Morning all.
What do you think about Youri Tielemans to Arsenal rumours on NewsNow and the back pages of the newspapers? He’s 25 years old, knows the Premier League inside out and has played over forty matches for Belgium. Initially, a holding midfielder, but Anderlecht manager Besnik Hasi moved him further up yesterday pitch into a more attacking role which is similar to what Mikel Arteta has done with Granit Xhaka.
We know Arsenal need a number of players brought in this summer and we know they’ll get them because Mikel Arteta has told us so would Tielemans be a good addition or do you think this story is just that, a story, and one without any substance to it whatsoever?
Another rumour which won’t go away is Gabriel Jesus, who according to the Mirror has said:
About my future, it’s still uncertain. I have a contract with City and I have already expressed my desire to the City people and to my agent. I have in my head very clear what I want.
What he possibly wants is to play more games for Man City but who knows, perhaps he fancies moving away to a club where he’ll be one of the first on the team sheet rather than one of the last. Conte wants him too according to the same newspaper but, he might just fancy reuniting with Mikel Arteta. Back in 2019, Jesus had this to say about our manager:
He’s helped a lot of players. When I want to do finishing after training, I tell him and he comes and helps me. So he is really fantastic for us. All the players know that — everyone knows that in the club. He is a fantastic guy and fantastic manager.
Jesus probably meant he’s a fantastic coach, something which has been said by many a City player as well as Arsenal’s for that matter. I’m sure he is but managing at a club and coaching under one of the best managers in the game this century, is very different. The job at Arsenal was always going to be difficult for even the most experienced of managers, let alone a guy in his first job. We’ve all talked about squad rotation, giving the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette too much time, the likes of Nketiah and Elneny not enough time but after two and a half years, with three more inline, you and I can only hope that Mikel Arteta will do things differently next season.
However, perhaps we ourselves need to be more honest about Nketiah and Elneny because I know that if I were to trawl back through the comments on here over the last ten months, not all would be complimentary about either player. Further afield on the internet, both have been lambasted for longer. Perhaps Mikel Arteta felt the same and that’s the reason he didn’t select them. If Arsenal were a club with the riches of City, Utd, Chelsea and now Newcastle, would either be even part of their squad, let alone in the first team? I’d like to see them both stay but only because we’re back in Europe and we’ll need them.
What’s more important now is not looking back on what might have been had player x, y, or z played over the last ten months but looking forward at what might be next season. Building a squad this summer which Mikel Arteta will feel able to rotate more next season than he’s done this season. If we start the new campaign with a deeper and stronger squad, then surely the only way is up?
See you in the comments.
Good morning Rico, the Tielemans story seems to be flourishing, our head of scouting, James Ellis, was at the King Power Stadium to watch him on Sunday, and a £25 million offer is believed to be in the pipeline although that may ultimately rise to £31 million. I guess his arrival would herald the end of our own love hate relationship with Granit Xhaka who is wanted by Roma.
Don’t you just love the transfer Windows?
Morning Cicero, I love it yet always want it to close so we know where we are. The next 3 months will be unbearable 😂
Morning Rico. Every season the playing field grows more uneven. Man City bought yet another title and who, apart from a few thousand of their supporters, can rouse any enthusiasm for a status quo that allows that. As you say, Newcastle will ramp things up and their marquee signings can’t be far away. Real competition has been broken on the back of the football authorities lust for more and more money. Witness allowing the Newcastle takeover. And how could we hope for any impartiality from the way the officials are selected in the PL? As long as Riley is in charge very little will change and a lot of matches will be influenced externally.
Our owners are going to be a critical component in our way forward and if you believe that they are going to sanction the 6-7 quality players we need then that’s great. Personally I doubt it myself. The astonishing valuation placed on Chelsea is worrisome and it presumably means that anyone wanting to buy Arsenal is going to have to stump up a similar amount which will limit any possibility that the Kroenkes are going anywhere, anytime soon.
They’ve now got their chance to really kick the club forward through serious investment so let’s see what they do.
I would like to see Neves at Arsenal more than Yuri.Jesus is a good player and it’s good keeping both Elneny and Nketiah if possible for Europa.I would like Mikel to move on from Cedric,Tavarez,Lacazette and Pepe.Lokonga should go on loan
Morning all
I would absolutely love it if Tielemans arrived. He’s a classy player and one who would surely move us forward. Plus he has his best years ahead of him. Speaking og midfielders, Torreira won’t be joining Fiorentina even though he has had a great season for them. I always rated him. Would he be a good squad player? He is IMO certainly someone to consider.
Morning Adam. Agreed. If the owners don’t back Arteta this summer then what’s the point? I read this morning that £150m is available and whilst that won’t match what City etc spend, I’d imagine it will improve the squad.
Some day, soon I hope, the PL will have a rethink about who owns football clubs.
Cm/ADK, welcome.
If Tielemans comes in and Xhaka goes, it has to be a positive move imo.
Tielemens is a decent player. We need more goals from midfield and he could add them in a Ramseyesque way. He’s running down his contract so Leicester will be looking to get as much money as possible for him.
He hasn’t had a great season at Leicester, so there are doubts over his value and there were lots of moans about his defensive work rate. If he ups that he fits the bill.
Jesus I’m just not a fan of. He isn’t prolific, lightning quick or tall. So I don’t see what he brings to Arsenal.
Great piece by Matt Scott covering what we expected was happening at Chelsea. It was one big money laundering operation all along:
” In the past 10 years alone, Abramovich has injected £1.425 billion in new loans into Chelsea. And across that same period, fully £729.1 million has been taken out of the club in loan repayments.”
https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2022/05/19/matt-scott-explosion-truth-blow-everything-chelsea/
The FA just sat back, took the money, and did FA.
Morning Rico and all
TV show The Weekend review recon Arsenal should go for Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan. as they would both bring in quality and leadership
Funny enough Pete, Jesus isn’t my choice of player either. If he was that good, Pep would keep him.
Morning Pete. I just read that article and it is eye-opening if not totally surprising to those of us who wonder how any business can continually spend more than it earns. I can only imagine that lots of well-known greedy fingers have been stuck into the Chelsea pie and licked clean. It would be great if the titles that that dreadful club won while engaging in this dodgy stuff could be wiped off the books. They should be. The footballing landscape in this country would be much better if the Chelsea’s and the Man City’s and Newcastles went somewhere else and played a never-ending stream of exhibition matches in some weird rotational fouling Cheats League. They could take the PGMOL with them too.
But, as always seems to be the case with these clubs, nothing ever seems to really happen.
I’ve just read that article too. Staggering! How on earth have they got away with things?
Morning Geoff, who are they? Cricket commentators? Lol
Just watch clips from youtube and Youri Tielemans he look a good replacement for Xhaka.
The London Sun claim we are interested in Richarlinson no thanks one Xhaka is bad enough.
Hi Rico,
By throwing money at it. Journalists are being a bit braver now. In the past if they published anything negative about Abramovich and Chelsea their solicitors would swoop in with a legal challenge.
Unless they backed down they would end up in the High Court, which is an extremely expensive place to be. Most backed down or settled out of court.
I believe even Arseblog was on the receiving end.
The London law firms that that took on his cases should be struck off. Always about the money…
#rico on 24th May 2022 at 11:21 am
I’ve just read that article too. Staggering! How on earth have they got away with things?#
Hi Pete, I had no idea. It was obvious Chelsea were over spending but the amount is staggering. What I don’t understand is how or why did the footballing authorities not do something about it. When the so called lesser clubs over spend, they are on them like a tonne of bricks.
@Geoff you really shouldn’t smear London’s name by associating it with the Sun.
It should be renamed the Toilet Roll Replacement.
No surprise that those scummy Murdochs were involved in both the Sun and Sky, whose football coverage follows the same tabloid format.
How the heck is Maguire in the England squad…
https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/24/mikel-arteta-reveals-decision-over-william-salibas-arsenal-return-has-been-made-16700882/
Saliba coming back then.
Sky Sports – Spurs pump in £150m to help invest in team
Tottenham have announced they will put in an extra £150m this summer to help “invest in the club on and off the pitch.”
Spurs’ owner Daniel Levy and the ENIC group say the move supports “on pitch performance whilst at the same time maintaining long-term financial stability.”
Manager Antonio Conte refused to commit to Spurs for next season until he spoke with the club, but this news will give the Italian and the north London club more muscle in the transfer market.
Pete Sorry next time I will leave London off The Sun LOL
I read some wear that Saliba didn’t want to return to Arsenal and wanted to stay were he is.
Did Everton breach the FFP rules or not if true why the hell do we have FFP if clubs can get away with it and win trophies or stay in the premier league These clubs found guilty should be either relegated or at least docked something like 18 points
Well, Arteta has said he’s coming back Geoff.
In report I read Rico, Arteta said Saliba SHOULD be coming be coming back. I suspect we will have to wait and see. If he does come back it might mean Gabriel will go to Juventus.
Cicero, ah, ok. I read it differently. Goodness knows what the club are going to do really. If any big money offers come in for any player, I wouldn’t put it past them to sell.
Latest rumour, according to The Standard, Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen who plays for Napoli, is linked with a move to Arsenal. 2021/22 season he made 27 appearances and scored 14 goals.
I’m a little underwhelmed by that “news”.
Don’t worry Cicero, if it’s in the papers, it’s unlikely to be true… lol
New post up now