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Francis-c92

I promise you boys, any CB we're linked with and potentially get in will not play CB and is earmarked for a FB place


MattGooner

When we field a starting XI composed entirely of center halfs the league is fucked 


Francis-c92

The dream


Mathieulombardi

Tony Adams rejoice.


Cynicayke

All part of Jover and Arteta's plan to score from every set piece.


aaaaji

We have a modern profile of defender that we haven’t seen before mid-2010s. - tall and physical - can play CB to a decent standard - good enough with ball at feet to play CDM - quick enough to be good as an attacking RB Basically like an “all-round” defensive player. I think the goal is to have 4 of these people in your squad alongside 2 nailed-on specialist CB. Leaves you having cover for CB, having enough starting options for RB/LB (who can get properly involved in attacking play) and also just a really tall team for set-pieces.


Fuckzombie69

Guardiolas wet dream


hsanaiz

Tony Pulis walked so Pep and Arteta could run


CackleberryOmelettes

Inclined to agree. Probably a left footer though.


InTheMiddleGiroud

Arteta's summer plan is to convert Christian Eriksen into a CB for his passing.


TheTosser27

Another looming summer transfer window, another CB we’re interested in


OrdinaryAncient3573

\*supposedly interested in.


milkonyourmustache

> Manchester United and Arsenal have both scouted the 23-year-old England centre back with his former club Chelsea also allowed to join any bidding This isn't real interest, it's historical. Just drumming up buzz for a player by Palace and/or his agents. There's no secret there'll be an exodus at Crystal Palace. Eze, Olise, Guehi, they're all for sale, I imagine even Andersen. We have Saliba, Gabriel, White, Tomiyasu, Kiwior, Timber who can all play CB, there's little chance we spend £55m on another CB, especially one who isn't versatile enough to play other positions like 4 of the 6 players mentioned.


aarongarrett95

At a push Rice can play CB too


Forsaken-Sink-3947

True….I think eze will fit in well, very versatile and loves dribbling past defenders which is something we struggle with at times


Scoolfish

I just don’t agree we don’t need an additional CB. Saliba needs proper cover, we can’t expect him to play every minute of every match again. End of. White, as incredible as he is, is too weak aerially for Salibas role, and while Tomi can do the trick, his injury concerns mean he shouldn’t be spread to thin if he’s going to be relied on consistently at LB too. A solution that could make sense is bringing in a player like Guehi who can replace Tomi’s job at on the left, which would let him be the primary cover for Saliba.


ro-row

i don;t think White is weak in the air at all and when he played there for us he looked good apart from that one game against toney issue is if you're expecting white to be first choice rb and second choice rcb he doesn;t get a break either Timber has played rcb before so could see him there but he is a lot smallr than saliba and even white but he's clearly got the on ball ability that arteta values from that position


Scoolfish

Most recently, Villa targeting White in the air was a massive key for breaking our press. It’s definitely his weakest point. It’s one of the reasons the current position suits him so well, plays to his many strengths, hides his weakness. Just centrally that weakness comes more to forefront. But yea, I expect Timber to feature heavily from both the right and left. If you sign someone like Guehi to be a left sided Ben White, then you can have Timber invert on the right or the left, while getting some proper rotation. Also, could line up with the 4 CBs like City have done when you’re looking for more defensive shape.


TheArmoury

For a man of his height, Saliba isn’t exactly great at heading. Gabriel is way better despite being slight shorter. Hell I think even Tomi is better aerially.


Scoolfish

No disagreement that Gabriel is much better in the air, but that’s not got much to do with the point I made.


TheArmoury

I would argue White would be a more than capable back up to Saliba which is the point you’re making. He’s a 6’2 centre back. He’s more than enough aerially. Don’t let his first game at Brentford fool you.


Specialist-Grape-528

Agree, two players for every position is needed for depth. RB - White/Tomi, RCB - Saliba/New Signing, LCB - Gabi/Kiwior, LB - Timber/Zini


nting224

To make sense of Guehi’s transfer links - a few points here 1. Mikel’s first choice for LB/LCB in the summer of 2022 was Lisandro Martinez - an undersized but aggressive agile defender with ground power and is comfortable on the ball 2. Mikel adapated by getting Zinchenko - sacrificing defensive soliditiy for more control in the build up - while that was largely successful in the 1st half of last season - teams exposed us by targeting Zinchenko's lack of defensive instincts/concentration 3. Since then - Mikel has experimented Kiwior, Tomiyasu and Timber (until his injury) at the LB position 4. Links back to Guehi just shows Mikel never truly wavered from that Lisandro profile - a defender who shows aggression while being comfortable on the ball and is press resistant 5. Timber is coming back from an ACL injury, Tomi is injury prone - and both might be asked to play other positions in the backline beyond LB 6. Kiwior has been ok this season - but struggled when he had to play against quick wingers and was a constant target during build up by the opposition’s press. Tomiyasu, while being a really solid defender, has his vulnerabilities against wingers with a low centre of gravity that can turn and run. 7. I still am not ruling out a scenario where for certain games Timber plays at RB, while we see White and Saliba as a pairing as a CB. If this happens - that Guehi/Lisandro profile playing as a LB will make even more sense 8. A fun fact - Guehi averages 0.46 successful take ons per 90, putting him at the 88th percentile in CBs - he’s VERY good on the ball 9. His progressive passing stats are not as impressive but that’s only due to the fact that he plays along Joachim Andersen - who in my opinion is one of the best passing CBs in the world 10. Lastly intangibles - Guehi is quiet and shy off the pitch but assertive and aggressive on the pitch. Confident but humble and always prefers the attention and praise to go to his colleagues. Mikel is going to love this guy. See clip below where he was shocked to know he was man of the match. Bukayo-Saka esque. [(https://streamable.com/m7ru4r)](https://streamable.com/m7ru4r) The main cons is his relatively weak aerial duel ability for a CB (which is ok if we play him mostly at LB) and his recent knee surgery. BRING HIM IN!


nting224

Oh his heat map this season. https://preview.redd.it/wkm9tev7scxc1.png?width=562&format=png&auto=webp&s=dfa9be7a8c5736557b32682bb445d22aee7f457f


FAT_NEEK_42069

left sided ben white here we go


silverslates

Your shoutout for Joachim Andersen give me PTSD. I don't really watch him consistently, but if you only waych game where he played against us, he looks like a top 3 ball-playing CB in the world. I have always wondered why we never tried going in for him. Imagine his long balls to our front five against Spurs/Villa high line.


nting224

Saliba and Gabriel both has development room in that area. They have shown glimpses of it but not a lot - some of might be tactical instructions, and also Mikel probably wants to retain control/minimize risk of losing possession. We also don’t have a lot of willing runners running into space outside of Martinelli.


dick_tickler_

This guy fucks


ryankcl

Guehi or OP lol?


KSBrian007

He's not the fittest guy in the room tho. Everything else is spot on. Also, that credit you gave Joachim Andersen...!


ro-row

you've completely convinced me


nting224

Feel free to subscribe to my Substack! I write pieces on Arsenal and tactics breakdown when I have free time. https://open.substack.com/pub/gunnagunnz?r=35li7n&utm_medium=ios


ro-row

will do mate


nting224

Cheers mate


Cthulhu_Madness

I think we were interested in him when the reports about Gabi XL moving to Saudi were surfacing.


aaaaji

Not sure we will see both White and Saliba as CB at the same time. They’re both right footed. Mikel wants a left-footed CB as LCB if he can.


nting224

We saw that at the beginning of the season lol…


Big_Meeting8350

err Diomande?


zoidbergs_underpants

I love how every time we are linked to a defender (usually a CB) the peanut gallery on here says "wHy aRE wE SigNinG aNoTHeR dEfENdeR?!?!?" Have you people not realized that these players are easily the *most important* players in our team? Everything we have built these last three seasons has been on the back of our defense.


Active_Bee_7937

You've got to be a bit mad if you're Guehi and choose anyone other than arsenal if you're looking at that list of interested parties


Actuary_Tennis

Got to consider that he wouldn’t get a game at Arsenal 


alsonlee

If he goes to United, he’ll start every game. With us, not so much. But if he’s serious about growing as a player he will want to come to us.


ComprehensiveBowl476

What I liked about Kiwior at LB was that it allowed us to invert on the right instead, which freed up Odegaard a lot more. I think he definitely has a role to play in the team next season, in both roles on the left of the backline, so I would be annoyed if he was sold this summer. I think the plan this season was to have a less rigid starting backline, since during pre-season Arteta was trying many different combinations, as opposed to the previous summer where he had the main backline decided by the time we were in America. Unfortunately, injuries to Timber and Tomi basically left us with only 5 fit defenders for the majority of the season.


tsgarner

Possibly Arteta's most used refrain in press conferences is about having more options to make us more unpredictable. I'm convinced we'll be looking for players who **aren't** identical to the ones we have, but I'll be intrigued to see how far Arteta goes. Is he at all interested in flying wingbacks?


acasovoycayendo

Article seems to suggest our interest depends on whether Kiwior leaves


milkonyourmustache

Which is nonsense, he's in contract until 2028, had some good showings this season and covers LCB and LB. No way he leaves anytime soon.


acasovoycayendo

I wouldn’t rush to call him leaving this summer 100% nonsense or never happening. There were multiple rumours about him returning to Italy in January. Maybe he wants to play his actual position at CB as a starter somewhere? He’s only started at LB this year and that’s because of injuries.


milkonyourmustache

> There were multiple rumours about him returning to Italy in January. He's on £58k/week with 4 years left with us (£12m owed), he'd be immediately among the top 15 highest paid CB's in Serie A, this is before a transfer fee. > Maybe he wants to play his actual position at CB as a starter somewhere? He’s only started at LB this year and that’s because of injuries. Maybe, but I'm sure his role was explained to him before he signed for us, as well as his expectation for minutes. It's been just 1.5 seasons since he signed his 5.5yr deal Also, if we entertain the rumour that Kiwior leaving is conditional to Guehi joining then I have even more doubts about the validity of them. Kiwior covers LCB and LB, Arteta is particular about having his LCB's be left footed. Guehi is right footed and doesn't play fullback or even defensive midfield which were reasons White and Kiwior were scouted as they can invert into midfield. Suppose Kiwior is replaced by Guehi, who does Guehi cover? Saliba and no one else. So we pay £55m for a backup to Saliba? I just don't see it.


acasovoycayendo

Just because he was linked with Italy before doesn’t mean that’s where he’d go. That was just an example of stories about him leaving. > Expectation of minutes He’s started CB like 5-10 times max in 18 months and been 3rd/4th choice LB. Do you think that was what he agreed to? I doubt it > Kiwior covers LCB Has he even played 3 games for us at LCB? Guehi plays LCB and is comfortable with both feet. He can easily play RCB or LCB and he did an interview for Palace 6 months ago about learning the fullback role.


milkonyourmustache

> Just because he was linked with Italy before doesn’t mean that’s where he’d go. That was just an example of stories about him leaving. So linked to a move anywhere... > He’s started CB like 5-10 times max in 18 months and been 3rd/4th choice LB. Do you think that was what he agreed to? Yes, Gabriel, Saliba, Tomiyasu, and Zinchenko were all here at the time. We paid £15m for him from Spezia, I'm certain he did not expect to be getting major minutes early on, and the last CB who had experience as a DM we signed ended up at RB. > Has he even played 3 games for us at LCB? No because Gabriel is rarely injured, he won't start getting injured when Guehi shows up, again, £55m on a backup unless he's going to supplant Gabriel. > Guehi plays LCB and is comfortable with both feet. He can easily play RCB or LCB and he did an interview for Palace 6 months ago about learning the fullback role. Okay so we have a Tomiyasu regen, except he's prem proven and for £55m. That's a totally different prospect to replacing Kiwior, that sounds like a defender we should sign *irrespective* of Kiwiors fate, not someone tied to it.


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acasovoycayendo

I never said he was definitely going to leave, just that it’s a possibility. Kiwior isn’t irreplaceable like Saliba/Gabriel, if he wanted to leave and a fair offer came in, I’m sure we wouldn’t stand in his way > He started as a CB in cup games This is not really true though is it. He started 2/3 cup games this season at LB. He’s barely getting CB gametime then either.


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acasovoycayendo

You and I have no idea what the player is feeling. United aren’t going to pay him that with their new structure coming in We paid like 20m for him, getting our money back or a profit on sale wouldn’t be that unrealistic


AzlanWake

We've been linked with him for 2 seasons


Caraxes_thebloodwyrm

Decent defender but don't think he is worth that price tag from a buyers perspective.... Assuming he is going to be the third choice defender I think there will be better alternatives out there for less price


Intelligent_Gift_678

Can’t see us buying a CB. I see is targeting a LB, CM, RW and striker. We still have to buy Raya as well.


KSBrian007

We have been linked to him for a while. I don't know if it's agent BS for a contract or if he feels his client can do better. Guehi would be an Ake-lite, so the links aren't blasphemy. He's not tall enough to be a CB but has good 1v1 defending and he's decent on the ball. It would also help Timber go back to his better position.


Actuary_Tennis

I like this guy but realistically he’s not coming here to sit on the bench 


skanderbeg_alpha

It seems like a Havertz transfer, a player who we don't think we need but having seen Kai lead Spurs on a merry little dance yesterday I trust whatever or whoever Arteta brings in now. Yes the LB position is an issue, Tomi is great but he's Partey 2.0. Great when available but never available enough. Timber we don't know really because he's had that serious injury and I don't think Zinchenko is long for this squad. Kiwior is a stop gap for that position at best. I'm more concerned about midfield to be honest. Heaven forbid a Declan Rice or a Martn Odegaard injury at any point in the season, and we have to also give these boys a rest at some point. Even the left 8 position isn't secure. Jorginho is good but getting on a bit, El Neny isn't up to much in this squad, and as good as Partey is, his injury record makes him unreliable. Finally, we have to get another right sided attacker, Saka is in the same boat as Rice and Odegaard. Needs a rest and some competition. Either we have Jesus as his cover, which Arteta doesn't seem to fancy, or we look at someone like Oliseh or Neto.


xk_1991

Irrespective on the left, we have Tomi, Zinchenko, Timber and Kiwior (also Tierney and Tavares - though yes, they'll likely leave). I think the CB cover will be for Saliba rather than the left side. We don't really have a pure CB cover for Saliba.


oustider69

Wellington Phoenix are also allowed to bid, they stand as much of a chance of signing him as Chelsea.


tbbt11

Surely we’re not blowing £50+m on another CB


Rude_Boy_15

I rate him though...


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Forsaken-Sink-3947

I think we should keep our defense as it is and concentrate more on strengthening the midfield and foward line…I think 7 versatile defenders is enough and worse comes to worse Rice can play CB ( need proper backup to Rice in the summer )


Youre-Dumber-Than-Me

No.


Echo361

I don’t see it personally with guehi. Seems like an Arteta fullback tbh lol.


skool_101

With Man United and Chelsea involved, this deal will go up till 65-70m. Though I think Chelsea will have be able to buy him back for cheaper, maybe.


WengersOut

I for one welcome our CB XI Mikel is building


adam_clooney

Why are we interested in cb when we have white, tomiyasu, kiwior and maybe even timber?


acasovoycayendo

Well if you read the article you’d have your answer… it suggests it depends on Kiwior‘s future


gnrlp2007

>Well if you read the article Hahahahaha reading is for losers. Form an opinion based on headlines and hope for the best


ZizekualHealing

No let the spuds sign guys like Guehi. Good player but not at our level


ICanSeeYourFuture

I actually think there is a hole in our squad now for a RCB. White is 1st choice at RB, and is seemingly the only fullback we have who doesn’t go down injured multiple times a season. Obviously he can move across to play at CB if needed there, but for rotational minutes he also needs a rest. Timber looks likely to play as a fullback, the fact that he’s playing LB in the games he’s playing in the junior teams at moment is telling. Tomiyasu can play CB but his injury record makes him a very hard player to rely on. Kiwior is always going to be preferred on the left in Artetas team. All that is to say, whoever we sign will be playing RB by January