The Arsenal Chronicle
Market13 Jan 2031
The unthinkable, invoiced: Valentín Serrano sold
Zalgiris arrived with $3.0M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Boardroom13 Jan 2031
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Arsenal
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market13 Jan 2031
Tomás Rodríguez asks to leave Arsenal
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom13 Jan 2031
The numbers do not look good at Arsenal
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The terraces13 Jan 2031
Arsenal sell a favourite for $3.0M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Valentín Serrano was one of the reasons people came, and $3.0M does not replace that by itself.
Market13 Jan 2031
Arsenal turn down Morón for Kakha Gamsakhurdia
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Tempers go at Arsenal
Luis Castillo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Camilo Ramirez pulls a muscle — 14 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Tomás Rodríguez asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
In brief
- Market The clock does Luis Castillo’s negotiating for him
- Squad Julián Vila loses a friend at Arsenal