Tammy Abraham
Will write a bigger blog on Tammy Abraham at some point but a quick few thoughts:
- Abraham is a good striker and would be an alternative option as 2nd choice
- He reminds me of Danny Welbeck in that he can play both as a hold up man and run in behind, but is not particularly spectacular at either
- Personally I would rather give Gabriel Martinelli and Folarin Balogun the chance to back up Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang if Alexandre Lacazette leaves
- But if Mikel Arteta decides to play either Martinelli or Aubameyang on the left wing, we probably do need another striker
- Just not sure we should be spending £40million on Abraham
Willian
Read an article yesterday which described Willian as a “prisoner” at Arsenal.
The story went that Willian wants out of Arsenal, but teams are reluctant to match his current contract of £220k a week.
Arsenal would probably be willing to let Willian leave for nothing. We are not forcing him to stay.
It is Willian (and his representatives) that will be demanding any new club match his current Arsenal contract.
If he really wanted a move away, he would accept a lower salary.
It is his choice to remain at Arsenal as a “prisoner” earning £220k a week then move elsewhere and earn half of that.
New Keeper
The pendulum seems to have swung back towards Aaron Ramsdale from Sam Johnstone.
At the weekend the feeling was Arsenal had switched their focus towards Johnstone, believing they could get him a lot cheaper than Ramsdale, but it seems that is not the case.
The rumoured price for Ramsdale seems to have dropped from £40m to £30m whilst the Johnstone price is hovering around £20m – certainly not the cut price Arsenal would have hoped.
As for André Onana, Arsenal have been put off by his drug ban and African Cup of Nations representation.
The Ajax keeper would not be available to play until November and would also miss 6 weeks at the beginning of 2022.
Whilst he is hugely cheaper than Ramsdale and Johnstone, we probably would have only done a deal for him if Bernd Leno left.
The English pair are seen as number 2s, whilst Onana would expect first team football.
Martinez
With use linked with Ramsdale at £30million, a few critics have been saying “let Martinez go for £20m only to sign Ramsdale for £30m”.
Those saying this ignore the differences in the transfers.
Martinez had a year left on his contract, wanted to leave to be number 1 and only really Aston Villa were interested in him. Arsenal were not in a position to strong arm Villa into paying more.
The fact Martinez still talks about Arsenal in every interview whilst barely mentions Villa shows he probably regrets leaving us.
Ramsdale at £30million is too expensive, but the £20m we got for Martinez was a good deal.
Leeds and Villa
Seen a few Leeds and Villa fans “mocking” Arsenal in recent days, saying we are no longer a big club, etc, etc having finished 8th.
Reality is they would celebrate finishing 8th (would be Villa’s best season in a decade and Leeds United’s best in 20 years) as a huge success.
And that is what makes us a big club and them still having Championship mentality.
For us, finishing 8th is failure. For Villa and Leeds it is a success.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
Still feel strongly that both news of Abraham and Henderson to Arsenal which have been making the rounds recently are click-bate. No truth to it. Stories made to annoy Arsenal fans and sell papers.
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I cannot fathom the Tammy Abraham speculation.
1) He is no way near good enough to be a target if Arsenal truly do want to start challenging for titles within 2 years time
2) Doubly so when you consider how much Chelsea want for him (£40m is absurd!)
3) Arsenal already has too many forwards: if you consider Arteta tends to use 4 attacking players (a front 3 and an attacking midfielder). He already has 6 that he will want to offer regular game time now: Auba, Pepe, Saka, ESR, Balogun and Martinelli. Another one he wants to sign (a 10 such as Odegaard or Maddison). One he may want to keep (Willock) and three that he can’t shift (Laca, Eddie and Willian). That makes up to 11 for four positions… and there is no European football. I don’t see any chance of Arsenal signing Abraham (thankfully) unless the club first shifts both Eddie and Laca.
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All good points and I agree with just about everything except Martinez. His performances warranted him being #1. He should never have been sold period.
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Exactly Martinez to Villa was a big mistake they did and Ramsdale is just overated.
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why dont we try to buy Emi back?!!!!
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