DEAL COMPLETE: Arsenal has confirmed the signing of a superstar for £90 million. The player has signed a contract until 2030, and the medical check will take place tomorrow morning. Joyful to Arsenal fans!
Arsenal have been busy on the transfer front over the past couple of weeks, making several big signings with more on the way.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard have all joined, while Noni Madueke is on his way to Arsenal and Viktor Gyokeres is a key target.
However, Arsenal have also made some changes off the pitch in the wake of coach Carlos Cuesta taking the manager’s job at Italian side Parma.
Cuesta’s replacement is a coach who enjoyed a fruitful playing career and was even signed by Sir Alex Ferguson, who deemed him so ruthless he would “kick his own granny”.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s backhanded Gabriel Heinze compliment
The coach in question is Gabriel Heinze, who has joined Arsenal after managerial stints in his native Argentina and in the United States.
Heinze will be well known to fans who remember the Premier League in the 2000s, as he played for Manchester United between 2004 and 2007.
The Argentine joined Man United from Paris Saint-Germain for around £7million, and he played for the Red Devils 83 times.
“Ruthless, would kick his own granny,” Ferguson said of Heinze in his autobiography, as per talkSPORT.
Heinze’s time at Man United ended somewhat acrimoniously, joining Real Madrid after allegedly trying to force through a move to Liverpool.
What Gabriel Heinze is like as a coach
Arsenal fans will be especially eager to know what Heinze is like as a coach now he has linked up with Arteta’s coaching team.
Juani Carducci, a journalist who covers Heinze’s former club Newell’s Old Boys, told the Daily Mail that Heinze is very passionate and obsessive.
“Arsenal will be getting a coach who is extremely passionate about his work, dedicating a significant portion of his day to the team,” he said.
“He’s also very obsessive, which can be a double-edged sword.
“He likes his teams to control possession, recover the ball quickly after losing it, and he’s a big believer in intense play and one-on-one duels on the wings. His tactical formation is always a 4-3-3.”
Carducci also said: “Heinze is known to be a very stubborn and uncompromising coach, with little self-criticism. He always believes he’s right and is tenacious in his convictions.
“He also has a history of clashing with journalists, having had issues with the press at every club he’s managed.”
However, Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister is a big fan of Heinze, saying he “learned a lot” from the former Man United man.
It looks as though it’ll be an interesting ride with Heinze in the Arsenal coaching setup.
