Agreed with regards to how much they've spent, but it would take a monumental managerial effort from Ole to get a title challenge out of his squad. That team has flaws all over; even if Varane turns out to be a success they've a weak goalkeeper and a terrible central midfield. Lots of attacking quality, but it's very difficult to see them compete with City and Liverpool.

I'd rather roll the dice on a proven player who may become a flop than buy on the cheap and hope that player can step up a level or two. Its the risk that comes with a big price tag on a player that is already achieving at a high level. Worth it.

The big boys win with proven players, not so much the other way around. Yes, we built a great side 20 years ago with the latter but that's then, with modern technology, the next Messi who is 7 years old in a small village in Pakistan is known to everyone.

We have gotten some mileage out of proven players (Sanchez, even Arshavin for a brief time, and others)

https://www.football365.com/news/solskj ... ice-latest
This article reckons Ole may go with just 1 holding midfielder next year after signing Varane. If that means accommodating Bruno and Pogba then I'm all for that because Man U will get counter attacked to death.
The reason Southgate preferred Saka to Sancho was that Sancho can switch off defensively as well. So that could be Bruno, Pogba, Sancho, Cavani, Rashford/Greenwood as a front 5 and none of them particularly adept at the defensive side of the game. We've seen what happens at Arsenal when you push that kind of team out.

Yes, Chelsea, City and United have been trying that bold method for some time now. If the other clubs were cleverer, they'd realise that buying expensive proven players is the best way to go.

Depends on the clubs situation though,

I think Declan Rive would do a great job for us but spunking 80 to 100 million on him would mean a season with problems in other areas of the squad.

I think the penny has dropped with chelsea and strikers though where they would rather pursue Haland than waste the same money trying different strikers who aren’t as good.

Newspapers in Spain suggesting Ødegaard wants to leave and join Arsenal.

Would be a very good signing.

I would be thrilled with that, if it happens. I feel much of the lack of enthusiasm about him here last season was more than a bit unfair.

He seemed to be getting some stick from Arsenal fans with a pre determined agenda that Emile Smith Rowe had to be played all the time. Why not have both ? Play Smith Rowe wide in games when we need to be more compact, rotate them, it’s great to have options not everything has to be black or white. He’s only 22 also.

I honestly can’t think of a transfer window more intriguing than this one. The next 4 weeks will literally determine what type of season we have I think. What happens with who we sell is even more important than who comes in.

I'd be happy to have Ødegaard back at the right price. For me that price is closer to £35m than £50m Madrid were rumoured to want.
My reservations about Ødegaard are only based on 6 months with us but they are: lack of pace and lack of goals and a little bit lack of mobility and dyanmism.
I have no concerns about his technical quality and passing and movement and general linking of our attacking play but I do see him more like a classic 10 when I think the game in general is moving away from that type of player unless they score a LOT of goals (like Bruno for Man U)
Having said that I don't think there are many of this type of player I describe available on the market, so if you can get a22 year old with huge potential for a good price then we should go for it.

I liked Ødegaard but I didn't love him. He is a fine player, no doubt but I expected a bit more from someone who is on RM's books. If he's the best we can do for the price we can afford, so be it.

I think you’re a bit deal more inclined to believe transfer gossip than me. Both in terms of the players we’re interested in and the transfer fees.

I have a Toon supporting friend who is pretty adamant Willock is going to the northeast. I don't know how much is what he's actually heard or how much is wishful thinking.

If he goes there I wish him the best of luck. My first worry is with the form he was in, he's expected to carry the team and have over the top expectations of him. He's a young man still learning his trade.

I don’t think it’s spurious gossip to suggest we would be interested in Ødegaard, Arteta said as much.

The player is at a crossroads too, 2 years on his contract

It wasn’t the player I was questioning our interest in this time, although it sometimes is. It was the fee.

I certainly take an interest in the transfer gossip - but there are certain pieces of information from certain journalists that I wouldn't class as 'gossip'. As far as fees are concerned the £50m has been mentioned at the end of last season but my post was not whether I believed in any fee being bandied around more what I would see as a good deal for us to get him.

I know you're sceptical on the £50m Ben White fee but it has been reported as that my numerous outlets so I doubt it is actually far off £50m.

I'd be very pleased if we signed Ødegaard. Madrid are desperate for funds so perhaps this rumour is more feasable than signing Locatelli.

Sometime between now and the next 24 hours, the forum may become unavailable.

I'll have to see what happens to it to see what action needs taking.

Sounds suspiciously like a cull. Why am I reminded of the Hitchhikers Guide book about the space ships to get rid of the useless third of the population?

Perhaps when it returns we will have bought White and Ødegaard.

Made me laugh. What an unfortunate bit of ‘management’ by Rooney. http://www.skysports.com/share/12365188

The good news is, the forum should be even faster afterwards as the new company (the parent company of who we are with now) uses all the latest SSD drives, enterprise class equipment and interfaces, etc.

At least Ødegaard may actually want to play for us, everything I've read about Locatelli is we're chasing a pipe dream as the player only has eyes for Juve. Juve don't have money but it seems they will structure a loan with obligation to buy for payments once the coffers have swelled a bit following the return of fans

Good grief!

Is that Tavares?

Edit: quick google my second guess Miguel Azeez with a haircut???

Bodes well for a young midfielder looking for minutes that he looks physically prepared for men’s football. If this is Miguel...

Good spot. It is Azeez. Legs of oak.

He’s got a great shot from distance - no wonder looking at those tanks holding him up. I’d put him just behind Lokonga then in getting some minutes this season. I wish if only for the sake of players like him, Willock Balogun and Martinez we were in the Europa. Players who seem good enough for some minutes but I can’t see really apart from injuries where they might get them.

That's only a smaller part of his current probs lately.

Looks more like Gabriel Magalhaes.

Really?

Well no maybe not Gabriel. Azeez got a haircut.

If you mean Ornstein as one of them, I’ve explained here that some years ago I went to an AST where he was the guest speaker. Ornstein was introduced in glowing terms with regards the accuracy of what he said. The following day I did some research on this and found many reports showing what he had said was hopelessly wrong. The examples weren’t few and far between. Really they weren’t.

From what I’ve seen of Ornstein his speciality seems to be getting things right the day they actually happen. Any earlier than that and I’m less convinced.

Agreeing to this would be really stupid on our part. It’s sell him or play him now. Hope this isn’t true


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... -deal.html

I can see where people who are skeptical of Ødegaard are coming from. Truth be told, he probably had more anonymous games than good ones for us, but that's to be expected considering his age, and coming into a new, very demanding league in a team that's struggling. There weren't a lot of Arsenal players who played consistently well last season.

For me, it's all about the good games he did have, which was quite a few. Especially the really good ones, like West Ham. He showed qualities that we lack, skill on the ball and great will to drive the team forward. I would be very excited to see what he can do over a full season with us, and he's still just 22 years old. At 22 Bruno Fernandes was playing for Sampdoria, and wasn't exactly setting the world alight, still a few years away from his big breakthrough at Sporting. It wasn't until he was 25 that he went to Man Utd. A future attacking lineup including Ødegaard, Saka and Smith-Rowe looks really exciting to me.

I was thinking more about Fabrizio Romano. It’s rare a journalist is going to get everything spot on because last minute changes can happen. But Romano is regularly ahead of the crowd on transfer news.

We keep being linked with very good players, the latest in a long line being Lautaro Martinez from Inter.

Obviously the Martinez one is unlikely given our lack of CL football but I just wonder if there is something else going on, in that the Kroenkes are prepared to do something big this summer.

The only way someone like Martinez comes is if he is sold a project that is incredibly persuasive.

One thing we do have going for us is that some of the usual suspects who bid for these kind of players are out of the running due to financial pressures. Madrid, Barca, the italian clubs, maybe even Bayern are unable or unwilling to spend big. I even read that Liverpool are not going to be signing any more players this summer, though I take that with a pinch of salt.

This may be a real opportunity for clubs who do have money to get players they might normally face too much competition for.

There are rumours Chelsea and Man City are in for him, and if that's true we don't have a chance I'd assume. But in general, I think people tend to underestimate just how big a draw the Premier League is. CL football is a draw too obviously, but Arsenal are still considered a big club. We managed to sign Partey after finishing 8th in the league, and he was a starter for an Atletico Madrid side that have challenged for, and won, big titles in recent seasons.

I've defended Ole in the past, but I would be less surprised if Arsenal finished above United, than if United finished above both City and Liverpool. I think that Solsjaer has his strengths and is a decent manager, but that Arteta has a much clearer footballing vision, and a much higher ceiling.

I think there is something going on with how Arteta and Edu are able to convince players of the 'project' we have here. Lokonga talked about buying in to it and being told we're building around younger players and giving them a platform. The Partey deal you mentioned really shouldn't have been able to be done considering his status and our immediate position at the time. Also convincing Smith-Rowe, Tierney, Saka and Balogun to all sign long term deals with the club.
Of course, money talks and I'm sure all these players are being richly rewarded for committing to us but you would like to think there is still something big about the Arsenal name. Two 8th placed finishes, but the stadium and fan base is still huge and we still have won trophies even in our lowest moments.

Two possibilities. One is the Stan isn't quite the tightwad people think, and can see that Arsenal are a good investment and that market conditions are excellent for strengthening the squad.

The other is that quite a few players are looking at Arsenal and thinking we are a bit of a sleeping giant that is showing signs of waking up, and thinking they'd like to be part of that. As you say, an interesting project.

Both are a bit tenuous, particular given how competitive the league is and how hard it will be to get back into the Champions league, let alone win the EPL, but not beyond the realms of possibility.

I agree it feels like we are having quite a progressive summer.

I’ve said previously I thought Kroenke would have have a decent summer to deflect from the mismanagement of the club over the last few years, it’s *%^@ or bust for him with the fans who now know we are in the wilderness.

Also it’s similar with his own relationship with Arteta. How could Kroenke say to Arteta he was given every opportunity with the state of the squad last year. Totally inadequate, patched up with loans, no reserve keeper for half, no attacking midfielder for half. Wouldn’t surprise me if the manger hit the owner with an ultimatum that you fix this or I’m off.