Non-Chelsea Transfer Pub

[Special Juan 27,439]

Arsenal I would of thought, but that club operates with it's balls in it's mouth so probably not.

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

Jackson Martinez's agent says someone paid the release clause of 35m Euros, wonder who. Arsenal, Valencia or Milan, as it looks.

Probably Milan, read that Galliani has arrived in Portugal last night to conclude the deal. And he will try to sign Brahimi as well.

[didierforever 7,349]

Please name me one player from Arsenal's starting eleven who is better than Chelsea's?

Maybe their depth is better, but that's all. Just my opinion.

exactly

courtois/cech vs ospina/sczesny

iva vs belerin

GC vs per

JT vs kos

azpi vs gibbs/monreal

matic vs coq

cesc vs ramsey

hazard vs sanchez

oscar vs ozil

willian vs cazorla

costa vs giroud

except for "oscar v ozi" - there is not a single match up that arsenal can win. whats worse is, arsenal have a "far better squad"... ya sure, thats why they ended up 12 points behind us.

[Rhino's Skin 972]

exactly

courtois/cech vs ospina/sczesny

iva vs belerin

GC vs per

JT vs kos

azpi vs gibbs/monreal

matic vs coq

cesc vs ramsey

hazard vs sanchez

oscar vs ozil

willian vs cazorla

costa vs giroud

except for "oscar v ozi" - there is not a single match up that arsenal can win. whats worse is, arsenal have a "far better squad"... ya sure, thats why they ended up 12 points behind us.

whilst I agree with profile, matching player for player is pointless considering the teams are generally set up to play in different ways

[BlueLyon 9,359]

exactly

courtois/cech vs ospina/sczesny

iva vs belerin

GC vs per

JT vs kos

azpi vs gibbs/monreal

matic vs coq

cesc vs ramsey

hazard vs sanchez

oscar vs ozil

willian vs cazorla

costa vs giroud

except for "oscar v ozi" - there is not a single match up that arsenal can win. whats worse is, arsenal have a "far better squad"... ya sure, thats why they ended up 12 points behind us.

I would go this way

Courtois

Iva-Kos-Jt-Azpi

Matic-Cesc

Alexis-Cazorla-Hazard

That makes 8 vs 3.

With Coquelin, bellerin as backup who are young and could end up being very good. And Oscar who i have not given up yet. he is young and will have long rest finaly, he could surprise a few next season.

[Unionjack 7,531]

exactly

courtois/cech vs ospina/sczesny

iva vs belerin

GC vs per

JT vs kos

azpi vs gibbs/monreal

matic vs coq

cesc vs ramsey

hazard vs sanchez

oscar vs ozil

willian vs cazorla

costa vs giroud

except for "oscar v ozi" - there is not a single match up that arsenal can win. whats worse is, arsenal have a "far better squad"... ya sure, thats why they ended up 12 points behind us.

While I hate the gooners with a real passion they were very unlucky this season. Their Germans came back from the WC 2 weeks after Schurrle did so they were very sluggish for alot of the early season. And they had so bad luck with injuries. We couldnt of handled it with our small squad. We had enough problems sorting a striker out.

Like them or hate them they came back strong and we were just lucky to have had a big buffer built up early in the season. And if Wenger gets a few good transfers (with us helping them big time with big Pete) then I see them being a force to deal with next year.

[nadavTKL 1,787]

Mourinho talked at the BT Sport launch of their Champions League coverage, a Mail reporter who was there tweets:

"Jose Mourinho reveals he is targeting a striker, defender and midfielder in the transfer market this summer."

[Rhino's Skin 972]

Mourinho talked at the BT Sport launch of their Champions League coverage, a Mail reporter who was there tweets:

"Jose Mourinho reveals he is targeting a striker, defender and midfielder in the transfer market this summer."

but with Jose...it what he doesnt reveal is more important ;-)

[Unionjack 7,531]

Mourinho talked at the BT Sport launch of their Champions League coverage, a Mail reporter who was there tweets:

"Jose Mourinho reveals he is targeting a striker, defender and midfielder in the transfer market this summer."

I hope hes just trying to pull a Mou cause IMHO thats not enough. Thers bound to be some sells or loanaways too so whereas before he said he wanted to grow the squad to 25/26 it shall leave us the same as last season.

I'm still nervous and begining to quiver.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

Mourinho talked at the BT Sport launch of their Champions League coverage, a Mail reporter who was there tweets:

"Jose Mourinho reveals he is targeting a striker, defender and midfielder in the transfer market this summer."

Good to finally hear that from him ! Many people doubted that defender (CB) will be our target which for me is obvious ...

[didierforever 7,349]

While I hate the gooners with a real passion they were very unlucky this season. Their Germans came back from the WC 2 weeks after Schurrle did so they were very sluggish for alot of the early season. And they had so bad luck with injuries. We couldnt of handled it with our small squad. We had enough problems sorting a striker out.

Like them or hate them they came back strong and we were just lucky to have had a big buffer built up early in the season. And if Wenger gets a few good transfers (with us helping them big time with big Pete) then I see them being a force to deal with next year.

but is not it the case every year? "they had a lot of injuries", "they are just one DM short of a WC team", "they are just one CB short" , "they are jut one striker short", yada yada yada.. at the end of the day, they dont have what it takes to win a league. you need balls, grit and a lot of mental strength, none of which arsenal have. when the going is good, they look like the best team in the world. but a league is won over 38 games, half of which, you wont be at the top of the game.

not at all scared or worried about arsenal. they will find a way to lose.

[Rhino's Skin 972]

but is not it the case every year? "they had a lot of injuries", "they are just one DM short of a WC team", "they are just one CB short" , "they are jut one striker short", yada yada yada.. at the end of the day, they dont have what it takes to win a league. you need balls, grit and a lot of mental strength, none of which arsenal have. when the going is good, they look like the best team in the world. but a league is won over 38 games, half of which, you wont be at the top of the game.

not at all scared or worried about arsenal. they will find a way to lose.

just hope they keep the same training and medical regime as they always have. Its obvious there is a problem with that and Wenger is too stubborn to change his ways

[Sosuke Aizen 46]

@Unionjack

Why are you worried with what Jose has said? I am pretty satisfied with his evaluation of our needs. Combining various sources, interviews so far 2 things are crystal clear-

1. Jose acknowledges that what's not broken doesn't need fixing. This is a title winning squad. There's no need for major overhaul. The priority is to keep the players we have won the title with.

2. He is going to bring in 3 players- a defender (ideally a pacy center back), a midfielder (ideally a proper right winger) and a striker (to provide some competition and backup for Remy and Costa).

If the window goes like how Jose has said he envisions it to go, it would be a pretty good window. We would've attained depth and genuine quality on the bench or in the XI to challenge on all fronts. Let me get this straight- it is not sensible to advocate wholesome changes to any squad let alone a title winning squad. I know lots of us would designate selling Mikel, Ramires, Cuadrado, Luis and buying Reus, Schniderlin, Varane, Benteke a desirable window but that happens in FIFA only. A squad needs fringe players like Mikel and Ramires. No matter how much we would like to see 2 world class options for every position- that's never going to happen in the real world.

[Gilvorak 3,734]

Are football fans always this naive & dismissive of other teams? You think Arsenal will go on forever without challenging for the title? Throwing out baseless & cringeworthy lines like mental strength & grit is ridiculously short-sighted. They can actually keep their best players unlike a few years ago, they've went from signing average/marginal talent like Gervinho, Benayoun to World Class players like Ozil, Sanchez, it looks like they've finally found their solution in DM with Coquelin & we can no longer throw the trophyless jibes at them considering they've won trophies in successive seasons now. The only remaining question is can they keep their best players fit for long periods? If Cesc, Oscar, Costa & JT all missed large portions of the season where would we have finished exactly?

And I said better SQUAD which is undeniable. Comparing player vs player is entirely subjective & pointless, we undoubtedly have the superior names but there's no question they have the squad depth we severely lack. Ours is bare thin after the first XI which is why our starters were forced to play so many minutes while they have first XI quality players like Wilshere, Walcott, Chamberlain etc in reserve.

Like I said Jose's not stupid.

Mourinho on if Cech can join Arsenal - "My answer would be no way, but if the owner has a different answer, I have to accept".

He'll be wary of Arsenal's challenge since he's thinking with his head not heart. Handing them a World Class keeper on a platter would be idiotic. That's unless the striker, defender & midfielder we're supposedly after are Benzema, Pogba & Thiago Silva anyway.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Are football fans always this naive & dismissive of other teams? You think Arsenal will go on forever without challenging for the title? Throwing out baseless & cringeworthy lines like mental strength & grit is ridiculously short-sighted. They can actually keep their best players unlike a few years ago, they've went from signing average/marginal talent like Gervinho, Benayoun to World Class players like Ozil, Sanchez, it looks like they've finally found their solution in DM with Coquelin & we can no longer throw the trophyless jibes at them considering they've won trophies in successive seasons now. The only remaining question is can they keep their best players fit for long periods? If Cesc, Oscar, Costa & JT all missed large portions of the season where would we have finished exactly?

And I said better SQUAD which is undeniable. Comparing player vs player is entirely subjective & pointless, we undoubtedly have the superior names but there's no question they have the squad depth we severely lack. Ours is bare thin after the first XI which is why our starters were forced to play so many minutes while they have first XI quality players like Wilshere, Walcott, Chamberlain etc in reserve.

Like I said Jose's not stupid.

Mourinho on if Cech can join Arsenal - "My answer would be no way, but if the owner has a different answer, I have to accept".

He'll be wary of Arsenal's challenge since he's thinking with his head not heart. Handing them a World Class keeper on a platter would be idiotic. That's unless the striker, defender & midfielder we're supposedly after are Benzema, Pogba & Thiago Silva anyway.

Whilst I agree with the overall premise of your post, regarding Arsenal as title contenders for me is a too premature. There's only one reason I believe that, Arsene Wenger. He deserves respect as a pioneer of the game but his stubbornness will continue to be his downfall. Sure he's got the guys like Ozil & Sanchez but the buck stops there when it comes to world-class players. He'll make 1 a season to appease fans and that will never amount to a title challenge unless he retains and keeps adding every season (and on current rate, that would take another 2 years at least). But, if they change managers before then, then we'll have a problem.

You're right about Cech going there though, he's another world-class player to add to their roster and that shouldn't be taken lightly. In my eyes the club should do everything it can to prevent Petr going to Arsenal or any PL rival to be honest.

[Madmax 9,219]

Even if we're take the guy's tweet at face value, "a defender" could merely be a replacement for Luis.

[Sheva. 5,373]

2. He is going to bring in 3 players- a defender (ideally a pacy center back), a midfielder (ideally a proper right winger) and a striker (to provide some competition and backup for Remy and Costa).

I think midfielder will be a CM. If he wanted a wide player, he would have said winger instead.

[Unionjack 7,531]

@Unionjack

Why are you worried with what Jose has said? I am pretty satisfied with his evaluation of our needs. Combining various sources, interviews so far 2 things are crystal clear-

1. Jose acknowledges that what's not broken doesn't need fixing. This is a title winning squad. There's no need for major overhaul. The priority is to keep the players we have won the title with.

2. He is going to bring in 3 players- a defender (ideally a pacy center back), a midfielder (ideally a proper right winger) and a striker (to provide some competition and backup for Remy and Costa).

If the window goes like how Jose has said he envisions it to go, it would be a pretty good window. We would've attained depth and genuine quality on the bench or in the XI to challenge on all fronts. Let me get this straight- it is not sensible to advocate wholesome changes to any squad let alone a title winning squad. I know lots of us would designate selling Mikel, Ramires, Cuadrado, Luis and buying Reus, Schniderlin, Varane, Benteke a desirable window but that happens in FIFA only. A squad needs fringe players like Mikel and Ramires. No matter how much we would like to see 2 world class options for every position- that's never going to happen in the real world.

We may not be broken but we do have a couple of bad sprains in places. We may be a winning team but one that a couple of upgrades wouldnt hurt at all. You say that having 2 world class players for every position doesnt happen in the real world. Why? Maybe not every position but a couple of strikers pushing each other (specially one with dodgy legs) would be great. As for us needing Mikel and Ramires then you have them cause I dont want them. They have had a few good times with us which I thank them for but if we want to progress in Europe we really do need to get rid of some waste.

I realize we dont have the magnetism of United/Barca/RM/BM even dare I say Gooners and Juve but we got a few quid in the bank so why not spend a bit to boister the 1st team instead of more kids and ones to go straight onto the loanagoround. Im not saying to rebuild from scratch but if you say we dont need to upgrade some players I will call you bonkers.