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 [...]
Arsenal’s annual general meeting was held on Wednesday. Arsene Wenger gave a powerful speech, while Stan Kroenke’s comments supplied supporters with little insight. Shareholders were clearly frustrated with chairman Peter Hill-Wood. Reports are saying that the Gunners have opened up contract negotiations with Robin van Persie.
Wenger’s speech at the meeting was clearly from his heart. He stood up for the values of our club and the class with which the club operates (from Daily Mirror):
“I believe that the values we defend are highly defendable because we want to do things with class. We want of course to be very ambitious. We want to be very brave. I believe that this club has always been very brave in its decisions. The courage is a quality I admire because it is a highly needed quality in the modern world.”
Arsene believes that the fans need to get behind the team, and together Arsenal can achieve success. Wenger said that he believes that his squad have the right attitude and are ready to fight. He said this near the end of his speech (from Daily Mirror):
“And if I just would like to achieve one thing today it is: trust us, this team has qualities, this team will fight.” Click to read the full transcript of Wenger’s speech at the AGM. Stan Kroenke took a few minutes to introduce himself to the shareholders and supporters. The American majority shareholder has been quiet since his takeover last season. He was interested in several [...]
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 [...]
The Starting Line-up: Ivan Gazidis said on Thursday that Arsenal can “cope” and “compete” without participation in the UEFA Champions League. Aaron Ramsey finds relief in playing for Wales after the poor start to his Arsenal season. Robin van Persie said that he is unsure of his future (again).
Let’s start with the chief executive of our football club. Ivan Gazidis spoke at a football conference, and he said that Arsenal will be fine without the money generated from the Champions League (from ESPN):
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis
“We would rather qualify for it but we have a really sustainable model that can cope without it. Not just cope, but we can do well and compete. It would be very foolish to build a business model that relied on being in the Champions League for perpetuity and I don’t think any clubs do that and, if they do, then they probably aren’t being run as responsibly as they should be.”
You have to be an extremely positive Gooner to believe that we will finish in the top four this season. Obviously, Arsenal’s budget does not need that £26 million (amount Arsenal made from the UCL last season) to run the club. But the Champions League is symbolic to players and supporters. Top players want to play in the competition, and supporters know their club is at an elite level when they watch them on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Gazidis went on: “Every club has the temptation to think that money is the [...]
Robin van Persie scored two goals against Bolton, including his 100th for Arsenal. The Gunners came out firing in the second half, and dominated the match after Bolton centre-back David Wheater was shown a straight red card.
Arsenal were tentative in the first half, but the Dutchman hit the net less that a minute into the second period. Van Persie took the pass from Aaron Ramsey and blasted the shot near-post. Jaaskelanien was caught standing straight up, and the low, powerful strike was too much for the keeper.
Arsene Wenger needed his team to score another goal against the 10-man Wanderers to close the match out. Van Persie completed his century of Gunner goals in the 71st minute. Theo Walcott broke free down the wing and sent a low cross towards the Dutchman. RvP finished it off with a tap from the outside of his foot.
Surprisingly, it was Alex Song who scored Arsenal’s third. He curled the ball into the upper corner in the 89th minute. Song’s strike was the best goal of the day, but it will be Robin who takes the praise for the win.
David Wheater was sent off with a straight red in the 55th minute. Aaron Ramsey played a perfect through ball to Theo Walcott. Theo had too much pace for Wheater, and the Bolton center-half pulled him to the ground. It was a clear break, so Wheater had to go.
Walcott was terrific. He burned the Wanderers’ back four throughout the match, but especially after Bolton [...]
Arsene Wenger criticised his players for Arsenal’s troubles at the back. Robin van Persie is “frustrated” with at the Gunners inability to respond to poor performances. Rumours are swirling over a possible new defensive coach to sort out the problems.
Wenger said that his squad’s terrible defending this season is due to “a lack of concentration, a lack of communication, a lack of co-ordination and individual urgency.” (from The Sun)
What Wenger said was obvious to the rest of the world, but it is good to finally hear it from him. Arsene usually never criticises his players in public like this. He is famous for defending his boys at all costs, but Wenger decided now was the time to let out his growing frustrations.
He continued: “When you score an own goal, you have to look at yourself. It is never completely out of your reach where you have no chance at all. Our season depends now on how well we respond to this disappointment and how quickly we can cut out the mistakes we made on Saturday by giving away goals that we should never give away.”
Wenger is correct. If the Gunners continue on the current course, we could be looking at a mid-table finish or worse. Something needs to change, whether it is the philosophy or the confidence does not matter. The Bolton match on Saturday at the Emirates is huge for our season.
Robin van Persie said he is “frustrated” with the team this season. He [...]
Robin van Persie scored four for Holland. Park Chu-young had a hat-trick for South Korea. Aaron Ramsey scored the winner for Wales in their European qualifier. Theo Walcott played very well in England’s victory over Bulgaria.
Holland defeated San Marino by a score of 11-0, and RVP contributed four goals for the Dutch. His first tally came in the 7th minute. Van Persie controlled a beautiful cross and then calmly slid it past the San Marino keeper to open the scoring. The Dutchman’s second goal came after he tapped the ball into an open net in the 65th minute.
Van Persie hammered home his third of the match in the 68th minute. After a shot bounced off the keeper, RVP finished the job by scoring the 7th goal of the game. His last goal came after a brilliant string of passes in the 79th minute. Van Persie finished off the total football with a hard, low finish.
San Marino were humiliated in the match, and it was tough not to feel sorry for them. Van Persie went through a similar struggle when Arsenal lost 8-2 at Old Trafford. After the match, many jokers on Twitter compared the Gunners to San Marino.
New Gunner Park Chu-young helped South Korea pummel Lebanon 6-0 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. Nine minutes in, Park opened the scoring with a fantastic volley. A long pass was floated towards Park, and the captain decided to pop it into the net before letting it drop. Hopefully, we [...]
Arsene Wenger has selected Robin van Persie as the next skipper for the Gunners. Van Persie said he is prepared to become the new Arsenal captain.
Arsenal announced on Tuesday that the Dutch striker will take over as skipper. Cesc Fabregas, former Gunner captain, left for Barcelona Sunday night, and now RvP must assume the leadership role in the squad. Here is what Wenger told Arsenal Official Matchday Programme:
“Robin van Persie will be captain this season.
“He is a leader through the way he plays, through his attitude and through his desire to win. He’s been at the Club a long time and he’s a technical leader as well. Thomas Vermaelen will assist him, it’s the decision I have made and I’m confident the group will respond to it.”
Van Persie is ready to wear the armband, telling Arsenal Official Matchday Programme: “As captain you are an ambassador for the Club and I’m ready for that. I’ve been in the game now for more than ten years, so I know how this world works.
“When I was 18 I didn’t have a clue! Every day I was always surprised by something, when I went to training or when I had a game, every day was just one big surprise for me. How people reacted after the game – the fans, players, media – it was all a surprise to me, I was just thinking about playing football.
“But now I know how things work and I understand that certain [...]
Van Persie, in typical fashion, found the net, and then later fell to ground in pain.
Arsenal squandered another lead last night. Robin van Persie scored for the Gunners, but Benfica answered back in the second half with goals from Pablo Aimar and Nolito.
Van Persie put Arsenal ahead in the 33rd minute. Andrey Arshavin sent a nice ball through to Kieran Gibbs on the wing. Gibbs made an excellent cross, and RVP tapped the ball into the net. It was an easy finish to get wrong, but the Dutchman doesn’t miss open chances.
Pablo Aimar slipped through the Arsenal defence to score the equaliser in the 49th minute. Aimar was able to shield the ball from Thomas Vermaelen, make a nice turn, and shuffle the ball in the net. Vermaelen really should have done better against on of the smallest player on the pitch.
Nolito notched the winner for Benfica in the 60th minute. He turned neatly before firing a low shot from 18 yards out. The curler beat Fabianski at the near post and secured a Benfica victory.
This match was more like a competitive game than another of Arsenal’s previous pre-season match-ups. Benfica were determined to fight, and the match was rough at times. Benfica were a good final test for the Gunners before the season begins. After the match, Arsene Wenger commented:
“We got the intensity we wanted, it was a competitive game and we were challenged by a good team who had a lot of experienced players.”
Arsenal are the front-runners to sign Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku. Arsene Wenger wants Jose Enrique of Newcastle to replace Gael Clichy at left back. Real Madrid are interested in Robin van Persie.
Let’s start off with Lukaku. According to The Sun, Arsenal has offered Anderlecht £14million for the 18-year old striker. Chelsea are also firmly in the hunt for Lukaku. Arsenal executives met with a Lukaku representative yesterday in London. The Belgian striker is one of the most exciting young players in Europe.
For literally months now, Chelsea has always been the front-runner for Lukaku. A deal sending Lukaku to Stamford Bridge seemed imminent. Could our the Gunners hijack the deal and steal Lukaku away from those rich Blues?
Lukaku has been dubbed the “next Drogba” because of his size (1.91 m or 6 ft 3 in) and strength. If Wenger can pull this off, then maybe the current crop of players can see the weight our club carries throughout the world.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has admitted that Jose Enrique wants to leave the Magpies for Champions League football. According to Daily Mail, Arsenal is willing to offer £8million for the 25-year old left back.
If Wenger brings in Enrique, it will be a sign that Kieran Gibbs is not yet ready. Enrique has been a consistently good footballer for Newcastle over the last couple years. He would be a solid player every week at left back. Liverpool are also interested in the Newcastle man.
According to rumours, Real Madrid has placed a bid for Robin van Persie. The bid is said to [...]
