The Official Summer Transfer Rumours Thread

[RealGunner]

Best thing would be for him to stay at Fulham till he is at least 20/21.

[Unique]

Best thing would be for him to stay at Fulham till he is at least 20/21.

defo.

[Jay29]

So, been thinking about the summer after the Wenger news. It's difficult to tell what the plan will be without knowing who's going to be in charge, but here's how I see things:

Keeper: Cech is done as a top level player and needs replacing. Ospina will probably leave if Cech gets bumped down to number two.

Defence: I could make a case for buying four new centre backs. If Koscielny has found a way to manage his Achilles better then great, that's one problem solved. But he absolutely needs a better partner than Mustafi. Mustafi might improve under the new manager but when our depth is Chambers and Holding, I wouldn't be comfortable relying on him. So at least one new first choice CB is needed (not Jonny *bleep* Evans), plus maybe a younger CB for third/fourth choice.

Bellerin needs competition at right back since Chambers sucks there and Maitland-Niles needs to be in midfield. I think Monreal and Kolasinac are fine for left back options for now, especially as Kola is another who could improve under a new coach or in a different system.

Midfield: Oh boy. Cazorla still needs replacing, Wilshere will need replacing, Ramsey's future completely up in the air. That's a lot of creativity being lost in one go. We definitely need a DM who's more mobile than Xhaka is, preferably one who's a good passer as well (like N'Zonzi). I also think we could do with a midfielder who can break lines with dribbling (the one thing Wilshere was always good at) for games when we can't break teams down with passing. Elneny, Xhaka and Ramsey can't do this. The other option is to play Mkhi deeper (which is a waste) or give AMN more games there.

Attack: Auba and Laca means we're set for strikers. Welbeck and Nketiah provide extra cover there. Mkhi should be on one flank, and Ozil in the middle as usual. So that leaves the other flank. We could do with a winger to add more diversity to the attack. If we can get one with a good scoring record as well that'd be great. If not, we may have to look for a wide forward.

So the bare minimum for me would be:
GK, CB, RB, CM, Winger.

[urbaNRoots]

Completely agreed.

We’re going to have to be smart to be able to sign players in so many positions while maintaining the quality of the squad.

Schalke’s Max Meyer would be a good signing because he would come as a free agent and is a direct improvement on Wilshere while also challenging Ramsey for the position. That would cover us for the CM position without having to exhaust the budget.

For the DM position, I don’t think we should be looking at the fancy options, you can sign great defensive midfielders for relatively cheap prices if we look around.

GK and CB, I would hope we spend a lot if needed because we are in desperate need for quality there. 3 players at least.

Winger also important imo, our new manager will most likely prefer having wingers in his team and we have 0 wingers, having one option at least should be a priority. Heavy investment needed.

[Chumlum]

Between the World Cup and #Wexit, this transfer window is going to be a doozy.

No idea what kind of formation would make the most sense with the squad that will remain, so in some ways it's not clear what types of players or positions the club would need to target.

[Sina]

Haven't even watched that much of L.Bailey but we badly need our own version of Sane

We need a left winger badly.

Why aren't we In For Ryan Sessegnon?

[RealGunner]

I assume it's due to the price.

Also obviously now it will depend on the new manager.

[Sina]

Arsenal war-chest alert...new manager will also be restricted financially after big squad spending of last two years on fees and a wage-bill that's never been higher. Summer budget (before sales) is around £50m: https://t.co/eNPcNtzUUR

— Jeremy Wilson (@JWTelegraph) April 23, 2018

Lets sign some top top players with £50m budget in 2018

[Sina]

our first XI isn't That bad but obviously needs some improvement but in fairness most improvement should come with better Coaching

[El Gunner]

Need an entire new CB pairing!

[Chumlum]

Need an entire new CB pairing!

Agree with this. The necessary signings will depend a lot on what formation/tactics options the club will go with next season but it's hard to imagine that at least one new center-back isn't the top (or top two) priority.

[Jay29]

On that note:

Bild (via Sport Witness) seem pretty sure Sokratis Papastathopoulos is on the way thanks to Mislintat.

http://sportwitness.co.uk/big-news-germany-e20m-transfer-arsenal-now-probable-player-verge-move/

Can't wait to field Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Konstantinos Mavropanos at the back.

[urbaNRoots]

Mislintat is starting to piss me off with his Dortmund obsession, there‘s a reason their defence is shit and Sokratis is one of the reasons.

Imagine fielding Mustafi and Sokratis in the same team

[Chumlum]

The Sun says that if Enrique comes to manage he wants a £200m war chest. Only Auba & Laca are safe in their jobs, and he wants to bring in Radja Nainggolan.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6137767/luis-enrique-200m-transfer-arsenal-strikers-safe-axe/

The Sun also reports that Bernd Leno might be out for £17.5 mil

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/6152462/arsenal-bernd-leno-atletico-madrid-napoli-premier-league/

Crap sources, but let's ride the train guys

[Sina]

£200m war chest  
may have to sell Ramsey,Bellerin and Lacazette then lol
Nagelsmann/Arteta will work on a budget(50M) and wont complain

[Jay29]

A good time to point out that plenty of "wish fulfilment" reports will be written that will conveniently tick all the boxes fans want ticked. Huge budget? Check. New manager wants to sell everyone? Check. And so on.

[Hapless_Hans]

If I'm not mistaken Sokratis was strongly linked to Arsenal in earlier years

maybe lazy journos are just embellishing old rumours with new contextual circumstances

[Hapless_Hans]

Oh it's Bild? Yeah then I guess it's probably happening.

[Sina]

Freiburg defender Çağlar Söyüncü will join Arsenal, according to Altınordu chairman Seyit Mehmet Özkan: "Arsenal demanded his youth information from us. We'll earn from him if he joins Arsenal. Bayern Munich wants him too but he's on the way to the Premier League." #AFC #FCB #SCF

— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) May 3, 2018

[urbaNRoots]

Strength: BRAVERY

Elite signing.

[RealGunner]

Hope he is a closet brexiter

[El Gunner]

Need dat dere bravery

[Jay29]

Koscielny out for six months with a torn achilles. He's done as a top level player.

A first choice centre back is absolutely vital now. Mustafi is the most senior player we have there and he's garbage. Would rather play Mavropanos than him.

[Twoism]

If we go into next season with Mustafi as leader- defender we’re *bleep*. I would rather play Monreal there and lets new coach drill kolasinac into proper leftback. I dont see us signing any top class defender w/o CL football.

[Chumlum]

Kos

His early 30s, like Cazorla's, really shouldn't have turned out like this. So unfortunate.

I don't think we'll sign really big players at CB, but defense is also something that can be improved a lot through better organization, tactics, and drilling. The mere addition of Sokratis or Caglar Sümläüt might not turn our back line into Atleti or Juve, but some fresh blood under new management could yield significant improvements. I'll remain hopeful.

What I think the squad needs right now: 1-2 CBs, a new back-up RB probably (unless Bellerin is sold & sufficiently replaced, and/or Osei-Tutu is given a green light to understudy), at least one deep midfielder, a GK, and a winger.

What I would wager we'll get (right now): one potentially good CB, a new GK (but not necessarily a #1 choice), a new Wilshere contract, and a teenager to play in midfield or on the flanks.

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