RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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When Arsenal finally crested the Premier League summit back in May, they could feel that they had built their squad in an ideal fashion. Over half a decade of significant expense, Mikel Arteta and his employers had built a talented squad of players of a similar age, one which grew together into a force few across Europe could compete with.
If recent Premier League precedent was anything to go by, the next step was straightforward. You win the league, you get younger. That was Liverpool's approach 12 months ago, where, at 25, Alexander Isak was the oldest of a cadre of additions in their early 20s earmarked to succeed Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and eventually Mohamed Salah. More successful reboots along a similar theme have been carried out by Manchester City too. It makes sense. The best time to move out your late prime stars is when they have some championship gleam on them.
Arsenal found themselves in a position where such an approach might have made sense. After several years where Arteta was rolling out some of the youngest XIs in the division, their title-winning season saw him field teams with an average age of 26, right around the midpoint. Prime age performers delivered prime performances.
Suddenly a team that would themselves eventually admit that they just needed to get over the hump of that first title could survey a Premier League landscape primed for them to rule over for several years yet. Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea are all in states of transition on the field and in the dugout. No other team has suggested over an extended spell that their ceiling is title winner.
This looked like a moment for Arsenal to extend their window of serial contention, to consider how a dynasty might extend beyond the late 20s of Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice . In parts of their squad that is exactly what they have done. The scorer of the decisive goal in the Premier League title race, Leandro Trossard, has departed to Besiktas. In place of the 31-year-old comes a forward whose final season in the Belgian Pro League was like a turbocharged version of Trossard's age 23 campaign in the same division. Christos Tzolis , 24, might not be a big name, but he has already made a big impact on his new colleagues, dubbed "Leonidas" by fitness coaches after setting the high watermark in sprint tests among the first group of players to join up for preseason.
Shaving seven years off a position looks like being the exception rather than the rule for Arsenal, whose attempts to deepen their defense to compensate for William Saliba's injury began with interest in free agent John Stones (32) and Ezri Konsa (29 in October), who they value at less than Aston Villa's $80.6 million (£60 million) asking price.
A pedant might argue that in midfield Arsenal are bringing their age profile down with Christian Norgaard (32) set to join Everton , but Bruno Guimaraes is not taking the lockerroom role of the Dane. Instead, the 29-year-old would be vying with Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly for a place alongside Rice in Arteta's engine room. An opening bid understood to be worth under $94 million (£70 million) for Guimaraes was rejected by Newcastle on Monday, but talks between the two parties have continued since, with a club-to-club agreement now understood to be close.
Their patient approach to securing their primary midfield target appears to have paid dividends. When interest was first mooted through third parties earlier in the summer, Newcastle were emphatic that they did not want to lose their club captain in the same summer as Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon. Several weeks later, and direct talks between the two clubs have just begun. It would appear they have done so only since a sense of futility has settled over St. James' Park, where the manager is gone, several targets have already been identified to succeed Guimaraes and fans are demanding a resolution to the saga lest it run to the last hours of the window as the sale of Isak did.
Then there is Vinicius Junior. That he has 12 months of age on his compatriot Gabriel Martinelli seems irrelevant. At any age, if you find yourself in a position to potentially sign the Real Madrid winger, you push your chips into the table and see what the dealer has for you. Arsenal have long viewed the left wing position as a spot in the attack on which to upgrade, and there are several suitors out there for Martinelli. Roma and Juventus are understood to be among a number of Serie A clubs who hold an interest in the 25-year-old, while Fenerbahce are also monitoring events, according to CBS Sports sources. Martinelli, however, will not rush what would be a hugely significant move for a player who has 12 months left on a contract that Arsenal have the option to extend by a year.
The starting spot that he vied with Trossard for would almost certainly be gone, however, if Vinicius did arrive. Arsenal believe they have a strong chance of securing the services of the Brazilian, who is into the final 12 months of his time at Real Madrid, who have intimated that the offer on the table for an extension is the best they can offer. The Gunners would be willing to bend their wage structure and are prepared to do a deal that allows Vinicius to better exploit his image rights than at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ultimately, however, their pitch would only be partially to do with finances. Arsenal can also offer a fresh league and fresh challenge for a player who has won every club prize at Real Madrid, but who has yet to be garlanded with individual accolades and who spent much of last season playing a supporting role behind Kylian Mbappe. If Vinicius wants to win the Ballon d'Or next year then there might be nothing more compelling for his candidacy than leading Arsenal to their first Champions League title while retaining the Premier League.
That speaks to why Arsenal are making moves that feel more in keeping with a team that is still try...
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