More!

What a goal!

WOW! Nwaneri! 5-1!!!

Refs can't fix a 5-1 thrashing

Need Everton to come to play in the derby now

City is always good for padding our GD.

Partey was so good today.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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Partey was so good today.

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I have said several times. If Partey only plays the midfield and NOT right back, he is not bad. When at right back he is too concerned with keeping the line and cannot make the offensive impact he really can make.

Now that Calafiori is getting fit. I would love to see MLS get time in Partey position and Calafiori on line

Ornstein said no transfer activity for Arsenal. I know transfers in January are hard and really expensive, but man they needed to get some sort of refreshment for the legs. Havertz is gonna be dead by March

wangus12 said:

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Ornstein said no transfer activity for Arsenal. I know transfers in January are hard and really expensive, but man they needed to get some sort of refreshment for the legs. Havertz is gonna be dead by March

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Didn't seem hard for a number of other teams. Curious if we have limitations others may not or if our interim SD (Ayto) just isn't very good?

I wonder if our level of play makes it even harder? We could bring in a player that isn't as good as Kai but don't we already have that on the bench?

To bring in someone to replace him would be very expensive and we'd overpay. I don't like that we couldn't bring anyone in but I understand it.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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I wonder if our level of play makes it even harder? We could bring in a player that isn't as good as Kai but don't we already have that on the bench?

To bring in someone to replace him would be very expensive and we'd overpay. I don't like that we couldn't bring anyone in but I understand it.

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Who?

Our current ST depth is Havertz/Trossard/academy prospect
Our current W depth is Marti/Trossard/Nwaneri/Sterling/academy prospect

Similar argument on D but several of them seem to be coming back so maybe not so pressing. Bottom line is that we need a body (or 2) that can give us something more than an academy prospect because that's what is currently on the bench.

The pass from Rice is just as good

Agree. Who were we going to sign? It seemed to come down to 2 names and both were going to cost way more than value.

Spurs paid 50.2MM for Tel. This is a 19 year old guy, totally unproven, and Bayern more than willing to get rid of him. Based on the price they paid, this kid better pay off.

Ollie - I would have been okay getting him but not for 60MM+. Indication is that Arsenal offered 45, which was never going to work. Perhaps if they were willing to negotiate the price could move up but I am okay missing out on this one if cost is 60MM or more.

Agree - Declan and Partey both played really well.
Declan also put a real beatdown on Foden, which makes me very happy.

CatD11Ag said:

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Ollie - I would have been okay getting him but not for 60MM+. Indication is that Arsenal offered 45, which was never going to work. Perhaps if they were willing to negotiate the price could move up but I am okay missing out on this one if cost is 60MM or more.

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Villa was never going to let Ollie Watkins go as soon as the Saudis showed real interest in Duran.

CatD11Ag said:

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Agree. Who were we going to sign? It seemed to come down to 2 names and both were going to cost way more than value.

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I don't have a good answer to that right now. But I think "who" depends on the end goal. You looking for long term impact, short term gain, "just in case" body for depth, etc.....

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Spurs paid 50.2MM for Tel. This is a 19 year old guy, totally unproven, and Bayern more than willing to get rid of him. Based on the price they paid, this kid better pay off.

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Spurs paid nothing for Tel. They offered 60m euro and he rejected the move. They eventually landed him with a straight loan with no option to buy.

Edit..... just saw an update on the actual terms..... what they got is a loan with an option but unlike most loan with an option deals you hear about, Tel retains the right to decline the option. 10m euro loan fee, pay 100% of Tel's' salary for the next 5 months (roughly 2m euro gross) with an option in the summer between 55-60m euro.

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Ollie - I would have been okay getting him but not for 60MM+. Indication is that Arsenal offered 45, which was never going to work. Perhaps if they were willing to negotiate the price could move up but I am okay missing out on this one if cost is 60MM or more.

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I would have been good with Ollie had we bought him back when we bought Jesus. At 29, bringing him in only make sense if he is cheap or a loan. 60m for a 29yo that is statistically (G/xG, goal contributions, etc....) the same as Havertz makes zero sense.

It is my general opinion that any player we added in Jan should meet one or more of the following conditions.....

- Legit upgrade over a current starter (regardless of new players age)
- Cheap (loan or transfer)
- Lots of upside

Ollie doesn't fit any of those.
Tel fits #3 and could have fit #2 in the short term had he been a loan with an option/obligation

Yeah this seems like a horrible reach by Spurs:

🚨⚪️ FC Bayern will receive a loan fee of €10 million for Mathys #Tel. As first via @cfbayern and confirmed.

In addition, Tottenham will cover five months of his salary, amounting to around €2 million gross.

For the summer, #COYS have secured an option to buy of around… pic.twitter.com/Am05v3Riyh

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) February 4, 2025

I think the problem with Tel was he was wanting guaranteed playing time which isn't something Arsenal do. Especially since he would at best be on par with our current wingers. Same issue we had in the summer with Sesko when it seemed we were close was his concern about getting to play over Havertz.

As for this window, its been pretty sparse movement wise in terms of bigger names. Teams simply aren't wanting to part with their attackers this January. The only names that moved where Duran from Villa to Saudi and that Georgian guy from Napoli to PSG.

Arsenal needed a body of some sort for the CF position and it didn't happen. Now we have to pray Havertz continues to be superhuman in terms of fitness and try and rotate either Martinelli or Trossard up top to give him a breather. They have got to figure out how to get attacking signings in going forward. Its been bad since forever.

The troublesome part of doing nothing in Jan is the number of additions we will need in the summer. As far as I know we don't have anyone in the academy that is ready to step up next season. Which means new additions need to come from the outside.....

GK - Need to replace Neto. Don't think any of the new u21s are really ready and they should be getting playing time in the academy or on loan. Hein has been good on loan but I don't see him being here long term due to his poor passing skills. Personally, I would target a vet FA.

FB - Likely good with White, Timber, Cala & MLS next season. Could add someone if MLS is given a shot in MF.

CB - Set for starters but think it is highly likely Kiwior leaves. Will need to add one to replace him. Could see us adding 2 younger guys that can also play FB so we have added depth in case of another rash of injuries.

MF - Partey & Jorge on expiring contracts. Need to replace both of them. Zubimendi appears to be coming. Think the 2nd comes in the form of a young right-footed LCM (Nypan?) with Rice & Merino as cover for 6.

W - Saka & Marti set, though many fans want a new LW with Marti retained as a super-sub. Sterling gone (kinda sheet anyway) and many believe Trossard may push for an exit for starting min elsewhere. Personally think Nwaneri becomes our defacto backup/rotation guy for both MO & Saka but that still leaves us needing a legit LW (immediate starter or atleast competition) and someone that can play multiple positions (ideally W & ST). Possible the multi position guy ends up Jesus but in all likelihood he is out till around Xmas.

ST - Havertz sends fans into an emotional rollercoaster at times but if you look at the numbers he is fine as our starter but our depth is terrible. Need 1 guy here.

Summary.....

Needs to replace known exits or long term injuries - GK, 2x DM/CM, W, ST
Potential needs to replace players many expect to leave - CB, W
Additions purely for better depth - CB or FB

Overpaying for a body isn't worth it. I think we can run with Trossard and Martinelli at this point. Not ideal but just bringing in someone to wear a jersey and paying big for it doesn't make any sense.

This summer is gonna have to be huge. You need to go get a damn good striker. IMO, Isak is the only one the is close to a sure thing. Sesko is still very much a development project. Gyokeres is gonna be 27, but has only done it outside of the top 5 leagues.

You also have other spots to work on. We need another GK. We need another winger. Trossard is 30 and is down to 1 year on his contract. Partey and Jorginho are both gone in the summer most likely so we probably need a couple of midfielders. Zubimendi sounds plausible, but you need at least 1 more. Zinchenko and Tierney are both moving on so maybe another left sided defender.

This summer has a lot of needs and several will be very expensive

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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Overpaying for a body isn't worth it. I think we can run with Trossard and Martinelli at this point. Not ideal but just bringing in someone to wear a jersey and paying big for it doesn't make any sense.

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If you count Nwaneri as a W we have 5 guys for 3 spots and none outside of Havertz are really ideal at ST. Trossard can play there but he is 5'7" and then that takes depth away from the W. Marti could play there in theory but he never has under Arteta so he likely won't. Arteta has mentioned Nwaneri as a possible 9 but he is 5'9" and while he shows a scoring touch, he may not be physically mature enough to regularly play against bigger/stronger CBs. By doing nothing, we are taking a huge gamble with Havertz.

wangus12 said:

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This summer is gonna have to be huge. You need to go get a damn good striker. IMO, Isak is the only one the is close to a sure thing. Sesko is still very much a development project. Gyokeres is gonna be 27, but has only done it outside of the top 5 leagues.

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I don't see Isak happening. Only chance Newcastle agrees to let him go (or he is willing to leave for that matter) is if they finish outside of an EL/CL spot. And even then he will cost 150m.

Havertz isn't perfect but statistically he is good, especially if we improve other areas around him. Think it makes far more sense to try and find the next Isak to groom behind Havertz. Maybe Sesko is that guy. I don't know.

Also, Kai strikes me as a guy that Arteta is loyal to based on his work ethic, attitude & production. I don't see us signing someone this summer that replaces him as starter next season unless Havertz goes down for an extended period as well.

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You also have other spots to work on. We need another GK. We need another winger. Trossard is 30 and is down to 1 year on his contract. Partey and Jorginho are both gone in the summer most likely so we probably need a couple of midfielders. Zubimendi sounds plausible, but you need at least 1 more. Zinchenko and Tierney are both moving on so maybe another left sided defender.

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Only point here I disagree with is a OZ/KT replacement. Assuming MLS stays at LB next season, I think we don't bother trying to replace either. I think Kiwior leaves as well and we bring in 1-2 young positionally versatile players to replace him.

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This summer has a lot of needs and several will be very expensive

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Agreed. Think we are looking at 2 starters (DM & LW or ST) plus a minimum of 3 rotational depth players before we even start to discuss replacing the potential exits like Trossard/Kiwior.

Cunha will be interesting to see play out too. Wolves are in a relegation fight, he has a decent release clause in his contract, and is 25.

Project Gemini said:

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Cunha will be interesting to see play out too. Wolves are in a relegation fight, he has a decent release clause in his contract, and is 25.

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I think he has a very favorable release clause if they are relegated. I could see us going for him for one of the rotational depth moves but (a) I'm not convinced he is the best option for us (though a strong opportunity buy) and (b) I am curious if he opts to go somewhere that he is the nailed down starter. Had he joined us in Jan, I think he gets plenty of min in multiple positions. If he joins in the summer..... I don't see him beating out any current starters (Saka, Marti, Kai) as his best position is more of a SS or false 9.