Doubt Zubi is considering his future though, unless he’s homesick
We need a third deeper lying midfielder to rotate regularly with Rice and Zubimendi and I wouldn’t be surprised if Arteta views it as a summer priority. But somebody like Tonali at 70m or Bouaddi at 50m seems more likely than Anderson at 100m+.
It would be funny if we signed Anderson just to see United and City supporters lose their shit though.
1 Like
I think having him and Declan in midfield would be Mikel’s wet dream tbh.
1 Like
It’s obvious we’d be targeting a midfielder that, much like Rice, can operate across the midfield. It’s obvious Tonali is an option and it would be crazy for us to not have looked at Anderson so this is just lazy from this clown.
There is no way Zubi has had any thoughts about leaving Arsenal whilst playing nearly every minute of every game for the current best team in Europe lol
12 Likes
Yup, Arteta also chased Zubimendi for years and has had nothing but positive things to say about his contributions to the team. He’ll be here for many years I think.
7 Likes
Gotta be Benjamin. Can’t see Odegaard going. Maybe Martinelli as we’ve been linked with a lot of left wingers.
Ødegaard cheerio mate
2 Likes
well it’s a good thing four of them aren’t first team players then eh?
1 Like
We’ve been hearing that for a while now and the most important player we had to lose was Xhaka, and that’s because he wanted out.
1 Like
Who would pay a serious transfer fee for Ben White with his current fitness issues?
I don’t particularly understand these shouts for Ben either.
People think we’ll have teams lining up to pay anything worthwhile for a guy who’s had injury problems for the past 2 seasons and will be 29 in October.
And on top of it, whoever is interested in him will have to offer him a contract that makes it worthwhile for him to even consider making the switch.
2 Likes
I don’t believe that we have to sell a player. I’m sure we will sell a player - likely more than one - because we want to bring in players plus possibly open up more minutes for the likes of Dowman, Nwaneri, or MLS and the squad size is already pretty large.
My guesses:
Martinelli out, another LW in.
Norgaard out, Tonali or Bouaddi in.
Jesus out, a young striker in.
3 Likes
I for one would be sad to see Odegaard go, he’s one of Artetas “originals” who has been here through all of our last four “maybe” seasons. He’s captain and has been a mainstay for this team, I would love to see him get back to his best, I really think the vegan diet has done him no good.
I think back to the great United teams and the likes of Neville, Giggs, Scholes, Rooney, Vidic, Ferdinand who were mainstays and think that some form of that continuity is the core of a great team. Well it’s the definition of a dynasty.
The game has changed of course and “loyalty” is a thing of the past but…
You’ve mostly covered me there. I actually think from a financial standpoint, the wage structure is more important here.
We’ve got 3 strikers on 200-250k a week. One of them will probably have to go. Or at least an effort will be made to get one out.
Beyond that it’s as you said. All about balancing out the team. Yes you want a deep enough squad but to manage that squad you need to keep people happy so size is important. We were already maxed out and Nwaneri had to suffer from it before going out on loan.
I think the majority of our business will be replacing players, with the only addition potentially being an young defender.
4 Likes
Yep, financially we are pretty good. Just makes sense to freshen the squad at this stage.
1 Like
I agree with you on Zubi…he isn’t going anywhere!
In terms of a new midfielder, if you had a choice between Anderson and Tonali, who are you going for? Or is there anyone else you would throw into the mix.
This is like asking a Barca fan if he prefers Ronaldo or Messi. What do you think his answer will be? 
1 Like
Well you never know! and he may have some other names too