August 28th, 2011
There is a massive match today, and at the risk of sounding uncannily like manager Arsene Wenger, I’d like to talk solely about that. Â However, with the window creaking towards closing, inevitably there is transfer news on the agenda.
It appears that Arsenal are about to sign South Korea striker Park Chu-Young.  After Monaco were relegated last season, Park, who is captain of his country, has spent the summer searching for a move.  It seemed he’d found it when French champions Lille agreed a fee of €3m + €2m add-ons.  He underwent a medical, and this morning Lille president Michel Seydoux sought out Park at his hotel to finalise the contract.
Only, Park wasn’t there.
A series of furious phone calls to Monaco and the player’s representatives confirmed Seydoux’s fears: Park had travelled to England, to meet with Arsenal.
Park was as surprised as anyone; the deal has come from nowhere. Â On Friday, Arsene confirmed Arsenal’s desire to sign a striker – a decision motivated by the impending departure of Nicklas Bendtner and the fact Joel Campbell has been denied a work permit. Â That evening, Arsenal informed Monaco of their interest. Â By Saturday morning, a formal bid had arrived, and Arsene Wenger had spoken to Park on the telephone. Â As soon as he received the call, the player departed for London.
It’s an intriguing signing, and in my eyes a positive one. Â A couple of days ago I didn’t think Arsene was going to buy a striker, so I’ll be delighted if we do secure one. Â Some fans seem disappointed by he player’s relatively low profile and price-tag, but I think they’re odd criteria by which to judge a signing.
Even so, I expect bigger names to arrive in the areas which require more significant strengthening: defence and midfield. Â Speaking of which, Owen Coyle’s criticism of Gary Cahill’s performance at Anfield, suggesting the player has had his “head turned”, seem to me to be further evidence of a club preparing for the player’s departure.
Anyway. Â More of Park, Cahill and others in the coming days of frenzied activity. Â For now, for today, it’s Manchester United at Old Trafford.
First: team news. Â As you all know, the Arsenal squad is currently decimated by injuries and suspensions. Â From the game against Udinese we lose Song, Gervinho and Frimpong (all suspended), who join the likes of Gibbs, Squillaci, Wilshere, Diaby and Bendtner on the sidelines.
Wojciech Szczesny will continue in goal. Â Thomas Vermaelen will form the bedrock of our defence, with his first-choice partner Laurent Koscielny hopefully able to be picked alongside him. Â There were some rumours yesterday that Bacary Sagna was suffering from a stomach bug – assuming he recovers, he’s likely to continue at left-back with Carl Jenkinson on the other flank.
The central midfield trio will be comprised of Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey and another.  The likes of Oguzhan Özyakup and Francis Coquelin have reportedly been called up to the first team squad, but I suspect Arsene will go with Johan Djourou in a holding role.  The Swiss defender began his career as a midfielder and should be comfortable enough in that position.
The attack picks itself: captain Robin van Persie will be flanked by the in-form Theo Walcott and out-of-sorts Andrey Arshavin.
United have started the season in fine fettle, with plenty of new blood to supplement the established set. Â They’re champions and favourites for this year’s title. Â Arsenal, meanwhile, have spent the first part of the season lurching from one disaster to the next, until the reprieve granted by defeating Udinese in the Champions League qualifier. Â All of that means that we start this game as massive underdogs – a position which ought to suit us.
Considering this is always a huge fixture, we go in to it under remarkably little pressure. Â Hopefully that will liberate some of the younger players in our side, and allow us to at least make a decent fist of it. Â The squad strengthening that will happen between now and Wednesday could dramatically alter our season – but, arguably, a positive result today could be more.
We’re due a win at Old Trafford. Â And we’re due some luck. Â A victory, or even a convincing performance, could rarely be more timely.
Come On You Gunners.
August 20th, 2011
Apologies for the lack of blog yesterday. A sleepless night and a five hour train journey meant sharing my thoughts with you would’ve been an unpleasant situation for us both. Fortunately, I am now slightly recovered, and feeling rather better. About everything, in fact.
This morning I’ll cycle up to the Emirates for my first live game of the season. In fact, work commitments have prevented me actually getting to games since around March. I watched our end of season collapse on the television, or through my computer/fingers.
The summer hasn’t been any easier on the eye. But tomorrow lunchtime, when I’m confronted with the full horror of Liverpool FC and their fans, all I will care about is that the eleven men in red and white triumph over the eleven men in whatever hideous away kit Liverpool’s marketing men have concocted for this season. And that, really, is what football ought to be about.
For ninety minutes, I’m calling a truce with my angst. All I want to do is beat Liverpool. I’m even calling a truce with Samir Nasri, who has been surprisingly recalled to the squad. It shows how stretched we are when the manager is prepared to risk a £23m asset just hours before he’s due to leave the club. The fact that Tomas Rosicky has joined Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, Gervinho, Alex Song, Kieran Gibbs, Armand Traore and Johan Djourou on the sidelines has forced Arsene to reconsider Nasri’s position, and I now expect him to start in a midfield trio with Emmanuel Frimpong and Aaron Ramsey.
It’s certainly a change of position from when Arsene said he was only prepared to use players who were 100% committed to the club. And it’s a change brought about, quite clearly, by desperation. Arsene said:
“You do your job until the last day of your life at the Club – the rest is speculation. That doesn’t interfere with your dedication and the way you do your job.
Nasri is in the squad. If I decide to play him he will play. When you are professional you play until the last day.
Everywhere I have worked in my life I have made sure that until the last second of where I was I did the job properly. He is paid this month by Arsenal Football Club so why should he not play?”
Nasri’s impending move to City has seen his relationship with the Arsenal fans very quickly and very publicly disintegrate. There will doubtless be those in the Emirates crowd who want to vent their frustrations at a player who has reneged on a new deal at Arsenal to double his money elsewhere. My advice to you is this: save it for when he comes back with City. There’s no need for a negative atmosphere around the ground on a day when teenagers like Carl Jenkinson and Emmanuel Frimpong could be making their first league starts for the club.
The team will most likely be:
Szczesny – Sagna Koscielny Vermaelen Jenkinson – Frimpong Ramsey – Walcott Nasri Arshavin – Van Persie (c)
Japanese winger Ryo Miyaichi, having completed his paperwork, is also in contention and is likely to be on the bench. Interestingly, there’s been no talk of whether or not Nicklas Bendtner could be involved, perhaps in one of the wide attacking roles. I wouldn’t be adverse to giving the Dane a game, although his lack of match practise might be a worry.
Regardless, it’s a line-up that tells you a lot about the state of the squad and where we require strengthening – especially when you take Nasri out of the equation too. I was encouraged by the news that Arsenal made an enquiry for Lucho Gonzalez – an experienced, quality player – albeit one whose form has dipped in the last twelve months; but seriously, why would Marseille allow one of their best players, who cost them €18m two years ago, to leave on loan? Much like when we bid only £10m for Phil Jagielka, I think we were being optimistic at best, and naieve at worst.
It doesn’t look like we’ll be getting Juan Mata either, with the Spaniard now set to sign for Chelsea. That’s a shame: he’s a great player and would’ve been a good like-for-like replacement for Nasri.
One player who has signed is Joel Campbell. The teenage striker will now wait to hear if he is awarded a work permit before the club decide the next stage of his development.
It’s a huge game today. Our first two matches have come with creditable results, if uninspiring performances. This is a different kind of test, against the team a whole host of pundits have predicted will supercede us in the race for Champions League qualification. It’s an opportunity to make a real statement, and give both the players and fans a much-need boost ahead of a very difficult week in which we travel to Udinese and Manchester United.
Arsene looked as fiery as he ever has done in his press conference yesterday, swatting away journalists with defiant rhetoric. He’s clearly been riled by those hacks and fans who have openly questioned his decision-making this summer, and feels he has a point to prove. As supporters, we should consider that a good thing. Three good results in the next eight days would certainly silence many of his critics.
Come On You Gunners.
August 12th, 2011
Hello all. In the broader scheme of things at the club, this is not big news, but having followed it all the way I wanted to carry on the story: Costa Rican striker Joel Campbell has confirmed he will fly to England on Sunday, when he is expected to sign for Arsenal.
Campbell gave the news to website EverardoHerrera.com, who initially broke the news of Arsenal’s interest. Although Campbell has not yet explicitly confirmed that Arsenal are his destination, he laughed and joked with the presenters when wished luck wearing the red and white shirt of the Gunners – and confirmed to journalists off-record that he would be joining Arsenal during the u-20 World Cup.
He is saving the announcement itself for a press conference which will be held by his club, Deportivo Saprissa, at 1am UK-time. Spanish speakers among you can listen to the interview here.
Arsenal would like the player to become part of the first team squad immediately, but that will be dependent on whether or not he receives a work permit. There are some rumours flying round that he has Irish grandparents: he doesn’t. He is as Irish as Ryo Miyaichi (ie. not very), so like the Japanese winger would most likely have to be awarded an ‘extraordinary talent visa’. There is also a rumour you cannot only make one application for an extraordinary talent visa per season; this is also untrue. It’s one application per season per individual, if that makes any sense. Anyway, Campbell will have his day before the FA panel, and that will decide whether he stays in England or goes out elsewhere on loan. His caps for Costa Rica will certainly stand him in good stead.
UPDATE: Arsenal just confirmed the deal on the official website. Arsene said:
“Joel Campbell has already shown that he is a player with great ability, and has also performed well on the international stage at a young age. We look forward to the formalities of the transfer being completed and working with Joel when he joins us at Arsenal.”
Why have the club chosen to announce the deal now? Well, partly because they knew the press conference in Costa Rica was about to steal their thunder somewhat. But there is an amusing sub-plot: Barcelona officials are currently waiting in their offices for an email confirming the deal for Cesc after the clubs reached verbal agreement this morning.
Catalan journalists close to the club have told me that Barca leaked news of an agreement and are now left feeling embarrassed and concerned that an official agreement has not been forthcoming. Arsenal, meanwhile, are presumably enjoying making them suffer a little. Announcing Campbell now shows we have staff on call – we’re just letting them stew.
Petty, but amusing.
Right. The rebuilding continues. Till tomorrow.
August 12th, 2011
Tomorrow is the first day of a new season. Ordinarily, I’d be hugely and embarrassingly excited about that. Today, it feels like a speck on the horizon as compared to the impending horrors of the transfer market.
The trio of Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City have been very quiet about the futures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, until last night, when Arsenal.com released this small clip. Give it a watch. Arsene doesn’t say much, but he doesn’t have to. It’s clear that Cesc Fabregas is on the way out, possibly as soon as today.
The player himself has maintained his silence, breaking it only to say:
Presumably it’s a new work phone. Or perhaps this was the clincher in negotiations. €29m + €6m + €5m + blackberry bold 9900.
Joking aside, it looks like I’ll have to roll out the ‘Cesc’s Arsenal career’ obituary imminently. I might start pre-writing them for any decent player we ever have.
On Nasri, meanwhile, Arsene says the situation is “stable”. Stable how, exactly? Even if he’s not sold he’s still at most ten months away from leaving. My increasing feeling is that both players will indeed be sold, and probably over the next few days.
As worried as you are about Jadon coping in the Premier League, he looks far more worried himself
The surest sign yet that the pair of playmakers are on the verge of leaving the club comes in the form that Arsenal have already identified his replacement: the Brazilian Jadson. The Independent go as far as to say a £12m fee has been agreed – and my information is that this deal is very much on Arsenal’s agenda, with the only concern surrounding the playmaker’s eligibility for a work-permit.
With all the talk about Juan Mata, I was reminded of what happened when we lost Thierry Henry. The expectation was that we would move for a big name, like Nicholas Anelka. Instead, Eduardo da Silva appeared from nowhere. It’s much the same with Jadson, who ironically now plays alongside Eduardo currently for Shakhtar Donetsk. Some papers are suggesting Arsenal would like to sign both Mata and Jadson, but I’m not convinced Arsene will move for more than one dwarfish attacker.
Jadson is even smaller than Mata, standing just 5’6″ tall. To put that in perspective, it’s an inch shorter than Arshavin. His age would also make him an unusual Wenger signing – he’ll be 28 in October. Yesterday he tweeted:
“If everything goes to plan, I’ll have some news for everyone at the start of next week. Hope it works out. #happy”
If Jadson does arrive, I hope it’s as part of a concerted spending spree in order to restore morale and strengthen our ever-weakening squad. Joel Campbell, another potential signing from across the Atlantic, is due to hold a press conference in the next 24 hours at which he will announce which club he is due to join.
Speaking of press conferences, Arsene will step before the media at 9am UK-time before travelling to Newcastle. The chances of taking Cesc or Nasri with him have got to be slim to none. The rest of the team news is here.
For more on Cesc, Nasri, Newcastle and the season ahead, keep your eyes peeled on Arseblog for the first Arsecast of the season, with myself and Goonerholic. I won’t, I hasten to add, be rapping.
August 11th, 2011
Whisper it, but it may almost be over.
El Mundo Deportivo: "Today, Cesc"
A transfer saga that has hung its miserable shadow over us since the day Cesc Fabregas first arrived in London, and that has spent two years showering uncertainty on to our captain and our club, may be about to end.
Widespread reports in England and indeed Barcelona (click images on the right) suggest a deal is imminent. Of course, we’ve been here before, but the sheer weight of speculation suggests there may be fire at the heart of all this smoke. The impending commencement of the season, too, may have hurried negotiations along.
Barcelona’s supposed final offer, which they expect Arsenal to accept today, totals €40m. It’s unclear whether that’s a full €40m, or if the Catalan club are including in that figure the €5m Arsenal will save by not paying Cesc any kind of loyalty bonus. Whatever they end up paying, it won’t be more than about €29m upfront – and it’ll be a bargain. Cesc will go for marginally more than Andy Carroll.
Sport: "Cesc - Yes"
As I said a few days ago, the specifics of the deal don’t matter that much to me. In fact, I’d happily lose out on a million euros or so if it meant we could get it done quickly. Going in to the new season with this huge issue resolved and a new captain appointed would provide a welcome boost.
When the deal is finally done, both clubs will declare the fee “undisclosed”. Barca well tell the Catalan press they got a bargain, and Arsenal will brief the English press that they got a fair price. We’ll never know the truth.
There’s plenty more to say about Cesc and his departure. I’ll save it for when any of this speculation is confirmed. The next days promise to be painful, but I think it’s best for everyone now that this gets sorted. The night is darkest just before the dawn; we can and will emerge from this still unbowed, still Arsenal.
Parting with Cesc will certainly hurt more than seeing off Samir Nasri. If rumours are to be believed, he could follow Cesc through the door marked ‘exit’, with Manchester City ready to pay upwards of £20m for the midfielder. If we’re going to lose Nasri, I’d rather do it now for that sort of money than in a year for nothing. He played for France in their 1-1 draw with Chile last night, so if he is left out at Newcastle on Saturday it’s safe to say he has little future at Arsenal. If, that is, he’s still here.
An Arsenal executive told the BBC that “all the funds generated by the sale will be reinvested in new players”. I don’t doubt the board would be willing to do just that, but the final decision, as ever, will rest with Arsene. Will he be pragmatic enough to forget some of his principles and spend the money required to settle an unsteady ship? Time will tell.
One signing that does appear imminent is that of Joel Campbell. I told you on July 29th he’d agreed to join, and last night a Costa Rican journalist who met the U-20 international side off the plane from the World Cup in Colombia confirmed to me that Campbell intends to hold a press conference announcing his decision on Friday before travelling to England on Saturday to finalise things. The club have applied for a special talent visa as they did with Ryo Miyaichi, and, if successful, would make Campbell part of the first-team squad for 2011/12.
Right, that’ll do for now. Something tells me I might be back here before the day is out.
Next Posts
Previous Posts
