It sounds like we did push hard but Leipzig wouldn’t budge from their valuation. There is a a lot of talk of us on Twitter of us going back in January and thinking a deal can be done for cheaper. We probably left it too late to make a move, maybe they thought that Leipzig would only negotiate right at the end of the window?

Still a promising sign going after a player of his calibre. As Wenger used to say only looking to spend on top quality

Disappointed that we did not land him.

Upamecano is one of the top young defenders around, along with Konate and Diop.

This window has been really interesting to follow, and I think the fan base has been rejuvenated to an extent.

Super quality, Jazz.
I’m glad we didn’t spend the Upamecano money. Hope we go back in January or next summer.

Excited about Luiz though. Just having a good, healthy partner for Sokratis will go a long way towards building stability in the back. That itself must count for at least half a dozen goals.

ohboy!!! wrote:

Disappointed that we did not land him.

Upamecano is one of the top young defenders around, along with Konate and Diop.

This window has been really interesting to follow, and I think the fan base has been rejuvenated to an extent.

We've signed starting players in defence x2, CM & WF - I can't remember the last time we did this.
If we can't be excited by this and eager for the season to get going, then we need to check if we still have a pulse.

The last time we did that was last summer.

Since that summer we signed only Cech, we've bought starters for a total of around 70-100m every year.

Captain wrote:

The last time we did that was last summer.

Since that summer we signed only Cech, we've bought starters for a total of around 70-100m every year.

Yeah and we still balanced the books. Its good that we've focussed on youth a bit more and Pepe is a huge get but its the same club that spent big money on Ozil, Sanchez, Mustafi, Xhaka, Lacazette, Aubameyang, etc

I was happy enough with our business last summer, this summer perhaps feels a little more targeted with a more youthful outlook, which isn't surprising given that the new leadership has had some time to plan.

The money spent is obviously one factor but it's the nature of the deals themselves. For example, we signed Pepe for a lot of money but we haven't tied him down on substantial wages so if he does turn out to be underwhelming, he can be moved on or, alternatively, there's plenty of headroom to give him a nice pay bump if he does well.

Plus we moved along a lot of deadwood in this window - something that needed to be done years ago - the fact that Jenkinson was still knocking about at the start of this summer is a joke really. Meanwhile, we struggle to shift Xhaka and Mustafi because their wage demands are at an awkward level which puts off midtable clubs from taking a punt and obviously no top club wants them - that's the kind of foresight we seemed to lack in the past.

And while doing all this, we have allegedly extended Auba and Lacazette's contracts without much fuss.

Who said that Xhaka was ever for sale?

He's our new club captain and will play almost every game this season.

Fair enough, although I think that's a mistake and we couldn't shift him even if we wanted to.

Replace Xhaka with Mkhi then.

Captain wrote:

The last time we did that was last summer.

Since that summer we signed only Cech, we've bought starters for a total of around 70-100m every year.

That summer was the beginning of the end for Wenger, can not believe even now we only signed Cech that summer.

Mkhi is a bit different, he came with higher wages because he was already earning higher wages elsewhere. Xhaka sits in exactly the bracket you just suggested Pepe was in - he came on similarly 'low' wages but has been renewed.

I'm not really sure what 'deadwood' we shifted either. Almost everyone who left went for free (or went on strike) except for Iwobi, who was actually a bonafide first teamer.

The transfers definitely feel more targeted than before, even if we haven't spent more than usual.

Captain wrote:

Mkhi is a bit different, he came with higher wages because he was already earning higher wages elsewhere. Xhaka sits in exactly the bracket you just suggested Pepe was in - he came on similarly 'low' wages but has been renewed.

The Mkhi contract was a result of us being painted ourselves into a corner systematically - I don't think we were wrong to go for him at the time because we needed the numbers. However, the whole Ozil/Sanchez saga was handled poorly which meant that we gave ourselves no option but to make that transfer in the first place.

I thought Xhaka extended his deal rather than received a significant change in his weekly wages? Mustafi certainly came in on a fair chunk of wages. Elneny is probably another example of a player that's been priced wrong and who we now can't shift.

I'm not really sure what 'deadwood' we shifted either. Almost everyone who left went for free (or went on strike) except for Iwobi, who was actually a bonafide first teamer.

So I wanted Iwobi to stay too but he only started around 23 games last year - he was a squad player (a good one at that) but he'd need to be moved on at some point too imo. I do count getting rid of players on free as getting rid of deadwood although I guess credit may not be due there. Except in the case of Ramsey who I'm still torn about - on one hand I wish he stayed but I don't think he really was worth what we were about to give him.

Captain wrote:

Who said that Xhaka was ever for sale?

No one apart from people posting.

Fairly obvious he's key for us and we're not looking to sell. TBH it'd cost a lot to replace him anyway. He's in the "it can wait" camp with Sokratis.

Yep agree. Elneny and Mustafi is more urgent need to sell. We would need to miss out one of Guendouzi Maveopanos or Martinelli in Europa league due to our squad size, if we sell those 2 it will be perfect.

Mkhi Ozil next in line for sale next summer and then we can fully rebuild the entire squad. If Xhaka proves to be less of a liability this season I expect him to stay for quite awhile

Reckon Xhaka we will move on next summer, well I hope so anyway.

Still time to move the deadwood, hoping that Elneny & Mustafi will leave. But I do worry selling Mustafi might leave us a big short on numbers for CB.

Qwiss! wrote:

Captain wrote:

Who said that Xhaka was ever for sale?

No one apart from people posting.

Fairly obvious he's key for us and we're not looking to sell. TBH it'd cost a lot to replace him anyway. He's in the "it can wait" camp with Sokratis.

Why Sokratis? 

JazzG wrote:

Still time to move the deadwood, hoping that Elneny & Mustafi will leave. But I do worry selling Mustafi might leave us a big short on numbers for CB.

We'd still have 4 CBs - that's about the same level of depth that other clubs have. Plus we can play Monreal there in an emergency - which isn't ideal but still better than Mustafi anyway