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Where should we strengthen?

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Post by Vanig Bostanian Mon May 20, 2013 7:40 pm

Another season gone with the bare minimum achieved. Sure, I am happy about yesterday, but we were far off the top and went out in the cups to Bradford and Blackburn. Hopefully this summer (I know we've been saying that for quite some time) we strengthen rather than replace our departing stars with lesser players. For one, I don't think there is anyone whose departure would cause us as big a problem as the departures of Cesc and Robin in recent seasons simply because we don't have anyone of that importance anymore. Sagna leaving would be bad as I like the guy, but he didn't have the best of seasons and he isn't getting any younger. Other than him, I can't think of anyone. So where should we strengthen? I don't like to throw specific names but rather positions.

GK: Absolutely. I think Fabianski and Mannone are leaving and we should get at least an able backup for Szczesny (not that Fabianski and Mannone were able backups even if they did perform quite well this season)

RB: If Sagna leaves, definitely we need a starter. I like Jenks, but I think he still needs 2 years to be able to be our first choice RB. If Sagna stays, I'd be happy with what we have.

CB: If Vermaelen leaves (I don't think he will) we need to replace him, if not, then we still need a proper fourth choice (or third because the first two start together) center back. Can Miquel do it? I'm not too sure.

LB: I'm happy with what we have.

Midfield: I'm quite happy with what we have. We don't necessarily need a muscle DM as if it's some sort of a default to have an enforcer in the team. I'm happy with Arteta there with the whole team working well to defend. We conceded 5 goals in 10 games when we did that. Give Arteta another season, I know he's getting old, but Ramsey can take over from then. If I had a choice, I'd get Cesc back. Forget the sentiment (I know there is a lot), but he's a quality player who can create chance after chance and surely he has matured now. I used to question his mental strength. The brittle Arsenal teams in recent years were very well shown in both Cesc and especially Nasri. But he's 25-26 now. Other than that, we might have to see who will replace the aging and injury prone Rosicky. He is important to the team and his form in the run-in both this and last season helped us secure a CL spot. But surely we have to improve. Maybe Jack can do the job. So we have a good midfield and the addition of a certain former captain would be great (I said I don't like throwing names but Cesc is an exception).

Attack: I'd like a quality winger and an exceptional striker. I like Giroud, Theo, the Ox, Poldi, but we need a game a changer. You know, when things aren't going too well, someone who'd score something out of nothing. Hopefully we can get rid of Gervinho. I know he wasn't that bad this season but he played well in what? 10/30 games this season? First that's not a great ratio, second the grand total is low because he doesn't play enough because he isn't a very good player in the first place. Perhaps we were too spoiled with the like of Pires, Henry, Bergkamp, Freddie with the likes of WIltord and Kanu on the bench, but right now our starters are not better than Wiltord and Kanu. One awesome striker and one winger who is more consistent than Gervinho and Theo is not too much to ask for.


Last edited by Vanig Bostanian on Mon May 20, 2013 8:19 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Post by Jonathan Prendergast Mon May 20, 2013 8:08 pm

Definitely a striker. And not to replace Giroud, but you need at least 2 strikers if you want to challenge. Teams don't win trophies, squads do.

I assume Sagna will leave, but I am in no rush to buy another right back. Jenkinson is fine as first choice in my mind. It's hard to imagine buying another centre back, as they may hardly get any game time, like Miquel this season. Maybe a Centre Back that can play holding mid or right back also.

Another midfielder would be good. A real leader. As Santi can play up forward at times, there is enough flexibility to give players game time even when they are all fit.

For some reason I don't feel the need for another winger, but hey, why not.

In summary, we should buy back Song, Cesc, Nasri and RVP. Then we would win the league.


Last edited by Jonathan Prendergast on Mon May 20, 2013 11:35 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post by Jonathan Prendergast Mon May 20, 2013 8:31 pm

But seriously...we should buy:

- Cabaye (holding mid, fighting qualities, excellent on ball, can rotate and take over from Arteta)
- Benteke (athletic, skilful, eye for goal. is he the next Henry? I don't know)
- Eriksen (If you can get such quality, you do so. Can replace Rosicky over time)
- Williams (hopefully can play RB as well as CB)
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Post by Vanig Bostanian Mon May 20, 2013 9:23 pm

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:
In summary, we should buy back Song, Cesc, Nasri and RVP. Then we would win the league.
Seriously though, if they had stayed, we could have been winning a lot of things right now.

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Post by Mike York Mon May 20, 2013 9:23 pm

If Sagna leaves we'd need a right back to compete with Jenkinson in the same way Monreal/Gibbs compete. Other than that I am happy with our defence. I'd like Williams too but like Jon says he won't get a lot of game time unless Vermealen left. We have a lot of midfielders but I'd like to see an all-out defensive midfield ball winner who can be an alternative to Arteta or to help sure up the midfield to hold a lead etc. Plus a striker to compete with Giroud.
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Post by Jason Morrison Mon May 20, 2013 11:50 pm

Vanig Bostanian wrote:
Jonathan Prendergast wrote:
In summary, we should buy back Song, Cesc, Nasri and RVP. Then we would win the league.
Seriously though, if they had stayed, we could have been winning a lot of things right now.

Ahh the dream of cesc feeding 'him' that never consistantly came to be because 'he' was always injured. We could have such a strong squad if players who left us these past few years had stayed.
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Post by Jason Morrison Tue May 21, 2013 12:03 am

On topic I think we need a striker as priority, one striker just isn't good enough, I'm still surprised Wenger allowed us to go into last season with just Giroud. I'd be happy with Higuain, a didderent kind of striker to Giroud, good finisher and can create his own shota out of nothing. That Lukaku fellow would be great too, pity he belongs to chelsea. There's also Banteke, so it's not like there's a lack of options for us.

Also believe we should get a strong defensive midfielder, Arteta's done well for the past 2 years but he's not getting any younger and earlier in the season we were often left exposed.

A new right back if Sagna leaves, though I wouldn't be opposed to jenks taking over 1st choice, he's come along great, there were many times when people called for him to replace Sagna so I think he'll only get better next season.

As a side I'd like us to get an effective creator, someone who'll get 20 assists a season (Fabregas come home!).

Excited for next season. Think we'll do something special and Wenger will go out with a bang! That being said, would everyone still want him to leave if we manage to win the league?
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Post by Mario Tue May 21, 2013 12:39 am

Pretty much the same as everyone else.

Goalkeeper:
Fabianski still has a year left on his contract so may still be here next season, but we have been linked with Julio Cesar and I'd someone like that is perfect. 33 years old which I think is the age that Lehmann joined us, is still very good, experienced, lives in London and now knows the Premiership and on a 2 year contract I think is just what we need.

RB:
If Sagna goes then I would want a RB. Jenkinson has done better than I would have hoped for this season and is improving quite quickly but he shouldn't be thrown straight into the 1st team. Monreal/Gibbs at LB shows how important it is to have two excellent options in one position rather than trying to scrape by.

CB:
Maybe a CB who can play RB? If Vermaelen stays then you can't imagine buying an out and out CB, despite not having a quality 4th option (I can't see Djourou returning and Miquel is not good enough imo), but maybe a versatile defensive player should be brought in instead. If Vermaelen goes, then of course, we need a replacement.

DM:
Been saying it for years but we really do need a natural player in this position. Arteta has done all that can be asked from him but he is now 31 and isn't a natural at that position. It would add more balance to the team and allow us to free up other players.

CF:
Obviously need another striker, that goes without saying. Been linked with Jovetic and Higuain, the former seems more likely although he doesn't seem to be a natural goalscorer if his numbers are anything to go by, more of a creative forward. Ideally I'd like the type of striker that can make something out of nothing, but not too many RVP's about, so a natural finisher that only needs a chance is the next best thing. Because for all the positives that Giroud has brought to the team in his first season, being a ruthless goalscorer hasn't been one of them.

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Post by Michael Schatzky Tue May 21, 2013 1:57 am

Not too much to add beyond what everyone has already stated.
I could easily see Sagna, and possibly Vermaelan leaving and it wouldn't trouble me as long as they were replaced.

Vermaelan's positional sense has not improved in the time he has been here. There is a reason why we were able to win close games in the run in: because Kos and Mert are better.

Yesterday's game with Newcastle highlighted 2 areas where I would strengthen.
Arteta lasted 20 minutes. He is 31, ie getting older. Wenger didn't trust Coquelin enough to play him. He might be off.
If Ramsey and Wilshere are always going to be names 1 and 2 on the team sheet, we need someone who's natural position is DM, as Mario states above.
Pdolski offered very little as centre forward yesterday. Yet vs Wigan he scored 2 great goals. Not sure how much his ankle thing is a factor ,but he is slow. I fear he might have an Arshavin-esque Arsenal career.
I like Giroud for what he brings; if Gervinho is moved on and we keep Poldi I would love Higuain /Jovetic /etc as a number 1 centre forward.

Podolski is a very good goal scorer though:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/lukas-podolskis-16-goals-and-11-assists-for-arsenal-in-1213-season

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Post by Michael Foster Tue May 21, 2013 2:10 am

If I was Wenger I would be tempted to give vermaelan a run out for DM in the pre season..
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Post by Michael Foster Tue May 21, 2013 2:18 am

Number 1 priority has to be an out and out class striker any of the names we have been linked to would be a major bonus to the team and if we get it right could be the difference in us winning next years title...its not as though we have been shy on goals this season just need more back up and quality up front....

Not to sure what to think with sagna....if we had some hardcore players come in I think it might just perk him up rotate him with jenkinson on a regular basis and give the boy some much needed game time..


I know a lot of people are talking about a back up keeper but I am actually quite happy with what we have got...having someone like Cesar come in could really fuck things up as i could expect him not to want to play second fiddle to szez or vise versa...



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Post by Michael Schatzky Tue May 21, 2013 2:35 am

Michael Foster wrote:If I was Wenger I would be tempted to give vermaelan a run out for DM in the pre season..
Yeah, I would like to see how that would work- who knows if Vermaelan is into trying it.
Whether the example matters or not, Benitez at Chelsea played David Luiz at DM for a lot of their games and he did quite well. Luiz has a natural tendancy to push forward like Vermaelan.

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Post by Hisham El Mawan Tue May 21, 2013 5:08 am

All I think we need and will be getting are a new RB, a creative midfield player, and a class striker. It sounds like we're wrapping up the Jovetic deal, so there's one down.

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Post by pwoodman1 Tue May 21, 2013 5:18 am

A top keeper to work with and compete with Chesney, A DM who can cover at CB, An attacker who can play across the front 3 score goals and create them and a out and out striker. I'd go with:

Cesar
Kondogbia
Jovetic
Bony



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Post by Michael Foster Tue May 21, 2013 6:25 am

Michael Schatzky wrote:
Michael Foster wrote:If I was Wenger I would be tempted to give vermaelan a run out for DM in the pre season..
Yeah, I would like to see how that would work- who knows if Vermaelan is into trying it.
Whether the example matters or not, Benitez at Chelsea played David Luiz at DM for a lot of their games and he did quite well. Luiz has a natural tendancy to push forward like Vermaelan.

having TV as a defender brings shudders to me i just fee its not quite the position for him as where DM would seam better he like to surge forward has quite a good range of passing and wont have to be relied as the 'last line'
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Post by Marko Maksimović Tue May 21, 2013 6:42 am

I like what we've got at GK. Fabianski wants out, that's fine, upgrade Mannone or even Damien Martinez to second choice. We even have young Shea too. Plenty of choice. Dropping Sczeszny this season was the boot up the butt all the GKs needed and it showed with him and Fabianski doing well when they had their turn afterwards.
RB is a bother if Sagna goes but I do think we're getting one in.
In midfield we are pretty much full when you think about it: Ramsey, Arteta, Jack, Santi, Rosicky, Ox then you have the TV to DM idea which I quite like because he is a powerful/quick guy but our DM is Arteta and defense/attack transition goes through the DM so it's a big thing to deal with. Otherwise he'd be menacing if you think about it, he knows what he has to do to shield the back 4 because he's played in the back 4 for years without the team ahead of him defending properly Very Happy
As for strikers, we've got Theo, Giroud, Poldi, Ox, Gervinho and of course Jovetic coming through hopefully (this excites me), Santi can also play on the wing and a few youngsters will be coming through.
I'm gonna go with RB and Jovetic(any decent CF).
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Post by Hisham El Mawan Tue May 21, 2013 10:11 am

OUT: Chamakh, Santos, Squillaci, Bendtner, Arshavin, Park, Denilson

IN: Jovetic/Higuain/Aubameyang, Julio Cesar, Fabregas*, Capoue/Wanyama

That's what I want to see this summer. Apparently, just getting rid of the first five in the out list would free up 15 million pounds a year. As for incoming players, either Jovetic or Higuain would be fantastic, and Aubameyang isn't half bad either should fail to snap up the other two. Julio Cesar is in the twilight of his career and would make for good competition of Szczesny. Fabregas is simply me being hopeful (although it could happen). Either Capoue or Wanyama would be a fantastic defensive addition to the squad.

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Post by Jonathan Prendergast Tue May 21, 2013 10:29 am

I think it would be great if next season, we rely less on Arteta to play every game, and he is somewhat saved for the crunch games come February, March and April. I'm a big fan of Arteta, and see no need to replace him, but do see a need to complement him with a new signing. We were too reliant on him this year, with Coquelin falling out of favour.

I think Wenger did this with Rosicky this year, but unfortunately there were very few crunch games as we bombed out of the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League pretty early.

So, if we are buying a DM to allow Arteta to rotate more, it gives us the opportunity to buy a style of player we currently do not have. Maybe it would be good to get a tall and strong DM to help with set pieces against physical teams like Stoke? (this goes against my suggestion of Cabaye earlier).
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Post by ralph avedikian Mon May 27, 2013 12:24 am

Cesar
Wanyama
Higuain

And maybe get a swap deal with gervinho going out?

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Post by Kevin C.A. Mon May 27, 2013 1:10 pm

cesar
capoue
Higuain
janmaat if sagna leaves

(grenier for gervinho)

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Post by Kevin C.A. Tue May 28, 2013 11:25 am

image this squad! salivating at the thought

Cesar/Scez

janmaat/jenkinson williams/mert verm/kos gibbs/monreal

arteta/capoue wilshere/ramsey
rosicky/cesc/grenier

ox/walcott giroud/higuain carzola/podolski
Very Happy

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Post by Jonathan Prendergast Tue May 28, 2013 9:56 pm

very nice!

goes to show we just need 2-3 top quality.
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Post by Kevin C.A. Tue May 28, 2013 10:39 pm

and getting even a few quid for some of the out going players and wages off the books won't even need to break the bank to do it.

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Post by Michael Foster Wed May 29, 2013 2:08 am

Nice line up.....


We would still have money back as said before....its a win win all round!!!
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