Emiliano Martinez, Piero Hincapie, and Alexander Isak (Photo by Richard Pelham, Lars Baron, George Wood/Getty Images)
Busy Deadline Day ahead for Arsenal
Deadline Day at Arsenal is expected to be a fairly busy one.
Piero Hincapie arrived yesterday and that deal should be wrapped up and announced a bit later on, providing there are no late hiccups of course.
And that will mean Jakub Kiwior will complete his move to Porto.
But there will be other business being done, centred around outgoings.
You never want to rule things out because we all know anything can happen on deadline day, but I’d be very surprised if there were any other incomings aside from Hincapie.
But there should be exits, with Sambi Lokonga expected to complete a move to Hamburg and the likes of Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Oleksandr Zinchenko potentially also heading out the door.
Arsenal have been working to get deals done for all of those players throughout the summer, with Fulham and Palace both having held talks over Nelson and Vieira attracting interest from several Bundesliga sides. West Ham are also said to be looking at the former Porto man.
So it should be a busy final day at Arsenal, which will be in keeping with how the summer has gone as a whole.
Mikel Arteta’s tactics against Liverpool didn’t work – it was a missed opportunity for Arsenal
I can understand some of the frustration that has followed Arsenal’s narrow defeat at Liverpool on Sunday.
But having that said, I think the narrative that seemed to be being pushed even as the game was going on was wide of the mark.
I don’t believe for a second that Arsenal went to Anfield just looking ’not to lose’ as Gary Neville and the rest of the Sky Sports team seemed determined to make us all believe.
They went to win and Mikel Arteta picked a team he believed could do that, but it just didn’t work out.
Ibrahima Konate and Viktor Gyokeres in action
Ibrahima Konate and Viktor Gyokeres in action (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
It was a really tight game between two teams who cancelled each other out. I don’t really get how it was Arsenal who were just looking for a draw. If that can be levelled against them, then it has to be levelled against Liverpool as well.
They were the home side, they are the champions, yet it was Arsenal who finished the game with the higher XG, more shots, more passes into the final third and more touches in the opposition box.
I’m not saying they deserved to win. It was just a game that had 0-0 draw written all over it until Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up and produced a moment of magic which tipped the balance of power in Liverpool’s direction.
It was an unbelievable piece of individual skill and sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say well done.
Now, having said all that, I can see why some Arsenal fans are frustrated because I was as well when I saw the starting XI.
I had a feeling all week that Arteta would start Mikel Merino in Martin Odegaard’s absence, but I really was hoping he was going to go down the other route and go with a more attacking set up.
I know Arteta sees Merino as an attacking option and he pointed to that after the match when quizzed on his selection, but a midfield three of him, Rice and Zubimendi just lacks that spark and imagination.
Arteta went down the conservative route when he had other options and that was a bit disappointing because I really felt he had an opportunity to show he was ready to really play on the front foot this season.
Maybe he felt it was too early to start with Eberechi Eze and he obviously knows far more than me. But with the strength of Arsenal’s defence and with Zubimendi and Rice ahead of them, I just felt the protection was there to unleash Arsenal’s new signing and try and take the game to Liverpool.
And if not Eze, then Ethan Nwaneri, who was excellent against Leeds the previous weekend.
Obviously we don’t know how things would have panned out if Arteta had done something like that, but I’m pretty confident it would have given the Liverpool defence far more to think about – especially in that first half when Arsenal had so much control.
But in the end Noni Madueke was the only player who carried any real threat for the visitors.
The result is far from the end of the world for Arsenal and had Szoboszlai not scored that amazing free-kick then I would be sitting here saying it was a fantastic point for Arteta’s side.
But goals shape how a game is perceived and ultimately it was Liverpool who got one. For Arsenal it really does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.
What Alexander Isak to Liverpool means for the title race
Alexander Isak is obviously a sensational signing for Liverpool.
The league’s best attacking team just landed arguably the league’s best striker, so that is clearly worrying for everyone else who is trying to dethrone them.
Liverpool were favourites before they signed Isak, so now most will believe a second successive title is almost certain. But I don’t see it as a foregone conclusion.
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Arsenal can still win the league. They have had an excellent window and they have built a squad that I honestly think is as strong as anything I’ve ever seen before in North London.
So they just have to focus on themselves. Sunday was a setback, but it was not a knockout blow. They have to pick themselves up and go again because there are more huge games coming straight after the international break.
The key thing is keeping players fit. Injuries killed Arsenal’s chances last season and we’re already seeing them having a major impact this time around.
Had Arsenal had Bukayo Saka and Kia Havertz available at Anfield and Martin Odegaard fit to start then I’m pretty sure the result would have been different. They also lost William Saliba inside five minutes.
Those absences are really worrying. It just feels like a continuation from last season and if that remains to be the case then I don’t see any way that they would be able to keep pace with Liverpool.
Emiliano Martinez to Manchester United is no surprise
It doesn’t really surprise me to see Emi Martinez looking for a move to Manchester United.
He’s always been a player with an ambition to achieve the biggest things or to play at the biggest clubs and while United might be a bit of a mess at the moment, they remain a juggernaut of a club in a football sense.
I remember sitting down and interviewing Martinez when he was on loan at Reading before he had made his breakthrough and even then you could tell he was a player with unwavering belief in his ability.
Things hadn’t really happened for him yet, but he still spoke like someone who knew they would. I could just feel the desire in him to make it to the very top.
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Am I surprised he’s gone on to do what he has in the game since then? Of course I am. The way his career trajectory has gone since he was thrown into the Arsenal side because of the injury to Bernd Leno has been remarkable.
But good things come to people who really believe in themselves and he has never hidden his desire to get to the top of the game.
He’s fought his way there and if this move to United happens, then he will see it as another big step forward in his career.