Yup.. I do think Jesus is off this summer. But won't get more than 20 mil for him. Would not be surprised if Saliba is off though. I think there is real interest in Alvarez. He can play LW of Striker.
As long as Havertz, Jesus and Gyokeres are all on the payroll as 3 of the top earners at the club, they aren't adding a striker. I don't see Havertz leaving if he's injured and don't want him to leave if he is healthy. I would be surprised if Berta gives up on Viktor so soon. That leaves Jesus who wants a new contract but has also said he doesn't want to leave. And even if he does, I don't see a $100m player replacing him.
This summer's World Cup may play a part in all this. I don't follow international teams as much as I used to, but VG and Kai both have spots for their respective countries if they are fit. Jesus seems the most motivated and wanting/needing to earn his WC spot. If Jesus can stay healthy and finish with 12-15 goals for us in the business end of the season, then I can definitely see us getting at least 40-50M for him. IOW, there's a chance we can recover most/all of his transfer fee if he plays like he did leading up to the last WC.
Personally don't see us going into next season with 3 STs unless one is a U21 and/or can play multiple positions. You can argue that Havertz (ST/AM) & Jesus (ST/W) fit that mold but I'd argue that they either aren't good enough in their secondary position or said position is already overloaded. The interesting part is who stays. Jesus wants to stay and extend his contract but I'm not sure we want to keep him given his rash of injuries, even if he scores 15+ to finish the season. When we signed VG I assumed he would play well enough that Kai would ask to leave this summer. With VG not living up to expectations I could see a scenario where VG moves and Kai is the lone ST left. In that scenario, snagging someone like Alvarez or some other young (u23) ST that offers something different would be ideal. scoring 15+ would likely raise his value but there is no way we get 40+ for a soon to be 29yo injury prone ST with 12 months left on his deal.
Just for context, Jesus has never scored 12-15 league goals. Ever. I certainly don't see him doing it in a half a season, at 28 and coming back from a long injury layoff. Our window for getting decent money on him closed a few years ago.
Starting to think I should have thought my argument on Jesus through a bit more before posting. Part of my thinking was the Jesus would be a similar profile to Watkins, who is older and speculated to have a similar value. And he may be a good fit for Saudi at an above-average fee. If I'm overly optimistic, it wouldn't be the first time.
Lots of big ifs with Jesus But if stays fit I can see a Brazilian surplus added to his fee if he goes Saudi I don't know if Berta is capable of dumping Gyokeres after one season and I am not sure there is going to be a market for him for a decent price. I don't Berta has a track record of moving on quickly with disappointing strikers he has signed. I recall Depay signing and being let the go the following season but that was different .. Depay cost pennies. You guys remember Lemar...he stayed on at Atletico for five or six years?
Mikel likes Man City players (Zinchenko, Jesus, he worked with Sterling at City) On the face of it, can't see it happening. Havertz is on 280k a week, Jesus on 265k a week, Gyokeres on 200k a week Alvarez is currently on 240k a week. Don't see it happening. He'll want 300k probably. Jesus contract ends the soonest in a year and a half. (June 2027), Havertz a year later, 2030 for Gyokeres. If you we want to loan out players, who is going to cover those salaries? Alvarez would be a game changer. He's more similar to Jesus than any other striker we have.
If anyone is being sold off it will be Jesus, Havertz can do what he does in the role and is a more reliable player, Gyokeres is a different profile altogether and if the intent is bringing in Alverez he is different to both of them and is an upgrade on all 3. I think Arteta still really likes the idea of Havertz at L8 as well, which is what we saw the other week when he brought Jesus on at 9 and Havertz on for Rice.
I think there is a good chance either Martinelli or Trossard leave in the summer, with an outside chance that both go. The Trossard deal last summer, where he got a higher wage but didn't get additional years, could have come with a handshake agreement that he will leave and Arsenal will bank a fee on him this summer. He has been a good player but he's 31 and age catches up to everyone. Martinelli last signed a contract extension in 2023, this summer will be time to extend or sell. He turns 25 in the summer and it might be generous to say he's plateaued. I think Arteta likes what he brings but it might be time to move on. I don't love the idea of Alvarez or last summer's rumor Rodrygo, they will cost a fortune in fee and wages and you are paying more for what they have done rather than what they will do. Get players on the upswing. Previously mentioned Barcola seems like the dream. I think @chjoak has brought up Yildiz before. Diomande is a hot name but Leipzig supposedly want 100m and Berta doesn't have the best relationship with them. Said El Mala has some impressive per 90 stats in Germany but probably isn't ready for a big role yet. Morgan Rogers signed a new deal.
My one big caution with Rodrygo is that Arsenal players do a lot of off the ball defensive work and running. Will he do that? Salah doesn't have to put in anywhere near the defensive work Saka does. Different strategies. We are fully team defense, Liverpool sometimes fully, sometimes quasi. Depending on who they have out there. Barcola looks like he will do the running that our defense requires, Yildiz as well. Seems is the key word here. Mbappe would not work in our system as great as he is. So, even if he were interested he wouldn't be a good buy unless we change the way we do team defense.
As of right now, if im shopping for a LW its Barcola or Yildiz. Barcola has a little more of a Martinelli feel to him. Yildiz more Trossard. Right now I would probably lean a bit more to Barcola because I think French league scales better with EPL. Id be a bit surprised if Trossard is on the roster next season. I could see both arguments for Marti. I think Marti wants to stay and Mikel likes his work rate but I could see us cashing out. Major advantage to keeping Marti is that he performs well in CL and is HG.
He would be a very interesting option at ST as an understudy to whomever is ultimately our starter next season.
The man just signed a new contract, why do you think Saliba might be off, If he wanted to leave, he could have run down his contract and claimed a significant portion of any potential transfer fee as a signing bonus.
I see a lot of speculation about Martinelli being sold, he’s on £180k per week, who exactly are the buyers? If he leaves he will almost certainly have to take a pay cut.