Month: June 2008

Wenger won’t sign defenders – What does this mean for Arsenal?

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers4 Comments

Wenger’s recent comments about not needing a defender suggest that he will stick with what we’ve got there. He was talking about Vincent Kompany, the Belgian centre back, he played down the speculation saying:

“I have decided that defenders are no longer necessarily needed for next season.”

So it seems very possible that there will be no signings to bolster our defence.

On the flanks we have the best in the Premiership, Sagna and Clichy, I love them both and they are both world class players who are young, no need to strengthen there.

The main weakness is cover rather than replacement. Senderos and Song were the players who started when Gallas and Toure weren’t availiable last season, and Eboue, Toure, Traore and Hoyte sometimes covered on the flanks. This didn’t work brilliantly last season, and was one of our main problems. I am a big fan of Senderos he can be error prone.

There have also been questions over whether Toure and Gallas are a strong enough partnership.

I think we should strengthen the defence, but Wenger seems to be trusting in what we’ve got. The fact that Song got a new deal, and started so many games at the end of last season, suggests to me that he has put himself above Senderos in the pecking order, and Wenger has hinted that he won’t play Song in midfield.

So we will probably see the same defence lining up in the current season, but expect to see more of Song, and maybe players like Norveidt gettign a few games this season.

I hope that Gallas proves himself as an Arsenal player and captain this season, and that Toure gets his form back. If that happens then Wenger will be proved right, and we will have a top quality back four, with decent coverage.

So in the end I think Wenger’s decision may pay off, but it is a gamble, ideally we need a quality centre back to challenge for a place, many would argue that neither Song or Senderos are good enough.

What do you think?

Ramsey signing confirmed – First pics in an Arsenal kit

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers

Arsenal have confirmed that Aaron Ramsey has now been signed and pictures of him the club kit have been released:

Ramsey an Arsenal Player

Wenger:

“We’re delighted to have signed Aaron Ramsey, he is a young player who has shown huge potential with his performances for both Cardiff City and Wales at U17 and U21 levels.

“He is still only 17, but has already shown that he is a very intelligent and mature player with great quality. Although he mainly plays in midfield, Aaron is a versatile player and can also play across the defence. We are all looking forward to welcoming Aaron to the club for our pre-season preparations.”

Ramsey signs on
Ramsey:

“I’m so happy to have signed for Arsenal. I am joining one of the biggest clubs in the world and can’t wait to meet my new team mates. I recently met with Arsène Wenger and he was a big factor in my decision to join Arsenal. He talked to me for a long time about the Club and the plans for the future, which really excites me. Arsenal is a Club which always gives young players an opportunity at the highest level of the game and I am going to work my hardest to be part of future successes here.

“It was a really difficult decision to leave Cardiff City, they are my local club with great supporters and I would just like thank everyone at Cardiff City for their support and help in my early career. I will still look out for their results and there will always be a place in my heart for the Bluebirds.”

So it’s now official, our first big signing, hopefully he will have many successes with us!

Ramsey signs on for the Arsenal

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers

Aaron Ramsey, the 17 year old ex-Cardiff player has signed up with us, ahead of Man Utd! Cardiff Chaorman Peter Risdale had this to say:

“Arsenal’s bid is a very straightforward, no-strings-attached, £5 million cash offer – simple. The only deal with a loan-back option was with Manchester United, but, ultimately, it’s up to the player to decide.”

“On a straight cash basis Arsenal’s offer was the best bid on the table…When you get a player like Aaron it was very difficult to not give him the opportunity to go to one of the top Premier League clubs.”

Ramsey himself commented:

“It is an honour to be wanted by massive clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton. In the end I had to make the decision I felt was right for my future.”

John Hartson, former Wales and Arsenal striker said:

“I think he’s made a brave decision really because he’s so young but it’s probably the right decision because he’s got a great opportunity going to Arsenal, a wonderful club, working with the likes of Arsene Wenger and Pat Rice and he’ll blossom. I feel he’ll go from strength to strength.

“He’ll be feeling a lot of nerves, a lot of excitement and anticipation. But at that age nerves don’t play a huge factor because you feel you can handle anything. He has the potential to hit all sorts of heights. I’m pleased for Aaron Ramsey because he has worked hard and now got his chance. I hope he’s not feeling the pressure too much. He’s got to go out and enjoy his football because he’s obviously a very talented lad.”

This is a big signing for us, and snatched from under United’s noses! Ha ha! Apparently one of the reasons he decided to join us is because Wenger met him personally while Fergie stayed on holiday in the South of France. Also Arsenal are known for developing youth players and giving them a chance in the first team.

I don’t think  he will be a regular for next season, but he is a good young player.

This versatile player, normally plays as an attacking midfielder or player and hes a pretty exciting prospect, hopefully he can go far for the Gunners!

Eduardo may be back in July for pre-season training!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Eduardo is recovering fast from his horrific leg injury. Every week we seem to get little bits and bobs from his native Brazil on the progress he’s making.

We’ve heard even more recently as Croatia play without him in the Euros. Bilic, the Croatia coach, has now said that Eduardo might even be back for pre-season training at the Arse.

“He is recovering and may even join Arsenal for their preparations. Eduardo’s absence is a handicap, we feel it all the time.”

This would be great news, but the club should be wary about bringing him back too fast, I’m sure they will get it right this time, look at what happened when we tried to bring Van Persie back quickly – he got injured again.

For Eduardo to get back to his best he needs time to recover to 100% of what he had before. This will take a while and it won’t help to rush him back.

Nevertheless, I hope his speedy recovery continues and he is back playing for Arsenal as soon as he is 100% better!

Gilberto warns players about leaving + Song gets a new deal.

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers3 Comments

Gilberto, ever the model professional last season, has warned the Arsenal players against leaving the club. This is something I have always empasized, why leave when our current team has such great potential, the players are likely to regret it.

He had this to say about players leaving:

“I don’t know what they have in mind but they should stay a little bit longer, maybe they want to try something different, but they could develop themselves and achieve big things at Arsenal.

“The team is young and getting better. It could be really special if the players all stay. What is important is to keep everyone at the club, for them to stay long-term at the club.

“I haven’t spoken to them since the end of the season but in my opinion Arsenal is still a great, great club and fantastic for any player in the world.

It would be a good thing for them to stay at the club because they know each other very well. They have a better situation than last season and could use the feeling of disappointment as an inspiration for next season.

Well said Bert, you know what you are talking about. A lot of people are suprised with how well Gilberto has taken his demotion to the bench during the last season, and now how he speaks about the club with such passion. This is real devotion if you ask me, and I think Gilberto really wants to make something good at Arsenal, thats why he’s saying this.

Gilberto goes on to make a very rational point about contracts, this is so relevant in the current climate, where everyone seems to be demanding that Arsenal pay players whatever they want.

When you win things you achieve more than anybody else. It follows that you get better contracts and more money,”

“Most of the players who leave miss the club for lots of reasons. The lifestyle at Arsenal is fantastic. You get so well looked after.”

Basically he is saying, you don’t know how good you have it, so stay and make something good of your career, you don’t want to end up like Anelka, who says he regrets leaving Arsenal a lot… 

Looking forward to next season Gilberto wants to stay and help win something with us:

“Next season will be very important for the club and the players. They must win something to keep the ambition of everybody and to maintain the hope of every player.

“If we don’t win anything next year it will be difficult to keep everybody happy. If you don’t see any possibility of winning the title they will change their minds.

“I do want to stay. It depends when I come back if Arsene wants me to stay. I still have one year left on my contract. I’m happy to stay at the club. I will wait until I return to London and pre-season training on 21 July and then I will sit down and talk about it.”

In other contract news, Alex Song has signed a new long term deal with Arsenal, which will prompt people to believe he has a chance at becoming our next defensive midfielder, or a long term option at centre back.

Ramsey is meeting Wenger, that’s all folks

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers

Hello, I hope you are all enjoying the spectacular Euro 2008. It’s so much more fun when England aren’t in it!!

The news today is that Ramsey has flown out to Switzerland to meet Arsene Wenger.

Ridsdale, the Cardiff chairman:

“I spoke to Aaron on Friday night.

“He told me he’d had a great day at United and was on his way to see Arsene. After that, the final decision is up to the boy.

“Aaron spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson before visiting United. He’s a sensible lad and will listen to what Arsene has to say.”

I still think this guy will go to Man Utd, he seems the sort of player who they would sign, and Man Utd say they will loan him back to Cardiff if he signs, which may sway the player.

It will be interesting to see what his decision really is. A young prospect is never a bad thing to have at your club I suppose!

Hopefully Wenger’s intellectual charms can win the boy over after Alex “Rudolf” Ferguson had his way with him.

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Wenger to make new signings at Euro 2008

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal15 Comments

Arsene Wenger, that brilliant philosophical genius we all love, has hit Basel with the intention of signing some fresh talent for the Arse.

Arsene was at a press conference last night as Castrol Index ambassador, and he told journalists:

wenger438.jpg

“I’m here with my cheque book If I see something I like….I don’t rule anything out.”

“If I fall in love with somebody, why not, but we all know the big players. What we know about big championships nowadays is that we don’t discover players any more in big tournaments.

“You expect Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Franck Ribéry to stand out, but I’ll have an eye on Mario Gomez with Germany, [Karim] Benzema for France and [Luka] Modric in the Croatia team.”

There will be a lot of Gooners out there salivating at the thought of Wenger out to sign up the top players of the tournament. I would say to them, have patience and wait and see what happens. If there are players good enough for us who can be signed then the club will do all they can to sign them.

Some Arsenal fans at the moment seem to be desparate for a signing. It is true that Spurs have signed up a load of decent players, but rest assured, if they were good enough for Arsenal then we would have got them, it’s unlikely that they would have chosen a lesser club after all.

So wait and see what gems Wenger can unearth.

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Emmanuel Adebayor: Legend, or one season wonder? Comparing Henry’s stats

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Data9 Comments

In Emmanuel Adebayor’s first two full seasons at Arsenal he has caused about as much controversy as anything else. Opinion is divided over his qualities as a player and personality. In light of criticism of his play I thought I’d take a look at his statistics in comparison with the sacred Thierry Henry after his first two seasons at the club:

Henry (All competitions):

  • 1999-00 – Apps: 48, Goals: 26, Assists: 9
  • 2000-01 – Apps: 53, Goals: 22, Assists: 3

Henry scored 0.54 goals per game in 1999-00, and 0.42 per game the following season. These were only his first two seasons at the club, and the rate of roughly a goal every other game is impressive for a player reconverting to the strikers role.

In comparison Adebayor, joined Arsenal in January 2006, but he only played 13 games so these stats count from his first full season at the club in 2006-07.

  • 2006-07 – Apps: 44, Goals: 12, Assists: 4
  • 2007-08 –  Apps: 54, Goals: 30, Assists: 5

Adebayor scored 0.27 goals per game in his first season, playing approximately the same number of games as Thierry. The team was performing worse in the league at the time, eventually finishing fourth, compared to second place in 1999-00. In his second season Adebayor became a 30-goal striker, taking 0.56 goals per game, the video below shows all 30.

We can see from the stats that Adebayor, playing as second striker last season was not as effective as Henry in his first full season. Emmanuel played with Henry in 2006-07, and scored just 12 in comparison with Henry’s 26 in 1999-2000. 2007-08 has seen a marked different in the goalscoring. His 0.56 goals per game ratio is better than either of Henry’s first two seasons, although only marginally.

There are differences in the approach for 2007-08, the most marked change being Adebayor playing as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation, and has done better in terms of goals and assists. This is part of what drove the club to a title challenge during the season.

Remember that Adebayor wasn’t as experienced as Henry when he joined the club, having only played for three seasons in the first team at AS Monaco. Whereas Henry had already spent some years in Italy at Juventus, and played for the French national team, albeit on the left wing, before joining Arsenal in 1999.

The performance from 07-08 looks promising on Adebayor’s part, although it is unlikely he can ever scale the heights which Theirry Henry managed.

Statistics don’t tell the whole story, the league has changed drastically in the seven years between these seasons, and generally has become more defensive in tactical outlook. Arsenal’s formation is also different, and having a single striker may increase the opportunities for that player’s goal-scoring.

Henry is ultimately the best player Arsenal ever had, but the data shows that Adebayor’s contribution is not unimpressive.  Although not as fast as Henry, or as technically gifted, he has dogged determinism, and passes the ball well.

They are different players, and so ultimately comparison is difficult. What is clear is that Adebayor has potential, it remains to be seen if he can really use this and develop into a top quality striker. If Adebayor maintains a high workrate then Arsene is right to believe in him.

Update: Arsenal Column has an excellent piece with stats on Adebayor as he departs to Man City in the summer of 2009.

Adebayor stops the rumour over Milan

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers11 Comments

As expected Adebayor has come out and rubbished the rumours which were circling about him going to Milan.

“I am very happy here. Reports which suggest I have threatened to quit are rubbish,”

“I love the club and the fans.

“We have a great set of players here with a fantastic team spirit.

“We have had a good season, but next year we want to go one better by winning a trophy.”

Hill-Wood slams greed while Sagna signs on like a good boy

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers2 Comments

Arsenal have rewarded Bacary Sagna with a new contract until 2014. The news came out a few days ago but we now know the length of the deal.

“I love Arsenal, they are a great club. The manager is also very good and next season we will be fighting for all the trophies.”

Sagna is definitely the best right-back in the Premiership and was our top signing last summer. In typical Wenger style, he arrived with little furore and proceeded to play amzingly all season.

The fact that we have renewed his contract after just one season at the club is good, it means we can hold onto a top player, but it also reveals the state of the transfer system at the moment.

With players like Hleb being linked away from the club with this Webster Clause and others like Flamini leaving, it seems that we are putting in a concerted effort to keep the team together and happy in their contracts. I have no problem with this, but it does show that the club is a bit more wary of loyalty issues now.

Peter Hill-Wood made comments about the same issue, speaking harshly about the lack of loyalty which is present in football these days:

“Nowadays, a lot of people sign four-year contracts and you heave a sigh of relief. Six months later they come marching in saying they want double the wages.
“The only answer is to tell them they are on that contract and that’s it. Unless you do that, the game will become chaotic and descend into anarchy.

“I think there are very few people who have really got the tradition of the club at heart. You can name them on one hand. Actually I can’t name them on one hand and that’s a great pity.”

“In the old days money was not the big driving force. Nobody was greedy. People didn’t come marching in for pay rises, be they executives, senior managers, players, whatever. People weren’t motivated by the money. They liked the job, they liked the club and they wanted to go to work in the morning. Everyone has become much more materialistic.

“I think that is one of the reasons why Arsene [Wenger] signs younger players. OK, they will probably walk out in five years but at least he has the opportunity to mould them. But some of the so-called stars have got their own ideas about what should happen and don’t always agree with what we think.”

“We are going to go on this way. We are not going to be diverted. We are not going to spend £100 million,”

This is apparent in players like Flamini and possibly Hleb. I am all for sticking to our guns and doing things the way we have been doing them. Arsenal as a club know that we are not like the Chelseas of this world and we don’t have to spend oceans of money to be the best in the league.

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