I read last night’s article in The Guardian, summarising our transfer window activities until now, with some interest.
Here is the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jul/01/arsenal-lars-bender-bayer-leverkusen
The Guardian seems to have a close relationship with the club’s media department, or certain insiders at the club, as in general, they do well with regards to predicting transfer movements from and to Arsenal. Therefore, it does not come as a big surprise to me that ‘Arsenal.com media watch’ decided to link-up with the article today.
It is basically a positive article, and although there are no direct quotes from anybody in the know at Arsenal, there is good reason for encouragement regarding our transfer activities this summer.
In summary, the article tells us that:
- Arsene wants to strengthen his spine with a striker, central midfielder and experienced goalkeeper;
- Higuain is set to join for £22k up-front;
- The club is close to signing Júlio César for about £1.5m;
- Our bid for Lars Bender was rejected as Leverkusen do not want to sell anymore players this summer;
- We are interested in Fellaini and Dortmund’s Gündogan, but as the former’s £24m release clause (if sold to a CL club) expires in mid-August, the club appears to be playing a waiting game…;
- Mannone has been sold to Sunderland for £2m (and Djourou has been loaned out for another 12 months – this time to Hamburg).
If at the end of the TW we will have signed a DM, a top striker and an experienced GK, and one or more very promising youngsters, I think it would be fair to say that most of us Gooners would be very pleased, providing that none of our key players is sold in the meantime.
But with these new arrivals, there comes the potential downside of disgruntled players.
How will Szczesny respond to the arrival of Cesar? The Brazilian stopper will only want to join us if he is to be our first choice GK, as he will want to ensure he stays fit and active, so he can remain the nation’s nr.1. Will Wojciech fight for his place and be patient enough, or see the writing on the wall and ask for a transfer….. And would that mean Fabianski stays and becomes our nr.2 GK?
How will Giroud respond to the arrival of a top class striker? I think he is a fighter and in some ways it might help him – less pressure to make us forget Van Judas on his own, for example; but will he accept sitting on the bench a lot? After all, he is at an age in which he needs to play a lot, especially if he wants to play for France in Brazil next summer…
How will the arrival of Fellaini, or another quality DM(type player) this summer, affect our current midfielders? What will it mean for the not-getting-any-younger Arteta, and/or our promising youngsters Ramsey and Wilshere?
What do you say, fine fellow Gooners?
Written by: TotalArsenal.
Bergkampesque 