Arsenal Rumors in Transfers/Rumours/Team News from Football.co.uk

fakeplastictrees · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 3:54 pm

One of Yaya Toure and Diarra to fill the Flamini/Vieira hole.

If Hleb leaves then they really need to spend big to replace him, maybe Diego/Van Der Vaart?

ImmortaL · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 4:09 pm

I'd love to have Gomez, Ben Arfa, Yaya and Kompany in our team...

gooner4life92 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 4:12 pm

papa5murf wrote:

Ok, things are coming in left and right, so I'm going to make some cliff-notes here so we don't continue to repeat things.

Strikers:
- Mario Gomez of Stuutgart is apparently in talks with Arsenal. The going price is �16m. There have been a couple things popping up stating that he has already signed. Apparently a few reports that he has also stated that he is in talks with Arsenal. Guess only time will tell on this mater.

- Oba Martins of Newcastle has apparently gained interest from Arsenal. The going price is roughly �13m, but Martins has come out and stated it's a media fabrication as to Arsenals interest in him.

Midfielders:
- Hatem Ben Arfa has confirmed talks with Arsenal. There was a rumor a couple days ago that he had already signed and that Lyon and Arsenal have already agreed to a �13m transfer fee for the man. However, nothing beyond that has been announced anywhere, maybe waiting for the French campaign to complete as Lyon still has a couple matches left to play.

- Yaya Toure has been linked with a move to Arsenal. The reports are that Arsenal have lined up a �10m bid for him. As Barcelona will be going through changes this off-season, it's not out of the question. Also with his older brother already at Arsenal and possibly taking the captains armband next season, it could lure Yaya to join Arsenal.

- Niko Kranjcar has been linked with Arsenal for the past month. Reports are he will cost around �12m. This move has been talked about everywhere, from TV news to internet articles. The main turning point in this deal could be the future of Hleb. If Hleb is to leave, I can see this deal happening ASAP; but if Hleb is to stay, the deal could fall through.

- Charles N'Zogbia of Newcastle has been linked with a �5m move to Arsenal. However, they'll be fighting Tottenham for his signature. There have also been word of Keegan wanting to do a swap deal (player for player) with Tottenham as well.

- Michael Johnson of Man City. The word is Arsenal are looking to capitalize on the unfolding chaos at Man City. He's an England under-21 player, and Wenger feels that he could replace Flamini. I don't remember the price of him, and I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Defenders:
- Richard Dunne of Man City has been linked. Not sure if this is just media speculation/fabrication. Apparently Newcastle are also in the running as the defender could go for as little as �1m. I feel that he would rather go to Newcastle as they are in need of defensive help and Dunne would slot right into the starting XI. With Arsenal he'll have to fight for his place against Toure and Gallas, and not sure if he's willing to do so in the prime of his career.

- Vincent Kompany has also been linked again as Arsenal have renewed their interest in him. Wenger placed a bid a few years ago, but Kompany decided to go to Hamburg instead. Now Wenger believes he is more ready for the EPL. Apparently rated at �15m. This could also be one of those rumors thrown out for dramatic effect.

- Raul Albiol of Valencia. Rated at around �10m. He fits in perfect with the mold of Wenger as he's young and an emerging talent. This seems to be more likely among the defenders rumored to be on the move to Arsenal. Since he is young, he could be the backup to Toure and Gallas. And as Gallas will be past the 30 year old mark where Wenger and Arsenal only offer one year contracts, it could lure Albiol to join Arsenal in a dream to play regular football the following year.

So if these rumors are accurate. Hatem Ben Arfa and Mario Gomez will be coming to Arsenal, while the others are/not in the works.

bloody hell wouldnt mind most of them i must say expect for richard dunne and martins i have all of them in my team anyday espically kompany

papa5murf · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Now that I got the players rumored to be coming in taken care of. I'll move to the players going out.

Hleb's agent has recently come out and stated that Hleb will not use the 'Webster clause'. However, he still may leave the club. Hleb has come out and admits he is 'not a big city man', and may be looking for a move for other than footballing reasons. If Hleb in fact does not use the 'Webster clause', that would be good news to Arsenal as they could probably sell Hleb for around �15m, which could go towards his replacement and some.

Shpilevski (Hleb's agent) told Russian website www.sports.ru: Alexander understands perfectly well that he plays for a great team, but the moment has come where he needs to make a choice.

'Hleb has been playing in London for three years now and isn't sure whether in the future he can show the level of talent that he is showing currently.

'I can only confirm that some of the world's biggest clubs are interested in him. In any case I can say simply that Alexander will not buy out the remaining part of his five-year contract for a fixed sum of his sale.

'Hleb is a gentleman and will not stoop to that level. Everything will be done properly.

'I am sure that the situation surrounding this issue will finally be resolved in the next 10 days.'

'Alexander is just tired of the noisy and chaotic life in the British capital and feels like living in calmer surroundings.'

Further Hleb has stated:

'I am not a big city man, I need my retreat - that is why I am often in Germany. Stuttgart is my second home, my friends are there and it is where I feel most comfortable,' Hleb told German website www.transfermarkt.de.

gooner4life92 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:15 pm

papa5murf wrote:

Now that I got the players rumored to be coming in taken care of. I'll move to the players going out.

Hleb's agent has recently come out and stated that Hleb will not use the 'Webster clause'. However, he still may leave the club. Hleb has come out and admits he is 'not a big city man', and may be looking for a move for other than footballing reasons. If Hleb in fact does not use the 'Webster clause', that would be good news to Arsenal as they could probably sell Hleb for around �15m, which could go towards his replacement and some.

Shpilevski (Hleb's agent) told Russian website www.sports.ru: Alexander understands perfectly well that he plays for a great team, but the moment has come where he needs to make a choice.

'Hleb has been playing in London for three years now and isn't sure whether in the future he can show the level of talent that he is showing currently.

'I can only confirm that some of the world's biggest clubs are interested in him. In any case I can say simply that Alexander will not buy out the remaining part of his five-year contract for a fixed sum of his sale.

'Hleb is a gentleman and will not stoop to that level. Everything will be done properly.

'I am sure that the situation surrounding this issue will finally be resolved in the next 10 days.'

'Alexander is just tired of the noisy and chaotic life in the British capital and feels like living in calmer surroundings.'

Further Hleb has stated:

'I am not a big city man, I need my retreat - that is why I am often in Germany. Stuttgart is my second home, my friends are there and it is where I feel most comfortable,' Hleb told German website www.transfermarkt.de.

Ha more like his agent couldn't get his own way and was more scared of wenger taking them both to court

ImmortaL · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 8:26 am

Quote:

In a separate interview with Belarus newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Shpilevski(Hleb's agent) stressed: "If any clubs want to add Hleb to their ranks then they should hold talks with Arsenal.

"Nobody is hiding the fact that a player of Hleb's class is of interest to all teams, including Barcelona and Real (Madrid).

"But the subject of a transfer to Inter has been going round and round for over for a year now. It's a normal occurrence."

While Hleb refused to be drawn on his own future, the Belarus winger revealed one potential reason why he may be thinking about a move.

"I am not a big city man, I need my retreat - that is why I am often in Germany. Stuttgart is my second home, my friends are there and it is where I feel most comfortable," Hleb told German website transfermarkt.de.

Hleb, though, noted: "There is a lot of speculation about me, and I will not be making statements on this and stirring it up further."

The former Stuttgart midfielder added he "owed a lot" to the faith of Arsenal manager Wenger.

Hleb said: "It was not bad for me personally over the last season and I have got quite a lot of praise - but I am very tough on myself, there is always something to improve.

"If you think you have satisfied everything, that is your first mistake.

"But I do not make public my errors - my strengths and weaknesses are for others to judge."

Its dragging on IMO. If Hleb wants to leave then I want him to leave soon instead of adding a lot of speculations and dragging it on. If he doesn't wants to leave then say so in the public and kill all the speculation. Just get it over with soon....

ImmortaL · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:48 am

Quote:

Arsene Wenger may be busy scouring the globe for fresh talent, but the Arsenal manager is in no doubt he already has a "world class" forward in Robin van Persie.

The Gunners boss has made it clear he intends to add at least two new players this summer as he looks to ensure his young team can stay the course next season having fallen just short behind Chelsea and Barclays Premier League champions Manchester United.

However, it is unlikely Wenger will look to strengthen a frontline which already boasts 30-goal leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor and has seen England youngster Theo Walcott make solid progress.

Add to those attacking options a fully fit Van Persie, a rehabilitated Eduardo da Silva - who broke his leg in February - as well as impact player Nicklas Bendtner or indeed Czech winger Tomas Rosicky, and it is easy to see why the Arsenal manager feels he has plenty of choice going forward.

There is no doubt the absence of Dutchman Van Persie due to a string of niggling injuries was a major loss.

The 24-year-old had started the campaign in fine form with seven goals in his first 11 games before being sidelined by knee and muscular problems, which would hamper him for the remainder of the season.

Wenger, though, believes the Holland international - who returned to form with a couple of goals during the run-in and is set to feature at Euro 2008 this summer - can be a major player if his injury jinx does not strike again next season.

"Robin is unfortunate with injuries at the moment, but in my opinion it is nothing more than that," the Arsenal manager said.

"It is true that he has missed many, many games this year.

"We lost him and Eduardo at the same period and it was really bad luck because Eduardo had come on well too.

"You always hope that next season Robin will have an injury-free season.

"He has so much talent so I am very keen to keep him, I trust him and I hope that he will get rid of his injuries.

"For me, Robin van Persie is world class."

Wenger may have lost the services of out-of-contract Mathieu Flamini, who joined AC Milan, but the Arsenal boss indicated he has plenty of cover already in central midfield and so will not seek out an intentional replacement.

Potential targets, though, could well include #12million-rated Lyon winger Hatem Ben Arfa, Valencia duo Carlos Marchena and Raul Albiol as well as Portsmouth winger Niko Kranjcar, while it has been reported a number of English clubs, including Arsenal, are chasing Sporting Lisbon attacking midfielder Joao Moutinho.

The future of winger Alexander Hleb, meanwhile, remains the subject of speculation, with reports the player was ready to buy-out his freedom via the 'Webster clause'.

However, despite his agent, Nikolai Shpilevski, last week claiming Hleb was "leaving Arsenal - there's no way back now", it appears their stance may now have softened - with Wenger continuing to stress the winger remained part of his plans and, more over, under contract.

Reports emanating from Belarus suggest Shpilevski has become less bullish about his client's possible move away from north London and is now stressing the need for any negotiations to be conducted in the proper manner.

If true, that will will be welcome news to Wenger, who previously voiced his anger at what he felt were the under-hand tactics being employed by Hleb's potential suitors, most notably Inter Milan.

So if the report of Hleb is true, then he's going to stay most probably for which I'm happy. Smile

But I dunno who'll be replacing Flamini in our existing squad next year if Wenger's not going to buy a world-class player for that position. IMO Diaby and Denilson are not yet fully ready, but who knows... Confused

Also, is this 'Joao Moutinho' guy good??? So him being an attacking midfielder will be replacing Cesc during injuries and rotation. Is that right???

ImmortaL · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 12:26 pm

fakeplastictrees wrote:

One of Yaya Toure and Diarra to fill the Flamini/Vieira hole.

Yaya Toure wants Gunners move:

Quote:

Barcelona star Yaya Toure admits it "would be fantastic" to join older brother Kolo at Arsenal next season.

The 25-year-old was one of the few, along with Lionel Messi, to enjoy a good season at Barca in a disappointing campaign that saw the Catalan club end the year empty-handed yet again.

But with a new coach in Josep Guardiola and a grand-scale clearout proposed at the Nou Camp, Toure could head for the exit door just a year after moving from Monaco.

"I am conscious of interest from certain Premier League clubs," Toure said on L'Equipe's website www.lequipe.fr.

"I can't say anything for the moment, but it's true that it would be great to play for a big club with my brother.

"That would be fantastic, but you never know."

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is reportedly ready to table a 13million euro bid for Toure - a player whose skills he is well aware of.

The Ivory Coast midfielder had a pre-season trial at Arsenal, but failed to seal a permanent move and joined Olympiacos in summer 2005 instead.

The Gunners did make an offer of seven million euros in January 2006 which the Greek side rejected, preferring to wait until the end of the season.

However, while Toure would love to link up with his brother he also professed his admiration for new Barca boss Guardiola - a player he models himself on.

"We had a very difficult season and it was very hard for us, because we are winners in spirit," Toure added.

"We have so many talented players, I can't understand how we are so far from Real Madrid.

"Guardiola was one of my favourite players.

"He is a leader of the game who plays just in front of the defence and he played football how it should be played.

"I loved watching him when I was learning my skill."

I think Yaya would be a great replacement to Flamini...

papa5murf · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 12:37 pm

ImmortaL: Great new info there, but could you please start to state the source if you are to quote the whole article. It's a new forum rule that has been instated due to copyright issues. So you can either write up your own (which is preferred) and use a couple random quotes here or there, or just quote the whole article but make sure you state the source of the article. Smile

ImmortaL · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 12:58 pm

papa5murf wrote:

ImmortaL: Great new info there, but could you please start to state the source if you are to quote the whole article. It's a new forum rule that has been instated due to copyright issues. So you can either write up your own (which is preferred) and use a couple random quotes here or there, or just quote the whole article but make sure you state the source of the article. Smile

Mate, actually its me who suggested that copyright problem to conner99 when he/she PMed me last week. Very Happy

I also suggested to him/her that posting the entire article will also create problems. Only we can quote certain parts of the article and then give the link to the article for others to see it. So please I ask you guys and the admin people to see to it that its also implemented...

So if what I suggested was implemented by you guys, then I'm very very happy. I didn't know about the rule being implemented, but from now on I'll always post with the source ok...

This is always safe and I'm happy that you guys think about the posters and consider our views... Thank you very much.

Now for all the things I posted, the source is www.espnstar.com...

From Now on, I'll post things with the source mentioned in every individual post... Very Happy

papa5murf · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:13 pm

Ahhh, that's right, it was you who suggested it. Laughing

Well yeah, we've decided to implement it. So your suggestion was successful. Smile

ImmortaL · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:17 pm

papa5murf wrote:

Ahhh, that's right, it was you who suggested it. Laughing

Well yeah, we've decided to implement it. So your suggestion was successful. Smile

Yeah. Happy that you are hearing out us posters. Good on the admin and the moderator teams...

Also consider what I've said in the earlier post about quoting the whole article which is also a copyright problem(even after you provide a link to the original article)... We can only quote parts and provide the link for the others to read it fully...

papa5murf · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:29 pm

Yes, that goes along with the "write up your own (which is preferred)". As you've probably noticed that I haven't quoted full articles for a few pages now in this thread.

J-Axe · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 3:41 pm

Go on Wenger, buy Kolo's little big Brother!

Del Piero 10 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 4:43 pm

Kompany can be a long-term replacement for Gallas, he's been a revelation everytime I've seen him play.

Kylus · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:31 pm

Del Piero 10 wrote:

Kompany can be a long-term replacement for Gallas, he's been a revelation everytime I've seen him play.

Agreed.

And I was hoping we'd sign Yaya before he signed for Barca but it never fabricated so I hope we can still lure him to the Emirates this summer.

ImmortaL · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 12:42 pm

Gael Clichy has said that he's on the rink of signing a new 4-year deal with Arsenal. His current contract expires at 2010...

Quote:

The 22-year-old has attracted interest from the likes of AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid, but insists he wants to remain in north London.

"We're at the end of our discussions," Clichy told www.francefootball.fr. "Everything's going well because my intention is clear: I want to stay at Arsenal.

Quote:

"I would love to have a career here like Patrick Vieira or Thierry Henry, to stay many years at Arsenal and leave my mark on the club.

"I've been in London for five years. If everything goes well I will stay here for at least eight years."

"I never hesitated, not at all. Arsenal is one of the great clubs in Europe.

"For youngsters it's ideal, the coach gets our career's going, gives us confidence. We're playing in a passionate championship, the best in the world. So there's everything together."

http://www.espnstar.com/epl/newsdetails.cmd?id=7042515

J-Axe · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 7:23 pm

Clichy has a big future at the Club. He's only been really getting into his stride in the past couple of seasons. Once he fulfils his potential he will be something special - because not only does he have the ability, he has a superb professional attitude.

papa5murf · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 1:55 pm

I have been waiting for this piece of news for a couple weeks now. Smile

Arsenal have apparently set sights on Samir Nasri. Nasri did however just signed a new long-term contract with Marseille, but it is understood that the deal was only agreed in order to settle a transfer protocol with the Ligue 1 club. The asking price for Nasri seems to be in the area of �14m. There were rumors earlier this month that there was a possible move to Lyon with Ben Arfa most likely heading out the door at Lyon. However, now the word is the likelihood of Nasri staying in France is unlikely. Inter and Real Madrid are also said to reopen their interest in Nasri after the new developments involving his possible transfer away from Marseille.

gooner4life92 · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 2:05 pm

papa5murf wrote:

I have been waiting for this piece of news for a couple weeks now. Smile

Arsenal have apparently set sights on Samir Nasri. Nasri did however just signed a new long-term contract with Marseille, but it is understood that the deal was only agreed in order to settle a transfer protocol with the Ligue 1 club. The asking price for Nasri seems to be in the area of �14m. There were rumors earlier this month that there was a possible move to Lyon with Ben Arfa most likely heading out the door at Lyon. However, now the word is the likelihood of Nasri staying in France is unlikely. Inter and Real Madrid are also said to reopen their interest in Nasri after the new developments involving his possible transfer away from Marseille.

Another big and up coming star we seem to be after i hopefully feel that this may be our summer big names after big names Smile