The club have funds available following the departures of Toure for around £16million and striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who also signed for Manchester City, for £25million.

However the Frenchman insists Arsenal are still good enough to compete, even if they don’t spend any money. Speaking after a 1-0 friendly win against German club Hannover, Wenger said: “I feel we are strong enough but if we can add then we will do it,”

“In England people think that all the problems can be sorted out by buying players.

“I believe the biggest target is to work hard in training, improve what we can improve and have confidence in the players that we have.

“If we need to add then we will. We have money available so for us it is now [important] to spend it in the right way when we do it or if we do it.”

Wenger’s attitude is in stark contrast to that of many of his rival managers, who have spent millions in recent years, with varying degrees of success. The Arsenal boss clearly feels that the foundations are in place at the club and a fine youth team will ensure his side continue to challenge for major honours for years to come.

Despite this confidence, it seems unlikely that Arsenal will start the season without at least one more new face and according to The Sun, that new face may be an all too familiar one. Former captain Patrick Vieira has been widely linked with a move back to the Premier League this summer and The Sun reports that Arsene Wenger could be the man to finally sign him, following supposed interest from Fulham, Birmingham and fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Vieira is out of favour at Inter Milan and could be signed on a similar deal to the one that took Michael Owen to Manchester United. Speaking on TalkSport, former Gunners striker Ian Wright said: “I’m hearing Vieira, pay-as-you-play back at Arsenal. That’s what I’m hearing, and that’s what I’m hoping.”

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Wenger Refuses To Panic Buy

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Wenger Refuses To Panic Buy

Arsenal lacked some depth in central midfield this season with Denilson and Alexander Song playing a larger part than was expected of them at the start of the season. Many quarters of the Arsenal faithful believe the central defence and central midfield are the key areas that need strengthening if they are to challenge for the Premier League crown again.

With the signing of Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax, the central defence has been bolstered and now it looks like Wenger is looking to bolster another key area. With Cesc Fabregas, Denilson and Alexander Song, Arsenal’s central midfield certainly have youth on their side and it is thought they lacked a little experience throughout the season.

Felipe Melo is a 25 year old Brazilian holding midfielder and has been Gilberto Silva’s sidekick throughout the Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa. The 32 year old former Arsenal midfielder has been very impressed with Melo and believes ‘he is exactly what they need – a powerful player with quality’.

Felipe Melo has a reputation for being a fiery midfielder and that may be what Arsenal lacked all season, a player with a bit of bite and full of tenacity. However, in his first season in Serie A his fiery temper resulted in him receiving 17 yellow cards and 3 red cards in his first season. I’m sure if Arsene Wenger were to sign Melo he would be able to channel his temper in the right fashion as he did with a certain Patrick Vieira when his disciplinary record spiralled out of control.

Arsenal may be in a race with European Champions Barcelona to sign Melo which may be a stumbling block for Wenger. He also may come with a high price tag around the £15million mark. His chances of breaking the first team at Barcelona may be slim though with Yaya Toure, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi all playing at the top of their game.

Hopefully Gilberto’s praise for Arsenal and recommendation as a club to develop his career may tempt the Brazilian to look for a move to the Premier League and help Arsenal challenge on all fronts come next season. Maybe the Premier League odds will move around a bit if he does make the move!

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Gilberto Silva urges Felipe Melo to consider Arsenal

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Gilberto Silva urges Felipe Melo to consider Arsenal

Arsenal fans believe a defender has been the main missing link this season as the defence was exposed time and time again. These continued exposures led to a disappointing finale and another trophy-less campaign.

The 23 year old former Ajax captain made his debut for the Dutch outfit aged just 18. He has valuable UEFA Cup and Champions League experience which includes two games against the Arsenal in the 2005/06 Champions League Group stages. He is a regular in the Belgium national side and has 21 caps to his name already.

Naturally a centre half, he is left footed and can double up as a left back which gives Arsene more options across the back line next season. Arsenal’s backline was stretched slightly last season with Kieran Gibbs filling in at left back and Mikael Silvestre probably playing more of a part than Arsene Wenger intended when he signed him from Manchester United last summer.

Transfer windows past have seen Arsenal sign players but in turn release key players. However, so far this summer Bakary Sagna, Gael Clichy and Cesc Fabregas have denied links to other European Clubs. We may see a summer where the squad is added to and strengthened rather than being depleted and weakened by the release of key players.

With Wenger’s apparent desire to dip into some transfer funds this summer it could be an exciting few weeks for all Arsenal fans as more players are linked to the club.

What area would you like strengthened next and what new players would you like to see help Arsenal upset the football odds and challenge more competitively for the Premier League next season?

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Vermaelen signs and no-one’s gone yet!

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Vermaelen signs and no-one’s gone yet!

Apparently Alex Ferguson has made sure with the Manchester United
hierarchy that if he agreed to sell ‘CR7’ then he would see all the
transfer money to use back into the playing squad. There were rumours
the Glazer’s may use the money to help re-pay some of the massive loan
they took out to purchase the club back in 2005, but Ferguson has been
informed the money will be his to spend this summer.

So with Ferguson possibly having another £80 million to add to
whatever he already had it could lure some of the world’s elite
players to Old Trafford. Potential transfer targets being touted to be
approached with the Ronaldo money include Franck Ribery, Karim
Benzema, Carlos Tevez, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Sergio Aguero and Antonio
Valencia.

With such a large transfer kitty to play with I wouldn’t be at all
surprised if Ferguson signed a few of these players to further
increase his squad depth. With the loss of Ronaldo the quality of the
first team eleven may not be as high but in terms of squad depth it
could improve massively. Manchester United have a habit in the past of
selling some of their greatest players, most notably David Beckham and
Ruud van Nistelrooy but have arguably come back stronger from losing
such big players. Will they be able to come back and improve with the
loss of Ronaldo? Speaking for every Arsenal fan I hope it is a major
blow to the Premier League champions.

With many Arsenal fans demanding money to be spent on the current
playing squad at The Emirates it could be a summer of ‘if only’ whilst
watching Manchester spend their millions on some of Europe’s elite
players.

It has never been Arsene Wenger’s policy to sign players at their peak
for high transfer fees but to sign players with potential and nurture
them into great players for Arsenal. If Arsenal did have £80 million
to spend would you like to see them approach a Ribery or Benzema this
summer or would you like Wenger to stick to his guns and nurture
talent in his own unique way?

What are your thoughts on the biggest transfer in football
history and the effect it is going to have on Arsenal.

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Manchester United’s transfer funds to increase by £80 million, cause for concern for Arsenal?

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Manchester United’s transfer funds to increase by £80 million, cause for concern for Arsenal?

Arsene Wenger added to his squad last summer and during the January transfer window. However, with many experienced players leaving last summer, were his signings good enough to replace and continue in their challenge for the Premiership title?

I’m taking a moment to look back on whether Arsene Wenger’s 2008/09 signings had a positive impact on their season.

Wenger demonstrated some shrewd business in signing Mikael Silvestre for under £1million, but it was obvious during the season why Manchester United released him so cheaply. Wenger needed cover at the back and in Silvestre he had cover at centre half and left back. However, he wasn’t as solid or reliable as he had been for Manchester United over the years.

We all know Wenger thrives on signing youth players and shaping them into world class players. The whole of English football took note when Cardiff were fielding a teenager in Aaron Ramsey who was turning in performances expected of players far his senior. Wenger managed to snap him up for roughly £5million in front of a whole host of clubs interested including Manchester United and Everton. He didn’t quite live up to expectations this year but Wenger has urged fans to be patient with his progress and hopefully this will bear fruit in the coming seasons.

Arsene Wenger’s best piece of business last summer has to be Samir Nasri. The ‘next Zidane’ as he had been labelled by his previous employers, came with a high reputation although he was still only 21. He made an immediate impact with a goal on his debut against West Bromwich Albion and with two goals against Manchester United in November; he was an instant hit with the Arsenal faithful. With a season under his belt he should come back even stronger next time.

A slight gamble by Wenger was to sign Amaury Bischoff from Werder Bremen. The youngster hasn’t really impacted the first team at all this season but is still viewed as ‘one for the future’. He made four substitute appearances for the first team this season and looked solid without being spectacular. The jury is still out on this signing, but time will tell.

Arsene Wenger’s January transfer needs no introduction. Andrei Arshavin finally signed for the Gunners a day after the transfer window had shut. The free scoring midfielder/striker went on a rampage against Liverpool and bagged four goals in an amazing encounter. He also created as many goals as he scored and we all hope that this continues throughout his Arsenal career.

The former Zenit St. Petersburg striker will be an influential member of the first team next season and will hopefully continue where he left off.

Arsene Wenger has always been reluctant to sign the ‘big players’ but with the signing of Arshavin it may have proved to him that it can work. With a couple of similar signings this summer Arsenal may be a top dog in the Premiership again next season.

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Wenger’s signings last season, success or failures?

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Wenger’s signings last season, success or failures?

Speculation mounts around Adebayor once more

Adebayor, bizarrely referring to himself several times in the third person in the video, comes across as having at least a bit of a chip on his shoulder throughout and bemoans press coverage, fans and the fact that no-one sings his song anymore.

At the end he does make a somewhat valid point about the effect of fans booing the team but overall seems despondent about the club and indifferent to winning back the affections of the fans and Adebayor continues to declaim any responsibility for the main thing that lead to this attitude from the fans, the events of last summer.

Really though, this is a man who should have been doing his talking on the pitch. It cannot be denied that he has had a bad season and if he had been putting more percievable effort into his performances and/or scoring more frequently then he surely would have won back the backing of some, if not all of his detractors.

His relationship with the fans however, may soon become a moot point as there is increasingly strong speculation linking him with a move away from the club in the summer, with the Milan clubs said to be interested along with Chelsea.

Meanwhile, there has been strong speculation surrounding Wenger’s position in the wake of a heated exchange with fans at a shareholder’s metting at the the Emirates. More on that in my next post.

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Fans didn’t force Ade out but they might yet Wenger

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Fans didn’t force Ade out but they might yet Wenger

Viginti tres

Morning Gooners, I’d been holding out on posting this one as the saga dragged on, and on and on and….yeah anyway.

Yesterday evening it was finally officially announced that Arsenal have secured the transfer of Russian winger Andrei Arshavin.

As happy as I am that Arshavin has signed for Arsenal, I’m going to keep this post relatively short because my boiler has packed up, and if I’m writing this then my hands are not in my pockets or in front of the portable electric heater and are cold!

The transfer went right to the wire, apparently Zenit and Arsenal finished the documentation of the deal only minutes before the transfer window deadline shut. Their were also reports that Zenit spent most of the day ringing round other Premier League clubs, trying to find a buyer who would pay more than Arsenal. Cheeky blighters.

Arshavin looks unlikely to feature in this weekend’s London derby with Spurs, the winger is lacking match fitness as the Russian season wisely does not run in the winter months.

I’m aware that I failed to post after the 1-1 draw with Everton or the 0-0 draw with West Ham. They were really boring games and I didn’t have much to say. Let’s hope for a few Arsenal goals at Tottenham this weekend!

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Arshavin signs for Arsenal

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Arshavin signs for Arsenal

Andrei Arshavin

Their is a report this morning that Zenit St Petersburg have finally accepted Arsenal’s improved £15 offer for Andrei Arshavin and Arsenal hope to complete the transfer of the 27 year old Russian winger within 48 hours.

I haven’t seen any quotes from Arsenal or Zenit surface yet so it is only the Daily Mail’s word we can take on this one, but (hopefully, at least) Arshavin will soon be an Arsenal player and we will see a positive ending to the Andrei Arshavin saga that has dragged on for most of January.

In other news, Arsenal have been active in turning down a bid from Atletico Madrid for the services of Emmanuel Eboue, and Danish striker Niklas Bendtner has rejected a transfer to German club Hoffenheim.

Franjo Vranjkovic, Eboue’s agent, said:

“We received an official request from Atletico Madrid which was passed to Arsenal. I have the fax from director Ken Friar who wrote to me to say they are not interested in the offer. Then I received a call from Arsene Wenger, who invited me to go to England to start negotiations over a renewal.

I see no possibility that the player will leave Arsenal.”

Bendtner’s agent and Father,Thomas Bendtner, was quoted as saying :

“Hoffenheim have shown an interest. I know that, There are several clubs that call during the period when the transfer window is open. It’s always like that and we are glad that there is interest for Nicklas, but a transfer is not going to happen at this stage.

Nicklas will stay at Arsenal.”

Niklas Bendtner

While both players are hardly favourites of most Arsenal fans, Bendtner has being showing improved performances as a substitute lately ( – and has been said to be frustrated by not starting matches), and Wenger clearly believes in the future potential of Eboue, having stuck behind him in the face of criticism from fans, and continued to play Eboue on the right in the absence of Walcott.

I’m not sure of Eboue’s short-term future in the Arsenal team if Arshavin arrives and currently injured players return to fitness; I can only see Eboue as a utility backup player and stand in for right back Sagna.

Well that’s just about it for today, let’s hope we see Arshavin sign on the dotted line very soon.

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Arsenal get their man? Bid for Arshavin accepted

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Arsenal get their man? Bid for Arshavin accepted

Andrei Arshavin

Over the last few days negotiations between Arsenal and Zenit St Petersburg over the sale of  Russian winger Andrei Arshavin appear to have reached something of a stalemate.

It has been widely reported that Arsenal have tabled an offer in the region of £12million for Arshavin, with Zenit holding out for a fee closer to the region of £15million – £20million.

This is what general director Maxim Mitrofanov had to say:

“The situation has not changed since Friday, which means Arsenal would like to pay only £12m, not one cent more, And we, at Zenit, are ready to discuss with them about maybe a better offer from our side.

We are ready to make a step forward to them, but they should do the same.

However, I have told the people from Arsenal we are ready to discuss a lot of things to make the situation easier for them.

They have a deadline, as I understand, until 26th January, because after that, they should have some time to get another player and I respect this position.”

It appears that neither Arsenal or Zenit are ready to budge from their valuation of the player. For me this is really an issue of perceived value. It is, of course very difficult to judge the true value of things and football players are certainly a shining example of this.

However, if Arsenal’s valuation of Arshavin is at a maximum monetary value to the club of  £12million, then they should not raise their offer. I’m not sure of Zenit’s position on the matter, but it does not appear to be as strong as they would hope it to be. Arshavin himself has stated his strong desire to come to Arsenal, and there are said to be no other clubs in the chase for his signing.

Furthermore, the remaining length of Arshavin’s contract and the clauses it contains means that if Zenit do not sell Arshavin in this window then the fee they are likely to recieve for the player at that later time is much lower than Arsenal’s current offer.

Here’s a rather lengthy but telling quote from Dennis Lachter, Arshavin’s agent.

“Unfortunately in this matter there is no movement, The sticking point is, of course, money and rather the totally unacceptable amount of Zenit’s demands for Andrei.

The position of the club remains unchanged and that is the reality that we have faced for a long time.

If the situation remains unchanged we will use Article 17 of the Fifa rules and buy out the contract of Andrei at the club, which could happen as early as November this year.

In that situation, Zenit would have to be satisfied with a much smaller amount than they are offered by representatives of Arsenal.

If Andrei becomes a free agent, he will get many proposals, from England, Italy and Spain.”

In the light of this, I think that Arsenal are right to stick to their guns with their offer of £12million, and only time will tell if Zenit or Arsenal budge from their positions and Arshavin becomes an Arsenal player.

What do you think? Is £12 million a good offer, or should Arsenal up their bid to seal the deal?

Let me know in the comments…

This post is from: Arsenal Online

The on-going Arshavin saga

This post is from: Arsenal Online

The on-going Arshavin saga

I had my say on the possibility of Senderos leaving Arsenal when the earlier reports that Newcastle were speaking to Senderos surfaced, and I think the same remains true now. However, Senderos is now further marginalised in his chances for a central defensive spot by the signing of Mikael Silvestre. Indeed Arsene Wenger said of the move;

“We have Djourou, we have Kolo, we have Senderos, we have Song, Gallas and Silvestre now who can play centre-back so we have a congestion there, we want him to play without losing him, (but) it has not been decided yet whether the transfer will be permanent.”

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Senderos is going to Milan on loan

This post is from: Arsenal Online

Senderos is going to Milan on loan