Philippe Christanval

[asajoseph]

Apparently former Barca defender Philipe Christanval (or at least some chap called Christanval) is playing in defence for us today against Barnet - what's the story with this one?!?

 

[asajoseph]

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/Art ... ?id=292267

Ah, skysports have picked up on it too - interesting, we really need some depth at the back, and having a player like Christanval, who has oodles of talent but hasn't fulfilled much, AND on a free, could be a fantastic move.

Let's see how the trial goes.

 

[Anonymous]

sky sports news say he is on a trial, that young keeper from Atlanta is in goal second half

 

[lewdikris]

Can;t do no harm. Christanval looked like a world beater when he started out but injury and confidence ****ed him up. He'd be 4th or 5th choice (or would provide a good way for Cygan to go!) and would be a good squad member at the start .... if Wenger can get the best out of him, we'll be massively better off.

 

[Loylz]

Confirmation by Arsenal that he has been given a trial and team news.

 

[OoDy]

Well about Christanval.. When he came to Barca in 2001 from Monaco for £7M! he was hailed as one of the best Defenders in France at only 22.. etc.. He played and was Cr@p! very injury prone gets injured every now and then! .. Although now i wouldn`t mind signing him as cover and only cover for Cygan but not as a first team player.. I hope he proves me wrong and turns out to be a good signing but I really, really doubt It

 

[flash]

Does anyone know what injuries he had, and more importantly anything about his re-habilitation?

 

[JGooner]

1 French player out, so obviously we had to bring one in. We're so predictable. And I'm sure we would have taken a similar chance on an English equivalent of Christanval instead of calling him overrated, overhyped, overpaid, blah blah bullshit.

 

[dare29871]

Would he have come for free thogh? Probably wouuld have cost us £10M in wages alone.

 

[asajoseph]

Have anybody in mind JGooner? Or just feel that Arsenal have a responsibility to take on poorer quality players just because of the picture on the passport?

 

[fuma75]

he is no better than Upson i can tell you that.

 

[asajoseph]

I'd love to have a player like Upson back - as a much needed backup, as opposed to a first teamer of course. Christanval, if he can stay fit (and I'm sure that's what they're assessing), would be an ideal backup option for us next year.

 

[flash]

EDIT NO CAPS ALLOWED SO DELETED :wink:

 

[jay-d]

Upson wanted to leave because he wanted a first team spot, which rightly Wenger couldn't guarentee. Christanval, if he's happy to be back up would be ideal, so what if he's not English. He's free won't have huge wage demands and has to be better than Cygan, It could turn out to be a perfect deal for all involved. Which in turn will leave more money open for other targets.

 

[GoonerGurjit]

I've always liked Christanval since his Monaco days. Hopefully Wenger can bring out the best in him. He's a risk-free gamble.

 

[asajoseph]

The thing about Christanval is, that he probably knows he can no longer demand a starting spot at a top club, although in the past that seemed to be on the cards for his career. He'll be happy to sit on the bench. But the great thing is, there's still a chance that he'll fulfill his high potential (despite being older), and challenge for a starting spot on merit.

 

[Canuck]

So I've seen a couple of articles that say Christaval was great for Monaco and showed alot of promise after his move to Barca. But injury shut him down. Would like to know what kind of injury. If he was doing so well at Barca how did he end up back in France at Marsielle? And more importantly why was he contract dissolved with the french club?

From the short bit about WC'02

Roger Lemerre has already singled him out as the future of France's central defence and the World Cup could provide the perfect springboard his international career

But it didn't...

 

[HalliGoalie]

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT KIND OF INJURIES HE HAD?

No

But I think we should sign him on a pay as you play deal so if he would suffer a injury we wouldn´t suffer and i´m sure wenger can produce back the quality that he had.

 

[asajoseph]

I'm sure that his injury problems will be something that are being assessed right now - whether or not they're permanent, healed, long term or whatever. I'm sure the club won't sign him unless they're convinced that his issues with injury in the past have been overcome.

 

[brianfrance]

I think he played less than 5 matches during the last 2 seasons
I'm not convinced at all, but arsène knows...