Arsenal News Blog

Hello there, well Arsenal.com have announced we are due to sign Eduardo da Silva. I do not know much about him really so until I have time to write a proper blog here is what Football manager has to say about him. The following screens are taken when he has reached his full potential so ignore his age…

and…

More to follow later.

Well I have arrived. After my five hour drive to Harrogate, I am finally settled at the B&B. It is here I will pretty much live for the next month…

There was no blog yesterday after spending most of my day packing. Lucky for me there is little to cover really. There is of course rumours aplenty, however I am not going to dwell on many of them.

The Tevez speculation is gathering momentum. But it does seem that we will have to wait until the Copa America is over. Kia Joorabchian said:

It is a big competition and we intend talking more seriously about his future when that tournament is over.

That seems fair enough to me. So the chit-chat from the press will continue until 15th July. The chi-chat would of course cease if Arsene piped up about the current striker situation. I hope we hear something from Arsene soon.

It seems Real are keen on keeping Reyes at the club but for a bargain price. Word has it that Madrid have offered £6 million. Arsenal want around £10 million. I think the general consensus is that Athletico Madrid will enter a bidding war with Real, what with their extra pocket money.

We all knew this was happening ages ago but club’s official website have confirmed Lupoli has signed for Fiorentina. He seemed to have a fair amount of promise about him. He had a real eye for goal. Shame really.

The rumours continue with people saying that we could well be in for Eto’o. Many have scratched their heads at this rumour as surely if we were going to get him he would have been part of the Henry deal. Only time will tell to see if this is a load of bollocks or not.

That is your lot. I am knackered. A fresher more wide awake blog tomorrow.

Alwight there pal. I will begin today’s blog with the BBC story that claimed an emergency meeting had been held in order to sort out the Director of Football position. The Grimster seems to be the man in-line to take the position. He may not be English but he is fucking cool, baring this in mind I would be happy with that appointment.

Freddie’s agent has reiterated the Swede’s desire to stay at Arsenal. I am pretty sure we will hold onto him. Wide players is the main area that we need strengthening. Selling the experienced Ljungberg would not be the wisest move unless Arsene had two targets in mind - to replace Reyes and Ljungberg.

I think the following comment is true of how the fans and players feel:

Freddie is very confident about what the future holds at Arsenal, despite Thierry leaving He is very confident in the team and the club and in Mr Wenger, so it is a very good situation to be in.

Bang on the money, Mr Wenger knows his stuff. I trust him.

I am pretty sure we will see Sagna sign within the next week. Auxerre’s vice president had the following to say on the matter:

Sagna has a deep desire to play in England and he genuinely wants to wear the Arsenal shirt. They seem keen to sign him as well. The conditions for him to leave have not all been met - at least not for the time being.

A few people reckon Eboue will be moved into right midfield. We have debated this before so I will not get drawn into the pros and cons of that argument again.

I think Sagna is a wise signing though. At 24 years-old he is at a good age and has played at a high level for a good amount of time. While I know little about him, it is handy that he can play at either right/left back. Eboue will be heading off to the ANC, plus at left back if Clichy got a knock I would not be too happy about Traore stepping up just yet. Gallas can of course operate there but with Sagana coming in we will be pretty well equipped at the back - Traore, Clichy, Gallas, Toure, Djourou, Senderos, Hoyte, Eboue, Gilbert? and Sagna.

Right then, we all know what is next. That’s right, the striker situation. There have been a few further developments.

First of all Tevez has turned down a move to Inter. Well kind of, more that Inter set a deadline which Tevez and his representative were not keen to stick to. Tevez’s main man, Kia Joorabchian, said:

Inter put a deadline on the decision and Carlos’ heart is really in the Premier League, so he was not prepared to meet that cut-off point.

I was driving home after dropping off my girlfriend and I heard this on the radio. Do you know what? I got a little bit excited. I let out a little roar of excitement while in the car on my own. Sad I know, a bit loserish if anything but still, I would be buzzing if we signed his man. Clearly for all you and I know, Arsene might not even be considering a move for Carlos. Apparently his owner is an Arsenal supporter. His situation is pretty complicated and I reckon Arsene would only go for him if he was 10000% sure that everything was above board. I have no idea how much he would set us back. Either way I really am a fan of the Argentine. How many players do we have that actually run at players and scare them?

That said, Allardyce has been fretting over the Martins quandary. A lot of Arsenal fans seem sure that he will be our man. £13 million would be the fee. He would be a good signing but Tevez would be better. Sign both? I do not think he have that much money to spend but that would be ideal. It is important to realise that the whole Martins being away for the ANC is a pain the arse.

I guess I see the list comprising of four key names. These names are based on speculation and/or on the desire of the fans -

Anelka

Huntelaar

Tevez

Martins

There are advantages and disadvantages for each player. These points have been covered in other blogs so I won’t bother. I will say this, while a striker is a must, I still feel very strongly about a natural left sided wide player. That really is an area that needs to be addressed.

With pre-season training starting in about two weeks, confirmation of Sagna, a striker and a left winger over the next few days would make me smile.

Enjoy the rest of your Friday.

It has been a while. Four days to be exact. Not since the Henry story broke but since I last formulated a blog post.

I am sorry. I have been an extremely busy human-being. A variety of things have prevented me from sitting down and letting my mind ooze through my laptop. Events over the pat few days include - arranging the month I am working at SkySports.com and being a victim of crime through ebay thanks to a fraudster/wanker.

Some of the dust has settled on Thierry’s departure. With so much having already been said on the Henry fiasco, it is almost impossible for me to write something which gives you a different angle. It is for this reason I shall not dwell or revisit any of the points you will have no doubt immersed yourself over the past few days.

I am simply going to slalom through some of the stories which have emerged recently. First on the agenda is Hill-Wood’s reaction to Henry’s comments relating to the lack of commitment from Arsene. Peter said:

I am not particularly worried about what Thierry said but whether it really influenced his decision or not we will have to wait and see.

I think our chairman has made a fair assessment of the situation. It was hardly a surprise that many newspapers jumped on Henry’s comments but I am calm about Arsene staying. He will definitely be with us for at least another year.

Unsettled Flamini has been linked with Birmingham. Wherever Mathieu ends up, I think a few million would be a reasonable fee. He can slot in nicely in midfield, he gives his all and certainly is proven at a high level. I wish him all the best. His sale will add to transfer kitty.

It seems to me that it is only a matter of time before we sign Sagna. He has spoken of his admiration for the club. I think a player who can operate at both left and right back would be a sound investment.

Ok now onto the striker issue.

It is what everyone is talking about - who will be brought in. It seems inevitable that that a severe amount of pressure will be placed on whoever is brought in. It is for this reason that we need a gutsy player who is supremely confident in their own ability. Someone who the fans will believe in. Is there pressure on Arsene to bring in a big name? I think so. I am pretty positive/hoping that Arsene would not have been happy with Henry leaving unless he had a few names in his mind to replace him. As my previous entry stated, we have been linked with every Tom, Dick and Harry. It seems that the list is being wittered down though. Trezeguet has just signed a new contract, while Babel has assured us that he will play for Arsenal but not just yet, the BBC reckon that Liverpool are in pole position to sign Fernando Torres. It appears that we can pretty much rule out those candidates. Who else then? Martins (we would lose him to the ANC) and Owen (injury prone?) are mentioned continuously. Furthermore other random players keep popping up. For example this fella who I know little about. Chinedu Ogbuke who currently plays in Norway is supposed to be a possible target for us. Hardly exciting stuff. I think he can operate on either wing or upfront. There is a fair amount of expectation from the fans. A big name is a must. If someone like this Nigerian fella was brought in many fans would be pretty disappointed.

Who do I want? Tevez. I think he is a brilliant player. He works his socks off, he is aggressive, explosive and would give the fans something to get excited about. Amid speculation, Carlos spoke out:

I know people are now talking about Arsenal and obviously that is something I am excited about. It’s another big club and the good thing is I wouldn’t have to move out of London. I also already know English football and I like it. Arsenal’s style is more technical than physical, so I could fit in no problem.

Inter are strongly linked with the Argentine though. Hmm it is a head scratcher. Tevez’s situation with his ownership is a pain in the arse. If Arsenal Football Club announced the signature of Tevez I would be over the moon, fucking chuffed in-fact.

Signing Tevez, Sagna and a wide player who hugs the line and beats people would turn this summer into one of glee. Right now things are up in the air. Those signings would ease our worries. Please Arsene. Pretty please.

I said I needed official confirmation and I got it.

The transfer is all but done. Right now though I am not in the mood to write a blog detailing what I make of Henry’s exit.

I have pondered on it all day and plan to construct a blog on Monday briefly conveying my thoughts and feelings.

My mind right now is on his replacement. Clearly no-one can replace Thierry, however there is no doubt a striker must be purchased. The worry is that whichever striker we sign this summer (if we do not sign one I might combust) will be labeled as the replacement for Henry, which heaves extreme pressure on that individual. Hence we need someone world class who is confident they can deliver.

A few of the names that have been mentioned include:

Owen - injury prone? Extremely good finisher. £9 million for proven premiership talent.

Martins - fast and direct. A consistent performer? Rumoured to be available for £13 million.

Fernando Torres - could be pricey, I am still unsure of how good he is, I simply have not seen enough of him. Could be part of a deal involving Reyes?

Anelka - A quality player. Would you like to see him back?

What do you think? If you were the boss, who would you realistically bring in. Baring in mind someone like Villa would cost around £30 million.

Simply state the player you would like to see brought in.

Well well well, the following news has broken…

Arsenal’s French striker Thierry Henry will sign for Barcelona on Friday, sources close to the Primera Liga club said.

The 29-year-old will sign a four-year contract with Barca for an estimated transfer fee of 24 million euros (16 million pounds), the sources said.

Now before we jump the gun I have a few things to say -

This has all stemmed from one source. Is the source reliable? I do not know.

I just want everyone to realise that the press have leaped on this and it has now imploded. It is everywhere.

For me I need official confirmation.

The fact that his agent has apparently declined to comment is a worry though.

If it is £16 million I will be pissed off. More than pissed off, enraged. Why oh why would we accept a bid of 16 mill when last season, when he had a year remaining on his contract, was there an offer nearing 50? It just does not make sense to me. He has a four year contract with us. Argh

Charlton want 17 for Darren Bent for goodness sake.

I hope for Henry/Wenger/Arsenal’s sake it is a load of bullshit. Otherwise I fear some sort of mutiny.

Feel free to vent your anger/bewilderment/frustration/confusion etc

Howdy, I do hope you are well.

Where shall I start? Umm, well Vieira has been poking his nose in where it is not wanted. He, like every other person on this planet that claims to know what Henry wants, declared that we need to do the following:

If they bring in two or three big names it will show they want to compete against the best.

He then babbled on about the impact of Dein leaving:

I think it would be difficult to stay with what he had done with David Dein. Without David Dein I don’t think it would be the same for him. (Because) they started together and it will be strange for him to stay but you never know.

Eh? Pat makes it sound as if Dein brought him and Thierry into this world. Is Vieira aware that Henry can still spend time with David even though he has left? Blimey…

Part of the title of the previous blog was ‘media nonsense’ and how fitting that The Sun should print this drivel about how Wenger will probably be on his way out because the board have been tight on transfer funds. Nonsense. As simple as that. That is all I have to say.

The Aliadiere transfer that everyone seemed to know about three years ago has been 100% officially approved and confirmed. £2 million is the fee - sounds about right I suppose. Ali has spoken of his desire to get straight back into training. I wish him the best of luck, apart from when he plays against us.

Djourou has once again been linked with another loan move, this time to Toulouse. The article puts forward little evidence that Toulouse are even in for Johan so I think it is a load of cobblers. None-the-less as I have said before, we will need him next season, he is a quality player.

Our man Freddie is raring to go as he looks to begin his 10th season with us:

This will be my 10th season with Arsenal and I cannot wait to start the season with them. I am very much looking forward to the opening game against Fulham. It is great to start the season with a London derby.

There are a few cries to sell Ljungberg, I am on the fence on this one. Right now wingers is an area that we are really lacking. On top of my craving for a left winger to be brought in, selling Freddie would mean a second winger would have to be purchased. Finding one decent wide player, for the right money, is going to be a hard enough in itself. The Swede is reported to be on 70 grand a week - ridiculous. Has he merited that wage over the past two seasons? No, but injuries have really affected any sort of consistent run in the team. It is a bit of a dilemma. Once again I trust Wenger, he knows when it is the right time to let players go. If we can get the Freddie back that scored that wonderful goal against Bolton then clearly he could play a key role for us next season.

Fabs has defended our system of play. He tells of how we have simply lacked a finish to our brilliant moves. I do feel next season we will see a noticeable sign of progression throughout the team and in our performances.

Onto the Reyes situation now. His agent said that three clubs are in for him but was keen to make it clear that his future is in Arsenal’s hands:

There are clubs interested but it all depends on Arsenal and the offers they receive.

If the club do not receive an offer that they deem acceptable then he will return to England. If we were faced with that circumstance I really do not know what would happen. He bloody hates London/England but would be under contract to play for us. I am 99% we will not see him in an Arsenal shirt next season.

There is a cracking story here. Apparently super fast Martins has a £13 million release fee clause. It is rumoured that if Henry leaves the lightening quick Martins will be his replacement. Martins is a good player but not incredible, he is pretty speedy though, did I mention that? That is his main asset - being explosive. Furthermore isn’t there some dispute about road runner’s age, hasn’t he been around for 10 years but has only aged four months? In my opinion he would struggle to fill Henry’s boots. It sounds like more media shite to me. Certainly made me chuckle.

I think that is your lot. Tomorrow is my first of three days working at the Goodwood Festival of Speed as a “ticket checker”. I can hardly contain my excitement. Still, money is money. Expect another blog tomorrow evening or definitely Saturday evening. Cheerio.

Rather than writing the blog daily I seem to be writing the blog every two days at the moment. During the season I was so enthused to write the blog because inevitably there was a match coming up or we had performed the day before. Right now it is all a bit dull to be honest. We are being linked with few people, we have brought in a goalkeeper (a good signing) and a teenager, and we are still met with the frustrating circle that is the Thierry Henry situation.

There are several stories for me to cover in today’s blog. None of which I am overly enthralled to write about. None-the-less if I put it off then I will be severely behind. So onwards and upwards. What is first on the agenda? I shall start with Justin Hoyte, who has played in all three of England’s games in the group stages of the Under 21 European Championship. I watched the first two games and he was pretty solid, the third game clashed with the final day of la Liga (which I will cover shortly) so I did not manage to catch much of the match. England are into the semi-finals after a 2-0 win over Serbia & Montenegro. Unfortunately it seems a couple of the England players were faced with racism. The FA have now contacted FIFA. Will much be done? I doubt it. On the other hand English fans have a terrible reputation and whenever they are caught of any slight wrong-doing they get punished severely. The sooner FIFA wake up and publicly demonstrate that they simply will not tolerate racism, the better.

Gilberto finished second in the poll for player of the season. Personally I think he deserved to be number one. I presume Fabregas has got the top spot. If anyone else deserves the award, it should be Cesc.

The French press have linked us with Bakary Sagna. A week or so ago it was speculated that he might be on his way, we all had a right old debate about whether he was needed. I think the conclusion was that if we could get him for a smallish fee he could provide solid cover at left/right back, especially with Eboue participating in the ANC. The fee being mentioned is £6.75 million. That seems a little steep. French teams love getting silly fees for their players - Essien/Ribery etc. If he is a target then I am positive Arsene will not pay over the odds for him. I just hope that if we do get him his fee will not eat inot any remaining money for a left winger - the one position we really do need cover for.

According to reports Valencia right back Miguel has had offers from English clubs. He is an excellent player but I strongly doubt we are in for him. He would be extremely pricey.

Giuly has dismissed claims that he has been in contact with Henry about his move to Barca. He said they were utter bullshit. Fair play. I guess that goes to show you that the French media are as equally able to print crap as the Spanish.

After Reyes knocked in two vital goals for Real at the weekend, Jose has expressed his desire to stay at the Bernabeu -

Scoring two goals to help us win the last game of the season when we needed a victory is a great feeling for me, and I hope they aren’t my last goals for Real Madrid. Maybe what has happened will convince the club they would like to keep me. I’ve said many times what an honour it is to play for Real Madrid.

It really is a shame he could not settle in England. When he came on for Madrid on Sunday he provided some real width for Real - something we often lack. Oh well, his goals will do us no harm and hopefully will now create a bit of a bidding war between some of the Spanish clubs. As soon as a sale is confirmed I would hope a replacement will be brought in soon after.

As expected the media has increased their spouting of shit now that la Liga has finished. The Sun reports that Arsene will be brought in to replace Frank Rijkaard after he failed to clinch the title. I think we are all safe in the knowledge Arsene is definitely staying for at least another season I plan to say nothing else on the matter.

There we have it, today there are rumours flying around that we will confirm a huge signing. Further rumours suggest it will just be confirmation that Aliadiere is leaving. Some even suggest Owen is on his way in. Knowing us though we have probably resigned Cygan.

Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday.

Hello there, not too much going on. I think the quiet weekend news-wise is quite a relief after the downpour of rumours and speculation during the week.

I am just about to settle down to watch the Real Madrid match. I am pretty excited. No doubt I shall flick over to the England Under 21 game (Justin Hoyte is involved once again) to see how they are doing.

There a few stories to cover, I will present these to you in an efficient/lazy bullet point style.

• It was only a matter of time before we wrapped up the signing of Norwegian Havard Nordveit, FK Haugesund yesterday confirmed a deal had been struck. He is 16 and is unlikely to feature for us for a couple of seasons. He is supposed to be hot property. I know bugger all about him to be honest and am hardly excited. One can only hope Arsene has now left Norway and is off to his next destination where he will wrap up a left winger.
• Our  new centre-back has spoken of his delight of the move: “It was exciting, it has been a tough week,” Nordveit told Haugesund Avis. “Everyone believed it would work out and fortunately it did.” Good luck to the boy. He could possibly feature in the League Cup in the 2008-2009 season I reckon.
• The press have jumped on these comments by our Managing Director, Keith Edelman: “These are decisions for Arsene, it’s his job to manage the team and it would be up to him,” said Edelman in The Mail on Sunday. “That’s how we’ve always worked with Arsene. He will decide about the players. The board would be involved but we will do what Arsene asks us to.” To be honest they are pretty standard comments. Keith is simply staying Arsene is in charge and if Arsene feels he should stay or go, they trust him. If Arsene envisaged an Henry exit and the board stepped in that could create huge friction so Keith’s comments are spot on.
• Big Patrick reckons the players need some clarity on the future of the manager and Thierry. Yes the players do but so do we! Arsene is staying but until we know otherwise we have no real idea about the Henry situation. I have said all that I can say on the matter and until any new solid news comes in, I will remain quiet.

There we have it, a brief little summary. If you are watching the Spanish games, fingers crossed there are some twists and turns.

Today is Friday. A day where most of us slack off a little in order to help us adjust to the slow pace of the weekend. Unfortunately the Henry rumours continue to emerge and if anything are increasing in speed and power.

The Times have run this story which explains how Arsene is now warming to the idea of an Henry exit. They reckon he is holding out for Eto’o from Barcelona as part of the deal. I think we are all agreed that if Henry does leave we want a world class striker to replace him. If Eto’o was part of the deal, I would go for it. Recently though, Eto’o spoke of his desire to stay at Barca. Selling Henry without an Eto’o or someone else shit-hot coming in would be met with much anger by the majority of Gunners.

I am so frustrated about how in the dark we all are about this. Last year we went through a sickening ordeal, which finally ended in Henry signing a new deal. The Vieira saga very much mirrors this situation of course. In the end we sold the big man for a measly fee. Sure he was just past his peak and we had Fabregas growing by the game but the fee left a bitter taste in my mouth. Patrick has continued to play at the highest level and has recently secured the Italian title. I guess I just worry that Henry might leave and then the responsibility of replacing him could well be placed up the shoulders of yet another youngster. Fabregas is a one-off, a player beyond his years. While we have Robin (who is top-class) and Ade (who will progress yet again next season) losing Henry would be a big blow to the club. He is a world class player, simple as that. World class players do not come cheap.

20 million pounds is the figure being banded about at the moment. Would that be enough for Arsene to bring a equal replacement? I doubt it. Who is on the market? Torres has been mentioned but for me, while he is of course a talented player, I can’t help but feel he is slightly overrated.

I don’t know, I am bleating on and for all I know Henry might be happy as Larry. Unfortunately his elusive statements have done nothing to assure me otherwise. While I am not afraid of him leaving, I am simply annoyed at how we are at the beginning of the summer and going through the whole cycle again. If he is to leave I suggest it happens quickly. The Spanish league finishes this weekend so in my mind, if something is going to happen, I would prefer it to happen in the next two weeks. This also would give Mr. Wenger more time to bring in a replacement if Eto’o is not part of the deal.

All in all I want Henry to stay. I want him to come out and say that he is 100% committed and he will be playing in an Arsenal shirt in August. Right now we need a left winger, that should be our priority.

There are a couple of other pieces to cover. I watched Justin Hoyte play at right back last night in the Under 21 England game. He was typically solid, without offering too much going forward. Defensively he has definitely improved a lot since September.

A player that many fans have suggested we sign has spoken of his desire to one day play for Arsenal/under Wenger.

Ryan Babel said:

If I get the chance one day to train with Arsene Wenger it would be a dream. From when I was young I supported Arsenal. I liked the style, the ambiance, how they show themselves on the field - everything.

He is direct, young and powerful. He can operate left wing or up-front. Time will tell as to if he is on Arsene’s radar.

That is your lot. Less of a rant tomorrow, I promise. Have a laid back Friday evening folks.