Arteta is set to have a tricky summer of adding quality to his squad and holding on to his present top-quality stars to bridge the quality gap between his team and Guardiola’s. Everyone knows City’s superior squad came in handy for them winning the title race between them and Arsenal. Hopefully Arteta is set to address that.
However, he may have trouble doing so with two of his main men for his squad next season, Declan Rice and William Saliba, putting him in a tricky situation.
For Rice, West Ham are keen on Rice’s exit to be a transfer battle, with Bayern Munich and Manchester United joining Arsenal in the race for his signature. If it turns out to be a transfer race, they may end up holding out for the high price they are rumoured to want for his exit. Thus, Arsenal may be in another Mudryk situation, where they may have to break the bank to beat the competition for their top summer target. Would Edu and Arteta be willing to do that?
For William Saliba, who has made the Arsenal defence his own and is irreplaceable, there’s talk that his wage demands are too high and are making his signing of the new deal challenging. The question is, are Arsenal ready to do everything to keep him or risk losing him in 12 months, if not this summer, if a tempting offer comes through? Well, some would say Arsenal need to do all they can to secure the two (Rice and Saliba’s deals), but Arsenal have indicated in the past, under Arteta, that they are not willing to compromise in deals for their players or for their targets.
Lisandro Martinez and Mykhailo Mudryk are two players Arteta wanted for his project but was disciplined enough not to play over the odds for their deals. Missing out on them, other quality alternatives were signed: Jakub Kiwior and Oleksander Zinchenko in Martinez’s case and Leandro Trossard, the “assist king,” in Mudryk’s case. Back in 2021, snubbing a £60 million move for James Maddison for a £30 million Odegaard swoop is also an example of when Arsenal chose not to be forced to pay over the odds for a player they wanted. So would Arsenal change their transfer policy for Rice? I don’t know why but I feel they won’t (probably, just like the other top targets, there may be other cheaper alternatives).
Balancing the wage bill: Arsenal is one team that’s been disciplined in how they pay their stars. Mikel Arteta, in his time at the Emirates, has tried to find balance, not overpay, in the salary he offers his players. Let’s say Saliba’s salary demands are met, and it is known he got his way. What stops other players from also copying Saliba and pushing for a higher salary when they are at the point of agreeing to new deals?
Arsenal have a policy regarding the figures they pay for new signings and the salaries they offer. So Arteta is in a position where he needs to decide – does he compromise or does he stick to a policy that has kept his squad disciplined?
Sam P
Video – Alfie and Rob are back for the summer transfer window
Here is their first analysis of the summer, where Alfie and Rob discuss and predict every single possible Arsenal incoming and outgoing this summer, including fees and potential destinations for outgoings.
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The bank has to be broken at some point, there is nothing tricky about this summer than previous, just that a pisspot load of money will be available that is required to strengthen the spine of the team.
The blue print is well documented
First three incomings
Caicedo
Vlohovic
Tapsoba
Then we continue a few other negotiations buying time for the sale on out goings
No Saliba no title. Its proven fact as we all witnessed how we falter during his abscence. We are just avg team in his absence as our points tally in his absence his below top 4 level. The brilliance of Saka, Martinelli, or Odegard means nothing if we keep on losing points. So whatever it takes we sign him, make him highest paid footballer and it will be justified too.
Think in the end Saliba will.sign , they are just ensuring they squeeze every possible cent from Arsenal.
Saliba and his entourage feel very justified in what they are doing, they are negotiating from a position of strength and the relationship was strain from morning.
But you are right Saliba sole absence may have well cost us that big jug
Vz don’t you think there are players out there that can replace Saliba? I don’t believe there is any single footballer in the world who can be termed ‘irreplaceable’ bar maybe prime Messi. Take City for example. Some people thought they may struggle to replace the likes of Kompany, D. Silva , Aguero but then came Dias,B. Silva and Haaland. I like Saliba and I would love it if he stayed but terming him irreplaceable is a bit over the top in my opinion. You could argue that E. Tapsoba who has been mentioned by some is just as good a ball playing centre back,if not better. And there are plenty more CBs out there waiting to be unearthed from smaller leagues. In the PL still,there are able defenders like Dunk for instance who has had an incredible season.
Thing is that we don’t have time experimenting when we have already proven player. We have seen many high profile flops in premier league and money doesn’t guarantee you a success here. One thing that Saliba can do is play from back. We all know how easily Arsenal bow to high pressing team and it gets difficult to get the ball out of our half when opponent continue to press as we have seen in 2nd half of Liverpool game. So Saliba has vision to split the opponent and pass to our forward line to form the basis of counter attack. That’s why he is important to Arsenal. Mancity doesn’t crumble like Arsenal as all their players are capable of playing from back but for us we always gets in trouble if opponents play to our weakness. Even if we find any players we will not get below 50mil, in that sense also Saliba option seems to be more economical and logical.
Unless Saliba wants in excess of £300 gran Arsenal will have to give it to him, it’s as simple as that, don’t ask me how I know.
In as much as I would like Saliva to stay, it would be inappropriate to pay him wages that cannot be sustained.
I don’t think we should offer him anything above 200k per week for now. He has only played one season for us, he is just 19/20yrs old, paying him 200k is ×5 his current weekly takehome which is very fair, considering what other top defenders like Gabriel and White are earning per week too. With 200k per week salary, Arsenal can get top top defenders from any league in the World. I’m even concerned about the other members of the team. How much is our Captain Odegaard earning per week? How much is Martinelli earning per week and these are attacking players? Are we saying their contributions or impact on our success this season is of less Value? If we offer Saliba 300k now, how much would we be paying him to extend his contract at the end of this one when he’ll be at the peak of his game all things being equal ? There are more Salibas and Gabriel out there if our scouting is right.
I say know to excessive wage demand. Let’s keep our wage structure and policy, it has taken us this far and sustained us..
Jay you are the second person today to call Saliba – Saliva ! Saliva is what is found in the mouth !
Just saying.
EG I’d pay more to keep SALIVA than even to keep SALIBA. One is life saving, the other merely team saving.
Evgunner been try to find your latest post.
Had herd of Saliba demand before Saka got his own, infact it is understood that was the main reasons Arsenal had to use the one year option as both parties were miles
apart.
Yes dirty Hary claims he dated the Princess before she crash and died, Jack, Jhon, Rachel, William ,Pat others were really warm
Gunsmoke – Yes they will all want big bucks. What I really want to know is does MA truly believe in Nketiah, Nelson and ESR ? Eddie on 100k and now Reiss about to be given a big wage rise too. MA better really believe in them because now he knows that the whole squad needs to be utilised better from now on and they all must get playing time.
Princess Diana ? Well that is interesting. Do you believe him ? I think she used to “put it about” by all accounts, so it’s possible I suppose. So you saw what I posted to you about your tourism exploits.
G – I’m off to Dreamland now so I’ll leave you to do the nightshift Mister Tourist.
No I don’t think the gaffer believes in them all, but they will all get more playing time in the next campaign as a result of us been involved in more competition.
A fan made a very interesting suggestion that Arsenal could send Eddie on loan and replace him with Balogun.
Ofcourse I didn’t believe dirty Harry, it was his friends who introduced him to me and started the conversation about his so call fling for which he was more than happy to obliged, a very jovial person can see he never had a bad day in his life,Lol
But no they didn’t believe I was from England because of how I speak, my children and I are all in Jamaica now for my mother funeral, she was 83
Gunsmoke – I am so sorry that your mother has passed away. My sympathy to you and your family.
Maybe it is best for me to not bother you with messages today.
Evgunner, thanks bro, all is well now the funeral was last Saturday, but every one is still here getting around in the rainy weather, the country is doing extremely well with tourism maybe due to the covid has passed.
G – I am getting all your messages but the system is only allowing me to respond to your first post.
I can see now why your posts are at a different time of the UK day than usual. You’re four hours behind right ? You enjoy yourself as best you can and stay safe.
If you want to win the league you have to pay over the odds for certain classes of players. Saliba is one such player. The cost of replacing his quality would be too costly.
👍👍👍
Where ever do you get the name of TAPSOBA from?
It s only you, I think and maybe one other Gooner who has even ever mentioned him.
And no media rumours at all in his direction. He is a non starter as a possible incoming player, IMO.
A huge outside bet at very best. And realistically, not a chance.
Sell injury prone, Saliba (AKA moody greedy ANELKA 2.0) for £80 million to rich PSG, and then buy KIM MIN-IAE a world class defender from Napoli, involving a swap for Balogun who should be worth at least £60 million given his age, goal scoring and potential. Job Done.
He’s right about Kim Min-jae. But doubtful that Napoli would sell.
Every player has a price
60 mil for Balogun hahahahahahahahaha
I agree but 70 million for Pepé is even funnier!
I’d call it tragic, not funny!
sell Saliba if he has ridiculous salary demand we can get another replacement, there’s more talent around the world we can buy and pay lesser salaries. he is replaceable.
A cheap alternative to Rice would be Zubimendi, whose release clause is £45m. The problem is Xavi has publicly stated his admiration of Zubimendi and the player may prefer to wait for Barcelona’s offer
Yes I likes this kid too Odegaard played so well with him on loan a couple seasons ago to the point Real Madrid abruptly ended the loan spell , the thought at the time that they were strengthening a rival.
If that’s the case, Zubimendi would likely not need a long time to click with Odegaard at Arsenal
Surely not, something tells me Zubimendi is the a wild card of two Midfielders Arsenal may try to bring in.
This guy is similar to Lacottelli and the gaffer like the ball players
Arsenal should go for Caicedo and McAllister both…
According Romano, McAllisterwill cost way 60-70 million to Liverpool…
Even though he is going to Liverpool, why not to try and lure him towards us..
And Caicedo is available for 70 million…
Such a easy pick..
Why to go for Rice when you have Caicedo as option with decent price…
In 120 million you will get both Caicedo and McAllister..
Your midfield is sorted..
I think the answer would be their homegrown status
That amount of money would likely be more than enough to sign the homegrown Maddison
I also think Rice is way more expensive than Caicedo because of his homegrown status and height
Gai,
Zubimendy doesn’t have the height. In Spanish league there is more emphasy on technical than physicality. But in England you need both to thrive. Arsenal should prioritize Rice. Or Canceido or even NForest Danilo most Spanish players don’t adapt easily in Epl. Imo.
I would prefer rice and caicedo so the midfield will be untouchable. So the forwards dangerously can run to the front!
Yes there are great if not greater cheap alternatives to over hyped Declan Rice, West Ham & Brighton wants to practice what Crystal Palace did when Zaha was approached. They abound in many clubs, Serie A, La Liga, Liga Portuguese and Bundesligue. Saliba is proven so he should be secured and they supposed to know how to do it, add Tapsoba to give effective support and sell Holding. Arsenal should break the limit and secure Victor Osimehn by all means and make a statement of putting terror and fear to our opponents. THEY MUST NOT HANDLE AND SCUTTLE IT THE WAY THEY DID WITH MUDRYK OR THE WAY AW MESSED WITH THE SIGNING OF ZALATAN, CR7 & EDEN HAZARD. They should be clinically and thoroughly decisive over this.
I think it’s extremely important that Arsenal don’t let any players, Arsenal or not, to demand ransom from Arsenal FC. The team’s success this season was in part of team unity and the players willingness to run and fight for each other. I don’t think there is a place for another Aubameyang or Sanchez. Saliba prospered because Arteta demanded that level while he was on loan. If any other club or manager, they would have lack the patience to let him grow outside of parent club. I hope he understands this and be grateful for the fame that Arteta provided.
Arsenal should go for Caicedo and McAllister both…
According Romano, McAllisterwill cost way 60-70 million to Liverpool…
Even though he is going to Liverpool, why not to try and lure him towards us..
And Caicedo is available for 70 million…
Such a easy pick..
Why to go for Rice when you have Caicedo as option with decent price…
In 120 million you will get both Caicedo and McAllister..
Your midfield is sorted..
Hang in there for Rice price to escalate while looking for other options, I think zubimendi would be ideal but Moises would be perfect.
Sam P, Kroenke as a businessman will be aware that “star player” pay negotiations use the last highest deal as a template, so Saliba’s team is probably looking for something in the high £200K’s, and incoming players also know this. Edu & Garlic must surely have instructions to prevent an upward salary spiral.
Odegaard is next, and he’s genuinely worth it.
Garlick, not Garlic🤣
Champions league football alone will bring over 100m of revenue in broadcasting and prize money. Add to that for the 1st time in a long time we look like a club in the up, with a clear structure and plan, attractive to big players instead of the mess from wenger last seasons to arteta early seasons.
We have the upper hand now, not gonna bullied to pay ridiculous transfee fee or player wages unless we think the player worthy. No more having to give decent player big wages to compensate for our lack of attractiveness then stuck having to rip up their contract when buying club refuse to pay decent fee on top of those wages.
So how do you explain Nketiah’s reported £100k a week then?
Never really believed the rumored 100k. some are saying Saka is on 300k while other report are 200k + performance bonus. Is it 100k fixed or with bonus?
Considering our rivals have 10+ players on atleast 150k our wage is actually very good.
Arteta and Edu have a limit on what they are willing to pay for Rice and we have recently shown we have no problem walking out if the price becomes ridiculous. The rumors is 90m bid
And you don’t consider 90mil to be ridiculous?
Personally yes but then the market price has been ridiculous for a while. Good players getting quoted 100m when not too long ago that would get you a world class player.
If you’re going to win a motor race, you can’t just turn up in a Robin reliant and expect to beat the Ferrari. Every component in the car is as strong as the weakest part. Modern football is no different. If you want to win, you need quality. You have to spend and put quality in all areas. Arsenal can’t afford to settle for seconds when the the clubs with the most ambition are picking the best and leaving the rest.
It’s time for this Arsenal to show up stop being bullied out of the competition!
This is simply professional football today and if we’re going to be serious contenders we’re going to have to accept that our structure needs to he remodelled to reflect the situation. If we don’t, we never move forward.
👍 GunneRay, Arsenal hss to build on the current squad by first retaining the key players already here and upgrading by selling some and scouting approptiate improved players to fill deficient positions. Next season will be more competitive and Arsenal will require an enhanced squad to compete domestically and in Europe. Surely none of us want to see wimpish efforts again in domestic cups and Europesn competitions.
With regard to William Saliba, Arsenal needs to answer two questions: how much will it cost the Club to keep him and how much will it cost to replace him with a player of equivalent quality and anticipated future career longitivity?
We have Saliba, we don’t have Rice. Secure Saliba’s signature, buy him a better partner and then sort out the midfield. Frankly, I’d rather we bought Paqueta from West Ham than Rice. I think he is a more natural fit and a significant upgrade on Xhaka.
In Rice you have a player who is better than Lokonga, Viera and Partey combined. He is not flash but dependable and at 24 will learn, will be long lasting and a perfect foil for Odegaard. Just the player we need in a season when our midfield has gone AWOL when it counted the most. How do you put a price on that?
The would struggle to compete with these two but without them would just be also runs i am sorry to say.
Arsenal player-pay policy has been implemented with low-cost better alternatives. For example the Mudryk’s case has shown that expensive players are not necessarily the calculus for a committed, diligent and effective player. Quality is part of the project to improve the team depth but not being encumbered by few expensive players that could be lost to injury and leave the team vulnerable. I suggest that Arsenal discuss with a ‘reasonable’ team of Saliba negotiators.