By Walid Hai
Reports surfacing yesterday are suggesting that Gael Clichy may be ready to enter contract negotiations with Arsenal.
At the end of the season in May, sources close to the club had confirmed that Wenger was ready to let the full back leave, with Roma looking the likeliest destination for the French international. However, Sky Sports have now claimed the Arsenal manager is keen to hold on to the 25 year old defender, the last remaining member of the Invincibles team.
Wenger reportedly said, “We have started talks with Gael and want him to stay".
Given that the story is true, it is a rather interesting turnaround in Wenger’s decision as Clichy’s inconsistency has come under scrutiny several times since he conceded the last minute penalty at the game against Birmingham City at St. Andrews in 2008.
The Frenchman has often been able to recover catastrophic errors due to his pace and high fitness levels. His lung bursting dribbles into opposition territories and interceptions during key moments has provided some difficult attacks for opposition teams to deal with.
The problem however has always been his ability to win 1-on-1 duels. The likes of Lennon and Young have tried and failed to outpace Clichy in a bid to get behind the Arsenal defence. However, there are the likes of Nani who also previously attempted to beat the full back with and later adopted a more effective solution to use an over-lapping full back and double up on that flank leaving the left back to make some poor decisions.
Wenger may have identified Clichy’s weakness, but with few options available, perhaps keeping hold of the full back may be the best solution. Gibbs is still a long way from gaining consistency and proving his fitness, while Armand Traore is likely to look for a permanent move away from North London in search of regular football.
In terms of the transfer market, there is few options available. Everton’s Leighton Baines has been mentioned several times. While Baines has had a good season, it is unlikely Wenger will want to pay the premium for the English international with the centre backs being top priority this summer.
And Clichy has several times expressed his desire to remain with the club. He has often mentioned feeling “home-sick” every time he has had to stay away from London for more than 2 weeks.
The news will no doubt leave Liverpool fans slightly upset as the Merseyside club desperately seeking a left back. Aurelio’s injury concerns coupled together with Paul Konchesky’s torrid performances meant Liverpool may have been in with a chance of securing Clichy’s signature with the Frenchman’s current contract expiring next summer.
With few doors open to Wenger in terms of a replacement, the Arsenal manager may just opt to stick with his current left back for the coming season.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Arsenal Look to Argentina
Arsenal look set to complete the signing of Ricardo Alvarez from Velez Sarsfield. As the clocks tick down to the start of the season, fans in North London grow more and more frustrated. While Manchester United are spending the cash with the signing of Ashley Young, the only signing that looks set for Arsenal is the fairly unknown Argentinian Midfielder Alvarez.
With a host of clubs chasing the 23 year old highly rated Velez Sarsfield player, Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has lifted the lid on the situation by claiming Alvarez has already signed for the North London outfit. "We did have a concrete bid for Alvarez and had him in our grasp back in January," he told Radio Kiss Kiss.
"Unfortunately, we didn't complete the move in time, so we lost him to Arsenal. At this moment he has already signed for the Gunners".
It is already known that among the host of players that have been shown the exit door at the Emirates is Denilson. The Brazilian, who is widely recognised as the hate figure for Arsenal fans has been below par for a while and with Rosicky's regular poor performances becoming somewhat of a trademark, Wenger is looking to refresh the midfield ranks.
So what do we know about Alvarez? His 3 goals in 14 games is unlikely to fill the Arsenal fans with optimism for what is going to be a critical season in the club's future. Many fans have already labelled him the, "Rosicky treatment table replacement", due to his injury record. However, he is known as "Ricky the Wonderful" by the Velez fans and has produced some outstanding performances this season. The midfielder has an eye for goal and has deceptively quick feet. His movement both on and off the ball reflects his ability to think two- three steps ahead of play and is a player clearly suited to a bigger league than Argentine Primera Divsion.
Alvarez will face stern competition from Ramsey and Wilshere for a starting place in midfield. Undoubtedly a player with huge potential, he can either turn out to be the next Iniesta, or the next Diaby. Denilson's exit may bring joy for Gooners across the country, but only the coming season will tell whether Wenger is replacing like for like.
See Alvarez video compilation here
With a host of clubs chasing the 23 year old highly rated Velez Sarsfield player, Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has lifted the lid on the situation by claiming Alvarez has already signed for the North London outfit. "We did have a concrete bid for Alvarez and had him in our grasp back in January," he told Radio Kiss Kiss.
"Unfortunately, we didn't complete the move in time, so we lost him to Arsenal. At this moment he has already signed for the Gunners".
It is already known that among the host of players that have been shown the exit door at the Emirates is Denilson. The Brazilian, who is widely recognised as the hate figure for Arsenal fans has been below par for a while and with Rosicky's regular poor performances becoming somewhat of a trademark, Wenger is looking to refresh the midfield ranks.
So what do we know about Alvarez? His 3 goals in 14 games is unlikely to fill the Arsenal fans with optimism for what is going to be a critical season in the club's future. Many fans have already labelled him the, "Rosicky treatment table replacement", due to his injury record. However, he is known as "Ricky the Wonderful" by the Velez fans and has produced some outstanding performances this season. The midfielder has an eye for goal and has deceptively quick feet. His movement both on and off the ball reflects his ability to think two- three steps ahead of play and is a player clearly suited to a bigger league than Argentine Primera Divsion.
Alvarez will face stern competition from Ramsey and Wilshere for a starting place in midfield. Undoubtedly a player with huge potential, he can either turn out to be the next Iniesta, or the next Diaby. Denilson's exit may bring joy for Gooners across the country, but only the coming season will tell whether Wenger is replacing like for like.
See Alvarez video compilation here
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The Arsenal Post-Mortem Begins - Where it Went Wrong
The end of the season had brought about mixed feelings among Arsenal fans. While there is relief at a painful season coming to an end, a long summer of no football and transfer rumours is now underway.
Craven Cottage was ringing with chants from the Arsenal fans urging Wenger to spend money while at the same time there was a continuous 10 minutes of, “We love you Arsenal”, that left the Fulham fans bemused.
When Arsene Wenger emerged from the Fulham tunnel and jogged across to the dugout, chants of, “One Arsene Wenger”, was voiced by the Gooners. Althought faith in Wenger’s ability remains within the core support at Arsenal, there is a demand for a change in the club’s philosophy!
So what really has gone wrong in North London? The move to the Emirates Stadium has proved a financial master class considering the state of many clubs around the country. Yet, the trophies have come almost as rare as yellow cards for Barcelona players for simulation.
Despite 6 trophyless seasons, the real problems started in 2007 when David Dein departed the club. The Champions League Final and Carling Cup Final in 2006 and 2007 respectively were settled largely due to tactical flaws and at the time, Wenger was still accountable to Dein regarding the teams progress. However, since his departure, the Arsenal fans have only been “treated” to one final appearance.
Dein’s departure, on the back of some serious disagreements with the rest of the board members, was a pivotal moment in Arsenal’s history and the start of a series of board room mis-management by Chairman Peter Hill-Wood.
It is no secret that David Dein ran the show in North London for a while and had major influence on Wenger’s transfer targets. At one point, it even seemed no transfer was beyond Arsenal’s reach as Sol Campbell was convinced to move across North London to sign for Arsenal while rejecting big money offers from Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Such was Dein’s visionary characteristics, he consistently identified opportunities for Arsenal to move forward and compete along with Europe’s Elite Clubs.
Dein’s replacement was former MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis. At a crucial time when everyone at the club from boardroom members to stewards were working hard to complete a smooth transition to the new stadium, the higher powers at Arsenal decided to appoint a man with no relevant experience in the Premier League and has worked on the side of the Atlantic where rugby is played with padded protection and is called football.
Since his arrival, Gazidis seems to have largely concentrated his efforts on the ‘Arsenalisation’ of the stadium that has no doubt kept a small section at the Emirates happy while this season’s tour of China has been added to a long list of mistakes made by the club.
More worrying for Arsenal fans is that key transfer targets Wenger has identified returned no results. Xabi Alonso was not signed due to the Arsenal board refusing to meet the initial £14m demanded by Liverpool before Real Madrid swooped in the following season for the Spanish International’s signature.
Further errors have included the failure recruit Pepe Reina, Gary Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Gokhan Inler, all of whom did not sign due to breakdown in transfer fee negotiations.
The fans are reassured every summer that cash is available to Wenger. Yet, despite cash in the region of £30m-£40m, the club refused to pay £3m asking price for Schwarzer.
Hill-Wood was rather outspoken on the issue with Mark Schwarzer and I wonder whether or not Wenger has been in complete control of how cash is spent. For a manager that spent £10.5 million for Thierry Henry, and £2m for Jens Lehmann, would an extra £1m to address a goalkeeping issue he has identified be regarded as paying over the odds? Or are we to believe that Wenger has become a very bad manager in a short space of time?
If Wenger is masking the problems at boardroom level as his own shortcomings, he will have to face the criticism levelled by those branded by Hill-Wood as “Silly”. Wenger must address the tactical mistakes he has made this season, especially the constant need to play Nasri out wide – a decision that backfired in the final following Rosicky’s below-par performance.
A very long summer awaits and over the next few weeks, I will look at every position in depth and the players that will help this Arsenal side move forward.
Craven Cottage was ringing with chants from the Arsenal fans urging Wenger to spend money while at the same time there was a continuous 10 minutes of, “We love you Arsenal”, that left the Fulham fans bemused.
When Arsene Wenger emerged from the Fulham tunnel and jogged across to the dugout, chants of, “One Arsene Wenger”, was voiced by the Gooners. Althought faith in Wenger’s ability remains within the core support at Arsenal, there is a demand for a change in the club’s philosophy!
So what really has gone wrong in North London? The move to the Emirates Stadium has proved a financial master class considering the state of many clubs around the country. Yet, the trophies have come almost as rare as yellow cards for Barcelona players for simulation.
Despite 6 trophyless seasons, the real problems started in 2007 when David Dein departed the club. The Champions League Final and Carling Cup Final in 2006 and 2007 respectively were settled largely due to tactical flaws and at the time, Wenger was still accountable to Dein regarding the teams progress. However, since his departure, the Arsenal fans have only been “treated” to one final appearance.
Dein’s departure, on the back of some serious disagreements with the rest of the board members, was a pivotal moment in Arsenal’s history and the start of a series of board room mis-management by Chairman Peter Hill-Wood.
It is no secret that David Dein ran the show in North London for a while and had major influence on Wenger’s transfer targets. At one point, it even seemed no transfer was beyond Arsenal’s reach as Sol Campbell was convinced to move across North London to sign for Arsenal while rejecting big money offers from Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Such was Dein’s visionary characteristics, he consistently identified opportunities for Arsenal to move forward and compete along with Europe’s Elite Clubs.
Dein’s replacement was former MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis. At a crucial time when everyone at the club from boardroom members to stewards were working hard to complete a smooth transition to the new stadium, the higher powers at Arsenal decided to appoint a man with no relevant experience in the Premier League and has worked on the side of the Atlantic where rugby is played with padded protection and is called football.
Since his arrival, Gazidis seems to have largely concentrated his efforts on the ‘Arsenalisation’ of the stadium that has no doubt kept a small section at the Emirates happy while this season’s tour of China has been added to a long list of mistakes made by the club.
More worrying for Arsenal fans is that key transfer targets Wenger has identified returned no results. Xabi Alonso was not signed due to the Arsenal board refusing to meet the initial £14m demanded by Liverpool before Real Madrid swooped in the following season for the Spanish International’s signature.
Further errors have included the failure recruit Pepe Reina, Gary Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Gokhan Inler, all of whom did not sign due to breakdown in transfer fee negotiations.
The fans are reassured every summer that cash is available to Wenger. Yet, despite cash in the region of £30m-£40m, the club refused to pay £3m asking price for Schwarzer.
Hill-Wood was rather outspoken on the issue with Mark Schwarzer and I wonder whether or not Wenger has been in complete control of how cash is spent. For a manager that spent £10.5 million for Thierry Henry, and £2m for Jens Lehmann, would an extra £1m to address a goalkeeping issue he has identified be regarded as paying over the odds? Or are we to believe that Wenger has become a very bad manager in a short space of time?
If Wenger is masking the problems at boardroom level as his own shortcomings, he will have to face the criticism levelled by those branded by Hill-Wood as “Silly”. Wenger must address the tactical mistakes he has made this season, especially the constant need to play Nasri out wide – a decision that backfired in the final following Rosicky’s below-par performance.
A very long summer awaits and over the next few weeks, I will look at every position in depth and the players that will help this Arsenal side move forward.
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