Morning all.
Transfer stuff has started buzzing with news from yesterday, via the BBC, that Arsenal are putting the final stages of the Martin Zubimendi deal together. The report says that a medical is being arranged, after ‘all the relevant documents’ have been signed when it comes to the transfer itself.
Spain are involved in the Nations League next week, taking on France on Thursday in a semi-final, before another game a few days after. It could be a final, it could be a third place play-off with Germany and Portugal the potential opposition for either of those games. From what I can gather, the Spanish team have an open training session on Saturday, so I imagine they’ll be convening tomorrow at the latest, so it remains to be seen when this medical will take place.
If I had to guess it’ll be after the internationals, but maybe we’ll squeeze it in, announce the signing and then watch as someone crunches his knee in the first minute of the game against France. Sorry, I think the injuries this season have had an impact on me. Anyway, it’s good news about a signing I think could have a positive impact on how we play next season.
Zubimendi is clearly the replacement for Thomas Partey who, if he stays, probably takes up the Jorginho role as veteran back-up. I can see some purely footballing logic for that retention in a summer when there are more important on-pitch matters to sort out, even if I would far prefer for Arsenal to let him go at the end of his contract. The bottom line though is that you don’t spend £50m on a midfielder who isn’t going to be first choice, and I’m curious to see if – as I suspect – the Spaniard has been brought in to speed things up a bit.
By that, I mean how quickly we move the ball, because I feel we are, at times, a bit slow to work our way through the midfield, and for me Partey is a big reason for that. He takes too many touches which allows the opposition to get set before the ball reaches its intended target – whether that’s a player out wide or higher up the pitch. There’s more sharpness about how Zubimendi uses the ball, so his is an interesting signing – albeit one which won’t get the blood pumping like an exciting striker or a winger.
If you have the time, I heartily recommend Billy Carpenter’s analysis of Zubimendi to help you get a better idea of the player we’re looking to sign. Whenever it happens, it looks like he’s probably going to be the first signing of the summer, but much of this had been put in place long before now, so it’s really a tap-in for new Sporting Director Andrea Berta.
Meanwhile, as we ponder additions to the forward line, the name of Leroy Sane has been mentioned as possible addition. He is out of contract this summer, but reportedly Bayern Munich have offered him a new deal, and his agent (Pini Zahavi), was in Germany yesterday for a meeting with their Sporting Director Max Eberl. Is it coincidence that Arsenal have been touted as a potential destination while contract talks are at a delicate stage?
Probably not, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to think Arsenal might be interested. At 29 he’s at the upper limit of where I’d feel comfortable signing a winger, and probably committing to a decent contract on pretty big money considering his experience and stature, but the fact he’s on a free is going to make him tempting to other clubs, not just us. Then you look at his prior relationship with Mikel Arteta, and you could join a few dots perhaps.
Our manager has some previous with aging wingers too. Willian. Raheem Sterling this season. Which, for me, ought to be a cautionary aspect of any pursuit for Sane. I like a lot of what Mikel Arteta has done at Arsenal, but his forward signings have been less impressive than those in other areas of the pitch. Another winger in the September of his career just sets too many alarm bells ringing for me.
I can sit here and imagine Sane, who caused us problems in the Champions League last season, coming in and doing a decent job for a bit, but then I also never expected Sterling to be quite the disaster he was. Sign an older player who has basically won everything in his career, give him a long-ish contract, with good wages and signing on fee, and I’m thinking ‘comfort zone’. A nice way to see out your final few years as a pro.
Which isn’t a criticism of Sane, per se, and I could be completely wrong about him, his attitude, his professionalism and his motivation, but once bitten and all that. My gut feeling is this is posturing to get a better package from Bayern Munich, and I hope whoever Arsenal bring in to bolster the wide positions is someone with a bit more of their career ahead of them than someone looking in the rear view mirror.
Right, I’ll leave it there for now. We’ll have a podcast for you a bit later today, going back over the season and doing player ratings from back to front.
For now, have a good one!
