I'm more than happy with the way things have panned out.

Upamecano was far too expensive IMO, but the possibility is still there in the future. At RB he gets a further year of CL football and we can see if he maintains his level. If we get CL footy next year, we will have the funds and a player with one year left on his contract. Luiz is a risk i'm perfectly happy for the club to take. Also cements our status as the "Brazilian" club in North London which is a big plus if we are looking there for future signings.

If we can get Zaha and offload some fringe players (I really like Iwobi, but if Emery is not going to use him much I would rather we sell him with some buy back clause) then we could end up with one of the most exciting forward lines in the league.

Klaus wrote:

goon wrote:

I think it's just a case of being realistic. We've committed £140m on incoming players over the past month, so someone like Upamecano always felt like a bit of a pipe dream. You could argue we should have spent less on a winger or signed a defender now rather than for a year down the line, but personally I think I'm happy with our approach.

We bid £60 million for Upamecano though and then landed Luiz instead. If the money was there, how come we didn't go in a more forceful and planned way for a defender of real quality who can contribute this season? Why did we leave it so late? Why hasn't it been an absolute priority this summer considering what the last two seasons have looked like?

If we're pulling off a late-hour deal for Zaha I could understand reallocating that cash, but getting Luiz and then closing shop - after losing Iwobi on top of it who's our best left winger - would be hard for me to stomach.

True. I wonder if one of the reasons we held off on Tienry and were entertaining selling Iwobi is to fund that deal? Difficult to judge without knowing the ins and outs (or how much of the media reports are true). 

I'm hoping Iwobi out is dead now unless it's to fund another big signing. I didn't want to sell him anyway. You also have to wonder how different the summer would have been if we had the CL money.

Mirth wrote:

There is obviously the caveat that timelines and the information we have is incomplete - there could be an answer to all those questions, we just don't know them.

There absolutely can, but the bottom line is that we've strengthened a central defence that let in 51 league goals with David Luiz.

Klaus wrote:

goon wrote:

Luiz played more through balls in the league than any other player last season. Guy is genuinely the best CB on the ball that I've seen.

With him and Chambers as options our passing out the back should hopefully go up a level.

Rugani is decent on the ball too, and Mustafi, for all of his faults, knows how to pass it out from the back too. I assume the same is true for Upamecano. Also seems like the main reason we haven't sold Chambers this summer; his distribution was key in the game against Barcelona. It definitely seems like an important feature for any defenders we're looking at.

Yep, after this season Emery cant say its not his team. Most players signed are perfect for his supposed style if any.

Decent on the ball is not Luiz level though, he is genuinely amazing with his distribution. The few times Chelsea and PSG played him as DM he owned the midfield

And Tierney. Let’s not forget him. Full backs are part of the defence and he seems like a great acquisition by all accounts. Also, Saliba was bought but due to the circumstances of that transfer had to be loaned back for a year. Another good transfer. Progress has been made. I’m personally quite content with the summer. Excited for the season!!

Klaus wrote:

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

To me having the intention of starting him doesn't equal to keep starting him even if Chambers proves to be the better option. 

Yes, but seriously Quincy, my objection isn't that we're bringing in Bob to maybe make up the numbers. It's that we're bringing in Bob as the only reinforcement of a useless central defence. The fact that I think Chambers is better doesn't mean I think Chambers should start either. Do you honestly not see the issue, or why are we still arguing about this?

I thought you meant that signing Luiz literally weakened the squad by that he would play even if he wasn't the best option. Obviously I want a better CB more than most, as I was one of the few who would sell Iwobi without buying a new winger if that's what it would take to get Upamecano. I'd rather buy a cheap, proven option for this season than tie ourselves down to paying 40m for Rugani in a couple of years though. I also think that despite not getting that marquee CB (the one thing I wanted the most this summer) we've strengthened the defense indirectly by getting a CM that can receive the ball under pressure and signing a LB that we don't need to play with an extra defender to accommodate.

Claudius wrote:

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Zaha seems like a stupid or douchey guy. Signs a shiny new long-term contract and then puts in a transfer request when they won't let him go. Would like to see have him anyway, although does he favor the left or right side?

Sure it limited his options for charting his own destiny, but it guaranteed money in the pocket for several years. The downside of not signing the contract is finding yourself injured and without a contract like Welbeck. That’s many millions of pounds farted away.

I didn't mean stupid as in economically, but that he doesn't realize signing a contract is about give and take. As you say, the downside of not signing a contract is that you could find yourself injured, and that's why there needs to be a downside to signing the contract as well, which is that for the security you get money-wise, you can't just go and expect the club to let you go right after taking that raise. 

@[deleted] & Coombs great that he plays on the left. Although in the unlikely event that we do sign him, I wonder if he looks better at Palace than he is because the team is built around him, or if he can look even better at a team where he isn't the only threat to lock down.

Klaus wrote:

Mirth wrote:

There is obviously the caveat that timelines and the information we have is incomplete - there could be an answer to all those questions, we just don't know them.

There absolutely can, but the bottom line is that we've strengthened a central defence that let in 51 league goals with David Luiz.

As long as we're strengthening it, I'm happy. We're not a title winning team by a long shot but it should be good enough for top four. The bottom line is that our team has improved following this window, maybe not as much as it could have but this is an improvement to the club's old ways of doing things. That's why people are happy. Not because anyone is celebrating signing Luiz.

Also Tierney will probably be a starter in a month's time.

Tam wrote:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/kieran-tierneys-mega-arsenal-deal-18860786

Daily Record saying that Celtic have insisted on a 10% sell on clause in Tierney’s contract too. Not the biggest concern at the moment, if he works out well it’ll be worth it in the end.

it's one thing to get a sell-on clause when you sell a promising player for cheap to southampton and another when you get market rate from arsenal. i'm sure they wanted one, doubt they got one.

Mirth wrote:

Klaus wrote:

There absolutely can, but the bottom line is that we've strengthened a central defence that let in 51 league goals with David Luiz.

As long as we're strengthening it, I'm happy. We're not a title winning team by a long shot but it should be good enough for top four. The bottom line is that our team has improved following this window, maybe not as much as it could have but this is an improvement to the club's old ways of doing things. That's why people are happy. Not because anyone is celebrating signing Luiz.

Also Tierney will probably be a starter in a month's time.

This. we've strengthened just about everywhere. Midfield (Ceballos), Forward (Pepe, Martinelli [project]), Defense (Tierney, Luiz, Saliba [for next year]). That is more concern for our defense than we've had in the past 8 or 9 seasons.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

@[deleted] & Coombs great that he plays on the left. Although in the unlikely event that we do sign him, I wonder if he looks better at Palace than he is because the team is built around him, or if he can look even better at a team where he isn't the only threat to lock down.

Yeah, the Palace forum I checked out acknowledged this too. They've geared the whole team towards his strengths. They don't have a striker he has to cross every ball too, most attacks end up with him instead.

The other side of the coin is like you say, that he probably won't be as tightly marked in a team where opponents also have Aubameyang and Pepe to worry about. Just looking at Zaha last season it was plain to see he's a genuinely good player. He often had to dribble off multiple people to create space for himself, and his teammates weren't helping much.

Zaha, Aubameyang and Pepe would be unstoppable. The powerful wide men attract so much defensive attention that they would consistently open up space for Aubameyang and midfield runners. But we would need to sell Lacazette. Would be a misallocation of resources.

USArsenal wrote:

Mirth wrote:

As long as we're strengthening it, I'm happy. We're not a title winning team by a long shot but it should be good enough for top four. The bottom line is that our team has improved following this window, maybe not as much as it could have but this is an improvement to the club's old ways of doing things. That's why people are happy. Not because anyone is celebrating signing Luiz.

Also Tierney will probably be a starter in a month's time.

This. we've strengthened just about everywhere. Midfield (Ceballos), Forward (Pepe, Martinelli [project]), Defense (Tierney, Luiz, Saliba [for next year]). That is more concern for our defense than we've had in the past 8 or 9 seasons.

We've also lost Ramsey and Koscielny and we might lose Iwobi though. I don't think that leaves us stronger in midfield or central defence, and we needed to reinforce both those areas, not just replace players. Saliba is a non-factor this season. The two big improvements to me are Pepe and Tierney. We could use one more madness!

Claudius wrote:

Zaha, Aubameyang and Pepe would be unstoppable. The powerful  wide men attract so much defensive attention that they would consistently open up space for Aubameyang and midfield runners. But we would need to sell Lacazette. Would be a misallocation of resources.

Plenty of games for Laca to pick up as a substitute, both on the wing and up front. That attack would be fantastic Claude.

We wont lose Iwobi if we are not bring someone in. 100%

A lot of defensive improvement should in theory come from the coach organising us better too, personnel aside. Emery has himself a proper team now. It's a real test of him as a manager. He like Wenger hasn't had great defensive records to show but he has real attacking talent now. No one expects the title but if he can get us 3rd it would be a great platform to build on. This has been a window that has surpassed expectation.

[Twitter]

Very nice.

Rohit wrote:

A lot of defensive improvement should in theory come from the coach organising us better too, personnel aside. Emery has himself a proper team now. It's a real test of him as a manager. He like Wenger hasn't had great defensive records to show but he has really attacking talent now. No one expects the title but if he can get us 3rd it would be a great platform to build on. This has been a window that has surpassed expectation.

I think what's also helpful is that I get the feelin g that if Emery doesn't deliver he's out next summer.

Clrnc wrote:

We wont lose Iwobi if we are not bring someone in. 100%

Hopefully. Seems like Everton are pursuing the PSV winger Steven Bergwijn now.