Three Exciting Signings?

 Kai Havertz is already done and dusted, Julien Timber is not far behind, and it sure looks as though West Ham will accept £100 plus add-ons for Declan Rice.  All three are top quality.  Rice and Havertz are more than adequate replacements for Partey and Xhaka, both 30 years old now, if (as expected) they leave the club.  Timber is an upgrade on Rob Holding.  I'd keep Kieran Tierney, but I don't think he wants to stay; Pepe has to go; Tavares should be worth something; and Balogun should be a hot property across Europe.  We'll still need depth, so there may be another midfield or fullback signing, but then again we have some excellent youth players.  This is the sort of lineup Arteta can look forward to fielding:

Martinelli             Jesus             Saka

Havertz        Odegaard

Rice

Zinchenko   Gabriel      Saliba     White

Ramsdale

Trossard and Nketieh (and Nelson?) can slot in on offense, Tomiyasu, Kiwior, and Timber on defense.  This is a powerful squad.

USMNT Wins CONCACAF Nations League Again, With THREE Gunners on the Pitch

 Matt Turner started, and so did new man Folarin Balogun, who scored a classy goal.  Auston Trusty came on late to cover for an injured player.  The US, playing without Dest and McKennie (red cards in the feisty Mexico match), dominated Canada 2-0.  Gio Reyna got both assists, but had to be replaced at the half due to injury (he does seem to be a mite fragile).  The USMNT has the right age profile and with Balogun may have enough good strikers to score on a regular basis.  A few years ago, I was excited about Gedion Zelalem, then Arsenal's sole American.  But he has never played at the senior national level and is no longer a Gunner.  To have my club team own the rights to the USMNT starting goalkeeper and striker is fantastic.  Trusty, a defender, has had an excellent loan spell (though not as spectacular as Balogun's with Reims).  He was voted Birmingham's player of the year.  Unfortunately, both Trusty and Balogun are likely to be somewhere else in a few months, but you never know.  A sale of Balogun may well include a buy-back or sell-on clause, because he could be a very hot commodity.  The bidding should start at £30M.

DC United is not improving.  The Spirit is top of the league, though.  I really should see them at Audi Field sometime.