Morning.
Let’s start today with some transfer news, and there was chatter about Newcastle preparing themselves for an Arsenal bid for Bruno Guimaraes yesterday. Then, Brazilian outlet Globo reported we had a £55m bid rejected, with Andrea Berta keen to bring in a player he has ‘long admired’ and who he apparently tried to sign for Atletico Madrid in 2020. A second bid is expected, for a player whose contract with Newcastle runs for another two years, and in the current market I don’t think there’s any way they budge unless the price is significantly higher.
The player is apparently staying ‘detached’ from negotiations to concentrate on the World Cup, where he can just hang out with Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli for the next few weeks. I have to say, despite the fact he’s been a bit of a thorn in our side at times or, to be more precise, an elbow in Jorginho’s head, he is a very good player who would certainly add something to our midfield.
I do worry that his combative style wouldn’t go down as well at Arsenal as it has been allowed to at Newcastle. He gets away with more there than he would with us, but after a season when we didn’t have a single player sent off, maybe Mikel Arteta is banking on our new cleaner than clean reputation to offset some of his challenges. Anyway, it’s an interesting one which, if there’s any substance to it, tells us the club are actively looking for a midfielder of a particular type.
As it stands, we have Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Eberechi Eze, Ethan Nwaneri and Christian Norgaard on the books. So we’re pretty well stocked right now. I certainly expect the latter to leave having played so little last season, and it wouldn’t be a massive surprise if Nwaneri was a departure this summer, even if my preference would be keep him. I wonder is there a decent loan deal to be done, where the finality of that decision can be pushed 12 months down the road when we have a better idea of his development as a player? Perhaps though, there are financial considerations at play that will see it happen sooner.
So, let’s see what happens with this one. Brazil, by the way, will face Japan in the Round of 32, so if this rumour continues or intensifies, we’ll be looking at that game a little more closely. The other solid news we have from yesterday is Piero Hincapie’s loan move from Bayer Leverkusen being made permanent. It’s not unexpected, but it’s official and the Arsenal man enjoyed a good night last night as Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 to qualify for the knock-out stages.
They went behind early on, produced a fine equaliser, then found a winner in the 77th minute. Hincapie played 71 minutes before being replaced by former Brighton man Pervis Estupinan, while Kai Havertz was replaced on the hour mark by Deniz Undav. I also really like how the Ecuador coach, Sebastian Beccacece, looks like a villain from the original Miami Vice. Watch out mate, Crockett and Tubbs are after you!
Elsewhere, Viktor Gyokeres was credited with an assist as Sweden drew 1-1 with Japan to qualify for the next stage. I think it’s fair to say that he basically put it on a plate for Anthony Elanga. That’s how it works, right? Australia are also through after a 0-0 draw with Paraguay, as are Ivory Coast following their 2-0 win over Curacao, former Gunner Nicolas Pepe opened the scoring in that game.
The Netherlands beat Tunisia 3-1 to set up a knock-out tie against Morocco, and despite being eliminated already, Turkey restored a little pride with a 3-2 win over the US. The winning goal came deep, deep into injury time after another former Arsenal man, Austen Trusty, had opened the scoring for the hosts early on.
Today, we have Norway taking on France with both sides already through, and there’s some reporting William Saliba will sit this one out to rest up his ongoing back issue. Martin Odegaard could play for Norway. The Arsenal boys could play for Spain as they face Uruguay, perhaps both David Raya and Martin Zubimendi could get some minutes; Iraq play Senegal; Egypt face Iran; New Zealand are up against Leandro Trossard’s Belgium; and the big one sees Cape Verde looking to qualify for the knock-outs with the right result against Saudi Arabia. Come on the Blue Sharks!
Righto, I’ll leave it there for this morning. If you haven’t had a chance to listen yet there’s an Arsecast below. Stay cool, more here tomorrow.