EDU MAKING MOVES (SEXY MOVES)

GOOD MORNING TO YOU ALL!

Waking up to a new keeper signing was the fuel I needed to get me through the day.

Matt Ryan joins us on loan from Brighton for the remainder of the season. The Aussie comes with over 100 Premier League appearances worth of experience. He’s a very capable signing and he will allow us to all breath a sigh of relief when we watch Bernd Leno play. Make no mistake, Runnarson would have been deadly to our season if we’d needed to have called upon him.

Signing for the club you grew up supporting as a kid @Arsenal

Buzzing to be beginning this new chapter and will give everything I’ve got to contribute to the first club I ever loved. pic.twitter.com/IUohEjFKVK

— Maty Ryan (@MatyRyan) January 22, 2021

Some folk are pointing to poor save percentages, and sure, he’s been out of form this year, but this Brighton fansite points out that maybe covid and family separation has added to that. Overall though, he’s been a big part of keeping a very underfunded team in the league and he’ll add the strength we’ve lacked to the keeping department.

There also sounds like there are rumblings on the left-back front. Currently, Kieran Tierney is backed up by Pablo Mari or Bukayo Saka. Neither option are satisfactory. We’re apparently looking very closely at Ryan Bertrand. The experienced 31 year old is running low on his deal and could be loaned in like Cedric was last year. Not the ideal age profile, but ultimately, we’re up against it this window and as long as there isn’t a 14 year deal at the end, I’m fine with this.

The really exciting rumour? Martin Ødegaard. The NORWEGIAN youngster has gone from ‘no chance’ to ‘very good chance.’ Kike Marin about-faced on his doubts. He’s now leading the charge with Ornstein that the player is very close to making the move to London.

This would be a real coup. We’re not in the financial space to be dropping mega-money on Buendia this window. The best move was always likely to be a loan. What I love about bringing this precocious talent to the club is that it ‘seems’ like a shift in mindset from Edu and Arteta. The easier move and the sexier one might have been Isco or Eriksen. They’d give you instant impact, where Martin Ø might take some bedding in.

… but man, this makes us instantly more exciting. Last season, he played an important role at the exciting Real Sociedad project. He was 2nd to only Messi for progressive balls. I think he was also second with through balls. Third was Santi!

There are limitations to his game. Zizou doesn’t like his nice hair and the defensive lapses in his game. Let’s be real, Madrid is a long, long way from where we are as a club. The bar for making us more creative is quite low. We’ll be better for having him in the squad.

The 22 year old Norway international had a hand in 16 goals during 36 Sociedad outings – and they wanted him back. Solbakken said Arsenal would suit the Madrid playmaker and fits the Arsenal style of play.

“It (Arsenal) is a team with great traditions that have underperformed for a while now. I like Arteta, I think he is a very good manager. But he is not going to a club that is a self-propelled machine. He is going to another country, another league, a different tempo. It shows he has great belief, which makes me happy. The way Arsenal play can fit him well, a kind of football that suits him. He can also play in different midfield roles, whichever Arteta chooses, different formations. He will get assists and be a good team player.”

David Nielsen, his manager at Strømsgodset, likened him to David Silva and Lionel Messi. International teammate and Rosenborg winger Morten Gamst Pedersen dubbed Odegaard “The most talented player I have ever seen. For his age he is unbelievable – his knowledge of the game is unbelievable and his technical skills are fantastic.”

Those quotes are SEXY.

We are not hitting the top 4 this season. This sort of signing for me is all about showing the fans what the future of our football ‘could’ look like. What we’ve badly lacked is quality in the final third, we’ll land that with Martin. Imagine him feeding the runs of ESR, Martinelli, Auba, and Saka.

Finally… Matteo Guendouzi having a bust-up coming out for the second half with one of his teammates? COLOUR ME SHOCKED. He might be talented, but he is Mario Balotelli levels of ‘loose cannon’ and he likely always will be.

See you in the comments.

‘Edu probably thinks Ødegaard is a ski lodge’

via @trentmcginn

We both hope this ages badly.

— Le Grove (@LeGrove) January 19, 2021