Wenger has to make some tough decisions if he's to move the squad forward, PL wage spending rules mean we can only increase our wage bill by a certain amount (7%?) and if we extend Özil or Sanchez deals just one of them will probably take up most of that.

If we can offload Walcott to the hammers then I say go for it, he's on £110-140K a week depending on which source to believe, he did score a lot of goals last season but his all round game is average and I still don't think Wenger really knows whether he's a winger or a striker, frankly I don't think anyone does!, at 28 and so reliant on his pace he's not going to get better and will probably go downhill in the next few years.

Giroud is a good plan B but if he wants to start then he needs to go as well, all his best performances are from the bench and if he cannot accept that then tough decision time Arsene, prove you have a ruthless streak. There are younger options out there who will undoubtedly have more pace than Giroud if not quite his other strengths.

Not sure on the Ox, he did well for half of last season but how long have we waited for that?, I do like him but if he's holding out for crazy money and other teams are happy to pay him £150k+ then I think we might be better off looking for other options, especially in MF, there is also a touch of the "Walcott's" about playing well just before your contract is up..

I don't know how losing both Ox and Walcott would affect our home grown quota though, especially as Gibbs is also likely to move on and Wilshere and Szczesny's future are still undecided, we may not have any English players left at this rate!.

You must have missed the news, Arsene signed a new contract. Thinking we will have a "plan B" is just naive.

Giroud has scored a huge amount of headed goals since he arrived. I've forgotten if he's first or second highest in the headed goals record over the last five years but it's an aspect we severely lacked on before his arrival. And don't forget how useful he has been as a sub. It's a great option to have. Between Lacazette if he signs and if Theo and Alexis stay, not much height there. Wellbeck is decent in the air but misses so much football.

I'm not Giroud's biggest fan and wouldn't be that upset if he left but we would be losing a certain type of threat.

I like Giroud...for what he is. I think he gets slated for being something he never was. I think he maximized his skills with us. He was not a big name, he was one of Wenger's roll of a dice. Giroud got the fans ire initially for not being RvP. That's Wenger's fault. Giroud was never going to be able to replace or come anywhere close to being a replacement for RvP. He did the best he could with what God gave him. He was never known for his pace but gets slated for it. I think he turns difficult chances in to goals and as Sabir says as added headed goals to our 'arsenal' of threats. You get him the ball in the 6 yard box on the ground or air and he converts them at a more than decent rate. I would trust Giroud in the box more than any other Arsenal player save Sanchez.

I hope he stays BUT not at the expense of us not buying a top, top striker. We need adequate back up.The fact that Wenger has gone this long without buying a top striker is the real problem and a lot of fans are taking it out on Giroud unfairly.

You missed he irony. I am one of the most pro-giroud people on this forum however, for reasons that escape me, we never truly play to his strengths (aka the plan B).

An Alexis/Aguero sway being touted.

Can't see it myself. At his age, why would Aguero want to swap City for a team not in the CL? Unless he wants to live in London.

He knows that Wenger is as soft as putty and won't criticise him. He has a few medals already and will move into semi retirement.

According to Sky Sports it's £56m. So pounds sterling, not euros or US dollars.

EDIT: Elsewhere is says £48.7m, which is the euros option for the higher figure.

As you say, I can't see it happening but Sanchez is 28, Aguero is 29. They may be thinking they'd cut him in a year or so anyway. Sanchez is 'fit as a butcher's dog' (haha...love that Brit saying I learned from you lot) as you all say, Aguero is a bit more injury prone.

ZZZZ

T W A T

You alright Hoy. Perhaps fell asleep at the keyboard and your nose hit the z button. Its a bugger getting old isn't it?

Can’t say I’ve watched Lacazette play much, but he’s averaged 28 goals per season the last four years, and he just turned 26. I for one would be excited to see if he can take the next step at a bigger club in a better league. He’s certainly quick, which is a requirement for us. Giroud is a much better striker than Welbeck, but in my opinion we’re a better team with Welbeck playing up front simply because we need someone with that pace and movement.

Also, rumours from Spain that Mbappes family does not want him to join Real Madrid (yet, one would presume). Still a long shot obviously, but I like that we’re at least still in the race.

It appears that Pep doesn't really want him, for whatever reason. If you look at possible buyers, there are not too many who would put him as first choice, while also being able to afford his wages. Chelsea are going for Lukaku, the big two in Spain are sorted as are Bayern. Juve would be very unlikely with Higuain there. Man Utd would be perfect but for the fact that it would be a City to Utd transfer.

I'd imagine getting a good season behind him as first choice striker is probably more important to him than a season of CL, given that it will be a World Cup year and he is by no means guaranteed a spot in the Argentina side.

I would be very happy if we got Aguero to replace Sanchez, but it is probably very unlikely as these swap deals rarely happen.

It's hard to see Mbappe not going to Madrid. If he turns them down now he might not get the chance again. A loan back to Monaco might be how it works out.

I think there's a chance he stays with Monaco as well.

So in AG summary, I think Mbappe either joins us, joins Real Madrid, or stays at Monaco. There's also an outside chance that he joins another club.

The alternative is worse? Anyway, liven yourself up with your posts. Bit more variety. Im watching you!

I hear voices but I did not realise it was you.

Palace appoint Frank De Boer............................

Well, Prince Philip is getting on a bit and Liz perhaps fancies a toy boy?

Question for the older forum members.

I can't get my head round this DUP deal the tories have done. Is there a historical precedence of doing something similar in the past?

I mean the financial element to it not a coalition

if the cuts are to be eased in Northern Ireland, what about other parts of the country? Why is the deal being talked about like it's a high profile football transfer

While there may not have been anything quite as openly stated as the current DUP deal, various UK governments since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 have been ready to spend public money in Northern Ireland to keep things sweet. The spend of public money per capita figures for UK regions and countries for 2011/12-2015/16 were published in a House of Commons Briefing Note last November, and they show Northern Ireland consistently as the largest beneficiary. http://researchbriefings.files.parliame ... N04033.pdf

Ironically Theresa May's perilous political position has meant there is now a greater degree of transparency about what has been quietly going on for years.

That's really interesting. I was just interested because I can't recall figures ever being bounded about before.

Based on that research you wonder why on earth most Scots would want independence.

The investment in Northern Ireland was about more than keeping things sweet. As long as the Troubles were there, the economy was always going to suffer. It really was a basket case economy back in the 1980s with about 40% of the working population employed in the public sector. It is still high but at least Northern Ireland is now a proper functioning economy. If a hard border goes back up, it could be very damaging and the funding coming from London may increase substantially.

Lots of buzz about a bunch of French players this summer. Thomas Lemar of Monaco is popping up a lot on twitter now. Wasn't there someone on here who used to follow the French league?

This is supposedly our third kit for the season.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DCx4H62XcAAdyLa.jpg:large

Cannon?

The sooner this Puma deal ends, the better.

Hasn't everyone had enough yet of these ludicrous kits? I mean if we wear that more than 3 times next season I'd be shocked. You'd have to be mental to even contemplate it

Never thought I'd say this about a black/pink Arsenal shirt...but I don't hate it. Granted everything looks good on Giroud, but to me it's a step up from many of the third kits we've seen recently. I mean, compare it to this:

Or that purple monstrosity from the 12/13 season.

On the topic of new kits, Liverpool's home jersey for next season is horrendous.left half of the jersey is a different shade of red to the right half. Dreadful.

They are top of the league when it comes to horrendous third kits as well. Every year.

http://www.footballkitnews.com/wp-conte ... 3-2014.jpg

Half the problem is that the kits are now every 12 months so they aren't creating innovative new designs simply churning out new crud because they are running out of ideas.

The other problem we have at some point is that we will inevitably go down the route of having a sleeve sponsor like the other clubs are looking at and that will look *%^@ on our lovely white sleeves.

Apparently, Chris Willock is going to join Benfica's B team. Seems like a very strange move.

Guilty ....... okey dokey ...... but Christopher you said originally ...... " anyone ACCUSED should have their assets frozen " ...that includes a multitude of people . Electricians , builders , gas fitters , ceiling contractors etc etc

I haven't followed this case at all so I'm only thinking on the run here ..... so you say inferior cladding is to blame

Did the cladding start the fire ...?

I'd have thought the cladding is to protect the integrity of the steel stop it twisting out of shape and collapsing

To my way of thinking ; once a tower block full of cheap curtains , furnishings , carpets , bedding , clothes gets into full swing the finest cladding in the world is going to make little difference .

You might want to change this

........ " the robber runs into a crowded restaurant so let's open fire with a heavy machine gun and a couple of rocket propelled grenades ; happy you've got the guilty party " type approach .

Doesn't matter one iota to the rest of the world but the Kiwis won the America's Cup .

I think it's because we are such a poxy little country we are going ape sh*t over this achievement . We don't tend to be aligned to just one sport but take in an interest in all things NZ .

Just the David and Goliath battle our paltry little 36 million dollar budget ...we had the smallest budget of everyone involved in the regatta , Oracle probably spent more on morning teas for their 130 strong contingent ....... it's the equivalent of Andorra winning the soccer world cup .

Ellison had Oracle people running around in the middle of the night tearing down NZ flags .......suck it up Larry .

The problem with your way of thinking is that it is complete bollocks as usual.

The fire spread up the side of the building very rapidly transmitted by the cladding. It wouldn't have "gone into full swing" without the cladding. By the time most of those poor souls knew what was going on there was no escape for them. This would not have been the same if it had been simply fire transmitting between flats inside the block which would have taken a long time and the fire brigade would have been able to extinguish before it got near the the top floors from the fourth where it started.

Cladding on tower blocks has been a known problem for decades. Devoted away fans - Hoy I'm sure - will remember the market at Upton Park station with the huge James Sinclair Point looming over it creating an even more intimidatory atmosphere for those off to see the Spammers. That had to be decanted and demolished in the early 1990s because a fire started and transmitted vertically. In this case it was actually concrete cladding but it formed a kind of chimney sending flames UP the side of the building and igniting the flat above. If in addition to the chimney effect you also have non fire resistant insulation material between aluminium sheeting you are effectively encasing the block in a giant vertical accelerant which is what happened at Grenfell.

You're welcome.

The UK Govt is not paying more money in here to "keep things sweet." That's totally inaccurate.

TG, Irish nationalists held the "balance of power" back in 1885 where they supported Gladstone over the conservatives. This was used to advance the cause of Home Rule for Ireland (something like devolution today).

The deal is definitely grubby - 100 million a vote - but it would be churlish ofme not to welcome extra money for the region where infrastructure lags well behind the rest of the UK and Rep.Ireland. The majority of the money spent by the UK for a long time went on security issues and of course the Republic has benefited from its membership of the EU and the money diverted there.