Re: The Official Summer Transfer Rumours Thread

[Jay29]

Arsenal are working on a deal to sign Switzerland right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer when the 34-year-old’s Juventus contract expires this summer. Lichtsteiner a long-term target who #AFC see adding experience/leadership to head coach Unai Emery’s squad #Juve #SUI

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) May 25, 2018

[Jay29]

Arsenal making moves for Sevilla GK Sergio Rico https://t.co/rcUhmcKU6O

— Osman (@OsmanZtheGooner) May 25, 2018

"Making moves" is a bit much. The article only speculates on Rico's future as he was dropped for David Soria towards the end of the season and Emery happens to be our manager now (Emery gave Rico his debut). It says Arsenal might be interested but that's it.

Rico hasn't been in great form recently and has made a few high-profile and silly mistakes in his positioning and handling. He can pull off some world class saves when he's on form, but I don't think he's anywhere near the level of Lloris or Courtois, nevermind Oblak or De Gea.

[Sina]

i have accepted for a while that we will sign underwhelming average GK tbh
So not bothered who we get

[El Gunner]

^^ for that fact alone, it is about time we start investing in a quality GK ffs

[urbaNRoots]

Why have we not signed Leno yet ffs, best GK available after Allison and Oblak.

As for Lichtsteiner, excellent addition of experience and quality if we can pull it off.

[Chumlum]

Lichtsteiner seems like an oddly sensible signing.

I guess the big question is whether a 34-year-old fullback will cut it in the PL for the first time, but if he's signed as a rotation option, it likely won't hurt the team much in the worst case anyway.

[S]

Licht will do fine in the PL. Maybe not as a starter for you but definitely as a solid backup. You have too many softies in your team. About time you signed up some c*nts too. He still has excellent endurance even at this age.

[RealGunner]

Yea I think Lichsteiner is a good move. Probably better than Bellerin defensively tbh

[rincon]

Licht us pretty finished but he is a top personality to have around. The enthusiasm of a new challenge can probably get him to perform for 1-2 seasons well again like Evra did for us.

[Chumlum]

Gunnerblog: "Someone very well-placed at Arsenal told me this summer they intended to sign “men”."

https://twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/1000059861231599621

[El Gunner]

okay.
So reading off that, currently we mostly have "boys", which isn't a stretch tbf.

[Sina]

Sanllehi/Mislintat have got the connections
if they can Sign Ousmane Dembele then they will be forgiven for whatever scrubs they sign for foreseeable future

[Chumlum]

I don't think there's anything credible, but a few places are running with Emil Forsberg rumors.

Shrug.

[Sina]

RB Leipzig have agreed a deal for Red Bull Salzburg’s Amadou Haidara, according to Bild. #RBL #RBS

— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) May 27, 2018

Amadou Haidara Player to watch for sure

[Great Leader Sprucenuce]

Gunnerblog: "Someone very well-placed at Arsenal told me this summer they intended to sign “men”."

https://twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/1000059861231599621

[Twoism]

If Licht is free then sure but I have several flashback to Mikael Silvestre

[Chumlum]

Gunnerblog: "Someone very well-placed at Arsenal told me this summer they intended to sign “men”."

https://twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/1000059861231599621

Ha, I'll see you, and raise you ...



I only hope that if this info is true, it means "players who are seasoned, determined, and don't need coddling" ... not men as synonym for old, overpaid, etc.

Not against aging Lichtsteiner though. He's an experienced, free, trophy-winning depth player in a position where we need depth and our starter is still young. Makes a lot of sense imho. I feel less confident about Sokratis, but Twoism, I don't quite get Silvestre vibes either. Emery seems to improve a lot of his players, including those who are otherwise inconsistent in their careers. If he can do that with Sokratis it would be a successful signing in my book. A world class defense is desirable, obviously, but we're a Europa league team without oil money, so players who are simply able to be good, reliable, and work together make up the first real benchmark. Especially in the backline. I'm going to try to be cautiously optimistic if Sokratis indeed signs for us.

[Hapless_Hans]

Sokratis is all but done according to kicker. The player has decided to join Arsenal, clubs now need to agree on a fee in the region of 15-20m

[RealGunner]

[Twoism]

I guess he’s not good then, hardly watch him but people on Arsenal mania seem to drool over prospect of Sokratis- Benatia partnership.

[Jay29]

As per @JackPittBrooke Arsenal close to signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Dortmund. Latest acquisition led by Sven Mislintat, continues drive to rebuild defence/squad with experience/leadership. #AFC prioritising ready players & will integrate youth (eg Mavropanos) over time

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) May 28, 2018

The objective seems clear. We're looking for experienced guys who can perform right away to get us back into the CL ASAP, which will then make rebuilding the squad easier.

Quite where this leaves Chambers, Holding and Mavropanos I'm not sure. Holding's new deal suggests he's still in the club's thinking and Mavropanos is still new. Maybe Chambers will end up being sold but he finished the season quite strong and seemed to be ahead of Holding in the squad, at least in Wenger's eyes.

It'd work out great if, in two-three years time, these guys are ready to step-up and perform every week, but not every young player is going to develop as we hope.

[El Gunner]

Yeah I think Chambers is done tbh.
Holding has had a very disappointing season considering how he ended the season prior to it.

[Hapless_Hans]

He's alright. At the current moment (meaning koscielny finished or temporarily finished), probably the best CB at Arsenal, until Mavropalevtherios proves us wrong
Still honestly can't quite believe just how outrageously terrible Mustafi turned out though

[S]

Still honestly can't quite believe just how outrageously terrible Mustafi turned out though

Maybe Emery can rebuild him again.

[Hapless_Hans]

btw

am I the only one thinking this whole Sven Mislintat stuff is pretty laughable?

Never heard of a head scout being mentioned all the time with such fanfare, and then what he does is sign all those semi-exciting elderly players from his former club?

GTFO you clown, and start delivering. Where's the Lewandowski for 4m €, or 17 year old Pulisic for Arsenal?

[Jay29]

He only gets brought up a lot because the club want people to know who's in charge of recruitment and that things are going to be different from now on. That's a been big a theme - "catalyst for change", anyone? - for a good year now.

In any case, it's way too early to be assessing Mislintat's work. Sure, it's a bit unoriginal to keep going back to Dortmund, but there are a couple of reasons for this. One is that it's obvious he knows their players extremely well. Another is that it's where his strongest contacts are. So not only are the signings reliable (in terms of knowing what we're getting), but also convenient.

Not that anyone should complain right now, because it's this method that has gotten players like Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang at the club.

And while we're asking him to unearth gems, he did sign Mavropanos. His first signing, in fact. Time will tell if he's any good or not of course, but he has dipped into that youth market. I think we'll see more signings like that as time goes by and the squad is in less urgent need of repair.

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