As we edge ever closer towards Gyokeres’ move to Arsenal, with Sporting and Arsenal now reportedly ‘close’ on all elements and structure of the deal according to that guy Fabrizio, Arsenal out in Singapore spent yesterday giving us chapter and verse over the new away kit.

It’s fine. It’s better than that fluorescent yellow and black monstrosity from two season’s ago. Am I going out to buy it? Probably not. I always wanted the early 90s blue one with the lightning woven through the design when I was a kid, but this one less so. I think it’s just probably not as ‘wow’ for me. I think blue and white as Arsenal kits still feel a little ‘odd’. I had one years ago, but it never felt right. Like I was betraying the tribal instincts of being a red and white Gooner by wearing a blue kit. And there’s no way in hell you’re getting me in a white Arsenal shirt.

I do like the home shirt that they have released, but whether or not that’s enough to get me out there and purchasing one remains to be seen. I often think to myself “am I too old for this sh*t?” when it comes to football kits. I already occasionally wear some of them when I’m at work and The Management is starting to get the hump with the lack of shelf space as a result of my recent purchases. I probably will go out and buy the home one, then just kept it hidden from her in amongst the other red and white home kits from the Adidas era.

I have ZERO kits from the Puma era. Make of that what you will.

I suspect that away kit launched this week will mean it’s also on display tomorrow lunchtime (UK time) when we play AC Milan in Singapore. There will be a fair few of the squad who will be donning it for the first time and whilst it won’t impact performance in any way, shape or form, for some of those younger squad members who have travelled, it will be quite an experience. Imagine being 15 – 18 years-old and being one of the first players to rock the new away kit. It will feel pretty cool for them. I suspect Arteta will also be all too happy to gift some of them some minutes too.

You don’t really want to go out there with an all reserve/youth team from the off tomorrow, but perhaps a smattering of first teamers rotating for two halves of football, whilst some of the younger players get to share the pitch with them as well. Makes sense to all involved as the young players get their taste of top-tier football and the first teamers start to get minutes in their tanks.

I’m also pleased it’s AC Milan. I’ve always held a soft spot for Milan, going back to the Maldini days. They were ‘my’ team in Italy and I remember having one of those hookie kits from a Portuguese market that I bought as a kid with ‘Ba’ on the back. Not Demba, of course, but Ibrahim who played there for six years in the late 90s. Bit of a cult name on the back that one, because he scored just one goal during his time at the club and only amassed 56 appearances in those six seasons. Hardly a legend of Milan, but I always enjoyed donning that shirt when playing football with my mates in the 90s/2000s.

It’s also good to not play English teams, which is sadly something that won’t be happening out in Asia after that match tomorrow. I know that the way things are these days are that you end up playing these teams in different environments and its for the fans out there, not the privileged ones who get to go to The Emirates as a season ticket holder, but still, couldn’t we pick teams from other places in Europe to play against? I couldn’t think of anything worse than playing Newcastle and The Scum. Give me an AC Milan, a Marseille and a Leverkusen ahead of playing more English teams.

I guess it’s the money that these tournaments bring in. The Premier League is where the big cash is, it’s where fans from Asia tend to invest more of their football-watching time, so they’re going to want to see that rather than an Arsenal side lining up against Bordeaux or St Pauli. We just have to accept it.

So, what else is new, eh? Not a lot it seems. Xavi Simons has supposedly been offered to The Arsenal, so of course the next logical conclusion there is that Chelsea start sniffing and probably buy him. If there’s an attacker in Europe linked to anyone, Chelsea are after them. I think it’s the new rules of the transfer window, or something. I’ve seen him a couple of times, but I have to say he’s hardly blown me away. He feels like the sort of signing that if you can do it for £25million it’s worth a punt, but you don’t really want to break the bank. Is somebody like Simons that much better than Trossard? I don’t think so. He feels rather underwhelming and when you also have the data and eye test of knowing that Trossard gets goals in this Arsenal team and that he’s got years of experience in the Premier League, I’m hoping that this rumour has some cold water poured on it. go get me Eze Arsenal, let’s not mess about with Bundesliga players like Simons when we have the real deal from the Premier League who would be chomping at the bit to make his way back to The Arsenal.

Right, I’ll leave it there for today. Be back tomorrow with more thoughts and whether anything shakes out of the Gyokeres tree if we get some news.