Morning all.

There really is not much happening at Arsenal at the moment.

The usual ITK’s on social media craving for attention with their fake transfer links. The usual characters who have been at it year after year. You would think they would have got bored / grown up by now.

They must have a cog missing in their brain to still be craving the attention, pretending to speak to agents, etc. Some of them have been at it for years.

Although just as crazy are those that follow them, that think these people know what they are talking about.

It is not just quiet at The Arsenal, but across domestic football.

Bar Emiliano Buendía to Aston Villa and Ibrahima Konaté to Liverpool, there has been no other transfer movement of note.

It is interesting when you venture beyond “Arsenal Twitter” you begin to realise every club has the same complaints.

I see fans of Arsenal, Newcastle, Everton and more moaning that they have not yet signed a player. They act like everyone else has already done a lot of business. The truth is every Premier League club is currently in the same boat, with very little happening.

So basically if you are a fan of Arsenal (or of another club that have stumbled across this blog), do not get your knickers in a twist. No one has really done any business yet.

The Euros is bubbling on.

Scotland have celebrated a 0-0 draw like they had won the thing.

1 point and 0 goals from the first two games. Not sure why their fans are being so boastful? First international tournament for 23 years and they could end up limping out without scoring.

Their fans will point to their “small population” but compare them to what Wales did in 2016. What Iceland have done. And Northern Ireland.

I guess celebrating a 0-0 draw shows why they have struggled for so long at international level.

Spurs still do not have a manager. Still a laughing stock.

Enjoy your week.

Keenos

Old Skool Bucket Hats…https://t.co/vlaHeBWIC8 pic.twitter.com/fApsQ4chIz

— 🎗 ///SHE WORE/// 🎗 (@SheWore) June 15, 2021

There are simply not many good coaches on the market at the moment.

Yes, there is Antonio Conte who recently walked out on Inter Milan due to disagreements he had with the club’s board over transfers for next season. But beyond him, there is not many.

This is highlighted by the fact that Real Madrid went for Carlo Ancelotti – a manager past his best who they sacked 6 years ago.

You then look at Tottenham.

They are becoming a running joke with how many managers they have approached, and been turned down by (or turned down themselves). The most recent one is Gennaro Gattuso.

Spurs have been snubbed by Julian Nagelsmann, who understandably preferred Bayern Munich. Brendan Rodgers preferred to stay at Leicester City, whilst Erik Ten Hag decided to remain at Ajax for another year. Whilst they made a  tentative  approach for the return of Mauricio Pochettino.

Tottenham spoke to Conte, but turned it down following his demands. Whilst a move for Paulo Fonseca broke down after Daniel Levy et al changed their mind on him.

What is embarrassing for Spurs is every move they make in the manager market seems to be played out publicly.

When Arsene Wenger left Arsenal, the senior leadership team came up with a dozen potential replacements. This is not unusual.

Some turned the opportunity to chat further about the job down straight away. Others came in for a formal chat. This is normal when recruiting for a high level position regardless of industry.

But it was all very private.

Tottenham’s public pursuit has made them a laughing stock.

When you look at the candidates they have approached, are any of those actually available (ie excluding Nagelsmann, Ten Hag and Rodgers) better candidates than Arteta?

Conte is the only outstanding candidate.

Tottenham are not the only side to have struggled to recruit a new manager.

As mentioned, Madrid have gone backwards to get Ancelotti, whilst Celtic, Everton and Crystal Palace have all struggled.

Celtic took over 100 days to appoint Neil Lennon’s replacement, and ended up with an unknown Australian.

Meanwhile Everton’s pursuit is only slightly less embarrassing than Tottenham.

There had reportedly been talks with Nuno Espirito Santo before settling recently on Rafa Benitez. Their fans have revolted.

Benitez has not done anything relevant in football since his spell at Napoli.

He followed that up with being sacked after 25 games with Real Madrid and being relegated with Newcastle and has since spent a couple of years in China.

The fact he is currently top of Everton’s list shows how few good candidates there are.

And it filters down.

Palace are also struggling to recruit.

You almost feel they need Spurs and Everton to make their decisions so they can scope up who is left. Or are they waiting for England to crash out of the Euros to get Gareth Southgate?

What is clear is that Antonio Conte is the only truly top coach currently on the market. And he has had a falling out with Inter over transfer funds and Spurs rejected him because they could not meet his demands.

You have to wonder what he is expecting from clubs considering the Covid world we live in.

Arteta is going no where. And if he was, I would be hugely concerned as to the quality of manager that replaces him.

In the meantime, we can all keep laughing at Spurs.

Keenos

Yesterday was a busy day for the Arsenal transfer rumour mill.

There were reports of a failed bid for Brighton’s Ben White, whilst Aston Villa targeted Emile Smith Rowe – Villa are clearly looking to splash the cash ahead of recouping their expenditure by selling Jack Grealish.

Late in the day Arsenal were heavily linked to Sheffield United’s Aaron Ramsdale.

23-year-old Ramsdale has recently been called into the England Euro 2021 squad as a replacement for the injured Dean Henderson.

Replacing Henderson for England mirrors his club career where he also replaced his compatriot at Sheffield United following the latters return to Manchester United.

Ramsdale, like Sheffield United, had a tough season last year.

For the first 4 months of the season he got nowhere near any shot on target.

However he showed signs of becoming a really good keeper in the last third of the season.

Sheffield United fans are still split as to whether he has the quality to make it at the very top, but he is apparently a “top kid”.

The links to Ramsdale are interesting because it seemed Arsenal were on the verge of signing Andre Onana depending on the outcome of his doping case.

He has had his suspension reduced meaning that he can play from the 4th of November.

Talk was the Onana was going to come in to replace Bernd Leno – who could be on his way back to Germany.

There is a lot of logic behind Arsenal signing both Ramsdale and Onana.

If Leno leaves, and with no established number 2, Arsenal would need 2 new goal keepers.

If Onana is available for as little as £7million and is our primary target, we should be signing him regardless of his suspension.

That means we need a number 2 who can come in and do a job for 3 months until Onana has returned.

Ramsdale is reportedly available for £20million, is just 23 and is home grown.

With 2 years Premier League experience under his belt (one at Bournemouth, one at Sheffield United), he is a man that could come in and do that job until Onana is off his ban.

The pair would cost Arsenal in the region of £27million combined – the price tag would be somewhat offset with the sale of Leno.

That would leave Arsenal with Onana and Ramsdale as the two goal keeper options. I am happy with that.

Arsenal have also been linked with Ramsdale’s team mate Sander Berge.

The puzzle for Berge is where will he fit in.

He has played central midfield his entire career but some feel he could end up at centre back.

His problem is despite his height, he is one of those that’s smaller in the air when he jumps and defensively questionable.

He’s also slow accelerating and takes a while to reach his top speed.

Berge is a player that would get better with better players around him and has undoubted potential. But you would want to see him have another 12 months Premier League football under his belt before spending £30-35million on him.

So Ramsdale and Onanan YES. Berge NO.

Keenos