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.

Spurs have on average 8,284 empty seats for each of their home games this season, the highest in the league. Losing them a potential £160k per match

But he has the necessary attributes for a striker and is an option for them

We have 1 who is scared of the penalty area and another when can only play in the opposing 6 yard box

We have a third striker who is proven top quality over several years, but he's in exile.

Ian Ure £60000 was a world record transfer fee for a centre half back in the day.

Whilst he would be useful right now he’s looked shot this year. He missed some absolutely ridiculous chances . The one that sticks in my mind is Everton away when he put it wide but also Lacazette hit one at the keeper from 6 yards.

We’ve missed some absolutely criminal chances I shudder to think where we would be if we had took even half of them

Thanks for mentioning him. He had a big reputation following Dundee's run in Europe. A favourite of mine - a professional in his personal preparation and attitude towards the game in an era when that wasn't always the case with the players. If I have posted this before apologies, but on including him in my team of the Drought Years I once wrote:

"I have to select a man who admitted in his autobiography that he only became a footballer because as an unemployed eighteen year-old he had nothing better to do! Ure’s resilient and self-sufficient character was born out of his working-class upbringing in Ayr. He was only fifteen when his father died, and he soon learned how to look after his family. He put the hours in to make himself a model professional player, and wanted others to respect his worth. He could be hard-nosed and as unflinching in his contract bargaining as he was in the tackle. Arsenal was always his team as a lad, so when he moved south from Dundee in 1963 Highbury was a natural home. Ure was tall and lean, and his head of hair, as white as gin, gave him a striking presence. He was always immaculately turned out and fastidious as his team mate Jim Furnell recalled. ‘He had new white laces in his sparkling boots, new studs and meticulously taped his shin guards on. The tapes had to be spot-on, all the same length. He’d try about six pairs of shorts on until he got it right. He was unbelievable. Then Frank McLintock would ruffle his hair up and he’d go mad. Frank did that once before a team photo and when Ian saw his hair was ruffed up he ripped the photo up!’ Some may remember Ian Ure as a perfect combination of imperfections, especially when his mistakes led to losses, but considering he often had scant supporting cover from his midfield or attacking colleagues, he was mostly magnificent. He is in my side alongside Simpson and Neill as a carver of meat for men."

Of course he hasn't played well, but we know he has the ability. His finishing stats are not terrible this season though. XG of 6.89 against 4 goals scored. He missed 2 penos. Now, for a player of his quality that is not good enough. There are more problems with our attacking than just poor finishing.

How much their official attendances are lower than the capacity is surely the burning issue though. I presume they measure official attendances like Arsenal: seats sold rather than people inside the ground. If they sell every, or at least most, games out it may not be too much of a problem if 8,284 (on average) don’t bother turning up?

Having said that, Tottenham’s fan base is smaller than Arsenal’s. I’ve always wondered if their motivation for having a slightly bigger stadium than us had more to do with having the largest club ground in London (until or unless Chelsea build one, as isn’t West Ham’s 60k) than actually filling it game in, game out?

Great on Quizball.

There are but our poor finishing is a major component.

I don’t know how that stats can reflect anything positive about his finishing this season. Stats are misleading. He’s missed so many chances an average striker would take, one at Newcastle from 6 yards out and just so many come to mind.

Play Lacazette and our build up play is better but we will miss many chances, play Aubameyang and we will have slightly better finishing although not this season but weaker build up play.

omoh, ltg, etc, always get my curiosity about former players piqued.

And when we got there the cupboard was bare. Not a striker to be found.

https://newsjust24all.com/alexander-isa ... ayOHluAj4c

I haven't been paying much attention to the back pages. Has there been any big name or significant transfers so far in the league? I heard one or two I think.

Now, this is NOT an excuse for our inaction. I thought we'd have someone in by mid month with the buzz at the new year. Do our rivals have any new names?

Thanks for that. Ian Ure was in the side when I started going and was my first favourite player. Made a mistake against Swindon in the League Cup final but my dad rated him highly and so did I. Then came his performances in Quiz Ball, which he practically won for Arsenal on his own.

I was sad when he moved on.