Arsenal need to shed players to stay within the “25” rule as youngsters grow up. Transfer Index No 10.

By Tony Attwood

Arsenal have 25 players already logged for their formal list of players for the new season, with one player from the list released (Sanogo) and one already signed.  Which means that for each new player brought in, someone is going to have to go.

But when it comes to the “25” there is another problem: the under 21s who don’t count in the “25” list.

Now I am going to have to be cautious on this because I am well known for screwing up the dates, but I reckon that Holding, Chambers, Bellerin, and Akpom will all be counted in the “25” for the coming season, whereas before they were counted in the under 21 category.  If that is true, not only do we have to get rid of one player for every one we bring in, we have also got to get rid of a player for each of those under 21s.

Akpom you may recall played encouragingly well in the pre-season a year ago, but then after his injury we lost sight of him.  So even if he and Chambers are to be excluded from the lists, Holding and Bellerin must be included in the 25, which means we have to find two players to lose from the current 25.  If Akpom stays and my date calculations are right then it has to be three.   Which in turn means it is a good job that so many of our players are indeed leaving – at least they are leaving according to the media.  And I am not counting Wilshere and Szczesny in these numbers yet.

To me this scenario seems to suggest that Jenkinson and Debuchy have to go for sure, just to give us room for everyone we already have.  And that is before we start the cull to make room for any other newcomers.

Part 1: The players coming in

We have got four new players on the list to take us up to 50 signings that Arsenal are now tipped to make.  And several updates all duly marked in the first column

No Player Club Position Notes
 1 Tammy Abraham Chelsea  Striker  Currently on loan to Bristol City
 2 Marcelo Allende  Deportes Santa Cruz Attack m’f  Had 3 trials, training with first team.  Signing today!  Actually that was two weeks ago.
NEW Marco Asensio Real Madrid Attack Midfield Man U and Roma interested.  He’s unhappy at Real Mad.  He’s 21.
4 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Borussia Dortmund Forward £80m to replace Alexis.  Man U want him
5 Carlos Bacca AC Milan Striker He’s 32 years old.  Was going to WHU
6 Gareth Bale Real Mad Striker Stan Collymore tipped this one.
7  Ross Barkley  Everton Attack mid  Been there since 2010 and played 150 games – does he really want to come?
8 Karim Benzema Real Mad F’wd Definitely going to either AFC or Chelsea
9 Andrea Belotti Juventus F’wd Sadly he has just signed a new contract
10 Joel Campbell Return F’wd Loan period ending
11 Iker Casillas Porto Goal To solve our goalkeeping “crisis”
12 Kingsley Coman  Juventus Wing On loan with Bayern this season
13 Virgil Van Dijk Southampton Defence Helps us play a back 3 all the time
14 Ederson Benfica Goal 23 year old to replace Cech
15 Emil Forsberg RB Leipzig Midfield He’s Swedish and he’s 25 years old
16 Jose Luis Gaya  Valencia LB Man City winning the race
17 Ben Gibson Middlesbrough Centre back £30m.  Tottenham want him.
18 Leon Goretzka Shalke M’fld £21m, 1 yr left on contract.  Wanted to replace Ozil (Most quoted story by far)
19 Antoine Griezmann Atlético Madrid Forward Man U don’t want him after all.
20 Amine Harit. Nantes M’fld Arsenal have given him a trial.  He is 19-years-old
21 Lorenzo Insigne Napoli F’wd Liverpool! are on alert!
22 Jakub Jankto Udinese M’fld To play alongside Xhaka
23 Naby Keïta RB Leipzig Right back Has refused to sign a new contract
24 Grzegorz Krychowiak PSG Def M’fd New in the sense that this is the first entry for him this year, but it is the third year he has been tipped to join us.
25  Koke Atl Madrid M’fld Replacement for Santi Cazorla
26 Dawid Kownacki Lech Poznan Striker the new Robert Lewandowski’
SIGNED Sead Kolašinac Schalke Defender The deal is announced by Arsenal
Update Kylian Mbappe Monaco F’wd The French press seem sure this is on at around €100m.  Man U have bid £120m
Update Alexandre Lacazette Olympique Lyonnais Striker Man City want him. At. Madrid can’t because of their buying ban.  Mr Wenger spotted in France.  Cost is £50m
Update Mario Lemina  Juventus Cent mid He’s 23, previously with  Lorient and Marseille and is flattered by Arsenal’s interest
31 Romelu Lukaku Everton Forward Dead cert to join AFC
32 Riyad Mahrez Leicester Winger He says he has an agreement that he can now leave.  Tottenham want him too.
33 Henry Onyekuru  KAS Eupen Forward He’s 19 usually plays on the left, one for the future.
34 Oguzhan Ozyakup Besiktas Midfield £20m is the fee being quoted.  He says he wants to come to Europe.
35 Florentin Pogba St Etienne Defender Brother of Paul at Man U
36 Leandro Paredes Roma Midfield A story from last year now resurrected
Update Jordon Pickford Sunderland Goal Although Mr W has said he is not looking to sign a keeper.  Man U, Everton and Liverpool want him.  “Bid expected”
NEW Danilo Pereira Porto Midfield enforcer Juventus also want him
NEW Pizzi Benfic Playmaker Liverpool and Juventus want him
Update James Rodriguez Real Madrid Midf/wing  Juventus Milan Man U want him.  Bid made
41 Ivan Perisic Inter Midf/wing Man U desperate for him
42 Kasper Schmeichel Leicester Goal The man to solve our goalkeeping “crisis”
NEW Patrik Schick Sampdoria Centre forward ‘Next Ibrahimovic’.  Expected to go to Juventus but they have not finalised the deal
44 Michaël Seri Nice Midfield Tottenham, Barcelona and PSG want him.
45 Chris Smalling.  Man U Centre back Played 153 times for Man U.
46 Wojciech Szczesny Roma loan Goal Mr W. said that he is not looking to sign a keeper (allegedly) so everyone assumes it is Szcz’s return
47 John Terry Chelsea Nasty This story from the Daily Mail
48 Corentin Tolisso  Lyon M/fld or F’wd French international, dreams of Arsenal.  Still being mentioned
49 Arda Turan Barcelona M’fld He’s 30 years old
50 Jack Wilshere Bournemouth M’fld 75% of guys in the pub want him back

 

Part 2: The 15 players already said to be on their way out

With Sanogo released we now have 15 players on the move – at least according to those who make up such things.

No Player Club Notes
 1a Alexis Man C Guardiola making £50m offer his summer priority
1b Alexis Chelsea Will play out contract and go on a free to Chelsea.
1c Alexis Man U Has already agreed deal
1d Alexis Nowhere Mr Wenger has said “he is staying”
2 Krystian Bielik Birmingham City keen to extend loan for another year. Norwich keen.
3 Bellerin Barcelona Barce will sign him; no, he is happy to stay
4 Campbell Fenerbahce Currently in talks to sign
5 Francis Coquelin  Valencia This story has been going on and on and on and…
6 Olivier Giroud  Marseille He wants to play more games.
7 Jenkinson Newcastle Just promoted, need players
8 Koscielny Marseille He’s just had enough
9 Ospina Fenerbahce Some are just saying “to Turkey”
10 Özil Real Mad They realise they should have kept him.  Mr Wenger says, he is staying
11 Lucas Perez PSG He’s an “outcast” according to “reports”
NEW Sanogo Released
13 Wojciech Szczesny Napoli Every newspaper seems to have this one.
14 Nathan Tella Southampton Deal done and completed – he was released
15 Theo Walcott West Ham Ray Wilkins says he must leave to protect his career

The tables will be updated as matters progress during the pre-window speculation and the window itself, which of course hasn’t even opened yet.

I’ve added this pic of me and the leader of Labour, from a few years back, not because I’ve done anything particular, but because of what he has done in showing up “strong and stable” for the nonsense it was.  The occasion was the launch of “Woolwich Arsenal: the club that changed football”. It was an honour to meet him.

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12 Replies to “Arsenal need to shed players to stay within the “25” rule as youngsters grow up. Transfer Index No 10.”

  1. You won’t go with 4 keepers in the 25 man squad next season. That will free up a space. The obvious departure would be Martinez but don’t be surprised if it’s Cech or Ospina as the other 2 Martinez and Macey,are HG.

  2. More interesting than self indulgent pictures with unreconstructed 70’s Marxists is the fact that the BBC are reporting that Gnabry has signed for Bayern from Bremen. It was posited last year when he went that Bayern were behind the deal. It would appear that Gnabry is just another in a long line of selfish money grabbers whom we have had the misfortune to house, the fat-arsed loafer. Is there any chance that the initial deal can be looked into? On the other hand, I just hope that we had a sell on clause so we receive some green out of it.

  3. Even if Arsenal sign a specialist right back this summer who they should after theyve signed one left back specialist in Kolasinac, I think it will be wise to keep one of the now recovered from injuries Debuchy and Jenkinson this coming season to avoid shortage of personnel in that department with Debuchy likely to be favoured to stay over Jenkinson imo.

    We’ve all seen and come to now that Paulista is not a specialist right back but an average centreback who can play as left back in an emergency case. And in a back three centrebacks formation in an Arsenal back three defense-line likely to be continued with next season, Bellerin has emerged as a right wing back in this back three-line defense-line from his former right back position as a full right back in an Arsenal former back four defense-line formation. A position in which he hasn’t excel.

    I think Arsenal have to sign a top quality specialist centreback right back defender this summer despite the fact that Rob Holding can manned that position credibly and with Debuchy in the wait cover. This signing of a top quality centreback right back player is imperative because the season could long as Arsenal play and compete for honours in all competions this coming season and should be adequate cover in case of injury layoff or loss of form in this position.

    Cazorla is down and we certainly not play in the first half of this coming new season and Elneny is too average to rely upon for a sustained top performance during the campaign in the coming season as he has shown in the last 2 seasons he can’t be relied on. Definitely, a top quality midfider in the dual caliber of DM and deep lying is unavoidable for Arsenal to sign this summer.

    And of course, the signing of that world class striker or a marquee striker who can score 30 PL goals per season has become a necessity for Arsenal to sign this summer to enabled them achieve their objectives of winning the quadrupled this coming season. So, in my own humble opinion, Arsenal need 4 top quality signings to do this summer and not just 2-3 signings to do this summer as Le Prof has decided to do.

  4. I think it’s a bit underhanded how you are using your deservedly large platform, that you’ve gained from reporting on football, to push your political ideologies on to people.

  5. Well spoken, Jammy. I love reading this site for the football news and opinion but feel politics should have no part in it other than where politics and politicians are interfering with the game.
    “Strong and stable” is, of course, nonsense where so many of the electorate and politicians have a collective suicide wish. Nonsense that could have been written by Carroll or Lear, as could the Labour manifesto which Corbyn was fairly confident he would not have to deliver.

  6. Ideally 2 similar or better than Santi is a priority in that midfield as there is none at the moment
    I have seen nothing from Elneni hope they replace it with someone better he is way to average.

  7. Is Santi out for good now? Or is he going to be like Mer and get a few games even at end of season?

    Without someone with that sort of skill, we will struggle a little more, but seems like we will be lacking there a little.

    Still it depends how we play. Cant see us playing 3-4-3 all season long. 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 may be needed depending on who we come up against and who is injured/suspended.

  8. I think I’ll wait to see before pronouncing Santi’s footballing retirement and seeking replacements. Anyway, I believe Xhaka will be his heir apparent and we will see the best of him now he’s got a handle on how bent the referees over here are.

    As for the Labour leader sentiments, Tories and their ilk can all go the way of Maggie Thatcher, he’s an Arsenal fan and that’s always good enough for me ?

  9. Cech, Ospina, Martinez, Macey, Iliev, Szczesny, Jenkinson, Debuchy, Bellerin, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gabriel, Holding, Mustafi, Gibbs, Monreal, Kolasinac, Coquelin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Cazorla, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kamara, Zelalem, Ozil, Sanchez, Walcott, Asamo, Campbell, Akpom, Giroud, Walcott, Welbeck, Perez.

    I make that 36 for a squad of 25.

  10. Goodge,

    Its actually 37 once you include Saad Kolasinac, but Takuma Asamo still won’t have a work permit so will definitely remain on loan.

    Zelalem will still be U21, but you need to include Toral instead.

    Of those over 21 players 19 count as homegrown and 18 are overseas.

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