What do you guys think happens to our youth products?
So that’s:
Personally, if we’re serious about next year I would loan/sell everyone apart from Eddie and Saka. That’s the only 2 players who haven’t looked out of place playing in the first team. The rest either need minutes or it’s time to say goodbye and cash in.
Keep Smith-Rowe. Sell the rest including Maitland-Niles I see you forgot to include him.
Apart from Eddie and Saka.
I see this kind of logic being applied all over the pitch tbh. Xhaka is now a good midfielder under Arteta, Lacazette is now a hardworking false 9 with a tactical role, Bellerin can now run, Mustafi somehow isn’t useless, Luiz is a rock of a modern CB, Ceballos is a certified baller, Pepe is the future.
Maybe it’s just short term excitement, but it sounds like some people might be happy enough with almost the exact same team we’ve been calling mid table shit all year.
Some squad coherence is probably going to need to be sacrificed for new blood, because for all we know this form could be a delayed new manager bounce after they needed teaching the basics of how to not be hopeless and realised it works, but that doesn’t always last for a new manager.
Luiz, Mustafi, Bellerin, Xhaka, Lacazette are all first team players which are upgradeable and there are some profiles which we are simply missing from the squad such as a CAM/LW.
Upgradeing all of them is inconceivable, upgrading none would be a disaster. We will most likely keep a similar team with hopefully a couple new faces who can take the starting 11 up a notch in quality and consistency.
It sounds like they are looking at the spine of the team is where our major £ could be allocated to with reports focused so far on CBs (Gabriel and now diego carlos) and Central midfield (partey).
I think we’ll see moves in every area(defence, midfield and attack). If not to upgrade, to at least add some depth. Looking at our bench against Chelsea I got instant negative vibes. Saka and Nketiah were the only players to really come in and change things up. To keep our players on their toes we need proper competitiveness. It’s why you see Chelsea and Utd going for positions they’re already “sorted” at. Look at Hector stepping up offensively after feeling the pressure of Ainsley and Cedric.
Mate if this discussion about Auba out wide has taught me anything it’s that no one who keeps pining for him to play central is willing to listen to any reasoning.
Hell even in this 3-4-3 where the CF has to have every aspect of his striking game on point and gets fuck all joy in behind compared to the inside forwards they only want him there.
Auba would be a much better shout at CF in a 4-2-3-1 but even then he can go completely missing in games where we need the CF to hold it up and bring others in.
A managerial great in Mourinho can explain it in very simple terms and still none of these guys want to know. There’s a lot of ignorance with football fans when it comes to tactics, formations etc tbh.
Thank fuck the actual managers are in charge and not us fans.
Auba playing centrally is nothing to do with him and everything to do with Lacazette. People hate Lacazette and want him off the pitch, and that’s the most conceivable way to make it happen.
If you replace Lacazette with Lewandowski this summer you won’t hear a single complaint about Auba being on the left.
Poor Laca, making sacrifices to benefit Auba and Pepe and still doesn’t get appreciated. 
That’s highly generous to the people on OA who think Auba in the middle = more Auba goals lol
Why can’t people on OA just not want Laca in the centre because they don’t think what he offers justifies the big sum we spent on him and healthy wages we pay him?
He doesn’t even have elite hold up play in the same way someone like Benzema does, and that’s largely because he’s just not really that good.
I don’t know why people who like Auba out wide think they have this deeper tactical understanding of the game but maybe some people on OA are just giving themselves too much credit lol.
Laca is a hugely upgradable player and our system doesn’t have to be such that Auba plays out wide so Laca can do all of his dropping deep and dragging players out of position, creating space and all of that shit.
City and Bayern both have world class strikers that score goals and great wide men (who are actually wide men).
It seems like Auba being played out wide right now is as much a direct result of our squad being unbalanced and it being the best way to keep us getting results more than anything else.
I just think some people are perfectly capable of understanding why something is done without wanting it to be that way. Unless you think there is literally only one way to play football.
Laca is not hugely upgradeable. Are there better strikers than him? Sure, they cost over 60m each and most of them are either almost 30 or older.
Some people really think Laca is some bum ffs.
Not all systems in football have to be built around strikers that operate as 10s. It seems it’s being done now because it’s the best use of our current squad. But I can’t see why Auba can’t be moved into the striking role and a great left winger is brought in.
I am well aware that many clubs have strikers who drop deep to facilitate wingers. But many clubs also have strikers who play as strikers and they score goals too.
Right now, how we play is the best use of our current facilities but it isn’t the only way that the game can be played.
Aubameyang’s strengths are fully realised at LF with his pace and diagonal runs. As a CF particularly in a 3-4-3 his weaknesses with his back to goal can stifle him.
Of course as a 9 he would still be a world class goalscorer and we can go that way in many games but my gripe is with the idea that him playing on the left is a waste. It’s clearly not.
Laca was a horror show this season before we adopted 3-4-3 no doubt about it however Auba’s numbers at LF/LW are no coincidence.
The managers are seeing something in this more than just fitting Lacazette in. Even Nketiah and (I think) Martinelli were given the central berth instead at times.
Even Willock was given that role against City over Auba. 
I actually agree with you in that it’s not a waste. It took me a while to see why it’s being done and that was largely down to my frustrations with Lacazette. But I agree that it isn’t a waste.
I just don’t think everyone who sees Laca as disposable can’t understand why he’s being played there. I think many are perfectly capable of seeing why it’s being done they just don’t rate Laca and think we’d be better investing in an actual winger.
Regardless though, I’m kore than happy to go into next season with out front 3 being as it is. I’m softening my stance on Laca because he’s performed well since the restart whereas before that he was was as bad as I’ve seen him.
If we didn’t have massive holes in our midfield, I would have definitely be on board with upgrading Laca.
As it stands, I don’t think we will get our investment back from selling Laca and getting a quality winger or CF is very difficult.
Yeah we have way bigger priorities than upgrading Laca and he’s certainly done a lot since the restart to not be in the immediate upgrade bracket.
I think that would represent an excellent summer. We have a lot of young talent and we need to supplement that with more experience.
Emi/Leno
Bellerin - Luiz - Saliba/Mari - Tierney
Partey - Xhaka - Ceballos
Pepe/Willian - Auba/Laca - Coutinho/Auba
I’d be extremely happy with the above.
Add Ozil too. 
On a serious note, do you think Willian can maintain his level the next 3 years? I can already see his belly whenever he’s played for Chelsea this season.