Which Arsenal Players Are On Their Way Out

Unai Emery has already brought five new players into the Arsenal squad this summer and he’s going to have to offload a few of the players he has to cover at least some of their transfer fees and wages as well as keeping the squad at a workable size. Of course Jack Wilshere has already left to join West Ham as he decided the new manager wasn’t going to give him as much game time as he wanted. We didn’t get a fee for Wilshere though as he was at the end of his contract and I would imagine any new purchases will have to be funded by players leaving.

We also saw the departure of Jeff Reine-Adelaide to Angers today, but he can hardly be considered a loss from the first team squad. He was a player with a lot of promise a few seasons ago, but we rarely got to see what he could do mainly because of a series of injuries. It’s hard to know how he will fare, but you have to at least wish him well for the future.

If the rumours are to be believed there are a few more players who the manager considers to be surplus to requirements and he is currently listening to offers for some of them. With so many defensive players already arriving it would surely be safe to assume we will be seeing the back of one or two of the defenders we have. Shkodran Mustafi had a fairly torrid time last season and the influx of central defenders could well see him on his way, but the ongoing injury to Laurent Koscielny might mean he stays put.

There has also been plenty of talk of Nacho Monreal retuning to Spain, but the manager seems reluctant to sell a player who was our most consistent defender last season. If Sead Kolasinac can make the left back berth his own it could see the departure of Monreal, but I think we will keep him for this season at least. Besides those two I can’t see any other possibilities for defenders leaving and I would even be surprised if either of them were sold.

The arrival of Bernd Leno has left us top heavy with goalkeepers though and I would be surprised if we didn’t sell at least one of them. Petr Cech has been linked with a return to Chelsea, but they opted to sign Rob Green instead while David Ospina is as always being linked with most of the clubs in Turkey. I think we need to sell at least one of them and given the choice I would opt to sell Ospina before Cech.

Of course the contract negotiations with Aaron Ramsey are still ongoing and getting him to extend his contract could be our best piece of business this summer. With the transfer window closing in two weeks we need to tie him down as quickly as possible or we will have to spend big to replace him in the current market. We just cannot allow him to run his contract down like both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil did last season.

With Granit Xhaka due back from his World Cup duties soon there has been some speculation that he might be surplus to requirements. It’s something I can’t see myself and I would be very surprised if he isn’t a big part in Emery’s plans for now and the future too. He has his detractors and he hasn’t always been at his best for us, but I think he’s a player with an awful lot to offer.

Lucas Perez is yet another player who’s future could be uncertain, but the early signs are the boss is prepared to give him a chance. He was certainly persona non grata last season, but the new regime seems prepared to let him prove his worth. The sales of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott in January and the possible sale of Danny Welbeck must surely keep a place open for another attacking player in the squad and Perez could be that player.

Welbeck is probably the last player who the boss is looking at offloading this summer and it wouldn’t surprise if he was sold. I don’t think he’s quite up to the level we want to play at and it would make sense to cash in on one of the rare occasions when he is actually fit. We’ll probably have to wait for him to come back from his World Cup duties before anything happens, but he certainly has to be a candidate for the exit door in the next two weeks.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Transfers Update

With the new season getting nearer and nearer it finally looks like we could be getting the sort of transfer activity which has been promised since last season ended. So far we have seen the arrivals of both Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac with Wojciech Szczesny eventually departing to Juventus. I'm very happy with the arrivals of both Lacazette and Kolasinac, but I can't say I was overly happy to see Szczesny go.

He's done very well in his two years on loan at Roma and I honestly think he is at least an equal to Petr Cech and certainly better than any other options we have besides Cech. Maybe his bridges were burned along with that cigarette in the showers at Southampton, but I can't help feeling we might have made a mistake. Time will tell I suppose and playing understudy to Gianluigi Buffon at Juventus certainly won't make him a worse goalkeeper.


He's the only real departure of any note so far even if it does appear there are plenty more lining up at the exit door. It seems there is no place for Lucas Perez, Carl Jenkinson, Mathieu Debuchy, Jack Wilshere, Calum Chambers, Kieran Gibbs and maybe even a few more before the transfer deadline day. I would have thought David Ospina would be one of those on his way, but the sale of Szczesny has to make that fairly unlikely now.

The future of Alexis Sanchez is still uncertain, but the club seem to be determined to keep him even if it means losing him for nothing this time next year. I hope it doesn't come to that and he can be talked into a new contract, but if he can't I have to agree that it's better to keep him at the club for one final season despite what it might do to the bank balance in a year. He is the best player we have and if we are to make any impression next season we need to keep him and see how he can team up with Lacazette and Mesut Ozil.

There are plenty of rumours of the impending departures of Gibbs, Chambers, Perez and Jenkinson, but it might not be so easy to shift Debuchy or Wilshere. They're all on very good contracts at Arsenal and any team looking to buy them will have to think twice about matching their wages. We could be faced with a few of them not finding clubs because the money just isn't there to pay them.

We need to get their wages off the books though so we can pay that bit extra to the likes of Ozil and maybe Sanchez and the money we get for them would of course go nicely towards any upcoming purchases. The two players most likely to come at the moment seem to be Thomas Lemar and William Carvalho with the team/squad needing strengthening in their positions and both players possibly available. If we could add them to what we have already I think we could be almost optimistic about next season and it's been a while since I felt like that going into a new season with Arsenal.

It's also quite possible that we could lose Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before the window closes as he doesn't seem eager to sign a new contract with only a year left to run on his current deal. It's a bit like the Alexis situation except Chamberlain isn't quite as valuable to us and we have never really found his true position in the team in his seven years at the club. He's a player who can be so good sometimes and the opposite too often too, but I still think he has a role to play in the long season ahead.

Much has been made of the need to sell Theo Walcott as he doesn't fit into our new formation, but playing with wing backs is hardly set in stone and I think we need to keep him too. He scored 19 goals last season and frustrate us as he might at times it won't be easy to replace those goals. Like Olivier Giroud he still has something to offer and I don't think we should be too quick to offload either of them. I would be surprised if Arsene Wenger thinks differently, but you never know what he might do if the right offer comes in.

With the new season comes a new season of "Fantasy Premier League" and as usual my "Ever Arsenal" league is up and running and there's €50 to the winner from my pocket unless a generous sponsor wants to step in and offer prizes galore. There's been well over a thousand teams in my league for the last few seasons and judging by the early uptake there will be again this season. If you haven't played before you can sign up here and join my league after you have set your team up by using the league code 57957-16522. For those who have been in the league before you will automatically rejoin once you set your team up and you can also find an auto link on my Twitter feed.

I'm also running my Predictions League again this season and you can find the link to join here and join my mini league with the code tq3c5. It's on the Talksport site and anyone good enough to predict all 10 scorelines correctly in a week can win £1,000,000 from them, but taking part in my mini league is obviously a lot more prestigious. I'll be updating the league here every week along with my usual fantasy tips and predictions.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Hull City Preview

Last Saturday's defeat to Chelsea is still fresh in the mind and yet it seems so far away. It's been a difficult week since that game and there can be very few excuses offered for the lack of fight in the second half in particular. The league has to be beyond Arsenal now and that means it's back to the annual fight to finish in the top four.

There is of course the side issue of the trip to Bayern Munich on Wednesday night for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. It would take a brave man to predict anything other than yet another exit at this stage of the competition for Arsenal. Despite all this I find myself writing this preview on the Air Coach on the way to Dublin airport as I make the way to see my beloved Arsenal take on Hull City.

Let me make it clear that Arsenal always have been and always will be a part of me no matter what league they play in or how badly they might be doing. It doesn't matter who owns the club or manages it, my heart will always belong to Arsenal and I'm quite fond of the wife and kids too. I'll meet some good friends today and have a few beers before and after the game, but I'm making the pilgrimage out of devotion to Arsenal.

There's the usual requests for programs for those not as lucky as me to make it over. Right now I'm in dire need of coffee and food, but those extra few minutes in bed at 3am always seem worth it when you press the snooze button. I've no doubt I'll pick up something overpriced in the airport, but it's my own fault. 

I'm listening to a Ska mix on my phone as I write this and the prospect of Arsenal and listening to some great music makes me exceedingly happy despite the hour. I was that guy moving in time to the music at the bus stop at 3.30am as others made their way home from their night out. I thought my earphones were pretty obvious, but it still didn't stop those stumbling past from trying to start a conversation with me.

Anyway, I digress and this is meant to be a preview of a game Arsenal quite simply have to get three points from. The defeat to Chelsea was bad enough, but it was preceded by a defeat at home to Watford and the first half display in that game was one of the most abject displays in a long time. It seems we have become a team who perform for one half of a game all too often and if we don't get our business done in that half then we're in real trouble.

Hull won at home to Liverpool last week and drew away to United in their previous game and they kept a clean sheet in both games. They might still be in the bottom three, but the arrival of Marco Silva has been exactly what they needed and I would be surprised if they were relegated. He has a very good record in his short managerial career and he certainly knows how to get the best out of his players even if he doesn't tend to stick around for too long.

This week has been dominated by speculation about Arsene Wenger's future and he has been a fantastic manager for Arsenal for over 20 years now. There have been highs and lows of course, but I think the tide may have turned and it could be best for all if he didn't take up the offer of the new contract at the end of this season. Change can be scary, but I think Arsenal need a change even if things don't immediately improve if he goes. Not every team can be successful every season, but I think things cannot continue as they are and a change is essential at this stage.

Having said that I still greatly admire the man and what he has done for the club and I will never abuse him here or on social media. I cannot see what can be gained from the abuse which some people throw in his direction and it only helps to further divide an already split fan base. It can't help the players either, but you can only hope as professionals they can ignore it.

I don't imagine there will be too many changes from the team last week despite virtually every player under performing. I would like to see Mohamed Elneny, Danny Welbeck and/or Lucas Perez come into the team, but it's not really about who plays and more about the attitude and commitment. Hull will more than likely sit deep and hit us on the break as they did so well in beating Liverpool last week, but maybe they might have the audacity to come at us like Watford did in the first half. We didn't have a clue how to deal with that as we obviously hadn't prepared for a team having the nerve to take us on on our own patch.

We need the players who went missing last week to stand up and be counted and it's worrying that Alexis Sanchez has suddenly had far less influence than usual in his last few games. The contract situations of both him and Mesut Ozil are extremely worrying and it's becoming more difficult to believe they will be Arsenal players next season. For me I think they would have tied everything down before now if they were staying and we will have to sell them both at a cut price this summer with only a year left on their contracts if they don't sign up very soon.

Despite all of this I'm still looking forward to the game as I always am when I make the trip. I'm an optimist at heart and I always believe Arsenal will win no matter who they play or where the game is. Today is no different and I think we will get the job done no matter how messy or ugly it might get.

Hopefully Hector Bellerin will be able to return after his injury last week and I'm still struggling to believe that the so called "pundits" to a man didn't think it was even a foul on him. The rules of the game clearly state it was not only a foul but a red card for Marcus Alonso and Chelsea's first goal should not have stood. Where the game might have gone after that is another matter, but you cannot rewrite the past. As a person who has suffered concussion playing football I know how dangerous it can be and I wasn't allowed to play for three months after my concussion. I hope we don't rush him back too soon and his welfare has to be of paramount importance.

I'll leave it there as I near the airport and the inevitable queue for security before I finally get that cup of coffee. My final thought for the day is that the team need the fans behind them in good and bad times and it's too easy to turn on the manager and/or the players. I just hope they can get the support they need today and use it to put two bad results behind them as they build towards at least a strong finish to the season.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Southampton: EFL Cup Quarter Final Preview

It's EFL Cup Quarter Final action tonight for Arsenal and a win would leave them within sight of Wembley. So far they have seen off Nottingham Forest and Reading, but it's a step up against Premier League opposition tonight. Southampton might only be a mid table team in the Premier League, but a full strength team from them would be a very tough proposition for a second string Arsenal team.

I suppose it depends on how seriously Southampton treat the game and the chance to get within one round of a Wembley final. I would be pretty sure Arsene Wenger will try his best to change every player who started against Bournemouth on Sunday as he will want his strongest team possible to play West Ham at the weekend. If at all possible he will make 11 changes, but he might not be able to do so given the current injuries.

Certainly he can change all of the starting back four and goalkeeper with Emiliano Martinez, Kieran Gibbs, Karl Jenkinson, Gabriel Paulista and Rob Holding all available. In midfield we could see Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi come in while Jeff Reine Adelaide and Lucas Perez could start in the attacking trio. I wouldn't be surprised to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play even if he did start on Sunday as I still think he needs as much game time as possible.

I'm not sure if Lucas is fit enough to play as he is only just back from the knock he picked up in the last round. With Chuba Akpom injured too I wonder if Yaya Sanogo is still alive and if so could we be privileged enough to get a rare sighting of him. He's a player who has promised so much but seldom delivered due to injuries and just maybe he might get a chance to shine.

Southampton might have the Europa League and their Premier League position to worry about, but I doubt if they will turn their noses up at a chance of making the semi finals. If they play their strongest team tonight they will have to be the favourites to progress and I have a feeling they will play a strong team. That doesn't mean Arsenal aren't in with a chance of winning, but it will certainly make the task a lot tougher.

It's always good to see the youngsters and fringe players get a run and a quarter final exit would be far from a disgrace. I still think they're in with a chance though even against a strong Southampton team and there is still a possibility of a two legged semi final in January to fit in. Once the players come through unscathed I'll be happy and a win would be a nice added bonus too.

Arsenal v Reading: EFL Cup Preview

After the disappointment of only managing a 0-0 draw at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday it's EFL Cup action for Arsenal tomorrow night when they play at home to Reading. As competitions go the EFL Cup is at the bottom of the list of priorities, but that can change as the team progresses through the rounds. They had a comprehensive victory away to Championship side Forest in the last round and they play at home to another Championship side in this round.

The prize for the winner is a place in the quarter finals and it's at that stage that Arsene Wenger might just decide to show a little more interest in the competition. For the moment though it's a chance for the fringe players and reserves to get a run and show what they can do. It means we should see more or less all of the bench from Saturday get a run and a few of them will hopefully take the opportunity to impress.

At the moment I think there could quite easily be a case for Kieran Gibbs winning back his first team place as Nacho Monreal has struggled. If Gibbs can put in a good performance against Reading then he must surely have a chance of keeping his place against Sunderland next Saturday. It looks like the other full back will be Carl Jenkinson who will be making his return after a long term injury. It's good to see him back and it means he will be the back up for Hector Bellerin should the case arise as Mathieu Debuchy seems to be "persona nor grata".

We should also see both Rob Holding and Gabriel Paulista play in central defence and they are two more players who will be eager to make an impression. Holding did well when we had no option other than to play him at the start of the season, but the arrival of Shkodran Mustafi meant he became surplus to requirements in the first choice 11. He's most definitely one for the future though and the early signs are we might have got a real bargain when we signed him from Bolton.

Gabriel missed out on his chance to impress at the start of the season when he picked up an injury and the arrival of Mustafi has seen his chances severely limited too. He would be regarded as the next best option at the moment if either Laurent Koscielny or Mustafi were injured or suspended and the game must surely do him some good. I had very high hopes for him when he arrived at the club, but he hasn't progressed as much as we would have hoped and the form of Mustafi since his arrival won't have done his chances much good.

With Petr Cech taking preference in goal in league games and David Ospina playing in the Champions League we should see Emiliano Martinez get a game. He played in the last round and kept a clean sheet even if he didn't have an awful lot to do. He's another one for the future and it's good to see him get a chance like so many others.

In midfield I think we might see the same combination which we saw against Boro on Saturday with Santi Cazorla slightly injured and Granit Xhaka still suspended. It's another chance for Francis Coquelin to stake a claim for a more permanent place in the team while Mohamed Elneny must surely be glad of another chance to play. He's a player who seems to have dropped back in the pecking order despite impressing so much after he joined last January.

From what the boss has said we will also see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Lucas Perez in the team and that might just make up the starting 11. There's a chance of Chamberlain dropping back to play alongside Elneny or Coquelin which would possibly see Chuba Akpom play as the central striker, but I think Lucas will be the man to play there. Ainsley Maitland-Niles played in defence in the last round, but he might have to sit on the bench tonight even though he took up that position on Saturday too.

It seems Olivier Giroud might be fit to return too, but I imagine he will be on the bench to start at least. We could have done with his attributes on Saturday when we couldn't find a way through the Boro defence and it will be good to see him back in the fold. I've criticised him often enough in the past, but he still has plenty to offer the team.

All in all it's a fairly strong team with a fair deal of youth and some experience too and they have every chance of progressing. I think Reading will give us a much closer run than Forest did in the last round, but a place in the last eight is certainly attainable. It's a competition the boss has never won, but I don't think he should be overly bothered about it.

Given a choice between progressing to the next round and winning at Sunderland on Saturday I know what I would opt for and I have no doubt he would choose the same. Of course there's no reason why we can't win both games and line up a quarter final game as well as keeping pace with the teams at the top of the table. If things don't go our way tomorrow night I won't be overly concerned and it won't be a huge cause for celebration if we make the last eight either.

Of course I want the team to win and continue their unbeaten run in all competitions which stretches back to the second game of the season. A few impressive performances from players looking to get more first team game time wouldn't go astray either and that's certainly something we should be expecting. The most important thing though is for all the players to come through unscathed. I predicted a win on Saturday so I'll keep my predictions to myself this time.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's EFL Cup Game With Nottingham Forest Previewed

Arsenal stuttered at the start of the season, but they are slowly beginning to find some form. A couple of late goals put a nice 4-1 gloss on their win at Hiull on Saturday, but there's still a way to go before they are anywhere near their best. In a long season which could be anything from 50 to 60 games they've only just scratched the surface of the games they have to play.

They make the trip to Nottingham Forest tonight for a game in the least important of the four competitions they are in this season. The EFL Cup is little more than a distraction and an opportunity to give a run out to the fringe players in the first team squad. With that in mind I expect to see plenty of changes in the team to face Forest.

The only player who might return to the squad is Gabriel Paulista who has been injured since before the season began. The rest of the team should be made up of the players on the bench on Saturday and those who didn't make it to the bench. Arsenal should still be able to put out a fairly strong team though and one with every chance to progress to the next round of the competition.

The choice in goal is a straight one between David Ospina and Emilio Martinez with sense saying it should be Ospina who gets the nod. It looks like he's the first choice for our Champions League group games which might be the only reason he might sit this one out. Either way I think the goalkeeper's position is well covered.

In defence I imagine Rob Holding, Kieran Gibbs and maybe even Mathieu Debuchey will play and Gabriel too if he's fit. If Gabriel isn't quite ready to play I wouldn't be surprised to see Shkodran Mustafi play as the more games he gets the better. I've been impressed with him so far and it looks like we might finally have got the top quality central defender we need to play alongside Laurent Koscielny.

In midfield surely we have to see Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny get a run out. Xhaka has had to bide his time since joining, but his time has to come and the sooner the better for me. As for Elneny he seems to have dropped even further down the line and it's difficult to understand why. Of course there are still plenty of games to go and both Xhaka and Elneny will get plenty of chances to prove themselves, but I find it hard to understand why Xhaka in particular isn't one of the first names on the team sheet for every game. 

There are still four places to fill in the team after those players and I fully expect Lucas Perez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to take two of them with the other two quite possibly going to Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Chuba Akpom. It's a reasonably strong team and one which should have a chance against a Championship team. For me it's about the performance from those players on the night and avoiding injuries.

Last season we went out of the equivalent competition one round later after winning away to Spurs at this stage. We lost away to Sheffield Wednesday on a night to forget when we were well beaten and lost both Chamberlain and Theo Walcott to injuries. If the cost of progress is a couple of injuries this season I would choose elimination from a competition which has never been good to us.

I still have nightmares about the loss to Luton Town in the final in 1988 and I imagine older fans than me have less than fond memories of the 1969 final loss to Swindon Town. There was the 2007 final loss to Chelsea too, the 1968 loss to Leeds and who can forget that awful day against Birmingham in 2011. There were better days too, but not nearly as many as the bad ones.

It will certainly be good to see the fringe players get a run out, but it's never easy to judge a player by how he performs in a second string team. It's easier to judge a player when he gets his chance in a strong line up, but I would be pretty sure those in line to play Chelsea on Saturday will sit this one out. Maybe it's just me, but I would certainly take a defeat against Forest as long as we can take all three points off Chelsea.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To PSG Previewed

Arsenal just about managed to beat Southampton on Saturday, but I'm still not quite sure how they did it. It was a far from impressive display and they got out of jail right at the death with a somewhat lucky penalty. They won though and took three very important points to move them up to seventh in the Premier League table.

It was a pretty strong Arsenal team too, but there were a few noteable absentees. With the trip to PSG in mind Arsene Wenger left Granit Xhaka and Olivier Giroud on the bench while Alexis Sanchez didn't start as he was back quite late from international duty in South America. I expect all three of them to start against PSG as Arsene Wenger looks to play his strongest team possible.

There is a suggestion that David Ospina will get the nod ahead of Petr Cech as he did in some of the group games last season. It's a risky move which backfired badly at home to Olympiacis, but to be fair to Ospina he is a good keeper and Cech has made his fair share of mistakes since joining Arsenal too. None of those mistakes have been as obvious as the one Ospina made in that game, but there is a suggestion he is struggling with long range efforts.

There could be other changes too with the possibility of Mohamed Elneny coming in for Santi Cazorla to add some more strength in front of the defence alongside Xhaka. Santi has played very well so far and has probably been our best attacking player to this point, but a player who can offer more defensively might be a better option for this game. I'd like to see how Xhaka and Elneny perform together and we might just get a chance to see that combination in this game.

I suppose there's a possibility of Theo Walcott missing out too as he hasn't exactly been overly impressive so far this season. If Giroud plays centrally then Alexis will come in on the left or right and we could see Lucas Perez retain his place, but shift to a wide role. I think Walcott will get the nod ahead of both of them though while Alex Iwobi is unlikely to play from the start too.

There are plenty of other options available with the possibility of Mesut Ozil or Cazorla moving to the wide role and the other one of those two playing behind the striker to accomodate both players. I think Ozil will play his usual role though and Cazorla will be the man to miss out. It's good that we have so many options and hopefully the players can find more understanding than they did on Saturday as the season progresses.

PSG have the French league tied up at almost a stroll and the real challenge for them is in the Champions League. It's the trophy their mega rich owners desire more than any other, but it's not easy to win as Arsenal are well aware. They might not be on top of their domestic league right now, but I have no doubt they will be before too long and until the season ends too.

On the face of it Arsenal's group is none too difficult and it should be a fight between them and PSG for first place. While Basel and Ludogorets cannot be written off, Arsenal should be able to finish ahead of both of them as long as they don't treat them as lightly as they did the so called also rans in their group last season. They managed to get out of that group last season despite themselves and hopefully they will do things a lot better this season.

It's been far too long since Arsenal made it past the last 16 of the Champions League and the best way to do that is to win their group. If they can stay on top of their games against Basel and Ludogorets then the group should come down to the results home and away against PSG. A win away to them would be the ideal way to get off the mark in the group, but I'd happily take a point from this game.

The team still haven't put in a 90 minute performance in their four games to date, but now is the time for them to do just that. This will be their toughest game so far and a good result could be just what the team needs to get them going.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Tie Things Up As The Transfer Window Closes

It's not always easy writing about Arsenal, but the surroundings can sometimes help and sitting on a beach in Ibiza certainly isn't the worst setting. There's plenty to write about at the moment with the transfer window about to shut and player movement in both directions happening. The squad has certainly been strengthened with the new arrivals, but it seems like we will see a few players leave on loan deals too.

The additions of Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi are most welcome as they come in positions where the team/squad needed more depth and they look ready to be used from the off. Mustafi looks like the central defender we have being waiting for to partner Laurent Koscielny, but the current form of Rob Holding probably means we won't see him start straight away. With Gabriel Paulista and Per Mertesacker both injured we needed another central defender and we needed one for the long term too considering Mertesacker's age and maybe even Koscielny's too.

With both of them injured it's a little surprising to see Calum Chambers being allowed to go out on loan, but he will join Middlesbrough for the rest of the season. Things haven't exactly worked out for him at Arsenal since his arrival from Southampton two years ago, but hopefully some regular first team football will help him to take the next step and come back ready for first team action. There's no mention of the club being able to recall him if the need arises or if he falls out of favour at Boro and we can only hope all goes well for him. 

Perez hasn't exactly hit the high spots in his career so far, but he looks like he has a good eye for a goal. Maybe playing for a team who create as many chances as Arsenal will give him the opportunity to step up to the next level and we might just have got ourselves a reasonably priced gem. He will certainly give us more options up front and that's something we have been far too short of recently. He's not the big money superstar we've being crying out for and it still looks like our striking issues have not been resolved four years after the departure of Robin van Persie.

It also looks like Jack Wilshere could be on his way out on loan to try to get some first team action. His series of injuries and our options in midfield would make it look like a good move, but I'm not so sure. He definitely needs first team football, but surely there will be enough games coming up for him to get plenty of chances to make his mark on the team. A couple of injuries to other players could leave us crying out for his return, but the terms of any loan deal probably wouldn't make that possible.

Of course he's just as likely to pick up another knock and rule himself out for another long spell and maybe he needs the first team action week in and week out to get back to where he was before he lost all of last season. It's a hard one to call and it's not easy to know what's best for the player and the club. For me we need to do what's best for Arsenal though and I think he should stay with us and fight for his place in the team.

There's still more than a week to go in the dreaded international break and news will dry up once the transfer window closes tonight. I think I'm in the right place for the next week and I should be back just in time for the return of real football. Arsenal play at home to Southampton on Saturday week and hopefully we will get to see the new players and even more importantly get our first home win of the season.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Line Up Two Players For €60 Million

It's been a long hard summer for Arsenal fans as they have waited in vain for the signings the club needed to strengthen a team who finished second in the Premier League last season. Granit Xhaka arrived what seemed like an age ago and there have been a few low key signings who are earmarked as "ones for the future". Among those low key signings was Rob Holding who has been called into action early in the first two league games this season as injuries forced Arsene Wenger's hand.

It looks like the elusive centre back is finally on the way though with reports coming out of Spain that Arsenal have finally agreed a price with Valencia for German international Shkodran Mustafi. The fee being bandied about is somewhere around the €40 million mark and it's an awful lot to pay for a defender. Unfortunately the transfer market has gone mad this summer and it's the going rate for a player of his ability and standing.

With both Per Merresacker and Gabriel Paulista injured the need for a central defender was pressing and hopefully it will be money well spent. He should make himself a first choice in the team alongside Laurent Koscielny and it's a signing which was needed whether Mertesacker and Gabriel were injured or not. Mertesacker is nearing the end of his career and the jury is still out on Gabriel, so the imminent arrival of Mustafi has to be welcomed.

With the central defensive issue finally looking solved the club seem to be moving quickly to bring in a striker. Reports from Spain again would seem to suggest Arsenal have jumped ahead of Everton in the queue and are about to wrap up the signing of Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna. He's not exactly the international superstar we were clambering for, but needs must and there aren't too many strikers out there who are available.

With Danny Welbeck out until the new year and Theo Walcott looking like anything but a striker the only option besides Olivier Giroud is Chuba Akpom and the manager clearly doesn't fancy him just yet at least. I can't say I'm over impressed by Perez's scoring record to date, but he made a pretty good fist of it last season with just short of a goal every two games. He's had his fair share of clubs for a 27 year old and not all of them have worked out, but we have to hope we have signed him just as he's about the make his career breakthrough.

He's not going to be first choice of course with Giroud still occupying that role, but he will get to fill in for him at times or maybe come off the bench to replace him. There's also the possibility of the two of them playing together if the boss decides to change his tactics or we're chasing a game. Like any new player he has to be given a chance to settle in and hopefully the current atmosphere won't affect him or any of the other players for that matter. 

I know neither of these players are actually signed yet and everything I have just written could be to no avail, but it does look like they are going to happen. With the close of the transfer window still nearly a week away it's very early for Arsenal to tie down these deals, but I'm certainly not complaining about that. There's still the possibility of more players arriving, but I would be very surprised if we see any more arrivals. 

I would imagine the boss will have to sit down and take a deep breath if he has indeed brought his summer spending to €100 million. These two players might not have been our first choices at the start of the summer, but I think Mustafi in particular looks like he could be a great addition to the team. I doubt if anything will be tied up in time for us to see them play at Watford on Saturday, but they should be raring to go after the international break as long as we do actually sign them.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.