Arsenal Transfer Rumours And General Chat

Pepe LeFrits

Atletico say they aren't interested in Reyes.

Fabianski in London at the moment according to the Polish press, and has agreed terms.

Pepe LeFrits

JUST IN: ARSENAL SIGN LIGHTNING QUICK WINGER WITH PREDATORY INSTINCTS!!

Yes, you read that correctly!

http://gunnerblog.com/?p=619

gandalf

LOL give a whole new meaning to the term flying down the wing

cson

didn't look at the link but ill presume its that eagle or whatever it is they have at the emirates to stop crows nesting there?

Necronomicon

Hey if it can kick a football on sight of goal, put it in ahead of Hleb

Royale with Cheese

Wenger guarantees that Henry will not be sold this summer...

Will this stop the papers writing shíte all summer long? I'd think not.

herbieflowers

It was the same with Vieira and Madrid's annual summer fascination...

cson

herbieflowers wrote:

It was the same with Vieira and Madrid's annual summer fascination...

Interesting parallels between Henry and Vieira, Vieira signed a new contract the year before he left, in much the same scenario, will he/won't he leave.

And we all know what happened then.

Personally I'd offer him as a swap with Eto'o to Barca, Henry has too much influence on the team. Arsenal are lacking a leader, if anyone read Cesc Fabregas' interview in fourfourtwo its blindingly obvious, Cesc mentions it 2 or 3 times that the players are afraid almost to say anything to each other.

Its a catch 22 as well cos if you bought a 'leader' and he came in and took over the dressing room the players might turn against him. What i'd like to see is Kolo Toure to come into his own and take control of the team as such and drive them on, give a bollocking to whoever needs it, a pat on the back to whoever needs it etc.

gandalf

Its obvious that there will be loads of stories linking Thierry out of Arsenal and I'll be honest if one of the Spanish teams offer a huge amount of cash they should take it.

He would have to be replaced but I think an out and out proven striker, which one I don't know (I'll think on it!).

Pepe LeFrits

gandalf wrote:

Its obvious that there will be loads of stories linking Thierry out of Arsenal and I'll be honest if one of the Spanish teams offer a huge amount of cash they should take it.

He would have to be replaced but I think an out and out proven striker, which one I don't know (I'll think on it!).

Good interview with Henry - http://info.wohoo.co.uk/2007/05/thierry-daniel-henry-interview/

Hadn't seen it before. It'd be a mistake to sell him for me, but it's not going to happen so it's all academic anyway!

Micah Richards:

"Obviously I'd like to play Champions League football, but time is on my side," he told the News of the World. I have three years left on my contract and I feel a commitment to the manager and fans.

"I like working for Stuart Pearce. He gave me my chance. I can learn a lot from him. I am ambitious and I'm flattered to be linked with the big clubs, but I got into the England squad playing for City, so there's no reason why I need to move at the moment."

Richards is likely to be spoiled for choice should he ever decide to move on, and he has revealed that Arsenal could be his preferred destination.

He said: "Arsenal are my team and it would be a dream move. I grew up supporting The Gunners."

Would love for Arsenal to sign him, tbh.

Rollo Tamasi

Richards would be a good signing. I have 0 faith in Eboube.

gandalf

Well based on todays game after Baptista got a full game to prove himself he should be charged with fraud in trying to pretend he is a footballer.

leninbenjamin

gandalf wrote:

he should be charged with fraud in trying to pretend he is a footballer.

seriously though, next season, a fit Henry and RVP Arsenal should be pushing top, on their day no one can outplay them. lets hope the likes of Fabregas and the young 'uns will only gain experience from what was a horribly mediocre season.

herbieflowers

Not unless they regain the bite they lost when they sold Vieira. For all their flair and fancy,dan-ness they struggle against teams who knock them about...they need to stiffen their midfield otherwise it's gonna be another poor season.

johnor

I know it looks like chelski have got sidwell but Wenger never wanted him to leave when he went to reading, he could be a good player for arsenal, he passes well and gets well stuck in... thats the type of player wenger needs in the middle....

leninbenjamin

herbieflowers wrote:

Not unless they regain the bite they lost when they sold Vieira. For all their flair and fancy,dan-ness they struggle against teams who knock them about...they need to stiffen their midfield otherwise it's gonna be another poor season.

dunno, i reckon in time Fabregas could be that player. he seems to have the passion needed at times, i think once he gets a bit more experience he'll get more stuck in (in a different way to vieira though). With his passing he certainly be able to pick the game up by the scruff of the neck and make things happen. and Gilberto is still the perfect holding midfielder to complement this.

they don't need a warrior, just someone to be able to lift the team mentally when it's going badly.

cson

Exactly why Arsenal aren't dominant and contesting the title right here...

Cesc Fabregas In FourFourTwo wrote:

Q- The image emerging is of a dressing room that accepts defeat..

Ans> If I get something wrong, if I play badly, if I fail, I like people to have a go at me for it. If I get it wrong, I want someone to tell me, to make that clear for me

Q- Does no one do that?

Ans> Yes. But amongst ourselves sometimes ther's a kind of fear of saying things to each other. Maybe we have to lose that fear. If I fail, I want you to come up to me and tell me so, to scream at me, have a go at me. That way I'll be ready next time, forewarned.

Cesc paints a telling picture. I have high hopes Toure can become the leader Cesc is talking about lacking.

GuanYin

To be fair, I think Arsenal had injuries to key senior players for much of the seasons. As a result, they didn't have consistancy or form throughout the team.

Had they kept everyone fit, I think they would have maintained a challenge for the PL.

That said, the fact that Chelsea have a huge squad and United have players that can come in and fill the places of Rooney, Heinze, Giggs etc is the reason that they're ahread of Arsenal at the moment.

I think Wenger needs to realise that focusing on youth is all well and good until you have no senior players left fit.

Alot of fringe players that Arsenal let go over the past 3 years are players that Wenger could have done with this season...

herbieflowers

leninbenjamin wrote:

dunno, i reckon in time Fabregas could be that player. he seems to have the passion needed at times, i think once he gets a bit more experience he'll get more stuck in (in a different way to vieira though). With his passing he certainly be able to pick the game up by the scruff of the neck and make things happen. and Gilberto is still the perfect holding midfielder to complement this.

they don't need a warrior, just someone to be able to lift the team mentally when it's going badly.

I dunno, it seems when Arsenal encounter teams who are willing to graft hard they can't seem to match it. They certainly have the guts of a very good side, butweren't we saying the same thing after the CL final last year?

Fuzzy_Dunlop

herbieflowers wrote:

I dunno, it seems when Arsenal encounter teams who are willing to graft hard they can't seem to match it. They certainly have the guts of a very good side, butweren't we saying the same thing after the CL final last year?

mhmm yeah i know what ya mean but its not like they're completely incapable of playing those kinda teams, i mean they played brilliantly against Bolton in the FA cup and we all know they are their bogey team, they also managed to completely outplay blackburn when they had ten men for most of the game in January, its more the consistency thats the problem. And the injuries, i think van Persie would have made a huge difference in his ability to actually score without having to be given ten opportunities to do so

EDIT- oh yeah i meant to say that its obvious that a new winger needs to be brought in, to replace Hleb on the first team but keep Hleb for Rosickys inevitable niggly injuries and rotate the three as required. A more traditional one though preferably, wonder whats gonna happen with Reyes, if only he wasn't such a sissy boy

Pepe LeFrits

herbieflowers wrote:

Not unless they regain the bite they lost when they sold Vieira. For all their flair and fancy,dan-ness they struggle against teams who knock them about...they need to stiffen their midfield otherwise it's gonna be another poor season.

The bite that Scholes and Carrick give United, is it?

Arsenal have done well against most of the teams who 'rough them up' this season. Arsenal dominate the majority of the games they play now, they just don't have enough cutting edge. The lack of a ball-winner is just a cliché at this stage.

johnor wrote:

I know it looks like chelski have got sidwell but Wenger never wanted him to leave when he went to reading, he could be a good player for arsenal, he passes well and gets well stuck in... thats the type of player wenger needs in the middle....

Sidwell is a decent player but Chelsea are only taking him because he's free and they'll be missing Essien and Mikel during January for the ANC. Arsenal don't have that problem, and imo Diaby and Denilson are better back-ups than him anyway, and neither of them are afraid to get stuck in. Arsenal's squad has weaknesses but central midfield isn't one of them.

psi wrote:

Alot of fringe players that Arsenal let go over the past 3 years are players that Wenger could have done with this season...

The likes of Bentley would have been useful but they didn't want to wait around and bide their time. Maybe Wenger shouldn't be so obliging with regards to letting players go at their request but looking after the player's interest before the club's is one of the factors that makes Arsenal an attractive proposition for young players.

Royale with Cheese

I don't think that it was injuries alone that kept Arsenal from bettering last season's 4th. Henry/Van Persie were definitely missed, but there were no goals from midfield either.

Ok Rosicky had a stop start season and hopefully he'll come good but the other wingers look rubbish. Hleb needs to piss off. Walcott looked decent enough in the earlier parts of the season but faded away with an injury and eventually had surgery.

Arsenal were slightly unlucky in that their 2 best strikers suffered lengthy injuries, and that at the same time the rest of the club's strikers (bar Adebayor) weren't up to it. I'm sure nobody thought Baptista would be such a spectacular failure. Aliadiere is probably one of the club's longest serving players at this stage, please go away. Henry, Van Persie, Adebayor, Bendtner and one new signing (somebody with some experience, but not a huge name who would be bothered by not being in the team all time) would be a fairly handy strike force for next year.

New winger please. Somebody proven and expensive. The club should ideally have 4 wingers. 2 extremely good ones, and 2 who aren't rubbish. Rosicky might still be a great player, Walcott did look good for a while, Freddie is past it, Hleb is crap. So I suppose 2 new wingers would be ideal. It's about time Wenger unearthed another French gem.

At the back Gallas has been a bit disappointing. Let's hope he's better next season. Wouldn't mind seeing another centre back signed. Don't have much confidence in Senderos or Djorou, probably less in Senderos.

leninbenjamin

nah i think the problem is largely that Henry is king. the lineups Arsenal send out most of the time should be capable of beating most opposition, i think Cesc kinda sums it up best in that quote. Henry is supreme now Vieira is gone, but isn't very good at that motivating stuff. the problem is, he's a moody fecker it seems (at least on the pitch) everyone is afraid to do it themselves for fear of undermining him and having him freak out/walk out etc. at least i think that's what the problem is.

Pepe LeFrits

Royale with Cheese wrote:

New winger please. Somebody proven and expensive. The club should ideally have 4 wingers. 2 extremely good ones, and 2 who aren't rubbish. Rosicky might still be a great player, Walcott did look good for a while, Freddie is past it, Hleb is crap. So I suppose 2 new wingers would be ideal. It's about time Wenger unearthed another French gem.

At the back Gallas has been a bit disappointing. Let's hope he's better next season. Wouldn't mind seeing another centre back signed. Don't have much confidence in Senderos or Djorou, probably less in Senderos.

Actually since the Richards comments came out I was thinking that he might potentially solve all those problems. Can't see it happening but if he did arrive, he could play right back or centre-back, and Eboue could play on the wing - he's equally adept there imo. Let Rosicky and Hleb compete for left mid, and Eboue/Walcott to compete for right mid.

leninbenjamin

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Actually since the Richards comments came out I was thinking that he might potentially solve all those problems. Can't see it happening but if he did arrive, he could play right back or centre-back, and Eboue could play on the wing - he's equally adept there imo. Let Rosicky and Hleb compete for left mid, and Eboue/Walcott to compete for right mid.

that could work actually. the one thing is, how good is eboué as an out and out winger? i can't remember seeing him actually play as one. when overlapping as a right back he usually has a bit more space as the full back is usually dealing with hleb/walcott/whoever. would he be able to do as well being man marked? i dunno if he's intelligent enough as a player to do it week in week out.

cson

He played on the wing today, did alright, won the penalty......fcuking Baptista.

I think Ribery would be a winger who could do well, but someone needs to be brought in, surely theres better out there than Hleb! £10 million he cost too.

Pepe LeFrits

leninbenjamin wrote:

that could work actually. the one thing is, how good is eboué as an out and out winger? i can't remember seeing him actually play as one. when overlapping as a right back he usually has a bit more space as the full back is usually dealing with hleb/walcott/whoever. would he be able to do as well being man marked? i dunno if he's intelligent enough as a player to do it week in week out.

Don't think we can know until it's tried out. He's played there the odd time and impressed - I recall he was excellent when he came on for Theo against Spurs in the CC. I don't think he'd have a problem with it though. He's one of the best attacking fullbacks I've ever seen, he's just pretty weak defensively. He's not the type of full-back who relies on the attacking midfielder to make opportunities for him. He's very capable of beating players on his own, he can cross and he can shoot. He used to play as a striker when he was younger.

gandalf

Whats the current situation with Franck Ribery, has he had a good season in France and would he be one of the answers for next seasons team.

Royale with Cheese

I heard Ribery will definitely be leaving if Marseille fail to reach the Champions League next year, last time I checked though they were quite likely to qualify.

Pepe LeFrits

Haven't paid him much attention but from what I've heard he hasn't had a great season - lots of injuries. Seems Nasri has been the impressive midfielder this season.

I'm not particularly enthused about Ribery - he's small, doesn't score much, hasn't got many years of improving left and would be very expensive. I don't think he's what we need really.

cson

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Haven't paid him much attention but from what I've heard he hasn't had a great season - lots of injuries. Seems Nasri has been the impressive midfielder this season.

I'm not particularly enthused about Ribery - he's small, doesn't score much, hasn't got many years of improving left and would be very expensive. I don't think he's what we need really.

The youngsters are fine, and we have a lot of them but imo we need a few finished articles.

Pepe LeFrits

Saw this elsewhere:



There are a lot of obvious fakes going around but this looks genuine.

herbieflowers

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

The bite that Scholes and Carrick give United, is it?

Arsenal have done well against most of the teams who 'rough them up' this season. Arsenal dominate the majority of the games they play now, they just don't have enough cutting edge. The lack of a ball-winner is just a cliché at this stage.

Frankly, yes. But not just Man U, pother teams have players who are willing to get stuck in in the midfield, Arsenal's midfield, imo, is full of fancy-dans who are great at passing the ball around and playing indulgent football but couldn't grind out a result to save their lives. So, as you said, it's a lack of cutting edge, but I also feel they're missing that extra bit in midfield.

Pepe LeFrits

herbieflowers wrote:

Frankly, yes. But not just Man U, pother teams have players who are willing to get stuck in in the midfield, Arsenal's midfield, imo, is full of fancy-dans who are great at passing the ball around and playing indulgent football but couldn't grind out a result to save their lives. So, as you said, it's a lack of cutting edge, but I also feel they're missing that extra bit in midfield.

Eh? Which one of Scholes and Carrick gets stuck in?

herbieflowers

Both. Watch a Utd match.

Pepe LeFrits

herbieflowers wrote:

Both. Watch a Utd match.

Oh, okay. I've never watched United play before, so it might be interesting. I reckon once they add this Hargreaves playmaker fella they'll be even more exciting to watch.

leninbenjamin

herbieflowers wrote:

Frankly, yes. But not just Man U, pother teams have players who are willing to get stuck in in the midfield, Arsenal's midfield, imo, is full of fancy-dans who are great at passing the ball around and playing indulgent football but couldn't grind out a result to save their lives. So, as you said, it's a lack of cutting edge, but I also feel they're missing that extra bit in midfield.

are you nuts? never seen Gilberto play have ya? he's among the best holding midfielders out there. of course Arsenal can get stuck in

Fuzzy_Dunlop

leninbenjamin wrote:

are you nuts? never seen Gilberto play have ya? he's among the best holding midfielders out there. of course Arsenal can get stuck in

Yeah i agree, and its not like Rosicky and Fabregas, and Hleb i guess, don't like to get stuck in aswell, they're always chasing back hassling players. Getting stuck in and controlling midfield is not Arsenals problem, its letting in stupid goals and not being able to score in a brothel

PHB

Arsenals problem isn't lack of steel in midfield, it's in defence imo.

Raskolnikov

Fabregas definitely upped his game this season. His tackling was much more tenacious and he consistantly has a desire to win and receive the ball. I can't say the same for Hleb or Rosicky though.

Arsenal's problem this season (besides Henry's "injuries") is that Robert Pires has left and Freddie Ljungberg has been absolute muck. Rosicky looks only to be a shadow of the player that Pires was and Hleb just isn't good enough. You only have to compare the goals and assist ratios to see that the new boys aren't performing. So therefore the brunt of making penetrating attacks has fallen upon Fabregas, we all know he's the potential to be great, but he can't work miracles on his own.

I'd love to see Reyes back at Arsenal to be honest. I know he can throw the toys out of the pram but he definitely has the ability. Definitely moreso than the likes of Hleb or Rosicky.

I fear for Arsenal next season. Compared to the top three, they simply don't have the cash to compete. With a quality manager and the cash to back him up, I can see Benitez taking Liverpool to the next level to challenge for the League. With Arsenal though, I see Dein gone. Rife speculation over the crown jewels at club, Wenger, Henry, Fabregas, etc.

GuanYin

In fairness it tool Pires the guts of a season to gel with the team they way Arsenal were playing and Lundberg was there maybe two season's before he hit top peak. I'd give the new lads a bit more time.

Raskolnikov

psi wrote:

In fairness it tool Pires the guts of a season to gel with the team they way Arsenal were playing and Lundberg was there maybe two season's before he hit top peak. I'd give the new lads a bit more time.

That's all well and good but what if Rosicky and Hleb don't come good? Can Arsenal afford to wait another few years before they can get replacements in to deliver?

leninbenjamin

Raskolnikov wrote:

That's all well and good but what if Rosicky and Hleb don't come good? Can Arsenal afford to wait another few years before they can get replacements in to deliver?

that's the thing isn't it? you can never know though without giving them the chance. you could let both of them go this summer, get some new players in and it could be the exact same story again. it's taken three seasons at Chelsea for Drogba to really show us what he's capable of...

Arsenal's biggest problems though is in their heads. it's more a mental thing at this stage, and i'm not sure a few new players would simply cause all the existing problems to go away.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Raskolnikov wrote:

That's all well and good but what if Rosicky and Hleb don't come good? Can Arsenal afford to wait another few years before they can get replacements in to deliver?

I'd say Rosicky will come good, not sure about Hleb though. Rosicky has already adapted fairly well and you can see that he links up really well with Fabregas. His two goals recently when he went in at the back post and took advantage of the defenders mistakes shows that he is coming to realise what is expected of him in terms of getting goals. Plus he can shoot too when he wants, so, like Fabregas he is well able to score . His main prblem is the injuries that he gets every time he strings 3/4 good matches together

gandalf

Agree about Rosicky he is a great player and will come good. Hleb has had longer to fit in and he is too hit and miss, he gives the ball away alot as well so I wouldn't mourn his loss if Arsenal decided to shift him on.

If Reyes came back I would be delighted because he is a brilliant talent and definately gives Arsenal another dimension. I think its a very slim change him returning though.

Pepe LeFrits

Sanli Tuncay appears to be available on a free transfer this summer. Can play as a second striker or on either flank, scores lots of goals and is 25. Might be a useful signing. Wenger has expressed his appreciation of him before.

Pepe LeFrits

Echo! Echo...

Some reports are saying that we've signed 16/17 year old Icelandic striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. No, really! Don't explode with excitement folks.

Anyway, apparently we've been trying to sign him for two or three years and have finally succeeded, beating Real Madrid, Liverpool, Ajax, Man United, AC Milan and Accrington Stanley to the punch. It may be for quite a substantial fee as he is rated highly - some have suggested that he is the second best young striker in Europe, after Bojan Krkic.

We've also been linked to Pedro - a Brazillian midfield player, and Renato Augusto, a Brazillian midfield player. I know absolutely nothing about Pedro other than what I've mentioned and that he plays for Figueirense. Renato is 19 years old and Tim Vickery talks about him in his latest BBC column:

Renato Augusto is a 19 year old attacking midfielder with Flamengo in Rio - he is indeed a young man of great promise.

He reminds me more of a young right footed version of Rivaldo than Kaka - similar build and somewhat awkward gait.

He's making very good progress - and the encouraging thing is that you can see progress in his weaker areas - he seems to be lasting the games better, his left foot is improving, and his finishing, which was a real weak point, is also making strides.

Flamengo have him on a long term contract and will be reluctant to part with him for a while - he taps right into their tradition.

Historically they are known for producing players.

The cupboard has been a bit bare for a while, but he's a home-produced Number 10, like Zico.

So he can be a symbol of the club, and Flamengo, for a while at least, may well try to build their precarious finances around retaining him.

There's one big problem he has to overcome - hopefully before he makes the eventual inevitable move to Europe.

Like many home-based Brazilian players, he has a tendency to go down all the time looking for a foul.

He needs to get this out of his system.

In Europe he will not be awarded the free-kicks he is accustomed to getting in Brazil.

It's been mentioned by officials at Salamanca that Arsenal will be buying 2 more South American kids and loaning them out to them, so perhaps these are the two.

jank

More youngster are ok but what arsenal need is a leader and a finished article.

Pepe LeFrits

Leaders are grown imo - we'll just have to wait for someone to become one.

Get TH14 and RVP fit and get in a belter of a winger and we'll be in good shape.

cson

Henry is definitely not a leader. Head down as soon as things don't go his way or he's having an off day. It won't happen but Kolo Toure should be givent he captaincy. He has at least shown glimpses of leadership. Hell even Fabregas has. Its the major thing the team is lacking, no one wants responsibility, no-one. It would be imo the difference between having all those draws (was it 8 or so?) at home and wins. The difference between being 20 odd points behind utd and right in the hunt with them.

Another thing that might fcuk up our season next year is the african nations cup. Chelsea are missing the most players, we're missing a **** load too (Ade, Toure, Eboue) whereas Utd have no african players.