Nicolo Barella is the subject of interest from Arsenal as the Gunners continue to bolster their squad.
The Italian midfielder is exciting to watch and he played a key role as Inter Milan won Serie A and for the Italian national team as they won Euro 2020 this month.
He is one of the most important players at Inter, but as they struggle financially, they could sell some of their stars.
Arsenal is shopping for an attacking midfielder and the Gunners have reportedly considered a move for him.
SportMediaset via Sempre Inter says Arsenal asked Inter about the possibility of buying him and they told the Gunners in clear terms that he isn’t for sale.
The 24-year-old has attracted the attention of other top European clubs with the report claiming that Liverpool and Manchester United have similarly seen offers for him turned down by Inter.
Arsenal has been attracted to Italian midfielders in this transfer window as they are also looking to sign Manuel Locatelli, but they have similarly failed in their pursuit of the Sassuolo man.
Locatelli looks set to join Juventus instead and Mikel Arteta may now turn his attention towards signing the likes of Houssem Aouar.
Is Barella on the infamous “list” Arteta and Edu drew up? Though those 2 had a clear plan and “list” they submitted and discussed with the board?
Hope this list is more substantial than our “style” of football.
Seems club is just fishing for anything or anyone that bites. We hear that some players buy into their “project” yet they can’t bother to explain the same “project” to the fans.
Perhaps “project” is code for “money” and wages.
I’m envisioning their “list” as one of those comedic skit based lists where the performer starts to read from something that appears to be rather brief then just when you think the bit is almost over the remaining pages fall from their hands and quickly hits the floor…unfortunately, the only punchline in this tragic tale is our joke of a club
RVL
I’m just looking for something to show a sea change from leadership.
But so far it’s just more words, more promises, and more “just trust us.”
Most fans saw the club falling behind years ago, certainly they saw it as well.
Same transfer policies as always, same empty words from the Kronkes, same “patience” and pleas for time.
10 years later, what has changed? It’s not all or even mostly Arteta’s fault, but he is still culpable.
Continued poor decisions by management in hires, player management, just as listless.
Even with nearly 10 player changes since Arteta, we are no better off.
Not expecting miracles, but did expect a style of play by now. Sure our defense improved, but by sacrificing the bit of offense we had.
Letting Sven go was a mistake; Arteta’s judgement of players has been poor. Keeping Xhaka and Bellerin, Ceballos for a second year, even when Willian was poor he kept getting selected over others.
We NEED a director of football with a resume of success.
Spend £72 million on Pepe, £50 million on White, but won’t spend for a director to lead the club and make player decisions?
For example, which is better for the club, £54 million for White or £60 for Maddison?
Which will have the impact we need? B2B midfielder assisting & scoring goals or a 1st year CB who’s good at passing from the back?
As you know by now, I agree wholeheartedly with many, if not all, of your sentiments regarding the general managerial/administrative ineptitude of our once-envied club…personally, I can’t help but feel that the issues we’re currently experiencing are simply a logical extension of the general malaise that took hold in the years following the propagation of the “big lie”
with the halcyon days of the invincible era clearly in the rearview and confidence beginning to wane, the club and it’s supposedly infallible leader put forth a plan built on a series of continually perpetuated lies…whether or not Wenger actually believed that all would be forgiven when he pulled another rabbit out of his hat, ultimately matters little, for the purposes of this discussion, as this delusional notion never materialized…of considerably more importance, was his active involvement in just such a ruse when he knew full-well that the “compete with the best” narrative was a fallacious creation from the get-go
now some might suggest that, if this were a truthful depiction of said events, he functionally had no choice but to follow the wishes of those who ruled the roost, I would suggest otherwise, in that although this might excuse him from giving the fan’s a head’s up, especially in those earliest of days, it doesn’t excuse him from actively stringing along those who admired him dearly and looked to him as the caretaker of the club’s best interests
now, of course, his deceptive actions by no means negate everything he’s meant to this club over the years, pre and post-Emirates, but it does help to explain away the tarnishing of the brand both on and off the pitch…in the final analysis, it wasn’t so much the lie itself, but the overall psychological impact of what was required of the fanbase to achieve their deceptive ends
whether it was the call for patience, as our best and brightest were sold without cause, even though we were told to think otherwise, or the lowering of expectations, through our club’s open willingness to accept 2nd, 3rd or even 4th best, that ultimately led to the emergence of the Wenger Cup, or even the very fact that we continued to pay through the nose for a clearly inferior product, year in and year out, all of these factors have led us here to a place where far too many fans are willing to accept such blatant mediocrity as some sort of demented new normal
as such, I firmly believe that until we properly acknowledge and redress the “real” underlying issues of the past we’ll never truly escape this seemingly cyclical nightmare, which is why a fundamental rebuild, from tip to tail, is required if we want to ever return to a position of footballing prominence
👍👍 Durand and TRVL4e.
Same old, same old, rinse and repeat.
William Saliba and potentially Joe Willock treatments are really cause for concern. Similarly the expenditure of scarce transfer funds on another CB in Ben White, when lack of productivity and service from midfield are the issues and many quality midfielders are available including James Maddison is baffling to most.
As for an explanation of Arteta’s style of play, preferred formation and profile of players required, we will be waiting a long time apparently.
Durand, TRVL and Ozzie, despite the evidence we are seeing on the pitch, especially last season I do think arteta has a style he wants to implement but hasn’t been able to on a consistent basis which is mostly down to him but not all his fault. Check this out below which hopefully might give food for thought.
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/transfer-news/arteta-arsenal-75m-triple-transfer-20975615
And then will the CB in Ben White create goal scoring opportunities which has been the problem in the past season?We got a problem at Arsenal.I wonder what happened to being aggressive in this transfer market.
With credit to Abbott and Costello: Who’s number 10, What’s DM and I don’t know who’s ACM, yet Arsenal has delivered a midfield prospect, but nought for right now.
Ha ha! Love what you did there, well played sir!