Bild claims we will receive a 3M loan fee and Kolasinac will waive half his wages. Fairplay to him if that's the case.

Colour me a skeptic, but I'm not sure I buy the need to prioritise transfers Out ahead of addressing the team needs in Jan,
and less so when we are already going to lose a half dozen or more players out of contract at the end of the season.

Sure I understand the want to reduce the wage bill and purge the squad asap, but that should have been done last summer and not be the priority when the squad needs to improve in terms of quality IF we want to retain UEFA football for next season, let alone to have a shot at winning anything.

the sooner the dead weight is gone, the better. makes summer planning easier if we shift the duds now

Gazza M wrote:

the sooner the dead weight is gone, the better. makes summer planning easier if we shift the duds now

Agreed with this, but we've had the last 2 seasons to make it happen & the failure to do so before now indicates it is not a priority.

Shifting the dead weight is not going to make summer planning any easier as we know who is going to leave as free agents, and we need to strengthen/improve if we do not want to see other players depart if we fail to retain UEFA next season.

IF the comments ARE genuine that it IS the club priority for Jan, then IMO we still have got our priorities 'wrong'.

We can't really keep adding players without letting some go though. We already have 2 senior players not registered and Saliba completely excluded from the squad. We need to make room for more signings. There is no reason we shouldn't be able to work on out goings and incomings though.

If we fail to get European football next season, and that looks very likely right now, then the squad needs a massive trimming down. Without the Europa to give players minutes we'll have to put a lot of players out on loan and sell off even more than we thought too.

JazzG wrote:

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Sabitzer would be ideal

For the Bundesliga fans here, what kind of player is he?

I like Sabitzer, but I'm not sure how well his standout attributes - which, I would say, are his stamina and athleticsim - will transfer to the Premier League, where practically every midfield boasts those qualities.

If you want a player that he reminds me of, and I know this won't go down well, but it's Scott Parker when he was at his best.

Don't see anything special in Sabitzer.

Fair play to Kola.

News all running about Brandt now. Reportedly close along with Isco

Edit: I don't mind that comparison much Ricky. Tbh Parker was really good at his peak

Not having to watch Kolasinac play for my team ever againwould be great. I hope the rumours about a purchase option if Schalke stay up are true. I'll take him being gone for now though. The greedy numpty should have gone to Leverkusen in the summer.

And I'd take Brandt gladly. Yes, he's a bit lazy and can look, and play, like he's carrying too much weight at times, but the guy has superstar technique and is very intelligent. Exactly the kind of player we are lacking. I'd certainly take the chance on him, especially given he's still only 24.

Wouldn't mind if we can get him in on a loan with an option to buy. We have almost nothing to lose in the next 6 months so try him and if it goes well, that's great, else we go back into the market in the summer.

Getting in Brandt and possibly Isco, for the next 6 months is really good. It is an audition without risk really.

Ozil is the only player we have similar, and he will not play for us again.

If those two come in, with a CM, we would have really done a great job in the window. The CM needs to be a long term solution though.

Isco and Brandt seems overkill when we have ESR trying to break through, and crowded flanks (Martinelli/Saka/Pepe).

Is there not a mobile, defensively responsible CM out there who can be an upgrade on Xhaka/El Neny/Ceballos?

ESR is great but we’re talking about making a 20yr old with 3 PL starts and an injury prone record our ONLY option in the CAM/10 role. We need another option in there, ideally one maybe who can double up deeper as a CM.

Sure, I just don't think we need two.

Elshewhere, Eric Garcia to Barca confirmed....I know a few on here will feel that's a bullet dodged.

Sok going Fenerbache

Qwiss! wrote:

We can't really keep adding players without letting some go though. We already have 2 senior players not registered and Saliba completely excluded from the squad. We need to make room for more signings. There is no reason we shouldn't be able to work on out goings and incomings though.

If we fail to get European football next season, and that looks very likely right now, then the squad needs a massive trimming down. Without the Europa to give players minutes we'll have to put a lot of players out on loan and sell off even more than we thought too.

Agreed with the first part.  I'm not saying we shouldn't be looking to offload as many as possible in Jan, just that it should not be the priority ahead of strengthening where it is so blatantly obvious we need to do so in order to improve the team struggles.  If we fail to add the players needed then nothing changes to improve the team over the remainder of the season, whereas as a worst result we can send players out on loan on subsidised wages to get them out of the club.  This purge should have been more the priority last summer not mid-season.

As for trimming down ahead of next season  we already have Ozil, Luiz, Sokratis, Mustafi departing as free agents from the senior squad, whilst Ceballos' loan will end (if not sooner).
Kolasinac leaving now is a bonus.  Lacazette will have 1 season remaining in the summer, Xhaka needs to go & there is noise around the Barca elections involving interest in Bellerin.
That's at least 5 players already leaving and up to 9 players OUT to provide a purge.  

Point being the purge IS already going to happen in the summer regardless, but it could become an exodus if we don't prioritise actually trying to fix the team before then.
My concern with the recent comments is that it's already got the excuses lined up ahead of trying to do anything, and doesn't set the right message IMO.

MistaT wrote:

Isco and Brandt seems overkill when we have ESR trying to break through, and crowded flanks (Martinelli/Saka/Pepe).

Is there not a mobile, defensively responsible CM out there who can be an upgrade on Xhaka/El Neny/Ceballos?

IMO this should be THE priority in Jan as our lack of urgency in the middle is killing our transition forward.

I don't necessarily want/need a creative passing playmaker like an Ozil type as CM, but I do want a progressive passing player to provide 'key passes' to get the ball forward into dangerous areas to feed the attack, rather than the attack also looking to do the same via the likes of Willian.  

May the cull commence!

Good luck Sead.

Crazy that people want a DM after we signed Partey. He is the quintessential DM for a transition team. Need a couple of guys to play in front of him.

Coombs wrote:

Crazy that people want a DM after we signed Partey. He is the quintessential DM for a transition team. Need a couple of guys to play in front of him.

I think this is because of the 'talk' one of the reasons Partey joined being he was promised more freedom on the pitch to get forward - hence the talk of him in a B2B role even if in a twin pivot set up. 

https://dailycannon.com/2020/12/22-goal-arsenal-target-available-for-just-e12m-in-january/

No signings yet?!

Coombs wrote:

Crazy that people want a DM after we signed Partey. He is the quintessential DM for a transition team. Need a couple of guys to play in front of him.

I don't think Partey as a DM is the best use of him personally. He can definitely do it, but it's a bit of a waste of someone who actually has the ability to drive forward with the ball. It would have been like using Vieira as a DM.

2 Box to Box midfield is the way to go. We need to find a new Gilberto for Partey.

I don't think Bisouma is that guy at all.

Twitter rumour that we are looking at Ryan Christie of Celtic. Anyone who has a view on him?

Would love for Tam to chime in on this too. The last bloke we signed from Celtic was pretty good!

Just read a bit in his thread on Talkceltic.net and it's almost only complaining about him. The first reaction when someone posted a link saying we might be interested was "Is it new years day or April fools day ffs".

Wonder if Neuhaus is gettable? Don't watch Gladbach much, but apparently he's great.

Clrnc wrote:

2 Box to Box midfield is the way to go. We need to find a new Gilberto for Partey.

I don't think Bisouma is that guy at all.

gilberto wasn't really B2B at arsenal, much more of a disciplined sitter with very rare forays forward

goon wrote:

Coombs wrote:

Crazy that people want a DM after we signed Partey. He is the quintessential DM for a transition team. Need a couple of guys to play in front of him.

I don't think Partey as a DM is the best use of him personally. He can definitely do it, but it's a bit of a waste of someone who actually has the ability to drive forward with the ball. It would have been like using Vieira as a DM.

I keep seeing people say this. its important to note there's a difference between a 'DM' and a midfielder who picks the ball up off the defense to orchestrate attacks from deep, and drive forward with the ball at his feet. partey isn't 'wasted' in that role as I've seen people repeatedly suggesting. I'd want partey in that role, because if you play him further up the pitch like ramsey, you're relying on another midfielder to get the ball to him in good positions, and no due respect whatsoever, we don't have that midfielder. in games where partey and ceballos or xhaka started together, our play was mainly filtered through ceballos/xhaka in that bizarre corner-back position and the game passed partey by.  I don't want to see horseshit like that, the game horse-shoeing around partey. we need him monopolising the ball as much as possible. that's the role Vieira played, driving forward with the ball at his feet, but rarely playing ahead of the ball and forgoing his string pulling duties

But that's the thing, if Partey is assigned the role of being the deepest midfielder, he cannot drive forward with the ball, I've seen him lose the ball 2-3 times already attempting to do that and he will end up inhibited like he was against Leicester.

Also giving him a box to box role doesn't mean he hangs around up there waiting for the pass, he can pick it up from deep himself and do his thing, look busy without having to worry about leaving gaps behind him or his positioning on the pitch.

I don't really want a dedicated DM like Gilberto next to him either, but I do wasn't someone who's disciplined who can move the ball forward quickly.

Christie is average.

Neuhaus is an interesting suggestion, saw a few matches of him in UCL, very accomplished CM.

Partey is a defensive CM. We need two attacking CMs to play with him or we're a low block team.