Morning all.
Rumours are rife that Arsenal will sign 18-year-old Omar Rekik in January. Apparently the club tried to bring him to north London during the summer but a deal didn’t materialise. According to Football London’s Chris Wheatley, Arsenal and Hertha Berlin thrashed a deal out on Monday and he’ll be an Arsenal player when the transfer window opens in January. £800k is the reported fee which is a cheap deal. A real bargain if he proves to be a good player..
Interestingly, Matteo Guendouzi is on loan at Hertha. Rekik is yet to make the Hertha first team so the likelihood of him joining ours is slim, especially with the number of central defenders we have on the books. According to reports in Germany the player’s family wanted him to move to England, following in the same footsteps of his older brother Karim who was once on Man City’s books for Manchester City but now at Sevilla.
True or not I’ve no idea. Of course we need creative players, a striker too but snapping up younger players for such a small fee is Arsenal being smart. They did the same back in the summer by signing a few younger and very cheap players who will prove their worth either by being good footballers for the club or a saleable asset. Apparently Guendouzi had a good game for France this week which has resulted in a few headlines on newsnow suggesting Arsenal made a mistake letting him go. Easy to suggest but he was clearly disrupting Mikel Arteta’s class so he’s better off where he is. Him playing well for his country is good for Arsenal as it either means he’s grown up as far as football goes and he’ll come back a better player or his value will increase should Arsenal want to sell him. It’s a win win I think.
Arsenal currently have a lot of players out on loan.
| Date | Position | Name | To | End date | Team |
| 16-Jul-20 | CB | Konstantinos Mavropanos | VfB Stuttgart | 30-Jun-21 | First team |
| 10-Aug-20 | CB | Zech Medley | Gillingham | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s |
| RB | Zak Swanson | MVV Maastricht | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s | |
| 13-Aug-20 | RW | Trae Coyle | Gillingham | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s |
| 17-Aug-20 | CM | Matt Smith | Swindon Town | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s |
| 25-Aug-20 | RB | Jordi Osei-Tutu | Cardiff City | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s |
| 04-Sep-20 | DM | Ben Sheaf | Coventry City | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s |
| 08-Sep-20 | ST | Tyreece John-Jules | Doncaster Rovers | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s |
| 22-Sep-20 | CB | Mark McGuinness | Ipswich Town | 30-Jun-21 | Under-23s |
| 06-Oct-20 | CB | Daniel Ballard | Blackpool | 31-Jan-21 | Under-23s |
| 06-Oct-20 | CM | Matteo Guendouzi | Hertha Berlin | 30-Jun-21 | First Team |
| 06-Oct-20 | DM | Lucas Torreira | Atletico Madrid | 30-Jun-21 | First Team |
Whilst it’s great they’re all playing football, apart from one or two, none are playing at a high level. Does it matter? I don’t think so as some of the lower league teams not only play good football but the divisions themselves are tough. The football is tough too so these young men will have hardened up before their return to Arsenal. As much as the Premier League can produce great football at times, some of the individuals are pretty pathetic really. A slightest of touches and they’re on the ground rolling around as if Mike Tyson has just landed one of his best punches, it’s pathetic. Arsenal have a few players who go to ground far too easily, Lacazette being one of them.
Not all of those out on loan will remain at Arsenal but as I suggested with Guendouzi, by playing week in, week out, they are putting themselves out there for other clubs to spot.
Twelve players on loan might turn into a lot of money for Edu and Arteta to spend next summer. Just Guendouzi and Torriera would probably finance a creative midfield and the rest could go towards a much needed striker.
See you in the comments guys.
Good morning Rico, I read this morning that we are going to sign the young Tunisian but will loan him back to Hertha Berlin, as we did in the case of William Saliba.
Morning Rico/everyone
Yes it makes sense to sign up these players at low cost. If they work out or are sold on Arsenal make a profit, if not we haven’t lost much.
The January window is only a few weeks away, thinking about it – deep joy! I would hope we will be trying to move some on, Mustafi, Sokratis, the other fella. I don’t expect incoming, other than youngsters, but Arteta might want another midfielder, and over the years Arsenal have loved a January transfer(usually last minute) so you never know.
Thank goodness the internationals are over, what a waste of time. Who knows what team we will put out on Sunday, I’d like to see Willock, Nelson, AMN, Nketiah or at least some of them. Eddie can get one over his previous manager, who never really rated him.
Morning Cicero, Limey and all.
Is the youngster from Hertha not Dutch?
Ditto re the international fixtures, just glad they are done for the year.
You are right Rico, he is Dutch but I believe his parents are Tunisian. He is not that young, he will be 26 on December 2nd, at that age he could not be heading into the under 21s.
Are we talking about the same player Cicero? I’m talking about Omar Rekik
an 18 year old defender who plays for Hertha. His older brother plays for Sevilla
Great international break for The Arsenal
🏴
Saka – Three games in six days
🏴
Tierney – Three games in six days
🇨🇮
Pepe – Two full games in six days
🇬🇦
Aubameyang – Slept on an airport floor
🇪🇬
Elneny & Kolasinac
🇧🇦
– both positive for COVID-19.
I put it down to advancing age Rico. 😉
Xhaka has returned early to training as Switzerland’s match with Ukraine has been cancelled due to a Covid outbreak among the Ukraine squad.
I bet Leeds are smiling though Potter.
Ha ha Cicero, I thought we had crossed wires..
Not liking the training ground bust up stories…
Ceballos and Luiz apparently.
Keep calm and carry on Rico 😆
New post up now