Like many, I was sceptical at the signing of Leandro Trossard.
I viewed him as a fairly average player who was trying to force through a big moves based on a single decent spell. I was not impressed with his behaviour post-World Cup.
But he has shown in the two games since joining just how key a signing he could be.
One of our issues this season has been a lack of attacking options on the bench. If Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka or Gabriel Martinelli were not quite doing it, the only option was Eddie Nketiah.
This meant that Martinelli and Saka would play the full 90 minutes. Even when struggling to break opponents down.
Against Manchester’s United and City, we saw just how dangerous a “fresh pair of legs” can be.
Martinelli started the Manchester United game. His Duracell bunny running drains a full back.
After 65 minutes of facing Martinelli, he was switched out for Trossard. And the new signing was integral in helping to set up our winning goal.
Trossard started in the defeat to Man City and gave young Rico Lewis a torrid time. And on the 66th minute he was taken off for Martinelli.
1-nil down, the substitution rejuvenated us. Martinelli became the biggest threat on the pitch, putting 90 minutes of hard running into a 30 minute cameo.
Whilst against City, the sub failed to lead to a goal, you can see in the future that it is going to have a huge impact.
Martinelli or Trossard will now know that they only need to pace their effort of 65 minutes. And then with half an hour to go, a tired full back is going to face a new electric threat.
There is a lot to be excited about over The Arsenal right now.
Marcus Rashford “is in the form of his life”. Right now every ball he strikes hits the back of the net.
He has been to the brink and back over the last 18 months.
The fall out from his missed penalty at the 2021 Euro’s was followed by him receiving the majority of the vile racist abuse aimed at himself, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho.
He then arguably made a target for himself by continuing to speak out on social matters. And the more statements he released, the worse his on-field performances got.
This led to more abuse with many saying he should “concentrate on football”.
He was clearly struggling mentally off the pitch which in turn affected his performances on.
Under Erik Ten Hag, he looks rejuvenated. Scoring for fun and back playing with a smile on his face. But he is also in contract dispute.
His current deal was just to expire in the summer, but Man U triggered a 1-year extension. That would ensure his boyhood side would not lose him for nothing in the summer.
But as his performances improved, as did his wage demands.
Already one of Man U’s highest paid players, he wants more to stay. But that would contradict the clubs new wage structure bought in post Cristiano Ronaldo.
If he does not agree a deal before the summer, he will probably be sold.
Over the years, Arsenal have been linked with him on numerous occasions. And there was a time when I’d have said “let’s sign Rashford”. But if he is on the market this summer, Arsenal would do well to stay clear.
Rashford can not pass
This season Rashford has been electric. Playing on the edge, beating his opponent for fun, and scoring goals.
But when Manchester United are trying to build up play, it often breaks down when it gets to Rashford.
In the Premier League this season, he averages just 77.1% psd completion. That would make him the 21st worst passer at Arsenal.
Only one Arsenal player has started more than 5 league games and has a lower pass completion ratio – Keiran Tierney.
Tierney and Marquinhos are the only two to have a pass completion date under 80%.
Rashford scored a great goal against Nottingham Forest. He was also Man U’s worst passer with just 75%. And that has been the story of his season.
Playing on the counter, or on the fringes, he is exceptional. But if he is asked to get involved in build up play, he is sloppy.
And he doesn’t defend
Arsenal defend from the front, and everyone does a job tracking back.
Own reason we are top of the league is because of the work Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli put in.
They press the opponents defenders, but also track back.
Defensively Rashford is poor at both ends of the pitch.
He doesn’t put pressure on the opposition defence, nor does he cover Luke Shaw.
Bukayo Saka was consistently left one on one v Shaw. Rashford usually hanging around further up the field waiting for the break.
Attack is the first form of defence and Rashford (under the orders of Ten Hag) seem to think that by staying high up the field, the Englishman will pin back the full back without needing to track back.
Issue is Arsenal do not play like that.
Carried when not scoring
If Rashford does not score, he contributes very little else to the side.
He scored a great goal against Arsenal, but then was anonymous for the rest of the game.
Man U are playing with 10-men until he comes alive as he gets a sniff of goal.
No one is a passenger under Arteta. Every player has to be involved for 90-minutes.
We can not afford to carry Rashford
Poor man’s Mbappe
The way Rashford plays is not too dissimilar to Mbappe.
The Frenchman also hangs forward, wide left and contributes little defensively.
But he is twice the player of Rashford. And also plays in an easier league.
Mbappe can afford to play the way he does for PSG as they dominate most games. He could not do that for Arsenal.
Once this spell of goal scoring is over, he will return to the average player he is.
High wages
His form means that he will be demanding more money then he is currently on – reportedly £200k a week.
Manchester United are currently refusing to pay him what he wants, having introduced a new wage structure.
His wage demands are linked to his knowledge that he can move for free in 18 months and get himself a huge signing on fee.
If his wage demands are considered unreasonable by Man U, then Arsenal would probably come to the same conclusion.
PSG
Everything taken into account, you can see why Rashford is top of the list to replace Mbappe at PSG.
They will pay him the wages he wants, and let him have the attacking freedom he demands.
He will be a good suit for them. He will not be great for us.
In the last few months, Eddie Nketiah has shown that he is more than capable to be understudy to Gabriel Jesus.
With 9 goals this season, he is currently our top scorer.
The lad always had natural goal scoring talent, but in the last 18 months he has developed his game dramatically. He has also improved physically.
Nketiah has put the time in on the training ground and in the gym to become a better player, pushing himself and his body as he strived to make it at The Arsenal. And we should all commend that.
Meanwhile, over in France, another Arsenal striker is ripping up the league.
Leading the Ligue 1 scoring charts is Folarin Balogun (at the time of writing). The Arsenal youngster is on loan at Reims, recently scoring a hat trick agains FC Lorient.
Back in December, we wrote how Mikel Arteta had a double striker dilema. That in Balogun and Nketiah we had two players chomping at the bit to be long term 2nd choice to Jesus, but there probably was not space for both.
The form of Balogun and Nketiah since the return of the World Cup has only intensified the debate. But is there still a discussion to be had?
We are likely to qualify for the Champions League next season. And with that we need a bigger, deeper squad. Is there the space to accomodate Jesus, Nketiah and Balogun?
I am not sure.
Like almost every team in the Premier League, we play one up top. That means game time is limited for the 3rd striker. We have recently seen Newcastle loan out Chris Wood to Nottingham Forest as he could not get a sniff behind Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak.
But Newcastle do not have European football, so there are less games to go around. So what about those teams that are in Europe? Who are their strikers?
Manchester City: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez Manchester United: Wout Weghorst, Anthony Martial Tottenham: Harry Kane, Richarlison Liverpool: Darwin Núñez, Roberto Firmino Chelsea: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Armando Broja
Each team has two “proper” strikers. And this is replicated throughout most of Europe:
Barcelona: Robert Lewandowski Real Madrid: Karim Benzema, Mariano Bayern Munich: Thomas Muller, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting Napoli: Victor Osimhen, Giovanni Simeone AC Milan: Olivier Giroud, Divock Origi
The above highlights how every team that plays 1 up top only have 2 front line strikers. The only sides with more are the likes of PSG and Juventus who both play 2 up top.
When I talk about front line strikers, I am talking about lads that are primarly forwards. Not those that “can play up top”. I am also talking about central strikers, not wide forwards or those that play in behind the striker or “false 9”.
In Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, we have 2 front line forwards.
Now many of you will be saying “what about Son?” or “what about Havertz?” or “what about Jota?”. The answer is simple.
They are players who are primarly in the squad to play a different role – either a winger, a wide forward, a 10 and so on. They are not front line strikers. And Arsenal have players that already play a similar role.
Both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard have played up top in the Premier League. They are our de facto 3rd and 4th choice strikers, in the same way Son and Jota are Tottenham and Liverpool’s 3rd choice striking options. How Gakpo will be Liverpool’s 4th choice.
If both Jesus and Nketiah were out injured, we would see either Trossard or Martinelli down the middle with the other playing out wide.
So we have the 2 front line lads, and they are backed up by wideman who have played centrally in their career. Almost every team has a similar set up.
This then takes us back to the “Balogun or Nketiah” debate. If we only need 2 front men, we do not need Balogun and Nketiah. And for me it is “better the devil you know”.
Balogun has done bits in France. He has outscored Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. It is easy to write the headlines.
But to put this into perspective, Alexandre Lacazette is 2nd in the Ligue 1 scoring charts. Balogun has one more goal than him.
Lacazette has 13 league goals this season. He got 4 in the Premier League last.
In his 5-years with Arsenal, he only scored more than 13 Premier League goals once – 14 in 2017/18. Does this show the gulf in class between England and France?
A player who looked off the pace in England is back scoring for fun again in France. And this brings some perspective as to what Balogun is doing.
Even Alexis Sanchez is scoring in Ligue 1.
The Chilean has 7 league goals this season. That is his highest league return since the 2017/18 season, when he got 7 for Arsenal before scoring 2 for Manchester United in the second half of the season.
One aspect of Nketiah’s game he has dramatically improved in the last 18 months is his work rate and build up play. This is shown in his improved 83.1% pass completion. Balogun’s is down at just 67.8%.
Nketiah is playing at a higher level than Balogun, and showing he has more to his game. Right now Flo is just a goal scorer.
So if we could only keep one in the summer, Nketiah would surely get the nod?
Balogun would also potentially raise a higher transfer fee.
He is younger and on lower wages than Nketiah. A team would not have to factor in huge wages when signing him.
Anyone that signed Nketiah would have to match his £115,000 salary. That would push down his transfer fee. Balogun meanwhile reportedly earns just £32,000 per week.
A side could double Balogun’s wages, offer him a 5-year deal, and the total paid would be over £13m less than signing Nketiah to his current wages onto a 5 year deal. Some of that saving would likely find its way into Arsenal’s coffers.
At the moment, Transfrmarkt value Nketiah at €18m and Balogun at €14m. So you can see how a club saving £13m on wages could boost Balogun’s fee beyond what we would get for Nketiah.
What could Arsenal realistically get for Balogun? That is the question.
I am seeing some say “£40m”. Considering what Chelsea have spent on players with a similar level of experience, it could reach that high.
He is the French top scorer, and if he finishes high in their charts his value will sore.
In Europe’s top 5 leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France), the only men to outscore him are Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen and Robert Lewandowski.
If the first 3 of those were available for transfer this summer, we would be talking about fees in excess of £100m.
Two other players that make a good comparison are Ivan Toney and Christopher Nkunku.
Chelsea have reportedly paid £62m for Nkunku, whilst you could see the likes of Manchester United pay £50m for Toney (if his betting charges go away).
If Toney left Brentford, then someone like Balogun would become a target. I could also see him joining the likes of West Ham, Brighton, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester City and more (depending on who stays up).
All these sides are crying out for a goal scorer. Balgoun is young and Homegrown, and with what he has done in France, will be top of many of those club transfer lists. All of them will not hestitate in paying £40m.
That £40m could then be put towards further strengthening our squad.
The right hand side behind Saka still lacks depth. We shold be looking to repeat what we did on the left hand side and buy someone to cover and compete with Saka. And that player could potentially become a further option down the middle.
In and around the £40m mark (or less), we are talking about Yeremy Pino, Nico Williams, Marco Asensio, Bryan Mbeumo and many more.
We would be strengthening our squad, whilst breaking even on transfers, using Hale End products to finance more suitable players.
Every goal Balogun scores just increasing what we sell him for in the summer.
Keenos
‘It’s fine that people hate us. It’s part of our history.’
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 