Tag Archives: transfers

Relief, frustration, despair and Arsenal. The words go hand in hand

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So there we have it. Here we are. It’s finally over. until the summer that is. The over-dramacised, over-hyped, theatrical ‘Transfer Deadline Day’ has final set sail to return only to return at the end of August.

There is a very relived part of me this morning I have to admit. I can now concentrate on talking about football and not speculation. my Twitter feed will die down with ITKs and ‘i’m hearing’. Yep, definite relief.

Yet that is not my overwhelming emotion on this Friday morning. My feelings today are that yet again Arsenal Football Club has failed to deliver the required movements to really kick the team on this season. When the August deadline passed and no striker was incoming, we were provided with press soundbites of ‘there is always January’. Yet now we see that those comments were designed purely to instil that all important element of hope into the fans. ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got a squad that can cope, and if we’re not coping then we’ll go out and augment the team with quality signings that will ensure that we continue to eat at the top table. Well it worked until about 11.30pm yesterday when fans like me are once again left feeling like the club hasn’t done all in its power to ensure that we maintain competitive and improve as a club.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to wake up and see we’ve spent £12million on a good but not amazing central defender and we’re paying him £100k a week for the privilege. The signing of Chris Samba by QPR might be a good addition to the squad, but it is a huge roll of the dice by Harry. If QPR go down they will be in trouble of Portsmouth proportions. It is because of our thrifty way that we think like this by the way. If we signed a player for £12million and £100k a week, over the lifetime of their contract that’s £40million, which the way Arsenal work turns out to be £40million of the supposed £70million we have. That is why we Arsenal fans look so closely at the pennies. Because we know the team needs two or three quality players, yet if we go over the top on good but not great players, it will just make for yet another summer of discontent as we yet again fail to add to the squad.

But going back to my original point: I don’t want to see ridiculous money thrown at players. But there are players out there that could have added some genuine squad depth to this team. David Villa would have been a great signing. Jovetic would have been superb. Even Diame would have been a good bit of competition in midfield for when Diaby gets his inevitable injury on Saturday and is out for the rest of the season, followed by Arteta having a ‘little setback’ and turning three weeks out to two months. There are plenty of players out there that we could have called on to improve and yet we have continued to keep our powder dry.

Still, there was at least one signing that we were able to bring in that most certainly addresses a need, so I need to temper some of my angst at least in the knowledge that we have some competition at left back. The man known as ‘Nacho’ has joined us from Malaga and he will certainly add more depth and competition for the much maligned Andre Santos. Surely this is the end of the Brazillian’s time at the club so I’d expect him to be one of the first out of the door come June. If we can find a buyer that is willing to pay his surely exorbitant wages.

I know nothing about Monreal. I’ve read plenty from fans, journalists and players saying that he is understudy to Jordi Alba in the Spanish national team, which gives me the first indication that he will most certainly be challenging Gibbs more than the chunky Brazillian was. I’m not going to go into any major depth about his attributes, as it would be a false prophecy on my part, but I suspect we’ll find out all about him tomorrow (did he get clearance to play) or away to Sunderland the following weekend.

So we have at least added to our ailing defence. But to me it simply wasn’t enough. I read the AST statement about the money available to the club and with the new TV deal and other revenue increasing, failure to be in the Champions League will be off-set by that. Which again brings me back into questioning why on earth we haven’t done all we can to strengthen in key areas. The whole world knows where we need to strengthen, yet the stubbornness of the manager is all too prevalent. He is more concerned with sticking to his flawed socialist ideology of financial fair play. I say flawed because I am quite convinced that come the introduction of the FFP rules, we will see quite quickly how the big clubs get around it.

Arsene says the squad is good enough. Arsene says he has two players for every position. Arsene believes bringing in more players would create too much wastage. If that is the case, why is he only using a core of 12 or 13 players every single week. If he has so much faith in the squad why do we weaken ourselves by sending half of it out on loan? Will he start to utilise promising talents like Eisfeld or Gnabry? Or even Rosicky? You cannot tell me that Gervhino is a better player than Rosicky and yet he will probably come into the team as soon as the African Cup of Nations is over. You also cannot tell me that there are players that are within our price range that are not better than Gervhino. Crikey, there are players in some of the teams fighting for relegation that are better than Gervhino.

In reading this blog you could be forgiven for thinking that I am turning on Arsene. I can only assure you that this is not the case. I would like nothing more than for him to turn this around, put together a winning run and perhaps even send us on a cup winning run. But the probability of us doing that with this squad that, once you scratch below the surface is paper-thin in terms of quality, are leading me to question whether he knows at all. By not bringing players in he has made a rod for his own back. The doubters now have their biggest stick with which to beat him and he has no place to hide if the team falls away from fighting for fourth place. Just say that again out loud to yourself. We are fighting for fourth place. We are so far from the Invincibles now it is scary.

I will be going on Saturday. I will cheer on my team and I will hope that we can do something now that lifts us into the top four. But by not adding to the side as much as we’d hoped, I’m skeptical that we can do that.

Until tomorrow peeps.

Day five of transfer window, and people are already combusting…

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Quick! Every Gooner for themselves! Run for the hills! The Armageddon is nigh! The Mayans were right (give or take a few weeks)! We cannot survive much longer!

If you spend your life flicking through Twitter feeds and seeing some of the responses of gooners, you’d probably be thinking the same right now, such is the animosity that is being banded about by some sections of The Arsenal fraternity.

Yesterday we saw the first real bit of transfer movement in the league from a number of clubs, including Arsenal, as players came in, players went, players disappeared on loan and some agreed to join other clubs in the summer. We already knew about Demba Ba from the evening before; the public statement by his army of advisors that he will not be joining Chelski clearly designed to extract maximum value from the West Londoners (and probably at the same time giving you a better idea as to why we weren’t involved in the bidding process), but yesterday also saw the departure of Marouane Chamakh on a six month loan deal to West Ham. The fact that we can’t shift him on a permanent deal is a damning indictment on the clubs wage policy (that would be Denilson, Bendtner and Chamakh all on loan now because we can’t shift them), but I have to say that I see it as a good thing. Arsene is shuffling his pack already in an effort to bring in some fresh blood. And look, I understand that some people are apprehensive about no deals being done, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and suggest that this movement of the Moroccan followed by the departure of Squillaci and Djourou (I hope the former goes before the latter, but it looks unlikely) will be followed relatively swiftly by some incoming to the club.

But from what I have read over the last 24 hours, you’d have thought people were going to spontaneously combust in a ball of flames. We’re FIVE days into the window people! Five! Not twenty-five!

The catalyst seemed to be the announcement by the Spuds of Lewis Holtby from Schalke in the summer. It was the blue touch-paper of Twitter for gooners, as people bemoaned our lack of activity and the fact other teams are moving instead of us. This really confused me when I read some of the fan reaction. Firstly, we know what positions need strengthening, and small, creative attacking midfielders isn’t really one of them. Sure, Lewis Holtby is a great player, he’d be on a free transfer, and could be better than some of the other players we have in the squad – but our immediate pressing need is surely for another striker, a goalkeeper and a tough ball winning central midfielder to ease the burden from Arteta, isn’t it? Or even another wide attacker if Walcott is being shifted into the centre. I know Ben is keen on Lewis and I don’t doubt he would have been a great signing, but missing out on him is hardly going to massively affect us, is it? Also, we all agree that signing players for the here and now is our most pressing priority, so why the bloody hell are people getting worked up about a player that will not be joining anyone until the summer? How can that help us now?

David Villa however, well, there’s a player that could come in and make an instant impact. Established, a great finisher and still has it in my opinion. I watch Barca play Celta in the Nou Camp in November and Villa got the first goal. He was superb and I think would hit the ground running. We’re being linked more and more with him but unfortunately the tools that are Goal – which I refuse to link to – don’t help the excitement by wildly proclaiming an ‘exclusive’ that we have made a formal bid for the player. I know Arsenal like to conduct their business quietly, but we all know Barca don’t, so if that were true do we really think those idiots in Catalan wouldn’t be shouting from the rooftops of El Mundo to try to get a bidding war going? Of course they would. So if you’re hanging your hopes on us getting him, don’t hang them too much – that’s all I’d ask.

We’ve got a game tomorrow, but I’m reticent to go through a probably line up and thoughts on it until then as I’d have nothing to say, but Arsene has certainly been making noises that he’ll put out his best team out. I’m a little skeptical over this but we wait with bated breath. On the transfer market he declared once again (has done it for the last couple of years) that he expected the market to be calm for the first couple of weeks before hotting up a little. I am hopeful that this is a ‘Who is Cazorla?’ style Arsene bluff, because that comment would suggest a last-minute trolley dash around Europe, which to be fair I don’t think he’ll want. I think Arsene is looking to add some quality as soon as possible, but we’ll just have to wait to see when he finally lays his cards down.

That’s it from me today. Have a good one folks.

Saving Arsene time with Walcott questions

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Morning. Happy first Friday of the year. It is a strange one for me. It doesn’t feel like a Friday simply because I didn’t start work until Wednesday, and even then my motivation hasn’t exactly been ‘tip-top’, so I find myself pleased that I get a couple of days off after today’s grind. Plus the added bonus of Arsenal playing of course.

Even though our game doesn’t kick off until Sunday – meaning a relatively stress-free Saturday for your humble narrator (let’s face it, some of the performances have been enough to turn any gooner grey, or greyer) – Arsene took to the floor of mics to have his words warped and twisted until they barely resemble what he said in the first place. Le Boss’ presser did give us some half decent insights however, most notably about the fitness in the squad at the moment, which seems unusually good. We’re used to a situation where we have 14 centre halves, yet all of our full backs are missing, so it’s quite good for Wenger to proclaim an almost full bill of health. There are a couple of absentees, including the unfortunate Fabianski, who appears to be injured/ill again. I do feel for the guy; every time he’s fit there are a long run of Premier League games where he doesn’t stand a chance of playing, but when there are some cup matches that he can see action in, he’s nowhere to be seen. The ship must have left the harbour to set sail on his Arsenal career by now, given his expectations of playing. I would have thought this weekend would be another opportunity for him to audition (even if we all know it is a fruitless exercise) for the number one spot, as Arsene has always rotated his goalkeepers in the cup – regardless on who we play. But it is not to be.

Le Boss did make comment about any team he puts out always goes out to win the game, which as far as I remember (don’t quote me though) is the stock phrase he uses whenever faced with questions about stock rotation – particularly in the cups. It is usually the prelude to a rotated team being on display, so I’d be interested to see who he chooses on Sunday.

I think it is surely inevitable that there will be a degree of rotation. But with the team being at almost full fitness, you never really know. Players like Jenkinson, Rosicky and Mertesacker have not played in the last couple of games, but they are so close to the fringes of the first team that it wouldn’t really be much of a gamble by the manager. Then again, he has shown such lack of faith in so many of his squad when it comes to rotating, that it wouldn’t surprise me if we see a similar team to the one that played at Southampton.

There might also be an interesting case for Diaby to get some minutes on the field in the second half now that he is back. Well, I say ‘back’, but what I really mean is ‘temporarily not injured’. No doubt we can all look forward to some sort of action against Manchester City where he impresses, followed by a start against Chelski away which then, in a twisted sense of irony he breaks down – just over three months since he broke down against the same team at home. Thanks karma, you MOFO.

Arsene was once again asked to provide thoughts on the Theo Walcott contract saga. I’ve got to be honest, even I’m bored of this now, so I have a solution for Arsene to save him having to repeat himself. When I was leaving an old job of mine five years ago, I had a leaving party in a pub that was arranged for me, to which I was not looking forward to having to repeat the same conversation to different people time and time again (‘where are you going?’, ‘Are you looking forward to it?’ and ‘What does the job entail?’). All I wanted to do was to have drinks with a load of work mates and talk about stuff we always talked about previously (football, annoying things at work, trivial and serious things happening in the news – you know the types of stuff, right?) – call it an element of denial that things would change if you like. Anyway, to counter the potential line of questioning, I typed all the standard questions anyone who is leaving receives, and also my answers to each, then when I arrived at the pub, distributed the answers to all of my work colleagues. It served the purpose, because I could talk about normal stuff, plus I got a chuckle from some of my workmates.

So to Arsene I give you this gift. Get one of the Highbury House staff to print off 100 letter headed sheets with all of your stock Walcott-isms about his contract, leave one on each seat before the media assembles, then when a question is asked, simply tap the paper to indicate a response. Simples.

I thought about giving some musings about potential transfer targets and players joining the club this January, but if I’m completely honest we’re only four days into this transfer window and I’m already bored with it. We all know how Arsenal operate and I’m sure we all suspect what might happen if we do sign anybody – it will be a ‘who blinks first’ lastminute.com snaffling of a player with a couple of days before the window shuts. That’s just how we roll kids. If we sign somebody soon then great, I’ll support them if they’re in the red and white (although some will be supported more vociferously than others, depending on their ability to actually demonstrate any awareness of the football, the goal, or even their own legs *cough* Gervhino *cough*.

Anyway, that’s enough for one Friday, I’m off to go and save some lives. Or, y’know, send some emails and stuff instead.

Why elevate a players importance, because we MIGHT be interested?

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Howdy gooners. hope you’re enjoying the last few drops of the Christmas holiday period. If you’re off on holiday for a few more days thereafter, well, then I am jealous and not your friend you lucky git! However, if like me you have today and tomorrow left, then come in from the cold my friend and embrace me.

We’ll most likely have Arsene’s pre-game presser today where he’ll give us an update on the team for tomorrow. By the sounds of it we look like we’re still strong in terms of a lack of injuries to report and the squad Arsene can pick from, so I don’t expect him to spring any surprises in that regard, but he’ll also inevitably be asked about what types of targets he’s after at the moment. He’s been probed on Ba, Villa and alike, but the press will not expect to get any answer from him, purely an indication as to whether he’s after a player with a wry smile or a way in which he carefully words his response.

He’ll also be inevitably asked about Demba Ba, who it emerged from last night would be speaking to Chelski about a possible move. I’m sat in my dressing gown this morning and Sky Sports have just announced that Ba’s representatives have broken off negotiations following ‘unproductive’ talks. Now, I don’t know much about the inner workings of agents, I just piece together what I hear from different media, blogger and ex-player sources. But to hear comments like that make my cynical eyebrow – the right one – raise to quite lofty heights. Let’s not forget that this Chelski team have a billionaire owner and have no qualms about paying some of their highest profile players around the £150,000 per week mark. If Chelski really wanted Ba, it wouldn’t surprise me that they offered a very attractive package – especially if you’re talking about a £7million release clause – which could justify slightly higher wages. Well, that’s clearly what ‘Team Ba’ think if what is being reported is true.

There is another possibility, which is that all of this ‘Sky Sources’ rubbish is essentially a mobile phone call exchange between reporters and Ba’s agents designed to get the ball rolling on the hyperbole that is the opening of the January Transfer window. It is a provocative school of thought, I grant you, but I see it as the most realistic. This time of the year is when Sky Sports get to be their most excitable. As opposed to the summer, where there is a prolonged period to buy players, January is a concentrated period of time that means Sky need to milk all the click-throughs, TV viewings and alike to generate as much interest and therefore advertising revenue potential as possible. By starting early with a story such as the Ba one, they are getting a few high-profile teams’ fans interested and ensuring that this January starts off well for them. I’m sure that the conversation that may or may not have taken place yesterday evening happens with all of the clubs most of the time, but it just so happens that this has broken just when Sky wanted it to.

Another final thought on this one – I thought players representatives were not allowed to speak to other clubs until fees had been agreed? Given that Newcastle have not announced that a team has matched his release clause just yet – how is it that this story is being conducted so publicly?

The other potential story which doesn’t seem to have been picked up by the media yet, but was listed on LadyArse‘s gossip column yesterday, was that Wilfred Zaha’s former teammate Tom Soares (now at Bury) taking to Twitter saying that he will be a great signing at Arsenal and we have got ourselves a great player. Very interesting comment by Soares to which the Twittersphere practically exploded after it broke. I have a few puzzling thoughts in this regard. Firstly was to question the legitimacy of the account – such is the fickle nature of some human beings trying anything to get a little bit of media attention on Twitter; the second was to question why the player himself would make such an announcement when clearly there is nothing even remotely picked up elsewhere. If there is some sort of deal going on at the moment to bring the player to the club, the last thing Zaha would want is one of his mates running his mouth off and ruining his chances of a deal actually being struck. We all know how secretive Arsenal are, so what does a message like that do other than to generate interest from sections on Twitter? It all sounds a little bit too fishy to me, but I am happy to be proved wrong.

Before I sign off for the day, thought I’d also express out loud how social media has turned football fans (me included at times) into people who always seem to want what others have. With both Ba and Zaha, if neither arrive at Arsenal, it will be seen by some gooners as another example of the lunacy of the Arsenal board and Wenger missing out on another top target. But how do we even know that they were realistic targets in the first place? And even so, how many people in the summer were chomping at the bit to bring these two players on board? Remember Ricardo Alvarez who signed for Inter Milan? He’s hardly set the San Siro alight since joining, yet because we didn’t sign him having got close, some Arsenal fans were ready to pounce. It just strikes me as odd that we always want what others have and if it ever seems like we’re close to any player, we want them even more – regardless of what we know about them.

Anyway, that’s enough warbling for today, tomorrow I’ll actually get to talk about a football match.

Quick fixes…What about long term?

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How is everybody feeling?

A question: If you were in charge – how many of this current Arsenal squad would you keep? If you’re being true to yourself, I bet it isn’t many. I had eight – let me know who makes your cut.

I found myself scrolling through our first team squad on Arsenal.com and feeling very glum. Then I wondered how Arsene really feels when he comes into training on Monday morning…Sorry *shakes head* I will continue.

Lets solve this problem! Suburban Gooner style!!!

In my opinion, the main problem with this team – We switch off.

Is it a lack of confidence in their own ability? Or is it just because the players are not good enough? Is it the pressure of fans and the media’s influence? Do do we miss a leader to grab the team round the scruff of the neck? They are all small problems that add up to what we currently have. I think the standout issue is players being played out of position. Players are being asked to do things they don’t find natural. If you look at it as individuals – Every player in a squad has a ‘issue’ why maybe they shouldn’t be at Arsenal or do the job they are being asked to do…

For example,

  • Gibbs – Our first choice left back, can’t stay fit. Needs to work on his final ball
  • Vermaelen – The captaincy ‘seems’ to be too much for him
  • Gervinho – Inconsistent, not at the level required
  • Wilshere – Lacks goals / composure in-front of goal. Currently doing a job not suited to him because of the players in the team. Better players will improve him and take the pressure off his already heavy shoulders
  • Giroud – Lack of pace. Takes things to heart
  • Chesney – No proper competition. Poor distribution

Just examples, many more, just wanted to make a point and not pick on the usual culprits.

Yes the quality is not good enough, but in my opinion the balance is off. It’s a midfield problem. A slight adjustment could improve us massively. Putting Walcott central for example could be a masterstroke by Arsene. Unintentionally, Walcott could save this team when the going gets tough.

If you look at Theo as an Individual – I don’t think he currently has the attributes to be our lone striker. In time maybe. But I’m very sceptical to say the least. I can’t really understand his ‘obsession’ to play centrally, especially with the formation we play – three strikers. His first touch isn’t sharp enough. His hold up play hasn’t been good enough but It is very harsh to judge him only after two proper games. With his back to goal again he wasn’t the most impressive, but his pace got him out of jail.

Now lets chuck all of that out of the window…..

‘Feo’ will score goals. He will scare the living daylights out of defenders. If he sits on the shoulder of the last defender they will drop deeper and deeper as the game goes on. Leaving acres of space for our key players to exploit. He obviously will be used as more of an out-ball, firstly to counter attack and secondly to quickly ease the pressure when needed.
In my opinion Theo thinks he’s a striker. Let’s let him think he is untill we find the answer. It will benefit all parties. Him playing central isn’t the answer for the team long term BUT saying that this current crop desperately need Walcott. Even if he doesn’t realise it himself.
Giving him a run of games will A) Improve him as a player B) Improve the team. Win win for me.

We have spells of possession, not Arsenal of old possession, but we do still keep the ball. The team lacks a focal point, so a lot of our attacks break down. Due to individual mistakes, a lack of quality, poor deliveries and positive passes. Also, the lack of runners, movement, is a major problem. Some of them are so very robotic in there movement, they are just easily read.

Diaby is our most natural, followed by Rosicky ‘carrier’ of the ball. They can drive past players into space, eliminating 1-2 off the opposition in the process, allowing others to come into play in more effective areas of the pitch. Leading to more devastating results. The balance in our midfield is off. We lack, and miss, runners. A few adjustments / Players coming in – and we would be a force to be reckoned with. Sadly, this is the story of Arsenal of recent times…

I have thought about this for a while. Shifting Santi out wide. Moving him to the left or right of the ‘three’ (4-2-3-1). When we have possession, instead of running on and beyond a player to create space or driving into space created by someone else. He gets sucked to the ball. Its natural, its his instinct. He wants to conduct his orchestra. That’s his game.

Moving him out wide, I believe, would see the best of him. Think Iniesta for Barcelona; an exceptional player and one of the best central midfielders in the world, but placed out wide because he has the attributes to suit a system. Santi is like Iniesta: he has the ability to beat a man. He has a great strike on him. He is an amazing crosser of the ball. Very clearly both footed which is unreal. (Yet seems such a basic attribute). Also he would improve our possession which eases pressure off the defence.

Teams are setting up just to stifle him and Arteta out of the game. Against tactically astute teams he was / is less affective. Against Reading (tactically shocking – Got it all wrong on the night) he was left to his own devices and showed us what he was really about. In the long run, I think moving him out wide would give him the time and space create his magic. Thus also creating a space in midfield for the very dynamic Rosicky – as we all know, Rosicky has more than enough ability, but he can’t be relied on, sadly, due to his reoccurring injuries…

As I mentioned in my ‘Fanuary transfer window feature’ two options that I think would enhance and push our team forward, that illusive word, forward. Toulouse’ Etienne Capoue and Montpeiller’ Younes Belhanda.

Etienne Capoue is a – 6 ft 2 defensive midfielder. He has represented France at all levels. He would instantly add height and power, that key ingredient missing from our midfield. He is the type of player that puts out a fire before it even gets going. The missing link in my opinion. He sits very deep at times, almost a third centre back deep. Some of his key attributes are interceptions, his concentration levels, regaining possession and his ‘keep it simple’ passing. Don’t be fooled, he also has an excellent range of long and short passes. He technically isn’t in the same league as Diaby but his other attributes gives him the potential to be a better option. Capoue, like Diaby, can and will ‘carry the ball’. Someone we are missing currently. A scary thought would be having both of them in there. Petit and Vieiria anyone? Capoue ‘sitting’ would offer that missing protection for the back four, allowing other players into the team do what to they do best..and what they find most natural…attack. Gibbs and Sagna would also benefit. Giving them the confidence to push on into Dani Alves territory. Sounds exciting doesn’t it?! Plus, it will give Vermaelen the freedom to the odd gut busting run. *peeps through his fingers*…

Younes Belhanda – He is a 22 year-old Moroccan international who hopefully isn’t in love with the Shisha pipe. Younes is an attacking midfielder-come-winger. He plays as a number 10 for Montpellier and had a formidable partnership with Oliver Giroud, Which main help us get the best out of our newest frontman. Montpellier manager, Rene Girard has compared Belhanda to Robert Pires, which will certainly get the Arsenal fans pulses racing. The Morrocan possesses great vision, technique. A very intelligent footballer. He has all the components to be a fantastic player for us. He would give us major options in our attacking areas. His direct play and fantastic dribbling ability makes him a option for our number 10 role and out wide.

We need players to come in…even with everyone fully fit, we will run it very close to the wire for that essential forth spot. A few additions, and a trophy could be ours for the taking…

Up the Arsenal!

Cheers for reading,

Be happy,

Ben

‘Project Youth’ complimented by ‘Project Bargain’

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Good afternoon  gooners,

A wet Sunday afternoon here in West London and after what was an amazing night in the Olympics I have to say writing the blog about things that aren’t really happening at the moment (Robin’s contract, the delay of Cazorla, the potential arrival of Sahin) in the Arsenal world seems a little bit trivial. Team GB are showing what desire, passion and dedication can achieve, with some inspiring stuff from Jess Ennis and Mo Farah last night. Farah in particular, was made all the more sweet, what with him being a gooner ‘n all.

But I’m still going to talk about Arsenal and what’s going on at the mo, with the word on the online street that Robin’s been impressed with our signings and may be considering a U-turn on the contract situation. I’ve said before I think  this is media smokescreen like we had with Nasri last year, so I still don’t hold out more hope. Also, I would really question whether or not even a contract signing U-turn should be enough to let RvP keep the captaincy, but I think Wenger will forgive and forget if the unlikely happens and the captain signs on for four more years. Ideally, a marker needs to be laid down to potential contract rebels, but it’s not going to happen any time soon I don’t think.

One question I do want to ponder on today’s musings is this: With Santi Cazorla about to arrive, is ‘Project Youth’ finally dead?

Project Youth effectively started with a conscious decision from Arsenal Football Club to bring in younger, more technically gifted footballers in to the club at an early age, pay them high wages and see if championship winning sides could be built from the philosophy of a collective unity having played together for many years that would see them dominate the English Premier League against the backdrop of Chelsea’s and latterly Manchester City’s, billionaire owners. Season after season we saw younger players come in instead of more polished and mature signings. Wenger’s view was that by drilling a certain style into these players, by the time they reached their footballing peak they would: a) have a sense of loyalty and b) obligation to the club to stay despite the millions on offer elsewhere. So players like Fabregas, Clichy, Nasri, van Persie would look beyond the mega-money on offer and win trophies with the club.

Obviously we all know what has happened and we all know of ‘Project Youth’ as it has been referred to by so many bloggers over the last few years. But after year-after-year of bringing in players not over 23 into the first team, are we seeing a fundamental shift in Wenger’s unwavering philosophy? Perhaps the beginning of this was last summer, with the arrival of Mertesacker, Santos and Arteta - all of which are over 25 – and the  latterly with Podolski, Giroud and now Cazorla. All internationals, all reaching their peaks and all capable of really improving our chances of winning some silverware for the upcoming season. Is Wenger looking at his own time at Arsenal and starting to realise he is in the autumn of his time at Arsenal and will probably only be at the club for a few more years?

My view? ‘Project Youth’ has not been scrapped entirely, but is now being complimented by ‘Project Bargain’, which I deem as Arsene scouring the marketplace for players that are experienced enough but that are not going to bankrupt the club through massive fees. Mertesacker wanted a new experience, Arteta wanted Champions League football, Santos wanted a better league to test himself in, Podolski was a shining star in a struggling team, Giroud knew that a repeat of Montepellier’s success would be unlikely, and finally Cazorla is jumping ship from a rudderless vessel in Malaga. Wenger has effectively been the circling vulture looking for the very tasty and easily accessible meat. He’s scoured Europe for players he could pick up at a reduced price whose actual value is a lot higher than what Arsenal have paid. It’s an extremely clever tactic that, in the space of just under a year, has left Arsenal with a number of experienced internationals to compliment some technically gifted young players (Gnarby, Gibbs, Wilshire, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Frimpong, Afobe, Miyachi, etc) to come through without as much pressure as they could have had if these experienced signings had not arrived.

‘Project Youth’ has not been scrapped. We will not see Arsenal stop bringing in young players at higher wages than most of our competitors. But what we will now see is how successful it can be with a little bit more experience added to it.

Until tomorrow.

Sepp finally gets it, and some blah about Ben Arfa

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Well hello people,

This is the last blog from me for a few weeks, on account of my impending nuptials that will be taking place tomorrow. So I’ll be leaving you in the capable hands of Ben. He’ll be flying solo for a few weeks and I’m sure is looking forward to the experience of having to conjure a few hundred words every day on, well, pretty much nothing for most of the time.

Yesterday evening was a Euro 2012 free zone, as all of the quarter finalists took much-needed rest before the next stage of matches kicks off tonight with Portugal Vs Czech Republic. Personally, I think we’ll see a semi final of Portugal vs Germany and Spain Vs Italy, followed by another Spain vs Germany final in a couple of weeks. I can’t see England overcoming Italy but I guess stranger things have happened. After all, John Terry is in the team, and after I learnt that the footballing gods don’t care how much of a reprehensible character you are, you can still win trophies against the run of play, perhaps he will be lifting his third trophy of the season soon.

We also heard from Sepp Blatter via Twitter, who called on goal line technology to be a ‘necessity’ in these tournaments. There were a few people who rolled their eyes that this announcement was being made after England had benefitted from a wrong decision, but ultimately if it means that a technology that the whole world has called on for years gets passed, I’m sure we can sweep aside some of the conspiracy theories and the ‘they don’t like us, we don’t care’ mentality that the nation is feeling right now.

The only Arsenal-related action that could take place tonight will be if Tomas Rosicky is fit to face Portugal tonight. Tomas is the Czech’s talisman and so they will be quite keen to see him play today. Much like my blog a couple of days ago, I’d urge caution with this from an Arsenal perspective, but I don’t expect to get that from international team – they’d be more than happy to run Rosicky into the ground providing he can make the next round of international matches in September/October time this year.

Not a lot really happening at the moment. Even the transfer talk seems to be relatively quiet. We’re only linked with one solitary player today. One! It’s like the footballing equivalent of a tumbleweed rolling through Twitter. All of the ITKs will have the shakes and will need the occasional injection of random names thrown towards Arsenal’s direction to keep them satisfied. I’ll duly oblige – I’ve heard we’re interested in none other than Sebastian Frey, Patrick Kluivert and Hatem Trabelsi. Rumours are that the next Fifa 13 game will feature Frey in an Arsenal short on the front cover. I know, I know, consign your excitement to the deepest darkest recesses of your mind.

I think even the media are getting bored with the ‘M’Villa to Arsenal’ stories and the ‘Giroud deal done: Exclusive!’ articles as even they have been a bit quiet. We have been linked with Hatem Ben Arfa, but once again like the Thomas Vermaelen story, I just can’t see it happening. Ben Arfa seems happy at Newcastle, they have him on a long-term contract and if the rumuoured fee is close to the £21million that has been quoted is true, then there is no way Arsene is going to dip into his pocket and take budget away from his growing ice-cream/confectionary empire he is building. He’s a good player, has looked great at times for Newcastle, but is the most one-footed player I’ve seen. He’s a good dribbler, but I’m just not sure he’s better than some of the options we already have to play in that attacking midfielder/front three positions, so I don’t think that one has too many legs to be honest.

That’s it from me for now. Have a good few weeks and I’ll catch you on the other side.

Adios!

Arsene’s new career: Chocolatier

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Howdy y’all,

Let’s get the boring non-Arsenal stuff out-of-the-way first, shall we? Ing-Ger-Land managed to shuffle themselves into the last 16 with a pretty boring 1-0 victory against an average Ukraine side that had the extra bit of verve that comes with playing in front of your own fans. ITV pundits said how ‘exciting’ the game had been, but they must have been watching a different game to me, because from where I sat there was a tap in header from Rooney and a ball that went over the line from Marko Devic’s attempt in the second half. The only other discussion of note from last night’s game was that some Blokhin decided to ‘offer out’ one of the Ukrainian journalists after the match. I love the idea of Ukrainian diplomacy. If only we had ‘Arry Redknapp and Joe Jordan as the England management set up  – we’d be treated to similar delights.

In the games other match France slumped to a 2-0 defeat against a Sweden side that clearly wanted to show they are not entirely pants. Both M’Villa and Giroud got themselves some game time, but there was probably little Giroud was going to do with 12 minutes action.

Right, now that’s out-of-the-way, on to some Arsenal related news. It seems as though Arsene was quoted yesterday as saying that if Robin van Persie signed for Juventus he’d buy everyone a ‘caramello’. I find such a quote quite surprising from a man who usually wants to keep comments about transfer speculation to a minimum and conduct his business underneath Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility. If such comments did indeed manage to escape from the mouth of Le Boss, there are three scenario’s that could be happening soon:

  1. Arsene knows that Robin is on the verge of announcing he’s staying and so feels comfortable enough to blatantly break the clubs own rule that they wouldn’t say anything about RvP’s situation until after the Euro’s
  2. Robin is off to another team that probably isn’t Juventus or Man City (given the news of how much they are willing to pay as well as the admission that the player doesn’t seem too keen anyway)
  3. Arsene is thinking about life after football and has begun initial research and development of making the perfect chocolate-based snack and marketing it to the rest of Europe. This initial comment is purely to generate some interest for some initial ‘free trial’ product placement.

Either of option 1 or 3 would be fine by me, because for the first time at least I would get something for a player leaving a club instead of commentary about how the player didn’t want to play for the club and we can’t keep an unhappy player – everyone else seems to be able to do it.

On a serious note, I am really surprised by this commentary by Wenger, but perhaps it is in fact a shrewd move and designed to force Robin to show his hand. If the Giroud and M’Villa deals were to be announced pretty shortly it would be quite difficult for Robin’s advisors to play the old ‘Arsenal didn’t match my clients ambitions’ card. If however, the move is financially motivated, then that’s fine by me – just don’t try to blow smoke up the arses of the Arsenal fans. We’ve had too many other players try it and it doesn’t make for a comfortable experience as we all know.

And finally from me for today, some of the papers are reporting that Thomas Vermaelen is wanted by Barcelona. Interesting one I have to say, especially as Thomas has: a) only signed a new contract in the last 9 months, b) professed his love for Arsenal and wanting to stay for his whole career, and c) as far as I am aware, has no DNA that is Catalan shaped, so why would Barca sign him? The only way this could possibly happen would be if a series of lorries arrived at the Emirates with bags marked with ‘£££’ on them. For that reason, I see this move as highly unlikely.

Until tomorrow you wonderful gooners.

Barca Boys ?….I Would

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Morning all,

I hope all is well ?

The Transfer Window is open ! Hoo-rah I hear you cry…

*Hides, peaks over the top of my laptop, dodges flying iPhone*

Bored already? It’s just getting started…

I woke up yesterday to the news that – ‘Ibrahim Afellay will be available for a fee in the region of €7M’ *Wipes eyes, wipes eyes again…and again*

Ibrahim Afellay is a 26-year-old Dutch International, who currently has 36 caps and 3 goals for the Oranje. He currently plays for Barcelona, but because of injury, he has only made 20 appearances and only has1 goal to his name. He suffered a very serious knee injury in September 2011, which led to him missing 7 months of action. (perfect for us)

He is an attacking midfielder, very quick, technically very gifted, naturally left footed but very comfortable with both. During his PSV days he was used as a winger but in recent times, he has been deployed in Barca’s midfield three -because of his ability to keep hold of the ball. Clearly playing with Iniesta (who he is similar to, in certain aspects) and Xavi, he has learnt a lot.

If we did sign him – I would like to see him play behind Van Persie (The Cesc role). He could add even more pace to our counter attacks. Saying that, even on the left of right hand side he could take us back to the arsenal of a few seasons ago – Possession monsters. He would be very similar to Samir Nasri (Sorry) in respectects of cutting in, holding up the ball. late runs.

Van Persie

Podolski - Afellay – Walcott

Wilshere - M’Vila

His versatility could be a major factor in a possible transfer. BUT. Considering we have already signed one versatile attacker in Podolski already..I cant really see it happening. Which would be a shame in my opinion. If we think ‘Wenger’ for a second, we have Van Persie (I said WENGER) Podolski, Gervinho Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chamakh, Park and Joel Campbell (who is looking likely getting a work permit). Also Rosicky if everyone in Midfield is fit.

….Oh, AND those players on loan…

Personally I would like to see a lot of those players sold this summer for many reasons, mainly for football but also to lower our ridiculous wage bill. But can you see 6-7 ‘first team’ players sold ? I can’t. We are going to need to sell before we buy so, putting 2+2 together.. Afellay will be sold by the time the majority of ours will be to…

…*rubs face* sorry back on track -

Robin Vantastic sent out a cry of help to Arsene….Basically saying sign him and me…

Van Persie on Afellay: “You don’t often get such a connection maybe with 4-5 players in your entire career. I had the same with Fabregas.”

and recently Dutch coach Bert Van Marwijk said ”They all want to play in the centre but Zidane also played from the left. I convinced Afellay to do the same” – High praise indeed.

I know I would so, over to you Arsene…

Rumour number 2 -’Arsenal are interested in winger Isaac Cuenca. Already asked for him in January, scouting continued, £10M. Vilanova decides.’

Isaac Cuenca – The 21-Year-Old Spanish Forward broke into the Barcelona first team this season. Making a very impressive 16 appearances and 2 goals for the Spanish giants. He got his lucky break because of key injuries to key players. But he grasped it with two hands…

La Masia taught him well. Technically astute, very intelligent, fast but he is very light weight. I was very lucky to see him in the flesh this season. To tell you the truth I wasn’t a fan until I saw him live. He just..glides, floats… almost Messi like. I don’t really want to use that name, incase I get accused of something To late. Cuenca is more ‘straight lines’ than Messi. Perfect out wide. I personally think he would sink if he played central. Where as Messi. is. Messi…

Would I take him ? Yes ! Imagine Bellerin and Cuenca on the right hand side….Pace !

Is it going to happen ? N.O. 1) Barcelona aren’t that stupid. 2) if they did, they would want to add a buy back clause in his contract. *Waves hands frantically*

Also Cuenca had knee surgery today and will be out for around 3 to 4 months. So I very much doubt it.

Be interesting to see who does come in…With M’Vila injured last night.. Gooners everywhere will be awaiting the results of the scan. Maybe on to someone else ? ..who knows ? ask Canal +…oh. Hang on ! :)

Cheers for reading

Be Happy

Ben

Transfer silly season, RvP and AOC

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Morning one and all.

As we lumber ever closer to the weekend, I realise that the news and information that is Arsenal based is slowly grinding to a halt. I’ve been writing this blog since August last year and have had to contend with one or two intervening international breaks that have stretched out for what feels like an eternity, but now I’m entering a whole new ball game, as it were. In front of me is the prospect of a minimum of two moths without anything relating to the team and performances. Instead, I’m going to have to feed on any news I can get my hands on. Which obviously means I’ll be drawn into the fervour that is ‘Transfer Silly Season’.

I don’t mind thinking about who we might sign, who is off the cards and who is ‘In The Know’ about the latest transfers, but it strikes me as surprising that there are so many people out there that process to have intimate knowledge of the football world, despite not seeming to have any connections to it other than being a fan.

I can assure you one thing: I am not, and probably will never be, ‘In The Know’. I’ll just talk about what I’ve already seen, heard and read and I’m sure it will just be in the public eye already anyway. So, before I can talk about anything else Arsenal related, some quick transfer thoughts:

Shinji Kagawa – I have to say its pleasing to be linked with the guy. In a moment of weakness at the tail end of last year I bought ESPN for a couple of months. Initially it was to be able to watch Arsenal away in the comfort of my own home (it certainly wasn’t to hear the frankly awful commentary team they have, I can assure you), but it had the added benefit of some live televised games from the Bundasliga. Although I only watched Dortmund a couple of times plus the home and away Champions League games we played against the men in Yellow, Kawaga impressed me. He’s technically good, links play up well and I thought in that first game against us he was quite impressive. Based on my limited knowledge, if that one comes through I’d be very happy with it. And so, hopefully, would a certain Dutchman. Which slides me very strategically out of the transfer discussion area and on to all other things Arsenal. Yesterday Le Boss and Ivan Gazidis will have met with Robin to discuss his contract and the possibility of extending his existing deal. I have to say I’ve found it amazing how people are totally divided on what is going to happen with Robin. It seems almost a 50:50 split. And I’m not just talking about fans. It’s media and also some of the more prominent Arsenal bloggers as well (I realise that Arsenal bloggers are also fans too, but wanted to highlight them separately). I think it shows us all that nobody really knows what is going on, and nor do I think we will find out for a while yet either. Let’s face it, Robin and his advisors were hardly going to come running out of Arsene’s house with a piece of paper saying ‘done deal, it’s a done deal!’ were they? It wouldn’t surprise me if this didn’t drag on until after the Euros, despite what Robin said.

And moving swiftly on to the Euros discussion, I was pleased to hear The Ox get a call up from Woy for the squad. We have all seen what a real talent this guy can be and I think had I been the England coach I’d have done the same thing. AOC would make a perfect impact sub and who knows, this could be really great for his Arsenal career too. It’s a shame that Gibbs didn’t make the squad, but his injury record probably counted against him and he still has time in his career to make plenty of squads. Let’s just hope he can avoid the knocks.

Anyway, my train is about to hit the underground, so I’d better say adios for now and hit ‘submit’.

Have a good one.