The bookies have said it: Arsenal are the team walking away with the PL title with higher percent chance of winning it ahead of Man City’s challenge.
Hopefully Arsenal wins it as predicted. If they do so, there will be a big summer for Arsenal to add quality players who can help them not only defend the league title but also take the Champions League by storm.
Among the positions Arteta will seek to bolster is the midfield. As far as Football Insider knows, either one of Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, or Amadou Onana could be signed by Arsenal. The three are on Arteta’s wishlist; however, a move for Declan Rice will be prioritised, with the other three being alternatives. While Rice and Caicedo (who Arsenal bid £70 million for in the winter) will command huge fees to sign, Onana could be cheaper.
Of the three, who would you want to sign? And what’s your dream midfield set-up for Arsenal next season? Sorry Xhaka fans, I know you will hate me for saying this, but personally, I believe a Partey-Odegaard-Rice midfield could be the real deal, not only in the Premier League but also all of Europe.
Why not Caicedo or Onana? If Arsenal wants to move to the next level of Artetas’s project, signing a final product like Rice is the way forward.
Daniel O
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This is a very interesting debate. Made difficult by the fact that Mikel has made Arsenal so dynamic and multi-faceted that you cannot assume to understand what his plan is and what specific (footballing) qualities he is looking for.
But I feel like given what Partey is for us, I’d choose Caicedo over all of them. Not just a DM but a very clever CM.
Why not 2? Generate funds with sell and have enough to get 2 good midfielders, a CDM and a CM. That midfield is the area to strengthen for next year. Back line is settled, and if Tierney leaves we can get someone. Forward line is settled, Balogun can be back, strengthen midfield for years to come with little tinkering to other areas
I’m with you on this one…
I didn’t pay attention to how Caicedo played, but I believe Onana is more dangerous than Rice at attacking. Rice might be better at defending though
I think Arsenal won’t sign a new midfielder and would probably give a chance to Sambi-Lokonga or Patino instead
That will be a risk…
We can’t start Lokonga week in out in a hope that he will replace Partey..
Slowly we should come out the phase where we will develop the youngsters by giving them 1st team chance at the cost of PL standings or CL
So Lokonga won’t get better if he is not starting regularly…
And we shouldn’t start who is not ready for 1st team football week in week out
Either we should sell Lokonga or loan him for year..
I don’t think Sambi-Lokonga will play CDM if he returns, since we’ve got three senior players for that role
Based on Sambi-Lokonga’s performance in Xhaka’s position, I think he can give us physical presence in that area as Xhaka has been doing to help our small forwards
Why on EARTH are you even MENTIONING the sub par Lokonga in the same breath as such as Partey!!?
Lokonga will be gone by next season , preferably sold, or if not, then loaned.
Either way he will not play for us .I hope and pray he never does ever again!!
Xhaka has been good this year because MA finally saw that he was a liability when playing deep and we had NO-ONE playing B2B when Xhaka and Partey were on together, not sure why it took so long to move him further up the pitch but at least it was done. That being said always remember good is the enemy of great. Xhaka has been very good but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve further right?
For the rest of the season I’d like to see Zinchenko, Partey and Ode and our midfield 3 with KT slotting in at LB.
For next season I like all 3 options but there’s something about Onana that I like the most. He is also only 21 years old so a long future ahead. Got a good pass on him too. Rice obviously has the most experience and is a very settled EPL player and would be a welcome addition too.
Midfield 3 would be (partey DM) (odegaard AM) and (rice B2B or DM) OR (Caicedo B2B or DM) with rotating subs McALlister(AM or B2B) OR (Madison AM or B2B) with xjaka(B2B). So purchase two players of (McAlister or Maddison) and (Rice or Caicedo) to give in-depth cover for 3 positions Attack/Creative Midfielder + Box 2 Box + Defensive Midfielder.
Thomas Partey plays. Odegaard plays. We are only really talking about 1 spot that is currently occupied by Granite Xhaka. Personally, I think we could quite easily get away with putting Zinchenko in there and giving the left-back place back to Kieran Tierney. Or finding room for ESR and Odegaard. Or captain is more than capable of doing what Xhaka does and ESR is such a glorious player we simply have to get him in the side.
The team will have to evolve next season regardless of the outcome of this campaign and with it will come tactical changes. Will Arteta stick with the inverted fullback or try something new. It’s impossible to tell at this stage and Arsenal are the only team that have really made it work this year, despite others having tried it.
If we are talking about new players then we will need someone with Xhaka’s energy. Rice has that in abundance but doesn’t have the same attacking motivations Xhaka does, which is why I actually think Zinchenko would be better in there. Onana is a good compromise as he offers youth, size, and box-to-box energy. Milinkovic-Savic is perhaps the most tried and tested option but I’m not sure how much of an upgrade on Xhaka he is.
Don’t forget,we need a deputy for Partey, Onana as CM would be great, the lad needs more training, that’s all.
I guess Viera and lonkonga would go on loan for us to have new intakes
I hear a lot about midfielders attacking but how many attackers do we want on the pitch? We have a great attacking line up at the moment Saka martenilli Jesus Trossard odegard partey xhaka Nelson Eddie Ben white Jorginho smith Rowe Ben white and so on. All players that have got great goals for us, important goals for us this season. We need to tighten up at the back! The defensive line has been superb gab William and Aaron have been massive for us but they still need a little help. We can’t out score every team to win games we need to lock up our defence as well and not concede some of the silly goals we have over the years. It’s rice for me. And he scores screamers every now and then.
A midfield much the same this season, but with some quality back up. As much as I like Elneny, I think we should look to improve on him. Rice would be my pick, but I wouldn’t argue over anyone else’s choice. And we have returning loanees to assess, so perhaps not too much needs to spent on this area.
I think we not only need CM or CDM but we need 1 RW and 1 LW to compete with Martinelli and Saka..
Yeah Trossard can play LW but he so versatile so that one cannot say that he is just LW
He can Play in the Odegaard’s rôle also because he has that quality passing and ability to split the defence..
We can go either for Leon Bailey from Aston Villa or Olise from Crystal Palace to provide Competition to Saka…
Both will be much cheaper…
And on left we can check out either Harvey Barnes from Leicester or Christian Pulisic..
Anyway Chelsea gonna sell lot players this summer… So we can check him also..
In Midfield, it should be any one between Rice, Caicedo or Zubimendi..
PULISIC IS INJURY PRON. WE DO NOT NEED THAT. IS RICE COMING AS BACKUP? LIKE WE THOUGHT TROSSARD WAS COMING AS BACKUP? OF COURSE WE WANT COMPETETION ALL OVER THE PITCH, BUT WE DON’T UNHAPPY PLAYERS ON THE BENCH.
“WANT”
Marcus from the first comment post is spot on, you got to argue for the Caicedo kid, he’s technical sound , young and mobile with a sky high ceiling but most of all he’s the perfect type of the gaffer signings.
So Partey, Odegaard and the Caicedo kid, will be the core of Arsenal midfield next campaign, but something tells me the hungry gaffer won’t stop there and could spring a suprise by adding either Zubimendi or the rver present Ilkay Gundogan on a free
If there is any truth in the rumours, then it might well be a replacement for Partey that we will need. If that’s the case then Rice should be the main signing.
How about we just trust that the coaches know what they are doing and will know what to do. I believe Arteta and his team understand football better than most of us here – they also have the privilege of watching these players in training so they would be more equipped to decide who plays where and when. Finally,I think it’s inappropriate to label certain fans ‘Xhaka fans’. What we have in common is we are all Arsenal fans and ought to support every player who wears the Arsenal badge. As humans naturally we have favourites and biases but I believe the coaches are more objective because they have more data on the players.
So what you are suggesting is that this site shuts down because we can’t give opinions on Arsenal topics?
I suggest we give opinions and have discussions but not make it look like only our approach makes sense
Yes we need an upgrade on Xhaka who is 1 of my favorites players but tell me who has had the best season. Xhaka, Rice, Onana or Caicedo. Lets appreciate what we have first.
If we’re talking xhakas position (not that I would even remove xhaka, why would we even talk about replacing a player that is banging in goals for us), then I’d choose musah. Quality player, and will add another homegrown player to the list. Plus, from the USA so kroenke will be happy to buy him
As far as I watched Arsenal game this season, we have a great midfield trio in Partey-Xhaka-Odegaard as part of our first 11. But since Partey will be 30 and Xhaka will be 31 next season, we can rely on their assured performance maybe for the next 1-2 years. And notably our backup midfield (Elneny, sambi, Vieira) need to be move on. While Smith-rowe and jorginho presentably are decent backup. With just 2 decent backup for our midfield trio, MA should consider sign 2 players – either 2 in Rice/Onana/Ceicedo to be backup for our midfield before any of them displace our main midfielder.
My personal opinion, please be kind on replies. Thank you
With due respect to JA. I will say let the next season come first before us can start to suggest our dream Arsenal midfielders for next season’s campaign.
For, Arsenal are still in this season’s campaign in the Epl. And are seriously campaigning in it more than ever to sustain their current topping of the League up to the final day of the season to win the title. And win it to become the Champions and becomes it for the first time in 19 past seasons unfailingly.
In this Arsenal’s quest to become the Epl title winners this season, the Gunners have a difficult away match at Anfield to play against the Reds next Sunday to overcome it successfully. By beating Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool coached team for the first time in many past seasons. And which they’ve not been able to achieve at the Reds backyard.
So therefore, let us keep our focus on this next very important Arsenal away match to Liverpool. And start praying for the Gunners to beat the Reds in all aspects of the match next Sunday at Anfield unfailingly. God’s willing. Amen!
Joao Palhinha, Partey, Odegaard. No debates
I think we are debating it Edward.
Excluding Man City players, the most impressive midfielders I have seen in the EPL this season are Partey, Odegaard, and yes, wait for it, Rodrigo Bentancur.Prior to his injury,apart from Kane he has been the most influential player in a fairly average team.The prospect of him partnering Partey, with Odegaard in the number 10 role really appeals to me, although the likelihood of him moving to us is as remote as me being able to run a marathon.As far as the most mentioned candidates are concerned,Caicedo has the potential to become an excellent box to box midfielder although he is used by Brighton in a more defensive role.In my opinion he has improved his all round game this season and with his age profile right for us long term, he would be a very sound acquisition.
Well said
When the squad was really tested it proved not being good enough to compete on all fronts and it was obvious Arsenal were going to get kicked out of the other cups because it was difficult to maintain the intensity in the EPL. Arsenal needs a new player to start with Partey in midfield. They need a quality player that will be available throughout like Xhaka.
I would prefer Rice as he looks commanding and stable,
Onana is dull imo
Imo ,Rice isn’t good enough, Onana pulls weight even though Everton is down the table, Partey does same, Casimero does too, I havent seen Rice influence any westham game, I think all this media hype on an English player.
Partey, Ødegaard and Xhaka. Why try to fixing something which isn’t broken?
Because you need to plan for the future, or are you short sighted?
Are you wanting to go into next season with no challenger to our current midfielders? And no real DM cover for Partey?
Totally agree about planning for the future and of course big recruits like cover for Partey and Xhaka are needed for next season but I was answering the headline question so I suggest you read the question as my answer is for the midfield to play., not the back ups😊
I haven’t seen enough of any of them to be certain of a fav on my part. I do trust Arteta/Edu to do well when or if they spend big on one player, no idea who it’ll be though if I had to guess… I would probably say Caicedo seeing as we bid for him so said the reports
Rice, Partey and Odegaard. Rice is 24, has a great workrate, is versatile and is captain material. All things Arteta demands from his player. He can cover both xhaka and partey positions. With Partey, Rice, Xhaka and Jorginho we can rotate our midfield without weakening the team.
Also from what i have seen from him he will fit well in this arsenal family atmosphere, already has a great relationship with saka. Yes he will be overpriced with the British tax but he is worth it.
Partey-Xhaka-Odegaard trio are the best midfield in EPL. Period. Partey and Odegaard are more celebrated because of their obvious role, defensive and offensive respectively. But Xhaka does both with his 4 pairs of lungs and a superman heart. It’s always easy to forget the tactical and positional brilliance of Xhaka off the ball because the camera catches his more open teammates when Xhaka pulls and mingles the opponents’ defensive line. There is not much players in the world that is better at it than Granit Xhaka. Arteta is loyal but reasonable. He knows who to get.
I like our midfield trio but agree that we need more depth. Of course that depth should be of a quality to pressure our existing player… And I agree that our management team is much more able to make the choice on the day. But if we want to compete in the league, in the domestic cups and in the champion’s league, we need more quality additions.
On another note, I am not sold on Rice. He is going to cost a bundle and I think there equally good defensive options who have better vision and passing capability at a better price. I wouldn’t be disappointed if we get him but I think he is a bit overrated at this time.
Well done to the U18s!
I would love to see a midfield trio of Ødegaard, Zinchenko & Partey. Sign a natural LB who can do what he does linking with the midfield and have him do what Xhaka does, his LB stint is helping to sharpen his defensive play for when he drops back to help Partey and he is good driving forward and linking up play further up the pitch, I think we have the right B2B player in the team already. Plus he would be great defensive cover if needed, it’s a no-brainer.
Common sense tells me that buying a world class midfielder is crucial and if our youngsters are as half good as what reports say then next season is the best time to ditch Xhaka, Elneny and Jorginho to give these kids a chance before some other club snatches them away.
Ditching Xhaka seems harsh and also unwise. The main point of getting in one or two midfielders is to give us depth. Why would we get rid of a guy who brings absolute effort and heart to each game? Maybe he won’t start all the time but, man, getting rid of him would be reckless.
He – or the new guys – will provide depth and cover. We will need at least next year to bring the youngsters in, build their capabilities and confidence. No way we should get rid of tried and true before that is done.
Joe S. Is way out of his breadth. How came you ditch one of the best midfielders in the EPL. for a midfielder, Chaka still has more years to give, look how long Santi played, Modric is 37. Chaka is stronger than the guys I previously mentioned. The swiss general only needs players in his position for the other competitions and I trust Edu and Arrêta to take care of that.
Pedri best midfielder in the world at this momement(check his stats and his youtube) he’s like a young messi. He would cover either oderguard or xjaka. Barcelona needs money so a bid of 80 to 90 million might be accepted. And then purchase Rice for the defensive midfield cover role for injury prone partey.
So no one is talking about lewis-kelly, patino and oyedeji. Mildfield not a problem as we present and future greats in every position
Opps,caicedo signed new contract. Rice is then, the winner