DAVID RAYA SIGNS AND ARSENAL SELL
A Labour kneeslide into Downing Street. Do I have anything to say on the politics? No. We don’t do that here. But do I have anything to say about it with regards to Arsenal? Absolutely.
Keir Starmer is a massive Arsenal fan, so let’s get a few things on the docket early:
1. Government-subsidized beers and food for Arsenal fans, starting at The Emirates Cup.
2. Severe tax breaks on profit realized from player sales.
3. Repatriation of the land Spurs' stadium currently occupies for low-cost housing.
4. NW1 tax contributions to the Arsenal stadium rebuild that may or may not be happening.
5. If we are, at any point, pushing up against PSR, Keir can weigh in to buy a small plot of land for a couple of billion.
Now that’s what I call turning the page, people.
Arsenal finally started moving on the summer with David Raya joining us on a permanent deal. Edu was very pleased.
“He had a beautiful first season with us, winning the Premier League Golden Glove. He is a talented international, a great professional, and a popular figure at the club. We benefited from all of this last season during his loan with us. David’s signing is another strong example of our recruitment strategy in action, as we continue to build a team that will challenge for major trophies. We know there’s so much more to come from him and we are excited that he will continue to be a big part of the journey we are all on.”
David Raya was a signing I wasn’t quite sure about. Clearly a very good shot-stopper and great with the ball at his feet… but I remember watching him drop a horror-show moment in a playoff final. Well, it didn’t take long to be convinced of his powers. He’s not just good with the ball at his feet… he’s extremely brave. Add to that, he dominates his box and marauds outside it like a spare centre-back. Then there’s the shot-stopping, which we didn’t see a lot of last season, but it’s certainly there. He could be the best keeper in the Premier League next season if he keeps up the progress. A great signing and a very bold one - it certainly kept the keeping coach in a job for a bit longer.
We’ve secured #1, but the question is, can we shift our #2? The market looks bleak unless you have absolutely no experience or you’re in the Fudged Numbers Cartel. Newcastle is looking elsewhere for keepers. Chelsea doesn’t seem too interested. Outside those two clubs, I’m struggling with suitors.
Talking of Newcastle, they’ve finally agreed to shift Dan Ashworth off to Manchester United, and they’ve moved very fast on bringing in Paul Mitchell who was last at Monaco. This is a sharp move for them; he’s worked his magic at Southampton, Spurs, Leipzig, and now he’ll get a shot at the big time with Saudi money. There’s a lot of technical heft in the league these days.
Are you standing freely now? Take a seat. I have something to tell you.
Edu sold a player… for money.
Mika Biereth has exited Arsenal for £4m. Don’t laugh, that’s good money. We’re finally shifting the academy kids for decent coin. There were a lot of Arsenal fans that were hoping he’d make it in our first team; that was always a heady dream. Sending talent out on loan, letting them clock numbers up, then selling them at peak value is an art we certainly lack with our first team. But this is another example of getting the timing right after doing a good job with Balogun last season.
@Teamnewsandtix has been letting fly with some rumors that we’ll be moving on a player from Germany. Who knows what that name looks like. Musiala is valued at £120m, so not sure we’ll be getting him. Leroy Sane has worked with Arteta in the past and certainly offers us some of that primo BANG BANG, but he doesn’t really fit the age profile, nor does he boast the ruggedness I think we need. Kimmich is also exiting Bayern at some point, but again, this is a guy who is 29 years old, expensive, and it’s questionable if he’s better than what we already have.
Calafiori rumors have now entered the zone of incremental updates - which doesn’t always bode well for the story being true. He has a great profile, he’s handsome, and the price looks good. I just don’t really trust news when it’s coming from pay-to-play influencers + David Ornstein has been very quiet on all Arsenal news this window. I know you know, but clubs use leaks, and some of them put down money. It’s a good marketing tactic to sharpen interest in a player, set the market rate, and see if you can shake interest in a player.
Calafiori rumors work for Bologna who will see £50m as a huge windfall.
Calafiori rumors could work for Arsenal if they’re actually targeting someone else:
1. It gives them club leverage (‘we could put our cash here unless you lower the price’).
2. It gives them player leverage (‘This Italian kid only wants £70k p/w, lower your £200k a week demands’).
3. It tells the market Arsenal are active, which brings more options to the table.
Sky penned an interesting article on the player that might give you a bit of insight into what we’d be getting. This is a conversation being recalled by his Basel coach.
"Ricky, do you want to maximize your career?"
He replied: "What do you mean, coach?"
"I think you are playing the wrong position."
"He didn't think about it many seconds: let's work together. I put him from the full-back position into the center and he did it well."
In his first season at Bologna, he won the most aerial duels, made the most interceptions, and landed the most assists for a centre-back in Europe. That’s a pretty wild profile to have and he kind of fits the weird profiles Arteta tracks to give him maximum unpredictability. Remember Rob Edwards' comment on Arsenal?
“They’re the one team out of all the three fighting that can play any game — if it’s physical, footballing, running, whatever it is they’ve got the answer, the personnel to play anything. They’ve got no weaknesses.”
One weakness is the midblock - a player like Calafiori is a big help for problems like that (if he’s good).
Also - I’ll just leave this graph here:
One player we won’t be getting is Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutchman is close to agreeing to a £34m deal to go to United. That’s quite a low fee; I thought United started all bids at £60m. It shows that the market isn’t flush like it used to be. I like the look of the player, but I have to be honest, I’m not sure I’d be thrilled if we moved on him. This feels like a rebuild striker vs. a cherry-on-top explosive talent type of name. 23 years old and uncapped in a pretty bland Dutch team says a lot to me - you hear me, fam?
If you love podcasts, then get another Johnny special in your ears. This time, with Luke Kempner. Comedian, impersonator, actor… all the talents. It’s a really fun listen. You’ll have fun.
That’s all the content we have for you today! Enjoy yourself. xx