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.
