Super Super Quality Transfer Speculation & Shit

[Dennis Bendtner]

Yeah, as soon as The Fat Fuck lands in Russia, Oxo and Gervinho will fatally collapse simultaneously.

It will definitely happen. Just wonder what the wacky plan is. Don't even have Bendtner to stand there and be useless on the wing any more.

Arshavin did some great things before his bout of nihilism (Syn :bow:). Can't forget him dragging us to fourth, shitting on Liverpool and scoring v Barca. A genuine shame about the rest.

[Coney]

To be honest if this is the first sign of a serious and ruthless clearout then it's the right move.

Also, since Wenger seems to want to guarantee a sale before a purchase (presumably to make sure he never 'overspends'), it would mean that he could open with a purchase as soon as the window opens again.

Not that he will. :(

[Lord Nelson]

this was kept up their sleeve all along.

wait until the windows over then sell him. perfect excuse not to splash a bit of fucking cash and buy a replacement.

wankers.
Not sure this was a good idea! As mentioned earlier in the post, it is a guarantee that we will lose players and be short on strikers! Wenger amazes me TBH !

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Not sure this was a good idea! As mentioned earlier in the post, it is a guarantee that we will lose players and be short on strikers! Wenger amazes me TBH !

Even so Arshavin would not make a diffrence he isnot motivated to be here, it be like playing with 10 men anyway. Don't worry we have Elsfield too.

[GP]

He was replaced by Eisfeld.


lol

[Marc Overmars]

He was replaced by Eisfeld.


lol

You know what meme should follow that post...

[Ollie the Optimist]

glad the fat fuck has gone, did fuck all for us in the last two seasons bar one winner against barca. was lazy, unfit, never helped the team out and was shit for ten games before 5 minutes of magic if we were lucky. good when he first came but after that half season, he went shit and lazy. good riddance

[Olivier's xmas twist]

glad the fat fuck has gone, did fuck all for us in the last two seasons bar one winner against barca. was lazy, unfit, never helped the team out and was shit for ten games before 5 minutes of magic if we were lucky. good when he first came but after that half season, he went shit and lazy. good riddance

:gp:

[Cripps_orig]

Wengeritis claims another victim

Arshavin 2009-12

:rose:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Thread closed for a clean up.

[Xhaka Can’t]

And we're back.

Try to be nice to each other.

[Master Splinter]

Thread closed for a clean up.

Racist.

(What happened?)

[Keith]

Guessing we will be seeing that now fit again youngster in the squad

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Guessing we will be seeing that now fit again youngster in the squad

Not to mention Wishere is 2% from coming back lol

Wumger :bow:

[KSE Comedy Club]

I dont care that he's gone.

I'm only pissed that we didn't just sell him outright instead of fucking about with another loan.

How many is that we have out on loan now?!?

[Ollie the Optimist]

I dont care that he's gone.

I'm only pissed that we didn't just sell him outright instead instead of fucking about with another loan.

How many is that we have out on loan now?!?

tbh its not really a loan, we not paying his wages and zennit will likely sign him in summer

[KSE Comedy Club]

tbh its not really a loan, we not paying his wages and zennit will likely sign him in summerYeh but what if they don't?

What if he plays shit for them for the next few months and they decide they don't want him?

Should of just got the deal done and closed the chapter on it.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Yeh but what if they don't?

What if he plays shit for them for the next few months and they decide they don't want him?

Should of just got the deal done and closed the chapter on it.

Isn't he on a free this summer or is it the next one, anyways i think he would gone by july fully.

IF AW still saw his as part of his plans no way he'd have gone on loan.

[Cripps_orig]

His contract is up 2013

Same as RVP and Theo

All 3 gone this summer

Our transition to mid table/fighting relegation club will be complete

[Ollie the Optimist]

His contract is up 2013

Same as RVP and Theo

All 3 gone this summer

Our transition to mid table/fighting relegation club will be complete

theo and fat fuck can fuck off, must keep RVP

[Olivier's xmas twist]

His contract is up 2013

Same as RVP and Theo

All 3 gone this summerOur transition to mid table/fighting relegation club will be complete

Wengeritis :lol: Its funny cause its true.

[Cripps_orig]

Juventus have joined the race to sign 28-year-old Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.
Full story: talkSPORT

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger missed out on signing Gareth Bale from Southampton before the Welshman joined north London rivals Tottenham, opting to buy Theo Walcott instead.
Full story: Daily Mail

RVP :wave:

Wenger :haha: Is there any player that he hasnt missed out on?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Defender Christopher Samba has completed his move to Anzhi Makhachkala from Blackburn on a four-year deal for a fee in the region of £12million.

:haha: Samba

:pal: Blackeye

[Ollie the Optimist]

RVP :wave:

Wenger :haha: Is there any player that he hasnt missed out on?

the bale who only came good in hte last year or so. yeah lets have a go at wenger for missing him.

[Cripps_orig]

Im laughing more in the sense that Wenger has come close to signing lots of players only not to for one reason or another

[Ollie the Optimist]

Im laughing more in the sense that Wenger has come close to signing lots of players only not to for one reason or another

probably cos he thought he wasnt good enough. apparently saha was offered to us on deadline day and wenger rejected that. you going to have a go at him now for missing saha, cos he scored two goals the other day so must be a world beater?

[Cripps_orig]

Hes better than any of our current strikers behind RVP tbh

[Power n Glory]

Dumb move. Provided the assist for Henry's last goal and should have been playing in the hole behind the striker.

We weaken ourselves with this move. Regardless of how people feel on about him, we're now a man short and he's a natural playmaker. Could have solved out creative problems but instead of trying something new, we kept playing a square peg in a round hole. Foolish and this is an example of why Wenger shouldn't be trusted with more money. The had a great start and slowly fell to pieces.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Dumb move. Provided the assist for Henry's last goal and should have been playing in the hole behind the striker.

We weaken ourselves with this move. Regardless of how people feel on about him, we're now a man short and he's a natural playmaker. Could have solved out creative problems but instead of trying something new, we kept playing a square peg in a round hole. Foolish and this is an example of why Wenger shouldn't be trusted with more money. The had a great start and slowly fell to pieces.

its not a bad move at all, we are all moaning at wenger for having dead wood in the team, now he gets rid of some dead wood and we moan at taht. fat fuck has done nothing for us this season, he doesnt care, doesnt track back. one good cross this season doesnt change that. why should we carry him anymore.

[GP]

Glad to be shot of him.

[Power n Glory]

its not a bad move at all, we are all moaning at wenger for having dead wood in the team, now he gets rid of some dead wood and we moan at taht. fat fuck has done nothing for us this season, he doesnt care, doesnt track back. one good cross this season doesnt change that. why should we carry him anymore.

Time will tell and I just hope we don't pick up more injuries. We gain nothing from this move and regardless of what you think, that one cross helped us get 3 points on the board.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Dumb move. Provided the assist for Henry's last goal and should have been playing in the hole behind the striker.

We weaken ourselves with this move. Regardless of how people feel on about him, we're now a man short and he's a natural playmaker. Could have solved out creative problems but instead of trying something new, we kept playing a square peg in a round hole. Foolish and this is an example of why Wenger shouldn't be trusted with more money. The had a great start and slowly fell to pieces.

We'd still be a man short even if he was with us, he is not motivated to play here anymore so it makes no diffrence. Wenger was never going to play him again. Mentally the player has gone.

All he is is dead wood now and will not change any game this season tbh, feck him the lazy sod did not want to be here now he has his wish.

No point keeping a player is not happy.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Time will tell and I just hope we don't pick up more injuries. We gain nothing from this move and regardless of what you think, that one cross helped us get 3 points on the board.

We'll be fine after, spuds and pool our run in is not too bad unless we do the unthinkable and do Milan and go on a CL run, then we can worry about injuries. We have Adequate cover.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

the bale who only came good in hte last year or so. yeah lets have a go at wenger for missing him.

We had Clichy and Cole at that time anyways so we did not need him.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Shame really, another player with so much talent and it (for one reason or another) has been wasted. He's guaranteed to come up with a perfectly weighted pass that nobody else in our side can pull off but then look so poor for the time either side of it.

Whether Arshavin should be self-motivated or not given his (and I cringe whilst I type this because I hate the whole concept) experience is neither here nor there, as it is too much of a coincidence that yet another player with brilliant ability has gone to the shitter under us.

[Power n Glory]

We'd still be a man short even if he was with us, he is not motivated to play here anymore so it makes no diffrence. Wenger was never going to play him again. Mentally the player has gone.

All he is is dead wood now and will not change any game this season tbh, feck him the lazy sod did not want to be here now he has his wish.

No point keeping a player is not happy.

He made a huge difference in his last appearance for us and nobody could have predicted that. Saying he couldn't make a difference is wrong because he did and only needed a few minutes on the pitch to do it. As awful as he could be, he could produce something and in games where we're on full attack, I'd put good odds on him producing something. It's the sort of move that could have waited until the summer.

[Syn]

Good stuff. Happy to see the back of him. Good luck to him at Zenit and beyond.

Lets hope Miyachi continues to impress at Bolton and Oxlade and Ryo pin down the starting places on the wings. But Arshavin's departure should free up some wage funds to accommodate a winger or attacking mid. But I'm done guessing what the club will do - it'll always be the ridiculous option. Lest we forget, Alex Song can also play there.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Its disgusting the way i'm treated on here.

Oi. . .not exactly over the moon being compared to you either ;-)

[tpyo]

Fucking finally. Considering we're the "youthful" squad we have and how our strategy is youth focused and all I don't see the harm in letting some of the juniors get an odd appearance instead of the dead wood we constantly rotate at times. Hopefully the lack of the fat russian will help promote some of them to the first team squad.

I mean sure he can be magical but you're always rolling a dice that seems to have a lot of ones on it these days. I don't see much of difference between that and chucking on some seventeen year old with promise. Cheaper too.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Would have welcomed his departure if we had brought someone in, but if there is a plan (which I doubt there is) then I am willing to go along with it as I became increasingly frustrated with this guy!

At this stage of an almost meaningless, we just need to knuckle down with the personnel we have. . .time to step up cos its inly you three Gerv, Oxo and Theo

What will happen is he will go to Zenit, not play on the wing more like in the hole. . .and be fucking great again and to be honest we will only have ourselves to blame. . .or should I say Wenger

[Master Splinter]

Wenger has promised Ju some first team opportunities now that Arshavin has gone.




















http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/Arsene_415.jpg
























http://redgunners.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/arsenewengersmiling.jpg

[hymppi]

arshy, thanx for the four against liverpool, besides that you never lived up to expectations.
i really really really wanna zig a zig ah... no, i mean i really really wish this is the beginning of the reforming arsenal squad.

[BOBN]

I remember being one of the first gooners to stick it to arshavin (even made a thread on here which was laughed out).

It gave me no pleasure, and the only reason I was able to do that was cos I was haunted by the words of two knowledgeable zenit fans who when he was destroying liverpool and blackburn planted the seed that hes a lazy, disappearing thoroughly complicated character who was certain to disappoint and had no suitable position for a top level league. it was too bold to say that at a time for it not to be true I wondered when everybody including myself thought he was warming up for a run at the PFA and maybe even ballon dor.

So the point im trying to make is you cant really blame wenger for this, he didnt overcoach him or marginalise his talents. this is arshavin.

[Munchies]

RVP :wave:

Wenger :haha: Is there any player that he hasnt missed out on?

Wenger also decided against signing Yaya Toure aswell as he thought he was 'average' in his trial here

[Xhaka Can’t]

It is not the biggest shock in the world, I think everyone saw this coming. The problem is, there was no forward planning for this move. I'm happy to see him go, but why was no one signed during the January window to accommodate this move?

His attitude stinks, his effort stinks, but we are now one man down, and for all his faults, we are one talented player down - another talented player that has not been replaced. Consequently I have mixed feelings about this.

[Marc Overmars]

I think another problem with Arshavin was that he made his big career move too late in the day. He spent the bulk of his career in a comfort zone at Zenit and it was always going to be tough to adapt. He was very outspoken on the cultural differences and even the tax laws here as well. It just seemed to me he lived in his own bubble and was never a team player.

He might have been a big celebrity in Russia, but here was just another player who had to earn respect and I don't think he ever quite grasped that.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Oi. . .not exactly over the moon being compared to you either ;-)

Soz my post aimed at Arsenal's biggest fan lol ;)

[Xhaka Can’t]

Oi. . .not exactly over the moon being compared to you either ;-)

You are being compared to an absolute legend.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

It is not the biggest shock in the world, I think everyone saw this coming. The problem is, there was no forward planning for this move. I'm happy to see him go, but why was no one signed during the January window to accommodate this move?

His attitude stinks, his effort stinks, but we are now one man down, and for all his faults, we are one talented player down - another talented player that has not been replaced. Consequently I have mixed feelings about this.

We did Eisfield :ninja: don't forget Jack and Diaby will be back and Santos can play their too.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Legend.

[Power n Glory]

It is not the biggest shock in the world, I think everyone saw this coming. The problem is, there was no forward planning for this move. I'm happy to see him go, but why was no one signed during the January window to accommodate this move?

His attitude stinks, his effort stinks, but we are now one man down, and for all his faults, we are one talented player down - another talented player that has not been replaced. Consequently I have mixed feelings about this.

Sums up how I feel about the move. We've loaned out Ryo as well. We just have to stay injury free and bloody well hope Wenger isn't considering Rosicky and Yossi as wide players.

[Fats]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2106053/Arsene-Wenger-chose-Theo-Walcott-Gareth-Bale.html

AW at it again proving he is the worlds best talent spotter

[Özim]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2106053/Arsene-Wenger-chose-Theo-Walcott-Gareth-Bale.html

AW at it again proving he is the worlds best talent spotter
HAHA what a plank :lol:

[Kaiser]

As he says no-one saw Bale as a winger then and we had Clichy and Cole around then.

This, on the other hand, is truly disgusting. And sadly, I have a feeling it's true. Wage parity for so many around £50-60k is ridiculous when most have done fuck all at the club. What's even worse is Kroenke seemingly picking up £25k a week for doing nothing.

http://www.arsenalinsider.com/4494/revealed-arsenal-stars-staggering-paypackets/

[Özim]

Whilst Arshavin has been poor in many ways for a while, Wenger has to shoulder some of the blame, he wasn't able to get the best out of what is a very talented player (we saw it when he first came).

I find it strange that a player who blew us all away when he first arrived becomes such a shadow of himself 6 months later, something Wenger was doing just wasn't working with him.

[Özim]

As he says no-one saw Bale as a winger then and we had Clichy and Cole around then.

This, on the other hand, is truly disgusting. And sadly, I have a feeling it's true. Wage parity for so many around £50-60k is ridiculous when most have done fuck all at the club. What's even worse is Kroenke seemingly picking up £25k a week for doing nothing.

http://www.arsenalinsider.com/4494/revealed-arsenal-stars-staggering-paypackets/
Thing is though Bale is a very good winger too, he's creative scores goals and is direct so the full back thing doesn't really stand up, especially when Wenger is well known for playing players in different positions.

As for the salaries, we've known they were all rather high due to Wenger's policy of "fairness" and wanting to keep most of the squad on similar amounts (one of the stupidest ideas he's ever come up with incidentally and there have been a few).

Also 7 million for Wenger, that's staggering and a total ripoff, it's no surprise he's happy with 4th.

[Power n Glory]

ARSEBLOG, THE ARSENAL BLOG
WE HAD ARSHAVIN, BUT NOT ANYMORE

Posted by arseblog on 25 Feb 2012 / 163 arses


He came. He scored. He helped saved a season. He charmed everyone with his “I am Goonar!”, his cheeky owl grin and high-pitched chuckle.

He has left. Overweight. Unhappy. Nobody particularly enamoured with his run-when-he-wants attitude, that owl scowl hidden beneath a scarf and a hat as he spent the final part of his Arsenal career on the bench, the jeers of that untimely substitution against United still echoing.

And all I can think of this morning is what a shame it is, and what an extraordinary club we have become to do this kind of business at this particular moment in time. His arrival in early 2009 was one of the most protracted, complicated, difficult pieces of transfer business the club has ever been involved in. It seemed to go on for ever and ever, and I guess there’s some irony that both his arrival and departure have taken place outside the normal transfer window deadlines.

Everyone wanted a defender to shore up Arsenal’s back-line as they scrapped for a top four finish. Instead Arsene Wenger bought a diminutive playmaker. Yeah, because that’d really help oh holy shit he’s just scored four at Anfield. Even that, as amazing as it was, appears now to have been a precursor for his entire Arsenal career and our club as a whole. Go to Anfield score four, kill Liverpool’s best chance of winning the league in years, score our 4th in the 90th minute and still find time to concede an even later equaliser (thanks, Yossi!).

At first he was all-action, a breath of fresh air, experience and quality and then, over time, he became a little less consistent, a little less intense, then mercurial, then simply lazy. He was never what you’d call a finely tuned athlete, he was out of breath after a few minutes of his debut against Sunderland, and you got the sense fitness wasn’t his favourite thing in the world.

Soon enough that was transmitted to his performances – I can’t even get Arshavin to track back when I’m playing FIFA – and it was a measure of how little it happened that when it did you almost felt like you were seeing something good rather than something that should have been the norm. This season has been miserable, yet still we had some moments. The goal against Swansea, the assist for van Persie at QPR to break them open, the assist for Henry’s final goal at Sunderland, but it would have been no surprise to anyone if summer had come and we decided to say ‘Thanks but it’s time now, Andrei.’

And we have every right to be critical of a man who has so much talent but so little application both in training and on the pitch. To see it wasted hurts because we know we’ll never have a smidgeon of that quality, and we’ve seen players make it at Arsenal before who made up for what they lacked in ability with sheer effort and a will to work for the team. Andrei Arshavin must take responsibility for that. Perhaps he was used to the cushy life at Zenit where the team worked for him and having to do the opposite here didn’t suit him.

Yet equally we have to question a system in which that was tolerated and allowed. Why was Arsene Wenger not able to manager him better, to get him fit properly, to make him lose the love handles, to draw the very best out of him? Arsene loves attackers, he loves players who can provide that moment, that spark of genius, and let’s be clear: when Arshavin first arrived he had that. Think of the goals, the finish against Blackburn, the strikes against Liverpool, the talent was obvious. Yet even a coach as indulgent to forwards as Arsene couldn’t do it. Maybe the indulgence is the problem.

Over time he has been diluted, the Arshavin who leaves is not the same one who arrived. Again, much of it is down to him, he is, and has been, lazy, but he was allowed to be when instead we should have been demanding more. To me he arrived like most new players, eager to show his worth, ready to work hard, and over time he realised he didn’t have to work that hard because he was never going to be held properly accountable.

There are those who suggest that we never got the best out of him because he was never played in his favourite position. Perhaps there’s something to that, but I don’t think he was being asked to do anything beyond his capabilities. Playing as part of a forward three seems fine for someone like Lionel Messi, for example, and even if he were more comfortable with a free role in the middle he was more than talented enough to flourish slightly wider than that. Maybe it was a contributory factor to his disenchantment but that doesn’t excuse it either.

As for the circumstances in which he has gone – they are, even by Arsenal’s standards, astonishing. Ahead of a must-win North London derby we’re letting one of our most creative players go when our transfer window has been closed for the best part of a month. Having gone through January without strengthening the squad, the bottom line is that we have weakened it in February when there’s no chance of bringing in a replacement.

Our ability to do things in the transfer market you just never thought possible is amazing, really. I know many will say Arshavin had contributed little this season, and that’s a fair point. It’s hard not to think that there’s more to this than meets the eye. Just a couple of weeks ago Arsene said:

I expect Arshavin to be here after February 24 and that is clear.

It seemed as much a message to player himself than anything else, yet here we are on February 25th and he is gone. Maybe the reaction to the United substitution played a part, maybe he’s been agitating behind the scenes to get out ahead of Euro 2012 and the way we dress up the announcement as if we’re doing him a favour rankles somewhat. Maybe the best way for him to prepare for 2012 was to play well and train well for Arsenal, maybe instead of doing him a favour we should have demanded more from him.

I guess we’ll just have to speculate until the truth of it becomes clearer, but even by Arsenal’s current standards it is impossible not to look at this as another example of confused, directionless management from top to bottom. After a summer during which our transfer business was rightly pilloried it looks, on the face of it, as if nothing has been learned. The timing of this loan when we have so much to fight for is baffling.

It’s not so much that he’s gone that’s the issue, but how and when. I’m totally with anyone who questions his form, his work-rate and everything else, but with so much to play for and so little creativity in this team, I would have preferred to keep him until the summer, because with this Arsenal team you just never know who will be needed and when.

Still, we’ll have the moments. We’ll always have the moments. The Blackburn goal, last season’s winner against Barcelona, long range efforts at United and Liverpool (couldn’t we have kept him even for that game?), and the 4th goal in the 4-4 against Liverpool is right up there with my favourite Arsenal goals of all time. Look at him run, busting a gut to get there, and I defy anyone to watch it (45mb download) and not get goosebumps.

In the end though, the overriding feeling is one of a talent wasted, a player who could have been so much more, who should have left this club as something of a hero rather than a cartoon pastiche of the player who arrived that snowy, I Am Goonar day. It’s a shame it came to this. For all his laziness and the frustration felt by his lack of application, I liked him, as a player and a character. In an increasingly bland game he had something a bit special about him.

And given the circumstances in which it has happened, it feels like the right decision made at the wrong time. Do it January, bring in a replacement. Do in the summer, you have to time to likewise. Doing it in February, just before a game against Sp*rs, I’m not sure of the message it sends. Some will say it’s ruthless, that we showed we won’t tolerate indolence, others will suggest we’ve simply admitted defeat over a player we couldn’t properly manage.

He was Goonar, he is Goner.

Good post from Arseblog.

[Marc Overmars]

As he says no-one saw Bale as a winger then and we had Clichy and Cole around then.

This, on the other hand, is truly disgusting. And sadly, I have a feeling it's true. Wage parity for so many around £50-60k is ridiculous when most have done fuck all at the club. What's even worse is Kroenke seemingly picking up £25k a week for doing nothing.

http://www.arsenalinsider.com/4494/revealed-arsenal-stars-staggering-paypackets/

Well I'd take that with a pinch of salt of course, there's no way a confidential list like that could just have been sent to a blog. Some of it's probably true though given how large our total wage bill is.

Think they've made a typo here though...


AW picks up more than £7million a week :lol:

[Joker]

I don't have a problem getting rid of Arshavin, who's been poor for the best part of 2 years, but why the fuck didn't we complete this deal in January and get in a replacement? Now, our only options on the wings are Walcott (who's more likely than not to have a shit game), Gervinho (who's flattered to deceive) and Oxlade (despite showing a lot of promise, he's still quite raw)

What an awful example of the lack of leadership and planning at this club from top to bottom. Can you imagine Man Utd doing something like this? Pathetic.

And despite Arshavin being lazy and barely making a contribution this season, he's still capable of outstanding moments. Remember the first goal against WBA last season that helped get us a draw? The assists vs QPR and Sunderland this season that got us 3 points, the fine finish vs Swansea etc. Sure, these moments were far too fleeting, but who in our squad apart from RVP is capable of these moments of creativity? None of our central midfielders bar Wilshere certainly, and nor can we rely on our maddeningly frustrating wingers.

[Kaiser]

Yeah, the notion of fairness is admirable but stupid especially when it comes to a collection of mentally weak players such as our current lot. It would work if the team spirit was great and they all worked for one another, but that's been rare recently and hard to equate in terms of wages. The selection should be competitive and there's generally a hierarchy with wages as football is a very capitalistic space. It would be interesting to see what Manchester United and Spurs' wage bill looks like in terms of how evenly the players are paid.

[Joker]

Too many of our players are definitely overpaid, despite accomplishing very little as footballers. This lulls them into a false sense of security, makes them think they've "made it" despite possession mediocre talent and not having done anything of note in their careers.

[Power n Glory]

As he says no-one saw Bale as a winger then and we had Clichy and Cole around then.

This, on the other hand, is truly disgusting. And sadly, I have a feeling it's true. Wage parity for so many around £50-60k is ridiculous when most have done fuck all at the club. What's even worse is Kroenke seemingly picking up £25k a week for doing nothing.

http://www.arsenalinsider.com/4494/revealed-arsenal-stars-staggering-paypackets/


Arsenal wages…

(pw/k) WAGE (p/yr)
Robin van Persie £90,000 £4,680,000
Andrey Arshavin £80,000 £4,160,000
Mikel Arteta £70,000 £3,640,000
Theo Walcott £70,000 £3,640,000
Thomas Vermaelen £70,000 £3,640,000
Yossi Benayoun £70,000 £3,640,000
Gervinho £70,000 £3,640,000
Manuel Almunia £60,000 £3,120,000
Per Mertesacker £60,000 £3,120,000
Sebastien Squillaci £60,000 £3,120,000
Tomas Rosicky £60,000 £3,120,000
Bacary Sagna £60,000 £3,120,000
Aaron Ramsey £55,000 £2,860,000
Alex Song £55,000 £2,860,000
Jack Wilshere £55,000 £2,860,000
Nicklas Bendtner £52,000 £2,704,000
Marouane Chamakh £50,000 £2,600,000
Abou Diaby £50,000 £2,600,000
Andre Santos £50,000 £2,600,000
Carlos Vela £50,000 £2,600,000
Denilson £50,000 £2,600,000
Johan Djourou £50,000 £2,600,000
Laurent Koscielny £50,000 £2,600,000
Lukasz Fabianski £40,000 £2,080,000
Wojciech Szczesny £40,000 £2,080,000
Ju Young Park £40,000 £2,080,000
Kieran Gibbs £40,000 £2,080,000
Vito Mannone £20,000 £1,040,000
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain £20,000 £1,040,000
Carl Jenkinson £20,000 £1,040,000
Emmanuel Frimpong £20,000 £1,040,000
Ryo £20,000 £1,040,000
Francis Coquelin £15,000 £780,000
Henri Lansbury £5,000 £260,000
Ignasi Miquel £5,000 £260,000

That's just bloody ridiculous. Makes me sick to hear Wenger talk about a wage structure.

[Power n Glory]

As he says no-one saw Bale as a winger then and we had Clichy and Cole around then.

This, on the other hand, is truly disgusting. And sadly, I have a feeling it's true. Wage parity for so many around £50-60k is ridiculous when most have done fuck all at the club. What's even worse is Kroenke seemingly picking up £25k a week for doing nothing.

http://www.arsenalinsider.com/4494/revealed-arsenal-stars-staggering-paypackets/


Arsenal wages…

(pw/k) WAGE (p/yr)
Robin van Persie £90,000 £4,680,000
Andrey Arshavin £80,000 £4,160,000
Mikel Arteta £70,000 £3,640,000
Theo Walcott £70,000 £3,640,000
Thomas Vermaelen £70,000 £3,640,000
Yossi Benayoun £70,000 £3,640,000
Gervinho £70,000 £3,640,000
Manuel Almunia £60,000 £3,120,000
Per Mertesacker £60,000 £3,120,000
Sebastien Squillaci £60,000 £3,120,000
Tomas Rosicky £60,000 £3,120,000
Bacary Sagna £60,000 £3,120,000
Aaron Ramsey £55,000 £2,860,000
Alex Song £55,000 £2,860,000
Jack Wilshere £55,000 £2,860,000
Nicklas Bendtner £52,000 £2,704,000
Marouane Chamakh £50,000 £2,600,000
Abou Diaby £50,000 £2,600,000
Andre Santos £50,000 £2,600,000
Carlos Vela £50,000 £2,600,000
Denilson £50,000 £2,600,000
Johan Djourou £50,000 £2,600,000
Laurent Koscielny £50,000 £2,600,000
Lukasz Fabianski £40,000 £2,080,000
Wojciech Szczesny £40,000 £2,080,000
Ju Young Park £40,000 £2,080,000
Kieran Gibbs £40,000 £2,080,000
Vito Mannone £20,000 £1,040,000
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain £20,000 £1,040,000
Carl Jenkinson £20,000 £1,040,000
Emmanuel Frimpong £20,000 £1,040,000
Ryo £20,000 £1,040,000
Francis Coquelin £15,000 £780,000
Henri Lansbury £5,000 £260,000
Ignasi Miquel £5,000 £260,000

That's just bloody ridiculous. Makes me sick to hear Wenger talk about a wage structure.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

That's just bloody ridiculous. Makes me sick to hear Wenger talk about a wage structure.

Mickel Arteta does not get that much he was on that with everton and took a pay cut to join us, the rest of this sucks tbh.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Thing is though Bale is a very good winger too, he's creative scores goals and is direct so the full back thing doesn't really stand up, especially when Wenger is well known for playing players in different positions.

As for the salaries, we've known they were all rather high due to Wenger's policy of "fairness" and wanting to keep most of the squad on similar amounts (one of the stupidest ideas he's ever come up with incidentally and there have been a few).

Also 7 million for Wenger, that's staggering and a total ripoff, it's no surprise he's happy with 4th.

eassy to say now he was shite in his 1st couple of seasons for spuds and if we had got him then you'd have torn wenger a new one. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

[Özim]

eassy to say now he was shite in his 1st couple of seasons for spuds and if we had got him then you'd have torn wenger a new one. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.


Thing is you can spot talent even when a player doesn't deliver, Walcott doesn't have any IMO and never has had (I've been critical of this for years), Bale however does even if he hadn't performed the same would apply.

Diaby for example has talent, we've seen it, unfortunately he's always injured, in reality he should have got rid of him by now though as he's just too injury prone, it's a shame though because if you remember the CC final a few years back he ran the show.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Thing is you can spot talent even when a player doesn't deliver, Walcott doesn't have any IMO and never has had (I've been critical of this for years), Bale however does even if he hadn't performed the same would apply.

Diaby for example has talent, we've seen it, unfortunately he's always injured, in reality he should have got rid of him by now though as he's just too injury prone, it's a shame though because if you remember the CC final a few years back he ran the show.

Fair do's ill give you that id have never have known Theo would turn out this poor maybe it was the hope i had for him to be that wonder kind that blinded what he really is.

Yes Wenger should have got bale, do should Fergie and the chav manager then they were all in for him its only AW who is silly to keep bleating on about it.

[Power n Glory]

Mickel Arteta does not get that much he was on that with everton and took a pay cut to join us, the rest of this sucks tbh.

How so? If our wage bill is over £100m year and none of our senior players earn over £100k a week, how do you explain the huge bill? These aren't precise figures of course but's funny how you can say the rest is crap but still make a firm statement about Arteta's wages.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

How so? If our wage bill is over £100m year and none of our senior players earn over £100k a week, how do you explain the huge bill? These aren't precise figures of course but's funny how you can say the rest is crap but still make a firm statement about Arteta's wages.

Let me explain When i said it sucks i meant some of the wages we pay not all of them as some deserve them. but the dross we have on 50K suck.

I thoought arteta was on 40-50K which i did not think was too bad for him as he was on more at everton.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

That's just bloody ridiculous. Makes me sick to hear Wenger talk about a wage structure.

mannone
park
fabianski
djourou
denilson
vela
bendtner
squillaci
almunia

all OVERPAID SHIT. all players that are contributing FUCK ALL to the club yet still costing us dearly both on and off the pitch.

a new manager would come in, sell that shite and spent the money/wages more wisely.

who's fault is the wages paid to average players? wenger. he stuck by these players when its clear they have NOTHING to offer.

how the fuck is ramsey on 50k a week?!?! he's won NOTHING AND DONE NOTHING. ryo on 20k?!

jesus christ.

poor management and leadership.

wenger out.

[GP]

how the fuck is ramsey on 50k a week?!?!


Established first team player, international captain. It's the going rate. You might not like it, but that's the way it is.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Established first team player, international captain. It's the going rate. You might not like it, but that's the way it is.

ahh come on.

'established first team player, international captain'.

only reason he's a first team player is because we have a thin squad and the rest of our players are shite. he wouldnt be a first team player at man utd, thats why they offered him a youth contract but we for some reason offerred him a professional contract.

its NOT the going rate, its arsenal's going rate.

and its wrong.

you cant sit there and justify the wages for him. we've approached the wage structure in completely the wrong way and its wrong.

end of.

[GP]

ahh come on.

'established first team player, international captain'.

only reason he's a first team player is because we have a thin squad and the rest of our players are shite. he wouldnt be a first team player at man utd, thats why they offered him a youth contract but we for some reason offerred him a professional contract.

its NOT the going rate, its arsenal's going rate.

and its wrong.

you cant sit there and justify the wages for him. we've approached the wage structure in completely the wrong way and its wrong.

end of.

I don't have to justify anything. A lot of players are on the wrong wage, but he's not one of them.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Time will tell and I just hope we don't pick up more injuries. We gain nothing from this move and regardless of what you think, that one cross helped us get 3 points on the board.

ok so one cross gained three points, what about his lack of tracking back against swansea causing miquel to be horribly exposed costing us 3 points? he has done more harm then good this season, waste of space, unprofessional and good ridance.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

I don't have to justify anything. A lot of players are on the wrong wage, but he's not one of them.

you're justifying his wages and its unjustifiable.

wes brown was on 18k a week at man utd and he had won 5 premier league's, 2 fa cups, 3 league cups, and champions league twice.

o shea was on less than 30k and he has a similar honours list.

im not comparing them outright to ramsey but im just showing you how wrong our wage structure is.

what's ramsey done? was given the armband by speed because he was looking to the future. many said it was the wrong decision.

was out for a year with a broken leg, and has contributed very little/won us fuck all.

as i say, its arsenals going rate, NOT footballs going rate. not one other club pays its youth players the amount we do.

[Özim]

ok so one cross gained three points, what about his lack of tracking back against swansea causing miquel to be horribly exposed costing us 3 points? he has done more harm then good this season, waste of space, unprofessional and good ridance.
He's been poor no doubt about that, but he's one of our few players who can score a goal or two...we barely have any now.

I agree with GB though, getting rid at a time when we can't get anyone in is totally ridiculous, we now have to rely on Chamakh. Wenger continues making baffling decisions, there's absolutley no logic behind much of what he does these days.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Wenger also decided against signing Yaya Toure aswell as he thought he was 'average' in his trial here

he came on trial and didnt impress, so what was wenger to do? if he had been good we would have signed him, he wasnt so he didnt. we going to blame wenger for that now?

forlan was the worlds worst striker at man united, couldnt hit a barn door, yet leaves united and becomes one of europes top strikers. supsodly ferguson is great at making players be good when they are not, yet he failed.

yes wenger has made mistakes, but he gave us henry, who was crap when he joined and left as the leagues greatest ever striker. he has made many players brilliant, just cos one player failed to impress in at trail then became good doesnt mean we should blame him for that

[Olivier's xmas twist]

you're justifying his wages and its unjustifiable.

wes brown was on 18k a week at man utd and he had won 5 premier league's, 2 fa cups, 3 league cups, and champions league twice.

o shea was on less than 30k and he has a similar honours list.

im not comparing them outright to ramsey but im just showing you how wrong our wage structure is.

what's ramsey done? was given the armband by speed because he was looking to the future. many said it was the wrong decision.

was out for a year with a broken leg, and has contributed very little/won us fuck all.

as i say, its arsenals going rate, NOT footballs going rate. not one other club pays its youth players the amount we do.


No he was not

Wes Brown; £50,000 a week
John O'Shea; £50,000 a week
http://www.dbsfootball.com/2011/07/manchester-united-players-wages-how.html

[Özim]

he came on trial and didnt impress, so what was wenger to do? if he had been good we would have signed him, he wasnt so he didnt. we going to blame wenger for that now?
Well he didn't impress Wenger, but then maybe his idea of football wasn't 5 yard passing which leads to no end product.

He's not a Wenger type player though, he's competitive, tough tackling and likes to win.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Wenger also decided against signing Yaya Toure aswell as he thought he was 'average' in his trial here

Its easy to point that out in hindsight but at the time if he was no good what can you do.

[Ollie the Optimist]

He's been poor no doubt about that, but he's one of our few players who can score a goal or two...we barely have any now.

I agree with GB though, getting rid at a time when we can't get anyone in is totally ridiculous, we now have to rely on Chamakh. Wenger continues making baffling decisions, there's absolutley no logic behind much of what he does these days.

one of the players who can score a goal or two? ok, how many has he got this season? i genuinely cant think of any this season, his cross yes got us 3 points granted, great cross etc but for just 3 points out of the whole season. thats crap, we cant carry him, waste of space. would rather be a man down and promote youth like ox who care, might not be world beaters but will contribute more to the team then fat fuck would.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

he came on trial and didnt impress, so what was wenger to do? if he had been good we would have signed him, he wasnt so he didnt. we going to blame wenger for that now?


to be fair if he came to arsenal he wouldnt be half the player he is now.

you can bet we would have completely killed his ability and taught him how to pass sideways for 90 mins.

bet he's glad he never came.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Well he didn't impress Wenger, but then maybe his idea of football wasn't 5 yard passing which leads to no end product.

He's not a Wenger type player though, he's competitive, tough tackling and likes to win.

his brother kolo is not as good a player as yaya, yet wenger signed him not yaya because he impressed more and tbh kolo became a great defender for us, he is an invincble. yaya came good at city, just pure bad luck, not something we can blame wenger for

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Well he didn't impress Wenger, but then maybe his idea of football wasn't 5 yard passing which leads to no end product.

He's not a Wenger type player though, he's competitive, tough tackling and likes to win.

Funny that seen as we were playing counter attacking football with the invincbles when he was on trial, and he was not of that quality.

[Özim]

one of the players who can score a goal or two? ok, how many has he got this season? i genuinely cant think of any this season, his cross yes got us 3 points granted, great cross etc but for just 3 points out of the whole season. thats crap, we cant carry him, waste of space. would rather be a man down and promote youth like ox who care, might not be world beaters but will contribute more to the team then fat fuck would.
OK then well at least we can rely on Chamakh, he should get us a good few goals :lol:

[Ollie the Optimist]

Well he didn't impress Wenger, but then maybe his idea of football wasn't 5 yard passing which leads to no end product.

He's not a Wenger type player though, he's competitive, tough tackling and likes to win.

also though, if im right when he was on trial, we had gilberto at the time who was exceptional for us. wenger watched him and he was awful in the trail, decided no point to continue with him and let him go. yaya would have had to been brilliant for us to take him when gilberto was so good, he wasnt. also yaya has been good, dont get me wrong but he was never as good as he is now at barca etc, otherwise more clubs would have bid for him not just city

[Olivier's xmas twist]

OK then well at least we can rely on Chamakh, he should get us a good few goals :lol:

:lol:

[Özim]

Funny that seen as we were playing counter attacking football with the invincbles when he was on trial, and he was not of that quality.
Considering he played for the all conquering Barca team and fitted in well and has been immense at Man City I'd say he was plenty good enough.

As for the football, Wenger probably had other ideas already at that time, he must have been planning this youth policy cr*p for years.

[GP]

No he was not

Wes Brown; £50,000 a week
John O'Shea; £50,000 a week
http://www.dbsfootball.com/2011/07/manchester-united-players-wages-how.html

Exactly. Going rate.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

No he was not

Wes Brown; £50,000 a week
John O'Shea; £50,000 a week
http://www.dbsfootball.com/2011/07/manchester-united-players-wages-how.html

'Firstly may I start my saying that these are all reported figures in the media of how much the individual players are earning/will earn per week.'

well i heard he was on 18k a week:

'United don’t pay their fringe players anywhere near what we do. Wes Brown was on £18k pw, he knew he was part of something special though. We have players who are fat off big salaries. Who play for PAYE not glory.'
http://le-grove.co.uk/2012/02/21/arsenal-spend-10mill-on-loyalty-bonuses-and-agent-fees-hamstrung-for-years-by-arsene/


which proves my point, our wage structure is fucked if mr brown was paid that much and he won as much as he did, yet ramsey gets more and has contributed little.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Considering he played for the all conquering Barca team and fitted in well and has been immense at Man City I'd say he was plenty good enough.

As for the football, Wenger probably had other ideas already at that time, he must have been planning this youth policy cr*p for years.

Easy to say it in hindsight.

[Özim]

I'd complain more about Squillaci who is on 60k to be fair, he should be paying us to play judging from his catastophic performances so far.....got to be one of the worst Wenger signings and there have been quite a few.

[Özim]

Easy to say it in hindsight.
Well apparently Wenger had an eye for spotting a rough diamond if you believe the hype, maybe it was just pot luck?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

'Firstly may I start my saying that these are all reported figures in the media of how much the individual players are earning/will earn per week.'

well i heard he was on 18k a week:

'United don’t pay their fringe players anywhere near what we do. Wes Brown was on £18k pw, he knew he was part of something special though. We have players who are fat off big salaries. Who play for PAYE not glory.'
http://le-grove.co.uk/2012/02/21/arsenal-spend-10mill-on-loyalty-bonuses-and-agent-fees-hamstrung-for-years-by-arsene/


which proves my point, our wage structure is fucked if mr brown was paid that much and he won as much as he did, yet ramsey gets more and has contributed little.

No he was not When he singend his new deal Sky sports said it was 50K and i remember listening to it. Other clubs pay as much as we do only diffrence is their fringe players are not kids.

For what brown has done for UTD Fergie would never just pay him 18K while the likes of Kleberson got more.

[Özim]

Noone pays kids as much as we do, we know that for sure, otherwise we'd never sign any of them.

Kids must dream of playing for us, instead of being stuck on 10k a week we stick them on 50k.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Well apparently Wenger had an eye for spotting a rough diamond if you believe the hype, maybe it was just pot luck?

henry, song, rvp, cesc, kos just to name a few. he made a mistake in not signing yaya but if he didnt impress on trail what can he do?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Well apparently Wenger had an eye for spotting a rough diamond if you believe the hype, maybe it was just pot luck?

True maybe he was lucky aload of the time, no one knew Henry, Veiria would be Alwsome. Some times you find a gem and your lucky other times you find Theo nuff said.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

No he was not When he singend his new deal Sky sports said it was 50K and i remember listening to it. Other clubs pay as much as we do only diffrence is their fringe players are not kids.

no you're speculating as much as i am.

we dont know what he was on. we are both second guessing.

but it doesnt affect my argument, my point remains, our wage structure is ridiculous and we've got it completely wrong.

[Ollie the Optimist]

no you're speculating as much as i am.

we dont know what he was on. we are both second guessing.

but it doesnt affect my argument, my point remains, our wage structure is ridiculous and we've got it completely wrong.

but is that wengers fault or the board? yes i know wenger will say i want him so keep him etc but the board can turn around and go no, he is not good enough. surely they have some football knowledge

[Özim]

henry, song, rvp, cesc, kos just to name a few. he made a mistake in not signing yaya but if he didnt impress on trail what can he do?
Squillaci, Stepanovs, Chamakh, Bischoff, Diawara, Denilson, Malz, Jeffers, Danilevicius, Reyes, Cygan, Senderos, Rosicky, Walcott....that's just some of his bad signings and there have been plenty.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

no you're speculating as much as i am.

we dont know what he was on. we are both second guessing.

but it doesnt affect my argument, my point remains, our wage structure is ridiculous and we've got it completely wrong.

I agree we don't know and we do pay suckage wages to dross but so do other clubs we just don't here about it this much. Maybe because were not their fans and don't care.

[Özim]

True maybe he was lucky aload of the time, no one knew Henry, Veiria would be Alwsome. Some times you find a gem and your lucky other times you find Theo nuff said.
I think in the early days he knew the French market better than most other managers, this gave him an advantage....more recent years have shown he's not so good.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Squillaci, Stepanovs, Chamakh, Bischoff, Diawara, Denilson, Malz, Jeffers, Danilevicius, Reyes, Cygan, Senderos, Rosicky, Walcott....that's just some of his bad signings and there have been plenty.


i dont think we can count reyes imo, he was good when he joined but his head was turned by spanish media fucking about. the rest i agree with.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

but is that wengers fault or the board? yes i know wenger will say i want him so keep him etc but the board can turn around and go no, he is not good enough. surely they have some football knowledge

well thats a completely different debate that can fill 100 pages on the forum.

of course the board are also at fault but do you honestly expect anything less from the current pile of draconian ****s?

its more wenger i think. how can a man so (seemingly) intelligent be so ignorant to borderline stupidity?

which is why i think another manager should come in. no-one on this planet would be silly enough to stick by some of the players like wenger has and pay the wages ew do.

[Özim]

i dont think we can count reyes imo, he was good when he joined but his head was turned by spanish media fucking about. the rest i agree with.
His career suggest he wasn't really that good to be honest, what has he actually done since Sevilla?

[Ollie the Optimist]

His career suggest he wasn't really that good to be honest, what has he actually done since Sevilla?


i never said he was great, but he was a good player. remember 04/05 at the start he lit up the league, he did alright for us, could have been brilliant but spanish media fucked that up

[Ollie the Optimist]

well thats a completely different debate that can fill 100 pages on the forum.

of course the board are also at fault but do you honestly expect anything less from the current pile of draconian ****s?

its more wenger i think. how can a man so (seemingly) intelligent be so ignorant to borderline stupidity?

which is why i think another manager should come in. no-one on this planet would be silly enough to stick by some of the players like wenger has and pay the wages ew do.

true but getting rid of dead wood can be difficult, i mean who will buy bentner? sunderland dont want him apparently, we cant just get rid of them either cos of contract issues. yes wenger fault that but a new man cant just come in and get rid off the shit.

[Power n Glory]

Established first team player, international captain. It's the going rate. You might not like it, but that's the way it is.

He shouldn't be on £50k already. This is his first season as a first team player and he's already on £50k. That's just silly. He hasn't earned that. It's not just Ramsey, it's the policy in general. If Wenger sees you as a first team starter, he'll automatically give you first team wages. It's bloody stupid because if he turns out to be a flop as seen with Alumunia, Denilson, Diaby and Bendy, we can't sell them on. The 4 players I just mentioned equates to around £200k in wages and people say we can't afford to pay superstar money to one player. Rubbish. But they're right if we stick with this bloody policy. This communist regime Wenger is trying to replicate, we'd have to pay all of our star players £200k a week because it sets a precedent and we'd never survive.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

true but getting rid of dead wood can be difficult, i mean who will buy bentner? sunderland dont want him apparently, we cant just get rid of them either cos of contract issues. yes wenger fault that but a new man cant just come in and get rid off the shit.

Im sure we can flog him to benfica for 4 mill, Vela can stay where is he for 5 Mill, Denilson can go to a Spanish or Italian club for 7 mill.

Rosciky ,Almunia and fabianski are all on free tranfers in the summer so they they go who cares.

we can free up a lot of space this summer.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

true but getting rid of dead wood can be difficult, i mean who will buy bentner? sunderland dont want him apparently, we cant just get rid of them either cos of contract issues. yes wenger fault that but a new man cant just come in and get rid off the shit.

true.

and thats my other point, how the fuck have we got ourselves in this situation? we've created a pile of underachieving, unsaleable assets (and i use the term assets very loosely).

what is that? its poor management.

what should happen? he should be sacked.

what will happen? he'll stay.

why? because the board are incompetent.

[Ollie the Optimist]

true.

and thats my other point, how the fuck have we got ourselves in this situation? we've created a pile of underachieving, unsaleable assets (and i use the term assets very loosely).

what is that? its poor management.

what should happen? he should be sacked.

what will happen? he'll stay.

why? because the board are incompetent.

yes the board are. you seen freddie's quotes today? said dein would go to training and put pressure on players when tey werent winning etc, he goes and we win nothing. freddie was very vocal about it, said wenger and dein together were great, i wish dien was back, he really put pressure on players to perform and wenger did the rest

[Özim]

Was always a big fan of Dein, he loved football and was Arsenal through and through IMO. People turned on him but you can now see it was the board that were the problem not him.

He also had a lot of contacts, real shame he was kicked out.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

yes the board are. you seen freddie's quotes today? said dein would go to training and put pressure on players when tey werent winning etc, he goes and we win nothing. freddie was very vocal about it, said wenger and dein together were great, i wish dien was back, he really put pressure on players to perform and wenger did the rest

just look at the calibre of players we used to sign when dein was here and compare them to now.

chalk and cheese.

[Marc Overmars]

Was always a big fan of Dein, he loved football and was Arsenal through and through IMO. People turned on him but you can now see it was the board that were the problem not him.

He also had a lot of contacts, real shame he was kicked out.

He was booted out for seeking outside investment because he didn't believe the self-sustaining policy was strong enough for the club to compete, which has proven to be case. Also, ironically the guy he brought into the picture (Kroenke) and was derided for doing so, now owns the club, having been welcomed by the board.

The fact is, David Dein was and still is an Arsenal man, he was hands on and far more influential than any member of the current board who are in it for themselves. A 2nd voice to Wenger is what we've needed for a long time and although it will never happen under the current board, I would support the move if Dein was ever brought back in some capacity.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Was always a big fan of Dein, he loved football and was Arsenal through and through IMO. People turned on him but you can now see it was the board that were the problem not him.

He also had a lot of contacts, real shame he was kicked out.

Yep losing Dein was areal big Loss, even lady Nina said as much and got booted out for her troubles. PHW hated Dein he knew his role as chairman was under threat.

Now were stuck with Gazidaz.

Dein loved Arsenal, He loved Football anymore then current lot who are only Businesmen. Dein kept Wenger on the straight and narrow even if it pissed of cashley lol.

[Syn]

Posted a bunch of youtube vids of Arshavin's best goals - but it slowed down the webpage, I think. Quite a collection. He could strike it. Then he turned shit.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

You are being compared to an absolute legend.

In that case compare away. . . .:bow:

[Power n Glory]

but is that wengers fault or the board? yes i know wenger will say i want him so keep him etc but the board can turn around and go no, he is not good enough. surely they have some football knowledge

These guys are in their 70s and at retirement age. How can they tell Wenger about youth development? You've seen Wenger's prickly response to former players and ex managers when it comes to this sort of thing. He points to their credentials and talks as if their opinion isn't valid because they're experience doesn't measure up to his. I don't think PHW could walk on to the training field and make such an assessment about a players valuation. Wenger would just fire back and say he's been in this business for years and talk about the age of which a player physically and mentally matures in football (23) and justify why he's worth the wages.

You heard the talk about why RVP may not be worth a huge wage increase when he's approaching 30. He makes it all sound so scientific and precise. He puts forward a good argument and I doubt these guys could fire back with anything that would change his opinion. Plus, I still think they're all in awe of the man. We all used to get excited about Wenger's young players at a point and still do to an extent. Denilson looked like a fucking world beater when he first arrived. Diaby looked like the second coming of Vieira. Theo Walcott was tipped to be the next Henry! Shit, even Eboue had a moment where he looked like was top draw. We'd never predict in a few years that they'd turn to total shit. Heck, people had Song written off as a waste of space some years back and he's turned into a very good player and underrated on here. With youth players, it's a total gamble but Wenger makes it look like sure thing and people believed him. I can't fault the Board for thinking this guy would turn shit into gold. We all believed at one point.

Wenger is the expert in all this and gets paid well for his expert opinion. They shouldn't have to second guess him when it comes to the valuation of a player. The only way they'll know that he's getting it wrong is through long term results. Took a while for the fans to catch on to his pipe dream because the players he hallmarked as world beaters at 16/18 were still shit in their early 20's or couldn't even make it into the first team. He's had everyone focusing on the future, the future and in 3/4 years time, blah blah blah.....that time has come now and we're still not where he said we'd be. For us fans that watch every single game and scrutinise performances on the pitch, we've finally seen the pattern over the past 3 or 4 seasons. We had to hold up what we were seeing on the field against his words and talk about the future (2% away) to realise that it wasn't going to plan.

For the Board, I guess they'll see the pattern when our league position, wage bill and attendance figures start going up and down. He's very philosophical when comes to losing and always has an excuse. He could probably explain away the loses and results by pointing to City and co, the bad guys with more money than us and that sort of argument flips the attention right on to the Board. Instead of focusing on the results, they're planning trips to Asia and Nigeria, looking at ways to increase revenue without looking at the bloody results on the pitch and the manner in which we lose these days. Would be nice if they'd paid attention to football like Dein did, but how many CEO types do that in football with the managers backing? Wenger respected Dein and his opinion before joining Arsenal and I don't think he'd take advice from many other outside influences. He's had the same team together for years and won't even take Keown, Adams or Vieira on under his wing. I suspect they'd clash over what needs to be done in training. He's too stuck in his ways and it's his flaw. The Board will have to grow some balls and fire him. That's the one thing I will hold them accountable for. If they keep him in this job for too long after seeing all this then they're complete morons.

[Ollie the Optimist]

that is a dam good post PG, i agree with most of it. the thing is, yes wenger knows about football more then the board, but surely the board can see if a player is or isnt good enough. they control the money surely, so they could turn round and go well we agree he could be good but he has to score x amount of goals, or provide x amount of assists between now and end of season to get a new contract. wenger tells that to the player and he performs, if he doenst we get rid. hill wood has been in football for years and surely can tell if a player if playing well or not, if not then what the fuck is he doing running a football club. there is no one on the board you think knows about football, that was the great thing about dien but surely somone must understand something about and can tell if a player is playing well or not. otherwise i agree with your points, though ssaying that wenger has said more and more there are no excuses, look at the milan interview. glad he said what he said.

also point on diaby, i feel sorry the guy, thought he would be great, and he can be but can be utter shit too, i think he would have been imense if that **** smith hadnt fucked his ankle

[Xhaka Can’t]

As he says no-one saw Bale as a winger then and we had Clichy and Cole around then.

This, on the other hand, is truly disgusting. And sadly, I have a feeling it's true. Wage parity for so many around £50-60k is ridiculous when most have done fuck all at the club. What's even worse is Kroenke seemingly picking up £25k a week for doing nothing.

http://www.arsenalinsider.com/4494/revealed-arsenal-stars-staggering-paypackets/

Wenger is on £7m a week? :o

[GP]

A week???!?!?!?

I barely make that in a year!

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Wenger is on £7m a week? :o

Thats £364M a year no wonder we have no money left on tranfers and only buy kids.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

These guys are in their 70s and at retirement age. How can they tell Wenger about youth development? You've seen Wenger's prickly response to former players and ex managers when it comes to this sort of thing. He points to their credentials and talks as if their opinion isn't valid because they're experience doesn't measure up to his. I don't think PHW could walk on to the training field and make such an assessment about a players valuation. Wenger would just fire back and say he's been in this business for years and talk about the age of which a player physically and mentally matures in football (23) and justify why he's worth the wages.

You heard the talk about why RVP may not be worth a huge wage increase when he's approaching 30. He makes it all sound so scientific and precise. He puts forward a good argument and I doubt these guys could fire back with anything that would change his opinion. Plus, I still think they're all in awe of the man. We all used to get excited about Wenger's young players at a point and still do to an extent. Denilson looked like a fucking world beater when he first arrived. Diaby looked like the second coming of Vieira. Theo Walcott was tipped to be the next Henry! Shit, even Eboue had a moment where he looked like was top draw. We'd never predict in a few years that they'd turn to total shit. Heck, people had Song written off as a waste of space some years back and he's turned into a very good player and underrated on here. With youth players, it's a total gamble but Wenger makes it look like sure thing and people believed him. I can't fault the Board for thinking this guy would turn shit into gold. We all believed at one point.

Wenger is the expert in all this and gets paid well for his expert opinion. They shouldn't have to second guess him when it comes to the valuation of a player. The only way they'll know that he's getting it wrong is through long term results. Took a while for the fans to catch on to his pipe dream because the players he hallmarked as world beaters at 16/18 were still shit in their early 20's or couldn't even make it into the first team. He's had everyone focusing on the future, the future and in 3/4 years time, blah blah blah.....that time has come now and we're still not where he said we'd be. For us fans that watch every single game and scrutinise performances on the pitch, we've finally seen the pattern over the past 3 or 4 seasons. We had to hold up what we were seeing on the field against his words and talk about the future (2% away) to realise that it wasn't going to plan.

For the Board, I guess they'll see the pattern when our league position, wage bill and attendance figures start going up and down. He's very philosophical when comes to losing and always has an excuse. He could probably explain away the loses and results by pointing to City and co, the bad guys with more money than us and that sort of argument flips the attention right on to the Board. Instead of focusing on the results, they're planning trips to Asia and Nigeria, looking at ways to increase revenue without looking at the bloody results on the pitch and the manner in which we lose these days. Would be nice if they'd paid attention to football like Dein did, but how many CEO types do that in football with the managers backing? Wenger respected Dein and his opinion before joining Arsenal and I don't think he'd take advice from many other outside influences. He's had the same team together for years and won't even take Keown, Adams or Vieira on under his wing. I suspect they'd clash over what needs to be done in training. He's too stuck in his ways and it's his flaw. The Board will have to grow some balls and fire him. That's the one thing I will hold them accountable for. If they keep him in this job for too long after seeing all this then they're complete morons.

Top post Png Top post fella

[Power n Glory]

that is a dam good post PG, i agree with most of it. the thing is, yes wenger knows about football more then the board, but surely the board can see if a player is or isnt good enough. they control the money surely, so they could turn round and go well we agree he could be good but he has to score x amount of goals, or provide x amount of assists between now and end of season to get a new contract. wenger tells that to the player and he performs, if he doenst we get rid. hill wood has been in football for years and surely can tell if a player if playing well or not, if not then what the fuck is he doing running a football club. there is no one on the board you think knows about football, that was the great thing about dien but surely somone must understand something about and can tell if a player is playing well or not. otherwise i agree with your points, though ssaying that wenger has said more and more there are no excuses, look at the milan interview. glad he said what he said.

also point on diaby, i feel sorry the guy, thought he would be great, and he can be but can be utter shit too, i think he would have been imense if that **** smith hadnt fucked his ankle

I would like to think someone up there could put two and two together, but us fans are only just starting to draw a line under this. A lot of us have said we're prepared to give Wenger another year and I've even said it myself after the summer transfer window. But after this season, I just don't see the point because we're always going to be 2% away under Wenger. There will always be a Diaby, Denilson and Vela. We're seeing it now with Coquelin, Wilshere and Ox. They look amazing now and you'd want to see them grow under Wenger, but they could just as easily end up like the flops or players that leave before their time and by that time, I'm sure RVP's son will be on the verge of signing a professional contract with us.

His time will come because people soon start to notice the pattern with people that are able to sell a dream but never delivery on the promise. They have to focus on the current results and forget the young players he has coming through or has hopes of becoming a star. That's what we've had to do. As for any of them being able to say what a players worth, that's a tough one. If Wenger believes a player is going to be a star, how can you really challenge him on. With young players it's very difficult. Denilson, Diaby, Bendy and Theo split fans right down the middle. Some of us think they should be written off and others think they need more time. If Wenger thinks they'll be world beaters at 23 years old and you just have to trust his judgement and wait until the kid reaches that age. That's happened now and we're seeing the cull. But these guys showed promise when they were in their teens and we all thought we had Cesc clones on the conveyor belt. That's how our youth system was described at one point, or it's how I perceived it some years back.

[Ollie the Optimist]

i think we need a change but i will keep wenger for naother year, give him money and tell him to fucking spend it. i would get rid of pat rice though, bring in a new person. that should help.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

i think we need a change but i will keep wenger for naother year, give him money and tell him to fucking spend it. i would get rid of pat rice though, bring in a new person. that should help.

He's leaving anyways come end of the season, so a new no 2 is needed. Step up Steve Bould. We need a younger man who can relate with the players be their go to guy if you like.

[Power n Glory]

I wouldn't trust him with more money. They should just lay it on the line for him and say that they have his full backing with whatever he needs and see what he does. Let him know that their patience is running and this is his last shot and that they're considering their options. If he wants a change in staff or money to spend class players, fine. But they shouldn't tell him what he has to do and I get the feeling he'd continue doing what he's always done.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I wouldn't trust him with more money. They should just lay it on the line for him and say that they have his full backing with whatever he needs and see what he does. Let him know that their patience is running and this is his last shot and that they're considering their options. If he wants a change in staff or money to spend class players, fine. But they shouldn't tell him what he has to do and I get the feeling he'd continue doing what he's always done.

Thats should be the Ultimatium he gets in the summer do it this way or your out, and if he disagrees with then either he resigns or they sack him end off.

[Munchies]

I find it funny that we don't pay more to keep our best players when dead wood is earning alot already.
Benayoun - 70k
Walcott - 70k
Almunia - 60k
Squillaci- 60k
Bendtner - 52k
Vela - 50k
Djourou - 50k
Chamakh - 50k
Ramsey - 50k
Diaby - ???

Added to this, the shitty signings like Silvestre each year dont help much. Playing Silvestre at Nou Camp when we got smashed ? What a stupid position we've been in over the years and only Wenger is to blame for this.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

www.arsenalinsider.com/4494/revealed-arsenal-stars-staggering-paypackets/

Looking at the wage bill makes me want to cry. I find it hard to justify any of those wages for players who have won nothing at club level, nothing internationally and have earned zero personal accoloades for themselves in their career. Ok we are probably getting value for money with Oxlade and Szczesny salaries but the fact they haven't won anything nor been at the club long enough can't be overlooked. Man, football looks empty.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

no you're speculating as much as i am.

we dont know what he was on. we are both second guessing.

but it doesnt affect my argument, my point remains, our wage structure is ridiculous and we've got it completely wrong.

Wes Brown was on 45- 50k when he left United last season. But he only signed that contract (aged 28) at the end of the 08 season, 12 years after signing his first pro contract with man u, 11 years after making his first team appearance. Anyway besides his 10 trophy laden seasons as a first teamer at that time, he struggled to convince Man U to agree to those wages despite the fact that Newcastle were already offering him 70k- he was reportedly at 31k pre signing the contract.

www.caughtoffside.com/2011/07/07/sunderland-new-boy-wes-brown-factfile/

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/apr/18/newsstory.sport4?cat=football&type=article

news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7171748.stm

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Wes Brown was on 45- 50k when he left United last season. But he only signed that contract (aged 28) at the end of the 08 season, 12 years after signing his first pro contract with man u, 11 years after making his first team appearance. Anyway besides his 10 trophy laden seasons as a first teamer at that time, he struggled to convince Man U to agree to those wages despite the fact that Newcastle were already offering him 70k- he was reportedly at 31k pre signing the contract.

www.caughtoffside.com/2011/07/07/sunderland-new-boy-wes-brown-factfile/[e/url]

[url]www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/apr/18/newsstory.sport4?cat=football&type=article

news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7171748.stm


:lol:

caughtoffside and the guardian.

but yeah it doesnt affect my argument, he was with them for 10 years before he got a major contract and look at his trophy cabinet compared to ramsey's.

we give ramsey 50k+ for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

no wonder we cant shift some of the players when it goes tits up. these players start underperforming because signing a big contract is like a trophy for them.

shocking.

[Cripps_orig]

In-form French striker Olivier Giroud, 25, wants a move to the Premier League and specifically Arsenal, having scored 16 goals already this campaign for current club Montpellier.
Full story: the Sun

Arsenal and Tottenham are both in the hunt for Sunderland midfield sensation Stephane Sessegnon. The 27-year-old has been resurgent since Martin O'Neill took over at the Stadium of Light.
Full story: the Sun

2 Pub Teamers

[Master Splinter]

We need more goal-scorers. Giroud has scored a lot recently. Must Get. We're not going to get any huge, mega-money names, so a tall, strong goal-scorer in his prime and a relatively inexpensive one sounds pretty good. We always get French-based players we are after, so consider this done.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Fulham have signed Mahamadou Diarra until the end of the season. :blink:

[Flavs]

Fulham have signed Mahamadou Diarra until the end of the season. :blink:

makes sense he is quality but must be massively unfit

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He needs a VISA first too. :lol:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Full story: Metro

Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny is confident that striker Robin van Persie will remain at the Emirates beyond this season. The 28-year-old Dutchman has a year left on his contract and has said he will not discuss fresh terms until the summer.

Full story: London Evening Standard

But Arsenal's Moroccan forward Marouane Chamakh could be offered an escape route out by Italian side Fiorentina.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Harry Redknapp wants to manage Theo Walcott, 22, again - either with England or Spurs. The pair worked together when they were with Southampton.

Full story: Daily Express

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/gossip/

[Marc Overmars]

Podolski is trending on Twitter because we've apparently agreed a deal to sign him.

Uhuh.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Contrary to trending reports that FC Kohln striker Lukas Podolski has “agreed personal terms with Arsenal”, the German striker is hardly heading for a move to north London as it stands.

Indeed, Podolski is believed to be patiently weighing his options at the moment and will only make a decision over his future after participating at Euro 2012 this summer.

The 26-year-old’s current deal expires at the end of next season and his impressive performances have attracted the attention of Arsenal as well as Schalke and Lazio.

Indeed, out of those clubs linked to Podolski, it is actually Schalke who are deemed as favourites to land the left-footed striker.

According to Express, Schalke have moved to offer double the amount of Podolski’s wages if the German international signs on – a financial move which Arsene Wenger is unlikely to counter.

Schalke themselves making their own sacrifices to lure Podolski with club sponsors Gazprom reportedly to willing to fund the move for the German star in a bid to boost their profile while allowing Jefferson Farfan’s exit to afford a €6 million-per-season contract over to Podolski.

Personal terms in transfer deals are agreed only at advanced stages in negotiations with the Podolski’s current club yet to even agree over the sale of the striker, no developments have occurred in the possible transfer.

Thus, as it remains Arsenal are yet to even address the situation of Lukas Podolski at FC Kohln.


http://redlondon.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/podolski-has-not-agreed-personal-terms-with-arsenal/

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Norwegian international Havard Nordtveit admits he is flattered to be linked with a move to Liverpool.

Reports in Germany have suggested Liverpool are lining up a move for the Borussia Monchengladbach star Nordtveit.

Liverpool scouts are believed to have watched the former Arsenalyoungster on several occasions this season with Nordtveit impressing for Monchengladbach.

Nordtveit joined Arsenal in 2007 from Norwegian side Haugesund, but the midfielder failed to make the breakthrough into the Arsenal first team and eventually left for Monchengladbach in December 2010.

Nordtveit, who is away on international duty with Norway ahead of Wednesday's friendly with Northern Ireland, is calm over the rumours linking him with Liverpool, but admits he wants to play in the Premier League at some point in the future.

"I have not heard anything concrete about it from Borussia," Nordtveit told Nettavisen. "If it is just rumours or not I do not know.

"Borussia want me to focus 100 per cent on the job I have now. It is best we look at it after the season.

"I would like to continue my progress next year."

Flattered

Asked if he would like another crack at English football, Nordtveit said: "Yes, absolutely. Premier League is a great league and it's every boy's dream to play there.

"I said that I will play there once in a lifetime. Whether it happens in one year, five years or ten years.

"It is always flattering to be linked to clubs like this, even if it's just rumours.

"It is positive and shows that I'm doing something right."
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12691/7553149/Nordtveit-flattered-by-Reds-link

[Ollie the Optimist]

Podolski is trending on Twitter because we've apparently agreed a deal to sign him.

Uhuh.

yeah blid (german paper) said we have. they were the first ones to report shakri to bayern and reus to dortmund. both right. lets see

[Olivier's xmas twist]

yeah blid (german paper) said we have. they were the first ones to report shakri to bayern and reus to dortmund. both right. lets see

Its not on any of our papers though.

[Cripps_orig]

Shakri :bow:

[milla]

yeah blid (german paper) said we have. they were the first ones to report shakri to bayern and reus to dortmund. both right. lets see

With Oxomaid and Miyaichi rapid rise in the 2nd half of this season, cant see Wenger signing Podolski. Maybe Wenger is switching back to his old 4-4-1-1 formation.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Koln striker Lukas Podolski has agreed to join Arsenal at the end of the season, according to a report from Bild.

The Germany international's contract with the Billy Goats expires in 2013, and has repeatedly expressed his love for his hometown club. However, he has admitted frustration with the team's lack of progress in recent years, and earlier this year turned down the prospect of negotiations for a contract extension.

Amid reports that Koln are willing to offer to double his wages to €5 million per year, the player has stood with his previous pledge to wait until after Euro 2012 - and the opening of the transfer window - to decide on his future.

Arsene Wenger is a long-term admirer of the German international and the Gunners reportedly had two bids for the 26-year-old rejected last summer. But with his contract set to expire in just over a year, Koln will have little choice other than to sell their prized asset should he decline a contract extension.

Podolski is believed to be on the wishlist of Schalke, who are said to be willing to offer him €6m per year, but now it seems that the Arsenal are leading the chase for the former Bayern Munich man.

The 26-year-old Germany international has been in blistering form for Koln in the Bundesliga this season, scoring 15 goals and giving four assists in 19 appearances.


http://www.goal.com/en/news/725/bundesliga/2012/02/28/2935550/lukas-podolski-agrees-personal-terms-with-arsenal-report

Its on goal.com now.

[Xhaka Can’t]

http://www.goal.com/en/news/725/bundesliga/2012/02/28/2935550/lukas-podolski-agrees-personal-terms-with-arsenal-report

Its on goal.com now.

That makes it officially shite.

[Bergkampwonderland10]

Read the norwegian papers earlier and they are reporting a pre-agreement with Podolski too...link below if anyone reads norwegian or can use google translate!!
http://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/ligaer/tyskland/artikkel.php?artid=10052950
H (http://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/ligaer/tyskland/artikkel.php?artid=10052950)eadline is 'more trouble for solbakken (norwegian manager of cologne) as Podolski agrees terms with arsenal'

[Xhaka Can’t]

Sist helg måtte trener Solbakken for alvor innse at det nå ligger an til nedrykksstrid. I tillegg til sportslige vansker, preges klubben dessuten av en rekke interne motsetninger.

He said motsetninger. :haha:

[Bergkampwonderland10]

Has scored 30 goals already this season? Seen a bit of him...but have to say that's not bad going if true!

[Master Splinter]

Polish Germans :bow:.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Has scored 30 goals already this season? Seen a bit of him...but have to say that's not bad going if true!

No bad at all. Id love him here tbh.

[GunnerFan4Life]

Please ALLAH make this happen. FOR FUCK SAKE MAKE IT HAPPEN. Desperate times.

[Rors]

Bild are pure Danny Fullbrook, so I wouldn't get too excited. Still, it would mean I win my bet* **.. :scarf:

*Sportsman's bet

** Four months too late

[KSE Comedy Club]

The daily mail are reporting it too as of 20 mins ago.

Looks like this could be on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

:lol:

Season ticket renewal time?

[Dennis Bendtner]

Fan appeasement for selling RVP by bringing in a gay German lookalike. Sounds good.

[GunnerFan4Life]

The Gunners are also plotting a move for Blackburn midfielder Steven Nzonzi.
The former France Under 21 midfielder has been a rare bright spot in a woeful season for Rovers.
Nzonzi's displays for Steve Kean's struggling side have caught the eye of the Gunners' scouts.
Senior Arsenal scouts will now step up their plans to launch a summer move by having the 23-year-old watched on a regular basis between now and the end of the season.
Arsenal are also keeping close tabs on Nzonzi's team-mate Junior Hoilett, whose contract expires in the summer.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2107906/Lukas-Podolski-agrees-join-Arsenal.html#ixzz1niu1sGhp

this is part of the podolski article :lol:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

The Gunners are also plotting a move for Blackburn midfielder Steven Nzonzi.
The former France Under 21 midfielder has been a rare bright spot in a woeful season for Rovers.
Nzonzi's displays for Steve Kean's struggling side have caught the eye of the Gunners' scouts.
Senior Arsenal scouts will now step up their plans to launch a summer move by having the 23-year-old watched on a regular basis between now and the end of the season.
Arsenal are also keeping close tabs on Nzonzi's team-mate Junior Hoilett, whose contract expires in the summer.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2107906/Lukas-Podolski-agrees-join-Arsenal.html#ixzz1niu1sGhp

this is part of the podolski article :lol:

Not sure about Nzonzi but id take Hoilett.

we could have a good squad if we really work on it tbh, if poldoski is the start i am impressed.

[Cripps_orig]

German striker Lukas Podolski is close to joining Arsenal from Cologne. The 26-year-old has apparently already agreed personal terms with Arsenal, although the two clubs are yet to agree a fee.
Full story: Bild (in German)

Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea have been put on alert after reports that ex-Blues boss Jose Mourinho is returning to London.
Full story: Daily Mirror

2 Must Gets

[Cripps_orig]

WALTER SAMUEL'S refusal to sign a new deal with Inter Milan will spark a three-way fight for his signature between Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea.

The Argentine centre-back, 33, is out of contract this summer but he will demand £90,000 a week in wages.

His agent Barry O'Connor revealed: "Ideally Walter would like to come to London but he will listen to all offers."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4161071/London-trio-ready-to-swoop-for-Inter-Milans-Walter-Samuel.html

How good is he these days?

[Master Splinter]

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/891653-lucas-biglia-told-by-arsenal-you-must-improve-to-earn-summer-move

Yes!!!

We're still after Biglia.

Biglia :bow:.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Not sure about Nzonzi but id take Hoilett.

we could have a good squad if we really work on it tbh, if poldoski is the start i am impressed.

Not too sure about Nzoni either and I would have said a massive no way when he first arrived in the PL but he played really well against ManU but. . .can he play really well week in week out?

The statement is he Arsenal quality carries no weight anymore so may be worth a punt

[Japan Shaking All Over]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4161071/London-trio-ready-to-swoop-for-Inter-Milans-Walter-Samuel.html

How good is he these days?

90,000 for 33 year olds salary. . .never mind how good he USED to be, is not moving forward. . .can see his shirt selling at White Cu#t Lane already!

[fari]

90,000 for 33 year olds salary. . .never mind how good he USED to be, is not moving forward. . .can see his shirt selling at White Cu#t Lane already!

no way...he will be a squillaci all over again...he was a good defender but the pace of the prem would be too much for him i'm afraid. one of my endearing memories of samuel is seeing kaka rip him to shreds at the san siro years ago...twisted his knee and was out for a while iirc.

[Flavs]

loads in the papers and media this morning about having agreed a deal for Lukas Podolski. The "bild" was the original source so its probably not true in the least.

[GP]

loads in the papers and media this morning about having agreed a deal for Lukas Podolski. The "bild" was the original source so its probably not true in the least.

Bild is the German Sun, tbh.

[Flavs]

Bild is the German Sun, tbh.

exactly, as Arseblog says


The main thing that has people talking this morning is a big rumour about Lukasz Podolski. Depending on what you read he's joined us, he will join us, a fee has been agreed, personal terms have been agreed, he's open to joining us, he wouldn't mind joining us, it's a done deal, it's not quite a done deal, it's not even done at all and ZZZzzzzzzzz.

[Dog Toffee]

If he comes, can he play with RvP? E.g can we/will he play on the left wing, or will we change our formation? They seem similar players, both left footed, even look similar, hope that doesnt mean RvP's off.

[Marc Overmars]

RVP has matured into a centre forward so I don't see why Podolski who normally plays from the left can't play with him. Stick Oxlade on the right and we've got a pretty awesome front 3.

[GP]

If he comes, can he play with RvP? E.g can we/will he play on the left wing, or will we change our formation? They seem similar players, both left footed, even look similar, hope that doesnt mean RvP's off.

RvP won't be here :lol:

[Özim]

If he is indeed coming in then it could be the first indication that we think RVP may be off, at least we'll have someone in place to replace him this time and he'll be cheap.

[Cripps_orig]

Doubt Podolski will come.

I read one of the reasons he wants to leave his current club is lack of ambition.

He wont find any here

[KSE Comedy Club]

I think well get podolski and hazard this summer.

[Flavs]

I think we have more chance of signing Roy Castle and Gary Glitter to be honest

[LDG]

I think we have more chance of signing Roy Castle and Gary Glitter to be honest

A rectal breaker?

[Letters]

Get outta here :lol:


No. Really. Get out of here :angry:

[Letters]

A rectal breaker?

Defecation's what you knead.

:doh:


:getcoat:

[Flavs]

Defecation's what you knead.

:lol:

[KSE Comedy Club]

You just need Roy's anal trumpet to finish off now!

[Cripps_orig]

Oliver Bierhoff believes Arsenal would be the perfect destination for Lukas Podolski amid reports linking the striker with a move to the Emirates this summer.

The Germany international, who's scored 15 goals in 18 Bundesliga appearances for Koln this term, was reportedly a target for Arsenal in in January.

Koln coach Stale Solbakken has already conceded the 26-year-old could secure a move to the Premier League this summer and hinted the club would not stand in the way of any transfer.

Former Germany striker Bierhoff feels a move for Podolski has come at the right time in his career and maintains Arsene Wenger has the capability to improve the forward's game.

"The heart of Podolski belongs to Cologne," Bierhoff told Express. "But he's now at an age, where he has to think about his future.

"For Podolski it [Arsenal] would be a good place [to play], because Arsene Wenger is an outstanding coach, who could bring Lukas to a next level."

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/02/29/2937815/bierhoff-backs-podolskis-potential-arsenal-move

Looks like it might happen

[Olivier's xmas twist]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/02/29/2937815/bierhoff-backs-podolskis-potential-arsenal-move

Looks like it might happen

Think he is waiting on us to see if we get CL footie next season.

[Cripps_orig]

Think he is waiting on us to see if we get CL footie next season.Looks like it wont happen

[Xhaka Can’t]

:lol:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, who is on loan at Sunderland, could be set to turn his back on the Premier League and join the Russian revolution this summer.
Full story: Daily Mail

Bye

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Think he is waiting on us to see if we get CL footie next season.

Yeah that seemed to be happening last summer too. . .players waiting to see if we qualified for group stages or not. . .feck Cologne are not getting a sniff of Europe, be it CL or Europa League. . .either you with us or not. . .

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Bye

He can join whatever revolution he wants. . .Prince and the Revolution for all I care!

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Yeah that seemed to be happening last summer too. . .players waiting to see if we qualified for group stages or not. . .feck Cologne are not getting a sniff of Europe, be it CL or Europa League. . .either you with us or not. . .

Yep, hope we tie up a deal early summer not wait till late august when RVP has gone because we have haggled over 50p over his deal.


He can join whatever revolution he wants. . .Prince and the Revolution for all I care!

Yep this guy can do one tbh. In fact he should do the football world a favour give up tbh.

[Chrissie]

Just saw this in my local rag. Apologies is it's not new news:

http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/...winger/?ref=mr

5:10pm Wednesday 29th February 2012 in Sport
Theo Walcott is reportedly a target for Spurs. Picture: Action Images Theo Walcott is reportedly a target for Spurs. Picture: Action Images

Harry Redknapp is reportedly considering a move for Theo Walcott should he not take charge of England.

The Spurs boss is favourite to take the reins of the national side but should he stay in the White Hart Lane hot seat, he could seek to work with Walcott again after the pair were together at Southampton.

The 22-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season and has been the subject of boos from the Gunners crowd recently having arguably not lived up to his potential.

[Özim]

Bye, thanks for all the memories :wave:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Bye, thanks for all the memories :wave:

:lol:

[Cripps_orig]

Inter and AC have joined the race for Podolski

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Inter and AC have joined the race for Podolski

Ah well it was nice while it lasted and remember we have Joel Campbell who can play there.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Inter and AC have joined the race for Podolski

there are some things that work in our favour though, he is a gooner (i think) his best mate is merts and he wants to play in the premier league. i think this one will happen, hopefully before season has ended, at least it shows ambition to RVP

[Cripps_orig]

there are some things that work in our favour though, he is a gooner (i think) his best mate is merts and he wants to play in the premier league. i think this one will happen, hopefully before season has ended, at least it shows ambition to RVPWhat makes you think hes a gooner? He was raised in Cologne and sees Koln as his team

[Ollie the Optimist]

What makes you think hes a gooner? He was raised in Cologne and sees Koln as his team

from what i read, cant remember where was a link on twitter to an interview plus he has been seen wearing arsenal shirts etc. never said he was but i think he is or at least likes us

[Olivier's xmas twist]

there are some things that work in our favour though, he is a gooner (i think) his best mate is merts and he wants to play in the premier league. i think this one will happen, hopefully before season has ended, at least it shows ambition to RVP

The fact that AC and Inter will get in the CL and we may not will work against us. Not sure where you got him being a gooner from, i have never seen that before.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

According to the Daily Mail, Podolski has already agreed terms with Arsenal and, although a deal is yet to be finalised, the German is expected to complete a transfer at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old has been in fine form this season, having netted on 16 occasions in 21 appearances in all competitions for both club and country.

Arsenal have been frequently linked with Podolski in recent months and, it would appear, this transfer saga is nearing a conclusion.

Although the signing of Podolski may appease fans frustrated about Arsene Wenger's conduct in the transfer market, it may also be an indication that the Arsenal boss is planning for life without Robin van Persie.

The Gunners captain is out of contract at the end of next season and has confirmed that all discussions over a potential new deal are on hold until the end of the current campaign.

Although there is no suggestion yet that Van Persie will not extend his stay at the club, the longer he goes without doing so the the less time Wenger has to plan for his departure.

Arsenal are, of course are loath to allow the Dutch striker leave the club, particularly after his sensational form over the past 12 months or so.

Van Persie has netted 23 goals in the Premier League this season and, if the loss of Cesc Fabregas last year was a hammer blow, the departure of the 28-year-old would be catastrophic.

It is, then, imperative that the arrival of Podolski heralds the start of something exciting in north London, rather than representing the end of an era.

Podolski and Van Persie working in tandem has the makings of a potentially devastating partnership, and will also relieve the pressure on the latter to carry his side through games.

One suspects, though, that Van Persie thrives on this pressure, and being handed the responsibility of captaining the side has only served to bring out the best in him.

He has, however, been particularly fortunate with injuries over the past year, and the acquisition of Podolski would also allow Wenger to manage the extreme workload of his skipper, particularly following the European Championships this summer.

Things are looking up for Arsenal with the signing of Podolski. On

http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/podolski-must-partner-van-persie---not-replace-him

[LDG]

http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/podolski-must-partner-van-persie---not-replace-him

Yeah, sure RVP is the one he's planning to lose :rolleyes:

I would have thought it more likely that buying podolski (if it's true) would be to replace Champax, Park and Arshavin....

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal face a battle with Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United to clinch the signing of Anderlecht striker Matias Suarez.
Suarez, 23, has been one of the most prolific forwards in the Belgian League in recent years and has attracted interest from a number of big European clubs.
Juventus have been monitoring his progress, but reports in Italy suggest that the Argentine forward is more likely to make a move to the Premier League.
It has been reported that the striker had signed a pre-contract agreement with Arsenal and would move to the Emirates in the summer.
But that deal has not been confirmed and it appears Suarez is still available - and with uncertainty still surrounding the future of Carlos Tevez, Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is looking to bolster his forward line.
But he faces stiff competition from their arch rivals United and Liverpool who have also been impressed with the performances of Suarez this season.
Suarez's agent Jorge Cyterzpiler, speaking on Italian website Calciomercato, said: "The player has attracted interest from clubs in England and Italy.
"Liverpool have been spoken about but both Manchester clubs are also watching him. Juventus also have a chance to sign him.
"In April I will be in Italy to discuss his future. In the summer he will certainly move on but Anderlecht won't let him go for cheap."

http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/1593/06/arsenal-face-fight-anderlecht-striker

[Kano]

The fact that AC and Inter will get in the CL and we may not will work against us. Not sure where you got him being a gooner from, i have never seen that before.
i can't see inter making it with their current mess

[Cripps_orig]

Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are all watching Anderlecht's Matias Suarez, according to the Argentine striker's agent.
Full story: talkSPORT

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has revealed that he is pleased with his progress following his ankle ligament injury and can now walk without the aid of crutches.
Full story: talkSPORT

Need Mert back asap

[Marc Overmars]

His season is over man.

[Ollie the Optimist]

no need for a new midfielder, Diaby is back :dance:

on a serious note, diaby can be brilliant, in fact he is very similar to theo. can have great performances and be the best in the world and hten will be shit again for a while. if he can stay injury free he can be very good, shame we will never really see the best of him after that **** smith fucked his ankle. glad he is back though

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal have signed promising Luton Town teenager Tarum Dawkins for what has been described as "a significant transfer fee".

The 16-year-old spent three years with the Hatters' youth programme, and has been rumoured to been monitored by up to 14 Premier League clubs in the process.

Kilburn-based Dawkins, however, has been training with London side recently, even featuring for the Under-16 team.

Head of Youth at Luton, Gregg Broughton, had much praise for Dawkins, insisting that the youth player will suit Arsenal’s approach.

He told Luton's official website: "He is very quick both with and without the football, can play off both feet and therefore he will fit in very well with Arsenal's style of play.

"Playing on either wing, he is capable of beating full-backs on both the inside and outside, making him very difficult to play against.

"Tarum initially started in our Performance Centre at Crawley Green and, after impressing in this environment, he was promoted to the Centre of Excellence as an Under-13. Last season he regularly played up a year in the Under-16s where he was regularly monitored by the England scouts and most of the Premier League clubs.

"Despite the club's current non-league status, we continue to produce players with Premier League pedigree. Whilst we have now sold a number of elite players, it must be recognised that these youngsters have joined some of the biggest clubs in Europe."

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/03/02/2941488/arsenal-sign-luton-starlet-tarum-dawkins

:doh:

[Cripps_orig]

More importantly


Lukas Podolski could leave Koln for Arsenal for as little as €10 million (£8.5m) due to a clause in his contract, according to Express.

The German has been widely linked with a move to north London, with reports circulating that the 26-year-old had already agreed personal terms with the Gunners.

The RheinEnergieStadion club had hoped to obtain a fee of around €20m (£16m) for their star man, but should Stale Solbakken's side be relegated from the top flight this season, Podolski could be allowed to leave for less.

Following a disastrous run of form, including last week's home loss to Bayer Leverkusen, Koln sit just four points above 16th place, and could face a relegation play-off with the 2. Bundesliga's third-place team should they slip further down the table by the end of the term.

Meanwhile, Koln have been dealt a further blow with the news that they stand to lose over 20 per cent of the money they get for the Germany international.

Investors Franz Josef Wernze and Frank Asbeck each own 10% of Podolski's transfer fee having helped the club buy him from Bayern Munich, while the Bavarians are entitled to 10% of any revenue above £8.5m.

According to Bild, Podolski will sign a three-year contract with Arsenal and be paid an annual wage of €6m (£5m), almost double his current salary, should the move materialise.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/03/02/2941417/arsenal-could-sign-podolski-for-85m-due-to-contract-clause

[Japan Shaking All Over]

The Poldolski story seems to definitely have some legs. . .although anything can happen. . .I mean werent we really close to Mata
I hope the potential buying of Podolski (and The Express talking about cut prices smacks of our kind of dealing) helps RvP stay rather than be cover for his bye bye!

However I also hope it is one of a few, is this Suarez any good?

[Cripps_orig]

Never seen him play

Anyway who needs Matias Suarez when we have Tarum Dawkins

yay

[LDG]

Never seen him play

Anyway who needs Matias Suarez when we have Tarum Dawkins
yay

Great, now we're signing players in wheelcharis that speak with robotic voices.

Wenger out!

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have been alerted to the availability of Sao Paulo 19-year-old midfielder Lucas Moura, after it was revealed the Brazilian playmaker has stepped up English lessons in a bid to attract Premier League interest.
Full story: Metro

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may lodge an official complaint against the Belgian Football Association, claiming they "forced" Thomas Vermaelen to play a full match in midweek.
Full story: Daily Mail

Arsenal teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain took on 21-year-old Liverpool's Jordan Henderson in a 'keepy-uppy' challenge ahead of their Premier League clash this weekend.
Full story: Metro

Who?

Moaning again?

Who won?

[LDG]

Who?

Moaning again?

Who won?

Lucas Moura

Not sure. No quotes.

AOC (50/50 chance I'll be right)

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Who?

Moaning again?

Who won?

Wenger out tbh.

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal have emerged as the new favourites to sign Blackburn Rovers contract rebel Junior Hoilett in the summer, Goal.com has learned.

Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Bayern Munich are all closely pursuing the Canadian winger but it is understood they have been told that Arsenal have now jumped to the top of the queue.

Arsene Wenger is a big admirer of the pace, creativity and versatility of Hoilett, who is available on a free transfer at the end of the season when his Blackburn contract expires.

The Arsenal manager has identified the 21-year-old as a prime target in his club’s summer transfer plans after holding off from making a formal move in January when Hoilett came close to joining Spurs for £7 million.

Rovers accept that Hoilett, who joined their academy at the age of 13, will not sign a new deal for the third-bottom side in the Premier League.

Spurs led the race to sign Rovers’ most influential attacker, who has contributed three goals and six assists in the league this season, in January but were unable to agree a deal to offload Steven Pienaar to Everton on loan until the final minutes of the window.

Arsenal have made their interest clear to the player, who is represented by his father, and have been extremely encouraged by the signals they have received from the Hoilett camp.

The winger fits into the club’s recruitment model of buying principally young players with sell-on potential and he is even more attractive to Arsenal because there will be no transfer fee involved.

The club are aware they allowed themselves to be too distracted by the Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri situations last summer and have privately vowed to be far more active in the early weeks of the forthcoming window.

Wenger’s pursuit of Hoilett could have repercussions for the future of Theo Walcott, who enters the final year of his Arsenal contract in the summer.

Arsenal sources insist discussions with the England international are ongoing and there is no strict timetable to come to an agreement but the club’s bargaining position is weakened the longer the player’s long-term future remains unresolved.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/03/03/2943719/arsenal-new-favourites-to-sign-hoilett-in-summer

No thanks

[Olivier's xmas twist]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/03/03/2943719/arsenal-new-favourites-to-sign-hoilett-in-summer

No thanks

He someone we need tbh and on a free would be a fab deal.

[Cripps_orig]

Bayern Munich forward Arjen Robben is considering a return to English football and could join Chelsea, Spurs or Arsenal for as little as £10m.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

:pray:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

There is a "90 per cent chance" Lukas Podolski will move to Arsenal in the summer, according to the former Bayer Leverkusen manager Reiner Calmund.

German newspaper Bild reported this week that the Gunners had already agreed personal terms with the striker, and his o wn manager at Cologne also admitted he may lose him at the end of the season.

Now Calmund says he has spoken to the 26-year-old and is convinced he will be at The Emirates next season.

"I would bet a fortune on it! I talked with Lukas during the carnival. He is fixated on clubs in England, and I believe that there is a 90 per cent chance that he will move to Arsenal," Calmund told German TV channel SPORT1.

Full story: Sunday Mirror

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/transfer-news/Exclusive-Bayern-Munich-Arjen-Robben-hints-at-making-Premier-League-return-alerting-Chelsea-Arsenal-and-Tottenham-article87

[Olivier's xmas twist]

:pray:

How alwsome would he be, it make RVP want to stay if we got him and Poldoski.

[Master Splinter]

If Robben came here, he'd never pass to RVP.

Because RVP would be at Real Madrid.

[Unai Tea]

If Robben came here, he'd never pass to RVP.

Because RVP would be at Real Madrid.
As long as the ball is in the back of the net...

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is keen to sign Blackburn's Junior Hoilett , 21, in a cut-price deal.
Full Story: Daily Mirror

Arsenal are also interested in the Canadian winger.

Arsene Wenger has said that Arsenal "will do anything possible" to ensure star striker Robin van Persie does not leave the club.
Full Story: Metro
Liverpool are ready to bid £15m for French international striker Olivier Giroud , 25, who has scored 16 goals in 23 games for Montpellier this season.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/gossip/

[Cripps_orig]

Toilett can go there

Does anything possible mean buying quality players? Doubt it

Lets see this Giroud Pub Teamer at the Euros

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Toilett can go there

Does anything possible mean buying quality players? Doubt it

Lets see this Giroud Pub Teamer at the Euros

Anything means anything and AW knows that if he wants to keep RVP unless he has be told by upstairs they are cashing in on him. But You can see Aw wants to keep him, so i think he will bring in quality players.

Giroud would be Awlsome here with RVP and Poldoski as a front 3.

[Master Splinter]

Where are the Dempsey links?

FFS.

[Marc Overmars]

Pretty much.

Must get.

[Kaiser]

Dembele too. Would be great playing behind RVP.

[selassie]

I like Hoilet, think he'd be a good signing, especially if on a free. I accept he wouldn't upgrade our team but I think he'd be a great option to have off the bench.

[Fist of Lehmann]

M'eh. He's okay. Will probably end up going to Liverpool for £20m.

[Marc Overmars]

One of those nippy players who can be a handful to mark, but I'm not sure if the end product is all there. Don't think he's better than what we have in our first 11 at the moment.

Dempsey should replace Arshavin when we sell him. Seriously, make it happen Vinger. He's only got a year left on his deal as well.

[server too busy!]

Who?

Moaning again?

Who won?

Lucas is awesome, Creative midfielder.

Also Henderson won 146 to 128 or something

[Cripps_orig]

Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen, 24, who has been linked with Arsenal and Newcastle, says he has no intention of signing a new deal at Ajax and has reiterated his desire to join an English club.
Full story: Sky Sports

Funny how we get the Pub Team Belgian defenders but Kompany who didnt cost much was missed

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Funny how we get the Pub Team Belgian defenders but Kompany who didnt cost much was missed

Hes not a pub teamer though, he's actually class.

[IBK]

Hes not a pub teamer though, he's actually class.

Don't think you understood his post, mate.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Don't think you understood his post, mate.

If he is saying Jan Vertonghen is a pub team defender then i get it.

[GunnerFan4Life]

Chris Wheatley ‏ @GoonerTalk
Lukas Podolski's move to #AFC looks likely following Mertesacker's comments on German TV. Could be a massive signing.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Chris Wheatley ‏ @GoonerTalk
Lukas Podolski's move to #AFC looks likely following Mertesacker's comments on German TV. Could be a massive signing.

Needs to happen tbh.

[Marc Overmars]

Merts tapping up German players. :bow:

Good stuff.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Gotze next :pray:

[Master Splinter]

Mertesacker :bow:.

[Cripps_orig]

Who the hell is Chris Wheatley?

Id rather wait for a reliable source than some 14 year old tbh

[GunnerFan4Life]

Its everywhere now and AW was asked about Mertesackers texting tonight and AW said Merts is free to text anyone.

[Cripps_orig]

Its everywhere now and AW was asked about Mertesackers texting tonight and AW said Merts is free to text anyone.How would you know that?

I didnt see any Wenger post match interviews.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Gonzalo Higuain will listen to Juventus at the end of the season even though his intention is to remain with Real Madrid, according to his father.

The Serie A giants have tracked the Argentina international striker for over a year and he is well aware that a firm offer could be placed on the table in June.

Higuain's father and agent, Jorge, says the 24-year-old could be open to a transfer, but will not consider his next move until the campaign is finished.

Honour

"The interest from Juve is an honour. Now though Gonzalo is only thinking about Madrid," he told Tuttosport. "In May we can talk.

"The season is entering a crucial phase and he is only focused on winning the title and the Champions League.

"Juve have been interested for over a year, but Gonzalo intends to stay in Madrid.

"For now any thoughts of a move to a club like Juventus remains only a matter of pride.

"It is too soon, but in May my son will look at the situation and we will then be able to talk to them."

We should try and bid for this guy.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12691/7577520/Higuain-to-listen-to-Old-Lady

[KSE Comedy Club]

Merts tapping up German players. :bow: Good stuff. All we have to do now is wait for the Germany press conference at the euros and get merts to force an arsenal shirt over his head, then tell everyone about his arsenal DNA :lol:

[Dennis Bendtner]

Merts won't be playing in the one game he was signed for. Tapping up for next season is the least he can do.

[Arsenal Royal]

We've just signed Podolski for 13 mill. € according to German newspapers.

[RomfordPele]

We've just signed Podolski for 13 mill. € according to German newspapers.

Fantastic - a top class signing and a real statement of intent at last.

Let's hope it's true, and let's hope it's the first of several ahead of the Euros.

[Cripps_orig]

yay

Hope he plays v Newcastle

Oh wait...

Wenger :doh:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Its done


Lukas Podolski will become an Arsenal player at the end of the season after Cologne accepted a £10.9million bid for the Germany striker.

Sportsmail revealed last week that Podolski had agreed personal terms with Arsenal and that the only obstacle to a deal going through was the clubs’ respective valuation of the 26-year-old.

An initial near-£18million asking price was dismissed as prohibitive by Arsenal, who began the bidding at around £8million. With Podolski underlining his eagerness to spearhead Arsene Wenger’s attack by quickly settling on personal terms, however, the Gunners came back with an improved offer that was reluctantly accepted by the Bundesliga club.


Podolski is now due at Emirates Stadium once the Bundesliga season ends and will sign a four-year deal worth over £100,000 a week.
Cologne manager Stale Solbakken reacted to Sportsmail’s account of Podolski’s imminent departure by admitting he feared he would lose his prize asset this summer.


The air of resignation at Cologne increased after Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker admitted on German television on Wednesday that he had been quizzed by his international team-mate about life at the club.
‘He has been very interested for the past few weeks,’ said the Arsenal centre-back. ‘He has sent me a number of text messages, and I have told him this is a great place to work and Arsenal are an amazing club.’
Sportsmail reported last month that Arsenal were eager to convince Robin Van Persie of their ambitions by bidding for Podolski and his Germany team-mate Mario Goetze.
While Borussia Dortmund are in no mood to let rising star Goetze leave without a fight, Cologne quickly realised they had little hope of keeping Podolski, in the wake of Arsenal’s approach.


Wenger followed up his interest after Podolski impressed Arsenal chief scout Steve Rowley with a consistent run of form that has brought him 16 Bundesliga goals this season.
Wenger has been under mounting pressure to make the calibre of signings needed to dispel any misgivings Van Persie may harbour about committing himself to the club beyond a contract that runs out at the end of next season.
Polish-born Podolski is in his second spell at Cologne, after having mixed fortunes during a three-year stay at Bayern Munich, but has done enough on the international stage to leave Wenger in no doubt about his pedigree.
Wenger has also been encouraged to pursue a long-standing interest in the left-sided frontrunner by a firm belief that he has the pace and physical strength to thrive in the Barclays Premier League.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2111725/Arsenal-Cologne-agree-Lukas-Podolski-deal.html#ixzz1oTA0EdCe

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2111725/Arsenal-Cologne-agree-Lukas-Podolski-deal.html#ixzz1oT9uHsvo




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2111725/Arsenal-Cologne-agree-Lukas-Podolski-deal.html

[Ollie the Optimist]

now this is a statement. this team has something special about them in my opinion, yes there are better players, but right now they are fighting, playing well and really could do something special. siging podolski is great, its telling RVP, we are going to change, and we will kick on.. a genuine name being singed not a nobody. fucking happy right now. really feeling like im a supporting my team not supporting players who play for my club. keep this team together, get some signings in and something special will happen

[Marc Overmars]

I'll believe it when I see it on Arsenal.com.

If it's true though it's certainly a step in the right direction, getting a big signing in nice an early.