Proper transfer movement & Who will replace Theo Van Nasregas?

Morning Gooners,


It's getting close now. 2 weeks today Arsenal will be looking forward to walking out at St James to kick off the 2011/2012 season.

First of all though we have what has now become our regular pre-season tournament, the Emirates Cup. In the build up, Arsenal players and of course Le Prof himself have been over heavy on the quotes as the rumour mill goes into overdrive with transfer stories hitting us faster than I can remember in any other summer.

The really exciting bit of all this is that some of the stories are actually looking credible and likely to happen. Spain U21's captain Juan Mata looks likely to be the next player welcomed into the Arsenal family. The 23 year old Valencia midfielder is reported to be close to signing after his current club excepted Arsenal's bid suspected to be around £17m which will smash our current transfer record. It's thought the deal could be completed very soon even to the extent that Mata will be a guest at the Emirates cup this weekend.

Down the other end of the pitch Wenger is also trying hard to make additions to our defensive line. Phil Jagielka seems to be in our sights and according to reports has become our number one target from the many, many, many, many centre backs we have been linked with. It is being reported that we have gone back to Everton with an improved bid for the England international. The belief at the moment is that we'll strike a deal worth about £15m and have him in the squad photo on August 4th.

Personally, I'd much rather have his team mate Baines coming to the Emirates as it's a position we need to fill more than that of CB as Gibbs is still not ready to go through a whole season as first choice although I really like him as a player so I hope he proves me wrong.

There have also been more reports that the pacey Costa Rica striker Joel Campbell has agreed to join us although it may not be announced officially by either club until much later in the day. For all the latest on Campbell's movements i suggest you follow @gunnerblog on twitter as he has been ahead of the curve on developments.

If we start the season losing one of Fabregas/Nasri and keeping the other, then add Mata and Jagielka as well as Gervinho and Jenkinson then you have to agree that we will start the season stronger than we did last year. I still crave a new left back and a defensive midfielder to make Song work for his starting spot and if we get those then I will genuinely go into the season believing we can win the league.

Any moves in the transfer market will hopefully be completed in the very near future, I'd love to start the new season with a full squad with all the fresh faces standing among the players we've all grown to love. It's nice to know that Arsene Wenger feels the same way. In his pre Emirates Cup press conference he said he wants to complete his dealings sooner rather than later.

I'll finish on a positive note. Theo Walcott's ankle injury appears not to be as bad as first thought with Wenger believing that he could make the start of the season. I'm quite excited about the thought of Theo and Gervinho on opposite sides of our attack scaring the living begeeezaz (Yes I know it's not a real word) out of defences across the Premier League and Europe with no less than RVP inbetween them. Then add Mata into the mix once he's settled properly and the Nasri we saw in the first half of last season and sweet Jesus, it's a good time to be a Gooner. With Theo Van Nasregas almost certainly not going to be at the club next year we may need some new names people. Get thinking on that and before you know it we'll be in a packed Ashburton Grove cheering the boys on.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

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Tedious Transfers and do we really need a new CB?

Morning Gooners,


Like many gooners I listened to Wenger and Gazidis when the season ended and heard that Arsenal FC intended to spend money bringing players in and at the same time were finally ready to get rid of a lot of the dead wood that was sitting on the fringes of our squad.

I waited in May and June telling myself to be patient, players are still on holiday etc, etc, the players will be rolling in soon. We are now towards the end of July and we still have the same stories that were flying around when last season finished, in fact, they're the same stories from last summer. Barca are days away from signing Fabregas, Samba, Cahill, Jagielka linked with moves to Arsenal, I even saw the Melo rumour pop up again the other day on Newsnow. Sometimes I really wish I could take a long sleep and wake up on September 1st when the whole window is closed.

Before you get on my case, I understand that deals take time and I know that we have been in for players such as Phil Jones and had bids rejected but Wenger himself has set a deadline of July 31st for the Cesc saga to come to an end because he will have no time to replace him so surely he understands that other managers will be thinking the same thing. We are moaning about Barca offering less than they know is a price likely to be accepted then we do the same with our own targets. We need to move now and bring players in quickly, if that means paying an extra £2-3m per player in an environment where Chelsea pay more for their manager than we have ever paid for a player then pay it.

The other thing that is frustrating me this pre-season is our transfer targets. We have brought in Carl Jenkinson, no issues there, Eboue is past his best and is surely one of those player that we would move on if we can find someone to take him. Gervinho is a great attacking prospect and will push Theo, Arshavin and Nasri for a starting spot and competition is good for performances however we do not seem to be (in public knowledge) be looking for another defensive midfielder to push Alex Song. Song played half of last season knowing that if he was fit, he started. He needs someone challenging his spot to get the best out of him, a player like Scott Parker would do that and is also a player that would do a good job for us and jump at the chance to join us, even if it was only on loan.

The position we are being linked with most players to fill is centre back. My question is this... why? Why do we need a fifth centre back? Why do we need a player such as Cahill or Samba or Jagielka? Are they better than Koscielny or Djourou? Stop laughing at the question and ask yourself again are the three centre backs named above worth spending the clubs precious cash on? Vermaelen will start the season as our main CB, there can be no doubt about that. If he stays, Squillaci will be our last ditch, fourth choice CB which leaves Djourou and Koscielny fighting to partner TV5. I track back to a blog I read by Arsenal Vision who with the help of EPL Index compared last seasons stats for Kos and Samba and they read as follows:

Koscielny:

Pass completion: 85%
Tackle Success: 78%
Ground 50-50 Duels won: 58%
Aerial Duels won: 53%
Interceptions: 91

Samba:

Pass Completion: 63%
Tackle Success: 73%
Ground 50-50 Duels won: 64%
Aerial Duels won: 69%
Interceptions: 79 

The thing that stands out for me is that Kos wins 3 categories, Samba wins 2. Now I don't have stats for Cahill but I doubt they are significantly better than Kos' and I'd feel safe betting the same is the case for Jagielka. In my eyes, our best partnership would be that of TV5 and Kos and it is not worth spending £15m on a defender that will not significantly improve our team and on top of that Song can be very strong in the centre of defence and if we had another DM then that would be another option open to Wenger. Lets also not forget that this was Koscielny's first season so he was producing stats equal to our supposed targets whilst still adapting to the English league. 

I know I am in the vast minority in this argument but I honestly do not think we need to sign another CB unless one of ours leaves, I am much more concerned about recruiting a new defensive midfielder to challenge Song and a replacement at left back because as much as Wenger tries to convince us otherwise, Gibbs is not good enough to be a regular starter for a team that should be challenging for the title.

Sorry for what seems to be a very negative blog but these niggles must be shouted out at some point and frustration needs to be vented. I am sure that Wenger knows what this team needs more than I do, you do or anyone else does for that matter but we need to be a better squad than we were last year, especially with our rivals all strengthening theirs and with the very real possibility of  Fabregas and Nasri playing elswhere next year we need strong signings and we need them now.

Till next time,

Goonerfish.

Pre-season underway & Denilson finally on his way?

Morning Gooners,

I love the first game of pre season. The excitement of finally having all our players back from holiday, seeing all our new signings in action knowing that the season is just weeks away. I have always had a fond affection for our traditional game at Barnet but this year the club have gone down a new route with the tour of the far east.

Now reasons for the tour are purely a commercial test. This is the club testing the waters for future pre seasons and although we'll only pocket around £3m from this tour, future tours - if done properly - will be a fantastic earner for the club in years to come.

The tour started with a 4-0 win over Malaysia XI. The opposition never really gave us much of a game but it was good to see that our boys seem to have looked after themselves over the summer in particular Andrei Arshavin looks like he's dropped a lot of weight and is looking leaner and ready to go. I'm excited about seeing Arshavin this year, it's his first season that he's gone into without the assumption he's an automatic starter and he seems to have taken that on board and cracked down over the summer. If AA23 takes his chances we could see much more of the star quality we thought we signed. Jenkinson surprised me with the way he fitted in so well with the rest of the team, he looked on the same wavelength from the start and although Sagna is still definitely first choice, young Jenkinson has not come here to be satisfied playing in the reserves. Aaron Ramsey was my other stand out player. I have high hopes for Ramsey as long as he gets the game time this year and his assist for Theo's goal was, dare I say it, Cesc-esc.

Our second pre-season game is at lunch time today against Hangzhou Greentown and although I would be shocked if they posed much threat at all it will still be good to how well our boys link up together.

Away from the pitch, the only player that seemed not to enjoy the Malaysia game was Denilson. The young Brazilian was brought on as a sub at half time and then taken off again 20 minutes later. However his torture seems to be coming towards an end as reports emerged last night that he is leaving the tour early  to travel to Sao Paulo to secure what looks to be a season long loan move to his old club. It'll be a good move for Denilson and if it comes off I honestly hope Deni can just start enjoying his football again.

It's been a while sine we've been linked with a new player but Gunnerblog broke the story that Costa Rica's Joel Campbell is having talks with Arsenal executive Richard Law who is hoping to seal a deal before the big Spanish teams make their moves as they are also believed to be interested in the youngster. I'm not going to pretend I've ever heard of this kid but you can see his youtube montage here:

Everything else has seemingly gone quiet on the Arsenal front. Stories on Mata, Nasri, left backs and centre backs have all gone quiet. So I'm off to desperately sniff around Newsnow and prepare myself for today's game.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Welcome Gervinho & the Nasregas Saga continues

Morning Gooners.


Let me start with a big fat welcome to Gervinho. The former Lille star has finally completed his move to Arsenal as Arsene Wenger confirmed he is now officially an Arsenal player.

Gervinho was part of a Lille team last year that completed a league and  domestic cup double. The Brazilian born Ivory Coast star scored 18 goals and provided 10 assists in all competitions last year and will hopefully be able to adapt quickly and carry on that form to next season. Gervinho is a player with pace who can take on players, score goals and create chances for others he will be an excellent addition to our squad and personally, I can't wait to see him in action (although that won't be until after our tour of Asia)

Arsene Wenger has been put in front of the press for the first time this year ahead of our first pre-season friendly against Malaysia XI on Wednesday and even on the other side of the world, the questions were the same, 'Is Fabregas going to Barcelona?' 'Is Nasri leaving or signing?' Le gaffer dealt with the questions as we all know he will, speaking lots but saying nothing. I am honestly lost when it comes to the 'Nasregas Saga' as I have now decided to call it. One day I think we could lose one but not the other, the next I sink to being sure that both men are sure to leave Ashburton Grove and then crazy days where I even support the notion that we may have both players in an Arsenal shirt next year. I can only suggest believe nothing and ignore the entire situation until either the season starts and they're still with us or Arsenal.com indeed confirm that one, the other or even both have parted company with our great club and although this is prompting abuse, trust Arsene knows what he's doing.

One place we know Nasri won't be going is to Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson has said he won't be pursuing him as he suggested that Nasri may be heading elsewhere, even suggesting he may stay put at Arsenal.

Wenger also confirmed that Bendtner and Almunia have stayed at home to try and secure moves away from Arsenal with Borussia Dortmund seemingly close to securing our 'almost' great Dane with a £9m deal. Arsenal's current financial structure means that players need to leave before we can bring others in so hopefully more new arrivals (Mata, I'm looking at you) will follow any departures as soon as possible.

You know the season is beautifully close when Sky announce their live games schedule which they have done today. Check with Sky for a full list but our live games come as follows:

13/08 Vs Newcastle - ESPN 17:30
20/08 Vs Liverpool - Sky 12:45
28/08 Vs Man Utd - Sky 16:00
17/09 Vs Blackburn - Sky 12:45
02/10 Vs Spuds - Sky 16:00
29/10 Vs Chelsea - Sky 12:45
19/11 Vs Norwich - Sky 12:45
28/11 Vs Fulham - ESPN 17:30

In addition to this we will have our Champions League qualifier either side of the Liverpool game so our first five games are all live on TV.

Last night the AST were given a presentation by Arsenal last night and in all honesty the highlights I picked up from @DarrenArsenal1 on twitter were mainly survey results which confirm what we already know, fans are not happy about how the season went. To see a more detailed breakdown jump onto twitter and give @DarrenArsenal1 a follow and look down his timeline.

Final point for pondering for you all. I have read a couple of conflicting suggestions regarding squad numbers. With Gervinho arriving and prefering the no11 shirt, Carlos Vela looks as though he'll give it up and it's suggested he'll pick up the no18 shirt as Lansbury seems to have been given his old no12 but then where does that leave Squillaci? God only knows (and he's busy coaching Ajax youth team so I don't want to bother him) so we'll all just have to wait patiently to find out.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

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Off to Asia but who will be a Gooner by the time they get back?

Morning Gooners,

Our boys fly out to Asia today and as suspected Cesc Fabregas will not be on the plane. The official line is that this is because of a hamstring niggle however, it's suspected that it's to make his move to Barcelona easier if they finally match our asking price. A lot of press is speculating, and I repeat,  speculating that the transfer will be completed this coming week. If it isn't completed within the next couple of weeks I will actually start to feel a little optimistic that he will be staying next year. Wenger won't sell him last minute as he'll have no time to replace him.

Nasri however has travelled with the squad probably because they didn't have enough time to invent an injury for him but being on tour by no means stops the chances of a transfer as Man Utd proved when they parted ways with Veron in the middle of a tour. Todays Telegraph reports that Nasri has agreed a £185'000 a week deal with Man City but Arsenal are still holding out for £25m. I personally don't want Nasri to leave, I think he will be a world beater in coming years but £20-25m for a player in the last year of his contract and showing no signs of wanting to sign a new one is a very good deal. I find it hard to believe that the passion and desire shown in the picture above can be shown by mercenaries so I'm hoping that Wenger can work his gift of the gab and get Samir to sign a new 4 year deal while they're away.

Bendtner and Almunia both stay at home as they try to finalise deals to move away from Ashburton Grove with a couple of side from Germany supposedly interested in NB52 and a couple of teams in Spain that obviously have the worst scouts in Europe have been showing interest in Almunia.

The good news is that some younger players looking to break through are in the squad. Frimpong, Miyaichi and Jenkinson have all travelled and will be looking to impress Arsene Wenger. The full squad list can be found here

Another player unlikely to be taking part is Gervinho. This whole saga has to be the biggest paperwork balls up in recent history. The player has agreed terms and passed a medical and even done all the press stuff such as Arsenal Player interviews and photo shoots and the clubs have agreed a fee but constant cock ups in the visa paperwork have seen multiple delays in completion. Looks like the first chance to see him will be in the friendly against Cologne on July 23rd but hopefully we'll have another couple of new signings joining him.

Arsene and Arsenal will be busy fulfilling commercial commitments over the next week but I expect Ivan Gazidis to be working very hard trying to complete deals so transfer business will not stop because Arsene Wenger is away.

No matter who is and isn't there, I'm excited that friendlies are starting, it feels like an absolute age since seeing the mighty Arsenal in action but I for one will be glued to Arsenal Player on Wednesday.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.