Arsenal are now believed to be back in the race for Fulham defender Chris Smalling after having a bid accepted by the Cottagers.
Manchester United have been in talks with the England Under 21 international since this morning and they’ve announced on their website that they had signed the player and that all but a medical is needed for the deal to be done. However, Fulham say nothing has been signed. Smalling is due at their Carrington training complex tomorrow where he will have those tests but Arsenal have now stepped in and reportedly matched the fee of around £8 million.
Life long Gooner Smalling now looks to have the final decision on any move.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Samuel – I agree on djourou. The thing with him is I dont even think hes ever had enough games to fully adapt to CB. He gets by more on being quick, strong and skillful without really knowing the position like someone like senderos does.
He has so much skill on the ball he might have been really useful in midfield, particularly when song was away, and tomorrow actually.
Whichever position he plays, hes world class potential imo. He just needs to stay fit!
Jimbo – the info comes from wenger i think
I can’t believe anyone is complaining that smalling is not world class. Of course he’s not! But if he can keep Drogba quiet on his debut at the age of 20, he’s better than half our defenders already.
Besides, where are these world class players that are for sale anyway? They don’t exist!
Davi, much as it pains me, I know a couple of chaps who work for and with Fulham (marketing, Slaughter & May), and they’ve said it’s pretty much a done deal. Most of the paperwork has gone out and been signed, and only original documents need to be files with the FA & Premier League for it to be official. I don’t know where Sanderson got his info from, but this has been sealed since lunchtime today.
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Arsene is killin us,huntleaar is now here he is bein reluctant to sign him on loan why we perish without strikers,victor moses is there callin on arsenal he still is messing up with his selfishness,if we lose this one i won’t be surprised cos thats wat he does best lose players and later he would say,i should have signed him last ten years like if did in likes of ronaldo,drogba etc.i think arsenal should get someone that signs players not wenger
Bonchico said this on January 26, 2010 at 9:05 pm
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What do you know? http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/hitman-huntelaar-is-not-on-our-radar-
how do you know he is a life long gooner? any facts?
I’ve been watching smalling very carefully tonight. He’s not amazing but could be a rough diamond. Dont really mind if we get him or not now
What i like about him though is that he’s very much an old fashioned defender., but again guys if we dont get him its no big deal, seen better
Banchico, most of the players I mentioned are at the club right now. You can’t say Arshavin isn’t world class, or RvP, Cesc and Song. We have a world class team and if we compare to United then they have a better LB and a GK, the best CB (Vidic) but Gallas and Vermaelen are better than Ferdinand and Evans. So 3 positions they are better, Fletcher and Song are about equal, so are RvP and Rooney, in the other 6 positions we have better players. Cesc and Diaby against Carrick and Anderson? It is easy to look at somebody like Traore playing and say: We have a crap team. How many teams have 20 world class players in their squad? None, that’s how many. Deco plays every other game for Chelsea, for fuck sake. Maybe Denilson isn’t the best midfielder in the world but he is a very decent player and better than most teams in the world have in this place in the pecking order.
Denilson is utterly shit.
Gunner17 they dont complain he is not a worldclass player they just say it is alot of fuss and alot of people wanting to kick wengers ass cos he did not land a unproven 20 year old CB for 7M. That is alot of money! Most arsenal fans are so fed up of Wenger buying “raw talents” they want quality stars. or so they say. yet they want to behede wenger for not buying a overpriced raw talent?
Vermaalen was what? 10M? and Arsharvin was 12? You cannot critizise Wenger for not splasing out out equally for smalling and verminator when the latter is worldclass and the former is
“raw potential”. Ramsey was 5M, is smalling an equal talent? If wenger judges him not worth more than 7 then its a big chance he is not. And no i doubt Smalling is better than verm, gallas, senderose, i doubt he is better than Nortveid to tbh. He will come back next year and he will blow your mind away. I know we need English players but 8m? You really think he is so talented wenger must be mad not to pay same price as for vermintor for him?
When you load ManUtd.com you can see glimpses of the Smalling article but when it finishes loading, the main news section (including the Smalling bit) goes blank and just says ‘Undefined’. Maybe that suggests United are aware that they are getting too far ahead of themselves as they haven’t actually got anything signed? If Smalling is a lifelong gooner, he’ll surely see sense as not only will he be playing for his dream club, he’s only got injured Djourou and old timers Campebell and Silvestre to beat. I don’t see him overtaking Evans or Brown anytime soon let alone Ferdinand and Vidic.
To those to think he isn’t worth it – if Wenger thinks that Smalling is worth £8m then surely he knows what he’s doing. He’s probably been following him since his reserve days and he made his league debut last May, so he hasn’t exactly been here just five minutes.
When was the last time Arsene Wenger paid that much for a failed player?
Smalling played well tonight, he dominated everything in the air.
Jose Reyes?
well Jimbo since you know so much about the quality of arsenal players, in our last match who would you play instead of Denilson in that position? Atlest he bleeds for the team, he collapsed due to a injury in the middle of the field for the team. he has been rushed back from injury to bleed even more, he cant even run due to his injuries as you probably did see in our last match. and you think he is utterly shit? He works his socks off in every game and plays where Wenger wants him to play. I doubt he really wants to be in Songs position. He is how old?
If everyone were fully fit he would start on the bench but as we got alot of injuries its not like AW had any choice but to play him. He is what we call a “raw potential” abit like smalling.
First of all, he isn’t. What he lacks is pace and strength. Now he probably won’t get much faster but he can learn to make up for it by positioning himself better and anticipating. He is still only 21 and can bulk up a lot and also learn to manipulate the ball much more effectively. He is a better defender than Cesc (and Nasri for that matter). The reason he is ahead of Ramsey is that he is more disciplined. He doesn’t give dangerous passes out of defence or try to go past players in our own half. Good player, a great talent. Gilberto didn’t get a call-up for Brazil until he was 25, remember that.
Bleeds for the team?
The only thing I saw when Denilson was ‘chasing’ Sidibe the other day was a bloody mess. Denilson is utterly, utterly shit. If we have nobody better, then we’ve got a big problem.
Denilson is garbage. Total and utter garbage. I would laugh if he was at one of our rivals. Awful passer, lazy fucker, no vision, no strength, and most of all, no brains. Sell him in the summer, or better still, next week. I’d rather persist with Eastmond, who at least has talent, or indeed Coquelin. But he should be nowhere near the team.
Jimbo, Denilson was at least trying to get back at Sidibe! He started a full 10yards behind him and was busting a gut to get to him, that goal was not his fault.
“He doesn’t give dangerous passes out of defence or try to go past players in our own half.” mate you just described what Denilson does all the time, besides he’s got no brain whatsoever
it wouldn’t be the first time Denilson was caught being a lazy twat tracking back. Whenever the opposition get behind him, he completely gives up.
Does anyone know how Szczesny played?
Denilson is such an odd case. I just hear cliche after cliche after cliche about him, and the performances on the pitch get worse and worse.
If Denilson is shit so are Ballack, Carrick, and Aquilani.
If you want to compare Denilson compare him to players who are like him. You can not expect him to play like Lionel Messi when he isnt that type of player.
Aquilani and Ballack are like Denilson? Seriously, are you kidding me?
Aquilani is overrated anyway, but Ballack has been twice the player Denilson ever will be in his career, and even though he’s not produced his Bayern or Germany form for Chelsea, he’s still a vastly better player even now.
Oh, and as for Carrick, he’s better than Denilson tracking back (though still not great), better in the air, stronger, and has much, much better passing ability. Denilson’s not fit to lick his arsehole.
Jimbo, you’re the perfect cliche of an idiot.
OMFG putting our Shitson in the same sentence as those football players is crazy
Denilson : played 11 goals 3 assists 1
Ballack: played 17 goals 4 assists 3
Carrick: played 20 goals 2 assists 0
Aquilani: played 7 goals 0 assists 1
Barry: played 20 goals 1 assits 4
OMFG jimbo and Me are mancs.
typeface-i think your on to something! :)
Ah, goals and assists – the definitive way of judging midfielders!
Don’t be a clown.
yeah mate you debunked us :D hahaha @arse&nose don’t be silly man, if you think Denilson is better than that players you can go and kiss his ass
Denilson: Played 11, can’t pass, tackle or stand up under pressure.
Ballack: Played 17, can run, pass, shoot and tackle
Carrick: Played 20, can pass, tackle a bit and see more than 5 yards beyond the end of his nose
Barry: Can tackle and pass
Aquilani: Can barely stay fit.
sanderson do u know if the 6+5 rule is still on?
Anyway, back on Smalling, Hodgson has confirmed that Fulham haven’t even heard from Arsenal.
Ballack -played 17 tackles won-22 passes intercepted-25
Denilson-played 11 tackles won-23 passes intercepted-43
can’t tackle?
I seem to recall that a similar reaction to a defender called Curtis Davis that we didn’t get. The hype was a lot greater than is currently around this new defender. How is Curtis getting on now? Not even a first team player at Villa! So it might not be all bad
Your being way too harsh on Denilson, he gives his all in every match, people have to remember he is still learning his trade, its not his fault traore was out of position and sibdie was roaming free down our left hand side. You guys wont be saying the same thing in 12months time.
@Jimbo, I’m really glad there’s finally someone who’s not somewhat afraid to talk about our players’ weaknesses.
Nope – can’t tackle. Watch him get regularly sat on his arse, game after game after game.
Seriously, try watching a bit of football for a change. Being a stat-monkey is much less fun.
Jimbo I watch a lot of football, and I watch it objectively not subjectively.
You seem to have made your mind up about denilson for whatever reason, however the stats dont lie and no matter how much you moan about him you can not prove that he has had a worst season than Carrick or Ballack.
The only thing that annoys me about Wenger’s transfer activity is actually the way he treats our players. Had he got rid of Denilson a year ago when we were interested in Xabi and Barry we’d lead the PL by a mile, but he was stubborn trying to pull some personal victories over the ones of a club by showing he can make a player out of zero talent.
The stats don’t lie? The stats certainly don’t demonstrate that he’s a top player, because you need a hell of a lot more than stats like that to do that.
I don’t know how you ‘prove’ someone is a bad player, but pretty much everyone who sits around me at the Emirates knows this one truth – we’re a much, much better team when he’s not around. He’s one of Wenger’s biggest ever mistakes.
If we get Smalling we get him. If we don’t, we don’t. WE HAVE A LOT OF YOUNG TALENT!! FOR FUCK’S SAKE, WE JUST BROUGHT IN A WHOLE NEW CLASS OF FIRST YEAR SCHOLARS!!:S FUCK!!!!!!!!!! WE HAVE DJOUROU, BARTLEY< NORDTVEIT, AND ANGHA!!!! DON'T ANY OF YOU IDIOTS THINK THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THESE PLAYERS WOULD TURN OUT TO BE AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN SMALLING?????? FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK:S just think people, it does wonders for your popularity on blogs lol
Jimbo. didn’t hodgson make that comment about a week ago, before the Wenger comment? or has he made a new comment? If the Times is right, a fee of 12 million pounds, it is close to the record signing Arshavin at 15, so unlikely that Wenger would take such a gamble but Ferguson does and have done that with variable success in the past. We still got Norveit, Bartley, Vermalen, Ayling and not the least Djourou who I rate highly, so no need to panick. With United going public about it I would love to see us pip them of Smalling though.
sebjob – he said it in the post-match comments from the game today.
I don’t know how good smalling is, but I do think he’s more likely to be a better player next year than Bartley, Nordtveit or Djourou, so that leaves us with problems when Sol, Cuntbag Shitevestre and maybe even Gallas (hopefully not) leave us in the summer.
I prefer to see a Diaby,Song , Cesc midfield as it has a better balance of strength and flair.
However, I still believe Denilson is a useful player, an under rated player who helps the team without catching the eye. There are plenty of players Like Denilson who dont catch the eye but do a useful job for their teams.
and Angha, true that. I have never seen this Smalling so got no idea how good he is or of his talents. Would anyway be a long term solution, a talent, and talent development I believe Arsenal are the best. Still smiling how we pipped Manure of Ramsey :) He is absolutely stunningly brilliant
lets get 400 comments, diogo and hulk i want
Surely when the left back (in this case Traore) goes bombing upfield to overlap with Vela, it’s the job of one of the three midfielders to drop back and cover. When the defensive midfielder Eastmond dropped back into defence, obviously this became Denilson’s job, which he failed to do. He was caught out of position, not covering properly. Oh, and he’s also a bit too ‘safe’ for me, always passing backwards or sideways, even when chasing a game. And can’t tackle for toffee.
I mean 300, lol,
I believe we need a Striker and CB, Diogo/Hulk, Subotic/Vertonghen
The same people who are after Denilson were after Song, Diaby and Flamini before. They never learn. Walcott and vela better brace themselves, once Denilson reaches the next level the same anti-Arsenal crowd will come after them.
Jimbo: crawl back to Le Groan. You can spew your bile there among your kind and fake being an Arsenal fan all you want because here you’ve failed.
@Arse&Nose, actually Denilson catches the eye, at least mine :) Don’t get me wrong, I love our players and it wouldn’t be a happier man in the world besides me and Wenger to see Denilson playing like Essien, but we must admit that this isn’t going to happen. Denilson was, is and always will be an average player, but then again he plays in the best team of the world IMO. :D
alright Jimbo, maybe Hodgson has been busy with pre-match preparations. Wenger though said that Arsenal have bid for him
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-still-interested-in-smalling-deal
are you guys seriously thinking Denilson is shite? remember when Gilberto Silva was injured some years back? suddenly the undefeated team collapsed (dont remember if it was the full invincibles), then everybody realized how good he is. Song is easier to see because he does the hard tackling in my opinion. Denilson I compare very much to Silva, a balancing ppassing player that close down space in midfield and works on connecting midfield and attack. Great composure and positional reading. Ramsey, Cesc are in more advancing positions and as such are easier to notice
Ignore Jimbo; he’s a known troll.
so agree with Arse & nose
@sebjob I never missed a game when Gilberto plays and I never miss a game nowadays, so I feel I’m competent to have an opinion on this. Denilson is nowhere near Gilberto. I base my opinion on my eyesight :D. I’m tired of pointing out all the things he misses, and yes he’s young but he should at least have talent, which is another thing I don’t see in him. I may be wrong in the future, but the fact is, you’re wrong in the present :)
Have to love this comment from the BBC website, if we get him we get him if we dont I wont loose any sleep.
First Schwarzer flapped at Bentley’s cross, then Bjorn Helge Riise failed to clear the ball, allowing Modric to rescue it and cross for Crouch, who nipped in front of the sleeping Chris Smalling to poke in.
Smalling, making only his second Premier League start, was featuring just hours after it was announced he will be joining Manchester United next season – and the 20-year-old might have wished he had not made the headlines as his naivety was punished mercilessly.
the striker u all want will be at arsenal this week-charlton cole,watch this space
sorry carlton obviously excited not
Its times like these that I am ashamed to be called an Arsenal fan. How fickle r we lot?
Me- Densilson is a good squad player. I have had this argument many, many times on this site, as well as others. I don’t think he would be a part of an ideal Arsenal starting 11 and I don’t think he should be a starter, but he is a first team player as in the first 22. He has some value!! He is very timid at times and that really does bother me, but he has scored some big goals, and he has improved. IF HE STRENGTHENS, THEN HE WILL BE MUCH BETTER!! HE NEEDS TO, NEEDS TO GET STRONGER PHYSICALLY, AND AT TIMES MENTALLY. THAT IS ALL HE NEEDS. We do need him though and with all the matches still to come he will improve and show his value. I trust Wenger in his evaluations. For me Ramsey is a different type of player, but if forced to play a similar role to Denilson, I think he would be the better option. And as for those “dangerous” passes he makes, the whole fucking team makes those. I know you didn’t say this but someone else did. How many times has Song doddled around, with you thinking to yourself,” oh for god’s sake just get rid of the thing” Only for him to initiate a brilliant attack?? And that’s the HOLDING ROLE PEOPLE. Part of the Arsenal way is to take some risks out on the pitch!! Ramsey doesn’t play more or less dangerously than anyone else in my opinion.
“Me”, well I guess we see things differently :)
How original, Matty boy…
A ‘fake’ Arsenal fan? Oh, how I wish I could pay for my season ticket with ‘fake’ money. People were ‘after’ Song when he was 18. People were ‘after’ Flamini for a long time, and look where he is now – a one-season wonder. And people are ‘after’ Denilson, because it’s obvious that he’s utterly shite.
sebjob,
When Gilberto got injured, our season fell apart. When Denilson got injured, we battled to top of the league. Yes, he’s totally shite. Waste of space, waste of money, waste of time. He’s not actually good at anything.
Jimbo- if he is shit, what are you gonna do about it?? Run on the field and kick him in the balls?? Or whatever he has. Just in case you argue that he has a pussy. He is a good player, and if he bulkks up I can see him being as good as Gilberto was. He’s 21. I repeat, he’s 21. The team will be fine wether he starts or not. I hope he doesn’t start the majortiy of matches, but if he does, he’ll only get better. If he doesn’t get stronger though and work extremely hard to get stronger, then he won’t fulfill the potential that he has. And he does have some.
What am I going to do?
Well, continue to boo him, and ridicule Wenger for starting him. What are you going to do because you think he’s a good player?
Jimbo: it’s not “people” who are after Denilson, it’s just a handful of anti-Arsenal shitstirrers like you who post the same tripe 100 times a day.
For the record at the same point last year you were all over Wenger, calling him a c**t for playing that POS Song. Everytime Song had a bad game you were more gleeful than a Spud.
You’re worse than useless, you and your kind are just nocive to our club.
Denilson is rubbish, Nik Bent is rubbish and the amount of games time these guys get shows exactly why we have not won anything for years.
They would not even make the bench at any of the top teams in europe yet the when fit get consistant game time with us.
cn all arsenal fans b honest and ask this question to themselves. Do we need another CB? I doubt he’d even start with gallas and vermaelen in front of him and who is to say campbell wont stay beyond the end of the season too
Well, then ridicule him all ya like until you lose your voice!! It won’t change anything you monk. (I respect real monks by the way) It won’t change a thing. Stating your opinion is fine, but don’t expect it to change other people’s opinions, least of all Arsene Wenger’s. He’s a good player. To me that isn’t good enough to start for Arsenal. I lie somewhere in the middle on this one. He CERTAINLY is worth keeping in my opinion. But he isn’t a starter for me. Ramsey, Diaby, Nasri, and Song are all ahead of him in my opinion. And if Denilson doesn’t continue to work with intensity , he will find himself behind Eastmond as well.
Oh yeah, and Fabregas as well!! :S lol
I don’t know what you’re talking about Matt. For the ‘record’, I was doing no such thing. Seriously, making things up is pretty cheap…
Cmon, give Denilson a break. Everybody takes time. Even Flamini took sometime before his break-out season. As far as I’m concerned, Denilson is no where as shitty as other Brazilians in the league. Just remember that DM is not his natural position, he was actually the Cesc type of player.
The point is they are not good enough for Arsenal, assuming we are serious about winning trophies.
These players wouldn’t get a start at Villa, City or even Spurs yet they get continued game time with us even when we are full strength.
Watch our next 3 games and it will be proven beyond doubt.
why are you guys so determined to talk about denilson. Whats going to happen with smalling???
Anyway, we’re all Gooner fans so why the rift among ourselves? It’s OK to critical players but keep it less personal? :)
Looks like Smalling’s off to united then!…hodgson’s pretty much confirmed it!
Hodgson said last night: “The club has accepted an offer from Manchester United and as far as I know that is where he is going. As far as I know he is going for a medical tomorrow.
“He is a great talent and we’re proud we’ve produced a player of that quality, but it’s difficult to stand in the way when Manchester United come calling.
“He will be a great success, will prove to be a bargain in the future and it’s just a shame that we will have to watch him do that at United. But Sir Alex is a great judge.”
Jimbo is a sp*d. Just ignore him.
I think that of the three young Brazilian midfielders in the Top4, Lucas, Anderson and Denilson, the Arsenal one is the best one. Not really an argument for his side, but still.
As for the pecking order in midfield. Song, Fabregas and Diaby are the first picks at the moment, almost no doubt. Then we have Ramsey and Denilson about equal although Denilson edges him out because of experience. Then Merida and Eastmond. It’s still unclear to me when Rosicky is played in midfield and when not. Obviously he has been playing up front because of injuries but his position in the squad is a bit blur. Nasri is not a midfielder. He could play instead of Cesc but he can’t defend to save his grandmas life. My deity, what an awful defender. That’s one midfielder I would not like to see play full back.
Anyway, Denilson is a fantastic talent. I will state it again, Gilberto was 25 when he first played for Brazil. Give the kid a chance. He needs to bulk up, I admit that. And he needs to improve some aspects of his game, like not getting bullied off the ball so easily. But can you not imagine him being a lot bulkier in 4 years time?
And who do the other teams have where we have Denilson?
Arsenal: Fabregas-Song-Diaby-Rosicky-Ramsey-Denilson-Merida
Chelsea: Essien-Lampard-Ballack-Cole-Deco-Malouda-Mikel
United: Fletcher-Carrick-Anderson-Scholes-Gibson
I would take Denilson ahead of Deco, and yes he would be ahead of Gibson, Scholes and Anderson.
AaronFC: at least you are consistent, Google confirms you only post to slate some of our players. One of you losers wanted to be sourced? Here’s one of you pearls of wisdom from a year ago:
Denilson, Eboue, Bentdner and Song.
These guys would not get a start at any team in the top 10 yet they start for us every week.
Wenger has lost his mind.
You cannot turn every $500k bum into a superstar.
i dnt like the slating of wenger and smalling on ere guys its unfair…im a season ticket holder and i played with chris at maidstone utd for 3years and he has the potential 2 go right to the top
Happy to be wrong about Song.
He is now a fantastic player and critical to the club.
When i wrote those comments he had been played at CB and not in midfield.
The other 2 are not good enough and Eboue is a diving girl who is an embarressment to the club.
I just want to win trophies
J. why the hell we never got Diogo? His Agent said there are english teams for him in. Are we one of them?
i don’t get you people. you actually complain that a TWENTY ONE year old is bad?
for goodness sake, the boy is just 21. He has a few more years before he reaches his potential. Judge him then, not now.
If you knew your football, you would know that very few defensive midfielders are great when they are 21. Most show what they are worth when they reach 24-25 years of age.
only in arsenal would fans say a mere 21yo is bad. in all other teams they would say “he is bad right now…but he is just a talent, a boy. give him a few years”
also, look back at how good gilberto, gallas, carrick, fletcher were when they were 21….. the answer is: not as good as denilson is now.
dunno why i wrote gallas…no edit button around?
We should continue bidding until ManU pay 15m for him. Don’t think Fulham will reject more money if we bid higher..
We can cause damage to ManU even though we may not able to sign the player…
We couldnt bid high enough 4 diogo
All of you mindlessly slating Wenger, have you no memory at all? Do you not remember what happened with Ramsey 18 months ago? The same story appeared on Utd’s website then, and look what happened. This is the same Wenger who’s bought Arshavin for next to nothing, Vermaelen for 10m, and 20 other players who’ve gone onto be superstars and yet you still question his judgement and ideals? Unbelievable.
just to leave my 2p on the Denilson issue.
I thought that at the beginning of the season, when he was playing alongside Cesc and Song, he was really good; constantly offering himself for passes and keeping our possession game ticking over. His trouble comes when he plays alongside less established players as he hasn’t the presence to boss the midfield himself. It may sound odd but he seems to be a specialist support player, as such he doesn’t add much to the team by himself but when alongside our first choice players he helps them play better and it shows.
Not sure yet if that’s enough but he honestly does more than a lot of people give him credit for and people calling him shit have obviously been brought up on sky sports as you don’t get to play for arsenal like he has and be shit. He’s played a lot and we’re right up there so he’s not doing badly.
As for calling Nik B shit, if he didn’t play for Arsenal and we were linked with him, those same people calling him shit would be screaming at Wenger to sign him.
wenger didnt want to pay more I think!!!
Go and support Chelsea AaronFC. They win trophies. But what else do they do. Btw, Spurs won a couple of league cups, why not jump ship.
AndAPrayer: Have to agree with you there.
J. Sanderson, I have a question to ask,
Could I ask you on facebook, ( I wont add you as a friend its cool)
Hi to all,,
Few things to say:
1: SMALLING is not worth the 7-9 millions I hear he costs
2: DENILSON is an avarage player who when playing with top quality players like cesc and rosicky becomes a good player but can’t lead the midfield.
3: Arsene Wenger doesn’t have enough cash to spend and I don’t thing he will buy any player that costs more than 10 millions.
4: The arsene strategy of saving money for the club did work nicely but it is time to stop it and spend like a big club.
Personally I fell a lot better when Denilson plays alongside Cesc and Song. I like Diaby, but Denilson has a sensibility that Abou lacks. He shows well for passes and keeps things ticking along nicely.
Remember, Gilberto had his detractors too when he played, I recall in the invincibles season him and Lauren were the two players that fans did not rate. Now Gilberto is considered a semi-legend as we witnessed how much we missed him for so long.
Real Madrid didn’t rate Makalele enough to offer him wages in keeping with the so called stars but after he left the gap he left was marked.
DM is a hard position to judge for fans and some managers, I trust AW is shrewd enough to make the right choices (who else would have though song would become half the player he is?)
Total lack of logic from many of the articles. The Smalling band wagon wants to pay 8 million for a 20 yr old with 1 appearance (per Sky stats??) for Fulham in the premiership !!! – heck this is the type of player Arsenal sends out on loan to get experience. Its also the type of money Wenger paid for an unknown called Vermaelen who went stright into the team with huge impact. For all the twats who want to buy buy buy remember its a TEAM game and Wengers philosophy is buy players who improve the team (this explains recent signings of some oldies – getting short lived experience so not blocking paths of youngsters and still getting player/coaches to bring them on).
Enjoy the experience of building the team and still managing to be top 4 consistently – 16 premiership and countless more would envy the situation. If you want a buy buy buy team have your pick of Mancity or Chelsea.
WENGER’S SECRET PLANS REVEALED. Last time when I called him, he told me he was preparing an U20 squad. His wife had told him he’ll not win anything with an U23 squad. He took this as a challenge and is preparing a treble winning team of U20. F’king retard..