Arsenal column: Why Eze deal never accelerated, Gyokeres vs Sesko & major selection decision for Man Utd

Arsenal look set to be dealt Eberechi Eze blow – here’s why a deal with the Gunners never accelerated

Tottenham stepping up their interest in Eberechi Eze in the past couple of days has not gone down well with Arsenal fans.

If you had taken a random poll of 100 supporters at the start of the week asking who the one player was they would want the club to sign before the transfer window closed I’m pretty convinced that Eze would have come out as the clear winner.

And so I’m far from surprised at the reaction and I have to admit that I felt exactly the same when the news started to break that Spurs had made their move.

I’ve long thought that Eze would be perfect for Arsenal and have been hoping all summer that they would firm up their interest in the Crystal Palace man.

I just think he’s the type of player that Arsenal need to add to their attacking options. That maverick type player, someone who could play on the left, but also play more centrally and bring some real creativity to that area.

I really like the business that Arsenal have done so far this summer, but I do believe they need to add one more to their attack to freshen things up a bit over on the left hand side.

I know Noni Madueke has come on and he did look lively over on the left when he came on against Athletic Club at the weekend, but I do still feel there is space for Eze and his arrival would significantly strengthen Arsenal’s chances of success this season.

So it would be a blow to see him go elsewhere, especially to Spurs.

I have to admit I was not surprised to learn that they had stepped up their interest in him though. As soon as James Maddison picked up his injury it felt inevitable that they would move quickly for Eze.

Arsenal’s interest has never gone away. It’s been there all summer, but this always felt like a deal that – if it was to happen – would happen late on in the window.

Had Ethan Nwaneri’s contract talks not gone well, then maybe Arsenal would have accelerated things, but with Nwaneri putting pen to paper on a long-term deal the focus has turned somewhat to trying to move players on.

Arsenal have spent a lot of money this summer and barely brought anything in. That’s where the focus is right now and Tottenham probably know that and are looking to take advantage of the opportunity.

Whether their move for Eze prompts Arsenal into action remains to be seen, but it feels unlikely without any sales happening at the Emirates and at the moment nothing appears to be close when it comes to player exits.

So that leaves Tottenham in a good position when it comes to Eze and it’s a position they are clearly trying to take advantage of.

Player sales needed before more spending

I certainly wouldn’t say for certain that Arsenal’s spending this summer is done.

They are still in the market, Mikel Arteta admitted as such after the win against Athletic Club on Sunday.

But he very quickly followed up those comments by pointing to the fact that some players would also have to leave the club in the coming weeks.

So the two things do feel very linked at the moment given the significant outlay we’ve already seen from the club this summer.

Rodrygo’s name has consistently been mentioned with Arsenal this summer and there has been interest there, but the finances involved in any potential deal always made it feel like a very difficult one to do.

It looks like Manchester City might now try and get a deal done for the Brazilian, which will again be a tough one to take for Arsenal fans, given how long he has been viewed as a target.

But let’s see what happens in the market as there is still plenty of time left and Arteta will certainly be pushing for more options.

I think he’ll be happy with the business that has been done so far, but he will always be after more.

Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko battle will be intriguing after surprise transfer sagas

If you had said to me a few months ago that Benjamin Sesko and Victor Gyokeres would face each other this season when Arsenal met Manchester United I would have agreed with you.

But I would not have predicted that it would be Sesko lining up for United and Gyokeres lining up for Arsenal. I would have 100% believed it would be the other way around.

But football is a funny old game and things have worked out very differently, with Arsenal opting not to firm up their long-standing interest in Sesko and Gyokeres turning his nose up at a reunion with Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.

The focus now will obviously be on which of the big money strikers settles the quicker and makes the biggest impact at their new clubs.

The narrative is certainly there ahead of Sunday and I’m sure those two players will probably dominate the headlines over the next few days given how things have worked out.

Who will be the better signing? Well, obviously I hope it will be Gyokeres.

I always just about favoured a move for him when it came to the Gyokeres/Sesko debate at Arsenal, mainly because he just felt like the more ready-made of the two.

Sesko always felt a bit more like a project signing and I’m not sure that’s what Arsenal needed when it came to bringing in a new striker this summer.

I do really like Sesko though and it would not surprise me at all if he goes on to become a big success at Manchester United. He’s clearly got the potential to do that.

But I’m very happy with the Gyokeres signing. I just feel like he is what Arsenal really needed and we’ve already seen some good signs of what he is going to bring to this team this season.

A look ahead to Man United vs Arsenal and a big selection dilemma at left-back

Season openers don’t really come bigger than Manchester United vs Arsenal do they? It’s certainly a game to whet the appetite for the new campaign.

I think from Arsenal’s point of view the win against Athletic Club last weekend was huge ahead of Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.

After successive pre-season defeats to Tottenham and Villarreal things were just starting to feel a little bit flat at Arsenal and that’s not how you want to head into a new season.

So beating Athletic on Saturday was important. But it wasn’t just about the result, it was about the performance. It was really positive and there was a freshness to the team that was very encouraging.

Tactically they just looked a bit different. Martin Zubimendi was exceptional. It was the first time this summer that we’d seen him start with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard and the three of them looked great together in midfield.

And of course we saw Viktor Gyokeres score his first goal, which was a really big moment. He played really well up front and you could already see signs of players getting used to the runs that he makes.

As warm-ups go, it was pretty much perfect for Arsenal and it means they will take some momentum with them to Manchester and that could be really important.

It sounds like United have had a pretty decent pre-season and that Ruben Amorim is starting to get his ideas across. They have added some real firepower across the frontline so you would expect them to be a much better proposition this season than they were last season.

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I think who starts at full-back this weekend will be interesting for Arsenal. There is a real competition in those positions.

When he’s been on the pitch Riccardo Calafiori has looked very good. I really enjoyed his performance last weekend and if he’s deemed fully fit I think he might get the nod at left-back over Myles Lewis-Skelly.

It’s a tough call, but Lewis-Skelly hasn’t looked at his best yet this summer, so I would not be surprised if Arteta goes with the Italian to try and negate the threat of Bryan Mbeumo and also cause problems up the other end.