It’s a brand new week, and one we hope that will bring some movement in the transfer market.
A great fat nothing happened over the course of the weekend. Well, nothing that became public anyway. Perhaps there have been things going on behind the scenes, but I don’t suppose we’ll ever know.
Here’s what I expect from this week.
1 – Kai Havertz to be officially announced as an Arsenal player. Mikel Arteta did an interview with Marca yesterday, and would not be drawn on Declan Rice, but said this of Havertz:
Talent has a price and, at Arsenal, we are always interested in young players with experience. I repeat, I am not talking about players from other clubs, but, in the case of Kai, he has already shown a lot, including a Champions League. He is a talented, versatile player and he is only 24 years old.
Which, by implication, suggests this is basically done. As I mentioned, the medical has taken place, and all that’s left is to announce the deal.
2 – Clarity on Rice. My feeling is still that we’ll get the player, but with Man City lurking you do worry a little bit. Either way, I think this will be the week it happens. The clock is ticking, not just for us, but for West Ham too. They need to find a replacement/replacements for their best player, so the sooner it gets done the better.
An interesting part of this is that while they are 100% within their rights to demand a big fee for Rice, it might well affect how they do their subsequent business. Every club they go to buy from will know they’re a bit flush, so perhaps that might impact the price they pay for whoever they’re after. Not that I really care, but still. There might be something to be said for not leaking to the world every single thing that’s going on.
3 – There’s a lot of chatter around Jurrien Timber, the Ajax defender, so that’s something that we might make progress with this week.
4 – The Departure Lounge might start to fill up. As much as we need to strengthen, there are going to be players who leave. There are obvious ones, like Cedric, Nicolas Pepe, and Nuno Tavares, but there have been some whispers around Eddie Nketiah and interest in him from other Premier League clubs. We know there’s a decision to be made with regard to Folarin Balogun. Cash in now, or give him a chance? What is happening with Kieran Tierney? I think we might get a few stories this week about outgoings.
Beyond that, let’s play it by ear. Elsewhere, it’s good to see Emile Smith Rowe starting for England’s U21s, and scoring again. He had a back-heeled effort disallowed early in the game, but in the second half fizzed in an excellent shot make it 2-0 against Israel – which turned out to be the final score.
Ordinarily, you’d be worried about a player taking place in a summer tournament after a long season, but for Smith Rowe this is exactly what he needs. He barely played in the period from January to May when he was fit again, so this gives him a great opportunity to find some sharpness in his game before he returns for pre-season. He has already spoken about fighting for his place at Arsenal, so let’s hope the rest of this tournament goes well for him, and he can come back and do exactly that.
I mentioned the Arteta interview with Marca (we have a transcript in English here), and while there wasn’t a great deal that was groundbreaking, he was clear about the summer. He acknowledged the fact that we have already spent quite a lot to regenerate the squad, bringing the average age down, and the targetting of younger players means heavy investment at the start, but less as you go on because you’re building a group that can stay together.
However, he also said:
The demands are increasing and we have to go to the market to find what we don’t have to keep improving.
And when asked if it was possible Arsenal could win the title next season, replied:
If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here. That is our ambition. We know the difficulty: it’s the best league in the world and next season is going to be the toughest league in Premiership history. Why? It already was last year. I’ve been here for 22 years and I’ve never seen a competitive level like that. So much quality, so much organization, so many resources, so many good coaches… and now Pochettino and Iraola are coming. That’s the level and to win the Premiership you have to be the best. That’s why you have to strengthen.
We know the plan is clear. Now, it’s all about the execution. Let’s see what the week brings.
Right, I’ll leave it there for now. James and I will be recording an Arsecast Extra for you this morning. Keep an eye out for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
We should have the podcast for you around lunchtime at some point. Until then.
