I think we all have a right to be a little bit disappointed that we did not get Morgan Rogers over the line.
Ultimately, Chelsea have come in and committed over £200m to the transfer – £117m, £10m in agent fees an a 7-year £250k a week deal. Arsenal were just not willing to match that offer.
On one hand, I get the argument of “the market has shifted and this is what players of Rodgers quality costs. We now need to shift our mindset”.
On the other, Berta, Arteta et al will know exactly what our budget is this summer on transfer fees, wages, etc. And maybe they had a limit of £80m and £200k a week for Rogers. Had we matched what Chelsea are paying, it might have impacted our other transfer targets.
And ultimately, a left winger (or forward in general) is not a priority right now.
Trossard OUT, Tzolis IN meas we still have two left wingers at the club.
And in total we have 10 attacking players for 4 positions (Gyokeres, Havertz, Merino, Tzolis, Martinelli, Saka, Madueke, Dowman, Odegaard, Eze). We are fully stocked in attack unless someone leaves.
In midfield we have just 4 players for 4 positions. And two of those are MLS, with a handful of appearance in midfield, and Norgaard. Only Rice and Zubimendi are top top quality. And Rice is potentially looking at a spell on the sidelines.
Moving into defence, we have 7 defenders for 4 positions. But two of those (Saliba and White) will not be fit for the start of the season. That leaves us with just 6 defenders – and a further two in Calafiori and Timber also have their injury problems.
So right now, going into the new season, taking into account the players who are coming out do the World Cup with injures (all named above plus Saka), we have:
9 attackers 3 central midfielders 6 defenders
And maybe this is why we are not prioritising another forward beyond Tzolis? And the focus is on the likes of Bruno and Konsa.
Morgan Rogers, a British transfer for someone who was not in his countries strongest XI, was no longer a priority for Arsenal.
Bukayo Saka has been managing a long term achilles injury William Saliba managing a long term back injury Declan Rice has clearly not been 100% for some month Jurrien Timber battled back from a groin injury only to break down again Ben White’s body has finally given up on him after years of playing through injury
This is not the sign of weak, injury prone players. It is the sign of mentality monsters who put their bodies on the line in a quest for glory for club AND country
On one hand fans of England and France and some gutter journalists have criticised Rice, Saka and Saliba for putting club above country. They continued to play through injury rather than “do a Romero” and end their Premier League season early to enable them to go under the knife and be ready for the World Cup.
These guys wanted to win the Premier League and Champions League, and in Timber and White’s cases they ended up sacrificing their place on the plane to North America to help The Arsenal.
Then you have the other side of the coin. Arsenal fans (mainly from Nigeria) complaining that these guys should not have gone to the World Cup. That after dragging Arsenal through to the league title, they should have had their surgeries and declared themselves unfit for their country. The 3 months off would have been more than enough to get themselves fit for the new season.
But the fact that Saka, Rice and Saliba all went to the World Cup despite their injury issues, and performed for their countries, shows again how they are different mentally to some soft lads. After securing Premier League gold, they wanted to replicate their success for their country.
Take Saliba for example.
Back in January, he could have played up. Demanded surgery on the back. His 4-5 months would have meant missing out on Arsenal’s run in, but would have seen him be fully fit for the World Cup. Would Arsenal have won the league without him? Probably not. Would France have been in the World Cup final if he was fully fit? Maybe.
Likewise, come the end of the season, Saliba could have decided to get surgery. The 4-5 months out would have seen him return in around October. Just a handful of Premier League games missed. Instead, he kept playing through the pain, with injections, in an attempt to drive France to glory. And he was so close.
Saliba kept himself going for club and country. The result is he will now miss half of next season. But I do not blame him. I praise him – as I do with Saka, Rice and all the others.
They could have all sacrificed Arsenal, but instead they sit there with Premier League medals. And they could have sacrificed their country, but with World Cup’s every 4-years this would have been unreasonble.
So they all might miss the first half of next season. But they do so being Premier League champions and having given the World Cup a good, honest go. At no point have the put club above country or vice versa. They tried to do it all and ultimately it will be to the detriment of their own bodies.
What Arsenal, and England, and France and Holland now need to do is work on a way to better manage these players.
For Arsenal it is about signing the likes of John Stones or Ezri Konsa alongside Bruno Guimaraes to ensure that we do not need to rush these guys back. And to take minutes off them when they are back.
For their countries, it is important that they manage their players game time. Just because they are fit, does not mean they should be selected. Leave them out of the first couple of squads when they return to fitness. Give them the 2-weeks off to allow their weary bodies to recover. It will not affect their qualification chances for the Euro’s.
There is nothing more frustrating then a player being out for 4-6 weeks, gets himself fit and then is back playing for his country before he has even returned for his club. It is just poor management by the country. That extra 2-weeks would allow for further recovery, and reduce the risk of an injury come major tournament time.
As for the criticism of Rice, Saka, Saliba, et al, we should actually be praising them. These guys have stuck it on the line for club and country. Risked their learn term health and fitness. And due to their mentality their club won the Premier League and their countries made the World Cup semi-finals.
These are mentality monsters. And we need more of them!
This morning when scrolling through Twitter, I spat out my tea at something I read:
Arsene Wenger built a dynasty on signing players and converting them into something else – Emmanuel Petit from central defender to defensive midfielder, Lauren from defensive midfielder to right back, Thierry Henry to winger back to a striker and Robert Pires from attacking midfielder to winter. I would not say Mikel Arteta has a similar reputation, and to claim it is his biggest flaw is simply disengenous.
Now before people claim “pile on” and “ignore social media”, it was tweeted out by an account with nearly 27,000 followers. These sort of “micro influencers” have a duty of care to get things right. But we all know they simply spend their days telling mistruths to earn their advertising revenue.
So lets look a little deeper into what was said. The accusation that Arteta’s biggest flaw is that Arteta signs centre backs and plays them at right back or left back, signs wingers and turns them into central midfielders and vice versa.
Now I presume in defence, “Ifeoluwani” is talking about Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Ricardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie
Jurrien Timber
Signed from Ajax with the intention of him becoming our first choice right back, Timber had played nearly two thirds of his pre-Arsenal career at full back. He has since gone on to become one of the best right backs in world football. He is also fantastic cover at centre back and left back. Could probably also play defensive midfielder. Did someone say Dutch total footballer?
Ben White
In Ben White’s first season at Arsenal (21/22), he struggled at centre back. In 22/23 he was moved by Arteta to right back and became one of the best in the league, forming a brilliant partnership with Bukayo Saka as Arsenal launched an unpredictable title challenge. He would have got a lot more caps for England at right back were it not for England being stacked with options at that time and a fall out with Steve Holland.
Had he been fit this summer, Ben White would have been England’s first choice right back and we might have won the World Cup.
Ricardo Calafiori
Before joining, Calafiori had played 41 senior games at centre back, 44 games at left back. Signed as our first choice left back, and also someone that could cover centre back if needed. Most recognise Calafiori as a unicorn player who can dominate wherever he is on the pitch. A success (when fit).
Piero Hincapie
Over two thirds of his appearances for Bayer Leverkusen came at either left back or left midfield. One of the best left backs in the Premier League.
What is clear is that Mikel Arteta has a preference – he likes his left backs to also be comfortable playing inside. In Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Ricardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie he has 4 full back options who play the game exactly he wants it. This is not a flaw. This is a clarity in thinking and successful recruitment,.. You would struggle to find anyone who would criticise any of the 4’s signings. Excluding the odd online attention seeker.
Moving into the midfield, we have Leandro Trossard and Eberechi Eze. These are the only two that you could make a case for that Arteta has tried to “change their position”
Leandro Trossard
What a signing Trossard has been. There is no debate. And he has contributed at Arsenal on both flanks, more centrally and further upfront. Trossard’s versatility is an asset, not a flaw. And he has changed so many games for us playing left wing.
Eberechi Eze
Removing the debate as to whether Eze has been a flop or not, Arteta has not changed his position.
Like Trossard, Eze is a versatile attacked. Whilst his preference to play centrally, he has spent much of his career on the wings. And he has continued that at Arsenal.
In summary, the only flaw I see is from an individual deciding to moan that Arteta attempts to change players positions. He does not. Hr just likes versatile players who are comfortable no matter where they are on the pitch.
Football has moved passed rigid 442. Almost every team now looks to recruit “total footballers” where centre backs can play out wide, full backs can cover centrally, defenders can push into midfield, midfielders can play out wide to help overload, and so on.
It really is just a load of attention seeking old waffle. But hey, she got her $3 from Elon and a bit of attention from London’s biggest Arsenal blog. So she will see that as a success (I am assuming gender here).
And ultimately, all players mentioned above, Eze aside, excelled last season and have been fantastic signings.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 