Morning all.
The summer transfer window of 2023 is officially for all clubs in England and Scotland, but it’s not until July 1st, when the international window opens, players from overseas clubs can be signed. Or at least made official.
If Arsenal really are looking to sign any of Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, Ilkay Gundogun, Joao Cancelo – all who’ve been heavily linked to the only London club playing Champions League football next season then they can. Obviously it’s not as simple as that because a player has to want to move, a transfer fee as well as personal terms have to be agreed and a medical needs to be passed. Transfers can be simple when a player only wants to move to one club which is probably why Liverpool have already secured the signing of Mac Allister. Or if a player thinks purely about the financial side of a deal then he’s likely to opt for whichever club is offering the best salary but when it comes to two/three clubs interested in one player, a deal can take time and even then there’s no guarantee that player will pick Arsenal. That doesn’t mean Arsenal have failed though because like it or not, not every player we hope the club will sign, will say yes.
Remember when Fergie was certain he’d got Aaron Ramsey, Liverpool thought they’d signed Alexis Sanchez and Arsenal fans thought Martinez was a dead certainty, Mudryk too. If we’re to believe what’s been written in the back pages over recent years, Utd were confident of signing Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba and even Alan Smith back in the day but all ended up at Arsenal. Even Karl Hein rejected Utd, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Mesut Ozil too. I did say ‘if we’re to believe what’s been written in the papers’. How many times have we seen Klopp with his arms around Martinelli, probably because he thought he could tempt him into a move to Anfield? Well, he couldn’t and hasn’t.
There’s a reason Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Martinelli signed new long term contracts. There’s a reason that William Saliba and Reiss Nelson are close to doing the same and I’d imagine that reason is the same for all of them. They’re happy and believe in what the club is doing and how they’re doing it. The Saliba and Nelson deals are yet to be confirmed but assuming they will be, it shows Arsenal are getting things right.
Even so, Arsenal won’t be every footballer’s cup of tea. Mikel Arteta might not be seen as a ‘big enough’ managerial name, the club has won nothing for a while so it clearly lacks ambition, or some other reason which only the player and those around him know, but that’s fine. But on the flip side, there must be hundreds of footballers out there in the big wide world who’d jump at the chance of playing for club which fought Man City long and hard for the Premiership title last season. Something only Liverpool have managed in recent years.
Arsenal need players who need Arsenal. Players who say thanks but no thanks to the rest but yes to Arsenal. Footballers who choose Arsenal for everything the club stands for and not just how many zeros are on his wage slip, men who when the going gets tough, they roll up their sleeves and battle hard instead of wilting or accepting defeat.
This is a big summer for the club and although I feel like I’ve written that before, we’ve not come as close to winning the league as we did last season for a long time. A handful of new signings and next season might, just might be even better.
I read on the official website this morning that last season, the club had 28 players out on loan. The most successful of which was Flo Balogun. His career at Arsenal is rumoured to be in the balance and I’d imagine his is not the only one. Soares, Mari, Pepe, Tavares, Lokonga, Runasson, Trusty and Rekik are the more senior players but quite honestly, I can’t see any of them, other than perhaps Rekik, signed in 2021, being at the club by the time the transfer window closes. Marquinhos and Patino probably have the best chance out of the rest.
As for the younger players who we’ve seen make the first team match-day squad throughout the last campaign, those being Bandeira, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Catalin Cirjan, Khayon Edwards, James Hillson, Charles Sagoe Jr, Matt Smith, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Bradley Ibrahim, Lino Sousa and Walters – none actually got minutes on the pitch. Only Ethan Nwaneri had that privilege and I’m sure I read that he could be leaving.
I suppose there are two questions to ponder, 1) Does Mikel Arteta not believe in or trust younger players or 2) Are the younger players either simply too young or not good enough? Actually, that’s four questions but the harsh reality is, despite his squad being a young one, the second youngest in the league I read, he’s not turned to youth regardless of who’s been fit or not. Yet, a player as ineffective as Vieira has been called upon.
I’m not being critical of Arteta here, just trying to understand his rationale. But and it’s a big but in my opinion, looking around at other clubs like Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Utd etc, are they really any different? I don’t think so. Of course we’d all like an academy success story each season but the reality is that if these players were ready to be playing first team football at a top club, they would be.
Ive waffled on for far too long….
Good morning Rico,
News just in. According to a surprising report from Calcio Napoli24, Jakub Kiwior is reportedly seeking a departure from Arsenal just six months after joining the club. The Polish international arrived at the Emirates Stadium during the previous transfer window following his move from Serie A side Spezia.
Manager Mikel Arteta was impressed with Kiwior’s performances for Poland during the World Cup, leading to his inclusion in the Arsenal squad in England. Although the centre-back has yet to establish himself as a regular starter, he did feature ahead of Rob Holding in some matches last season.
One would assume that these opportunities would be encouraging for Kiwior, indicating that he will have chances to prove himself with patience and persistence at the club. However, the report suggests that Napoli is interested in acquiring his services, and Kiwior is reportedly open to a return to the Italian top flight.
It does appear that Kiwior’s desire to join Napoli could potentially lead to his departure from Arsenal, despite his relatively short stint at the club.
Morning Cicero, that’s a surprise.
Rico
if true and we cant convince him to stay, we should sign ndicka for free and swap deal napoli for osimhen
Nice idea LAB.
Morning Rico and all.
If any player does not want to stay or join us, then let them go and move on. I personally think Arteta and Edu will go after a couple of mature players in this transfer market, so our younger players have a year or two to mature.
I don’t much about Osimhen, but the problem could be the number of games we could lose him for due to world cup and African cup of nations.
Hi Geoff. I’m of a similar opinion re who we sign. Although we’re we to get Moises Caicedo I wouldn’t complain. Saying that, I always hoped we’d sign Bissouma but he’s been poor since leaving Brighton.
RIP John Hollins.
This is a good piece I think.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65902861
David Ornstein
@David_Ornstein
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2h
🚨 Arsenal have made proposal to sign Kai Havertz. Pursuit ramped up in recent days; contact with Chelsea & 24yo. #FCBayern also keen. 2yrs left so #CFC ideally renew/sell
➕ #AFC planning formal offer to West Ham for Declan Rice soon
Fabrizio Romano Retweeted
Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
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2h
More on Kai Havertz. Sources feel that Chelsea could be flexible about price tag after initial £75m request considered too high by Arsenal. ⚪️🔴 #AFC #CFC
Player’s keen on the move, it could help Arsenal in the negotiation.
Real Madrid won’t even pay £50m for Havertz as of now.
Rico at 5:27 not a bad of reading, but the officials need to fix this issue with Man City as it’s not fair on any club or player.
They’re trying Geoff. What football needs is the investigation to heard and an outcome reached. If City are found guilty then a strong penalty has be handed out.
Good morning all.
If City are found guilty they will appeal against the decision, there will be a quite long period while that
takes place. If the appeal is rejected City will go the the Court of Arbitration in Sport, the body that found them not guilty the last time they were charged with financial misconduct, the whole process will not be completed in months, it may well be years before the saga is over.
I’m more optimistic than you Cicero. Lol
New post up now