You know it’s funny, I get so focus and insular on Arsenal and improvements that we make, that I forget that other teams will also be making efforts to improve their squad in the summer. I didn’t watch the Brighton-Liverpool game, but I saw that Arne Slot was doing his bit to stoke the transfer fires with a wry smile when asked about Jeremie Frimpong, who is apparently on the verge of joining them.

Fair play, I say, because they’ve acted swiftly to find TAA’s replacement and by all accounts, it’s a good player.

Then, I’m seeing some rumours about another excellent talent in the Bundesliga – Florian Wirtz – apparently in a two-way duel with Liverpool and City for his signature. It’s all conjecture and hearsay at the moment, but if the season closes and those two teams move quickly to go after him, then it’s swift business and it’s clever business for a very good attacking midfielder. Apparently Liverpool are edging ahead and City are backing down from a possible move, which you could understand if the player is favouring the Scousers, but it shows that Liverpool are intending to get their business done early. A savvy move indeed.

Why have I taken just over two paragraph’s to talk about other transfers? I guess the title of today’s ramblings give it away; other teams get to do transfers too. Liverpool, Man City, United, Chelsea, Villa, even The Scum will all be augmenting their teams and so whilst for us we see our deficiencies clear as day and expect the club to take action to build a more complete squad than this season’s one, we have to acknowledge that these clubs will also find players that will inevitably – at least some of them anyway – be a hit at their respective clubs.

Transfers, eh? It’s a bloody hard game to play. You have to get the right value for a player, pay them the right wages that aren’t too extortionate, hope that they will gel with their new teammates, hope that they settle in with their new environment (which for many will also be a new country and a new language), then, above all that, you have to hope they take their own game to the next level on the pitch. I’ve not even mentioned the luck of having them remain fit the whole time, either. The variables involved are numerous and pulling the trigger on a multi-million-pound deal is not for the faint-hearted.

But it has to be done. You can never  stay still in football. Arsenal have to find players that will take us on further than any other signing for any other side. They have to hope that Zubimendi – if he arrives – is not only better than what we had this season in our team, but he’s better than the signings that other teams have made too.

In some instances it’s slightly different. For example, if somebody like Gyokeres comes in to play for us, he’s basically taking Gabriel Jesus’ spot, who has spent the vast bulk of this season injured. So the bar for improvement is pretty low. But when you then apply the logic of how many goals behind Liverpool we were this season, how we need another Havertz who will get 20 goals, as well as Havertz staying fit to also get 20 goals, you start to realise that when you get to the top of elite sport and especially football, the margins are razor-fine.

We’re not just fighting to improve ourselves, we’re fighting to improve on everyone else’s improvements.

Perhaps the upside we have is that for some teams the challenge is a little less stark. The whole world knows we need a striker. The whole world knows that if you get somebody who can bag 20-goals in the Premier League, then if we are the same as this season and next season (we have one of the best defences), we’re probably going to be within touching distance of the top or the team at the top. The downside of everyone knowing is that there could be some clubs who play silly-buggers with us on price, but if by the sounds of it Arsenal are looking at release clause folk, then that is less of an issue. Go do the business, pay the release clause, then prep yourselves for a good pre-season.

I do wonder if that’s one of the criteria for the club this season as well, you know, the release clause I mean. As I’ve already mentioned there are so many variables in football transfers, that if you can remove at least one in the shape of the negotiation over the transfer fee, then it probably solves a fair few headaches in The Arsenal Transfer Team. If that’s out of the equation then you can indeed get a deal done quickly.

And, as already mentioned, that’s what we need this summer. The power of a settled and organised pre season cannot be underestimated. If you get business done early, if you can get those players playing together and gelling well, then it can have a massive impact on the success of your upcoming season.

Let’s hope that it is what we see over the next month or so.

Catch you all tomorrow.