One thing I'm thinking about. Why would Calafiori join us and what's the project Arteta and Edu presented to him that has supposedly made him want to join us ahead of any other team?
Option 1 is that we sell Kiwior to Milan or Juventus and we bring Calafiori to be our 3rd CB. There is a chance for that but do we believe Arteta will ever be like Pep to change his back 4 in every single god damn game? I doubt it but it's possible.
Option 2 is the less obvious but maybe more probable idea. Calafiori as our starting LB. Fella has about 40 games at LB. He fits the bill of being able to play in at least 2 positions. Arteta loves that profile.
Is he that good? No clue. I haven't seen much but it looks like our management have made their choice. Let's see if they'll be able to seal the deal. If so I'd expect either Kiwior or Zinchenko to leave, maybe even both.
Kiwior, but not Zinny. Zinchenko offers something different to anyone else in that inverted LB role. Possibly, a game-chasing specialist, a change of pace sub.
Strengthening by degrees. Adding depth with more quality.
I think the sensible thing is to trust Edu and Arteta with our transfers. They've proven that they know what they are doing.
And really, we have Timber who would be like a new signing next season. The LB is one of his areas of speciality, so, why add another player in that area where we were having problems on was selected at the expense of the other last season.
And whilst so many keeps providing lists of players certain for departure, my gut tells me some would be retained. In as much as many of us love new shiny toys, the onus is on Arteta to have another look at the players.
I believe Viera hasn't been given enough opportunity to showcase his true strength and I insist ESR won't be leaving.
😂😂😂 your first research is durability of players. I see it though. That is a bit worrying to see. But it is good to see he payed almost every game his last season.
Romano could send a tweet saying arsenal are enquiring about my availability and within seconds I’d have fat fucking Todd on the phone offering me 300k and an 8 year contract
I’m sure the thinking behind this will become clear if there’s any legs to this story.
But I don’t really get it… Not unless we think he’s a significant upgrade of Kiwior, or Kiwior is pushing for a move away.
The defenders we’ve had issues with are Zinchenko + Tomiyasu, and their inability to string consecutive games together, and remain consistently available to take their share of the workload.
I feel Arteta is trying to move away from a starter every game type of situation.
Ben White won't be a complete starter every game next season if Timber and Tomi are fit. Gabriel would be rested sometimes, so will Saliba. And Califiori will get game time at both LCB and LB. That is how I see it.
I can't see Arteta having that amount of quality options and then not using them the whole season again. You won't see Saliba staring every league game again next season. He did that out of necessity this past season.
With Tomi and Zinny as rotational options, and the likes of Timber and Calafiori as mainstays-- the former have their workloads reduced, the latter are starting upgrades. An overall stronger, deeper, more diverse squad.
Would hope it also means the dynamic CB duo get rotational rest for cup ties.
I think Kiwior is moving. There have been a lot of rumors that AC Milan are interested. And He has been uncomfortable playing at LB at times whe we had to play good teams. We will get our money back because we invested £22 mil on him. I have only seen Calafiori in the euros and he has looked better technically. And he will be suited to play the role Arteta has asked of Kiwior.
I really can't see Zinchenko being sold. He is different to our other options. And he will have no takers.
"Albert Sambi-Lokonga has accepted Sevilla as next destination. There's total green light from the player now. Arsenal and Sevilla negotiate final details including buy clause, how to activate it and potentially make it mandatory"
Under no circumstances should we allow him to leave unless it’s a permanent transfer with a significant sell on percentage, or a cast iron obligation for next summer.
Pedro, Italian players travel outside of serie A more than England players outside of PL. Not until 2018 ish could you count multiple renowned English players outside of England with more than 1 hand.
Saliba will only leave if he perceives he can't win the PL or UCL here. And that will probably be max 2 seasons. This why we have to move heaven and earth to win this coming season. I want to believe that Artedu recognise that. We want our stars to leave like Hazard left Chelsea, not like Cesc left Arsenal.
We have only 1 player that can be said to be truly world class that could fit into any team and style and that's Saliba (Partey is no longer prime) Others like Saka, Gabriel, Ode, Rice may be world class or close but in particular systems.
Signing pointless players like Haverts won't help convince Saliba that we know what we are doing. And frankly, he has no reason to wait behind
It is pointless because he was signed as a LCM. Played there half a season and was gash so he was moved to CF. Rumors all summer have been that we are looking for a CF and a LCM. If you believe the rumors and we actually do sign a LCM and CF, then a 65m, 280k pw player could be sitting on the bench. That's pointless to me.
Fulham have been linked with Sambi, Eddie, Smith Rowe, Nelson.
Hopefully they throw some of that money our way, he’s with Portugal at the Euro’s though, so doubt that gets wrapped up until Portugal’s tournament is done.
I’ve just seen a few vids of this Italian defender and in the compilations he looks great, but spending supposedly 40m on a CB right now seems like pretty much the least efficient use of our resources
We need a forward and a CM significantly more than we need a backup CB.
He looks good but more like a cherry on the top signing when everything else has already been done. I just worry that we spend money on this guy then struggle to make up the funds for one of our significantly higher priorities elsewhere in the squad in this window
I think one of Zinchenko or Kiwior go if our interest in Calafiori is real. Most likely Kiwior because he has takers. I think Arteta has his eyes set on Calafiori because of versatility. Kiwior doesn't look as comfortable at fullback. Calafiori looks better technically.
Your assessment is probably correct I just don’t agree with the club making him a high priority (first) signing when we have far more pressing needs
Like I said we could get this guy, fail to sell Kiwior or zinchenko and then we’re basically burdened with more defenders than we actually need or want. We already have timber for LB coming back as well (and he can play CB). This just feels like an extreme luxury signing if we do genuinely go for it. I don’t wanna see us halfway through next season with a 40m CB on the bench barely getting games whilst we are still unable to rest saka because his backup is Nelson who we (arteta) doesn’t trust.
Yep. If we don't get players in priority positions, this will look like crap. But if we do and manage to sell one of Kiwior or Zinchenko, it will look like a masterstroke.
The day it was announced was a massive shocker. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the announcement. He was a nailed on signing for Barca right up to that point. They had even agreed to foot the bill for helicopters and private planes to get him home several times a year.
Most people who post on here know very well what are the current holes in our starting lineup. These are in LB and CF positions. If Calafiori is recruited he will be brought in as LB unless of course Arteta plans to play with 3 CBs.
The only other positions which need to be redressed are where Rice and Havertz are playing next
season. If Havertz moves back into midfield Rice will play DMF. If not we will recruit a new DMF.
Arteta may well decide to continue playing Havertz as a false Centre Forward. Frankly I have seen no-one playing in Europeans who merits a £100 million fee.
Perhaps our money would be better spent recruiting a quality midfielder and/or quality winger to
One thing I'm thinking about. Why would Calafiori join us and what's the project Arteta and Edu presented to him that has supposedly made him want to join us ahead of any other team?
Option 1 is that we sell Kiwior to Milan or Juventus and we bring Calafiori to be our 3rd CB. There is a chance for that but do we believe Arteta will ever be like Pep to change his back 4 in every single god damn game? I doubt it but it's possible.
Option 2 is the less obvious but maybe more probable idea. Calafiori as our starting LB. Fella has about 40 games at LB. He fits the bill of being able to play in at least 2 positions. Arteta loves that profile.
Is he that good? No clue. I haven't seen much but it looks like our management have made their choice. Let's see if they'll be able to seal the deal. If so I'd expect either Kiwior or Zinchenko to leave, maybe even both.
Kiwior, but not Zinny. Zinchenko offers something different to anyone else in that inverted LB role. Possibly, a game-chasing specialist, a change of pace sub.
Strengthening by degrees. Adding depth with more quality.
He offers a weakness in defence that will always be exploited anytime he plays. He needs to be sold. Has no use.
I think the sensible thing is to trust Edu and Arteta with our transfers. They've proven that they know what they are doing.
And really, we have Timber who would be like a new signing next season. The LB is one of his areas of speciality, so, why add another player in that area where we were having problems on was selected at the expense of the other last season.
And whilst so many keeps providing lists of players certain for departure, my gut tells me some would be retained. In as much as many of us love new shiny toys, the onus is on Arteta to have another look at the players.
I believe Viera hasn't been given enough opportunity to showcase his true strength and I insist ESR won't be leaving.
2790 minutes 2023/24 Not bad.
Great long passes to the forwards resulting in assists.
We could line up with 3 CBs and Rice, White in midfield
68% of available minutes in Serie A.
2,338 of 3,420.
Rested 2 weeks before and after European under 21 qualifying (around March). Then some dead rubber end season games.
There were no deadrubber end of season games, they were fighting to qualify for the CL, or secure Europa League.
Just looking at Calafiori’s injury history.
Via transfermarkt:
23/24 Knock 3 days
22/23 unknown injury 4 days
22/23 unknown injury 7 days
22/23 muscular problems 4 days
22/23 Torn muscle fiber 34 days
21/22 unknown injury 28 days
21/22 unknown injury 13 days
21/22 unknown injury 3 days
21/22 muscular problems 25 days
20/21 Hamstring muscle 39 days
20/21 Hamstring muscle injury 23 days
20/21 Hamstring muscle injury 26 days
20/21 Corona virus 26 days
19/20 Inner ligament injury 42 days
18/19 Ligament injury 290 days
23/24 3 days
22/23 49 days
21/22 69 days
20/21 114 days
19/20 42 days
18/19 290 days
😂😂😂 your first research is durability of players. I see it though. That is a bit worrying to see. But it is good to see he payed almost every game his last season.
This is not good if we are going for another crock!!!
Know nothing about the player, never even heard of him until the Euros.
But what I do know is that Zinchenko, Tomi, Partey, Smith Rowe, Jesus, have all been unreliable with availability.
Also if you look at some of the issues at United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa last season, many of their issues at various stages were down to injuries.
Also when City won the treble, they had almost a clean bill of health at the business end when they needed to navigate 15 games in 7 weeks.
They did that with just 19 outfield players.
CB in midfield like Guardiola was using Stones.
They’re like a fart in a space suit.Chavvy, classless f** is.
Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
·
1m
🚨🇮🇹 More on Riccardo Calafiori. Mikel Arteta approved Italian defender, part of 3 defender targets list.
Arsenal have also good relationship with Bologna after Tomiyasu deal; request is around €50m, still no formal bid.
🔵↪️ Chelsea would offer players as part of the deal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, I feel Fabrizio has decent sources in Italy. So that confirms it, we are interested.
The Chelsea line made me laugh. They’re in for EVERYONE 😂😂😂😂
Romano could send a tweet saying arsenal are enquiring about my availability and within seconds I’d have fat fucking Todd on the phone offering me 300k and an 8 year contract
And I’m not entirely joking…
It is Chelsea 😂😂😂. They want to sign everyone.
Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
·
1m
🚨🔴⚪️ Arsenal have presented long term proposal to Riccardo Calafiori, after interest revealed last week.
Understand player’s open to joining Arsenal if they can agree terms with Bologna. Chelsea are still there.
❗️ Arsenal and Chelsea, the only two clubs in talks right now.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Okay there might be legs to the rumors.
I’m sure the thinking behind this will become clear if there’s any legs to this story.
But I don’t really get it… Not unless we think he’s a significant upgrade of Kiwior, or Kiwior is pushing for a move away.
The defenders we’ve had issues with are Zinchenko + Tomiyasu, and their inability to string consecutive games together, and remain consistently available to take their share of the workload.
I genuinely think he’s the Gabriel upgrade
Looks a fucking baller from my limited viewing time
Un
You still haven't let go of that Gabriel Agenda after the season he has had???
You said he can't be top class. He was last year. And a new toy in Calafiori isn't displacing him anytime soon.
Gabriel was immense last year but we aren’t signing a £50m lcb to play second fiddle
I feel Arteta is trying to move away from a starter every game type of situation.
Ben White won't be a complete starter every game next season if Timber and Tomi are fit. Gabriel would be rested sometimes, so will Saliba. And Califiori will get game time at both LCB and LB. That is how I see it.
I can't see Arteta having that amount of quality options and then not using them the whole season again. You won't see Saliba staring every league game again next season. He did that out of necessity this past season.
With Tomi and Zinny as rotational options, and the likes of Timber and Calafiori as mainstays-- the former have their workloads reduced, the latter are starting upgrades. An overall stronger, deeper, more diverse squad.
Would hope it also means the dynamic CB duo get rotational rest for cup ties.
I think Kiwior is moving. There have been a lot of rumors that AC Milan are interested. And He has been uncomfortable playing at LB at times whe we had to play good teams. We will get our money back because we invested £22 mil on him. I have only seen Calafiori in the euros and he has looked better technically. And he will be suited to play the role Arteta has asked of Kiwior.
I really can't see Zinchenko being sold. He is different to our other options. And he will have no takers.
Fab Romano -
"Albert Sambi-Lokonga has accepted Sevilla as next destination. There's total green light from the player now. Arsenal and Sevilla negotiate final details including buy clause, how to activate it and potentially make it mandatory"
We have a 1 + 1 left on his contract.
Under no circumstances should we allow him to leave unless it’s a permanent transfer with a significant sell on percentage, or a cast iron obligation for next summer.
Agreed. Sell or bust no more charity loans
There are mandatory obligation clauses in the contract, I think.
Sevilla offering £8M, Arsenal asking £12M.
Supposedly, obligation to buy triggered by number of starts.
Also read of a £3M loan fee for this season.
Well that's not an encouraging clause. We just have to hope that he plays well and he gets the required number of starts.
I just hope the don't underselect him to not buy him.
Pedro, Italian players travel outside of serie A more than England players outside of PL. Not until 2018 ish could you count multiple renowned English players outside of England with more than 1 hand.
Saliba will only leave if he perceives he can't win the PL or UCL here. And that will probably be max 2 seasons. This why we have to move heaven and earth to win this coming season. I want to believe that Artedu recognise that. We want our stars to leave like Hazard left Chelsea, not like Cesc left Arsenal.
We have only 1 player that can be said to be truly world class that could fit into any team and style and that's Saliba (Partey is no longer prime) Others like Saka, Gabriel, Ode, Rice may be world class or close but in particular systems.
Signing pointless players like Haverts won't help convince Saliba that we know what we are doing. And frankly, he has no reason to wait behind
And you are still so convinced Kai's signing is pointless despite what he ended up with last season.
Sometimes, as critics we need to look beyond the literal.
You ought to start thinking that you aren't as knowledgeable in the game as Arteta and Edu.
It is pointless because he was signed as a LCM. Played there half a season and was gash so he was moved to CF. Rumors all summer have been that we are looking for a CF and a LCM. If you believe the rumors and we actually do sign a LCM and CF, then a 65m, 280k pw player could be sitting on the bench. That's pointless to me.
Bayern Munich finally agree fee for Palhinho.
€50 million + €5 million Add on’s.
Fulham have been linked with Sambi, Eddie, Smith Rowe, Nelson.
Hopefully they throw some of that money our way, he’s with Portugal at the Euro’s though, so doubt that gets wrapped up until Portugal’s tournament is done.
Fingers crossed
I’ve just seen a few vids of this Italian defender and in the compilations he looks great, but spending supposedly 40m on a CB right now seems like pretty much the least efficient use of our resources
We need a forward and a CM significantly more than we need a backup CB.
He looks good but more like a cherry on the top signing when everything else has already been done. I just worry that we spend money on this guy then struggle to make up the funds for one of our significantly higher priorities elsewhere in the squad in this window
I think one of Zinchenko or Kiwior go if our interest in Calafiori is real. Most likely Kiwior because he has takers. I think Arteta has his eyes set on Calafiori because of versatility. Kiwior doesn't look as comfortable at fullback. Calafiori looks better technically.
But I really am skeptical of the news.
Your assessment is probably correct I just don’t agree with the club making him a high priority (first) signing when we have far more pressing needs
Like I said we could get this guy, fail to sell Kiwior or zinchenko and then we’re basically burdened with more defenders than we actually need or want. We already have timber for LB coming back as well (and he can play CB). This just feels like an extreme luxury signing if we do genuinely go for it. I don’t wanna see us halfway through next season with a 40m CB on the bench barely getting games whilst we are still unable to rest saka because his backup is Nelson who we (arteta) doesn’t trust.
Yep. If we don't get players in priority positions, this will look like crap. But if we do and manage to sell one of Kiwior or Zinchenko, it will look like a masterstroke.
Rice and Havertz in midfield sounds like Moyesball.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/inside-story-sol-campbells-arrival-2001
The day we signed the Spurs captain.
The day it was announced was a massive shocker. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the announcement. He was a nailed on signing for Barca right up to that point. They had even agreed to foot the bill for helicopters and private planes to get him home several times a year.
Most people who post on here know very well what are the current holes in our starting lineup. These are in LB and CF positions. If Calafiori is recruited he will be brought in as LB unless of course Arteta plans to play with 3 CBs.
The only other positions which need to be redressed are where Rice and Havertz are playing next
season. If Havertz moves back into midfield Rice will play DMF. If not we will recruit a new DMF.
Arteta may well decide to continue playing Havertz as a false Centre Forward. Frankly I have seen no-one playing in Europeans who merits a £100 million fee.
Perhaps our money would be better spent recruiting a quality midfielder and/or quality winger to
cover on both flanks.
No it’s lcm and left wing
Kai is very effective at centre forward and we have 3 extremely capable left backs
Who does the art work? Love it