Afternoon all.
Speculation is rife about Mo Elneny suffering and injury which could see him miss the rest of the season. I hope that’s not the case because with his contract expiring in the summer, it could mean we’ll not see him play for the club again. There might be an element of truth to the story though as during his press conference yesterday whilst talking about Elneny’s injury, Arteta said:
There are concerns. Mo is a player who never complains about anything but let’s see. We need some more cover in midfield, ideally, if we can. But this market is complicated. But as I always say, the most important thing is we get the performances and the time on the pitch with the players we already have on the pitch are really good.
If there’s no Mo Elneny, we’re down to Sambi Lokonga as the only cover for Thomas Partey and without being disrespectful to the Belgian, we’re not winning the Premier League or Europa League Cup with him in the team. Not in my opinion. We might have luck on our side and get through the next four and a half months with Tomas Partey steering clear of injury but it’s a gamble. A big gamble. It’s a bit of a déjà vu really because back in the summer Arsenal tried to sign a midfielder because Mo Elneny suffered injury, or so said the newspapers, and here we are again in the same position.
I suppose Arsenal have three options now, take a gamble and stick with the squad as it is now or sign a central midfielder on loan or permanently. Much has been written in the newspapers about Declan Rice being Arsenal’s priority signing and that the player really wants to come to the club, which if true, means a big money signing in the next week is probably unlikely. Would West Ham sell the player now? The money would certainly help David Moyes boost his squad in numbers but I can’t see West Ham letting one of their top players leave when they’re already struggling this season. A loan deal is possible but who, goodness only knows.
Weston McKennie and Moises Caicedo are the names being tossed around on NN but one will need a £100 million offer according to his manager, the other though, is a fifth of the price. This transfer window has been very good but if Arsenal were to sign Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, or someone who can do what they’ve been doing for their respective clubs this season, even I’d start to believe we could win the league….
Anyway, let’s see what the next six days has in store for Arsenal in this transfer window.
See you in the comments.
And why not Palhinha to Fulham?
He only joined Fulham last summer though.
We are not as short as people think: Zinchenko, White, new boy Kiwior all of them can play the Partey role well. Having said that, I would love to see Onana on Arsenal.
Yes, but when one starts moving the pieces, it has an impact on the way we play perhaps.
Only Kiwior would need any tutelage in the way that we play and that should not take too long to impart.
Apart from Declan Rice, there is also James Madison at Leicester who would be available for a reasonable price.
Getting someone in on loan without an obligation to buy would be the most suitable for me if Elneny is crocked, we don’t really want to sign someone who’ll block off Patino next season.
Getting Declan Rice next summer would be brilliant but after the Mudryk shambles I’ll not be banking on anyone that high profile signing for us, in fact reading about it gets on my nerves because you just know that when you emotionally buy into a prospective signing that he’ll probably bugger off elsewhere.
according to The Sun Cedric Soares is joining Fulham on loan and Arsenal has turned down a loan offer for Sambi Lokonga from AC Monaco.
This is the most important signing we have to make. With Elneny crocked we just don’t have the cover. I do think Rice won’t be the same kind of signing and haggling that Mudryk ended up being. Rice has different reasons and they are football reasons. He’s doesn’t need the money he wants to win things and has already said Arsenal are a young team going places, and with an incredible coach who would make him a better player. So I don’t think it will come down to price. And yes we just be mindful of Charlie coming into the squad he will be a welcome addition. And yes we do have some cover as mentioned.
But i would hope with the position we are in now we should be going all out to sign a defensive midfielder. I was watching Danilo last night and thought he looked pretty good and can’t help thinking for the money he would have been a good signing. But we must sign someone as we won’t find a better opportunity to win the league from here.
If we go for Declan Rice at least Arteta knows what he is getting, and he should adjust to Arteta’s game plan pretty quickly.
As much as I would like to see Charlie Patino in our senior team next season, the thing is will he want to stay if he does not get much game time, or will Charlie or Arteta consider another loan for half / full season to get more experience and keep his match fitness up just in case we need him halfway through next season.
Morning all.
I don’t think a midfielder signing would have an affect on Patino’s Arsenal career. He’s still only 19 years old. In any case, if he’s good enough, I suspect he’ll play. Too many years of Wenger not signing someone because of another player coming through, bit him on the backside. I can’t see Mikel Arteta making the same mistake. Nor should he in my opinion.
My own view is that we’re in the best position to win the League than we’ve been for years so if there is money to spend this window, spend it. Assuming the player Arteta would like can be bought that is,
If Sam Dean in The Telegraph is to be believed, Arsenal are plotting to sign Brighton defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo for around £75 million.
As Rico has said, if the money is available and the player getable, jump in now rather than wait for the summer window.
This is a young, 21 year old, player with vital Premiership experience. If the second half of his season is as good as his first, his price will rocket by the time of the next window.
I agree if the money is there and the right player becomes available then go after him, however at 19 years old I would still consider loaning Patino out for the First half of next season, if possible, to a lower premier league club or similar to gain more experience,
I’d love to see us sign him Cicero, or the guy at Everton. Chavs are after both too but imo, any player if they had an ounce of common sense wouldn’t go there unless football is not top of their agenda.
Trossard and Ben White might encourage him to sign for us.
Mig, I couldn’t believe we didn’t go after Danilo for 18m, especially when we were linked with him for so long. He’s really good, young and in the Partey mode. As compared with Caicedo for 75m, I would’ve gone for Danilo.
I still believe that we are ahead of the schedule , I also believe that we will not get a better chance of winning the league . This creates a problem for the club , No doubt we have players under surveillance , players that we might want to do a Saliba with. Was Kiwior bought forward , or was he actually on the radar for this window ?
Whether anyone else comes in or not I am now worried that the forthcoming cup match might provide City with the opportunity to injure or incapacitate one of our more important players.
We seem to be inextricably entangled with Manchester City, after winning their cup quarter-final against Aston Villa 3 – 0 Arsenal Women will face City in the semis. Our men play City in the cup tonight and we still have to face off against them home and away in the Premiership.
You don’t think there might be a case of hot and cold balls do you ?
That’s my concern too Potter. Guardiola might be saying all the right things to the media but I’m pretty sure he has a plan for Partey, Saka and Odegaard..
New post up now