WINGER DEAL NEARS COMPLETION
‘Head loss’ you say? Over a transfer fee structure? If I speak…
I’m leaving that alone today—I’ve said enough.
Let’s talk about POSITIVE things, shall we?
I am jazzed about Noni Madueke joining Arsenal. I’ve no doubt we landed his signature on very favorable terms, and I suspect it’ll look like a bargain once the spin dies down.
What have we got? A player who has all the raw ingredients to be very useful to Arsenal next season. The transfer window is about solving problems, and Madueke solves the backup option to Saka very nicely. Is he raw? Yes. Will he take time to hit his stride? Probably. But we’ve gone from Raheem Sterling and Reiss Nelson to someone who played 32 Premier League games for a team that made top four. He’s a very big upgrade on what we’ve had—and now we have a chaos merchant who can come off the bench and contribute.
Folk have speculated that he’s coming to play on the left. Sure, he might get some time there, but his primary role will be competing on his favored side with a player Arteta brutalised with minutes last season. This could be a sleeper hit signing, but at the very worst, it’s a big shift in quality from where we were. Still think he’s going to frustrate, but honestly, anything is better than watching our loan guy from last season.
My first big pivot of the window: I am no longer that interested in Rodrygo. The more I read into the terms of the deal and look at the issues he’s faced, the more I’m convinced he’s the sort of player United signs—and it doesn’t work out. He’d come in on higher wages than Saka, the fee Madrid want isn’t far off Declan Rice digits, and the player doesn’t really want to leave the Spanish club.
There are also questions about his motivation. It didn’t sound like he reacted well to being moved to the other wing, and Carlo didn’t like his attitude and dropped him from the Brazil squad.
Also… £88m for a player who managed 6 assists and 6 goals in La Liga over 32 appearances? That is a damaged player in my eyes. Once you start spending more than £60m on a forward, I need G&As in my life. The deal needs to be de-risked. You need to be seeing the finished product with no doubts.
Are we really going to spend close to £100m on a player that struggles with motivation? Would be crazy…
I’m also falling more and more for this Eze deal—and the hopes that Gabi Martinelli can reach the promised land next season.
Final piece: Someone vandalised the murals outside the stadium with ARTETA OUT. I don’t think we should assume that’s an Arsenal fan. It could be Spurs fans. Whoever it was is an embarrassment and a disgrace. What a horrible thing to do to public art.
Ok, that’s me done. See you in the comments! x