**Julian Alvarez**
I have always wanted us to go nowhere near Julian Alvarez. For me he is just Gabriel Jesus MK II.
Like Jesus, Alvarez’s best performances for Manchester City came when he was 2nd choice striker. At no point did he break through and become their first choice. He is also not an out and out striker. More a utility man who can play in all attacking levels, but will struggle when playing week in, week out as the first chocie striker.
He is no Sergio Aguero, and he would struggle in the Premier League when playing up top alone.
Julian Alvarez turns 27 during this season. In his 4 seasons in Europe (and that is all it has been), he has basically had one decent league campaign – 2025/26. 45 league goals in 134 games is not exactly the sign of a £150m man.
[](https://shewore.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image-15.png)
Huge money for someone in their mid-late twenties and is still fairly “unproven” over a consistent period. Again, it reminds me of Jesus. For the way we play, Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz are better suited. Hope we stay well away.
**Kenan Yildiz**
I have long been a fan of the German-born Turkish international. But I think ultimately a move for him will be one season too soon.
Many, including myself, saw him as a long term option on the left wing. But I actually now think he is better suited elsewhere. I would not be surprised if we go in the for Juventus man next season, with the plan to replace Martin Odegaard with him.
Odegaard will have 1-year left on his deal in 12 months, and will be a few months shy of his 29th birthday. It might become a Gabriel Martinelli situation where we do not really want to offer him another big 5 year deal. The solution may be Odegaard is sold (and possibly to Juventus) and Yildiz replaces him.
If a late move for Yildiz does happen this summer, my gut is it would be as a short-term left winger, and long-term to replace Odegaard.
**Gabriel Martinell**i
I am gutted he is going, but the truth is it is the best move for all involved.
It has been a delight to watch Gabi grow from boy to man. He is clearly a nice young man and has bundles of talent. But he just is not what Arsenal need anymore.
His struggles against the low blocks Arsenal face is well documented. For me he is the same level as the likes of Anthony Gordon and Bradley Barcola. He would excel at someone like Newcastle United or Aston Villa, who play more counter attacking football.
If Gabi still had 3 years left on his contract, I do not think we would be in a rush to sell. But with 1-year left, it is either sell or offer him a new deal. And he just is not worth a new deal on his current terms.
A move to Saudi may seem like a backwards step, but the reality is there is no one in Europe willing to match his £180k a week wages right now. Depart, secure the bag for a year or two, and then consider returning to Europe on a lower salary. I can certainly see him popping up at Juventus or Inter Milan at some point in the next 24 months.
Good luck Gabi. You have been a brilliant servant to the club. But we have know outgrown your talent.
**Reiss Nelson, Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus**
It is crazy that we are here, towards the end of another window, and these 3 are still here (at the time of writing).
Now we are not the only club that has struggled to sell players (Kalvin Phillips is still a Man City player, as is Jack Grealish). But, especially in Reiss Nelson’s case, we need to really think about giving out 5-year contracts to 21-year-olds who have not really done it.
There was a right time to sell both Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. And that was about 5-years ago. We probably would have bought in a combined £50m+ for them. Instead we gave them long deals, did not play them, and their transfer value plummeted. I think this is a big reason as to why we are where we are with Ethan Nwaneri. We simply can not turn down that big money for academy products who we are 50/50 on whether they will make it.
Fabio Vieira excited me when we signed him, but it never quite worked out. He had a good season at Hamburg last season and I am surprised no one else is really in for him. A curious one.
As for Jesus, he was signed to do a job. He did that job. Injury cost him his Arsenal career. I honestly wish him a lot of luck in the future and thank him for helping to transform the mentality of Arsenal.
The window will close on Tuesday 1 September at 23:00. Will we see another Mesut Ozil surprise in these closing days?
**Keenos**