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Mike McDonald back with a BEAST of a post about the hot centre backs of Europe. Pull out the popcorn, you are about to be educated. (Find him @Mike_MMcdonald)
Arsenal Football Club will be only be transformed when they correct three issues that have been largely ignored for over 15 years.
The right coach, a solid defensive unit and football that is 50% ‘off the ball.’
I’ve researched centre back options and with that said it’s fair to say that we may have our answer at the club already.
Sometimes a ‘good’ centre back can become the ‘perfect’ centre back with the right partner.
So it could be that Saliba and Holding is the answer? Saliba and Luiz?
Fair to say too that Saliba may not be able to fulfill his potential for a few years yet as he will only be 19 when he arrives.
Either way, with Arsenal far from being an intimidating defensive unit it would be neglectful to hope and not be proactive and at least be aware of who is out there.
When researching I discovered that there are 10’s of possible options so I’ve grouped them and commented on those I consider to be the best options.
Ligue 1 options
With the starting thought that it’s most likely going to be Saliba plus one, there is value in the thought that the perfect CB may need to be French speaking.
Benoit Badiashile
Age: 18 Height: 6ft 4in
Team: Monaco
Potential value: £30M
A target for Chelsea that could be snapped up before their ban ends.
A strong, powerful, quick modern day CB who has been trusted to play regularly since Henry departed the South of France.
Boubacar Kamara
Age: 19 (about to be 20)
Height: 5ft 10in
Team: Marseille
Potential value: £35M
A much sort after player. Small for a CB but also played extensively at LB and DM. Already a target for PSG, Kamara excels in recovery speed, tackling and being two footed. This ability, alongside his versatility, creates an unusually calm CB.
Malang Sarr
Age: 20. Height: 5ft 11in.
Team: Nice
Potential value: £30M
Sarr can play both at left back or centre left back. Played over 6000 minutes for a good Nice team at such a young age. A proactive CB who likes to pressure players whilst his partner sits off.
The 3 at PSG…Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe
Age: 35 (Silva). 25 (Marquinhos). 24 (Kimpembe)
Height: All 6ft
Team: PSG
Potential value: Free (Silva) £80M (Marquinhos). £50M (Kimpembe)
Silva may be in his last years but may compliment Saliba. Still starting for PSG after being replaced last year.
Marquinhos is having his best season. Arguably the best ‘footballer’ playing CB in world football. Can comfortably play DM too.
Kimpembe may get itchy if he can’t become first choice at PSG but may be waiting on Silva retiring.
Left sided CB who has been trusted by France ahead of many other great options.
French speaking and already playing in the PL
This may well be the best of both worlds. French speaking with PL experience.
Issa Diop
Age: 22. Height: 6ft 4in
Team: West Ham
Potential value: £50M (overpriced PL value)
A leggy interception king who has recently been monitored by Man. Utd as well as others. Been a large part of an improving West Ham team.
Willy Boly
Age: 28. Height: 6ft 3in
Team: Wolves
Potential value: £40M
An underrated regular in Wolves’ impressive team. Particularly dangerous at set pieces.
French speaking but playing elsewhere
Some very impressive names here. Some experienced, some younger. All with plenty of minutes under their belt.
Dayot Upamecano
Age: 21 Height: 6ft 1in.
Team: RB Leipzig
Potential value: £60M
We allegedly bid for him last summer and may go back in January. Rumor has it that he is our choice.
Has everything needed as a CB apart from international experience but that has more to do with the litany of choices that Deschamps has. Particularly quick and good on the ball.
Ibrahim Konate
Age: 20 Height: 6 ft 4in
Team: RB Leipzig
Potential value: £50M
Fast, powerful with huge potential.
Can look clumsy on the ball. The fact that Leipzig have achieved CL football with two very young CB’s is a credit to both Konate and Upamecano.
Nicolas N’Koulou
Age: 29. Height: 6ft 1in Team:Torino
Potential value: £15M
Tried to force his way out last summer. Experienced Cameroonian defender who has excelled in Serie A.
Raphael Varane
Age: 26 Height: 6ft 3in
Team: Real Madrid
Potential value: £100M
Unreal that he’s 26! Seems like he’s been around much longer. At his age and experience he would be ideal. Just don’t think he’s leaving RM for AFC.
Samuel Umtiti
Age: 25 (about to be 26)
Height: 6ft
Team: Barcelona
Potential value: £50M
If Barcelona would sell and if he didn’t have a dodgy knee he could be another perfect choice.
Dan Axel Zagadou
Age: 20. Height: 6ft 5in.
Team: Dortmund
Potential value: £35M
Quite possibly available as he’s only played twice this season. A monster of a player with strength, pace and obvious power at set plays. Can be error prone.
Serie A options
Always good to remember that Serie A teaches defenders to truly value clean sheets and the tactical side of the game.
Few Italian’s travel to the PL but the majority of this list are not Italians.
Kalidou Koulibaly
Age: 28. Height: 6ft 1in.
Team: Napoli
Potential value: £120M
Well known by the majority as one of if not the best defender in the world. Doubtful that if he ever leaves that Arsenal would be his choice.
Gianluca Mancini
Age: 23. Height: 6ft 3in.
Team: Roma
Potential value: £40M
Speed, technique and dominant in the air and becoming a regular member of the Italian National team.
Nikola Milenkovic
Age: 22 Height: 6ft 5in
Team: Fiorentina
Potential value: £40M
A versatile CB having played many times at RB too. Another Man Utd target who excels in his reading of the game and his unusually composed play belying his size.
Armando Izzo
Age: 6ft Height: 27
Team: Torino
Potential value: £25M
An AFC target (probably a Mustafi replacement, but SM didn’t leave), excels in ball winning and interceptions. He led Serie A in both last season. An impressive stat considering the many good defenders in the league.
Alessio Romagnoli
Age: 24. Height: 6 ft 1in.
Team: AC Milan
Potential value: £50M
A leader in the AC Milan team who has performed well in a team that has underperformed. A brave, front foot defender with the yellow cards to prove it.
Milan Skriniar
Age: 24. Height: 6ft 1in
Team: Inter Milan
Potential value: £60M
Currently considered to be one of the best in Serie A.
The Slovakian is an all rounder that doesn’t have any clear lack. His strengths are 1 on 1 defending, positioning and use of the ball.
Very doubtful that with Inter’s resurgence that he leaves.
Stefan DeVrij
Age: 27. Height: 6 ft 2in
Team: Inter Milan
Potential value: £40M
Another all round defender that has slowly worked his way to the top of the game. Recently called the best defender so far this season in Serie A.
Bundesliga options
Four very interesting options. From an experienced CL player who may want a final challenge to three established, fast and physical options.
Manuel Akanji
Age: 24. Height: 6 ft 1in
Team: Dortmund
Potential value: £45M
Well known as being the smartest footballer currently playing. A math genius (what does that mean) with a naturally analytical mind.
Super quick with springs in his feet.
Become a regular since Diallo went to PSG.
Johnathan Tah
Age: 23 Height: 6ft 3in
Team: Bayer Leverkusen
Potential value: £40M
When all talk about wanting a ‘Van Dijk’ type, my thoughts go to Tah.
A huge and imposing athlete with obvious leadership and organization skills.
Mattias Ginter
Age: 25 Height: 6ft 2in
Team: M’gladbach
Potential value: £35M
Much like Varane, Ginter has been around for many years.
After years of injury and bouncing from big to small club he’s found home at Gladbach (currently top of the league) and a part of the national team.
A strong, quick leader.
Jerome Boateng
Age: 31 Height: 6ft 4in
Team: Bayern Munich
Potential value: £30M
A huge unit. Experience at every level. A little beyond his peak but has forced his way back into the Bayern team, although not regular.
Premier League options
Some out of sorts, out of favour and almost out of contract to three players who are rising stars and flying.
Toby Alderweireld
Age: 30. Height: 6 ft 4in
Team: Spurs
Potential value: Free (as close to being out of contract)
On one level he is perfect. On the other, he plays for Spurs.
Nathan Ake
Age: 24. Height: 5ft 11in
Team: Bournemouth
Potential value: £40M
Underrated, probably because he plays for AFCB. He also regularly starts for the best Dutch side in a generation.
Fast, brave and very athletic.
Available I’m sure.
Caglar Soyuncu
Age: 23. Height: 6ft 2in
Team: Leicester
Potential value: £70M
Apart from a bizarre greasy rockstar hairstyle, Soyuncu has improved rapidly. Put on significant muscle this summer to add strength to his power, pace and aerial ability. Flavour of the month which will make him very hard to get.
Joe Gomez
Age: 22. Height: 6 ft 3in
Team: Liverpool
Potential value: £40M
How is Gomez two inches taller than Koulibaly!?!
An impressive athlete who has found himself as 4th choice at Liverpool. You’d think he’s gettable but would Liverpool sell to us?
John Stones
Age: 25. Height: 6ft 2in
Team: City
Potential value: £50M
A little mistake ridden and out of form but there is a very good CB in there.
Tyrone Mings
Age: 26 Height: 6 ft 3in
Team: Villa
Potential value: £45M
An old fashioned defender. Loves defending, huge passion and a fan favorite for those reasons. Not many ‘Tony Adams types’ left in the game but I see Mings as this.
La Liga options
Lesser known but all highly rated.
Hermoso was available last summer and Nuñez and Torres are new to the Spanish squad.
Pau Torres
Age: 22 Height: 6ft 4in
Team: Villarreal
Potential value: £35M
The first of three Spanish players linked with Arsenal over the last 3 months. Torres is having a fine season at an improving Villarreal. Strong in his game focus, desire to keep clean sheets and long passing. Could put Santi in his suitcase, 2 for 1. Yes, please!
Mario Hermoso
Age: 24. Height: 5ft 11in
Team: Atletico Madrid
Potential value: £40M
Available all summer until Atleti picked him up late in the window.
A modern day classy CB on the outskirts of the Spanish first team.
Unai Nuñez
Age: 22. Height: 6ft 1in
Team: Athletic Bilbao
Potential value: £35M
Another Spaniard with a strong passion for defending. Reminds me of Gabriel who was a better defender than many gave him credit. Good on the ball and at set pieces.
Portuguese options
It’s important to not forget that Portugal have won two major tournaments recently and that many of their players have achieved great success in the PL.
Ruben Dias
Age: 22. Height: 6ft 2in
Team: Benfica
Potential value: £45M
A modern day ball playing CB.
Aerially dominant. Recently broken into a talented Portugal side. Been linked with Arsenal recently.
Young options/new names
Do Arsenal want two young CB’s?
Robin Koch
Age: 23 Height: 6ft 3in
Team: Freiburg
Potential value: £25M
A versatile CB/DM combo who has just broken into the German squad. Elite level fitness who blends a warrior style with a finesse that few young CB’s possess.
Ethan Ampadu
Age: 19 Height: 6ft
Team: RB Leipzig (on loan from Chelsea)
Potential value: £30M
A natural footballer. Could comfortably play midfield as well as CB. Represented Wales more frequently than Chelsea or Leipzig which is a concern, but has the world at his feet.
Brandon Mechele
Age: 26. Height: 6ft 3in
Team: Club Brugge
Potential value: £15M
Not a new name if you are Belgian, but a late bloomer who has recently made the National squad. A right footed versatile CB/RB.
A two footed ball winner.
Jhon Lucumi
Age: 21. Height: 6ft 1in
Team: Genk
Potential value: £15M
A Colombian left sided CB with a big future. Pace, strength and bravery with lightning acceleration.
One for the future, or a risk for the present? Plays alongside Sander Berge who Arsenal need to keep eyes on too.
Merih Demiral
Age: 21. Height: 6 ft 4in
Team: Juventus
Potential value: £20M
A very interesting option. A Puyol type in attitude with similar fire. Quick, aggressive and determined Turkish international who is unfortunate to have only played once so far for Juve. Concern that he’s never settled anywhere, but cheap and itching to play. Could be the perfect fit for the club.
My recommendations
I have a shortlist of 8 based on availability and best fit for Arsenal.
SHORTLIST (in order of how I would approach them)….
- 8th….. Ruben Dias
- 7th… Johnathan Tah
- 6th…. Willy Boly
- 5th… Nathan Ake
- 4th…. Martin Demiral
- 3rd…. Dayot Upamecano
- 2nd….. Caglar Soyuncu
- 1st…. Tyrone Mings
My 1st choice would actually be Soyuncu but I think City will go for him leaving us flailing. Who doesn’t want Koulibaly too, right?
For the same reason I think Arsenal have little chance.
Mings might surprise you but I think Arsenal need a PL experienced CB. I also lean towards defenders that LOVE to defend. I’ve never understood the notion that ‘ability to play out of the back’ is the most talked about quality of any defender. It should be defending.
He has ridiculous stats on tackles and blocked shots in particular. He makes me feel safe.
I also think that in a short period he could lead the team.
Tyrone Mings for me.
I’d also sign Boubacar Kamara and loan him to an English team.
You?
We need a manager that can extract 9/10 from players that are mostly no better than say 5/10 of expected. Right now Emery isn’t getting anything more than 50% of of players that are no better than average, especially in the defense. Emery doesn’t now how to organize a team, defense, midfield, attack, set-pieces etc. Whatever he’s trying to do isn’t working and the trial window has closed. He’s a poor man-manager and cannot be described as a good communicator…. even in Spanish I’m sure he sucks at communicating. Hopefully Leicester can do us a favor and cruise to the… Read more »
Giving the likes of Saliba to Emery is like feeding fish to a lion. He wouldn’t know what to do with him. He’ll probably play him at the tip of his diamond at some pint.
I was kinda more interested in the other two points. If the other two points are sorted we won’t have a player problem at every position with the players we currently have
Theres little hope in hoping Leicester beat us, all it will do is create a 9 point gap that we will have to close. The board won’t be persuaded to react until it is completely impossible to make the Champions League next season. Emery is a foolish man. He regularly makes the same mistakes each week and doesn’t command authority or respect from these players. He’s timid and his communication is poor. To not have a grasp of the language after all this time is horrific. Any club with any ambition would have put him out of his misery long… Read more »
Liverpool’s transformation gives you hope and that’s what you cling onto as a supporter.
Just this time 4 years ago they were a complete joke under Brendan and Klopp took over. It took them just 3 years to put together a title challenging/CL winning team and nowhere near the kind of spending of the elite clubs with the exception of a couple in VVD and Allison, just smart and savvy signings combined with Klopp’s effect in the dugout and a genuine purge of interiority complex to Citeh.
I would genuinely have a back four of Bellerin, Chambers, Holding, Tierney than those two experienced clowns Sok and Luiz in there.
“like feeding fish to a lion.”
Ridiculous. Lions likes humans, not fish.
@WE : thanks to put salt on our wounds.
Great list.but you can rule out any Spanish or prem connections( minging would have been perfect)but the epl premium would be redic.would like to see upamencano or tits from Barca (slim chance)personally at Xmas.plus whatever we do,keep hold of saliba.pray Emery’s days are numbered & try & flog the remaining half a dozen or so deadwood( we all know who they are)which should raise funds & last but not least request a rogering.Brendan Rogers.
Wenger-Wagner
Adrian Durham has his moments( remember it’s a commercial radio station) but generally he has been spot on these past few years with everything Arsenal related.
That Liverpool transformation is impressive.no question.but they lucked out with the amount they got for the likes of sterling,Suarez ,coutinho etc.a shed load of money but yes they mostly spent it very shrewdly.
A lion and a fish are very unlikely to ever cross paths given their natural environment.
Lions do not ‘like’ humans. They eat people because they are opportunistic and we are much easier to catch and eat than an Elephant or Gruffalo.
So many inaccurate statements on here. I hate policing but this demands action.
Does anybody know personally a lion who likes to eat managers ?
*football managers of course…
There’s so much depth and talent in French football at the moment. Unbelievable.
No doubt, the French third string XI would be competitive in the Euros.
Having that same talent explosion that Spain had before.
Amazing piece of research. Plenty options there. Now can you do the same for managers, since I feel that there are also options which most of us aren’t aware of. People like Santo at Wolves, or Bielsa at Leeds, building teams with authority and patience, know what they are doing. I’m sure they aren’t the only ones.
Let’s buy all the defenders.
Arsenal are a football graveyard.
Saliba is NOT coming here.
Those of us with brains know VAR not Emery has been the culprit in our campaign.
A stonewall penalty against Sheffield Utd inexplicably rejected and the same for our WINNER against Wolves….
“Those of us with brains know VAR not Emery has been the culprit in our campaign.”
looooooooooooooooool
Is The Clown taking a full squad to Portugal tomorrow?
Crikey if he does- we have someone mentally ill in charge of Arsenal.
We have someone mentally ill on Le Grove.
Tick Tock…
Liverpool transfer arrivals 2018-19
Alisson-£56.25m
Naby Keïta-£54.00m
Fabinho-£40.50m
Xherdan Shaqiri-£13.23m
Total: (£164m)
WengerEagle talking bollox regarding Liverpool’s spending.
Liverpool transfer arrivals 2017-18
Virgil van Dijk-£76.19m
Mohamed Salah-£37.80m
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain-£34.20m
Andrew Robertson-£8.10m
Tony Gallacher-£205k
Total: (£156m)
Keita was bought the season before dummy.
That’s leaves less than we spent this summer, lol.
“I must be one of the few that thinks that we still need to bin Chambers and that he won’t make it at this level.“
Same, said all summer he should’ve been sold for the £20-25 mil he would’ve brought in and that could’ve seen the Upamecano transfer happen.
No idea what the plan is for him here, he’s getting flogged at RB, and at CB he’s not of the level. Better footballer than Sokratis though, he’s above him in my estimations but that’s not a huge vote of confidence.
Keita signed for Liverpool in 2018….
Adrian Durham and “spot on” in the same sentence. Good one Graham
Bamford
You are entering the “Pierre and Ozil” territory with your comments.
Emery has failed.
It’s ok to admit that.
They will create a new boys band.
“I must be one of the few that thinks that we still need to bin Chambers and that he won’t make it at this level.“
Same, said all summer he should’ve been sold for the £20-25 mil he would’ve brought in and that could’ve seen the Upamecano transfer happen.”
I’m with you on this Charlie.
Ideally, I’ll get rid of Chambers, Sokratis, Luiz and Mavropanos.
With Holding and Saliba, we just need to get two more and we are good to go.
Forgot to add Mustafi to the out list.
anyone have a link to the game?
I would have preferred a break down on managers we may get in we could sign peak Baresi and Maldini and we would still suck at the back with grimaces tactics
Conservative candidates in the general election will be told not to sign up to specific pledges on protecting the NHS from privatisation and trade deals or tackling climate change, according to a leaked internal document from party headquarters
A link to what game ???
Adrian Durham is an oxygen thieving parasite.
highbury legend
never mind, I’ve been in hospital the last week. I somehow thought today was Wednesday.
Yes but we play on Thursday anyway. lol
Redtruth,
Are you on Labour’s propaganda payroll?
Highbury
The Europa league has shifted this weeks match to Wednesday at 15:50 to accommodate Emery’s date with destiny this Saturday in Leicester.
Weagle “I must be one of the few that thinks that we still need to bin Chambers and that he won’t make it at this level.“ Another in agreement so perhaps not just the few that you thought. Can’t fault the guys effort but ultimately he lacks pace to be seen as a real good RB or people saying he could play DM and actually be really good at it. The area where he could get away with it not being the quickest could be CB but he is prone to key defensive lapses at times as well. So overall… Read more »
We’re playing tomorrow (Wednesday).
Redtruth
The Coutinho money was a huge factor in them signing VVD and Alisson. The rest of the money could have easily been commercial revenue.
Speaking of Coutinho, there’s the guy we should’ve brought in this past summer but we went with Dani Ceballos.
The lad was shitting a brick all summer hoping for a move to materialise, what a player he would’ve been for us.
Durham is a trolling wind-up merchant and the sad thing is he would get a semi on at the thought of us discussing him. A good mate of mine lives 10 mins out of Peterborough where he’s from and he’s unpopular with the locals too.
Thanks salparadisenyc, I wasn’t even aware of that.
A proof of how much I am interested in Arsenal at the moment…
Charlie
“Speaking of Coutinho, there’s the guy we should’ve brought in this past summer but we went with Dani Ceballos.”
A swap with Ozil with a few quid on top from Arsenal would have suited both clubs.
Doubtful that Coutinho would have wanted to give up CL football on the bigger stage tbh.
That’s why he ends up at Bayern Munich from Barcelona.
Azed
“Bamford..You are entering the “Pierre and Ozil” territory with your comments”
Difference is , I was right all along …and no, I have never said anything remotely close to wanting the team built around Ozil.
3.50pm kick off tomorrow!
We are an elite CB and an elite CM/DM from having a *really* good first 11 and decent bench For example if we had upemecano and kante (I know it’s not happening) ——————Leno Bel-Saliba-upemecano-Tierney ————-kante—guen ——————-ozil Pepe—————————-Martinelli ——————Auba Bench Martinez Luiz Chambers Torreira Willock Saka Laca That would be a seriously calable lineup. If we imagine we only have 20m to spend this summer (for arguments sake), don’t keep Ceballos and hold onto auba and laca. We could probably sell Reiss Nelson, mustafi, mikki, Smith Rowe, mav, sokratis, AMN combined for more than enough to buy upemecano outright, without touching… Read more »
China1
You appear to have selected Ozil in the starting 11?
Highbury
I’ll be honest mate, I googled ‘Arsenal Fixtures’ when I saw Vegas’s post, then realized in Vegas a Saturday can be a Monday, Tuesday etc.
It always sunny and warm until the blackjack dealer goes fucking rogue on you.
Leftie “I would genuinely have a back four of Bellerin, Chambers, Holding, Tierney than those two experienced clowns Sok and Luiz in there.” Without any protection from midfield it makes no difference who is in the back 4, they would struggle. Referring back to our 1997/98 season , I recollect there being a discussion around november, between our defence ( Adams, Bould/keown, Dixon, winterburn) and our central midfielders. Our defence (Tony Adams) were basically saying that they were not getting enough protection from the midfield and that needed to change. What I am suggesting is , if our best ever… Read more »
Indeed its our midfield that really needs a look at….
our off the ball movement is woeful.
Nelson “I agree with what you said. But if we send out the same team from last Saturday to face Leicester City, we could get our ass kicked. I know many Arsenal supporters want to get rid of Emery. But I would never want our team to lose to achieve this goal. I want to fight till the end.” lol Nelson. I didn’t put out that team to purposely jeopardise. The problem with folks is that they are clutching when they give out that Chambers and Luiz are good options at DM. Luiz even more so. We have seen David… Read more »
Arsenal need to buy a DM.
And a goalscoring AM.
And ultimately probably another CB to go along with Saliba if he is as good as people are saying and hoping.
China
Very capable lineup right there no question. This summer i’d suspect our main target will be finding the anchor for the MF with Xhaka out, attacking MF and potentially another CB.
Would say that we still need a wide forward more than we need an attacking midfielder, I like the look of Saka but he doesn’t look a genuine wide forward to me. Not enough of a one vs one threat and he does better work from deeper as he’s not an explosive runner. Martinelli’s future is at CF, he has all of the instincts and the raw tools to develop into a top one at that. If Pepe works out [at the moment jury is definitely out on that] we still need a LF. No more of this shunting Auba… Read more »
Im in agreement with you Pierre there
And look I like Laca but Auba is the guy who’s going to score you 30 a season without breaking a sweat. Lacazette has yet to even crack 20 in all comps in a season for us, Giroud-esque numbers.
Factor in that he’s a couple of years younger and he’s ultimately the one I’d sell for the greater good, especially now as Martinelli is emerging as a viable 2nd option.
Laca I feel will be sold this summer… Auba will get a nice fat contract.
We do need an upgrade in midfield. And please no La Liga players this time.
We need prem tested players or those who can adapt to the intensity of the game.
We are missing a Hazard like player in the center for us at AM… we get that type of player and its game on…
Well Auba or Laca could be out the door anyway if Arsenal don’t get back in CL.
The lack of goalscoring from central midfield is a concern. It also gives the attack more unpredictability and threat if you have a goalscoring AM making late runs into the box in addition to just relying on the forwards which include any wide forward.
It’s not exactly like Lacazette is prime Karim Benzema in his all round link-up CF lay either is it?
Yes he’s a better footballer than Aubameyang is but for me it’s not a worthwhile trade-off if he’s scoring you 10-15 less goals a season resulting in a lot more dropped points.
As most remember it was said that going forward players reaching the last year of their contracts will either be sold or allowed to run down their contracts. Other than Ceballos and Mackey no major issues at the end of this season. Fast forward however to the end of next season then PEA, Ozil,Sokratis,Luiz and Mustafi will all be out of contract by this point in time you would have expected their post June 2021 futures were already determined. The players on that list cost around £150million and potentially all could walk for free if not sold or given contract… Read more »
Ishola It’s only beneficial to the side if they’re competent defensively and have the athleticism to get up and down the pitch for full ninety. I’d rather have three powerful midfielders that compromise offensive talent like Liverpool have that I can count on home, away and against any calibre of opposition than the silky flair type of CAM that disappears when the going gets tough and can get bullied out of matches. Obviously imperative that the front three have bags of goals in them for this to work mind. Somebody like James Maddison would be the dream but these guys… Read more »
CC
I loved “The daily Arsenal”
Durham was correct with most of his Arsenal rants.
Tough to accept for some of you, I know.
Graham, whether he was right or wrong, Durham is an arsehole!
Great post, fantastic effort!
Yes WE That’s why any thought of getting in a goalscoring AM would have to be coupled with also getting in a proper DM that can do a lot of the defensive tasks required and in more isolated situations. The problem with Torreira is that he isn’t a solitary last man DM. He is more a little pack player that needs another player alongside him. Torreira can work as DM in a close knit CM three playing close together but he isn’t really going to work as DM if the team want a more advanced goalscoring AM. He will be… Read more »
Ishola I just don’t see a long-term role for Toreirra if we’re pushing to once again be competitive. He’s a jack of all trades type, the problem with that is that he’s 5 foot 6 and slight. You can thrive with that skillset if you’re 6 foot and a powerful athlete like a Henderson or a Milner but he’s literally one of the shortest and lightest players in the league. He just isn’t built to excel in the PL and he’s not an exceptional footballer like a David Silva. I honestly think that we need to build the midfield from… Read more »
Guen – at least he tries… good engine and not afraid- that is key. However, he is limited in what exactly he does well. Hopefully will develop We do need our mids to score… Ishola is right… our attack is so limited- defenders just focus on our forwards and wingers. No midfield threats to worry about. Ive always said that Ozil, for his limitations is not bad scoring wise. He can score but rarely puts himself into scoring positions. He is determined to pad stats with his assists. When he recieves the ball in the box he has a decent… Read more »
People seriously dissing Torreira on here an ddismissing his defensive capabilities.
In the first half of last season he was the second coming of Kante, rated by external commentators and by Grovers. He had defensive tactical awareness, and was aggressive in his tackling.
Then he lost form, a little, played less and was moved further forward. This season he has yet to play a single match as DM, one of my biggest gripes with Emery this season.
Height is not the be all and end all of being a DM.
Terraloon.
Quality Analysis
We have no players we can sell and make a profit on except:
Saliba
Martinelli
Gendozy
Holding and Bellerin
All other players are Negative Equity Assets.
Ie. Will receive less money than what we spent on them.
Revenues are falling like Harry Kane in the penalty box.
Sponsors scarpering.
Severance packages soaring.
Under qualified dopes as alleged executives not having a clue what to do.
PlayBoy Owner.
No doubt in my mind whatsoever Financial Armageddon is Coming.
(No one has a clue.)
You know miles more than The Charlatans we have in charge.
WE Guendouzi is the only midfielder this season to have a standout match defensively and off the ball against Newcastle away. Also he has been running around like a blue arse fly in covering ground many times for Xhaka when he was in the team. He has the potential no doubt but is still obviously raw and green and still needs to physically grow and it looks like he doesn’t even have a disciplined instruction in the team . Looks like it has been a case of run around for others. I’ll be more interested to see what happens with… Read more »
Weagle Disagree re: Laca/Auba. For me it’s Auba that should be flogged while he’s still hot (and 31 in the summer). Martinelli is proving likely to be the goal scoring heir, so I’d value Laca’s footballing influence, and big goals over a gluttony against weaker sides (Auba has a shocking record against big sides). Don’t see Auba ageing well for his attributes, and realistically we’re a good 18 months from being a team of much anyway. So as the pieces start coming together we’ll have an Auba turning 33 headlining the attack? Not sold. Laca will be producing what he… Read more »
Guendouzi though has been seen to be poor in the air and I don’t know why he keeps finding himself in key positions in aerial duels in the Arsenal penalty area. It may be a case that there isn’t an Arsenal midfielder that is seen to be good in the air which is a problem in itself. Tbf to Guendouzi no CM has the right or expectation to be good in the air. He may improve in this aspect as he bulks out and becomes stronger but at this time he is a weakness in the air as well as… Read more »
Words on a Blog
“People seriously dissing Torreira on here an ddismissing his defensive capabilities.”
People may not be dissing his defensive capabilities.
More pointing to what sort of DM he is.
Last season he was playing alongside Xhaka.
Now this season people are screaming for him to be last man DM.
He isn’t a last man DM.
WengerEagle
Aubameyang is nowhere near hitting 30 Premier league goals a season which is what Arsenal need just to make top 4.
Emery does not have any sort of tactics offensively anymore it seems.
What a dip from last season… and we had zero wingers!
I think he assumes that we have “firepower” that we will somehow score.
If all he does is scrimmage in training he has to leave!
Is there any one midfield combination that Emery has given time to develop in to a solid cohesive unit ? No. Much of our midfield woes is due to Emery.
Tr7
No, no, you missed the memo. Palace have a better midfield than we do, keep up.
Ishola,
Re Torreira, don’t care whether he’s a last man DM, or part of a 2 man midfield with Guen, Xhaka or Ceballos, as long as he’s not played on the right or the tip of a midfield diamond, I’m happy.
His main qualities are tactically defensive, not offensive.
*2 man central midfield
The midfield has been in decline for the past 6-7 seasons.
Unable to keep the ball has been a regular occurrence under both Wenger and Emery’s tenure.
Nah guys, midfield has been organized all season, just poor personnel
Ishola “That’s why any thought of getting in a goalscoring AM would have to be coupled with also getting in a proper DM that can do a lot of the defensive tasks required and in more isolated situations.” We already have that player at the club in Willock. 4 goals in 9 starts, which is very good return. He also played a very disciplined role in the home game against Burnley with Guendouzi alongside and Ceballos as the CAM. It makes no difference to me if the know nothing’s do not rate him . I believe he has all the… Read more »
Pierre
I have never said I don’t rate Willock.
More of a case that I haven’t seen enough of him to properly rate the guy but others have been proclaiming him in those same few matches that others see as not being long enough in scope to really judge.
If you think he will be Arsenal’s goalscoring AM then so be it.
I would need to see more of him to be convinced of that.
Crystal Palace bypass the midfield many times anyway. They are at their best in quick transition up to the forward players. No lingering in midfield.
And Bats thinks Arsenal have a top midfield eh.
Cha
I’m sort of with you regarding Aubameyang if we get a top offer for him .
Martinelli is looking the part I have to say, plus Nketiah may prove to be good enough.
Both young and hungry and love scoring goals.
What great qualities do Milner, Henderson and Wijnaldum have ? We had Santi, Ramsey and Ozil in our midfield who piss all over the current Liverpool trio in terms of pure quality. Even if you talk about our current midfield, players such as Ozil, Ceballos, Torr, Guen etc. have some useful qualities. We need a manager who can make optimum use of what we have.
Ishola
“I have never said I don’t rate Willock.”
And I never said you did, though you did fail to mention him when talking about scoring goals from midfield.
TR7
“What great qualities do Milner, Henderson and Wijnaldum have ?”
And Fabinho.
They are good off the ball. They don’t have to be great on the ball or creative or goalscoring because they have a great front three and the best attacking fullback duo in world football.
Now tell me an Arsenal midfielder that is good off the ball consistently? Torreira on occasions?
our team sucks off the ball. Our build up is slow and predictable. We pass to the closest open man. We hardly do diagonal splitting passses. OTOH, we hoof the ball to Auba and 1/10 times he actually gets it and controls it…
We give to Pepe and hope he does his “magic”
its clear to me that Emery does not have a clue or any sort of offensive tactics other than, just give the ball and hope and pray.
I watched Leicester play out of the back recently. It was so quick you hardly noticed it. The goalie gets the ball and 3-4 players have gone into position to create the right angles for an outward pass.
When we play out of the back, it’s so labored and painful to watch.
Thats the problem Dissenter. Everything is so slow. I typed here in September that if we were going to persist with playing out from the back that we need to move the ball up the field much quicker. Doing it slowly invites pressure onto the players who then make rash decisions in the heat of the moment.
The lunacy? They’re still instructed to play that way and their in game management is so poor they continue doing it.
Those suggesting sell Auba in the summer may get their wish fulfilled.
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1200414/Real-Madrid-Pierre-Emerick-Aubameyang-Transfer-Arsenal-Florentino-Perez-James-Rodriguez
Are Arsenal U21 worth a punt to be winning at half time against Cambridge away in the EFL trophy?
Cambridge my not be that interested in the tournament with a more important DA Cup tie at the weekend.
Odds 2.60