Spice is in the air, my nose is starting to twitch, I may even sneeze… transfer Scoble level is moving up a level.

The Portuguese press is reporting that Arsenal is interesting is moving for left-back Grimaldo, who was ahead of Nuno Taveres when he was at Benfica. The fee is €7m, which would represent at a €42m saving on what we were being asked to pay for Lisandro Martinez.

There’s a great article on the player here.

As touched upon previously Grimaldo has an excellent appreciation of space and how best to access the space in the attacking phase to bypass the defensive block.

This also extends to an ability to accurately play the diagonal pass across the field for his opposing fullback or winger if they have been left isolated against an opposition defender.

Having the ability to run with the ball, play short combination passes to advance up the near side of the pitch or switch the focus of the attack with a diagonal pass makes Grimaldo exceedingly difficult to play against.

I don’t know enough about the player to give you a deep run down, but it’s clear he has different attributes to Kieran Tierney. The player grew up in La Masia, he’s 26 years old so he’s experienced enough to deliver from day one, and he’s kind of an all-rounder left-back. He’s great in tight spaces, tactically astute, with a wide range of passes. He’s also a bit of a dead ball specialist.

This is where I kind of expected Arsenal to be with the back-up left-back, Lisandro Martinez was the dream, a super-specific specialist, but it looks like the deal was getting expensive, and we need to move on that position with urgency. This looks like a very solid plan B.

Also… Mikel Arteta sniffing around a Spaniard? A true rarity.

So let’s imagine these rumours are real, that puts additional funds back into the mixer. So… we’re once again being linked with a Brazilian. This time, it’s internet fan favorite, Lucas Paqueta. The fee is apparently £55m. He’s an 8, has all the flair you’d look for from a Brazilian, he’s a very Bang-Bang type of player. The journo that had the Gabi Jesus story is apparently behind this one, so who knows, it just seems like a lot of money when Youri Tielemans is there for £25m.

… but who knows. I said at the summer that there’s every chance that you could see an unexpected exit.

Player sales are going slow.

No movement for Hector, Bernd, Lucas T, Reiss, Ainsley, Runarsson… or any notable loans yet.

Ok, short one today, we’ll be back with a podcast at 9pm EST, so tune in!

Looooooads to talk about!

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