My DREAM Arsenal Transfer Window 

What’s YOUR dream window?

I think the chemistry between Rice, Ødegaard, Havertz and Frenkie de Jong would be amazing and make them even better

After hearing widespread youtube opinion of overpaying for Ben White, not knowing who Tomiyasu was, questioning if Saliba days were done before they started, and questioning why Ramsdale was signed when we had Leno and why Raya was signed when we had Ramsdale... plus the ecstatic greeting of signing Jesus and Zinchenko, rivalled only by the absolute opposite with Havertz, wondering if we were owned by City for using that much money for Rice, and of course daring to sign a 900-year old mummy in Jorginho... I wonder if we actually know what we want or need any more. This will be the second season for me where I'm hoping they bring someone in and not going to question who they choose not to.

I want Fofana for the midfield. Always balls out for Monaco and his stats are unreal

Ideal window would be getting Sesko, De Jong, Hato and Steele

Partey is such a unique profile. De Jong would represent a good effort to replace in my book. Not a physical match but a very similar profile and there aren’t many!

This is the 1st season in a long time where I've totally switched off with the transfer season approaching. I'm normally desperate for lots of signings. As of right now I'm totally happy with the squad, but I know we do need a bit more, however I totally trust our requirement team. Just looking forward to seeing what happens next at this point.

1) I would first go for Isak and then for Sesko. 2) Selling a first team player like Partey would be a "mistake" like seling Xhaka...it would take about 25 games to find a good squad balance. We need a future top class no. 6 AND Partey/Jorginho/ Rice to introduce this player. I dont think Barcelona would sell de Jong for 60 mil. . 3) strong central defender to cover for Saliba 4) back up goalkeeper

My dream transfer Defense:- Hato, and Ousman Diomande for the defense. Midfield:- Guimaraes and Fofana. Having Rice, Guimaraes and Fofana will offer great flexibility because they could all play 8 and 6. Forward:- Kudos, Simons (on loan) and Benjamin Sesko. Sell, Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Partey, ESR, Vieira, Nketiah, Lokonga, Marquinhos, Tavares Patino and Nelson. Gone are Elneny and Soares.

Newly subscribed to your channel bro, love forever Arsenal and I’m loving your videos, big up👊

6:39 Artem Dovbyk - Laliga Top Scorer with a release clause of £34m active this summer, check him out Guimaraes - £100m Jorrel Hato - £45m Artem Dovbyk - £34m Jason Steele - £5m Total = £184m Problem Solved

Would love Bruno Guimarães and think he would be great for us but you’re right James, the price-tag is a bit of a sticking point. De Jong would be unbelievable and would fit perfectly with Rice and Ødegaard. Not sure how much Barcelona would want and his wages could be a problem. There are loads of great options though!

Frankie De Jong (~60M but high wages), Rafael Leao (~70M) would be the dream for me! Leao can play either wing so some much needed help for Saka and also a push for Martinelli to up his game. I can see Timber playing LB and I feel we will see a lot more from Jesus next season. Mikel also needs to decide if he trusts Viera, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah, Zinchenko enough... if not, move them on so that we can have other newer players on the bench who can come on and make a difference. Our substitutions this past season has been too predictable with only Trossard and maybe Tomi making a meaningful impacts off the bench.

Eberiche Eze to Arsenal, yes or no? To me he is also a player who, as you described Kudus, is waiting to explode. Could be phenomenal in an attacking left #8 or left wing role.

James I could see Isak playing on the left with Havertz up front and Saka on the right. Isak and Havertz will give us Henry/Bergkamp vibes.

I would go big on Victor Oshimen, 120 M. I'd rather sell Nketiah (20M), Nuno (15M), Fabio(30M) ( cause I don't think he has the strength, maybe to play in the PL) then Thomas (30+ M). I'd be tempted to sell Zinchenko for 30M and Ramsdale for 40 M. We can earn about 165 M. I'll go 80M for Bruno G. And 40M for Ollise.

Unfortunately the fees you are quoting here are insanely small - Hato has an £85m release clause. De Jong may cost £65m but his wages are eye-watering (reportedly more than £500kpw) and Isak won’t be available for less then £150m Here’s something more realistic: GK: Raya (£27m), Bijlow (£10m release clause) LB: Hato (£85m) CM: Zubimendi (£52m with more reasonable wages than De Jong) CF: Sesko (£55m)

Realistically Isak would cost at least £120m. Newcastle don't need to sell him, they probably only need £20m to do the player trading they need and they wouldn't get the FFP head room to replace him and the other positions they need to fill with anything less than that.

Hi James, my dream window - Steele, Hato, Fofana, Nico, Sesko. Very realistic too :)

Love the video. I think 2 underrated picks in midfield could be Yangel Herrera (Girona) and Ederson (Atalanta). My dream pick was always Mikel Merino, i think he'd do great and would be exactly what we need as a LCM.

Yea this is good list, some alternatives we could look into are Geertuida, Diomande for LB, Fofana, Eze, Gibbs Whtie for MFD and Sesko, Zirkzee, Boniface as Fwds

Isak all day for me. Absolute dream striker.

Kai, Jesus, and Trossard are good options for CF going into next season but on the wings we’re lacking attacking threat. I think we definitely need to focus on that area!

I would personally bypass the midfielder this summer. I would push Timber into the 6, keep rice at the 8, and Ode at the 10. Go for Hato, Rodrigo and a number 9 (what ever your preference). While we bypass the midfield for this summer, I would start to lay the ground work to either bring in Musala or Wirtz next summer. We can use Fabio/Smith Rowe in negotiations…if possible. I respect Rice in his more advanced role this past season but him in the 6, with either Wirtz/Musala and Ode interchanging in front of him would arguably be the best midfield 3 in Europe. Build for now but also keep maintaining our bright future

I like James, he is obviously smart and gives this shit a lot of thought. Arteta is far smarter though (football-wise at least) and is a proven curve ball thrower. James alludes to this in the first few seconds and is absolutely correct. It’s fun to hypothesise but our manager nearly always knows what he’s doing, ergo, it’s fun to imagine our next direction but our next levels are being dictated by someone with far more football intelligence than any of these RU-vidr’s will ever display

Both Isak and Kudus were cheaper and linked to Arsenal last summer and we looked the other way. Now we want to pay heavily to get them.

Easy for me Xavi Simons loan (potential obligation) Kimmich De Jong Sesko That window wouldn’t cost you much. All players are versatile. And the depth becomes strong af

I agree with Dejong and Hato, but both will definitely cost more. Approx 50m for Hato and 80m for Dejong. Sesko has a buyout approx 65m, and I think it would be a bargain. So that would be 195m in total. 5m for a backup GK would be enough

I think we need to clear house and make a big push to bring in a LB, 2 midfielders, a striker and potentially rw cover. Bin ESR, Partey, Zinny

Only discovered James had his own channel last week and subscribed straight away, James and Lee Judges always seem to resonate with me on AFTV

De Jong, Xavi Simons/Mo Kudus, Sesko and defensive cover for me.

Rice should play as an 8. He is good going forward and defensively, and that would be a perfect balance if we bring in a proper 6 just as we saw when partey came into that role

What about the £27m for Raya

It's so weird James, this transfer season I don't really have a dream singing. I completely trust Arteta and the team to address the required positions with the appropriate players. They haven't failed badly so far. RW - LB - CDM/LCM They key this transfer period is to address valid rotation option issue not really "upgrade"

I don't know how people have taken the Isak to Arsenal seriously? There's no chance on this planet, that Newcastle would sell him. If they did, it would be for £120m, and Arsenal wouldn't pay that. Two reasons why it defo isn't happening.

As well price and wages, something that will influence our choice will be whether we can pay in instalments for a player - that's a very attractive criteria for balancing the books. We also have to add the £27m due for Raya to the budget .

Artem Dovbyk - Laliga Top Scorer, release clause of £34m active this summer 6:20 - not an issue with this in mind Guimaraes - £100m Jorrel Hato - £45m Artem Dovbyk - £34m Jason Steele - £5m

You want Arsenal to spend $100 million on Isak and when he ends up on the injury list most of the season y’all will blame Arteta and Edu. Isak isn’t happening.

100% agree about Kudus. Under the right manager he’s got potential to be world class

Gk:Steele(8m) LB:A.Robinson(30m) DM: Palhinha(65m) striker:Gyokeres(65m) a blend of needed experience in stone-wall Palhinha(28) and Robinson(25) fast forward movement on the left side, then Gyokeres(25) behind Havertz, similar stature but can finish soon to overtake him and start. All good on injuries too. It'd be hard on Fulham but... Then sell Partey, Eddie and loan/sell Nelson and Smith-Rowe, give away Elneny, Hein, Soares. Maybe get back 50m.

Sell: Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Cedric, Jorginho, Lokonga, Fabio Viera, Nelson, Jesus, Nketiah Buy: Gk- Jason Steele, CB- Sven Botman(Newcastle), DMF- Onana(Everton), RW- Johan Bakayoko (PSV), CF- Benjamin Sesko (Liepzeg) & Solanke (Bournemouth)

Hato 25M, Douglas Luiz 50M, Isak 115M

Hato is at least 60 mil mate, absolutely no way Ajax let him go for less than that, he´s 17 and already got called up to the national team and he´s a captain at Ajax

Gyökeres last season was not the only good he has had. The two previous in Conventry were quite good as well.

Other options which could be doable would be Kimmich, Thuram or Onana for Cm. Toney or Boniface for the striker

Osimhen to Chelsea still blows my mind. Why would a great talent like that want to go to Chelsea in absolute shambles.

That is right. You are DREAMING. We will still be left with an inadequate squad incapable of going all the way in 4 comps. Most likely cheapskate deals on benchwarmers and overpaying for a rescue project like Rashford. We will all be underwhelmed come the end of the window

James, a scene from the prime documentary in Edu's office revealed a 4-1-4-1 set up on his wall. This is how he and Arteta compose the squad irrespective of how Arteta may play during the season. In that scene, Saliba and White were listed as RCB's and Tomiyasu and Cedric were the RB's. I see that you have Tomiyasu down as RCB and White as the RB, so I thought I'd let you know. Also, Smith Rowe and Odegaard were both down as 10's, so I would not group Smith Rowe in there with Rice.

Arsenal should also look for Gorezka at bayern Munich to partner Rice in the midfield. Gorezka is a world class 8 and he can also play 6

Leao 90+, K Thuram bit under 25ish (Year left on contract), Kadioglu bit over 25ish and a keeper Szcz -10ish. = 150m (Plus Raya) spend roughly. Would be totally fine with Sesko, De Jong, Hato or Isak, Bruno for 80+m would be madness and I suspect City will look at the likes of Olise, Eze, Kudus and him. I assume Ramsdale will go on loan or be sold for around 30+m, other than that it's all sales dependent.

Murillo from Nottingham Fofana from Monaco Hwang/Neto from Wolves Isak from Newcastle Mellier from Leeds (GK backup) Sander Berge from Burnely

If De Jong- Rice- Ødegaard trio happens then it had to be the most intelligence press resistant technical midfielder trio in europe. De Jong's presence help Ødegaard most because he can leave build up duty to Dutchman and concentrate more in final third

Apart from the No 9 position, I 💯 with you on every other position. But for the number 9 position I would go with Benjamin sesko. We are saying we want to win the league next season and want to beat man city right. If that’s the case we have to sign him and go head to head with halland. Hot take, I personally think he will become better than Erling halland.

Kudus is a interesting shout....for me i would love these: GK Bijlow - LB Kadioglu - Mid De Jong - ST Kudus

James where did you get that Highbury book end, absolutely love it. Would love half of these signings!

I wouldnt mind a De Jong or a Guimaraes or a Locatelli. However, Kimmich even at 29 just seems like the obvious way we level up. He’ll bring that mentality and aggression that makes the locker room lock in. Plus he’s played under Pep which would make Arteta’s tactics easy to absorb.

I'm seeing tall Sesko & Zirkzee as too similar to Havertz. Hato's clause is 85m! And I def wouldn't sell Partey, particularly considering the fee we'd get. So my 'dream' summer transfers would be: Osimhen 120m, Nico Williams 40m, Fofana 25m, Kadioglu 25m, Raya 27m, Bijlow 10m Total Spent - 247m Sell: Jesus 30m, Nketia 25m, ESR 30m, Nelson 15m, Lokonga 12m, Tavares 8m, Zinny 30m, Tierney 12m, Ramsdale 30m Total Sales: 192m Grand Total Spent = 58m

Great Video, but we all know some stars will be sold. Zinchenko maybe or Partey so we have more funds. The CB could be a issue if we have a Injury Crises. Was pretty lucky with Injury and bookings.

Good video James. As a Dutch Arsenal fan. Hato isn’t ready, he is really talented and really young but that’s also the reason that the critism isn’t that much right now. He started great but he fell of and he struggled a lot in the past 6 months. Of course you can buy him for the future but imo he is not yet good enough to make the Arsenal squad. Frenkie would be a dream for me, since I went to school with him, he played for Willem Ii, the club from the City where I live and was born. Keep it up! 👊

I think the Hato justification just leads me more to think we should promote Lewis-Skelly to the first team - he’s already been learning the inverted fullback role.

Tomiyasu is a great player who can play in all positions in the backline, including LCB, RCB, LB, RB, and is being targeted by Inter and Bayern Munich. He may transfer next season.

Funnily enough Gumaires has 0 red cards in the prem he knows when to back off once on a yellow which I think shows he’s very mature smart & aware in my experience

I want Hatto, Fofana or Diamonde, Olise, Nico and Sesko

Great stuff James,I love your vision! Bruno can do unbelievable things with a football, and he tries everything!His temperament is a real worry,he seems a bit of a nut quite often! Frankie and Martin and Declan, that's immense James. Definitely the young man at Ajax and if it's possible to get isak or the young man at RB up front and that's nearly Mikael into phase getting really close! Thanks James,up the arsenal!

Wouldn’t be against us testing the waters for Wharton. Can see him being a £70/80m player in a season or two. Great composure for his age.

I'm with you with all except Locatelli. I think Zubimendi, Xavi Simmons or Vitinha would be better at 8 and can interchange with Rice like you've suggested.

Our 6 has to have a world class passing range like Partey. Except for winning the ball back, Rice’s biggest assets are his engine, power and ball carrying ability. He is best as an 8 because he can win the ball back further up the pitch. Our 6 has to break the lines and get the ball up to Odegaard, Saka and the rest quickly like Partey does.

This would be my ideal Arsenal team for next season. GK: Raya, Meslier and Arthur Okonkwo. DF: White, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Simikan, Gabriel, Kiwior, Jurrien Timber, Hato and Yoro (using a similar strategy as Saliba to integrate him into the first team). MF: Rice, Partey, Guimaraes or De Jong or Douglas Luiz, Odegaard, Jorginho, ESR and Quinten Timber. I’m dreaming but…god I’d love Mainoo for us. ST/RW/LW: Saka, Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard, Xavi Simons, Takefusa Kubo or Kudus, Isak or Toney. Add in appearances for Nwaneri, Cozier-Duberry, Lewis-Skelly, and Norton-Cuffy.

Agree on Steele, Hato and De Jong but I think Khvicha Kvaratskhelia should be our big signing

ST - Isak - 100 mil CDM - B Guimaraes - 100 mil CAM/RW - Xabi Simmons on loan and even without an option, we can convince him to join us and he can then ask PSG that he wants to leave. LB - Theo Hernandez - 70 mil CB - Tosin Aderebayo ( Free Agent) GK - Raya (Obligation) - 30 mil Backup GK - Sczesny Around 300 mil

Would personally love to see us go for Quinten timber. Less expensive than de Jong or guimaraes and leave money for the striker. But tbh we will see won’t we. Edu and Arteta know more than we do

Arsenal need to add the following players for next season: Viktor Gyokeres. £80m Bruno Guimaraes/ Douglas Luiz £70m Pedro Neto £50m Sell: Lakonga £10m. ESR £35m. Zinchenko £30m. Jesus £40m. Nketiah £40m. Nelson £15m Tierney £20m. Partey £20m First team is untouchable. Develop a couple of lads from the under 18s and add the above players.

I strongly believe we should stick with Havertz up front. He was brilliant and don't forget that for the first half of the season he was playing in the wrong position and he was low on confidence. I think next season he will hit the ground running and he can be a 20-25 goal striker for us. He is also still very young, he will improve his finishing and we could get a mouth-watering Giroud-Van Persie hybrid. So hard working as well. I think we should focus on bringing a world class partner for Rice and Odegaard in the midfield, and more attacking options that Arteta actually trusts.

Nico Williams, Wharton, Hato, isak would be amazing I think rice is better as a 6/8 and Wharton looks like he can become a brilliant holding midfielder I think nwaneri gets minutes as an 8 as well

James if we were to get Isak, how do we manage his injuries through the season? I still think we missed out on Qudus last summer as a perfect backup for Saka. I really wish there was something that can be done about Ramsdale. He isnt as bad as we make him look. he was good until we got Raya. I feel we havent been fair to him tbh.

Clarence here, would it be silly to think arsenal are looking at olise?also glad you got rid of that oatmeal/sick jumper.. good work mate

While he could be pricey, de Jong would be perfect. His passes are perfect, he can help support rice at defence and he presses like no one else

Frenkie De Jong would be a mercenary signing. He's said that Barca is his dream club, deferred his wages to stay, and couldn't even be lured by his old manager at United. That isn't a player who wants to come to Arsenal, it's a player who would be made to. His injury record is also not great in a much less physical league

For me tho Alvaro Valles of Las palamas as gk Our backline is solid as it is with everyone fit De jong or Zubimendi A backup for Saka Nico Williams, Doue or Olise altho doue is the more cheap option if what we want is an understudy but outright competition is olise or nico Striker position is either sesko ,Isak or Gyokeres ❤️ COYG

My window. Gk. Steele or Szczesny 5m LB Kadıoğlu 25m CM. Zubimendi 35m plus Tierney CAM/RW/LW. Eze 45m ST. Isak 80M Plus Ramsdale. Cb. Hato agree pre contract deal to sign in summer of 2025 10m upfront 30m upon completion. 200m total. Outgoing sales around +70m

James always love your input brother 🎉

@JamesGoonerverse .... you know what mate I'm with you on that one I think Isak needs to be a priority

Sesko or isak Xavi Simons or doue (lille)or williams Fofana (monaco)or guimaraes or alvares (atalanta) Kadioglou or hato

I agree with your logic. But I really don't see the need for Isak. Also, I'd sell Partey for Onana/Fofana

With Brunos injury profile(or lack of one) hes worth the money. Who wouldnt be out of the squad for extended periods of time and hes a complete midfielder. If only he joined the first time we would've won the league last year

Tchouameni is who to go after. 120 million (overpayment) can turn the head of Real Madrid. For the last 3 pieces we need to finish the squad…. over payment is the way to go.

Love the video mate! Great breakdown, make sure to send it to Edu 😄

Thank you for bringing up Bruno's attitude/self-control concerns. I haven't heard any arsenal fans talk about it when his name pops up. I still remember how upset I was about that. Granted I also couldn't stand Jorginho when he was at Chelsea either, and he changed my mind about him. I could be wrong here, and perhaps it's more instruction from Newcastle side than his natural aggression levels, but it has be said that's he's a powderkeg with a kit on. A bit like having Xhaka before his redemption arc, but certainly more in the box in specific aspects.

Good luck paying De Jong 600k per week salary. Guy is living the dream and unbothered of success anymore.

A dream window largely depends on what you think we need. I think timber starts at LB and with tomi and zinchenko we have outside back covered. Also kiwior is similar to hato in being able to play LB and CB so I wouldn’t get hato. I also see rice playing an 8 so I would get a cdm. And I don’t think we need a striker but I think it’s the window to buy sesko for a good price and let him develop. Dream window Kimmich Sell partey buy fofana Kudus Sesko

I would love to get Andre Onana from Everton. He’d be perfect for the squad with his size and technical ability

De Jong would be a great addition. Any idea what Conner Gallagher's fee would be? His defensive numbers as a pressing number 10 are quite impressive.

I need Kimmich at CM if he doesn't extend at Bayern. CL Pedigree, 8/10 in all 3 midfield positions, leadership, ready fit for Mikel's tactical setup.

My dream window: - Frenkie de Jong - Vlahovic - Bijlow - Walker-Peters (back up) Should be about 170m Sell: - Nketiah - Nelson - Partey* -Cedric -Lokonga -Ramsdale Should be about 80m in sales

Sell Ramsdale, Nketiah, Nelson, Lokonga, Smith Rowe, Tierny, Taveres, Patino, Marquinhos Promote Nwaneri. Bring in Bruno G into the midfield starts alongside Rice and Odergaard. Bring in Olise for genuine competition for Saka and squad rotation so Saka can get a rest during the year or knows that someone can actually replace him if he isn't up to it. Potentially start one on the left depending on Martinelli/Trossard form. Bring in a striker like a Isak (Sesko maybe? haven't watched him enough) to compliment Havertz with Jesus competing for all three front line positions and I think we have a title winning squad. I don't think we need to add another defender but you can if needed. A Steele makes sense for a back up keeper.

I like your review of de Jong but speculations that zinchenko leaves and Jakub kiwior play as a left back becoz he's done really well in that position but signing jorrel hato for left back would be ideal. But look at center backs we need backup I think MARCOS SENESI would be a good signing see he has experience was at feyenoord as well. Last year against Liverpool he played really well I'm not judging by one game but still I think the team that has punched above their weight has been Bournemouth so look at their players as well. Also what are your thoughts on zirkzee and Viktor gyokeres , Santiago jimenez

I think Rice needs to be kept at 8 in the current system. When he played in 6 we struggled with progressing the ball as he’s not a progressive passer rather a carrier, he did lots of lateral passes. De Jong has more passing ability but struggles with defense as a 6 (coming from a barça fan) and also is generally a great carrier. IMO priority should be a young progressive passer to substitute Jorginho or Partey,

Since its a dream, Florian Writz, Isak, cammavinga, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

It’s funny how Arteta keeps missing these players. Two seasons ago, I was crying out for Bruno Guimares. It was obvious that he was what we needed and he was available for 40m. Last season I was crying out for Kudus. It was obvious that we needed a Kudus. He was available for 40m and we passed. I’ll be annoyed if they go ahead and sign those two for insane money when we could have gotten for cheap.

Since day 1 I’ve been saying De Jong would be perfect, the right age , very creative and a lot of experience.