No New Defender For Arsenal?

So Setanta Sports has a weird article this morning, and it's got quotes from Arsene Wenger about Hamburg's center back Vincent Kompany. Kompany has been linked with us this summer as he could be just the type of defender we need, but Wenger has for some reason completely ruled it out.

"I have known Kompany for a long time, since he was 16. I keep following him but the story that we want him for next season is wrong. I know him to be very, very good but I have decided that defenders are no longer necessarily needed for next season.

Therefore, he will not come."

WTH is all that about? Didn't Arsene say at the beginning of summer that we needed to sign a powerful center back? It isn't like Wenger at all to just go out and say, "Well actually we have no need to sign a defender, so now you all know Arsenal's transfer plans." I can't figure out if this quote is just taken out of context or if he really decided we don't need a defender for next season. Quick list of our center backs: Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Djourou, Song. Yes, we could use a center back. I don't think Senderos is good enough anymore. I was really a defender of the lad for a long time but I just can't do it anymore. He and Djourou both seem to have gotten worse as they have gotten older. Song...well it's Song, and while Wenger thinks he'll be a great defender I'm going to see a couple good performances other than the last two games of last season to be convinced.

Maybe Arsene just meant that Kompany personally wasn't someone who he was looking at. Or he could be planning some massive scheme where he wants Kompany's price lowered so he says he has no interest in signing a defender, especially Kompany, before going in late in the summer with a bid! Yes, that must be it. I can't figure out what else it would be really. I'd say the story was just completely made up but it's by Setanta and they're usually decent. Who knows, it's all very confusing.

Sylvain Wiltord made it in at number 33 on Arsenal.com's list of the the 50 greatest Arsenal players ever. I always liked Wiltord so I'm glad he made the list. I voted for him. I didn't vote for Mathieu Flamini, Ashley Cole, or Jose Antonio Reyes, for obvious reasons.

Luiz Felipe Scolari is going to be taking over at Chelsea, and this article says Arsenal, Man U, etc. should be worried. I don't think there's any reason to be all that worried. He's bringing in a bunch of Portuguese players and if Bosingwa is anything to go by, then they'll be spending a lot more money for them than they're worth.

If you're interested in learning more about Aaron Ramsey, Young Guns has done a wonderful biography of him, including an interview with a Cardiff fan. I'm still not excited about him but I'm sure I'll get there at some point. I'd really be a lot more excited about that defender we apparently aren't signing anymore!

For the Euros today we have Germany-Croatia in one game and the other is Austria-Poland. I can imagine having a nap during Austria-Poland as that sounds like quote the borefest. Germany Croatia though should be fun and if Germany looks like they did in their last match they certainly look quality to get to the finals from that side of the bracket. I'm taking Germany 3-1 and 0-1 to Poland in the other game. I put a new funny picture up on the side, we need more people to register for the forums, and I need everyone to cheer as much as possible for the Celtics to beat the Lakers tonight. Or Kobe Bryant to be hit by a bus, either way.

So that's it for the day. Enjoy the Euros and let me know what you think about all this defender business! Also, there is a new Arsenal news aggregator that you should check out. Arsenal Daily News. Cheers!

Nasri Confirmed, Hleb is a Cunt

Ok I have not been into following the Nasri story every single waking second like many sites seem to be but I have been keeping everyone someone updated so now I can officially confirm that Samir Nasri will sign for Arsenal in the coming week, most likely on Tuesday. Monday is a bank holiday in the UK and so it may happen then but most likely not.

Even Arsene Wenger said the signing was highly likely, and said it would happen before the Euros start on June 7th.

So that is one signing we have down, and he could definitely be classified as our "creative player" signing that Wenger said would happen this summer. However, we don't know if he is a replacement for Hleb, who appears to be on the way out, or if this is another player and Arsene will sign another to replace Hleb. Arsene has said on countless occasions that he does not plan on having Hleb leave because he has not received any transfer bids for him, and from what I hear that is still the case. As it has been said on the forums, I think Wenger's first choice for the creative player was Niko Kranjcar, but it looks like he is set to stay at Portsmouth, which probably led to Wenger going for Nasri, his second choice. I think there is still a possibility, but not a probability, that Wenger will look for another player to replace Hleb. If Hleb does go it will not be without receiving a transfer fee, and I think another signing would depend on how much we received for Hleb. If we make up a good bit of the 11.2 million pounds we paid for him, I think another signing could be likely. If it is less than that I would expect Wenger to keep his faith in Walcott and, sadly, Eboue.

On to Hleb, I have to say that he is a complete and utter cunt. He is leaving strictly for money, not because he can't settle in London. Madrid, Barcelona, and Milan are not small quiet towns. He is 27 and wants to get a huge payday before he is past his prime. Granted, his prime has not seen all that much production out of him. We have all talked about his lack of goals, but we have only even talked about him being quality for just this past season. Before that all we talked about was how he gave the ball away too much. If you don't believe me then read my season review from last summer, which was my very first post on this website. I said he was a waste of money then because he never shot and gave the ball away too much. So should we really be upset about him leaving? Hell no. We should be happy someone is willing to take him off our hands, give us money for him and then waste their own money paying him wages. I can't be the least bit upset if he leaves.

So that's my rant on Hleb and good riddance to him.

Now on to what I think Arsenal will do next. I think after Nasri defender is the next target. My personal feeling is that it will be Kompany or Albiol, but I could be completely wrong and it could be someone we have never heard of. Whenever a team finds out Arsenal is interested in one of their players, the price for that player skyrockets and usually causes us to have to go in a different direction, and this could turn out to be the case here. Kompany at least I've heard is valued at 15 million, which a shiteload for a defender, I don't care who it is.

But I've done enough rambling so now I'll try to go over a little bit of news. Oh wait, there isn't any bloody news because every single site spends hours nutting over the Nasri story.

For all the idiots saying that Wenger should be sacked and that Arsenal should let Usmanov take over so we can spend billions of dollars you should read this article and realize just how stupid you are. I'm being kind of harsh today aren't I?

The Man from East Lower agrees with me that Diaby could develop into the new Vieira, or something like a replacement for Flamini at least, in the new season.

And that's really all there is for today. I'm so over the Nasri stories, so unless there is a picture of him holding an Arsenal shirt tomorrow then there will be no mention of him in my post. If you really need to hear about how Nasri likes his croissants baked or something then you can read about it on 823,508 other sites. I know it seems like I'm in a pissy mood this morning but really I just am sick of every news story being about him. So yeah, more to come tomorrow, hopefully there will be news about something else. Until then, join the forums, talk on em, leave a comment, or do something useful other than waiting for Nasri to sign. Cheers.