I'll be addressing all of our own player's transfer situations in alphabetical order. There are exactly 31 players in our first team, so I'll do five players per post. Today, I start with Almunia.
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| "MY HAIR IS SO BRIGHT I CAN'T SEE!!!" |
The Spanish goalkeeper has been heavily criticized this past season, and rightly so. He's been very poor, and has cost us many points, mot notably when he made his idiotic mistake against West Brom in a 2-2 draw. Luckily Arsenal has found promise in young goalkeeper Woijcech Szczesny, who looks to be the long term replacement. And with the reassuring form that Lukasz Fabianski showed prior to his injury earlier in the season, it looks as if Manuel's time with Arsenal football club is up.
There hasn't been any solid rumors regarding Almunia, but there have been many rumors saying that a move to Villa Park to replace Brad Friedel is imminent. There are also rumors that Atletico Madrid are interested, after losing David De Gea to Manchester United. In addition, money-giant Malaga is linked as well.
2. Andrei Arshavin -
Arshavin didn't have his best season at Arsenal. He was on poor form for the majority of the season and had fallen out of favor with the fans. Even so, Arshavin was able to muster up random moments of brilliance during his slump, such as his goal at the DW Stadium and his goal against Barcelona.
Arshavin, like Nasri, has a contract which expires next summer, however Arshavin seems content with staying at the Emirates another season, despite the reports that his previous club Zenit St. Petersburg are interested. Along with the Russian side, Galatasary of Turkey are reportedly preparing to make a 13.5 million bid for the little Russian, which would be more than what Zenit could offer.
3. Nicklas Bendtner -
Ol' St. Nick hasn't exactly had the best season at Arsenal either. This is a result of multiple things: he was unable to get a solid run of games with Chamakh and van Persie higher up in the pecking order, and when he was able to play, he was usually placed on the wing instead of his customary center forward role. Even so, when Bendtner did play he tended to come up with moments of magic, like Arshavin; both players not on form but able to raise some eyebrows. His high points could be his fantastic goals against Ipswich and Manchester City. However, when he missed a crucial chance in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Barcelona to send Arsenal into the quarterfinals, fans were outraged with the Dane.
Bendtner is an extremely ambitious and confident player, and is often ridiculed too harshly in my opinion. He is a player that can go to any league, and as a starter, could bag 20+ goals per season. Unfortunately, Arsenal's formation stopped him from breaking into the starting lineup, which has angered both Nick and his father. Hence, Bendtner and his father made it clear to Arsene Wenger that Nick wants to leave the club.
Bendtner's father had said that Borussia Dortmund were interested in signing Nick, but Dortmund later rejected these claims. It was also rumored that Arsenal offered Bendtner in a deal with Bolton for defender Gary Cahill to lighten the 17 million asking price, but Bolton has refused, saying that they only want cash for their sought-after defender. It now looks increasingly likely that instead of making a permanent move to another club for next season, Bendtner will spend his time on loan.
4. Marouane Chamakh -
Chamakh's season has been up and down. Last summer, many were waiting for Arsene Wenger to break the bank for a big name, but instead Arsene got the Moroccan on a free transfer. For the first half of the season, in the absence of Nicklas Bendtner and Robin van Persie to injury, Chamakh started every game and provided a consistent supply of goals, in what was Arsenal's best run of form all season. But once van Persie returned from injury, Chamakh declared he was tired and needed rest. Chamakh received a lot of criticism for this, which I found unfair. Chamakh had to play a plethora of matches, most of which were for 90 minutes, and it was also his first season in the physical, fast paced Premier League. During the seond half of the season as he came on as a substitute, he found it hard to adjust but didn't do terribly. He, like Bendtner, found it hard to find form without a run of games in the side.
When Chamakh came to Arsenal he said that it was a dream of his that was fulfilled. Chamakh was rumored with a move away from the Emirates to Marseille, but denied these rumors:
"These rumours [about Marseille] are completely false. If I was thinking about leaving Arsenal again for a French club, it would only be to return to Bordeaux."Chamakh has been criticized this past season by many, but I find Chamakh underrated and a great asset to the club. He is a world class finisher and gives the side more of an aerial threat. And with van Persie's "weak ankles", he may be called upon to take the burden of goal scoring next season, which I believed he can execute.
5. Gael Clichy -
Clichy has never been a consistent performer for Arsenal, and at times his mind would switch off which would cost us. However, he has showed that when he wants to, he can have fantastic matches, such as the one against Chelsea at the Emirates this past season. Offensively Clichy is good, apart from his crossing. Defensively, Clichy can be caught out with poor positioning and making mistakes. Clichy is the last remaining member of the Invincible side, but at a time when Arsenal's defense is shaky, more defensive assurance should be brought in, and it seems Arsene Wenger has understood that and allowed Clichy to leave the club.
Although earlier in the summer there were many rumors circulating that Clichy would leave for Liverpool, it was reported Liverpool could not match Clichy's salary request. Rumors then linked Clichy with a move to his boyhood club Paris Saint-Germain. However, these rumors quickly evaporated and it now looks as if Clichy is now on his way to Eastlands. Apparently City are willing to hike Clichy's salary up to 90,000 a week, and make a bid to Arsenal for seven million pounds. It is expected that Clichy will be announced as a City player in the next fortnight, but the deal cannot be completed within the next few days as the Frenchman is out of the country on holiday.
That's that for today. Tomorrow I'll have updates on Denilson, Diaby, Djourou, Eastmond, and Eboue. I hope you liked the post, and encourage you to comment and leave your thoughts.
On another note, the poll I put up on the blog has closed. The results are here:
I agree with the majority. Cahill would really strengthen our squad, and Samba would be a great addition for those tough matches at the Britannia. Although 26 million is quite a lot for Arsene, it may be acceptable based on whether or not Nasri or Cesc leaves the club. Make sure you vote on the new poll that is up!
Enjoy your Sunday.
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