Coombs What do you mean? You'd rather go for half measures this window and then not have the funds to be in the picture for better talents this summer? I acknowledge we never know if they will indeed be available and moving like last summer but I'd be interested in how you feel we should be moving.
Also I think it's important to note that there don't even seem to be many half measures that are moving this window - the Cunha's, Mbeumo's, Watkins of the world are not moving.
And what cost though ? We didn’t get our main targets last summer and we may effectively waste the whole of 2024-2025.
What if we can’t get them this summer? Sometimes you have to go halfway house. Opportunity cost of only going for your ‘target A’ players is massive if no plan B.
samthegooner i think it means that sacrificing short term gains can have negative consequences long term too. Add to that, if you by short term gains mean winning the league or the CL, isn't those gains the same as our long term goals?
Regardless, I've been clear about it being too late to win the league even if we sign good players.
Sicario2 - Tier 1 And what cost though ?
No cost. The PL title race is over. You yourself have made a big deal posting about this a million times. You are correct. Stick to your guns.
While I'm relatively confident about the CL, what I mean by "confident" is that there's probably somewhere between a 15-20% of us winning. There's no signing that could move that by any more than a few percentage points.
If we were really in the thick of the title race then I could buy the idea of myopically optimizing for the next 4 months. However, there isn't much there to optimize for.
DiabyKungFu
I wrote us off early because I felt Man City would be our main rivals and fine margins and all that.
Whist i dont think we can win it this year it’s not impossible.
These are potential Liverpool away games in Feb:
The first 3 are booked, the Villa one is if they beat Spurs in the CC 2nd leg.
(Speaking of Spurs, that is another tricky tie that they have to play first 11 and possible tricky Fa Cup tie in 5th round if they face an awkward opponent).
Still a lot to play for so getting someone in Jan is imperative.
Even if we end up not winning anything it’s always good to end seasons strongly as sometimes that momentum can take you into the following campaign.
While I do wish we had strengthened the attack in the summer, by no means do I agree with the statement that our failure to add to the attack in the summer is the reason we are in the spot we are in terms of the title race. The confluence of awful injury luck with Merino/Odegaard/White/Saka being out long term at various points and some absurd refereeing decisions with tangible point implications is just something you cannot plan for. Would some new signings have helped? Probably but I've gone through my firm belief that the players we needed to add last summer were not available or moving. I simply do not believe that players that moved, like Neto, would have made a difference this year. There certainly is an opportunity cost of not getting your #1 target and I think this summer is critical in terms of pivoting to our #2 or #3 targets if we strike out on initial targets. But I don't think that January is the time to make those pivots or concessions personally.
samthegooner what Quincy said, but I also don't think 60m now compromises anything later. You sign players you sell players, it goes round and round. Only at Arsenal do we get so hung up on these guys like they're our forever team.
I look forward to the end of August when we are once again told there is no point signing players for the sake of it and we need to keep our powder dry. I don't know what magic striker people are waiting for but if they reveal themselves they will likely go to Real Madrid or City.
His dad is saying he'll join his new club in the summer. It must be us. He wasn't going to make a difference right now and he gets a proper preseason to step in slowly. He's a long term bet anyway.
Let's get a proper fucking forward now.
Qwiss -- right there with you.
It was obvious this summer we needed to move on from Jesus, let Trossard wind his contract down, and still sign at least one winger/forward. That need has only further manifested after over playing Saka, seeing Martinelli continue to struggle with form, and Jesus not be available. All of those outcomes were incredibly obvious, and it is asinine to not have planned for them. Further, I don't believe Nwaneri was "the plan" to address that as he's so far been shoehorned into one specific position for the most part only after Saka got injured.
We can sign someone now and address these issues for the rest of our season, or we can face all of them again in the summer. No sense waiting, and I would argue there are even incentives now for certain clubs (Brentford) to cash in on players (Mbuemo) when their seasons are pre-destined for mediocrity and safety.
Worth it if only for the bantz?
I'd be amazed if he doesn't go to Man U. He'd walk into their starting 11 while he'd only be on the bench here.
DiabyKungFu they still got Rasmus and that Dutch donkey. Here he can share serious mins with Kai and also rotate on the wing. Plus would be playing in CL as opposed to EL.
Coombs I don't know how you can say that when a 60m signing would literally be our 5th most expensive signing of all time. While I agree that looking at our financial positioning and the trajectory of our team (with associated performance based windfalls incoming), we should be able to spend that type of money pretty easily, we don't usually. I have a hard time believing we would sanction a 60m signing this January and then be just as free on spending in the summer as if we didn't. I wish that weren't the case, and hopefully it won't be moving forward, but I can only base it on what we have done to date.
For everyone that is saying we need to sign someone NOW, who is it that you want us to sign? Tel for 60m? I love his potential but you're paying for his development into that player up front and that's a very risky gamble. He also likely wouldn't have a huge impact this season anyways other than being another body.
Who are these other strikers or attackers that we realistically could get right now?
Also as an aside, I do still think that Watkins may move this window with the amount of links that Villa has to Felix, Rashford, Asencio. Everything that has been written about them states they are going to be up against it with PSR even with the Duran sale so someone else will likely need to go if they intend to move forward with any of those deals. I could see Watkins moving towards the end of the weekend if they get progress on those deals. Watkins for 60m would be something I could get behind, although I do think that would mean no Isak/Sesko in the summer.
lorddulaarsenal What a guy. Sign him up haha.
Keep the Powder Dry FC
Tel getting Levy to fly out to Munich to tell him no to his face 
