Bloody hell, it took Mikel Arteta a total of five and a half season to get a CF. He inherited three – Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang but he shipped them all off to play Kai Havertz – a midfielder, Mikel Merino – another midfielder and Trossard – a winger. We finished 2nd three times in a row and I can bet a tenner we would have won at least one of them had there been a proper goal scorer upfront. With the Sesko and Gyokeres saga and the delay that was happening, I was getting sceptical that it might not happen at all, but better late than never.
Since The King left, we had the young 16 year old Walcott wearing that number for a decade, he did much better for his age and the support he had around him. Auba came and delivered some beautiful goals and games for us. Loved him except for his move to Chelsea but hey, he got a family. Nketiah was a trial and failed as it did for the ESR #10. Time will tell whether Gyokeres does justice to the number but let me be clear, I am pretty sure he will.
We are paying £64m to Sporting because the add-ons are too easy. That’s a lot of money after we have already spent some on Kepa, Zubimendi, Norgaard and a lot of money for Madueke. But I DON’T CARE. I just don’t want to see midfielders playing as a striker and I don’t want to see a sulking Havertz up top. We are bringing a striker who has got personality, presence, and intimidation in him. He has some unbelievable stats albeit in a weaker league but hey, he did pretty well in Champions League.
I have no doubt he will do great in red and white. He knows it, so he pushed for the move; his agent knows it so he is marketing himself by dropping 6m of agent fees, the club knows it because ultimately they are going to pay 60+ million GBP for him.
Cristhian is here – Welcome to Arsenal
We have signed Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia. I was always calling out the club to get a proper CF, and ignore this versatility crap everyone throws around these days. How many games have you seen Kiwior, White or Tomiyasu play at CB or which one of them were able to bench Saliba when he was going through a bad form couple season back? No one. We need competition everywhere and we need good back ups.
Mosquera has been a starter for Valencia since 2023/24 season and have played the most number of games for any player in Europe top 5 league who is under the age of 21. If you are not even 21 and you play 73 games as a CB in couple of seasons, you are a talent.
A very good signing according to me, hats off to whoever pushed for it. And we only paid £13m for him with some add-ons. Brilliant deal considering Tomiyasu is gone and we have White/Timber for RB while Calafiori/MLS fight for the LB spot.
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Right, sorry for a short one today. Days are just getting busier as I am getting old. Hope you are have a good one, wherever you are in the world. Cheers.
things we know:
(1) Havertz is going to play—now this might either be up top, as an 8 or out wide left…none of these options excites me whatsoever…if he lines up in the 8, does that mean Rice will be played out wide or will he drop Ode to the bench because based on what we’ve seen thus far he’s not going back into the 6-hole anytime soon
(2) we need to get rid of some guys—speaking of which they’re are stories circulating that state MA wants to keep both Tross and Zinchenko…probably just our weak attempt to stabilize their already piss-poor MVs…isn’t it pathetic how clubs like Chelsea can always find a way to make lemonade, like with Felix, but we can’t get jackshit from those who’ve actually shown something(just look at Nuno)
(3) we need to find minutes for both Ethan and Dowman this season, which is why we should have never signed Norgaard…this isn’t an attack on the player but what he brings to the table isn’t near worth what we might lose if we fail to properly embed our brightest young stars…it speaks to MA’s trust issues…he can’t keep blaming his young players for his lack of tactical nous
(4) if we do snag Eze, it appears like we might try to employ a dual lineup tactical approach, one that will be decidely more direct, which would include Eze, Noni, Ethan and maybe even Dowman…unfortunately with MA’s substitution record they can hardly have the desired effect if they’re only seeing the last 10 minutes of a match
(5) Merino was clearly an attempt by MA to emulate his former boss…Wenger wanted Jagielka but settled for an ill-suited Arteta, whereas MA wanted Zubi then bought Merino, who isn’t worth shit as anything but a last resort Striker…how many times is our little manager going to set us back with his transfer snafus…Willian, Jesus, Havertz, Rice(from a positional sense), Tross(as it stopped us from properly addressing the position), Sterling and Merino…when will it ever fucking end
The talk is Dowman is going to be moving up to the U21’s – he might get the odd bench or start in an early cup round but at 15 he’s not going to be getting more than the odd PL minute at best.
He looks a phenomenal talent so 1) that needs to be nurtured not abused 2) do we really want more than the minimal influence from Arteta on his career?
Personally I’d bring in him slowly ready for Enrique to turn him into the greatest player we’ve even had.
TRVL – in response to your comment.
1) – Its fucking depressing isn’t it.
2) Why can’t we sell players for any sort of value?
3) You have to assume Nwaneri has been given assurances if he signed an extension. Re: Dowman see my comment above.
4) That’s paper talk can’t see it happening it’d mean we’d spent over £220 million in a window.
5) All managers have poor signings or even signings who on paper look great but don’t work out as expected. They don’t repeat them with the constant stream of major fuck ups Captain Fuckwit does.
Marc
(1) YES
(2) because MA hasn’t a clue about man management
(3) very much doubt any assurances were actually on paper
(4) we likely “need” to sell to spend, which should have happened already
(5) Agree…this clown hasn’t a clue about roster construction…just imagine how terrible things would be if he was given far less to spend
I think I’ve found Arteta’s true calling, women’s soccer
Dowman played mostly on the right, in the Odegaard’s slot
https://youtu.be/WA1gvjZmQN0?si=nmE433VIdO9nrU39
Still a long way to go, he is just 15 but if he develops in next couple of years, we would have a free upgrade to Ode.
TRVL
The Indian football coaching position is open.
Ambarish
To whom do I need to send my CV?
Art Fraud – you and I should put in a joint application a la Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. You do the team talks and I’d probably better do the media appearances… I don’t think we’ll need the sheepskin coats though. We’ll shake things up a bit a get the Bharat Army to win the world cup… And introduce the word ‘cunt’ to Indian football fans up and down the country.
some potentially more positive notes:
(1) if the reports are to be believed, Saliba is looking to re-up
now this doesn’t make him untouchable, it simply means it would require a far more substantial bid to pry him away…obviously I want him around for the long-term, but considering his limitations with the ball at his feet Gabs will have to prove that he can take his game to another level in order to fulfill the role of the more offensive member of our CB tandem (which we udoubtedly need)…if not, Cala should get a legit shot at it against some less offensively-minded sides
in order for us to add some much-needed directness in our attack, which seems to be in the offing if Eze follows VG to the Emirates, we can’t rely too heavily on Zubi or deploy two deeper-sitting pivots…as such, it will be interesting to see what will happen with our left-sided inverted gig, as I know Zubi prefers that side…maybe Timber will take on that role on the opposite side of the pitch this season…only problem is that doing so might negatively impact Saka, as he’ll face constant double-teams without a natural overlapping partner…maybe we’ll be more balanced in attack, as VG likes to roam to the left side of the pitch, so Saka could become more of a backside option at times, which could be a decent fit with the right service…keeping in mind, that VG will likely take a CB out to the left edge of the box with his movement
even so, one must continually question MA’s roster construction practices, as they never seem to make the most sense…square peg, round hole syndrome strikes again
(2) the outpouring of positivity upon VG’s arrival
we all understand the beggars can’t be choosers of it all, so any Striker signing, within reason of course, was always going to lead to an uber positive response…not to mention, the fact that the backlash to the Noni hiring wasn’t well-received by a large segment of the fanbase and beyond, meant that any VG-related negativity was going to be miniscule or muted altogether
only time will tell if this was a good add, but I like that he puts in a shift and is determined to prove the naysayers wrong…that said, players with a chip on their shoulder don’t always come good, we just remember the most extreme examples, be that positive or negative…regardless, I wish him well and hope that his play sees Havertz on the bench far more often (then sold next summer, likely for relative peanuts)
(3) if we do finish this window with a real statement of intent and not with a whimper, I’m fairly positive that some new tactics will be forthcoming
like I said earlier I’m not sure our present starting personnel favours a more direct approach, especially in the midfield, but maybe that will lead to some more minutes for the likes of Ethan and even Max…I’m certainly not holding my breath though…I must admit I would be excited to see what a frontside of Eze, VG and Saka might produce with the requisite amount of service…therein lies the potential problem, especially if they’re relying on a midifeld that could include Havertz, Rice and/or Zubi…on the other hand, I do think that Ode could have a bit of a revival with those 3 forwards playing ahead of him…Cheers
Xhak’s back! After the pound shop Geordies of Sunderland paid 17 million quid for him. We let him go to Germany on a free transfer iirc.
I bet he tells Gooners to ‘fuck off’ again when we play them.
“(3) if we do finish this window with a real statement of intent”
We’ve spent £180 million this summer and brought in about £6 million – we can assume Trossard will be sold but with a year left on his contract and with our record in selling we’ll only manage £20 odd million at best.
A statement of intent signing would cost £80 plus million – I can’t see us spending another £50 or more million net.
Kroenke
I’m amazed Arteta didn’t move heaven and earth to get Xhaka back.
KP
You and AF as a duo – more like Derek & Clive than Clough and Taylor.
NORG
You’re probably right. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. We’d certainly have shaken things up at the Indian FA.
Marc
He’d much rather pay 50 million plus for a player than a mere 17. Watch Xhaka dominate PL games this season.
Kroenke
I’m amazed Arteta didn’t pay £50 million for Xhaka.
Granit will be written into Makem folklore when he breaks both Guimaraes legs in the derby.
Marc—I don’t think we necessarily want to spend more, but I think the higher profile purchases of our closest rivals requires us to add another offensive weapon…not to mention, there’s little doubt that Berta was given some financial assurances…of course, personnel decisions will still have to go through MA, which is why the VG hire took so fucking long, as he was clearly holding out hope that his preferred option might have a change his mind…I think we will try to sell Tross, Nelson, Vieira and Lonkonga, with the hopes that this will raise enough funds to bankroll the Eze purchase…it could get tense though, as I’m not convinced that they could actually raise the desired funds
the one positive I see, when it comes to our title challenge, is that Chelsea, City and Pool should all be far more vulnerable on their respective backends than us, unless other moves are forthcoming…the question then becomes will our gutless manager be willing to adopt a more direct approach at times, so as to take advantage of their potential defensive frailties…surely he will be concerned that our defensive numbers aren’t a true reflection of our defensive prowess, but have far more to do with our sideways/time wasting tactics and his defend with all 11 tactical approach
TRVL
Where does Eze play if we buy him? We’ve got 6 midfield / forward positions that have 5 nailed on starters – Ode, Saka, Rice, VG (might get eased in at the start of the season) and Zubimendi. You then have Arteta’s fetish for Havertz.
I’m wondering how long Martinelli’s going to stick around for if Havertz starts getting picked for the wide left position.
Marc—like I said before, it’s been a bit of a trainwreck from a roster construction standpoint, but I think if we get Eze we will see a front 3 of Eze, VG and Saka at some point…as such, his arrival will likely come on the heels of one of either Tross or Marts being sold off
in a perfect world we would have never invested so heavily on two players, Rice and Havertz, who didn’t fit the positional or tactical brief…this has shaped everything we’ve done or not done since…simply put you don’t pay 170M to shoehorn players in, as that would mean they were luxury buys…at that time we could ill-afford to put all our eggs in the baskets of two players who were always going to have limited ceilings, especially in roles that would require the kind of clinical finishing and ball skills that neither really possesses(at least not on a consistent basis)
now if we were running with a back 3 and our transfer brief was to find someone to provide world-class cover for our backline and another to tuck in behind the Striker, especially if this version of Havertz actually resembled the one that lit up the Bundesliga, no one would question the moves, but context fucking matters…Cheers