Just got back with my copy of the Times, and our good friend Matt Hughes has an article splashed across the back page regarding our dear Ashley. It seems we've rejected a £16m bid for him and have asked for £25m. Other papers have mooted Gallas and SWP as part of potential swap moves. Whatever the situation, it seems that the clubs are negotiating, or at least throwing around figures/ideas for how we can both end up reasonably happy. Apparently our new valuation may 'surprise[...] and annoy' poor Ashley, reneging on a previous 'gentlemen's agreement' we had with him that he could be sold for £15m. What Mr Hughes fails to recognise is that gentlemen's agreements can only take place between gentlemen. And i'm pretty sure Ash's antics have, just possibly, debarred him from this category.
Because if he is to go, why shouldn't we ge £20m+ for him? If Chel£ea are willing to spend that much on Essien, SWP and Drogba, Ash is surely worth as much as them. This is the Chavs we're talking about after all. Not only our they one of our closest rivals, but they have more money than everyone else in the premiership put together, and they've shown they're willing to pay over the odds. I don't see why we shouldn't try and inflate the price. If WBrom can do it to us with Davies, why can't we do it to Chelsea? I don't really care how acrimonious it becomes.
The only uncertainty of the whole business thus seems to be the fee. I would dearly love Gallas to come as part of the whole kaboodle. It would save us having to look for a c-b who could fill in on the left, and also give us a little bit more cash. I really can't see Mourinho voluntarily agreeing to this though. If we don't get him, that would still give us around £16-25m to spend on top of Arsene's transfer kitty - an amount we can only speculate on. This would surely mean Arsene goes out and buys fairly big. At least in the vein of around £6-12m per person.
Anyone have any suggestions as to who we could get? I'm not entirely convinced that Clichy has what it takes to fill in at l-b yet. I still think he needs another season or so to get rid of his sick note tendencies. And for all I love the Flamster at l-b, he's not really a long term viable solution either - unless he were to consistently start there and really get used to the role.
A player i think a lot of people were impressed with at the world-cup was Lahm. Would he be worth a punt? I saw a valuation of £10m thrown about which seemed quite reasonable. I was also intrigued by Gunnerblog's suggestion of getting Sylvinhio in. The circle would be complete if he came back to replace Ash.
In other news, Arsene has refuted any suggestion that Paddy is coming back; Nick Bendtner is not off to Rangers as Arsene has promoted him to the 1st team squad; and Yobo has signed a new Everton contract, ending conclusively any hint of him coming to us.
I think i'll wait until Ash actually goes before I write my piece on how players who've left Arsene's Arsenal have not had the best of experiences subsequently...
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47 comments:
I say make the little tnuc stay & serve out his contract, I'd rather have the best l-b in the world than £16m in the kitty. And having seen Traore play at DB10's testimonial, I reckon stick with him & Clichy for the future.
When you get to write of the "curse of the Arsenal departed", don't forget to include the fact that Villareal (and Pires) were surprisingly knocked out of Europe last week.
World Class Players as requested by A Twat
Lehmann
Cole
Toure
Fabregas
Henry
v. Persie
Ljungberg
LOL. I'd add Rosicky too.
If you really believe the Chelsea Rent Boy is the best lb in the world then you are sorely mistaken. The guy gets twisted by Ronaldo every time he faces him.
Give Clichy one full season and you will see he's just as good - only difference is he's not yet an arrogant, illiterate prick who conveniently forgets where his first chance came from.
And as for the agreement - if Cole was too thick to get it in writing then once again he should question the 'advice' he receives.
I reckon that Arsenal have a fan-base that contains a lot of young twat-potential, but can anybody give me a list of World Class Twats that write to Arsenal blogs?
Gelbs - in your first post you said "after Henry, it seems hard to find any" World Class Arsenal players, and now you own up to THREE.
Now, that wasn't THAT hard was it??
Actually "Anonymous" is my real name - ain't got no mum & dad. Guess what that makes me...?
Come on guys, less polemic. Whether you disagree with Gelbs or not, at least he's provoking debate and asking sensible questions.
world class players at Arsenal:
Lehmann
Toure
Senderos
Cole [ex]
Gilberto
Fabregas
Hleb
Rosicky
Henry
Van Persie
Reyes
And players like Clichy, Walcott, Adebayor, Eboue will get better. Adebayor was excellent for Togo in the world cup.
I have been an Arsenal-supporter for over 20 years, and like to think that we never ever have had any world-class - players. Why do we need to think of which kind of category a player is in? They have to be good enough to compete for a place in the team and in the squad. Thats it.
Tony Adams, Ian Wright, Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry... some players which was/is not world-class players, all of them. It depends on when and how they perform. I would like to see a new Ian Wright and Tony Adams, even if they do not reach your category of being a world-class player.
Like Helge said, world class is only an opinion, which will never be agreed with by everyone. As Ramsey proved with england in 66 you don't have to have 11 world class players in your first 11 you need a balanced 11. Look at 98 when we won the league who was vieira and petit before then, they were nothing then all of a sudden their one of the best patnerships the world has ever seen! and look what happened to them once petit left he disappeared into obscruity before retiring and vieira began to slowly decline. The fact of the matter is if you have the right system good players can look world class, but with a wrong system world class players only look average. Henry can look average in the wrong system he suffers when isolated but no one in their right mind would say he's not world class. So my point is its the system that makes you look world class.
But on another note Gelbs shud still just shut up for a bit and get a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol. Gelbs I have to laugh
"Plus I don't like the fact he looks a twat with the way he does his socks"
You are right that is essential criteria for any player to fit the world class category.
On a different note i wonder what TH14 thinks about this lack of transfer activity after it was widely reported assurances were given to him about the possible transfer targets for AW.
Arsenal made a big mistake by allowing Gilbert to go out on loan. I dont know if I am alone here but from what I saw of him last season I felt he was much better than Eboue!
This young team has a lot of potential and with two more quality signings could mount a serious challenge for the title. My biggest concern though is Gilberto. I dont think he has it in him anymore and if he puts us through another inconsistent season then we will have problems. If he plays well then Arsenal plays well, showing just how important his role is to the team.
On the subject at hand, I would love and cant wait to see the back of Cole. I have grown to hate him and feel that he deserves Chelsea as much as they deserve him.
Gelbs -
Quick lesson in football-speak.
World-class, according to your definition, seems to mean somebody who has had great seasons in the past.
Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy, Schevchenko, Ballack, guys like that.
Ok, if you want to go with that definition, then definitely Chelsea have way more than we do.
But since championships are not won in the past but in the future, then World-class could also mean players who are already having and will have even more great seasons.
Guys like Fabregas, Van Persie, Senderos would fit into that category.
You don't think Van Persie is "world-class"? Then why did Marco Van Basten play him ahead of Cunt Van Nistelrooy? Why did Van Basten say you can't not play Van Persie when you are fortunate enough to have him?
We're not talking about Togo, we're talking about Holland...
But if you want old guys with great reps and no legs, for sure, Arsenal don't have a lot of those.
Well here is the FIFA All Star squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Jens Lehmann (Germany), Ricardo (Portugal).
Defenders: Roberto Ayala (Argentina), John Terry (England), Lilian Thuram (France), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy), Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal).
Midfielders: Ze Roberto (Brazil), Patrick Vieira (France), Zinedine Zidane (France), Michael Ballack (Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Gennaro Gattuso (Italy), Luis Figo (Portugal), Maniche (Portugal).
Strikers: Hernan Crespo (Argentina), Thierry Henry (France), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Francesco Totti (Italy), Luca Toni (Italy).
Funny that. I see Henry's name, but I call him a world class player. And I see Lehmann. Admittedly not a lot else, but note that all of these made it to the group stages, which I'm sure was a criteria, and I don't see Lampard there even though he had more shots than any other player.
Maybe that's because, like the Neville brothers, he's shit in an England shirt.
And Ronaldinho had a shit world cup by his standards.
The people that chose this have great experience in watching and reporting football, and they are right in that only Terry acquitted himself well. The rest, Rooney included, are simply not world class (in this world cup or ones past).
Henry scored vital goals and set up his team for the final.
Poor by his standards? What are they then, P3 W1 L2 (inc 1 final). He can't do it all on his own, can he?
Let's face it, the only other decent striker France have didn't play.
So basically we had two of our players out of the world's best, which immediately blows your first claim out of the water.
Then, when you try and obfuscate the issue, I prove you still wrong.
Give it up Gelbs, go and play with the youngsters where you belong, and leave us grown ups to talk sense.
Can't go to any arsenal blogs these days without seeing gelbs crapping all over the place.
cup of tea and a creamy muff (its the name of a biscuit in Belfast)..
Lovely. Oh and a bit of toast
Gelbs, I think you should have a little more faith in the players we have. I agree that we need new players, but only one or two. I think we should concentrate on creating a good team, rather than just getting 'world-class' players in. I will be concerned if Arsene doesn't bring anyone in though. We need to thicken the squad somewhat.
I also think that Chelsea have bought more than they need - I'm really intrigued as to how they are going to play Ballack, Lampard, Essie and Makelele together.
i have to be honest and I don't usually post on these things but a lot of what Gelbs says is actually correct in my opinion. How many current Arsenal players would get into a world 11 team?? In fact how many would be included in 2 world 11 teams.
Don't get me wrong I have a lot of faith in the team and Le Boss, but a few years ago you'd have had 3-4 and now there is probably just 1.
Gelbs is again posting under a different name.
East at the Grove=Gelbs
Enjoy your blog goonerboy but Gelbs is a complete knob
It's not whether we have world class players. England has world class players but a crap team.
Do we have a world class team?
Yes we have!
What has Arsene being doing all these years. Buying players that fit the system and creating a WORLD CLASS TEAM.
realgooner, just because there are some people on this planet that don't walk around with their head up their own arse, it doesn't make their comments wrong.
I'm sure AW will bring in a couple of top signings before the season starts and he is just waiting on the Cashley Hole situation to sort itself out and in which case we shall be challenging for honours again. If we don't however we are well short of the top 3.
Don't always mistake realism for pessimism.
Anonymous Bastard are you drunk?
Anon Bastard, could you get your Auntie's autograph for me please?
They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery Gelbs....
I think what Gelbs is trying to say is just what he said in the transfer rumours post the other day: that some Arsenal fans are concerned at the lack of players coming into the club, when compared with the players we're losing.
I remember a while back I wrote a post entitled: 'Campbell, Henry, Cole, Pires: one will leave but which?' [this was in late April/early May I think] I never thought we'd be on the verge of losing three of them; but, importantly, we've kept the best of the bunch.
I think we're all just going to have to be patient. Especially if Wenger takes the Cash for Ash, I can't see him not buying anyone. And 'realgooner' is right - our best chance of beating Chelsea is not by franticly panic-buying suposedly 'world-class' players - it's by Arsene carefully contemplating what type of players will fit into our system. We can make a , team capable of challenging Chelsea, even if we can't match their ability to buy players.
And anyway, what players do people think should replace Cole?
If Cole is sold, Arsene will buy a centre back and a defensive midfielder.
I dont see him buying a left back.
We will have to make do with Clichy and Flamini.
I think that Wenger should tell Chelsea that unless we get Gallas as part of the deal then Cole is going nowhere. As somebody pointed out earlier 16m is not a great deal of cash for a relatively young English international and we are in no particular need to sell.
(Apart from the little obnoxious cunt being a rat faced rent boy of course).
Gallas fits the criteria of being a little older and wiser to blood in the young talent and of course he can play centre half or left back when Clichy misses 2/3 of the season through injury.
(
ACK!!! Gelbs and I have the same opinion.
Move over people I need to jump off the cliff.
Yes. U r bearing my child right now.
Well if you remove the comments about Toast, the pope, and other completely random things, I think that'd take it down to about 40-50. But still, yes, it has been quite the comments-fest today. I think the previous high number of comments was 40 something.
It would be nice if comments could try and remain on topic...perhaps a little less of the bodily fluids on toast jokes...
Anyway, don't sell Cole to Chelsea unless they give us Gallas. Let the little cunt rot in the reserves.
Gelbs why dont u start ur own blog. A contrarian view blog just like antithesis.blogspot.com so that all the negativity stays in one place.
ask goonerboy how (http://www.newsnow.co.uk/newsfeed/?name=Arsenal ?) this works. His blog is picked up by arsenalworld.com
To get picked up via newsnow, you have to write your blog for a while, and then submit your site to them. Mine had been going for about two months, and after about 4 or 5 applications they finally accepted me. So if you want to set up your own blog and be put on newsnow, you can do it.
Also, Gunnerblog made an offer of allowing you to post on his site. Have you considered that?
Gelbs, "Wenger spent hardly any money on our top team in 2003/04 squad and still made it great."
Errrr, why don't you have faith that he can do it again then? Especially with this crop of youngsters. I think a midfielder of about 25 or 26 and an experienced defender of a similar age. What about the Czech dude Grygera? plays centre half or left back.
Well, sorry, to be more precise, you have to set up your own site, attach the site to feedburner [easier than it sounds], and then submit that to newsnow, so that they can read the headlines off the site. I know a few people used to access the site via 'soccerblogs.com' which ammalgamates quite a few football blogs for an American(?) audience.
I think newsnow don't put you straight into the feed in case your site isn't actually connected to Arsenal.
Can anyone think of the last shit left back we have had??
You can't include players just covering there like Cygan.
Ever since I started going Arsenal have had great left backs. Sammy Nelson, Kenny Sanson, Nigel Winterburn, Silvinho, Cole.
I think you are missing the point. The last SHIT left back....
My old man has just come up with a fella called Freddie Clark.
Any of you go back to the 60's??
It is incredible the players we have been blessed with in that position. Before Nelson was Bob McNab if my memory serves me correct.
That was one of the only times I have heard Wenger openly critisise a player in the press. He lost JFH at the far post.
Gelbs, will you marry me? Then we can have annoying kids that talk bollocks all day. I think my husband likes boys and phones more than me...Wanker!!
Cheryl Tweedy
Oh well, I shall have to shag that portugese twat instead then!!
xx Cheryl Tweedy
Last season, part of me was hoping that we would finish fifth and miss out on the Champions League spot. Reasons:
1. A lot of cash for Thierry Henry. He's a good player for us, but by the time this team gets going, he'll be reduced to playing cameos like Bergkamp.
2. It would've made this season's campaign vital. No more waiting 2-3 years for players to mature. No more hiding behind excuses like competing against Chelski and growing a team. We'd have to do what Liverpool and Man U do, and try to compete.
3. Wenger would have had to start buying squad players to augment the thread-bare first team.
However, we've snuck in fourth, and reached the final. Wenger's validated; his approach was correct. And so, he vaciliates and hestitates. He doesn't buy quality like Saviola and Buffon (don't tell me Arsenal can't find 12 million if they have to). He will give chances to unready kids(Song, Walcott, Bendtner probably).
So this season, we're in the same position as the last. We'll do alright at home, struggle away, sneak in fourth/fifth and have a run in Europe.
And I'm left secretly hoping that we'll finish fifth this year..
And what kind of players do you think we'd have got playing in the UEFA Cup? What a twat, do you not think getting fourth was a huge boost to our youngsters which will aid their development? AW knows what he is doing, last season was necessary, but a look at how we played in the second half of last season fills me with confidence for the future, you sir (5.39am) sound like a glory hunter to me.
dont tkae no notice of glebs he or she or inbetween is not an Arsenal fan. he sounds like a biter spud or a chav.
he thinks he knows morer then WENGER about players i bet hes never even been to a live football match.
gleb u cunt FUK OFF.
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