Arsenal Transfer Rumours And General Chat

jank

Maybe its a policy for Arsenal FC. They know they have the talent to always finish Top 4 and mount a semi challenge for the CL and the PL. If they get lucky they might win either.
Maybe the board arent serious in letting wenger spend big!
Maybe they just want to pay off the debt before they spend big?

OPENROAD

jank wrote: »

Maybe its a policy for Arsenal FC. They know they have the talent to always finish Top 4 and mount a semi challenge for the CL and the PL. If they get lucky they might win either.
Maybe the board arent serious in letting wenger spend big!
Maybe they just want to pay off the debt before they spend big?

Or maybe they are just sensible with money and as Arsene says spend within the clubs means ie.match day money, tv money etc..

Have to completely disagree with your point regarding the board.

PHB

I think its the latter. They want the same amount of profits. They however have debt repayments. As such, the transfer budget is gona take a hit. People think of them as better than foreign owners, and they are, but they are still business men.

OPENROAD

Good article, people are expressing doubt about Theo but I have no doubt he will become an Arsenal great. Like the bit about his Dad,he seems to have a good family behind him

http://blogs.notw.co.uk/sport/2008/04/i-tackled-arsen.html

Galvasean

Walcott seems to have hit good form recently (I was one of his biggest critics until recently enough). If he can carry on this form into next season and improve upon it he could challenge for a regular starting XI place.

I remember when we called back Djourou for loan in the January window has cover for the defense. Then what happens? He gets injured in his first game and hasn't played since. Typifies our season really.
We can moan about injuries all we want (granted we have had more than our fair share), but if you want to seriously challenge for titles you're gonna need quality back up players just in case.

Will Carlos Vela be returning for us in summer? I hear he's doing quite well in Spain.

Sqaull20

OPENROAD wrote: »

Good article, people are expressing doubt about Theo but I have no doubt he will become an Arsenal great. Like the bit about his Dad,he seems to have a good family behind him

http://blogs.notw.co.uk/sport/2008/04/i-tackled-arsen.html

Doubts have real substance though..

Theo's kick and chase game might need a few more years of bulking up to work..

Thierry's game was based on the same principle but Thierry knew when to run and when not to, he was also a big guy, with way more power than Theo will ever have, guys like Carragher can block of Theo's run with ease, while Thierry would put them on their arse....

Theo's pace is great but a little over rated too imo, he has stunning acceleration to beat a player initially, but his top speed is nothing special...

I heard somewhere that at Arsenal they did sprint tests and over shorter distances (30 to 40m) Walcott was fractionaly the fastest at Arsenal, but over longer distances Henry and Adebayor ( :eek: ) blew Theo away.

Henry was 29 at this stage and did the 100m in just over 11, with Ade 11.16, Traore 11.32, Theo 11.48...

Whether he would of been quicker then Thierry at short distances in his early 20's/ late teens?

Thierry supposedly ran a 100m in 10.80 something when Wenger was his coach at Monaco...

It doesn't really matter who does what; can Theo burst away from defenders and leave them eating dust? Thierry did it for years..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWT7f_YI8t0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AALrpPtO9Ug

Galvasean

Sqaull20 wrote: »

over longer distances Henry and Adebayor ( :eek: ) blew Theo away.

Have you seen the length of Ade's legs? It shouldn't be surprising. He covers so much ground in a single stride.

PHB

IMO its because he's so small, that he's able to accelerate faster. Ronaldo and Messi are extremely fast, but I think in terms of acceleration, Messi blows Ronaldo away, and since Ronaldo blows most other people away, it's pretty amazing.

OPENROAD

As I said lets just wait and see how Theo develops, it seems that unless a player is an instant success people will express doubts and write a player off,he still very young, next season will be a big one for him,and it will be great to see an English player make the big time at Arsenal.

keano_afc

Well Boro almost helped us out! I think Wenger needs to be honest and just accept that the league is gone. Cesc should have been rested yesterday, their midfield was better than ours and who did they have playing in there?? Both Cesc and Flamini are exhausted. Unfortunately I can see another frustrating summer in the transfer market, we just dont spend money. Pure and simple. The board says money is available and Wenger says it isn't, so somebody is lying. As an Arsenal fan, putting wish lists of players together is something I stopped doing a long time ago. When was the last time you got excited at a signing? I think it was Reyes for me.

OPENROAD

keano_afc wrote: »

Well Boro almost helped us out! I think Wenger needs to be honest and just accept that the league is gone. Cesc should have been rested yesterday, their midfield was better than ours and who did they have playing in there?? Both Cesc and Flamini are exhausted. Unfortunately I can see another frustrating summer in the transfer market, we just dont spend money. Pure and simple. The board says money is available and Wenger says it isn't, so somebody is lying. As an Arsenal fan, putting wish lists of players together is something I stopped doing a long time ago. When was the last time you got excited at a signing? I think it was Reyes for me.

Sorry where has Wenger said that no money is available.

keano_afc

Its a pretty badly kept secret that Wenger is frustrated over the lack of funds.

OPENROAD

keano_afc wrote: »

Its a pretty badly kept secret that Wenger is frustrated over the lack of funds.

Is it???

keano_afc

I've heard it mentioned on many Arsenal forums. I know, that doesnt mean its true but it would make sense. Would AW deliberately not spend money if it was there? He cant be the only one who doesnt see we need strengthening badly.

gosplan

keano_afc wrote: »

Its a pretty badly kept secret that Wenger is frustrated over the lack of funds.

What???

Was this before or after they said there's money there for him if he wants it.

People are very quick to blame Wenger for not buying enough players but we went into the year with a pretty damn good squad.

This year, Arsenal have more or less lost Diarra, Gilberto, Rosicky, Eduardo and Van Persie.

Take Hargreaves, Carrick, Giggs, Tevez and Rooney from Man U and they'd find it tough.

keano_afc

We havent lost Gilberto, he just hasnt played?

Of the players you mentioned there none have started regularly for Utd, except maybe Tevez, and Rooney has been injured a bit. The thing is, Utd can cover for losing the likes of Rooney and Carrick. We cant cover the players we've lost.

OPENROAD

keano_afc wrote: »

I've heard it mentioned on many Arsenal forums. I know, that doesnt mean its true but it would make sense. Would AW deliberately not spend money if it was there? He cant be the only one who doesnt see we need strengthening badly.

Can't think of a worse source He has a lot of faith in the kids, he signed Sagna and Eduardo in the summer, were they bad signings because he did not pay £10m + for them. He has stated that he will spend only based on the sources of the club without putting it in danger. So based on match day receipts, sky money etc..January is the worst time to enter into the transfer market, who could we have got in January that would have made a difference. A figure of £70m has been mentioned as a budget he has and this would appear to tie into our accounts as an accurate figure. As I have said he will strengthen in the summer, but don't expect him to go out and splash £20m + on a single player it is not his way. Despite what the media are saying we are still very much in the champions league and with the rseult today we still have a slim chance in the pl.

Sqaull20

Vidic and Ferdinand both out for United...

Only 3 points between ous and Chelsea, not over yet

Man United have to play: ous at Home, Blackburn Away, Chelsea Away, West Ham Home, Wigan Away..

Chelsea have to play: Wigan Home, Everton Away, Man U Away, Newcastle Away, Bolton Home..

We have to play: Man U Away, Reading Home, Derby Away, Everton Home, Sunderland Away

Big ask but if we beat Man U, we are right back in it...

Tuesday nights game is huge.

OPENROAD

gosplan wrote: »

This year, Arsenal have more or less lost Diarra, Gilberto, Rosicky, Eduardo and Van Persie.

Take Hargreaves, Carrick, Giggs, Tevez and Rooney from Man U and they'd find it tough.

Very very true.

Sqaull20

OPENROAD wrote: »

Very very true.

Wenger knew Van Persie and Rosicky would miss half the season, they have done it their entire career...

Eduardo was a big shock, he also wasnt to know Diarra would lose the head and couldnt have imagined Gilberto would turn to **** so fast..

Injuries are no excuse though, he knew that Eboue, Diaby, Theo and Bendtner would get games, he had blind faith in them and now looks a right fool imo

Galvasean

Now that United unexpectantly dropped points I wonder is Wenger regretting fielding a weakened side against 'pool?

keano_afc

He will if we get knocked out on wednesday.

OPENROAD

Sqaull20 wrote: »

Wenger knew Van Persie and Rosicky would miss half the season, they have done it their entire career...

Did he know? Yes our squad should cover these but if Ronaldo and Rooney were out it would impact on utd that is all I'm saying.

Sqaull20

OPENROAD wrote: »

Did he know? Yes our squad should cover these but if Ronaldo and Rooney were out it would impact on utd that is all I'm saying.

Point is valid, but not with those two..

If Cesc and Ade were out yeah it would affect ous greatly, as Arsene would have penciled them in for so many goals, games etc, if Arsene honestly expected Rosicky/Robin to be fit for most of the season, then more fool him..

Those two average 25 games a season every season..

Ferguson didnt make Saha one of his first eleven, Rafa with Kewell etc...

They brought guys in to go straight into the first eleven ahead of them...

Arsene kinda did that with Eduardo, but was unlucky and didnt bother his arse getting in someone for Rosicky, I suppose being the cheap man he is counted Eduardo as someone to challenge Rosicky too...

He put too much faith in Diaby, Theo, Eboue etc and its cost him everything

They have let him down badly..

OPENROAD

Wouldn't be harsh on Theo.

To be honest we have never replaced Pires or Freddie imo. As good as Hleb is, he doesn't score enough goals, same with Rosicky.

Rosicky and RVP are a worry now with persistent injuries.

Sqaull20

I have the feeling Arsene is very very disappointed in Theo, he has been bigging him up for 2 years now telling anyone who will listen that he is going to explode/ england should pick him and so on..

He is looking better now but Arsene was surely expecting way more from him?

Wenger is not a fool, has to be some reason he is starting Eboue ahead of him? when Carlos Vela comes in the summer Theo will have to shape up or ship out, that kid could embarrass him.

OPENROAD

Sqaull20 wrote: »

I have the feeling Arsene is very very disappointed in Theo, he has been bigging him up for 2 years now telling anyone who will listen that he is going to explode/ england should pick him and so on..

He is looking better now but Arsene was surely expecting way more from him?

Wenger is not a fool, has to be some reason he is starting Eboue ahead of him? when Carlos Vela comes in the summer Theo will have to shape up or ship out, that kid could embarrass him.

His progress has been slower than he would have liked but as I have said elsewhere I am very confident Theo will make it at Arsenal,he may well play as a striker next season.

Galvasean

Eboue is far more of an embarrassment than Theo. Eboue has yet to have one game this season where you could honestly say he was a big factor in us getting a result. Theo on the other hand has had a couple of games where he made match winning crosses, not to mention his brace against Birmingham. If Theo continues to improve at the momentum he picked up lately (after a poor first half of the season) he should be considered one of our better players.
As for Hleb, he is so gifted but afraid to shoot. Its frustrating. He is always looking for that perfect pass which is great when he gets it but there have been too many times when you wish he'd just have a crack at it himself.

Royale with Cheese

At the end of the day, nobody knows if the money is there. So they say there's money available, big fúcking deal. Doesn't mean it's there.

But if it is there then you'd have to place some blame on Wenger. He should have spent some of it, the squad looked too thin last August and it's been proven that it was.

OPENROAD

The fact that we haven't spent big will always leave a doubt that the money is not available.

However we have a quite a good deal on the new stadium, 25 year loan at an attractive interest rate, essentially £18m pa. This is a low figure. Our matchday revenue is close to £100m pa. Highbury sqaure is another huge source of profit for the club and also the development of Drayton park. So everything does appear to point that the club financially are in a healthy position and have excess cash. Of course the question arises, is the excess cash been made available to Arsene, my own opinion as stated is that it is availabe but Arsene being Arsene will not pay vastly inflated prices for players who would also command huge wages.

Galvasean

Its looking like Vidic and Rio could be out for the game against us on Sunday. Mights stand a good chance of grabbing a result now.

PHB

Rio ain't anything yet, still waiting for a scan. Problem Arsenal have next week is that all of their players are going to be playing midweek, and are already wrecked. While United have been rotating quite a bit more.

I wouldn't want to call it either way, but I think Sagna missing will result in United winning. We exploited it perfectly last time we played you, and I think we will again. All of our goals in the 4-0 victory came from poor full back defending.

gosplan

keano_afc wrote: »

We havent lost Gilberto, he just hasnt played?

sorry, said more or less lost meaning that he's not a starting option anymore really.

keano_afc wrote: »

The thing is, Utd can cover for losing the likes of Rooney and Carrick.

For a match or two, yes but they wouldn't be six points clear right now with all those losses.

I guess what's bugging me is people's glass half empty approach.

Arsenal have overachieved this year and done far far better than anyone expected. Many people simply say they've blown the league.

Last summer, were the same people saying that one or two big signings would mean Arsenal would win the league? They're judging the season and it's success from where we were a few months back, not from where we were in the summer.

gosplan

PHB wrote: »

Rio ain't anything yet, still waiting for a scan. Problem Arsenal have next week is that all of their players are going to be playing midweek, and are already wrecked. While United have been rotating quite a bit more.

I wouldn't want to call it either way, but I think Sagna missing will result in United winning. We exploited it perfectly last time we played you, and I think we will again. All of our goals in the 4-0 victory came from being a big bunch of ugly cheats.

agree

arbeitsscheuer

gosplan wrote: »

I guess what's bugging me is people's glass half empty approach.

Arsenal have overachieved this year and done far far better than anyone expected. Many people simply say they've blown the league.

Last summer, were the same people saying that one or two big signings would mean Arsenal would win the league? They're judging the season and it's success from where we were a few months back, not from where we were in the summer.

Hear, Hear!

Frankly it's astonishing what these players have achieved this season, they have produced results on the basis of being a team that is so much more than the sum of its parts. After finishing 4th two years in succession, not (and I maintain, still not) having adequately replaced the seminal influence of players like Pires, Vieira and Ljungberg, as well as having sold our talisman and replacing him with a young and relatively unknown Croat... I feared the worst for this season.

None of that will make ending the season trophy-less any easier to take, but I spose it does kinda put it into some sort of context!

Galvasean

Remember folk, this was the season we were meant to lose out on our Champions League spot to Tottenham. If you believe pundits that is.

yahoo_moe

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

At the end of the day, nobody knows if the money is there. So they say there's money available, big fúcking deal. Doesn't mean it's there.

But if it is there then you'd have to place some blame on Wenger. He should have spent some of it, the squad looked too thin last August and it's been proven that it was.

Too thin for what, though? Were you honestly expecting a title challenge from the team this year? I know I wasn't - and as disappointing as the last 6 weeks have been, that disappointment in itself is more than I expected...

EDIT: Just saw others have made similar points... good to see!

PHB

[United received some good news on the injury to Rio Ferdinand on Monday afternoon as it was confirmed the defender has not suffered a break to the foot he injured against Middlesbrough.

The 29-year-old defender was forced off after 70 minutes of Sunday's 2-2 draw at the Riverside. However, any concerns that he had broken a metatarsal in his left foot have been allayed.

A club spokesperson told ManUtd.com: "Rio went for a scan on Monday and we can confirm that he has not suffered any break."

United's medical team have not confirmed how long the defender will be out of action.

Sir Alex Ferguson will provide a further update at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter final second leg clash with Roma.

Rio looks a doubt for Arsenal, but a possiblity, so we'll have to see.

Pepe LeFrits

I suspect it'll be Toure at RB against United, Wenger shant submit Hoyte or Eboue to another 90 minutes of United's wingers.

I don't think it'll matter though, as I don't think Arsenal will score. Best hope will be from a set-piece; I don't see Hleb or Fabregas being fresh enough to produce the goods.

PHB

If Arsenal win on Tuesday, I don't see Fabregas starting.

Sendoros in the middle might be the way to go, but Toure is weak on the RB position as well, which Gerrard exploited.

keano_afc

So Rosicky is officially out for the season now. Surely he'll be offloaded in the summer?

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Well Sagna may be back in time for Sunday with a bit of luck according to Wenger

"They will not be back for the Liverpool games," said Wenger. "But Sagna is making good progress. Manchester United is the earliest for him. We are trying everything we can to get him back for that game. But we'll know more when he starts to run outside and he has not begun that."

Frustrating as the situation with Rosicky is, i dont want him to be sold in the summer. Yes buy someone to replace him in the first team since we cant count on him but i would definitely keep him for the purposes of rotation. He suits our style well and already knows the way we play, plus his defensive ability is often overlooked.

cson

Has to be. Himself and Van Persie while they are extremely talented footballers are of no use when they only have intermittant periods of 8-10 games and then are out for the rest of the season.

The current Arsenal squad is too weak to mounting a challenge on all fronts - you can see the likes of Hleb, Fabregas, Adebayor and Gallas are all a bit jaded. From what I can see, we're really missing an influence from the wings. Back when we won the title in 2002 and 2004 both Ljungberg and Pires were chipping in with ~10 goals each. Now we have Rosicky and erm Eboue (Who surely has to go in the summer, he offers nothing). We need wingers.

Royale with Cheese

yahoo_moe wrote: »

Too thin for what, though? Were you honestly expecting a title challenge from the team this year? I know I wasn't - and as disappointing as the last 6 weeks have been, that disappointment in itself is more than I expected...

Nobody was expecting a title challenge because they didn't think the players had the quality, turns out they did. Quantity was always going to be a problem. Just be thankful the players came through for most of this season or the small squad could be costing Arsenal 4th place or worse.

PHB

For me the issue with Arsenal and how they play football is that they can always put together a title challenge, you'd never be surprised by it. Next year, I think Arsenal could easily be up there challenging for the title, but I also wouldn't be hugely surprised to see them be 5th behind Spurs or something.

Why? Because Arsenals football makes the players more than the sum of their parts. The way they play the game means that average players can look great at times, then revert back to being crap. Eboue is a good example in my mind. Flamini also. Goes from utter crap to amazing, but imo you can still see that he's just a level below someone like Fabregas, but that only shows when Arsenal are off-form.
The issue is really about form and confidence. If Arsenal get going, there are very few teams with the ability to derail them. But if they don't, they could be ****ed [i.e. end up 4th or 5th]

To get over that, Arsenal need to add real quality throughout the squad. A winger, a central midfielder, and two full backs I think would make Arsenal a force on all four fronts.

Pepe LeFrits

Eboue? He's been woeful all season.

Priority number one has to be a Rosicky replacement in the summer. Keep him, but on the bench. Get rid of Eboue.

Vela can add to the depth in attack.

I'd like another CB if Arsene isn't feeling thrifty. Gallas and Toure are both fine backup full-backs.

PHB

I mean Eboue as in the 2 years ago, when he looked like a world beater.
Vela will add much, but it's a lot to ask of a kid.

Gallas and Toure are fine full back backups, but Senderos isn't a good enough quick replacement. Senderos when he gets a run of games looks top class, as he did when he first joined, but he requires sharpness which comes with games. He can't just slot in.
A squad defender who can play in all positions is required imo, one who isn't in the first choice already.

OPENROAD

PHB wrote: »

Flamini also. Goes from utter crap to amazing, but imo you can still see that he's just a level below someone like Fabregas, but that only shows when Arsenal are off-form.

Flamini imo has been consistently good, he was superb at left back during the champions league run and looking back should never have been dropped.

I would agree that he is just below Cesc, but then again Utd don't have 11 Ronaldos,I wonder how they would have coped if he had picked up an injury this season.

OPENROAD

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Nobody was expecting a title challenge because they didn't think the players had the quality, turns out they did. Quantity was always going to be a problem. Just be thankful the players came through for most of this season or the small squad could be costing Arsenal 4th place or worse.

True but I think people were well wide of the mark with this view, have to say I'm not in the least bit surprised by our run this season, people tend to forget that Henry was out for a large part of the season, our play particularly at home deserved more points, you would leave games wondering how we did not pick up wins, we were very unlucky in lots of matches that season and to win titles and have good runs you need good lluck.

Royale with Cheese

Eboue at right mid. Kolo at right back, Senderos in the middle. Van Persie and Walcott don't start.

Fúcked