Morning all.
Mikel Arteta will meet the press this morning ahead of our game against Liverpool on Saturday evening. It’s a game which plenty at stake for both sides, and plenty of history/talking points, so let’s see what he says about it. We can dig into that game in more detail here tomorrow, and on our Patreon preview podcast – and of course we’ll cover all the main stories over on Arseblog News.
Meanwhile, there was some noise yesterday about the Super League after the European Supreme Court ruled that FIFA and UEFA rules had been ‘unlawful’. Does it make much difference? Not really, this piece by Miguel Delaney in The Independent lays out why, but I do wonder if this is the first little fracture that might lead to changes down the line.
The Premier League released a statement saying:
The ruling does not endorse the so-called “European Super League” and the Premier League continues to reject any such concept. Supporters are of vital importance to the game and they have time and again made clear their opposition to a “breakaway” competition that severs the link between domestic and European football.
While UEFA President Aleksandr Ceferin said:
We will not try to stop them. They can create whatever they want. I hope they start their top competition as soon as possible… with two clubs. Football is not for sale.
‘Football is not for sale by anybody but us’, might be a better way to put it, and we’re now in the invidious position that FIFA and UEFA, two organisations who have plundered every possible penny from football, now seem to have some kind of moral high ground. A new competition like the European Super League can only have one aim: to make money. Which is fine, we all understand that, we’re all on the same page, but when Infantino and Ceferin go holier-than-thou about the game not being for sale as they enjoy their champagne lifestyle and cosy up to the worst people in the world who want to use football for their own ends, it’s a bit much.
So far, lots of clubs have issued statements to say they are rejecting the Super League, including Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and others around Europe. Nothing yet from Arsenal, but I suspect it will come at some point. Or not. I don’t really care because there’s no way the club can back this plan. After which all the noise will die down for a while and life will go on. I don’t think we’ve heard the end of this though. Too many people see this concept as a way to make a lot of money, and ultimately that will keep them going. The riches of the Premier League are viewed with envy by many, and this would be one way to bridge the gap – especially for certain clubs who are financially stretched as it is. Let’s see what happens next.
Elsewhere, David Ornstein has dropped a transfer news update over on The Athletic. He’s done it for all clubs, but we don’t care about them. Here’s a summary:
Douglas Luiz ❌ : Not at all surprising. His form and contract situation at Aston Villa would make this a near impossible deal to do in January, and the only way it could get done is to offer them an incredible amount of money – which would be really stupid because he’s a good player but not so good we should ignore common sense or our bank balance.
Ivan Toney ❌ : He’s gonna stay at Brentford until the summer. With Bryan Mbuemo injured for months, why would they let him go? Another aspect to this situation is the fact he kind of owes Brentford something after missing the first half of the season due to his betting infractions. Am I the only one who would question his reported willingness to jump ship – even if I can understand why joining Arsenal would be an attractive prospect?
Martin Zubimendi : This one is more open-ended but again January is a difficult time to do business – especially with Real Sociedad in the knock-out stages of the Champions League. I do wonder if this is a summer deal – and it would make sense to see a 24 year old arriving as one or two of our 30+ central midfielders depart.
I don’t know what Arsenal are planning for January, but more than ever I suspect they are playing their cards as close to their chest as possible. If I had to guess, I’d say something from South America might be a possibility, or another deal along the lines of Jakub Kiwior – where a player nobody ever mentioned ends up arriving in a deal that just gets done one day. I do think there’s a need for at least one addition, but who and how and when – your guess is as good as mine.
Right, let’s leave it there for today. There’s a brand new Arsecast for you below, happy listening.
