Written by Mean Lean
on
Friday, 01 July 2011 14:53
July 1st is here cue a mass F5ing frenzy around the world. I bet newsnow worship the transfer window, the month of July alone is probably generating enough cash for a holiday in St Lucia.
I have stayed away from writing a blog for a couple of days, nursing a chest infection and I have had a few things to say during that time, mainly about transfers, twitter and Cesc but top blogs such as Arseblog and A Cultured left foot amongst others have covered it all rather wonderfully well so no need to go back in time and slam my two cents down, money is hard these days so I shall keep those cents tucked away in my pocket for the time being.
While the transfer door creaks open, it looks as if Arsene is trying to squeeze through two familiar names. The latest worst kept secret is that of Gervinho who has told all and sundry that he has chosen the Gunners as his team. Many people via that impeccable source Twitter had claimed that he was having a medical a few days ago but apparently he is currently on holiday and will be back on Monday to tie up some loose ends.
Gervinho is not here to muck about though, he has come to play, score goals and win trophies. I'm up for a bit of that to be honest. Playing, scoring goals and winning trophies sounds all good to me.
Gervinho said:
"I chose Arsenal because it's a young group within which I will be able to integrate easily, I could develop more over there. There's only a few details left to sort out.
"[Is it] a risk? Not at all. I'm going to Arsenal to play. The best risk to take is to look to score goals and to play a lot. In football you have to take risks if you want to win. I'm going to Arsenal to win."
"I had no hesitation. None. But in a transfer there's always a period of analysis and negotiations," he said. "All sides had to be satisfied so that things could develop smoothly. I'm going there to play, not to be on the bench. Arsenal love the game and I love teams that love the game.
"The Premier League is a notch above. It's maybe the best league in the world. I want to live that sensation."
It is almost impossible to speculate about his role within the squad as not only do we not know who else is coming in but we also do not know who is going out. On top of that we have to wait and see what tactical or formation changes the boss has up his sleeve. I am willing to slam those two cents back on the table and bet that our approach for home games will almost certainly change given the problem of the bus parker for many games last season.
Predictions are certainly not something that I have been renowned for in recent years but before all the rumours started regarding Gervinho, I spoke of my feeling that he would be the type of player that Arsene would be after this summer and that I wouldn't be surprised to see him heading to the club.
I am hoping and expecting that a player like Gervinho can turn some draws into victories because that is where I believe we lost the season. Well that and the internal explosion of course.
Blackburn Rovers at home is still a memory that haunts me something chronic. Total control of the game, Blackburn pinned back inside their half and the ball went from side to side, back to front without real penetration. Jack Wilshere should have scored his chance but apart from that there was little else. We lacked runners off the ball, we lack a direct runner to skip past a tackle in the penalty area and have a snap shot or get to the byline and cut it back to attacking runners.
I may not have watched endless amounts of footage of Gervinho but what I have seen of him and in fact read of him, he seems like the player to do that. By all accounts, he still seems to be inconsistent and wasteful at times but he is a willing runner who even if not playing at his best will open up spaces for others such as Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas. Yeah I said it! What cha gonna do about it?
Another apparent incomer will be that of youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. According to Sky Sports news, we have opened talks with the player although we are yet to make a bid for the player. It is all a little yawny to be honest. I have had it with the 'understands' and 'source close to' etc.
My mobile phone was melting yesterday afternoon when I checked Twitter just before 5pm and a big announcement was set to break out at 5pm. Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy were all going to Manchester City and Arsenal fans went into rage. I was at an indoor play center with my kids so I couldn't see it for myself but the reaction on twitter was crazy.
Samir Nasri was called everything under the sun and I must say, I was sucked into it all and assumed that all the anger was for a reason. After a while of teeth gnashing the tweets turned from Nasri set to sign to Manchester City interested in.
Twitter can be a scary place at times. While the Nasri story was a load of tosh, it seems as if the Clichy story has some more truth to it. The reported fee is supposed to be around £7m, I am still awaiting the denial but it isn't coming.
With players coming back from holiday and back into pre season training, you would imagine that the transfer window will start to pick up speed.
I loved Tomas Rosicky's quotes and I am happy that he wants to stay at the club. He is a very good player who has lost form. We need his experience and his ability to play the Arsenal way. I do not see the reason for letting him go when we need to have a squad full of players.
If you were hoping that Arsene would keep six players and then flog all the rest and then to replace all those squad players with world class new players then you will be disappointed.
There is a strange perception that all other squads are jam packed with match winning, world class stars who are all better than the players we have at Arsenal. That is not the case. Every squad has players of different age groups, with different levels of form and quality. Case in point, Bebe and Obertan.
Selling Tomas Rosicky is not going to generate an extra £30m to reinvest in the transfer market, he knows the main players well and he is an important part of the squad. I am hoping that he can get himself at peak condition and get back to his best or at least close to it. If he can get somewhere close to his best then there is no reason why he cannot be an important part of the squad.
Anyway, that is that for today.
Back tomorrow
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