Watching on as Liverpool announced the signing of Alexis Mac Allister for a very meagre transfer fee considering the player’s quality has been a frustration to some of the Arsenal faithful. Add to that Chelsea having already secured Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto and Brighton signing up as many as three new players for next season already and perhaps there’s a good reason why.
‘Too slow’ has been the call from many toward Edu Gaspar the club’s sporting director but the Brazilian deserves some sympathy for these comparisons. Liverpool benefitted from Mac Allister’s clause which allowed them to lure the Argentinian away from the south coast.
Meanwhile, both James Milner and Mahmoud Dahoud were free transfers that had been agreed well ahead of the window opening. Edu has been doing plenty of work behind the scenes, regarding talks and meetings with clubs and representatives of players, preparing for the business of the window.
The acceleration in the deal for Declan Rice has occurred thanks to the conclusion of West Ham’s season which finished after winning the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy. football.london understands a bid north of £90million is expected as the north London side aim to get their priority target below the triple-million-pound threshold.
This is also part of the ambition to secure key targets early in the window. Arsenal’s players will return to London Colney in the first week of July before travelling to Germany on the tenth. Their first friendly is expected to be played three days after.
Arsenal were able to secure the signing of Gabriel Jesus, Matt Turner, Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira before the game, although the latter missed the preseason fixtures due to a foot injury. Arsenal would bring in Oleksandr Zinchenko whilst out in the United States after a failed pursuit of Lisandro Martinez and Raphinha.
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It, therefore, is now time for the club to act upon this excitement over the potential the summer transfer window can bring to the team. Sorting a deal for Rice speedily would provide a lot of optimism and support, alleviating some of the pressure too.
However, the longer that certain deals and positions run on, with many a transfer deadline day having been used by the club for last-minute deals, supporters are sure to start feeling nostalgic and not in a good way. There remains a good month before the players return, plenty of time to get the early deals done.
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