aaannnddd there goes traore on loan to ajax
was hoping for us to show remy the exit door first, but i guess the management decided traore needs the first team minutes and he's obviously behind costa and bats. what i'm a bit concerned about is the rumours linking us with icardi, as its obviously going to push traore further down the pecking order. but u know what, another striker will give us some real depth that we lacked last year, especially if conte operates in a 2 striker system. if we do somehow manage to prise lukaku away from everton, then costa has a real fight on his hands. i'd say bringing lukaku 'home' would only be necessary if we plan to let costa go next year. if not, a CB should be our main priority!
judging from the pre-season games thus far, aina has been quite composed at RB, and although he lets himself down sometimes by being a bit too clever (i. e, trying to dribble out of a tight spot) , when he's given some breathing room, his decision making is quite good. it has to be pointed out though, those 'tight spots' he usually ends up in are mostly down to one of the CBs (mainly cahill!) taking AGES to spread the ball out to him, and by then the opposition players are only yards away, putting him in an extremely tight spot. seeing how ake and baba were quickly shipped out on loan, obviously conte rates him. still don't understand why we loaned ake out though. now azpi has nobody to push him.
our interest in attacking players is good, but we really should've had a good CB through the door by now. koulibaly is taking too long.
note: completely agree with the everton sentiment, we gave lukaku up so easily and handed atsu over to them on a platter, to bolster their squad. the stones saga left a really bitter taste for both clubs, as we forced him to hand in a transfer request which came to naught. its worth pointing out though that he's coming back off an awful season with everton, and i doubt he'll be able to show his true worth anytime soon. did we dodge a bullet? maybe. considering his age and the fact that he'll be blocking christensen's path into the first team next year, its probably for the best.
koulibaly on the other hand appears to be the finished article and in his prime, hence i don't think his signing will alienate either of our young CBs. hence in the long term, i think we can realistically hope for a zouma and christensen pairing. if we fail to bring him in, i'm not sure what's the plan though. arsenal are close to getting mustafi, and those lindelof / kone rumours appear to be last resorts more than anything else.
Apr 8 2016, 04:06 PM
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