Today is July 7th, and the summer is about halfway over. Due to Arsenal's poor season, Arsene Wenger has been stressed to make new signings, but it's also important to let go of some players who give little to the side, and keep the players that are our prized assets.
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 Koscielny.
16. Laurent Koscielny -
Last summer, I, and many other Arsenal fans, were yearning for Arsene Wenger to purchase a big burly center half. Instead, when I heard the news that Arsenal were in talks with "Laurent Koscielny", I wanted to shoot myself. "Who the feck is this guy?", I thought. However, Koscielny proved Arsene right, and has had a fantastic season. I understand that some doubted and still doubt Kos, and don't like him, but one must bear in mind, this was Koscielny's first season in the Premier League, and Koscielny wasn't supposed to play as much as he did. He was instead supposed to be Vermaelen's protege. Either way, he has performed. His low point of the season was his gaff in the Carling Cup Final, which I believe was solely his fault and not Szczesny's. Then again, his high was our match against Barcelona when he put Messi, Villa, and Pedro to shame. Next season will be Koscielny's second season in the Premier League, and after his performances last season, I expect Koscielny to be an immense force. I'd like Cahill, but I still stand by my view that Vermaelen and Koscielny together would be a brick wall.
There are no rumors linking Koscielny away from the club, and he will leave Sunday with the rest of the squad for the Asia Tour.
17. Henri Lansbury -
At the beginning of the season, Henri stayed with us at Arsenal, and made the bench for a few games. In fact, he started and scored the first goal in our 4-1 thrashing of Spuds at White Hart Lane. :) In November, Lansbury went to Norwich City on an emergency loan deal, to cover for injuries in their squad. Lansbury did very well there, his highlight being his Dougie celebration for his goal against Leeds, and his last minute winner against Millwall.
Because of his participation in the U21 Euros, Lansbury is given extra time to rest, which will limit his preseason chances. As of now there are no rumors of Lansbury leaving the club on loan, but it is rumored that in an attempt to sign Gary Cahill, Arsene Wenger offered Carlos Vela and Henri Lansbury to lighten the transfer fee. Bolton apparently rejected, instead wanting only cash. And while on the subject, there are also rumors that Bolton has given Arsenal a 10 day deadline to sign the center half.
![]()
18. Vito Mannone -
Well, we haven't seen Mannone at all this season, as he was sent on loan to Hull City in October. Mannone slowly progressed through the reserve team, and in November made his first team debut in which he kept a clean sheet. Not everything was golden for Mannone though, as he suffered a thigh injury and returned to London. However, he soon returned on loan to Hull again and was back in the first team in March. He had a good season with Hull, keeping four clean sheets in seven games.
Currently there have been no solid offers for Vito, but he is being linked with many Championship clubs, according to Jamie Sanderson. With the likely signing of Craig Gordon, it seems that Mannone's time with the club could end this summer.
![]()
19. Samir Nasri -
Well look who it is. Is this the magical, innocent Nasri we once knew? Or is it the greedy, deceiving Nasri that we have heard of lately? Because this is the season review paragraph, we will talk about the magical Nasri. It's quite simple really; Nasri started the season on fantastic form. Nasri single-handedly gave Arsenal a chance in matches when the rest of the team under performed. Particularly our match against Fulham. His two magical goals gave us three points. His goal scoring was prolific, and was well-timed as it was parallel to Arshavin's dip in form. But once January came along, for some reason Nasri's form dipped. For those who have an eye for detail, Nasri's form dipped at the same time Chamakh went to the bench and van Persie came into the starting line-up. Are these events related? No one can answer that. But food for thought. For the time Nasri has been at the club, he has never shown the same form that he did in the early part of last season when he was with Chamakh. He was shit/average with RvP though. Coincidence? Up to you.
So now we arrive in NotSoNiceNasriville. Near the end of the season, word came out that Nasri wanted his weekly wage bill to be raised to 110 million versus his current 90 million. Not many were very worried in the beginning, but as time went (and goes) by, the pressure is building. Nasri has attracted interest from big clubs such as City, United and Chelsea, with City the most likely party to land the Frenchman. Rumors suggest City are prepared to make a 20 million pound bid, and offer 160,000 pounds per week for Nasri. However, it is also speculated that Wenger has put a 25 million pound price tag on Nasri for any sides that are in the Premier League. As of now, Nasri is booked for a flight to Kuala Lumpur, and I am confident Arsene can convince Nasri to stay. Whether Nasri will renew his contract or not is a different story.
![]()
20. Aaron Ramsey -
It hasn't been a spectacular season for Aaron, we all know what happened last season. It took a very long time for Ramsey to recover - you can't rush a a leg break as severe as his was. I'm stuck with a broken tibia and when it happened it hurt like hell. I broke my fibula a year ago too. I can't imagine the pain Ramsey must have went through, as he broke both bones in one swipe from a troll. Anyway, to help with his progression back to first team football at Arsenal, in November Ramsey was sent to Nottingham Forest until January. Ramsey was then sent on loan to Cardiff City. As February came to a close, Ramsey returned to Arsenal. The highlight of Ramsey's season would easily be his match winning goal against Manchester United. It happened almost a year after Shawcross scythed his leg - a fitting way to confirm his comeback. Gotta love Rambo.
I'm not sure if there are any transfer rumors linking Aaron to another club, and I don't care. Aaron is staying at the club this summer, and will go on the Asia tour. He is a loyal member of the club, and will see out his contract. I envision he and Jack as brothers, both giving everything to the club, with money just a bonus to playing football.
That's that for today. I hope you liked the post, and encourage you to comment and leave your thoughts.
At the beginning of the season, Henri stayed with us at Arsenal, and made the bench for a few games. In fact, he started and scored the first goal in our 4-1 thrashing of Spuds at White Hart Lane. :) In November, Lansbury went to Norwich City on an emergency loan deal, to cover for injuries in their squad. Lansbury did very well there, his highlight being his Dougie celebration for his goal against Leeds, and his last minute winner against Millwall.
Because of his participation in the U21 Euros, Lansbury is given extra time to rest, which will limit his preseason chances. As of now there are no rumors of Lansbury leaving the club on loan, but it is rumored that in an attempt to sign Gary Cahill, Arsene Wenger offered Carlos Vela and Henri Lansbury to lighten the transfer fee. Bolton apparently rejected, instead wanting only cash. And while on the subject, there are also rumors that Bolton has given Arsenal a 10 day deadline to sign the center half.
18. Vito Mannone -
Well, we haven't seen Mannone at all this season, as he was sent on loan to Hull City in October. Mannone slowly progressed through the reserve team, and in November made his first team debut in which he kept a clean sheet. Not everything was golden for Mannone though, as he suffered a thigh injury and returned to London. However, he soon returned on loan to Hull again and was back in the first team in March. He had a good season with Hull, keeping four clean sheets in seven games.
Currently there have been no solid offers for Vito, but he is being linked with many Championship clubs, according to Jamie Sanderson. With the likely signing of Craig Gordon, it seems that Mannone's time with the club could end this summer.
19. Samir Nasri -
Well look who it is. Is this the magical, innocent Nasri we once knew? Or is it the greedy, deceiving Nasri that we have heard of lately? Because this is the season review paragraph, we will talk about the magical Nasri. It's quite simple really; Nasri started the season on fantastic form. Nasri single-handedly gave Arsenal a chance in matches when the rest of the team under performed. Particularly our match against Fulham. His two magical goals gave us three points. His goal scoring was prolific, and was well-timed as it was parallel to Arshavin's dip in form. But once January came along, for some reason Nasri's form dipped. For those who have an eye for detail, Nasri's form dipped at the same time Chamakh went to the bench and van Persie came into the starting line-up. Are these events related? No one can answer that. But food for thought. For the time Nasri has been at the club, he has never shown the same form that he did in the early part of last season when he was with Chamakh. He was shit/average with RvP though. Coincidence? Up to you.
So now we arrive in NotSoNiceNasriville. Near the end of the season, word came out that Nasri wanted his weekly wage bill to be raised to 110 million versus his current 90 million. Not many were very worried in the beginning, but as time went (and goes) by, the pressure is building. Nasri has attracted interest from big clubs such as City, United and Chelsea, with City the most likely party to land the Frenchman. Rumors suggest City are prepared to make a 20 million pound bid, and offer 160,000 pounds per week for Nasri. However, it is also speculated that Wenger has put a 25 million pound price tag on Nasri for any sides that are in the Premier League. As of now, Nasri is booked for a flight to Kuala Lumpur, and I am confident Arsene can convince Nasri to stay. Whether Nasri will renew his contract or not is a different story.
20. Aaron Ramsey -
It hasn't been a spectacular season for Aaron, we all know what happened last season. It took a very long time for Ramsey to recover - you can't rush a a leg break as severe as his was. I'm stuck with a broken tibia and when it happened it hurt like hell. I broke my fibula a year ago too. I can't imagine the pain Ramsey must have went through, as he broke both bones in one swipe from a troll. Anyway, to help with his progression back to first team football at Arsenal, in November Ramsey was sent to Nottingham Forest until January. Ramsey was then sent on loan to Cardiff City. As February came to a close, Ramsey returned to Arsenal. The highlight of Ramsey's season would easily be his match winning goal against Manchester United. It happened almost a year after Shawcross scythed his leg - a fitting way to confirm his comeback. Gotta love Rambo.
I'm not sure if there are any transfer rumors linking Aaron to another club, and I don't care. Aaron is staying at the club this summer, and will go on the Asia tour. He is a loyal member of the club, and will see out his contract. I envision he and Jack as brothers, both giving everything to the club, with money just a bonus to playing football.
That's that for today. I hope you liked the post, and encourage you to comment and leave your thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment