I got home yesterday to find the new Kit Catalogue, ‘Explosive Arsenal’ on the doorstep – I had a browse through, not with any intention of purchasing anything I hasten to add but as I turned the pages something struck….
Page one – Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsay and Wojciech Szczesny all lined up in the new away kit in a double page spread.
Page three – Alex Song, Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott lined up in a few training shirts and tracksuit tops, again in a double page spread with a few t-shirts thrown in.
Page five – Jack Wilshere, Wojciech Szczesny, Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie lined up in our brand spanking new home kit and another few t-shirts on the page.
On the front page is Thomas Vermaelen….
No Cesc Fabregas in the photos and no Samir Nasri or Gael Clichy either….
Ok, I know there are other first team players missing but other than Bendtner, Clichy and Denilson, no others have been linked to leaving nor have they asked to go – well, not as far as I know anyway, so their absence from the new 2011 clothing catalogue is nothing much to shout about.
But does the absence of the three mentioned tell us something??
I’m not suggesting that all three are on their way out, all I’m suggesting is that maybe their Arsenal futures really are unclear?
Right now we all read that Fergie is going to bid £20 Million for Nasri, Barca are going to step up their offer for Cesc Fabregas and while that is all going on, Clichy is still being linked to a move away, so who knows….
No doubt all will become clear as the weeks go on, all I know is, it’s not looking as rosy as some may have thought..
Well, not yet…..
Wouldn’t you like to see this next season??
The Daily Express this morning reports that Arsene Wenger has finally opened talks with Bolton about Gary Cahill. The English central defender is on most Arsenal fans summer wish list and £17 million is all it will take to make him ours. He’s 25 years old, 6′ 2″ tall and is the future of the English defence. He’s probably got another 7/8 seasons at the top and I don’t think that price is too high, not to get a bit of British steel in the defence.
Suggestion is that we are going to offer one or two fringe players to Owen Coyle in the deal, this is one story I hope has some truth in it and I hope it gets sorted soon. The race seems to be between us and Man City but again, suggestion is Cahill doesn’t want to join the money bags!
My fingers and toes are firmly crossed on this one….
1st July is nearly here Guys and Gals 😉
Morning.
It is time we stopped playing with Barca. If I were Gazidis, I would go to Cesc and tell him that we rate him as one of the best players in the world and his former club don’t and are trying to get him on the cheap. I would then enter negotiations and say we want £50m. When Barca come back with a £30m offer, get up and walk out of the room.
Time we got the players in, we only have a week before pre-season starts.
Hello. I think one will see a turnover of players with some new signings coming in and existing players going out.
Ivan Gazidas said, “Arsenal still has a young squad and they don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. The trick will be in identifying which parts to keep and which parts the club needs to turnover, and how the club can achieve that within their financial capabilities”.
Cheers 🙂
Morning All
Samir is in the away kit on afc.com, so he must be staying 🙂
Will, I am sick and tired of the Cesc fiasco, sell him i say…
get rid of Cesc we are sick and tired of him
I think it is time Arsenal told Cesc how it is and that Barca don’t value him at all.
Rico, sent you a mail.
Hi those joining HH today, good to see you…
Cesc should be able to see that, if they really wanted him they’d pay the proper price…
Morning Gooners.
Classic Barcelona tatics. Just keep on nagging away until we say “Oh for God’s sake, piss-off to Barca then”…
ManUre do the same, and Liverpool… I don’t want to sell our best players to any of them, but the players/agents, hold all the best cards…
Gotta say i kinda like the new away kit…
Hi Rico, good to have you back, great post as per usual…
Hi Will, how about the team coming out to Blind Faith?
i reckon we should get rid of the players who want to leave and rebuild the team, lets face it, it wasnt really working. we had no natural leader, no plan b, a terrible defence and, most of all, we had players that didnt want to be there and it showed towards the end of the season. let wenger do what he does best and for once we’ll have a bit of money too bring in some great players, ie juan mata, gary cahill, ricardo alvarez, chris samba and gervinho {who are all great players}.i also think there will be 1 or 2 surprising signings that’ll keep us all happy. let fabregas go (£40m), nasri (£20m), bentner (£10m), clichy (£8m) and denilson (£7m) and with the £50m wenger was promised by the board means that arsene has about £135m to spend on new players, but give him time to gel the team and turn them into winners. top 4 finish this season and a cup and i’d be happy. oh and make vermaelen the new captain.
Will @9:26,
With all due respect we don’t even want to be in a room with the Barceholes unless it is to pick up a very large cheque.
If we have a price, we should just send them one fax:
“: Cough Up or Fuck off”.
Morning all.good read.i also love the new away kit.vermaelen looks like a beast in it.nasri looks like a top player too.
Thanks Will re the email…
Morning AK, thanks and it’s good to be back 🙂
I honestly think it’s time to sell him, but if by chance we don’t I certainly don’t want to see him wearing the captains armband next season – he is no longer being loyal, he is not the right player to lead this side, TV or, if we get Cahill, give it to him….
The cesc saga is leaving me with a sour taste in my mouth.Barca have used all the tricks in the book to unsettle him while driving a wedge between him and the fans.and to think we offered them London Colney to train for the CL final…sell cesc and end all relations with Barça.im sick and tired of them. the fans.and to think we offered them London Colney to train for the CL final…sell cesc and end all relations with Barça.im sick and tired of them.
Hi jc and chico –
i think the players who want out will go abroad so we won’t hear anything until after thursday…
chico, good point re barca, scumbags….
Morning KT, I think Jack and Aaron look pretty darn good too 🙂
morning all,
the away kit is quite good…..
but wenger always keeps saying that by buying more than 3 players affects the squad..so on account of that i think we will only sign 3 players at best…
Chico, it is far more symbolic to get up and walk out of a room.
Rico, let me know if it makes sense.
Anyway, i think the kit launch photos tells us that Cesc and Clichy are gonners…..
Talking of photos, Cahill looks good doesn’t he 😉
Sell the Fabregas dude ‘en let’s move on. Bored and irritated out of my mind; even his movements and attitude are so so lukewarm
Cahill with a cannon on his chest looked the biz Rico…
So it’s Capt Thomas V for the coming campaign…
A very good choice. Always prefer a defender as skipper…
Apparently Barca have put in a £40mil bid for Neymar…
Kev, good song, II just like the words to other one.
Cha – spot on…
AK, i reckon he looks the mutts nutts – I wouldn’t mind him being given the armband if we get him, start a fresh…
Def needs to be a defender….
Im willing to bet that we sign no one this week.
kt, i reckon we will, announcements thusday or friday …
AF, in the summer of 1997 Wenger brought in:
Petit, Grimandi, Boa Morte, Overmars, Upson, Manninger and Mendez [remember him?]
In the summer of 2001 it was:
Jeffers, Van Bronckhorst, Wright, Campbell and Inamoto.
In 2005 it was:
Hleb, Mannone, Diaby, Walcott and Adebayor…
He has previous…
As good a player Mata is i don’t want him at our club.im tired of Spaniards getting homesick one barca/madrid sniff around.mata is a madrid’s cantera gradute.if we sign him and becomes brilliant we all know what will happen next…lub.im tired of Spaniards getting homesick one barca/madrid sniff around.mata is a madrid’s cantera gradute.if we sign him and becomes brilliant we all know what will happen next…
Sad news re Mike Doyle, good footballer in his day…
RIP……
Morning AF, didn’t see you sneak in 😉
That is sad Rico. I always thought he was a good player.
Back in the days when ManCity were a proper football club!
You and me both Kt, in fact, Spanish and French…
Kev, now you understand why I am optimistic about this window.
RIP Mike.
They were indeed AK, Doyle, Summerbee, Tueart and co….
Hi again. my opinion is that Barca should pay £80million for Senyor Fabregas…Why? I have a long memory and it goes back to the conclusion of the FIFA 2010 WC in South Africa, when a certain nation who won it…Espanyol but somehow a Barca Jersey was thrust against Senyor Fabregas with the Shaggy Disrespectful Stupid Barca captain encouraging the ‘Wanted One’ to don the jersey…They should have been cited and punished accordingly by FIFA…Disrespecting Arsenal FC and Espanyol as well but Arsenal the main victim…A ‘Transgression Payment’ is what should be included in the asking price for their ‘Wanted One’
They are a very arrogant club, they excel upon the pitch no doubt about that…But they are NOT the best club in the world…and I liked them at one stage but after that Jersey incident…I no longer even watch their games here at home in New Zealand.
I don’t want Thiago as it will be the same old story.brilliant prospect though.
PSG are interested in Clichy….
Hi sienna, Cesc isn’t worth £80 Million, not in my opinion, 40-50 maybe….
According to young guns we are in for Alvarez but Velez are holding out for a bigger fee from another club.Alvarez however only wants Arsenal and he tweeted yesterday that he’ll have more news by the end of the week as he has been advised not to reveal his next destination. om another club.Alvarez however only wants Arsenal and he tweeted yesterday that he’ll have more news by the end of the week as he has been advised not to reveal his next destination.
Young Guns are very reliable Kt..
Hi rico, I was being facetious and I agree he’s not worth £80million…I was being a cow lols Just brassed off at the carryings on by Barca in trying to unsettle our the first team.
I know he wants to go home and thats fair enough, but at the end of the day it is up to AW he owns him via a contract and there’s stuff all that Barca can do about it. They can jolly well Pay Up or Shut Up…I still think a ‘Transgressional Payment’ should be included if and when he is sold to them.
Cheers rico 🙂
Rico to be honest am just not excited about anything Arsenal right now.the doom and gloom has got to me and am finding it hard to even blog.i really hope we have good news by the end of the week. even blog.i really hope we have good news by the end of the week.
Will, yeah, i really hope you are proved to be right.
Fabregas is a £50 million player. Pay it and get him or don’t and don’t, ya choice is simple.
😆 sienna
We’ll get all this again in a few years time with the two we have just signed from Barca…..
We all want news Kt, I’m not banking on get much good news either…
But with Wenger, you just never know what he’s up to….
Rico, PSG are going to be a major player in the transfer market in the foreseeable future…
Their interest might jack-up the price.
While there is no movement in or out and Wenger remains quiet I predict the frustration will slowly ramp up and up until Cesc finally goes to Barcelona. Wenger will spend on mediocrity but will get gazzumped in the transfer market because he and the club are too slow and complacent. As time moves on the blogs will be overflowing with people screaming for Wenger to buy, buy, buy. Buy anybody just to show some ambition. Arsene will remain resolute and unmoveable. He will recycle his mantra about the self sustaining model. The excess fat will not be trimmed from the playing staff and there will probably not be any world-class signings. On the morning of September 1st Arsene will announce a trading profit to the board. We, who have not worked a half day in football, will certainly be disappointed and if the results are poor for the first 5 or 6 weeks of the new season there will be dissent in the ranks. Alternatively, Arsene has several tremendous signings lined up. Cesc will return home to allow his DNA to flow through his Catalunyan team mates and the money received from him will be added to the already considerable transfer funds to facilitate a new look team who can go on and be successful. Personally I can’t wait to see what happens.
Good news then Kev 🙂
Suggestion is that we have rejected a £10M offer for Diaby….
Seriously, £10m for him? Should have snapped their arms off.
Was that PSG who bid Rico?
£10million seems a good price to me.
But if it’s an opening shot, then why not try to get £15m.
Like everyone else!
But surely Diaby is injured. Didn’t he injure himself breathing a couple of weeks ago. Ten million for him is just too good to be true. He’ll only manage about ten games this season anyway.
Its from an unamed Turkish club Kev, according to Gunnerblog….
Hi Rico. Diaby in Turkey has a nice ring to it I think.
Morning Adam
I’m looking forward to watching the window unfold but at the end of it i am sure i will be very very dissapointed yet again…
Rico why does AW punish the club with these Baca signings. He develops them after buying on the cheap of course in keeping with the club’s sustainable financial model and when they are ripe for the picking the little sh**s want to go home.
I recall Cesc saying he wanted to lift a trophy whilst captain of Arsenal, well he can’t if he runs home with his Catalan tail between his legs.
I have been listening to an AST Q & A meeting in Arsenal.com with Ivan Gazidas as the Star Speaker. Its in 2 parts and I have only listened to 10 minutes of part One…Gazidas can talk but he is explaining a lot. He said, “it is very clear that we had some shortcomings, during this close season so we are going to see some turnover of some players, some new signings coming in and some of our existing squad going out. He agrees with AW that it will be a busy close season for the club. Also the club needs to recognize it has not been a disaster, Arsenal still has a young squad, “we don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water”. The trick will be in identifying which parts to keep and which parts the club needs to turnover, and how the club can achieve that within their financial capabilities.
Interesting watching the video clip and I am a lot more informed now as I was brassed off at Gazidas because he had said via Arsenal.com when the select committee had kicked off their Football Governance hearing at Arsenal and he said that he wanted the committee to address the ticketing cost issue, that was driving out or keeping the young fans from the satdium…and that he was going to make it an objective of his to deal with that issue personally, then a month later Arsenal raise their ticket prices. My reaction was jeez he speaks with a ‘Forked Tongue’ as LPFC have practiced what Ivan was preaching. He has explained the reasons, I just wish he had not put the cart before the horse.
🙂
i want 2 see gervinho, eto,o, falcao, parker, hazard, juan mata,samba,cahil,jakieson of everto. sell almunia, squallici, delnison, diaby, clichy, bendtner, vella, rosisky.pls and sack wneger if he refuse 2 sign or sell this players.
Rico. Experience would tend to suggest you are right I am afraid. This is certainly Wenger’s last chance as far as I can see. If he runs true to form he is toast at Arsenal. The fans will see to that. As Gazidis recently said, he is accountable to the fans and I have never known the natives to be so restless. He has made a rod for his own back with his misjudgments over the past few years.
😆 Adam, a very nice ring to it…..
I don’t know sienna, in fact i don’t know why he buys so many youth players in any case, not while we have so many already fighting eachother for their chance….
Offski now, see all you great gooners in a week.
See ya Rico, maybe a signing or two to discuss when i get back.
Just to cheer up KT..lol
We wait more in hope than anticipation our expectations undaunted by six years of failure. We dare to dream but deep down we know. And that is the collective horror of it all. Have a good day folks.
See you soon Kev, have a good week and stay safe…..
Cahill and Samba do you?? 😉
I think so Adam, last summer for Wenger to get it right, i think he knows it too….. You have a good day too….
I think some of the main players like Samir have become rather frustrated, but I also think that there’s a lot going on behind the scenes as well…Here is an extract from the AST Q & A session with Ivan Gazidas…Excuse some of my typos 🙂
“Its challenging in this environment where Arsenal has been “beaten up throughout the last few months, on a consistent basis”, We need to take a big step back and think about how far the club has come and Ivan is reminding all about alot of the achievements that the club has made and can be proud of the Emirates stadium, the style of play that Arsenal are reknowed for all around the world (Globally), the financial stability that Arsenal has with the utilisation of their sustainable financial model and their strict adherence to it, Arsenal’s independence their ability to stand on their own 2 feet, the ability to say that we don’t owe our success to an outside party that is a thing that Arsenal built themselves. That sense of pride that we can take from that is important. The work that Arsenal does in their community. Arsenal is more than just only about the first team that Arsenal put on the pitch. Let’s just ALL remember as we come off a disappointing season, the broad range of things, the journey that Arsenal club has been on and some of the things Arsenal people can be proud of. Of course coming off the end of the season, Ivan just like the fans and supporters has a profound share of the sense of disappointment…”We had a season that promised a great deal, which looked as though it could turn into a very special season for Arsenal, but in the end a familiar story began to tell itself over the last part of the season. It was very difficult for ALL at Arsenal to watch those matches. Ivan like the AST are emotionally invested in Arsenal’s club, so for Ivan it is not just simply a job a normal CEO’s position, sitting there watching those games are just as hard for him even as it is for the fans and supporters. So he understands the feelings of the fans and supporters as they all went through the season”.
Time for me to hit the sack…Good evening rico 🙂
Night sienna, pop back again….
Morning peeps………..
Morning WATH,
Pleased with all our new signings then……
Ah you’ve been away and returned as a comedien it seems Rico 😛
🙂 WATH, I honestly thought we’d have a few in the bag by now….
You seen the latest Cesc in Barca shirt story, he’s a disgrace if its true….
2b honest the cesc crap is boring and tedious and I’d rather concentrate on more important things like players who are actually happy and wanna play for the club…! cesc has been full of barca shit since last summer we just need to show some balls and stick to a decent price… Nothing under 40million and if someone comes in with a bigger offer accept it and then see what cesc and barca do…? we have to do whats right for “US” not him or barcafuckinlona
Totally agree with all of that, i just want him gone if i’m honest – but, if he does stay, no way in this world should he stay as captain….
he’ll go for around 35M in the end i bet….
I’m really getting worried here…all my previous optimism have left me. Am actually scared we might not sign the required players. Wenger
might play us all again please somebody allay my fears….
Sorry GS i think what we all wanna see now is actions not words from the club, we need to see some intent and some ambition and some sales to show us all that wenger also see’s where we have players that have clearly not been good enough.
hi stan,
next seven days will tell us what wenger is up to… let the window officially open and see what he delivers… prob very little but…
Popping off for a bit, back in a couple of hours….
Too right Wath, Let it be known that Fabregas is available for £50M.
Do you think we will though WATH, I’m not so sure….
Laters
IF and it’s a big IF someone has offered 10million for that useless diaby then IF we have turned it down then wenger has lost the plot and it must be confirmed that diaby is indeed his love child…!
Will I reckon anything over 40mil would be a decent deal can’t see us getting 50million for him 2b honest not with the way he seems to of become injury prone…! 40mil and I’d be happy and would love it if we sold him so someone else just to piss barca off 4 trying to get him on the cheap…! 😉
What ever happened to wenger? I just finished watching the 03/04 season . There were tears in my eyes my cousin a fellow gunner wept uncontrollable. Our once respected and formidable club is a now a laughing stock…..we are no longer feared..I will say it again. What ever happened to wenger? We now struggle to sign average players!
GS, seems he has maybe become to big for his own good and thinks he is untouchable and has most definately become unaccountable !! As Rico always says, we need the old wenger back not the accountant version the football manager version..!
Liverpool got £50M for Torres.
Yeah I have had enough of this current wenger. I want the old wily tactical and calculative wenger back. To think this was the same manager that led us through a whole season…..unbeaten. Old wenger, where art thou? Your club needs you!
I don’t want cesc gone…..I want that c**t nasri gone instead…I hate players who put themselves before our beloved club. No one individual is bigger than the club…..not even wenger. I say sell him to bayern or better still lets have s swap deal with shweinsteiger coming to us.
Forwards always go for more than midfielders Will fact of life we wont get 50mil for cesc in a month of sundays…!
Over the last three seasons, who have contributed more?
Yeah wath but cesc has been the better player for over two years now….his pass won spain the world cup for crying out loud..if torres is worth 50 then I say cesc is worth more. Though I don’t see that happening
Will, your talking to the wrong person mate I ain’t the one looking for excuses to pay as little as possible for cesc. the market is related to top dollar for strikers and wingers unfortunately so I just think we won’t get 50mil, I’d be happy with 40 as long as wenger spends it but thats another matter entirely, he’ll prob tell us diaby will step up………. watch the step abou don’t want you getting a knock…!
My argument to Barca would be, market rate for a player that contributes this to a team is £X and that is what we want, are you going to match it?
From Wenger:
1 June 2011
Dear…
Thank you for your letter and your observations which have been noted and I certainly take your comments on board. I prefer not to discuss individual players in private correspondence and, although I cannot reply to each point you made, I have given my thoughts below on the season.
In contrast to some of our competitors at home and abroad it is true Arsenal has, in the interests of its financial stability and independence, operated under the discipline of a self-sustaining model. I believe this is the best route to sustainable long-term on-field success.
Within the constraints of that discipline, which ensures affordable debt and non-reliance on ownership, we have also invested in keeping key players here by extending their contracts. For me we have done well but now, of course, people become impatient. I can understand that completely because I am impatient as well.
That is why you see me agitated. Our target was to build a new stadium without dropping from the top. We knew it would be a difficult period for four or five years so we had to make a decision on how we can stay at the top level with less money available.
We have shown that we have the technical quality to win the league but certainly not the defensive solidity to do it. We have learned that we have the quality, despite what everybody is saying, but of course we need to gain some strength in some areas of the team.
We are frustrated and disappointed but we should not go overboard. We just have to rectify things in the areas that we need to improve. Mentally, of course, I hope that the team has learned a lot this season because we could not cope with the number of games, nor the pressure in the important moments of the season.
I felt they lost confidence and you can see that there has not been the same sharpness on the mental front. You never want to forget anything because it is also the season that we produced our best games ever – but in the end it was difficult to get over the line.
You could see that the disappointment of the team came out in the recent games and the belief has gone down. Unfortunately the last disappointment against Aston Villa has cost us the third place. In the end, we felt fourth place was disappointing because we were in a position to win the league.
I think I am responsible for the results and I am very disappointed. The players have had an outstanding attitude. We have accumulated disappointments that have had a big impact on the morale of the team. We have played 58 games. Fabregas has played 22 games, Van Persie 18 or 19 games and Vermaelen has played four or five games.
In decisive moments we have never had the whole team together. We have to rectify some things in our squad and we will try to do it. But it is not easy, even with money. We will try to do the right thing. I don’t know how much we have spent in recent years. We will try to buy the right players. The amount of money is not always linked with the quality of the player.
We will spend the needed money but you first have to find the right players and then turn up with the money. If we find the right players we will spend the money. I think it is the responsibility of a football manager to behave in a responsible way. It is a situation for the fans which I completely understand.
But we are in a job where other clubs do not respect the basic rules of any other company and we have to live with that. You cannot think that if there is not enough money to run the company then someone else will come in and give his money.
That is not how we want to run the company. In England it is a bit more difficult because player inflation is higher than everywhere else. When you have only a few players at many clubs, the price is too high.
Of course, the economic situation is difficult for people and for us as well. But we demand some understanding because we have to fight against clubs which have unlimited resources. They put pressure on our wages. How can we deal with it? We need to add, of course, and we will do, but we have a strong base.
We have enough quality to beat anyone in the world, even with the current squad. You had a Champions League final and only one team has beaten both of them and that is Arsenal.
Our fans have been outstanding all season and we would like to thank them. They are not happy, I am not happy, and we have to accept that. But we are not to go overboard. Maybe one year people will realise it is not easy to finish in the top four every time.
Even if people say we have to spend money, we have to be realistic. We cannot buy players for £50million and, even if we try to strengthen our team and spend money if needed, that is fact.
I wish you a pleasant summer and thank you again for taking the time to write and for your comments.
Kind Regards,
Arsene Wenger
Classy.
How true is it that we are about to tie up the deal for cahill…..goal.com is running the story. They say its a matter of days. The deal could be done by the weekend. Anyone with inside info. I ll take any transfer right now. Anyone!
Yeah that’s wenger alright! Polite to the very last word. Am sick of it.
It is said we have Cahill, we shall see.
You ve seen the story too, will. I hope its true.
Anybody home……rico,will or wath? Oh well I ll be back in a while.
I’m around GS…….. 😉
I am just thinking, who is the best coach in world football and I am not talking about cheque book managing.
Hola amigos….paper & newsnow bullshit signings etc…. blah blah blah!!
Allo Lee, spot on there mate just rumours and b/s….!
Best coach Will, hmmmmm good question….! there are a few who would spring to mind….!
At this moment in time I’d say AW isn’t in my top five…!
GS your 1.29 comment went into moderation you cant say the “C” word it’s the only word Rico bans on here 😉 Just so you know..!
Wath, think who and what Wenger and Arsenal are up against.
I’d also be biting off PSG’s hand as well if they are really gonna offer 13mil for Clichy….! thats silly money…!
In what respect Will………?
Hi!
I’ve been busy all morning.
rico: without Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy, without players of the same level in the same positions or solidify the collective structure, a team will be fighting to not be relegate (another River Plate, no!!), for domestic consumption without international class.
AW responses are those that figured. Does not add much to his speech. It seems to me that they get nothing this year, the AW speech loses its meaning. Reference the new stadium as an option for not having gone further, it is justified. Happens is that the stadium con, not improved and not won anything yet. Teams had to be won with a new stadium “elan” in case of M. city; clubs, alongside the construction of the stadium continued to win: Porto, Bayern, etc. clubs that after construction of the stadium back to the successes: Dortmund, Benfica …
We expect another year of good performances (something that thankfully never lost), a competitive team (which always has been) but in the end, can enrich the trophy room.
Mike Doyle was a good player in midfield M. City that little I remember seeing play. He was part of City M. champion. alongside Owen when the teams were “dictated” in WM or 4-2-4. This team, I remember Corrigan, Book, Bell, Francis Lee, Summerbee, Heslop and with a bit of mental gymnastics I say the rest.
Final note: PSG tightened up (much) inflation. Have we got Gameiro and hopefully not in the pipeline in CL (the number of possible starts with a chance of winning to be very small …)
B/S or not….madrid offering 50m for cesc, shit on the pot barca or fck off, THE END!
The Real thing could also be paper rubbish tho Lee, if it’s not I would publicly accept the bid so barca can as you say pay up or piss off…! Simple.
if we lost cesc nasri n clichy JM I think we can cope without them 2b honest we need players who can fight and get stuck in down the spine of the team but also maybe a flair player who can also turn a game on its head an Henry or a Bergkamp type but will our manager pay for a player like that….??? we shall see..!
We can’t afford to lose three premiership experienced players, that is a fact. We need to keep at least two of them or replace them all with better which will cost a lot more than we are getting for them.
News:
Chelsea wants Modric and Bailey – 60 millions
Mu wants Moutinho (Porto) 40 millions, alexis Sanchez (Udinese – Barcelona?) and Nasr1 (we all know that … only 20 millions ?). all three, 70 millions,,,and Hulk (Porto) arround 45 millions (too low clause – 100 millions)
Aren’t we interesting in two belgium players? What’s happen ?
Will I see where your coming from but they they don’t need to be replaced like for like I reckon and 13mil for clichy is nuts to turn down so we’d easy be able to replace him with 13mil in the bank…!
Hazard and Fellaini are the two JM, everything is all very quiet just the newspapers talking stories and rumours to sell papers thats all…!
Wath, the experience and quality needs to be replaced. So, if we sell all three, how much do we get for them and who do wwe get in to replace them?
13m for clichy is nuts though….
Fabregas is the reference of the current Arsenal. It is the “face” of the presentations of the PL, remembered when the player is playing or not playing, is the cover of computer games, who makes it to sell more t-shirts and probably that is most sought for autographs, and Arsenal is aimag of the few players who will be remembered in this generation, symbolizes the gloss of Arsenal’s second century, this type of football, the “kids” of Arsenal. Not Hazard Fellani or who will replace.
They lack so much class and above. World Class. I speak about this: World Class
A few good left backs around Will, I’d get M’vila or Fellaini for midfield and with Cahill and or Samba thats attitude and passion back in the team then we just need a player who is a wing wizard maybe….??!?!?!?!?!?
World class players JM are also very overrated…. many who are mentioned as world class def are not !!
what’s a goal for Cote D’Ivoire against Brasil! AW buy this palyer!!!!
Afternoon fine people, we signed Cahill yet, shouldn’t take to long to sign a cheque for 17Million and agree terms should it????
Curretn situation remind me of summer 1998, after we won the title, and a snarling Aelka demanded he wanted to leave for Real.
Shockingly, Wenger sold Petit and Overmar…..
ANd Fab-4 is no more……..guess which CB we signed ’em?
And tabliods started sneering Henry and Pires will never replaced ANelka and Overmars……
Plus quietly, Wenegr signed
– “GIlberto who?”
– “Lauren who?”
Freddy was a quiet signing.
Later WIltrod demanded to allow to leave to join his “freinds at Arsenal else he will go on strike….”
Perhaps the silver lining is that it is a reminisce of summer 1998..and we won ttile in 2001/02 and 2003/04….
Or due to restructuring in 2011…perhaps we will win the title in 2013/14….
And if teh “Core” remians, we actually ahs a decent chance to win the 2011/12 ttiel as ALL TOP-6 TEAMS are rebuilding or re-structuring with new manager or new players.
Not “doom and gloom” but Wenger needs to repeat that “summer 1998” astute buys all over again this summer.
WHat Arsenal FC needs is a hamroniosu team with players committed to Arsenal, adn willing “to die” for Arsenal….not football mercenaries, not Spanish puta, not french poodles, not pretty boys, not bottlers, but hungry and committed players who love to play for Arsenal and will battle fiercely in every game.
I agree JM and we need more of that level of player.
Former Arsenal director Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith has called for the club’s entire board to be sacked.
Bracewell-Smith, who was axed as a director in 2009, is not happy with the way the club is being run.
On her Twitter account, she wrote: “I agree that current board should all go.
“They are passe. Have nothing more to give to the club at all. In time we will need a more dynamic pro-active, younger board, and a good directional leadership.”
Bracewell-Smith made £123m selling her 15.9% stake in Arsenal to Stan Kroenke in April, allowing the American billionaire to take control of the club.
Her stake had come from her husband, Sir Charles, grandson of the club’s former chairman Sir Bracewell Smith.
Asked why she was sacked by the board, Bracewell-Smith wrote: “[They] couldn’t handle a woman with power on the board. Felt insecure. Male chauvinism.”
Arsenal’s current board consists of Kroenke, chief executive Ivan Gazidis, chairman Peter Hill-Wood, Ken Friar, Sir Chips Keswick and Lord Harris of Peckham.
Bracewell-Smith also initially rejected calls from some fans for the return of former vice-chairman David Dein, who was sacked in 2007.
She claimed Dein was “the root cause of all the troubles at AFC” before backtracking.
“I stand corrected,” she tweeted on Tuesday. “Dein loves the club and although sometimes personalities fall out his contribution at Arsenal has been immense.”
Dein left the club after he sold his shares to Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who has refused to sell to Kroenke.
On Monday, BBC Sport revealed that Arsenal’s board were now willing to sell Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona if the Spanish giants improved on their initial bid for the midfielder, submitted to Gazidis last week.
Bracewell-Smith said: “It is obvious he wants to go. You cannot keep a player when his heart is not in it.”
Both Bracewell-Smith and Dein, who enjoyed a close working relationship with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, declined to comment when contacted by BBC Sport.
Goopd comment Merlin..
JM, I don’t know anything about him, I take it he’s pretty good 😉
inside problems is never good anywhere…
Brazil 2 -Cote D’Ivoire 2 (half-time) I don’t know thr final score but it’s a interesting match
Evening all,
Just skipped through some of the comments but i don’t think i saw a comment about Wengers leter, to an upset fan in The Sun news paper, whether its truly from Wenger is neither here or there.
But that is what i would have expected his answer to be
SP, that letter was doing the rounds a few wks ago and the comment was the fella was chuffed to see the letter from wenger and then went over a few end of season programms and the letter is made up of comments from wenger in the AFC program and from paper i/v’s….! smartly doctored together…!
The Catalan newspaper “El Mundo Deportivo” he says on Tuesday that the transfer of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona is imminent, the Spanish midfielder could be announced as reinforcement Blaugrana in the coming hours.
Apparently the direction of the Catalans want to finalize negotiations with Arsenal, no later than Friday.
However the daily “The” means that clubs have reached agreement and that culés will pay 35 million euros for the pass from Fabregas
Cheers Wath, i had seen somthing a while ago.Arsenal have supposedly said that Cesc can go then, although a very good player, if the guy wants to go then thats ok, but untill i see him in an actual interview i still don’t believe it
afternoon all…so perhaps the cesc thing is finally coming to a head…certainly there has been a different feel about it, including the apparent (which i think is genuine) acknowledgment that we may be willing to sell this time…or phw’s comment that we “hope” to keep cesc this time…
whatever happens, i hope it is resolved soon, as training starts shortly. i have a gut feeling that our club will accept less than many of us would like for him, this time around…we’ll see what happens…
Afternoon Steve and oliver
hi rico…alright?
Good thanks oliver, be glad when Cesc has been sold and we can all move on and stop this on going soap saga, it’s boring isn’t it?
How’s you?
nothing confirmed yet, but i think movement – probably in both directions – will pick up in a few more days…at least i hope so.
while i don’t think signing new players will solve all our ills, the squad clearly needs to be freshened up and i don’t think we can afford to sit pat with minimal reinfocements, while hoping what we have comes good…
ok…pretty busy…our cesc farce is tedious at this point. in his first interview after returning to training last august, he said all but “let me out of here”, so there is no real reason to think he does not want the move. i think it is time to facilitate his transfer to barcelona, while making sure the club is protected and we get the best deal (with barcelona) that we can…i am not sure our club will do this, but lets hope so…
i think we would have always come to this point with cesc, whether we had won anything over the past six months or not…i perceive a larger problem in that other squad members are questioning our direction and wondering if their ambitions can be fulfilled at arsenal…we cannot know this for sure, but i think our lack of recent success is resonating with many of the players. ouur valures and style are great and playnty of fans are happy with just that. but it is very naive to think that our players do not want to win first and foremost…and that is where i think the cracks are starting to show…
wow…where did those typos come from?
Personally I don’t see how there is any way back for him now, especially after the latest Barca shirt fiasco..
I believe it could be the making of the club to sell him, let’s get a ‘team’ again and not expect so much from one player – use the money to strengthen in other areas and i don’t even think we’d know he’d gone…
£20M + Villa gets them Cesc.
afternoon will…i doubt we’ll get villa or any other player in a deal. i think it is more likely the club will settle for something between 30-35 million pounds and do everything they can to keep the actual fee “undisclosed”…
I said the same Will a few days ago when suggestion was Villa would fund the Cesc sale, I’d take that deal in a flash, despite his recent comments…
But, his get out clause is something like £112 Million…. Absolutely stupid amount….
rico, at this point i would say it is probably the best thing for all parties. and i would further agree that his sale can potentially mean adjusting playing style and tactics to where we get the best out of more players than just he and robin. whether arsene is willing to do this – or continue playing to cesc’s strengths minus cesc himself – remains to be seen…
£30M will be robbery and we wil tell the world we are second division feeder club.
Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp has been appointed assistant manager at Ajax.
The Dutchman had been in charge of the club’s youth system, but has been promoted to working with the first-team under his former club and international colleague Frank De Boer.
Bergkamp has not yet signed a contract but took charge of first-team training on Tuesday and an official announcement is expected within the next few days.
“Dennis Bergkamp is the new assistant,” said an Ajax spokesperson. “He has not signed a new contract, but has already started in his new job and took training on Tuesday for the first time.”
The 42-year-old has been at Ajax for the past three years as he attempts to step up his coaching career after a glittering 20 years as a player.
And Bergkamp has made no secret of his desire to one day coach at Arsenal, who he served with distinction between 1995 and 2006.
“I wouldn’t rule out [working for Arsenal],” said Bergkamp in 2009. “I really love this club and the country and I love working here.
“I would advise everyone to work in England, as a player or a coach, it just breathes football. It is fantastic for the game.
“I want to work and train a team in England. Not as a head coach but instead as a member of staff, where I could work specifically with the strikers.
“Being a coach means you have to work 24 hours a day and that does not suit me. You have to watch matches at home, travel to see other teams, prepare training – it is something that I am not ready to do.”
i won’t argue with that will…but i have a sense that our club is going to play hardball only to a certain point. i – we – think barca should pay much more than 30-35 mil for cesc…i won’t be at all surprised, however, if the club has become more interested in finally drawing a line under this, getting what they can, and keeping the actual fee paid a secret…
we’ll see how it shakes out. i will be very, very surprised if cesc is in the squad for the opening day trip up to st james park…
Cesc and Arsenal should grow balls.cesc signed a multi-million pound 8 year contract which backtracked his wages.no one forced him to do it.4 years are remaining and if Barca don’t meet cesc’s evaluation we shouldn’t sell him at a throw away price just because he wants to ‘go home’.we are not running a kindergaten where cesc’s parents can pick him up in the evening,this is professional sport.if cesc doesn’t leave he should grow a pair and act like one.we’ve done so much for him and it the least he can do for us and not sulking.ktracked his wages.no one forced him to do it.4 years are remaining and if Barca don’t meet cesc’s evaluation we shouldn’t sell him at a throw away price just because he wants to ‘go home’.we are not running a kindergaten where cesc’s parents can pick him up in the evening,this is professional sport.if cesc doesn’t leave he should grow a pair and act like one.we’ve done so much for him and it the least he can do for us and not sulking.
k, that is how it should work in the real world. i absolutely think we shouldn’t sell him if barca do not meet our valuation. the problem is that is me, and i have nothing to do with this process…
hand on heart, do you really believe that afc are going to play hardball over this? after many recent signs that the club has apparently “bowed to the inevitable”? personally, i don’t think we will…i think we will hold out for a certain fee – perhaps certain conditions – and then announce the transfer for an undisclosed fee…
and for the record, i believe our club will accept a transfer fee well below what we held out for last season. and i base this on phw’s hope he stays comment, and the unnamed source who supposedly conceded that we may sell if an acceptable bid is received. i know there is plenty of skepticism over that source, but i believe it is credible…
If Cesc goes oliver, Wenger will have no choice to play in a different way – like i say, everything has always been about Cesc, just like it was Henry, and both imho have restrcited our true game when it came to the end of their days with us…..
Will, i reckon he will go to Barca for 35 Million, or elsewhere for more, the latter would show the club are becoming a bit more ruthless….
Hi oliver.cue my ‘grow balls’ statement.
rico, the only problem i foresee with that, is arsene apparently prefers his players to be interchangeable and able to switch roles and duties as situation dictates. this flexibility – which i felt was more of an inflexibility during the latter stages of last season – implies the formation can persist and other players can be groomed to fill cesc’s role…i am wondering if arsene is more devoted to his total football vision than cesc himself…
i have a feeling we will find out either way. one of my gripes during last season was that the formation and style nullified so many of our players natural strengths, to the point where only robin scored goals, only jack persistently played well in midfield and even he wore down through overplay…everyone else was hit and miss…and we got next to nothing out of players like nik and chamakh partially because they were played in positions where their best attributes were ignored.
hi k…i don’t think they will…i think the eventual transfer will be deeply unsatifying for many of us arsenal supporters. i absolutely think that the fee will be undisclosed – with neither team willing to discuss terms and conditions – and that will fuel the perception that afc accepted a fee not much more than the initial bid and that they don’t want supporters to know. cesc will praise arsenal once he is safely ensconced at camp nou, and afc will praise cesc to the high heavens and many of us will wonder where we go from here…
I said earlier and I will say again. We should walk into the room with all in the negotiations and say Cesc if one of the best players in the world, he market value is: £50M, are you going to match that? If they say no, then wordlessly get up and leave the room.
oliver – i know its our own opinion but i believe that Cesc stiffles us sometimes, i have said before that he always demands the ball despite other players being in better positions, but our players usually pass to the captain…
remember wehn Henry left, it was like a weight was lifted from the shoulders of others and they played so much more relaxed…
To be honest, i just want him gone, the sooner the better and i’d would just accept the best offer, regardless from which ever club that offer comes from…..
rico, i get the sense that afc may feel the same as you – lets just draw a line under this…if they increase their offer, we do business and keep the details under wraps. i think cesc is still worth more than 35 million and that we should not sell for that, but i am not convinced afc want to stand firm and potentially drag this out…
i’m not surprised eithier oliver, we should have let him go before now….
In fact we should have followed Fergie’s example with Ronaldo….
The fact everyone knows cesc wants to leave makes it a lot harder for us to play hard ball on the price…! we need to draw a line as a minimum but cant see us getting anywhere near 50mil unless we accept an offer from citeh lol 😉
in hindsight we probably should have done business last year. but remember that what barcelona offered was little better than what they opened this years bidding with. i still think that if they had made an acceptable offer, we would have sanctioned a transfer and then spun it as an offer we could not refuse – minus luca brasi and the pistol to the head, of course…
last year, i think making a stand was more important to the club – and many supporters are well. but i am wondering if the drama and incessant season-long speculation did not chip away at our resolve. it is difficult to argue against the perception that something has shifted in our club and we seem almost resigned to having to do business this summer…
arsene and the club will have to decide what is more in our interests: doing business quickly and then sorting samir and new transfers out, maintaining our line in the sand and not allowing ourselves to be dictated to…i see this as a situation where there is little middle-ground…my gut feeling is that we are ready to cut ties and our club may be hoping for a quick, reasonable offer…
if that happens, i think many of us – including myself – would like to see the proceeds put towards strenghening the squad, rather than being stashed away…or giving fringe players new deals. if we sell our captain, surely we will need to invest the money towards a first-team ready replacement…one with experience and credibility.
Arsenal have released pictures of their new away kit that Russian midfielder Andrei Arshavin has compared to jockey’s clothes.
In one of his famously offbeat Q&A session on his website, Arshavin was asked a question recently from a user called Nkitabozhok that went: “Hi Andrey, Do know what your new Arsenal uniform will look like?”
Arshavin replied: “I know, and I’ll tell you. Our guest (away) uniform next season will look like jockey’s clothes.”
The new shirt is navy and turquoise blue in colour and features the same bespoke crest that marks the club’s 125th anniversary year as the new home kit – pictures of which we brought you here on World of Sport just last month.
But do you agree with Arshavin’s opinion that the new kit looks like a jockey’s outfit?
Remember me spuds…
Reports are suggesting that Real Madrid have offered €50 for our captain, come on then Barca, match that…..!!
(if its true of course 😉 )
i agree with you, wath…i personally think cesc will go for less than 35 million pounds. that is too low, in my opinion, but i think that barca are going to wait us out if we play hardball. i think rosell’s recent comments about not “overpaying” for cesc are intended to prepare the barcelona supporter base for a potential war of attrition…
a third option is to invite bids from other suitors – real madrid or either milan side – for instance. that will be difficult, as any side surely knows that cesc prefers only one destination…however, afc is not beholden – at least not to my knowledge – to sell cesc only to barca…
but just discussing a transfer with a second/third club may get barca’s attention, and perhaps show them we don’t see them as the only option.
rico, i doubt that is true…i can believe mourinho may want barca to think that he is in for cesc…
we should announce we accepted jm’s bid – just to see how fcb reacts…
WATH, £35 million is my guess, that will be enough for afc to say yes…..
Spot on Oliver its why I said earleir i’d publicly annouce we hace accepted an offer of 45/50mil from Citeh or Real just to get barca to wake up and if they dont we say sorry cesc its to good a deal to turn down so we’ve accpeted…! cheerio fella…!
whatever it is, expect afc to get fcb to agree not to disclose the actual fee…our club is opaque at the best of times, so characterizing the transfer fee as “undisclosed” will allow them official cover if/when they accept a lower-than-it-should-be offer for cesc…that won’t stop the speculation that the club has something to hide, but they can dismiss questions with the “we don’t discuss these things” line. if they sell below value, that is how they will likely do it…
The club we all love and support is in the mire….. and many of us saw it coming……
Jeez……
oliver – i bet it ends up a player/cash swap deal, and we get done just like we did with Casley……
wath, i would like to see what the response from barcelona is if that happened. but i doubt we would adopt that. at the end of the day, i think we will do business with barcelona, that we will do it in july, and that many of us will feel we accepted less than we should have for a variety of reasons, some of them good, some of them not-so-good…
if/when that happens, let us quickly move on.
WATH – totally agree…..
Bridges burned, naff of Fabregas….
rico, i would be surprised if a player is thrown in. i think it will end up a straight cash offer, somewhere between 30 and 35 million pounds…
I’d take that Keita off of them, decent player that lad…! plus 35million 😉
WATH 😆 What about Messi and we give them a fiver 😉
I just think that Barca don’t have the money oliver, so they will try and throw a player in…
Anyone here wish the Russian had access to the books?
He’s not far off Will… I actually wish the Russian had bought us right now, he’d sack the whimps… aka the afc board….
but no Dein, now now, not ever…..
If he had access, there could be no undisclosed fee.
How many shares does he need Will, its not many is it…
30% I believe and he is 29.something.
Thats what i thought, thanks Will…
Thats me done for the day, catch you all tomorrow…
Nighty Night…
🙂
No problem, I just want someone on the board that will tell the truth.
Raffaele R. Riverso 28/06/2011 13:03
El Mundo Deportivo – Barcelona newspaper.
They are beginning to see the credits. The saga of the last three signings markets follows a different path than other times. Arsenal have lowered their economic claims for Cesc, initially demanded 60 million euros, according to the British press. Cesc Fabregas, who is already in Barcelona, would sign for FC Barcelona with good peace Arsene Wenger if the club offers 40 million euros more incentives say in England. The Arsenal can not convince another year to managers Gunners to reject all bids for the Arenys de Mar. It is for this reason that “Wenger will be destroyed if it loses its protected” (The Independent).
Debt Issue
According to British newspaper (which asks rhetorically “Who would not want to play for Barca? Especially if it is a player who was born virtually in the shadow of the great arena of the Camp Nou?”), “Fabregas has paid his debt “to Wenger and the club and it is time that the Gunners’ Cesc let take the plane back towards Barcelona. Whenever the subject of debt, the Guardian gives details of the operation and explains how the “Barcelona, which is deeply in debt, wanted to include in the transaction to one or more players, but Wenger was not interested in any of them.”
“We do not buy cracks, the floors”
To the Londoners will not be easy to lose their “talisman.” And Wenger is not alone in the broken club. The newspaper The Sun reports how Wenger, answering with a long letter to a follower “unhappy” that he had complained about the lack of signings, reiterated “patiently” and once again his philosophy: “We do not spend money recklessly.” The French coach has re-emphasize what everyone knows, or he does not like “buy cracks, if not forge.”
And no doubt that Cesc is very well forged and ready to go home. Victor Valdes and Sergio Busquets have spoken on behalf of the wardrobe and have given approval. All the British press set at 35 million pounds incetivos (40 million euros) the point where more than likely the two clubs: “These conditions have a deal. And in a few days.” To confirm an insider in the club told the BBC: “Probably yes, if an offer comes congruous, I think will sell.” But there will be Sandro Rosell to convince more than once was blunt: “We will offer less 40 million for Cesc. ”
Presented the new shirt … without Cesc
Cesc will leave London before we start the celebrations for the anniversary of Arsenal 125ésimo. Meanwhile, the Gunners had the new jersey for away games will have two different shades of blue. Model for the occasion Samir Nasri, according to the Daily Mail, gave few “smiles” to photographers. It seems that he also wants to leave the Emirates, lured by the sirens of Manchester United …
We can paly ahrd-ball.
Sanction a move to real or Manu or MIlan…and if fabregas refuses ot move, then stick him in the reserves for the whoel season and the enxts eason…and then sell him to Barca in 2012/13 for that derisory 30-mil euro.
By then, Cesc’ SPain career is over as he is effective out of Euro2012 squad and perhaps WC2014 squad as well.
Simple, you want to hold Arsenal FC at ransom, then Arsenal FC will stick you in the Reserves for the next 2 seasons…..
Time to call Cesc’s and barca’s bluff in refusing to sell till they match Arsenal’s valuation or Cesc can move to Real for 50-million euro.
Whether Cesc stays or not, let’s start restructuring and rebuilding our team wihtout him.
Crass stupidity to hang onto a disloyal player whose heart is no more with Arsenal as demonstrated by his performance in 2010/11 season.
We don’t need the money.
Just accept Real’s offer of 50-mil euro or form any team and demand Cesc to engotiate with ’em or play in the Reserves till his contract expires in 2015 and he can then leave on a Bosman in summer 2015.
Arsenal FC threat to Cesc is simply that he can move to anywhere to any team who is willing to match Arsenal’s valuation or rot in the Reserves for the next 4 seasons.
SHow some balls Kroenke and gazidis and tell of Barca – pay our price or else; Arsenal will nto bow down to any threat and Cesc can go on striek for all we care as this means we will save 110,000 quids pw plsu claiming damages from him for “breach of contract”.
Let’s destroy Cesc to set a precedence against this kind of disloyalty from players plus illicit tapping.
We don’t need Cesc as if he remains it will certainly destroy the harmony of the team like Vieira’s last season, Captain henry’s Death Stare, Captian gallas and the African Clique.
Morning all
Merlin, i’m with you re the ‘sticking him in the reserves’, but Wenger wouldn’t do that – he’s too soft with them….
New Post up….