Hello all. I'm back. I needed to re-charge my blogging batteries so I stopped for the summer when Arsenal's season ended - after the champions league exit against United.
But I'm starting to get excited about next season in a most unusual way.
Normally, signings are the things that gets the modern football fan out of his seat and into the blogosphere. But this summer, it's been sales.
Two shrewd sales at the that.
Firstly getting rid of Adebayor, possibly the most reviled Arsenal player since Cashley for the stonkingly good price of £25m. £25m! He will score 10 goals for City next year and agitate for a move again. He's been forced to leave two clubs now due to attitude problems, and we won't be the last club in which he talks his way into being sold. Bendtner, Eduardo and RvP are all better players, and Vela and Walcott are also decent options. Another striker might be needed to bring some guaranteed class to the mix, though, especially given RvP and Eduardo's injury problems.
Secondly, getting £15m for Kolo is a true stroke of managerial genius. I love kolo, he is a true Arsenal legend and he never gave less than everything out on the pitch. That's why we all love kolo. But he's past it. He's not a natural defender, and his game is completely based on recovery pace. With that waning, it's a good time to sell. Unlike Ade, this is a good buy for City, but it won't be enough to take them above us next year. And £15m is a superb amount of money, all emotions side, for a player in Kolo's current state.
With the news of Eboue's imminent departure, it seems Arsene is intent on getting rid of the dead-wood in the squad. With reports of a €10m fee agreed for him, that could be £50m banked for 2 average players and one entering a decline. Great business, which gives us options.
Do we need to spend this cash? Well yes, but not as much as the media and parts of the fan-base say so. The purchase of Vermaelen means we have him, gallas, Djourou, Silvestre, song and even senderos, if he stays.
Central midfield is probably the area we need to address, a true enforcer type player is something that could really kick the team on - but i was impressed by Song at the end of last season, so perhaps this is unnecessary as well.
It's easy to forget that we were the form team in the league for much of the second half of last season. I think Vermaelen looks like an excellent purchase, and Arshavin has had a chance to bed-in already. We are not having a fire-sale; our best players are going to stay this summer.
So, in Arsene I trust, I tentatively state. With one or two more players, whom I'm sure will arrive, I think we might just have the right mix for this season. So ignore what the media say; i think we might just surprise a few people next year.
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44 comments:
Finally an optimist, good post
At last someone who speaks sense.
Vieira's coming back by the way!
how you know vieira is coming back ??
add me on my msn guys : clivecaruana_12@hotmail.com - like talking gooners :)
Quality stuff mate...its exactly what i'v been trying to tell my mates. I think we really could win something big this year. GOOD TO BE A GOONER
There's a strong rumour about vieira on a pay as you play deal.
How dare you post such sensible, non knee jerky, non sensationalist, non tabloid intelligent stuff??? Using perpsective and common sense will get you nowhere sunshine!
Hahahaha! Dont you know we are doomed???
Shame on you !
Di Rossi/Sissoko/Veloso and Huntelaar...Title won.
i never viewed this blog b4 but it is a mazing i tottaly agree for the first time in arsenal history we have 50 mil to spend and boy are we gonna spend it great post
good stuff!!! Looking forward to this season. Up the gunners
i guess now that the season is starting, all the real gooners will come out to blog, not idiots who post with nothing to post on. ;)
good post
AGREED.
i think we could do ok even without a dm. song is class these days. i guess the question is if he's not playing who will fill his shoes? i suppose a new dm to cover him wouldn't be a bad idea, but we could survive without i think.
Despite the sales thats happening i feel more excited for us this season. Gallas has no excuse now but perform since his best mate is gone. Arsene know what the team needs and he will buy it. GUNNERS FOREVER!!!
Pmsl. All those people who gave up their season tickets because we haven't won anything. Patience is a virtue. I have good feelings about this season. Watch this space.
Great Post and comments. One more thing to note. All these boys will be departing in Jan-Feb for the Africans Cup of Nations. I think Wenger has really played this one perfectly. In Arsene we trust!
-bhallster
That is very funny! I couldn't agree with you more. I say that is very funny because i just posted a comment on another blog (i don't post many comments) and it almost mirrors your own post today.
This is what i posted on the other blog:
Hello Gooners, I don't normally leave comments on blogs, purely because it takes too long to type them! I think the two transfers to Man City are a very shrewd bit of business from Wenger, i love Kolo Toure, he always played with that big smile on his face. He gave everything to the team when he played but he wasn't a natural center half. As much as i have given out about Gallas in the past i believe he is a far superior defender to Toure. We missed Gallas in a big way when he got injured at the end of last season. Since the captaincy was taken off him he has been immense. Toure has had his day. We got rid of a trouble maker in Adebayor and a hearty but declining (in my opinion) player in Toure (plus remember we won't have to worry about either of them going missing for 2-3 months in the African Cup Of Nations) and we got 40-42 Million in the process, i think Eboue might go next so we are looking at having 50 million to "spend". The big question is what will be done with the money, i for one hope it goes on players (namely Huntelaar and Hangeland plus another one at least) but what if it doesn't? Will some of it or all of it go to paying off the "mortgage"? If this happens it will enrage thousands of fans but think about it, is paying off the loans such a bad thing? It won't benefit us right now but it certainly will in the long term. I for one plan on being an Arsenal fan in 10, 20, 30 years time and not just for the next 2 seasons. I stand firmly behind the club and how it's run, football has lost it's senses in the past few years and Arsenal are one of the few sane clubs left out there. It has been well documented about how the fans appreciate where Wenger has brought the club in his 12/13 years. And he has the club perfectly placed to go on for the next 12/13 years (whether he's there or not), that's what i admire about Wenger, he's not doing it for his own personal glory, he is doing it for the club. We need to get behind the club. All of us.
Good post. I agree some what but we do need another defender to get ready for next year when Gallas leaves. Eduardo to finish top goal scorer!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Kolo you were great.Up The ARSENAL!!! and I cant wait to see people shocked by us doing very very well next year!!! Ithey think we are aiming for 4th!!!!!!!
man if only viera did come back in some deal or another. would be great!
Best blog ever, over the moon with a £40 mil sales. I even made a bet with my mate that we will finish above Man C.
Viera wont come back.... I have met him 3 weeks ago at Nandos in O2centre in finchley, he seemed in a bad mood, I asked him jokingly if he is coming back to arsenal...he gave me the dirtiest look and said "No" with a look that says "get the hell out of my way I need to eat some chicken" so I left him to have his privacy with his partner
Great news for making mony i guss but would have loved to see Archivan club mate pavel if iam right i saw a cool vidio ,but olso we didnt buy Keirrison from Palmeiras barsa did
I think we need one more star to light up the field ,
Its in hands of the prophesor iam sure he has a cool surprise
it was like you wrote exactly what i was thinking i was getting worried about all the anti wengar door spreading bell ends i reckon with no signings wel have a repeat of 07/08 close but not close enough but if we bring in a dm i wouldnt be surprised to be seeing great things.
Although i would love to see veria back were wenger can make him the player he once was however my only issue with him would be pace as cesc aint exactly the fastest (the reason why he star for us for the next 12 seasons getting better and better lol) i would also like to see klass the hunter at our club as he could be our van nistorooy but wont be too upset as eduardo im tipping for success 35/1 top goalscorer i be putting my pocket money on that
also bendtner looks to have improved even in pre season (looks better then adebayshithoare)
"Well said my friend"
We have been apparently struggling for several seasons but most of the teams in all the English leagues would give their right arms to be where we are.
I am actually very proud to support a team that wants to play and not pay their way to success, looking forward to the new season!
"All these boys will be departing in Jan-Feb for the Africans Cup of Nations. I think Wenger has really played this one perfectly. In Arsene we trust!"
I think you've hit the nail on the head there mate, i would say Wenger has planned who he would sell, the players we miss for 5 months every couple seasons, it always hurts us, and Song will be DM, covered by Denilson and possibly Nasri which i'm not sure i like, CB's are sorted, aslong as we don't sell any others, if eboue goes however i think we'll more obvious cover for Sagna.
I also feel the boys are gonna be Men this season, they've had a couple years to mature now and i think they will be confident..
Most of you guys are saying exactly what i'm thinking...great blog. Im confident for next season.
Thanks for the positive feedback guys.
Re: the Vieira link; I would be astounded if this occured as a) Arsene doesn't buy back players and b) Ian Wright is the source for this entire story, from what I can gather.
Not happening, and for the best if it didn't, given Paddy's current fitness.
I wonder if we can get Henry back...
Yeah great post, i think the optimism is finally sinking in, Arsene believes in team spirit, he was the first to use that phrase before everyone started using it.
We do need another defensive midfielder for cover, got a feeling we night get two, one of them being Veira. None of us really knows how players like Ramsey might have stepped up or will step up during the season either, for some reason i think he is gonna be a Gem.
The future might not always seem so bright, but we are a club with a lot of options on the field and off it, the media knock us down every season and the FA too, and as a bonus it's gonna be so good watching the team without a striker missing 45 opportunities before he finally bags one.
Goonerboy!!!
I love you!!!!
finally, someone that feels the way I do about this squad, there are so many negative and thick idiots out there writting blogs is ridiculous!
This squad is just as good as Man Utd and Chelsea's and better than Liverpool's... yeah we havent won anything for 4 years but when was the last time Liverpool won the league?
Will Man Utd be as good next year without Ronaldo and Tevez?
Will Chelsea be better next year with their new manager? (remember Scolari?)
We have a squad that lost Adebayor (16 goals) but regained Eduardo/Rosicky, easily 20+ goals.
We have a squad that replaced a CB with a captain of a good team and seems decent from pre-season, we gained a Senderos that spent a year with the best defender of our generation, Maldini.. Djorou... etc...
We have a squad that has at least 2 good players in every position apart from gk and I still think in 2-3 yrs Fabianski will be one of the best but maybe a bit too early for being 2nd choice.
In Wenger I trust AND understand.
Goonerboy!!!
I love you!!!!
finally, someone that feels the way I do about this squad, there are so many negative and thick idiots out there writting blogs is ridiculous!
This squad is just as good as Man Utd and Chelsea's and better than Liverpool's... yeah we havent won anything for 4 years but when was the last time Liverpool won the league?
Will Man Utd be as good next year without Ronaldo and Tevez?
Will Chelsea be better next year with their new manager? (remember Scolari?)
We have a squad that lost Adebayor (16 goals) but regained Eduardo/Rosicky, easily 20+ goals.
We have a squad that replaced a CB with a captain of a good team and seems decent from pre-season, we gained a Senderos that spent a year with the best defender of our generation, Maldini.. Djorou... etc...
We have a squad that has at least 2 good players in every position apart from gk and I still think in 2-3 yrs Fabianski will be one of the best but maybe a bit too early for being 2nd choice.
In Wenger I trust AND understand.
Getting ahead of yourselves again? We are stronger after buy better players.
Great post. A lot of sense.
Getting rid of some deadwood and trouble maker makes a lot of sense. The team can only get better without these hindrance hanging over their young heads. Ashavin hit the nailon its head when he commented that football is a tem sport, all 24 players have to play together.
we still need a central midfeilder. Viera may be the best choice. Look around the clubs, there are not many available. The best, like Essien, Carrick etc are tied up. In my view Viera is the next best alternative. He brings along presence and authority. As a DM, he can be the perfect foil to protect the back four as well as freeing Fab to creative duties. Moreover, the next generation can look up to him and can see an opportunity for them to shine when the great man retires in a year or two. I have a feeling Ramsey willbe the one to step into that position.
If good business is the main reason why we should be happy about toure leaving, then we should not be agitated if a player who we want to keep, hankers for a move, because its good business for him. Arsenal we do not respect a players loyalty then Arsenal should not demand it either.
Again totally agree; good post and someone who is actually using fact rather than gossip!! Would like to see Huntelaar as i think him and RvP could be a great pair together. Not sure if Vieira is needed as Song did finish really strong last year however if he did it would be great to see him again, another legend created by the man that is Wenger. Gooner fan living in Dubai.
4th choice? weren't both 1st choice players last season when fit? i believe they were. I have seen every pre-season game so far and if i'm brutily honest Vermaelen isn't as good as Toure. Same sort of assets but not as strong, not as quick and regularly is caught out of position and fails to track back.
I'm glad Ade is gone but to call him 1st choice and expect him to only score 10 goals next year is very naive and is just feeding the opinion of the Arsenal and Arsene never do anything wrong crew.
Fact is we have just sold yet another 2 of our more experienced players, sort of replaced 1 with someone i don't think is as good and won't be replacing the other who without injury would have had another 20 goal season (he got 16 and was injured for large parts of the season).
I'm also excited but only if Wenger invests that money into the team. In all of our pre season games it is shocking how many times we have been caught out with a long ball over the top and against Barnet conceded due to set pieces so that problem hasn't been solved and Denilson proved last year he isn't quite good enough. Neither is Song. Money needs to be spent... take your Arsenal tinted glasses off people and come and join reality
Come on people Viera is a legend but he is past it!
If he isn't good enough for Inter why is he good enough for us? Is this what being an Arsenal fan has come to? no ambition and learning to be happy with whatever crap the club choose to throw at us?
As mentioned above neither Denilson nor Song are good enough, yet. They are both young and inexperienced and eventually will make excellent players but without a new DM Arsenal will be guilty once again of looking to the future and forgetting the present. Viera will bring so much more than ability to the side, the experience and leadership he has under his belt is unrivalled. Viera can lead Arsenal in battle in all those games we should have won last season, but seemed to fade away.
Enjoy the optimism, but Adebayor was not our fourth choice striker, he was our first. He was a great striker for us with an attitude problem and thus he was let go, but he was still our first choice striker and a very good one at that.
Perhaps I should have said fourth-best, rather than fourth-choice; that's what i meant.
how u can be optimistic when everyone wants to leave..... u r very funny...
Grt post .. N u were spot on wit the fact tat they wer two quality strokes of brilliance .. Many argue tat Toure has still got lots of years in his carrier like Terry or Rio .. But honestly u can never argue tat he was as gud as the other two .. Wit them u have tat belief tat thers no danger but wit toure he falters freq cos he was never a natural def .. N more imp the last 2 years he wasnt tat gud.. so grt sales .. Grt article!!!
Viera will be a major exp player for us, a boost, a good captain n also the DM we needed .. But i fear his fitness levels .. Anyway given the fact he's on a free transfer Wenger can buy for sure n also his wage demands will be less .. So grt signing if it happens for us .. But he shud still buy a quality defender n Striker i think to have tat edge n score decisive goals in big games!!!
Glad you are back.
On today’s match for the first half the back kept the line I was quite impress solid and i saw it crumbling the goal then came in we were very lucky thanks to Archivan and Gas we cant go on with useless mistakes
I also remember what happened to Eduardo and Roasisky we need to be solid at all times at the back and fierce in the front and strong in the middle
On the performance of today we wouldn’t be able to carry it to the top of next season we lacked in sharpness even though they played well and got that all important result if the players push their self’s to believe they will cough up with the goods
But the season is long and hard on the legs 3 competitions sun rain sleet and snow planes and trains
would Veyara put the back in order and provide aggressive feeds it is possible but we need a lethal centre attack to cover for Veyara in his absence
cant Waite for tomorrows performance come on Arsenal
we need someone good.Andre Pierre Gignac could be perfect for the gunners in a 15 million deal. wenger most buy 1 defender 1 midfielder 1 striker with that money he sold adebayor and kolo with that 46 million sresnal need to spend i am 12 and i hope i will play for the gunners i start for the a team
On today’s match wow Jack Wilsher wow
great match Song contributed brilliantly in the centre all played well we have been in control but still the defence managed to fall asleep temporarily at the free kick luckily Renaldo wasn’t playing and also panicked at the corner kick but all in all the first half all played to a staring performance Eboua tried hard but was unlucky perhaps something in his balance a goal would have done his confidence well
on the 50th minute 60th and 86 minute more blunders in defence luckily Song was at hand even though he slipped
the team is almost there but are we strong for a treble
Its all in Venger strategy it is important to start the season strong and wish to see the treble
Come on Arsenal
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