It’s a new week, the lads are in Singapore, Mikel Arteta has had a press conference and by all accounts, he seemed in good spirits. He talked about a whole manner of things – not Gyokeres by name though – and given what he said and the way he said it, it’s clear that we are going for more players. And I think that reading between the lines of what he said, those additional players he is talking about goes beyond just a striker and Christian Mosquera, who I suspect will be announced imminently. I think the club are looking at that additional forward in and that will be an Eze, a Simons or a Rodrygo. There could be a left of field option that pops up, but I think that they are working hard to secure one of those three and that if there are another three that come in during this window, Andrea Berta and team have done their jobs.

He also spoke about those already in the door and you can tell he’s super pumped about Zubimendi above all. That was the one that we know he coveted and he talked about how it was a long process to get him, how the club did a great job of convincing him, but this signing feels like it has all the hallmarks of it being an Arteta deal. Sometimes you never know how much involvement Arteta has. Take Gyokeres, for example, who most people pretty much universally accept that it’s one of Berta’s guys. I’ve heard multiple journalists and podcasters talk about how Arsenal were hot on Sesko, Arteta was desperate for the Slovenian, that was ‘his guy’, yet Gyokeres is the one we’ve landed on, mainly because Berta is backing him big time and I think Arteta is like “ok cool”. Madueke feels like he’s Arteta going “you get Gyokeres, I get Madueke as my pick” in that forward line, but the Zubimendi deal was one that was really clear that everyone wants and Arteta clearly feels that he’s a guy who is going to take us to the next level.

The exit of Partey meant a hole needed to be filled and I think Arteta feels like he’s definitely got an upgrade in that respect. He was asked about the Partey situation and of course he said that he felt the club acted 100% correct and he can’t talk about it for legal reasons, but I suspect even Arteta is glad that sorry mess is behind him and now he can focus on Zubimendi, who he mentioned he was very excited about. It’s easy to see why – he himself adopted that position when he arrived at The Arsenal and I suspect Arteta see’s a lot to like from the way Martin plays and his style. He intimated that by saying that after 10 days of training now he’s been very impressed. He doesn’t have to say that; he could just say he’s very happy, glad he’s in, happy to have signed somebody with that level of experience. But he chose his words very carefully and when he’s talking about Zubimendi’s character and personality, you can tell he’s got a guy who is a perfect fit for the environment and culture that Arteta has built over these years.

He spoke positively too about Madueke and that one was more general soundbites I think. I think Arteta and the club know full well how it went down amongst the fanbase pre the announcement. They know there’s a bit of work to do and I don’t think talking too much will do anything any more. So what everyone needs to see is him on the pitch and making an impact – which I think is fair enough.

Apart from that there’s a little bit from Gabriel talking about how he wants to win things at The Arsenal, how he’s happy to have signed a new deal, etc. It’s nothing majorly ground-breaking in terms of what he said, but it’s nice to hear that he’s bought in for the long term. We need that energy from Bill Saliba now, as the second part of that double act, which will need to be the next thing Berta and his team get sorted once the transfers are done. In a way, you want us to get the Mosquera and Gyokeres sorted ASAP this week, because it will mean that he can focus attention on outgoings and also contracts, so hopefully that’s the second half of the summer that gets sorted for us. We need to hear that positive news on contracts as much as we need to hear the new signing news. Let’s hope Berta is on it. The initial signs have been positive though. MLS and Big Gabby seemed to be done with little fuss. The Nwaneri deal is – if all is to be believed – done and dusted too. So we need Saka and Saliba the focus of attention next and if that can be done by the time the summer is over, that will be hugely positive for all of us and the club too.

Hopefully we see a little movement this week, whilst the team get on with the process of bonding on the pitch with the upcoming friendlies.

Catch you all tomorrow.