
Morning all.
A simple question this morning, inspired by Potter. Do Arsenal need Eze?
With 134 appearances for Crystal Palace behind him, he’s scored 34 Goals. He’s a midfielder/winger, admittedly, a left sided player which is our only weak spot in my opinion.
As far as central midfield goes, we’re suddenly well stocked with Ethan Nwaneri as well as the emergence of Max Dowman. Yes, Dowman is only 15 years old but he’s already shown just how comfortable he is in the first team. Only age is likely to restrict how much football he plays this coming season, not his ability. Perhaps that’s why Arsenal seem keen to add Eze to squad, especially as Nwaneri is still only 18 years old and will be until March next year.
If other Premier League players weren’t so keen to stick the boot in hard and often at the wrong time, I’d suggest we don’t need Eze but we just know that sooner or later, both Nwaneri and Dowman will be subjected to a lot of rough stuff.
On the left wing, we have Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. Whilst both show flashes of brilliance, both are inconsistent. Our play down the left side of the pitch, often looks disjointed and certainly not as free flowing our right side. Whether or not that will change now that both players have a proper striker in the box to aim for I don’t know. Unless we speed up our football, we’ll still struggle to break down teams who sit back and defend.
Personally, I’d love to see Eze back in an Arsenal shirt and no, not just because he looks good on YouTube but because of what he can do with his feet. He’s the perfect age to make a difference now.
We all want us to win something this season, to be honest, I’ve read many a comment in the Arsenal blog world which suggests it’s a must for Mikel Arteta in what will be his sixth season at Arsenal. Especially with the money the club has spent backing his project/process.
Four trophies are on offer and to challenge for all, we need a big squad with academy players boosting it. I know we want Dowman and Nwaneri to play a lot but in the next breath, if become the next “Jack Wilshere” in terms of injuries, we’d all be moaning about how they been overplayed. The important thing with both in my opinion is to play them, just not overplay them which means a player like Eze who is more experienced and robust would be ideal for Arsenal. Let’s not forget, he’s a midfielder who can play on the left wing, a player whose footwork might find a way past or around the defence.
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico, simple question, simple answer, no.
He is not good enough to displace Martinelli and probably will not accept a bench place, could be useful in the cups, but I’d prefer to see our own youngsters given those opportunities.
Morning Cicero, fair enough. 😂
What happens if Odegaard suffers a serious injury like last season though?
Maybe I’m being thinking too much after our injury list last season.
Morning Rico,
I think Eze’s a class act but do we need him is the question.
We went into last season woefully understocked with front players and boy did it come back to bite us. Now, we’re in danger of going to the other extreme with excellent players not even making the match day squad. We’ll be in good shape for all four competitions but Arteta, who is not the greatest rotator, could have a job keeping everyone happy.
Doesn’t Odegaard play primarily on the right? Eze is a left sided player, mostly a winger but sometimes an attacking midfielder. Nwaneri can deputise for our Captain.
We need Eze but only if one of Martinelli or Trossard leaves.
His ability to play from the wing as well as from central midfield would be an asset to Arsenal
But Arsenal should not pay more than 50 -55m for Eze considering his age
Couldn’t agree more, Rico
Provided MA sticks to his 4-2-3-1, if the League was to get going tomorrow, we’d probably have:
(Team A):
Raya
Timber-Saliba-Gabriel-LewisSkelly
Zubimendi-Rice
Saka-Ødegaard-Martinelli
Gyökeres
(Team B):
Kepa
White-Mosquera-Kiwior-Calafiori
Nørgaard-Merino
Madueke-Nwaneri-Trossard
Havertz
So the”right-footed left-sided player” looks like the (relatively) weak spot indeed … first because Trossard will be 31 soon, and has given us everything he could give, while Martinelli has reached his ceiling for quite some time imo (just as the next fan, I have nothing but praise in store about the lad’s 100% commitment, but his defensive output becoming regularly more celebrated than his goals-assists is the sure sign of a problem isn’t it?). Actually, the one I’d have loved us to keep home would have been Reiss …
I agree with Eze being an upgrade too, if only in terms of inspiration-creativity; actually I’d have nothing against two recruits in that position. My favourite would have been Marmoush, but his ship has sailed to other, more oily, shores last winter; then there is Barcola, but there’s no way we could match PSG’s wages, or so I think, and lastly the one I like a lot is Lookman, another London boy who is a real game-changer.
As for Dowman-Salmon, Kev could testify that I love nothing more than the promotion of a Hale End lad to first team, but … I’d rather they were protected again this season. They will train with the big boys, and along with a whole U21 season this will be enough for them to keep improving, building their confidence, while being closely looked after by the coaching staff, and kept out of harm’s way (the PL big boy’s challenges) for at least one more season.
Ideally, the club will take the Youth League seriously this time – maybe the EFL trophy too – and if our two kids can go through all of this unharmed (and victorious – a Youth League trophy would be a tremendous achievement), they’ll be ready for the next, decisive step … next season.
Morning Anthony.
I suppose the biggest question is how much Arteta will rotate and with who. I agree with Cicero in that Nwaneri and Dowman can play in Odegaard’s position but I’m not convinced either will be used instead of him.
Isn’t the left side where we’re lacking though? Much of our play goes down the right whereas perhaps Eze would strengthen our left side.
I still have a feeling Trossard will leave.
LG, that’s how I kind of see things really.
We have a bloated squad at the moment but once the club have moved on 5/6 players, we’ll be back to having a lean squad. Vieira, Zinchenko, Lokonga, Nelson (sadly/ Hein probably, will all be gone by the end of the transfer window.
27 players currently listed, which will be 22 by the time those above are sold. Thats before anyone else goes.
Another player who thought the grass was greener elsewhere….
Marcus McGuane, once hailed as one of the brightest prospects in Arsenal’s academy who left to sign for for Barcelona, has joined Huddersfield Town in a permanent deal.
I’m not sure about selling Zinchenko you know, despite all the jokey comments about all the left-back we’ve got we haven’t actually got one!
I’m not confident that we can rely on Calafiori, MLS might suffer a dip in form after his meteoric rise to prominence last season and after them two there’s nobody except Kiwior or the new Spanish kid.
We’re not getting a decent fee for Zinchenko with one year left so unless someone comes in with a bid of say £20/£25m then I’d rather we kept him.
We need to focus on having as strong a squad as we can afford and leave the rest for later. If Arteta, as many suggest, is walking on thin ice and needs to win a trophy or two then he needs as many tools in his toolbox as he he can fit in.
The more tools in the box, the harder it is to carry.
I don’t think Zinchenko is a good left back option either..
Calafiori is back training thank goodness.
Afternoon rico, all. Just catching up on last 3 or 4 days, having got back from Algarve just in time for the 2nd half of ladies great win. Wished I’d seen an hour earlier yesterday that they came back via Southend airport, would have gone and seen them.
I joked to my wife that I am not leaving Portugal until Viktor has signed, and will go knocking on Sporting’s door demanding an end to the impasse. Fortunatly, on our last night, in a bar in Olhos D’agua, it came up on an outside TV at 7PM, ‘Breaking News, Gyokeres signed for Arsenal’ so nice end to break.
Love Eze, he can bring Palace’s last season shirt with him that I also love! but bit of a luxury now we have Madueke who can also play on the left. Would have preferred Eze, but maybe Madueke’s running at players will yield us those penalties we lack (in being given) for Gyok or Saka to score. Again Eze’s cleverness would give an extra advantage against the low block, so if we can afford, lets have a bigger squad and really compete in 4 trophies. Although extreme, a massive squad didn’t harm Chelsea at end of last season. And with Nelson (shame, he looked biggest threat on left in Milan game), and Vierra surely leaving, squad would be able to cope with the injuries we know we will surely get. And with trusted rotation, there ‘should’ be less injuries.
Afternoon Andrew, best you go back in January, just in case we need a signing. lol
I thought he was Arsenal bound…
Liverpool set to beat Arsenal to signing Salford teenager
Latest from Sky Sports News’ Luca Bendoni and Vinny O’Connor:
Liverpool are set to beat Arsenal to the signing of Salford City’s teenage forward Will Wright.
Wright is understood to be undergoing a medical with the Premier League champions ahead of signing a contract.
Liverpool have an agreement in place with the League Two club for the 17-year-old’s transfer.
The Athletic
Shirt sales for Arsenal’s new signing Viktor Gyokeres have broken the club’s record.
While data from various outlets and retailers is still being analysed, it is already clear that demand for Gyokeres’ No 14 shirt exceeds that of any player in recent history.
If you can believe the story going the rounds , we agreed terms with Salford but not the player . Berta sneaked off to get Gyokeres and Liverpool stepped in and did the deal.
That of course puts the blame on Berta although in all fairness the kid is born in Preston and more likely to want to sign near to home than go to London.
On the Eze debate it would possibly be one too many that might upset the harmony and balance of the squad.. As much as I was fed up with him at the end of his reign Wenger always said that too many arrivals can be detrimental to the spirit in the dressing room .
For instance should Eze &, Madueke arrive and Trossard and Martinelli stay with cameos from Dowman and Nwaneri, the bench is overcrowded and already the rumours are out about Trossard . Also where does Eze fit in with the midfield ? there’ s Rice , Merino , the two kids , Odegaard, Zubamendi , Norgaard and if Gyokeres goes up front then Havertz and Jesus will have to drop back too.
I just sometimes think that you can have too much of a good thing and as it seems rather like a 5 year old at Christmas flying from present to present .As much as it is great to get more in then some definitely have to leave and some of them will be popular amongst the group .
Last thing we want to do is upset the balance.
Ladbrokes tonight make Eze 1 to 4 ON to be joining us which surprises me, so someone must know something.
potter makes a good point about having too many new arrivals but I feel there is a real emphasis this coming season to win a decent competition and lay down a marker and starting his sixth season Arteta will to an extent feel the pressure,and we don’t have any players going to The African Cup which must help.
Good points Potter but if the club sell who we expect them to sell, we’ll be short in numbers.