14 Jun 2017 03:00:07
Ok so have been looking at some stats on whoscored.com and these are the players I would like to see Arsenal go after to improve the team until next season. Maybe not the sexiest list in terms of household name, superstar, galacticos but I think reasonably realistic and who I genuinly believe would improve the squad. Also put in the players I think should move on.

Out: Ospina, Gibbs, Debuchy, Jenkinson, Wilshire, Elneny (basically a poor man's Xhaka) , Coquelin, Walcott, Campbell, Perez and either Giroud or Welbeck (Three players vying for one striker position is unrealistic, and we all want a new striker)

Players are ranked after my preference.

Goalie:
Keep Szczesny. If juve thinks he's a worthy successor to a legend like Buffon, that just says it all doesn't it.

Full backs:
- Benjamin Heinrichs - Bayer Leverkusen. He's young, can play on both sides, great tackler and interceptor
- Riccardo Pereira - Nice. Can also play on both sides, also good tackler and the best going forward of these three.
- Emerson - Roma. Plays on the left, very difficult to beat 1vs1; he gets dribbled past 0,3 times a game (compared to Monreals 1,4)

Centre halfs:
- Yeray Alvarez - Athletic Club. Outperforms or equals teammate Aymeric Laporte in every defensive stat except fouls given away.
- Fredrik Sörensen - FC Cologne. Quite similar stats to Alvarez, but just not quite as good.


DM:
- Idrissa Gueye - Everton. He's stats compared to Kanté during last season are better in terms of defense, their offensive contributions are basically identical, albeit Gueye's pass completion is ever so slightly worse but that could be explained by teams being more likely to press Everton higher up the pitch than Chelsea.
- Marcos Llorente - Real Madrid. Was loaned out to Alavés last season and helped the newly promoted side reach a ninth place finish. His stats are overall very close to those of Gueye. However he's young and unproven in the Premier League so wouldn't be a given that the performances would transfer.
- Dominik Kohr - Augsburg. Not as good on the ball but would also be a good defensive improvement compared to the current dm alternatives at the club.

Midfielder:
- Jean Michael Seri - Nice. I think he would be brilliant in terms of filling that midfield role next to the DM Cazorla does so well in.

AM:
- Kerem Demirbay - Hoffenheim. No Özil but if he leaves, and knowing Arsenal is unlikely to pay the money required for the likes of james rodriguez etc, I think this guy could do well.
- Nabil Fekir - Lyon. Same reason as above.
- Ross Barkley - Everton. Only last because it seems quite unrealistic.

Wingers:
- Emil Forsberg - RB Leipzig. I'm not partial because he's swedish, in fact I have always considered him way overrated but with 19 assists i Bundesliga I guess I owe due credit and Arsenal sorely need another pointscoring winger, especially if Sanchez do leave.
- Thomas Lemar - Monaco. 2nd choice since he'd probably be more expensive, but just like Forsberg he produces points whereas Walcott and the Ox often feel like dead weight when they play.

Striker:
Timo Werner - RB Leizig. Like everyone I'd ideally want Arsenal to sign someone like Aubameyang, Lacazette or Belotti etc but that just seems are unlikely (except maybe, perhaps, potentially Lacazette) . Werner is just 21 so will get better and did very well last season scoring 21 goals in the Bundesliga.

1.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 07:43:19
So basically you want to replace half of the squad. might work on XBox☺.

2.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 08:34:57
I see your attempt to pick players who are achievable but I think you've gone a bit OTT on stats as they are about as reliable as picking a horse by its name, if not Giroud would be worth 80 million.
Szczesney has said repeatedly he will not return to Arsenal under Arsene so that too is a no go.
Who would buy the Ox on stats? And who would play him at right wing back if they relied on stats?
Stats are like CVs and you wouldn't give someone a job based 100% on what you read about them.
A much more reliable guide is knowledge and forming an opinion of what a player can currently deliver and having the foresight to see what they might be capable of either in there current position or else where.

3.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 10:36:58
I probably didn't make that clear but of course I know it's unrealistic all those players would leave but in terms of their contribution and the unbalanced and oversized nature of the squad. There's two pseudo-dm's that aren't dm's in Xhaka and Elneny and Coquelin who actually is a dm just not a good enough one, there's just too many players of somewhat too low quality.

Also aware Arsenal won't get more than two or a maximum three more signings bearing in mind Kolasinac has already been joined. Probably someone who can play as striker and/ or out wide, a midfielder but probably not the defensive one that is needed and perhaps a goalie if both Ospina and Szczesney leave; so I'm aware that me listing the DM's, fullbacks, centrehalves and attacking midfielders I'd hope to see at the club was almost certainly a waste of time. But it's not like I'm expecting anything to come out of doing it other than see who everyone else would like to see us try to get other than the likes of Lacazette etc that are all over the papers.

G62 - Giroud surely aren't worth anything near that statistically because statistically compared to Agüero, Kane and Costa (even checked 15/ 16 season when he started more games just to make a fair assessment) he is just less than. He takes less shots, is less involved in the game with fewer avg passes, of which he misses more than 30% despite making fewer key passes, ie those that are more likely to actually lead to a goal, he does get dispossessed less often but that is likely to be because he dribbles past very few opponents, and doesn't attempt to as much as the others.

Maybe you're thinking of his goals per min ratio, but that's just cherry picking.

Stats and CV's seems a poor comparison since the former is performance data whereas a CV in the end is someone's self-advertisement fashioned to get them a job and so can't e relied on to be as objective.

Naturally you need to complement with scouting and assessing the players character etc but overall I think football could get better at looking at stats, but then I don't know how much it's being used today so maybe I'm incorrect.

4.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 12:01:18
I like the thinking and agree.

We need to have a "money-ball" approach. Unfortunately, we need to not make the mistakes of Liverpool, where they were over paying for average household-ish names.

The biggest problem is, can Wenger act fast enough.

He did well with the LB. Now he needs to show intent (not wait on departures) .

5.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 14:11:37
Giroud is important to us as he can offer us another dimension in attack. If we play more directly rather than pass sideways, we might get more goal from him. Though he spurns chances, he is quality and an excellent player at times.

6.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 16:42:28
Hi Swedish mate you are right CV and statistics was a poor comparison.
But what were Harry kanes stats before Poch put him in the fist 11 starting line up?
He couldn't get in the Norwich team he season before his breakthrough but just a few months into the next season and, well as they say the rest is history :-)
Henry was a winger before joining us and Petit a centre back it was statics that got them the chance to play in a world cup final it was Arsene knowledge and foresight into what they could be not what they had been previously.

7.) 14 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 20:43:46
Great post Swedish.

8.) 15 Jun 2017
15 Jun 2017 01:32:15
Billy - agree about Kolasinac, looks like a fighter that might come in with some much needed winning mentality, hopefully won't put up with the rest putting in all those half hearted performances.

Cruzzz - agreed, personally I'd like him to stay but after what he's said it seems it wouldn't come as a surprise if he left in the case a striker is bought. I know I was hard on Giroud but he for sure has his qualities.

Thinking about it, the fact that he's so prolific when coming of the bench could perhaps be the result of the team playing differently when he comes on and really play to his strengths. Whereas when he starts it's the default Wenger mode of possession and just trying to wear the opposition down, and when that doesn't work Giroud has most likely not had a good game so he's subbed of when the game plan is adjusted.

g62 - No but I did get you, and I agree, you can't go by the stats exclusively because it's still people so you also have to factor in mentality and the dynamics of the group, style of play etc.

Harry Kane wasn't recruited by Poch so that's also quite different because when it comes to giving young players a chance you naturally don't have the same opportunity to assess previous performances. It's also a testament to the fact that a player needs to be in the right environment and in a team that plays in a way that let's them prosper. Look at Mahrez before Ranieri, basically a fringe player, Falcao when he was in England, Gnabry at West Brom.

I know, but if I'm not incorrect Henry wasn't bought specifically as a striker that came later and I'd assume the same goes for Petit. So of course you need a manager with the vision and instinct for seeing that players might do even better in another position. To me that just seems separate from the recruitment though.

9.) 15 Jun 2017
15 Jun 2017 01:38:26
Btw anyone see sky sports yesterday? "Tottenham considering Ricardo Pereira as potential replacement for Kyle Walker" Might have been on to something lol.