Urby Emanuelson to come to Arsenal?

Rumor has it that Arsene Wenger is poised to make a move for talented Dutch international, Urby Emanuelson. Although he is fairly well-known (and not French) the Ajax left back fits almost perfectly to Wenger's mold - he is only 21. His experience, however, belies his age. He has played 61 matches for Ajax since his debut in 2004, and has also played 6 matches for the senior Dutch national team. He was also a member of the Dutch U21 team which recently defended their U21 World Cup crown. In the U21 World Cup, Emanuelson was named to the UEFA Team of the Tournament, following his impressive displays at right back. To top it all off, he was recognized as the Talent of the Year at Ajax Amsterdam, an award recently recieved by the likes of Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder.

So, he seems fairly qualified for a 21 year-old. The real question, though, is do we need him? Well he would be an able replacement for Armand Traore, but it would seem like a waste to have two of the most promising young left backs sitting on the bench waiting for Gael Clichy - one of the best left backs in the premiership - to get injured or suspended. My verdict: if we sell Traore, then Emanuelson would be a great buy - and the trade from Traore to Emanuelson would certainly be a trade up. However, if we intend on keeping both in our squad, it would simply be squandering talent (unless of course Arsene Wenger manages to work some of his magic by transforming one or the other into a player of a different postion - a left winger perhaps?) Wenger has said that he is not looking at any new players, but it would be great to see Wenger back in the transfer market, so lets hope this rumor is true.

Edit: The Sunday People is now claiming that Emanuelson is currently on trial with Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger: "I am not in the market for any new players."

Arsene Wenger spoke out on the possibility of new signings at Arsenal.com, saying "I am not in the market for any new players." This will come as a disappointment to many gooners, including myself, who were hoping that Wenger would bolster the back line, sign a left winger, sign a striker, or any combination of the above. I'm hoping that it the ambiguous way it was said means that he is not currently in any negotiations, rather than what it seems like: that his involvement in the transfer window is over.

This comes as bad news soon after it was announced by Managing Director Keith Edelman that Wenger was close to signing a deal. Edelman also commented on the financial status of the club, saying:

"We are generating more money out of Emirates Stadium than our debt repayment.

"Therefore we are more profitable at Emirates than we were at Highbury and therefore we can invest more money.

"We will have the largest gate revenue in the UK and when our results are produced (in September) and you see the amount of cash the business has got, some of the comments that have been made over the summer are very wide of the mark.

"We're in very, very good financial health and we're financially very strong as a club."

This would lead me to the conclusion that Arsene has plenty of transfer funds to work with (as has been previously stated by various Arsenal officials), but as usual, the frugal Wenger sees no reason to further invest in a squad that has been tipped by many to be stripped of its Champion's League place by the underachieving Spurs. I trust Wenger, but I seriously hopes that he splashes some cash before the end of the transfer window.

Wenger to sign a new defender

I'm not going to lie, I completely made that up, but one can always hope right? I wasn't able to watch today's game as I was dropping my sister off at college, but a 1-0 win against the undefeated league leaders is never bad right? Not exactly. We won the game, but it proved that we have a very thin back line. I was always against Djourou's loan move, and the reason why was shown today.

Our defense at the end of today's game consisted of Kolo Toure, Clichy, Gilberto, and Flamini. Thats right. Half of our defenders were actually midfielders. It's nice that Gilberto is back, and I'm sure that he stood in well for the injured Gallas and Senderos, but he plays best as a defensive midfielder. Flamini, who's inclusion in the first team I already doubted, has no place in the back line.

It's great that we have Sagna the line-up, as he can play at left-back, center-back or, where Wenger has been playing him so far, right back. I also like the inclusion of Senderos (even at Gallas' expense) because his height is helpful in defending set pieces and he seems to form a better pairing with Toure than Gallas does. But with Gallas set to be out for more than a month, our back line looks decidedly thin. We should have kept Djourou, but I think the best move now would be to go for another versatile defender like Sagna. That way we can keep Gilberto and Flamini where they belong, in the midfield and on the bench respectively. - on the bench.

Walcott vs. Bendtner

Following Theo Walcott's surprise call up to Sven-Göran Eriksson's World Cup squad, he has been followed by an incredible amount of hype, being tipped to become the next Henry at the tender age of 18. Of course though, in an Arsenal side inundated with young talent, Walcott is not the only promising young striker. 19 year-old Nicklas Bendtner has been recalled from his loan at Birmingham, and is now part of Arsenal's first-team squad.

Few would agree with me on this, but I believe that Bendtner has even greater potential than Walcott. In his Emirates debut, a friendly against PSG, Bendtner scored Arsenal's first goal and assisted Mathieu Flamini's winner. Possessing a strong header (and a large height advantage at 6 ft 3 in) Bendtner is a huge threat off of set pieces and crosses, but at the same time troubles defenders with his dribbling and strength on the ball. He has the potential to become the target man that Arsenal have been lacking in their previous two seasons.

Walcott though, could be the one providing him with killer crosses. Wenger is not yet sure whether Walcott is best as a winger (where he has been deployed in most of his Arsenal games) or as a striker. With his incredibly acceleration, Walcott has enough pace and trickery to cause huge problems for any defense, and at the age of 18, Theo has plenty of time to develop into the next Henry - or the left-winger which Arsenal have been missing. However, one thing that Walcott lacks is the killer instinct which Henry had. While he has an impressive record of 4 goals in 7 games at the U21 level for England, he has been unable to score a league goal for Arsenal in 17 appearances. There is no doubt however, that Walcott will mature to become a force to be reckoned with.

It is impossible not to rate both of these Arsenal youngsters highly, I have to give the nod to Bendtner, if only because of his aerial ability. What he lacks in pace he makes up for in height, and unlike Emmanuel Adebayor, Bendtner has no problem putting away his headers.If Arsene Wenger manages to fend off the approaches of Inter Milan (and many more clubs to come) Arsenal will, without a doubt, have one of the best strikers in the Premiership.

Arsene Wenger: "You Need Two Strikers"

Many Arsenal fans have been delighted with the free-scoring start which Alex Hleb has had this season. Hleb has found himself more than comfortable in a supporting role in the 4-4-1-1 system which Arsene Wenger has chosen to use for much of the pre-season as well as Arsenal's first two league matches, scoring 2 goals in 3 matches since Arsenal's first EPL game against Fulham. Hleb's remarkable run of form, which also includes a goal against Ajax in a pre-season friendly has lead me to believe that the correct managerial decision would be to drop the 4-4-2 in favor of the 4-4-1-1 which has been bringing out the best in Hleb this season.

We have genuine quality in the form of Robin van Persie, who could easily win the Golden Boot this season if he stays fit, and with a superb creative dribbler such as Hleb, Arsenal's new system could see Hleb scoring more and more. However, with Adebayor's return imminent after a groin injury, Wenger has told Arsenal.com, "I cannot isolate Robin van Persie up there the whole year. It does not work on a longer period. It can work in some games but it cannot be the basis of your game. You need two strikers." I was dismayed upon hearing this, because unless Wenger opts to play an unlikely 4-3-1-2 formation (which would further weaken our play on the flanks) Hleb will no longer have the freedom to play in the center. Unfortunately, despite Hleb's brilliance on the ground, he is not a good crosser of the ball, and therefore does not work well on the right wing - where he was played last season and managed to score only 3 goals. Hleb's tendancy to cut in towards the center of the pitch means that he is not nearly as useful on the wing as he is in the hole. Arsene must realize this at some point, and either play Hleb in his preferred position or not at all.

Adebayor is not good enough to start for a team of Arsenal's stature, and while I rate Nicklas Bendtner and Eduardo highly, one is not yet ready for such a big role in the Premiership, while the other has yet to prove his ability at the highest level. If Arsenal are to see the best of Hleb this season, we must play him in the hole, supporting a lone van Persie up front. If it ain't broke, don't fix it... other than Lehman's blunders we've had a fine start to the season, and until we are comprehensively beaten, I would like to stick with the formation we have been playing.

Lassana Diarra to be allowed to leave Chelsea?

Well, according to TEAMtalk.com Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho has stated that he would like to offload one player after the purchase of right back Juliano Belletti. Chelsea now have two players for every position, except for right back in which they have Belletti, Ferreira, Glen Johnson and more importantly, stand-in right back Lassana Diarra, who upon his signing was tipped to be the next Claude Makalele.

Diarra, who has been linked with Arsenal throughout the summer, who prefers to play as a defensive midfielder, has already stated his will to leave Chelsea, and would be a welcome addition at Ashburton Grove. In our first two games this season, we have been without a good defensive midfielder due to the fatigue of Gilberto Silva after the Copa America. His replacement, Flamini, has played solidly but has failed to do what Gilberto does best: protect the backline. Unlike Gilberto, Flamini allowed too many shots from 20-25 yards out, failing to smother dangerous attackers. Diaby is also no Gilberto. While he is physically similar to the great Patrick Vieira, he is more of an attacking midfielder, and often neglects his defensive duties. While Gilberto is in the line-up for tomorrow's game against, it would be nice to have a little cover for him in case of injury or suspension. A perfect person to cover him would be Diarra.

At 22, Diarra would be a bit old for a Wenger signing, but still young enough to be able to be molded to the Arsenal style of play. Although he is a bit short, something that many Arsenal players suffer from, his versatility would make him a great squad player, to fill in for any injuries in the midfield or right-back, in a decidedly thin-looking Arsenal squad. I can only hope that Arsene Wenger will pounce on this chance to sign a young player who could plug many gaps in our squad. I'm looking forwards to seeing Diarra in an Arsenal jersey.

Do you think that we should sign Diarra? Do we need cover for Gilberto or is Flamini good enough? Would Wenger be willing to sign him? Leave your comments below.

Update: Arsene Wenger has signed Diarra

Wenger to sign a new deal!

As I checked NewsNow.co.uk last night I was surprised to find an article similar to this one (I don't remember exactly which it was which I first read) stating that Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's manager since 1996, has agreed to sign a new 3 year deal worth a total of £9 million. Following all of the rumors that Wenger was going to leave after this year, it was great news to hear. Stability is always important at a club, and having a manager who is destined to leave often affects the way a team plays.

However, with all of the rumors, I had already given a lot of thought to the effect that Wenger's resignation could have upon the club, but I hadn't yet decided whether it would be a positive or a negative. Now don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate Wenger's contributions to the club, and he is without a doubt the most successful manager that Arsenal has ever had. However, after successive 4th place finishes in the Premiership and a lack of summer signings, many Arsenal fans (admittedly including myself) began to doubt his ability to lead the club to silverware. His lack of experienced signings has been troubling and has lead to two fourth place finishes being labeled as 'gap years' for the young guns to gain some experience. However, despite these two gap years, many football pundits believe that Arsenal will lose its place in the top 4 to the likes of Everton, Newcastle, Manchester City, or the hated Spurs. While I firmly believe that we will retain our position in the Champion's League spots, this is a bit disturbing, and many people place the blame on Arsene's unwillingness to sign established players at a premium.

Not all of Wenger's transfers are viewed in this negative light however. Many people agree that Wenger is the best manager at scouting out upcoming talents, signing Vieira for £3.5 million, Pires for £6 million, and Freddie Ljunberg for £3 million. While many people are upset about his frugality, it is impossible to question the fact that when he does spend money, he spends it well. Even this summer, the signing of Bacary Sagna has done much to bolster our back line, Lukasz Fabianski looks to be one of the brightest goalkeeping prospects for the future, and Eduardo may add the clinical finishing that our squad was missing last season.

However it is not his signings that make a fan want to keep Wenger. It is the mesmerizing brand of football which his clubs play that first attracted me to Arsenal, and it is this same football that would be sorely missed at Ashburton Grove if Wenger were to leave Arsenal. While he may not sign any big names, he has certainly made many lesser known players stars, and his brand of football has made Arsenal the big name when it comes to attractive football. Rarely relying on long balls, Arsenal's slick passing make Arsenal the most entertaining team in the Premiership. While silverware would be a welcome addition, I will stand by Arsene Wenger as long as he continues to fit players into his mind-numbingly beautiful style of football.

What do you think? Is it worth playing attractively and missing out on silverware? Is it possible to win and play beautifully? Is Wenger the right manager for Arsenal?

Edit: Update on Wenger's new deal