Reporter outside the Emirates Stadium – “We are just hearing some breaking news here on Sky Sports News concerning Arsenal’s transfer dealings on this brilliant deadline day !!!”
“Sky Sports News understand ….. Arsenal are making no moves for players in the remainder of the transfer window !! We just didn’t anticipate this at all !!
oh ….
The news that Jack Wilshere has gone off to Bolton on loan for the rest of the season is hardly unexpected, he needs game-time, Owen Coyle and the boss get on well and it is a deal in which everyone is a winner.
Jack probably needs to experience the rough and tumble he probably never has at Arsenal as he has been taught the ‘Arsenal way’ at every level, it will be a very worthwhile education for him in the world of football and the experience of a relegation dogfight should galvanise him a little bit.
I can’t stand Bolton but it could be a useful partnership developing between the two clubs, contrasting styles, different ends of the league, different methods, a good experience for any youngster to realise what side his bread is buttered on.
The fact that Martin O’Neill is called one of the very best British managers is laughable, his comments the other night showed his petulance and the pressure he is currently under. Arsene Wenger actually complimented his team but O’Neill, in a way only he could, took it as some kind of insult.
Despite some members of the press twisting the words he said, these are his exact comments:
“They play a very efficient English game, with long balls and it is very physical. They are a good side at counter attacking. When we took the gamble to go forward and they won the ball, they are quick and that is why it was always us managing to create chances and score, or them catching us on the counter attack or playing on Agbonlahor or Heskey with long balls.”
Insult? What insult? Get a grip O’Neill, if you concentrated on your teams lack of goals you might actually have scored more than a big fat zero in your last four games.
He chats as much bollocks as Bakary Sagna’s agent who, for the second time, is trying to get his clients name out into the press. Firstly it was him subtly hinting that Sagna was off to Real Madrid, this time he is saying IF Macion moves to Real Madrid, Inter Milan MIGHT be interested in Sagna. On this logic Lionel Messi MIGHT move to Arsenal, IF that happens and I soil myself in excitement I MIGHT have to wipe my arse afterwards.
There is a lot to be said of getting players agents and representatives out of the game all together but it will never happen, there is just too much money involved. All you have to do is send a text to a reporter and a rumour to generate interest in their client is all over the press, job done, interest gained, price risen, commission increased, happy holidays … bastards.
None of our players are going anywhere, at least, not permanently.
Til next time.
Reports are sketchy at the moment but SSN say that we are back in the running for the young Fulham defender.
What is it with Arsenal and confusing transfers? More as it happens.
Judging by the news appearing from Arsene’s press conference today it was a pretty interesting one; transfers, Campbell, ‘keepers, Walcott’s development, the return of Nasri & Bendtner and the FA Cup exit were all discussed before tomorrows game away at Villa.
One of the biggest developments concerns the immediate future of Jack Wilshere who will go out on loan in the next 48 hours, the official site list Burnley, Bolton and West Ham as the likely destinations for the eighteen year old. My hunch is that he will move on loan to West Ham for the rest of the season, not far to move, thats if he has to move at all. It will do him some good going out and getting regular games. His staggered run-outs for us have not been doing him any good, at this stage of his career he needs consistency. Im sure he will do very well there and get some opportunities to show off his clear talent. Plus, he can learn from Zola.
On Sol Campbell, the boss has said he will have to fight like any other player to get into the side, and rightly so. Better start getting injured then Sol !!! In all seriousness, he impressed me, and lots of others, at the weekend. Keep up the good work Sol, we will be seeing more of him I’m sure.
The boss has also given his weekly ‘big up’ of his goal keepers, the ‘keeper of the week is Szczesny. It really does show the dire options we have when he talks of a 19 year old being capable of becoming the Arsenal number 1, especially after he described Fabianski as potentially world class and Almunia as one of the best goalies in the Premiership. It is an area that needs addressing. I will keep dreaming that we will see Igor Akinfeev in an Arsenal jersey. Chances of that happening are about 0.00000000001%. Still a chance then.
There is some good news on the injury front though as Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner are now back in full training, we still have a lengthy long term injury list but lets hope the medical room door isn’t revolving so quickly in a few weeks time. I am a big fan of Bendtner and am convinced he will become a real top class striker, his goals to starts ratio is fantastic for a player of his age and he has a real knack of scoring important goals. I wouldn’t bet against him getting an important goal in the next few weeks in our crunch run of games.
Arsene Wenger obviously saw my criticism of Carlos Vela and Theo Walcott the other day (read a few posts below). He came out in defence of Theo in particular today declaring that we won’t see the best of him for at least six weeks. The cynic in me says he will be back in the medical room by then, sadly. Lets hope not.
The boss on the FA Cup exit. Lets just move on now please. More important things lay ahead …
There is more comment by Wenger on other matters to be found on the official site, the news that Smalling has pretty much sealed a move to Man United shows that our business this transfer window is as good as over, barring a change of heart from the boss, but Bendtner’s return means we will not sign a striker.
Quick updates here: http://twitter.com/thegoonblog
Note: He has not signed for United.
Judging by Arsene Wenger’s latest comments, it could be a case of Aaron Ramsey round II with Fulham center-half Chris Smalling. William Gallas hasn’t signed his contract extension yet, Phil Senderos has as good as gone for good, Mikael Silvestre will be heading for the exit door come the end of the season, leaving Sol Campbell who is free to walk away at the seasons end, and Djourou who has spent more time on the injury table than Rosicky in recent times.
So we could be left with just an injury prone center-half and Thomas Vermaelen – and as good as he is, not even he could hold a defence together on his own with a player with one leg as the support act.
That is why I think Chris Smalling will head for Arsenal.
A transfer to Arsenal allows a common trend to continue, almost all of the most successful Arsenal center backs are English – Adams, Keown, Bould, Campbell etc. It does make sense.
I think we could be in the driving seat when it comes to making an attractive offer. Moving to Man United would mean he has to move to the other end of the country, signing for Arsenal means he probably doesn’t even have to move house, he could also stay at Fulham on loan for the rest of the season which might suit him further.
Arsene Wenger has the money at his disposal, £30 million is the number thats been thrown around, and at £7-8 million, it is a snip of his entire transfer fund and means he can gain knowledge of Sol Campbell and William Gallas, two of the finest defenders in the world at their peak.
The boss will probably be forced into action sooner than he likes but I’m sure he won’t risk losing a really promising talent to one of our closest rivals, United may have offered more money than us, but we have the appeal that they don’t.
Just think, how many times has Arsene Wenger said something like this:
“It just looks like Manchester United offered more money than us, As long as the player has not signed anywhere it is not the end of it. Let’s see what happens there.”
I bet he had a wry smile when he said that ….
Watch this space, we might get a signing after all.
Just a quick post after this afternoon’s comment on the probable squad to face Stoke at Sunday lunchtime.
In todays press conference the boss dropped his biggest hint yet that he will not sign another player, let alone a striker, in this transfer window:
“I have just come in from a training session where Bendtner looked exactly like the guy you describe,”
Its not a surprise really, sods law would dictate that if we shelled out on a striker Bendtner would return and bang in the goals and Theo Walcott’s injury prone-ness would magically disappear, meaning we had just wasted millions.
I understand completely why we will not buy anyone else in this transfer window, for starters… there don’t seem to be many decent players on the market, let alone decent players that would be value for money.
Lets just hope it doesn’t cost us once again.
“Age cheat” claims will stay with Samuel Galindo for the rest of his career …..
Yesterday the news that a Bolivian TV station had documents ‘proving’ Samuel Galindo was lying about his age was noticed by Arsenal bloggers, in particular, Young Guns, who concentrate on all Arsenal youth matters.
It is things like this that can taint a career before it has already begun. From what I hear the kid has big talent and is the leading type, shown by his captaincy of the Bolivian national team at various age levels.
There is the chance that the revelations could be false, made up for publicity reasons when a talent is in line to join a big name foreign club, but if they are true Galindo would join a long line of players that have tried to fake documents giving them a younger age. One example is former Newcastle and Inter Milan striker Obi Martins. Does anyone actually know how old he is?
The chances of him finally putting pen to paper have probably been dashed now, even if false, the club probably wouldn’t risk the publicity such a move would inevitably bring, for the players sake as much as the clubs.
I have been told that all his documents are genuine but the evidence is pretty convincing. Lets wait and see what the next few days bring.
According to highly reliable sources Gunnerblog and Young Guns, Bolivian 17-year old Samuel Galindo will put pen to paper next week.
He has recently been on trial at Everton but Arsene Wenger invited the Bolivian to train with the club and liked what he saw.
It is currently unknown whether he will have to follow a similar path to that of Carlos Vela, it probably depends on a exceptional talent work permit and whether it gets granted.
The boss is always casting his eye over the next generation of talent but with so many players in the youth ranks you do have to wonder where you draw the line, hopefully Galindo is a cut above the talent we already have or his purchase, believed to cost between half a million and 2 million depending on appearances etc. will just be seen by some members of the press and fan-base as the continuation of a pro-foreigner pattern at Arsenal.
I think we can do far worse than trust Arsene Wenger’s judgement on a young talented player though.
12/01/10 – a busy day. Here are my thoughts on the arrival of Sol Campbell, the rumours surrounding Senderos/Saha and the treatment of the big Swiss international and also the pictures of Emmanuel Adebayor in an Arsenal shirt.
Sol Campbell: The Return ….
It was this afternoon when the rumour mill went into overdrive and I heard confirmation at around 2pm that Sol was certain to sign on a free transfer and take part in the reserves game against West Ham (won 4-2). He duly played for 45 minutes with no goals being conceded with him in defence. Apparently he played well and guided the youngsters as you would expect from an experienced former England international.
There are fans who are annoyed to say the least about his comeback, some think hes too chunky and his legs have gone, others are annoyed at the way he left the club. There is also the opinion that it is a step back and Wenger should invest in a player with more longevity.
I think it could turn out to be a masterstroke. It frees Senderos up (more on that further on) to leave and means we are not reliant on Silvestre for cover. Think of the effect a man with god knows how many trophies will have on the younger defenders who will seek to learn off him, it can only be a good thing in that department.
Senderos’ future …
This guy has been a true pro. He was on the verge of leaving in the summer but was made to stay to cover the void left by Djourou’s knee injury, he stayed and didn’t moan once, despite hardly getting a kick.
I believe he has been treated in a despicable manner by the manager and club, he is 24 years old, what gives a team the right to waste 6 months of his career and jeapordise his chances of playing in the World Cup? It is not often I get angered by the way this club treats its employees and players but this time I think I am well justified in criticising them. Get out of here now Philippe and thanks for your excellent service and professionalism. Lesser men would have gone berserk by now so it shows what a good and intelligent guy he is.
Saha and Senderos to be involved in a swap deal …
We need a striker with experience and class. Senderos needs a club that will give him regular football.
Perfect right?
Saha is injury prone too, he will fit right in then !!!
Adebayor interviewed wearing an Arsenal shirt …
The City fans going mad over this need to remember this: he is lucky to still be alive. So what if he is wearing one of last seasons training polo shirts? Maybe he likes it? Maybe he is still an Arsenal fan?
City pay his wages, they don’t choose what clothes he wears. Give the guy a break. Watching the interview was saddening, maybe the attack will change his outlook on life and himself. For all the hatred going around, I am genuinely glad he is alive and unhurt.
This is probably the liveliest day of transfer rumours in a long long time, surrounding Arsenal anyway. There was the Arshavin saga that rumbled on and on last January/February, but this is a little different.
We have already seen Sol Campbell return to the club today; (he is only on a temporary reserve league registration tonight as the paperwork needs to go through), and that has paved the way for Senderos to leave with Everton again seemingly the destination for him.
The move to Everton was cancelled in the summer as Djourou picked up his knee injury and Senderos provided cover, but after his despicable treatment by the club Senderos said today ‘I want to leave”, pretty affirmative, eh?
Interestingly, Wenger is a big fan of Saha who has been in decent form this season. Personally, I rate him highly – dodgy hair aside – what we do have to remember is his suspect injury record. Louis is a very good finisher, strong in the air and an all round quality player.
He is experienced, French, is available to play in the Champions League and shouldn’t cost much because he is out of contract at the end of the season. There are plenty worse players around to consider bringing in.
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