Not the best news day, I’m afraid. Nothing hair-losingly bad, but nothing particularly nice either.

Mario, you’ve broken my heart

Mario Gotze. Hero of Dortmund. With them since age eight. Would only leave them for an incredible offer, to play abroad with a team that would suit his talents. Arsenal have been linked for years, and his release clause is active. Surely not...?

Indeed. Surely not. It was announced today that Mario Gotze will join Bayern Munich in July. It’s an absolutely stunning transfer for all number of reasons.

First of all, it was largely expected that he would only leave Dortmund for the likes of Real or Barca.

Secondly, the timing is rather unfortunate, with Dortmund playing tomorrow.

Thirdly, Dortmund are one of Europe’s premier sides. Yet here they are, being forced to sell their best player to a rival. There’s little chance of anyone opposing Bayern in the foreseeable future, and Dortmund will struggle to replace him adequately in any way.

What this does teach us, is that while Arsenal are constantly maligned for selling to rivals and losing our best players, it happens to sides that are often compared favourably to the Gunners. Player power is king, and with FFP coming in sides with greater commercial clout will rule the roost. So really, the only way to succeed, is to get those sponsorship deals done.

In other news, this makes Jurgen Klopp an infinitely more favourable candidate for Stan Kroenke, when Arsene does eventually step down. Having to deal with the loss of his best player? It’s like he was made for the job.

Jack’s (not terribly) cracked

It looks like Jack Wilshere could be in for another operation this summer. The ankle pin he had inserted is beginning to give him pain and it needs to be replaced. It shouldn’t be a huge issue, but it’s something to watch out for. His performances since returning haven’t been great, and this could be why.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain explained the situation:

“The news is it’s not too bad, he’s just getting a bit of pain in his ankle from a few screws.

“If you bounce back from what he did you can bounce back from anything.”

So don’t panic just yet. And hey, if he is out for an extended period, Arsenal can just buy Toni Kroos from Bayern. Not like they need him now.

Giroud

In other news, Olivier Giroud has A. Been awarded Arsenal’s second goal against Norwich, and B. will have to serve a three match ban (Man Utd, QPR and Wigan).

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