Monthly Archives: July 2006

José's denials not 100% convincing

Well, quicker than you could say ‘Great Galloping Gazpacho!’ José Antonio Reyes denied reports that he wanted to quit Arsenal and go and play for Real Madrid. He said (in his own words…*cough*…):

I don’t know where these words have come from. But what I would like to say is that I am very happy at Arsenal. At the moment we are all training hard in preparation for the new season and I am excited about not only playing at Emirates Stadium but also helping Arsenal to challenge for honours.

Further to that Arsene Wenger was asked by the Spanish press about Reyes and Cesc and Madrid’s reported interest in them. His response:

They are not for sale. We have not received any offers for these players and I am counting on them for the new season.

All good – but about Reyes I’d take those words with a pinch of salt. AS maintains that the player misses Spain (which I think we all know), that he and his family cannot adapt to life in London and that he is still upset that he was not selected for the Champions League final in May.

There’s no doubt in my mind that a fully fit, focussed and in-form Reyes is a player most teams in Europe would want to have. The problem to me is that he’s never going to reach the kind of form we know he’s capable of playing in England. I think he’s struggled with not having a definite position on the pitch. Maybe with Rosicky playing left this season he could play more as a striker which does seem to suit him better.

I just don’t know. Had it been another summer when we hadn’t lost so many players it would be easier to let him go but if letting him go is the right thing to do wouldn’t we be better doing it now than coping with an unhappy player for the season? Marca’s front page suggests that the first talks between Arsenal and Real about Reyes will take place in Austria where both teams have their pre-season training camps.

Another player on the way is Ashley Cole with The Sun reporting a £25m deal to the Russians could be done within the next couple of days. Clubs must name their squads for the Champions League group stages by Thursday so Chelsea will want the deal done by then. However, Marca is reporting that we’ve offered Cole for around £18m to, yep, you guessed it, Real Madrid in order to keep him away from Stamford Bridge.

Oh, it’s all fun and games at this summer’s Arsenal sale. If that CL deadline for new players is true you have to hope that we’re making some moves to bring players in so they’ll be eligible.

Update: The Thursday deadline is apparently for the 3rd qualifying round. The deadline for the group stages is the end of August.

I’m not going to hold my breath though. Welcome to another week of fuck all (reverse pyschologytastic!).

We do have a match today though against Schwardorf at 5pm CET. No doubt the manager will be speaking afterwards. It’ll be interesting to hear what he’s got to say.

Adios José?

Well, the first whispers about Reyes started midweek when Marca ran a story, which I couldn’t find online, saying ‘Arsenal offer Reyes to Madrid’.

Now, we have the player himself saying he wants to go back to Spain. He’s quoted as saying:

I have always said that I want to return to Spain. I have nothing against Arsenal, completely the opposite. But they know that I have not adapted to life in England. I have not got used to the language or the weather. If Real Madrid want me then that is marvellous. I have always said what a huge club it is and it would be an honour to play for them. Let’s see what happens.

He’s right though. He has never adapted to life in England. After 2 and a half years his English is less than basic and his willingness to learn is zero, his house is like a mini-Spain with the central heating on full and the fridge packed with Spanish food and his football seems to suffer from seasonal affliction disorder. When the sun shines he plays well but in winter he struggles.

I like José. I think he’s a nice lad and a very good player but to me it’s been apparent for some time that he was never going to fulfill his potential at Arsenal. England and English football just doesn’t suit him. The People suggest a swap deal might be possible with either Julio Baptista or Robinho to come in.

AS in Spain is reporting this morning that Madrid still have their eyes on Cesc but it’s more speculation and it’ll never happen. José though is another question. He’s done well enough for us and he works hard on the pitch but the excitement generated by his transfer and his debut goals against Chelsea has seriously dampened now. He provided some assists last season but only 2 or 3 goals and I don’t think it’s unfair to have expected more from him.

This situation might explain a little bit how quiet we’ve been in the transfer market. If we are offering Reyes to Madrid and awaiting the transfer of Ashley Cole then perhaps we’re waiting for the coffers to swell before buying although once everyone knew we had a bag full of money it would make negotiating a little more difficult.

The other side of it though is that if the club is prepared to let Reyes and Cole go on top of Pires, Bergkamp and Campbell then they would really want to have specific targets in mind to replace those players as we cannot fashion players out of the bank notes and coins that their transfer fees and saved wages will bring in.

We’re now at a point where we need to strengthen our squad, not weaken it further. I can cope with Reyes leaving if he is replaced. I can see why it might not be so urgent to replace Bergkamp or Campbell whose contributions last season weren’t as important. If Cole leaves can we rely on Clichy or Flamini or 17 year old Traore to step up? Can Rosicky match Pires’ goal contribution from midfield?

Fact is that all around us the top teams are bringing in players to strengthen their squads while ours appears to be getting weaker with no sign of any additions. Nobody knows anything about transfers. There are no rumours. No gossip and that’s unusual. As I said last week it’s probably because the club are playing their cards close to their chest but they need to move the cards away a little so they can see what’s on them.

I’ll give it to the end of the week before I start getting really anxious about things but AW and Double-D need to do some shopping and soon.

Have a good Sunday all!

*boilk*

Look, just shhhhhhhh, ok?

David Dein confirmed yesterday that talks with Chelsea about Ashley Cole, the cunt, had taken place. He said:

We have had some very civil talks with Chelsea and at the moment there is nothing more to say on that. He is our player and started with us when he was 16 but now he has turned into a little cunt, the cunt. If something happens, we will see but at the moment he is an Arsenal player. And I am very, very orange.

Meanwhile Cole has not joined the team at the Austrian training camp because he thought everything regarding his move to Chelsea would have been sorted out. Oh Ashley, why did you become such a little cunt, you cunt?

The draw for the third qaulifying round of the Champions League took place yesterday. We’ll play Dynamo Zagreb unless something major happens in their second leg as they hold a 78 goal lead from the first leg. The first game is away which is good.

Curtis Davies has shown his ambition by signing a new 4 year deal with West Brom. Enjoy the Championship, fella.

Now, I have to pass out but before I do I want to pass on the words of wisdon my father gave me. He said:

*boilk*

Later.

Three more out, none in

Well, it’s Friday and not a single signing made. We’ve moved another three players on though.

Seb Larsson and Fabrice Muamba have joined Birmingham City on season long loans while Ryan Smith has joined Derby for an undisclosed fee.

There’s a lot of talk in the papers this morning about the lack of Englishmen in our side and Arsene’s reluctance to pay over the odds for them. I used Jermaine Pennant as an example yesterday and there are countless more. Buying in England means paying inflated prices for players who may not have proven ability.

West Brom wanting £10m for Curtis Davies illustrates the point perfectly. Now, don’t get me wrong. I think we need signings if we really want to compete this season but I’ll wait until the end of next week to see what Arsene comes up before I start worrying too much. There’s plenty of time between now and the start of the season to make things happen.

The one thing I will say though is too much experience has left the club and although some of the players didn’t exactly contribute much last season to lose that many players without adequately replacing them would be close to negligent, no matter how good some of the kids are. Anyway, let’s wait and see.

11am GMT is an important time as we’ll find out who we play in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Possible opponents are listed here. The first leg will take place the week of August 8th/9th with the return legs two weeks later, and just a couple of days after the start of the Premiership season.

We’ll be without Jens Lehmann for the first game at least. I’m assuming his red card in the final in Paris merits only a one match ban. There’s no need to stress how important these games are. A season in the new stadium without European football would be a bit of a disaster.

Update: We drew Dynamo Zagreb.

Right, not much else happening. Maybe if we all closed our eyes and wished at the same time we’ll sign someone. How’s 4pm sound for you? Good. Pass it on.