Latest Arsenal news takes a look at how Matt Turner’s sale and the imminent signing of David Raya will affect Mikel Arteta with regard to finalising his Premier League squad.
In confirming Matt Turner’s move to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal have moved one step closer to completing somewhat of a transfer masterstroke.
The USMNT goalkeeperhas become the fifth senior player to leave the Gunners permanently this summer- after Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari, Granit Xhaka and Auston Trusty – with his switch to the City Groundset to put him in contention to make his Premier League debut this weekєɴԀat the Emirates Stadium ironically.
DespiteArsenal’spriority being a continuation of trimming the first-team squad before the transfer window closes in three week’s time, they are set to replace Turner immediatelyhaving reached an agreement with Brentford to sign David Rayafor a fee believed to be worth around £30million including add ons.
Moving for the Spain international, especially with Aaron Ramsdale considered the number one goalkeeping option has caught many supporters by surprise, although as explained byMikel Arteta, the key to the Gunners being the best they can be is by having competition for places across the entire squad.
“The competition always exists whoever it is,”the Spaniard said after Sunday’s Community Shield win over Manchester City. “That’s how it has to feel like.It has to feel like this and if it doesn’t feel like this we’re not gonna get the best out of each player. So we’d better feel like this and make sure we all feel like this. Me first.”
With that said, whilst Raya’s presence gives Arsenal great depth in the goalkeeping department, there’s another significant upside to his arrival as having been registered at Blackburn Rovers – a club affiliated to The Football Association – for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the єɴԀ of the season during which he turns 21), he counts as a homegrown player in a 25-man Premier League squad.
Crucially, Turner did not and with the Gunners only allowed to name a maximum of 17 overseas players in the squad, the fact they are currently over the limit by two requires more movement in this department and letting the USMNT goalkeeper depart goes a long way to avoiding a registration issue.
Furthermore, this particular sale along withCedric Soares, Nicolas Pepe, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Runar Alex Runarsson all leaving, as expected, one way or another before deadline day would bring the number of overseas players in the squad down to 14.
Although once Raya joins Arsenal he will become one of 13 senior players considered homegrown alongside the likes of Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice which means to adhere toPremier League rules of a 25-man squadtwo further Ԁєɑłs must be completed with Arthur Okonkwo and Folarin Balogun among those likely to make way.
