As it stands, Arsenal has a 30-man 1^st team training squad.

The 30-man figure includes Myles Lewis Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman, Tommy Setford and Marli Salmon. All of whom, under Premier League rules, will not requiring registering.

That leaves Mikel Arteta with a 25-man “senior first team squad”. That is bang on the nose for the maximum amount of players we need to register.

To cut a long story short, when Bruno Guimaraes signs, we need to sell to make the space for him.

As it stands, we have 16 non-home grown senior players and 9 home grown. That is a positive as it means we are not restricted by who we need to sell (or not register). The outgoing playing could either be Home Grown (HG) or Non-Home Grown (NHG). Remember, you may have no more than 17 NHG players in your squad.

The only minor headache comes is Bruno will take up a NHG player spot. That will result in us having to sell a NHG player further down the line if we want to make space for someone like Vinicius Jr.

Christian Norgaard is likely to join Everton in the upcoming days. By the time I hit publish that move might already be confirmed (as might the deal for Bruno). His departure is a good one as he takes up a NHG spot.

Norgaard out, Bruno in keeps the status quo. And then we are back to where we are now where we would need to sell either a HG or NHG player to make the space for Vinicius Jr (other left wingers are available). Not a hard task when we have players who are surplus to requirements.

The biggest issue for Arteta is not how many players he has registered, but how big the squad is. 30 is simply too many regardless of whether 5 need to be registered or not.

Over the rest of the summer, I think Arteta will look to get the squad down to 25 or 26. That will mean 6 or 7 exits after Bruno and a left winger sign.

Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Jesus are the next 3 men after Norgaard whose heads are on the chopping board. They would take us down to 28. Management may also consider Marli Salmon as part of the first team squad – and the youngster may only do occassional training with the first team.

We would still need to sell two or three to bring that squad size down to 25 or 26. Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri are the most likely candidates. And maybe both.

Two coming in takes us to 32.
Jesus, Vieira, Norgaard and Nelson drops us to 28.
Salmon being a fringe player takes us to 27.
Martinelli and / or Nwaneri going takes us to 25 or 26.

That is where Arteta will want us to be, and why perhaps we are looking to cash in on Nwaneri.

I like Nwaneri, but it is hard to see how he will get game time with Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze ahead of him centrally. I still shake my head in despair when fans comment he is better than both. That is agenda drive.

Were Odegaard and Eze to both get injured, Arteta would still have Kai Havertz, Mikel Merino and Bruno who can all play in that more advanced position. There would also be the option of Bukayo Saka coming inside (I have long been a believer that we may see a transition of Saka coming inside and Max Dowman playing outside in 2-3 years).

On the right hand side, we have Saka and Noni Madueke. Again, there is no debate that Nwaneri is at their standard (although again some will try and make the case that he is). You also have Max Dowman.

Nwaneri is potentially the victim of a better player coming through, in his position, who is younger. Henri Lansbury had this when Jack Wilshere broke through.

We need to be careful with Dowman, but if we are looking to give 5-600 minutes to an attacking teenager next season then they should go to the younger man. Downman already looks to be on Nwaneri’s level despite being nearly 3 years younger.

Nwaneri leaving would give Arteta the option to keep Martinelli. He may well have a place to play in the squad as an attacker through the middle, offering pace and unpredictability. Martinelli could certainly replace Jesus as the 3rd striker option. But if a big enough offer comes in he could be off.

A final one to watch out for is Mikel Merino. It is hard to see where he fits in with Bruno’s signing, beyond being Zubimendi’s support blanket. It might not be this summer, but I think Merino will be off next.

Overall, the squad is in a great place. We are building on last years Championship winning side, reducing the minutes of Rice and Zubimendi, and could end up with that magical left winger we have craved for a couple of years.

Exits next…

Keenos

When the season ended, almost every Arsenal fan had their list of players they expected to leave, and one player was found of nearly everyone’s list. Ben White.

It was not that fans did not rate Ben White. We did. But the expectation was that White himself would want to depart us to return to playing regular first team football again.

White will turn 29 in October and, in the last two seasons, has found himself on the fringes of Arsenal’s first team. Part due to injury, and part due to him not being able to displace the excellent Jurrien Timber.

Having seen some game time towards the back end of last season, White looked destined for a last minute seat on the plan out to the 2026 World Cup. And then injury hit again.

That spell in the Arsenal first team would have reminded White that he is good enough to play week in week out for a top Premier League side, and also force his way back into England contention now that Gareth Southgate had departed. But he could only do so if he left Arsenal.

Ben White would have walked into the first XI of the likes of Aston Villa and Manchester United. It is only really Arsenal and Manchester City where he would not be a guarantee starter. So it was highly expected that, if he got himself fit, Arsenal would look to cash in.

The deal would have benefited both Arsenal and White – The Englishman returns to regular first team football for a team playing in Europe, Arsenal get £40m+ which they could reinvest into a new, younger right back, without injury concerns and who may be a different profile.

Many theorised that we needed an attack minded right back who could compliment the more defensive Jurrien Timber, and that this could become an attacking substitute option for Mikel Arteta when chasing a game.

Role on a few months and it is increasingly looking like Ben White still has a role to play at Arsenal. And the feeling is that he happy with that role.

With William Saliba set for a long-term absence due to his back, it seemed that Arsenal pivoted transfer strategy.

Rather than going for an out and out right back such as Marco Palestra or Iván Fresneda, Arsenal began looking at someone who could be an option at both right back and centre back. Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa was the man earmarked for the role.

Konsa would have been able to come in and be Saliba’s replacement in the short term, whilst also covering for both Saliba and Timber in the long-term. But that thinking has now shifted again.

Why spend money on someone like Konsa when we have someone in the squad who is more than capable of playing at right back and centre back, and able to be an attacking, overlapping option? That man is Ben White.

In his early days at Arsenal, White played centrally alongside Gabriel. He looked excellent and he is certainly a Premier League level centre back.

As Saliba came into the team, taking us to another level, White moved to right back. For a time he was one of the best right backs in the league and formed a deadly combination going forward with Bukayo Saka. Some would argue that Saka has lost a little since White stopped playing and offering that overlapping option.

So we have a fella who is a proven Premier League right back and centre back. The only issue was he seemingly wanted away. At 29 this would have been his chance to get one big contract and play regularly at the top level for the next 3 or 4 years. But it looks like White may have changed his mind and is no longer a wantawaystar.

Due to his injury, White had a rest this summer and he returned against Girona looking fit and healthy, also captaining the side. And he can see what is ahead of him.

With Saliba out, and Timber having his own injury concerns, White is likely to be our in starting XI come Coventry – either at centre back or at right back. My bet is (based on the Girona line-up), White will start at right back with Cristhian Mosquera inside him.

The decision to keep White will result in us not needing to spend on a new right back come centre back. That in turn leaves more in the cash pot to finance moves for Bruno and Vinicius Jr.

So we keep a top right back who can also play centre back, and make a couple more big money signings. Everyone is happy.

Then come January, if Saliba is fit and White back on the periphery, we may look to sell and replace. Or the likelihood is if we are chasing trophies, White will want to remain part of that and then next summer both parties will explore whether it is in their best interests to call it a day.

For now though, I do not think Ben White is going to leave Arsenal. And I am happy with that.

Keenos

It really could not happen to a more odious set of fans.

When Newcastle became a sports washing project for a murderous regime, their fans celebrated like they had just found their Grandfather’s Nazi gold he buried in the back garden.

It is 5-years since the Newcastle takeover was complete and all they have to show for it is a singular League Cup. By now they would have hoped to have taken over the world – but the issue is when you are reliant on a sugar daddy rather than organic growth, the project can grind to a halt if the owner turns off the tap. And that is what has happened with PIF and Newcastle.

PIF’s most recent investment strategy showed a pivot away from sports washing. LIV golf was the first victim of their change and as predicted Newcastle was not far behind.

Whilst their fans cry online about “PSR” making it unfair that they can not spend the trillions their owners in the bank have, the truth is that PIF have no interest in spending, and at no point since they took over have Newcastle put themselves in a position of self-sufficiency.

This summer they have already lost Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali. Eddie Howe is also out the door and club captain Bruno Guimaraes is now on the verge of signing for Arsenal. Joelinton will probably be off too.

Over the past 4-5 weeks, since Arsenal were linked with Bruno, all we have heard from crying Newcastle fans is how he is “not for sale” and it is just journalists “causing trouble”. Arsenal fans were used to it having lived through West Ham doing the same.

Newcastle journalists lost their minds on social media as they claimed Arsenal were not in for Bruno. One Telegraph journalist will probably need sectioning if the deal goes through. These same “well placed” journalists showed they do not have the “well placed sources” they claim when Howe’s departure blindside them. Ironically, it was Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein who broke this news first!

So Arsenal will get Bruno for a deal in the region of £75m, and Newcastle fans will immediately change their tune from calling Bruno “best in the league” to “Arsenal overpaid”. Again, the exact same tactic West Ham used for Rice.

In West Ham fans eyes, Declan Rice was the best central midfielder in the world. Until he joined Arsenal. Then he was an overrated midfielder who could not pass and whose only skill was running about.

In the last 12-months, Newcastle fans have told anyone that would listen that Bruno was better than Rice. Better than Rodri. Best midfielder in the league. Overnight they will claim that they have had Arsenal’s pants down, £75m for a 28-year-old (who they will claim is nearly 30).

But age is nothing but a number.

Bruno only started playing regular first team senior football at 21. He has 429 games on his clock. That is just 57 more than Jude Bellingham who is more than 5-years younger. It is also 60 less than Declan Rice who is 2-years younger.

Countless midfielders in history have had begun their peaks at 28.

You have Xabi Alonso who joined Real Madrid at 28. He played 236 games for Madrid before joining Bayern Munich and playing another 117 games before retiring. Luka Modric has played nearly 600 games for club and country since turning 28 and won the Ballon d’OR.

On the other side of Spain, Xabi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets were all playing regularly for Barcelona past 34-years-old.

Man City signed Fernandinho at 28-years-old. He stayed with them for 9 seasons and played nearly 400 games. Then you have Andrea Pirlo who AC Milan dumped at 31. Too old. Legs gone. He spent the next 4-seasons at Juventus making AC Milan regret their decision.

Arsenal are in a position where we do not need to worry about sell on value. We are in the business of winning trophies. Not buying players to sell for profit. And the more trophies we win, the more our revenue will increase.

If Bruno stays at his current level for 4-5 years, then more legal titles will come. And maybe even the Champions League. And the increased commercial revenue from winning those will far dwarf any profit we would have made from buying someone younger, not as good, and selling them on.

And when you are seeing the likes of Elliott Anderson and Sandro Tonali go for £100m+, there would not be much room for profit were we to buy someone younger, who was as good as Bruno.

Arsenal fans should also not be scared of squad depth.

Declan Rice needs 2 months of not playing, whilst Martin Zubimendi was running on fumes last season. Bringing Bruno in makes a fantastic trio of top central midfielders for 2 positions. Throw in Myles Lewis Skelly and that is 4 players for 4 positions, with Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze as the more attacking options.

What happens with Mikel Merino and Ethan Nwaneri is up for debate. But Bruno is better than both so signing him above them is no debate.

Arsenal will get the deal done. Newcastle fans will cry. That will turn into anger and delusion. And I am off to stick a fiver on the getting relegated.

UTA

Keenos