Re: The Official Summer Transfer Rumours Thread

[Great Leader Sprucenuce]

I was very unimpressed with him in our quarter final tbh.

Also doubt its true, A Bola are not exactly what you would call reliable.

[boyzis]

@Orbinho

Higuain chance conversion rate (no penalties) season 2011-12 43%, 2012-13 32% - Average Premier League striker 16%.

Personally I would take Rooney over any striker Wenger is looking at.He knows the PL and is a versatile hard working player. Sign Rooney now and attract more players later.

Jovetic may be good but compared to roon and higuain he still is work under process. I mean this realistic target jojo is not what arsenal require. They need an unrealistic target.

[RealGunner]

I was very unimpressed with him in our quarter final tbh.

Also doubt its true, A Bola are not exactly what you would call reliable.

I'd prefer Ola John instead

[Great Leader Sprucenuce]

I was very unimpressed with him in our quarter final tbh.

Also doubt its true, A Bola are not exactly what you would call reliable.

I'd prefer Ola John instead

He was meh as well tbh Tried to do far too much on his own.

But i do think he has more ability.

[Raptorgunner]

Morning all.

A very quick Saturday round-up for you. Plenty of debate still going on after Ivan’s words the other day. The conclusion, regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, is that it all sounds great but now back it up with actually doing stuff. Use the money, buy the players, make the team better, and let’s see what happens then.

There are always going to be optimists and pessimists, the overly cynical and those who might be classed as too trusting, but hopefully the club can satisfy all concerned this summer. It’s obvious that we need improve the team, it’s obvious that we have to be more competitive, and it’s blindingly obvious now that we have the means and the resources to do it. Now, just do it.

In terms of players being linked with us there’s still loads of chatter about Wayne Rooney (none of which I believe) and Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid. The Argentine has confirmed he’ll be leaving, but Juventus seem favourites at the moment. There’s a quote racketing around in which Higauin says Arsenal would suit him. Both @AAllenSport and I have been trying to find the original of that beyond it appearing in the Metro.

The Mail then used it, saying ‘Higuain told Metro’, but Higuain didn’t tell Metro anything. Then the Spanish papers picked up it up and ran with the ‘according to the Mail/Metro’ thing, and we all know how reliable that was. The closest we got to finding out the source was an Italian article which suggested (we think) that somebody was lip-reading Higuain at the end of season bit on the Madrid pitch and he either said Arsenal suited him or he’d like to go to Juventus. Or maybe he wanted a sandwich. I dunno.

http://arseblog.com/2013/06/saturday-round-up-higuain-and-fellaini-slight-debunking/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arseblog+%28Arseblog+-+It%27s+*bleep*%27+excellent+-+an+Arsenal+blog%29

[Wilson37]

The perfect Arsenal signings will be:
Fabregas: For creating the chances.
Higuan: For finishing the chances created by Fabregas.
Bender: For clean-up services in the mid-field.

It's true this would be a really impressive haul, but the thing about getting two midfielders this summer (and this holds true to some extent even if they were lower profile, like Grenier & Imbula) is that the midfield is already packed.

Imagine Fabregas, Bender, Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky - all six of them competing for three spots. Even if we accept that Rosicky isn't a regular starter due to his advancing years & injury history, and if Ramsey is slightly demoted despite his excellent second half of the past season, that's still four players who more or less demand to be in a starting trio. (Do we bench Arteta because he's not a "WC DM," though he's a de facto captain and also the club's most consistent midfielder in the post-Cesc era?) And this is considering that Cazorla gets pushed out wide (making the forward line itself more crowded) and that the Ox doesn't get playing time in midfield!

Not to mention that there's still a possibility that Diaby, Coquelin, or Frimpong may yet play a role for Arsenal in midfield - even if it seems unlikely for any of them at this point.

It's an issue, and it's why I'm still skeptical that the club are in for a creative central attacking midfielder in addition to a deeper player.

Even though the mid-field is packed, I think a creative mid-fielder is important. Lets face it, only Cazorla among the current mid-field has the talent to consistently unlock defences with passes. Good teams will simply block him off. Wilshere has tenacity, decent ball control and good dribbling ability but his passing is not up to scratch yet. Additionally our wing players such as Podolski, Walcott and Alex-Ox are direct players with only OX possessing some degree of dribbling skills.
If a compromise has to be made i will go for a Arteta-Ramsey partnership as it provides more defensive balance and Get Cesc Back.

We can get a world-class striker but without proper service he will not be effective. Whether it be Higuan, Rooney or anybody else A creative mid-fielder will be required unless we get a striker like Suarez who has the pace and dribbling skills to create chances for himself, and when that does not work is not afraid to Bite opponents.

we can do with a Arteta-Ramsey/Wilshere midfield if we can get a true quality CAM like Cesc.. we definitely struggled to create chances against teams with good defence.. some team pressed us and nullified our threat including Cazorla.. none of them would dare to do this with Cesc.. if they do, a through ball goes through or a lofted pass and they are one down.. i cant imagine how much damage would the new improved Walcott do with Cesc in the team..

[Chumlum]

A little bit of reading about some possible PL transfers from Michael Cox - thought I'd post it here since three involve Arsenal (Jovetic, Fabregas, Higuain):

http://www.freebets.org.uk/blog/10-potentially-pivotal-premier-league-summer-transfers

[Raptorgunner]

How many of you truly believe we are after WC players? I dont trust Donkey face and Wenger.

[RealGunner]

Define WC players

[Wilson37]

We have dropped our interest in Jovetic. Not pursued him since last month and that's mainly because of them asking for 30m. I think he is our 3rd choice after Higuain and Rooney.

I would love jovetic, but surely 30m for Rooney is a better deal ?

Rooney would most definitely be a better deal. He's a goalscorer. Jovetic isn't so much. And Rooney is a proven commodity in the Premier League.

Here's an interesting analysis from a couple of weeks ago that demonstrates Jovetic's poor conversion rate and the fact that he basically inhabits the same areas of the pitch as Cazorla:

Tactical Analysis: How would Stevan Jovetic improve Arsenal’s striking options?

i always thought Jovetic was the superior option because of his technical quality and him being able to play CF, SS or LF, he can play along with Giroud, who i still see as a very good CF.. this article makes me feel that the other way, ie after all Higuain is not a bad option.. provided that we improve our creativity by signing Cesc or another quality midfielder.. we must surely not spend >20 million on Jovetic if cant play good as a CF.. i dont know much about Jovetic.. apart from the conversion rate, is he not good enough to play as the lone CF..?

[Raptorgunner]

Define WC players

The players that we are linked with in the papers, some may not be wc but still great players.

Rooney, Jovetic, Fabregas, Higuain.

[RedOranje]

How many of you truly believe we are WC players? I dont trust Donkey face and Wenger.

I don't believe I'm a WC player, but I'm certain you are. How else would you feel so comfortable completely writing off those that are paid millions and millions to play the game for a living as not good enough?

[MJ]

Define WC players

A world class player should be someone who could arguably make any given world XI. Only players I would dare throw in that mix from our midst would be Koscielny and Cazorla.

Wouldn't do that so confidently though as I would have with RVP.

[Sina]

[RealGunner]

I've given up.

Cba with this anymore

[EL Patron]

so true

[Sina]

disinterested and Bored at least until real activity starts

bring back the days we didnt know much details before it happened

[RealGunner]

Not even going to trust Times/Guardian any more

[Lex]

And the window hasn't even opened yet lol

[Great Leader Sprucenuce]

Lol i haven't followed any transfer news in weeks lmao.

I used to check Newsnow like every hour to see if something had happened but cba too stressful.

When something happens it happens

[CBarca]

I only learn of transfers from you guys (well, more like GL) and if I get bored I might look something up.

Most of it is shite, I just enjoy discussing it

[RedOranje]

I've been following it, but that's because Liverpool ARE actually active at the moment...

[Red Alert]

The window isn't even open yet.

[Red Alert]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/10107429/Arsenal-keen-on-signing-Real-Madrids-Gonzalo-Higuain.html

According to that, you guys have a 70m transfer budget.

The telegraph is normally reliable with Liverpool related news. Not sure if they're reliable when it comes to Arsenal though.

It could make sense in theory, with that said.

You guys are debt free now, aren't you? And with this new TV deal coming in, along with being in the CL, could make you have a massive budget. Especially when your chairman, or some fellow from your board came out and said you guys have a lot to spend.

[CBarca]

Arsenal have always had a lot to spend though. At least, I'm sure they are capable.

But Wenger isn't going to go out and spend a lot of it at once or on one player. That's not his style.

[<(^^,)>]

Arsenal fans could finally have their wishes granted this summer as Arsene Wenger draws up plans of a record breaking summer of spending, with swoops for striker Gonzalo Higuain and midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Lars Bender. The three targets would together cost a whopping £62 million and after an eighth season of failure, Wenger looks prepared to loosen his purse strings this summer, reported the Daily Mail.

Olivier Giroud has failed to live up to the high standards set by Robin van Persie at the Emirates and Wenger is prepared to launch a £25 million bid for Real Madrid ace Higuain. Having warmed the bench on several occasions at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Argentine could consider a move to the Emirates where he would undoubtedly lead the attack on a weekly basis.

Wenger is also looking to revamp his midfield and is considering a move for Borussia Dortmund’s defensive midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. The 22 year-old German was instrumental in Dortmund’s run to the Champions League final and even netted the equalizer at Wembley a fortnight ago before Robben’s heroics took Bayern Munich to the European throne. Dortmund would command a fee in excess of £20 million for Gundogan and Wenger has already lined up another German, Bayer Leverkusen’s Lars Bender as an alternative target.

[Sponsored content]