Bernard Woolley yup! If you listen to industry people, you realise that players hold a lot of sway in these deals. This isn’t just clubs trading commodities

      Bernard Woolley Purely down to him.

      One can't say this is "purely" down to the player when the player's agreement to any given contract is absolutely vital.

      If this situation's purely down to Eddie because he had the legal right to refuse to sign with Forest, then every contract Edu has ever overseen was equally purely down to the player. It's Edu's job to see the landscape of these deals. That includes understanding any involved player's intentions and desires.

      Any one of these contracts involves bringing at least four parties together (Arsenal, the player, the destination club and the player's agent). No one's saying it's easy, but it is what it is.

      We may rail against squad players for wasting away on high wages, but Edu's employed by Arsenal to be across all these factors at both ends of an Arsenal footballing employee's useful tenure as an Arsenal footballer.

      If Eddie doesn't get moved on because we ruled out the only destinations he was willing to accept that would also pay his wages and pay us a fee, that would be a failure.

      Coffee's for closers.

          Burnwinter I completely agree. It's Edu's job to ensure that we get the best possible deal that is actually actionable in light of all circumstances. All I meant was that this is not just because of Nketiah's wages being too high since that is an easily solvable problem through a combination of lower fee for the club with a sign-on bonus for the player. This is some other intangible in the mix.

              Bernard Woolley Fair play, I think I pulled you into the point I've been trying to make to Claude. Any case, I really want to see us get a fee for Nketiah this summer—it'll be a blow if we don't.

                Claudius obviously the players hold sway on where they go and work. Otherwise you are trading humans like cattle. Eddie doesn't have to go to Forrest if he doesn't want to. We don't know why, it could be his role there, could be his wages, could release clause related, etc At the end of the day its Edu's job to find a deal that works for all parties.

                  I don't blame Eddie for not going to Forest - they're badly run, odds are they'll be in or around the relegation zone and his contract will no doubt have a relegation clause. Nketiah doesn't want to be 26 and playing in the Championship on a fraction of the wages.

                  At least Palace should be relatively loaded right now.

                  Window shuts on Friday to be fair so not a lot of time left thank god.

                  I really do hope we can bring an attacker in regardless of whether Eddie stays or goes.

                  The departures of ESR and Vieira have opened up space and it doesn't seem like we can rely on Jesus.

                  HomeSteak That was fast

                  They probably had contact with Eddie and offered him a better deal than Forrest before he pulled out of that one. And who's going to pick Forrest over Palace at the moment anyway.

                    Just praying some club takes Nketiah for decent money and we get Trossard level quality from a surprise forward signing. It should still be on the cards ...

                    Anyone who's followed his progress has gotta be fond of Nketiah as a human being, but if Smith Rowe's not good enough for us, Eddie's certainly not a player to rely on as we try to scrape a title again. If experience is a guide he'll rarely play.

                    Bring us some good news Edu.

                      HomeSteak which probably explains why Eddie told Forest to chill. I would’ve done the same faced with these two options. He’s a mid career player. This is his big move. He can’t fuck this up by going to an also-ran. Palace are exciting

                          He would be sitting on the bench behind Mateta I think. But Glasner is a good manager, hope he can develop his game and be a decent PL striker

                            Clrnc yeah, although I don't expect Mateta will be at Palace beyond this season. Nketiah could be shrewd insurance policy

                              Panda Thank fuck if it pans out. This has been driving me crazy all day. 😆

                              I'll give Edu ample credit if this one actually takes place.

                                Mateta is very average. Eddie should fancy himself.

                                  goon 19 goals last year, can hold up play and extremely strong in the box.

                                  Funny thing is Forest is getting a better striker in Santiago Gimenez now.

                                      decent fee for eddie. he isnt arsenal starting forward quality, but he can have a long career in the league for mid table sides. best of luck to him.