Arsenal’s summer of madness is about to kick off very soon. Mikel Arteta and the squad will jet off around the world to recuperate and get planning for the season ahead.
The club will have majority of the deals they want to progress well in the works, but I suspect there are is a number of potential players they are interested in that are more complex and risky that they are keeping and eye on.
Players exiting is going to be massive this summer. There are names we know are most certainly gone. Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney, Sambi, Tavares and Granit Xhaka will be out the door, no doubt.
Then there’s the second layer of players we need more information on.
Emile Smith Rowe has been out in the cold for the whole season, clocking a meagre 240 minutes – but according to David Ornstein his people spoke to Arteta and they are assuring him he is part of the plans. This is the best news of the window for me. Kicking out a player coming back from surgery always felt harsh, especially when you consider the output he offers, and the love the fans have for him. There’s also an U21 Championship this summer – last big miss from a youth tournament was not giving Serge G a deal before he smacked up the Olympics.
Reiss Nelson is also an interesting one. The internet cooked me a few weeks ago because I said I thought he’d exit – and some sites said he’d signed. Well, we’re 30 days out from his contract expiring and still no deal signed – he’s had 4 offers which tells you where we are with numbers. There was a Premier League club pushing hard for his signature – my guess is they’ve offered him more money and more minutes. Will he stay on at a club that gave him 600 minutes in the hope that as we level up he’ll get more time? Or will he take the game time and prestige of knowing he’s a starter – kind of like Zaha did when he moved from United to Palace. He might have penned the Arsenal deal already – but it was far from cut and shut. If he stays, it’s love for the club over serious minutes. A bit like John O’Shea at United.
Eddie is going to be an interesting one. He played plenty of minutes, he did really well, but he was only really used once Jesus picked up and injury. He’s top talent, has all the attributes to be a starter in the Premier League – what will Arsenal tell his people when they come knocking?
We also live in the same situation with Folarin Balogun. He’s just scored a bucketload of goals, landed 3000+ minutes, and he’s about the become an All American Icon as he moves towards WC 2026 – will he risk a season like Eddie? Or will he see striker openings at clubs like Brentford and push for a move. On this topic – we need to get bank if we are selling. If he was French and United or Chelsea were bidding on him from a Ligue 1 club, the fee would be astronomical. I want to see a big number for him.
‘Remind them of Mudryk’ should be the negotiating strategy.
Thomas Partey, one of the best players in our team under pressure, has interest from Italy. BUT, he is expensive, and he’s important to us. Do we really want to shift him out this season? Italy will be there the season after. If the number is big enough, it helps us with other players, it also gives more flex on wages. It would be a HUGE decision to move him on now – but it could happen.
Then you have other positions the club might need to invest in. There’s no back-up for Zinchenko UNLESS the club is thinking Tavares is the alternative. If you keep Smith Rowe, do you need a Maddison? Or do you go for a Tielemans. Matt Turner needs minutes, he can’t do what Ramsdale does, so do we we look for another backup keeper? I simply refuse to believe Arteta has attempted to buy a back-up to Saka 50 times, only to decide he’ll have that be Reiss. Or… does he go for a striker instead of a back-up to Saka and genuinely move Reiss up a level? Are we going to sign a right back or will we have a #6 dropping back next season like Partey has for us and Caicedo has for Brighton.
There are so many questions.
The great thing is this: Arsene Wenger would have finished at 5 points off City and been very satisfied. He’d have moved again with the same squad. Mikel Arteta know he has to roll the dice and he will, even if it costs us. I like that – he never settles, he never lets a bad idea fester even with good results, and he’s keeping the club moving forward at speed.
This summer will have twists and turns and I’m here for it.
See you in the comments. x
1st?
I’m feeling so excited for the first time in many years. I genuinely believe that we’ll have a good summer and kick on. COYG
CL spot
Tr4phy!
Tielemans no thanks, may be pretty young in age but has played a lot of football over 300 games, good shot and decent passing, can’t get around the park and failing that positionally defensively poor. ESR sensible to give him another year, when fit (I know) top talent but an academy player we lose nothing keeping him and letting him go for some of the sums mentioned here/elsewhere 20-35m? When bang average players like Gordon are going for over 40m I’d rather keep a young player that can actually change a game or influence it than letting them go and… Read more »
All the Vlahovic links firing up again…is tall boy summer back on? if that were to come to fruition this time.
I can’t see Eddie staying as the backup to the backup. Plus, he should still have some real transfer value left despite the lack of minutes.
I’m conflicted about the players I would like us to sign in attack. For me the left flank is stable with Marti and Leo. Right flank should be stable with Bukayo and Reiss. CF is alright but with Jesus, Leo, Eddie and Balo, we actually need to trim that. I hear Vlahovic from a few posters but CF is not a position that rotates. Jesus will not be happy at all. From reserve CF at City to reserve CF at Arsenal. I don’t see it honestly. We managed to score a lot of goals before and after Jesus’ injury. We… Read more »
his people spoke to Arteta and they are assuring him he is part of the plans. This is the best news of the window for me.
ESR staying at arsenal is the best news of the window? If that ends up being the case then we’ve probably had a poor window
If Reiss doesn’t sign the dotted line.. I think you could see a situation where Jesus is moved to the wings at times, when we don’t play a false 9 and play more direct with a tall #9. Kind of depends on what Teta thinks we need to close the gap with City. Maybe, he tries a more Haaland like approach. Juventus is looking for 70 mill though for Vlaho , not sure how that would fit in the budget. They pretty much have to have a positive net spend after their sanctions so .. not sure how much they… Read more »
The targets for me Declan Rice- the player we have to have. Moises Caicedo – the player we need added alongside Rice. If we miss out on one them, the players we should target are SMS, Frenkie De Jong or Enzo Le fee. RB/CB Pavard would be my pick now he is leaving Bayern. LB very weird for me here. I would like a more defensive minded player that can invert here. I wouldn’t want Cancelo. A player that can play LCB too would be nice. And if we can I would add a CF. But I wouldn’t mind if… Read more »
“The great thing is this: Arsene Wenger would have finished at 5 points off City and been very satisfied. He’d have moved again with the same squad. Mikel Arteta know he has to roll the dice and he will, even if it costs us.”
Pedro, maybe not the best timing for a Wenger dig considering Arteta’s had two end of the season collapses.
And I’m not supper crazy about his little complacency speech he just gave, as if his players actually won something this season.
Wenger would have won it this year if he was 8 points ahead on April 1st, and I say that as someone who wanted him out even before that idea entered Pedro’s head.
Hab: “Rap Okay let’s make a bet. If they finish ahead of us next season I won’t post for the whole summer after the season ends. And you do the same if we finish say 9 points ahead of them.” I dunno if you understood me correctly. You said they need 10 players to compete and we’re 4-5 players from being a superb side. I’m telling you that if they have a summer where they bring Kane + Mount + Rice + Min-jae, they will have an incredible team right away. And I’ve already talked about Manure’s pluses ahead of… Read more »
Arsene would have got second with the investment Arteta had. Easily. He may have even found a way to win.
Arsene, although mad as a fish is still head and shoulders the best manager we’ve ever had.
From last thread, Arshavin fighting in a war?
Good little player on his day but don’t remember him being much of a fighter.
I’m sure the Ukrainians are shitting their pants at the thought.
on Balagun.
“If he was French and United or Chelsea were bidding on him from a Ligue 1 club, the fee would be astronomical. I want to see a big number for him”
Now you are being serious instead of your earlier suggestion of using him as a cash+player for Ivan Benteke Toney.
EdTheREd
Wenger would have won it this year if he was 8 points ahead on April 1st, and I say that as someone who wanted him out even before that idea entered Pedro’s head.
I agree even as someone who supports Arteta wholeheartedly
Rap The thing is I don’t think they are 4 players away from a title challenge. They really need a midfield clear out. They honestly need better than Fernandez and Eriksen if they plan to compete. And their defense is decent. But they also need a new GK, a new a CF, a squad player CF too. I might have exaggerated with the 10 players. But they need at least 4 starters and 2 or 3 good squad players. We had 14 top players this season and we fell short. United at this point have, Varane, Martinez Casemiro, Rashford and… Read more »
haha Using Wenger as a stick to beat Teta with,.. now that’s a new one. Wenger wouldn’t have spent the money we did last summer in the first place so the point is moot.
That’s Teta’s biggest strength is getting the Kroenke’s to back it all up with loosening of the wallet and making multiple moves in the windows to address team weaknesses. Wenger never met a roster weakness he couldn’t ignore. We don’t need no stinking defensive midfielders or strikers. We need Petr Cech.
Hab,
After they kicked Ronaldo out, they won more points than us. That’s 24 games. They played shit football but who cares, points are points.
You are telling me that an upgrade on Fred to Rice, McTominay to Mount, Maguire to Min-jae and Weghorst to Kane will not be enough? Just Kane for Weghorst/Martial will be a game changer for them. Add 3 other top players and they’ll be about it.
Sorry Habeesha but Declan Rice isn’t an option for me.
Too basic and way too expensive.
Just my opinion.
Caicedo
Ngolo Kante on a free.
Priority for Champions League.
My sleeper options would be one of three.
Philip Billing
Romeo Lavia
Franck Kessie.
@kayakaynak97 has claimed that Emile Smith-Rowe has been acing training recently.
🗣️ He said: “We’ve done some stuff on the Smith Rowe situation. He’s come back from the injury and he’s pain free, all the reports from training are positive, he’s lost weight, he’s much leaner than he ever has been before.”
🗣️ “He’s setting personal records in terms of pace and physicality all of those things, he hasn’t had any conversations with Arteta about what he needs to do to be in the team,” (view from the clock end via tbr)
Regarding United
When it’s all said and done, United had the highest clean sheets and saves despite De Gea’s made-for-TV highlight errors. he still won the golden gloves.
United are not as bad as gooners love to think; with a few key additions they’ll improve easily to be able to poke around city…just like us
Mudwest
It was Pedro who brought Wenger into conversation. You should read his post before jumping to conclusions.
The Emile Smith-Rowe news is great because it puts a spike in the the silly Mason Mount rumors.
Hab,
After they kicked Ronaldo out, they won more points than us. That’s 24 games. They played shit football but who cares, points are points
I do. Performances matter. And longterm a performing team gets it’s rewards. Ole finished 2nd and had a ridiculous away record too. If you are an unconvincing team, eventually you will be shown up. But good performing teams eventually go up a level. Newcastle, us and Brighton are evidence of this.
Caicedo is my #1 too although I see the logic behind prioritizing Rice as a young English player that has the needed qualities to start for us.
“The great thing is this: Arsene Wenger would have finished at 5 points off City and been very satisfied. ,’
I swear up until this afternoon anyone suggesting otherwise on Le Grove was deemed a traitor.
Pedro knows what he’s doing, constantly shifting the narrative, always a step ahead of his followers. Top blogger and I mean it.
Hab,
This was ETH’s first season. We played like shit for 2.5 years under Arteta. In that time we spent how many hundreds of millions? It’s normal that with better players the quality of play with increase.
I’m as vocal a critic of Arteta as there can be but bringing up Wenger is embarrassing.
Signing Maddison would be a dream signing as he the closest player there is to Debruyne with his ability to score and create. Taking into account that leicester were relegated this season, for Maddison to score and create at a goal every 130 minutes is a great personal achievement for him. To put Maddison’s record into perspective , Odegaard playing for 2nd place Arsenal and is regarded as elite managed a goal contribution every 143 minutes, whilst Debruyne playing for the league champions and playing with Haaland managed a goal contribution every 105 mins. It’s my belief that Maddison at… Read more »
Rap
And Ten hag himself will know that their performances aren’t at at the level he wants. Because the Tenhag that led Ajax to breath taking football had Van De beek, De Jong and Schone who were all technical midfielders with their best attributes being on the ball. United’s midfielders best attributes are odd the ball except for Eriksen who is poor off the ball. He will want a team that dominates the ball in all games.
Kane to United would be great for the Spurs. They could finally stop ” accommodating” him and surge right up the table.
Bad news for United though, like Sid said in his infinite wisdom, United would drop like a rock.
And you can take that to the bank.
Rap
Come on Man. Spending hasn’t been Ten Hag’s problem. He spent 220 mil in his first season. His player id is questionable too with 90 mil being spent on Antony. Arteta’s first season spending in comparison was £80 to £90mil I think. I am expecting them to get better and eventually reach a level that they can compete for the title. But it won’t be next season. They have a lot of players to replace before that.
Maddison is an incarnate of Ozil, maybe that’s why Pierre loves him so much.
He can’t defend to save his life, two midfielders have to mitigate his absence on the defensive end.
A few points: If KT leaves, isn’t Tomi the most obvious option as a replacement? He can invert and offers the kind of versatility that MA likes. I guess the question is whether they believe that they can keep him fit in contemplating a replacement. Leo played far better as a false nine or a no. 8 than on the wing. So my dark horse signing would be Harvey Barnes to rotate on the left wing. English, reasonably priced, injury-free and would probably accept rotation without complaining. And if we can get Ward-Prowse, then he would provide technique, physicality and… Read more »
We just need quality this summer. If we get both Rice and Caicedo, get pavard, a young-ish LB that can invert with money spent like the Kiwior deal and we will be far ahead of anyone. But realistically I think we are going for one of Rice or Caicedo. And then we will sign a CM that is good going forward and that will be the midfield. We still would have come out with better CM options because only Xhaka will leave and we will replace him with two. Added to that ESR might play a midfield role next season… Read more »
Benzema going to Saudi Arabia apparently. Firminho touted in recent weeks to sign for Madrid. Surely that isn’t enough for them. It will be interesting to see what they do in a bare striker market. That kid Endrick just turned 17 and surely he isn’t an option for them at the moment. And what happens to the Mbappe waiting game. Lol Benzema might fuck them over if he leaves.
Mbappe is going to end up in Madrid at sioe point, on a free transfer in 2024. It’s an open secret, the plan I believe is for Benzema to wait until then . The last Mbappe extension with PSG was a capitulation by the club., they should have just sold him and moved on. The Athletic and other credible sources have noted that Mbappe’s contract runs until the summer of 2024 and includes a one-year option to extend until 2025, but that must be triggered before June 30 and only Mbappe has the power to do so. How does a… Read more »
Overall pretty good summation, Pedro. I’m almost certain the Reiss Nelson extension is in the bag, though. Three days ago there were several credible reports the deal was done and he followed that up with a substitute appearance on Sunday. There’s been just enough progress and recognition for him to feel it’s worth another year to progress within the club. What I like most about your summary is that there are so many variables, it’s not as simple as 8 out, 8 in. One unexpected or even missed deal could throw the transfer window into a totally different direction. We… Read more »
Dissenter “Maddison is an incarnate of Ozil, maybe that’s why Pierre loves him so much. He can’t defend to save his life, two midfielders have to mitigate his absence on the defensive end.” If we want to stop the ball going in our goal then we should buy a better keeper who hasn’t chocolate wrists and makes better on field decisions. Apparently Ramsdale is good with his feet(debatable) so having chocolate wrists wouldn’t be an issue for some. You say ” maddison is an incarnate of Ozil”, which is high praise indeed as Ozil was elite and was influential in… Read more »
Tom: “Pedro, maybe not the best timing for a Wenger dig considering Arteta’s had two end of the season collapses. And I’m not supper crazy about his little complacency speech he just gave, as if his players actually won something” So edgy. I love Wenger, but like Pedro said, he’d take 2nd place like a trophy and would promote some kids next season and have us back to top 4 hopefuls for next year, with our best players running down their contracts for lack of ambition….. Arteta isn’t trying to do that… As it is, from outside the club, Arsene… Read more »
A legrove scholar:
“I don’t know why we haven’t already cemented in some bids. Once again, we’re tyre kicking and looking through the window while the others are in and out.”
We don’t know anything that’s really happening behind the scenes.
Because genius hasn’t read it in The Sun, he is in a panic and spewing negativity.
Also apparently believes everything he reads on newsnow.
It is fun to watch him spin out emotionally though.
TW not open!
If we are looking for a “Tall Boy” focal point as a change of pace I might
consider testing Fulham’s resolve for Mitro.
Aside from a crazy temper he’s shown he’s capable of being an
EPL line leader.
I know it’s gonna cause the usual attacks from
the mob with no opinions of their own but I wouldn’t mind a two year
loan deal for Joao Felix. What we lack on this team are pacy ball carriers.
It’s what Felix is blessed with and I think he would be great for us
Pierre,
I love many of your opinions because you’re not afraid to challenge Legrove’s
subservient CW, but Maddison …. Ughhh can’t see him working on this team.
And it’s not a question of talent but we already have a similar player with more work ethic in Trossard … Just can’t see him working with Arteta
WTF is it with the Yahnited love in? Have to be the jammiest b’ stards ever.Think they won once away to a top ten side? Pants.Miserable f** er Ten Hag has spent millions on drossThe refs in their back pocket..Please don’t compare them to our circumstances,it’s insulting.
Oh .While I’m at it.The Wenger wouldn’t blow an eight point lead? Already done it.Back in 2008 far as i an remember.Birmingham city,Gallas on his Arse & we folded like a deck of cards from there on in.So don’t lob a cheap shot at Arteta on that one.
https://twitter.com/U24_gov_ua/status/1663612792224600068
Andriy Shevchenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko will play a Game4Ukraine charity match in London to support Ukraine 🇺🇦. This was announced during a meeting with the @ZelenskyyUa. The game will take place on August 5, at @ChelseaFC arena Stamford Bridge.
_____________________
Surely they could have picked a stadium other than the one property of a Russian oligarch literally a year ago.
Pierre’s Ozil love is boundless its blinded him to some realities.
Ed I did read the post… but you weaponized it to try and say Arteta is shit because he isn’t Wenger . Which is pretty much the basis of every one of your posts to be honest…..is we are fucked because of Arteta. You could save a lot of time by just writing Arteta Out like 6 times a day. The point Pedro was making was exactly what I said.. Arteta will push for more players and higher quality. Wenger not so much.. And that’s what any fan should want is the Club trying to do everything they can to… Read more »
Godfather
“I love many of your opinions because you’re not afraid to challenge Legrove’s
subservient CW, but Maddison …. Ughhh”
I shall return to this subject in 12 months time whether he signs for Arsenal or Newcastle, if he has any sense it will be Arsenal , Tottenham would be a massive mistake for him as it may turn into another battle against relegation for him.
To be fair .. Maddison and Rice… or Maddison and Caicedo makes more sense to me then …
Rice And Caicedo .. or #Ricedo . They are too similar in my opinion.
Kind of depends on what we decide on Partey.. I think we will keep him for a lot of reasons but if he does move to Italy or whatever then maybe we push for Ricedo, but 160 mill on 2 similar type midfielders seems like not the best use of funds to me.
Pierre Last summer you tried to take all of LG to task with the; Ødegaard isn’t fit to lace Ozil’s boots when it comes to skill vision, composure or finishing. Think he answered the call this season slaying that notion. Last week I read you berating Ødegaard for rarely if ever going in hard on a challenge hence his ability to stay fit which is hilarious with Mesut in mind. Classic LG LMAO moment, this anti Ø agenda is devastating you. Middy, Regarding Maddison don’t see him signing on with Ødegaard and ESR at club, he’d be depth. My take… Read more »
I don’t think Nelson and John O’Shea is an accurate comparison. O’Shea averaged over 21 league appearances per season while at United and was winning multiple trophies. Nelson’s average is under 7 so far.
Midwest
Maddison and Caicedo/Maddison and Rice doesn’t make that much sense because we have ESR [coming back from injury and Vierra [one year in a new league]
Caicedo and Rice makes sense because we are set to lose Xhaka and need rotating cover
Didn’t Tets just finish second in a one horse race. Not worthy of a mention him in the same sentence as Wenger. Did see any of this fictitious urgency to the club moving in the last 8 games. Couldn’t get the day job right when it mattered. It was harder to fail but he achieved it.
Surreal skills. Unmatched.
https://youtu.be/f44IQb5Igtc
Hitman.Give yourself a slap & wake up & smell the coffee.
Josip… agree.
Think ZZ performance vs Brazil in 06, at his end was maybe the best mid field showing i’ve seen. Pocketed the entire side, influenced every aspect of that game and eliminated them one by one mentally.
They knew by the end he’d wrecked them.
Diss., Sal. well… My opinion is if the Club wants to spend that much on similar players then fine with me.. however counting on Vieira for anything.. would seem foolhardy. ESR could make up for the goal loss of the new improved Xhaka perhaps… I know Maddison could. Rice and Caicedo… not so much. I think Rice has the skillset maybe to play further forward but it’s not a given… Talk of Caicedo playing RB in the withdrawn Partey role even to make room for both. Anyhow. until some things start playing out no idea which way we are going..… Read more »
Josip.unbelievable.Did Wenger nearly sign him? To add to the list.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I never doubted that ESR is part of Arteta’s plan, and I believe Tierney and Saliba will stay. I expect a prolific goalscorer to be the major signing and that none of Rice, Caicedo, Mount will arrive.
Middie
Vierra is a dol of the dice, it’s just that footballing people who see him train see what we care yet to see
ESR is more certain, the lad scored 11 non penalty the season before so he just needs to stay health and get more minutes…. it will happen
I just can’t see the club making two players redundant in one swoop by signing Maddison.
englandsbest – I think Tierney wants to leave, Arteta wants dif things from his full backs, and Kieran more ambitious than wanting to sit on bench getting a few minutes here and there like Holding been doing.
*Vierra is a roll of the dice, it’s just that footballing people who see him train see what we are yet to see in real games
Think people under estimate just how difficult it would be to replace Xhaka when you take the whole team balance into consideration. Xhaka hardly ever breaks down, plays almost every minute of every game and offers key defensive tackles in almost every game not to mention his capability in defending set pieces and contribution towards attack. Did I mention he never breaks down and that is a major factor if we are chasing any kind of trophy. There are only a handful of players who posses all these attributes let alone improve on them. I think it’s comical when I… Read more »
Wenger was tge best manager we’ve ever had but he stopped being good enough to challenge around 2010. United 8 Arsenal 2. He let that happen .
The last few years of Wenger were sad and he couldn’t hack the Premier League now. Arteta is getting better every season and may have a very high ceiling
Sal “Last summer you tried to take all of LG to task with the; Ødegaard isn’t fit to lace Ozil’s boots when it comes to skill vision, composure or finishing.Think he answered the call this season slaying that notion.” Odegaard has almost reached Ozil’s level, there is certainly a comparison in that they both go missing in the more intense physical games. Odegaard will need to get a few winners medals before he can truly be considered Ozil’s level . It has to be pointed out that ozil won his medals at Arsenal with team mates considered to be a… Read more »
The transfer window doesn’t open in the U.K. until June 14th.
In the rest of Europe it’s July 1st.
Pedro
How long has Gunnersaurus been back? I saw the BIG green Arsenal lizard standing next to Arteta after the Wolves game👏🏼
There seems big trouble with the Saliba contract renewal according to media reports eg.
“Parties are said to be a long way off agreeing terms despite months of talks, with Arsenal so far offering the defender a £120,000-a-week deal.
But that is ‘nowhere near’ what the Frenchman’s representatives are demanding – and, perhaps more crucially, what could be on offer at Paris Saint-Germain.
”
We may not even get the £27m back if we sell with 12 month left in his contract !
With what Martinelli and Saka are reportedly getting under their new contracts, wouldn’t be surprised tSaliba’s agent is asking for £200k pw, or more, especially with how the PL title chase supposedly collapsed without him…
Useroz = kilroy
…panicky.
“We may not even get the £27m back if we sell with 12 month left in his contract !”
LOL.
If he wants to go, it will straight up be one hell of an auction. The whole world will be scrambling for this dude.
Socates
Absolutely right about Xhaka. There are a few of us that think the same way. Those goals + assist are hard to beat.
Socrates,
I mentioned yesterday.. can you believe how hard it will be for a replacement “upgrade”… to match Xhakas goal contributions from his position?
I never thought we’d have to consider that.
Saliba walks and AFC cough up 53 easy.
Hard pass on the maddi links as that guy is one injury away from not being available.
Early model Kante and/or mid BEEF, with pace….
Get some business done! A lot of business….
ESR staying is fantastic news though the manager actually playing him is another thing altogether as seen last season he’s not a fan of squad rotation
Arsenal’s transfer budget in last two seasons has been rising and in the current financial year we spent around £180 Million. The assumption this summer is going to be at the same level or even higher factoring in that we are in Champions League and likely to generate for the first time in several years a reasonable amount of incoming transfer fees. What we should expect from the club and its owners is that we are covering the holes [weaknesses] in the squad. I do expect Arsenal to recruit Declan Rice. Some who post on here argue in media and… Read more »
For once the resident village idiot may be on to something. If Kilroy predicted that Saliba would not sign a new contract, then he will be going places because Kilroy looks like being a prophet. The media is bantering around that the two camps are far away from agreeing on a salary. Saliba’s camp knows what was recently paid out in new contracts, they also know that Saliba was Arsenal’s best defender.Add to this the fact that Edu’s negotiation skills are at best amateurish, and therefore Arsenal most likely made an insulting offer, therefore be prepared for either adding now… Read more »
If Saliba truly wants to go; let him go. Why would we want to keep a player like that?
On a different point I don’t see Arsenal recruiting Maddison. He is not coming to the club to play second fiddle to Odegaard.
Smith-Rowe is a more than adquate understudy provided he stays match fit. He can certainly cover
the goals scored by Xhaka this season.
The point is not if he doesn’t want to stay let him go, the point is our Manager In Name Only mishandled Saliba. He didn’t rate him and he should have come back 1 season earlier and then at the end of that season you negotiate his new contract.
But no our MIMO rather wanted to negotiate 4 contracts of starting players (Saka, Ramsdale, Martinelli, Saliba) all at the same time. Even Doris the tea lady could figure out that this is not good as they all want what the highest paid player gets.
A quote from the Athletic that makes this situation even worst then anticipated and puts further pressure on the not so dynamic duo. “This season, Gabriel’s growth can be gauged from the partnership he has struck up with Saliba. Arteta admitted he could not have predicted how well they would click, describing their combination at the heart of his defense as a “happy marriage“. One aspect of the partnership that is not seen is how they communicate. Gabriel’s English has improved massively but he still prefers to speak French which is the language he and Saliba communicate in during matches.”… Read more »
MG42, it appears that you just want to come on the stream to criticise Arteta and Edu. What are you hoping to achieve with the relentless repetition of the same message? There is a danger that people will see your ‘name’ and just scroll past because they are they know that they’ll be essentially reading the same thing again and again.
Saliba and PSG. Hotting up.
Once again, we have allowed a hot talent to get too close to the end of a deal. We have no leverage and nothing to offer him that PSG cannot.
Arsenal cannot compete in world football. We are seen as a bridging club or a retirement club. We’re not the club where people spend their best years at.
Giving Saka £300,000 pw has opened the floodgates. We don’t learn.
Well, we got another piece from Almunia at LiR if you like a laugh.
https://londonisred.com/with-friends-like-these/
MG42 Saka has played 4 seasons for arsenal now and has been our best player during that time From 17-21 He was our highest assist maker in his first season from left back and only behind cesc in terms of teens giving assists And has highest xg for our last 2 seasons He is not only a regular England starter but the jewel in the crown He never gets injured Saliba may be the best young cb in the world but he’s only done it in the French league consistently and is now in the middle of a serious injury… Read more »
Hackney
Have a kit Kat you melt
I prefer Kinda Bueno.
You got a point there. However this Saliba contract situation I had never dreamed of how it will impact our entire defense whether you support Arteta or not. We were so solid because the two CBs did all their communicating in French, explains also the Kivior / Holding situation. Many others here wanted to see Saliba come back 1 year earlier and it turns out by not doing so it created an unanticipated problem his contract renewal is in more jeopardy now then before. Not only time wise but also money wise. If he is a real talent then we… Read more »
Un, The point is that we just added a major problem that was not there at the beginning of the season. Arteta decided to leave him in France when he should have come back. We could have made CL this past season and we would have negotiated his contract at the beginning of this past season not clustered together with the contract negotiations of other starting players. What ever happened to the policy when a player runs down his contract with two years left he either signs an extension or will be sold? As GofH put it we never learn!!!… Read more »
Guns, if the top talents have capable agents, clubs are in tough negotiating positions. I honestly believe Saliba would be happy to stay at Arsenal for a few years yet but he and his agent know that they are in a fantastic position; either they’ll get a killer new contract with terms very much to their liking or the top clubs in European football will be descending like jackals. The clock is on their side. PSG is the obvious club to introduce into the transfer ‘conversation’, they’re rich, he’s French etc. It would be astonishing if stories weren’t coming out… Read more »
GofH
“Arsenal cannot compete in world football. We are seen as a bridging club or a retirement club”
Probably a feeder club like Dortmund 2.0 and we proved it by not quiet matching their stellar accomplishment but still we handed the title to City.
This ‘ not letting the contract run down to more than two years’ is great in principle but difficult in practice.Show me one supporter who would have been happy to see Saka leave last summer for example. Agents will be carefully studying what are other agents are doing and will use this as guidance.
Guns, you’re feeding you know who……
William Saliba should at least be on par with Saka if not more. He is the best young player we have at the club
Club has little chance of signing of the prime version of him in the market.
Perhaps the contract difficulties are the reason that Marc Guehi has been linked to the club. Arsenal are not the type of club to put a 40-50m CB on the bench
Really disappointed with this news
I understood that Arsenal had triggered a 1 year contract extension earlier this year so I am not sure
that this so-called rumour is correct. If the extension was triggered his contract was extended to June
2025.
MG42
Exactly. We’ve wasted Saliba and now the likely hood is he’ll leave. He’s 22 and a major talent.
How often do brilliant CB’s come along? The last one I’d say is Virgil.
We’ve royally screwed ourselves on this and it’s completely our fault.
Salian’s absence from the team was far more impactful than if we lost Saka.
This whole ‘London’ club kudos and the god given right that we are somehow more attractive than (fill in the blank) is bullshit. It’s about money.
Would you move to, live in London for £50,000 or go to Luton and get £1,000,000?