Transfer Deadline is Here!!
It's Here!
Well good readers its here. The last day of the 2009 Summer Transfer Window. Many questions are swirling who if anyone Arsene Wenger will decide to bring in. Will it be the necessary components a strong, solid holding midfielder, a real number 1 goalie, or a strike partner for Robin Van Persie. Or will we wind up with pieces that remain with Arsene’s policy of buy youth on the cheap and develop them for use later. Either way, the internet is abuzz with rumours around activity in the Arsenal boardroom.
Right now possible signings could be:
The twitterverse and a few publications are saying that there has been a renewed interest today in both Subotic and Chamakh. Though some are speculating that Arsene could launch a surprise bid for Hull’s Steven Taylor. Whichever way he goes, Arsene has long been skillful at using the last few hours of the transfer window to his advantage – eg Arshavin and Gallas. And while the squad has performed very well there are still some glaring issues coming up – namely lack of depth overall, lack of muscle (say what you well we’ve hung tough but Steven Fletcher wouldn’t have done what he did this past weekend if Viera was in our midfield) and injuries.
Finally, on outgoing possibilities, word is that Arsenal have turned down a £10 million bid Emmanuel Eboue and that wantaway defender Phillipe Senderos could be on his way to Hull (even if Taylor does not come here).
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The January window is a possibility, but perhaps a remote one given Arsene is clearly of a mind to give the existing squad the first opportunity.
The reason why I’m a bit ambivalent is that so much can happen in the next 3+ months. So, trying to anticipate squad strenght is impossible. Take Djourou, no one new he’d succumb to such a lenghty lay-off. We still have the CB starters, Gallas and Vermaelen, hopefully they will not be afflicted with an injury of significance.
Song looks to have bloomed in the early games, if he maintains this level, we’ll certainly miss him come ACoN. But if we’re in good shape at that time, and if Verma/Gallas are fit and going well, we could quite conceivably ride out the period Song and maintain our momentum. A midfield trio of say Nasri/Denilson/Fabregas could hold the line for a period if the team had momentum and the goals were flowing.
I’ve already nailed my flag to the mast and said I like the balance Song brings to the team so that’s not in dispute. We look far more solid with a genuinely defensive minded midfielder in the trio and it actually helps the shape of the whole team in every aspect.
At the risk of being overly simplistic, if we can maintain a challenge, everything else fades in significance. So whether one likes Song or Denilson or Bendtner or Walcott……becomes a side discussion rather than the main event. Conversely, if we stumble and flump, Arsene will rightly be under the gun.
Last season was the biggest bore in many a year, simply because no-one, neither optimist nor realist, neither Greek nor Jew, neither rich nor poor, had any real sense that we would achieve anything.
I am wondering if with the injury to Johann if AW will feel compelled to buy something int he January window. Part of that would depend on injuries to the rest of the back four I assume but who knows.
FYI – I have a new article in the cue – also still looking for something from others.
On the injury continuum – luck v poor decision making – there is certainly elements of both.
On Song, I’m not so sure I would criticise Arsene on not buying another DM. If he bought a decent player in his mid 20’s he would likely feel compelled to play him in favour of the 21 year old Song given his predisposition to a pecking order. Djourou may have been an option to cover for Song during the ACoN – sadly that now looks unlikely.
I’ve sometimes mused as to whether there is a particular and heightened fitness risk in relying on young players. With older players they are ‘grown’ and they have a history so it gives you a better basis to assess them. With young guys there is a bit more of a ?
At the end of this season ‘injuries’ won’t be a legitimate defence. This will be the 4th or is it 5th(?) season Arsene has preached that his way is the right way arguing against a massed chorus, he has to make it work.
in recent years i kinda feel that whatever team God support, it’s definitely NOT Arsenal.
First, the fact that we kept conceding STUPID goals in crucial matches which had nothing to do with performance. Clichy’s last minute blunder Vs Birmingham; how Kolo conceded a penalty within a minute after we scored the potentially tie winner in CL semi Vs Liverpool; how we managed to blow away a 2 goals lead late in that Spurs derby; how young Gibbs slipped 10 minutes into the crucial CL semi 2nd leg; and the recent Man U defeat.
Except from the Man U CL 2nd leg, none of those matches we deserved to lose by performance. But somehow we just managed to find a way to BLOW it. At times I wonder whether it had anything to do with our team colour resemble to Santa Claus.
Then the injury bug. It just refused to go away, 3 seasons in a row.
It kinda reminds me the FM2009 without patch – before the season is one month old, half of the first team squad gone to the treatment table.
Andez, sorry to say, God has nothing to with this. LOL.
Conceding stupid goals is what CHOKERS do. Remember how Spurs also do it a lot and we used to laugh at them?
Infact thinking of it a lot of teams concede stupid goals against us too! Why because they are either of inferior quality or they choked under the pressure. Simple.
The injury bug is ALL WENGERS FAULT.
Wenger designed a BIGGER pitch. But at the same time he started buying and progressing SMALLER and SLOWER players.
Before 90% of our team were over 6 ft tall, robust AND fast. And they were even playing on a smaller ground.
Wenger inexplicably made the pitch much bigger while reducing the teams physical size and pace.
Whose fault is that???? Wenger.
And it is also Wenger’s fault for going into a season counting on injured players to perform. Thats what he did last season when he was talking shit about Rosicky and Eduardo being like “new signings”.
So dont talk crap about us being “out of luck” or all that jazz.
I wonder what you will say if Song gets injured and we start being fragile defensively again? Will you blame God for Song being injury prone or will you blame Wenger for not being a freaking backup for a very important position?
Honest Wayne strikes again. Penalty 2 in a matter of days.
What is it about our boys and injuries, now Djourou for he best part of the season!
Let’s hope that Verma and Gallas have really injury-free seasons.
“Life”
what goes around comes around!
Wayne, enjoy your season under the magnifying glass. After this pathetic ‘dive’ – wayne’s psyche took over, and proceeded to ‘bendtner’* every decent scoring opportunity.
(fyi – I like Bendtner & his playing style, so I must apologize to Nicky and all Arsenal fans; just seemed like an efficient way to describe wayne’s effort)
– my schadenfreude moment –
Nicky’s goal was exceptionally well-taken and his presence up front kept Portugal honest all game. And it looks like Ramsey’s been practicing with Denilson quite a bit (i.e., there was a touch of Brazilian flair to his pre-goal juggling).
I’m a hopeless optimist but I’m really beginning to think that this year the international stuff (world cup qualifiers) could help us. We’ve got (several) young players making their mark on the international stage and what they do on the pitch for us will only help them as the WC gets closer.
And on a related theme….It sure would be nice if the entire game lived in John Terry and Wayne Rooney’s fantasy world where nobody dives and everybody just plays on–but they couldn’t even keep it going in a freakin’ friendly against Slovenia!?! There will be backlash. After these statements and the absurd Eduardo decision I there’s going to be that much more scrutiny placed upon the English National team and the other English club teams as the WC and CL tournaments progress. It’s been said that the reffing in the CL tends to be more like the Premiership, at the expense of the continental teams. We shall see, but I think we’re gonna see a bit of a reversal here and the end of 3 out of 4 English teams in the semis.
Can’t wait for the real football to start back up and worried that Rosicky didn’t make the bench for the Czechs….
please watch aaron ramseys goal against italy U21 what a legend in the making lol!
http://www.footytube.com/video/rai-tre-europei-under-21-goal-al-volo-di-ramsey-galles-italia-2-1-4-09-2009-full-screen-16-9-hq-21843
Very nice goal. The kid looks bright. What someone said about the pecking order is right though. Denilson, Diaby and Song (probably in that order) will get most of the playing time this season. Ramsey and Wilshere will play if others are injured or the game is secure/inconsequential.
Previously, it was a case of buying experienced players will kill the youth. Now it is a case of 21-24 year olds killing 18-21 year olds. Kind of weird. :)
Lets play Benfik Afobe then .. every game. And Sanchez Watt.. and Kyle Bartley while we’re at it. I mean 19-23 is the age when a lot of players mature.. right? And realise they need to play to improve? A 16-17 year old does have a lot to learn still. Even freaks like Cesc couldn’t play each and every game. AW though has become a little more adventurous in the last 2 years.. not much mind you but definitely more than usual.
Not the first time Ramsey scored a stunner from long range. And some said he’s less ATTACKING minded than Wilshere!
We played well.. hence there wasn’t anything else to moan about ;)
Gallas has also scored more goals than most of our midfield…..am sure in your AKB mind he is a more attacking option for you than say….a backup attacking midfielder.
Oh yeah Fred, first Gallas was a starter.
I thought you were moaning about the subs.
Well, but had Gallas being the subs, yes, I’d have brought him on if we were trailing in a match with 15 mins left. Well, at least he’s useful on setpieces, and from time to time has scored some important goals for us ;)
Wayne “HONEST” Rooney won yet another penalty. With players as HONEST as Wayne, who needs cheaters?
Correction: Bendtner’s goal was a beauty.
Bendtner and RvP score for their respective countries. Bendtner goals was a beauty. Fellas, bring those shooting boots back to Arsenal.
If you play for Arsenal – you will be accused of diving. This time its Jack Wilshere for the U21 team against Macedonia:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/09/05/1482355/arsenal-and-england-starlet-jack-wilshere-in-diving
This is not yet confirmed, but if true, shows why we need depth.
http://goonertalk.com/2009/09/05/djourou-out-for-6-months/
As always our trophy hopes hang by the injury free thread.
JUst thought I would mention that the Champion’s Leauge squad has been updated:
http://bit.ly/GvqT3
Based on this article two very interesting things stand out
1. Walcott is listed as “B” team member
2. Vela is listed as an “A” team member
Bendtner also “B” team member.
Obviously John Terry never seen Ashley Young play. IMO Ashley Young is the Premiership’s reigning King of Divers, worse than any “Johnny Foreigners”.
I wonder how Terry’s non-English teammates would be thinking following his statement.
England a honest nation? If so, then why there hasn’t been ONE single Englishman coming out and admit their goal in World Cup 1966 did NOT cross the line?
I think it’s true, England as a nation, historically speaking, hold sportsmanship and the spirit of fair play to high regard. Which is something I admire.
But when comes to footballers, if they think they are more HONEST than the foreign players, they are already lying.
It’s easy to forget that many professional footballers are relatively uneducated, simple and often crass chaps. Getting paid squillions just allows them to remain as such and avoids any need for them to improve their intellect. So the comments from buffons like Terry and Rooney need to be seen in that light. Don’t take them seriously.
It’s what I’ve been talking about, the good honest british yeoman type. When you are confronted with this, you appreciate again why Arsene has steadfastly avoided building his dressing room around this type of thick-sh*t mindset. One can’t blame him.
I had to post these quotes from John Terry about England lads not diving and blaming it on a foreign mentality entering the English game.
“That’s not the way we play, we’re a very honest country and it’s a very honest league we play in,” Terry said on the issue of diving which has been such a hot topic in the last two weeks.
“If players have that in the back of their mind they shouldn’t be playing football. That’s not the position. English players go out there to win the game. There’s no diving, they’re not trying to kick key players they might come up against. They’re thinking about one thing and that’s winning the game for Chelsea or Liverpool or Man United or whoever.
“Diving is something the England lads don’t do. Sometimes we’re too honest. Even in the Premier League, we see the English lads get a bit of contact and try to stay on their feet and score from the chance. The foreign mentality coming in is ‘any little clip you can go tumbling over’, because the speed of the game nowadays. I think the Eduardo one was a dive, we can all see that and it’s disappointing to see because Arsenal are a quality side and I don’t think they want to be portrayed like that.”
I don’t think I needed more of a reason to dislike JT but I do. He obviously think’s Rooney is a saint. And that Darren Fletcher isn’t intentionally out to hurt someone when he goes studs up.
I wonder how Chelsea’s foreign contingent would feel about his comments?
Jesus, what a bigot. It’s Xenophobic and ignorant comments like these that should be reviewed by UEFA. He should be placed on the top-10 Most Wanted list of FIFA’s anti-racism office, as well as the anti-racism campaign founded by Henry. What an ass, he must be good friends with Aragones.
http://aculturedleftfoot.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/guest-post-the-establishments-anti-arsenal-bias-is-a-blessing-in-disguise/
best article this season…..makes so much sense ….and as arsenal supporters this is what we must do!!…
ARSENE KNOWS!!!
I read that article as well and liked it. I would be pretty nice if the Arsenal supporters could fall in behind AW and the team and be that 12th man. Certainly if the team realizes some of its potential (wins some trophies) I think we’ll see the
Emirates become a real fortress–at least until the next stumble….
One of the things that instantly attracted me to Arsenal and what AW was/is trying to do is that it was so extremely different from the regular culture of English football. We are blinded by our love of the team, but it’s easy to see why the traditional English football fan would hate all that we represent. The skill, the insistence on attractive football and the cosmopolitan, multi-cultural nature of the team rubs against everything that the typical English football fan (tribal, ‘ard, call it what you will) believes. Oh well. This is our lot….I can handle it.
As for the substantive issues discussed–the anti AW chants and the Eduardo dive. The former just shows what cretins the ManU fans are. Pesonally that particular chant doesn’t seem to bother AW too much so I don’t get too righteous about it. I’m far more repelled by monkey noises (anti-black), and hissing noises and seig-heils (anti-jewish) and other forms of rascist/anti-semitic abuse. I hope these eventually disappear completely and are absolutely not tolerated among our supporters.
In my gut I feel that the Dudu diving will end up working for us and I hope the idiots at UEFA back themselves into a corner and uphold the 2 match suspension–which will utterly piss off their own officials who are standing by their call on the pitch. As long as we don’t act like idiots (i.e., Eboue diving vs ManU) the CL officials will be eager to right the wrong that has been brought upon us. If I were Drogba or Ronaldo or Rooney (or their managers) I’d think long and hard before going to ground against us when we meet them in the elimination rounds.
Steve…..strong point:
“We are blinded by our love of the team, but it’s easy to see why the traditional English football fan would hate all that we represent.”
It seems every aspect of our lives gets polarized among society. Marketing our players and clubs onto some pedestal of saint hood, we avoid any search for middle ground for their transgressions. (very applicable to politics & religion)
The extreme has become the norm and the end product sadly produces “blind hatred”.
Regardless of the UEFA decision, Eduardo will come out on top.
Indeed, it’s fairly sad, and real debate gets lost. Right now I’ve got my in-laws staying with us and my father-in-law is pretty deeply on the opposite end of the health-care debate from my own position….:-)
As for Eduardo, only time will tell. I sure hope he can start banging in the goals. He seems to have the “striker’s mentality” and if he can bounce back from the Taylor’s horror tackle this diving thing should be nothing. It’s a story that’s only beginning and I hope it ends with his testimonial as an Arsenal legend and 100+ goals…..
Andez, I’m hopeful that Denilson and a few others in the 21-23 age bracket may deliver more mature and consistent performances this season. Part of that will rely on the team providing a better platform, early days but I see reason for hope that Vermaelen/Song/Gallas may provide the defensive aspect of that. I also think 4-3-3 shares around the responsibility in midfield and attack more than 4-4-2. That probably suits our emerging team as well.
If we can put in a genuinely competitive effort in the EPL, win something, and look as though we’re progressing as a team I’ll be pleased. If that transpires, I think next season will be very interesting.
I’m not totally sold on Denilson but after his trial by fire last season he certainly looks better this time around. It doesn’t hurt that he scored a corker to open our season!
Agree that our 4-3-3 and the VSG (Vermaelen/Song/Gallas) central defense ought to play to our strengths. If there’s one thing a young team should be able to do it’s outwork (outrun) the opposition. Keeping the team intact over the summer and Cesc (the linchpin) having a full pre-season should result in our attacking players instinctively covering for each other. Additionally the young players have all had enough pitch time in the hostile/high pressure environments (including the Emirates) that they know what to expect. Against the lesser teams we SHOULD be able to create tons more chances than we allow and hopefully that translates to some relatively stress free victories.
The more difficult games will be the ones against the other big teams. Already we’ve only beaten ourselves (ManU) and that’s something the younger players will need to overcome (Diaby). If we can play a few of these teams right off the pitch (ManCity in 8 days?) it will build confidence but a whole new type of pressure. And that’s where our older, more experienced heads (hopefully) can lead us forward.
@kiwi, totally agree with your analysis on Denilson.
I am getting to like this kid more and more. As so far he has been a quiet, unassuming young lad who keep his mouth shut and just going out there doing his job.
And the fact that he’s not with Brazil national team is no shame either. Afterall, we are talking about BRAZIL!! In last month’s 442, when being asked why he opted to play for Croatia, Eduardo said because you need to be playing for Real Madrid in order to play for Brazil! And despite enjoying a hero status in Croatia, he’s relatively an unknown at his home nation – Brazil.
Then if we look at Juninho, a few seasons ago he was a sensation with Lyon. Yet he too found himself struggling to break into national team.
Not through for the DM position.
Lucas who is non-first team Liverpool player gets called up.
The thing about Brazil is that they have a lot of flair players, so they are looking for CMs who can tackle……ANY whatsoever.
Unfortunately Denilson can not tackle. So he is categorized as a “flair” player….unfortunately he can not dream to compete in that department.
Lucas on the other hand can tackle even though he is average.
Conclusion. Denilson will most likely never get called up, no matter how many injuries there are.
I understand this chant has been a feature at OT for, oh, about a decade or so. Football has its ugly sides, and this is one of them.
What is interesting with this and the Eduardo sensationalism is how things turn from being acceptable to unacceptable in an instant. Arsene has had to endure such public humiliation at OT for a decade and ManU (and the authorities) have done precious little…..until now of course that they feel the heat of public pressure may turn against them.
Similarly players have fallen or dived all over the place again and again on football fields for decades but for no rational reason it is Eduardo who when awarded a soft penalty is elevated to be coverboy for UEFA’s campaign against cheats and deceivers.
UEFA need to reflect on their performance. It smacks of randomness. Football needs to look at itself more critically – in recent days we’ve seen again much of the rotten behaviour that makes a mockery of this being the beautiful game. Vile baseless chants against one of the games premier managers, ad hoc and inconsistent disciplinary action, crowd violence, grotesque remmuneration levels, cynical disloyalty by players, all of these things need addressing.
Awhile ago, maybe a year or more, someone from the Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association based in London posted on the AA site asking us to subscribe to the AISA fanzine about Arsenal. Anyways, I ended up on their email list and have never taken the time to unsubscribe.
To the point:
In today’s email was the following piece:
Thousands of Arsenal fans have expressed their disgust at online seller Amazon cashing in on the vile song sung about Arsene Wenger, which is especially associated with a section of Manchester United followers.
Many Arsenal supporters have already written to Amazon, but have been fobbed off with a standard letter using so-called ‘freedom of speech’ arguments. Others have adopted guerilla tactics against Amazon and it remains to be seen whether court action will be taken as a result.
Members of AISA have submitted an emergency motion to the Association’s annual general meeting, being held at Highbury on 11 September. AISA Secretary, Paul Matz, says:
“Singing of this song has long been the unacceptable face of Manchester United. By approving the sales of this download Amazon has created outrage and we call on them to reverse their decision. Amazon should donate to charity all the profits they have made from their apalling misjudgement.
“We welcome the condemnation of the song by Manchester United FC and call on them to make it clear that it will no longer be allowed at Old Trafford.”
-Apparently the song was sung while Arsene was standing in the OT crowd… anyone know the gist of this song? I haven’t been able to find anything.
the song refers to AW as a pedophile that’s the gist of it anyway
I see ex-ref Poll defending the match-day officials who sent off Arsene. Idiot. There is something smelly about Poll’s unofficial role of ex-ref commentator. I mean, who cares what he thinks? And if he honestly thinks that incident was appropriate – it kinda shows the problem football has in getting officials to officiate in the spirit of the game.
His references to ‘the law’ are particularly sad. Football is a game, not life, and ‘the law’ to which he refers is actually the ‘rules’ and is simply there as a framework in which the game is to be played. Arsene kicking a bottle at no-one is a non-issue, the timing of the occurance just makes it even more absurd. The fact Poll can’t see this makes him a moron. His references to the 4th official might have been tired of Arsene – is like whacko.
Why do we have these 4th officials? Their role has always been a source of bemusement to me. To me, they seem to be there as as an alternative source for the managers to vent their spleen. It’s like the federation of coaches and assistant managers petitioned the authorities and asked for a 4th official to make their life a little more pleasant on the bench during games.
re: Poll
he rarely got it right b4, so now most people discount his remarks.
Poll stick :)
I’m a bit unclear on the issues surrounding Chelsea and their transfer ban.
I’m sure there is a need to regulate what happens with young players who are no more than school children, yet I’m getting the sense that Platini is a tad random and disorderly in the manner in which he is implementing his thinking.
Unless there is a lot more to it, I tend to agree with Chelsea that the punishment is disproportionate to the crime…..whatever exactly the crime is???
I doubt Platini had much to do with this, though I admit I’m unfamiliar with the hard details of the case. But considering it was a FIFA ban, I doubt UEFA had too much to do with it.
I think we know they aren’t your favourites Fred ;-)
Silv was a mystery purchase. I can only think Arsene was intoxicated by his Frenchness.
Denilson is 21, last season the lad was literally thrown in the sea and told to swim. I feel for him, players are often victims of timing and circumstance. He isn’t a natural DM, yet he was asked to play that role in a struggling team in front of a dysfunctional CB pairing. I like the fact he doesn’t mouth off, that he has continued to apply himself and there is a measure of dignity in his manner. It’s really very early days in this season, yet in a team functioning more solidly he has played ok. As for not being on international duty…..making the Brazilian team is a relatively high benchmark don’t you think?
Almunia is a bargain GK, blame Arsene. I actually think he has done ok and is likely to continue to improve slowly each season. GK is one of the positions that are truly isolated, you are under the microscope for every goal. For that reason I tend to go with George Graham’s thinking, and to buy the best you possibly can. Interestingly though, even Ferguson with all his millions and with no issues about spending chose to buy an old-fart. Maybe the David Seamans in their prime simply aren’t available.
Actually making the Brazil team as a CM or DM isnt as hard as you may think.
I mean utter planks get called up. Even folks like Lucas at Liverpool (who is Denilson’s age) and isnt a first teamer gets called up over Denilson.
As you say, at least he does not mouth off. I give Denilson that.
Same can not be said for Almunia, who not only mouths off nonsense, but is utterly brainless. Its all good though.
Am quite reconciled to another fourth place finish and no trophies.
Silvestre, Denilson and Almunia are literally the ONLY non-injured players still at the Arsenal camp this week. Literally!
Even folks like Senderos, Merida, Gibbs, Woszniiweij (4th place keeper), Vito Mannone, Ramsey and Wilshere are on international duty.
The incompetence of those 3 certainly does not escape their national team coaches.
Being a football journalist (or a stenographer in some cases) is such a cushy profession. Every hour of the day, there is a tabloid headline to report and spin!
Thank you Chelski for now jumping to the front of the queue!
Yeah kiwi i’m not convinced that would be his starting trio when Song leaves well atleast I hope not because against pompey we had Nasri out and also we shouldnt exactly be afraid of them scoring goals on us because they look so poor on paper with all their losses this off-season
In my opinion the reason Wenger brought in denilson last season was because of the loss of Hleb and Rosicky…he needed to keep some piece of the passing and possession game alive and with those two “spice boys” gone it really was going to be difficult.
Therefore Denilson was put in an awkward position I do not think Wenger is foolish enough to believe Denilson is the best Dm option we had last year but simply a compromise and I think anyone has to admit Denilson did a solid job all things consider (age, position, etc).
This goes under the heading of “YOu think we have it bad.”
This article claims that FIFA has banned Chelsea from signing any players in the next 2 years transfer windows.
Something about tapping up a player from France:
http://bit.ly/u2eoY
And here I thought we were the slapping dumming this year.
But then I wonder why they weren’t banned from tapping up Cashley Gold?
Wouldn’t be surpised the banned get reduced after Chelsea’s appeal though.
Still even if its reduced to 1 yr. Ancelotti now has to win with a group he didn’t build are shape and if they get hurt during the AfCoN then they are so screwed.
I was wondering the same thing re: the Cashley incident. I’ve read nothing other than MB chat suggesting it had to with the kid’s age (at the time).
It’ll definitely be reduced, just hopefully not to the point of meaninglessness.
If they use the model established for ROMA, the CAS will lower it to be just through the summer 2010 window.
Curiously, I think FIFA does mention, past infractions. So I wonder if Cashley was part of their decision to go with such a harsh ban?
Either way if any part of the ban is upheld through the Jan window the effects of the AfCoN could be monsterous on a Chelsea title run. (I am just speculating).
As for the why – he was 16 at the time.
i hope at least to sustain the ban to one year even if they are going to reduce it.
The summer window ban is the killer.
Yeah, Arsenal has been suffering for a couple of seasons now, as the result of ours. Oh, wait…. ;-)
Agreed, of course. At least one Summer. And no paperwork shenanigans that mean it only effectively winds up being effective January only.
Wow, Chelsea are now banned from making any signing until January 2011!
Has anyone ever heard a better joke than this!
“Scotland international Craig Gordon believes Eduardo’s two-match ban for diving against Celtic was “worth it” because it helped to secure Arsenal a place in the lucrative group stages of the Champions League.”
LOL! For those who didn’t know the final scoreline, they might have thought we edged past Celtic by pk-shootout!
Denial…not just river in Egypt. ;)
If it was worth it, then why didn’t some Celtic player dive?
Oh, I get it. Aiden McGeady is not that sort of a chap.
No. Nor that nice Wayne Rooney.
Over the years I think we should have a clear idea of AW’s transfer policy by now. Two words – NO COMPROMISE.
No one could accuse him for lack of trying. He did. His targets are either not willing to come, or being priced out of market. Take Chamakh, 6 months later he’s free to do a “Bosman”. Bordeaux asked for 12 mil? Just because Real and City the likes spent their money this way doesn’t mean everyone else is equally stupid.
So why not settle for 2nd best? I think we need to look into AW’s mentality. Not that anyone of us know him personally. But most of us did follow Arsenal under AW for 13 years. So we should have had a rough idea of the way of his thinking by now –
AW is the soft of manager who either has FAITH in a player or he’s not. And when he doesn’t have enough faith in a player, he won’t play him. As simple as that.
In the cases of Gilberto, Lehmann, Senderos, he had back them up through thick and thin over years. But once he started losing faith in them, they became history.
Francis Jeffers was another example. I had my doubt that whether Wenger really WANTED to sign him at the first place. Wenger signed Jeffers following a season when Henry went public saying Arsenal needed a “fox in the box”. And it was also about the time AW was under heavy pressure from the media suggesting he never bought English.
Yet Jeffers never looked like Wenger’s type of player to me. And back in those days AW were building a team based heavily on athleticism. Most of his signings were either quick or strong.
So IMO AW was making a compromise to please the English media and his star player Henry. Well, at least a certain degree of compromise.
A lot of ex-Gunners at the past had claimed they never got a fair chance. I disagree. The likes of Bentley simply did not deserve a chance back in his days.
Jeffers, however, was one player I felt that he never got a fair chance from Wenger. Injury or not, Wenger rarely played him. That got me to believe AW didn’t really have FAITH in Jeffers.
When you look at Bendtner. Some of his performances early last season was simply horrible. Yet AW never stopped believing in him. And kept playing him.
Based on that, it’s not difficult to foresee what’s going to happen if AW is going out there to just sign a player for the sake of it, and whom he doesn’t have full faith in that guy.
That’s the way it is. We just have to accept it, like it or not. Bottom line is – of most of his major sigings in recent years (I am not talking about the free transfer signings), they turned out to be the real deals.
That, IMO, is what really matters – it’s not about how many players we sign, it’s about how GOOD they are.
Live by the faith, die by the faith.
That’s what great managers have in common – a unshakable belief in their own methods, to hell wit what the rest of the world say.
Brian Clough, Ferguson, Mourinho, Wenger, George Graham… None of those successful top flight English football managers ever listened to ANYONE but themselves.
Those managers who did, never won anything.
“live by the faith, die by the faith”
I actually quite enjoy AWs style of looking for options within the team as frustrating as it might be sometimes when we know we could use a player it’s always interesting to see whos going to have a run into the team
Also ever since I started playing Manager mode in Fifa way back in the day…it was always my strategy to buy young and watch’em grow…its just too bad time moves so slow in real life =P lol
You saw that when Song was rested recently for Portsmouth the midfield trio was: Diaby/Denilson/Fabregas
So Denilson in theory played the defensive-minded role, and is likely to again. Of course, as we saw and as we know Denilson is not a defensive minded player. He’s more a midfield alrounder more like Fabregas than Song. So with the best will in the world we lost that natural defensive focus that Song provides.
I watched that game with great interest and it was no surprise that the whole team performance was much more ‘loose’. Sure we won 4-1 yet the solidity that was so refreshingly apparent in the other games had vanished.
So the answer to Song’s replacement is “Denilson” probably. Is that a disaster? Dunno, maybe. It depends on how we are travelling when Song goes. And indeed, it presupposes Song maintains his impressive form and is still seen as critical!
Why didn’t Arsene buy a DM?
You likely won’t like the answer….
It’s primarily because he is committed to the troupe of Denilson, Diaby, Song, Ramsey and Nasri. If you remember he is quite regimented to picking the most ‘senior’ player for a role. So if he has a guy like RvP or Arshavin, more often than not he’ll pick him. So if he buys a capable DM he knows he will feel compelled to pick him ahead of the younger players.
The other aspect of Wenger’s thinking that we need to keep in mind is his concept that the team is corporately responsible. We look for individual answers to specific problems within the team. But Wenger looks firstly for the team to find an answer. That’s why he persevered with Gallas & Toure when almost everyone could see they were an awkward couple. Ditto Fabregas and Denilson. He thinks that intelligent players will work out the problem and find a solution. Sometimes that works, sometimes not.
Yet the key lesson fans can deduce is that Wenger is not of a mind to buy a solution. That is a last resort. Take Vermaelen, I see him as a last resort, purchased only after Wenger new that Toure was leaving. And critically at 23, an Ajax graduate, and at 10m, he matched all the requirements of being a good buy in Wengers eyes.
Signing Arshavin? He is an interesting one. I still believe that Wenger had mixed feelings on his signing, and would not have been unduly upset to have missed out (remember the hardball over his fee). For me Arshavin was a borderline signing. He may have been signed in part to compensate for the ongoing injury concerns over RvP, Eduardo and Rosicky collectively (and even Walcott), i.e. one player provided a degree of cover for all of these players. I also think he was reaction-signing a pacifier for the masses. A flair player, a glamour player that took a little ‘now’ pressure from Wenger and the squad. I honestly don’t think Wenger sees Arshavin as a player he will build the team around – whilst most managers would.
We can expect signings like Vermaelen, Arshavin, Sagna and Eduardo to be relatively few…..maybe one per season. They are simply to add a flavouring of experience to the home-developed squad. And they are rarely answers to specific problems. And even after all that they are normally off-radar as well. LOL
I don’t get what AW is thinking in terms of DM and it is annoying me to no end! lol When Song goes to ACN what happens? He seemed to give up on the denilson/Cesc combo late last yr or did I just imagine that =S
Maybe Sami Nasri? lol
Indeed, there is no way we can rely on Tomas as such. His contribution is supplementary, an extra option that would be gratefully received.
If the miracle we all hope for happens, and he stays fit, his importance to the team may grow as the season progresses. Sadly no-one knows.
Slightly off topic, it never fails to amaze me how self obsessed players are, the fact Tomas thinks he should play for his country before playing for Arsenal beggars belief. With his status as one of the lowest return players in our history…..
It’s this type of attitude that makes me view players firstly as resources with little sentimentality. Ocassionally A Thierry Henry comes along, who for many years provided outstanding service without fuss. But Henry was rare.
” it never fails to amaze me how self obsessed players are, the fact Tomas thinks he should play for his country before playing for Arsenal beggars belief.”
Yeah, I don’t get that, either. Especially given his specific circumstances.
I wish our Tomas no ill will, but after offering Arsenal such a limited contribution, you’d have thought he might want his first few games back to be with the club!!!
Everyone is right to be concerned about Tomas’ reliabilty.
Maybe Wenger did not want Tomas’ 1st match back to be against Fletcher & the other Manchester Barbarians.
Rosicky is 29 and his playing productivity is maybe for 3 years. Arsenal is a club that best fits his style of play.
He definitely adds ‘leadership’ and ‘experience’, LIKE ARSHAVIN AND EDUARDO.
For me the most dynamic players on our roster THAT I WANT TO WATCH are: Arshavin, Eduardo, Rosicky, Cesc, Song, & Vermaelen. 2nd tier: Nasri, Wilshere, and Vela.
Our other players can develop their game and confidence exponentially playing alongside the 1st tier group!
What is it about Rosicky that turns my fellow realists into such HOs (TM, arthur)? I see many who factor Tomas’ skill set into AFC’s run this year. He seems to be a central part of the rationalizations as to why AW signed no MF depth. People seem pretty sure we’ll have the Tomas Rosicky from two years ago back on the pitch, sometime very soon. I am genuinely asking, where do you find your optimism?
I’ll be thrilled to see him in red and white again. And I’ll be holding my breath that he doesn’t break down every time he takes a run. We really need all this belief in him to be validated. I don’t mean this to be snide or disrespectful, just looking at the recent evidence, that’s as optimistic as I can get about TR. ;-)
Speaking of non-signings, part of me is surprised Wenger is appealing Eduardo’s ban. It robs him of the opportunity of saying “And when we get Eduardo back from his suspension, he will be like a new signing. That is why don’t need to buy in January.” ;-)
In the Wenger manager handbook, you can only use the ‘new signing’ card once a season / per player.
As Arsenal prepares to appeal the Eduardo decision, read this article in the Telegraph. I was impressed by the fan comments which followed. Great insight.
As I said earlier, I think FIFA will step in and influence UEFA to change its position on Eduardo. I believe something will evolve that addresses this glaring problem. It is a technique that the better players practice! Now is the time to implement oversight procedures that correct poor officiating, missed calls, or great acting.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/6126226/Eduardo-dive-debate-are-Uefa-right-to-retrospectively-ban-Arsenal-striker.html
If you can’t click on the link, then copy and paste.
Interesting thing is after you said UEFA had opened a can of worm, Wenger came out and saying the same thing the next day.
Fans and professional managers rarely see things from a same perspective.
When they do, it proves that it’s such a COMMON SENSE only the football authority (who get paid for coming up with bad decisions, bad ideas) fail to see it.
Club is reporting that Denilson and Bendtner have both signed new long term deals
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/danish-forward-signs-new-long-term-deal
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/denilson-signs-a-new-long-term-contract
That is where all the money for transfers went. ;)
“New signings”
I know this sort of thing angers some of the people on this board but….If we trust in what the club is doing (i.e. Arsene) then it is perhaps money well spent. For example: Not only did we make 40 million pounds when we sold Ade, but we also freed up 80,000 a week=4 mil+ pounds/year. If the players are solid and help us to success it makes it harder for other teams to swoop in and match their salaries. Many will complain that we shouldn’t reward unproven players with large contracts but, a “proven” older player can get crocked just as easily as a younger one and there is something to be said about not being over-dependent on any one or two or three guys….
It all depends on our success as a team. I believe it was David St. Hubbins who said, “there’s such a fine line between clever and stupid….”
No it was my wife that said that.
Really though I think both are good players. Logically they should improve. At my job for example if I stay 4 years in the same place, I’m better now than I was when I joined. Coz everything’s familiar. So hope these guys improve too. I’m not too cut up about lack of transfers, though I did expect Chamakh to move.
re: CB & holding midfield
Senderos will be a reliable back up at CB; initially more dependable than Djourou (this year)
and certainly above Sylvestre.
Diaby – he has moments of brillance that is offset by his holding the ball 1 touch too long; if he had the discipline to play defense, he would be a terrific option for Arsenal.
Djourou – I thought I read that his natural position is holding midfielder. Maybe he is in Arsene’s plans as back up for Song? He has impressed me with soft touch and composure with the ball at his feet. More playing time is mandatory for development.
Arsene will not play Senderos ahead of Silvestre. :(
Silvestre, when he plays will be at left back – not at CB.
After watching this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL9fbj0XkKk
I can say that I don’t regret NOT signing Chamakh. Some of the opportunities this guy misses in the video – wow.
Not surprised at all with the no signings. I think all of us expected it. 2 first eleven left and 1 came in. That gives us a negative value in mathematical sense, but then again this is football. Somebody needs to step up big time. Can not do a Diaby for sure, one day good one day disastrous. Can not depend totally on 1 guys because if that guy goes down, all hell breaks loose.
To me, standing pat at the transfer deadline is OK. Obviously we need to be reasonably fortunate when it comes to injuries and we have to hope that our younger players continue to progress and most importantly gain confidence (Ramsey seemed overawed in his debut at Old Trafford I thought—and of course Diaby….) Real and Citeh twisted the market so extremely and we took advantage of it. In retrospect, the only business that made sense would have to have been done before those two teams plowed their money in.
So, to reflect upon the changes…if we buy that Vermaelen replaces Toure and Arshavin replaces Ade we made good money on both deals, will not suffer during the ACN and improved team morale. Of course Vermaelen for Toure makes sense (he seems way better, allows Gallas to play on his preferred right side, is 5 years younger, etc.). AA for Ade is certainly not like for like, but, to me, Arshavin is at a whole other level of quality than Ade and brings a much preferred mentality to the team. Clearly, however, Ade with a good “adetude” would’ve been a nice thing to hold onto given that we’re trying this 4-3-3. I more or less agree (as others here have made the case) that he wasn’t really smart enough to figure out how to work with our other attacking options, but we miss his size and his occasional brilliance. Nobody can say that he wasn’t a handful for defenders. Hopefully RVP, Dudu and Bendtner can get the job done, and, of course, I hope Vela gets a shot in there as well. The scariest rumor I saw on Deadline Day was that Carlos might be going to Fulham on loan.
Already looking forward to the ManCity match and thinking that it’s almost inevitable that how we fare will hinge on the players bought and sold and discussed above. Having bungled as we did in our last visit up there we now need a commanding performance and a result, but pressure here in the early season will only help later (if we can conquer it).
I too wondered why (Arshavin) left the ManU match. He’s one player that we have seen can score at will, even at the 90 minute mark. (if he is out for City, I will watch intently to see who from Arsenal steps up to provide scoring for us OR if we struggle like last fall)
I see Arshavin on the pitch as our greatest confidence builder for the balance of the team!
I never saw Arshavin a replacement for Ade, but the midfield replacement for Hleb!
What do you think?
Just before AA23 goes off – he is running down the right side and slows up holding his right thigh. It was after reching for a ball.
I don’t think he is replacement for Ade either because he is m uch more creative with the ball and his ability is much greater.
Look at the missed shot where he goes for the upper right corner. Brilliant. 1 ft over and its in. Ade wold’ve been a mile a way on that shot.
Arsha has also said he’s not in shape for a full 90 right now.
Yea Vibe I read that but could not believe.
Hleb was pretty unique as a dribbler who could maintain possession while teammates found attacking positions. AA is a scorer and quick-minded assist maker. If anything I think AW was maybe thinking he could replace Rosicky when he bought Andrey.
I keep thinking that if we can get (what I remember of) Rosicky, Cesc and AA on the pitch together it might be pretty nice….
I think Rosicky’s contract end in 2010 summer. Arsenal’s luck with injuries is such that I would not be surprised if he gets fit just in time for a free move away from the club.
Steve, agree about Hleb, but I see Arshavin with same ability to hold the ball, just a different style.
Regardless both extended the durations of our build up through midfield.
This international break can be seen to work for our benefit.
No lost matches for Theo, Djourou, Vela and Nasri. When Arsenal return to action, some are able to soon be options as starters.
Cesc and Rosicky need to see action during this break and regain lost fitness so that upon return, their influence is maximized.
I was thinking the exact same thing about Cesc and Rosicky. If they could get a little game time and come through unscathed AND maybe convince Arsene that they should pair up at ManCity….well, my mouth waters at the prospect.
To the other list (of the injured and unavailable for international duty) we might have to add our little big man (Andrey Arshavin) who is fighting an aggravated groin strain. http://arsenalanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/08/arshavin-ready-to-fly-back-to-london.html
This worries me…AA23 is obviously tough as nails (witness his awesome goal after Fletcher’s uncalled penalty on him) and it appears he was fighting the injury for a while before aggravating it late in the last game. After last season we know that we are a very different team with Arshavin so I’m keeping my fingers crossed….
Well, needless to say, I think Arsene has once again left us short. Eboue, Denilson, Diaby are going to play far too often this season and they are going to make far too many pea-brained decisions in important moments for us to win anything of note.
So that will be six years without a major trophy.
What does interest me is the form of Cocquelin in the reserves. He looks brilliant, as does Merida. The problem is it will take these two at least a year to penetrate Wenger’s pecking order, so expect to see Ramsay keep playing again and again despite being very average imo.
Shame.
The Mazza manual for Arsenal success. Pick kids from everywhere and play them. Champion them for 5 games and then call them useless when they have a drop and call the manager incompetent for ever having bought them at all.
No seriously.. you cant just play 16-17 year olds regularly. They’ll wilt under pressure. And lets not say Cesc played when he was 16.. you can play the occasional game ..maybe 10 a season if you’re exceptional.. nothing beyond that.
Having said that Andez; very early days but Vermaelen looks to be (fingers crossed and crossed again) close to a complete package. Good in the air, good on the ground , quick and good distribution.
:crosses fingers again and again.. well u get it :D
Yeah. Rosicky was like that too when he arrived :). All the best to that man.
I find it odd that City decided to sell Richard Dunne. I am with Kiwi, Toure/Gallas partnership was never a successful one. They were too similiar. It’s not ideal to have two similiar type of players to partner in CB and in attack.
Toure rose to scene partnering Sol Campbell at the back. And it was also his best season as a CB IMO.
The Toure/Dunne partnership would be ideal for City IMO. Now they have Lescott, who isn’t exactly a towering CB, instead of Dunne.
If they are going to play Toure/Lescott together, I believe they will be encountering the same problem as Arsenal did at the past – vulnerable in the air. Especially when you consider Shay Given isn’t a tall ‘keeper either.
So that’s it. No transfers on deadline day. Not surprized but that didn’t stop me for hoping. I even kept checking a few hours after the deadline passed in case some transfer papers were sitting in a fax machine which was not accessible to the league or something.
Not sure if the international break is good or not. The big negative is there would be the usual injuries that crop up. On the positive side, maybe the team will forget the Man Utd cheating incident and head back to face the real Manchester team (ouch intended) with a positive outlook.
I am hoping the break is also good because there are bad memories of the past when Arsenal were cheated at Old Trafford in 2004, they only won one of their next 5 league games. And then there was that Eduardo incident and we all know what happened in the next few games. Although one can find positives in even bleak data. 3 days after Arsenal were robbed on Oct 24, Arsenal traveled to the City of Manchester stadium and won 2-1 against Man City. With the exception of SWP, the Man City team then was completely different (ofcourse). Arsenal’s young league cup team in that 2004 fixture featured Almunia, Senderos, Djourou, Cesc & van Persie.
And, in a way looking forward to seeing Ade against Arsenal. You can be sure he will work hard and will be at his sharpest against Arsenal and will prompt queries about what happened last year. And he may not even get caught offside even once.
But all that comes a few decades later. First the international boredom will arrive. Although even the decade long international break can’t help erase the stupidity over this Eduardo ban…
Taylor’s tackle was cowardly. The way it was carried out minimised any risk to him and maximised the risk to Eduardo. The result? A 3 match ban. So a career-threatening tackle gets a 3 match ban. And the injured party endures 18 months of painful rehab and looses 18 months of his prime.
Fast-forward to now and the player after 18 months is making his first tentative steps in real play and he is the victim of a random 2 match ban for diving. UEFA, in their rarefied wisdom decide to make Eduardo the pin-up ‘cheat’ for a campaign that was never publicised. And all this after the referee refused to change his verdict – so UEFA ignore him.
The best thing we can do is win the CL and the EPL and for Eduardo to win the golden boot in addition to scoring in the CL final.
Best thing is for Arsenal to win the Appeal.
yes to all the things in the last line :) And I would like Eduardo to score a goal in the CL final with his behind, pointed in the direction of Platini. Ok, ok, that is asking too much. Even Dudu might not be able to do that..
after all, Dudu is not Gallas.
Yes, a goal like that would have to be from Gallas, and from a set-piece!
OFF TOPIC:
There’s been a virtual repeat of the Eduardo-Martin Taylor incident in the Belgian league. Not sure if anyone has heard about it, I only did just now. I’m not going to post a link to any videos, since I don’t know if people really want to see that kind of thing. It does however currently occupy the top 3 spots on YouTube’s most-viewed list if you want to see it.
The odd thing is the guy who gets hurt is a right-back and the one who makes the “tackle” is an attacking MF who was crowned the Belgian league’s MVP in 2008.
Something really needs to be done about this kind of thing. All the talk right now is about diving, and although that may be a more common problem, it’s consequences are much less severe. If anyone watches this video, you’ll see what I mean. It looks like this guy’s career could be done for good. But I’m warning anyone who watches it that it is very gruesome.
I like your narrative.
I think with Verma/Gallas we’re simply seeing an easier partnership – it works. Toure/Gallas never kept it together for a whole season, they had good periods, yes, but they weren’t a good combo.
Song amazes me. I have watched him particularly in these first few games and he has been top tier. He just looks a player in the zone. Can he maintain this? I dunno. But I’m reasonably hopeful given that the nature of this role is ‘supporting’, it is not an isolated role where the players confidence can be easily shattered. My biggest fear is that Arsene will remove him!!
Yet the key to me is that Song in front of Gallas/Verma makes everyone involved look better, and surely that is the objective.
I agree with your ‘inconsequential’ reference. That is what I mean by mix-n-match. 4-3-3 allows Wenger to use players that would otherwise look awkward in 4-4-2. Depending on your perspective, it either covers their inadequacies or maximises their ability!!
One of the keys to this season will be how much the ‘crocks’ contribute. RvP, Eduardo, Rosicky and you can add lesser-lights Walcott & Diaby, if they repay Arsene’s forebearance we have a greatly improved chance of a happy season.
Will we see this line-up? Fitness will likely determine that.
I agree, Song certainly gives hope for the younger set. As we know player development is not linear, it is lumpy.
I hope we taste success this season. If we do, and the team stays together, 2010/11 will see this first wave of home-developed players looking like men rather than boys. Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson, Song, Clichy, Bendtner will all look more mature and at home. In a sense they will have graduated. That could be interesting.
In saying this, the strategy Arsene is following is high-risk. I hope for Arsenal’s sake it bears fruit this season.
No surprise aye.
The 4-3-3 formation is allowing Arsene to mix-n-match his mix-n-match squad. He may even have stumbled upon a winning approach!
I’m liking that Verma/Gallas/Song axis. It’s really solid, there’s a balance and it allows Fabregas to play his game unencumbered. It also allows the fullbacks to play a freer game. It just makes sense, in the same way the Toure/Gallas partnership never made sense.
With the front 3 we need the same sort of balance, Arshavin is the man, for me Arshavin and Eduardo have the goods. RvP – dunno, he’s a slow season starter and if we’re honest he’s never really stamped his mark on a season despite all the praise. That trio is backed up with Bendtner and Walcott, ahem, anyway, whatever, Wenger likes them.
Nasri and Rosicky offer more genuine options. Nasri may well compete for Denilson’s starting slot. Rosicky, assuming he comes back, is likely to be rested regularly. He’ll be like RvP and Eduardo, unable to play 3 games in quick succession. So, he may well find himself moved around a bit, covering for players who are out or needing rest. There is no doubt, Rosicky is the goods and if he can stay fit, even accepting he won’t play evey game, he would give Arsene a lovely option.
A lineup like this would be well able to play Wenger-ball:
Rosicky/Eduardo/Arshavin
Nasri/Song/Fabregas
Clichy/Vermaelen/Gallas/Sagna
Almunia
Agree with a touch of disagreement.
re: Gallas/Verma/Song axis
Toure/Gallas were effective when Flamini was Cesc’s partner and Hleb and Rosicky were other midfield players! Then we lost Hleb & when Flamini moved to Milan, Toure/Gallas had Denilson in front for support. Their weaknesses were exploited by the better teams.
It was not until Cesc was hurt that Song was regularly positioned as the holding midfielder & even after Song played well and Cesc returned, Denilson (for awhile) was still 1st choice as Cesc’s partner. I do agree that Vermaelen has better instincts and a stronger discipline for defensive principles than Toure (AND Gallas).
re: 4-3-3
Arshavin, Eduardo, Rosicky, and Nasri are the best supporting players WITH Cesc in midfield and upfront. THEIR ARRANGEMENT IS INCONSEQUENTIAL. One or two of any from RvP, Theo, Bendtner, Vela, Diaby can be injected into the main mix – and overall performance should not suffer.
re: RvP
Agree – for all the hype, his game has too many peaks and valleys.
He is a disappointment for free kicks and is too easily upset; easily taken out of a match. Sometimes he reminds me of Ronaldo, whining about being fouled.
Completely agree with your starting 11. I wonder what the chances are that we will ever see this for a starting line up?
As we saw Song blossom last season, I’m optimistic for the same development from Djourou, Diaby, Theo, Bendtner, and Vela PLUS a reincarnation of Senderos.
Almunia is a totally separate discussion.
Well at this point I would suspect that nothing was done. We’re staying with the squad we have.
Hoh boy.
I believe the silence is a good omen.
At 12:01 (est), if no one was being signed, the club would have made the announcement.
why is it so quiet on transfer deadline day?
How much sound does air escaping from a balloon make?
lol
About as much noise as Arsenal makes in the transfer window
Really though no one bought a thing this summer if you discount City and Madrid.
Nice ‘to the point’ recap!
For Arsenal supporters its not the last transfer day, but suffering until the last transfer minute!
The real question: does Arsene really see anyone that can step in and raise the level of play – as the additions of Arshavin and Vermaelen.
– can he wait until end of January? would any addition in January really help our team in the cup competitions and League Play?
– Could not doing anything (previous position about our roster potential) seriously risk key players moving on in the summer!
– new additions could change the focus & tone of the current media spin.
Is it worth the investment to over pay a few million, if their are immediate team rewards? (as Arsene paid for Arshavin)
at 12:01 EST – there will be CLARITY.