Hello darkness, my old friend...
At least until ICC Bayern Munich match in LA.
At least until ICC Bayern Munich match in LA.
I really wonder how much of the defensive issues are the players vs coaches. Only holdover from the previous staff is the defensive coach (Bould) and he is rumored to be let go this summer. Not giving Emery a pass but it is entirely possible that Bould could have caused some issues considering that our defense wasn't exactly stellar under AW. There is definitely work to be done on several fronts. Assuming the rumored budget is true we are going to have to be creative. Work the FAs, expiring contracts and cheap release clauses really hard. If a rumor pops up that doesn't fit into one of those categories it is likely a completely made up rumor. If we are able to offload the excess and otherwise poor players without loosing too many of the good ones, it is possible for this team to compete for top 4 and/or EL next season but it is gonna take some deals falling our way.wangus12 said:
So after year 1, I'd give Emery a C-.
The total collapse to end the season just really puts me off. The mental fragility is still very much there. We all talked about Emery needing a few transfer periods to get what he wants in, but we have almost no money to do that. You had two different opportunities to secure Champions League and we managed to emphatically blow both chances. Our defense managed to regress from last year. Even with some of the big injuries to Holding & Bellerin, there was no visible improvement from a system standpoint.
We have players that need to be sold that we probably can't off load. We can't afford to bring in any high class players that we be immediate fixes. We drastically need to fix our midfield. Teams just pass through us like we aren't there and its one of the reasons the defense struggles so much.
I'd like to see us offload players like Ozil, Mustafi, Elneny, Mkhi. It could possibly help add something to the budget for us to get a couple good young players moving forward.
I had been on the cash-in boat for the last few months but I am starting to think he could be worth keeping around as a DM/CB (CB only if we are playing back 3) sub to see if there is a chance he could contribute. Think I would plan for him to be on the roster and get him a bunch of preseason playing time to see if I like what he brings at DM.wangus12 said:
I thought Willock & Iwobi looked decent coming on today and I think part of that is simply because they are willing to run so much. They work hard when they are out on the pitch. With the lack of funds, we're gonna have to hope players like Nelson, Nketiah, Smith-Rowe and Willock actually come good and turn dividends for us. Another interesting case is Calum Chambers returning. He played most of the season at Fulham as a defensive midfielder and ended up winning their player of the season award. We can either try and cash in on him (he'll be worth something as an english homegrown player) or give him a shot in front of our defense.
I don't want to but I think that is what will happen. Think it's likely gonna be Laca for 75-100m and then we switch to a 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 base. We can get a young target forward as a backup (Wesley) for under 30m. If they can sell PAE or Laca for 75+ and get a backup ST plus 2 other younger players that can be starters in exchange, it's hard not to pull the trigger.wangus12 said:
I think you almost have to sell one of Laca/Auba since there are rumors of big spenders looking at them. Try and sell one for 75-90m could do wonders for the bankroll. Or Kroenke just pockets it. Ziyech has stated he's dreamed of playing for Arsenal, but I doubt we can get him without CL. Would be a good signing I think
This is why this conversation is frustrating. No one knows what he's gonna do, but you can bet your life he ain't gonna drop as much money this transfer season as we need him to. Are there any legal rules that stipulate he can't just pocket 50% of the cash from selling PAE/Laca?wangus12 said:
Or Kroenke just pockets it.
AggieRob93 said:
What will be insufferably ironic...Arsenal make it to the Europa final, and lose to the fightin' Hazard's, who have already qualified for the CL.
Go ahead and start the new thread so this one can die just like our hopes and dreamsTXAggie2011 said:
2017-2018 is now OVER!
Let's do this!
AirplaneAg09 said:
Extremely disappointing. Arsenal are on quite the downward spiral from a club trajectory standpoint, especially compared to the rest of the "Big 6". Kroenke as the majority owner and the continued absence of UCL is a recipe for total disaster. We just thought the last few years of Wenger were lean years, I shudder to think what's in store for the next 5 years.
Hello darkness my old friend, indeed. What a letdown.