LATE MOVES
TRANSFER ROUND-UP
Sorry I’ve been offline for a few days—having one of those months where things are getting on top of me. But right now, life is good because I’m in Nashville for a few days with friends, getting inspired by music and fat HOT chicken sandwiches.
A lot seems to be happening around the Premier League right now, so I’ll fire off some spicy hot takes.
Spurs signed another player who looks great on paper but doesn’t really raise their level to a threat that bothers me (also a Gooner). Solanke is a great striker; he’ll get them goals, but at 26, he’ll have no resale value, and I’m not sure he takes them to the Promised Land. He’s quite a similar signing to James Maddison. Big Ange has spent £300m, which is quite a lot for a Europa team. I’m a big believer in half season tables - Spurs were sussed last season - wide open football will be taken down in this league - I think 3 games a week will kill Big Ange.
United look likely to add De Ligt and Mazraoui to their ranks before the start of the season, and I have to say… whatever. Decent players, sure, but their window just looks like more of the same: some overspending on kids, some journeymen stars that haven’t hit the heights, and some bland choices. The new era feels very much like the old one.
Chelsea moved on Pedro Neto, which, to be clear, is fine by me. I thought he looked like an Arsenal signing—clearly a player we fancied, but I suspect only if we could have got him for £40m or less. £60m and a six-year deal for someone who has averaged 15 starts over five years and only made 145 appearances across club and country is a huge gamble. I like Pedro Neto, but history is a good predictor of the future, and I don’t see how Chelsea is going to change that narrative.
Let’s focus on Eddie Nketiah—word is that he’s off to Marseille on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy at around 30 million euros. That’s a good deal, folks. He’s going to go to France, score a bagload of goals, build his confidence, and become a continental hero. I love this transfer for him, and I love the cash we’re getting in return. It’s hard to make it at Arsenal, and when you’re someone like Eddie, you have to get more than five goals in a season when you’re given ample chances to deliver. Trossard made the most of his minutes, so now he starts; Eddie did not, and he’s being moved on. It’s the circle of life—no shame in it. He’ll have a fantastic career and learn a new language in the process.
There’s a quote doing the rounds that Edu said to wait until the end of the window. My big transfer strategy piece appears to be on the money. The reason we’re not seeing concrete moves on players is that the club is waiting for more options to hit the market. Bloated Euro squads like PSG, Madrid, and Barca will need to be trimmed; players in the last year of their deals will have prices slashed, and Premier League clubs looking to trade their jewels will look at players like Reiss, Aaron, and Kiwior with increasing interest. We also haven’t seen PIF pull the trigger on their moves. I’d be surprised if that doesn’t happen soon… they tried to raid Liverpool in the last week of August last season. There’s no reason to think the money has dried up, and they won’t come back and do it again. Ivan Toney is being linked there this morning. I’m keeping my eye on Ederson, KDB, Salah, and VVD.
TNAT has said that Arsenal is interested in Simon Adingra of Brighton. The Ivorian is 22 years old, electric on the ball, and he can play across the forward line. He’s exactly the sort of player our scouting department has done really well with: Premier League experience, a little under the radar, would integrate with our system, and wouldn’t cost £200m. I doubt he’s the only player on the list—we’re looking for a backup to Saka, so there are lots of players who could offer value there.
I think the key attribute they’ll target is explosive pace, because that gives us an option we don’t have, and it’s something we’ve looked at for a while and not yet made happen. Mudryk was that guy, but things haven’t worked out for him. Pedro Neto is also that guy. Let’s see how this plays out, but I am convinced we’re far more likely to land a winger than a striker this summer.
The Mikel Merino deal is hanging in the air like an annoying guest at an after-party. We need to get a move on. Is this guy getting an Uber, or are we making a lovely Arsenal bed for him? I have no emotion in this deal whatsoever. Twenty-eight-year-old signings have done well for Arteta in the past; if he likes him, we can bet he has something special. But I would prefer someone younger or perhaps a player with a little more Champions League pedigree.
Arsenal rocked another pre-season win, this time against Lyon. We can and will read into this game as a sign that we’re going to win the Premier League. Things we liked:
- Two set-piece goals
- More Zinchenko goodness
- A good Calafiori debut
- The team looking absolutely ready to bang this season
Right, a short one today. Hope you’ve had a nice summer. We’re about to get cooking on the season.
This week, I’ll get tight on what you get when you join the Le Grove membership in different places so you can be sure what you’re getting this season. Thanks to all those who have joined the writing part of the site. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to read the kind messages you’ve all been leaving. Big love—we’ll have a banger of a season, and I’ll try to be here for nearly every day of it, for your morning coffee, jog, or bathroom break. xxxxx
Raptora was complaining in the last comments about the possible Nketiah price, and dissenter responds with: what should we do if there's no better bid?
I agree with dissenter.
Edu can't win in this case. A popular podcast did a poll on whether to sell Eddie for APPROX 25m + add-ons.. and it came out basically 50/50. So Edu needs to ignore critics. He will get slammed by 50% no matter what he does.
Does anyone think he's turning down better offers for some reason?
Eddie barely played last season in 2024.
How about some credit for Edu and the owners, for not letting Eddie walk for free, getting a bit of use out of him, and now able to sell him for pure profit, since he came for free....
It seems like spoiled children complaining about prices when there's only 1 bid so far.
One last thing, a fekking lot of you here were saying that Eddie's salary would make it impossible to sell him at all... I said you were idiots at the time, because it's not that much for a top team striker, and he could always take a cut if he wants to move to play instead of sit and watch.
Where are all of the people who said it was a bad deal?
Wrong as usual, les miserables move on to different topics because their opinions have been shite for years, especially about Arteta.
Big takeaway from pre-season for me is that our wingers - Saka and Martinelli - are ready to cook this season. Bukayo is developing well, and the Athletic confirms he's gone full Cristiano and working on getting 3-5 headed goals a season. He's increased his G/A output every season of his career, and if he can do that again we are looking at a PFA POTS type player. As for Martinelli, the best thing that happened to him is Trossard trying to take his place in the team. Gabi is no longer chopping inside every time, he's focusing on using that blistering pace - which really is his superpower - and getting to that byline. By simplifying his game, he can be the main counter attacking outlet for the team.