Morning all.
A new four year deal for Granit Xhaka is the rumour on NN. Him staying is fine by me but why such a long deal? He’s 29 years old next month, meaning he’ll be 33 years old when his contract expires. It’s an odd decision made by the club I think but that’s Arsenal for you. We need experienced players and Granit Xhaka is certainly that plus he had a good season followed by some terrific performances at the Euros for Switzerland but he just lack the urgency in midfield this Arsenal team needs. Perhaps him staying, if he is, means Mo Elneny, now into his final year of contract, will be the player set to leave.
As might AMN if the reports about him being the player offered to Leicester City along with a few pounds for James Maddison are true. Those same reports suggest that Maddison wants to move to north London so it’s up to Arsenal to make the right offer. I reckon Brendon Rogers could work wonders with AMN, a player who would probably benefit from working with an experienced and very good manager. I think Leicester City are pushing their luck expecting Arsenal, or any club for that matter to pay £70m for a player who has made just one appearance for England, from the bench.
I suppose for Arsenal though it’s about whether they believe Maddison can make the kind of impact on the team which would get them back into Europe and the Champions League.
The transfer fees being paid this summer are bonkers I think. Jack Grealish for £100m, Harry Kane for a reported £150m? The most crazy one though is Chelsea allegedly offing Inter Milan £85m plus Alonso for Lukaku, a player who was signed by Chelsea back in 2011 for around £18m. Since then, he’s moved to Everton, Man Utd and finally Inter Milan. Now he’s 28 years old, the penny has dropped and Chelsea want him back. Inter have rejected the offer. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up.
Trouble is, with the likes of Man City, Man Utd and Chelsea throwing money around like it’s not their own, the rest of the clubs who do their best to adhere to some kind of financial fair play, are suffering. Or at least struggling to keep up.
Considering Arsenal finished a lowly 8th place in the League, the transfers the club have secured have been good. To pick up Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares for the fees they cost look to be really smart deals. They certainly put the suggested £70m deal for Maddison to shame. But that’s the problem with chasing good English players, they come with a hefty price tag, even if they’ve won nothing in their career which Maddison, Kane and Grealish haven’t.
Thats why I think Arsenal should hold onto Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson for another season at least. Another twelve months at Arsenal and their value could double. At least. Eddie’s into his final year of contract so offer him a new one and play him instead of persisting with a player who looks like he has zero interest in scoring goals. He’s no longer a boy, he’s a man who has looked keen and eager to do well in preseason so why let some other club snap him up for a pittance?
Of course I could be very wrong and all four see their footballing career nose dive at another club and should that happen, I’ll eat humble pie, as long as it comes with custard.
Newcastle Utd are reported to be on the verge of offering £22m for Joe Willock. A good season at Arsenal and he too will be worth a lot more but better still, he might do well for Arsenal. Miguel Azeez, how do we know if he could do something similar to what Maddison does for Leicester City until he tries?
I know I keep saying this but it’s not the younger players who are letting the club down, it’s a number of the older and experienced ones. In my opinion, Arsenal shouldn’t be going into this new season with Willian, Kolasinac, Elneny and Bellerin in the squad. Ideally, nor Aubameyang and Lacazette either, the latter because of his contract situation as much as anything. I don’t think the club should be giving a soon to be 29 year a four year contract either. I say that but Liverpool have just tied Fabinho down to a new ‘long term’ contract and he’s just a year younger that Granit Xhaka.
Meanwhile, another Arsenal youngster, left back/centre back Mazeed Ogungbo has signed his first professional contract. I say youngster but he’s 18 years old, 19 later this year.
“I’m just so excited and so grateful to Arsenal that they’ve given me this opportunity,” Mazeed told Arsenal.com. “To be able to extend my time here is a real honour and I’m really excited for what the future holds here.”
Good luck to him I say, he’s likely to need it.
Good luck to our new under 23’s manager Kevin Betsy too. We mock the tabloids for their transfer rumours but The Sun got this one right back in June….
See you in the comments.
Correction to your article: Xhaka would still be 32 when the new contract expires in June 2025. So it covers his playing years 29-32. I’m not saying Arsenal should or should not be keeping him but given Xhaka is not played for his speed/dynamism, his age over this new contract is not the issue.
The bigger issue is how Xhaka dictates the way the team sets up (to cover his lack of speed and dynamism when defending) and the impact that has on the overall performance.
Keeping him likely means playing him and playing him the way Arteta does (to cover for his flaws) = really boring football.
Morning Rico, thanks for the post, the Maddison situation is warming up but Leicester aren’t going to be easy to negotiate with and what if Niles refuses to go to Filbert Street?
I’m hoping that we’re still in the mix for Bruno as he looks good despite the links to Aouar rumbling around again according to Just Arsenal News and some obscure rumour site.
It’s that time of year.
Ben, by a few months but the sentiment is still the same and I do think his age is an issue or at least a factor. Same with Auba, Lacazette, Willian etc.
I agree re the way we play as his lack of ability to move the ball at pace does as you say, kind of dictate the tempo of our game. We saw it last season often enough.
Morning Kev. I read they’ve rejected the offer for AMN so it looks like they want the money. Understandable after Covid but a totally overinflated fee imo.
We’ll possibly sell Willock for £22m. Doesn’t makes sense to me but then transfer fees haven’t made sense to me for yonks.
Ah, ok Rico and so it rumbles on, I see that the word on the streets is Arteta has rejected a loan for now for Miguel Azeez and he sees him as a part of his plans for this season – or at least up till January I’d imagine.
Could be Rico that the Joe Willock Transfer falls into the same category as Emi Martinez, that is you don’t really want to sell him but you have to sell someone to balance the books before to sign anyone else you really want and the guys you’d rather want to sell nobody wants…
I understand the balancing of the books Kev but I guess it’s the way we balance them which leaves me scratching my head. I’ll never understand the Martinez deal when Leno is so bad at playing out from the back. Regardless of what anyone says, I believe a club would have paid for Leno last summer.
But, it’s Arteta and Edu whose Arsenal’s careers live or die on their decision making and I guess they know what they’re doing.
Maybe another way of looking at it, at least for me Anyway is that by selling Willock, Azeez would jump up the pecking order.
Good Morning Rico and all
Thanks for the post Rico.
Personally I would have loved Arteta to sell Willian, Kolasinac, Elneny, Bellerin, Aubameyang, Lacazette AND Xhaka. They are all what is wrong with the team at the moment. Everybody here knows that I like Lacazette for the way he plays for the team and Elneny for his wholehearted commitment. However, they were bought to the club when the playing style was going downhill and they did nothing to improve us as a team. Many might argue that Auba’s goals took us where we were and without them we would have suffered. Yet, I go back a few weeks to my post and point out that the win ration with Auba was slightly above 50%. Without him it went up to 66%. Its not about him….for me its about the team.
I just wish that against the spuds none of the above plays. I really do. At least to try them out. Because with anyone of them we are playing with a player less…..and with them all (plus LENO) it would be suicide.
I still cant get my head around keeping Leno and selling Martinez. At the moment I really prefer Okonkwo between the sticks. If not Pope I hope we get Ramsdale.
Morning Devil. I think we’re on the same page.
Owonky isn’t ready yet to get premier league games. We are stuck with Leno for the time being.
Owonky isn’t ready yet for first team action on the bench at a push. We are stuck with Leno for the time being but as we can’t play long to get out our full backs are going to have to drop back to give options on the first ball .what we can’t afford is to keep getting caught in front of goal 15 yards out.
The perils of 4G in Norfolk on the broads
Agree, we need a keeper this summer as a matter of urgency. Someone who’ll not only push Leno but replace him too if performances justify it.
On Fabinho, he was a beast against us last season, completely dominated the Midfield. I don’t think I’ve ever said that about Xhaka.
Thought he was garbage the day we signed him and thought must be over priced because he was at the Euros.
On the youngsters, not sure Willock and AMN suit our Midfield and might be best to sell them.
Sadly, I saw great potential in Guenduzi, bit of aimless runner but can be down to youth but boy did he work. Was always available and able to bring the ball out. He would be able to fill the void we have next to Partey.
I’ve always said, right from the moment that Wenger brought Xhaka into the club, that he was not signed to be a defensive midfielder. He was then, and is now, a playmaker. Someone who can read the game, can steady things down when necessary and pick a pass to alter the direction of play.
Having a team full of pacey players is all well and good, but there is always a role for a player of Xhaka’s type.
https://www.goal.com/en/amp/news/charlie-patino-arsenal-wonderkid-hale-end-best-ever-graduate/q75cubotu5nv1wk9641mup68b?__twitter_impression=true
I’d love to know what went on between Guendouzi and Arteta because something must have. I can’t think just a moment of stupidity at the end of the previous season would have ended his Arsenal career.
Kev, the lad seemed to have all the time in the world, and that was a super strike. Certainly one for the not too distant future.👍
He looks a Rolls Royce player doesn’t he Cicero.
Danny Ings signs for Villa.
Good signing and means they aren’t in for Abraham…
Maybe they have more sense .
Villa spending the Grealish money…
But Atalanta want him Kev.
Good morning all.
Good morning everyone
Just read that Arsenal and NUFC have agreed a deal in principle about Joe Willock and £25M.
If its true its something I am not liking at all. Because I consider JW on par with ESR. Much better than ELneny and Xhaka. I feel it has Gnabry written all over it again. And he WILL make it to the England squad and be a regular. And the worst thing is that in a couple of years time I feel he will end up at either City, Chavs, United or Dippers.
Me neither , once again we are selling the family silver because we can’t get shot of the players we want to . All in the cause of bringing in a new name probably on a contract far in excess of Willocks pushing our already over generous wage bill higher .
If it were on another subject it would be called “” Chasing the dragon “” spiralling out of control
Morning all.
You’re not alone. I’m pretty cheesed off about Joe Willock potentially being sold. This is Émile all over again imo.
New post up now