Morning all, a quick Saturday round-up for you.
As the police continue the hunt for Cesc Fabregas after his ruthless kidnapping (they’re still none the wiser as to where he might be), we’ve just got to hope they do their job and get on with all the other stuff in the meantime. I’m assuming Sky News are on this 24/7.
We’ll start with transfer stuff and it looks as if Denilson might be on his way to Sao Paulo on a season long loan, according to ESPN Brazil. It would represent a decent solution to what is obviously a bit of a problem case at the moment. Arsenal need to start clearing the decks a little bit but so far there’s been little concrete interest in the Brazilian midfielder. It might well be a case that as the close of the transfer window draws nearer then he might represent better value to some clubs – and I know there were a couple in Spain looking at him – but I don’t think we can wait that long.
Of course it means that in 12 months time we’ll have to revisit the situation but that’s a bridge to cross in the future. If it does go through it will bring to an end an Arsenal career that started very brightly but never lived up to that early promise. I don’t think he’s as bad a player as some would suggest but he’s not as good as he should be either, and that’s entirely down to him. Fingers crossed this one works out for all concerned.
Staying in that part of the world and Gunnerblog yesterday got on the case of a story linking us with a young Costa Rican striker Joel ‘”Kevin Sol Glen” Campbell. Arsenal’s chief negotiator, Dick Law (In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the dicktrict attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories. Dick Law and Order) is out there and the player’s agent says:
If we are here, it’s because there is interest, of course. OK?
While the player himself said:
I have to handle things calmly and wait for the opportunity. Who would not want to play for Arsenal? That’s what I work for but as yet nothing is clear. I am calm: I leave everything in God’s hands.
Dennis is out there too? There’s accompanying video and all kinds of stuff going on and as this is a young kid nobody’s really heard of before I’m absolutely sure we’re interested in him. He’s a left-footed forward, by all accounts, and perhaps, with Nicklas Bendtner on his way, he’ll fill that place in the squad with no obvious homegrown solution. Let’s see.
And what better to find a solution to a team that needs defensive reinforcement than buying a plethora of young forwards? This is clearly the plan because The Sun links us this morning with Anderlecht’s supermegawonderkid, Romelu Lukaku. We’ve bid £14m and apparently his agent met with Arsenal officials in London yesterday. There was a lot of talk of him going to Chelsea so maybe he just met with us to borrow the taxi fare.
And sure while we’re at it, why not add a Spanish attacking midfielder to the shopping basket? £20m and Juan Mata is ours, according to The Mail. Yes, the same Mail who said that Swansea had signed Pele and Ferenc Puskas for £123m, I know, but it’s Saturday. With City not exactly denying interest in Samir Nasri who knows what might happen in the next little while. Probably nothing but I’m suckling on the bitter teat of hope here.
And if we do sign all these forwards then they’ve got Theo Walcott to worry about. He’s itching to play more centrally now and speaking ahead of Arsenal’s game later today, he said:
I think I have done my trade out on the wing. I think a lot of people forget that I’m not a winger. I see myself as a striker, although if I get played up front, it will take me a few games to get used to playing there again because I haven’t played there for about five years now. I think I have done a fairly good job on the wing for Arsenal and I will play anywhere for this team but, hopefully, the fans will start seeing me a bit more up front.
It’s hard to see him as a central striker in the current system to be honest, so maybe there’s a hint at a change of formation for the season ahead. There’s no doubt that he’s really the only player with the kind of pace to get in behind a defence and stay ahead of them, and that kind of pace can provide you with an outlet instead of another sideways pass, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets his wish. If we stay with the current system though, and van Persie remains relatively fit, it’s hard to see it though.
Meanwhile, as we talk about attacking reinforcements, Thomas Vermaelen would welcome defensive arrivals. He says:
If you play for a club like Arsenal, you always have this expectation.
The club being linked with other players is a thing you have to deal with when you play for a big club. It’s always like that. If you know there’s somebody behind you and chasing you, then the best comes out in you. If you’re a good player you have to handle this pressure. Otherwise you don’t belong at this club.
And I cannot possibly agree more with that. I’ve often said that I felt Wenger’s reluctance to challenge to provide real competition for places during the last few years has led to a culture of complacency amongst some players. Our soon to depart Brazilian friend was one players whose career was not helped (not saying it was just the manager’s fault, btw, the character of the player also a factor) because of this, so to hear Vermaelen talk about this issue pleases me like a fox.
There’s still nothing beyond Samba/Cahill in stories linking us with defenders. I would hope that any potential target is being kept as under wraps as possible but I have to admit I’m a bit more anxious for this to happen than 18 year old forward signings.
And that’ll be about that. Arsenal’s game kicks off at 12.30 and hopefully we get another good run out, some goals and no injuries. Till tomorrow.
