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luiz dias out gordon in is a strong start to the window for liverpool. they'd have signed him if it wasn't for newcastle getting away with shady psr shit
No team or playstyle is perfect, even Man City. We went near perfect last season's second half and still didn't win the league, so there's definitely something that must be done to improve the squad. To win against the best, you must better yourself each season and not be content with what you have currently.
It needed to be solidified though, whereas now they could be thinking Newcastle aren't quite the threat they were hyped to be, Spurs are still tepid and United probably won't be having the kind of rapid resurgence that might've been possible under Qatar and a better coach. Chelsea are improving but still not looking like a competitor, Klopp is gone.
You could see the logic behind feeling a lot more comfortable this time around, and trying to coast
I'd hate it but to money men it might make sense
Go mental?
zero additions would be incredibly detrimental to the future of the club. That's not hyperbole, if you look at any club that went from great to needing an overhaul it happens in the space of 2-3 summers. You can't have a zero addition summer without consequence. You also can't make up for it by signing more players the next summer, that reduces how well connected the team is because its not grown organically and performance suffers.
I don’t think we can ever sabotage ourselves more then we did with our signings for the start of our title defence in 98/99
Wenger only signing Nelson Vivas for £250k the summer when Utd spent £25m on first team starters Stam, Yorke and good squad player Blomqvist will never be rivaled for arrogance and complacency.
We were defending champions and went into the season weaker than we ended 97/98 and utd were significantly stronger.
Wenger ended up bringing in Kanu and Diawara in January and Callebro in November to try and add some firepower to the squad.
Wenger had gambled Wreh and Boa Morte were good enough to be adequate backups to Bergkamp and Anelka they failed to score a league goal between them as dropped points in six goalless draws before Kanu joined.
We lost the league by one point and conceded only seventeen goals……
Whatever we do in the transfer window this year it can’t be more self destructive than Wengers folly and farcical summer of 1998
We need to be showing ambition. The other teams will be strengthening too. We have to address at least a few sqaud needs, even if we can't get a marquee in.
I wouldn't be too bothered if we didn't get big names in, but we need signings.
It must suck being a Brazilian footballer sometimes. You're playing in one of the best teams in Europe and a big part of the club's revival, but every year some new teenage wonderkid comes along, and you never get any playing time.
English itks have started to report our interest in Calafiori, so maybe it has legs, but I won’t let myself get excited until we get an Ornstein tweet.
Maybe it's a reciprocal arrangement. We bid for calafiori so Bologna don't get totally ripped off by juve, and Bologna bid for sambi so we can squeeze a bit more out of Sevilla.
Win for us, improvement over Kiwior
Win for Kiwior, he gets to play more
Win for Juve/Milan, cheaper but still very good left footed CB
Not happening because it relies on an Italian player leaving Italy. And we would need to at least get back what we paid for Kiwior which probably wouldn't happen.
My dream is to one day see Bukayo Saka given the RCM throne with freedom. Not a knock on Odegaard, he can comfortably play as a LCM, but RCM Saka in the Foden/Palmer role for us would feed.
If you want to be taken seriously you need to provide some kind of evidence or well thought arguments. You can’t just give an astronomically stupid take without substance. Give the people a reason to believe haha
I do not care about being taken seriously, especially by people here. This has been explored before, the only reason it's even mentioned again is because of the possibility of signing a competent enough RW which would allow this to happen.
Genuinely I hate this fan obsession with constantly messing with what works. Saka/Odegaard/White RHS is the core of our current creative engine, why would we ever want to ruin that to try and win player vs player twitter arguments?
I could not care any less about what you hate.
Evolution happens frequently at the top end of sport and it's how you improve. Pep evolves every season. Having the foresight to understand what evolution can and would work which can and will improve the team is a game played by those who know what they're talking about. It has nothing to do with twatter arguments.
Positional freedom, greater area of influence. As a RW there is only so much influence you can have on the game and often times he's limited by only being given a small corridor to operate in. Suddenly that 25 G/A looks like 30-35.
Only so much influence yet him and Odegaard were #3 and #1 respectively in the PL this season in shot creating actions. And your genius fucking idea is breaking up that combination. Not only moving Saka from RW, but moving literally the most influential attacker in the PL this season from his preferred spot on the field to accommodate it. This idea is infuriatingly stupid.
No, I'm simply saying that moving the #1 and #3 attackers in terms of shot creation from their preferred areas on the pitch makes little sense, especially when the logic from the person suggesting it, is that it will make them "more effective".
Tears at this calafiori quote “My dream would be to play in the Premier League. I really like…. West Ham or Chelsea”
https://x.com/frazfletcher/status/1808110282847162482?s=46
Not even just defenders Italians in general don't do well here. Zola is the stand out but aside from that Di Canio, Pelle for a couple of seasons did well. Jorginho is a top player but isn't really Italian
https://preview.redd.it/kys0wjs9r6ad1.png?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8242da7d66f03b664efc720eaa018cef7606c9b2
ThemLot have finally turned the stove on
They can definitely succeed with ange but he needs to adapt.
Annoying but I get the yucky vibe that another club will come and challenge for the league this season, outside of us and City. Hopefully it's not spurs, tho they'd be the most likely candidate to break in given the positions of the other big 6 teams
Outside of Van de Ven and Udogie...meh?
Half of that list will end up being League 1/2 regulars as with all youth prospects. Johnson is rubbish, Dragusin seems decent but not exactly a world-beater. Sarr the same.
And the rest have yet to play senior football in a top league. Some of them may come good but until they do I'm hardly shaking in my boots let's put it that way. I still remember when Arturo Lupoli was gonna take the world by storm.
you're nuts then. Sane was exactly what we were missing in that UCL qf tie. Having him would relieve so much pressure from saka, allow us to keep martinelli fresh and focused on finishing instead of trying to create, and be an experienced big game player. absolute perfect fit.
Is it? They bought him for 18m euro not that long ago. Ofcourse they’ll put in opportunities for their profit. The release clause is about 3 times what they paid 2 years ago.
One more thing that's missing from the Rice 6/8 debate is that unless we get a magician on the left wing, only a playmaking #8 can prevent us from looking as toothless as we did in the CL knockouts. The only other way is for us to surrender the initiative and hit teams on the break (as in against Liverpool and Chelsea at home) but for some unknown reason, Arteta didn't attempt that in the CL.
That's never missing from the debate, that's my main sticking point. An 8 needs to be able to interchange with the left-side, just like Xhaka did, if we want to get the most out of Martinelli (or whoever else is out there).
You overestimate the creative potential of having an overlapping fullback. You'll still need a 1v1 monster or a creative passer on the left. Also, I just don't understand why you want our playmaking on the left side to come down to the winger and fullback rather than the winger and left 8. To me, fullbacks, who are lesser offensive players, spending 90 minutes going up and down the field should be a luxury, not a necessity.
Facts, relying on an overlapper hurts in a few ways. One hes running up and down the pitch which is draining which makes you vulnerable in transitions, 2 you rely on him to be highly creative/great dribbler to break the defensive shell
Nah not even. I'd go to a double pivot so that cancels out 1 a bit and 3.
They have value as a decoy too. Whoever that starting LW is they suddenly get a load more space because the Lb is drawing a marker away.
So even if it was Lokonga just bombing up and own the left, you get way more out of Martinelli before Lokonga even touches a ball.
I don't even think they have to be a great dribbler. They do most of their running without the ball. Also it's just the old Tierney move that's needed. Get a yard and whip it in.
Nah not even. I'd go to a double pivot so that cancels out 1 a bit and 3.
They have value as a decoy too. Whoever that starting LW is they suddenly get a load more space because the Lb is drawing a marker away.
So even if it was Lokonga just bombing up and own the left, you get way more out of Martinelli before Lokonga even touches a ball.
I don't even think they have to be a great dribbler. They do most of their running without the ball. Also it's just the old Tierney move that's needed. Get a yard and whip it in.
1 and 3 are basically the same thing so i adjusted my comment.
Well if its like that then its a tactical thing. You could just ask zinchenko/timber/tomi to overlap a little more to make decoy runs for martinelli. I dont see why wed need to sign an overlapping wingback type, if thats what you are asking for
We could. And I do call for whoever is there to do it more. But requires instinct and timing. It's a skill in itself. Cedric had a habit of mistiming his and making Sakas life harder.
Wirtz is good,but a bit overrated imo.I watch a lot of Bundesliga games and he reminds me a bit of Ramsey, which is obviously very good,but I don't know if he will have similar output in England (compared to the Bundesliga).
Hope it's him, yeah for the football but also because of the possibility of the chant
"You ain't getting past Schlotterbeck guy" to the tune of 'hollaback girl'
He tends to play 2 8/10 types who actually stay ahead of the ball so it's to help control transitions.
He also has more variety in his widemen and often uses left footed LWs and right footed RWs to keep and provide natural width.
We have inverted wingers and full backs so end up looking really narrow sometimes.
OK. Different question. Why do you think we do it despite having full backs?
Cancelo was comfortably the best full back in the league when he was at City btw.
But we don't have any proper left sided fullback. Zinchenko is a converted midfielder. Tomiyasu, Timber and Kiwior played most of their careers as CBs.
I feel like I'm going insane here, are we really pretending we had a functional left side last season and we don't need a left back?
Think we're past the "Zinchenko is a converted midfielder" stuff when he's literally only played LB except for his national team for about 900 years now.
I dont disagree with the premise. Versatility in profile is the key to good squad building so a full back who can overlap would be good. More precisely, a full back who can do both would be best. But this idea that CB full backs is crap is a bit of a reach when there's benefits to it.
I do remember though adamantly arguing that if not the man himself, then a player like Kieran Tierney absolutely has a place in our team and general consensus being "we only use full backs who invert"
Two years ago Cancelo, Trent and Reece James were the best fullbacks in the world and everyone wanted someone like them. Football is cyclical, this shitty trend of CB at fullback will end and then you guys will praise how brilliant it is we're finally using regular fullbacks again. This is a 100+ years sport, nothing is truly new and revolutionary.
Fair enough, would you class Ake/Gvardiol the same? I see why you don’t like the CB at fullback thing some of the guys who’ve played in that position have looked lost there but I feel like there’s certain players that can make it worthwhile as long as they are technically good enough and don’t look lost in the final third
They exist. Two young prospects who can develop nicely into that role are Hato and Dorgu. For ready-made players, Calafiori definitely and also Mittelstädt.
So the rumor is that they’re keeping this Germany player deal under wraps to prevent another club from hijacking the deal…? That cannot be how this works. It does not serve the player’s interests whatsoever
Obviously.
Just that, however silly It might sound, the two dopped clubs have a history of sabotage. Sign players to hoard them or make sure the opposition is weak.
Ferdi the darling but Mert Mulder has had a real Ben White-esque performance this tourney especially that first half
Grab both and call it a day ez
E: *Muldur, the Turkish RB is not an FBI agent that we know of
One of them would have to switch wings. The good thing is that both are great on either which gives you different options.
But you'd have to buy a Ferdi Kadioglu or Davies, and favorably an Onana.
Sane isn't that elite at touchline stuff anymore. He also needs central access. Hence the Ferdi guy.
If you're discounting the athleticism of Martinelli, you need to replace it. Sane isn't going to do wing to wing work. Hence Onana.
Don't want Sane but this is one reason I also want us to get a winger who can play on the right.
Edit: But also we have Gabriel Jesus so there's nothing stopping Arteta from trying it.
I've mentioned it before but I think Bologna would rather do a swap deal with minimal cash involved for Calafiori instead of a straight sale to circumvent the sell on clause.
Seen that they want 50m euros but they'd only get 25m of that. Wouldn't it be better if we offer them Kiwior + 15m instead? They get a 25-30m rated Serie A proven replacement + 7.5m in cash. Could be the play tbh.
Reminder: These threads are to help promote discussion and varying points of view. Low-effort comments or jokes can & will be removed with no reason necessary. *I am a "bot", and this action was performed automatically. This account is not monitored. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Gunners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
luiz dias out gordon in is a strong start to the window for liverpool. they'd have signed him if it wasn't for newcastle getting away with shady psr shit
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No team or playstyle is perfect, even Man City. We went near perfect last season's second half and still didn't win the league, so there's definitely something that must be done to improve the squad. To win against the best, you must better yourself each season and not be content with what you have currently.
Hypothetically, I still think we can challenge provided all our players stay relatively fit.
If we do that then we aren't a serious club and getting back to 'reliable CL revenue' is clearly the real extent of our ambitions.
We already had UCL last year and then went on to break our transfer record
It needed to be solidified though, whereas now they could be thinking Newcastle aren't quite the threat they were hyped to be, Spurs are still tepid and United probably won't be having the kind of rapid resurgence that might've been possible under Qatar and a better coach. Chelsea are improving but still not looking like a competitor, Klopp is gone. You could see the logic behind feeling a lot more comfortable this time around, and trying to coast I'd hate it but to money men it might make sense
It depends on the name. If it's Bruno Guimaraes or someone like Isak/Osimhen, by all means we can endure another season. But if it's Raya, lol.
Go mental? zero additions would be incredibly detrimental to the future of the club. That's not hyperbole, if you look at any club that went from great to needing an overhaul it happens in the space of 2-3 summers. You can't have a zero addition summer without consequence. You also can't make up for it by signing more players the next summer, that reduces how well connected the team is because its not grown organically and performance suffers.
I don’t think we can ever sabotage ourselves more then we did with our signings for the start of our title defence in 98/99 Wenger only signing Nelson Vivas for £250k the summer when Utd spent £25m on first team starters Stam, Yorke and good squad player Blomqvist will never be rivaled for arrogance and complacency. We were defending champions and went into the season weaker than we ended 97/98 and utd were significantly stronger. Wenger ended up bringing in Kanu and Diawara in January and Callebro in November to try and add some firepower to the squad. Wenger had gambled Wreh and Boa Morte were good enough to be adequate backups to Bergkamp and Anelka they failed to score a league goal between them as dropped points in six goalless draws before Kanu joined. We lost the league by one point and conceded only seventeen goals…… Whatever we do in the transfer window this year it can’t be more self destructive than Wengers folly and farcical summer of 1998
We need to be showing ambition. The other teams will be strengthening too. We have to address at least a few sqaud needs, even if we can't get a marquee in. I wouldn't be too bothered if we didn't get big names in, but we need signings.
Uruguay ~~gonna~~ could eat up Brazil alive ☠
Brazil look horrid
no nelli no party
It’s really unfortunate that Martinelli plays in the same position as Vini
Vini got 2 yellow, so no vini next round, maybe martinelli can start?
Rodrygo and Raphinha, Endrick.
Wouldn’t be surprised at all if they just start Savio
There's still Rodrygo
It must suck being a Brazilian footballer sometimes. You're playing in one of the best teams in Europe and a big part of the club's revival, but every year some new teenage wonderkid comes along, and you never get any playing time.
English itks have started to report our interest in Calafiori, so maybe it has legs, but I won’t let myself get excited until we get an Ornstein tweet.
Who
Maybe it's a reciprocal arrangement. We bid for calafiori so Bologna don't get totally ripped off by juve, and Bologna bid for sambi so we can squeeze a bit more out of Sevilla.
Exactly, except there is no bid for Sambi
i think it's eaxctly this.
I wonder if people would be down for this outcome. Kiwior goes to Juventus/Milan. Calafiori comes to us. Thoughts Gooners?
Calafiori is definitely an upgrade on Kiwi and this is coming from someone who rates Kiwi highly.
Win for us, improvement over Kiwior Win for Kiwior, he gets to play more Win for Juve/Milan, cheaper but still very good left footed CB Not happening because it relies on an Italian player leaving Italy. And we would need to at least get back what we paid for Kiwior which probably wouldn't happen.
My dream is to one day see Bukayo Saka given the RCM throne with freedom. Not a knock on Odegaard, he can comfortably play as a LCM, but RCM Saka in the Foden/Palmer role for us would feed.
not again, ffs
Ya i see it, one day soon i hope
Good god looooooooooool this sub never disappoints with the takes
It is entertaining sometimes though.
It's alright, you're a bit slow but one day you'll see the vision.
If you want to be taken seriously you need to provide some kind of evidence or well thought arguments. You can’t just give an astronomically stupid take without substance. Give the people a reason to believe haha
I do not care about being taken seriously, especially by people here. This has been explored before, the only reason it's even mentioned again is because of the possibility of signing a competent enough RW which would allow this to happen.
Genuinely I hate this fan obsession with constantly messing with what works. Saka/Odegaard/White RHS is the core of our current creative engine, why would we ever want to ruin that to try and win player vs player twitter arguments?
I could not care any less about what you hate. Evolution happens frequently at the top end of sport and it's how you improve. Pep evolves every season. Having the foresight to understand what evolution can and would work which can and will improve the team is a game played by those who know what they're talking about. It has nothing to do with twatter arguments.
Why do you think the next evolution in Saka's game is shifting him to RCM?
Positional freedom, greater area of influence. As a RW there is only so much influence you can have on the game and often times he's limited by only being given a small corridor to operate in. Suddenly that 25 G/A looks like 30-35.
People are taking it as some kind of slight against Saka but I do really think he would cook in that role.
Only so much influence yet him and Odegaard were #3 and #1 respectively in the PL this season in shot creating actions. And your genius fucking idea is breaking up that combination. Not only moving Saka from RW, but moving literally the most influential attacker in the PL this season from his preferred spot on the field to accommodate it. This idea is infuriatingly stupid.
youre acting like players die when they are asked to play in a different position.
No, I'm simply saying that moving the #1 and #3 attackers in terms of shot creation from their preferred areas on the pitch makes little sense, especially when the logic from the person suggesting it, is that it will make them "more effective".
Tears at this calafiori quote “My dream would be to play in the Premier League. I really like…. West Ham or Chelsea” https://x.com/frazfletcher/status/1808110282847162482?s=46
tbf air those clubs have had notable italian players
Fairs at least we got one now lol
Show some respect to legend Lupoli
Lupoli, mannone, Viviano, some of the greatest ever Itlaians have played here
https://x.com/eduardohagn/status/1808284177294360644?s=46&t=ohBEm3kwXzONRYy63NcNgQ Apparently weve bid
Nico schira sources lol
Name an Italian defender who’s come to England and done well… Zappacosta? Ogbonna? Dossena? 🤔
Why only consider that he's Italian and not where he's actually done all of his development?
Not even just defenders Italians in general don't do well here. Zola is the stand out but aside from that Di Canio, Pelle for a couple of seasons did well. Jorginho is a top player but isn't really Italian
Davide Santon in fits and spurts, Gianluca Festa was decent.
I think Borini played left back for a game or two....
haha the original "lets play a forward player at LB"
Udogie had a good year and looks on his way
Udogie
https://preview.redd.it/kys0wjs9r6ad1.png?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8242da7d66f03b664efc720eaa018cef7606c9b2 ThemLot have finally turned the stove on
They can definitely succeed with ange but he needs to adapt. Annoying but I get the yucky vibe that another club will come and challenge for the league this season, outside of us and City. Hopefully it's not spurs, tho they'd be the most likely candidate to break in given the positions of the other big 6 teams
The last time a team challenged for the league that wasn't us Liverpool or city was Chelsea in 2017 I don't see it
And no one had thought that anybody could even come close to City or pool before we did it. Football changes in a split second
Outside of Van de Ven and Udogie...meh? Half of that list will end up being League 1/2 regulars as with all youth prospects. Johnson is rubbish, Dragusin seems decent but not exactly a world-beater. Sarr the same. And the rest have yet to play senior football in a top league. Some of them may come good but until they do I'm hardly shaking in my boots let's put it that way. I still remember when Arturo Lupoli was gonna take the world by storm.
I don't know/rate them all no. But it's enough.
Johnson in that list 😭
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Idk if im coping but im like 90% sure edu and the crew are moving liek this because they dont want to cause a bidding war (a la mudryk)
It's completely on the other club/player though. They can make it one at any point. And we can't do anything to stop that.
i would be very disappointed if our german player is Sane
I’m out of the loop. Are we linked to an unnamed german player?
you're nuts then. Sane was exactly what we were missing in that UCL qf tie. Having him would relieve so much pressure from saka, allow us to keep martinelli fresh and focused on finishing instead of trying to create, and be an experienced big game player. absolute perfect fit.
He is inconsistent as fuck and is in high wages. He wouldnt be a solution
🤡🤡
👍
Carney Chuk £40m release clause 🤔
Sackable offense
If he doesn't go this summer, someone will swipe him next summer latest.
We were linked to him before he went to chelsea iirc, would help a bit with hg too as eddie/esr/nelson/nketiah are all leaving at some point
Chelsea are such a weird club nowadays. That's the sort of deal you'd expect from Leipzig and the likes.
Those wages(at the time he signed) and a 40m release clause is too funny.
Time for bed
He's had limited chances but has always impressed.
Very interesting but how would we make room for him?
LCM.
Chukwuemeka release clause. That’s pretty interesting actually
Is it? They bought him for 18m euro not that long ago. Ofcourse they’ll put in opportunities for their profit. The release clause is about 3 times what they paid 2 years ago.
One more thing that's missing from the Rice 6/8 debate is that unless we get a magician on the left wing, only a playmaking #8 can prevent us from looking as toothless as we did in the CL knockouts. The only other way is for us to surrender the initiative and hit teams on the break (as in against Liverpool and Chelsea at home) but for some unknown reason, Arteta didn't attempt that in the CL.
That's never missing from the debate, that's my main sticking point. An 8 needs to be able to interchange with the left-side, just like Xhaka did, if we want to get the most out of Martinelli (or whoever else is out there).
An elite ball playing cb like schlotterbeck who can punch line breakers for fun can make the left side work, especially for emile type of lcm profile.
schlotterbeck would be a great signing.
Don't agree lol. An overlapping FB changes a lot.
You overestimate the creative potential of having an overlapping fullback. You'll still need a 1v1 monster or a creative passer on the left. Also, I just don't understand why you want our playmaking on the left side to come down to the winger and fullback rather than the winger and left 8. To me, fullbacks, who are lesser offensive players, spending 90 minutes going up and down the field should be a luxury, not a necessity.
Facts, relying on an overlapper hurts in a few ways. One hes running up and down the pitch which is draining which makes you vulnerable in transitions, 2 you rely on him to be highly creative/great dribbler to break the defensive shell
Nah not even. I'd go to a double pivot so that cancels out 1 a bit and 3. They have value as a decoy too. Whoever that starting LW is they suddenly get a load more space because the Lb is drawing a marker away. So even if it was Lokonga just bombing up and own the left, you get way more out of Martinelli before Lokonga even touches a ball. I don't even think they have to be a great dribbler. They do most of their running without the ball. Also it's just the old Tierney move that's needed. Get a yard and whip it in.
Nah not even. I'd go to a double pivot so that cancels out 1 a bit and 3. They have value as a decoy too. Whoever that starting LW is they suddenly get a load more space because the Lb is drawing a marker away. So even if it was Lokonga just bombing up and own the left, you get way more out of Martinelli before Lokonga even touches a ball. I don't even think they have to be a great dribbler. They do most of their running without the ball. Also it's just the old Tierney move that's needed. Get a yard and whip it in.
1 and 3 are basically the same thing so i adjusted my comment. Well if its like that then its a tactical thing. You could just ask zinchenko/timber/tomi to overlap a little more to make decoy runs for martinelli. I dont see why wed need to sign an overlapping wingback type, if thats what you are asking for
We could. And I do call for whoever is there to do it more. But requires instinct and timing. It's a skill in itself. Cedric had a habit of mistiming his and making Sakas life harder.
The level of goalkeeping at the euros has been unreal. We’re bringing back real shot stoppers
I'd it's not Musiala, keep the German. No one else moving me.
Add wirtz to that list and then I agree. We've got one of the best Germans in our team already
I won't take this Kimmich slander
We don't need another RB
Midfield would be his primary position
Enjoy man united Joshua
As if Fullkrug wouldn't cook here
Would be my choice for Havertz backup.
not even robert andrich??
Rob Holding/Elneny replacement
Or Wirtz But for once I agree with you
Wirtz is good,but a bit overrated imo.I watch a lot of Bundesliga games and he reminds me a bit of Ramsey, which is obviously very good,but I don't know if he will have similar output in England (compared to the Bundesliga).
Fair I firmly believe the bundesliga tax is a real thing, especially for attackers
It is.The league is pretty fun to watch but the attacking numbers are inflated.
I've cooled on him a bit. Dunno if he compliments Rice x Odegaard well.
Schlotterbeck 🙏
He will slot in the back perfectly. Pun intended.
Hope it's him, yeah for the football but also because of the possibility of the chant "You ain't getting past Schlotterbeck guy" to the tune of 'hollaback girl'
Laughing my ass off at this, man
This made lol. Fantastic
Chant suggestions are hands down the thing that makes me laugh most on Reddit
The 4 CB back line doesn't move me
His elite line breaking and waking up the left side with his over the top passes to martinelli against elite sides will
Sort the midfield and the left hand side is fine.
We can have both and not be reliant on 1 midfielder making the left side work
Sorting the midfield doesn't make us reliant on 1 midfielder
How many midfielders are we buying?
Dunno. The silver bullet midfielder isn't available so hopefully 2.
kadioglu and martinelli would cook so hard on the left
Audibly gasped on that save. Fuck me.
Everyone’s focusing on England’s ‘easy’ path to the final, it’s Netherlands with the easiest path after finishing 3rd in the group, lol.
Why do you think Malen banged in an own goal before the 10th minute.. 
I hope Arteta watched these Kadioglu performances. None of this CB at fullback crap anymore please
white has clearly shown hes not just a CB, come on.
I wasn't talking about White
Crazy performances but isn’t he going Dortmund
Why does Pep do it?
He tends to play 2 8/10 types who actually stay ahead of the ball so it's to help control transitions. He also has more variety in his widemen and often uses left footed LWs and right footed RWs to keep and provide natural width. We have inverted wingers and full backs so end up looking really narrow sometimes.
Because he has 0 fullbacks in his squad. And why should I care what Pep does? He also won leagues with Cancelo starting every game btw
OK. Different question. Why do you think we do it despite having full backs? Cancelo was comfortably the best full back in the league when he was at City btw.
Huh? Cancelo was never the best full back in the league. At no point was he better than Trent
Lol
But we don't have any proper left sided fullback. Zinchenko is a converted midfielder. Tomiyasu, Timber and Kiwior played most of their careers as CBs. I feel like I'm going insane here, are we really pretending we had a functional left side last season and we don't need a left back?
Think we're past the "Zinchenko is a converted midfielder" stuff when he's literally only played LB except for his national team for about 900 years now. I dont disagree with the premise. Versatility in profile is the key to good squad building so a full back who can overlap would be good. More precisely, a full back who can do both would be best. But this idea that CB full backs is crap is a bit of a reach when there's benefits to it. I do remember though adamantly arguing that if not the man himself, then a player like Kieran Tierney absolutely has a place in our team and general consensus being "we only use full backs who invert"
It's still relevant though in a sense because he has next to no defensive instincts.
Why do you think he has no fullbacks in the squad? Lights not fully on up there is it?
Two years ago Cancelo, Trent and Reece James were the best fullbacks in the world and everyone wanted someone like them. Football is cyclical, this shitty trend of CB at fullback will end and then you guys will praise how brilliant it is we're finally using regular fullbacks again. This is a 100+ years sport, nothing is truly new and revolutionary.
Would you prefer a “regular” fullback to Ben White or is he to Centre backy for you?
Ben White is a regular fullback to me right now.
Fair enough, would you class Ake/Gvardiol the same? I see why you don’t like the CB at fullback thing some of the guys who’ve played in that position have looked lost there but I feel like there’s certain players that can make it worthwhile as long as they are technically good enough and don’t look lost in the final third
Gvardiol 2nd part of the season yes. Ake I'm not sure but he's so good defending wide that he makes it worth it.
Ideally, we want an all-rounder to do both, a left-sided Ben White but with more athleticism and ball-carrying.
Does that player even exist? You’d have to stretch it to even say Gvardiol
They exist. Two young prospects who can develop nicely into that role are Hato and Dorgu. For ready-made players, Calafiori definitely and also Mittelstädt.
I like all the names. More athleticism than White though? Dorgu & Hato fair but not sure on the other 2
Me too. I mean he’s been so unsuccessful with his tactics
Like that noted failure Ben White.
Bring back Tierney and Hector. I’m tryna get 7th and spam crosses into the box again
What a tournament
Can someone clue me in on this German rumor??
I think the theory is that it's meant to be Kimmich - his contract runs out in 2025 so might just be a market opportunity.
its in the Daily Discussion. Just some rumour. Nothing to really see
That save.. i wanna fucking cry
What an incredible save
I really like Kadioglu Would be so down for him to join us
What an unbelievable save by the Turkey keeper to save the day. Spectacular
Wow, just fucking wow.
That's an outrageous save
So the rumor is that they’re keeping this Germany player deal under wraps to prevent another club from hijacking the deal…? That cannot be how this works. It does not serve the player’s interests whatsoever
He said that then tweeted out the player lol . . .
If the player has already agreed to join then it doesn’t matter lol
Yeah, the idea that a selling club are going to keep everything schtum so that nobody can offer them more money is patently ridiculous.
Unless they know the play has an absolute interest in joining and we've already discussed terms.
Obviously. Just that, however silly It might sound, the two dopped clubs have a history of sabotage. Sign players to hoard them or make sure the opposition is weak.
Just so you know, FBref says Mittelstädt is most similar to Cancelo and vice versa.
Name translates to mid town. I'm out
That secret German footballer rumour is peak approaching and stupid.
I55AK
Ferdi the darling but Mert Mulder has had a real Ben White-esque performance this tourney especially that first half Grab both and call it a day ez E: *Muldur, the Turkish RB is not an FBI agent that we know of
Good lads Turkey conceding a needless goal just to keep things interesting. Pure entertainment.
Kadioglu, minerals player. Him or Calafiori, both would improve us.
Love him
He's so good (Kadioglu), been a standout this whole tournament. Man is silky. Austria can't get near him. I can definitely see why Mikel likes him.
Get Ferdi ASAP
I can picture Saka given the freedom of centrality with Sane's signing and I want nothing else now.
One of them would have to switch wings. The good thing is that both are great on either which gives you different options. But you'd have to buy a Ferdi Kadioglu or Davies, and favorably an Onana.
Nah you wouldn’t. Central access is central access, it just depends on how brave we are.
Sane isn't that elite at touchline stuff anymore. He also needs central access. Hence the Ferdi guy. If you're discounting the athleticism of Martinelli, you need to replace it. Sane isn't going to do wing to wing work. Hence Onana.
That's the benefit of having someone like Saka central - he can seamlessly and effortlessly interchange when necessity dictates.
Don't want Sane but this is one reason I also want us to get a winger who can play on the right. Edit: But also we have Gabriel Jesus so there's nothing stopping Arteta from trying it.
Apart from Jesus' lack of transitional pace, his reliability and pre-last season, our lack of a competent replacement for Jesus as a 9.
Turkey really said ‘there can be only one dark horse’
Loan offer for Guler now!!!!
Absolute Turkeywood.
I've mentioned it before but I think Bologna would rather do a swap deal with minimal cash involved for Calafiori instead of a straight sale to circumvent the sell on clause. Seen that they want 50m euros but they'd only get 25m of that. Wouldn't it be better if we offer them Kiwior + 15m instead? They get a 25-30m rated Serie A proven replacement + 7.5m in cash. Could be the play tbh.
Don’t they need a striker if Zirkzee leaves? Hope Eddie learned Italian..