hello everyone.
I’ll write a quick blog post on Friday. There are no specifics, but there are a lot of rumors. First, Mikel Merino is not included in the Real Sociedad squad for the upcoming game. There are more and more opinions that this is because his move to Arsenal is getting closer.
Perhaps, this is unlikely, but things have accelerated in the last few days. Other reports say it was due to injury, but there seems to be a lot of smoke and maybe even fire around the Spanish international. Fabrizio Romano said talks between the clubs were ‘active’ and the player wanted to join, and other reports I’ve seen support this.
So, let’s see what happens. His arrival is certainly interesting, as he could redefine Declan Rice’s role this season. If there were concerns about the age and legs of Jorginho and Thomas Partey, they can easily be offset by the fact that Rice has said on several occasions that he thinks his best position is ‘6’, and he is a very, very good player, so that problem is almost solved. Who would really complain if he was the one anchoring our midfield?
Merino and Havertz, the ‘left 8’, are also options, adding a bit more depth to the position, but the impact of that leaves Gabriel Jesus as the first-choice centre-forward. If he can maintain his pre-season form and sharpness, that’s not a huge problem, but given his injury record, it’s a risk. Not to mention he’s not available for every game, and given the other big rumour this morning of Eddie Nketiah’s move to Marseille, that means Arsenal will also have to be active in the attacking market.
I don’t know how much truth there is to Eddie’s story. I’ve seen posts on social media saying he was at Marseille airport and all I can think of is the madness of tracking connecting flights, most of which turn out to be completely absurd. But what I do think is that it’s time for him to leave for his career. Whether it’s at Marseille now or a little later in the transfer window, the best thing for him is to find somewhere where he can play regularly and hopefully score a lot of goals for his new club.
Same goes for Rhys Nelson, who hasn’t even appeared in a friendly when Mikel Arteta was literally playing the kids, so I expect him to leave before the end of the window. If they do leave, there’s room for someone else in the forward line. A winger, a striker, someone versatile who can play across the front line, your guess is as good as mine. There have been a few names mentioned here and there, but nothing specific, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Finally today I read an article by James in The Athletic yesterday, where he revealed one of Mikel Arteta’s little tricks to keep his players alert.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta secretly hired a team of professional pickpockets to accompany his players on their dinner dates. The sleight-of-hand artists were tasked with going around tables and stealing the phones and wallets of unsuspecting first-team players.
After the meal, Arteta stood up and told his teammates to empty their pockets. Several players had lost valuables. His idea was to teach his teammates the importance of always being prepared, alert and prepared.
It was funny, a little crazy, and the first thing I thought was that another name for a ‘professional pickpocket’ was ‘thief’, but that’s about it. But on the other hand, so much of football and coaching is about repetition, drills and pattern practice, and as satisfying as it is when those things pay off on the pitch, it can get pretty boring when you do them over and over again on the training pitch.
So when you’re trying to keep 25 young millionaires on board, people might laugh at it a little bit, but these are probably very effective. I’m not putting a lid on where Arteta will go next. From The Athletic, 2026:
“And to further motivate his players, Arteta approved the kidnapping of each player’s firstborn child (or a dog for those without children). A series of puzzles to collect the ransom were seen as a problem-solving exercise.
“Meanwhile, Arteta and Edu have been grilling burgers and hotdogs for the kids, while the players have been desperately trying to make their families whole again.”
If it makes a point for us, I’m all for it. Okay, have a nice Friday. If you haven’t heard it yet, there’s a new Arsecast below.
