Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Arsenal Transfer Window Preview Part 2- January 2009

Morning all. Last day of 2008 has come and I'm still alive and if you're reading this so are you so congratulations on making it through another year. Yesterday I ran down the first half of our January transfer preview for Arsenal and today I'm going to finish that off with the second half of who we should buy and maybe even a little who we should sell. We did central defenders and central midfielders yesterday, so that leaves us our wide and attacking players for today.

Let's look at what we have so far out wide. We have Nasri, who is certainly a quality player as long as he can stay healthy, which hasn't been as much as you'd like. There is Eboue, who is really a right back and has been forced onto the wing and really isn't very effective out there. Rosicky is ALWAYS hurt and probably won't play for us anymore barring a miraculous recovery from his injury that has kept him out for a year. And of course we have Theo, who is out for a couple more months but he really looked great at the start of this year until the time of his injury. Diaby is also used out wide occasionally but he is a central midfielder and we really shouldn't accept having to play someone out of position so much.


So it is clear that we really could use a wide player, at least to add some depth while Theo is out and hopefully to create some competition for places with say, Eboue. There has been a ton of talk about Andrei Arshavin ever since Russia's run at Euro 2008. He was good at the Euro's, yes I'll give you that, but do we really know how he would adapt to the Premiership? He's 27 years old and would command a huge fee, yet he hasn't been tested in a top flight league. I'm going to come right out and say that I don't want Arsenal to buy Arshavin. Sp*rs bought Pavlyuchenko because of his performances in the Euro's alongside Arshavin and he hasn't worked out great for them. I just don't see him as the best option and I hope we look somewhere else. That somewhere else could be Mikel Arteta of Everton. Reports are in already that we will make a 12 million pound bid for him, which could be enough to get him from Everton. He's a huge player for them who they won't want to part with but for the right price they would have to accept, especially since the player would most likely want to come play for Arsenal. He's been playing in the Premiership for a long time so he has that needed experience which would hopefully mean he could make an immeadiate impact. He is very versatile as well meaning that he could play in Cesc's role while he is injured and move out wide or alongside him when Cesc returns. He's also good on set pieces and he really just looks like a better option to me. Another option I could think of hasn't had as much talk as the other two but as I said yesterday, Valencia are strapped for cash and a very good player on their team just happens to play on the wing. I'm talking about Silva, who plays with Cesc for Spain. I have no idea what kind of fee he would command but he is a great player and would surely benefit any team he was in.

Moving on to the strikers and you'd have to say that if we were totally set for players in a posititon then it would be at striker. We have two good strikers in RvP and Adebayor who can get the job done at the top flight as well as Eduardo, plus some youngsters like Carlos Vela and Nicklas Bendtner in waiting. I'll admit though that I'm not a big Bendtner fan. I think he gives off the impression that he is not trying hard a lot of times when he is on the pitch and it really bothers me. A lot of times when he plays it is up front by himself and when you're up top by yourself it really requires a lot of movement from you, which he doesn't seem to have. Sure he scores the odd good goal sometimes but I think his attitude of entitlement is a problem and if we received a decent offer for him I suggest we take it. If we were to bring in a striker, which we won't, then my personal choice would be Sergio "Kun" Aguero.

Last but not least we need to talk about which players we want leaving if we had our choice. Players that are not Arsenal calibre who are playing for Arsenal and should not be. Alex Song immeadiately springs to mind. He's not good enough in midfield or in defense to ever be a first eleven player and really makes me nervous even when he comes on in reserve or as a sub. When you look at other top clubs do you see players of Alex Song's skill level? Not really, and if there is one, then they don't play nearly as much as Song does for us. I also think Eboue would do well with a change of scenery. He hasn't really improved on the wing ever since he was moved there and he certainly won't ever be better than Sagna at right back. He's decent cover but even when Sagna has been out the boss has chosen to use other people instead of him at right back, which should tell you something. As I mentioned, I don't think Bendtner has much of a future here at Arsenal and I think an offer for him would see him gone.

Now by point behind this is that we can't afford to sell ANY players without having signed or having every intention of signing quality replacements for them. Our squad has shown that it is too then and we really need to grow it not sell more. We sold Hleb, Gilberto, and Flamini (I know, he left, he wasn't sold) without really bringing in any replacements and we can't have that again.


So that's about it. The transfer window opens in 12 hours, while we'll all be ringing in the New Year. I hope all of you have a fantastic 2009 and that Arsenal do as well. Everyone drink up, hook up, do drugs if that is your thing, just make it a great start to the New Year! Make sure you check out the forums if you never have or leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are! Cheers! I'll leave you with this video to go into the New Year. Warning: Semi-offensive and also hilarious material.


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

You don't know anything if you think Alex Song is not good enough for Arsenal.

Also i woudn't buy Arteta as he's not quick enough or mobile enough to play on the wing. Arshavin would be good provided he was available at a good price. However my prefrences would be Ibrahim Affelay who can play wide right or wide left and Gokhan Inler for the holding role.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Alex Song is good enough for Arsenal but Mikel Arteta isn't...riiiiight. What has Song shown that demonstrates an ability to do good things for a top level team like Arsenal? What does he bring to the side when he is out there? Not a whole lot.

Unknown said...

I just want us to buy SOMEONE who will immediately slot into the first 11. Midfielder would be my priority but a center back would work too.

I really think the message sent by Wenger opening his wallet and showing a commitment to doing what it takes to win something this season could have more impact on the team than the actual player he brings in.

Lost Soul said...

Decent article but the 2 players i.e Silva and Aguero are fantasy buys considering Arsene Wenger's "skill" in the transfer market. I agree with Mike when he says that a good signing will not only make a difference on the pitch but also have a positive impact on the team and club in general(fans especially, cant take the bitching anymore). Also, its nice to see someone somewhere other than Arsene Wenger thinks that Song is good enough to play for Arsenal. Know what i mean?

Anonymous said...

Song's good enough in maybe two years, not now. Look at the table mate, there is no discussion. Either we save the season and a top four place or we don't.

Wenger may be stingy, but if we lose a cl place, our financec will suffer more than taking some chances now.

JT said...

Try Toulalan- if you haven't heard it already. French, likes to get forward, and best of all, a defensive midfielder, replacing Song. He can play as Fabregas when he's out, or a better Song.

stimpy said...

Look, im sick of talk of arsenal potentially buying all these wingers and fancy footballers. We dont need them, this fancy football Wenger wants to play isnt working anymore so lets just forget it.

We need to bring in some hard resiliant midfielders who will not be brushed aside like the pathetic and weak midfielders we have already - which is generally all the midfield barring Fabregas. We need strong players who will grind out results for us.

All this talk of getting rid of Gallas is stupid as well, Gallas is are most accomplished centre back and easily are best defender - we need him. johan djourou and Gallas at the back is fine, we just need some decent back ups to make the defensive side of the squad stronger and neither touré or silvestre are decent back ups.

To bolster up the midfield we need to bring in some hard and gutsy players i.e Yaya Toure or Muhammd Diarra from Madrid.

To bolster up the defense we need to bring in some decent utility players who have some good experience. i.e. Rivas Lopez from Inter or possibly Walter Samuel.

I wanna no what you guys think?

Unknown said...

Well Stimpy, As well as you fabulous choise in players, i believe you missed one thing out.

I personally believe Wenger should leave Arsenal. No Trophy in 4 or 5 years? Your right, this fancy football is getting us no where anymore. Wenger has done all he can for this club and don't get me wrong, he's been an outstanding manager, but i think it's time for him to move on.

We really miss the 'Fab Four' which were; Lunjberg,Vieira,Pires and Henry, and without them, this team is just a bog standard team.

WE need a Good center back, a good central midfielder, and we also need to splash £30 million on a top quality striker, but wenger believes that Bendtner has the capability to become a world class player.

Thats why we need him to leave.

sam said...

I agree with your mother in some aspects, we need to bring in new players or are title ambitions will be blown out of the window.

The era of Arsenal's free flowing football needs to come to an end, its not working as ive said before we need a change, possibly a change of management? as "your mother" said.

All we need are some rebust players who are resiliant and can take a beating. We need some experience to lead us through as we cannot rely on the young players all of the time. It annoys me when Wenger continually buys these young players who have no real experience in the top flight and are not good enough to guide us to premier league glory.

An example of this is Ramsey, we cannot keep buying players like this if we want to win the premierleague, we need strong central midfielders who are going to drive the team i.e. yaya toure or diarra.

We need expeirenced players, players who have been there and done it before and no what it takes to win the league. We need to bring some veterans in, in this transfer window to keep the team stable.

However not only do we need to bring players or a new manager in, but we need to get rid of some pointless players who will only contribute to Arsenal's eventually downfall if things dont change.

These players, it hurts me to say, are generally most of the midfield. e.g. Song, Diaby, Denilson are all sub standard players who do not have the kind composure and skill to lead a team to a championship title. I think Wenger needs to go on one huge shopping spree in this transfer window and he needs to get rid of alot of players.

Not only within the midfield but at the back as well, i.e. toure and silvestre spring to mind both these players have struggled this season and are not consistent enough at the back.

I hope Wenger reads this, he needs to, he needs to get rid of these players and bring in some robust expeirence if he wants to ever win the title with Arsenal again

Anonymous said...

Ur all talking steaming piles of shit...and u call urselves fans...i dont want tough midfielders who cant play good football....if yuo want them fuck off and support liverpool or chelsea or stoke....THREE CHEERS FOR ARSENE, ALEXANDRE, DENILSON and all the other so called lightweights of the world youth scene....shame i share support of my team with short sighted fuck heads.
(a true Arsenal Fan, unlike the aboves)

ArseNole said...

So you would rather not win trophies than win them? I like Denilson as I said in the first part of this post. But we do need a strong defender and a defensive midfielder. Nobody said somebody that can't play football you mug. You're a real fan and nobody else is? Well aren't you a fucking winner.

Sam said...

I call myself a fan, im onli saying whats good for the club here boys. Are midfielders are awful and sub standard we need some strong resiliant players who dont pushed about by the likes of "stoke" and "hull".

Arsenole what are you talking about? nobody who cant play football, we have fabregas are play maker, now we need some strong rock solid midfielders who can get into a tackle and fucking get stuck in.....and defend not nescessary great on the ball but have good defensive awareness.

Thats the bottom line, we cant defend!

you all need to see the light my friends, Wenger has had his day, his way of football has been sort out by other teams and its not working!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Song is Ok, as well as Bedtner.
If Arsenal is going to sell any player, I think it should be Adebayor. Before you start throwing pile of shit on me, guys, look at his performance, all he wanted is a high pay in the start of the season.
We needed an attacking midfielder,Xabi would be perfect maybe an additional defender.
Arsene is ok, though not spilling millions in the beginning of the season maybe a blunder on his part, I really can't imagine who else can handle Arsenal when he leaves.

Anonymous said...

Hey Sam... Are you an Arsenal fan or just a Man U. fan trying to get rid of Arsene?

Anonymous said...

There is no way Silva is coming to Arsenal or any other English team. He has made it more than clear he does not want to leave Spain and the only team he would leave Valencia for is Barca. I do love the Arteta option though, he would be perfect he is someone who is more than proven in the league.

I need someone to explain to me why does the team need to chose between free flowing football and a good defense? Since when are the 2 mutually exclusive?

Anonymous said...

So according to "Yourmother" Arsene should leave because we need a center half and central midfielder? Where is the logic in that, I'm not following. Also because you spend 30 million on a striker doesn't mean he is going to be any better than what we already have.

saam said...

Wenger's way football isnt working anymore and this fancy football which Arsenal are known for isnt working.

Why wouldnt i be an Arsenal fan, im just saying whats best for the club, its time to change and change could possibly mean a new manager? and a new image of the club.

Hes not buying the players we need, we cannot rely on the players we currently have at the club especially the midfield because they are not good enough.

There not "mutully exclusive", its the fact that this current style of play isnt working right? Oh wait we've won loads of trophies recentley havent we with the likes of Denilson etc :)

We need stronger more resiliant players such as YaYa Toure who is better than Denilson at defending and attacking and doesnt get pushed of the ball like a little girl.

Wenger is getting us no where, hes not going to buy any of the players we are discussing, its going to be some fuckin unknown shit player who will sit on the

saam said...

bench.

who wants wenger out? he should go to Madrid.

ArseNole said...

I for one don't want Wenger out...yet. However, you are correct, as I said in the article, in saying that he hasn't bought the players that we need to really put in a title challenge. I like the good football we play but I also want to win things. I'm not the type to say anyone is not a fan because I don't think anyone has the right to say they are a "better fan." I think we all just have different views of what is going on and how it needs to be fixed.

Anonymous said...

gooner14, mate we need to buy an estabalished premiership or spanish primer league player, we cant keep buyin young, unexperienced players or old players who have to retire after a season, we missed out big time not buyin villa or torres when we had a chance, arsene has money to spend ffs, he can afford to kick out bendtner and offer 30-40 million for torres

Anonymous said...

I hear you, i dislike Alex Song. He may be young but so is the rest of the team. Time to bring in some experience after the loss of helb and so on. Why not go for an expensive player? Ever since Henry went to Barcelona we seem to have lost our "well know" stars.
Yes we are surviving, but if we want top four, and some silver in th cupboards for 08/09, we need another star, who, like fabregas, can step in at any time, in their position and deliver regularly.