Morning.
A really fast Sunday weblog. It appears to be like just like the Kepa deal goes to occur after David Ornstein posted about it yesterday (£)and in the identical article James says the participant is ‘keen to combat for his place’, however a part of our curiosity is because of the reality he has been a strong understudy beforehand at Chelsea and Actual Madrid.
It’s, I suppose, a bit unusual that the world’s most costly goalkeeper goes to come back to Arsenal to basically be the quantity 2 to David Raya, but it surely additionally exhibits how large cash transfers are precarious issues. So usually you hear about how a membership spending large on a participant is a present of ambition, they’ve actually put their cash the place their mouth is and many others and many others. However possibly it’s simply an illustration of how timing, market forces, the setting into which that participant arrives, and maybe a great dollop of hubris and/or stupidity play a significant half in transfers and the charges paid (and possibly some under-the-table stuff that doesn’t get talked about as a lot because it ought to).
We’ve been there, completed that, and worn the t-shirt within the form of Nicolas Pepe within the not too distant previous. A signing that had everybody so excited in the summertime of 2019, however finally we purchased a participant that Unai Emery didn’t need, and who turned out to not be to the style of Mikel Arteta when he took over both. One stellar season in France catapulted his worth into the stratosphere, we stumped up the massive lump of money, and whereas I believe he did extra in his time at Arsenal than individuals keep in mind, it may well’t actually be seen as something aside from a little bit of a flop all issues thought of.
Anyway, as I stated yesterday, I believe Kepa for £5m is a superbly cromulent manner to supply back-up for David Raya subsequent season and past. And hopefully it’s a transfer that provides us somewhat stability for a few seasons not less than. It looks like there’s been a lot goalkeeping drama in the previous few years. From the Emi Martinez emergence in 2020 and his subsequent sale to Villa; the preliminary ‘Him?!’ once we have been linked to Aaron Ramsdale; then him displacing Bernd Leno right away leaving a giant cash buy on the bench who we offered for a pittance; Ramsdale firmly establishing himself and changing into a preferred member of the squad, then we introduced in Raya and he instantly got here into the staff on the Englishman’s expense; Arteta’s feedback about how essential it was to have two nice keepers when he solely ever meant to play one among them, and all of the related drama e.g TV reducing to Ramsdale on the bench any time Raya did something; final summer season’s pursuit of Joan Garcia the place we have been led up the backyard path, leaving us desperately scrabbling to discover a late back-up in addition to a brand new membership for Ramsdale which all occurred on the final minute and left us with a quantity 2 goalkeeper the supervisor mainly had no religion in.
And that’s with out even mentioning Alex Runarsson. So, let’s hope that these in control of goalkeeping points at Arsenal are joyful – or not less than sufficiently content material – with two gamers of their prime years, a pair of Spanish internationals too to allow them to do the Spanish bantz collectively on the coaching floor, and everybody can simply quiet down for a bit and allow us to focus on checking out different areas of the pitch. Appears affordable.
Till …
Proper, that’s it for right now. Have a enjoyable Sunday.
