Daily Bits and Bobs

Second signing on his way in? Alexis and Ozil going nowhere & Is Jenkinson the right man to replace Debuchy?

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Jack Wilshere turned out for England last night in a friendly against Turkey and what a rough lot they were. Poor Jack was targeted more than once and when he was floored, laying clutching his ankle on the 37th minute I thought that was it. Thankfully not, he was soon up and carried on.

England won the game thanks to an offside goal scored by Kane and a late goal from Vardy. England’s defence looked all at sea for parts of the game and they’ll certainly have to improve if they want to go far at the Euros.

Transfer gossip:

With the signing of Xhaka expected to be confirmed some time very soon, Medhi Benatia, a Moroccan centre-back is the latest name to be linked with Arsenal. He’s 6′ 3″ tall and currently plays for Bayern Munich. He’s made 22 appearances for his club in all competitions this season so he can’t be bad. Guardiola doesn’t use bad players does he.

Back in 2014, when he signed for the German club, he was linked with a move to a number of the top European clubs which does suggest he’s a good defender although I have to admit to never really taking much notice of him. Apparently he never wanted to leave Roma but was told he had to go as the club needed to raise funds but Roma President, James Pallotta, was furious and responded by saying he was sold for being a “poisonous liar”. That’s according to Wikki.

As long as he’s quicker than Merts, he’ll do for me…… lol

In other transfer news, Mathieu Debuchy is on West Ham’s wanted list. There’s little doubt he’ll be moving on this summer, especially after publicly accusing Arsene Wenger of going back on his playing time promises. Who will be snapped up to replace him is more important right now as Calum Chambers is not the player imo.

Perhaps this will give Carl Jenkinson his chance to battle it out with Hector Bellerin for the right-back position but is he good enough after enduring a tough season on loan at West Ham?

Arsene Wenger remains keen on Argentina whiz kid Maxi Romero. Apparently a £4.5 million deal to sign the striker from Velez Sarsfield last year was agreed but it was called off when the 17-year-old suffered a knee ligament injury before he was due to sign. If Romero can prove his fitness, this deal could be resurrected… (The Mirror)

The Morata stories rumble on too but I suspect that’s all they’ll do…..

Finally, both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have been snapped wearing the 2016/17 kit which has now been launched by Puma on the Arsenal official website. Alexis has changed his shirt number and will now wear the number 7 which has been worn by so many great players before him but can you name them?

That doesn’t suggest to me that he or the German maestro are going anywhere…..

rico

118 thoughts on “Second signing on his way in? Alexis and Ozil going nowhere & Is Jenkinson the right man to replace Debuchy?”

  2. andrewh1313 says:

    Morning rico, House, good post. Hope you are right about our big two, and all photos recently are indications that we are building not swopping. Worst senario, we sell Sanchez, spend a few bob more on a couple of players and have AW saying look how much we’ve spent, and a net spend of about 11m. It’s happened before!

  3. rico says:

    Morning Devil, Andrew and all…

    Alexis has changed his number so I doubt he’ll be sold after selling loads of his shirts.. lol

  5. Al the Gooner says:

    Liam Brady is still my favorite number 7, not least for that banana of a shot in the 5-0 win at White Heart Lane.

  7. bradster says:

    I watched the Spanish final. I think we can do a deal to swap Walcott and a few million for Gamiero.
    Similar players for their style so Walcott should fit. Better, stronger player as a long striker and quicker on the ball than Theo, can play both wing attack or down the middle.
    Another bargain for me would be Benteke who is unhappy at Liverpool and is a quicker and better finisher than Giroud.
    I also think Wenger could keep a tab on Aspillequetta and Rahman to see if Conte has him in his plans as well as Kolorov on the free.
    I also think Janmaart is not bad back up that likes to get down the wing, defensively not very strong but most of our players at full back aren’t except Monreal.

  10. cb says:

    by the time he got injured for us Jenkinson was 3rd choice right back at West Ham. Pretty much unversally voted our worst player of last season on our websites. No he’s not the man to replace anyone

  16. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. The whole of English football should be left with an unpleasant taste this morning after hearing the news that the Portuguese Prick is indeed returning. How long before the insults and accusations start flying? How long before he gets back into his full stride as the sickening sociopath he is. Bad news all round.

  17. tsgh says:

    Imagine how Mata is feeling knowing Jose will most probably not play him if Jose were to become his manager… Dear life! Everyone has palavers whether millionaires or signing on…

    Afternoon all…

  21. Adam says:

    Respect will go out of the window. There will be recriminations at everyone after the first bad result. The whole of the PL will be either for or against him and the football writers will love the idea of winding up Wenger every week, knowing that they will only have to mention Arsene’s name, stand back and watch the bile flow from Mourinh’s mouth.

  26. tsgh says:

    yanited will get what they deserve imho…
    The fact that football has become so much about ‘winning’ that a footballing legend such as Lvg who brought football the likes of Davids, the De Boer twins,Overmars, Kluivert to name a few and also reverted the fortunes of Bayern Munich in 2009 whilst bringing through Kroos, Muller can be treated so badly is despicable imho…

    Then again they say karma is a bitch! Lvg has stepped on a few toes in recent times so I guess what goes around comes around.

  27. bradster says:

    I can’t say I’ll miss his interviews, almost as painful as Wenger’s. Everyone but his fault for poor performances and told you so attitudes for good ones.

  28. Le Coq Monster says:

    We dont beat Manshafter Std much anyway, but under Maureen we will be lucky to get a point !………………Wenger has only beat Maureen once !…in a nothingless Community Shield match !

    He will probably have over £200M to spend and most likely take their spending to nearly £500M in 3 seasons and two of those out of the CL…….doesn`t stop them spending and all we hear about Arsenal is..” If we dont make CL, we wont have money or attract players ! “….bollox !…..even the Chavs wont be in the CL but will attract players, the attraction is outrageous ludicrous wages they can earn, not CL !. No Chavs, No Manshafter Std and no Bindippers in CL next season !…………pick from one of those 3 as EPL winners !……………we have only one chance !………………..spend some serious money on a serious GOALSCORER !……………over to you tight fucking bastard…sorry….Arsene !. hahaha

  29. Marshall says:

    Hi all. A 6ft defender who can use his head is welcomed.
    With that defense (England), we’ll be lucky to reach knockout stages. Unless we’re winning games 6-5.
    Can we take turns refreshing arsenal.com cause boy ain’t I tired of doing it all morning.

  30. tsgh says:

    LVG made Schweinsteiger a world class CM or DM the same way as another legend Cruyff made Pep a failing right winger a top class CDM…
    To me as a football fan first, the likes of Fergie, Jose, Leornardo Jardim and to a lesser extent Simeone epitomises whats wrong with modern football.

    Currently loads of folks and dubious media go on about Ath Madrid. forgetting how the club ‘conned’ every single EU tax paper at the peak of austerity to get out of paying their debt.

    Folks forget Atletico continued spending over Euros 160 million net on transfer fees from 2002 to 2009. To get deals done for the top players in the world while holding so much in back payments.

    Then there is the small point of Doyen helping final deals for the likes of Falcao…

    But still Simeone is a winner so its all good I guess…

  31. tsgh says:

    Marshall- if you do not watch Budesliga then keep on eye on Neustadter this summer if he gets his Russian passport. Let me know what you think.

    I think S04 will take decent money for him and at 28y.o he is the perfect age imho… he is different to Kosser and Paulista and so he will be a great compliment to either…

  32. tsgh says:

    May I hasten to add that I was not bashing Simeone for Athletico past financial doings but his anti football tactics.

    I agree Ath has a budget roughly a fifth of the RM and Barca budgets but, Seville who are poorer do and play football the right way and they have no dodgy Mendez as a shadow owner/sponsor..

    Credit has to be given though to Simeone as he has continuously broken the Football analysts believe that there is a clear correlation between player wages and success…

  33. Marshall says:

    Ts, on Neustadter . If he gets a Russian passport I’ll b looking forward to see how he plays in the Euros. He’s 6’2″… nice.

  34. rico says:

    Benatia is 6′ 3″ Marshall, he gets my vote… 😉

    LC, I share your frustration, I really do. I wonder how much debt Utd will be in after the summer, not that they’ll care of course…

    Afternoon guys…

  35. Marshall says:

    Lol an extra inch would make a difference Rico. Plus he has Roma and Bayern in his CV. With Hummels going there he might want a move.

    Neustadter might b good too though. Ts is rarely wrong

  37. Wavy says:

    Be aria will do and I think he’s available. A couple of weeks ago he was quoted as say “if BM sign Hummels then he would be looking for a move”. So…….. Dip your bread Arsene, dip your bread!

    Afternoon all. Sunny intervals here, quite nice.

  39. Wavy says:

    Benatia not Benaria. I swear I’ll do a Goonie and smash this ‘kin tiny piece of ‘clever’ technology. We’ll see who the clever one is then when I expose all it’s cogs and wheels and grind them into the terracotta tiles on my kitchen floor! Hahahaha!

  41. rico says:

    There’s talk of Chambers going out on loan to Everton next season so perhaps being 29 years old, Benatia is the right age. Allows Chambers to mature and prove if he’s going to be good enough…

    Warm here too Wavy…

  43. tsgh says:

    I go missing for a few minutes and the lady of the house starts slandering me… 😛
    Benatia is a good player. Its difficult to access the current Benatia to then one signed from AS Roma. As one would expect Pep played Benatia in midfield on several occasions and instead played Alaba as a paring with Boateng in central midfield…

  46. tsgh says:

    Where is Kev today?
    One of his favourite players Bender missing a penalty last weekend to ensure Pep leaves FC Munchen on a high…

  47. Le Coq Monster says:

    I like both Le Cog and Ramsey, but oh yes, if Ramsey was like his name sake in GoT we`d have a right bastard in midfield ! 🙂

  49. tsgh says:

    Kimmich also got ahead of Benatia at the end of the season. He even started ahead of Benatia in the DfB final(Fa cup equivalent) on Saturday.

    I guess with Hummels joining Fc Hollywood from BVB in the summer, the rumour sites could only put 2 plus 2 together and get a fine rumour…

  50. tsgh says:

    Why is Morata so highly rated by Arsenal fans? He is Bendtner-esque at best. I will take Dybala over Morata every day of the week…

    His claim to fame is always scoring against his former club and La liga teams in the UCL…
    At that the rumoured £40m+ fee, I will take Berahini at £30m

  52. Merlin96 says:

    Hi good day to all.

    The only news I am interested is that Ozil and Alexis stay.

    The rest is irrelevant as Arsene Wenger pretty mentioned all the times that if you have 3 new players, it will stabilise the team and all the good works to nurture youngsters into senior squad will come to nought, their playing times severely limited.

    To spend 100-mil on new players, Wenger got to sell. Most interesting to watch the “for sale” after Euro2016.

    You know Wenger, he will snatch some “unknowns” uncovered after Euro2016.
    Serious businesses will be done after Euro2016.

    Maureen and ManUre?
    Look more like Jack and Jill went up the hill …. and will have a great fall!

  53. Obi says:

    Hello All:

    Rico if memory serves me right, Didn’t RVP and /or Cesc leave after they “modeled” the kit for the next season? TS you are on point this morning. Re Morata, I think Giroud is better than him right now, and I would not even pay 25M much less 50M. Bradster, I guess you actually watch AFC matches and not just MOTD highlights (lol). I suggested a while back that we should swap Walcott for Benteke and throwing 20-25M for Ighalo. With Giroud, Benteke and Ighalo plus another play-maker and a CB we will be on point for next season.

  54. Obi says:

    Maureen’s venom will not be for Wenger, that’s old news. Watch him with Conte (for taking his job) and Pep (specially Pep for who is the “special 1”). Richard Scudamore is just loving this, the best reality show on TV.

  58. tsgh says:

    Rico you know I don’t rate Morata?When he was about to leave RM we debated why I I thought Jesse was better than Morata.
    What I like about Morata is that he is a big game player; same as Bendtner was a big game player if he could be bothered… 😉

  59. tsgh says:

    Obi- Conte, Tuchel and Emre are the managers I currently rate the most in football…

    It will be interesting to see if Conte plays 3 at the back like he always does…
    Damn, Conte has left out Pirlo. I thought I would get to see pirlo for the last time in a tournament. I guess I will have to settle on Maschsio and Montolivo pulling the strings.

    The Azzuri missed Montolivo in Brazil…

  61. tsgh says:

    lol Rico, I wont mind as it will make you happy. 😉
    I don’t have a lot of favourites in the current Arsenal squad apart from Kosser, Ozil and OG12… 🙂

  64. tsgh says:

    In the dream world Pjanic will come in and boss our midfield but I bet AW will allow him to join Barca because of his purported £30m release clause

  65. Adam says:

    Hard to find a natural role for a player like Morata. As I remember at RM, he was quite skilful but always seemed a bit-part player. I haven’t seen much of him in Italy though. Wenger could try and convert him into a pure goalscorer I suppose, but I doubt he’s a 30-goal a season striker. Is Aubamayang completely out of the question then? Or is he Madrid bound?

  66. tsgh says:

    Who knows Adam; AW according to Klopp agreed a deal with Saint Ettienne for PEA before he left for BVB. But as per usual AW changed his mind and so the player joined BVB.All rumours who knows…

    I doubt AW will pay £25m more for him now though…

  67. Adam says:

    Thanks TS. He does give good options up front with his pace. BVB could get big money for him I would have thought.

  68. Obi says:

    TS I agree with you on Conte, he’s top notch. Ts what do you think about Pjanic vs Hamsik especially if Xhaka is a done deal) I have always rated Hamsik.

  70. Obi says:

    Rico, I have said it before, Sanchez is going no where. The guy wants to play all the time and no top manager/ club will do that except AW. The guys gets upset when he comes off in a friendly!!! If money was a priority to him he would’ve been at Liverpool.

  72. tsgh says:

    Obi- Hamsik is quite a player. He was very better under Rafa and when he was supplying Cavani…not sure if he is a striker or just a midfielder with an eye for goals…

  74. tsgh says:

    I prefer Pjanic personally; but he has been playing as a CDM in the pivot with over the last 2 or 3 seasons but with the natural DM Naingolan (spelling) playing further up in the Gattusso role so its difficult to compare..

  78. Obi says:

    TS, I have always thought a midfielder. About Pirlo he’s unbelievable, have seen him about 5x for NYCFC, and for $30 tickets you can’t go wrong – the dude is pure class even at this stage.

  81. allezkev says:

    6 year contract for Chiori Johnson, if true then that’s quite a long deal for such a young player…
    I have to say that I was quite impressed with what I saw of him in the recent game shown on TV vs ManCityYth…

  85. Obi says:

    TS re: Strootman for some reason every time I watch him I feel like he’s a tackle away from getting injured again – its been like 3 major injuries back to back to back. Sort of like JW. I love watching him play though, and for 15M euros that’s not bad.

  88. Micko says:

    Number 7’s……Vladimir Petrovic, years ahead of his time, put that in ya pipe and smoke it tsgh.

  93. Lee says:

    “With Arsenal I’ve been playing out wide, which is not me,” Wilshere told reporters. “I’m not a wide man. But Roy seems to have faith in me in the middle, so I’m happy with that.

    “I like to play anywhere in the middle. I played the holding role before and I really enjoy that. I was a bit higher up the pitch against Turkey and I enjoyed that.”

    He wants to remain fit for a season and earn his position or b) flit in and out of the Arsenal team and get a bumper pay rise in true Walcott style!

  94. Adam says:

    Rico, Brudder. Are Sky going nuts over the imminent return of that scumbag then? Imagine the fun the press are going to have with the Pep v The Pig rivalry.

  97. Adam says:

    It’s hard to avoid the feeling that Jack has been collecting about £5 million and massaging his already-mountainous ego since he last did anything meaningful for the club that pays his wages.
    Humility, it seems, is as unfashionable as literacy these days.

  98. rico says:

    Certainly is. A couple of appearances all season and he’s knocking the manager, he could be the next out the door if he’s not careful…

  101. tsgh says:

    When did JW last play on the wings? A proper ‘fibber’ he is… time to sell imho…
    JW is forgetting that following his best ever performance for Arsenal in the uCL against Barca, Pep dismissed him as ‘not being special as there were better players at La Massa’

    Good morning Rico and all…

  104. Adam says:

    Sobering figures there Brudder.
    When was the last time he was played wide?
    Oops, just read your comment TS. I was thinking the same thing. 🙂

  106. tsgh says:

    AW omits TR07 who imho deserved a farewell appearance so that JW can get a game through the middle (I must add) and he goes of shooting his mouth to the press… lol

  112. tsgh says:

    Morning Adam. I guess JW having a good tournament can only be good for us i.e England… but maybe not Arsenal.
    JW and the media will expect JW to walk back into the starting XI even if undeserved.
    Mk’taryan is another player AW lamented over all because he failed to match Shakter’s asking prize. He then enviously complains Klopp paid too much for him.. lol

  113. bradster says:

    Morning all,

    I was one of those guys wanting him to leave with Diaby.
    He will always be injured if he wants to play in the middle, that’s where most impact tackles (fouls in his case) will occur.
    He may be less injured playing deeper and been the player putting in the tackles rather than the receiver.I see him developing into the role Cazrola/ Pirlo plays.

    We’re the feeder club for Barca so let’s hope he stays fit in the Euro’s and they come knocking.

  114. rico says:

    Morning Brad.

    City might offer more though if Pep wants him… 😉

    Can’t see him staying out of trouble in the city of Barcelona, there’s too much going on… lol

  115. bradster says:

    I’d prefer him in another country because the boy is a gifted footballer. Just in case someone figures out a cure like Wenger did with RVP.

  118. tsgh says:

    Rico- Peps first signing will be Gundogan (unless city/insurers decide not to allow the deal through due to his injury ) so JW will probably go back to his boyhood club West Ham

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