that your 2 holding players are better off being more mobile. I don't think Matic suits that role enough to be a top level player. Good enough for PL but not for the big games.

I would definitely say most people would not agree with your assessment of Gilberto being one of the best DMs in the EPL

 

Bakayoko played against us twice last season in the CL and whilst that Monaco team caught everyone by surprise for its young, raw talent (currently being picked off by the likes of yourselves), he stood out as an absolute beast of a player. Your comparison to Vieira isn't too far off. I would say that he is a hybrid of Vieira and Dembele - frighteningly powerful and impossible to shrug off the ball.

Morata and Rudiger will take time to adapt to the frantic pace of the PL, but my gut feeling is that Bakayoko will sadly be a revelation.

 

You taught us the way at White Hart Lane when you dominated our wings and the middle of the park.

Matic and Kante were not a patch on Dembele and Wanyama that night.

 

Gilberto Silva came to Arsenal on the back of winning the World Cup with Brazil in 2002.
He provided a solid platform for Pires,Henry, Berkamp etc.. Gilberto was instrumental in us going through an entire EPL campaign unbeaten. The guy is massively under-rated.

Like I say you may be adding more athleteism but you could end up being more open at the back. All hypothetical of course.

I would happily take a holding player like Matic at Arsenal.

 

Winning the world cup isn't the end all or be all of barometers, especially when you are the water carrier and haven't even shined in that tournament case in point he was only bought for 4.5m.

He was solid enough but to put him into the brackets of one of the best DMs is too far for me. I don't even think the most ardent of Arsenal fans (deffo toledo though) would say Gilberto was anywhere close to the likes of Vieira, Makelele, Keane, Mascherano.

 

Veira wasnt a DM.

Winning the World Cup and Copa America with Brazil. Premierleague and FA Cup titles at Arsenal.. For me he is easily one of the best. Price has nothing to do with it. Besides 4.5 million in 2002 is like £30 million now.

 

As for winning titles and world cup, so did Juliano Belleti and Edmilson.

don't be daft about the transfer fee either.

4.5m in 2002 is more like 15m of now. Thats a list of the transfer fees at the time.

Player Transfer Fee
Rio Ferdinand £30m
Nicolas Anelka £13m
El Hadji Diouf £10m
Hugo Viana £8.5m
Massimo Maccarone £8.15m
Robbie Keane £7m
Tore André Flo £6.75m
Juninho Paulista £6m
Titus Bramble £5m
Gilberto Silva £4.5m
Clinton Morrison £4.25m
Bruno Cheyrou £4m
Sylvain Distin £4m
Bruno Cheyrou £3.7m
Vicente Matías Vuoso £3.5m
Matt Piper £3.5m
Marcus Stewart £3.25m

Not that theres loads of rival news but i think we've reached our impasse here . Time to agree to disagree

 

That list just proves my point.

Ferdinand was arguably the most hyped defender on the planet at that point in time.
Willy Sagnol moved for 7.6 Euros in 2002. (£5 million) Torsten Frings moved for 10 m Euros (£7-8 million)

The point is you could still buy TOP class players for less than 10 million.

Also price tag says next to nothing about a players ability. World Cup Winner and a key member of the best side in EPL history.

 

So it looks like Matic is going to Man United. Unless they're getting rid of Fellaini, the move doesn't make any sense. Do they really need another immobile, sluggish player in the middle of the park?

I've said before that I don't particularly rate Matic and I can't see him pulling up any trees at United. Apart from his first season at Chelsea where he looked unbeatable, he's not hit anywhere near that level since so I'm glad we were never in for him.

 

I would love him at Arsenal. Don't care if he's slow the only true holding player we have is Coquelin and he's barely a Premiership quality player. Doesn't belong anywhere near a big side like Arsenal. (nice lad though)