Daily Bits and Bobs

The greatest player Arsene Wenger never signed, but I bet he would have….

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

I think it’s fair to say that Dennis Bergkamp is the best player Arsenal have ever had at the club. The ‘Milan flop’ as he was referred to back in the mid nineties, became a fans favourite and not just the Arsenal ones. His vision, intelligence, movement and footballing brain was out there in a world of it’s own. He was simply brilliant, yet he’s one player Arsene Wenger can’t take credit for, well, not for bring to the club that’s for sure. That was down to David Dein and the then manager Bruce Rioch. Some of you might argue that Thierry Henry was better and that’s fine.

But the funny thing is, had Bergkamp not been at Arsenal when Arsene Wenger arrived, he was the exact kind of player he did sign. Not talent wise, but someone who was clearly a classy footballer but who was struggling to get the best out of himself at the club he was playing for.

We’ve seen some top top quality players come and go over the years and we’ve been lucky to witness them wearing the red and white of our famous club. We’ve seen some duffers too, plenty of them but I’m in a positive mood today, so I’ll focus on the good and great who have arrived over the last twenty years.

The first ten years of Arsene Wenger’s reign was the best, certainly the most successful. We even managed a Champions League Cup Final but Lady Luck wasn’t on our side and that night, she was dressed in black and blew her whistle for fun and dished out a red card which was dubious to say the least. Not for the first time I hasten to add, especially when it looked like we might get the better of UEFA’s love team, Barcelona… I digress.

Arsene’s first summer transfer window was busy. He sent Paul Merson packing to Boro which was a bit of a surprise and in came Marc Overmars, Nicolas Anelka, Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Vieira and a few others, but those turned out to be the standout players imo. The following summer was quiet with just two signings, neither of which made any kind of impact.

Fredrik Ljungberg, Nwankwo Kanu and a few more ‘flops’ followed the summer after and they loved life at the club and we the fans loved them. 1999 and another ‘flop’ who was shipped over from Italy signed up and together with Ralph Lauren, Thierry Henry set the world alight in some fashion. A dream kind of signing these days.

Next in the year after was Edu and Robert Pires. Super players but sadly can’t say the same of the rest who made the move to Arsenal that summer. Twelve months later, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and Kolo Toure made the move to north London, two more players who did rather well for their new club as did Big Sol Campbell who we nicked off the neighbours for free. I bet that hurt!

Gilberto Silva joined us in 2002 and then the following year, Arsene Wenger went big. Not so much in monetary terms but in players. Or that’s how they turned out. Cesc Fabregas, Jens Lehmann, Gael Clichy, Jose Reyes and Robin van Persie all became Arsenal players as did a few others but I’ll forget those….

If that summer/January was a busy one, the following was equally as busy. Tomas Rosicky, Mart Poom, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor, Vassiriki Diaby, Aleksandr Hleb, Armand Traore, Vito Mannone and Nicklas Bendtner – not all who really excelled for one reason or another.

Then we said goodbye to Highbury and hello to The Emirates…..

Eduardo was the pick of the first transfer window after the move, Gallas arrived too but at the expense of losing Ashley Cole. A terrible deal, possibly the worst the club made during Arsene Wenger’s tenure but I’m not sure if he can be blamed for that one.

Ramsey, Sagna, Nasri and Diarra were a few of the next summer signings but the latter didn’t last long which again was a shame as we could have done with him staying put back then. Then we saw a few odd players join the club, Sylvestre, Bischoff and then Arshavin the following January. Thomas Vermaelen arrived the following summer and Big Sol returned too before Laurent Koscielny arrived a few months later from France. Chamakh breezed in for free then too.

Panic set in after an 8-2 thrashing at Old Trafford – Carl Jenkinson, Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined us early in the summer and then on the final days of the transfer window, Joel Campbell, Park Chu-Young, André Santos, Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker all became Arsenal players.

Another stupid and unforgivable sale was that of Robin van Persie to Man Utd but the club tried to placate the fans by signing Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal. Not bad but could have been better.

If one panic was bad enough, another came soon after. Mesut Ozil, a signing which I’ll never be convinced was planned. Not that I knocked it at the time although he could have done with being joined by a quality striker. No, we got Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini for free. The following year saw another big spend with Mathieu Debuchy,
Alexis Sánchez, David Ospina, Calum Chambers, Danny Welbeck, Krystian Bielik and Gabriel Paulista all arriving at the club. Petr Cech made the move across London the following summer before Gabriel joined us the following January.

Finally, Granit Xhaka, Takuma Asano, Rob Holding, Lucas Pérez, Shkodran Mustafi and young unknown Cohen Bramall who is tipped to be in the same mould as Ashley Cole were the last to arrive at the club..

Now it’s 2017, the transfer window is soon to open and rumours are flying around everywhere, just as Ivan and Arsene have been doing and someone has spotted them in France together. I can’t imagine for one minute that the two have taken a short break together for pleasure so we can only assume that they are there for business.

Will it be for Kylian Mbappe, Alexandre Lacazette, Thomas Lemar, some other French player or are they just trying to hunt down Yaya Sanogo? I jest of course as he’s gone…..

But I wonder what kind of summer we can expect from the club. Signings which show intent and ambition or a few cheap ones which we hope and pray will turn out to be the real deal?

PS. If you want to see and/or count the duffers we’ve signed under Arsene Wenger, there’s a long long list HERE. Enjoy!

rico

39 thoughts on “The greatest player Arsene Wenger never signed, but I bet he would have….”

  3. bumba11 says:

    Afternoon, and a good read as per usual.

    So, we have finally secured the signature. I have never seen him play but from the grapevine he sounds like he likes to get forward and will get stuck in. The Bosnian Hulk and the Tank are nicknames i have seen.

    So, does this pave the way for Gibbs to go…!?

  7. allezkev says:

    Yep GG, I drive a taxi in London, Adam will confirm how exciting it is to be in the back when I’m at the wheel.

    At the end of one particular the journey along the M4 he said it was an experience that made him feel alive.

    Well I think that’s what he said,
    although it seemed that the blood had drained from his face at the time and he looked as if he’d aged… ?

  9. allezkev says:

    That was a nice walk down transfer memory lane Rico, thanks for that.

    Seems that Gibbs is set to join Newcastle for a reported £15m.
    I think he’ll do ok up there as the Geordies like attacking players and a regular game should see him improve. He needs a change of scenery as well.
    At least Isaac Hayden will make him feel at home, good luck to him.
    Never set the world alight for us, but a steady player who didn’t cause any problems.

    I’d give Monreal a new long contract and play him as one of a back three as often as possible.
    Intelligent player who rarely gets injured and who rarely has a bad game.
    There’s no need to play Koscielny endlessly with Monreal available, Wenger can protect Kozzer, rotate and keep all our centre-backs match-fit and healthy.

    Reminds me of Peter Simpson, steady, reliable and a great team man.
    Kolasavic or whatever had better hit the ground running as Monreal will take some shifting from left-back.

  10. rico says:

    I took me most of the night Kev… 😉

    Wonder where Sead will play though, as he can play anywhere in defence apparently, including CDM…

  11. Obi says:

    Morning All:

    This is a very good post.
    When we look at the transfer activities one thing that is glaring is that in the later years we haven’t gotten that exceptional quality striker, and there in lies the problem. Also I think that if all the players would’ve stayed healthy, especially Sonogo – I digress, things would’ve been a lot different.

    I was wondering the other day, how different would’ve have been if AW had won 7 EPL titles and 3 FA cups, rather thanbtge other way around.

  12. Bondex says:

    Great post Rico…. No bigger statement this season imo than getting mbape this summer. Signing him would change everything. Sead looks good but I won’t rate him yet till he plays in red and white.

  13. Alex says:

    Good afternoon Rico

    Monreal is on decline and that Gibbs is just a sick note .I hope this Gibbs leave somewhere but i doubt.He definetly is happy to sit in the bench and enjoy a good salary.

    Would love to see more clearance and completely get rid off :

    Wally 7M
    Ramsey 7M
    Gibbs 2.5
    Elneni 5M
    Coq 5M
    Gabriel 5M
    With immediate effect.

    To clear at some stage
    Wellbeck
    Ox
    Santi

  14. frednerk says:

    Afternoon Rico and All.

    Amazing how time flies when you read back on them players.

    Sorry to disagree Rico.

    Dennis changed the way we played.
    But for me the player that changed The Arsenal was Paddy
    as much as I love Dennis,I thought Paddy was 3 players
    rolled into one…….Captain fantastic.

    Man U always dreamed of luring him,even now with
    the signing of Pogba,I get the feeling the mancs are
    hoping he could be the new Paddy.

    If true…MyPuppy could be the signing to heal the
    departure of Sanchez/Ozil..
    Statement signing if it comes off.

  15. Le Coq Monster says:

    Out of Alex`s disposables……..only Theo and Gibbs, I`d keep the rest !………..we talk about Perez and wonder what he`s done wrong, but Elneni has`nt done much wrong either and Gabriel was starting to look good until the injury……..Ramsey is class imo and Ox is always in my team……………..Welbs causes problems with workrate and pace although couldn`t hit a barndoor with a…..anything !…………………………..Oh Santi Cazorlaaaaa, says it all !………………………..and Coq cant go otherwise I will have to change my name !…………………….as for Obi and his Sanogo !……………he`s either on drugs or needs them badly ! hahaha

  19. Canadian Gooner says:

    Good Evening to The Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence.

    Rico – A nice trip down Memory Lane. I had forgotten one or two of those you mentioned.

    A few years ago, when Rafa Benitez was still in charge of the Bin DIppers; one of the papers did a comparison of the hits and misses in player transfers for Arsene, Rafa and Sir Anal Fergusmoan. They all had their share of both, but when transfer fees were factored in, Arsene off lightly with the other two wasting far more money.

    As for Kolasinac, he seems to be very capable of playing at left wing-back. Apparently he has a good burst of speed, dribbles well and can hold onto the ball. I’m looking forward to seeing him in action

  20. Obi says:

    LC, I almost got on drugs because of AW…lol.

    Sead will do well especially with 3 at the back because he tracks back, and will be automatically our best crosser of the ball.

    It was interesting to see that Sanchez didn’t even make the bench when Chile played Burkina in Chile on Friday…… about time he rested.

  21. Le Coq Monster says:

    Hahaha Obi…………….it`s a well known fact that Arsene is responsible for half the drug taking in North London…………………….the other half also take drugs because they have to live in Tottenham !

  22. rico says:

    Evening guys, thanks Obi. Agree re the striker, we’ve never really replaced RVP have we, not quality wise. Alexis isn’t doing badly though… lol

  25. Obi says:

    Just for those who may be doubting the quality of AW new boy.

    BeinSports on Arsenal new boy Sead Kolasinac:
    “the Bosnian attracted interest from top clubs in the Premier League and across Europe and was the subject of a failed bid from Chelsea in January. Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Juventus and AC Milan all made attempt to sign him”.

  26. allezkev says:

    GG, Rico is quite right, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead, Reading, Southend, you name it, I’ll go there, but my favourite destination is my front room…. ?

  27. rico says:

    Obi, I was reading Lg earlier, as so often it seems that just because he’s free, he’s going to be rubbish. I’ve not seen him play but having read about him, I reckon Arsene Wenger has bagged a cracking player.

    I really don’t get the view that players have to be mega expensive in order to be very good. In certain cases yes, money will get the best but not always does spending vast amounts guarantee success.

    Where Arsene Wenger should have been different imo is was not hanging onto some of the players he signed on the cheap hoping they’ll one day come good….

  28. rico says:

    Many a headline this morning suggest that Bellerin is heading back to Barcelona and personal terms have been agreed…

  30. Le Coq Monster says:

    Morning all

    When Alexis and Ozil become free agents next year I dont think the fans of big clubs will think they are not top quality because they didn`t cost a fortune ! 🙂

    Bellerin just signed a new long contract, so if Arsene is not going to sell the above two with a year left on their contracts he wont sell Bellerin, but if he did then surely Ox will take over the right wing back position as it was his untill recently !.

    Glorious sunshine for the morning !

  31. Le Coq Monster says:

    I read somewhere yesterday that Bellerin`s family have moved back to Barcalona and this has unsettled him a bit !…………………Messi, Neymar or Suarez as part-exchange will be good business !

  34. rico says:

    I reckon this transfer window is going to be a big one for many clubs. It’s not often do we see such early deals being done, or offers made.

    Utd have had a £52m offer for Morata turned down. Good!

  35. Le Coq Monster says:

    With hindsight it would have been good to have bought some players last year at last years extortionate prices as this TW them prices are going to seem almost bargain like !

  36. potter says:

    Penny wise pound foolish.The club never counted on the fans revolt and would have just tickled on in their own happy way. This time however as the proverbial sprays round the room they know they have to react and their parsimonious ways have caught up with them.

  37. rico says:

    Or the summer when only Petr Cech was signed, that was possibly the best time. We may have won the league the season Leicester did then…

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