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Transfer Update: Don’t Hurry Back, Chamakh

599 comments January 5th, 2013

Arsenal have completed their first official transfer of this window, and unsurprisingly it’s a transfer out rather than in: Marouane Chamakh has joined West Ham United on a six month loan.  Upon sealing the deal, he said:

“We played only one striker at Arsenal, so I didn’t play a lot, so I hope to do so more with West Ham. I think this will be a very important move for me and I don’t want to waste any more time. I want to contribute immediately.”

It’s a difficult stance to argue with, and the polar opposite of the attitude of Andrey Arshavin, who has turned down the chance to move to Reading to sit in the doldrums at Arsenal.  Chamakh is 28 now, and not played a single minute in the Premier League this season.  He’s spent most of his time on the training ground putting out the football bibs.  If he is to have any chance of resurrecting his career, it’s clear he needed to move on.

The fact his career is in need of resurrection at all is what intrigues me.  It may be hard to recall now, but when Chamakh first joined Arsenal he looked like the real deal.  For a long time Arsenal had been told they needed a physical, aerially dominant centre-forward, and Chamakh looked to be that man.  He scored an impressive 10 goals in his first 17 starts.  At the time, Robin van Persie was yet to explode in to the player he is now, and was suffering one of his customary injuries.  I will admit that during this period I  may have stated a case for RVP to be sold off now we had a more reliable forward in Chamakh.  Shows what I know.

For everything was soon to change.  After a goal against Aston Villa in November, Chamakh had to wait until March 3rd for his next in Arsenal colours.  Robin van Persie returned from injury to have his extraordinary calendar year of 2011, and as his star shone brighter and brighter, Chamakh’s waned.  He never regained his place in the side, his manager’s faith, or his confidence in front of goal.

That’s why he’s going on loan, rather than making a permanent move.  No club would risk a fee on a player who has suffered such a dramatic decline, and I suspect we’re probably paying a proportion of his hefty wages during his time at West Ham too.  Nevertheless, if it works out, we may find a buyer – he is very much in the shop window.

There’s a decent player in there.  Not a player to match RVP, or even Olivier Giroud, but a player capable of holding up the ball and providing a threat in the air.  A player who will suit West Ham down to the ground.  If he can get a game ahead of Carlton Cole or Andy Carroll, things could work out for him.  I hope they do, for everyone’s sakes.

Chamakh’s departure, as well as Gervinho’s time at the African Cup of Nations, leaves us very light upfront.  I considered a striker a priority before the window – now it’s nothing less than a necessity.  Worryingly, our options seem to be decreasing all the time: Demba Ba has joined Chelsea, Huntelaar has re-signed at Schalke, and Fernando Llorente is in talks about a Bosman move to Juve.  I’ve read the stories about David Villa, but I can’t see that one happening.  The obvious signings have all disappeared from the table.  That said, Arsene has never really been one for the obvious.  Let’s hope he’s got a trick up his sleeve.

I was irked by his comments suggesting fans demand the signing of “Messi” etc.  It’s nonsense.  Most fans simply want appropriate investment in the side.  Letting players go (Johan Djourou seems set to follow Chamakh through the exit door) only increases the need for reinforcements.

One to keep an eye on could be Thierry Henry.  When asked by Arsenal.com about the seemingly dead deal for the Frenchman, Arsene said:

“We have not gone as far with Thierry because we look more for permanent people.”

Sensible.  Positive, even.  However, Arsene went on to suggest that a couple of injuries and Thierry’s willingness could change that situation later in the month.  Given my lack of confidence about our ability to pull in alternative signings, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Henry in an Arsenal shirt in 2013.

So far in this window, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Spurs have already completed deals.  The onus is on Arsenal to show similar urgency.

Transfer Update: Ba, Adrian, Djourou & No Theo Talks

677 comments January 3rd, 2013

If Arsenal do sign a forward in this transfer window, it won’t be Demba Ba.  The Senegalese striker is instead on the way to Chelsea, who have moved early in the transfer window to secure Ba by meeting the £7m release clause in his contract.

I made little secret of the fact that Ba was my preferred choice to solve Arsenal’s striker problems –  I was banging on about it as early as October.  He struck me as an affordable, athletic goalscorer – exactly what we need to help Olivier Giroud during his period of adaptation.

However, as soon as Chelsea became interested it became unlikely.  On Wednesday I received a piece of information which went some way towards explaining Arsenal’s unwillingness to get involved in the transfer: there are five agents involved in the deal, each demanding a fee of £1m.  If Chelsea meet their demands, that almost doubles the cost of the signing, and means Ba’s representatives will take home as much from the deal as Newcastle themselves (£2m of the £7m buyout goes straight in to Ba’s pocket).   Add that to Ba’s £80,000 p/week pay-packet and suddenly the gamble on his Swiss cheese cartilage seems a lot more expensive.

Adrián López seems much more like an Arsene Wenger signing.  I can’t vouch for the veracity of the links with the Spanish forward, but he has all the attributes Arsene tends to look for: he’s young, quick, technically capable and extremely versatile.  He could play in any of the front three positions, which would give Wenger plenty of options and effectively replace Gervinho – during his African Nations exile and hopefully beyond.  Some reports have dubbed him “the next David Villa”, but after a difficult season this time round Arsenal fans could be forgiven for hoping for the real thing instead.

Room will have to be made in the squad, and one of the players who has been deemed dispensable is Johan Djourou.  The Swiss defender is already in talks with a Ligue 1 club about a permanent move, and when you add that to declared interest from Hannover the signs suggest he could end January anywhere but North London.

I have to say I’m sorry to see him go.  I think he’s far better than public perception would have you believe.  Don’t forget, it was a back-line of Djourou and Koscielny that played in our 2-1 victory over Barcelona at the Emirates.  At that time, almost two years ago, he looked like an Arsenal first-teamer for years to come.  Since then, however, he’s failed to get a run of games together, and it saddens me that the last memory many Gooners will have of him is of a few halting performances playing out-of-position at full-back.

Should Djourou go, I don’t necessarily expect Arsenal to sign a replacement.  Ignasi Miquel is 20 now and extremely well thought of.  This could be his opportunity to become part of the first team squad, especially with the news that Sebastien Squillaci could also be off – although I’d be staggered if he could find a club prepared to match his Arsenal wages.

Finally, you may have read yesterday that Theo Walcott was due to spend the afternoon in talks with Arsenal over a new contract.  Well, I wouldn’t expect an announcement any time soon: my information is that no such talks took place.  I’m sure there’ll be contact between Arsenal and Theo this month, but that summit has not taken place yet.

Look at that.  The window is only a few days already and we’re already up to our neck in transfer chat.  It could be a long month.  I can only guarantee you that all information I give you is in good faith, and absolutely authentic.  Follow me on Twitter @gunnerblog for transfer tidbits and window wailings.  It’s rarely fun.

A tale of three contracts: RVP, Djourou & Nike

110 comments July 11th, 2012

So training is back underway, and there are some familiar faces at Colney.  The likes of Gervinho, Arteta, Vermaelen, Santos and Gibbs are all back at the grindstone.  Even Abou Diaby is there, although he looks dangerously close to injury at all times.  There are plenty of youngsters bulking out the squad, too.  A quick glance at these pics will reveal the presence of Kyle Bartley, Damien Martinez, and a fit again Conor Henderson.

Steve Bould and Neil Banfield are running things for the first-time, and it’ll be interesting to see if the new coaching team precipitates any chance in first-team matters.  I can’t be alone in hoping that Bould is able to mould our defenders in his own image.  We shall see.

Of course a lot of the big names are absent – including the biggest: Robin van Persie.  Nevertheless, he still continues to dominate headlines.  Yesterday Sky Sports News started claiming that the Dutchman was set to do a u-turn and sign a new deal, a la Rooney.  They even went as far as to publish a news story about it on my website.  Then, after about an hour or so, they stopped talking about it, and the article was pulled down.  It was almost as if they’d realised that what they were saying had no real factual substance or basis.  Who knows, they might even have received a call from an angry member of the RVP camp.  From what I hear they are pretty resolved on pushing through a move ASAP, most likely to Manchester City.  So there’s all that fun still to come.

One man who seemingly isn’t going anywhere is Johan Djourou.  You can read the full transcript of his interview with Blick.ch here, in which he reveals that the man hawking him round Serie A simply isn’t his agent.  I do feel a little for Johan Djourou: the guy takes a lot of stick, largely from the same elements of the fanbase that hailed him as “the answer” just a couple of years ago.  As he was overrated then, he’s underrated now: the truth is somewhere inbetween.  There are constant calls to sell and replace him, but few of the suggested signings would be happy being a fourth choice centre-back.  You can’t question Djourou’s loyalty: he’s now pretty our longest-serving player.  The interview also puts an end to the ridiculous stories doing the rounds on certain blogs that his new contract was due to a clause exercised by the player against the clubs wishes.

Youngster Gavin Hoyte has left Arsenal to join Dagenham & Redbridge on a two-year deal.  This is the same Gavin Hoyte who was once hailed as “even better” than his brother Justin Hoyte – the very same Justin Hoyte who now plays in the Championship with Middlesbrough.  This is a stark reminder that as much as we occasionally get excited about a young talent, there’s a big difference between impressing in the odd Carling Cup cameo and securing a future as a top flight player.  Take note messrs Frimpong, Miquel and Eastmond.

Finally, there was some talk on the interwebs yesterday that Arsenal are negotiating a new kit deal with Adidas, and are set to end their long-term deal with Nike, possibly even a year earlier than planned.  It’s not impossible: as Alisher Usmanov’s open letter made plain, the club are in the process of hurriedly renegotiating their commercial deals in order to maximise our spending capacity.  I’d expect to see more stories of this ilk over the coming months and years – it’s worth remembering we’re already more than halfway through the ‘Emirates’ name deal for the stadium.

Everything changes.  Especially when money’s involved.  Just ask RVP.