Arsenal are today closing in on moves for several strikers as they aim to spend money this summer to restore faith in the fans. The moves are being completed quickly in case of the clubs failure to qualify for the Champions League and then a possible failure to attract the players they want.
There is a tendency at Arsenal Football Club to keep things in house, as can be seen by one former Gunner, Steve Bould, taking over from another, Pat Rice, as Arsene Wenger’s assistant. So when the Arsenal midfield legen Liam Brady retires as head of youth development and Academy Director, it is likely that another former player will take over and the favourite for the job is the Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp.
The Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny was probably glad of the international break to give him a chance to get away from the glare of the English media. The Polish international was dropped by Arsene Wenger for the games against Bayern Munich and Swansea City to give him time to get his `mental state` in the right order. Szczesny must have been wishing for a peaceful couple of weeks, but it was not to be after his father criticised Wenger and Arsenal about their handling of his son.
Arsene Wenger is usually bullish about the strength and spirit of the Arsenal players, and he has been proven right on numerous occasions. The Gunners have responded well to pressure and adversity already this season and, of course, they dragged themselves out of a bigger hole last season. They must now do it all again, though, and Wenger cannot be sure just how much the recent disappointments will affect the players.
“I am not worried about us potentially coming back against Bayern,” revealed Wenger. “I am more worried about consequences that could manifest in the heads of our players.
Arsene Wenger knows that he needs to sign some top quality players in the summer, or as he puts it, `top, top, top, top players. The current top wage at the Emirates is around £100,000 a week for Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski, but that will not be enough to persuade some of Europe’s best to join the Gunnersespecially when they know they can earn the equivalent of winning the jackpot at www.MansionCasino.com every week if they join Chelsea or Man City.
Arsene Wenger saw his young prodigy Jack Wilshere take a lot of stick in Arsenal’s game against Sunderland this weekend (and Stoke the week before!), but he doesn’t think that the midfielder needs to get extra protection from referees, he simply needs to watch Lionel Messi to see the way that re rides his tackles, and then gets up and gets on with the game!
We could perhaps say that the physical defenders in the Premier League are more likely to give out more punishment than in La Liga, but Messi takes it all and you rarely even see him complain.
Jose Mourinho is trying not to lose patience with the Arsenal target Nuri Sahin, but he is struggling. Mourinho has told Sahin, in the nicest way possible, that there is a place for him at Real Madrid, but not this season. For his own good, he needs to play regular football and Arsenal are the perfect place for him.
The special one has got a plethora of talented midfielders and, because he has hardly played any competitive football for a year, Sahin is way down the list of choices for Madrid this season. Sahin is seen as a direct replacement for Xabi Alonso, and unless the former Liverpool midfielder gets injured, he will only feature sporadically for the Spanish champions.
Nuri Sahin to Arsenal? by KJ
There have been some interesting developments in today’s news. Both Marca and the Daily Mail have reported that Arsenal have signed Turkish international Nuri Sahin. The news is surprising to say the least. To my knowledge, we haven’t expressed any interest in Sahin whatsoever this summer, and yet out of the blue we’re about to loan him?
The Turk is a class player. He used to be one of the best in the world in his postion – deep lying playmaker. After leaving Dortmund for Madrid, his career really has regressed with only 4 appearances last season.
The most prolific striker in Arsenal’s history, Thierry Henry, has spoken about the possibility of another move to the Emirates Stadium as the 34-year-old approaches the end of his contract with MLS side NY Red Bulls.
Henry spent a few months with the Gunners last season, and he now seems eager to rejoin the London side even though he has admitted that there were no talks with manager Arsene Wenger about the switch.
“I would like to go back to England with Arsenal for sure,” Henry said when asked about a second loan stint with the Gunners.
According to various media outfits from both England and Spain, Arsenal have agreed personal terms with the player, but are yet to agree a fee with Málaga.
The Spanish club gave Arsenal permission to talk to Cazorla and it seems that Arsenal were swift to offer the player good personal terms, however much lower than his current weekly wage. The 27-year-old has told Málaga of his intention to depart and he has also spoken to Arsenal to tell them he is keen on joining them.
