A later than usual blog from me today!
As a side hustle, I am involved in elections. That means long days and late nights! I am not as young as I once was so it takes me a big longer to recover from not being in bed by 10pm!
Yesterday there was actually some real Arsenal news as the club announced that David Raya would be joining us on a permanent deal. It should not be a surprise to anyone, although I imagine some will still find a reason to criticise.
Raya has shown himself to be a top keeper, and his positioning, distribution and calmness took a lot of pressure off the defence last season. He is also home grown.
In the departure lounge is Mika Biereth, who is set to join Sturm Graz for PS4m.
Biereth was OK on loan. But these loan spells were in Scotland (6 goals in 15 games) and Austria (9 goals in 22 games). The fact that he is joining Sturm Graz rather than making a move to another Premier League or a Bundesliga side shows where his ability.
The Austrian league is the level of the Championship. You would not be demanding us give a fella who scored 9 goals in the Championship a chance.
I wish him well and adding in a sell on clause should benefit us in the future.
The talk of Riccardo Calafiori is intensifying. I still do not know who he is.
For those concerned on where he fits in, remember Manchester City have John Stones, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardoil, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake as options. Signing better players as cover and competition needs to be something we embrace if we want to continue challenging the oil-rich cheats.
I think I speak for everyone when I say we need to see some attacking talents come in this summer. But I am also not concerned if our first two signings are a keeper and defender.
This does not show "where Arteta's priorities lie". It just shows that some deals were easier to complete than others. You do not miss out on the chance to sign a key target just because you have not yet signed another key target. We are a football club. Manufacturing when deals are completed to appease is not what serious clubs do.
I am off back to sleep! Absolutely shattered. Enjoy your Friday!
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