He had four more or less injury free seasons prior to last one so I'm not sure if one big injury makes him a crock. My bigger issue is whether he can play along side Ramsey in a midfield two since he plays alongside a DM at Dortmund. If he can he'd be a brilliant signing.

More Xabi Alonso than any of our players, so in that regard I see the Arteta comparisons.

I'd take him ahead of Wilshere though (as a CM) as he plays a far less risky game and is a smarter defender.

I can understand the thinking behind wanting to sign Gündogan to play as first choice ahead of Ramsey or Wilshere. Not that I agree with that, mind! Wanting to sign him to play a role he has never played, which would be the one currently played by Flamini and Arteta, sounds more than a bit risky. Especially when we are talking about a player who is just coming off a big injury.

---------Ozil/Ramsey
----------------Gundogan
---Schneiderlin

I'll wishlist it

AM: Ozil / Wilshere
CM: Ramsey / Gundogan
DM: Schneiderlin / Wanyama

Proper cover for every position, and a clear understanding of your role. AM free of most work besides possession, CM required to sit close to the DM and dictate play from deep (fewer supporting surges), and a DM that better not ever be further than 20 yards from our CBs.

So, a few of you would only want Gündogan when it is along with another, more defensive minded central mid. Finally, that makes some sense. Myself, I have more modest wishes; I'd be well pleased if we upgraded the position in midfield where we are actually really weak with the never-playing Arteta and the less-than-good Flamini.

Not me. I think Gundogan is a must have. Excellent midfielder.

For me, Gundogan is the type of player you want for away games in the CL while Ramsey may be better suited for games at home. I know it sound ridiculous to make that specification but I think that's how specific team selection should be.

away games in CL?

we need week in week out starters in the league not maybes ahead of a class all round CM.

i think our best midfield would be

gundo - ramsey
---- ozil ---
walcott - alexis
giroud/welbeck

i'd prefer we sit two midfielders deep and they are given explicit instructions that when one pushes forward, the other sits. both have a good enough engine to do that. id actually say their defending skills are pretty similar. ozil would then have 2 wide runners and a central striker to feed.

the other midfield option would be to sit one midfielder deep, with two box to box types in front. but in that setup, i dont think it works to use ozil as one of those 2. we'd have to play a diamond, with one DM, two CMs, and then ozil at AM, with 2 attackers ahead of him, which would likely make us too narrow, especially since our fullbacks provide fuckall

wenger changed the formation this year. i guess its tough to know which players would fit best unless we know what he plans to do with ozil and the formation as a whole. having alexis, walcott, ozil, welbeck, giroud, cazorla, ox, and ramsey all fit at the same time will give him a bunch of selection options.

mdgoonah41 wrote:

i think our best midfield would be

gundo - ramsey
---- ozil ---
walcott - alexis
giroud/welbeck

i'd prefer we sit two midfielders deep and they are given explicit instructions that when one pushes forward, the other sits. both have a good enough engine to do that. id actually say their defending skills are pretty similar. ozil would then have 2 wide runners and a central striker to feed.

the other midfield option would be to sit one midfielder deep, with two box to box types in front. but in that setup, i dont think it works to use ozil as one of those 2. we'd have to play a diamond, with one DM, two CMs, and then ozil at AM, with 2 attackers ahead of him, which would likely make us too narrow, especially since our fullbacks provide fuckall

wenger changed the formation this year. i guess its tough to know which players would fit best unless we know what he plans to do with ozil and the formation as a whole. having alexis, walcott, ozil, welbeck, giroud, cazorla, ox, and ramsey all fit at the same time will give him a bunch of selection options.

If I was going to be super critical I'd say that AW changed to look to cover the deficiencies in our players in midfield so as to provide a genuine 3 CM midfield in the middle of the park, as opposed to actually either signing the player/s needed to address the issue/s or to telling the players what to do = reactive rather than proactive.
EDIT: Further to this it would also indicate that the team shape is more determined by his resources available rather than any defined tactical intent.

4 days later

Would it be fair to say gundogan could be our arteta replacement? Not strictly a defensive midfielder but an orchestrator from deep? (setting aside for a moment the debate over whether thats the kind of player we should target)

Not what we need, but would be a good signing, probably means the end for Wilshere.

Khanuppet wrote:

Would it be fair to say gundogan could be our arteta replacement? Not strictly a defensive midfielder but an orchestrator from deep? (setting aside for a moment the debate over whether thats the kind of player we should target)

Definitely. Getting him in now and letting him train and play with Arteta would actually be a pretty sound thing to do.

I'd like a player elegible for the champs league.

He could be a potential injury minefield but damn he's good.
Exciting signing 🙂

Gündoğan for £15.6 million would be a steal.

I agree that we need a DM with physical presence, but you don't pass on a chance to sign a player of that quality.

I recon that performance he put in at the Emirates convinced wengs