If we don't sign a striker this summer we'll definitely need one next summer so if the right opportunity arises we need to move on it. Isak would be a good get.

Yup, that's my take too and he looks genuinely good.

Qwiss! wrote:

If we don't sign a striker this summer we'll definitely need one next summer so if the right opportunity arises we need to move on it. Isak would be a good get.

What the Irishman said.

What I like about him is energy and athleticism. I want a high octane Arsenal again. I want us to kill the lethargic Arsenal of Lacazette and Xhaka.

I'm not so keen on his 60m price tag, and less so if Silva is available for about half of that.

Claudius wrote:

What I like about him is energy and athleticism. I want a high octane Arsenal again. I want us to kill the lethargic Arsenal of Lacazette and Xhaka.

Based on a 100-200 minutes of watching him I like it as well, just wonder if we separate the hype, is he short of even Adebayor in terms of athleticism and technique?

Wheatley just said we can afford Maddison if we sell players, in which case why is Arteta wasting 50m on a CB.

Because even conservatively speaking we have about £80m worth of players to sell.

The point being, if we’re having to sell players to buy in areas we need to (midfield and RB) why are we wasting a chunk of our transfer funds on a CB.

Say we do sell for 80m and the 50m we spend on White, that gives a budget of 130m, why are we spending around 40% of our entire budget on a CB, the one area we have heavily invested in with young players. Makes no sense to me.

If we're now in a situation where we need to sell to be able to buy more players that means we just spent our entire budget on a CB.

Ray wrote:

Wheatley just said we can afford Maddison if we sell players, in which case why is Arteta wasting 50m on a CB.

If midfield crowded out, the likes of White to unlock the opponent with the pass, the likes of ESR, Saka and Maddison between the lines to receive. Think Arteta will get a good degree of what he desires.

KingslandBarge wrote:
Claudius wrote:

What I like about him is energy and athleticism. I want a high octane Arsenal again. I want us to kill the lethargic Arsenal of Lacazette and Xhaka.

Based on a 100-200 minutes of watching him I like it as well, just wonder if we separate the hype, is he short of even Adebayor in terms of athleticism and technique?

Adebayor without the heading and stealing of boots is a good comparison.

I have to say I don't think he's much like Adebayor at all.

I've watched Isak fairly closely since he was 15 and I feel pretty confident that he's going to be world class one day. Everyone knew it right away with Zlatan and everyone who saw Isak break through knew it with him too. They both had more in their mid-teens than most players acquire across a full career.

It's a lazy comparison usually because it's mostly based on nationality when people make it, but he really is similar to Ibrahimovic. I can't really think of any other striker I've seen who has been so similar to Zlatan's unique style, creator and goalscorer in equal parts, and a mean dribbler for good measure. Their technique is insane for such big lads. When Isak bulks up in a few years there won't be a defender in the world who can stop him.

That being said, you just need to watch him a few times for Sweden or Real Sociedad to see that he's still on a learning curve. He's a patchy goalscorer and a little too lethargic on the ball for my liking. If we actually sign him we're likely going to have to wait for a few years before he's starting quality for a club like Arsenal. That's not really an argument against signing him, it's just something to keep in mind. He'll also need a good attackminded manager, and I find Arteta shockingly lacking in that respect. A bloke who manages to coach Aubameyang down to ten league goals and spends every waking moment buying more centrebacks is not going to work wonders with any young strikers we bring in.

The development part is spot on. Anyone who expects this kid to land and give us an Aubameyang season in the next year will be disappointed.

Btw, I felt Adebayor far underperformed his potential. He exploded from around 12 goals to 30 goals from one season to the next. And just struggled to deal with the transition to being a star.

Yeah, agreed, Ade was very underrated techniqally above all. You could see him casually hit rabonas during games. I felt at one point that he might turn into a light version of Henry with all his pace, but he stopped dead in his tracks after that breakthrough season unfortunately.

Claudius wrote:

The development part is spot on. Anyone who expects this kid to land and give us an Aubameyang season in the next year will be disappointed.

Yeah, I think modern football makes such a big fuss out of talents that we forget what player progression looks like. Taking Zlatan as an example again he didn't move to Juventus until he was 24. And Zidane was still playing in France at that age.

Ade lost motivation after that season, he made it, bought his own hype and just couldn't be fucked anymore. I think it speaks volumes that Wenger was so ready and willing to cash in.

Aside from their frame and athleticism Isak looks far more technically accomplished compared to a 21yr old Adebayor to me. There's also something very convincing about the way he strikes a ball when shooting. I haven't seen enough of what his movement off the ball is like though and in the PL that's something a striker lives or dies by.

Ray wrote:

The point being, if we’re having to sell players to buy in areas we need to (midfield and RB) why are we wasting a chunk of our transfer funds on a CB.

Say we do sell for 80m and the 50m we spend on White, that gives a budget of 130m, why are we spending around 40% of our entire budget on a CB, the one area we have heavily invested in with young players. Makes no sense to me.

I think you're taking it too literally. 

I'd imagine it's far more likely to be a scenario like this hypothetical:

Kroenke's willing to sanction £100-120m with any sales being added directly to the pot, therefore you're expecting to end up with £200m to spend, which you know would more than cover White, Maddison and your other targets. You just have to go out and actually realise the outgoings first.

To put it simply, it's a matter of sequencing than anything else. It's almost like you've never played FIFA career mode or FM before.

I'll believe the $80M in sales when I see it. We sell our players for pennies usually.

Klaus wrote:

I have to say I don't think he's much like Adebayor at all.

Suspected might be the case and definitely trust your eye on this Klaus! Might have been something about Isak's balance in/around box that struck. Look forward to a look Tuesday. Yep, Adebayor made giant strides technically for one, distinct start vs. end.

Claudius wrote:

The development part is spot on. Anyone who expects this kid to land and give us an Aubameyang season in the next year will be disappointed.

Which is why you want both of them to transition from one to the other.