July 26th, 2007
Whilst Arsene deliberates over his next transfer move, wingers are fast disappearing off the market. The latest to be sold is Portugal ace Simao, who will join Athletico Madrid for £13.4m.
We’ve already seen Florent Malouda, Ryan Babel and Franck Ribery move elswhere. Ribery has started his time at Bayern in spectacular style with three goals in two games, and yesterday netted this brilliant strike:
Even Bolton have got themselves a winger, and literally as I’m typing this Manchester City have bought Martin Petrov for £4.7m. Petrov is a very canny left-sided player, who would’ve done well in an Arsenal shirt. However, at 28 years old, it’s no surprise Arsene wasn’t interested.
There is, however, one speck of hope: Madrid’s purchase of Simao effectively ends their interest in Ricardo Quaresma. Well, one can always hope…
July 26th, 2007
Arsenal’s tour of Austria ended in defeat last night as a side containing the likes of Niko Kovac, the Japanese full-back Alex, and Swiss striker Johan Vonlanthen triumphed over a strong Arsenal team.
William Gallas was captain ahead of Toure and Lehmann, though Arsene would not be drawn on his final decision as to who will replace Henry as Club Captain. He said that he felt centre-backs made better captains than strikers or wide players. Didn’t say anything about Brazilian holding midfielders though…
Johan Djourou pulled out just before kick-off, and I speculated this might have been due to Birmingham City’s interest in the player. However, reports emanating from the camp last night suggested he had picked up a hamstring injury. More to follow, I’m sure.
Tomas Rosicky also picked up a hamstring problem during the game, and was replaced by Bacary Sagna after 30 minutes. However, after the match, Arsene allayed any fears: the injury was not serious.
Looking at the game, there were both good points and bad points. In central midfield, Abou Diaby and Denilson were excellent. Our strength in depth in this area of the field is remarkable. Diaby in particular went on a couple of marauding runs that were typically Vieira-esque. In Gilberto’s absence at the start of the season, he could well flourish.
Bacary Sagna played an hour at right back, and I have to say I continue to be impressed by the French defender. His is strong on the ball and in the air, and has better positional sense than either Eboue or Hoyte. However, he must improve his confidence on the ball: too often he looks for a sideways or backwards pass. I’m sure this will improve as he settles into the side.
Eduardo played a full 90 minutes, initially alongside Robin van Persie and then with an improving Niklas Bendtner. The Croatian’s movement was excellent and Arsene remarked afterwards that he “could have scored four”. But he didn’t. Perhaps it was a lack of sharpness, but he seemed to want to take one more touch than was neccessary on each occasion he was played in. The pleasing thing was that he got into the positions and showed a willingness to shoot when the opportunity arose. He might be the player to put an end to our overplaying, but it’s too early to tell as yet.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Theo Walcott, and Gael Clichy were all rested ahead of the Emirates Cup at the weekend. The good news on Cesc’s injury is that it’s nothing too serious and he might take part on Sunday. You can read a full match report here. I’d give you a link to their goal, but it was horribly defended and would only upset you.
The area of concern for me was still wide midfield: granted, Theo was rested and Rosicky got injured, but having Hleb and Eboue on the flanks just isn’t going to win any trophies.
Afterwards, Arsene was asked about whether he might rectify the situation in the transfer market:
Reporter:Â Freddie Ljungberg has left the club this week – will you be signing any more players now that he has gone?
AW:Â Not necessarily no.
Reporter: You talked about bringing in “super class players” earlier in the Summer Arsene. Will another “super class player” come in?
AW: It’s too early to say that.
Typically cryptic, but at least he didn’t close the proverbial cheque-book. I’d say suggest that he will make a move, but only for the right player at the right price.
The squad fly back to England today. Things could speed up from now.
