Arsenal are reported to have had a formal bid of £9.5 million pounds rejected by Udinese for their highly rated young central defender Cristián Zapata. Reports in Italy suggest the Gunners made the offer yesterday, but were rebuffed and told a deal would only be considered if an offer of €20 million Euro (£15.8million) was received.
Whilst it remains to be seen if Wenger, who is currently on Holiday in Italy will return with another offer, he has previously made it clear he is keen to add defensive reinforcements. The 21 year old Colombian Zapata is one of the brightest defensive prospects in Europe, and has already attracted interest from the top Italian clubs as well as Bayern Munich.
Zapata’s playing style is very similar to that of Manchester City’s Micah Richards, who has already admitted he is is a fan of Arsenal, and would be interested in a transfer. The fee is speculated to be around the same figure for both players, but once again it appears Arsene Wenger prefers foreign talent over English players.
At 186cm he is a tall and powerful figure, and seems like he would fit the bill to add defensive strength to the team next year. However due to his massive price tag, it seems unlikely a further bid would be made.
Another young starlet who is said to be in talks with the club, is Wolves highly rated Welsh stopper Wayne Hennessey. The 21 year old recently took over the mantle as number one for club and country, and has a particularly impressive record at keeping clean sheets.
Last week he was linked with a move to both Arsenal and Tottenham, with valuations varying from £3 million to £8 million for his services. He is 188cm so has some stature about him, and would be seen as the third choice behind Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski.
Hennessey has broken records for his incredibly shot stopping abilities, after keeping 9 successive clean sheets in his first 9 games on loan with both Bristol and Stockport. He signed a new contract last summer with Wolves, but they cannot stand in his way of European football, and a bid of £4 million could be enough to prise him away.
Interestingly he once scored a 40 yard free kick for the Welsh Under 19 team, and was fantastic on Saturday against Holland. Wayne’s capture could also be a tipping point in the potential signing of fellow Wales International Aaron Ramsey.
Article By – J.Sanderson
where have you heard the reports about Hennessey ? I have’nt seen that anywhere ? I think Richards would be untouchable at Man City hence why going for Zapata, also we could probably negiotate for a 12 million fee , what do you think ?
Two very promising players, but i cant really see Wenger paying 15m for a centre back. How good is Mannone in the reserve team, would he be good enough as a third choice keeper?
Don’t know much about Zapata but seems good from what I hear, he will probably not cost as much as Richards but I would have wanted Micah Richards who already admits he is a fan and also one of the very few good English players.
I would prefer we buy Richards as he is english and Arsenal fan.
yeah 12 mil sounds about right
It was around late last night about Hennessey mate, nobody seemed to pick up on it, maybe because of the source.
Mannone is a top young prospect, but is probably a year or so away from being good cover.
haha what was the source ?? The Sun ?? :-) we have no chance at all of getting Richards , won’t people wise up ?? , Zapata I have seen a lot of at Udinese and he is already their captain ..he looks a brilliant purchase if the deal can be done..Kompany would probably be cheaper than both, maybe Jol would’nt sell though.. :-)
The Hennessey thing seems very far fetched. Apart from Almunia and Fabianski (who are clearly the top two choices in goal) Mannone came on a lot in the reserves last year and looks a credible third choice. I don’t see the sense in spending millions on another young keeper. I don’t really see him wanting to come and play reserve football either. Don’t you think ?
‘but once again it appears Arsene Wenger prefers foreign talent over English players.’
I’m not sure if thats meant to be a dig at Arsene, but i remember him stating that he prefers English players, because there isn’t the chance of them failing to settle in a new country.However their price tags are usually prohibitive for us, which are all well aware of.
If there are two equally skilled defenders of similar price tags available to us, of course we would go for the English one.
Zapata looks a real talent, was at the Colombia Rep of ireland game with a Colombian friend and he loves the fella. In that game he looked unbelievably quick and very strong in the air if a little questionable when under a lot of pressure. Definitely would be an impressive coup for Wenger.
Richards would probably cost more than Zapata.
Its not a dig at Wenger, but they are similar players for similar prices but it just seems that he wont buy English players.
The Hennessey source is provided above, its from another Arsenal website, hench why i put Reported..
I’m not saying i favour Richards over Zapata, because infact i would prefer a taller defender, somebody like Garay, but he went to Madrid, for less money that Zapata.
But he choose this type of physical quick defender, and went for Zapata, why not Richards who is so similar and has Premiership Experience, loves Arsenal and probably wont want to buy himself out after a few years
Micah Richards is 5″11 according to Wiki, while Zapata is closer to 6″2. This fits the tall, strong centreback role more than Richards. Perhaps this is a reason why Zapata could be more appealing
I cant imagine us increasing our offer past the 12m mark for a defender even though it may be a wise decision! Thus I think Zapata or Richards wont be Arsenal players at the start of the next season
The only reason I’d chose Zapata who is a fine player by the way, is his height. Arsenal lack considerable height through the middle. Gallas and Toure are both 5’11 we need a 6ft + will pace.
I would love Micah to play for us though. I dont know much about Hennesey but I doubt he’d join to be 3rd choice if he’s playing international football now.
Lots of opinions about this new home kit. Personally I think it ain’t masterpiece but desent one anyway. Many fans seems to be bit upset cause the sleeves ain’t 100% white. Anyway, correct me if I’m wrong. This is the only new kit for the next season? White away shirt and 3rd Euroshirt will be the same?
About Hennessey, there was a story about him a week ago.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/05/29/arsenal-chasing-wolves-keeper-wayne-hennessey-89520-20433200/
Keep up the good work mate!
According to the Guardian, Aaron Ramsey is going to meet Wenger in Switzerland on Saturday. Is it true they share an Agent JS?
Man Utd and Everton showed a lack of class putting out statements after agreeing a fee (who on earth does that?!?), I hope we get him otherwise it’ll be more negative headlines.
Zapata bid was rejected… Was that just a rumour?
With the Ramsey story, from what i understand he has agreed terms with Manchester United, and will speak with us today, and Everton tomorrow before deciding over the weekend
I dont see anything wrong if we buy richards and zapata.there are times wenger should do something to please the fans not him.arsenal is in the capacity now to buy big players with big money.wenger cannot he alone is fighting players price.He will not win.
Zapata’s nothing like Richards! He’s a 7cm taller central defender whereas Richards is an over-rated right back…decent going forward, awkward in defence. Taking a shot at Wenger’s ‘English’ policy is cheep while English players aren’t! Face up to the facts that we (Arsenal) don’t have the silly money required to buy English and even if we did, I doubt that Wenger would waste the cash on English players like Richards (£18M ‘suggested’) Hargreaves £18M, Wright-Phillips £24M, Carrick £18M, etc.
I’m not saying i favour Richards over Zapata, because infact i would prefer a taller defender, somebody like Garay, but he went to Madrid, for less money that Zapata.
But he choose this type of physical quick defender, and went for Zapata, why not Richards who is so similar and has Premiership Experience, loves Arsenal and probably wont want to buy himself out after a few years
J.Sanderson said this on June 5, 2008 at 11:33 am
He is probably choosing Zapata because Richards will probably cost about £8m – £10m more than Zapata because he is an English international.
To be a 17 year old in this position is amazing. Having 4 of the top clubs vying for you. Having the best managers in the country selling their club to you. How do you sell United or Arsenal? What’s there to sell? Just sign on the dotted line and you’ll win old big ears sitting behind me! I think if Arsene pulls this off after him agreeing in principle to join United then I’d say Wenger is the master salesman
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/jun/05/cardiffcity
forget Ramsey his a Manure guy . but i read this report that his going to meet AW ? is it true
Santos.. exactly.. Wenger sold the club to many players before, and i’m sure he can do it again.
He is a quiet but a smart lad, im sure he knows what is best for him
Alot of people assume these players think with their head. Like every welshman wants to play for United, Every frenchman wants to play for Arsenal and every young boy wants to play for the team they supported growing up. Now although that is true, these lads have really experienced agents who will always advice the player’s parents and the player what is the best move. Example: Theo Walcott, he’s was a boyhood Liverpool fan, so all Liverpool fans where talking about Walcott joining. Gareth Bale, was linked with United cos of Giggs, he went to Spurs as his agent advised him it was the better move now. Aaron Ramsey will decide his future but I’m sure he has a top top agent making sure he decides with his head and not his heart
can someone please tell me the logic behind arsene wenger not bidding for Richards???
Not only would the initial fee for Richards be substantially more than for Zapata, I would suggest that the wages we would need to offer Richards would also have to be huge. At the moment he is on £60000 so we would need to offer more than this. Zapata on the other hand plays for Udinese and is unlikely to be paid any where near to the amount Richards is. In simple economic terms it is no contest.
I would’nt worry about Zapata settling in either. If he can move from Colombia to Italy as a teenager I dont imagine moving from Italy to England will be anyway near as hard. Plus we have plenty of Spanish speakers at the club.
Well he’s not good enough to push Toure or Gallas out of the team so why spend £20M on a sub?
there is a reason Zapata is rated at over 15m, its because he is bloody good. would wenger spend that much on a defender? unlikely.
anyone heard about Adebayor having agreed to join AC if they can agree a fee with Arsenal. I am shocked if thats true.
I like being linked with a player like Zapata but still can’t see us getting him because of the fee. Also yea i did hear bout the AC thing. Great news if it’s true cos with that money we could get Richards, Nasri and Villa!! Bring on next season!
The AC Milan story is rubbish, Ade will be here next season and I for one am delighted!
#
The AC Milan story is rubbish, Ade will be here next season and I for one am delighted!
TopGunPires said this on June 5, 2008 at 1:17 pm
The most accurate thing I’ve read today!
Cheers!
id definately sell him for 32 mil! Wud be great business….but is definately an out and out lie!
“Well he’s not good enough to push Toure or Gallas out of the team so why spend £20M on a sub?”….you havin a laugh…you will be payin 20 mil for a player who at the mo can be very versatile…dm/rb/cb…then over the course of two yrs will defo become number one centre back….his english…his an arsenal fan…wud defo end up stayin for a quite a few yrs….is young….doubt his wages would be ridiculously stupid….and now is the perfect time to bid for him coz man city are in a bit of disaray!!! I think the positives completely out way any negatives!
i know this will sound stupid but height is really not that crucial. I think we should look at the ability of the player to jump, look at sagna, he is brilliant in the air. i have seen both zapata and richards, i think both are not ready for first team football at arsenal. they are both prone to making mistakes and lunging in for a tacle too early, what we need is a inteligent defender who has a great ability to read the game and close down or prevent an attack. the first name to come to mind is mertazaker. i rate his as on of the best defenders in the world.avearage seed, great tackle and hahah he is 6ft 6 in
hey before you guys say anything i rate them both highly
“Its not a dig at Wenger, but they are similar players for similar prices but it just seems that he wont buy English players.”
The way you talk sounds as though you are implying he is purposely hindering the club’s chances due to his xenophobia. If there is a top class English player available, in the suitable position and at a suitable price, he will be purchased. However, the population of England accounts for just 1% of the world’s population; why limit yourself to one nationality and a smaller pool of talent?
There is a problem at grass roots level, which hinders young players’ technical progress and developments. This is a key reason for the lack of English talents.
our CF are taller than our CD, we only conceded 10 more than united. its not that bad
hahha yeah ^^^ dont forget the jens mistake vs blackburn, the countless poor calls from the referies. so maybe 6 more than united.
“There is a problem at grass roots level, which hinders young players’ technical progress and developments. This is a key reason for the lack of English talents.”
spot on! Plus english players are always over priced…
where did nasri go….i agree with what your sayin as i think we are lackin a no nosense defender such as terry/vidic (enderos is just dog sh”t). But Richards in the long run would be the best signing arsenal could do this summer, because of the positives i listed! and another positive id like to add….hopefully senderos would fook off if richards came in!
Can i just point one thing out, we dont know Wenger isnt interested and wont/hasnt bid for him. When ever we sign some1 its totally unexpected and hasnt been talked about in the press before the signing is announced.
Zapata is a good player but he isnt better than Richards (id say their about equal and with the same level of potential) so its a case of who we can get for less, forget nationality.
As for the GK, i dont get the point, if hes great then fine but Almunia isnt old in GK terms, so he could be our stopper for a good few seasons to come. Fabianski is young but not that young, Hennessey would never get a game, say 4-5 seasons with Aluminia and another 6-8 with Fabianski (and it could be quite a bit more with either) Hennessey could spend his carear up to his early 30s just watching, getting the odd game and maybe a couple of FA cup/carling cup runs. We have good keepers in the youth ranks aswell, so is it really fair on him? Is it fair on them? And whats the point in getting him anyway?
Dont see Udinese letting Cristián Zapata leave as they have him on a contract for another 4 years and have said they wont let their best players leave the club
almunia has had a gd season but as a long term goalee…i think there are alot better out there.
maverik….im nether to fussed about nationality, but the fact that he is an arsenal fan just gives him that raw passion for the club that can not be found in many other foreigners and he has played in the prem before which means he is adapted quicker. He jst seems an ideal signing!
I reall can’t see us signing Hennesey, 4 million + for a third choice keeper, especially when we have Vito Mannone and Wojcech Szcesney (spelling?) in the reserves. Plus, at his age, I don’t think he’d want to sacrifice first team football, if he left Wolves, it would more likely be for a smaller team than Arsenal.
It is unfair to suggest that the only difference between Zapata and Richards is their nationality. Firstly, at 6’2″ Zapata is considerably taller, whilst Richards is of a similar stature to Gallas, Toure and Song. Wenger has said he wants to bring in a bigger defender, and Richards, despite the fact that he is a quality player, doesn’t quite fit the bill. Zapata would also be considerably cheaper if we were able to get him at the £15 million you quote, Richards would almost certainly cost upwards of £23 million, and we would inevitably be involved in a bidding war with Man Utd and other big clubs for him.
I am pretty sure that Arsene Wenger would rather have Micah Richards at Arsenal than Zapata but because he is English he would cost around £20 Million pounds plus, were as with Zapata it would be alot less money also we probably do not have that much money to spend yet again this particular summer, so therefore the manager probably has to be a little bit creative in his signings IMO
dont really matter that much about size….richards is a beast…and his heading/jumping ability is second to none!
True tho about the bidding war…cud maybe get out of hand!
I think Almunia is good enough to be our long term keeper, thats just my personal opinion though. No he isnt the best diver but he doesnt make many mistakes, hes reliable. Lehman was outstanding but prone to making stupid mistakes, I havent sceen Almunia make one yet.
Zapata is good, Richards is good, but we’ll just have to wait and see what Wenger goes for, lets face it it’ll probably end up being neither personally im just hoping the Thuram rumours are comfirmed.
I dont think so kent Wenger wants a defender thats can deal with long balls and forwards that are strong I just dont think Micah ready yet he uses his pace to get out of trouble and when he played against Drogba who’s clearly stronger Micah got torn apart.
Richards isn’t a right back he’s just played there before.
He is a centre back and has played there for so long with Man City.
Wenger wont buy any of these players anyway.
Zapata would be much cheaper than Micah. City say he is not for sale and Micah signed new deal recently(silly boy) and would cost STG£25mil as opposed to stg£13Mil Zapata. Plus Micah is on higher wages than Zapata already. I know you like English mate but Micah is way too expensive for Wenger who goes for value. This protects the long term interest of the club. I’m with him. Someone like Micah would have to let his contract go to say 2 years to run, seek a move and Arsenal get him for £10-15mil,,,,not gonna happen
Richards would go for £20mil pounds at least whereas Zapata is £15mil. I think if wenger could afford richards he would be interested. Plus if Richards became available his price would be pushed up by interest from united and chelsea. i personally prefer a taller player like mertesacker how much he would cost though i dont know.
Hennessy looks like a good keeper, young aswell, i’d love Micah Richards at arsenal only problem is the transfer fee and the wages
worse this is it looks like dos santos is signing for spurs….tho if he was that good barca surely wouldnt have let him go
Wenger is going to meet Ramsey in Switzerland this Sunday according to reports in France.
Zapata is the shit. Richards is alright but his price tag is looking more like a Rio-figure, great English defenders be worth a penny.
Rumours going around about a 32m AC bid for Ade. I think dude could be awesome but that would pay for Nasri AND Villa! And then Hleb money pays for a Zapata. Leaving a supposed 25mill-ish vault for young’ns and squad reinforcements. Adebayor is a good striker but he sure as hell ain’t worth that much when a vastly superior striker like Villa is priced on at about 17m.
Hennessey rumours plays like agent knows a journalist and wants the kids name out there.
Richards for £20m and £80,000 a week,Your having a laugh not even the best cb at city.Also do we really need another short arsed pacey cb that doesnt know the art of defending.Zapata would be a massive improvment on toure or senderous.
1…he wouldn’t be on anywhere near £80,000 a wk!
2…20 mil is a gd signing as he is young and has all the attributes to becoming a worldclass centre back!!!!!
3….to be honest don’t know why im arguin with ya, you clearly know nothing about football!
1… He is on £60,000 a week now
2…You’re quite clearly retarded
no he aint you muppet!
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