Lets talk about the hottest topic of this transfer window. It seems like we are seriously pursuing Kai Havertz from Chelsea and are willing to spend a whooping 60m pounds and ready to put him on a 250k/week wages. This is because we have already agreed to let go Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen for a decent sum. Granit was leaving last season to Roma but stayed after Mikel insisted and I am sure there would have been a gentlemen agreement between those two, to let him go this window if a decent offer arrives.
So what are we going to get? Kai Havertz has age on his side. He is only 24 year old, remains mostly injury free and is versatile. He played as #8 for Leverkusen and played as a false 9 and as a striker at Chelsea. Arteta loves players who can play at multiple positions. He got White, who is a CB in profile but is playing at RB for Arsenal. Tomiyasu can play at multiple positions – LB and RB, and CB. Zinchenko is a LB but drifts in the midfield and is an additional midfielder when we are having the possession. Trossard was brought as a competition to Martinelli at left wing but we have seen him leading the line up top. Jesus has been playing at CF but then he is equally suited at wings, where he played his most games at Man City.
Take away from this is, Mikel likes players who can cover multiple positions without any drop in quality. Kai Havertz fits that profile. He can play the Xhaka role more efficiently, but can provide a different profile at CF than Jesus. He can also cover for Saka at RB, if needed.
Another important quality Kai brings is his passings. Again, Mikel loves good passers of the ball, we have seen it with Odegaard, White and Ramsdale. They are good on the ball. ESR is an anomaly who likes to run forward with the ball and isn’t suited with this passing-between-the-line concept and that’s why we see less of him. Tierney is another one not suited to that philosophy. You can berate Xhaka for anything else but he always has a good, precise left foot in him. The only reason he has survived so long, even after the famous Emirates debacle and his willingness to leave. He gives what Arteta needs. Kai fits that profile, and some more. Kai might not have an end product in him, but he can time the run perfectly and overcrowd the oppositions’ box when needed. I can only speculate but that’s probably the driving factor for Mikel to offer this huge sum for Kai.
Lastly, he has talent. He was great at Leverkusen but didn’t really click at Chelsea. But then, no one has shown any promise at Chelsea recently. Mudryk was a sensation we were ready to pay 100m for, but has flopped in his first season at CFC. It’s the wrong system for most of the players and may be, just may be, we are going to fix that for Kai.
What’s the catch?
That third point. He has been at Chelsea for 3 season and hasn’t delivered under three different managers. We are taking a gamble because he suits two important factors Mikel looks in his players. On top of that, it’s a costly affair. We are paying a good money for a player who hasn’t clicked in Premier League till now, and putting him on a wage more than what Saka earns. Saka is our best player by the way.
Buying Havertz means we will have to forget about Caicedo and Chelsea will use our money to get him. I would take Caicedo over Havertz any day. They are different type of player and may be Mikel needs a CAM more than a DM and hence we are targeting Rice + Havertz.
Right, that’s all from me. I am all excited for Mikel if that’s what he need to achieve our target to win Premier League this season. If we end up short, it will be criticized. What’s your take?
Just out, Neves joins a Saudi club for 55m Euros. At the age of 26. When he should be playing for the elites in Europe.
Someone had said it right – money is the biggest motivation.
Ambarish-I would gladly take Rice, Caicedo and Lavia, even if it meant Partey was removed for the equation, but we all know that will never happen…Lavia is the cheaper, far less polished Caicedo option, which is likely required if MA is going to pursue another overpriced luxury option like Havertz
Bob-sorry if my responses required you to dig up your old reading ruler, but when one is dealing with highly nuanced scenarios not everything can be reduced to the length of a casual text message…as to your previous response, you seem to actually agree with my Partey sentiments, which, like it or not, means that you too have questioned MA’s tactical approach in regards to this particular player…it’s likewise important to note that I made reference to the fact that Partey’s oft-times mixed reviews aren’t always down to the ineffectual nature of our present manager…just saying
btw Ambarish I’ve spoken about Partey’s likely exit since the day Jorginho was acquired, as there was no way we agreed to pay his sizeable wage, for an unreasonable term, if he wasn’t given going to be given some significant minutes moving forward…I would go so far as to suggest that one of the main reasons anyone would want to come here presently is the fact that MA has provided players with the kind of assurances they would find difficult to get elsewhere…oft-times when a club is a desired destination such assurances aren’t required and/or expected, but it’s likely imperative with our little project…it also carries considerable weight as MA’s known for his lack of rotation, so if he says your in his future starting 11 plans it would be difficult not to believe and/or be encouraged by the possible prospects of signing on
wtf is a reading ruler?
My issue is that your sentences go on and on. Apologies, I’m a teacher and I’d be getting you to edit your work to make it more cohesive which would involve shortening your sentences. Please ignore if you will.
I’m glad you mention nuance, that’s what it’s all about surely? Otherwise it’s just narrow mindedness.
I’m intrigued by that reading ruler though…..
Ambarish-you’re on fire, with multiple posts in less than 48…I guess I take back my earlier comment about you not reading my posts, as this article would clearly attest…no one is arguing the fact that Havertz showed exceptional promise with his former club, Bayer, as he was an absolute joy to watch in the 8 hole…I would argue your point that he can play mulitple positions with no discernable drop-off, as his performances while being deployed in other positons have been far from stellar…he likewise has shown some very disconcerting laziness tendencies, which should be a serious red flag at our particular club
in the previous weeks there’s been some talk about Rice being deployed as Xhaka’s direct replacement, which I questioned…with this in mind, Havertz makes far more sense in this capacity so long as he has a serious attitude adjustment and raises his game, from a finishing perpsective…he clearly won’t be afforded the same time/space luxuries as our Swiss miss, as opposing teams rarely, if ever, marked him…he will provide Jesus with more space and will give us some much-needed height in the box, but it likely means that Tross will be reduced to a bench option and I’m not sure what this might mean for ESR’s future prospects…of course, those concerns aren’t the end of the world, as Havertz, at his best, is a better now option than both…in the end, I have mixed feelings about us potentially chasing very expensive ghosts before we properly redress our most pressing needs, which has been an all too familiar refrain with this duo in charge
Bob-maybe the difference is I’m a former Professor, so I have little concern for the more pedestrian grammatical practices of elementary/secondary life, which isn’t meant to be disparaging…as for the reading ruler, I was speaking of techniques which were used some years ago where the reader would use a ruler so as to maximize one’s focus, as too many words in one place could be off-putting for some…obviously I was being facetious, as I felt you were purposely trying to break my balls at seemingly every turn…don’t get me wrong though, I’m all for that kind of back-and-forth banter
Really not excited by the idea of Havertz – buying from other PL clubs is always expensive and its not easy to get value for money.
Beyond that from the limited amount I’ve seen of him it all feels a bit meh. A lot of money for not much bang.
Ambaris-I read that Neves news earlier today and view it as quite an interesting development, as he doesn’t fit the usual Saudi League age profile…this reminds me a bit of a few years back when the Chinese League was attempting to make a name for themselves, to little or no avail…that said, the monies on offer in the middle east are substantially more so this could be somewhat problematic if younger and younger players of consequence take the proverbial bait…on the more positive side of things, maybe it will provide us with an opportunity to make some hay from our “deadweight” periphery players, as I’ve read that Pepe might even have some potential suitors in desert…talk about a potential silver lining
‘Pedestrian grammatical practices’ you clearly didn’t teach English – what did you teach, I’m guessing Maths?
As a former professor, I’m really surprised that you don’t see the value of punctuation and writing in a coherent way. Reading 400 word ‘sentences’ detracts from your ideas. How would you have reacted to a student of yours if they copied your writing style- I am genuinely fascinated to hear your response.
Sorry, I meant Ambarish
Bob-there’s a massive difference between what might be deemed acceptable in a formal versus an informal setting…I taught at all levels, as I pursued my Masters in Education when I was an associate Professor with only part-time hours, so I have a fairly good grasp of such matters…in this incredibly informal environment I’ve chosen to write in much the same manner as one might speak in a casual conversation and as such your “rules” about sentence structure and the like have little to no bearing…ultimately I don’t really care whether you’re partial to my particular brand of writing, as anyone on the outside looking in knows full-well that you’re simply grasping at straws in the hopes of rattling my chains by any means possible…big swing and an even bigger miss…Cheers
That’s bull and you know it! If you don’t help the reader with punctuation then it’s just a stream of consciousness. Getting your message across in the most intelligible way means that the reader can then focus on the content. I can’t be alone in finding your posts hard work to plough through. Why do think writers use punctuation?
there’s many forms of punctuation, which I use whenever it’s applicable within the body of any given post…your fascination with minute details speaks volumes about your inability to think outside the box…I will continue in the same fashion as always completely unhindered by your petty criticisms…in the future think of this as an informal debating site where such formalities have little to no place
@Bob
“Killroy- you like the Abramovic approach. Personally I think Chelsea is a horrible club”
YEP, love the Abramovic approach as he was striving for making Chelsea elite and the best there is trying to be like Real which is satisfying for the supporters. Chelsea being a horrible club, of the field perhaps on the pitch, just this last season under different owners.
KSE and the AFC front office are content with mediocrity as evidenced by putting up with a rookie manager who morphed into a Manager In Name Only. Under the present AFC setup I hold out no hope Arsenal experiencing what KSE did in the US with their 3 major sports franchises.
Since we can’t really change the owners, we need to change the ones given direction to the club in playing style and squad creation. KSE will provide the funds and the imbeciles will piss the millions up the wall. The chances that they missed in buying quality players is mind boggling. But it suits the majority of Arsenal supporters as they are comforted by the end of season repeating words “If be buy in this TW,,,,then….” Eternal hopeless minds.
Mark Ogden made an interesting point about Man United, they have the difficulties they have because there is no one at the club that can get the difficult deals done like SAR and D. Gill did for getting RVP and Ferdinand. Who is there at Arsenal that would have been able to get these difficult deals done? NO ONE! that is why in this TW the players we need will slip through their hands because they are difficult deals.
As far as your complaint to TRVL about writing style, did you notice no one else here complained. This is a blog that has educated people posting, reasoning and exchanging ideas. You have gotten too used to the LG blog with too many plebs as typified by that blog’s village idiot Nigel. Does that sound arrogant and over the top? Perhaps, but then this is LiR where anyone can contribute and it will become self evident where they will feel most comfortable.
Marc, KSE’s teams have just won NBA and Stanley Cup, Tams won the supebowl 18months ago. They’ve been heavily investing in Arsenal. Garlick who headed PL negotiations is now involved with ours, as id Lewis who is a highly experienced, respected legal operator.
Sorry TVRL, I’ll get off your case. You won’t change and I’ll scroll past. All the best.
You think you know better, fair enough.
Bob-super passive aggressive nonsense…it had nothing to do with who knew best, as it was far more of a to each his own scenario…the fact that you would suggest that I’m the one who “knew better”, yet you were the one who wanted me to adhere to whatever grammatical rules you deemed fit, is incredibly rich
as for the football side of things, I do hope that Kroenke’s recent sporting empire triumphs will embolden him to do whatever is necessary so that we can prevail in a similar fashion…that said, nothing is guaranteed and since this isn’t his typical MO we better hurry the fuck up before he returns to his old, much more frugal self (like a reverse Scrooge)
Bob
OK – so what does any of that have to do with the comment I made?
In the “news” today there are several reports of interest
(1) Tierney could be staying-I want to say I’m surprised, but I would suspect this has more to do with how his lack of playing time has significantly impacted what others are willing to pay for his services…with talks ongoing with Rice, Havertz and Lavia, we certainly won’t have the necessary funds to properly replace Tierney too…now if someone were to offer something closer to our inflated valuation things could change on a dime…I like what he has on offer, especially when we don’t need to rely on him week-in and week-out, but he definitely needs to see the pitch more often than this past season to justify his roster inclusion
(2) rumours about Chiesa won’t seem to go away…this is a player with world class skills who I’ve always rated highly, unfortunately he’s been prone to injuries lately and he’s quite a tempermantal individual…as such, he certainly isn’t the kind of locker room guy one might crave if he was brought in to be Marts backup, as he might ruffle feathers and we all know how MA usually deals with such matters…that said, when healthy he’s the kind of clinical finisher we’ve been sorely missing for some time
(3) it will be interesting to see what it’s going to cost to get the players I first mentioned over the line, as their club-perceived values don’t match the general consensus…Rice is no 120M player, as his current value is closer to 80M, but we know that’s not going to get things done…Havertz’s book value is about 60M, with Chelsea looking for closer to 70…I would say that in light of his poor play and the fact that Chelsea want him off the books, we should pay no more than 50, but I’d be shocked if that happened…as for Lavia, his market value is about 20M, but his current club has him pegged at about 50…I’m sure they would accept considerably less due to their relegation and the fact that City’s buy-back clause next summer will get them substantially less…the only mitigating factor might be the fact that several bigger clubs appear interested, which will likely push that number upwards
(4) it looks like Vieira has a medical condition which will leave him unavailable for the U21 Euros…not sure what the “condition” is but if there was someone who needed some playing time it’s him…hopefully he won’t be sidelined too long so we can find him a reasonable loan option, as I can’t see him getting significant minutes if our current transfer plans materialize…holy shit this guy might be jinxed
The transfer valuations are at the moment bat shit crazy. Not unheard of to plunk down 50-70mil for a squad player or backup.
Getting this deal for Havertz over the line I don’t understand. Why does it feel that Chelsea has us over the barrel or is this initial posturing? Chelsea has to get players off the books before June 30th in order to ease the FFP pressure. Since no one else is in for Havertz why are we talking about that player, unless this is a diversion for getting a different player.
Our number 1 pursuit should be for sorting the midfield and use July and August to tweak the squad. Real Madrid again shows how things are to be done in the TW. Their midfield is awesome and they are set for years to come with MBappe joining them and they can be cherry picking their players. And then there is us having to feed of the scraps and rejects. Oh how the mighty invincibles have fallen.
Guys,
I really appreciate your insights and the discussions we have at LiR. Let us not target individuals but the philosophy.