XHAKA TO STAY? NOT SO FAST
The Athletic is writing that Granit Xhaka might not leave the club this summer – and that would be a welcome move by Arsenal.
There’s a lot of merit in keeping the Swiss. He’s a leader in the dressing room, he fits the system, he can play a host of positions without complaint, and he’s been a loyal soldier of Arteta.
I don’t believe it though.
This feels like an Arsenal-shaped leak designed to push Leverkusen into spending proper money to land one of the top-performing 8s in Europe last season. Granit was saying his goodbyes in the dressing room at the end of last season, he bowed out with grace, there’s no way he’s passing up a 4-year deal at 30 years old. We cannot be giving him away on a ‘thanks for the memories’ discount. If Chelsea can pay £30m to bring Auba BACK to the Premier League, we can land a good fee for a more timeless player.
One player we haven’t spoken much about is Matty Turner. USMNTs #1 didn’t get many minutes last season, and it’s clear what he lacks in his game, we need in a backup. His passing moved up numerous levels over the last season, but I’m not sure it’d hold up if Ramsdale was out for a prolonged period of time. At some point, the USMNT folk will have to look for minutes. Turner is a great penalty saver, he has a huge Premier League frame, and he’s a top shot-stopper. Seems like the right sort of player to flip if a bid came in. Always worth noting Nick Pope is average with the ball at his feet but he’s still England’s number 1 and a top Premier League keeper. Same with Bernd Leno who was basically the number 1 reason Fulham stayed up last season.
Cesc Fabregas announced his retirement.
What a player.
He really felt like a revolutionary type in the Premier League. He lacked pace, power, and height… but the boy absolutely dominated. He was pure joy to watch. His passing was quite stunning and his output towards the end of his tenure was unrivaled. Outside being a world-class footballer, he was also a good human. Never caught up in a scandal, never said the wrong thing in the media, and always seemed to love The Arsenal… until he broke our hearts and left for Barca in a pitiful deal.
The biggest shame of Cesc’s career is that Wenger never put talent around him that would have given project youth the jolt to the next level it needed. You can say the money wasn’t there, but we all saw it accruing every year. Mikel Arteta coming to the same club with the same leadership cajoled the club into behaving like a proper institution… Wenger just wasn’t interested in rattling cages. He wanted to take down City and Chelsea on a budget and that was fine with an ownership group that was unambitious because they were allowed to be. Wenger preferred power at a discount versus pushing to get what he needed to succeed. Longevity over a second wind of glory.
That meant Arsenal botched a generation of elite kids because we surrounded them with players like Seb Squillaci.
I loved Cesc. His rat tail hairstyle. His mullet. His ability in tight spaces. His outrageous vision. His goals. Running from the halfway line to score against Spurs. He was truly, truly special. Happy retirement to the man that won it all!
Another legend of the game – Nico Pepe, is once again on the agenda. His contract of neverending length, still hasn’t expired, and Nice don’t have to buy him. He’s coming back to training and Arsenal fans are once again asking ‘should we give him another go?
NO.
Our only hope for Nico is Saudi. No one else in world football would pay him £150k a week. It’s a shame, he’s a talented boy who couldn’t find consistency… but there’s no chance we bring him back in from the cold. He’s exiting as a flop, likely on a free transfer in the year 2076.
Can you believe that Raul Sanllehi is in the running for a job at Everton? I will put it out there – he is the WORST hire in the history of Arsenal. I cannot believe he was allowed to slink out the backdoor with ‘what a great job’ platitudes and no big exposé on his dire work at Arsenal. Everton needs help – who could possibly be recommending him as an option for coming in? Just goes to show, no one is ever really canceled – he’s a prime example of what shamelessness can bring to you in the beautiful game. Here’s a reminder of his work if you know any Everton fans.
Ok, that’s me done. See you in the comments. Check out our latest podcast below.