Benjamin Sesko v Viktor Gyokeres

The week started with it looking like we were in pole position for Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres. It finishes with it looking like Benjamin Sesko is our primary striking target.

As with everything these days, some have tried to turn the situation into a way to divide the fanbase and club.

Some have positioned themselves as “I want Gyokeres, I do not want Sesko”, whilst others have gone for Sesko over Gyokeres. In the mix, they have also tried to write the narrative of it being Arteta v Bertea – with Sesko apparently being Mikel’s favourite and Gyokeres the choice for the new Sporting Director.

Why do some fans really need to turn the situation into an argument? It really is tiresome and a big reason why I have little online presence these days.

Now I am not saying you can not have an opinion or a preference, but some fans take it too far with their divisive language and agenda.

For me, both have positives and negatives.

Gyokeres is perhaps the “ready to go” option. But he is soon to turn 27 and has only performed in the Championship and Portugal. There would rightly be questions as to whether he can take his Portuguese form and replicate it in the Premier League (see Darwin Nunez).

Meanwhile, the feeling is Sesko has a higher ceiling, but right now is a rawer talent with the Slovenian only turning 22 tomorrow.

Gyokeres (at his age), would surely be coming in as first choice striker, relegating Kai Havertz to the bench. But there is no proof that Gyokeres will outperform Havertz, and the German is a huge salary to have sitting on bench.

Meanwhile, Sesko, who will likely command a lower salary, could dovetail with the criminally underrated Havertz whilst he continues to develop.

Regardless of your opinion on either, it is undeniable that both would improve the squad.

Myles Lewis-Skelly

Some fake news floating about around Myles Lewis-Skelly.

“According to Guardian Sport”, Lewis-Skelly has interest from Real Madrid following his new contract negotiations “not going well”. Except no such story exists on the Guardian Sport webpage, and they no longer post on X.

It seems the story is entirely made up by a fake social media news aggregator in an attempt to gain hits and monetise their account ahead of the transfer window.

Gabriel

A year ago there were some strange links of Gabriel to Saudi Arabia. I never really understood them.

Whilst William Saliba is the classes player, I have always felt Gabriel was our better defender. He is the leader at the back. The organiser.

News today is that we are close to a new contract with the Brazilian defender, taking him through to 2030.

If it is done and dusted, the contract will take Gabriel to 10-years at The Arsenal and over 400 appearances (depending on fitness). And I see no reason why he could not go on for another 5 years after and end up in our top 10 for most appearances for the club.

All Gabriel needs is the trophies, and he is well on the way to becoming a club legend.

Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson

A narrative has been written that Arsenal were wrong to let Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson depart last summer. The same people have probably spent a decade moaning that we keep Hale End boys too long, crashing their transfer value rather than cashing in.

Smith Rowe had a brilliant season for the club back in 2021. But since then he struggled for form and fitness and it was clear that he needed first team football for his career to kick on. and he was not good (or fit) enough to play week in, week out for The Arsenal.

Moving to Fulham for £27m was a deal that suited all parties.

Arsenal got a chunk of cash which was 100% profit (for PSR) for a player who was 4th choice winger. Fulham got decent, mid-table Premier League proven player, and Smith Rowe got (almost) guaranteed first team football.

Smith Rowe’s place in the squad was taken by Ethan Nwaneri. The increased game time for the 18-year-old saw him kick on and he is now quite clearly ready to be the understudy for Bukayo Saka. Nwaneri would not have got the minutes he did if we kept Smith Rowe.

Meanwhile, Nelson was loaned out (also to Fulham).

In the Premier League, Nelson made 14 appearances, starting 5 games. He scored 1 goal and got 1 assist. Not sure why anyone would think a player who failed to play regularly for Fulham would have an impact for us.

I expect Nelson to be sold this summer. Like Smith Rowe, he is not title challenger quality.

Keenos

Two BBC headlines followed Arsenal’s exit to Newcastle which highlighted how vast the expectation gap is between the two.

If Newcastle win the League Cup, their players will become legends. Meanwhile, had Arsenal progressed to the final, the headline “Arteta’s Asenal can assume legendary status forever” would not have been written.

Winning the League Cup and finishing 2nd would not be considered a hugely successful for The Arsenal. Meanwhile for Newcastle it will be open top bus rides, calls for knighthood, and players going doing in history as legends.

Howe has been at Newcastle for 4 years. In that time he has won nothing and spent £500m. He is on the verge of becoming a club legend. Meanwhile Arteta has been at Arsenal 5-years. Win the FA Cup. And spent just £30million more than Howe since the Englishman joined the Saudi regime. The media (and some fans) write about Arteta as if he is a man under pressure.

And it is the same with Tottenham.

If Spurs win tonight, and go on to lift the trophy, Ange “I always win something in my second season” will be an instant Spurs legend. the same would not be said for Arteta were we 14th in the table.

All thus highlights is that Arsenal are, rightly, held to a higher level of expectation than lesser rivals.

It has often been written that Tottenham’s ceiling is our floor. And the expectation level of both clubs proves this.

For clubs like Arsenal, winning just the League Cup is not something to overly celebrate. It is our 5th most important target of the season (Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Top 4, League Cup). With Newcastle and Tottenham, winning the League Cup will be their teams greatest achievement of the decade.

You can also throw Aston Villa into the mix. Another club whose fans act like they are big boys, but have not win in decades.

And this is why it is laughable when Newcastle, Tottenham or Aston Villa fans try and talk their club up as if they are on the same level as Arsenal. If they were on our level, then they would have the same level of expectation.

All 3 sides would roll out the red carpet in their slums to celebrate winning the League Cup. Meanwhile for Arsenal, winning the League Cup would be yesterday’s news the day after and we would be rolling up our socks for the next battle.

What really sums this up is our 5-year trophy drought is talked about as if it is the same as Newcastle’s (56 years), Aston Villa (29 years) and Tottenham (17 years).

And when in our doldrums in that 8-year trophy drought under Arsene Wenger, no one went into the 2011 League Cup final talking about how winning the trophy would make our players legends, or justify poor league positions under Wenger.

Newcastle deserve to be in the final. Good luck to them. And their fans might finally get to celebrate something in over half a century. But they need to stop pretending they are a big club. If they were, they would be held to the same level of expectation as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Keenos

Impact of Edu departure

The most important factor in a club these days is the togetherness of the holy trinity.

Not, I am not talking about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am talking about a football clubs Manager, Director of Football and Owner.

Whilst Edu has his criticis, mainly from fans who could not run a bath and have never negotiated for a house, he has been key in Arsenal’s revival. And perhaps even more important then his individual influence has been the way he has worked with Mikel Arteta and Josh Kroenke.

The 3 have pulled us out of the doldrums. Reinvigorated a club that felt it was on life support. And the most important factor in this has been the togetherness of the Senior Leadership Team.

Since the departure of Raul Sanllehi, Edu, Arteta and Kroenke Jr have worked together on all football matters, with finally Vinai Venkatesham and now Richard Garlick dealing with the commercial arm of the team.

Everyone knew their roles. there was no ego. No back stabbing. No self promoting. And the clarity of direction in the board room led to a clarity of direction on the football pitch.

Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa are probably the 4 best run clubs in England right now. They are the ones whose leadership teams are pulling as one. Zero infighting.

Meanwhile Tottenham’s boardroom is in crisis. Manchester United’s in clueless. Chelsea’s is at civil war. And Newcastle and West Ham have individuals self-promoting themselves. Like those well run clubs rise to the top, those with issues often falter.

Whilst Edu’s skills as a sporting director might be replaceable, the relationship he has with both Kroenke and Arteta is unique and not easily replicable.

Off to Forest?

In the summer, Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis spoke about how he wanted to poach Edu.

The Greek owner reportedly had high hopes for Edu, with rumours circulating that he would install the Brazilian as a sort-of CEO specialising in international football across all his endeavours.

Ultimately, Edu is an employee. And everyone who has worked for a company would have seen a senior colleague leave for a role on the next step of the ladder. Even if that ladder is at a smaller organization.

Whilst joining Nottingham Forest will be a step down in organization size, the job role Marinakis has him penciled in for is a more senior run. He would be running the entire football operation across multiple countries on behalf of Marinakis rather than just as a sporting director at Arsenal.

With the multi-club model becoming more and more popular, this is a step that could eventually see Edu return back up the table to the likes of a Manchester City or Chelsea overseeing their owners multi-club structure.

And I would imagine the new job comes with a huge payrise…

Shunned by Arsenal?

Arsenal appointed Richard Garlick as new Director of Football Operations back in January. It is a role that I am sure Edu had put his hat in for…

Being shunned for a job is not a good feeling, and can lead you looking for jobs elsewhere. Is this potentially what has happened to Edu?

He felt he was ready to take the next step up in his career. We told him there was a better candidate. Edu began looking for a new job. Again, if you think of this as normal work life, it is something that everyone will probably go through at some point.

Having had discussions with Marinakis over the summer (not illegal to have conversations with a potential new employer), he might have hit Arsenal with an ultimatum – pay me more and promote me or I am off. And if this is true, then Arsenal have shown him the door.

Garlick influence

When Edu came in, Arsenal were lacking “football men” in the boardroom. The majority of those running the club were more focused on finances and commercial deals than the pitch. Edu changed that.

Richard Garlick is a football man.

He spent over 8 years at West Brom before becoming the Premier League’s Director of Football. Garlick’s LinkedIn profile outlines his history in the game:

I held a variety of positions, including Legal Director, Club Secretary, Sporting and Technical Director and Director of Football Administration. I was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2010.

Responsible for all football administration matters at WBA and led on negotiations with players, intermediaries, clubs, head coaches and senior football staff.

The feeling at the club could now be that with a football man at the helm, we no longer need Edu.

Previously the man at the top of the tree (Vinai, Ivan), were business first. Meanwhile Garlick has all the skills of Edu and more!

We may well see Garlick absorb Edu’s roles into his own job, and then offset some of the commercial minded roles to Juliet Slott., the clubs Chief Commercial Officer.

That would see us focused on the football from the very top, rather than commercial first then football.

This does not mean garlic has pushed Edu out. More than the leadership structure has been potentially reviewed and a decision made that you do not need two people (Edu and Garlick) with a similar skill set capable of fulfilling a similar role.

Other runners and riders…

I have seen some mention Marc Overmars, but he is currently on a year long ban from all football activities. I am not sure if we would want to touch him.

If we are looking for a more junior person to take over some of Edu’s lesser responsibilities, then we might see Per Mertesacker promoted from Academy Manager. That way we would keep that strong link between Arteta and the board through the Big German!

Keenos

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