Arsenal reject Usmanov’s cash offer – Be patient!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers12 Comments

Ivan Gazidis has rejected the offer of cash for transfers from investor Alisher Usmanov. It is a significant show of belief in the strength of Arsenal’s business model and a put down for Usmanov.

It is a very thinly veiled attempt at winning more favour with the fans and putting pressure on the club to buy more players ala Real Madrid. Some fans will be annoyed at the way the board have just rejected this offer, but if it had been accepted then it would have set a dangerous precedent of involvement on Usmanov’s part.

The best thing the club can do is stick to it’s sustainable model of business. The cash thrown about by the likes of Real Madrid is unrealistic and in the long term it gets you nowhere, building a team with character and understanding is more important.

The pressure on Arsenal to win trophies will always be there, and until Arsene wins one with this generation there will always be critics of club policy. The potential is there, as it has been for several years, Arsenal fans just need to learn the art of patience.

Positive week for Arsenal as trio of youngsters sign new deals

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal3 Comments

Arsene Wenger has been at Arsenal for many years now, but he is still as focused as ever in terms of bringing young players through to the first team. This has happened many times in the past and will continue to happen as long as Wenger is at the club.

The difference with the latest trio of youngsters to sign long-term deals though is that they are all British. Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs have all committed their futures to Arsenal and this has to go down as a positive piece of news.

If the Gunners could have a team that was made up of several British players, this would be fantastic. Not only would it benefit Arsenal, it would benefit England as well. Time and time again I have said that the England team would have been more successful if some of their players were coached by Wenger.

So, what details do we have on the these three players?

Well, Ramsey was signed from Cardiff City last summer and has a huge amount of potential. At 18-years-old, he is already a full international for Wales and made a number of appearances for Arsenal in the Champions League last season.

Speaking about signing the creative midfielder to a new deal, Wenger said that he is a ‘very intelligent player with great quality’. Overall, the Arsenal boss is looking forward to ‘seeing him develop in the forthcoming years’.

Next up is Wilshere. At 17-years-old, he is the youngest of the trio and he made Arsenal history last season when he became the youngest player to represent them in the league at just 16 years and 256 days old.

Wilshere has been at the club since he was 9-years-old and has developed into a very promising midfield player who can operate anywhere across the middle of the park. Wenger says that Wilshere made ‘great progress’ last season and that ‘potential is huge’ for what he can achieve during his Arsenal career.

The most recent youngster to sign a new deal is Gibbs. The 19-year-old has signed a long-term contract after making a huge impact on first team proceedings last season. He made 21 first-team appearances, including four in the Champions League.

Most of these appearances came at left-back and there is no doubt he can push Gael Clichy for a starting role in this position next season. Wenger also commented on Gibbs’ future by saying that the progress he made throughout the last year ‘was fantastic’. As with the other two, Wenger is ‘excited’ about what Gibbs can achieve during his Arsenal career.

All in all, it has been a fantastic close season for Arsenal’s youngsters so far. Theo Walcott, Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Ramsey, Jake Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs have all committed their future to the club this summer and this can only be a good thing.

Of these players, who do we fancy to make the biggest impact next season?

By Thomas Rooney

Martin Keown and Steve Bould – Where are they now: Part 3

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal2 Comments

We have come to the last part of our ‘Where are they now’ feature and today we will be focusing on two of Arsenal’s greatest ever central defenders Martin Keown and Steve Bould. What did they achieve at Arsenal? What type of players were they? What have they done since leaving? What does the future hold for them?

It is fair to say that Keown was one of the most solid centre backs of his generation. Often taking the ‘no-nonsense’ approach, Keown would use his pace and tremendously powerful tackling to be a thorn in the side of every attacking player in the country.

The former England international signed off his Arsenal career in style as well as his last season was the ‘invincible’ campaign when he and his team went unbeaten throughout their 46 Premier League games. It was a fitting end to a tremendous career where Keown won six major honours.

As for what he is up to now, well we occasionally see him working as a pundit on BBC Sport. Often alongside Lee Dixon on MOTD2, Keown offers his views on all things football and normally talks a great deal of sense.

There is the possibility that Keown will move into coaching eventually, but after he reportedly turned down the chance to join Tony Adams at Portsmouth, it seems that he is happy on the BBC Sport sofa for now.

As for Steve Bould, the one time Stoke City defender was an integral part of the ‘famous four’ that helped George Graham’s Arsenal keep so many clean sheets in their time. Bould’s excellent defensive ability and cool head helped him make over 300 appearances for Arsenal, winning seven major honours along the way.

The final of these was the FA Cup in 1998 when Arsene Wenger’s men completed the double. Age wasn’t on Bould’s side at this point, but he still played his part. In fact, his chip that set Tony Adams on his way during the victory that secured the Premier League title will be remembered forever by Arsenal fans.

After leaving the club, Bould had a brief spell at Sunderland where he was made club captain by Peter Reid. He helped the Black Cats finish 7th in the Premier League before injury forced him to retire from the game.

These days though, he is back where he belongs, with the Arsenal. Bould returned to the club in 2001 in a coaching role and is now the coach for the Youth Team. In this role, his reputation as a coach has grown rapidly and there is a distinct possibility he could become a manager himself one day.

This completes the look at David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Steve Bould. All of these players made a huge impact at Arsenal and it seems a safe bet that they will remain part of the club for years to come.

By Thomas Rooney

Read more: Kaba Diawara: Wenger’s Bargain Buy that Never Made it // Tony Adams: Where is he now? // The Famous Back Four: Where are they now?

Tony Adams: Where is he now? Part Two

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal2 Comments

On Monday, I cast an eye over the careers of David Seaman, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon with a brief look at what they have been up to since retiring from football. Today, it is the turn of Tony Adams. I am giving him an article on his own, simply because of how busy he has been since leaving Arsenal!

What type of player was he? What did he achieve at Arsenal? What have he decide to do with himself after pulling on an Arsenal shirt for the last time?

Often referred to Mr Arsenal, Adams is one of the best defenders to have ever played for the club. He is also one of the best captains ever to have led the team. The term ‘rock at the heart of the defence’ was only used when people saw Adams play for Arsenal. He made 669 appearances for the club over 18 years and won 10 major trophies along the way.  Absolute legend.

Since retiring from football, Adams has tried his hand a few times at management. After studying a degree in Sports Science, he became manager of Wycombe Wanderers in 2003. He only lasted a year in this position though and was forced to add a relegation to his managerial CV.

The former Gunners captain’s next move was to take a trainee coaching role at Feyenoord before becoming Harry Redknapp’s Number Two at Portsmouth.

In this role, Adams enjoyed his most successful period since retiring from playing.  Pompey finished 9th in the Premier League and went on to win the FA Cup. When Redknapp left for Tottenham though, Adams became manager and things didn’t go well. He lasted a little over three months before being sacked.

Since this happened, he has made the occasional TV appearance and bizarrely put his name forward for the Celtic job by saying that former Bhoys manager Wim Jansen was going to join him in a role at the club. This was described as ‘complete garbage’ by Celtic, to leave everyone wondering where Adams was getting his information from.

Overall, things have been a bit stop – start for Adams since his playing days. He is obviously keen to become a successful manager and I hope he does one day. What he needs is a bit of consistency. He needs to be at the same club for at least a couple of years to show everyone what he can do.

What did you think of Adams as a player? Can he reach anywhere near these heights as a manager? Or should he stick to doing some scouting for Arsenal to avoid more managerial embarrassment? Next time, Martin Keown and Steve Bould.

By Thomas Rooney

Read more: Kaba Diawara: Wenger’s Bargain Buy that Never Made it // Martin Keown and Steve Bould: Where are they now? // The Famous Back Four: Where are they now?

Gibbs’ Goals for England U21 Video + Vermaelen and Dzeko

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Highlights, Transfers6 Comments

Kieran Gibbs put on a lovely performance last night for England U-21s in their friendly against Azerbaijan, and was in a class of his own. He took two goals, and you can see them in the videos below. Good stuff from the young guy, cue newspaper articles on Arsenal’s ‘production line’ of quality left backs..

A friendly against Azerbaijan isn’t much to go by, but I think we all know that Gibbs is quality, and the more experience he gets the better he will get. I’m not expecting too much next season from him though, Wenger won’t be putting undue pressure on him.

In other news it looks like we may have signed Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen. The rumours surrounding the story have been growing, and now the Guardian are reporting that we are going to spend around £10 mill on the 23 year old.

We’ve needed a new central defender for some time, and I think everyone knew that Silvestre’s signing last season was not the answer. I think that defence is the key for a successful title challenge next season, lets just hope that if he does come in that Vermaelen can do the job.

Meanwhile it looks like Milan are going to snap up Dzeko, the striker linked with us, and Senderos apparently wants to stay at AC too. If we get some cash from him then it should go straight into reinvesting in another defender.

“As far as I am concerned I would like to stay in Milan because I do not think that there is a place for me at Arsenal.”

If Senderos stays at Arsenal it wouldn’t be a bad thing, but I think we should look for someone of higher quality.

The Famous Back Four: Arsenal’s defence – Where are they now?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal7 Comments

The close season is a time to take a look into the history books and reflect on what Arsenal have achieved. This doesn’t mean that we are going to take a look at the most recent season though. I think the ‘two players short of challenging again’ and the ‘injuries hurt us’ arguments have been done enough on the blogosphere.

What I want to do today is go back some years and take a look at arguably the best back five that ever graced Arsenal football club. Let’s remind ourselves of David Seaman, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon, Tony Adams and Martin Keown. What did they achieve? Where are they now?

David Seaman – After signing from QPR in 1990, Seaman went on to become a true Arsenal legend. He may have had his moments along the way (Nayim and Ronaldinho!), but there is no hiding from the fact that he won 8 major trophies with the club and made over 500 appearances along the way.

These days, he isn’t up to a great deal. There is the odd television appearance where he is interviewed about Arsenal and England matters, but other than that he appears to be keeping himself to himself and enjoying family life.

Nigel Winterburn – Arsenal have had many excellent left backs in their history, but Winterburn has to go down as one of the best. He served the club for 13 years with great success, winning 7 trophies along the way. His tackling ability, aggression and energy was superb during his time at the club and it is a shame he only won a couple of England caps.

As for what he is up to now, well he still works in a broadcasting capacity for the club. In fact, he is regularly on our TV screens giving his opinion on all things football. He did have a brief coaching spell with Blackburn last year, but when Sam Allardyce took over, he was asked to move on. Overall, it seems likely that he will pursue the pundit’s path rather than the coaching one.

Lee Dixon – This right back made an incredible 619 appearances for Arsenal over a 15-year period that made him one of the most respected defenders in the game. His consistency, loyalty and defensive ability ensured that he was a favourite with the Arsenal faithful. He was also
threatening on the break though and managed to net 28 times during his career at the club. Dixon won eight trophies with Arsenal, the last of
which was the league title in 2002 just before his retirement.

In terms of life after football, he has been very busy indeed. As well as playing golf regularly, he has pursued a number of business interests, including one with TV Chef Heston Blumenthal. Elsewhere, he is a regular as a pundit on Score, Match of the Day and Football Focus. His analysis of games can often be seen on the BBC Sport website as well. Overall, it is fair to say that he is doing OK for himself since retiring from football!

So, that’s it for this article. On Friday, I will be taking a look at Tony Adams and Martin Keown. I might even glance an eye over what Steve Bould is up to these days.

Until then, what do you make of what these players have done with themselves since leaving Arsenal? Which of them was your favourite player at the time?

By Thomas Rooney

Read more: Kaba Diawara: Wenger’s Bargain Buy that Never Made it // Tony Adams: Where is he now? // Martin Keown and Steve Bould – Where are they now?

New Arsenal Away Kit 09/10 – Good or bad?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal37 Comments

A few weeks ago we got the official released pictures of the Arsenal away kit for 09/10 season. Personally I think it is pretty average. It is disappointing that they went for a blue away kit, I generally prefer, like most Arsenal fans to be in Yellow.

I was excited to see the rumours of a green away kit going round, but now I see that Nike opted for the boring blue pin-stripes.

away kit 09_10

I don’t buy new shirts often, generally I stick to my old home top or the famous bruised banana away kit from the Nineties, and I see even less reason to fork out £40 for this kit.

Surely the club saw how popular this season’s away kit was. I know that they have to vary the colour a bit, but how many people do you see wearing the yellow away kits of the past versus the blue ones? It would be interesting to see their sales figures.

Secondly the kit itself is pretty boring. If you ask me the design is mediocre, and I would have preferred something a little more streamlined.

The Goal (and commentator) of the Season: Grafite, Wolfsburg

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Highlights, Video12 Comments

Yesterday I posted this video up on Twitter as my goal of the season:

A brilliant goal from Grafite, in Wolfsburg’s 5-1 demolition of Bayern Munich. I think it’s only fitting that Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga this season, and they deserve something to cheer about – it’s their first piece of silverware in 64 years! Gives Arsenal fans a little to think about!

The commentary is hilarious too, anyone know who the commentator is?

What are you favourite goals of this season? Leave a comment below, or tweet me @arsespeak with your replies!

In keeping with the theme Setanta are running an FA Cup goal of the season feature at the moment, their list is up here, and you can e-mail in if you think they’ve missed one!

Would we be happy with Barry at Arsenal?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers21 Comments

We all know by now that the close season means one thing – transfer speculation galore. Throughout the next couple of months, Arsenal will be linked with a host of players, the moves for which will probably never materialise.

This is part and parcel of the media keeping interest in football high when there aren’t many significant games. It starts of as a bit of harmless fun, but when Sky Sports News continue to talk about ‘their sources’, it can get extremely annoying.

Anyway, where am I going with this? Well, it seems we may have some transfer speculation with a bit of substance. Don’t be surprised if it drags on throughout the summer, but unlike so many – this one seems realistic. Gareth Barry is reportedly interested in a move to the Emirates.

The Telegraph wrote a piece this morning which claims that the Aston Villa midfielder is holding out for a move to Arsenal in a bid to participate in regular Champions League football. Liverpool are also tracking his progress after missing out on his signature last summer, but it is being suggested that Barry would rather join Arsenal.

Would we want Barry to join though? It is thought that Arsene Wenger would need to spend around £12m on the England midfielder, who has one year remaining on his contract at Villa Park. Is this a good deal for Arsenal? Personally, I think that Wenger could do a lot, lot worse.

Ever since the departure of Mathieu Flamini last summer, Arsenal have been crying out for a holding and battling midfielder player to do away with the problem of being light-weight in the centre of the park. Barry – who Wenger has watched several times over the few months – could be the answer.

Often when a player is linked, I try to picture what role they would play in the team and Barry fits the bill in my opinion. Playing alongside Fabregas, he would look very much at home. It’s hard to say who he could emulate, but I see him as an Emmanuel Petit type figure.

This is purely me speculating though and I would really like your opinion on this. Is he the type of player you would like to be watching at the Emirates? Could he add something extra to the midfield? Which former player could he play a similar role to?

Looking at this initially though, I think it would be a good signing. A midfield of Walcott, Barry, Fabregas and Arshavin sounds pretty good to me. I guess we will just have to wait and see how this one develops.

By Thomas Rooney