Tag Archives: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

To Khedira or not Khedira, that is the question

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Sami Khedira. 32-years-old. Former German international. World cup winner. Champions League winner.  4 time Serie A winner.  La Liga winner. Bundesliga winner. Mesut Ozil’s mate.

Khedira was spotted at the Emirates at the weekend watching the Emirates cup. This led a lot of fans and media to speculate that Arsenal were on the verge of signing him on a 2-year-deal.

Having played just 10 league games for Juventus last season, the Italian champions have reportedly told Khedira that he is surplus to requirements and may leave on a free transfer.

This summer, Juventus have added Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey to their squad. They also have Emre Can and Blaise Matuidi. Khedira is at the bottom of the pile and even less likely to lay than he was last year.

So should Arsenal make a move for the experienced central midfielder?

Arsenal currently have Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira as senior central midfielder. They have recently added Dani Ceballos but he is more of an attacking option, a Ramsey replacement and back up to Ozil.

Behind Xhaka and Torreira, Arsenal have Matteo Guendouzi, Mohammed Elneny, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock.

Maitland-Niles will be in the 1st team squad next season as cover for Hector Bellerin, so should be disregarded as a central midfielder. That leaves Guendouzi, Elneny and Willock.

Picture a scenario where both Xhaka and Torreira are out injured, suspended or a combination of the both; would a midfield contain 2 of Guendouzi, Elneny or Willock make you comfortable?

Guendouzi and Willock are talented teenagers with plenty of ability and energy, but they could do with an experienced head alongside them.

That then takes us to Elneny. Is he the senior back-up for Xhaka and Torreira?

Last season when we played Guendouzi and Elneny together, the Frenchman became the senior partner. Elneny looked shot and is clearly not top 4 class.

So if we are not comfortable with the two teenagers together (although I would have them together in the Europa League), the question becomes a simple one:

Elneny or Khedira?

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/1156882317731913728

Khedira on a 2-year-deal would add experience to the squad whilst Guendouzi and Willock continue to develop.

But is he just a Stephan Lichtsteiner MK II?

His best days are certainly behind him and he looks slow in Serie A. Could he cope in the faster paced Premier League?

Injuries are not a new thing for Khedira – he has played over 30 league games just once in his illustrious career. What is the point of him being a senior option if when needed he is in the treatment room?

A lot of the blame for Germany’s early exit from the 2018 World Cup was put on him. He has not been seen in his national shirt since.

Whilst he is a free transfer, he will surely command a decent signing on fee. Arsenal will be his retirement package. He is also on £20,000 a week more than Elneny.

Any fee from selling the Egyptian will be negated by a higher weekly wage and a signing on fee for Khedira. A £5million signing on fee plus an additional £20,000 in wages would see Arsenal spend around £7million more on the German than Elneny currently costs. Arsenal are unlikely to recoup much more then this selling Elneny.

Unai Emery has also reportedly made it clear that he will happily sell Mesut Ozil if the right offer comes in. The feeling is Ozil will still be at Arsenal next season. But what is the point in signing a ally of him if he will be out of the door in 12 months?

Arsenal should be focusing their time and effort bringing in younger, more dynamic players, rather than topping up the pension of a player who could be past it.

Plenty to think about then.

Personally I would not be too upset if Khedira came in on a 2-year-deal; £70,000 a week. He would add experience behind Xhaka and Torreira and would also provide a more defensive option if we want to go for a solid midfield 3 in tough away games.

Play him in a 3 alongside Xhaka and Torreira will mean others do his running and his excellent positional sense will provide a shield for the back 4.

I guess watch this space…

Keenos

Less than 30 Clock Watches left – will never be made again

Premier League TV fixtures announced…and Arsenal fans lose out again

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Every year i have this rant.

Actually that is a lie. It is a couple of times a year I have it.

The latest round of TV games have been announced and once again the TV companies have stuck 2 fingers up at Arsenal fans.

The first 10 league games have been announced and Arsenal have just 2 on a Saturday, and none at 3pm. We have 2 Monday kick offs.

Some will reply “that is because we are in the Europa League” yet just 3 of the fixtures occur after the Europa League.

My issue is that SKY & BT would have known that those 3 games would be on a Sunday, so could have scheduled them for TV. But instead none of the 3 games after the Europa League will be on TV.

Arsenal’s fixtures against Newcastle, Burnley, Watford & Sheffield United have all been selected for TV.

Meanwhile fixtures against Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace have not been selected; but have been moved to Sunday for the Europa League.

Would it have been that hard for the TV companies to select Aston Villa rather than Sheffield United, Crystal Palace rather than Watford and Bournemouth over Newcastle?

This would have moved 3 of the fixtures back to 3pm on Saturday.

But that is too much common sense.

Clubs sell their soul to TV companies for billions. It is about time someone stepped in and ensured TV companies care more about match going fans.

Keenos

Less than 30 left…

Arsenal can only sign ONE more foreign player

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In June I analysed the state of the Arsenal squad.

The theory behind it was to evaluate what exactly Arsenal currently has in the squad, in terms of players that must be registered with the Premier League (Players born on or after 1 January 1998 do not need to be register) and of those registered players, who is home grown (HG) and non-home grown (NHG).

At the time of previous blog, Arsenal had 22 players over the age of 21, 15 of whom had to be registered. This left Arsenal with 3 senior spots, 2 of which could be filled by a NHG player if desired.

Since that blog, Arsenal have signed Dani Ceballos, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba, with Nicolas Pepe on the cusp of joining (at the time of writing). David Ospina has been sold.

This leaves Arsenal’s squad looking at follows:

The signings of Dani Ceballos and Nicolas Pepe, with David Ospina leaving puts Arsenal in a position where they can sign 2 more senior players – enough room for a central defender and left back.

This leaves Arsenal with just 1 space for a non home grown player.

Scottish players are considered NHG under Premier League rules. This means that were Arsenal to sign Kieran Tierney at left back, they would have reached the maximum amount of NHG players.

Things can change quickly in football, however.

Laurent Koscielny is likely to return to France, with Edu having recently met with his counterpart at Rennes.

If a new central defender joins, it will most likely mean the end for Shkodran Mustafi. Either Saed Kolasinac or Nacho Monreal will surely make way for Tierney.

Losing Koscielny, Mustafi and a left back will free up 3 more NHG places, taking us down to just 14 – and 21 registered players in total.

That would leave us the places to add someone like Samuel Umtiti or Daniele Rugani – both of whom we have been linked with. It would also give us a bit of breathing room if we wanted to make a late bid for another central midfielder like Sami Khedira.

With the likes of Mohammed Elneny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan set to be on the fringes of the squad, Arsenal could free up further space if needed.

We are closing in on the maximum registered squad number (25) and maximum amount of non home grown players (17), but there is nothing to worry about. Yet.

Keenos