Being linked to Zinchenko and Paqueta at the moment. I think Zinchenko would be excellent, he would provide quality cover for Tierney whilst also being able to slot in as a DM. Lucas Paquetá is obviously very talented. He's Brazils main man in midfield and was been one of the best players in France last Season. My only issue with this is he is going to costs what 50-60m and is not a direct replacement for Xhaka in the same way Tielemans would be. He's a bit more attacking minded (although he is good tackler) which makes me think if we do sign him Arteta is intending on moving to a 4-3-3 with Partey at the base.
Zinchenko done! Tielemans looking increasingly likely as well. ---------------------------Ramsdale---------------------------- Tomiyasu-------Saliba------------Gabriel--------Tierney -----------------Partey--------------Tielemans--------------- ---------------------------Odegaard----------------------------- -----Saka-----------------G.Jesus--------------Martinelli---- Bench: Zinchenko, Viera, White, Xhaka, Smith-Rowe, Nketiah, Marquinhos, Taylor. The big difference is our strength in depth is now million times better than last Season. That's a quality bench and you could argue half of them should be starting.
Where are you hearing that tielemans is looking increasingly likely ? Everything I read is still the same as a few weeks ago. That he’s keen, but there’s no bid
David Ornstein: “The key decision makers at Arsenal are essentially all in on him. When you talk to people around this situation, they make clear there may need to be a departure first for Tielemans to come in.” Ben Jacobs(Telegraph): "Tielamans agent has been pushing for Leceister to reduce their asking price. The player is unlikely to sign a new deal with the Foxes" Although, Charles Watts is saying "Lucas Paquetá is ahead of Youri Tielemans in Arsenal’s list. A bid for the Brazilian is expected". It may be we need outgoings before we bring anymore in. Brighton appear to be interested in a loan for Tavares (which I think would be perfect) Hopefully we can get Maitland Niles, Pablo Mari etc.. at least loan deals to cover their wages. .
Will be a ****ing wad spent this summer if we pull this one off too Still £25m for Luiz would be a steal, if we can get it done in time ...
They wont get both. I actually don't think either as there first choice - We never actually bid for Tielemans and Luiz bids didn't come til the last day. There were clearly other midfielders ahead of them on the transfer list.
Just seen a clip from Ornstein on a podcast where he was asked about Saliba’s contract situation and why he hasn’t been tied down yet - he said that although Arsenal are keen to get it done, Saliba is ‘in no rush’ to tie himself down. This concerns me slightly as it means he’s potentially considering a move away if the opportunity arises. And his profile will be explored further when he’s playing at the World Cup with France. I really hope we can get this sorted as soon as possible, along with Saka and Martinelli.
Gross spending I doubt is too significantly different from the likes of Liverpool. Our issue is that we've been poor for years at getting any sales numbers when players leave, and also because none of our very good players have ever left in their prime to big clubs who'll pay top dollar. So our net spend looks poor compared to Liverpool. But we're not going into administration so we sort of assume we can afford it so therefore, who really cares what we spend? Liverpool's net spend is nicely masked due to Barca panicking after Neymar left and giving them a trillion pounds for Coutinho. And the fact Liverpool haven't really needed to replace anyone for years now as their core from 5 years ago was so good. But Liverpool are going to need to spend BIG again soon to get anywhere near league winning again. Most of that great core of Liverpool's team from five years ago is the wrong side of 30 and they've got no 'Coutinho-like' superstars who are attracting interest... and there's also no stupid panicking club like Barca who'll come in again and fund Liverpool's spending for the next season either. So Liverpool's net spend will be similar to Arsenal's now I'd imagine. Spurs net spend is low over a 10-year period but even they've spent net £375m in the last four years so you could argue they're getting to similar levels too. United, Chelsea and City (and now Newcastle) will always spend loads. Those are the only seven clubs in the prem who could spend vaguely obscene amounts of money. There's only 11 players to start a match and there are seven teams who can spend loads. Every season there are three real trophies available to those seven teams (Europe, league, FA cup) which means at the very least, four of those seven teams will spend loads and not win anything in any given season and get castigated for spending money and not winning. Factor in City winning most trophies available to them and then I'd say if you're spending loads and you don't win something every three-four years then something has gone wrong. Arsenal won a trophy 2 years and 3 months ago. If we don't win something this year then I'll be starting to get a bit annoyed and question the spending. Chelsea and Liverpool won a trophy 1 year and 3 months ago. Even if they win nothing this year, they can still argue they're well within tolerance. United won a trophy 5 years and 3 months ago. That's poor. Spurs won a trophy 31 years ago and that's just hilariously comical, especially with their spending over the last four years. Newcastle - if they don't win a trophy within the next 3 years then that's not good value for spend.
The main thing for me is the Thomas Partey position. The guy is 29 and injury prone. I would bring in a TOP quality addition to the squad as competition for the position.
Wish we’d gone in for Tielemans. Lokonga can do a job in there. But we need somebody with the same quality as Partey tbh
I would take Tielemans for sure but honestly I think we need to be more ambitious. If United and Liverpool have chance of signing Bellingham - surely we could land him? There's no guarantee either of those Club will get Champions League next Season. Arsenal are looking like a better proposition for players these days.