Havertz signing will haunt Mikel
just give mo the money we’d spent on toney. i know beattie and wubben-moy both have coaching components of their contracts, so given he’s doing his a-licence, makes sense to do the same
Very reassuring. Was kind of worried we were going to risk our long term trajectory with a rash January signing.
Nothing happenning
No chance we get new players without offloading some.
FFP will be behind us and you can expect them to deduct 30 points if we overspend by 1 quid.
Bit about Arsenal from the article: "At Arsenal, Telegraph Sport understands, there is no appetite to spend vast amounts on a new centre-forward this winter. The pot of money is far from full after their summer investments (a combined £200 million on Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber), and it is worth remembering that their deal to sign David Raya, from Brentford, is an initial loan with an option to buy of around £30 million.
It was for financial reasons that the Raya deal was structured in such a way, with the payments for the goalkeeper effectively starting next summer. How could Arsenal strike this type of agreement with Brentford and then, five months later, go back to them with a mega-money offer for Toney? Clearly, it would not be a good look.
Strategically, Arsenal do not view January as a good time to do business. The club have splashed around £600 million on transfer fees since Mikel Arteta’s appointment in 2019, but only around £60 million of that has been spent in winter windows.
Last year, when Arsenal were pushing hard for the league title, was an exception to the usual rule — Leandro Trossard, Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior arrived for a combined cost of around £50 million. Arsenal were actually willing to spend even more that month, having made huge offers for both Mykhailo Mudryk and Caicedo.
This season, however, the feeling at Arsenal is that their squad will be in a good place once their injured players return. There is certainly no sense of urgency when it comes to strengthening the frontline, as Arteta and sporting director Edu are pleased with the performances of Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard in that position.
Telegraph Sport understands it would therefore take an unexpected opportunity, or a drastic change in circumstances, for Arsenal to invest heavily in another striker this winter.
A more immediate area of concern is in midfield, where there is uncertainty over the futures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho. Partey’s fitness issues have restricted him to only four starts this season, and his contract expires in the summer of 2025. It would not be a surprise if he left before then.
Jorginho’s deal, meanwhile, expires at the end of this season, although there is an option to extend it for another year. Another holding midfielder, Mohamed Elneny, is also out of contact at the end of the current campaign. In the medium to long-term, this is an area that Arsenal will need to address."