Since his move from Chelsea, the Brazilian-Italian has not seen much game time in North London. He has played just 145 minutes of Premier League football this season.
What is not surprising is that he is potentially looking for a move away just a year after joining us for £10million. At 31-years-old, he clearly wants to be playing regularly. What is a suprise is that it is (seemingly) Barcelona in for him.
You would expect the same problems he faced at Chelsea and Arsenal (being a back-up player) would also exist in Barcelona.
On one hand, I think “if they offer us £10m for him, they can have him”, on the other, we are set to face a month or more without Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny early next year. Jorginho could be key for the period they are out in the Ivory Coast for – and the 2 weeks or more that it often takes African players to return to Premier League fitness after the tournament.
My gut is this is Jorginho and his people sounding out potential suitors for a summer move – his 18-month Arsenal contract expires at the end of the season.
Emile Smith Rowe
Another being linked away is Emile Smith Rowe.
This time of year is always an interesting one as players who maybe could have moved last summer but decidedd to stay begin to get itchy feet.
The door was certainly left ajar for Smith Rowe to depart last summer “if the correct offer came in”. In the end, both club and player decided to stick rather than twist. Smith Rowe has played just 9 minutes of Premier League football since.
There wil lcertainly be clubs interested in Smith Rowe in January. He has that on-field energy that could give a European chasing side a boost.
Newcastle are the ones currently being linked, but you could also see West Ham and Brighton sniff about if they are still in the race for the Europa League.
Like last summer, I think Arsenal will struggle to turn down a bid of £30m for a player who is clearly not in Mikel Arteta’s plans (queue the moaning that he should be!).
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens
We must be getting close to the clocks going back as silly season is picking up speed.
German publication BILD have linked us to Borussia Dortmund’s English winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. The 19-year-old joined Dortmund from Manchester City 18-months ago.
Bynoe-Gittens is certainly not putting in the performances of Jadon Sancho – who made the same move from Manchester to Dortmund at a similar age.
Considering we have Amario Cozier-Duberry and Charles Sagoe Jr around the same age, I would not expect us to move for another teenage winger. Then again, I said the same when we were linked with Gabriel Martinelli.
Also interesting to note that in the same article, BILD linked Bynoe-Gittens with Newcastle. Is this just an agent looking to move his client back to England having failed to settle in Germany? He has “set to replace Michael Olise at Crystal Palace next Summer” written all over him.
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Amidst a week of elation and jubilation among Arsenal supporters following their long-awaited victory over Manchester City in the Premier League, attention has regrettably refocused on the persistent ticketing issues plaguing the club, affecting both home and away fans.
Back in April, Arsenal made the move to revamp their ticketing system for home games by introducing ballots. At first, this change was met mainly with scepticism and but some hope. One positive being that it meant bidding farewell to the familiar nightmare of the 10am queue.
For many silver members, buying tickets in seasons prior to 2022/23, when demand increased exponentially, had been a relatively straightforward task, the queue aside. However, amid growing complaints about the system’s inadequacy, the club decided to make adjustments.
As this season has gone on, it has become increasingly evident that these changes have not been favourable for silver members.
Silver memberships, capped at 30,000, cost an additional £20 annual fee to the base level red membership and earning Silver status typically demands years of red membership (often 10-15 years). Junior Gunner/Cannon Club members join the red membership queue in the place they would have been ahd they joined the red membership when they first signed up.
With the long-term loyalty required to become a silver member, there is an expectation of additional priority compared to red members.
When Arsenal moved to the Emirates Stadium, the silver allocation stood at around 7,000-8,000 seats, comfortably accommodating the demand of silver members. Over the years, the club has consistently chipped away at this allocation.
Here’s how the silver allocation has dwindled over time:
From pre-COVID to now, there has been a staggering 75% reduction in the silver allocation at the Emirates. This reduction has resulted in an increase in allocation for red members, supporter clubs, family enclosures, and even overselling to season ticket holders. In fact, the club temporarily suspended issueing new season tickets last summer in an attempt to reclaim some of these seats for silver members.
In comparison, the red allocation sits at 2,900 tickets – nearly doouble that of silvers (editors note: losing silver ballot applicants can also no longer enter the red ballot). This further exacerbates the current discontent among silver members regarding the ballot system.
The introduction of the ballot system, particularly for a league-based competition, has raised eyebrows among many fans, myself included.
This randomised system doesn’t acknowledge the loyalty of silver members who have held memberships for many, many years. Also, the ballot system was launched without the basic functionality of allowing members to choose their seats or a price band.
For instance, entering the ballot for a Category A game with a price range of £70-£103 per ticket can swing the cost from £280 to £412 for a group of four!
While outlets suggested that the ability to choose from a price band would be introduced after the Fulham game, three months later it’s still not available (due to Ticketmaster’s incompetence).
Further, there are still unanswered questions on how the allocation is divided amongst single/paired/trio/quad tickets, as well as the probability of winning tickets in each category.
So, what exactly does it mean to be a Silver member in comparison to a Red member?
Let’s read what Arsenal.com says:
“There are far fewer Silver members than Red members – this means that, subject to the number of ballot registrations, the probability of a Silver member securing a ticket in the Silver ballot is expected to be higher than for Red members. Silver members also have exclusive access to purchase any tickets made available via Ticket Exchange between the Silver ballot and the Red ballot.”
The so-called “exclusive” period for the Ticket Exchange (TX) is advertised as a benefit for Silver members. However, this priority period typically occurs 6-7 weeks before the game when TX activity is at its lowest. It would have made more sense to increase priority for Silver members closer to the game day when TX activity is higher, providing more opportunities to purchase tickets, rather than competing with thousands more Red members and TX bots.
On social media, you may have noticed Silver members expressing frustration with a string of unsuccessful ballot entries, sometimes marked as “0/10.” Conversely, some have won 4, 5, or even 6 tickets through the ballot.
The question arises: if the system is truly “random,” why aren’t tickets distributed more evenly across the fan base? (editors note: this can happen with random systems. Think about roulette. You get a 50/50 chance of hitting red or black, but can often go 7 or 8 reds in a row and vice versa). This raises concerns that by the season’s end, some fans may have attended only a few out of 19 Premier League games, while others might have secured tickets for 10 or more, despite both balloting for the same number of games.
To compound the issue, Ticketmaster’s shortcomings have become glaringly evident in their inability to effectively host Arsenal’s ticketing system.
At the start of the season, Arsenal introduced a new 3D Map User Interface (UI) in hopes of improving the previous UI. Instead, fans found themselves wrestling with a broken and frustrating UI, forcing the club to revert to the old interface due to the number of fan complaints.
Arsenal Advisory Board (AAB) Meeting
Arsenal recently shed light on discussions from the Arsenal Advisory Board (AAB) meeting, with a key point on the agenda being the ticketing issues.
A positive is that the club are finally communicating back to the fans regarding this because to date this season it’s been nothing short of embarrassing from the malfunctioning TX to a lack of transparency in ballot information.
As explained earlier, Arsenal revealed the Silver allocation now stands at just 1,800!
Based on the 1,800 allocation and the official success rates, the following number of people are estimated to be applying for tickets for upcoming matches:
The AST clarified that these figures represent the total number of memberships entering the ballot, rather than individual ballot entries, which can include up to four people.
This data reveals that only a modest percentage, averaging between 15-20%, of Silver members are participating in the ballot. This begs the question of whether a ballot system was even necessary for Silver members. Additionally, the impact of the number of people included in a ballot entry on the chances of winning a ticket remains unknown.
Another thing to note is you can see in applications as to how the reduction in acvailable tickets has caused this problem.
Pre-Covid (7,800 tickets available to silvers), every fan that entered the ballot would have been able to get themself a ticket for every game bar Tottenham. And there still would have been up to 2,700 tickets available for red members.
In 2021/22 (4,200), 83% of those entering the ballot would have got tickets.
Had the club have even just maintained the 2021/22 level, I am sure most fans would not have had a problem (every fan that entered every ballot would have likely won between 6-10 times!)
Notably, on average 17,580 tickets are being used by non-Season Ticket holders for each matchday owing to the initial ballot sale, TX and Ticket Transfer (TT).
Rather ironically, the club appear to be insinuating that the silver allocation is perhaps larger than 1,800 due to the availability of tickets through alternative channels. However, yet again, the figures pertaining to how many Silver members are truly benefiting from these avenues is unknown.
Another pressing concern regarding the 17,580 tickets is how many are being sold through ticket touting or being snapped up by bots. Instances have emerged this season where fans have been using PDF tickets purchased for hundreds and hundreds of pounds.
In conclusion, Arsenal’s recent ticketing changes have left Silver members feeling undervalued once again. While the club aimed to improve the ticket purchasing experience, these changes have inadvertently fuelled frustration and uncertainty among its loyal supporters.
The additional cost of Silver membership is now being questioned, as its perceived value has diminished in the eyes of many fans. It would not be surprising if Arsenal scrapped the Silver membership at the end of the season and made everyone red. Two fingers up to those fans who have shown their loyalty to the club for over a decade.
As the club continues to evolve its ticketing procedures, it’s essential that they consider the needs and expectations of their loyal supporters to ensure that the matchday experience remains accessible and enjoyable for all.
A relatively young age for a footballer to call it a day, it has led fans to say “it is because he played too much too young” and “this is is a warning for Arsenal and Bukayo Saka”.
But whilst Hazard retired at a young age, it does not mean that he was young in football years. And as a result, should Arsenal fans be worried if Saka ends up retiring at 32?
Football years
When I talk about football years, I am talking about how many years a player has regularly played senior, professional football. How many football years you are is perhaps more important than Earth years you have lived when it comes to establishing if a player has retired early.
Hazard began playing regularly for Lille in 2008, at the age of 17. He has retired half way through his 15th top flight season. That is 14 full football years he played for.
It is not just about how many years you play, but also how many games you play.
Hazard retires having played 622 times for club and a futher 126 games for his country. A total of 748 games.
Lets compare that to Riyad Mahrez, who is the same age.
Mahrez has played 85 games less than Hazard. That is basically 2 seasons less. Mahrez is now in semi-retirement in Saudi Arabia
If Mahrez plays for 2 more seasons beyond this one, he will be 35-years-old and likely breach that 750 game mark. No one would say he is retiring early if he decided to give it up then.
What football years and games played data show is that Hazard has not retired early, he has merely played as many season and as many games as you would expect a winger to play. He just did them from the ages of 17-32 rather than 20 to 35.
If Saka plays for 14-years at the top level, and hopefully for Arsenal, than I am sure we will all agree that he would have had a fantastic career.
He would have been playing for us from 2019 to 2033. That is another 10-years and would represent 14 seasons of being a first team regular.
Training
No two players are built the same.
Eden Hazard’s career had been plagued by comments about his bad attitutde to training.
In 2017, ex-Lille defender Gregory Tafforeau spoke about Hazard’s attitude to training when he first joined the senior team as a 16-year old: “He turned up for his first Lille training session with his socks rolled down, his laces undone and without shinpads. As for his standard, he trained as though he was a club veteran”.
Hazard always seemed to return from the summer break a little bit overweight. He clearly did not look after himself when not playing. He had the mentality of a player of yesteryear, a Gazza-type.
It seemed to get worse at Real Madrid where he never looked fit in the 3-years he was with them for.
Saka, meanwhile, has the same mentality of a Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He does “extra little things” in training that seperates him from the rest.
Weight issues
Hazard’s fitness issues in his later career, like Wayne Rooney, had nothing to do with his age and everything to do with how he looked after himself.
I grew up watching Ricky Hatton. The boxing legend would not look after himself between fights and would put on a lot of weight. Eventually the cycle of having to lose weight rapidly took its toll on his power and his career. At 31 he was pretty much done as a boxer.
You compare than to Floyd Mayweather who was the ultimate professional and never had a pound of fat regardless of whether he was in training camp or between fights. Mayweather would continue fighting at the highest level until he was 38.
There is a lot to be said for how you look after yourself, and your natural body make up – some players are just not naturally as fit as others.
A more natural athlete than Hazard, Saka will naturally be able to go on longer.
Honours
5 league titles 5 domestic cups 1 Champions League 2 UEFA Cups
Eden Hazard has had a glittering career and basically won almost every club-level competition available to him.
if Saka finishes his career with that sort of trophy haul, I am sure we will all be very happy.
Hazard’s main issue is not that he played too much too young. It is that he did not look after his body or work hard enough on fitness in training. But despite this, he was still at the top for 14-seasons.
If Saka is a one-club-man throughout his career, and plays the same 622 games as Hazard, he would be 3rd on our all-time appearances list. One ahead of Geordie Armstrong, with only Tony Adams and David O’Leary ahead of him.
We should not be concerned about Saka burning out at 32.
If he does, he would have had a fantastic career and one which some 35 or 36 year olds could only dream of.
Keenos
If you missed them earlier this week, we still have some sets of our custom Arsenal 'bruised banana' shin pads available!
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 