ARSENAL CHASING A 10-LIKE PLAYER
I’m in my element right now. The door is closed, the curtains are drawn, and I’m writhing around in transfer news like an absolute weirdo. This is what summer is all about: pass my food under the door, do NOT disturb me unless it’s to tell me news just dropped about a striker joining.
Sesko, right?
The shape of our summer is quite clear, we’ve been banging on about it for a long time. We’re just waiting to see which spinning plates drop, and which we claim for the Arsenal squad cabinet.
Eberechi Eze news has reached the feed of David Ornstein. He’s being spoken about as a broad attacking option in the same article that talks about our chase for a left winger. That gives me a good feeling that Eze is not an either-or option when it comes to the left. He also echoed my point from yesterday: there’s just no way we’re dropping £68m on a 27-year-old. There’s a deal to be done if Bayern can nab Olise for £50m… though we’ve seen Palace dig their heels in when Arsenal have come knocking in the past. Remember the Zaha saga? They wanted £80m for Zaha, Arsenal put their money into an even worse option, and the rest is history. The Englishman left for Turkey on a free before heading to the MIGHTY MLS to play for Charlotte.
My issue with Palace is the same as it is with Madrid: they’re a transfer saga club. They don’t need to sell, they know they can’t replace Eze with ease, so you could easily find yourself in a mess and end up with no one (like last season). I hope the exploratory calls are fruitful because we need as many bodies in the door by July 19th as possible.
The Mosquera deal is bubbling along, thought to close at £20m, which is quite the saving compared to the Dean Huijsen fee. Nørgaard deal has been agreed barring a medical. Kepa move is done (more at the bottom of the post). Zubimendi is in England for his medical. I think the stories are about to roll in thick and fast.
We’re sniffing around Madueke, who is predominantly a right-sided player. I’ve always been impressed by his pace and control on the ball. The production isn’t quite there, but you can see he could be a player. I’d be shocked if he wanted to sit behind Bukayo Saka and compete for minutes with Ethan Nwaneri, who looks like he’ll be twice the player. This is the tough thing with having a player like Saka at your club: no one wants to compete with someone who is always going to body you.
One player that does appeal to me on a very deep level is Morgan Rogers. The Aston Villa star is a ‘can’t quite put my finger on it’ player—mostly because he always seems to beast Arsenal. He’d be an either-or with Eze. Arsenal fans have developed a penchant for raw power, and that’s probably the appeal of the ex-City player.
He’s a big specimen of a man, and when he’s feeling himself, he’s near unplayable. His surging runs from deep are hard to track, he’s difficult to knock off the ball, and he’s so good technically that he can float in from any angle. He also has a bag of tricks from the edge of the box. He’s obviously a raw prospect at the moment in comparison to Eze, but he does come with the advantage that he was schooled under JdP principles via Pep Guardiola—and I suspect Mikel Arteta has at least basic knowledge of how the player conducts himself personally and professionally. I’m unsure if Villa would need to sell him after flogging their women’s team to address PSR flirtation, but he’s certainly a player I like.
And as if by magic… Kepa has officially joined while I write. Andrea Berta had this to say:
“We are really excited to have Kepa join our Arsenal family. He is a player with great experience, someone who has already won major trophies, and we cannot wait for him to join the group and help the club win.
Kepa knows it is an exciting time to be at Arsenal and we know he is a player who will bring with him a winning mentality. We welcome him and his family to the club, and look forward to him meeting the players and staff, with everyone excited to see him.”
Listen, this isn’t going to rock my world or make me feel good about next season, but getting a really good keeper as backup—one who was valued at £67m at one point—is good business and better than spending £28m on Joan Garcia. This is a mature deal that speaks to smart prioritization.
Final comment… Jason Ayto in the running for the Newcastle job. Just the richest club on the planet getting Arsenal IP. It is what it is.
Ok, that’s me done for today. Make sure you subscribe to get all the primo writing AND the podcasts advert free, early, with a bunch of bonus perks like exclusive content and pod discord.