otfgoon wrote:

Why would we have to limit ourselves to one big signing? £33m is a drop in the ocean. We spent 90m a couple of seasons ago and that was before the new TV deal.

Exactly.

Plus we should be shifting a lot of the dead wood. 

Any other top club, and we would be looking at a monstrous summer, bearing in mind we spent nothing last year.

Gotze, a striker, and a CB is the bear minimum that should be done. Too be honest with the potential exits, that is nothing, and we should be looking for more.

otfgoon wrote:

Why would we have to limit ourselves to one big signing? £33m is a drop in the ocean. We spent 90m a couple of seasons ago and that was before the new TV deal.

Wenger is why.

He spent £90m a couple of seasons ago and out of that only one was a big signing and the rest were mediocre, shit or kids.

The ineptitude of Wenger and co might be why we don't sign a forward but that's true regardless of this transfer. Just saying this deal shouldn't have any bearing on whether or not we sign another big player or two.

50m euros is a lot, no way will Wenger spend big on another player.

Isn't the fee believed to be €42m which is £33m?

otfgoon wrote:

Why would we have to limit ourselves to one big signing? £33m is a drop in the ocean. We spent 90m a couple of seasons ago and that was before the new TV deal.

I do think we will spend big money this summer, also reckon there will be one if not two big departures which should free up more funds. 

[video=vimeo]

sweet left peg

How does one pronounce his name? Is it Haka? Shaka? Zhaka?

I think 'Jacka' is the closest correct pronunciation.

Gazza M wrote:

[video=vimeo]

sweet left peg

Phenomenal left foot, looks like he an do anything he wants with it.

What I like about him in all the videos and bits of matches I've seen is how smart he is in everything he does. He makes good decisions on the ball, he sees passes and opportunities quickly and he seems to make good decisions off the ball too; when to go in hard and when to position himself to nick it from an opponent.

I've been calling him chaka. Like Chaka Khan

I've been saying Chaka, like that thing from Stargate.

Gazza M wrote:

[video=vimeo]

sweet left peg

Those long lofted passes are going to be wasted on a player like Giroud or the likes of Ramsey on the wing.

Yeah we should play Ramsey in midfield with him.

Gran-eit whakaaaah

Qwiss! wrote:

Yeah we should play Ramsey in midfield with him.

J(h/sh/ch)aka would two foot Ramsey for some of his mistakes if the reports of him being a nutter are true.

I was planning on celebrating goals like vintage NBA Jam:

"And it's Granit from outside! BOOM-Xhaka-laka!"

Oh that's good, Burnsy. Properly excited about this signing now.

I thought it was Haka! Like a South Pacific dance.

Kicker.de reporting that Man City showed an interest so we moved to wrap this one up quickly.  Surprisingly efficient which makes a welcome change!

That's also promising, if it's true, because it means Pep felt Xhaka would be a good fit for the type of football he likes to play.

It's more of the soft G/J sound, like Djorou. Phonetically I suppose the correct denotation is Zhaka. Fairly certain it's not the hard "ch" as in chalk.

It's Serbian, similar to Shaquiri's first name, which is anglicized Xherdan, but pronounced more like "Jerdan". I think Jones touched on it on this thread so he probably knows more than I do about it

otfgoon wrote:

I've been saying Chaka, like that thing from Stargate.

I've heard it pronounced Jaka more than any other pronunciation.

Best compilation I've seen

Got meself all excited about this one

Hope we get it done - will be good to see the type of player he is in our midfield

Granny Shacks

El Genio de Oviedo wrote:

It's more of the soft G/J sound, like Djorou. Phonetically I suppose the correct denotation is Zhaka. Fairly certain it's not the hard "ch" as in chalk.

It's Serbian, similar to Shaquiri's first name, which is anglicized Xherdan, but pronounced more like "Jerdan". I think Jones touched on it on this thread so he probably knows more than I do about it

Your explanation is correct but the name is actually Albanian which despite the geographical proximity is an unrelated language. Could be worth adding as Serbs and Albanians aren't exactly fond of each other

Also another piece of worthless info is that Shaqiri is pronounced something between Shatiri and Shachiri

I'm sticking to granite zjacka as that's what my brain tells me.
Yes he will strengthen us but not by much as his skills are not in the department where we are struggling.

We're not lacking discipline, intelligence, tactical understanding, height, strength and aggression in the team as a whole, let alone the midfield?

I think people are seriously underestimating the issues we've had in midfield.

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Best compilation I've seen

Got meself all excited about this one

Hope we get it done - will be good to see the type of player he is in our midfield

He reminds me a lot of Alonso, even his body shape and posture when he strikes the ball. 

Has the feeling of the m'vila rumours a while back.

I see the Alonso similarity but didn't want to say it.
He looks a stronger but less mobile version of Elneny but playing with Giroud upfront and Theo/Alexis on the wings won't do him many favours.
We will probably get him as he will strengthen us ever so slightly and we don't particularly need him but he is a Wenger-Gazidis axis fan-appeasement bargain.

Na, I've seen Wenger talking about this guy and he can't help smiling like a Muppet. No bargain basement, fans appeasement, I reckon he rates him very highly. And you've also got the likes of Jones and others on here saying they watch him regularly and he's something a bit special.

Reckon he's exactly what we need.

Gary Lineker (I know) has been on Twitter calling him a poorer version of Kante. For those who have seen him play, what's the comparison? I'm sure he is quite special because there were strong rumours that he was Bayern bound. Guess Vidal stopped that from happening.

I'm pretty sure lineker is talking out of his ass. Theyre different players, and from what I've seen xhaka is the better fit for us. Kante chases everything all over the pitch and carries the ball forward more, xhaka stays behind the play and his game is more focused on accurate passing from deeper positions. He has a nasty streak as well so he won't back down from a scrap or a tackle

Room for both in our squad.

Xhaka reminds me of Dietmar Hamann in a playing sense

Looks like Xabi Alonso a lot to me.

Lineker chatting shit. Kanté is a box to box CM. Xhaka is a deep lying DM.

Xhaka is what we need. We have Elneny for the box to box role.

So could we ever switch it up and play 442 with him in the team? And before Biggus says it, a different manager as well?

xhaka seems like a cuntier (more aggressive) xabi alonso. id love a player like that here

Yeah, not just more aggressive or more of a cunt, but actually a fair bit bigger and stronger too.