(The not-so-temporary quite-official) Gooner Thread

Shame I'm not Australian or from one of the other obscure regions they included to be able to participate, but not NZ

Ospina confirmed. 4yr deal. Nice work. Now we are just battling spurs for scheiderlin.

No more news on a CB tho.

Murmurs that Nastasić could be a transfer target for CB, perhaps only if Vermaelen leaves.

Few articles floating around, and a long discussion with Gooner mate last night, seems to be a feeling (that I am not a part of) that we're certainly still in need of someone to directly challenge Giroud, and that Sanchez isn't that person. Not just based on the newest soccernet article, but a few others too.

I feel confident enough that if Giroud is out we can either adapt out formation / style with Sanchez central but this isn't a thought shared with my mate. I understand that they're different players and that the game plan would have to change. But if it were a new central midfielder or a striker (not some bogus dreamlist signing), I would go midfielder.

What say you?

I think we will sign a CB before we let the Verminator leave.

Pre-emptive of him leaving, or as a 3rd / 4th CB? I agree if pre-emptive, would be silly letting him go with out a replacement of a similar level already done and dusted.  

Walcott will also get time at central striker in the event of giroud getting injured. That has always been the plan and I feel he's improving in that position based on his last couple of performances there.

That was certainly the plan last season until theo did his knee.

Campbell will also get his chance to impress and get a squad place in pre-season. 

I don't feel we should be looking for another forward now and apparently arsene doesn't either.

With Ospina signed up and Martinez as third choice, we're sorted for keepers now.

CB situation needs resolving asap, whether that be Vermaelen staying or a new one signed, and also sorting out 4th choice - either a young signing or promotion for Ajayi/Miquel if wenger thinks they're up to it. 

Then DM...

The DM signing could be the late window gamble that wenger seems to like, since we could easily cope for a while without this signing. Perhaps even a Jan window signing at a stretch - waiting and seeing how Diaby and Coquelin go, and reacting accordingly. 

Where did you get the confirmed from?? i can't see anything on the website yet....i could be blind thou

Diaby isnt a DMF but if we converted it would be awesome, IF he stays fit he will be pretty good to have as a squad player.

Watching the longer highlights from last night I thought Coquellin had a good game at DMF, I really do hope we give him a shot this season.

Where's the Ospina news? Not on arsenal.com so not confirmed yet for me. Anyway hopefully it is soon. Perfect signin, you won't find  better number 2 anywhere and think he's a genuine number 1 challenger. Forget about another striker, Sanchez was the forward signing. It's a weird feeling to be happy with our transfer busines in July and be looking forward to the season instead of being in a panic and dreading the first game because we're so woefully short of what we need. Wenger always leavs the squad short somewhere though and it's looking like it might be at CB this time.

I think Ospina is in the same realm as the Debuchy signing was for a week or two there i.e. all done, just waiting on arsenal.com to announce - they might be waiting for the guys to arrive in NY or some day where it will make a bit of a splash, not sure.

Yea I agree Diaby is better further forward than at DM, but at the same time he could do a job there should we have injuries, and not make the signing we hope for.

Diaby and Ramsey together in midfield would be a combination that could share that defensive workload, they are both strong and good tacklers. It's just the defensive positional play I would worry about.

I'm really hoping Diaby can finally get fit and start putting games together, he's shown time and again over the years just how good he is, only to be cut down by another injury just when we start to get excited.

That liverpool performance the season before last was amazing. He didn't play for an age after that. 

Yeah, that Diaby vs Liverpool performance was awesome. Played exceptionally at times, which is a great feat given his terrible injury record. He has lost his squad number #2, now is #24.

He was 24 for you lot last season wasn't he?

Must be about that time of year when Wenger says Diaby will be "like a new signing."

I actually wouldn't have any idea, you're quite likely right there Oska.

I cannot recall a diaby performance. Hopefully this season hes becomes a regular contributor

Just for the fun you should try and find a video of it, he was a beast.

Unfortunately it's just a waste of time relying on him in any capacity. The Sunderland thug who started it all by breaking his ankle on the sideline in the last minute of a meaningless last game of the season now works in a call centre. That was his entire football career so there's some justice in that at least.

Yep he wore no.24 last season

He played 45mins against Boreham Wood which was a small victory in itself. 

Baby steps...

what do u guys reckon of the messi nearly joined gunners story

Haven't read it. Similar lines to the Ronaldo, Yaya, Ibra nearly joined Arsenal stories? 

Nah it's different. Pre him signing a new contract with Barcelona apparently. But as the article itself points out his $300,000 per week wages made it a 'never going to happen' scenario.

Interesting reading, and I have to say I do agree with this.

http://www.espnfc.com/club/arsenal/359/blog/post/1954750/alexis-sanchez-not-the-answer-to-arsenal-striking-options

Meh, Giroud is one of the best goal scorers in the EPL, I have no problem with him leading the line all season.

He quotes wenger as saying sanchez has been recruited to play up top as well as being able to play wide, or even with Giroud in a 4-4-2, and then the basis of his argument is basically that sanchez is not a striker.

He could well be correct, but the fact is that wenger has specifically said he sees him as one, and that is the plan. 

Initially giroud will play up top but when walcott is back I expect the three of them to be competing to lead the line. That is what wenger expects and that is what they all seemingly want. One of walcott or sanchez will play on the right depending on who is up top. 

We have plenty of numbers in the front 3 now. We don't need another striker. If giroud goes down that will be an issue, just like it would be no matter the situation, but last year it would've been a disaster compared to this season. 

When you see Mandzukic, Balotelli and Remy all available for fees/wages within our reach, it becomes very clear that wenger sees another striker purchase as completely unnecessary.

The messi story is a bit mental but if true it shows that we are a whole different beast in the football world now. Big players want to come here.

I still maintain that neither Walcott nor Sanchez can lead the line on their own, they don't have the strength to bring the other players into the fold. Moving to a 4-4-2 still requires Giroud to start to bring that element to the front line. For me it's like midfield. We are over inflated in the middle of the park, but the specific position of DMF we are light. Up front we are light for a back to goal strong aerial threat, and that's what we need a Balotelli for.

Apparently he sounded out City via Aguero too. Rather than him seriously looking for anything away from Barcelona I think he was clearly just testing the market to see what he could get prior to contract negotiations. There was never any serious intention to leave.

Anyway Vorm has just signed for Spurs which gives Fabianksi the number 1 spot at Swansea. Fabianski going there never made sense to me unless he had been assured Vorm was leaving. May aswell have stayed with us and earned more if he was just going to be number 2 again anyway. Weird choice from Vorm though to go from a Premiership number 1 to number 2 at Spurs.

Agree with that Paul. Sachez was the foward signing for this summer and I'm actually quite excited about our frontline this season. We should see Walcott get more time in the middle, as well as Sanchez with Giroud starting initially. Giroud started and finished the season well, it was in the middle when he got burned out that his form dropped. He needed us to have an alternative which thanks to Walcott and Podolski's injuries we didn't. He was the only option so was required to play 90 minutes every few days. We should be able to rotate enough between Giroud/Sanchez/Walcott and maybe even Campbell this season.

It's also why Ramsey picked up that injury following like 6 lots of 90 minutes in 17 days or something like that.

I see us as now being able to play the appropriate personnel for each particular game. Giroud started all season after Walcott was injured because he was our only option. When we play teams that sit back to defend and let us come at them, Giroud is excellent because he holds possession well, he's strong, and his style with back to goal brings in the midfield runners and adds that little bit extra which allows us to break them down.

When we play teams like Liverpool, Man City, Spurs etc that will will try and impress their game upon us and/or play a higher line, having Sanchez or Theo up top will be freaking awesome, we'll have more pitch to run into and more counter-attacking chances that will be ideal for a faster and more dynamic forward. Giroud is not a player who will run onto through-balls or passes over the top, and he doesn't have the pace to damage a team on the counter-attack by himself.

If we bought a similar player then we'd just have another body for the same thing, but now we have the variety and pace a squad needs.

I guess you could argue another Giroud-type will add depth, but I like this way we've gone, and continuing to develop Sanogo in that back-up role for the big framed striker. On another note with Sanogo, I have noticed he has more pace than Giroud and likes to make runs off the shoulder a bit more, so perhaps he could offer a more all-round package. Just needs to get his finishing sorted... that composure in front of goal often doesn't come until they get a bit of experience.

http://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/07/23/arsenal-anno...

Midfield looks good but only 1 striker and none of our starting 3 CB's available for the game is a little worrying...

I think we should firstly wait until Sanchez leads the line for Arsenal before discrediting the possibility, but also think that having that strength in the middle isn't always necessary, or the tactics can be changed to play without a classic holding centre forward. Not comparing Sanchez to Suarez, but in a similar mode - how devastating was three quick, technical players across the front three for Liverpool?

I guess similar to what Paul is saying, having Sanchez here allows us to have a player to compliment Giroud or replace him if needs be, rather than just another player vying for the one position. 

All on holiday though right? 

Is Miquel the only CB out of all of them? Perhaps we will see Jenkinson in the middle at some point? 

No Sanogo. Here I am arguing we don't need a centre forward and there's only one listed there. Hahaha. Stand by it though. But curious about Sanogo.

I guess I have nightmares from last season of wenger not adjusting his tactics to suit the opposition and getting thrashed. Also cast your mind back a few seasons when Arshavin was leading the line during an injury crisis. We're prone to being vulnerable up front, that's why I still think Balotelli/Remy would be worth a pop.

Arshavin leading the line was a result of terrible injury woes. Van Persie, Chamakh, Bendtner and Walcott were all in that squad and injured.

That kind of luck with injuries can't really be helped, you can't feasibly carry four starting-quality players for a single spot and keep them all happy. However in saying that, even if our four best striking options went down this season (Giroud, Sanchez, Walcott, Podolski), we'd still be better off with Sanogo and Campbell still perhaps available. 

Your nightmares of Wenger not adjusting his tactics are fair ones, that is something he seems not to want to do, he's such an advocate of impressing our game upon the opposition no matter their tactics. If we can't hold the ball or we start poorly, it can go badly, as we saw in those two horrible games last season. I really hope Wenger has been thinking about that in the off-season and adjusting accordingly, surely he knows how mentally damaging defeats like that can be. That Chelsea game was a defining moment of our title chase and it was gone in a few horrible minutes. That affected our mentality so badly, we went off the rails and it was only sheer willpower and mental strength from the likes of Mertesacker that pulled us through the Wigan and Hull matches to win the F.A. Cup. If things had gone differently against Chelsea we could well have done the double at a canter.

I dunno, I just don't want to see us buggered again through injuries and falling short of the title/champions league/carling cup ;)

In other news we've sold Eisfield to Fulham. I was always a fan but it seems there's too many ahead of him in the pecking order. Hopefully we got some OK coin for him & he can crack their first team with ease.

Also ESPN has the Arsenal v Redbulls match live at 9am on Sunday morning...nice timing!

What an absolute waste of time Eisfeld was. The only signing in a transfer window when we were suffering a major injury crisis and had no fit fullbacks at the club.

One thing to add... and I've said this a couple of times in the last year during my stoushes with Pride of London...

This is the big season for me where Wenger should be made accountable for results alone.

He gave us success initially (which in itself was phenomenal in hindsight given our budget constraints), he's delivered our shiny new stadium and carried us through the financially tough years that resulted from that, keeping us in the champions league money throughout, thus enabling us to gain the financial power we have now. He's carried us with a thin and at times low-quality squad forced upon him by the budget, and has almost always had us punching above our weight.

Now we have money. Now we have a bigger squad with real quality in it. Once we get the keeper and resolve the CB situation, we have our best squad since 2004, even without a DM signing. Wenger's enabled this and now he's built the squad he has dreamed about for basically the last 10 years.

Integration is not so much of a factor, only Sanchez and Debuchy will really be needed to hit the ground running.

Wenger should be solely judged from what happens on the pitch from here on out, all his other (excellent) work has been done.

So lets go Arsene.

And great stoushes they have been Paulm! I've disagreed with a fair bit of Wenger's actions and statements that he had made for a long time now which are not all a result of any financial limitations. What will help this year is the integration of players early in pre-season, along with Debuchy having played in the Premier League previously.

I'm hoping Sanchez does the goods for us as Giroud is still only a good player for me and I'm yet to think of a team that has won the Premier League without a World Class centre-forward. Very happy with the signings so far, Ospina to maybe even oust Szczesny if that gets completed. Season starts in 3 weeks, bring it on.