Morning. A quick Sunday blog for you.
Let’s start with news reported by David Ornstein that Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, but as yet no deal between the two clubs has been finalised. He’s a player we’ve been linked with over the last week or ten days, and it appears to have grown stronger over the weekend.
I will be honest, I find it somewhat underwhelming, and the old trope about shopping for Chelsea’s cast-offs is hard to avoid. I think he’s a decent player, but nothing special, and so far this summer most of our business has been just that. Kepa, decent. Christian Norgaard, decent. And to be fair, I don’t think you don’t need much more from a number 2 goalkeeper and a midfielder whose role will primarily be as a back-up/depth option. I will say I can’t put Martin Zubimendi into that category because I think we’ve signed one of the most highly coveted central midfielders in Europe, but he’s not – with all due respect to him – the kind of exciting signing that gets people off their feet.
It’s when you get further forward you want your signings to have that sprinkle of magic dust. Perhaps Madueke is ready to blossom into a player like that, but that would require a significant step forward. He could be seen as very solid back-up to Bukayo Saka, and the reporting suggests Arsenal are keen on him because of his ability to play on both sides. That itself raises questions though.
Isn’t this summer about raising the bar, and does Madueke do that on either side? What does it mean for Ethan Nwaneri who deputised so well for Saka? He got 9 goals in his debut season; Madueke scored 11 but with twice as many minutes under his belt. You hope there’s a plan for Ethan, but if we’re signing a winger from Chelsea for a substantial fee (which I imagine it would be as he has a contract until 2030), it’s probably not going to be as a wide player. The contract rumblings worry me a little now too.
I will say the timing of deals influences how you think of them. If we’re sitting here this Sunday morning with a shiny new striker and a player like Eberechi Eze already on board, this one becomes a little easier to understand. That’s not the case though, the anxiety over that big forward signing is growing day by day, and I don’t think there’s a world where, if you asked any Arsenal fan who their ideal arrival was in the wide areas, that they’d pick Madueke. I also think the Chelsea pipeline is part of how I feel about it. If he was coming from Bournemouth or somewhere like that, after a pretty decent season, I know I’d likely view it differently.
So, let’s see how it plays out. The immutable law of transfer rumours is in play here. When it’s a player you covet, it feels impossible; when it’s a player you don’t really want, it feels inevitable. As such, expect to see Noni Madueke in red and white before the end of the week!
A story I didn’t yet touch on was the addition to the coaching staff of former Man Utd and Real Madrid player Gabriel Heinze. His relationship with Mikel Arteta goes back to their playing days at PSG, and he’ll replace Carlos Cuesta who has gone to Parma. Is it an appointment to bring some lunatic energy to the training ground, or just a job for one of Mikel’s boys? He and Cuesta are pretty much chalk and cheese in terms of character, but perhaps that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
His record in management isn’t particularly good, and his time at Atalanta in MLS was punctuated with difficulties – freezing out their star player, and not allowing the players to drink water in training (!!) were well reported on – but many good coaches have struggled with management. They’re better as part of a team than being the main man, so let’s hope that’s the case with him. I never liked him as a player, and always thought he was a massive prick, time to adjust a bit, I guess. When he gets into sideline fisticuffs with that annoying twerp from Brighton, perhaps I’ll soften my stance.
Right, that’s it for today. Just a quick note about yesterday’s post, I realise it was emotive, and not everybody agrees with me, which is fine. I’m grateful to everyone for their feedback and even the dissenting voices for keeping it respectable most of the time.
Thank you.
