PAINFUL EXIT OR PERFECT TIMING?

THE ART OF MOVING PLAYERS OUT THE CLUB FOR VERY, VERY GOOD FEES

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about timing. So much of life is about luck, and so much luck is about timing. You could say timing is the most controllable feature of luck, and maybe that timing is built off experience and the feel it gives you over the course of a lifetime.

Why am I thinking about timing this morning? Because Arsenal have largely been dreadful at timing over the past 20 years. We buy high, sell low, play chicken on contracts and lose… and we have never sold a player for more than £50m. We haven’t even broken £40m. An Arsenal side that has boasted some serious talent over the years has failed to hit a magical number that was first breached when Fernando Torres moved to Chelsea in 2011.

A lot of that is down to timing. Cesc should have been a £50m transfer. Alexis Sánchez the same. There have been plenty of players we could have moved for bigger fees, but we didn’t because we held on too long or dithered.

Well, this summer might present an opportunity for Arsenal to move on a player for a record fee… that player might be Gabriel Martinelli.

The Brazilian has not moved forward with his game. He runs down blind alleys, his game has been largely sussed in the league, and his G&As do NOT merit the contract he’s on. We love him because he plays the game the English love to see the game played, but at a certain point, when you’re looking to move to the promised land, you have to ask the question: can he ever offer the threat on the left that we have on the right?

Sometimes, you might have to take a chance on timing without knowing the answer.

Bayern Munich have been hunting down a winger. They look imperious in the Club World Cup right now, and it would seem they are not going to get Nico Williams. That has turned their attention to Martinelli, who could be available if Arsenal feel like they’re in a good place with a target of the talent level of Rodrygo.

The Madrid Brazilian isn’t a marginal improvement—he’s a game changer. Martinelli won’t be seeing many minutes on a clogged left side if that move happens, so there’s a good chance:

1. we need to raise funds

2. Martinelli won’t want that heat

Also, can you imagine what it would be like for him in the Bundesliga? More space, lower-quality full-backs, and a manager who will totally understand his game?

Bayern has big money, Martinelli fits their profile perfectly, and this sort of interest feels very, very hot. So let’s see where it goes. Arsenal MIGHT break their transfer departure record four months after the exit of Edu.

Jurrien Timber has been podcasting, and he had this to say about his ankle injury via Voetball International.

“It just got worse and worse. I had a scan with the Oranje team, and the conclusion was that I needed surgery at the end of the season. I wanted to play for Arsenal, but it was really hard.”

“I only trained one day before the first leg against PSG. At half-time, I thought, ‘I’ve no idea how I’m going to finish this—I can’t even run.’ But in the second half, the adrenaline kicked in again, and by the 80th minute, it was time to come off.”

“I didn’t train at all that week and was stressing about the second leg. It hurt so much. The manager’s thinking, ‘Jur had a scan, it can’t get worse, so make sure you’re ready.’ But he doesn’t see how much pain I’m actually in.”

“I made an overlap for Saka. Running shouldn’t hurt—but it did, so I stopped sprinting. I was really struggling, but the manager said, ‘Jur, take your time.’ Just walking was hard.”

“I knew I was going to have surgery on my ankle after the season. I just wanted to play these games, but I had this feeling I wasn’t going to make it. Turns out, adrenaline is the best drug.”

These stories fill me with pain. There’s the reality that, in sport, you have to play through pain. You are paid to put your body on the line—and that’s what all the greats of the game do. There’s also the truth about how Arteta operates… he pushes players to their limits and often breaks them.

I don’t know what the professional view is on this, but I really hope we read less of this next season. We will never have world-class options in every position, but it’d be nice if we could reduce the wear and tear on players so they’re not requiring surgery from December.

I hope there was a serious review of the injury issues we had last season—and that the club had it done independently so the final report wasn’t just, “a bit of bad luck, lads.”

We’ll never win the league if we can’t keep our players in good condition. The grade on load management and freshness this season would be a D- for me.

Mini Book Review – My Arsenal Life

I’d love to possess the abilities of George Orwell to review a book, but I had six cocktails last night, and I don’t have the talent to meander through that sort of brain devastation.

However, I wanted to put some words down about this book by Martin Wengrow because it was a history book on Arsenal that boasted passion, depth, and a unique framing of eras, without getting too densely into dull historical references that are hard to connect to.

The book is basically the story of 75 years of fandom through a guy you’d have to say is one of the OG super fans. The story focuses on a man who admitted to me that his fandom is a sickness, and how he experienced The Arsenal through the years.

The story weaves high highs and painful lows. He adds context and intrigue to stories that I thought were buried… particularly on Bruce Rioch and his outrageous list of players he demanded Arsenal purchase. Lizarazu and Zidane were among the names he was shilling for.

When I read the book, I thought of my mother, who once said to me: “Do you ever think about the pointlessness of all these things you do for Arsenal?” This book crystallized why she was so wrong on that front. There’s no more beautiful anchor in life than a football club you love deeply.

So, if you’re looking for a summer read, buy it here. And give Martin a follow here, and the excellent David Fensome who penned the story here.

Finally… we had the pleasure of a pod crossover with Elliot from ArsenalVision. It was great fun to chat on all things Arsenal. Take a listen and suuuuuub up so you can get it early next time.