By Tony Attwood
I keep thinking I have missed something/someone. Please update this summary if it is wrong.
1: Joel Campbell has had his application for a special talent work permit rejected so won’t be with us this season.
2: Park Chu-young will be here, but only for a couple of years as after that he has to go and do National Service for his country. He can play on the left or right but prefers the middle so he has got number 9.
3: Ryo Miyaichi did get his special ability permit, and is in the squad which could mean Theo playing in the middle.
4: Per Mertesacker is in – centre back.
8: Lansbury has gone on loan to WHU
9: Benik Afobe joins the first team squad which is why Sunu isn’t.
10, 11, 12.. Oxlade Chamberlain, Gervinho and Jenkinson we already got and know about.
13: Ignasi Miquel has stepped up
14: Denilson and Vela are out on loan
15: Frimpong has stepped up
16: Traore has gone to QPR
Looks like Joel is going to Lorient. Obviously very strong connections with them.
Tony, Just a small matter – total presented here is 17 and not 16 :), unless you consider Denilson and Vela to be ‘one’!
Indeed you have Tony but such a busy summer its understandable.
Players Loaned out
1) Kyle Bartley
2) Shea
And sold
1)JET
And you could add Henri Lasnbury to the list. He is being loaned out and is in the last year of his contract
Sunu went to Lorient permanently 😉
Nice list anyway
Cough-cough (FabregasNasriClichy) cough-cough!
fabregas nd nasri nd emmanuel eboue….!!!!!
any news bout midfield ? arteta , marvin martin , gourcuff , hazard , vargas , m’villa ??
Joel Campbell photo: http://twitpic.com/6e2zih
Pedro Botelho loaned out to a newly promoted La Liga team.
Shouldn’t we be counting Clichy, Cesc & Nasri?
Thomas Cruise, Mark Randall & Roarie Deacon were let go freely.
Wellington, Brazilian, was loaned to Loreante.
A major spring cleaning in this transfer window!
Nice list. Hope these new signimgs adapt quickly 2 d England futbal pattern
How about Clichy going out?
And Fabregas and Nasri leaving with a gaping whole in our midfield, which I’ve bet with someone that Wenger will not fill, as we’ve come to expect from him since past 3-4 years.
Getting nervous, we really need to fill that mf spot.
Latest reports say we have dropped interest in arteta and want yossi on loan, not sure this is enough to fill the void of cesc and nasri if this is indeed what comes to pass
No big deal, but u mention Denilson and Vela as one.., moreover, u left d likes of Clichy, Fabregas and “moneybag Nasri” out, maybe U neva considered dem as Arsenal players….
After the pathetic rant by Coyle on the talks with Arsenal, I’m sure he feels like something hanging behind a Drake.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth Mr Coyle. Cahill must be livid with the behaviour of Bolton. He has missed his opportunity to play Champions League football.
Joel Campbell would have had no problems getting a work visa if he signed for Man U. Its just the way it is.
Our midfield will have Coquelin who I thibk will be an awesome player. His physique is perfect for the ‘robust’ (another name for the dirty physical) Premier League northern football.
I think Arsenal are a good bet for top 3. I have taken the 30 plus to 1 for Arsenal to win the Premier League.
Lol…cant believe u missed out the big names of Cesc, Nasri and Clichy!! 😛 😛
That and the other players like Jet, Pedro, Cruise, etc…will easily make ur 16 into 30!! 😀
Now that we’ve pretty much wrapped up the signings of Per Mertesacker and Santos we almost have a great back 4! I still think we’re a little short for cover though, so think we should test Birmingham with a 5m bid for Dann and send Ignasi Miquel on loan to them to get some experience. I would love Cahill, but we just wont pay over the odds for him. I think he’ll end up at Spurs! I saw Dann play last season against us and he looks a class player and one that could become an England international. We could end up getting two much needed centre halves for the price of Cahill. If Wenger can bring in a midfielder or two; Hazard and M’Villa (wishful thinking as we I very much doubt we’ll get both, so Hazard out of the two), we’re all set… God I wish he could have done this 3 weeks ago!!
Breaking news…..Nick Bendtner gone to Sunderland on loan.
Bring on Sniejder ffs..!
Far to little investment in the squad and an igorance of being unable to defend has resulted in our top players wanting to move on to win things with other clubs.
Take this summer Narsi and Fabregas were sold way to late in the window, why on earth was Narsi allowed to run into the last year of his contract???
We have missed out on
Phil Jones woudlnt pay 12 million a year ago again future English international
Chris Smalling (earlier in the year) wouldnt outbid Man U for next English international
Could have had the centre defence sorted for years for 30 million but now Utd have?????
We also missed out on
Enrique good at defending and going forward only 7M
Santon excellent young defender dont think Newcastle paid big money for him
Parker avaialble on loan or 5M to buy outright would have provided stiff competition for Song
Ashley Young awesome winger can play both sides ideal replacment for Narsi if not better prrof that Sunday
Barton bit of a scumbag but available on a free him and Wilshere would have provided steel in the middle
Zapata quick agressive tall young centre half 7M Villareall
Dann 8M all in PL experience good young excellent defender
Hargraves free could have been another option in the middle yes a risk but that can be worked around on a play as you play deal.
What did we get
Santos LB who cant defend how on earth does this help????
Mertersacker is too slow and you will see that in the coming weeks a double decker trun quikcer the pace of the Pl will kill him
Young judgment reserved have not seen him play but like the sound of his workrate and never say die attidue take note Arshivan and Rosicky ability is nothing if your not a team player and dig in with the dirty stuff.
Jenikson and Campbell prospects for future.
I’ll end by saying all these fans that think our signings are great must be deluded or starved of good news. The managment of the club have made a mess of very deal especially this summer those pr**ks running the club need a good kick in the backside from the most important people in the club the fans
Another example of our rejects not being able to be sold Bendtner interested Stoke they were prepare to met the 10M but choked when they found he was on 70K Plus.
This has happend with Alunmia, Squallaci, Denilson, Vela and Bendtner and confirms we are paying the reserves too much and the top players at our club not enough. Were’s in incentive???
What really gets the fans is someone like Squallaci on 60k per week when he is asked to step in he plays shockingly bad…. really whats the point.
Well good Arsenal managment another find mess you have made!!!!
Taxi for John…………..
Call me deluded. Call me naive. Or call me Anti-Arsenal. But my heart is writhing in pain to think about what if these defensive signings would’ve been made couple of years ago when our midfield and attack were outstanding, but we were so badly let down by our defence and Wenger resorted to geriatrics like Silvestre/Campbell and unknown players from League 1.
I can only believe when the Directors (Peter Hill Wood, Danny Fizsman and Gazidis) had been saying – that funds are available. And Wenger has consistently backed this statement and said that transfer dealings are his decision and we should trust him.
Now call me naive, but I don’t have the inside knowledge of the stalwarts at Untold Arsenal. So I do not understand the abstruse hypothesis such as the “lower then expected sale of highbury flats meaning club has no money” (even though it has been reporting record profits year after year. Nor do I understand their statement of the Board lying about funds being available (again I am baffled why Wenger wouldn’t counter them like any other manager – unless he is the reincarnation of Jesus and has come to the world to wipe the world’s sins with his blood). There are other half a dozen hypothesis on this website at any given time absolving Wenger of any blame.
However, I am a simple logical thinker, without the benefit of any insider knowledge of Arsenal’s board or personal intimacy with Wenger. I have been a great admirer of Wenger in the past, supported him in the initial trophyless days, was baffled at his lack of spending when the club started to make profits – whish now turned into a sense of betrayal, frustration and anger seeing him do the same thing year after year.
So call me Anti Arsenal, or whatever name you like. But I feel greatly saddened by the fact that our tremendous attacking players weren’t given the same defensive platform in past years. And now when we have the defensive signings, we’re left with a gaping hole in the midfield with the departure of Fabregas and Nasri; which I am sure, Wenger wouldn’t fill this summer. This, in a season when we’ve gained £90m in transfer fees from Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy. We’re often told on this blog that Wenger doesn’t buy overpriced players, but what about when it comes to selling? Nasri only had 1 year left on his contract- was he worth 25m? And we were told by Wenger himself in a statement that Fabregas went for less than market price cos of his preference for Barca – even though he went for 35m which is not a small amount. So how come we readily sell players at these market prices, but balk at the prices when it comes to buying? Sorry, either I am too stupid or naive, or this is all a big bull.
“Call me deluded. Call me naive. Or call me Anti-Arsenal.”
Happy to oblige you deluded anti Arsenal naive little thing you.
Do you think the summer has gone well Tasos I f**king doubt and why is Nicky going on loan I thought he wanted to leave as does Alunmia, Densilson, Vela and Squallaci are unhappy but no one wants them cos there cr**
I club is being run very badly yes they have made some good moves with the staduim move etc but the board have not backed Wenger and Wenger has tried to build a title winning team igoring the defence which never has nor will work.
Sammy
If you dislike what Wenger and the board are doing so much, why do you vent on such a pro-Wenger site? Wouldn’t you be happier posting your comments on a site in which you would find agreement? Also, by claiming to not understand something pretty much makes any further comment you make on the subject null & void.
What is it with the criticism of Mertesacker over Cahill? Do you lot have the mental capacity of Robbie Savage? The man has a European Championship Runners up medal, 2 world Cup 3rd places and 75 caps for Germany. Granted none of that can hold a torch to Cahill’s palyer of the season award from Burnley….
Get behind the team or get on the bus across town.
John
If only one of the most successful clubs on the planet was being run by some random guy on the internet. Never mind that this random fella can’t string a sentence together, let alone a full paragraph, he’s clearly the right man for the job. Wenger out, John in…
John
I usually find debate with emotionally charged people like yourself to be futile. You have your opinions and you’re welcome to them but I certainly don’t subscribe.
We need not benayoun man. Aaarrhh he’s not a bloody attacking mdfldr
The rumour mill…
Arteta no Arteta yes Arteta maybe
Benyaoun maybe Benayoun yes Benayoun no
Arteta yes….
Benayoun yes…
Well it has to stop at some moment…
Tony,
There is indeed a long list of changes.
Are you intending to update/produce a new list re. those now considered home players (please)?
As an old (but faithful) fan, I don’t consider myself able to do this but (like many, I’m sure) I consider this important.
Thanks.
Benayaoun on and now in.
Add him to the list Tony
Cahill would have loved to come to Arsenal and must be mega peed off with Bolton for not doing business with Arsenal. He will want to come in the Jan window and probably for alot less than Coyle thinks he’s worth. Arsenal have the funds and the people that make the financial decisions onside with Wenger. Arteta might make the move if Moyes gets off his high horse and realises that going into the red is certain relegation.
All the clubs have financial issues apart from those with good business sense and those with lubrication. Lubrication is obviously smooth at the moment but can be slippery in the future.
Menace
Arry tried to sign Cahill but failed, apparently.
I wonder just how derisory the Spurs bid was?
I dont get why people talk about getting a nasri and fabregas replacement like they grow on trees. I think gervinho is as good a replacement as we were going to find. if there was a another cesc out there do you think any club would have sold him anywhere near the price we got .
just read we singed benayoun. hope that was not at the expense of arteta. otherwise would be gutted. if do still get arteta i think overall not a bad summer of business.
Anyone know if Santos can play in the champions league or did he play for fenerbache already this season in europe. Yossi just turned in.
Question? Are Arsenal collecting international captains for the fun of it?????
Adam I have been thinking about that fact?
Transfers in the last seasons:
Arshavin captain
Vermaelen captain
This season
Gervinho captain
Mertesacker captain
Park Chu Young captain
Benayoun captain
Jenkinson (U19 Finland)
already at the club
Rosicky
Aaron Ramsey
Ramsey
Okay Adam, I admit I cheated as I can edit my post… 😉
Arsenal.com has gone down… the IT boys are doing overtime I think 🙂
They cant handle all the transfers…
Arteta confirmed!
Arteta and yossi on loan or so it seems. Five signings in a couple days, not a bad effort, I have criticised some of our negotiating team but it seems the management team deserve a bit of praise if all this is true.
Sneaky Mr Boeckx
Everton has said Arteta is off to Arsenal….
Sorry Mr Broeckx wireless keyboard somtimes miss a letter.
Bendtner loaned out to Sunderland
Benayoun secured on loan for the season
Arteta signed, taking a 20K wage cut
Squillaci & Almunia will serve at the bar.
Adam I would put on the blushing smiley but I don’t know the combination how to type it
Comeon guys Arsenal do have any leaders – it’s what all the media pundits say. So we have a few captains and the Lord Wenger and now we have Arteta to link up with Theo, Gervinho and Robin. There are a good set of player now with some older guys and youth mixed in but all talented.
Please Mr Wenger we are the Gunners so teach them to shoot!!! Inside, outside and imparting spin on the ball. Passing into the goal is not sufficient.
Homebakedgoods, then I hope they will provide Tony a good cappuccino at our next home game 🙂
Arteta signed for 10million & Benayoun on loan till the end of the season! Good 3-4 days of sensible business!
@ homebakedgoods. Dont walk behind the bar bare foot my son.
The Arsenal website has crashed!
So 5 signings in the last 2 days, am pleased we got some reinforcements now, really looking foward to hearing what Arsene has to say and hearing the next press conference.
Now Moyesie just talk to your fellow Glaswegian Coyle and tell him that players are only worth what you can get for them. That makes Modric worth 40 million!!! shame he’s in chicken coop!!
Cahill will come to Arsenal in January for 2 million or else at the end of the season for free.
Menace, we might not even need Cahill by then! But Bolton are 100m in debt with the banks at the door. Not a smart move still for bolton, we have ended up with per, hopefully he settles in, tv stays fit, kos continues to develop, djourou recovers form and confidence, miquel steps up when played and squil discovers his playing days are numbered but turns into an excellent coach , guess that is the best we can hope for there.
Did anyone else catch sky reporting kaka going to spurs, where did that come from?
Finally we sign some experienced players. My only regret is that we didn’t do this when Cesc was around, he deserved better, and so did we.
Mandy Dodd,
I think that was just a load of shit. And well in my mother language the word “kaka” means “shit”. I swear it is the truth…
Yes Tony Bentner on loan for a season to Sunderland.
My apologies to people in the UK, its nearly midnight there, and it is only 5pm here.
I don’t think Arsenal needed as many signings as they made, but this flurry of red cards and double yellows means we actually need more people NOW than we might in 2 or 3 weeks. It was disappointing to see a “news” article that “Arsenal Supporters” are planning a protest even before the deadline was done. And there have been “enlightened” articles talking about potential transfers, which said specific people now coming to Arsenal were not good.
All I see on the news front, is more of the same (more people bitching about Arsenal than trying to support Arsenal).
The new players coming in obviously expect this to be a good thing to do. I welcome you, and I wish you well. And since I’ve been involved in athletic first aid so much, I hope you avoid injury.
The players going out on loan, I hope the different club environment makes you into better players. If that happens to mean that you can become an Arsenal regular in the future, that is wonderful! If that means that you decide that Arsenal isn’t where you want to be, and you have found a better club (for you), I think that is great too. And it is possible that some players don’t see things either way, but they still learn valuable things while on loan. And I think that is great too, as learning is always useful.
To the players that were sold this silly season, I hope the team you are moving to brings you more happiness.
What an incredible transfer deadline day. Welcome to the Emirates. Park chu Young!! Andre Santos!! Per Mertesacker!! Yossi Benayoun!! Mikel Arteta!! And the club’s website crashes.. What a day! Bravo Mr. WENGER.
Interesting end to the transfer window. Looks like a sensible strengthening of the squad, with some experienced players who should really help guide our young guns as they develop.
Lets hope the new guys settle in quickly.
@ Adam – “Anyone know if Santos can play in the champions league or did he play for fenerbache already this season in europe.”
Fenerbache were “champions” of Turkish football and so qualified directly for the CL. However it was discovered that they cheated and were thrown out of the competition. So to answer your question, Yes he is eligible to play for Arsenal in the CL.
Here is how I think the Kaka to Spurs rumour started. Sky Sports called and aked ‘Arry, what have you got? Arry said, I can’t give you the details, but it’s huge. Rumour is that Spurs were on the verge of a huge signing and someone throws out Kaka’s name. In fact the huge deal was Cahill but he didn’t want to go to Spurs.
this is all good at the end, some experience players coming in to help the kids growing up with confidence. I said it before, EPL title is not the priority this season, it’s the Champions League where Arsene wants to do well. If and when we got through the group stage. January will be the time again to buy another ‘super quality’ player if needed. Well, you’d never know.
wow, i shouldnt even be up,
—————————–chezza.21——————————
sagna.28———der riese.26————-verminator.25——–santos.27
—————————–song.23—————————–
————–arteta.29————————jack.19—————-
ben.31wow————————————————gervinho.24
—————————de kapitein.28—————————-
bench-walcott, ju young park, chamack, arshavin, ryo, ramsey, rosicky, frimpong, coke, kos, dj, miquel, gibbs, fab, mannone,
soz couldnt wait for an official match to see this.
sweet dreams.
‘Mandy It’s not a question of ‘might not need’, it’s a mutual requirement. Cahill will get to play in a quality team at a quality club for a quality manager and Arsenal will have a ‘home grown’ for the future requirement. Cahill wanted to come now but Bolton was ill advised. He will join Arsenal for circa 2 million in January and will slot straight into the CL quarters. Hopefully our attack will have gelled to score because our defence will be solid.
menace,
what do you mean by bolton was ill advised? – just to clarify what you meant here. Cheers.
I’m happy that Cahill ended up going nowhere!
Bolton has got to learn to do their business sensibly…
But on a happier tone, I’m loving the new experienced players that Wenger has brought in!!
We could be in it for the title now
Happy to see the new recruits, can’t wait to see the new look Arsenal play!
Hugely disappointing transfer activity for a number of reasons.
1) Too little, too late. If the dithering Wenger had signed a CB last season we might have won something. As it was, he passed over the chance to buy Phil Thompson by refusing to pay the required $10mil. For a player likely to be worth three times that amount in the near future.
2) Wenger’s bizzare behaviour. After Clichy went, his backroom staff were confident he would buy Enrique from Newscastle. AW’s response (to the dismayed staff) was that we didn’t need a LB as he was placing his faith in the terminally-crocked Gibbs. THen, a few weeks later he is in an undignified scramble for Carlos from Fenerbache.
Wenger, and Gazidis, both persuasively argued there would be ‘lots of activity’ in the transfer window including a ‘major signing.’ Who would expect that activity to be crammed into the last two days (when it’s been apparant for at least two seasons that replacements were urgently needed?) Also, where is the ‘big signing’ we were promised?
The player brought in are no better than journeymen replacements–especially if you consider the skills of the departed Fabregas and Nasri.
Chaos seems to reign at AFC from the Chairman of the Board down. WHo is steering the ship? Why was such a derisory offer made for Cahill? Why did the Board not insist on AW entering the transfer market as soon as the window opened?
AW was a once-great manager. I feel somewhat betrayed since I supported him blindly and uncritcally until the last few weeks. I now feel that–through a combination of stubborn obstinancy and an almost pathological refusal to spend one penny over the odds he is in danger of turning AFC into a small club. Already, the gap between ourselves and the two Manchester clubs is huge. We are not even in the second tier of Chelsea and Liverpool.
We occupy the third tier, along with Tottenham.
All of this could have been avoided if someone had confronted Wenger and insisted we buy two quality CB, a LB, a midfielder and a centre-forward.
Shame on you, AFC, for letting down the fans in your blind pursuit of shareholder profits.
well pleased with the recent business. all quality players and at sensible prices!
i think maybe only Mertesacker (maybe arteta) will be in the full strength first team, but the others will provide great back-up after our obvious lack of depth at the weekend.
Santos, Arteta, Benayoun, Park to replace Gibbs, Wilshere, RAmsey, Van Persie when rested or injured… sounds good! all seasoned, quality, experienced and with international experience (except arteta but we know hes decent).
It has been said many times, but i think the signing of Mertesacker just shows how overpriced english players are… more experienced, more successful, most likely better than Jones, Cahill and Smalling.
It is interesting to note some of the media reaction. Even though, they have been saying that Arsenal does not sign players, and Arsene is averse to spending; now that Arsenal do spend, it is termed as ‘panic purchase’ (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2032446/No-wowzers-deal-frantic-day-late-shopping.html) It seems we can never do something right. The article even says that Cahill is much better than Mertesacker!!
Just to add to what I said earlier, had LFC or MUFC landed any of the players Arsenal have signed, media will be all over it, virtually handing over the title to those teams!
Can’t wait to see the new team play and thew new players, excited and positive though I freely admit I am not an expert on the new signings, however from what I have seen, Santos can be amazing going forward, a few goals were honestly Messi esq, fantastic ability, bit of a shame instead of showing that SkySports decided to show him acidently hitting someone in the face lol, typical lol, Per is 6’6, will add some height captain and international, so much for top players not wanting to come to us? Park’s assists are amazing…. will also add work rate, thw other two will offer depth which we needed and creativty, Arteta also got free kicks in him apparently, finally might be dangerous from them? lol, we need those kind of intangibles here I think. Also remember we also signed Gervinho who will be a top player for us, great dribbling ability and pace, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain who will be a top player for us, very skillful, great runs, got goals in him, good passing, and others, I’m so excited and I can’t wait for our next match.
Gervinho,JY Park,Santos,Mertesacker,Arteta & Benayoun(loan)..6 experienced players signed in one transfer window alongwith a heap of youngsters as usual(harper,bellerin,campbell,jenkinson)….Woah when has arsenal FC done that before???
And there are still some stupid AAA from Le Grove who’re calling for Wenger’s head for not getting world class players.
They are a shame of this great club.
We’ve done very well this transfer window and I’m very very happy. There is no one in the EPL who can fit Cesc’s shoes better than Mikel Arteta. 10 million is an absolute steal 🙂
With all these new players… can we play 4-4-2 now? I would love to see van Persie partnering J. Park up front, Walcott and Gervinho on the side, Wilshere/Arteta/Song/Frim/Ramsey/Benayoun (pick 2) in the center.
I guess now maybe some people will recall that only three other English teams can offer CL football?
Arteta is as good as it gets in terms of replacing Cesc. Benayoun is obviously cover if Arteta didn’t sign so a bit of a luxury. Santos I know too little about to make a judgement but expect him to play like a leftsided Dani Alves. Mertesacker is a fantastic defender, so long as someone is playing behind him to cut out balls played through for runners. Ideal partner for Djourou in some ways.
@Mahesh
oh my god! i was laughing when i was reading that Daily Mail article!
he is basically saying that Benayoun is not worth getting because harry Rednapp didnt want to get him. And Cahill is worth getting because Harry Rednapp wanted to get him. Compare the buying records of Harry and Arsene… and im laughing… the only decent deal Harry has done is Van der vaart!
As for most people would choose Cahill over Mertesacker… i havent seen many of them. Even if both were only 8m i would go for the player with 75 caps by Germany (a better team than England by the way), veteran of World Cups and European Championships, plays in a better club team, with previous experience in Champions League, captain for club and country.
im glad that there were a few people sounding him out in the comments section…
Yup!! Bedntner on loan to Sunderland.
So excited..Can’t wait to see how the new look Arsenal plays 😀
Why on earth are people expecting tactical changes?
After a bit of research, Santos is a natural fit for our system (which will scare the crap out of the AAA). I’ve commented that if Mertesacker is the last man then we’ll concede from open play. So he has to play with one of Djourou or Koscielny behind him.
Arteta just drops into the Cesc-hole. Benayoun is basically another Rosicky.
Park provides competition with Gervinho (which is why Lille are so furious, they were buying Park to replace him), so again, no change there.
We will play four across the back, with an attacking left back. Three in midfield, a double pivot and an advanced midfielder.
Three up top, two hard working fast wingers and a false-9 looking to draw the opposition defence out of position.
@Woolwich
Love it, you’ve basically put an end to all the “who plays where and with whom” nonsense in a paragraph!
very happy with all our new signings,now the work begins to intergrate them all into the team.
A tactical change has to be made to bring out the best in our team, everyone and his dog knows that we are a regid 4 3 3 playing team with our full backs pushing on so leaving a huge hole behind them which every team has used against us.
4 4 2 will shore up the problem and a deeper defensive line will play to the strenghs defenders.
The midfield is an area of great promise which after the recent departures of Fabrigas & Nasri actually looks in much better shape.
Up front with the players we now have available no team will look forward to the movement and power we now have, lets just hope all that promise can be converted into goals
Wookie
Sanga Mertesacker Verminator Santos
Song Arteta Wilshire
Key problems in my previous post, should also have the following
players.
RVP
Gervinho Park
RVP to get a new deeper roll in the system.
@ Woolwich Peripatetic
Hello
“Mertesacker is a fantastic defender, so long as someone is playing behind him to cut out balls played through for runners. Ideal partner for Djourou in some ways.”
I have also been thinking they should be paired up, but it was because I thought Mertesacker would be a good role model for Djourou, as, going on the descriptions, he seems similar to JD, though not as fast. Is that fair? Can you tell me more about him?
I thought Jack Stockaway’s comments were interesting
1) Too little, too late. If the dithering Wenger…
On what basis is the knowledge that Mr Wenger was “dithering”. How do you know who was available, what blocks were put on transfers by the board, what happened during the buyout of the club process?
“as it was, he passed over the chance to buy Phil Thompson by refusing to pay the required $10mil.”
Just where does all this info come from? What do you know about Thompson that others don’t?
“2) Wenger’s bizzare behaviour. After Clichy went, his backroom staff were confident he would buy Enrique from Newscastle”
Really? I was at the meeting with Mr Gazidis, and I never heard this confidence at all. Where did you get it from?
It goes on like this. What I would say is, if one is writing a commentary like this, at least tell us some sources.
@ Tony
Is the in-depth analysis of the newcomers on its way? Can’t wait.
Per Mertesacker’s disciplinary record is unbelievable for a centre half, since 08/09 season he has only received 3 yellow cards in all competitions including League, Cups and Internationals.
2008-2011;
games played 166
yellow cards 3
red cards 0
I wonder what old Mother Riley will make of that?
Apologies
Above post should read red card 1 in 08/09 season
Here’s the link;
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player/_/id/34041/per-mertesacker
@ Tasos
“I wonder what old Mother Riley will make of that?”
He’ll probably see it as a challenge!
@FunGunner,
If there was a defender out there who had all of Mertesacker’s attributes AND electric pace, Barcelona would break the bank to buy that player and we’d probably not get a look in.
The problem the guy has is he’s nearly two metres tall and not exactly slight of build. He’s never going to be able to spin on the spot and then sprint like TV5 can. What he gives you is an immediate imposing presence (a bit like Adams or Keown in that regard) in the heart of defence, in the same way a keeper like Szczesney does and De Gea just doesn’t. Older readers make like to recall with horror what used to happen to us, especially in Europe, when Adams & Keown got regularly bypassed by through-balls for pacey runners.
Good points Woolwich. The other point which I’d like to further highlight is that a playmaker was needed to release all of our speedy quick wingers/runners that we have bought. So in effect if we have Theo, Gervinho, Miyachi & Chamberlain in addition to Santos now who is an attacking fullback.. it would all be wasted if you didn’t have a Cesc type player to find them. That is where Arteta comes in.
Benayoun is to help keep posession just like when Cesc, Hleb, Rosicky used to play together in the season Dudu got injured. Coz as long as we can keep possession the defense wont be exposed too much. Him and Rosicky will share minutes. It also gives us another option if speed isn’t opening teams up to try and ply a defense open. The pre-assist if you want to call it that 🙂
@Woolwich: Abt Mertesacker, are you saying he will play ahead of TV5 or LK? Wouldn’t that stifle the natural game of these 2 defenders? To draw a parallel I guess one can compare his game with John Terry. I think he’ll stay back and try and read the game from the back allowing the other defenders to play further in front of him. How has he been deployed previously at Hannover, Werder and Germany? Anyone watch him?
Lastly I am not sure why people are MOANING so much about NOT replacing Cesc and not spending. Here are the outgoing and incoming fees(based on papers) – I am not counting loan deals as I don’t know who is paying what and what percentage:
Out – Around 70 million
Cesc – 35 million
Nasri – 24 million
Clichy – 7 million
Eboue – 3.5 million
Traore – 1.5 million
JET – 1 million
Sunu – < 1 million
In – Around 58 million
Arteta – 10 million
Mertesacker – 9 million
Santos – 6.2 million
Park Chu Young – 5 million
AOC – 15 million
Gervinho – 10.5 million
Jenkinson – 1 million
Campbell – 1 million
So that's around 12 million pounds of profit. So at most we could have bought one more player, if player sales were all we had to buy new players. I'm guessing the 12 million remaining + some further profits may be kept as reserve for the January window.
But really Arsenal have strengthened in numerous positions, all over the park and I cannot think who else I might have wanted.. quite frankly. And we made a profit..at the same time.. I'm a very very happy Gooner right now 🙂
@Arvind,
If TV5 really were human flesh over a metal endoskeleton, we’d have no need to buy Mertesacker. The trouble is we’ve found out our Verminator is only human afterall. So going by the theory of two types of CB I suspect PM has been brought in as cover.
I think he might stifle TV5s natural game but our other two I think prefer to play as a sweeper in behind a more proactive defender.
How he’s been fielded in other defensive systems is almost irrelevant. The guy just seems to win headers, make clean tackles and then offload with a short pass – brilliant qualities for a centreback playing a high line. If he sits deep then the whole team will have to drop deeper which will compromise our attack. If he pushes up the pitch with a sweeper behind then we retain our attacking shape and are less vulnerable to balls played into space behind the defence.
Do the signings of players aged 26, 26, 28, 29 and 31 since Sunday indicate a policy change from the youth-oriented transfer dealings of the past few years – or just a one-off to fill the Cesc/Nasri gaps?
Either way, it’s exactly what I feel the team has been missing – experience, depth and proven quality.
@ Woolwich Peripatetic
Thanks for expanding on your previous comments. So what you’re saying is that you think he probably WON’T be automatic first choice but will be used judiciously and, ideally, partnered with Djourou or Kos rather than TV5?
Excellent explanation.. Thank you Woolwich! I guess we’ll know quite soon on how he is deployed.
Going by your logic, would you then say that in Terry/Carvalho or Vidic/Ferdinand.. its Vidic and Terry who are further forward most of the time? Although one could argue, that Chelsea are a much more defensive team than us. Still…what would you say?
@ BobbyP
I think it’s partly a response to last season combined with having the wherewithal, at last, to buy plenty of quality, experienced players.
@BobbyP: Park is for 2.5 years only so he’s not long term. Arteta is cover for Ramsey to let him grow slowly. Benayoun is backup for Rosicky. Santos is to let Gibbs(hopefully) grow into his role. Mertesacker is the only “true” experienced signing.
The rest are all, very useful but primarily stopgap arrangements. I think if all of these signings succeed to a reasonable degree, we will be again investing heavily in youth in the next 2-3 years instead of any more signings in the current age group.
My thoughts anyway 🙂
@FunGunner – 11:48am – That is true too. I agree.. and I do think AW mentioned he’d change a little if he won nothing last year.
@Arvind,
The problem with the comparisons is that the systems don’t match. The distance between the goalkeeper and the centrebacks is much shorter in either the classic Chelsea backline or the current ManU first choice.
Vidic is free to commit further up the pitch, knowing that Rio is behind him but even so, they never get that far up the pitch.
The interesting comparison is both Barcelona and against Barcelona. For Madrid & United, the pro-active CBs had the job of going out to pick up Messi in his false nine role. Carvalho was a disaster in the 5-0 and Vidic didn’t exactly cover himself in glory at Wembley. In both cases the offside trap didn’t really work, runners were allowed to get too close to the line before a deadly through ball bypassed too many defenders.
How does Barcelona deal with it? Puyol does the dirty work, Pique cleans up. When Pique goes on one of his marauding runs, Busquets naturally drops back to occupy the space. When Puyol is absent, Pique often gets booked as he’s not as accomplished a defender as his absent partner, though he is faster and better on the ball. You can actually watch this happening in real time, the Classicos provide some examples, where the ball is switched from one flank to the other and P&P do a shuffle and switch sides of the pitch.
Tony
Looks like AFC have done the hard work for you 😉
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-s-summer-the-ins-and-outs-
So we can tell who are the gooners and the goners,just wondering where the hell have you been all this time??@Stevie,@woolwich p, @gooner gal,@Tony where the hell have all these guys been when we needed them most?? Are they cowards or just the usual mambo jambo!! Thanks to you guys who have been with us through and through. Lets go GUNNERS IN ARSENE WE TRUST.
@kampala gun,
I can only speak for myself but during and after the flushing at the Old Toilet I had to stop myself from posting as everything I drafted just came out as abuse.
Abuse directed at those who had turned on their own team in it’s darkest hour. Yes, our team performance was purest dysenteric shit. Did we have any right to expect better from those players? No, they gave it their best, they clealry weren’t up to the job.
Do we have a right to expect that our manager will give those players some hope through good tactics? Hell yes.
Do we have a right to expect our club to bankrupt itself to salve the pride of some people who are embarrassed to be Arsenal fans? No way.
@kampala gun
Have a look at the next Untold Media Watch, Daily Mail… I’ve been having all sorts of fun reading and digesting the shite which the press pour out everyday.
In my defence, it was my birthday on the weekend so I had other things going on but I have had a few things to say. For instance,I had to tell a AAA to fuck off after reading his abuse but I don’t expect every pearl of wisdom posted to get read 😉
About the incoming transfers I cannot help but having the feeling that those transfers have been made with an eye to the future.
Santos will help Gibbs bridging the gap and hopefully get him over his injury record.
Mertesacker is just pure international class. A big giant defender who has had games in which he has won 100% of his aerial battles. 100% that is, yes thank you very much. And he is an Arsenal supporter for many years.
Benayoun and Arteta will help Ramsey and Wilshere and will keep the pressure away from them for a bit. So Aaron and Wilshere will not be forced to run the show every game which would be too much to ask from them at this still very young age.
Park will be a great addition to the movement around the opposing penalty area.
And as the all are experienced (and many are/were captains) they will guide the young Guns and help us over the gap that was caused by Cesc and Nasri.
If Cesc and Nasri would have stayed this season then I think with just Mertesacker and Santos added we would have had one of the best teams in the EPL. Them leaving put all the pressure on Aaron and Jack and Wenger had to do something to protect them from the pressure.
I do feel IF we can stay away from too much injuries and IF the refs don’t hand out yellows and reds against us and IF our players keep their calm (which should be possible because of the adding of experience) we have more depth than last season. Certainly more experience.
And in 2 years time when our signings of today start to get old we will have Wilshere and Ramsey completely ready to rule the EPL.
Oh, I’m so looking forward to 10 September when I come to the Emirates 🙂
beast-6’5
jenkz-6’1 miguel-6’4 bartley-6’3
merty-6’6 dj-6’4
vermz-6′ kos-6’1
santos-5’11 gibbs-5’11
song-6’0 pong-5’10
diaby-6’2 coke-5’10
ramsey-5’11 rosicky-5’10 (really?)
ox-5’11 arteta-5’10.5
ryo-6’0
ju-5’11.5 robin-6’0 afobe-6’0
attack-6’2 gervinho-5’10 cambell-5’10
i was surprised how tall ju was and felt compelled to do this.
Walter, regarding your statement:
“If Cesc and Nasri would have stayed this season then I think with just Mertesacker and Santos added we would have had one of the best teams in the EPL. ”
That’s EXACTLY what the “AAA” (as you like to call them) have been saying for YEARS! Now remind me, how much did it cost to sign them? Did it make Arsenal bankrupt? NO! They would still manage to turn in a profit. But YOUR LORD Wenger didn’t address the gaping whole in defence – must be some grand plan of Wenger Almighty, wasn’t it?
@Sammy,
The very first time that someone turns Mertesacker and does him for pace, the ‘AAA’ will be dubbing him the second coming of Squillaci.
And Santos brings more attacking prowess than Clichy, not defensive, so again I await the comments of “Are you Traore in disguise?” from people who allegedly support Arsenal.
@Stevie E,@ Woolwich who keep standing tall are the one who enjoy more cause we know that not all days are sunny or rosy but the glory hunters will never enjoy because they will always expect the unexpected .
Im sorry for taking long to reply as in Kampala power is like shit you can never tell when it will be back or go off.