By Bilal Zaidi
This years deadline day has got to be one of the most memorable for years to come; not was it the same day we all found out the shock news of two of the worlds most promising players going to West Ham…albeit for West Ham to be the “shop window” for a future big money move in a seasons time…it was a day to remember for us especially…the Arsenal football fans, who have waited patiently for months on end for Wenger to wave his magic wand in the transfer market once again.
The last three months have been so hard for us…waiting…watching other clubs sign players…trying to take our minds OFF football to erase the prospect of us having a disappointing time in the transfer market…all this while the World Cup was on!?…Then deadline day came and that thought in the back of everyone’s heads that nothing would happen was finally thrown out the window once it had emerged that Julio Baptista and William Gallas had signed for us. WHAT A TENSE day…waiting until the last moments before midnight to confirm the deals…but the anxious wait made me enjoy the moment even more than I imagined…FINALLY the wait was over…
Wenger has acquired two solid players who will add steal to the team…and got rid of three players that were no longer wanted or needed. Perhaps I am being harsh on Reyes…but once he kept rollicking on about Real Madrid being his dream destination and all sorts…after the 62nd time he said it…I said to myself “enough is enough…get out of here son”…Ashley Cole is now forever going to be hated by Arsenal fans, you can read my “letter to Ashley Cole” if you haven’t read it before (This was written a bit of time ago, before he actually left, August 2nd 2006)
NOW THE BIGGEST relief of the day had to when I was half asleep crouching on my sofa watching sky sports news and a breaking news headline came onto the bottom of the screen saying “Arsenal’s Pascal Cygan Signs For Villarreal For £2 million)
£2 MILLION!!! It was quite clear for a long time that Cygan has been surplus to requirements for a long while…but the fact that we have let so many players go on a free in the past, recently Sol Campbell, just shows me what a fantastic deal this was for us…how on God’s green Earth did anyone from Arsenal convince Villarreal to actually pay for him…incredible!
Overall a successful day for us as Cygan went for £2 million (Almost as good as getting £2.5 million for D. Traore)…Ashley Cole finally left us for the arrival of one of the best defenders in the world PLUS £5 million…Jose Antonio Reyes leaving his whining and crying ways to join Real Madrid on loan for a year with an option to sign him for EURO’s 22 million…and in his place…”The Beast” Baptista who will prove to be a huge hit in time to come in my opinion.
On Baptista I have read two different stats, don’t know which is true, perhaps one is league goals and the other is overall but the stats speak for themselves: For Sevilla Baptista scored 38 goals in 63 games….51 goals in 89 appearances!!!
Add to the pot a young Brazilian, Denilson, that I don’t know too much about apart from the fact he was signed for £3.4 million and is a defensive midfielder…captained of the Brazil youth teams at Under 17’s and Under 19’s level…A promising talent none the less.
Overall this has got to prove as being a very successful day in the transfer market for Wenger who has on many occasions pulled out of the bag some amazing deals…A strong team now even though there can be some potential problems…but a 3rd special and “super team” is what Wenger is building and this time with their youth they will be around to stay for a lot longer than previous great sides…A very promising season is underway…An exciting chapter in the clubs honourable history is being opened…I just cant wait…can you?
What did you think of our signings on the day and who do you think came out better of the swap deals done? Leave your comments…
Loading ...