Vastly Inferior? I'm not sure about that. This is becoming a cliche that doesnt strictly ring true. The EPL sides are not exactly looking 'vastly superior' in Europe these days. I think the French league is on the rise - regardless the EPL is still better but by how much now i'm not sure. I think Lacazette will be a big success.
Lacazette - £50m Mahrez - £40m Lemar - £40m Mbappe - £120m Total - £250m -ish Though of course even if they are our targets I expect managing to land one or two of them would end the interest in the others. Unless Sanchez is being sold. We'd have an incredible front line though if we keep Sanchez and Ozil and sign a couple of these guys.
A lot of rumours flying around as usual but only the Lacazette one has real legs. Probably worth going to sleep for a bit and wake up at the end of the week and see what transpires.
I cant see this happening unless.. 1. Real Madrid have pulled out of the race. 2. We are selling Sanchez and Chamberlain. (and possibly a few others like Gibbs to help finance the move) This would be a CRAZY transfer if it actually happens. We are talking about an ELITE level talent here.
Supposedly Wenger has a good relationship with his family. Also he wants assurances about game time which Arsenal could give him but Madrid couldn't necessarily. If we were actually willing to pend the money I could see him as a realistic target. Are Arsenal really willing to spend that sort of money on one player though? Particularly if we sign Lacazette for £50m.
We're talking Real Madridesque proportions here. Unlikely we get all 4 but 2 is a possibility. I'd say Lacazette + Lemar or Mahrez. That would signal a very good window.
I disagree. PSG and Monaco aside, the French league is nothing to write home about. The only thing 'on the rise' about the French league is PSG's bank balance and Monaco's academy - both of which contrive to the illusion that the league's overall quality is improving. If anything, the demise of huge clubs like Marseille, St Etienne and even Lyon to a lesser extent suggests that the league is more of a feeding ground for England, Spain and Germany than at any point in its history. The fact that PL teams regularly embarass themselves in the CL also isn't a yardstick. Fact of the matter is, the PL is easily the most competitive league in the world with 5-6 teams now all capable of putting together sustained title challenges. Could become 7 if Everton carry on the way they're going. Name me one other league in the world that even comes close to that. My point was more that he has looked the bees knees for 3 seasons but no-one has come in for him. They just let him reach his peak and watched his estimated value soar from £25m to £50m+. I find that a bit odd, but as you say - certainly not a reliable method to gauge how successful a player will be. Martial for example had a host of clubs chasing his signature and he hasn't exactly set the league on fire. All in all, my comments are made between clenched cheeks. Butt cheeks. Because I am nervous as hell that Wenger and your board have finally sprouted a pair and are turning you into a force once again. Our comparative lack of activity is very worrying.
This would throw the cat amongst the pigeons if Arsenal go all out in this transfer window, and to be honest, it's something we really need to do when you look at the competition we are up against. As for Spurs, do they really need a lot of strengthening? They already have a solid team and probably need 1 or 2 players to boost up the squad. But the biggest challenge you face is retaining your best players and performing in a new stadium. There is no evidence to suggest that you are in a worrying situation. It's all of us (excluding Chelsea) that need to catch up.
Arsenal's transfer window could go either way. Losing Sanchez would be huge. If Özil, Ballerina and The Ox went too, then it's a huge rebuilding job as they are most of your best players. If they stay and Lacazette, a top central defender, a great central midfielder and another forward come in, then it looks great. Sanchez is the key though. If he's set on leaving then it's going to be difficult. Replacing him with an equal is probably impossible as they don't grow on trees and you'd probably lose out to Barca or Real or someone. Plus, if he goes, Bellerin might be more interested in leaving which means others might too. Once the rot sets in it spreads.
You're right - we have a very young squad that is visibly improving year on year. Our greatest challenge is going to be fending off interest for our regulars. Walker aside, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the team even remotely close to thinking about leaving, which is fantastic. To a man, they are all on long-term contracts (aside from Alderweireld, who "only" has 3 years remaining on his), so we'd get top, top dollar if that stance changed. What worries us is that there are a couple of areas where we are desperately short in terms of depth, and appear to be doing nothing to solve those problems: - Lack of cover for Wanyama (can't be Dier if we stick to 3 at the back) - Lack of serious competition for Kane (we are currently one serious injury away from total collapse) - Dembele becoming increasingly injury-prone (could be that Poch sees Winks as his long-term successor, and few would argue with that.) - If Walker is indeed leaving, get it over and done with quickly so that a replacement can be brought in and get a full pre-season under their belt. Being us, we'll bring someone in at midnight on deadline day, then he'll lose his passport. - A pacy attacking option. We currently have 4 attacking players on our books with serious pace, but only one of them (Son) is any good. Hence the links to Lemar.
I would definitely argue that. At the moment winks looks very similar to the Leon Britton/Tom Carroll type. Neat and tidy on the ball but suspect physically. Dembele has everything, the full kablomo in the PL, he's physical, strong, has that burst, can dribble, isn't that bad of a passer (probably not the best shooter but can blast them) and basically he's an absolute beast. Winks will never be that. At best, he can be like Modric who is in my book in the top 3 of playmakers right now, the sort of player who can make killer passes, who never misplaces a pass and even in tight sitations can dribble out and is always able to buy himself a few seconds or lay the ball on. He's also very intelligent and getting through his fair share of interceptions. If winks is half the player of modric you will have done well.
I agree that Winks is no Dembele but he's nobody's pushover either. He's a bulked up Modic-type ball player and could easily go on to be be a very good one. Because he's brave on the ball and off it and doesn't rely on power and strength to play his best stuff, he's first team ready now. Dembele's eventual replacement is Josh Onomah. He's a much more physical athlete and player who has great balance and power and who is very highly thought of but not quite ready to mix it against central midfield hardened Premier League opponents in terms of physique. That will come and against his own age group he's a beast, much like Mousa Dembele. If they continue to progress as expected and hoped for, then they'll get plenty of game time and good leadership which could lead to them becoming very special players.
I don't want to hijack the Arsenal board too much, but you're right: Dembele's skill set is pretty much unique. Not surprising that it took 3 managers to really figure out how to deploy him and get the most out of him. At the same time, Winks has seriously bulked up in the past 12 months and is reportedly doing the same this summer ahead of next season. He's that little bit taller and broader than playmakers such as Modric, and the defensive side of his game seems pretty solid. Dembele is a key player for us but struggles to impact games when the opposition packs the central areas, defends deeply and is well drilled (i.e. quite a few PL sides these days). He simply lacks the passing ability to pick a ball out in the melee, and often dribbles himself into dead ends. In fact, after 5 years watching him in a Spurs shirt, I struggle to think of more than 2-3 occasions where he successfully completed a gem of a pass. It is probably the only element missing from his game; with it he would probably be the best midfielder in the world and most certainly at a club bigger than Spurs.
I don't think much of that is hard to fix other than competition for Kane, which is a little more trickier. All in all, you have plenty of time to plug the gaps and have a team ready to go. Other than Chelsea, Spurs are probably the most ready club for next season. We still have a few outstanding issues to resolve, and that doesn't even include the new players coming in. But if we can manage to resolve those issues, bring in 2-3 top players, then we can compete. We will have to wait and see what we do over the summer. It's going to be a long summer...
I wouldn't lose sleep over any of Ozil, Bellerin or especially Chamberlain leaving tbh.. Sanchez will be the big loss but I'm already resigned to the fact he's going
Bellerin could be a big loss but I feel he does'nt really suite the 3-4-3 formation so maybe not.(depends on our formation next year) He will however be one of the best RB's in a few years. Wanna keep Ozil but not bothered about Chamberlain.
Ozil and Bellerin would be difficult to replace. Two of our best players. I think Ozil will sign a new contract though. And Bellerin has 5 or 6 years left on his contract doesn't he? No chance we sell him unless it's for crazy money.
GK: Cech/Szcz (or ospina) LB: Monreal/Kolasinac (sp?) RB: Bellerin/oxocube CB: Kosc/Mustafi/Holding/Gabri l/Mertesacker - Monreal also able to play here CM: Cazorla/Xhaka/Ramsey/Coquelin/Wilshere/El Neny FW: Ozil/Sanchez/Lacazette/Giroud/Walcott/Welbeck/Perez That's assuming we sign Lacazette. Also have Gibbs and Chambers. Gibbs I expect will leave and Chambers may stay as a CB backup. If rumours are true that we are going for at least one of Mbappe/Mahrez/Lemar then at least one or two FW options would be sold or loaned out you'd assume. Replacing Gabriel with a better CB would be good. And maybe a new CM to replace one of El Neny/Coquelin/Wilshere. Though from the rumours flying around it look a like the forward positions will get the main attention during the window.
