Honestly, I don't know. Kolasinac isn't a very good payer when he isn't playing WB and Monreal is getting long in the tooth so we need a LB. Mertesacker is retiring so one CB. I'm not as upset about Elneny and Xhaka as a lot of you are. Super-aggressive DMs get burned a lot. I don't like these two both in the same team and I like Xhaka more than Elneny, but for me when most of you start bleating about a DM I think you are talking about a more aggressive box to box player, which is the "other" DM if we are going to play with the double pivot. Sort of the Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira type. Right now the two we have in that position are Ramsey and Wilshere. For me Wenger likes his midfielders too much like a #10 and not enough like a box to box beast. It results in us losing the midfield. I love Ozil to bits but if we have him in there Ramsey and Wilshere are neither of them tough enough to make up for him, they are Ozil back-ups. In the German team he had Khedira who was a beast. Similarly up front the two wide forwards/Attacking Midfielders have to be far more box to box types. For me Mkhitaryan is the all-rounder model we need to be pursuing, and quite Frankly I think it is Ramsey's best position as well. I know when he played out there everyone thought he would do better in the middle; guess what he doesn't. If I had the team at the moment, I would play Ospina/Cech, Monreal, Kos, Mustafi, Bellerin, Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Kolasinac, Aubamayang and I would not lose the Midfield. If Iwobi gets his mojo back he is OK up there as well, but he has to get a lot stronger as a midfielder. We cannot win the midfield with 4 luxury forwards up top (Sanchez wasn't good enough either). Has to be 2 max. Those wide players have to be more Ray Parlor, Freddie Lungberg types than Robert Pires types, particularly if you are going with an Ozil at Number10. The reason we looked good with WBs is because they became midfielders and we could compete better. So the shopping list in order of priority is: 3x real Box to Box Midfielders who can play anywhere, use Mkhitaryan as a model, NOT Ramsey or Wilshere, who really are more Ozil backups. (Get rid of Wlshere, so Cazorla and Wilshere's spots) 1x CB (Mertesacker Replacement). 1x LB (although Kolasinac and Maitland Niles, might be OK if the Midfield improves)
I would go... Matthijs de Ligt. 18 years old and a regular in the Ajax side. Another quality CB to come from the Ajax academy and this one looks like a World beater. Attracting interest from Barca the 6'3 defender is two footed and good in the air. Kos is getting on a bit and we need to look to the future. Koulibali. Love this guy. Big athletic centre-back. Would bring back that intimidation factor we used to have in the side with Sol. Nzonzi/Carvalho/Jorginho/Koulibali. We need a legit Defensive midfielder. Rafinha/Meyer. Cazorla replacement. I would also like to see us make a move for Ousmane Dembele.
not often i agree but thats actually pretty solid and all your points are well made and what i agree with. Ramsay does indeed look better at RW. Not sure i would include Xhaka as solid but you are right in that he is a sitting DM as is Elneny who i think is fine. Only thing i disagree with is your template of Mkhi as the all rounder. Granted i haven't seen him too much at Arsenal but he's another light weight fluffy midfielder from what i saw at united but he is great going forward! He is a good option though as he has the vision, the pace and dribbling ability and plays on the half turn (like a rosicky at his peak for me)
The kind of players I would be scouting for these midfield positions, that are poachable and the right age are: Fede Cartabia - Deportivo Pierre Lees-Milou - Nice Kerem Demirbay - Hoffenheim Geoffrey Kondogba - Valencia Rodri - Villareal These guys have the kind of stats on both sides of the ball, that if they were on a really top team they would be superstars.
----------------------------Cech----------------------------- Bellerin---DeLigt/Kouli--Koscielney---Mon/Kol --------Ram/Wil--Kondogbia----Rafina-------------- --------Ozil--------Auba/Laca--------Dembele-------
2 new CBs as Kos is not able to play that regularly, and Mustafi isn't up to being the lead CB. replacement for Cech as he isn't getting any younger. replacement for Cazorla = Wilshere/Ramsey, but prefer someone better. need a DM - how long have we been saying this
Yep bit tragic really. He was our little magician and a real keystone of our midfield, one of those players who effortlessly links defence with attack and has 360 vision on the game. He's had 10 operations on his ankle now and at one point was told that he should be grateful if he could walk unaided again. We've had some absolute horror stories at Arsenal when it comes to injuries.
