16m isn't the price of a first team player. At 30 he is going to be a solid squad player but may not get enough game time to adapt to the PL. One of the problems we have is when we sign a player, he gets such inflated expectations on his shoulders he can't possibly live up to them. If this guy can come in and do a decent back up job, he will be well worth the money. If he was a superstar everyone would have been all over him and he wouldn't be just 16M.
I don't think the fee represents much more than his age and length left on his contract. He's been a solid player for Dortmund and I think he can come in and do a job straight away for us. He's not a superstar, but he's obviously been identified as somebody who will slot in at Arsenal
34yo RB and 29yo CB - adding some experience to the back four clearly. Think both could potentially be solid additions. I wonder if after these two we will still be looking to add more defensive signings or if we will go for a midfield or forward player.
DM surely has to be a priority this summer ? Jean Michael Seri has been rumoured to be on his way to us, he's more of a box to box type in a Kante type of role. You never know, if Emery could actually get a bit more out of Elneny he could be a decent DM.
As already mentioned, it looks like our first two signings will be two very experienced defenders. Leichsteiner (34) and Sokratis (29). Leichsteiner would be a welcome addition. Despite being 34, he's no slouch and has shown no signs of slowing down. He can teach Bellerin a thing or two, as well. Strong, aggressive, powerful, relatively quick and provides natural width. To get a player of this calibre on a free can only benefit us. Plus, as well as game experience, he has experience of winning titles and being a leader. Something our dressing room quite clearly lacks. Sokratis is slightly underwhelming, but I would rather have him in our team than Mustafi. He didn't have a particularly good season for Dortmund last year, but then again, neither did the vast majority of Dortmund players. The season before that though he was immense. Mislintat obviously sees something in him that suggests he can shore up our backline. We just have to trust his judgement. And for £16m, can't really have too many complaints. I have an inkling that this will spell the end of Mustafi's Arsenal career, though. If, as I expect, he is sold this Summer, we should make a profit on him (based on his age, experience and the price we bought him for). Assuming we have 2-3 more additions in mind to our team, and that they aren't the only additions, generally I welcome them both .
I don't think that's enough for us to get back into the Champions League. I'd like to see us get another winger, a goalkeeper (Cech being given the No.1 shirt was a big mistake) and a deep-lying playmaker (to replace Xhaka). If we did this, I would be confident of us getting back into the CL. But if we only get the two defenders + Seri, my opinion is that I don't feel it would be enough. You have to bear in mind that the other teams who finished above us will be looking to strengthen significantly too. So whilst getting those 3 players would, in theory, benefit us, it won't benefit us enough to get back to where we want to be.
Seri is actually weak defensively. He is really a Cazorla type of DM who is going to contribute more playing the ball out of defense, than making a difference defensively. He is not like Kante at all, except in stature. He is not a good tackler and puts in tackles very infrequently.
I reckon Mustafi still features in Emery's plans. He's had a crap season, but he's not a crap defender. He just needs the right coaching and more discipline instilled in him. If we sold him this summer we're never going to get £35m back for him so I think we'll keep him, especially as Mert has retired and Kos is out long term.
If the defence actually do their job and defend, then that's might not be a problem. When we played Cazorla and Ramsey together in the middle it worked really well, without the need for an out and out DM
Assuming what you're saying is true, then it'll be interesting to see what will happen to Chambers. Hypothetically, our centre-half options could be Koscielny, Mustafi, Mavrapanos, Chambers, Holding & Sokratis. Koscielny is out injured until December, but that would leave us 5 centre-halves for 2 positions. Having seen how erratic Mustafi has performed during his time at Arsenal, I can't see Chambers being too happy with yet another season at the club and having another season being a bit-part player. It will be tricky to keep all of those players happy. And whilst you may say that some of those players will get game time in domestic cup + Europa League matches, let's be honest, the Premier League is where they want to be playing. With that being said, if Mavraponos goes on loan, then it will be less of an issue. However, he seems to be very highly rated by a lot of the club staff and did impress in the few appearances he made, so I feel there is a chance he may be kept at the club. It will be an interesting dilemma to deal with. If we keep chopping and changing, there's no continuity and it's harder for centre-halves to form a solid partnership. If you keep the same centre-half pairing throughout the majority of the season, some of those left out will feel hard done by. But then with our injury record + around Xmas period where games come thick and fast, we may well need some of these players. But do they have the patience to take their chance? And what about when Kos returns? A lot of questions!
My fear is that Kos might never get back to full fitness and form. Personally I still think there are questions over Chambers and Holding as well as Mustafi. Maprovanos looks like he's got a really bright future at Arsenal so I'd keep him in the squad. So realistically if we sign Sokratis, then I think we need 4 CB's in the squad pushing for a starting berth, which looks like it will be Mustafi, Sokratis, Maprovanos and one of Chambers and Holding. We'll have to assess the situation with Kos when he comes back, but it's clear that he can't play 38 games per season anymore.
Remember a guy called Petite - wasn’t he a CB that went in to midfield, so do any of the linked or existing CB’s have the skill to be a DM
He's only 32. He should realistically have at least two more Seasons at the top level.. Mavraponos looks good. Socratis will give us some physicality at the back which we need. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not the only CB we bring in though. I have a feeling Chambers and Holding may get sold.
I wouldn't be sad to see Chambers and Holding sold. Both still have potential, but are they really going to make it at the top level ? I'm not sure. We could probably get £35m-40m for the pair of them, which I'd rather see us spend on another top quality CB like Koulibaly or even Manolas.
Koulibali would be ideal but Napoli are after crazy money for him. I like the Stephan Lichtsteiner and Socratis signings. Looking to give the side some exerpience and leadership.
