Morning.
There don’t seem to have been any updates on Viktor Gyokeres, Sporting and add-ons overnight. I don’t know if they’ve added on more add-ons, or if it’s the same add-ons they’re negotiating, but I know this: Mikel Arteta desperately wants to add the Swedish international onto the plane for Singapore this weekend, so I’d expect things to get sorted sooner rather than later.
I suspect the complication comes from the Sporting side, rather than Arsenal’s. We’ll probably get ‘Ahh just pay the money!’ comments, which I understand, but what if every time we agree to pay the money, they ask for something else.
Sporting President: “We want €5m after 10 appearances.”
Andrea Berta: “25 appearances.”
Sporting President: “Ok!”
Andrea Berta: “So we have a deal?”
Sporting President: “Yes”.
Andrea Berta: “Great”.
Sporting President: “But we want the €5m paid in Doubloons and treasure harvested from ships from the Spanish Armada, which were wrecked off the coast of Sligo in 1588!”
Andrea Berta:
Anyway, what should have been fairly routine has turned into something a bit more complicated. Not quite a saga, but still mildly irritating at this point. Let’s hope common ground can be found today and we can just get this done. I need to see Big Vik smashing the ball into the top corner asap.
Elsewhere in transfer news, it seems that Cristhian Mosquera has traveled to England to undergo a medical and complete the formalities of his move from Valencia. All going well he should be on the tour too, and as I’ve said, I think this is a solid signing, adding depth to our defence. I’ve seen reports saying this could mean the departure of Jakub Kiwior, while in The Athletic James reports there’s nothing really stirring there.
I have to say I’d be more than happy to keep him, he showed last season he’s a decent player, and it’s not as if we don’t have a few worries about a couple of our defenders and their fitness, so it’d be a nice fail-safe to have him around. The thing I come back to though is what the player himself wants. His stock rose when he deputised for Gabriel after his injury, and at 25 – having spent most of his time at Arsenal as a back-up – might this be the summer where more clubs are willing to take a look at him? If he wants regular first team football, he’s probably going to have to go elsewhere, and his options in the weeks ahead might be quite tempting. I still think it’s one to keep an eye on.
Meanwhile, David Ornstein reported last night (£) that Arsenal are in the final stages of talks with Ethan Nwaneri over a new deal. Obviously this is great news. He signed professional terms in March of last year when he turned 17, but only has 12 months left on that deal, and other clubs have been sniffing around. Some serious sniffing too, I believe, from rivals in the Premier League, and from Borussia Dortmund who were, it’s said, ready to show him the Jude Bellingham pathway.
When you look at where he is now, that must have been tempting, but it seems that despite some tough negotiations over the last little while, the club have convinced him this is the place to be. Perhaps the decision of Myles Lewis-Skelly to sign a new deal played a small part, but ultimately this will have been about how Arsenal value Nwaneri’s potential and talent – both financially and in terms of career development.
The imminent arrival of Noni Madueke from Chelsea suggests he’s probably going to be first choice back-up (is that a contradiction in terms?!) for Bukayo Saka, which is where Nwaneri filled in last season after that hamstring injury for our star man. So, it suggests a more central role in the season ahead, which will be fascinating to see. Last time out, Arteta seemed reluctant to use him in the Martin Odegaard position, mostly because there’s quite a lot involved in that role for such a young player – someone who only turned 18 in March.
Perhaps now, with his first senior season under his belt, and working closely with the manager, the captain and the coaching staff, that’s something they think he’s more ready for. So, after MLS, and Gabriel agreeing new terms, the addition of Nwaneri to that group adds another little bit of gloss to what we’ve done this summer. If we absolutely want the cherry on top of the icing on the cake, new deals for Bukayo Saka and William Saliba would 100% do that, but let’s see. Last time out, they both waited until they’d hit the 12 months out mark, and I have a suspicion they’ll do that again – but you never know. If Andrea Berta ever gets finished with Sporting, he might have a bit more time to dedicate to their situations.
Ok, let’s leave it there for this morning. Have a good one folks.
