Alright I'm back. Went to Tampa for the past like five days for the girlfriend's 21st birthday, and I've come back to quite a shocker...Arsenal have signed Mikael Silvestre from Manchester United. Yes, I'm serious. And I'm frankly astonished. Yes, I've been saying we need a new defender all summer, but this wasn't what I had in mind. A player I've been hating for as long as I remember is now a member of my beloved Arsenal. Not only that, but he's 31 and far past his prime. Would anyone say that Silvestre has been in his best form over the last few seasons?
No, this isn't a case of Wayne Rooney or John Terry showing up at Arsenal, but it's not what I would have asked for. I wanted a fairly young (27 or below would have done) and experienced defender that had several good years to come. This isn't that signing.
I do worry about this being our "one new signing" before the end of the transfer window. Surely this isn't the one Arsene has been talking about? I know I joked the other day about how funny it would be if Arsene signed some other position than central midfield, but now that it really happened it isn't funny at all. I think this must have just been a bonus signing that wasn't expected and it just happened because the price was so good or something. The fee was undisclosed of course but I can't imagine it being much at all. Buying Manchester United rejects is disheartening.
Arsene spoke about the new signing to Arsenal.com, saying:
“We have a strong squad but a young squad and Mikael’s versatility, experience and calibre will provide the extra depth we need to reinforce our challenge for honours this season. His defensive adaptability will serve us well and it’s a big plus that Mikael has top level experience and a great understanding of football in the Premier League.”
Yes he does have experience, which is the bright side of all this. If we win the title I reserve the right to take all of this post back. Hopefully he can provide a lot of good help to the youngsters and can maybe even teach Kolo and Gallas a few things. I think he'll be decent cover too, but I wouldn't expect him to start many games.
So I'm still hoping for one more signing. I really really hope this wasn't the last one. I'll get something else up tomorrow. Let me know what you think about Silvestre's signing. Guess I'll go add him to Arsenal on my FIFA game.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Arsenal Sign Mikael Silvestre...WTF?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
i hav 2 worries coz y wud man u sell him to us?! either they do not c us as their contenders at all or they know he is going to have further injury problems! the only reason i can think they would sell him to us is as a favour to him for his years of service! but really he could be good, think about the inside information he has on man u!!!!!!!!!! also he can guide some of our young players and finally WE NEED THE EXPERIENCE, even if it is mainly in the dressing room! so all in all, 4 this little money, very good i say!
Well, he's been signed for 750,000 pounds. He brings in the experience and the depth we require. Besides he plays at CM & can provide cover at LB as well, with hoyte & traore gone, we needed such a signing.
Secondly, he had a bad injury for the past couple of seasons, where he went from first choice to third choice LB due to vidic, evra etc.
He was due for a medical at Man City but ditched it in order to sign for Arsenal.
The one things that pisses me off is that, how come he gets a 2 years deal (he's above 30) and wenger refused to offer anything above 1 to the likes of pires & co. Pires could still have providing quality runs, assists & goals -- well better than hleb anyways of whom we had to sit and rather exruciatingly bear for 3 seasons!
excellent signing, keep them coming, two more - a true quality dm and cesc cover.
Depending on what the prices were, this boils down to swapping Hoyte for Silvestre. If Silvestre can stay healthy, I'll take that deal all day because Hoyte did not seem like he was ever going to do much for us.
If I get past the emotional aspect of him being a former rival, I can think of a few reasons to like this signing:
1. Silvestre is not going to complain when he doesn't start
2. This puts one more player between Senderos and the field
3. He's got big game experience
4. Like the first poster said, he's got the inside info on United LOL..And joking aside, former Gunners seem to love to stick it to us when we play them, so maybe Silvestre will have a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to Ferguson.
i'm growing tired of wenger's double-speak. i love the guy and he'll be a legend, but maybe it's time to have a new manager to really shake things up. in the manner of Pep Guardiola at Barca and Scolari at Chelsea. Wenger has lost the HUNGER to WIN IT ALL (I know it's impossible to win it all but a hugely ambitious manager fires up the troops).
I'm sure there will be a fair few Gooners wondering what the frig is going on. To be honest, when I saw the headline I was one of them but on reflection this could be a seriously good bit of business. So here, my fellow Arsenal fans, are some reasons to be cheerful.
* He cost £750,000, which is four Justin Hoytes!
* This summer we've spent £17.75 million on players and recouped £12 million from Hleb and Gilberto. That means the chances are we can still look at paying £10 million + on the midfielder we desperately, desperately need.
* Despite the fact we've been laughing at him for years he is better than Senderos, Djourou, Traore and Song (for now), and would probably make a better right back than Eboue too.
* William Gallas and Kolo Toure now know that there's at least a semi-viable replacement for either of them in the event of them turning crap halfway through the season - which is exactly what Toure did last year.
* Now that they've lost Silvestre and Pique and the Neviller is damaged goods, United's defensive cover looks...well it looks like John O'Shea.
* Arsene Wenger has finally signed someone we've actually heard of.
* Arsene Wenger has finally signed someone who doesn't qualify for a young person's railcard.
* Erm...with him and Gallas, Arsenal surely now have the two players with the largest heads in the history of professional football. Now all we need is for penalties to be done away with and replaced with some sort of average skull size rule and we would be unstoppable in knockout football.
I'm sure there will be a fair few Gooners wondering what the frig is going on. To be honest, when I saw the headline I was one of them but on reflection this could be a seriously good bit of business. So here, my fellow Arsenal fans, are some reasons to be cheerful.
* He cost £750,000, which is four Justin Hoytes!
* This summer we've spent £17.75 million on players and recouped £12 million from Hleb and Gilberto. That means the chances are we can still look at paying £10 million + on the midfielder we desperately, desperately need.
* Despite the fact we've been laughing at him for years he is better than Senderos, Djourou, Traore and Song (for now), and would probably make a better right back than Eboue too.
* William Gallas and Kolo Toure now know that there's at least a semi-viable replacement for either of them in the event of them turning crap halfway through the season - which is exactly what Toure did last year.
* Now that they've lost Silvestre and Pique and the Neviller is damaged goods, United's defensive cover looks...well it looks like John O'Shea.
* Arsene Wenger has finally signed someone we've actually heard of.
* Arsene Wenger has finally signed someone who doesn't qualify for a young person's railcard.
* Erm...with him and Gallas, Arsenal surely now have the two players with the largest heads in the history of professional football. Now all we need is for penalties to be done away with and replaced with some sort of average skull size rule and we would be unstoppable in knockout football.
Time will tell on this one. The 2 year deal is shocking, but before his injury problems he was really good. Maybe he's ready to put the ijuries behind him and turn in some quality performances.
i think it is an okay signing, he can provide some wisdom to our younger players but, we do still need another signing, a defensive midfielder either yaya toure or xavi alonso. come on wenger get ur finger out ur ass and make one of these signings.
Post a Comment