Getting value for money…

Morning all.

Mikel Arteta has spoken to Arsenal Media. Yes, he mentioned transfers, a topic we all like to hear about this time of year. A topic which perhaps divides so many of us. Christos Tzolis isn’t the big money, big named player who perhaps a section of fans were dreaming of before the transfer window opened but considering he’s not kicked a competitive ball for Arsenal yet, I’m not sure how a fair assessment of what he will bring to the team can be made. When the Vinicius Jr story broke, I can imagine the excitement surrounding it. A true worldie could be heading to Arsenal – except exploring a deal and doing it is two very different things. In any case, it would seem he’s staying at Real Madrid, so the media say anyway.

But what about any new signings arriving?

A lot is happening. We all know about the context of this transfer window. From ownership to the board, the sporting director and myself, we know that we want to take this club to a different level. That is going to require a better squad, better individuals. We have identified where we have opportunities to grow and to improve and to evolve our game and what is going to be needed to achieve that. Hopefully very soon we can start to put things in a very concrete way.

Arteta isn’t holding back. He wants a better squad and better individuals. He wants to evolve our game. I’ve always said there can be no sentiment in sport if one wants to be the best and Arteta has certainly made it clear that there are individuals within the squad who either need to be better or he plans to replace them with better and I’m leaning towards the latter. I think we can all guess as to whom he is talking about.

Evolving our game is one of the key messages in Arteta’s words in my opinion, probably because I agree with him. Sometimes last season, Arsenal were a hard watch. It’s not up to opponents to change their approach to playing against Arsenal, it’s up to Arsenal to be more effective against them.

As Arsene Wenger used to say, we, as in the players need to play with the handbrake off. Quicken our speed of play as well as our thinking. Be less predictable and more clinical. If Mikel Arteta’s teams can make the low block irrelevant, the game will be better off for it.

Having better individuals should help but better decision making across the whole team will help even more.

I remember something Dennis Bergkamp said in his book which was when he had the ball at his feet, he didn’t need to look up before making his pass because he knew where his teammates would be – or something like that anyway but I’m sure you get the gist. That’s the kind of understanding our attacking unit needs between them because let’s be honest, our attacking unit can sometimes look like they’ve not played together before. We can master a set-piece, let’s master open play too. Think forwards and not backwards or sideways, not unless it’s a necessity. I think I wrote something similar around this time last year, perhaps the year before too…

I’m a firm believer in big names don’t guarantee success but players who give big performances each game can. It’s easier to perform in a great team in a less demanding league each season but when when the wet and windy conditions arrive in winter or the freezing temperatures, what kind of player would you rather see out on the pitch fighting for the Arsenal cause?

That’s why in my opinion Arsenal spent big on Declan Rice, because everyone at the club knew he was worth it. That’s also why I hope Arsenal can get a deal done for Bruno Guimarães because I think we all know exactly what we’ll get.

Catch up in the comments.