Waiting for Squillaci
69 comments August 24th, 2010
Sebastien Squillaci arrived in London for his medical yesterday. In the light of our recent injury problems, we’re obviously being particularly stringent about the fitness of any prospective signings, as the deal is not yet done. I had been waiting to see if we made an announcement this morning before blogging, but I’ve run out of patience.
Despite the delay, Squillaci has been talking about the impending move:
“If a French player receives an offer from Arsène Wenger, it’s practically impossible to turn down. It was a sensational offer for me and I was happy Sevilla let me go. It was a difficult situation but I knew I had to take this chance. I knew if I played against Braga then I would not have been able to play for Arsenal in the Champions League.
Arsenal were always the team I watched out for. For any spectator like me, you had to watch a squad with [Thierry] Henry, [Robert] Pirès, [Patrick] Vieira and [William] Gallas. Now, I’m happy to have my name in the history books. For me, this is a great new challenge and I’ve gone there purely to be part of that.
I don’t think my age is a problem. My experience in football is great and players of my age tend to be at the peak of their playing career.”
Sevilla were unhappy with the way the player engineered the move, but at the end of the day a fee was agreed very quickly and the deal has been relatively painless for all parties. I’ve been speaking to some French footy fans about Squillaci, and I’ll divulge the details of those conversations when the transfer is completed.
Andrey Arshavin has been doing the media rounds, and there’s a long interview with him on Talksport here,in which he discusses Theo Walcott’s form and why he’s not afraid of bears. Talking to Sky in a chat which will be televised before the Blackburn game on Saturday, he admits he is still one or two kilos overweight. I thought his performance against Blackpool showed signs of improvement, and hopefully he can build on that as the season progresses. And, y’know, shed those love handles.
Nicklas Bendtner, Arshavin’s extrovert pal, has sacked his Danish specialist physio and labelled him a “self-publicist”. Bendtner will now continue his rehab with the Arsenal fitness team.
Henri Lansbury is due to join Swansea on loan, and judging by the quotes from Brendan Rodgers they’re already hoping for a permanent move. I think Lansbury still has a future at Arsenal, but to get the experience he needs a temporary move makes the most sense.
Right. Think that’s it from me for now. Bit of a midweek lull.
