Sicario2 - Tier 1 the only people apbsessed with Sesko in January are the press. Sesko ain’t going anywhere. It’s just a way to engage Arsenal fans and get them riled up on January 31st about a non-existent story

      Yeah we need to move on and bring in someone like Cunha who can help in the run in and also as a part of our long term plan. Feels like it will be either Cunha towards the deadline with him forcing his way out or Vlahovic on loan. Cunha would be great but Vlahovic would be very underwhelming.

      Him and Williams weren't going anywhere in the summer either, but it didn't stop us from being obsessed with them then.

      Other than maybe Olise, who we weren't even linked with, who did we miss out on then? It's easy to say we should have signed someone but no one that really would have moved the needle even moved.

      Now fast forward to this window and of course we would love to have Kvara and Marmoush but I would bet a substantial sum of money that there is some under the table dealings involved with Kvara/Mendes and PSG, in addition to big amounts of wages, and Marmoush would be our highest paid player if we were to offer what City did.

      I'm as frustrated that we aren't bringing in players as anyone but there also has to be a bit of realism in these takes. The reality is that none of these teams we are trying to convince to sell their players are hurting financially right now. Leipzig is part of the Red Bull ecosystem, Wolves doesn't need to sell and they are also in a relegation battle and Brentford is one of the more profitable teams in the PL at the moment. The same fans that are begging for signings would be the ones complaining about overpaying for players when they don't perform to their price tag later on. I do have faith there is going to be a lot more movement this summer without the Euros/Copa and I also still have faith we are going to bring someone in this window but the rhetoric around our transfer strategy is a bit off base IMO.

        samthegooner Other than maybe Olise, who we weren't even linked with, who did we miss out on then?

        Xavi Simons and Desire Doue.

          Doue is a good call- we definitely should have seen if we could beat PSG to him.

          PSG made it clear they weren't interested in selling Simons. Maybe we could have appealed to them to loan him but it seems like he pushed for his path back to Leipzig.

          One thing I do want to see us do moving forward is be more aggressive signing young talents even if the fees are 20-30m+. I still don't understand why we let Chelsea have a free run at Estevao and get him for 30m. That is one I think we are really going to regret.

            samthegooner the issue with young £20-30m talents is the hit rate is going to be very low. And at a club in the top two, they aren’t typically going to get the minutes to accelerate. We’ve done guys like Vieira. And we’ve had all our own internal kids that we’ve moved on. With Nwaneri and MLS, we probably have space for one more serious youth talent at most

              Claudius
              Deadline is apparently 11 PM Feb 3rd. The day after we play Man City.

              I will be very curious to get your thoughts if we don’t sign anyone.

                  Sicario2 - Tier 1 I’ll give you my thoughts now.
                  I would like us to sign a player. Because the schedule is insane and inconsiderate to players and fans alike. So we are always at risk of cascading effects from one more injury. One really quality player give us a lot of relief all over the field. Ideally a winger. A striker would do wonders as well.

                      Claudius Yep. Given what we now know after the Deloitte report today, we have ample financial headroom. We also can see what it means financially to have a great season in the league and in Europe. We have to ensure we do as well as possible this year to keep that momentum towards the elites. So even if it means going up to 70m for Cunha, I think we have to do it, as much as I was opposed to that previously.

                          samthegooner the reason you take a centre forward is there is one overlooked player in world football who has to become available at some point: Rodrygo. I’ve been watching Real all season obviously and all of Mbappe, Vini and Rodrygo do their best work cutting in from the left. It’s a real misallocation of resources. Mbappe has been looking terrific btw - unstoppable at times.

                          So put a big bid in for Rodrygo.

                              Claudius he’s said many times he loves it at Madrid even when he’s not getting the minutes. If we think we wasted time chasing Nico Williams and Sesko this summer, chasing Rodrygo would be repeating the exact same thing.

                                  Coombs would you rather be owned by the Saudis/Qataris? I don't mind personally. Once football became a nation state / billionaire owner play thing I feel like it doesn't matter who is fucking us. The Americans, the oil money boys, the Russians, all the same to me. Let's let them in.

                                      This season is fucked. Keep the powder dry for summer, for this window just get bodies in. Even a Stirling level signing is fine or bring up an academy lad. Mikel just needs to rotate better.

                                      flobaba I honestly don't know. I didn't even mean it as a critique, really. Just as an observation when looking at how they run the club.

                                        samthegooner he may love it, but there is a basic reality that he’s 3rd behind two balon d’or level left wingers. Something has to give eventually. Defenders, right wingers and 8s are needed.