Burnwinter on the other hand, maybe this allows us to loook for a Bellingham/ Szoboszolai profile instead. I’m intrigued by that kind of athleticism. (Which we potentially have in Calafiori)

Gazza M he’s actusllly one of the best passers in the world. It’s why every big team is linked to him. He’s a stat world king. Real, Liverpool, Arsenal, City all linked

The leaking of how advanced the deal is will look silly if we fail to get him now.

    QuincyAbeyie currently working on a couple of deals. A deal is only a deal once everything has been signed and the pre-conditions have been satisfied by all parties. Everything else is noise.

      Claudius don't really agree. You usually have a pretty good idea of whether the deal is going to be signed earlier than the literal time of the signing.

      Lol, you really don't. I mean you can have a feel for how things are progressing, but It can all come crashing down at any time for any reason, precipitated by either party for good, or no reason at all. Until the final docs are signed, all else is fluff.

        flobaba that everything can come crashing down doesn't say anything about the likelyhood of a deal happening, it just says that the chance is less than 100 %.

        For example, Ornstein has reported on plenty on our signings that they're close right before they happen. Either he's had an idea that the deals were going to happen, or he's just the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to guessing.

          Luis Suarez, Yann M'Vila, Jamie Vardy, Gonzalo Higuain, Christiano etc. We could go on for arsenal specific signings that were extremely close. QuincyAbeyie how do they fit in your fait accompli deal framework?

            Claudius wait, so am I going to mention names that were reported on before they signed as a counter argument..? I have never said anywhere that a deal is 100% done before it's signed.

            You respond to me saying "you can usually have a pretty good idea of whether a deal is going to be signed" with "you can't always be 100% sure". It's just disingenuous.

            flobaba oh, I definitely think it was leaked by our team. Ornstein doesn't get as much information on Arsenal these days, but in my experience he doesn't really lie - he usually just stops talking. So when Ornstein says that the anticipation inside Arsenal is that Zubimendi is coming, I'd say the anticipation inside Arsenal was/is that Zubimendi is coming.

            Whether the leak was on purpose is a different question. It might've been because supporters were unhappy with the lack of signings, or someone talks when they shouldn't.

            Gazza M I disagree with that, he is exactly what we need there. We basically need a younger and more mobile version of Jorginho which is what Zubimendi would cover. A metronome passer who controls our tempo. Every top club in Europe want him, there is a reason for that.

            Thomas Partey has played 20+ games as our CM this season, his passing range is pretty good but hasn't really spiced up our play. Our bland play is more down to our No.10 and wide players, well one wide player because Saka is superb.

              Zubimendi leak was obviously timed to quell unrest after we did nothing in the January window. Not that him to Real is a done deal either, these things are still always open until they are not. How many times were Chelsea and City ready to take Rice away from us?

                JazzG I'm not sure, it's also because we can't move the ball quickly enough. We generally look more fluid and creative with Jorginho, despite his shortcomings. A Zubimendi type player is really a must.

                • CPM likes this.

                JazzG his passing isn't close to jorginhos, or parteys for that matter. watch the next few sociedad games and you'll see the difference

                  Qwiss Spain have multiple daily newspapers who just need to fill pages with rubbish about Barca and Madrid. A lot of what comes out is madness. But Real desperately need a real metronome