The World Cup is now in the rearview mirror and we are on the cusp of proper football returning.
Hopefully the Qatar World Cup was a lesson for those in authority on picking future hosts. But I imagine the decision makers value filling their own pockets over and above what the majority of global fans desire.
In two days, we will be kicking off against West Ham in the Premier League.
The 8pm kick-off is not great, but at least it will allow us all to get over the Christmas hangover and have a left-overs Boxing Day lunch before heading to the boozer for the game.
Just keep an eye on those train times – Monday is a Bank Holiday.
It has been an interesting year, and one we will try and sum up between Christmas and New Year.
All we have left to do is wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Have a hood one and see you on the 26th!
Keenos
Our deadline on all gifts has now gone. We are still taking and dispatching orders, but you will not get your items until the New Year.
If you still need something for Christmas, how about our new Gift Cards?
Last working day of the year for most (shout out to all those in retail and hospitality who will be working whilst we are sitting having dinner and a glass of port with loved ones).
I am really not sure how this came up for discussion, but recently the WhatsApp group came alive with the idea of replacing Aaron Ramsdale.
It was baffling.
Now Ramsdale is not perfect. You probably would not class him in the top 10 keepers in the world. But that does not mean he is not the best choice for Arsenal.
Football is all about styles, and signing the right players to fit that style.
Some might think a goal keeper is not impacted by the teams style. Afterall, they just stop shots, come out for crosses and kick the ball. But these people would be wrong, and have failed to move with the times.
There are mainly two “styles” of keeper – the Line Keeper and the Sweeper Keeper.
Enke sadly took his own life back in 2009 and the book should be an important read for every football fan, and footballer.
In the book, Enke’s disastrous spell at Barcelona shows how important it is not get your keeper right.
Barcelona played with a high defensive line. The likes of Frank de Boer, Carlos Puyol and Michael Reiziger would defend the halfway line.
To do this, they needed a goal keeper whose starting position would be the edge of the box.
Someone who was quick off the line, and able to sweep up any balls over that top. Enke was not this. He was a “Line Keeper”.
A Line Keeper usually excels at shot stopping, eliminating threats from crosses and quickly recovers after blocking a shot. He rules the 6 yard box.
They tend to not be the quickest, are uncomfortable coming outside of the box, and rarely want the ball at their feet.
Whilst Enke was a better stopper than Roberto Bonano, the Argentine kept the German out of the team.
They then had Victor Valdes coming through.
Valdes was not the best keeper. He was actually average at shot stopping, at coming for crosses. Your traditional attributes needed to be a keeper. But he was brilliant as a sweeper keeper.
He loved being on the edge of the box, loved sprinting out to stop an attack, and was very comfortable on the ball.
Valdes and Enke were two very different keepers. And whenever Enke came in for Valdes he struggled.
Barcelona’s high line did not suit Enke’s style of play.
When he came out from his box, he looked uncomfortable. And when he stayed on his line, Barcelona became too easy to get in behind.
Enke’s first spell of depression came during his spell at Barcelona.
Back to Arsenal. Ramsdale is a Valdes regen.
He might make a few errors, and certainly does not save as many as we like, but he has an important role to play as sweeper keeper.
With Gabriel and William Saliba, we play a very high line. To do that we need someone like Ramsdale who will be quick out the box to shut down those attacks.
Likewise, our goal keeper becomes a 11th outfield player when we are passing the ball around the bach.
I have lost count of how often we have played deep, inviting the press, utilised Ramsdale and then launched a counter attack.
Alisson and Ederson are the two best in world at this. We are not signing either of them.
For me, Ramsdale is in a group of players who can be considered “best of the rest” – alongside the likes of Mike Maignon, David Raya, Geronimo Rulli and Manuel Neuer.
Names floated in the WhastApp group to replace Ramsdale were Gianluigi Donnarumma and Jan Oblak.
Both of these are world class goal keepers. Ramsdale is not.
But both are also Line Keepers, and would struggle at the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Barcelona who rely on the keeper being involved in the buold up play. Who need the keeper to have a starting position at the edge of the box.
Oblak is a great example of having a keeper that is perfect for the style of play.
Atletico Madrid play very deep, defensive football. That means Oblak only really needs to be a shot stopper and deal with crosses. Two things he is excellent at.
Move Oblak to Barcelona, ask him to stand on the edge of the box, to cut out balls over the top and join the build up play, and he would flop. He would not be the keeper he currently is.
Same have also called for Edu to “get the cheque book out” and sign Serbia’s Vanja Milinković-Savić.
He is another who is a beast of a keeper that smothers anything that is in the 6-yard box. But no good coming off his line, outside his box.
The likes of Thibaut Courtois, Hugo Lloris and Petr Cech are other examples of Line Keepers. All great at their job, but all Bambi on ice when coming out of their box.
We all remember the bad old days of Bernd Leno who, whilst probably a better shop stopper than Ramsdale, looked like a deer in headlights when he had the ball at his feet.
Ramsdale is 24 and, importantly, home grown.
The only realistic man that could come in for him is AC Milan’s Mike Maignan. But he would not improve us enough to make the transfer worthwhile doing.
So whilst Ramsdale might have his flaws, the names you all mention to replace him also have flaws. And would struggle to play in Arteta’s system.
Ramsdale will be Arsenal’s number one for many years to come.
Keenos
Our deadline on all gifts has now gone. We are still taking and dispatching orders, but you will not get your items until the New Year.
If you still need something for Christmas, how about our new Gift Cards?
The friendly defeat to Juventus had many people saying that shows we NEED to buy in January”.
Those saying this are wrong. We should buy in January but we do not need to buy in January.
Being desperate to do something is what can lead to mistakes. Lead to poor decision making. Leads to departing from a well planned strategy.
Edu and is team will want to recruit in January. They have their targets. Are doing the work in the background and will hope to get the deals done that they want to.
But last January showed we will not make poor decisions just for the sake of getting someone in.
Most fans are calling for us to get in another forward. Someone that can play out wide and potentially cover Gabriel Jesus’s absence down the middle (or allow Gabriel Martinelli to move centrally). You will find very few disagreeing that we should be investing this area. And I completely agree.
Edu will have his list of targets. Seemingly top of that list is Mykhailo Mudryk. Reports are Shakhtar Donetsk are holding out for £85million for the 21-year-old.
That is a huge fee for someone who has played just 66 senior games.
Arsenal will not want to pay anywhere near that figure.
Edu will have this widow and the next two or three planned out. And the more we spend on one player means less available for another. That is why clubs negotiate. Why they don’t just “pay the asking price”.
With around £120m to spend over the next 2 windows, £85m on Mudryk will mean less money for a central midfielder, less money for another forward, and less money for further reinforcements.
If the Ukrainian club do not lower their demands, Arsenal will look elsewhere (and also possibly return in the summer when Mudryk might be cheaper).
But where will both of those options leave us in January?
Well if the plan is to return for Mudryk in the summer, then we probably will not buy a winger in January – the days of getting in short term cover at big costs are over.
If Edu decides to recruit someone other than Mudryk in January, it will be a permanent solution. It will be the next person on the list – someone like Cody Gakpo.
But then what if Gakpo is also unobtainable. As is 3rd on the list. And 4th how far down to we keep going?
We saw last year with the pursuit of Dusan Vlahovic that if a deal for our first choice does not materialise, Edu will happily “keep his powder dry” until the right target appears. And this January, despite us being in the title race, we will follow a similar philosophy.
Last January, Vlahovic was clearly our number one target. Despite our best efforts? He moved to Juventus. Edu did not panic.
He would have known that Jesus would be becoming available in the summer, and the Brazilian was the next man on Edu’s list.
Had he panic bought and got in Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Alexander Isak, we probably would not have been able to recruit Jesus.
Since the last January transfer window shut, Isak has scored just 5 goals. DCL 3. The pair have played a combined 9 Premier League games this season.
Both would have cost in excess of £50m last January and, had history repeated itself, been huge flops for Arsenal.
If Edu can not get his first choice in this January (whether due to him going elsewhere or being out priced), and other long term options do not materialise, then expect him to follow what happened 12 months ago and sign no-one.
If you go too far down your potential targets list, and sign someone just for the sake of getting them in, you will end up with a very costly error.
Lucas Perez is the perfect example of that.
Other deals that summer didn’t happen, and we ended up signing Perez out of no-where. Nearly £20m spent and he was clearly not up to standard. A waste of money.
Edu will be speaking to clubs, to agents, to intermediaries. He will know who is available in January and who is potentially coming available in the summer. He also knows our budget, and how buying someone else will impact other transfers.
Some might moan if we do not get someone in January. They would rather we over pay (and miss future targets as we have less money), or just get anyone in. They are more interested in us making a signing rather than who we sign.
These sort of people are short-termist. Reactionary.
They are also the type of fans that will demand we sign someone short-term, then if it doesn’t work out moan that we wasted money on a short term signing. The club are in a no-win situation with these.
I want us to sign a couple of players in January. An attacker and central midfielder. But they have to be the right players, at the right price.
And if the right players, at the right price, or not on the market, we should keep our pound notes in the pocket.
Edu will be ready to rest the Vlahovic decision from last year in January. He will only spend the money on players he wants. Not just sign someone because we need to buy.
Keenos
Our deadline on all gifts has now gone. We are still taking and dispatching orders, but you will not get your items until the New Year.
If you still need something for Christmas, how about our new Gift Cards?
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 