Morning all.
I think if there was a poll relating to which of our three summer signings is the best, Kai Havertz would receive the fewest votes. The fee, his time at Chelsea – a risk to say the least. Or is he?
Chelsea have been poor now for a few years, not that it bothers one tiny bit, in fact I rather enjoying it. They’ve spend big, hideously big and so far it’s backfired. They’ve also been through a managerial merry-go-round which helps no club or its players. Definitely not its players. Whether Poch sorts their mess out, I’ve no idea and frankly, I could give a hoot.
When one looks at Havertz, I think it’s better to look beyond his time in west London and focus on his time at Bayer Leverkusen because that’s the player Mikel Arteta will be focusing on in my opinion. He’s 6’ 4”, slight built but strong, he’s not afraid to tackle and his footwork is very very good. I’ve dug out this old clip of him at Bayer.
Such skills don’t permanently leave a player but they do sometimes go to sleep for a while which is what I think has happened to him over the last couple of seasons. I think we’re going to see a player with the feet of Ozil but with the grit, determination and passion many of us wished Ozil possessed. A bit like Ozil and Alexis merged together with an extra few inches in height. He’ll be a threat on our own set-pieces, a defensive bonus on those against us too. £60 million will look a bargain if he helps Arsenal to win a trophy or two in the years to come.
The squad has landed in the USA, without Thomas Partey. Either he’s picked up an injury which I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve not read that he has, or he’s soon to depart. There’s another possible scenario of course but I’m not wading into that because as he’s never been confirmed to be ‘that player’. A Saudi club are ‘reported’ to have agreed personal terms with him but until anything is definite, he could end up anywhere. More importantly though, if he does leave, how to Arteta and Edu deal with his departure?
I know there’s been many a headline linking us to Lavia but I’m sceptical about him. Has he simply just shone in an average Southampton team or because he’s a superb young player? I certainly don’t recall him standing out in our 3-3 draw at The Emirates back in April. He missed the fixture at St Mary’s through injury.
Another option of course is to not replace Partey if he goes because Ben White, Jakub Kiwior and Jurrien Timber are all capable of playing in midfield. Not forgetting Jorginho and Mo Elneny of course. Declan Rice will no doubt be targeted by opponents and going by previous seasons, referees will be happy to let him be fouled regularly and that’s what concerns me. A big injury to Rice and we’ll be looking at Jorginho and/or Elneny to step in. No disrespect meant but I don’t fancy our chances at The Etihad, Anfield, Old Trafford etc with Elneny in midfield. We struggled enough at those grounds with Partey in the team. But I’m not sure a 19 year old Lavia would be the answer either but then perhaps I’ve been scarred by Arsenal signing his fellow Belgian midfielder…
Catch up in the comments.
Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo can leave the club on a permanent deal this summer. Okonkwo, who only has one-year left on his current deal, is subject of interest from clubs in England & across Europe.
@FabrizioRomano
Morning Rico and all, My Gut feeling is that Havertz will turn out to be a good buy as long as Arteta gives him a chance to settle in and not expect too much straight away.
If I was worried about any of our new players, it would be whether Rice can cope with the pressure of a new club and what they paid for him.
Hi Geoff, both players already know the PL so I reckon they’ll settle very quickly.
I honestly think Partey is gone so we’ll need another midfielder….we need to push the boat out again! Who should we go for?
Good question Lee.
I see Arteta has hinted towards more signings as well as exits.
Caicedo would be the cherry on the cake but BHA will want big money and I don’t think we go there, well unless we recoup a decent chunk from our exits! Unfortunately we’re not generally good at selling players….
Don’t forget that forget Zinchenko is a better midfield player than he is a left back.
Chelsea had a bid of £70m turned down by Brighton, if I recall that was somewhere around the figure of our 2nd bid to them in January, so it’s clear that the Seagulls are angling towards a Declan Rice type of fee I imagine…
I don’t think we’ll be going in that direction again for a long time…
Morning all.
Just read a Saudi club is interested in Pepe. Hopefully it’s true although I’m not sure he’d be ready for such a move though.
Pepe of the Arabian Gulf has a magical sound to it…
Do it Nicholas, do it…
Jonny Evans leaving Leicester and re-signing for Man Utd seems to have gone under the radar by the media, but it kinda shows clearly the financial funk that the Salford Reds are currently in, old screaming skull blew a lotta of the clubs cash reserves on his initial signings when he arrived at Old Toilet and they’ve looked to be signings he’s well overspent on given the return. So now the Mancs are doing a kind of Sol Campbell from Portsmouth type of addition and we all know now where Arsenal were going and eventually ended up, in mid table and out of the CL, which is where we want those entitled tosses to be for a few years, so bring it on, I’m sure that Juan Mata and Joe
Jordan are available
The Evans move is hilarious Kev.
It did make me laugh Rico, he will fit in well with old man Casimiro.
Ha ha Kev. I bet they’re disappointed the takeover hasn’t happened yet.
I read this morning that Evans is only training with the U21s whilst waiting for the offers to pour in, which they are not. Chelsea are hoping to get Maguire on loan as they have lost centre back Fofana with an acl injury which is expected to rule him out for the season, maybe they will go for a buy one get one free and sign up two donkeys at the same time. 😉
Can’t watch the Old Trafford test as the satellite signal keeps getting blocked by heavy rain. 😕
You are right, Rico. Havertz potentially could be a better Ozil. I think Havertz is going to be a devestrating number 8 for Arsenal.
No Arsenal news, good night one and all. 😴
The Glaziers have madea small fortune out of Man Utd and they are loath to let go of their money box Rico, but the Saudis aren’t interested in buying a percentage, they want it lock, stock and barrel, so impasse and that’s perfect because the Glaziers are not interested in investing in ManU and the Saudis will eventually go elsewhere if nothing changes so it’s perfect…
It’s a bit like KSE and Usmanov. Nothing really happened…
Morning Rico and all.
An excellent 5 nil win over MLS to kick of our practice matches in America, however it sounds like our back up keeper struggled with the ball at his feet.
Who designed those awful, acid drop yellow with wavy black lines, away shirts? They’re terrible, and they cost eighty quid! Not that I’m ever likely to buy one.
Long May it continue Kev..
Morning Geoff, all.
New post up, annoyingly I hit the wrong button.. 😂