Arsene Wenger finally re-signs!

After months of delays and rumors, the speculation over Arsene Wenger's future has finally ended as the Arsenal manager is understood to have reached an agreement with our board of directors. The deal will tie him to Arsenal until the end of the 2010/11 season and will see Wenger making £4 million a year.

Wenger had earlier hinted that he would come out about his future some time this week, and it will come as great news to most Arsenal fans that he is going to be here for another 3 seasons after this one.

On a side note, Wenger was voted as the best manager in the Premiership for the past month on ESPN Soccernet, with 92% of voters saying that he has been doing a good job in the beginning of the season. He narrowly beat out Rafa Benitez and David Moyes who had 92% and 91% respectively. Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson had a 55% approval rate, while Jose Mourinho was approved of by only 44% of fans.

The fantastic start to the season which saw us drop only 2 points in 4 games despite two errors from Jens Lehmann will quiet any critics of Arsene's transfer policies, and the fact that he has guided the club to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup wins while playing an entertaining style of football makes me hope that he will stay at the Emirates for more than just 3 years.

Arsenal Transfer Window Summary

Recent interviews with Arsene Wenger and Gilberto Silva have heard both say that Arsenal don't need to spend big to be competitive in the Premier League and it was this philosophy which Arsene Wenger followed in signing new players this season, despite the fact that the powers that be at Arsenal have been constantly telling the fans that we have copious amounts of transfer money available.

Here are the transfers to and from Arsenal this summer (all transfer prices are what's listed on wikipedia):

IN - All Undisclosed
Bacary Sagna
Eduardo da Silva
Lassana Diarra
Havard Nordtveit
Lukasz Fabianski

OUT
Fabrice Muamba - £4 million
Mart Poom - Undisclosed
Thierry Henry - £16.1 million
Jeremie Aliadiere - £2 million
Arturo Lupoli - Free
Freddy Ljungberg - £3 million
Jose Antonio Reyes - Undisclosed

Its clear that we've made a profit on transfers during this transfer season - we are the only big 4 club to have done so, and yet we are 2nd in the league (behind Liverpool on goal differential) after playing a game less than Chelsea and Manchester United. Does this mean that we can indeed keep our Champions League place, or even challenge for the title? Only time will tell, but we're well on our way.

Lassana Diarra signs for Arsenal!!

The official Arsenal FC website, Arsenal.com, has released an article which officially states that Arsene Wenger has signed Lassana Diarra from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee. This comes as a surprise deadline day signing after Arsene Wenger earlier claimed that he would not sign any new players. Wenger, however, does have a reputation not only for making signings on the last day of transfer windows, but also for conducting business in secret.

This secret was not as well kept as some of his others though, and I in fact wrote an article about the possibility of Lassana Diarra coming to Arsenal not too long ago. The 22 year-old Frenchman will be a welcome addition at the Emirates as he can play both in the midfield and in defense. We now have plenty of cover at right back, and even a replacement for Gilberto if necessary, as Diarra is a fairly competent defensive midfielder - although he prefers to be played as an attacking midfielder (where we already have enough options).

Lassana Diarra is a great new signing, and I am very happy to hear that Arsene went forwards with this signing, as I was worried about the thin cover of our backline, and especially about an injury to Gilberto. Diarra should be far better as a defensive midfielder than Mathieu Flamini was. I hope to see great things from him in a few years time.

Who was Arsenal's greatest signing this summer?

Arsene Wenger rejects Adriano loan move

Arsene Wenger has publicly stated that he rejected a loan offer from Inter Milan which would have seen troubled Brazilian striker Adriano come to The Emirates in return for an unnamed player.

Wenger told reporters, "He [Adriano] is not needed. I was not out there [in the market] to take a striker on loan.

"If I find the right player with the right quality I will always take him. With Adriano they wanted to give you a player and also take one from your squad.

"It would mean losing a player and then get one in who you were not desperately wanting. It is nothing to do with the quality of Adriano."

The player that Inter Milan were asking for was not revealed, but it was likely promising young striker Nicklas Bendtner, who Arsenal fans would be loathe to see in any colors other than the red and white of Arsenal. It seems as though Adriano would also be unhappy with the move, having stated that he would like to leave Inter permanently, rather than on loan.

Adriano was furious with Inter manager Roberto Mancini for not telling him that he would not feature in Inter's plans this season sooner. However, after being rejected by Arsene Wenger, it seems as though he may have to stay at the San Siro for another season.

I don't think that we need a new striker, and I am glad that Arsene Wenger didn't do away with one of our young talents in favor of an inconsistent performer.

Transfer Rumors: Emanuelson and Boruc

According to the Sunday People Ajax left-back Urby Emanuelson is now on trial with Arsenal. Supposedly, if Arsene Wenger wants to pick him up after the trial he will cost the club somewhere in the region of £5 million, a pretty decent price for such a promising youngster. However, it seems as though this rumor is completely untrue, as the article stated that he had been on trial before this week - but he played for Ajax during their 4-1 drubbing of Heerenveen on Sunday. While we may still be in the market for Emanuelson, he is not on trial at Arsenal.

Another rumor, this one thrown up by Sportingo (whose source is the Daily Mail), has once again linked us to Celtic's incredible shot-stopper, Artur Boruc. He is also being linked with Aston Villa. It is very likely that we are only being linked with him based upon Jens Lehman's blunders, so unfortunately, while I would be very happy to see this deal go through - Boruc is a quality keeper - I doubt that it will materialize. Not only is Wenger unlikely to make a bid for him, I can't imagine that Gordon Strachan would let one of his best players go for a reasonable price.

So there you have it, todays Arsenal transfer rumors. And what do they amount to? As usual, they tell us that there is very little chance of us buying anyone (although I still have my hopes up and would like to see both of these two at Arsenal).

Obafemi Martins is NOT coming to Arsenal

According to The Sun, Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins has admitted that he is flattered by the link with Arsenal, but he is fully committed to Newcastle United. He told The Sun that he wants to stay with Newcastle and fight Michael Owen and new signing Mark Viduka for a spot in the starting 11.

Martins had been linked with Arsenal throughout the summer because of the get-out clause in his current contract, but as I argued in my post about signing a new striker, he would be surplus to requirements as far as I am concerned. While I rate him highly, he is not worth his £13 million price tag, since Arsenal don't really need a striker right now.

What do you think? Is failing to land Martins a mistake like missing out on Ribery and Babel?

Do we need a new striker? If so, who should it be?

Despite having bought Eduardo da Silva and having brought Nicklas Bendtner back from loan this summer, many fans believe that we need another striker to deal with the loss of Thierry Henry. With Arsene Wenger claiming that he wants to play with two strikers, some believe that we need to sign a new striker. Arsenal has been linked with Obafemi Martins, Robinho, and former Arsenal man Nicolas Anelka amongst others. With Bendtner performing admirably during the pre-season and Eduardo looking comfortable in an Arsenal jersey, as well as the fitness of Robin van Persie and Adebayor, I think we are pretty set on strikers. I don't think that we need to bring in any new strikers, and I will go through each of the three men above telling you why they don't belong.

Obafemi Martins - Rumors about the transfer of the 22 year-old Nigerian have been abundant, in large part because of the £13 million buy out clause in his contract. Even now, it is rumored that Arsenal have placed a £9 million bid on the player, although it is unlikely that Big Sam would accept such an offer (even if it were true). At 22, Martins would be a typical Wenger buy (although he has already proven himself in the Premiership with 13 goals last season in 36 league appearances. While he is an excellent player, he is not the type of player that Arsenal need right now. At 5 ft 7 in Martins would be short even for Wenger's current team of midgets. While he is good in the air he has little to offer that can't already be gotten from our current strikers. He may be better than Adebayor and Bendtner right now, but Bendtner has great promise, and in my opinion Adebayor doesn't deserve a starting spot anyways.
Edit: Obafemi Martins is not going to leave Newcastle

Robinho - Robinho plays as a winger or a second striker more than an out-and-out striker. Arsenal don't need a second striker (as we have Hleb who is brilliant playing in that position) and while we do need a winger, we don't need Robinho because of his price tag. While I wouldn't mind seeing Robinho at Ashburton Grove, I don't think that he would warrant the huge price-tag that Real Madrid would be sure to slap on him. A player like him (someone selfish) would be appreciated, but with such a huge price tag and small frame (5 ft 9 in) I would rather see Morten Gamst Pederson or someone similar join us.

Nicolas Anelka - I don't think we need too much of an explanation why Anelka shouldn't rejoin Arsenal. The former Arsenal man was rumored to be Arsene Wenger's first choice as a replacement for Thierry Henry (I'm not quite sure why), but his sulking attitude would make him more of a liability than anything else. He showed us in his two seasons at Arsenal that he is a great player, but his attitude is the type that rips a team apart - not what Arsene Wenger wants.

So there you go. I don't think we should buy a striker, although a winger would be a welcome addition to our squad. However, I don't think that we should be splashing Chelski-like amounts of cash on players like Robinho (unless of course Abromovich decides to buy Arsenal).

What do you think? Do we need a new striker? Who should Arsene be going after?

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.

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