Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013

wandatowell

Marty McFly wrote: »

I think they owe us money for Song and Fabregas.

And probably Hleb too

Marty McFly

meriwether wrote: »

Im absolutely positive Suarez will leave Liverpool.

This is going to be most entertaining.

Wrong thread maybe

AdamD

Fuzzy_Dunlop wrote: »

He has actually gotten a few things right such as Jack's number change and the like.

Yeah various team sheets and he also called Jack starting against QPR for his comeback which he himself only found out the morning of the game, however I'm not convinced about his transfer knowledge thus far.

greendom

wandatowell wrote: »

And probably Hleb too

And the bills for all those DNA tests must be mounting too.

jester77

meriwether wrote: »

Im absolutely positive Suarez will leave Liverpool.

This is going to be most entertaining.

Not the right thread for this, but I could only see him going to Madrid and I can't see Madrid buying both Bale and Suarez. I would rather they buy Bale, no amount of money will replace Bale for Spurs and Liverpool are not going to be challenging top 4 with or without Suarez. Spurs will find it difficult to push top 4 without Bale.

Kerry Gooner

wandatowell wrote: »

And probably Hleb too

Anything outstanding on Overmars & Petit

.jacksparrow.

Kerry Gooner wrote: »

Anything outstanding on Overmars & Petit

Not forgetting sylvinho.

Mickeroo

Where would we play Cesc if we did buy him back? That would be Jack or Cazorla effectively benched?

Would still love to see him back though.

Quote from Guillem Balague:

"He is surprised by the rumours that are so strong in England.

"The club has definitely told me this evening that they have got no intention whatsoever of selling him.

"His buyout clause, in case anybody is interested, is €200million (£171m), which is a little bit expensive. In any case it is a deterrent for people to come and try to poach him away.

"If anything was going to happen it would be in the future, maybe next year, who knows, but what seems certain is that both the club and himself have decided he will stay at Barcelona for at least one more season."

Not sure I completely buy that, no smoke without fire either though when it comes to transfer speculation imo.

Marty McFly

Mickeroo wrote: »

Where would we play Cesc if we did buy him back? That would be Jack or Cazorla effectively benched?

Would still love to see him back though.

I'd imagine Cazorla on the wing, Cesc in the number 10 role and jack pushed deeper.

Pepe LeFrits

Neither, Jack would play deeper where he (at the present time) is best and Santi would be in the front three. Sexy football.

Marty McFly

Mickeroo wrote: »

Quote from Guillem Balague:



Not sure I completely buy that, no smoke without fire either though when it comes to transfer speculation imo.

That and for me Balague is the journalistic equivalent of goal.com

Gringo180

Ill cream the knickers if Cesc comes home :eek:

Quazzie

Cesc won't be coming. Barca bought him to replace Xavi long term, and they aren't going to push him out the door after such a short time frame. The only reason this is even mentioned is because United fans need to BS about something and they think they have a hope of getting Cesc. Neither is going to happen.

meriwether

Marty McFly wrote: »

Wrong thread maybe

No, correct thread.

In a league table format, what other teams do affect Arsenal.

Also, its going to be very entertaining.

AdamD

Woj
Sagna Mert Kosc Gibbs
Wilshere Arteta/New DM
Walcott Fabregas Cazorla
New Striker


We can dream

Quazzie

meriwether wrote: »

No, correct thread.

In a league table format, what other teams do affect Arsenal.

Also, its going to be very entertaining.

Arsenal are a top4 team. You have a point, that other teams affect us, but Liverpool haven't been one of them for quiet some time now.

Hopefully that doesn't come across too arrogant.

L'prof

Quazzie wrote: »

Arsenal are a top4 team. You have a point, that other teams affect us, but Liverpool haven't been one of them for quiet some time now.

Hopefully that doesn't come across too arrogant.

We're not that far ahead of them really. I do think we'll finally improve our team this season though which will make it very difficult for them to overtake us next season.

meriwether

L'prof wrote: »

We're not that far ahead of them really. I do think we'll finally improve our team this season though which will make it very difficult for them to overtake us next season.

This will finish them.

Reality is about to hit that if you blow 80m+ on the likes of Carroll, Downing, Henderson and Adam, that impacts you down the line.

Sometimes boring financial prudence and 4th place finishes are better than the alternative.

GeorgeBailey

meriwether wrote: »

This will finish them.

Reality is about to hit that if you blow 80m+ on the likes of Carroll, Downing, Henderson and Adam, that impacts you down the line.

Sometimes boring financial prudence and 4th place finishes are better than the alternative.

But surely if they sell Suarez it'll be for a boat-load of money? If so they can then finance deals that could push them on. Instead of Carroll, Downing, Henderson and Adam they could get Bendtner, Arshavin, Denilson and Santos. The 40m they get for Suarez should just about cover it.

meriwether

GeorgeBailey wrote: »

But surely if they sell Suarez it'll be for a boat-load of money? If so they can then finance deals that could push them on. Instead of Carroll, Downing, Henderson and Adam they could get Bendtner, Arshavin, Denilson and Santos. The 40m they get for Suarez should just about cover it.

Can they also extract Squillachi for free?

Those cunning scouse negotiators could achieve anything.

batistuta9

greendom wrote: »

So the % rates are probably much higher then. As clubs attempt to sign players who they don't actually end up signing.

Yeah you could say that

The accuracy is always going to be low the way they classify it and a low % shouldn't be viewed as bad as in most situations

Alfred Borden

Geoff Arsenal got Monreal in January and Santi last summer, bare in mind we have only signed four first team players since start of last summer.

Marty McFly

So went into the Barca thread in peace and asked what they thought of the possibility of Cesc returning and one poster has said there have been rumours of Cesc wanting to raise his daughter in London and that rumour has been circulating since April. Something I didn't know.

gnfnrhead

Drop Wilshere deeper. He does some of his best work there. Unfortunately for Ramsey, it means he ends up on the bench most of the time. Arteta too.

---

Wilshere

---

Cazorla <--> Fabregas
Walcott

---

Podolski

Cant have many complaints about that, especially if we continue to be as solid at the back as we were late in the season. Hopefully Giroud can push on if we dont get a top striker to force him to the bench. Imagine the amount of chances with that line up.

Slightly off topic, but that line up with a five year younger Henry up top. Goals galore!

Alfred Borden

Why not try

---

Arteta

---

Cesc

---

Jack

---

Santi

---

OG/Theo/Podolski

---

New Striker

brianregan09

I think we're all getting a bit carried away here being honest

Marty McFly

brianregan09 wrote: »

I think we're all getting a bit carried away here being honest

There is no football we have to find ways to amuse ourselves .

emergingstar

Marty McFly wrote: »

So went into the Barca thread in peace and asked what they thought of the possibility of Cesc returning and one poster has said there have been rumours of Cesc wanting to raise his daughter in London and that rumour has been circulating since April. Something I didn't know.

Cescs wife/girlfriend actually lives in London with there child

Still think he is a big prick wouldn't care if we don't sign him

But I guess he can win me back over if he does sign

Don't see it happening though

emergingstar

And if we do sign cesc
Walcott has to play up front

wandatowell

Kerry Gooner wrote: »

Anything outstanding on Overmars & Petit

nah they paid up on those two



They are paying for Giovanni van Bronckhorst on tick :rolleyes:

dfbemt

What about Oxo.

Great talent. Did well against Ireland on Weds night.

Better prospect than Walcott IMO who has not really lived up to his potential. I think he is not strong enough when being challenged by a half decent defender

Marty McFly

dfbemt wrote: »

What about Oxo.

Great talent. Did well against Ireland on Weds night.

Better prospect than Walcott IMO who has not really lived up to his potential. I think he is not strong enough when being challenged by a half decent defender

Ox in time I think will be first team but right now he is still not up to it. Better served on the bench making sub appearances and starting the odd game for now.

DenMan

Marty McFly wrote: »

Ox in time I think will be first team but right now he is still not up to it. Better served on the bench making sub appearances and starting the odd game for now.

Would it not make more sense to send Ox out on loan if he won't be starting? At least that way (more than likely) he'll be playing week in week out!

Marty McFly

DenMan wrote: »

Would it not make more sense to send Ox out on loan if he won't be starting? At least that way (more than likely) he'll be playing week in week out!

I don't think so I think he will still get enough game time to be useful and learn at Arsenal by coming off the bench and starting the odd game, its not like he wont see the pitch at all.

He is just not ready yet to be a week in week out starter.

Drexel

Really good email in the f365 mailbox today. Pretty much sums up where Arsenal are at at the minute I think.

I am a pretty level-headed Arsenal fan and have oft been accused of "settling" or "being happy with" mediocrity. Believe me, I'm not happy, I'm not happy at all, but I am a realist. Glory costs money, and Arsenal don't have as much money as the competition.

I've said before in the mailbox, Arsenal are the fourth richest, with the fourth best squad, the fourth highest wage bill, we are fourth best at pretty much everything, and we finish fourth in the league. Am I happy? No, I'm not happy with finishing fourth, I want Arsenal to win the Premier League! However even though I'm not "happy", I'm not "unhappy" either. I'm satisfied, I guess. I can't proclaim to speak on behalf of all Arsenal fans, but I would venture that most feel the same. Not happy, but satisfied that the team are finishing where they should be.

I think one thing that oft gets overlooked when criticising Arsenal is the losing star players each summer. Well, not so much the losing of star players (we get laughed at for that!) but the impact that has each year. People see Arsenal finish 4th, sell Cesc Fabregas, replace him with an inferior player in Arteta and wonder how we don't finish higher in the league! Same with RVP and Giroud. Same with Nasri and Gervinho. Same with Song and... well, who DID we replace Song with?

(and as an aside, the replacing of star players with inferior ones has nothing to do with Wenger's eye for talent, but everything to do with Wenger ensuring he qualifies for the Champions League, rather than winning the league - in my opinion. No point going bankrupt trying to keep up if you can spend less and still get Champions League footy).

The one thing I've been saying since we moved in to Ashburton Grove is that Wenger came out and said that Arsenal were going to enter a period of financial frugality. We were going to have 10 or so years of paying off that stadium. We got held over a barrel by Nike, O2 and Emirates when it came to sponsorship deals, and we couldn't afford to keep our players. The arrival of Abramovic and Sheikh Mansour really pulled the rug from under Wenger's plans.

The landscape is changing for Arsenal now. We've started doing overseas pre-season tours; we've ditched Nike and agreed a mega-deal with "hipster's favourites" Puma, we've got a new shirt deal (still Emirates but much more money). Most importantly, we've almost paid off that stadium! We're still nowhere near the billionaire boy clubs, but we can pay £100k+ a week wages, we can spend £30m on a transfer fee.

Look at it this way: going forward Arsenal now have the best manager in the Premier League, we are not losing any star players this summer, the new TV deal kicks in, we have a young, settled squad, we've almost paid off the stadium, every penny we generate is ours. Liverpool are losing Suarez, Spurs are losing Bale, Man Utd are "probably" losing Rooney.

I'm not proclaiming we're going to win the Premier League next season, but I think we've got the biggest chance in years. And to reply to TJ, I think you're going to see Arsenal fans' patience get a lot shorter from now on, even the more level-headed ones like me.
Dale May, Swindon Gooner

i have to agree with the end bit about fans running out of patience. Ive been very patient and havent bitched and moaned too much the last few years but if things dont change from next season on. I could really see myself getting rightly fcuked off with it all. No excuse this time round with the new sponsorships and what not

dfbemt

jonny666 wrote: »

i have to agree with the end bit about fans running out of patience. Ive been very patient and havent bitched and moaned too much the last few years but if things dont change from next season on. I could really see myself getting rightly fcuked off with it all. No excuse this time round with the new sponsorships and what not

But you'll always be a Gooner !!

You might be p**sed off, annoyed, angry and even upset but you will never give up on them. That's what I tell my kids who thankfully have also become Gooners and wear their jerseys at GAA training, much to the annoyance of their coaches.

Once a Gooner, always a Gooner. Roll on the highs and lows of next season.

greendom

dfbemt wrote: »

What about Oxo.

Great talent. Did well against Ireland on Weds night.

Better prospect than Walcott IMO who has not really lived up to his potential. I think he is not strong enough when being challenged by a half decent defender

What will Walcott need to do to prove he has lived up to his potential ?
He's surely pretty close. A regular England international. A hatful of goals and assists last year. Short of becoming Messi or Ronaldo I'm not sure what you're expecting to be honest.

dfbemt

greendom wrote: »

What will Walcott need to do to prove he has lived up to his potential ?

Play consistently. Not blow hot and cold. No point in handing us a hat-trick one week and then playing terribly the next

He's surely pretty close. A regular England international. A hatful of goals and assists last year. Short of becoming Messi or Ronaldo I'm not sure what you're expecting to be honest.

Yes, he is close but is not going to be an Arsenal legend. Walcott scored more goals last year than in any other seaon with Arsenal but he has not been consistent. Maybe this is partly down to refinding himself as a striker, maybe it is because he was distracted by contract talks.

Walcott had his best season ever with us but he is not the striker we are still looking for to replace RVP or Bergkamp or Henry or Wright ? Maybe I'm asking for too much?

Mickeroo

dfbemt wrote: »

Play consistently. Not blow hot and cold. No point in handing us a hat-trick one week and then playing terribly the next




Yes, he is close but is not going to be an Arsenal legend. Walcott scored more goals last year than in any other seaon with Arsenal but he has not been consistent. Maybe this is partly down to refinding himself as a striker, maybe it is because he was distracted by contract talks.

Walcott had his best season ever with us but he is not the striker we are still looking for to replace RVP or Bergkamp or Henry or Wright ? Maybe I'm asking for too much?

He is very inconsistent at times but he's also only 24. He's also showing steady improvement every season, I think he still has the potential to be a beast of a player. Even in latter half of the seaon when he wasn't getting as many goals he still got quite a few assists too. I'm delighted he signed a new contract and I really hope it marks a turning point in the club doing whats necessary to hold on to key players.

Alfred Borden

Geoff Arsenal ‏@GeoffArsenal 9m
Right. Man City, Man Utd and PSG have shown interest in Cesc Fabregas. There has been no bids as yet. If a bid comes in Afc have 1st option>

Geoff Arsenal ‏@GeoffArsenal 6m
Afc have a buy back clause set at 25m. If he comes back to the PL this summer it will only be to London and namely Arsenal. Interesting.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Just did a quick google there. Seems Cesc's girlfriend and baby are in London, and he recently tried buying her ex husbands house there for £5.4m for them girlfriend to live in. Pretty big commitment.

TheGunns

I would give both nuts to see Fabregas back in an Arsenal jersey again. I'd prefer him over any player currently in the team, it's not about him not fitting in with the squad. Can't honestly say that any of the current midfielders would ever deserve a place over him.

Now who thinks they would make him captain if he returned?

(Yes I am getting my hopes up already, and I know most of you are too :P)

boodiebhoy

TheGunns wrote: »

I would give both nuts to see Fabregas back in an Arsenal jersey again. I'd prefer him over any player currently in the team, it's not about him not fitting in with the squad. Can't honestly say that any of the current midfielders would ever deserve a place over him.

Now who thinks they would make him captain if he returned?

(Yes I am getting my hopes up already, and I know most of you are too :P)

I would make him captain straight off, would love to see him back.

emergingstar

TheGunns wrote: »

I would give both nuts to see Fabregas back in an Arsenal jersey again. I'd prefer him over any player currently in the team, it's not about him not fitting in with the squad. Can't honestly say that any of the current midfielders would ever deserve a place over him.

Now who thinks they would make him captain if he returned?

(Yes I am getting my hopes up already, and I know most of you are too :P)

Coming back I could handle

Captain he can go fcuk

gnfnrhead

If Vermaelen goes, Santos should be the next captain to keep the thrend going.

stuchyg

emergingstar wrote: »

Coming back I could handle

Captain he can go fcuk

I think im starting to see a pattern emerge regarding your feelings towards Cesc

Drexel

gnfnrhead wrote: »

If Vermaelen goes, Santos should be the next captain to keep the thrend going.

Who should be captain next season?? If Vermaelan does stay and fight fr his place will he keep the captaincy?

I would like a new captain for next year. After the season he has had he doesn't really deserve it. I dunno who I'd give it to tho. Who is captain when Vermaelan isn't playing? Arteta? I suppose he would be ok for permenant. Could it be given to jack?

greendom

Remain unconvinced about the Cesc rumours.

Still I prefer rumours about a top player joining rather than leaving.

gnfnrhead

jonny666 wrote: »

Who should be captain next season?? If Vermaelan does stay and fight fr his place will he keep the captaincy?

I would like a new captain for next year. After the season he has had he doesn't really deserve it. I dunno who I'd give it to tho. Who is captain when Vermaelan isn't playing? Arteta? I suppose he would be ok for permenant. Could it be given to jack?

It means nothing. It doesnt make anyone a better player, it just makes them more likely to be sold at Arsenal.

Pierce_1991

For me there's no question that vermaelen will keep the captaincy, regardless of what we may think wenger won't do it. He's only ever removed the armband from one player, and that was coz gallas is insane