Mikel demands ‘best balance’
Mikel Arteta has explained why Aaron Ramsdale must fight to stay Arsenal No1 ahead of new loanee David Raya.
I want the best possible squad with the best possible balance. You can’t isolate the goalkeepers and treat them differently to the full-backs or the centre-backs who are competing with each other.
I have to encourage everyone with the sense that they are all important and to do that they have to play matches.Football is a collective sport but only 11 players start and there are a lot of others who are not happy with that situation most of the time.
It’s all about how they accept that role and deal with it, because we’re going to have a game every three days and the team is going to change.
Whether you’re playing or not, your contribution to the team tells you a lot about the human being and the professional.
I want players who are happy when the team wins regardless of their part in the game because this is a team sport and that’s the spirit we have to build.
Mikel Arteta
Arteta won’t say if Ramsdale will remain No1
David Raya is ineligible for Arsenal’s home Prem opener with Nottingham Forest tomorrow lunchtime despite signing from Brentford tonight.
Arsenal paid a £3million loan fee for the Spain keeper with the option of a £27m permanent deal next summer.
And boss Mikel Arteta is refusing to give any guarantees to crowd favourite and current No1 Aaron Ramsdale, who only recently signed a lucrative new long-term Emirates contract.
Mikel hails greater depth
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta explained his delight at having cover for most positions.
He said: “We have been trying to increase the depth and the quality of our squad to give us the ability to be more flexible and more unpredictable.
“Selecting a consistent team last season had its advantages. The chemistry and understanding of the group was excellent.
“And even if the opponent knows what you’re going to do, if you do it at the top level it’s still not easy to go against it.
“But for sure the new signings mean we can play different formations and shapes. We can move structures in different ways that in the past we haven’t been able to do.
“And I don’t want players to stick in one position because when you open your mind to other things you are more unpredictable and you get very good surprises.
“We have many examples of that in the squad, but you need to understand when to make positional changes and whether the player is capable of doing it at that moment.”
Arteta promises ‘new approach’
Mikel Arteta is promising that it’s not going to be the same old Arsenal this season as he sets out to shake up his title challenging squad.
No Premier League manager made fewer changes to his starting line-up last season than Arteta, who relied on the same core group of players for virtually the entire campaign.
With Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Gabriel Magalheas, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Granit Xhaka, Gabriel Martinelli starting almost every game and William Saliba an ever present until missing the final two months of the campaign, it meant the team virtually picked itself every week.
But that consistency came back to bite them when Arteta’s young players ran out of steam in the home straight of the title race and handed the crown to Manchester City.
Now Arteta is adamant that is not going to make the same mistake again after signing Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya to provide genuine competition for every position in his team.
Ahead of today’s big kick-off at home to Nottingham Forest, Arteta said: “We want to use the squad in a different way this season, especially as we’ll also be playing in the Champions League.
“Last season we made a decision to rest certain players for the Europa League so this season you’re certainly going to see a shift in approach.”
Gunners ‘value Inter target Takehiro at £30m’
Arsenal reportedly want £30million for Takehiro Tomiyasu amid claims Inter Milan are keen on the Japan right-back.
Sport Witness have relayed claims the Gunners are willing to sell Tomiyasu, 24,
The 24-year-old’s versatility is regarded as an asset by Emirates boss Mikel Arteta.
But new defender Jurrien Timber has that in abundance.
And last season Ben White showed he too has that asset as he was converted from central defence to right-back – replacing Tomiyasu.
Spurs linked with shock Balogun bid
Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun is rated a surprise option to replace legend Harry Kane at Tottenham.
Gazzetta dello Sport claim Spurs have joined Monaco, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan in monitoring the USA striker.
Monaco are already thought to have agreed personal terms for the 22-year-old.
And only yesterday it was also suggested the former England Under-21 star was keen to move abroad.
That followed links with West Ham early in the summer.
But tonight it’s suggested he’s on Tottenham’s list of attacking alternatives.
And if Spurs do show interest, that might be another matter for the New York-born starlet, who was a massive hit on loan for Reims last season.
Having said that, there aren’t many more daunting jobs than succeeding Bayern Munich-bound Kane.