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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Wenger thinks we can win it all next season!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Wenger has been quoted in the Daily Express. saying he thinks Arsenal can win silverware next season

“I think we can win everything. We are very, very close,”

“Now that the Champions League final has become an FA Cup final the team who is very strong in England has a good chance to win the European Cup. The Premier League title goes down to one game, won or lost.”

“I believe overall quality, going forward, we were the best team in the League. However, Arsenal conceded 10 more goals than the others and that made the difference.

“It’s very difficult to take a perspective in what people expected from us at the start of the season, and the fact we are disappointed for not winning the championship.

“We have done beyond expectation, but, as well, we are disappointed beyond expectation as we have not won the championship. But we feel we are very, very close.”

I’ve said before on this blog that we were amazing going forward this season, it was just defensive frailties that let us down. That was what cost us everything in the end.

Wenger should look at signing someone to bolster the defence before he goes for players like Nasri or Ben Arfa, as tantalising as Gooners do find them.

Wenger remphasizes what Pat Rice said a few days ago, last season we exceeded expectations and next season we will be back better and stronger.

Gallas, Fabregas, Walcott and Almunia show off new Arsenal kit in leaked picture

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal14 Comments

Arsenal Kit 08/09

Arsenal players Gallas, Cesc, Theo and Almunia are modelling the new home kit in this leaked picture from The Other Football, a Florida-based blog.

The picture was sent in by a reader, it seems to confirm rumours of the 08/09 kit designs which were leaked earlier this year.

I like it, but it does seems a bit similar to the 00/01 and 01/02 home kit. I would have preferred all white sleeves, but Nike probably wanted to vary the design a little.

The goalkeeper kit looks a bit odd!

What do you think now we have actually seen it on the players?

Update:

I think Arsenal.com are about to announce the kit lanch, check this link, at the time of writing only the headline has been written, possibly a publishing error!

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Lehmann is now a Stuttgart player

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers2 Comments

Jens Lehmann, 38, the crazy old ‘keeper has left Arsenal for VfB Stuttgart on a free.

We all knew this transfer was coming. Lehmann has been out of the team for most of this season and is ageing. Wenger allowed him a farewell 20 minutes at the Grove where he got a standing ovation in the last home game of the season against Everton. That was his last apperance in an Arsenal shirt.

Hopefully Lehmann will be fondly remembered for his antics whilst at Arsenal. He was almost ever present in the unbeaten season of the Invincibles, and played a large part in some of our more recent successes under Wenger.

Although very, very, very temperamental, and generally mental, Lehmann has been a good player for the club. Some dodgy moments aside we should remember him as an eccentric keeper who brought us a period of success.

He said this:

“The talks with the leaders of VfB Stuttgart were very pleasant from the beginning,” he told Stuttgart’s official website.I look forward to Vfb and the Bundesliga and I want to play my part in a successful 2008/2009 season.”