Now it feels like a summer transfer window, eh?!?

Arsenal fans getting pulled from pillar-to-post over certain players and situations?

And of course it’s related to the The Great Striker Hunt of 2025. Which is an evolution of The Great Striker Hunt of 2024. It’s a bit like Home Alone 2; they’ve essentially taken the first iteration and gone again but in a different setting. The only difference is that this time the first one surely can’t be better than the second time around, right? I mean, last summer was essentially a fail for the attacker we needed, ending up with a duffer wide-forward who was past his prime. Can it get any worse than that??

Can it?

Can you tell that the first signs of fear are creeping in to my psyche? The first moments in which you think “ok, this feels like it’s starting to drag a bit guys”. I think some of that is predicated on the fact that because of the pointless FIFA club competition about to kick off, teams have been scrabbling around trying to get deals done super early. Man City have properly gone for it, Chelsea have done what they do under Boehly and spend already, then Liverpool look to be sorting out Wirtz and apparently Barcola is next on their radar. Yet for us there’s not a peep. Which adds to a heightened sense of panic. But I will acknowledge the wise words of a certain Mr Tim Stillman today, as I read on his BlueSky account yesterday:

Probably happens less #here than #theotherplace but transfer head loss is so often powered by envy at what other teams are doing (or look like they’re doing) but so much of that is shaped by the fact that we don’t live transfer updates for other teams from day to day, which warps our perception.

— Tim Stillman ⭐️⭐️ (@tim-stillman.bsky.social) 11 June 2025 at 16:28

It’s a good point to note that because we are all so invested in what Arsenal are doing, we’re not really paying attention to what other corners of the internet are doing in terms of rival fans. City fans will be bouncing all over the place because transfers are a shot of adrenaline and they’ve been given repeated rounds both in January and June, but most other fans are probably in the same sense of apprehension over their situation as we are. Impatience is a burden we football fans all have to live with unfortunately.

And so to where we are at right now, which is apparently back in for Viktor Gyokeres, with certain ITKs now saying that his agent is currently talking to Arsenal. I’ve made my preference clear that I’d prefer Sesko, but if Gyokeres gets in through the doors of Colney, I certainly won’t be complaining. I therefore think what Arsenal doing is smart, providing we do at least get one of these guys, that is. Clubs often try to stir up interest to get the best deal for their players, often trying to incite a bidding war like West Ham did to us with City a couple of summers back. What Arsenal appear to be doing here by keeping their options open, is to show both Sporting and RB that we won’t be had over a barrel here; if you play silly buggers with us we’ll explore other options. It’s why I can understand the fact that the Watkins situation hasn’t gone away – if both RB and Sporting get silly, we’ll just walk away. Now, I don’t think any of us think that should be the preferred option this summer and I think you might be in agreement with me that it would be an underwhelming signing, but it shows – to me at least – that we are not a team to be messed around.

I would like us to make a move though, just to see what happens, rather than this constant noise of “having talks”. Whether it’s with player representatives or clubs, we need to just pull the trigger now I think, because that way we know whether either the German or Portuguese club are going to deal seriously with us. What does make me laugh, however, is the fact that you hear about Arsenal in talks with both clubs and talking through payment structures, then the next thing we know, we’ll have news on Sky Sports telling us a bid has been rejected!

What’s the bloody point in spending all that time talking payment structures and fees if you can’t just accept the first offer if you’ve basically already agreed it?!?

I guess that’s all part of the dance; everyone knows it. In one of my previous roles I used to get asked to give my Marketing budget requirements for the year. I realised pretty early on that at the halfway point in the year the Finance Director would come to me and say “we need you to lose 25% of your budget from this year please”, so I’d deliberately inflate my Marketing budget each year. It was this weird and silly dance that I think even the FD knew he had to do. But it didn’t stop it happening. Maybe it’s the same with transfers. Arsenal know the price, they bid under the price, because they know that the first bid will be rejected. Or they bid the asking price quoted, knowing that they might have to pay a lot more for the player than was originally asked. It’s the silly dance designed to make all parties feel like they got a better deal out of the situation.

Sesko, Gyokeres or Watkins though, it does feel like we need to move because time stands still for no man and we are already starting to hear noises from the likes of United, Saudi Arabia, etc. Make your decision, make your bid, begin the ‘end game’ on the transfer saga now, so we can have whoever it is ready for summer pre season.

Laters kids.