The Media have us all believing that Arteta has been given a war chest to go on a complete transfer frenzy. Is that true or is it a false narrative created out of our current trajectory? We are by far the most frequently linked team in the news and we get hourly updates on our rumoured bids. Or maybe we are just massive on Twitter so to link someone to us generates the most attention.
Fans dream of Rice, Caicedo, Gundogan, the long awaited attacker, a couple of fullbacks and why not a centerback that is equal to Saliba but won’t sulk when benched on top of that. But is it a pipe-dream? Let me try and make sense of it all and give you my thoughts in the process.
In my opinion it’s pretty much guaranteed that we receive at least 90m in transfer fees. I’m referring to Tierney 35m, Balogun 35m, Xhaka 15m and Mari 5m. I don’t think we have ever had this many saleable assets before. And because of this it’s not unreasonable to think we can spend up to 250m in the summer. We had a net spend last summer of about 100m without the added revenue from coming 2nd and being in the Champions League. It would be crazy if we didn’t at the bare minimum match that total this summer.
Now it’s clear as day who our biggest target is this summer, Declan Rice. It makes too much sense to even debate the need for him. Replaces the leadership, height and box to box skills we lose when Xhaka leaves. But he also gives us an extra defensive dimension and long-term cover for Partey. Let’s say it gets done for 100m, now we have 150m left in the bank.
What’s the next priority? It surely seems like we are after Kai Havertz. What is the plan there? Based on where he’s played in his career it’s most reasonable to think he will be an option at the 8 and false 9 position. The fee is reportedly 60m, now we have 90m left in the bank.
That certainly feels tasty. Don’t let Xhaka’s production from midfield fool you into thinking we didn’t have a technical problem in the left 8 channel last season, or that we had a suitable replacement for Odegaard when needed. It probably never was the plan to play two defensive minded midfielders together in Arteta’s system. After all he told Xhaka he needed to change to stay in the team. ”Riceido” was a fan dream, it’s apparent it wasn’t Mikels. We should all be excited about how our system will look with two true attacking midfielders. And there are people out there who watch Rice on a weekly basis that are of the opinion that he could develop into a Gerrard type player in the future. Or just be the best 6 in the world so we can be more adventurous at the 8 positions,
The only way I see us going for Caicedo is if we baulk at Chelsea’s demands and do a late push for Gundogan as a free agent. That would free up the neccesary cash. Jorginho or Partey would have to go too for the minutes to be realistically spread out.
What’s our next priority after that? I believe it will be a fullback before we go after a winger (if at all). We don’t really have a need for a centerback with Saliba, Gabriel, White and Kiwior (and Holding) in the squad. I believe we are the only realistic option for Joao Cancelo, and that is why I think he will end up here regardless of wage demands or that City doesn’t want to sell us more players. Its just too quiet around him at the moment. There’s not a single team outside of England that can or will pay the transfer fee and high wages he commands. People are unsure of his character to be a rotational option but he is good enough to make a position his own so if he isn’t playing enough it will only be on him. I can really see a fit for him and I hope 45m will be enough to get it done, now we have 45m left in the bank.
How do our backline options look now? Well if we have two injuries like we did at the tail end of last season we could still play a world class defence consisting of Cancelo White Gabriel Zinchenko/Kiwior instead of relying on Holding. We can be less predictable in how we approach games if we have a specialist fullback that can attack on one side and invert on the other as an option.
What to do with the last 45m then? The problem with buying Havertz for me is that we can’t really buy a winger. Because to have 4-5 options at the 9 position (Jesus, Trossard, Havertz, Nketiah, Martinelli) it’s not realistic to add a winger to the mix considering almost everyone in that pool is comfortable playing on the wing. We will most likely use our Brazilian nine on the right if we need to rest Saka and play the taller plan B option in Havertz centrally. The former wonderkid likes to gravitate towards the right when playing up front and that would suit Gabi’s instincts to attack the box.
But if the manager doesn’t worry about fierce competition that money could easily get us one of the right wing targets we have been linked to this past year. Moussa Diaby is the one most heavily linked right now. But then I don’t really understand the plan to resign Nelson, buy Havertz and place trust in ESR if we bring in a winger. The minutes don’t add up.
Rice, Havertz and Cancelo for 205m
Net spend would be below 115m
Maybe you will ask yourself if this is enough? Are we really stronger with these three players if we lose Xhaka, Tierney and maybe one of the Hale End strikers?
What were the issues last season? No cover for Saliba (Cancelo enables White to come inside). No like for like backup for Zinchenko (Cancelo can be that no problem). No cover for Partey (Rice is exactly that AND a potential upgrade on Xhaka). No dependable cover for Odegaard (Havertz fixes that in an instant). No cover for Saka (Havertz enables Jesus to go outside). No plan B option up front (Havertz height and aerial ability provides us with one).
Versatile players make the need for wholesale changes mute. Just be smart and don’t let players who have value to this squad leave easily. We will need the numbers.
Hello! Im a 39 year old family man from Sweden, born in Gothenburg, living in Stockholm. Why Arsenal? I was 11 years old and didnt have a PL team yet, but was a big fan of the Dutch national team with Dennis Bergkamp up front. So when he joined us in 95’ it was a easy choice which team I wanted to support. It only felt better when success quickly followed and Freddie Ljungberg came in. My first and only live game was the Palace game at the Emirates when Giroud scored that scorpion kick goal. My biggest regret will forever be that I never got to visit Highbury. Most of my friends through life have been Man Utd or Liverpool fans but I have always been proud to be a Arsenal supporter. We are more than a club, with values I live by, and watching this Arteta revolution fills me with great joy. This beautiful club deserves to be at the top. Lets talk Arsenal!
Hello,
Unfortunately I’m fooled by Xhaka’s output last season and if it is true he wasn’t trusted to play the left 8 why wasn’t he sold?
Which other midfielder matched his goals and assists in the PL that’s isn’t an attacking midfielder? He was also almost available to play all the matches. He is also a defensive presence and I am worried to how our team would cope with his absence. I am wishing he stays on as we would have more matches to play and then Rice, Lavia, Gundogan et al would be eased into our playing pattern.