England Under 19 coach Noel Blake has included Arsenal trio Emmanuel Frimpong, Benik Afobe and Nico Yennaris in his sqaud for their first friendly of the new season against Slovakia.
The squad makes interesting reading on a number of levels. All action holding midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong is included despite previously affirming his desire to represent Ghana, the country of his birth. Frimpong has represented the Young Lions at Under 16 and Under 17 level and has been advised to play for England by Arsène Wenger.
Elsewhere, seven members of last season’s Under 17 squad which won the European Championships are named. They include Benik Afobe, but there is no promotion for his striker partner and the much hyped Connor Wickham. Chuks Aneke surprisingly misses out but Arsenal Under 18 captain Nico Yennaris has been included.
Zak Ansah has replaced Afobe in the Under 17 squad.
Why not Aneke? Am very surprised about that!
That was the first thing i thought as well. Considering Afobe says Aneke is the reason his goal scoring tally went into double figures last season.
Wickham is injured so unavailable
Nick Yennaris is not Irish?
lol
Connor Wickham hasn’t been included because he’s injured! He’s out for 6-8 weeks.
great to see the 3 in the squad, def agree with jono, icedre – aneke should be in the squad as he is a top player. Not too long and 50-75% of the england squads including the senior will be arsenal players. Who says we dont have english players?! :p
Intresting so frimpong has changed his mind?
Nico yennaris in the England under 19s is a great achievement hes a player i really like.
I am amazed chuks aneke isnt there.
JS Conor wickkham is an Ipswhich first team player in case you dont know the championship has started there is no way roy keane would let a supremely talent striker go and play in a pointless friendly with the under 19s!
Wickham is a better all round striker
Haha! Not this crap again?
How many times are you going to write the same thing mate?
Yeah big mistake leaving out Chuks. He’s definitely one destined for the first team and will, I think, prove a better talent than Jay Emanuel Thomas as he works harder and has as much ability if not more.
BTW, Galindo scored the equaliser for Bolivia last night, but, it’s Roberto Galindo. Is he related to Samuel who signed for Arsenal?
Cheers J and keep up the great website.
Not the same fella….
FW Roberto Galindo
born October 14, 1980 (age 29)
Club Universitario de Sucre
Int apps: 1
Int goals: 1
frimpong can play for the england youth teams but will choose to play for ghana’s national team
I hope so he will be awesome for ghana
finally someone who gets what the kid was on about last season.
he said he’s always intended to play for Ghana at senior level and everyone has to respect that and let the kid be..
he’s good but that doesn’t make him english and his heart is with making the Ghana team then leave him be.
J have you got any info on this
there’s news coming from the metro that we have had a 2.5 million bid accepted for Brad Jones
Any truth to that?
Dont think this has happened. I understand we are looking to do a deal for Mamadou Sakho no later than end of next week.
Frimpong what is the kid playing at? He probably thought he would not break through the arsenal first team thus wanting to play for ghana? why has he changed his mind?
he’s not changed his mind. He will still play for Ghana’s national team.
No…he has made infactic statements that he wants to play for ghana.
he was very clear that he wll play for Ghana at senior level.
all he’s doing is waiting for the day the Ghana national team invites him and that will be that, until then he’s not breaking any rules playing for england jnrs.
hopefully zak ansah and danny boateng will all follow suite.
Gooner for life but Ghana is my love.
Its a shame that Balotelli did not choose Ghana. I actually chose them to go to the final 4 of the world cup long before the tourney started and so many people called me crazy and just 1 pk away from doing it. Really felt with Essein and Balotelli, they could have made it to the finals but unfortunetly that didnt happen.
What makes you think he could break into the Ghana midfield?
Ghana CMs would eat the English ones for breakfast.
Frimpong shouldnt be using the English system make your bloody mind up!
I agree mate.
how is he doing that?
the english management should either wise up or take a hint.
the kid said less than 6 months ago that he is going to play for Ghana at senior level so why are they still calling him??
it just shows the stupidity of the England management set up.
BTW he’s not breaking any rules here
I agree. I live in America which is the melting pot so just about every player can choose a different country if they want. We lost Gioseppi Rossi and Neven Subitoc to other countries, both of whom played for our youth teams. I cant imagine how far we could have gone with Rossi for goal scoring and Subitoc at centerback not to mention Brede Hangeland who was born in America.
with schwarzer comin in
He didn’t call himself to the team did he??? Just because the coach selected him doesn’t mean he’ll go, it’s optional.
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Why cant he use the system, he can do whatever he wants to do, i care less as long as he continues his progress for Arsenal
good point.
if you lot want to be making campaigns for england instead of arsenal then maybe you shouldn’t be here.
Yeah I agree with Me don’t be suprised if Frimpong pulls out of the squad.
He should,he is a proud African.He will never become English no matter how much you little lads wish it,he will pull out.
arsene does wish frimpong to play for england because every afro cup we will be losing 2 DMs as song is cameroonian. if he chooses ghana then he will be sold, alex is more valuable coz he can play CB and he’s more disciplined.
Frimpong actually looks better than Song did at 18, remember the Fulham game? Anyway, Sepp Blatter has ordered the African union to move the tournament to the summer.
@JOHN
A wise man would let him play in the England youth team. You never know it could be the catalyst that’s require for him to take the next step and join the senior team….Given Ghana are not taking the initiative while the odds are still in their favor.
Actually Ghana are keeping tabs on him, but our midfield is stacked at the moment, however the next African u20 championships are not far off and i won’t be surprised to see him included.
Just to clear up some points;
With the Galindo stuff – as far as I know they’re not related. But I’ll do some digging and let you know.
Not heared anything about Brad Jones; Wenger has already said he’s not interested in bringing in another goalkeeper. Fabianski says we’ll have a rotation policy to keep everybody on their toes.
Agree on Aneke, weird he’s not in the squad as he’s one of the best around. Great call to include Yennaris, he’s the type of player I’d love to see play for England. All heart and hard work.
I also agree with John’s point on Frimpong. If he’s not interested in playing for England he should back away and give somebody who wants to play for England the shirt. Otherwise he’s just wasting our time. Haven’t England had enough of players not fully commited playing?
I disagree on your statement about Nico. England have plenty of those hard working types. They lack creative quality and fluidity. That is what Arsenal players add.
and i thought J Sanderson was here to report on arsenal youth.
how does it matter if he plays for Ghana or England.
maybe the england management set-up are just stupid and how can the kid be blamed for that?
how clear does he have to be before they(england) take a hint?
J do you know if aneke is on stand by?
A Johnson, Wilshere, Walcott
Rodwell, Frimpong
I wanted to see that midfield 5 last night.
I think you are getting a little carried away about Frimpong. He has still a long way to go before he is ready for Arsenal and England/Ghana. I’m saying that he can’t do it, but first he has to gain experience and become more disciplined, THEN he can start to challenge Song.
Frimpong can do what he wants. If he’s allowed to play for England U19s and then later play for Ghana’s first team, then fair enough. I’d rather he chose England when he’s older (because of the ACN), but for now getting in the England U19s is good practice for the lad.
Am utterly staggered than Chuks isn’t included.
Are you a Marxist my good man?
We are all Marxists here old chap!
nice to finally read something from someone with real sense.
my question still remains ‘how does it matter what country he plays for if he performs for arsenal?’
JS where do you think Nico yennaris will end up? I have been hugely impressed with him just a shame hes a bit short. If he was taller and stronger i reckon he would be in the arsenal first team now.
JS also i like to get you opinion on Broadwater farm? have they produced any players for arsenal?I used to play for them when i was younger but my parents didnt want me to play for them cause its a very dangerous area, alot of gangs etc, stabbings going down there.
Broadwater farm usually scouted the best players from North london and give them trials to Tottenham and arsenal.
JS i know frimpong came from there anyone else?
Finally, our young stars of the future are finally being given a chance on the international stage.
Here’s to hoping Kyle Bartley and Jay Thomas make the next U-21 squad.
any idea what our squad will be for the pool game
Front line will probably be
Arshavin — Chamak —- Walcott
Midfield is a dilemma. Diaby is almost fit, Denilson, Fabregas and Song will probably be short. So Frimpong will be the DM and Wilshere had a small problem so Rosicky will play with Nasri
Rosicky —- Frimpong —- Nasri
Defense is pretty obvious
Clichy — Vermaelen — Kos — Sagna
Goalkeeping
Almunia, if fabianski starts I might just kill myself
Arshavin — Chamak —- Walcott
Rosicky —– Frimpong —- Nasri
Clichy — Verm — Kos — Sagna
————— Almunia
Dont get how Fabregas can plain for spain but not for Arsenal.
according to wenger he’s not there yet
One is a friendly and the other is the opening day of the PL against Liverpool.
So we are going to Anfield with 2 healthy CB…i am scared.
Let me go, pleads Schwarzer
* EXCLUSIVE by David Davutovic in Slovenia
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* August 13, 2010 12:00AM
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/soccer/let-me-go-pleads-schwarzer/story-e6frey4r-1225904624594
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Mark Schwarzer
Playing tough … Mark Schwarzer. Source: Getty Images
MARK Schwarzer has pleaded with Fulham to release him to English giants Arsenal as the door on his dream move gets nearer to slamming shut.
Fulham have rejected offers from Arsenal, who are desperate to sign Schwarzer to resolve their ‘keeper crisis.
Schwarzer last night returned to London to hold showdown talks with Fulham’s new manager Mark Hughes. It’s believed he’s already submitted a transfer request.
Asked whether he believes the switch to Arsenal will eventuate, Schwarzer didn’t mince his words after the Socceroos’ 2-0 loss to Slovenia.
“I need it to happen,” said Schwarzer, who believes it’s his last chance to join a big club with his 38th birthday looming.
“I’ve had a couple of chats with Mark [Hughes]. It’s delicately poised.
“Who wouldn’t be keen to go to Arsenal? At this stage in my career it’s an amazing opportunity to play at that level and one I really want to take.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage
* You’re staying, Schwarzer told Herald Sun, 18 hours ago
* Fulham still wants Schwarzer The Australian, 8 days ago
* New boss rules out Schwarzer sale Herald Sun, 8 days ago
* Schwarzer back in Arsenal sights The Australian, 30 Jul 2010
* Hughes signs two-year deal at Fulham The Australian, 30 Jul 2010
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
“Only time will tell whether that happens or not.”
The former Middlesbrough ‘keeper is desperate for the transfer to be ratified before this weekend’s opening match of the Premier League season against Liverpool.
That is despite almost three weeks of the transfer window remaining.
Having lost faith in Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski, it’s understood Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is prepared to start Schwarzer on Sunday if an agreement is reached before kick-off.
Fulham travel to Bolton on Saturday and Schwarzer ruled out boycotting the game in a protest against the hard-line stance of Hughes.
“I have never sat out a game [to prove a point] and never would,” Schwarzer said. “But it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.
“I’m not sure whether I’ll play [for Fulham] on the weekend. I’ve got a few little injury problems but we’ll have to wait and see how I pull up when I return to London.”
Schwarzer has been outstanding for Fulham since signing from Middlesbrough two years ago.
Wenger was hugely impressed by the Australian’s 2009-10 campaign, where he led Fulham to the Europa League final. Wenger also watched the Socceroo closely in South Africa.
The Frenchman is confident Arsenal can mount a title challenge if they sign Schwarzer.
He has identified central striker, central defence and the goalkeeping position as his problem areas. He has already secured Moroccan Maraoune Chamakh and Frenchman Lorient Koscielny to solve the former two spots.
Schwarzer’s deal looked likely to push ahead in June when former Fulham boss Roy Hodgson told the Australian he’d do everything in his power to push the move through.
But Hodgson’s exit to Liverpool muddied the waters and Fulham refused to sell Schwarzer while they searched for a managerial replacement.
Hughes then declared he would not sell Schwarzer.
“It’s taken a long time and the season’s very close,” Schwarzer said. “On one hand you understand them not wanting to disrupt too many things but I want things resolved as quickly as possible.”
that sounds like a definite interest from us and the article has the name of the writer who wrote so he’s putting his reputation on line if not true
I want this transfer to happen and just saw arsenal injury page Djourou is out with a hamstring we need a CB and a GK and I hope to god this happens
Wenger confirms Djourou is injured.. Oh my ‘god’ please explain why do you have the fucking problem with ARSENAL.. may be because we play the most beautiful football or may be because we are on top of the fair-play table..??????????????????????
J.S IT JUST SHOWS YOU CANT TAKE EVERYTHING WENGER SAYS AS DEFINITE .’ HES NOT INTERESTED IN BRINGING IN ANOTHER KEEPE ‘HES NOT STUPID ENOUGH TO COME OUT WITH DEFINITE SIGNING PLANS JUST TO MAKE LIFE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT.
Like Wenger was going to say he was after a keeper during the pre-season game with Legia, which was Fabianski’s home coming! Would’ve made the Pole look like a right tit!
he never comes out and say who’s he after
its shoots the price of the player up by 50%
and looks like United are looking for strikers even without signing anyone we are better than them
Van Persie > Rooney
Chamak > Berba
Vela > Hernandez
Bendtner > Diouf
although they have macheda coming aswell I dont think we have any youngster of his talent.
Andrew—– Your striker comparison is extremely bias mate. When fit the van Persie and Rooney comparison is a tie. Problem is RVP is rarely fit.
On Chamakh verse Berbatov. Come on mate…lol. We all know Berbie has not been playing his best yet but Chamakh is no where near the level Berbatov can play at. People will realise that Chamakh is a role player and adds depth and Bendtner will be the one to push on and become top class.
That brings me to Bendtner verse Diouf. Yes you are right on that one.
Vela verse Hernandez is a funny one. Hernandez is one of the most over hyped players sence maybe like David Beckham. He is a decent finisher but no where near the overal talent of Vela. I cant wait until every one sees this.
chamak is better than berba because berba was brilliant at spurs but he’s been horrible at manu and I am so happy about that
I can bet right now that berba will score less and set up less goals than chamak even with him playing more matches than him
@Andrew – I agree Rvp > Rooney, but who is more useful over a season? It’s pretty clear it’s wayne.
I agree that chamackh will prove to be a far more effective and useful signing than berbatov. Always thought he was overrated, he never scored that many at spurs. Hes just a poor man’s bergkamp. Chamakh is a bit like kuyt but with real skill and I think wenger will get him to score goals. Even if that doesnt quite happen chamakh will still be a better forward than berba imo.
Vela might be more talented than herndandez, but the Utd striker looks ready to go this year. He is mentally strong and just seems to finish chances at all levels. To be frank I think hernandez can win Utd the title this year, ie he will make the difference from last season and keep Utd scoring when/if rooney gets injured. I hope vela is given more chances but might take a little longer to get going. Basically hernandez can be a top player this season, I expect vela will become as good if not better, but maybe not for a while yet.
Agree on bendtner, that one’s easy. He’s got the experience, although they’re probably quite close in raw talent.
Macheda looks good, but I think they also signed a new portugese forward. No idea about him though. We have some top defenders and midfielders coming through, but I cant think of any strikers, unless JET counts. He’s a very different type of player to macheda, so its not right to compare.
Davi, davi, davi……. You just added to the hype job on Hernandez but took it to a completely different level. You want to bet on who has more goals this year. Bendtner verse Hernandez?
I dont get your Chamakh and kuyt comparison.
People are harsh on Berbatov. Do you know what it is like to try and live up to a 30 million pound price tag. A couple of games with no goals and fans start booing. Chamakh has almost no pressure as far as that goes. Berbatov is a far better talent then chamahk even tho chamahk might score more because of how we play. We all are entitilled to our own opinions though so i respect your opinion (not on the Hernandez overhype job tho…lol)
united play counter attacking football and berbatov just doesn’t fit for them he would have been better with us
Andrew… I agree. You see what happens when players just dont fit the style. Ibrahimovic is not a bad player but just doesnt fit. When a player reaches his peak we must judge him on how good he was. Who knows if Berbatov can recover but my question is, does anyone actually believe Chamahk can reach the level that Berbatov was at?
Seriously, who cares what subjective level the player is at.
What matters is their effectiveness for their teams. Chamakh was extremely effective Bordeaux and will be for us too. Berbatov has never bene effective for Man Utd despite getting plenty of chances in varying roles.
If Chamakh never reaches the imaginary level of Berbatov but scores more goals and scores in important games (a bit like other limited players like Parlour and Wiltord), then who bloody cares. It’s not like they give out World Talented-but-not-performing Player of the Year awards. FFS players like Ian Wright and Andy Cole were not “at the level” of others and were excellent for their clubs.
So yes Chamakh for Arsenal will be better than Berbatov for Utd, since it’s not an especially difficult thing to do
AndyE—- I didnt know players peaks were imaginary levels. Guess what Ronaldinho did at Barcelona was imaginary lol. Select you words more properly. We were simply discussing who is better. Anyways, not sure how Chamahk has been that much more effective at Bordeaux than Berbatov but we all have subjective opinions when it comes to our players.
Obviously you don’t understand he point.
The “level” of a player is subjective, and the talent of the player has nothing to do with his effectiveness.
Berbatov might have a great talent, but he is not effective.
Judging the peak of a player in relation to himself is easy. Judging it in relation to others is hard.
Think about it
Andrew im pretty sure that Arsenal will sign Schwarzer
well i hope so anyway.
from what I have heard wenger is looking for a CB and Schwarzer coming out and saying this means we are indeed looking to sign a GK which is beautifull to hear
let almunia and fabianski go to any other club I will happily take Szczesny as no.2
FFS! Some of you have been so consumed by the hysterical crap spouted about the keepers at Arsenal, you have lost all grip on reality.
Almunia aint a shit keeper, he is steady and solid, although unspectacular, IMO. he would be more than adequate for the 1st few games of the season UNTIL we sign a top class number 1.
Almunia would be an excellent back up keeper to who ever comes in.
Get a grip!
you might need to see this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoNbEgOi3-A&feature=player_embedded
Schezny should go onloan. Goal keepers dont get better on the bench.
Andrew…..that video is hilarious and sad.
I think we’ll all kill ourselves if Fabianski starts against Liverpool. Yeah, Arshavin, Chamakh, Walcott, Nasri, Rosicky, Frimpong, looks the most likely to me – and it isn’t that bad!
The only problem with Frimpong opting for Ghana is the African Nations and losing him every two years. Otherwise, giving the car crash that is England a wide berth seems the best possible thing for our players. The ludicrous hype, followed by the jeering and the paralysing misery of it all can’t help but be damaging to their morale. Be interesting to see if Rooney recovers from England and plays well for United again.
Schwarzer: I don’t doubt he wants to come; my doubts are that Wenger is interested in him – he said he wasn’t in an interview after one of the friendlies, but maybe he was lying, though lying would be unusual for him?
Almunia can start against pool I can tolerate him for one more game
and wenger is interested that’s why he’s talking about arsenal he wont come out if he was certain that wenger was interested
we lose player to euros every two year ACN is the same thing.
I think the keeping situation is getting over some of you guys.. Almunia is an excellent keeper, it was just that he had a bad year full of personal problems, niggling injuries thus leading to lack in confidence.. Although I believe Fabianski should be sold with immediate effect as he is worthless.. Almunia was so good ‘before last season’ so you should not criticize him and make him a scapegoat for any bad results.. We have a far bigger problem to adress – Our Center Back situation is ridiculous we don’t have any sort of reliable cover.. We desperately need a ‘at least’ 1 more CB…. Ideally we require 2 more….
Go and Watch Birmingham game
he had one good season and that was barca home other than that he has been nothing more than okay and he does have problems with corners
he doesnt instill confidence in the back line like a keeper is suppose to
one good game*
Yash……lol. Do you realise how many points Almunia has cost us? Not to mention a Champions league final trophy.. Go watch the first Man City game. We out played them but we had Almunia and they had Given. Watch the birmingham game or the nice own goal off nani’s cross. Maybe even when he ducked out of the way on Drogba’s goal or Rose’s goal. Almunia is a back up. Enough said.
andrew you just cannot slate a player the way you do with Almunia just because he had 1 torrid season.. Even I want for us a better no.1 but I don’t think Schwarzer is any better than Almunia.. And with the context that we would only like a highly experienced GK so as our top prospects Mannone and Szczesny come up and take the pole position in a few years I don’t find any such GK who is better than Almunia….
I agree with Yash on this one – Almunia REALLY isn’t that bad. He’s not world class, but neither is Schwarzer (which the world cup so aptly proved). If it were me, I probably would start Szcezcsny (close enough with the spelling right?) in goal…but maybe that’d be a mistake. I trust Wenger for the most part. Let’s face it – he’s a tactical and football genius.
Sorry Shane it wasnt Almunia that cost us against City it was headless Clichy as usual.In 15 mnutes he threw the game away with his pointless headless chicken runs down the wing allowing them to counter when he lost possesion or crossed poorley.Watch the game again if you dont beleive me…………..he is defensive dogshit!
GoonerGaz- So Clichy has one bad game and now he isnt good enough? Lets just get rid of the whole team and start over then. Clichy is dog shit……..you are dog shit my friend. No player is good enough for some people. Name me the better leftbacks in the world than Clichy. I can only think of 2. You probally also called Song and Diaby dog shit at some point. Very annoying.
I really dont get this defence of Almunia now. No way should he be a starting keeper for a top 4 club. Lets see how many prem keepers are better than him (IMO)……. van der sar, cech, gomes, howard, reina, Friedel, Given, Hart, Schwarzer, Sorenson, Begovic, Guzan, Gordon, Kirkland and i think i am forgetting a few. Yes that list even includes back ups. I just don’t see how anyone can realistically defend Almunia as being a first choice keeper for a big club. People say he is ok but ok is not good enough for a club of our level. IMO, there are 2 positions that seperate the difference between a good team and a great team. The difference between 2 and 1st. A top class striker and goalkeeping. How many times have we played well against Chelsea only for Drogba to score a couple goals out of no where. You see Rooney carry his team last year. You see the major difference in liverpool with Torres and without him. Great strikers win games and great goal keepers save games. You constently see the difference when we face cech and van der sar. All the players in between can work well with good tactics but it all meens nothing with out that quality up top and in goal. Inter verse Barcelona is the perfect example of that. Julio Cesar’s unbelievable save in the 2nd leg and of corse the clinical Militio. Same thing in the final. Bayern Munich played better from 18 to 18 but the difference was Milito and Cesar. Hope this clears up the reasons why you cant have an average keeper if you want to be a great team.
another misleading piece in the article. Wenger isn’t recommending Frimpong play for England, he was recommending The FA convince Frimpong to play for England. Backwards and misleading. Quotes – Wenger said: “Here you have a boy who can choose between England and Ghana. So if I was in your place, I would have no hesitation and invite him to play very quickly for England.” – the lad will probably end up playing for Ghana…ridiculous.
john stop being such a zenophobic prick…u almost sound french…i have a french friend who never stops whining about the amount of mixed race players are on the french national team, blaming them for all sorts, constantly forgetting that their best player in history was zinedine zidane, an algerian.england want the best players playing for them, they’ve chosen frimpong cause they clearly think he can do a job for them, and if all goes well i’m sure they’ll fight even harder to convinve him to play for england. I’m irish , and many of our young players aren’t born and rared here, like james mcarthy (wigan) Mcgeady…infact the FAI has fought to convince many players to choose us over countries like england and scotland.
And JS, the england problem isn’t to do with non commited players, look at kevin prince boateng , he wanted to be a german international, but they overlooked him so he decided to play for ghana, for me he really stood out during the world cup, do u think he wasn’t commited? if a player is the type of player who will bother pulling on a jersey and playing half assed for england, he is just as likely to do so for whomever he’s playing for! the rules are you haven’t pledged to either of your nationalities until you’ve won a senior cap, so get off frimpong’s back for speaking his mind, you might get lucky and c him playing for the 3 lions in years to come
what xenophobic have to do with france.As someone who go in france very often and have a lot french friend i don’t see them more xenophobic than the english.Maybe you have the wrong sort of french friend because mine are very proud of Zidane and most of the time it s other country who are jealous .I agree with the whining part french people whine lot :)
And it s not people problem where Frimpong want to play for ,it s his.As long he is play well for Arsenal ,i really don’t care he can play for Ghana.,
“u almost sound french”..its a joke btw, i was being ironic..lol
some of the headlines seem more for stirring debate than actually being totally accurate or from the horses mouth.
Mark Schwarzer has secretly agreed to join Arsenal – says the Evening Standard.
The Gunners reportedly had a bid of £2 million rejected by Fulham for the gloveman prior to the World Cup, but they are said to be on the verge of making an improved offer.
Schwarzer – Australia’s number one stopper – has been identified by Arsene Wenger as the man to replace Manuel Alumina while the Arsenal boss looks for a long-term replacement for his current first choice.
The 37-year-old is understood to be keen to have a crack at the Champions League before he retires and, although he favours a move to the Emirates, the Cottagers denied reports earlier this week that he had handed in a transfer request.
However, according to the Evening Standard, the former Middlesbrough keeper has already agreed personal terms with the north Londoners and will complete a move across the capital should his suitors offer £3 million to his current employers.
Wenger has been linked with numerous goalkeepers throughout the summer, including Russia’s Igor Akinfeev and England youngster Joe Hart.
Nice! Need to resolve these debates so the club can focus! Now need to sign two center-backs whom our some names swirling around we should go for Gary Cahill and ?. All gunner fans of all teams enjoy the season! Peace. I personally hope JET and Lansbury have a huge impact on first team!
two CBs we will lucky if we got one
why people rate higher Shwarzy .He is the same level than Almunia decent GK but not great.
I always got the feeling that Almunia was technically a very competent keeper, but didn’t have the mentality to sustain being the keeper of a club challenging for the title for a full season.
11;59pm August 31st Wenger will put in a bid for Buffon, Hangeland, Gattuso and Sakho and then tell us he nearly signed 4 top players!! Hee! Hee!
You called?
this might be a stupid question but does Rhys Murphy ever get picked for England? If so at what level?
The African Cup of Nations is NOT the same as the European Championships. One happens in the off season (Euros) and one happens DURING THE SEASON (ACN) So for me one is twice as bad as the other one. That being said, they are both a pain in the ass because we have lost players to injury and fatigue in both!! It’s just the way it works. We are losing Song, Diaby, Fabregas and RVP for a bit because of the World Cup. That’s just international football for you. You can’t change it so stop complaining about it. It’s stupid.
I hope Afobe gets some goals. I really want him to have a great career with us and England.
Congrats to all 3 of the boys.. Shocked Aneke isn’t there though!! Any explanation?
Off topic but how valid are the sakho rumours? £9 mil as well, sounds like a great bit of business. Direct replacement for Gallas with the benefits of youth and a better attitude! Add Schwarzer too and we’re looking the best we have done for years
Sakho deal seems questionable. We have three defenders currently fighting for the first team around 23/24. Then we have Nordveit at 20, and Bartley who should be looking at the first team in a year or two.
Signing Sakho (19) would suggest that Wenger doesn’t rate the other younger ones as highly. Maybe that’s the case.
Anyway I have a feeling it is Tasci, who is also fairly young (23), but at least a 23/24 yr old can be sold in 2 or three seasons when the younger ones are ready.
Yennaris’ Greek and he’ll end up playing for them, Aneke’s exclusion is indeed shocking whereas Ansah will come up good for any level he plays for, considering the quality he shown last season!
J any news about Schwarzer?if so pls post an update.Cheers mate
Really nice to read the progress of our young players on ‘young guns’, watch them perform at various levels, and then see them getting picked for England…good luck to these three and well done to JW, Gibbs and Theo getting in the england first xi.
Frimpong – I find it silly that so many people state so strongly what the lad will do – why is that, are you related to him, is he your mate, do you go for a beer with his brothers best mates next door neighbour! YES he has stated he would play for Ghana, but funny enough in football players very often make statements and don’t stick to them…as Arsenal fans we should know this only too well. Please don’t be critcal of England management because they pick him. He is able to play for England, he may well go on to do so, surely they would like to try and convince him to do so…and the best way to do that is involve him in the setup. Only time will tell, and from a selfish point of view I would love him to become a holding midfielder for England, because I am English, and it would benefit Arsenal more than if he played for Ghana overall.
Keeper – my opinion is we should only invest in a new GK who is better than Almunia. Do people really think Schwarzer is any better. Plus he is nearly 38 and may cost £3m!!!
It is quite clear that Fab is talented shot stopper but lacks in other areas, has become a target from other teams, and has lost confidence – maybe a spell on loan for 2 years will change all this and give him a fresh start when he returns?
Almunia is not a bad keeper, yes he has cost us points, but so has Van Der Saar, Cech, and certainly Gomes last season for their clubs.
Sadly it is not easy to just go out there and buy a new keeper! Given would have been great before City came along, and maybe again there could be an opportunity to sign him. Apart from that I don’t see any other option that is better than Almunia, available and within a sensible budget….do you?
CB – This has been my issue for a few seasons now. Never liked Gallas overall, Silvestre and Senderous were poor excuses and sadly played too ofter (now if you want to blame players for costing us points and cup exits here are two good ones to start with), Djourou showed potential but a horrible injury has stumped his developement, while it was nice to see Sol man back, lets be honest he isn’t what he once was! Kos looks like a good partner for TV – but thats it……lets keep our fingers crossed Wenger can bring in a player who will fit into the Prem very easily.
It is a bit disheartening to hear so many negative comments from fans this summer. I think we are on target to go into a season better equipt than the last two seasons, which is good considering Barca and their egotistic Spanish players wanking over Cese all summer, a World Cup which potentially could have featured more Arsenal players than any other Premiership club, the same old financial constraints, the millions available to some of our competitors, and new home grown rules coming into play. And if you listen to many pundits (not that they always talk sense and get things right), it is the first time in a few seasons where they are not talking about Arsenal falling outside of the top 4. I’m not saying they think we will win it, but at least they are putting us in the same sentence as Man U and Chelsea, rather than how Villa, Tottenham and Man City will push us out the top 4.
I can not wait…
Is no one else struck by the similarity between what the English tabloids and, shamefully, the Telegraph, which ought to know better, are doing with Schwarzer and what the Spanish press did with Cesc? Schwarzer desperately wants to move (as Cesc did) and the gutter press encourages his hopes by printing daily stories about the imminence of the move. Except that in this case Arsenal fans are lapping those stories up, many of them the same fans, I’d guess, who were embarrasingly hysterical in their condemnation of both Barca and the Spanish tabloids for unsettling the player and trying to engineer the transfer regardless of the fact that he had a contract and his club were unwilling to sell. Double standards or what?
There is one crucial difference, however, and that is that Arsenal themselves have never publicly expressed any interest in Schwarzer. Indeed Wenger, when asked after one of the friendlies – an early one, Barnet, I think – if he was looking to sign him, said no, he was not. If that’s true, then Fulham have nothing to reproach Arsenal with – the club, I mean, as opposed to some of the fans. And I hope and still believe that it is true. Certainly the Guardian, a more responsible paper than the Sun, the Standard and the Telegraph, and one which has close Arsenal links, has carefully steered well clear of all this mischief-making stuff, including the report, for which there’s never been any evidence in the form of confirmation from the club, that Arsenal made a 2m bid.
I’m not a huge fan of Almunia, but I don’t rate Schwarzer that highly either. His stats last season were only one point better than Almunia’s, and he too has made some bad blunders. Arsenal’s problem is not just the keeper, it’s the defence as a whole. We need a top-class centre half and a back-up holding midfielder more than we need the ageing and mediocre Schwarzer. I also think Gibbs may be a better defensive left back than Clichy. I’d like to see him starting more. And I’d like to give Sczcesny a chance, with Almunia in reserve if it doesn’t work well. The worst thing about this Schwarzer tabloid mischief-making is that it could help to drive Almunia back to Spain, and then where would we be? With Fabianski or – nearly as dire – Mannone as back-up if Sczesny is injured or has already been let go on a season-long loan.
Gazzap, agree that Rhys Murphy once looked very good. His problem, I think, and the reason he hasn’t featured for England since the under-17s a couple of years ago, is that he’s had a lot of bad injuries. Afobe? Well, maybe he’ll be great, but I like Sunu better at the moment.
oh! Sorry for all. If wishes werd trophies arsenal could have won.
Jamie any truth that Blackburn have asked for Lansbury on loan? in his last interview he said he wants to stay and try to play for 1st team
@ lordgunner…. i know that french people are proud of zidane, that was my point.! i speak fluent french, have lived in france, and only ever attended a french school whilest living outside france…my point was that there all proud of zidane, an algerian. but when it comes to people who don;t fit the pre-requisit of a normal (white) french national, like diaby for example, or ben arfa, they all feel like these players need to be grateful for being alloud to play for france, like thye owe something more just because they aren’t strictly speakin pure blood ( a disgusting term, i know)..but because they’ve been nationalised they should show added gratitude for being alloud wear the jersey, even though the truth is that if they’re playing it is because they are th best. (not always a guarantee with domenech, cuz he is crazy lol) but that is xenophobia, no matter how u look at it…