Arsenal Column: deadline for the expected deadline, imminent announcement, reflection on Isak-Liverpool, and more

Lively date deadline for Arsenal

The deadline in Arsenal should be fairly busy.

Piero Hincie arrived yesterday and this agreement should be concluded and announced a little later, provided that there is no late hiccups of course.

And that means that Jakub Kiwior will end his move to Porto.

But there will be other current cases, centered on expenses.

You never want to exclude things because we all know that something can happen on the day of the deadline, but I would be very surprised if there were other entries apart from Hincie.

But there should be outings, Sambi Lokonga should finish a move to Hamburg and people like Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Oleksandr Zinchenko potentially also going out.

Arsenal worked to conclude agreements for all these players throughout the summer, Fulham and Palace both had interviews on Nelson and Vieira attracting the interest of several Bundesliga teams. West Ham would also be looking for the former Porto man.

It should therefore be a last full day in Arsenal, which will be in accordance with the way in the summer took place as a whole.

Mikel Arteta’s tactics against Liverpool did not work – it was a missed opportunity for Arsenal

I can understand part of the frustration that followed the narrow defeat from Arsenal to Liverpool on Sunday.

But that said, I think the story that seemed to be pushed even though the game was held was largely of the brand.

I do not believe a second that Arsenal went to Anfield just in search of “not to lose” while Gary Neville and the rest of the Sky Sports team seemed determined to make us believe.

They went to win and Mikel Arteta chose a team which, according to him, could do it, but it simply did not work.

It was a really tight match between two teams that canceled themselves. I don’t really understand how Arsenal was just looking for a draw. If this can be leveled against them, it must also be leveled against Liverpool.

They were the local team, it was the champions, but it was Arsenal who finished the match with the highest XG, more shots, more passes in the last third and more touches in the opposition box.

I’m not saying they deserved to win. It was just a game that had 0-0 drying written everywhere until Dominik Szoboszlai intensifies and produced a moment of magic that changed the balance of power in the direction of Liverpool.

It was an incredible piece of individual competence and sometimes you just have to hold your hand and say well done.

Now, after saying all this, I can see why some arsenal fans are frustrated because I was also when I saw the departure XI.

I had the feeling all week that Artata would start Mikel Merino in the absence of Martin Odegaard, but I really hoped that he was going to take the other route and follow a more attacker configuration.

I know that Artata considers Merino as an attack option and he underlined this after the match when he questioned his selection, but a midfielder three of him, Rice and Zubimenddi simply did not have this spark and this imagination.

Arteta took the conservative road when he had other options and it was a little disappointing because I really felt that he had the opportunity to show that he was ready to really play this season.

Maybe he thought he was too early to start with Ebelechi Eze and he obviously knows much more than me. But with the force of the defense of Arsenal and with Zubimendi and Rice in front of them, I felt that the protection was there to release the new signature of Arsenal and try to take the game in Liverpool.

And if not Eze, then Ethan Nwaneri, who was excellent against Leeds the previous weekend.

Obviously, we do not know how things could have happened if Arteta had done something like that, but I am quite confident that it would have given the defense of Liverpool much more to think – especially in this first half when Arsenal had so much control.

But in the end, Noni Madueke was the only player to have led a real threat to visitors.

The result is far from the end of the world for Arsenal and if Szoboszlai had not scored this incredible free kick, so I would be seated here by saying that it was a fantastic point for the side of Arteta.

But the goals shape the way a game is perceived and, ultimately, it was Liverpool who obtained one. For Arsenal, it really looks like a missed opportunity.

What Alexander Isak in Liverpool means for the title race

Alexander Isak is obviously a sensational signature for Liverpool.

The best attack team of the League has undoubtedly landed the best striker in the League, which is clearly worrying for all those who try to dethrone them.

Liverpool was favorite before signing Isak, so now most will believe that a second successive title is almost certain. But I don’t see it as fatality.

Arsenal can always win the League. They had an excellent window and they built a team that, I honestly think of being as strong as everything I have ever seen before in northern London.

So they just have to focus on themselves. Sunday was a setback, but it was not a hit with direct elimination. They must fall back and leave because there are more huge games to come just after the international break.

The main thing is to keep players in good shape. The injuries killed Arsenal’s chances last season and we already see them having a major impact this time.

If Arsenal had had Bukayo Saka and Kia Havertz available in Anfield and Martin Odegaard to start, I’m almost sure that the result would have been different. They also lost William Saliba in five minutes.

These absences are really worrying. It looks like a continuation of last season and if that remains the case, I see no way that they are able to keep the pace with Liverpool.

Emiliano Martinez at Manchester United is not a surprise

It doesn’t really surprise me to see Emi Martinez looking for a move to Manchester United.

He has always been a player with the ambition to achieve the biggest things or to play in the biggest clubs and although United can be a little in disorder for the moment, they remain a juggernaut of a club in the sense of football.

I remember sitting down and interviewing Martinez when he was ready to reading before he did his breakthrough and even then, you could say that he was a player with an unshakable belief in his abilities.

Things hadn’t really happened for him yet, but he always talked like someone who knew they would. I could just feel the desire to go to the top.

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Am I surprised that he did what he has in the game since then? Of course, I am. The way in which his career trajectory took place since he was thrown into the side of the arsenal due to Bernd Leno’s injury was remarkable.

But good things come to people who really believe in themselves and he has never hidden his desire to reach the top of the game.

He fought there and if this move to United happens, he will see it like another big step forward in his career.