January Transfers

I don't really want to have to think about Dan. We can all just be grateful he' gone and hope he never returns, like the unpleasant bout of herpes he is.

Christopher Flanagan wrote:I don't really want to have to think about Dan. We can all just be grateful he' gone and hope he never returns, like the unpleasant bout of herpes he is.

There is a good chance he will migrate here just like the rest of us, no?

Mike, you look like John Terry in this picture as well.

Just saw in Sky Sport news that Wenger has expressed interest in Julian Draxler (Schalke 04).

Here is a related link in English:
http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/arsenal/transfer-talk/news/arsenal-target-schalkes-draxler_13349.html

Of course he might, Mike.

I read on Twitter that Arsenal are interested in Leandro Damião. I sincerely hope it's true. But doubt it.

Apparently we are also looking at Morrison

Ravel, you mean? I also heard that. I'd like it to happen. Exceptionally talented kid. Not sure moving him to the Big Smoke would help his personal problems, mind.

Christopher Flanagan wrote:Ravel, you mean? I also heard that. I'd like it to happen. Exceptionally talented kid. Not sure moving him to the Big Smoke would help his personal problems, mind.

Depends on the money, I think it would be a huge risk with his personality issues. That ego has him on the same path as David Bentley or Adel Taraabt

I am beginning to think that we won't be seeing Wenger make anymore signings in this transfer window

right after the performance against swansea..i think another adjustment is needed to the team bye bye to AA not saying he is useless but somebody in who will pass and play better than him,too much damage has been done to him for him to turn it around and to get back those glory days...we need something in mid not sure who i would have in mind but a hard fast take no shit mid that just to be on the team sheet would have the other team thinking 'fuck its a hard one today' get rid of sham upfront aswell we need a quality forward in.. ideas anybody?

Back in 2008 when it seemed we wouldn't finish in the top 4, Wenger broke our transfer record and got Arshavin. Expecting something similar this time also.

Haha, really? Expect nothing I say, then you won't be disappointed.

Sami Rockfeller wrote:Back in 2008 when it seemed we wouldn't finish in the top 4, Wenger broke our transfer record and got Arshavin. Expecting something similar this time also.

who would you buy? we need something magic this time round

Hazard, I really wish wenger would just do it already, a player who is good on the wing and effective through the middle and who knows what they want to do with the ball and who has an effective end product.

Would Hazard want to come to us? I obviously don't know Hazard, or any professional footballer for that matter but they all pretty much seem like cowards that want easy money and cushy jobs. Does anyone else get that impression? Obviously there are exceptions, and its changed pretty drastically over the last 10 or so years with the ridiculous money coming through the game now.

Arsenal are still a big club. We can still attract the best young talent in Europe if we put in the right offer.

We need quality out wide and maybe even in the middle of the park. We need one 'world class' player to help us going forward, who whenever gets the ball, you feel is going to create something. Looking at squad players like Kalou is not what we need, we have enough guys in the squad currently who can do the job. We need someone who is an automatic pick on the team sheet and yes better than what we currently have

Personally I can't see anyone coming in during this window.
I can't think of one manager who will let any 'world class' players go midway during their season unless it's for a ridiculous amount of money which Arsenal aren't willing to spend as we all know too well.
I thought we may bring in some pony fullback on loan but with TV, Sagna and Gibbs on their way back, I can't see it.

Any re-building will be done in the summer.

Evan Mullins wrote:Would Hazard want to come to us? I obviously don't know Hazard, or any professional footballer for that matter but they all pretty much seem like cowards that want easy money and cushy jobs. Does anyone else get that impression? Obviously there are exceptions, and its changed pretty drastically over the last 10 or so years with the ridiculous money coming through the game now.

This is exactly how I feel about them. They all want to go to Barcelona and have Messi and Xavi win trophies for them while they sit back and get €150 000 a week or whatever.

If I was a world class footballer with no affiliation to Arsenal and had a choice between Barcelona or Arsenal, or Real Madrid or Arsenal or Man Utd or Arsenal, I wouldn't choose Arsenal once.

The last time we signed a world class player that was genuinely courted by the very best clubs in the world was Sol Campbell. Correct me if I'm wrong, I couldn't think of anyone else. We've signed kids under the noses of United and Chelsea but when it comes to the best players we can't compete and with clubs like Man City and now PSG coming on to the market it's become even harder for us.

This isn't to say we aren't an attractive club to 99.5% of players in world football or that we can't attract a world class player that slips under the radar (Suarez for example went to Liverpool of all teams ffs, Mata could have come to us if we pulled our finger out) but players like Hazard and Gotze could still play plenty of games, get paid more and win more at bigger clubs. It's not as if Cesc has suffered at Barca by being a bench player having others 'do the work for him', he has been involved in plenty of games from the start (more than I thought he would, I must admit) and made a difference in most of them. Not sure how much this means but:

OptaJose
17 - Without Messi's 17 goals this season Barcelona would have just 1 point fewer, without Fabregas' 9 goals they would have 4 fewer. Value.


Yes, it's more of a challenge playing for Arsenal but if you're a 35-40M player, would you prefer a challenge of finishing top 3-4 and a cup run over 1-2 and a cup win? Not even taking into account the wage differences. If you're a great player you will force your way into any team despite the competition. Ozil, Di Maria, Cesc. Anyway, it's a pointless conversation. We're not signing any players in that bracket. And by the sounds of that's what Hazard and Goatse will cost so we may as well forget about it from now.

This may seem like a rather stupid argument, but there's only so many players these clubs can have/sign. Barcelona and Real don't need any more players, as far as I'm aware, same goes for City. Only Chelsea and Utd out of the top top clubs really NEED to bring in reinforcements, and out of them only Utd need players in the same area of the pitch, I would think. So there you go, if an amazing creative player is available we most likely only have to compete with them. If there are two or three, then we definitely can sign one. This may sound extremely simplistic and maybe even dumb, but this is what I'm thinking at the moment.

My point is, there are enough class players out there that we could sign, if we were willing to spend the money we have. But we never do, Wenger would rather wait 3 years for Ramsey to start producing and then say 'I told you so'. Yes, I know, that's not true, but dammit, he makes it seem that way sometimes.

I was reading Goodplaya's blog just now and this is what he says:
''This may sound harsh and reactionary but it is what I’ve thought for a while: we should be very open to finding better options than Ramsey, Arteta and yes, even Song. I’m not saying they are not good enough, just that they are not in the class of player who you just wouldn’t waste your time thinking of an improvement for. Wilshere, for example, falls into that category.''

I fully agree with this.

Alex Hadjicharalampous wrote:This may seem like a rather stupid argument, but there's only so many players these clubs can have/sign. Barcelona and Real don't need any more players, as far as I'm aware, same goes for City. Only Chelsea and Utd out of the top top clubs really NEED to bring in reinforcements, and out of them only Utd need players in the same area of the pitch, I would think. So there you go, if an amazing creative player is available we most likely only have to compete with them. If there are two or three, then we definitely can sign one. This may sound extremely simplistic and maybe even dumb, but this is what I'm thinking at the moment.

My point is, there are enough class players out there that we could sign, if we were willing to spend the money we have. But we never do, Wenger would rather wait 3 years for Ramsey to start producing and then say 'I told you so'. Yes, I know, that's not true, but dammit, he makes it seem that way sometimes.

I was reading Goodplaya's blog just now and this is what he says:
''This may sound harsh and reactionary but it is what I’ve thought for a while: we should be very open to finding better options than Ramsey, Arteta and yes, even Song. I’m not saying they are not good enough, just that they are not in the class of player who you just wouldn’t waste your time thinking of an improvement for. Wilshere, for example, falls into that category.''

I fully agree with this.

^
this.even if madrid/barca sign all the upcoming players in the market.there will be players of almost same calibre coming out of those teams.like vdv,robben,ibra from past.i still cant believe vdv ended up at at spurs.that too for 8 mil.

Alex Hadjicharalampous wrote:This may seem like a rather stupid argument, but there's only so many players these clubs can have/sign. Barcelona and Real don't need any more players, as far as I'm aware, same goes for City. Only Chelsea and Utd out of the top top clubs really NEED to bring in reinforcements, and out of them only Utd need players in the same area of the pitch, I would think. So there you go, if an amazing creative player is available we most likely only have to compete with them. If there are two or three, then we definitely can sign one. This may sound extremely simplistic and maybe even dumb, but this is what I'm thinking at the moment.

My point is, there are enough class players out there that we could sign, if we were willing to spend the money we have. But we never do, Wenger would rather wait 3 years for Ramsey to start producing and then say 'I told you so'. Yes, I know, that's not true, but dammit, he makes it seem that way sometimes.

I was reading Goodplaya's blog just now and this is what he says:
''This may sound harsh and reactionary but it is what I’ve thought for a while: we should be very open to finding better options than Ramsey, Arteta and yes, even Song. I’m not saying they are not good enough, just that they are not in the class of player who you just wouldn’t waste your time thinking of an improvement for. Wilshere, for example, falls into that category.''

I fully agree with this.

I agree with nearly all of that.

My argument was of the opinion that should one of the big Spanish clubs spend 35-40M on these players they would play enough to make it worthwhile for everyone. Do those two need Hazard or Gotze now? 'Need', probably no. We'll see in the summer. I still get the feeling Barcelona are on the brink with their squad. A 15-25M player? Then yeah maybe they do become squad players at those clubs. Real bought Nurin Sahin and I know he got injured so we don't know how often he would have played, but would he have played much in that team? And Kaka is a bench player and has been for a while.

"My point is, there are enough class players out there that we could sign, if we were willing to spend the money we have"

I think so, too. Our wage bill is pretty high and if we got rid of about 10 players, all deadwood, then we can surely afford to make it happen. Maybe not 5 of such players but there's no reason to suggest we can't bring in one, maybe 2. And whilst we're at it, replace some of that deadwood with players who can make a difference. Mata is a perfect example. He would have started every game for us this season. But not everything is right on the transfer side of things, as seen with the disaster of this summer and then the clear panic signings on deadline day.

I think clubs are just as reluctant to lose players before the start of a new season.

The main reasons that they may prefer to sell in June rather than January, is there may be more potential buyers, so they may be able to get a higher price, or the ability to find a replacement in time.

Christopher Flanagan wrote:What, so because Modric made it Ganso will? Pffft. Modric is everyone's answer to every 'can a small player cut it' question. If you can name one lightweight Brzailian who has made it in the Prem (whose name isn't Juninho), I will give you a biscuit.

Either way, Rednknapp said in a recent interview he didn't even know who Ganso was and that he had never heard of him. So I think it's unlikely. And frankly, until Ganso has shown his worth in a competitive league, anyone getting excited about him is crazy. I think most of us are old enough to know that there has been a 'next Kaka', 'next Ronaldo', 'next Bebeto', 'next Socrates', or whomever coming out of Brazil every season for the last 1000 years. And only about 2% of them are ever up to standard.

I admit to not having watched much of Ganso (I doubt anyone here has, frankly), and in the couple of matches I've seen he has been alright for Brazil in some friendlies against no-marks and utterly anonymous, possibly the worst player on the pitch, for Santos against Barcelona. At any rate he has a very long way to go.

I'm not writing him off, by the way. He could turn out to be brilliant. But for the timebeing he is a punt in the dark.

Chris,
We were discussing Ganso being linked to Tottenham. It might well be a rumor but the point to bring the story up was that i dont want to see a good player like Ganso go to Tottenham.

Even if Rednknapp hasn't heard of him - it doesn't mean anything cuz that is what a scout network is for.

So what if Ganso's display wasn't brilliant against Barca? Not many teams are able to compete against Barca.

If you havent seen him play much, you cant have a very strong opinion about him.

I do agree with you that he is not a superstar yet. Almost all players coming from South America come to Europe to be developed, he is not different.

I do watch Brazilian league. I think his technical ability and skills are clearly highly coveted assets but I am not sure he is a real superstar(yet). He has also been haunted by serious injuries lately. Personally, I think he is a gifted player who needs to mature more; perhaps by playing in a more demanding league. Prem League is a tough league to crack into but what makes Ganso special is that he is capable of winning the game with just one fabulous assist. He is a game maker, like Zizou. I like him but, he is not a superstar yet. There was a time when Neymar and he were all Santos needed. Well, guess what? Not anymore. Now they have Danilo who is not as subtle but is a work horse and ends up doing the work of Ganso's. To summarize, Ganso is gifted but is gonna have to get to work on the pitch and develop in Europe. As for the Brazilian league, last year was ranked best in this part of the world and I agree. Their Brasileirao is sort of like a Champions league within Brazil, an elimination tournament and it gets really nasty and physical.

Christopher Flanagan wrote:"I remember when Kaka went to AC Milan no one thought he would make it. Even Fabregas had a transition time period. "

Cesc was sixteen when he joined us, what the fuck are you on about?

He wasnt physically very strong when he joined, it took him time before he got used to prem league.

Most recently if you read AW's interviews referring to OX. He said he is developing, getting physically stronger.