£30m Nketiah talks, Ramsdale loan and the Arteta/Emery debate
So, the first round of Premier League fixtures is now behind us and it has to be said that there was a familiar theme to most of the games.
Arsenal won and kept a clean sheet, Manchester City and Liverpool both moved through the gears on their way to three points and Spurs gave us all something to laugh at.
Honestly, how they managed to come away from their game at Leicester last night with only a point I will never know. In the end they were actually quite lucky to get a draw. How funny would that have been if Jamie Vardy had tucked away that chance when he went through.
But anyway, from an Arsenal point of view it’s been a decent start and now all focus can turn towards Saturday’s difficult looking trip to Aston Villa.
I’ve already seen ridiculous discussions about who is the better manager between Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery and I’m sure that will continue as we head towards Saturday.
Look, Emery is a superb manager. His record speaks for itself and Arteta will have to go a long way to try and match it when it comes to European success. He’s also doing a brilliant job at Villa.
He was always a really nice guy and great to deal with and he worked so hard to be a success at Arsenal. But the fact is by the time it all ended it was an absolute disaster.
The results were poor, the football was even worse, the stadium was half empty and he’d completely lost the changing room. There was no other option but to get rid of him. It was absolutely the right decision by the club and the subsequent appointment of Arteta has been an overwhelming success.
Emery is a fantastic manager, but the fit just wasn’t right at Arsenal. Clearly, it is at Villa and I’m really happy for him because he deserves all the success he’s getting.
Both he and Arteta and top managers and their current clubs are reaping the benefits of having them in charge. That’s really where the discussion should end.
Transfers continue to dominate the agenda as we head towards Villa, with potential outgoings the talk of the town at Arsenal at the moment as we all wait for the Mikel Merino deal to eventually be wrapped up.
As David Ornstein reported on Monday afternoon, Nottingham Forest have had an offer for Eddie Nketiah rejected. Including add-ons, the bid was for around £25 million and Arsenal are holding out for more.
If Forest get to the £30m mark I think that should probably do it. That would be a fair price for Nketiah and one that I think would be a good deal for all parties.
There is still negotiation to be done and Forest are also interested in Santiago Gimenez at Feyenoord. So Arsenal and Edu need to tread a bit carefully as this is a deal I’m sure they will want to get done before deadline day.
David also reported that Wolves are interested in a loan move for Aaron Ramsdale.
I’ve always felt that Ramsdale’s exit this summer would probably end up being an initial loan with some sort of buy option and as we get closer to deadline day it’s starting to feel inevitable.
That’s a story that needs a swift conclusion though because if Ramsdale does go he will of course need to be replaced, with Joan Garcia at Espanyol the likely candidate.
The clock is ticking now when it comes to transfers so I’m sure things will now start to move quickly, so let’s see what today brings.
Right, that’s it from me. Have a great Tuesday everyone. Remember you can catch all my daily Arsenal shows on YouTube right here.
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