Reading Arsène’s Mind

August 1, 2010

So what have we learnt from the pre-season games so far – what has Arsène learnt? Obviously we can’t read his mind but we can draw logical conclusions from his team selections and have a crack at deciphering the coded messages he sends out in press conferences.

These are simply my conclusions based on what I’ve seen in the pre-season games and Arsène’s own words (as opposed to journalists ‘interpretation’ of his words)

  1. He hasn’t yet decided who will be first choice keeper. I think he is increasingly coming to the conclusion that it won’t be a disaster if we don’t sign another GK – this may be partially driven by the fact that he can’t find a buyer for Almunia and that new Fulham manager Mark Hughes will not want to let Schwarzer go and may even have made it a stipulation of accepting the job.
  2. Koscielny was always intended to be TV’s centre-back partner and based on his impressive improvement in every game (many said he was MotM yesterday) he could be a great signing. Koscielny is an Arsène type player. He is a very athletic defender and a good ‘footballer’, but his slight stature means that against the more physical teams, he will be overpowered by opposition strikers. For this reason, I think AW was hoping that Djourou would be able to deputise in some games – in my opinion he is not good enough. For a man of his size he lacks aggression. He doesn’t attack the ball in the air in the way TV does and he is not positionally aware in set pieces. For this reason I think Arsène is still looking to sign another CB but is extremely loathe to spend the £10m required to get the likes of Mertesacker or Jagielka.
  3. Nasri has reacted positively to his World Cup exclusion. His performances have been consistently good in pre-season and his emergence as playmaker has allowed Arsène to take a tougher public stance on the issue of Cesc’s departure for Barça. The recent statements to the Press have been more for the ears of Cesc himself and his  message is “We are the ones in a position of strength, its about time you started acting like our captain again and came out in public and committed yourself to Arsenal”
  4. I believe that the inclusion and performances of Frimpong and Nordveit have been highly significant. Arsène sees Frimpong as a genuine contender to deputise for Song if he is injured or more likely needed in central defence and Nordveit similarly has the quality to play as CD, RB or DM – we don’t know how they will deal with the pressure of top flight football but I have a feeling we will find out this season.
  5. Arsène will be delighted with his attacking options for the coming season. Although some may have reservations over Koscielny, Chamakh is going to be a huge success – don’t be surprised if Man City are offering £30m for him next summer. Unlike any of our other striking options, he has ALL the attributes required for the job. He is a big strong lad. He has pace and great close control. He has a strikers lust for goals and yet is unselfish in his play. He is better in the air than any of our other strikers. He has quick feet, a better first touch than Bendtner, and is a more composed finisher than RvP.

All the above is pure speculation. It is not written as a criticism of the manager. I think that Wenger, post his partnership with David Dein, has been a great servant of the Board and will continue to spend the club’s money sparingly. The commercial growth of the ‘business’ is still the prime objective. To grow at a time when almost every other club is shrinking is a major achievement and the focus will not change for the foreseeable future.

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Posted by Rasp

Arsenal in crisis! …. what crisis?

July 30, 2010

I am really getting fed up with all the dross coming out of the ‘red tops’. Yesterday, they reported that we are doomed for another season as RVP and Fabregas wouldn’t be fit enough to play in our opening game at Liverpool.  They are certain our spending is finished for another summer and our hopes for next season are all but over. They highlight the fact that Bendtner will also miss the opening games, (which we all knew several weeks ago) and Denilson and Diaby are also a doubt.

Some Arsenal sites panic at all this make-believe stuff. The internet has been littered with headline posts calculated to provoke reaction. Our ‘fantasy predicament’ pales into insignificance compared to the mess Liverpool are in, with an injured Torres, and Carragher, Kuyt and Gerrard burnt out after the World Cup. The new manager, Roy Hodgson has an enormous task ahead in trying to produce a side that meets the expectation of the Liverpool fans.

What Wenger actually said was that he would address the situation on the 5th August. He didn’t say that RVP or Fabregas wouldn’t play. Denilson and Diaby  both have slight groin strains but would most probably be available although Bendtner aggravated his groin problem and was always going to miss the start of the season. Luckily we have Chamakh now who it is likely will compete with Bendtner for a starting place in the side any way.

Year after year the media ‘will us to fail’ and try every conceivable method to brainwash a gullible audience, some of whom fall for it every time.

Wenger isn’t stupid, I’m sure he wants to buy where we need cover.  He knew months ago that Gallas, Silvestre, Senderos and Campbell were out of contract and would probably leave, and at the same time he would have assessed our present cover. The pre-season games in Austria will have given him a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the squad .

Look how little activity there is from the top clubs so far this summer. There is a worldwide recession. Most PL clubs are in so much debt that,the penny has finally dropped. The days of buying players at over inflated prices must stop (unless you’re man city) but also, the availability of top players is limited.

Have you seen many who played in the world cup change clubs? City will continue to splash the cash, but making wholesale changes doesn’t always equate to a winning formula .

I feel very confident that we have a good balance now in the squad and will still buy at the least another centre back.

Have faith my friends.

Written by kelsey

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Posted by kelsey

Arsenal Untested ….A Friendly Stroll in The Park

July 28, 2010

SC Neusiedl 1919. 0 Arsenal 4.

With yet another good workout satisfactorily completed the thoughts will turn to The Emirates Cup, where we might really begin to judge our squad at a much higher level, but I will leave that for another time.

The first thing that struck me last night was the stadium, the infamous Sportzentrum Neusiedl. Even allowing for the fact that Neusiedll were being compared to a Conference side, it appeared that someone had quickly assembled a pitch in a far flung park somewhere in eastern Austria. Nevertheless there was a capacity crowd of 2500, amongst which I must have spotted at least 400 kids happily enjoying their ice creams.

Back to more serious matters. We had learnt earlier in the day that Sol had finally decided to leave us for the heady heights of Newcastle and I’m sure all of us wish him well and even at the ripe old age of 36, I feel it would have been beneficial to have him still in our squad. This was further compounded with the sad sight of Djourou leaving the field after barely 20 minutes, and this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as the need for a centre back is now a must.

I won’t give you a match report as it wasn’t really a game, but in the first half Nasri shone way above anyone else and looked sharper than ever. Wilshere also had a fine first half and was reintroduced midway through the second half. I hope the boss was thinking that the lad is now ready to be an active member of our first team squad.

Frimpong, after a slow start impressed yet again, and it was as nice to see Carlos score with his customary chip, as it was to see Theo score and Chamakh cooly slotting in his first goal for the club from the penalty spot.

Many were surprised to see Almunia start let alone as captain, but I wouldn’t read too much into that. For those who were not aware, Rosicky was withdrawn 10 minutes before the start.

Generally we still look vunerable in defence and again our crossing needs to improve dramatically. This is a real issue for me, but on the other hand we will see a radically different line up for the first game at Anfield. Arshavin is a canny player and one gets the impression, not for the first time, that he is saving himself for the games that really matter.

All in all maybe a few questions were answered for the boss and finally it was nice to see Gibbs back in the team, though he may well need a good few weeks to regain his sharpness. JET for a big lad had a very compact game, but I doubt he is quite ready for the first team, and a word for Mannone who has hardly been mentioned lately, a good penalty save and basically nothing much else to do.

Roll on Saturday and A.C.Milan.

Written by kelsey

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Posted by kelsey

Can Theo learn any Tricks?????

July 22, 2010

Sturm Graz 0 Arsenal 3

It was certainly a good work out in our new away kit (any thoughts)and they all looked pretty fit, but I get the impression that Arshavin doesn’t need these matches as he only wants to be involved in the real thing. JET is a monster, a sort of young Emile Heskey, and showed nimble feet on more than one occasion.

Nordveidt did look composed as did Lansbury when he came on and scored a suberb goal which was calmly taken.

Nasri looked very sharp and was undoubtedly the man of the match in the first half. The prolonged summer rest showed to good effect.

Jack is class,  a little feisty, though he undoubtedly has a football brain and as I’ve  said before he is ready now and IMO should be a useful member to the squad. He is quality and showed it when he drew the right back so that Lansbury could score.

Chamakh will need time and its far too early to judge him but if the truth be known not many of these will feature in the first team.

Gibbs looks assured, but as I said it was basically a work out. What I had  really hoped to see was  an  improvement in Theo, but it wasn’t there, maybe I am judging him too soon,  more about him later on.

It was interesting to see Traore play the first half as left-back, come off at half time and then re-appear for Wilshere on the wing. I wonder what the bosses thinking is with regard to Traore.

I think for Wenger this was an exercise to assess which players should be in the squad this season, together with the fitness levels of both Gibbs and Djourou, and  those that may go out on loan. The majority of the first team haven’t even played yet, so it was an exercise  to slowly see who might be good enough to compliment the side.

Almunia was absent yet again, a prolonged tummy upset or perhaps not. I have a gut feeling that we may have a new number 1 and 2 this season. Fabianski played the first half and was replaced by Szczesny for the second but neither keeper were tested so we’re still in the dark there.

The focal point for me was to watch Theo. He has had a lengthy break, should be fresh as a daisy yet is there any improvement being shown? Unfortunately, in my view, not as yet and midway through the second half he was  attacking via the right wing and for some reason decided to play the ball back from the halfway line to Szczesny.

I know we are split about the progress or lack of progress Theo has made in the 4.5 years he has been with us, and the expectations as a 16 year old were immense. He was unfortunate to suffer various injuries including the inherent shoulder problems that came to light about 2 years ago but these have now been addressed. At 21 one has to decide if he is a naturally gifted footballer who will enhance the team,  or perhaps a slow learner or dare I say it nothing more than a squad player. Some will argue he needs more time, but I am not so sure.

On the other hand I have to eat my own words about Rosicky. He looked  like a player reborn, and he was mighty impressive in his midfield role, spraying accurate passes all over the field, and on more than one occasion I thought it was Cesc. Is he another new signing  😉

A lot to ponder and I am sure you will all have your own view to the points I have raised.

Written by kelsey

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Posted by kelsey

Barnet v Arsenal – more mouthwatering than the World Cup final

July 17, 2010

How many weeks have we waited? – its been far too long; like being separated from a lover, knowing that the date and time is set for a reunion, counting down the hours and minutes until we are re-united.

I’ve really missed Arsenal. I’ve watched a lot of football  in the last few weeks and although it was nice to have Cesc and van Persie in the World Cup final, to see a whole team in the glorious Red and White, heralding the beginning of our preparation for the new season …. what can compare to that?

This afternoon I’ll be at Barnet FC to welcome Arsene Wenger, Pat Rice and our players, new and old – a mix of gifted reserves spiced with a smattering of first team stars who were spared the exertions of playing in the World Cup. I would imagine some managers (Domenech and Capello) may now be regretting the ommission of Arsenal players who would undoubtedly have performed better than the forlorn figures who returned early in failure.

Friendlies at Barnet can be anything from a thrilling 11 goal celebration of beautiful football to a tepid nil nil.

Having watched the way Spain laboured to win the World Cup 1-0, I’d love to see us bang a few in for fun. Here are the results of the games so far this century:


The Barnet fans always make me laugh. They used to sing about ‘the Highbury Library’ and ‘shall we sing a song for you’ etc etc, but like most Arsenal fans, although I’m really excited about the game it would be a bit pathetic to go overboard as we are playing a team from the 2nd division  (apologies to the Barnet faithful). Having said that, I much prefer Barnet to the other team starting with ‘BAR’ who publicly embarrassed our captain in that ‘shirt incident’.

The look on Cesc’s face said it all. Take my word, he will be an Arsenal player next season and he will play with all the passion and conviction that makes him such a great footballer.

This is the 22 man squad as announced on Arsenal.com

Manuel Almunia (GK)
Andrey Arshavin
Nacer Barazite
Marouane Chamakh
Johan Djourou
Craig Eastmond
Eduardo
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Lukasz Fabianski (GK)
Emmanuel Frimpong
Kieran Gibbs
Conor Henderson
Laurent Koscielny
Henri Lansbury
Ignasi Miquel
Samir Nasri
Havard Nordtveit
Tomas Rosicky
Armand Traore
Thomas Vermaelen
Theo Walcott
 Jack Wilshere

Looking at that list, I would love to to see the new boys, Chamakh and Koscielny get some time on the pitch. It will be fascinating to see which centreback pairing takes to the field against pool for the first game of the season. Today we may get an insight into how Vermaelen/Djourou and Vermaelen/Koscielny combos would work.

It will also be interesting to see Havard Nordtveit. The Norwegian is now 20. He’s grown to 6ft 1 1/2 in. (tall for an Arsenal CB!) and has spent the last couple of seasons playing first for Lillestrøm in Norway and last year FC Nuremburg in the Bundesliga where he was deployed as a defensive midfielder, not a centreback?

Slightly more depressing is the choice of Goalkeepers – Almunia and Fabianski. Although I think the latter can become a good keeper, Almunia surely cannot be trusted to perform under pressure in the ‘big games’. Why on earth won’t we get a chance to see Szczęsny? They’ve been raving about him at Brentford all last season. He’s been playing in the league above Barnet, so surely he could have been given a chance. We know what the other two keepers are like to our cost!

The Bees (Barnet) always put in a spirited performance characterised by pace and endeavour – but let us all pray they don’t forget the ‘friendly’ nature of the occassion and injure any of our boys before the season starts.

A group of ‘Arsenal Arsenal’ bloggers will be at the game and I am hoping that each will write a short paragraph on their impression of the game for a ‘composite’ match report tomorrow.

Come on you reds………..

Written by peachesgooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

So, Do You Think We Can Win The League?

July 16, 2010

I don’t know why but I am not as confident about winning the league this season as I was last which is unusual for me because when it comes to optimism and blind faith I make Stevie Wonder look like he has twenty, twenty vision.

This time last year I was getting quite excited, we had just managed to offload the disruptive Adebayor to City while fleecing them shortly after in the form of Toure. Our attack looked solid helped by the long awaited return of Eduardo. The midfield was bolstered by the return of Rosicky and the defence was augmented with Vermaelen. This gave us the partnership in central defence of Gallas and Vermaelen with Senderos, Silvestre and Song as cover all of which sat well with me. Manu had lost Tevez and Ronaldo, the dippers were totally reliant on the fitness of Gerrard and Torres and the chavs, well that one was always going to be the biggest hurdle to get over but nevertheless, I put my faith in my optimism and arrived at the conclusion that we were going to win the league.

This season, I am not so sure, we have Chamakh which is very exciting, although, for those expecting to see an out and out number nine alla Ian Wright I think you are going to be disappointed. From the five full games I have watched him he plays the channels, he is far more of a team player than the selfish Wright, although, that is not to suggest that being selfish is a bad thing for a striker, it just makes the point that they are very different. The clever advantage, above all, of having a player like Chamakh is that by reputation he will not expect to get an automatic starting place  – he will know that he will have to earn it; the other advantage is that the rest of the attack won’t feel threatened but he will keep them on their toes.

The midfield is so obviously reliant on Fabrégas that there seems little point of discussing the possibility of life after Cesc, as far as I am concerned — Denial is a river in Egypt — and Cesc will lead the good guys out at Anfield.

On a serious note there is only one issue out there that the Cesc bashers are still clinging to and that is what his father is rumoured to have said: the next time you get into a debate with one of them ask if there is a shred of evidence to show that Cesc’s father actually said that his son would like to leave and you will find out very quickly that there isn’t and do you know why that is true? Because if there was, those so called Arsenal supporters would be throwing it in our faces at every opportunity — Cesc has acted impeccably throughout this trying time.

I digress or perhaps I was just trying to put this off — the midfield — I have to admit that such a pivotal role falling to Diaby scares the life out of me the idea that he can stay focused for the whole season seems way beyond his capabilities but hey ho in Arsène we trust as they say.

The central defence: “we won’t win anything until we get four world class centre backs.” Don’t you just want to strangle people who make statements like that? It is about as banal as saying grass is green, it also suggests that such a revelation might not have crossed Wenger’s mind. Four world class CB’s at a club at any one time is a mirage, an impossible dream, you may be able to keep two happy but which two other self respecting world class players would be prepared to sit on the bench for what could be the best part of a season if not more, Chelsea with their inflated wages come close but even their situation is far from perfect.

When it comes to Wenger’s signings we as Arsenal supporters are used to having to make a leap of faith; there was a time when the names were so obscure that I was chuffed just to have heard of the country of origin never mind their pedigree.  Last year it was Vermaelen, although, in his case we had the reassuring knowledge that he was captain of Belgium and captain of Ajax. This year we are really being tested with the signing of Koscielny —  I have to admit I am nervous, this is possibly the biggest leap of faith we have ever been asked to make. Still we won’t have to wait long, his first appearance is on Saturday at Barnet when, if all goes well, people will return with glowing reports of how Wenger has unearthed yet another gem and this uncomfortable pessimism will evaporate………I certainly hope so.

Written by London

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Posted by LB

The Exit Looms …. But For Who?

July 12, 2010

When discussing buying players recently, I’ve found myself repeating the phrase ‘cautiously dipping our toes back into the transfer market’.

I know we’ve been buying players selectively over the last couple of years, but I do believe that the pattern of one decent signing over the summer will become 2,3 or even 4 as long as our profits remain healthy and the squad needs reinforcing.

In a perfect world, we’d have a gifted and balanced squad, none of whom want to leave, fed by a constant influx of talent from our youth system, but Carlsberg don’t do football management. I don’t expect us to buy any ‘finished article’ £25m+ superstars, but continue with what we do best and that is to identify players who are not on the radar of the big clubs but are ‘Wenger gems’ in the making. I expect Koscielny to be just such an acquisition.

This brings me to the main point of the post. In the future, if we are going to bring in 2 or 3 players, we will also be letting 2 or 3 players go. Competition for places in the side should be fierce and hopefully this will increase desire, ambition and work rate in the squad. I’m not referring to the likes of  Sol, Silvestre and Campbell’ older players who are being ‘let go’. It would be great if the next time we sell a player it will be because WE want to  rather than THEY would prefer to play for a ‘bigger’ club.

In yesterday’s post, 26may1989 put it very well when he wrote this about the respective performances in the World Cup ‘Never has a tournament shown the value of team play, of the collective over the individual. To me, that’s a good thing.’

I would argue that team spirit and belief is eroded when the better players know that there are weak links in the side.

We’ve discussed the importance of not damaging player’s confidence by character assassination from the terraces; in the media or on the blogs, but the ruthless objectivity that has got us into this enviable position must also apply to the squad.

The purchase of Vermaelen to replace Kolo Toure is a perfect example of the way I think we should go about strengthening the squad.

I have it from a ’very reliable source close to the top’ (hell, I sound just like the sort of rumour monger I despise), that last season, there were four first team regulars that were thought not to be up to standard – pretty amazing that we finished 3rd in the Premiership if that really was the case.

I can already sense every reader compiling a list in their heads. Apart from the obvious choice of the keeper, this subject will produce more disagreement than any other. Song would be one of the first names on the team sheet for me whereas I am yet to be convinced that Diaby can produce the consistency and discipline required.

I shall not describe any players in relation to a ‘popular savoury spread’, but suffice to say that we all employ our personal prejudices when evaluating players and sometimes that is an irrational judgement, but the harsh reality is that we can now afford to replace any that are not good enough – and that’s precisely what we must do!

Arsène will no doubt have it in his mind that next season will be make or break for some players. He has announced in previous years that he expects player ‘A’ (Theo?) to really step up a level, he now has the financial clout to replace player ‘A’ if he fails to reach the required standard. Every player with potential should be given the chance to prove they can make the grade (Vela?), but equally there is a point where persistence with failure damages the team and costs games.

We will have a stronger team this coming season. The description of Koscielny as a ‘warrior’ says it all; Arsène knows we need to be stronger and more aggressive to compliment our silky passing skills.

I expect that any player who consistantly fails in terms of ability and work rate will be closest to the door when we go shopping next summer.

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Posted by Rasp

Goodbye Silvestre, Gallas and Campbell – Boy Wonder Number 10.

July 8, 2010

Its getting exciting now – you know the season is impending when people are making travel arrangements for our annual trip to Barnet.

This week, Arsenal.com put up the pictures of those of the first team not on international duty who came back for some fitness work. It was nice to see Kieran Gibbs back in training, and word is Aaron Ramsey is back running without any trouble. Our latest recruit Maroune Chamakh seems to have a new BFF in Samir Nasri.

Laurent Koscielny is an Arsenal player. To all those who think he can’t be up to much because he comes from the second tier of French football, consider this; Arsenal is notoriously frugal in its spending and yet we’ve lashed out £8.5m for him (reportedly) when FC Lorient only paid £1.5m a year earlier – he’s going to be some player believe me.

While having a look around the site, I had a look at our lovely new kit again – only problem is the large sponsorship font, but beggars and choosers and all that… Anyways, I went into the online shopping section and happened upon something very interesting.

It seems all the ifs and buts are answered. William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre and Sol Campbell would appear to be no longer Arsenal players. In the drop down section that allows you to select a personalised name and number, the options of Campbell, Silvestre and Campbell are no longer available. (Oddly you can still get Gilbert on your shirt – two things, WHY? and he was released last week, memo mustn’t have gone out). I doubt this is because of uncertainty over their contracts, it must be because they are going and honestly none of the three are a shock.

Silvestre no-body will cry over. Campbell was always bound to go wherever he could get a nice signing-on fee (sorry Peaches) and while Gallas has been a good player for us overall, he’s become increasingly injury prone. What is key here, is that all three are CBs. Its a broken record by now, but signing Koscielny won’t be enough. Vermaelen is now our only tried and trusted CB, Djourou is largely untested and coming back from a long lay-off. We don’t know what Koscielny is like, and I won’t sit here and judge before I see just because I’ve not heard of him. Alex Song can play there but he is needed in midfield, so Wenger must be looking at, at least one more defensive signing – none of the youth’s look ready to come up and its far too risky to chance it. Wenger must know this by now.

Aside from Silvestre’s, Campbell’s and Gallas’ numbers being unavailable (at least in the drop down menu) its also worth noting that Robin van Persie has applied to have his number changed for next season. As Arshavin hasn’t applied (he being the other option) I expect the boy wonder to drop down a number next season and become number 10. Bergkamp is his hero and how nice that he can wear the same number at the same club as his hero once did.

That is unless Cesc is leaving and the number is for a new play-maker but all things considered, its going to Robin – why else apply for a change of number?

World Cup is coming to an end and Barnet is just around the corner – new look Arsenal is beginning to take shape, I hope!

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Posted by criochnaithe

Arsenal Sign £30m Star – should have gone to Speculation Savers!

July 7, 2010

Not much has changed since I last tried to reign in the excesses of those supporters who denigrate our club because we have failed to sign Messi (OK I exaggerate – but they started it).

We had a seemingly well informed blogger (Dudulino) on yesterday who claims to have met Koscielny at the training ground. Apparently he will wear squad number 6. The announcement of his arrival will be made with full fanfare on AW’s return from the World Cup – I believe Dudulino, it is totally in line with the way the club is being run now and for the foreseeable future.

Shock Headline from The Sun “Arsenal eye £40m swoop for Italian Stars” – calm down dear, it’s only a commercial …… to attract readers to a gutter newspaper!

Let me put everyone’s mind at rest. We aren’t going to sign any £30m players – but that’s OK, we’ll still be the Arsenal. We are just a couple of years ahead of the way every other club is going to have to operate. For some (pool) that change may come too late.

In the same way as we showed the Premiership how to play football and introduced new training techniques at the start of Wenger’s era, so we are now showing them how a club MUST be run to ensure survival. Most Premiership clubs can only dream of having a stadium like the Emirates, let alone achieve it with manageable debt.

I am optimistic that Schwarzer is already on his way and we will sign a big right sided central defender – Mertesacker will do nicely. I’m not bothered about Joe Cole, we have players as good as him already. I think a player like Mertesacker could be the last piece in the jigsaw for next season and would raise the intriguing prospect of Vermaelen or Djourou being advanced into the defensive midfield role. We have been linked with Ozil for £20m today (yawn), obviously that would only be a possibility if Cesc leaves.

I’m no saint when it comes to my wish list. I’d love us to sign Torres, but more than that, I want us to continue on this path because I wouldn’t risk the stability of the club for anything, if we did, all the hard work of the last 5 years would be wasted.

I hope my light hearted approach (or should that be reproach?) hasn’t upset any of those who crave signings at any price. We are all gooners after all and even those of you who are foaming at the mouth due to our lack of transfer activity will keep supporting the Arsenal come what may.

Written by Rasp

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Posted by Rasp

All About Chamakh ……..

May 22, 2010

As promised by Arsène,  Arsenal have signed a player before the start of the World Cup. Maroune Chamakh will take the no 29 shirt. The 26 year old is a French national but chooses to play for Morocco through his parentage.  Its not exactly a surprise as he was expected to sign for us as early as last summer and then in January but was needed by his former club Bordeaux.

We’ve been watching youtube clips of him for months and know that he’s pretty good with his head. This is what Arsene had to say about him……………….

“Chamakh is a striker of real quality and has all the attributes suited to come to England and do very well. He is also a fighter, not only a good football player, but a fighter as well. He is very good in the air and also a good team player. He is a great addition to our squad.”

Hes come to us on a free so neither Arsène nor Gazidis will have got excited about wheeling and dealing to bring this one home, but maybe seeing a new player hold our shirt may have wet their appetites to do some deals for other players.  Hopefully the tills at The Armoury will be ringing with the sales of  ‘Chamakh 29 shirts’ in the coming weeks and that should please the money men.

We’ve got the striker we needed, how that leaves the futures of Eduardo and Vela I don’t know, now for a new Goalie and a Centre-back please.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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