Firmino to Arsenal, Neves to Man Utd: Ideal moves for Saudi’s former Premier League stars
Arsenal’s links to Roberto Firmino, currently plying his trade at Al-Ahli, has got us wondering about the ideal destinations for other former Premier League players now playing out in Saudi Arabia….
Roberto Firmino – Arsenal
Oh go on then, let’s indulge it. Arsenal need a centre-forward, but ideally one who knows how to platform a left-footed right winger, and probably only really as a squad option rather than as a first choice.
So…why not Firmino? His game was always more built on intelligent movement than blistering pace, and at 33 he may just have another decent season or two left in him. Besides, Arsenal’s squad is not otherwise filled with wizened old veterans; they could bear to add one.
Firmino’s final season at Liverpool, in 2022/23, was one of his most productive: he got 11 goals in (handily) 25 Premier League games, which is more than any Arsenal players currently boast. You would have to imagine there are other options out there for a club of their ambitions, but it actually doesn’t seem mad as a back-up option.
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Ruben Neves – Manchester United
The problem with any of the younger players on this list, like 27-year-old former Wolves midfielder Neves, is that you really have to question their levels of professional ambition.
But players who are willing to waste their prime years on a lost cause for lots of money is extremely Manchester United 2025, so this feels like the ideal fit.
Being a million times better than Casemiro definitely helps too, and then of course there’s the Portuguese connections with Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Amorim…it almost works too nicely.
Ivan Toney – West Ham
Clearly absolutely made up with his move to Saudi Arabia after years of being linked with Big Six clubs, Toney would surely need to lower his sights if he were to make a return to the Premier League.
At 28 years old, the striker should still have plenty of good years left in him, which might attract someone to make him their marquee centre-forward signing, rather than limiting him to a squad place. And if he gets the move right, it would be to a club who would treat him as a big deal hero signing, so desperate are they to get a proven goalscorer into the side.
That’s all West Ham, then, isn’t it…the long-standing natural home for players who are not quite as good as it was once thought they might turn out to be.
Chris Smalling – Everton
In all honesty, we initially had Toney down for Everton, because they need a striker more badly than perhaps anyone and have new owners who would presumably welcome the chance to make a splashy signing in their first summer in control.
And then we spied Smalling on the list of Saudi exports and thought…yes, a 35-year-old former Manchester United player feels extremely David Moyes’ Everton. Like Phil Jagielka and Phil Neville rolled into one.
Fabinho – Tottenham
He’s only 31, you know. Yeah, seriously. And no, not 32 until October either. We know.
Liverpool were willing to let Fabinho go for good reason; his performances had become a bit erratic, he had stopped chipping in with goals, and also they were offered forty million actual pounds for his services.
But you’d think the Brazilian would still be able to do a job somewhere, and his experience and quality on the ball would make him an attractive prospect even as his legs inevitably start to go.
Aleksandar Mitrovic – Southampton
Part of Southampton’s problem – and we stress ‘part’, because basically everything they do is a problem – is they just feel a bit…nice. Here’s their antidote to that.
The yo-yo club striker par excellence, Mitrovic has made a career out of being a virtual guarantee of Championship goals for a newly-relegated side bouncing straight back into the top flight, while still being decent enough to keep his place and contribute upon arriving back in the Premier League.
Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? And he’s still incredibly only 30.
Renan Lodi – Fulham
We had to be reminded that the Brazilian left-back actually had a Premier League spell and did a pretty good job for an otherwise mostly rubbish Nottingham Forest side, on loan from Atletico Madrid.
If Antonee Robinson gets a big move, Fulham could do a lot worse than a player one year younger who already has Premier League and Champions League experience.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United
lol imagine though.
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