Arsenal make signing, Cech is about to sign, Higuain is on offer, we’ll buy no one.

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By Tony Attwood
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“Arsenal have reportedly agreed a deal with Lens for striking starlet Yassin Fortune.”

OK so it is reportedly which means when translated someone made it up and everyone else (like me I suppose) is copying it.  Although the source does appear to be France Football which tends to get these things more right than wrong.

So he’s…. well 16 and is costing around £3m which according to invented commentaries already doing the rounds, is too much.  Man U said no.  Allegedly.  Anyway, he will play for two years as a scholar and then move onto being a professional, which is what English law now dictates.  He will presumably start with the under 18s.

He comes from Paris, has played for France under 16s, and scored five goals in 10 games as either a forward or attacking midfielder, and in July 2012 signed for Lens.

Now according to the history-denying Telegraph, Mr Wenger has warned fans not to expect another signing along the lines of Ozil and Alexis, but reading the transcript it doesn’t seem he said much like that at all.  And “expectation” isn’t really a word to use in this context because I don’t think anyone expected us to buy either of them at the time.

But the Metro says we have just agreed the deal with Petr Cech.  If that’s right I’ll be referring back to this article for the next three months, as a sign of how insightful Untold is by picking this one out.  If not, I’ll never mention it again.

The source of the story seems to be the “Secret Footballer” – the guy who has written a couple of moderately interesting books about what it is really like to be a footballer, without revealing his identity.  Certainly worth a poke through on the beach in June.

Anyway, you may remember Gonzalo Higuain – one of Untold’s biggest cock ups in that we (OK I) said we were signing him when it was all a phantom.  He’s back on the agenda and Arsenal have “made an offer”, a phrase which is followed by “according to reports,” a phrase which ought to be followed by “made up by a 13 year old sitting in his bedroom and with nothing better to do”.

But now we have the reason why he is moving.   He is “frustrated with life in Italy.”   And that is interesting.  Quite often I find I am frustrated with life in Northamptonshire, but even so I am not sure that is reason to move.  Mind you, I’d be frustrated with life anywhere where I was not regarded as the greatest writer of the age.  Which means I am constantly frustrated.

But enough of me.  Why Gonzalo is frustrated we are not told.

So here’s another.  Szczesny is going to Southampton on loan next season.  (The Metro).

Moving on, one of the ways of putting down Arsenal that has emerged in the second half of the season is to suggest that Coquelin and Bellerin are good, but not good enough.

EPL Index has done this in an article saying

Coquelin is a classic destroyer.  He is one of the best pure ball winners in the Premier League.  Five to ten years ago that may have been fine to have, but the position has evolved since then.  The defensive midfielders don’t need to be playmakers creating chances, but they do need to be able to help dictate the game and move defences side to side.

I’m not going to argue if this is true or not, but I quote it as it is a pure example of that latest technique which says, yes, ok, they are good, but there are better players out there, so we should go and buy those and forget the one we have, and if we don’t then Wenger is a turnip.  (Or some other vegetable).

This of course is music to the ears of the aaa but it is limited, because as always with such arguments they reflect players as they are now, not as they can be in years to come.  Anyone who saw Francis in the mauling by Man U some years back will have said he wasn’t up to it.  But as a predictor of what he would become that was not very accurate.   So why suddenly has his development stopped now.

Thus if instead of saying, “this is how he is and that’s that” we said, “look at the journey he has made in the past couple of years, and consider what might happen if he made another 10% progress” we’d actually reach the conclusion that we absolutely don’t need anyone else.

As with all predictions, it depends on the basic premises.

And in many regards that is the heart of the constant problem with football commentary. It is all about NOW, not about what has happened and how it might continue by way of development.  Still, I suppose that is a bit of a tricky concept for some to get hold of.

And of course there is the issue of money.  As Mr Wenger said, “The appreciation today of the quality of a player is just down with the money you spend. If we had bought Coquelin at Christmas for £40 million, everyone would say ‘What a signing’. I am sorry he didn’t cost any money, he is still a good player.”

The logical conclusion of the EPL Index approach is that one might as well not have an academy at all, and just buy players.  It is a model, although not one I feel at all comfortable with, any more than I feel comfortable with the notion that was published in the comments recently that it doesn’t matter where a club’s money comes from.  A rich donor or gate income it is irrelevant, says the argument.  Go for as much as you can get.

It’s a view, but not one that I personally like.  And indeed, as we have known throughout his time at Arsenal, it is not one that Mr Wenger likes either, for speaking of the retreat of Uefa from FFP he said,

“I could see it coming: resistance in France and many countries, in Italy for example, where people want to sell their clubs. If Milan is for sale, Roma is for sale, people who want to invest money want to make sure they can do what they want with their own money.

“And Uefa might be under threat as well. All these people once they go together say, ‘Look, we are a force, let us do what we want or we move away.’ That is certainly the fear.

“I have no problem to lose the battle. I just fought for what looks to me to be logical: that any business, to have continuity, should live with the resources that it creates.”

Well now, Uefa under threat.  Now that is a thought.

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One from the anniversary files (the rest are on the home page)

20 May 1993: Arsenal 2 Sheffield W 1 (FA Cup final replay).  This was the third and final game against Sheff W at Wembley, and the 17th and last cup match of the Cup Double Season as Arsenal became the first ever team to win the League Cup and FA Cup in the same season.   When Linighan scored Jonathan Pearce commentating, “The boy from Hartlepool is in the big pool of London football, and he’s become the biggest fish of them all.”

And there’s Twitter too: @UntoldArsenal

16 Replies to “Arsenal make signing, Cech is about to sign, Higuain is on offer, we’ll buy no one.”

  1. Ask what magic he wants to perform with those deadwoods in his squad; Gibbs, Diaby, Flamini, Arteta, Podolski. He needs to learn the dynamism of modern game, ditto Mourinho pragmatism.

  2. Sorry if i misunderstood, but are you saying that there may just be something in these Cech rumours? Usually through much shifting of all of the completely fabricated stories and shyte, you can see one or two which may actually have a bit of substance to them – is Cech one of these?

  3. “he needs to learn the dynamism of the modern game” – So im guessing you could teach one of most successful managers in premier league history then, aye? Because by the sounds of it you clearly know a lot more about it than he does.

  4. Not that anyone would believe that tripe about Le Coq just being a destroyer (although nearly everybody said that’s what we wanted but now not enough) watch this video and it is apparent that he is anything but just a destroyer, some of the flicks, through balls, 30 yard passes are the other side of his game. http://youtu.be/mQ6LjKTFQ54
    Then think how mobile he is compared to Scneiderlin.

  5. Omonaija, who put that word, deadwoods in your head? And if those names you mentioned are deadwood, what does that make you as a person? Perhaps you need to learn the dynamism of modern life and move yourself to stamford bridge.

  6. Gibbs is not a dead wood but a living being and active an Gunner at Arsenal. However, I wouldn’t mind if the Boss will signing the red head dyed Danny Rose, to block the leakages at Arsenal left back position. Is Rose saying he is ready to go Arsenal or Man Utd by dyeing his head red? But for his cruelsome tackle on Walcott and Spurs likely refusal to sell him at correct price to Arsenal, I would have liked the Boss to bring him to Arsenal left back position to give appropriate competition to defensive suspect – Monreal and injury prone – Gibbs. That Rose has timber and caliber left back defensive quality worthy of manning the Arsenal somehow porous left back position in next season campaign. Let’s not forget that he often score some goals too.

  7. Gibbs is not a dead wood but a living being and an active Gunner at Arsenal. However, I wouldn’t mind if the Boss will sign the dyed red head Danny Rose, to block the leakages at Arsenal left back position next season. Is Rose saying he is ready to go Arsenal or Man Utd by dyeing his head red? But for his cruelsome tackle on Walcott and the likely Spurs refusal to sell him at correct price to Arsenal, I would have liked the Boss to bring him to Arsenal left back position to give appropriate competition to defensive suspect – Monreal and injury prone – Gibbs. That Rose has timber and caliber left back defensive quality. Worthy of manning the Arsenal somehow porous left back position in next season campaign. Let’s not forget that he often score some goals too. Would Arsenal need a tackling brute that can send fears into the minds of attackers, I mean a Paddy McNair? Arsenal have not had one since the days of Patrick Viera. Let the Gunners have one next season. Is will be part of a correct effort to win the BPL.

  8. @ Cyrano, your name has a nice ring to it, so does your post in response to “deadwoods and pragmatism”. I wonder why life has to always be an eternal comparison for some. Wenger will forever live in the shadows of a certain man from Portugal, in some people’s book. Meanwhile, in reality, it is the other way round.

    Who wants to have on their credential that they went unbeaten in the EPL more than Mourinho, or wants to stay on the job in the same club for this long regardless of the usual benchmark of trophies? Nobody has it all, and people will soon come to realise that such comparison is unwise and out of context.

  9. It may be that Higuain is eager to leave Italy before the shit hits the fans again in their corruption investigation. The cyclic foul stench is wafting back again . The end is nigh , I think .
    What’s that you say ?
    Not till the Old Lady sings ?

  10. I cannot see if Petr Cech is/would be a good buy for us. If Chel$ are replacing him, i really do not see that we will buy him, especially as he is leaving to guarantee playing time but he will not get that guarantee with us either. DeGea woud be a far better option if Arsenal could lure him here, but everyone seems sure he’s going to RM anyway.

    I fear Coquelin has been overused this season. This we can see in some of the performances from him. Not that he played bad, no, just one notices his tiredness both mental and physical. We have to be carefull we do not destroy him.

    Repeating an AW quote concerning FFP:
    “I just fought for what looks to me to be logical: that any business, to have continuity, should live with the resources that it creates.”

    Now this makes sense to my alien 🙂 brain, not because it comes from AW, but because it makes sense.

    May we see all those who do not follow this rule crush and bun(burn).

    On top of all that i still feel our team is not even playing to it’s full potential yet, and i really hope that they enjoy their hols, don’t put on weight and return all ready to take the PL apart, who ever joins and who ever leaves.

  11. Thanks Stan, I saw that statement and it made my brain jam. Smelt all over of journalese and thoughtlessness. I often consider what will become of dominant clubs in the coming years, and like Tony mentions frequently, I remember Leeds Utd. Who by the way just appointed another manager– the 5th in a year. We’ll see where our clubs will be in say 10/20 years time, but I prefer Wenger’s brand of bricklaying/engine building. And no, I would not like to see Petr Cech in the red and white, or even biting nails on the Arsenal beach.

  12. On what I have seen of Higuain, if we do sign him, I hope he takes time to acquaint himselves with offside rules

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