Here is your Arsenal morning digest for Monday, May 4.
Pepe deal requires ‘up to six players’ to be sold
Arsenal stretched their finances to the maximum when they signed Nicolas Pepe for a club-record £72m last summer.
The deal was a surprise to many, given the reported restricted finances the club was attempting to work under. But Arsenal managed to complete the transfer, including five instalments over Pepe’s five-year contract.
However, according to Bleacher Report, Arsenal may now have to sell to fund the move.
“Arsenal actually ended up agreeing a £72m deal and spread payments out across the duration of a five-year contract,” the report said. “I believe they will feel the strain of that deal in these difficult times. We have already seen that they are having to ask players to take pay cuts, and I'm told up to six players are going to be sold this summer.”
It now appears Arsenal will be offloading several players in an attempt to balance the books as a result of the Pepe move.
Szczesny explains Ramsey goal reaction
Aaron Ramsey has scored many significant goals for Arsenal. Two FA Cup final winners, including breaking a near-decade-long trophy drought in extra-time against Hull City upon a triumphant return from injury, a winner over Manchester United, a beautiful heel flick versus CSKA Moscow. There are many to choose from.
But of all the brilliant and important goals he has scored, when asked for his favourite, he did not hesitate to answer.
“That was my best goal,” Ramsey said when discussing his wild strike versus Olympiakos in 2014. “Have a look at Wojciech’s reaction.”
Ramsey was speaking to Foot Truck alongside Wojciech Szczesny, who recalled his perspective of the moment.
“We had a corner kick,” Szczesny explained. “The ball’s come out and he’s like the last man. He doesn’t want to counter-attack so he tries to clear it with his left foot and it just goes in the top corner. The video from behind, he shoots and it goes in the top corner with his left foot and I’m like ‘what?’
“It shows how much confidence I have in you!”
Squeaky-clean Saliba’s special statistic
After the 2019/20 Ligue 1 campaign was declared finished, William Saliba will finally arrive at parent club Arsenal following his loan spell at Saint-Etienne. And there is growing excitement that the Gunners might have unearthed a special talent.
The latest statistic that suggests Saliba might be an elite central defensive prospect comes from Opta, via Squawka.
It says that Saliba is the only outfield player in Europe to have played more than 900 minutes and not committed a single foul from his attempted challenges.
Saliba averaged 2.36 tackles per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 and helped St. Etienne narrowly avoid relegation.
He will arrive at Arsenal with much fanfare, but given his talent and performances, he might just live up to the hype. Full story here.
