I've noticed there seems to be some quite different opinions on what the team currently needs whereas in previous seasons it has been rather obvious (GK, CB's etc...). So what position do you think we need to strengthen most in January? Who do you think are the players we should bring in to fill these positions? And do you think the board are ready to spend big to push on against the big boys? (And do we need to spend big?) One player i still want at the club and have been saying it for the last couple of season is Vertonghen. He would give us cover at CB, LB and DM and has played with TV before. He is a great player and would be a brilliant addition to the squad. (By signing one player he gives us great depth in our defence). For others who think we need to strengthen at the back (and i only think this is neccessary if we end up playing Djourou too much) but don't want Vertonghen or if he isn't available who do you want to bring in? Kolo Toure and Cahill are two who have been mentioned recently? And tbh if we brought either of these in it would probably provide good cover. How about in the middle? On the Wings or up front? I'd like to see a real quality signing added to our team in the centre of the field, or a tricky player on the wing and bring Arshavin in-field and give him a more creative role. Gotze, Gourcuffe, Hazard are all players we have heard recently -would you be happy with any of these? For me Hazard is the player i'd like to see most. Another option in the centre is Kaka who i know some think he is past it but i think would be a fantastic addition to the squad if we could arrange some kind of loan deal or way to cover his wages. Others think we rely to heavily on RVP (who imo is on par with any striker in the league or even the world bar messi if you want to call him a striker). I agree to some extent but we have Park who looks good but we need to see more of before we can judge and Chamakh who is actualy a very good player when he finds form. Unless RVP is injured (fingers crossed this is his season to show his metal) i think we are ok up front and the others available can do a job when needed. But, for those who disagree and i'm sure there are a few - who would you bring in? If i had a choice it'd be a bid for Benzema or Higuain at Real Madrid. But remember we have Campbell to come in next season (who really is a fantastic talent) so any striker comming probably means the exit door for Chamakh and/or no return to the club for Bendtner. But tbh if we got a player of good enough quality i'm sure no tears would be shed. So where needs strengthening in January? Who should be brought in? And what do we think realisticaly the club will do? Thoughts?
I think we need a few Signings to really improve our squad. Firstly the defence needs to be improved specifically central defence, mert is not mobile enough meaning faster players will be a major problem. Also for a player who's 6ft6 he doesn’t have much presense about him and gets physically out muscled far to easily. I also think another defensive midfielder as Song and Frimpong will be going to the AFCON so we could do with some backup, possibly even a loan deal. We need another creative midfielder as Ramsey is still young and may not be ready to hold that role for the whole season so a quality backup like Hazard or Götze would be fantastic additions. I think in regards to Strikers that we will be Ok, with a run of games Chamakh will perform and Park seems pretty good so no need for another Striker.
Mert i think i just still adapting a little to the league. Also tall doesn't always mean dominant in the air. His real strengths lie in his ability to read game and make tackles and interceptions on the floor in my opinion. His aerial play has been a little hit and miss and he lacks some pace, but he really is a class defender and when TV and Kosc are our first CB pairing Mert is a great player to have to step in. That said i'd still like to see Vertonghen brought in to add depth to the backline. He also gives us that cover for the DM position. Would you be happy with Cahill or Kolo? I'm in agreement that another creative midfield player would be a great addition to the club - i just can't make my mid up who the best option is - so far i really do like Hazard though.
That said - Gotze is really getting alot of plaudits at the moment and i wouldn't say no to him either Is he the better player? I can't say i have seen much of him playing - i'll have to try and catch some more of his games!
I reckon Gotze would offer us more. We definitely need a play maker in the Fabreagas / Nasri role. I think Gotze would be a good fit
Götze seems class and I think he's a more realistic option than Hazard who is probably going to Spain, then again you can never tell if players can adapt to a different league, I remember Ballack was supposed to be a great player in Germany but he was rubbish with Chelsea. Also I wouldn’t mind getting Cahil or Kolo, I think that there both probably still better suited in our defence than Mert. Our defence push up quite high and if a player got behind Mert he wouldn’t have a chance of catching up, Cahil and Kolo or more mobile and I think are therefore a better pairing with Kos or Vermaelen.
Mert for me would still be 3rd choice if we got Cahill or Kolo as he reads the game really well which almost always makes up for his lack of pace - we are yet to see him really get caught out and he seems very calm and assured with what he has to do. But i think Cahill or Kolo would both probably step straight in ahead of Djourou who looked very good for alot of last season when played consistently but to me appears to have gone backwards since then. Having TV, Kosc, Mert and Cahill/Kolo as our CB's though would imo give us some of the best CB choices in the league. Vertonghen for me though is still the man to grab, but signing any of these 3 would be a improvement on our squad strength. For me the real improvement will be in a top quality midfield addition (although i think we have a good midfield we could do with adding a little touch of something special).
I don't want to put a damper on this new found unthusiasm on the Arsenal board but January is not historically a big month unless there are issues that need addressing. Most clubs do their restructuring in the Summers, OK we did ours between Aug 30 and Aug 31, but I only see new face(s) join if we've suffered injuries to key players/positions - remember our leader is stubborn and another raid into the market (when players are traditionally overvalued) will raise questions at his Summer dealings. I think he'll let this squad take their chances and prove they can claim a top 4 spot, he'll then spend next Summer making major/key acquisitions to get us competing with the chequebook clubs. I wouldn't mind seeing some more cover at full back brought in though.....
No Jayram - if we got either they would be 4th choice. TV and Kosc as our first choice pair, Mert as 3rd choice CB and either of these would come in behind in the pecking order.
The main issues for me are still those of offloading players: Denilson, Almunia, Squillaci, Bendtner on permanent deals. I honestly don't want to see Bendtner go, I'd rather Chamakh and bring the Big Dane back into the fold, but if he's determined to go, then so be it. Losing these 4 players, and sending a whole host of youngsters out on loan are what I'd like to see. In addition, I'd like to see two players coming in: Lee Dixon Martin Keown As defense coaches. Keown worked wonders previously, orchestrating a run of 10 clean sheets in the Champions League - no mean feat. Dixon's tactical analysis on MOTD is really good - he picks up on things and seems very astute. He's also still a Gooner, accidentally referring to Arsenal as "us" last night live on air. They're the major things I'd like to see happen, as soon as possible.
I'd agree except I had enough of Nicklas misses. Don't want to go there again. I also hope Wenger has pointed out to Dennis Bergkamp that he should work on building up experience prior to joining us in an appropriate capacity - Asst Manager maybe?
The one big problem for us is the defense but strangely, buying a player won't fix this. It is down to our organisation and once this is fixed, we will shoot up the table. Even midfield, im not too worried about. Arteta and Ramsey are both getting better with each game and with Wilshere coming back soon, there is no need for another central midfielder, we are over stocked as it is. The only real problem i see for us is up front centrally, RVP. He is playing tremendously well and is carrying us quite a bit this season. If we had one more class central striker on the bench to replace RVP, then we would be safe. The big question is, can Park, Gervinho or Walcott be able to fill in with RVPs absence? This position could be make or break for us, the rest has to be sorted on the training pitch.
Dixon & Keown working with the Defense Seaman working with the GKs Vieira working with the CMs *Someone* working with the Wingers Bergs & Thierry working with the Strikers Would be my ideal coaching setup. Wenger can go round them all, and make sure it's all to his liking. I've been looking for a great blog by the BBC about the Ajax coaching set-up, and how they've got a host of their ex-players back to help out, providing experience, and they're all WINNERS. They have some ridiculous number of league titles between them from all over the world. I don't think Arsenal make the most of their history. Provided they're also good coaches, ex players can make a huge difference. People like Henry & Bergkamp command respect because of how good they were, and ex-Arsenal players should tend to be intelligent as well since Arsene really values that aspect of them.
Exactly. We should be using our past greats to fix our defensive frailties. Unfortunately, Arsene is quite stubborn and is reluctant to change. If SAF can do it, why can't Arsene?
I agree i'd like to see a bit of a change to our coaching staff but i think it's our overall approach to defending that is the issue. That being said i think once our best defenders are back in action, when we defend like a team we are pretty solid - for example against Barca until RVP was sent off (most ridiculous red card in the world ever, with no exceptions). Also i know we are ot usually big january movers, but i think we where so rushed in our summer dealings that AW may have some business he wishes to complete in January. For me Vertonghen and Hazard are the ones to go for. More realisticaly i think we may go for Cahill and possibly Gourcuffe as the clubs need to cash in on the players.
