Gabriel Martinelli, Benjamin Sesco, David Raya (Photos: Carl Lissein, Stuart Franklin, David Rogers/Getty Images)
Joan Garcia is the target of Arsenal, but he hasn’t replaced David Raya as No. 1
If Joan Garcia signs Arsenal this summer, it will end the currently growing transfer chase for over a year.
He is the keeper Arsenal wants to bring in, and goalkeeper coach Inaki Kana is a huge fan of Espanyol Stopper, who has had a very impressive season in Spain.
If a transaction occurs, Garcia will appear as No. 2. He won’t come to replace David Raya.
Despite some sloppy moments in recent weeks, Raya has another exceptional season for Arsenal, and should be high on the club’s Player of the Season Awards running.
In fact, it was said that Raya will officially shoot Arsenal’s No. 1 shirt this summer.
Like Garcia, Arsenal rates, if he arrives, he will come in as a fellow researcher.
That doesn’t mean he won’t end up being Arsenal’s No. 1, but that’s something he has to work very much.
Rodrigo is going to be an exciting signing, but can Arsenal really afford him?
If Rodrigo really becomes available this summer, it would be mad that Arsenal will not explore the possibility of at least signing the Brazilians.
I have seen suggestions in Spain that Arsenal is pushing the most difficult thing to land a winger from Real Madrid, but that’s not what I’ve heard at this stage.
But if you let Real Madrid know that it’s open to sales for the 24-year-old, you’ll think the club must consider the opportunity.
It’s one of the market opportunities that unexpectedly appear unexpectedly, especially when you’re in the market for new wide attackers.
Rodrigo’s record speaks for itself. He is a great player and will not turn 25 until early next year. He’s the exact kind of profile that Arsenal wanted to do.
However, the problem we see with this potential move is the price tag.
If Madrid decides to let go of Rodrigo, as far as I know, unless that’s already decided, they’ll be asking for a lot of money from the winger. You’ll expect something at least around the £80 million mark.
And I feel that such spending is a bit unlikely for me in the summer when Arsenal needs to do so many important businesses.
They are already set up to sign Martin Zubimendi with over £50 million in shade, committing more than that, and even if the new striker is at the end of the signature, it will cost more.
So, potentially new wingers, goalkeepers and defenders are well over £100 million for two players still signed.
That makes me feel that Rodrigo might be too far, given the fees Madrid demands.
Nico Williams, a player Mikel Arteta wants to bring to Arsenal, can be obtained for around £30 million. That’s a huge amount, and the same can be said about Rodrigo, even if Williams ordered a big wage.
So we need to wait to see how things progress in the coming weeks.
It would certainly be an exciting signature, but my guess is that summer departures will be attracting attention to making that possible.
Mikel Arteta is not forced to sign anyone he doesn’t want
Mikel Arteta and sports director Andrea Berta have seen suggestions that when it comes to new strikers, Arsenal’s prioritization target should be this summer.
There’s no doubt Arteta likes Benjamin Sesco. This is evidence of the long-standing interest in Arsenal’s frontman for RB Leipzig.
But we know that Berta prefers Victor Gyoker since his time at Atletico Madrid, but that’s not to say that the pair has some kind of inconsistency ahead as we head towards the summer window.
Arsenal won’t sign a striker that Arteta doesn’t want.
So, if he becomes a striker, even if he may prefer each other, that doesn’t mean that the others have ultimately been decided against Arteta’s wishes.
He would have given it a green light.
Berta was led by the powerful voice of Arsenal. His expertise and ability to get trades through the line are considered important in helping Arsenal have a little more edge in the transfer window.
But he works with Arteta, not on him. The decisions made will be collective.
It took Gabriel Martinelli for him to see in advance
It was great to see Gabriel Martinelli being given time to play midway with Liverpool.
He really thought it was good. His pace and movement really gave Virgil van Dik and Ibrahima Konate something they had to think about. He made them uneasy and played a major role in Arsenal’s late fight back.
When Gabriel Jesus and Kai Herberts were both sidelined with injuries, there was real hope among Arsenal’s fan base that Arteta would see Martinelli as a viable option in the role of the central striker.
Fans, many years ago, have not forgotten how much electricity he had in that position when he first arrived under Unai Emery.
So it was a bit surprising that Arteta had waited for a long time to try out Martinelli in that position, but that’s probably in the impressive shape of makeshift No. 9 Mikel Merino.
But Martinelli showed everyone what he could do in the second half against Liverpool.
He ran well through the channel, went between Van Dik and Conate and began to run behind him to extend Liverpool’s defense.
Martinelli’s switch to the striker role also seemed to bring the best out of Martin Odegard.
I thought Odegaard was excellent after the interval. He seemed to be energized by quickly moving forward in front of him, who always wanted to run into the space behind the Liverpool Back 4.
So I really hope that Martinelli will pause this weekend to keep his place in front of Newcastle.
Both Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice seem to fit as they put all their effort into Wednesday’s training despite struggling with recent hamstring issues.
Kai Havertz is back in training, but it’s very unlikely that he’ll be thrown straight into the first XI on Sunday.
So, Martinelli feels like the most likely option now. He could play in the center, with Torosad on the left and Saka on the right.
Arsenal looked much more dangerous when Martinelli and Torosad switch positions at Anfield, so Arteta hopes they take something from it and set it up in a similar way to Newcastle.
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