PB
@olipb
Write/Talk Arsenal. UFC. Comms. BBC Sport Arsenal contributor. Read my weekly free substack:
Arsenal have a deep recent history of successful dealings with Real Sociedad. Jon Martin has again been linked with us today. He's only just turned 20 & rated as one of the best CBs in La Liga. Excellent on the ball (91.2% success, 55 ppg). Right-footed. £42m release clause.
Not sure going for Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers at the same time is wise - pushes price up for both. Arsenal clearly know Saliba is going to be out for significant time by going after Konsa who is 29 in October.
£34m is the new £20m. Christos Tzolis is a 24 y/o winger with huge output and transferable skills into a higher level. Brilliant mentality and put Arsenal above all other options. Can see him becoming a fan favourite. Also had the summer off, ready to go in pre-season next week!
Best way around it is to sign a few of them, then invest in youth (both internal and external) so you aren't continually spending these numbers in every single position.
Arsenal will need to overpay to get players that improve their squad, whether that's £80m+ for 29y/o Bruno Guimaeres or £100m+ for Morgan Rogers - it's what it will cost.
Arsenal fans were raised to be accountants because of The Emirates and Arsene Wenger era - but the reality is we are now operating at the very top of the game - trying to sign the very best - against a backdrop where £100m+ transfers are becoming regular - relegated players for £85m.
Newcastle are already having to rebuild having lost Isak, Gordon and Tonali in quick succession. There is no point keeping hold of an unhappy, soon to be 29 year old. Makes sense for them to cash in and fully rebuild, at this stage. Steur and Manzambi to come in.
I think Gyokeres is under-appreciated by our fans, but if you can make the swap with a bit of money (less than 50m) you absolutely do that. Julian Alvarez has been my dream striker since he was at River Plate. Level-raiser.
Big fan of Lamine Camara in the Senegal midfield tonight - intrigued to see how he does against such a good France team. Also a big fan of his Monaco teammate Akliouche, on the France bench.
When Kai Havertz was fit and in prime form, we were flying and looked brilliant. Hope he can use this World Cup to regain rhythm and stay fit next season. Good start tonight.
With all decent PL midfielders being quoted at £100m, Bouaddi at £60m definitely seems like a good option if we can do it. He's 18 - still raw and a bit inconsistent but with Zubimendi, Rice and Myles emerging as ready, Arsenal can afford more of a gamble on a younger player.
If another PL club sign Christos Tzolis for £35m and he does well and instantly is worth double, we’d have people moaning about why we never find these players. Looks like we will be bringing two left wingers and potentially a striker, they can’t all be £100m players people.
Barcola and Rogers - neither perfect but they were my top two options for LW this summer. If we can land both that would be elite as Rogers can play a number of roles. Both a great age (about to turn 24) and big ceilings plus have already proven their quality at the top level.
Atletico want to sell Julian Alvarez for over 100m euros. Despite the media briefing Barcelona do not have this money and they don’t want to sell to another La Liga club.
🌶️take - I'd prefer James Garner to Adam Wharton or Alex Scott. He's not the hipster favourite but he's the best footballer. Can cover RB, can cover ground and ball dominant + not a Spurs fan.
Arsenal confident of landing Emmanuel Mbemba from PSG for compensation fee (£150k - contract up end of month). Highly-rated young defender, CB/LB. Arsenal were in the market for a high potential player in that position (Valdepenas) - this would be a much cheaper option.
Fair play to Marquinhos 👏🏻 just about the only person in the world who demonstrated respect and maturity last night.
Rogers, Barcola (and Yildiz) always been top of my list for LW signings this summer. All a great age for a big investment (23) and although different profiles, could see either being integrated into the team really nicely.
I'm no video editing expert. But I made this to get us in the mood for the final week 🔴⚪️ Fall in love again and again 🎬
