Happy 4th of July, Jesus Signs, other thoughts
Just a quick check in on this holiday. I am enjoying a mini-vacation but there is still some exciting news that I can't help but comment on.
First Arsenal have officially announced the signing of Gabriel Jesus. I have written a bunch about Jesus already so I don't have too much new to say today. I did for Arseblog write up his stats for by the numbers column:
My take remains that I am very excited for this player.
Among the players that Arsenal were linked with for striker I think he has the highest floor, the plus of already playing in the Premier League, already familiar with Mikel Arteta, and being asked to play a similar type role (just as a more important piece) makes me feel that that this is something that has a low chance of blowing up.
I do think that there is still some upside in this deal as well. Not as much as when a team signs a player who is 22 years old but Jesus will still go from being one of many options in attack to one of the most important options. I think that there is potential in his numbers that he could push into the 20 League goal range (although I still think 13-16 non-penalty goals is more realistic right now).
Eriksen to United
Manchester United's transfer plan seems to be very Ajax adjacent right now. I think that is a reflection of a team without a strong technical lead and depending on players that the manager is familiar with.
Eriksen is certainly not a bad player but he is a player that looked to past his peak and moving more into a player that is a role player. He performed very well at Brentford but I think that was something that ended up being a perfect fit where he was the guy playing in midfield but didn't have the defensive duties with two other midfielders and three centerbacks behind him.
I don't know that he will have that same system difference at United and that being able to have a true free role to make passes is not something that happens too often in the Premier League any more.
This will probably be a good financial deal for Eriksen but I don't know how a three year deal will work for United. It really seems like one that is going to have lots of downsides but I guess that depends on the expectations for him.
Vacation fun
I haven't been to Utah in eight years and it is nice to be back. Things have changed quite a bit, at the grocery store you can buy things closer to real beer (up to 5% ABV) and I really enjoyed the day in Park City. If you are there the Alpine slide is a lot of fun and the roller coaster is pretty fun too but it was not worth the hour wait that came with it.
That's enough for me today, off to enjoy America's birthday with a barbeque and some fireworks.