The market is actually ripe for the picking this summer after the cold winter of Covid players who have been trapped at their clubs now have an option to move on with their careers to the next step. The only market that is a little dry is the goalkeeper and striker positions but everything in between is there to be had.
I actually think this is one of the best summers in a long time if you’re looking to redevelop your midfield in particular.
Just ignore him, just baiting you from his bedsit!
Unless I have missed something…I think the transfer window is still open. Shall we wait and see what happens? Actually on second thoughts, let’s just make assumptions on the basis of no information whatsoever and just be negative.
Lmaooo wut
Do you mean what? or pardon? Actually I think that’s your first post that you haven’t been negative about Arsenal or Arteta. Shock horror!
That’s fair. If the transfer market ends and we are still in a similar position we were a year ago with key positions left unaddressed and the roster still bloated then they should receive all the criticism possible.
I will be critiquing them myself but I want to give them till the end of the window seeing the state of the market.
As I said, I can’t see the window not exploding at some point when clubs get more desperate and fans get more vocal.
As always sensible, measured and considered…and I agree. Let’s give them the opportunity until the end of the window and see if they deliver or not. Up to that point they have my full support, but if they don’t deliver, I will be as critical as any other fan.
Agreed, which is why this market is weird.
Players are available, way too many players in fact. Good players too.
Yet, most teams can’t advance much. Too many dependencies on current assets, tournaments getting in the way, players blocking moves, etc.
I’m not assuming anything. They haven’t delivered yet. I want them to make the team better and we’re rapidly running out of time to do it. They were already on thin ice imo after last season’s debacle. If they make the moves necessary to improve us, I’ll be delighted to hold my hand up and give them credit.
All our targets 10-20% more expensive
All players on our get rid of list, end up selling on discount rate or giving up as freebies
Thats more like reality
Generally speaking I agree that there is time left and we should let it play out before getting too wound up.
But it’s also blindingly obvious there is an element of being in over our heads here. The amount of work left to be done and the decreasing window to do it…I can just see it ending very poorly indeed. Basically I’ll start believing when I see something to believe in.
The Xhaka turn around is what’s killed a lot of hope and Laca inactivity from the club killed hope of real change for me.
Just don’t see enough adjustments being made to alter our pragmatic football.
Yep. I was reasonably positive but the Xhaka u-turn and the pending Bellerin deal have flattened that. I’m deeply disappointed.
I too am a believer of the window isn’t done until it shuts, but signs certainly are worrying.
Last year some people were telling us this team is shit and Arteta can’t play the football he wants because of that. It’s a plausible excuse, but then doesn’t really explain the perceived inaction in that window and also this one so far.
Ben White isn’t a transformative signing because he’s replacing Arteta’s previous favourite ball playing CB. Best case is he gives away less penalties and can play better in a 2.
This far into his tenure means by default Arteta’s job is now on the line if we continue to be poor. If I was desperately unhappy with this team I’d be trying anything to get a turnover of players so that I had a base to build on of players I liked that could do what I wanted, but right now it feels like we may be going to go into this season with potentially not much changed from last season.
I appreciate the market is tough and you can’t always sell players when you want to but if we’re waiting to sell to buy then we’re going to be limiting ourselves if we allow that to drag on to late in the window.
Yep, those are the two who needed to be gone and replaced. Looks like both will stay or leave on a crappy loan deal.
What would you consider acceptable business this month now after the Xhaka news?
For me GK and AM are still a given.
DM/CM is definitely on hold as things stand. Only way I see us signing someone is if Willock leaves, feel Arsenal will just roll with him this season.
If we indeed don’t sign a DM/CM then I am expecting something extra at RB and/or ST. Both also heavily dependent on Bellerin and Laca.
That’s 3 extra moves, potentially 4 if we move enough people out(tough).
Arteta being sacked would be a great start
The problem with Xhaka staying is the whole structure has to be shaped around him and makes a lot of our other potential business apart from RB null and void now for me.
The alternative was most likely Neves. He would probably cost more than twice what we would have got for Xhaka. Was he really gonna make such a big difference?
As an individual probably not. However it’s more on the hope that Arteta by allowing Xhaka to leave had recognised a need for change and adjustment of tactics.
I just don’t see this now and it feels at this moment that he’s just bottled the opportunity for that and doesn’t trust himself now.
That’s fair.
As I said, there has to be something extra now that Xhaka stays. The club should treat this as an opportunity to address a position it wasn’t able to prioritize this summer such as RB or ST. If they really want to prove a point they do both.