Morning all,
it’s a quiet one but it looks like we could make our first transfer move of the summer in the very near future. Ajax’s Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen is due to have a medical today and all things going well he’ll sign the ubiquitous long-term contract as we pay Ajax an undisclosed fee.
He seems excited too – and who can blame him? He says:
This is one of the most beautiful days of my life. When a club like Arsenal knocks at your door, you just go. I am so proud to be signing for Arsenal. They are a fantastic club and I have enjoyed watching them since I was a child.
He also talks about how the move came about, saying:
I went on holiday to Spain and suddenly a British number appeared on my mobile phone. It was Arsene Wenger. He said he absolutely wanted me and we would talk further as soon as I signed for Arsenal. It was a very short call but I felt the respect.
So, all going well we’ll have added a player in an area that pretty much everyone agrees we need to strengthen. What’s encouraging about this signing is that it’s happening this early in the summer. Like many of you I’m hoping this is just the start of our transfer business, the sooner we get the players we want in and the players we don’t want out, the sooner we can get ourselves settled and ready for the new season.
I know there’s better value to be had later in the transfer window but we saw last summer how that can bite you in the arse. The Xabi Alonso deal hit a complication and there was literally no time to do anything else. So, fingers crossed all goes well today, that we don’t discover he’s got a club foot and one leg 6 inches longer than the other, and soon enough we can talk about someone who is officially an Arsenal player.
I hesitate to say tomorrow, or later on, because many things can happen with transfers that mean they can’t be announced (remember Nasri?), and if it doesn’t get announced today or tomorrow people will go mental. Could I be reverse jinxing it by saying this? Does saying you’re reverse jinxing something triple jinx it? We shall see.
The Mail seems to think Vermaelen’s arrival means Kolo Toure’s move to Man City could still be on, saying Toure is ‘desperate’ to move away from Arsenal. Man, if that’s true they must be offering some serious, serious money. And if a £10m bid came in you’d really have to think about it, wouldn’t you? Kolo’s off to the ACN this winter, meaning he’d miss the sequence of games against Chelsea, United and Liverpool and you wonder if the boss would have that in the back of his mind as well.
Of course it is all rumour at this stage but it’s a rather persistent one. They also say we’re looking at Newcastle’s Sebastian ‘Alex’ Bassong.
Theo Walcott did end up on the bench for England’s U21s last night but came on as a sub and set up a goal for James Milner, winning praise from Stuart Pearce for his attitude and character. Check out Theo’s run and assist here.
Young Polish goalkeeper Wzchzchzvchchzh Shczyzzchchcnyyyzyzzyz says he’s got offers from five clubs to go on loan next season, two in the Championship and three in League 1. You might remember he was the poor chap who broke both his arms in the weights room last season. Imagine that. How would you do stuff?
With both arms in plaster there’s the whole, you know, bathroom business to take care of. That must be utterly crap. Unless you had a voice activated bidet things could get rather uncomfortable for you and whoever was ‘caring’ for you. Not to mention awkward if you’re in the house on your own, you’ve drunk rather too much apple juice and eaten too much asparagus and you’re bursting for a wee …
Anyway, on that rather pleasant note we’ll leave it there. There’s not a lot else going on so have yourselves a good Friday, keep fingers crossed for the old medical, and I’ll talk to you again tomorrow.
Finally, if you’re having any problems with the arses this morning I’m aware of them and trying to sort them out post haste. Cheers.
