Morning.
Arsenal introduced the primary official signing of the summer season yesterday, with Kepa Arrizabalaga’s transfer from Chelsea made official. We paid a £5m launch clause which, for an skilled back-up goalkeeper with tons of Premier League expertise, is about pretty much as good as you’ll get on this market. He’s 30 years outdated, nonetheless fairly younger within the lifetime of a keeper, and he signed a 3 yr contract.
Talking to the official web site, he stated:
We’re right here to win. I believe we’ve got a terrific workforce. I believe we’ve got nice employees round right here, the most effective amenities, so we’ve got to organize ourselves for this season and to have success.
Once I speak with Mikel and Inaki, they present me their want to win. They confirmed me this ambition, how a lot they wish to enhance, how a lot they wish to develop and I’m actually right here to assist, to push and to win extra.
It’s a fairly low fuss resolution to a problem we needed to tackle throughout this window, and we’ve finished it rapidly and effectively (not all the time the case on the subject of our goalkeeping division). And whereas I do know the arrival of one other participant from Chelsea is problematic for some folks, I believe it is a fairly sensible transfer all issues thought of. I might need extra to say if we return to Stamford Bridge once more this summer season given a number of the latest reporting and names we’ve been linked with, however not with this one.
We’ve a really Spanish set-up on this space, with the coach and David Raya already established as the number one, and maybe a consequence of Kepa’s arrival is the door being open for Karl Hein to depart. He spent final season on mortgage at Actual Vallodolid, and after a style of first workforce soccer, and a signing which tells him his probabilities of taking part in at Arsenal this season are minimal at finest, I’d totally anticipate him to look elsewhere. He’s a full worldwide for Estonia, he has a yr left on his contract, and maybe that is one the place we’d usher in just a few quid with a everlasting deal reasonably than one other mortgage.
In the meantime, in yesterday’s weblog I stated of our reported curiosity in Eberechi Eze:
We’re but to listen to the phrase ‘concrete’ in relation to this example, so till that point we’ll should see the way it all performs out…
I get up this morning to an replace from Fabrizio Romano, from his YouTube channel, and he says:
The talks are concrete. What I can let you know right now is that additionally the participant is opening doorways to Arsenal. The participant is eager on the transfer to Arsenal. He’s excited by the Arsenal undertaking. So Eberechi Eze is one thing concrete for the Gunners.
Not only a single concrete, a double concrete. Concrete Squared. Mega Concrete. I believe we are able to all loosen up within the assurance that this a lot concrete can imply just one factor: we’re constructing an new outhouse at London Colney. Or Eze is gonna signal. There’s no inbetween. Nuance is a phrase which now not exists on this planet we inhabit.
By the way in which, due to an Arseblog reader (CFPB!) who jogged my memory of this basic concrete video. Arsenal are sustainable due to all our Timber, however we’ve cracked the alchemy of concrete and are rising our personal to energy this switch window.
With Kepa now finished, is right now the day for the Martin Zubimendi announcement? There’s no motive why it could actually’t be. The participant was in London final week to do all of the paperwork and to supply the content material for his signing, so it wouldn’t shock me in any respect if we made that one official. Until there’s another motive to maintain the lid on it, I can’t see why we wouldn’t get one thing any time now.
*checks watch*
Or now …
Anyway, it’s the donest of finished offers and all we want is to see him in crimson and white, and discover out which quantity he’s going to put on. Kepa took 13, a basic second selection goalkeeper quantity, and it exhibits he’s not superstitious – or he’s decisively combating again towards his superstitions. There’s some suggestion that Zubimendi will take 36, however let’s see. He wore 4 at Actual Sociedad, he’s gonna be very a lot a primary workforce participant at Arsenal, so possibly he’ll go for one thing a bit decrease.
Present accessible numbers embrace 3, 5, 10, 14, 16, and 20, a few of which go well with a deep-lying midfielder higher than others to be honest. It’s not likely that necessary within the grand scheme of issues, even when Gallas 10 stays an abomination: a unholy stain on this membership that may by no means be scrubbed away.
Lastly for right now, Fabio Vieira’s mortgage spell at Porto is over. They introduced it on their web site, saying he’s going again to Arsenal, thanks very a lot for the middling numbers final season, and good luck. I’m curious to see what occurs with him this summer season. Or, to place it one other method, curious to see what sort of an answer the brand new sporting director would possibly be capable to conjure up as a result of I don’t suppose he’s going to be too excessive within the supervisor’s plans. One to maintain half an eye fixed on.
Proper, that’s your lot for this morning. Have a terrific day.


















