Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2017 *Warnings see OP-updated 09/05/17*

emmetlego

Very sad about Santi, loved watching him play... That 2-0 win over city a couple of years back was just frankly awesome, and Santi ran the show that evening. A legend!

His free kick against Hull in the FA cup final will always be etched in my memory

keano_afc

He was so unique as a player. We've nobody that skillful, nobody who can use both feet, nobody as good at linking defence and attack.

He's a massive, massive loss.

Dolph Starbeam

keano_afc wrote: »

He was so unique as a player. We've nobody that skillful, nobody who can use both feet, nobody as good at linking defence and attack.

He's a massive, massive loss.

And he's not one that can be easily replaced, his type of player are so rare. Gutted for him.

eyerer

I just saw that Laccazette is having his medical, I kinda figured this would mean Sanchez is leaving..

Lithium93_

Nemeses2050 wrote: »

Lacazette having medical as per Ornacle

https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/882239511081738240

eyerer wrote: »

I just saw that Laccazette is having his medical, I kinda figured this would mean Sanchez is leaving..

It's done, per the BBC Sport Twitter anyways.

emmetlego

Officially announced tomorrow, just paperwork after the medical.

greendom

eyerer wrote: »

I just saw that Laccazette is having his medical, I kinda figured this would mean Sanchez is leaving..

Naah, Sanchez is leaving if Mbappe is announced at the same time

domrush

Who'll be captain on the pitch next year lads?

Kos the obvious choice, I wouldn't have any problem with Xhaka taking the reins either if his English has improved. Cech would be good too although I don't approve of keepers being captains.

Arne_Saknussem

domrush wrote: »

Who'll be captain on the pitch next year lads?

Kos the obvious choice, I wouldn't have any problem with Xhaka taking the reins either if his English has improved. Cech would be good too although I don't approve of keepers being captains.

Alexis

Arne_Saknussem

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Alexis

I never like strikers as captains tbh. I hope he is still at the club though

Arne_Saknussem

Deleted User wrote: »

I never like strikers as captains tbh. I hope he is still at the club though

If we had a Vieira or Adams i'd give it to them.

brianregan09

Has to be Kos with Cech as backup

If I had to guess I'd say Kos.
Xhaka would be frightening, god knows what atrocities he'd be encouraging the rest of the lads to commit. He needs to calm down a bit first

gitzy16v

Cake of Tremendous Power wrote: »

If I had to guess I'd say Kos.
Xhaka would be frightening, god knows what atrocities he'd be encouraging the rest of the lads to commit. He needs to calm down a bit first

Hmmm interesting...like a young Viera maybe:pac:...joking aside,I cant remember where I saw it but I think I read somewhere that Xhaka isnt exactly well loved by others in the squad because of his fiery temperament towards underperforming teammates...basically they were saying he was too outspoken for someone so young and new to the club.

Sounds like captain material to me:D

I have a vague memory of watching an interview with him just after he'd signed and he was talking about how much he was looking forward to playing in Britain full time because the refs were more easy going. I'd say he had a rude awakening

gitzy16v

Cake of Tremendous Power wrote: »

I have a vague memory of watching an interview with him just after he'd signed and he was talking about how much he was looking forward to playing in Britain full time because the refs were more easy going. I'd say he had a rude awakening

Of all the young lads faults,I really dont mind his over aggression.
Its been missing from our squad for a very long time.

I remember years back that Wenger used to play 10 v 11 training sessions in preparation for someone getting sent off lol.

greendom

interesting stat from Skwaka, no player has scored more headed goals than Giroud in the league over the period 2011 - now and he didn't join the club until 2012.

I really hope we hold onto him.

Jmac24128

its good to see Arsenal fans finally realizing how good a player giroud actually is, he got untold stick for years and none of it deserved.

djan

greendom wrote:

interesting stat from Skwaka, no player has scored more headed goals than Giroud in the league over the period 2011 - now and he didn't join the club until 2012.

greendom wrote:

I really hope we hold onto him.

Very underrated player and one of the best headers I've seen (great compilation on YouTube of his headed goals) just a shame Wegner won't play them in a pivot with Sanchez in a sort of 4-3-1-2 or the current 5-2-1-2

domrush

Assuming we get Lacezette and one other this window we really need to start offloading lads, particularly if the two boys extend. I'd be in favour of the following leaving:

Ospina
Sanogo
Wilshere
Perez
Campbell
Debuchy
Jenko
Toral
Macey
Gibbs

wandatowell

Jmac24128 wrote: »

its good to see Arsenal fans finally realizing how good a player giroud actually is, he got untold stick for years and none of it deserved.

He's good but he's not gonna win you the Premier League with his strike rate.

Jmac24128

domrush wrote: »

Assuming we get Lacezette and one other this window we really need to start offloading lads, particularly if the two boys extend. I'd be in favour of the following leaving:

Ospina
Sanogo
Wilshere
Perez
Campbell
Debuchy
Jenko
Toral
Macey
Gibbs

why would you get rid of ospina? best back up keeper we have had in ages, also i think perez should also be kept ahead of fellas like walcott

Jmac24128

wandatowell wrote: »

He's good but he's not gonna win you the Premier League with his strike rate.

we bought him for 12 million. a bargain for the talent he has. was never gonna be world class for 12 million

Arne_Saknussem

Jmac24128 wrote: »

we bought him for 12 million. a bargain for the talent he has. was never gonna be world class for 12 million

Yep he was a good squad option for 12m.

He got blamed for not being Van Persie when in reality it was the club who ****ed up bringing in the Van Persie replacement until this summer, 5 years later.

Jmac24128

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Yep he was a good squad option for 12m.

He got blamed for not being Van Persie when in reality it was the club who ****ed up bringing in the Van Persie replacement until this summer, 5 years later.

sad point will be if lacazette is sanchez replacement then the club is doing nothing to improve the team just replacing. massive statement now if we keep sanchez, will show ever fan we are trying to compete

Skylinehead

Jmac24128 wrote: »

why would you get rid of ospina? best back up keeper we have had in ages, also i think perez should also be kept ahead of fellas like walcott

I think Ospina wants to leave. And if Sczezney does stay, we don't need both.

Walcott will be hard to shift on those wages. Pretty clear that Wenger doesn't fancy Perez, even if we do.

Jmac24128

Skylinehead wrote: »

I think Ospina wants to leave. And if Sczezney does stay, we don't need both.

Walcott will be hard to shift on those wages. Pretty clear that Wenger doesn't fancy Perez, even if we do.

does Sczezney wanna stay either though? will always struggle to keep a good back up keeper happy but badly need one to stay. the walcott thing im sick to death of, he has to go. should have cashed in years ago when liverpool were flirting with the idea.

Arne_Saknussem

Jmac24128 wrote: »

sad point will be if lacazette is sanchez replacement then the club is doing nothing to improve the team just replacing. massive statement now if we keep sanchez, will show ever fan we are trying to compete

Yep, even if he's to leave next year it's a statement. Reports in Chile's La Tercera today saying Sanchez will be at Arsenal next season, saying he "will finish his contract at least'.

Arne_Saknussem

Jmac24128 wrote: »

does Sczezney wanna stay either though? will always struggle to keep a good back up keeper happy but badly need one to stay. the walcott thing im sick to death of, he has to go. should have cashed in years ago when liverpool were flirting with the idea.

West Ham might be desperate enough to offer 25m, they've been scrambling around for a striker all summer.

Jmac24128

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Yep, even if he's to leave next year it's a statement. Reports in Chile's La Tercera today saying Sanchez will be at Arsenal next season, saying he "will finish his contract at least'.

i hope so, we gotta dig in our heels for once and not make the right business call just for once

Jmac24128

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

West Ham might be desperate enough to offer 25m, they've been scrambling around for a striker all summer.

we will never be that lucky.

greendom

wandatowell wrote: »

He's good but he's not gonna win you the Premier League with his strike rate.

if we actually played to his strengths his strike rate would be much improved. As it is, it is on a par with Lukaku

domrush

We can't keep 5 keepers on the books, one of Ospina and Schz has to go, I'd prefer to keep Schz.

Walcott is happy to be a squad player unlike Perez and can play wing or ST. He's also homegrown which is vital for a club like us with so many non-nationals. I'd happily get rid of Welbeck ahead of both to be honest but again we need homegrown players.

Jmac24128

domrush wrote: »

We can't keep 5 keepers on the books, one of Ospina and Schz has to go, I'd prefer to keep Schz.

Walcott is happy to be a squad player unlike Perez and can play wing or ST. He's also homegrown which is vital for a club like us with so many non-nationals. I'd happily get rid of Welbeck ahead of both to be honest but again we need homegrown players.

walcott has been a constant let down. cant keep holding onto him, plus he is on insane money for what he gives back

domrush

Meh he scored an outrageous amount of goals for a winger last season, clearly excels against a certain type of team. Offers more than Welbeck IMO, just because Welbeck runs all day doesn't make him a good player. He's more versatile as well, playing two positions. Ljungberg or Pires never scored as much as Walcott last season, not that I'm saying he's a better player by any means but it's definitely a folly to get rid of our second highest scorer for no reason particularly when he plays a position we've struggled with for years (RW).

Jmac24128

domrush wrote: »

Meh he scored an outrageous amount of goals for a winger last season, clearly excels against a certain type of team. Offers more than Welbeck IMO, just because Welbeck runs all day doesn't make him a good player. He's more versatile as well, playing two positions. Ljungberg or Pires never scored as much as Walcott last season, not that I'm saying he's a better player by any means but it's definitely a folly to get rid of our second highest scorer for no reason particularly when he plays a position we've struggled with for years (RW).

i cant agree with u im afraid, he is the single most frustrating player i have ever watched. breezes through games and is never ready for the battle. but thats just my opinion

domrush

Jmac24128 wrote: »

i cant agree with u im afraid, he is the single most frustrating player i have ever watched. breezes through games and is never ready for the battle. but thats just my opinion

Fair enough but I think you're basing this off past seasons, and I say that because in August last year I would have agreed with you completely .

However I saw him track back repeatedly this year, wasn't in the papers once complaining about playing time or position, had a more or less injury free season as well. He's redeemed himself massively in my eyes this season and I hope he keeps it up, an excellent squad player to have against the lower level teams. I also don't see any viable replacement, the only wingers who outscored him in the league last year were mane and hazard, both with a lot more games to their name and both non-HG.

Home grown is going to be a problem for Arsenal in the near future, our academy prospects pale in comparison to City and Chelsea, UTD can afford to pay the English premium.

Jmac24128

domrush wrote: »

Fair enough but I think you're basing this off past seasons, and I say that because in August last year I would have agreed with you completely .

However I saw him track back repeatedly this year, wasn't in the papers once complaining about playing time or position, had a more or less injury free season as well. He's redeemed himself massively in my eyes this season and I hope he keeps it up, an excellent squad player to have against the lower level teams. I also don't see any viable replacement, the only wingers who outscored him in the league last year were mane and hazard, both with a lot more games to their name and both non-HG.

Home grown is going to be a problem for Arsenal in the near future, our academy prospects pale in comparison to City and Chelsea, UTD can afford to pay the English premium.

i bash him off his total out put since the day he came in the door. i agree he has a decent goal scoring record but u need so much more from him to bag a place on the team. he wud be a very expensive squad player for over 100k a week

CatInABox

https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/882627336247668736

So, it's done. Now move on to Sanchez.

tayto lover

Looks like a good signing but time will tell.
Now it's imperative that we keep Sanchez.
Time to make a statement of intent. We shouldn't just be aiming for Top 4, let's go all out and sign a few more good players and try to win the bloody thing.

wandatowell

Delighted we signed him. Seems to be a decent price too considering the market these days.

L'prof

https://twitter.com/arsenal/status/882631922400317440

#LacaNewSigning

brevity

Congrats lads, quite the coup.

CatInABox

L'prof wrote: »

#LacaNewSigning

I had a good chuckle at that, was just coming on again to post it.

keano_afc

Sort out Sanchez next and then the goalkeeping situation. As far as transfers go, an out and out winger would be nice.

emmetlego

Strong rumours that Sanchez is signing a new 2 year extension!

keano_afc

emmetlego wrote: »

Strong rumours that Sanchez is signing a new 2 year extension!

Signing of the summer if thats true.

emergingstar

emmetlego wrote: »

Strong rumours that Sanchez is signing a new 2 year extension!

From where?

The Red Lad

Finally confirmed but will mean nothing if Sanchez leaves. Wengers top priority now should be keeping Sanchez and bringing in a top quality cdm but I feel he will have too much faith in Elneny,Coq and Xhaka to play the deep role. A striker needs to leave and I reckon Perez is out the door sad as I liked him just never got a full crack at it. Think Ospina is out the door too as Schez is homegrown also think Walcott will stay he's like Giroud in he offers a good bit off the bench considering your not going to get a better option replacement that's happy to be a squad player. If Sanchez stays buy a cdm and another centre half is still needed and I feel we will challenge no point falling short of one or two more signings but i fear we will still