Lovely thats another area of need addressed checks list to see RCB has been ticked off three times already in the last two years

Captain wrote:

I hope he comes and I hope he's good.

Seems like he's a CB/FB hybrid - which is fine but the way we play calls out for a more attacking wingback.

edit: what goon said

Tambourine Man wrote:

Why are we signing him if he's a shit RB? This club makes no sense.

Maybe a better comparison would be Puyol style defender. Can play RB, not shit and decent there but not the most comfortable. He is the all action type old school tough CB who is committed and blocks whatever he can, dives into challenges. Because he dribbles decently and passes well he is even versatile enough to play at DM when needed in 2 occassion for Japan NT. 

Probably not the best compilation because the moments are short and fast forwarded but you have an idea. 

He's definitely worth the money at CB you can bet your top dollar on it.

The fullbacks have to be able to play at centrehalf too.  :doh:

He looks excellent. We need another quality centreback

back 3 of Tomiyasu, White and Gabriel is good

He's six foot two
And he'll do you
It's toma, toma, toma, tomayasu

Captain wrote:

The fullbacks have to be able to play at centrehalf too.  :doh:

Tomiyasu White Gabriel Tierney.

All can play CB and FB 😆 Maybe we are doing some hybrid position swapping shit there to revolutionize football

I just hope beyond hope that Arteta does actually turn out to be some sort of a genius and this Frankenstein squad he is assembling comes together and makes us competitive again. But I can't see it and it is more likely that this time next summer the new DoF and manager are left disassembling the mess Edu and Arteta have created. Hope I'm wrong.

He'll 100% play right back, but with the way Arteta sets us up he'll end up tucking in to form a back three with White and Gabriel.

Hopefully this means Partey and whoever his partner is can play closer together.

Tambourine Man wrote:

I just hope beyond hope that Arteta does actually turn out to be some sort of a genius and this Frankenstein squad he is assembling comes together and makes us competitive again. But I can't see it and it is more likely that this time next summer the new DoF and manager are left disassembling the mess Edu and Arteta have created. Hope I'm wrong.

Why is it a Frankenstein squad?

Seems to have two players in all of the normal positions - pretty standard really.

I think Arteta wants our right side to be more conservative than the left. Makes us predictable but I still don't get why we aren't buying a specialist right back even if more defensive in nature.

What it could end up doing is that whoever plays RW will be doubled up on and be completely ineffectual.

I rate Tomiyasu highly and followed his progress for awhile, so I would think it would have been much smarter to buy him as CB, Emerson at RB and spend whatever money left on a CM than what we are doing.

putting aside artetas documented buffoonery, having versatile defenders isn't a bad thing. the issue is if versatility and ability to play 3ATB becomes the number 1 criteria and its the tail wagging the dog scenario. ideally you'd want tomiyasu to be more than just a CB who's merely serviceable at RB.

Clrnc wrote:
Captain wrote:

The fullbacks have to be able to play at centrehalf too.  :doh:

Tomiyasu White Gabriel Tierney.

All can play CB and FB 😆 Maybe we are doing some hybrid position swapping shit there to revolutionize football

...and that's why he has banished Maitland to the reserves. All makes sense now.  :egg:

“Ainsley you made me push through this deal. Sixth choice you are”

I recon we’ll get one more in. Possibly Aouar

Mirth wrote:

What it could end up doing is that whoever plays RW will be doubled up on and be completely ineffectual.

This is less of an issue if the forward players are given freedom and flexibility to roam, swap, interchange etc. It's absolutely horrid when you just have Pepe out on the right with 3 players around him at any given time.

As of now 3 left backs, with Tomayasu 5 center backs, 4 right backs if Bellerin leaves (3 if AMN is banished). Crazy.

Captain wrote:
Tambourine Man wrote:

I just hope beyond hope that Arteta does actually turn out to be some sort of a genius and this Frankenstein squad he is assembling comes together and makes us competitive again. But I can't see it and it is more likely that this time next summer the new DoF and manager are left disassembling the mess Edu and Arteta have created. Hope I'm wrong.

Why is it a Frankenstein squad?

Seems to have two players in all of the normal positions - pretty standard really.

At a glance, we have 3 RB's (potentially 4 if you count AMN) all of whom have been deemed to be not good enough. Potentially 5 CB's now if you include Tomiyasu whilst our best prospect is out on loan. 3 LB's. That's 12 senior players (one on loan) for 4 positions in the squad when we have no Europe. If we play 5 at the back, we then have only one spot for ESR/Odegaard who are arguably two of the best attackers in the squad. We have one reliable CM and he's always injured. Our big money attackers have phoned it in. The squad is a mish mash of nothingness. Just random parts put together with seemingly very little thought or structure. 

Edu and Arteta could have done a much better job with the resources available to them and focused their spending on key areas instead of blowing close to 100m on defenders and a keeper. It just does not make sense. 

I don't see it that way to be honest. We have surplus players, but we have 22 that basically align with Arteta's favoured systems.

Fair enough but how do you see our first XI and second XI? Are there areas in your view that are clearly weaker than others in the squad? If so why have those areas not been prioritised? And why have we not utilised the resources available to us in our squad building - guys like AMN, Saliba etc. could have allowed us to focus our spending in different areas of the squad.

Sky Sport News:

  • Nelson having a medical with Feyenoord after final agreement reached on his loan move from Arsenal.
    Arsenal will extend his contract until 2023.

  • Bellerin to have a medical in Seville ahead of a move to Betis. Betis have agreed a loan with an option to buy

Tambourine Man wrote:

Fair enough but how do you see our first XI and second XI? Are there areas in your view that are clearly weaker than others in the squad? If so why have those areas not been prioritised? And why have we not utilised the resources available to us in our squad building - guys like AMN, Saliba etc. could have allowed us to focus our spending in different areas of the squad.

Centre-mid is the obvious area. I would personally suggest that is a problem area for many clubs though - Chelsea for example are still wrangling for a loan move there, United left it, Tottenham have churned through quite a few options without finding a solution.

I can't really be bothered to type out squad lists, but I do think there is a competent no.1 and no.2 in basically every position now (assuming we sign a right back today) for 343 or 433 which is basically it as far as Arteta goes.

Since Arteta came to Arsenal, he bought:

Mari (£10m)
Cedric (Free)
Willian (Free)
Gabriel (£23m)
Runarsson (£2m)
Partey (£45m)
Tavares (£10m)
Lokonga (£16m)
White (£50m)
Ramsdale (£30m)
Odegaard (£30m)

7 defenders/GK out of 11 😆 and soon to add one more.

Aside from Cedric, Willian and Runnerson I'm find with those deals. The biggest issue is 100% not signing a top class replacement for Xhaka.

goon wrote:

Aside from Cedric, Willian and Runnerson I'm find with those deals. The biggest issue is 100% not signing a top class replacement for Xhaka.

By next summer whoever the manager is, we will still be finding a specialist RB, a starting CM and a striker. Before this summer these are the key areas the desperately need resolving and we have done nothing at all. Tomiyasu is a CB so under a proper manager he will be playing CB again in no time. 2 of Holding, Chambers, Mari will have no future here soon.


Japanese papers are much quicker. Should be done soon.

Done deal. Welcome!

Should have just got this lad instead of White. Really fucking hope the club knows what they are doing.

I can't remember seeing Takehiro myself, but he's got a good reputation in Italy. Could be a good signing perhaps. What's he like Clrnc? I've gotten the impression that he's a pretty tough player?

Never mind, I just saw the description on the previous page.

I hope we get this bloke.

Come on Arsenal, one more panic buy. Please.

Yup, tough cookie and a proper unit. Not a surprise his all time idol is Mascherano 😆 Bologna fans are upset he is leaving.

20m euros is a bargain for him. For once we have done a good deal.

One more thing I will add is that he is one rare defender that is comfortable with both feet. Not Cazorla level of craziness but he often shoot with his weaker foot.

Do you think he can be a bit of a Sanga type at right back Clrcn?

The comp Clrnc shared reminds me a bit of Vermaelen.

My very superficial research seems to suggest that some people see him as more of CB whilst others see him as more of a RB. Either way, you'd have to assume that he'll predominantly be playing RB for us...surely?

WTF, I sign on this morning and we're buying someone from Bologna? Lol. How many CB's can we buy while still not giving the biggest talent in CB that we have a chance? SMH

Asked some lads from football, short version he is a good player. Hopefully he can hit the ground running here because we need it.

For context, the reason I asked them is that I play for an Italian now.