Morning all, a fast Wednesday weblog for you.
Let’s begin with Bukayo Saka being named PFA Younger Participant of the 12 months for the 2022-23 season. He joins former Gunners Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Nicolas Anelka, Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere as winner of the award – and who might actually argue that he didn’t deserve it?
Erling Haaland was on this class too, however unsurprisingly he gained the Participant of the 12 months award, and Bukayo held off competitors from teammate Gabriel Martinelli, Evan Ferguson and others. For Arsenal he scored 15 objectives and supplied 11 objectives in all competitions, and at worldwide degree he scored constantly for England. He received three within the mid-season World Cup, to not point out a hat-trick in a European Championship qualifier in June.
He spoke afterwards, and was usually humble, saying:
Clearly, I’ve to present a number of because of my coach and my teammates. I’m a participant who first appears at profitable group awards, collective awards. That’s my largest dream. Clearly if I can obtain issues like this and win awards like this it’s undoubtedly one other motivation for me and it goes a good distance for me.
So undoubtedly I’ll be seeking to be again right here subsequent yr hopefully however the first intention is to win trophies for Arsenal.
When you think about he’s simply 21 years outdated, the long run that probably lies forward for him is so thrilling. The actual fact he signed a brand new contract throughout the summer time will permit us as Arsenal followers to calm down a bit (as a lot as Arsenal followers truly calm down about something), and hopefully he can ship like he did final season too. It’s two objectives in three video games to date, and I don’t assume it’s unfair to say he – very similar to the group as a collective – hasn’t fairly been at his very best but.
There have been additionally 4 Arsenal gamers named within the group of the season. Clearly Saka was one, and he was joined by Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba and Martin Odegaard. The complete group was: Ramsdale, Stones, Saliba, Dias, Trippier, de Bruyne, Rodri, Odegaard, Saka, Kane, Haaland.
In switch information, as we head in the direction of Friday’s deadline, Rob Holding is being linked with varied strikes, each home and overseas. There are tales about curiosity from Spanish golf equipment, with Sevilla and Mallorca each talked about in dispatches, in addition to Premier League aspect Luton who’re eager to do a mortgage deal. Rob has a contract till 2024, however Arsenal reportedly have an choice to increase for an additional yr which could assist facilitate a mortgage – though I’m positive the membership would like to promote at this level.
It will likely be fascinating to see the place he goes. If he desires to be a really busy defender and keep in England, Luton could be the apparent selection. I do know it’s early days within the season however they appear very very similar to a group that has come as much as a degree that’s a bit past them. He might assist, clearly, however they have to be odds-on to return down, and I’m unsure how satisfying it might be to play in a aspect that’s going to wrestle that a lot each week. Possibly that form of defending would go well with his recreation, nevertheless it’d be so totally different from Arsenal proper now.
The transfer overseas could be far more attention-grabbing if the Spanish golf equipment might put collectively the fitting package deal. Wouldn’t you be tempted by a minimum of a season within the sunshine, whether or not that’s on one of many Balearic Islands or within the south of Spain? Let’s see what the following few days brings for him, and among the others we’re attempting to maneuver on earlier than the window shuts.
Lastly, it looks like we will chill a bit on the Emile Smith Rowe to Chelsea stuff. James says in his newest video it’s ‘extraordinarily unlikely’, which doesn’t imply it’s not possible, however I’ll take that anyway. It’s straightforward to neglect we’re simply three video games into the season, there’s a number of soccer to play, and issues can change in a short time on this loopy recreation we’re all obsessive about. There’s additionally a little bit of give attention to Gabriel, a state of affairs which makes me just a bit nervy in the mean time, however hopefully one which settles down.
Have a watch beneath.
Proper, that’s your lot for at the moment. Have a very good one of us.
