daredevil none of our top players in the past started playing so many games in a row at such a young age without it affecting them. Only ones I can think of playing a large number of games at 17/18 and the continuously into their 20s were Fabregas and Wilshere. The latter has retired due to his injuries and the even Fabregas was affected quite a bit from the 2008/09 season onwards.

Not every player is a machine like Messi and Ronaldo starting so young and going strong into their mid to late 30s.

      Big Willie

      Players don't all follow the same trajectory. Some start early and finish early, others start later and finish later and a rare few last an eternity. Saka is a top player today and should be treated as such. Our reliance on him is because he's one of the best in the league and he's delivering. It makes no sense to scale back his role in the team.

      He's also nowhere near the number of games Fabregas and Wilshere (first season) played. The former broke 50 games two seasons in a row and Wilshere was 1 shy of it. In contrast, Saka played 43 games last season. That's nothing. If people are getting concerned today when we're not even in the CL, then you might as well hire a therapist for next season cause his game time will be going up.

        Extremely well written analysis of Mudryk. If people are still not convinced about him after reading this then nothing will.

        I think he will be a starter for us. Martinelli can play at CF

        Start of the thread here:

        I like that he is similar to Mitoma and Kulusevski which is exactly what we needed.

          After this thread and your ITK stuff I'll be so disappointed if we don't sign him. 😭

          Well chuffed we’re getting him. Will be a total weapon at away games against the big 6

          —————--——Partey
          ————-Saka—————-ESR
          —Nelson———Martinelli——Mudryk

          Imagine trying to defend against that

          this kid will be dynamite for us

          Looks mint, but will be a tough choice given we really need a striker more than a backup WF in the here and now.


          A lot of links...still not convinced.

          • est replied to this.

            Reckon this gets done before Jan, which would be a new thing for us. Always envious of teams who get their business done beforehand and wonder why we can't do the same.

            Excited about this player, hopefully we don't overpay and be able to make another signing in the window.

            Guy looks so quick, since Theo can't remember us having someone with that kind of pace. With us having options out wide he won't be under pressure to perform straight away.

            Interesting choice of tattoos...

            Mudryk seems to really want to be here, which feels slightly unfamiliar. Arsenal hasn't held this kind of allure in years, we're in danger of becoming a big club again.

            I wonder if there is some advantage Edu has with Shakhtar Donetsk with all of the Brazilian connections. Could be the reason why this is our preferred deal.

            I'd love to know what the thinking was in the summer re Neto vs this chap. By all accounts Neto was first choice and probably would have been significantly more expensive. 4 months later and we seem to have little interest in the former and are going all in for this kid.

            Clearly the right choice, but it's funny how much things can change in such little time in football.

              goon isn't Neto sidelined with a long term injury anyways?

              • goon replied to this.

                  Big Willie good point, I missed that. Though in some ways it’s all the more relevant.