Morning guys.
Here we are then, smack, bang, wallop – into another international break. I don’t like them and I doubt any domestic only football fan does. It’s not about the minutes our players play because they’d be playing anyway if there was no international football but it’s about flying time, being away from home and most of all, it means no domestic football.
As each season begins, football, or in our case, Arsenal, becomes a big part of life for ten months. Regardless of how good or bad things get, we’re invested wholeheartedly. One day life is rosy, the next can be full of frustration, annoyance and even anger. The night at Fleetwood Town sitting firmly in the latter.
We went into the last break after being thumped 3-0 by Brighton, this time at least, players left the club on a happier note after beating Hull City on Saturday afternoon. I just hope international managers give thought to players health and fitness ahead of their team selections. Either that or our own players take it upon themselves to put Arsenal first.
Ref Watch on Sky Sports confirmed that Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty during the game when Kai Havertz had his shirt pulled, but then we knew that anyway. Probably just as we all know Ref Watch is a pointless exercise because the officials don’t seem to learn from their mistakes regardless of how often they are highlighted. Just this weekend so many mistakes have been made, it’s embarrassing for Howard Webb, his team of officials and the Premier League. We keeping hearing and reading about how the Premier League is the best in the game but it’s definitely not matched by those who officiate within it.
We might only be in November but by the time the domestic season gets back up and running, December will be just days away which means the January transfer window will be not far off.
Arsenal have made a lot of really good signings during the winter transfer window in years gone by but more recently, perhaps Leandro Trossard is up there with the best. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wasn’t too shabby either, nor was Andrey Arshavin but up there as of the best was Nacho Monreal and Emmanuel Adebayor although the latter didn’t really blossom until a year or so after his move. Martin Odegaard was also a January signing but a loan which was made permanent just a few months later. Theo Walcott also joined in January. I suspect there will be little debate about who was the worst with Dennis Suarez and Kim Kallstrom being the main contenders.
Bearing in mind Mikel Arteta has an almost fully fit attacking group to select from, barring Bukayo Saka more recently and Christos Tzolis before that, I think I’m not alone in believing our attack needs an explosion of pace and technical prowess added to it in January.
But who could we get? Eli Jr Kroupi seems to be the name on many Arsenal fans lips but he’s only just coming back from injury and rumour has it his heart is set on a move to PSG. True or not I’ve no idea but for Bournemouth to sell him, it would take a pretty big transfer fee.
Norway and RB Leipzig winger/midfielder Antonio Nusa is another name I’ve seen online in relation to options available. 21 years old, 6’ tall and quick. According to a report in BILD, Arsenal had representatives at the Red Bull Arena watching Nusa when Leipzig played Manchester City in the Champions League. He scored and created four good chances apparently. Martin Odegaard might help convince him to make the move.
Real Madrid’s Rodrygo is another name but other than that, I think the best wingers are already set within their own clubs.
Would, or rather could, Arsenal look outside the box to find another deal like Trossard. Cheaper but smart because they are likely to deliver from day one. Why not look at the best performing wingers at clubs like Coventry, Hull City, Ipswich, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Leeds, Sunderland and Crystal Palace?
I’ve always said, Arsenal shouldn’t be snobs when it comes to transfer. If footballers are performing to a high level, it doesn’t matter who they play for. If they’re working harder than anyone else within their team, it shows they care. It shows they have a winning mentality. It shows they have the kind of attitude Mikel Arteta wants and expects from his players. Yes, it’s easy to throw big money at big names but is that the kind of player we need? Great to start with but struggle to put in the hard graft..
Some of our toughest games in this league has been against the so called “lesser clubs”, a terminology I really don’t like by the way, and that’s because the players have worked so hard for each other and the manager to get where they are. They seem to have a different attitude, a different approach and certainly a different desire. We see it in Declan Rice, Gabriel, Viktor Gyokeres, Bruno Guimaraes, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and others, but not every current Arsenal player plays with such a high level of intensity, determination and that will to win. At least that’s how it seems to me when one player will give everything to win the ball whilst others sometimes look as if they cannot be bothered. I’m sure you are thinking of the same players as me, not that I think we have many I hasten to add. That’s why I’m glad we didn’t sign Alvarez or Vinicius Junior – superstars they might be but would they really work as hard for the team as Mikel Arteta would expect them to? Honestly, I don’t know is the answer.
We certainly don’t need a defender or midfielder in January, or in the summer as things stand today in my opinion but our attack, well, it needs something. Zip, drive and firepower.
Whether we get it though is the million dollar question. Literally…
Catch up in the comments.
