We've got a Top 4 squad...

Quinze said:
If a Top 4 squad means a squad expected to finish in the Top 4 by the end of the season and that can reasonably expect to end up in the 3rd-6th range based on form and injuries, then I think we marginally have one. We have good enough players to achieve it if we use formations that play to their strengths. ETH couldn't manage this and got sacked, while Amorim is deliberately refusing to do so, and our short-term results are suffering because of it.

Anyway, the problem right now is that the team sheets being put out each week are definitely not Top 4 quality. They're mid-table level at best, and it shows. Failing to sign a top striker and a quality left-back in particular was criminal from the people in charge.

The biggest issue for me is that most of our supposedly senior and highest-paid players are either injured, frozen out, or sitting on the bench. Then, we end up starting a bunch of kids who are not ready yet and crumble under pressure.

For reference, the players who are supposed to be the core of the team are:

RankPlayerGross pay per weekGross pay per year
1Casemiro£350,000£18,200,000
=2Bruno Fernandes£300,000£15,600,000
=2Marcus Rashford£300,000£15,600,000
4Mason Mount£250,000£13,000,000
5Antony£200,000£10,400,000
6Matthijs de Ligt£195,000£10,140,000
7Harry Maguire£190,000£9,880,000
=8Luke Shaw£150,000£7,800,000
=8Christian Eriksen£150,000£7,800,000
10Noussair Mazraoui£135,000£7,020,000

Salary, of course, isn’t the ultimate metric, and the exact numbers might be off due to CL clauses, but it’s a good enough benchmark. The only ones who are somewhat performing are Fernandes, De Ligt, Maguire, and Mazraoui. Aside from Rashford, I don’t recall the others having much of an impact on our season, and that can’t be motivating for the younger players. Ironically, Bruno, the one who works the hardest, gets the most flak here.
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Ffs what a nightmare 7 out of our 10 best paid players aren't even starters.
 
Not a top 4 squad proved further today. 1-0 down against Wolves and you are depending on subs Zirkee,Antony and Eriksen to try to nick a draw instead concede again to lose 2-0.
 
What i dont understand is how anyone can say we have a top 4 squad.

Our players are as medicore as it gets, When we are talking PL level.

Take Højlund and Zirkzee as examples, none of them has ever reached 10 league goals in a good league. Then we come and pay allmost 140 mill for them combined. Why are they expected to make more goals here?

And we done this for years. I dont think i see 1 fully proven top PL player in this team. Certainly not a world class player.
Diallo looks great, but will he continue to improve? We dont know...

This squad is a 8-14 pl team imo.
If Amorin without transfers gets us above 8, then its kinda surprising to me.
 
I think because we've wasted so much money in the past on poor recruitment, some people think that once we start making better decisions on players, we'll be back on top. That ignores the fact that we weren't that far behind in the past. We finished 2nd under Van gaal, Mourinho, and Ole, and even finished 3rd under ETH.

If we want to challenge for titles, we'll need significant investment to bridge the gap. I really don't know if the club is ready for that.
 
We absolutely don't, there's so much deadwood I don't even know where to begin with, this a proper midtable team sadly.
 
Rojofiam said:
Replies like these just prove how overrated Odegaard has become at this point.

Bruno is comfortably a better #10 than him, but I guess Odegaard has good looking body feints!
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No danger is he overrated. He's become an absolute cracking player. He sets the tempo of Arsenal's attacking play, brilliant at keeping the ball moving in tight areas, and gets the best out of Saka (another of Arsenal's key players).

There's not a chance you actually watch United and Arsenal regularly and genuinely believe Bruno is a better player.

I accept that Bruno is just about our only creative player and overall creates a high number of opportunities, but there are plenty number 10s that are much tidier players overall. That's why they play in teams that are at the top end of the league and we're in 14th.

With Bruno it's not an issue of not creating chances, it's the amount of wastefulness in passing and shooting. Proper top players don't waste the ball as much as he does.
 
We have some players who could play for a top 4 team. But we also have players who do not belong in the PL. Together, our squad is no more than a middle team. Newcastle, Tottenham, Villa and Brighton have stronger squads than us.
 
Realistically I’d like to see a squad like this next season if we miss out on Europe


New keeper
Bayindir (if we have a youth team keeper better sell)

Dalot
Mazraoui
De Ligt
Yoro
Maguire (extend for a year)
Martinez
New CB
Amass
New LWB

Ugarte
Mainoo
New CM
Mount

Diallo
Hoijlund
Garnacho
New ST
New AM

They’re only 20 players there.6 would be new signings, realistically a couple of them 6 would have to be done on the cheap too,

There’s a few holes in the squad, like Mount down as a CM for example but getting Casemiro off the books is vital, Eriksens contracts up and I just want to see the back of Bruno at this point, I’d hang on to Maguire for one more year cause we’ve too much to do without signing 2 CBs (Evans and Lindelof are out of contract)

20 players and a few academy products should get you through a season without Europe if you can manage to keep the squad fit,

That should clear an absolute fortune off the wage bill and you’d hope that between the likes of Onana, Shaw, Malacia, Casemiro, Rashford (hopefully can get rid of him next month) Anthony, Zirkzee and Bruno that we could raise a few quid to add to the budget to maybe get the 6 in, realistically we’d do well to get anything for Shaw and Casemiro unless Saudi or the likes are involved.

It’s really a complete mess
 
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