It's a fraction over 2 weeks until the transfer window slams shut. So far we have

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Originally Posted by Rich

I'm fine with finishing between 4th and 7th with the occasional cup run. It's the failure to challenge for any sustained period that is frustrating. I think if Arsene bought in 2/3 £50million players in the next two weeks, we'd be able to give it a good shot. Instead we will end up with a front three of Rhys Nelson, Giroud and Theo at some stage this season. Inspiring stuff.

Central midfield seems OK - We have Ramsey and Xhaka, we have Wilshere who played for the yoofs the other day. We have Elneney and Coqulein. We have Maitland Niles. We have Santi Cazorla who is going on cross trainers again. So this area is positive.

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Wilshere is a complete and utter waste of space. If he does end up hobbling on to the pitch for us at some stage this season he will utter dog****. Even Arsene seems to have more of less given up with him. I watched him a few times last season for Bournemouth and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He plays like he is 37.

Cazorla is obviously a wonderful player but the chances of him coming back and staying fit look very, very remote. If he did, midfield would be sorted.

Ramsey is just Ramsey- frustrating, sometimes menacingly idiotic, sometimes surprisingly good. But never reliable, and an injury is always just around the corner.

Elneny and Coquelin are quite reliable but limited. Neither is an ideal partner for Xhaka.

We know how all of this ends.

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Originally Posted by Burney

If I could change one thing about modern football, it would be to get rid of transfer windows. They are an utter misery that could almost have been designed to encourage a very particular type of ****ery among fans and pundits.

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Though the alternative would likely be the same cùntery all year round. And imagine being a few games from the title in early April and Man City come steaming in with billion pound bids to take, or at least destabilise, your best players.

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Originally Posted by Peter

Wilshere is a complete and utter waste of space. If he does end up hobbling on to the pitch for us at some stage this season he will utter dog****. Even Arsene seems to have more of less given up with him. I watched him a few times last season for Bournemouth and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He plays like he is 37.

Cazorla is obviously a wonderful player but the chances of him coming back and staying fit look very, very remote. If he did, midfield would be sorted.

Ramsey is just Ramsey- frustrating, sometimes menacingly idiotic, sometimes surprisingly good. But never reliable, and an injury is always just around the corner.

Elneny and Coquelin are quite reliable but limited. Neither is an ideal partner for Xhaka.

We know how all of this ends.

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Wilshere was Bournemouth's most creative midfielder last year. He made so many goals for the team and hit the woodwork 6 times (more than any midfielder in the league). He suffered when Howe went 4-4-2 as he was usually the luxury player within a central midfield 3. If he can stay fit then he's a sublime addition to the squad and will indeed feel like a new signing.

Agree on your other points. We should just give Nice £36million for Seri and be done with it. Though he said that he struggles to train in countries that are cold.

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Originally Posted by Peter

Also, we wont be signing a defender. I cant recall us being seriously linked with one and we don't need one.

The idea that we are falling behind City, Chelsea and United in terms of spending is quite funny. We have never competed with any of them on spending. Even when we were just competing with United we didn't match their spending and the idea of competing with City now is absurd. We wont even compete with Everton if they continue their current approach.

Not a problem, just the reality of the business model.

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Actually the business model allows us to spend £100m (and we'd still turn a profit) with the current tv deals. If we don't spend our full budget this summer it will be because Arsene a) couldn't get his targets and refuses to look elsewhere (see Lemar) or b) he thinks Elneny and Coquelin are good enough and Ramsey won't continue to be an injury prone ********.

It's probably a little bit of "a" and a lot of "b".

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Originally Posted by Rich

I would like him to spend in order to formulate a challenge. Finish 4th but only a few points off top, having given it a really good go until April/May and I think most fans would be happy. One way to achieve this scenario would be to purchase some new talent (for which we must pay the going rate).

Capitulate to 8th in Feb and finish the season well to claim 5th on the final day and they will not.

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The fortune to spend to which you refer does exist having already spent 50m of AL and having had bids of 40m and allegedly a lot more turned down by Monaco for Lemar and Mbappe. Okay, I know the Mbappe one is utter nonsense but let’s just play along.

As it stands, if the media are to be believed and to be fair it sounds plausible, he is now being somewhat restricted by having to offload players before buying, players who by decisions he has made are now turning out to be very difficult to offload. Players who perhaps would be easier to offload, and of course supporters are split on whether they should be sold or not, he is apparently refusing to sell.

This of course could yet turn very sour in events which would make last season seems like a kids party. Another failure to qualify for CL football and the resultant financial impact, then coupled with > 100m of assets walking away from the club for nothing in summer 2018 could see future spending even further restricted.

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Originally Posted by Peter

Wilshere is a complete and utter waste of space. If he does end up hobbling on to the pitch for us at some stage this season he will utter dog****. Even Arsene seems to have more of less given up with him. I watched him a few times last season for Bournemouth and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He plays like he is 37.

Cazorla is obviously a wonderful player but the chances of him coming back and staying fit look very, very remote. If he did, midfield would be sorted.

Ramsey is just Ramsey- frustrating, sometimes menacingly idiotic, sometimes surprisingly good. But never reliable, and an injury is always just around the corner.

Elneny and Coquelin are quite reliable but limited. Neither is an ideal partner for Xhaka.

We know how all of this ends.

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I'm going to demand some told-you-so points on Wilshere. I have been demanding he be offloaded somewhere further down the league where he'd be better suited for years.

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Originally Posted by Rich

seen no departures, a superb freebie in Kolisinac and an averagely priced striker who actually looks like very good value for money at this stage.

No outgoings - though it's clear that at least Perez will be off in the next few days. I would expect the same to be true of Jenkinson, Campbell, Debuchy and Gibbs (though we'll likely have to swallow some of their combined £200k a week until their deals expire - they are all going to need to take pay cuts).

I feel as though we have been left behind by City, United and Chelsea a bit - with sums of money several times greater than us being spent.

However, there is still scope for improvement. Bring in a defender/Lemar and tie Alexis, Ozil and Ox down to new mega-money deals and I'll give Arsene an 8 for this window.

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Crap transfer window imo, the deadline day should be ignored and we should be ready to go for the start of the season. as usual we looked very shaky in our first game but some how to win.

We have a load of messy contract situations that are causing disruptions to the team.
and a bunch of players we can't get rid of as nobody wants em.

and no matter what you think Rich. Sanchez will go.

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Originally Posted by Rich

Wilshere was Bournemouth's most creative midfielder last year. He made so many goals for the team and hit the woodwork 6 times (more than any midfielder in the league). He suffered when Howe went 4-4-2 as he was usually the luxury player within a central midfield 3. If he can stay fit then he's a sublime addition to the squad and will indeed feel like a new signing.

Agree on your other points. We should just give Nice £36million for Seri and be done with it. Though he said that he struggles to train in countries that are cold.

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I feel bad for Jack but I just don't think that player he was is still in there. There was one spark a couple of years ago. He came on as a sub late in the season, after a long lay off, and looked sharp, with that little change of pace back in his game. Briefly I thought there was hope.

Would love to see him back and firing but it just isn’t going to happen.

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Originally Posted by Burney

If I could change one thing about modern football, it would be to get rid of transfer windows. They are an utter misery that could almost have been designed to encourage a very particular type of ****ery among fans and pundits.

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No, everybody loves talking about money nowadays. Especially other people's money.

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Originally Posted by Billy Goat Sverige

Actually the business model allows us to spend £100m (and we'd still turn a profit) with the current tv deals. If we don't spend our full budget this summer it will be because Arsene a) couldn't get his targets and refuses to look elsewhere (see Lemar) or b) he thinks Elneny and Coquelin are good enough and Ramsey won't continue to be an injury prone ********.

It's probably a little bit of "a" and a lot of "b".

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Oh, I didn’t mean we couldn’t have spent more. I am sure we could. I just meant that our model is never going to allow us to compete with the likes of City and United in spending 150 million plus every summer.

It isn’t the aim of the club to do so. Its crazy spending.