I don’t really understand why battle lines need to be drawn amongst the Arsenal fanbase online, I have to say, with regards to this Sesko/Gyokeres saga.

I’ve seen people getting really quite pissy over the fact that Sesko will most probably not be ‘the guy’ and that he’ll probably be plying his trade elsewhere either this summer or next when he eventually moves on from Leipzig.

I’ve stated my case for Sesko to be my first choice, but now that it’s not going to be that, for me it really isn’t that big a deal. We are getting a guy at the peak of his powers, with a physical prowess that should translate to the Premier League, as an alternate option to a guy we were already falling in love with last season in Kai Havertz. He’s also a guy, I might add, that was on course for a 20 goal season I think, had he not picked up that injury in January.

If Gyokeres can come in and deliver even half of what he did for Sporting this upcoming season for us, I think we are close to achieving that lofty ambition of winning the title.

But that news is still to be confirmed, so we’ll park any further talk, because the next one off the transfer production line with be Norgaard, who is expected to be announced either today or tomorrow. I’ve touched on this being a good move for all parties and I don’t think there should be too many people arguing against. And when it happens, I think we’ve upgraded our midfield from last season.

  1. Zubimendi should be an upgrade on what was an increasingly ageing and leggy Thomas Partey (particularly towards the end of last season).
  2. Norgaard I think is an upgrade on Jorginho (by virtue of the fact he’s played more games, is a little younger and has been Brentford’s captain).

I think our goalkeeping situation has been upgraded (Kepa is better than Neto) and I think Gyokeres’ arrival is an upgrade on what alternatives we had to Kai; the square peg (that we are all very thankful for I might add) in the round hole that was Mikel Merino, or the frequently (sadly) injured and unavailable Gabriel Jesus. So already I can see that we’re in a better position than last season.

Those Madueke links won’t go away though, which I can kind of understand if you’re looking at what appears to be gathering pace as a rumour – Leandro Trossard attracting interest from Turkey.

Now, I’ve already been on here saying that Madueke would certainly not be my preferred choice and for £43million I think we should laugh Chelsea out of any negotiating room. But if you tell me that Trossard is exiting for £20million and Madueke is his replacement, I can understand why these links are arising. I’m still not sure I like them though. I’d rather have Leo in there than a guy with whom so much inconsistency still exists. We know what we get from Leo and let’s face it, he’s still one of the most potent finishers at the club. Does Madueke really move the needle that much? Not for me I don’t think he does. The age profile works if you’re swapping Trossard for Madueke, but there’s a whole bunch of challenges I’ve already mentioned in yesterday’s blog that still have been unsure about this particular scenario. Let’s hope Arsenal are either going to do the bargain of the century and pick him up for £10million less than is being quoted, or they’re just keeping their options open at the moment, which is certainly what my hope is.

The Eze stuff, however, is something I can 100% get behind. I’ve also said my piece on him, but the latest emerging yesterday was that we were exploring an instalments deal with three £20million payments the club wants to make for the player, as well as £8million in incentivised bonuses. It remains to be seen whether Palace would be happy to sanction that and as we know from Steve Parrish and his dealings with Arsenal with the Wilf Zaha stuff a number of years back, that he will dig his heels in if needed, despite those interviews that have surfaced sounding like he’d be happy to let Eze make a dream move to one of the big clubs. Palace will likely stick to that valuation, which still feels a little toppy to me, but I think if Arsenal want the FA Cup final match winner in the squad before Singapore, they’ll have to move probably within the next few days on structuring a deal I suspect.

Arteta has his deadline and that’s the tour of Asia, but that deadline can – and probably will – be missed for some of our signings. But I suspect that if he’s looking at replacing those that he’s already lost – barring Sterling – then he’ll probably see that as enough to work with. Then it becomes about getting in those players who will have that little bit of extra sauce like an Eze or Rodrygo. If Eze can be done early then great but I suspect there’ll be a fair bit of haggling, so let’s not expect to see him in an Arsenal shirt any time soon.

And so we wait. And tick follows tock. Let’s hope for some more transfer goodness during the day. Catch you all tomorrow.