Matt Turner could be in a unique situation this weekend of making his Nottingham Forest debut against the same players he was lifting a trophy with on Sunday.
It’s an irony the American may have discussed with his peers at Wembley, teammates for one last day before becoming opponents less than a week later.
Given his displays for his nation, the 29-year-old deserves a chance to be first choice at the highest level.
That his first ever appearance in the Prem could be at the Emirates is a unique coincidence, but what better way to prove your ex-employers wrong by then getting a result against them on your first day at your new workplace?
He’s got reasons to be motivated, reasons that Arsenal could have avoided.
Steve Cooper was struggling to have a keeper he trusted in goal this Saturday, and it seems strange that headache would be fixed by his opponents.
Edu surely must have been tempted to delay the transfer by a week, making Forest weaker for our season opener.
Of course, Arteta has every right to expect his team to be good enough to defeat the visitors without the need to postpone business.
Especially if he rates the player so little, he’s approving the sale.
Yet sport can be decided by small margins. I know managers who would be ruthless enough to order the transaction to be confirmed after the fixture took place. If you can gain an advantage, however small, why not take it?
Shouldn’t you give yourself the best possibility to win every match?
We held the cards in negotiations, Forest needing Turner more than we needed the 7 million.
If they had insisted the deadline to accept the deal was this week, I would have called their bluff.
You would have been able to find another club willing to meet our asking price.
If we don’t submit Raya’s loan by 12.00 lunchtime today, Karl Hein or Okonkwo might be on the bench tomorrow.
I expect Arsenal to get the three points, but Turner has the personality to come back and haunt us.
No point realising the mistake after the event, is there.
Dan
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