"Viva La Revolucion”- Che Wenger’s NEW Genius Style-Ten Years At Arsenal...

By Bilal Zaidi

Today is a special day for Arsenal Football Club, it is a day to remember, rejoice and look forward to the wonderful world of Wengerball. Ten years…that we have been lucky enough to be gifted the best manager in the world at our club. A professor of the game, an ambassador for the greatest club in London and a truly unique individual is what Arsene Wenger is.

Apologies for the lack of posts but I am in the middle of moving houses which for anyone who has experienced it, is quite stressful indeed. Since the last time I wrote we beat Utd, then the other Utd (Sheffield) and two days ago beat a very decent Porto side by two goals to nil. Why have I taken out time of my hectic moving schedule to write some words on Arsene Wenger, but not for those other very happy occasions? The answer is simple, it is out of respect and honour for the man who has been the leader of a footballing club that gives me something to smile about on a Saturday afternoon…his ten years in charge have been phenomenal and it is his attacking philosophy that makes our club so special from others.

He came ten years ago to noises of “who is he!?”…and boy did he prove himself. Within his first full season at Arsenal he won the double, a few years later he did the double once again with the team of Pires, Vieira and Henry. Then two seasons later his most impressive feat (in my own opinion) was the creation of a team that lost ZERO games in a 38 game premiership season. This done with his philosophy of scoring goals, attacking until the very end and playing the beautiful game in a deserved beautiful manner. No other team has every achieved this and probably never will, the “invincible” season will never be forgotten and is part of a ten year period that has revolutionised the game of football.

Taking his young side into last years champions league, with a less than average league season…Wenger took us to the champions league final, where we OUT PLAYED most teams that we came up against. Not even Barcelona the winners outplayed everyone, in fact without being biased…with only 10 men for majority of the match we had as many clear cut opportunities, if not more, than Barcelona…My point being, that without spending vast amounts of money on “well known” players, that often are already moulded into the player that they want to be…Wenger picks up players from all over the globe and turns them into superstars…none more so than we are witnessing now, with the youngest side we have seen under Wenger. After a couple of seasons now where teams have sat back and packed their own half with 9 or 10 players, and often (none more so than last year) getting a point or three by frustrating us…we have seen in the last three games that Wenger is once again revolutionising how the game should be played. This is his fourth great team in the making and now seeing that we are actually CROSSING the ball and using the width, playing with three playmakers in Rosicky, Fabregas and Hleb…we are seeing an attacking way of playing different from ones in the past.

I have no doubt that this team will grow and mature faster than most expect…as long as Wenger is there I have full faith in paying £60 to go and see Arsenal vs. Liverpool at the Emirates…because Wenger is the architect that gives me the best quality for money when watching a football match…he will continue to surpass his fellow coaches and is a legend in the game of football ALREADY…a revolutionary…Che Wenger’s NET spending in TEN YEARS has been £50 million…THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF £5million a year. Converting players like Petit from centre back to a fine left footed central midfielder, Henry from winger into the most prolific and productive attacking player in the world, brother Toure from…well…every position on the pitch apart from keeper to an awesome centre half who is already now one of the best in Europe, one who is under-rated on the world stage, but is known to Wenger as one of the best signings he has ever made…Lauren from midfielder to a solid and efficient full back…Ljungberg from a unknown Swedish winger to one who scored goals for fun and so on…Anelka, Overmars etc etc….

He has now picked up Eboue, Senderos, Fabregas, Van Persie, Adebayor, Walcott, Djourou and kept faith in young Hoyte (who was quite terrific on Wednesday)…as the youth that are pushing this energetic side closer and closer to being his fourth great team. All this combining with the already brilliant Henry, Rosicky, Gallas, Hleb, Lehmann, Toure etc etc…then it is quite clear that we have the means to have a very good season, one that will be better than last season…as we are already winning games that we would have drawn and lost last season…Have faith gooners and be grateful to a man who has sold his soul for Arsenal Football Club, who has taken us into this new era of the Emirates…with his vision and drive we will see it through to being one of the most dominant sides in world football. Hats off to you Mr. Wenger…you are a true legend and let the Emirates stand in testament of your achievements in modern history.

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“Viva La Revolucion”- Che Wenger’s NEW Genius Style-Ten Years At Arsenal...

By Bilal Zaidi

Today is a special day for Arsenal Football Club, it is a day to remember, rejoice and look forward to the wonderful world of Wengerball. Ten years…that we have been lucky enough to be gifted the best manager in the world at our club. A professor of the game, an ambassador for the greatest club in London and a truly unique individual is what Arsene Wenger is.

Apologies for the lack of posts but I am in the middle of moving houses which for anyone who has experienced it, is quite stressful indeed. Since the last time I wrote we beat Utd, then the other Utd (Sheffield) and two days ago beat a very decent Porto side by two goals to nil. Why have I taken out time of my hectic moving schedule to write some words on Arsene Wenger, but not for those other very happy occasions? The answer is simple, it is out of respect and honour for the man who has been the leader of a footballing club that gives me something to smile about on a Saturday afternoon…his ten years in charge have been phenomenal and it is his attacking philosophy that makes our club so special from others.

He came ten years ago to noises of “who is he!?”…and boy did he prove himself. Within his first full season at Arsenal he won the double, a few years later he did the double once again with the team of Pires, Vieira and Henry. Then two seasons later his most impressive feat (in my own opinion) was the creation of a team that lost ZERO games in a 38 game premiership season. This done with his philosophy of scoring goals, attacking until the very end and playing the beautiful game in a deserved beautiful manner. No other team has every achieved this and probably never will, the “invincible” season will never be forgotten and is part of a ten year period that has revolutionised the game of football.

Taking his young side into last years champions league, with a less than average league season…Wenger took us to the champions league final, where we OUT PLAYED most teams that we came up against. Not even Barcelona the winners outplayed everyone, in fact without being biased…with only 10 men for majority of the match we had as many clear cut opportunities, if not more, than Barcelona…My point being, that without spending vast amounts of money on “well known” players, that often are already moulded into the player that they want to be…Wenger picks up players from all over the globe and turns them into superstars…none more so than we are witnessing now, with the youngest side we have seen under Wenger. After a couple of seasons now where teams have sat back and packed their own half with 9 or 10 players, and often (none more so than last year) getting a point or three by frustrating us…we have seen in the last three games that Wenger is once again revolutionising how the game should be played. This is his fourth great team in the making and now seeing that we are actually CROSSING the ball and using the width, playing with three playmakers in Rosicky, Fabregas and Hleb…we are seeing an attacking way of playing different from ones in the past.

I have no doubt that this team will grow and mature faster than most expect…as long as Wenger is there I have full faith in paying £60 to go and see Arsenal vs. Liverpool at the Emirates…because Wenger is the architect that gives me the best quality for money when watching a football match…he will continue to surpass his fellow coaches and is a legend in the game of football ALREADY…a revolutionary…Che Wenger’s NET spending in TEN YEARS has been £50 million…THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF £5million a year. Converting players like Petit from centre back to a fine left footed central midfielder, Henry from winger into the most prolific and productive attacking player in the world, brother Toure from…well…every position on the pitch apart from keeper to an awesome centre half who is already now one of the best in Europe, one who is under-rated on the world stage, but is known to Wenger as one of the best signings he has ever made…Lauren from midfielder to a solid and efficient full back…Ljungberg from a unknown Swedish winger to one who scored goals for fun and so on…Anelka, Overmars etc etc….

He has now picked up Eboue, Senderos, Fabregas, Van Persie, Adebayor, Walcott, Djourou and kept faith in young Hoyte (who was quite terrific on Wednesday)…as the youth that are pushing this energetic side closer and closer to being his fourth great team. All this combining with the already brilliant Henry, Rosicky, Gallas, Hleb, Lehmann, Toure etc etc…then it is quite clear that we have the means to have a very good season, one that will be better than last season…as we are already winning games that we would have drawn and lost last season…Have faith gooners and be grateful to a man who has sold his soul for Arsenal Football Club, who has taken us into this new era of the Emirates…with his vision and drive we will see it through to being one of the most dominant sides in world football. Hats off to you Mr. Wenger…you are a true legend and let the Emirates stand in testament of your achievements in modern history.

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Grand Slam Sunday Is Over Hyped Like John Terry / The Spark We Need…

By Bilal Zaidi

Its 02:11am and I’m positively drained and worn out so please do excuse any spelling mistakes along with…well…any “stupid-ness” that may occur from my ramblings…No I can still do simple adding and taking away unlike some…Hmm…

Last night I geared up for the “Grand Slam Sunday” by getting involved with some football myself…at 9 o clock at night…floodlights on, 7-a-side, pristine pitch…but then I realized its not so much a good idea when you’re as healthy as a sumo wrestler…but its one of those things that happen when big sporting events occur. You know the feeling don’t you? Cricket is on…go and grab you’re bat…Wimbledon is on…go and play tennis! But then you realize you aren’t Roger Federer so you go back home after returning from the hospital after spraining parts of your body that you didn’t even know existed. Its that sort of excitement that builds up to this simple fixture, Man Utd vs Arsenal at Old Trafford…how delightful…how important crucial…But is it really?

It’s the age of media over-hype and lucrative advertising contracts so Sky “over-hype” these games as much as they over hype Frank Lampard and John Terry. They make you think that these three points for either team is going to win them the title when it really isn’t. Its September…the sun is just about still out!? That means we still have…Autumn, Ramadan, Eid, Winter, Christmas, Hanukah (I think?), New Year, Spring, Daisy’s and Hayfever STILL TO COME before anything is decided. Sure 3 points make a difference and all of that “psychological” stuff but at the end of the day, if you get 9 points against Middlesbrough, Villa and the blue side of Manchester, then if you drop 2 or 3 points against Utd it isn’t such a big deal as it is now! We have our worst start under Wenger underway with a promising side of youngsters and flair players…but soon enough somebody is going to have to take the team by the scruff of the neck and drag the rest of the boys with him.



WHO CAN PROVIDE THAT SPARK? Well Rosicky is a candidate I’m willing to throw out there…just because we know he is capable of special things like he showed against Hamburg. Fabregas perhaps? We all know he is a tremendous talent but after 2-3 seasons of strutting his stuff I think it is coming to the time where he needs to stand up in a game against Utd and dominate the midfield like he did against Madrid and Juve. I have full faith in you boy!...Of course I would suggest Mr. Va Va Voom himself but he has a “10-15% chance of playing” according to Wenger. Van Persie is the same so our formation and lineup COULD change but I expect it to stay as a 4-4-1-1 with Baptista given his first start in the hole or go with a 4-5-1 with Ljungberg back in the side. Still favouring the 4-4-1-1…Wenger likes to do those sorts of things, whip out a player like Beasty and tell him to bully them like they bullied Reyes a few seasons ago…or even better to my memory…how Keown tormented Van N after his penalty miss, classic indeed…

Ok this fixture isn’t really over hyped, its always a fantastic spectacle even when the football isn’t great…But my point remains that I think one point would be good enough, but to get all three would be absolutely Fabregas and put us back on the map after our disappointing start…it isn’t such a big deal as it is made out to be is what I mean, we have shown that we can make chances and if we put even 2 out of 10 away we would win majority of the matches we play.

Three players that are potential match winners for us: Rosicky, Cescy, Beasty…If we are to get a result we will NEED Gallas to shut out Ronaldo and his dancing feet, Brother Toure to be as solid as a rock against an in form Saha, Gilberto to usher Scholes like an obsessed stalker AND dig at Rooney who has a good record in this fixture…and for Adebayor to work like a tireless soldier that he has shown to be…If we stay disciplined, take the sting out of their attack by keeping the ball…frustrate them…and hit them on the break with our pace then we sure do have a chance to win this game without a doubt. I think Walcott could be a potential lethal weapon against Utd just because they haven’t faced him before and I don’t think they could handle his pace. I doubt Wenger would use him because he seems obsessed about “keeping him safe”, it’s a football match not a pitch full of paedophiles…Let the kid have a run out…Grab the winner in the 89th minute so we are all entertained to finish off a superb and delightful grand slam Sunday of thrilling football…

Is it really over hyped? Perhaps it is in terms of result, but ITS NOT in terms of atmosphere of a modern rivalry between two fine managers who play attacking football, either way I’m still excited!

P.S. Once again apologies in advance for any mistakes because it is now 02:55am and I really am not going to read over this until the morning because I think I’m about to collapse on my floor and make a huge thud. If you don’t hear from me again in the next week please alert the authorities…Thank you for reading and your comments are always appreciated..enjoy your Super Sunday, whether it is down the pub, at the game itself, in your homes with your family & friends, it is sure to be a huge occasion. Lets hope this time the game stands up to its name. Good day ol chums.

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Gallas £15mil for those who cant do maths....

Yesterday I published an article highlighting our weakness's and why William Gallas isn't worth £15 million to be a left back...but in the end my point was that he obviously is as a centre half because he is a class act...a world class defender and exactly what we needed...INCLUDING HIS VERSATILITY...You can read yesterdays article by clicking here.

The problem was that for one particular individual who had some trouble doing the maths and proceeded to call me an "idiot" and later a "donce" in the comments section...was how I came to the figure of £15 million for Gallas...I thought I might aswell post what he wrote so I can straighten out the maths for anyone else who might not be able to add 5+15...

Livingstone_get_lost said...

do your maths properly idiot- if chels paid 5 mill plus gallas, and you say cole was worth 20million minimum, how is gallas worth 15 million?

Livingstone_get_lost said...

my god writer u are an IDIOT,

how did u work out that gallas is 15mill, when he got gallas and 5mill that makes 10mill u donce!

"ArsenalReview.com said...Livingstone_get_lost...you are clearly confused and still havent realised you are wrong and cant do simple adding and taking away...so it is quite clear to see that you are indeed more of a "donce" than I...but thankyou for your attempt at correcting my OH SO COMPLEX arithmetic ...Lets break it down another time for your benifit, perhaps you prefer algebra:

x - y = n

x is £20mil for cashley's value,
y is £5mil we recieved FOR ASHLEY,
n is the remaning amount leaving how much gallas is worth...now lets substitute in the numbers shall we:

20 - 5 = 15

If you come back tomorrow I could teach you your alphabet..A..B..C..D..."

Hope that helps anyone else who didn't get the £15 million figure that I conjured up...great result last night and Rosicky let looose....fantastic ;)

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£15 Million For Gallas The Left Back is A Waste Of Money…

By Bilal Zaidi

Ashley Cole’s monetary value was estimated to be about £20 million MINIMUM and the final sale of him for £5 million PLUS one of the worlds best defenders, William Gallas, was a deal that in my humble opinion was a better deal for us than it was for Chelsea. So in essence, Arsenal accepted a £15 million valuation of Gallas and got rid of a player who even until today is going on about how unfair Arsenal were to him…how the fans didn’t sing his name at the last game of the season…hmm perhaps one shouldn’t go behind their clubs back and meet other clubs representatives…what a whiner oh my….

Anyway…Gallas a 29 year old French international who has experience of many years in the premiership, played in every stadium, played against every team….is admittedly a fantastic acquisition…HOWEVER if he ever would become our number one left back then we aren’t allowing him to be in his best position where he would flourish along side Kolo Toure….and therefore would be a waste of £15 million worth of money we could have got for Cashley instead. That is with reports I have read that we may be interested in Woodgate at the end of the season, add Senderos and Djourou into that then you can clearly see there would be too many centre backs.

Now don’t get me wrong, if we are in need of any player in a position right now it IS A LEFT BACK because Clichy is out injured, Hoyte doesn’t look too comfortable and Flamini doesn’t want to play there….however when Senderos comes back into contention for a first place spot…WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN THEN? We have 3 centre backs that should be playing first team football literally week in week out…Sure they can rotate but that isn’t ideal, Senderos has proved his worth as an organiser and leader at the back…He is a talker like Tony Adams, and perhaps one day a future captain for this fantastic club. Halting his progress would be a crime…some healthy competition always is a good thing, but it is more likely that he wouldn’t get a chance to really get a long run in the team so he can continue to progress as he already has.

So this leaves us in a dilemma, just as it is for the midfield positions which I will talk about in a moment…we have so many players playing out of their preferred positions and natural positions that it is surely going to effect our balance and rhythm of play. I think that is what has happened so far this season, we have dominated games, created chances BUT not converted them. Hopefully that will just come in time, lets hope tonight. We have one player really wanting to play at left back who is Clichy…four that are ready to compete for the two available centre back places, and 3 for the right back slot.

In midfield we have players that “can play in all positions in midfield”, like Hleb, Ljungberg, Rosicky…but lets look at their best positions and where they are most useful.

Hleb really can play anywhere and will do a fantastic job on either flank or in the middle, but he will do the same thing which ever positions he plays in…drift inside and play passes all day, he is a top “assister” and that is fantastic…goals aren’t really in his domain but a top class creative player is good enough for him to be in the side. I think most would agree he has played best for us on the right making a great partnership with Eboue.

Ljungberg is a world class “run maker” and a superb finisher but without Bergkamp he is no longer the same “red haired we love you freddy” player of his previous years where goals were his main asset. He is still a good player but if he isn’t scoring he doesn’t add much else to the team, a hard working player and an important one still with a role to perform but still I wouldn’t say his best position is on the left dribbling and making goals for others, we need some width on the left and I don’t think Freddy is the one to provide us with that. Pired did, Reyes did, Cole did…Rosicky could?

Rosicky is best in the middle, he makes quick passes, dribbles and has snap shots on goal…however he has the talent and is good enough to easily adapt to the left side of midfield as long as he keeps his discipline and can allow a left footed full back make runs on the outside of him. But if he is playing with Gallas, Hoyte or any other right footed left back behind him, the balance wont be there. Full backs are tremendously important in Wengerball, without fast overlapping full backs the system of play isn’t effective. They take defenders out of their position, give more options to the midfielders and allow holes to appear for the likes of Freddy and in the past Pires to get in those gaps to score goals. Those fullbacks have to have the ability to go on the outside like Lauren, Eboue, Clichy and how Cole did it….Gallas will do a fine defensive job and will be comfortable on the ball BUT at Chelsea it didn’t matter if he had a left foot or not to play left back. Flamini did a solid job last year BUT he was appreciated for his defensive display and decent performance in possession which at the time was enough but not for a whole season.

Baptista is the same, he is a central player, so is Fabregas, so is Gilberto, Diaby, Flamini, Song, Rosicky…That makes 7 players who are best suited in the centre of midfield and not one that is an out and out left sided midfield…

Freddy has been in the past but unless he scores goals he wont be in the team, I hope he can get going again because he is truly a unique sort of player when he gets going. Walcott is too young right now for us to be thinking of him playing the whole season on the left, Wenger will protect him but he could play tonight if we play a five man midfield, most probably on the right though.

So overall the message is that Gallas is a tremendous player and I have full confidence in his abilities to occupy any position in defence BUT just because he is ABLE to play in every position it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t play in the position where he is at his best. Perhaps for now it may be that left back is best for the team, but I can sense perhaps a few healthy-ish dilemma’s for Wenger in the coming months with Senderos coming back. But my last word would be that a centre back pairing of Toure and Gallas would be probably the best in the premiership and a formidable force, lets see what Wenger has up his sleeve…

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Time To Unleash “The Beast” Baptista…

Arsenal are losing 1-0 to Middlesbrough at half time and we have been dominating as usual but find ourselves losing...Think it is time to unleash the beast Baptista and bring on Rosicky...My gut reaction would be that Wenger wont make half time changes because he doesn’t usually do so because he likes continuity and we have been dominating...a GOAL WILL COME... But I fully expect Baptista and Rosicky to come on if we dont get a goal by 55-60mins...Hopefully they wont need to...

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The Beast To Play In The Hole OR Attacking Midfield AND Holding Midfield!?…

By Bilal Zaidi

It has been well talked about where our new Brazilian recruit would play…how would he fit into this team? Who would be left out for him to play instead? I wrote a couple of days ago that Van Persie has to be up front because he is on some blistering form…will Wenger leave him out for today’s match? I hope not, but this is what Le Boss had to say about Baptista’s position in the team:

"Where will he play? That is a good question," Wenger admitted before revealing his intentions. "He will play either behind the striker or in midfield. I think he can be a great defensive midfielder.

"He has the sense of getting into the box, the timing. All the big teams have players who can come from deep into the box.

"Here we had Pires, now Ljungberg, at Manchester United there is Scholes, and there is Lampard at Chelsea. You need in every team a player who can come from nowhere at the right moment, and Baptista has that."

I don’t think he will start as a holding player today because I cant see Gilberto being dropped, he is our vice captain and Wenger won’t psychologically do that to a player of Gilberto’s class and someone who is firmly cemented on Wenger’s wall of Arsenal’s team.

Another option would be the 4-5-1 that we saw in the champions league last season which would perfectly accommodate Gilberto, Fabregas and Baptista…with Rosicky, Hleb, Ljungberg and Van Persie fighting for the wide positions. Either way we can see quite clearly that this new look Arsenal team is looking strong just with the addition of two quality solid players…the versatility of this team is quite extraordinary so even throughout a match our players can interchange positions. Man Utd used to do this with Giggs and Beckham switching wings occasionally in a match and it just gave the opposing team something to thing about and a different angle for each player to attack from.

Baptista WILL SCORE GOALS, if he plays upfront he will score the sorts of goals he scored in the video I posted before…if he breaks from midfield he will still score, headers included (YES WE HAVE ANOTHER PERSON THAT CAN HEADER NOW)…Just as Ballack seems to always score headers from midfield, I think Baptista will offer us something we don’t have already…the only question is if he plays who is left out? That is the problem in a sense, but not a problem for a manager who has 4 or 5 players who can play in a role fighting for their place…

We will know soon enough if he starts today, either way, whoever gets the nod upfront with Henry and in midfield…I hope it can be the kick-start that we need to get our season really underway at this magical new stadium.

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Van Persie Has To Start Up Front Against Boro / Goal Video Clip

DID YOU SEE OUR MAN VAN PERSIE score two sublime goals for Holland last night!?...Liverpool’s recent signing Kuyt was on the scoresheet aswell…that from a Van Persie free kick.

Others have said that Baptista should start upfront with Henry and Van Persie on the right…even though this would be a fantastic option, I’m not sure it is the best thing to do right now with Van Persie clearly looking so dangerous up front…Form players should be playing and he has no reason to be dropped to the bench or onto the right, even if it means Baptista doesn’t get to start straight away.

I will leave you to decide yourself from this video of Hollands 3-0 victory, watch out for Van Persie’s fantastic goals…

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Wenger Waves His Wand/Baptista/Gallas/Denilson/Cole/Cygan/Reyes

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…

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Arsenal Get More Brazilian Magic...Denilson Signs...

Arsenal have paid Sao Paulo £3.4m for 18-year-old midfielder Denilson, acccording to Denilson's club Sao Paulo.

Denilson has made 12 appearances for Sao Paulo and is captain of the Brazil Under-19 team.

"Arsenal has paid US$6.5m (£3.4m) to sign the Sao Paulo player," is what Denilson's club had to say on its website.

The deal for Denilson is subject to international clearance and it has been reported the player will be loaned to a smaller club to gain experience.

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French Class & Brazilian Magic/Our Options Now...

FINALLY the ongoing transfer saga of Ashley Cole’s move to Chelsea has been finalised with Cole moving to Stamford Bridge and William Gallas the classy French defender coming our way…William Gallas joins Baptista from Real Madrid and Tomas Rosicky as our three summer signings…

WHO WOULD HAVE BELIEVED IT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER IF WE HAD BEEN TOLD THAT THREE TOP CLASS PLAYERS, ALL OF PROVEN QUALITY TO AN EXTENT…WOULD BE PLAYING AT THE EMIRATES THIS SEASON!?

Fair enough we have lost Cole and Reyes, two left sided players…left footed players…which COULD perhaps disrupt the balance of the team BUT my own personal opinion is that we are better off with these two “swapped” players than we were with them. Those who read regularly will know what I think of Ashley Cole and Reyes, yes they are two very talented players…and YES Ashley Cole is a tremendous defender…BUT no team needs players that don’t want to play for the club.

Gallas is a 29 year old SOLID defender who can play centre back…AND…left or right full back. He has experience, strength and pace, he can head the ball well, he’s good on the ball…he reads the game well, a tight man marker and has the recovery pace to match the rest of his great attributes which makes up a terrific defender. Kolo Toure and Gallas can be the best centre back pairing in the league…if he does play at centre back which is his best position, then it does still leave a slight gap at left back…but none of that today…because today is a happy day…as Arsenal fans we can all feel content that our team is more than good enough and solid enough to challenge this season. All it needed was a couple of solid signings and im sure the rest of the team will now be pumped up and rearing to go…AND YES CYGAN HAS GONE FOR £2 million, fantastic business...

Gallas plus £5 million…perhaps a bit more cash would have been nice but I’m more than happy at the result, this is what our team’s options are:

..........................Lehmann

Eboue/.............Toure..........Gallas/............Clichy/
Lauren/...........................Senderos/..........Hoyte/
Hoyte................................Djourou............Traore/
..............................................................Gallas/
..............................................................Flamini

Hleb/...........Fabregas/........ Gilberto/..........Rosicky/
Freddy/.........Baptista/.........Flamini/...........Freddy/
Walcott/........Rosicky...........Diaby..............Walcott/
Van P?...............................................Van P?


................Van Persie/.............Henry
................Adebayor/
................Walcott/

A more than competent side in my opinion, terrific tallent all over the pitch and now with a bit of steady French solid defending, and hopefully some brazilian magic...hmmm and hopefully some YOUNG THEO added to the equation, the season is looking bright already. Cant wait...can you?

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Who is Julio Baptista? The Video...

Yes one of the deals that we have been anticipating for months has gone through, Reyes has gone to Real Madrid with Baptista coming in the other direction to play for us on a season long loan…with a view to a “permanent deal” after the loan finishes. The Reyes deal has an option of 22 million Euro’s for Madrid to sign him as a permanent player next season.

So the question for some people who may not have seen too much of our new signing will be: Who is this chap Baptista? Well last season we wanted to sign him from Sevilla but Real Madrid beat us to his signature and he spent a year with them last season. He was amazingly successful at Sevilla but to be honest he didn’t reach his full potential at Real Madrid to say the least, which could be said of Reyes at Arsenal too.

Two different sorts of players, Reyes being a lightweight direct dribbler who has shown that his best position is on the left wing. A talented player none the less, but Baptista gives us something that we perhaps haven’t got. A massive build, powerful structure and an abundance of pace…strength is his most obvious asset and versatility being another. He can play up front or as an attacking midfielder coming from the centre…he has ALSO played as a defensive midfielder, but I don’t think that is his best position by any means…however we will have to wait and see what Wenger thinks of his best position. My own personal thought is that he will be suited to play in the hole with powerful bursts going forward to link up with the other team mates around him. Overall something exciting…AND BRAZILIAN…Thank GOD for that…

I have managed to dig out a video of some of his best bits, he looks like a wrestler, can score free-kicks, powers through defenders like shaq…and an important asset, he still plays like a Brazilian…tell us your thoughts on our new acquisition.

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