Arsenal

[The Fox]

I think Ox can be that guy who is a definite starter when fit, he has all the attributes to have a breakout season, IF he can stay fit. That's the key issue for him, same as with Wilshere and Gnabry.

I rate Sterling really highly but he's a bit similar to Ox for me. I'd be surprised if were willing to splurge huge money on him to be honest, especially as Man City need his homegrown status much more than we do. I know Reus signed a new deal recently but it's hard to say if that's because he genuinely wants to stay at Dortmund for the time being, or if it was more about them getting a better price for him. Obviously he's a fair bit older than Sterling but I think he's more different to what we have already, and is certainly more of a goal threat.

To be honest though, I think we'll sign one player in central midfield or wide, but not both. Signing a top guy in both positions would kill Wilshere and rightly or wrongly I don't think Wenger will do that at this point.

[Gotters]

I'm not convinced about Ox, if forced to place a wager I think I'm leaning towards him not being top drawer, but he has looked better this season and seems to have learnt from Alexis (he almost seems to mimic alexis' style of commitment and tracking back)

I think in order our shopping list should be keeper (a starter, like Cech), centre back, cover striker, central holder (if better than Coquelin)

[Tourist]

Has this already been shared?

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/21/arsene-wenger-arsenal-the-martyr-of-islington

My favourite bit:

Compare: Mourinho is Wenger’s actual opposite on each of these counts – an appalling match-day pragmatist who’s almost never managed any club other than the richest in his league.

Oh, and this:

And his most notable on-field achievement, the 49-game Invincible run, is less about the league title than the brief triumph over the surly incident by which teams lose. A religious experience, an ecstasy. A year-long suspension of the awkward rules of football, when Arsenal were blessed, when an assassin like Van Nistelrooy would sky a penalty just because they’d risen up above the sport itself. “The games the champions lose” are the death’s head in any sport, the grim reminder that no matter how much humans may become, we’ll always be subjects to some kind of chance – subjects of loss, and distance, and difficulty. Those are the rules, of life as well as football, and once, Arsène and his team managed to break them. Isn’t that suspension, that perfection, so much better than mere Mourinho-ish winning?

[The Fox]

I'm not convinced about Ox, if forced to place a wager I think I'm leaning towards him not being top drawer, but he has looked better this season and seems to have learnt from Alexis (he almost seems to mimic alexis' style of commitment and tracking back)

I think in order our shopping list should be keeper (a starter, like Cech), centre back, cover striker, central holder (if better than Coquelin)

I think we'll sign 1-2 players tbh. Either a central midfielder or winger (one of Gündoğan or Reus pls), and possibly a keeper if Arsène is done with Woj's idiocy (I dunno who though. I'm not personally convinced that Cech is a significant upgrade these days. Asenjo maybe?)

I'd be surprised to see us make signings at CB or CF. We have four CBs now and Giroud, Welbeck and Alexis as CF options.

Whether that's enough for a proper tilt at the league will probably depend on injuries.

[Hass]

I reckon we'll sign another CF and Wenger can't help buying midfielders so we'll collect another one of those. I think Sir Chesny will go so we'll buy another keeper too.

[Hass]

I'm not convinced about Ox, if forced to place a wager I think I'm leaning towards him not being top drawer, but he has looked better this season and seems to have learnt from Alexis (he almost seems to mimic alexis' style of commitment and tracking back)

I reckon Ox is class, just been hampered by injuries. He's a great all rounder, someone I would start in big games for overall work effort but also with a great eye for getting forward. Basically a really good Milner

[toythatkills]

I reckon Ox is class, just been hampered by injuries.

Imagine that sentence but the word "Ox" replaced with the name of almost any other one of players.

[Gotters]

good to see Smalling signing a new long term contract with Utd, hopefully puts the end to that rumour, unless its some cruel trick and we end up paying more for him due to length of contract.

[The Fox]

I reckon we'll sign another CF and Wenger can't help buying midfielders so we'll collect another one of those. I think Sir Chesny will go so we'll buy another keeper too.

Centre forward market is a bit dead though innit. I can't think of anyone who's any good who might be obtainable to be honest.

[hercules]

I would imagine if we are to sign a forward it would be someone who could play across the front 3. Don't think we will though. We have a few that we need to move on and that'll likely be done first. I reckon we will only sign 2 players

[Space Renegade Ulala]

What are people's thoughts on Walcott? I'm struggling to pull together an argument to keep him given that we've got Ox and Welbeck who I personally believe are better utility players. And everyone tends to play deep against Arsenal anyway

As Fox says, he'll want an increase and there's no way on this Earth he deserves one. He's made of glass and has barely improved in the last 5 years so sod it, get rid.

[Hass]

Centre forward market is a bit dead though innit. I can't think of anyone who's any good who might be obtainable to be honest.

I reckon Higuain might be coming. We keep being rumoured and he's flopped at Napoli so he'll be tugging on Wenger's bargain basement strings

[gooner4life]

I think we will sign Marco Reus & Schneiderlin, i hope we add Cech as well.

I reckon Higuain might be coming. We keep being rumoured and he's flopped at Napoli so he'll be tugging on Wenger's bargain basement strings

Flopped at Napoli? do you watch much Italian Football? it's not a league loaded with strikers with a 1 in 2 average for goals, 30 goals in 61 games is great in anyone's money

[toythatkills]

i hope we add Cech as well.

Oh my God give it up already.

[gooner4life]

Oh my God give it up already.

NEVER

until he signs for someone else at least.

[The Fox]

I think we will sign Marco Reus & Schneiderlin

Do you not think that puts too much of an obstacle in Wilshere's way though? His best positions are central midfield and wide right but if you sign two top notch specialists in those areas I don't see how he's gonna get enough games to really kick on.

I mean I know it's a squad game these days and we get a lot of injuries, but I still think Wenger won't want to put too many roadblocks in Jack's attempts to maintain his fitness and win a spot in the XI.

[gooner4life]

I am Wilshere's biggest fan, but his best position is not wide right, he played a lot behind the striker in the number 10 in the youth team but that role hasn't quite opened up for him at first team level, when he did play deeper at youth level though he dictated games when he had Frimpong or Coquelin alongside him and I think Schneiderlin would be Wenger's way of adding depth to Coq's position and ultimately I think he see's Jack in there where Santi currently is.

it's Ramsey I worry about when you think of square pegs round holes, technically he's the weakest footballer in the midfield, not a strong dribbler, not the best range of passing but he does have that knack for goals a bit like Ljungberg but not as dynamic as Freddie, but I think that's why Wenger persists with him wide right.

Either way I think Reus would play left of Ozil, Sanchez right with Giroud the focal point, it could be glorious.

[The Fox]

Nah I didn't mean wide right was his best but it's probably his second-best position since No10 is basically off limits. He has been good nearly every time he's played there, especially vs Marseille that time. Bloody awful on the left though.

Coq-Wilshere should work as a pair better than Coq-Ramsey, since the two main things Wilshere has over Ramsey in the middle are a better contribution in build up play, and better ability against opposition pressing. Those are the two things Coq is weakest at so in theory it should be a complimentary pairing.

Ramsey has a better engine, gets into better positions off the ball, and has an excellent understanding with Özil. But he doesn't really involve himself in build up often since he's trying to push on to areas where he can score, and he can dawdle in possession which makes him struggle vs pressing (see one of our Dortmund games where he got robbed near our box and they scored). Hence he needs someone with him who'll take charge of shifting the ball from defence to attack, which obviously ain't Coq with the way his role is currently. He needs a passer in with him really.

Dunno if Schneiderlin is that guy, he's decent on the ball but not what you'd call a specialist. Gündoğan has the passing ability but might be too attacking with Ramsey, since he's used to playing higher up as a more all-round midfielder, rather than in a holding playmaker role.

[Jonathan_Kerr]

I agree with Gooner4Life - Jack will be the successor to Santi which will happen when it happens. Personally I'm a bit over trying to build a team around Jack - he's just not at that level yet.

Would love to see Reus wear the red although his injury record is pretty bad, isn't it? One thing Mourinho gets right is he tends not to purchase players who are injury prone (but he bought Cesc, you say!) but that's just me being paranoid - I'll take him.

That said I think now that we have more depth we won't have to play players when they are injured and so overall, our injuries should be less of an issue.

I'm not really that keen for Cech as I think that if United can hold onto De Gea (since they'll get a CL spot) we could get in for Hugo Lloris who must be tired of playing in a shit team of nearly men.

As for a striker - would like to see someone but not sure who... (Dybala?) I think we're better waiting for the right player, we can score a lot of goals elsewhere on the pitch.

[The Fox]

Wilshere is a sensible replacement for Cazorla as they share similar traits (sadly not the ambidexterity though). Thing is though, currently our CM pair is Coq & Cazorla. Do you then agree with G4L that long-term, we won't be playing Ramsey in central midfield?

For me, Ramsey is currently some distance ahead of Wilshere in that role. I think his slightly weaker technical ability/speed is offset by his goals, stamina, and smarter movement both in attack and defence. But at the same time, if we are going with Coq + A.N. Other going forward, Jack seems a much better foil for covering the areas Coq isn't so good on.

Before Ozil it would have been simple: switch to a 4-3-3 and play them both with a holder, but now we have one of the world's best No10s - who's finally hitting top form - that isn't going to happen. We saw at the start of the season Wenger try to shoehorn them both into the XI with that 4-1-4-1 shape, but it's fair to say that they didn't dovetail well and it also took Ozil away from his best position. It's a nice problem to have, obviously, but ultimately I do wonder how long we can sustain Ramsey and Wilshere in the same squad.

[gooner4life]

But Ramsey is a liability in possession of the ball when he's deeper, so he isnt actually a good fit for centre mid for our team, although liability is harsh, it's just he's very much an instinct player, when he overthinks things, you end up with frustrating Ramsey who tries stupid flicks and tricks that just make him look awkward and ungraceful, but when he's playing off Giroud around the edge of the box his timing and positioning is superb.

Just because of that though it doesn't mean he's ahead of Wilshere for the role in my opinion and I think certainly in Wenger's, Arsene has commented a lot on Arteta being a 'technical leader' what he means by that is he keeps the ball well, he doesnt affect the game positively very often with his passing or dribbling but he also doesnt affect it negatively with his passing or dribbling, that is definitely something Jack is better than Ramsey at.

[The Fox]

Agree. It's why Ramsey + Coq won't work for me: Ramsey is good at getting back to help out defensively, but as soon as we've established possession he's off again to try and run beyond Giroud.

But for that to work, someone needs to be actually getting the ball to the front players and I don't think Coq has the passing ability to take that responsibility on, especially against a team that presses him. It's why Santi is in there at the mo instead of Ramsey: quick feet, good passer, decent dribbler - all the traits to switch defence into attack.

Last season it worked fine with Arteta + Ramsey; Arteta had the passing range to get the ball forward under pressure, and Aaron had the stamina and nous to get back and help Arteta out on the physical side of things. They complimented each other well, but realistically Arteta's role is going to be marginalised going forward.

I mentioned Gündoğan earlier and him + Coq is a very nice pairing in theory. However there's surely no way we'll play a CM pivot that doesn't have at least one of Ramsey and Wilshere in it, so that's probably a non-starter.

[gooner4life]

Jack Wilshere is the answer.

[The Fox]

Perhaps. Needs to stay fit though first and foremost! Big season for him next year - if we're still at the same point in another 12 months, with him having missed half of 2015/16 with injury, still having the same old issues with poor positioning, hanging onto the ball too long etc, that might be it for him at Arsenal.

It's not make or break for his career as he's obviously still young, but with competition from Ramsey, Özil, Ox etc, it could be make or break for him at this club. The player obviously wants to be in the first XI week in, week out, and the club won't want to be paying £100k/week to a reserve. For me, he's got to stay fit and establish himself in the side next year otherwise it might be curtains.

[gooner4life]

Diaby says differently, Wenger has a lot of time for Jack.

[The Fox]

Diaby says differently, Wenger has a lot of time for Jack.

Yeah but that's a bit different, Diaby has no real sale value for one thing, and isn't on anything like Jack's salary. I know Wilshere is fairly injury-prone but he's nothing like Diaby, and I think the two have had different goals. Diaby just wanted to see if he could salvage any sort of career, whereas Wilshere wants to be in the first team every week.

I agree Wenger will give Jack every possible opportunity to make it (though I hope that doesn't extend to changing formation solely to suit him again...that was a bit much, and it didn't work out). I sincerely hope he does make it, obviously. But realistically, if his 2015/16 goes much the same way as his 2014/15 has done, what do we do? He'll be down to the last 24 months of his contract, on a reported £100k/week, so in the top 5 earners at the club. From a business perspective, looking at him as an asset, you'd have to say there's a compelling case to flog him if that scenario transpires. I hope it doesn't, but I can't say it's not a concern. Even with Arsene being as loyal and fatherly as he is, he might find it tough to turn down £30m and a wages saving of £5m/year if Jack still hasn't kicked on by this time next year.

[gooner4life]

Same deal with van Persie though, Wenger will be loyal to Jack as long as Jack is loyal.

[Gotters]

success for Wilshire though isn't about securing longer contracts and being a squad player at Arsenal - he's never really progressed from the initial promise and if everybody is fit (I know humour me) he's on the bench at best at present.

I still think he tries to play football like rugby, carrying the ball into the tackle and taking the hit, he seems to lack intelligence in his game and I know he's been injury ravaged but there isn't a lot of improvement on view from when he first came onto the scene.

his injury problems are such a shame as he's at the age when you find your level, he's shown flashes of being very good but never had the opportunity to prove they aren't just flashes and show thats his promise can be fulfilled.

[Dude Ranch]

Don't forget that Wilshere's latest injury was a bad tackle. He does tend to invite that kind of challenge with his general style, unfortunately. I hope he stays fit and proves to be the long term answer. At his best he's terrific and it's nice to have a home grown potential star cos we don't produce enough in my opinion.

[hauk]

Apparently Lloris is ready to leave Spurs to fulfil his Champions League dream! Unlikely to happen, but worth a punt. I'd be happy with Lloris, schneiderlin and maybe another Striker in the summer.

I really think we should keep hold of Walcott as well. I know he's another of our injury prone players who take 6 months after coming back to get going, but he was banging them in before his injury in the Spurs game. He'd been consistently good for a long period before that as well. I do wonder if talk of him leaving has more to do with his agents, or more accurately the clubs reluctance to deal with them. All that "I want to play in the middle stuff" was such bullshit.