Arsenal's squad next season 2015/2016

Wumminator

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So I got really lazy and didn't make this thread for a while, but I really like what Wenger is doing with this team.

Players who need to be registered for next year.

1. Wojcieck Szczesny
2. David Ospina
3. Mathieu Debuchy
4. Kieran Gibbs
5. Pet Mertesacker
6. Gabriel Paulista
7. Laurent Koschielny
8. Tomas Rosicky
9. Mikel Arteta
10. Mezut Ozil
11. Jack Wilshere
12. Olivier Giroud
13. Theo Walcott
14. Alex Oxade Chamberlain
15. Aaron Ramsey
16. Alexis Sanchez
17. Nacho Monreal
18. Santi Carzola
19. Matheui Flamini
20. Danny Welbeck
21. Damian Martinez
22. Francis Coquelin
23. Yaya Sanogo
24. Lukas Podolski
25. Joel Campbell
26. Carl Jenkinson

Noteable players who are under 21 and won't have to be registered include:

Serge Gnabry,
Hector Bellerin,
Calum Chambers

And players who have left since last year are:
Abou Diaby,
Ryo Myachi

Some questions:

1. With Cech arriving any day now, how good is that signing?
2. Can Arsenal challenge?
3. Where do Arsenal improve now?
4. How good is Sanchez?
 

Insanity

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Archie Leach said:
And to answer your questions...

1. Very good.
2. Yes.
3. Midfielder and forward still required.
4. Top three in the league, with Hazard and Aguero.
Click to expand...
Didn't you guys sign a very good young DM last season? I can't recall his name. Think he'll form part of the squad next season.

Imo, Arsenal will challenge for the title. Addition of a world class striker will catapult them as the favorites along with Chelsea.
 

JoaquinJoaquin

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Archie Leach said:
A DM. Coq's been good but if he has a bad run of form or injury, Arteta and Flamini aren't going to cut it. Also need competition for him so he doesn't get complacent. He's only done it for six months.
Click to expand...
Was quite surprised you didn't at least look at Kondogbia, Would of been a good signing for you guys.
 

Rooney in Paris

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Archie Leach said:
Haven't seen much of him other than the Champions League tie.
Click to expand...
He's quite good, on of the best players when France won that U20 world cup iirc, and highly rated as a youth. His career choices so far have been a bit weird (anyone signing on for Monaco is a bit weird in my book), and I'm not sure about moving to Serie A when PL and Liga clubs are reportedly interested in you, but he might turn out fine. The reported transfer fee is ridiculous though.
 

Insanity

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Wouldn't be surprised if they signed Schneiderlin, who is a better player than Kondogbia is right now.
 
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Archie Leach

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Rooney in Paris said:
He's quite good, on of the best players when France won that U20 world cup iirc, and highly rated as a youth. His career choices so far have been a bit weird (anyone signing on for Monaco is a bit weird in my book), and I'm not sure about moving to Serie A when PL and Liga clubs are reportedly interested in you, but he might turn out fine. The reported transfer fee is ridiculous though.
Click to expand...
What was the fee?
 

Hemil

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Who is this world class striker Arsenal can get who is better than Giroud?
 

Rooney in Paris

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Hemil said:
Who is this world class striker Arsenal can get who is better than Giroud?
Click to expand...
They already have him. His name is Danny.
Archie Leach said:
Youch
Click to expand...
It's ridiculous. I think the new Inter owners are trying to throw around their weight somewhat, and I think they hijacked an initial move to AC Milan which inflated the fee even more.
 

sun_tzu

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If arsenal get Chech which seems very probable it only leaves a few positions that they need to fill to mount a serious title challenge
a striker - Higauin, Cavani - even Ibrahimovic - somebody who adds a bit more than a wlebeck or giroud
a central midfielder - Kondigba, Schneiderling, Martinez, Carvahllo- somebody who can play a bit but will mainly strengthen their midfield.
a Defender - perhaps not a priority but when Monreal gets 75 games over the last two seasons for your team then perhaps its time to think about reinforcements.

Of course the probability is that wenger gets one of these players (eg schneiderling), then at xmas panics and brings in a defender and by the end of the season realises he needed to buy a Higuain - but by then sanchez gets fed up and goes so he needs two quality players but of course he goes out and buys one.

Well lets hope he carries on like that because if they got the keeper a decent defender and a top midfielder and a top striker then they are looking very string for next year - especially with the likes of bellarin and gnabry coming through
 

JazzG

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Twigginater said:
Some questions:

1. With Cech arriving any day now, how good is that signing?
2. Can Arsenal challenge?
3. Where do Arsenal improve now?
4. How good is Sanchez?
Click to expand...
  1. Very good, both our GKs aren't good enough. Cech alone won't make us title contenders but he will improve us
  2. If we keep our players fit I think we can compete. Make some more signings and I think we can win it.
  3. Need a Central Midfielder + Striker. I have high hopes on Gabriel stepping up this season
  4. Good but he needs to improve. He has a bad habit of losing the ball cheaply & holding onto the ball too long and needs to improve on that. Otherwise though he is a game changer and 25 goals in his first season well beyond what I expected. Might need to rest him at the start of the season as well, Copa America, World Cup last summer and a long season will be too much. He is a fitness freak but need to manage him properly.
 

ADJUDICATOR

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THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
1. With Cech arriving any day now, how good is that signing?
It's a very good signing. Cech gives them a wealth of experience, far better command over the boxand less mistakes to do with handling and general goalkeeping skills. The only worry might be if he is too used to having a deep-line defence in front of him to adapt to Arsenal's variant. Cech boasts a lot of fine performances in Europe too, which will no doubt be a welcome sight.

2. Can Arsenal challenge?
It's not quite reached the "this is their year" stage due to Chelsea's strong setup and efficient conquering of the league last year, but yes, they can challenge. They'll need a few top additions to be in with a serious chance, but at the very least they have a settled manager, settled spine, are without problems concerning unrest/pressure to succeed, and are not in need an overhaul of personnel. They have a great manager in Wenger, and the Manchester Clubs have a lot more internal problems to worry about, so I'd be surprised if they weren't top three come May.

3. Where do Arsenal improve now?
Their fullback situation seems okay for now, but they'll need a defensive partner for Koscielny. Wenger is a stingy guy, but I think he should be willing to break the bank for the likes of Otamendi/Laporte etc to make sure Koscielny has a very capable partner who also has to potential to be world class. I could see them maybe nipping in for Bartra at a slashed price. They also need a deep-lying midfielder or holding midfielder to challenge Coquelin, seeing as though they have no good options if he decides to bugger up. They've needed a top striker for years now, but I question Wenger's resolve to solve that problem.

4. How good is Sanchez?
He's their only Champions League level attacker.
 

JSArsenal

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1. With Cech arriving any day now, how good is that signing?

Hopefully he will be great

2. Can Arsenal challenge?

Depends on who you ask. I've heard Gunners say that we can't improve on our team, that it is not worth it spending 35 million on Cavani when he's just a "marginal" upgrade on Giroud, Coquelin deserves to start. For me its an emphatic No. I love Wenger as a manager but sometimes I feel that the way he thinks about transfers has affected how we as fans view our squad. Giroud might be good, some fans including myself might be too harsh on him but his limitations are there for all to see. He has little pace, no real tricks, he has average hold up play at best and he very rarely creates goals out of nothing (Liverpool at the Emirates being one of few exceptions). The worst part is, when he's bad he's downright awful.

For me its not only about goals scored but style of play. With Giroud as our main striker we only play one way, a way that doesn't get the best out of Ozil or Sanchez due to Giroud's limitations. Our current system is geared towards Giroud specifically but he does not suit our preferred style of play. A new striker without his weaknesses would mean that we could go back to what we do best. I won't be satisfied with putting Walcott up there as he hasn't proven anything in a central role and no one knows if he can even stay fit.

Coquelin is great but the second he gets injured, we're down to Flamini/Arteta who are nowhere near good enough. I know fans like to think we're set in midfield but if those two start for any extended length of time then we are in major trouble.

3. Where do Arsenal improve now?

We might have a big squad but I really think we need to ship out 2 or 3 good to great players to bring in a world class player. For example I would gladly sell Giroud, Welbeck and send Sanogo on loan to bring in Benzema. Similarly I would get rid of Flamini, Arteta and Cazorla if it meant we got a DM. Our squad has too many players as it is. I'm hoping Gabriel comes good so I would leave the defence as is.

Anything less and we're finishing 4th again at best. We're a good team but we need a few additions to put us over the top or at the very least get someone in addition to Coquelin. There are rumors that Arteta won't even play again so we must get someone in. None of our other midfielders have a defensive bone in their body.


4. How good is Sanchez?

The best player at the club and one of the best in England.

I'm not really sure how this comes across but I'm not saying that we have a terrible squad, far from it. I just don't want to see a scenario where on September 3rd Coquelin tears his ACL in training and is out for the rest of the season. Which would lead to Flamini starting or playing three Attacking midfielders in any given match leaving our defense exposed.

That scenario isn't even overly pessimistic, someone at Arsenal is always out for the better part of the season.

It used to be Van Persie, then Rosicky, followed by Ramsey (leg break) and then Wilshere. This year Arteta hasn't played a game since November and Chamberlain has been out for a while as well. I don't want us to lose the league title because we failed to do everything in our power to prepare for the season ahead.
 
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Archie Leach said:
A DM. Coq's been good but if he has a bad run of form or injury, Arteta and Flamini aren't going to cut it. Also need competition for him so he doesn't get complacent. He's only done it for six months.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't write off Arteta so easily. He had a bad last season because of injury but looks to be fully fit now.
 

Il Prete Rosso

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ADJUDICATOR said:
1. With Cech arriving any day now, how good is that signing?
It's a very good signing. Cech gives them a wealth of experience, far better command over the boxand less mistakes to do with handling and general goalkeeping skills. The only worry might be if he is too used to having a deep-line defence in front of him to adapt to Arsenal's variant. Cech boasts a lot of fine performances in Europe too, which will no doubt be a welcome sight.

2. Can Arsenal challenge?
It's not quite reached the "this is their year" stage due to Chelsea's strong setup and efficient conquering of the league last year, but yes, they can challenge. They'll need a few top additions to be in with a serious chance, but at the very least they have a settled manager, settled spine, are without problems concerning unrest/pressure to succeed, and are not in need an overhaul of personnel. They have a great manager in Wenger, and the Manchester Clubs have a lot more internal problems to worry about, so I'd be surprised if they weren't top three come May.

3. Where do Arsenal improve now?
Their fullback situation seems okay for now, but they'll need a defensive partner for Koscielny. Wenger is a stingy guy, but I think he should be willing to break the bank for the likes of Otamendi/Laporte etc to make sure Koscielny has a very capable partner who also has to potential to be world class. I could see them maybe nipping in for Bartra at a slashed price. They also need a deep-lying midfielder or holding midfielder to challenge Coquelin, seeing as though they have no good options if he decides to bugger up. They've needed a top striker for years now, but I question Wenger's resolve to solve that problem.

4. How good is Sanchez?
He's their only Champions League level attacker.
Click to expand...

His past few transfer windows suggests he's becoming a bit looser with his budget.
 
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