Category: Transfers

Don’t expect signings this window from Arsenal

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers36 Comments

Every Arsenal fan is expectant of transfer signings this window, Arshavin is the favourite to sign on, and we might get him, but Wenger is keeping a lid on things at the moment, just in case we can’t negotiate a price for him. He commented today:

“We are nowhere at the moment…That means we are not close to signing anybody. We know what we want to do, we are not close to signing today. We are in negotiations, yes, but we want to respect our principles.
“I am very hopeful that something can be done in a few days because we are half-way to the end. So it will be days, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.

This basically means don’t get your hopes up because Wenger will happily stick with our current squad if he can’t get the right price. Zenit have been overpricing him, in the summer Barca weren’t able to sign him, and moneybags Tottenham weren’t either, due to Zenit’s overzealous pricing regime. The fact that he is going on strike, and can buy himself out of his contract pretty soon could make the difference this time around, but don’t count on it.

“We want to concentrate on what we are doing and what we have here and how we can improve with the players we have.

“I am not a big fan of the window. I feel one of the aspects to judge a manager is to let him start with a team and let him see how far he goes with that team – or you open completely for the whole season.

“England had the right system because it was open till April and that was quite good. Now it’s cut in two and I’m not a big fan of it.

“We have a few options available, but we are no closer. But I believe we have a strong team and we want to do the maximum with the team we have.

Emphasis is on the “we are no closer” here. Negotiations for Arshavin are stalling at the moment as everyone knows, and Wenger doesn’t like the January window at all, so I wouldn’t be suprised if we don’t sign anyone. Wenger goes on to make a good point:

“We are open and don’t forget we have Rosicky, Fabregas, Walcott, all creative and offensive players who will come back at some stage, and that will be like being in the transfer market.

“Eduardo has recovered very well as well, and like a new signing. He is two to three weeks away.”

So we may see a new face at Arsenal by the 2nd of Feb, but if not we have great players returning from injury. I think if all of them come back earlier than expected then we will have a storng side, but I’m still hoping that we will find a way to sign Arshavin to add some strength to the midfield.

More likely the only new face we will see is DB10 as a coach. He got his qualifications for coaching and he has said that he won’t rule out a return to Arsenal as he ‘loves the club’.

Note: If this post makes you angry you may also enjoy this post.

Where is the Flamster now?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers23 Comments

Mathieu Flamini’s emergence at the heart of the Arsenal midfield last season was a revelation. Previously used as a squad player, and with is contract not renewed at the beginning of 07/08 he was available on a Bosman last summer and AC Milan snapped him up.

Image courtesy of tpower1978

This dismayed many Arsenal fans, myself included, and this year, rightly or wrongly, Flamini’s absence has been blamed for some of our inconsistent results.

He did form a great partnership with Fabregas, but don’t forget we also lost Hleb, another key midfielder, to Barca, during the summer – and this has weakened our team further.

Some pundits and many Arsenal fans said he was a fool for leaving, and wouldn’t get games in an AC Milan team with the likes of Gattuso and Pirlo, and he would be playing lowly UEFA Cup  football to boot. I thought the same, and above all I was sad to see him leave Arsenal.

At AC Milan he has had ups and downs, but is starting to look like a real bargain.

Ancelotti, the manager under whom Henry had a miserable time at Juventus before joining Arsenal, is the Milan manager now, and at the beginning of the season he was looking to see if Mathieu Flamini could be pushed into a full-back role. This utility player label was the one he had tried to shake off at Arsenal, and it seemed like he was back to square one at the San Siro:

“I had also played this role a couple of times at Arsenal, but I discussed his matter with Arsene Wenger and told him my natural position is in midfield.”

Flamini has started to get more games in central midfield, after a stint where Gattuso was injured, and is becoming a regular, although he only came off the bench in the 88th minute against Roma at the weekend. He has played in 13 games this season and Milan are 3rd in Serie A, 9 points behind Mourinho’s Inter. Their UEFA Cup campaign is also going well, they face Bremen in the round of 32 in February.

So Flamini isn’t doing badly – he has put in some of his commited performances for Milan – but he has sacrificed Champions League football and a guaranteed first team place. Arsenal’s form has been inconsistent this year, we might not even finish 4th, so although I hate to say it, if Flamini can hold down a place at AC then the move might have benefitted him.

A note: Read Flamini’s stats for AC Milan this season here (i.e. games played etc.!)

Bendtner told Bolton line-ups? Plus Arshavin likes Arsenal!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers7 Comments

According to news reports Nicklas Bendtner told Fabrice Muamba of Bolton the Arsenal line-ups on Saturday, before they were officially announced. If true, this reveals an unprofessional streak in Bendtner, as dressing room confidentiality is essential to the workings of any football club. Bendtner and Muamba obviously know each other, having played in the youth system at Arsenal and at Birmingham, but even between friends you cannot act unprofessionally on the match day.

The quotes are dubiously sourced from the Sun:

“One of Bolton’s staff told Arsene after the game they knew their team well before the team sheets were handed in. When Arsene asked how that was possible the Bolton coach replied Bendtner told them.

In the end Bendtner scored the winning goal, and I hope that these rumours aren’t true, because it will only reduce his popularity among Arsenal fans, a misguided few of whom are already on his back anyway.

I think he is a great young player, with potential to go far, but like all players he is going to have to work hard to be consistent. He isn’t first choice yet, and only good performances can change that.

Meanwhile Arshavin has been fueling more transfer speculation:

“In some games last season, we played football which was very similar to that of Arsenal,”

“I would prefer my present No 10 but in the team where I hope to move it’s not vacant. So I’m ready for any number they are going to offer me.”

This doesn’t neccesarily mean Arsenal, many clubs have already assigned their no. 10 shirts, but he is hinting at something here. The fact that it’s so blatent makes me think we won’t sign him, and that this is just his way of finding a buyer who will pay Zenit for him – he is obviously desparate to leave and play in a more competitive league.

There’s not much point listening to any of this speculation because it is all just posturing for the media for alterior motives. Until deals are done nothing is certain!

Transfer Rumours: Eboue, Yaya, plus Adebayor gives Gallas his backing

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, FA Cup, Transfers2 Comments

Inter Milan have been linked with a bid for Emmanuel Eboue, this is a transfer rumour many of you won’t have been expecting! It seems pretty unfounded – we don’t need to sell players during this window, our squad is threadbare enough already.

The same goes for the rumour that Barca are bidding £45 million for Cesc and Van Persie this summer. Fabregas will be linked with Barcelona as long as he is at Arsenal. The club cannot realistically sell him or RVP and this is just another tactic to unsettle him. If we don’t finish 4th this season things could look rather different though.

Yaya Toure’s agent has told the press that he is going nowhere:

‘Toure is happy at Barca, currently the best team in Europe and he has no intention of moving,’

I wouldn’t disagree with him, if anything it is more likely that Man City will sign him. If Arsenal do sign a holding midfielder then I doubt he will be such a big name.

Adebayor has backed Gallas’ comments earlier this season about our form:

“Gallas has always been like that – he has experience, he has won titles, played in a World Cup final. He doesn’t throw these thoughts around lightly. He said something because it was necessary to do it. “He is indispensable to the team. He is Arsenal’s rock – his behaviour since the armband was taken off him proves that.”

Update: Gallas is now out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury, as well as Silvestre, so Toure will get his chance.

Ade went on to explain our recent form:

“At the moment, when we take the lead, we are scared. We tremble until the final whistle because the team is young and we have conceded several goals in the last few minutes of matches.

I think he is right there, but with results will come confidence. We have looked shaky after taking leads in games, and this is a problem that began last season, at the beginning of 2008 when we lost our lead at the top of the table. If we can regain our confidence we can definitely perform better in the second half of this season.

With injured players like Walcott, Eddy and maybe ??Rosicky?? returning in the next few weeks we should be able to maintain some consistency. As long as we get 4th place this season I’ll be happy, but serious investment is needed for next season.

Ahead of the Cardiff City 4th Round tie Arsenal have been allocated 4000 seats at Ninian Park.

Arsenal open talks for Zenit’s Arshavin: Transfer News

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Injuries, Transfers1 Comment

The rumours about Andrei Arshavin coming to Arsenal have been building since the summer, and yesterday Zenit St. Petersburg have confirmed speculation that they are in talks with Arsenal over a transfer for the 27 year old.

Zenit St. Petersburg want £20 mill for him, but the fact that he can buy out his contract soon may mean that we can get him for less, Arsene surely wouldn’t splash £20 mill on him though..

Arshavin – The perfect player for Arsenal’s needs

This guy is perfect for Arsenal; he can play as playmaker, on the wing or upfront.  This means he could cover for Cesc for the next 4 months and turn our injury crisis around, and then play wide right or in the hole when Cesc has recovered. He is experienced, he won the UEFA Cup last year, and is 28 in May – arguably the age when a player is at their peak.

What I’m trying to say is that he ticks all the boxes. We could utilise him anywhere in midfield or upfront, and he is world class, with experience and talent that is ready now, not in 5-10 years.

Dick Advocaat, Zenit manager said this yesterday:

“I am aware that Arsenal are interested but I don’t know any more than that”

“I am expecting Arshavin to leave Zenit for another club. He is a top player and he could play for any team and any of the top teams in England, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool.”

No doubt today we will hear someone at Arsenal come out to deny the claims, so I’m trying to keep my excitement levels down, but really this would be a fantastic piece of business!

More Transfer Rumours

Upson and Laursen rumours are also circulating, as we search for a central defender.  The problems surrounding Gallas and Toure could mean there is some truth in this, but Wenger’s reluctance to buy in this position recently makes me think we might not.

At the moment we don’t have any facts, just rumours, and more rumours – but this is a transfer window, so what do you expect!?

Arsenal’s FA Cup Campaign Starts Today & Wenger has located a player!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, FA Cup, Transfers

Forget the League today. It doesn’t matter how your team is playing in the Cup anything can happen. The FA Cup is a very realistic chance for us to get a trophy this season, and I would take it right now.

Plymouth aren’t playing great, they’re 15th and have only won 1 game in the last 8, but they’ve got 8,500 fans at the Emirates today, and they’ll be up for the occasion. Still, I think most people won’t be expecting any upsets today.

I think Wenger should really go for the FA Cup this season, it is still a prestigious trophy and there’s no way we are winning the League!

Wenger has also been talking about potential transfer targets, he isn’t giving anything away, but he says we have at least ‘located’ some players!

“First of all you have to find the player, identify him, convince him to come here and at the moment that is not easy. We have located a few though.”

The highlights will be up after the game!

Update: Highlights post here

Hill-Wood doesn’t expect Arsenal to spend big as Wenger & Co prepare for Plymouth

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, FA Cup, Transfers4 Comments

This is a guest post by sportswriter Thomas Rooney

It was thought by many that this current transfer window would see a change for Arsenal. Many believed that the club would spend big this month to accommodate for injuries and to try and help the team force their way back into the top four of the Premier League.

However, speaking about the Gunners options in the coming weeks, Peter Hill-Wood has revealed that Arsene Wenger will not be splashing the cash – far from it. Instead, the Arsenal chairman says that the club has got to be ‘run in a sensible way’.

This is fair enough I suppose. No Arsenal fan wants the club’s future finances put in jeopardy because of one massive spending spree. However, can we not expect a bit more transfer activity than usual?

Well, from what Hill-Wood had to say, it seems not. He said that there is ‘not a lot of money anywhere’ in football at the moment and that this will restrict what Arsenal spends in the coming weeks.

The chairman finished by saying that he had faith in the ‘young, talented players at the club’ to make sure that the second half to Arsenal’s season is a successful one. He also hinted that a couple of the younger players, who hadn’t been given much of a game as yet, will get their chance before long.

The fact that Arsenal have talented youngsters cannot be argued – everyone knows that. However, the team is in a situation right now where there is a distinct possibility that it could miss out on Champions League football next season. Is the young talent enough to get out of this predicament?

My personal opinion is that one or two big name signings wouldn’t do any harm. Even if it was the two players that have already been linked – Mikel Arteta and Shay Given. They would both provide valuable experience amongst the Arsenal team.

The thing is, £20m would be needed to prize these two away from their current clubs and going by what Hill-Wood has had to say – this just isn’t going to happen.

Anyway, enough about that! A more immediate issue is that of the FA Cup third round tie against Plymouth tomorrow. The Championship side travel to the Emirates in hope rather than expectation and in all honesty, it should be a comfortable win for Wenger’s men.

As Barnsley proved last season though, anything can happen in the FA Cup, so Arsenal shouldn’t take their opposition lightly. It should be treated like any other game and concentration levels should be as high as ever.

It will be interesting to see what team Wenger puts out, but I would imagine that it will be as strong as possible. Arsenal can’t afford to be knocked out at this stage, after all.

As far as the omens are concerned, everything is in favour of a home win. Plymouth have never beaten Arsenal, they have lost their last three away games and have failed to score in four on the road. Perhaps most significantly though, they lost to eventual winners Portsmouth last season – so perhaps that will happen again this year!

Let’s hope so. Arsenal fans could do with a trophy.

What does 2009 hold for Arsenal?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Injuries, Transfers3 Comments

The new year is upon us finally, and we can now close the book on 2008, arguably the most painful of “The Wenger Years”.

The most painful part was seeing our hopes of silverware slide away during the early months of 2008, after building up a fantastic team, and playing fantastic football it all went wrong. Dumped out of all competitions, undeservedly, we then lost Hleb, Flamini and Gilberto in the summer, weakening the team, rather than strengthening it.

You all know the story, and aside from highlights such as beating Man Utd and Chelsea, the opening of this season has been poor, compounded by inconsistency, injuries and crisis.

The captaincy issue and Gallas’s behaviour, our woeful defending especially the loss of Toure’s magic touch, plus poor cover in midfield have left the team in tatters. Now Fabregas is injured we really have serious problems. Worse still the boardroom unrest and uncertainty; Lady Nina out, Usmanov’s interest, are contributing to a bad situation.

The focus is now on Arsene Wenger. This man completely changed English football in his time here, and he is worshipped at Arsenal. A lack of trophies has made people question Wenger and there is a huge demand for money to be spent on new players.

I really have no idea about what will happen to Arsenal in 2009, I don’t think anyone does. It doesn’t look great, a threadbare squad, and a race just for 4th place with Villa, which if lost could see the departure of our remaining established players e.g. Fabregas or Ade.

If we invest wisely now then we could reap the rewards. But long term succcess depends on the reaction of the players. So far we have seen very inconsistent displays from this squad, losing to poor teams like Man City. We need midfield players like Nasri, Denilson, Diaby to play to their full potential and stay injury free. With some clever additions we have a great squad. BUT, strengthening and confidence are both desparately needed.

2009 could see Wenger’s Arsenal rise from the ashes of last season. I’m not saying we can win the title, but build some foundations for 09/10 and stay in the Champions League. Otherwise it could be the end of the Arsenal we know. I hope Wenger has the chequebook ready!

Cesc out for 4 months. Is this a bad dream?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Injuries, Transfers5 Comments

The latest news on Cesc is that his medial ligament damage is going to keep him out for up to four months.

This is just about the worst thing that could have happened at this stage of the season. We are already struggling, and losing our best player and captain till April is going to hurt us.

Our inexperienced midfield desparately needs strengthening in January, or 4th place could be very unlikely.

Diaby isn’t up to the task, and Song and Denilson is not a pairing with enough quality to compete at this level. We have so many injury troubles at the moment it is becoming extremely frustrating, Rosicky, Walcott, Fabregas, Eduardo, these are all first team players.

Bringing anyone with a little experience in January would be fantastic, we now need two midfielders in the next window. Wenger must be a little worried today.

“It is more likely but we also have internal solutions and we are not desperate,”

“The news is not good. It will take three to four months, we count four,”

“We will miss him, of course, but how much is difficult to say. We have to find a way and we want to find a way to compensate the fact that he is not on the pitch to give everyone a bit more.

“I’m sure we can deal with it.

“When he comes back he can help us get over the line in the final months. I believe we are able to do it.”

It looks like Wenger will be going into overdrive to sign a midfielder, but I don’t know if I can agree with his positivness.

Want to read ArseSpeak at your convenience? Click here.

Wenger looks ahead to transfer window before Arsenal play Liverpool

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers

This is a guest post by Thomas Rooney, contact me at arsespeak(at)gmail{dot}com if you’d like to write for ArseSpeak!

Arsenal have three important Premier League fixtures before the January transfer window opens, but nevertheless, Arsene Wenger has revealed that a significant signing next month is ‘feasible’. Much speculation is due to occur over the coming weeks and such comments from the Arsenal boss will surely exaggerate this.

Speaking about the possibility of a new recruit, Wenger admitted that sometimes a player coming into the club can provide the squad with some ‘extra belief’. This is something that would be more than welcome amongst the current crop of players, it has to be said.

Before any Arsenal fans become too excited about the prospect of a new signing though, it is worth mentioning that Wenger would only sign someone if someone ‘special’ becomes available. When asked whether this was likely to happen, he said that at this moment they have ‘not seen anyone’ that would fit the bill.

This is a fair policy I suppose. Why bring someone in unless they are going to significantly strengthen the squad? It could be argued that the more bodies the better, but there is no doubt that Wenger’s priorities lie in getting the most out of the current squad.

He says that he is more keen than ever to ‘develop the team we have’ because from the majority there is still ‘a lot to come’. All of this is part of a ‘policy we respect’ and this doesn’t look like changing anytime soon.

Instead of weighing up whether to buy a new player of not this weekend, Wenger will be heavily focused on the events at Ashburton Grove on Sunday. Arsenal are eight points behind league leaders Liverpool, a win is needed to keep the Gunners title challenge moving.

We have been here before though. Prior to the games against Manchester United and Chelsea earlier this season, I have sat here and wrote about how Arsenal must win to keep their title dreams alive. They went on to win both of these games, but still sit outside the top four.

This is because their response to each victory was poor. After beating Manchester United, they lost to Aston Villa in the next league game. Then after a dramatic victory at Chelsea, they won against Wigan, but stuttered again with a draw at Middlesbrough.

So, as important as the game against Liverpool is on Sunday, the one that follows it – against Aston Villa – has to be considered equally as important. Otherwise, there is no point winning at on Sunday. Imagine beating the other three ‘big four’ teams, but sitting 5th in the league. That would be so frustrating.

Remember to wear Yellow on Sunday!

By Thomas Rooney