The Superstar has landed!
So it took forever but it has finally happened, just the delayed paperwork to go and it will be official this morning.
Well a day of rollercoaster emotions, he’s signed, no he hasn’t, yes he has, no, wait a minute he hasn’t, Jesus, how tight are we, we could have blown it for a couple of £mil, in stark contrast to the muppets up the road who spent another £43 million just like that.
Well they got someone that had rejected them plus two hopeless players and a crock, well for once and the first time since Dennis Bergkamp we have signed the real deal, the new Zidane, the new Bergkamp, the one and only ‘Andrei Arshavin’ I am so, so happy, at last something to look forward to that doesn’t have promise, he has class, skill and pace, he will be the one that knits this team together, dare I say it, ‘the messiah’ yes folks, I think he is that good!
If this didn’t happen I feel many of us would have not renewed their season tickets, me I have to say, included, it’s about time Arsenal spent our money, I wish we had signed Flamini back or any worthwhile defensive midfielder and a centre back, but hey! I’m thankful for small mercies, I can’t wait for the Tottenham game and I hope he plays.
Wenger will know doubt be crowing and this time I’ll join him because this is where our season begins.
Looking at the full picture, we could have this as our team before too long.
Fabianski
Sagna Kolo Gallas Clichy
Theo Cesc Arshavin Nasri
Robin Eduardo
With a bench of Alumunia, Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, Djourou, Adebayor.
Now that’s a team that can challenge on all fronts, you notice I left out Eboue , Song, Denilson and Diaby, well I would keep the last two and that’s it.
I know I also didn’t mention Bendtner but I didn’t have room.
People may think Arshavin will take time to settle but I don’t think so, I think first of all he’s from northern climes, he’s mega pissed off and he is a great, great player, he’ll slot straight in, I’ve not been this excited since we bought Charlie Nicholas, I am euphoric, yes that’s right euphoric, way to go Arsenal!
Maybe we can try Djourou as the defensive midfielder, but I still think he’ll try and get the Flamster in on loan, I would, that’s for sure, don’t forget we can get loanies at any time, if you are reading this Arsene, and I know the board do, pat yourself on the back and go out and bring Matty home.
Well done Arsene, well done the board and well done to the fans who brought this pressure on by letting them know how we feel at home games and by not turning up occasionally, it was the only way they would take notice.
Imagine, we got him cheaper than those twats from shite hart lane paid for Palacios, Keane or Defoe, what a bunch of no hopers, let’s show them how good they are by spanking them sideways on Sunday.
Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal!!! (that’s a Song)
Have a great day Grovers, today you’ll see the best looking Russian in history wearing an Arsenal shirt, how can this day get any better? …Well maybe the return of the Flamster!!!
Yes
Whooooooo!
what a signing…..but I am still disappointed we missed out on signing a defensive midfielder, a goalkeeper and a centre half…
Morning Geoff,
I am sure you are right and the signing is done and dusted and just needs the FA to rubber stamp it.However,it is obvious that it hasn’t been easy dealing with the russians,but why didn’t someone at our club(the new C.O. for example) act is a more ruthless way,so that it didn’t drag on for 33 days.It was clear from the outset that no other club were interested,yet the whole affair has been shambolic.
wOHO
Top10 for once
ok im over in the new post
Come on!!!!!!!!! & now for the offical announcement!
Geoff…..I like the look of your midfield, but there isn’t a ball winner in that midfield line up….who would you recommend to Arsene for that role?
Morning again ,
I’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief when I see our new players Slavic features grinning out at me from Arse.coms front page. I’ll amend my shirt number guess to 23 as someone said on yesterdays post that AA thinks 13 is unlucky. I hope he’s at least on the bench for Sunday, although I don’t like it when Wenger says it takes a month for a new player to be ready.
Hmmm….not all that convinced by the Kolo-William partnership. Think we need Djourou to stir it up.
It’s a great day grovers. Is anyone else wondering why no one wanted a piece of him though?
I believe that midfield would be the best as cesc would turn to be our ball winner, turn into paddy, and be the 1st person to bring the ball up and the other 3 in more advanced role.
But seriously, your lineup in the post will never happen. We need someone (Denilson) with some defensive fibres in the middle.
My dream, given our squad, is.
———-Almunia———–
Sagna—Toure–Gallas–Clichy
—–Fabregas—-Denilson—-
vP———–Nasri——–AA
———Ade/Dudu————
i watch russian football news and they are very happy with the deal also they said that andrey will wear number 23
Kelsey I reponded in the last post but morning again!
Ed with that midfield, they would need a ball winner, but I would get Flamini back or train up Ramsey, or maybe even Kolo or Djourou.
At first I thought Arsenal handled this whole thing horribly, but now I have to say they were right in their approach.
Zenit are crazy and nearly impossible to deal with! If we had bid 15 million or even 18 million earlier they still would have held out till the end in hope of another club outbiding us. With a club like Zenit, this was always going to go until the end.
Geoff,
Why did you put Arshavin next to Cesc when he’s not a CM? He’ll play on the wings or behind a single striker.
Link
Arshavin was desperate to join Arsenal and took a £20,000-aweek pay cut, chartered his own private jet to London on Sunday night at a cost of £25,000 and then paid Zenit half of his signing-on fee to push the deal through.
Arsenal have been left infuriated with some of Zenit’s transfer tactics in what at times became an ugly show of brinkmanship but Arshavin’s determination to link up with Wenger was the deciding factor.
Wenger has finally got his man and intends to involve him in Sunday’s north London derby at Tottenham once Arshavin has returned from Russia after flying back to tie up some loose ends after agreeing to join Arsenal last night. Arshavin first came to world prominence last season with Zenit when he helped the Russian club win last year’s UEFA Cup.
He can operate wide, behind the front striker or as a second striker, and was a sensation at Euro 2008 which prompted Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona to enquire about him last summer.
However, Arshavin was priced out of a move by a £24m buy-out clause in his Zenit contract which had been inserted when he signed an improved £90,000-a-week deal.
That was to be the sticking point in the deal with Arsenal as the contract also stated that Arshavin would have to pay back £2.5m if he opted out of the contract early.
Zenit finally agreed to let Arshavin go after the Russia playmaker paid them half of his signing-on fee. Arsenal stood firm over the deal, knowing that the player only had a year left on his contract.
His Russia boss Guus Hiddink claims Arshavin will be a huge success in the Premier League.
He said: “Arshavin is a great player – a world class talent.
“But what will make him great for the English league is the fact that he is strong, very determined and is physically tough as well as being skilful. He is also at a club which will suit him.”
Best looking Russian
he’s already a legend!!!
and you also left out Vela……
Stonroy, no one was in for any of the Jan transfers, except Quaresma and he was a loaner.
arshavin and cesc in central midfield? errrm might be a bit lightweight…
pleased with the signing. he will take a bit of time to get going. expect pre-season type performances to start with as he hasn’t played since november.
once he is up and running we could get our creative flow back and might never see fucking eboue in midfield again.
now for a new centre back and defensive midfielder in the summer.
the road to recovery starts here.
I heard zenit phoned city, the chavs, and the spudlings to see if they could get a better deal.
Morning.any idea when it wil be confirmed? Cant wait.wil be a real good signing
zenit seem like vodka drinking, ice smoking, hash eating crazy men from way back – how fucked up have they been?!
I’d rather have Rosicky than Walcott, not ready to play every game, drifts in and out of games and not so great and right wing
If we had acted properly and executed this deal at the start of the transfer window then he would have been playing against cardif, everton and / or west ham. We could be tup to 4 points better off and inthe next round of the FA cup. I hope the few mill we saved has been worth the delay and the dropped points which could be crucial in the race for fourth.
Nice signing, I see him more on the left wing with Nasri on the right, Denilson and Song in the centre. Thats a midfield that could work well and create lots of goals. We need Ade to hit some form and we need go on a run of wins, draws will not get us 4th. Come on you Gunners!
That midfield is too attacking, and too small. Much as I would love us to play Cesc, Theo, Nasri and Arshavin together and win every game 5-0, we need a ball winner, a shield for the defence.
Are you sure about signing loanees?
Nil I’m just making room, swap him with Nasri if you want! Ed you’re right I did leave out Vela, but only because Wenger doesn’t seem to want to play him.
Also, I forgot!
Morning All
Its good to hear a ‘Happy Geoff’
JD in the middle, I agree, and start bringing Merida off the bench – I really rate this player and I wish he could have a chance, and then we can all see just how talented he is..
Isnt anyone afraid that we cocked this up? Why hasnt the fa stamped? Some say we put in the papers to late.
You can get loanies at anytime….is this true?
Why the hell we let flammini walk out the door i’ll never know. To be honest he was not that flash at the start , but boy he came on really well, and what happened we let him go.Bring him back!
Bring back Flammini
As for the team you’ve suggested , i would take Gallas out ( bigtime trouble maker) for Djourou
hi all, first lemme say thanks for makin my day yesterday cos i was well entertained by the banter and drama at the le-grove and the grove too…thats why i love and joined this blog. this definitely has to go down as the longest saga in transfer history, followed by Nasri; going by Nasri’s performance it was worth and i think Andrei will be even better.
I also have to give to Dave the guy to first break the true story on le-grove and Newsnow as a whole, courtesy Life.ru…way to go boy, you are a ‘real fan’
Fabianski
Sagna Kolo Gallas Clichy
Theo Cesc Nasri Arshavin
Robin Eduardo
Rayman Song???
Geoff
I don’t think he can play central midfield coz he is not a strong tackler, How about out wide floating in for…..a…….GOAL!!! Ha Ha Ha.
Fingers crossed that he has a much bigger impact than “the new George Best” who, apart from some nice runs and a few good goals, didn’t do terribly much for Arsenal
I must say his determination to succeed is going to be intoxicating. He is a winner and we are short on them (cesc, Van persie I think are the other two). I hate to be looking into the future but with some good signing next year could be the true turn around..
Papers were all in at 4.30, the FA have said they have a pile of transfers still to ‘rubber stamp’ – hey, maybe we have more than one in that pile
One Arsene Wenger Theres only one Arsene Wenger
This transfer sage went for longer than War & Peace, only this time the Russians lost 
Morning Rico, damn straight I’m happy! Didee I’m glad the Grovers made your day son.
Gnarley he can play where he wants…
our dream team is on the way, i wont take back flamini though;
first it unusual of us to take back a player- one dt didnt want to stay.
Also i feel we have a good shot at Velosa when we sell Bayor in the summer, cos i think we will sell him this time
Iceman, I heard on SSN that you can bring in loanees up till the end of March.
——Almunia
Sagna Kolo Gallas Clichy
Rosicky Cesc Nasri Arshavin
—–RVP Eduardo
This is fun
I too am excited that we hve finaly got him but the formation u have chosen is pathetic, u have given us a midfield of midgets and a defense of midgets which is shocking.
Our Formation should be abit like Bone08 which is the same as liverpools formation.
——-New Keeper——
Sagna-Djourou-Gallas-Clichy
——Cesc—–Song?——
—RVP—Nasri—AA——-
———-Ade————–
Morning all
Yesterday I was an emotional f’kin wreck…today I’m grinning like a fool (although I’d prefer to wait until it’s confirmed).
I got an email from a Spuds fan….telling me they’d signed Keane, and how the Arshavin deal had fallen through…and how it was great to be a Spuds fan??!!
Confused fucker…I’ve yet to reply.
Hi Guys, glad to see we have landed our man, shame it took so long.
Geoff, small point, we cant get any loan deals in now until June.
Players can only leave us and play in the Championship etc.
but bone8 there are 11 outfield players in that team. although it looks pretty awesome!
Pedro
What was the answer to yesterdays question re Georgey Gee
Milan are to offer LA Chocolates, 14M for Becks, blimey beer has gone up in price…
I love him at THOF – and I know you would too Geoff
Mark I’m sure loaners can come at anytime, they aren’t governed by the window.
Sorry for the wait guys, you are free to blog now, welcome.
Almunia
Sagna Djourou Gallas Clichy
Fabregas Ramsey
Van P Arshavin Nasri
Eduardo
Here’s the new chant – spread the word! (To the tune of Hosanna in Excelsis)
Ahhh Ahhh Ahh Ahh Ahhhh Ahhh Ahhhhhh, Ahhhh Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh Arrrrrrshavin, Arshavin in excelsis!
2-2 and Wimbledon Gnarley. Rico you know better!
I would like flamini back.but its not gona happen. Wil arshavin be the 1st russian 2 play for us? I would have loved if we got akinkeev aswel.the russia gk
I think 77777777 has added a 7 since Arswaxin signed. Everyone is happy
Chary……Has it ever been done before?
Yeah Rico……hope there’s another name in the hat for the mighty Arsenal
A hard tackler from France maybe………
Veloso or Upson?? I’d take Veloso
Geoff – I know, but we are not used to you being happy, I thought that might get you back to normal
RN – how could you seriously put Song in there?? though he did have a good match recently, he’s still off the pace in terms of against the big-boys…
Geoff, only in special circumstances can loanies come in outside the window i.e. if you ran out of goalkeepers.
Apart from that you can only sign players out of contract.
iceman -keep them toes crossed
We are all in a good mood. Please don’t start the Song debate
Thanks Chozzer, Rico, that worked a treat!
Geoff
I thought it was Norwich, coz I remember a minutes silence before kick off; the North bank sang a tribute You’ll never walk alone then we kicked norwich 5-zip
Appiah then ??????
Appiah or Song……….. Mme????
By the way, as a Norwegian resident, I find it funny that your entire country was in shambles because of six cm of snow.
We had 25cm about 10 days ago. No delays in public transportation.
Woops, sorry London
Geoff – always aim to please
stonroy – Gallas, Toure, Clichy and, dare I say it, Silvestre all have league champions’ medals.
Hi guys,
Don’t take thi the wrong way because i am bouncing off every wall at the fact that we have him but don’t expect much from him straight away. The Russian season hasn’t started yet and due to him being in talks with us was left out of many of their pre-season friendlies left only to join in training so in his first game against S**** i won’t be expecting too much but without a doubt he is a class player. Doubt he will last the entire game but lets hope he does a sammy and bags a goal on his debut!
There’s only one team in London, One team in London!!!!! (that’s a song too)
To be honest Iceman, I can’t recall it happening before.
Just to prove how much I’ve become obsessed with the AA saga I dreamt about the whole thing last night, but weirdly enough I was in a training session with AA – but at cricket not football. AA came in off a long, sprinting run up and bowled quick – any ideas what that means ?
My summary of yesterday’s events ? It was like the 70’s Harmony Hairspray ad campaign “Is (s)he or isn’t (s)he?”
Geoff the racist!!
everyone is pumped!
same here Bone8 – i laughed when seeing the pics of how much snow there was…when it snows that much here it’s business as usual…
so happy with the news, but what happened? they said at 6pm the deal was off, what spinned it? would of loved to be fly on wall throughout the day, was such a mess wasn’t it
Bloody hell Chary, that’s going back!
Bone8 I was the only one that made it into my office in London, no roads gritted, no buses, fucking wimps. Make you right what’s six cm?
Thanks Geoff, speakin of the spuds 43+70=113million…i cant believe that is how much it cost to play in the championship.
Pedro please update the spud watch to reflect something interesting.
i can see the chavs haven’t learnt their lesson, loanin MR one-man-show, no-big-stage-performer-Quaresma…how hopeless
Well London – I am an old git so I remember that all too well.
Congratulations Steve, the Arshavin deal panned out exactly as you anticipated.
max: No, there are ten outfield players on my lineup. Dudu or Adebayor.
Steve makes a return now we signed someone, you fairweather fascist!
The longer this confirmation is taking the more I am starting to panic….
Rather than ‘could of missed the deal for the sake of a few mil.’ What about good business. Got the player & kept a few mil!
Don’t Brighty, it’s a done deal, nothing to worry about!
HAHAHAHA!!! I was on yesterday you right wing racist pig.
Remember I told you all he was coming throughout January when you were all sceptical.
Thanks Adam, I’ll bear that in mind the next time it happens.
I hope so Geoff….
So when does the fa start in the morning?
I must admit London, I was starting to panic when SSN reported he’d gone back to Russia:)
Brighty, I’m “F5” ’ing Arse.com every minute waiting to see it confirmed also.
Evo how is the weather back in Oz mate?
I was never sceptical, in fact if you were on here yesterday and not on your favourite Arsenal.com you would have seen me saying he’ll sign all day!
We’ve got Andrei Arswaxin, We’ve got Andrei Arswaxin, La La la la La La La La
Bone8 Says:
February 3, 2009 at 9:25 am
By the way, as a Norwegian resident, I find it funny that your entire country was in shambles because of six cm of snow.
We had 25cm about 10 days ago. No delays in public transportation.
—————————–
It hardly ever snows in England Bone 8 which is why they haven’t invested in snow ploughs, they should do though, they’ll last for as long as they need them, buy you’re right it is funny to other Euro countries where it snows every winter that as soon as there’s a bit of snow in England, the country comes to a standstill.
To be fair the FA must start sooner than all of us… The first thing that we will do at work is get a nice cuppa and stand around talking and scratching our balls for thhe first 30mins/1 hour. The FA don’t have balls so this part will be cut completely out of their working day, unless they are allowed to start later due to this fact??!!
morning all .
can you definately sign loan players outside the window , I thought it was just players out of contract but not sure . still waiting forofficial conformation , slghtly nervous .
maybe we will announce two !! veluso went awol .
that would be nice
alright Steve !
Wenger has finally got his man and intends to involve him in Sunday’s north London derby at Tottenham once Arshavin has returned from Russia after flying back to tie up some loose ends after agreeing to join Arsenal last night
You should stop being nasty to me Geoff, i’m white.
Geoff
you did mate , once I see it official I will be an
GKB for sure !
Hiya Jules, have a look at the players Geoff doesn’t like.
Song, Diaby, Eboue etc. Racist or what????
Got nothing to do with the fact that they are shit.
That would be the ultimate….Arshavin & Veloso…..
The latter would be a finer Flamini……..
nothing at all Steve lol !
Anyone want to guess when Arsenal will offically announce that we have signed Arshavin?
I dont reckon it will happen before lunch.
Steve you’ve got to be having a go mate? Shit-alright and utter shit drippings. Ranked in that order
There was a big furore about Pavlayidko missing the game on Sunday because of a Russian friendly but he got special dispensation to play.
Does this affect our Andrei???
And that has nothing to do with their skin.
at last
The longer it goes on without any news the more anxious we will all get, altho the agent on the radio said, done deal player so excited he is walking around in an arsenal top, pop out to see him, staying @ the grove in watford
I am now officially a GKB!
Geoff, congratulations mate, you stuck to your guns that Andrei was coming and you were right! Well done!
We were saying about Selley , Hillier and Mcgoldrick the other day being shit , what a fucking reverse racist huh !
finestcuts:
I’ve come to expect panic from the more southern countries, like Spain and Italy, but GB?
Ploughs probably aren’t top of th PM’s shopping list, so i understand th problem. But it’s amusing nevertheless.
Probably makes Arshavin feel at home too!
Stonroy, I rate Diaby.
If Wenger knew his position he could be a great player.
Hmm, I’m thinking of transforming Arshavin into a left back. Clichy can be a bit ropey at times. I’ve done it with King Kolo, he was a midfielder and now a CH.
Arshavin as a left back. What do you guys think?
And also Stonroy, i was joking.
gkb gkb lol
if the deal is revealed at 10mil it is another masterful piece of business by the gaffer surely?
Steve ,
but what is it mate !?
best team would be
almunia
sagna toure gallas clichy
nasri cesc arshavin walcott
RVP ?
but no strength or defencive mid in the midfield , cant think of who should play up front with robin
It’s no more stupid than playing Eboue at left wing or Bendtner right wing or Diaby holding midfielder Arsene so why the fuck not old chap.
February 3rd 2009 – The day i woke up for the first time in 32 days feeling happy!!
Come on Andrei, become a legend by banging one in this weekend against those jokers who just turn the clock back, by their ex players, only then realise they werent alot better with them in the first place!!
Oh yeah, and outshine that fuckin cunt, Robbie Keane!
Diaby is too slow, injury prone, shows his ball skills at the wrong time and is too slow on the pass, granted he does have moments of great potential, but I don’t know if he can go all the way.. Maybe in a few years. But song just physically doesn’t have it, the speed his pass is not accurate enough. Eboue…Well, he is not emotionally ready to play with the big boys.
Speaking of ball winners, has anyone gotten a chance to watch Blaise Matuidi? That kid is good. Quick, strong, with great timing in the tackle and reading of the game, decent close control, and the vision to pass short and long from deep. He’s also got a decent turn on with the ball and pretty good positional discipline. Wenger inquired for him at St Etienne over the summer and was told he wasn’t for sale. I really hope he revisits that one. He’s the closest thing to a taller Essien that I’ve seen.
Don’t ask me Jules. Wenger is paid a fortune to find it though.
Probably behind the front 2.
I thought you were joking Steve, sorry mate. From one white man to another.
Think diaby is more of an attacking mid than a def one .
Have you seen his tackling !?? he would be of every other game . to casual as well .
Every one should listen to the podcast on talk shite
arshavin has given a lot up for us,could be a legend
in the making, well done
Risky business but business that is welcomed for sure.
To think they tried the same with Alonso….How I wish they had coughed up…..
Oh well…..We should take what we get for now….
Don’t want to be the wet blanket here, but I’ll put my money on the following team trotting out against the spuds.
Almunia
Sagna-Toure-Gallas-Clichy
Denilson-Diaby-Song-Nasri
RvP-Ade
Le Boss will not play Andrei till after the Roma game.
Geoff,
I like your team from an attacking perspective. However, defensively we would still be very vulnerable under high balls.
Still missing that big bruising centre half. Until that is rectified, we will not challenge seriously.
Against that lot this weekend, i reckon Wenger will go with:
Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Djourou-Clichy
Nasri-Denilson-Song-Arshavin
RvP-Adebayor
My Arshavin song offering is –
Arshavin my lord Arshavin
Arshavin my lord Arshavin
Arshavin my lord Arshavin
Oh lord Arshavin
Brighty, that is genius!
morning all…
any news on eboue’s injury? im hoping its bad enough to keep him out of sunday and hopefully force the boss into play arsh on the left and nas on the right or middle.
still not looking forward to sunday
Big Dave,
I think he is staying at the Village Hotel, In Elstree, 2 miles from my house.
He flew into Elstree aerodrome, and the pictures of him on SSN were at the Village. I have been there a few times for meals, and am 100% sure it was the Village.
Come on ssn and all others , give me that press conference to make it official !! unviel another aswell Arsene , my membership number is ready to book again . come on , come on , do it .
fuck me does,nt a good signing give us a lift .
how many times did we all say that !
But at the end instead of oh lord arshavin why not his whole name, if you sing Andrei Arshavin in that tune at the end it works.
liking that Brighty !
Clacko – that works
Oh Andrei Arshavin…
Gotta find a way of getting it to the red action lads now!!????
Morning All.
Chary / London. I was at that game. I recall it was O’Leary’s record breaking game. Or is the Alzheimers playing up again ?
Great to see so many new faces here today. And congrats to Le Grove on our record day .
were gonna have some serious option once walcott, rosicky, eduardo and cesc all come back..thats for sure!
He’s having his pictures down at Emirates stadium first than it will be released, between 1 – 4pm today. He will be wearing number 23. He is not match fit, Russian season ended in November, he has been training but has not played any pre season games, so it will take him a few games to get going, I doubt he will be involved v Spurs Sunday, might make bench but not likely, FA Cup replay v Cardiff more likely
Keane to score winner on Sunday?
Yes Great .but you are wrong including Gallas. He has been a destructive force at AFC, and our improvement of late if mainly because (a) he lost the captaincy and (b) because Djourou has looked so solid and aware.
One thing we do agree on is the sale of Eboue, but again I would add Gallas, Song, Bentner or Ade B, to that list in summer. With that money + the money from finishing second Arsene will buy another centre back Chielinni & another left back ? + Santa Cruz…then I will put a big bet on the treble next year.
chris… until our usual summer clear out!!
apparently he’s gonna wear 23… probably vhanging to 10 once gallas does one
So now with Arshavin and Eduardo we can win the reserves league