Wednesday 23 July 2008

Who will be Cesc's new partner?................

Le Boss intends to bolster the midfield for the forth coming season. With Gilberto and Flamini departing over the summer, the centre of midfield is an area that needs strengthening.

“We will need one more body in there,” said Wenger when asked about his midfield. “At the moment we do not have Alex Song who is going to the Olympic games, Abou Diaby was not here tonight and nor was Fabregas.

“If we find a reasonable target then we will do it. But there is no special name on the list.
“We have some time. We have until August 31. We left 11 players back in Austria for this game. They will play in Stuttgart [on July 30].”

So Wenger says there is no special name on the list but he is a sly little devil when dealing with signings and in truth nobody except Le Boss knows who will arrive!

It was disappointing to see Flamini and Gilberto (especially) leave the club, but now its exciting to find out who Arsene brings in to partner Cesc next season.

It may be a typical Wenger type signing (someone nobody has heard of!) or Le Boss may surprise us with a big name.

Its very important Wenger makes the right signing, one of intent and I'm sure he will make the right signing for Arsenal Football Club.

Whoever it is needs experience. For some reason I keep getting the gut feeling that Gareth Barry is on his way to the Emirates. I think that Wenger is letting Liverpool show their cards and then will steal Barry!

I know, wishful thinking! But what a signing that would be.

Who do you think?.....

Keep it Goonerish......

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

KOLO TOURE

Anonymous said...

veloso, yaya or moutinho

Anonymous said...

Can peopel stop making out Barry is the next bets thing for Arsenal, he has experience and especially in the Premier League but he's not Arsenal quality.

Anonymous said...

I think that we should sign Miguel Veloso. He will be a little bit cheaper than Barry and he is 1 of the most talented midfielder in the world.....

Anonymous said...

I would like it to be Song, but that isn't going to happen. Barry or Yaya.

Anonymous said...

What about Nigel DE Jong. He plays for Hamburg, he is 23 years old and he was really good for Holland in the Euro cup......

Anonymous said...

Xabi Alonso?

Anonymous said...

Vieira?........

Anonymous said...

Probably some 15 year old Nigerian

Anonymous said...

Barry would be excellent at Arsenal with Fab.

great balance in the duo.

Anonymous said...

wenger acts like it's an afront to his senses to buy players.We need one or two, but no big deal if we don't get anyone, we have song/daiby/ramsey/the hoyte's. It's a joke wrighty7.

You hold out for barry, why would wenger be waiting to see what liverpool do, when the player has stated that he wants to go to them. Surely the smart thing if wenger wants him would be to strike now and play on liverpool's devering. Funny (not laughing) time at arsenal.

Anonymous said...

Gareth Barry? Wishful thinking?

We used to have Patrick Viera. How can you beg for Gareth bloody Barry? He'll cost 18 million pounds, and he'd be, by quite a distance, the most average player in our first 11. He's just about passable for Spurs.

Some of our fans are unbelievably short sighted.

Wrighty7 said...

I know its a dangerous game that Wenger is playing if indeed he is waiting for Barry.

I think we should in a bid now, but Le Boss is probably until as late as possible to get a cheaper deal.

Dangerous stuff........

Anonymous said...

ARSENE WENGER OR ME

Anonymous said...

maybe valeso but 15mil hmmm

Anonymous said...

ARSENE WENGER OR ME

Anonymous said...

We should go for veloso or yaya toure. them two will suit arsenal play!

Anonymous said...

The scary thing right now about the last two friendlies, is that the pundits in the arsenal tv studio's and some of you supporters think we have another 11first teamers to come in.

Barring several names fab/ade/rosicy/rvp/edua that is the squad your seeing. A under 22yrs select XI. When wenger exp with the hoyet's in the centre be afraid!

Anonymous said...

Miguel Veloso, no doubt. Apparently Sporting want £16m which is a pretty good price but we could get it down to between £11m-14m and would be a class buy!

Unknown said...

Yaya Toure!

Anonymous said...

As long as it is not Xabi Alonso or Kolo Toure I would not be bothered by any of the suggestions.

Anonymous said...

What if Cesc is injured? Who will take his place? What if Rosicky is injured? Do we have a CB backup? Our problems run a lot deeper than people think. We are trying to put a band-aid on a gaping hole.

Anonymous said...

I agree with one of the earlier comments - Barry is not Arsenal class, at least not as a first team regular. If he were a £5-7m signing as reliable backup for our first team, i'd be satisfied with the signing, but a £16-18m first teamer? No thanks.

Miguel Veloso and Yaya Toure (in particular) are in a different league, and would be ideal to partner Cesc. If we sign either of those, our first XI would be an improvement on last year, and we should win the title, barring another injury crisis.

ALMUNIA

SAGNA, TOURE, GALLAS, CLICHY

ROSICKY, FABREGAS, YAYA TOURE, NASRI

VAN PERSIE, EDUARDO

Subs: Fabianski, Senderos/Djourou/Song, Eboue, Denilson/Diaby/Ramsey, Vela, Walcott, Bendtner/Adebayor

Looks pretty damn strong to me. Only concern is the goalkeeper, but hopefully Fabianski can impress and push for a starting berth.

Anonymous said...

What if Cesc is injured?

Slot Denilson Neves or Samir Nasri in there. In Nasri's case, we could then stick Carlos Vela or Theo Walcott on the wing.

As for centre backs, while Senderos hardly inspires confidence, I don't see many other Premiership teams having a better 3rd choice centre back. I'd rather have him than Wes Brown or Sami Hyypia. Alex da Costa is a stronger defender, but even he has hardly looked rock solid from what i've seen of him at Chelsea.

Anonymous said...

Seems everyone forgets that Manchester City's Micah Richards would be a much better signing for either CB or Midfield.

He's much better than Barry or any of the other non-Arsenal class players.

Anonymous said...

the squad need a major player in midfield, i'll leave that to wenger as i have studied most of the names that are tossed around and they aren't inspiring, that inlcudes yaya and veloso who both have drawbacks. one thing is certain to me - one star addition will not leave us with sufficient horses to compete for trophies. look for afc to start well and fade just like last year. patience indeed.

Anonymous said...

micah would be too expensive... although he could force the issue like barry did and they would have to listen to reasonable offers. i agree that we shouldnt even be talking about barry, hes not going to come because he wants to go to liverpool and when it comes down to it, they would pay as much as us. we are arsenal after all! I would like to see veloso come in, but then again im not sure that hes at the top of his game yet. nice to have future improvement, but long that were not getting someone playing their best football straight away.
yaya toure wont come either since hes in barcas plans. wish he was coming but thats life eh. i reckon arsenes put in a fair effort to try and get him.
p.s. what a pile of crap that kolos got malaria. im aware that recent strains are more potent than ever, but i just hope its not his fault for not taking tablets. would seem pretty dumb on his behalf.
also, its great to hear nasri saying how much he wants to play for us and how were the right team, ect. its nice to have some honest enthusiasm in a time like this. lets hope he fulfills his potential.

Anonymous said...

yaya toure...but is he even for sale?

Anonymous said...

W elaready know who the midfield signing is going to be...Amaury Bischoff. He is on a free transfer and plays centre midfield.

dont get your hopes up over Yaya or Barry etc.

Anonymous said...

Xabi Alonso would be great, and cheap. he is tough and has excellent skills. Diaby would be great if he can show greater toghness and lose the ball less. Ramsey may be the answer though, give him a chance...

Anonymous said...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/2304536/Werder-Bremen-midfielder-Amaury-Bischoff-announces-%27imminent%27-move-to-Arsenal.html

Direct quotes from Bishoff right here. they are just waitingon the fee to be decided by tribunal before it's announced

Anonymous said...

Cesc's new partner next yesr will wear a Barcalona shirt if we win our usual jack!!!

MeteorMonster said...

Unfortunately, we are not getting Ya Ya. If he was available he would have been here already as part of the Hleib deal. Next best would be Barry because he has EPL experience, is a good free kick taker (outside of RVP, one of our weaknesses) and is versatile enough to play across the back four if needed.

Problem will be the price as I do not see Arsene paying 18 mill for someone who will only supply us with 2 to 3 years of starting service.

Maybe Arsene can package the Hoyte brothers and 10 mill for Barry (LOL).

It probably boils down to Veloso who fits into the "YOUTH" theme or some other unknown "Sagna" type we have never heard about before.

Anonymous said...

How about Stijn Schaars of AZ Alkmaar...captain of holland team that won the U-21..He is known for his tough tackling and good passing...He is a real fighter and Gem !!!

Anonymous said...

Bischoff is not a defensive midfielder. It's not him.

Anonymous said...

I personally rate Veloso, and would like Yaya here, but Wenger's had chances to sign him in the past, so he obviously has seen something.

I think a nice signing for the future would be Michael Bradley from Herenveen. Strong defensive midfielder, accurate passer, and can get forward and score, is young and has already been capped multiple times by the U.S.

The Editor said...

You know who would be funny, and might fit the bill. The big fat spurs midfielder, who's now thin and good - Tom Heavytonne.

but really I agree with whomever said that Micah Richards would be good - perfect for CB or DM, fast, hard, good technique, might actually score a header or defend a set piece - perfect.

I'd happily see the arse do in 15m squid on him. Or maybe 10m on Arteta - Alonso no way - far too too slow - no better than Denilson really. Maybe Nolan - he's proven, hard, and good. But the main one I want, who I really really want - is Anderson from ManUre - he's class, fast, technical and good mates with Denilson. Far too good for them.

Anonymous said...

veloso won't happen as wenger doesn't want to kill young talent, neither will barry and definitely not alonso. someone unknown and not too expensive. would love the "better" Toure brother though

Anonymous said...

I wish fans would stop suggesting diaby or ramsey to partner cesc. The are both quality but they are both ATTACKING MIDFILEDERS!!!! so would not suit the DM position.

Anonymous said...

Da Silva or
Schweinstegier from germany.

Anonymous said...

yes, we need a classic dm, like davids, vieira, makelele, roy keane, (sissoko?), the type of player who immediately lets the opponent know it's going to be a rough day. the kind of player who roams the pitch just looking for opportunities to lay people out(smartly, no yellows pls). the kind of player whose mere presensce freezes the opposition and after a nice crunching clear all out tackle leaves the impression on the opposing player that 'it's a jungle out there son, be careful'. and a player that can deliver precision passes and fast enough to link up with afc's speed on offense.

Anonymous said...

yes, we need a classic dm, like davids, vieira, makelele, roy keane, (sissoko?), the type of player who immediately lets the opponent know it's going to be a rough day. the kind of player who roams the pitch just looking for opportunities to lay people out(smartly, no yellows pls). the kind of player whose mere presensce freezes the opposition and after a nice crunching clear all out tackle leaves the impression on the opposing player that 'it's a jungle out there son, be careful'. and a player that can deliver precision passes and fast enough to link up with afc's speed on offense. an oh yeah, after breaking up an opponents play and turning it into an afc counter attack, the entire club stands up and shouts 'that's what we've been missing'. afc, even with flam was too soft and shallow in the middle, soft underbelly, buy some steel wenger.

Anonymous said...

miguel veloso - 15mil
nothing
its not our money and if he doesnt spend it he never will
go for it arsene

Anonymous said...

wenger will not spend 18m on a 27 year old englishman who could buy out his contract after 2 years.
xavi alonso is a much more likely option.

Anonymous said...

We should get a loder player, someone close to thirty, like Frings. In that way when our youngsters are ready in a year or two, this guy could be eased out without too much pain. Coquelin is certainly a good prospect.

Anonymous said...

First I must say this.... the new home shirts are crap... a white line down the sleeve and under the arm is not an Arsenal shirt...looks more like a cheap Charlton-esk type. Our shirts have white sleeves which is synonimous with the Gunners!!!

It's not so much of the question of who will partner Cesc but will the squad be strong /good enough to win the league ....and the answer is no it is not.... even if we add another midfielder!!!

If we had a strong squad with first team quality & experience rather than being topped up with unproven teen hopefuls then injuries would be less of a problem.

I and many others forsee that this season will start off the same with a few wins to get our hopes up...and then we will struggle to keep up as Arsene fails to keep to his "we will keep this squad together and add one or 2 more top quality players" Neither Nasri nor Ramsey can be classed as that yet.... and we have lost 3 and possibly 4 of our main squad players..... AW will fail again this year and the next and the next unless he changes his buying policy and principles!!!!

Anonymous said...

Veloso is hugely overrated and overpriced - perfect for Tottenham. Toure and De Jong are more of our type of players.

Anonymous said...

Massi Bugduv is the answer. Have you seen his credentials?

Masal Bagduv has been described as one of the most exciting young footballers to come out of Moldocan football. Born on April 14, 1992, he shot to fame playing for his native FC Olimpia Bălţi for whom he scored a hattrick on his competitive debut in an Adzi Cup match in December 2007.FC Olimpia Bălţi is a Moldovan football club based in Bălţi. They play in the Divizia Naţională, the top division in Moldovan football. Their home stadium is Olimpia Bălţi Stadium.

Masal whose uncle Sergey Bronnikov is the attacking midfielder on the team has caught the attention of come of the biggest clubs in Europe, especially since he scored a stunning goal against Spain in the qualifying rounds for this year's UEFA U-19 championship, aged just 15 years and 12 days.

In the process, Bagduv became the youngest player capped at that level by his country and he went on to make his senior international debut aged just 16 years and 44 days when he came on for the national team in their 2-2 draw with Armenia in a friendly international in Tiraspol on May 28. Trailing 2-1 with just ten minutes left, Moldova seemed set to lose until Bagduv lost his marker on the left wing, shimmied inside two defenders and fired in a shot that could only be parried by Armenian keeper Racif into the path of onrushing Igor Bugaev who equalised.

Bagduv has already been named by coach Igor Dobrovolski in his country's provisional squad for the qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup, in a group in which the country have been paired with Greece, Israel, and Switzerland. He is expected to feature in the starting lineup for the opening World Cup game against Latvia on September 6. He is already attended a team training camp in advance of the friendly against Lithuania in Vilnius on August 20.

Moldovan football has never scaled the heights - Their two best results came within a month of each other in the mid-1990s, during the qualifiers for Euro 96. On September 7, 1994, they beat Georgia 1-0 in Tbilisi with a goal from Ilie Oprea. A month later, on October 12, 1994, they defeated Wales 3-2 in Chişinău; the Moldovan scorers were Serghei Belous, Sergiu Secu and Valerii Pogorelov. However, they could not keep up the momentum and finished well out of contention in the group.
However, the arrival of the breathtaking Bagduv has made the top football agents around Europe sit up. He is seen as the great hope around which the national team hope to mount a strong challenge for qualification for South Africa, in a group in which the biggest challenges will be a tiring Switzerland and Greece. Newspapers in Moldova had linked him with a possible move to Zenit St Petersburg to fill the gap being created by the possible sale of many of their stars after Euro 2008.

Anonymous said...

Diaby - I hope he can have a chance to show what he can do to the team. He is quick and tough on tackle. But he need to learn when to release the ball rather then running it to the opponent and loss it. Cecs can also defend so I don't think we need a fully defensive mind MF. Instead, we can have to CMF who both can defend and attack.

Although I am scare of the experience of our team, but I think its better off to give them chances rather then buying another expereince player to block their progress. We really have many good prospects MF in our team. If we stop giving youngster chances, talent like Ramsey won't choose to join us in the future...

Anonymous said...

youth policy makes money not champions. my grandmum can shoulder diaby, denilson and cesc off the ball all at the same time, and she's dead.

Anonymous said...

yaya toure?

Anonymous said...

Well it will be......Mark Noble
from the feeder club WHU!

Anonymous said...

i think that it will be either frank lampard or michael carrick

Anonymous said...

simple answer, Alex Song.

Anonymous said...

Lorik Cana is meant to be a decent player. Never seen him play to be honest.

Anonymous said...

Jimmy Bullard (not a joke)

Anonymous said...

ARSENE WENGER!!

Anonymous said...

Wenger said that he will buy one player, he´s certain. That player is Amaury Bischoff, we all know why it's been delayed (the tribunal thing). Why would he buy Barry, Alonso or Toure when he's just said about he doesn't want to kill a young player. Song, Diaby, Denilson and Ramsey will partner Fabregas and all are well aware of it.. Performances in training and injuries will decide who.

Anonymous said...

Barry will complete his move to liverpool and we will buy Mascherano from them... I personally feel its a possibility, he is quite similar to flamini...

Anonymous said...

Why not Michael Johnson from Man City? Wenger has earlier showed interest for him, and he's a young, promising two-way midfielder.

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe Arsene will spend more than 10m to replace the Flamster. If so it will not make financial sense. My guest is he will go for someone we have not yet heard of, and then turn him into a star. Coquelin looks promising for the long term, though its a bit early to start making those judgments. It should not be difficult to buy a decent DM without breaking the bank, so we should not worry. Personally, I think we should be more concerned about the centre back position.