Mario Gomez, 22, plays for Stuttgart, is Germany’s player of the year, scores lots of goals and is being talked about to play for the Arsenal, YaYa Toure and Belgium defender Vincent Kompany have also been linked, add that to Barry, Veloso, Ben Arfa, Benzema, Diego, Mertesaker and two girls from the double winning Arsenal ladies team and we really have a mouth watering list to choose from.
Arsene says he will start today and have deals tied up within 3 weeks. I know we spent all weekend speculating on the why’s and the wherefore’s but to be honest all of them tick the boxes for me, though I can’t see him signing a striker, unless of course one goes, and if you count Hleb as a striker it’s a possibility.
What we desperately need is a world class centre back, a strong midfielder and a winger, if we sign those we should be okay, but we do need to bolster the squad.
The kids did great yesterday, yes I know it was Sunderland, but we only just beat them at the Grove and they must have fancied their chances against our third team, it was ‘the Sunderland’s’ that cost us the title, so the big question today is, are our kids ready to step up and make our squad bigger, rather than bringing in 5 new players.
Randall, Djourou and Theo were pretty good by all accounts yesterday, Theo I think will be like a new signing next term.
Gibbs and Vela will step up on the wings but are they ready? I’m not so sure, but I won’t say no, Wenger’s confident that’s for sure, one thing is apparent though, we can’t go another season without a pot, and he needs to have a squad that can realistically compete for all four trophies.
Other news is it looks like Milan won’t qualify for the Champions league, so ha, ha, ha, you greedy git Flamini, he won’t be meeting us in the Final next year.
I would like to ask Jenas how he expects Top4tottenham to finish above us when they finished 11th and 37 points behind us, and I think they over achieved as well. What a dipstick!
We will be doing player analysis over the next few weeks and Pedro is offering an email service for those of you who can’t get Le-Grove from your PC’s at work, or in me and Pedro’s case, Macs.
Any suggestions you have for making the time go by through the summer will be gratefully received, this is your blog as well as ours so we appreciate your input.
I took a bet yesterday from Wrighty7 that Theo would score 15 goals or more in the League and Carling cup, I think I’m onto a winner.
If we can sign a winger, a good solid midfielder and an animal at the back we can score a lot more than we did this season, and that was a lot.
It was a great debut season for Le Grove and we’ll be here all summer, so you won’t get bored at work anymore.
Have a great week, this could be an interesting few days.
ethan .. could the dates of the ANZ have anything to do with the weather situation??
and btw .. stop the “I like black women” comments..you are living in bloody Thailand for fukk sake .. what else do you want? fancy a few flat arsed chubby British lasses??
wow.. if it is true.. wenger sure is spending the dosh!!
how much you guys reckon wenger is going to spend? i hope he spends 30 mill at least..
i think that would also be the highest transfer fee for arsenal !!
is ben arfa better than nani?
Just seen highlights of the Scum-Wigan game.
How blatant a nailed on peno against the drug cheat was that ?
Why the hell didn’t the ginger twat not get a second yellow for the body check on the Wigan player when he was breaking free on a counterattack ?
Refs (media also) in Scum pockets ? What a surprise. Despite all in their favour they only beat us by 4 points.
With their resources the Scum(& chavs) should be beating us by 20 points year in year out.
Ethangunner, have you got the link to that news about Ben Afra please?
no thanks to pedersen… 1 good year and hes been average for 2… if they dnt cause us problems when we play against us then they arent good enough to play for us!!!
http://soccerglobe.net/2008/05/lyon-winger-signs-for-gunners-in-16million-deal/
RE : ben arfa
and check this out barca courting cesc .. whilst this is a proposal ..
its a proposal that wenger wont go for in a billion years ..
my point is there signaled intent this summer to unsettle cesc ! AGAIN !
fuckers !
http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=92443
Barca can fuck off… can you see Cesc begging any club to take him? They are further behind us I think. They need a complete transition to compete again… I think Cescy boy has had enough of all that!
Ben Arfa is certainly making all the right noises!
I didn’t think Pederson had a great season?
Gallas may be a make weight in a Ben Arfa signing. Gallas will play his last days out at Lyon and it will knock £5m off the transfer price.
Then Dunne could come in on a Hleb style Article 17 signing for just £1m.
then all we need is a central midfield mobile brute.
i think regardless of if he has signed or not it seems from ben arfa mouth via L’Equipe
that talks have already taken place
http://www.football365.co.za/story/0,22162,14287_3555712,00.html
all roads lead to rome .. or ben arfa
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/8129306/Ben-Arfa-reveals-interest-from-Gunners
sounds like theyve already been in talks at the very least ..
if talks have taken place a deal could of very well been drafted ! ..
you know how wenger likes to keep a lid on these things !
so before you start pat .. have faith and believe , remember wenger wont tell you everything pat .. he’s doing it for your own good !
have faith in the ethan gut feelings !
too many media vultures are reporting the same thing for it to only be hear-say now !
pedro….i meant 3 seasons ago now remember when he couldnt stop scoring!? hes been avergae now 4 the last 2
Thanks for the link ethangunner.Not sure how reliable the information is especially coming from the Sun news paper, but glad to see its not some 4year old wonderkid from New Zealand we’re signing . lol
Have Arsenal fans convinced themselves that Dunne is the answer? I know he is solid, but a world beater? Are we really going to draft in someone with no champions league experience as our ‘star’ defensive buy?
Pederson was definitely a bit tasty a couple of years back, maybe in the right team he could do somthing, but i’d prefer a bit of a flair player!
Is nobody on the Gattuso band wagon with me? It would give us a season to get a proper replacement!
t- buzz
there are at least 6 links all running a similar story ..
its gaining momentum .. (check news-now-arsenal)
its all becoming arsenals news of the day…
I wonder if Hleb sees a few player join he might have a change of heart ?
would we throw objects at him if he stayed ?
possibly ..
maybe wenger is doing this early for that reason ???
You are too quick to have a pop ethan
The link you first reported was a rehashed story from the Sun on Saturday, so I am not starting anything
And the stuff you just posted has been posted all day mate
I am not fussed who tells me if he signs or not, I am just saying nothing has changed from the stories 1st thing morning and the Sun on Saturday
I think Ben Arfa will sign but not getting excited just yet
Ethan, check your mail for a solution to the spam issue.
Cheers.
yup excitement generally leads to dismay all the time.. so lets talk about other transfers…
chelsea paid 16 mill for a full back.. how rich is that roman?
Does anyone know how much the £880 Season Tickets have gone up by this season?
I see the Arsenal website and subsequent email does not mention price anywhere !!!!!
I think the telling line in all that Ben Arfa stuff is where he says:
‘It is true that we have spoken about Arsenal, but we will see how it is going to happen,” he told L’Equipe.’
See how it is going to happen suggests a deal is certainly in the pipeline. It may well be that a deal has already been struck but that Lyon won’t allow anything to be made official until after the important title decider & cup game in the next couple of weeks.
well arsene said that “the fans will be reassured”
we’ll see….
What about Ben Arfa for £12 million or a swap with Eboue, Song and Senderos and we give them £16 million.
Kills several birds with one stone eh?
GMR
I think that is about right, I dont expect any transfers until after the European Leagues finish next weekend ………unless they are premiership players.
It is funny though that the various media sources have interpreted his words in different ways, some say he has cooled links, some that he is being coy and some that it is a banker.
If anything I am a bit gutted that it is now potentially in the open. It invites other clubs in that may turn it into a bidding war.
Why would we sign Dunne and not Richards? Money?
I hope AW goes out and spends an absolute boat load on some shit hot players.
We were so close this year and I don’t want it fucked up again by sub standard players….i.e. Eboue.
Oh and injuries – Rosicknote, RVP, Eduardo etc
pat i think that is where the french influence on arsenal will help..
th.. anelka.. viera… everyone will only point him towards one club.
and wenger’s pretty respected in france no?
£990 tickets have gone up to £1015
patthegooner, Unfortunately if one of the signings is Ben Arfa that won’t happen until after the 24th May as they are in the French cup final against PSG. As you say the european leagues all seem to end next weekend. That will be tight as the Euro’s start on 7th June (I believe) & I would think the French team would want him to join up straight away after the cup final.
As for missing out to another team I’m not so sure. The way Wenger was so confident seems to suggest he already has the players lined up & he knows the fans will really start turning if he fails to deliver this summer.
pat .. do you think that Lyon wouldnt have tried to maximize Arfa’s value anyway??
sure that they know what they are doing .. we are not dealing with a 3rd tier club
also as I wrote a couple of days ago, Pjanic, somebody we have been linked with and spoken to from Metz .. 18 years wonderboy .. was a guest at the Lyon-Sedan cup game
this is a clear sign that he will move there..to me this looks as if we have given up on him to secure Ben Arfa..makes sense no??
Pedro,
Dunne would be a great addition to the squad, especially at the knock down prices been mentioned. AW would make him a better player in time – possibly automatic first choice. Most importantly he attacks the ball and wins the vast majority of headers he competes for – this we badly need.
If Gattuso was younger I would say yes please ! However, he is not, and we have a very experienced world cup central midfielder in the squad presently, who has shown good end of season form and will be rejuvenated by the departure of Flamini.
As left sided midfielders go, Pedersen is one of the best. A player that would improve under AW. He would be a very good addition to the squad.
Hey if not why don’t we sign him?
“It would be better to buy someone who has played in England because they are less risky,” said the manager. “But it costs more money if they are from the Premier League, so maybe I will try to do both.”
Does the above mean someone who has played in England but doesn’t anymore?
If it does, what the fuck does it mean???
Pjanic that is.
Fair point Choy.Wengers almost like a national treasure over there for the player’s he’s influence for the national team.
Hope this Ben Afra speculation turns into a signing, Wenger has already said he’s a fan
French media reporting that Barca are after Keita from Sevilla..def means that Yaya is on his way out .. maybe if we can get him on the cheap, but then again
a lot of African names to be tossed around for big transfers..Diarra/Mamoun/Keita/Yaya..looks like a defensive round about is about to hit the market in the summer ..
yes my ticket went up 2.5% – same as the supposed inflation rate. The club would have factored in price rises into long term turnover forecasts. so therefore, I dont think they would have wanted to deviate away from that. I think they only plan to stay with inflation for a few years. thats not too bad, and its necessary if they want to stay on course with all the stadium debt.
if wenger gets Ben Arfa, then he wont get Richards or Krancjar as well. Ben Arfa is £16m. Richards is more than that and Krakcjar is about £15m. wenger does not have that sort of cash. But if you offered him Dunne for £1m I am sure he would be more interested. It would leave around £8m-£10m for a DM. not sure who would cost that amount.
the fact that wenger said he can do his business in 3 weeks time tallies up with the end of the French season so the Ben Arfa rumours will persist.
the answer is levan kenia from georgia,he has curently signt for shalke 04 first team, he is great playmaker and has already capt for national leam, man of the match georgia 2-0 scotland.guys he is amazing and man to watch naext year believe me;)
so i think his budget is max 30 mill….
There saying makoun for 11mil (if not keita) do they fit the budget.
Seems like too many ANC players to me.
after the ACN most players have been hit and miss…
i think it took a lot out of them..
Dunne would cost more than a million. As Wenger has told us its not a simple process to buyout a contract so Dunne would have all the same issues as Hleb & everyone is forgetting one very vital point about this.
Although Dunne can start the process if he wishes it means he cannot join a club in the same country so he couldn’t join Arsenal.
If Wenger is saying the fans will be re-assured by the transfers then that suggests players will be mainstream and names that blogs such as this band about with some anticipation.
That means that a Richard Dunne transfer is highley unlikely due to the lack of glamour attached to it, and hopefully Wenger doesn’t count Kranjcar as a marquee signing.
It’s looking more likely that the two of the players we will bring in will be Makoun II and Ben Arfa.
As for the central defender, feck knows.
we could get dunne for about 4 mil i reckon due to his contract about to end and for me thats a good bit of business. i think its very unlikely tho, its more of a blog/paper story, we’re far more likely to bring in a unknown
No way we he sign any more Africans, I’ll have a weeks wages on that (£55k no more) Makoun my arse!
fuk benitez is talkin some serious rubbish!…sayin that we spend over the top on youngsters!
‘I think we are signing fantastic young players but not spending big, big money. I think that is massive difference between Arsenal and us. They have spent big money on young players for a long time.
We are signing players that sometimes you only have to pay compensation for, so we are trying to do our best not to spend too much money. If I told you some of the figures we have paid for certain players and what other clubs are paying you’d be surprised.’ Said Benitez.
…what a wanker!!!
what a pathetic excuse as to why no good young players join liverpool… nearly as stupid as his beard!
Geoff, if the bets only worth 55k I’m not taking it on.
Benitez always goes on about Arsenal comparing them to us, especially in the money we spend – but its all made up lies. its like he has some inferiority complex about us. Spuds do the same thing. why dont he just concentrate on Liverpool and stop doing us down?
GMR, with your record on betting, I’m now safe then!
GMR
Unfortunately if one of the signings is Ben Arfa that won’t happen until after the 24th May as they are in the French cup final against PSG.
makes sense that wenger states in 2 or 3 weeks the signings will start … ben arfa has said he still has 2 games to play .. .. He must be confident , to the point of ‘deal done’ !
Ive never heard wenger so clear cut certain about any transfer dealing in the past.
Plus Ben arfa has come out and showed he has been approached ..
Its looking good , we can pencil him in i feel !
ill check it out pedro ..
(my email)
is it something weird i have to do ?
does it involve a circle of salt ?
upside down cross ?
ok dont tell me i love surprises !
Benitez is a c*** but his information really is correct. We overpay for youngsters & then pay them ridiculous amounts of money for wages (hence our high wage bill).
I don’t know why he wants to stick his nose in though especially considering the fact he has spent over 150 million on transfers since being at Liverpool compared to the paltry sum Wenger has spent.
As Gazzap says he should concentrate on his own club, the same Liverpool that overspent on players for so long they were 70+ million in debt & had to be sold to a couple of idiots. Those idiots have applied for planning permission for the same site 4 times now & still cannot afford to build the stadium.
No they just pay out 13.5 Million for Babel, 18.6 Million for Mascherano, Torres for 20.5, Lucas for 6m, skrtel for 6 and Benayoun for 4.
68.6 Million to come 4th and win fuck all……Top management
I think the Fat Spanish Waiter needs to look a bit closer to home.
Geoff, I’ll come up with a bet for us one day, so keep your money safe!! ha ha
I definately echo those sentiments pedro, gomez would be a great addition he’s got the lot when it comes to a striker, strong, quick, super finisher. The most likely deal has got to be ben arfa, he’s come out today and revealed how he has discussed a potential move to arsenal and lyon are willing to sell, wenger like ethan said has stated 2-3 weeks, after the french league ends so it looks promising.
after reading all the comments, my eyes are about to bleed.
we need to try and read Between then lines when wenger talks.
Fact 1. Wenger admited he was playing Theo in the wrong postion bt playing him on the wing. Meaning we didnt have a Winger to fill that Void. so Wenger will look to fix this. One winger WILL come in. i would like to see Ben Arfa, or Ribery
we will also have Vela who can play there.
Fact 2. Wenger said we couldnt defend Long Balls. So we WILL get a defender. i would love to see Richards in a Arsenal Shirt. he has Pace, Power, good reading of the game, and we WILL have Heart as his a Arsenal fan aswell.
Fact 3. with Flamini leaving Wenger will surly be looking to bring in a Midfielder.
a Midfielder what Flamini could do but still give somthing new to the team. aswell as Complement Fabregas. as he is our Cork in the middle.
Also No More African players Please
I know that most of you have nothing really against African players.
I would just like to say though I think it is held at that time of year to avoid the rainy season if I am not mistaken.
I hope they find a better time to schedule it. But for now I agree that we cant have too much Africans in key positions because the team will hurt during that tournament.
Yea and I am not racist either I from Jamaica and black lol.
I think people would be saying we had to many Europeans if they held Euro 2008 in February! It is pure madness….
No thanks to Makoun… he’ll take a year to settle. The only player for that position is Gareth Barry. Ben Arfa out wide and I have no idea who he wants down the middle! It wont be Richards though… he is short…!
I can’t believe how much the chavs just spunked on a right back? Do you think they did that because the mancs were interested! You would have thought they’d learn after the ferreira mistake!
Interesting Ja, I hate black wine gums, but I love black fruit gums
I reckon Benarfa is in the bag, there’s been too much speculation for it not to true, on the matter of the fat bearded spanish waiter slaguing us off!
Well………….. What a lot of tosh!
Whats up with him these days, he never used to talk about anyone even when Mourinhio was taunting him.
Recently taunted Drogba, we know how that turned out, tapping up Gareth Barry to the fury of O’Neil and now talking bout Wenger and he hasn’t got a leg to stand on.
I think his peeved as Wenger and Benitez haven’t won anything but Only one has spent over 60 mil this season. PRESSURE IS ON!!!!!!
Babel, Mascherano, Torres, CHEAP!? i think not.
Over 50mil on them!
oi benitez shut the fuck up you overated clueless twat!!! like every one has said on todays blog £60m AND FUCK ALL TROPHIES ,, TWO REF’S IN YOUR POCKET TO DO US IN THE CHAMPS LEAGUE QUARTER FINALS,
and now tapping up Gareth Barry I hope you get fucked over by O’NEIL , LETS WAIT AND SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT WHEN REAL,BARCA, MILAN INTER COME TAPPING UP TORRES from your shit long ball team……
I CANT WAIT FOR YOU TO GET A TASTE OF THAT …
Been reading some of the comment as i just logged in , someone saying Jean Makkoun is a possibility, he aint coming!
Trust me guys!
The poor lad was dropped for some 20 year old player during the ANC and the kid was pure class
guess who!?…………. Song
His agent is just trying to get more money from the Spuds.
Hope he succeeds ……
Africans do disappear for the ANC, but Eboue apart play the game with great spirit and attitude IMO. Seems more upbeat generally about the blogs and Arsenal fans. Not winning the title is a bitter pill to swallow but we finish four points back and came damn close. A stronger squad and better leadership post-Eduardo would have seen us through and its up to the boss to address both short-comings and fo’ damn sho’ we’ll be in the mix next season. I really don’t look at United and think wow they’re so good, or so much better than us, apart from the defence
we need a solid defence and we’re set.
I’d like to see Richard Dunne in an Arsenal shirt, not a big name i know but he’s an old fashiond no nonsense Defender who won’t get bullied by likes of Drogba & Crouch like we’ve done in the past.
just what we need!
……….. and possibly a new Goalie as both Coco & Fab dont fill me with confidence, well not yet!
or am i asking too much?
Seeing as we’re all speculating, i thought i’d do the same, and give you a list of who Arsenal should buy, and the liklihood of it happening. Firstly, we need a player like KOMPANY to take on Flamini’s position. He’s strong in the tackle, fast, and direct when he wants to attack. I reckon there’s a farily good chance we could get him for aroud 12-15m, and well worth it. Admittedly he’s injured, but I think its still worth it. We also need a solid centreback. For me Gallas is a good player, but we need someone fresh in there to re-solidify and form a coherent unit with the other three. I reckon its got to be MICAH RICHARDS. Need a goalscoring winger – I’d lie to see BEN ARFA and obviously VELA back. Up front we should go all out to try and get BENZEMA. He and Van Persie would be complementary, and we need someone who is going to scare the daylights out of the opposition. You may all diagree with my suggestions, but here is how i’d like Arsenal to line up next year – (Hleb put in, but unlikely he’ll stay)
KOMPANY 12 – 15 million
RICHARDS – 18 Million
BEN ARFA – 14 Million
BENZEMA – 18 Million
We need to spend 55 million
Almunia
Sagna Richards Toure Clichy
Kompany
Rosicky Fabregas Ben Arfa/Hleb
Van Persie
Benzema/Walcott
a wee bit too much i guess…
but isn’t buying dunne using the websters clause where it states that he can’t play in the same league?
Goalie please, we must have a goalie otherwise all the good work elsewhere will be wasted.
We wont use the Websters crap …….. choy
Make a proper bid for him, he won’t cost much as he’s only got 1 year left on his contract and is refusing to sign a new one!
Just to clear things up about the Webster clause cos there seems to be a bit of confusion surrounding it. Richard Dunne would only :cost” 1 million if he bought out his contract rather than another club paying a transfer fee for him.
To secure Dunne’s services we would need to use the transfer market (the old fashioned way where 2 clubs agree on a price, the current contract is annulled and “ownershipince if Dunne bought out his own contract, he would be ineliglble to play in the Premier League.
Why oh why are we talking about Dunne, he isn’t and never will be Arsenal quality. Aw will probably do it so we can include him in our all star centre back superstars list alongside Stepanovs, Upson, Cygan, Senderos,Grimandi, and Luzhney. (the last 2 did play better in other positions but awful at CB) appologies for the spelling.
Just to clear things up about the Webster clause cos there seems to be a bit of confusion surrounding it. Richard Dunne would only :cost” 1 million if he bought out his contract rather than another club paying a transfer fee for him.
To secure Dunne’s services we would need to use the transfer market (the old fashioned way where 2 clubs agree on a price, the current contract is annulled and “ownership” is transferred to the other club). If Dunne bought out his own contract, he would be ineligible to play in the Premier League.
Sorry about the previous post, please ignore it, I was typing it and accidentally clicked on submit when it was going to move the cursor to the part of the post I was going to edit.
Randall and Fabianski looked pretty spot on! Randall is a lot taller than I remembered, did anyone catch the whole game?
a simple thing like football can get so complicated…
HUMAN beings!!!
El tel, but micah Richards rates him as one of the best defenders out there, I take it you weren’t impressed by Dunne’s performance against Manyoo?
I know more than most about Fabianski, and I just like Wenger rate him very highly, he is our future number 1, him and Jens Lehmann worked together this year and they both have a lot of respect for each other.
Fabianski won best keeper award twice in a row at such a tender age, his performances were consistent week in week out, Leo Beenhakker rates him as well. He will provide Almunia VERY stiff competition, so you can be assured that if Almunia slows down at all, Fabianski is ready to overtake him.
Finestcuts he is an average player. I didn’t and won’t watch anything Manscum. All players have a good game they are proffesionals. I don’t want to knock Dunne as I like the effort he puts in, if AW can improve him then it would be worth it but I want CL and Dunne isn’t good enough.
El Tel
Dunne has been voted Citeh’s Player of the year over the last 3 years, he outshined people like M.Richards & Distin , I agree he was hopeless while he was at Everton and his early at City but i reckon he’s come on leaps & bounds recently!
Bis ugly Fucker, just what we need IMO
Finestcuts, is Fabianski Beenhakker’s first choice for the Euros?
Finestcuts I hope you are right pal. I must say I think he looks ok, better than our current no.1
Ok guys I trust your judgement. If he signs lets hope he does the business. Could he be captain material for us ?
Yeah, I feel that, I’d like a top of the range defender too, but he’d be alright, a bit like wanting a Jag and settling for a Mondeo.
But will we get a top Spanish or Italian defender, or Lescott or anyone like that? It’s doubtful, and yeah i think Wenger can tinker with Dunne and make him even better, thats why I like Wenger’s choices, he gets it right more often than he gets it wrong, every manager has “made mistakes” when they sign a previously good player who drops their form. I mean Shevchenko, that has to be the craziest decision ever…paying Milan 30m for a player who lacks pace….and the Premier League is much quicker than Serie A, although Serie is a a technically superior league, there are too many shitty bottom 10 clubs in the Prem which play negative football.
I hope so Trindad, but I guess it’ll be Boruc, he’s had a whole Season at Celtic and was number 1 in the campaign, but Beenhakker wouldn’t be scared to play him, it’s just about experience.
Big SOL had no CL experience when we signed him but then become an Arsenal great, i don’t think it matters that much!
Hey guys, I heard the big trend this summer is to sign up to Le Groves brand spanking new mailing list?
http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=1385227&loc=en_US
Le Grove, in your inbox… EVERY DAY!
I don’t think you can get better than that?
how tall is dunne?
Yup agreed Abdenor, for me ability is more important than experience and Wenger thinks along those lines too. kolo had no prem league experience, or Saagna, or Clichy…..we get the talent and mould it, something I’m quite proud of as an Arsenal fan, we’re actually contributing to the game rather than just taking. We’re entitled to a ready made player, other teams do that all the time, it’s our turn to get someone like that at last,.
@ choy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dunne
@ Choy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dunne
6’2.. ok he’s taller than gallas and toure..
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nufvnoJMez0&feature=related
This is what Wenger plans on Diaby doing every weekend next season.,the guy has far superior technical ability than Flamini.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vau8Kx_6-CI
He has been on the French radar ever since he was a ki,d it was a major story back in 2006, many people will remember the buzz at the time. Watch Diaby standing up against Bolton, he won’t be bussed about the pitch by the opposition. He’s gonna be big for us next season…he’s always had that technical skill as well as physical presence, it’s finally time for him to make that big step up that people have been predicting since he was at Claierfontaine where he stood out.
Sometimes people forget what we have
we have eboue!!!!!
Finest, what makes you think that Diaby has what it take to become a holding midfielder?
I can see how a player can develop attacking abilities… but picking up defensive skills is helluva lot harder? I can’t see it.
If it happens, he’d be a monster of a player.
diaby is too attacking to be a holding midfielder.. have you seen makele and mascherano…
i think song would be a better DM than diaby
that youtube of diaby is impressive stuff, i think he is one for the future, or shoudl i say i ccertainly hope so
Who can forget about the notorious Eboue! But that will be addressed, someone mentioned Walcott being played up front next season, I don’t count on that and neither does Walcott, he last mentioned he has actually equaled Rosicky’s amount of goals ina similar number of games, therefore he’s perfectly qualified in that position. now if we had Walcott in there for the same amount of time as Eboue……and that’s Arsene’s plan….he is a real attacking Winger like Rosicky. Because Walcott wasn’t ready Wenger’s idea for a poor substitute is to play defensively in that position, hence the low amount of goals, hence Wenger saying he’s happy looking at the stats etc. Eboue’s job isn’t to create but just to get rid of the ball, much like a defender’s, which is no wonder why he ended up doing that, but next season we’ll probably go back to 2 attacking wings.
Effectively playing Eboue meant playing 5 3 2 with Eboue giving extra defensive cover in front of Sagna. In many ways, he is what made Sagna look so good….he was doing a lot of the defending in front of him, so 4 tradiitional defenders and one “sweeper” type since as we’ve noticed Eboue can get all over the place so an attacking left wing and a defensive right. i think this imbalance caused sides to play the long ball as they knew Eboue would just try and defend it, they were not expecting proper attackjing play in that area. I also think that brought more out of Fabregas, he was the attacking flair on the right wing.
A bit like this:
Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy
_
/\
/ \| /
| /
| /
|/
|
Eboue
,
Fabregas
/ |
/ |
/ |
/ |
/ |
/ |
/ |
|/_ \ | /
Sorry about the crappy diagram, I had to do with what was available.
Oh it didn’t come out as I had it in the post….nevermind
What do position do you guys think Diaby can play then?
Since most people say he cant play on the wings.
Where should he be then?
Playmaker to give Cec a rest sometimes or “hole” behind the striker?
This will be Diaby’s last season at Arsenal if he doesn’t become a first team regular, infact he may even leave this summer if Wenger doesn’t gurantee him a chance this coming season. He already made it clear as did his agent that he was considering leaving at the same point as Diarra, so he won’t wait much longer.
ascii never does
Who reckons the premiership signing that has been mooted will not be any of the obvious suspects, but a real un-inspired signing… call me pesimistic, but i guess im so used to watching players sign all around us…. I mean i got home from work to see that Chelski have already splashed there first 16mil for the summer.
I dunno Pedro, if Wenger sees he’s doing a good job in training….I’m not telling him to put Diaby on, I’ll be satisfied that he’ll pick what in his opinion is the best player for that position. If Wenger sticks him in then Wenger thinks he can make it, he will have his reasons, it won’t just be a lucky dip decision. I’m really not in a position to say, only someone who’s spent a lot of time with him training can ascertain that, from a footballing perspective I think he can make it….and so hints Wenger since he’s mentioned him specifically when talking about who he has when Flamini left, so Diaby is not just a random guess, Wenger thinks he can make it. Wenger has judged him to be good enough for that role and I think Wenger ihas a good eye for these things, so if he decides to play him there, it won’t be without logical reason.
!6 million is a hell of lot of money for a right back. He may be a good player but I’m pretty confident he isn’t as good as Sagna who we paid 6 million for!! When it comes to Chelski the prices they pay don’t relate to the quality they buy.
He is like PV04… but without the defensive ability.
I don’t know where I’d play him? He hasn’t really had a good go in the centre of midfield. The problem with handing him the opportunity to do it is… how much pain do we have to endure before he comes good?
Sorry to say finest… your diagram looks more pornographic than footballistic.
JaGunner, Wenger has addressed that, see the post above.
Yeah cos you can’t see it the way I had it in the post
I’d have to post a .jpg (obviously better not to allow such “jolly fun”), but basically it shows Eboue playing a defensive role, heading towards the back wall and defending the back wall while Fabregas drifted out wide and did the Rosicky role.
@GMR – True they do pay over the odds, can’t deny that. Sagna was a real find. I’ll be honest and say that i didn’t know much about him before he signed. Much better than EBOO-Eh?
Yeah, I was kidding finest… I am just a bit upset you have him in your team!
Do you think he has a future with the club? Will he revert back to right back cover? Or will Kolo continue in that role?
GMR £16mill is a huge amount of money… but I guess money means nothing to a man who has limitless amounts! £16million is like a mars bar to him.
I am so glad we support a club where £16million would only be spent if we could get a £425million return within 3 years.
Yeah I agree Pedro, though Wenger certainly felt he’d develop the defensive capabilities when he arrived. He got Keown on the case to try and help that aspect of his game but I’m not sure whether he ever succeeded, we’ve not had the chance to see yet as he’s not played there. I really think Denilson is the player to replace Flamini, the way he reads the game defensively is incredible. His only problem is that he’s very good on the ball and therefore gets compared to Cesc, when in actual fact he’s a much more defensively capable player. Possibly not physical enough to be Fabregas’ minder against the bigger more aggressive teams though. Arsene has said he thinks we have the players to replace Flamini already at the club so I’d guess that it’ll be between Denilson, Diaby, Song, and probably still Gilberto. Denilson is IMO by far the best player, but just a bit slight alongside Cesc
seriously.. roman can feed millions of starving people all over the world…
16 mill for a full back is a killer!!!
what does he want.. world domination?!!
I’ve said it before but i dn’t think Richards is th answer mainly for 2 reasons:
1. He’s too small.
2. He comes across as a big time Charlie – more likely to be found in a nightclub the night before the game than most players
Also Makoun – not another player whole miss 2 months every other season.
My wish list:
Arfa, Dunne, Barry and Kompany
you reckon we’ll get 2 centrebacks?
Davoody, Wenger threw a real curve ball with the Sagna signing but it really was a great piece of business. I don’t think many people knew much about Bacary before he signed but then I doubt too many people know that much about Bosingwa either. He was due to sign for Man Utd but Chelski have obviously done their usual & blocked a rival’s plans by offering double the money.
Chelski are the biggest cheats going, they want to win trophies by blocking other teams getting their transfer targets.
A… don’t say those beastly words…
‘song can replace’
I really don’t want to be too pessimistic about his abilities, but I just don’t see him becoming the full package. I saw the highlights of the Sunderland game… he made some howlers didn’t he? He has the same error propensity as Senderos. Okay, you’ll get a few good games out of him… but you’ll get a load of shitters in there as well.
Diaby, maybe… Denilson, maybe if he bulked up… I’d like him to put Barry there, but I suppose he could always use Gilberto for experience. I think that is a step back though…
@GMR SWP springs to mind!
Dunne’s a possibility, but only if Arsene still sees Senderos as a future Arsenal captain, just as a stopgap. If not then we’ll sign a top top defender. Ben Arfa is obviously a distinct possiblity, Barry is the most ridiculous rumour I’ve ever heard – an average, old, English player, with average technique, no potential to improve, and very inflated price. The one rumour that could never happen in a million years and thankfully so!
Pedro – Yeah Song was pretty atrocious against Sunderland, but I really don’t think he’s a centre back, although someone quoted some Arsene comments saying otherwise?! I thought he was apalling until the ANC where he just suddenly looked like a completely different player, and carried on the transformation in the reserves, but I still really don’t know about him, not written him off completely though!
Kolo looks to be Wenger’s preference for that role in Sagna’s absence with Song taking Kolo’s place so yes. Eboue will be used as a defender covering the back wall while one of our CM’s drifts out wide should we be short of attacking players on the wings next season but we’re already addressing that.. That was our main problem, who apart from Rosicky did we have for right wing? No-one, Walcott has only got ready by playing.
I believe the covert 5-3-2 was an experiment, and to a certain extent a successful one because we could still win games with only 3 in the middle, but with Walcott ready to take a full-time role we have 2 superb players for that position. And we can revert to a traditional Arsenal 4-4-2.
On left wing we can play Hleb, Diaby, Traore, Vela so we’re sorted there, obviously Hleb being first choice. And we have Eboue….! He can be put on left wing as a defender and we can play 5-3-2 if all those four are out injured.
Eboue could make a good sub, if we want to finish the match a bit more defensively, like locking up a 2-0 whilst retaing attacking flair we could.
Wenger wanted to see if we could still be a positive attacking team with 5 defensive players and the answer is yes we can, if we perfect that strategy to lock games up when we’re ahead we could be onto a winner. Start of 4-4-2, switch to 5-3-2 without losing the attcking edge, and we can afford to do that because Fabergas is such a good player and can dip out wide. He could play right wing, but it would be such a waste.
But this is an idea. Put Barry in for Fabregas and Fabregas on right wing.
Fabregas, Barry, Diaby, Hleb
Absolutely lethal.
Barry would give us so mnay more options, he can play attacking and defensive midfield, so can Fabregas.
Walcott, Fabregas, Barry, Hleb
Any midfield we put out with such a range of players would be fantastic, all we need is 1 more and we can almost mbe guranteed that we’ll have 2 first 11 defenders available for each game.
Yeah, it is pretty un-gooner like to write a player off… and I wont, bar Eboue!
I didn’t really watch to much of the ACN, but Egypt looked great in the tournament and how many of their player play for the top clubs? It’s a poor mans Euros so I don’t know how much you can take from watching it.
Wenger must have a plan… if it doesn’t involve a CM… it involves a CB + 2 wingers?
Alrite fellas,
Geoff, that bet is mine mate!
I agree Pedro that Theo will have a blinder next year,
Got a feeling Ben Arfa is a done deal.
I’m not too sure about Diaby in the middle, YET.
When he learns how to tackle and release the ball at the right time then he will become a centre midfielder.
Lets not forget he was out for a long time and hasn’t progressed as much due to that injury.
He will become a class player, I’m sure of that.
By the way, great post again.
Been out of the country (lived on London from 1997 to 2001) and I’m amazed that Arsene Wenger is still around… a regular Sir Alex (no offence).
Not that he shouldn’t be around, just that football managers can come and go so quick — or maybe I’m thinking of the English national team….
The Adsense Strategist
http://adsensestrategiesadsense.wordpress.com
Choy, hum, mayb 2 centrebacks are only needd if Gallas or senderos go.
Better revise my wish list..
Arfa, Villa, Dunne
Finestcuts
You speak a lot of sense on here most of the time but the Barry rumours are absolutely ridiculous and rightly so, he’s not very good at all and nowhere near arsenal standard!
Diaby won’t ever make it at a Arsenal. He’s just too lazy and lacks intensity. He is the worst off the ball player at the club, alongside Denilson.
I remember that game versus Tottenham in 2006 which finished one-all with Henry levelling. Diaby and Gilberto got totally domianted by Carrick and Tainio. Diaby was totally clueless and had to be hauled off to be replaced by Fabregas. This was pre-dan smith as well so he had no injuries to hamstring his progress. He just doesn’t have the intelligence to play central midfield.
Diaby is very good dribbler, can play the pass and move game quite well, has a decent shot, but he will not be at Arsenal beyond 2009.
I would say a very similar thing about Denilson.
Both these guys will soon be unsurped by the Randall’s, Lansbury’s, and Wilshere’s of this world.
A, he’s been villas powerhouse all season. Do you really think he could not adapt to our style and give our midfield a real energy boost? Yes of course Barry is far flung, he’s an oursider we all know that, but as far as not being good enough, I’d have to disagree, I think you’re just thinking of Aston Villa and O’Neill’s style, he’s a Champions League midfielder and you’ll see him playing CL football next season where he’ll shine. Barry has had an exceptional season, you’re maybe thinking of Barry 2 seasons ago.
He either admits that yes he’s a Villa player and can’t adapt to playing for a top club or that yes he can join a top team and adapt to their footballing philosophy, and he’s good enough in my eyes to make the step up to become a significant player in the Champions League, he is the kind of player that could make a difference in a Champions League side, we’ll see next season. You may be right, next season he may revert to being mediocre, but for someone who has improved their game, regression is rare, and he’s old enough to be fit for a good 5 years to come so no problems there.
Will Barry choose the cotton wool of mediocre-ness at Villa or make the step up to one of the best clubs. That’s the big question. And will anyone pay O’Neill’s ransom fee?
I have to say, David Bentley would be a very good option for us now if we are to persist with playing the likes of Bendtner and Adebayor. He has the quality delivery that both Ade and Bendtner would flourish on.
He doesn’t quite have the mobility, pace, and dribbling skills to play through the lines ala Hleb but he would bring a nice compliment to the Hlebster on the right flank and he’s is fairly decent atplaying Wengerball to an acceptable level to that extent that his strengths would outweigh his weaknesses.
So, maybe Wenger is after David Bentley as the premier league player. After all, the two never fell out. It was just first team football.
The only thing stopping it would be Wenger’s ego. It would be bad business buying a former player back for more than he sold him for.
Yeah Paulinho, it’s easy to say that now, really easy, they aren’t finished article but both are prodigy players.
But Paulinho, why would he when he plans on playing Walcott and Rosicky there? Of course Bentley is the mutts nuts, but we’d need to ditch Rosicky, I can’t see Wenger doing that, he doesn’t want to let anyone go and would rather stick with Rosicky and keep the team together than trade for Bentley, that factors into hte equation as well.
finestcuts, I agree Barry has had a very good season, but that was for Aston Villa. Arsenal’s style of play is unique, and Barry doesn’t have the technical ability to play it. Just like Julio Baptista didn’t despite being very good wherever else he’s been. He is a player playing as well as he can, and is good, but isn’t a top top player. He doesn’t have room for improvement, and would cost too much. If he leaves he’ll go to Liverpool, I very much doubt Arsene is interested in the slightest. What difference would he make?? He isn’t as good defensively as Gilberto, passing is nowhere near as good as Fabregas, doesn’t have the energy or tenaciousness of Flamini, and is sluggish and not overly strong. If we sign a centre mid it’ll be a younger player with potential to improve far beyond Barry
Paulinho
Wenger said he had a policy of not signing ex players. Bentley left because he was an ass, and would cost silly money. He has an attitude problem and regularly slags off arsenal and wenger for the lack of players, saying theo should follow his example etc. He wouldn’t be welcome at the Emirates, although he would be a good squad player, but that’s it, he wouldn’t ever command a first team place regularly. The Prem player i would imagine is Kranjcar
@A
“Arsenal’s style of play is unique, and Barry doesn’t have the technical ability to play it. ”
Flamini wasn’t a great technical player, Barry is superior.
“He is a player playing as well as he can, and is good, but isn’t a top top player. He doesn’t have room for improvement,”
Very subjective.
“He isn’t as good defensively as Gilberto, passing is nowhere near as good as Fabregas, doesn’t have the energy or tenaciousness of Flamini.”
Once again, v. subjective.
“If we sign a centre mid it’ll be a younger player with potential to improve far beyond Barry.”
What “is” has to be given some credence, not just simply stated that it “is” (the subject of the sentence/question), that happened in Genesis but generally most expect a bit more than that.
What will happen?
See above and replace with will.
Evening Wrighty, I am hoping Geoff will win the bet… the only thing I worry about is Wenger sticking him out on the wing. It might be tough for Theo to get 15 goals from out there! We shall see though!
A, I disagree about Barry’s technical ability, I think he has bundles of it. What Barry lacks it the pace breaking forward. He is very much a controller of the flow… and he mostly slows it down. Well, that is what I think. He does have a much wider variety of passing than both Gilberto and Flamoneynochampionsleaguehowsyourluck.
I would prefer to see a Gattuso like addition in the middle, but I think that is wishful thinking on my part… there are no Gattuso like players out there at the moment.
Paulinho… BENTLEY! I can’t stand that arrogant little prick. He looks ok in an average Blackburn side. I think he’d look worse for us. He doesn’t score enough to make him any better than Hleb.
The Agbonlahor talk has died down, I really rate him. Without a doubt, he was the fastest player at the Grove this year. Wenger would work wonders with him.
The reason Barry wouldn’t be signed is that he wouldn’t make a big difference, and Wenger would only spend 10 mil plus on someone who is or has the potential to improve into a world class player, a level above Barry. Someone like Barry would be useful as a stop gap whilst other players develop, but would only interest Wenger if they were available on the cheap.
david bentley.. no way.. give me walcott any day..
its all about attitude.. skill gives you an edge in one or two games… but in the long run its attitude that keeps you going.
Walcott has more ability and a better attitude than Bentley.
I our wonderboy will become a regular quicker than Bentley does for England.
Amen to that pedro..
and with that good night people!!
Good shout Choy…
Happy blogging Grovers!
Setanta.com
“Maybe in the next few days we will sit down and see what will happen with my future,” the Brazil captain told Arsenal TV Online.
“Arsene has my number and I have his number, and I can come back [to London after holidaying in Brazil] and solve the situation, but I have still got one more year on my contract.
“I have always expressed the desire to stay here to the end of my career. If that happens, it would be fantastic.
“I have been here six seasons now and it has all been amazing.
“I would be very happy to stay here and then discuss another contract to the end of my career.”
What a pro!
I’m really off now…
Finestcuts
I agree about the subjectivity of my thoughts on Barry but I really don’t think he’d make the grade at us. He’ll be Pennant mark 2 at Liverpool. Overrated English player shown up when compared to top foreign players. He does have superior technical ability to Flamini I’ll agree with that but Flamini’s incredible running was what gave him his place in the team, and Barry doesn’t have any such attribute that sets him apart from the rest. Pedro – Barry is a far superior passer than Gilberto or Flamini, or even Vieira possibly, but that’s the thing, Fabregas is the controller of the flow, and Barry isn’t near to being good enough IMO to challenge him.
Yeah, suppose he is a bit of twat. Wenger got angry with his most recent comment as well. Forgot about that.
Man Geoff, you’re gunner have a lot of reading to get through all these posts!
I think one tactic Wengs should employ next season is to blood the young B team players against the lower sides to attack all four cups without jeopardizing fitness & injuries.
A lot would say that’s risky but I reckon they’d be more up for those games than the A team – plus, Weng needs to show his faith as he’s said they should compete in the champiinship (I’m only talking about using a few in games like that with just the bottom four but that should really help with squad depth and pacing the full team for the whole season…..)
Let’s see what any critics have to say?
5am, they need to earn their games through the Carling cup. Wenger should go with his best available and only do that in low risk matches when there is a bigger game such as mid week CL semi-final v Milan and only against bottom 6 teams. They should fight for their place in training, and there should ALWAYS be 5-6 top quality outfield players to get us that win, so even if the B lot don’t have a top one, we’ll still get a win.
Stick with the blend of talented youth + a team players. Don’t drop players when they’re on a good run, only make make changes in the team for poor performance, not for charity, it has to be VERY tough to make it and stay in the first 11, only the very best should get through the filter.
Interesting, I’ve not heard Arteta metioned out of possible players. He’d be good cover for Fabregas, cos when Cesc is out it seems the team lacks fluidity.
S’pose that’s why Barry’s being considered and there’s always the qn if Merida would step up to that role….?
First half of the season should strictly be first 11. Allow for squaddies post Carling cup analysis and only in matches where we’re clearly better.
5am
I agree that that’s something Wenger will do, but he wanted to this season, the injuries sustained were just absolutely ridiculous, and very unlucky! Rosicky and VP were out most of the season, and with an already weakened team Wenger didn’t want to blood more youngsters. I believe that Bendtner would have played a much greater role had VP been about to partner him, and Rosicky’s injuries meant that Arsene didn’t think the team could cope without Fabregas or Hleb, as well as the fact Denilson and Diaby were injured for large periods, and injuries to all 3 potential left mids, (Rosicky, VP, Eduardo) meant that he was played out of position most of the season.
Next season I’m sure we’ll see the younger players getting much more time on the pitch against lesser teams and more rotation occuring.
Finest- yep that sounds feasible, so lets hope on that one Arsene does get to know!!!
I dunno finest. If Rosicky is fit, and we sign Ben Arfa or equivalent, I can see there being much more rotation in the midfield. If we’re assuming the first choice midfield will be Hleb, Cesc, Rosicky, and a DM, i can see against lesser teams Walcott coming in for Hleb, or Vela or Ben Arfa in for Rosicky.
Likewise whereas VP and Adebayor is likely to start as the first choice pairing up top I could see VP and Bend or Eduardo and Ade happening against lesser teams occasionally. Especially with the injuries we’ve received in the past couple of seasons ensuring the players get rests here and there will be good for them, as well as helping the likes of Vela, Theo, Bendtner, develop further
Everyone go quick on kakas winikipedia site it says we ahve got him for 45 million and he is on his way
A, thats not a prediction, I was adding to 5am’s idea. Thats what he said he thought was a good idea, this is what I think is a good idea. I expect Wenger will have his own ideas as would you, I don’t think any of us would play the same team or tactics.
Hey aakash, I think your mate Sandeep did that! Have you two been mashing up Wikipedia again?
im sure merida will feature this season . And up for 1st 11 spots possibly .
(KNOWING WENGER ) ! so calculate that into your reasoning also !
on a brighter note
jens had this to say …
JENS LEHMANN has delivered a final parting shot at Arsene Wenger, claiming the Arsenal boss would have been sacked if he was a coach in Germany.
The goalkeeper said his farewell to Gunners fans after five years between the sticks at the final home game of the season against Everton.
It meant that Lehmann and Arsenal had finished without a trophy for the last three years and he insists that failure would have been punished anywhere else.
He said: “Arsene Wenger is the club – even if he does not own it. You could not imagine what would happen without him.
“We have won nothing and that is not optimal.”
however loud and obnoxious he is , on this occasion he is probably right .
life goes on.