Lets create problems that do not exists!

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.