So with Ainsley off to Roma, we could have a bit of a nightmare shortage in midfield should something happen to one of our two available midfielders. Granit and Lokonga are keeping the club going with Mo and Partey out at AFCON. Odegaard and ESR might be able to drop a bit deeper if necessary, but let’s be real, it only takes an errant sneeze to ruin everything… and something like that could badly derail our season. Always remember, before clubs could just make a call to postpone a game… there was Arsenal vs Brentford, COVID ripping through the dressing room, and no option but to play on. Losing our opener then hit us hard for the next two games.
So what options do we have?
I think we’re about to see a number of clubs drop expensive goods from their contracts.
Coutinho will likely be given an exit ramp either on loan or on a free so he can pick up a fee.
Juventus are reportedly saying goodbye to Aaron Ramsey.
There will be others as clubs weigh up the reality: no one is buying ageing stars in 2022.
Could Arsenal bring Ramsey back to the carpet? I have my doubts. It’s a sexy thought, but the truth is he was a risk when we last had the chance to sign him, and let’s be honest… he was a massive waste of money for Juventus. He made 25 games worth of Serie A minutes for £300k a week. Colin Lewin said on our podcast a great indication of future fitness is the past… his past is quite a sad story.
BUT… don’t put it past Arsenal to move on a short term deal for betting advert sensation, Jack Wilshere. He has stature, he gets on with Arteta, everyone is very impressed with how he’s playing and behaving behind the scenes. Even if it’s only a few games, you can’t deny the technical levels he has in his locker. He’s baked in Artetaball, so he’ll hit the ground running. He’s basically had a 2 month medical/trial.
It’s the easiest option for Arsenal that doesn’t break the bank. He can do a Xhaka job, he can do a Partey job, he can do most jobs in midfield.
There’s obviously a big difference between training and match day… but he’s 29, not 38, I’d say it’s a gamble worth taking. There could still be a signing or a loan to buy move. Mattias Svanberg is interesting because all the big Italian clubs are looking at him, the idea there would be to nip in before he turns into a £50m player in 2 seasons time (check out this scouting report).
I have no idea what we’re doing on the transfer front when it comes to strikers, but the more I hear Vlahovic talk in the media, the more I wonder if we’re looking at a big mouth over a big name this summer. There’s not much to suggest Arsenal go for the obvious player these days, if his agents are telling the world they won’t pick up the phone to them, that might be because we’ve refused to pick up the phone to them. What is incredible is how hard the Italian transfer rumour circuit is working to pump him. I wonder if they are paid to do that? Media noise impacts decisions. If fan perception is that a player is right, don’t imagine that doesn’t affect some of the amateur hour minds that are in charge of purse strings in football.
Whatever happens there, don’t expect Arsenal to be making big money moves this January. The value is in the summer or in a try before you buy like Jovic.
I’m no financial expert, but I also wonder if the big rich men of world football are going to wait and see if there’s a mega-market crash brewing. Markets have been very volatile and there are a lot of warning signs that this year might be rough.
The Liverpool game was postponed yesterday. Apparently, their caseload is pretty wild. Klopp has been calling for transparency, but it doesn’t seem like he’s been too willing to share what a mess he’s dealing with or where the mess is.
The disappointing thing is that once again, a big club cries, and they get what they want. Leyton Orient get binned, Liverpool get the full primo service… and they will play the FA Cup on Sunday. Hard not to see that as a dirty darkarts move because Arsenal are in good form and Liverpool is not.
Still, for Arsenal, we have to take it as an advantage. More time on the training ground is a good thing. More rest in the legs is a good thing. Playing the first leg at Anfield is also a good thing. Liverpool clearly not wanting to be part of this thing is a good, good thing. So let’s see what happens there.
It was also nice watching Chelsea easily beat a very strong Spurs side. Not a spanking, but a paddled arse to drive home who the daddy is. 2-0 means Unai Conte has to go with a full team for the second leg. Did you see his body language after the game? Did you hear what he said?
‘Chelsea spent a lot of money’
IT BEGINS
Arsenal will go with a skinny line-up against Nottingham Forest, they’ll probably go pretty meaty for Liverpool on a Thursday, then we roll the dice against Spurs on Sunday. If they get rattled by Chelsea at home again, it might impact how they play against us, especially if Conte plays the victim again.
Back to Spurs. They are really bad. 5 attempts at Chelsea’s goal, 2 on target… when Chelsea had Kepa in goal? It’s very drab. Antonio Conte is here to play on the break, you know what he’s going to do every game, and it is painful to watch. I really hope Arteta takes the same energy he took into last seasons win or bust game.
Here’s the big truth that you can’t escape: Top 4 is still a stretch goal.
‘You are making excuses’
No, I’ve been preaching the same reality all season.
This is the youngest team in the league.
We had the biggest reconstruction of any big team this summer.
This group has to suffer before it can truly be deemed top 4 quality.
That doesn’t mean I’m not hoping we can nick it, we have a lot of things going for us this season. Momentum is one of them. Hungry young players is another. The speed in which they’ve all bonded around the Artetaball idea. They’re all massive, but things can come unstuck very fast, as we saw against Everton.
I don’t want to pick on fan archetypes, but generally, I would say the fans that said the new signings didn’t move the needle / Arteta would be sacked by November, are the people now saying we should make top 4.
Don’t raise the highs too high and don’t take the lows to extremes.
Whatever happens this season, we are on a sharper track than most teams in the league at the moment.
You know where the Spurs story is heading, a massive arson attack that Daniel Levy will have to pay a premium to solve.
You know where United is heading under Rangnick… right into a painful transition. His success has been built around nobody young men from around Europe that agree to work themselves to the bone in a selfless system that requires every single player to do their job. He can’t work with Ronaldo, his system won’t allow it, and he just made him captain. Older players do not want to learn new tricks. Rangnickball is very bad unless everyone buys in.
This season is an opportunity to catch a leap on the competition, no doubt, just tether your expectations to reality. One day, we will drop a performance against Everton so bad, you actually want to cry. Two weeks later, we’ll put on the best show against City of any team in Europe and totally control them by making them look ordinary.
The rocket ship is heading to the moon, but buckle up, because we’ll get nicked by space debris, and occasionally, we’ll be pushed off orbit by a big fuck off rock you weren’t expecting to see.
Have fun in the comments. x
Those that want Ramsey or Wilshere must be living in the past. I’d rather Patino get thrown into the deep end than those two back. It’s like wanting Ozil back or wanting a retired Cesc back to do what exactly???
WEIRDOS
Stick with the youth policy, Jack and Aaron are not with the program moving forward, nor are they going to help us get 4th. Yes, Pedro, still banging on about 8th, 8th, and ? 6-8th is not progress mate, no matter how you slice it, package it or spin it! Unless of course 70 points is the new 6th and that is progress. The table shifts between years, decades and what have you. You get what you earn, some years easier than others, of course, but everyone is still playing the same amount of games last time I checked. Do… Read more »
Ramsey and Wilshere, absolutely not.
It would be a step backwards.
Always surprised to see DCL get so much love on here. He is basically a poor man’s 2012-16 Olivier Giroud. Penalties buff his numbers up to even Giroud levels.
Yes he is somewhat faster than Giroud was but he has none of Giroud’s link up qualities and isn’t as strong in the air.
I would like to see Jack have a trial in the upcoming FA Cup fixture…
I’m less enthusiastic about having Ramsey back — although my favourite goal was scored by him — in checking, I found it was against Fulham, but the goal against Norwich with an assist from Giroud ain’t bad 🙂
Ramsey is like Willian, if you get the player who you remember at his best he would be perfect, but if you get the Willian we got you might also get the equivalent shadow of Ramsey
WE
I was typing when you posted, just made a point about Giroud 🙂
Ramsey? Wilshire?
Why not the midfield general Arteta himself ?
Seriously!
People still stuck in the past man!
anyone from the academy than those 2 has been!
No one can be sure of Ramsey’s current form when Juve have basically frozen him.
I watched the Euros and he had the best performance out of any player in the group stages in Wales’ game vs Turkey. That’s the last memory I have of him and it was more than solid.
How does he get to be compared to Willian I’ve no idea. Everyone knows that if somehow he comes back, he’ll give his heart out for us, like he always has done in the 11 seasons he had for us.
Habesha Personally Vlahović comes across as overhyped to me… kind of how Nico Pepe was when he had that monster season with Lille. So I guess I’m a bit wary at our club blowing that kind of money again on one player… with hindsight on a very limited experience. As I said, Isak is my number one choice in an ideal world because of his pace, intelligence, height and strength. Physically I think he’s ideally suited for the EPL. It’s a bit long but I really think this write up on Isak is excellent in giving a flavour of what… Read more »
Hmmm a big “Fuck off rock”.. sounds like what I gave my e-wife number 2.. And it worked, never saw her or that diamond ever again… Hahaha Anyhow,… The question for me is… did we, are didnt we have 55mill to bid on Vlahovic? and if we did .. then surely we have enough to buy a CM to upgrade our midfield, like right now. So why would we scrape about and bring in Wilshere or Ramsey.. That seems like a backwards move. ALthough I do like the idea of Jacky Boy… coaching up our midfielders at the training grounds… Read more »
Ive seen David play .. a lot with Canada playing the USA often. … Lets just say Antonio of Jamiaca and Villa gave us a harder time of it then David did.
David is still a great player just have never been blown away.. He is young and has a lot of potential.
Domagoj, nice try pal but the Brentford game shall forever go down in Legrove Arsenal folklore as the ultimate injustice rivaled perhaps only by the United game in which Riley cost Wenger the 49 games unbeaten run, and passed his audition for the future PGMO chief in flying colors.
Midwest
You really cannot use the David Jonathan playing for Canada as deciding factor. He’s surrounded by MLS players when he’s featuring for Canada
Even then, he’s one of the reasons why Canada will qualify for the WC and are ahead of us on the CONCACAF table.
Vlahović does not rate Arsenal or the Arsenal project.
No point over-stretching yourself to convince anyone to come when there are alternatives
Another insightful information about on our darling team. I want to quickly add that Arsenal have bought players in winter in the past and during post Wenger. Auba and Partey were players purchased during two of the last three previous winter periods. The view that team cannot get value during winter period is to me is Wenger’s stingy way of pasifying us supporters so as not to raise eyebrow. From the above, the question is whether or not Arsenal actually bided for Dusan Vlohvic of Fiorentina fc. If yes, Arsenal knows quite well that there will be competition for his… Read more »
Conte’s whining about his side’s lack of quality after each loss reminds me of the time Arteta said he needed six new players to play his style.
Not great management in either case.
Just sayin… I have been more impressed by Ricardo Pepi then David. And of course I can judge how he plays for Canada I didnt say it was a deciding factor.. YOu love you some Davod dont you? hahaha.
Isak is my preferred choice out of the top strikers listed. I feel his attributes would suit us more. He also seem to have a good attitude which is really crucial for what we’re building.
A big no to DCL please.
“ Hmmm a big “Fuck off rock”.. sounds like what I gave my e-wife number 2…”
Hey Middy, that made me laugh out loud, which in the present climate only brings dirty looks… 😂😂😂
Midwest
Pepi is is still a kid who needs to find a good transfer to a Dutch or Belgian club where he can play lots of games and bang in lots of goals
He needs to take the same route David Jonathan took before ending up in Lille.
Diss- when you get a player locked in your sites… you are relentless against any dissenting view … which I find amusing given your name choice on Le Grove. Still love you though, man.. Old time Le Grovers are the foundation, here. Anyhow.. It’s all win/ win for me.. because clearly it seems like the CLub is trying to address our needs.. Too much smoke around 4 or 5 names that arent cheap options. . So Im not buying we dont have any money.
Mid
I think the club won’t even sign any player on our lists
I trust Edu/Arteta and the transfer team after the blockbuster moves they pulled last summer
Who knew about Tavares and Tomiyasu here?
Leeds –
I know well… I have never been too politically correct.. I say what I say.. what you gonna do.?
The Athletic reported that we spoke with the Premier league about our covid situation before the Brentford game but never formally applied for the game to be cancelled.
It seems we weren’t decisive enough, maybe we thought we could still get past Brentford with that depleted side.
What gives off the impression that Vlahovic doesn’t fancy Arsenal? Where’s that news coming from?
Also big lol that his hold up play isn’t good
Middy
If Jonathan David plays great for his club but rubbish for his country – that’s a big thumbs up from me. It would make a nice change.
Too often we seem to entertain players at Arsenal who keep in reserve their best performances for their country.
For example, Xhaka. Whenever he wears his Swiss colours he becomes stronger faster younger. He stops having brain farts.
He becomes Swiss Cheese, their national soccer playing superhero.
Ps. The soccer reference was for you… 😂
Leeds- Actually David does play well for his country.. just I personally have never watched him and have said that’s the number 9 we need now.. But I do agree whatever choice the Club makes it won’t be because of hype, it will be because they think the player can fit into what we have going on and make an impact or upgrade. I do think the transfer team has earned teh right to get the benefit of the doubt with that last transfer window. As long as we don’t do a Willian., again .. I am onboard with whatever… Read more »
To the moon or pushed off orbit.
Hedging your bets there. Covering all eventualities.
4th -7th place finish it is then.
Batistuta
The same sources that suggest Arsenal is bidding for Vlahovic also add that he/his agent are not taking calls from Arsenal
Can’t choose to believe we are bidding form him but ignore all the other tabloid talk that he’s not keen on Arsenal.
I really don’t know why Pedro saying 4th is not realistic!. Troubled ManU, shit Spud and inferior players and manager Hammers to compete with.
If Arteta as Pedro telling us a generational, then fourth is realistic. I hope it’s not an excuse to down play our chances to protect Arteta if we under achieve.
Can we not talk about the Brentford game anymore and instead talk about subjects that haven’t been done to death yet?
What’s you guys think of Saka’s low wages?
Of course NO to both Jack and Aaron. Both has been , we need to move on from this has been signing.
Middy
See Pepi got a €20m move to Aubsburg in the Bundesliga? They supposedly have US investors.
That is a lot of dough for a relegation threatened Bundesliga outfit to spend on a teenage CF.
I personally think the CLub was just excited to get the season started and weren’t so much worried about Covid losses as we still could field a decent side. And Covid cancellations protocol was still a fairly new thing, so we may have not understood it completely. But lets face it.. Brentford were in full hype mode…. as they hadn’t been in the Premier leagie since 1947. First home match.. with the fans literally crying from emotions whenever they scored a goal. So we ran into a buzz saw.. would have been a dificult game no matter what in my… Read more »
Dissenter
All of it is basically just paper talk. If we put the money on the table, he’ll come to us. It’s really that simple
Bati
That Messias lad is a real baller, 30 years old.
Was hiding in the Italian lower leagues most of his career, crazy really.
Emery dumped out of the Copa by lower league Gijon.
Redtruth will be sad.
Tom
“What’s you guys think of Saka’s low wages?”
You want to get Nigel-ed?
The most shocking thing about how PGMOL implemented VAR in England is the fact that the VAR referees are based in their headquarter. That means that Mike Riley can pop in and have a chat with the VAR Referee during a game or at half time and nobody would even know about it. In France, Italy, Germany that was flagged as a major point where undue influence could take place. In all major European Leagues, the VAR referee is on site away from local club representatives but also away from any referee association members. The second thing that is shocking… Read more »
Eagle –
Yep the pressure will be on now.. Hoping Ricardo Pepi does well.. He is still very young.. it could go either way at this point.. But he has a lot of the tools needed..to be a top striker.. So we will see what happens.
Batistuta
Hope you’re right about Vlahovic..
First time in a transfer window, I don’t care who we sign tp replace Auba and Laca.
After the last transfer window, I can comfortably say that the transfer team know more than us fans.
Middy
Let’s hope it goes better than it has for Hoppe so far.
Hat-rick on his debut IIRC and score 1 or 2 more for Schalke, haven’t heard of him ever since.
Hi Val… long time, no see. Happy New Year, man..
There’s this 21 year old Argentine striker at River Plate that is on the watch list, Julian Alvarez
I think it will take him at least a calendar year to come to terms with rain pouring down on him in England.
Im pretty bummed out we didnt get to play today.. Was looking forward to it. after last week. I think we have a good chance to win a trophy. Now who knows… gamesmanship and all. Schedule all jacked up.
Dissenter
That Alvarez lad looks different, special kind of talent there.
It’s not normal to explode on to the scene like he has this year, Argentines are very excited about him.
Think he could use a move to a Porto or Ajax first though to get to grips with Europe, agreed. A team where he will see a lot of the ball, have chances and play in the CL.
Wenger eagle
Yea, I agree that Alvarez launches off from Benfica, Porto, Ajax or even Dortmund who have to replace Haaland.
Really do like this Leao kid for Milan.
Reminds me of young Thierry in some ways, very raw but very gifted and such an incredible athlete.
Isn’t United pretty much gonna drop a big bid on Julian Alvares? Anyhow he seems kind of short for a CF. 5ft 7 inches. Plus all I have seen of him, whihc isnt much. He is very good shooter from range better then good actually or running onto second balls. Guess they are hoping he develops into a Serge Aguero type.
But he came across as more of a midfielder to me. Little I have seen.
I met Jack Wilshire at some function a few years ago. He just struck me as a bit of a jerk. Charlie George was also there and he was wonderful. He spoke to us like he known us his whole life, a great bloke.
Dissenter
All we’ve got is the eye test really, not a lot of strikers our there so not so sure the transfer team are going to be surprising us no matter who they bring in up front.
Eagle
Yea was skeptical when we signed him but he’s a real baller and Leao is another I’d take at Arsenal in a heartbeat too
“I don’t want to pick on fan archetypes, but generally, I would say the fans that said the new signings didn’t move the needle / Arteta would be sacked by November, are the people now saying we should make top 4.“ Pick away, Pedro. I didn’t think the needle moved, happy to have been wrong. Never said Arteta would be or needed to be sacked. Predicted top six on 65 points and anything better a bonus. But things change and the way I see it, they have changed in our favor. United hired a manager unsuited to their immediate situation,… Read more »
Coutinho, Ramsey and Wilshere?
NO THANK YOU.
Wijnaldum?
OK, on a six month loan.
No need to get worked up about the whole “Vlahovic not taking calls” thing. The guy was a top 3 striker in Europe last year and this is his agent trying to whip up a bidding war. He’d deserve the sack if he didn’t. And as for a player not declaring his never-dying love for Arsenal as soon as we want him – well, that’s the consequence of having been out of Europe for longer than he’s been playing pro football, isn’t it? We just need to convince him.
Just imagine if we announced we have signed Svalberg and Vlahovic – 2022 would look very rosy.
Dissenter “After the last transfer window, I can comfortably say that the transfer team know more than us fans” You did make me laugh Diss. I had to read it twice just in case I missed a typo. I mean, who would have thought that eh? Professionals with all their experience, knowledge, connections, and teams of scouts know more than Bob the Builder – it seems a bit of a stretch. I mean, come on mate that fat bloke with a wheelbarrow full of muck with his arse hanging out of his trousers, once came 198,984 in an online fantasy… Read more »
Batistuta
“All we’ve got is the eye test really, not a lot of strikers our there so not so sure the transfer team are going to be surprising us no matter who they bring in up front.”
Not a lot of strikers out there ?
Maybe we should be looking at a striker who for no apparent reason has only started 3 games this season and scored 5 goals , 4 of them pretty good i have to say..
Is there another striker in europe who has scored at a rate of a goal every 60 mins this season.
Seeing we’re being linked with Svanberg. As a swede myself im not totally convinced by him. Isnt even a regular starter in our national team.
If you rate the League Cup than sure, Nketiah is the next Lewandowski.
Vlahivic is top quality. Ignite all the bollocks in the media, one day the penny will drop for some of you. They lie. As for Nketiah, look he’s got a good goalscoring record but he’s more if your traditional fix in the box. I personally believe that the way we play demands a bit more from a striker, sorry Pierre. I hope he makes it with us but I can’t pretend his overall game seems lacking to me. Nothing would please me more than to be wrong.
Just ignore the spell corrector, sorry!
Would it be fair to suggest that a 2 year deal for Wilshere @ £40k/week would cost the club a total of £4m, and provide an alternative (homegrown) to Elneny (out of contract in 5 months time), whereas anything involving Ramsey or Coutinho, or even Wijnaldum, @ 100K, or 200K (or more) could cost £20m + (sign-on, agents etc.) and involve a player/ego wanting first-team action?
If Eddie was to play against Forest (not sure they’ll cup tie him though) then he will be playing at his level…..Championship!
Just read that Xhaka hasn’t trained for 4 days…..Covid? Normally I’d be delighted he was nowhere near the team but midfield is going to be very short of non attacking players!! 😯
Had a feeling that Wilshere building up his fitness would result in a possible contract offer. I don’t want him anywhere in the squad tbh. He’s being propped up like he was peak Yaya Touré in the media. Why loan Niles when he is able and capable of covering CM, both fullback and wide positions and sign a player who has been well past it for years?
If we’re going to make a splash this month, then we should do everything possible to explore signing Frenkie De Jong Barcelona apparently open to a sale, the player might well give us the middle finger, and tell us to spin, but if we don’t ask, then we we’ll never know… It’s too good of an opportunity not to explore, at 24 he’d be a game changer, and potentially sit in our engine room for the next 7-8 seasons Rarely do players of this type of quality, at this type of age and experience, potentially come onto the market If… Read more »
“This group has to suffer before it can truly be deemed top 4 quality.“
Not sure what this means, Pedro.
Haven’t they already?
Liverpool, City ….twice, Brighton, Palace…..how much suffering do they need?
Speaking of strikers.. Surely Juventus would be open to talks for Auba…. Morata is costing them games left, right and center. Dude is a bit shit.
MidWestGun
Not sure why they’d swap 1 misfiring striker for another misfiring striker, seems counterintuitive
Particularly bringing in an ageing striker, on massive money, with disciplinary issues
Italy might be good for Auba though, we’ve just got to pray that someone’s willing to take him off our hands
Watching the battle of Arsenal washed up Keepers.. Woj Szczęsny v OOOOOOoooooooospina. So far David O… has the upperhand.
Rich … Juventus likes to throw money at old players.. Auba would be a short term help for them.. He is still much better then Morata and Italy would suit his game… Kind of like when we shipped Gervinho off to Roma… he was actually pretty good.
Why would Barca be open to selling their star man in De Jong?
They paid €75m for him and there is no reason to sell at a loss.
I don’t think Auba is much better than Morata now, based on what?
Two very out of form and poor strikers. Morata with age and his all-round game better is still the more attractive proposition for clubs imo.
Wenger Eagle
De Jong is also on 16m a year after tax. He’ll end up at City or PSG
Midwest
Was never a fan of Morata. But Aubameyang has fallen off a cliff. I posted these earlier:
Auba’s shot conversion stats:
17/18: 32.2%
18/19: 23.4%
19/20: 23.7%
20/21: 17.5%
So his shot conversion has almost halved.
We’ve all seen the sitters he’s missed. Only thing he doesn’t seem to miss are parties & Covid..!!
Would love Juve not to qualify for the CL and to really fall off.
They are the United of Italy in a way. Have/had all the built-in advantages and a dominance on the league all undone by their own in-house incompetence.
Their financial power and popularity in Italy means that this will likely be short-lived till they get their act together. All the more reason to enjoy it.
WE,
Their wage bill is too high and they’re in trouble with the league. Bringing in Ferran T probably didn’t make things better. Xavi seems to want a restart with academy players and they have a couple of big talents in that position. I’m sure they wouldn’t be interested in taking a big loss but they’d sell if the deal is right.
AFC
I’m sure we had lots of footballing people when we re making transfer mistakes repeatedly at the end of Wenger’s tenure or when we spent 70+ million on Pepe.
All that great knowledge and scouting advantage and still yet we ended ups signing a 28-year old reject from Southampton on a 4-5 year contract and then there’s Willian
Great reputations or experience does not always translate into successful transfers. This transfer team had to earn their chops from the fans, they did.
Eagle well they both have about the same nimber of goals.. But Auba isn’t needed as a hold up striker for them.. Juventus has a decent midfield… Auba is a volume striker.. think he would put away a lot of these chances. anyhow it isnt based on anything.. but my observations. 😀 Haha which is basically what anyone posts on here unless they are a professional scout.
Dream
Bayern is a good shout, they really do lack quality midfield options outside of Kimmich and Goretzka.
Asking Musiala to play in the pivot which he has done brilliantly but is a waste when he is at his best as a wide forward/in Muller’s position.
LS
The Ferran Torres deal would indicate that they do have money wouldn’t it?
It would make zero sense to take a loss on their best midfielder and arguably best player coming into his prine years while he is still under contract.
And even in their state, have you known many prime players to walk away from Barcelona? Alexis was out of favour with Pep as was Cesc by the time Chavs came calling.
Bati
Look at Vlahovic’s passing and defensive numbers. A lot of lowly 20s percentiles compared to the top 5 leagues strikers.
https://fbref.com/en/players/79443529/scout/365_euro/Dusan-Vlahovic-Scouting-Report
You can compare his passing and shot creating stats with a real complete striker in Karim benzema who is setting the standard for strikers.
https://fbref.com/en/players/70d74ece/scout/365_euro/Karim-Benzema-Scouting-Report
Vlahovic is no where near. Even the likes of David come out better in these categories. If his holdup play was so great, these numbers wouldn’t lie. Even if we get him, we are going to get a lethal strike that will need to develop the rest of his game.
Mid
Have to disagree there, as AFC Forever’s stats show his conversion rate has torpedoed since his new deal.
And Auba even in his best days offered you little to nothing outside of goals, at least Morata is a workhorse and has more refined all round ability. Not that I am a fan of either.
And even in their state, have you known many prime players to walk away from Barcelona?
Wenger eagle
Figo, Romario, R9, Neymar, Ibrahimavic, Eto,o, Yaya Toure. Off the top of my head
What is Moratas conversion rate… can’t be too good.. and sometimes a change of scenery to Italy is all a player needs. Juventus stands to lose a lot ,more money if they miss out on CL so I personally wouldnt be surprised if they made a loan offer for Auba. Just sayin.
Unoni
Ibra, R9, Eto’o, Yaya were all sold willingly by Barca, rightly or wrongly.
It took PSG to smash the world transfer record to smithereens and pay what Barca thought to be an unpayable €220m transfer fee to trigger his release clause.
And Figo was bought by prime Galacticos Real Madrid. Is that comparable to us?
Chiesa is the bomb though… awesome player.
If FDJ even was sold, why would he choose us over Bayern, PSG or City?
People have to be realistic.
Big fan of Chiesa Mid.
He would do great over here imo, very powerful and direct runner that is tailor-made for PL.
Wenger Eagle
De Jong isn’t coming here. It is just wishful thinking. He fits Xavi’s philosophy. And even if he left, city, Chelsea, PSG, Bayern will be all over that. I am hoping we get Bruno G. before he blows up more than he already has.
Weston Mckennie playing well too.. although he missed a wide open header.. Hope he doesnt do that in World Cup qualifiers.. haha
Yep Eagle.. Chiesa is that good. Really great shooter.
I think Rich is just having a fantasy footie moment over De Jong… to be fair, we all have them..
It isn’t just Rich, he has been mentioned here as much as anyone besides Vlahovic the last month.
I like the little I have watched of Bruno G Habesha although have not seen much of Lyon. Is he very good?
McKennie has gone off the boil a bit this season at Juve.
Sauciest US NT player seems to be Tyler Adams now. Does he warrant the hype? Very underwhelming stats so he must be an eye-test guy.
Wenger Eagle
I think he is as good as we can get in this market. What I like is he can do everything. He wins his tackles, he can dribble or drop a shoulder, he passes well and he is creative for a CM. I have seen him play and he is improving every season. I think he is at the right age at 24 too. And he wouldn’t break the bank. 30 to 35 mil ought to do it.
Eagle-
It’s a close call on who is better Mckennie or Adams.. Adams is better at defending so his attacking stats won’t be as good . But he is an intelligent players and seem to always be in the right place so. yep it’s an eyetest thing with Tyler Adams you have to watch him play.. Weston Mckennie I would say is more of a mature player for his age… and can score goals.. Also he is never stops running is tireless. and uses space well.. Will take it up with dribbling if needed.
The thing about Juventus is they have a lot of great players.. just not that number 9 they need. So its weird they wouldnt spend any money there.. if they need to.. I know everyone is Covid broke though. so..
WE Barcelona are apparently open to a sale, they want his €350,000 p/w wages off the books (£292,000 p/w) His agent has openly talked about him potentially moving, because Barca need the money We missed Ronaldo in 2003 Alonso in 2007 Suarez 2013 Wenger was in Mbappe’s living room I’m fuc*ed off to the back teeth with missing out on these types of opportunities, rarely do opportunities this good come up To not ever explore the opportunity would be a mistake, we could match what Barca are paying him, particularly if we trimmed some fat off the sides of our… Read more »
https://youtu.be/Ptzb5Hvkfac
CIES most valubale players list 2022 Their methodology is always subjective but it’s always worth a mention. 1) Vinícius Júnior – €166.4m 2) Phil Foden – €152.6 3) Erling Haaland – €142.5 4) Mason Greenwood – €133.9 5) Florian Wirtz – €133.0 6) Jude Bellingham – €130.1 7) Alphonso Davies – €122.3 8) Rúben Dias – €120.5 9) Pedri González – €118.0 10) Frenkie de Jong – €115.2 11) Jadon Sancho – €115.0 12) Bruno Fernandes – €113.9 13) Trent Alexander-Arnold – €112.8 14) Mason Mount – €108.9 15) Achraf Hakimi – €108.2 16) Reece James – €108.0 17) Bukayo… Read more »
Diss
You need a muzzle mate. You literally bite on everything!!! Chill out a bit, light hearted humour is good for you. You remind me of a couple of blokes going on a camping holiday; you’re too intense