A lot has happened since I last wrote, only 4 days back. We have announced Calafiori, and he has joined the players in pre-season already. ESR has successfully completed medical at Fulham and joined their squad in Portugal for the pre-season. Sad to see him go, hopefully he shines there (except of course, against Arsenal).
The news of the morning is that Mikel is hell bent on getting Mikel Merino from Sociedad. There is already an agreement between the club and the player, and it’s only about Sociedad agreeing on the fees. It’s expected to be in the range of £26m – sounds good to me, we recovered almost same amount from ESR’s sale and we will be selling a few more deadwoods in coming days.
No, Merino is not an interesting case as some Twitter journos are trying to paint. He is from Spain, Arteta knows Spanish players. He is 28 year old, midfield always require experience. We can argue that Declan Rice is a better player than Thomas Partey, but we have seen what a fully fit Thomas does to the opposition. He is calm, he can counter press in even a single pivot, his passes are accurate, he has got vision and his between the line passing is out of the world. Think of it like this way, his recent form dropped due to injuries and age, and we went out in market, spent more than twice the amount we spent on him and Rice still has a season or two before he can match his expertise. Experience matters in the midfield.
Two interesting facts about Merino – he has played almost all games in last 3 seasons for Real Sociedad and he is involved in goals/assists (5 goals, 6 assists in 32 games last season). Does that sounds like a player we had and who plays for Bayer Leverkusen these days? Arteta is just bringing in another Xhaka. I hated Xhaka for a good 4 years but his last season with us was fantastic. I don’t mind this move, another reason being I have no faith in either Havertz or Vieira to cover that midfield along side Partey/Rice.
It’s almost a done deal.
By the way, did you read the news about Conor Gallagher? He is going to Atletico for a meagre 30m GBP. I am shocked no Premier League team’s are IN for him (Aston villa was, but the player rejected that move in June). 24 year old, scored 5 goals in 37 appearances for Chelsea last season, I would have not mind if we placed in a cheeky bid for a box to box midfielder, the type we needed after Xhaka left.
Right, that’s all for the day. There would some more movement and it’s only 16 days left since our first game of the season. I’m excited for the new season. Are you?
Hi Ambarish
Thanks for this piece mate. You’ve always been a skilled writer in my opinion but your material keeps getting better and better.
I can see the logic in the Merino signing if we’re going to continue playing 4-3-3 (or however you interpret how we played last season) but that then doesn’t make sense to me with the signing of Calafiori when we’ve got a first choice back 4 of Timber, Gabs, Saliba and White. Strength in depth is great but you build it when you’ve got a sorted first eleven.
So the only conclusion is Arteta genuinely thinks Havertz is a world class forward who’s going to lead the line and see us win the PL.
I’ve always thought (during his managerial career) Arteta was a twat who had a tendency to believe his own bullshit but this is David Koresh territory.
To be frank, a window of Calafiori, Merino and our “like a new signing” Keeper doesn’t represent a summertime win for me…far from it in fact…now if we can get Merino for around 25, on a 2-year term with a reasonable sub-100/wk wage, which shouldn’t be that difficult considering his contractual situation, then made a big splash or two up top, this would drastically change things for me…not sure if the latter is in the cards, unless MA is trying to underpromise and overdeliver, like a scheming brokeback hero
you all know my thoughts on Merino…in my mind he’s a settling/half-measure acquisition…even MA wanted his midfield partner considerably more, which speaks to our lazy and lacklustre recruiting practices…hopefully he’ll prove me wrong, but we’re turning into quite the blunt instrument outfit…where’s the craft and guile going to come from in a lineup that could see Rice, Merino and Havertz up the fucking middle…btw Ambarish the difference between Xhaka and Merino is the former is light years ahead of the latter when it comes crafting a pass…that’s twice now when I would have picked the much-despised Swiss fuck over MA’s replacement options
I think Calafiori is more of a signing of future. We are going to see White, Gabriel, and Saliba with LB options of Zinchenko, Kiwior, and Timber.
Calafiori will have to work his arse off to get into that back line, and I’m pretty sure we have got him to not fuck up our season in case either of Saliba or Gabriel gets injured.
LB is a conundrum. We should encash on Zinchenko and see if Timber can do what White does at RB. Tierney, Kiwior, and Zinni needs to be sold, we need more.
TRVL
Merino is coming cheap. 30m most likely and there would be a lot of performance related bonuses.
And sadly that means Havertz is our CF for this season.
Thanks KP, it’s always great to see you here.
the devil’s in the details and this deal with the 28 year old appears to be 4 years in length…pure stupidity
on another note, the loss against Pool proved once again why we need a clinical finisher or two, as we were wasteful in front of goal…when it comes to the finer margin affairs we will likely be second best, as per usual
Meanwhile back in London Garlick is in a fit of rage. Leicester have had a whip round for Reiss and have offered basically what they can afford. The AFC price is over twice what they are prepared to offer.
Eddie has agreed to take a cut in wages to get his move over the line – OM want to pay 25M euros max AFC want 45MGBP.
Had El B given ESR more minutes then I expect they would have got more than the 34M GBP (including add ons) that Fulham have agreed to pay.
If Havertz is our main front man this coming season I expect we will struggle unless of course a marauding Rice is able to score in double figures.
if I had to hazard a guess, Calafiori is going to be a day one starter, just not sure in what position, but knowing MA it won’t be in his best one…I think either Gabs or Timber will be watching from the bench come opening day
let’s face it, no one knew who the fuck Merino was 2 months ago, so any talk about Edu having a 180 page dossier about the 2nd best midfielder on a slightly above average La Liga side would be utter bullshit…it’s important to note that the only reason he was on the national side was due to his close connection to the “inexperienced” manager, who was his coach throughout his more formative years…he was a locker room cop just like MA under Wenger
Ambarish
You don’t pay £40 odd million for a defensive signing for the future when you have a huge hole up front and midfield issues that need dealing with first if you don’t have the budget to complete all the business you need to do in a single window.
I don’t have an issue with Calafiori – I have an issue with buying a player who’s back up for so much money when our main striker will do well to get a dozen PL goals this coming season.
besides Merino, there’s all sorts of chatter about Rabiot, Sane, Chiesa, Osimhen and Gyokeres
Rabiot’s another blunt instrument midfielder, who appears to have lost a step…he’s likely a backup plan should MA not get his flavour of the week Merino over the line…everybody loves a “free” transfer until you discover the term and wages…he’s not without pedigree, just look at his CV, but he’s clearly past his best
Sane is an interesting proposition, from a cover perspective…he’s a far better like-for-like option than Tross, but I’m not sure he would come without assurances…he still has goal in his boots and he’s much more direct than Saka, but the inherent costs might be the stumbling block, especially after the Havertz debacle…I wouldn’t be mad if he came, but only if priced right and with a reasonable term
Chiesa has always intrigued me…sometimes he looks like a world beater, then at other times he doesn’t seem to give a flying fuck…huge up-side if properly motivated and injury-free…both he and Sane will take on defenders, but I do worry about Chiesa’s nagging injury history, especially while at Juve…if this were two years or so ago, I would have given my left nut for his signature, whereas now I’m not nearly so sure the juice is worth the squeeze…his body language, like with Havertz, doesn’t fill me with confidence, but I do like that he has a little bite on the pitch…this is another one where the finances would play a decisive role in any such transfer evaluation…I would want an extraordinarily clean bill of health and proof that he hasn’t lost a step before entering into any serious talks
Osimhen and Gyokeres are the kind of profile Strikers we should be coveting…the former is a far more proven entity, regardless of his numbers dip last season, but he’s likely to be a far more expensive proposition…I do like what I’ve seen of Gyo, both at the championship level and in Portugal, but it’s still a small sample size and he did have some off-season surgical issues, which would require us to do our due diligence…I would prefer VO, but he can be a little messy in the locker room and beyond, so I think the VG would likely be MA’s preference…I’d be happier than a pig in shit with either, as both are substantially better options up top than what’s on offer now…not to mention, it would be a real statement of intent
TRVL
Agree with your thought from the last post and this. I have a feeling we’ll get VG as the clickbait says he wants to come and no smoke with out fire I’ll take here.
Calafiori could be good if he travels well; not many Italians have done in the PL. I agree with you Calafiori is a galvanized starter once settled. New toy so will get time and time and time even if he’s shit like Havertz and Willian before him.
I put up a good scouting report on Merino last week where his stats are ok for the league his in. He’s 28 and this is his last contract so it should be a big one for him, but his club is happy to let a player supposedly in his prime go for what is in today’s transfers peanuts at Euros30m. Pay peanuts get……….. let’s see if this guy is the real deal of a poor version of Xhaka only more mobile.
If Merino was the level we need to genuinely push us on, then why isn’t he costing £60+M? Like Havertz? I feel Merino is a “Pot Luck” singing in that we’ll get some decent performances out of hm, but not near enough to deliver a PL trophy.
Xhaka had one good season out of what, 9? He cost us points on numerous occasions and was bought instead of Kante, so let that sink in. Kante was too expensive and we needed up paying more for Xhaka I think.
Kante: Merino will never be. Eze: Merino will never be. I feel we’re buying another Fabio Vieira, not as a lightweight, Merino is 6’2″, but a lightweight in the locker skills department, where we need elite and we’ve got average compared to our needs.
We are still going to be right side attack centric where last season’s issues have not been addressed unless we buy VG to add a bullying presence centrally.
Just think if we’d bought Eze instead of Merino and VO as our statement striker?
Another worrying factor is that the Zinchenko problem is still at the club.
If we buy VG what happens to Havertz and Jesus?
Marc
Agree with your thoughts as per above.
Tony, Marc and Vieira
Good stuff lads. I enjoyed reading that. My hunch is that there might not be (m)any more signings.
My Haverfordwest County season begins in earnest tomorrow with a trip to nearby Carmarthen for a cup tie. Hot weather, plenty of endeavour, a few lagers and hopefully in the hat by 5pm for the next round.
Life at the non-Arteta end of football. I’m gonna use this year to visit some more away grounds I think.
Tony—there’s no doubting that Wenger’s decision to sign Xhaka instead of Kante didn’t age well, even though the former did raise his exceedingly low bar in his swan song season…this managerial boner was akin to the time when he refused to pay 12M for VVD, as he felt the defender was “too nonchalant”…of course he would later lay blame at the feet of an unnamed scout, vis-a-vis strategic leaks from our PR department…these are but two of the countless transfer missteps that would plague Wenger during his latter years, which doesn’t even include all the missed opportunities our former manager would bizarrely brag about with little to no prompting (Ibra, Yaya, Mbappe, Benzema etc…)
flash forward a half decade and I’m once again fearing the very real possibility that our current manager likewise lacks a keen eye for talent…when you look at those he’s gone out on a limb for, like Vieira, Lokonga, Zinchenko, Kiwior, White, Tomi, Timber, 14 Keepers and Nuno, only two, Timber & White, appear to have the skills required…that said, I’m still not convinced that White is the best partnering option for Saka on the left, even though he’s performed admirably since being shoehorned in year two…personally I would rather have Timber out there, as he can cut both inside and out, plus his wheels would provide Saka with ample 1v.1s….even so, he’s still no guarantee, as he’s played a grand total of about 70+ minutes of “real” football since he arrived on the scene late last summer
of course, I didn’t include obvious “no brainer” pickups, like Rice and Partey, or those with noteworthy CVs, like Jesus, Tross, Havertz, Jorginho or even Ode, who was once considered a Real blue chip prospect, as none would ever qualify as a hidden gem…of this latter group, only Ode and maybe Tross have exceeded expectations, even though LT didn’t really fit the script and could ultimately negatively impact Mart’s development…as for the rest, we would have been far better off if we had spent our monies more wisely elsewhere…in fact, I could have swallowed all the above discussed moves if only we had used the countless millions wasted on Havertz’s fees and wages on someone of real consequence up top, as all the others could be utilized as serviceable cover options on a team competing for things on multiple fronts…with this in mind, I agree wholeheartedly with your statement of intent options of VO and Eze, as that would have put us well within the European elite conversation
that said NOT in fact
as THEY would have put us
KP
I’d forgotten about your local teams with it being off season.
Good to hear you’re got plenty planned for the coming season; I assume Cardiff figures strongly, too. Look forward to the marauding stories of woe and wonder.
15 days to kick off and I can’t wait to have the new season start. Obviously, for the welfare and fortunes of our club, and hope against hope for the PL trophy, but also to be regularly connecting with you guys again, and hopefully new posters, too.
TRVL
We sing from the same hymn sheet re what we need.It’s not hard to work out what the missing pieces are, so I can only assume the elves pieces do not want to play for Arteta. In the same way they didn’t want to play for Wenger of Wenger didn’t want elite players who would challenge him.
Is El B any different?
To LIR soon be time to make our season predictions, would you like to make that one of your post’s Ambarish? First 10 games?
As much as we all see El B as not the man for the job, certainly not the future of the club, we’re stuck with him. I will try to be balanced in my critiques but there are no more excuses. He ran out of the rookie excuse on 2 years ago but still acts like a rookie.
I’ve lost count of phases and whatever…….. El B 100% has his own chosen team maybe not having bought all the key players, such as Saka, Willie, Marts and Big Gabs. The rest are his.
If El B stays beyond this coming season, these are the players I see El B moving on when he can or they moving on from him.
elite pieces
KP
It looks as if the locals in your part of the world were not that friendly in Roman times. The Romans needed to build a huge fort to keep them at bay.