Summer Transfer Speculation and Shit

[GP]

Bild reporting Gotze will sign for Bayern.

Bild is essentially the German Daily Mail though, so it could be complete crap.

Then again they are "apparently" signing Lewandowski as well...

£37m apparently..

[Niall_Quinn]

I hope so, 16 other papers have said he's signing for us!

Yes, we paid those papers for those ads. Right above the add for the season ticket renewal.

[Cripps_orig]

Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal all want Fiorentina's Spanish midfielder Borja Valero, 28, who had an unsuccessful season at West Brom in 2008-09 and eventually left the Hawthorns permanently two years later after loan spells with Mallorca and Villarreal.
Full story: talkSPORT


No thanks

[mastermind84]

Obviously didn't see USA 94 then.

:sulk:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bild reporting Gotze will sign for Bayern.

Bild is essentially the German Daily Mail though, so it could be complete crap.

Then again they are "apparently" signing Lewandowski as well...

It's official.

Fucking hell.

[Kano]

where has it been made official?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It could have been hacked I suppose but Dortmund's facebook page.

SSN are reporting it too.

[GP]

Seems a strange time to announce it.

[Kano]

and a strange way, via facebook rather than their site or press conference given the magnitude of it.

if true, fuck bayern and fuck football players. what a shit transfer.

[LDG]

Must be Wenger's fault.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Borussia Dortmund some opinion by Borussia Dortmund striker Mario Götze, as well as his Adviser Volker Struth have days ago informed that Idol would like to make use of his buyout clause and go to July 1, 2013, to FC Bayern Munich.

"We are of course disappointed beyond all measure, stress, however, that the both Mario and his advisors have behaved absolutely upon," says Hans-Joachim Watzke, Borussia of Dortmund's Chief Executive Officer.

The BVB is now only right not by the big dream distracted, to lay the groundwork for a surprise Champions League with an extraordinary, developed for years and always grown on their tasks team in tomorrow's semi-final of UEFA and to move into the final at London's Wembley Stadium.

Together with coach Jürgen Klopp sporting Director Michael Zorc is asking all fans of BVB, Mario Götze in the last matches of the season, but above all to support Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, the major UEFA as unconditionally as any another Dortmund professional.

FC Bayern Munich no official Borussia Dortmund has stepped forward to the present day in this matter.

Terrible translation from Bing but I think you get the gist.

[KSE Comedy Club]

I don't think it's official but there might be something in the works.

We were never gonna buy him anyway, too expensive.

The sun say we're looking at Sunday Mba for £700'000

Sounds much more likely tbh.

[Kano]

that is also on the dortmund website from the 20th.

[LDG]

Terrible translation from Bing but I think you get the gist.

Ya. Das ist nicht gut.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Ya. Das ist nicht gut.

Nein.

[Özim]

Which pipedream signing will next be linked with us now that this guy looks like he's gone to Bayern :lol:

[Marc Overmars]

Wow. Bayern could be even more ridiculous next season, which takes some doing.

Time to go for Klopp? Won't be long before the rest of his squad is picked off.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Which pipedream signing will next be linked with us now that this guy looks like he's gone to Bayern :lol:

Falcao?
Jovetic?
Lewandowski?
The big show?

[Kano]

jesus. how depressing

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/apr/23/mario-gotze-signs-bayern-dortmund

[GP]

I do feel for Dortmund fans. This all seems so eerily familiar.

[Kano]

and of all the times to bring out the news, on the eve of their biggest game of the season. just when german football was looking decent too.

[Marc Overmars]

Hope they win the CL.

[Özim]

That's funny, I don't remember us winning titles in the last few years, no do I remember the Dortmund manager saying 4th place is a great achievement. :unsure:

[Power n Glory]

Ballack made the same move from Bayern Leverkusen when he was on the rise. It makes the league uncompetitive. If Dortmund lose all their stars then it's an easy league win for Bayern again next year.

[Özim]

and of all the times to bring out the news, on the eve of their biggest game of the season. just when german football was looking decent too.
It's still looking decent, Bayern are looking pretty good.

Dortmund have got a fair amount of top players anyhow.

[Marc Overmars]

We should go after Lewandowski tbf.

[GP]

and of all the times to bring out the news, on the eve of their biggest game of the season. just when german football was looking decent too.

Yeah, seems like Lewandowski and Hummels could be leaving too.

One step forward, two steps back.

[Munchies]

Dortmund still have players like Reus,Santana,Lewandowski,Hummels, so they're still up there.

But they were pretty far off in the bundesliga with all these players so they're only going to go lower in the league.

If only we could get one or two from that list

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It's still looking decent, Bayern are looking pretty good.

Dortmund have got a fair amount of top players anyhow.

They will probably lose some of those other players too.

[Power n Glory]

They're gonna get raided for their players. Reminds me of our first league win under Wenger. Dortmund will have to prove they're a long term dominant force in the league to convince players to stay.

[Özim]

They will probably lose some of those other players too.
I guess that's very possible, we'll have to see who they replace them with if they do I guess.

[Kano]

winning the league twice, finishing runners up should be pretty convincing. not sure what else you can do apart from be the main competitor for the league.

[Power n Glory]

winning the league twice, finishing runners up should be pretty convincing. not sure what else you can do apart from be the main competitor for the league.

You say that but their best player has gone to their rivals and this current team is probably on the verge of a break up. Klopp will have to rebuild a new team and do it again. It’s too short of a time frame to consider Dortmund as one of the elite clubs. They have/had an elite team but it all depends on what happens after that and if they can sustain the success.

[Kano]

you can never prove it if you are not given the chance and they done everything possible to ensure the players had the platform to build on it. there is nothing else they could've done. winning the league twice in three years, hitting the cl semi's too should show they are heading in the right direction. you can't invent a history (even though they are a pretty successful club) so what else can they do?

[Ollie the Optimist]

So last year Dortmund sold kagawa to a bigger club, this year goetze to main rivals and lewandoski is likely to go too. Klopp sounds like perfect wenger replacement

[Power n Glory]

you can never prove it if you are not given the chance and they done everything possible to ensure the players had the platform to build on it. there is nothing else they could've done. winning the league twice in three years, hitting the cl semi's too should show they are heading in the right direction. you can't invent a history (even though they are a pretty successful club) so what else can they do?

There are bigger clubs out there and players will always be drawn to them. Dortmund will have to keep on plugging away until they a establish a long term reputation. The last 3 years isn’t enough to establish that and build a legacy.

[Marc Overmars]

you can never prove it if you are not given the chance and they done everything possible to ensure the players had the platform to build on it. there is nothing else they could've done. winning the league twice in three years, hitting the cl semi's too should show they are heading in the right direction. you can't invent a history (even though they are a pretty successful club) so what else can they do?

That's the food chain for you. Bayern will always be the most influential and dominant club in Germany, Dortmund are a great club in their own right but that's the way it is over there. Sucks I know.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

It's official.

Fucking hell.
It's over. :rose:

I just hope they go mental now and splurge it on a Lewandowski replacement. A certain tall, Geordie called Andy Carroll. :pray:


Saying that, the sympathy for Dortmund; they're probably going to do the same to someone else. That's football...

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Was surprised he stayed in Germany although I never thought he would be on his way to us! He is stll young enough to see out one contract with BM and then move I suppose.
Any players looking likely to leave BM? No doubt Pep will give the squad the once over when he takes the reins proper.

Still means that we need to make additions . . .70mi, yeah righ but if it were true I could do the lot o a package of Lewdo, Capoue and Isco. Still need a CB and GK. . .hmmmmm

[Power n Glory]

Pep will walk the league with them next year.

[Kano]

There are bigger clubs out there and players will always be drawn to them. Dortmund will have to keep on plugging away until they a establish a long term reputation. The last 3 years isn’t enough to establish that and build a legacy.
obviously. but what else can they do? you can't build anything long term if your best players are sucked out every few years. we know that ourselves. dortmund have done everything possible to establish themselves but it comes down to ****hole players who cannot look at the longterm.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Pep will walk the league with them next year.

And everyone will hail him as a great manager. . .get Klopp

[Özim]

Pep will walk the league with them next year.
He'll have to win the CL for it to be any sort of achievement, Bayern are miles ahead in the title race this year so it would be hard to better that.

[Power n Glory]

He'll have to win the CL for it to be any sort of achievement, Bayern are miles ahead in the title race this year so it would be hard to better that.

That’s my view as well. Winning the league there isn’t a big deal for a club of that size and with their track record. The main objective must be Europe.

[Grebbo]

Awesome signing for Bayern. That's a good price too!

[Japan Shaking All Over]

So if they won the CL this year. . ? World domination? Didnt a small guy with a dodgy mustache try that already?

[Power n Glory]

obviously. but what else can they do? you can't build anything long term if your best players are sucked out every few years. we know that ourselves. dortmund have done everything possible to establish themselves but it comes down to ****hole players who cannot look at the longterm.

I wouldn’t begrudge a player wanting a new challenge after already winning the league twice. It’s up to the club to replace the players that leave which is what we haven’t done. It’s not like our situation at Arsenal. We sold star players and never replaced them. If Dortmund do the same then they’ll fall away from the elites like we have done.

[Letters]

So if they won the CL this year. . ? World domination? Didnt a small guy with a dodgy mustache try that already?I do not have a mustache, dodgy or otherwise :sulk:

[Kano]

I wouldn’t begrudge a player wanting a new challenge after already winning the league twice. It’s up to the club to replace the players that leave..
makes sense. he can stay in germany and....continue winning the league. the cl may arrive once or twice in his career if he's lucky but his current club are well on the way towards similar targets. you mentioned it is up to a club to prove they are one of the elite, so apart from winning the league, becoming one of the best teams in europe and seriously competing for the premier european prize, what else can they do to their current crop of players to prove it is worth staying?

[Niall_Quinn]

obviously. but what else can they do? you can't build anything long term if your best players are sucked out every few years. we know that ourselves. dortmund have done everything possible to establish themselves but it comes down to ****hole players who cannot look at the longterm.

Look more closely at the stinking agents who infest this game. They'd be hanged as spies and traitors in other walks of life - or be called lobbyists.

[Niall_Quinn]

I do not have a mustache, dodgy or otherwise :sulk:

It's not going to be otherwise, in truth.

[Niall_Quinn]

makes sense. he can stay in germany and....continue winning the league. the cl may arrive once or twice in his career if he's lucky but his current club are well on the way towards similar targets. you mentioned it is up to a club to prove they are one of the elite, so apart from winning the league, becoming one of the best teams in europe and seriously competing for the premier european prize, what else can they do to their current crop of players to prove it is worth staying?

They could increase the fee they pay agents.

[Özim]

makes sense. he can stay in germany and....continue winning the league. the cl may arrive once or twice in his career if he's lucky but his current club are well on the way towards similar targets. you mentioned it is up to a club to prove they are one of the elite, so apart from winning the league, becoming one of the best teams in europe and seriously competing for the premier european prize, what else can they do to their current crop of players to prove it is worth staying?
They'll continue to lose players for a while, if they reinvest the money in quality and show ambition eventually players will realise they are serious about consistent success and want to stay on.

Ambition plays a big part and that's not simply down to putting a group of players together, when you lose someone you have to show you're willing to re-invest it in quality and to continue moving forward. The other way is big investment which obviously isn't going to happen.

We'd done that hard work a number of years ago but then decided we no longer wanted to compete and thus have gone backwards, we'd now need to build again and change the perception that we're a selling club.

[Kano]

ambition you say? so none of the above things i listed demonstrate that at all? give me a break.

[Power n Glory]

makes sense. he can stay in germany and....continue winning the league. the cl may arrive once or twice in his career if he's lucky but his current club are well on the way towards similar targets. you mentioned it is up to a club to prove they are one of the elite, so apart from winning the league, becoming one of the best teams in europe and seriously competing for the premier european prize, what else can they do to their current crop of players to prove it is worth staying?

As said before and Zimm has just said the same, they have to remain ambitious. The current crop probably have dreams of playing for bigger teams but over time, 10 years from now, if Dortmund remain ambitious, there will be future young players that will want a long career at Dortmund. It’s what we had when RVP joined and the other young players. They grew up watching us win titles and wanted a part of it. Unfortunately, we haven’t come close to repeating that winning formula and we’re now only interested in balancing the books.

[Özim]

ambition you say? so none of the above things i listed demonstrate that at all? give me a break.
2-3 seasons isn't really ambition, it's just putting together a good group of players who happen to be good enough to win, this can be due to circumstances, this can happen at any reasonably sized club, it doesn't show you're one of the big players.

Sustained success or big investment do however.

[Niall_Quinn]

2-3 seasons isn't really ambition, it's just putting together a good group of players who happen to be good enough to win, this can be due to circumstances, this can happen at any reasonably sized club, it doesn't show you're one of the big players.

Sustained success or big investment do however.

Big investment is ambitious but battling to the top with limited resources may not be?

[Kano]

2-3 seasons isn't really ambition, it's just putting together a good group of players who happen to be good enough to win, this can be due to circumstances, this can happen at any reasonably sized club, it doesn't show you're one of the big players.

Sustained success or big investment do however.
you know what ambition means right?

[Letters]

http://news.arseblog.com/2013/04/exclusive-arsenal-miss-out-on-player-name/

:lol:

[selassie]

Pep will walk the league with them next year.

Yep, they will be serious contenders for CL too...they kind of are this season but their team does need upgrading in a few places to be on par with Barca.

They are very close though.

Goetze is a brilliant signing for them, he'll be world class in the next year or two, top top player.

[Özim]

you know what ambition means right?
Yes I do.

Showing ambition isn't flash in the pan success with no plan for success afterwards tbh.

[Letters]

I've not really been following this conversation but are you calling Wenger's 3 titles and 4 FA Cups over 7 seasons as 'flash in the pan' success?

[Power n Glory]

Yes I do.

Showing ambition isn't flash in the pan success with no plan for success afterwards tbh.

If Dortmund can recover from this period and build another brilliant team then you know they mean business. All clubs go through this including the big ones.

[Kano]

Yes I do.

Showing ambition isn't flash in the pan success with no plan for success afterwards tbh.
Flash in the pan!

Just imagine you’re a young player at Borussia Dortmund, winner of the league for the past two seasons, runner up this time, in the semi’s of the cl, regarded as one of the best teams in Europe, one of the best stadiums in Europe, one of the most innovative training facilities in Europe, some of the best young talent pools in Europe and one of the most sought after managers in Europe.

So you’re involved in all this as a young player and thinking that this is not a club doing everything possible to be ‘ambitious’? If so, then agents have already got to you.

Ambition means to work hard toward a larger success. What part of that is not taking place here?

[GP]

Flash in the pan!

Just imagine you’re a young player at Borussia Dortmund, winner of the league for the past two seasons, runner up this time, in the semi’s of the cl, regarded as one of the best teams in Europe, one of the best stadiums in Europe, one of the most innovative training facilities in Europe, some of the best young talent pools in Europe and one of the most sought after managers in Europe.

So you’re involved in all this as a young player and thinking that this is not a club doing everything possible to be ‘ambitious’? If so, then agents have already got to you.

Ambition means to work hard toward a larger success. What part of that is not taking place here?

Sadly, some can only correlate ambition with spending shitloads.

[Özim]

I've not really been following this conversation but are you calling Wenger's 3 titles and 4 FA Cups over 7 seasons as 'flash in the pan' success?
I wasn't even talking about Wenger :unsure:

But certainly the last 7 years show a lack of ambition by the club.

[Özim]

If Dortmund can recover from this period and build another brilliant team then you know they mean business. All clubs go through this including the big ones.
I agree with this, it's sustaining success not building a team then seeing it being dismantled and going back to mediocrity.

[Özim]

Flash in the pan!

Just imagine you’re a young player at Borussia Dortmund, winner of the league for the past two seasons, runner up this time, in the semi’s of the cl, regarded as one of the best teams in Europe, one of the best stadiums in Europe, one of the most innovative training facilities in Europe, some of the best young talent pools in Europe and one of the most sought after managers in Europe.

So you’re involved in all this as a young player and thinking that this is not a club doing everything possible to be ‘ambitious’? If so, then agents have already got to you.

Ambition means to work hard toward a larger success. What part of that is not taking place here?
If this club sells it's top players without replacing them adequately and goes backwards because it doesn't, then I guess the answer is no they aren't doing everything possible to be ambitious.

I can understand a team like Dortmund losing it's top players, it's not great for them but there's bigger clubs out there with greater history of success, Dortmund had a great team about 10 years ago as well and it hasn't really kicked on from there.

The clubs with real ambition try and achieve sustained success or at least try to for trophies year after year. In the real world a top player isn't going to want to stick around at a club he feels will sell off it's best players and pocket the cash, clubs like Bayern, Real, Barca, Man U, Chelsea, Man City (I know the latter two are bankrolled) etc will always attract top players because at the end of the day those players know they'll be chasing success (ok they'll get paid handsomely as well but that isn't the only criteria).

[Kano]

none of that addresses what i've written at all.

gotze had a clause in his contract activated - they had no choice but to sell. Lewandowski is in the last year of his contract next season. if they attempted to replace players and failed to 'push on', why would that be categorised as 'lacking ambition'? if they just couldn't duplicate the success, or bayern swept everyone away for quite some time for example does that mean that only achieving success demonstrates ambition? you cannot be ambitious yet fail to succeed your goals? bit of a downer for anyone across the world hoping to achieve something in their life.

your definition of ambition is somewhat out of sync with the true meaning of the word.

[Özim]

none of that addresses what i've written at all.

gotze had a clause in his contract activated - they had no choice but to sell. Lewandowski is in the last year of his contract next season. if they attempted to replace players and failed to 'push on', why would that be categorised as 'lacking ambition'? if they just couldn't duplicate the success, or bayern swept everyone away for quite some time for example does that mean that only achieving success demonstrates ambition? you cannot be ambitious yet fail to succeed your goals? bit of a downer for anyone across the world hoping to achieve something in their life.

your definition of ambition is somewhat out of sync with the true meaning of the word.
I think it's pretty clear if you're try to achieve success to be honest, generally clubs who give it a go are there or thereabouts, they don't languish in midtable and fail time after time.

The point isn't about the clause (though once again the clause is set when the contract is signed so is up for negotiation, so clearly that's the price they put on his head), it's about players wanting to stick around. Dortmund have are pretty good at the moment and have done well in the last few years, but as I've said before about 10 years ago it was a similar story and they eventually went backwards and really struggled.

As for being ambitious and failing, you could argue that's what happened to Liverpool, but eventually they ran out of money and stopped being as appealing to players, though they still manage to sign some decent players. Success is the marker at the end of the day.

[Letters]

I wasn't even talking about Wenger :unsure:.
Fair enough. Sorry. You usually are :lol:
As I said I wasn't really following the conversation.
Carry on :tiphat:

[Kano]

I think it's pretty clear if you're try to achieve success to be honest, generally clubs who give it a go are there or thereabouts, they don't languish in midtable and fail time after time.

The point isn't about the clause (though once again the clause is set when the contract is signed so is up for negotiation, so clearly that's the price they put on his head), it's about players wanting to stick around. Dortmund have are pretty good at the moment and have done well in the last few years, but as I've said before about 10 years ago it was a similar story and they eventually went backwards and really struggled.

As for being ambitious and failing, you could argue that's what happened to Liverpool, but eventually they ran out of money and stopped being as appealing to players, though they still manage to sign some decent players. Success is the marker at the end of the day.
success, i would imagine in your eyes, means trophies so mid table averageness doesn't come into it. finishing second to bayern for a while wouldn't be deemed as success in your eyes i'd imagine.

as i've explained the whole structure around the club and on the pitch is very much one of big success and that of huge ambition. if a player does not want to stick around for more of that, then it doesn't come down to anything but greed, particularly if they stay in the same country - you could make an argument for going to england/spain or italy to try something new.

your definition of ambition revolves around money and trophies, which does not make any sense. you need ambition to get there in the first place, something dortmund have understood and are seeminly setting everything in place to continue that. if an agent of a player fights to have a clause inserted, or a star striker does not sign a new contract then there is little to be down except look for replacements, which I’m sure they’ll do but to suggest they lack ambition because of that is insane. They are one of most forward thinking clubs around right now, full to the brim with ambition, plans and more importantly the ability to achieve. The idea that money and guaranteed success is the only marker for ‘ambition’ is failed ideal that too many fans have swallowed forced down their necks by the money men ruining the game for the past decade or so.

[Özim]

We'll have to see if they are indeed ambitious or whether it's just circumstances that makes them what they are today, if they're still around in 5 years time challenging then yes you coud say they have ambition, if they go back to what they were then you'd have to say perhaps not.

They're in a very good position, lots of quality players, some success and inevitably lots of money...it's important they re-invest that and try to build on it.

As for success being money and trophies, well in a players eyes it's is and that's what matters. Players don't want to spend their career at a club where his chances of success are minimal (I'm not necessarily talking about Dortmund here btw).

Goetze's move is no surprise, Bayern are the biggest club in German football, have a history of success and not settling for 2nd best, they have a similar pull in Germany as clubs like Barca and Real have worldwide, they're the Man U of German football and most top players would love to play for them, Dortmund can't compete with that unless they win CL's and challenge Bayern every season for the trophies.

[Marc Overmars]

We'll have to see if they are indeed ambitious or whether it's just circumstances that makes them what they are today, if they're still around in 5 years time challenging then yes you coud say they have ambition, if they go back to what they were then you'd have to say perhaps not.

They're in a very good position, lots of quality players, some success and inevitably lots of money...it's important they re-invest that and try to build on it.

As for success being money and trophies, well in a players eyes it's is and that's what matters. Players don't want to spend their career at a club where his chances of success are minimal (I'm not necessarily talking about Dortmund here btw).

Goetze's move is no surprise, Bayern are the biggest club in German football, have a history of success and not settling for 2nd best, they have a similar pull in Germany as clubs like Barca and Real have worldwide, they're the Man U of German football and most top players would love to play for them, Dortmund can't compete with that unless they win CL's and challenge Bayern every season for the trophies.

What if they do re-invest but can't quite manage to sustain the level they're at now? That wouldn't happen through a lack of ambition, that would be because their current crop are exceptional and it's always difficult to replace players like that and expect things to be as they were.

[Özim]

What if they do re-invest but can't quite manage to sustain the level they're at now? That wouldn't happen through a lack of ambition, that would be because their current crop are exceptional and it's always difficult to replace players like that and expect things to be as they were.
I think if they re-invest they should be up there, that's unless they have a hopeless manager. They get 32 million for Goetze that's a fair bit of cash. As I said though top players want to be at clubs that have a good chance of winning, Liverpool was the example I gave, they have invested heavily but in recent times it's been harder for them to attract top players because despite their illustrious history they're not really challenging these days.

I think a big name manager with ambitious plans can change things for a club like them though, it's just that Brendan Rodgers is unknown which makes it more difficult.

[Kano]

We'll have to see if they are indeed ambitious or whether it's just circumstances that makes them what they are today, if they're still around in 5 years time challenging then yes you coud say they have ambition, if they go back to what they were then you'd have to say perhaps not.

They're in a very good position, lots of quality players, some success and inevitably lots of money...it's important they re-invest that and try to build on it.

As for success being money and trophies, well in a players eyes it's is and that's what matters. Players don't want to spend their career at a club where his chances of success are minimal (I'm not necessarily talking about Dortmund here btw).

Goetze's move is no surprise, Bayern are the biggest club in German football, have a history of success and not settling for 2nd best, they have a similar pull in Germany as clubs like Barca and Real have worldwide, they're the Man U of German football and most top players would love to play for them, Dortmund can't compete with that unless they win CL's and challenge Bayern every season for the trophies.
that's the point, they are ambitious, right now! everything is in place to keep pushing for success, which is the correct definition of ambition.

players have been warped by agents and money, as have many fans who have fallen into the same trap of believing the same rubbish. as we are talking about gotze, he was in no position to believe that his chances of success were minimal given what they've won, where they are now and everything set up around him.

moving to a larger club in your country that you are competing with right now doesn't show 'ambition' it shows greed. he has won the league twice already. how many times will he win the cl at bayern? once or twice, which given the path dortmund are on is not too dissimilar. perhaps if he was in his mid to late 20's and wanted to play for a club with an illustrious history i could buy into that but when you are 20, there can be only one reason, given his success so far.

success doesn't equal ambition, ambition leads to success.

[Power n Glory]

He said he wanted to play for Pep.

The timing of the story stinks. It disrupts their CL prep. Bayern have played a little dirty.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/apr/23/mario-gotze-jurgen-klopp-questions-timing

[fakeyank]

I do not have a mustache, dodgy or otherwise :sulk:

You dont have much of a face either :sulk:

[Letters]

:(

[hobson's choice]

This Goat person , Bayern thing, is the reason I can never be mad with what clubs like Chelsea, PSG, City are doing. You try and build up the so-called "right" way. And every season, your best players are getting plucked from you. Even if you manage some success, because you're not one of the so-called clubs with "history", it doesn't matter.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Depressing, but you're right.

[Özim]

This Goat person , Bayern thing, is the reason I can never be mad with what clubs like Chelsea, PSG, City are doing. You try and build up the so-called "right" way. And every season, your best players are getting plucked from you. Even if you manage some success, because you're not one of the so-called clubs with "history", it doesn't matter.
There's always going to be bigger, better clubs out there. The only thing you can do is do your best to improve and increase your appeal, Man U are a pretty desirable club who can sign most players but that's because they've been massively successful.

That doesn't stop them losing to players sometimes of course, but it happens only occasionally and when it does they re-invest the money.

If you want to keep losing all your best players though, well then our policy is perfect, don't spend, don't buy top players, don't win anything and don't be too concerned about it.

[IBK]

As said before and Zimm has just said the same, they have to remain ambitious. The current crop probably have dreams of playing for bigger teams but over time, 10 years from now, if Dortmund remain ambitious, there will be future young players that will want a long career at Dortmund. It’s what we had when RVP joined and the other young players. They grew up watching us win titles and wanted a part of it. Unfortunately, we haven’t come close to repeating that winning formula and we’re now only interested in balancing the books.

This is the worst thing. We have lost a great deal of lustre through sheer mismanagement and lack of ambition. We used to be able to attract top talent because of our, and our manager's reputation. We are far less of a draw to players now and it could easily become a vicious circle.

[IBK]

Yes I do.

Showing ambition isn't flash in the pan success with no plan for success afterwards tbh.

Not sure I agree with you there. Clearly we used to have ambition. Not building on success is mismanagement rather than lack of ambition. But if ambition means doing everything you can to win stuff, then we are simply not ambitious any more. And the worry is that at board level, there's noone left with any true desire for footballing success.

[Özim]

Not sure I agree with you there. Clearly we used to have ambition. Not building on success is mismanagement rather than lack of ambition. But if ambition means doing everything you can to win stuff, then we are simply not ambitious any more. And the worry is that at board level, there's noone left with any true desire for footballing success.
We had ambition when Dein was around yes, but actually I was talking about Dortmund here.

Nowadays we're not ambitious, we don't aspire to compete with the best or indeed win trophies, 4th is what we aspire to and that's no ambition.

[IBK]

We had ambition when Dein was around yes, but actually I was talking about Dortmund here.

Nowadays we're not ambitious, we don't aspire to compete with the best or indeed win trophies, 4th is what we aspire to and that's no ambition.

...and Fiszman - although ironically he ousted DD...

[server too busy!]

Are we not ambitious or is it more to do with the fact we don't have the money due to building a new stadium. That should all start changing now that we have our sponsorship deals coming to renewal, so lets wait and see.

I don't think its a concidence that Wenger says we must make a £20-25m profit on every transfer window.

[GP]

Are we not ambitious or is it more to do with the fact we don't have the money due to building a new stadium. That should all start changing now that we have our sponsorship deals coming to renewal, so lets wait and see.

I don't think its a concidence that Wenger says we must make a £20-25m profit on every transfer window.

I think that's a lot to do with it. We always knew that short-term there would be a lot of belt tightening. 2013/14 was always the target, with the commercial renewals.

Time will tell.

[Özim]

Are we not ambitious or is it more to do with the fact we don't have the money due to building a new stadium. That should all start changing now that we have our sponsorship deals coming to renewal, so lets wait and see.

I don't think its a concidence that Wenger says we must make a £20-25m profit on every transfer window.
We're not ambitious, it's clear the club are only interested in money...everything they do and say is indicative of that.

There's nothing to wait and see and nothing will change, people have been making excuses about this and that for years, but let's face it there's no sign of anything changing.

This belt tightening BS is precisely that, it's a good excuse for them to rake in the cash and spend nothing.

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal have revived their interest in Sevilla's 26-year-old Argentine defender Federico Fazio.
Full story: Daily Mail

The Gunners are also interested in Hamburg's 28-year-old goalkeeper Rene Adler after being priced out of moves for Sunderland's Simon Mignolet and Asmir Begovic of Stoke.
Full story: Daily Mirror

FC Basel's Austrian defender Aleksander Dragovic, 22, is ready to snub a move to Arsenal and German side Borussia Dortmund to join Everton.
Full story: talkSPORT


No thanks

Better than what we have

Losing out to Everton :lol: How the mighty have fallen

[Niall_Quinn]

Priced out for both those goalkeepers? I know it's just media shite but if there's any truth to it then it's a fair indication of what our war chestthimble is going to look like come the summer.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

It's shite. . .but so is the apparant amount we have to spend or at least I'll believe it when I see it

[KSE Comedy Club]

It's disgusting and despicable that we haven't signed lewandowski yet tbh

:sulk:

[cheesy bites]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2314523/Arsenal-hope-land-Barcelona-youngster-Julio-Pleguezuelo-Selva.html

Arsenal appear to have won the race for another highly-rated Barcelona youngster as the north London club look set to capture 16-year-old Julio Pleguezuelo Selva.

Premier League rivals Tottenham and Manchester City were both tracking the teenager, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to prevail in the chase for Selva’s signature.

If the Gunners are successful they will land the Spaniard on the cheap, as he hasn’t yet signed a contract at Barca, according to the Daily Mirror.

Arsene please. It's all about the Bundesliga now :thumbsdown:

[KSE Comedy Club]

Yay zzzzzzzzzz

[selassie]

Priced out for both those goalkeepers? I know it's just media shite but if there's any truth to it then it's a fair indication of what our war chestthimble is going to look like come the summer.

Yeah...though a lot of it IMHO is to do with Arsene's "principled stance" on what he feels is the "right price" to pay for a keeper.

This summer will be no different to previous summers..aside from the fact that this year we don't actually have any decent players teams want.

[IBK]

Are we not ambitious or is it more to do with the fact we don't have the money due to building a new stadium. That should all start changing now that we have our sponsorship deals coming to renewal, so lets wait and see.

I don't think its a concidence that Wenger says we must make a £20-25m profit on every transfer window.

I think it Was the stadium, but since then we have seemingly thrown in the towel as regards our 'richer' competitors; naively awaited FFP and focusses on commercial, rather than footballing success under a manager who has had his day.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Time for usmanov tbh.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Time to relaunch operation bring cesc home again I think. Him, jack, Cazorla in the midfield. Footballing porn that is

[Marc Overmars]

Cesc is not much of midfielder anymore really.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Priced out for both those goalkeepers? I know it's just media shite but if there's any truth to it then it's a fair indication of what our war chestthimble is going to look like come the summer.

You think that is bad, Lewandoski's four goals against Real have just blown us out the water regarding that little bit of business. . . .(save the 'we were never going to get him' posts)

[Niall_Quinn]

Time to relaunch operation bring cesc home again I think. Him, jack, Cazorla in the midfield. Footballing porn that is

Cesc has a 227million billion Euro buy clause doesn't he? At least it's more that £17.57 which would be our maximum bid (having lied and said we'd go to £17.60)

[Niall_Quinn]

You think that is bad, Lewandoski's four goals against Real have just blown us out the water regarding that little bit of business. . . .(save the 'we were never going to get him' posts)

We were never going to get him.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

We were never going to get him.

You just wouldn't let it lie. . .

[Niall_Quinn]

You just wouldn't let it lie. . .

I was on the way to the witty response bank when I realised...

[Cripps_orig]

Cesc is not much of midfielder anymore really.
As a great man once said

"He's more **** than man"*


*give or take a word

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal have made a move towards signing top summer transfer target Stevan Jovetic, 23, after opening talks with Fiorentina over the striker.
Full story: Daily Mail

Borussia Dortmund could be ready to spend big money to prize Arsenal target, midfielder Julian Draxler, 19, away from Schalke this summer.
Full story: talkSPORT


Hope this is true.

No chance of getting him. Time for Isco to come home

[Joker]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11670/8672228/Arsenal-boss-Wenger-is-afraid-of-Chelsea-s-spending-power-this-summer

Just worry about getting players in Arsene, forget about Chelsea, we're not even competing in the same market as them (nor do we have to).

[Injury Time]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11670/8672228/Arsenal-boss-Wenger-is-afraid-of-Chelsea-s-spending-power-this-summer

Just worry about getting players in Arsene, forget about Chelsea, we're not even competing in the same market as them (nor do we have to).
Is he worried they won't spend some buying Theo, Ox, or Pod?

[Marc Overmars]

The first seeds of summer excuses have been planted.

[Özim]

The first seeds of summer excuses have been planted.
Yeah, Chelsea will see we're interested in signing someone and will sign him just to stop us getting him. It's a sorry state of affairs.

How can we possibly compete when faced with such adversity?

[I_Killed_Kenny]

sporadic poster here but if Lewendowski does actually move to bayern what do people think about trying for Gomes? Already fallen behind the pecking order by mandzukic this season and then with Lew going there he will be further behind. Top class striker, lethal finisher. German, nuff said?

[Kano]

can't see it. wenger has his one 'big lump' option, he'll look for more agile, ball playing strikers instead.

[Marc Overmars]

sporadic poster here but if Lewendowski does actually move to bayern what do people think about trying for Gomes? Already fallen behind the pecking order by mandzukic this season and then with Lew going there he will be further behind. Top class striker, lethal finisher. German, nuff said?

He'd be worse than Giroud here.

Bayern play with a lot of width and that allows a striker like Gomez to fill his boots, he certainly wouldn't get the same level of service with us.

[I_Killed_Kenny]

fake strikers you mean. would be nice to have another proper striker on the books!

[I_Killed_Kenny]

He'd be worse than Giroud here.

Bayern play with a lot of width and that allows a striker like Gomez to fill his boots, he certainly wouldn't get the same level of service with us.

dont quite agree there. a lot of people on here moan about girouds lack of killer instinct. how he needs 4 chances to score. these chances are being provided though. with someone of gomes' calibre, these missed chances from giroud may become goals from gomes. and thats one thing he can do, finish.

[Özim]

Gomes misses loads to be fair.

[Kano]

Gomes misses loads to be fair.
31 shots, 10 goals.

pretty impressive.

[Globalgunner]

Hope this is true.

No chance of getting him. Time for Isco to come home

Schalke hate Dortmund with a passion. Dortmund wont get him unless they offer something absolutely ridiculous like 20m Euros. We might have a chance with our 20p bid

[I_Killed_Kenny]

31 shots, 10 goals.

pretty impressive.

tbh i havent looked up on his actual stats but when i have seen him play for bayern or germany he always seems dangerous and in the right place. neither of those play with proper wingers but wide forwards just like we do. this is where my suggestion has come from. We aint getting the likes of higuian or benzema and so i thought someone proven like gomez would be a good buy seeing as tho he may be surplus now.

[Letters]

Gomes misses loads to be fair.
Every striker does.

It's a complete myth that there are any strikers out there who score most of their chances.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Every striker does.

It's a complete myth that there are any strikers out there who score most of their chances.


This could be wrong but certain I've seen this stat, and that's GIROUD has a better conversion rate this year then judas

[Globalgunner]

Every striker does.

It's a complete myth that there are any strikers out there who score most of their chances.

How did Lewandowski do on wednesday. i make that 4 out of 5

[Marc Overmars]

This could be wrong but certain I've seen this stat, and that's GIROUD has a better conversion rate this year then judas

:haha:

[Kano]

This could be wrong but certain I've seen this stat, and that's GIROUD has a better conversion rate this year then judas
about 5% less than rvp.

[Özim]

31 shots, 10 goals.

pretty impressive.
He's only had 31 shots all season?

[Özim]

:haha:
:lol:

[Kano]

tbh i havent looked up on his actual stats but when i have seen him play for bayern or germany he always seems dangerous and in the right place. neither of those play with proper wingers but wide forwards just like we do. this is where my suggestion has come from. We aint getting the likes of higuian or benzema and so i thought someone proven like gomez would be a good buy seeing as tho he may be surplus now.
far from being wasteful his conversion rate is impressively high. i can't say i'm a massive fan of gomez but for a few seasons he seems to be very accurate in terms of taking chances, usually one in four or so. would be a good buy but he'd cost a bomb that we wouldn't pay.

[Özim]

Every striker does.

It's a complete myth that there are any strikers out there who score most of their chances.
They do, it's just that some strikers seem to miss more close range efforts than others.

It's more acceptable to miss the harder chances but the simple 5 yard finishes it's not so easy to forgive.

[Kano]

He's only had 31 shots all season?
only played 17 games in bundesliga - not sure how many starts. Mandzukic has been the main man there.

his overall stats are 16 goals from 55 shots, 26 games.

[Letters]

How did Lewandowski do on wednesday. i make that 4 out of 5
I'm sure he does that every game.

[Özim]

only played 17 games in bundesliga - not sure how many starts. Mandzukic has been the main man there.
Ok fair enough, I think most of his efforts are from close range (at least most of the ones I've seen him take are) which probably explains his conversion rate a bit.

[I_Killed_Kenny]

far from being wasteful his conversion rate is impressively high. i can't say i'm a massive fan of gomez but for a few seasons he seems to be very accurate in terms of taking chances, usually one in four or so. would be a good buy but he'd cost a bomb that we wouldn't pay.

how much would you reckon that bomb would cost though, £20m? at the most i would say. considering he would be 3rd choice now. ticks all the boxes for me anyway.

[Özim]

I'm sure he does that every game.
Probably not, but he's got an eye for goal, he seems to be able to shoot from long range and also create his own chances by movement and skill.

The goals the other night were not put on a plate for him, his movement was exceptional. He just seems a very dynamic striker who is very good on the deck.

[I_Killed_Kenny]

Probably not, but he's got an eye for goal, he seems to be able to shoot from long range and also create his own chances by movement and skill.

The goals the other night were not put on a plate for him, his movement was exceptional. He just seems a very dynamic striker who is very good on the deck.

lewendowski is top drawer i say. I for one have been wanting us to move for him for 2 years now, but then again i have ambition! great all round game. fat sam reckons he nearly signed him for blackburn

[Kano]

Ok fair enough, I think most of his efforts are from close range (at least most of the ones I've seen him take are) which probably explains his conversion rate a bit.
not sure anyone here can gauge that without watching him every week and even so, it doesn't matter because that means he knows where to be to convert them. you don't score 110 in 168 for bayern by being wasteful or overrated striker. he's no falcao of course but he's bloody good.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

not sure anyone here can gauge that without watching him every week and even so, it doesn't matter because that means he knows where to be to convert them. you don't score 110 in 168 for bayern by being wasteful or overrated striker. he's no falcao of course but he's bloody good.

And was "nailed on" to sign for Liverpool for about 3 years running.... not anymore...

[Kano]

how much would you reckon that bomb would cost though, £20m? at the most i would say. considering he would be 3rd choice now. ticks all the boxes for me anyway.

well he has a contract until 2016, so it all depends on clauses and how much value they place in him. 20-30 i'd imagine for him, coming from bayern. even the bottom end of that is out of our style of buying.

[Joker]

This could be wrong but certain I've seen this stat, and that's GIROUD has a better conversion rate this year then judas

His conversion rate is worse than RVPs but that's beside the point. In general Giroud's numbers don't look particularly promising, especially his passing.

http://www.eplindex.com/25186/giroud-struggling-fill-van-persies-boots-stats-comparison.html

[I_Killed_Kenny]

well he has a contract until 2016, so it all depends on clauses and how much value they place in him. 20-30 i'd imagine for him, coming from bayern. even the bottom end of that is out of our style of buying.

didnt realise he had that long left on his contract. i really should do some homework before posting! but yep, unless they let him go cheap, thats under £16-18m which seems likes AW's limit, then you are probably right. out of our range

[Özim]

lewendowski is top drawer i say. I for one have been wanting us to move for him for 2 years now, but then again i have ambition! great all round game. fat sam reckons he nearly signed him for blackburn
Yeah he's a quality striker, he's top drawer not just a finisher.

[Kano]

And was "nailed on" to sign for Liverpool for about 3 years running.... not anymore...
andy carroll was option 'K' it seems.

[Özim]

not sure anyone here can gauge that without watching him every week and even so, it doesn't matter because that means he knows where to be to convert them. you don't score 110 in 168 for bayern by being wasteful or overrated striker. he's no falcao of course but he's bloody good.
I'm only judging him from the games I've seen where his chances have been largely close range and he seems to have missed a lot, I don't watch the Bundesligue of course. He's a clumsy type of striker who isn't easy on the eye for that reason.

Lewandowski seems much more graceful in his movement and technique.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

andy carroll was option 'K' it seems.

I prefer to think of it as Plan F. As in we were totally f......

[Özim]

His conversion rate is worse than RVPs but that's beside the point. In general Giroud's numbers don't look particularly promising, especially his passing.

http://www.eplindex.com/25186/giroud-struggling-fill-van-persies-boots-stats-comparison.html
In addition a number of RVP's goals are hard chances and great finishes, few of Giroud's are, different class of striker.

The conversion rate stat is very misleading without seeing the player in the flesh because there's no context to the chances. If 95% of chances are within 8 yards it's hardly the same as if they're outside the box or chances that a player creates himself.

A player can appear better when all of his chances are pretty much put on a plate when compared to a striker who creates a large amount himself or scores a large proportion from outside the box.

[Kano]

of course it's misleading but the other day you were quite content to use that stat, without context, for discounting giroud as being anywhere near effective.

it doesn't really matter how a striker scores - as long as he does, regularly.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

I was on the way to the witty response bank when I realised...

Overdrawn. . .going by the state of your reply!

[Özim]

of course it's misleading but the other day you were quite content to use that stat, without context, for discounting giroud as being anywhere near effective.

it doesn't really matter how a striker scores - as long as he does, regularly.
Not really no, I've seen Giroud play as has everyone here...it's a combination of stats and his performances. In that sense it has context.

The point was we knew he wasn't that great on the pitch, the stats just confirmed his finishing isn't all that good (what we already knew).

[Globalgunner]

I agree that conversion ratios are utterly misleading because. It is entirely contextual. without stats i would venture to guess that Messi`s ratio is probably about 1 in 3. and he is the best available, Same goes for CR7. The important thing about a striker is that he is not found wanted in crucial games and does not constantly miss sitters. Lewandowski`s first goal was the same as the one Giroud missed against Everton. The difference being that one went in the other was as good as a clearance for the defence. I recall Vieira for us. He was not a striker but in the few times he ventured up front he NEVER missed. I might be misty eyed but I cannot recall a PV4 clanger. Same with Henry and Wright. They missed loads but would win you at least 30 points in a season with their crucial goals that change games. If Giroud was of the calibre required we would be at least 15 points better off IMO.

[Kano]

I agree that conversion ratios are utterly misleading because. It is entirely contextual. without stats i would venture to guess that Messi`s ratio is probably about 1 in 3. and he is the best available, Same goes for CR7. The important thing about a striker is that he is not found wanted in crucial games and does not constantly miss sitters. Lewandowski`s first goal was the same as the one Giroud missed against Everton. The difference being that one went in the other was as good as a clearance for the defence. I recall Vieira for us. He was not a striker but in the few times he ventured up front he NEVER missed. I might be misty eyed but I cannot recall a PV4 clanger. Same with Henry and Wright. They missed loads but would win you at least 30 points in a season with their crucial goals that change games. If Giroud was of the calibre required we would be at least 15 points better off IMO.
i think the standard for a high quality striker is around 14-15%+, which stands when you check the guys across the main leagues. so as a general rule of thumb, i wouldn't discard a striker who has those sort of stats for a fews seasons because he would be scoring goals - whether from 20 or 2 yards, and that is all that matters.

[Özim]

i think the standard for a high quality striker is around 14-15%+, which stands when you check the guys across the main leagues. so as a general rule of thumb, i wouldn't discard a striker who has those sort of stats for a fews seasons because he would be scoring goals - whether from 20 or 2 yards, and that is all that matters.
I think when those goals are scored is also important to be honest as is his conversion rate when you really need a goal.

A player could score a large amount of his goals when his team is winning comfortably but fail to convert when it matters most, pressure situations often affect how a player performs.

The 3rd goal in a comfortable win or 4 goals in a game against a lowly team who got thrashed doesn't mean as much a spread of goals in a few 1-0 wins, I think context is always needed in some form, you couldn't sign someone based on stats without watching them repeatedly and seeing how they perform.

[Kano]

which is why i stated that the widely recognised guys usually have a conversion rate of around 15%, so anything at that or above demonstrates quality.

no-one signs strikers based on stats, and seeing as we're on a forum passing relatively quick judgements, rather than putting forward proposals to actually sign a striker, then it works. i can't think of a high scoring striker that purely relies on scoring +1 for a high profile club.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Stats. :haha:

[Özim]

which is why i stated that the widely recognised guys usually have a conversion rate of around 15%, so anything at that or above demonstrates quality.

no-one signs strikers based on stats, and seeing as we're on a forum passing relatively quick judgements, rather than putting forward proposals to actually sign a striker, then it works. i can't think of a high scoring striker that purely relies on scoring +1 for a high profile club.
I liken stats to watching a clip of a player on Youtube, a player can look great on Youtube as it only shows his best efforts/aspects that's not always the reality though.

Whilst I accept a 15% scoring rate is decent, I would rather get a player with a 15% scoring rate who scores from all areas than one with a 15% scoring rate that scores most of his from 5-10 yards because the latter is probably missing a lot more of those bread and butter chances which he should be putting away, in big games it's taking your good chances when they arrive that makes the difference.

[Globalgunner]

Its intriguing trying to compare fooball players to basketball pros. Trying to hit a 15inch hoop from 15ft away these guys have a conversion ratio of 60-80%, I guess, while players cant regularly hit a 10ft by 20ft rectangle from the same distance. The reality is that Basketball players spend most of their training practising shots at the basket while footballers probably spend less than 10%.

[Kano]

I liken stats to watching a clip of a player on Youtube, a player can look great on Youtube as it only shows his best efforts/aspects that's not always the reality though.

Whilst I accept a 15% scoring rate is decent, I would rather get a player with a 15% scoring rate who scores from all areas than one with a 15% scoring rate that scores most of his from 5-10 yards because the latter is probably missing a lot more of those bread and butter chances which he should be putting away, in big games it's taking your good chances when they arrive that makes the difference.
i would say that scoring from 5-10 is bread and butter, rather than anything further out. strikers should be aiming to get on the end of crosses/through balls which would lead to them being in the box.

let's take gomez for example. your 'perception' was that he scores close up and misses a lot, which may even be true. yet, he scores an absolute stack load of goals so the likelihood is, when it comes to big games he'll be scoring in those too.

stat's aren't the be and end all for making a final judgement but they do offer an insight into a players ability. if they didn't, then every manager you could think of, would not rely on them at all.

[Power n Glory]

i would say that scoring from 5-10 is bread and butter, rather than anything further out. strikers should be aiming to get on the end of crosses/through balls which would lead to them being in the box.

let's take gomez for example. your 'perception' was that he scores close up and misses a lot, which may even be true. yet, he scores an absolute stack load of goals so the likelihood is, when it comes to big games he'll be scoring in those too.

stat's aren't the be and end all for making a final judgement but they do offer an insight into a players ability. if they didn't, then every manager you could think of, would not rely on them at all.

You should check out Moneyball. A very good movie about Billy Beane whose influenced by Wenger’s philosophy.

[Kano]

i did last year, pretty decent film tbh.

[Power n Glory]

I really enjoyed it.

[Niall_Quinn]

Overdrawn. . .going by the state of your reply!

Your face is overdrawn

[Ollie the Optimist]

Daily star exclusive is that apparently we will resign cesc as bar a want to sell.



I know it's bollocks, but I've seen a lot more rumours about this, I fucking hope it happens. It's time for cesc to come home

[Özim]

You know it's b*llocks but you hope it happens :unsure:

Even if this was true, I think we need to move on and go back to counter attacking, a style of play Cesc just isn't suited to.

[Master Splinter]

Cisc is home.

I suppose we could do with a striker in the next few games though, considering our only one is suspended.

[KSE Comedy Club]

The only rumour I hope is true is us trying to get jovetic.

Get him first then bring cesc back.

[Master Splinter]

Jovetic, much like his compatriot Vucinic appears to be a really good player, but not necessarily a prolific goalscorer.

But Wenger has turned players into goal machines before.

WUMger and WengBOT's influence may run too deep now though.

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal are after Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, 31, as the Spaniard has reportedly fallen out with Real manager Jose Mourinho.
Full story: Sunday People

The Gunners have opened preliminarily talks with Lyon over 23-year-old Maxime Gonalons after making the midfielder their number one summer transfer target.
Full story: Metro


No chance.

Never heard of him. Better than Arteta though

[Marc Overmars]

Daily star exclusive is that apparently we will resign cesc as bar a want to sell.



I know it's bollocks, but I've seen a lot more rumours about this, I fucking hope it happens. It's time for cesc to come home

Cesc would automatically become our best striker.

Sign him up.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Pride should kick in and not have him back on principle of leaving in the first place but tbh, the thought of him playing for any other team in England is little bit shit.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Your face is overdrawn

Your face is just over

[Özim]

Pride should kick in and not have him back on principle of leaving in the first place but tbh, the thought of him playing for any other team in England is little bit shit.
Not pride for me, just don't like the Barcelona pass pass football which is what he's suited to. I'd rather we got someone more like Yaya Toure.

[Cripps_orig]

Cesc can fuck off

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Not pride for me, just don't like the Barcelona pass pass football which is what he's suited to. I'd rather we got someone more like Yaya Toure.

I was talking about me.

Yaya is as tippy tappy as it gets for most of the time, until he bombs forward. And Cesc is not suited to that football, that's surely been obvious over the last few seasons.

[Özim]

I was talking about me.

Yaya is as tippy tappy as it gets for most of the time, until he bombs forward. And Cesc is not suited to that football, that's surely been obvious over the last few seasons.
I never liked our style when Cesc was around, good creative player just not the player I'd choose to drive the team forwards. As you said though Toure can make driving runs forward which open up defences and that's far better to watch than Cesc's style IMO.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Yaya is nearly 30 and unlikely to be able to keep up that style for much longer, he'll rely more on long passing to influence the team now I imagine. In any case, there aren't many like him.

Cesc makes plenty of driving runs, he is just little bit slow.

[Özim]

Yaya is nearly 30 and unlikely to be able to keep up that style for much longer, he'll rely more on long passing to influence the team now I imagine. In any case, there aren't many like him.

Cesc makes plenty of driving runs, he is just little bit slow.
I agree about Toure, I just would like us to sign a midfielder who makes driving runs. Yeah Cesc is slow and that's the problem, he doesn't open up defences with penetrating runs, he's a pass master but I find his style boring.

[Özim]

Should sign Wigan's McManaman he's brilliant.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I agree about Toure, I just would like us to sign a midfielder who makes driving runs. Yeah Cesc is slow and that's the problem, he doesn't open up defences with penetrating runs, he's a pass master but I find his style boring.

I thought we had gone past the point about caring about our style by now if it would make us better? :lol:

I'd take him back based on the unlikely scenario of any other quality player already wanting to join us (unless we make it known we're after them). Doubt we'll do it anyway though, we'll bring him back when he is 33 probably.

[Özim]

I thought we had gone past the point about caring about our style by now if it would make us better? :lol:

I'd take him back based on the unlikely scenario of any other quality player already wanting to join us (unless we make it known we're after them). Doubt we'll do it anyway though, we'll bring him back when he is 33 probably.
Fair enough, there's no way he's coming back anyway, but I think it's time to tried and tested methods of winning rather than something which has just not delivered the results that's all.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Probably. I don't think that's particularly likely either though, even though we probably could if we wanted to.

[Marc Overmars]

I'd love him back.

His GHEL runs are perfect for this league.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Should sign Wigan's McManaman he's brilliant.

you would rather sign a pub team player then a world class player like fabregas? and you say wenger has lost it? :haha:

[Niall_Quinn]

I'd have Fabregas back without thinking about it. He's a great player who only briefly played in a team that could really utilise his strengths, not Barcelona with their tippy tap shite but the more powerful and attacking Arsenal side that he grew up with. Sadly we went down the deathly dull and pointless Barca route so Fabregas became less influential as the quality of our football degraded. So if we got him back now (which will never happen because we won't pay the money) we'd have to go back to the proper football we used to play. But even with the shit we play now Fabregas would be some of the much needed quality that could slow or halt the decline.

McMannaman? Dirty bastard. He should be a third through a lengthy ban and he would be if his name was Suarez.

[Kano]

there are players like song, nasri, or clichy who are replaceable, nothing special about them that won't be missed and i'd never want back.

despite the whole barca sage i'd have cesc back in a flash. an absolutely class footballer. quite how we'd fit him in with santi and jack in a first eleven is anyones guess but we can sort that out afterwards. get him in wengz.

[Master Splinter]

I don't see why a winger like McManaman is being compared to a strikermidfielder like Cisc.

McCarthy is the one who is pretty good for Wigan in central midfield.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

there are players like song, nasri, or clichy who are replaceable, nothing special about them that won't be missed and i'd never want back.

despite the whole barca sage i'd have cesc back in a flash. an absolutely class footballer. quite how we'd fit him in with santi and jack in a first eleven is anyones guess but we can sort that out afterwards. get him in wengz.

spot on. two notable things over the past 3 years have debunked us; firstly, cesc leaving was the end of us as title challengers. we've never been the same since. secondly, van persie being sold confirmed us as the bitch for the big boys.

[BOBN]

I thought cesc was gonna go to barca and prove he was much better than the greatest spanish player of all time (Xavi)? That went well :haha:

Rather spend the money on striker, I thought wilshere supposed to be the heir to the throne. You lot given up on him already? :lol:

This guy didnt play his final season and was too bitch to be up front like RVP about wanting out. Digusting man tbh.

[Özim]

I don't see why a winger like McManaman is being compared to a strikermidfielder like Cisc.

McCarthy is the one who is pretty good for Wigan in central midfield.
Wasn't comparing, just thought he would be a good signing.

[Özim]

you would rather sign a pub team player then a world class player like fabregas? and you say wenger has lost it? :haha:
Where did I say that?

I said I don't want Cesc back as I don't like his style of play, despite him being a quality player I then said we should sign McManaman as I think he's quality.

[fakeyank]

I'd take Cesc back in a heartbeat.. one of only two world class players (RVP being the other one) at Arsenal in the last 7 years. We'd be a fool to turn a player of his quality down!

[Cripps_orig]

Cesc was decent but hardly world class

[fakeyank]

I guess we will have to differ in our opinion about him.. When I saw him live, he seemed head and shoulders above any other Arsenal player on the pitch. On TV too, he looks good but watching live was a different experience and made me appreciate his talent even more.

[Cripps_orig]

He disappeared for the last 2 seasons with his pining for the ****s.

He is the reason we changed formation to 4-5-1/4-3-3 as he was incapable of playing in a 2 man midfield as he was shit.

He is the face of failure as you can see with Barca who are terrible now

[Cripps_orig]

Barcelona's Spanish striker David Villa, 31, will try to force a move to save his chances of playing in the 2014 World Cup but may have missed a chance to join Arsenal.
Full story: Daily Mirror


Why has he missed his chance?

[Niall_Quinn]

Why has he missed his chance?

Because we were only interested when he wasn't available. It's a lot cheaper that way.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

i suspect its a chance he's delighted he was able to miss. why anyone would come to this pile of shit baffles me.

[Niall_Quinn]

i suspect its a chance he's delighted he was able to miss. why anyone would come to this pile of shit baffles me.

Oodles of cash without any requirement to perform or deliver. Being also-rans viewed as a trophy, six figures a week, why not? Nice if you can get it.

[BOBN]

He disappeared for the last 2 seasons with his pining for the ****s.

He is the reason we changed formation to 4-5-1/4-3-3 as he was incapable of playing in a 2 man midfield as he was shit.

He is the face of failure as you can see with Barca who are terrible now
Bang on. Hes the reason for this shit formation which weve never really convinced with.

Plus he induced his current gf to commit adultery and has proceeded to have a child with this demon woman.

On and off the field he doesnt represent the arsenal way.

[Niall_Quinn]

Bang on. Hes the reason for this shit formation which weve never really convinced with.

Plus he induced his current gf to commit adultery and has proceeded to have a child with this demon woman.

On and off the field he doesnt represent the arsenal way.

The Arsenal way is to extract as much money as possible from as many people as possible while providing the absolute minimum return possible. So what does the Arsenal way have to do with women getting pregnant, other than the fact somebody got fucked?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bang on. Hes the reason for this shit formation which weve never really convinced with.

Plus he induced his current gf to commit adultery and has proceeded to have a child with this demon woman.

On and off the field he doesnt represent the arsenal way.

If he's the reason, why do we still play with it now?

[Power n Glory]

If he's the reason, why do we still play with it now?

There you go. Cesc wasn’t the problem. There was no way on earth we could play a 4-4-2 when teams were playing a 5 man midfield and we had Gilberto and Cesc in the middle. It wasn’t going to work. As soon as we switched we started getting more out of both Gilberto and Cesc. You can see even now that Rosicky was born to play in the centre and I have no idea why Wenger never tried Cesc and Rosicky in the middle with Gilberto holding.

The formation isn’t the problem. Wenger’s team selection is just too rigid and he’s made the wrong choices. I wouldn’t trust us with a 4-4-2 in this current team because we’d get torn open and probably create less chances.

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants to sign Sevilla's £17m-rated Geoffrey Kondogbia, although the France Under-20 midfielder is also on Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid's radar.
Full story: the Sun

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has promised that he will not allow Sir Alex Ferguson to sign any more players from the club.
Full story: Daily Telegraph



No thanks

A year too late. We don't have anyone who Fergie would want

[Niall_Quinn]

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has promised that he will not allow Sir Alex Ferguson to sign any more players from the club.

So basically Fergie can pine over Giroud but he's never getting him! Guess he'll just have to settle for RvP then.

[IBK]

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants to sign Sevilla's £17m-rated Geoffrey Kondogbia, although the France Under-20 midfielder is also on Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid's radar.
Full story: the Sun

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has promised that he will not allow Sir Alex Ferguson to sign any more players from the club.
Full story: Daily Telegraph


No thanks

A year too late. We don't have anyone who Fergie would want

:lol: Honestly, you couldn't make it up!

[Japan Shaking All Over]

:lol: Honestly, you couldn't make it up!

You're right we couldn't but there is a reason why he is called WUMger hence he could......

[LDG]

:lol: Honestly, you couldn't make it up!

They do most of the time :shrug:

[Cripps_orig]

ARSENAL want Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin to replace the injury-prone Abou Diaby.
The Gunners are preparing a £10million bid for the Frenchman who signed a new Saints contract in February.
Manager Arsene Wenger has been monitoring Schneiderlin, 23, since the player moved to England for £1.2million from Strasbourg five years ago.
Wenger has already lured Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from St Mary’s in recent years.
And the Emirates boss has vowed to launch the biggest spending spree of his reign this summer after another season without silverware.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4908168/Morgan-Schneiderlin-targetted-by-Arsenal-for-summer-deal.html#ixzz2RvsCaorj

Who?

[KSE Comedy Club]

Sorry, when did he vow to launch this spending spree??

I must've missed it :shrug:

[BOBN]

A couple of managers top the Gossip Column this morning, with The Daily Telegraph reporting that PSG are confident of luring Arsene Wenger to Paris as soon as this summer.

The paper claims that Carlo Ancelotti has told them he won't be staying there, possibly on his way to Real Madrid, so the French big boys will be looking for a successor.

And Wenger is that man, apparently. The paper reports: 'PSG's most senior figures have been telling members of their circle that Wenger has been persuaded to leave north London after 17 years in charge of Arsenal.

'Their least optimistic scenario is that he will move to Paris in the summer of 2014 when his current deal at Arsenal expires. But PSG's owners have sounded adamant in recent days that they can tempt him to cross the channel 12 months early.'

According to this story, Arsenal are hopeful this is just a negotiating tactic by Wenger to get more money to spend in the summer. Stan Kroenke has set aside £50million, apparently. Which is nice of him.

It would seem rather odd for Wenger to go from almost pious parsimony at Arsenal to cash-spunking at PSG, but little things like that are what helps this crazy world go round.
I believe em.

Straight swap with ancelotti please. we need a proper tactician if we want players like wilshere to reach their potential. need someone to cut of the headless chicken hollywood nonsense of his game.

[KSE Comedy Club]

So we've got £50m to spend.

Again.

Same old shit.

If he was that concerned about getting more money he'd grow a pair and fucking demand it from Ivan.

I'd love it if wenger fucked off this summer, but I can't see it unfortunately.

[Cripps_orig]

We're stuck with Wenger for at least another season.

By Christmas we should know if he intends to sign another contract or not. If he doesn't, it might well be the biggest cause for celebration seen at Arsenal ever. If he does, the sound of ripped up season tickets will be deafening.

[I_Killed_Kenny]

We're stuck with Wenger for at least another season.

By Christmas we should know if he intends to sign another contract or not. If he doesn't, it might well be the biggest cause for celebration seen at Arsenal ever. If he does, the sound of ripped up season tickets will be deafening.


By Christmas he should know whether to call it a day for us. His one last proper summer of spending(ish) to come and if things dont work out surely he has to see that he has taken us as far as he can and a new approach or new coach is needed.

The other question is if he indeed leaves in summer 2014 is how long will our board dither to hire a new manager? Will they be spending the summer desperately trying to get Wenger to sign and then leave themselves with no time to get a replacement or indeed get the replacement the targets that he wants. If he decides to go they should line up someone to takeover ASAP.

this wont happen and so we will waste next summer.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Some are saying that the last year of his contract is optional, which would mean he could leave this summer and stay true to his stance of always seeing out his contracts.


:pray:

[I_Killed_Kenny]

wouldnt hold your breath mate, never heard of a option like that before and not been mentioned before til v recently. he is here til 2014. too stubborn to quit before and our board are too scared to have to think about hiring someone that may have new objectives

[Japan Shaking All Over]

We're stuck with Wenger for at least another season.

By Christmas we should know if he intends to sign another contract or not. If he doesn't, it might well be the biggest cause for celebration seen at Arsenal ever. If he does, the sound of ripped up season tickets will be deafening.

Which is better than being stuck with Tony effing Pulis

Here they say Carlo to RM. . .

[LDG]

Anncelotti is fuckin prehistoric now. Sorry, but not who I'd like to see.

They should be lining up shitloads for that Dortmund dude.

[Kano]

Anncelotti is fuckin prehistoric now. Sorry, but not who I'd like to see.

They should be lining up shitloads for that Dortmund dude.

let's face it, we are not getting klopp from dortmund. ain't gonna happen.

anncelotti? 53, far from prehistoric. won the double here only three years ago and a vet in the champs league too. i'd have him for sure.

but that won't happen either.

[Cripps_orig]

Which is better than being stuck with Tony effing Pulis

Here they say Carlo to RM. . .

Hardly a reason to keep Wenger.

[Munchies]

Pelligrini from Malaga ? He's done well with having to sell of his best players each year.

[Power n Glory]

let's face it, we are not getting klopp from dortmund. ain't gonna happen.

anncelotti? 53, far from prehistoric. won the double here only three years ago and a vet in the champs league too. i'd have him for sure.

but that won't happen either.

Two Champs League titles. Chelsea should have kept him. I'd love him here too but it's never going to happen. Would love it if we could get a big manager in that wants a long term challenge. If a Mourinho, Pep or Ancelotti took over at Arsenal and dominated the league, surely it would cement their legacy as the greatest of all time. Wishful thinking.

[Grebbo]

One thing guaranteed is Wenger's next job will be far better than the one he's leaving behind. Good luck to him, he deserves to manage an ambitious club.

You guys are nuts if you think Anncelotti, Klopp or any top manager would take the Arsenal job. No significant transfer budget and the competition of Man U, City and Chelsea. No established manager would want to take on that challenge.

Our next manager will be an up and coming dude like Laudrup etc.

[I_Killed_Kenny]

would be interesting to see if he did go to PSG and they gave him 100m to spend if he would in fact give it back or actually go and buy proper stars. that will truly show whether it was him or the board that restricted us.

my vote was for klopp too but again i dont think that would happen.

Got a feeling it will be someone like remi garde

[Gooner23]

I'd be happy with Laudrup

Need some fresh ideas

[Power n Glory]

I just don’t see him going to PSG. He’s been highly critical of such clubs and he speaks with such conviction. I believe what he says is his own personal feeling on how clubs should be run.

As for Laudrup…yeah, I like the idea that we bring in someone that comes from the school of Total Football and played under Johan Cryuff whilst at Barca. He and Wenger share similar values. I wouldn’t be against it but it’s a massive risk.

[Master Splinter]

If Wenger did go to PSG (or another artificial club), it would be the ultimate confirmation that he is indeed WUMger.

[BOBN]

I was interested in laudrup but something alan davis said a few months ago planted a seed of doubt. He seems awfully pleased with his life. Young-ish, handsome-ish, one of the great european players. He seems casual as fook. He really doesnt need this managment nonsense. threaten him with the sack and he'd blow a cigar smoke ring in your face.

And the first evidence of that is the way Swansea have finished the season with the deckchairs out. We need someone whos gonna bash some heads together, rip up the wage structure, and preferably turn underperforming/talented raw materials into proper players (vermalean, wilshere, gervinho). No more of these "go out there and play" type managers.

[Xhaka Can’t]

We're stuck with Wenger for at least another season.

By Christmas we should know if he intends to sign another contract or not. If he doesn't, it might well be the biggest cause for celebration seen at Arsenal ever. If he does, the sound of ripped up season tickets will be deafening.

They're cards, you'd have to cut them with scissors.

You could try ripping it, but if you do, you might cut a finger on a sharp edge.

You could burn it though.

[LDG]

:haha:

[JonasTC]

I was interested in laudrup but something alan davis said a few months ago planted a seed of doubt. He seems awfully pleased with his life. Young-ish, handsome-ish, one of the great european players. He seems casual as fook. He really doesnt need this managment nonsense. threaten him with the sack and he'd blow a cigar smoke ring in your face.

And the first evidence of that is the way Swansea have finished the season with the deckchairs out. We need someone whos gonna bash some heads together, rip up the wage structure, and preferably turn underperforming/talented raw materials into proper players (vermalean, wilshere, gervinho). No more of these "go out there and play" type managers.

Dont fool yourself with his laid back style, he is a tough son of a B, he just likes to keep his cards to himself and doesnt really like the media, so he keeps his cool in public.

He is probably one of the most underrated guys when it comes make players fulfill their potential, since he really havent shown himself as a manager at a top level yet. As an example he made Daniel Agger from a reserve team guy who didnt really seem to have a bright future in football, into one of the best defenders in the world, when he coached a danish team (Brøndby IF). (Their was a few others from that team, and now a bunch of his guys from swansea are wanted by bigger clubs)

He was one retarded goalkeeper away from going to the europe league finals with getafe, and the 2 other teams he coached (mallorca and spartak moskva) was impossible for anyone to do anything good with, and now you can see what he has achieved with Swansea, who he was just suppossed to keep away from relegation.

I think he would be a perfect match for Arsenal.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Well, he'd be 3 retarded goalkeepers away here.

Seriously though, I think he is a very good Manager and I would not be unhappy if we got him.

[BOBN]

Dont fool yourself with his laid back style, he is a tough son of a B, he just likes to keep his cards to himself and doesnt really like the media, so he keeps his cool in public.

He is probably one of the most underrated guys when it comes make players fulfill their potential, since he really havent shown himself as a manager at a top level yet. As an example he made Daniel Agger from a reserve team guy who didnt really seem to have a bright future in football, into one of the best defenders in the world, when he coached a danish team (Brøndby IF). (Their was a few others from that team, and now a bunch of his guys from swansea are wanted by bigger clubs)

He was one retarded goalkeeper away from going to the europe league finals with getafe, and the 2 other teams he coached (mallorca and spartak moskva) was impossible for anyone to do anything good with, and now you can see what he has achieved with Swansea, who he was just suppossed to keep away from relegation.

I think he would be a perfect match for Arsenal.
ok im sold, sign him up :flash:

[Niall_Quinn]

How about this guy? Nobody is mentioning him but he's a far more likely bet than someone decent.

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_17865859

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Well, he'd be 3 retarded goalkeepers away here.

Seriously though, I think he is a very good Manager and I would not be unhappy if we got him.

LMAO

[IBK]

Dont fool yourself with his laid back style, he is a tough son of a B, he just likes to keep his cards to himself and doesnt really like the media, so he keeps his cool in public.

He is probably one of the most underrated guys when it comes make players fulfill their potential, since he really havent shown himself as a manager at a top level yet. As an example he made Daniel Agger from a reserve team guy who didnt really seem to have a bright future in football, into one of the best defenders in the world, when he coached a danish team (Brøndby IF). (Their was a few others from that team, and now a bunch of his guys from swansea are wanted by bigger clubs)

He was one retarded goalkeeper away from going to the europe league finals with getafe, and the 2 other teams he coached (mallorca and spartak moskva) was impossible for anyone to do anything good with, and now you can see what he has achieved with Swansea, who he was just suppossed to keep away from relegation.

I think he would be a perfect match for Arsenal.

Nice background. To be fair, I'd prefer him to Klopp.

[Marc Overmars]

He's more realistic than Klopp as well.

He's cool as fuck, so that's enough for me. Sign him up.

[LDG]

He's more realistic than Klopp as well.

He's cool as fuck, so that's enough for me. Sign him up.

In that case. Might as well sign me up.

[Master Splinter]

In our wholesome acceptance of our Danish friend, we seem to have overlooked the fact he called Agger "one of the best defenders in the world".

[milla]

In that case. Might as well sign me up.

No :coffee:

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

In our wholesome acceptance of our Danish friend, we seem to have overlooked the fact he called Agger "one of the best defenders in the world".

Unfortunately he seems to have lost the ability to mark, so I'm not really going to argue this right now.

[Cripps_orig]

Galatasaray are ready to offer Arsenal £15m for Germany forward Lukas Podolski, 27, after making him their top target.
Full story: Metro


Fuck off

[Niall_Quinn]

Fuck off

LOL, what did we pay? Add a year's wages and I doubt there's any profit in it, so he won't be going. But if Gala add £1 on top then Kroenke might be tempted to briefly tear himself away from the vital task of searching down the back of fans' sofas for change and do the deal.

[selassie]

Some are saying that the last year of his contract is optional, which would mean he could leave this summer and stay true to his stance of always seeing out his contracts.

:pray:

I'll say one thing, if Wenger walks in the summer, whoever comes in will have a helluva job rebuilding the squad.

We have a lot of deadwood on big wages, can't shift them because nobody wants to touch them.

Wenger should sort out the mess and then walk.

[Dennis Bendtner]

How does an 'optional' contract work? :lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Arsenal confirmed his contract is not optional. I don't think managers get optional contracts anyway, only players do. Sign, take money, break contract. They should call it a standard contract really.

[Cripps_orig]

Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal have been alerted after Real Madrid confirmed they will sell Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain, 25.
Full story: Daily Mail

Turkish side Galatasaray are thought to be preparing a £12m offer for Arsenal forwards Lukas Podolski, 27, or Gervinho, 25.
Full story: Daily Express

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, 25, is refusing to comment on reports linking him to a possible return to Arsenal.
Full story: Metro


Would love Higuain here.

Keep Podolski

Cesc can fuck off

[Cripps_orig]

ARSENAL are tracking £10million-rated Lyon star Max Gonalons.
Boss Arsene Wenger has been sending scouts to watch the French international defensive midfielder.
Gonalons, 24, who has three years left on his deal, is once again set to be watched by Arsenal in Lyon’s trip to Nancy on Sunday.
Wenger is desperate to bag a holding midfielder this summer after losing Abou Diaby for the rest of the year with a knee ligament injury.
Gonalons, a Lyon player all his career, boasts a reputation for being extremely consistent.
Wenger has £70m to spend this summer and is also looking to buy a striker, goalkeeper and central defender.
The Gunners remain hopeful of landing Fiorentina hitman Stevan Jovetic.
The clubs started talks last week. They have yet to agree a fee but it seems likely they will strike a deal, with Montenegro star Jovetic, 23, desperate to move to the Emirates.
While Wenger plots to bring in some big guns, midfielder Craig Eastmond, 22, looks likely to join Swansea or Norwich on a season-long loan.
The former Millwall star has made just 10 appearances for the Gunners and is not in Wenger’s first-team plans for next term.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4912709/Arsenal-track-Lyons-10m-rated-France-ace-Maxime-Gonalons.html#ixzz2SBRxAks7

£70m :lol:

[-Xs-]

Would love to see Cesc back here but it will never happen. He will probably end up in Italy if he goes anywhere.

[Munchies]

Grimandi has been scouting that Gonalon fella, seems to be what we need ,captain of a team and a CDM

[Niall_Quinn]

£70m :lol:

This £70mill is all well and good but it assumes we have £80mill worth of players to sell (that people actually want). Can't see it.

[Cripps_orig]

http://www.goal.com/en/news/article?contentId=3950071

For that much, we should sell

[Xhaka Can’t]

Looks like Stan has hacked Cripps' account.