With such little Arsenal news to speak of during this break period, it is time that we caught up with some of the latest (and wildest) transfer rumours.
Inter Milan are reportedly targeting Robin van Persie for purchase in January. Arsenal have been linked with AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato. Dortumund midfielder Kevin Grosskreuts would welcome a move to his “favourite club” Arsenal. We often heard about Yann M’Vila during the summer, and it looks like Wenger may not yet have given up on buying the French midfielder.
According to the Metro, Inter Milan are planning to make a strong push to sign van Persie in January. The Metro piece cites reports out of Italy for the basis of the story.
Inter Milan could very well make an attempt to get RvP. They are flaundering near the relegation spots and could use the extra firepower. But I doubt Robin would want a move to Italy, let alone to a club that has not recovered from a poor start to the season.
According to Italian reports, Arsenal are ready to offer £35 million for AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato. The 22-year old Brazilian international may want to leave Milan because of playing time. Milan are stacked with strikers (Zlatan, Robinho, Cassano), so the club could choose to sell him.
Any reasonable Gooner would find it hard to believe that our club would offer this amount of cash for one player. If this deal was completed, it would more than double Arsenal’s record transfer fee. Pato is a [...]
Lots of transfer rumours flying around this week about Arsenal. The two big names we are reportedly targeting are Eden Hazard and Mario Gotze. Then there is also speculation about the possible departure of Marouane Chamakh. Promising American winger Brek Shea will train with Arsenal for one month, which leads to obvious questions.
Lille star Eden Hazard recently made it clear that he is ready to leave France in the summer, with many top clubs interested in signing him. Gervinho, who played with Hazard at Lille before moving to the Emirates, would love to see the talented Belgium winger at Arsenal (from ESPN):
“Hazard is a young player with enormous quality. If he has decided to leave, it is normal for clubs to be interested, as he has the level to triumph in England.
“Eden has learnt a lot at Lille, and I believe he could succeed abroad. Where he goes is up to the clubs. But it will be a big operation.”
We will likely miss out on Hazard. Lille have already been offered large sums of cash from PSG, with Inter and Milan lurking. Chelsea are also interested, so that pretty much rules us out. Maybe Wenger and the board will splash the cash, but recent history says that won’t happen.
Another brilliant young player is on our radar. Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze may be on his way to London. Remember that we pushed to sign the 19-year old midfielder in the summer. If Dortmund fail to [...]
The January transfer rumours are starting already. The Line-up: Anzhi Makhachkala are targeting several world-class stars, including Robin van Persie. Arsenal are close to signing 16-year old Jose Rodriguez from Real Madrid. Salomon Kalou could make a move to the Emirates in the winter.
Manchester City are not the only super-wealthy club who are hoping to sign Robin van Persie. Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala are looking to add high-priced stars, and captain Roberto Carlos named a few of their targets (quotes obtained from ESPN):
“Anelka is not the only player. Nene from PSG and Van Persie from Arsenal are players we are following. And Neymar? I talked to him. If Real, Barca or Manchester United cannot pay the transfer fee, we will pay it. Suleyman Kerimov can offer what he wants.”
Remember that Anzhi signed Samuel Eto’o away from Inter and made him the highest paid footballer in the world. If Robin is looking for an inflated wage bill, he should look no further. It is likely that the Dutchman would not want a move to Anzhi, where the players live in Moscow and only visit Makhachkala on match day due to the violence in the city.
Apparently, Anzhi want to offer Ashley Cole £200,000 per week. I assume that Cashley booked the first flight of the day to Moscow.
According to various sources, Arsenal are set to complete the signing of Real Madrid 16-year old midfielder Jose Rodriguez. The Gunners decided to move for Rodriguez after his player of the tournament display [...]
Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina revealed through his new autobiography that Arsenal were ready to sign him for £20 million, but the move was blocked by the former Liverpool owners.
Reina said that the Gunners tried to sign him in 2010, and that he wanted the move to the Emirates Stadium (passage from book obtained from Daily Mail):
“Arsenal had made their determination to sign me clear by offering £20m, a phenomenal amount for a goalkeeper. Part of me felt that I was well within my rights to consider my future even if I did so with a heavy heart.
“When Liverpool received the bid, they rejected it. This was not because I had been told that I was too good a keeper to leave. The reason I was given was quite different – and it left me feeling down. I was told that my continued presence was crucial to the sale of the club. I was simply a bargaining chip in the sales process.”
Apparently, Reina asked Liverpool to talk with Arsene Wenger about a potential move to Arsenal, but Liverpool did not want to sell him because they were in the process of selling the club. It makes me wonder what would have been different about last season if Reina had joined in the summer of 2010.
Remember that Reina did make that error that allowed us to escape Anfield with a point in the first Premier League match last season. But the Spanish keeper is world class [...]
The morning papers are linking Robin van Persie with a move to Manchester City to replace Carlos Tevez. Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke broke his silence and talked about a wide range of issues, including Arsene Wenger, Samir Nasri, and Cesc Fabregas.
According to The Guardian, Manchester City see Robin van Persie as a direct replacement for the disgruntled Carlos Tevez. Even with the transfer window three months away, Van Persie is already a hot topic of disussion inside City. The Dutchman revealed earlier this week that he was not interested in negotiating a new contract with Arsenal this season.
Mancini and company know they have to sell Tevez for the reduced price of £20 million or less. If RVP refuses to sign a new contract, he has to go. Maybe Arsene Wenger will be able to work a swap for Tevez. Carlos Tevez and cash to Arsenal and Manchester City get RVP.
The rumours around the Dutchman will only multiply as we head towards January. It is ridiculous because Robin’s contract does not run out until the end of next season. The Gunners will have more leverage because they can chose to keep Van Persie until the summer. But Arsenal, seeing the extraordinary fees paid for Torres and Carroll last winter, may be wise to sell in January.
Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kronke is no longer “Silent Stan.” The American told The Telegraph (from The Guardian): “I have tremendous confidence in [Arsene]. He is one of the great managers in the world. Arsene is one of my [...]
Robin van Persie said he does not want to negotiate a new contract with Arsenal at this time. Arsene Wenger compared the Dutchman to Lionel Messi and said that he does not think that Van Persie will leave the Emirates.
The Dutchman’s contract at Arsenal runs until the end of next season, and the rumours are starting already.
Van Persie said (from The Guardian): “I still have almost two years left, so for the moment that’s fine. I’m happy with my contract. I can’t look into the future. I can’t see us talking now because we are so busy. Maybe we will leave it until the end of next season”
Manchester City are rumoured to be interested in RvP, but Arsene Wenger said he does not expect the Dutch striker to go (from The Guardian): “It’s true that we had a meeting during the summer. It is understandable that he would want that when you lose players such as Fabregas and Nasri. I don’t think we will lose him.”
Wenger also said that no one would be leaving Arsenal shortly before Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas did just that. City are clearly trying to weaken our squad while strengthening their team. Reports say that Manchester City would have to pay £ 30 million for Van Persie. That is a low value considering the price paid for flops like Fernando Torres (£50m) and Andy Carroll (£35m).
People will point to his injury-riddled past, but I would rather have Van Persie for [...]
Bolton manager Owen Coyle said that he expects Arsenal to attempt to sign centre-back Gary Cahill in January. Reports are now suggesting that Inter Milan could make a move for the England international.
More Gary Cahill rumours are spreading in the lead up to the Arsenal v Bolton match on Saturday. Bolton boss Owen Coyle is responsible for creating the vast majority of these rumours. Coyle was quoted as saying (from the Daily Mail): “I don’t know how Arsenal’s finances work, but they know he’s an outstanding player.
“The valuations in August were between the two chairmen, and, of course, it never came to fruition.
“Now there’s the problem of the January window, and I think there will be more than just Arsenal coming back in for him then. We will deal with at the time.”
According to the Daily Mail, Inter Milan will try to pry Cahill away from Bolton. New manager Claudio Ranieri is eager to add quality to his back four.
Even after the addition of Per Mertesacker, the Gunners still need to bolster the backline. Laurent Koscielny is just not good enough to play for Arsenal on a consistent basis. Johan Djourou’s lack of positional sense, awareness, and urgency were all on display against League Two Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night. Thomas Vermaelen is a quality centre-half, but Arsene Wenger cannot rely on him to stay healthy for a few months, let alone an entire season.
Arsenal have sent Nicklas Bendtner on a season-long loan to Sunderland. Henri Lansbury will join West Ham on a loan deal. Lorient have signed Arsenal’s Joel Campbell (loan) and Gilles Sunu.
The big news is that Arsenal have signed Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun, but let’s focus on some of the deadline day departures.
Sunderland signed Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner to a season-long loan deal in the last hour of the transfer window. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce had this to say about the move (from Sunderland’s official website): “I’ve had the privilege of working with Nicklas previously. I had him as an 18-year-old and he helped clinch promotion for Birmingham.
“He’s an outstanding talent and is a big, physical presence who will lead the line magnificently for us.”
Yes, but he thinks he is one of the best players in the world. He changed his shirt number to 52 because that is how many thousands of pounds he makes per week. Do not get too excited Sunderland fans. Bendtner can be a decent player on his day, but he has a fragile mind.
This move is good for Arsenal and Bendtner. The 23-year old striker needs playing time and he will not get it at the Emirates. With the arrival of Park Chu-young, Bendtner was set to get even less playing time. Plus, I would rather see Marouane Chamakh given another chance than Bendtner.
Henri Lansbury has gone from playing under Arsene Wenger to playing under Big Sam Allardyce. The 20-year [...]
Arsenal have signed Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta to a four-year contract. The Gunners also brought in Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun on loan. Arsene Wenger has decided to bring more experience to his squad.
Arsenal.com has confirmed that the club have completed a transfer for Mikel Arteta. Gooners were glued to Sky Sports News or the internet on Wednesday night as the deadline approached. The move was not finished until the final moments of the transfer window.
According to The Guardian and other sources, Everton and Arsenal agreed on a £10 million transfer fee. Everton did not want to sell their Spanish star, but the allure of Champions League football made Arteta ask to leave Goodison Park. The Gunners made an initial £5m bid for Arteta, which was easily dismissed by Everton. Arsenal raised their offer to £10m, but Everton wanted around £20m.
But then Arteta sprung into action. He told the Toffees that he wanted a move to the Emirates. Everton manager David Moyes explained:
“Mikel indicated to me he wished to join Arsenal. I am very disappointed to lose him but the prospect of Champions League football was something I was not able to offer him.”
Everton were forced to sell their star player for much less than they valued him. Mikel Arteta also had to take a pay cut to ensure his move to Arsenal. According to The Telegraph, Arteta will make £55,000 a week with Arsenal, but he was on £75,000 per week at Goodison Park.
