There are a few bits for a fast Sunday replace, beginning with information that the long-awaited signing of Riccardo Calafiori seems set to undergo within the subsequent couple of days.
Numerous reviews counsel the settlement between the varied golf equipment is full, the participant will journey to London to finish a medical and all of the formalities, and can change into a Gunner. It’s such an attention-grabbing signing, as a result of as we head in direction of a brand new season, we take into consideration what we’d do in another way from final. Mikel Arteta has spoken usually about eager to be extra unpredictable, and the Italian worldwide definitely presents qualities on the left hand aspect of the defence that we don’t actually have.
Clearly he can play at centre-half, and there may be a bit little bit of future-proofing right here for the LCB place, however my guess (proper now) is that he’ll play as a de facto left again, utilizing his ball carrying capacity to assist the workforce progress from an attacking perspective, and his defensive numbers are spectacular too.
I do know individuals have been anxious about signings, and there’s nonetheless extra to do – not least within the attacking finish of the pitch – however I’ve mentioned for a while that I assumed our left-side and left-back want some consideration and that is clearly a part of that plan. I’m glad to see this one undergo, though should you’re Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Kieran Tierney, in all probability not as a lot. The futures of these guys can be beneath the microscope a bit bit, and I’d say at the very least two of them will depart earlier than the tip of the window.
In the meantime, because the workforce heads for the US right this moment, the signing of the younger Ajax goalkeeper Tommy Setford is reportedly going forward so he might be a part of the squad. We’re very gentle within the senior goalkeeping division with Aaron Ramsdale and David Raya away on holidays, in order that does makes some sense. Karl Hein is the one one out there proper now.
There was additionally a recreation yesterday, a 2-0 win behind closed doorways towards Leyton Orient. The targets got here from Gabriel Jesus and Emile Smith Rowe – there’s a report and a few highlights on the official website. There’s not rather a lot to learn right into a recreation like this, but it surely was attention-grabbing to see Myles Lewis-Skelly begin at left-back, and good to see the goalscorers get on the mark. Clearly there’s appreciable uncertainty about Smith Rowe’s future, however I actually imagine if we are able to get Gabriel Jesus correctly match, he could possibly be an enormous asset for the workforce this season. A very good pre-season would go a good distance in direction of that.
Proper, I’ll depart it there for now, however we’ll have an Arsecast Additional for you later tonight. Hold an eye fixed out for the decision for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or should you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, depart your query within the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
Pod must be out by 9pm or thereabouts. For now, have a very good one.
Trending Merchandise
