It is quite ironic that the two biggest cheats i the history of English football will face each other in the FA Cup final.
Manchester City with their 115 charges, or is it now 130? The case concluded in December 2024, yet here we still are nearly 18 months on and still no result.
The conspiracy theorist in me actually thinks it is our fault the case has not be concluded. I think the Premier League hoped we would run away with the league and they could deduct Man City 40 points without it affecting the title race.
As for Chelsea, I have lost count of how many times the have been sanctioned since Ronan Abramovich took over.
From breaching financial rules, illegally tapping up players, illegally signing children, illegal payments to agents, and more in between. There latest case was “only” 74 charges against them.
So here we have the FA Cup final. Two teams who had nearly 200 charges combined hanging over their heads. The see cheaters never prosper? Well in football they do.
I wonder how much airtime Sky, BBC, ITV, TBT, etc will spend talking about the charges both clubs have faced in the run up? Likely none. They’ll be rolling out one of the Gallagher’s and a Hollywood actor to romanticise about their clubs recent achievements.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are the “most hated club in England”. The one everyone wants to fail. Every other teams cup final. The one TV companies are trying to make opponents into legends of the game for derailing us. The ones ruining the game for scoring goals from set pieces.
We might not have won the title for 20 years, but at least we are trying to do it the right way. And not a sports-washing or money laundering project for a corrupt billionaire.
Over a decade of going home and away, although in recent years it has been a little less than normal.
I have never missed out on a ticket for Crystal Palace ticket before, and when the sales phases were announced by the club that they would start at 60, then drop to 55, before going to 50, I was confident I would get a ticket.
West Ham away, with 3,001 away tickets allocated, went to 30+. For Palace we were allocated 2,687 tickets. Just 314 difference. So it was to my horror when the club announced after the 55+ sale that “only an extremely limited number of restricted view tickets available for this game.”
I spent yesterday evening looking into this, and checking out X accounts of those in the know. The only conclusion from everyone was that around 40% of away tickets had been held back by the club. Over 1,000.
Now it is usual for tickets to be held back and given to players, coaches, support staff and sponsors. It was never normally an issue, although the last few years the amount held back seems to have increased.
By 10.01 this morning, by the time the website had woken up, all remaining tickets were gone. I had been logged on since 9.30.
So around 1,000 tickets will not go to away fans like me who have followed the club loyally through some very dark days. Been to your Stoke’s, Swansea’s, Sunderland’s and Cologne’s. Thousands spent, arriving home in the early hours of a Monday morning with work a quick nap away.
Instead, we will see more tickets going to friends and family of players, and plenty held back for sponsors.
We will get a cousin of William Saliba from Paris who has never been to an Arsenal get game a ticket. Some Instagram tart who doesn’t care about football, just footballers, who a player gives tickets to because he is trying to get in her knickers. Someone who works for whichever dodgy betting or crypto company we are currently partnered with getting tickets, and probably selling them on for huge profits, and so on.
I have no issue missing out on tickets if those getting them have been to more games, have got more credits. But to lose out because the club have decided to hold back 40% to appease those who have not done their time leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Especially when you consider over the last couple of years the club have gone on the attack against the away fans.
First they got rid of the away scheme. Then they introduced disruptive ticket collections. All under the guise of that tickets were being used by the right fans, the fans that were going week in, week out.
On the tele against Palace, the TV cameras will zoom into your kids. This will be celebrated by the club like it was against Bournemouth a few years ago. But these young kids would not have been to enough games to have the 55+ credits, so how have they got a brief? Through a sponsor? Through a player? Or just gifted by the club.
It just is not right.
And what is most annoying is I will go again next season. Do my time. My travels. And it will happen again. Non-regular fans will queue jump just because they work for a company that has a box. Distant cousins and family members will get tickets despite never having been to a game. And all the while the club will continue their attack on the normal away fan.
The final point is “where were you when we were shit”.
My biggest frustration right now is fans only complaining about tickets now that we are doing well again. They were no where to be seen in those dark days. And once those days come back again, which they will, these players families, those sponsors, the drips with their Club Level season ticket that they got 3 years ago will disappear. They will find another hobby. Meanwhile I will still be there. Hoping for us to have good times again, with the knowledge that when they arrive I will be screwed over again.
I do not think I have ever known a summer where so many top Premier League clubs will be entering the market for midfield reinforcements, and so many top central midfielders could be coming onto that market.
Manchester United will look to invest heavily in their midfield this summer with the impending departure of Casemiro and lack of development of Mason Mount and Kobe Manioo.
Manchester City will continue their seemingly never ending task of signing a back-up midfielder. They have skunked millions on signing cover firstly for Ferandinho and lately Rodri.
Then we have Liverpool whose midfield trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai drove them to the title last season, but have severely underachieved this season. Meanwhile Chelsea will likely need to replace an out-of-favour Enzo Fernandez.
And finally Arsenal will be on the look out for a unicorn midfielder. Someone who can provide the passing and control of Martin Zubimendi and the running and box crashing of Declan Rice. A player that would give Mikel Arteta an extra classy option in midfield and leave us with 3 fantastic players competing.
2018/19 was the last summer I remember being fairly similar to what is upcoming – Fred joined Manchester United, Fabinho joined Liverpool, Chelsea signed Jorginho and Lucas Torreira joined Arsenal.
At the time it was felt whoever signed the best would go on to win the league, and Liverpool did just that with Fabinho.
This summer it could be similar. Whoever gets the transfer right will likely be champions at the end of the season. So who actually is on the market – and who do I want Arsenal to sign?
Elliot Anderson has gone from being surplus to requirements at Newcastle United, sold to satisfy PSR, to being one of the most in demand midfielders in the league. The Nottingham Forest will likely partner Declan Rice in midfield this summer, and I actually think that might be a problem for England.
Passing is not a strength for either Anderson or Rice. That does not mean that they can not pass. It more means that they do not really dictate the game due to their control on the ball. Both are more runners and box crashers.
Whilst I think Anderson would be brilliant cover for Rice, I am not sure he could do Zubimendi’s job. The likelihood is he will end up at Man City, who do not overly rely on having a passer at the bottom of their midfielder, or at Manchester United to play alongside a passer.
Adam Wharton is the ying for Anderson’s yang.
As a partnership, they would likely flourish. In Anderson you have the running and ground covering. In Wharton you would have the passing and control. I could certainly see the pair in central midfield together doing well for a Champions League place chasing team.
I actually think Wharton is a better partner to Rice for England than Anderson is. He provides that control and passing range that Rice and Anderson lack, but Thomas Tuchel prefers the two runners. It is something that I think could cost him in the hot, dry USA summers. The team that wins the World Cup will be the team that makes the ball do the work.
If Anderson would be great cover for Rice, Wharton would be the perfect cover for Zubimendi. But the issue is he does not poses the running power so could not be cover for Rice as well. But at £80-100m each, are unlikely to sign both.
You would have to feel for Newcastle fans that after standing by Sandro Tonali, the Italian is now seemingly agitating for a move. But that is the football food chain and shows where mid-table Newcastle United sit in it.
I really like Tonali and he is perhaps my favourite on the list.
Often leading the running for Newcastle, he has a work rate, ground covering and box crashing to be an alternate option to Declan Rice. He is often Newcastle’s key ball carrier in the midfield. And at the same time he has the vision, precession, composure and passing range to be the deep lying play making cover for Zubimendi.
Concerns over his injury history are wide of the mark. The only question mark over him is that he has the occasional defensive lapse and can sometimes lost his man in the middle of the park. But that is not a huge issue as at Arsenal, Tonali would likely be the rotation player meaning he would come in against lesser opposition, where those minro defensive frailties would not be exposed as much.
Carlos Baleba almost left Brighton last summer as Manchester United showed concrete interest in bringing the Cameroon international to Old Trafford. The reported fee they were quoted was north of £100m, and his performances this season have done nothing to justify that.
From being the “next Moises Caicedo or N’Golo Kante”, he now looks a poor version of both. We are best off staying away from him. My gut is whoever gets him will be signing him out of desperation because they were unable to secure other targets on this list.
At just 18-years-old, Ayyoub Bouaddi is one of the biggest prospects in French football. He could become one of the best midfielders in the game and has a lot of attributes to like – strong and physically imposing defensively and with a great passing range.
If we are looking at “future proofing” the midfield rather than buy a top class, off the shelf ready midfielder, Bouaddi would be the perfect fit. But I actually think he will go to PSG or Real Madrid.
Talking of Madrid, this might be the summer Eduardo Camavinga departs the Spanish capital.
Despite his obvious talent, the Frenchman has never really made a position his own for Real Madrid, often shunted from defensive midfield to centre midfield to left back to accommodate others.
The big concern for anyone buying him is at 23 he has already played in excess of 300 games, and the injuries look to be taking their toll. Issues with muscle and ankle problems is never a good sign.
Anyone looking for a cheap option may go for West Ham’s Matheus Fernandes. Signed for £40m last summer, you would expect him to come on the market for a similar price this.
Still only 21, the midfielder is solid both on and off the ball. If a deal for Tonali can not be done, it would be worthwhile us having a look. If he continues to develop the way he has this season, it might be another deal we would look back on as a half-price signing.
Finally we come to Myles Lewis-Skelly.
I find the narrative around MLS being able to move into midfield interesting.
Having initially started as a central midfielder in our academy, many fans are of the belief that he could step up and be cover for Zubimendi in the middle of the park. However, I remember when I was first told about MLS and it was along the lines of “got a talented kid at Hale End. Was a midfielder but club think he will be a better left back and are now working on converting him to that position”.
Basically, the coaches did not think he was good enough for the centre of the park, but saw attributes in him to become a top left back. Taking that into account, it would be a big, big risk to transition him back to midfield as primary cover for Rice and Zubimendi.
If that is the plan, he would likely need a loan deal. And what Premier League side would give a 19-year-old who has never played CM at a senior level the keys to their midfield?
, and it seems as if the increased scrutiny has had an impact on his performances on the pitch. However, despite not hitting the same heights as in 2024-25, the 22-year-old is still expected to be on the move in the coming months.
United remain at the front of the queue as they weigh up how to replace the departing Casemiro, and it’s unlikely the Seagulls will be able to demand the same £115m ($157.5m) fee that they wanted for Baleba last time the Red Devils came knocking.
I would like to see us go for Sandro Tonali first and foremost. If that fails, then Matheus Fernandes would be who I would pivot too. Both Premier League proven. Both capable to play in both Rice and Zubimendi’s goal.
I would love us to recruit Bouaddi as well, although I would then “do a Saliba” with him and leave him on loan in France for at least one more year. Maybe even two. That would see him returning to Arsenal in 2028, still only 20-years-old and looking to integrate him as Declan Rice’s long term replacement (who will still only be 29 himself then!).
Who would you like to see us sign? Let us know in the comments.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 