We’re getting SMS that’s why and I won’t have @GC-Maniac tell me otherwise.
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We must have another target in mind that’s the only reason I could think of why we haven’t locked this down yet
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It doesn’t look like midfield is a priority right now. I think the reports about this being dependent on outgoings in midfield (Xhaka?) certainly start making sense now.
I think once Zinchenko is wrapped up we’ll go all out on a winger. I don’t think we’re closing the door to another midfielder, but as things stand it’s too crowded and I can’t sense any rush to get Xhaka out the door.
Funnily enough, it’s not Xhaka I worry about now. It’s Lokonga.
for that price he should be a definite, him and a winger
We played the Martinez/Zinchenko thing like absolute bosses so I trust our approach to Tielemans.
I’m just simply a big fan of the move. Perhaps it’s a case of if we can’t get a wide player we step up our approach at CM to a higher profile like Milinković-Savić.
Maybe if Tielemans price point is right we look at him and a wide man as our final two pieces of business.
£70m+ for Tielemans and wide forward or around the same on just Milinković-Savić.
Now that’s a question
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It’s this or we’re looking to pool our funds into buying a more expensive forward.
Or we’re seeing if we can offload AMN et al before buying him.
But for £25m, he gives us so much depth and for me, quality upgrade to Xhaka in the first XI. I want this to happen a lot
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The thing that makes me a bit more hopeful is that we do have a knack for swerving transfer “experts”.
The Pepe deal, the Partey deal, we planned a whole overhaul last summer that nobody predicted, this summer it’s the same.
Especially with what Fabrizio said about Edu keeping things close to his chest, it sounds like most deals are moreso leaked by third parties.
I really do hope this is the case and we do end up with a quality midfielder and quality forward to end the window. If we do so I feel this will probably be our best window perhaps ever and it will leave us with one of the strongest and most promising Arsenal squads we’ve had in years.
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Tielemans seems like an option we would go for if the budget is slashed for an expensive winger.
- Expensive winger, then modest amount to acquire Tielemans
- We don’t find a winger or get one at a modest fee, spend big on a midfielder.
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I think we’re after a Xhaka replacement but Tielemans probably isn’t first choice.
If he was, it would have been wrapped up already.
It might also depend on if Arteta prefers to spend on a wide attacking player rather than a midfielder.
I’d assume Arteta is going with Odegaard - Partey - Vieira eventually and another midfielder seems like a waste as long as Xhaka/Lokonga/Elneny are on the books?
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We can’t afford to sign Zinchenko thinking he’s cover for 2 positions, because our LB is an actual crook he’ll be pretty much used as a LB.
We absolutely need to sign a quality CM
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We’ve got Xhaka and Lokonga. Didn’t you know?
I’d just like an upgrade on Xhaka although I think he’s better than some people give him credit for.
Lokonga I’m not sold on, he may or may not make it.
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Yeah, I agree at least as a medium term plan. Everything suggests Arteta really wanted Vieira - he was clearly one of the club’s top priorities this summer regardless of position - and I doubt he wanted him just to cover Odegaard, a guy who is likely to play every match when fit.
I think between Vieira, Zinchenko, and ESR we have a lot of alternatives to Xhaka in that left 8 role at this point. I do t really see the need for Tielemans unless Xhaka is leaving.
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The trouble with this is you’re assuming a small number of players are able to cover a large number of positions.
ESR is the 2nd choice LW and you’re saying he’s CM backup. Vieira is the backup to Odegaard (short term), and you’re saying he’s also covering Xhaka
Zinchenko will be the first choice LB most likely, and even if that’s Tierney instead he’ll still play a lot of games there.
So what you’re saying might work if we don’t get any injuries, but we know the club better than that by now.
And I always think players will do better if they can focus on a particular position anyway
To pay 25/30m for someone like Tielemans to add this much needed cover, plus actually represent an upgrade on Xhaka, is a bit of a no-brainer. (Assuming we can’t get anyone better)
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This is assuming Vieira isn’t signed to be a starting player? I think the plan here is that Arteta is going fully in on playing with a single pivot (Partey) and Odegaard and Vieira both start in front of him with Xhaka and Smith Rowe as their cover. I think that covers the midfield for the short term and a winger to cover for/compete with Martinelli and Saka makes more sense.
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I cant see Vieira starting ahead of Xhaka tbh
Not sure I’d want that despite Xhaka’s flaws
It seems to me that Vieira is a completely different player to Xhaka, with totally different strengths and weaknesses so I highly doubt he’s been brought in to replace Xhaka.
Seems to me we decided to take a punt on a very talented younger player with a potentially very high ceiling to come in and play on the Wings or in the AM role when needed.
He’ll get plenty of minutes but I don’t think he’s been brought in as a starter.
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If Arteta truely is a Guardiola-light and wants to emulate that Guardiola/Spanish/Dutch style of 4-3-3 we need another type of midfielder than Xhaka.
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I don’t think this is happening. It would’ve happened by now.
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