I’m not stressed. I know we will get another midfielder. I’m expecting Neves. Wouldn’t mind his countryman Renato Sanches though

jones wrote:

Don Pacifico wrote:

And I'm not saying Arteta is perfect in this area. He's shown he's flawed but there are plenty of experienced, successful managers who are flawed in this area.

Can we get one of those then?

I agree btw on the first point. Arteta is not the only one at fault for the handling of Saliba, Edu and the bloke we got in to manage our loanees are partially responsible too. Arteta just gets the most criticism because the decision against Saliba originally came from him.

I'm holding tight on this one. If it becomes clear that we're going to permanently sell Saliba, then unquestionably something has gone wrong. What exactly that is may come out in the wash but I'm still hoping there is a role for him the squad, even if it's looking increasingly unlikely.

And who knows, there is always the possibility that he'll turn out a dud? I admit it looks unlikely but the Bielik comparison someone made earlier is a good example of how despite the fact a significant proportion of the fanbase claim a player is top-notch, sometimes the evidence that follows seems to suggest otherwise and that the club did actually know what they were doing (rare as that may seem).

When was Bielik ever rated as highly as Saliba?

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

What I find interesting is that not a single one on here would probably propose spending 50m on a CB before we were linked with White, yet when it happens it's a wise decision. Personally I think it's just people wanting things to turn out okay, but maybe a lot of people just changed their mind about CB being a priority in that time intervall.

I think it's based on the assumption that this move implies we have money to spend elsewhere. My read is that most people are still quite sceptical of the price.

Claudius wrote:

I’m expecting Neves.

If this is what happens we should've definitely reallocated funds from the White signing to get a class CM instead.

Qwiss! wrote:

When was Bielik ever rated as highly as Saliba?

I don't think it matters whether he was rated as highly, the point stands. My recollection is there were a few people who spoke vociferously about how the club would regret this and that he'd go on to be a top defender.

Sometimes the popular consensus can be convinced of something but doesn't mean it's correct.

And look, based on what I've seen/read, I expect Saliba to be a top defender but I'm open to the fact that I might be wrong.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

What I find interesting is that not a single one on here would probably propose spending 50m on a CB before we were linked with White, yet when it happens it's a wise decision. Personally I think it's just people wanting things to turn out okay, but maybe a lot of people just changed their mind about CB being a priority in that time intervall.

I want a CAM, CM and probably a right back (though Chambers definitely grew on me) as a priority. The rest is a bonus. Whether or not it's a wise decision depends on what we do elsewhere, but going by the news stories, it doesn't sound like we're trying to fill the other positions with Willianesque free transfers. 

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Mings is decent. Has his shortcomings but we don’t need another left sided centreback

Mings is arrogant without the necessary skill. He makes far too many mistakes to be a top cb. 

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Claudius wrote:

I’m expecting Neves.

If this is what happens we should've definitely reallocated funds from the White signing to get a class CM instead.

Maybe we could tell Brighton we changed our mind but keep the money and give us Bissouma instead.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Claudius wrote:

I’m expecting Neves.

If this is what happens we should've definitely reallocated funds from the White signing to get a class CM instead.

I asked this last time, but who does the extra funds get you? 

By all accounts even someone like Locatelli would cost about the same as Neves, as would Bissouma who was everyone's first choice here not long ago. Who's the attainable CM you sign with more money?

If we end up with Neves, it won't be because of a lack of funds.

We need to score more easy goals. One way to do that is to create more attacking against a defense off balance. Having a cb who can quickly transition from defending to attacking can be very helpful. Ben White looks like he reads the game well, which means he can intercept/win back the ball, and plays with his head up, which might mean he'll try to get the ball forward quickly.

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Phroooaaar

Those forward dribbles are most impressive!

goon wrote:

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

If this is what happens we should've definitely reallocated funds from the White signing to get a class CM instead.

I asked this last time, but who does the extra funds get you? 

By all accounts even someone like Locatelli would cost about the same as Neves, as would Bissouma who was everyone's first choice here not long ago. Who's the attainable CM you sign with more money?

If we end up with Neves, it won't be because of a lack of funds.

I asked you back to get clarification on whether you were saying that spending 80m on a midfielder doesn't get you anything more than spending 30m, if you replied I didn't see it. I don't think that if you give someone 80m and tell him to get the best midfielder he can to Arsenal then he comes back with Neves and 50m cash. There are plenty of midfielders in world football, do you seriously think Neves is the best one out of everyone who would come here? I haven't watched that much football last season, but from what I'm hearing players like Neuhaus, Gravenberch, Caqueret, Goncalves or Renato Sanches would be better signings. 

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goon wrote:

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

If this is what happens we should've definitely reallocated funds from the White signing to get a class CM instead.

I asked this last time, but who does the extra funds get you? 

By all accounts even someone like Locatelli would cost about the same as Neves, as would Bissouma who was everyone's first choice here not long ago. Who's the attainable CM you sign with more money?

If we end up with Neves, it won't be because of a lack of funds.

Surely you simply "allocate" the White money towards Locatelli then? If he's the same price as Neves.

I'm sorry he only cost 50mil.

That french guy seems decent enough.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

goon wrote:

I asked this last time, but who does the extra funds get you? 

By all accounts even someone like Locatelli would cost about the same as Neves, as would Bissouma who was everyone's first choice here not long ago. Who's the attainable CM you sign with more money?

If we end up with Neves, it won't be because of a lack of funds.

I asked you back to get clarification on whether you were saying that spending 80m on a midfielder doesn't get you anything more than spending 30m, if you replied I didn't see it. I don't think that if you give someone 80m and tell him to get the best midfielder he can to Arsenal then he comes back with Neves and 50m cash. There are plenty of midfielders in world football, do you seriously think Neves is the best one out of everyone who would come here? I haven't watched that much football last season, but from what I'm hearing players like Neuhaus, Gravenberch, Caqueret, Goncalves or Renato Sanches would be better signings. 

I didn't say he's the best, I said he's not going to be much cheaper, if at all, than the sort of names you or I would love to see.  

How much do you think the guys you mentioned would cost? £50m (or £15m more than the quotes for Neves I've seen) at most? If we don't sign those guys, it may be because Arteta has poor taste in midfielders, it may be because they don't find us particularly attractive or have better options (at least 3 of those guys have been linked with United and Liverpool), but because we couldn't afford them? Maybe, but that seems like the least likely explanation in a summer we're linked with £60-70m James Maddison.