“Another defensive midfielder”
“Another goalkeeper”
“Another defensive midfielder”
“Another centre back”
“Arteta has a fetish”
It is baffling that Arsenal are criticised for not signing players, then when deals are done (and just awaiting to be announced), are then criticised for saying players.
Whilst we all know we need a striker and a winger, we also needed a new defensive midfielder, which became two when Thomas Partey decided not to sign a new deal. Right sided central defensive cover for William Saliba was also essential, as was back up for David Raya.
Whilst Kepa and Christian Norgaard might not be the most exciting names, both are experienced Premier League campaigners who are ready to go from day one. The pair played regularly for mid-table Premier League sides last year, with Norgaard captaining Brentford.
I have always said a “squad player” at a title-chasing team needs to be good enough to start regularly for a mid-table team, and Kepa and Norgaard are that. And the fact that we are getting them for just £15 million combined is shrewed business.
We could have signed more exciting players as backup dancers. Spent £20-30 million on each of them. But they would unlikely have been better than Kepa and Norgaard. And every penny over the £15m we have spent on the pair would have been a penny less than we would have to spend elsewhere.
And ultimately, the club need to sign the players they think will improve us, whilst understanding the bigger picture and impact each deal will have on other deals. They do not sign players to appease cry-arsing fans.
It has to be remembered that, with Norgaard, he is replacing Jorginho in the squad, and not Thomas Partey.
The Ghanian is our first choice defensive midfielder, and he is being replaced by Martin Zubimendi.
Taking into account Partey’s fitness problems over the 5-years at the club and his huge wage, it is hard not to see Zubimendi as an upgrade.
Zubimendi is Spain’s second best defensive midfielder behind Rodri, and was being chased by Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona. He chose Arsenal because he believed in Arteta and adds an aspect of control in the centre of midfield. A fabulous signing.
And then last night it broke that Arsenal were close to securing a deal for Valencia centreback Cristhian Mosquera.
I will be honest, I do not know much about Mosquera beyond that he was first choice for Valencia last season, is 21 today, has been playing at the Euro U21 tournament and will cost less than £20m.
Reports are that he is quick and strong, and therefore should be natural cover for William Saliba.
Last season, Saliba’s cover was a mixture of Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu. None of whom are a specialist centreback. Bringing in Mosquera would mean we have specialist cover in that area.
An eye also needs to be kept on Saliba’s contract – his current deal expires in 2-years and there has been little talk of a new one. Taking into account how Real Madrid have operated in the transfer market recently, I would not be surprised if they are already in his ear about a move in 2027.
If Mosquera is rated highly, getting him in now will give him 2-years to grow and settle before potentially replacing Saliba. Of course, I do not want the Frenchman to leave but this deal does feel like it could be future proofing our defence if he decides to depart.
So there we have it. 3 squad players signed (or on the brink of signing) for a combined £35m, and a first choice defensive midfielder for £55m. £90m spent, with all 4 likely to be announced next week (it was always said that we would start announcing deals from 1 July).
And if you are still unsure why we signed those players:
The graphic above really highlights the impact of the signings have had on the midfield down. We now have proper quality squad depth from goalkeeper, through the defence and into the midfield. 2 players for every position.
If you do not think the players we signed we essential, cross them out of the graphic above and see what you are left with….
And finally, yes we need a new striker, and a new winger. But this is not FIFA or Football Manager. You can not sign players in a “certain order” just for good PR.
A deal for someone like Rodrygo will not be done until after the Club World Cup. And it might take a few weeks after as he will want to go straight on holiday and turn off his brain. I would not be surprised if we do not see his situation resolved until August.
In the meantime, we are looking at alternatives, and Eberechi Eze is a name that has broken recently.
With his release clause, Eze would be a quick deal to do. But signing him would mean no Rodrygo.
Rodrygo needs to be our number one target, and we just need to be saying to Eze that if the deal for the Brazilian is not done by the first week of August, we will pivot to him. Now whilst some might say “why would Eze join if he knew he was second choice” – get in the real world. Most players realise when joining a new club that they were not first choice.
And in August, if Rodrygo joins, Eze would still have plenty of options on the table elsewhere.
As for the striker, the situation is unchanged with Viktor Gyorekes and Benjamin Sesko. There is still brinksmanship between Arsenal, sporting and RB Leipzeg.
I beleive Sesko is our first choice, but the sticking point is the fee. RB Leipzeg apparantly need to make some sizeable sales before 1 July, so Arsenal will be hoping to use this to drive the price down. And if the deal is not done by then, I think we will quickly pivot to Gyorekes.
All in all, Arsenal are getting it right this transfer window.
We have recruited squad players without breaking the bank. Players that raise our floor. And we are still continuing to work on a couple big name signings that will raise the ceiling. But these bigger deals take time.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
excuses excuses excuses
nogaard, Kepa and Mosquero floor raisers lol
you literally said you have not seen Mosquero play football, this post is a tribute to Arteta.
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I’m quite happy not paying £xxx,xxx p/w while players are on holiday. As long as they can get signed in time for a good pre-season, I’ll be happy. If waiting until the window closes means we can sign someone better / significantly cheaper, I’ll also be happy.
We don’t need to pay over-the-odds to get people in through the door as soon as the window opens.
It looks like we’ll have a pretty strong squad by the end of the window. Time to get excited!
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Honestly, I would take EZE right now. Yes Rodrygo is the fancier player but does fancy cut it in the PL? Eze gives us a much different profile to what we have and could just as easily play the left 8. Would Rodrygo see Arsenal as almost beneath him and not fancy the wet Tuesday night at Newcastle?
There are two types of Brazilian footballers:
Workhorses with talent that give their all and badly behaved showponies.
We run the risk of replacing one of the first type with one of the second.
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There is a long time to go in the transfer window so it is not time to panic just yet.
I understand the sense in Norgaard – a replacement for Jorginho and who has may be one or two good years left. You don’t want to bring in a top young player who will block a top young talent like Max Dowman coming in to the team.
Kepa at £5 million is peanuts for someone with experience.
Not sure about Mosquera as I have not seen him play.
You are looking at perhaps £25 million for three back up players which, in this current climate is not bad – remember the £35 million we spent for Vieira or £15 million spent on Lakongo and you begin to see.
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Arsenal should cash in on Saliba if he is not committing his future to Arsenal. He is arguably the world’s best defender so Sell him for £100 million.
Then use the money to buy another world class defender with the money and Arsenal may have some change to put towards another world class winger or striker.
Saliba should be able to tell Arteta if he is committed or not to Arsenal instead of stalling to run his contract down.
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Yet more common sense, Keenos. What do you think you are doing? You’ll blow the minds of all the sheep who regard repeating what they read in Twitter as being in the know. Keep up the good work.
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