Posts filed under '2004-2011'

The End Is Nigh

433 comments August 11th, 2011

Whisper it, but it may almost be over.

El Mundo Deportivo: "Today, Cesc"

A transfer saga that has hung its miserable shadow over us since the day Cesc Fabregas first arrived in London, and that has spent two years showering uncertainty on to our captain and our club, may be about to end.

Widespread reports in England and indeed Barcelona (click images on the right) suggest a deal is imminent.  Of course, we’ve been here before, but the sheer weight of speculation suggests there may be fire at the heart of all this smoke.  The impending commencement of the season, too, may have hurried negotiations along.

Barcelona’s supposed final offer, which they expect Arsenal to accept today, totals €40m.  It’s unclear whether that’s a full €40m, or if the Catalan club are including in that figure the €5m Arsenal will save by not paying Cesc any kind of loyalty bonus.  Whatever they end up paying, it won’t be more than about €29m upfront – and it’ll be a bargain.  Cesc will go for marginally more than Andy Carroll.

Sport: "Cesc - Yes"

As I said a few days ago, the specifics of the deal don’t matter that much to me.  In fact, I’d happily lose out on a million euros or so if it meant we could get it done quickly.  Going in to the new season with this huge issue resolved and a new captain appointed would provide a welcome boost.

When the deal is finally done, both clubs will declare the fee “undisclosed”.  Barca well tell the Catalan press they got a bargain, and Arsenal will brief the English press that they got a fair price.  We’ll never know the truth.

There’s plenty more to say about Cesc and his departure.  I’ll save it for when any of this speculation is confirmed.  The next days promise to be painful, but I think it’s best for everyone now that this gets sorted.  The night is darkest just before the dawn; we can and will emerge from this still unbowed, still Arsenal.

Parting with Cesc will certainly hurt more than seeing off Samir Nasri.  If rumours are to be believed, he could follow Cesc through the door marked ‘exit’, with Manchester City ready to pay upwards of £20m for the midfielder.  If we’re going to lose Nasri, I’d rather do it now for that sort of money than in a year for nothing.  He played for France in their 1-1 draw with Chile last night, so if he is left out at Newcastle on Saturday it’s safe to say he has little future at Arsenal.  If, that is, he’s still here.

An Arsenal executive told the BBC that “all the funds generated by the sale will be reinvested in new players”.  I don’t doubt the board would be willing to do just that, but the final decision, as ever, will rest with Arsene.  Will he be pragmatic enough to forget some of his principles and spend the money required to settle an unsteady ship?  Time will tell.

One signing that does appear imminent is that of Joel Campbell.  I told you on July 29th he’d agreed to join, and last night a Costa Rican journalist who met the U-20 international side off the plane from the World Cup in Colombia confirmed to me that Campbell intends to hold a press conference announcing his decision on Friday before travelling to England on Saturday to finalise things.  The club have applied for a special talent visa as they did with Ryo Miyaichi, and, if successful, would make Campbell part of the first-team squad for 2011/12.

Right, that’ll do for now.  Something tells me I might be back here before the day is out.

Miyaichi joins our stable of flyers

333 comments August 10th, 2011

After completing the signing of Alex Chamberlain on Monday, yesterday Arsenal added another flying winger to their first team-squad, with the news Ryo Miyaichi has been granted a work permit for the forthcoming season.

Arsene Wenger travelled to an FA panel meeting at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday to give evidence as to why Ryo ought to be granted an “exceptional talent” visa.  Fortunately, the committee concurred, and Ryo will now be part of the first team squad for 2011/12.

It’s the culmination of a meteoric rise for a player who, a matter of months ago, was playing Japanese schoolboy football.  Indeed, a year ago a potential move to Arsenal looked to have been scuppered when he broke his leg and was out for five months injured.

Now, one impressive loan spell at Feyenoord later, Miyaichi is joining the Premier League.  It’s comic-book stuff. Manga, even.  Arsene said:

“We are absolutely delighted that Ryo has been granted a work permit. This is almost like a new signing for us, as we weren’t completely sure we would be given the authorisation. Ryo has worked extremely hard in pre-season and performed very well during the matches in Asia, Germany and Portugal.

Ryo has natural technical ability. He has good balance and phenomenal pace, and his passing and crossing is consistently of a high quality. He is a very exciting player.”

He’s also hard-working, and genuinely two-footed, although he normally operates from the left-hand side.  I don’t expect him to be starting league games any time soon, but he provides us with an option, and will certainly get games in the domestic cups.  His permit didn’t arrive in time for him to eligible for the Champions League qualifier, the squad for which has been announced but is not really newsworthy in for any reason other than the slightly surprising omission of Henri Lansbury.

As Goonerholic has pointed out, the arrival of Gervinho, Chamberlain and Miyaichi this summer means we have some real speed out on the flanks to add to last season’s singular threat of Theo Walcott.  Clearly Arsene has identified this as a problem last season, and is attempting to give our approach plays a few revs with some sprightly sprinters.

It also means we now have a collection of wide attackers that includes the aforementioned quartet, Andrey Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky, Samir Nasri and Carlos Vela.  Eight in to two just doesn’t go, so it seems there will be at least one departure.

Real Sociedad’s Director of Football has confirmed their interest in signing Carlos Vela, and has said that Arsenal would prefer a loan move to a permanent deal.  Meanwhile, doubts persist over the future of Samir Nasri.  At yesterday’s press conference for the French team, Laurent Blanc said:

“I just know that he is in talks with his club. Not to extend his contract because he said he would not, but to change clubs.”

Nasri is expected to start for France tonight, but I’d be very surprised if Arsene chooses to use him against Newcastle.

Meanwhile, in an interview with French tv show Foot & Co, Marouane Chamakh sounded just as skeptical about the future of Nasri’s partner-in-disruption, Cesc Fabregas:

“I think both of them are likely leaving the club. It’s a difficult situation for the manager.

I don’t think it’s a matter of money for Fabregas or Samir, I think he (Wenger) is looking for their successors and he hasn’t found them. I think before letting them go he wants to find the players to replace them. That’s my opinion about the situation. The problem is the season starts this weekend, and it’s even more difficult for us.”

Today's cover of 'Sport'

Today, Catalan paper Sport lead with the story that the end of a Cesc saga is a “matter of hours” away (see right).

It’s just a few days until the big kick-off, and it’s mad to think that between now and the end of the August, a list of players including Manuel Almunia, Emmanuel Eboue, Fabregas, Nasri, Vela and Bendtner could all depart.  Assuming several of those do, it’s impossible not to imagine replacements arriving.

It’s also impossible to write any kind of season preview until those issues are resolved.

It looks like we’ll have to take this month on game-by-game basis, starting on Saturday. I can’t wait.

ps. if you missed it yesterday, listen to ‘Stan’ – Kroenke vs. Wenger, the Arsenal remix.

Truly yours, your biggest fan, this is Stan (Kroenke)

592 comments August 9th, 2011

Since buying Arsenal, Stan Kroenke has truly lived up to his reputation for being ‘Silent’. Until now.

Gunnerblog has uncovered correspondence between Kroenke and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, set to the tune of Eminem and Dido’s hit, ‘Stan’. Enjoy.

Thanks to David Rudnick for that remarkable Japan rhyme. I might be back later today with more bloggery – it’s a big week at Arsenal.

A real life signing: Alex Chamberlain

466 comments August 8th, 2011

Young Gun: Alex Chamberlain

Well, we were promised transfer activity this week, and now we’ve got it.  Southampton’s 17-year-old winger Alex (Oxlade) Chamberlain has signed for Arsenal, for an undisclosed fee.

Depending on who you believe, Southampton stand to receive either ten, twelve or fifteen million pounds for the player, depending on performance-related clauses.  One things for sure – it exceeds the £9m we ended up paying for Theo Walcott, with the Saints themselves saying their previous transfer records have been “blown out of the water”.

Arsene initially pushed for a deal to be done in January, but Southampton’s desire to ensure promotion to the Championship saw them resist any bid.

Ideally they would have liked to keep Chamberlain this season too, but the player made life harder by declaring his desire to move.  Now it seems Arsenal have come up with the requisite fee to make all parties happy.

He’s clearly a player of real potential, and as such is a welcome addition to the squad.  However, it’s a signing that’s taken me a little by surprise, despite Arsenal’s long-term interest in the player.  When you look at our squad, we’re not lacking in wide attackers: Nasri, Arshavin, Gervinho, Walcott, Rosicky, Miyaichi and Vela can all occupy those positions.  With a fee of this size, it’s hard to see us loaning Chamberlain out, so perhaps the rumours that Carlos Vela and Miyaichi may be set for temporary moves abroad have some truth to them.

There will doubtless be fans who are frustrated at Arsene’s willingness to pay such a high price for a teenager when he baulks at similar fees for established internationals.  I share that frustration.  All I can say to that is that I hope Chamberlain is the first of several new faces, the rest of which will be slightly more experienced than the young Englishman.  Of our three summer signings thus far, two have only ever played in League One.  Intriguingly, the other, Gervinho, has played in the similar-sounding but significantly more competitive Ligue 1.  I can’t be alone in hoping we still get that Premier League-hardened defender we badly lack.

For now, however, we welcome Alex Chamberlain aboard the good ship Arsenal.  An ankle injury has held up his pre-season, so I don’t expect him to be in contention for a few weeks yet.  Having followed the same path, the press will doubtless be hailing him tomorrow as ‘The New Theo Walcott’.  If, however, you want a more considered view of the player, you can read this piece – Ready Or Not: Alex Chamberlain, from January.

Or, indeed, have a gander at the video below.  More tomorrow.

Comfort from an unusual source

507 comments August 8th, 2011

It has come to something when the words of David Dein provide comfort for Arsenal fans.  In recent months he and his family seem to have actively destabilised the club they profess to love.  However, in an interview with the BBC, Dein has urged the supporters to stand by manager Arsene Wenger:

”Arsene Wenger will admit he has had the most difficult couple of years of his career, for two reasons.

‘One is the fact the game is getting more competitive, we have seen more money coming in so the competition out there is more intense. ‘Secondly, he has had to contend with the fact he hasn’t achieved what he would have hoped to achieve, albeit he has done remarkably well in the quality and style of play.

‘But he himself, and the fans, want to win trophies. Arsene is very focused and very determined. I see him regularly, I see a man who still has as much fire in the belly today as when he started.

‘He wants to win. I believe in his ability and I know for a fact he is trying very hard to improve the squad this year and I hope he does it. People have got to remember what he has achieved. It is easy in life to get rid of people. Then what?

How do you follow Arsene Wenger? That is going to be the trick for the board and it is not going to be an easy exercise.”

Naturally, Dein is going to defend his friend, but I do think the in-fighting among Arsenal fans over Wenger is decidedly unhelpful.  He’s here now, for this season at least, and probably beyond, so let’s get behind him and support him as we would anyone who our crest.

It will certainly help Arsene’s case if he can strengthen the squad in the next few weeks.  Dein stated that he knew for a fact that the manager is trying to add “another two or three players”, and after his comments last week about how “something might happen” in the coming days, I’m expecting speculation both from the fans and the media to run riot.

Today’s rumour of choice, printed in the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, and The Times, is that Arsenal will complete a £12m deal for Alex Chamberlain.  The young winger missed Southampton’s opening weekend victory over Leeds with an ankle injury, and the suggestion is that he may have played his last game for the club.

Whilst Chamberlain clearly has potential, his acquisition is far from a priority this summer.  Granted, he’s been a long-term target, but he remains a long-term prospect.  We’ve got plenty of youthful wide attackers – what we need is an experienced centre-half.

Regardless, part of me suspects this report is a question of several journalists putting two and two together.  Whether or not they’ve made four or five will become clear in the coming days.

As ever, much of the speculation this week will surround the futures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.  On Nasri, Arsene said over the weekend:

“I cannot speak about it but there is no major problem between Samir and myself.”

Which does beg the following questions:

1) If there’s nothing to hide, why can’t you speak about it?

2) Does that mean there is a moderate problem, if not a major one?

It does seem like the position on Nasri is shifting.  A couple of weeks ago Arsene was insisting he would stay; now the language has returned to “hoping”.  Maybe the player has made his desire to leave urgently clear.  With £185,000 p/week on offer from Man City, who knows what length a footballer might go to?

Finally, Jack Wilshere is set to be withdrawn from the England squad because he’s injured.  Some papers have tried to turn this in to a story about a “bust up” between Capello and Arsene, but I’m not sure I buy that.  England want the player; he can’t play.  End of.

Right.  Let the frenzied, mouth-frothing, eye-popping, rumour-mongering twitter-nonsensing week commence.

 

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