Morning all.
Good to see Flo Balogun and youngsters Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Reuell Walters have made the trip to Germany. Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice are yet to be confirmed as Arsenal players so they aren’t involved although Arsenal hope Timber will be able to join the squad in Germany and Rice to be signed and sealed before the players head out to the USA.
One player who has not travelled to Germany is Sambi Lokonga. He posted on instagram that he’s recovering after suffering a muscle injury. Could be true but it could also be a little white lie as he’s widely expected to be one of the players Arsenal could sell this summer. Then again, so is Flo Balogun but he’s travelled. No sign of Thomas Partey though but Mo Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu look fit and raring to go.
Go is a poingiant word really because right now, Arsenal have 34 players on the first team squad page on the official website. Add in Rice and Timber, it’ll be 36.
5 Goalkeepers – Ramsdale, Turner, Runasson, Hein and Okonkwo.
11 Defenders – White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Tomiyasu, Tierney, Holding, Zinchenko, Tavares, Soares and Trusty.
9 Midfielders – Partey, Jorginho, Lokonga, Odegaard, Saka, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Elneny and Havertz.
8 Forwards – Jesus, Martinelli, Nketiah, Balogun, Trossard, Nelson, Pepe and Marquinhos.
So who goes?
Runasson, Soares, Tavares and probably Trusty from defence. Xhaka has already departed of course but unless further signings are made, can we really afford to sell Partey? There’s been a lot of speculation around his life away from football but until we know 100% that he’s committed something unlawful, surely he’s one to keep? Lokonga leaving is likely I think and Vieira needs a loan if not a move. As for the forwards, Pepe has to be a favourite to go.
Numbers wise though, bearing in mind 25 is the magic number as far as a squad goes, more will need to find a new club which in turn means, we might see a favourite or two, be sold.
So, who would be in your 25 man squad and who wouldn’t? Not including players you’d like Arsenal to sign as that’s an entirely different matter. 😆
Catch up in the comments.
Just a bit of fun today..
You forgot about Patino
Nice one Rico, I think that Hein and Marquinhos are still young enough to be U21’s and so don’t need to be included in the 25.
It does make me wonder that there may have been some forward thinking by the Coaching staff last season in terms of how big our squad was. With Martinelli, Saka, Saliba, Lokonga and Okonkwo all havingto be included in the 25 this season? I like Okonkwo but I wonder if he’s happy to be a No.2 this season or next? Matt Turner is a fine goalkeeper and a great No.2 but I suspect we’ll have him for this season and then he’ll want to move on and get a regular 1st team start. By then we might have to decide between Okonkwo and Hein as his replacement and maybe Arthur won’t want to hang around either?
Here goes nothing:
Ramsdale, Turner, Hein (U21)
White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Tomiyasu, Zinchenko, Timber.
Runasson, Okonkwo out on loan.
Tavares, Soares, Trusty, sold or loaned.
Holding and Tierney, I don’t know, probably sold if the right offers come in but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them stay either?
Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard, Saka, ESR, Elneny, Havertz, Vieira.
Lokonga sold or loaned depending on offers?
Partey, I really don’t know but I suspect that the club would sell given his age and fitness record if the offer was decent?
Jesus, Martinelli, Nketiah, Trossard, Nelson, Balogun, Marquinhos (U21).
Pepe sold or loaned.
We still have 51 days of this window to go and a lot of clubs are watching the market and sitting on their cash, we’ve done our business early and can sit back and wait to see if offers come in. I doubt that Arsenal will be signing anyone else for the time being and certainly until we know whose going and whose staying?
The Arsenal Academy develop a lot ofreally talented youngsters but as the senior squa£ develops and the level increases the opportunities for youngsters decrease and you have to be a bit special, a bit above the norm to make an impact on Arteta and ge5 close to the senior squad…
It’s great seeing young players play in the 1st team but Arsenal aren’t afinishin* school anymore, a youngster has to be top top quality, to have the ability to play in the senior squad and look comfortable and show that he can do it on a regular basis. Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly and Walters probably tick those boxes, they have that something extra, that something that Saka has, that Martinelli has, the Nelson is getting close to, that Eddie needs to work on, that Smith Rowe has if he wants it enough.
Pac-Man, he’s still an academy player ‘technically”.
Thanks Kev, I hope we keep Tierney because he’s the better defender imo but with so many options, I reckon he’ll go.
11.51 Kev.
I agree, long gone are the days of keeping players at the club just because it’s easy. It’s taken a while to get where we are but it now seems that instead of ‘making do’ we’re going for who fits right. Perhaps some of us, certainly me, has got used to the sign them first and worry about where they’ll play later approach which AW seemed to live by during his second ten year stint.
Morning Rico and all.
It maybe hard to sell Lokonga if he has picked up an injury, and I don’t think anyone will buy Pepe unless he goes very cheap, so I can see him going back out on loan. Tierney will be sold along with Partey.
Everyone wants to keep Elneny. He’s been here for years and has no ambition to move to go and play first team football. He and Holding are happy sitting on the bench and stealing a living.
Hi Geoff, I think we could get a fee for Pepe, just nowhere near what we paid for him.
Howard, I don’t. I’d rather he and Lokonga went and we signed Lavia, or another CM.
Looks like Rice ‘s deal is staggering to the line , legal documents getting the blame or just prevarication giving West Ham less time to do their replacement deals .
What’s more it seems that Pepe has not turned up for pre season claiming to be recovering from injury.
Sorry if this is old news but my access to the house has been somewhat complicated lately.
The privacy acceptance just froze and I could not clear it.
Sorry about that Potter, hope it’s ok now?
I’m having troubles too but that’s because a new kitchen fitted means no electricity every now and again. And again which means no internet. Living in one room is no fun. 😂
New post up