FA Cup final weekend and I do not think I have ever been so disinterested in one.
Usually, I would be buzzing for the biggest day in the English footballing calendar. Today I will not even watch it. Instead I will be in a garden centre in Harlow.
A bit of Arsenal chatter today about ceilings and floors.
Players that raise the ceiling are those that make the top end of the team better, and therefore raise the ceiling of the team. Think Declan Rice.
Meanwhile, players that raise the floor are those that come in at the bottom end of the squad, improving on those firing players. You can also raise the floor by signing “raise the ceiling” players, demoting a current starter to a back-up dancer and letting go the current squad player.
An example of this was seen last season when we signed Declan Rice. That one player raised both the ceiling and floor.
Rice was better than anything we had in midfield. But his recruitment also meant that Thomas Partey became 2nd choice, Jorginho 3rd choice and Mohamed Elneny a fringe player.
Jorginho as 3rd choice is a huge upgrade on Elneny who was previously 3rd choice. We also saw Albert Sambi Lokonga depart on loan.
If you raise the floor and ceiling at the same time, you are both improving the starting XI and improving the squad depth.
Talk is that Arsenal are looking to recruit one “ceiling” player. My bet is it will be that striker. The club will then look for 2-3 players that will raise the floor. I would imagine that will be a central midfielder and maybe another centre back.
This really shows how clear Arsenal, Edu and Mikel Arteta are thinking right now.
No longer does it feel like we are working without a plan, waiting to see who becomes available or is offered to us. We are determining our targets and going out and getting them.
Of course, it could be all for nothing as once against Manchester City will be outspending everyone.
There is already talk that they are looking to dump Matheus Nunes this summer. The former-Wolves midfielder was signed for £53m when they failed to secure Declan Rice. The fact the can discard £50m+ players like they are Uno cards highlights their financial doping.
We do not beat Manchester City by outspending them. We beat them through smarter recruitment.
Raising the ceiling and floor is good recruitment.
In other news, I see Lucas Paqueta could be in deep trouble having been charged with getting booked deliberately for “the improper purpose of affecting the betting market”. Could not happen to a nicer player at a nicer club.
West Ham got a little too big for their boots after a couple of seasons of finishing top 7, and then winning the Intertwobob Conference League thing. They then celebrated last year as they “did Arsenal out of £100m” whilst ceiling the only player that made them relevant.
Having pushed David Moyes out, they have recruited a Wolves reject. Their star midfielder is looking at a long, long ban and, with no Europe, the likes of Jarod Bowen and Mohamed Kudos might not be around much longer. I would take both at Arsenal as cover for Bukayo Saka. Their ceiling players are our raise the floor ones.
I would not be surprised if in 12-months time we are sitting here and West Ham and their god awful stadium have been relegated to the Championship.
But hey, you will always have that day you sold your star to Mikel Arteta.
Morning! Today’s blog comes from my garden as I have a cup of coffee in the sunshine. Is summer finally here?
Usually by mid-March I am in shorts at the football. This year I only stick them on with a game to go. It has been a long cold winter. Crazy that we are now less than month away from the longest day of the year. Then winter is coming.
As expected at this time of year, everything around Arsenal is quiet.
The season is over (and I can not be bothered to over analyse it). Players have gone away for a week or two before returning for their national team and management are recharging their batteries before the transfer window opens.
Season ticket renewals are in full swing.
I would advise everyone to check they received their confirmation email as the system broke on Tuesday. Anyone that renewed on Tuesday might find their payment was not taken and they have not actually renewed – even though the option to renew has now been removed from your account. If in doubt, call the club.
I renewed at about 7.30pm on Tuesday and everything went through OK. The issue seems to be for those that renewed earlier in the day.
The lack of any real Arsenal news has led to transfer speculation filling the silence. The top 3 stories on NewsNow are:
It does become tiresome at times going through the made up stories to try and find actual Arsenal news. And days like today when the sun is shining and birds are tweeting, I do not have the energy.
This weekend is a bank holiday. Fingers crossed the sun is out and if it is you might not hear much from me. There really is not too much to say and I have not yet started reviewing what the squad will look like next year.
So my suggestion to you all? Turn the phones off for the weekend. Have 3 days of no technology. 3 days of no football. Give yourself a recharge. You will feel better come Tuesday.
Enjoy your Friday. Enjoy the sunshine. Up The Arsenal.
A new striker is top of our list this summer. Despite us scoring more league goals in a single season than any other in our history, the forward line is an area that can be improved.
After much searching, amateur scouting and watching YouTube clips, Benjamin Sesko is the one I want for Arsenal.
Kai Havertz shows the way
I often cast my mind back to the January window in 2022 as Arsenal searched for a replacement for Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang. We were heavily linked with Dominic Calvert Lewin, Dusan Vlahovic and Alexander Isak; three strikers of a very distinct profile.
It was clear at this point that Arteta basically wanted a “more mobile Giroud” to lead his line. Someone who could work a defence with their movement, whilst also provide a physical presence in the box.
After missing out on Vlahovic, Arsenal turned down the opportunity to sign Isak in the summer and plumped for Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus was a completely different profile to the players we were previously looking at. Smaller, quicker, trickier. Although his hold up play is actually underrated.
In 2023 Arteta was focused on signing players that he thought would take us to the top 4. Jesus would be fine if we just wanted a top 4 challenge. But now we are title chasers and that means a new striker and a return to Arteta’s original plan.
In the second half of the season, due to injury and form, Kai Havertz was pushed further forward, replacing Jesus. Havertz would grab himself 8 goals and 7 assists in 13 games. This showed that a bigger, mobile, technically gifted striker is the way to go.
Sesko playing style
I have previously described Sesko as a “more mobile Dimitar Berbatov”.
Whilst he is not an out and out goal scorer or powerhouse forward in the Erling Haaland mould (who is?), he is a technically gifted player who has a great touch, great movement and a decent bit of pace.
He is not too dissimilar to Havertz, but has better instinct in the box and will be able to sniff out those goalscoring positions that Kai does not.
Age profile
In the back end of this season, Kai Havertz showed he is a genuine option as a striker for Arsenal, alongside Gabriel Jesus. That means that we no longer need to look for the “finished article” and that we could look for someone a little bit younger, a little bit rawer.
Sesko is just 20 years old (turns 21 in a week).
With the situation we are now in, we could afford to sign someone like Sesko and take our time developing. The Slovakian can play in tandem with Havertz, rather than be expected to come straight in and replace him.
A very high ceiling
Last summer, Sesko moved from Red Bull Salzburg to RB Leipzig for £20million. It was a huge step up from Austria to Germany.
Sesko started the first half of the season slowly, often coming off the bench for his new team. But as the season progressed, he established himself as their first choice striker and finished the season on a 7 game scoring streak.
14 goals in 31 Bundesliga games might not excite many, but 11 of those came in the last 16 games. Sesko proved he has that ability to step up to the next level.
The Premier League is a step up from the Bundesliga (gap not as big as Austria to Germany though). Sesko will need to continue working hard and step up again if he wants to be a regular starter for one of the best teams in Europe.
I believe he has the potential to become one of the best in Europe, and his 2nd half of the season form in Germany has shown he has the hunger to work hard on his game.
Again, with Kai Havertz at the club, we will not need Sesko to make the impact on day one. We can afford to take it slowly with Sesko and for Mikel Arteta to build him into the striker he wants.
Cost
My main concern with the links with Viktor Gyokeres was the price tag.
I was not sure paying £70m+ on a 25-year-old who was playing in the Championship 12 months ago made much sense. And as we have seen with other recent Liga Portugal imports (Darwin Nunez), the step up to England from Portugal is huge.
Isak would have been a good option this summer, but considering at Newcastle spent on him (£70m) you can not see us getting him for less than £100m. That would mean less investment elsewhere in the squad.
Finally, I was also always uncomfortable spending big on Ivan Toney considering his age.
Sesko has a £55m release clause, making him the cheapest player I have mentioned in this blog. He is also the youngest and has the highest ceiling. It is a deal that makes most sense.
And what for Kai Havertz?
When we signed Havertz, I always saw his recruitment as a utility forward. Someone who could play in multiple positions.
He has excelled up front in the second half of the season, and considering Sesko’s age and rawness, he will play a big part upfront next season.
Havertz would still remain an option playing deeper (just not with Olexsandr Zinchenko in the same team – a blog for another day) when we want to set up more attacking.
Next season we need to compete on 4 fronts. That means we need to be prepared to play 60 games. There will be more than enough to go around.
And Jesus’s future?
Some reading this might think “Jesus is gone then”. Incorrect.
Jesus joined us from Manchester City after years of being a squad player. He wanted an opportunity to show he could be a regular starter. Unfortunately, injury and form resulted in him returning to that squad role he had with Man City.
The Brazilian basically has a choice – stay at Arsenal and accept a squad role, or push for a move and hope it is “3rd time lucky” in his dream to be a regular starter.
Jesus would still have a big role to play at Arsenal.
Havertz and Sesko would be two similar style strikers. There would be games when we might want an alternative option. Someone a bit trickier and quicker. That would be Jesus. Likewise, he could be a game changer off the bench with the way he buzzes around.
Gabi is also an option on the wing.
Previously, I spoke about need a striker who could also be an option on the wing. Alternatively, we needed to target a new winger. By signing Sesko, it would free up Jesus to play on the wing.
Jesus can play both right and left wing, providing cover and competition for Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. I would not be unhappy if any of those 4 started out wide.
It also allows us to continue assessing our wing options.
Saka is a guaranteed starter on the right, but the left wing might need to be addressed in a years time.
Martinelli’s tough season can not be ignored, and whilst it is not an issue going into next season it is a situation to keep an eye on. Trossard also turns 30 and will have a year left come 2025.
In 12 months, if Martinelli does not return to form, I would not be surprised if we turn our focus on a new left winger, with Martinelli becoming the cover and competition. By using Jesus outside, it means we do not need to address the issue this summer and can allow Martinelli to continue his develop.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 