Morning.
Arsenal introduced the primary official signing of the summer season yesterday, with Kepa Arrizabalaga’s transfer from Chelsea made official. We paid a £5m launch clause which, for an skilled back-up goalkeeper with tons of Premier League expertise, is about pretty much as good as you’ll get on this market. He’s 30 years previous, nonetheless fairly younger within the lifetime of a keeper, and he signed a 3 yr contract.
Talking to the official web site, he mentioned:
We’re right here to win. I believe we’ve an important group. I believe we’ve nice workers round right here, the most effective services, so we’ve to arrange ourselves for this season and to have success.
Once I discuss with Mikel and Inaki, they present me their want to win. They confirmed me this ambition, how a lot they wish to enhance, how a lot they wish to develop and I’m actually right here to assist, to push and to win extra.
It’s a fairly low fuss resolution to a difficulty we needed to deal with throughout this window, and we’ve completed it shortly and effectively (not all the time the case in terms of our goalkeeping division). And whereas I do know the arrival of one other participant from Chelsea is problematic for some folks, I believe this can be a fairly sensible transfer all issues thought-about. I may need extra to say if we return to Stamford Bridge once more this summer season given a few of the latest reporting and names we’ve been linked with, however not with this one.
We’ve a really Spanish set-up on this space, with the coach and David Raya already established as the number one, and maybe a consequence of Kepa’s arrival is the door being open for Karl Hein to depart. He spent final season on mortgage at Actual Vallodolid, and after a style of first group soccer, and a signing which tells him his possibilities of enjoying at Arsenal this season are minimal at greatest, I’d absolutely anticipate him to look elsewhere. He’s a full worldwide for Estonia, he has a yr left on his contract, and maybe that is one the place we’d usher in a couple of quid with a everlasting deal reasonably than one other mortgage.
In the meantime, in yesterday’s weblog I mentioned of our reported curiosity in Eberechi Eze:
We’re but to listen to the phrase ‘concrete’ in relation to this example, so till that point we’ll must see the way it all performs out…
I get up this morning to an replace from Fabrizio Romano, from his YouTube channel, and he says:
The talks are concrete. What I can let you know immediately is that additionally the participant is opening doorways to Arsenal. The participant is eager on the transfer to Arsenal. He’s excited by the Arsenal mission. So Eberechi Eze is one thing concrete for the Gunners.
Not only a single concrete, a double concrete. Concrete Squared. Mega Concrete. I believe we will all calm down within the assurance that this a lot concrete can imply just one factor: we’re constructing an new outhouse at London Colney. Or Eze is gonna signal. There’s no inbetween. Nuance is a phrase which now not exists on the earth we inhabit.
By the way in which, because of an Arseblog reader (CFPB!) who jogged my memory of this traditional concrete video. Arsenal are sustainable because of all our Timber, however we’ve cracked the alchemy of concrete and are rising our personal to energy this switch window.
With Kepa now completed, is immediately the day for the Martin Zubimendi announcement? There’s no motive why it might’t be. The participant was in London final week to do all of the paperwork and to provide the content material for his signing, so it wouldn’t shock me in any respect if we made that one official. Except there’s another motive to maintain the lid on it, I can’t see why we wouldn’t get one thing any time now.
*checks watch*
Or now …
Anyway, it’s the donest of completed offers and all we want is to see him in purple and white, and discover out which quantity he’s going to put on. Kepa took 13, a traditional second alternative goalkeeper quantity, and it reveals he’s not superstitious – or he’s decisively preventing again in opposition to his superstitions. There’s some suggestion that Zubimendi will take 36, however let’s see. He wore 4 at Actual Sociedad, he’s gonna be very a lot a primary group participant at Arsenal, so possibly he’ll go for one thing a bit decrease.
Present accessible numbers embrace 3, 5, 10, 14, 16, and 20, a few of which swimsuit a deep-lying midfielder higher than others to be honest. It’s not likely that vital within the grand scheme of issues, even when Gallas 10 stays an abomination: a unholy stain on this membership that may by no means be scrubbed away.
Lastly for immediately, Fabio Vieira’s mortgage spell at Porto is over. They introduced it on their web site, saying he’s going again to Arsenal, thanks very a lot for the middling numbers final season, and good luck. I’m curious to see what occurs with him this summer season. Or, to place it one other approach, curious to see what sort of an answer the brand new sporting director would possibly have the ability to conjure up as a result of I don’t suppose he’s going to be too excessive within the supervisor’s plans. One to maintain half a watch on.
Proper, that’s your lot for this morning. Have an important day.
