Arsenal to go Welsh??

Two transfer stories (excluding the ongoing Nasri situation) that are surrounding Arsenal this morning both concern Welsh Internationals, something that is fairly surprising given the normal lack of British players of interest in Wenger’s eyes.

Firstly there is 21 year old Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey, who has been in impressive form throughout this season, and has found himself a regular place in the Welsh national side as well. He is a tall keeper from what I’ve seen, and seems to be reliable in commanding his box, something that both our current keepers are not fantastic at. The main problem that I have with this transfer story is that the price tag doesn’t seem to be one that Wenger would meet, with £8m the price being quoted by the Mirror. A quality keeper is something we could do with though, so you never know. At £12m for Gomes, and around that for Scott Carson and Artur Boruc, all of whom have more experience, I just can’t see us splashing the cash on such a relatively untried player.

The other rumour is that we have had a £5m bid turned down by Cardiff City for teenage sensation Aaron Ramsey. I would really like to see this kid at Arsenal because he has absolutely everything he needs to become a special player, yet at the same time could provide cover for numerous places in the team as early as next season, such is his maturity. I have seen him play central midfield, left midfield and right midfield all very competently, in particular on the left against Boro’ in the FA Cup, and I would say he is a star for the future for sure. However, Cardiff’s financial situation means that they would prefer all the money up front rather than based on factors regarding the speed of his development in bonus payments to make up the fee, and this is the current sticking point. Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton, Portsmouth, Villa and Tottenham all have an interest in Wales’ next big player.

Will Nasri finally sign today?

Just a quick update on this one, as it seems to be running itself into the ground to be honest.

Samir Nasri has moved yet another step closer to an Arsenal move after telling French Radio Station RTL yesterday that he is set to move to the Gunners. He stated that he is “99% certain” of the deal being concluded in the coming days, probably meaning either today or tommorrow.

The Telegraph and Henry Winter in particular, meanwhile, has written this morning that the deal was concluded last night in a deal worth £12.5m to Marseille. This complete certainty that they have talked about the deal surely means that today is the day he will finally be announced officially as an Arsenal player:

Arsenal last night signed Samir Nasri, Marseille’s attacking midfielder, for £12.5 million.

Only 20, Nasri has already scored for the full French team and has been included in Raymond Domenech’s Euro 2008 squad. Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger, has been tracking Nasri for some time and moved quickly yesterday to head off rival bids from Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

Nasri’s purchase indicates Arsenal’s ambition and their ability to compete in the transfer market. Wenger traditionally likes to do his recruitment before tournaments, aware that prices can inflate suddenly.

Hopefully this means the first purchase of the Gunners’ summer will be unveiled this afternoon, or at the very latest tommorrow.

Euro 2008 - Gunners to support; potential signings to scout

Now being a massive England fan, this summer looks to be the most depressing that I have had while a major tournament has been going on, as for the first time I can remember England are not at a tournament.

But as a Gooner with our multi national squad, there are still just as many players to cheer on for their respective countries, a list of whom are below, along with their group fixtures and my opinion on what their role at the tournament will be:

FRANCE:

William Gallas:

• Vs ROMANIA, Zurich - June 9th, 1700 BST, BBC One.
• Vs HOLLAND, Berne - June 13th, 1945 BST, BBC One.
• Vs ITALY, Zurich - June 17th, 1945 BST, BBC One.

Should be a guaranteed starter for Les Bleus, but in my opinion won’t be one of their star performers judging by his later performances for Arsenal this season.

HOLLAND

Robin van Persie:

• Vs ITALY, Berne - June 9th, 1945 BST, ITV 1.
• Vs FRANCE, Berne - June 13th, 1945 BST, BBC One.
• Vs ROMANIA, Berne - June 17th, 1945 BST, ITV1.

Possibly ruled out for the first game through injury, if he comes back as he should do, he will start for Holland, probably on the right of the traditional front three. Unfortunately, I think we won’t see the best of van Persie until he is fully fit, and that could be not until the start of next season, as was the case last season as well.

SPAIN:

Cesc Fabregas:

• Vs RUSSIA, Innsbruck - June 10 1700 BST, BBC One
• Vs SWEDEN, Innsbruck - June 14 1700 BST, ITV
• Vs GREECE, Salzburg - June 18 1945 BST, ITV

Is probably the best bet for Player of the Tournament when looking at the Arsenal ranks. Should play in Spain’s new-found 4-1-4-1 formation where they can incorporate Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas in one team. Apparently has been given the number 10 shirt, so hopefully we’ll see the forward runs and goals that you’d expect from someone wearing that number…

SWITZERLAND:

Phillipe Senderos, Johan Djourou:

• Vs CZECH REPUBLIC, Basle - June 7, 1700 BST, BBC One
• Vs TURKEY, Basle - June 11, 1945 BST, BBC One
• Vs PORTUGAL, Basle - June 15, 1945 BST, ITV

The only nation to have two Arsenal players in their squad for the tournament (unless of course Nasri signs as expected), I think only Senderos is a guaranteed starter for the Swiss, while Djourou should be a substitute only. I hope Senderos will have a great tournament as he did in the World Cup in 2006, but with his current level of confidence I can see a mistake slipping into his play somewhere along the line. Hopefully he’ll take out Cristiano Ronaldo (fairly of course…) in their game against the Portuguese.

GERMANY:

Jens Lehmann:

• Vs POLAND, Klagenfurt - June 8, 1945 BST, BBC One
• Vs CROATIA, Klagenfurt - June 12, 1700 BST, ITV
• Vs AUSTRIA, Vienna - June 16, 1945 BST, BBC One

Technically still an Arsenal player, Mad Jens will be going all out to show Wenger that he truly is better than Almunia in what could be another successful tournament for the Germans. Lehmann will be a starter for Germany despite his lack of match practice with the Gunners.

POLAND:

Lukasz Fabianski:

• Vs GERMANY, Klagenfurt - June 8, 1945 BST, BBC One
• Vs AUSTRIA, Vienna - June 12, 1945 BST, BBC One
• Vs CROATIA, Klagenfurt, June 16, 1945 BST, BBC One

The young Polish keeper had a decent, promising first campaign and will look to build on that for his national side, although it is highly likely Celtic stopper Boruc will get the nod ahead of him and so it would be a massive achievement for him to get on the pitch during the tournament. Hopefully the experience he’ll gain by being there will stand him in good stead for later in his career.

Potential signings to watch:

 Samir Nasri, Lillian Thuram (France):

Now obviously, with Wenger’s recent comments it seems highly likely that this young Frenchman will only come here if he signs before the Euros, but nevertheless he will be worth a watch as Arsenal’s first summer signing if he does sign, and if he doesn’t we will see what we have missed out on. Going by last night’s friendly, he can expect to see action on the wings for France, although will probably not be a starter.

Miguel Veloso (Portugal):

I think Veloso is only at best an outside bet for an Arsenal move, but we will be able to see whether he really could fit in as Fabregas’ partner in midfield, although a central midfield slot for Portugal is not guaranteed.

If you haven’t already seen Lillian Thuram play, I don’t know where you have been living the past decade. The man is a living legend for France, and we can see just how much age has affected him in this tournament.

Alberto Aquilani (Italy):

With such strong competition alongside him in midfield, it would be fairly surprising to see this young Italian stake a claim for a starters place in midfield, but we should see him off the bench, particularly against Romania in what should be a simpler game for the Italians. There is probably only a 20% chance that he will leave for Arsenal though.

Niko Kranjcar (Croatia):

Most of us have already seen Kranjcar numerous times, and definitely enough times to know how well he could slot in to Arsenal’s team, but for those who haven’t watched him in full games, now is your chance, particularly as he is an almost definite starter for the Croatian’s.

Ruben De La Red, Daniel Guiza, Raul Albiol (Spain):

Both De La Red and Guiza are probably players that have not been linked with us very strongly, although sometimes that does not mean much in Arsenal’s transfer dealings. De La red in particularly I can see here at Arsenal, with smooth passing style. Whether or not we’d be strong enough defensively in midfield if we brought him I’m not so sure though, and he should get his chance off the bench in this tournament. Meanwhile, Guiza will only come if Adebayor leaves you would think, and the prolific striker is unlikely to get much chance with Spain’s one-man attack and Torres and Villa ahead of him in the pecking order.

Raul Albiol on the other hand will fancy his chances of seeing more action than both of his compatriots.

 

 

Barca agree terms with Hleb; Real Madrid, Inter Milan still chasing him

While Nasri seems to be nearing a move to the Gunners, Alexander Hleb seems to be closer to an exit from Arsenal, with reports today suggesting that the Belarussian midfielder has verbally agreed to move to Barcelona, subject to the Catalan club agreeing a transfer price for him. This news comes from Spanish paper El Mundo, not what I would call a massively reliable source, but Spanish papers are worse than English ones in many ways, and that is saying something.

The story goes that Hleb discussed the move with Barcelona Sporting Director Txiki Begiristain and his agent who has already told the mdeia that Hleb finds London too noisy and will leave the club, although he will not choose to buy out his contract. This means any transfer would cost a pretty large amount of money, potentially £15-20m, giving Arsene Wenger significant funds to find a replacement for him, as I believe that Nasri would have come regardless of Hleb’s possible transfer.

But despite these reports about Barca moving for Hleb already, the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan do still have a say, particularly as Barca are not anywhere near agreeing a fee with Arsenal yet it would seem. Bernd Schuster, Real coach, yesterday told the media that Hleb would definitely be on his radar this summer:

“There are a couple of posts that we can improve and that needs to be strengthened to have the necessary balance,” Schuster told AS. “Over the past two months we have had a plan and we know what we want, but now Hleb has been added. We did not know he could leave Arsenal but in recent days it has been more positive. We were surprised that he might leave there.”

With Arsenal’s recent interest in Real Madrid’s Ruben De La Red, a swap + money deal has been mooted by several Arsenal fansites, while Arsenal could potentially want Robinho, although we’d also have to offer around £10m I would think for that deal to be considered. Both of these deals though seem an outside possibilty at the moment, with no major sources hinting that this may be on the cards.

Inter Milan were favourites after their alleged tapping up of Alex Hleb earlier this season, but their interest has been quietened a bit after the iminent arrival of Mourinho at the San Siro, as I doubt the Portuguese manager would be as interested in the Belarussian as the apparently outgoing manager Mancini was.

Will Nasri ever sign? His agent and Le Boss seem to think so!

It seems that, yet again, the Nasri transfer seems to be finally nearing completion. I think I’ve probably said this about five times in the last two weeks, but nevertheless, it also appears to be falling into place when you consider the factors involved.

We know that Nasri wants to move here, and many reports have stated that we have agreed a fee subject to certain technicalities with the recently signed contract that Nasri agreed to with L’OM. We also know that Wenger definitely wants him, as you can tell by his comments on the previous article that I wrote on this story.

But due to Euro 2008 commitments, it is very hard to get the promising young Frenchman to actually sign on the dotted line, as he is not guaranteed a place in the France squad for the tournament and so has had to work hard in earning a chance in Austria and Switzerland this summer. But with Ecuador playing France yesterday, it leaves today and tommorrow relatively free for Nasri to sign a deal, and this would be my guess to when he will be signed up. This is backed up by these latest quotes by his agent:

“He will leave OM. It will be done in the coming days. Arsenal’s offer has caught his interest from a sporting point of view”,  Bernes told local TV station LCM yesterday. ”I think that in his career plan, it is something very interesting for him.”

So if he hasn’t signed by Friday, I would start to get anxious about this deal, but it seems pretty clear cut to me…I think.

Meanwhile, there have been reports that Wenger himself all but confirmed the deal while commentating on France’s friendly with Ecuador yesterday, stating that the deal was “almost done”. Fingers crossed then Gunners. By the way, in the game with Ecuador yesterday, Nasri impressed on the right of a 4-4-2, a position that has a similarity to the role that I believe he would play in at the Emirates, as he outshined another Arsenal target Ben Arfa on the flanks with a clever and hardworking display.

Wenger quotes (in French): http://news.maxifoot.com/info-079014_80527/football.php

Nasri’s Agent (in French): http://www.france-info.com/spip.php?article140794&theme=70&sous_theme=70

 

Wenger: “Good Chance” of Nasri signing

After weeks of silence from le Boss, the Frenchman today spoke on popular French football TV programme TF1 (TeleFoot) about the potential signing of Marseille wonderkid Samir Nasri. This is what he had to say:

“The chances are good (that Nasri will sign), and if it is to be done, it will be completed before the beginning of the European Championships.”

This is both good news and bad news for us Gunners. It had been reported in several newspapers, both British and French that Nasri will sign by the end of the weekend or the start of next week, having already agreed a fee with the Ligue 1 side, and some even saying Nasri had done a medical at the club. But despite this Wenger has not said its a done deal.

However, this confirmation of the transfer being close to done by Wenger means in reality it probably is all but a done deal, given the Frenchman’s cautios nature when it comes to transfers, as he never wants to admit something is completed until it truly is. A prime example of this would be Flamini’s, Henry’s and even Ashley Cole’s transfers. He doesn’t want to give anything away until it is done, and so due to these comments this morning by Wenger I am confident that Nasri will be signed by next weekend.

In fact, it’s almost a relief to find out it’s not one big wind up to be honest…

Nasri in!! Hleb out… Is it good or bad?

“I can officially confirm that a short time ago Alexander decided that he will leave Arsenal and join another club. Of course Arsenal and Arsene wanted him to stay but they have accepted the player’s choice.”
“That is his choice. He has understood that the right time has come for him to make a change.
“Alex has spent three good seasons at Arsenal and he wasn’t sure he could maintain the same level that he has been showing if he stayed.
“It’s also true that he felt uncomfortable off the field. Alexander wants a change of scene. That’s had a large part to play in his decision. Alex informed the club of his desire to move to another club.”
“We are not using article 17 of the FIFA rule,” he said. “I can’t tell you anything about where he will be playing yet. Talks are underway, and I don’t have the right to make them public. I think that the issue of his new club will be clarified in the next few days.”

Niki Spilevski, Alexander Hleb’s agent.

So it seems that Hleb has decided to jump ship as expected, while reports today suggest Nasri should be an Arsenal player by Monday. But what does this mean for Arsenal? Is it a step forward or a step back for next season?

First of all, it seems to me that out of three seasons with Arsenal, only this latest one did he really show what he can do, and only then for the first half of the season. But his agility on the ball and superb poise and passing ability has made the football we play sparkle at times solely down to the Belurussian and his loss has to be a big blow for the club surely?

Creativity is often something we seem to have too much of, while the individual brilliance that Pires, Bergkamp, Henry, Ljungberg and co. offered us is something we no longer have. I would say that only Cesc and van Persie offer this sheer brilliance to win games with any sort of regularity, and so will Hleb’s potential replacementoffer us this brilliance that we may need at times, a bit of match winning quality?

Samir Nasri is an amazing talent, and I believe with absolute certainty that he can offer the brilliance that we need to unlock those tight defences, by making more direct running and shooting, instead of playing keep-ball at 0-0 and passing the opposition into surrender, something we have had to employ too many time this season already. But he is only 20 years old, and the loss of Hleb I think requires another wide player as well as Nasri, given Eboue’s inability to score or play as a true winger would, and also Rosicky’s unfortunate injury record.

To show the current problems on the wing, I shall show the goals and assists we have got from wide areas, and then compare it with the (and I hate to say it…) very best - Manchester United.

Arsenal (EPL and CL):

• Hleb: G: 4 - A: 11 
• Eboue: G 0 - A: 2
• Walcott: G 6 - A: 3
• Rosicky: G 7 - A: 2
• Diaby: G 3 - A: 1

Total: Goals: 20 - Assists: 19

Man Utd (EPL and CL):

• Ronaldo: G: 39 A: 8
• Park: G: 1 - A: 1
• Giggs: G: 3 - A: 7
• Nani: G: 3 - A: 9

Total: Goals: 46 - Assists: 25

Looking at these statistics, Hleb is esily our best assister, and so someone we can not afford to get rid of, while his goals tally, while being poor, if we had other good wingers as well we would get far more goals from the wing. Therefore, to lose Hleb based on those statistics would be a crushing blow even for our creative side, with only Fabregas creating more goals for the team this year.

When comparing us to United, it is clear that despite our problems, we are only one quality winger away from competing with them on the wide areas, where they seem to be clearly better than us, but when you consider that with their formation the wide players generally get more chances due to the game being based around them moving around freely, and that Cristiano Ronaldo has had an incredible goalscoring season, were we to have another winger who could score 10+ goals a season, Walcott will get moregoals again next season as well, and Nasri has improved year on year and will be surrounded by better players (should he come to us) I believe that we won’t be far off.

But with only Nasri coming in to replace Hleb, and no other wide player following him to the Emirates, we will see the same problems next year.

Ghanian, French midfielders on trial

While all the talk of crazy multi-million pound bids surround the Gunners, it is nice to see Wenger is still trying to persevere with his amazing scouting network, bringing the very best of footballing talent over from abroad with a view to get the next global star for a minimal price. Although a bit of quality first team signings would be more than satisfying…

The latest candidates for the Arsenal academy are a Frenchman and a Ghanian, both of whom ply their trade in midfield.

Setanta Sports claim that Accra Hearts of Oak teenager Tawrick Jibril will now undergo a trial in June to see how good the youngster really is by training with some of the very best youth talent that already train at London Colney. The 16 year old has already been linked with a move to European giants such as Atletico Madrid, and the price for the player should the trial go well is estimated at around £1m. Roma have also been acredited with an interest in the teenager.

Meanwhile the Frenchman, Francis Coquelin has already had his trial, in which he was injured and so the trial stopped short, although acording to reports by they Young Guns blog he may still sign with the Gunners. The world famous (errr..) Stade Lavallois is where he currently plays his football.

Forum topic discussing the rumours:

http://www.discussions.ghanaweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=81544&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=450d856f49fe693b3011bf24dbe5e535

Young Guns article on Coquelin:

http://youngguns.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/arsenal-in-transfer-talks-for-french-midfielder-coquelin/

Source for article:

http://www.setantasports.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/05/20/Premier-League-Arsenal-trial-Ghanaian/?facets/sport-space/great-britain-locale

Transfer Round-up: Arsenal set to sign….errr….everyone!!

Due to exams at the minute I haven’t really kept this site updated as much as I wanted to do, and so I apologise for that. And with that apology out of the way, it looks like the transfer rumour merry-go-round has truly gone mad this time around. Hopefully I can now do a quick round-up of all the transfer stories floating round the Emirates at the moment:

Alberto Aquilani: First of all, I think that there is something wrong with all the papers if they believe for one minute that we would sign this Italian to play alongside Fabregas in central midfield - I think we were quite bad enough defensively this season without getting rid of a defensive midfielder and placing a creative midfielder in his place. But there you go. This is what his agent has to say on the story:

“Aquilani is speaking to Arsenal,” Morabito confirmed. “We will have to see if Roma will be able to match his demands.”

Now in my opinion that is clearly an attempt at gettting a better contract, as Aquilani is a local boy I believe and is someone who is likely to be loyal to his hometown club, but merely wants a better salary to reward his efforts. Although I do also think we’re interested, probably not for £12m, and probably as a potential creative-midfielder-turned winger, but I don’t think we’ll get him.

http://www.setantasports.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/05/19/Prem-Aquilanis-agent-on-Arsenal/?facets/sport-space/great-britain-locale/football/

Samir Nasri: This is currently the strongest rumour surrounding Arsenal FC. La Provence, Marseilles main newspaper (as I understand it) has been reporting both today and yesterday that Arsenal have already agreed a fee for one of France’s brightest young hopes, with the fee reportedly around £12.5m. I personally believe it’s not all that far progressed, mainly so that I am not too disappointed when Real Madrid jump in and sign him at the last minute, but I believe if this is true he will be a great addition to the team, and would almost certainly be used as a wide player in a Hleb-type role. he is a massive talent and has quite a bit of experience for his age, meaning he could come in and do a job for the first team straight away, with perhaps a couple of months adaptation.

Source: http://www.setantasports.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/05/18/Ligue-1-Nasri-casts-doubt-over-future/?facets/sport-space/football/great-britain-locale/

Original source: http://www.laprovence.com/articles/2008/05/19/452752-FRANCE-cisse-comme-nasri.php

Hatem Ben Arfa: All has gone a bit quiet since the young Frechman admitted that he had talked about Arsenal, and so we will have to wait and see after the French Cup final to know where he is going to leave to, or even if he’s going to leave Lyon. All I know is that he would make an excellent signing depite attitude problems that have cropped up while at Lyon, because he has the talent to make a great winger for us, with real pace and direction to his running, a fresh directness we aren’t used to at the Emirates these days.

Roque Santa Cruz: With 19 goals this season, in what is a debut season, it is inevitable that Santa Cruz gets linked with someone this summer and apparently it is us who are lining him up as a potential replacement for Adebayor should he leave. This is coming from this morning’s Telegraph, and to be honest, I don’t believe a single word of it. I think that we do not need to sell Adebayor, he’s stated that he loves the club and will stay, so this is therefore a non-story in my book. However, if either van Persie or Adebayor leave the club, it could be a completely different matter.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2008/05/19/ufncruz119.xml

Niko Kranjcar: Since Niko Kranjcar has won more trophies this season with Pompey than Arsenal have won in the last three seasons, you could wonder the reasoning behind joining The Gunners, but it has been reported that the Croat will be available this summer if Harry Redknapp lands Harry “Missing - Presumed Dead” Kewell from the scousers. I like Kranjcar  he is a very clever player who hashad a great season this year and looks like he would fit in with the passing game here. However, he doesn’t have that stand out quality I’d like to see for £15m, and definitely don’t think he has that pace the rest of our players have. However, he has already adapted to the Premiership and as a bench player he’d be great, but not as a starter please Arsene. I don’t actually think he will join us either way due to better options being available. This is what Kranjcar had to say about the rumours:

“I don’t want to go anywhere, I’m very happy. Obviously playing in Europe is a big chance for me,” he stated.
 
“I’d be crazy if I said I wasn’t tempted by the calls of big clubs like Arsenal because everyone wants to achieve the most in their career and play Champions League football and win more trophies. I’m not in a hurry to go anywhere, I’m 24 this summer and I’m looking ahead to the European Championships and having a great year. What the new season brings no-one knows yet but I’m happy at Portsmouth and it’s a great place to be at the moment.”

Source: http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=701297

Sebastien Frey:  A goalkeeper is probably one of the lower priorities this summer, as Almunia has done a decent enough job, while Fabianski looks fairly promising as well, but apparently L’Equipe knows otherwise, today linking us with a move to Frey, an excellent goalkeeper currently playing for Fiorentina. But I think any interest we may have shown in the goalkeeper would have been extinguished as soon as the figure of £16m was mentioned…

Source: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_3584129,00.html

Mouhamadou Dabo:  This is a very interesting potential signing, but the main reason for this intrigue is that there seems to be no reason for this transfer. Apparently Dabo is a right back currently playing for St. Etienne in Ligue 1. Now I know what you are all thinking, just what we need, a right back! But apparently he can play in midfield as well, and Eboue has proved what an easy transition that is…. Now I’m not saying he’d be a terrible signing as I am sure that Grimandi has done very detailed homwork on this player, but I think currently we need to strengthen other places with relative experience and quality more than a right back slot or indeed a right back in a midfield slot.

Source: http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/05/18/exclusive-arsene-wenger-to-splash-25m-98487-20421862/

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/summer-sales-transfer-news-and-speculation-on-19-may-830880.html

Jean II Makoun: Now this is a player that has caught my eye when I have watched him play due to his tenacity and strength in the tackle, therefore making him a potential Flamini replacement. And the paper’s have also seen this, and coupled with a confirmation that we’re interested in him from his agent, speculation is growing that we may try to sign him this summer. He seems a Wenger signing, although Wenger has said he is happy with those players he has in central midfield, I believe he’ll add another one… I hope.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/summer-sales-transfer-news-and-speculation-on-19-may-830880.html 

Raul Albiol: Wenger likes a bargain and it seems as if a cut price £7.5m move for Raul Albiol may be on, or so the Sunday Mirror would have you believe. Nonetheless, he’s an excellent player from what I’ve hear and the little that I have seen, so perhaps there may be something in this. Although of course, The Daily Mirror isn’t what I’d call a trustworthy source.

Source: http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/05/18/exclusive-arsene-wenger-to-splash-25m-98487-20421862/

Lillian Thuram: This rumour has been lingering for a while, with it resurfacing again this week with a couple of sources claiming Wenger may attempt to get the experienced defender and French legend Thuram on a deal that would give Arsenal’s backline exactly what they need. I’m not convinced his legs aren’t completely gone now, but on a coaching role and the odd appearance here and there, the experience he could give the players in training would be great.

Source: http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/05/18/exclusive-arsene-wenger-to-splash-25m-98487-20421862/

 

Wenger - We need to add creativity and defensive strength

Wenger, in an interview with shareholders, has spoken of what he requires to finally bring back success to the Arsenal after 3 seasons without a trophy to show for it. He has pointed out in particular 2 positions where he wants to invest - A defensive player who can deal with long balls, and a creative player to add more of an edge to our attacking play:

“We didn’t give more goals away than any other team in the League on open play, nor on set pieces, but where we gave more goals away was on direct balls, in the air, through the middle, and most of the time on second balls. On set pieces and open play we were as good as Manchester United and Chelsea. The numbers are available. But we have to rectify how we deal with direct balls. When a team just goes for long, direct balls against us, we have to improve.”

“I will try to buy, maybe in the defensive area and one on the creative side of the game as well because we had some players, important players, who were out this year. We want as well to bring new talent in on the creative side of our game.

 The Independent is guessing Micah Richards or Raul Albiol for the defensive role, but I think the answer will be someone far less well know than those two, who would both cost £10-20m each and so would presumably be out of reach fincially in Wenger’s eyes. You would have thought though that Senderos would conform to that description that Wenger gives, of a tall defender who can head the ball, but evidently Senderos’ difficulty in defending with our high line means what he has in the air he loses due to his pace that strikers can expose by running the channels or looking for the ball over the top.

As for the creative player, presumably a midfielder who will be converted to a winger like in the case of Rosicky and Hleb, the likes of Michael Johnson, Diego, Niko Kranjcar and Hatem Ben Arfa have all been suggested by the press, although Johnson has been billed as a possible replacement for Flamini. I would have thought that it is likely again that Wenger will go for someone less well known such as Yoann Gouffran who can play on the wings and would come cheap, although Wenger is supposedly a big fan of Kranjcar and Ben Arfa, and has been in contact about Diego as well, so we can hope that a moreproven player such as those would be signed.