About the team: Improvement, transfers and the way forward

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In typical fashion, there's been a lot of talk and no action from Arsenal in bringing in players. After the abysmal season that ended with us finishing outside the European spot on the last day of the season, we haven't been as aggressive as you'd expect of a team looking to climb back up.

In fact, it has been more of the same since last season, with the clear out of personnel in the headlines. A trio of academy players in Trae Coyle, Zech Medley and Mark McGuinness said goodbye to the gunners in the window. These moves have zero impact on the squad considering none of them had ever started or were ever prospects for a starting role.

Keeping the players

The bigger question to ask is how many of our top players will remain after that horrible season? Are the players still motivated to play under Arteta? Will they seek better opportunities outside?

There have been speculations about the futures of numerous top players in the team. Names like Bellerin, Bernd Leno, and Lacazette to name a few, have been reported to have interest in exiting the team. It will frankly not come as a surprise if anybody leaves for better opportunities outside, but I wonder if those opportunities will actually come.

A lot of those players are receiving competitive salaries and it will be difficult to get a better paying job outside. Also, add to the fact that their stocks also dropped after participating in that horrible season and didn't show any extraordinary signs.

Other than the academy boys who broke into the first team and showed their class, most senior players will most likely be staying put. However, I will be glad to cut short the Willian nightmare and to let Elneny leave because I don't think any serious team should rely on players of that quality.

The rumour mill

Our ostensible silence in the market hasn't gone unnoticed though, as the transfer rumour mill continues to spin. Every day we're linked with one ridiculous transfer or the other that frankly smells of "clickbait".

The first 'heartbreak" of our transfer window was Buendia's decision to snub us for Aston Villa. After that snub, we have also been linked to a number of names that includes Mahrez, Sterling, and James Maddison. You can just tell that it is utter crap from the first paragraph of the news.

Filling the void

Despite being linked to numerous attackers, it is clear that we need to fill the void in our defence. Last season we were limp in attack but somehow still were in the top 5 best defences in the game. It is sparse consolation for an otherwise disappointing season.

At the end of last season, David Luiz, an integral part of the defence, decided to put an end to his Arsenal career. For what it's worth, we still have a number of young central defenders in the mix but I wonder if that will be enough. Seeing as we don't have the welcomed distraction of European football, perhaps the quantity of players in that part of the pitch is adequate.

The only thing that is in question is, do the defenders at our disposal have the requisite quality to improve on our showing last season? I think we got a fair glimpse of the ability that all of them had, and on different occasions, they all stepped up. Holding, Gabriel, and Pablo Mari all had decent performance. Saliba is returning from his loan and was deemed unready by Arteta last season, but will this season be different?

Moving forward

Last season, our forward play failed us on numerous occasions. We simply lacked the ability to break down teams and all a team had to do to beat us was play a counter-attacking low block.

If we're looking to get back into the serious end of the table, we have no option other than to improve the entire forward play. The potential exits of Ceballos and Odegard after their loan spells means we will have a huge gap to fill in midfield. Add that to the fact that there have been rumoured interest for Xhaka from Italy, and you have an even bigger void.

As if that wasn't enough, the Willian experiment looks like it is an epic failure and then there's the little matter of Lacazette possibly leaving. In fact, only a hand full of players are certain to be in the squad next season and that's only because they freshly renewed their contracts.

If we're looking at having a proper season then we have no choice but to improve on what we have available. Emile-SMith and Saka showed their class but they're young players that shouldn't shoulder all the responsibility alone. If we're really serious about improvement, then I suspect we will be making at least 4 additions in midfield and attack to improve our chances of climbing up the table.

Conclusion

We have a very complicated task of fixing up the team and getting higher up the ranking. On top of everything we're going through, we also have a rookie manager, a tight budget and participate in a financially competitive league where virtually everybody dips their hands into the same pot for quality.

We have to improve dramatically to stand any chance of climbing up the ladder and it has to be done fast. We need to take decisive action towards our growth and not wait for the dying minutes to battle for scraps as always. Until we meet again, up the Arsenal.



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11 comments
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i would keep Elneny as a squad player. He looks like a guy who does not complain and does the best he can. And we know how arsenal team looks after few months of play (struggling to get 11 fit players :D)

Arsenal needs at least 3-4 serious signings even with only playing domestic games. right back and few people in the midfield.

will that happen, i don't believe until i see it.

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Yeah, I just feel like Elneny is extremely limited and we are better off fielding an academy player as backup, rather than rely on him. His input on the field is very similar to an upcoming footballer, so we might as well play young guns and who knows, we might unearth a gem.

In terms of signing, I feel the same way you do. It is only media talk until something actually happens

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The boards need to bring out more fund to make better signing to improved the team for the next season

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At least you’ve got a manager 😅

At this rate I think Spurs will be letting their own supporters take turns at running the team. Actually that might be a better idea than some of the managerial candidates we’re linked with.

The standard of reporting on transfer rumours gets worse every year. I only tend to read anything written by a credible sports journalist otherwise it’s likely to be guess work

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I have never got Spurs since the glory days of Ardilles and Villa. They are always there or there abouts but never quite seem to reach the pinnacle.

Any team with Bale, Kane and Son should be wiping the rest of the table clean!

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It’s mentality and priorities. We have a chairman who likes to pretend we are a big club with a swanky new stadium but we don’t invest time and money on bringing in the players to actually win anything

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The managerial search has also been marred by the news rambling. Other than Ornstein, Fabrizianno and John Cross, everything else is crap to me.

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Sell us Eddie! His heart is in Leeds ;-)

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lol I wonder if that deal will go through. He would make a dope partner for bamford

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