GOONERS! Smith Rowe’s return trumps Mudryk’s non-arrival.

 Arsenal under Arteta are sitting 8 points clear at the pinnacle of the toughest, most competitive league in Europe, and it seems we Gooners are still able to find something to complain about. Despite dominating the ‘old enemy’ at their place, securing a comfortable win and a clean sheet, some supporters are amazingly still attacking the club, and in particular Edu, our Technical Director, for failing to secure Mudryk, who if we are to believe all reports was stolen from under our noses by Chelsea.

Whilst undoubtedly the case that Arsenal bid twice for this exciting Ukrainian, the club, as they have done in recent years, obviously had a top price in mind, based on their own assessment of a player’s value, and not that of the selling club or the media. For my money, and thank goodness it isn’t, Edu and Arteta have made the right call. Mykhailo Mudryk has potential, and current custodians obviously felt they could develop that, but the price, wages and length of contract offered by Chelsea, is akin to that a sensible club would offer for an established world star, not an exciting kid.

The Arsenal fanbase collectively label Chelsea as classless, lacking in history, being without strategy and nouveau riche, on the one hand, and then throw their toys out of their pram when our own club failed to act like them in this instance. Our fanbase lauded Edu and Arteta for their negotiating stance and the transfer fees agreed for Jesus and Zinchenko. Some sections of it are now complaining that we failed to overpay for Mudryk. Confusing and contradictory bunch, aren’t we?

I think the real underlying truth is born out of an anxiety, that whist riding high, with an exemplary first 11, we have a thin squad, and are one or 2 key injuries away from a derailing of our ambitions. This is entirely valid and understandable, but we have to believe, as I do, that the board and management will have identified more than one target in each position they feel needs additional competition or first-class cover. Even today, there are reports that Arsenal are talking to Barcelona about Torres or Raphinha, which I am sure will allay some concerns at least.

The worst-case scenario for many of us at present, is an injury to Eddie Nketiah, while Gabriel Jesus is still on the side-lines. It is a genuine worry and one, at present that might see Martinelli played centrally, a position the player himself does not wish to play and one where he has not excelled when asked to fill in previously. However, the signing of Mudryk would only have provided cover for Martinelli, which in all honesty we have in Emile Smith Rowe.