Daily Bits and Bobs

Alexis Sanchez sale the key to defender signing? Henry set to leave as Arsene rejects his offer…

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

There’s an interesting article in the Telegraph this morning which suggests Thierry Henry is leaving the clubs coaching setup. This is apparently down to the Frenchman working for Sky Sports instead of committing to his role at Arsenal full-time, mind you, the author of the article has added that he believes the scathing comments Henry made about fans being unhappy last season and the squad deficits also played their part.

‘Henry responded by offering to work with Under-18s coach Kwame Ampadu without collecting a wage, while still fulfilling his Sky obligations, but Wenger turned him down’ – writes Matt Law which to me sounds odd, especially when Arsene Wenger has seen many other ex-players turn their back on the club in favour of a coaching role elsewhere. Mikel Arteta being the latest.

Losing Henry would be a great shame imo as there’s no doubt his presence will be missed by both young and old at the club. I hope there’s little truth in this story but as the saying goes, seldom is there smoke without a fire, regardless of how small that fire is…..

Similar could be said about the Alexis Sanchez to Juventus stories which rumble on, there has to be some truth in this one as why would people at the Italian club make up the stuff about asking Arsenal how much he was available for, only to be told he wasn’t fore sale when they offered the same amount? They wouldn’t imo.

If Alexis really does want to leave, then I think the club should let him. Happy players play their best football, not grumpy or sulky ones who simply don’t want to be where they are. Daniele Rugani, the 6′ 3″ Italian centre-back who plays for Juventus seems to be one of the players a few PL clubs are after, other European clubs too but surely, Arsenal have the upper hand here because Juve really want Alexis.

But Arsenal don’t play that kind of game do they? They certainly didn’t when it came to Isaac Hayden moving to Newcastle when we could really have done with Sissoko and I don’t recall us being in a swap deal since that awful deal with Chelsea for Ashley Cole took place but why not I wonder, other clubs do. Probably because whoever deals with our transfer signings appears to be very weak and take forever to get a deal over the line whereas other clubs just offer what it takes to get their target and the deal goes through rather quickly..

A big club like Arsenal behaves like a club on the verge of liquidation, one which needs to penny pinch in every situation. They aren’t afraid to take vast amounts of money from the fans though, but sadly, seldom do those fans get much in return, certainly not when it comes to match day or during a transfer window..

I could be made to eat my words yet of course, but I won’t be holding my breath…..

Transfer gossip:

Italian football journalist Emanuele Giulianelli, who claims Julian Draxler is desperate to join Arsenal, says talks between the players agent and Arsenal have taken place. He Twitted:

 ‘Draxler’s agent has been in contact with Wenger though. No official bid by Arsenal just yet’.

As already said, Arsenal are but the latest team looking to sign Daniele Rugani, as Napoli wait on the sidelines and Juventus refuse to budge. That’s according to reports in Italy.

And finally, if Arsene Wenger wants Sissoko, he’ll have to cough up £35 million for him.

See, it always pays to wait for a bargain eh, especially in a summer when a big international tournament is taking place! Pff!!

rico

95 thoughts on “Alexis Sanchez sale the key to defender signing? Henry set to leave as Arsene rejects his offer…”

  1. Adam says:

    Morning (again) Rico. These are the games that Arsene loves to play. To place himself at the centre of transfer intrigue has always seemed to titillate him. To us, the simple fan, it all seems rather silly as we would like him to identify his targets and then go and buy them as early as possible in order to bed them in, rather than his usual trolley dash. But there is probably a hierarchy of movers and shakers in the football business. Blink first and you’ve lost both face and several million quid. Who knows and more to the point, who cares? It’s all Monopoly money anyway and the club has suffered from under achievement for long enough.
    Yes I know, the stadium debt, blah, blah, blah.
    But, as has been proved time and time again, he who hesitates is lost. The list of players that Wenger ‘could’ have signed bears testament to that though I have no doubt it has been the source of many a dinner table debate where Arsene was a guest. He would do well to remember though that that disgusting piece of human detritus, Mourinho, is back in the EPL and he will have no compunction at all in spending the Glazer’s money to shaft Wenger, be it 5 or 50 million quid if he sees Arsenal at the point of signing the sort of player who can make a difference. He tried to do it with Sanchez but failed.

  2. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Good morning Lovelies and Hunkies.

    Sanchez is worth Rugani plus 50 million if Pogba is worth 65mill plus. And if he wants to go sell him…..and get Draxler instead.

    Nice post Boss.

  3. rico says:

    Morning again Adam, Devil and all…

    If AW doesn’t get a wriggle on, this season ahead could be the worst yet for him…

  4. rico says:

    Mourinho aside, there are other managers who will be head and shoulders ahead of AW this summer – Poch, Klopp, Pep, Koeman, Bilic, to name just a few. All who will or are are already strengthening their squad.

    Do we even have a captain right now?

  5. Mark Slavik says:

    I would have Sanchez over Pogba, Pogbas was ordinary in the . We would be utterly insane to get rid of Sanchez! I thought we were trying to strengthen the squad, who would we replace him with, the guy is an amazing player. Losing him will not send the right signal to the other players (e.g. Ozil) regarding the direction we are going in. This should not be up for discussion with any club. He is not the type to sulk on the pitch, he is too full on with his attitude, he give 100%, 100% of the time

  7. Wath says:

    Morning you lot,

    Just a thought…. isn’t it a dereliction of duty for Wenger to spend a month at a time commentating for the media every other year when he should surely be using the close season to bring in the right players for Arsenal….. who ever agreed to this at Arsenal is a buffoon…. As for Wenger, double standards or what that the hypocrite can do as much media work as he wants yet doesn’t want TH doing it….
    You can bet your arse it has zero to do with sky it’s about the fact he’s been on sky and ruffled Wengers feathers which just isn’t allowed…!

    Says it all really…. “IF” true of course……. it is in the papers so untrue until proven otherwise.

  10. Wavy says:

    Henry, as apundit is gathering fans, I think. He seems to me to be shrewd, honest and perceptive. I have no idea how much the TVs companies are paying him, or even if he really cares, he’s bound to have oodles of cash salted away after all his successful playing days etc. If, during his down time he is prepared to share his experiences as a player of world class ability, with the youngsters at the Arsenal then only a fool would ‘cancel his contract’.
    Wenger will brook no contradiction to his ‘vision’ of how football should be played and, if he finds a dissenting voice he seems to deal with it summarily! TH14 must have upset the apple cart and that quite destructively!
    It would seem that the old geezer won’t be moving on for the foreseeable future and any staff who might contradict his view both now and in the future will be ejected! Not a very good legacy he’s leaving, is he?
    And lastly, if we are going to finish worse than 4th as the pundits seem to suggest, unlless we buy players up to the task of winning us the EPL, Wenger will be toast! So, all the personnel he relieves of their duties now will not be available to the ‘new man’ (or woman) who takes over next June!

    Morning all. Guess what, it’s raining here!

  11. allezkev says:

    Morning All
    Morning Rico, what happened to my postcard… ?

    Ah, the Alexis question…

    What I’d like to know, is why is he seemingly so unsettled all of a sudden?

    Could it be that he had become frustrated at Wenger for not improving the squad.
    You know, broken promises about the club’s ambition. After all, he must be well aware that he is playing for a club/manager, who haven’t got an earthly of winning the CL and EPL…

    Of course, it could all just be about money…

  12. Bob John says:

    Morning all
    Sick and tired of the same old crap every summer. Would not be surprised if our transfer business is done. Can’t see where a new striker will come from. Higuain is 29 in December so we won’t pay big for him. Most of the teams in the euros didn’t even have a striker let alone a decent one. The standard of world football is terrible at the moment. More worried about our line up for the dodgy opening games with no Kos, Giroud, Ramsey, Sanchez, Ozil, etc.
    Personally I have bought a Saracens season ticket for next season £270 to watch the best team in Europe and a far more enjoyable experience than the Emirates.

  13. walter says:

    This confirms Wenger is a dictator and Arsenal will not win any major trophy as long as he remains in charge. He is running the club like his won personal thing and doesn’t care about the fans or anyone else except himself. The season starts in a month and he has done nothing to address the perennial problems. Arsenal will have the same problems as the previous 13 seasons under Wenger, yet he remains firmly in charge and dictatorial. Mourinho has been at MAnu for a few weeks and he has already acquired 3 players and targeting a 4th one……..indications are also that he will get rid of dead wood. Compare that with Arsenal and Wenger- stagnation stagnation stagnation- we will be playing for 4th from day 1 of season.

  15. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Bob….I do not think that AW will cough up all that money for a player the same age as Ollie. He will keep the latter.

    Personally I still think that he will buy a defender and a winger. Draxler and/or Morata still young early twenties so it will be one of them.

    Jenks will play 2nd fiddle to Bellerin for the next season. Chambers will be sent out on loan if a defender comes in. Subotic fits in rightly since he has been out injured and will not cost a lot of money. I think he will not cost more than 10-12mill Eur.

  19. Hell Raising Devil says:

    I think that the moment AW steps down (whenever that will be) there will be a stampede of ex players waiting to take over his place…….PV04, TH14, Gilberto, MA08, DB10, and so on. I guess even Steve Bould will throw his hat in the ring.

  20. allezkev says:

    Looks like the Arsenal attack to face Liverpool will be Walcott thru the middle, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Akpom on the flanks…

  23. Hell Raising Devil says:

    JW10 can also be inserted as he hardly got a look in, in England performance or lack of it. so if Cazorla is fit than he drops back and Elneny makes way while JW10 plays in the hole. If JW is injured again than there is a big chance that it will be as I posted above

  24. Hell Raising Devil says:

    but I feel that Xhaka and Aaron will feature at one point in the game. maybe both of them may begin the game although I feel its difficult.

    I also think that AW might put Gibbs on the left while Ox plays on the right..

  25. allezkev says:

    Coach, it all depends on pre-season and how the young guns shape up…

    I don’t believe that Wenger is gonna spend much more, if anything.

    I think he’s gonna go with the youngsters again…

    Of course a home defeat to Liverpool and unrest on the terraces could spark a classic deadline day transfer rumpus.
    But then we’re all used to them aren’t we?!

  26. allezkev says:

    And if there’s any truth in the £35m valuation on Sissoko, I think we can safely say ‘see ya lata’ to the French midfielder…

  28. rico says:

    Re the strikers, I’m convinced there must be someone out there, not necessarily a big name, who would improve our attacking force.

    Poch didn’t hang around getting one of them in Vincent Janssen

  29. Rick says:

    Afternoon Rico and the House, and welcome back Rico Wath was in good form while you were away

    Kev the big launch of the P/L 2 is nothing but a whimper with info coming in in dribs and drabs. So far its as follows.
    Its Premier League 2 for Under 23’s.
    Clubs can field 3 over age outfield players and 1 over age Goal keeper
    ( over 23?)
    The match calendar is set at the start of the season with no movement allowed
    Clubs only allowed flexibility on which day ( mon to Frid) of the week they can play the game

    Both th P/L cup and the P/L international cup are being expanded and as we did not play in them last season this will mean more games if we are included this year

    We are in top tier and will play Chelsea, Derby, Everton, Leicester, Liverpool, ManC , Man U, Reading, Soton,Sunderlandand the Spuds
    more later when I receive it.

  31. allezkev says:

    Cheers Rick, that U23 Lge has more than a passing resemblance to the dear old Football Combination, and good job too…

    The goalkeeper rule makes a lot of sense and means most clubs’ No.2 keeper will, or should, get some game time…

    3 overage players is a big big improvement, it’ll help players’ who are returning from injury and allow experienced players to pass on tips and help the youngsters in a competitive environment, just as Wilshere helped Crowley last season…

    Thanks for that Rick.

    Still pissed off about the EFL Trophy though.

    On Rico, I’m sure it’ll arrive soon, bloody post office eh? ?

  33. Rick says:

    Kev
    Food for thought.
    The teams that have withdrawn from the EFL Trophy are in the top tier of P/L 2 and they are all expected to play in both the P/L cups.

    The teams that have agreed to play in the trophy are mostly from the 2nd tier of P/L2 and are not expected to play in the P/L cups.

    Could the Trophy fixtures clash with the P/L fixtures

  34. Rick says:

    Chuba Akpom has been told he will not be going on Loan this season and will be in the first team squad.
    Wath mate Arsene heard what you and I had to say about him
    must red H/H

  35. Le Coq Monster says:

    Evening all.

    Thanks Rico.
    The only thing I will believe is that the media is going to make it look like an argument between Thierry and Wenger………………like the transfer garbage about Wenger paying the Earth for Higuine………….. if it`s not on Ornstein then it`s rubbish !. 🙂

  37. Le Coq Monster says:

    Just had a look and it`s not on Ornstein, his last tweet was 27th June !………..I trust him so much that I wont even have sex with my missus unless he tweets it !.

  46. allezkev says:

    Rick, I wonder if Wenger would have made that decision with Akpom if he had signed Vardy..?

    The cheap option perhaps, or does he he really rate him, what do you think?

  47. allezkev says:

    How on earth can Wenger flog off Hayden, farm out Toral (he’s gonna go as well) and yet retain that useless pillock Sanogo?

  60. Micko says:

    Why’s everyone so surprised about Hayden, some of us saw it coming a mile off !

    Next up will be George Dobson……mark my words !!!!!

    Long time no hear Scott, better start upping my contributions again lol.

    Heard a great stat today, Portugal the Champions of Europe only won one game in 90 minutes against Wales in the whole competition, apologies if it’s been mentioned already but quite remarkable, a bit behind the times here.

  61. Micko says:

    Kev, count your lucky stars re the postcard, she’d only have you checking up on the chickens every 5 minutes mate, you dodged a bullet there lol.

  62. Lee says:

    Greetings from a sweltering Iberian peninsula…..

    I’ve a feeling Ramsey is going to leave (Sorry Scott) I’ll be really pissed off too, because that waste of internal organs JW should be the one going!

    Ramsey had a blinding tournament playing centrally, he’s 25yrs old and playing sporadically on the wing for Arsenal….amazing how Coleman can get him purring not dear old Arsene!

  65. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. Personally I would be be very surprised if Ramsey was sold. I suppose if a huge offer came in from abroad, or if he said he really wanted to move it could happen.
    As for Jack? Now there’s a bloke with a lot to prove. It’s almost as if he he has rebooted his career a dozen times already and nobody is much the wiser as to what he is actually all about. Except getting badly injured of course.

  67. rico says:

    Morning Adam. I too doubt the club would want to sell him but Ramsey might push for a move having just had a superb tournament for Wales whilst playing in his most suited role. So typical of Wenger though eh, loads of midfield players but he hasn’t a clue what to do with them.

    I wish he’d just pack his bags and bugger off really…

  68. Le Coq Monster says:

    Morning all.

    Sweltering Iberian Peninsula !………………somehow I dont think Lee is going to have a bad holiday !……….I however shall be cutting a cornish hill on my ride-on-mower and if I see any inbred locals I`ll give `em a lift…………..obviously at Kev`s cabbie going rate cornish style………..a bunch of daffs and a pasty !……………….although I will settle for a cream tea, scones will be cornish style not Devon style !….that`ll be jam on first then the cream afterwards on top, not like them premature ejackers from Devon who cream before they get the jam on !. 😀

  69. Adam says:

    Rico. I hear you, but with the inflated prices being quoted I can almost feel Arsene bristling at the thought. Thing is that we need a bare minimum of another two players, ideally more depending on who leaves. But a CB and a striker, both of enormous quality, won’t be cheap. I say, pay the money and get the players as you can be sure that, if Ramsey or Giroud departs, it will be for big bucks. But it’s easy to imagine Wenger being more concerned with Brexit I’m afraid.
    As I said to Kev yesterday evening, if he blows out again this season and by January it looks like the same old, then last season’s bumpy ride will be as nothing. We don’t expect miracles but the club and the fans are entitled to some bloody ambition and a coherent plan at least, from a proactive manager and not a bloke going through the motions because that is what he has always done. The complexion of the PL is going to be very different this season.

  71. rico says:

    Adam, couldn’t agree more there. I too can see Wenger getting very excited about Ramsey’s potential transfer fee.

    I really despise the man these days for what he’s doing to the club we all love. Just get on and spend some bleedin money on the players we need. It’s not rocket science is it.

    If he cocks up this transfer window again, then reap what he sows because it’s going to be an awful final season for him…

  73. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Good Morning Lovelies and Hunkies.

    AW must be a very lucky guy. He does not even need to invent excuses. Something always crops up to enable him to skive from answering impertinent questions.

    AFter the success of 98-05 he had the stadium transition as a reason.
    Then came the English quota and home grown situation.
    Next in line came the FFP
    Now Brexit.

    Each time he is given a lifeline by external influences. And boy, he does know how to exploit them.

    Meanwhile, all the Chavs’ and Shitty and Manure managers continue to buy players as if there is no tomorrow and sharing the merry go round of trophy musical chairs.

  75. Le Coq Monster says:

    Lets face it Lads and Lass even a van driver like me knows that the landscape has changed in monetary terms !……Arsene has a degree in economics from the University of Strasbourg, but that is probably like having a Degree in Solar and Light Energy from the University of Totnumb !……………it`s a stab in the dark !.
    He needs to b get real and understand that £60m is the new £30m !………………………….Oh well !…….Giroud off for a well earned rest so it`ll be Akpom up front against The Bindippers !……………….lets hope that Akpom doesn`t get injured before hand otherwise it will be …………….Sanogo !……………………Dennis help us !

  76. frednerk says:

    Morning All

    Recruitment ….Chamak,Sonogo..and now Asano.
    What is going through the geezers nut.
    These are not even second rate..Are they.

    It took wengers team a year to get Granite..fact
    .
    It takes him forever to get rid of a player..Why.
    Don’t tell me wonga..we have(0% rate) loads.

    We now have most of the top sides Stronger,
    while silly bollox sits talking into a mike about
    who’s good and who ain’t.
    Cheeky fu*ker gets back to his desk and sacks
    Henry for doing media work.
    Talk about control freak.
    So please don’t think for one second that
    Wenger has not got compleat control of our club.

  77. Adam says:

    Hi Fred. I make you right there mate. Right now one would have to wonder at his contract situation which, as the season progresses, will become more and more thorny especially if he ploughs the same old furrow with the team after a close season of well-paid punditry and little else.

  78. scottfromoz says:

    If Aaron pushes to leave, he will have lost me for the same reason RVP did…..we stood by him when injured and in Ramsey’s case, during the period he wasn’t playing well so he had the chance to get back to his best.
    If Wenger sells, he needs to put out to pasture!!
    Morning all.

  79. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Henry holding coaching talks with Watford.

    London Colney is divided from the Watford training grounds simply by a hedge.

    It could not be any more hilarious can it??

    TH14 will be getting free views of what is going on at AFC and still get paid for it while earning his badges.

    And do not worry mates and lasses……PV04, MA08, TH14…..its good that they get good education elsewhere…..otherwise they will only be blinkered by AW’s vision with regards coaching. It will only be good for AFC in the long run.

    I am glad that they are not at AFC getting their experience. If I was a Chairman of a company and my son is going to be my heir I would prefer to send him out in the world to earn his experience and come back richer than stay with me and simply run through the motions in the same way I ran the company.

    so its better for them to get their education elsewhere.

  80. allezkev says:

    Morning All

    Morning Rico

    My expectations of this transfer window and the forthcoming season are the lowest I’ve felt for the entire time that Wenger has been at Arsenal…

    Why does anyone on here think that it’s going to be any different than it has been since 2006..?

    Wenger doesn’t and never has worked that way, he’ll just do his own thing…

    He has his way of working and he ain’t changing anytime soon.

    This season will see us flatter to deceive and fall away as we always do in the EPL…

    An early exit in the League Cup, as usual…

    A bit of a run in FACup to try and silence the dissenters late on in the season…

    The Champions League – ha ha fcuking ha, you can’t be serious…

    The only bright spark for me will be Xhaka and the emergence of a young player or two from within…

    I am actually approaching the season quite calmly, because I ain’t being fooled again. Even if we won our opening 10 league games, I wouldn’t change my view, we ain’t winning the League fellas, and we won’t do again until we have a change at the top….

  81. frednerk says:

    Hi Adam
    Lets be fair adam..Has he really got a contract
    surely he justs prints one off..if he wants.

    Can’t imagine anyone having the Arse(ne) to
    challenge him.
    If I was Henry I would have took me statue with me.

  82. Adam says:

    I think Thierry had got himself into an untenable position really. As soon as I heard him criticise Arsenal I knew it couldn’t go on so I am hardly surprised at the outcome. I reckon he knows that better than anyone. Any club that hires him will certainly gain the kudos of a big name.
    We are living in times of great change in the UK, but the good ship Arsene looks likely to steer the same course. Until it falls off the edge of the world or strikes an iceberg that is.

  84. Le Coq Monster says:

    You are right lads…………Groundhog Day as far as Wenger is concerned !. He has an incredible ability to be………..well…………….himself !…….my way or the highway !. Even though he has said he makes mistakes, he hasn`t the ability to learn from them !.
    Apart from the obvious money Ferguson spent, the big difference ………..and it`s an enormous difference…..between Ferguson and Wenger is that Ferguson evolved everytime the landscape changed and moved with the times !….for example how many times did he change his coaching staff which must have brought in fresh ideas !
    Wenger was great in his vision when he first arrived, but others have copied and moved ahead……they evolved with the times !.
    Wenger is incapable of doing this and probably needed a tough owner to force him to change, but as said per earlier…….Wenger runs the club, not the majority shareholder or the ceo !.

  85. frednerk says:

    We’er knacked really,
    he got us 2nd,normally 4th
    his chest is out..Billy Big Banana’s I bet.
    It’s a bit like Bexit half want him to remain
    the other want him to stay in france.

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