Being the good, kind gentleman he is, Arsene Wenger very generously participated in a live webchat on the official Arsenal website last night.
Although a lot of that chat was quite trivial, he did make some interesting comments about Robin van Persie’s ankle injury and revealed his thoughts on the need for a replacement. After repeating again that van Persie is more than likely to miss the rest of the season Wenger reiterated his desire to purchase a striker in the January transfer window and also made it clear that eligibility for the Champions League would not be the deciding factor.
“Sometimes you think that is a bargain you cannot turn down and don’t forget Arshavin got us in the Champions League last season. Of course I would prefer the player who can play in both competitions and so it would mean the player has the quality to play in the long-term for Arsenal Football Club. But we have an interested eye on the transfer window and if the right player turns up then we will do it.”
It’s all very interesting, isn’t it?
I have to say there are a few names around that play for Champions League clubs that tickle my fancy. Lyon’s Lisandro Lopez is one, Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko another, while Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh will remain a tabloid target for as long as he holds out extending his contract. All three players are relatively tall, adept at holding the ball up and have the skill to play the passing game that Wenger values. Lisandro Lopez especially, in my opinion.
I certainly agree with the manager that being cup-tied is not the be all and end all. With Chelsea having several key players heading to Africa soon, Manchester United faced with a defensive injury crisis of epic proportions and the rest of the teams failing to completely convince, it would not be amiss to say we have as good a chance to win the league this season as we did in 2007.
It’s important to remember is that despite getting good results we’re not playing particularly well at the moment and that is simply because we lack a bit of physical presence up top. Signing a player capable of slotting straight into the team would solve that problem and give us a very good opportunity to go top early in 2010 and attempt to stay there for the rest of the season.
To refrain from signing the right player because he is European cup-tied when we have such a great opportunity to win the league would be madness. Fortunately Wenger appears to agree.
Let me know which striker you think would fit in well for Arsenal by leaving a comment.
Bring back Dennis Bergkamp.
I really have little idea of the quality of strikers outside the premier league apart from the more obvious, expensive ones. Chamakh seems like a good option.
@ darragh – You fool. Let’s go get some beer.
Man, I’m waiting for you, shower-boy!
David Villa!!
About this time last year if you were asked whether you wanted Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in your team you’d probably have been pretty excited by the prospect.
The man was a goal-machine, albeit in a weaker Dutch league, but was untested in a stronger European one. However, he has a strong goal-scoring record at international level.
He signed for Real Madrid in January 2009 and the move ended up being a nightmare for him. The Hunter became a victim of Real Madrid going back to their old-school ‘Galactico’ policy and in short, was shipped as soon as possible.
The move to AC Milan in the summer of 2009 has been a bit of a bastard to Huntelaar too. He has been kept out of the team and has struggled to regain the type of form he showed at Ajax, the type of form that gave him the nickname ‘The Hunter’.
His country, Holland, are one of the favourites for the World Cup in 2010 but the Dutchman has been warned that he is expected to be playing regular football if he wants to go to the World Cup. He isn’t getting regular football at Milan, that’s for sure.
In fact, he’s probably getting the hump with all the splinters in his arse from the bench.
We have been linked with Huntelaar numerous times over the years and I have to say that many Gooners were upset that we have never signed him. Maybe Wenger has seen reasons not to sign him? Maybe he felt that ‘The Hunter’ wasn’t good enough for Arsenal or the English Premier League? After all, he hasn’t really set Spain or Italy alight has he?
My take is that in the past he would probably have cost a huge amount of money and we know that Arsene Wenger sees a players valuation and won’t go higher. We were probably priced out of a move. Nothing wrong with that. I’m only assuming mind.
In my opinion, now could be a good time to make a move. It may seem that ‘The Hunter’ has been a flop over the last 12 months but I honestly feel that he could thrive at Arsenal. And we need a striker.
If circumstances had been different for him at Real Madrid then we could be looking at a player who is top-scorer in the Spanish league. It’s not his fault he wasn’t a big enough name for the ‘Galactios’.
His confidence has probably sapped due to his time at Madrid and Milan have hardly helped matters. He hasn’t really been given a chance to show what he can do there and to see a fat Ronaldinho playing if front of you can’t help.
He needs to be revived. Arsene Wenger is the man for reviving players. A player with an undoubted scoring ability, desperate to go to the World Cup, and one who wants to prove himself in a top European league. Sounds good to me.
We need a striker, I see no reason why ‘The Hunter’ can’t have fresh breath breathed into his careers lungs and at the same time help Arsenal to trophies.
Lisandro Lopez is 5ft8. Tall my ass…
I believe arsenal needs a clinical finisher. Some one like Nistelrooy can give us two fruitful seasons,and he will be a cheap buy. We can also go for our own Drogba; Carlton Cole.
To be honest, I don’t see us buying anyone in January. We do have Bendtner coming back! If anything, I see us selling this window; Senderos and Simpson.
well my wish is David Villa, can u imagin what a strong team will arsenal be with him? Pls wenger u have the money so go get this player or cheski and will do it for sure.some names that i have seen in many arsenal blogs are making me sick, don’t you know that we don’t need another young and talented striker,we need a prooven striker a real threat cos we just haue theo bendner and maybe vela who are all talented and young but they can not bring the tittle home this seasen,villa would be a fantastic player for us and for the wengerball.
kjhgfdsa
we should buy dzeko or even bring back thierry
Villa? No, another Eduardo type player who will cost millions. Not worth it.
Chamakh? Good team player, but not available for the whole of Jan.
Huntelaar? Poor form currently and Milan will want to make their money back… Not worth it.
Dzeko? Too expensive and wants to go to Milan.
Luca Toni? Too slow for the Premier League.
Gignac? Tall, big, French, good skills. But, will cost around 12 million.
Lopez? Not the tall nor strong target man we need, he is 174cm and 69kg. And he will cost around 12 million.
Players that come to mind:
Uche: 178cm, good at heading and decent skills as he plays both st and am.
Kuranyi: 190cm, proven international.
De Sutter: 192cm, 24yo, should be 5 or so million.
Cardozo: 193cm, Paraguyan international, excellent free-kick taker.
Fernando Llorente: 195cm, 24yo, played several matches for Spain, strong frontman.
Igor Budan: 187cm, capped for Croatia, affordable.
this is just to see if my pic comes up dudes
hey hey theres me pic!!!!!thanks for the info andy
tiki i like ur list mate,i too would disgard the first few but ur second list has players i like,i would add ajax forward suarez and kenwyn jones to this mix,altohugh lissandro lopez would be a great player in our system,its his first season at lyon and a move wud be doubtful.iv seen alot of chamakh and hav not been impressed,not the natural goalscorer we need.
@darragh if shay given were to become available and the boss was to ignore him again i think i would cry,really
happy christmas to all,especially andy,ice,gunnerboss,spanishgunner,radads,darragh,nonny ah hell any1 ive argued with or annoyed dis year!!!!heres to more of the same in 2010.godbless
@ Tiki / Harris – I have to say I’ve made a bit of a cock-up with the Lisandro Lopez recommendation. I guess he just appeared taller and stronger than he is – much like van Persie does the opposite at times.
Some good suggestions Tiki. Cardozo is particularly interesting, heard a lot but don’t know too much.
why do u have a barca logo? lol
I hear Wenger might knock at my door during the transfer window.
@Shambo is that you jumping into a pool? Anyway Gignac or Dzeko for me, please no Carlton Cole, Bendtner is much better, can’t believe our standards has drop so much we would consider cole… and another thing Villa is so not like Eduardo, Villa actually has pace and is two footed, size is where those two are simimilar but they are really very different.
Chamkah is also a no, we have enough team players, we really need a striker with violence like Dzeko who actually is selfish enough to want to score a goal and who would actually be in the box to meet crosses.
@darragh hahahaha nice
I do not rate Carlton Cole at I’m with laninja on that. The only other name I’d throw into the mix is Podolski. Decent height and international experience. He has played multiple positions and is not cup tied. Dzeko would be my first choice but that isn’t going to happen.
How about Roque Santa Cruz ? ManC has so many strikers in the team and they can very well afford to dispense one (may be they actually want to, remember all that Robinho build-up?). He is a genuine CF with strong physical apperance. He’s not europe-bound. Another plus is that he’s well adopted to the english football, so he can be immediately fit into the squad. with so many creative team-players around him at arsenal, he can be lethal. I don’t think he’ll cost a lot.
I see Podolski also as very good option but at this time we want someone who can immediately fit into the first team, and I don’t see Bundesliga to BPL as such a smmoth transition.
any1 thought of Andre-Pierre Gignac??
3 player ok
Carlton Cole, and excellent player for an Arsenal striker. Van Persie on and injury crisis. Carlton Cole is the perfect choice!
Must admit that I have to admit that I am not up to date with available strikers but it seems like Dzeko and Gignac pop up often. I definitely dont see Villa coming to Arsenal. I just wonder if the fact that Arsenal have so few English players will play a role.
If Arsenal wont spend a money in january, Arsenal’s title are hopeless… Wenger please,spend for an profesional and proven striker… please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ruud Van Nistelrooy?
I agree with you Rian Joubert. Why are there no english players?
@ Rocking Guns – Van Niss in an Arsenal shirt?? You’re either joking or you’ve got a short memory. That will NEVER happen.
Heskey!
Chubby and lethal! or in other word Teletubbies holding m-16!
That’s savage.
ok this time is for real.
How about Amauri from juve? drogba twins. only without his sissy pony tail.
he’s good.
Shambo, happy christmas. SUAREZ@AJAX is the lick. Ive been watching him from last season wid SATANTA and this season wid ESPN. The dude is a true baller with plenty of confidence and sick swagg skills. It true say dat Wenger would be dope if e was to jax im for the gooners. The only problem is HE IS IN THE ARSENAL MOULD. I also like EMMANUELSON. My son calls im the black Beckham, I think he has much more in his locker. He is two footed, quick and has vision of a microscope. His crossing on the run is second to none. Only problem HIS IN THE ARSENAL MOULD. Cant ave everything!
Cole would be fine 4 me, um not sure how tall is he by the way. please please no players looking for retirement or trying to prove how good they are. a physical striker who can finish!
RockingGuns, there are no english players because they cost far far far far to much. A shit english player cost more than a shit foreign player and and a good english player, if there are any available, cost more than a good foreign player. Get Carlton Cole. Sounds like ‘Get Carter’. Did anyone hear about Theo breaking T Henry’s 4mtrs land speed Arsenal ecord…..no!,,,,,,,well e did. Major congrats. Also, Wenger reckons, as stated on the offical Website, the last 4 years of his reign as Boss has been the most ‘sucessful’ and productive of his 13 years, even without silverware.
Cole is 6.2′ with very good strength technique and pase. He also has much street skills on show. That,s why Capello wont pick im over ‘The Hesk’ because e takes the limelight away from ‘AND ROONNEEYY’ Heskey is an uncle tom and does exactally what e is told. Yes sa boss. The glenfiddich is starting to get to me. Apologes..apolge apologee forget it.
Andy why did you take away the time of the posting of the blog. How about Engog from Liverpool. No he is to young and all potential.
@ theicehammer – The time being removed wasn’t intentional. It seems a lot of people like it so perhaps I will try and get it back.
Cheers.
woo i’m gone for a few days and the place gets pimped out. nice one Andy. Impressive. with the speculation about buying players and that most people base there judgement on a you tube clip or a couple of games spotted and the like, we need to have trust in arsene and his network of scouts to get the best man if he is out there.
in my own opinon, i will prefer luis SAHA to CHAMAKH
@laninja yeah dude thats me jumpin in the pool on our hols dis year….great timing by the wife to catch it….am in the new matrix movie next year…ha ha ha
@ henrykissinher – Cheers mate. Pimped indeed.
It doesn’t matter who comes in or out. All we need is to get the title,i don’t care who gets it.
not heskey the blind donkey, he is like ady-bloody-byour, get a good goal moss the next 9, when he was teamed up owen for england we lost time and time again because as a defender you would think close down owen because even if heskey gets the ball he will most likely miss the net, last season i was overjoyed that oneil signed him for villa that meant we would get 4th place, they were 4th when they signed him, he is a disaster.
Here are my choices:
1. Van Nistelrooy
2. Luis Saha
3. Carlton Cole
4. Marlyn Harewood (yes, he is very good)
its now 2:30 on Christmas morning and i have just returned from midnight mass. A spiritual and wanderful christmas to one and all Gooners and Ammers and other supporters. May all your gods go with you. Have a happy newyear. Kr8ve did you say Marlyn, Its Marlon.
Hey gunnerz fanz!we need lyk player david villa r huntleer.we need 2 send money.
kean about kun aguero of atlectico madrid!
gosh,we need astriker who can just slot in the arsenal team-pulling off two or agoal tyo help us win games-astriker who is so energetic and very strong in the air-i think chamkah can work out that,dzeko is more of amidfielder than astrikermeaning he cant really solve our solutions.
Arsenal need to be clinical otherwise all the good work will be undone.Don’t forget Friedel single handedly stopped the gunners from winning when he was with Blackburn.Allied to the tough defenders in the Villa defence ,the gunners could have a hard time but all is not lost.The gunners must not engage in laborious passing.Then the element of a surprise shot at will be missing and makes the Villa defenders job much easier..That said the gunners must be prepared for the sort of physical game .Crunching tackles and two footed lunges will be the order of the day.The referee will be the most important guy on the pitch and must punish thuggish behaviour. Then football will be the winner. The gunners must not wince away from 50-50 balls and must fight to win .If every gunner plays as a team member there is no reason why the Villas 4 match winning streak and 9 game unbeaten run cannot be
halted.
I expext a low score game with the gunners winning 1-0.
If we do buy a ST lets hope that he can shoot with both feet i would want that so bad i get so pissed wen i see Vela etc…. have a chance at goal but doesnt take it ’cause its not his “favored” foot.
Marouane Chamakh would be a good choice for Arsenal. i wouldn’t mind seeing the poacher himself R V Nistelrooy come to North London. David Villa is good but the 40m price tag on him is too high in any case Wenger sold Henry for 24m so 40m is unrealistic at least to the gaffer. wouldn’t mind titi back at arsenal too.Andre-Pierre Gignac, Edin Dzeko and Klaas -Jan Huntelaar would also make good buys. Shooting ability and clinical finishing should be priority characters for consideration.
I am really counting on Lisandrio Lopez too.With his Champions league display of his quality football, I thought only two clubs have managed to have perfect replacement for their transferred players.Firstly Vermalean and second of course Lopez.But I feel the most cheap option will be Steven Fletcher. So my question for you is is he enough skilled to be a Gunner????
I will suggest something rather out of this world in terms of its audacity. Sell Bendtner and Eduardo. This is th free some space to bring in tested none injury prone striker without upsetting the Playing Unit balance. them bring in two players to replace them.
My Choice, Get me Humberto Suazo, Chilean, 29 been playing consistently for five years in the Mexican League. this is a guy who will not be going for the World Cup as his team did not qualify and seeks to get the final glories in football before retire. He can toil for the team while others remain cautious in a World Cup year to avoid injuries. Remember Pirez missing WC 2002 with broken leg while he was arguably the hottest property in Football? Suazo can even come on a trial Loan arragement. The prospects of Champions League Games will be appealing to him.
watch him on tube here and tell me why not:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H931wbSHpo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBCfgRCe3OE&annotation_id=annotation_208531&feature=iv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DwnDCyplO4&NR=1
Get Pazzini from Sampdoria. He is looking for top Flight Opportunity to Cement his place in the National side on a world Cup year and has been in great form. Or you can get anybody else to pair with Suazo.
Hey Big Boss,
I think Lisandro Lopez will be a good signing this January.
Pius Mogbut.
Nigeria.
well, in my own opinion i will say edin dzeko is the right choice for Arsenal at the moment. he is good in the air and on the ground. And to crown it up he is a two legged player.