Summer Signings
Tuesday 15th March, 2016 22:43 Comments: 0
Assuming Arsene doesn't resign, he'll need to address the concerns raised by the fans over the years. We need a striker. We need a defensive midfielder. With Arteta and Flamini reaching the end of their contracts, we desperately need backup or competition for Coquelin. My best guess for DM would be Grzegorz Krychowiak, as he's at a club that would probably sell for a decent price, he's the right age, he's friendly with Szczesny, sponsored by Puma, and it doesn't hurt that he's quite tall.
Identifying a striker is much harder. Alexandre Lacazette seems most likely out of all the top strikers. He's open to playing in the Premier League (unlike some other names), is relatively young, we have French players and a manager to support him, and Lyon seems willing to sell him for a reasonable price (based on them accepting £22m from Newcastle).
Personally, I'd look to sell some players that haven't progressed in order to help fund these transfers (although there's plenty of money in the bank). Oxlade Chamberlain and Walcott should be below Campbell in the pecking order (but no one will match Walcott's salary so we're probably stuck with him). Although Wilshere is regularly injured, a deeper role might suit him better (he seems to play deeper for England, and would be similar to how Cazorla has dropped deeper and brings the ball forward now). Ramsey has talent, but I don't think our current formation and tactics suit him, which might be why he's most effective on the right (with freedom to roam). With Iwobi continuing to impress, I do wonder how Ramsey and Iwobi best fit into the team. It might work better with a 4-1-4-1 formation with Iwobi (Or Ramsey) and Ozil in the middle, Campbell and Sanchez on the wings (swapping sides), and a top striker up front (Welbeck and Giroud have talent, but they're not someone like Suarez or Messi or Lewandowski or other strikers that regularly create goals out of half chances).
Hopefully we won't end up signing just one player over the summer, otherwise it'll be another year without any progress.
Identifying a striker is much harder. Alexandre Lacazette seems most likely out of all the top strikers. He's open to playing in the Premier League (unlike some other names), is relatively young, we have French players and a manager to support him, and Lyon seems willing to sell him for a reasonable price (based on them accepting £22m from Newcastle).
Personally, I'd look to sell some players that haven't progressed in order to help fund these transfers (although there's plenty of money in the bank). Oxlade Chamberlain and Walcott should be below Campbell in the pecking order (but no one will match Walcott's salary so we're probably stuck with him). Although Wilshere is regularly injured, a deeper role might suit him better (he seems to play deeper for England, and would be similar to how Cazorla has dropped deeper and brings the ball forward now). Ramsey has talent, but I don't think our current formation and tactics suit him, which might be why he's most effective on the right (with freedom to roam). With Iwobi continuing to impress, I do wonder how Ramsey and Iwobi best fit into the team. It might work better with a 4-1-4-1 formation with Iwobi (Or Ramsey) and Ozil in the middle, Campbell and Sanchez on the wings (swapping sides), and a top striker up front (Welbeck and Giroud have talent, but they're not someone like Suarez or Messi or Lewandowski or other strikers that regularly create goals out of half chances).
Hopefully we won't end up signing just one player over the summer, otherwise it'll be another year without any progress.