How has 2023 been so far for you?
Went in for a couple of New Year’s pints and watched the end of Aston Villa’s win over that lot. Fair play to Unai Emery. He always rated it.
*cough*
In this amazing world we live in there are sounds that feed your soul. rolling thunder. Songbirds in the jungle. The majestic roar of a big cat. The ocean breaking on the shore. And Sp*rs fans booing their own team in a stadium that’s too big for them. Glorious.
Then I watched Chelsea play Nottingham Forest, and not wanting to sound hyperbolic in any way, they were absolutely crap. Like 11 turds (plus stand-ins) in human form that were brought to life by a mad scientist who only had 30 seconds to explain the concept of the game of soccer to them before they were sent out to play. His goal was lucky, and he will no doubt now spend another fortune on the transfer market before the end of the month.
Chelsea set out to sign MASSIVE TURD and his brother COMPLETE TURD. Here we go. ????
From Arsenal’s perspective this season has been very good and I am determined to enjoy it as it unfolds. I know we all have one eye on the long game, how it all turns out in the end, but I’m taking the time to make sure the fun moments that happen during the campaign itself aren’t overlooked. Most of that is wrapped up in what we do, how we play and our results, but I don’t think we should forget how much we enjoy each other’s trials and tribulations. At some point, a game won’t turn out the way we want it to, and that will be frustrating of course, but until then, let’s all have a laugh. [Insert team/player/manager name here].
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In The Athletic (£) this morning, there is a great article about Joao Félix and Arsenal’s interest in signing him. The reasons why we might be after him are self-explanatory. In the absence of Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah is our only recognized centre-forward, and until Emile Smith Rowe is back and fully fit, there is a heavy reliance on Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli at wing positions. Felix can play front row and would provide coverage/depth/competition for all of those positions.
However, the stumbling block is the price. The article reads: Atlético are believed to be seeking a €21m (£18.6m; $22.5m) package, comprising a €15m loan fee plus gross salary of 6 million euros.
Which, to be frank, is a ridiculous amount of money for 5 months of service. I can understand Atlético wanting to get as much back as possible for a player they spent €126m on in 2019, but that is surely too much. When you consider what you could do with €21m to help fund a player’s services on a permanent basis, it’s too much. And yet Arsenal need depth. We need at least one player during this window who can bring something to the team and ease the burden on the three forwards that we can’t rotate at any time.
Even against Brighton the other night, you could see Eddie Nketiah’s flag towards the end of the game. Which isn’t a criticism, he made a big change, but having fresh legs in the later stages of games goes a long way. Not just to hold on, but to give him more of a threat, a different threat, and something else for the opposition to care about. Therefore, the club must find the balance between the needs of the team and the financial demands that exist in the market, especially in January, when it is more difficult to close deals.
Joao Felix meets the requirements. It is that Joao Félix’s bill is too big. Will Atlético de Madrid accept less? They seem open to his departure, but it doesn’t seem like they’re going to bend over backwards to facilitate it. I guess we’ll see, and I’d like to think that Arsenal have other irons in the fire as well. We play Newcastle tomorrow night, but then there’s a 12-day gap until our next Premier League match – the North London derby. That’s a long time to do anything. Fingers crossed.
Ok, let’s leave it there for now. James and I are recording the Arsecast Extra for you later this morning. Keep an eye out for calls for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra, or if you’re a member of Arseblog on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord. server.
Enjoy the game later, and we should have the podcast for you by lunchtime. Until then.
