JazzG wrote:

Schneiderlin won't come that much cheaper, rumour has it they rejected a £15m bid so will probably be looking for around £20m if they were to let him go. If Shaw or Lallana go then they might be reluctant to sell

Aren't they struggling a bit financially?

Don't think them rebuffing a bid in January (presuming that is the rumoured one mentioned) has any bearing on what they'll do in the summer.

We aren't going to spend more than £12m on a defensive minded mid player. It will likely be an unknown project player to rotate with flamini and arteta. I expect Flamini will be our starting DM next season in Wenger's mind.

No point buying another player at that level. If we go for a more defensive minded mid he or she has to be top notch.

evoh wrote:

We aren't going to spend more than £12m on a defensive minded mid player. It will likely be an unknown project player to rotate with flamini and arteta. I expect Flamini will be our starting DM next season in Wenger's mind.

That explains our bids for Schneiderlin & Bender which have been for £15m+ and why Wenger starts with Arteta ahead of Flamini then!

Bids?

When it is done it is a bid, everything else is froth.

Hopefully we froth for Martinez

evoh wrote:

Bids?

When it is done it is a bid.

What? 😆

evoh wrote:

Bids?

When it is done it is a bid, everything else is froth.

You need to actually make a bid before signing the player, I don't think Gazidis was like fuck it let's make a bid and see what they say. Clubs are under no obligation to sell their players so not just down to us

If we sign a guy like Martinez plus a new right back before the world cup, it will make me less antsy on the striker front. Still not ideal, but it shows the right approach is in place.

I always hate this line (and those similar to it) "Wenger’s budget includes wages as well". wages aren't paid up front and neither is the transfer fee.

Captain wrote:

If we sign a guy like Martinez plus a new right back before the world cup, it will make me less antsy on the striker front. Still not ideal, but it shows the right approach is in place.

Exactly, we can't leave everything too late because the World Cup will massively disrupt a lot of transfer plans. Also getting two signings done early will give us more time and resources to concentrate on tying down a striker

Don't get your hopes up for pre-WC signings IMO.

Martinez can partner both Ramsey and Arteta (who will continue to be an important contributor for us - he's a good player!) and can cover at CB. £30m is steep for a holding mid, and he could be a bit more mobile and better on the ball, but he obviously has a lot of very good qualities. I'd be very happy with his signing.

I'm hoping Wenger is a little less concerned about price now and will merely be annoyingly picky about the players he wants. £42.5m for Özil was hardly a bargain - it was the right player at a reasonable price. Hopefully we see the same with a player of Martinez's quality.

Red herring, i dont believe we are intrested in him.

Martinez would be the ideal signing in central midfield. Been on my "wishlist" for some time now. He's technically very good, while at the same time both mobile and physically strong. I think he's better than for instance Matic.

Our bids for Bender and Schneiderlin and interest in Martinez, clearly shows that Wenger isn't happy with our options in central midfield. I don't think we'll actually sign Martinez though, because I doubt Bayern would be willing to let him go.

Meatwad wrote:

I always hate this line (and those similar to it) "Wenger’s budget includes wages as well". wages aren't paid up front and neither is the transfer fee.

Same. Wish someone could explain the 'wages are included' thing to me, cos as far as I can tell it makes no sense.