Mikel’s magnetism: Arteta’s growing influence on players crucial to Arsenal in Rice deal
It is not too long ago that the Arsenal manager’s influence on incoming transfers resembled a footballing version of knocking your head against a brick wall. In the summer of 2019, their then-head coach Unai Emery was part of an operation that left transfers to the club’s dealbroker — he coached the players, Raul Sanllehi supplied them.
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And so it came to pass that Nicolas Pepe arrived that August for an eye-opening, club record fee of £72million ($94.3m at current exchange rates). Emery had asked for Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace — a right-footed left winger with proven Premier League credentials. He was given Pepe, a left-footed right winger who had never played outside the French league.
Safe to say Arsenal lived and learned.
The chances of something similar happening now at Arsenal are nil. A transfer might not work out, but the thinking behind their signings is at least unified and coherent. A bid for a player that present manager Mikel Arteta is not absolutely central to is hard to envisage. His very specific plans and demands are the oil in the Arsenal transfer machine.
From conception to execution, the manager is heavily involved in doing everything in his power to persuade everyone to run along with him. If a player isn’t absolutely sure, he soon will be. If the club are being pushed beyond financial terms they are comfortable with, they will soon find a way to work on the numbers. He delivers his convictions with a mix of certainty and positive energy that is infectious. Arsenal’s transfer team — with sporting director Edu and director of football operations Richard Garlick taking care of business, and the Kroenkes, the club’s owners, giving the final nod — do the rest.
Someone who calls themselves
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