We've let several players leave on loan without replacing any of them.

I understand the desire to get some of them out the door but no sensibly run club leaves themseleves short in the process. A bit like selling your car with a view to buying something better but without really having any guarantee that you can quickly get the upgrade you want to replace it with at the price you want to pay.

You'd hope there’s a plan, wouldn’t you? Our attack was so sterile and ineffective on Sunday but on the face of it, unless there’s a major acquisition (or three), that’s what we’re left with for the rest of the season.

Lacazette is a decent striker and he’s quite well suited to a withdrawn role but he was just too deep against Burnley, largely I think to offer some form of creativity in the absence of Xhaka and Partey. Lokonga is solid, but that’s all. As the sole central striker, he couldn’t get forward quickly enough which left us lacking in the box when the wide men created chances.

But worryingly, Lacazette is all we’ve got. Hopefully, Partey and Xhaka will offer a more from mf to allow Lacazette to get a bit further forward, but our central striking options are woefully limited at the moment. I’m afraid I’m changing my view on Nketiah; he’s played like a drain on the last few occasions I’ve see him.

So here we are. PEA is persona non grata, Eddie is looking more and more to be a dud, Balogan is gone and the only other option in the squad is Biereth who, though undoubtedly an exciting prospect, is most unlikely to be up to the job just yet. It’ll be good to see Pépé back but if Lacazette is to be the only central striking option for the rest of the season, we have little chance of a top 4 finish.

Another option is Martinelli up front with Emile Smith Rowe on the left (where I think he's played better than at No.10). There may be doubts about Martinelli's hold up play but on paper that is an exciting front 4

A look at the squad when Arteta took over:
Leno, Bellerin, Tierney, Elneny, Sokratis, Mkhitaryan, Ceballos, Lacazette, Özil, Torreira, Aubameyang, AMN, Holding, Cédric, Pépé, Mustafi, Chambers, Mari, Luiz, Nelson, Martinez, Mavropanos, Willock, Guendouzi, Nketiah, Kolasinac, Emile Smith Rowe, Macey, Xhaka, Martinelli, Saka, Saliba. 32 players. Of course some of those went on loan but that was the list of first team players on our books in December 2019

A little over 2 years later that 32 has been reduced by 10 players
Leno, Bellerin, Tierney, Elneny, Lacazette, Torreira, Aubameyang, AMN, Holding, Cédric, Pépé, Chambers, Mari, Nelson, Mavropanos, Guendouzi, Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, Xhaka, Martinelli, Saka, Saliba

And of the 22 listed above I think the 10 below are the only ones with us to start next season:
Tierney, Holding, Cédric, Pépé, Chambers, Emile Smith Rowe, Xhaka, Martinelli, Saka, Saliba (and even in that there are question marks over Cédric, Chambers, Pépé, Xhaka and Saliba - the first 4 I think Arsenal would sell if they found a good price)

The rate of squad turnover has been astonishing in the last 2-3 years.

The closer we get to the deadline, the more I'm leaning towards just paying the release clause for Isak. It's more than he's worth currently, but he's 22 and has bags of potential. Let him grow with Saka, Martinelli and the rest. Would give the place a buzz too.

I like the sound of that Rich because I think Martinelli as a line-hugging wingman takes a lot away from Tierney's game. Don't get me wrong - I've been impressed how well Martinelli has kicked on since getting a run in the team, but I think that at wide left, he also restricts Emile Smith Rowe's effectiveness.

Not sure what the answer is. Martinelli, Ødegaard, Emile Smith Rowe and Saka are real talents and all deserve to play but I don't think we've yet seen a formation that effectively accommodates all four. For the time being, I just think Martinelli is too lightweight for a central role.

I do wonder if we might do this. 70 million quid is absolutely huge money though for him. It would be a huge decision though.

If we can add a couple of quality players we would have a genuine chance of fourth. Need a boost

You log onto the bbc news website to see what’s happening each day and end up shaking your head at the state of the stuff you read. Police now investigating our own government. Never seen anything like it, a bunch of incompetent arseholes. Hardworking people deserve better than this.

Pépé cost more....not that he's a great example of a big money transfer. Apart from Haaland and Mbappe, there is a real dearth of quality strikers out there. I think it is due to teams moving away from playing with two strikers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_m ... _transfers
A list of the highest transfer fees ever paid. Its amazing to look at that list and think how few of the top 30 or so have been a success

Referees has been asked to go and look at the VAR pitch side monitor 49 times this season and have overturned their original decision 49 times.

I would expect it to be a high percentage, that accounts for all the very basic or easily spotted mistakes, but VAR was/is only meant to be there to correct clear and obvious errors, and so many on field decisions going to VAR are so 50/50 that they simply can't come under clear and obvious error. For there not to have been a single ref stay with his original decision shows something

Of all the strikers we've been linked with the one I like the best is Jonathan David. He has an athletic quality and speed of movement that just shouts top quality footballer. Like his movements and feet are a step ahead of the defenders. He's played about 2/3rd of his games as a CF and 1/3 of his games as a second striker.

I'm all for this new fashion of having your No.9 as someone who drops deep and links play but to be honest give me a more of a classic centre forward who generally has the beating of most CBs for pace, movement and skill any day.

That, and many top sides have moved away from strikers being the main attacking weapons. Liverpool with Firmino, Man City without a proper central striker, PSG hasn't had a main central striker since Ibrahimovic (Mbappe plays there, but also spends a lot of time as a wide forward).

Hi Rich,

I don't think Martinelli is ready physically for a central striker role, at least not in the system we play. We've seen him try without much success so far.

It's possible we are guilty of playing to the perceived (actual) level of the competition. I would suggest that had we played the same way we played in losing efforts against Liverpool and City and X vs XI in the first leg of the tie, we'd have beaten Forest and Burnley fairly easily.

We aren't at the level of City and Liverpool, but we played them as well as almost any side, save possibly Chelsea who are markedly better than we are.

We couldn't have gotten to where we are without starting to beat the sides around and below us. We're not doing so.

That's Arteta's job to address that.

It definitely would Haz, the only slight issue being he's very much a work-in-progress and with that fee would come unrealistic expectations, at least in the short term. Still want it to happen though.

A top quality CF and CM and we'd have every chance of competing for that 4th spot but I bet every team in contention would feel a couple of quality additions would greatly increase their chances.

Hi Kiwi - yes Fischer did all you say - I recall working in a play centre during the summer of '71 and some of the kids really got into chess because of that famous match. Dramatic doesn't begin to describe it - not turning up for one game; claiming his chair was being bugged by the KGB; going 0-2 down but still winning the title. In the days before chess engines he was untouchable. Totally charismatic.

Magnus Carlsen gave Nepo a beating - the latter committed several surprising blunders after having lost the incredible game 6. Nepo had walked to the top of Everest and found Carlsen already there.

Vlahovic looks like he's going to Juventus. Cant say i'm surprised but lets hope Arsenal have been working on alternatives.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... fiorentina

I've seen an argument online that because we really need two strikers come the summer, that if we can't land our big target now, then go and get the back up striker now and it is a lot easier to bring the big target in the summer rather than the other way round when the back up knows hes coming to be a back up.

I also think we need 2 central mids in the summer. We have been short in numbers and quality this year and we lose Elneny (not a huge loss but it is still a body in there) I'd be looking at bringing in a left sided defensive midfielder who can dictate play someone like Ruben Neves to pick a premier league style player - or if it more of a ball winner Bissouma (police enquiries pending!), and also bringing in a central midfielder who can go box to box (a classic No.8) give us something more in creativity and driving forward with the ball. This player should have the flexibility to play in a 2 man midfield but also at the tip of a 3 man midfield or as a pair of No.8s (where I think Arteta wants to get to) - The ideal prem comparison is De Bruyne, unrealistic of course but that kind of skillset. Strong rumours about Bruno Guimares from Lyon who would fit that mould. That is potentially £80m worth of midfield signings alone though!

I see Lokonga as the Partey understudy.

Then there are 2 strikers plus a back up right back. That could be £200m+ of investment which is highly unlikely without some big money coming in......and we have plenty of players leaving for free rather than decent money.

Why anyone thought otherwise is a mystery. No CL, out of both cup games, abysmal display against a bottom rung club. What's left is a distant chance of an EL spot. Wave a magic wand, get in good with the tooth fairy, hedge a few well placed bets and a CL spot may still be on. Arteta having a pre-arranged meeting, during a break, with an owner(s), by stooping to a level of angst of force-feeding what he must convince them is of dire concern to save the season. Best of luck having to emphasise that, yes, trophies do matter, fans matter, as well as credibilty of club the status of Arsenal. Arsenal is a business to the Kroenkes. But, a business only looks good, if the assets of that business are healthy.
Ornstein made a statement awhile back that Vlahovic was holding out for a move to Juve and wanting CL. No way if he's the stature of what is advertised in the media, would he be bothered with assisting a club getting into the CL, when you can go to one that is ready-made for it. Irregardless of club history, etc, many top players know/aware of how the Kroenkes are by reputation. You won't get a Mbappé, Haaland, Messi.

True, but our club has not been transferring in the stellar names for generations - you probably have to go back to the 1930s for that. Dennis apart, when have we eaten off the top dishes on the table? Pretty much all of our success has come through a combination of shrewd buying and bringing through and developing young guys.

Juve seem to have struck a deal with Fiorentina, £70m odd. I think we should reassess the value we've put on Torreira for them, he's played well (just won their player of the month) and they're suddenly flush with cash.

Also, seems to be pretty hard to buy from the Italian market, every Italian based player just wants to play for Juventus, who despite being £200m odd in debt manage to find £70m for a new striker

In our game v Burnley we had all but the same expected goals (xG) as our game vs Spurs. I think it was 1.40 vs 1.49. We still created good chances against Burnley we just lacked the finishing touch and against Spurs we finished everything.

Newcastle have bid 40m euros for Bruno Guimares. Newcastle just going absolute scattergun with any player they've read about in the transfer rumour columns. Yes Newcastle might have scouted him but in all seriousness up until the takeover they would have dismissed him as too expensive and out of their league and not paid too much attention to him. It is like Arsenal spending loads of time scouting Mbappe right now.

Anyway, plenty of journalists have said Guimares is near the top of our midfield wanted list, so it seems like its time to pull out of the Arthur Melo deal and get on Guimares. £33m for a player of his quality is not that much at all!

Not sure that’s true Old Man.

In recent times, Sanchez, PEA, Pépé, Partey, White, Ramsdale - all highly regarded and bought for their asking prices.

We are in the game.

Telegraph saying Isak would be unsure about a move to us.

I’m honestly not sure what you do here. The only option at signing proven strikers is literally paying through the roof and so much money the club and player can’t turn it down. I think that’s why Chelsea signed Lukaku, I mean they had him previously but they looked at the market and he was the best available.

I dunno wether you could delve into the championship and sign a promising striker there for a much lower cost as a temporary fix so we at least get an option.

OMOH mentioned the 1930s for stellar names. Alan Ball in the early seventies was most definitely a stellar name too.

Malcolm Mac? Ian Wright?

Was at the Op Shop yesterday ...there was about ten little books of Wills cigarette cards . Cars , trains , planes , warships , motorbikes , football players etc
for pricing purposes I was trying to figure out a date .

The cars .......... well Riley , Alvis , Wolseley , Standard , Austin , Jaguar , Rover , Armstrong of the period shown looked pretty much the same , fractionally different in size ; so I checked out the football cards .

Didn't have my glasses so squinting at that tiny print was a bit of hassle ... black and white ... didn't recognise names from other clubs .
Finally encountered a couple that looked like they might be wearing Arsenal shirts ; more squinting , painstakingly deciphered two names .
T. Drake ....E . Hapgood . got a date 1935 .

Did check out a couple of Nepo games after you mentioned it .... yes Game 6 was a terrible blunder , bloke analysing the game said Nepo spent 40 minutes in the toilet after gifting Carlson that pawn with the threat of checkmate .

Quite a poignant little clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UztHjWy ... =Chess.com

Charlie Nicholas

Indeed. He was the hottest player in British football at the time and foreign transfers were incredibly rare so he was basically the most sought after player around. With Liverpool and Man Utd both looking to sign him, that really was a monster transfer.

Definitely Charlie Nicholas

Also people forget but David Platt at the time he signed was quite a biggie as he was England captain and probably the best player in the England national side and certainly high profile. Seemed a very un-Arsenal signing to me. Obviously he ended up being disappointing a bit.

All very good players, but nowhere near stellar when we bought them - Aubameyang closest of all. Actually I forgot Özil who was top dining.

Yes, you are right.

Mac was very good, not stellar. Wright was not stellar when we bought him, but became so.

Stella not stellar.

It’s not as if that has worked out for Chelsea

On the money Dec ...
Remember at the time either Souness or Dalgleish maybe both ..desperately playing the Jock card to convince Charlie to join Liverpool .

They were very p**sy when he joined us .
.

So, has our rivals (the top 6 places) brought in anyone of note so far? The big question is if we don't bring anyone in, will we be able to cope? Yes, it will be harder, but I still maintain we can if 1. we stay healthy. 2. We start playing well against the the teams below us. The squad can be forgiven losing to City and Liverpool, as long as we made it difficult for them and we did. Losign to Forest and drawing Burnley isn't what top 4 clubs do. 3. We utilise anyone who can be of help. Pépé, Aubameyang, whomever, for rotation especially. Legs will start getting tired around March before the final push.