Arsene Wenger confirms Campbell, Galindo signings

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While the official Arsenal website haven’t posted the story yet, Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Sol Campbell will sign for the club.

Speaking before the Bolton game he said:

“I have seen him in training and he is very sharp. His attitude is good, his talent is good. It gives us the opportunity to have one more centre-back. Sol will give us experience, good advice and physically he has worked very hard.”

“It is an opportunity for him to relaunch his career and for us it is a good help for the rest of the season. He is dedicated, motivated and looks happy to be back.”

Meanwhile the capture of 17-year-old Bolivian midfielder Samuel Galindo has also been confirmed. However, the likelihood is that he will be sent out on loan immediately to Spain to begin overcoming work permit issues, a la Carlos Vela.

Wenger said:

“I’m looking to send him out on loan. We have a few clubs in mind.”

“Galindo is a player who has good technique. He’s intelligent, 6ft 2ins tall, left-footed with good stamina. He is a central midfielder who can give good balls. He has good vision too which we like here.”

“It’s true that he was at Everton but he was offered to come to me on trial. I said yes, I liked what I saw and I signed him.”

The quickness of Wenger’s decision suggests that Galindo possesses all the attributes of becoming a first-team Arsenal player – strong technique, comfortable on the ball and a creative streak – and he should fit in well at the club. His height is an interesting attribute too, just quietly.

I wish both Campbell and Galindo all the best in their time at Arsenal.

Thoughts?

Have your say on the signings of Campbell and Galindo by leaving a comment.

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Comments

  1. The fact that we signed sol and not viera suggests that PV4’s fitness is not acceptable.
    I personally feel that PV4 was not signed bcos it would have been a huge conflict to have PV4 and FAB4 in the same midfield

    Thoughts?

  2. Agreed rahul, PV4 and Cesc cant play together, not bcos they dont complement but for what they now stand for:former captain and inspiration, present captain and inspiration…Cesc calm and quiet leader on the pitch and in the dressing room, Vieira strong personality that wont fail to rave at a teammate on and off the pitch…both are very dear to Wenger’s heart and it will be difficult to resolve if they clash.

    Influence on and off the pitch may divide the team more than unite it;same if TH14 returns. Does Cesc, the NOW and the FUTURE relinquish leadership to TH14 or PV4 if they return?

  3. nailed it Rahul. cant have 2 generals commanding the same troops on the field. but interestingly, my guess is that its Vieira we needed more having silvestre and sendros on the payroll. but this ‘harmony’ thing is massive, hence Patrick wasnt signed. ps, am not suggesting he would sturred trouble, but his legendary status and athuoritative imposing like personality could have affected some players and affected their confidence.

  4. Wenger always surprises us, for better or worse, doesn’t he? Who would have predicted these signings at the start of the window? I’m in favour of Campbell, his vast experience and know-how will be great for the younger players, especially Bartley and even Vermaelen. I’m sure he still has much to offer on the playing field as well, and I for one would much rather have him as back-up than the always suspect Silvestre.
    Galindo we probably won’t see much of until next January at the earliest, by which time he will be eligible for a permit. Interesting prospect, though.
    Saha in a swap with Senderos could be very positive for the club, also. Of course I would prefer Dzeko, but that is very unlikely in January. I had a dream last night that we signed David Villa!!

  5. We finally have our soul back,th young talent z geewd news too am realy lukn foward for anaa top sgning well,not necessarily considern wengers sleek approach 2 th transfr mrkt…i hwever xpect one new sgning apart frm sols cambck…dint knw bout the young bolivian talent..thnx weber for the 411 i love ur blog!cheers mate!

  6. Good points about Vieira rahul – although with Senderos pretty much leaving and Silvestre fairly dodgy more cover was required.

    No worries Proff, happy to break the news. Sometimes I forget that a lot of people on read one blog and don’t have their nose in the news all the time – I take it for granted that everyone knows what’s going on!

  7. wot am i reading in here today???we signed sol becos the boss got to see first hand how fit he was,he didnt hav that luxury with vieira,how do you know how fit vieira is?why do we always take the stance that if the boss didnt sign such and such there must be somethin wrong,he has made some blunders in the market aswel and let gret players slip thru our fingers…..SHAY GIVEN who was basically throwing himself at us!!!!
    also steve that be some grade A bullshit you be talkin bout cesc and paddy,wot you wrote is the perfect combo in a mid partnership,two inspirational leaders with different styles…it wuda been amazing.could you imagine our excitement bout the upcoming games with cesc returning from injury and paddy returning home to face manu and villa,etc….honestly why do so many gunners mask their dissapointments in this manner….be true and honest with yourselves,if sols good enuf to bring back and provide cover then surely the mid master is good enuf to mind the house until song gets back……you wanna talk about sol bringin passion for the cause??? i dunno maybe your only 5 and dont remember PV4

    by the way andy have you ever heard of the band rusted root and their song send me on my way….lead singer is a ringer for you dude

  8. @ shambo – I have now. Hippies! I can’t say that I agree about the lookalike though…

    I’ve got fairly short hair now though 🙂

    Nice comments, but maybe tone down calling someone else’s comments “bullshit”. The rest is all good.

    Cheers.

  9. sorry mate its a term i use loosely,but can understand how it may offend so apologies
    ha ha their hippies alrite but i love that song and only seen the vid toni….you shud stick the video on tomors page and see wot the arsenal fc blog universe think!!
    hav just been watchin zarate clips and that guy has game…hes a little messi!!!!!but problem is we already have alotta little guys,but seriously hes gonna be big….if you get my meaning

  10. I’m pretty sure that Arsene’s non-signing of Viera would have been because of his fitness. I imagine he seriously considered it but then thought – nope. Now he’s signed for City and is already injured before he’s even played. We’ve got enough injured players – we need someone robust. I really don’t think Viera will be able to hack it and I suspect his return to the Prem League is going to turn out to be a bit of a damp squib.
    With Sol Arsene had the opportunity to have a long look at him, to test out his fitness and only after some weeks of assessment did he decide to go for it. That’s Le Boss for you. He doesn’t throw money around like it’s nothing. Of course it doesn’t matter with City, they’ve got unlimited cash – but ultimately even squillionaires start to balk at money just going down the drain.

    I welcome Sol back to where he belongs. Pity he’s not playing at Bolton. I think it’ll be a tough game with a new manager who actually knows what he’s doing and committed players who’ll be anxious to impress their new boss. Typical of Arsenal’s luck to have to play them now. Twice.

  11. Sol Campbell is a great short term signing, Vermaelen has learnt a lot from Gallas playing CB if you watch during a game there,s no pointing the finger but constructive talk,Gallas has been reborn as a player and teacher. I think Sol will also pass on his vast experience playing CB to Vermaelen ,Arsenal need leaders on the pitch and Arsene is grooming Vermaelen as he did Cesc so ,ever so slowly Arsene is building a team that will dominate the EPL fingers X you can only achieve great team with planing well I believe in Wenger

  12. I still get the feeling that if RvP ws still here, we could hv managed a double easily this season.

  13. Guys am amazed how u all din see this .. Of all the 10 players on the pitch(excludin the GK) the ones who do the least running are the CB’s .. So Sol fitted the bill easily cos his fitness was enuf for a CB .. On the othr hand the ones who have to do the most running are the Mid fielders .. So PV4 didnt have fitness of a midfielder in the fastest premiership team .. Tats it ..
    @Shambogunner
    Am deny ur arg tat PV4 wud be fit enuf if Arsene had tested .. Did u see how slow he was in Inter this season .. He was jus ambling along .. No way he wudve made it into Arsenal as a midfielder .. Agree Le Boss makes a few mistakes sometimes but he was spot on in this issue ..:)

  14. Guys am amazed how u all din see this .. Of all the 10 players on the pitch(excludin the GK) the ones who do the least running are the CB’s .. So Sol fitted the bill easily cos his fitness was enuf for a CB .. On the other hand the ones who have to do the most running are the Mid fielders .. So PV4 didnt have fitness of a midfielder in the fastest premiership team .. Tats it ..
    @Shambogunner
    Am denying ur argument tat PV4 wud be fit enuf if Arsene had tested him like Sol .. Did u see how slow he was in Inter this season .. He was jus ambling along .. No way he wudve made it into Arsenal as a midfielder .. Agreed Le Boss makes a few mistakes sometimes, but he was spot on in this issue ..:)

  15. The signing of the young Bolivian is good news, but midfield and young talent is not our priority as of now.To my own point of view we need a talented, fast and experienced striker.

    Papa Wenger can you save us from shame that has been caused by lack of trophies and victories against arc rivals esp. Chelsea and city?

  16. Signing Sol is a good decision because we need a btter backup like him but the signing of Galindo is good but a long-term plan yet we need an immediate action on the attack upfront. Though Arsene has a good plan for the future of the club, but we need him to be more strategic on winning a trophy this season for which we need him to sign one influencial player on the attack or else we shall loose the possibility of winning any trophy like it was last season. you don’t want to remember that!

  17. Another point against signing Vieira (or him signing for us) is that he wants to play regularly in the side so he can make it to the World Cup.Surely he can’t be first choice once Song comes back.. No such issues with Sol.

  18. I dont think Vieira was necessarily ignored because of his fitness, he dont need a central midfielder a much. Galindo has been signed looking forwards not in the short term. That said when questionned on Vieira AW has made reference to his recent injury proneness so you could argue either way. Seeing him in light blue makes me want to vomit

  19. morn @andy, and all, shambo b4 i contribute wid my comment i always look out for yrs just incase people think i am being to negitive. Yr spot on again.
    1 I ave bee watching Patrick play this season on ESPN, cause iv been an admirer of Inter and i like their kit since Paul Gascoigne’s days in italy-sorry about spelling im not irish-and he looks fit enough to me. He is just not the player for Marino. Why assume he is not fit or any other negitive reason just because Wenger didn’t sign im.
    2 Galindo might prove to be a good signing in two seasons time, but dont your boys require im now. Its yet another youngster to wait for.
    3 I agree with Shambo that Patrick and Fabs would b a fantastic pair for ‘certain’ games. Patrick stated on Talk Sport that his job on the pitch is to tackle win possession and keep the ball ticking which he has done very well. I think Arsene did not sign pat because of the money he comanded, just like its cheaper to bring in another young player instead of one ready made and proven.
    4 As Shambo said, be true and honnest to yourself. As true as you would be to any team friend or foe. Its ‘seems’ as if some of this comments are made by people hypnotized.

  20. good afternoon all,
    wel ice hows it goin mate?good luck to your boys today!
    @ganesh,guess wel see bout paddy my friend,its just my opinion from wot iv seen of him,maybe he is finished…..
    @ice,andy and every1 else,
    lads i like the look of galindo,bigger version of edu who i loved,but my problem is this ; the managers obssession with youth now means in 4 years time,please god wel hav;
    song
    deni
    nasri
    cesc
    diaby
    galindo
    wilshere
    eastmond
    emanuel thomas
    ramsey
    theo
    frimpong
    randall
    lansbury
    coquelin
    all contestin for 4 or 3 mid places dependin on our formation….we will defo loose some talent at this rate.also this only reinforces my long time point that we should invest in a goalscorer now!!!pay wotever for the guy you like arsene,
    1.we trust your judgement
    2. with that crop of players in our squad in the coming years we defo wont need to be signing ‘overpriced’ players ,so just go now and buy zarate or dzeko,the foundations hav been laid,maybe too much,for the future….lets invest in the now
    you know i have a point dudes….too many chefs and all that

  21. Hello Icehammer – interesting points, all of which I completely disagree with.

    1) You may not remember but ‘Paddy’s’ form was not good even in his last couple of seasons for Arsenal. Seasons in which he was also constantly plagued by injuries. I have to admit that as much as I loved the man (and he is an Arsenal legend) when he left I felt the time had come. Since leaving The Gunners his form has continued to be patchy and injuries have continued to dog him. This is not the majestic Viera of old we’re talking about here. When he came back with Juventus to play us in the Champions League Fabregas had him on toast. I would actually love to see the old boy do well, even for City, but I really don’t believe it’s going to happen.

    2) Gallindo looks to be yet another exciting signing by Wenger. Why not sign him now? Just because we don’t need him now you’ve got to keep an eye on the future. Get him under wraps now before someone else does.

    3) You think Arsene didn’t sign Viera because he couldn’t afford him or didn’t want to pay his wages? That’s utter rubbish, my friend, and you have no foundation at all for such a remark. There’s not even any transfer fee to pay.

    4) Do not think that people who do not share your opinions or who have a somewhat more optimistic outlook are not being ‘true and honest’ to themselves or are ‘hypnotized’. That is conceited tosh.

  22. Shambogner, Old Timer, why do you talk so much? Is this a blog or a place for people to debate? Can you answer Andrew?

  23. Hahahah rocking guns you rock. We need guys like Shambo and Old Timer so we don’t become fanboy sheeps like some who comment on other blog. I like Andrew’s blog because he always try to take a middle stance, not forceful on his ideas and always trying to engage us. Plurality some might say. Arsenal Fc blog dosent mind if your the ‘Arsene Knows’ sheeps or the ‘doom n gloom’ squad.

  24. SOL!!! welcome back…great defender…hugely expirienced!!!

    GALINDO- i don’t know him…never heard of him…but he is suposed to be a good high, pacefull, compact, visional midfielder. welcome!

    what is missing?

    STRIKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    wenger sayd he will sign a striker if bendtner doesn’t come back on friday… he didnt…its saturday…and bendtner is still injured.

    it would be best wenger signs someone tomorow. maybe even use him the same day against bolton.

    the candidates: wenger sayd NO to a lot of strikers (c.cole, chamakh, balotelli, dzeko, gignac…). he didn’t say no to ZARATE, HULK, SAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

    i would consider hulk… second zarate and then saha. but zarate and hulk played in the champions league…so that wenger couldn’t count on them in the CL. maybe saha should be the one. he did score 10 goals so far.

    what about players like hazard, zezinho? they were mentioned all the time to go to arsenal. i didn’t hear anything about hazard going to arsenal and being loaned back to lille lately. it used to be mentioned all the time.

    comments?

  25. nice1 laninja,everyone to their own mate…..wots the fuss were all gunners….wel except ice whos a closet gunner!!!! tommorow be a tough one

  26. Phew! That Chelsea result was a bit of a shocker – considering we couldn’t put a single goal past Sunderland and they’re not exactly mugs. I just think Chelsea, although they have their blips, are too strong all round for us to keep them off the top spot. I’d still like to see us come second though. Their GD is better than ours now too. Let’s hope we can kill Bolton and eat their hearts out – then feast on their cold, dead carcasses back at Ashburton Grove on Weds.
    Sing up, Gooners!

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