Good morning from a sweltering Dublin.
It got to 29C yesterday, which is not normal for this country. I won’t complain too much though, as I sat in the back garden, cooked burgers on the Weber and drank frozen margaritas to keep cool. Did that actually keep me cool? I got brain freeze at one point, so I guess that counts.
So, what news? Well, David Ornstein reports that Noni Madueke was given permission by Chelsea to leave wherever it is Chelsea are as they continue to play in the grotesque facsimile of an association football tournament that is Gianni Infantino’s wankbank competition in the US of A so he can complete the formalities of his move to Arsenal. He’ll have a medical and all the rest before his signing is official.
Yesterday, news of the fee emerged, with a £48.5m fixed element, with £3.5m in add-ons. As I’ve said throughout, even though it’s more or less in line with some other deals that have gone down and could be seen as market-rate, it feels expensive. Chelsea wanted £50m, and that’s what we gave them, despite the fact they absolutely need to sell for FFP reasons. I know it’s bigger than him (most things are, to be fair) but I had been led to believe Andrea Berta was some kind of hard-nosed business dude who could negotiate great deals. I’m not saying alarm bells are ringing, but there’s a quizzical eyebrow raised here at least.
‘How much is this rug?’
‘£100’
‘I’ll give you £100!’
‘Deal!’
Anyway, I think scrutiny of this deal and this transfer should fall squarely on Berta and Mikel Arteta, and whatever doubts we might have about the player need to be put to one side until we can judge him properly. The only way to do that is by how he performs for us, and obviously I hope he’s really, really good because that would be beneficial for our chances of lifting silverware at the end of the season.
Also, someone needs to start investigating Chelsea’s sales. How on earth have they got £25m for a goalkeeper who, whenever I saw him, looked like the lad who went in nets on the school playground because he was the last pick and that was the only place left for him to play? £25m! Is it coincidence that both Arsenal, who have paid Chelsea a lot for Madueke, and Bournemouth who have spent that much on a guy who would make you long for the security and composure of Manuel Almunia, have American owners?
Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres has refused to return to training with Sporting because he feels ‘betrayed’ by their president who gave him his word, a gentleman’s agreement no less, that he could leave for €60m + €10m in add-ons (a figure that Arsenal have gone above in their pursuit of the player). I get it, but I think the lesson here is to understand that, in football or otherwise, presidents tend to be terrible people and you shouldn’t be so foolish as to expect them to keep their word on anything. Get it in writing. That’s an issue for Big Vik’s agents really, but still.
So, he’s essentially gone on strike to force a move to Arsenal, which some will see as a good thing. It demonstrates his desire to move to us etc etc. I’d just say that if the shoe were on the other foot, I don’t think we’d take kindly to one of our players behaving in that way, so there are two sides to this. If people are gonna deface murals near the stadium because we’re going to spend money on a player they don’t like, imagine what they’d do if our star striker downed tools and refused to train.
I don’t know how true it is that this deal is contingent on us coming up with another €5m. I suspect it’s quite a bit more complicated than that, but the player’s intentions seem very clear, and I don’t think it’s in anybody’s interest to drag this out much longer. So, maybe Andrea Berta can use his supreme negotiating skills and just give Sporting what they want, just like he did for Chelsea. Problem solved.
Right, I’ll leave it there for this morning. The heatwave continues. If you need me, I’ll be out the back with an iced coffee (until it’s cocktail hour). Also, there’s a new Arsecast below if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, and we’ll bring you any transfer updates on Arseblog News. Have a great Saturday folks!
