Hale End, holidays & the final hours of window one
Morning all, as Andrew mentioned yesterday, he’s off on a well-deserved holiday for the next week, so a combination of me, Lewis and Tim are on tumbleweed watch in his absence.
It’s been just over two weeks since the men’s team last kicked a ball in anger and, scandalously, most of Mikel Arteta’s squad are still waiting for their turn on the beach.
A packed schedule of Nations League fixtures, World Cup qualifiers, friendlies and youth tournaments has meant more training camps, more travel, and more minutes in already tired legs.
When Bukayo Saka faced the press on England duty yesterday, you could see in his eyes just how much he’s craving a proper break. While he did get some downtime earlier this year during his stint on the sidelines, the reality is that recovering from hamstring surgery isn’t exactly restful. The push to get back to full fitness meant hard work, not relaxation, and in many ways, it was more intense than being out on the pitch.
The rehab was, he says, “a real test mentally, about the days in the gym whether you want to work or not, or on the pitch when it’s raining and you’re on your own with the physios.”
Although he showed flashes of his best form towards the end of the campaign, it was clear he wasn’t quite able to sustain top gear.
Not that it matters a great deal now, but you do wonder why we bothered chucking him on against Southampton on the final day of the season. In the 28 minutes he was on the pitch, he managed to pick up a muscle strain that he’s been nursing ever since.
“Fair play to England, they’ve managed me quite well during the week,” said Saka, who revealed he missed Saturday’s game against Andorra because he’d only trained a couple of times.
He’s expected to start tonight’s friendly against Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground – a venue that suggests the FA knew full well the fixture wouldn’t generate much traction.
Saka is joined in the England squad by Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly, and the latter was on the receiving end of some warm words from his Hale End senior who was asked if his club teammate had already made the England left-back slot his own – a slightly mad question given he’s played *checks notes* 169 minutes for his country.
He diplomatically replied: “I dunno, it’s very early. I can only say positive things about Myles. I know him, I’ve seen his journey as he’s come through, he’s a top talent with a good mentality and lots of confidence. That’s why I believe he can come here [England camp] and play the way he does, big credit to him, I just hope he keeps progressing, keeps improving. It’s exciting to see what the future holds for him.”
Saka also fielded a question about Ethan Nwaneri, who is gearing up for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia.
With a smile on his face, Saka said: “Ethan is a top talent, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him shine this summer. I’m just wishing him the best, he knows I’m here if he needs me.”
It’ll be interesting to see how, and where, Mikel Arteta uses the 18-year-old next season. His minutes fell off a cliff once Saka, who he’d been deputising for on the right, returned to full fitness, and it’s hard to imagine that’s a situation he’ll be content with for long.
There’s a World Cup next summer, and Nwaneri will fancy his chances of forcing his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad. But that’s only going to happen if he’s playing regularly.
There’s been some talk about using him as a striker, but if Arsenal go out and sign an actual number 9 this summer, that route looks pretty well blocked. Others would like to see him given a run in the Odegaard role, but even with the Norwegian’s form wavering for long stretches last season, it’s difficult to imagine the club captain being displaced any time soon.
In many respects, this is one of those “my wallet is too small for my fifties” problems – trying to figure out how you fit all the good players into one team. But it’s still a puzzle. With contract talks ongoing, you’d imagine assurances have been made. That said, if Nwaneri has a strong tournament with the Young Lions, interest in his signature will only intensify. Much like it did before he committed to his first professional deal at the Emirates.
As for Saka himself, he’s also said to be in talks over a new contract. There’s no suggestion that it’s anything but a formality, and he certainly sounds bullish about Arsenal’s future, particularly with so many young talents breaking through around him: “We will be stronger [next season], no doubts.”
And clearly, he includes himself in that assessment: “I think there’s a lot more, potential-wise, from my side. Each year, I’ve developed and improved and I’ve still got a bit of a way to go. I’m in the right way, I feel like I just need to keep working hard and with all the games I’m playing, all the experiences, the tournaments and stuff like that, it’s only going to make me better when I’m learning from it.”
Anyway, let’s hope Bukayo, Myles and Declan (and all the other internationals) come through unscathed. The next time I see any of them, I want it to be on a super yacht in the Mediterranean doing their best Arsene Wenger impression.
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If you’ve made the conscious decision to follow every twist and turn of this summer’s first transfer window, then frankly, I fear for your well-being.
Each morning, I dutifully trawl through the mess of Arsenal-related Google alerts I’ve set up, weighing what might be worth covering on Arseblog News. More often than not, I end up binning the lot before I’ve even clicked a single link. The volume of pure, unfiltered bollocks doing the rounds is something to behold.
Take yesterday’s big ‘story’ from Spanish publication MARCA, which claimed Real Madrid are hijacking Arsenal’s move for Martin Zubimendi. Except, of course, they aren’t. Because all the actual reliable sources say the deal to bring the midfielder to the Emirates is pretty much sorted. The only holdup? Real Sociedad would prefer to register the fee in the next financial year.
Andrew and James get into all of this on the latest Arsecast Extra, including inevitable comparisons to the “plot twist” in the Declan Rice saga, when Manchester City decided to stick their oar in at the last minute.
Then there are the rumours that make you want to crawl under a blanket and hibernate for the rest of the summer. Case in point, reports of Saudi side Al-Hilal making “important proposals” to Benjamin Sesko after failing to land Victor Osimhen. It’s probably not complete nonsense, but you’d still wager a decent sum on it going absolutely nowhere. Of course, that won’t stop everyone from losing their heads in the meantime.
Deep breaths, people. Window one slams shut at 7pm this evening. You’ll then have a blissful six-day break before window two kicks off and runs through until 1st September.
So far, Arsenal are about £10 million in the black, having offloaded Nuno Tavares to Lazio and Marquinhos to Cruzeiro – the latter confirmed yesterday. Chuck it in the war chest, Andrea. We’re going to need every penny.
Right, that’s your lot for now. More from me tomorrow. Catch you then.
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