Really hope we can spend the Emi + Torreira money on Aouar 
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But letās face it, both are a poor manās Lee Cattermole
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Partey is more Toure than Fernandinho. Although a bit less attacking than Toure was. But in this new system we need that.
Yeah Toure managed to hit 20 league goals in 13/14 I donāt see anything like that in Parteyās repertoire.
partey has managed 19 his entire career so heās almost at 20ā¦ definitely a fair comparison
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Sighā¦sometimes, mateā¦forreal? First of all Toure did that once. Second I was referring to the fact that Partey is more a box2box player, like Toure, than the defensive minded type that Fernandiho was. I nonetheless added āa bit less attacking than Toureā.
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If both players were 22 then you could make an argument for Partey but with him 27 and Aouar 22 I really donāt think there is much argument at all. We need to stop making bad squad building decisions in which we invest lots of resources in players that are going to decline in value over the length of their contract.
While we really need both profiles in the team, I think Aouar brings some very important qualities and positional versatility within the midfield. He can play as the more attacking 8 in a 4-3-3 or as the 8 in a double pivot. We donāt really have anybody who can play that 8 in a double pivot and really provide serious creative threat in the final third and Partey isnāt going to bring that either. Lyon changed tactic this past year but in 18-19 Aouar played mainly in a double pivot and had 7 goals and 7 assists. Against low blocks its so important to have that extra man who can selectively join the attack and be the straw that breaks the back of a well organized defense.
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Good stuff. Midfielder soon please.
Fair to say but we also need to bare in mind the fact that the best sqauds are those that are well rounded also have a good deal of experience.
We have a fairly young squad and our most recent singings have been under 25, weāre soon to get some aging players off of our books by the end of next season.
Nothing really wrong with singing a player in his prime years when you take that into consideration IMO. All well and good going after young players but not every long term singing needs to be super young.
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By the looks of it, the 3-4-3 is unfortunately here to stay. Your two central midfielders donāt really need to add creativity here. Just defensive cover, mobility, and ability to progress the ball/hold on to it when put under pressure. Matic ā KantĆ© a good example.
Itās the 5 players in front of the midfielders who have to be able to create.
Since Arteta insists on having Aubameyang out wide, then itās already becoming more difficult to find a solution. Willian is a decent creator and a fantastic final third build-up player but none of the other attackers have his qualities and the wingbacks donāt, at least not now, offer enough to make up for it.
Not a fan of this just yet.
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The formation seems here to stay in the short term, at least this fall and maybe more. But our most expensive buys should be made with the medium-to-long term in mind. We have done so many dumb things in the last 4-5 years because we were focused on short term results and getting back into the top four and the club is so much worse off because of it.
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^
A bit too late for that, with the Aubameyang extension and Willian signing, no?
And Partey just turned 27, not 32. Could easily give 5 years of elite level football.
Fernandinho is probably still Cityās best defensive midfielder and heās 35 now
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Arsenal have given an 31-year old a three year deal and it appears Lacazette isnāt going anywhere either. Partey fits the transitional period Arsenal are in. From Wenger last remininents to an Arsenal led by Tierney, Saliba and the rest of the young guys. Canāt see how his age is an issue. Arsenal are rebuilding, but in the maintime still have some targets to meet (CL qualification).
I donāt mind giving Willian a three year deal as its a relatively small financial commitment in the end when he is coming on a free (even with some kind of signing on bonus included). We clearly would like to sell Laca (otherwise weād be offering him a new contract) but seem to have no takers.
Partey will improve us for sure in the next couple years but its a still a bad investment of resources to concentrate our investment on a 27-year-old player. We will probably give him a big five year contract, get a couple good years from him, but soon he will be 30 years old and we will be faced with the typical shit sandwich decision of (a) giving him another big contract into his 30s (b) letting him walk for free or Ā© selling him for like 15-20m after buying him for 50m.
Contrast that to Aouar who will also improve us but in 2-3 years will be 24-25 and weāll either be delighted to give him a new deal, heāll have been a relative disappointment and we can shift him for a very minor loss, or heāll have been a big success and weāll sell him for 90m to Barcelona.
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I understood the point you were making clear enough 
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The way I see it: this squad needs two seasons for these kids (Saliba, Martinelli, Gabriel, Tierney etc) too grow and become āproperā players. At that point Partey will be at his 29-year season and could, not sure if he is the type for that, with the likes of Leno and Bellerin be an experienced leader of a rebuilded team. Obviously there need to be made other additions. Would that really be a waste?
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Agree with all of this.
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I donāt think it would be a waste. But given that we need both a player with his qualities and a player with Aouarās qualities, we should buy the younger guy who is a much better investment. If the ages were reversed, then Partey would be a no brainer.
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Not much to suggest that Aouar is a creative player. Average creative stats and not a very good striker of the ball doesnāt scream future creative genius to me.
This is the problem when a Lyon player is hyped up and everyone wants him. You hear him described as both a controller and a creative attacker when he, at least to me, appears to be neither.
Just what is he?
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Fair enough. Iād prefer the box2box player in Partey because I donāt think Arteta is so sure about changing back to 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 just yet. Especially if we are going to have a little bit of success.