As the return to a brand new season of premier league football approaches, things are beginning to move quickly for Arsenal in the transfer market. So far, they have brought in Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares on permanent deals and have also signed Willian on a free from Chelsea. According to various sources, a move for young Lille central defender Gabriel Magalhaes is edging closer with the transfer at ‘Arsenal fans checking flight maps stage’. It looks like the gunners hopes of Dani Ceballos returning, either on loan or on a permanent deal are dwindling with Real Madrid playing hard ball. There have been no notable exits as of yet but a recent report from Sky Sports suggests Maitland-Niles could be on his way to Wolves. The report stated that a move was ‘close’. Matteo Guendouzi is quite obviously a player the club actively want to move on, which may be big reason why they seem to be having difficulty finding a club. There was reputable sources reporting that he was offered in part exchange for Thomas Partey but Atletico were not interested in the deal-wanting cash only. There’s a number of players who Arsenal would supposedly be willing to sell with Sokratis, Torreira and Lacazette apparently available for the right price. Oh, and there’s also the small matter of our director of football leaving.
Obviously, there is still a huge amount of work to do. This project is about more than one transfer window. The Willian signing was slightly controversial signing in some aspects and while I share peoples concerns with regard to Kia’s coziness with certain members of the clubs hierarchy, I believe this to be a good signing in isolation. He should give us a degree of creatively out wide that we’ve been sorely lacking, even under the improved Mikel Areta team. His goals and assist records isn’t exactly spectacular, but he’s a good link player and has really good technical quality. It will be interesting to see how we line up with him in the side. My first instinct would be that he would play on the left with Aubameyang moving to center forward. However, Arteta has been really reluctant to use the Gabonese international there. It’s also been suggested that Willian could operate in a more central position, behind the front three. I can’t say I’ve ever seen him play there for Chelsea but if it worked it could help alleviate the dearth of creativity in our midfield. The Guendouzi situation is a really disappointing one. He’s seriously let himself down. However, asides from the obvious off the pitch antics and issues-he’s a player that perplexes me. I think there’s a player there. I’m just not sure what type of player. He’s quite alright at a number of things but doesn’t really excel in anything. His passing is fairly basic, as is technical ability and he’s not someone who really dominates physically. He’s got a sort of tenacity that fans tend to like but too often we see his petulant side. His antics at the end of the Brighton game were silly and his apparent refusal to apologise is even more stupid. I think it’s fair to say that he’s burnt his bridges at this stage and should leave. If we can get between 30-40 million for him then I think we’d be doing very well. Torreira’s future probably depends on that of others. If Guendouzi leaves and Ceballos doesn’t come back, then I don’t think we can sell the Uruguayan as well. I definitely don’t think he’s one we should or will be pushing out the door. Even if he hasn’t quite lived up to the early expectations he set up for himself, I think his qualities could be useful going forward.
The announcement several weeks ago that our head of football, Raul Sanhelli, would be leaving the club took most people, including myself, by surprise. Its seems like such a long time ago that he was being fondly referred to as Don Raul. After some very poor results on the field, transfer inactivity off it and an attempt to give Unai Emery a new contract amidst one of the darkest times in Arsenal’s recent history, his reputation has basically taken a freefall. Just days previous to Sanhelli’s departure, the club appointment a lawyer, Tim Lewis, to undertake an overview of the clubs spending and in particular the signing of Nicolas Pepe, who the club felt they overpaid for. While I wouldn’t got as far as to celebrate a man losing his job, I think this is a positive move from Arsenal. It has felt like Arsenals transfer business has lacked clarity and forward thinking. A good leadership core will be vital going forward and I have a feeling we are better placed with Edu and Arteta leading us.
If we get Gabriel over the line and Aubameyang signs a new deal, which are both expected at this stage, then I think we’re looking at 2 to 3 more players coming in and several players leaving as well. It’s fairly obvious that there isn’t a big chunk of money for Arteta and Edu to splash out on new talent, so we’ll need to be smart and will most likely have to sell in order to buy. We spoke about Guendouzi and he’s a player who could bring in a relatively large sum. Alexandre Lacazette is another player who has been linked with an exit and he too is a valuable asset, despite the fact that he is going into the last year of his contract. Midfield is going to a major issue, hence the consistent links with Thomas Partey. Arsenal have struggled to find the right balance in that area for some time with numerous partnerships never really working. We lack steel and structure at the heart of our midfield and we also lack creatively further forward, which is why I’d like to see two midfielders come in. A lack of creativity has been a huge problem for the past couple of years. We simply don’t create enough chances. Aubameyang and Lacazette have lived off scraps for while now and it’s essential that they (or at least Aubameyang if Laca leaves) have someone to provide for them.
Our season starts on the 12th of September but first there is the Community Shield game against Liverpool to prepare for. It’s not a game that either team will be too pleased about having to play-two weeks before the new season is supposed to begin. I’d expect Arsenal to go with a strong enough team regardless with maybe a few of the younger players given a chance to play. It’s the sort of trophy that, if you win-It’s a trophy and if you don’t, it doesn’t really matter. You’d expect Arsenal to organise a few friendlies between this game and the opening fixture away to Fulham on the 12th. Overall, the next few weeks should be very busy for Arsenal with incomings and outgoings expected in the transfer market as well as some actual football.
TheGoonerStation 