Arsenal’s 2025 summer to be “carbon copy” of 2024 transfer targets

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Good morning from sunny Malta!

Fed up with the English weather, I thought I would treat myself to a late break. Stepping off the plane in a hoody and jeans was not the right choice!

Today is my first full day, and I am heading down to the Blue Grotto. I’ve decided to stay in Valletta rather than the livelier St Julian’s and the view from my hotel is incredible.

A tweet is floating about this morning from back in March. It came off the back of a The Athletic article written by David Ornstein outlining what he believed to be our transfer plans this summer.

Now I am not going to go as far as others and praise Ornstein as a godlike character who knows about everything Arsenal. What he predicted as our transfer window was not ground breaking stuff. Most of us also had the same list of positions.

What it highlights though is just how well thought out our windows are now. Whilst some fans were crying about the lack of signings early doors, we ended up securing 4 of our 5 targets.

In came Raheem Sterling (back up for Saka/Martinelli), Mikel Merino (a new 6, with no one leaving), Ricardo Calafiori (left back) and Neto (back up keeper).

It was only a striker that we failed to sign. Some will attempt to paint this as a failure due to a new striker being our “number one priority”. But you have to remember that Ornstein wrote this in March.

On 14 March 2024, Havertz had played just 3 league games upfront, scoring in all 3. Up to that point, a new striker was a priority.

Over the remainder of the season, Havertz would continue upfront and score 8 goals in 11 games as our centre forward.

Havertz form meant that we potentially had our new striker. His form also led him to become Germany’s starting striker at the Euro’s.

What Havertz’s form also did was raise the bar for any incoming striker – no longer were we looking for a replacement for the injury-prone Gabriel Jesus. We were now looking for someone better than Kai Havertz, Germany’s first choice striker and 8 goals in 11 games.

We went all out for Benjamin Sesko, but ultimately the Slovenian decided to stay at RB Leipzig.

Sesko would not have come in above Havertz.

At 21, he would have dovetailed nicely with Kai, sharing the load, with Havertz aso being an option deeper. Sesko is instead playing regularly in Germany.

Beyond Sesko, I struggled to come up with a striker that could come in and do better than Havertz – and I’m talking about more than just his goal scoring prowess.

We were linked with both Ivan Toney and Victor Oshimen. It is telling where both of these ended up, and neither is now playing top level football. Ollie Watkins was another we were linked with, but his counter attacking style does not suit us.

I would not be too surprised if Sesko is on the market next summer, and I would expect Arsenal to go for him again. Although with Havertz’s form this season, there is no guarantee Sesko would start.

Next summer will probably actually be a carbon copy of 2024, in terms of positional targets.

A new striker will be hunted down, replacing Gabriel Jesus.

A new 6 or 8 will join, depending on who leaves – my gut is Jorginho will leave whilst Thomas Partey will sign a new 2 or 3 year deal. Whether we get a new 6 or 8 will then depend on how Mikel Arteta sees Declan Rice.

Personally, I like Rice as the deepest midfielder. And unlike England, we have the players who can come deep and take the ball of him. He will then be backed up by Partey (if he stays), leading us to need another 8 to compete with Merino and Martin Odegaard. This could be Olexsandr Zinchenko.

The flip side is Rice continues in that more advanced midfield role, backed up by Merino. We then need to out and sign a top number 6 who will play ahead of Partey.

A defender will then be needed.

Time has surely run out for Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney, whilst I would be surprised if Jakub Kiwior remains after another season on the bench.

Those 3 departures would leave us with Timber, White, Calafiori and Skelly-Lewis as our full back options (alongside Zinchenko who will become a utility man), and Saliba and Gabriel as our centre back options.

The middle looks light with just two “specialist” central defenders, although White and Calafiori could both spot into their sides of the defence. I think we will look for one more specialist though, and that could be Jorrel Hato.

Finally, this summer we loaned in Sterling and Neto. Both will need to be replaced next summer.

Neto’s loan deal could become permanent. Although this depends on whether he wants his career to tail off as a back up keeper, and whether he is showing the right levels in training.

Joan Garcia is a long term target for Arteta. We were priced out of him last summer but we might go again this.

And then we have Sterling.

We will not pay Sterling’s wages. Nor do I expect him to take a huge pay cut to join us.

I would not be surprised if instead of it being a back up to Martinelli and Saka, we go and get someone who is better than Gabi, with the Brazilian becoming that back up. Could we go back in for Nico Williams?

Anyway, my bus is 2 minutes away from the Blue Grotto. Have a great day and hopefully it is not too cold back in Blighty!

Keenos

Martinelli injury, Humbled Haaland and Guardiola departing

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Martinelli injury

With 2 goals and 2 assists in the last 3 games, it felt like Martinelli was finally regaining his confidence and returning to form, so it is frustrating to read that he hobbled off in training yesterday for Brazil.

It is not yet clear if it was a pre-caution, or a sign of a bigger issue. What we do know is Gabi was feeling discomfort in his right calf, and he had the area strapped during training. He has since had an MRI scan.

I would be surprised if he plays against Peru, and a longer absence will be frustrating for Mikel Arteta having also seen Bukayo Saka pick up a hamstring injury for England.

What I would say is in Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Leandro Trossard, with have 3 options who can all play outwide against Bournemouth this weekend.

If either Martinelli or Saka is not fully fit, we need to look long term and give them a week off. Following Bournemouth is Shakhtar at home followed by Liverpool away.

Without being arrogant, we should overcome Bournemouth with a front 3 of Sterling, Havertz and Jesus. Saka and Martinelli can then focus on getting fit for Liverpool.

Humbled Haaland

In Martin Odegaards absence, Erling Haaland has been wearing the captains armband.

Following last nights 5-1 defeat to Austria, the stand in captain refused to answer media questions, highlighting that great goal scorers do not necessarily make great leaders.

Players should always be angry and upset when they lose, but a captain should also be aware of his obligation to face up to defeat. Not to run away, hide and cry. Haaland is clearly not leadership material.

I have always thought that Haaland comes across is arrogant. As aloof. That everyone else is below him. And this might be what has helped him become the greatest goal scorer of his generation.

Maybe he needs to take his own advice and stay a bit more humble. Realise that defeats are part of the game. That you can not expect to win every game. And that when you do not get a positive result, you can not just throw your toys out of your pram, abuse others and hide away from your obligatins.

Guardiola departing

At the risk of becoming a Manchester City blog for the day, I want to talk about Roy Keane saying England should “go for” Pep Guardiola.

I get where Roy is coming from. England should go out for the best. But it also shows the Irishman is grasping for headlines in the same way as his pal Greame Souness. it is very clickbait of Roy to say England should go for Pep.

What I did not realise, however, is that Pep’s Manchester City contract is expiring at the end of the season, and Pep has been very coy about his future saing recently “I’ve not decided anything, everything can happen. So I don’t know. Let’s see on my future. I still need to reflect and decide what I want to do.”

Considering Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool, and Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander Arnold are in the last season of their contract, the English football could look very different in 12 months. And a host of departures could leave the door open for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.

Arteta has build a young squad that should stay together for the next 5 or 6 years. But we now just need to win the trophies to keep the players happy. Pep departing could put City into disarray. We are perfectly positioned to take advantage of any drop off in City’s performances over the next half a decade.

Keenos

Souness: Wenger a lucky man, not a football man

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What a bitter, bitter man Graeme Souness is.

In a podcast with Simon jordan and Troy Deeney, he has sated that Arsene Wenger was not a football man, just a lucky man.

He goes on to claim that he inherited the “best back 4 in the world”, a “22 year old Dennis Berkgamp and Ian Wright” and got lucky that he managed in a time when “French football produced its greatest ever group of players”.

What a load of rubbish!

Now I get these days that the media these days is all about “creating viral moments”.

Driven by the rise of AFTV and the like, the likes of TalkSPORT now rely on their presenters making outlandish statements or going on rants that can then be clipped for social media in the hope it goes viral. In turn that leads to an increase in revenue.

And podcasts are like this on steroids.

The podcasting world is crammed with idiots fighting for airtime. With podcasters trying to say anything and everything in an attempt to go viral on social media. And this is why a gambling company would put Souness, Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney in a room together.

The Up Front podcast is not about providing an informative look on football by those who have spent decades in the game. It is all about creating viral moments that lead viewers to setting up a betting account.

Souness clearly has a grudge against Wenger. And this comes out later in his rant when he explains that Wenger was the “only manager that ever” came into his office after game and how after a game, he would go to Wenger’s office and Arsene would “never be there”. Jordan is probably spot on when he says “maybe he didn’t like you”.

As for the statement, I always laugh at the back 5 statement.

Yes, Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown and Winterburn were a fantastic defence, but Wenger made them better. But each one of those has spoken about Wenger and what he did for his careers. They all credit Wenger and his new fitness regime with letting them pay on so long.

As for his comments about Bergkamp and Wright….

The Dutchmen was 26 when he joined us. He had struggled for consistent form since leaving Ajax for Inter Milan at 24. In 1997, under Arsene Wenger and aged 28, he was named the 3rd greatest football on earth by FIFA.

Meanwhile, Ian Wright was on the decline. He lasted one season under Wenger as a starter before losing his spot to a teenage Nicolas Anelka. Was that lucky?

Wenger built an invincible team. His back four contained a Cameroonian midfielder signed from a mid-table Spanish team and an Ivorian midfielder/winger who had never played centre back, signed for £150k.

In midfield it was a Frenchman who was sitting on Milan’s bench, an unknown Brazilian playing in Brazil, a Swedish fella with red hair and a soft Frenchman who every pundit said di not have the heart to make an impact in the Premier League.

Up top was a former wonderkid winger who was found sitting on the bench at Juventus, An ageing Bergkamp. A Kanu. A player no one else would touch due to heart and knee issues.

Souness is attempting to re-write history with his slander.

I would rather listen to what Ray Parlour, Lee Dixon, Thierry Henry et al say on Wenger (Adams has become bitter in his later years due to being snubbed for a job. What he says these days is very different to what he wrote in his 1998 autobiography Addicted).

Souness is clearly a very unhappy man. Or is just peddling extreme views at the request of a betting company to get clips going viral. And if it is the later I guess I have fed the beast with this blog!

A final thought.

Arsene Wenger signed George Weah. He was discovered playing for Tonnerre Yaoundé in Cameroon. He would go on to win the Ballon D’or.

Greame Souness signed Ali Dia. He had never played a professional game of football before. He was signed following someone calling Souness and telling him Dia was Weah’s cousin. It is considered the worst transfer in Premier League history.

Keenos