Park & RVP net seven goals in one day

43 comments September 3rd, 2011

With all the fuss over deadline day, I almost forgot there was a round of internationals to be played last night.  Several of our new boys were in action, with strike pairing Robin van Persie and Park Chu-Young grabbing the headlines.  Park scored an excellent hatrick against Lebanon, before RVP went one better by netting four in the Netherlands’ 11-0 win over San Marino.  Follow the links for video clips.

Whilst the level of opposition has to be taken in to account, it’s always good for a striker to score goals, and Park showed his potential with a variety of finishes: a stretching volley, a powerful header, and a neat finish across the keeper.  He looks like he can score all kinds of goals, which is more than can be said for Marouane Chamakh – who, at the moment, can’t score any.

As a rule, it seems our players have been more successful in their internationals than in their recent club form – and the good news is that so far I’m yet to hear of any injuries.  English fans will have enjoyed watching Theo Walcott give an impressive performance on the right-hand line of Fabio Capello’s new look attack, with his driving run helping to create the third goal for Wayne Rooney.  In the same group another Brit, Wales skipper Aaron Ramsey, scored in a 2-1 win over Montenegro.

Andrey Arshavin‘s impressive dribble set up Russia’s winner against Macedonia, whilst Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny only made the bench for France as they saw off Albania.

The same was true of Per Mertesacker, which is fine with me -  I’d rather him rest than run the risk of injury.  The other two new boys, Mikel Arteta and Andre Santos, are not on international duty, so should arrive at London Colney in the next couple of days to join the rest of the squad for training.

There’s a lot of debate about whether or not Arteta can match Cesc’s class on the pitch, but he’s certainly very classy off it.  Yesterday he spoke to Sky Sports News about his transfer.  He spoke with great humility and honesty about his departure from Everton – it was clearly a difficult decision for him, somewhat akin to Cesc’s departure from Arsenal.  Hopefully he will show the same loyalty and commitment to us as he did to Everton.  You can see the video here.

The night before the senior internationals, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his debut for the England U-21s, and impressed, setting up a couple of goals including this beauty from loanee Henri Lansbury.  Now that we’re almost a week on and I can mention the game without wanting to cry, I ought to say that I was quite impressed by his little cameo at Old Trafford.  Despite the circumstances he showed some real guts, going on a couple of mazy runs and spraying one nonchalant fifty-yard pass across the pitch.  Although the signing of Yossi Benayoun (who captained Israel in a 1-0 defeat to Greece) will nudge him a little down the pecking order, he looks like he’s ready to fight for this place.  The Carling Cup tie with Shrewsbury on the 20th looks like a chance for him to make his first start as an Arsenal player.

Yesterday the club named their 25-man squad for the Premier League.  I say 25; it was actually 22.  Chamberlain is one of several players who do not have to be named due to their age.   The only surprise is that Manuel Almunia is a) included and b) still here.  I’m guessing he couldn’t find a club to match his wages.  Still, at least it means we have plenty of depth in a position that provided us with no end of trouble last season.

There are a couple of transfer stories doing the rounds, suggesting we made enquiries for Yoann Gourcuff and Clint Dempsey.  I’m sure that’s true: Arsenal clearly had an extensive list of targets and had to explore them all.  I don’t know about you but I’m still recovering from the madness that was transfer deadline day.  There was no blog yesterday, and if it’s alright with you I might take Sunday off too.  To be honest, I’ll probably do it even if it’s not alright with you, because I’m just horribly inconsiderate.  I’ll be back in force next week with some in-depth pieces on our new players ahead of the Swansea match.

Only a week until we get to see the new boys in action…

Transfer frenzy: 5 signings in 2 days

768 comments September 1st, 2011

Two days. Five signings. One goal: Regeneration.

I expected activity from Arsenal.  I hoped for three, maybe four additions.  But five signings in two days is more than I could have wished for.

The 8-2 defeat to Manchester United brought the club to its knees.  But it also brought a change of ideology.  Arsene saw how on that day how vulnerable his young squad was, and has moved decisively to reinforce it with experience and quality.  The cavalry has arrived.

On Tuesday we completed the signing of Park Chu-Young, and Wednesday afternoon saw us secure the anticipated signings of Andre Santos and Per Mertesacker.  That saw the defence and attack sorted, but huge concerns remained about the midfield.  As night drew in and the 11pm deadline inched closer, fans were deeply concerned: could Arsenal really go in to the season without adding to a midfield shorn of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas?

They needn’t have worried.  An impeccable source tells me that Mikel Arteta was at London Colney as early as 6.30pm.  After some haggling over wages – it seems Arteta may have taken a pay-cut to secure his four year deal – his signing was secured, right on the deadline.  Not only that, but he was joined by Yossi Benayoun, on a season long loan from Chelsea.

The signings all bring a wealth of experience and character to the table

Per Mertesacker – 26 years old, Former Werder Bremen captain, 75 Germany caps
Andre Santos – 28 years old, 22 Brazil caps
Mikel Arteta – 29 years old, 161 Premier League appearances – more than any other Arsenal player
Yossi Benayoun – 31 years old, Current Israel captain with 83 Israel caps
Park Chu-Young – 26 years old, Current captain of South Korea with 53 caps

And all that for a total outlay of about £28m.

The negative element of the fanbase with complain that we haven’t made a marquee signing – someone of the stature of a Cesc or a Nasri.  To a degree they’re right – although I consider Mertesacker and Arteta to be unusually high profile signings for Arsene.  What we have done is significantly strength the squad – certainly since Sunday, and perhaps even since last season.  I expect Santos, Mertesaker and Arteta to make a significant impact on the first XI this season, whilst Benayoun and Park will provide capable options in attacking areas.

The big German centre-half is what we’ve been crying out for, and I’m looking forward to him forming a mean looking partnership with Thomas Vermaelen.  Santos will provide stiff competition for Gibbs – you don’t play for Brazil regularly without being a half-decent footballer – and Arteta is an absolutely vital addition.  He knows the league inside out, he can pass the ball, and score goals.  We’ve seen how someone like Ashley Young has stepped up to another level since joining a Champions League club, and I believe Arteta has the talent to do the same.

I think Benayoun is regarded a little harshly by Arsenal fans, perhaps because he’s played for several rival clubs.  I believe he’s talented and capable of scoring goals – and he hasn’t cost us anything yet!  Remember, this is the man who scored the goal for West Ham that put us in Europe ahead of Spurs after lasagne-gate, so we owe him a little goodwill.  Park, meanwhile, seems like a very solid pro who will fit right in to our technical style of football.

It’s all unprecedented for Arsenal on so many levels.  To make so many signings – and this kind of signing too.  Mertesacker is the tallest player Arsene has ever bought.  He’s added two veterans of the Premier League.  He’s signed players who are ready to go now – and for some of whom time is actively running out!

For those who wanted a global superstar: Arsene will tell you that within twelve months, the likes of Wilshere or Gervinho could reach that level.  These players will provide the platform they need to do that.  My favourite aspect of deadline day was seeing the tweets flood in from young Jack:

Maybe Arteta will give him the support Cesc needed but never had.  Against Manchester United, we saw an Arsenal team that didn’t believe in themselves.  Now, they might just have a reason.

There were departures too.  Henri Lansbury joined West Ham on loan, and with his contract close to expiry he may not be coming back.  Nicklas Bendtner also joined Sunderland on a temporary deal – his long-term future is harder to call.  We might get him as a proven Premier League goalscorer.  Gilles Sunu got himself a four year deal at Lorient, who have also taken Joel Campbell on loan for the season.

It is a radical overhaul of the squad.  At a glance:

Out: Denilson (loan), Clichy, Fabregas, Eboue, JET, Vela (loan), Nasri, Traore, Lansbury (loan), Sunu, Campbell (loan), Bendtner (loan)

In: Jenkinson, Gervinho, Chamberlain, Miyaichi (WP granted), Campbell, Park, Santos, Mertesacker, Benayoun, Arteta

I’ve probably missed some out – but still, you get the point.

Over the international break there’ll be plenty of time to analyse each signing individually and their potential impact on the side.  For now, I’m exhausted, and need to rest for a long time.

It’s a new look Arsenal squad.  It might not be good enough to win the league, but it’s certainly good enough for Champions League qualification.  Also, it’s one I can take pride in, which is more than I can say for the situation last week.  I’m glad that Arsene, too, seems to have shown some humility and amended his transfer policy.  It was, I’m sure we all agree, entirely necessary.

The season starts against Swansea.  I can’t wait.

Deadline Day Preview

190 comments August 31st, 2011

Deadline Day is upon us.  As you rise this morning, Brian Swanson will be dusting down his giant iPad, Jim White will be gargling salt water and taking speed, and some unfortunate soul will be stood outside the Tottenham training ground waiting for Harry Redknapp to tell him he’s signing a “triffic player”.

Yesterday, we knew of three deals going down: Park Chu-Young, Andre Santos, and Per Mertesacker – whose signing I tried to inform you about before the press broke it, albeit in code.  All three of those have since progressed to different stages.

Park was paraded by the club on the official site, and gave the kind of interview that immediately endears you to fans, stating:

“I’m really happy to be at Arsenal. In my opinion this is a great club. Now I have to show what I can do on the pitch. I will do my best, I will never give up, I will show heart and I will give everything I hope you will support me.”

You can be sure he’ll be keen to make a swift impact: in two and a half years time he’s scheduled to return to Korea to do two years of military service.  Arsene, at last, is thinking in the short-term.  Park will wear the number nine shirt, and compete for a starting position in our front three.

Further reading on Park:

We talked about Andre Santos at more length yesterday – the player has now since Turkey to head to England to seal the move (video here), having been granted a work permit yesterday afternoon.  I’m told he’s agreed a four year deal, with a fee of £6.2m.

Further reading on Andre Santos:

The signing of Santos should be announced today, along with that of Per Mertesacker.  I have to say I think Mertesacker is just what we need.  A big, strong, bruising centre-half with plenty of experience.

The deal came about rather quickly, with Arsenal only formalising their interest on Monday afternoon.  Mertesacker flew in from Germany yesterday to undertake a medical, and has agreed personal terms on a weekly wage of around £80,000.

Any centre-back signing was bound to split opinion, especially with Arsenal fans having been fed on a steady diet of Cahill, Jagielka and Samba across the summer.  I have to say that what Mertesacker lacks in Premier League experience, he makes up for in other areas.  At 26, he has 75 Germany caps.  He’s the captain of his club.  He’s played in 2 World Cups and a European Championship.  He has all that over Cahill, plus about four inches in height.  And, even at around £10m, he’s significantly cheaper.  It’s a no-brainer.

Further reading on Per Mertesacker:

There will be plenty more to say about all three players once the deals are done and the dust has settled.

Quite a lot could still go on today.  I’m expecting one or two departures.  Armand Traore completed his permanent move to QPR yesterday, and immediately began by assuring their supporters his disastrous performance against United was a one off.  I can assure them that it wasn’t.

Nicklas Bendtner was widely expected to move in this window, but that one was very quiet yesterday.  Indeed, there was more noise about a possible loan deal for Marouane Chamakh – it seems the two target-men’s futures are interwined.  Another striker, teenager Joel Campbell, is set to join French side Lorient on loan having failed to win a work permit.  Manuel Almunia will still be hoping to find a new club, whilst Henri Lansbury is another that could be on the move.

Lansbury leaving would be dependent on Arsenal finding a new midfielder.  Arsene was very clear that this was an area he wanted to strengthen, and whilst he seems to have shored the defence and attack up there’s still no sign someone to fill the void left by Cesc Fabregas.

Yesterday all the talk was of a €40m bid for Dortmund playmaker Mario Goetze, but the German club were swift to deny both the bid and the player’s availability.  More realistic targets are said to include the Chelsea pair of Benayoun and Malouda, whilst the rumours around Rennes’ Yann M’vila persist.

My personal opinion is that Santos, Park and Mertesacker may be it for this window.  I would absolutely love us to sign a midfielder, ideally one with the creative ability and flair  we’ve lost in Cesc and Nasri, but with less than 24 hours to go and no sign of a fee being agreed I consider it unlikely.

Still, stranger things have happened, and if Arsenal can pull three irons out of the fire, then why not four?  Whatever happens I’ll be following the news all day.  There may well be some sort of liveblog, so stay tuned for that, and I urge you to follow me on Twitter, where I occasionally dish out some quite useful bit of info.

Right.  See you on the other side, folks.

Transfer frenzy: André Santos, Mertesacker, Eljero Elia & More…

651 comments August 30th, 2011

Since the 8-2 hammering at Old Trafford, there has been a radical shift in Arsenal’s transfer policy.  With the shallowness of his squad painfully exposed, Arsene has moved to bring in a clutch of experienced players.  The cavalry are finally coming, and Arsenal could now make as many as four signings between now and the end of the transfer window.

Yesterday was a Bank Holiday in England, but that didn’t stop Arsenal from holding transfer talks late in to the night.  Richard Law, the chief negotiator, remained glued to his desk as Arsenal sought to secure some much needed recruits before Wednesday’s 11pm deadline.

Another one for the collection

Their efforts, it seems, are bearing fruit.  At around 9pm last night news broke in Turkey that a €7m (£6.2m) fee had been agreed with Fenerbahçe for Brazilian international full-back André Santos.  The move was necessitated by the impending departure of Armand Traore to QPR, whose scouts obviously weren’t watching the debacle at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Santos is an example of our revised transfer strategy.  A cynic could call it ‘panic buying’.  I call it a vital overhaul.  He became available on Thursday, when Fenerbahçe were forcibly ejected from the Champions League after match-fixing allegations.  They may yet be relegated from the Turkish top flight.  Uruguay skipper Diego Lugano was the first to flee, joining PSG.  Now Santos looks set to follow – after all, he has his position as Brazil’s first-choice left-back to protect.

I haven’t seen him play too much, but like many of Arsene’s full-backs, he began his career as a winger and his natural instinct is to attack.  A little glimpse of him in action suggests he’ll be tremendous fun to watch:

He likes a long-shot too:

Of course there’ll be concerns that he’s not more of a rugged defendery-type, but it’s worth noting that we still have Kieran Gibbs as an option.  It ought to be some battle between those two for the first-team spot – and that’s just how it should be.  Competition is incredibly healthy in any squad, and that’s a big part of what this set of signings need to offer.  A Brazilian international with Champions League experience?  It’s a good enough signing for me.  If personal terms are agreed and a medical is passed, this could be tied up today; tomorrow at the latest.

Santos will join Park Chu-Young in our new-look squad.  The Korean has passed his medical and agreed personal terms, and flown out to join his international team-mates.  Arsenal are merely waiting for several paperwork formalities to be completed before confirming the deal, and Park himself has told the Korean media that he “won’t regret” his decision to join Arsenal over Lille.

As I said at the top of the piece, there are at least a further two targets.  One, you’ll be delighted to hear, is a centre-back – though perhaps not the one you’re expecting.  It seems our fall-out with Bolton has had quite significant consequences for the Gary Cahill deal.  Watch this space.

Update: L’Equipe now running that the target is Per Mertesacker, which I can confirm is true.  And don’t say I never give you exclusives:

How did you miss it?  Tut tut.

The club also want to bring in a midfielder, but I can’t pretend to know who their priority is here.  One thing I can say with some certainty is that it won’t be either Eden Hazard or Mario Götze, both of whom are required to lead their respective clubs in to the Champions League this season.

You’ll have seen us linked with Chelsea’s Yossi Benayoun.  I have to say, I don’t think that’d be a bad signing: he’s an intelligent, technically capable player who scores goals, and could play either wide or in the ‘Fabregas’ role behind a striker – which is where I think we’re really lacking.  Something is certainly afoot with Chelsea: in the past 24 hours we’ve been linked with Benayoun, Alex, and Florent Malouda.  I can only infer that the media have got wind of a meeting between the two clubs about some sort of transfer business, and are attempting to solve the riddle by randomly selecting Chelsea squad players.

Another one to watch is exciting Hamburg winger Eljero Elia, who told Dutch TV he would rather move to England and Arsenal than Juventus – news confirmed by his agent. Whether or not he gets his wish remains to be seen – Sky Italia are reporting that he’s due in Turin for a medical, so this one may have passed us by.

Finally, as relieved as I am that the club finally seem to be spending money in the transfer market, I was also glad to see them take the step of shelling out around £130,000 to buy replacement tickets for those fans who were subjected to the events of Sunday in the flesh.  Fair play to the new ownership for making that happen.

However, given the choice, I’m sure the fans would rather that money invested in the squad.  What will earn the club true forgiveness is turning our season around, and to do that we need to continue to be active over the next two days.  There’s so much still to happen: a fistful of signings, departures for Bendtner and possibly Almunia, and loan moves for the likes of Joel Campbell.

Stay tuned, and hold on to your hats: the wind of change is blowing through the transfer window.

United Preview + Park signing imminent

447 comments 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.  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.  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.  That evening, Arsenal informed Monaco of their interest.  By Saturday morning, a formal bid had arrived, and Arsene Wenger had spoken to Park on the telephone.  As soon as he received the call, the player departed for London.

It’s an intriguing signing, and in my eyes a positive one.  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.  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.  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.  More of Park, Cahill and others in the coming days of frenzied activity.  For now, for today, it’s Manchester United at Old Trafford.

First: team news.  As you all know, the Arsenal squad is currently decimated by injuries and suspensions.  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.  Thomas Vermaelen will form the bedrock of our defence, with his first-choice partner Laurent Koscielny hopefully able to be picked alongside him.  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.  They’re champions and favourites for this year’s title.  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.  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.  Hopefully that will liberate some of the younger players in our side, and allow us to at least make a decent fist of it.  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.  And we’re due some luck.  A victory, or even a convincing performance, could rarely be more timely.

Come On You Gunners.

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