Well, Arsenal fans, things do appear to be moving at a rapid pace this window. Still not a lot of movement on midfield targets, but we’re starting to see some shapes appear when it comes to the squad.

AMN has edged closer to a 4 year deal with Wolves. He put Traore in his pocket when we played there away from home, now he’s earned a move to Molineux. I suspect this exit is more to do with his desire to play in a fixed position regularly than Arteta’s desire to oust him. A lot of Arsenal fans are angry he’s moved for £20m, roughly a Dom Solanke of a fee. I’d not be so sure that’s a bad number. I think that’s literally what a deflated market looks like in 2020.

The only clubs that’ll be dropping big money are those that are chasing mega names. Chelsea will go wild because they saved last summers transfer budget. City, PSG and United will bring in big players. Outside that, I can’t see huge movement on transfers and I suspect we’ll see a deflation on fees of at least 30%.

Rumours of a Thomas Partey move seem to have fizzled. With Atleti tied into a situation where they can only spend 25% of what they earn, it’s clear that a cash-only deal is what they’ll want. That probably won’t work for Arsenal.

We aren’t loaded by any stretch. Our movement is going to come from selling players. If we’re bringing in blockbuster names, that’ll probably be because we’re exiting one. Matteo, Torreira, Bellerin, and Lacazette are going to be the drivers of big cash or big swaps if there are any to be had. I think there’s also a chunk of change to be had in some of the squad stragglers. Chambers, Holding, Reiss, and BIG MO all have value. Mustafi might find it hard to move with no hamstring and I think Xhaka has cemented a place in the heart of Mikel.

However you look at it, I’d imagine it’ll be hard to shape the squad perfectly this summer. I also wonder if it’s sensible to go too hard. Sure, Bellerin might land a big fee from PSG, but are we sure about Soares? If we sign another right-back, are we certain they’ll settle right away? Arteta has a complex system, ripping out the whole right side of your team the week before a season seems rash.

I also wonder if we’ll start to see a bit of realism with who we’re linked to as agents learn that we’re not as flush as they had hoped. We’re being linked with Boubakary Soumaré, the defensive midfielder from… Lille (I’ll take Luis Campos as our shadow TD).

He’s a Youtube sensation. He was supposed to move to Newcastle, didn’t, then found himself on the bench. He lacks experience, having only racked up 50 appearances, but it’s clear why people like him. He has the typical high levels of technique you expect from Lille signings, he’s very fast over short distances that make him prime for a team that likes to press, he’s also 6ft2, which would give a team that suffers from setpieces some additional presence we’ve lacked with Torriera. This is just press talk, but he’s the sort of talent I was expecting over a Thomas Partey like name this summer.

Right, I have a GOOD podcast for you to take a listen to. Last week, I asked if anyone working at Adidas would contact me because I’d like to talk to them about what they think of the Arsenal partnership. I started talking to Dom Dominique. He’s worked in the ad game, was experienced in amateur development coaching, and has been doing a Masters degree at Manchester Met Uni in Sports Directorship.

We made a podcast and it was great fun.

We had a geek out over Adidas and searched for reasons why they’re getting it so, so right. We spoke about a course he’s doing that helps people move towards becoming a sporting director… hugely fascinating, with some Arsenal links there. We also spoke about modern coaching and how the technical profile of kids coming through is rapidly evolving. If you’re into the geeking out we do on here about the inner workings of football, this weeks podcast is for you. Follow him on the below. Twitter: @dommy_daniel Instagram: @dommy_ldn

But more importantly, tune in and listen to the podcast!

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