This time my Dragon software converted "Hello again
Gooners" to "Hello again during this", so if you see more typos
you will know why!
When it comes to the name Santi Cazorla, I'm guilty of
making a lot of mistakes myself! Arsene Wenger himself claimed he didn't know
who Santi is, when asked by a member of the media in the UK. However, when
asked a similar question by the Asian media he replied that although a deal was
"not close" he was "working on it", allegedly. I'm never
been one to doubt the existence of Santi, although I don't necessarily expect
him to drop down Arsenal's chimney immediately.
This could end up being another transfer saga, but I think
we will see movement on the Santi front by the end of the month. By then we
will know if he is going to come to Arsenal or whether or not he will stay at
Malaga. The Spanish club needs the money as their debts could result in
relegation if not addressed on or before 31 July 2012. I cannot imagine Sheik Al
Thani wasting his €150 million investment by allowing that to happen. That's
why the Guardian are claiming it's a done deal, and the Sun says the deal will
be complete before the weekend, while the Daily Mail has proclaimed:
"Santi is coming to town".
Let's hope those media sources are correct as €20 million
sounds cheap at the price for such a talented Spain international winger, especially
as a buyout clause written into his contract is more than double the amount. His
versatility and experience will be welcome at Arsenal and that kind of signing
may convince Robin van Persie to stay at the Emirates Stadium. According to Sky
Sports, Arsene Wenger has "re-irritated" his desire to keep the
striker at Arsenal. An interesting slip of the tongue!
Meanwhile, Arsenal have been accused of a "disingenuous
bid" for Hugo Lloris. All sorts of skulduggery may have gone on, according
to Spurs, who are apparently accusing us of offering £16 million for the Lyon keeper. Of course, former Arsenal utility player Remi Garde is now Lyon boss
and therefore has been implicated in this "scandal". Spurs are
genuinely chasing the France international goalkeeper, where is our interest is
just to inflate the price. Or so the story goes. We expect developments on this
story on Saturday, as Lyon's chairman Jean Michel Aulas has claimed the
decision about the player's future will be made by then. Lloris didn't exactly
cover himself in glory during Euro 2012, so perhaps Arsenal should give him a
wide berth.
Another player we won't be signing is Loic Remy of Marseille.
The 25-year-old France international looks to be heading to Newcastle United
£15 million. The Magpies should get half that amount for the sale of Demba Ba
to Rubin Kazan.
A lot less money than that has been received by Arsenal for
the sale of Pedro Botelho to Atletico Paranaense. The Brazilian left back was
loaned out to all and sundry in Spain for five years, but has now returned year
to his home country without making an impact for Arsenal. Let's hope a better
fate awaits Joel Campbell.
Another player who could be on the way out, perhaps, is Emmanuel
Frimpong. The popular Arsenal midfielder is in trouble again, due to something
he wrote on his Twitter account. I don't disagree with most Arsenal fans who
love the fact that Frimpong wears his heart on his sleeve, but he will have to
be careful in future on social networking sites. I only hope he's learnt his lesson
now.
Apart from Lauren Koscielny signing a new long-term deal, the
other good news concerns our friendly performance against a Malaysia XI. Two
goals in the final few minutes turned defeat to victory and the youngsters who
performed should be very pleased with themselves. Thomas Eisfeld got the
equaliser, which was good going considering the brevity of his cameo
appearance. Chuks Aneke grabbed a deflected winner and it was "high-fives"
all around, apart from in the case of Marouane Chamakh - who was largely
disappointing, despite going close to scoring twice.
Abou Diaby played in fits and starts, yet the commentary
team on ESPN were full of praise for the France international midfielder. Back
in the studio, ESPN's Steve Nicol more or less said the whole Arsenal team were
suspect, apart from Mikel Arteta. I wonder if Nicol has met Arteta, as both
spent a lot of time in Liverpool, Nicol playing for the red side without
Spanish maestro on the blue side.
Anyway, Nicol's praise of Arteta was far from shocking. However,
I took issue with his criticism of Thomas Vermaelen and Lauren Koscielny, especially
as the commentary team had revealed that this pair had made more last-ditch
tackles than any other defenders in the Premier League. Those statistics speak
for themselves and not in a negative way either.
To keep things on a positive note, I should mention the possibility
of Thierry Henry returning to Arsenal as a coach. I suggest we get him to coach
our strikers. He might even be able to get Chamakh scoring goals again!
That's all for now, up the Gooners!
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