Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Pepe LeFrits · 07-06-2009 10:11PM

And yet, google searches suggest that the two lads on either side of him are 6'1", and the keeper is 5'11"...

leninbenjamin · 07-06-2009 10:17PM

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

And yet, google searches suggest that the two lads on either side of him are 6'1", and the keeper is 5'11"...

well then he's 6.

but my googles returned the lad on his right at being 5-11... go figure

Pepe LeFrits · 07-06-2009 10:22PM

Well, I think I suggested somewhere that he's short so I withdraw that.

What matters most is if he's the right type of defender. From what I've read he's an organiser and reads the game well, which is what we want. Gallas, Toure and Djourou do better alongside someone like that. He's also Ajax's captain... we could do with more leaders in the team.

leninbenjamin · 07-06-2009 10:32PM

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

Well, I think I suggested somewhere that he's short so I withdraw that.

What matters most is if he's the right type of defender. From what I've read he's an organiser and reads the game well, which is what we want. Gallas, Toure and Djourou do better alongside someone like that. He's also Ajax's captain... we could do with more leaders in the team.

so does Zapata (except he's not a captain yet). and Zapata's definitely 6+. plus he's a slightly more aggressive player.

sorry, I just love Zapata.

DenMan · 07-06-2009 11:40PM

Do you think we'll get Zapata Lenin? Be awesome if we do.

Frisbee · 08-06-2009 10:18AM

Had anyone ever heard of Dzeko before this season.

He's had one good season with Wolfsburg. And the German league is hardly a decent league, I mean even for the European golden boot they have one of the highest multipliers.

I'd rather see if he can do the same next season before buying him.
Remember Ade had a great season last year and now everyone wants him gone?

itsjaybud · 08-06-2009 10:32AM

Skysports:

Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen has claimed he is poised to complete a move to Arsenal.
With Gunner boss Arsene Wenger admitting he needs to strengthen his defence over the summer, the Belgium international has been tipped as a likely target.
And a switch to Emirates Stadium could be completed before the end of the week, with the 23-year old confirming further discussions are due to take place.
Reports suggest a fee of around £11million has been agreed for Vermaelen, who can operate in the centre of defence or at left-back.
Challenge

Vermaelen told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad: "Moving to Arsenal is the right path for me.
"It is a great sporting challenge and I will also be financially better off. I think everything is going to be OK.
"In the coming days there will be more talks."
But Gunners legend Tony Adams has warned Wenger against splashing out on Vermaelen, who stands at 5ft 11ins.

Small one

Adams fears that the Frenchman's top target lacks the height required to dominate in the Premier League and believes he has been playing at an inferior level.
Adams told the Daily Mirror: "Thomas is a very good player but I don't think he's ready for the Arsenal.
"I don't think the punters at Arsenal would like another small one.
"I have been looking at the Dutch league, but it's been decimated. It's a poor league at the moment, there's one or two players, but they're leaving too early as well."
a.top_betting_link_1 {background-image: url('/Images/skysports/fixturecal/icons/fix-bet.gif');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;padding-left:18px;}

Link

leninbenjamin · 08-06-2009 11:14AM

DenMan wrote: »

Do you think we'll get Zapata Lenin? Be awesome if we do.

not a hope in hell tbh. reports suggest we bid for him last season (anywhere between 8-13million) and it was turned down.

Real are supposedly in for him, and his price no doubt will have gone up a fair bit from the €20million quoted for him last summer. can't see Wenger going near him for that price tbh. as much as I like him even i don't think it's worth it.

MBC · 08-06-2009 11:59AM

The Belgian National Team Site have him at 1.80cm (5'11) and weighing just 73kg........that seems very light if he is to be a central defender in the premiership :eek: esp when you look at Vidic 6'3, Rio 6'3, Hangland 6'5, Richard Dunne 6'1 & half.

Maybe he is the new Cannavaro :rolleyes: although he had Nesta along side him........and he was 6'1 & half.

leninbenjamin · 08-06-2009 12:04PM

here's something mildly interesting from the gossip site goal (albeit yesterdays hearsay:))

Yaya Toure's future at Barcelona is under increasing doubt, after he rejected the club's latest contract offer.

According to El Mundo Deportivo, negotiations between Barca sporting director Txiki Begiristain and Toure's agent, Dimitre Seluk, have reached a standstill.

Toure currently earns the least among Barca's first team and while the club have offered an improved contract, it has not proved sufficient to reach an agreement.

Yaya Toure's profile has shot up since his move to Barcelona, especially after the vital role he played in their treble winning season. However, while Barca want to reward him for his performances and professionalism, they are not willing to place him among the top earners at the club.

As a result, the interest of Europe's top clubs has heightened in recent weeks.

Arsenal remain desperate to re-unite him with brother Kolo, while Liverpool could seek to include him in any deal for Javier Mascherano, in whom Barca have shown an interest. There are also said to be a number of Italian clubs in the mix.

Toure, however, would not come cheap.

He has a minimum release fee of €90million and his contract does not expire until 2011, giving Barca a clear advantage on the negotiating table.

Royale with Cheese · 08-06-2009 12:11PM

Sign Yaya, sell Kolo. Give Yaya the no. 5 Jersey and pretend nothing ever happened.

Galvasean · 08-06-2009 05:08PM

Elvery's have reduced our home shirt from 60 to 40 if anyone is looking for one on the relative cheap.

leninbenjamin · 08-06-2009 05:37PM

Galvasean wrote: »

Elvery's have reduced our home shirt from 60 to 40 if anyone is looking for one on the relative cheap.

now that i think about it lifestyle in the ilac had it for 30 the other day (last Tuesday it was).

Mickeroo · 08-06-2009 09:21PM

Looking likely Vermaelen is going to come i think....5 '11 's not that short is it??

I reckon we need him and Zapata, sounds like Zap is out of our price range though. At least it looks like Wenger might actually buy a few players this year after pretty much the same scenario for the last 2 or 3 summers, fans and pundits saying wenger needs to buy 3 or 3 experienced players.....and does nothing.

Gangsta · 08-06-2009 09:26PM

Mickeroo wrote: »

Looking likely Vermaelen is going to come i think....5 '11 's not that short is it??

I reckon we need him and Zapata, sounds like Zap is out of our price range though. At least it looks like Wenger might actually buy a few players this year after pretty much the same scenario for the last 2 or 3 summers, fans and pundits saying wenger needs to buy 3 or 3 experienced players.....and does nothing.

it is if your marking Drogba

Pepe LeFrits · 08-06-2009 09:39PM

http://voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=80130 has Vermaelen down as 186cm, and I have eye witness sightings from 6 foot tall dudes who've met him who say he's taller than they are!!111111111

Not that it matters.

We're not going to buy two defenders, especially not at £10m each. Looks like Vermaelen will be the one.

Gangsta · 08-06-2009 10:08PM

It also says he's 73kg....that's pretty light.

leninbenjamin · 08-06-2009 10:19PM

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

http://voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=80130 has Vermaelen down as 186cm, and I have eye witness sightings from 6 foot tall dudes who've met him who say he's taller than they are!!111111111

Not that it matters.

We're not going to buy two defenders, especially not at £10m each. Looks like Vermaelen will be the one.

sure he could have been wearing thick heels. Zapata wouldn't wear thick heels, another reason we should buy him :P

that's enough of that sh*te, i promises. if it's true anyway about Vermaelen it's a good start to the summer.

Royale with Cheese · 08-06-2009 10:25PM

What's the latest on Senderos? Would Milan be willing to buy him? How much is he worth anyway?

Could be worth a few million for the transfer kitty. Also how much do people reckon Arsenal would have got for Lassana Diara's transfer to Real, if anything?

leninbenjamin · 08-06-2009 11:01PM

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

What's the latest on Senderos? Would Milan be willing to buy him? How much is he worth anyway?

Could be worth a few million for the transfer kitty.

nothing so far. Can't really see them buying him tho', he missed half the season through injury and even then didn't play much. They'll be looking to replace Maldini so they might yet, although i think they'll be looking for better targets.

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Also how much do people reckon Arsenal would have got for Lassana Diara's transfer to Real, if anything?

there was no mention at the time, and i haven't seen since, though that would be contrary to Wenger's tendency. The sale to Portsmouth was kinda messy though so i'm not confident they would have seen much of it. Afterall the sale was initiated by Diarra which always puts the club in a more weakened position at the negotiating table.

leninbenjamin · 09-06-2009 07:10AM

morning all,

The Vermaelen story has finally hit the Guardian, nothing we haven't heard before. But what's interesting about the article is they still claim we're in for another defender, namely Hangeland.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/08/arsenal-thomas-vermaelen-brede-hangeland

seems kinda odd.

Galvasean · 09-06-2009 11:23AM

It wouldn't surprise me too much if we picked up two defenders considering we definately could use one more to ad to the current crop. Also, word has it that Gallas is on the way out.

Gangsta · 09-06-2009 11:25AM

I would prefer Gallas to stay over Toure simply because he's a much better player.

Galvasean · 09-06-2009 11:26AM

Oh my,

The Guardian wrote:

a quirk of the club's interest in Hangeland, who has two years to run on his contract at Craven Cottage, is that he is represented by Rune Hauge, the Norwegian agent who was involved in the George Graham bungs scandal of the mid-1990s, which led to the manager's sacking by Arsenal.

Stay away! :eek:

leninbenjamin · 09-06-2009 12:26PM

Gangsta wrote: »

I would prefer Gallas to stay over Toure simply because he's a much better player.

I dunno, it's much of a muchness to me. I know Gallas is a technically better player than Toure, but he just lacks presence or something. Toure (on form at least) throws himself around like a lunatic, gets in forwards faces more and makes up for some of his errors with his pace.

But the other factor is that Toure is Wenger's longest serving player at the moment. I think that experience needs to be held onto a lot more than Gallas marginally better ability.

Been reflecting on the Hangeland thing all morning. He's definitely overpriced, but for his height it might be worth it. Be interesting anyway to see how it pans out.

Royale with Cheese · 09-06-2009 12:38PM

Gallas is not marginally better than Toure, he's a lot better. Definitely would want to keep him over Kolo. Preferably both though. No point in signing a new centre back just to let another go. Gallas/Kolo not being able to form a partnership was one problem, the other (and far worse problem) was the complete lack of depth at centre back.

Galvasean · 09-06-2009 12:41PM

Well we definately need one new defender for the sake of depth. That's assuming nobody leaves. If someone does leave, we'll need to bring in two.

premierstone · 09-06-2009 12:45PM

Think we need two regardless of whether anyone leaves, Kolo will be going to the African Nations thingy in January.

Oh yeah and I agree Gallas is a far more complete player than Kolo

Gangsta · 09-06-2009 12:52PM

leninbenjamin wrote: »

I dunno, it's much of a muchness to me. I know Gallas is a technically better player than Toure, but he just lacks presence or something. Toure (on form at least) throws himself around like a lunatic, gets in forwards faces more and makes up for some of his errors with his pace.

But the other factor is that Toure is Wenger's longest serving player at the moment. I think that experience needs to be held onto a lot more than Gallas marginally better ability.

Been reflecting on the Hangeland thing all morning. He's definitely overpriced, but for his height it might be worth it. Be interesting anyway to see how it pans out.

I'm sorry I don't agree with anything you're saying.

We're much better defensively with him in the team, he has just as much experience as Toure and scores goals. Just because a fan may like Toure more than Gallas doesn't mean he should stay, provided Gallas keeps playing well.

DenMan · 09-06-2009 02:58PM

Gibbsie on the score sheet twice last night for England in his debut. Fair play to him.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/gibbs-makes-dream-full-debut-for-england-u21s

Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

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