By Asser Ghozlan on Sunday, June 22, 2008

Listening to Arsène Wenger's interview on BBC's Football Focus on Saturday lunchtime provided an enchanting insight into the manager's opinions and views on Euro 2008.

The return of vibrant, attacking football to the international stage, the acceptance and embracement of different cultures, and the contributions of Messrs Fabregas and van Persie were just a few issues on the agenda.

But what caught my swift attention (and admittedly initially grew seeds of doubt and frustration in my mind), was Ray Stubbs' question to Le Boss: "So then, you said that you have brought your chequebook to these finals, has anyone caught your eye, you gonna use your chequebook?"

To which Wenger's jokingly terse reply was: "Of course, but having looked at some of the figures in the newspapers I realised that my chequebook maybe isn't big enough!"

Now there's a surprise. We all knew right from November 2001, on the night that it was announced that the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium at Ashburton Grove would indeed become a reality, that transfer cash on players, world class players, would be hard to come by.

This is particularly since Manchester United have been generating profits on a regular basis, and of course since Abramovich invaded west London and kick-started the Russian Blue Revolution.

Whether or not we will sign any major player in the summer, and whether or not his identity will be from the Euros, are both, in doubt, but at the same time not in question.

After all, if you believe all the classified rubbish written in newspapers and on the Internet on a daily basis, you'd now be sweating that Arsenal will be left without any players to represent the club come August.

Adebayor, Fabregas, van Persie, Clichy, Eboue, and of course Hleb have all been linked to moves here, there and everywhere, and even the manager himself was linked to becoming Paris-St.Germain President, albeit in 2011!

On the other hand, you will also believe that we are on the verge of signing any of Eto'o, Touré's brother Yaya, Villa, De la Red, Guiza and/or Albiol from the Spanish shores, Aquilani, Gattuso, Amauri, and Trezeguet from Serie A, Russian play-making wizard Arshavin, Podolski, van der Vaart, Moutinho, Quaresma, the list just goes on and on.

Now I apologise profusely for bogging your minds with a plethora of names, but having compiled that list from various articles and television "reports", I was amazed at how influential the media is on football fans; to a certain extent just brainwashing keen supporters' minds with all sorts of fantasies and permutations.

I was also amazed at that sheer number of world-renowned footballers only being linked to us (as well as half the team leaving of course). I am sure that I have left some players out, but that's for another day.

I guess my main point is that we should not be entirely desperate for wholesale changes at the club. Granted, certain things with individuals went wrong at the business end of last season, but having taken time to reflect on our season's achievements, I am sure you will agree with me that the past campaign was the coming-of-age of many players, and that we do not really need that much of a revolution in order to achieve success, as the papers will have you believe.

A perfect example would be the attack. Spare a thought for a striking partnership of Adebayor (who, despite repeatedly insisting that he is going nowhere, continues to be linked with moves to AC Milan, Barcelona and Mars...), and van Persie, a man on fire in Austria and Switzerland.

The makings of one of the deadliest partnerships in Europe is surely upon us, providing (and praying) that Robin stays fit and ready to roll for next season. That is without mentioning the likes of the fast-recovering Eduardo, an improving and maturing Walcott, Bendtner, the possibilities are endless.

Whilst our attacking verve is definitely a situation to be envied, I can hear rumblings amongst supporters regarding the defence. But, we have shown some dramatic improvements in that department over the past two years, where we are now simply "switching off" at sporadic moments, as opposed to going AWOL for a whole second half.

Having dealt with the rumours, a quick point about the "maybes", the one or two seemingly solid facts that have been circulating over the past month or so.

The fact that we are on the verge of signing Marseille's Samir Nasri feels like it has been going on since Euro 2004, never mind since the beginning of the current tournament!

Nevertheless, sources in France insist that the deal is done, and that only Hleb's departure to a sunnier and quieter place is delaying an official club announcement. Wenger has previously said that he will look to improve the squad with one or two "big players", and a holding central midfielder seems a certainty, although no realistic names have been firmly mentioned.

Apart from that, I'm afraid that's as far as I can go with the nearly true transfer targets and departures, which is a very telling feature of the ratio of fact to fiction in the world of summer football.

As for Wenger's final words on Football Focus, he perfectly summed up the need for stability and keeping what is an already brilliantly talented squad without necessarily going all out and succumbing to the overly-inflated prices on the market: "I will first use my chequebook to keep my players."

Many would agree that he is far from wrong.

User Comments

30

malcolm

Posted on 27 Jun, 2008 at 06:12 PM - Reply

sell adebayor and get david villa he would fit i perfectly. as good a manager as wenger is he needs 2 spend more money its as simple as that. get rid of senderos and get micah richards. hleb is goin every1 knows that so let him go and get arshavin or yaya toure

29

maya

Posted on 27 Jun, 2008 at 03:26 PM - Reply

I heard the pundit saying that Wenger are interested to bring in Silva. Is there are base of this rumors? Well, i certainly interested to watch him playing for Arsenal and i believe he is the long awaited answer for our winger problem.

28

stunnerofagunner

Posted on 27 Jun, 2008 at 12:13 AM - Reply

i agree last season things went downhill but the players exceeded. I personally think its bad how everyone is quick to dismiss Ade, Hleb just because of a bit of speculation. I beleive Hleb has served well and wants to move on which is fair enough but Ade made a massive contribution last season and was the reason we scored so many goals. True Arsenal would want an inflated price on him after what hes acheiving and hes not the best BUT hes needed and we should urge him to stay not think about signing David Villa just because he's performed well in this tournement unlike Valencia!!Another who is overated and NOW over-priced is Arshavin, i dont think he'd accomplish much at emirates realistically I would much rather we go for Shweinsteiger, who is not exceeded expectations but works hard, gets around players, gets goals and has a good technique. Podolski and Guiza are more likely due to Villa's price also Silva will be too much for us.
I would be content if Ade goes IF we get a profitable deal AFTER buying a top class striker But it HAS to be a Big,strong attacking player with a good shot similar to Ade. We have very Fluent play between Clichy,Sagna to the midfield and need a strong player at the front to run at the oposition.
Guiza has shown he's strong and can do all the above.

Nasri Will come, Go for shweinsteiger he's around 10 mill and wants to leave munich, Perfect replacement for Hleb, similar in technique but more confident.

27

Ronnie

Posted on 26 Jun, 2008 at 06:00 PM - Reply

We need to sign a shirt seller, someone who is good at what they do. In my opinion names like Villa, Aguero, Podolski, Sneijder, Van da vaart and even Crouch should be on our shirts. If we can get £25m+ for Adebayor let him go and put in a decent bid for one of these. To strengthen the team further a denfender needs to be signed such as Dunne or Anton Ferdinand. Le Boss please do it for the Arsenal break a habbit of a life time and sign a big name, break the bank for the right player and your investment will pay off.

26

Wayne Millar

Posted on 26 Jun, 2008 at 09:39 AM - Reply

i think its about time arsenal got the checkbook out and bought some top name players otherwise we will keep losing ours,we have been linked with David Villa who i personal dont think would fit in at the gunners id like to see Klose or Deigo Milito and even bring in Louis Saha as back up as with regular football is still quality,also we do need couple of midfielders and defenders,need to bring in some experienced midfielders such as Frings or Senna who id like to see arsenal make a bid for.
Looks like we are gettin Nasri but id like to see Mikel Arteta but thts a personal choice.
As for defenders we need cover for gallas and toure and think ricard dunne wouldnt be a bad bet?
As for our goalkeeping nightmare i think we would all agree that we havent had a real quality trustworthly keeper since seamen,so think a goalkeeper such as Shay Given or even look to bring in Joe Hart from Man City.
This is all good saying who we want but we all know this is never going to happen anyway.

25

Arsenal1Again

Posted on 25 Jun, 2008 at 10:14 PM - Reply

How is David Villa so rated on the strength of one hat trick.

Don't people realise that Wengers remark regarding the Cheque Book related to the balance it was then.

Since those remarks were made, his transfer budget has virtually increased by 30 Million with the sale of Adebayor alone. Hleb will be another 15+ Million if he goes. That's on top of the 'Cheque Book' balance.

With nigh on 50 Million, Wenger could do some serious strengthening of the Team.

24

Viking

Posted on 25 Jun, 2008 at 02:38 PM - Reply

Yeah, i just think that new goalie and why not attacking midfielder would be nice for arsenal.

i just love to see someday sneijder and akinfeev wearing arsenal shirts.

23

olagunju tolu

Posted on 24 Jun, 2008 at 11:54 PM - Reply

david villa is the perfect striker that we need.david silva is a good replacement for hleb.

22

Andy

Posted on 24 Jun, 2008 at 09:36 PM - Reply

As far as I can see, scoring goals is not a problem, the only area we are short on is at the back, as cover for Gallas and Toure and we lack experienced cover in the middle.I belive a full strength Arsenal, (with or without Hleb or the since departed Flamoney), can beat anyone. We just lack strength in depth. So with the imminent arrival of Nasri and hopefully an experienced central defender and defensive midfielder we should be up to the challenge next season, you only need to look at the squad to know that, with a minor adjustment here and there, we are as good as anyone and better than most.

21

Fabregas

Posted on 24 Jun, 2008 at 01:56 PM - Reply

we only need more attackers... david villa is the person which would help arsenal in scoring

20

samuel

Posted on 24 Jun, 2008 at 02:34 AM - Reply

hola, Alexander Hleb deberias ser vendido ya que no tiene gol y en su reemplazo comprar a Arshavin, subirle el salario a Adebayor y comprar otro delantero de punta como Gomis. mientras que en defensa a Micha Richards sería el ideal como defensor central.

19

valsenal

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 11:31 PM - Reply

As much as I agree with what is said in this well researched article, my fear of our beloved team Arsenal falling apart are far from allayed. It might not happen this season but could happen the season after.

Fellow Gunners, the competition for the four Champions League spots will be even tougher now that our sworn enemies (Lowly Tots) seem to have found a very good manager and is provided with a big enough chequebook to spend on world class players and Man City are now also worthy contenders to the priceless fourth spot.

If that does not worry you, than the thoughts of Chelsea strengthening an already strong team, Liverpool acquiring David Villa and Gareth Barry for the sole purpose of succeeding in the BPL and Man U still chasing fearsome players of Berbatov’s caliber will surely make anybody wonder how Arsenal will top that, given the kind of players we are signing.

I am not saying that we are signing the wrong kind of players. Le Boss just need to sign both Youngsters and experienced campaigners to make sure that the likes of Fabregas, Adebayor and co are not frustrated by the never ending building process and move on to other clubs in order to adorn their mansions with silverware. After all, every sportsman dreams of wining trophies.

If Arsenal’s management cannot provide that platform by patching up the leaky defense (Central defense and Goal Keeping department) they should not chain down players who have obviously done their bit by creating countless scoring opportunities and scored match winning goals just to be let down by defenders.

Without a good goal keeper and center back Mr. Wenger is building a sky scrapper on a wobbly foundation. It reminds me of the Real Madrid of a few years back that went trophyless for a couple of seasons because they believed signing defenders was a waste of money. They signed Canavaro for a supposedly huge sum of money and trophies started coming.

Arsenal should sign a very good center-back, a trust worthy goal keeper and after the departure of Flamini a defensive midfielder to have any chance of winning silverware. Should Adebayor and Hleb leave than another quality striker should be signed as a replacement.

The worst case scenario is Arsenal finishing fifth and missing out on the last champions league spot. If some of our players a jumping ships now when the team is doing relatively well, imagine who would be the first person to leave the club if we finish fifth. Le Boss himself and subsequently all the good players.

This statement might earn me the tag of number one pessimist Arsenal supporter, but the truth is, it almost happened two seasons back and it could really happen now if the team is not properly strengthened to cement its place in the top four list.

18

AG

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 10:09 PM - Reply

I believe there will be one or two signings made over the following month or so, especially in the defensive midfield area. However, you can just never read what's going on inside the manager's head, and so we cannot speculate about who the signing is until it ultimately happens.

But what I meant from writing this article is that an absolute overhaul is not necessary at all, only just a slight tweaking perhaps. We have great players, and the best evidence to that is the fact all clubs around Europe are (allegedly) after a lot of our players. Now despite that being a nuisance, it is actually a credit in a way to Wenger's shrwedness in discovering rough gems, turning them into world class stars!

17

james148

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 09:48 PM - Reply

arsenal should buy richard dunne and get rid of senderos

16

Haakon

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 08:56 PM - Reply

I hope for Arshavin

15

rock gunner

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 01:06 PM - Reply

how about bringing in yaya toure s bro , he has proved to be an excellent holding mid. and wouldn't he relish to play along his brother .We all now how commited kolo is imagine them together.

14

sulazu

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 12:54 PM - Reply

I think am not caught with the Wenger/ Management spell yet. In as much as I agree with him keeping the current squad, adding some quality to it is also inevitable if we are ever serious about challenging for honours come next season. It is though disheartning the way transfer market have been over inflated. But we aren`t the only club in it. We can as well make money from our top buying. Reckon that Madrid became world`s richest club from marketing the franchise of their big players then. Am not entirely advocating the Madrid style if it doesn`t suit our situation, but be a little bit ambitious as another season without trophy could spell doom for the club resolve to hold on to people like Fabrigas, Hleb(if he stays this time), and host of others. Wenger, no matter how lean your cheque book is, you could afford Arshavin(a match winner we need), and a strong holding midfielder. The fans are counting on you Le Boss!

13

gunner

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 12:19 PM - Reply

would be nice if we can get a few superstars which will surely bring home some trophies

12

alfredo gunner

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 11:08 AM - Reply

lets keep our players together first and then strengthen in areas of need. i agree with the manager.consistency is important sometimes in soccer cus it leads to cohesion in a team.

11

jp20

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 10:32 AM - Reply

well written mate,u wrote exactly the feelings all the gunners have in their minds right now!

10

Arsenal Fan

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 07:08 AM - Reply

Typical Wenger... spending decent amount of money on a complete unknown when he could buy an experienced campaigner for a bit more than what he pays for the unknown... we have to look past the point of buying unknowns, and do something to win the title next year. Unfortunately, this time Wenger is really annoying me and it just isnt funny anymore! does he have serious ambitions on winning the title? his attitude doesn't suggest so... even though i like adebayor, and he is a very good player and we need him; i think talks for him have moved past the point of looking back... i say, sell him to barcelona and buy villa from that same amount of money. pay a few extra pounds, and sell hleb and get yaya. try to get berbatov to be a replacement for adebayor. and please, get a 'tough' english center back; gallas cannot be trusted anymore after looking at his performance in the euros. Although our squad is talented and we've improved massively, we are losing it (the squad); and if things go like this (we cant even win the bpl with this current crop of players), we can never win the bpl. wenger seems to make things harder for himself transforming players from their natural positions, and with this whole frugal policy. wenger seems to not care anymore to make a difference ,its sad to say. if we win great, thats great; if we dont win, we had a young group of players that can be excused. if wenger doesnt win the bpl this season, or even reinforce the squad, i would think he has lost his ambition to win trophies for arsenal. i get the feeling he is getting more responsible on the financial side and stability of arsenal than on winning trophies. Thats great too, but please win trophies as well! we've been stable enough...

9

Amir

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 04:23 AM - Reply

Well Said....
I reckon Arsene delivered false promise again. No major signings this summer!

8

M*

Posted on 23 Jun, 2008 at 12:26 AM - Reply

The way forward is building on our current team... we have a vast resource of talent and a few experienced additions will benefit the squad.

Again, an old school style winger possibly... Also, can we mold our current prospects to become a proper holding midfielder allowing Cesc to play a more attacking and involved role?

Will Eduardo ever come back to his previous form only time can tell... Podolski would be an amazing acquistion. If not, a Villa, RvP and Adebayor partnership could be magical.

As for Adebayor... if we can get £25+m or whatever the press is quoting and he would like to go... why not? Love the guy and his improvement over his tenure at our club but he is somewhat replacable.

7

Mike

Posted on 22 Jun, 2008 at 11:58 PM - Reply

Agree with all that, but we need to improve our bench depth, remember ??
And with talents of course, but we can trust Arsene on this ..

6

Matt

Posted on 22 Jun, 2008 at 08:08 PM - Reply

I don't think wenger is wrong but i believe with the current state of play concerning transfers in the modern day wenger has to loosen the strings only slightly. Players brought in do help the club to profit through selling shirts and exciting the fans so we would get money back on players if we were to sign somebody like villa, not saying we need to or will sign him. How are we to compete with big clubs in europe if they are snapping up every youngster and big player going and we are gathering up any players they fail to spot. The Emirates Stadium is a fantastic place to go and watch football and has helped arsenal to begin making lots of money, however if we continue having a wage structure and a transfer policy are we going to be able to compete at the highest level once the likes of fabregas have got old and moves on.

5

keemanxp

Posted on 22 Jun, 2008 at 06:53 PM - Reply

True Enough. Arsenal don't need star players to win trophies, what Arsenal need is the continuity and willingness to play as a unit and of course uphold the beautiful free flowing attacking football without comprising crucial results.

Last season was a bit unlucky as Arsenal lost key players at a very critical stage. And some slips in three or four matches were enough to give a big blow for title hope. Remember, despite the young emerging players, Arsenal only 4 points short of the title and lost only 3 games.

And i would prefer to see a superb talented Arsenal team to win trophies than winning it by signing a bunch of top players. Arsenal don't need to buy top players, Wenger can mould one from bottom!

4

will mackay

Posted on 22 Jun, 2008 at 02:03 PM - Reply

very good article, as you say the media seem to think that the whole arsenal team is leaving, and everyone else is coming. agents are also a problem, as the stir things up, maybe just to get an improved contract for their players. they also want there players to transfer, as the get a massive sum of money. if you look at ronaldo's agent he is set to get around £10million if ronaldo goes to madrid. if i was his agent, i would beg him to go to madrid, i dont know about u lot tho? i believe that agents should not get any money for the transfer of players, as they only cause trouble for ALL CLUBS not just arsenal.

3

Wong

Posted on 22 Jun, 2008 at 01:55 PM - Reply

Exchange Adebayor for Samuel E'to!!!!

2

Steve

Posted on 22 Jun, 2008 at 12:39 PM - Reply

Fantastic article, if only it could turn the most headstrong pessimistic nay-sayers heads around. Unfortunately, I think we have more chance of signing Villa than that happening (which coincidentally, is what we need for these fans to stop moaning, ANOTHER bloody striker!)

1

ad

Posted on 22 Jun, 2008 at 12:08 PM - Reply

spot on...we don't need many new players as last year showed us...gilberto is near his end but at the end of the season we saw some signs of his best and desire to play again...
lets just hope that if adebayor and hleb do go(unlikely) that we can get a strong replacement...more so the replacement of hleb...as i don't see nasri as a worthy replacement just yet

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