Morning all.
Arsenal announced the signing of Fabio Vieira yesterday afternoon. Ok, I get it, he’s not the biggest footballer in the world but so what? Santi Cazorla was shorter, as is Kante and I’m sure if I could be bothered to look, I’d find many other under tall players who have graced the English game. Alan Ball was a shortie, he wasn’t bad. Vieira is a trim lad too but that’s what he is in footballing terms, a lad. 22 years old and a lot of football yet to play. He’s got super quick feet apparently so I fully expect our free kick and penalty numbers to increase. Lol
Seriously though, we’ve been crying out for something different in our creative play and Vieira might just provide it. We talk a lot about Mikel Arteta working with Pep Guardiola, well I’m sure by now he knows what a good creative player looks like. I’d imagine he’ll know whether or not the player has the ability and physicality to play in the Premier League too.
Vieira was asked what his strengths are and what part of his game he wants to develop.
My strengths are my passing and shooting ability. I think those are my main strengths. As for what I need to work on, I’d say the physical side of my game.
Dumbbells for Christmas it is then….
Edu:
We’re so pleased to have completed the signing of Fabio from FC Porto. Fabio is a player with special qualities who is comfortable with the ball in the final third of the pitch. We are all looking forward to working with him and enjoying his future contribution to Arsenal. We will now continue to work hard and are looking forward to finishing this transfer window as strongly as possible.
Mikel Arteta:
I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent. Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play. We welcome Fabio and his family to our club and are looking forward to starting work with him ahead of the new season.
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a manager welcoming a player ‘and his family’ to a new club. Nice touch.
Vieira played 39 games for Porto last season, ending the season with seven goals and 16 assists. More assists than any player in the Premier League. Seven goals might not be a vast amount but they came against Sporting CP and Benfica. Both big rivals of Porto. According to reports on Sky Sports, he was good in both the league and Champions League.
So, Edu is looking forward to finishing this transfer window as strongly as possible. His statement could be interpreted any which way one chooses but being the optimist I am, I’m taking it as meaning Arsenal have more business to do this summer. The club needs to, we all know that but until last summer, Arsenal’s transfer dealings have been pretty random and seldom really addressing the needs of the squad. Certainly not for the last ten years or so.
David Ornstein ‘understands’ that Arsenal have made a bid to sign Raphinha but the offer falls short of Leeds’ valuation and will be rejected today. An improved offer is expected he says.
Sky Sports suggest that Arsenal are in a battle with Newcastle Utd for Fabian Ruiz. The player has one year left on his contract and Napoli are prepared to sell him for £26m rather than lose him for free next summer. A 6’ 2.7” defensive midfielder would be more than welcome to sign for Arsenal.
Lastly, Matt Turner is expected to arrive in London today to undergo his medical. Did you see the clip of him after/before a recent game? I think it’s hilarious.
Good man…
Catch up in the comments.
Ornstein knows. One of the few journalists that can be relied upon.
Transfer window looking promising for the first time in a while.
Morning Pete, all, he does seem to be more reliable than most.
Morning Rico and all.
I recon Saka and ESR will benefit from Vieira low passes into the goal area but I am wondering how Vieira would go if we get him to take the corner kick in for a set piece.
Hi Geoff.
With Arsenal already having made the first moves in the transfer window, our technical director Edu has outlined our recruitment strategy this summer.
Brazil youth international forward Marquinhos was the first to arrive in June. The 19 year old has joined from Sao Paulo, and will seen as very much one for the future.
More recently we completed the signing of Portugal under-21 international midfielder Fabio Vieira. The 22 year old was an integral player at Porto, and was named Player of the Tournament at the recent European Under-21 Championships in Hungary and Slovenia.
In addition, our Hale End graduate Eddie Nketiah (23) has recently signed a new long-term contract with the club, after scoring 10 times last season. So is this investment in youth set to continue to be a major part of the club’s plans?
“One hundred per cent,” Edu confirmed. “That has to be Arsenal.
“We have to go into the market for exciting players with the right age, right attitude and right mentality. We want to see a club like Arsenal with a young squad, an exciting squad with a big, big future because as I said last summer, the idea is to have a young squad. We want to give them the opportunity to play together for two, three, four, five or six seasons.
“We still have a lot to do but we are really excited to start the season with the players we target and the players we want to sign.”
Edu added that the work in identifying potential targets is ongoing, and there has been plenty of planning over the past few months.
“This summer is just the consequence of what we’ve been working on a lot, to try to find the best players, the best targets,” he said.
“We identify really what we need in the squad, so when we started this summer, we are prepared.
“Fabio is a good example because we moved quickly because we prepared to get Fabio a long time ago and then when we face it, we make things happen.”
Speaking to Arsenal Media recently, our technical director finished by saying he expects the club to announce more transfer news soon.
“Yes I think we still have some good conversations and positive conversations to be fair. I hope we can give to the fans some good news.
Afternoon Campers, good post Rico upbeat and positive.
Arsenal seem to be in for everyone atm it does take a bit of getting used to but maybe the advent of Newcastle and the threat they pose is a major contributor and has motivated KSE to become more proactive in the market. Long may that be the case…
Afternoon Kev, thanks. Honestly, I think he’s changed since taking full ownership. Good or bad, it’s only his responsibility.
As we concentrate on those coming in the book balancing will still have to be done and that puts question marks over a number of players .
Xhaka , Holding , Bellerin , Cedric , AMN , Leno , Torriera , Mari , Tavares and Lokonga all either need to go or be absorbed into the squad whether Arteta wants them or not.
We can’t keep loaning players to run their contracts out and let them walk for nothing , so we have to get what we can where we can and not always for players that we want to leave.
We have to be aware that some that we would like to keep may leave as we shuffle the pack .
I may have mist understood what Edu said but from My understanding if the club only want players in their early 20’s will that lead to player around 25 start running down there contracts so they can leave for free.
Good Afternoon Rico and all
Two good posts Rico. In just one day. 😉 😉 well done
I guess we are following the Ajax model. Promote from the academy and compliment them with good purchases. Long may this continue….I hope that they dont get it into their head to buy ready made superstars. I simply love it when we get an unknown player (like Vieira Mk1 and recently Mk2). How many of us had heard of Anelka, Vieira, Petit etc. We even hadn’t ever heard of Sanogo (but that is another story)
Geoff I think Edu/Arteta meant that the only players they will be signing will be in the 22-25 age bracket. Something must have been lost in translation when it was reported they wanted for Arsenal. So it does not mean that they will allow players to run their contract down. I think it will be that when the player gets around 25/26 years they will get him to sign another contract and then sell him a year later if they have a good ready made replacement.
For what it’s worth, I can’t see Lokonga, Holding or Xhaka leaving.
No Geoff, I think it means we’re going to be run properly at last. Sign them, play them and then sell them. Free transfers out have to be a thing of the past if we’re to improve our finances.
Geoff, like Rico I dont see Holding, Xhaka or Lokonga going. Holding is a good role model who can help and never complains. Xhaka is Arteta’s right hand man on the pitch (like Keane was to SAF) while Lokonga is one for the future. Holding will get around 15-20 games during the season, Xhaka will play the majority while Lokonga will get more starts especially in the domestic cups plus Europa group games at least.
Afternoon Devil. I hope we sign a player to partner Partey and replace Xhaka. But, with four competitions to go for, if Mikel Arteta wants to rest/rotate players, we need depth and Xhaka does seem to be a favourite of Arteta.
Your thoughts on Xhaka are depressing to say the least. If there is one thing that I would think will improve us would be the removal of this man . In my opinion Midfield is where games are won and lost and a midfield with him leaves a lot of scope for improvement .
I have said it before that he is Arteta reborn at the end of his career except I don’t think he has the Basque’s intelligence or at least he doesn’t show it.
He became less of a liability when he went forward to the end of the season but with the arrival of the new Vieira I can only see him reverting to the defensive role which would be incredibly retrograde in my opinion.
That’s good news the last thing we need is our older player running down their contracts then walking away for free, I can’t see Arteta selling Xhaka he has always stuck by Xhaka.
Now to find the one player in our squad who can lead this team for the next 4 or 5 years
I’m hoping he goes Potter, but just realise he’s a favourite of Mikel.
Something Edu said to Arsenal media yesterday gave an indication of the thinking on signing younger players. They, Arteta and Edu, wish to put together a group of players who will be part of the team for four, five or more seasons. This is kind of indicative that 25 is the upper age limit for new signings. Obviously there will be changes in personnel and no doubt some judicious weeding out in time but retaining a United core will be vitally important.
Bloody spell checker united, not United.
Raphina will be 26 in December, right on the edge agewise.
Cicero, and isn’t Fabian Luis around 27 years. Luis and Patey when healthy and on their game will remind fans of PV4 and Gilberto. More of a reason to sell Xhaka and get Luis.
I know I belong to the minority here, but I am a huge admirer of Xhaka, and wouldn’t replace him for Henderson, Kovacic, Fred, McGinn, Doucouré, Dendoncker, or Gross. He might not be the best midfielder in the PL, but he is really good at transitioning from defense to attack, his left-footed passes are not simply accurate but fast too (not slowing down counterattacks), he has the best leadership skills in the squad and his left foot is a constant threat – I wish he used it more though.
At the moment Granit an Thomas are clearly the first choice CM/DMs at Arsenal. And not just due to Mikel’s inability to rotate; they are well ahead of the rest of the bunch. However if we sing a quality central midfielder – Neves, Tielemans, Ruiz, Sangaré – Arteta would have to start rotating at some point, but don’t kid yourself: the team sheet will start with Xhaka for a long time.
This what I’m looking at regarding the Arsenal squad 25 as it presently stand:
Foreign: Turner, Tomiyasu, Tierney, Gabriel, Saliba, Xhaka, Odegaard, Partey, Vieira, Lokonga, Tavares, Elneny, Soares (13) or with Trusty (14) leaving 3 or 4 spaces to fill.
Home Based: Ramsdale, White, Smith Rowe, Holding, Nketiah (5) or with Nelson (6) leaving 2 or 3 spaces to fill.
Under 21: Saka, Martinelli, Marquinos, Balogun, Okonkwo.
Players’ set to depart: Torrieira, Niles, Leno, Pepe, Runarsson, Bellerin, Mari.
So at best we can sign between 5 to 7 more players if the finance is available and we can afford it…
Martinez, Jesus, Raphina, Ruiz, Tielemans, Hickey, perm 4 from them?
7 it is then Kev. 😆
I told you Jesus was done 2 days ago. I don’t want to overpay for Raphina. Tielemans would be perfect to improve on Xhaka and also backup for Partey.
I have been thinking about Pepe and were will he fit into this team if we can’t sell or loan him. At the moment He is going to a high paid player wasting a seat on the bench, it’s a shame as he is a good player but just not EPL standard
I never thought Arsenal was going to get Tielemans because, whatever his qualities, he’s not what Arteta wants. The top teams in the competition (and across Europe) all control possession. Arteta knows that and wants a build-up maestro and a Jorghinho-type game-controller at LCM. Someone who will give him 90 – 100 touches a game. That is why I’m very sure that Arthur Melo from Juve will be playing for Arsenal next season.
I know, I know. Everybody thinks that Edu / Arteta have moved on from Arthur. He was just a stop-gap in Jan, right? Wrong. He wasn’t a stop-gap. The whole deal fell apart because the club would not provide the dough. Well, Artedu have the summer dough now and, it’s obvious to me from Italian reports, that they’re playing hard-ball with Juve. They want Arthur on a loan with an option to buy. Juve is desperate to get rid of Arthur and his big wage. Arsenal has the whip hand in this negotiation. Juve has to off-load Arthur soon.
But Arthur has failed at Juve, right?
Yes he has. But he’s playing for a manager (Allegri) who is not interested in control or possession and loves vertical football. He wants a Pirlo-style playmaker. Arthur is not that. He’s also playing with a mediocre bunch of midfielders who wouldn’t know a triangle if they fell over it.
P.S. I’ve looked at Fabian Ruiz. He looks a bit slow to me and I doubt he will want to come the Prem League. There are stories that Juve want him and have to off-load Arthur to get him!
Good points Freddo. He’s Brazilian and we like Brazilians at the moment.
I think the dodgy deal that took Arthur to Juve from Barca put him on OTT wages that few clubs are willing to take on. He hasn’t done much in Italy, so the only escae route is a loan.
From what I can find on the web, Melo is paid anything between £80.000 and £120,000 per week depending on which source you believe. This sort of wage may be high in terms of Italian football, but is hardly OTT in the Premiership.
Morning all.
New post up now