Oh I see. But yea it’s 1 or the other.
I had a feeling we’d pass on Pepe and go for Sancho next year. Wouldn’t be ideal to do that / what OP suggested. So far, I’m half way there. Just have to wait and see on Sancho now.
Nicolas Pepe - Signs for Arsenal
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Oh I see. But yea it’s 1 or the other.
I had a feeling we’d pass on Pepe and go for Sancho next year. Wouldn’t be ideal to do that / what OP suggested. So far, I’m half way there. Just have to wait and see on Sancho now.
Defense is a huge concern. Moving forward we should keep:
CB - Sokratis, Holding (ACL), Saliba (next season)
RB - Bellerin (ACL), AMN (back-up)
LB - Kolasinac (back-up), Monreal (back-up)
The problem with that list above is that two of our prime aged better players (as in they will be here for years) are coming back from ACL's, and we can't afford to be relying on them so heavily this season - it's unfair on both of them. Generally it takes two years to get back to your best after an ACL too.
Chambers will be given this season to prove his worth. He was very good last season out on loan but played as a DM the majority of the time (I think?). He can settle in for a back-up role and I'd be comfortable with that.
If not for Koscielny wanting to go back to France I'd be happy with him for another season. But he's been one of our PL greats and given us everything, so I hope he gets his move home.
Hopefully we sign Tierney who will come in and be our starting LB.
He's confirmed to Arsenal . Having a medical later this week .
is he one of those precious twats who can only live in London (despite having the fare for a private jet trip)? I can just about understand not coming to us in our current predicament, but has he turned down champions league football at Liverpool?
Liverpool werent in for him. Napoli vs Arsenal it was
Oh, OK, I read Klopp made a bid.
Doubt Liverpool or United would be interested for 80m. We got used. Napoli and Arsenal met their price and he decided for Arsenal
Choosing Arsenal over Napoli is a strange one
I guess it was a case of money orPep Nap
I guess it was a case of money or
Bigger club, more desirable city to live in (have been to neither mind, and it is in the eye of the beholder anyway), better league?
But more importantly we are probably paying him more. Or his agents and reps, which was what I read.
Really?
Most footballers prefer playing in England these days unless its for Real/Barca/Juve/PSG/Bayern - much larger stage.
Arsenal also beat Napoli convincinly last year and have a lot of French/afrofrench players he probably knows (Aubameyang, Lacazette, Guendouzi, Saliba etc)
Arsenal are very popular in France and the ex-colonies in Africa still, despite being past their prime. They probably offered higher wages too.
Fair play Arsenal. Good work getting him
Naples is a beautiful shithole. And Italy has more of a problem with racism (not sure if that was a factor)... But I would pick London over Naples, the premier league over the Serie A any time.
You also don't really want to be under contract at Napoli if you feel like changing clubs. Dealing with De Laurentis or levy is a nightmare.
I am so angry that this player I have never watched and no-one else wanted is being signed by a team who generally signs average players
Yes. But it sticks out like a sore thumb for us thickos (case in point: Clive Tyldesley and 'Nicola Anelka')As in, the way he himself would pronounce his own name?
A real masterstroke by Arsenal. Probably one of the best PL deals of this summer. And if they go on to successfully raid our Tierney I can only say their new structure is really beginning to show its effectiveness. Saliba is also a very good signing, a brilliant teenager of mature quality.
I thought they only had 40 mil to spend? They've already dropped more than that and they are about to drop another 70m.
they are paying Pepe in installments, that's what they have to do given their small budget. Lille is fine with that, while Celtic isn't - which is why they haven't wrapped up Tierney.
It really isn’t, their biggest problem was never their attack. They are going another season without a new CB and Maitland-Niles/jenkison starting RB.
Yep, they can have as many fancy attacking players as they want they're still playing Mustafi in defence and Xhaka in midfield
Holding was one of their best defenders before getting injured and Chambers was Fulham's best player (I am aware Fulham got relegated). And usually sharpening your strike force can be one way of dealing with defensive weaknesses. If they sign Pepe and Tierney I think they will have a much better balanced side than last season despite everyone talking about their weak defence. Even then, they did well against some of the big teams, had a decent spell at one stage, narrowly missed out on top 4, and reached the Europa final so imo they are not as awful as some people make them out to be. Football is about scoring more than you concede and with that strike force they are more than capable of doing that.
I like how people have been running the narrative this summer Arsenal are the first team to ever pay for a transfer in installments
Spurs have already won that trophy when their fans celebrated Sissoko transfer as masterclass by Levy as it was paid in installments.
They aren’t but if it’s 14m a year for 5 years then it indeed is a very good deal for them. Not sure why Lille are taking that deal.
They owe us for Gervinho
Lille President Gerard Lopez confirms that, "we spoke to Inter, Athletico, Manchester United and PSG in recent weeks. Napoli and Arsenal were finally in balance at the end, and it was the London club that won the bet."
He also said (referring to the deal), "It's for €80 million fixed. If we pushed this out a little longer, we could've had 5 or 6 offers."
https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football...itic-aurait-tranche-pour-son-avenir-3465.html
Sounds like the other teams linked were prepared to make offers. Thankfully Pepe seems very keen to join us so we could wrap it up quickly.
It's amazing how quickly the market has blown up. Ten years ago our highest transfer deal was 15 million for Arshavin. Crazy times.
He also said (referring to the deal), "It's for €80 million fixed. If we pushed this out a little longer, we could've had 5 or 6 offers."
https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football...itic-aurait-tranche-pour-son-avenir-3465.html
Sounds like the other teams linked were prepared to make offers. Thankfully Pepe seems very keen to join us so we could wrap it up quickly.
It's amazing how quickly the market has blown up. Ten years ago our highest transfer deal was 15 million for Arshavin. Crazy times.
Didn't Lille also say Liverpool enquired about him? Which was confirmed by the reliable Mohamed Bouhafsi. Which I found a bit surprising as I wouldn't have thought they needed to strengthen that position.
Liverpool lack attacking depth, they looked lost without their front three in pre-season. That's probably why they were after him.
They do lack depth, but wouldn't they look then to sign a cheap potential, or develop a young player. It would be strange for them to have spend £72m on a backup who most likely would hardly play, as Salah and Mane play in nearly every game.
It's official he has signed.
While we blunder and flounder again in the transfer marker Pepe goes to Arsenal.
Good times. Now for 'big ammo' Raul to sign Tierney.
If he can manage to convince someone to buy Mustafi, sign a CB and keep Koscielny one more season then this will go down as a truly great transfer window.
If he can manage to convince someone to buy Mustafi, sign a CB and keep Koscielny one more season then this will go down as a truly great transfer window.
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