The final game of the season will decide if Arsenal finish third, fourth or fifth in the Premier League. A win at Newcastle means that Arsenal qualify for next season's Champions League regardless of other results.
A win will be crucial for Arsenal's transfer dealings. Reports, rumours and common sense all suggest that a number of deals are put in place for the summer already. But it's more than likely that some of the players in question have Champions Leage qualification as part of their demands. Arsenal finishing fifth will probably mean some deals are off.
The strongest rumour in this vein concern the Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic. The Montenegrin international has been heavily linked with Arsenal through the last three months, and before that since October last year. But one of the most sought-after attackers in European football won't choose a suitor in the Europa League.
The deal for Nacho Monreal was originally set up for the summer, but was fast-tracked in January because of Kieran Gibbs' injury. It's just an example of how Arsenal run things: plans are made way ahead of the normal tabloid Silly Season brouhaha.
The Yaya Sanogo deal is another example of this. In the season's final pre-match press meeting, Arsène Wenger confirmed that a deal is in the making for the French youth international. Sanogo is out of contract in the summer, but Auxerre in Ligue 2 is due a compensation.
The Sanogo story first appeared in the French sports daily L'Equipe (not online), which was quoted in the Daily Star on 7 March. By that time, it was reported that Wenger and Arsenal's France scout Gilles Grimandi had already met the player with a view of signing him in the summer.
A "Wenger signing" if I ever saw one: young, French, cheap, injury prone and immensely talented.
In other words: not Wayne Rooney. That particular rumour has manure-stirring, cash-eyed agents' speak written all over it.
There are more deals in the pipeline, I am sure of it. But the names aren't necessarily listed here. Arsenal are better at keeping deals under wraps than most.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Sunday, 21 April 2013
How silly it could have been
End of season is near, and Arsenal are fighting to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League. It's not good enough for many Gooners, of course. For some, the season ended when the team were out of the running for trophies.
Yesterday, Arsenal beat a top 10 side away after a gritty performance against a good footballing side. And again, 1-0 over Fulham wasn't good enough for - I presume - the same Gooners who expect better every game, every season.
And even after Arsenal have spent millions and millions of pounds in the last few windows, they still crave more players, better players and more to the point, someone else's players that they've heard of.
The media cater to this. At the time of writing, 127 players have been linked to a summer transfer to Arsenal between February 1st and today. They're all here, alphabetically.
Let's just imagine what could have been if only a few of the targets from the last few years had actually come to Arsenal to play. And what if not everyone who left the club had gone. What would the first XI look like?
We might have Mark Schwarzer in goal. The Australian veteran was heavily linked with Arsenal all through the summer of 2010, and was lastly linked on New Year's Eve of 2011 in a speculative piece in the Independent.
We could have Kieran Richardson as left full-back. It would be a typical Arsène Wenger move to make a creative winger into a fast defender. And he was linked with Arsenal by the Daily Mirror as late as January 2012.
In defence, how about Brede Hangeland partnering Philippe Senderos? The Norway captain is another darling of the tabloids when it comes to supposed Arsenal interest. He was lastly linked seven months ago, while in contract talks with Fulham. Senderos struggled with game time and was sold by Arsenal in 2010, but what if he had kept his form from the Champions League campaign of 2006? I mean, he couldn't have been worse than persisting with William Gallas or Johan Djourou, could he?
Steven Sidwell was an Arsenal youngster who chose to leave, even at a time when he was on the brink of the first team. In 2004 the media were crying out for English talent at the club, and the Brady Bunch had started to deliver in the youth tournaments. But Sidwell went to Reading to get first team football. Wenger compared him to Frank Lampard, remember? What a player to have today! Perhaps in tandem with Urby Emanuelson of Milan, linked to Arsenal as late as January this year by the Daily Express.
Last summer, Dimitar Berbatov could have chosen Arsenal after leaving Manchester United. The Observer wrote the story, after all. Perhaps he could now have played up front for the Gunners! Even in tandem with Bryan Ruíz, linked with Arsenal in August 2011 by the Daily Mail.
By now, this is getting way past silly. But the papers that print this are sillier. If they were to be believed, Arsenal would only be one Dutch manager and two loanees from the Eredivisie away from being Fulham.
In this instance, I prefer the winning team, thank you very much!
Yesterday, Arsenal beat a top 10 side away after a gritty performance against a good footballing side. And again, 1-0 over Fulham wasn't good enough for - I presume - the same Gooners who expect better every game, every season.
And even after Arsenal have spent millions and millions of pounds in the last few windows, they still crave more players, better players and more to the point, someone else's players that they've heard of.
The media cater to this. At the time of writing, 127 players have been linked to a summer transfer to Arsenal between February 1st and today. They're all here, alphabetically.
Let's just imagine what could have been if only a few of the targets from the last few years had actually come to Arsenal to play. And what if not everyone who left the club had gone. What would the first XI look like?
We might have Mark Schwarzer in goal. The Australian veteran was heavily linked with Arsenal all through the summer of 2010, and was lastly linked on New Year's Eve of 2011 in a speculative piece in the Independent.
We could have Kieran Richardson as left full-back. It would be a typical Arsène Wenger move to make a creative winger into a fast defender. And he was linked with Arsenal by the Daily Mirror as late as January 2012.
In defence, how about Brede Hangeland partnering Philippe Senderos? The Norway captain is another darling of the tabloids when it comes to supposed Arsenal interest. He was lastly linked seven months ago, while in contract talks with Fulham. Senderos struggled with game time and was sold by Arsenal in 2010, but what if he had kept his form from the Champions League campaign of 2006? I mean, he couldn't have been worse than persisting with William Gallas or Johan Djourou, could he?
Steven Sidwell was an Arsenal youngster who chose to leave, even at a time when he was on the brink of the first team. In 2004 the media were crying out for English talent at the club, and the Brady Bunch had started to deliver in the youth tournaments. But Sidwell went to Reading to get first team football. Wenger compared him to Frank Lampard, remember? What a player to have today! Perhaps in tandem with Urby Emanuelson of Milan, linked to Arsenal as late as January this year by the Daily Express.
Last summer, Dimitar Berbatov could have chosen Arsenal after leaving Manchester United. The Observer wrote the story, after all. Perhaps he could now have played up front for the Gunners! Even in tandem with Bryan Ruíz, linked with Arsenal in August 2011 by the Daily Mail.
By now, this is getting way past silly. But the papers that print this are sillier. If they were to be believed, Arsenal would only be one Dutch manager and two loanees from the Eredivisie away from being Fulham.
In this instance, I prefer the winning team, thank you very much!
Monday, 1 April 2013
Such a draft, even after two months
Even though the transfer window closed after 31 January, it sure hasn't shut tight. It seems like there are more Arsenal rumours in the air than ever before. On the 2013 summer rumour page, you'll see a compilation of no less than 103 - one hundred and three - professional footballers linked with a summer move to the Gunners.
As always, the list is sorted alphabetically, with each mention in the so-called serious media linked. These rumours aren't spread by men in pubs, these appear in print - or as close as it gets in the 21st century.
103 names in 59 days is almost 1,75 new players linked to the Arsenal per day. Words fail me.
These are the top 3 so far:
1) Stevan Jovetic, forward, Fiorentina, 56 mentions.
2) David Villa, forward, Barcelona, 42 mentions.
3) José Reina, goalkeeper, Liverpool, 36 mentions.
Montenegrin striker Jovetic is, despite his tender years, old news in an Arsenal transfer rumour setting. He was first linked by UK radio station Talksport, an outlet without enough credence to be included among my regular sources, in September 2011. He was only included on the 2011/12 winter rumour list back then because the BBC and the Daily Mirror lent credibility to the rumour by quoting it.
This winter, almost half his mentions were in the run-up to Montenegro's World Cup qualifier with England last week. A quote from a press conference where he spoke of an "affinity" with Arsenal was all it took for the rumour to fly around the world.
David Villa, on the other hand, was flavour of the month for February. Arsenal's reported attempts to sign the out-of-favour Spanish international in January kept his name in the running for a few weeks. Then he started appearing and scoring for Barcelona again, and the rumour has since died down.
Liverpool's Pepe Reina has similarly been a hot target when Arsenal's current 'keepers have had bad games, or when his own fortunes at Anfield have been scrutinised. But what really brings Reina to third place overall is that goalkeepers are linked with Arsenal like never before these days. The Spaniard has been a reported target since April 2010 (the link to the Sunday Express story has later died) and his name often pops up whenever any other goalkeepers are linked.
The top 3 for goalkeepers are:
1) Reina, 36 mentions.
2) Victor Valdés, Barcelona, 31 mentions.
3) Asmir Begovic, Stoke, 27 mentions.
Valdés and Begovic both look to leave their clubs for new challenges. More times than not, it seems, that is reason enough to link them to Arsenal.
When it comes to the forwards, the story is different. After Jovetic and Villa, many names are mentioned without anyone standing out. It's symptomatic that Carlos Vela is third on that particular list with 16 mentions. The Real Sociedad forward has spent the last month assuring that he'd like to stay in Spain even if Arsenal have a buy-back-clause after his transfer last summer. There is absolutely no reason to think that the Mexican would have any role to play at the Emirates next season.
As for defenders, the top 3 are:
1) Ashley Williams, Swansea, 32 mentions.
2) Fernando Amorebieta, Athletic Bilbao, 12 mentions.
3) Nicolas N'Koulou, Olympique Marseilles, 8 mentions.
By far the hottest rumour is Welshman Williams. He is, however, coveted by other Premier League clubs as well when the rumour is reported. Liverpool and his former manager Brendan Rodgers were the main interested party when the rumour was first reported in the January window by the Daily Mirror. Since then, most mentions have been a re-hash or other of this original rumour.
The midfielder top 3 are:
1) Étienne Capoué, Toulouse, 22 mentions.
2) Victor Wanyama, Celtic, 16 mentions.
3=) Mario Götze, Borussia Dortmund, 6 mentions.
3=) Sebastian Rode, Eintracht Frankfurt, 6 mentions.
3=) Alex Song, Barcelona, 6 mentions.
In brief, the rumours are that Arsenal are looking for a replacement for Alex Song. However, this is so difficult that Song himself is a prime candidate!
(How easily Gooners forget screaming at the so-called defensive midfielder for straying out of position in game after game, never really replacing Gilberto Silva.)
Oh, and Arsenal are looking at youngsters in the Bundesliga. There really are a lot of rumours about up-and-coming, short-arsed, technically gifted, attacking midfielders about. As if Arsenal are lacking.
To put it briefly, only the Stevan Jovetic story qualifies as a proper rumour. It carries the weight of at least some quotes, interest has been reported for some time and by many different media outlets. Not that all that should mean anything at all in football's ever expanding Silly Season.
As always, the list is sorted alphabetically, with each mention in the so-called serious media linked. These rumours aren't spread by men in pubs, these appear in print - or as close as it gets in the 21st century.
103 names in 59 days is almost 1,75 new players linked to the Arsenal per day. Words fail me.
These are the top 3 so far:
1) Stevan Jovetic, forward, Fiorentina, 56 mentions.
2) David Villa, forward, Barcelona, 42 mentions.
3) José Reina, goalkeeper, Liverpool, 36 mentions.
Montenegrin striker Jovetic is, despite his tender years, old news in an Arsenal transfer rumour setting. He was first linked by UK radio station Talksport, an outlet without enough credence to be included among my regular sources, in September 2011. He was only included on the 2011/12 winter rumour list back then because the BBC and the Daily Mirror lent credibility to the rumour by quoting it.
This winter, almost half his mentions were in the run-up to Montenegro's World Cup qualifier with England last week. A quote from a press conference where he spoke of an "affinity" with Arsenal was all it took for the rumour to fly around the world.
David Villa, on the other hand, was flavour of the month for February. Arsenal's reported attempts to sign the out-of-favour Spanish international in January kept his name in the running for a few weeks. Then he started appearing and scoring for Barcelona again, and the rumour has since died down.
Liverpool's Pepe Reina has similarly been a hot target when Arsenal's current 'keepers have had bad games, or when his own fortunes at Anfield have been scrutinised. But what really brings Reina to third place overall is that goalkeepers are linked with Arsenal like never before these days. The Spaniard has been a reported target since April 2010 (the link to the Sunday Express story has later died) and his name often pops up whenever any other goalkeepers are linked.
The top 3 for goalkeepers are:
1) Reina, 36 mentions.
2) Victor Valdés, Barcelona, 31 mentions.
3) Asmir Begovic, Stoke, 27 mentions.
Valdés and Begovic both look to leave their clubs for new challenges. More times than not, it seems, that is reason enough to link them to Arsenal.
When it comes to the forwards, the story is different. After Jovetic and Villa, many names are mentioned without anyone standing out. It's symptomatic that Carlos Vela is third on that particular list with 16 mentions. The Real Sociedad forward has spent the last month assuring that he'd like to stay in Spain even if Arsenal have a buy-back-clause after his transfer last summer. There is absolutely no reason to think that the Mexican would have any role to play at the Emirates next season.
As for defenders, the top 3 are:
1) Ashley Williams, Swansea, 32 mentions.
2) Fernando Amorebieta, Athletic Bilbao, 12 mentions.
3) Nicolas N'Koulou, Olympique Marseilles, 8 mentions.
By far the hottest rumour is Welshman Williams. He is, however, coveted by other Premier League clubs as well when the rumour is reported. Liverpool and his former manager Brendan Rodgers were the main interested party when the rumour was first reported in the January window by the Daily Mirror. Since then, most mentions have been a re-hash or other of this original rumour.
The midfielder top 3 are:
1) Étienne Capoué, Toulouse, 22 mentions.
2) Victor Wanyama, Celtic, 16 mentions.
3=) Mario Götze, Borussia Dortmund, 6 mentions.
3=) Sebastian Rode, Eintracht Frankfurt, 6 mentions.
3=) Alex Song, Barcelona, 6 mentions.
In brief, the rumours are that Arsenal are looking for a replacement for Alex Song. However, this is so difficult that Song himself is a prime candidate!
(How easily Gooners forget screaming at the so-called defensive midfielder for straying out of position in game after game, never really replacing Gilberto Silva.)
Oh, and Arsenal are looking at youngsters in the Bundesliga. There really are a lot of rumours about up-and-coming, short-arsed, technically gifted, attacking midfielders about. As if Arsenal are lacking.
To put it briefly, only the Stevan Jovetic story qualifies as a proper rumour. It carries the weight of at least some quotes, interest has been reported for some time and by many different media outlets. Not that all that should mean anything at all in football's ever expanding Silly Season.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
A fairy tale on the agenda
"They say they do not want to acquire the club to make money but to invest." - Jason Burt, the Sunday Telegraph
"For these men this is not a club which should be living in the shadows of Manchester United, Man City and Chelsea." - Shaun Custis, the Sun on Sunday
On the morning of the North London Derby, the Sun on Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph publish identical "exclusives" about a supposed £1.5bn (!) Arsenal takeover by Arab interests. It's said to be £20k per share, which would value Arsenal Football Club at almost twice the sum that the Glazer family paid for Manchester United!
In the current climate around Arsenal, this is all too easy for disgruntled Gooners to get all worked up about. I believe that is the target of the whole exercise.
The editorial handiwork also looks suspect. The sole source - "a bid source" - refers to funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and supply almost identical quotes to both newspapers. "The group do not want their identities made public yet," the Telegraph reports. If the editors really believe the source and its story to be genuine, they fail to convince.
The so-called consortium's targets look like clippings from the wet dreams of the "supporter" groups who have lately been the most critical of the current Arsenal owners and manager. They really cover everything, from a new board, a vast budget for transfers and salaries, a critical stance towards the manager, setup and staff and even a promise of lower ticket prices and a return to "some of the feel of the North Bank".
And remember, all this not "to make money but to invest".
Pardon my cynicism, but even though the source claims to to have "requested a meeting" with representatives for majority owner Stan Kroenke, this looks like a fairy tale backed by Santa Claus, not by oil money.
Other media shoot it down too. While the Sunday Mirror base their "understanding" of the bid failing on earlier quotes by Kroenke, the BBC choose not to report on the rumour at all. Instead, their Arsenal correspondent David Ornstein dismantled it on Twitter last night.
"Serious Middle East interest never advertise plans," Ornstein wrote. "Qatar [and] UAE buying together [is] very unlikely."
However, subtleties from serious reporters covering Arsenal for a living will probably fail to convince a lot of frustrated Gooners. So many of us just want trophies for whatever cost. The model of sustainability is attacked because it's blamed for the trophy "drought" of eight years.
But why? And why now? The timing of this takeover rumour is downright hostile, coming on the morning of a pivotal game for the club and management. A derby with Tottenham, no less.
The target today is obviously to hurt Kroenke and his ownership. The "bid source" attacks the American and his family in both newspaper stories. Stan Kroenke is there to make money. He is no Arsenal fan, and takes too little interest in the running of the club. His son, Josh Kroenke, is inexperienced and doesn't know football. The Kroenkes damage the club by not engaging with the minority owner Alisher Usmanov.
Obviously a key point for the bid is that Kroenke should deal with the oligarch on more friendly terms. Reportedly, the money men behind the bid are prepared to work with Usmanov, but not with Kroenke. I wonder why?
The single operator in and around Arsenal who has spent more time and energy than anyone else to create unrest the last few months is just Usmanov. Like here. Or here.
The fact that this "bid source" paints the Uzbek in such a positive light is almost suspicious in itself.
If Stan Kroenke were to sell Arsenal, he would have taken Usmanov's money when offered. When he hasn't, it's very unlikely that he'll take the money of someone who paints him as an indifferent and greedy owner. The very fact that Arsenal are a model of sustainable business for other clubs suggests that a takeover along these lines will not be welcome. This is what manager Arsène Wenger on several occasions has called "financial doping".
But perhaps the only target of this story is just that, to make Kroenke look indifferent and greedy?
"And when the £1.5billion bid to try to take control arrives it will show they mean business," the Sun on Sunday puts it. As if.
But remember, Arsenal have agendas of their own! This week, much ridicule has been made of the yearly leak from the club's coffers. Anonymous sources claim that the club's wage structure will be broken to accomodate new star signings, like Stevan Jovetic and Mario Götze.
Stories like this, in the Daily Telegraph a week or so ago, rear their heads every year, just as the offers of renewal go out to season ticket holders at the Emirates.
Whose money any of these stars - or others - will be signed for may very well be the number one topic among Gooners today. On the day where we all were needed to stand united and support the team.
"For these men this is not a club which should be living in the shadows of Manchester United, Man City and Chelsea." - Shaun Custis, the Sun on Sunday
On the morning of the North London Derby, the Sun on Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph publish identical "exclusives" about a supposed £1.5bn (!) Arsenal takeover by Arab interests. It's said to be £20k per share, which would value Arsenal Football Club at almost twice the sum that the Glazer family paid for Manchester United!
In the current climate around Arsenal, this is all too easy for disgruntled Gooners to get all worked up about. I believe that is the target of the whole exercise.
The editorial handiwork also looks suspect. The sole source - "a bid source" - refers to funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and supply almost identical quotes to both newspapers. "The group do not want their identities made public yet," the Telegraph reports. If the editors really believe the source and its story to be genuine, they fail to convince.
The so-called consortium's targets look like clippings from the wet dreams of the "supporter" groups who have lately been the most critical of the current Arsenal owners and manager. They really cover everything, from a new board, a vast budget for transfers and salaries, a critical stance towards the manager, setup and staff and even a promise of lower ticket prices and a return to "some of the feel of the North Bank".
And remember, all this not "to make money but to invest".
Pardon my cynicism, but even though the source claims to to have "requested a meeting" with representatives for majority owner Stan Kroenke, this looks like a fairy tale backed by Santa Claus, not by oil money.
Other media shoot it down too. While the Sunday Mirror base their "understanding" of the bid failing on earlier quotes by Kroenke, the BBC choose not to report on the rumour at all. Instead, their Arsenal correspondent David Ornstein dismantled it on Twitter last night.
"Serious Middle East interest never advertise plans," Ornstein wrote. "Qatar [and] UAE buying together [is] very unlikely."
However, subtleties from serious reporters covering Arsenal for a living will probably fail to convince a lot of frustrated Gooners. So many of us just want trophies for whatever cost. The model of sustainability is attacked because it's blamed for the trophy "drought" of eight years.
But why? And why now? The timing of this takeover rumour is downright hostile, coming on the morning of a pivotal game for the club and management. A derby with Tottenham, no less.
The target today is obviously to hurt Kroenke and his ownership. The "bid source" attacks the American and his family in both newspaper stories. Stan Kroenke is there to make money. He is no Arsenal fan, and takes too little interest in the running of the club. His son, Josh Kroenke, is inexperienced and doesn't know football. The Kroenkes damage the club by not engaging with the minority owner Alisher Usmanov.
Obviously a key point for the bid is that Kroenke should deal with the oligarch on more friendly terms. Reportedly, the money men behind the bid are prepared to work with Usmanov, but not with Kroenke. I wonder why?
The single operator in and around Arsenal who has spent more time and energy than anyone else to create unrest the last few months is just Usmanov. Like here. Or here.
The fact that this "bid source" paints the Uzbek in such a positive light is almost suspicious in itself.
If Stan Kroenke were to sell Arsenal, he would have taken Usmanov's money when offered. When he hasn't, it's very unlikely that he'll take the money of someone who paints him as an indifferent and greedy owner. The very fact that Arsenal are a model of sustainable business for other clubs suggests that a takeover along these lines will not be welcome. This is what manager Arsène Wenger on several occasions has called "financial doping".
But perhaps the only target of this story is just that, to make Kroenke look indifferent and greedy?
"And when the £1.5billion bid to try to take control arrives it will show they mean business," the Sun on Sunday puts it. As if.
But remember, Arsenal have agendas of their own! This week, much ridicule has been made of the yearly leak from the club's coffers. Anonymous sources claim that the club's wage structure will be broken to accomodate new star signings, like Stevan Jovetic and Mario Götze.
Stories like this, in the Daily Telegraph a week or so ago, rear their heads every year, just as the offers of renewal go out to season ticket holders at the Emirates.
Whose money any of these stars - or others - will be signed for may very well be the number one topic among Gooners today. On the day where we all were needed to stand united and support the team.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
The slings and arrows...
If February wasn't early enough for a Silly Season, Arsenal's latest defeats (Blackburn and Bayern München) are excellent events for tabloids and websites to harvest clicks from exasperated Gooners.
We're not supporting a lucky team these days, it has to be said.
It doesn't matter that the team's failings are more about psychology than the quality of the players available. Even if there are four months left until any deals are done and dusted, several English papers are already rebuilding the team in their minds.
The Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Telegraph and the Metro have all listed numerous replacements and reinforcements supposedly on Arsène Wenger's radar. For good measure, the Metro have also listed 10 candidates to reinforce Arsenal instead of Wenger, if or when he is out the door.
And the £70m that the Telegraph claims will be spent this summer will be out of the coffers fast enough if and when all the players they've compiled here join up!
The players mentioned and linked are all the usual suspects, linked before and soon to be linked again. In due time, all rumours are listed alphabetically here.
Interestingly, no media outlet had picked up on Nacho Monreal before his deadline day move to Arsenal. Speaking about the signing, Wenger admitted that this was a deal set up for summer, but injury to Kieran Gibbs forced them to close the deal earlier than planned.
Chances are there are more deals like that, already sealed for the summer window. Like Lukas Podolski last year, and Marouane Chamakh the year before that. Only noone has told the reporters yet...
We're not supporting a lucky team these days, it has to be said.
It doesn't matter that the team's failings are more about psychology than the quality of the players available. Even if there are four months left until any deals are done and dusted, several English papers are already rebuilding the team in their minds.
The Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Telegraph and the Metro have all listed numerous replacements and reinforcements supposedly on Arsène Wenger's radar. For good measure, the Metro have also listed 10 candidates to reinforce Arsenal instead of Wenger, if or when he is out the door.
And the £70m that the Telegraph claims will be spent this summer will be out of the coffers fast enough if and when all the players they've compiled here join up!
The players mentioned and linked are all the usual suspects, linked before and soon to be linked again. In due time, all rumours are listed alphabetically here.
Interestingly, no media outlet had picked up on Nacho Monreal before his deadline day move to Arsenal. Speaking about the signing, Wenger admitted that this was a deal set up for summer, but injury to Kieran Gibbs forced them to close the deal earlier than planned.
Chances are there are more deals like that, already sealed for the summer window. Like Lukas Podolski last year, and Marouane Chamakh the year before that. Only noone has told the reporters yet...
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