Martin Zubimendi is a done deal. His announcement is imminent and we would have a technical, good defensive midfielder in our ranks. I am, for the sake of positivity, assuming that he will do a better job than either of Rice or Partey in that midfield.
But a lot other things worries me.
We have failed to come up with an agreement with Partey for an extension. Arteta has got 6+ years as an Arsenal manager and nothing to show for it apart from 2nd places finishes and a Champions League semi final spot. Financially, we have done very well but as fans, we are out there to see our club, players lifting trophies and not read the balance sheet. If Zubimendi fails to deliver (he is coming from a different league) or doesn’t do well enough like Partey, we would be in a mess. If Zubimendi breaks down at any point of time, we will play more than 60 games, who is going to play that role? Yes, we can shift Declan Rice but that would require you to play either of Merino or Havertz as the attacking option and that’s compromising 2 places for one player. Lets stop crapping about Declan Rice’s versatility. He is either defensive or attacking midfielder – whichever you prefer – but I feel he is more suited in moving forward and certainly better than either of Havertz or Merino in that role. I think we should have kept Partey, even if it costed a bit more than what we wanted, because getting even an understudy would cost money and there’s other areas of pitch which we need to prioritise.
Next one in the list of frustration is Gabriel Martinelli’s situation. I don’t know if there’s any truth behind it but Sky is reporting that Bayern are showing interest in him and 50m GBP is what we need to let him go. Ok, but that’s very bad. We are talking about a player who is regular in Brazil national team, have played 36, 35, 33 games for Arsenal in Premier League in last 3 season which also makes him started for Arsenal, and scored 15, 6, 8 goals respectively. The outputs have reduced in last 2 season but the reason is not because he is shite, but because he has been asked to stick to the side line, draw out 2/3 defenders and allow the right side of the pitch to be the battleground where we can dominate. He is doing his job, while being available for majority of the season, is still 24 years of age and has got goals in him. Name me another player who possess all these characteristics and whom can get for 50m! Also, if you are A Rodrygo fan, let me disappoint you a bit. He has scored 9, 10, 6 in his last 3 season in Madrid. There’s absolutely no improvement if we are selling Marts for 50m and getting Rodrygo for 70m. If you want to strengthen the LW, sell Trossard and get Rodrygo anyway. Show some muscle because you are one of the biggest club in the world.
Third, we haven’t decided about the CF position yet. We were talking with Sesko but seems he is asking a lot of money per week. Gyokeres and United love story was short enough and if we don’t land Sesko, we would probably go for Gyokeres. Frankly, I am more than happy if we do. You judge a CF by the number of goals, everything else is secondary. Haaland runs in the box, gets the ball and converts it into a goal which wins games. Gyokeres has better numbers. Do we want to pay for a potential who could be the best striker in the world, or someone who has scored 29 and 39 goals in his last 2 seasons? Mikel loves a player in the mould of Lacazette, who is better in hold up play and in position, but Aubameyang wins the game. If you know what I mean.
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So, yeah. We had a midfield problem so we are out buying Zubimendi but letting go Partey. It does fix the problem a bit because we are replacing a 32 year with 26 year old but we would struggle the same if he gets injured or there’s a drop in his form.
We have a LW that is not delivering like the RW, but that’s because our attack are mostly from the right side and Saka is allowed freedom. Replacing Martinelli with Rodrygo will do nothing while we shell 20million extra for it.
CF – we still can’t fucking decide, can we?
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And one of the Merino and Havertz will be redundant because I don’t see a world where Zubi and Rice sits on the bench, and if a CF comes in, one of them needs to go. FOR SOME POUNDS, please.
So, we are in for Norgaard and letting Partey go. Do Arteta has some infatuation towards wash-outs 31 years old?
I mean the common sense would be, to get a understudy if you are bringing a seasoned Zubimendi. Partey chapter is over.
We also got Kepa as a Raya replacement for 5m. Don’t mind that at all.
We could have got a 22 year old for Partey’s replacement and be done with it for next 5/6 years. We would have to replace Norgaard in 2 years again. CF remains a mystery.
Hey KP,
Cheers for that,lots of food for thought. Irvine Welsh I know,read trainspotting and porno,saw filth. JG Ballard’s ‘Empire of the Sun’ was one of the first novels I ever taught,back in the 90’s and I seem to remember the film crash was an erotic mess! The rest are new to me,I’ll look into them.
Kneecap are quite divisive really. I’m in two minds about them. I love the Irish language promotion and their views on Palestine are similar to my own. Their music isn’t my cup of tea and the anti British thing isn’t really something I comment on anymore because I’ve had to accept over the years that I have no real idea what growing up in the North is like. Those people carry baggage that I can only imagine so I stay out of it. There’s a line in a Christy Moore song that says ” Only the very safe can talk about wrong from right” and I’ve kind of adopted this.
Hi Tony,
Hope all are well. Avoiding the stress of following Arsenal is never a bad idea. Stick with the old tried and trusted hope,if he fucks up again at least we’ll be rid of him! And if you’re a fan of defensive mind numbing football then this is heaven!!
Ambarish,
Norgaard, zubi doo,Kepa, they don’t exactly fill you with anticipation for the coming season though do they? We all remember the excitement around Bergkamp and how the entire club was lifted by it. And then Wenger brought in his own headliners to regularly disperse stardust ( and hope) amongst the fanbase. Big clubs know they need to have these flagship signings to reinvigorate the support. But this chancer? Christ,you see people trying to get excited about signings like Havertz and Trossard,celebrating the renewal of Nketiah or thinking that Zinchenko will herald a new dawn. It’s tragedy and comedy mixed really isn’t it?
Ambarish—like I said, this potential Norgaard hire is Arteta paying fucking homage to Wenger’s shot in the dark 11th hour reach for him some years back…both over 30, former captains, cheap as fuck and ill-equipped to deal with the DM rigours of a club looking for major silverware
as for Kepa, ignore the whole 72M for 5M narrative, as everyone felt that was the worst Keeper deal ever…the bigger factor is his wages, which are somewhere between 150-170/wk…why not get a young up-and-comer, to groom for later, or a much cheaper veteran, just in case…after all, our backup Keepers haven’t seen the light of day for the past 2 seasons
for anyone feeling that Josh is much savvier than his absentee landlord old man, think again…as the President/co-owner of the Nuggets this dickwad gave what most pundits are calling the dumbest, most naive press conference they’ve ever witnessed…he’s a fucking laughing stock league-wide…people gave him the benefit of the doubt when he fired their championship-winning coach on the eve of the playoffs, which almost never happens, but they’re now looking at this wannabe Bond villian with fresh eyes and what they’re saying certainly isn’t flattering…fuck me
The positive side to what’s going on (it’s a perverse take if you love Arsenal but its the truth) is Arteta really looks like he’s going to go full Arteta and fuck himself in the process.
It’ll hurt in the short term but anything that gets that cunt out of the club is a positive in the longer term.
How long it’ll take to fix the damage he’s caused? I have no idea.
They say success has many fathers but failure is an orphan – its going to be something to watch a huge swathe of the fanbase rewrite history about being “prepared to give Arteta benefit of the doubt” but knew years ago he was a wrong’un!
We all know, Arteta is a coaching fraud, but what the fuck is Berta playing at?
Just fucking keep it simple, renew Partey and we don’t then need this latest pile of horse dung from Brentford.
If they are selling him for peanuts , he will just be another Elneny/Jorginho/Lokonga / and ultimately bed blocker in the squad.
Think it was Almunia , who said it and I agreed with it.
Buying players is really not difficult. You simply target top talent and pay for it , like that Scottish slag Ferguson did for years.
No fucking around , looking for non existent bargains in Poundland.
None of our clueless cunts have learned , what PSG are doing.
And we should be doing exactly what they are doing.
That is getting top talent and not horse dung and winning cups and leagues.
Nordergard, really
not to be too disparaging to our new/old recruit, but who the fuck replaces a proven 32 year old DM with a 31 year old from a middling club, who btw has term left on his contract…I’ll tell you who, our amateur hour spin doctor-dependent fuck of a manager…the club-backed “press” had this to say about our most recent out of left field coin toss proposition:
(1) several went so far as to call him “extraordinary”—a term he likely hasn’t heard since middle school…we play them twice a year and I bet you not a single member of the Kool-Aid crew even knew who the fuck he was before today
(2) one called him our “new” Declan Rice, which seems weird considering that the latter still plays on the team and we paid over 100M for his services—they then went on to compare their stats, specifically those related to Rice’s supposed passing prowess and offensive output, which is fucking comical considering his historically piss-poor numbers in those regards, minus his double against Real(btw Rice had never ever scored from a set piece in his professional career prior to that evening)
(3) a few of the regular “media” suspects have leaned heavily into the notion that we beat the Spurs to the punch…firstly who gives a shit, unless it was a player of some real consequence, like Eze, and secondly, his former coach is now there and if he wanted him so badly he would have signed him immediately upon arriving at his new club…considering his MV and how quickly our sloth-like fucks got it over the line, any other club could have done so in the blink of an eye
the only saving grace, which might seem like quite a stretch, is that the frugal nature of the Kepa and Norgaard deals, fees-wise that is, might open the door to some bigger than expected options at the top of the pitch…fingers and toes fucking crossed…if not, this window might go down in history for all the wrong reasons…still holding out hope, just barely though
(I apologize to the family and friends of Christian Norgaard for anything you might find offensive in the above post, as that wasn’t my intention…it’s business not personal)
btw the Norgaard signing guarantees that Rice is our starting 8, which doesn’t impress me whatsoever(even though it seemed to be a foregone conclusion)…just think of how much money we’ve now spent filling the 6-hole, which most felt was settled for the long-term with the 100+M signing of Rice, who at that time was considered the 2nd best DM in world football…fucking mindboggling…only at Arteta’s Arsenal…if he didn’t fit the scheme, why didn’t we spend all that money on a world-class attacking midfielder…instead we’re paying a king’s ransom for at best a 40M dollar experimental option
now Norgaard could well be a serviceable Jorginho replacement, as he likely won’t see a shit ton of minutes, but if Zubi struggles for form or gets injured, we could be in trouble…Norgaard’s better defensively than Jorg, but he’s not nearly as effective/tidy/inventive on the ball, so we could end up running back the same blunt instrument tactics from last season with him at the pivot position
like I said before, the only REAL up-side from this signing is that it might free up the necessary funds for us to pursue a high-end winger and a Striker…the big question becomes if we do that and Rice is the 8, where the fuck does MA’s German bestie fit in…this is why I think it’s far more likely that whomever we sign on the wing is far more likely to be a starter than whatever Striker comes in…this is undoubtedly why Sesko is pushing for particular assurances
So its looking like Captain Fuckwit is going to kick off our summer (finally) with a DM, a backup DM and a backup keeper spending £65 odd million.
Add is a full back, fuck the striker and it’ll be a complete Arteta summer.
TRVL
That’s why I’ve been saying for ages that I don’t believe Arteta will spend big on a striker – he’d have to drop Havertz (or one of Rice or Ode).
If on the other hand he signs a winger he can keep Havertz up top and attempt to claim he’s fixed our attacking problems.
I don’t think the majority of fans are going to buy it though.
Marc—you know I’ve been banging that same drum for quite some time now…as for today, there’s articles pontificating about Norgaard’s aerial prowess and talk of us pursuing another defender, this time from Valencia…sounds like MA might be doubling down on the whole set piece or bust narrative from last season
no wonder we brought in a DOF from Atleti, as it’s clear we’re intending to lean all the way into the perpetual bride’s maid defence-first nonsense…so I guess Pool and City will continue to trump us year after year, like Real and Barca…btw I still think we’ll get a Striker, he just won’t be given the starting nod right off the hop…he’ll likely be given assurances from the 78th minute and beyond…MA’s such a twat that he should have a string hanging out of his fucking mouth at all times
TRVL
That striker won’t cost big money – a big money signing would cause question about why aren’t they starting.
I’m not sure the fan base will accept a cheap option if we spend best part of £100 million on defensive players!
Marc—that’s clearly why there have been issues with both Sesko and VG…as to the former, he didn’t want to come last offseason due to MA’s affinity for Havertz, which is why he pushed for higher wages and some sort of assurances…why would a player turn on his current club, who’ve treated him with the utmost respect, for a manager who clearly doesn’t rate the Striker position…that’s why I don’t begrudge him for wanting a fucking escape clause
whereas with VG, they undoubtedly felt that they could get him at a cut-rate price if the player pushed for a move, but Sporting has undergone a substantial hierarchical change since Amorim left and it appears that they’re unwilling to honour that supposed “promise” now
let’s face it, no club wants to conduct business with us due to the weaselly manner in which we conduct our business…payment plans and lowball bids, as if we’re not one of the richest clubs in the world…it’s another example of the cake and eat it too mentality that has permeated this club for the better part of 20 years
Watching juve v city here. Camera panned to show Wenger sitting beside Infantino. Pretty sad tbh. History will show that Infantino is even more corrupt than Septic Bladder was. Wenger hanging out in that company just sees my opinion of him deteriorating further. I often wondered if he ever got a job offer after Arsenal (from a top club). I’m inclined to think that his stock had crashed completely at that stage. It’s so sad when you think of where he stood in the Arsenal pantheon in the summer of 04. And now? Well for me it’s no longer close,GG’s reign trumps Wenger’s,. Who would have thought that this time 21 yrs ago?
As for this match,I know it’s a mickey mouse tournament at the end of the season. But if I was a city fan I’d have bought my season ticket already and I’d be salivating at the football I’m going to see. Cherki Rodri,Haaland,Savinho,Marmoush,Silva,Doku to name but a few. They have regenerated so quickly it’s mad. And they seem determined to win by playing attacking football and scoring goals. What’s that all about?
Almunia
Doesn’t Wenger work for FIFA?
Marc,
Yep,head of global development or some such title. But it’s hard to believe it’s anything other than a superficial role. When you think what he could have given football and then you see him with the suits it’s all a bit pointless really. Now and again he comes out with some madcap proposal and then returns to anonymity. A waste.
Almunia—Pep’s trying to keep up with the Slot roster construction model, whereas our MIT is still trying to figure out how to win by dumbing down the game…his overreliance on bully-ball tactics and pulling set piece rabbits out of a hat might enable us to take some more points (than in the past) against those dedicated to playing the beautiful game, but we’ll still drop too many points against the bus sitters to lift the trophy…as we all well-know blunt instrument sides rarely factor in when it comes to major silverware
Tony will over the fucking moon with all this chatter about Eze coming to town, but I’m a bit concerned about what MA envisions as his role here…he’s a 10 and not a wide side player for good reason, he might be slick on the ball but he’s not nearly pacey enough to meet the positional brief, considering our supposed links with Nico, Rodrygo and Leao
could he be competition for Ode, who certainly didn’t put his best foot forward last season, or is this simply another exercise in shoehorning by the de facto master…now if we had never invested so heavily in Rice, I would be all over this deal, as this would have been a dream option playing along side Ode, especially with his knack for shooting from distance…problem is Rice is going nowhere and either is his unrealistic dream of becoming a world-class attacking midfielder, so I’m happy yet baffled by this potential move
now if Eze is simply one of 3 new attacking recruits, I would be beyond elated, but I just don’t see that happening…I guess I can always dream, thanks for the inspiration Declan
Tony will “be” over