The transfer window is about to open and Arsenal can make some clever purchases and sales to build further on Arteta’s excellent team development progress.
Despite the team scoring goals for fun at the moment, the remaining key area to focus on is our attack.
In order to have a bit of debate, here are five quick fire questions for you?
- What to do with Auba? Sell if possible, give a final chance to redeem himself or loan him out?
- Given Laca’s great fit in the team and his work rate, should we offer him an attractive contract? Or is he the next Ozil/Auba potentially?
- Eddie Nketiah: sell or desperately try to keep him and why?
- Who is the best fit beast of a CF out there Arsenal realistically have a chance of buying this January?
- Should we play Martinelli or Laca play as CF from now on and buy a left winger instead? If so, who?
TotalArsenal
Bergkampesque 
Here are my answers
1. If we can sell, do it. A tiger among wolves is not working in Arteta’s arena. Unless Auba promises, after reflection, to give his all to make it work, I would not play him again.
Laca le loup fits in with the pack mentality and style of play. He has an intrinsic desire to work and play hard. We need his experience so I would try and keep him.
3. Eddie, don’t think he fits very well in Arteta’s arena and he does not have the patience to wait for his opportunities. So happy to sell.
4. Difficult one to answer. They need to be mobile and energetic like Laca but with that extra bit of height/aerial threat. But they also need to fit into the team culturally. I think we missed an opportunity with West Ham Haller who was sold to Ajax. Gakpo of PSV is very promising. I am also a big fan of Dupay, currently unhappy at Barcelona. I like the look of Ollie Watkins at Villa too. Would not mind Kane either.
I like the idea of giving both regular starts as CF and not buy one this January. Play Balogun a bit more and maybe get Gakpo or Dupay to play from the left (and occasionally central)…
Well, there you go then, TA
You asked the questions/posers and proferred the answers. Lol.
Personally, I agree with your ppstulations, save for the mention of Depay. Not sure he would be a good fit at our club.
My answers TA,
1. Sell if possible
2. 1 year extension with add on bonus – go back to Wenger’s policy got over 30. Even the great Bergkamp was given yearly deal.
3. If bid comes in sell and make money, else extend contract. I read somewhere that he is planning to go abroad which means we may not even get a Tribunal fee.
4. Would Vlahovic or Isaak , hell go for Halland if possible or even Greenwood. But we may end up with a DCL or martial.
5. I would try Pepe as CF in cup games to give laca a rest.
The karger question for me is the pivotal Center Mid. If AMN goes we will have to do with Xhaka and Sambi got 6 weeks during AFCON. Thats a scary thought
Should we get someone in the Jan window?
1. Sell
2. Extend his contract( 2yrs)
3. Sell
4. Dominic Calvin lewin
5. Richardlison
My thoughts.
1. If possible sell, if not loan with commitment/option to buy.
2. I like Madhu’s idea of a 1-year extension with add on bonus. I don’t think that Laca would be happy with that though. I’m not sure that money would be Laca’s main motivator. My guess is that he wants to be playing more and would like some trophies before he retires. It must have been frustrating for Laca to see Auba playing poorly and yet keep getting the starts when it was obvious that when Laca came on the team looked stronger even if he hasn’t been scoring many goals.
3. Again, I agree with Madhu about Eddie. However, I don’t think that he would accept a contract extension without some guarantees about playing time. He won’t want to be persuaded to stay and then warm the bench like Ainsley.
4. I think that it was a shame that we let Tammy go to Roma when it looked like he wanted to come to us. I don’t watch enough European football to suggest who we could go for in January though.
5. Short answer, no. Long answer, we have options on the wings which include Pepe, Nuno and Cedric. We also have options at CF, if they are not sold or loaned out we have Eddie and Folarin. But, given the role that Laca currently plays, which isn’t as an old-school CF, Ode or ESR could also be considered for that role. They can both, press, distribute and hold the ball up well, and make intelligent runs to distract our opponents or to receive the ball. Like Madhu, I am concerned about the probability of losing Ainsley whilst Thomas is away at AFCON but, again we have options if Sambi or Granit get injured including Emile, Ben, Calum, Sead and Cedric. Some of these may not be optimal but they might surprise us.
My predictions this wee:
Arsenal v Manchester City * H 2-1
Brentford v Aston Villa * A
Everton v Brighton A
Leeds v Burnley H
Chelsea v Liverpool * D 1-1
Aletico Madrid v Rayo Vallercano H
It looks like my previous response to this post got lost somewhere!. My answers TA, are:
1. Try to sell or loan with a commitment to purchase
2. I agree with Lazarus – Extend his contract( 2yrs)
3. If Arteta can’t see us playing Eddie regularly we should sell. He is clearly not happy with just playing in the Rumbelows (sorry Carabao) Cup
4. It’s a pity we didn’t try and land Tammy Abraham when it looked like he would prefer to join us rather than Roma as I believe that he may have been a good fit. I’m not sure that the Toffees would sell Calvert-Lewin to us or would expect too much for him. I suspect we need to look abroad but I don’t watch enough overseas football to give an informed view on who we should target.
5. Short answer, no. Long answer, we have options on the wings, including Pepe (if we don’t sell him), Nuno, Sead and Cedric if Martinelli is asked to play CF. However, if we want someone to play in a similar way to that which Laca is currently doing, either Ode or Emile could be considered which would allow us to accommodate them both from kick-off.
OX10, you must have missed the note below – also I need a score for the Brentford game.
This week week we will add a special bonus for postponed games.. Simply put a P alongside any two games you think might be cancelled. There will be a 2 point bonus for each correct prediction.
It looks like my previous response to this post got lost somewhere!. My answers TA, are:
1. Try to sell or loan with a commitment to purchase
2. I agree with Lazarus – Extend his contract( 2yrs)
3. If Arteta can’t see us playing Eddie regularly we should sell. He is clearly not happy with just playing in the Rumbelows (sorry Carabao) Cup
4. It’s a pity we didn’t try and land Tammy Abraham when it looked like he would prefer to join us rather than Roma as I believe that he may have been a good fit. I’m not sure that the Toffees would sell Calvert-Lewin to us or would expect too much for him. I suspect we need to look abroad but I don’t watch enough overseas football to give an informed view on who we should target.
5. Short answer, no. Long answer, we have options on the wings, including Pepe (if we don’t sell him), Nuno, Sead and Cedric if Martinelli is asked to play CF. However, if we want someone to play in a similar way to that which Laca is currently doing, either Ode or Emile could be considered, allowing us to accommodate them both from kick-off.
GN5, I had missed the note about postponed games. Here are my revised predictions:
Arsenal v Manchester City * H 2-1
Brentford v Aston Villa * A 0-2
Everton v Brighton A (P)
Leeds v Burnley H
Chelsea v Liverpool * D 1-1 (P)
Aletico Madrid v Rayo Vallercano H
1. If his attitude cannot be changed then he should be sold.
2 Keep with a new contract.
3. Keep – Keep – Keep!!!
4.I don’t know enough about the market and who might be available.
5.They should rotate and I feel the left wing is adequately covered.
Here goes:
1) I would keep him and encourage him to rehabilitate himself, if that doesn’t work..sell him in the summer.
2) Laca merits a new long-term contract and has become a pillarof our team.
3) Eddie should be kept, given a long-term contract and a lot more playing time.
4) There aren’t many available and they are rather pricey….I would prefer us to develop one or two among our youth and reserve teams. Its a shame that women can’t play in the EPL because Viviane Medidema is formidable.
5) Both Martinelli and Laca can fill the CF role but we have Pepe,Nkeitah and a few others who can play on either side in an attacking role….why not experiment with our youth and reserve players as well…we now have the luxury of so many talented kids….this Arsenal approach is going to pay off bigtime soon.
Interesting responses. Let’s see if we get a few more and then we can pull some conclusions.
The Chavs also dropped points today and I think we would have done the same if we had played Wolves yesterday, so the postponement was probably good for Arsenal
Thanks for posing the questions, Total.
Laca suits Arteta’s tactics, plays unselfishly and is a good senior pro; give him 2 -3 year contract extension.
Auba needs a new challenge, a fresh start elsewhere to finish his career.
Eddie: His hat trick was a statement but: 1. Can he score against top teams? Good finisher (tho’ he missed a sitter against Everton) but can he create his own goals? Sell him while his stock is up.
Centre forward: if we keep Laca then we should go for someone who offers an alternative to the false 9 (which Laca plays well). Perhaps Dortmund might like Auba back in part payment for Alf-Inge. Send Martin O over to convince Haaland and break the bank for him.
Left winger? With Tierney and Tavares, we don’t need a touch line hugger. ESR and Martinelli have the dynamism to operate on the left.
Come on Burnley…
Interesting questions Total…
1. Sell if we can, loan if we can’t, look to sell in the summer.
2. Offer 2 year deal with 1 year extension in the summer if we can’t sign a newer younger model. In the end there’s little we can do if he wants to leave, but the spectre of Walcott, Ozil, Aubameyang and Willian would cast a shadow over any deal we make, it’s fraught with danger.
3. Try to sell in January otherwise make final attempt to re-sign him in the summer but don’t offer stupid terms and if he leaves, well he leaves…
4. Dominic Calvin Lewin, Ivan Toney, stick with what we have until the summer.
5. I always thought that playing Martinelli through the middle was his ultimate position but I’ve changed my mind as he has so much more to his game and is strong defensively in his support of Tierney, it’s a bummer for Smith but he’ll be back in the team soon. He’s really an inside left and attack’s the edge of the box, he reminds me and does a similar job as Sadio Mane.
I’m not really sure about what I’d want…
Right now I’m so happy with the summer tramsfers that I trust our new scouts and especially Arteta to make the decisions.
The Kroenkes are close enough to smell that champions league money, and maybe can be persuaded to push the boat out for a couple special players in midfield and up front, in January or the summer.
Whoever it is, they need to able to mold to Artetas new style. Hard work, pressing for 90 minutes, and be able to combine with Field Marshall Ødegaard and our talented forwards.
1) Sell or loan him out. His perfomances this season has only hindered the performance of the team. At his age, he will not be able to improve much.
2) Offer Laca a yearly contract because of his age and the potential to be another Ozil/Auba.
3) Sell Nketiah because apart from good poaching skill, he is not good in other aspects like dribbling, passing or defending.
4) Ollie Watkins.
5) Both Laca and Martinelli can be CF on rotating basis.
Sorry Guy’s I almost forgot the next group of game game in our points prediction competition. I know the Wolves game has been postponed but still make your prediction and it will count when the game is played.
Remember simply put 3 – 1 or zero points next to the game.
Wolves H
Man City H
Tottenham A
Burnley H
Wolves A
Chelsea A
Brentford H
Liverpool H
Watford A
Leicester H
Here are my choices.
Wolves H 3
Man City H 1
Tottenham A 1
Burnley H 3
Wolves A 3
Chelsea A 0
Brentford H 3
Liverpool H 1
Watford A 3
Leicester H 3
Theses are the results at the half way point, in alphabetic order:-
Eris 35/41 points, 12/19 games
GN5 35/42 points, 12/19 games
Kev 35/48 points, 11/19 games
Madhu 35/41 points. 10/19 games
OX10 35/41 points, 10/19 games
Total 35/44 points, 9/19 games.
1 – sell for sure
2 – depends on what he wants I suppose. New short term deal if it is for around the same wages. If it is a bumper deal he is after then let him run down his contract and play him for the season. We won’t get much for him in Jan anyway, probably more value in 3 months of goals.
3 – Same as above.
4 – Would like us to sign one of Watkins or Richarlson
5 – laca up top for me and martinelli left. If we have to sign new left winger instead then I would go for Harvey Barnes or Jared Bowen
Most important in January is to keep the guys we have. News is Klopp is sniffing around for Saka. If I was saka and Liverpool came in for me I would be very tempted.
Those Liverpool Saka stories are nonsense. Don’t even click on garbage like that. Saka will extend and be with us for a few years at least.
I hope you are right Jync. I also hope the Coutinho rumours are rubbish as he is exactly what we don’t need. Another old player looking for a final payday.
Okay we had some great responses to the questions.
It is clear that most of us are not keen on Auba staying and feel he needs a new challenge.
It’s also clear that all of us want Laca to stay but we differ on the length of a new contract. I like Stuart’s and OMG’s description of Laca in the team and feel we need to build further on him.
A mixed bag regarding Eddie. Some are very keen to keep him and some don’t rate him. Could he play in Arteta’s ideal team or is he too traditional a CF for us now?
It’s clear that most of us are happy with the cover we have for the left wing position, mainly based on the talent of Martinelli and Emile and the great wingbacks Tavares and Tierney.
Some great options for the CF position and I agree with OX10 that Abraham would have been a good choice in our young team. Haaland would be great but is it realistic at this stage, even if the bank was broken?
I would like to see Balogun playing in the current Laca role. Has he got the engine and passing ability to shine like the French man?
Thanks for the update, GN5
Wolves H 3
Man City H 1
Tottenham A 1
Burnley H 3
Wolves A 3
Chelsea A 3
Brentford H 1
Liverpool H 0
Watford A 1
Leicester H 3
If we don’t get all of the predictions for the points competition in prior to the Man C game I will give everybody the actual game points.
I’m feeling pretty optimistic!
Wolves H 3
Man City H 3
Tottenham A 1
Burnley H 3
Wolves A 3
Chelsea A 0
Brentford H 3
Liverpool H 0
Watford A 1
Leicester H 3
Happy New years eve to everybody!
Happy New Year everyone! Many thanks to TA who hosts the best Arsenal blog and to GN5 for his tireless work with the competitions. Here’s hoping for a great 2022 for all Gooners!
Happy New Year fine Gooners.
Here is to health and happiness for you all and a great year for Arteta and The Arsenal!!
Wolves H 3
Man City H 1
Tottenham A 1
Burnley H 3
Wolves A 3
Chelsea A 1
Brentford H 3
Liverpool H 1
Watford A 3
Leicester H 3
It looks like the same starting 11 as v Norwich with Big Ben for Tomiyasu. Mayb Arteta will opt Emile for Martinelli to strengthen the midfield.
Will be a big challenge for the boys with MC in blistering form, but I feel good about this one.
Stuivenberg this is your moment!
Ah, GN5. Thanks for the update and your consistency at keeping this going. Here goes:
Wolves H – 3
Man City H – 0
Tottenham A -1
Burnley H – 3
Wolves A – 3
Chelsea A – 3
Brentford H – 3
Liverpool H – 1
Watford A – 3
Leicester H – 3
My predictions suggest we could be top 3 at the end of this round of games. 💪🏾
Wedge, I agree with Jync; the rumours about Saka’s interest in Liverpool are just that: rumours. He is Arsenal to the core and it will take a failure of huge proportions to cause him to make such a switch. Of course, there is also the business side of things to be considered. If a team were to approach with a crazy sum of money, a business decision may be made. It won’t be for footballing (trophies) reasons alone.
Sell Aubmeyang end of story, his work rate has really reduced, i believe he has chosen lifestlye over hardwork and lacazette sell him too he is so inconsistent, dont persuade any eddie nketia, martinelli does so well from the wings… Balogun is a beast and needs a playing time to really prove that… Martial of utd is looking for exit, he has the pace, dribble skills, ambitious and good work rate when trusted with first team football… we dont need big names and fancy players anymore we nees lads that plays for the badge to make the names and become fancy players for themselves… i believe saka, Esr, martinelli, tomiyasu, ramsdel,teinery and the rest of our young players have proven that… my humble submission…. sign a no nonsense striker with the spirit of a leader to lead the front line..period
TA, I would just go with the front 4 we have had the wins with, complete with Saka, Martinelli, Ode and Laca; they are in confident mood and should be composed enough to know when to make their move to hurt the City side.
My only concern is with playing White at right back, against the likes of Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Jesus. We would need a more conventional RB, so if fit, maybe Cedric could start. If he isn’t fit, we go with White, but he will be exploited. Why not throw Tavares in at RB, anyway and hope Tierney stays fit to finish the game?
It is going to be a difficult game for the lads, what with the manager unable to direct affairs from the sideline (some think that should fire up the boys) as he is wont to do. City will have a lot of possession and cause us to defend a lot so, we have to plan to catch them on the break, a tactic that should suit Martinelli. Partey and Xhaka will be very important for this one. All I want to see is some fight, irrespective of the result.
Tomiyasu starts! Hope he trained well and is fit to do this. Team sheet is our “usual suspects” which can only bode well for our chances of giving them a good game. COYG!!
Good comments, Eris.
Best possible lineup, I think. CoyrrGs 🌋 🌋 🌋
Saka!!!
That’s the Partey we want to see. Tomiyasu is such a stud.
No matter the outcome… we are seeing that our squad is skilled and coached as well as any team in the league. We’re beating them in quality of passing, pressing, and decision making in the final third.
I hope we can push for another goal in the 2nd half.
What a great first half a very nice performance with everyone contributing but Marti, Saka, Tierney and Partey for me have been a different level. It is a shame to lose Partey just when he is getting back to his best but it is what it is and Lukonga can step in.
Well, it’s gone swimmingly well, so far. You could hear the loud cheer all across the country as Saka buried that Tierney pass. Good news is we are playing really well, surprising a lot of analysts/pundits alike. City have not looked comfortable and if you can restrict City to No Shots on target in a half of football, you must be doing something right.
City will turn it up a gear but we should be ready to make them pay. More of the same, boys.
Also Happy 2022 everyone!!!
And it’s not as if we have not got the chances to add a second in that first half. We just have to take one of the opportunities when they come again.
Welp here we go
Granit better watch it as well at all costs needs to avoid a second yellow.
We are still not mature enough in these circumstances unfortunately so unnecessary by Gabi.
It had little to do with maturity here. The ref was overly eager to punish our offences while giving City a bye. We had, what, six yellow cards in a game (pace of it, at least) we appeared to be in control of. It was a soft penalty as Bernardo was already going down; Xhaka didn’t need to tug his shirt though, having said that.
My hope is this result doesn’t deter the spirit of the boys. They should learn from it and see they can cope with Adversity.
How can you condone what Xhaka does in the penalty box in the age of VAR? How many time it’s incredibly irresponsible from the so called senior player. Iam gobsmacked beyond belief. It’s another matter that city got all the 50-50 decision and they were incredibly lucky where as we were incredibly naive. But a great game by the rest of the players and it’s breaks our heart that we couldn’t get a result.
Lady Fortuna was in favour of the Northern Oilers, but the best team wore red and white, and that is what really matters. The boys were awesome including Xhaka, who was a bit too committed there but still unlucky as many of these sort of fouls are not been given. He had a great game otherwise. All the boys played so well and I am mega proud of them.
I am so angry that we came away with nothing from that game. We lost due to individual mistakes and dumb decisions again. Gabriel first yellow was so stupid and once we were down to 10 it was only a matter of time. We make our own luck and in big games the top teams will get the majority of the decisions, it is not fair but it is what it is. What we need to do is not give the ref the opportunity to punish us.
Best first half we have played under arteta. Partey hitting form just before we lose him for a month is also annoying
I did not see Gabi’s first card but knowing you have one already I dont care what referee it is you are likely to see a second for that one. He is offcourse very young but the whole team needs to learn this lesson. We lead the league in red cards the last few years and while some were a result of questionable decisions there have plenty examples of us getting needless red cards.
I also cannot remember the last time we salvaged a point when we have gone down to ten men; its automatically meant a loss. Also call it what you like but the red card coming so quickly after conceding is immaturity imo.
Having said all that I am gutted but very hopeful for this second half of the season.
We most certainly did not have the rub of the green today, too many 50/50s were given in favour of MC.
But the good thing is that we have a real team to watch, the combine really well and fight as a team, the youngsters really shine and get better with every passing game. We may not make the top 4 this season but the signs are nicely aligned for a great 22/23 – not that I’ve given up on 21/22 as yet.
It would be hard to point out a poor player today.
Wolves H………3
Man City H……3
Tottenham A….1
Burnley H……..3
Wolves A ……..3
Chelsea A …….1
Brentford H …..1
Liverpool H……3
Watford A …….3
Leicester H…..3
Johnno, I totally concur with your 13.29, that was a win for the PGMOL
Belated Happy New Year to everyone on here and especially to Total for all his hard, diligent work and GN5 our quizmaster and historian, and also the new guys, some nice additions to add to the debate.
I am over the loss already. It’s a shame we got nothing from the game, but this performance only assures me that we’ll be fighting among the top next season. Hopefully top 4 this year, but even if not, I am Arteta all the way.
We outplayed them for the whole match, not just the first half, not the first 60 minutes, not until the penalty or 2nd yellow. We looked more impressive all around. They were not at their best, but even when city lose, they don’t lose by getting outplayed in their own style. Never.
When I go back in my mind to when I wanted Emery out finally…
I wanted Arteta chosen for a fresh start.. Not retreads like Ancelotti, Allegri, etc.
It was based in the hope that he would bring some Pep genius and Man City playing style… this is what we now have. We are going hard and fast towards the top of the table with a young squad who’ll challenge for years.
It really hasn’t even been that long, since we had so much junk to clear off the books.
Changing the culture is not easy either.. I’m now a believer, even though I criticized some of his tougher stances.
I wouldn’t change where we are now, for any club.
So well said, J. It was another very good all round performance and of course we will make mistakes against such a top team with such a young squad. Arteta and Stuivenberg are really taking this team places and we are part of this journey.
Thanks Kev 🙂
Thanks Kev and all who wished me a Happy New Year. Administrating our competitions keeps my brain active – which is a positive at my age. .
I likewise wish all of my BK friends a healthy and prosperous 2022
Woohoo! Hrumph. Sigh…
First half on a par with our one against Tottenham, second half showed tenacity and a good tactical response to the misfortunes. What’s an Arsenal game without a couple of silly indiscretions on our part and some seemingly slanted officiating? I know I am 14,000 miles away but one of those camera angles clearly showed Ederson hit Martins foot and not the ball. But going toe to toe with the presently best team on the planet and more than deserving a point ameliorates my grumpiness to a large extent. Thomas and Granit bossed the midfield, the Ghanaian my man of the match. Pep’s comments about us being the better team reflect well, as does the obvious depth in our management team.
Love this team, 2022 bring it on. Woohoo!
I don’t care that we lost today. We finally attacked a top side and played bravely. We were undone by the refs and some brain farts from key players that they’ll hopefully learn from and not do again.
There’s been enough over this last stretch to now convince me that we’re headed in the right direction. Onwards and upwards, we were the better side today!
All agreed, guys. A game to build on.
Partey and Saka both MOTM for me.
Beautiful Ode to Saka
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2022/jan/01/arsenal-floored-but-bukayo-saka-and-co-left-wearing-a-little-halo-of-hope
Great article, Total, Thanks. Love the phrase…”more Balkanised every week”. The Guardian has it’s moments.
Day after the game and the feeling is still of disapointment but positive feeling on the team as a whole.
I am saying this gain we should make an English players the captain and u see the decisions going in our favour. Have an English players as captain in the refs ear with an English accent and see the result. Seeing Xhaka wear the armband after his indiscretion in the penalty box is painful.
You have to be smart and try to win within the system.
Happy New Year GN5, TA, and all BKers.
Still gutted about the ref decisions, but we should have scored a second yesterday.
A former army platoon mate of mine, who is a Liverpool fan, also felt that the ref was pro Citeh, and I will not say the actual words he said here, but something might have changed hands.
I liked the way Martinelli and Saka tore the Citeh defense apart, and the work rate of Xhaka and Party in midfield kept us in the game.
Cheers to a better 2022 and here’s to many more wins.
Good to hear from you, 84. Happy New Year to you my friend.
New Post 🙂