The Official Summer Transfer Rumours Thread

[Great Leader Sprucenuce]

Philippe Auclair ‏@PhilippeAuclair 3m3 minutes ago
Nabil Fekir, supposed target of a number of top European clubs, has confirmed he'll stay at Olympique Lyonnais for at least one more year.

Because a random chocolate has figured out how to tweet transfer rumours doesn't mean we should listen imo.

[RealGunner]

lmfaoooooo

+1 Sri

[Sri]

a random chocolate

ffs moal

[El Gunner]

Mole

[RealGunner]

Speaking about the central defenders at his disposal - Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Calum Chambers and Gabriel - Wenger said: "Four is enough.

"(Mathieu) Debuchy can play there, (Nacho) Monreal can play there, so you can say we are not out to buy a central defender. And Gabriel will be a great central defender, believe me."

[RealGunner]

According to Alan Smith, he's heard that Milner is off to Arsenal in summer.

Thoughts?

[Hapless_Hans]

don't think Milner would or should get more playing time at Arsenal than City

[McAgger]

According to Alan Smith, he's heard that Milner is off to Arsenal in summer.

Thoughts?

please be true

[RealGunner]

Well if he is coming to Arsenal it will be as a replacement for Diaby/Arteta so it probably will be a good move for us.

[Twoism]

Flamini and Diaby out and Milner in, yeap that's acceptable with reasonable contract

[B-Mac]

According to Alan Smith, he's heard that Milner is off to Arsenal in summer.

Thoughts?

poor mans Park Ji Sung


but honestly would be a good depth signing, Milner is a good professional and a versatile player

[urbaNRoots]

Don't need Milner, let Liverpool have him.

[MJ]

Diaby, Arteta, Flamini, Rosicky all possibly leaving, Milner in on a free ain't bad at all imo.

[Artilleristen]

Milner is awfull

[Chumlum]

Nah, Milner is a really good all-round player. He works hard, he contributes in attack and defense, and you can stick him almost anywhere in midfield if you need to.

I'm going to hold off until there's something more credible/detailed before I form a more nuanced opinion though.

[El Gunner]

As long as he respects and acknowledges squad responsibility, then yes.

[urbaNRoots]

£100k+/week for a 30 year old squad player VAGI

We really should be looking at a higher level, he's not good enough to start for us in midfield or wings and squad players who are not good enough to challenge for a place in the first team are useless.

Sami Khedira who is a free agent too, is available on similar wages and far far better player. That's the quality we should be looking to sign. Not saying that Khedira is what we need, but if we are signing a free agent midfielder on high wages we better do it right.

[MJ]

£100k+/week for a 30 year old squad player VAGI

We really should be looking at a higher level, he's not good enough to start for us in midfield or wings and squad players who are not good enough to challenge for a place in the first team are useless.

Sami Khedira who is a free agent too, is available on similar wages and far far better player. That's the quality we should be looking to sign. Not saying that Khedira is what we need, but if we are signing a free agent midfielder on high wages we better do it right.

Would accept either but Milner is a year older than Khedira who has missed around 60 games in the last few seasons through injury. That's a huge risk there.

Add homegrown and virtually no injuries over the past 6 seasons to Milner btw.

[Chumlum]

Plus Milner can play on the flank.

I don't understand what the vitriol is against a player like him. It's one thing to say "not what we need, no thanks imo." It's another to go on like he's crap or something. Versatile workhorses who can put in many years in a top team aren't exactly a dime a dozen. Park, Kuyt ... it's good to have a player or two like that in the squad.

I agree, Khedira is comparable in that he'd be an experienced, high-wage free agent who isn't quite "what we need." But I don't think that Khedira would be an overwhelmingly better choice.

[Sina]

i would defo take Milner
wage not an issue when we release/offload some fringe players
=======
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/11599953/Arsenal-are-in-dire-need-of-a-truly-great-and-giant-goalkeeper.html

Arsene Wenger must now realise that signing a top-class, imposing keeper is his top priority - and none would be better than Petr Cech

There are moments with Arsene Wenger when the expression is more revealing than the actual answer.

He was asked at the start of the month whether Arsenal needed a new goalkeeper and there was a lengthy pause while his mind computed how to handle what is clearly a delicate subject. “Not necessarily,” he finally said.

Two weeks earlier, he had also been asked whether Wojciech Szczesny, his number one for most of the past four years, had a long-term future at the club. There was also a pause. “I hope yes,” he said. “But, at the moment, it is very difficult to answer that question.”

It was then put to him that David Ospina had been the reason for the club’s upturn in form. Wenger, quite rightly, quickly pointed out that the difference in 2015 had been the availability of key outfield players, notably Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny, as well as the emergence of Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin.

He did add that Szczesny was a “great” goalkeeper and that Ospina had done a “fantastic” job but the implications seemed clear enough. At the very least, the situation is under review and it would not be a major surprise if Wenger has already decided that goalkeeper and not holding midfield has become his new transfer priority this summer.

Monday night's defeat to Swansea only reinforced the view that Ospina was a sound replacement for Lukasz Fabianski as back-up in the Premier and Champions League, as well as perhaps first choice in the FA and League Cup, but is not the genuinely world-class presence that virtually every great team has.

Yes, he should have saved Bafetimbi Gomis’s header yet the wider issue is simply whether, at 6ft tall, he has the physical stature of the absolute elite is his position. The history of the Premier League tells us everything we need to know about the importance of a team’s goalkeeper. Between them, Petr Cech, David Seaman, Edwin van der Sar, Joe Hart, Thibaut Courtois and Peter Schmeichel were regulars in 17 of the title winning teams since 1993.

They all also stand between 6ft 3ins and 6ft 7ins tall. As Brian Clough said when he was questioned by Nottingham Forest directors for signing Peter Shilton in 1977 for a then unthinkable fee of £270,000, “a team with an OK goalkeeper is always looking over its shoulder. I’d have paid almost any price”.

The directors presumably had rather fewer reservations three years, two European Cups, two League Cups and one League title later. If Clough were still alive today, you can also imagine that he would place both Szczesny and Ospina in the “OK” category.

Still only 25, Szczesny might yet fulfil his potential but it is the single most urgent area of his team that Wenger should address this summer to bridge the gap to Chelsea. The great irony is that the perfect answer may come from within the Chelsea dressing-room. It is no secret that Cech will seek a new challenge this summer rather than face another season as understudy to Courtois.

It is known that he is settled and happy in London. The sense that a gentleman’s agreement has been reached with Chelsea whereby he can join a club of his choice is also clear. It certainly felt like some internal Chelsea politics were being aired on Friday when Mourinho was asked about Cech and, for the first time, made the point that he would rather keep him against his will than join a Premier League rival like Arsenal.

The big caveat, however, was Mourinho’s admission that it was not ultimately his decision. It felt either like the start of a Mourinho bid to stop Cech from joining another Premier League club or, even more intriguingly, a very calculated attempt to distance himself from a decision by owner Roman Abramovich that he cannot support.

It is situation with potentially huge ramifications. Cech is still only 32; two years younger than Van der Sar when he finally joined Manchester United and then went on to win eight major trophies. The arrival at Arsenal of a goalkeeper with his stature could be as transformative as Shilton at Forest or Van der Sar at United.

Arsene pls

[RealGunner]

Would absolutely love Cech at Arsenal. Let's see if Chelsea are going to let it happen or not.

We should then try and tempt Lloris.

After that, we might have to spend quite a bit of money. Maybe try for Diego Alves or someone in Bundesliga.

[MJ]

Bild say Arsenal and Atletico are the only two parties currently in for Ilkay Gundogan atm with Bayern and United hesitant due to his injury record.

Kike Marin mentions Wenger likes Pogba, nothing new there, but that he's, obviously, very expensive.

[RealGunner]

Kike Marin knows nothing

[Twoism]

So with the Benz sub today, should I say we have our little chance or the Frenchman ?

[silver]

He got subbed because he just returned from injury. No other reason.

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