The good thing is we don’t have too many games in Jan. Dropping out the League Cup was a huge blessing.

ESR is coming back into the fold so he’ll have to be the attacking option off the bench against Spurs and United.

est That should be the starting price for anyone who enquires about Saka

    James Think it was well known he was coming, as long as we have the player on our side I think they'll have to negotiate with us.

    Also Chelsea's financial position isn't quite as strong as people think and then you consider that they're 10th in the league.

      the last 24 hours has seen sky/athletic/telegraph all saying we're stepping up our interest in felix. could be legit, or a strategic media brief to get shaktar to cut the malarkey

      With Mudryk repeatedly giving us 💓s on his socials, we could afford to pause our pursuit of him here for a week or more, Félix or otherwise.

      Let his people have a few pissy conversations with Chelsea, so they know they're going to have to drag him along or buy him out, and Shakhtar know they'll look like pricks in the process. We've bid £62m. It's likely not quite enough, but it's far from insulting. If we have to armwrestle with Chelsea, let's not be too enthusiastic about it. If he readily chooses them, it wasn't to be.

      So, the only fear is if he turns out like Zlatan/Mbappe - generational type talent, where we look back in regret and say we could've had that for a few more million quid.

      Other than that I'm happy to pass at this stage.

      I do think we can /should be a little bit more ruthless with our transfers though. Especially when the player has indicated ample interest in joining. Negotiate, but be ready and willing to put in some extra cash if needed to wrap things up fast. You hardly ever hear other big teams get caught up or slowed down by player pricing considerations. If they are going in, most times they are going in to seal the deal quickly and move on. We have the money so I don't get what the hold up is really.

      Nobody seems to know if it's real or not since he's unliked if it is, lol.

      Chelsea are like that dickhead bloke with a bit of cash and nice accessories that tries to muscle in on the girl you’ve been flirting with all evening.

      • CPM likes this.

      So if Chelsea get him they’ll have Sterling, Nkunku and him next season

        Wonder if this makes a difference in their pursuit for Mudryk.

        If/when Mudryk comes here, he benches Martinelli pretty quickly I think.

          Yeah. Who's CPM previously?

          Wasn't he coming back from a long-term absence and trying to displace Auba at the start of Arteta's tenure? Think Arteta is a big fan but starting to think that maybe he sees Martinelli as a central option in the longer term.

            Don Pacifico I have a feeling that is right.

            So I really want us to complete the Mudryk deal asap

              lorddulaarsenal I would have understood that viewpoint two years ago (and even then, as others have pointed out, injuries), I'm not sure what you've seen from Arteta or heard to make you think that now. The issue, really, is we've become super reliant on him (and Saka) staying fit as nobody else is available. So when Martinelli is, by his standards, relatively quiet it tends to stand out because he's in for the whole game. Which will also affect his sharpness over time.

                It’s more of a gut feel. Have the same feeling with Xhaka. Think he has different types of players in mind for the role they play long term

                  lorddulaarsenal Martinelli, I can give you a pass on even though his talent is out of this world and is a bonafide superstar in the making. 😂

                  Xhaka not being Arteta's cup of tea is not something even debateable. Dude loves him. And I can kind of see why now. He's probably the second name on the team sheet after Saka for Arteta I reckon.

                    lorddulaarsenal madness. Like Willie says, the guy is probably second or first on the teamsheet now and is quite clearly the team's vice captain. I agree, he's not going to be the left 8 in the long term, but he clearly is very much Arteta's sort of player.

                      Arteta telling Xhaka he needed to adapt to play in the laft 8 role supports Dula’s theory Tbf. Xhaka is also quite an unconventional 8 stylistically so again it’s unlikely that’s what Arteta has in mind for the postion.

                      Agree that Xhaka has it nailed down for now, but once age and form start to take its toll I wouldn’t be surprised if you see something very different in there stylistically.

                      basically Arteta’s preference is to have players who are smooth on the ball and are agile. So for the Martinelli role think Sane, Mudryk, and Xhaka role I suspect someone like Max Allister would be more his choice

                      BBC reporting that Arsenal & Shakhtar are in talks (again? still? in a really big conference room?) over Mudryk.

                        RocktheCasbah if we are talking this much it means we're really serious, seems like a Ben White situation where we eventually just pay what we need to.

                          I hope so, it'll be gutting if we don't get him now.

                          Few reports, including from SportsArena who have been first to report on stuff, saying we’re close to agreeing a deal. Just the structure left to agree.

                            I like Malted Milk but not the chocolate covered ones.

                            This’ll be wrapped up soon.

                            Imagine the insane running power of this attack

                            ———————Nketiah
                            Mudryk—-ESR———Saka—-Martinelli

                              goon

                              That has been my impression for a while. Shaktar have been very open to negotiation and haven't expressly dismissed any of our offers out of hand, which tells you as much as they're rejecting what's on the table, we're not far off (probably about how much we pay versus what are performance-based add-ons).

                                Don Pacifico he’s in the mad technical attacking option

                                ———————-Jesus
                                Mudryk—-Odegaard—Vieira—Saka