I agree that the window should close before the season starts, but I have to say that I think Mikel would make a good DM at Arsenal.
i would disagree about needing a creative midfielder. last game ramsey showed glimpses of what he can do to unlock defences with his 2 chips to gervinho, one ending in a goal. the other thing about a creative midfielder is that no matter who they are they need a bit of space to play in balls. we never got in positions to do that. ramsey got space as stoke tackled our play and that left ramsey with some time. we need to pass the ball MUCH faster to pull the opposition bus out of position and then get the ball to a creative midfielder in an attacking position with time to make something happen. creativity is lacking because we are not passing fast enough to get into dangerous positions with time. our 3 goals: 2 came from runs down to the by-line and a pull back, the other ramsey was left with time on the ball when stoke tackled our player and that gave him an extra second to show his class. we need to pass the ball faster to get him into that position to do that more often.
Arne Friedrich has just been released, i know hes 32 yrs old but he cant be as bad as squillaci or djouru and can be a good cover cb
I'm not sure how I feel about Mikel. He is very good positionally and is strong but i'm not sure he is mobile enough.
I think 29 is the oldest we should pay serious money for. I'd like to think the scouts would come up with high-value lowish cost players. Seems like £14m ish is tops for us. That limits things a bit.
I'm coming late to the party. PISKIE, stay off the drugs bloke .. seriously !! Wenger got summer transfers right ? You what ? Egad man ! It was a woeful summer and one that brought utter embarrassment to the club. How can you say he got it right when we had the worst start in 50 something years ???
He maybe didn't handle the Fabregas and Nasri situation properly btu i think he genuinely thought he could convince one or both to stay. Eitherway once the two had gone i think we made valuable additions to the squad. Everyone was calling out for a new CB - we got Mertesaker - a German international of top quality who reads the game very well - top signing. Along with Kosc and Verm we now have 3 really good CB's. After clichy went we needed a new LB to step in as Gibbs would be unable to bare the burden of the LB position alone - we got Santos a Brazilian International who looks a good player to me, skillfull on the ball, although maybe slightly error prone. Overall i'd say he was a signing in a position we needed and a good signing. (loads disliked Clichy anyway) Arteta was a great signing - people were saying he hasn't been any good for Everton for the last couple of seasons but he has looked like a fantastic addition to the Arsenal squad. He isn't a replacement for Fabregas but rather a reinforcement for the centre of the park. He works hard to win the ball back and retains the ball well - he is also starting to pick out some nice forward passes. Great signing. (he took a pay cut to be here and wants to do well for the club) Benayoon - jury still out on this one, but does give us another midfield option. Oxocube - at first i wasn't impressed we had spent so much on this guy but he shown glimpses of real quality and i think we will see alot more of him over the season. Good signing. Gervinho - Quick, direct and a scary forehead. He's not a like for like replacement for Nasri but he is a different style of player and gives us something we had missed which is a player who will go past his man constantly. Very Good signing. Park Chu Young - Jury still out on this one as well as we have not had a chance to see what he can do in an Arsenal shirt - i'm hoping he gets more game time in the league/fa cups to see what he's like. Miyaichi - although he was a signing last season this is the first season he is available to play and it was a good thing to keep him in the team rather than loan him out - he is quality - really hoping to see more of him this season. Campbell - Ok, so he didn't get his work permit, that was a real pain. But he is the real deal - next season if he gets his permit we will see an amazing striker. Jenkinson - has looked good so far, we didn't expect much from him i don't think and he has layed well. I'm happy we have him as back-up for Sagna. Good signing. So i'd say he did a pretty good job with the additions made to the squad. Yes we may still need soem fine tuning but considering the situation the prof did well and credit should be given where it is due.
