Jorginho confirmed on Arse website. Even a pic of MA and Jorginho with Jorginho glad to finally link up with MA.

The picture could be faked. We still can’t be sure

I don’t know if this is a good signing. An important feature of placing players in this team is not just playing ability but do they fit in with the culture and have they bought into the project. I don’t know if we have had time to assess if he will buy in. But then the Brighton bloke was totally unknown to me as to whether he was a one season wonder. Give Arteta wanted him I will have to trust him but he is so stubborn that he will want to prove it a great signing and probably squeeze him into the team at times to justify himself. I have to say I thought he was a year past his best. If we are paying him silly wages that will be another problem around the team.

At the end of the day, we win the league and he is part of it, a worthwhile signing.

Yeah I wouldn't be too sure. There's still a chance Chelsea will outbid us at the last minute.

Looks like Chelsea will get Enzo Fernandez for a British record fee in the region of £115m. It takes their spending this season to something like £600m. Makes an absolute mockery of FFP.

These players are still Chelsea players but on loan:
Lukaku
Hudson-Odoi
Bakayoko!
Baba Rahman!
Malang Sarr
Amapadu, Colwill and Gusto are also younger players out on loan

Chelsea's website lists 30 players as first team players - 31 when Enzo signs.

You're allowed 17 non home grown players - which for chelsea before January would be these 14 players
Arrizabalaga
Aubameyang,
Azpilicueta
Cucurella
Thiago Silva
Fofana,
Havertz,
Kante,
Koulibaly,
Kovacic,
Mendy,
Pulisic
Zakaria
Ziyech
They've since added - Felix, Mudryk, Enzo, Fofana, Badiashile - which is 2 players over the limit - maybe Fofana counts as U21 and maybe someone goes out on loan.

It is a hugely risky strategy they have undertaken and that squad will need time to gel and it is still a big ask for them to get CHampions League this year - risk losing out on £100m of that money if they don't make it. I still think there are gaps in quality in that squad as well

Can the media please spare us the fawning over Chelsea's ability to 'get a deal done' - surely they realise that is a lot easier when you're willing to pay whatever it takes to get the deal done. They live outside the rules that others play by

https://twitter.com/TifoFootball_/statu ... _3auf1kPBQ
analysis of Jorginho at Arsenal

Ok a few things

1) it’s not a risk. His wages until the summer will be over compensated by us loaning out sambi, Marquinhos and Cédric and saving theirs. After that you might see him sold anyway if he’s bad it’s a 16 month contract only

2) the main problem we have when partey is injured isn’t the protection of the back 4 too much it’s that we don’t have progressive enough distribution to get the ball forward into attacking areas. I don’t think there is any question he’s better at this than sambi or elneny

3) you are saying Arteta will shoehorn him into the side ? No chance for many reasons but none less than Partey is the best midfielder in the whole league right now as far as I’m concerned and he will struggle to get games anyway. The ask is to cover 6-8 games at most here not play 20 premier league games

My thoughts too. He brings high level experience to a callowish side. Is he our first Italian international?

Indeed. The way some folk are talking you'd be excused for thinking we have just signed Carlton Palmer or some cart-horse from Carlisle. Jorginho is a top player with more experience of the big stage than anybody else in our current squad.

Yep, a little more than a year ago, The Guardian rated him more highly than Mbappe, Haaland, De Bruyne etc:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng ... world-2021
I don't know whether Jimmy Glass or Chris Balderstone ever made it into the Top 5 in the world.

Looks pretty good here.

Great minds think alike. Had no idea Lokonga was going to Palace on a loan.

I wish him well, he needs it. And no one better than Vieira.

I lost what little respect I had for the media when they never acknowledged that Chelsea's emergence was ONLY because Roman bought them. They were a good side before, so respect to them. A top 4 side. But those titles were bought and paid for. Man Utd at least made their money from the way you do traditionally. No problem with that. Chelsea and City (and now Newcastle), any trophies they got or will get is tainted in my opinion.

Willian was the biggest glaring mistake so far for Arteta. And truth be told, we didn't see it coming in terms of his non performance. He seemed a good buy at the time.

That said we (gooners as a collective) were proven wrong with Ramsdale and White. Lokonga was always a project hoping he'd develop into a better player and he could still become a good players. I'm willing to trust Arteta with this one and we'll see what happens.

Only it wasn’t ! He came on a free and left after 12 months so it was a punt and whilst he wasn’t good there was no major catastrophe

Wanna know who was a mistake ? Mustafi! 42 million quid for a defender who didn’t know he had to get goalside.

I think the nearest Arteta and Edu have come so far in terms of transfer mistakes looks to be Fabio Vieira who for 32 million looks very flaky and isn’t resistant to being pressed. For that money a footballer of 22 years old should look much better. You could also say lokonga as well but I have a feeling we will get our money back on him.

Spurs had to cancel Doherty’s contract 18 months early rather than send him on on loan to Atletico as they realised they already had the maximum 8 loans to other nation clubs

Chelsea didn’t send the paperwork in time/ sent the wrong paperwork (depending who you read) for Ziyech’s loan transfer to PSG. PSG are furious with Chelsea. Maybe an appeal today but looks likely a very unhappy Ziyech has to stay with Chelsea for the rest of the season likely not making any match days squads.

Similarly Omari Hutchinson (ex Arsenal) had a late loan deal to West Brom fall through at the last minute. He better get used to loan moves because he’s got no pathway to the Chelsea 1st team

I don’t really buy the notion that Declan Rice is going to just rock up at our place this summer I have to say

Some divvy owner is liable to bid 150 million and kroenke and Edu will run a mile. Honestly I’ll believe that one when I see it

Arsenal bench options when everyone is fit
Turner, Tierney, Tomiyasu, Kiwior, Holding, Jorginho, Emile Smith Rowe, Trossard, Nelson, Nketiah

Totally agree TG.

Player valuations have been so skewed by Chelsea's spending that West Ham must be thinking about £120m + for Declan Rice.

Don't see it happening personally and both he and Caicedo will probably end up at Chelsea.

Talking of Chelsea can anyone tell me if this kind of spending can go on indefinitely with payments amortised over 7 or 8 years, effectively kicking the FFP can down the road. Can they do exactly the same in the summer unless UEFA intervene?

UEFA are intervening

https://www.football365.com/news/opinio ... imitations

They are also bound to see some bad knock on effects surely. Players on long term deals that can’t be shifted and have to be paid off.

What if there is a wilshere type scenario and a player suffers an injury that halves his ability but is on an 8 year contract. It’s a disaster surely

Too little too late if Chelsea's spending pay's off (excuse the pun). They've literally bought a brand new side in a couple of windows.

I bet Chelsea are already exploring other loopholes.

What is does do is go against the spirit of the FFP rule but then City and PSG have already found ways to circumvent it in the past.

Looks pretty good...

Indeed. A penny for his thoughts. If he had stayed I'm guessing he would have played as much as he has done at Chelsea and in a title challenging team.

Legend in the making
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6tGRY4AQapI

For anyone having a meltdown over our January business, we bought 3 players and loaned out a youngster and a CM who has never convinced in the games he has played. We got vital cover across the front positions, cover at left-CB and cover for def-mid. Of course we'd have all liked Caicedo but it will have to wait. Meanwhile Man City lost their most reliable (until this season) and versatile defender because he fell out with the manager and there are rumours of more unrest in that City dressing room.. In their last game against us Stone also pulled a hamstring - so City's defence is down to Dias, Laporte, Akanji, Ake, Walker, Lewis. That is only 6 defenders and only 2 natural full-backs.

We're 5 points clear with a game in hand and we've got stronger whilst City have got weaker. Still all to do but we've done ok

The way Chelsea have mitigated it in the past is loan deals - that is reliant to some degree on the loaning club picking up the tab on the high wages - but that amortised fee is still being paid off as a negative on the accounting books each year until the player is officially no longer a chelsea player.

There is also the small matter of actually forging these players in to a winning team and having a manager good enough to do that whilst keeping all the players happy and motivated when at least maybe 6-7 of them aren;t even going to be in the match day squad each week. Also a 10 point gap to bridge and 6 teams to usurp to get in to the CL places and the money that brings

This has caused quite a furore here.

SA tourism is suffering because of electricity and water outages, crime, etc.

So what does the government do?

Sponsor Tottenham Hotspur to the tune of R1 billion! Obviously.

https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa ... 0218e10e9e

Vieira?

I remember Balderstone attempting Test cricket and being blown away by Michael Holding at The Oval in 1976. To be fair, he wasn't the only one.

Good luck Sambi

Yes, it seems he only played two Tests. Still, it's quite impressive that the bloke who scored the goal against Tottenham that put Carlisle top of the league (briefly) in 1974 also played Test cricket against the West Indies in 1976.

He was a fine County player and probably deserved his Test opportunity. Sad for him he had to face "Whispering Death" at his most fearsome.

At one time playing both football and cricket professionally was not at all unusual. Arsenal had several men who played first-class cricket - Dennis and Leslie Compton, Ted Drake, Andy Ducat, Wally Hardinge, Arthur Milton, Don Roper, Jim Standen, Harry Storer, Ray Swallow and Henry White. The indomitable Brian Close of Yorkshire and England was on our books as a young man, though he never made it to our first team.

Tis might have slipped unnoticed......Leicester chair Khun Top has relieved the club of debts to parent company King Power totaling over £194m.

That is still financial doping, rack up loads of debt and have your owner wipe it out so you can start again. We've seen how Chelsea circumnavigate the FFP rules, how do Leicester do it with this one?

As part of the deal that took Porro to Spurs, Spurs have sold 15% of their sell on rights to Marcus Edwards. No telling how much that 15% could be worth - right now it is probably £2-3m or so

I knew I'd forget someone

Chelsea can only select 3 of their January signings to be part of the Champions League squad - so 4 of the players below will have signed for Chelsea but be unable to play CL. Id say it is really 3 from 4 (Fofana, Santos and Madueke will almost certainly be left out)

David Datro Fofana
Benoit Badiashile
Andrey Santos
Joao Felix
Mykhailo Mudryk
Noni Madueke
Enzo Fernandez

"Relationship between Brighton & Arsenal,has been damaged. Brighton were left irritated and perplexed after the 2nd bid as they felt Arsenal did not get the message that the player is not for sale."

Haha, is that all it takes for Brighton to get a bit touchy. They'll sell when the price is right, you can't get upset if clubs make bids for your players (who want to leave).

If only all transfers worked this way.
Club A "We'd like to buy player X, we bid £xm for him"
Club B "We don't want to sell him"
Club A "Ok, thanks for your time, see you later"