It is bloody cold outside! And it is only going to get colder.
Just seen that by the middle of next week, overnight temperatures in London could reach as low at -4°C. If you have not already done so, I would fully suggest ordering yourself an Arsenal fleece blanket from our friends over at Kick Off Merchants.
The Arsenal players are currently out in Dubai on the winter break. This has led to some criticism as to “why are the players on holiday having won 1 in 7. They should be being flogged on the training ground”.
This from the same people that continually moan players are being overplayed and need a break.
The players will be doing some warm weather training out in Dubai. The warmer weather will allow them to partake in longer sessions than they do in the UK, and in a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere.
Training is not a 9-5 job. The players usually do a couple of hours on the training ground, then some gym work for any hour, and then they are done. They will then have lunch and the rest of the day is free for their own. Some players will do extra work in the afternoon – work one to one with a coach or specialist strength and conditioning work. Others will go to the gold course. Bukayo Saka has decided to have a Fanta in the sun.
There is some Arsenal transfer gossip floating about, as there always will be at this time of year.
We have been linked with Getafe striker Borja Mayoral (no idea!), whilst also linked with right backs Jeremie Frimpong and Sacha Boey (again). I am surprised we have not yet been linked with Wilf Zaha who reportedly wants away from Galatasaray.
As always, I would advise ignoring the speculation. Do not get too attached a deals that are probably non-existent.
We are in the market for players in January, and have no financial restrictions. But we are only in the market for the right players – not stop gap signings.
Edu and Mikel Arteta have already previously shown that they will not sign short term in January, preferring to wait for their main targets in the summer. Remember, every penny we spend in January on someone who is not a main target is a penny less we have to spend at another time on our main target.
Personally, I would rather not spend £25m on Borja Mayoral if we are targetting Dusan Vlahovic, Victor Osimhen or Ivan Toney in the summer. It would just be £25m down the drain.
Then again, if Borja Mayoral is a main target and we have no interest in the trio mentioned above, we should move for him in January if the price is right.
Also, do not be concerned that others (Spurs) are doing business.
My starting point when reviewing business (or lack of) is “has someone else yet bought a player I would want”. And I certainly would not want Timo Werner (his legs are gone) or Radu Dragusin. If we wanted either, they would be Arsenal players.
We have our own targets, as don Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and others. It is important that we focus on our own business and do not get upset or influenced by others doing business around us.
As a side note, the new Romanian lad Spurs are buying takes Ange Postecoglou’s spending this year to close to £240m. Interesting how the Spurs fans and the media claim “failure to win the league this season will be failure for Arsenal after what Mikel Arteta has spent” yet Big Ange has spent more (Arsenal have spent £200m).
Keep wrapped up, stay warm, and do not get too jealous of Saka lounging in the sun. I am sure we would all rather be where he is right now.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
Somehow when we think about it. The first eleven players at Arsenal are shoe in and made to play and suffer by Arteta for first half of the season. Maybe in the remaining half of the season, the team will have more rotation thus more running legs to finish the season stronger.
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I do think one of Arteta’s issue is he does not trust too many beyond the first 10 or 12. Although this could also be because th squad is not quite deep enough yet
Take Liverpool, they have Salah, Nunez, Diaz, Gakpo and Jota. Klopp returns them, and there is not a huge gap between them (excluding Salah)
We have Saka, then Jesus and Martinelli (level of those at Liverpool), and then Trossard (level below them) and Nelson (level below that).
Would Arteta rotate more if we had Gakpo and Jota alongside Saka, Jesus and Martinelli? I think he would.
And then it comes to money. Liverpool have that front 5 off the back of half a decade of CL revenue. We need consistent years in the CL to build the finances so that we can buy them
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Yet another who doesn’t seem to know the difference between gross and net spend and doesn’t say which he’s using, I get really tired of this. Here’s a clue, because of the money from selling Kane Spurs gross and net spend will be a bit different. As for “I certainly would not want Timo Werner (his legs are gone) or Radu Dragusin. If we wanted either, they would be Arsenal players.”, total rubbish. Dragusin turned down Bayern (who offered him a lot more money), Werner turned down United. The common thread is Postecoglou not Spurs, the manager not the club, players want to play for him. I don’t think Arteta has the same draw.
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It is not about gross spend or net spend. It is about total income and total expenditure, beyond that of a transfer fee.
A players cost is not just the fee. It is their wages, agents cost and more. these are then all factored in, amortised over the length of the contract. The difference between total income and total expenditure dictates how much a club can increase their expenditure by (IE how much they can spend on new players transfer fees and wages)
So whilst Tottenham might have sold Kane for £100m, that would not have meant that they had been given £100m to spend.
Happy to teach you more and grow your basic view. Glad you enjoyed the blog.
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Let’s be honest here, you haven’t got a clue how much Spurs have to spend, where they fall within FFP, how much they have in the bank. I notice you didn’t actually clarify whether you were talking gross or net spend, don’t you know ?
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It is fairly easy to make a guestimate on what clubs can icnrease their outgoings by based on the most recent accounts, and then factoring recent player sales (and the wage savings made) and signings (and the wages spent), and the estimate increase or decrease in TV renuve (Spurs will be a decrease this year), and factoring in any new sponsorship deals. Everything is publicly available. Please, DYOR.
Feel free to use the search function of the website to read just how many football finance blogs we have written. Even been quoted in national newspapers for our blogs on them.
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Again you refuse to say whether you are talking gross or net spend, you really have some kind of problem with speaking clearly don’t you ? You’ve confirmed that you don’t understand Spurs finances but that’s OK because you can “guess”. Except of course that you don’t. When I said you hadn’t a clue I was perhaps overestimating you considering your zero content responses.
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thank you again for your comments John. the fact you are obsessed with gross and net spend and unable to understand that there is more in football finances then net or gross transfer spend means there is no point taking this conversation further.
Once you learn more, feel free to come back and we will continue the conversation.
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