Theo Walcott, our natural No.14; Ade situation becomes complicated once more

First things first, today Arsenal have announced Thierry Henry’s replacemetn will be worn by the perfect man for the No.14 - Theo Walcott.

After a very promising season, I fully expect Walcott to go from strength to strength, and by being given the No.14 I think its clear that he will have a huge role in Arsenal’s future. The teenager is a huge fan of Thierry Henry, and plays like him in almost all aspects of his game, so it is only right he would be the one tasked with the challenge of restoring the awe Arsenal fans had for the No.14. I think this will give him a great confidence boost ahead of the new season.

Having just written a very positive post about Adebaayor’s statement of loyalty for Arsenal, just as quickly negativity set in once more. SkySports got an interview with the gangly striker an hour later than the press conference, where he told them everything would be decided next week regarding his future…!

It is my belief that he is staying, he certainly looked very genuine during his press conference and I would feel angry if he was to leave now, but my gut feeling tells me a call from his agent prompted the change of heart, as it is very hard to negotiate a massive salary for Adebayor and a huge bonus for the agent if your client refuses to add to the speculation.

Adebayor shows belief in Wenger’s master plan against all the odds

I have to admit, I thought he was as good as gone. Despite all the positive comments he made before the summer really started about how he’d stay and would not do what Flamini did and jump ship just as everything started to look promising for their careers, it looked as though he had changed his mind amidst a openly publicised battle between AC Milan and Barcelona to prise him off Arsenal’s hands.

Stories that Ade had written to Arsenal saying he wanted out were rife, and it was said bids were nearing £30m for the striker as Arsenal reluctantly negotiated. But in the last few hours Adebayor has taken a big step towards reassuring Arsenal fans of stability up front next season, with the Togolese forward having this to say:

“Of course, I have three more years contract so, no matter what, I have to stay. I’m staying at Arsenal. I’ve three more years with Arsenal, I have a good contract, we have a good team there and I’m playing for one of the biggest teams in the world. The most important thing is to keep enjoying myself.

“When I was young I had a dream to be a good footballer and play for a big team. I was born in Togo so I never cared about playing for money, my happiness was to play to enjoy myself. That’s what I’ve been doing until now.

 

“You can see people changing clubs because of money, because they want a change of atmosphere or to get their names in the big leagues. I just play football to enjoy myself. I play because I love it.”

So there we have it - he is staying. I thought he wanted to go and so I was coming to terms with cashing in on a striker, who, although he scored 30 goals last season, never seemed a natural goalscorer. His contribution to the team is fantastic though, and I hope that this coming season will see a fully fit Robin van Persie alongside him to help with the finishing of the many fantastic chances our sparkling creativity produces from midfield. Stability is always a key for football teams, and so now I hope Hleb to come out with an equally reassuring statement, to be followed by Nasri’s transfer which now seems to have to wait until July 1st to be completed due to taxation reasons.

Hleb does not seem to have any suitors anymore, with Barca looking at Arshavin and a centre forward to splash the cash on, and Inter Milan withdrawing their interest when Mourinho tok over at the San Siro. The likes of Wolfsburg are said to be keen, but don’t offer the sort of potential and chances of glory Arsenal do. Bayern Munich, meanwhile, were apparently put off by the price Arsenal wanted for him, which was said to be about £19m.

So with Hleb and Adebayor staying, Nasri, Vela and Ramsey coming in will leave us strong next season going forward. But Flamini’s absence would be a massive blow were we not to replace him, and so I hope that we will see a defensive midfielder come in before too long, as we will struggle to give Fabregas and others the space they need if tehy don’t have a defensive presence in midfield. This is why the quotes from veloso’s agent this week have brightened my mood considerably when I consider this situation. We know we have had a long-held interest in Sporting’s volante, but since January his great performances for club and country stopped and his price has dropped from an inconsiderable £23m to what I reckon would be at most £15m. This is easily affordable for us and I would love to see a player who likes to play as deep as Gilberto yet has fantastic passing ability at the Emirates next season to complete the jigsaw.

A central defender may have seemed a good idea, but there is a lack of players that I would like to see replace either Toure or Gallas and do a convincing enough job to warrant signing them. Maybe a cover player who is tallwould be a good idea, but Wenger reckons Song is the man for this, and he does indeed seem promising. Besides, with our style of play, I believe goals are going to be conceded fairly easily and that concentration let us down, not the quality of defenders. Concentration comes from the whole team, so that lesson I would hope has been learnt.

Arsenal complete pre-season fixture list

I had previously thought that the annual pre-season training in Austria would not feature in our plans this summer, with a variety of fixtures already named. However, Arsenal.com have confirmed that we will play an Austian side this year, against a Burgenland XI team, along with the fantasically named Szombathelyi Haladas, who I can’t wait to see play purely based on their name. 

For those who don’t know, Burgenland is a smallish region on the Austrian-Hungarian border. A notable team within the region Arsenal fans may recognise is SV Mattersburg, a team we played 2 years ago in pre-season, and beat 2-1. I presume that many players will be taken from Mattersburg’s team, as they have had good success this year in the Austrian Bundesliga. As for Szombathelyi Haladas, Gabor Kiraly, the crazy Hungarian goalkeeper, played for them at one stage, as well as Peter Halmosi, who currently plies his trade at Plymouth. Apparently they missed out on promotion last season for fielding inelligible players, and so stayed in N.B II last season. I would hazard a guess that they will not be stiff opposition for Arsenal, but will perhaps see the youths and reserves that Wenger decides to take with him get a chance to shine in front of Le Boss. The full pre-season fixture list is below:

Barnet Vs ARSENAL

Underhill Stadium, 19th July, 3pm

Szombathelyi Haladas Vs ARSENAL

Szombathelyi, July 22nd, TBC 6.30pm (CET)

Burgenland XI Vs ARSENAL

Ritzing, July 28th, TBC 6.30pm (CET)

Stuttgart Vs ARSENAL

Mercedez-Benz-Arena, July 30th, TBC K.O

ARSENAL Vs Juventus, Emirates Cup

Emirates Stadium, 2nd August, 4.15pm  

ARSENAL Vs Real Madrid, Emirates Cup

Emirates Stadium, 3rd August, 4.15pm

Huddersfield Town Vs ARSENAL

Galpharm Stadium, 6th August, 7pm K.O

Ajax Vs ARSENAL, Amsterdam Tournament

Amsterdam ArenA, 8th August, 8.15pm

Sevilla Vs ARSENAL, Amsterdam Tournament

Amsterdam ArenA, 9th August, 6pm

Alumia our new No. 1; Carlos Vela and Ramsey get given significant numbers

Arsenal have today submitted the numbers for next season, with a few very interesting choices in my opinion. Firstly, Manuel Almunia had been given the number 1 slot, a sign of where he stands in the Arsenal team for next season, and banishing any lingering rumours that the likes of Given, Gomes, Boruc and co. may come in and replace Lehmann this summer.

Carlos Vela has been given the number 12 as I had guessed he might, probably showing the faith Wenger has in him that a first team number would be given out to him so early in his Arsenal career. Likewise with Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal’s brand new £5m signing, who gets given Flamini’s No. 16 in an indication of where he will be looking to be in the squad next season.

The full list can be see below:

1. Manuel ALMUNIA
2. Abou DIABY
3. Bacary SAGNA
4. Francesc FABREGAS
5. Kolo TOURE
6. Philippe SENDEROS
7. Tomas ROSICKY
8.
9. EDUARDO
10. William GALLAS
11. Robin VAN PERSIE
12. Carlos VELA
13. Alexander HLEB
14.
15. DENILSON
16. Aaron RAMSEY
17. Alexandre SONG
18.
19. GILBERTO
20. Johan DJOUROU
21. Lukasz FABIANSKI
22. Gael CLICHY
23.
24. Vito MANNONE
25. Emmanuel ADEBAYOR
26. Nicklas BENDTNER
27. Emmanuel EBOUE
28.
29.
30. Armand TRAORE
31. Justin HOYTE
32. Theo WALCOTT

Judging by the way that Clichy is at 22 and Robin van Persie is number 11, both numbers that Nasri has worn for club or country, I would guess that the incoming Frecnhman (if indeed, he does eventually become an Arsenal player) will take the number 8 slot, last held by club legend Fredrik Ljungberg.

 

Will Arshavin save Wenger from selling Adebayor?

Interesting reports from Spain today suggest a number of things regarding top scorer Adebayor’s future at the Emirates Stadium.

Marca claim that Arshavin could join Barca instead of Arsenal, Chelsea or the other possible destinations for the highly creative second striker. It is Arshavin’s favourite club and he has stated that it is La Liga where he sees his future, not the Premiership. This would mean that they would no longer make a bid for Adebayor and Arsenal, providing Milan do not tempt him away, would have won the fight to keep the Togolese man in North London.

Obviously coming from a Spanish newspaper, large pinches of salt are needed with any transfer story, but I can see how this could fit together. Firstly, Barca need to sell in order to buy, having already spent a net price of around £45m+ this summer on other players. But Eto’o, Deco and Ronaldinho will fail to fetch very much purely because Barca are in a rush to sell, and so prices will drop as a result. I would guess the three of them will get a total price of £45m, more than enough to buy Adebayor, but with Barca hesitating on the Daniel Alves deal as well, finances are clearly tight. Therefore the reasonably priced Arshavin could do just as good a job, even if he isn’t the number 9 Guardiola is after. This would leave Arsenal with only Milan, a UEFA Cup team, to fight off in order to keep Adebayor.

El Mundo Deportivo predictably disagrees with Marca, saying a deal worth between £25m and £30m will be done today for Adebayor, who has apparently told Ken Friar and co. his future is in Catalunya. I seriously doubt any such deal will be conducted just yet, as Arsenal can hold out to see what Milan are going to do in order to raise the price further.

Meanwhile, Wengers comments about keeping his players at the club being his main objective this summer may also come to light as perhaps he will decide that despite his principles tell him £80K a week after one good season is a bit steep, the price of losing the Togolese forward may be even greater. So far it has been reported that only £60K has been offered, but I would be very surprised if we haven’t offered more than that and Adebayor has just decided he wants to leave.

On a side note, Adebayor has been voted the third best player this season for Arsenal, with 20% of the votes on Arsenal.com. This shows his incredible rise in popularity this season, and the reason why Wenger wants to keep him. My current thinking on Adebayor is that if he wants to leave and there is nothing we can do about it, there is definitely other layers who are capable of coming in and doing just as good a job for the team as he has done. Knowing Wenger, that replacement could even be someone promoted from within! Adebayor got 30 goals this season, an incredible feat, but my gut feeling is that anyone leading the line by himself for as long as he did, with only the goal-shy Hleb behind him n the hole, could have got a hat full of goals as well. He missed more good chances than he scored and while he is a brilliant foil to any good striker, with movement and workrate, his quality has been emphasised by the absence of goals coming from other sources. We should keep him, but if we had had Eduardo and van Persie in form and alongside him throughout the season, he would have got less goals, but the team would have got more overrall. And so if he leaves, I have complete confidence as long as his replacement isn’t injury prone, we will do just as well without him. It is our creative edge which is key to us, not who the striker is on the end of the chances.

Clichy signs contract extension! Now Adebayor needs to do the same….

Rumours in today’s papers, backed up by comments made by both the Roma boss Spalletti and Juve boss Ranieri, suggested that Gael Clichy is attracting interest from two of Italy’s top teams and may go this summer.

But Gael Clichy, the legend that he has already become at Arsenal since taking over and bettering everything Ashely Cole did before him, and more, has through his agent told Calcio Mercato that rather than looking to leave the Emirates, the flying full back is set to join Bacary Sagna and Alex Song in renewing his contract with club. This is what his agent had to say:

“The Giallorossi have never knocked at the door, to the contrary. It would be useless for them to take a similar player as [new signing John Arne] Riise, don’t you agree?Anyway Clichy signs a contract extension with Arsenal today.”

This is great news for the club, as I believe he is fast approaching being the best left back in the world, even if Domenech doesn’t think so.

But Adebayor’s rumoured transfer talks are said to be ongoing, despite numerous outbursts by the club and by the player denying that he is looking to leave. The Spanish press are convinced by Ade’s wish to join Barca in a £21m deal, while Milan have made him their number one target. And these quotes have appeared today from Adebayor himself:

“Now I do not want to comment on anything relating to FC Barcelona, perhaps later it may be necessary but not now,” Adebayor told Sport (alledgedly). “It is better to wait.”

Now until comments come from a more reliable source than a pro-Barca newspaper, I think I’ll sit back and wait.

To sum up the Spanish press believe he is Barca bound, the Italian press reckon he is off to the San Siro, while the English press in the form of the Daily Mail have today reported he is about to put pen-to-paper on a new deal worth £80,000 a week. I really hope that the English press have got it right as we need to keep our better players, and Adebayor is certainly one of them.

And I still believe he will stay, despite the rumours.

 

Kieran Gibbs makes U19’s Championships squad; Four starlets named in England U17s

Arsenal’s promise of young English talent at the club has been proven once again with Kieran Gibbs, fresh from a spell on loan at Norwich City and an end of season appearance for the Arsenal first team, being named for the forthcoming European U19 Championships. Fran Merida is also expected to be part of the Spanish team at the same tournament.

Meanwhile, lower down the age groups there is even more young talents representing their country for Arsenal. Chuks Aneke, Jason Banton, Oliver Nicholas and former Gillingham youngster Luke Freeman all being named for the annual Nordic Tournament, where U16s first make the step up to the U17 team.

Nasri to sign very soon; but we need Nasri AND another wide man if Hleb leaves

With France out of Euro 2008, many Gunners were confident now would be the time that Nasri would finally seal a move to the Arsenal, after numerous delays caused by the tournament and certain contractual terms that Arsenal needed to meet in order to sign the French starlet.

And this morning, BBC Sport has stated that it ”understands” that Nasri has agreed a four year contract with Arsenal and will sign for the club after Euro 2008, something which makes little sense considering France are no longer involved. But this story is taken far further and more detailed by Setanta Sports, who say this:

A deal was agreed before Euro 2008 started, and the player who will turn 21 next week will reportedly make the trip to England to sort out the last details of the first move of his career with agent Jean-Pierre Bernes.

Nasri did not take the French squad’s helicopter following the team’s elimination from the European Championship but a private plane to Le Bourget, which is due to arrive at 3pm local time, from where he is expected to take another one to London on Thursday.

French sources claim that L’OM and Arsenal held talks in the last two weeks regarding the financial aspect of the deal, and Nasri is reportedly on the verge of signing his new contract before taking a three-week holiday following a very long season.

This is taken from La Provence, who make it seem certain that the young Frenchman will now make his long-anticipated move to the Emirates Stadium. Bearing in mind they have already stated that he was flying over here once, don’t take it as a certainty, but surely it must come to an end very soon.

So if we take it that Nasri is an Arsenal player, where does this leave us for next season? Well, at the moment it would leave us with great options on the wing for next season, as the starters would be from these four; Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri, Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky. Now Rosicky, perpetually injured, would be replaced by Vela or most likely Eboue in the squad, but even so there would be excellent options in my opinion.

But Hleb looked to be half way out of the Emirates Stadium already, although that may not be the case now, with Arsenal for once playing hardball with these potential suitors, in particular Barcelona. This is in contrast to events with Vieira and perhaps Henry, both of whom could have been sold for far more in my opinion. Barca’s Marc Ingla had this to say:

“The negotiation with Hleb is still in progress and despite him being a player with special qualities, if his club are not ready [to sell him], we have other options in mind.”

So maybe its not so clear cut, although I think it is inevitable and we’re just getting the best price we can for him. I will predict he goes by July for a fee of £14m, and if this is the case, we will need a replacement for him immediately because otherwise with Nasri in, Hleb out, we will be back to square one.

Time for Mr Arshavin to step forward. The Russian playmaker is absolutely perfect for free flowing attacking with quick movement and style in abundance, so where else for the schemer but the Emirates?

This is certainly the opinion of numerous papers jumping on the back of last nights great Russian performance to link him to the Gunners. I reckon he is better than Alex Hleb and would slot into the Premiership with very little adaptation due to his guile and relative sturdiness given his small frame. he apparently has a buy-out clause in his contract of just £10m, a price which I fancy Wenger would pay with little fuss.

But is it just media speculation with nothing in it? Possibly, but I can always hope.

So if we fail to land Arshavin, there are still many other options available to Wenger if he gets the replacement for Hleb we would so obviously need. In recent days a couple of very interesting names have been mentioned in the same sentence as Arsenal, in particular another star performer of Euro 2008, Arda Turan of Turkey.

Only 21 years old with bags of pace and direct running, Arda is another player I’d like to see as an Arsenal player if Hleb leaves. The price would be around £10m, expensive next to Arshavin’s proposed price, but for his potential could well pay off. The fact that he is a ”normal” winger would give us something different in the wide areas, and I would be willing to bet that he’d get goals here. But I reckon the link is only in the light of good performances at the Euros and we are not as interested as some sources claim we are.

Meanwhile, the likes of Kranjcar, Hatem Ben Arfa, Diego etc. could all see themselves back in the frame if Hleb leaves, along with a few players we have never heard of that Wenger finds. Either way, I am confident we WILL get another attacking signing if Hleb leaves.

Arsenal target starlets Spear, Christofi, ; Rui Fonte set for Sporting loan?

There are various rumours flying about the place, as is always the case on Sunday mornings, but the majority of the Arsenal-related transfer stories are focussed on Wenger’s continuing youth policy - the oldest possible signing for Arsenal I found in the papers today was 19 years old!

Firstly, the News of the World (so don’t hold your breath) have two news stories that concern the Gunners, and both are related to the Gunners’ academy, with one possibly coming in, and another going out on loan next season. Firstly, having completed a move for Ramsey on Friday, Arsenal are reportedly one of two clubs to have been given permission to talk to very highly rated Plymouth kid Aaron Spear. Plymouth Chief Executive Michael Dunford has been quoted as stating:

“Newcastle and one other Premier League club have expressed an interest in Aaron Spear. He has been given permission to speak to them. We would like to keep him, but the lad appears adamant that he wants to talk to the Premier League clubs.We are waiting to hear from Newcastle whether they have decided to sign him.”

These quotes seem to be from a while ago, and so the prospective deals have moved on since then. Spear is only 15 years old and so Plymouth have had little choice but to let him speak to the Premiership clubs interested in him, with Newcastle agreeing terms with Plymouth this week. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal or Pompey are the second club battling for Spear however, with both being given credit for an interest in him in recent weeks.

A more likely story is the next one that NOTW has produced is the story that Rui Fonte, Arsenal’s Portuguese reserve player, is set for a move to Sporting Lisbon for next season. He was signed two years ago and has impressed me far more this season than his debut season, and a move out on loan could be what he needs, although how much time he’ll get on loan I’m not sure.

Next up is The People’s Arsenal story, with the news that we and Manchester United will fight it out for a Cypriot striker who goes by the name of Demetris Christofi. Despite being only 19, he was given a transfer worth £800,000 from ENP FC to Omonoia, the record transfer for that domestic league. But now he has attracted interest from Premier League giants Omonoia will struggle to hold onto him if a decent bid goes in for him, and of the reported fee of £3m , ENP FC will get 15%.

Last season he scored 9 goals in 27 games for ENP FC, and so it seems strange that such big clubs would be interested in a striker nearing 20 years old and hardly prolific in a poor standard of league, but there you go. Even by The People’s standards its a very strange story, and one I doubt we will see any more of this summer. But you can never tell with Wenger I suppose.

Ramsey officially signs: Wenger “delighted” with capture

In Arsenal’s first confirmed summer transfer, we have captured Cardiff City’s exciting young prospect Aaron Ramsey for a fee that although predictably “undisclosed” by Arsenal themselves, Cardiff have said is a fee of £5m straight up, with no clauses for extra fees like there were in Theo Walcott’s transfer for example. The signing emphasises the great youth policy Arsenal follow, as well as a considerable coup to be able to steal Ramsey from under the noses of Premieship and European Champions Manchester United.

Ramsey, a Man Utd fan whose idol is Ryan Giggs, was widely reported to have signed for his favourite club at the beginning of the month, only for Arsenal and Everton to also have bids accepted. Ramsey then visited Manchester United’s training ground without meeting Alex Ferguson, before going to talk to David Moyes at Everton. He was then jetted out to hold talks with Arsene Wenger in Switzerland, where the Welshman made his choice:

“I’m so happy to have signed for Arsenal. I am joining one of the biggest clubs in the world and can’t wait to meet my new team mates. I recently met with Arsène Wenger and he was a big factor in my decision to join Arsenal. He talked to me for a long time about the Club and the plans for the future, which really excites me. Arsenal is a Club which always gives young players an opportunity at the highest level of the game and I am going to work my hardest to be part of future successes here.

“It was a really difficult decision to leave Cardiff City, they are my local club with great supporters and I would just like thank everyone at Cardiff City for their support and help in my early career. I will still look out for their results and there will always be a place in my heart for the Bluebirds.”

 His new manager is also ecstatic with how the race for his signature turned out, and Wenger had this to say:

“We’re delighted to have signed Aaron Ramsey. He is a young player who has shown huge potential with his performances for both Cardiff City and Wales at under-17 and Under-21 levels. He is still only 17, but has already shown that he is a very intelligent and mature player with great quality. Although he mainly plays in midfield, Aaron is a versatile player and can also play across the defence. We are all looking forward to welcoming Aaron to the Club for our pre-season preparations.”

Aaron Ramsey will look to meet up with Arsenal’s global stars early next month as they prepare for the new season, but if he appears in Augusts Emirates Cup as expected, it will not be the first time he has appeared at the Emirates Stadium. While representing his club against Arsenal in the Youth Cup on the day Jay Simspon grabbed the Emirates first hat trick, Ramsey also found himself on the scoresheet.

I think that this season he will see numerous substitute appearances, such is Wenger’s faith in youth and also Ramsey’s considerable talent and maturity. He will also almost certainly get starts in the early stages of the Carling Cup, and in the coming seasons we can hope to see a lot from the rising star of Welsh football.