Turned Pepe and ESR into monsters and got a clapped out Xhaka looking like the Bayern version of Xabi Alonso.
Seriously though, I don’t think Madrid will ask as much as 60M for Martin. £30-£40M. Noice.
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I think that’s gonna be their initial quote. I think we can lower that to 40m plus some add ons.
Hopefully Madrid won’t put some weird buy back clause.
Thing is we have had him in our midfield for the last 6 months or so and whilst he’s been good on occasion there is nothing in that sample size that suggests spending £40+m on him is a good idea. Another loan yeah, but really we need to look else where if we want someone who will raise our midfield and do it on a consistent basis.
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He’s just ‘okay’ but we don’t need supplemental signings. We need game changers. We need a new spine.
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Fair. He wasn’t my first pick for AM but it’s quite clear that Arteta is fully convinced he is THE guy.
Fabrizio said we contacted Madrid in December about him and Madrid said no so when he became available late in January the club rushed into it head on. He looks like a dream signing for those in charge. They’re watching him in training as well so there must be a reason.
If we are gonna back Arteta then we might as well give him the players he wants.
If the club is still unsure on him then I’ve no idea what they’re doing letting Conte be a free agent out there.
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Seems signing him in best case scenario now that We’ve missed the boat on Buendia. I think I’d have preferred Buendia simply as I think he offers more in terms of G/A and we get none of that outside the front 4, so we need the front 4 to be productive in that aspect.
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Graelish Odegaard and esr would be a tasty creativity group tbf
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Saka - ESR - Pepe >>
I think Odegaard’s ceiling is pretty high. He’s only 22 and he hasn’t ever really played in one system for an extended period in a way that would allow him to really work toward his full potential. Even so, when he hit his stride with us for a period he looked like our best player and possibly a genuinely elite player in the making. Not only that, there were matches (like West Ham) where he took responsibility for driving us forward when everybody else was hiding. I think his mentality is actually pretty good.
What scares me is his health. He had knee issues at Real Sociedad, then got banged up again with us. And he really didn’t look like the same player when he first came back after the injury, it wasn’t until the last couple games of the season where he started to look right again.
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That’s my main concern with him. Those knee issues have ruined so many careers.
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If we do end up signing Odegaard I would be okay with it despite thinking he might not quite offer us enough in certain aspects. I don’t think there are many other names we are truly interested in beyond him and he’s clearly Arteta’s priority for attacking midfield. If we can get him for a reasonable price then fine, but I’m skeptical that it will happen at this point.
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Odegaard shits on Buendia.
Hard to judge a player on a 6 month loan without a pre-season in a pandemic.
I’d rather pay £40m for Odegaard than £40m for Buendia.
We should be paying the £40-50m that Real want for him.
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Under Arteta he’s not going to improve. We’ve already seen him this season and he wasn’t a game changer. ESR and Saka were the only two guys effective whatsoever under Mikel and even then the end product wasn’t all that amazing. Saka at 5 goals and 3 assists was great until forehead ran him into the ground and he looked a shell of himself the last 4 months. We won a lot with ESR on the pitch but what did he end up having goals and assists wise?
What makes you say he shits on him ? I like Odegaard also btw, but give us some merit to that point ?
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2 goals / 4 assists in 1449 minutes for ESR in the league.
It’s very mediocre but then again we just don’t score many goals so. Ødegaard 1 goal 2 assist in around 800 minutes, ESR is actually more bang for ur buck. Dunno how someone can say Øde shits on Buendia when Emi literally just had a monstrous season and Øde has never reached anything close to end product like that in any league.
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Pepe had 10 league goals in 1611 minutes, that’s actually rather prolific.
Buendia plays in Championship mate, Odegaard played in La Liga for Real Madrid. Duh.
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Odegaard trumps Buendia due to the benchmark being set for a player.
Buendia has been against Championship quality sides; it’s not a criticism of him, but when you’re comparing to Odegaard, I think it is.
I think Odegaard needs a solid placement (i.e bought by someone who actually plays him regularly, and you’ll see him shine). At 22 compared to 24, and a big fish in a small pond vs a small fish in a big pond, I’m taking Odegaard.
I saw enough in his 9 starts in the premier league that with familiarity with his players, the system and being committed to living in London, he would shine.
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Ødegaard’s best attributes don’t strike me as someone that will produce big goals and assist numbers, but he’ll improve the big picture and get the most out of other players with his qualities. I mean he single handedly destroyed West Ham and never got an assist or goal, and then you have someone like Pepe who will do nothing for 80+ minutes but end up producing a goal or assist.
The biggest improvement we can bank on in terms of goal numbers for next season is Aubameyang, and we need to set the platform for him to be able to hit 20 again.
Ødegaard I can see being maybe a 5 goal and 10 assist range player over a full season here. Saka and Pepe need to be aiming for 10-15 and Auba 20 IMO.
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