Sambi Lokonga: Page 4 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Sambi Lokonga

lorddulaarsenal

Azeez looks a much better prospect

Gazza M

seems this will get done pretty soon. anyone's guess how this will turn out

Qwiss

Clrnc wrote:
Qwiss! wrote:
Sounds like a weak squad to me.

Really?

Say Partey, Locatelli, Lokonga, Elneny/Willock. Thats pretty decent 4 to choose from with Azeez and co waiting behind

Locatelli isn't an Arsenal player though and probably will never be one. He doesn't even look like being a serious target for us. Plus Willock wasn't in the original 4 that I said looked poor. If you have Willock and Logonga there is no need to keep Elneny, he can't even cover the African Nations.

Qwiss

Claudius wrote:
Qs, if you have Partey, Locatelli, Lokonga, and Elneny, it works well. If Partey and Locatelli start around 60% of the games together and then you divide the other games so that one of the senior players is usually there with a junior player, then you end up with about 2500 league minutes for each of Partey and Locatelli and about 900 minutes for the subs. Saka had about 2500 minutes this season.

Locatelli is just you lads fantasising, there is no indication he's coming to Arsenal. We're much more likely to get Neves or someone similar. Partey, Neves, Lokonga, and Elneny is a midfield thats at best very slightly better than the midfield we had this season. Even if Lokonga is the real deal he's probably gonna need time to develop and adjust to the PL. You are also looking at Neves -Lokonga midfield with no proper back up for the AFCON.

QuincyAbeyie

If you're saying it's a shitty scenario if the starter we bring in for CM is shitty then I don't think anyone would disagree.

goon

We need to get that first choice CM signing right, it's a little worrying that a vague link to Locatelli is the best we've gotten so far.

Don Pacifico

Broadly agree with the sentiment here but does having Willock back change anything in people's minds? Or is there an assumption that he's probably gone?

Qwiss

Quincy Abeyie wrote:
If you're saying it's a shitty scenario if the starter we bring in for CM is shitty then I don't think anyone would disagree.

The Locatelli argument is based off the reverse and far less likely to happen.

HomeSteak

'Closing in FC'

QuincyAbeyie

Qwiss! wrote:
Quincy Abeyie wrote:
If you're saying it's a shitty scenario if the starter we bring in for CM is shitty then I don't think anyone would disagree.

The Locatelli argument is based off the reverse and far less likely to happen.

Yeah but Claude's initial argument was that it would be a decent solution if we got a partner for Partey. I just assumed he didn't mean a shitty one when he said that.

Qwiss

Is Neves "shitty"? I think he's ok, overpriced and not my choice but likely and wouldn't be a disaster with decent back ups.

QuincyAbeyie

I probably mostly see him as shitty because it'd mean that after all these years we replaced Xhaka with a new Xhaka.

Klaus

He's a very good player to my mind. Right profile too: already has Premier League experience and isn't surrounded by too much hype because Wolves have had a bad 18 months.

Getting Neves would be a bit like signing Jorginho last summer when Lampard tried to push him away. I thought it was a big miss at the time and I still do. These guys are 2-3 times the players Xhaka has ever been. There's a valid discussion to be had about whether we should replace Xhaka with a better player at all or if we should replace the position he plays, but the improvement that Neves would bring is tangible and it will show on the pitch. He has a brain and two good feet for starters.

QuincyAbeyie

That sounds like the Neves I imagined a couple of years ago, but don't think he's improved one bit since then.

Clrnc

Out of so many CMs linked, I really don't want Neves. Need someone more different and bring more to our table. He doesn't improve us much and it's a sideway move for us

goon

I think Arsenal fans have just been scarred by Xhaka so anyone that even semi resembles him stylistically is not looked upon positively and a bigger change is desired.

Qwiss

Like I said Partey, Neves, Lokonga, Elneny is a horrible midfield. Its pretty much as bad as last seasons even if Neves is slightly better than Xhaka.

Qwiss

goon wrote:
I think Arsenal fans have just been scarred by Xhaka so anyone that even semi resembles him stylistically is not looked upon positively and a bigger change is desired.

Thats part of it but the hope in moving on Xhaka was that we would change the way we play somewhat. CM was the biggest problem area in the team last season and we kept hearing "well Arteta just doesn't have the players he wants to play the football he wants" getting a slightly better Xhaka type just means we want to keep playing like that. It seems like Arteta thinks we need to get a better CB to change the way we play rather than change much in midfield.

mdgoonah41

the issue with neves is that stylistically hes just not what we need. if we are playing a 4-2-3-1, we need a strong, dynamic defensive anchor to replace xhaka. neves is not that. if we are playing a 4-3-3, we need a faster, more athletic CM capable of pushing the pace, moving the ball, and doing a bit of everything and doing it quickly. i dont think neves is that player. neves is just a sideways move from xhaka. he might be 15% better, and him having PL experience is nice, but we need a lot more.

a fit partey, the partey who played for atletico, is the archetype we should be aiming for when trying to find our next CM.

Clrnc

Actually it's not stylistically only. I would love Jorginho for example, because he is more intelligent in many aspects of the game. I would love Tonali or a similar DLP like Roca. Neves just don't have too much upside for the price he will command at 24 year old.

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