TALL BOY SUMMER™ GALACTICO LINKED
Arsenal head into the final few days of the transfer window, and as usual, we’re bound to see some crazy rumours hitting the feeds—that’s just what happens every year.
There are a few areas I think are important:
Cover for Bukayo Saka:
We’ve been trying to sort this out for the last three seasons and have failed each time. I’ve toyed with the idea that Nwaneri could be the solution, but the more I think about it, the more unlikely that seems given our significant needs this season. We have extra games in the Champions League, Saka was involved in an international tournament, and we need to be flawless. I believe some cover for him is now the most pressing issue the team needs to address.
Leroy Sané makes the most sense for ease of fit, though his wage demands will likely be considerable. Still, no reason to believe we coudn’t get 4 peak years out of him. Certainly a cherry on top player and we know Arteta likes players that cause his teams pain (Rashford, Toney etc).
The Raheem Sterling story now seems to be shifting towards United, which I’m quite pleased about, even though he’s clearly a seasoned player who could make an impact.
Chiesa has moved to Liverpool, which seems an unusual signing...
There are certainly options like Bakayoko and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but there aren’t any red-hot rumours at the moment, which has me worried.
A Big Lad Forward:
We missed out on Benjamin Šeško at the start of the summer for £45m, but that doesn’t mean the profile we were looking for has suddenly become irrelevant. I think Arsenal will still explore some options. Evan Ferguson was linked after I wrote about him yesterday. Brighton have dropped the second-largest pot of cash this summer, so there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t consider selling him if a good offer came in. Ferguson makes sense—he’s had some injury issues, but he still has a high ceiling. He could be perfect to come in and take on the role Eddie vacated last season. This is particularly important when considering Gabi Jesus’s unreliability.
There’s also a new rumour that we’re moving for Darwin Núñez (via Dean @AFCcamden. The man tarnished his name this summer when he was involved in an altercation with Colombian fans, and he had a very patchy end to last season when he fell out with Klopp and deleted all evidence of his time at Liverpool from his Instagram.
… the more I write about this guy, the more I wonder why I’m sitting here advocating for Arsenal to sign him. Doesn’t feel like a harmony signing, does he?
Oh—18 goals, 13 assists. Not terrible for someone who’s just turned 25.
He fits the profile we’re looking for—tall, fast, chaotic, good in the air, always in a good position to score. We all mock him for his poor finishing, but many people said the same about Adebayor before he started scoring for us in a big way.
However, this move feels a bit too Galáctico for me—he was nearly a £85m (£140k p/w) player two years ago, so he’d be expensive. I also think a late sale to Arsenal would leave Liverpool very short upfront. It’s also clear that they have three key players who could leave on free transfers next summer as things stand. Trent Alexander-Arnold sulking on the bench after an argument with Slot tells you all you need to know. Will they really sell Núñez amidst all this turmoil? I’m not so confident...
You’re also putting Kai Havertz in a tough spot... or potentially not showing faith in his obvious abilities. I know we want depth in every position, but is it wise to spend significant resources on Núñez, who’d be a backup to a far more intelligent player? I’m not so sure. He feels too big and disruptive for the squad right now.
Jakub Kiwior has been told he’s staying at Arsenal, which, I’m sorry to say, likely means Tomiyasu is out for at least three months. I’m not sure why Arsenal renewed his contract when it was pretty clear he’s not going to shake off his injury-prone reputation. Arsenal might have gone from being the worst at retaining players to perhaps holding onto too many that we can’t offload...
... which leads to my boldest prediction of the summer. James McNicholas dropped the bombshell news that Reiss Nelson, after careful deliberation, has decided to stay at the club for another year. Re-signing him was always a strange decision. He had no takers in the four years before he left, so it’s not surprising that his options have been very limited this window. He’s simply not worth £7m a year, and my suspicion is that he just loves the status and the joy of being a Gooner. He is all of us, and we cannot blame him.
So now we maybe have two options to leave before the window shuts:
Aaron Ramsdale, who seems to be attracting speculative loan moves.
Zinchenko, purely based on that expression we saw in the last game, and with Timber > Calafiori possibly looking like a statement of intent from Arteta.
Finally, Mikel Merino has landed at Arsenal.
The worst-kept secret in football has finally been made official on the website. This is an intriguing signing for Arsenal. We’ve acquired a ready-made powerhouse for the left 8 position, which solves the issue of Kai being the 9 this season. It also places Declan at the base of midfield and relegates Thomas to a bit-part role.
There are some concerns about Merino's passing abilities, but these are counterbalanced by his defensive strengths, progressive passing, ball carries, and the non-penalty xG he generates. He’s an interesting gamble, and his signing caps off a solid summer of strengthening our core.
Calafiori
Merino
MLS
Nwaneri
We still have two more days to address at least one forward position, so I won’t be handing out grades just yet. But I’m feeling optimistic about the new season.
Right, that’s me done. See you in the comments. x