Özil and Mhiki weren’t guaranteed first team spots last year, and barely had any competition. Both are miles past their prime anyway, the less they play the better.
2019/20 Rivals - Arsenal
- Thread starter AkaAkuma
- Start date
Arsenal scored more goals last season than anyone bar City and Liverpool but yes I did watch Arsenal last season
Yes it was, particularly away from home we had nothing about us.
The fact that Alex Iwobi was the best of our wide/ creative midfield options last season says it all. We desperately needed someone who could play wide, dribble and create.
It's also the case that having an overwhelming attack can cover up deficiencies in defence. We've seen that in the PL before and a team who can score a shit ton of goals will likely do enough to get top four, even if they're conceding a fair amount.
Liverpool with Suarez/Sturridge/Sterling/Coutinho basically threw caution to the wind most weeks and overwhelmed opponents by having a scary attack which could pin most teams back. Even when they did concede they could still score 3 or 4 pretty regularly.
I don't think that strategy will win you a league now, City and Liverpool are too well balanced, but it can certainly get you CL football which is Arsenal's next goal.
Liverpool with Suarez/Sturridge/Sterling/Coutinho basically threw caution to the wind most weeks and overwhelmed opponents by having a scary attack which could pin most teams back. Even when they did concede they could still score 3 or 4 pretty regularly.
I don't think that strategy will win you a league now, City and Liverpool are too well balanced, but it can certainly get you CL football which is Arsenal's next goal.
On the face of it scoring goals wasn't a problem last season, as we were the 3rd highest goalscorers in the league. However we had massive issues with creating chances or even getting shots off. On those we were way down the table. We can't hope we are as clinical as last season and not strengthen the attack. We were first in conversion rate. Converting 21% of our shots. It would be foolish to expect us to be as clinical again.
You probably didn't watch many of our full games though. We often struggled to create anything, especially away from home. Our xG was lower than the goals we did score. Emery also likes to play down the wing and whip in plenty of crosses to the strikers. Given Arsenal don't have a competant winger, this is a bit of a problem and Bellerin and Kolasinic were his goto playmakers.
Also part of the reason we concede is we're caught higher up the pitch because we're struggling to create anything. If you can kill off games early, in theory, you can sit back and concede less and use your pacey wingers and forwards to catch opponents on the break.
All that aside I do believe Pepe is a generational talent and regardless of your needs you go all in for the chance to have such a player.
With Arsenal spending 72m on a top class winger and us signing a proven defender for 80m, the fight for top 4 will definitely be fun to watch.
I still can't see us getting top 4 with our defense.
This Coutinho rumour has to be fake right ? 12m loan fee + 88M in 2years. I have no idea what's going on 
Don't think Pepe really addresses any of the actual problems at Arsenal. Think they will occupy 5th and 6th place, with Chelsea.
Their defence is a shambles. Once they address that they're a top 4 team again
It addresses one of our (multiple) major problems.
With Nelson emerging and hopefully kicking on this season we will have two extra wide options that are scoring threats.
The next things that need to addressed are our LB and CB situations.
I am hearing that Arsenal are taking Coutinho on loan. Is this real?
Exactly. We'd be crazy to just expect that we would repeat those numbers. People talk about PEA and Laca's bad misses, but in reality they were clinical.
Now we've lost a scoring threat from midfield in Ramsay, who is someone that teams are always conscious of.
We should now have a strong variety of goal scorers coming from all angles, with PEA, Laca, Pepe and Nelson. Hopefully Eddie, Iwobi, Ozil, Mhki and Ceballos can help here too.
Surely not.
Maguire doesn't really address any of United's problems. You already had 6 CBs and need a RW. Think United will remain 6th
This comment was as dumb as yours
Our need for a RW is far less pressing than your need for a proper defense, it's not even comparable. Not to add, we have a proper RW in James now, who will most likely get more than enough game time due to his ability to press. The Maguire comparison doesn't really make much sense either imo, the step up from Jones/Smalling to Maguire is far greater than having to play Auba, Ozil or Iwobi out wide comparatively to Pepe.
Not to add, that's not even taking into account the fact that Arsenal supposedly have their hands tied in regards to a budget, we don't. On that basis, signing another attacker just doesn't make sense to me. That money could have been spent on a proper CB or two, an issue of Arsenal's for a few years now.
It would have at least saved you from having to resort to these desperate attempts at loan deals for defensive players that we are beginning to see now.
As opposed to desperately spending £85 million on Maguire when you already have a bloated squad in terms of CB's?
At the end of the day you pay what it costs for players that will improve your side. And unless Sane and Neymar move Pepe will likely be the best wide player bought this window.
Better that then three budget signings that don't improve our side much, and then you can't shift them a few years later because they're on good money - we have been there and done that too many times in the past, it doesn't work.
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You don't need a RW because you signed a 21 year old LW from the championship? So if I went into the United forum right now I would see any posters still asking for a RW?
Also you're taking the piss surely? Pepe isn't a significant upgrade over Iwobi/Ozil on the wing? But Maguire is over Jones/Smalling? I'm starting to realise every single fan on here who's said we didn't need Pepe doesn't actually watch us play.
I think it's pretty clear our reported budget was bullshit. Don't believe everything you see online.
Could be a case of the best defense is offense? Yes we need defensive signings, but we havent had an out and out right winger since Walcott actually played games consistently (which was pretty much never anyway).
I'd also like to advise you not to take what the media tell you as facts. Because clearly we have far more than 45 mil to spend this window.
Finishing off here, I'd take Pepe over a defensive signing anyway because I rate him, and I want to see more goals this season regardless of how many we scored last season. Holding should be coming back soon as well. Either way, if we get a CB this window on top of the players we have already signed it'll have been our best window (imo) that we have witnessed as supporters for a long time.
Cant believe we got Pepe, get in!
He's been deployed as a RW in pre-season and is naturally a right footed player. Also, what people say on this forum doesn't concern me, we could have the World XI and there'd still be people on here who would want something more.
He isn't as significant an improve over Auba as Maguire is over Smalling or Jones, no. Jones for one is never fit and has a calamity or two in him a game and Smalling is probably the worst CB in the top clubs when taking into account his ability on the ball. Maguire is a clear upgrade over them both in every regard, ability on the ball, heading ability - you name it.
If your reported budget is actually bullshit, then fair enough, it's an improvement on your current options. Considering the fact that you guys are trying to sign players on loan deals though, I'm more inclined to think Pepe was the majority of your budget and ultimately the way I see it is, you're getting an improvement on players that can operate there, when that could be spent on clear upgrades on your defence, which is far and away the weakest part of your side.
That's just how I see it though. All this talk of us signing Dybala etc. Had we not started the window by signing AWB and potentially now signing Maguire, I would have considered it a shite window for us.
That being said, it's a great signing when considered individually, I am a big fan of Pepe and wanted him here. If you guys are going to have to penny pinch and rely on loan deals to try and get the weakest part of your squad sorted though as a result of him, I don't think it's the best decision.
Pepe isn't replacing Auba in the starting eleven though. He's replacing Iwobi/Mkhi and he's a massive upgrade over them.
The only loan deal I'm aware of was Rugani and apparently that was a loan with an obligation to buy. We're still after Tierney so I don't think we did spend the majority of our budget on Pepe. I'd be very surprised if we ended the window without signing any defenders.
As I said - if this doesn't affect your ability to strengthen the more pressing concerns in your squad, this is a great signing. Tierney is going for pretty cheap though, isn't he? You'd need to potentially spend double his price to get a great CB. Not to add, no team is going to let you loan a top class CB. I guess we'll see, as I obviously don't have as much an idea about your transfer dealings as you would, I just go off what I see every now and again.
Worryingly for us, Arsenal are strengthening well.
Given their meagre transfer budget, they've recruited well - they've signed a lot of good young players (Torreira and Guendouzi have settled well already from last summer, and they have Saliba and Martinelli this summer) under Emery, with deadwood like Perez and Welbeck shipped off/let go (compare that to Rojo, Darmian, Jones, Young, Sanchez, Matic with us - though they're still struggling with Miki and Ozil's wages tbf).
Pepe is massive for them. Sure, Laca and Auba were already a great strike force, but Iwobi and Miki on the wings were very poor - Pepe seriously bolsters a position they did need reinforcements in. Very top heavy for sure, but what a great top it is.
Tierney looks to be going to them too - many here rate him as better than Shaw, and he's another that's a big upgrade on the stop gaps they've been using at LB. Holding out and haggling (as we did with AWB and attempted with Maguire) is very annoying for fans, but does have its advantages - Tierney for about £25m would be a great deal. Selling a 21 year old who was playing in League 1 last season for almost £10m is fantastic business, too.
The elephant in the room is obviously CB - Emery is hilariously trying to convince Koscielny to stay - but other than that, Emery's doing very well with the funds he's been given.
We've done great business this summer for sure, addressing key areas that desperately needed improving, but so have Arsenal. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pushing all the way for top 4 - possibly even third, depending on how injuries hit Spurs this season.
Given their meagre transfer budget, they've recruited well - they've signed a lot of good young players (Torreira and Guendouzi have settled well already from last summer, and they have Saliba and Martinelli this summer) under Emery, with deadwood like Perez and Welbeck shipped off/let go (compare that to Rojo, Darmian, Jones, Young, Sanchez, Matic with us - though they're still struggling with Miki and Ozil's wages tbf).
Pepe is massive for them. Sure, Laca and Auba were already a great strike force, but Iwobi and Miki on the wings were very poor - Pepe seriously bolsters a position they did need reinforcements in. Very top heavy for sure, but what a great top it is.
Tierney looks to be going to them too - many here rate him as better than Shaw, and he's another that's a big upgrade on the stop gaps they've been using at LB. Holding out and haggling (as we did with AWB and attempted with Maguire) is very annoying for fans, but does have its advantages - Tierney for about £25m would be a great deal. Selling a 21 year old who was playing in League 1 last season for almost £10m is fantastic business, too.
The elephant in the room is obviously CB - Emery is hilariously trying to convince Koscielny to stay - but other than that, Emery's doing very well with the funds he's been given.
We've done great business this summer for sure, addressing key areas that desperately needed improving, but so have Arsenal. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pushing all the way for top 4 - possibly even third, depending on how injuries hit Spurs this season.
Great post mate and pretty much in line with how I'm thinking.
With the upcoming Barcelona game tomorrow rumors are heating up about potentially loaning either Umtiti, Coutinho or even both!
This has been a great transfer window so far for us, and for many people asking why we have been spending differently this season compared to virtually any other window in recent memory the answer is Raul and Edu to some extent.
Raul, our head of football at arsenal seems to have the connections and desire to get who he wants at Arsenal. The fact he was formerly working for Barcelona says it all, and also adds fuel to fire in regards to recent Coutinho and Umtiti rumors.
We are now working with agents like Mendez who Wenger pretty much refused to deal with as he was stuck on his principles. It's a new strategy we are adopting and it seems to be working well. Of course our transfer budget isn't on the same level compared to United, or the other top 4, but when you weigh in how efficiently we have recruited so far in proportion to the transfer budget we have many can't deny it's been pretty decent. Tierney should be here by next week and that will make me very confident of obtaining at least top 4 and another Europa League final.
Cheers 
I'd be absolutely shocked if Arsenal loaned Coutinho, given the fee being quoted just for the loan, especially as ye already have Ozil as aqn out of place luxury attacking midfielder. Umtiti would be another injury prone player for Arsenal, but maybe a risk worth taking given Arsenal's current back line.
Since Wenger's left, there's definitely been an emphasis on bringing in players to benefit Arsenal as opposed to the manager (great sell on value in most of the transfers ye've made over the past 12 months, barring Lichtsteiner who was free) - Wenger went for broke with Laca, Auba and Miki in his final years (though Miki admittedly wasn't all down to him - United were hell for leather on Sanchez who had just 6 months left, not much choice there).
Given we're in a similar situation in terms of owners restricting spending, I hope we implement a long term plan to profit both on and off the field (though as Evra's interview regarding Woodward as DoF indicates, we're in big trouble in that regard).
I'd be absolutely shocked if Arsenal loaned Coutinho, given the fee being quoted just for the loan, especially as ye already have Ozil as aqn out of place luxury attacking midfielder. Umtiti would be another injury prone player for Arsenal, but maybe a risk worth taking given Arsenal's current back line.
Since Wenger's left, there's definitely been an emphasis on bringing in players to benefit Arsenal as opposed to the manager (great sell on value in most of the transfers ye've made over the past 12 months, barring Lichtsteiner who was free) - Wenger went for broke with Laca, Auba and Miki in his final years (though Miki admittedly wasn't all down to him - United were hell for leather on Sanchez who had just 6 months left, not much choice there).
Given we're in a similar situation in terms of owners restricting spending, I hope we implement a long term plan to profit both on and off the field (though as Evra's interview regarding Woodward as DoF indicates, we're in big trouble in that regard).
Cheers
I'd be absolutely shocked if Arsenal loaned Coutinho, given the fee being quoted just for the loan, especially as ye already have Ozil as aqn out of place luxury attacking midfielder. Umtiti would be another injury prone player for Arsenal, but maybe a risk worth taking given Arsenal's current back line.
Since Wenger's left, there's definitely been an emphasis on bringing in players to benefit Arsenal as opposed to the manager (great sell on value in most of the transfers ye've made over the past 12 months, barring Lichtsteiner who was free) - Wenger went for broke with Laca, Auba and Miki in his final years (though Miki admittedly wasn't all down to him - United were hell for leather on Sanchez who had just 6 months left, not much choice there).
Given we're in a similar situation in terms of owners restricting spending, I hope we implement a long term plan to profit both on and off the field (though as Evra's interview regarding Woodward as DoF indicates, we're in big trouble in that regard).
Unless Mkhi & Ozil are leaving I'd agree Coutinho would be an odd signing. It really depends for me on the money involved. Our number one aim has to be to get back into the top 4 and the question is with him in the squad do we have a better chance? But on the other hand I'd rather be making more long term signings than stop gap solutions. Ceballos for example at the moment can only be seen as a temporary solution to our CM issues but I do think we have a good chance of signing him on a permanent deal if we finish top 4. Coutinho on the other hand I think there is no chance we make it permanent. I'm not generally in favour of deals like that but as a club we probably can't afford another season without CL football.
As for Wenger, the problem we had there was last few years I do think a lot of the signings showed the power struggle between Gazidis & Wenger. A few of those guys in my mind I have no doubt Wenger would have never signed if he had full power. The problem is though Wenger had become so indecisive maybe the higher up powers decided to take charge themselves. I like how Raul seems to be a football man with a lot of good contacts, shades of Dein maybe but that remains to be seen and still early days for Raul. I do think when Dein left is when Wenger was given too much power/responsibility and things started to go wrong for him and the club. Just like Fergie and Gill worked well with each other I think Wenger was missing that in his last decade at the club.
Man Utd have huge commercials behind them so I wouldn't compare us financially, you guys are on course to have spent nearly £150m this summer and probably could cough up another £50m if needed. I think we have blown all our money hence why we are looking around for loan deals now! Glazers to be fair have put up a lot of money in recent years but a lot has been wasted by the club, this is probably where you need a proper football man there working with Woodward. A top director of football and you'll become
It's Arsenal though. It would be weird if they bought anything other than attacking players.
The spirit of Wenger.
The spirit of Wenger.
Err Arsenal used to be known for defensive nous and '1-0 to the Arsenal'. Wasn't that long ago...if you're old like me.
7-6 to the Arsenal
Wasn't that with defensive players that Wenger didn't buy?
I do remember it though, vaguely. For me Arsenal's transfer history (during and after Wenger) has been symbolised by needing defenders/defensive midfielders and signing Attackers. To the point where I always admired the attacking play but always thought the club was stupid for not fixing "simple" issues like DM, CB or GK.
My post was meant as a humoristic-ish comment with that part in mind. Not overly serious.
I don't really buy this giddyness around Arsenal. Arsenalmania and some of the Gunners on here seem to think they have suddenly caught up with Spurs, and with Coutinho will challenge for the league.
Let's be honest, most United fans would be criticizing Woody if we were the ones to buy Pepe for 80m; a player who has had one good season in France by age 24. And who was extensively scouted by clubs like Bayern who concluded he needed a lot of space to operate. And eventually, their only competitor for the signing was Napoli.
Their other signings have been a couple of kids, one who won't even join them this year. This would be the equivalent of United fans hoping new signings Dan James and Hannibal Mejbri are going to make them competitive with City and Liverpool.
RM have midfield issues and let Ceballos go on loan.
Let's be honest, most United fans would be criticizing Woody if we were the ones to buy Pepe for 80m; a player who has had one good season in France by age 24. And who was extensively scouted by clubs like Bayern who concluded he needed a lot of space to operate. And eventually, their only competitor for the signing was Napoli.
Their other signings have been a couple of kids, one who won't even join them this year. This would be the equivalent of United fans hoping new signings Dan James and Hannibal Mejbri are going to make them competitive with City and Liverpool.
RM have midfield issues and let Ceballos go on loan.
Nobody is giddy. Just happy that we've made some very good signings. We always get this...nobody thinks we're winning the league or CL anytime soon so stop posting nonsense.
What's the latest with Tierney, is it looking likely?
Third bid should be made soon but Tierney is rumoured to be out for 6/8 weeks. He could join just after September's International break alongside Holding.
I hope we can get a CB this week and it will be a very good transfer window. And no even with that we're not challenging for the league, getting top 4 is still the objective.
We were one point behind Spurs last season.
And show a single post that shows one of us being giddy.
Pepe has had two very good seasons in France, one of which was excellent. He just turned 24.
The Lille President himself stated that United, Inter, PSG and others contacted him about signing Pepe, and had the deal not gone through when it did he was expecting more bids.
Why read ArsenalMania, that's like delving into the United forum on here for some United related objectivity (from extreme to extreme) after a big win or a bad loss.
We've been 'preparing' this bid for nearly two weeks. Just get it done already.
It was a truly clueless post