May 15
Posting a thread to discuss any Arsenal related team news or rumours.
81 Responses to “Transfers, Rumours, Links, etc”
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Arsenal America
Official United States Supporters Club of Arsenal FC
Arsenal America Events
Arsenal America Dinner
In Honor of Danny Karbassiyoon
January 25, 2008
Washington DC
See photos Here!
May 15th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
here’s a latest piece of rumor - Puyol for Cesc. let’s laugh!
May 15th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I would be well happy with Toure and Ben Arfa, which sounds possible.
Arshavin looks tasty.
Villa, Eto’o are dream signings, but I think this would be unfair on Bendtner, Eduardo, RVP potentially.
Some English steel would be good too. Micah Richards is not the answer, too similar to what we already have. Lescott could be good but wouldn’t displace any of the current back four. Barry would be an excellent, if overpriced replacement for Flamini, but maybe the money could be better spent elsewhere, especially on a forward. Ashley Young perhaps?
If we sign one or two quality forwards/midfielders, I would be happy to not buy a centre half.
Hleb has to be retained. We need to add quality to Hleb, he will flourish even more with better players around him, especially those that can score.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
To rocka23: Lescott would be perfect for us because of his versatility.He would be additional cover for Clichy at LB, is a natural CB, great aerial foil against those EPL teams bombing high balls down the middle and can also cover across the back four and at DM. He also provides more height on our team regardless of where he plays.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Wenger’s already said his desire it to keep the team together. That means Hleb is going nowhere.
I, personally, haven’t been impressed by Toure this year. Maybe I just caught all of his bad games.
Wenger’s come out and declared Vela’s a center forward, not a winger. That’s exactly what I’ve been saying about him. Wenger saw Henry become the world’s best striker developing playing out wide first. He’s following that same mold with Vela and Walcott. We’ll see.
I think Wenger will buy Vincent Kompany. I believe he’s held out on buying him to give Senderos a chance to develop but it simply hasn’t worked out. We’ll see.
As for a creative playmaker, I haven’t a clue what Wenger has in mind. Ashley Young has been at the back of my mind all season as he’s led the league in assists for quite some time.. He’s a vey pacy and very competent LW player who would compete with Rosicky but Villa paid a lot for him from Watford and he won’t be cheap. Also, can he learn Wengerball? Once again, we’ll see.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Carrib, I can’t see Lescott leaving a team where he’s a starter, playing in Europe, and finally getting into the England team to come to Arsenal and be a back-up. We’ve seen what happened to Scott Parker, Shawn Wright-Phillips, and Steve Sidwell’s chances playing for England because they moved to a “bigger” club.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Joshuad, Hleb is gone. Arsenal are acting all tough in an attempt to get a good fee for him and hopefully start a bidding war. What Wenger says about wanting to keep Hleb is just hot air. After all, he said very similar things about Henry last year as well. The way Wenger picks and chooses his words tell you all you need to know about how things are going to turn out. I would astonished if Hlleb is still here next season. Wenger hates half-arsed players. Learned that lesson with Vieira.
Richard Dunne would be a good signing if he could mesh with the continental vibe around the club and concentrate on bringing his strengths to the party. Would certainly prefer him Kompany.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
CaribKid #3 - Lescott he would be a good signing as defensive cover, but he is not the dominant tall Vidic like defender that most of us crave. And if we get that type of player, and retain the rest of the defence, then Gallas can easily act as cover for Clichy at LB.
But if he was the only player to be added to the defence, then I would consider it a good squad signing.
Joshuad #6 - If Lescott was the only addition to our defence, it would definitely be a step up for him. He would get lots of games as first reserve LB and CB.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Lescott would be great. The guy had the highest number of goals for any defender in the league this year and is very calm / composed player. I doubt he would move to arsenal though, but if he did, what would Toure’s job in the team be ? I dont think he will want to come to arsenal to sit on the bench.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
YOUNG WOULD BE A GREAT SIGNING BUT ID LIKE TO SEE VAN DER VART HES GREAT HE CAN GRAB A GAME BY THE SCRUF OF THE NECK AND RUN IT
May 15th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I would like to point out one small, itty, bitty detail concerning Lescott and his defending. It was Lescott who was standing flat footed while Bendtner was rising majestically to score his bullet header. Correct me if I’m wrong but we do need a CB who can defend set plays and defend the long ball. We don’t need a CB who can score as many goals as he let’s in :).
I tried watching Kompany but he broke his leg. I then saw him play 1 substitute appearance in the MF. So I don’t know if he can play defense the way we need a CB to play defense.
Song is looking pretty good for CB right now. Wenger feels he would wear down(?) at DM over a 60 game stretch. He looked pretty good at Charlston in that role and at the ANC.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Walcott scores in a 2-1 win over Wales (U-21s). Slowly but surely he’s getting there.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
ctpa@10
Lescott may have made a mistake then and which CB including Vidic, Ferdinand, Terry, Dunne and the rest of the best have not made errors this season. The key stat is how many errors they have made. I have watched Lescott quite a few times this year and he has been both spectacular and steady. Take out his goals scored and I would still have him on my team. Whether Arsene can afford him now or whether his club will let him go is another story all together. Just think he would seamlessly fit into the team.
Joshuad@4
Tend to agree with Mazza that Hleib will go, but he will go on our terms. Arsene’s history of dealing with disgruntled players is to quickly sell them at a profit and Hleib’s stock is very high right now. I would love to have Hleib for another half or full season while we blood someone else but just don’t see Arsene keeping someone who’s heart is not at the Emirates. This could cause friction within the team and that’s something we can ill afford at this time.
Odds of Hleib leaving before next season: 1:2
Odds of Hleib leaving in January: 2:1
Odds of Hleib leaving end of next season 6:1
May 15th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Go easy on a first time poster here, but a player who has really impressed me every time I’ve seen him this past year who I think would work well at Arsenal is Jesus Navas from Sevilla. Speedy, teachnically skilled winger. A little slight but still very young and could grow some. I haven’t yet heard him linked in any of the rumored transfer exodus from Sevilla.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Welcome G_i_a_C@13 hope you have a good time with all the louts, including myself, at Arsenal America.
Seems like we have been linked with him before but three different reports have him suffering from anxiety disorders and sometimes “homesickness”. He probably is a cousin of Antonio Reyes and find it difficult to adapt to the harsh London climate and “Hleibitist” (inability to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Urban environment).
He is an excellent player though but does not score a lot of goals.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Well Girlfriend here’s the Navas story.He’s all you say he is and I like him for Sevilla where he works well with Alves and crosses well into Kanoute. He’s not a scorer. He dives a lot. He would make Reyes look cosmopolitan. You can’t take him out Sevilla where he was born, raised and played all his young life. There isn’t a team in the world including the Spanish national team that will play him because he has anxiety issues.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Will we have any transfer funds left after Fabregas, Clichy, Sagna and Adebayor get new deals?
May 15th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Nice article on Hleib below:
http://www.onlinegooner.com/exclusive/index.php?id=630
Ctpa@16
New salaries for the aforementioned will run less than 8 million and that’s already been allocated in the budget based on the last financial statement. To answer your question, YES we will have money to spend. Also, notice how Hill-Wood has been cozying up to Kroenke recently.
May 15th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
kroenke = money money= players player= stronger team stronger team = wining the league come on arsenal
May 16th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Hleb’s agent has been stirring the pot for some time. Wenger’s tough talking is basically to ensure they get a decent transfer fee for him.
Unless Hleb doesn’t get a big wage increase and decides to stay. I hope he does. I hope this is just a summer of Viera-tranfer-footsie, which he needs to get out of his system. Then he can knuckle down to the task of becoming a goal-scorer as well as playmaker.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Wenger has confirmed that he will bring Vela back and also that he is more of a striker than a left winger. Stories of Ben Arfa are getting stronger and stronger now.
Any news on Merida? I wasn’t impressed when he was sent on loan, firstly to Spain and secondly to a second-division club. Wouldn’t a team in England have been better for him? He has signed a contract extension, but is he back this summer?
May 16th, 2008 at 5:40 am
good point nipuna. i think it’s a better idea to loan our young players (particular the foreign kids) to English clubs, let them get toughen up by the English physical game, than to Spain.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Jesus Navas got one serious problem - homesick. i heard that he once got a depression problem because of that. so he’s very much staying at Spain for life.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Wenger on Song -
“When I put a player somewhere, I know why I do. If I play Song at centre back it is because I believe he will be a great centre back for Arsenal Football Club.
“In Song’s case, he can play in central midfield. But can he play 60 games there? I am not convinced.”
Doesn’t say why he is not convinced. At just over 6 ft, don’t know how he solves the height problem in our defense. This is all a bit puzzling. It will be cleared once we know who Wenger will sign.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Although Yaya Toure has been linked with us..I don’t think Wenger will sign him. Just the thought of losing a first choice CD (Kolo), DM(Yaya) and ST(Adebayor) for 2 months every alternate season does not look too appealing. Especially since the Toure’s play for Ivory Coast which is probably guaranteed qualification every year for the AFCON. Unless they are able to sort out the AFCON dates…I don’t think Wenger will be looking for any further transfers from Africa. He will probably be looking at France and Eastern Europe again this year.
About Song…the guy first started impressing when he was put in the Central Defence. I may be wrong…but I think the match against Blackburn in the Carling Cup was the first one he started as a CD and did a lot to keep us in the game. In recent games too…he has been most impressive at CD. I haven’t seen him too much in the DM role….but i have a feeling he will be more a Gilberto type of player rather than a Flamini type who constantly harries the opposition. I still feel that the two transfers we will see this season is the Winger/Striker(Ben Arfa) and the replacement for Flamini (Makoun). When is the French League ending?…i think we will hear of the transfers soon after.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:29 am
It’s the same problem if Song becomes a DM. I think Wenger is keeping his cards close to his chest. We’ll know more when new players are signed.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Wayne, actually i thought Song played better at CB in later games than the Blackburn match. it was also the first time i saw him playing there on that game. he was everywhere clearing things, but IMO it was because he got caught out of position and had to run around chasing the loose ball. some said he played better than Sendy at that game. I disagreed. to me a good CB gotta have a good positioning sense, we do not see that too often with Rio Ferdinand, or Adams, Bould the likes at the past who had to running around clearing ball.
in later matches, Song had improved a bit. Still, i m not convinced he could make it as CB. If AW decides to stick with him there he’s taking a major risk.
Kolo was a success. yet as Kolo said it himself before he came to Arsenal, he was playing CB anyway, and he’s always playing CB for Ivory Coast. For a player like Song who had never played there before, not only his lack of height would get found out sooner or later, but also his positioning sense. you can’t develop that kind of positioning sense as a CB (it’s different positioning as a CB from a CM) in such a short space of time.
against smaller sides, we may get away from it. against Man U, Chelsea the likes, they are going to kill us at the back.
i agree with Wenger on 90% of the issues. but this one I don’t buy it.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Andez, I think it’s the first time I am seeing you in disagreement with Wenger. So far, I had only seen you staunchly defend Wenger, be it when he sent Djourou on loan, the Diarra + Flamini case and even regarding Eboue.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:30 am
also i m with the school of thought that - u don’t fool around at the back.
i don’t mind AW tries mixing around the players on other positions, winger plays as striker, or forward shifts to winger, or CB becoming DM. that’s fine.
but when comes to defence, you play with your best possible option, that means - the best keeper, the best pair of CB u got, the best RB, LB.
i look at AW played Djourou at RB, really felt for the poor kid. he just doesn’t have the pace to be effective as a RB. a faster winger would definitely murder him down there.
and i also had that question in mind which nipuna brought up before - how costly was AW’s decision to drop Jens in favour Almunia?
note here it was only 4 points that seperated Man U from us. surely Jens’ ability to pull off match winning saves could possible have saved us some shots that Almunia failed wouldnt him? if it’s an 8 points difference than i might not have this thought.
GK, and CBs are three most crucial positions in the team that mistakes are at the minimum. if AW does not buy any defender, I would perfer he sticks with Gallas and Toure as starting CBs, with Senderos as third choice. those are at least legit CBs. remember Gilberto? the first few games when AW tried playing him there, i remember he actually earned some praise from fans for his clamness at the back. but it didn’t really take long for him to get found out playing there.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:35 am
nipuna, because i understood AW’s point. Djourou on loan made perfect sense, and it didn’t hurt us in the end. Diarra’s departure was inevitable. Flamini was the same. AW could not have done anything else to change the outcome. and eboue’s role in the team has been significantly undermined IMO.
but this defence issue, I cannot think of a logical explanation.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:55 am
@Andez
I remember when Song was first signed by Arsenal…and the few games he managed to play at CM then……he was absolutely taken apart by a majority of the fans and the press. I was probably not part of the group that disliked him…but then again….I wasn’t a big fan of him as well. In fact I distinctly remember another Arsenal.com article about a year back…in which they talked about how he was not liked by the fans and how the manager still had faith in his ability. I think he’s come a long way since then..and given a longish run in the team ..i think he should do well.
He may lack the required height….but the guy is built like a tank..which should compensate for his lack of height. I’ve watched all the matches in which he has played for the first team..and one thing that stood out was his ability to win tussles for the high balls. And another thing you can observe….is the abolute calm manner in which he handles himself…a good quality for a CB. My guess is he will eventually take over from Toure.
That said…i do believe that Wenger will revert to the Toure-Gallas combo once next season starts…but Toure should be worried because if he ever goes through a bad patch like this season ..Song will get his chance.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Wenger - A big player is better than a big name.
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=491536&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=Wenger+-+A+big+player+is+better+than+a+big+name
BIG players are exactly what Arsenal need. Players who could have stepped up at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and OT.
Notice that he again says “two or three maybe” new players will be coming. If they are all BIG players, Arsenal will rock.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Agree with Wayne there, Song has played really well in the last games of the season. I’m wondering now… where this leaves Johan Djourou?
May 16th, 2008 at 9:41 am
“Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is eager to sign experienced French defender Lilian Thuram. (Daily Star)”
Oh god; I really hope this is BS speculation..
May 16th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Quiz question: Who is the oldest out-field player Arsene has signed?
I am not sure about the answer myself.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Spurs just signed this kid named John Bostock. At sixteen years, that kid already looks the real deal. I saw him play in the Carling Cup in the winter and he’s got this Rooney-type aura about him; good skills and no fear. What a shame he’s going to those clowns.
Djourou was horrible against Sunderland. He’s not had a good game all season, except in the reserves playing DM.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Arsene Wenger is bringing Bruce Springsteen to the Emirates for a two day loan in May. He is a little older than most of AW’s signings. But I like that he is going for some tried and true experience.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Oldest player he has signed is Davor Suker I think.
As for Song, I like the guy. Ever since pre-season, when he was lumbering around in the “barca” jersey - looking like Ronaldinho … LOL.
Anyhoo…he is a good lad….BUT…this is not the time to be playing around with maybes in defense. We should get a PROPER, and MONSTROUS CB and CM.
And Song should be the first-choice back up to that CM.
Sucking up to young (or even older) players doesnt pay. After one season of good performance, they could always do a Hleb on you. So its better to just choose (or buy) your best squad, rather than increasing a young players value at your own team’s expense.
Wenger has been guilty of that for far too long.
In my view if we get just 3 players, it might be better to get a proper CB, CM and GK - they are probably more important than an AM - even when Hleb leaves.
If we get a 6ft 4 CB, a 6 footer bulldog CM, and a 6ft 5 keeper at least our core will be very solid. The likes of Vela and Walcott on the wings will be hilariously light….but at least your back will be covered.
Attackers only need to be on “point” for about 5 minutes in a match to win a match. Defenders need to be on top of their game for 90. Lets deal with defense first - while the Hleb drama unfolds.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
now Nasri is the new rumor
May 16th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
The media is asking Vieira a lot about Arsenal these days . Shouldn’t they be asking him about a certain key game on the weekend which could decide Inter’s title? And will the result of this Inter away game to Parma decide Hleb’s future? I wouldn’t be surprized if Hleb is travelling to Parma this weekend. For the ice cream ofcourse as I am sure Parmalat makes good ice cream
May 16th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Yup, it has to be Suker… Gallas close 2nd
May 16th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Nasri is not a new rumour… we have been linked with him before.
If Hleb leaves, I want to see Nasri and Ben Arfa signed… imagine midfield with Cesc, Ben Arga and Nasri… the new three musketeers
May 16th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Fred@37
We, myself included, tend to get carried away with the height of players, but in fact it is more about timing, positioning, reflexes and leaping ability which governs performance. Height is relative in regards to performance. If you have a 6′ 1″ CB with a high vertical jump and a 6′ 5″ CB who can’t jump, I would bet on the shorter guy any day. If you have watched Song recently you would have seen that he competes very well for the aerial ball and seldom gets beaten in the air. He is well built, is quick, has good ground skills and his positional awareness should improve.
I have no doubt he will make a very good CB but think he is wasted at that position because he could be a great DM. His pace, heading ability, tackling skills and desire to push forward would serve him very well as a DM and I hope Arsene recognizes this.
There are not many “monstrous” CB’s out there, especially available ones, with the ground skills required by Arsene, but agree we need to pursue that as a number 1 priority.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Soccer Giants Borrow Beane’s Formula to Chase Champions League
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aCEh4uRSjFAI&refer=home
an article how technology is used to make transfers..
May 16th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Sheed@41. Unfortunately I have not seen anything of Nasri. What makes hin special?
May 16th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Oleg Luzhny was the 2nd oldest I think.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Believe me he is special!
He has the vision of Cesc, is a better dribbler and can shoot from distance… unlike Hleb. lol
May 16th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Complete player I would say
May 16th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
But when do players ever score from distance. Once in a blue moon. Think he has five goals this year. Prolific.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
He would do much better with great players around him.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Mazza, 5 goals is 3 more than Hleb had. And while 5 goals is not prolific those 3 more goals than Hleb had, scored in the proper context means 9 more pts. which than makes that non-prolific total possibly prolific. Especially if it gives enough threat to force teams not to pack everyone in the box against us.
And why be a prolific goalscorer when some would peg you for a super sub anyway, eh?
May 16th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I hear that argument all the time. Whether a player has a good shot or not whether he is reluctant to use it, the opposition will close that player down regardless. Hleb gets closed down all the time outside the box. Didn’t that happen when he dribbled Mascherano and co in the champions league for the penalty that never was? Anyway, these scenarios where players recieve the ball in space ala Rosicky against Hamburg are alot rarer than people think.
Anyway, Hleb scored four/five goals in all competitions this season. Nasri probably scored five in all competitions as well, considering he has scored only ten in 119 appearances for Marseille.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Mazza, the fact is that you can’t find a worse goalscorer than Hleb! Plus Nasri has all the vision, skill and all that…. and is only 21, so there is much more to come from him.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
To correct myself… we have a worse goalscorer than Hleb in our own team, it’s Eboue, but other than him you can’t find any.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Mikel Arteta has only scored one goal all season. The grass is greener brigade will be surprised at that one.
“Nasri has however struggled with form in the 2007-2008 season, resulting in many fans calling for him to be substituted in the home game against Bordeaux on 4th May 2008″
Wikipedia.
Saw him against Scotland. Looks a good player. However I wouldn’t swap anyone for Hleb apart from Messi. If Hleb stayed then Nasri and him could have fun together.
At the moment he is a 21 year old lightweight who will take a while to adapt most likely.
Another season of transtion ahead. The cycle goes on.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Mazza, even Cesc would struggle with form in that Marseille team
May 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
If your a supposed class player, you stand out above them, like Miralem Pjanic. His dribbling skills don’t really impress me. Alot of it is just him forcing his way though after being tackled time and time again.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
In my view the problem is in midfield; we have not shown the ability to close down the opposition play in midfield, the Milan 2nd leg game being the exception. Most times we allow the opposition free reign in midfield, only waiting until they are in our final third before closing down play. And due to our over elaborate passing at the other end, we invariable lose possession and would have to wait for the ball to be retrieved by our backline before building up play again. Thus, our defenders constantly have to stop the opposition’s play and since we employ a wing back formation, someone is invariable going to be out of position. IMO, we conceded a lot of goals this season due to not wining the battle of midfield (from a defensive standpoint) and lack of positional disciple at the back. For a team with the possession percentages that we get, we shouldn’t be letting in the numbers of goals that we concede.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Come on Mazza, Pjanic is just a kid, he ain’t better than Nasri at the moment!
May 16th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I MAY SOUND DUMB BUT GORON PANDEV WOULD BE A GOOD BACK UP STRIKER I THINK
May 16th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
And are you telling me that Pjanic is having a great season behind him, without struggling for form? That’s just not possible.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Pandev is a good player and is improving every year…. hopefully he will make a move to a big club this summer, he is the Macedonian Il Fenomeno!!!
lol
May 16th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I SAID THAT FOR U SHEED CAUSE I KNOW UR MACEDONIAN BUT HES A CLASS PLAYER
May 16th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Damn right he is a class… and he ain’t no back up player, he is good to be a starter!
His numbers are great, 19 goals in 38 games in all competitions, considering he is playing for a mid-table club and has played in midfield for half a season.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HOlPRUSQjk
You still think his dribbling skills are not that good?
May 16th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Hooray. Some good transfer news for a change:
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is close to signing a new, lucrative contract aimed at finally warding off Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The 21-year-old Young Player of the Year is already committed to Arsenal until 2014 but it is understood the club are set to complete a new deal worth around £100,000 a week.
Gael Clichy already confirmed that he has agreed to a new deal and is about to extend his existing contract by a further two years.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Just posted a long comment and the stupid thing didn’t come through so I will cut a long story short and say I’m still not convinced.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Nasri has the body mannerisms of Van Persie. He is a good lad. He can definitely do a job.
The truth of the matter is - ANY attacking midfielder that have good passing, open body vision, above average dribbling skills and uses his brain would MAKE it at Arsenal.
Wenger-ball gives complete and total freedom to the AMs to mold the team as they please. Wenger also ALWAYS gives them time - even when they make mistakes.
I mean Ljunberg was NEVER a great player. He cant and couldnt dribble. His passing is average. But he came to Arsenal - used his brain - created a niche role for himself. A winning role. Even Pires was not some master dribbler, passer guy.
Any smart, cynical, goalgetter type AM with goodish skills WILL flourish at Arsenal.
Nasri, Kranjcar, Diego, Ben Arfa, Babel, Gouffran, ….whatever, whoever. Bring them in fast before the holidays end.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Wenger says Song is defender and not midfield
Toure should take Flamini’s job and Lescott would be the best bet because he could bakup Clichy if needed.
Zarate would be v exciting
May 16th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Forget about signing a striker… we got Carlos Vela coming back from loan and Wenger said that he sees him as a central striker, so I don’t think he will sign another one.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Fred, please do not categorize Diego as having “goodish” skills. Take out Ronaldinho, Ronaldo ( although mainly played as a winger) and Kaka and he is as good as anyone else on the field. He is also very versatile because he can play across the midfield four and also as a support striker. Ben Arfa has the potential to get there but has not achieved that yet.
Sheed@69
Agreed we don’t really need a striker but if Wenger can get Zarate at a reasonable price he will do so as insurance for RVP and Eduardo.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Remember Sheed, always read between the lines when Arsene speaks. He sees Vela and Walcott as strikers down the road but not for next season.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
lescott no way hes not gona start and it would cost us to much to buy him from everton just to back up
May 17th, 2008 at 1:12 am
@ 70: Please read my comment more carefully. I just gave a short run-down on who we have been linked to. Not on whether they are “goodish” or not.
And dont preach to me about Diego, I have rated him very highly since his days at Santos … where he was actually the main main - not Robinho. I have been calling for Arsenal to buy him since last season.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:14 am
CaribKid, actually Wenger has said that Walcott will play next season on the wings, not both of them.
May 17th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Do you know anything about Nikolai Dimitrov transfer rumors confirmed ?
May 18th, 2008 at 5:02 am
Nasri has said that the goal he scored yesterday might be his last for Marseille… he might be coming to the Arsenal
May 19th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
From all the rumors I’ve seen so far, any of these are the guys I’d like to see in Arsenal Red next year…
Niko Kranjcar — midfielder could pair up with Cesc in the middle, make us say ‘Mathieu who?’ Problem — Redknapp will be looking for bank, and if history serves, AFC won’t pay. Maybe with Kroenke’s billfold…
Yaya Toure — a big midfield presence. If we learned anything about last season, we need physical players who can also play the game. I’ve like Yaya for a while. We may get him cheaper than might be expected if Barca carries through with the summer clearance we keep hearing about.
Ben Arfa — no brainer. Fits in with the rest of the Frenchmen, replaces Hleb if he leaves, and may spell him if Hleb stays. He’s young with a tremendous upside and can rotate in emergency to striker. Wenger is keen on him (and it should be said that even when I have my own doubts, I trust Wenger’s intuition).
I’m not as keen on a swoop for Samir Nasri, and here’s why: Yes, I think he’s class, but do we really need to be spending more money on another striker when it’s the center back and center midfield that are gaping when it comes to depth? I’d even rather see us take a veteran keeper than another striker right now (that Sebastien Frey rumor is intriguing… but I don’t see the board forking over that kind of dough when Almunia and Fabianski are already in the fold… regardless of our questions regarding both them, I just don’t see the money men justifying it like we would).
Curiously, I haen’t seen much mention of any CB’s. Perhaps AW is going behind another one of his smokescreens and looking for one where we might not think of it. Or, perhaps Nordtveit’s quick rise through the ranks in the reserve squad will lead him to a trial at the Emirates. We’ll see I guess.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Rye, Nasri is not a striker, he is a playmaker, just like Hleb and Rosicky!
May 19th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Oops.. sorry Sheed, my mistake (long weekend at work, brain still recovering)
I think I’ve mixed up Nasri and another name I was seeing pop up in rumor mill talk on Sky, or conflated stories I’ve read on Vela and Nasri from that site.
In any case, I’d take Krancjar or Toure first if they (and the money) are available. Kancjar is EPL tested, and Toure is a physical presence. Nasri wouldn’t be a bad pickup, but at the price Marseilles will be asking (”no less than 14 million” quid) that’s pretty steep for a 20 year old kid who is untested in the EPL.
But whomever we acquire, I trust Wenger.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
According to L’Equipe Nasri is due into London on the 22nd for his physical. It also says he is likely to replace Hleb.
July 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am
love to see villa or eto and toure `s brother looks a great player aswell but barca will never let him go