Vague transfer rumours + other stuff to read

Morning all, it’s a very quiet Friday, and as we don’t hear from Mikel Arteta until later this afternoon ahead of our FA Cup game against Liverpool, it’s gonna be a short blog this morning.

With regards transfers, there’s very little stirring. Talk is that Arsenal are after a left-back in this window, but that might also mean a defender who is primarily a left-back but who can also play elsewhere across the back-line. Sam Dean reports interest in 17 year old Ajax defender Jorrel Hato:

Arsenal are plotting a move for Ajax teenager Jorrel Hato. The 17-year-old can operate at centre-back and left-back, and has played every minute of every game for Ajax this season. A summer move is understood to be more likely than January. #AFC https://t.co/JkCDCXRa5f

— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) January 4, 2024

Probably a canny move for the summer all right, but as a player who can come in and help a team during a title chase? I’m not sure. Then again, who is that player this month and what are the club prepared to do? The loan market in January is rarely of much benefit, far more Denis Suarez than Martin Odegaard, but let’s see. If Edu could pull another rabbit out of the hat like he did with the Norwegian, that would be great.

There’s also some reported interest in Fenerbahce’s Ferdi Kadioglu, who – according to Transfermarkt – is primarily a left-back but who can also play right-back and right-wing. This season he has played mostly on the left, with a couple of appearances in the other full-back position.

However, experience tells us that transfer rumours from Turkey need to taken with a very significant pinch of salt – even if he is represented by the same agency that looks after Mikel Arteta, so there’s a connection there. It’s a very big agency though, with a lot of players and managers on their books, so it’s quite probably a stretch. I don’t know if this is one to keep an eye on, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a player who can play as a defender and an attacker would be of interest to Arteta. At this point his ideal signing would be a Midstrifender. Which sounds like a make of guitar but it’s basically someone who can play anywhere from back to front, and probably in goal too.

Beyond that, there’s not much to tell you, so why don’t I point you in the direction of some other stuff to read this morning? There’s quite an interesting bit on Sky Sports about Martin Odegaard’s role in chance creation, and the fact those chances are not being finished. It’s not that this will come as a major shock to anyone, but a lot of what’s wrong can be fixed by greater efficiency in front of goal. After Fulham there’s been plenty of discussion that a lot is fundamentally wrong with our football – something I don’t agree with – and this piece demonstrates that. We can do lots of stuff better, of course, but this is not a situation where you can’t even begin to see what the problem is.

There’s more analysis of the captain, and how a change has led to him being more influential in a lengthy piece by Billy Carpenter – whose newsletter is well worth subscribing to by the way, he produces consistently excellent stuff. A slight reversion may have played a part in the Fulham performance, but that was such a collective off-day it’s hard to properly quantify. There’s also good stuff on Saka and Martinelli, a lots more. Anyway, grab a cuppa and go read.

We will bring you all the latest from the manager’s press conference over on Arseblog News, and this morning I’ll leave you with a brand new Arsecast. I’m joined by Elliot from the ArsenalVision Podcast to do ‘Statements’, which he has to strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with. Topics include Kieran Tierney, our output in front of goal, the goalkeepers, and lots more.

Happy listening, more from me here tomorrow.

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