Suarez, Theo & Cazorla behind Giroud in a 4-2-3-1 formation?

TotalArsenal

I cannot believe Arsenal continue to be linked with Luis Suarez. Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker is a great footballer and would fit into Arsenal really well. He could play alone up-front, behind a big striker as our shadow striker or in a fluid-three in attack. Suarez has got drive and stamina, great first touch and he is a good passer of the ball, he has an eye for an assist and is very, very attack-minded. His goal scoring record is simply fantastic: he scored 81 goals in 110 Eredivisie games for Ajax and 38 in 77 PL games for Liverpool, with 23 in just 33 games during last season.

We could play him in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-1-3 formation, and no doubt it would make us stronger up-front. Arsenal could continue with Giroud as our ‘holding striker’ – the pivot – upfront and the likes of Santi, Theo and Cazorla could form an awesome, fluid and multi-facetted attacking force around him. With Gervinho, Pod and Ox, Arsenal have three more attackers with whom Suarez could form very effective attacking partnerships in the above mentioned formations.

Arsenal could look like this:

Arsenal with Suarez

But we all know that Suarez, the person, can be described as somewhere between a complex and unstable character. His repeated racist abuse of Evra, for which he was rightly severely punished, and bites into footballers’ body parts tell us he struggles with controlling himself on the pitch.

It is not extremely likely Suarez will make racist remarks on or off the pitch again, as he will have learned his lesson now, even though I don’t think he has much, if any, regrets about what he did. The latter will unlikely fit well with the club’s strong focus on inclusion and equality, on and off the pitch and in the community.

Suarez’s bite into Ivanovic’s arm this season was not without precedent, as he did the same to Otman Bakkal of PSV Eindhoven (shoulder) at the end of 2010. Clearly, Suarez is a player who sometimes suffers from red mist in front of him, leading to almost inexplicable behaviour which gets him, and the club he plays for, into enormous trouble.

I am a big believer that people, and that includes relatively life-inexperienced footballers, can better themselves and move upwards and onwards. But do we want a player who has shown little or no regret for his racist remarks against Evra and who continuous to perform vile, unacceptable conducts against opposition players at our club?

Under the guidance of Wenger and Bould (and maybe Dennis at some point 😛 ), there is a chance that Suarez would settle down a bit and only let his footie do the talking. But it is a big risk to take. The Uruguayan would cost Arsenal at least £35m and that excludes the big wages we would have to pay.

There remains a decent chance that Suarez will behave very badly again, and one more incident could be the final straw for his football career in England, and possibly the rest of Europe. He could bite an opposing player again, or one of our own players or a supporter. He could intentionally break another player’s leg, or head-butt a player or fan. And what if he gets involved in racial abuse, on or off the pitch, again?

Our club’s image would be tarnished and we could be stuck with an untenable situation and an unsalable player, which would come at a huge cost – in more than one sense.

I really cannot see Wenger being seriously interested in Suarez. It took him a long time to get rid of troublesome, disruptive players like Adebayor, Bendtner (still not gone), Nasri etc, and he has clearly been recruiting a different type of player (professional, well-behaved, highly driven and focussed) in the last couple of years.

Let’s hope Arsenal’s recent bid(s) for the Uruguayan are part of a wider strategy aimed at getting another key transfer target.

I say this, though, with some regret, as we can all see he would add great quality to our attack. But sometimes, we need to ignore the belly and listen to our hearts and brains. Suarez does not fit our values and he would be a big liability for the club. Some might say it is worth the gamble, but I beg to differ.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

152 thoughts on “Suarez, Theo & Cazorla behind Giroud in a 4-2-3-1 formation?”

  • If we could buy Fellaini too, we would have spent about £60,000,000, but what a team we would have. With all the flaws that Suarez has,what is also true is that he is World Class. With Suarez and Fellaini we would win the league. Problem is that many fans may not like to see such an behaviorally unpredictable player in the team

  • nice one, TA

    best used as a striker for me and not as a no.10…although he can play in all 3 positions up front, played on the left when sturridge to great effect as well..

    i would much rather play santi or jw as a no.10 if we don’t get anyone else for that position and let Suarez play as a striker and perhaps try him behind Giroud with santi on the left with JW as the b2b.

    for me he’s a gamble worth taking,although i would offer liverpool 20 million plus chamakh !

  • chamakh is what liverpool really need, a mid table club is what Chamakh’s best suited to and who knows, he might even get them into top 6 (i’m not joking – says it with a straight face.

  • i thought suarez is suspended for almost the first 6games of the season, why is everyone missing this?

  • We dont want Suarez he has to much Baggage and will miss the 1st 8 to 10 games why pay him upwards of 1.5 mil to keep the bench warm,Higuain will be just fine for us, he has an outstanding scoring record both for club and country.We just need some one to stand up shake those moths from there wallets and put the right money down and stop messing with the fans heads, surely by now we should have done some serious business,across all sights that you read up on you see fans / supporters calling out for some star names to be signed up.

  • debislyv,

    he indeed is, but how does that cause a hindrance in teams buying him ?

    if we were to buy him then that just means , he will get extra time to train with the first team and bed in.

    also, i think the ban is domestic meaning he is ok to play in europe ? (correct me if i am wrong).

  • Fabregas can play Suarez role and more..why not go back to him ? He always owe us. If we let him know how much we need him..all Barca things will vaporize from his brain.

  • JB 🙂

    I can see where you are coming from but for me it is the hole or on the wing in a fluid three up-front. I cannot see him do the Van Judas or Giroud role in our current formation.

  • and why not, TA ?

    RVP was made a striker by AW, Suarez on the other hand is already a more than decent CF

    he can play with his back against the goal and bring others into play by making clever runs as well.

    for me he ticks all the boxes to be our “fox in the box”….something we have so desperately been needing.

  • MC,

    Cesc is a dream signing , however i don’t feel he will be willing to leave barca just yet, maybe next year is a more likely bet

    but in football you never know…(like you and many gooners, the sooner he comes back to the “home where he is really loved” the better it shall be)

  • james bond,
    you’re right, but arsenal as a team needs a player(world class) that help boost the morale of the team which will allow them hit the ground running as early as possible, in previous seasons, it could be concluded that arsenal always end the season on a good note, which means that our start to the season needs to be improved, so buyin suarez + ban requires a lot of consideration, cos there’s every possibility that he will take some time to blend to arsenal’s pattern of play… Moreover, the 2011/12 season finished or ends at old trafford… If i could remember very well, that’s before the transfer window closes… Which resulted in panic buys, of park, santos etc… And again this will cd the second time suarez is banned domestically, the third ban will be a lengthy one, suarez is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen… He’s a good talent no doubt, but he’s got a bad reputation which is not going to help our course..

  • JB – I reckon a fox in the box benefits from a distracting and feeding striker near him. I just think Suarez and Giroud would make a good couple. But it ain’t going to happen, surely?!

  • First let me say, thanks for some fine posts over the last few days !.

    Suarez……any day of the week, first, let us buy Ivanovic and we can use him as bait to get Suarez !. As for missing 6 games……who cares, buy him, once he has served his ban it will be like a new signing !.

    Sorry to 17ht, I cant really comment on Bestiality, even though I am a Doctor and know everything there is to know about anything ( which is amazing , as I have no qualification whatsoever ! ). It would only bring back bad memories and it is a sore point ( no, I don’t mean my painful failed attempt at trying to rodger a Porcupine ! ). I`m still having therapy since showing my todger to a pack of Hyenas at London Zoo, they took one look at it and fell about laughing !…..The Bastards !. hahahahaha……….that’s not me, that’s them still laughing !……Bastards !.

  • debislyv,

    all good points,

    however, looking at our first 6 fixtures, not taking them for granted or anything but the point is that the 6 match ban is perhaps a cause of concern but not as much since it’s not stopping us from bidding for him !

    AW clearly has a plan and way to deal with that, bear in mind , this time round we will have a proper pre-season with most of our starting 11 there…which means last years example or the years before , shouldn’t really be the yardstick.

    i expect us to hit the ground running next season with or without suarez, with or without any more additions.

  • TA,

    as long as they both keep their biting and moaning off the field, they may well make the perfect couple 🙂

    impossible is nothing, anything can happen in football – besides Suarez comes across as a “hungry” player and Arsenal are starving.

    recipe for success i reckon….hunger + starvation = success and trophies.

  • james bond
    i hope so…
    But wit more worthwhile addition(s), we’ll be able to maintain our performances just in case injury steps in… I think we’ve had our fair share of badlucks with injuries in previous season, wish the luck we had toward the end of last season will tries us into the new season, along with self believe, Just wish next season will be different for good, trophies included…

  • Your right,
    Wenger is not after suarez mate,
    This is a retaliation to real Madrid because of the higuain issue.
    More mind games.

  • Suarez don’t like English media, so flattered or not by Wengers interest I don’t really see him playing another season in the U.K
    On the other hand!
    If they could muzzle him during games!
    1. he wouldn’t bite
    2. there would be no rascism
    and 3. what a goal machine he would be for the gunners

  • He is a great player no doubt about it. He would miss the first six matches for biting Ivanavic and i am pretty sure he will get sent of at least once so if that was all he did and i doubt that he would miss a quarter of the season.
    He would be a great signing for his football. The biggest positive i have taken from it is Arsenal made a bid of £30,000,000 , that shows that they mean what they are saying and be our prepared to spend big .

  • PG,

    agreed

    but at the same time, people are forgetting that he will be available to play CL football ? which will help us rest Giroud and come handy in strong rotation ?

  • JB,
    I did not know that no, i have really mixed feelings about him. When he done that hand ball against South Africa i hated him for that lol he totally robbed them. All his other bad things he does to i dont like. On the other hand i look at him and think he does all these crazy things because he wants to win and i mean he reallllly wants to win and i kind of like that in him and he would really add some balls to our team. If he was with uis i would support him if he is at any other club then i dont like him if you see what i mean lol

  • by the way, if we were to bring Cesc back then we shouldn’t even be considering buying Suarez to be honest.

    daily mail are reporting that Cesc buy back clause option is very much within our thoughts ?

  • yes , PG

    shows the guy is passionate and is a born winner which means he is desperate and sometime overly eager to get his team over the line… not necessarily a bad thing, we could use a bit of that at the emirates if you know what i mean ? 😉

    let’s be honest, most people hate suarez but question is, do most liverpool fans hate him ? i wouldn’t think so – and that is exactly what it is, if he were to join Arsenal and started delivering the goods, most of the haters would come onboard and be singing him praises.

  • On the whole i think he is a liabilty. He will do some more crazy stuff i think, miss more games . But he will score a ;load of goals and make our team a lot stronger

  • JB ,
    Seems like we were thinking exvactly the same thing about him.

  • What if he bites half an ear of a referee off and we get ten points deducted or relegated. Please don’t say it is not possible. 🙄

  • Cesc back would be awesome , but its just paper talk and after the last 3 weeks of all there rubbish i cant believe a word they say any more , i don’t want to be disapointed . The Suarez thing is real and been confirmed by Liverpool. I don’t know i think getting them both though could make Arsenal lethal .

  • then let him do crazy things as long as he scores a hat-trick vs spuds, i don’t really care what else he does ahahahahah

    no but being serious, he has issues, no denying that but in AW he will have that calming effect from the top and perhaps a decent sports psychologist will help as well… (it’s sort of necessary in today’s sports for top sports people, needing a bit of nudge and help).

  • gunnerburd, TA,
    lol he would probably just start doing kung-fu kick instead the man is nuts, he really is just crazy but they say must genius are. Maybe not a genius but deffo a master at what he does best.

  • TA,
    He could be an Arsenal legend his style of football would be perfect for us and if he came i would support him , we will just have to learn to laugh when he does something crazy.
    I remember in his first game for LFC he grabbed nani by his affro coz he tackled him,

  • TA, TA

    it’s simple, we score more than a 100 points, even if 10 points get deducted , we still win the title by least 10 points 😉

    PG,

    not sure about most of DS are writing but one thing makes sense, the Cesar signing, i said it before, that if we were serious about him then he would have been a Gooner already..most likely not gonna happen which means we’re not looking for gk’s and are happy with both the poles for now.

    however , if we get 2 out of the 3 ( Suarez, higuain, rooney) then surely we’ll have to sell Gervinho or poldi….much prefer selling Gerv.

  • PG,

    Daily star are said to be more closer to Arsenal than Daily mail.

    you can see when daily star right a piece on Arsenal it’s usually well balanced out and reasoned out, for e.g Rooney signing is encouraged by the English players

    Suarez – defenders saying he was a nightmare to defend against e.t.c

    those are the things that you usually don’t really get first hand from other media publications and such.

  • PG,

    As long as his kung-fu kicks get the ball in the back of the net, who would i be to criticize? especially if its off the oppositions nuts.
    All genius’s are known for their eccentrics 🙂

  • JB,
    I would by gutted to lose Podolski he is saying he feels fully fit and feels great, he must stay.
    I agree we have got to buy another goal keeper , i am very keen on Begevic myself but i see Ceser as very good as well
    Hopefully we will be nicely surpised by who does join us , i am hreatened by the fact we made a £30,000,000 so that is good.
    Wenger will realise this is a very good time to get a strong team together.
    which 3 players would you sign?

  • not going to mention Cesc (as he will be everyone’s obvious choice)

    my 3 players,

    Fellaini

    Higuain

    Cesar (but since i don’t think we’re in for a GK), i’ll go for Rooney

    if you allow me to sign a 4th, then i promise to find a solution by selling Gervinho for 10 millions and then buy Nani for 8.5 mills (in the process i will make you a profit of 1.5 mills as well)

    ha

    what 3 players would you like to buy then ? or 4.

  • gunnerburd,
    lol, il take him quite happerly when you think he was the second highest PL goal scorer by 3 goals and all the matches he missed though suspension it shows just how good he is. I think it is a possilty we could get he too, he is a winner and Liverpool just cant get where he wants to be at least playing CL football.

  • I see how you have worked your maths and yeas that could be done by blowing the whole 70m. Cor that would be great wouldn’t it.
    It is getting the clubs to part with them as well though.
    I think we are going to be very happy with the young French striker on a free to , he looks like the real deal.

  • Agreed PG
    I think the best 3 signings he could get
    Cheikhou Kouyate
    a centre-back by trade, but is also capable of stepping up in defensive midfield when required.
    Sebastien Corchia
    right back, he’s young , good and quick
    And Lars Bender I need say no more about him

  • gunnerburd,
    I don’t know much about those players to be honest, but for some reason they sound like the kind of names Wenger would sign.
    You still want to strenthen the back first hey. We could do with someone else there are you not worried about a goal keeper?

  • PG
    I’m on the assumption Cesar is coming to the squad, I;d be happy with that, although I hold a high regard for szczesny.
    he wasn’t great last season but he showed he has what it takes, he just needs a little more self confidence I believe that he will be up there with the best. just my view though. I don’t think fabiansky has shown this 🙂

  • No , that could be a big mistake by us. why are they doing this. I hope they have someone else lined up. I always really liked Mark Shwezer as well

  • On the Fulham note they signed a really good goal keeper as well i think that Martin Steeaburg or something, cant spell it but i know he is better then what we have at the moment i believe Szczesny will be great but needs a few more years.

  • then they will probably go for
    Federico Marchetti
    30 yr old keeper for Lazio
    they have been linked with him too, I hear lol

  • I hope so , we need 3 keepers , last season proved that. We have gpt to get another 1 and im sure we will if we did not have 3 last season then we had no keeper for a while last season so 1 must come.

  • IL tell you who i think is really keeper. Ali al Habsi the 1 that was at Wigan on loan i think he was the best keeper in the league for large stages.

  • PG
    do you think that he should have let manonne go and keep fabiansky? Or is it just me?
    I thought (after watching both of these that manonne was the better of the 2)

  • I think Manonne did very well when he was in for us , he deffo did not do much wrong . The same can be said about Fabiansky though. Fabiansky made sone great saves and i think is a good keeper .
    There is not much in it though at all Mannone may have been better but wanted first team football where Fab is happy to be 2nd and fight for his place. That could be the reason

  • On that note i’m off, tis late now
    thanks for the chat and advice all 🙂

  • With Fabi, if you look at him he does not look like a tipcal keeper not that tall, but he is good He is still Polands number 2 and it was just a couple of butter fingers moments that got him the nickname flappy if he cuts out the silly mistakes like last season, people will realise he is actually a really good keeper. He took szcz place for a while last season and was fautless to be fair, but we need another really strong 1.

  • TA…..I am afraid you’ve made some assumptions based on rather spurious media generated BS. who says that AFC have made a bid for Suarez? No one at Liverpool have,nor has anyone at AFC (nothing new there) so all the reasons you gave in your argument are valid to confirm that AW likely never contemplated such a transfer
    Whether he would fit Football wise is a moot point as he goes against every value and tradition AFC have and also Wenger’s philosophy as well.

  • I know Suarez is a head case, but his talent is like being with a super hot girl, how can you say no to being with her, at least for a little while. No matter how crazy she is, its still really exciting. —i know, it can get ugly after some time.

    — having said that, i still cant see it happening, and i hope we dont lose out on the very talented, proven striker Higuain, who seems to be happy to
    join us. — —
    These games can backfire on us. Remember- Madrid are not desperate for cash ever. Look at the numbers they throw around. We need him,
    they dont need us.

  • Gotta say I love this analysis about Sua Rez hell can do and undo for us. Nice piece. In my opinion Kenny Dalglish battled to handle the race issue well. It may even have contributed to his departure. So yes he is a posioned chalice.

  • Hi TA, 🙂

    I have my doubts about Suarez because of his antics, to be honest, but leaving that aside, you make the team and formation very enticing!

    Still no slip in your Post writing standards — amazing!! 😀

  • Suarez is a gamble worth taking. He is a world class footballer and a good finisher. I am also sure his behavior will be improved under Wenger.

  • Having trouble with WP glic? It may be because you are far too nice to fellow bloggers? Or could it be you hit their porn button err move than twice in a response. Or may somebody there likes chocolate labradors walked, not stalked?

    For my part, I am going to have to promise to James Bond that I won’t call him a GT again …

    So how is my little Gin and Tonic this morning?

    Doh!

    So we’re speculating on Suarez are we? Well sticking purely to the football side of things, I do think it would be interesting. He could, as has been suggested, play in either formation, but the reality would probably a mix of both 1-3 and 3-1 when attacking and defending, but an occasional touch of 4-1-1? Whilst he would certainly play with Giro without any problem, Poldi could also be suited in the deeper 1-1 position, if said Suarez is playing the main striker?

    So really a win win situation for the current squad…… but …

    Keep talking it up folks, and Higgy’s medical will no longer be a mythical happening?

    So to other matters. Why pay £23m for Fellaini when you can get Flamini for a signing on fee .. and maybe, reuinite with Cesc to complete the set? …??

    I will blow a little of my own trumpet here (not tha oet glic – I am not a contortionist) when I did mention that the GK would not be sorted by next week. It makes good sense for QPR, if they get straight back up to the prem, they have their GK coming back ‘like a new signing’?
    Now where have I heard that before?

    Have a fun day ..

  • Suarez should be left alone to move on from his mistakes. JT is a racist, deliberately kicked at A.Sanchez without any cause in field of play but no one talks about him anymore, J.Defoe bite Liverpool’s J. Mascherano again that has been forgetten. Suarez behaviour is not defendable but hyping his past mistakes will not do him any good.

  • Let’s spear a lion with a blood, our manage A. Wenger u don’t realised what u’ve said.u propose some thing and u do nothing out of it.I personally i was so glad when i heard all Arsenal fans and wenger having a talked on a great players like Rooney,Cabella,Fellaini,Suarez,Higuain,Flamini and Fabregas yet i haven’t heard that between the seven players one have gone for medication or they have bought.I didn’t know y arsenal transfer take along time to buy aplayer be surely of having positive altitude toward the person you are progressing.If it’s problem of money just try to negotiate and immediately buy to show your seriousness to make arsenal fans all over the world happy.Thank’s by Otulo@yahoo.com.cont(0718536591).

  • Ain’t we all missing something here, the 30,000,000 bid that Wenger lodge for Suarez, is more of a decoy to get RM to loosen their hold on Hig and incase this didn’t work, Arsene might end-up upping his bid to 35M which I think is a good price for Suarez.
    Not taking anything away from the guy, I think he’s a better finisher compared to Hig and his premiership experience also nudge him ahead of Hig who will take some time to bed-in. We saw the best of Suarez under Rodgers last season due to the style of play deployed by Liverpool which I think is similar to ours and that makes me believe he’ll slot into our first xi seamlessly. But what about his attitude on and off the pitch……,? I’ve been saying this and I’ll say it again that Suarez is a better striker compared to Hig given the number of chances that fell their ways over the last 3seasons and considering the calibre of players with which they play with.

  • Hello TA, fellow gooners..

    Apologies 4 the late comment TA..Thought provoking post!!

    I’m with you in thinking Arsene will never sign a player of Suarez reputation..he’s toooo principled..character aside, he’s TOP TOP TOP class but this aint even the reason i’d be glad IF we landed him…Suarez is a VERY mobile player and likes to drift across the forward line..this would ensure that either Theo or the Ipod would get a chance as a number 9 as Suarez can drop to the wings..this mobility would make us unpredictable and dangerous upfront as all three mentioned are VERY good finishers..so in one minute in a match you could have Theo as the main man, the next Ipod and then both dropping to their respective wings with Suarez occupying the center..we would bang them in for fun!!!..add 2 the fact that Suarez is a technically gifted player and his combination with either Santi or Jack would be mouth watering..like i said, CHARACTER ASIDE, he would make our attacking threat very proficient.

    On the Character side, don’t you think Arsene would coax the devil out of him??..i’m a BIG believer of Arsene in molding his players to be model professionals..why not believe he would do the same 4 Suarez..the racist card is a whole new thing and the one thing that tempts me 2 agree with you..its completely unacceptable, but we all make mistakes and looking at the overall picture, i think he’s a risk worth taking

  • G’morning people (late as always for me…) The insanity continues…(But at least we have Glic back to keep it, er, real…)

    For some reason (maybe it’s the biting…) Suarez seems like the guy who might be able to bring the bestiality back to the N5…If Tony Adams was chairman, this deal would be done by now… 😆

    I really don’t know what to think and I have great admiration for those who can sort it all out and play with all the possibilities. In other words, I’m glad we’ve got Total at the helm to steer us through these murky waters–i.e., another excellent post–and interesting comments. Still, reality seems a lot different from what comes up in the papers…

    What I see is this: Real Madrid are screwing themselves and us. Suarez IS damaged goods (his own fault) but Spain is his natural destination. They need to do this deal but (obviously) they want the good price. Liverpool need big money because he’s their whole attack. The earlier they get it they more likely they can buy a couple of attackers and try to get them bedded in. In truth, they’re the most screwed of all…

    For better or worse, Suarez can call his defenders “negro” (or “negrito”) all he wants once he starts playing down there. Benzema and Di Maria haven’t quite measured up and Suarez will put one or both of them on the bench. Is there enough ball for him and the C-Ron? Sure. Suarez dives, Ronaldo gets the PK, everybody’s happy… (Same as Neymar and Messi at Barca, I would guess, A. Sanchez being the big loser there…) Suarez has always looked better than Cavani in international play and made Forlan into a golden (boot) boy at the 2010 WC. There’s no reason that he can’t do likewise with the superior players at RM…

    It’s all very (very) weird stuff and I’ve got a little theory going about why Arsenal are playing this game, showing themselves as willing to play third wheel in this deal. I’m still going with Higuain being a done deal but now (it appears) we must wait (and watch). The trouble, unlike with the Rooney “interest” and “offer,” Is that Liverpool might try and haggle for a really big price. That bite wasn’t well thought out, and the real loser might be Suarez (if he has to do another year up there)…which seems about right… In this game of musical strikers I have to ask, “where’s Zlatan?”… (Also, wither the monkey boy? Still stuck in the N17?…)

    As always, however, WTF do I know? It’s just the way I’m reading it and I certainly think our “bid” for Suarez has about the same intent as the one for Rooney. (And, even though his talent is impressive, I’m not sure there IS enough ball for all of our guys.) One thing is for certain, it’s a high stakes game and it’s nothing but (continued) suffering for (most, or at least this) gooner(s)…

  • 24-man squad for Asia Tour:

    GK: Lukasz Fabianski, Wojciech Szczesny, Damian Martinez
    DF: Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Ignasi Miquel, Bacary Sagna
    MF: Mikel Arteta, Ryo, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere, Serge Gnabry, Kris Olsson, Thomas Eisfeld, Chuks Aneke, Gedion Zelalem
    FW: Olivier Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski, Theo Walcott, Chuba Akpom

    Not going:
    i) Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal (extended rest due to their involvement in the Confederations Cup)
    ii) Yaya Sanago (still with France at the Under-20 World Cup)
    iii) Thomas Vermaelen, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Frimpong (injured/recovering)
    iv) Gervinho (announced as “sickness” … or something more ?…. Linked with Marseille, Roma)
    v) Joel Campbell, Wellington Silva (no work permit to play for Arsenal yet?)
    vi) Chamakh, Bendtner, Santos, CY Park (on sales)
    vii) No Higuain/Suarez or any other new signings.

  • afternoon fine fellow Go’s 🙂

    Really good to read the dialogue between two newbies on the blog: ProudGooner and gunnerburd. 🙂

    OMGarsenal 😆

    Do you really think that the likes of the BBC, Guardian write down that an offer of £30m has been made for fun? Did the club or Liverpool deny it subsequently? Unless of course both clubs are up to something together hahaha. Ligthen up OMG-A! 🙂

  • Cheers AMCH and RA 🙂

    Flexzy – don’t underestimate the risk – our reputation and a lot of money could be at stake.

    Chike – just as well you don’t have to make a £35m + wages risk decision 😕

  • Funminiyi – if I had a choice between Suarez and Higuain – I would run all the way to Madrid to go and get him. 🙂

    KG 🙂

    He would fit into Arsenal really well – fully agreed, but the risk of him losing himself again are too big and I don’ think Arsene would be able to get it out of him.

  • is it me or is that bye bye to Gervinho and possibly TV ?

    if i was a betting man (which i am), i would say that’s good bye Gervinho.

    can’t say that it will be a shock as such but for our fans based in Africa, that might not go down well.

    anyhow , Nani in and Gervinho out is what i am getting out of this or maybe Gervinho out and Gnabry in.

    🙂

  • Gervinho will most likely leave, as he’s been training, but has been pronounced to be too “ill” to go on tour. I think Gnabry will be the one to benefit from this. He could turn in to twice the player Gervinho ever could be, even on top form. He can play three or four positions, VERY well, he can beat a man, he can pass and penetrate a defense with his passing and crossing, AND he has a thunderbolt in BOTH feet!!! What more do you want from an attacking perspective??? He will also be a better player than Nani, IF he keeps his head down and his feet on the ground and all those other “wonderful” sayings 😀

    I also think that this is the end for Coquelin, although if he puts on a show in the Bundesliga, chances are, he’ll be back. I just don’t see that happening though. At least not this next season. He’s still very young and inexperienced, and the Bundesliga isn’t THAT far removed, if at all, from the Premier League in terms of quality of the opposition.

  • Total,

    Cheers, I almost added that without Suarez, Uruguay were “toothless” in that semi-final match (2010 WC) vs the Netherlands, but edited myself to keep things briefer (hahahaha…)

    Seriously, the thing about Suarez that is questionable (besides the outrageous on-field antics) are how he would work with better teammates. Ajax (sorry…) and Liverpool should (italics) be a step below us… I think he will be fine as his eye for a pass is just as good as it is for a shot or a flop. He’ll do even better in a culture which sees diving as more of an art-form and less of an abomination (unless, of course, you’re Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard)…

    Are you ready for a longer piece (on Suarez and Rooney and the club’s intentions)? If so, I may have something for you…. 😉 😆

    Milo, (And yes, I’m joking here…) Wouldn’t Suarez be able to fill in quite ably for Gervinho?… I think Gervinho not going to Asia means that Suarez is a done deal!!!!… (I’m losing my mind here, of course, but isn’t everybody?….)

  • BREAKING NEWS
    Manchester United say Wayne Rooney is out of action for a month with a hamstring injury.

    now now then, interesting.

  • # BREAKING NEWS #

    A fat Scouser sounding grannie shagger with a dodgy looking Hair Transplant was seen sprinting away in some discomfort from Dr Glic`s Lesbanian Emporium with a Cock Nav attached to a strap-on which was dangling from his rectum. A Plasma TV screen is also said to be missing !.

  • We must be in deep negotiation to buy some outstanding Super Quality players with reference to how long the Torture Window has been running !. If not, Gazidis and Wenger are going to look a right pair of khuntz !.

  • Seeing as the Torture Window has been open for negotiations since the last day of the season ( don`t give me any of that 1st July shit ! ) and every bored housewife and her dogger has bought someone except us !. We must be in secret negotiations for some serious Super Quality players !.
    If not, then Gazidis and Wenger are going to look a right pair of Khuntz !.

  • ahahahahaha @ Glics

    or maybe we have already done our business nice and early ? i mean we have Yaya and a new signing in JW.

    i also hear, Diaby has started running, so happy days 😉

    why can’t we offer liverpool 30 million plus chamakh ? it’s a win win really.

  • Don’t forget Bentmessi , 007, his move to Eintracht Frankfurt has fallen through….he`ll be like a new signing as well !. Not to forget about a new signing feeling if Santos cant find a mug….sorry club to take him !. hahaha

  • There was a rumour on talkSPORT today about Cesc coming back on loan !.

    So if we did offer £30m for Gnasher !….why couldn’t we out bid RM for Isco ?…..not that I want him…..I`m so over him !. hahaha

  • i’m not sure if any of you would remember this but i did put a 10’er on Cesc coming back this summer based on someone’s word who hasn’t let me down yet, saying that, be it a loan or a permanent transfer, i would love Cesc back

    oi,i won’t let anyone talk adversely about Santos, he’s the 2nd coming of Gareth bale if you try him on LW 😀

    oh dear is that, Isco Isco 😀

  • but i sort of like this talk of talksport you mentioned, Glic

    Cesc back on loan wouldn’t put a dent in our transfer kitty and we would be able to still get the following :

    Fellaini/bender

    Higuain/Suarez/Rooney

    and a decent CB.

  • 007
    That….. ” someone`s word who hasn`t let me down yet ! “…isn`t the same person ( no names mentioned Stretch ! ) who promised us the HIggy deal was done and dusted ?……I can feel the cobwebs coming off the Laser again ! . hahaha

  • I don’t mean to break up the love-in between Bond and his Gold-Finger…Think of me as, say, Pussy Galore just looking on and trying to decide between you two… 😆

    Wasn’t Wayne Rooney seen in a “special box” at Wimbledon last Sunday? Mustn’t he (dodgy hammy or no) be headed to a London team…

    …The nearest one being…

    Fulham(!!!) I guess they’re gonna use the Schwarzer money on him…. 😉

    When is an injury not an injury? When it’s a Weng-jury… So, Gervinho out, Vermaelen out, Suarez and Rooney in…

    Happy days, indeed… 🙄

  • ok, that someone is “PeePee”

    🙂

    17HT,

    no worries, you can always join in the fun and i do agree, something doesn’t sound right with “Rooney’s Sudden injury”.

  • no Glic,

    not going to the emirates cup, but if memory serves then we have been winning the “Emirates cup” on most years , didn’t win it last time though ?

    AW loves winning the Emirates cup and then loves to point it out to the journalists, ha

    this time round it’s gonna be interesting though.

  • Total must be out Bi-Cycling wearing his red poker dot King of the Broke Back Mountains jersey !.
    Even though some of my comments may sound Homophobic, they are only endearing jests and being the straightest virile hunky bastard on here,I know some of the guys who give me the best tea-baggings are shirtlifters……I think !. We are all Gooners !
    I have however come across a link from another site for all of you Arse Bandit BKers, don’t say I don’t help you lot, I`m always giving !.

    http://www.gaygooners.moonfruit.com/

  • C’mon, Glic, you must know what it means to be walking around the grove with a Guardian tucked under your left arm….

    Or is it the right?…. 😉

  • I thought about going on the site and making out I`m a Butch Dutch Lezzer by the name of Buster van Dykewinkel and seeing if I could get some pictures sent to me !. hahaha

  • Not sure 17ht. I always thought it was a bit dodgy having a Arsenal scarf hanging out of the back pocket ( left or right, not sure , both look a bit iffy ! ) hahaha

  • Not sure 17. I always thought it was a bit dodgy having a Red and White scarf hanging out the back pocket !. hahaha

  • JB

    AFC offered to write posts for BK by a certain date, and he has disappeared ever since I asked him whether he was working on one.

  • oh no, i hope he returns back soon, he’s a good poster and blogger 😀

  • AFC,

    if you’re reading this then come back mate, you have let anyone down ,it can happen to anyone when the weather is this nice !

    if you don’t come back to bk then i’m afraid we’ll be signing Barry from man city.

  • TA, the idea of Suarez in our line-up is certainly a wonderful prospect as a nr.10, but unfortunately I cannot get past the off and on field incidents and I’d prefer to see us force Utd’s hand with Rooney if we’re bidding big.

    This club is a complete joke. How we have only signed one player is beyond me, while we watch teams all around us strengthening with what I consider to be quality purchases. Swansea locked up Bony today and Southampton signed Wanyama, with both deals at around 12 million.

    Latest rumours have us stepping up our interest in A.Williams in response to Vermaelen’s back problems. Is that what it takes for us to actually get something done? Injuries to our players? If this is how we’ll continue to do our transfer business, I hope Wenger is sacked, the whole board is shown the door and the owner is bought out.

    All smoke and mirrors, with no substance. That’s Arsenal for ya!

  • I’m assuming that everyone has seen Wanyama to Southampton is official?

  • Hey, TA–Sorry, I was away from the ‘puter… I’ve got one for you…but you’re probably sleeping….It’s long and talks about Suarez and Rooney–and the Wenger Out brigade, which I guess HH has joined. 😦 (Anybody else?)…

    I hope you like it…I’m happy to edit it if need be, lemme know…

  • 17ht,

    Haha I’m not in the Wenger out brigade just yet…only if he continues to choose to conduct his transfer business on an emergency basis due to injury.

    The delayed and prolonged transfer debacles are utter garbage for what is supposed to be a top club – haven’t we learned from years past that if we don’t buy early, players take longer to gel with the side and get acclimated to a new city and style of play?

    Whoever we sign at this point will have missed our Asia pre-season tour and depending on how long it takes to finally sign someone (if we do), could be in danger of missing out on pre-season games too. It’s more the disappointed that stems from those in the Arsenal hierarchy boldly proclaiming that there’s money to spend without an actual signal that we are willing to spend that cash.

  • HH, I’m not 100% certain, but I’m pretty sure that Wenger hasn’t said one word about spending big on transfers. I could be wrong though!!! I think he intimated that there is money there to be spent, but he never said how much, and who he was going to spend it on. I would hold my anger, until the transfer window closes. Better late than never, as they say. I know, the new signings, whoever they are, will not be able to bed in during pre-season, but if they come at all, it’s better than having none at all.

  • Hey Milo, when I blame those in the Arsenal hierarchy, I’m not specifically referring to AW. However, he has gone on the record to say that the funds are available and that the team’s banker lives right next door and is a simple call away if he wants to sign someone. He’s also hinted on numerous occasions that there’s money to spend and that we’re in pole position to spend on top talent now.

    I was more referring to Ivan Gazidis, Peter Hill-Wood etc. with that comment, whom explicitly claimed there is money available and that AW is not afraid to spend it.

    You’re right that there is still time to complete transfers, but this delay and prolonging is an awful way to show your fans that Arsenal are ready to compete with the best and that the organization is serious about winning titles again. Early transfers are always the ideal, so the media, team, fan distractions are pushed aside and new players can be afforded more time to bed into a side.

    Clearly, AW has still not learned from past mistakes at this point and it could honestly take Arsenal to either miss out on CL or fall more than 30 points out of a title race for either him or the board/owner to get it. At some point, one must wonder that if the money is available, then what is it that holds this club back from competing with the best? I choose to speculate on the board, manager and owner’s desire to actually want to win something and not be satisfied with just profit and achieving the bare minimum.

  • At this point last summer, we had already signed both Podolski and Giroud. Just saying, I thought AW had started to change his ways and that this window would have followed that pattern.

  • Qn:
    (1) When was the last time Arsenal FC spent £20 million in transfer fees (alone) on a single marquee/super-quality/world-class/international/big-name player in today’s market context?
    Ans: Never.
    (So what makes us believe media reports, from the words of Ivan Gazidis or otherwise, that we have £70 million transfer budget/kitty sitting in our banks, and will pay £120,000 to £150,000-a-week basic wages, for incoming super-star signing(s)?)
    There is the real world market evaluation of quality players and there is the Arsenal management’s own market evaluation of quality players which differs from the real world. (e.g. Messi and C.Ronaldo are both valued over £100 million each. Arsenal FC will not spend even £50 million on either player, even if they are exclusive offered by Barcelona and Real Madrid at that fixed price with no strings attached.) There is no right or wrong in this, this is just the way our club do their business currently in their own ideal world, even if we have £200 million transfer budget sitting in our bank
    That shall remain until our club’s management (and manager) puts words into action by actually DOING and GOING out in the market to purchase our very 1st super-star-world class international player for £20 million and above.
    (Borussia Dortmund, whom many have compared with our club in footballing matters, actually did it this summer, with the acquisition of their £20 million++ quality-star signing in Henrikh Mkhitaryan(an Armenian international from the notoriously-hard-to-negotiate-with club, Shakhtar Donetsk). This is their first time, after more than 10 years (since they bought Marcio Amoroso from Parma for £20 million++) , that they have bought another player for more than £20 million.
    No one is saying Juergen Klopp and the Dortmund’s management are stupid and irrational in buying a player for £20 million++, or that player Mkhitaryan is overrated and will never make it in the Bundesliga. Similar case in their other new signing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, those two will ease in with the rest of Dortmund’s 1st team and make them as strong if not better than the past seasons Dortmund’s teams. Klopp and his coaching team will definitely see to that.

    Playing mind games with Liverpool and Real Madrid (on the Suarez and Higuain issues) shall come back to haunt our club. We could turn out the biggest losers (e.g. Liverpool and Real Madrid striking an exclusive player exchange deal involving both said players. We are left with neither players, but hey, on the bright side we still have that £70 million in our bank ?!?!)

    Qn:
    (2) What happens to Arsene Wenger’s contract with the club running to its last year (expiring in summer 2014)?
    Ans: He can leave or he can stay, but he has never broken his contracts (so far) with the clubs that he has managed. Our club will move on whatever the outcome, for better or worse.

    Qn:
    (3) Are the super-quality signings waiting to see if Arsenal FC advance into the actual CL group stages before putting pen to paper?
    Ans: If they are with teams that have already enter the group stages, that definitely plays a part of their consideration.

  • Off-topic: Best of the Best (Arsenal’s rivals around Europe, with their current team and new signings so far) – Season 2013/2014

    Domestic:

    Manchester United (David Moyes):
    – David de Gea, Rafael, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Shinji Kagawa, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Chicharito

    Manchester City (Manuel Pellegrini):
    – Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Matija Nastasic, Gael Clichy, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, James Milner, David Silva, Jesus Navas, Kun Aguero

    Chelsea (Jose Mourinho):
    – Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Andre Schuerrle, Romelu Lukaku

    Tottenham (Andre Villas-Boas):
    – Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Michael Dawson, Danny Rose, Paulinho, Moussa Dembele, Lewis Holtby, Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe

    Liverpool (Brendan Rodgers):
    – Simon Mignolet, Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Kolo Toure, Jose Enrique, Lucas, Steven Gerrard, Joe Allen, Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Iago Aspas

    Overseas:

    Barcelona (Tito Vilanova):
    – Victor Valdes, Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Neymar, Lionel Messi

    Real Madrid (Carlo Ancelotti):
    – Iker Casillas, Daniel Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Marcelo, Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Mesut Oezil, Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema

    Atletico Madrid (Diego Simeone):
    – Thibaut Courtois*, Juanfran, Diego Godin, Martin Demichelis, Filipe, Mario Suarez, Gabi, Raul Garcia, Arda Turan, Adrian, David Villa

    —–

    Juventus (Antonio Conte):
    – Gianluigi Buffon, Angelo Ogbonna, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Federico Peluso, Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente

    Napoli (Rafael Benitez):
    – Morgan De Sanctis, Paolo Cannavaro, Alessandro Gamberini, Christian Maggio, Pablo Armero, Goekhan Inler, Blerim Dzemaili, Marek Hamsik, Jose Maria Callejon, Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne

    AC Milan (Massimiliano Allegri):
    – Christian Abbiati, Ignazio Abate, Cristian Zapata, Daniele Bonera, Mattia De Sciglio, Antonio Nocerino, Andrea Poli, Riccardo Montolivo, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Stephan El Shaarawy, Mario Balotelli

    —–

    Bayern Munich (Pep Guardiola):
    – Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Dante, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Javi Martinez, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Goetze, Franck Ribery, Thomas Mueller, Mario Mandzukic

    Borussia Dortmund (Juergen Klopp):
    – Roman Weidenfeller, Lukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Marcel Schmelzer, Sven Bender, Ilkay Guendogan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

    Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Sami Hyypia):
    – Bernd Leno, Giulio Donati, Emir Spahic, Omer Toprak, Sebastian Boenisch, Stefan Reinartz, Simon Rolfes, Lars Bender, Gonzalo Castro, Son Heung-Min, Stefan KieBling

    —–

    Paris Saint-Germain (Laurent Blanc):
    – Salvatore Sirigu, Christophe Jallet, Thiago Silva, Mamadou Sakho, Maxwell, Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Motta, Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marco Verratti, Zlatan Ibrahimovic

    Monaco (Claudio Ranieri):
    – Danijel Subasic, Andrea Raggi, Ricardo Carvalho, Eric Abidal, Georgios Tzavelas, Jeremy Toulalan, Joao Moutinho, Lucas Ocampos, James Rodriguez, Ibrahima Toure, Falcao

  • seems likely that everything is put on ice for now, so i expect no signings until both of them return..

    you make a valid point re- Suarez and Higuain going the other way in a part exchange deal (that would be the ideal solution for both clubs) and you can see Rodgers already saying that he is now looking at only “top signings” .

    it just seems like we put all our eggs in one basket and it’s only recently after the RM snub that we’ve started looking for other options and targets.

    one thing which remains though is that i feel the Cesc signing may happen (Gut Feeling)…why hasn’t it been announced or him being at the emirates ? he’s on holiday , same as Santi and Nacho.

    by the time AW and co return, Cesc will be back from holidays as well and who knows , back in England perhaps ?

  • @ James Bond July 12, 2013 14:15

    Looks too good to be true (at least for this season) on Fabregas returning to Arsenal.

    Bayern Munich (and Pep) are already planning to hijack Thiago from Barcelona (and slap Man. United’s faces). When BM means to get their player, they can and will put their words into action – 100%.

    Which means Fabregas share a little more play-time in midfield with Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta(who is likely to occupy one of the 3 front attacker positions along Neymar and Messi). Fabregas to play CAM/creator,

    In the meantime, Asier Illarramendi has signed for Real Madrid.

    When the real “BIG” clubs talk and mean to get their player(s), they usually do.

  • yes, that’s a good point when ” big clubs ” set their sights or are linked with a player, they go out and make it happen , regardless of the price.

    i’m not sure about that Fabregas reasoning though, i am still inclined to think that a 1 year loan deal suits everyone best in his case….Thiago was there last season as well yet Cesc didn’t get the playing time he wanted or thought he deserved.

  • Glic might like this one,

    we’re linked with Bernard.

    i expected us being linked with wingers now that Gervinho’s future is seen to be made uncertain.

  • @ James Bond July 12, 2013 16:11

    We are a week late in the news:

    http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8802318/Transfer-news-Bernard-agent-rules-out-Tottenham-as-Porto-take-pole-position

    FC Porto in pole position to sign Bernard.

    [BMG bank have connections with the Portuguese club and also Mineiro.

    “The agreement (with BMG) is a factor, so Porto are the most likely destination for Bernard,” said Adriano Spadoto (agent of Bernard).

    “I believe that Bernard will leave Atletico Mineiro after the Copa Libertadores and the official announcement will be made by (Mineiro president) Alexandre Kalil.”]

  • JM 13:48…….exactly…..Wenger will wait till he gets back from tour and pick what’s left. That’s Wenger’s style

  • FOOTBALL TRANSFERS
    BBC Sport’s David Ornstein: “Arsenal are pursuing Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain and Liverpool’s Luis Suarez at the same time. They are only interested in signing one of the strikers, but one is likely to slip away so by going after both they hope to end up with the other.

    “Higuain will take time because the clubs cannot agree a fee and, although the player is keen to join, the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti as Real manager has complicated things because he apparently wants Higuain to stay.”

  • England ladies v Spain , il have a little watch.
    Arsenal lack of a big signing is doing my head in a bit now, where as i can see others are really mad about it. I have always backed Wenger and will regardless but he better come though with something this TW . I now am not holding my breath until they return from tour 😦 i just cant see anything happening while he is away, at least this way i wont be disappointed every day while they are away.
    Lets just wait and see what happens, i have seen some sites already saying they wont people not to buy the new kit, don’t buy tickets or go to matches, don’t buy season tickets. That is just silly its like a child when it does not get there way. I am sure thee working hard on signing there targets.
    The good news is they made a record bid for Luis for £30,000,000 which gives me hope.
    England 1 v Spain 1 after 7 mins, not a bad game.

  • if this is Wenger’s last season in charge at the emirates then believe you me, he will want to bow out in fashion and by making a few top notch signings, after all, would he rather be remembered for the latter part of his career (sad) or the beginning of it ?

    yep, people have short memory’s, Wenger knows that as well, for that reason i am inclined to believe that he will get us a couple of top notch players if not more and try to win us a few trophies.

    if he doesn’t buy, then we have no choice other than to fly HH from the states and let him have a one on one with Mr. Wenger and the Board.

  • New Post! 🙂

    17HT has written a thorough analysis of what has happened in the Torture Window until now and how certain actions/inactions should be interpreted. Enjoy! 🙂

  • He has the skill but behaves like a wild beast sometimes! Anyway why not take the risk with hope that his behavior will transform into a decent one

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