Morning all.
It’s that weird time of the year in football. The domestic season has ended, the FA Cup has just been played, as has the Europa League Cup Final but still to play is the Europa Conference League Cup Final as well as the Champions League Final. The transfer window has yet to officially open but let’s be honest, that’s all we’re really interested in. Rumours of players joining Arsenal are up and running as well as those leaving but as yet, nothing is concrete.
Declan Rice to Arsenal has already been mentioned many times in relation to a move across London and despite Bayern and Man Utd showing interest in the player, his preference is to stay in London. Goodness knows who leaked that little gem to the media but I strongly suspect it wasn’t anyone who actually knows what the player’s future plans are. Other than preparing for what’s expected to be his final game for West Ham this week that is.
Granit Xhaka is rumoured to be heading back to Germany this summer but just as it looked like Bayer Leverkusen we’re going to snap him up, Bayern Munich have entered the rumour pages. If true, it could good for Arsenal because a bidding war might just bring in a few more pounds.
Going back to the FA Cup, City won the battle between the two Manchester clubs so it looks like Guardiola will replicate Utd’s treble winning season. That is unless Inter Milan cause an upset next weekend. No, I can’t see that happening either. City winning the FA Cup also means that Arsenal’s season will kick off with a trip to Wembley for the Community Shield on the 6th August.
Before then though, there are international fixtures to be played, including senior and under 21 Euros qualifying matches, transfers to be completed and a number of pre season friendly matches to play. By the time June changes to July, all of our players should have had at least one, if not two weeks of much needed holiday.
Transfers, what do Arsenal need to do this summer to keep up, if not better Man City as well as to pull away from the clubs who we finished ahead of this season? The million dollar question which on paper equates to multimillions really because that’s what it’s going to take. Mikel Arteta has a very good team when every player is fully fit and in great form but 11-15 players can’t play every game for ten months. If they could, we’d have won the League this season I’m sure. A ten month football season is about balance and rotation and one can have a detrimental effect on the other but you already know that. Injuries aren’t the problem for most clubs, not in their own right but the level of player who replaces the injured is, or at least can be. That’s not to suggest the incoming player is a bad player but because he can’t replicate what the player he’s replaced does, the balance of a team changes. Often in a negative way. A fully fit and functioning Partey, Martinelli, Saka, Saliba, and perhaps even Odegaard are in my opinion, irreplaceable. By that I mean there is no one in this current squad who seems able to do what they do when they’re at their best. Nelson is a very good alternative to Martinelli, or at least he has been in the few times he’s actually played, Trossard too perhaps but we still don’t know if Nelson is staying. Rumour has it he is of course but….
Every club in the Premier League is going to invest as much as they can to make them stronger so in theory, next season’s challenge for a top four finish will be even tougher than this one was. Ten Hag will be another year wiser in this league, Poch will have set his stall at Chelsea and unless Klopp really is on a downward spiral which I doubt, Liverpool will be stronger. Brighton, Aston Villa and even Brentford will be looking to break into the top four too. Do I dare mention Totts? No, ok then. The aim of course is to topple Man City and regardless of how close we came points wise, they remain head and shoulders above Arsenal and the rest. That’s not to say they cannot be caught or overtaken and despite what the so called experts say, I think Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are the best placed club to do exactly that. But, it’s going to take spending a few million pounds to do so because unless Arteta has a squad of players he’s truly believes in, winning the Premier League is likely to remain a pipe dream.
Contrary to popular belief, having compared the figures between Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, their rotation of player numbers are very similar but I imagine if one was to dig deeper, it’s when, where and who is rotated rather than just numbers. Not one City player played all 38 Premier League matches yet at Arsenal, Ramsdale, Saka, Gabriel and White did and I suspect, had Saliba not suffered injury, he would have too. Xhaka and Odegaard played 37. According to TransferMarket that is.
Lastly, Reiss Nelson’s strike against Bournemouth back in March has won the Premier League’s Gamechanger of the Season award. It was good wasn’t it….
Catch up in the comments.
If we bought a big, fast striker could Jesus play on either wing or as a number 10, he’s multi talented
Yep, Jesus is seldom to be found in the box anyway. 😆
In 1939, after Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany, we had a period when very little happened it was known as “the phoney war”. There seems to be a similar situation with the transfer window, perhaps after the remaining finals have been played we shall see some action.
Both Xhaka and Balogun are attracting interest from multiple clubs, between them they should command a decent amount of money.
Depends how good we at selling these days Cicero. Personally, I wouldn’t sell Balogun.
Afternoon all!
I think those in charge know where the weaknesses are and what needs to be fine-tuned.
If them want to consult me, I am available in Spanish, Portuguese or English.
So bored of the ludicrous Nelson praise. 20 good minutes in 4 years . Edu-‘take us to next level’ what? By giving Nelson a 4 year deal. Dear god can we stop making the same mistakes over and over again, rewarding inconsistency and low grade options.
Saliba absence finally showed our need to improve defensive options, him and the record home defeats in a season!
We don’t have a striker, Pep knew about Jesus.
Vieira is definitely not a good enough Ode back up.
Significant squad survey is needed
£60m for Cancelo? Surely Arsenal wouldn’t…
Cancelo, 29 years old, fullback or wing back, plenty of experience. What do you think of him JM?
But £60 million?
The only downside to signing Cancelo is the sixty million quid we will be contributing to Guardiola’s transfer kitty.
Exactly, we’ve already given them too much..
Stan, that’s all well and good but are you forgetting we need a homegrown quota?
Morning Rico and all.
I recon it’s more important how much any new player asks for match payments and add On’s over how much we pay for the new player that Arteta really wants.
Kind of like the lull before the storm , Who comes and who goes ? Balogun could be the new Maitland Niles where we don’t sell because of his potential but he runs out of contract and goes for nothing whilst there is apparently £ 20 million on the table for him.
We have to ask is a strike force of Jesus , Nketiah and Balogun going to take us further up the ladder.? Or do we need a proven goalscorer to supplement our already prolific midfielders ?, We also have to ask whether teams that were caught out by Saka and Martinelli will get caught again .
All if’s buts and maybes .
As you would remember Cicero the ‘Phony War’ was followed ‘The Blitz’. Hopefully Arsenal will Blitz the transfer market.
Using the same analogy maybe we can pick up a Doodlebug or two?
One of those weapons reshaped Highbury Corner into the area we know today:
https://islingtonlife.london/discover-islington/local-history/highbury-corner-v-1-bomb/
Sky Sports:
Arteta wants replacement before Xhaka sale
Bayer Leverkusen remain hopeful they can complete a deal for Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.
However, it is thought Arsenal will only sanction a move once they have a replacement.
Sky Sports News have been told Arsenal are looking to recruit two midfielders in this window.
Arsenal interested in Man City’s Cancelo – Sky Sports
Arsenal remain interested in a move for Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo after his loan from Bayern Munich ended.
Arsenal are in the market for a central defender, full-back and in midfield – which the Gunners have branded a priority position.
Cancelo went on loan to Bayern Munich in January but the German champions declined to take up a £60m option to buy for the full-back.
Early indications suggest there is a gap in what City would want and what Arsenal are prepared to pay.
More from Sky Sports
Arsenal’s Saliba talks progressing well
Arsenal’s talks to extend William Saliba’s contract are progressing positively.
Saliba has one year left on his current deal, with his option already activated.
It is thought there is a willingness from all parties to get a deal struck.
Meanwhile, the final details are being sorted on a new contract for Reiss Nelson.
His current contract is up this summer and there is an agreement in principle over a new four-year deal.
Not sure about a big fee for Cancelo, he’s just turned 29 so not exactly one for the future. The Saliba news is very welcome, we need to tie him down then go all in for Rice and maybe Caicedo.
We could all do with some good Arsenal news to cheer us all up Rico…
I think the same re Caicedo Kev, too old and too expensive.
We certainly could Kev…
Why not Palhinha?
Well done West Ham…
Luis Boa Morte, Nono Tavares, Cedric Soares, Fabio Vieira, 4 good reasons why we shouldn’t buy anymore Portugese players.
There’s a new post up.
It brings terribly sad news..