Before the summer started, a 10 point to do list for Andrea Berta was posted on the She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Facebook page (credit to admin Derek for the list).

The list, in no particular order, was

1. New first-choice centre forward
2. New defensive midfielder to replace Thomas Partey
3. New backup goalkeeper
4. New winger to compete on the left and offer cover for Bukayo Saka on the right
5. New centre back to cover William Saliba
6. New deal for Bukayo Saka
7. New deal for William Saliba
8. New deal for Gabriel
9. New deal for Ethan Nwaneri
10. New deal for Myles Lewis Skelly

With the window now shut, it is time to review the list.

New first-choice centre forward

In a deal that seemed to take forever, but was still be completed before the season kicked off, Viktor Gyokeres joined for £55m.

Some have labelled Gyokeres a flat track bully whilst others have raised questions about whether the 27 year old can make the step up from the Portuguese league to Premier League. And some have claimed that we should have sacrificed other positions and gone bigger for Alexander Isak.

Isak aside, all other strikers moving to a Premier League club this summer have question marks against them.

Hugo Etikite and Benjamin Sesko both came from Germany at higher fees than Gyokeres with less experience, whilst Joao Pedro has never been a consistent goal scorer. Meanwhile Yoane Wissa turns 29 tomorrow and is more of a back up striker than first choice.

Gyokeres was clearly the man we favoured, and Berta got his man.

New defensive midfielder to replace Thomas Partey

In a deal that was perhaps a year later then expected, Martin Zubimendi finally became an Arsenal player – our second signing of the summer costing £55.8m.

A classy defensive midfielder in the Xabi Alonso mould, Zubimendi has been Arteta’s number one choice to replace Partey for nearly two years. And Berta delivered him.

New backup goalkeeper

In a move that got a lot of fans complaining, “not another Chelsea rejected”, Berta secured one of the deals of the summer.

I am a firm believer that had we signed Kepa for £5m direct from Bournemouth, there would be no complaints. The only criticism fans have of the deal is who he came from.

Last season, Kepa was first choice for Bournemouth, on loan from Chelsea, as they finished 9th, conceding the 6th least goals. Signing a mid-table Premier League starter for your back up keeper without breaking the back is a great deal.

New winger to compete on the left and offer cover for Bukayo Saka on the right

On one hand, Noni Madueke is exactly the sort of player we needed to cover Bukayo Saka, and he proved what he can do against Liverpool. On the other, it was disappointing that we have not fully resolved our left win issue.

A top left winger was only going to come in if either Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard departed. With no major bid coming in for either, it meant that interest in the likes of Rodrygo and Rafael Leao was not progressed.

Like Kepa, the signing of Madueke led to criticism of “another Chelsea player”. Thus showing that some fans do not have the mental aptitude to judge a player based on his ability, and instead prefer to regurgitate what they have seen from “banter” social media accounts.

Madueke is fantastic cover for Saka. Left footed playing on the right, his acquisition should take some pressure off Saka. His chaotic and direct style of play also gives Arteta another option.

New centre back to cover William Saliba

Very few, if anyone, would have had Cristhian Mosquera on their “want” list this summer. And that is why we are fans and not scouts or Directors of Football.

Mosquera looks tailor made for the Premier League – big, strong, powerful and quick. And Berta got him for just £13m.

When Saliba limped off after 5 minutes against Liverpool, Mosquera came in and we saw no drop off in defensive quality.

Whilst I do not want to talk about Saliba leaving, there is a possiiblity he might next summer if a new deal is not signed. We may already have recruited his replacement.

New deal for Bukayo Saka

One of the two points on the two do list that Berta has yet to complete. No new deal has yet been agreed for Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal reportedly opened talks for a new deal with Saka back in March, so it is slightly concerning that 6 months on, one is yet to be announced. However, it has to be remembered that for much of that time, Saka was recovering from injury and then focusing on his return.

One for Berta to keep working on.

New deal for William Saliba

As with Saka, the new deal for Saliba has yet to be agreed, and I am slightly more concerned about this one.

I think Saliba is a fantastic player, but I have never felt he is as comfortable at the club as Gabriel. He reminds me of Patrick Vieira who every summer was always keeping half an eye out for a move away.

At one point, a Real Madrid will turn Saliba’s head and he will decide to take a move to a club for guaranteed trophies, and we will be powerless to keep him. This could happen next summer if a new deal is not signed.

New deal for Gabriel

I actually think Gabriel is more important to the defence then William Saliba. He is the leader of the back four and the glue that keeps the defence together.

A new deal that sees him through to 2029 will mean if Saliba comes in, we at least have our rock and someone like Mosquera should be able seamlessly slot in next to him. One of our captains.

New deals for Nwaneri and Lewis Skelly

Two gems from the academy.

Whilst I expect both to be squad players this season rather than regular starters, it is good that Berta has secured their long term future at the club and rewarded them for their new status.

Last year we lost a couple of other top youngsters (both to Manchester United), who departed due to their belief that the “pathway to the first team” was better elsewhere. In reality, they had their heads turned by money.

Nwaneri and Lewis Skelly have shown that if you have the talent, you will get your chances and the contracts will follow. Meanwhile the two that departed are still playing PL2 football, a level they were at 2 years ago for Arsenal.

Great to secure our future

And the bonuses?

We raised the floor of the squad by replacing Jakub Kiwor with Piero Hincapie.

Whilst Kiwior has never really let us down, he has also not really shown that he was capable to come in for Gabriel for an extended period if injury hit. He also looked a little deer in headlights if needed at left back.

Hincapie has played nearly 200 games for Leverkusen at both centre back and left back. That means he is proven cover for Gabriel at centre back, and more than an adequate option at left back if Ricardo Calafiori continues his injury proneness. A floor raiser who has reduced the gape between our best defender and worst.

Ebere Eze was also another surprise.

Whilst he is an option on the left hand side, I still expect him to make more of an impact centrally. However if he does make the left wing his own, then that is a bonus! And it is a double bonus the way we snatched him from Tottenham.

And finally, Christian Norgaard joined from Brentford. Cover for Martin Zubimendi without breaking the bank.

The easy option would have been to not replace Jorginho, and use Declan Rice as Zubimendi’s cover if injured. Instead, Berta listened to Arteta who demanded greater squad depth and a move away from having players covering 3 or 4 positions.

Norgaard, like Kepa, is Premier League proven. He will also be a great option to come off the bench, next to Zubimendi, when we are defending a lead. A towering defensive midfielder who will block everything.

As for the departures, that is a blog for another day. Maybe.

Keenos

New on the store!

Our new Mikel Arteta t-shirt is available in 6 colours, sizes up to 3XL! As a Metallica and Arsenal fan, I love this design!!!https://t.co/8Meg9m9AjH pic.twitter.com/CZ8z4Nh5AV

— Kick Off Merchants (@KOMerchants) August 18, 2025

During the early days of the transfer window, two names were being mentioned as top targets for Arsenal – Rodrygo and Eberechi Eze.

As it stands, with the Premier League season having started, neither is an Arsenal player. And it is increasingly looking like they will end up at Manchester City and Tottenham, respectively.

So just why have Arsenal not secured either man?

Signings contingent on exits

Both the signings of Rodrygo and Eze were always contingent on players departing.

The talk around Eze came out around the same time as contract negotiations with Ethan Nwaneri were stalling. It has now been talked about that Eze was being lined if as a replacement for Nwaneri, if a deal for the young Englishman could not get over the line.

Arsenal would have expected an offer in the region of £60-80m if Nwaneri went on the market. That would have paid for Eze with change left over – and Nwaneri departing would have been pure profit.

In the end, Nwaneri stayed, which meant Eze was no longer an important target – Nwaneri will step up to be Martin Odegaard’s cover, which is the role Eze was being pencilled in for.

As for Rodrygo, his recruitment was always dependent on either Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard leaving.

A new contract has been on the table for Trossard all summer, indicating that the early preference was for Martinelli to depart. That would have seen Rodrygo step in for Martinelli as first-choice left winger, backed up by Trossard on his new deal (his current deal expires in 12-months).

As it was, no significant offers came in for Martinelli, although there was plenty of interest, and Trossard is yet to sign his new deal. That means there is no space for Rodrygo on that left hand side.

With Trossard not signing the new contract, it is more likely now that that the Belgium winger will depart rather than Martinelli. That could result in Arsenal going back in for Eze, who would then become Martinelli’s cover and competition on the left (although it is not Eze’s natural position), and the Englishman also replacing Trossard as a more central option.

With the money Martinelli is on, having the Brazilian play back up to Rodrygo would not make sense, especially taking into account the eye-watering numbers for the Real Madrid player.

As it stands, it is likely that Martinelli will be given another year to show he can step up, and Arsenal will look to recruit if Trossard departs.

Rodrygo financial numbers

Arsenal could not get the Rodrygo deal to work without Martinelli departing.

The deal to Manchester City is reportedly in the region of £86million, with Rodrygo demanding a salary in the region of £350k a week. That is huge numbers for a forward who scored just 6 La Liga goals last year.

Martinelli is reportedly on £180k a week, and Arsenal would have hoped to have sold him for a fee in the region of £80m (to Saudi or Europe). This fee is not unrealistic when you consider what the likes of Jamie Gittens, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have gone for.

Had Martinelli departed, it would have freed up the money to pay for Rodrgyo and around 50% of his wages. Without his departure, we could not make the deal work, considering what we have already spent.

We should not have signed Noni Madueke

Taking into account the primary reason that we stepped away from Rodrygo is financial, a lot of fans will point to the recruitment of Madueke and say we should have used his money to finance a transfer for the Brazilian.

This ignores the fact that over the last 2-3 years, we have been crying out for quality cover for Bukayo Saka. And Nwaneri is not that man.

Expecting Nwaneri to be the cover for both Saka and Odegaard was not a solution. It would have been a huge burden on an 18-year-old. Instead, Mikel Arteta and the team decided to go out for Madueke – a Premier League proven right winger who can come in for Saka without us needing to change the set-up.

Put simply, we had two left wingers (Martinelli and Trossard) and only one right winger (Saka). So getting Saka’s cover was a higher priority than signing a 3rd left winger.

There is an argument that had we signed Rodrygo, either he, Trossard or Martinelli could cover Saka on the right. But these are all right footed players so would not have been “like for like”. If a player picks up an injury, you want to replace him with a similar player to avoid changing the system.

Madueke also provides us with a left footed option on the left if we do want to change up how we are playing. His recruitment will allow Arteta to be more tactically fluid in attack.

Some will argue (again), that Saka could have switched over to the left. But on the elft side Saka would be blunted as he does not have it in his game to rip past the full back on the outside and put in cross after cross. He is an average left winger, a world class right winger.

Not signing Madueke (or another left footed right winger) was simply not an option.

The future?

As it stands, I would be surprised if we sign either or Rodrygo. But things change quickly in football.

If over the next 7-days, Trossard departs, I think we will go back in for Eze. He will then be the cover and competition for Martinelli, whilst as above replacing Trossard as an option more centrally. This would however be heavily reliant on Trossard departing and Eze still being available.

There is some talk about how we might “do an Odegaard” with Rodrygo and bring him in on loan. We would cover his wages for the season, and have an option to buy in 2026, thus pushing the expenditure down the road a year when we are likely to need fewer new recruits than this year.

Personally, I can not see this happening. Especially if Trossard does not depart. However, if a move to Manchester City does not materilise and Rodrygo wants a way out of Madrid, it could be one to keep an eye on.

Whilst this might all be frustrating for Arsenal fans, it has to be remembered that we have Martinelli, Trossard, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson. We are not Manchester City where we can just dump players and easily finance another £50-80m player. And we also need to take into account squad sizes.

As it stands, we have 17 non-homegrown players in the squad. So if no one departs, someone will have to remain unregistered.

We also have a further 9 home-grown players (excluding MLS and Nwaneri who do not need to be registered). That takes us to 26 senior players.

The result is, if we sign someone without selling, we have 2 players too many and will need to leave a couple unregistered. That is not an option.

Over the next week, Andrea Berta and his team will continue working on exits for the likes of Karl Hein, Oleksander Zinchenko, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira. Once we see a couple of them depart, alongside Trossard, then we may see some movement for a new left winger.

Until our squad is trimmed a little bit, we will not see anyone else come in.

My view is that the left wing was never a priority. That Arsenal are ready to miss out on both Eze and Rodrygo if they can not secure transfers away for either Trossard or Martinelli. And that they are happy with the pair as options on the left, supported by Madueke.

I have always felt that those names mentioned to come in ahead of Martinelli were “shiny new toy syndrome”. Huge money signings for players not much better than our Gabi. And I think Arsenal’s hierarchy feel the same. And that result was a big name (Rodrygo) would only have come in if Martinelli departed.

Keenos

The European Super Cup is a friendly.

As is the Charity Shield. As is the Club World Cup. But that does not mean we can all have a good laugh at Tottenham this morning.

Had Spurs won last night, their fans would have been unbearable. They would have anointed themselves as the best team in Europe (17th best in England). They would have been signing “Champions of Europe” everywhere they went – lads, it was funny when West Ham did it ironically. It is just embarrassing for any other club to do it unless they have wont he Champions League.

To bring last nights game into perspective, it was PSG’s first pre-season match of the season. Their last game of 2024/25 only happened a month to the day of yesterday’s match – that post-season friendly final against Chelsea.

Four weeks off and they were back in action, using the Super Cup as warm up game as part of their preparation for the new season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham prepared like it was the Champions League final. They had designed their pre-season around the Super Cup and were desperate to win it. So it his hilarious that they lost.

And the way they lost – leading 2-nil into the 85th minute – was all a bit Spursy.

Arsenal have recently been labelled “bottlers” and “the team players go to retire from trophy”. It really is poor banter to label the 3rd most successful team in English history as either of these.

One Europa League (or in Newcastle’s case a League Cup, in Palace’s case an FA Cup or in West Ham’s case the Conference League) does not suddenly make you a more successful club then The Arsenal. And it is a fact that had the likes of Harry Kane, Son, Alan Shearer or Mark Noble joined the Gunners, they would have been infinitely more successful.

I am also laughing at the “Glasner wins the same in Phase One as Arteta has won in Phase Six”.

If we are including the Community Shield (which Palace fans do), then Glasner has not won more. Fans seem to forget that Arteta’s trophy haul is 1 FA Cup and 2 Community Shields.

The phase stuff becomes really boring.

Every club has “phases” they work in. Mini goals that aim to improve season upon season. But it is only Arsenal and Arteta that get mocked for it. and we are not in Phase Six. In reality it is:

Phase One: Removing the deadwood and getting back into the top 4
Phase Two: Moving from top 4 to title challengers
Phase Three: Continual improvements to maintain a title challenge

In the real world, there is nothing beyond Phase Three. There is no realistic phase where you can guarantee the league title. All you can do is continually make improvements and tweaks season on season to maintain the title challenge. And we have been in Phase Three for the last 3 seasons.

I know this will not suit the narrative of the negative nancies who like to chat rubbish for e-likes, Who lie on the internet to impress strangers. But even winning the league will not make the intellectually defective goons happy. They live a miserable, miserable existence with their only happiness when someone likes one of their posts.

We are closing in on the start of the season. It is a tough start with our first 3 away games to Man U, Liverpool and Newcastle, and a home game against Manchester City to contend with.

To bring our start into perspective, we have:

Beaten Man U twice at Old Trafford in the league since 2006
Not beaten Liverpool at Anfield since 2012
Lost 4 of our last 5 against Newcastle at St James Park
Beaten Manchester City twice in the league since 2015

I do not expect us to get off to a fast start, and that will bring out those negative nancies from under their rocks. The only positive is we get 4 of our toughest games of the season out of the way early. And we might be able to hit them cold before they begin to build rhythm and momentum.

UTA.

Keenos