Hi Haz,

Can't see Vlahovic happening at all. Too many snouts in the trough and he will probably have more attractive offers in the summer (playing-wise).

Isak is an interesting one. Fast and skilful but looks more like a winger striker than the conventional CF. Not necessarily a bad thing and could be amazing, after all we struggle to break teams down and his pace and dribbling ability might be exactly what we need. He looked amazing in the euros. Paying his buy-out clause would be a massive gamble, though, and one we couldn't really afford to get wrong.

I don’t think we’ll get Vlahovic either. But I hope we do because purely from what I’ve heard of him, he sounds much closer to the type of forward we need than the others I’ve seen described.

How much of a gamble is Isak’s buy out clause though, which we can’t afford to get wrong? After all, we spent £72m on Pépé and will lose much of it when he moves on. Meanwhile, the Kroenke’s are still apparently spending money.

I don’t think we’ll get Vlahovic either. But I hope we do because purely from what I’ve heard of him, he sounds much closer to the type of forward we need than the others I’ve seen described.

How much of a gamble is Isak’s buy out clause though, which we can’t afford to get wrong? After all, we spent £72m on Pépé and will lose much of it when he moves on. Meanwhile, the Kroenke’s are still apparently spending money.

I was listening to the Arseblog Arsecast Extra today whilst driving and they mention that we will probably need two strikers as things currently look with regards to our striking options. Losing Aubameyang, Lacazette and Nketiah will mean we need to fill at least two of those spaces. If we can't get our star signing until the summer, then we can still be trying to get the second player to at least get some options up front. For what it's worth I've thought for a while that Calvert-Lewin may end up at Arsenal, but probably not until the summer. however, I'd rather we didn;t just get anyone to make up numbers, or we'll end up back to square one in about 18 months or so.

Hi Darren,

Its a really difficult one. We are in a great position with a chance of top four but I think we can all agree the issues we have with regard to striker options could be our undoing, infact I just don't see us finishing 4th with the current options we have. Not unless Aubameyang somehow comes back in and starts banging in goals, which seems highly unlikely.

So what do we do. The fact is there are lots of CFs out there who would improve our options in the short term but only a few who could be seen as the longterm answer.

It feels like we have spent a long time this month on a wild goose chase and now we are running out of time.

It is such a frustrating team.
Then against bottom placed Burnley, and we decided to be conservative.
Still very disappointed to have dropped 2 points.

And he went crackers! Did you follow Carlsen's title defence against Nepo?

Hi Darren,

Its a really difficult one. We are in a great position with a chance of top four but I think we can all agree the issues we have with regard to striker options could be our undoing, infact I just don't see us finishing 4th with the current options we have. Not unless Aubameyang somehow comes back in and starts banging in goals, which seems highly unlikely.

So what do we do. The fact is there are lots of CFs out there who would improve our options in the short term but only a few who could be seen as the longterm answer.

It feels like we have spent a long time this month on a wild goose chase and now we are running out of time.

Hi Darren,

Its a really difficult one. We are in a great position with a chance of top four but I think we can all agree the issues we have with regard to striker options could be our undoing, infact I just don't see us finishing 4th with the current options we have. Not unless Aubameyang somehow comes back in and starts banging in goals, which seems highly unlikely.

So what do we do. The fact is there are lots of CFs out there who would improve our options in the short term but only a few who could be seen as the longterm answer.

It feels like we have spent a long time this month on a wild goose chase and now we are running out of time.

Well Stan's Rams have a good shot at the Super Bowl

...take out the 49ers this week and probably the Chiefs a little later he'll have a bit more cash to splash on a striker .

very Interesting seeing that footage of Arteta in the US at a hockey game with kroenke. He’s obviously there to lobby for transfer funds and build his relationship with the owner prior to flying out to the training camp in DUBAI.

Wonder how that conversation goes ? “Look mate you’ve gotta *%^@*** help us out here”

It’s invest or more sticking plasters we will have to fix later on

Juve are preparing a bid for Vlahovic very soon, certain he’ll end up there and pretty certain that Juve’s bid will be nowhere near as good as Arsenal’s. Juve will go for some odd 3 year loan with obligation to buy. If the player wants Juve and no one else then just move on.

if not, I'm walking ..............

Juve are preparing a bid for Vlahovic very soon, certain he’ll end up there and pretty certain that Juve’s bid will be nowhere near as good as Arsenal’s. Juve will go for some odd 3 year loan with obligation to buy. If the player wants Juve and no one else then just move on.

If we can’t get our target now, and spending £70m on our second or third choice is undesirable then we could look at a loan, Jovic at Real Madrid has lost his way but scored a load for Frankfurt before he went to Real.

He’s not coming is he? In fact he never was.


https://www.skysports.com/share/12524731

Hi ltg,

Funny how these so-say skint clubs suddenly find the money when they want it.

I hope we have decent back-up targets. No striker signing, either permanent or loan, and it feels like we just won't have enough to get top four.

If we were a supermarket we’d have a lot of empty shelves. Threadbare doesn’t begin to describe it.

I just hope that we don’t have one of those horrible trolley dashes where we panic and get dross.

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

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 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

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.

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

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.

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.