Problem - Lack of goals from midfield

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Will be interesting to see if he moves to 433 or stays with 4231, or even (hopefully not) goes to 3 at the back. I'm guessing he wants to move to 433, but that suggests the need for another creative midfielder I think.

We need another creative MF even in 4-2-3-1. A sort of Santi/Rosicky type. Someone with the skill of a no.10 who can be a box-to-box player in a 2-man MF, to sit between Partey and ESR. The team is crying out for a no.8 who can score and make goals, add some magic, but still do the work of a proper MF.

[Eboue's Boutique]

We need another creative MF even in 4-2-3-1. A sort of Santi/Rosicky type. Someone with the skill of a no.10 who can be a box-to-box player in a 2-man MF, to sit between Partey and ESR. The team is crying out for a no.8 who can score and make goals, add some magic, but still do the work of a proper MF.

Completely agree, thats been what I've wanted the most this window (along with a CB with good feet).

Seems like Ødegaard is leaving Real Madrid though, according to Spanish media this last hour, so thats probably the guy we'll get unless Real Madrid wants to much for him.

His release clause above 100m shouldnt be allowed when he's only at 25k a week

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Completely agree, thats been what I've wanted the most this window (along with a CB with good feet).

Seems like Ødegaard is leaving Real Madrid though, according to Spanish media this last hour, so thats probably the guy we'll get unless Real Madrid wants to much for him.

His release clause above 100m shouldnt be allowed when he's only at 25k a week

But MA played him as a no.10 and moved ESR to the wings. Personally, I'd rather have Pépé wide and ESR at 10. He scores and makes more goals than MO. He's more of a Bergy while MO's more of a midfielder. Arteta didn't try MO and Partey last year behind ESR and I worry he'll do the same again. He obviously doesn't like Pépé - that's why he wasted all that money on the Chav reject.

If he buys MO, drops Pépé again and has Xhaka as a starter even when Partey's fit then I've had it. Arteta can go. Yet if he played MO next to/in front of Partey, and he can play as a box-to-box like Santi and Rosicky could then fine. But is MO capable as one of a two man MF? Can he do all the defensive work on the edge of our box like Santi could? He's got a great eye for a pre-assist and so would be perfect IF he can do all the tackling and defending. Otherwise, we've spent a whole window and basically just got a young replacement for Luiz.

[Eboue's Boutique]

But MA played him as a no.10 and moved ESR to the wings. Personally, I'd rather have Pépé wide and ESR at 10. He scores and makes more goals than MO. He's more of a Bergy while MO's more of a midfielder. Arteta didn't try MO and Partey last year behind ESR and I worry he'll do the same again. He obviously doesn't like Pépé - that's why he wasted all that money on the Chav reject.

If he buys MO, drops Pépé again and has Xhaka as a starter even when Partey's fit then I've had it. Arteta can go. Yet if he played MO next to/in front of Partey, and he can play as a box-to-box like Santi and Rosicky could then fine. But is MO capable as one of a two man MF? Can he do all the defensive work on the edge of our box like Santi could? He's got a great eye for a pre-assist and so would be perfect IF he can do all the tackling and defending. Otherwise, we've spent a whole window and basically just got a young replacement for Luiz.

No, I dont think MO is the 8 you're looking for and it just doenst seem like the direction we want to go (without selling Xhaka for much more than 12-15m).

As tired as we are of Xhaka, it kinda worked alright with him and Partey for much of last season. We appearantly had top 2 form (by points) since boxing day or so. It'll probably be CF or RB they'll try to upgrade, if we can get rid of someone. And ofcourse 2nd GK.

But Xhaka hasnt signed the new deal yet so maybe there's still something that could happen there.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

No, I dont think MO is the 8 you're looking for and it just doenst seem like the direction we want to go (without selling Xhaka for much more than 12-15m).

As tired as we are of Xhaka, it kinda worked alright with him and Partey for much of last season. We appearantly had top 2 form (by points) since boxing day or so. It'll probably be CF or RB they'll try to upgrade, if we can get rid of someone. And ofcourse 2nd GK.

But Xhaka hasnt signed the new deal yet so maybe there's still something that could happen there.

We should have prioritised the creative no.8. It was the most important upgrade we needed.

[Eboue's Boutique]

We should have prioritised the creative no.8. It was the most important upgrade we needed.

Yeah I was hoping for someone that could both play beside Partey in a pivot but also be a bit more creative semi-near the box. A Locatelli or that brazilian bloke in Lyon who can run past people too. Perhaps preferably someone capable of being a bit front footed and better at being aggressive to win the ball than Xhaka. I think they wanted to do that but didnt get near 20m from Roma for Xhaka and figured they better prio other areas than sell a player that's been alright (albeit frustrating to watch).

This Odegaard direction was pretty decent for much of last season, he looked great until he got injured with Norway.

What we're probably missing the most is a striker that opponents actually fears and scores more easily. We love to cross but not to attack crosses. Hoping Auba can get back to confidence and scoring ways unless we manage to sell and sign someone a bit bigger (like Tammy or Vlahovic from Fiorentina). I think Odegaard allows us to play a bit more centrally and less up the wings all the time.

[Arsenal Alcoholic Review]

Say what you want about Willock but if he played the game time Willian did last season we'd have been dramatically better.

[Arsenal Alcoholic Review]

Ceballos, Ødegaard and William played 97 games last season between them. We're gonna need another offensive minded midfeilder to cover those. True, we're not in the UEFA cup so that's a good chunk less games but we still need at least one player to cover those positions.

we're 1-0 down against relegation fodder and bring on Nelson but a proven goal scorer from midfield is "not good enough for Arsenal". We're a foocking joke.