I love this part of the season – no cup games, no Europe, the weather is nice, and there are a lot of 3pm kick-offs. It’s the purest time of the year. Fans of every club tend to be high on hopium, with no dark clouds of reality, and it’s generally a joy before we get into the more serious part of the season… which is, these days, around September.
The main focus at Arsenal this week will likely be on departing players and how to address the gaps left behind.
Things I’ve got an eye on:
Jakub Kiwior
Newcastle are scrambling to sign a left-sided centre-back at the moment – Marc Guéhi is their main target, but the fee is proving problematic. Steve Parish is a tough negotiator, and he’s shown in the past that he doesn’t really care about the whims of players (Zaha for £90m). If he doesn’t get the number he’s looking for, he won’t sell. So, Newcastle are still in the market for a centre-back – could they be tempted into a Kiwior-like move for the season at a fraction of what they’re currently being asked for? Perhaps not. But what will become clear is that, at some point, Premier League clubs are going to realise that a top-quality centre-back like Jakub is available, and he can do all the fancy things you want from a modern defender. That’s a £35m player right there who can also play left-back.
Aaron Ramsdale
Ramsdale is extremely unhappy at Arsenal, and there’s no desire to stay just for the good dinner reservation options this season. He wants minutes and will move if Arsenal let him. The main issue will be whether Arsenal can get the right level of cash for a keeper with a pretty hefty salary.
Wolves seem to be the main club knocking on the door right now, but they don’t have a dustcart full of dollar bills… I’m struggling to believe that no club in Europe has its eyes on the Aaron prize. He’s a very good keeper who was displaced by someone closer to world-class. He’s young, has sell-on value, loads of experience, and a big chip on his shoulder.
If he exits, all the big stories are pointing towards Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia as his replacement, should that move happen… but I’ll be damned if we’re going to give them £30m for him. We can’t accept being dragged over the coals for tiny fees and then splurge on a backup. The good news here is that the noises are quite loud regarding Garcia, so you’d imagine everything is in place for a fast move should Aaron go.
Eddie Nketiah
The Forest move for Eddie has felt like it’s been stumbling, but people need to be aware that negotiations have been ongoing longer than the story has been in the media. The talk of Ginemez being the other option feels like bluster. Nuno will know the risks of signing from the Eredivisie versus the Premier League. Forest have the money, Eddie is guaranteed to get goals, this deal will get wrapped up, and we’ll all be happy. Arsenal asking for £35m in a market that deemed Oliver Skipp a good deal at £23m is not egregious. We don’t need to sell Eddie, so if the money isn’t there, why move him on?
The only question left is whether Arsenal reinvest some of our sales money into another forward player. I have my doubts that we’ll go for a striker this window. Arsenal will only entertain a player they believe can be a level-raiser, and the market doesn’t look chock-full of those sorts of options. The area where there does seem to be lots of good options is wide right. There are wingers heading into the last year of their deals, clubs bursting at the seams because of crazy transfer spending, and some very exciting talents that need big moves to Europe or out of small clubs. I love the idea that Nwaneri could be cover for Saka this season - but I also love the idea of having a pace machine that could add some now magic when we’re trailing 1-0 in the Champions League semi final. Maybe that’s Ethan, we’ll see.
Arsenal are in a very comfortable position; they can take the window down to the wire, miss out, and still not be in trouble. Any signing from this point onwards will be a bonus, not a necessity. That doesn’t always please everyone, but plenty of clubs spend short-term money and regret it over the long haul. We’re not that club anymore. If the right players aren’t available today, then we’ll secure the right player in January or next summer.
We have the most stable club in the Premier League right now. Our squad is world-class, no one is injured, none of our players are running down their contracts, Saudi isn’t circling any of our stars, and we’re compliant with all the rules and regulations.
This is a very good time to be an Arsenal fan.
See you in the comments. x
