So what I can gather, we are looking at a loan move for a midfielder(Melo, Wijnaldum, Wilshere) and Vlahovic to fill in for a striker.
The latter sounds more like legwork for a summer move.
So far not looking great though. Juventus only want to dump Ramsey from their midfield, Wijnaldum has gone quiet and Jack is not a serious option, despite how nice it would be to see him again.
DuĹĄan Vlahovic will probably end up at Juventus on some six year loan with an option to buy. I just feel like Edu got rolled a little by the agent. Fiorentina would probably be happy to take this mooted 50m plus Lucas but it takes all three parties to agree.
I wanted more urgency on the midfield front.
Despite the frustration of not seeing any new incoming, I have given them leeway because of good business in summer.
What I am encouraged by is they are only looking at the genuine quality for permanent moves, even if they are not able to pull them off. Vlahovic looks like a great talent and a bargain if snatched up at 50m.
Top 4 is on line but I think we can manage 4th finish without a new signing. But if we donât plug in at least one of the gaps, itâs just more work & more competition for the summer.
I just canât see it happening without at least one of a midfielder or striker coming in. We are so short of goals from the strikers. Ădegaard and ESR are over ten goals in the league combined so just imagine if we had a striker who also scored goals!
And then thereâs the midfield. Partey was on a high right before AFCON but I donât know what to expect from him coming back from an intense tournament for a week or two. Xhaka sucks and we should have sold him this summer so for me, the idea that we need to lean on him down the stretch is terrifying. It brings back shades of Spring 2019 when he cost us top four.
We would be playing one match per week.
Between Partey, Xhaka, Sambi, Elneny, Odegaard, ESR; we can find some internal solution.
Doesnât fill me with confidence in a 4 way top four battle
It will be wrapped up by early April
You think? I can see it going to the last day
It may be mathematically ânot oursâ till the final weeks but I am sure we will have a comfortable position from early April.
You arenât concerned about the depth at all?
One rolled ankle for Partey means itâs Sambi and Housekeys from February until April.
A subsequent injury to Sambi means we are mounting a challenge on UCL with Granit and Mo Elneny. 
Still canât believe he scored in that 5-1 win over Germany 20 years ago.
I think weâll regret not making 1 or 2 additions in January if that is how it plays out.
Canât believe people are actually acting like Wilshere is some kind of feasible option.
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This is going to sound incredibly callous toward Big Pierre given what heâs gone through health-wise, but this club knew he wasnât going to play for us again. Even on good terms, he was going to play in AFCON in January.
They ought to have been brokering a deal with another club to get him off our hands. This guy should have been paraded to a new club on January 1st. Keep it undisclosed so Fiorentina donât take us to the cleaners over Vlahovic.
As it stands now, weâre holding on to an unhealthy, unwilling Auba and weâre not going to sign a brand, spanking new striker.
Absolute shit from the club
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Donât see why any other club would want to deal in those circumstances given he wouldnât be available for a month and anything could have happened while he was away (like this stuff that has happened for example).
The club often deserves criticism but not here.
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Auba deserves criticism because he was our top player and let us down all season.
Arteta had every right like we all did that our main striker was leading the line for us.
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Of course it was feasible especially if the other option was to bring in no one to address the short term depth issue. No one has suggested heâs coming in as a mainstay
Start of the month Arsenal was still alive in the league and FA cup, if our focus is on the league and securing top 4, there was no harm in giving jack meaningless mins in those comps so better starters get rest for the league. Could have spent Nov and Dec getting him match fit and training with the first team especially considering AMN was on the way out.
Short term month to month contract on nominal wages is of no detriment to Arsenal compared spending a window chasing no one. As for his current level, heâs a better option than youth we had on the bench against LFC or the likes of Chambers midfield.
I think this is the point, for me. It shouldnât be a choice between Wilshere and nobody, it should be a choice between Wilshere or someone who has actually played a proper amount of football in the past 4 years.
Weâve known all season that weâd lose Partey and Elneny to the AFCON at the same time and that this would leave us short, so itâs entirely reasonable to expect the club to have planned ahead and lined up something substantially better than signing Wilshere, who is barely a footballer at this stage.
To get Wilshere or nobody would be a major failure on the clubs part, particularly after deciding to send AMN out on loan once our central midfield shortages had already made themselves abundantly clear. They didnât have to do that and absolutely shouldnât if all they were subsequently able to do is sign Wilshere or nobody.
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So who do I blame for this?
Edu, I guess. Maybe Arteta too, given he has been elevated to the position of manager, a more wide ranging role than Head Coach, with greater responsibilities for off pitch matters.
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