The Guardian disagrees with me.
59 comments June 6th, 2006
But hey, what do they know?
After my insistance that we wouldn’t be involved in any transfer activity until after the World Cup, the press have swooped in to to stamp all over my fanciful claim with the news that we have joined Lyon and Manchester United in the tug of war over Franck Ribery.
The article suggests a decision is due in the next 72 hours, as Ribery is keen to settle the matter ahead of France’s opening World Cup match. If the winger were to leave Marseille, he’d be joining his seventh club since January 2002: an incredible, if slightly worrying, statistic.
If you were to ask me, I’d say our interest is somewhat token. We don’t need a winger, and I personally happen to believe Ribery will end up at Lyon, where he is almost guaranteed domestic titles galore.
However, he does have his fans at our club. It’s strange all this, considering that yesterday Arsene came out playing down the possibility of much more transfer activity, suggesting he would look to add one more signing to the duo of Song and Rosicky. However, what Arsene says and what Arsene does are often very different things.
Last year, the only significant addition was Hleb. However, I have it on very good authority that we were not too far short on Shawn Wright-Phillips, Julio Baptista, and Robinho. Those three names should satisfy anyone who doubts this clubs ambitions.
So the next month might not be as free of Arsenal news as I suggested…
