According to Sky Sports the defensive midfielder believes he is better off continuing his development in France as that gives him the best chance of playing at next year’s European Championship.
But maybe Arsène Wenger has other ideas. Jack Wilshere plus Yann M’Vila behind Aaron Ramsey.
M’Vila is a French international. Word now (except at Sky Sports) is that Rennes have allowed Mr Wenger to talk to him. Oh and he is talking to Sochaux’s attacking midfielder Marvin Martin.
Such buys would come as no surprise, given that Mr Wenger tends to buy French, and at around the price level being quoted here. Petit, Henry, Pires all fit this sort of purchasing mould. Vieira is the obvious odd man out as he only cost £3.5m. The purchase of Vieira today would be met by those highly knowledgeable bloggers who comment on such things with howls of derisive laughter.
M’Vila has played83 times for Rennes, and scored three, over three seasons; he is married with two sons. He previously played for Amiens SC and FC Mantes.
And here’s something to warm you (if you are of that sort of mind) – his father is Jean-Elvis M’Vila. I mean with a name like that, what more do you want.
His father was from the Republic of Congo, and is a metallurgist.
M’Vila has played for France at under 16 and higher levels all the way up to under 21. On 5 August 2010 he joined the senior squad under Laurent Blanc and got his first international cap, getting very positive reviews from the French press as a player of the future.
On 25 March 2011, M’Vila created a record completing 92.5% of his 134 attempted passes in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying win over Luxembourg.
And finally, one more player we may have forgotten: Coquelin. He has been playing in the under 20 world cup, and surely must be in line to help out in the defence.
As for Marvin Martin, come back shortly and I should have some more on that, but I have to go to work now.
Tony Attwood
I think most arsenal fans will be happy with these signings, if true. Our need for defensive reinforcements cannot be understated, however, especially with gibbs, traore and dj being injury prone and squilacci being, well, squilacci.
Frankly, i wasn’t entirely disappointed by the liverpool game considering the injuries. Just a thought: How come the only two players who trained with the first team squad(traore and benik) and played in the reserve game vs man u went off injured(I’m not counting mannone coz he’s a keeper). I think our medical staff needs to reconsider some of the training techniques.
We do suffer a huge amount of injuries!
I think CDM is well covered by Song, Frimpong.
I am not positive about the weekend at all. the Whole game I thought a draw would be a good result! First time in my life I have thought a draw at home in the league is a good result.
Welcome to the new Arsenal bunch of youngsters see you at top clubs in about 4 years
Yeah yeah but it won’t happen.
With all due respect Tony aren’t these just rumors from various journalists and media outlets? Or do you really think this will happen? If not should it be on Untold? Just asking.
Training style isn’t d problem. The problem is dis boys r young & in-experienced. How many times do u hear a CR7 injured or a messi & d likes, AW should go & sign quality players: period.
Hmmmmm… I rather Ramsy not play at all… wat all the hype about him is i’ve no idea… i watched him play in the pre-season and him play the two league games. i can count on one hand how many creative and positive things he did for the team…neither effective offensive end and useless in the defensive end,….
Arvind
Wenger will not buy – an injury list with 8 players, suspensions with 3 thats 11 players out, therefore read between the lines. Too many seasons with the same outcome and thats not about to change.
What odds M’Vila playing against United with Song and Frimpong being suspended ? It’ll do us good to have three DM, it gives Arsene the option to play with two and maintain possession to hang on to a lead. Then we just need someone creative like Hazard to solve our problems creating chances.
One point that you are forgetting is about ‘home grown’ rule. I think arsene will have to buy 1 or 2 players from england or whatever country counted as home.
I think that the rumour building around Kaka to be much better. I assume Wenger sees Ramsey as the next Fabregas and all he wants him to take one more year..
So I very much believe that Kaka on loan is really a great option.. He can also keep Kaka for longer if he is good this year.. I also think that this would satisfy many fans who demand a BIG signing..
I think this is quite likely because we’ve lost Denilson and Fabregas. Diaby has disappointed over recent seasons. He is bringing in Frimpong and moving Nasri into the Cesc role but Frimpong was already in the squad last year before getting injured and Nasri might still leave so potentially he could still feel that we’re 3 players short in central midfield. If that’s true M’vila because a very likely prospect, he ticks all the boxes to make him a typical Wenger signing.
Actually make that potentially 4 new CMs, not 3.
Abhishek Kumar
Kaka’s wages are £200k a week.
29’s old already past his peak.
very injury prone and had very little game experience lately.
If Ramsey is the next Cesc then this rebuilding will never end!
Tony, I’ve got to say a Alex Song is one of two players in the Arsenal squad who you could genuinely classify as not being inexperienced, injury prone, probably leaving, lacking the required ability to perform at the highest level or starting to look a bit long in the tooth. The other being Sagna, you could add Vermaelen to that list but seeing as he’s just spent a whole season out injured, I’d classify him as a injury concern for now. As such I’d be happy to see Wenger Sign M’Vila to play along side Song and Jack to sure up the midfield, making us very hard to breakdown and revert back to more of a fast breaking counter attacking style, which does seem feasible if you look at the pace of all the young front men we’ve been accumulating. But simply replacing Song with M’vila doesn’t do much if anything to sure up a team that’s won 5, drawn 11 and lost 8 in it’s last 24.
As for Coquelin he’s another good prospect but, we fielded 5 good prospects at the weekend and had a couple more unused on the bench. I’ve got tremendous faith in a lot of those young players, but too much responsibility is being burdened on to many young shoulders.
I really do not get the noise Mancini is making. What right does he have to talk about a player who is under contract! Have we fallen so low to the allure of money that nobody can see that what he is doing by saying all these things is wrong and against the rules? This is a manager with around 4 players costing 400K a week he plans not to use this season and he pines for another team’s player because he can afford to. This is frankly disturbing that not enough is being said about this. Sad times for football. Damsel in distress (Arsenal in this case): “Jack Wilshere, Help, We need you!!!”
odai
Mancini senses the distress or realizes our board are only concerned about money! Nasri being 25mil in the bank for our directors and they aint about to risk that.
@jayj
That’s all well and good and still remains conjecture! Mancini is the manager and as such should focus on manage his team not ours. He has made his desires for the player known to his board and its left for his and out board to haggle over the details. Coming out to speak and in ways imply that he would fail to lift the champions league if he doesn’t have A player (for upwards of GBP 25m no less!!) is not only conveying a lack of confidence in his ability but it suggests that the GBP 300m already spent on his squad is ‘simply not enough’ and he’d struggle.
Jack Wilshere: “I am No. 19”
Tony,
very apt comment on Patrick Viera. Thierry Henry was another knock down “damaged goods” signing when he came over. Pires’ career was stuttering having left his first team -Metz- for the cauldron for Marseille before jumping on to Wenger’s ship at the first opportunity.
Rushing out and signing 4 or 5 “experienced” players is not the panacea people seem to think although it may increase your chances of getting that rare nugget of gold like Liverpool seem to have picked up with Suarez. And buying those players to have them play bit rôles is just inviting more Squillaci type dramas.
Arsene is hurting bad though because although he has seen it coming for the last couple of years Fabregas’ going must lead to a big rethink on playing tactics and teambuilding strategy.
Ironically it is the going forward part of Arsenal’s game that is looking flaky and has taken a huge it with el Capitan’s departure. The defence looks very good and full of potential.
Arsene probably lack teh inspirational qualities of an Elx Ferguson but they are very different people but his basics are as good as ever – and way beyone anyone else in the EPL – witness the praise being poured on young Frimpong, Miquel and Jenkinson after Saturday’s performance. In 3 months time people will already have forgotten that Szczesny got his first game as the emergency replacement after two goalkeeping injuries, and Wilshere is a veteran whose return to the team is waited on with bated breath.
Ajax won the European Cup with a group of kids in the early 90’s with one old guy – Danny Blind. Most of the team then left for richer pickings elsewhere, not all went on to splendid careers but many did – Seedorf, Van der Sar, Davids (!?) – but they had all been to a master school of football which is what Arsenal have now created. Don’t let that get forgotten in all the current hysteria.
@critic. We currently have 14 players in the squad that are not classified as home grown. We have 6 that are home-grown when the required amount is 8 but we have 10 players that do not need to be registered because they are under 21 (yes i know that’s a lot). We clearly need some experience in midfield and we have 3 slots available for foreign players. 25 – 8 = 17 foreign players allowed in any squad. I don’t know what Man City are doing, when i look at their squad i can only think of two homegrown players, Barry and Milner.
@ Charlie, Man city have Hart, Taylor, Onouha, Lescott, Bridge, Clichy, Richards, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy. as well as the two you mentioned.
Home-Grown: Mannone, Djourou, Gibbs, Song, Walcott & Bendtner
U21: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Ramsey, Wilshere, Frimpong, Eastmond, Landsbury, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Miyaichi & Campbell.
All of the U21 players will qualify as home-grown when they reach 21. The advantage of buying players before they turn 18.
Thanks Adam, i was being a bit dumb there. Clichy isn’t home-grown though. I was surprised too but he was older than 18 when he joined Arsenal so didn’t get the required 3 years prior to his 18th birthday.
Sorry, prior to his 21st birthday is what i meant.
Also in the news today, UEFA are doing all they can to try and stop Arsenal getting into Chumps league proper. They’ve now handed AW a 2 match ban and £10k fine. Total, complete and utter bastards
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14613381.stm
@ Charlie, If Clichy is not classed as home grown, It may go some way to explaining why Arsenal never put up to much of a fight to keep him? What do you think?
I actually think Wenger will buy only one player in the next 10 days, an attacking midfielder to replace Fabregas. I have been thinking for quite some time now that Arsene plans to use Cochelin as the other cover for Song apart from Frimpong. Remember both these two will go to the Africa Cup of nations, so Cochelim might be on the sidelines, playing Carling Cup soccer until January when he properly comes into midfield. Miguel will be used as cover for CD and either one or both of Afobe and Campbell to be blooded in for attack. Cochelin can also play right back, and got experience last season with Lorient. He’s tenacious like Frimpong only that he has more experience. If it wasn’t for the under 20 World Cup where he featured for many games, he would be playing Sunday and you would all see his quality. He’s in the mould of Flamini, he’s quick like him, but has a more hard tackle. So you might all be on Arsene’s case, urging him to buy, but did some of you know that Frimpong can play so well any way?
As far as i’m concerned, the only ‘beef’ I have with Arsene he that he does not know enough how to rotate his squad. This is the only area where Sir Alex is better than him. Arsene lets the same players go on and on, yet if he was to rotate wisely, that is use say two young players per game especially to come on when we are leading, then we would really be quite fine and they would be getting match minutes.
I also think, now’s the time to change the system from 4:3;3 to 4:2:3;1. Because we have lost Cesc, we now need two proper holding midfielders to shower up the defence. I also think when little Jack comes back, he should play just behind the lone striker, and inject more pace. That is, bench Arshavin, use Gervinho on the left, have Walcott or Chamberlain on the right.
Wenger may be a fault for not identifying replacements but the board is not lifting the salary cap.
Dont expect anything soon, may be January (desperation) window.
Walcott must be the biggest disappointment, 4 yrs in top flight and yet his positioning, passing and crossing are well below par. The raw pace has hardly been utilized and then the injuries haven’t helped.
We seem to be linked with everyone under the sun, but end up signing kids who we hope will shine in the future and when they do…their are off. Mata, was supposed to be ours, well… now he is not! and this continues. Unless they actually sign on the dotted line there is no point jumping. We need 3/4 experienced players NOW!! and well know which position they are needed. We are just 2 games into the season and riddled with injuries [need to look at the phyisos] and suspensions. With this current squad, God help us.
Tony/Walter,
There is currently a petition going on in support of Arsene. It would be great if you could add your emphasis to this, perhaps a short article in support of it? If we can get a few thousand fans to sign it then it might at least stop the media always stating that they hammering Arsene in our name, rather than their perverse agenda to fill the back pages with negative hypebole.
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?Gunners1&1
Tony,
Sorry for being off topic but this matters:
All,
Didn’t anyone just notice and read what Steve E posted above?
Stevie E,
You just brought the news that is of GREAT MAGNITUDE and no one commented (yet) Hello! Do we read each other’s postings.
Predictably, Arsene is suspended for 2 games starting Weds.
Tony’s article starts with how Sky news has been about screwing us. Well the JUST DID. Yes, here’s another article that says they HAVE just done us hard by doing their practiced “gotcha” (with cameras trained) on Arsene during the Udinese I match and which cites its and UEFA’s double standards as when Don Fergus and Morono breached the touchline so-called rules and went unpunished. Here’s this well-timed and good article: http://www.arsenalinsider.com/index.php/breaking-newswenger-2-match-ban-by-uefa-thanks-sky-sports/
So many implications to this to discuss, and it’s past time to unite!
SOS, UA/all
Stevie E tells us UEFA suspended Arsene for 2 Matches = Not at Udinese = a blow to us = a greater threat to us possibly losing our CL standing = a disincentive to players to join a non-CL side vs. a CL side = a possible set up by UEFA’s instructions on what was permissible and a Gotcha action by Sky’s unblinking cameras = Operating Arsene Out strikes Heavily = What is to be done, Arsenal Fans?!
Well, there’s Chris’s posting at 12:41 – a Petition – and there’s Stevie E’s breaking the news at 11:50 above – from BBC that UEFA has done its nastiest – and this is NOW. Can we actually go on topic and deal with this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14613381.stm
All,
You see, how can AW focus on signings in the last week in the X-fer, face a crucial CL game at Udinese, and deal with being made an example of by CREEPA with a 2 game suspension, which will discourage some (pending? delaying?) signings, and have the bookies making him their insider’s betting choice (yesterday) as the next manager to get the sack. Does anyone smell the rat? the rot? This is Operation Arsene Out and not a fantasy. Now is the Time to be Arsenal. If not now, then when?!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14613381.stm
Bob
I did not comment cause i thought we already knew this would happen…
Just like Anne or someone else pointed that Frimpong will be booked early..
Just Like Barton got a yellow to stop the proceedings against him..
Just like Gervinho’s red card was upheld…
Just like we will see a biased referee against Udinese trying to stop us…
Even if Wenger buys someone for 15million.. he will not be experienced or he might be over the hill or injury prone or over priced..
Just like if Vidic or another one HANDles the ball again it will be forgotten…
Just like BBC would never publish the report by John Gray showing how Man city and Chelsea were pushed above us..
Why dont we start a prediction board where all of us can tell what can happen just like our referee watch..
Is a massive outpouring in an online petition that protests this banning to the utmost. imo, each blog and the decent blogs together (like mike in atlanta suggested on Friday) should consider pooling together and/or publicizing their individual petitions and send them on to the club, to UEFA and to the media asap, before the match on Weds. This is the time to think outside the box (i.e., Skybox) and do something.
the news about Wenger getting a 2 match ban is an absolute joke. every time we have seen a manager banned to the stands, we always see him passing messages, or on the phone and usually its to somebody in the dugout. Like somebody mentioned earlier, Mourinho scribbled messages on a notebook to send to the dugout when he was banned before.
i think wenger should just watch the game at home, and then send text messages to Pat Rice… lets see if UEFA can catch him?
Ed,
I get your meaning, but losing our CL position is not a joke. Our youngsters need experience around them to weather this storm – and it is of hurricane proportions. If we lose it zaps 25 million in proceeds and may zap any number of signings or potential signings that won’t wish to come to a non-CL club. N’est-ce pas?
p.s. and if AW sends text messages to Pat from home, then the SUN will do their phone hacking thing and forward the results to UEFA security. Do you think that’s far-fetched?
Abhishek Kumar,
Yes, you’re right about the prediction board! It’s obvious, but it’s still happening, and if it’s that obvious, then we need to consider – at least – a massive online petition to try to push back with good conscience at this transparent operation (to put it kindly). The end game is Arsene Out and a billionaire savior to save the day. Do you want that prediction? because that’s the logic that’s unfolding and we can try to say no.
‘The purchase of Vieira today would be met by those highly knowledgeable bloggers who comment on such things with howls of derisive laughter.’
A comment which displays lamentable lack of context.
Vieira was purchased when Arsenal’s team was well-stocked with experience: those totally green, untested and serial losers Adams, Winterburn, Dixon, Seaman, Bergkamp…….
When Liverpool FC were the least successful club in European football, they wasted their money on an unknown dawdler called Ian Rush, who they promptly stuck in the reserves to put him in his place. Because some useless carthorses called Dalglish and Souness thought he was a bit crap. They were still in the team when Rush became a small hit in this backwater of World Football…..
When you have the nucleus of experience, a £3.5m punt on youth is indicated….
Think about that…..
Competing in the league, cups, and Europe with Frimpong, Ryo, Afobe, Miquel, Lansbury, Gibbs, Traore, Jenkinson, Chamberlain, and Campbell… added to already young, but supposedly the experienced ‘old hats’ of the squad, Wilshere, Ramsey and Chezzer.
If those talking this up are serious, some of you are either the most optimistic lot on the face of the earth or really trying to put the best face on a bad situation.
This is practically an U-21 team that just lost 2 of its best players.
I’m all for being positive about this squad 5 years from now (if we are able to pay the ones that rise to the top to hold onto them), but you are asking and expecting way to much from a bunch of kids, talented kids, but kids nonetheless.
personally don’t think we needs DMF, we have frimpong & Song, and the chances if having both out consistently is rare. We need 2 attacking midfielders because it’s quite obvious nasri will eventually go whether it be this season or the next. Hazard & Willien would be my preferences. We obviously need a CB but I only think we need 1 because Miquel was immense & is 1 for the future. Finally we need a striker because Chamakh is no linger up to speed Bendtner looks set to go at some point. So many players need yet we won’t buy any.
Re: Busch
The kids are not the problem but incompetent refs, a corrupt and biased system and bad luck are the issues. Arsenal will prevail when faced with one or two of these but not against all of them at the same time.
m,vila is a fantastic player but we have four players who can play that postion song frimpong coqlin and wilshere diaby has been played there as well but he is better going forward
frimpong song behind wilshere and ramsey saving 15 mill and sticking to youth policy and allowing money to br spent on 1 super star may be the best bet IN ARSEN WE TRUST
I have had a number of comments about the RSS feed, and the answer is no, I don’t know what’s wrong. I will see if I can find someone (anyone) with a spot of knowledge about such things and try and get it fixed.
Tony
Tony – you are replying to a SpamBot.