Magic hat

If Arsenal actually want Rodrygo and he has no fitness/health issues that could put the investment at risk, I am very confident that they would go to £300kpw.

The club’s attitude to paying Kai demonstrates that.

Different players have different structures. They don’t all have the same base and then same bonuses on top.

Saka was on £70kpw and his agent was pushing for x4 his wage. Those are hard deals to do.

They compromised on a 4-yr rather than 5-yr deal with heavy incentives.

Many have minimal bonuses

He is. With bonuses, he is closer to £300kpw right now.

Agents literally show up knowing what their clients could be paid in the market with detailed, structured proposals. And clubs do the same.

Clubs don’t tend to factor that in anymore. Ego driven negotiations haven’t been a thing for a while. It’s all done on market benchmarking or sometimes strategic valuation (as KdB did).

It’s why after their renewals, it’s likely that Ethan and Myles will be on higher wages than Timber or Calafiori.

Two main reasons are:

1) Difference in club levels being moved (West Ham to Arsenal vs Chelsea to Arsenal compared with Madrid to Arsenal)

2) Difference in salary % bump (Declan was on under £80kpw pre move and almost never does anyone more than triple their salary with a move)

Kai is the better baseline.

I am.

£275kpw would have been my expectation on his contract. £300kpw is very bridgeable with structure.

This is starting to feel like a ploy actually aimed at Nico’s camp - encouraging them to back down on their (absurd) wage demands.

I still don’t know what your point is

?

Arsenal have conceded fewer goals from open play than any other team this season in the Premier League.

15 Arsenal
23 Liverpool
25 Bournemouth
27 Chelsea
29 Man Utd

#ARSCRY

2025 feels like a good year to win the UCL.

I did

📌

⚽️🇦🇪 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗨𝗔𝗘 There’s a story today that an amendment has been proposed to the Football Regulator bill (currently going through the House of Lords) which would ban state-ownership of football clubs.

⚽️🇦🇪 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗔𝗘

Story can be found for free in my substack, here:

open.substack.com/pub/themagic...

The Christian way of throwing shade?

I soothed my pain with copious amounts of red wine and le roast boeuf the day after.

2025 feels like a good year to win the UCL.

Just noticed you’re barely using it! No wonder I have been missing my digest of Arsenal facts.

Brave enough to put that on twitter too? 😂

⚽️⚖️ 𝗣𝗟 𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝟭𝟯𝟬 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 📊 People asked for an explainer on this document, so here it is!

⚽️⚖️ 𝗣𝗟 𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝟭𝟯𝟬 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 📊

An explainer of some of the evidence against Man City.

open.substack.com/pub/themagic...

Well… you may have blinked and missed it but Arsenal fans certainly did not.

It felt like a lifetime.

Anyone else excited for a couple of seasons of Arsenal v Liverpool for the title?

After 35 years, I am!

Odegaard

Haha.

Yes.

Odegaard for creativity through the middle and RHS.

Timber for creativity on RHS linking with Saka and Odegaard given White has had a bad knee.

Calafiori to resolve the dysfunction on LHS and bring creativity there.

Why do you think Arteta keeps buying fullbacks?

Thanks.
Doubt they’ve been told anything.
Suspect it is playing on their mind regardless.

The below was mostly without Ø, Timber at RB, Calafiori at LB.

The 3 keys to our creativity.

All 3 come back in and Arsenal go wallop the most in-form team in Europe 5-1 away from home.

It’s good Liverpool got a big headstart. It will make the league more interesting.

Credit @markstats.club

A significant portion, yes.
And they will be. Evidence too overwhelming for the majority of the charges not to be sustained.

Welcome. And you are correct. They cannot appeal to CAS.

They could appeal to another PL Indep Appeal Commission and almost certainly will.

After that, there is very little grounds for an appeal. Would most likely only work with a Judicial Review which is rare and unlikely.