First of all, I doubt Wenger will ever join Barcelona or Real Madrid as some may have suspected. Those clubs sack managers even after they won them trophies. Wenger likes to BUILD a team, he also likes to have his team playing the kind of football he wants them to play. In short, he needs the freedom to run the whole show. Not in his life time either Barcelona or Real Madrid will be able to offer him such a luxury.
Those Spanish giants’ club Presidents were voted by fans. The easiest way to win votes is to promise fans big name signings. In short, the presidents of those clubs will always have a say on the TEAM affairs. Wenger is too intelligent a man to not to aware of that. And I do not believe he will ever enjoy working under such a circumstance.
The press, the media, ever straight-forward thinking, all had ASSUMED that David Dein’s departure would lead to Wenger’s departure as well. Let’s look at it the other way around - after the departure of Dein, Wenger now even has the power to name a new Director of Football. Whoever he’s going to hire, the man will be working UNDER Wenger. Though I am not 100% clear how things work behind the scene, still, logically speaking, you don’t HIRE YOUR BOSS right?!
So the way I see it, Arsene Wenger now has more power inside his club than any other Premiership managers ever had with their own. Just look at how things go at Chelsea, now I expect a season of power struggle behind the close door between Grant and Mourinho ahead.
Instead of predicting he will leave, I believe Wenger, in fact, will enjoy more with his new role now that he’s the one who runs the whole show.
Another thing is - Look at the “kids” he had collected over the years. I don’t mean Fabregas, Djourou, van Persie, Eboue the likes, I mean those talented youngsters who had yet to make Arsenal debut. The second generation of kids. Bendtner had already scored twice for Denmark. Carlos Vela had 8 goals and over 20 assists with Salamanca (where he’s on-loan from Arsenal) last season. And that exciting young midfielder Merida.
It just doesn’t make much sense when a manager had endured so much flaks from the critics (that you can’t win nothing with kids), and had spent so much effort recruiting such talented bunch of youngsters, definitely the most talented bunch in the Premiership, then he leaves? And letting the successor to enjoy the fruit of all the hardwork he had put in?
If William Hill got the odds, I would put my money on Wenger to STAY.
July 13th, 2007 at 8:06 am
The only place Wenger is going is up in one of those luxury boxes at The Emirates when he steps down from managing to enjoy the fruit of the seeds he’s planted.
He’s worked hard to get Arsenal where they are. Look at how far we’ve come in the past ten years. This is his club. He will enjoy being a living legend right here at the Emirates.
July 13th, 2007 at 8:50 am
I definitely agree that Wenger is going nowhere and judging from Cesc’s comments today he also does not think Wenger is going anywhere. I think it is now clear since Cesc said that he would stay as long as Wenger stayed and that after discussing with Wenger, he is convinced Wenger is staying put and thus he has also committed to stay as well. My guess is he probably received the reassurance from Wenger that Henry claims to have asked for and didnt get. Gotta love Cesc comment!!
Its not not over yet!! Come on ya Gunners!
July 13th, 2007 at 9:39 am
It’s kind of funny when Alex Ferguson says that Arsenal are better off without Henry.
About Cesc, what are these “talks” with Real Madrid???
Oh, and yes, Wenger is going nowhere.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I think the only job that MIGHT entice him is the England job.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I don’t think Wenger would like International football and he wouldn’t be very good at it either. He likes developing players and would probably get frustrated stuck with an England team who can’t even retain the ball for 30 seconds. Tactically he’s quite poor, so he would struggle to get the best out of such as average team.
I think he will sign a new contract and will move upstairs when he’s had enough and take it easy. He has worked too hard to throw it all away. The only reason I could see him getting pissed off if is someone like Fabregas demanded a move and he felt he just couldn’t hold on to what he is building for the future.
Fabregas obviously had his head turned but Wenger talked him round. Wenger can talk anyone round. The fact that Henry left tells you that Wenger didn’t want to talk him round.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:50 am
PS. The only player he couldn’t talk round was Anelka - but God couldn’t talk him round.
July 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
When I saw what Cesc said about his talk with AW, I stopped worrying about either one of them leaving. Like everything in football, for now.
July 13th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I too don’t see AW will become an international boss. This man eat, drink, sleep football, it would bore him to dead if he has to spend the majority part of the year waiting for the next international fixture to come.
If he ever manages England though, I believe he will want to re-develop the whole youth system in England, get someone to put more effort on developing the kids’ TECHNICAL ability from 8, 9 years old onward.
This is the only way England will improve as a footballing nation. Otherwise, they can go hire the best manager around, things aren’t gonna change much when u starting XI can’t link a decent pass together, and have to rely on long ball into the box for a 6 foot 7 beanpole to make an impact.
The current England side is probably the most HYPED England side ever, but sure hell they are not the Golden Generation as ppl might have suggested.
10, 15 years ago they had Shearer, Sheringham, Ian Wright, Andy Cole, Robbie Fowler, Le Tisser to choose for their strikers, with Wrighty, the league’s Golden Boot winner couldn’t even broke into starting XI, nor did Robbie Fowler, scorers of 30 goals in the Premiership in a few seasons. Le Tisser, one of the most gifted England footballers in modern days…. those strikers couldn’t even win a starting place in England.
Now u got Rooney, Owen and who to choose up front? Crouch? Johnson? Bent?
July 13th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
As for Cesc, he’s staying because he’s a smart boy. How many 20 years old can say they are the one who’s the MAIN MAN in a club?
At Arsenal, he’s the one the team is built upon. Going to Real, to the most he would be one of the supporting cast.
Perhaps he would have easier chances to win medals with Real, but he’s too smart a boy not to aware that with AW’s track record - Weah, Vieira, Anelka, Henry…. he will has every chance to become the next SUPERSTAR in the football world under the guidance of Wenger.
Time is on his side, he can move ANYTIME he wants. So I don’t think he’s in a hurry.
July 13th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
When Sir Alex said Arsenal would be “better off without Henry”, I think he said that with Roy Keane’s incident back on his mind.
Remember the final season with Man U Roy Keane been going out public and criticise his younger teammates a lot?
The circumstance of Keane’s departure is in fact quite similiar to Henry - Been talking a lot, been doing a little.
Football is about CHEMISTRY, like someone’s post previously.
I imagine HAD Fergie in Wenger’s shoes, he would do the exact same thing - by selling Henry.
July 13th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Quite right Andez!
I find it funny that the english “media” are saying that Sir Alex is playing mind games with that comment. He is just being honest with his opinion.
July 13th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
yeah aqh, the media basically called it “mind game” whenever opposing manager saying something abt other clubs!
Wenger and Ferguson probably know each other more than any other managers after a decade’s rivalry in the top flight.
look around the Premership, how many managers are still there managing a Premiership side since Wenger’s arrival and started his rivalry with Fergie?
i can only think of Curbishley. Big Sam a decade ago was still managing a lower division side.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
AW get’s the same treatment as DB10 did after managing and as others have have pointed out the only difference btw BD10 is that he moves upstairs.
As for TH14 - he did so much for me and the love of Arsenal. I only wish him well and can wait til we honour him for all that he has done for our club. We all know it’s coming; he holds so many of our clubs records. That said, I can’t wait to beat his team in the CL
We can never replace him so I’m looking forward to our next big striker, I mean the club has got the cash to splash around. Sigh….
July 14th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Wenger will stay.
Henry’s gone.
Ferguson was simply speaking his mind.
Cesc will stay until the alure of the 2 spanish comics gets to great (be it 2,3,4….7 years). At which time another mdfield gem will replace him.
By that stage Arsenal will likely be one of the 5 or 6 major brands in world football. Debt will be under control, Wenger will be the Football Director, and AFC will compete with anyone both financially and on the pitch.
July 14th, 2007 at 2:08 am
please wenger
get a winger before u get a striker
freddie is almost gone and now we have rosicky,hleb and walcott
we need quaresma
and after that please try to get benny mccarthy
July 14th, 2007 at 2:15 am
lets see
6 for freddie
6.5 for reyes
2 for either of flamini\song\hoyte
1.5 still left from the henry sale
and 4 million from saving of the salary of freddie/henry/reyes{the salary of henry can be used as the salary of the new players coming in}
that is 20 million pounds for transfers
and if the board puts in atleast 6 million then we have considerable money
to get both quaresma and benny
July 14th, 2007 at 8:47 am
forget about queresma. he is too right-footed. and i think walcott already fills the “speedy rightfooter” quota already. besides he is already too well-known…and going by experience wenger never buys such. remember all the ribery and babel talk?
what we need is a speedy lad btw ages 20 and 23 who has a nice left-foot or is two footed. from anywhere in the world.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:03 am
The Reyes and Ljunberg stories have died down. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully they can be resolved soon and we will have a new winger by the end of the month.
It turns out that Flamini might stay. Quite how he fits, I cannot imagine. He has no chance in midfield and with Sagna joining, the full back position is also full. Should get some idea from the pre-season friendlies.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:09 am
I sort of like how we have gotten to stray off-topic on almost every post recently….it keeps you on your toes……So here are few thoughts:
1. Arsene Wenger is going nowhere. He is building a club to compete with any one. When he is done managing the team he will be in the front offices.
2. Ferguson is a very shrewd man and is probably the best at playing mind games but in this case I think he is just speaking his mind. Chelsea’s rise to the top has actually had a bonding effect with SAF and AW. We all remember when ManU were going through a rough patch a couple of years ago, AW spoke up and supported SAF. So even though we’re still competing, it’s not nasty; it’s a healthy respectful competition. Of course right now SAF holds a clear advantage which makes it easier for him to say such things.
I think most of us (with the exception of Stag) agree with SAF that we are a better TEAM now than we were with TH.
3. Hoyte is going nowhere. Freddy has been a great servant but on his way out and justifiably so; we all know his days for us are over.
4. As for wingers: I am very disappointed that we missed out on Babel; but 12.5 mil is just too much; we can’t afford him. I think Arsene expects a lot from Tiger this season. And we have Rosicky, Eboue and I guess I’ll mention Hleb for completeness sake (you can tell I don’t rate him much)……..Oh yeah, and let’s not forget Jose Reyes as he is back to us now ;)………..he will be sold soon and may be we will get a winger to come straight in or Gouffran to come in next year.
Only Arsene knows….
July 14th, 2007 at 10:07 am
@nipuna: am guessing flamini is our backup LB.
July 14th, 2007 at 10:24 am
I think Arsene is here to stay. I don’t see him coaching anywhere else. And he will hang it up when he feels he either doesn’t have the energy and passion to do his job to his high standard, or he feels he can’t take the club any further. Hopefully, those points aren’t reached for another 4 or 5 years.
I like the team as it is composed right now. I think there is a lot of versatility. But I can also definitely empathize with those people that would like to add a winger and/or a center back. For me, a center back is more important. I don’t think Toure and Gallas can make it through the whole season playing every league, CL, FA Cup game (and probably some Carling Cup games as Toure did last year) There is still the ACN to consider with Toure as well. I am not confident in Djourou as of yet and I have little to no confidence in Senderos. Since I know that AW doesn’t buy players that are already considered “world class”. He prefers to breed them. I wouldn’t mind seeing a decent veteran picked up for a year or two, while Djourou and Nordveit get some more experience. I looked at all the teams in the premiership because I think getting a defender who has some experience with the style and pace of play is important. I couldn’t really identify anyone who would fit this mold though. For those who have advocated a center back, who would they like to see?
July 14th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Ade is the scorer of the first goal for us in the new season. Let’s hope this is just a start of a good season for him(I mean with plenty of goals actually).
July 14th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Marco Materazzi, he would be a good buy. He would add some steel in our defence, he is great in the air and is 32-33 I think, so he fits the bill perfectly.
July 14th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Sheed,
Marco is a very good defender, but he is way too old for Wenger. He will never sign him.
Brendan,
We all have been racking our brain trying to come up with said CB, and so far haven’t been able to do so…..let’s keep thinking. I am all about a CB coming to us, more so than a winger….
July 14th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Biggun, I was just responding to Brendan who I think would be good for the club for the next year or two till Djourou gets more experience and I thought about Materazzi. I know that we won’t sign him, it was just a thought.
July 14th, 2007 at 11:32 am
From the team sheet, it looks like Gilbert played CB and Flamini played RB. Anybody saw the game?
July 14th, 2007 at 11:44 am
In our current 25, there are more midfielders than anyone else. 10 in total - Gilberto, Cesc, Diaby, Denilson, Flamini, Song, Rosicky, Hleb, Ljunberg and Walcott.
July 14th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Sheed,
I see…got it.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Turns out Alex Song played CB along side Toure.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I watched most of the game. Song did not look comfortable at all at center back. I am not sure if this is a case of giving him a chance to learn a new position or just a case of it being a pre-season friendly with a limited roster. Although Song has never played much (and when he has, he hasn’t been very good) for Arsenal, he did play exceptionally well for Charlton on loan at the end of last year. Either way, I still see him far down the pecking order at midfield for us. And judging from the performance today, he is a long way from being a center back.
I was looking at center backs from some of the lesser premiership teams. No one seemed to fit the bill at all. I thought Sylvain Distin could be a good third choice back-up until I realized that he signed with Portsmouth on a free. I just think we need someone who can play in the Carling Cup, early rounds of the FA Cup and against some of the lower premiership teams. Toure played in around 55 games last year. I don’t think he can keep that up. It would be great to get someone who is commanding in the air, as most of the games that I described will presumably be teams lumping balls in the air at us. I would love to see Carlos Bocanegra in an Arsenal shirt for a few seasons. He was the best player on the field in the Gold Cup against Mexico and he has some good premiership experience. I also think he commands the box well defensively. Is it too crazy to imagine an American playing for Arsenal?
July 14th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
In my opinion, Djorou as 3rd choice and Senderos as 4th choice are perfectly OK.
The 3rd and 4th choice at Liverpool are far worse and were hammered by our kids. The 3rd and 4th at Man U are a joke.
What we need to improve is the first choice CB pairing!
July 14th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I thnk Wenger’s happy with what he’s got at CB. He wants pacy CB’s who can defend 1v1’s comfortably. That’s the most important thing for him tactically as we play with such a high back line.
At some point you must realize this fantasy CB you desire simply isn’t available or doesn’t exsist. Wenger has to pick his poison and for tactical reasons he’s chosen CB’s with pace over aerial ability. Could you imagine using our current tactics having two Senderos types at CB? We wouldn’t get beat on set plays but would be ripped to shreds on counters. Like I said, Wenger’s had to pick his poison and defending the counter is more important.
Bottom line is this; if Arsenal can’t defend the counter then we’d conceed at least five times as many goals than we ever do on set plays. All of a sudden Arsenal go from a top four team to relegation fighters. Sure, I’d love to have Ferdinand, van Buyten, Alex, and Lucio be our back 4 but we can’t just go down to Walmart and buy these guys.
July 14th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
It’s interesting AW been trying Song at CB, kinda reminds me Kolo Toure experimented the CB position during preseason games a few years back. Before that Kolo was still very much a bench player.
At that time, Adams just retired, everyone been urging let’s buy a CB, AW didn’t. Instead, Kolo grabbed his chance and made the position his own. So, who knows?
Anyway, the best thing is - with this squad, the majority of players are capable of playing MORE than ONE position.
July 14th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Some managers when they speak, the words came out made them look so stupid, look no further than Mourinho. Check this quotes from AW, a real man of WISDOM. Just love it!
Wenger told Sky Sports News: “I think he (Reyes) will go. There is no way to have an unhappy player.
“Despite the global warming England is still not warm enough for him.”
Regarding his own future, Wenger added: “I have shown my commitment in the past and have never cared too much about the weather.”
July 14th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
nice quips from AW…lol.
joshuad: true about our backline…..we play the most consistently high back-line of any team i know. mainly because our system of play is based mainly on possession and control.
however i do think there are some CBs out there who can be both good in the air and fast and good on the one-on-ones. campbell was good enough till 2005.
and i think ledley king and vidic are good enough as well. ie. all the really good ones are pretty much unavailable.
however i think if djorou takes the big step up he will meet both criteria as he is both tall and fast. i have little hope for senderos though.
July 14th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Josh,
Chelsea go to Walmart andd buy whomever they want….
July 15th, 2007 at 12:04 am
why not try Freddy Adu at winger. he’s only 18. imagine what AW could do with him.
July 15th, 2007 at 5:48 am
Freddy Adu is a just a little above a joke! An elaborate American joke! LOL. And no we dont need another right-footed winger.
July 15th, 2007 at 6:10 am
Freddy Adu is left-footed, as far as I know.
July 15th, 2007 at 7:22 am
Biggun, Chelsea may buy whomever they want but they’re not going to Walmart. They could only afford Ashley Cole by giving up Gallas and I think that’s cost them their title more than anything.
Freddie Adu is very left-footed. I’ve been watchning him in the U-20 World Cup and he’s been very good along with a few other Americans. The idea of Wenger bringing in an 18 year old as talented as Adu is not beyond belief. What is beyond belief is how much MLS would want for him. That alone simply undermines Arsenal’s very idea of bringing in young players. We buy youngsters because they’re cheap.
July 15th, 2007 at 7:44 am
I know this is completely off topic and it’s been a few years now but I still can’t believe we’ve signed Robin van Persie for only like two million pounds. I laughed so hard when I heard that price. It really should have been illegal because he was and still is so freakin’ good.
I remember coming back from Afghanistan in the spring of ‘02 and watching the UEFA Cup and Feyenoord had this 17 year old kid with this pompus hair cut and skills for days that used to come off the bench and make people look absolutely stupid EVERY SINGLE GAME. Sure, they had van Hooidonk, Leonardo, and Bonaventure Kalou but I watched Feyenoord hoping for van Persie to come off the bench and put on a show.
van Basten said he had to change his whole plan for the World Cup when he made the mistake of inviting RvP to Holland’s national team camp and saw how good he really was. How did he slip under everybody’s radar and land in Wenger’s lap for like two million quid? Especially when Babel went for almost 12, are you freaking kidding me? HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
July 15th, 2007 at 7:46 am
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! I can’t stop laughing, dude.
July 15th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Freddie Adu is definitely not 18. He may be listed as that age, but I think he is at least 21 or 22.
I just read that Real Madrid are letting Cannavaro leave on a free. They have deemed him surplus to requirements. I am sure he would command a high wage and that fact alone probably rules him out as a third choice but I would love to see him rotate in with Toure and Gallas on the back line.
July 15th, 2007 at 9:09 am
brendan…please come off it…why would Cannavaro “rotate” ??? he is way to big a player for that. remember he is even the world and european player of the year.
besides the guy is 5 foot 9 in and has never played in a league where heading the ball is that important. so he wont really improve us. plus he is 34. definitely wont happen.
July 15th, 2007 at 9:40 am
I agree. He is just the first person that I have seen available. I have a feeling Chelsea will bid for him. He will have to rotate there. But the wages he will be offered will make up for it.
Like I said earlier, I am quite content with the squad we have. I really don’t see that much of a need for a winger. I would love some depth at the back, but I think Djourou will fill that role. I would bet that this is the squad we start the season with.
July 15th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Typically, if Wenger is done with his shopping, he says it. Since he has been quiet, I think he has one more trick up his sleeve. Especially as he has confirmed that Reyes will leave.
July 15th, 2007 at 10:29 am
I think signing a winger makes a lot of sense. Not only are we lacking one in the first team, we don’t have many in the youth setup either except Mark Randall. Strikers there is Vela and Sunu, midfielders there is Song and Merida and defenders there is Norveidt and Gavin Hoyte.
July 15th, 2007 at 10:42 am
nipuna, is that kid Sunu signed, coz I think there was nothing official and his name is not on the Arsenal Reserves team sheet.
As for the wingers, van den Berg is a winger and I think Kieran Gibbs is a winger too, so it’s not only Randall, although I think Randall is more an attacking midfielder.
July 15th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Josh,
I agree that the Cole/Gallas deal (along with key injuries at key moments in the season) cost Chelsea their title, but they have been shopping like there is no tomorrow, and no one can deny that:
Scheva, Ballack, Drogba, Essien, Robben, SWP (for 21 mil, are you kidding me?) and God knows how many I’ve forgotten…..
July 15th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Nipuna,
I think you may be right about one more trick up Wenger’s sleeve. Can’t wait to see what it is…..we’ve been linked with the Argentine kid (with a pony tail) from Boca Juniors (name escapes me right now)
I also really like Guardado, but I think he recently signed for some big team….
July 15th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Biggun, the Argentine is Rodrigo Palacio and I’ve just read on wikipedia that our bid has been accepted and that the medical should take place on Tuesday. The thing is, as far as I know, he is a striker and we need a winger, so after Sagna this is another unexpected move by AW.
As for Guardado, I read that he has moved to La Coruna, so that put an end to out speculations.
July 15th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Brendan, why don’t you believe Freddie Adu is 18? I know first hand that birth certificates are an issue for people born in Africa. I have a buddy who’s married to a girl from Ethiopia and she can’t prove her age. She’s adamant of what her age really is and doesn’t think it’s funny, but we clown her sometimes anyway.
Cannavaro was absolutely horrible last season for Real Madrid. He was often the reason they failed to keep clean sheets. They just bought a German kid named Per and a Brazilian dude named Pee-Pee to play CB in front of the world POTY. Yeah, Cannavaro can’t come here. I’d take Djourou every day of the week.
July 15th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Actually Real Madrid bought Christoph Metzelder, not Per Mertesacker. Anyway, they(Metzelder and Pepe) both gonna play ahead of Cannavaro and that says it all.
July 15th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Sheed,
Right on, thanks. That is him. I think if we have really signed him it would be a great addition. Clearly Wenger is adding to both defensive and offensive options…..very interesting.
And yes, Deportivo is indeed Guardado’s team….
you are on top of it….
July 15th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
errr sheed….the best way to really verify transfer gossip that come only via wikipedia is to also check the corresponding spanish or french site…..and there is nothing on the Palacio to Arsenal thing on the spanish wikipedia or any other spanish gossip site.
anyway, i would love for the rumor to be true.
maybe wenger would move more towards a 4-3-3. that would take away the winger problem and give bendtner and walcott more playing time in one go!
so maybe if we get a Palacio or another striker we could go:
Rosicky————–Gilberto————Fabregas
(Hleb)—————(Denilson)—————(Diaby)
Van Persie———————————–Eduardo
(Walcott)————————————-(Adebayor)
————————STRIKER————————-
————————(Bendtner)———————–
I wont mind that!
July 15th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Rumors are just that…rumors. Part of me doubts AW would sign another striker. It is not what we need, if we go by conventional wisdom. But AW might want to come into the new season giving teams a new look — the 4-3-3 would do just that. Last year, I often thought we didn’t get forward enough at times…this might be an interesting way to approach that issue. More players forward with our superior passing and a poacher (Eduardo) and a non-traditional but clinical finisher in RvP would be a nightmare for a lot of teams.
And I honestly think we’d be a difficult match-up for any team, if you go by Fred’s setup in the comment above. Are the big boys (or anyone) buying many defenders? I haven’t been watching their moves extremely close.
Anyway, I will say I enjoy rumors - it makes for entertaining reading. And for what it’s worth (which is little), the rumors are remarkably consistent the last few days around the web. AW’s silence is always an interesting wrinkle when it comes to transfers and signings.
Where there’s smoke, there’s a little fire? This could be an interesting week!
July 15th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Why on earth would you play Bendtner at the top of a 4-3-3?? He’s hardly played a Premiership game in his life. We lose Henry and you wanna put a kid there.
Not saying he isn’t going to be decent, but use your brains - he’s probably at the back of a 5 man queue and Wenger will not start him unless he’s desperate.
July 15th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Joshuad, I used to live in DC and coach soccer with a guy named Philip Gyau. Phil played for the US Men’s national team in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He is originally from the same part of Ghana that Freddy is from. He also coached him for several years in Potomac MD (just outside of DC) Philip told me that it is a very mountainous region of Ghana. He said that most kids are born at home and don’t get a birth certificate until the time of their christening, when they come down from the mountains to a major church. He said that is on average at about 4 or 5 years old. Also from knowing him pretty well, I would say it is safe to add at least 3 or 4 years to his listed age. I am sure he would deny that because it is not good for his career.
July 15th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
dannyt: why dont u actually read what i wrote. why do u like going on stag-like rants???
……….if u look closely u would notice i put bendtner as the substitute striker behind the hypothetical “new striker”.
u would note that i list each position and a substitute. please read before asking me to “use my brain”!!!
July 15th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Sorry.
July 15th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Frow what I read lately in the internet, Argentina to win Copa seemed like a foregone conclusion to so many football plundits. Because they got lot of stars, and Messi scored a wonder goal. Brazil played with an understength squad.
In the end, Brazil 3, Argentina 1. Tevez, the hottest prospect in the transfer market, Messi were marked out of the game. Baptista, of anyone, who scored a screamer after 4 minutes….
Guess that’s just why we all love football. No one really knows a damn thing until the final whistle.
July 15th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
And I can’t help but think - HAD Baptista NEVER joined us last season, after this Copa performance, we would surely be hearing lot of folks starting to cry out “Let’s sign the Breast”! Wouldn’t we?
But imagine even if we sign Baptista after his Copa performance (assumed that he never joined our team last season), there is still every chance he would be playing as c*ap as he did last season for us.
Perhaps the lesson of this story is - just because we saw someone been playing well elsewhere, it does not necessary mean he would make an impact for us.
And just because a player he fails to make an impact for us, it may not automatically mean he’s a c*ap player.
As far as I’m concerned: every signing is a “gamble”, you spend 20 million is a gamble, you spend 2 million is a gamble… only difference is when it fails, spending 20 mil would crash harder to the ground than spending 2.
July 15th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Who was that number 19 for Brasil? He was sick. We should sign that guy immediately.
July 15th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Reports in Argentina claim that Palacio, 25, will fly to London early this week for a medical after Boca Juniors accepted a bid by the North London club.
The newspaper also says that Palacio will wear the No 14 shirt that Thierry Henry graced with such distinction for the Gunners before his £16 million departure for Barcelona.
That is the same number that Palacio wears for both Boca and the Albiceleste
Palacio has scored 39 goals in 79 appearances for Boca and has won five Argentine caps, linking up with Tevez in Argentina’s attack in their 1-0 Copa America victory over Paraguay on July 5th.
July 16th, 2007 at 3:18 am
Congratulations to Gilberto on captaining Brazil to the Copa America trophy despite missing the final. He won’t be back in action for the start of the season. We will soon know if Diaby is up for the CM job.
July 16th, 2007 at 3:44 am
Why is Baptista playing well for Brazil yet played crap for us?
Dunno - we can all speculate.
But for me the Baptista & Gallas situations do cast doubt on the value of the swap deal - be it loan or permanent.
Star footballers accumulate huge ego’s. They’re human.
So if they are involved in a swap arrangement rather than a normal transfer I wonder if it hurts their ego. Is it damaging phsycologically?
Take Gallas. Superstar CB - one of the best. Yet he is a pawn in the Cole affair - Gallas and 5m for Cole - sounds like trading at the 2nd hand shop. Maybe Gallas wonders if Wenger really wanted him or wanted more to inflict hurt on Chelsea?? Gallas had talked about joining Milan or Barca not Arsenal so maybe his heart has never been 100%??
Take Baptista, he has a relatively poor time at Real then is a pawn in the Reyes to Madrid arrangement. Again, what does it say to the player from the players viewpoint.
I know we can berate the player and tell them to act professionally - but these guys aren’t Joe-average they’re pampered big-heads. So ignoring their ego’s is futile.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:08 am
I am skeptical of this Palacio story. Wenger is unlikely to spend big after the Reyes episode.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:13 am
Did Bap “play well” for Brazil? I know he scored a couple of cracking goals, but how was his game? I didn’t see the Copa. Whoever did can shed some light.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:31 am
Sheed, you were right with that Palacio deal. You want to know the truth about transfer rumors; Wikipedia. That’s what’s up! I’ve got to pull out the Argentina-Ivory Coast DVD and see what how well he played then.
Baptista may have had a successful tournament but he hardly played well. His touch is still crap and he simply needs too much time on the ball; which would never happen in the EPL. But he did take his goals well. He’ll do well somewhere else but not in England. A friend who’s not a football fan was watching the game with me last night and was like “I thought they put tracks on tanks. When did they start putting Nikes and a Brazil jersey on them?” Baptista is so freaking huge.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:39 am
People were going well over the top on Baptista, I said a 100 times, it was hard for him adjusting to the speed of the Premiership, being played out of position, in a struggling team and with a gun to his head. Now he is smashing them in for Brazil.
He could be an awesome player for the right team, in the right position - given a little patience. Maybe English football doesn’t suit him, not many Brazilians do well here.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:10 am
Your point is well-made Andez in #62. Spending big on reputations does not equal success in football.
Wenger has spent around 18m this off-season on 4 players instead of 18m on one big reputation player. Every now and then he gets it wrong and signs a Reyes at a reasonably high cost. But that is counter-balanced by his general excellence. In investor-speak he consistently beats the averages.
Of the 4 players he has signed so far a likely scenario is, 1 may become a first team regular, 1 may become a long-term squad member, 1 may be transferred for a tidy sum and the other may drift off into the abiss. Financially on the 4 deals over the long-term we’ll breakeven, with 2 of the players giving good service to Arsenal over a decent period.
That’s as good as it gets in the fickle world of football management.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:29 am
Judge from his record in the transfer market, weird as it may seem, Wenger rarely did well when he had to spend more than 10 mil.
The majority of his best buyings so far, probably with the exception of Henry, cost below 10 mil (e.g. Vieira, Pires, Anelka, Petit, Overmars, Eboue, Gilberto, Toure, Cesc….)
If we think of Vieira and Henry, both had made significant contribution for Arsenal Football Club, winning load of trophies, playing for the club for 9 years each, and when we sold them, we could still make a profit out of them!
The pair must go down to the best pieces of business in the history of the Premiership.
Has there been any other manager ever be able to achieve that, regardless of how “special” they are?!
July 16th, 2007 at 5:39 am
I see his ‘faults’, yet what can you say the man is a genius.
It’s hard to know what to admire the most - the product he delivers (fantasy football with plenty of trophy’s) or his commercial acumen in such a short-termist environment.
And commercial acumen isn’t limited to buying players….it’s the stadium, the training facility, the scouting network, the academy……
July 16th, 2007 at 5:42 am
“Wenger rarely did well when he had to spend more than 10 mil.”
Ain’t that the truth.
How jolly ironic that finding & developing bargains is his talent - not pinching and motivating ready-mades.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:46 am
10M+ signings - Henry, Wiltord and Reyes. Any more?
July 16th, 2007 at 5:51 am
As far as this Palacios deal, that’s a lot of money for this guy, especially when Obafemi Martins is still available, cheaper, younger, and has already proven that he can play in the EPL. Can someone tell me something about this guy that makes him better than Martins?
July 16th, 2007 at 6:08 am
Nipuna, even if you lower the threshold, Jeffers & van Bronkhurst cost a bit, had reputations, but failed.
The pattern I see is that Wenger is better at identifying, moulding and motivating the unfinished article than ready-mades.
Most (of the few) players who came to Arsenal with big reputations failed to crack first-choice status and make it long-term at Arsenal.
Sol Campbell and Overmars (albeit recovering from serious injury) did….anyone else?
July 16th, 2007 at 6:35 am
I wouldn’t worry too much, Wenger has a much better record signing attacking players than defenders.
Ok, Wiltord and Reyes were not great, but they still made a positive contribution - both won the Premiership at Arsenal.
If Eduardo and Palacio are part of a Premiership winning the team, but not of the calibre of Bergkamp, Henry, Overmars etc. I doubt too many will be complaining. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Personally I believe it’s always dangerous to rely on one player too much.
July 16th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Rosicky and Hleb are under trial in the “came with a decent reputation and cost below 10M” category.
July 16th, 2007 at 11:55 am
so yesterday on Setanta, I watched the 02/03 (?) season 3-0 drubbing of Spurs…damn, Highbury’s feel is so different, and louder, than the beautiful but cavernous Emirates. We forget this maybe? The crowd, even before the start, was willing the team to destroy Spurs. And is it just me but were those guys just extremely quick and better dribblers than our current squad of very talented youngsters? Jeeez…I had never seen that match and it was SO DAMN FUN to watch.
July 16th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
its all about the AURA of the team.
i believe if this team can win the first 5 games…the belief will come and a bit of the aura as well.
July 16th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
By the way, this Palacios story is total bollocks. His agent has denied it.
http://www.minutouno.com/1/hoy/article/El-emp...
July 16th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Sorry. This is the link: http://www.tiny.cc/bgH70
July 16th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Okay. I give up.
July 16th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Excellent interview with Chairman Hill-Wood on AFC website.
We now have 5 strikers - RvP, Ade, Edguardo, Walcott & Bendtner. All vying for long-term futures in a central striking role. In view of this Palacios looks unlikely.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Just checked wikipedia and the Palacio story was a hoax.
July 17th, 2007 at 5:49 am
Thank god for that - didn’t look like a Wenger buy.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:48 am
we still need one more winger or striker though. if we get a striker then wenger is probably going 4-3-3. if we get a winger then its status quo formation.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:50 am
I hope all of you are correct and AW stays. I started supporting the Arsenal a few years ago because of their style of play, the passion and widespread following of their supporters, and Highbury (oh well!). I see now what a huge part of the equation Arsene Wenger has been. The great players will come and go, but Wenger has created something at Arsenal that my American sports teams never will- a winning system, entertaining to watch, and that generates talent from within. More a family than a business. Go Gunners!
Cheers to you all.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Somehow I think if Arsene leaves after next year, which at this point is still a big if, IMO, I think he’ll have a say in his successor.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:53 am
I wish AW would sign someone! We are running out of things to talk about here.
I would even take a 15 yr old from Andorra! Any way I can’t wait for the season to begin. I’m optomistic about AW resigning and the team having a good year.
I don’t have any idea if we will win a trophy or 2 but it is a distinct possibility. I truly think we can surprise some people. Altho I do beleive that most still expect a top 4 finish and a cup run or two. My realistic hope for this season is 2nd in the league, theCL quarters and FA Cup trophy.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Bumming around on Youtube this morning… found a clip of Barazite’s goal against Barnet… this kid has some chops, yeah? One for the future, I hope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NYkQe9qfYw
July 17th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I think you mean you are optimistic about Wenger re-signing, not resigning.
That’s probably it now - no more new players coming in.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
yeah, am starting to fear that we might be done for the summer.
but if that is so then all we have done is replace henry with eduardo and replaced eboue with bakary. thats all. and we have lost freddie as a squad player.
we are still quite left-side-light. both at LB and LM. so i think we really need at least one more buy to cover that. or his he pinning hopes on merida and randall for LM or is walcott gonna move there?
presently, i see the squad as:
GK: Lehmann, Fabianski, Almunia
RB: Sagna, Hoyte, Gilbert
CB: Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Djorou, Harvard
LB: Clichy, Flamini, Traore
RM: Hleb, Eboue, Randall
CM: Fabregas, Gilberto, Diaby, Denilson, Song
LM: Rosicky, Walcott, Merida
ST: Van Persie, Eduardo, Adebayor, Bendtner, Barazite
Overall, the squad is not bad, but we really need a leftsided midfielder.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I highly doubt Barazite gets called in from the reserves. He’s only 17, and brings even less experience to the table than, say, Carlos Vela.
If Walcott drops back, I’d say out of anyone, Vela would most likely get the call as the fifth striker. I could be wrong, but I just don’t see Wenger bringing him (Nacer) along so quickly.
July 17th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I’ll say it again. That squad is crap. Okay, not crap, but completely uninspiring. We need about three more players at least. I would buy three players more players and tell 85% of the youngsters/back-up to find another club or occupation. That should balance the books.
July 17th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Well, 85% of the ‘youngsters’ would eliminate the majority of the team.
You are being a bit harsh, don’t you think there Mazza? Just because the team is young, doesn’t mean anything. Look at Man U in the early 90’s. With Beckham, Neville, Giggs et al, a lot of United fans were pissed about Fergie’s youth movement too…
All I said was that Vela would more than likely get the call over Barazite. And I’d also figure Nordtveidt to need a few seasons in the reserves squad before he plays anything but domestic Cup matches for the senior club.
Be patient. You don’t want to sound like old Stags now, do you?
In any case, your plan will not ‘balance the books’ from a debt generated by stadium construction — especially if you are adding three more players ‘at least’.
Remember I said this in May ‘08: Arsenal will qualify for the Champions League in 2008-09.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Yeah re-signing. Any way you are most likely correct Danny.
So is anyone gonna do a season preview? maybe discuss the schedule in a new post?
July 17th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
@ ryecatcher: i assumed vela would go on loan again this season. besides, the third choices i added are not likely to ever play for the first team. they are reserves, that I just added.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I wouldn’t be averse to Vela coming back either.
Just saying that most of these youngster are rank average and I’m including the likes of Flamini, Denilson, Song and Senderos. I believe we should get rid of all that mediocrity and try and bring in some genuine talent. I would rather have quality than quantity.
Our style of play is heavily reliant on Hleb, Rosicky, and Fabregas. If any one of those three are missing we stutter, if any two of those are missing we are a complete shambles and we have to change our style of play and be more direct. This requires experience and intelligence. Neither Walcott or Diaby provide that at this point. Ljungberg used to provide that but not anymore.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
@ mazza, u are talking utter nonsense! u will tell harvard, traore, gilbert, randall, merida, barazite to find another profession or club??? they are in the reserves for crying out loud!! i only added them to the list to make it three-deep. utterly silly comment from you really.
and its easy for you to say buy 3 more….but you dont say what positions they should come u think need strengthening or even suggest any players.
am sure u would mouth of about song and senderos who are fair game. but at least make suggestions and stop these random, annoying stag-like comments.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Flamini is a decent 2nd choice LB in my view. He doesnt allow any wingers to get behind him and that is the fullbacks main task.
Denilson as a 4th choice CM is better or at least the equal of Sidwell, Sissoko, Tainio or Danny Murphy!
Song as 5th choice CM is hardly ever going to play. And he is good enough for the bottom 4 or 5 teams.
Senderos is someone i am scared of. i dont rate him and i think he is on his make or break season BUT he is about on the same level as Wes Brown (who is the first backup at Man U!) and is certainly better than anybody in the backup Liverpool defence!!!!
July 17th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Bringing in new a bunch of new signings is seldom the right answer, especially if you want them to have an early impact. It’s much easier to integrate two or three players than 13 like Liverpool have to; not to mention they’ve lost a lot of players or trimmed a lot of fat depending on how you look at it.
I’m Arsenal through and through but this is my second time stationed in Germany. I like BVB, VfB, and Bayer which translates to Dortmund, Stuttgart, and Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Bayer is mostly known in the US for asprin but they actually have a football team with very good players. They’ll never win a championship though because they’re a selling team. Players like Emerson, ze Roberto, Ballack, Lucio, and others have gone on to become fantastic players. Juan will as well and I pitched his name for Arsenal last summer. Then you’ve got players like Landon Donovan who griped about being homesick and the weather (man, that sounds familiar).
But the past two years Bayer have pissed me off. I’ve watched two of their players leave and go to our rivals. Last year I griped about Berbatov going to Spuds because I knew he would do well. Now, I’m bitching about Voronin going to Liverpool because I know he’ll do well. I know it’s only pre-season but he got a brace tonight. The EPL doesn’t know it yet but he’s Liverpool’s best striker. If he gets to play, he’ll score atleast twenty goals.
I guess my point is you can’t always judge a player by what writers are saying about them like Babel and Torres. Wenger knows how to run a club and knows it’s important to have as few changes as possible to maintain continuity and team spirit. When you bring in big names and their ego’s (Gallas) they can be a disruption. Also, players of a certain ilk, ala Rosicky, Hleb, van Persie, and Voronin bring straight grass roots and can intergrate with any system. Also, we need to start hitting Leverkusen up for players.
Sorry I wrote so long.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Carlos Vela is definitely talent. If you don’t know, you’d better ask somebody.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Vela is a major talent - and he’s doing very well in Spanish second division with Salamanca. Ok, it’s the second division, but he was only 17 when he joined them and his scoring and assists ratio is good in what is a highly technical league - far better than the English first division.
I must admit, looking at the squad Fred posted - I would say the team has no chance of winning the league whatsoever. Sagna can shore the defence up if he’s as good as they say, but I am still concerned about that area of the pitch.
Going forward I think we’ll do much better this year, I can see Rosicky having a very good season if he’s injury-free. Fabregas will grow physically and push on nicely and Walcott can give us some width if Eboue or Hleb can’t. Up front I think Van Persie will be good and Adebayor will probably frustrate a few people. It will be fascinating to watch Eduardo too. I think the team will score more and grow physically. Arsenal can ride the coat tails of the top 2 for much of the season, but will probably drop off at some point.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
We need a central defender who can defend aerially and buy two midfielders. One central midfielder and one attacking midfielder in the mould of Hleb or Rosicky. A good central midfielder would be somone in the mould of Christian Poulsen or a youngster like Veluoso(?) who actually looks like he has genuine talent, unlike Song or Flamini. Guardado would have been a interesting signing.
If your just mentioning reserves to fill up another your squad lists then don’t bother, the majority of them will have no relevance to the upcoming season as Wenger won’t go near them with a bargepole, unless you count the Carling Cup.
The only relevant players are Senderos, Song, Flamini, Denilson, Diaby, Ljungberg, Walcott and Bendtner. Out of that clutch, Walcott, Diaby, and Bendtner actually have an ounce of talent but have proved to be completely unreliable thus far. That’s why Wenger is deluded. He has convinced himself that these players will deliver, just like he did last year with no real rationale other than the lazy analysis that being young means you will automatically improve.
Those players I mentioned should be in the reserves or sent out on loan and not be our first line replacements. Bring in the three more players I mentioned and have them battle it out with the first eleven. Then I would be confident in our squad and understand Wenger.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
senderos. ok. fair point. though i must reiterate the wes brown analogy. wes brown is wacker than hell yet he is the 3rd choice CB at Man U.
flamini is not going to play at CM so chillout. song ok. fair game. but he is fifth choice.
so you accept that walcott, diaby and bendtner who are 18, 21 and 18 respectively HAVE talent. so why shouldnt we give them a chance?????? why should they go on loan exactly??? especially when none of them have played more than a full season at arsenal.
wenger is surely NOT delusional in giving these a chance. why they are the same age as a.cole, henry and anelka, when wenger gave those their chances! so why are u impatient with players you admit have talent????
IF we bring in an interesting leftwinger….i will put money on a top-2 push.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Anyone heard about AW’s interest in the 23 y/o Brazilian striker Fred from Lyon? He scored 11 goals in 20 matches.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
No, I haven’t, but at present — especially in light of the Palacio hoax — I don’t really believe anything that I read about transfers (potential targets or imminent signings), and anyway, I don’t see AW taking another striker. This squad still needs some attention at CB and MF before another striker should even be thought about by anyone…
And anyways, even Fred is too big of a name for Arsene Wenger to bring in.
(watch them sign him in three days now that I’ve said that…
)
July 17th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
“Bringing in new a bunch of new signings is seldom the right answer, especially if you want them to have an early impact. It’s much easier to integrate two or three players than 13 like Liverpool have to; not to mention they’ve lost a lot of players or trimmed a lot of fat depending on how you look at it.”
EXACTLY!
July 17th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Mazza, if u think our squad is crap, let me ask u this - ASSUMED that you could TRADE our ENTIRE SQUAD with ANY ONE of the 19 Premiership sides, apart from Man U and Chelsea which they are made up by gold, which side would u trade for? Spurs? Liverpool?…..
I think not. So u see, even if our squad is really as “crap” as u believe, our crappy side still better than 17 Premiership sides bar Man U and Chelsea. I will take this.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Andez I wouldn’t even want the Chelsea or ManU squads in preference to Arsenal’s. Sure there’s players from their squads I’d love to see in an Arsenal shirt - like Terry and Rooney - but trade their whole squad for ours - no thanks.
I don’t think ManU are as strong as last years performance suggests. I know this is swimming against the tide of popular thought but I’m not as convinced about the squads robustness.
And Chelsea aren’t exactly a group of happy campers, lotsa highly paid stars are rarely a recipe for medium-term stability. Mourinho has done an outstanding job of focusing them - albeit until last year - but he will leave after the Russian’s management style annoys him once too often. It seems yet another ‘manager’ has been added to the Chelsea executive. Typical divide and rule stuff from Abramovich. He doesn’t want Mourinho to get too ’strong’ so he places others in senior roles to create a counter balance. It’s classic stuff particularly from developing and transitional countries.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Me neither Kiwi. Can’t even imagine having the likes of Drogba (worst diver/play actor) of the Premiership since van Nistelrooy, in our squad. And that Cashley “show me the money” Cole too. If that means our squad is crap without players like those, so be it.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Happily we’re not crap….does anyone honestly believe we are?
We’re more than capable of achieving 3rd or 4th - and with a good start and a goodish run with injuries we could even keep pace with the leader(s) and have a really interesting season.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
We have more talent than Chelsea, we just need to be patient with the youngsters. We WILL be a force again believe me and there is no way I would swap this team for another, not even for Barca.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Mourinho ASKED FOR IT. When he won two titles the past few years, he made it sound like HE’S the Messiah of Chelsea FC, he’s the SPECIAL ONE, he’s the MAIN MAN of Chelsea FC. Conviently forgotten it’s whose $$$ that made all those so-called “ACHIEVEMENT” possible.
Take away tha few hundred million pounds they had spent, we’ll see how SPECIAL he really is.
If you were a boss, and you hired a manager like this, u surely would want to put him back into his place, and let him know WHO’S THE BOSS afterall.
It’s freaky funny that I remember two years ago after Mourinho won his second EPL title with Chelsea, he moaned about never got the CREDIT he deserved, and hinted that he may quit Chelsea.
I thought back then “yeah right, leaving a club with the EASIEST way of winning trophy (with all their money) and go somewhere else to do it the HARD WAY? maybe someone esle would do that, definitely not the SPECIAL ONE. Afterall, how he’s going to be SPECIAL again without all those $$$”.
One year later, he been telling the press how he and Roman A hugged, how he and Roman A kissed and made up….. just give me an impression that hey, i thought u didn’t give a shit of this Chelsea job did u? Now it feels almost like he’s BEGGING to stay on the job.
I surely never heard Roman A saying a single word of their rift, and how they kissed and made up. It appears to me Roman A himself doesn’t give a damn whether the SPECIAL ONE is happy or not. It’s take it or leave it, if u wanna stay, u gotta do it MY WAY.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
I am quite surprised at how much people think ManU have “improved” in the summer. The only player who can make an impact is Hargreaves. Nani and Anderson are typical Arsenal signings - young and promising. As long as Tevez is not a done deal they still need a striker. Depending on Saha, Solskjaer, Smith, etc. is not the way to go.
July 18th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Vela can’t play for us this year because of work permit issues. That is why he was put in the Spanish second division. It is something akin to what Liverpool did with Gonzales. I am pretty sure he is going to play in La Liga this year though, instead of the second division. Also, Hugo Sanchez has stated that after the U-20 World Cup, he will start calling him in to the full Mexico team. Once he has enough appearances, he can receive a work permit and play in the Premiership.
July 18th, 2007 at 1:58 am
For me, the big question is whether we can cement 3rd place. Not scrape through like we almost did this season. Can we secure 3rd place and get within 10 points of the top two? I don’t know. I am still hopeful of one more signing. Cannot imagine Reyes leaving (maybe Ljunberg too) and no replacement.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:39 am
Rosicky has effectively replaced Reyes (& Pires) and Hleb has replaced Ljungberg. So unless Wenger is unhappy with those 2 (which is unlikely given his long-termist view) it is unlikely that a significant addition will be made.
Perhaps a back-up will be bought….but knowing Wenger he is as likely to use versatile strikers to cover the wide roles in the event of injury to Rosicky or Hleb. And as we’ve discussed Eboue is an option. Or he could park Diaby or Denilson there as cover…..ala Edu.
Not saying that’s what we want….but likely that’s what we get!
July 18th, 2007 at 7:53 am
i think we still need a LM because we have absolutely no backup for that role. we have walcott and eboue as backup for RM but none for the otherside. and i seriously dont think diaby should be playing there.
July 18th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Understand where your coming from Fred, just I wouldn’t be surprised if Wenger sticks as is.
In the days of Pires and Ljungberg on the flanks - we had no recognised left sided cover for midfield. From memory if Pires was out, Ljungberg would move across to the left, or Edu would cover. So Wenger seemed relatively comfortable with no ‘proper’ wide replacements.
He’s also never appeared averse to playing players on their less favoured side - either temporaily or longer-term. So he may be happy to plug the left with RvP or da Silva or whoever.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Yes Kiwi, he can even move Hleb to the left and play Eboue/Walcott on the right. But like Fred, I want to see a left-sided midfielder signed too.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:24 am
It looks like that 3rd kit with Barca colors is real, not “photoshoped”
http://www.onlinegooner.com/exclusive/images/2007_7_exclusive_15.jpg
July 18th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Wenger has said on Arsenal.com that Eduardo and Fabianski are replacements for Henry and Poom (no surprise there) and Sagna is cover for the full back position as Eboue + Toure will be missing during the ACoN. I guess this is what some people feared. We haven’t actually “strengthened” the team, just replaced departing players. I am still waiting for Reyes’ replacement.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:34 am
You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if we buy another player after we unload Reyes….we’ll see.
July 18th, 2007 at 10:01 am
I need to rant.
I just don’t think we are utter crap as some people want to think…sure, we are a young side, and the title this year would be difficult to wrestle away from the gluttonous spending ManU…but we’re not crap.
And for anyone here to say we don’t have talent? How can you call yourself an Arsenal fan? We might have the most raw talent in the EPL! In fact, our reserves squad and youth academy is most likely the best in England. We develop talent, pure and simple fact.
Here’s the deal…imo, the ONLY reason we didn’t easily take 3rd place last year was the fact that there were so many injuries that the team didn’t develop the proper level of chemistry. Chemistry equals bonds among players that causes them to push each other’s skill development, to stick up for one another, and to develop a team-wide killer instinct. We fielded more lineups than nearly any squad in the league last year…something that takes away from young players gelling together like they should.
As fans, we put so much pressure on these guys and honestly it’s stupid of us. They are young guys, and playing on the biggest (or at least highest profile) league stage in the world…AND I THINK THEY DO JUST FINE.
Sure, I want trophies but damnit…I wouldn’t trade our youngsters for anyone.
Some of you guys need to go find a few tapes of last season, because some of the guys you hate on played pretty damn good in some big moments and some of the