Kiwior linked with Porto, Berta’s loan + obligation drive

Morning.

I know there’s probably a cut-off point when it comes to Eberechi Eze content, but I’m not quite there yet. The behind the scenes video of his first day dropped yesterday, and his reaction to seeing the red and white shirt with Eze 10 on the back of it is just perfect.

Just trying to imagine on Sunday, a pass through the lines from Martin Zubimendi and there’s ‘Eze 10’ just outside the box, the phantom zone from where few Arsenal players ever take a shot. This time though, this time he lets fly with his right foot, and in the same way Robert Pires’ curled one in against the Mugsmashers in 2003-04, this one arcs beautifully into the net to ensure three points for the Gunners.

I imagine good. More gooder than me English.

Back to the ‘real world’, and it looks like our first major outgoing deal of the summer will see Jakub Kiwior join Porto. The reporting around it says that it’ll be a loan deal with an obligation, worth around €26m in total. I’ve seen some discussion of the fee and suggestions it’s a bit low, but I’m not sure about that. If he were going to another Premier League club, absolutely, I’d say that’s too low. However, Kiwior apparently doesn’t want to go to another English club, whether that’s out of ‘loyalty’ to Arsenal or the desire to live somewhere new I don’t know, so it means options are limited.

When you’re selling to the continent, and in particular when you’re selling a defender, that is going to impact the fee. When the world knows you’re actively trying to sell that player so you can bring in somebody else, that will also play a part. According to Transfermarkt, we paid Spezia €19.5m for the Polish international in January 2022, so there is some profit in this deal, even if it’s not spectacular.

I think it’s one that makes sense for the player, first and foremost. He had a good run in the team at the end of last season, deputising well after Gabriel got injured, but throughout his time at Arsenal he has basically been back-up option. He demonstrated with his displays against the likes of Real Madrid etc, that he’s more capable than that, but it’s also been clear from pre-season that his place in the pecking order hasn’t shifted. Riccardo Calafiori started at centre-half ahead of him when he was fit, and now that Gabriel is back, his chances would have been even more limited.

So, at 25 years of age, why shouldn’t he go and play regular first team football somewhere? You’d imagine that Poland would be keen for him to do that too. He’s essentially a first choice player for them, so it’d benefit the national team if he was getting minutes week in, week out. Unless there’s some last-ditch complication, I’d expect this one to go through soon, and the best of luck to Jakub at Porto.

Speaking of loan + obligation, there’s some suggestion that’s the deal Andrea Berta is trying to do with Bayer Leverkusen for Piero Hincapie. I assume that’s for financial/book-keeping reasons, but the increasingly complicated way football clubs run their finances mean you need someone like Swiss Ramble to understand how anything works these days. I don’t have numbers whirring around in my head and making sense like him though. The numbers turn into puppies cavorting around a field and I stand there with a vacant look on my face not understanding anything as I read spreadsheets and charts and stuff. I like puppies more than amortisation though, so I’m all good. I’ll leave it to the Rambling experts, and I’ll nod my head sagely like Emmanuel Eboue getting instructions from the North Korean coach when I read.

Arsenal money good. More richer than Croesus.

I think we did a similar deal when we signed David Raya from Brentford. That was a loan + obligation because we’d already spent a lot that summer and this meant we could push the cost of that deal to the following financial year. You know what they say though, a £30m goalkeeper doesn’t come along every year … unless Inaki Cana is your goalkeeping coach because that dude loves a £30m goalkeeper.

That’s what they say. I’ve heard them. Right, I’m going to leave it there for today. It’s raining here for the first time in ages, and I don’t care for it one bit.

Till tomorrow.