There is mounting noise about the possibility that Arsenal would be willing to listen to offers for Bellerin. The club is supposedly OK to let Bellerin go for 35 Mln EUR.

At one point in his young and rich career, Bellerin was seen as the best young full back in the world and teams like Barcelona, Real, City and Juve were monitoring him but then Bellerin got injured and since then, he has been chasing his shadow to rediscover the form that made him one of the most potent RB in the EPL and in Europe.

Bellerin really struggled under Emery but seems to have found some form back under Arteta and he put in some good displays after the lockdown. He seems to have found better balance in terms of his defensive and attacking contributions since Arteta has come in. At 25, he is entering the most exciting part of his career where he is supposed to have reached his optimal form and level. The kid has been with us for nearly ten years and he is very attached to the club and he has been key to welcoming new players and supporting our young players when they join the first team. He is very well liked by the players and coaching staff and he is also a player that is engaged for important socio-economic causes such as environmental protection.

So should the club keep Bellerin knowing that AMN is looking to be extended and Soares has joined us? Or shall the club cash in on one of the longest serving player in our club? It is a tough choice to be honest.

How do you feel about it?

As the transfer season is on-going and as we see movements at Chelsea and Man Utd in terms of midfield acquisitions, we also know that we are in the market to strengthen our midfield. It seems that Xhaka will be a starter again next year and we need to complement his skills and mitigate his weaknesses so we are looking for two types of players (assuming that Arteta will try to set us up as a 433 at some point)

1. A more defensive minded player that has good discipline to protect the back four and good passing skills to initiate movements rapidly and effectively;
2. A more attacking central midfielder that can carry the ball forward, dribble, pass and score a few goals – a more box-to-box player in a way.

Based on the above, shouldn’t securing Ceballos be our utmost priority? He managed to develop a good partnership with Xhaka, demonstrated defensive resolve and has also shown that he can drive and pass the ball forward. Securing Ceballos first would give us the chance to take full advantage of the players available on the market:

1. If a wonderful box-to-box player is available, then we can play Ceba like he did towards the end of the season – which is more of a defensive role;
2. If a wonderful defensive midfielder is available, then we can play Ceba further up as our box-to-box midfielder.

So the latest news is that the Club is really trying to get Ceba back as Arteta is keen to have him back in the squad and Ceba said that he would enjoy another spell at AFC so let us hope we can secure him quickly 🙂 Also, Lampard may make…Kante available on the market! If this is the case, I suggest we do whatever we can to land him 🙂

So what are your thoughts? Should Ceballos be our priority midfield signing?

PS: The Club is working hard to also secure long term future for Martinez and AMN

PPS: Auba will announce his signature once the club has announced the recruitment of more players but in essence he has agreed to the deal. He will only pen the contract once the other players have joined the club.

As you all know, I am a fervent PSG supporter having grown up close to the training ground. I started following PSG in the era of Bernard Lama, Alain Roche, Ricardo, Valdo, Rai, Leonardo, Okocha, Ginola, Weah amongst other. We then had a short period of instability that lasted something like 14 years with lots of changes in owners and coaches but that included showy purchases including Anelka, Ronaldinho and Pauleta.

And then, the group QSI, backed by Qatar’s government, took over and we entered into a new dimension. A dimension that saw us purchase big players like Ibrahimovic, Beckham, Neymar but another player has really impacted the club during that last 8 years: Thiago Silva. A fabulous CB who had a great career at PSG, a captain for most of his time with us and one that was so close to finishing his time at PSG with a Champions League Cup. He has won many national trophies at PSG and unfortunately European success still eluded him and the club.

One thing is sure though – he has been the best Centre-back of PSG history and he has been an examplary captain. Often criticized for his lack of leadership in CL games, he has shown this year that he did improve on this aspect despite advancing in age. He has helped players like Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kouassi (that really ungrateful 18 years old that left for Bayern Munich for free although we offered him 3 years contract + 2 years) grow into fine CBs. He was much loved by his President, coaches and teammates.

As “O Mostro” (the monster) is set to join Chelsea today and despite the rivalry between the two clubs, I can only wish T. Silva to personally do well in the EPL. People think he is old and slow but the guy will be great in Cup Games, CL games and he will be a massive positive influence on Rudiger, Zouma, Tomori and Christensen (if the latter stays).

Obrigado Captain Silva and best of luck in the EPL!

So what are your thoughts on T. Silva joining Chelsea on a free transfer? Would you have wanted him to join us instead?

It is not a secret that we are trying to strengthen our midfield – there are two profiles targeted:

1. DM
2. 1 more attacking CM

A lot of names have been heard such as Partey, Rice, Zacaria, Doucoure for the DM and for the CM, we are still looking at Ceballos but Coutinho and Grealish have also been mentioned…

But what if the solution was in Rome? and more specifically at AS Roma. Why AS Roma? Because we have a good bargaining chip with Mkhy who would like to stay there and Roma is keen to keep him and is open to exchanging players so which players could be looked at:

• Amadou Diawaya is a player that has impressed this year with Roma playing as a Defensive Midfielder. The Guinean is 23 years old and has made the headlines because of his ability to cover a lot of grounds. A player that can be seen like a hybrid between Kante and Matuidi although he is not as good as them yet and is currently valued 20 Mln EUR.
• Jordan Veretout is a player that has been monitored by AFC since last year. He is a versatile central midfielder who is known mostly for his defensive capabilities and his first pass. At 27 years old, he is valued at roughly 25 Mln EUR.
• Lorenzo Pellegrini – the heir to De Rossi at Roma. A deep-laying playmaker that has a good reputation when it comes to his passing ability, his long range shot and is also regarded for his defensive contribution. Excellent delivery on set-pieces and at 24 years old, he is valued at 32 Mln.
• Nicolo Zaniolo – a central attacking midfield and if Pellegrini is seen as a De Rossi, Zaniolo is more likened to the great Totti. Zaniolo is a more physical presence than Totti but he is less quick and his dribbling is not as mesmerizing. That said, he is seen as the crown of the Squadra Azzura for the years to come – he will probably (with age) play less as an attacking player and more as a central midfielder. He is touted to be a great and at 21, he is already valued at 55 Mln EUR.

Since Mkhy is valued at 20 Mln, it seems that we could get a good midfielder to strenghten our squad and address our DM or CM issue depending on whether we can manage to keep Ceballos.

So my fellow gooners, do all the roads lead to Rome when it comes to addressing our midfield conundrum?

Only a few days before the season kicks off again with the Community Shield. I am not so hopeful about the outcome of this game against Liverpool but we are a cup team, so hope is permitted 🙂

More seriously and as the first EPL game is coming up soon too, we really need to have our “season” squad as soon as possible. There are a few players whose future is up in the air and some we won’t mind losing (Sokratis…) but I feel there are others where the jury is more divided so have your say on whether the following players should stay or go and give your rationale behind your decision

1. Mustafi – quite a mixed career at AFC but a real resurgence under Arteta so should he say or should he go?
2. Chambers – versatile and rather reliable when he played but he had his fair share of injuries and never nailed down a starter’s place under the various coaches. Should he stay or should he go?
3. Holding – a promising defender who ended the season on a high but who had also shown some potential to be a very error prone defender. Seems to still run after his fine form before his knee injury. Should he stay or should he go?
4. Kolasinac – the beast! The man who scared robbers! An overall solid athlete and defenders but never seemed to hit the top level we expected. Has shown that he can play as LCB, LB and WB so a versatile and useful player but should he stay or should he go?
5. AMN – our very own academy product, a gifted player and a very good athlete. Excelled at the end of the season as a LWB. Should he stay or should he go?
6. Lucas Torreira – one of the heroes of a memorable derby vs Tottenham and at first, a good performer but also seem to struggle at times with pace and physicality of the EPL. Should he stay or should he go?
7. Matteo Guendouzi – a truly promising player who seems to struggle with his attitude though. Had great games and poor games. A controversial figure on the pitch and off the pitch. Should he stay or should he go?
8. Ozil – we had the chat already so…no need to comment here 😛
9. Reiss Nelson – seems to find his feet in the first team and had interesting games towards the end of the season. Do we stick with him in the squad or let him develop elsewhere?
10. ESR – a promising player who never really got things going at AFC. Still unsure whether he is the next Cazorla or the next Kallstrom but seemed to have done quite well while on loan. Should he stay or should he go?
11. Willock – highly touted by Ljungberg and given a chance under Emery and Arteta, he seemed to have hit a stumbling block and his season has been at best average. Should he stay or should he go?
12. Lacazette – had a tough year but his career with us has been more than satisfactory. His work ethics, goals and assists have been useful but his time with us may still be up. Should he stay or should he go?

Pick any player(s) and blog away fellow Gooners!

We ended the season on a high with a FA Cup Win. When the season re-started after the Covid-19 break, we had some good results against big teams like Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea but we also had tough losses against Tottenham and poor performances against Brighton and Aston Villa. Overall and with the FA Cup Win, there is a sense of positivity around the club and the feeling that we are finally moving in a good direction.

Yesterday, the FA released the fixtures and our start of the season is quite daunting with our first seven games being: Fulham (away), West Ham (home), Liverpool (away), Sheffield (Home), Man City (Away), Leicester (Home) and Man Utd (Away).

It means that our first two games are already must wins and that we must also beat Sheffield and Leicester at home – that would be 12 points out of 21 points possible. It would also hence be important to get something from the Reds, Oilers and the Red Devils…Otherwise, we would already be compromising our chances for Top 4.

Do you believe that this daunting start will act as good pressure for the team to keep on improving or do you believe these big away games are coming too soon in the season for us?

The floor is yours…

After impressing as a young player for Arsenal and on loan at West Brom, Wenger wanted to extend his contract in the summer of 2016 but Gnabry wanted more first-team opportunities and opted to join Werder Bremen – the fee was 5 Million Pounds.

On his debut season at Bremen, Gnabry scored 11 goals in 27 matches, which attracted the attention of the German league ogre: Bayern Munich. for 8 Million Pounds in the summer of 2017. Once purchased by Munich, he was loaned out to Hoffenheim for the 2017-8 season where he scored 10 goals in 22 appearances in the league.

In 2018, Gnabry was finally presented as a Bayern Munich player and helped Bayern win the league with 10 goals (2nd goal scorer for Bayern) in 30 appearances.

In 2019, Gnabry really established himself as a clutch and key player for Bayern Munich. Impressing in the Bundesliga with 23 goals (45 appearances) across the league (12), champions league (9 and counting) and the Cup (2) as well as 10 assists.

So is Gnabry the one player that got away? Did we bet on the wrong horses (Oxlade? Walcott?Iwobi?Wellbeck) in the summer 2016?

In any case, I hope he does not do well on Sunday in the CL Final against PSG but there is, of course, some feeling of a lost opportunity with great consequences as Oxlade, Walcott, Iwobi, Wellbeck did not make the winger position their own at AFC and then we went on to buy Pepe for a hefty fee and I am sure that Pepe will be a very good player for us but if Gnabry was with us, then we may have saved a few millions…

Our good friend LB brought up some key questions regarding our signing of Willian

First and foremost, are we happy to have signed Willian? His EPL experience, his statistics, injury record and the fact that he lives in London and was a free agent do seem to tick a lot of positive boxes.

However, his signing also seems to trigger some doubts. Was his signing necessary given the fact that Pepe seemed to have found his feet (at last) and that RN seemed to demonstrate good promise? Will Arteta play Willian on the right or in the middle (as part of a midfield trio with Xhaka and Ceba) or on the left? It is hard to tell but Willian is a versatile player that has, however, made his name as a right winger so let us see…

Lastly and although he seems to be physically reliable, was it a wise move to sign him on for 3 years given the fact that he is 32?

So, have your say about Willian:

1. Are you happy with his arrival?
2. In which position will Arteta play him?
3. Was a 3-years contract a good move?

Thanks to LB for initiating the discussion