It probably highlights the importance of bringing in another more advanced midfielder.
I think we need to ship ESR out asap and bring in an advanced midfielder. I really want Gundogan, but we likely wonāt get him 
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Why would he even want to come here?
Heās completed England multiple times. I would want to spend the remaining years of my career in La Liga or Serie A
Cause London > Manchester ?
Hehe, canāt think of much else lol.
Heās also worked with/under Arteta and thereās the chance to work with Zinny and Jesus again.
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I think people are completely ignoring the fact that the only club that have been concretely linked to him is Barcelona and thatās probably a big reason as to why he hasnāt signed with City yet.
Heās a vital player at City, he isnāt leaving to come to Arsenal heās leaving because a mega club like Barcelona want him and this is his last big contract
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Good Tim Stillman piece on ESR and why he is likely to go. I think he has it exactly right. Supporters like ESR more than the manager ever has.
This part seems critical to me.
I donāt agree that Arteta wasnāt that enamoured by him before. On the contrary, I think Arteta used to really rate the guy. Even before his breakthrough he was grinning from ear to ear when talking about Emile.
Letās not forget in 2021 we told Villa he was untouchable. I even remember some faint Madrid rumours at the time too. That was during our rebuild. If Arteta didnāt count on him we could have easily cashed in on him back then like we did with Willock.
I personally think the issues might be deeper, and Iām putting my tinfoil hat for this, I think if he goes itās likely to do with Arteta having concerns about his body and/or attitude. I donāt think it has to do with quality.
Letās be honest, even before the injuries Emile couldnāt last a full game. Our style of football is extremely taxing on the body. If youāre not fit enough in this team you simply wonāt last. I feel perhaps Arteta might not think he has the body to be a key part here, especially after his injury. I think attitude plays a key part as well, this is just from the outset but Emile strikes as a very laid back guy. Not quite like Ainsley or Sambi but heās in that mold of players who seem to rely much more on their talent than the actual effort they put into this.
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Iāll agree with all that on the fitness side especially.
How does that work out on Viera because he looks weak if not physically less capable in that department.
Yep, I thought I would delve into that as well but didnāt want to make it about Vieira. It is honestly an interesting situation with ESR and Vieira.
Judging from the few things Arteta has said about Fabio, it does sound like he is(or at least was) impressing in training. Mind you, we havenāt actually seen that on the pitch ourselves. There have been glimpses but I think weāre past praising that.
I noted it before but he hasnāt been used ever since Southampton which I find very interesting. Heās the only outfield player not to be involved in the last 4 matches which is strange considering heās usually the guy that used to fill in for Odegaard and Xhaka before. I wonder if Arteta has started having his doubts about him too.
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He clearly rated ESR enough to want to keep him around to see what he developed into. But I think if weāre being brutally honest he has never viewed him in the same way that he did Saka, Odegaard, or Martinelli.
I have never heard Arteta make any kind of borderline negative comment about the mentality of any of those three players or really cast any doubts on their ability to reach the top. Even when Martinelli was hardly playing at all after he returned from his knee injury, Arteta went out of his way to praise him as one of the best players in training and saying his lack of playing time was unfair on the player. Smith-Rowe from the beginning Arteta has openly challenged to be a better professional and prove that he could be a player likely to reach the top, from telling him that he needed to show he could be a professional at Huddersfield to talking about how he needed more end product if he wanted to be an attacking midfielder, to getting him the private chef, to casting doubt on whether he was worthy of the 10 shirt, to all the times this year when he has basically said some version of āWe need him, he needs to prove that he can deliver the right performance level.ā
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but itās Fabio Vieira that Arteta is more willing to give those opportunities to in reality.
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He aināt leaving. Not while heās being groomed for Xhakaās role
But weāre getting both Rice and Caicedo (hopefully), so if heās set to stayā¦ he definitely wonāt be starting/getting much game time unless someoneās injured/cup games.
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Dudeās played like zero minutes. Heās getting the same amount of grooming as a bald guy at a hair salon.
You rang?
If we get a decent bid in for him we sell. Arteta wants to win the league next season not spend time trying to force someone in the team who realistically isnāt the level we need to win the league.
And ESR does not strike me as a player who can do a squad role.
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Set to stay.
https://twitter.com/david_ornstein/status/1663526949887655936?s=46&t=AXaXFdGpC85RzXwk6DBMgA
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Was never in doubt