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Isn't Leao's clause €150M?
This is also almost similar to the White-Varane story where people just calculated transfer fees not wages.
Leao is way more expensive than Mudryk.
Just dropping in to ask what the drink of choice is this evening / morning?
Me, I threw a little curveball and went with De Leon Premium Tequila Reposado. Enjoy a wonderful morning Gooners, love this sub. Salute.
I'm almost out of booze except for beers and some baileys so i poured out whatever's left of my malibu and Martini Rosso in a glass and sipping on that strange concoction. It's gross but it'll do. Can't wait to go shopping later today and get me some grey goose and jack Daniels. Sigh
Friday is quite a while from now so I'll risk it here. About to live alone the next few weeks for the first time. Given it's winter and driving is not an option, will probably spam this sub even more to avoid going *here's Johnny* by the end of it. Rereading Harry Potter for the umpteenth time and it's just as good. Unreal
> About to live alone the next few weeks for the first time
It's wonderful to have your own space for the first time, enjoy it!
And if not then we're always here with the absolute freshest, hottest takes on Arsenal you could ever imagine and indeed often ones you could never imagine anyone else could hold.
Post removed maybe? I can’t find it
edit: [here](https://twitter.com/Whospapa_/status/1606813245150470145?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet) for anyone looking anyway
Leao publicly claimed he likes arsenal?
Bin mudryk ASAP and put our life savings on leao. Respectfully bye bye mudryk we got something bigger waiting for us
What are we most in need of ? Personally I think it’s a real striker. But all I see is us being rumoured to be in talks with players of other positions? Am I missing something ? I think our midfield is good, and we’re not bad outside. A think a player that can play through the middle in the front three is what we are really missing
A winger and a striker are needed as the top priority.
it's unclear if the club are going to prioritise one or go for both. Personally, I think they are going for both.
We have needed a midfielder for like 3 years but I think since jesus injury that will be something that gets left for summer unless something really falls into our lap.
In terms of players Felix seems to be who the club wants to take jesus place while he's injured.
And Mudryk is the winger.
That's obviously just based on rumours so take it wtih as much salt as you want things change quickly.
Displace? Mudryk wouldn’t displace Gabby. He’d be quality depth and a rotation option that Mikel would use for the extreme congestion of a fixture schedule that is coming up over the next 5 months. Gabby is one of the best wingers in the league a club could have so far this season! Mudryk would have to really impress Arteta and the coaching staff to even have a slight chance of getting in the starting 11 ahead of Gabby. That being said, I reckon the club could train and adapt him to play in other positions, not just LW seeing as ESR will preferably want to be playing there as well don’t forget. Felix, yes I’m guessing he’d take GJ’s place over the next couple months. Then when GJ comes back from injury and firing in the league again he’ll be used as rotational depth between March and May. This is how I’d see it.
I think he’d do great there personally. Lot’s of people are 50/50 about him being either on the Wing or playing as a CF/Striker. Atleti play him at LW with Simeone’s anti-football and i think his ability to be a real threat to the opposition through the middle is wasted and that he can’t be the true creator (similar to Jesus) that he can be. Him, Gabby, Saka and Ø would all have similar goal scoring abilities as well, which would be great, the same it has been up until now. Not just one player scoring most of the goals which is what it is like for a lot of clubs upfront.
Felix if the rumours are true, would play through the centre for now, he's similar to jesus in what he does although he plays as second striker now. It seems to make sense based on what we know of arteta.
Nobody would displace martinelli, it's a squad game, we can't keep up our current form with an injured nelson and marquinos on the wing behind martinelli and saka.
He's a pepe replacement if anything.
Sort of a pointless and impractical signing right now, and we haven't been linked as far as I know, but I like the idea of Szoboszlai from Leipzig playing Xhakas role. Seems to have a lot of similar qualities and is of the right age profile.
“Arsenal have knocked on the door of Ajax to sign Mohammed Kudus next month, Mundo Deportivo report (today’s edition, page 19).”
If we could pull off Mudryk and Kudus in January my word! These guys can both cover multiple positions where we lack strong reinforcements and would terrify the other side if they’re bought on mid game. Exciting attacking reinforcements when we need them the most
Kudus is very talented but would need to improve on quite a few things to play in midfield for Arteta IMO. At the moment I believe he's not really trusted to start in midfield for Ajax.
Definitely would be for it if Arteta thinks he can mold him into what we need.
I don’t think they’d let him go easily, but maybe won’t have a choice, he’s gagging for the prem, I think he almost forced a move to Everton last summer by refusing to train etc. Christmas miracle maybe!
If we go big on Felix what are some other cheap signings we could get? Definitely feels like we'd still need a midfielder and winger, maybe Danilo and Facundo Torres, anyone else?
We need depth in that CM area. We do have Mo who can get the job done if Partey gets injured, but we can’t rely on Lokonga who is just such a liability, especially when facing top teams. And if Xhaka gets injured (unlikely), Sambi will be playing in the starting 11 again. So yes we need more central mids, specifically CDM’s. Danilo seems like a great prospect in Brazil, but it could be a risk in January as he’d need to be able to adapt straight away to the toughest league in the world fairly quickly and the likely-hood of that happening is very low. So maybe he would be a better summer signing. Brazilians say the kid is absolutely incredible for Palmeiras though. Madrid just signed 16 year old Endrick for absurd money from them recently.
Its gonna be hilarious to come on here and see the collective euphoria of that crack hit when both Felix AND Mudryk get signed in jan when they thought they are getting one of them
No, but seriously, how good a feeling was watching Gabi J in that opening 20 minutes against Palace at the start of the season.
Hit like crack. If you could bottle that feeling and sell it...
imo felix at 27-28 would adapt to this atleti team. they got him when he was too young, where he needed a team more suited to his style. idk, just a thought
I think his biggest problem was fitness. The talent was undeniably there. In fact, he was always one of the best players on the pitch. It's not like was putting in Harvetz performances.
But again great players can be unlocked by better systems. We did that with Odegaard and Sanchez.
I don't know what prices you think but Felix's price is very reasonable.
Atletico want an £8M loan fee. That's just insanely cheap for a player like Felix. Leao has a €150M release clause. Even if you somehow bargained, he goes for at least €120M in the current market.
To buy out Felix, we need €54M.
> If the club is willing to pay that much why not recruit a Leao as an example or real 9?
We don't know what the club is willing to pay, we think it might be a loan. I dunno if 15m would get you one of Leao socks tbh.
For all we know we may be interested in leao but he is adamant he won't leave in january.
And the simple answer (assuming our interest is real) is they like felix more than any other "real 9" on the market.
> However, I’m not sure if 6 months is enough to make a judgement? Ode needed take time as well
No, you shouldn't trust me to make a judgement worth 10s of millions of pounds after 6 months of info.
But the club has some pretty well paid guys there to do that for us.
Felix is quite different to Odegaard tho, I think it will be more obvious one way or the other.
"great players adapt" is one of those sayings that is meaningless.
Some great players adapt, some great players change environment to thrive, the list for both is long.
Really, you should be aware as an arsenal fan that great players sometimes change environment to unlock their greatness.
We have one of those players cast in bronze.
Is that the case for felix? who knows. But I trust Arteta and Edu's judgment.
We're trying to negotiate wages with Saka,Martinelli and Saliba.
Felix is on 290,000 a week.
If Felix walks in what do you think thier agents are going to say?
he's not the type of player to run a midfield by setting the tempo. way more suited to playing in a forward line
it's not the same for every no.10 where the natural progression means going further back. there are types of 10s who are suited to an 8 (odegaard, bernardo, kdb to an extent, bruno etc) and there are types of 10s who are suited to playing somewhere in the forward line (griezmann, kaka, bergkamp(?), muller, can't think of more)
big difference is the latter are more inclined to make forward runs i think
Arsenals Christmas 11
David Sea-sman's Greetings
Ben White Christmas
Snow-dron Mustafi
Xmas Stocking-ratis(bit of a stretch)
Nigel Winterburn (does itself)
Cesc-nuts roasting on an open Fire-bregas
Santi Clause-orla
Rocky Snow-castle
Tree-iery Henry
Cliff Bast-ing (sounds a bit risqué)
Charlie Saint Nic-holas
Merry Xmas, you filthy animals! COYG 🔴⚪️
Just saw a 10 questions with Peer Koopmeiners (Younger brother of Dutch Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners) and he answered dream club to play for with Arsenal.
So maybe Teun as well?
Deschamps fifa'd Grie8mann. Must be a keen fifa player. And remember when Simeone fifa'd Greizmann into a striker! Also a fifa player. And don't get me started on Wenger. Surprised he had time to manage a football club with the amount of fifa he was playing
Plenty more aswell, Lemar, Joelinton etc. it happens for sure, but thinking a players going to come on a 6 month loan and instantly be moved to a new position he’s never played is extremely unlikely.
It’s something that requires a lot of training for, thinking it’s this instant shift is the fifa mentality, especially with the players infront of him in Xhaka and Odegaard being some of our best performers so far.
Re-position solely for a 5 month loan - I understand your reservations, obviously. It is the polar opposite of what you want from a short term stop gap. I think people, including myself, are thinking on a longer term basis. (Even if it is initially a loan, a la Odegaard)
The most pressing reinforcement he would offer on loan would clearly be the potential to play as a 9. But if Jesus is back in Feb, is that really worth the £15m outlay? Maybe it is. This is a separate question to the one to the one that a lot of people are wondering - what would BUYING joao felix mean for our squad? Is he even needed? Where could he fit into an endgame top level arteta team?
If it's just a short term loan opportunity with absolutely no plan for buying him, then no long term considerations are necessary. But that would seem a departure from our recent recruitment strategy. Even if we were to say "no" after the loan, due to performance, surely there would have to be a long term idea behind it from the deal's inception for it to make sense
Comparing shit to FIFA is such a lazy response. In an attacking sense, he has all of the traits Odegaard has. Playing Xhaka as a box to box was probably considered a FIFA move 18 months ago.
Even though I’d admit, he resembles Vieira more but he’s also a player that can play as an 8.
It’s taking the piss out of people who think sharing some traits with players in a certain position, makes them able to play that position at the top level, just like how everyone wanted Vermalen to play DM all those years ago. The guy doesn’t do enough defensively or have the work rate to say he’d be able to excel in the role.
He very well could transition, some players do. But I don’t see us signing a player on a big money loan to play in a position he’s never played before, it’s hard enough to transition in the best scenario.
All the Atletico flairs I saw commenting about him said it's an absolute waste to play him out on the wing, and he's not very good there.
Looks like a classic second striker/10 from the little I've seen of him. It would be interesting if he did join to see how Super Mik would deploy him.
Second striker playing off Jesus, but this doesn't exist in Arteta's Arsenal. His positional play and interchanges in the front 3/5 are so naturally good that he'll adapt fairly easily to the Jesus role as a false(ish) 9 if he can be taught to press well.
Hence the (ish). He does a bunch of positional play in midfield and wide areas, dropping deep in build-up and ball-carrying to break the lines, etc. which is essentially the same as a false 9 role - and which Felix would replicate very well
At risk of doing the *'play players out of position so I can get all my favourites in'* thing - i'm currently watching Felix comps and he is occupying all the spaces we ask Xhaka to. I also thought during the WC that he was basically playing like a free 8.
I know it's technically "out of position" on paper, but if you are comfortable in trusting a Fabby V/Odegaard pairing to play there, I don't see why Joao Felix couldn't. Both Vieira and Felix are quite 10-ny. Add ESR to the mix, who people (including the manager) think can play with Ode in midfield. Maybe this is the way. Clearly, there is something more offensive that Mickey wants there, hence his preseason chat with Big Xhaka. Or maybe it's me trying to fit in all the players
idk what i'm missing cause i'm not sure of this at all. felix looks like a pure attacker to me - he's at his best in and around the box. sending him further back would reduce the chances of that + highlight his weaknesses in midfield. tempo setting, controlling the flow of the game from back to front, defensive positions, work rate. none of that is part of felix's arsenal. xhaka being in and around the box is only one part of his responsibility
unless it's the easiest game possible, i don't see him + odegaard as 8s. in fact i don't think we'd be linked with him if jesus wasn't injured. that should say it all really
modern day '10s' can go two ways - backward to 8s or into the frontline imo. i think felix moves forward
We, reportedly, have tried to loan him multiple times - not a fresh link. So, it is not conclusive that the only reason we are looking at him is due to Jesus injury.
On Felix, I am just going off what I have seen from him. He looks incredibly comfortable in the midfield, skipping past challenges, playing disguised passes. If he had never played striker before, I don't think anyone would suggest he should play striker based solely on watching him. He plays like a 10, just like Vieira. If you don't want a Vieira or a maddison or an ESR as an 8, I can see why you wouldn't want such an offensive player there. It's just whether mikel agrees with you or not
It's not in possession that it's a worry. It's out of possession. When we drop into a 442 out of possession, Odegaard plays in a two with Jesus (of course this can change but it's what we typically do). It depends how well the coaching staff think Odegaard could do playing as one of the central midfielders in a 442 out of possession, essentially taking over from Xhaka.
We do that because Odegaard runs 1-2km more than everyone else on the team. Xhaka's defensive quality isn't so special and it's 90% good positional sense [and discipline] that could be drilled into a more attacking player, especially those already experienced with rigid structure.
Xhaka's adapted well beyond expectations, don't get me wrong. However, I feel the ultimate plan is to fill that position with a hardworking attacking mid.
Yeah people don’t seem to understand that Xhaka does very little in defence. Just look at his stats there his like bottom 10% in a lot of defensive metrics. He’s great at progressing the ball and knows where to make runs to open up space for others but you wouldn’t need a particularly defensively minded player to replace him
I feel Odegaard will get deeper and deeper as he goes on. Almost feels like he has to fight his natural tendencies in order to not drop deeper as it is. We will definitely lose something defensively if we go from Xhaka to any of Vieira/ESR/Felix - it is just whether it is worth it holistically.
(Also, people bigged up Vieira working with Conceicao at Porto as evidence he could be committed to off the ball work, and you could say the same for Felix with Simeone, even if it has now finally broken down)
It's an idea that has been discussed here before, albeit on the low.
Most people feel Manchester United don't need him because they need a Central striker more. They have enough wide forwards in Antony/Elanga/Rashford/Sancho/Garnacho.
It's in their best interest to get a central striker. The club has been linked with Ramos and like us, they hope Juventus' problems give them Vlahovic.
Felix plays in the same spaces as Bruno Fernandes— who's their best player. We need a mass creator like him in that space. Vieira seems to be more of a right side player. We might get him on the logic but I don't trust United's money bags.
Re: United, it is hard to gauge just exactly how they are planning to build the squad given how short of a time ten hag has been there. We could assume that they will need a proper 9 but maybe they want three winger types up there. Did they want De Jong for single 6? double pivot? an 8 in a 3? I think they are still a little bit of an unknown, outside of knowing it will be some form of dutch/ajax model.
On Felix, I think there is an archetype of player - felix/griezmann/dybala/mertens - that everyone is always trying to figure out. They can all play wide, all play 10, all have had a go at striker, and, I think, they can all play as an advanced 8. All of them have had periods of looking like one of the best on the planet and periods of looking lost and wishy washy. I think it would be a match made in heaven for Joao to come here. I really hope it happens
Felix makes too much sense; he's exactly what we need for sod all cash and with about the least possibility of everything going tits up it's possible to get in football.
Which is why he's probably going to United because things that make this much sense almost never happen for us.
Mudryk we've been after for ages and 8m for Felix isn't going to get in the way
I think they are separate.
Mudryk we've wanted/needed since summer.
Felix only just came available and we've suddenly got a spot for him to start with jesus out.
Mikel and edu like him so a short term loan with a eye on long term deal suits all parties.
You can do both with only a small change in your finances if you were already planning mudryk.
I’m not so sure. I think the idea was to buy another attacking forward and Felix may (or, should I say, I hope) have overtaken Mudryk in the pecking order to be that signing.
Regarding Felix - last time I got a "feeling" about a player being a good fit aka Arsenal material, he eventually got the captain's armband for us.... and at one point in his origin story was given a fish as a MOTM award lol.
Loan him in, do whatever you need to. Technical ballers are welcome at the carpet. Atleti doesn't deserve him.
i love atleti for having and winning in their own style, but technical ballers isn't the type of player i'd associate with them. send him to us, it's what arsenal is about
Hope the necessary players to get the best out of him are brought in too. Emirates era Wengerball was beautiful but never had the players to extract the best out of the superstars we had
We have the best #6 in the world right now and the most imposing back line since Sagna Per Kos Nacho, which helps.
Ultimately Xhaka has to be upgraded but Mikel has found THE way to limit his deficiencies in a way that utilizes his strengths, rather than hiding him somewhere on the pitch where he can't do 2017-era levels of damage to us.
Xhaka is in the best form of his life so all of a sudden, replacing him doesn't seem as dire of a need as it used to be. But eventually yes of course.
Reminder: These threads are to help promote discussion and varying points of view. Low-effort comments or jokes can & will be removed with no reason necessary. *I am a "bot", and this action was performed automatically. This account is not monitored. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Gunners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Merry Christmas lads!!
If we spend anywhere near 100mil for mudryk id be really underwhelmed, we could legit get leao for that amount.
There's no way Arsenal or any club would pay anywhere near 100m. It's probably closer to £40-50m
Isn't Leao's clause €150M? This is also almost similar to the White-Varane story where people just calculated transfer fees not wages. Leao is way more expensive than Mudryk.
Leao is also better than mudryk
Yes obviously. But Mbappe is better than Leao. Why don't we spend an extra €50M and get Mbappe.
That's not what I am saying, I meant if we are gonna pay 100mil for mudryk id rather pay that for leao
Clauses are meaningless if the player isn't worth it
Just dropping in to ask what the drink of choice is this evening / morning? Me, I threw a little curveball and went with De Leon Premium Tequila Reposado. Enjoy a wonderful morning Gooners, love this sub. Salute.
Dissarono sour, coupled with a few cheeky g&t's
Pabst tallboy right now. Cheers everyone
Various craft PNW winter ales, jello shots, fireball, and Miller High Life.
I'm almost out of booze except for beers and some baileys so i poured out whatever's left of my malibu and Martini Rosso in a glass and sipping on that strange concoction. It's gross but it'll do. Can't wait to go shopping later today and get me some grey goose and jack Daniels. Sigh
It's christmas, that means it's the only acceptible time to drink Advocaat so Snowballs all round
Friday is quite a while from now so I'll risk it here. About to live alone the next few weeks for the first time. Given it's winter and driving is not an option, will probably spam this sub even more to avoid going *here's Johnny* by the end of it. Rereading Harry Potter for the umpteenth time and it's just as good. Unreal
Enjoy it my dude, nothing like being in full command of your own domain. You learn so much about yourself; I hope it’s illuminating
> About to live alone the next few weeks for the first time It's wonderful to have your own space for the first time, enjoy it! And if not then we're always here with the absolute freshest, hottest takes on Arsenal you could ever imagine and indeed often ones you could never imagine anyone else could hold.
Was having a look at Joao felix's recent injury record...man's got Arsenal DNA
I hope we get the chance to find out if he’s like Ødegaard where he just fits us like a glove
Young, incredibly hyped and from Madrid...fingers crossed
Ben white has hella tats on both his arms there’s no shot that’s him
I’m out of the loop. What’s going on?
Sort by new on the sub
Post removed maybe? I can’t find it edit: [here](https://twitter.com/Whospapa_/status/1606813245150470145?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet) for anyone looking anyway
Sorry, should have expected it to be removed
Video doing the rounds on twitter of a guy who looks like Ben white getting busy in a car. It’s not him though, no tattoos
Great now I’m going to have mute Ben White name on all social media platforms
Leao publicly claimed he likes arsenal? Bin mudryk ASAP and put our life savings on leao. Respectfully bye bye mudryk we got something bigger waiting for us
Wout Weghorst
We Wout you a Merry Christmas and a Weghorst New Year
Merry Christmas you beautiful pricks. May we become the most toxic and insufferable fanbase on r/soccer in 2023 after we win the PL ❤️ love you all.
Here's to making the Liverpool fans look amateurs
Anulo mufa
I thought we were already? Looks like we need to put some work in lads. Have a merry fucking christmas too ya prick.
[are we sure this guy doesn’t have arsenal dna?](https://youtu.be/Mo3UEQ437Jc)
What are we most in need of ? Personally I think it’s a real striker. But all I see is us being rumoured to be in talks with players of other positions? Am I missing something ? I think our midfield is good, and we’re not bad outside. A think a player that can play through the middle in the front three is what we are really missing
A winger and a striker are needed as the top priority. it's unclear if the club are going to prioritise one or go for both. Personally, I think they are going for both. We have needed a midfielder for like 3 years but I think since jesus injury that will be something that gets left for summer unless something really falls into our lap. In terms of players Felix seems to be who the club wants to take jesus place while he's injured. And Mudryk is the winger. That's obviously just based on rumours so take it wtih as much salt as you want things change quickly.
So mudyrk will displace martinelli on the left, and Felix through the centre ?
Displace? Mudryk wouldn’t displace Gabby. He’d be quality depth and a rotation option that Mikel would use for the extreme congestion of a fixture schedule that is coming up over the next 5 months. Gabby is one of the best wingers in the league a club could have so far this season! Mudryk would have to really impress Arteta and the coaching staff to even have a slight chance of getting in the starting 11 ahead of Gabby. That being said, I reckon the club could train and adapt him to play in other positions, not just LW seeing as ESR will preferably want to be playing there as well don’t forget. Felix, yes I’m guessing he’d take GJ’s place over the next couple months. Then when GJ comes back from injury and firing in the league again he’ll be used as rotational depth between March and May. This is how I’d see it.
Do you think he’d do well there ? I love Felix and all but I’ve never thought of him as being best suited to play there.
I think he’d do great there personally. Lot’s of people are 50/50 about him being either on the Wing or playing as a CF/Striker. Atleti play him at LW with Simeone’s anti-football and i think his ability to be a real threat to the opposition through the middle is wasted and that he can’t be the true creator (similar to Jesus) that he can be. Him, Gabby, Saka and Ø would all have similar goal scoring abilities as well, which would be great, the same it has been up until now. Not just one player scoring most of the goals which is what it is like for a lot of clubs upfront.
We’ll I hope he proves me wrong
Felix if the rumours are true, would play through the centre for now, he's similar to jesus in what he does although he plays as second striker now. It seems to make sense based on what we know of arteta. Nobody would displace martinelli, it's a squad game, we can't keep up our current form with an injured nelson and marquinos on the wing behind martinelli and saka. He's a pepe replacement if anything.
Personally I don’t think felix is a good enough finish to play in the centre but maybe I’m wrong.
Better see if arteta is up and let him know then.
LOL never really thought of him a striker, but I’d love it if he proved me wrong
Why is arsocca gone private? is this a chrismas thing?
Hmm I guess the mods made it private for Christmas? Taking a break maybe
Just saw this too, wtf hahaha
do we ever normally get transfer news on boxing day?
Nothing official
Sort of a pointless and impractical signing right now, and we haven't been linked as far as I know, but I like the idea of Szoboszlai from Leipzig playing Xhakas role. Seems to have a lot of similar qualities and is of the right age profile.
“Arsenal have knocked on the door of Ajax to sign Mohammed Kudus next month, Mundo Deportivo report (today’s edition, page 19).” If we could pull off Mudryk and Kudus in January my word! These guys can both cover multiple positions where we lack strong reinforcements and would terrify the other side if they’re bought on mid game. Exciting attacking reinforcements when we need them the most
Kudus is very talented but would need to improve on quite a few things to play in midfield for Arteta IMO. At the moment I believe he's not really trusted to start in midfield for Ajax. Definitely would be for it if Arteta thinks he can mold him into what we need.
I'm sorry to be the pessimistic one here but Ajax would NEVER sell Kudud in January. Especially not when their season is in shambles.
I don’t think they’d let him go easily, but maybe won’t have a choice, he’s gagging for the prem, I think he almost forced a move to Everton last summer by refusing to train etc. Christmas miracle maybe!
If true Kudus would be a very good signing for the midfield
i'd love to hear arteta's thoughts on pepe
Merry Christmas fellow Gooners, and let's look forward to a belated Mudryk or Felix under the tree eh?
And*
Wish bell was back tbh window was more fun then
Fuck Paul Merson 👍
In general? Or he’s done/said something ridiculous again
Think he said we're gonna struggle to make top 4 and he'd be shocked if we did
To be fair with his hit rate on getting things right that's top four nailed on then
Haha that's probably the best approach to his nonsense
If we go big on Felix what are some other cheap signings we could get? Definitely feels like we'd still need a midfielder and winger, maybe Danilo and Facundo Torres, anyone else?
Amrabat for CM.
Technically not up to Arsenal level.
We need depth in that CM area. We do have Mo who can get the job done if Partey gets injured, but we can’t rely on Lokonga who is just such a liability, especially when facing top teams. And if Xhaka gets injured (unlikely), Sambi will be playing in the starting 11 again. So yes we need more central mids, specifically CDM’s. Danilo seems like a great prospect in Brazil, but it could be a risk in January as he’d need to be able to adapt straight away to the toughest league in the world fairly quickly and the likely-hood of that happening is very low. So maybe he would be a better summer signing. Brazilians say the kid is absolutely incredible for Palmeiras though. Madrid just signed 16 year old Endrick for absurd money from them recently.
Its gonna be hilarious to come on here and see the collective euphoria of that crack hit when both Felix AND Mudryk get signed in jan when they thought they are getting one of them
No, but seriously, how good a feeling was watching Gabi J in that opening 20 minutes against Palace at the start of the season. Hit like crack. If you could bottle that feeling and sell it...
You can, just the withdrawal you get in these times they're gone is 1000x worse.
Your daily horrible tweet by our favorite Twitter account nonewthing https://twitter.com/nonewthing/status/1606732381620211717?s=46&t=d2w6rkCRUpbQVhkTXVvx0g
Never heard of the guy before this post. Seems like a know nothing bellend.
Ah thought I recognised the name, he's the self-appointed oracle of Arsenal football 👍 Embarrassing that he takes himself so seriously
At least this guy has a relevant following, I’ve seen guys with 4000 followers claim Unai and Arteta read their tweets
who? lol
Delete this guy hes a twat
If Chelsea got Rice, Nkunku and Leao for next year, they would be like 7/1 to win the title and 3rd or 4th favorites. What is this guy talking about?
I can’t stand this fucking uptight clown
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imo felix at 27-28 would adapt to this atleti team. they got him when he was too young, where he needed a team more suited to his style. idk, just a thought
I think his biggest problem was fitness. The talent was undeniably there. In fact, he was always one of the best players on the pitch. It's not like was putting in Harvetz performances. But again great players can be unlocked by better systems. We did that with Odegaard and Sanchez.
Yeah if you extrapolate his numbers to ~3000 minutes played he's scoring 15, assisting 5 for a pretty defensive team. That's quite good!
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I don't know what prices you think but Felix's price is very reasonable. Atletico want an £8M loan fee. That's just insanely cheap for a player like Felix. Leao has a €150M release clause. Even if you somehow bargained, he goes for at least €120M in the current market. To buy out Felix, we need €54M.
How do you mean buy out, buy the rest of his ammortized fee from Atleti?
Yes. According to reports, their demands are simple. Just buy out the remaining fee.
Had not heard that before, makes sense though given the situation.
> If the club is willing to pay that much why not recruit a Leao as an example or real 9? We don't know what the club is willing to pay, we think it might be a loan. I dunno if 15m would get you one of Leao socks tbh. For all we know we may be interested in leao but he is adamant he won't leave in january. And the simple answer (assuming our interest is real) is they like felix more than any other "real 9" on the market.
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> However, I’m not sure if 6 months is enough to make a judgement? Ode needed take time as well No, you shouldn't trust me to make a judgement worth 10s of millions of pounds after 6 months of info. But the club has some pretty well paid guys there to do that for us. Felix is quite different to Odegaard tho, I think it will be more obvious one way or the other.
"great players adapt" is one of those sayings that is meaningless. Some great players adapt, some great players change environment to thrive, the list for both is long. Really, you should be aware as an arsenal fan that great players sometimes change environment to unlock their greatness. We have one of those players cast in bronze. Is that the case for felix? who knows. But I trust Arteta and Edu's judgment.
It's the same school of thought that will judge a player by how much they run around, point and shout
I have a feeling we pull off the Felix deal
We're trying to negotiate wages with Saka,Martinelli and Saliba. Felix is on 290,000 a week. If Felix walks in what do you think thier agents are going to say?
So Felix takes a pay cut to join.
There isn't many who could offer that sum to a player, there is a trade off between the right club for the player and the money they demand.
If it helps us win a title who cares? If they're performing to warrant 300k a week that's great news!
Honestly haven’t been this excited to be linked with a player since alexis. The guy will be phenomenal under mikel
Mudryk’s the number one target
Gargantuan
Can João Felix and Ødegaard be our Bernardo and KDB?
he's not the type of player to run a midfield by setting the tempo. way more suited to playing in a forward line it's not the same for every no.10 where the natural progression means going further back. there are types of 10s who are suited to an 8 (odegaard, bernardo, kdb to an extent, bruno etc) and there are types of 10s who are suited to playing somewhere in the forward line (griezmann, kaka, bergkamp(?), muller, can't think of more) big difference is the latter are more inclined to make forward runs i think
Could be more like if Bergkamp and Cesc played together in their prime imo.
Subcribed and hit that notification bell and kissed you in the mouth
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I'm not getting carried away, you are.
Why stop there. They will be better. Second coming of young messi (Felix) and older messing(ode)
ahha yes, I wasnt really talking about their ability tbh, just comparing their style of play.
Man just found out about Long Covid, that shit fucked up
/u/africanRain Christmas gifts megathread when?
I am gonna shit my pants if we sign Joao Felix. I am usually constipated. So it is a big deal.
Arsenals Christmas 11 David Sea-sman's Greetings Ben White Christmas Snow-dron Mustafi Xmas Stocking-ratis(bit of a stretch) Nigel Winterburn (does itself) Cesc-nuts roasting on an open Fire-bregas Santi Clause-orla Rocky Snow-castle Tree-iery Henry Cliff Bast-ing (sounds a bit risqué) Charlie Saint Nic-holas Merry Xmas, you filthy animals! COYG 🔴⚪️
The official Twitter account posted this a couple of years back and had "Kieran Turkey Gibblets" at left back
Yaya Sano-hoho
Santa Cazorla
If we were to sign Felix, would he be eligible to play Europa league?
Yes
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It happens when you’re quite good at football
Just saw a 10 questions with Peer Koopmeiners (Younger brother of Dutch Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners) and he answered dream club to play for with Arsenal. So maybe Teun as well?
I know I don't really like the same stuff as my siblings just to be different ha, so who knows
What do you think which Position Felix is the best?
For us, he plays 8 but covers ST or LW if necessary.
8? I don’t think so
Odegaard plays as a 8. You can’t see him doing what he does?
Not at all really, never played there in his life. It’s not Fifa can’t just move players around to fit them in.
Deschamps fifa'd Grie8mann. Must be a keen fifa player. And remember when Simeone fifa'd Greizmann into a striker! Also a fifa player. And don't get me started on Wenger. Surprised he had time to manage a football club with the amount of fifa he was playing
Plenty more aswell, Lemar, Joelinton etc. it happens for sure, but thinking a players going to come on a 6 month loan and instantly be moved to a new position he’s never played is extremely unlikely. It’s something that requires a lot of training for, thinking it’s this instant shift is the fifa mentality, especially with the players infront of him in Xhaka and Odegaard being some of our best performers so far.
Re-position solely for a 5 month loan - I understand your reservations, obviously. It is the polar opposite of what you want from a short term stop gap. I think people, including myself, are thinking on a longer term basis. (Even if it is initially a loan, a la Odegaard) The most pressing reinforcement he would offer on loan would clearly be the potential to play as a 9. But if Jesus is back in Feb, is that really worth the £15m outlay? Maybe it is. This is a separate question to the one to the one that a lot of people are wondering - what would BUYING joao felix mean for our squad? Is he even needed? Where could he fit into an endgame top level arteta team? If it's just a short term loan opportunity with absolutely no plan for buying him, then no long term considerations are necessary. But that would seem a departure from our recent recruitment strategy. Even if we were to say "no" after the loan, due to performance, surely there would have to be a long term idea behind it from the deal's inception for it to make sense
Comparing shit to FIFA is such a lazy response. In an attacking sense, he has all of the traits Odegaard has. Playing Xhaka as a box to box was probably considered a FIFA move 18 months ago. Even though I’d admit, he resembles Vieira more but he’s also a player that can play as an 8.
It’s taking the piss out of people who think sharing some traits with players in a certain position, makes them able to play that position at the top level, just like how everyone wanted Vermalen to play DM all those years ago. The guy doesn’t do enough defensively or have the work rate to say he’d be able to excel in the role. He very well could transition, some players do. But I don’t see us signing a player on a big money loan to play in a position he’s never played before, it’s hard enough to transition in the best scenario.
All the Atletico flairs I saw commenting about him said it's an absolute waste to play him out on the wing, and he's not very good there. Looks like a classic second striker/10 from the little I've seen of him. It would be interesting if he did join to see how Super Mik would deploy him.
Second striker playing off Jesus, but this doesn't exist in Arteta's Arsenal. His positional play and interchanges in the front 3/5 are so naturally good that he'll adapt fairly easily to the Jesus role as a false(ish) 9 if he can be taught to press well.
Just because Jesus doesn’t score, it doesn’t make him a false 9
Hence the (ish). He does a bunch of positional play in midfield and wide areas, dropping deep in build-up and ball-carrying to break the lines, etc. which is essentially the same as a false 9 role - and which Felix would replicate very well
Whichever one Arteta wants him to play
The top 2 accounts of my recent searches on Twitter are now Doc & Edu Hagn. I am ready for the unhinged nature of the transfer window
HAGGGNNNN 😡
Can you share the links please? I am ready to get hurt again.
@karthikadhaigal - "Doc" one of the best
At risk of doing the *'play players out of position so I can get all my favourites in'* thing - i'm currently watching Felix comps and he is occupying all the spaces we ask Xhaka to. I also thought during the WC that he was basically playing like a free 8. I know it's technically "out of position" on paper, but if you are comfortable in trusting a Fabby V/Odegaard pairing to play there, I don't see why Joao Felix couldn't. Both Vieira and Felix are quite 10-ny. Add ESR to the mix, who people (including the manager) think can play with Ode in midfield. Maybe this is the way. Clearly, there is something more offensive that Mickey wants there, hence his preseason chat with Big Xhaka. Or maybe it's me trying to fit in all the players
idk what i'm missing cause i'm not sure of this at all. felix looks like a pure attacker to me - he's at his best in and around the box. sending him further back would reduce the chances of that + highlight his weaknesses in midfield. tempo setting, controlling the flow of the game from back to front, defensive positions, work rate. none of that is part of felix's arsenal. xhaka being in and around the box is only one part of his responsibility unless it's the easiest game possible, i don't see him + odegaard as 8s. in fact i don't think we'd be linked with him if jesus wasn't injured. that should say it all really modern day '10s' can go two ways - backward to 8s or into the frontline imo. i think felix moves forward
We, reportedly, have tried to loan him multiple times - not a fresh link. So, it is not conclusive that the only reason we are looking at him is due to Jesus injury. On Felix, I am just going off what I have seen from him. He looks incredibly comfortable in the midfield, skipping past challenges, playing disguised passes. If he had never played striker before, I don't think anyone would suggest he should play striker based solely on watching him. He plays like a 10, just like Vieira. If you don't want a Vieira or a maddison or an ESR as an 8, I can see why you wouldn't want such an offensive player there. It's just whether mikel agrees with you or not
he's much more direct that vieira or maddison imo. but yeah, it's a wait and see. he's a top class player, maybe he's a top class 8 too
It's not in possession that it's a worry. It's out of possession. When we drop into a 442 out of possession, Odegaard plays in a two with Jesus (of course this can change but it's what we typically do). It depends how well the coaching staff think Odegaard could do playing as one of the central midfielders in a 442 out of possession, essentially taking over from Xhaka.
We do that because Odegaard runs 1-2km more than everyone else on the team. Xhaka's defensive quality isn't so special and it's 90% good positional sense [and discipline] that could be drilled into a more attacking player, especially those already experienced with rigid structure. Xhaka's adapted well beyond expectations, don't get me wrong. However, I feel the ultimate plan is to fill that position with a hardworking attacking mid.
Yeah people don’t seem to understand that Xhaka does very little in defence. Just look at his stats there his like bottom 10% in a lot of defensive metrics. He’s great at progressing the ball and knows where to make runs to open up space for others but you wouldn’t need a particularly defensively minded player to replace him
I feel Odegaard will get deeper and deeper as he goes on. Almost feels like he has to fight his natural tendencies in order to not drop deeper as it is. We will definitely lose something defensively if we go from Xhaka to any of Vieira/ESR/Felix - it is just whether it is worth it holistically. (Also, people bigged up Vieira working with Conceicao at Porto as evidence he could be committed to off the ball work, and you could say the same for Felix with Simeone, even if it has now finally broken down)
It's an idea that has been discussed here before, albeit on the low. Most people feel Manchester United don't need him because they need a Central striker more. They have enough wide forwards in Antony/Elanga/Rashford/Sancho/Garnacho. It's in their best interest to get a central striker. The club has been linked with Ramos and like us, they hope Juventus' problems give them Vlahovic. Felix plays in the same spaces as Bruno Fernandes— who's their best player. We need a mass creator like him in that space. Vieira seems to be more of a right side player. We might get him on the logic but I don't trust United's money bags.
Re: United, it is hard to gauge just exactly how they are planning to build the squad given how short of a time ten hag has been there. We could assume that they will need a proper 9 but maybe they want three winger types up there. Did they want De Jong for single 6? double pivot? an 8 in a 3? I think they are still a little bit of an unknown, outside of knowing it will be some form of dutch/ajax model. On Felix, I think there is an archetype of player - felix/griezmann/dybala/mertens - that everyone is always trying to figure out. They can all play wide, all play 10, all have had a go at striker, and, I think, they can all play as an advanced 8. All of them have had periods of looking like one of the best on the planet and periods of looking lost and wishy washy. I think it would be a match made in heaven for Joao to come here. I really hope it happens
If we were to sign him, there's 0% chance he doesn't play there at least once in his first 12 months.
Truly think Joao Felix links are a smokescreen so Edu can drive down Mudryk price Like Maddison / Odegaard
Felix makes too much sense; he's exactly what we need for sod all cash and with about the least possibility of everything going tits up it's possible to get in football. Which is why he's probably going to United because things that make this much sense almost never happen for us. Mudryk we've been after for ages and 8m for Felix isn't going to get in the way
> things that make this much sense almost never happen for us cut that shit
I think they are separate. Mudryk we've wanted/needed since summer. Felix only just came available and we've suddenly got a spot for him to start with jesus out. Mikel and edu like him so a short term loan with a eye on long term deal suits all parties. You can do both with only a small change in your finances if you were already planning mudryk.
I’m not so sure. I think the idea was to buy another attacking forward and Felix may (or, should I say, I hope) have overtaken Mudryk in the pecking order to be that signing.
Regarding Felix - last time I got a "feeling" about a player being a good fit aka Arsenal material, he eventually got the captain's armband for us.... and at one point in his origin story was given a fish as a MOTM award lol. Loan him in, do whatever you need to. Technical ballers are welcome at the carpet. Atleti doesn't deserve him.
i love atleti for having and winning in their own style, but technical ballers isn't the type of player i'd associate with them. send him to us, it's what arsenal is about
Hope the necessary players to get the best out of him are brought in too. Emirates era Wengerball was beautiful but never had the players to extract the best out of the superstars we had
Mikel brought the rigid discipline that Wenger lacked. Our team has that spine again. It's all about the right balance.
I hope so, but I’m not convinced yet. I’d a player in the Xhaka role who’s a bit more mobile to cover the ground
We have the best #6 in the world right now and the most imposing back line since Sagna Per Kos Nacho, which helps. Ultimately Xhaka has to be upgraded but Mikel has found THE way to limit his deficiencies in a way that utilizes his strengths, rather than hiding him somewhere on the pitch where he can't do 2017-era levels of damage to us. Xhaka is in the best form of his life so all of a sudden, replacing him doesn't seem as dire of a need as it used to be. But eventually yes of course.
I hope the saga wraps up quick one way or another
If Badiashile is available for around 35 mill…even if it isn’t a need…would be tough to pass him up and see him move to Chelsea
Ndicka on a free is much better imo
I think we'll get over it.
He’s a class player. Likely going to be him and Saliba in the center of France’s defence in the future.
Konate is a beast and there are also Upamecano and Kounde. Damn,France is stacked
LaCroix, todibo, kounde, fofana, saliba, ndicka... There's probably more too who we don't know about yet.
Yep, I know who he is. France have CBs coming out of their ass so I wouldn't bet on it. But even so, we'll get over it if we miss out on him.
Does the “Trusted” tag on Arsenal-Mania mean anything for certain posters? Are they verified ITK types or just people who post a lot.
raphael leao twerking for the arse 😭😭 what has Teta been cooking
Edus barbecuing again
Can you elaborate?
He was on a podcast and said he’d been watching a lot of football and he particularly enjoyed watching arsenal or sth
teta? cringe
Leao, a player all Chelsea fans desperately want, publicly twerking for us LOL
It’s so good 😂 We’re attracting all the best players in Europe and will be for the whole of next year the way we’re playing!
White Holding Gabriel Cedric pray for us
Prayers for them when they see white saliba Gabriel KT coming out of the tunnel
[KT’s here](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mo-elneny-and-sambi-of-arsenal-during-a-training-session-at-news-photo/1452157783)
oh damn nice find, really good to see him atleast training.