Fabregas Insists He Intends To Stay In London

Cesc Fabregas has told reporters he is happy to stay at Arsenal for the upcoming season and insists he knows nothing about a possible transfer.
    
     "I am an Arsenal player. I have been very happy for eight years and I am very happy," he said."There have been no decisions. It doesn't always depend on the player and at the moment I don't know anything. But I am very happy where I am. Anything else would be speculation that is untrue.You can never say never in this life as so many things happen that you can never predict."


     Spanish media has been reporting for some time that Barcelona, the club with which Cesc is so often rumoured to be in contact with, would have to pay within the area of £40 million to secure the Spaniards services. As we all know the Catalan giants have been perusing the talented Arsenal midfielder ever since he broke into the first team back in 2004-2005, back in the days of the Invincible's. It always seems likely every summer that Fabregas will leave, however he has pledged his future to the club and has previously said he will not leave the club a failure, in other words, without silverware.  I would personally expect to see the Emirates talismanic player at pre-season training this Summer.

Is Parker A Sinking Ship?

     At the grand age of 30 (31 in October) Scott Parker seems an unlikely transfer prospect for Mr Wenger. Arsene, who usually buys the young and sells the old, has been rumoured to be looking at the relegated West Ham's captain. With a buy like Parker you have its pro's. For example, Parker is proven in the Premier League and has preformed well over the last season, winning the FWA Footballer of the Year Award, He also comes with the leadership abilities Arsenal need and ,possibly best of all, he is English. This much needed English grit and experience could give Arsenal a new captain and would surely boost their team. 

     However with Parker come the con's. He is old now at the age of 30 and Wenger will probably only get four more years at a maximum out of him. Past this I would presume his fitness and ability would waver. He is also fairly injury prone but has played through injuries when West Ham required him. This may also further reduce the time that Wenger will get out of him as I have no doubt this will catch up with him in his later days. 

     Being West Ham's talismanic player and captain he will not leave easily. His loyalty to the club is legendary and he may not even leave in an attempt to help his club back into the Premiership. However if he decides he will leave the price will be hefty for a player of his age. I believe the fee will be between £8-12 million. Now this does not sound a lot but considering the prospect of Parker being out injured multiple times and his age, this fee is a large sum for a player in such situation. 

     So should Wenger shed out the cash to buy such a dinosaur? I personally believe so. Although he would be around for only a short time, Parker would bring experience of the Premiership to a relatively unexperinced side. He would take the burden of captaincy from Fabregas who, if he stays, would probably flourish due to the new lack of pressure on his young shoulders. If Parker played a holding midfielder's role he would also provide Song with cover and allow him to rest, as Song has played almost every game this season and we have struggled without him (especially at the Nou Camp). I believe this signing could only be good for Arsenal and Parker is the perfect player to help our lacking trophy cabinet.

Samba: A Repeat Of The Squillaci Scandal?

     So it has been reported today that Wenger has placed an £8 million offer on the table for Blackburn's Christopher Samba. The 6ft 4 centre back has shown strength and the application of his height to dominate in the air at Ewood Park. He has shown that he has the required attributes to excel in the Premier League and just needs to take that step to the top tier of English football and play for a top 4 club.

     The question is will Samba take the Gunners defence to the next level or will we have another Squillaci situation on our hands. Squillaci has preformed poorly and has been one of, if not the, worst players for Arsenal all season. He has allowed numerous goals into the back of the net ( I can remember two deflections that would not been goals had he not touched the ball) and his poor marking has lead to even more goals, most recently against Aston Villa. The problem with  Squillaci was that he was not cut out for the Premier League and his transfer was a gamble. In Spain he was strong on the ball and experienced however it turned out he was not cut out for the physicality of the English game. He lacks in the air, in his defensive skills and with his speed, as shown against the likes of Darren Bent. 

     So will Samba be any different? I mean, he is coming from a middle/bottom of the Premiership club and has not been proven in tournement's such as the Champions League. Well I believe Samba to be a completely different prospect. He has shown his defensive ability at Blackburn and also his courage and fearlessness of putting his body on the line. He is also fairly quick and best of all has presence in the air and so we would finally have could aerial coverage in the centre of defence. Samba also has experience in the English Premier League having played here since 2007 when he signed for Blackburn. 

     I personally think Samba is the man for next season. With Sakho ruled out, Cahill's hefty price tag and the unlikeness of Mertesacker, Samba is our best bet. He would provide cover while the likes of Koscienly and Djourou improve (because I have no doubt that both will be top class centre backs given time). This transfer now looks more likely than ever, so Arsenal fans, I would expect to see Samba at the emirates next season and preforming well. 

Zak Ansah Signs First Contract

     Zak Ansah is an Arsenal youth player who signed his first professional contract for the club on Friday. He plays the striker role and has shown promise in the senior reserve team. The England Youth International, who turned 17 earlier this month, rose through the academy ranks at Hale End to make his debut for the Under-18s at just 14. After three seasons with Steve Bould’s side, Ansah has racked up an impressive tally of 12 goals from his 20 appearances.

     Zak, who joined Arsenal when he was ten years old, got his first taste of Reserve football in 2010/11, coming on as a substitute against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park, and was part of the Under-19s squad to travel to Texas, USA for the Dallas Cup in April, which he marked with a superb goal against Chorrillo FC. I hope to see him become an Arsenal star one day. 

Excuse Me Mr. Ferguson

     Now excuse me for being bitter and childish but last nights result was one of great pleasure to me. Barcelona were pure class. Barcelona showed the world a masterclass in football and proved the fact that they are the best side in club football now and maybe ever. The composure of Xavi and Iniesta combined with the flair of Villa, Messi and Pedro tore apart United's defence as shown with the first goal which was made to look so easy. The solid defence of Puyol and Pique was upset when Puyol did not finish training the day before the final. This left Mascherano to step in to his role and he did not disappoint. Although the defence looked more shaky than usual Barcelona looked as strong and solid as ever. 

     United were poor. They gave the ball away far too much which allowed Xavi and Iniesta to work their magic. The goal threat of 'Chicarito' was all but nullified by the Catalan defence leaving Rooney to do all the work (and i must give him credit for his finish). However Manchester United were simply not strong enough to challenge Barcelona's supremacy. 

     Now United fans cast your minds back to a cold winters evening in north London at the Emirates. I believe we too went behind in the first half to Barcelona, our heads hanging as the players walked back to the changing rooms. However, as much as the first half belonged to Barcelona, the second half belonged to Arsenal. We came back out full of life and raring to go. So, with 12 minutes left, Robin Van Persie scored through the narrowest of margins to pull the game level. Then, as I recall, Nasri set up Arshavin five minutes later who sent a perfect shot curling into the bottom right corner of the Barcelona net, Valdes, one of the best keepers in the world, unable to do anything.  

     Now United fans, gloat as much as you like about the fact we have not won a trophy for many years now, however remember that we are the only English team to have beaten the latest Barcelona team, we succeeded were you failed and we beat them in London were you did not. So watch out Mr. Ferguson, Wenger is hot on your trail and with the likes of Giggs, Ferdinand and Evra growing old and the rumoured interest from the likes of Real Madrid for Vidic, Manchester United could be in trouble. 

Wenger Relieved, Wilshere Not Selected

Wenger has expressed his feelings of gratitude towards the England U21's manager, Stuart Pearce, after he left Wilshere out of the U21 European Championship Finals squad. Wenger had previously expressed his concern about the effects the tournement may have on his young star for next season. He was worried that problems with fatigue and possibly injury could possibly mean he would have to consider leaving the midfielder out of the Arsenal first XI when the 2011/2012 season commences. 

     Things seem to have turned out fortunately for the French manager this time. Pearce said "I spoke to Jack last week. He explained that while he told me in March that he wanted to be part of the squad, he now feels he is not in the best condition to take part. That is based on the number of games he has played for Arsenal this season, sports science data which Jack was presented with last week and concerns he has for his fitness looking ahead to next season.

"Jack has always expressed his enjoyment at being involved with the Under-21 squad and while I am disappointed not to have him with us for the finals I've accepted the situation."

Benzema Happy In Madrid, Arsenal To Move For Falcao?

     Recent reports suggest that Radamel Falcao could be Arsenal's next transfer target. Benzema has declared in a recent interview that he intends to stay at the Bernabeu for now. He said to one reporter "I feel very good at Madrid, in the team, I adore the fans, the people, the stadium... I'm going to stay for many years,". 

     It might be that Benzema doesn't want to leave Madrid deemed as a failure and prove everyone wrong. But for that, he will have to compete with Gonzalo Higuain—who's certain to be the first choice being fan favourite—and a new striker that Jose Mourinho is certain to sign this summer. Sergio Aguero is very close to signing for the Bernabeu club. Carlos Tevez is the other name bandied around as a potential signing for Mourinho. So, it seems certain that Benzema will warm the bench next season.

     So, apparently, Wenger's attention turns to Porto striker Radamel Falcao. I must say that Falcao is on top form and has scored 17 goals in 12 games in the Europa League (a new record),scoring 4 in one match against top flight Spanish club Villarreal. A goal poacher and a tremendous finisher who's wily as well as brawny, Radamel Falcao is the newest sensation in European Football. It's worth remembering Arsene Wenger could've signed him from River Plate before Falcao joined the Portuguese club. 

     However that was the time of mediocre signings and Wenger is now looking for redemption from the fans. It's widely known that Falcao has a £26 million release clause in his current contract. As you would expect, Porto is desperately trying to persuade him to extend his contract with improved figures basically to insert a substantial buy-out sum. Falcao's agent has revealed that both Arsenal and Tottenham are in contact with Porto for securing the services of the Colombian. It's also understood that Tottenham have already had a £20m bid rejected by Porto for Falcao.

     Will Falcao be the man to turn this trophy drought around? I would say yes. With his goal scoring prowess (and not to mention his immense headering ability) he could be the perfect 'fox in the box' striker Arsenal need to partner Van Persie. Falcao has scored 34 goals for Porto in 38 appearances this season, the stats say it all.

The Wenger Dilemma: Göetze or Hazard?

Two players that have been dubbed as the next big thing in the attacking midfield position are Mario Göetze and Eden Hazard. Both are blessed with unbelievable ball control and a high levels of both passing and finishing ability required to play at the top level in this position and ,best of all, both have been linked to the Emirates. After watching a number of you tube videos of the pair i have come to the conclusion of who I would like to see at Arsenal most.


     Hazard has been scoped by many teams as the next Nasri. The 20 year old Belgian has played at Lille since 2005, when he played for their youth team, and secured his position in their first XI in late 2007. Ever since Hazard has been a dominant force in Ligue 1 scoring a multitude of goals for his club. Under Lille manager Rudi Garcia, Hazard often plays in the winger role in the team's 4–3–3 formation and regularly switches flanks due to his ability to effectively use both feet. Two of Hazard's most common exemplary traits is his pace and technical ability, which has been described as both "astonishing" and "mesmerizing", respectively. 

  
   Mario Göetze is apparently one of the greatest prospects of German football. At his current age of only 18 he has broken into the German Senior squad and has a long history in their youth teams. He has also been playing  for Borussia Dortmund (newly crowned champions of the Bundesliga) in the first XI since the 2009-2010 season. Göetze is considered to be an up-and-coming, potential world class player due to his speed, technical skill and creativity.The German Football Association's technical director Matthias Sammer called him "one of the best talents that we've ever had".

     Now if you go on to youtube and type in 'Mario Göetze' and 'Eden Hazard' I cannot say that you will agree with me on this matter however I believe that Wenger should snap up Göetze if only one of these players is available to our club as his style of play would fit in perfectly with the rest of the squad. Unfortunately it is suspected that Dortmund will not allow their German starlet to leave this summer and wish to hold on to him for one more season. Now in this case I say that Wenger should go all out to buy Eden Hazard and secure his talents before any other inquiring team can even get a whiff of him (because I'm telling you know he will not be up for sale for long). Then next season we can sign Göetze. Wenger I beg of you, you like your young talent, sign these boys, no matter the price tag.

Wenger Makes Progress With Bargain Benzema Pursuit

Here is a good article on the Benzema situation. Enjoy!

http://football-talk.co.uk/24146/wenger-makes-progress-with-bargain-benzema-pursuit/#comment-30207

Evra Reaches Out To Nasri

Patrice Evra has recently encouraged Samir Nasri to leave London and play for Manchester United. The French full back spoke at an interview about how he would like to see the 'Petit Prince' at Old Trafford. Nasri only has one year left on his contract and Wenger has promised not to repeat the Flamini situation when we lost another promising young frenchman to AC Milan on free transfer. Samir is said to be going into talks about his future with Arsenal in June. 


     Evra said "If Samir comes, he has to know there is no room for mistakes. Each year you are playing to win. That is Manchester United's culture."

"I have been at Manchester United for five years and I can't remember how many trophies I have won … 13? 15?. So 'Petit Prince', if you want to be King, you know where you have to go."

     I personally believe this to be a load of rubbish. We all know Nasri has his morals, I mean look at his transfer back in 2008. The two clubs openly chasing the French youngster were Arsenal and PSG and Nasri turned around and told PSG that he would never sign for them because they were Marseille's rivals. Does anyone honestly think a man with such morals and loyalty to Arsenal, because no one can doubt this players loyalty in the past few years, would leave to play for one of our ultimate rivals. 

     In my opinion Nasri will never leave to go to Manchester and would prefer a stint in either Germany (Bayern Munich), Spain (Barcelona/Real Madrid) or Italy (Inter Milan) as clubs from all these countries admire his skills. So ,fellow Arsenal fans, never fear, I very much doubt you will be seeing this French maestro tearing up the Emirates in a Manchester strip next season. 

Benzema the key to 'The Invincibles' Mark II?

Time to shed some light on the Benzema Situation. .

I did some digging and found multiple newspaper sources directly linking the player to us:

'Signing [Karim Benzema] does not seem impossible, " says Wenger in the Sun and the Mirror. "He's a player that I like." Benzema only has a year left on his contract at Real Madrid and could leave for as little as £7m.'

'Arsene Wenger is a known admirer of the 23-year-old, and while he was unsurprisingly not prepared to part with the £35million it took for Real to lure him from Lyon, he may be tempted at a knock-down price.'

However i have to say many of the sources suggesting this move are not the most reliable of newspaper *cough*The Sun/The Metro *cough*.

     Despite this there has been links to Benzema in the past and there is truth in the facts that Arsene Wenger admires the player in a press conference. As shown above in the quotes from the newspapers, Wenger has directly praised Benzema (and I can tell you this particular interview was real).In my opinion Benzema would be an ideal signing for Arsenal this summer due to are lack-luster attacking play in the second half of this season and with Nasri potentially on his way out this would only damage our attacking finesse more. 

     Benzema would bring strength and finishing ability to our front line and would leave the gunners with two in-form strikers who can potentially score 20 goals per season each. I also believe from watching his style of play he would fit in nicely with the squad and of course with Van Persie. The added bonus of course would be i f Nasri stays and we obtanied the French duo that tear apart other international squads, on a regular basis, on the internationl scene.

     So to answer my original question and shed some light on this rumour seems impossible at this time however some real intrest has been shown in the Madrid star. We can only sit a wait, nervously, as Wenger, as usual, is holding his cards close to his chest. 

Pre-season Asia Tour

This summers pre-season tour will kick off in Malaysia of all places. On July 13th the Arsenal first XI are set to play a Malaysian team in the capital of Kuala Lumpur. 

     The following is taken off the Official Arsenal Website:

Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Everyone at Arsenal Football Club is excited to be visiting Malaysia.The Club has a tradition of playing there going back to the 1960s. This will be our fourth visit to Malaysia, having last visited Kuala Lumpur in 1999". After playing the first leg of this summer’s Asia tour in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the team will then travel to China, where they will play Chinese Super League side Hangzhou Greentown on July 16.

I can safely, personally say I will not be spending a fortune on flying to Asia to see us play teams I have never heard of and I hope we have made an impact in the transfer market by then. 

Gunners Sign Finnish Full Back

I realize  that this has not been posted officially on the Arsenal website however I can assure this transfer is 99.9% completed and it has been confirmed by the Finnish FA. The  right footed player has played mostly as a left back for Charlton though he is versatile and can play all across the back line. Jenkinson is, as usual with Wenger these days, a signing for the future and though he has played as a left back for Charlton, Wenger could use him as a back-up for Bacary Sagna as well. 


     I think that Jenkinson will mature quickly if placed upon a loan spell and then eventually become the replacement for Sagna when he decides to leave, Jenkinson looks to be a good, solid defender and has experience in the English leagues. Only time will tell if he can handle the big time in the Premier League. 


     The 19-year-old is said to have good potential and if not loaned out, he will be used by Arsene Wenger in the league cup. However, it is likely that the Frenchman would loan the youngster to provide him with more opportunities to develop into a quality player. Jenkinson is the first signing for Arsenal in the summer and Wenger has been linked with the young defender for the last couple of months but he is expected to be followed by some other youngsters as well as established players. Arsenal have been linked with some other young players such as  Jon Toral and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and also some experienced players like Scott Parker and Christopher Samba.


     I hope Wenger will minimize these types of small time transfers but I believe Jenkinson to be a good signing for the future from what I have seen and heard. Now get that cheque book open Arsene and bring in the trophy winners.

How much for Bendtner!?

Arsene Wenger is reported to have placed Bendtner on the transfer market for between £9-12 million. Now is it just me or does anyone else think this is the true extent of Wenger madness. Forget the poor buys and missed transfers, forget the trophy drought because this price tag beats them all.


     Now don't get me wrong, as a loyal Arsenal fan I have faith in Wenger and I, personally, believe he is one of the greatest managers on earth, however I cannot fathom the idea of a potential £12 million sale of our big Dane. Even at the best of times Bendtner has found few Arsenal fans who can truly say they admire him. he has put in some good performances and saved us, once or twice, from humiliation (not that we aren't or weren't already). For example he scored and absolute beauty against Ipswich when we were 1-0 down half way through the second half and it was his goal that allowed us to go on a win the match. 
    
      Despite what I have just said about the man he has also had some torrid times at the club and failed to impress on multiple occasions, big occasions. For example i doubt anyone would label his performances against Barcelona (all of them) as his best and I very much doubt anyone would say he was a 'super sub' in the Carling Cup Final. 


     However it is a fact that he is now up for sale. The Denmark international has expressed his desire to leave London if he will not be guaranteed first team football.A number of sides in both the English Premier League, Germany and Italy are all eager to secure his services.There is no denying Bendtner has  talent. Prior to the season the former FC Copenhagen youth had 15 goals in 2008/2009 and 12 goals last season in which he was arguably one of the stand out players of the season. 
     
     Although I believe he has not won the hearts of Arsenal fans and he has not stood out on the pitch, a part of me will be sad to see him go. No longer will the sighs of "Oh no Bendtner's coming on", or "We are never going to score now" come from the sofa in my living room.  Goodbye Bendtner, thank god for that...