Tag Archives: Samba

Wenger says he will spend

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Wenger has reinforced what he has been saying recently; he will spend before the transfer window closes.

He has also said something quite interesting. He has suggested that he is not scared to gamble on a player. Now, this could mean one of two things. Either he means that he will bring in a player who is a relative unknown, or he will spend big on a player who has the potential to be worth his price tag but is not quite there yet. I have a hunch that the latter will be the case. It is evidently clear that Wenger is having a hard time now. To be fair to Wenger, a lot of his problems have been out of his hands.

If Wenger does not spend in the next 9 days, then he will be at fault. Our current first team and squad is just not good enough. Morale is low, the fans are turning against the team and the manager, and the only thing that will help at the moment is to buy someone. Here’s what he had to say:

“We are never afraid to take a gamble.

“But to buy a player is always a gamble anyway.

“I look at the players and if they are good enough. People forget we have bought players - Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jenkinson, Ryo – and you will see over the season they are top-quality players but at the moment we have to give them some time.”

It is interesting that Wenger keeps mentioning the players we have bought. It is clear from what he is saying that he plans to let players such as Ryo and Oxlade-Chamberlain play a big part in our season. Of course it is essential not to get carried away. After all, they are just teenagers. I have a feeling that these two players will be ones for the future. But we should see glimpses of their potential this year.

“Yes overall we will buy. Maybe people feel I am stubborn, but I am not, I just want to do the best for the team and buy the right players.

“If I have shown one thing in the last 15 years, it is that I have brought in good players.

“We will bring as well experienced players. People just say ‘buy’ but it is to buy the right player which is difficult.”

If you believe the reports, we were close to bringing in the likes of Cahill, Jagielka, Samba and now potentially Hazard. I do think these are the sort of players we need. I am sure it is hard to find the ‘right player’, but unfortunately for Wenger, that is what he must do.

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Wenger finally speaks about transfers

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Wenger has told us that he will do his business ‘sooner rather than later’. But yet, he still refuses to talk about any specific transfer targets.

“Our business will be done sooner rather than later but it is difficult to speak about any individual player because that makes things difficult,

“I cannot complain about other clubs talking about our players and then do the same.”

I rather like what Wenger is saying here. It is quite clearly a swipe at all the Barcelona players that have been chiming up about the Fabregas issue. In my opinion, Wenger is doing the right thing in keeping quiet. Although it may be frustrating for the fans, we know what its like having people from other clubs talking about our players, so surely it would be wrong, as Wenger says, to do the same thing. Furthermore, Wenger really doesn’t need to be talking about the players. As fans, we can speculate all we like, but if Wenger starts talking about specific players, it makes things difficult. If we relate it back to the Fabregas situation again, we can see how it has angered supporters and Wenger alike, so surely to do the same to other clubs is a bad idea. If we are trying to make a deal with another club, the last thing we want to be doing is angering them.

Wenger was, however, probed about Mata and Jagielka. Here’s what he had to say.

“I like the player [Mata], but that does not mean we will buy him. The other player [Jagielka] is under contract at Everton. If we want to buy a player, we need first the agreement of their club.

“At the moment the rules are constructed in a way where it is basically forbidden to speak about one individual player. I know that not everybody respects it, but I try to do as well as I can.”

It is clear that Wenger is doing his best to keep quiet about other players, and he is being very professional.

Wenger then went on to discuss why transfers have hit a standstill for Arsenal.

“At the moment you have two categories of movement, one from zero to 10 million, and one from 30 to 50 million. We are in between,

“In between nothing happens at the moment, there has been very little movement. All over Europe our industry is basically in a very bad financial situation. All the clubs who live from the money which football generates do not buy.

“The only clubs who buy at the moment in Europe are ones who buy with money which is not generated by our industry. There are two categories of club – those who travel with sweat and those who travel with petrol. We are those who travel with sweat.”

Here Wenger seems to be distinguishing between clubs like Man City, and clubs like Arsenal. Clubs like City can buy with money that has been gifted to them by an owner. We do not have that luxury. We have to make do with the money we generate from our business model. But there is something else worth noting in what Wenger is saying. He says that we are in between 10 million and 30 million. This is encouraging. This means that Wenger is actually prepared to spend above £10 million. This definitely opens up the possibility of transfers such as Mata, Benzema, Samba and Jagielka. Of course Wenger will not buy all 4, but the fact that he has stated that he will spend in the region of 10 to 30 million is encouraging.

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Top defender on his way?

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It was reported by The Sun that Christopher Samba said the following about his potential move to Arsenal:

“A player who has no ambition to play at a higher level has made a mistake and chosen the wrong sport.

“I don’t know what is happening with Arsenal because I am not dealing with it and it’s not my problem.

“At the minute I am still at Blackburn but it would be a big lie if I told you ‘everything is good and I don’t want to play in the Champions League’.

“I don’t know what the board and the manager at Blackburn are planning or what provisions they have made for signing new players.

“It is difficult for me at the moment because I’m just waiting to see what happens and concentrating on my preparation for the new season.”

Before you get your hopes up, it is likely that such comments are fake. Samba has expressed his anger towards them. He has said, on twitter, that they are not his words:

“The declaration made of the sun about me are totally false never said that nonsense I never mention other club I’m a rovers player and will never mention other club it’s disrespectful,

“Not happy right now.”

I have to say, I admire Samba’s loyalty to his club, but I do not think that such comments necessarily rule out a move for the Blackburn Rovers captain. He has, in the past, expressed his desire to play at a higher level, and has emphasised that he is an ambitious player. Whether or not Samba does indeed join Arsenal is still unclear. Arsene Wenger is also said to be looking at a potential move for Everton’s Phil Jagielka, and Bolton’s Gary Cahill is still a possibility. One thing is for sure, we do need to sign at least one defender. Even Wenger has admitted this:

“Certainly, we will have to find one more defender,

“We [are] working on it.”

I have a feeling that Wenger will sign Samba, and I would be very happy to see him play for Arsenal. He is a very strong, tall and dominant player, and can help strengthen our defence, especially when it comes to defending against set pieces.

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Wenger undervalues defensive target

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Transfer speculation is beginning to pick up again after a relatively quiet week or so (relatively being the key word here). But rather than absurd rumours such as Ribery or Benzema, both the BBC and Sky Sports are revealing that Arsenal have bid for English centre back Phil Jagielka.

Sources such as Gunnerblog indicate that Arsenal bid £12 million last summer, which Everton considered derisory for their esteemed defender. Since then, he has had a decent season, playing in 33 of the Toffee’s Premier League matches. He also participated in his first competitive England game last September, in a 4-0 win over Bulgaria. John Cross, of the Mirror, said of Jagielka after that game:

“[Phil] read the game brilliantly on a night when he proved his ­credentials.”

So naturally, one would assume that Wenger might raise the bid slightly if he is serious about bringing the defender to the Emirates. Far from it, Arsène has apparently just offered only £10 million for Jagielka (you won’t be surprised to hear that it was rejected). Last March, the centre back signed a new four year deal with the Toffees, putting them in an even stronger negotiating position (take note Arsenal, this is how to make sure your best players don’t take advantage of you!).

Phil has credentials from Division 1 to the Premier League. He has played in Europe for Everton and is now stepping up to the international scene. I certainly believe he would be a great addition to our defence, but right now I’m hoping for anything – Samba, Cahill, Jagielka, Dann, Sakho, Mertesacker, Baines, Vertonghen… the list goes on and on. We just need a defender with some experience to prevent the issues that dogged us last season and even in our pre-season draw against Hangzhou Greentown.

Of course, unlike myself, Wenger has a clear picture of precisely which defender he wants and why. However, £10 million for an established Premier League defender is rather low. It doesn’t seem plausible, I just can’t imagine Arsenal making such a bid. I know Wenger would rather get value for money, but everyone knows that English players come with a hefty price tag – look at Young, Downing, Henderson and Jones. There isn’t a single quote on the internet which indicates that we actually have made a bid. No comment from Arsenal, Everton, Jagielka, his agent or even someone ‘in the know.’

Basically, this sounds made up. I still reckon we will get Samba or Cahill. Well, I hope so anyway.

Likeliness Rating: 2.5/5

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Wenger steps up interest in £5m centre-back

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According to several reports over the last few days, Arsène Wenger will press forward with a move for FC Copenhagen captain Mathias Jorgensen. Over the last few seasons Jorgensen has become an integral part of the Copenhagen defence. Unlike many of the current crop of Arsenal players, the Danish international actually knows what it is like to have won a few trophies. He is part of a team which won the Danish Cup in 2008 and the Danish Superliga in the last three consecutive seasons.

If, as many have suggested, Thomas Vermaelen is used as a left-back at some point during the season, then it is of even more importance that Wenger signs a new centre-back. Yes, Laurent Koscielny improved considerably towards the end of the season, but we are still in need of at least one more competent defender. Despite being only 21, Jorgensen has made more than 100 appearances for Copenhagen and has had some experience playing in (what was previously known as) the Uefa Cup. At 6 ft 3 in, he is physically imposing and could make a decent partner for Vermaelen or Koscielny.

We have been linked with a plethora of central defenders over the summer, so it is hard to determine whether links to players are genuine or based pure speculation. However, Wenger is known to have been a keen admirer of the Jorgensen in the past, so I would suggest that this transfer is entirely possible; before he signed with the Danish champions in 2006, Jorgensen had a one-week trial with Arsenal, but somehow slipped through the net.

In my opinion, this is much more likely that any of the rumours that suggest that Wenger would be willing to spend large sums of money on more expensive players such as Christopher Samba or Gary Cahill. There is very little to indicate that Wenger will not stick to his previous philosophy if he believes that Jorgensen can be just as good as Samba or Cahill but much more cost-effective. Vermaelen cost us around £8 million – proof  if any that you don’t have to spend huge sums of money to buy a world-class defender.

Likeliness rating: 4/5

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Transfer Talk: Sunday 3rd June

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Stefan Savic

Arsène Wenger is thought to be considering a move for Partizan Belgrade’s central-defender Stefan Savic, if a deal for Bolton’s Gary Cahill falls through. It is suggested that Savic, who is valued at somewhere around £10 million (significantly cheaper than the valuation of Cahill), has also attracted the attention of Manchester City.

In 2010, Savic had a 10-day trial with Arsenal and (according to the player himself) had agreed to join the club in the summer. For whatever reason the transfer was never finalised, which is enough to convince me that he simply wasn’t good enough. If Wenger had wanted to sign him, then he would already be at the club. The fact that he had a trial and wasn’t signed would suggest that Wenger did not see enough potential. It is also important to note that it is now a year since his trial, and he is slightly reluctant to leave his new club.

“If the time comes for me to leave Partizan, it would be difficult – but that is our life in sport. But for now I have no transfer information.”

Partizan are on the verge of losing their other central defender, Marko Jovanovic. Their sporting director Mladen Krstajic confirmed that the club will only let Savic leave when they are sure that they have a replacement.

“If we lose Savic too, coach Stanojevic would be in a trouble defensively. Therefore, Savic can leave only if we find adequate replacement at the back.”

Even if we do want to sign him this summer, I think that the deal is unlikely. In my opinion, we should not be considering the option of bringing Savic to Arsenal anyway. We need a defender with Premier League experience. Signing another unknown 20-year-old is not going to help fix our defensive problems next season.

Likeliness Rating: 0/5 – Man City claim to have already sealed the deal with Partizan for Savic

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Arsenal exodus is total rubbish

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I beg you not to listen to the media. With the Daily Mail spinning the story that Chelsea are going to bid for Walcott, it seems that they are just trying to aim another low blow at Arsenal FC.

Supposedly, Cesc is off to Barca, or even Madrid. Real Madrid – can you believe it! Fabregas’ boyhood club is Barcelona, he has always stated that he wants to return there. But no, of course Real Madrid, Barca’s greatest rivals, is a viable option. Jog on.

Add to that the fact that Cesc is going to leave for a transfer fee way below what he is worth, and we have a farce on our hands. But let’s not stop there.

Samir Nasri, Arsenal’s best player from last year, is going to leave. To Man Utd. One of our fiercest rivals? I think not. Or possibly even Chelsea. Or Man City. Who do these journos think they are kidding? Yeah, Samir may leave, but would Wenger willingly give him up to a rival? No way, it won’t be that simple. If Wenger has anything to say about it, he will make sure we send Samir to a non Premier League club.

But let’s not stop the rumours quite yet. Apparently, our superb trio of Bendtner, Almunia and Denilson are set to move to new clubs as well. Now that would be a massive shame, losing three key players… hmmmm. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be so harsh – they all have had good performances for the Gunners, but I believe it is time they moved on. They haven’t quite cut it in the red and white of Arsenal.

But before the media put down their weapons, they have decided to take another few swipes at Arsenal. Robin van Persie, one of our most loyal players, will want to leave if Nasri and Cesc go. Further to that, Clichy is on the way out as well. Talk about doom and gloom, these are our first team players!

And before we finish, let’s note that Inter Milan are set to out-bid us for Alvarez, and Gervinho’s move to Arsenal may be stalled by further complications on the transfer fee. Oh, I forgot to mention that Chamberlain is still yet to be subject to a bid from Wenger. Further to that, Blackburn will do everything to keep Samba, Cahill will replace Terry at Chelsea, Lille won’t sell Hazard and Wenger won’t bid for anyone else.

THIS IS ALL A LOAD OF RUBBISH! IGNORE THE MEDIA, BECAUSE IT IS NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM AT ARSENAL. I’M NOT 100% BEHIND EVERY DECISION THAT WENGER MAKES, BUT I AM PRETTY SURE THAT WE ARE NOT FACING A MASS EXODUS. NOR ARE WE GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED BY TRANSFERS COMING IN.

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Transfer Talk: Thursday 30th June

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Ins

  1. Gervinho is thought to be having a medical in North London this week.

  2. Arsène Wenger also close to signing Ricardo Alvarez from Vélez Sársfield.

  3. Blackburn desperately trying to convince Christopher Samba to stay at Ewood Park.

  4. Juan Mata wants to win another trophy with Valencia before he leaves.

  5. Thiago Alcantara has signed a contract extension at Barcelona (so he definitely he won’t be coming to Arsenal).

Outs

  1. Manchester United considering £20 million offer for Samir Nasri.

  2. Man City, Liverpool and PSG all want Gaël Clichy, but Arsène Wenger remains confident that he will sign a contract extension.

  3. Nobody wants Neves Denilson…

  4. Wenger has turned down a £10 million bid from an unnamed Turkish club for Abou Diaby.

  5. Barcelona will continue their pursuit of Cesc Fabregas with £35 million offer (+ £5 million when Barca reach their win targets).

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Arsenal transfer news update

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Ins

It seems increasingly likely that Alvarez and Gervinho are set to join Jenkinson in Arsenal’s squad for next season, as reports are circulating that the two players will sign for around £10-12 million each.

The Samba saga is still ongoing, with the news that Blackburn will have to pay 15% of any transfer fee to the defender’s previous club, Hertha Berlin. Any transfer is likely to be in the region of £11-12 million.

News on Benzema and Falcao is falling away, it seems that both rumours were never really anything more than rumours! I’d guess that both names were created in a media frenzy of ‘who do Arsenal need.’

Other notable rumours:

Defenders: G.Cahill, Vertonghen, Mertesacker, Baines, Sakho

Midfielders: Fellaini, Barton (yuck!), Parker

Attackers: Taarabt, Gameiro, Hazard, Defoe

Outs

It seems that Denilson and Bendtner are already on their way out of the club. Shakhtar are supposedly on Denilson’s radar. The big Dane has recently ruled out a move to Zenit, saying that he wouldn’t want to move to the Russian league. Apparently, big European clubs including Bayern Munich are aiming to sign Bendtner, but I don’t see it myself.

Clichy, Nasri and Fabregas are on the ‘maybe’ list. Gael has been linked with Roma and Liverpool. Nasri has been repeatedly linked with Utd, and rumours are surfacing that Sir Alex is set to bid somewhere in the region of £20 million. Obviously, Fabregas will be linked with Barcelona for the rest of the summer. Some reports indicate that Cesc would consider paying £5 million in order to force Arsenal to let him leave.

Other notable rumours:

Goalkeepers: Almunia

Defenders: Eboue

Midfielders: Rosicky

Attackers: Vela, Arshavin

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Samba Saga – Transfer Timeline Part 3

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Arsenal step-up Samba interest over the summer

1) 9th may 2011 – Samba considers his options and admits he was “very close to Arsenal move” in Januray

“Everybody knows that I am an ambitious player. I am at an age now where I want to try to do something. You only have one career and it would be a shame to not make the best of it.

“I am happy at Blackburn but I will study any opportunities that come my way this year. I’m not trying to move away but of course I would look if it is the right thing for me.

“I think a move to Arsenal was very close in January but that is life. You have to continue. If it happens, it happens, but it wasn’t meant to be and football is like that. I committed myself to Blackburn and will always do my best.”

2) 10th May 2011 - Kean will not be forced to sell by Blackburn Rovers owners

Sources close to Venky’s (Blackburn’s owners) told the Lancashire Telegraph that Steve Kean is under no obligation to sell his key players. It is believed that Venky’s will financially back their manager regardless of any financial gain generated from the sale of their players.

3) 13th June 2011 – Manchester United sign Phil Jones

Manchester United confirmed that they had reached an agreement with Blackburn to sign 19-year-old centre-back Phil Jones; the deal would be finalised upon his return from the Under 21 World Cup. This severely decreases the chances of Blackburn letting Samba move to Arsenal. They have already lost one of their key defenders – they will not want to lose another.

4) 19th June 2011 – Blackburn confirm they want to keep hold of Samba

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Anuradha Desai, who was talking on behalf of Venky’s, admitted that although Samba is interested in making the move to the Emirates, the club will do all they can to make sure that he stays.

“We don’t want to let Chris go. I’m confident that we can keep him and I hope he’ll stay.

“I know he has an ambition to play for Arsenal but I hope we can keep him for another year at least and prove our own ambition.”

5) 20th June 2011 – Samba’s price goes up as Hertha Berlin remind Blackburn that they are due 15% of the transfer fee

Samba is understood to be keen to join Arsenal but Blackburn are reluctant to sell the 27-year-old and, with his former club Hertha Berlin due 15 per cent of any transfer fee, are said to want at least £12 million for a player who cost them £450,000 in 2007.

It seems that Rovers have discovered a clause in their contract from when they bought Samba from Hertha Berlin. 15% of the new transfer fee (which would equate to around £1.8 million) will go back to the German club.

I think it is a bit ridiculous that Arsenal are expected to cover the 15% sell-on clause. It was an old agreement between Hertha and Blackburn, and it Blackburn’s responsibility to pay. It shouldn’t make Samba more expensive. Arguably, the sell-on fee should be scrapped because it just further inflates the prices of players in an already expensive transfer market. However, if Wenger really wants to sign Samba, then squabbling over £2 million seems unnecessary. I don’t need to remind you that we paid £9 million for Laurent Koscielny…

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