This weekend Gunnerblog was decidedly blogless, due principally to the fact that I was essentially healthless. I spent the best part of the weekend in bed with what felt like a global conflict occurring in the pit of my stomach. Suffice to say, I am somewhat better now – healthy enough to type if not yet entirely reverted to type.
As I write this I’m on a train from London to Edinburgh. The train appears to have lost patience with the entire thing and has sat down on the tracks, refusing to move. I might be here for some time.
I’m making about as much progress as Arsenal’s transfer dealings. Asked in the aftermath of the friendly defeat to Valencia (I game I saw nothing of, I confess) if anyone was likely to sign before the start of the season, Arsene retorted:
“Not at the moment, no.  We are working always but it would be pretentious to say we’d sign anybody now before the season starts.”
Now, whilst it doesn’t look promising at first, it’s worth bearing in mind the fact that the interviewer asked if anyone would arrive “before the start of the season”. Which means: in the space of five days. It’s hardly surprising that Arsene considers that unlikely.
Increasingly, I believe we will sign Marouane Chamkh and Marouane Chamkh alone. I don’t think Bordeaux are foolish enough to risk losing him on a free when we’re prepared to pay about £6m. I’d love Arsene to buy a centre-back and a central midfielder too, but I’m finding it more and more difficult to forsee either of those things happening.
Jack Wilshere has been called up to the England u-21 squad as a replacement for the injured Fabrice Muamba – a fairly indirect replacement, mind: I hope Stuart Pearce isn’t expecting wee Jack to perform like a lanky ball-winner.
Finally, Barcelona seem to have intimated that they wish to sign Cesc Fabregas, but only if he’s available cheaply.
Barcelona, it seems, are stupider than I thought. Throw in the fact that they paid around €35m + Samuel Eto’o for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and one has to marvel at their sheer idiocy.
Cesc will go there eventually, but not now. Lest we forget it’s his first season as captain, and he’ll want to make his mark.
So the Champions League Qualifying draw has been made and it’s the tie I instinctively wanted: Glasgow Celtic.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Celtic Park on several occasions and I have to say the atmosphere there is quite extraordinary. I don’t think that any of England’s top sides can compete on that front. Travelling there for the first leg will be quite the test for our young players, but I think that over two legs our quality ought to shine through. Without intending any disrespect, I can’t help but feel that facing a Tony Mowbray-led Celtic will prove less problematic than a Gordon Strachan side.
The away leg would be just the sort of night on which the presence of Patrick Vieira might make all the difference, but the latest quotes from Arsene suggest that deal is dead in the water. The same can’t be said for Marouane Chamakh, who is obviously still very much on the radar. Despite initially setting a deadline of this week for deals to be done, Arsene now seems resigned to hanging on until the last seconds of the window to capture his remaining targets:
“We can still make do with one or two players more. One could be in the defensive areas, and one in the attacking areas.”
He confessed to having scouted Brede Hangeland, but I am certain we won’t buy him. Gallas and Vermaelen are both starters, and Arsene won’t spend the £10m it would require to get the Fulham defender on a reserve. If we do sign a centre-back it’ll be someone less established – personally, I’m hoping by “the defensive areas” he’s referring to the problematic defensive midfield role.
As far as Rosicky goes, I’m disappointed, but not surprised. Seeing him actually play as the season kicked off would have almost felt like novelty. I’m a huge admirer of the man and his ability but relying on him as an integral part of the side would be, frankly, lunacy.
So, the Emirates Cup has been and gone and it was all about Jack Wilshere. Having come off the bench to win the man of the match award against Athletico Madrid, he started and starred against Rangers with a two goal display. Highlights of the 3-0 victory (in which Eduardo grabbed our other other goal) can be seen here; highlights of Wilshere’s performance here.
After the match the hype hit an all-time high, with Fabio Capello’s presence in the stands prompting a string of stories about Wilshere going to the the World Cup next summer. It’s not that I find that a particularly outrageous suggestion – it’s something I’ve mentioned before myself in the past – but the last place I want to hear it spoken is among Arsenal fans.
Jack is gifted, but principally he is a gift. A local lad with extraordinary talent is not something that comes along too often. Managing his progression over the next few years is one of the most important tasks this club faces in forthcoming seasons.
Fortunately, we have the perfect manager for the job. Arsene’s measured response to the teenager’s performance won’t have surprised any observers. Let’s not forget: last pre-season Wilshere was similarly revelatory, and went on to play in our second league game at Ewood Park, only to fade from first-team contention as the season progressed. Whose to say there won’t be a similar pattern this year?
Have patience with Jack: he will come good. I haven’t seen many players with his ability, and he won’t lose that. It’s just a question of adaptation. As much as we all want to see him in the first team immediately, we don’t need to. And more crucially, he doesn’t need it. Theo Walcott needed to be thrown in as a seventeen-year old in order to get his footballing ability up to speed – Wilshere requires no such development.
One thing that would have opened the first-team door for Jack would have been the sale of Emmanuel Eboue, but the Ivorian is now set to say after Fiorentina refused to up their bid beyond £4.5m.
Philippe Senderos, meanwhile, has been sold and the national press is finally starting to pick up on a story that myself and arseblog have run since Saturday.
“In five months, if he doesn’t prolong his contract, Chamakh will be free to talk to any club and Bordeaux won’t get anything. In the current context, to me, it is over. Let’s say that at the moment it is terminated. I like Chamakh, he is a forward that attracts me, but I already have (Theo) Walcott, (Nicklas) Bendtner, (Robin) Van Persie, (Andriy) Arshavin and Eduardo. I am in no rush. My offer seems fair to me, taking the market into account. Chamakh would be good, but there are other options should we wish to pursue them.”
It’s sound logic. Why pay plenty now when he’s available for nothing in a year’s time? Frankly, I’m not hugely bothered either way: if we sign him, great – if not, I don’t think we’ll be any weaker heading into the new season.
Perhaps one of the alternatives Arsene mentions is Salomon Kalou. The Sun links us with a £6m move for the Ivorian attacker, but it’s easy to doubt the integrity of an article that claims Kalou is 28 when he is in fact 24 tomorrow (unless, of course, they know something we don’t).
Kalou is an infuriating player for Chelsea fans – huge potential, occasional brilliance, but vast erraticism. Imagine Walcott with more stepovers and better in the air. Kalou would, however, be able to play in any position in our new-look front three, so would make sense as a squad buy.
Franch coach Raymond Domenech has urged Patrick Vieira to make a decisions about his future after leaving him out of the latest France squad. For emotional reasons, I’d love to see him back at Arsenal. Perhaps we’ll hear more this week.
ArsenalTVOnline brings you live coverage of an Arsenal training session today. Check it out at 11.30am.
Arsenal 2 – 1 Athletico Madrid ( Arshavin 86, 90, Pacheco 88 ) Highlights here; Arsene’s reaction here
Look at this, it looks like a proper match report. Well, yesterday felt like a proper match.
To my relief, having hung my hat on that particular formation earlier this week, we lined up in something approaching a 4-3-3. Vito Mannone was the goal’s quivering incumbent, with Gallas and Djourou flanked by Traore and Sagna in defence. Denilson, Ramsey, and Tomas Rosicky (yes, you read that right) patrolled central midfield, whilst Nicklas Bendtner and Eboue were deployed wide of the central striker, Robin van Persie.
The first half was pretty dull, notable only for an excellent but disallowed Rosicky finish, but the half-time introduction of Jack Wilshere certainly livened things up. He replaced Eboue on the right and immediately made an impact with his direct running and quick feet. After the match, Arsene said of the teenager:
“He has matured, and compared to one year ago he has more power to take people on. That shows there is big potential there and makes him much more dangerous, he has gained a fraction of power that makes him much more dangerous. When he starts to go past people in the final 20 yards, you can always say there is something special there.”
Aaron Ramsey also looked more grown-up, both physically and in his decisions on the ball. Those two are certainly very big prospects indeed, and will be looking for more league experience in the coming season.
Despite our domination, we didn’t take the game by the scruff of the neck until the triple introduction of Cesc, Arshavin, and Eduardo. It was the former pair who combined for our opener, with just four minutes to go. A good move put Cesc away on the right, and his left-footed cross was volleyed (left-footedly) into the near post by a calm Arshavin.
In typical Arsenal style, we then let Athletico in at the other end – a simple pass splitting the defence and allowing German Pachecho to nip in and score.
WIth time almost up, it seemed that was it, only for Arshavin to latch on to some head tennis at the back to round the keeper and net from the acutest of angles. It was a fantastic finish and another demonstration of the Russian’s extraordinary talent. Arsene said:
“The difference is now he knows how English football works. He knows as well he is part of the team from the start, and the team knows how important and how big an impact he can have on the results. Arshavin has what you cannot give to a player – he understands when there is an opportunity in the final third, and is certainly dangerous. I believe he can have a big impact his season.”
Arshavin is exceptional, and part of an attacking force that I’m no longer convinced requires supplementing. The news (however unofficial) that Philippe Senderos has agreed to join Everton (and did so, I believe, a couple of weeks ago), leaves us somewhat light at the back on top of our midfield troubles. Yesterday Arsene said he felt Emmanuel Eboue would stay, but it’s not clear if that’s just an attempt to drive Fiorentina’s bid up. The name of Vieira was sung a little at the ground yesterday, and it’s certainly true that as a budget option he could provide cover in several positions.
It seems increasingly likely that a deal for the former skipper could be done. Reading these comments from Kolo Toure, it’s clear what some leadership might add.
If we are to make some signings, expect it to happen soon. Arsene said yesterday:
“I will be looking at all the options we have during the week, and then we close [pre-season]. I believe we have quite a strong squad now. If we can add one or two players, we will do it, but not more.â€
So that’s potentially one or two players in the next week. My bet at this stage? Vieira and Chamakh. I’m concerned about the defence, but I’m not sure Arsene is.
