Morning all.
Something to make you smile I hope. This is our local football pitch, or rather the lines marked out before this weekends game.
Aaron Ramsdale is a medical away from leaving Arsenal after Southampton agreed to sign him on a permanent basis for £25 million. (David Ornstein) The same report suggests that Arsenal will now try and replace him with 23-year-old Espanyol’s Joan Garcia. I find this potential solution bonkers really as we’ve just loaned out an international goalkeeper who’s just one year younger and allowed soon to be 23 year old Arthur Okonkwo to leave for free.
The goalkeeping situation at Arsenal has been little short of a mess since the day Mikel Arteta took over as manager. I’ve lost count of how many have come and gone in the last five years.
I read an interesting comment about our attacking signings during that same period. Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard are the only ones still around. Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira came but soon went. Basically, under Arteta, Arsenal have signed many defensive players but few attacking ones. 23 defensive players including goalkeepers v 8 attacking players if the numbers on TransferMarket are correct and my maths…. Roughly £650 million spent.
We have injury prone players in Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus, not to mention Kieran Tierney who right now is still on the payroll and still we have no cover for Bukayo Saka. Jesus is an option but he’s already crocked, Martinelli and Trossard are options too but they already have their own roles to play. So that leaves out of favour Reiss Nelson and Ethan Nwaneri, the latter who Arsenal describe as being a skilful, creative, attack-minded midfielder. Not a winger with pace to burn, in fact I’d suggest he’s more likely to step into Martin Odegaard’s position as and when needed than play on the wing. Just my opinion of course.
There’s less than 48 hours left in this transfer window for Arsenal to finally address our need for a winger. Will they get someone through the door?
We’ve drawn Bolton in the League Cup. It’s a home tie and an opportunity for Mikel Arteta to field a ‘second string’ team. Bolton won’t make it easy I’m sure but this isn’t a competition to play our strongest eleven in my opinion. Did you guys see what happened to Brighton’s new signing Matt O’Riley in their match against Crawley Town? Chances are he won’t be fit for a few weeks after being on the end of a shocking tackle.
Lastly, it the draw for the Champions League today. Hopefully whoever is picking the club names out of the pot is kind to us….
Catch up in the comments.
Champions League Draw..
We will be placed in Pot 2 due to our current UEFA coefficient ranking. Teams from the same nation cannot be drawn against each other, meaning we’ll avoid Man City, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
That means we’ll face two of the remaining seven teams in Pot 1:
Real Madrid
Bayern Munich
Paris Saint-Germain
Inter Milan
Borussia Dortmund
RB Leipzig
Barcelona
Plus two of these teams currently in Pot 2 alongside ourselves:
Bayer Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid
Atalanta
Juventus
Benfica
Club Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan
Two teams in Pot 3:
Feyenoord
Sporting Lisbon
PSV Eindhoven
Red Bull Salzburg
Young Boys
Celtic
Dinamo Zagreb
Lille
Red Star Belgrade
And finally two of the remaining teams in Pot 4:
Monaco
Sparta Prague
Bologna
Girona
Stuttgart
Sturm Graz
Brest
Slovan Bratislava
Good Morning Rico.
I see you are coming around to my way of thinking re Arteta .I won’t go one but I am far from convinced he has the capability to lead us to The Title.I often don’t understand his thinking and he is still a rookie Manager .
sorry ,on not one
Morning Kelsey, not at all. I think Arteta has done really good things for the club but I just don’t understand the logic behind some of the clubs transfer business. But then I’m not a football manager. Lol
Morning Rico, I’ll read the post in a minute but gotta say there was some great comments at the end of the last post and they mentioned what has been on my mind and it’s the goalkeeping coach and his influence.
As good as Arteta is he is no goalkeeper coach so he leans heavily into the expertise of Cana, just my opinion you see.
Cana coached Leno, he coached Martinez, he coached and was responsible for Runarsson, he coached Ramsdale and now Raya. I’m not sure if he was at Arsenal when Cech arrived, he may have been when Cech retired.
Im not sure who was in charge when Cana arrived, maybe it was Emery?
Morning Kev. like many, I have concerns over Cana, too much has gone wrong with our keepers.. He seems dead set on signing Spaniards as Potter said.
Runnerson was just a disaster from the off.
Cana was appointed December 2019. Right after the appointment of Arteta.
I’m not sure the decisions made have anything to do with nationality, after all Ramsdale was a bit left of field when we signed him and Cana must have had an influence. Aaron wasn’t universally accepted when he first arrived and even during our first runners-up season I recall many doubts expressed about him.
Raya was linked to us around the time we signed Ramsdale so maybe that was the way we always wanted to go?
Goalkeeping has changed so radically since Emery arrived, the whole profile of a good goalkeeper is different now, one of the first things Guardiola did was replace Joe Hart, nobody could believe at the time…
It’s not who we sign for me, it’s just the constant changes. I know we’re settled now with Raya but talk about waste money..
Thanks for that Rico, December 2019 then, if I recall he’s arrival caused a bit of a rumpus and our goalkeeping coach, Woodman wasn’t it? He left in a huff.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Raya has proved to be an upgrade on Aaron, more so from a temperament perspective, but we all grew to love Aaron and him leaving is just very very sad, same with Smith Rowe.
Yep, a big personality gone from the dressing room. Maybe that was a concern about Ramsdale. Anyway, he’s gone it seems and we move forward..
Yeah, there’s been a fair bit of dough spent that maybe didn’t need to be Rico, I guess it’s the risk you take in buying and selling players.
Where I honestly think we fall down is in the loaning of players to the right clubs, this is where Chelsea and in particular City have an advantage as they have a multi-club based business, all we have is an MLS club.
Good post, yeah, I saw that tackle, I think we should wrap Saka, Odegaard, Saliba, Timber, Havertz, Raya, Partey, Merino and Rice in cotton wool for that game.
Of course this isn’t the Allardyce Bolton but there is history between our clubs and that counts for a lot.
Tomiyasu and Jesus will be unavailable, I’m not sure about Tierney?
A year ago Liverpool could have sold Mo Salah for upwards of £150m, in a years time he could walk for nothing.
That would be hilarious…
I am sorry if I disagree with many comments but as I said Raya -Cana -Brentford -The Basque Region -Arteta is a huge link and Edu I believe does the final negotiations and he has just had a pay rise .
We are fine in defence but can’t believe we haven’t let Tierney go and we are coming far too over reliant on Saka a real exceptional player .
We need another goal scoring forward by tomorrow night but I doubt we will get him .
Jesus PL scoring record is really poor and now he looks like another one is injury prone .
Martinelli has not come back to fitness as yet and for me Trossard should start on Saturday and his facial expressions made that clear at Villa.
Nelson was meant to be going but now he is staying but doesn’t warrant an automatic start .
Morning all
Just to continue the theme. Nelson is the poor man’s Saka replacement imo. Tierney hasn’t gone because he’s on the physio’s table for the foreseeable future and so unsellable.
Ramsdale going is just another opening for an invisible goalkeeper of no great renown! Be he Basque or Estonian!
As Geoff said it’s all a bit of a mess at the moment. I’m not sure it’ll be resolved by Friday either. Oh, there’s always Sterling I think Chelsea would give him away at no cost to the Arsenal!
36 hours left and I think we’re scrabbling!
What does it matter where a player comes from? The Basque Region, or any other is irrelevant so long as the players we buy are willing to work within the club’s tactical philosophy and accept that there is an upper limit on wages.
As far as I’m concerned, Arteta, with Edu”s help has restructured the playing staff and has done much to make Arsenal a formidable entity. Criticism of them not being able to move certain unwanted players on is unfair when those involved are perennially injured and or reluctant to give up a lucrative contract in order to play more for less.
Cicero, if you have a number of shall we say B players in the quad they are difficult to move because they are on ridiculous wages and Edu/Arteta in many cases agreed to that .
I agree re the loans Kev, far too many just end up sitting on the bench. Makes the whole process pointless and worthless.
On the contrary most of the players that are hard to move on have been at the club longer than our current management.
I’d chuckle is Salah walks for free too. The Liverpool fans I know, or a few of them, thought the club should have taken the money. A bit like the £60m offer we allegedly turned down for Alexis.
Kelsey, who has said Nelson is staying? I’ve seen Kiwior is staying but not Nelson.
I’m still holding out hope that we’ll sign a winger but only because of what Edu said earlier in the summer.
Re selling players and contracts. Surely we as fans can’t complain when the club extends contracts which turn out to be valuable when they’re sold but at the same time, grumble when players leave for free.
I suppose the Spanish connection was always going to be, just like the Brazilian once was and the French before under Wenger. But, looking at our squad, it’s very multicultural and doesn’t really favour one nationality right now. Apart from our keeper department “if” we sign Garcia.
Rico, I thought there was a proposed move for Nelson then I read somewhere he is staying .Can a player still be loaned out after tomorrow evening ?
Too many rumours .
Last I read Kelsey is that a few clubs are interested but need to cough up some money if they want him.
I read the interest in Kingsley Coman
Afternoon Rico and all.
Giving any player an extention is a gamble that can go either way just look at Auba, most fans were happy when he extended his contract, then it all went down hill next season.
What I do find very annoying is buying a player that is injuried and has a history of injuries like Tierney.
Kelsey, I said something simular the other day, Arteta has to win a major trophy this season or the question will be asked, does he have that somethink special to take us all the way, at the moment he is 98% there, but does he have that extra 2% like Klopp and pep only time will tell hopefully he does.
I read that too Jm.
In any case, I think the squad is short and has no alternatives to the recommended playing method. If it is necessary to change the game plan, there is no alternative.
Rico, liked the photo above, looks like the groundsman may have had a few drinks before work.
Agreed JM and that has been the problem for a long time going back to the latter Wenger years . We can be brilliant but also predictable and we always seem to be one injury away from upsetting the balance.
There are times when the quick passing runs into a brick wall and that’s when you need something different to break it down .
We don’t have it .
Afternoon Geoff, just what I thought. 😝
Agreed Jm, Potter.
I certainly think we’ve become predictable. Perhaps Merino will add something different from midfield but we lack something. A surprise.
I wish Martinelli could regain some confidence to run at and behind the defenders instead of usually looking for a safe backwards or sideways ball.
Ramsdale left out of the England squad this time..
Good afternoon Rico and all
Ramsdale and Nketiah. That’s over 55 million between both. So enough dosh for re-investment in another keeper and a forward whoever they may be.
Is there enough time for two transfers left, seeing that we dragged all summer over Merino?? Maybe yes and no. It might be that we get two players on loan with an obligation to buy and payment will be later. We will know by Sunday morning who we have and who we have not.
I beg to differ with regards Arteta and winning a trophy this season. He, for the past two seasons has achieved first place behind all conquering City. And if City win everything again and he finishes second he will be the first of the rest. If the league was won by different teams then you would all be right. But since its City we are talking about then I beg to differ.
Afternoon Devil. A City which might just crash this season… Other than Liverpool, we’re the only club to get close to them.
If city crash and someone else other than us win the league then yes Arteta will have to answer. But if City win everything Arteta will not have to answer anything other than if the club finish third or worse
ARSENAL play PSG (home), Inter Milan (away), Shakhtar Donetsk (home), Atalanta (away), Dinamo Zagreb (home), Sporting Lisbon (away), Monaco (home), Girona (away).
Agree Devil.
That’s not such a bad draw…
In my opinion, the order of the games will be important.
Yes, and who we play and where either side..
Good morning everyone
Espanyol have rejected Arsenal’s opening offer of £17million for goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
The Spanish side will only sell if his £25million release clause is met. I think that we will end up paying 17 million down and the remaining money spread over 3 seasons
Morning Rico and all
According to Romano Arsenal are now trying to sign Bournemouth Keeper Neto who just happens to be their captain.
Personally I cant see Neto giving up his captaincy and being number one keeper to join us and become number two keeper. not unless we other him big money that he can’t turn down.
I think that Arsenal as a club should make it clear that for the club the transfer ban ends on the 28th of August for those who want to depart. If by the 28th you haven’t found another club then you would be difficult to replace. And if the player has a long term contract then hard luck. Those who say that the players hold the cards I’m sorry, the club holds cards as well. It depends if the manager has balls. Ozil and Auba were captains and highest earners, yet Arteta had the balls to tell them to go and shoot the ball against the wall by themselves and cut them off the group
So if a player wants to leave he would do well to find a club and lower his wage demands in order to play otherwise they would be ommitted from the squad. Do you honestly think that Nketiah and Ramsdale would have stuck around if they were given the ultimatum of training by themselves??
Yes the club might need the money but if Arteta had the balls to do it to Auba and Ozil, then he would not hesitate to do it again. Not all players deserve to be treated this way but the club comes first and not the players’ whims.
I like both Ramsdale and Nketiah and wish them all the best however had they been told of the ultimatum and left earlier then it would have been easier to get in their replacements earlier.
The only finger I can point at Arteta is that he should have rotated Raya and Ramsdale more. Ramsdale should have got more game time then he got imo.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Neto deal is ready for Arsenal. Everything is ready – agreement with the player, loan, no option to buy, no obligation.
I only hope that we don’t sign either of Sterling or Toney. But am not holding my breath.
You seem to misunderstand the concept of a contract. If an unwanted player, with a valid contract, is unable to find a club that matches his requirements as to wages, bonuses, etc then the only way the club can force him out is to pay up the balance of that contract, thereby forfeiting any chance of a transfer fee in the future. That is a lose lose scenario for the club. By keeping the player on the books the club at least has the option of playing him if the need arises.
Devil, If Nito joins us knowing that he will be number 2 keeper, he must be chasing money as I reckon it will be bad for his carer. and if I was a bournemouth fan/manager I would never welcom him back.
Morning Geoff, Devil, Cicero.
Neto makes sense to me. A loan, no obligation to buy and he is still decent. Hopefully I’ll still be saying that after we’ve played Bolton. lol
New post up.