Summer "Improvements"

Not sure if many of you have seen, but the twitter rounds saying that we are in for Bacary Sagna,

DiMarzio (seemed very reliable over last summer and this January) posted this article - http://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/calciomercato/liverpool-joins-inter-in-the-race-for-arsenals-sagna/)

I believe if this is true, Glen Johnson's departure seems all but confirmed.

Now I have to question is that actually an improvement? The only improvement that I can perhaps see is saving about £40,000 per week.

I was expecting us to go in for a class young full back, either left/right or both this summer, and if we sign Sagna I would hope to see us go in for a class young left back, maybe Luke Shaw or Ben Davies? Perhaps keep Enrique there for a season before fully implementing the youngster, hopefully Flanagan can challenge Sagna for the right-back position?

Ben Davies certainly isn't "class", he is average. We are meant to be challenging for Champions League qualification at the very least and he isn't better than Enrique so would be completely pointless. Also, what makes you dead cert that we would be in for Sagna going off that link? A number of other sources have said that Arsenal have entered negotiations with Sagna in a bid to retain his services before his current contract runs out.

How do you see us saving £40k on wages by the way by getting rid of Johnson and bringing in Sagna?

Johnson is on approx. £80k a week, Sagna is looking for around £100k at Arsenal. That'd mean our wage bill increases by £20k....

Ben Davies certainly isn't "class", he is average. We are meant to be challenging for Champions League qualification at the very least and he isn't better than Enrique so would be completely pointless. Also, what makes you dead cert that we would be in for Sagna going off that link? A number of other sources have said that Arsenal have entered negotiations with Sagna in a bid to retain his services before his current contract runs out.

How do you see us saving £40k on wages by the way by getting rid of Johnson and bringing in Sagna?

Johnson is on approx. £80k a week, Sagna is looking for around £100k at Arsenal. That'd mean our wage bill increases by £20k....

I would agree on Ben Davies, but hes one of only a few decent young left backs around. I am only going off it because they were a reliable source in the previous 2 windows. And Ive seen that Johnson is on £100,000 pw and Sagna is currently on £60,000 at Arsenal...

I would agree on Ben Davies, but hes one of only a few decent young left backs around. I am only going off it because they were a reliable source in the previous 2 windows. And Ive seen that Johnson is on £100,000 pw and Sagna is currently on £60,000 at Arsenal...

We don't have to buy young kids from England. The world is bigger than that. Not that we will get Sagna but if we did then it won't be for £60k so we still won't save....

RB - Nat Clyne (12mil)
LB - Lucas Digne (loan)

LW - Konoplyanka (16mil)
ST - Luis Muriel (15mil)

AM - Mathieu Valbuena (12mil)

Sales - Assaidi (4mil), Johnson (7mil), Reina (8mil), Aspas (6mil). Our attack will have SAS, Sterling, Konoplyanka, Muriel, Borini... good enough if we are in Europe. 30 mil net expenditure, I think this is definitely do-able.

Wish-list & long shot, I hope we are as aggressive as I typed  But being FSG, I know they'll sanction only 1 of CM, LW & ST, saying players returning from loan (Suso) and youngsters (Tex, Alberto) can fill in

Muriel for 15mil is highly ambitious

Muriel for 15mil is highly ambitious

Agreed. I just feel we need someone prolific who can step in for SAS upfront, someone who is content with significant bench time. Wouldnt surprise me if Aspas aint sold and we retain both him & Borini, going only for Kono. That way we'll have Sturridge, Suarez, Sterling, Kono, Aspas, Borini for the front-3 and Coutinho, Suso & Valbuena (or some other AM we should be after) for the AM spot. We need goals from the midfield.

We should be good for the 2 CM spots with Stevie, Lucas, Allen, Hendo & Alberto

Muriel is struggling this season so I think his valuation might have decreased.

Konoplyanka, Muriel, a good CM/DM and a LB would improve us where we need too. I'm not sure we need both Konoplyanka and Muriel but these two are just great and cannot do any bad to our team. We still need a better CM than Allen who I think won't fulfill his potential and then there will be Suso too.

We should sell Aspas, Cissokho, Moses and Assaidi too then.

Muriel is struggling this season so I think his valuation might have decreased.

Konoplyanka, Muriel, a good CM/DM and a LB would improve us where we need too. I'm not sure we need both Konoplyanka and Muriel but these two are just great and cannot do any bad to our team. We still need a better CM than Allen who I think won't fulfill his potential and then there will be Suso too.

We should sell Aspas, Cissokho, Moses and Assaidi too then.

Cissokho & Moses will be gone anyway, we don have to sell. Assaidi is definitely gone. Selling Aspas, Borini or both means we need one more quality addition apart from Konoplyanka. I just cant see FSG sanctioning that. Since shifting Stevie to a DM role, I feel we need an attacking mid who can compete with Coutinho since we badly need goals from our midfield.

Just for the record; sagna is miles better than Johnson

Just for the record; sagna is miles better than Johnson

On both players current form I agree. When Johnson is on form there isn't much between them. Sagna is more consistent though and easily Arsenals best fullback. I'm sure they will offer him an improved contract.

If Johnson agrees for a contract extension, that should sort our RB for a couple of years with him, Flanno & Wisdom. We should put in a bid for Wolfsburg's Ricardo Rodriguez. The bloke is improving all the time and would be perfect for BR's attacking philosophy

Don't rate Sagna at all. Johnson is miles a better player.

Surprised Johnson gets so much stick, whenever he's out I don't half notice his absence. Don't get me wrong Flanny has been putting good shifts in but Johnson really gets involved in our attack. He's badly missed.

I think I'm the only person who would probably prefer quantity over quality at the moment.  More concerned about a paper thin squad unravelling rather than the addition of THAT one quality player.  Competition for places raises the quality of your current squad too.

Think we need Reina back from loan.
Keep Aly, add an additional fullback (RB can play LB too though).
A DM/CB type.
A well rounded CM.
Borini, Assaidi, Suso back in addition to another winger.

Rediscover the concept of a squad again.

Just my two cents though.

I think I'm the only person who would probably prefer quantity over quality at the moment.  More concerned about a paper thin squad unravelling rather than the addition of THAT one quality player.

I agree we're lacking in depth, but what you're saying sounds like the opposite of what Brendan was saying in January.

He admits that our squad is thin, but refused to go out and buy one or two players that were affordable, simply for the sake of it.

For example, we could argue that another few players like Aspas would increase our numbers, but would not increase the quality of the squad. If Brendan isn't going to play them, it's money wasted.

It's got to the point where, taking into account we won't overspend, I would be more prepared to see us add gently to the squad but with proper quality, even if it means another 18-24 months struggling a bit when injuries pile up.

But I certainly agree about bringing back Suso and, if he continues to impress on loan, Ilori.

I agree we're lacking in depth, but what you're saying sounds like the opposite of what Brendan was saying in January.

He admits that our squad is thin, but refused to go out and buy one or two players that were affordable, simply for the sake of it.

For example, we could argue that another few players like Aspas would increase our numbers, but would not increase the quality of the squad. If Brendan isn't going to play them, it's money wasted.

It's got to the point where, taking into account we won't overspend, I would be more prepared to see us add gently to the squad but with proper quality, even if it means another 18-24 months struggling a bit when injuries pile up.

But I certainly agree about bringing back Suso and, if he continues to impress on loan, Ilori.

It is exactly the opposite of what Brendan Rodgers said in January although a part of me thinks he's just saving face and presenting a united front, got no problem with him being diplomatic.  I'll be honest and say that I'd prefer if he wasn't, but I certainly can't be disappointed with BR for being that way.

I don't think our squad in it's current form with just one or two additions can cope with a European/2xCup/League schedule next season.  I'm not intending to leave any of those competitions early, that's a lot of games, need a big squad.

I'm not intending to leave any of those competitions early, that's a lot of games, need a big squad.

Sorry to pick just this bit out of your post mate but I disagree. 

We don't need a 'big squad' as everyone is limited to 25 players anyway, what we need is a better squad.  We need to improve on the quality we already have and I don't mean buying world class quality necessarily as I don't believe we'll buy that type of player again with FSG in charge. 

I'm sure Brendan knows who out of our current squad are surplus to requirements, same as he knows who will be featuring more next season but I doubt we'll see wholesale changes in the summer just the odd tweak here and there.

For squad players, do we really need to spend 5m-10m on players to warm the bench and occasionally make an appearance? We have Kelly, Flannagn, Robinson, Wisdom and Suso with 1st team experience but all have shown their quality and adaptability when played. Add McLaughlin(?), Teixeira, Ibe and Alberto, not bad players and players who can potentially become 1st team or good squad players.

I genuinely believe we only need 3 first team players in the summer that are potentially world class (15-20m bracket). I really have faith in our youngsters and If they are given the chance, I think a few of them can really surprise us.

So to sum it up, we don't need a massive overhaul, 3 starters in, offload 3-4 players and have faith in our young players

I think I'm the only person who would probably prefer quantity over quality at the moment.  More concerned about a paper thin squad unravelling rather than the addition of THAT one quality player.  Competition for places raises the quality of your current squad too.

Think we need Reina back from loan.
Keep Aly, add an additional fullback (RB can play LB too though).
A DM/CB type.
A well rounded CM.
Borini, Assaidi, Suso back in addition to another winger.

Rediscover the concept of a squad again.

Just my two cents though.

Disagree, if we make CL we are not going to bode a chance with players who we are buying just to buy a player in that position. I will always take quality of quantity usually. I want a player that will make a big impact and start right away than a player who may be able to contribute in some games. We will never get better that way. Not saying we need to spend 30M on every player we buy this summer, you can still find good players and talent at a good price.

And no we do not need Pepe, that is more wages spent on a backup GK (he wouldn't start over Simon for me).

If we keep Aly and keep Johnson then we do not need another full back. I am not too sold on Aly yet I guess I would make a decision on him at the end of the season, but if he goes back we will need a LB. If Johnson leaves we need another RB.

A DM I would agree with as well as a well rounded CM. I would like to take Borini and Suso back but Assaidi can leave, he will not be able to contribute to much here.

The problem isn't one of numbers, it's of quality. We have a fair amount of players in the squad who realistically will only play if for some reason we are desperate. Kelly is one, Cissokho another. Neither will get near the team if our respective first choices are fit, and certainly in the case of Kelly it is IMHO time for both him and us to accept that a career at the likes of Wolves is his destination.

In midfield the clock is ticking IMHO for Joe Allen. We already have a workmanlike midfielder in Henderson, and Allen being two years into his contract is approaching the point where it maybe best to take whatever is offered. Both he and the ex Sunderland Man need to much more IMHO in order to mak themselves indispensable. Lucas IMHO is worth keeping because firstly Gerrard won't play every match, and secondly there are occasional circumstances when he would warrant an inclusion from a tactical viewpoint (namely when we need Gerrard to play further forward).

Neither Victor Moses (from an attitude viewpoint by all accounts) nor Iago Aspas (ability deficient) provide many answers, and without looking too hard you have half a dozen players or so who could be moved on with impunity.

When you buy yourself a couple of nice shirts there's little point in keeping the number with the frayed collar for "when I paint the bathroom or do the garden", you may as well free up some space in the wardrobe. That's what we need to do, buy some new shirts which are actually wearable, and free up some space in the wardrobe.

certainly in the case of Kelly it is IMHO time for both him and us to accept that a career at the likes of Wolves is his destination.

Certainly?? Really at Wolves? who are struggling to come out of League One??!! Thats way too harsh on the lad, he was doing fantastic during Kenny's time and I for one think that he might not be a good fit in BR's system as a full back, but has all the makings of a reliable CB. Coates will be sold, Toure is Toure. Next season I reckon he'll be a very dependable back up for Skrtel

Think we need Reina back from loan.

I agree with this but there's as much chance of this happening as Arsenal winning the Champion's League. What we need are players who are better than what we have so that what we have can be put on the bench. Henderson has improved but will never be world class, Sterling has lots of pace but still needs to improve in many other aspects of his game, Allen might be the Welsh Xavi but I'd sooner we have the real thing and we still don't have a viable replacement for Gerrard, someone who displays that drive, determination and dynamism to grab games by the scruff of the neck and dictate them like Gerrard did in his prime. At the back we need another fullback who can play either side who, along with Falnno, will give us great flexibility in our cover.

Most of all, what we do need is an end to the bargain basement transfer policy and to go after some top quality talent rather than starlets who may be stars in four or five years time, or players like Sagna who are at the twilight of their careers. If FSG don't give Brendan money after the season we've had so far, they never will and given that those around us will all strengthen in the Summer, we may never have another season like this if they don't.

I agree with this but there's as much chance of this happening as Arsenal winning the Champion's League. What we need are players who are better than what we have so that what we have can be put on the bench. Henderson has improved but will never be world class, Sterling has lots of pace but still needs to improve in many other aspects of his game, Allen might be the Welsh Xavi but I'd sooner we have the real thing and we still don't have a viable replacement for Gerrard, someone who displays that drive, determination and dynamism to grab games by the scruff of the neck and dictate them like Gerrard did in his prime. At the back we need another fullback who can play either side who, along with Falnno, will give us great flexibility in our cover.

Most of all, what we do need is an end to the bargain basement transfer policy and to go after some top quality talent rather than starlets who may be stars in four or five years time, or players like Sagna who are at the twilight of their careers. If FSG don't give Brendan money after the season we've had so far, they never will and given that those around us will all strengthen in the Summer, we may never have another season like this if they don't.

Is the right answer

To really kick on next eyar and strengthen our position in the top 4, we need top quality players wo can add an extra gear in Europe, then the likes of Sterling, Hendo et al can play in some of the mid-week games to keep the squad fresh.

It wont happen however. BR's summer warchest will be one of those small enough to fit into a fish tank. Also Ayres and Co. couldnt sort a deal out for an Egytian youngster in 1 month, so what chance have we got of bringing in 4 decent players in and shpping some out over summer. Absolutely Zero!