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With the transfer window over the main source of invented news for a number of journalists is now over. So what news is left?
First off we have the tale that Arsenal are going to drop Ramsdale and bring in Raya as the goalkeeper. That story has been in the Mail and might be true but not as dramatic as they make it sound. For it is quite possible that Ramsdale will be the first choice keeper for the league games and Raya for the cup competitions, thus keeping each player alert to the ways of the team and ready to step in full time if the other player gets injured.
Indeed there is a story in TBR to the effect that Brentford have agreed to their player playing for Arsenal in the next round of the league cup.
Then there are the attacks on Havertz have continued despite the warnings of how much damage such raging negativity can do. But the latest is really a bit extreme: that Ethan Nwaneri will soon step up and replace Havertz.
Ethan is 16 and so is on a scholarship contract and can’t become a professional player until his next birthday, but really that has not stopped the speculation.
Third in the queue is a positive, and that is that Declan Rice is rather good. I think quite a few people had realised that when he was playing for over 200 games for West Ham, but it makes a change for an Arsenal transfer to be applauded. But see number five
However first, number four is Pepe. He looks to be going to Besiktas whose transfer window is still open. He represents the final player that Arteta found on the books when he took over and whom he wanted to move on. So from that moment the team is totally the Arteta team, with no leftovers in sight.
Arteta has indeed moved on a lot of players – but then most managers do that over time. Arteta just did it more quickly than most.
Among those who have left are Emiliano Martinez, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Matt Macey, Sokratis, Ozil, Mustafi, Willian, David Luiz, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac, and perhaps the one who there might be a fair amount of regret for, Joe Willock.
Fifth we have the tale that West Ham are doing rather well because they don’t have Declan Rice anymore. That one seems to have been cooked up by Alan Brazil, which comes as no surprise.
The tale is hyped up by the current league table which shows West Ham above Arsenal…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
But we need to take into account who West Ham have played. Their opposition has been Bournemouth (16th), Chelsea (12th), Brighton and Hove (6th) and Luton Town (19th). It would have been a surprise had they not done fairly well out of a run like that.
Mind you while most of us have been very happy to see the speed at which Rice has been adapting to Arsenal’s style and the players around him, there are always negativisits around, and so we have John Giles claiming that Rice should be doing more for Arsenal. And that is after four games.
Mind you there is a bit of positivity around as Sports Mole tell us that “Bukayo Saka has been crowned the England Men’s Player of the Year for the 2022-23 campaign, scooping the accolade for the second time in a row.”
Meanwhile, it does seem that maybe there was an Arsenal to Arabia story in there after all. It is said that Tim Akinola has been transferred to a second-division Saudi club Al Bidda. And what’s more he scored twice on his debut.
But then just when you thought it might be safe to stop thinking about alleged transfers in the waiting, at least for a week or two, the news (I use that word loosely) comes in to the effect that, “The latest Wolves transfer news as Arsenal are tipped to make a swoop for Pedro Neto in January.” It seems it never stops. That comes from Birmingham Live.
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Al Bidda is Qatari club