I can see that but that decision was disastrous. The whole aversion to dealing with agents was the club acting righteous and sabotaging itself. It’s not like agents were illegal. If anything, the best players were getting snapped up by agents early on. We were proactively locking ourselves out of the market for the best players

goon wrote:

We'll 100% be active this summer and given all the talk from Josh and particularly from Arteta about how we'd have to invest, it'd be mad if we didn't.

The real question is how will we invest.

We have little choice but to be active if we want to sign 5 players as per The Athletic (or more as required), but that still doesn't mean KSE are going to provide any funding.

Yes I know the transfer window hasn't opened as yet but that hasn't stopped other clubs getting their business done, as the transfer window is only about player registrations & transfer can be arranged at any time.

Latest talk has all 4 of our main FB options as now on the move elsewhere = Doig, Bertrand, Hakimi & Emerson.
Likewise IMO that we have not signed the likes of long term targets Buendia and Bissouma (who are both valued at around 40m) is not encouraging, in that IMO it sends the message we are either penny pinching and/or we lack a clarity of purpose.

IMO IF we have money to spend we need to make a statement signing asap to make other players linked think twice before moving elsewhere.
Signing someone like Grealish would be perfect as he is linked to about 3 of the current top4 clubs (not that I think we have the intent, funds or ambition to do so).  On the other hand getting in someone like Locatelli to replace Xhaka also sends the message as to what level of player/transfer fee we are looking at, as would the signing of one or both of Buendia / Bissouma.
 

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

They’ll give the talk and then they’ll say the impact of the pandemic is making this super tough

And/or the Euros. :hmm:

Linked to Mazraoui for 15m Euros - would be an excellent signing

Claudius wrote:

I can see that but that decision was disastrous. The whole aversion to dealing with agents was the club acting righteous and sabotaging itself. It’s not like agents were illegal. If anything, the best players were getting snapped up by agents early on.  We were proactively locking ourselves out of the market for the best players

Agreed & IMO it was a terrible combination with AW's policy of not bidding on players unless their club had said they were willing to sell.

GooneriC wrote:

Lavazza will object

He's Moroccan.

Been impressed whenever I’ve watched him. Moroccan right back. He’s probably not elite level but will be a good addition

Claudius wrote:

Been impressed whenever I’ve watched him. Moroccan right back. He’s probably not elite level but will be a good addition

What's his pace like?

I quite like Mazraoui overall - had put his name on my wishlist on multiple threads earlier. He's not the quickest, but a good dribbler technically. Solid 1-1. Not the most intuitive / quickest passer around - has a tendency to slow the game down a little when he is forced into combination play. I'd say he's a decent all-round RB but not elite at either the attacking or defensive side of the game.

He's a decent RB, but not outstanding. Quite weak in defence. If we are going for someone like this might as well go for Youcef Atal who is great in attack.

I think other than Aarons, we probably should aim for Zeki Çelik even though he won't be cheap.

[The Athletic] Arsenal looking to recruit a GK, LB, CB, RB, CM, and CAM. Odegaard is first choice, followed by Buendia. Serious interest in Tapsoba. Mitchell and Doig are not first choice targets for LB. HG No.2 GK desired and Leno is considering leaving. Bissouma and Berge among names considered.

Atheltic are saying we have big plans for the summer. No mention of a striker, wonder if that means we resign Lacazette.

We're really going to replace a whole fucking squad instead of the manager. Remember when we thought Emery had Xhaka's nudes, seems like Arteta has a whole catalogue of Kroenke dressed in nothing but his moustache

The playing personnel are a shit show. Summer is the only time to fix them. Let’s get that right. If Arteta proves to be a dud, we can always dump him in October or November. We have way more flexibility with him. We just need to make sure we don’t allow Arteta and Edu to sign another Willian. Just focus on Martinellis, Parteys and Gabriels.

Claudius wrote:

The playing personnel are a shit show. Summer is the only time to fix them. Let’s get that right. If Arteta proves to be a dud, we can always dump him in October or November. We have way more flexibility with him. We just need to make sure we don’t allow Arteta and Edu to sign another Willian. Just focus on Martinellis, Parteys and Gabriels.

Agreed. Squad has serious holes. Ideally we revamp the players in addition to dumping Edu and Arteta, but... baby steps.

jones wrote:

We're really going to replace a whole fucking squad instead of the manager. Remember when we thought Emery had Xhaka's nudes, seems like Arteta has a whole catalogue of Kroenke dressed in nothing but his moustache

This squad is not fit for any purpose.  It's the bastard child of 3 managers and administrations to date and fits none of them.

That does not mean the manager should not be replaced as well, let alone to begin with.