Posts filed under '2004-2011'

Hill-Wood reveals Cesc talks and Jagielka bid

44 comments July 29th, 2011

It is one of Premier League football’s great mysteries.  Why does Peter Hill-Wood, chairman of one of the clubs who demonstrates the most caution in commenting on transfer speculation, choose to let fly with his occasional volleys in, of all papers, The Daily Star?

Is it the paper that arrives on his front porch every morning?  Does he have a close friend on the sports desk?  Do they have photographs of him doing unspeakable things with Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and a horse?

Alas, we’ll probably never know.  But thanks to his comments in this morning’s edition, we do know an awful lot more about the transfer situation at Arsenal, particularly as regards Cesc Fabregas.  Hill-Wood said of Barca’s interest:

“They have been messing about for a year and a half now and they have got to make up their minds.

The ball is in their court. They have made one bid of around £26m and another rather tentative one.

If they want to buy the player they are going to have to pay the right price – and when you look at what is being paid elsewhere I don’t think what we are asking is at all unreasonable.”

Asked whether the time was approaching we would call off talks, he added: “We are getting close to that.”

It confirms a few things: first of all, that there has indeed been a second bid from Barcelona, which has also fallen short of our asking price.  It’s also the closest the club have come to officially confirming a willingness to sell the captain.  All summer long, Arsene has insisted he doesn’t want to lose his captain. But here, Hill-Wood is conceding that if Barcelona come up with the money he’ll be off.  The allusion to an “unreasonable” fee suggests that the £40m mark often referenced in the press is probably about right.

He’s clearly irritated by Barca’s dallying, and I would suggest that this public declaration of Arsenal’s frustration is calculated move to flush our their interest once and for all.  The player, the club and the fans are clearly all feeling the strain of this situation, and resolution – one way or the other – is essential.

He also spoke about the possibility of bringing in some new faces, saying:

“We are trying to buy a few players but it isn’t going to happen overnight.”

The suggestion we’re after “a few” players lends credibility to stories claiming that we’re attempting a double swoop for Juan Mata and Phil Jagielka, with Hill-Wood going as far as to confirm a bid for the latter has already been rejected:

“We have made a bid for him but they didn’t think it was enough.”

Whether or not that bid will be raised this week, as widely reported, remains to be seen.

The Chairman can occasionally make comments that appear a little ill-judged, but in this instance I think fans should be universally delighted to finally hear a bit of straight talking from the club.  I understand why Arsene and Gazidis are often so reticent to comment, and I respect that, but it does feel good to hear from the board just what is really going on, rather than having to rely on what is often guesswork in the national press.  Here, the chairman has both reassured supporters that efforts are being made to reinforce the squad, as well as very publicly challenging Barcelona to make the bid they’ve been threatening to make for almost two years now.  Good on him.

Finally, rumours of Nicklas Bendtner’s imminent departure to Sporting Lisbon could be a little premature – apparently their President said last night that his wage demands could be beyond their means.  It seems that although Arsenal are keen to move on a few members of the squad, finding clubs able to take on their salaries is proving more difficult.

If you enjoyed those quotes from Peter Hill-Wood, their might be more on the way today as Arsene gives a pre-Emirates Cup interview to Arsenal.com.  After a very quiet week, the club do seem to be saying and doing the right things.

No need to panic.  Yet.

It’s a Mata of whether Cesc stays or goes

111 comments July 28th, 2011

After the reports in the Spanish press yesterday, the English media have inevitably picked up on the stories about Valencia’s attacking midfielder, Juan Mata.  The Mirror even claim that Mata’s representatives flew in to London to discuss the move yesterday.  I suspect there’s a bit of guess-work involved: The Mirror seem to be constantly reporting that people are “flying in” from Barcelona or Valencia without any actual evidence.  Nevertheless, it seems that there is some truth in reports of our interest.

It’s easy to see why.  The 23-year old Mata has been described as a “superstar in waiting”, and is clearly a very talented player available at an unusually reasonable price.  But above and beyond all that, he would be a signing of sufficient calibre to pacify the fans after the departure of an even bigger star.

I can’t foresee a scenario in which Arsenal line up with Mata, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas next season.  My excitement about potentially signing the Spaniard is tempered by the knowledge that it’s most likely to be as a replacement for his compatriot and our captain.

Last week any Arsenal commentator worth his salt was saying that this was the week in which the Cesc Fabregas situation had to be sorted.  Well, here we are, rapidly approaching the end of said week, and both Arsenal and Barcelona have been eerily quiet about the whole thing.  The player probably feels increasingly awkward about the current state of play – training apart from his team-mates, he’s in a no-man’s land until the situation is resolved.  Whilst he won’t play at this weekend’s Emirates Cup, he will for the first time be asked to be present and part of our preparations.  It’s a situation he would have rather avoided.

Unfortunately, however, he’s dependent on movement from Barcelona, who are acting remarkably sluggishly over the whole thing.  Perhaps it’s because they have young Thiago Alcantara as an alternative option.  The Spanish U-21 International wore the Barca number 4 shirt earmarked for Fabregas last night, and demonstrated his talent with a couple of great goals.

Arsenal were reported to have given Barca a notional deadline of the end of July to sign Fabregas.  I sincerely doubt we’re in a position to do that – they have us over a barrel somewhat, due to the player’s desire to leave – but that date is now just four days away.  We’re approaching crunch time.  Perhaps our interest in Mata is the surest sign yet that this saga is approaching its conclusion.

In other transfer news, from behind the paywall The Times report we’re set to increase our bid for Phil Jagielka to £13m.

That sort of bid would begin to approach a more realistic valuation, and one at which Everton might feel under pressure to cash in.

Just a couple of days until the Emirates Cup, and then just a couple of weeks until the season begins. So many balls up in the air, and as fans we can do nothing but wait for them to fall.

Squad continues to thin as injuries commence

100 comments July 27th, 2011

You know the season is well on the way when Arsenal start picking up injuries.  A squad which is already braced for several departures in the next month has been hit by a couple of injury blows.

The first bad news is that of a cruciate ligament problem for 19-year old Conor Henderson.  The Irish midfielder was filling in at left-back against Cologne when he twisted his knee in the final seconds.  Arsenal.com say he’ll miss “a minimum of six months” – the player himself has already written the season off on his official Twitter account.  It’s a shame as the very fact he was in Germany was indicative of how highly Arsene rates him.  Hopefully he can follow the lead of Emmanuel Frimpong, who suffered a similar injury only to fight back in to first-team contention a year later.

Theo Walcott also returned home early from the German training camp with an ankle problem.  Arsene said:

“It is an ankle injury that comes and goes. We need some more investigation because sometimes he’s completely free of it and sometimes it affects him. But we had to send him back because he couldn’t practise any more.”

Whilst it doesn’t sound like a serious problem, any recurring injury is a bit of a worry, and without wanting to panic anyone it sounds like the sort of thing that might require surgery to resolve.  However, I’m sure Arsene will want Theo fit at the start of the season, so any major treatment will doubtless be put off now.

If Theo does miss the opening games, Arsene could be reliant on Russian forward Andrey Arshavin, who has targeted 15 goals for next season.  Although the player has been heavily linked with Galatasaray, I can’t see him being allowed to depart at a time when the futures of fellow playmakers Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri are in so much doubt.  Arshavin has looked sharped in pre-season and could be an important senior member of the squad in 2011/12.

Another player heavily linked with Galatasaray was Ivorian full-back Emmanuel Eboue.  However, the latest news from the Turkish media suggest his move may be off after Arsenal raised their valuation of the player to £7m.  That seems an improbably high price, so at this stage it could just be media tittle-tattle.

One man who is definitely loping towards the door is Nicklas Bendtner, whose Dad suggests he is inundated with offers.  Personally, I don’t care he goes so long as we get a decent fee – one that is reinvested in the squad.

Reinvested, perhaps, in one Juan Mata.  Valencia and Spain’s attacking midfielder has been consistently linked with Arsenal throughout the summer, and with the Cesc Fabregas saga coming to a head, Madrid-based daily Marca have suggested we’ve gone as far as to meet the buyout clause in his contract.

Mata would certainly meet a lot of the criteria for replacing either Cesc or Nasri, but for now let’s take these stories with a pinch of salt. So many times in the past we’ve questioned the authenticity or motives of Marca when printing stories about our players – this very morning they also ran a story suggesting Cesc is on “strike”, which simply isn’t true.

Finally, raise your mug of tea because Gunnerblog is seven years old today.  Thanks to all who have read, through its many incarnations.  Lets hope we can make this year the best of all.  Any maybe have a trophy too.

Ipswich fans should be excited about JET

50 comments July 26th, 2011

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has always been one of my pet favourite Arsenal youth prospects.  Perhaps it’s because he, like me, is left-footed.  Perhaps it’s because I identify with his poor use of grammar and laziness.  Or perhaps it’s simply because I have always been drawn to mercurial talents.  I love a Grimandi, but I prefer an Arshavin – someone capable of real magic.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is one of those players.  Don’t believe me?  Look at this.  Or this.  He’s got all the ability in the world – but unfortunately, at the highest level, that isn’t enough.  Arsene clearly feels he needs a move away to fulfill his potential, and so he’s joined Ipswich on a permanent deal.

Like Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, I’ve decided that a change is as good as a rest, and have decided to give Gunnerblog a lick of paint.  There’s still plenty going on on that front, so don’t be too hasty in your judgements.  Much as with Arsene’s squad rebuilding, a lot of work needs to be done between now and the start of the season.

Farewell JET. I leave you with this.

Eboue, JET & Lansbury edge towards exit as “Exodus week” begins…

782 comments July 25th, 2011

This feels like a big week for Arsenal.  It’s a week when July ends, August begins, and we move to within just a fortnight of the big kick-off.  It’s also a week in which Arsene and Arsenal would like to resolve several transfer issues: mainly the one surrounding their captain, Cesc Fabregas.

Of course, there’s no guarantee it’ll all end this week, but if we’ve got any sense we’ll have Barca a notional deadline of August 1st.  With the Alexis Sanchez deal done and dusted, Barca should be able to focus their efforts and enter a definitive period of negotiations with Arsenal.  I’m sure the club would like to spare themselves the awkward scenario of having to leave Cesc out of next weekend’s Emirates Cup without explanation.

The official line is still that he’s suffering with a hamstring injury.  Perhaps – but Arsene also told us Emmanuel Eboue didn’t travel to Germany because of injury, only to reveal last night that he may well be leaving the club.  Arsene said:

“How many will leave the club? I said from the start I will fight to keep everybody. Nicklas Bendtner might go and Emmanuel Eboue might go. They can talk to clubs, but the rest I will fight.”

A few whispers on twitter suggest Eboue’s probable destination is Galatasaray.  I have to say I’m slightly surprised.  Eboue has his faults – many of them – but having lost Gael Clichy we’re desperately short of cover in both full-back positions.  Of our current quartet (Sagna, Jenkinson, Gibbs and Traore) only Sagna could be said to have any real experience of top level competition.  No wonder Arsene said he’d “have” to sign at least one defender.

Youngsters Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Henri Lansbury stayed behind in London with Eboue, Bendtner and Cesc, and could be leaving the club themselves imminently.  Emmanuel-Thomas is reportedly on the verge of a £1m to Ipswich.  I have to say, I’ll be sorry to see him go, as I was always excited by his extraordinary potential.  Tall, powerful and skillful, the world of football seemed to be at his very gifted feet.  Unfortunately, great thought the feet were, the head never quite matched, and he didn’t show the required application either at Arsenal or in a number of loan spells.  If he ever knuckles down he’ll be a hell of a player.  If he doesn’t, this could be the beginning of the end of a hugely promising career.

The Lansbury story is one that involves a bit more conjecture.  On the player’s personal twitter account this morning, he initially tweeted about “bad news”, before pondering if it was “time for a new chapter”.  You don’t have to be a literary boffin to read between the lines and see that he could be on the move.  With only twelve months left on his deal, a fee of around £2.5m could see him on his way.  If he does go, I hope we insert a Barca-style buy-back clause for a player who is very much in the Arsenal mould.

Ah Barca.  That name again.  Something tells me we’ll hear it a few more times before the week is out.

Brace yourself.  This ought to be painful.

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