Alonso & Cesc; Fair Play to Hull (or not)
Add comment June 1st, 2009
It’s still very quiet out there. So quiet in fact that someone somewhere was able to hear Cesc whispering about his preferred partner in central midfield: Xabi Alonso.
Arsenal attempted to bring Alonso to London on deadline day at the back end of last Summer, but with Liverpool unable to do a deal for Gareth Barry any potential transfer fell through. There have even been suggestions since that Liverpool would never have sold Alonso to a Premier League rival and were merely toying with our club.
Alonso is not Flamini. He is not a great tackler, nor is he tigrish in his pursuit of the ball. However, his use of the thing is second to none. He is a wonderful passer, and his form last season saw him voted into many pundits’ Team of the Season. I find it hard to believe Liverpool would want to sell him after he was such an integral part of their best side in years, but still rumours persist that he might be on his way.
If he is, there will be plenty of competition. Chelsea’s new manager and Real Madrid’s new President have both declared their admiration for the player, and in financial terms alone we would find it difficult to compete with them. Perhaps the player’s friendship with Fabregas could prove to be of assistance – we’ll soon see, I suppose.
Apparently Marouane Chamkh will be staying at Bordeaux. Alas. I was quite looking forward to having a player who’s surname is Arabic for “atchoo”.
Arsenal have finished 3rd in the Fair Play League – a table only worth looking at to see who came bottom. There won’t be any surprises for Arsenal fans there.