Hoping Nelson gets a shot. He is on the roster, no sense in letting him rot. Looked good enough for Feyenoord that he should be good enough for FA cup and/or EL.
unless nelson went full pierre mesut maitland-pepe, you'd have to think LW is a fit with smith-rowe out. it would put a full second team 3 of nelson-vieira-marquinhos and allow some rest to the first team 3 (and full front 4 with nketiah in for gabe jesus).
with the caveat that the source is the sun, i thought this was interesting. https://www.the-sun.com/sport/6319701/arsenal-third-transfer-bid-douglas-luiz-aston-villa/
yeah, i'm not sure i hold much faith in the sun. i'd get it if we go back in. if we can beat the market to him for 15-20, i think that's a solidly good buy because i don't think we get him in open market, at least not without going for a terrible contract.
Question RE HG status.... if I recall correctly, the actual HG rule for players born outside England/Wales is 3 yrs on the books at an English (or Welsh) club before they player turns 21. My question... does Academy time (ie before the player turns 18) count as "on the books"?
Based largely on Football Manager, I believe those years would still count toward homegrown status. Are you thinking about Bellingham?
Not Bellingham. If I'm not mistaken, he will always be HG by birth. I was thinking about ESR being out for an extended period and the possibility that he could be our next Jack (I get different circumstances) with all his injuries. We can't do much right now but I could see the need for a right-footed LW/CM/AM that could provide depth/rotation for both Martinelli and Xhaka. What about Yunus Musah? He spent 7 yrs in the Arsenal academy before leaving and signing his first Sr contract with Valencia. He has been a part of their first team since and has worked his way into the starting rotation for the USMNT. For the USMNT he has primarily played in a Xhaka role both in a double pivot and a single. For Valencia he has primarily played CM or LM/RM in a 4-4-2.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia continues his crazy form for Napoli!☑️11 games⚽️6 goals🅰️2 assists🥅1 penalty won📊directly involved in a goal every 93 minutesUnstoppable. 🔵🇬🇪 pic.twitter.com/40R2VssJfd— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) October 4, 2022 This is the guy!
I don't think place of birth actually matters, like if a player was born in England but moved away when they were 6 and didn't return, I don't think they would count as homegrown since they were never trained in the country. I think, particularly before Brexit, the rule was written in a way to be non-discriminatory, citizenship doesn't matter. It's just about where they were trained. Post-Brexit, the rule could easily change. Apparently there has been talk of a change to 3 years of training before turning 18. That would eliminate the Saliba types and depending on the exact rules, could take away the Bellerin and Cesc types who usually can't move until they are 16. I think Bellingham and Musah would both count as homegrown having spent 3 seasons training in country, even if some of that was before 18.
stats probably can't show just HOW dominant he is when he's on the pitch. He's killed many games off by the 57th min, completely done and dusted. Its insane.
i always wonder about transitioning from serie A but, damn, dude's got great feet. 2-footed and doesn't seem to be one of those selfish asshole wingers so would fit arteta's preference.
We are not getting him lol he's 100+ million when he goes. But his dribbling is so impressive, REAL dribbling, not some Cristiano pushing
i think we're reaching that point. like, it's been a building process to where our first XI is quality - and that was work in itself - and then getting a strong enough second XI to that would could honestly put a fresh team out for europa and cup games without suffering much and give arteta legitimate options off the bench. and i think we're there now. like, future buys are going to be tougher because they should really only be to move the bar. (or future buys.)
it'd be nice to see a greater focus on making sure the signings were by 18 so we can get them HG'ed up. like, i wouldn't shy away from a good target by, if we can identify one and get them locked up (even with a loan back) by 18, it'd be great.
It's a good idea, but the farther away a player is from being ready the more risk you take on in terms of development, and the risk is magnified by moving a 17 year old across continents.
As long as it's a £3m punt like Marquinos, the risk is worth it. You'd also hope that Edu's Brazilian connections will allow him to identify the right players that can handle the move, with a Brazilian core at Arsenal that can help a player settle. As opposed to Chelsea's more scattershot approach of signing a bunch of kids, sending them all on loan, and hope they hit. We hear about the ones they sell for profit, we don't hear about all the ones that leave for nothing when their contract expires. Rumors of £40-45m for this kid, that seems like a lot and maybe wishful thinking from Corinthians. He is one of those very special left-footed CBs.
i feel you. i was thinking more along the line of what @CarlosKaiser said, low cost gambles like marquinhos and martinelli. you drop 3-6 on those guys, see what happens. they get HG tag - maybe pick up citizenship over time - and, even if they don't work out for us, you can drop them on lower tier/competitiveness level teams for 10-20 to help with fundings. in the meantime, hopefully, they have helped raise the competitiveness in your U21. gambles like saliba is ballsy but, when it hits like this, it's golden. i mean, if you do 3 salibas (age->HG) and only 1 plays out like this, i'd still call it success. especially if you haven't gotten completely unlucky with injuries and can still at least spin the others off for 10-15.
Not that he's for sale, but I'd expect we wouldn't entertain any bids for Saka under 100M. And at this point, I don't think Douglas Luiz is on our radars anymore. With the Kroenkes saying they will make additional player investments in January, it sounds like they/we would want to spend where there is improvement, not just adding depth.