According to RAC1, Arsenal are in negotiations with Barcelona over the transfer of midfielder Andre Gomes, but as yet there is no agreement between the two sides.
For those wondering about the source of the story, it is a Barcelona based Catalan language radio station which, while no guarantee of accuracy, positions them well for stories involving the La Liga champions [Catalan language link].
The report suggest that the player is keen on the destination but that the Gunners are unwilling to meet the €30m asking price.
It’s the latest in a series of rumours involving the Portuguese international and a move to North London. They’ve been rumbling throughout the summer and we have a couple of theories:
1 – It’s an agent trying to drive interest in a player who Barcelona want to get rid of.
2 – Arsenal know that if Aaron Ramsey doesn’t sign a new deal, they have a big decision to make and rather than let him see out the final year of his contract they’d have to cash in and replace him. Gomes would fit the bill in that regard.
Would Barcelona themselves be interested? Could we see a swap + cash deal, bearing in mind that we don’t have a strong position with the Welshman we may find our options limited – particularly as the transfer window closes before the start of the new season and time is running out.
Let’s see how this plays out.
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h/t @MrArsenicTM
Wasn’t Gomes supposedly part of the deal to send Kante to Barcelona?
This feels to me like the times in Fm when my shopping is done but then suddenly I see a 3-4 star player listed for a bargain price that I don’t really need but also can’t pass the delicious opportunity either.
Anyway,only absolute faith from me regarding the decisions being made by coach and the trio for now.Looks like they have a plan and if they think we need him,fair enough.Proof will be in the pudding come the end of the season.
So how many poos on this one? And how about Kingsley Coman story?
The Coman one is diarrhea. Not the player but the chances of us getting him
Swap would be a nightmare. We love Rambo, essential player.
This guy is nowhere near Ramsey’s quality. The idea of him as a replacement is laughable.
for sure – but if he won’t sign a new contract then we have to sell him in this window. we can’t let him walk away for free.
Ramsey and Ozil do not fit into our first 11 together. Sell Ramsey, buy a lethal winger and NZonzi. We would have a very destructive midfield in Torreira and NZonzi and would have AMN and Xhaka as rotation option for when the game requires a different kind of player with Elneny able to cover injuries. Iwobi has the attributes to develop into a number 8 as does our new French signing. The creative responsibilities should fall on Ozil and Miki. And if we invested in a top winger then we would rely less on Ramsey for goals. Emery has publicly… Read more »
This signing makes no sense to me unless there is something going on with Ramsey.
I think a wide player should be at the top of any transfer wish at this point. We lack natural wingers in the squad.
“I think a wide player should be at the top of any transfer wish at this point”. For me, that would be another central defender.
Sokratis is good, but I do not trust him and Mustafiz paired together, unless Unai Emery brings in new tactical details that would affect our defensive mindset as a whole team. Otherwise, another proven central defender is needed. And Mavropanos, Chambers and Holding developing in tandem as solid future prospects.
*Mustafi. I do have a friend named Mustafiz. Guess it got auto-corrected.
Any chance of playing Bellerin further forward with Lichsteiner / Kolasinac at RB?
ive got a feeling this is more the former than the latter.
Not sure I want.
I think guys just see the Barcelona label and assume “well he must be decent”.
That amount of money for Gomes, I’d rather just give the opportunity internally tbh.
So true. I think we should be looking for one more World class signing to boost our confidence level heading into the new season. I think that could prove to be a huge difference in our fight for top four.
Why any world class want to join 6th place europa league club? Maybe when we prove ourselves…
I think in Spain he’s been regarded as a total failure at Barca. I think it’s extremely harsh on him. I watch most Barca games and the few appearances he’s made he hasn’t been awful. He looked a bit nervous, but was probably the result of wanting so badly to impress. He’s technically gifted and forward thinking, but I agree. Would much rather give AMN/Jeff/Willock the games. Provided we don’t sell Rambo!
Barcelona is very hard on non Catalan players. I went to a game when rakitic was breaking into the squad and they boo’d him every time he touched the ball. I asked the man sitting beside me why and they referred to him a a terrible transfer and a flop as well. I think they may like him now though.
It is kind of pathetic the completely absurd standards they hold new players to. Dembele, who most fan bases would welcome with open arms and give him a chance to mature as a player, has been labeled a bust by some. The kid is 21! They’ll say “oh, he just doesn’t get it”. They were saying that about Coutinho and Neymar and Suarez as well. “They don’t get the Barca Way™”. It’s absolute nonsense. I do love Barca’s style of play and of course Messi, but their snobbishness is getting very old very fast.
The way the club treated Cesc, after all the garbage about his DNA, shocked me the most.
How many midfielders do we want?
Well even though one wasn’t playing, we let two go in Jack and Santi, and if A-A-Ron wants to go sit on Barca’s bench ( I hope that’s not the case) then we need another box-to-box of good quality that’s ready to go unless we’re sure Elneny, AMN, Guendoozie or the Jeff are really ready for full time starting action. This is especially true if Mkhitaryan and Ozil are considered wingers / forwards/ #10’s. A-A-Ron is a big hole left if he were to leave.
Can’t see it being the Jeff as he isn’t off to Singapore with the squad.
A-A Ron…love that skit! Think that substitute teacher would have a fit if he had to pronounce some of our guys names.
I agree he is a big hole if he wants to leave.
Don’t go, Rambo!
So we’d have to fill the A-A-hole?
Soooo we let our own Wilshere go because we can’t give him the desired amount of minutes but we’ll now go and spend tens of millions of pounds to get a Barcelona flop who plays in the same position?
I don’t get it, even though our midfield is painfully average if Ramsey does leave (we should’ve kept Wilshere in that case, surely).
You seem to forget it was Wilshere’s decision to leave. He was offered a new contract.
Of course, at the end of the day it’s always player’s decision, isn’t it? But if we now feel the need to splash the cash for another similar midfielder, there’s no way we couldn’t have kept Wilshere. Especially if Ramsey leavey – I’m going to be super disappointed in our club if we manage to lose 2 of the most “Arsenal” players in a month. Our central midfield options now are: Torreira, who is young, unproven in the Premier league, probably doesn’t speak the language, but surely exciting talent and what we needed for a long time; Xhaka, who bar… Read more »
You keep saying we let Wilshere go when we didn’t. He was told his time would be limited and he left. I don’t get what part people don’t understand.
My point was that a) if we now feel the need for another midfielder, we could have offered Wilshere more playing time (instead of paying 30M for a Barcelona flop). And b), if a) is not the case, and we’re looking at him as a potential replacement for Ramsey, then we should first do everything in our power to extend his contract, because we can’t afford to lose him as well.
No thank you. Guaranteed playing time regardless of whether the player was on form or fit the game plan is what we’re moving on from. No more of that for me please! Emery seemingly has a picture of what he’s putting together. It the very least it seems much clearer than it had the past 5 years. No more ‘we’ve got another one of these, so, I guess we just mash it into that hole’. Jack was not going to displace Ozil, Mikhitaryan, or Ramsey easily, and his performances last season didn’t suggest otherwise. Xhaka was putting up better numbers… Read more »
Your dismissal of Xhaka is laughable. Yes he has a great passing range which is a great strength even though you gloss over it. He will be a revelation playing in his true position as a deep lying midfielder now that we have a genuine DM IN Torreira. Elneny is far more versatile than you give him credit for. I agree we need to keep Ramsey. I repeat what I said which you seem to ignore Wilshire WAS offered a new contract and turned it down.
…are we talking bout same wilshere who’s always been injured for most part of d season except last season with us? A player whom at 26 yrs of age u have to start managing stylishly in both training n real match situations not knowing if d next turn could leave him out for d rest of d season? I luv wilshere but he’s cost us too much for too long to keep taking a gamble on him every season. We should just try n keep Rambo by all means! Simple.
…n keep depending on a disappointing past decade (injury wise)???
Please no, his time at Barcelona has been an absolute nightmare. We’d have to pick his confidence up off the floor and he wasn’t even that great before his move. He has the same flaws as Ramsey but without the goal threat and vision.
Use that money on a winger instead, even if Rambo is leaving.
Mate you’re saying he wasn’t great before his transfer go and check his time at Valencia he was their best player, and at that time Valencia even placed really high like third or even fourth so what you’re saying makes no sense fam.
I mean he was in the good but not great category. Good engine, positive, capable of silky close control/passing but let down by frequent clumsy touches and poor decision making. He’d always have to go up a level or two at Barca and he didn’t, so he floundered. He was a big talent back then considering his age, but now he’s kind of demonstrated he doesn’t really have it in him to reach that next level and has actually regressed badly. And what’s that about making no sense cos Valencia were finishing top four? As if we never had any… Read more »
Gómez was extremely highly rated when he first signed (for €30m+) but understandably struggled to hold down a regular place in the team and suffered as a result of Valderve’s lack of rotation throughout the season. In a new team with new responsibility and a regular position I think he would come good.
Much rather keep Rambo. Pull out the stops to keep him…he’s hitting his peak years and I don’t want someone else getting his best years.
The way I see it why is Rambo stalling on his contract there’s only 3 weeks till go to the season starts if he doesn’t sign buy the time we play Chelsea in Dublin sell him straight we don’t want another Sanchez on our hands
Whether it’s Rambo or his agent this situation can’t be allowed to drag on. It feels like it was a mistake to let him know how “highly rated” and “essential” he was to Emery’s plans…I don’t play poker but even I realise that may be classified as showing your hand. No one is bigger than the club and personally my affection for a player diminishes pretty quickly if I feel he isn’t committed 100%. I still hold Sanchez personally responsible for our defeat away to Bournemouth because of all his transfer shenanigans.
I kinda feel like Sanchez is a prick now
He was a rancid thorn at Barca too. There’s no ‘Alexis’ in ‘Team’.
Agree…but Rambo also usually misses half the season with muscle strains. Can we really rely on him?
I think he was being over played over the years n that clearly took its toll on d man’s body in d last couple of seasons!
Keep hold of the ball for too long?
Loves a backheel?
Yup, that’s Ramsey’s perfect replacement.
I’d rather have a winger/dribbler than another “complicator” in midfield.
Maybe he can be coached out of that…I mean I’m not that keen on Gomes, particularly as my son and I rarely agree on anything and even he says he rubbish. Clearly we are looking for a Ramsey replacement…as sad as that is.
Why not buy bernard who is available on a free transfer and a natural winger with champions league quality
Because he would suck in the middle. In addition to securing or replacing Ramsey? Sure, why not.
Don’t need him. Even if Ramsey were to leave we should look for a world-class replacement. Why do people think it’s ok to sign mediocre players. Off topic: Liverpool paid for Alisson -just a GK however goodhe is – more than we paid for our entire transfer business. Whether you agree with the price tag or not, they’re showing alot of ambition musch more than Arsenal. A much richer club. with a much higher cash reserve! and in a sort of a slump. Emery does not have a magic wand. When I read How Arsenal are contracting stat and data… Read more »
A cash reserve which Kronke et Al won’t spend. Liverpool have the Coutinho money on top of their normal budget and can offer champions league football.
What we are doing is trying to assemble a squad to get top 4. Once we are back in the champions league we can maybe target better players.
Fans are so quick to forget d initial plan.
(The the the the the the the the the the the the)
I had let it go but it kept coming back in your posts. So, here’s some ‘the’s for you to use next time you feel like using ‘d’. Let me know when you run out.
Be fair, a lot of them spent years not understanding the basic situation. If they didn’t understand that Wenger’s name and our regular place in the CL was what allowed us to sign occasional top players that the big boys in European football didn’t really want, then how can they be expected to understand that now we only have Emery’s reputation and a place in an inferior European competition as the lure to bring in new players. Most of what we’ve done this summer is getting in players who have worked before with the new manager or one or other… Read more »
Liverpool have champions league money. So do start with that yeah if ramsey don’t sign buy the game in Dublin sell him
You call it ambition, I call it desperation. It was either, be stuck with Mignolet and Real Madrids 12th man, or buy a good keeper at an inflated price. Also, it would make our signing of Leno seem like a great buy if he performs as we hope.
Also they might be spending big but they are bluffing with their money, the coutinho cash was spend on van dyke and CL money is only about 30m. Keita cost 53m so they will stop spending soon or will sell someone like salah for cash.
Soon as in this window of the next 2
…n how does over paying for a player equate to showing ambition???
Getting top class players regardless of their price tag does.
Buy the best 11 players in the world today regardless of cost.
Win the CL next May.
Receivership next June.
Good Plan.
I hope this is bullshit
“Reports”
If Ramsey won’t sign a new deal then we do need to sell. However, the lowest I’d go in a swap deal is Ramsey for Gomes plus £30 million and nothing less. We can’t just give our players away especially this one. He was our player of the sesaon last year!
This doesn’t excite me one bit
I normally dont hope for bullshit but this time is
It may seem like a bad move letting Ramsey go, I am emotionally attached to the guy almost more than Wilshere or any other players we let go last season especially. However, for many seasons we have found it hard to solidify a midfield partnership, I think this is largely to do with the likes of Wilshere and Ramsey coming in and out of the team with pretty much a free pass whenever fit, for many years, thus interrupting any partnership that may have been formed in their absence. I somehow feel that if he left as well, it would… Read more »
I’d be happy to see Ramsey go for exactly those reasons. He also slows down the play and is always injured for a good part of the season. If he doesn’t sign when the squad get back from the tour he should be sold, we can’t have another transfer saga, and he’s not good enough to warrant one.
If Ramsey and Wilshere were getting a free ride into the first team whenever they were fit….. somebody must have decided to do that. I wonder who he is? Is he still with Arsenal? Will it happen again if we do keep Ramsey?
New Season. New Manager. New Rules. Didn’t you notice that?
This is true, yet Ramsey has not signed a contract yet, so given the treatment he got used to with “Mr Unknown” maybe he is not willing to settle for any less. I wouldn’t blame him at his age and finally free of injury problems it would seem logical to up and leave to get guaranteed 1st team priority. If will Wilshere did then why wouldn’t Ramsey?
Maybe he’s got more of a chance getting Xhaka out the team if Toreirra gets off to a good start, cos Toreirra can do what Xhaka does and more. Leaving Ramsey free to burst forward more than he could with Xhaka, certainly some healthy competition, just depends on whether he wants that now. He’s kinda hitting his peak years so I dunno…
This Gomes guy is average and Barca would deliver him themselves if we pay more than 30mil..Not better than any of our midfielders.
If Ramsey leaves and that’s a big “IF’ go for Rabiot or Rakitic.. See replace an R with a R.. how hard it is.. having said that I now walk away with my atonement of shame. Seriously though I’d love Rakitic.
Rakitic thinks he’s a top player. Everybody else thinks he’s a top player. Why would he want to go slumming in the Europa League with us? He doesn’t gain anything from a move like that. In fact, by choosing to play in a lesser competition, and for a lesser Club, he will be considered to lack ambition and thus to be a lesser player. Don’t believe me? Look what people (including a shitload of Arsenal fans) think about Ozil nowadays… and we WERE a CL team when he joined us.
Former connection with Emery notwithstanding. I’m sure he thinks he’s got a few years at the top left in him yet.
Where is my post blogs?
It’s directly above this one.
Where is all this Rambo love coming from? An injury prone, technically deficient player that scores occasionally against abject opposition. I actually chuckle hearing some here say he should be made captain.
Surely if he were as good as majority here thinks he is, the big boys will be queuing for his signature especially with just 12 months on his contract.
Ramsey is rank average!; it reflects how far we have fallen for a player such as he is to be holding us to ransom!
Where do you think Ramsey would go? Who would pay for his (i assume fairly hefty fee)? any guesses?
I can’t see us getting any more 1st team players until we’ve sold a few of the unwanted ones. So I’d guess this rumour is agent generated to push up the price or contract terms for the player.
Pissed off. I saw the headline and picture and honestly thought it was Messi .
Don’t do this the my heart arseblog
From what I’ve seen of him at Barcelona I can’t say it would be a good move for us. He looked distinctly average.