Tag Archives: Arsenal

Remembering the A to Z of transfer speculation

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Rodrygo, Jules Kounde, Andriy Lunin, Archie Grey and Semih Kilicsoy. That is just a list of some of then players Arsenal have been linked with this morning.

I remember back in the day we used to do an A to Z of transfer speculation.

In the mid 00s, it was fairly easy to manage as social media and clickbait blogs (beyond Goal.com) were not really a thing. the majority of the speculation came from newspapers.

Despite less sources, we would still get close to 200 names linked with us over the summer.

These days we do not bother with the A to Z of transfer speculation. There are just too many “news outlets” that rely on transfer speculation to generate their advertising revenue.

Were we to do it, and take into account every source, we would probably get above 500 players on the list. It would be a full time job – and I struggle to write the blog these days along with my full time job, let alone also go through every link on NewsNow.

It has been a quiet start for all clubs in terms of transfers. Although this has to be expected with a major summer tournament ongoing.

PSR also means that teams are less likely to do deals before 1 July – any deal up until 30 June needs to go into a clubs 2023/24 season accounts and signing a new player early can create a breach.

The only sniff we have had of deals so far is the transfer merry-go-round that some clubs are trying to instigate to ensure their books balance for 2023/24.

Aston Villa have balanced their books by doing deals with both Chelsea and Everton – Ian Maatsen and Lewis Dobin in, Omari Kellyman and Tim Iroegbunam out.

These deals bring instant income to all clubs that allows them to keep within PSR, whilst in turn kicks debt down the road in amoritised transfer fees. These sort of deals are a poor way to run a football club and there is only so long you can operate in this manner until it catches up to you.

I will be laughing at the tears when Everton or Aston Villa go into administration. I am sure their fans will find a way to blame Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United.

As for The Arsenal, we continue to operate sensibly, in the right manner. We continue to grow on and off the pitch with new, better players coming in as income rises. We really are a well run club these days.

I am off for a BBQ and to try and enjoy some sunshine in Essex. Have a great Saturday!

Keenos

Nygaard, Garcia, Ramsdale and More…

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It’s Friday! Well done for getting through another working week Another 5 days closer to retirement!

Yesterday we had some actual transfer news. Sort of.

The club announced Danish keeper Lucas Nygaard would be joining the academy. I know nothing about the 18-year-old, and anyone who claims they have seen him play is a liar.

We have a log history of signing young goalkeepers from foreign shores, but to date none have ever progressed to become a first team regular. So excuse me if I am not exactly excited about his arrival (and nor should I be. He is a kid!)

Staying with goalkeepers, we have been heavily linked with Espanyol’s Joan Garcia.

The 23-year-old played a key role last season as his club won promotion back to La Liga, making 21 club appearances.

A quick Google of his name shows that in the last 24 hours he has also “signed” for Real Madrid, Liverpool and Tottenham. This one feels like an agent using big clubs to get his clients name in the press.

At the same time as the Garcia story, speculation is rising around the departure of Aaron Ramsdale.

Newcastle United seems to be the club he is being linked with the most, although they are also reportedly very close to signing Burnley’s James Trafford.

I did laugh at one article which stated “Newcastle value Ramsdale at £15m”. If this was the other way round, social media would be filled with crying Geordies complaining about the “Red Cartel”, PSR and that Arsenal are a disgrace for trying to by someone for less than they vlue him at.

Of course, the transfer fee mooted in media speculation is often wrong and can differ widely depending on the outlet. I am not sure why so many get their knickers in a twist.

Ramsdale’s book value is currently £8m, so anything above that will be profit for The Arsenal. I would expect any fee for the Englishman to both cover his remaining book value, and the cash needed to pay for his replacement.

The fee being floated for Joan Garcia is £21million, so I would expect Ramsdale to go for around £30m if that will be the cost of his replacement.

One last bit of Arsenal news surrounds Omari Hutchinson.

The former graduate joined Chelsea two years ago. He preferred to move to West London for “first team football” rather than sign a new deal with Arsenal and go out on-loan.

Hutchinson then proceeded to rot in Chelsea’s reserves for a year before going out on loan to Ipswich Town. The move to Chelsea basically cost him a year of his career.

The 20-year-old is now being linked with a permanent move to Ipswich in a deal that could be worth as much as £22m. Unconfirmed rumours are we will get 50% of any transfer fee.

Today it is a case of getting work completed as quickly as possible before heading to the pub. Pre-season starts this weekend with my annual BBQ.

Keenos

Saka left back for England

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After the dismal bore draw against Slovenia, Ian Wright floated the idea of Bukayo Saka being moved to left back. This idea has been derided by many. But is it really as crazy as it seems?

A lot of (mainly Arsenal fans), gave Wrighty some abuse for his suggestion. They saw his comments as both a slant on Saka’s form and that Wright would be sacrificing the Arsenal man to et Cole Palmer into the team. Neither of these are true.

A major issue for England this tournament is the team has lacked balance.

Take way that Southgate is playing the wrong formation (he should go 4141) and tactics (why play so defensive minded when we have so many great attackers?), the left hand side has been one of England’s biggest problems.

Kieran Trippier was lucky to make the squad.

He had an average season for Newcastle United, which led to many Geordies calling for him to be dropped. At 33-years-old, his decline this season has been rapid. Were it not for Ben White’s falling out and Reece James’ injury, I do not think Trippier would have been in Southgate’s final squad.

The former Spurs and Burnley player is also not a left back. A quick search of Transfermarkt shows that he ha splayed just one game domestically in that position – a League Cup tie against Barnsley back in 2017.

Trippier offers nothing going forward on that left hand side. He does not use his left foot, does not even pretend to go down the outside and does not hug the touchline. It makes England very narrow and predictable.

Ahead of him, you have Phil Foden.

Foden is a fantastic player. You do not win Premier League Player of the Year being average. But he is best suited centrally, either as the sole 10 or on the right hand side of a pair of 8s.

When Foden plays on that left hand side, he always looks to come inside to get more involved. He is just not your typical “chalk on the boots” winger.

Trippier not being able to play on the outside and Foden looking to come inside all the time has made our left wing almost non-existent. we are basically playing in just 70% of the pitch, which in turn allows teams to defend narrower and restrict our space.

Southgate needs to get width into the team.

He could play Saka on the left wing, but like Foden he will probably look to drop inside to be more involved. The solution therefore could be to move Saka to left back.

Often during his youth career, Saka would play at left back. And when he first broke into the first team, he was utilised both at left back and left wing back. I must say that these were emergency cases and the club always saw him as an attacking player.

Whilst you might lose some of Saka’s attacking contributions on the right hand side, you gain by having a natural left footer at left back. Someone that has the discipline and game awareness to provide width, get chalk on his boots, and make those runs in behind Foden.

It might not be a long-term solution as better teams will look to exploit Saka’s defensive weakness, however against Slovakia this has to be an option.

Slovakia are unlikely to attack us much, so doubling up with Foden and Saka on the left hand side could turn it into a strength.

Southgate then has the option of either Cole Palmer or Jarrod Bowen on the right hand side – whilst they might not be at our mans level, they can both certainly do a decent enough job on that wing.

In my view, you gain more upgrading from Trippier to Saka at left back, then you lose from downgrading from Saka to Palmer/Bowen on the right wing.

Wrighty’s (and mine) comments should not be seen as disrespect for Saka. it is not him being pushed back into defence due to his form. It is a compliment to the young mans versatility that he should be a genuine option there. And sometimes as a player you need to make a sacrifice for the betterment of the team.

Over the years I think of Thierry Henry playing left wing for France, Sergio Ramos playing right back for Spain, Javier Mascherano playing centre back for Barcelona and many others who have been pushed out of their natural position to do a job elsewhere.

I would be surprised if Southgate does select Saka at left back. the knock out stages of an international tournament is not really the time or place to be experimenting. But we can also not keep going with Trippier when he offers so little in attacking positions.

Enjoy your Thursday. Cricket starts at 15:30. Hopefully we smash the Indians!

Keenos