Having some trouble in the bar trying to get the wifi going. Didn’t know there were two N’s in Guinness. Felt quite dim after demanding to see the manager. Then I got thinking about the Guinness brand. Some guy, called Guinness, was like… I’ll name this black good stuff after myself. I love it when people do that. No good ideas, so I’ll just name it after myself. I won’t be doing that with my craft beer. I do not have a surname suited to that type of branding, no one is asking for a pint of what I’m offering.
You know who is offering me something I like? Kia J. That Willian thing? I’m over it. I am quite excited by the prospect of Bruno G. I have come to terms with the short-term nature of it, very specifically because my hope is that we keep Zubimendi and Myles and the person making way for this role is Norgaard who couldn’t hack it. The £60m fee is quite a lot, but the impact would be immediate, and he would change how we could play.
But, you know the thing that really appeals to me about him? The player has always wanted Arsenal. For some reason, he’s always fancied us. Remember the announcement video at Newcastle and the slight at Edu? That’s because they really wanted to park him at Arsenal.
Well, now we might get the chance to see him in an Arsenal shirt.
Of the rumours that have been bubbling this summer… those that I’ve fallen in love with are:
Julián Álvarez
Morgan Rogers
Bruno G
If you finish a summer like that, without selling anyone you really want to keep, have you upgraded? You have, you really have.
Something you need to be keeping an eye on is the Gyokeres rumours. Fabrizio is a pay-to-play guy and if he’s stoking the fires of a ‘HE’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE BUT THERE’S SOOOO MUCH INTEREST’ story on a player, you’d best believe he’s talking about it because there’s smoke that Arsenal want out there. There is no reason for anyone to be talking about Gyokeres unless a market is being created for his services. Why would the player be agitating for a move after one year and why would the club be in any position to sell? My take? They will accept a good offer for him and close the chapter on him. Keep an eye on it… we can do better… and even his biggest super fans understand this.
One player who is always top of everyone’s ‘should leave’ list is Leo Trossard. But last night, we saw once again, why it’s hard to say goodbye… he scores goals. He’s a very good player, he’s not too old, he’s very fit, and I think I would feel absolutely fine if he was part of the squad heading into next season. Martinelli? I’d rather say goodbye. But Trossard? He’s always been a very good squad player. 30 appearances in all comps? Why not.
In related buzz, it would appear that Liverpool have lost out on Yan Diomandé. The man from Ivory Coast has opted to join… PSG. That leaves Bradley Barcola looking at third choice on the left, which I would imagine means he’ll be leaving for a good but not wild fee. The issue with this player is there will no doubt be a bidding war from the Premier League clubs, but, there could also be interest from Real Madrid if they sell Vini Jnr this summer to make weight for a heavy Mourinho rebuild.
Spinning rumour plates as a strategy for subterfuge has to end at some point, Barcola is a spinning plate, one that might get snatched if we’re caught up in the Julián Álvarez machine. I’m very interested with this story. Jet-heeled, light on his feet, brilliant from a standing start… but is that good enough for Mikel Arteta this summer? Soon, we will know.
Arsenal continued to shake up the backroom, Sam Wilson, one of the lead performance people, has exited, rumours he’s going to Juventus. But, read between the lines here. Arteta is moving on the people who impact injuries. We don’t know why, but if your job is to keep players at peak performance, and you can’t get your message across to a manager who has clear patterns of behaviour, you’re probably going to get moved on. My hope with all these moves is that the next batch of people Arteta brings in are strong enough to bring him into line so we don’t see the same issues when the team is under pressure.
In ‘what are the other teams doing’ news, it seems quite likely that Chelsea are going to bring Granit to the most batsh*t club in the game. Xabi Alonso clearly read the Marc Cucurella article in The Athletic and agreed… he needs a leader in the dressing room and that is going to be the Swiss who went Invincible with him at Leverkusen. Also worth noting that I was told by someone at Arsenal that Granit is apparently an insanely talented thinker when it comes to coaching. I wonder if he might be eyeing the Arteta model of getting to a top club? Still, you love to see ex-Arsenal players we treated unfairly getting another crack at the top. Happy for him, but Chelsea does cross a ‘I’ll be nice about him’ line. He is my enemy now, and yours too, no more niceties. But, not sure Chelsea’s opening £8m offer is going to move Sunderland. Quite funny levels here. Gary Cahill-esque for a team that usually starts all their bids with £60m in cash.
Arsenal inviting Como to pre-season? This feels like a loaded choice. An ex-captain, doing mega things at a small, but beautiful, Italian club. Coming over for pre-season, maybe some drinks after with some important people under the guise of ‘for old times’ sake. He was at the Burnley game by the way. Succession planning has started early, you love to see it.
Ok, that’s about all I have for today, check out the Friday Debrief with me and Jacob. More podcast this week as the transfer market heats up! x