Morning all.
There’s not a lot going on this Saturday, so a quick round-up for you. Arsenal U18s went out of the FA Youth Cup last night, going down 3-2 to Man Utd after extra-time, but Max Dowman’s performance caught the eye, if social media is anything to go by. There was a storming run into the box to win a penalty, and an outstanding pass from deep that could have resulted in a goal.
I don’t want to go overboard on a 15 year old, but you can see why he’s highly rated and why his progression – training with the first team etc – has been fast-tracked. There’s a long way to go yet, and I’m sure that his development will be managed carefully and properly, so while it’s absolutely fine to be excited, let’s not place too much burden of expectation on him at this stage.
No doubt you’ll have seen it already, but The Athletic reported (£) that Arsenal will appoint a new Sporting Director this month. The men in contention are Jason Ayto, Dan Ashworth, Andrea Berta (formerly Atletico Madrid), Roberto Olabe (Real Sociedad), and Thiago Scuro (Monaco). There’s also been some talk of Tomas Rosicky returning, but he is not mentioned in this article.
At this point, your guess is as good as mine. It’s clear that internally Arsenal rate Jason Ayto, but does he have the experience/gravitas to take on a role of this importance at this point of his career? Could we see a double appointment, with Ayto responsible for men’s team as kind of Technical Director, with Dan Ashworth in a more senior role above him (like Sporting Director) to provide experience and guidance while also overseeing the women’s team, the academy etc?
Of the others, I don’t know who would be best suited, but if Andrea Berta is not encumbered by a current position, has been in London learning English, and ready to start straight away, he makes a bit more sense than the other two who have work to do at their current clubs until June. Which seems a bit late to jump into a role of such responsibility ahead of what is going to be a massively important summer for Arsenal. So, let’s see – this is one they really have to get right, because Arsenal have had two poor transfer windows in succession and the team has paid the price for that. We cannot have another one.
While it’s a bit early for transfer links, we are reportedly keeping an eye on Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich who is out of contract in the summer. With Thomas Partey and Jorginho set to depart, and Arsenal already strongly tipped to bring in Martin Zubimendi in the summer, this would be a signing that would give us some real depth in midfield, but not one that would particularly excite anyone hoping we spend big further up the pitch. Perhaps though, a ‘free’ transfer enables you to do that, and if this is serious, does it say something about the potential Zubimendi deal?
If you need your Arsenal fix this weekend, Arsenal Women take on West Ham at Meadow Park tomorrow evening. Tim will have a full preview over on Arseblog News a bit later, and we’ll have all the post-game coverage there too afterwards.
It’s non Arsenal, but I enjoyed this piece on the state of TV punditry, with focus on the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher’s roles. They have essentially become cheerleaders for their former clubs rather than in-game analysts. I’d also recommend following the link through to Clive Tyldsley’s piece on commentary box dynamics.
Right, I’m gonna leave it there for now. Have a great Saturday folks. Look after yourselves and each other.
