Well, the season is over, we failed to win any hardware and we all suffered severe anxiety attacks when leading the EPL for three quarters of the season, anger when we were trounced in the Carling and FA Cups, depression when we lost to Manu and Chelsea and total dementia when we were finally eliminated from both the CL and EPL competitions.
We lost Flamini and the Internet has been deluged by numerous reports indicating Arsenal is in mortal danger of losing Hleb, Ade, Gilberto and even Fabregas. Arsene for once has taken a surprisingingly, acerbic, firm stance, uttered that all the reports are rubbish, threatened to rake Hleb over the coals if he attempts to break his contract and is already in the process of acquiring new players and eagerly looking forward to having his best ever team next season. Both Fabregas and Adebayor have fervently denied any intention of leaving the club (with Ade saying the reports are “totally rubbish”) and they have both uttered their love of Arsene and Arsenal and their desire to win trophies in the new season. In the meantime, Hleb has remained conspicuously silent UUUUUUMMMMMMMM?
GK:
With only the relatively young and untested Fabianski and Mannone as backups to Almunia I see a new Gk arriving at Arsenal with Mannone being sent out on loan to be blooded. Do not expect a Gomes, Casillas or Buffon type, but rather someone from the EPL who is experienced, currently out of contract and will compete for the starting assignment but will sit without complaining if needs be. Names that spring to mind are Green, Jaaskaleinen and Keller with any one of the three being able to more than adequately fit the bill.
CB:
I have no idea who we will get but we have been associated with Richards, Zapata, Lucio, Kompany, Dunne and a host of others. For me though the ideal addition would be Jolean Lescott. He is tall, good leaper, excellent in the air, excellent on the ground, technically sound, would seamlessly fit into the Arsenal game, not blazing speed but has good positional awareness, scores goals, can utilize the long throw in, excellent passer out of the back, young enough for improvement, versatile in that he can play across the back four as well as DM and is British to boot.
MF:
With Flamini’s departure and Rosicky’s lingering injury we may get one or two versatile mid fielders with at least one being an experienced and establish type who would certainly be a day one starter. We have been linked to any of a hundred players including but not limited to, Ben-Arfa, Quaresma, Barry, Ya Ya Toure, Robinho, Kranjcar, Deco, Diego, Gattuso, Ribery, some Australian youngster we have never heard about before and someone from Timbuktu which we have also never heard about before (just being facetious).
In all likelihood, Kranjcar and Ben_Arfa seems to be the most likely to arrive at the club although it would seem that it would be one but not both. However, neither player gets my juices flowing and If I had to get one midfielder it would either be Diego or Juan Roman Riquelme. Both play across the MF, can play with and instead of Cesc, are experienced world class players, technically excellent, makes players around them better, like Henry, can create unassisted goals and would be day one starters. Riquelme in particular piques my imagination as he is in a contract dispute with Villareal and Boca Juniors and would be available for under £10 million. Diego would be a no brainer but will command in the range of £15-20.
Forward:
Again, we have been linked to a host of players ranging from Villa and Henry to Eto’o. I will probably have the wrath of Mazza, Stag , Fred and an army of AA bloggers reign on my choice as the perfect acquisition to bolster the forward position in case Eduardo and RVP fail to regain their form and remain injury free, but I stand firmly behind my selection Mauro Zarate. A prolific goal scorer at lower levels, 21 years old, valued at about £8-10 million, excellent technical abilities, obtained on loan to relegated Birmingham from Al-Sadd of the Qatari League in January of this year, has EPL experience and not a big ego. He was a key member of the Argentina U20 team which won the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final against the Czech Republic. Zarate has only scored 4 goals for Birmingham in 5 starts and 8 substitute appearances but took a while to gain a measure of the EPL and his recent form has now matched his abilities. Being Argentinean, thus Spanish speaking, Cesc and Gilberto could be his mentor (I know Gilberto is Brazilian, but apart from Portuguese he is also fluent in Spanish). Worst case scenario is him being sold at a profit if RVP and Eduardo comes good.
78 Responses to “End of the season, but hopes for the new”
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May 11th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
zarate get real noway hes not arsenal class
May 11th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Wenger on the crucial difference:
“There is so little difference between the three of us but Manchester United made the difference at home. They took less points away from home than us but at home got 16 wins. They have an advantage at Old Trafford and used it.”
May 12th, 2008 at 12:32 am
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May 12th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Did anyone notice that ANR took off the article in which he said that if he was a Gooner, he would be terrified? Guess he quickly realised that he would look like a fool (or Spurs fan).
May 12th, 2008 at 1:33 am
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May 12th, 2008 at 1:39 am
@nip: How do you manage to stomach Myles and his rubbish? I used to like his articles at one time…last 5 months I’ve stopped reading his speculative garbage and feel much better.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:02 am
i m worse LDE, i actually bought a book of him many years ago, when Arsenal were winning trophies, and he wrote a book hailing Arsene Wenger. In Myles, read PLASTIC. he’s the DEFINITION of a plastic fan.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:10 am
@Andez: I won’t really blame you too much. I was hooked to his blog once upon a time; but as I understood football more and more thanks to watching and this site I realized what hollow stuff he writes. Thats just my OPINION though as Stag might say
.. How was “The Professor” anyway? Is it worth reading at all or is it just rubbish?
May 12th, 2008 at 4:13 am
Well another year, another rollercoaster ride. Next season can’t get here fast enough!
With signings that strengthen the squad more mentally as well as technically - we could be a force to reckon with this next season. We just need more mental toughness and killer instinct to go with our youthful audacity and abandon. Mix that together and you have something special.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:15 am
i feel for Mirach Richards. when he signed an extension with City, he probably thought his career was going to develop under Sven, and City were a club had a bright future (and it did look like it at that time).
all a sudden, Sven is as good as gone. City is back to where they always been. A club like that, constantly changing managers would never be successful. City fans probably thought their fortune were finally about to turn under this new ownership reign. But i guess something never change.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:15 am
Keller, Richards, Dunne, Riquelme, Deco, Toure, Gattuso, and Queresma all get, as we say in the airborne world, a loud and thunderous HELL NO!!! Especially Keller and Riquelme; that’s got to be a joke. They get a special HELL TO THE NO!!!
Some of these players are fantastic ideally but you’ve got to be objective about a “Financially Prudent” Arsenal. Take Richards for instance. He’s a fantastic footballer who can play well at either RB or CB. The fact is we currently have Toure, Gallas, Song, and Sagna who are all equally dynamic and just as good as young Micah Richards. Also add to that the fact that Richard’s transfer would more than double the price we paid for all the previous four I mentioned put together. That’s absurd. He does not have any special qualities that we’re lacking to justify buying him. However, he would fit in very nicely at either of the other top 4 teams as all of their RB’s are garbage.
The same thing goes for Ben-Arfa. Why would Wenger pay all that money for a guy who’s not proven to be better than Vela, Traore, or Walcott? It’s not a likely deal as he doesn’t bring us anything that we’re missing.
Out of your list, the only players that I think that would prove interesting and would improve our team quality are Green, Kompany, Barry, Robinho, Diego, Henry, and Villa. Krancjar gets a maybe. I’ve always been a fan of Ribery but he’s not likely to leave Bayern. I love Riquelme too but he’s way to lazy to play in the BPL.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Actually, do you think we could get Cuducini from Chelsea?
May 12th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Joshuad@11
Diarra was a parting gift from Mourinho, no way Chelsea sells us any players. No comment on my favorite pick Jolean Lescott?
May 12th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Lescott is beast. I would take any of the forwards mentioned.
Chelsea already making signings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7395831.stm
That didn’t take long.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:39 am
football can be a cruel game. Kevin Doyle, who has lost 4 of his family members in recent days, scored the 3rd goal for Reading Vs Derby. Saw his emotional celebration afterward, you really hoped Reading could stay up. Then shortly afterward Fulham scored… very harsh reality.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:18 am
i also thought the same about Cudcuini josh. this guy gotta be one of the most unambitious players ever. remember he was once the Premireship’s BEST keeper before Cech joined. why the hell he wanted to sit on the bench and just collecting his paycheck, or medals where he had little to do with?
if he made himself available, bet he would become the automatic first choice in most of the Premiership sides. we are not talking about justin hoyte here, this is one extremely talented player. sad to see he wasted away his career like that.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:26 am
As long as Lescott got a haircut, I’m all for it! I’ve always been a fan of Deco, but I’m not sure how or where he would fit in.
As nice as it would be to get Richards, I don’t think AW would pay the bloated transfer fee. English = Expensive. I think that money could be better spent elsewhere.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
With the exception of Richards, I wouldn’t take any of the aforementioned players. Either we have the equivalent, or they are just past their best.
Deco is class, but isn’t he simply an older Fabregas?
Meanwhile, more clues as to Wenger’s spending plans… Two or three weeks… I can’t wait!
“I know what I want and I am very confident,” he said. “I hope to turn that around in the next two or three weeks. But the fans should be re-assured by what they see.”
Wenger’s two major acquisitions last summer, Bacary Sagna and Eduardo, were new to English football. This time around, it seems he’d like someone who has already acclimatised.
“It would be better to buy someone who has played in England because they are less risky,” said the manager. “But it costs more money if they are from the Premier League, so maybe I will try to do both.”
May 12th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Richards is not our best bet right now. He has the potential to be great, but he is still a work in progress and does not provide height at the back. Lescott, Zapata and Lucio has all the attributes we need NOW. Not talking about 1-2 years ahead but for the upcoming campaign.
Of the 3 CB’s I mentioned above, Lescott and Zapata because of their youth would be better than Lucio. If Arsene had wanted Richards he could have gotten him last year at a much lower cost.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Someone mentioned Mauro Zarate. The kid has freaky skills …he was a shining light for Brum before they went down. I wouldn’t be too sad if we got him..but it won’t happen .. not from Brum.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
CB: Richards, Zapata, Lucio, Kompany, Dunne.
Richards: Too expensive for a short player who is too much similar to Gallas/Toure.
Zapata: Is OK i guess, at 21 years and 6ft 2in. But will he really end up better than Djorou or Song to justify 7 million for an unproven player?
Lucio: At age 30, and never the fastest guy, he is not on an upwards slope! I am also wary of latin folks in defense.
Dunne: is a whack-ass defender.
Kompany: could work. Good age, great height. Good experience in Germany.
Midfield:
Ben-Arfa: Lets get him…but not for more than 10 million.
Quaresma: Same as above.
Barry: I dont really rate him much…but I guess he can play the Flamini-role easily.
Ya Ya Toure: Same as above…i doubt Barca will release him though.
Robinho: What we DONT need is another 5ft 7 midfielder who weighs 55kg. Please no. He is a good player … but we have Walcott already.
Kranjcar: If he really is available for 3 million then why not.
Deco: An older, slower and lazier version of Fabregas who will demand over 100k in wages. NO THANKS.
Diego: Definitely!
Gattuso: We just lost Flamini - there is no way we are going to get the older and slower version of Flamini.
Ribery: If we didnt bid for him last year why will we bid for him this year???
Riquelme: is SLOW, and would suffer in the EPL.
Strikers:
Nothing wrong with Zarate….but I dont think we’ll be doing business with Birmingham anytime soon.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
i remember someone questioned AW’s decision to buy Sagna back in last summer when Richards was available.
guess now we all understand why. Richards probably would have cost twice as much of Sagna, while Sagna is twice a player than Richards.
with Richards, it’s all about HYPE. not his fault. but the usual English media hype. Anyone remember our victory at Man City, when Eduardo made Richards looked like a headless chicken? Had that happened to Senderos or Toure of us, being tore apart like that from an opposition striker, just imagine how the fans here would react.
with the mentality of fans today, it really doesn’t matter how big a name we sign, as long as he put on an Arsenal shirt, he will be in trouble. as with our players, they are not allowed to make mistake.
remember Gallas?
and Rosicky, he was a STAR before we bought him, someone that made ppl drooling of the prospect (buying him), until he put on an Arsenal shirt, injury or not, he no longer looked as awesome a player in fans’ mind.
Richards to me is a poor man’s Kolo Toure. a headless chicken version of Kolo Toure… and Kolo himself often get criticised as a panic, headless chicken.
for the sake of Richards, he will always be a BETTER player in FANS’ mind, as long as he’s not wearing an Arsenal shirt.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I have seen Seydou Keita mentioned in the press and would not object whatsoever to seeing him in an Arsenal shirt. He is a decent defensive midfielder that has a fearsome left foot. However, I don’t think he is worth anymore than 5 or so million (he is about 28). Hey, I am sure he is probably better than Bert.
He has impressed me when I’ve watched him in La Liga and scored a cracking goal against Arsenal in that last CL group game. Hopefully he caught Wenger’s eye with that. Otherwise, I really don’t want him following Ramos to WHL.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
L_D_E@20
I mentioned Zarate and was promptly blasted by Joshuad. Glad that someone agrees with me on this one. I think with Birmingham being relegated we would have a great chance to get him. Would be great cover for RVP/Eduardo and being still young has a lot of upside.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Fred@21
Totally agree with your assessment of Richards. Only reason I mentioned Lucio is because he could fit right into the team because of his skill level and provide stability until Song, Djourou and Nordtveit comes of age.
I have watched Lucio play for Brazil and Bayern on many occasions and he has been by far the best Brazilian CB for the past 8-10 years. Dunga, who is now the Manager would have ranked up there with Lucio during the overlapping years. Tall, excellent in the air, great positional awareness, will score goals, good tackler, organized, provides leadership and his ball skills are simply “Brazilian”.
I still feel the need to have one or two “MATURE” players added to the roster in order to provide leadership. Not criticizing Gallas here, it just seems we do not have many players with leadership qualities to rally the team on and off the field.
I have been trying without success to remember if a young team has ever won any major championships in recent history, and can’t think of any. All the great teams whether for Club or Country have always had a nice blend of youth and grizzled veterans. If we win with a predominantly young team next year Arsene will have added another first to his resume.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
It is being rumored rumored that we are in the hunt for Jean Makoun, Lille Midfielder
Height: 1.72m. Weight: 65.00kg. Nationality: Cameroon
Born: 29/05/1983 in Yaoundé
If we do get Makoun, partner him with Song and Sagna, and Ade grows back his locks Arsenal will surely have the “Dreadlocks” team of all times.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/jean-makoun.html
May 12th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
what about morton gamst perdersen he could replace hleb hes a great player what do u think?
May 12th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
pedersen*
May 12th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
“Richards: Too expensive for a short player who is too much similar to Gallas/Toure.”
“He does not have any special qualities that we’re lacking to justify buying him”
Yeah right!
He just jumps twice as much as Toure and Gallas together, is much calmer than Toure and much quicker than Gallas! Oh. and his positioning and tackling are not that bad either
May 12th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Yeah, he jumps very well, but he has hardly played CB …and there is a reason why. And how do you know he is calmer than Toure? You dont watch nearly enough of his matches, and he has not played enough “crunch” matches like Toure to be found out.
Lets be real here….20 million or even 15 million for Richards for a team with our budget and with other needs as well is completely CRAZY
May 12th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
By the way, Chelsea had the chance to buy Richards (an english lad) but instead plumped for Bosingwa……that either says a lot for Richards quality or they didnt want to go up to Richards price.
Do you then believe Wenger should go there? Really?
May 12th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
richards is english thats the only reason hes hiped so much if he was from the usa pepole would not rate him so high
May 12th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
How do you know that I don’t watch enough of his matches?
I agree that the price is huge… but, I think it’s worth it. He is the best future CB in the world of football !!!
As for his position, he started his career as CB, then moved to RB and then got back to his natural position, which is CB! He is a lot better there than at RB.
As for Chelsea, who cares what they are signing…. Richards is a Gooner and yeah, I really think Wenger must do anything to get him!
May 12th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
all those players would work if we were playing FIFA 2008.. Eto, Diego, Robinho, Deco, Ribery.. why not throw in Kaka, Messi, and Nesta.. i doubt we are going to bring in that established of a world class player…. Henry maybe..
i doubt Arsne will overpay for any established priemership english players…. we have plenty of english in our youth coming up… plus their are is to much talent to cherry pick outside the priemership… UEFA cup displayed some talented players needing to make a jump to bigger teams… except Bayern of course…
like we discussed earlier… thanks to Flamini.. we know what DM mold plays well with Cesc… which is the #1 priority for arsne to look for.. will this DM style pair with Cesc… becasue we have seen Cesc pigeon hold while playing w/Gilberto and Denilson.. even with Diaby.. for what its worth.. i’ll throw out Zdravko Kuzmanovi?.. on Fiorentina..
I would imagine Vela’s year to be like the 06-07 walcott year.. and looking forward to seeking Lansbury get some PT
May 12th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
these richards talk should stop before the daily mail runs with it…
May 12th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
what do you guys think about morton gamst pedersen
May 12th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
i don’t want us paying 20mil to crazy frank… so he can use that money to bring in the entire Thai ntl team to City…. when we can find our own manchild beast teenager from another country for a 10th of the price…
May 12th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
i hope MGP stays a rover.. don’t think he gooner material for a wing player… would rather us give Vela a go.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Since Blackburn got our very own David Bentley, Gamst is not the player he was before. He has somehow lost his form. Good player though, I think he would do well.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
mexicans style of football dont work in england dont get ur hopes up on vela
May 12th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I hope Vela plays as a striker, he is at his best there, not on the left had side in a 4-4-2 formation. I think AW would waste his talent if he plays in midfield.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
correction. lol.
“…if he plays HIM in midfield.”
May 12th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
good thing he’s been playing in the reserves and in Spain then..
May 12th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
he’s going to play him left wing.. he played that for Oscuna?.. and on the mexican ntl team
May 12th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
i think vela will be a disapointment at arsenal i dont think he will be at arsenal long term he will go back to spain
May 12th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Yeah, he plays there for Osasuna, but Wenger bought him as a striker, just after he won the gold with Mexico and was the best scorer at the U-17 World Cup a few years back.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
guess that depends on what your expecations for him will be next season…
May 12th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I have high hopes for him, his talent is undeniable, it’s just a matter of fact how well he would settle in.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
yeah he plays striker on the kiddie ntl team.. but on the mens ntl team Hugo Sanchez had him play left wing… and i never saw a Osasuna game where he played striker..
May 12th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
not based just on next year over all i just think he wont play well in england he should stay in spain
May 12th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
yea but hugo sanchez is a joke as a manager he dont know what hes doing
May 12th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
with the way the transfer market is.. you could make that prediction on a lot of youth players in the EPL..
May 12th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
thats just what im saying
May 12th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Hugo was a horrible coach… i’m going to miss him making it easy for the US
May 12th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
well mexico makes it easy for the usa they choke when someone stands up to them
May 12th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
if not vela….. what youth players do you expect to excel and make it on arsenal?
May 12th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
a player whos style fits england more like altidore
May 12th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
There is one very large problem looming with Arsene’s youth policy, the problem being that the team has too many youngsters who all need playing time to blossom.
How are they going to get adequate playing time unless we have massive injuries?
How do we integrate Mannone, Barazite, Merida, Simpson, Lansbury, Randall, Gibbs, Gavin Hoyte, Hordtveit, Wilshere and company into the team when our starting positions are all occupied by players with 7 or more years left on their resume? Exception to that rule is Gallas and Gilberto.
Main issues here:
1. The young players not getting sufficient playing time will leave for smaller clubs where they will be stars.
2. The young ones who stay will be the second tier who are satisfied to be subs but who will never make an impact.
3. Squad will always lack quality depth as young players need more extended runs in order to be at their best.
Anyone has any solutions to the problem?
May 13th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Most of the name linked to Arsenal are attacking midfielders or strikers. Given Arsene’s track record, we can rest assured that even if he may not sign a proven and experienced attacking player, but it will definitely be a talented and skillful one.
I am more interested in the CB area, possibly Arsene’s weakest. Campbell and Gallas were his top two signings - one came on a free and the other on a weird swap deal. Neither is likely to be repeated. That leaves Cygan (at 2M) as his best CB signing?
One of names I see a lot is Raul Albiol. I haven’t see him play. But he is unproven and inexperienced (younger than Sendy). He was also part of the Valencia team that conceded the second highest number of goals in La Liga. Doesn’t make good reading.
Long time back, Arsene was after Jens Nowotny. Now, that’s the kind of player you would like to see. German physicality plus efficiency. A Jaap Stam kind of player will also be nice.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:33 am
arsenal904, Gamst looked like a good player a season ago, but this season he was dropped quite often by Mark Hughes, no longer an automatic starter at Blackburn. i rarely watched any Blackburn games. but i think if he’s not even a starter with Blackburn, little chance he would be good enough for us.
@Sheed, actually there are many young black players who are Arsenal fans, probably due to the influence of Ian Wright and later Thierry Henry. but just because he’s an Arsenal fan it does not necessary mean we need him.
i have seen a few matches from Richards, both playing for City and England. He’s a good athlete alright, but that’s all.
he may be a good CB one day, but it will take another 4 or 5 years before he matured. To me, he’s just too similiar to Toure, and definitely not better than Toure.
since lot of folks are saying Arsenal must win something next season, in order to do that, if we are going to buy a new CB, it’s better to be an experienced CB, or a commanding tall CB that suits our need. Getting a Richards we would have Gallas, Toure, Song, Richards all fallen into a same category.
the fact that Richards has a great leap doesn’t mean much. You need a BIG lad, and strong enough to take on strikers like Drogba. And a CB with size would eat up the space, thus taking up good defending position. A CB who can jump high yet not strong enough to hold the position, when defending setpieces in particular, it would be the same old problem all over again.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:45 am
i think if u put better players around pedersen like he would have at arsenal he would find hes form
May 13th, 2008 at 5:29 am
So you’re saying Richards is not strong enough?
He is a beast for Christ sake!!!
May 13th, 2008 at 8:28 am
@Sheed: Go go with the Micah Richards backing …. the last time you got into this argument about Torres’s class you won hands down. History is on your side
.. still though Torres hasn’t yet scored away too much… 
May 13th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Come on, Carribkid, #24. I haven’t said anything about Zarate. For the record, I do rate him. Interestingly, I watched his first two games in the league and he came off the bench for Birmingham and impressed the hell out of me. But I don’t know enough about him to actually say yes or no so I didn’t say anything. If we were to go for him we wouldn’t have to do business with Birmingham as he’s not their player but rather on loan from some team called Al Saad; I believe it’s in Oman.
Paying upwards of 20 million for Richards simply because he can jump is absurd. I’ve seen him play a lot this season and he’s been very involved in Man City’s slump even before he was injured. Considering the players we have, there’s nothing he provides that says we should pay that much money for him. Man Utd and Liverpool might but they don’t have Sagna, Song, Gallas, Toure, or anyone who’s capable of doing what our guys can. Besides, he gets into a bit of trouble with alcohol, which is why he’s not been in Capello’s side yet. We know how Wenger feels about alcohol. Don’t believe the media hype, sheed. Those guys are all weirdos with an agenda.
Carlos Vela is a striker, just like Walcott is a striker and Henry is a striker. Wenger believes these types of players will develop better if they play out wide first and grow into a center forward role. Please wait on this one.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Oh yeah, Raul Albiol is absolute garbage. He’s good with the ball at his feet but his defending has been abysmal. I’ve been watching him for the past month or so and to say he’s failed to impress is an understatement. As a DM, I don’t know but as a CB, hell to the no. I’d rather bring Cygan back.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:29 am
@josh: The last time you used the word garbage …it was with good ol’ Cameroon dread locks. You sure this time round
May 13th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Off topic a bit, but I’ve only been watching the team (and the game, really) for two years, so what the hell do I know. In fact I get a lot of my “knowledge” right here at AA, where there’s a nice sort of consensus building thing going on, with a few contrarians who, uh, tend to hold their ground quite nicely.
My question: it sounds like Arsene’s got something in the works that might happen quickly. Certainly the end of the season seems like a good time as “feelings” about players and their happiness/unhappiness about the teams they play for are still fresh. Any ideas about which rumors might be true? The flow of info in the media seems almost impossible to follow, and likely at odds with what’s really going on behind the scenes. Where do you guys get your info? When we lived in London (on Highbury Terrace, to be exact) and I fell hard for the team (and the game), I quickly learned that the “back pages” were usually useless sensationalism and I more or less quickly settled on using the Guardian Football page and Arseblog (how’ bout him going full-time!?). Back home in the states I still look there but also here at AA quite a bit. Opinions?
May 13th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
what about david silva from valencia what do u guys think?
May 13th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
RE #68
I really like David Silva and it surprises me that I haven’t seen his name pandered about much with all the crap going on at Valencia. He kinda fell of the radar this season when his partnership with Villa didn’t bear as much fruit as last year.
I am torn about whether or not he would be a good fit on the left side at Arsenal. I think he is more than sound technically but I wonder if he would be able to adapt to England. We could always use this ability:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2divQdRDVs&feature=related
May 13th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Latest from Hleb’s agent:
“He is a gentleman and would not buy out his contract and will do things properly. ”
Ice cream (Gelato?) - the dessert of choice for all “gentlemen”!
Shpilevski added: “There are major European clubs after him…. Alexander is just tired of the noisy and chaotic life in the British capital and feels like living in calmer surroundings.”
Hmm.. Really? London’s too busy and big for our little Belorussian? I’m sure a small town like Milan would suit him, after all they’re only the fashion capital of the world and have two of Italy’s biggest football clubs…. And maybe he would fancy other small towns like Madrid or Barcelona too….
Rubbish from agents as usual, but at least i reckon we can get a decent fee for Hleb rather than the measley £3m had he done a “webster”. Can’t say I miss him (11 goals in 3 years as an attacking midfielder is poor) but he does push us forward at times and we’ll need to replace him with an equally good dribble but one that actually scores!
May 13th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
hleb is a wanta be freddy ljunberg hes never been great at arsenal lets give someone new a try
May 13th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
i know i spelled his name wrong
May 13th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
sheed, i m not just talking about strength, i m talking about the “size”. a “big” CB eat up “space”. for instance, imagine Richards facing a striker like Drogba, Drogba’s size would eat up the space and allows himself turn (if he’s playing with back against the goal). will Richards be able to deal with that? it’s the same reason i don’t think Song will make it as our CB neither.
if we ever buy a new CB, we need an Adams, Bould or Sol type of big lad, whose physical presence allows him to handle a big central forward.
no matter how i see it, Richards just falls right into the Kolo, Gallas, Song category. If we have $$ to spend, we might as well save it in the area we need more.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Josh, I don’t believe in the media hype, I believe in what I see!!!
Andez, I believe Richards can handle with players like Drogba…. but even if you want to see a ‘big’ CB, he would probably be clumsy on the ball, and too slow to play in out system, which we all know is very offensive and the CB’s play high up the pitch, and Richards is ‘made’ for that
May 13th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
My apologies Joshuad if it was not you. Probably did not do my homework well enough.
I stand corrected.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Shpilevski added: “There are major European clubs after him…. Alexander is just tired of the noisy and chaotic life in the British capital and feels like living in calmer surroundings.”
……. I hear Seattle is starting a team… very quiet and calm there.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Actually, the Seattle Sounders have been around for a while. Marcus Hahnemann used to play for those guys. But it’s always been an A-League team. This will be their first season in the MLS.
Sheed, my point is the same as Andez. We already have players in the same mold as Micah Richards. My very subjective view is Richards isn’t 20 million pounds better than Gallas, Toure, Song, or Sagna. To buy him would be a very big waste of money as he provides nothing different from the other four.
LDE, yeah, I called Song garbage before I realized the kid was only nineteen. For some reason I thought he was like 23. Once I learned of his actual age, I apologized for my negative comments about the guy. As for Albiol, he’s garbage regardless of his age. I’ve watched him play in Valencia’s last four games and he’s been bad in all four. Maybe Wenger’s seen him play DM and fancies him there. Hopefully, there’s nothing in this rumor.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
According to Graham Hunter, Arsenal have definately made contact with Richard Dunne.