Hello there, a very quick Saturday round-up for you.
Deadline day came and went without much excitement from an Arsenal perspective. Two players who needed to leave did so, two players who also needed to leave did not, and nobody else came in. Let’s look at the departures.
Rob Holding to Crystal Palace
When reports of interest from Palace emerged, I thought they made sense for that club and also the player. I thought the reported fee of £4m was still a bit low in a market when you see players you’ve barely heard of routinely go for £20m and £30m, but I get Rob isn’t exactly a hot property just at the beginning of his career.
Then I saw David Ornstein report the fee as £1m + £2.5m in add-ons. Eeek. I know we’re not great sellers, but the initial payment is less than the £2m we rejected from Besiktas earlier in the summer as completely unacceptable. Leaving the add-ons to one side, we got the same for Rob Holding in 2023 as Birmingham got for Trevor Francis in 1979. As I said, I get that he’s not flavour of the month or anything, but at 27 with his experience, I think we should get a bit more than that.
Still, it’s a good move for the player who stays in the Premier League, and after 162 appearances since his move from Bolton in 2016 we wish him well. I think he, like Kieran Tierney to a lesser extent, is someone who was left behind a bit by this team, but he had good spells for us – not least around the time he suffered that ACL injury. And that 2017 FA Cup Final, when he, Nacho Monreal, and Per Mertesacker, formed a superb defensive trio for those 90 minutes against Chelsea, will remain part of Arsenal’s history forever.
Good luck, Rob.
Albert Sambi Lokonga to Luton
Another player who needed to go. His future was always elsewhere. He wasn’t included at all in the media day when players get their pictures taken in the various kits for use in the season ahead (Holding was), and there hadn’t been much in the way of rumour. Then, on deadline day, talk of Luton emerged. Arsenal were happy enough, it was about them convincing the player which they seem to have done, and he was in attendance as they lost 2-1 to West Ham last night.
He will fancy his chances of playing a lot of minutes there, and I hope it goes well for him. I do feel like it’s gonna be a long, hard season for Luton, but what he needs is regular football at this point, so fingers crossed he does well and next summer we can sell him for the same price Herbert Chapman bought David Jack in 1928.
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Beyond that, goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, who helped Sturm Graz finish second in the league and win the Austrian Cup last season, has joined Wrexham on loan (It’s always sunny there, I believe). He has just 12 months left on his contract, so he’s gone for nothing – or a nominal loan fee – and will be a free agent next summer. A few other young players went out on loan.
There was, unsurprisingly, no interest in Cedric or Nicolas Pepe. There are some countries where the transfer window remains open. As well as Saudi Arabia, there’s Belgium, Greece, Turkey, and Azerbaijan among others. I suspect both players will have their contracts terminated at this point, it’s clear neither are in Mikel Arteta’s plans, and they can sort themselves out subsequently. Not ideal, obviously, especially when you pay £72m for a player whose value dwindles to absolute zero, but it is what it is.
I know some people will say what we sell players for doesn’t really matter, but I think it does. I do wonder if we’d managed to bring in better money on a couple of deals, and maybe found a permanent home for someone like Kieran Tierney, if we might have been able to do something else to cover for the Jurrien Timber injury. As I said yesterday, I feel we’re a bit light at the back, especially if there’s an injury we don’t expect to a player who might give us some cover there but, barring a promotion from within, this is our squad now until January, so let’s keep fingers crossed we can remain as healthy and fit as possible.
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For more on deadline day, the state of the squad as it stands, and a look ahead to the game against Man Utd tomorrow, join us over on Patreon a bit later when we’ll have a preview podcast covering all that and more.
For now, enjoy your Saturday folks.