This should cheer us all up.

Zaha has officially told Palace he wants to leave, not sure if that is the same thing as a proper transfer request....but it must surely only strengthen our position and weaken theirs.
I’d still be against spending any more than £40m plus some deadwood players we can’t shift otherwise.
If we keep going up, say something like £60m you’d have to feel the money would be better spent elsewhere more evenly across the squad. We do afterall have some very exciting young players who play wide.....we don’t have that luxury in defence

Do we?

Saka, Nelson.....is back Nketiah to do better in a wide right position in the first team than any youth team central defender would do as a CB in the first team. Only
My opinion but the young players we have that everyone is talking about are attacking players.
We don’t have youth team players of their quality in defence. Besides I think it is easier for a young player to make their mark in the first team in wide areas than central defence

I think, whilst that is true, Zaha hits the ground running. He’s premiership tried and tested and to a degree is battle hardened scrapping for a mid table team week in and week out. That’s worth over paying for in my opinion and especially for us and especially now - well last season would have been fine too. Whether we can get it over the line is another matter and it won’t happen. If Palace sell him now and then have to scramble to get a replacement in - they could go down they just won’t do it. Maybe two weeks ago if we had the money but not now, and I think it’s a shame.

I can see Aubameyang going and Zaha coming in.

Saka, Nelson.....is back Nketiah to do better in a wide right position in the first team than any youth team central defender would do as a CB in the first team. Only
My opinion but the young players we have that everyone is talking about are attacking players.
We don’t have youth team players of their quality in defence. Besides I think it is easier for a young player to make their mark in the first team in wide areas than central defence

Super rich men buying tax breaks - nothing ever changes.

I think, whilst that is true, Zaha hits the ground running. He’s premiership tried and tested and to a degree is battle hardened scrapping for a mid table team week in and week out. That’s worth over paying for in my opinion and especially for us and especially now - well last season would have been fine too. Whether we can get it over the line is another matter and it won’t happen. If Palace sell him now and then have to scramble to get a replacement in - they could go down they just won’t do it. Maybe two weeks ago if we had the money but not now, and I think it’s a shame.

There is an awful lot being made of Rob Holding's comeback but, let's be realistic, he is coming back from a serious injury and will take time to recover properly and this is not the return of a peak Sol Campbell.

From what I saw of him he is a promising and steady player with a decent all round game but with no real outstanding quality that suggests he could become a worldclass CB. I hope I'm wrong.

He should really be looked upon as a promising back up centre half.

There is an awful lot being made of Rob Holding's comeback but, let's be realistic, he is coming back from a serious injury and will take time to recover properly and this is not the return of a peak Sol Campbell.

From what I saw of him he is a promising and steady player with a decent all round game but with no real outstanding quality that suggests he could become a worldclass CB. I hope I'm wrong.

What do you make of Bielik seemingly going? Player of the season on loan and impressing with Poland.

I'd love to know the inside story on Bielik myself. Doesn't make sense from the outside looking in and we have seen players that there was a consensus was good (Gnabry) and allowed to leave.

Mmmm

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... mises.html

'The new leadership had their own agenda': Former Arsenal transfer chief Mislintat accuses club of breaking promises as he opens up on shock exit

He should really be looked upon as a promising back up centre half.

Hi Ash,

I'm disappointed that he seemingly is not going to be given a chance in pre-season to show his worth but it appears he is not Emery's cup of tea. No idea why. It is not like we are blessed with umpteen quality CBs and DMs.

If we do sell I hope we at least get market value for a 21 year old with his ability and experience and not practically give him away as we have other youngsters.

There is an awful lot being made of Rob Holding's comeback but, let's be realistic, he is coming back from a serious injury and will take time to recover properly and this is not the return of a peak Sol Campbell.

From what I saw of him he is a promising and steady player with a decent all round game but with no real outstanding quality that suggests he could become a worldclass CB. I hope I'm wrong.

He’s the 2nd best centre back at the club. It may not be the best indication of our talent but he’s not a back up.

He’s the 2nd best centre back at the club. It may not be the best indication of our talent but he’s not a back up.

See the thing about centre halves are the best attribute is inside their head.

If you think back to Tony Adams what would you say his best qualities are ? I’d probably suggest he was strong but also his judgement was his best attribute. Steve Bould absolutely likewise.

Holding seems a bit like that, he is strong but seems to have a good head. Great performance in the cup final when he was up againest Costa

True on Zaha. But my point was based on a hypothetical choice between having zaha and spending nothing on defence, or having to entrust a youth team player in defence vs not having zaha, letting Nelson and saka play games on the wing but spending £40m on the defence.
And with our tiny budget it could easily be that choice
If we concede as many as we did last year we won’t get top 4.

Hi Rich, always fix the biggest weakness. In our case defence. Although if we stopped playing the full-blown but half assed wing back thing then we wouldnt get caught out so much.

I think Zaha at 40m is a waste if money and wouldn't be remotely excited even if he did join.

Emery will be done by Christmas if he doesnt sort some *%^@ out soon.

If you have me the choice of £70m on 26 year old zaha or £35m on 23 year old Everton Soares I’d take the later as long as the remaining £35m was spent on a CB. Surely that has to be the better deal for our squad?

It won’t be 35 million for soares though.

Apparently he’s a real talent for Brazil and being touted as the next Neymar

P.s. when do we hear that Özil and Mustafi have been either sold or contracts terminated. The short term financial payouts will live long in the memory of any other a****** players that want to jerk the club around.

If Özil still "works" for Arsenal at the start of the season then we are as weak as frequently reported.

It won’t be 35 million for soares though.

Apparently he’s a real talent for Brazil and being touted as the next Neymar

There has been considerable speculation regarding a deal for this fella but I think one of the difficulties, and perhaps it may well be why no one has pulled the trigger on him yet, is that there are believed to be third party ownership issues to overcome for any potential buyer. The clubs own a part of him and so do a few other investors. There was a time when we avoided these kinds of deals so it may not be something we would look to get involved in unless a straightforward solution could be found.

Also, neither are totally without worth. To terminate their contracts you need to pay them everything you would to keep them. So you may as well just keep them. Mustafi may be accident prone, but is still a better option than Zech Medley. Özil may lack aggression and defensive competence and a consistent goal threat, but he's still better than Robbie Burton. And, also, Özil is perfectly capable of having a better year without fitness issues and being a net positive.