Paulina is the decoy - we’re leading Chelsea to spend 90-100m on him - then we go for the real target

How about a video on potential signings that could add value to the squad for our supposed title race? Great video once again, eagerly waiting for the next one! :D

Palinha as a 6, Rice as an 8 could be defensive solidity unlike we’ve ever seen before. However, our problem isn’t really with the defensive side of things, it’s the line breaking passes that we kind of lack (especially with Partey being out), so I think a Zubimendi could be that key player. While I certainly understand Arteta wants defensive solidity, I don’t want it to be at the detriment of our attack

I think you’ve come at this from slightly the wrong perspective. We need 15-18 players who are good enough to start for us. Palhinha isn’t necessarily going to start every game but there’s plenty of situations where he’d be useful both with and without Rice imo.

Given how PGMOL is swift to punish arsenal for soft fouls... this guy will be a target for penalties and red card for us

What you are saying about Palhinha's passing is the same thing people have been saying about Rice. The way team plays has an impact on that.

New subscriber here. Saw you on the The Ripple Effect. What a breath of fresh air you are, as well as your comments section. Actual proper football talk and analysis. Keep it up!

Its crazy, I was thinking Francis Coqulien as you were describing his limitations and the need for a creative CM(like cazola) to cover up for this.

If we sign Paulinha then Arteta wants to play with 3CBS-Gabriel Saliba White 2CDMS-Rice and Palinha 4AMf-Martinelli, Kai, Ode, Saka ST-Jesus

Douglas Luiz looks incredible. Very well rounded CM

The saddest part in all of this is that we have the answer right within our midst: Thomas Partey. But, oh well

Palhinha is coming in to improve defensive stability down the middle of the park. We are a Ben White injury away from playing Cedric at RB since timber and tomiyasu aren’t fit until after new years. It would benefit us greatly

This guy will be world class in our team , he will allow arsenal to be very offensive and defensively strong , no more rashford counter attacks , when was the last time you saw arsenal with two big midfielders, Probably Viera nd petit / viera nd Gilberto , that could be Rice nd Paulinho , allowing saka and martinelli space Arsenal could play 442 again, with two strikers , like Toney nd Jesus or Osimehn and Jesus , The options are endless , he’s experienced and has high work rate for the team what we defo need , his tackles will add a new steal and he’s technically gifted , can hit long rangers to free kicks 😎 His passing struggle cos Fulham don’t impose themselves on teams they play to win, which he does very well at helping them

Paulinha is right for Arsenal. You got it at the end when looking at his versatility. He brings a great amount of flexibility to Arsenal, not to mention cover for every position from full-back to number 8. The key attribute he has for me is his ability to cover for Declan Rice should he need to be absent for injury or rest. Without Declan Rice, this team does not work. Unless Partey miraculously returns from the dead and isn't sold, we'd be left with Jorginho at the 6. As great as he is on the ball, we completely lose control of the game out of possession without Rice's ability to cover an entire 3rd of the pitch by himself. How many other players can do that Rice role? Certaintly Paulinha is one of only a few who can get close.

with the goals we have in the team now I'm not concerned with our attack. get a defender and a cm and we can win the title

Good analysis. I think most fans had this feeling about the Palhinha rumors. To play devils advocate though, what did Rice's numbers look like at West Ham? Have his passing stats not increased significantly since coming to Arsenal? I honestly dont know, but I remember Caicedo looking like a much better passer than Rice last season. But now this ssn, just guessing, but I suspect that probably doesnt pan out. The difference would be the team/system, Brighton vs Chelsea for Caicedo and West Ham vs Arsenal for Rice . So, could one not argue that Palhinha's stats are moreso a product of Fulham rather than a reflection of his potential in an Arsenal side? I dont remember Ramsdale having great distribution from the back on Sheffield before coming to Arsenal, for instance. So idk, just a thought

A video of your thoughts of what our chances getting Oshimehn by the summer?

You need to compare the stats with Rice at West Ham. It does not make much sense to compare an Arsenal midfielder to a Fulham midfielder with the difference in average possession and field tilt. I hope Arsenal can somehow trick Real Madrid to loan Camavinga to them in January.

Arteta is to try and to cover for rice in case of an injury because if we don't have him we have to change our whole style of play. He wants the next closest player to Rice, in terms of being a one man destroyer. If he is happy to be a squad player at times he would be an astute signing.

With Partey out injured and up for sale and Jorginho out of contract in the summer, that leaves Rice alone in the midfield. Though not decent enough, I would take Palinha as a replacement for Jorginho or Partey. On the other hand, it's either Douglas Luiz or Zubimendi that must be our priority signing.

My 'reliable' Arsenal sources said nothing about Palhinha. Pure journalism content BS. He is too physical to play for Arsenal, will easily targeted by ref for booking. Yes, we still have that problem. On going since 2004.

I strongly disagree. Pahlinha as a 6 with Declan progressing forward would be the ultimate midfield balance. Considering Saliba and Gabriel behind these two, our structure would give the ability to defend and control games.

I’m convinced this guy backwards chains ( Conclusion > Justification > Theorem) by coming up with the title first and justifying it, instead of looking at the requirements of our team first, providing a solution, and then coming up with the title. First Toney, now Palhinha. I think he would be a good replacement for Jorginho and could maintain our midfield squad depth in the future. Toney would give us a target man for goals and let’s not forget he’s premier league proven and very interested in joining us (like Rice). I think they would both be good signings and might be what push us that extra mile to actually win a title.

Janurary - A versatile ready to hit the ground CB and a young prospect CDM who could one day replace Partey/Jorgi and play alongside Rice in big games Summer - A new in-his-prime CF and a pacey RB who's basically a winger a-la-frimpong, that can replace Saka for final 10 mins of some games This for me would complete our Squad for the next season while maintaining a title-charge this year

I put it to you like this, what if: Jorgi and Partey are going next Summer Arteta wants security for that area for the 2nd half of the season at DM (fit security) Arteta wants to bring in a young DM next summer and wants him to learn from vets Zini or Timber could spend most of the match in Midfield with Rice and JP behind them Fulham are apparently getting Andrea and we helped them out on the Leno deal so we could get lucky dealing with them (Loan with Obli?) Rice-JP on European nights sounds very, very good I don't know, I could be rambling but I'm not against the deal.

You are right. We are 1 bench away from Cedric. Not to take anything away from Cedric, but with today's wingers, is he able to handle the likes of Doku, Diaz, Johnson, etc. Cedric has passed his prime and is purely a player for the cups. And don't forget that Zinc has been sus in defense too. Timber was supposed to be our talisman on LB. I have been worried about this issue way before pre-Tomi injury. Why our attack could play so freely this season is that our defence has picked up the pieces. We have seen how attack were over-stretched last season when we concede stupid goals. Right now, we have plenty on top. We have Trossard, Nelson, ESR, Vieira, Nketiah, Partey and Jorginho. We are pretty much stacked. But imagine a back 4 with only 1 decent defender on bench. Don't forget that White has to run the entire length of pitch to support Saka, and Zinc has to invert to support Havertz. In short, I totally support TDK that we need another defender. Not sure if it is world class quality or someone on par at White/Gabriel level (Saliba-likes would be too expensive). Anyway, if we are going to get a striker while sacrificing defence, please guarantee that he can score at least 3 goals per match, and doesn't have an injury tendency.

If he signs that means we are evolving again. That could mean a new FB model where we attack in wide spaces with a block 4 to defend. Evolution brother. When you assess a player and he has the,word ‘most’ next to a lot of bars then I’m open to what we can be with him

Palinha gave us nice options for CDM and CB. On both positions we need cover from experienced player in order to deliver when asked.

He simply wouldn't be starting. He would be a back up. We're moving further away from Partey simply because of his injuries. We need enough quality rotation in the defense as well.

you forget that we had the same worries with Jorghinhos passing when we were linked with him... Chelsea fans kept saying he only passed backwards... that is not what he is doing now... and I don't think it would be too different with Palhinha... he would be coming to a team more confident on the ball... with better structure... his passing will improve...

We did also try Partey as iwb on the right. That took time and training, though. Not seamless.

Arteta wanted both Rice and Caicedo from the beginning, Rice as the 6 and Caicedo as the inverting RB. That’s what I think he wants with Palhinha. He wants someone that can run all across the pitch with Rice. That was the plan with Caicedo. Rice will be driving with the ball wile Palhinha just sits and waits for a transition. With Palhinha Arsenal will become one of the most defensively solid teams the world has ever seen.

What Arsenal need to do is go into Jan buy a CM/Box-Box mid to balance the mid and provide a strong defensive backup to whover is the DM but also isn't afraid to go forward with the ball bit like Xhaka but more attacking cause we haven't got a player like that just DM and CAM's. And a ST to provide Arsenal with another option, competition and possibly take over from Jesus. Cause lets face it Eddie ain't the one.

What about the future? Signing aged effective player for 3 tesrs then replace with academy talents

We are quite light in the DM department. Jorginho, El Neny and Partey are the wrong side of 30 and will increasingly be unavailable due to injuries. Maybe an alternative would be to train one of the defenders into a DM (someone like Kiwior?) .. but we are also light in defense.

Partey/Jorginho/Palinha in DM Rice/Havertz/Odegaard in AM All rotating interchangeably depending on fatigue and opposition…

Could you look at the Antwerp player, Arthur Vermeeren? He might be an interesting talent.

I read the same type of ideas when we were linked to Rice. About rice struggles in clean first pass. I think you just underestimated the effect of 10 top players around you unlike at Fulham. Your mindset changes when you are surrounded with top players, you feel safer. As its happening for Rice

Could be on to something. He used Partey as a full back earlier in the season

Paulina could allow Rice play as a make shift Cb/ Rb if we are light in the mid

With quality we have he will fit in.

With Paulinha we could push so many more players forward, and that’s if he played 6. He can play rb and lb. Think about it, with his coverage, we could push 2 more players up, basically playing 2 strikers and a fullback (if we play 4 at the back) way forward. I would personally play 3-3-4 with Paulinha, with playing White-Saliba-Gabriel Odegaard- Paulinha- Rice Saka- Jesus- Havertz- Martinelli That would be our best team in decades

I think definitely sign him. He might not be able to retain the ball the same way jorginho or rice can but he can definitely play 6 and play relatively simple passes and dominated defensively allowing rice to do his thing further forward

In the summer City bid for Rice. Now why would they do that if they already had Rodri? Chew on that for a bit and this transfer starts making a little bit more sense.

You sneaky bastard. The old switcheroo right at the end there!

Imagine a double pivot of rice and paulinha at UCL away days😭😭

also reuell walters is another option arteta is actually open to

What’s with the Cedric hate? He was signed as a backup and played as well as he could. He also hasn’t made many mistakes, certainly when he does, it’s not as ugly as Rayas

Arteta tried Rice at CB against psv in the champions league. I think you got it spot on at the end. Palhinha & Rice could be a versatile pair of monsters who can play dm or cb whenever mikel wants which gives adequate cover for saliba and gabriel

I think Arteta should go for a back 3 defense in the future! If this signing go through. Gabriel, Saliba and white/Tiber. This signing as a left back when defending

1. You're saying Coquelin would fetch 80m in this market. That could mean the leagues have dropped in standards and quality. 2. Arteta maybe wants Palhinha for CL. He thinks he has a shot, & he's going to take it. 3. If Arteta & his very large team think he's going to fit, then maybe they've got it figured out.

I love your content, positivity, and intelligence.

Palhinha is coming to replace Partey. What does this mean? He'll play alongside Declan in the bigger games. He'll play Right Back and Invert, with Timber or Tomi/Kiwi on the other side. He'll play CB and go up into the midfield a la Stones. He's a younger, more defensively assured, less injury prone Partey without a looming scandal.

The last two minutes of the video summed up my exact thoughts. Here are a few others if you care to read them: 1. Coaching: Taking a look at Arsenal players under Arteta's reign, they all either go up a level or leave trying. No stagnation. Palhinha will be no different, with the only issue being the heavy price-tag, as you mentioned. 2. His profile is very interesting, though. He can step into midfield from the back line or, depending on personnel, drop from midfield to cover either left or right in our back 5. He can also partner Rice in midfield in the big games, and oh my god does that make me wet 😋 3. However, a profile we're really lacking is a left-footed Benjamin White. That way we'd have a complete, versatile back line. I know, some will say Kiwior is going to be it, but his passing is too good to take from the centre of the pitch, and he's not as big an athlete as White is.

I think he will play the role similar to John stones drifting into midfield from CB.

You should do a podcast with James AFTV it will be a belter

I can see it happening. If Mikel wants him, he will find a way to make it work

I would also prefer a more creative no6 to pair with Rice

Saliba got injured last season and we started losing and drawing

They said he's our partey replacement and if it's really he would not play or play as a RB or LB

As much as it feels liberating to know beforehand what players clubs are gonna sign (thanks to the emergence of Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein) the namedropping of Arsenal's potential signings by these guys doesn't sit very well. It feels like we're doing the scouting for other clubs by pinpointing players our club is considering. Just like happened with Mudryk.

I think Palinha would be our "Stones" a center back who's comfortable going slightly up

Thoughts on Viktor Gyökeres being brought in as an alternative strike option?

If we losse party and elneny is also set to leave and sambi lokonga is going to be sold then i think patino and palinha will be good for the depth and tactics

Interesting ,but will he accept being at bench as a backup CB ?

Remember where Partey played before he got injured?

I reckon Arteta wants another more consistent inverted option and Palhinha can provide that.

I want him, we have a defender crisis, but we still have to get a striker locked in before Joao

I desperately want ousmane diamande of sporting. I think as a defender he can play either RB, RCB, and he’s good enough to cover LCB if we aren’t completely comfortable with kiwior playing there. Also, he allows Saliba to get a little bit of rest

I like the idea of him being more defensive fit, but not at that age

Saka was not a left back, he just covered there.

Price is the barrier So…we won’t do,it

We are one injury away from Elneney playing in the middle

We need enough experience, physicality an versatility,partey is good but he's prone to injuries

Just waiting for Arteta to sign Paulinha to play CF. Inverted 6 = 9.

My question, what happens if Rice is Injured? Signing Joao Palinha would be a better cover than having Jorginho. Just my opinion though.

Why we are still linked with so many midfielder? We are stacked in that area, whether it's loanee and academy players who had huge potential. What are we, midfielder FC? What we need is natural No 9 to have an option beside jesus, then proper backup for saliba and saka. We need set a priorities right first before talking midfield area again

All Hail the Almighty Algorithm 🔥☯️

Palhinha is the right choice for pretty much any team in the world. And as for the price...you ain't getting a player that good in his position in today's scenario for less.

Arsenal need to focus on getting a striker someone that can score goals regularly

Rice needs a parner in midfield a tough guy... Thomas Partey is on joke time with injuries... We have no time for Partey's shenanigans cause we going on 20 years with no epl trophy

We need a backup to Rice. Partey lacks availability and Jorginho isn't a long term solution.

4:12 "Rice's passing is underrated" but Alex in the summer u said It was superior Partey's, seeing that u are wrong, u are now moving the goal post/creating another narrative about Rice's "underrated" passing.

I'm very sure Chelsea will hunt for Osimhen for Jackson rotation so I don't think we'll win the bid war with Chelsea

0:28 Caicedo - wow - don’t hear much about him anymore…! 🙃

paulinha is the replacement for thomas partey .. pretty much rice playing like xhaka.. that partnership is similar to treble winning combo of rodri and gundogan. jorginho will leave arsenal soon by nxt summer being temporary solution.. partey to will leave nxt summer mostly becoming injury prone ! leaving only rice and fabio vieira as 6 n 8... paulinha and douglas luiz are two perfect fits for our team❤

“he’s not being brought in to be rices understudy” yeah he is he’s being bought to be the backup dm

Why's Viera still in any conversation?

Fofana?

Hope we can sell Partey to help fund moves.

Palhinha would never sign for arsenal. There's bigger clubs out there interested in his signature, he is most likely to go to Liverpool before he goes to arsenal

Arteta wants to concede 0.00XG every match day bro......😹😹😹😹. we're one injury away from a Cedric MasterClass😊😊😊😊

Honestly, I can’t imagine it either. But there was a time we could’ve said the same thing about Harvertz and even Rice.. While I don’t think we need him, I feel like Arteta has given us enough to make us not doubt his decisions anymore. If he wants Palhinha, then I’m eager to see what he wants to do with him. Who knows, Palhinha might lowkey be quite good on the ball.. he just might have been used in a different role at Fulham and that’s why we aren’t sure about him.

Why did we loan out Tierney?? Doesn't look such a great decision now.

Palinha as a full back gives me Partei at rb vibes

Fulham bossed Arsenal. Paulinha would be daft to join you. His tackling was immense against you.

he's coming in to sit and play 6 so Rice can play 8 and Odegaard 10🔥

Agree with your assessment. Luiz would be a better profile both in terms of where he could play (6 or 8) and also age. I wonder if we sometimes leak stuff like this as a smoke screen to keep eyes off the actual prize. Liverpool need Palhinha more than we do, which is why I hope he goes to Bayern 👍

Maybe this is irrelevant to this video . Please upload your review about Aston Villa match .. i am actually waiting for the video 🙏👍

We need to poach Mainoo from United