Morning.
A quick Saturday round-up for you today. There’s really not a lot going on. From Brazil there’s a report which says Gabriel Martinelli has fully agreed his deal with Al Hilal, and now it’s about the two clubs finalising the deal. I guess it says something about the whole thing that a significant part of the reporting is that they tell us Vinicius Junior will be the only Brazilian player in world football to earn more than him once he signs. Is that a badge of honour, or a sign of the times?
There’s also a story saying Gabriel Jesus has been offered to Atletico Madrid but it has nothing at all to do with our interest in a player they might have. Ok then. That player, by the way, has called in sick for the last few days and isn’t attending training. Given that it’s now Saturday and the window closes on Tuesday, my strong feeling is that his behaviour adds yet another layer of unwanted complexity to his situation, and this is a mess I just can’t see us getting involved with further before the end of the window. I could be wrong, things can change quickly, but if you had questions over the character (as opposed to the quality) of the player before now, they’re surely even more relevant now.
By the way, in case it flew under your radar, we have just signed a striker after 18 year Igor Tyjon joined from Blackburn this week. I think it’s fair to say he’s one for the future, but I can’t remember any previous signing who is 100% destined for a season of Academy football getting their own video made etc. He says:
“Who doesn’t want to join the champions? I can’t wait to be part of the team.”
So, perhaps he’s gonna be someone who is earmarked for some senior action this season. The Carabao Cup draw could have been kinder, but there might be FA Cup action early in the new year depending on the opposition, and if both Martinelli and Jesus go, then there’s a potential pathway there for somebody to fill a gap in the squad.
There will be those who would look at a window where you let those two senior players go without a more experienced replacement as underwhelming or frustrating, and I get that. So far, the only attacking addition to the squad has been Christos Tzolis who has come in to replace Leandro Trossard, and the sense that despite the money we’ve spent, we haven’t – as champions – really brought in any kind of extra firepower is palpable in these last few days before the deadline.
One man who will have to deliver more than last season is Kai Havertz, and for me the main driver of that will be his fitness. He spoke to Sky Sports and said of the team’s ambitions this season:
I think we have a team now together that actually can compete for every title possible. Last year was only one but this year I think there’s a lot more to come and we want to win everything
It seems clear that right now he is Mikel Arteta’s preferred choice up front, and I do think he’s capable of scoring lots of goals. Is he the perfect 9 everyone would have consensus on? No, but I don’t think that player really exists, or at least is available to Arsenal right now. He started our two games so far this season and scored in both, so let’s hope he can continue in that vein.
One small thing that gives me a little pause for thought is that Viktor Gyokeres, who didn’t even get off the bench against Coventry, seems to be a player who is at his best when he’s got some kind of rhythm. So if Kai is the main man for now, the Swedish international’s challenge will be to deliver goals from fewer minutes while also dealing with that stop-start substitute life. For now, at least.
You can watch the full video with Kai below.
For some extra reading this morning, here’s Tim’s column on Eberechi Eze and what the new season might hold for him. I have to say, I do harbour some of the concerns Tim writes about, and it would not surprise me at all if we got to end of the window have decided he’s going to figure more often on the left than in central areas. Which would require a slight evolution in terms of what we ask the player on that side to typically do – and you could argue that perhaps we’ve seen some of that from Tzolis.
Martinelli tended to be someone who hugged the touchline to give the team width, the Greek pops up in different positions, particularly in transitions. Can Eze do that? Probably, even if it’s not his ideal role. It might also be a case that the choice of left back has an influence on who plays on the left, where an Eze/Hincapie combo is seen as effective, with Tzolis/Calafiori the other go-to. Anyway, I’m curious to see what happens – I think Eze is a player who has the ability to deliver more than he did last season regardless of where he plays, so fingers crossed he does just that.
Ok, let’s leave it there for now. Join us on Patreon a bit later for our Aston Villa preview podcast, that should be out mid-morning. For now, have a good Saturday folks.
