Looking at our squad

Though the season's not over yet, I doubt this final month is going to change much in regards to our squad. Our perceived weaknesses have been a hot topic for discussion given recent failings and this has lead to the idea that an overhaul is required in the summer. The purpose of this thread is to see whether that's actually true or not, or whether it is, yet again, another case of needing "two or three more".

It'd be good to start with identifying what the weaknesses are. This is merely me own opinion, but, assuming everyone is fit and considering the way we want to play, I see these shortcomings:

• Lack of fourth choice centre back - No fourth choice centre back, be it an experienced or young player, means at least one of our three centre backs has to be overworked. This season, that's been Mertesacker.
  
  
• Full backs with inconsistent end product - Sagna and Gibbs are excellent defensive full backs, but their inability to consistently deliver good crosses, plus a reluctance to overlap and create overloads down the flanks limits us offensively.
  
  
• Lack of physical presence in central midfield - Our midfielders are technically superb but none of them have the strength or power needed in tough situations.
  
  
• Lack of "dribblers" in forward areas - Without players that can run at defenders, we're stuck having to almost exclusively rely on passing to break teams down and that limits us offensively.
  
  
• Lack of mobile and clinical centre forward - The ability to run in behind and stretch defences is needed for chance creation, the ability to score is self-explanatory.

Having identified the weaknesses, we now need solutions. They don't necessarily have to be buying new players, but I think for most of these issues, we're going need new personnel. So, keeping things as brief as possible:

• Add another centre back to the squad, either by buying one or promoting one from the U21s/U18s
  
  
• It's likely Sagna will leave, so this can be partly solved by buying a full back who's good going forward. Alternatively, you give more game-time to Jenkinson and Bellerin, both of which do offer something going forward despite their inexperience. Likewise, if Monreal leaves, we can replace him with a more offensively-able full back that can rotate with Gibbs.
  
  
• With nobody ready to step up from the youth teams, we're going to need to buy someone here at the expense of one of Arteta or Flamini.
  
  
• This is complicated by the fact that it would require one of the squads more talented players, Cazorla or Ozil, to drop out of the starting eleven. We've got internal solutions to this in the form of Gnabry, Chamberlain and Joel Campbell, but whether they have the necessary experience and consistency is another matter. Otherwise, you're looking at a new purchase.
  
  
• Likewise, an internal solution exists in the form of Walcott, though that in itself presents some new issues. Still, going this way, we'd need a new winger. Otherwise, again, we'd need to buy here, with Giroud becoming second choice.

If we go down the "buy new players" route as opposed to the "internal solutions" route, the squad would look like:

GK: Szczesny, New GK
CB: Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen, New CB
RB: New RB, Jenkinson/Bellerin
LB: Gibbs, Monreal/New LB
CM: Ramsey, Wilshere, Arteta, Flamini, New DM/CM
AM: Ozil, Rosicky
RW: Walcott, Chamberlain, Gnabry
LW: New LW, Cazorla, Podolski
CF: New CF, Giroud, Sanogo

Looking at it that way, only one player would need to leave, and that'd be Podolski. He's not solution to any of our issues, and on £100k p/w wages would be a costly player to keep around if a new winger comes in and restricts his playing time. I'm probably in the minority, but I'd be fine with Vermaelen and Monreal staying around.

To me, then, it looks like we can make additions to the squad without having to let of go of five or six players like some papers are suggesting.

What do we all think?

Assuming that Wenger is indeed staying and assuming that he won't change formation, it would be unrealistic to think that we'll sign more than 4 players, and even that's pushing it. I'm not against that either, signing a bunch of new players without changing in tactics will do us no good.

So I assume that a backup GK, a defensive midfielder, a left winger and a striker will be signed. Because there are no internal solutions for these positions in my opinion. Fabianski, Sagna and Podolski leaving. Hayden and Bellerin promoted from our youth team. Joel Campbell back from loan.

Our squad will look like this:

GK: Szczesny, New GK, Martinez
RB: Jenkinson, Bellerin
CB: Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Hayden
LB: Gibbs, Monreal
DM: New DM, Arteta, Flamini
CM: Wilshere, Ramsey, Diaby
AM: Özil, Cazorla, Rosicky
RW: Walcott, Campbell
LW: New LW, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gnabry
CF: New CF, Giroud, Sanogo

28 players and one may says it's too much but it's not really with the injuries creeping in the middle of the season.

This is why I am not so against wenger going at times as wenger said he only buys a maximum of 3 players. With some players potentially leaving we need a minimum of 6 players if we want to be truly complete.

However, since its likely wenger is staying we will only buy 3 players imo, that is why i suggested the 3 key position we NEED to improve to move on to the next level:
CB
DM
CF

DM and CF is self explained but i see urban left out the CB position. i understand people thinking that CB isnt an immediate weekness but next season i get the feeling we are going to have injury problems at the back, because this season we have been extremely lucky(for arsenal standards) in terms of injuries in that position.

hayden and verm are not good enough, this is a KEY position, this is not fullback, the cb's are the heart of our defence, what if merte and kosci get injuried you want to go into a pl game with verm and hayden as our CB pairing? lmfao

Trust me we have been watching this arsenal era for the last 9 years its going to happen if we dont address the 3rd/4th cb issue. With our injuries, the fact that kosc and merte have been fit for the majority of the season amazes me tbh.

Regarding left winger, yes we want a lw but its not do or die, we can do without for another season, we will still score goals.

same with the RB position, jenkinson and bellerini are inexperienced and not ideal but as i say wenger is only going to buy 3 players so it is not too bad to rely on these two.

again, GK is not a need, it is not too likely our gk will get injured and apparently martinez is meant to be good. if we happen to have a problem there then gk is one of the easier positions to reinforce in jan.

IMO half of these supposed signings can be avoided if we extend the contracts of a few players.

If the Arsenal board can convince the AST everytime that the money will be spent on signings,we will win trophies this season blah blah...I'm sure they can convince Sagna to extend his contract too.

And I've this feeling that Sagna might stay if we win the FA Cup and finish 3rd/4th.

As for the GK position,we need to extend Fabianski's contract.He has played very well whenever given the chance and almost eliminated all the chinks in his armor.We can use Madrid's strategy of allowing similar if not equal game times to both the GKs.

We do need a CB though.Whether it's one or two depends on Verm leaving.If it's going to be two I'm sure one of them will be from the youth/reserves(Ajayi,Plezeguelo or Hayden).The other CB must either be a upcoming youngster or a CB with loads of experience.And since we know AW's failure in signing the players of the latter group(Silvestre,Squid),we should sign a upcoming youngster IMO.

Next,to midfield,where the only problem I feel is the lack of an imposing destroyer/a pure DM.I guess Bender might be a good shout for DM,but its gonna cost a lot to get him though.Rode might be a cheaper option I guess.

Lastly in attack would prefer a winger & a striker or players who can play either roles with ease. Drmic comes to mind cos he seems good enough playing both as a winger and a striker.As for the pure strikers of the elite category a la Cavani,Costa I don't think we're in the running to sign anyone cos we will get bulldozed by the other clubs for sure.We had the chance of signing an elite striker in the form of Higgy last season but we missed out on him.The only semi-elite striker whom we might have a chance of signing is Jackson Martinez only because no one seems to be interested in him.But I can almost see us signing Remy and some wunderkid like Origi.And further we've got Campbell coming back too.So,two amongst Remy/Drmic/Martinez and Campbell.Also there is still Draxler whom AW might still want to pursue this season.

If we're ready to splash the cash we can have a formidable squad next season.

All these additions needed will be expensive. Like, Hella.

What l would do, ls sell Vermaelen and Nacho.. Monreal is a good player, but l'd hate to see him be wasted here.. He should go back to spain, just doesn't fit the team. And lmo, Verm is worth more to other teams than us. We could get close to 20m for him probably. Use that to buy 2 CBs, a RB and LB. Just totally refresh the backline and build around gibbs, kos and mert.

Arsenal have offered Fabianski a new deal, but he doesn't want to stay. He wants to go somewhere where he'll be the no. 1 keeper and I don't think we can begrudge him that at all. As fas as Sagna goes, I get the feeling that it's not really money or the contract length that's the main issue, but rather he just wants to leave. Hope I'm wrong but it seems unlikely he's going to stay at this point.

Incidentally, Hayden plays more as a holding midfielder than as a centre back these days. He can play centre back, but many agree that his best position is in midfield. So that only leaves Pleguezuelo, Ajayi and O'Connor as our centre back prospects and none are ready for the step-up. We're going to need to buy here.

Who do we sign only to be 4th choice? Do you think someone like Reid or Williams would accept such a role? Both are on their last year of their contracts and maybe would fancy a late big club move even if it means staying on the bench a lot?

chelsea have the most perfect cb rotation. they have cahil and terry as starters, then they have ivanovic who plays rb but also is a beast at cb, and luiz who can play DM and is also a beast at CB if needed, so chelsea's 3rd and 4th choice cb are always getting game time in different positions. we need something like this, we need more experienced flexible players that can play in multiple position.

Since Williams is being tapped by Benitez I think we'd have to offer more than 4th choice.

Not sure Jenkinson and Bellerin are ready to command the right on their own. Jenkinson hasn't had many opportunities this season so maybe being a starter next season would help him find the consistency needed to make the step up.

A powerful midfielder, striker are the most pressing. I'm not as concerned with a 4th choice CB. Chelsea, for example, have Terry-Luiz-Cahill and Ivanovic when he's not on the right. They don't have 4 fullbacks like we do so it shows that with better fitness maintenance, 7 defenders is doable.

It's very likely that you'll get that Aurier as a possible right back replacement for Sagna, right?
What's your thoughts on him?

Heard good things about his athleticism. I've watched one Ivory Coast game he played in but can't remember anything he did so I'm no expert.

Seems like he's extremely keen on joining given that he replies and interacts with anyone who asks about him and Arsenal. He's apparently offensively capable which is interesting.

Also he posted this:

Spoiler:

sounds like a no brainer to me.

Obviously I don't know him at all, but an Arsenal fan on another forum who's knowledge and opinion I respect called him his favourite choice, 'with a very high ceiling', that's why I remembered the name.

So maybe replacing Sagna won't be such a big problem after all, especially if you're looking for a RB with more attacking prowess, maybe that's all good.

We need at least 2 strikers(Balotelli+Drmic) and must keep all our players for next season. With a pacey striker upfront and a good defensive midfielder we will go a long way on the next PL season. We need a DM. Arteta is not good enough.

I know I could be wrong, but I strongly believe Sagna will stay at Arsenal.

Had we had Walcott, Özil and Ramsey for the crunch period we would have been able to press Liverpool, Chelsea and City back and possibly had a shot at the tittle Injuries happen.

Balotelli, Drmic, Draxler and Ginter/Bender. Keep Sagna, Vermaelen and next season we will be a force in Europe.

Seems like Ginter and possibly Drmic are Dortmund-bound, though, Raptor.

Chumlum wrote:Seems like Ginter and possibly Drmic are Dortmund-bound, though, Raptor.

I hope we do at least make a offer for them, I am sure they wont turn us down.

I know someone who's on speaking terms with Sagna (Not claiming to be an I-T-K lol) but she claims she is and that he's just fed up and wants to go, has been saying that for a while.

So I'm mentally prepping myself for the images of Sagna in another shirt, if we can get someone who's got as high of a ceiling as him, not as good yet, but more reliable than Jenk/Bellerin and for the reported £7.5m and that is so desperate to join us and only us then I'd be happy with that.


With Dortmund signing Ramos and sniffing at Immobile I think there's still a chance they don't sign Drmic, that is if they're still exploring their options. Although it would be very difficult since Immobile is very much apart of Juve's future and they co-own him.

But Ginter is a shame. Really bright future.

i have a strong feeling sagna is going to city.

I think that it is hard to look at our current squad at this point to determine what we could or should be doing in the transfer market. Players need to be determined based on the tactics that you want to use.
Will our tactics continue to try and emulate Barca? If so my opinion would be that we need a massive overhaul in attack.  We do not have players the caliber of Messi, Inesta, Cesc, Neymar, Pedro or Sanchez. As good as we like to think our team of AMs are, the possession without purpose football we play does not translate into silverware. We are also currently so dependent on our preferred XI that it is hard to overcome any injuries or extended absences. Will Walcott be able to come back and be everything he was this season and last? To me you can do whatever you want to the defense right now and it would not matter. If we can not score we can not win!
My opinion we need
1. TOP TOP TOP Striker - no faith in what we currently have.
2. TOP top right wing to deputize under Walcott or potentially start depending on injury concerns.
3. TOP TOP TOP Left wing. We do not have one.
4. Replacement for Artetta- He was never good enough.
5. Joel Campbel brought back. He can start across the top and will get games.
6. Sagna - If you acquire the top 4 here he will want to stay. Seeing a real chance to win.
7. 4th choice defender hopefully someone that can play CB, FB or DM.

I know wishful thinking. Just what I think it will take to win the EPL or even the CL.

Way too many signings, last time that we made more than 4 per transfer seasons, it's panic purchase and we still suffering from those i.e. Arteta, Park & lol Santos. On average, I expect Arsenal only could conduct one "good player" transfer per month w/o ability to run multiple at once.

So that's 3 months which means 3 solid signings who could slot right into 1st team and probably 1 or 2 loan back ups.

1. Wrap up Draxler prior World Cup, timing is crucial or this one could drag on and on.
2. World class striker, most likely it will be a hunt to the very end of the summer.
3. Solid DM

As for loanee, an experienced GK, Viviano might stay another year who knows.

That means as much as we hate to rely on the likes of TV5 or Nacho ( I dont' ) keeping them might be better options.

Whatever happened to the Morata links?

Buy

CB: Benatia (£30mill) make Mertesacker third choice and Vermealen fourth, if he isn't happy with fourth sell him and buy Richards (£10mill) who is versatile
RB: promote Bellerin, Richards in case of emergencies
DM: Lord Bender (£30 mill), make Arteta back up
LW: Draxler/Griezmann (£30mill)
CF: Benzema (£40)/Remy(£15)

Together=140 or 115 million pounds

Sell:

Sagna £20mill
Giroud £15mill
Vermealen £10mill
Podolski £10mill

Together £45mill

Net spent £70mill........perfectly plausible if Wegner isn't being stingy

your squad would look like

Goalies: Cheesny, Fabianski
RB: Richards, Bellerin, Jenkinson
CB: Benatia, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Richards
LB: Gibbs, Monreal
DM: Bender, Arteta
CM: Wilshere, Ramsey, Zelalem
RW: Walcott, Ox, Gnabry
AM: Ozil, Cazorla
LW: Draxler/Griezmann, Ox
CF: Remy, Sanogo

line up:

Bench: the rest

Couple of things Hala:

Is there any particular reason why Mertesacker should be third choice, given he's been our most consistent centre half for the past two seasons and is a leader on the pitch?

Sagna's out of contract in the summer. We're not going to get any money for him. Richards isn't a good enough replacement.

£15mil for Giroud is way too optimistic, as is £10mil for Podolski.

Remy has a £8mil release clause, or something similar to that. Won't cost £15mil.

I admire Mertesackers attitude but I think you could do better than him. He is very slow and doesn't defend well when the ball is played on the ground as opposed to in the air. The fact that Arsenals defensive record went down the drain after Koscielny's injury speaks volumes. As I said I admire his willingness to do well but sometimes you gotta look beyond that.

Wasn't Sagna in contract talks earlier this season?? besides Bale signed a new contract about 3 months before we got him. I think he has the decency to do the same. There aren't many good rbs out there today. all these players thrown around in epl like coleman and clyne are just too inexperienced to make the big jump and be starters. I was thinking of a more stop gap thing until bellerin settles into the first team and becomes the starter.

I think the french clubs still admire Giroud after his time there. Also Inter are desperate to buy anyone at the moment. Won't be surprised if they bought him for so much.

I agree I was a little over optimistic with Podolski, but if callejon went for so much. So could Podolski. you just gotta find the right buyer

Remy's release clause is so low wow. You could even buy him as a back up and see if a wc striker comes along

What is clear is that the money is there and with the right negotiations you should be able to bring in a couple of wc players

goonerjay, dont you think making mertesacker 3rd choice for next season would be a great idea?, he would be fantastic depth and since its after the world cup/he would be 30, i think he would accept that role. would give us the depth we need at the back.

buy a wc/top CB to compliment kosci.

Not really. I think Mertesacker is an excellent defender, even more so when paired up with Koscielny. That partnership has done very, very well this season and a few poor results isn't enough for me to change my opinion.

I don't see a need to tinker with it all. By all means, bring in a better player than Vermaelen to bolster our options, but Mertesacker offers composure, intelligence and leadership to the backline. His being slow has very rarely been a problem, and him "not defending well when the ball is on the ground" is blatantly not true, given his ability to intercept the ball and cleanly tackle players running at him.

Arsenal's defensive record has suffered because the whole team has not played well in the big games, and because Vermaelen and Monreal aren't as good as Koscielny and Gibbs. Monreal was culpable of two of Everton's three goals against us, while Vermaelen played his part in one of them and was culpable for Bony's goal for Swansea against us.

Again, the partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny is fine. It's taken two to three seasons to get a solid defence in place and the last thing we need to be doing is putting in another defender, especially when you've got a new right back to integrate at the same time.