Archive for January, 2006
January 14th, 2006
Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor yesterday completed his £7m move to Arsenal, taking the squad number of his hero, Kanu.
Our new number 25 is a tall, powerful striker with good feet and aerial prescence. A cross-breed of Kanu himself, and Chelsea’s Didier Drogba. Most importantly, he’s something different.
Goodplaya intelligently points out that so far both Diaby and Adebayor add elements to the squad that we were previously lacking. I agree entirely that until now, almost every player we signed was a small, skillful, winger/forward type. One criticism of the new boys is that they’re not hugely experienced, but as Wenger puts it:
“I said [Iâ??d like] a little bit of experience. But it was not the priority for me. We have 10 players in our squad who went 49 games unbeaten. I wanted to add some power and size as well.”
With those two signings tied up, everyone is speculating over a possible third: Theo Walcott. The teenage striker is in the Southampton squad for today’s match against QPR, but The Times believes a deal could be completed on Monday.
Personally, having watched Arsene’s interviews very closely, I’m sure that there is an agreement between Walcott and the club. It’s just the fee that we’re now haggling over. This article sheds some light on the situation.
A buoyed Arsenal squad take on Middlesbrough today. It’s a shame our new signings aren’t available, as we could be without Sol Campbell, Kolo Toure, Eboue, Kerrea Gilbert, Ashley Cole, Gael Clichy, Dennis Bergkamp, and Robin van Persie. Looking at that list, it seems strange we haven’t targeted a defender!
Still, all this signing players is brilliant, isn’t it.
A win today would cap things off.
January 13th, 2006
Abou Diaby, as he now wishes to be known, has completed his move to Arsenal. The fee is believed to be in the region of £2m.
Manager Arsène Wenger said: “Weâ??re delighted to welcome Abou to the Club. He is a strong midfielder and has shown huge potential during his time at Auxerre. He will be a tremendous addition to our squad. I feel he will be ready [for the first team] with a few weeks’ training.”
He could be joined this afternoon by 21-year-old Togonese forward Emmanuel Adebayor.
“He has qualities that we don’t have in the side. He is tall, good in the air and makes good runs,” Wenger said.
“He is a bit of a Kanu type but he goes in more behind the defenders.”
Whilst many fans have doubts about the qualities of Adebayor, he is a tall, strong forward – a potential plan B that we’ve lacked for years. I for one am prepared to judge him on the strength of his performances for Arsenal, and that alone.
And finally, our third and perhaps most intriguing transfer target: Theo Walcott. This story just gets more and more confusing. Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe has rubbished the claims, whilst Arsene has been non-comittal, only admitting his interest in the player.
Claims that he was at Colney yesterday suggest that whilst the teenager may have agreed terms with Arsenal, there is not yet an agreement between the clubs. As Arsene puts it:
“…but from me liking him, him liking the club and the deal being done, there is still a step to go.”
Just one step though.
This is the kind of day supporters dream about. Enjoy it.
January 13th, 2006
No promises, but it’s starting to look likely.
Fantastic news if so.
It’s possible he could be unveiled along with Diaby and possibly one other today.
If there is a third signing, lots of sources are suggesting it could be Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
He’s certainly got a bit of previous.
Anyway, it seems certain that we’ll hear something from the club today. If that happens, I’ll update the site accordingly.
Isn’t this exciting?
January 12th, 2006
Vassiriki Diaby has signed for Arsenal on a four year contract, in a deal that feels all the sweeter since we may have beaten Chelsea to his signature.
“The player has made the choice for Arsenal,” said Auxerre vice-president Gerard Bourgoin.
“And Auxerre, who do not like ruining the careers of our players, have reached an agreement with the club.”
It’s expected that Diaby will cost in the region of £2m, and there should be an official announcement tomorrow. There are all sorts of rumours flying about suggesting that he might not be the only arrival this month. Here’s hoping. Though Diaby is doubtless a huge prospect (“The outstanding Diaby, so similar to Patrick Vieira in style and stature, was untouchable”, we still might require some experience to come in too.
I doubt the 19 year old will walk straight into our first team.
Still, great news.
January 11th, 2006
Yes, it may only be the Carling Cup.
Yes, it may only be the first leg.
And yes, it was not our full strength side.
But even so, last night’s performance was unacceptable.
Wenger’s descision to attempt to play 4-5-1 with Quincy as the lone front man, rotating with Reyes and Ljungberg on the wings, was crazy. Lupoli and Bendtner, both recognised front men, were both left on the bench. Thank god we’re being linked with two powerful strikers in the 6’3″ Georgios Samaras and the 6’8″ Nikola Zigic.
I think we created one chance, which Freddie Ljungberg, as usual, missed. We were rubbish. The young back four, featuring kids like Senderos, Gilbert, and Djourou did not disgrace themselves in the same way as the rest of the side. Manuel Almunia too managed to impress. But this is probably because we, as fans, expect less of these players.
It was guys like Freddie, Hleb, Reyes, and Gilberto who were the chief offenders. What’s becoming clear to not just the players but the fans is that there is no competition for places. We desperately need new faces. We need to make those more established members of the first team work for their shirt. The youthful nature of our squad means that anyone over 26 is basicallly guaranteed a start. For a club the size of Arsenal, this is a terrible state of affairs.
Come on Arsene. I know this is a period of transition, but we all know that being “in transition” simply means “not being as good as you used to be”.
All that matters in football is the present moment. That’s what we’ve always told whingeing Liverpool fans.
Let’s not become like them. Let’s not fall behind. Please.
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