As the dust settled on the derby win, a story emerged about a big summer goal. News broke yesterday of Arsenal’s interest in Declan Rice, the kind of transfer that would have been utterly absurd to consider not too long ago. Now the idea of one of England’s two best Irishmen signing for the club is not out of place by any means.
Two things occur to me. One is that after the way the Mykhaylo Mudryk affair played out, I suspect the club would have preferred to keep this under wraps. Like others, he was aware of our interest, but I guess the player profile and the size of the potential deal have had tongues wagging. The second thing is that while I think it would be a great addition, it’s a summer thing. There’s just no way a relegation-fighting West Ham side could let him go now, so my interest in this one, while it obviously woke me up, is next to nil right now.
Tell me about it in May. Or June. Or for as long as Chelsea pay £300m for him and give him a 13.87-year contract. I’m kidding, but you know what I mean. Chelsea are possibly the worst club on the planet right now. What they have done to the transfer market with Roman Abramovich and what they are doing now with Tad Ballache is really a curse on almost every other club. If Chelsea were to find a cure for cancer, they would make it unaffordable to everyone but themselves (even their own mothers).
Anyway, the point is, I’m glad to hear that Arsenal have big plans for the summer, but the plans we had for this January have gone to hell. We wanted both Joao Félix and Mudryk, and both have signed for Chelsea. They’re obviously sold on the strategy of having around 40 first-team players on massive salaries, coupled with a sparse recruiting approach, so that’s about it.
Now it’s up to Arsenal to pivot and find other targets this month, because the need is almost as great as the opportunity ahead of us for the rest of the season. I think James made a great comment on the Arsecast Extra yesterday. We’ve shown the ability to be flexible and react when a nominal first-choice target doesn’t work. Our interest in Lisandro Martínez ended when Man Utd signed him, so we turned to Oleksandr Zinchenko. Would someone trade those two players now? I do not think.
According to reports, last January we looked for Dusan Vlahovic, he chose Juventus, so we waited and brought Gabriel Jesus in the summer. That delay was painful for reasons we don’t need to go over, but ultimately, I think we have the best fit for this team. It’s almost impossible to imagine the difference between what Jesus gives us and playing with a big lump in front. Yuck.
I mean, losing players we want is never good, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options available. Players who, over time, may prove to be a better fit for this group and what we’re trying to do. That again is the challenge for Edu and his team for the remainder of this month. If there’s one small blessing, even with all the time and energy spent on Mudryk, it’s that there are basically two weeks left before he closes the transfer window. We all know that January is more difficult than summer, but it is still more than enough time to do business.
Who the players they have on their roster beyond the two who picked Chelsea for money is beyond me, but I hope we find out soon enough, and not through rumor or gossip, but through action and intent. Because as is now evident to everyone, we have a great chance to win our first title since 2004. There is still a long way to go, but that in itself tells you how important January is. We’re still in the FA Cup, the Europa League is back soon and there are 20 Premier League games left to play. That’s a lot of football and right now there’s too heavy a load on some of the players, particularly on the attacking end of the pitch.
An injury or penalty to one of our wingers leaves us in a difficult position. If Eddie Nketiah is out for a while, we don’t have another striker to call. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who worries a bit about the midfield and the coach’s faith in the options he has there. Thomas Partey’s injury towards the end of last season wasn’t the only reason we didn’t make the top four, but it was a big contributing factor.
The other thing I think we need to consider is that the best young coach in the game has made it very clear what he wants and needs. I understand his post-derby comments about his own team, because they should focus on their own players after a great performance and result, but in almost every press conference in the last 6 weeks he has asked, to one extent or another. help from the club to achieve what they know is possible this season.
Mikel Arteta has been solidly backed by the club, no question about it, but given where we are now, he deserves more. Just like the players who have worked so hard to take us to the top of the table with an eight point lead. We cannot have another dry January. I don’t think this is our only chance to win the title, this is a team and a club that is going in the right direction, and everything is going well, we should be competitive in the years to come. But very rarely do you get a chance to take advantage of an opportunity like this, so bring me all the rice you want in the summer, but make the most of this window first.
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For some more reading this morning, check out the new Tactics Column in which Lewis looks back on two North London derby victories this season.
Arsecast Extra below for those who haven’t had a chance to listen yet. Have a good.
