A later than usual blog from me today!

As a side hustle, I am involved in elections. That means long days and late nights! I am not as young as I once was so it takes me a big longer to recover from not being in bed by 10pm!

Yesterday there was actually some real Arsenal news as the club announced that David Raya would be joining us on a permanent deal. It should not be a surprise to anyone, although I imagine some will still find a reason to criticise.

Raya has shown himself to be a top keeper, and his positioning, distribution and calmness took a lot of pressure off the defence last season. He is also home grown.

In the departure lounge is Mika Biereth, who is set to join Sturm Graz for £4m.

I read some say earlier in the week that Biereth should be given a chance at Arsenal following his loan spell. We are still in a situation where some fans do not realise we are not in the position to give player a chance to see if they are good enough. They either are, or are not.

Biereth was OK on loan. But these loan spells were in Scotland (6 goals in 15 games) and Austria (9 goals in 22 games). The fact that he is joining Sturm Graz rather than making a move to another Premier League or a Bundesliga side shows where his ability.

The Austrian league is the level of the Championship. You would not be demanding us give a fella who scored 9 goals in the Championship a chance.

I wish him well and adding in a sell on clause should benefit us in the future.

The talk of Riccardo Calafiori is intensifying. I still do not know who he is.

For those concerned on where he fits in, remember Manchester City have John Stones, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardoil, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake as options. Signing better players as cover and competition needs to be something we embrace if we want to continue challenging the oil-rich cheats.

I think I speak for everyone when I say we need to see some attacking talents come in this summer. But I am also not concerned if our first two signings are a keeper and defender.

This does not show “where Arteta’s priorities lie”. It just shows that some deals were easier to complete than others. You do not miss out on the chance to sign a key target just because you have not yet signed another key target. We are a football club. Manufacturing when deals are completed to appease is not what serious clubs do.

I am off back to sleep! Absolutely shattered. Enjoy your Friday!

Keenos

I feel like I write a blog like this every year. Do not worry that Arsenal have not signed anyone yet.

We are barely in July and the Euro’s is still going on. Edu and Mikel Arteta have their plans and they have done enough over the last 3 years to have earned our trust.

Yes, Premier League clubs have spent over £500m already. But what have they bought? A load of rubbish. And the majority of what has been spent is to circumnavigate PSR. Clubs selling a player for £30m, whilst also signing a player for £30m from the same club. It is artificial spending.

Talk of yesterday is that we are close to doing a deal for Bolonga’s Riccardo Calafiori.

This all feels a bit like Manuel Locatelli, when Juventus were in poll position but we began being linked with him. Journalists on the payroll of agents then begun linking us with him, with a deal reportedly close. Then Locatelli signed for Juventus.

I had no idea about who Riccardo Calafiori is before the links two days ago. It shows I do not watch much football anymore and have hardly watched any of the Euros. His recruitment would be a surprise though as we have Gabriel and Jukub Kiwior in that left centre back position.

My only thinking is that Kiwior could be off, and Calafiori could be his replacement.

Kiwior was signed for £20m on a 4 and a half year deal 18 months ago. Whilst he has been a decent acquisition, he has constantly been linked with a move away. If we can upgrade on him without increasing our outgoings too much, it will probably be a good deal.

There might also be a feeling amongst Arteta et al that Calafiori could be a bit of a Ben White, and offer us a more solid option at left back. Who knows.

The only other transfer news is around David Raya and Albert Sambi Lokonga.

Expect the Raya permanent deal to be announced once the Euro’s are over. Whilst I would expect us to raise between £10-20m for Lokonga, and basically break even.

Some will label Lokonga’s time at Arsenal as a flop. Whilst he has not reached the heights you would have hoped, you need to take these risks at the lower end of the market otherwise you will never unearth a gem.

Another name doing the rounds is Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich. I will probably write a longer blog on him if speculation increases as his recruitment would be huge.

Normally I would be against signing a 29-year-old. But he plays like a Luka Modric / Xabi Alonso in that he has never relied on pace or power, but technique and vision. He could have another 4 or 5 years at the top (especially if you get someone all energy like Declan Rice in and around him!)

Enjoy your Thursday!

Keenos