Arsenal in desperate need of striker
I seem to be talking a lot this week about the lack of strikers at several clubs but none more pressing than Arsenal. The Gunners remain as a challenge to Liverpool but without a recognised striker, it is felt inside the club that it will be difficult to catch the league leaders. Gabriel Jesus has […]
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I seem to be talking a lot this week about the lack of strikers at several clubs but none more pressing than Arsenal. The Gunners remain as a challenge to Liverpool but without a recognised striker, it is felt inside the club that it will be difficult to catch the league leaders.
Gabriel Jesus has now been ruled out for possibly the rest of the season with a bad knee injury which needs an operation. In addition, they are being pressed by Nottingham Forest, the surprise package of the season, under the guidance of coach Nuno Espirito Santo. Newcastle are also in the race with belief that this could be their season. Arsenal’s recruitment has been nothing short of poor. They signed an energetic midfielder in Mikel Merino and an injury prone defender Riccardo Calafiori. That was £70million spent and no striker arrived. Kai Havertz was impressive last season but he wastes so many chances. Eddie Nketiah never made the grade and has gone. Many think Gabriel Jesus doesn’t have the strength and muscle to make a top striker. Without Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard is arguably Arsenal’s most dangerous forward and he plays in from the left wing. Liverpool have Mo Salah, Manchester City have Erling Haaland, Newcastle have Alexander Isak, Chelsea have much improved Nicolas Jackson and Nottingham Forest rely on Chris Wood. Arsenal have nobody!
Managers who are given too much power often fall by the wayside and Arteta is in danger of losing support from the fans if regular results do not make them more of a threat to Liverpool. They scraped an excellent home win against Tottenham midweek but inside the club, Arteta has too many “yes” men who listen and believe his every word and often, it has to be said, he gets it wrong.
There have been decent strikers available such as Victor Osimhen, now on loan in Turkey, Ivan Toney who is busy earning a fortune playing in Saudi, Marcus Rashford, unwanted at United and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak who would cost a fortune but the Gunners could afford him if the right deal could be done. Newcastle however would fight hard to keep him.
Recruitment is as important to a team as anything that happens inside the club. Two defeats within a week prove that Arsenal are not keeping up with their rivals in signing fresh talent in the right areas and while other teams are moving on, the Gunners have stood still.
Rashford deal for AC Milan
Marcus Rashford’s representative brother Dwaine has returned from AC Milan where he has been negotiating with the Serie A club for the forward’s transfer. Marcus favours Barcelona who are also known to be interested but lack the funds to buy him. Manchester United are desperate to give Ruben Amorim what he wants as the newly installed head coach and Marcus does not fit in with his plans going forward. The player himself is looking forward to a new challenge. He has rejected a move to Saudi Arabia and Turkey and at 27 years of age, he still has a long career ahead of him. The problem for most clubs is his salary, currently £325,000 a week and he is on a long contract until 2028. Milan wants to do a loan deal but are refusing to pay half of his salary which is a usual arrangement. Their top salary earner is Alvaro Morata who earns £150,000 a week.
That said, the club has been making arrangements to take him to Italy. Milan’s Noah Okafor was due to fly to RB Leipzig to negotiate a loan deal which would make a space available for Rashford and also help with reducing Milan’s wage bill. However, that deal fell through this week.
Guardiola looking at three signings
Manchester City need revitalising and even Pep Guardiola has admitted that many of his stars are not what they used to be. The club is closing in on a deal to sign 20-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov from French club Lens. The defender from Uzbekistan took a medical this week and the City staff are arranging for a work visa which would bring Khusanov to Manchester on a deal until 2029 and a salary of £140,000 a week. Guardiola is also interested in Palmeiras defender Vitor Reis and Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush.
I was amused when the City coach said he was not worried about Kyle Walker’s possible move from the Etihad Stadium. He said, “I’m so clever, I will find a solution.” No one doubts it and Kyle has told his boss that he would like a new challenge. Both Inter and AC Milan clubs and of course Saudi teams, have all shown interest in signing the 34-year-old.
Chelsea value Nkunku at £60m
Chelsea have told Bayern Munich that Christopher Nkunku is available for £60million with the Germany giants interested in a January transfer. He is unhappy with his form at Chelsea and partly blames his lack of game time. He has more or less remained on the bench and used mainly as a substitute and his price is surprisingly high given his lack of success at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea paid £52m for him in 2023. The junior Conference League competition has seen most of the 27-year-old’s action but he points out that he was once a high-profile star in European football when playing for RB Leipzig. He scored 35 goals in all competitions in 2021/22 and was the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season.
Maguire back to his confident self
Harry Maguire says his world has changed under new boss Ruben Amorim. The newly installed coach told Harry it was a “no brainer” to sign his one-year option to extend his contract until 2026. Maguire in turn has admitted that he struggled under previous coaches Ralf Rangnick and Erik Ten Hag but he feels Amorim will return Manchester United to their glory days. Maguire said, “It’s given me confidence and belief that they want me at the club and part of this project. He’s really demanding.” He was outstanding in the FA Cup win over Arsenal which was all the more impressive because he was limited in training for the match because of illness. Maguire back to his best is equal with any centre-back in the world and Ruben Amorim has given him the boost he desperately needed.
Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha is the real deal at 16 years of age!
I was both excited and fascinated when 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha ran onto the pitch to start in the FA Cup against Accrington Stanley. He is the youngest player ever to start for Liverpool. No one expected the top of the table team to lose and of course they didn’t, winning 4-0. But to see the youngster sharing 1.32 acres of hallowed turf in front of the Kop stand was a very special moment. He lasted an impressive 72 minutes and took the opportunity to show that he could become a future star for the Reds. The boy from Newham in the tough east side of London was very impressive. London clubs must be kicking themselves for missing this bundle of talent.