And just as the doom and gloom merchants are coming back from their Benidorm breaks, Arsenal do something magical!
I honestly thought the Eberechi Eze deal was dead.
We were struggling to sell the players needed to free up squad space. With Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Noni Madueke, Ethan Nwaneri, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson, we already had 8 options for 3 positions. It was clear Eze would only come in if departures happened.
Then the new contract for Trossard was announced.
I was always of the view that if Eze came in, it would be as a replacement for Trossard – someone to be cover on the left wing and also be an attacking option more centrally. Trossard’s new deal seemed to kill off the idea.
And then you had Tottenham.
They looked set to swoop for Eze, a long term target of theirs. And with James Maddison out for the season, Eze would be a guaranteed started for them in a World Cup year – something he would not be for The Arsenal.
In the time it takes to refresh your Twitter timeline, the world went from doom and gloom over Arsenal to excitement and piss taking.
I get those that did not really understand the new deal for Trossard. More money but no more years. It confused many.
I tried to make sense of it and the only thing I could think is Mikel Arteta wanted him to stay (the contract was on the table since early summer), but Trossard was getting sniffed around by clubs in Turkey and Saudi Arabia – he nearly left to Saudi Arabia last year.
Not wanting him to kick up a stink and try and leave, the decision was then made to increase his salary at Arsenal to keep him happy. But the club did not want him to have a contract beyond his 33rd year on this planet, so it was decided to offer the raise on existing terms.
That ensured a key player was kept happy and committed for two years, and not agitating for a move away. Had we not offered Trossard the contract, the options were:
1. Sell and replace him. His replacement would likely cost more and come in on the money Trossard wants, whilst then needing to be integrated into the team
2. Keep Trossard and risk that he becomes demotivated and downs tools
The payrise on the same years feels like the best deal all around. But I get it if some are still scratching their heads.
Then the news came through that Kai Havertz had picked up an injury and, worryingly, no time frame for return had been declared. This led to concerns around fans about only having Viktor Gyorekes as our forward option (with Gabriel Jesus also out injured).
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It felt yesterday that moral amongst fans was lower then it should have been having seen us beat Man U 1-nil at Old Trafford, and spend close to £200m on new players following three-peating 2nd place.
And just as we were tucking into our dinner (mine was sausage omelette and hash browns), the news broke: **Arsenal have reached an agreement in principle to sign Eberechi Eze**.
It was not only the news that Arsenal were about to sign Eze that got the world rumbling with excitement, it was that we had seemingly snatched him from Spurs’ grasp at the last minute.
2 weeks ago it looked like Eze was off to Tottenham. Terms with the player had been agreed and they were negotiating the final aspects of the deal with Palace. But the deal had stalled. And now we all know why.
Arsenal was always Eze’s preferred option. We had clearly let both him and Palace know that we were still planning to come in for him if they were patient. So they stalled the deal.
Any movement from us was contingent on a player or 3 departing. But that has not happened. So why have we moved so quickly?
Well, firstly, Palace and Eze would only stall so long before taking the Tottenham deal. There might have been a feeling that had Arsenal not come in before the end of this week, the Spurs deal would be wrapped up.
But then you also have the Havertz injury.
Arsenal already had 26 senior players that needed to be registered with the Premier League. The maximum you could have is 25. That always meant that new signings would either need to see departures happen, or the club decide not to register a senior professional. And the club would have been very reluctant to do the latter due to the squad disharmony it could create.
No new players in would mean we only needed to shift one player to make the squad balance (although more were likely to leave).
Havertz injury looks like it could be long-term. If he is out beyond Christmas, he will not be registered in the first half of the year. That means we would be in the exact same situation if we signed someone – only needing to sell one.
The injury to Havertz basically “free’d up” the squad place for the recruitment of Eze.
Getting Eze not only improves our squad and gives us another attacking option, it also makes Tottenham the job of North London.
From Petit to Campbell, and now Eze, anyone that ever questioned who was the biggest club has now had the answer firmly thrown in their face.
North London has always been red. It always will be red. And those Middlesex swamp dwellers can cry into the pints they will be having in Waltham Cross, Broxbourne and Cheshunt.
Enjoy your Thursdsay!
**Keenos**