Morning all.
After this international break, the 2025/26 Champions League campaign begins. Two of the three fixtures against the “big clubs” are at The Emirates Stadium which is better than facing them in front of their own fans.
- Athletic Club vs Arsenal — September 16, 5.45pm
- Arsenal vs Olympiacos — October 1, 8pm
- Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid — October 21, 8pm
- Slava Prague vs Arsenal — November 4, 5.45pm
- Arsenal vs Bayern Munich — November 26, 8pm
- Club Brugge vs Arsenal — December 10, 8pm
- Inter Milan vs Arsenal — January 20, 2026, 8pm
- Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty — January 28, 2026, 8pm
Arsenal’s Champions League List A squad:
Goalkeepers: David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Tommy Setford
Defenders: William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori.
Midfielders: Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Christian Norgaard, Leandro Trossard, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Max Dowman
Forwards: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyokeres
Good to see Havertz in the squad as it means he’s expected to return soon although worryingly, there is no Jesus. Myles Lewis Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and any other homegrown player born after 2004 are on list B.
I hope this is the season we can beat Bayern, Atletico too because I’m pretty sure our record against both hasn’t been that good over the years. However, our squad is different now. Very different. Stronger, deeper and wiser.
There is a good article by Dan Sheldon in The Athletic this morning while dives into the change of the clubs transfer dealings since KSE’s 2018 buyout of Arsenal FC. When Usmanov and the Kroenke family were joint owners, it’s fair to say that our transfer dealings were pretty dire.
However, between 2018-19 and 2023-24, Arsenal had a gross spend in the region of £1.1billion. If you add 2024-25’s spending (£104m) and what they forked out this summer (£245m), they are now over the £1.4bn mark. The figures from 2024-25 and 2025-26 exclude agent fees and transfer levies as we are yet to have the accounts for the year ended May 31, 2025.
The once much maligned owners supported Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta by authorising spending big money to bring the club in line with the likes of both Manchester clubs and Liverpool. Chelsea still lead the way as far as how much a club spends but that’s just the way they operate these days.
When it comes to pursuing targets, neither Stan nor Josh get involved. They have a perspective on the profile of player Arsenal should be targeting — young with plenty of upside — but they are not entering negotiations with the selling club, nor will they be dealing with a target’s agent.
They ensure there are checks and balances before it’s too late. For example, Stan and Josh want to know why a certain decision is being made before giving the sign-off. There is a sense that by seeking justification first, it should alleviate any problems later down the line if things go wrong, be it with a player the club signed or another business decision. This has been followed with each of this summer’s acquisitions.
KSE wants the club to improve in the selling department as there is a sense they have often missed the right moment to offload a player. Given they want Arsenal to be a self-sufficient operation, maximising player value is paramount.
I think we would all agree with the last paragraph because we as a club are dreadful when it comes to selling players. But maybe that’s exactly why Andrea Berta was brought into the club. It might mean that in future, fan favourites might be sold for big money which at the time, we might not like but I think this summer in particular has shown that if a player wants to move to a different club, he will do all he can to force that move. So when the boot is on the other foot, tough. As long as quality is replaced with quality, Arsenal will be fine.
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico.
Now that most of our fringe players have been moved on and the age of the squad lowered, there shouldn’t be as much pressure on sales. However, players approaching the end of their contracts and not appearing willing to renew should be put up for sale in the very next window. Those established players who are not on the A list should also be encouraged to leave before their sale value drops. Martinelli could well fall into that last category.
Morning Cicero, I’ve been sat in a dentist chair, not ignoring you. 😜
The Jesus omission was a surprise, I guess his recovery isn’t going well.
Another difference is because we’re signing quality players, selling should become easier and we might start getting better transfers fees.
I hope that visit wasn’t to painful both dentistry wise or financially Rico. 😉
Martinelli reminds me of Jon Sammels , a useful member of the squad that became the target of what was then known as “”The Boo Boys “” .
The blame being heaped on him is like snowball running down a hill growing larger as it progresses .
He ( Sammels ) scored the winning goal against Anderlecht to win the Inter Cities in 1970 but left after citing the crowds abuse as one of the reasons , the other being the purchase of George Graham.
The constant negatives being spread all over social media may well force Martinelli to do the same.
Regarding Jesus , I would imagine that he is on the discard list as soon as he is fit , there were rumours about him going back to Brazil , maybe January . Moving him out would save the club £ 28 million in wages alone.
Financially yes Cicero, new patient appointment £150 😳
Martinelli’s situation reminds me of Walcott, winger, striker?
Rico, why didn’t you tell your new dentist that all you wanted was a check, not shares in his business?
Has to be done Kev, x-rays etc etc.
If only there was such a thing as an nhs dentist…
Lia has gone then…
https://www.arsenal.com/news/lia-walti-her-beautiful-memories
Very best of luck for the future to Lia as she moves to Juventus where see will be closer to her family home in Switzerland.
Nhs dentist ? They are not cheap either unless your on benefits or rocked up on a dinghy like most of Great Yarmouth.
Afternoon Rico and all.
I agree with Cicero any player that is offered a contract extention and keeps dragging it out and coming up with different excuses to why they have not signed should be shown the door, before we loose them for free or very cheap,
If we had to pick a fans favourite player to sell wright now, looking at what some clubs paid for English players I wonder how much would we get for Saka.
Fathers day in oz this weekend, not looking forward to it.
There’s a claim in the Turkish media that Beşiktaş are looking to sign Arsenal attacker Leandro Trossard before the Super Lig window closes.
The Belgium international’s future at the Emirates has been doubted at times in recent months, partly due to the options brought in this summer. The 30-year-old has had 37 minutes so far this season, not appearing in two of three games.
Sozcu report on Beşiktaş pursuit for the Arsenal player as they look to add to their attack before the September 12th Turkish deadline.
It’s claimed the two clubs are currently in negotiations and the Black Eagles have tabled a €22m offer.
Not a bad price, now if we could pick up an unregistered striker as back-up to Viktor G…..
Yep, I wish her well too. She’s been great for us.
Exactly Potter, what a state this country is in.
Afternoon Geoff, the first ones are always the hardest.
I’d snap their hands off if the Trossard’s story is true..
£19.75m really isn’t a bad price for Trossard and a lot more than we got for Kiwior, but I’d be sad to see him leave as he’s still a useful player for us and a goalscorer.
The problem you have is that transfers with Turkish clubs have a habit of being a lot of big talk until it actually comes to the pounds n pence whereby a straight transfer evolves into a loan with an option!
Thought we sold Kiwior, or agreed a deal at least, for more than £20m
Levy has stepped down from his role at Totts. Darn! 😜
Did he jump or was he pushed? Either way he’s gone with immediate effect.
The Tottenham managing director is of course Vinai Venkatesham, formerly a member of the Arsenal hierarchy. I wonder how much he had to do with Danny boy’s departure. 😉
If what I read is correct the Levy family own about 30% of Spurs shares so any investor is going to find it difficult to fully take over the mob from Middlesex, which suits me just fine.
Apparently a consortium from Qatar were interested but most likely got put off by the Levy road block, most of these people want total control.
Tottenham (unfortunately) is a money making concern due to their stadium, which makes the Wenger inspired Emirates look quite outdated. It’s a stadium that seems to be more geared to a fan experience than the Emirates which seems a stadium more designed to ensure that Arsenal have an amazing pitch but the fans are too far away from the action and the roof leaks.
Arsenal should patch the roof up by covering it with solar panels Kev, then they would not need to charge as much for tickets. 🌞
Even Sadiq could not complain about that , But knowing Milliband he would want them on the pitch with a couple of windmills in each corner.
That’s one snout out of the trough, Angela Rayner has resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Housing. Now she needs to resign her seat in Parliament too.
I read yesterday that the old Windmill Theatre in Soho is likely to be closed down permanently. I used to pass it morning and night on my way to and from school in the early fifties. It’s WW11 boast was “We never closed”. That was subtly changed to “We Never clothed”. 😉
So the old Windmill Theatre is going, I wonder if the site will be totally redeveloped, you know into a hostel perhaps for some of our dingy guests?
Angela Rayner, a card carrying member of the Fabian Society, was always quite vocal when in opposition about Government Ministers who accidentally or deliberately overstepped their authority, so I guess what goes around, but don’t worry, she’ll never be out of pocket.
Yes the girls used to be naked but they were a still life in the windmill that’s why when I was working in Soho square the barkers outside the clubs in Greek Street used to cry “”They’re naked and they moove “
You can’t beat a gal with a ostrich feather or two
David Lammy proves that being useless in the public sector is guaranteed to get you a promotion.
…or none at all. 👌
It will at least stop him making an arse of himself on the International stage.
Yes Cicero, there’s always a silver lining… 😂
The Labour private jet needed a break.