Tag: Transfers

Arsenal don’t Need a Super CF: Giroud, Alexis and Perez can score 50 PL goals and win us the Title

TotalArsenal

“Behind what hills does happiness hide, to lurk and plot its return?” Andrew Greig.

With Lucas Perez Arsenal have added a very interesting player. This is a bit of a Wenger gamble but if Lucas can add similar league goals (17) and assists (8) per game as he did in Spain, he could make the difference this season… and the difference is not finishing second but first.

We missed about 10 goals last season to clinch the title, and although I am aware that every season has its own dynamics, I feel we will go one higher if we keep our defence as tight as last season, or ideally a bit tighter, and score about a dozen more goals.

Wenger can now mix and match his attack per game if he so wishes, only to get to a regular strongest three up front eventually. Will it be Alexis – Perez – Theo, or Perez – Alexis – Theo, or will it be Perez – Giroud – Alexis?

Best all-round CF in the PL, Giroud bags two more goals! Thanking The Guardian for picture.

It is also quite possible that the likes of Iwobi, Welbeck (once he is back), Akpom, the Ox or even Willock will play themselves in to the starting three up front. And then regular blogger Shard will, quite rightly so, point out that we also have Sanogo who seems to be good cover for Giroud’s holding/enabling CF role.

I know some wanted a super CF up front but I am really happy with the options we have in attack now. For sure, Wenger will change the starting three sometimes to deal with the tactics and strengths of the opposition and to keep everybody happy, but he will also be keen to combine the strongest three as much as possible. I reckon that would have to be Alexis, Ollie and Perez, and if together they can get 45-50 PL goals we will win the league this season. The rest will come from the other attackers, midfielders and defenders.

Although this firepower up front has the mouth water running, I am just as excited about the service they will be receiving from four super midfielders: Xhaka, Cazorla, Rambo and Ozil.

Normally only three of these four midfield maestros will play, unless Wenger opts to play one of them on the wing in tight games against strong opponents. With these midfielders anything is possible, and Coquelin and Elneny will add the necessary steel and composure if and when required.

Xhaka can turn the game from defence to counter attack with one diagonal long distance pass from deep. Rambo and/or Santi can add the integrate play to dominate the midfield and creatively find the gaps and passes to launch deadly attacks. Furthermore, Rambo adds his engine to connect the defence with midfield, and midfield with the attack. And Mesut is our third dimension of finding space and time to instigate the winning attacking formula time and again. Which other team has such a talented group of creative, visionary midfielders that add a number of dimensions to our attacking play?

Of course we will have to see how this will work out in practice now. But I reckon our options up front and in midfield are now very strong and will make us very unpredictable and thus hard to play against. Rather than a predictable, one-dimensional feed the super striker game like they prefer in Manchester, we will go for the title by spreading the goals amongst three or four attackers and feeding them from all angles.

Whether it will work out remains to be seen, but that is what the seasonal football journey is all about! 😉

By TotalArsenal

Jack to the Cherries, Gnabry Auf Wiedersehn, Who else is Going: Gibbs, Zelalem, Ospina?

TotalArsenal

Join us on the blog for Transfer Deadline Day Developments!!

This has been the best final deadline day for a long time.

No stress or desperation because we have already brought in extra defenders, an extra midfielder, and an extra attacker is in the bag. On top of this, we are not being linked with a potential departure of a star player and are getting some cash back by selling Gnabry and loaning out a few players who need to develop in order to make it eventually in the first team at Arsenal… or not.

I would have kept Jack but enough has been said about his imminent loan move already. According to the BBC the Cherries have the best chance of ‘loan-signing’ Wilshere and that would not be a bad place for him to play himself into form. I really like Eddie Howe: he likes his team to play passing football and survived easily in the PL last season by doing so. Jack will get a proper chance to shine there and then he can come back to join the mighty red and white in January or next season if must be.

It looks like Gnabry is not too unhappy to leave the Gunners behind and has signed for Werder Bremen. I guess Arsenal cannot keep all the youngsters and have to get some return on our investment in the youth academy, but I hope we will not come to regret this in a Pogbaesque way 😀

From what I saw of the young German at the Olympics, I don’t think he was ready to play in the first team regularly despite his impressive goal tally of six, but it would have been nice to see him play and develop in a red and white shirt. Ah well, at least the Ox-believers get to see him for another season at least 😉

It should also open space for the likes of Willock and Akpom to make the squad this season and they are easily as talented as Gnabry.

I have a feeling that we will still see somebody else leave the club before midnight. It could be Debuchy who will want to play more regularly, even though I can see Wenger not wanting to let him go until Jenkinson is fully fit again.

It could also be Ospina or Zelalem, although the latter might be encouraged to stay now that Jack is going out on loan… and Ospina may be forced to stay as we need a safe pair of hands on the bench in case Cech gets injured. Gibbs is  being linked with a move to Liverpool and again I don’t think we can let him go as an obvious replacement is not available from within the squad. Yet I feel there could be something in it somehow.

Let’s wait and see what happens in the most philosophical way possible. 🙂

Image result for Laid Back People

Join us on the blog for anymore note worthy developments!

By TotalArsenal.

 

Not Jack but the Ox should hit the Road

TotalArsenal

30 hours to go till the deadline of transfer deadline day and it looks like Arsenal have done very good business this summer. We did not spend a silly £90m on Pogba but got Holding, Xhaka, Mustafi and Perez instead which will turn out to be far better business for us on the field, which matters most to us of course. Okay the new German defender still needs to be confirmed but this should be a formality.

If you look at the last twelve months or so, Arsenal have added quality players in all four lines: GK Cech, Defenders Holding and Mustafi, Midfielders Elneny and Xhaka and attacker Perez.  We kept all our quality players until now and let’s hope we will survive the next 30 hours as well, and then we have a very, very strong squad (see also the previous post).

It is now time to allow a few players to go on loan or to be sold, as we need to make space for some very promising youngsters and create plenty of playing time for the new arrivals.

It appears that Arsenal are willing to loan out Jack Wilshere but I hope we will keep him. Jack needs to play of course, but he also needs to look after himself and at Arsenal he can get playing time without too much demand on him (as in having to play every game). I also want him to work hard and compete with the likes of Xhaka, Ozil and Cazorla to get into the team. He has the talent to make it. On the other hand, if he lands at a club with a good manager who will use him wisely he could also prosper.

It looks like Chambers will go out on loan and I reckon that is a wise decision. Any youngster who gets bought by Arsenal should go out and learn to stand on their own feet via a loan spell. I wished we had done the same with the likes of Theo and Ox. Chambers is a good player but he has not made enough impression for Wenger to believe he is ready to be a regular starter at Arsenal. So go out there Calum and work your socks off. And from what I saw of Middlesbrough, they try to play good football which should suit him.

The rumour that Gnabry could be sold to Bayern is not very good news. I don’t know the exact contract situation of Gnabry and the club might not have much choice in the matter, but I hope the German is not leaving because he does not feel he will get a proper opportunity to shine at Arsenal.

And that brings me to the Ox. It feels like he has been forever at Arsenal, yet he is still young and keeps threatening to break through. Alex has his moments and we are all in awe of his speed and close ball control, but when it comes to delivering the goods in terms of goals and assists it is just not happening for him. Once again this season, he has periods in which he plays well and is part of the team, but sooner or later  he will drop off and become invisible. He was easily our weakest player against Watford on Saturday and this has been the case too many times.

Thanks to http://www.Arsenal.com for training picture
Two great guys, but will they still be at Arsenal in 2017?

I have said for years here on Bergkampesque that the Ox should go on a season long loan and establish himself outside Arsenal, where he simply has been pampered and protected too much. He will then come back with confidence and will have learned to turn his talents into hard, bankable outcomes.

I now feel it may be too late and would not be surprised if he gets sold in the next 30 hours. With Perez, Alexis, Theo and Ramsey – the Welshman is not a natural winger but he offers extra defensive cover and a very decent goal threat when played out wide – we have four quality players to operate on the wings: and if they are all fit and in form, they should normally play. But as it stands, we also have youngsters like Iwobi, Gnabry and Willock knocking very hard on the door. I feel the Ox has had his chance and we need to create space in the team, so it is out on loan or cashing in time. Time to hit the road, not so much for Jack but definitely for the Ox.

By TotalArsenal

Left Footer Lucas Perez the Perfect Partner for Giroud and Alexis

TotalArsenal

We know that we should not take the gossip re Arsenal signings too seriously, but if both the Guardian and the BBC report that we are interested in a player then I guess we are getting close.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/25/arsenal-set-to-beat-everton-to-signing-of-lucas-perez

Lucas Pérez, centre, in action for Deportivo la Coruña against Eibar in La Liga last week

So who is this Lucas Perez playing for the beautifully named Deportivo la Coruna?

From the video below you can see he is not the tallest but neither is he small at 1.81m. The almost 28 year old seems very left footed which would suit us fine as he could play on the wing, supporting either Giroud or Alexis in attack. And Ozil seems to work best with fellow left-footed players.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=lucas+perez+martinez+youtube&&view=detail&mid=33B2776F844E41922B1F33B2776F844E41922B1F&FORM=VRDGAR

He played 35 League games last season, with a total of 3141 minutes on the pitch. Lucas scored 17 league goals and produced an impressive eight assists. His pass success percentage is 79% and he produces two key passes per game on average. Those are the sort of stats that would suit Arsenal very well. I know that many a Gooner is dreaming of a super CF who scores 25+ PL goals a season, but I reckon Wenger has long ago decided he does not want to be too reliant on a single CF anymore. And it is about time that we follow suit…

Spreading the goals makes us less predictable and dependable on the form and fitness of one super player, and I am confident that between Alexis, Giroud, Theo, Danny and possibly now Lucas Perez we can score 50-60 PL goals per season. The rest will come from our midfielders and defenders, and our wider squad players in attack.

Lucas Perez had an average of 126 minutes between goals and assists in the league last season, and this is better than for example Alexis who needed 144 minutes between goals and assists in the previous PL season, and a lot better than any of our other options on the wing or in the CF position. I have a feeling that Wenger could play all of Perez – Giroud – Alexis, with the Spaniard and Chilean on either wing and interchanging regularly, in some of our games. Alternatively, he could rest any of these three and give the likes of Ox, Iwobi, Gnabry, Theo and Akpom a chance to shine.

Wenger is also likely to continue with Alexis in the middle during a number of games, and then play Lucas Perez and one of Ox, Theo or Iwobi on the wings. I don’t know about you but that gets me quite excited too.

By all means, Lucas Perez could also play as our CF as he reportedly is good at hold up play, which could mean he could be a good direct replacement for Giroud in certain games. However, I cannot tell from the footage I have seen whether the holding CF role would fit our apparent transfer target.

I have a feeling that this signing will go ahead, as it totally makes sense from Arsene’s perspective. Of course it could also be a typical Arsenal decoy for another signing in attack the club is hoping to make.

Let’s wait and see. 🙂

By TotalArsenal

Arsene has his new Arteta, but better!

TotalArsenal

Granit Xhaka – a name of steel to motivate the troops!

Arsene has his man for the summer. Granit Xhaka is the second central midfielder we signed this year and it will be very interesting to see where and how Wenger wants him to play. Xhaka, like our January signing Elneny, is a very fine passer of the ball. Only Bayern’s Alonso has more average passes per game in the Bundesliga, but unlike the Spaniard, and any of the other top-ten passers in Germany, Granit the Gunner (what a name!) is not afraid to play a long ball or a more risky pass….especially from deep. Xhaka has an average of 83 passes per game with a success rate of 85%, but he also executes a whopping seven long balls per game.

cid212873_XhakaVI01_1180_580x310

YouTube videos give indeed the impression that he loves to spread the game with pinpoint medium to long distance passes and with a good eye for a quick through ball. He does not linger on the ball either and, just like Elneny, he likes to find an efficient ball forward to create quick turnovers. He is confident on the ball and able to find or create space for himself constantly.

However, Granit also has the second most average fouls per game (2.6) in the Bundesliga and he loves the colour red, with three sendings-off last season in the league. With 2.4 tackles and 2.7 interceptions per game he does well in terms of his defensive duties, but he will have to balance his desire to get stuck in with a bit more discipline going forward. At just 23 years of age this will come, no doubt, and a bit of fire in our team will not go amiss either of course.

The more I look at the footage the more I believe we have signed a better version of Arteta – at least long-term. His ability to pass the ball forward from the back quickly and accurately, short, medium AND long distance will add another dimension to our play. IT will enable us to produce more deadly turnovers, I reckon. Rambo is not accurate and quick enough in this department and Santi misses some of Granit’s physical attributes. The Swiss young maestro seems to be a mixture of Santi and Coquelin or indeed a better version of Arteta. It leaves us with the opportunity to mix and match in the double DM pivot: we can pick two from Coquelin, Elneny, Santi, Rambo, Jack and Xhaka to create the right balance in the team depending on the opponent we are facing on the day.

Granit is already an established international with 41 caps (five goals) and has both top league and CL experience with 140 games under his belt (nine goals). Wenger paid a lot of money for him and there is no doubt that the former Borussia Monchen Gladbach captain will constantly feature in the first team next season, if fit. I have a feeling this will mean that Le Coq will not be an automatic choice next season. Francis, one of my favourite Gunners, is a more traditional DM with a more limited passing ability and Wenger seems to prefer to play more all-round midfielders with a strong emphasis on (forward) passing. This does not mean we will not see much of le Coq, as I expect Wenger to use him in games where we need to be defensively solid, or when we need to see games out.

I also feel that Wenger will play Elneny in the first team a lot and that we will see an Egyptian-Swiss partnership gradually flourishing in the double DM pivot. Granit and Mohammed, with their athleticism, natural physicality and superior passing ability, will allow the four attackers in front of them, as well as the full backs, to attack with intent and without worrying too much about the holes they are leaving behind them. I reckon that either Elneny or Xhaka will regularly join the attack, with the Swiss more likely to stay behind.

The question is what this would mean for the likes of Jack, Aaron and Santi. I reckon we will see Arsene play three attacking midfielders in front of the double DM pivot and with either a holding CF – Ollie – or a fast a furious CF – Alexis/new buy – up-front. It opens up the opportunity to play 4-2-3-1 – or 7-4 that can turn into 4-7 in just a handful of seconds – for which we can pick three from Santi, Jack, Aaron, Mesut, Alexis and Iwobi; and Theo might get another chance in this formation as well, although it looks like his time is up at THOF…

With Danny out for a long time and Theo possibly going, we need more fire power up-front, but with the signing of Xhaka we have just added a gem of a player -and with that another dimension – to our midfield play.

Granit the Gunner Welcome to the Home of Football!

By TotalArsenal.

 

Five ‘New Signings’: Le Coq and Rosa back, Jack, Santi and Danny to follow

TotalArsenal

All are fit against Barcelona in Nou Camp…. Who would you play?

Arsene announced today that Coquelin and Rosicky are available again and that Jack, Santi and Danny are a few weeks away – with the latter potentially nearer to a full come back than the others. That is about the best news we could have had: five very good Gunners ready to compete again for first team starts. They do not have to adjust to the playing football the Arsenal way… they are Arsenal through and through and will be fit again in no time. What is Arsene going to do with all those fine midfielders and attackers?!

We all know what Le Coq brings, and Rosicky is the sort of player we all enjoy watching: brilliant technically and tactically and he loves playing football, especially for the mighty red and white. And with the Spuds game not far away, we are lucky to have him back! 😉 Rosa will be able to give Mesut or Alexis a rest now and again and Le Coq will simply slot back into the double DM-pivot (after shaking Flamini’s hand for doing a sterling job over the last two months or so).

The news of Jack and Santi potentially returning towards mid to end of February is old fashioned heavy metal to my ears. Two very good midfielders who can play in various positions and fight for the course against any team. Fingers crossed their recovery goes to plan and we will see them in action soon.

The Welbz is also due back soon and, although I am yet to be convinced he has what it takes to make it as a CF at Arsenal, I am really looking forward to him injection energy and thrust from the wings into the team. His enthusiasm and extra goal threat have been missed over the last year or so.

I reckon these five returning is even better than buying five quality players, and there is little doubt that Wenger will keep his pennies in his pocket this January. Sorry other-people’s-money-shop-a-holics! 😀

Imagine that at the end of February we have indeed all these fine players fit and raring to go: finally Wenger will be able/forced (depending on how you view Arsene’s approach to rotation) to rotate his players in order to keep them motivated and fresh. During a midweek game we could field:

—————-Elneny/Flam——Jack———————

Rambo———————Rosa——————–Alexis

———————–Giroud—————————

And at the following weekend game we could field:

——————-Coq—-Santi———————-

Campbell—————-Ozil——————–Welbz

———————Theo—————————-

And these are just two examples…

Now when we are playing Barcelona at the open bath tub in March, and all Gunners are fit, who would you choose to start in midfield and attack…. and why?

Wenger

By TotalArsenal.

Never commented on Bergkampesque before? Join us with a proper comment and you will be welcomed! 🙂

What to do with Kieran Gibbs: LB backup, LM, DM, CB or Transfer?

TotalArsenal
_86580486_kierangibbs
Time to shine for Gibbs

As Arsenal are not playing till Sunday and the match preview will not go out until at least tomorrow afternoon, let’s blog about something else. It would be good to know what fellow Gooners would like to do with Kieran Gibbs.

Gibbser is 26 and has lost his preferred left back position to the currently immaculate Nacho Monreal. He needs to play regular football now as his best years have only just started, and he is too good to simply be a backup player.

Wenger has been playing him in front of Monreal as a sub on a few occasions: is the left midfield position an option for Kieran? Great defensively, but can he produce the assists and goals…?

Or should he aim for the DM position, currently vacated by Coquelin? He reads the game well, is very good defensively and a decent passer of the ball. He also has the stamina and athleticism needed for the DM role…

Alternatively, he could be developed into a CB, but it would take time and the competition is currently fierce…

He could also wait and compete hard with Monreal to claim his place, but how likely is it he will regain the LB position anytime soon?

Maybe his best option is to ask for a transfer by the end of the season?

What do you think, FFGs?

By TotalArsenal.

Better than Schneiderlin, Leiva, Fernand(inh)o| equal to Matic: Wenger already has a top DM

TotalArsenal

Francis-Coquelin-579487

Why we should all love Le Coq! 🙂

For the last few years, I, together with many fellow Gooners, have been banging on for the need to sign a top class DM, but not this time round. Arsene grew his beast all by himself: our very own Francis Coquelin. I knew he is a good player but delving a bit deeper into his key stats – and comparing him to fellow DMs at our main competitors – he impresses me even more. Francis Coquelin really now is our Beast of a DM we have been longing for for so long. Since he, quite miraculously given his loan spell at lowly Charlton till December, established himself in the team, Arsenal have done extremely well in the second part of the season. This was of course not all down to him, as Ospina, Giroud and Ozil, and indeed the rest of the team, also played a major part in our fine turnaround in 2015.

The stats below sum it all up perfectly for the Le Fab Coq.

DM Pass Success % Aerials won per game Tackles per game Inter-ceptions per game Blocks per game Clear-ances per game
Coquelin 85.9% 2.5 3.2 3.7 0.4 3.1
Schneiderlin 89.3% 1.8 3.7 2.6 0.2 1.7
Wanyama 84.1% 2.2 2.9 1.9 0.2 1.6
Leiva 87.2% 1.6 3.9 1.6 0.3 2.3
Matic 86.4% 2.1 3.6 2 0.2 3.3
Carrick 89.6% 0.8 1.4 1.7 0.6 2
Bentaleb 86.8% 1.4 2.3 2.5 0.3 1.9
Fernandinho 88.5% 1.3 2.8 1.8 0.2 1.4
Fernando 91.1% 1.6 1.4 1.6 0.4 1.8
Le Coq’s Position 8th 1st 4th 1st 2nd 2nd

PL performance data only – all data from ‘Whoscored’

So, amongst his peers, other than Francis’ pass success rate, he is doing very well. He is the best in the air, even better than the beasts Wanyama and Matic, and in a league of his own in terms of making interceptions, producing almost twice as many of these compared to Matic. In a head to head Coquelin wins three disciplines and Matic also wins three: a draw; but all other DMs above lose out against him. That is how good our man is, and it fully explains why Wenger is not looking for a replacement this summer.

Arsene wisely signed up Coquelin before the end of the season and nothing is nicer than seeing a youth player making it to the big stage. I must admit I did not think Francis was going to make it, but he did; and I hope Oz Gunner, one of my all-time favourite bloggers on BK, is reading this post, as he was the one who always stood behind the Frenchman and will be very pleased now with Le Coq establishing himself properly within the first team.

There is a decent argument for getting a back-up for Coquelin, though. We don’t have another equally good DM at the moment. Having said that, Wenger has many options and will feel that he can take the risk of Coquelin losing form, or getting injured. Arteta and Flamini are (currently) still around and on the day they can do a decent job. Wenger also has options to develop Debuchy or Chambers into a backup DM, or try one of the youngsters. Would I welcome another dedicated DM? Yes of course – and steeling the very young and promising Bentaleb from the Spuds would be very nice indeed – but it is definitely no longer a priority: with Fab Francis we finally have our Beast of a DM. Yippee! 🙂

By TotalArsenal.

Does Arsene already have the two top quality players needed to win the PL?

TotalArsenal
Can he break through this season?
Can he break through this season?

I believe it was old Red Nose himself, Sir Alex Ferguson, the infamous ruler of MU from sunny Govan, who once said that a successful team has a base of six or seven top quality players, surrounded by a number of good players both within the first team and the wider squad. If we look back at his as well as Arsene’s most successful teams, this statement seems to make sense. For example, The Invincibles were not all equal in my opinion: Lehman, Campbell, Vieira, Gilberto, Bergkamp, Thierry and Pires were the super quality players and the rest was good to very good. It makes perfect sense that not all eleven are super quality as they are hard/expensive to get, and good, hardworking players are needed to provide the right platform for the super players to shine (and yet, especially over time, all players from the Invincibles team have rightly achieved mythical status anyway).

I have been thinking about our current squad in terms of those all-important six or seven top quality players, and I reckon we are close. Certainly, the right buy can make a difference this season, but I am less sure whether it is absolutely crucial. Regular readers know that I like Arsene to find the balance between buying and growing from within; and the squad is pretty strong as it is. And recently, Arsene has been finding the balance very well indeed.

So for me, the top quality players are: Cech, Koz, Ozil, Alexis and Giroud. Some will exclude Ollie from this, but, as I have explained many times, there is no better holding striker around other than possibly Lewandowski. Let me add another one: Santi. He deserves it after proving me wrong last season.

This leaves us one maybe two TQ players short, and we can either buy or further develop what we have. Next season, there is a real opportunity to turn two out of Le Coq, Rambo and Wilshere into these two missing TQ players. They all have the potential but they will have to achieve consistently high level performances to really get there. Le Coq, alongside the amazing Bellerin, was the surprise of the season and has made a huge step forward. But we need to see this again and again next season and this will be a very big one for him. Rambo needs to gain momentum, and once he is in the zone he gets better and better. He is probably closest of all three talents to make it through to the TQ players, but…. He will need to stay fit and focussed throughout a whole season to really get there. Jack is the most talented of them all but also the most vulnerable to injuries, which he will have to overcome to start establishing himself properly. The thought of two, or ideally all three, of them making the big step up next season is simply mouth-watering. Fitting them all in is of course a challenge, but it is possible; and I agree with 17HT that 4-5-1 is the most likely formation for next season.

I feel we do not score enough goals, though; we are too over-reliant on Alexis and Giroud to produce the goods. So the easy answer is to buy a 15-20 PL goals a season winger with ability to play through the middle as well. For example, let’s throw all our money at Bale and get the Gunners-loving ex-Spud to wear the mighty red and white. Or maybe Gotze or Isco are the answer…..

But another part of me says let us get those goals from within the team. More goals are required from the midfielders and Arsene will be keen to achieve it. This must be Arsene’s biggest dilemma. The team is very good both in terms of quality and depth, and there is great growth potential from within; but we need more goal threat. Will it come from Rambo, Ozil and Jack, or is Theo, or even the Ox or Danny-boy, ready to blow us all away? Or does Wenger need to buy a carbon copy of Alexis for the other wing to get us our  seventh (or, dream, dream, eighth) super quality player, which should really give us a chance to go all the way?

Over to you fine, fellow Gooners.

By TotalArsenal.

The ONE Arsenal NEED to buy

TotalArsenal

Hey Bergkampesquers. Long time no blog from me!

arsene 300

It’s been an interesting season for us (as always) but this is the first time I truly believe that barring a monumental strike of bad luck (vis a vis injuries) we are truly up there as title contenders. The reason I say this is, for the first time, I can’t really pinpoint a position where I feel we desperately need to sign someone.

When it comes to transfers, everybody will always have their own ideas, and 95% of the time there will be a general agreement of our problem areas. Not this time. I have had a chat with many Gooners about this and the only thing that seems to be common is that we need a super striker. But I ask, do we really? Last season we had Alexis who scored 25 goals in his debut season. Given what we saw, this number could very easily hit 30, and probably will. Wenger pointed out that Alexis wasn’t making enough off the ball runs, especially in games where we were dominating. He would rather get the ball from deep & run at defenders. Le boss continued to say that he is working on this particular aspect of his game, and once he does improve it, he will hit 30+ goals. Guaranteed.

Then we have Giroud, who despite missing 1/3 of the season through injury, hit 19 goals. If we consider his pre-injury form & his post injury form, I think it is fair to say that had he been fit all the way through, his return could have hit the 28 goal mark. Even though that statement is laden with ifs and buts, I think he is capable. Then we have Theo who missed virtually the whole season: played seven games and scored seven goals. Again, what if he was fit all through the campaign?

I’d love to see a Benzema/Lewandowski/Cavani join us but what I am saying is that we do not NEED them. This is the case in virtually all other departments. In goal I think Ospina & Szczesny are more than capable (even though I’d love to see Cech join us). In defence, I am fully behind Wenger when he says Gabriel is going to be nothing short of world class. All he needs is a run of games to show it. Numbers-wise I think we are covered.

Then at DM, we have Coquelin who was fantastic. Maybe we need another DM here for numbers sake, but not one to replace him. Schneiderlin/Kondogbia would be my choice. We should then sell off Flamini and, sadly, Arteta.

To conclude, my position is this: if we can find genuine world class players who are better than what we have, let’s go for it. I just don’t feel like we are in need, like we always were.

What are your thoughts?

COYG!!

By Marcus