Transfer deals giving us more to hope for

Last season was the worst position Arsenal has ever finished since Arsène Wenger took charge of the club and to add insult to injury, two important players were unsettled during the transfer window - making it well known that our bargaining power in their transfers was significantly weakened.

Furthermore, our pre-season preparations were disrupted not only by unsettling rumours about Ashley Cole and José Antonio Reyes but also by players who had a long World Cup campaign and pointless International friendlies. We also had injuries to key players who would have been crucial in our first two matches: the disheartening loss to Manchester City, where we obviously played well and the draw to Aston Villa, which we should have really won as well.

In difficult times like these, rival fans and most of the media will be rubbing their palms in glee and will be making life hell for us Arsenal fans. Everywhere I go, fans of other clubs have that disgusting smile on their face that says it all. They are loving it. They would absolutely love it, if Arsenal were to crumble and fall down to mid table mediocrity. Love it!

Arsenal fans became divided. Doomsayers were predicting the time is nigh for Arsenal while some fans seemed to look for the silver lining in our losses. We were dominating in those matches. Theo Walcott was fantastic! The players had shown huge potential. Theo Walcott has shown us what we could hope for in future! We were just unlucky. We hit the post and got cleared off the line. Theo Walcott is massive! The ref was an utter nincompoop! Sadly, these results will make our title challenge a bigger hill to climb and this will put more pressure on the team to do better. We will need more than luck (and Theo Walcott) this season to do well.

However, the day before the transfer window closed; the biggest surprise came for many football fans. West Ham United had signed two world class players right under the noses of the big Premiership clubs. That was the main headline from the last day of transfers. It further contributed to the 'doom and gloom feeling' in my heart but as I pulled myself together to read further transfer news, finally I see some good news for Arsenal.

We finally got rid of wantaways Cole and Reyes, who were unsettling the club. In exchange for them, we got two seasoned players who would immediately make an impact in our team. The first one is Willy Gallas, who has always been touted as a player Arsenal should sign (and would have if Roman never took over Chelsea). He is a hard pacey centreback with bags of experience in this league. Furthermore, he can play in any defensive position in times of emergency, especially with our current left back crisis. With the Gallas and Touré, we could have one of the toughest centreback partnerships to score against, and we will still have young Senderos, who will challenge for both their places once he recovers from injury.

In Julio Baptista, nicknamed the 'Beast', we will finally have the physical presence we sorely missed since Paddy Vieira left. I doubt he will play as a central midfielder as Fabregas and Gilberto are already filling in that role. He will probably not be a winger-type player either as he does not have the quick pace or technical skills of our current wide players. He can play as a support striker for Henry, or the Adebayor role as the target man up front. He will be a better finisher than Ade, given his good goalscoring pedigree in his Sevilla days and he did pretty well as a bit part player played out of position during his short spell at Real Madrid. He can also play as a fifth midfielder in a five man midfield, playing in an advanced attacking role to provide physical presence in the midfield and with also his long hard shots from outside the box, which we will definitely hope to see.

Furthermore, we also captured the promising Brazilian Under-19 captain Denilson who some claim is going to be a great player, in the Gilberto mould. He also has greater pace and vision, which many claim to be Gilberto's biggest weaknesses. However, Tim Vickery, The BBC's South American football 'expert' states that Denilson had a shocking World u-17 championship and was a over hyped player. I would not take this too seriously as Ronaldinho himself had a shocking World Cup as well. We wouldn't be taking a big risk though, as I hear we won't be paying the £4 million up front; it will only increase up to £4 million if he fulfills certain conditions. A no lose situation for us.

Another interesting news that was unexpected was the departure of our usual scapegoat Pascal Cygan to Villareal. I must admit that I will miss the back up player who keeps his head down and faces massive pressure and criticism from the fans but yet still gives his best whenever he was called on to do the job. He will be surplus to requirements though because Senderos and Djourou will be capable backups. The good news is that we got £2 million for him, which is a good deal since we signed him for £2 million in the first place.

If we can get Gallas to gel with Touré to form that 'dream' defensive pairing and Baptista to live up to our expectations, we will see Arsenal challenging for more honours this season. Suddenly, in just one day, all the doom and gloom has turned into a ray of hope for us Gooners. The other fans would hopefully feel the same as Kevin Keegan; just love it if Arsenal were to fall deeper into the abyss. Just lovin it.

Arsène has shown his critics whenever the going gets tough for Arsenal. Remember that smile when he held the 'Comical Wenger' shirt after we did our undefeated season? Priceless! Bring on Boro and let us show Chelsea how to beat them!

User Comments

Ming

Posted on 3 Sep, 2006 at 06:25 AM - Reply

Agree with the article man. I feel we really can't afford much more slip-ups, and the Old Trafford game in a couple of weeks' time will really set the tone for the season I feel. yeah man really glad we got Gallas, but it seems we're kinda short at left back now. Hoyte looked shaky, and I'm wondering why Wenger doesn't play Flamini there. Im sure Flamini would be delighted with first team action, even at left back.

Nyingmeh

Posted on 2 Sep, 2006 at 04:16 PM - Reply

Baptista is a worldclass player, versatile is not a word I'd give to him, he played out of position in madrid and sure you all saw what it did to his performances. A very carefull lineup is bound to generate success, however playing people out of position will not be very effective. lauren has done poorly as LB, I expect Cesc to do no better as a winger as he has an eye for goal and not a leg for crosses. You should have noticed the quality of his corner kicks in the games against AV and Man City. So conclusively, we have gotten better , positioning still remains an issue. Baptista will be a good as a fifth midfielder though.

Gilberto

Posted on 2 Sep, 2006 at 02:51 PM - Reply

Yeah nice article man. I feel sorry for cygan. I was cruel to him myself but he was part of the defence that didnt lose a game in 2004. I hope he has a nice future in Spain.

funkymunkey

Posted on 2 Sep, 2006 at 01:46 PM - Reply

Please use an editor, for goodness' sake!

Per Tore

Posted on 2 Sep, 2006 at 01:21 PM - Reply

Can anyone show me that 'Comical Wenger' shirt? :)

Have to say, I couldn't agree more with your article. The last day transfers has really given a (massive) boost to the hopes of many Arsenal-fans. We lost a player who hardly played anything last season, and one who hardly produced any end-product. And in came two world class players, which should fit our tactics perfectly. LOVE IT!

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