Big fear of making top 4 is letting player not cut out for top level retain their place in the squad. Regardless of where we finish we have a real clear out and add quality
I don’t disagree with that pal. Focus areas are in defence and wide areas, but that doesn’t take away from the fact this guy is massively upgradeable.
A left back and centre back would hopefully contribute to a big reduction in goals conceded. We will probably end up conceding 45-50 goals by the end of the season. Last year we conceded 51! If we can get that down to 35ish the ceiling of our team is massively increased, obviously far more than upgrading Xhaka. Think it will take another couple of windows before we have got the personnel of the required level. If we can bring in 4 players this summer, I hope it is CB, LB, wide forward and CM. In that order preferrably.
Need to pass him on to some Italian or German club. He has a lot of praise on social media and is regarded by many our most important player. I certainly don’t see him that way but that should help us fork some cash out of him, a la Jorginho fashion.
Why do people keep pushing for Xhaka to be sold? It’s not going to happen. We have so many more important holes to fill without adding another one to the list!
Wishful thinking.
Selling players we know are not that good(or realistically upgradeable) for relatively big amounts. Every successful club does that. If we want to become one then we need to do that as well.
Well, it’s a good time to move him on though.
If what some suggesting, this being a long process, is truly the thought process, then we should try to clear out and invest at the earliest opportunity possible.
In terms of who we should get rid of, it should surely be dictated by who we can get the most money for to add to the pot relative to their worth to the team.
MustLeavey is still going to be worth a few quid and has previous in Spain. Xhaka is also eminently sellable for a lot of money in that respect, he’d be high up on my list to go if the price is right and we can shift him.
Scrubs like Lichtsteiner and some of our older players will have little sell on value and shouldn’t be focused upon other than easing them towards the exit door
Don’t see why these aims have to be mutually exclusive. I’m not expecting for the club to solve all issue this summer but I am expecting a clear out at the very least.
The level competition at the top end of the league is absurd and if we manage to get CL football with the 6th best squad, we have to follow up with ruthless outgoings to fund quality acquisitions.
Question is does Emery and the board have the balls?
Remember the consensus is that Wenger underperformed with this squad. If their best is top 4 in a year where United and Chelsea have a down season, alarm bells should be ringing for next season considering the resources of each club.
We have to start building a side to compete for the title. I’ve seen Xhaka at his worse and his best but I haven’t seen anything which suggests he’ll be a key in that piece for us moving forward or that he should be exempted from selling block.
I think we’ll be ok at CB between the older guys and younger guys in a better defensive structure and better FB minus Mustafi. It’s central midfield we should be concerned about, it’s Europa league level atm.
We need a big clearout and big recruitment though. All the deadwood should be disposed of ASAP. If you could get Rabiot on a free on big wages and sell Xhaka for £20m, you take it. You even sell Xhaka and try to get a moneyball player for the same price.
I suppose the question is though can he improve his consistency and football intelligence
Exactly.
The top priority is a CB and winger which is probably the most we can expect, then we need a Ramsey replacement so there is no way we are going to sell Xhaka and make a loss on him as well.
At least he has shown some desire to sort his form out and, with the right players around him, he might become a useful player.
Emery has started him in most games, and he actually looked pretty good when he partnered Torreira in midfield for a few games, so it’s clear he’s going nowhere.
From what we’ve seen so far it looks like Emery likes him, so unless there’s a deliberate policy of selling players I can’t see him leaving.
More likely scenario is we end up with someone like Nkunku who potentially eats into his game time, then he’s let go a year later because he’s not playing.