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.

Barca continue to annoy & Gervinho in for a medical?

Morning Gooners,

So, lets start with Barca so we can get it out of the way. Our favourite Spaniards have come back and said "sorry about that ridiculous £27m offer, we were only joking. How about £34m?" hopefully the club have told Barca to stuff it again and not to come back until they have a proper offer. How can Cesc Fabregas, a world cup winner and European Champion be worth less money than Andy Carroll, a player that's has 1 good year in the Premiership and a couple of caps? We've all seen the quotes that supposedly came out of the club saying that if Barca meet Arsenal's valuation then we'll sell him, now ignoring the pointlessness of that comment (I thought that's how every transfer works!!) you'd think Barca would hear it and pay the money we are asking or sod off!!

Apparently, according to the Mirror, Barca are now also after Samir Nasri. They report that Barca will come in with a bid of £20m which in all honesty is a good offer for a player who is in the last year of his contract and playing silly buggers with a new contract. I still think that Nasri will sign and we'll be enjoying watching him for another 4 years or so at Arsenal.

OK, now for some nice news, reports were flying about yesterday that 'someone' had arrived at the Colney for a medical. Mixed with reports from France that Arsenal and Lille had finished some pleasant conversations the general consensus is that the player mentioned would be Gervinho which would be welcomed news. Gervinho was named Ivory Coast's player of the year last season beating the likes of Yaya Toure and Drogba, that has to be good pedigree that will improve our squad but as normal no further news came out of Arsenal, and chances are we'll wait a couple of days for the move to be officially confirmed and all the press stuff released at the same time. Lets hope its the first of many new faces welcomed to the club.

We also seem to be getting closer to signing Gary Cahill from Boltom. I know that a lot of fans are waiting for this but I really don't see what all the fuss around Cahill is about. Is he really better than Koscielny or Djourou? Really? We'll wait to see what happens but I really don't see Cahill as the player to save our defense.

Ricardo Alvarez also seems closer to his Arsenal switch for about £11m. Talks between the clubs have been ongoing for a while now and last night Alvarez tweeted about his love for Arsenal ans how playing for "The Arsenal" would be a dream. There is still some doubt about the authenticity of the account but I remain hopeful.

Other news is that Arsene Wenger has moved the start of pre season training forward a couple of days so now our boys will all be returning on Monday morning to start preparation for what will be one of the most important seasons in the clubs history.

It will be interesting to see if everyone is present or players currently involved in transfer dealings will be back late, or indeed at all, it will also be interesting to see if we have any new faces confirmed in time to join them. Only time will tell.

Also thew new away kit has been revealed by the club. When I say revealed, I mean confirmed what everyone has known and seen for months now. I actaully don't mind it, it's not my favorite kit we've had by any stretch of the imagination but it's not as bad as some people are making out. At least our players seem to like it, Jack Wilshere and Rambo have both tweeted about it but then again, they probably have to.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.