Morning, welcome to a new week and welcome to the final week of the transfer window. There’s a lot to do from an Arsenal perspective, so let’s try and break it down.
Eddie Nketiah
Despite an agreement between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, this deal didn’t go through as terms between Eddie and his potential new club could not be agreed. I’ve seen him get some stick for this, and while I understand it because basically everyone thinks it’s the right thing for us to sell and for him to go, none of us know the full details so to label him ‘greedy’ (and I’ve seen worse), seems a bit unfair to me.
Maybe it was about money, but it might have been a case he just didn’t fancy Forest, their manager, the ‘project’, or something else. Almost immediately after the news about that breakdown emerged, we heard stories about interest from Crystal Palace, and that too might well have played a part.
Eddie is a London boy, so if he had the choice between staying in his home city or moving to the midlands, chances are he’d go for the former option. All the reporting says he’s still expected to leave before the window closes, so let’s see what this week brings with regards his situation, and I think Palace would be a decent fit for him.
Aaron Ramsdale
There was talk of Southampton interest, but it looks like they’re bringing in Justin Bijlow from Feyenoord – a player we were actually linked with a few months back. If you recall, his injury record was a bit of concern, but that’s another avenue now blocked off for Ramsdale.
Who is left? Wolves had reported interest, but perhaps they might think a couple of defenders might be better after the pasting they took yesterday from Chelsea. It’s hard to know at this point where he’s going to end up, and what kind of deal it’s going to be. Obviously Arsenal would like to sell, but their valuation of him plus his big wages make that very difficult.
Reiss Nelson
I’ve said more than once I think he should go to play regularly, his career needs it. Right now though, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of interest from anywhere. Lots of things can happen quickly as we near the deadline, and at this point I suspect the best we (and he) can hope for is a loan move somewhere with an option should he impress while at that particular club. If another season passes him by as he’s a bit-part squad member at Arsenal, I worry he’ll stagnate even further, making a departure even less likely as long as he’s under contract.
Jakub Kiwior
I put him here not because there’s anything concrete, but with players ahead of him at left-back and now at left centre-half, it would make some sense for him to go and play elsewhere. I think he’s good enough to be a regular somewhere, whether that’s Premier League or abroad, and I suspect he’ll be one to watch over the course of this week.
Fabio Vieira
His loan move to Porto opens up the door further for Ethan Nwaneri to get minutes this season. I am simultaneously not surprised and a bit surprised by this one. It makes sense, and it does tell me they think Nwaneri is ready to go at just 17, but he was the de facto back-up for Saka throughout pre-season so I just wonder about that space in the squad now.
Beyond that, I can’t see us sanctioning any other departures unless a bid we can’t turn down arrives for a player we could easily replace. And it’s hard to see who that might be.
Arrivals
We know Mikel Merino is basically all done, and we expect that announcement very soon – perhaps today. The Aaron Ramsdale situation requires an addition if he goes, and the talk is that Espanyol’s Joan Garcia is the man they want. It does still leave us without a great deal of experience in that goalkeeping group though.
Beyond Raya, Garcia is 23 without much under his belt in terms of playing, and then there’s Tommy Setford who signed from Ajax this summer but who is just 18. I think there is room for a more senior addition. If the Wolves interest in Ramsdale is serious, could Dan Bentley be used as a makeweight in that deal?
Then the big question is do we add something to the forward line. I think Saturday’s game showed very clearly how much that is necessary. After Leandro Trossard, there wasn’t much on the bench that you’d trust to get you a goal or change a game if you needed it. The injury to Gabriel Jesus is reportedly not serious, but perhaps it’s a reminder at just the right time that depending on his fitness and availability is something of a risk.
I can’t see us going all out for Nico Williams or anything like that, but I really believe this squad needs something/someone else in that front line. Who it is, I have no idea. The closer we get to the deadline the more people might be willing to compromise, but I hope that Arteta, Edu and the recruitment team have something interesting up their sleeves for this week.
Speaking after the Villa game, the manager said (in the context of the Jesus injury): “We are a little bit short, but if we can do something, we will do it.”
So, let’s see how it all pans out over the course of this week. There’s a lot to do, so crank up the coffee machine in Edu’s office, and prepare for some late nights. It could be quite interesting!
Right, I’m gonna leave it there for now. Please join us for a brand new Arsecast Extra a little later on. Keep an eye out for the call for questions on Threads @gunnerblog and @arseblog with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
Pod should be out mid-morning. For now, have a good one.
