Given or Hart? Pie in the sky
2 comments August 9th, 2010
The longer Arsenal go without making the signings they need, the more outlandish the rumours will become. Today’s Daily Mirror has taken the proverbial biscuit and dipped it in the tea of fiction, claiming that Arsenal, having been rebuffed in an attempt to snare Joe Hart, are set to ask Manchester City if they can have Shay Given on loan. It’s an “Exclusive”. I’m not surprised. No-one else would print such nonsense.
Why would Manchester City let either of their goalkeepers join one of their biggest rivals? Simple answer: they wouldn’t. A loan deal makes even less sense, as they wouldn’t have the consolation of a fee.
Arsenal desperately need a goalkeeper. Watching Lukasz Fabianski against Legia Warsaw provided a stark reminder of that. But they won’t be able to pinch one on the cheap from their closest rivals. At this rate, I expect The Mirror to run with another ‘Exclusive’ tomorrow saying that we’ve asked Chelsea if we can swap some panini stickers and a Twix for Petr Cech. It’s precisely these factors that make a move for Liverpool’s Pepe Reina all the more unlikely – though, as I said on Saturday, he would jump at the chance to join us.
We’re also on the look-out for a centre-back, and German international Serdar Tasci seems more than willing to step in to the breach. Whether or not he’s any good, or even realistically on our radar, remains to be seen.
Arsene Wenger says he will assess the fitness of Fabregas and Van Persie on the Friday before the Liverpool game. RVP would be useful, but we can cope without him – we’re used it. However, I’m hoping that one of Cesc, Song, Denilson and Diaby will be fit and ready to go – starting that game with the teenage pair of Wilshere and Frimpong in midfield is a little terrifying, however good they’ve been in pre-season.
The dreaded international week is now upon us. Expect all our players to return lame or dead.
