Would Thomas Vermaelen Improve Manchester United?

Throughout the summer (and indeed the last couple of years) there has been talk about Thomas Vermaelen leaving Arsenal. For the last two and a half seasons, he’s been second fiddle (or third fiddle, depending how you look at it) to Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, who have been generally outstanding for us at the back.

Whether that’s down to their off the field relationship, careful planning by Arsene Wenger or luck, the fact is the club captain doesn’t look like regaining a first choice selection.

Which in a way is a shame because he doesn’t seem like a tosser like other players who have left have been. He has apparently (according to Arsene) been the consummate professional off the pitch but clearly not playing a bigger role is painful for him.

And when Arsene talks about players possibly leaving, you know it’s just a matter of time before they do go.

Speaking objectively though, it’s clear he does have frailties to his game which led to his place on the bench; he gets caught out of position a lot and seems to be too concerned about “stealing” the ball from opposing players but doesn’t have the pace to do so – and is something The Boss is much better at doing,

Added to the fact that we always sell our captains (does Arsene plan this?) means he’ll probably be off.

And Manchester United is his likely destination.

He’ll be reunited with his friend Robin van Persie and be part of Manchester United’s new revival under Louis van Gaal.

But will he actually improve United?

He didn’t play much of a part in Belgium’s World Cup, and has been short of first team football for a long time. Arsene doesn’t seem to have faith in him any more and seems to be willing to cash in (metaphorically, as he’s probably only going to command a fee of around £5 million).

United will be happy as they would have “prised another captain from Arsenal” and play it as a major coup over one of their major rivals.

If Vermaelen does join United, it will be strange to see him at Old Trafford but that’s just the way of the world these days – our players seem to leave for United, City or Chelsea.

In the end, if he goes to Manchester then I think most fans won’t be too bothered – he’s a squad player at Arsenal, would provide money which could be spent on other signings abc probably wouldn’t improve United in the manner people would believe.

But what do you think?

 

5 Reasons Why Mathieu Debuchy Is Not Coming To Arsenal

There are many reasons why Mathieu Debuchy isn’t coming to Arsenal, and below are the Top Five:

1. Super Secretive Arsenal (and Arsene)

Arsenal and Arsene Wenger are super, super secretive about transfers. How many people “In The Know” called the Mesut Özil transfer? Exactly.

There’s no doubt that Arsenal are out there trying to buy players, but you can be sure that no-one in the media know what business Arsenal are conducting.

2. The media just make up Arsenal stories

Because Arsene Wenger never gives anything away, the media make up transfer stories. If we believed the media over the last few seasons, we would have signed Marouane Fellaini, Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez, Loic Remy, Angel Di Maria, Sami Khedira, Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney, Stevan Jovetic, Lars Bender, Yohan Cabaye, Luiz Gustavo, Ashley Williams, Julio Cesar, Karim Benzema and Iker Casillas.

So maybe we should wait until any signings are confirmed by Arsenal.

3. Discrepancies in the “proposed deal”

According to reports, we’re signing the French right-back for £7.9 million and he is going to have a medical next week. But other “reports” are saying that it’s not for £7.9 million and we’re going to include either Carl Jenkinson or Joel Campbell as part of the deal.

For something that is a “dead cert”, there are certainly quite a few discrepancies in the proposed deal.

4. Social Media

The problem now is people get a sniff of a “deal” happening and suddenly it’s confirmed as actual news. Twitter is full of people ITK – if I believed everything I read then we’d now have Alexis Sanchez and Mathieu Debuchy in Arsenal shirts. But wait…. they’re not.

5. Debuchy is “worth” more than £8 million

I personally don’t rate Debuchy and think Sagna is the better defender, but if Newcastle know Arsenal are interested in a player then surely the clever thing to do is value him at a higher price.

Newcastle know we “desperately” need a right back so selling Debuchy for a relatively low fee makes no sense.

I put “desperately” in quotation marks because I’ve always believed that the coming season was all about Carl Jenkinson. He has been patiently waiting for Bacary Sagna to leave and how he has. Arsenal fans underestimate the capabilities of Jenkinson and I personally think he’s ready for the big time, and I think Arsene believes that too.

 

Do Not Believe The Sanchez, Bender & Debuchy Rumours

If you read the newspapers and online reports, it would seem that Arsenal are nailed on to sign Mathieu Debuchy, Lars Bender and Alexis Sanchez.

But the fact is, we’re nowhere near to signing those players.

Arsenal are the only football club where the media have no idea what is going on. Arsene Wenger is probably the only manager who keeps his cards so close to his chest that they’re inside him (sorry, couldn’t come up with a better metaphor). My point is, Arsene and Arsenal are super secretive about transfers.

We heard all the media bullshit about Felliani, Higuain, Suarez and Bender arriving at The Emirates and how many of them joined Arsenal? Exactly.

That’s why the media are so desperate to have an Arsenal scoop. Arsenal need a new right back and midfielder? Then it’s got to be Debuchy and Bender. A forward? Then we’ll link Remy and Sanchez.

Second guessing Arsene usually proves to be futile. Last summer we desperately needed a centre forward, so we signed Mesut Özil. Remember when we signed Andrei Arshavin? We needed a defender in that January transfer window.

The best thing for Arsenal fans is to ignore all the rumours because that’s exactly what they are – rumours.

Every “report” I’ve seen on Arsenal transfers has lacked any quotes, details or information from a reliable source. You might as well pick a random player and he would have more chance at joining Arsenal.

And come to think of it, how many people called the Mesut Özil signing? Exactly.

And even when Gareth Bale finally signing to Real Madrid, most of the media told us it was Di Maria who was joining Arsenal!

Twitter is even worse – every Tom, Dick or Harry can be “In The Know” and make up some shite about Arsenal’s next signing. The problem is, Arsenal fans are so desperate for new arrivals that they will believe almost anything. If I made a list of players who were “definitely” joining Arsenal it would be as long as my arm.

Take my advice, sit back, relax and try and enjoy the summer.

 

Arsene Has Reverted To Type / Özil Signing Was A One Off

In a week where Arsenal have rejected the chance to re-sign one of the best midfielders in world football, and someone who knows Arsenal and the Premier League like the back of his hand, another transfer revelation is that we are going to re-sign another former Arsenal player instead, in Carlos Vela.

Regular readers will know that I was astonished at how Arsenal could even pass over the opportunity to bring Cescy back. For £30 million or thereabouts, it’s a complete no brainer. Emotion aside, it still made perfect sense. Midfield was an area we struggled in last season in terms of strength and depth, Cesc already knows Arsenal and England so wouldn’t need any time to settle in or “find his feet”, he has improved over the last few seasons and was already one of the best players in the Premier League, a league he knows like the back of his hand. In short, he would improve any top team he did join.

And when you consider players like Adam Lallana are being valued at £28 million, signing Cesc for £30 million is an absolute steal. Juan Mata was £37.5 million and doesn’t have the goals, physical presence or assist record of Cesc. And Cesc has more pace and can tackle as well.

So when the disappointment of the Cesc saga sunk in, you assumed that Arsenal passed up the chance because he wanted to use the money elsewhere – and sign some big players in other position such as defence and attack.

But it now appears that Arsenal are bringing Vela back, for around £3.5 million.

It could all be paper talk, but wouldn’t that be Arsene all over? Pass up on a big-name signing which would improve our squad and improve the moral amongst the team and the fans, and sign a striker who has yet to prove himself in England for peanuts.

If you thought missing out on Cesc was the start of big money buys in other areas, you would be wrong.

Now Arsene has secured his new contract he’s back to the same old shite. Trying to find bargains from France usually, in the form of young players with “potential”.

Was the Özil signing a complete one off? You bet it was.

 

Why Cesc Fabregas Should Join Chelsea

With disappointing reports that Arsene Wenger has snubbed the chance to re-sign Cesc Fabregas, it’s open season in terms of securing his signature and Chelsea look favourites to sign him.

It makes sense – his family are in London, he likes the capital and apparently Manchester United have cooled their interest after Louis Van Gaal took over at Old Trafford.

And if Arsene has lost the plot and can’t see the advantages to signing our former captain, then Cesc should join Chelsea. Chelsea have the financial power to give him excellent wages, he’d be working with Jose Mourinho who is a born winner (although we joke that he’s the specialist in failure, you can’t knock his outstanding record) and the bottom line is Chelsea will be right in there when it comes for challenging for the major honours next season.

With a decent striker they managed to reach the Champions League semi-finals and were right in the title race for the Premier League with 2/3 games to go. Yes, they finished the season empty handed but with a squad with obvious limitations, Jose Mourinho did an excellent job.

At Manchester City, they have the midfield partnership of Fernandinho and Yaya Toure which is formidable, while Frank Lampard has just left Chelsea and it makes sense signing Cesc to be his long term replacement. They also sold David Luiz for £50 million so they definitely have the available funds. Cesc is a proven talent in the Premier League and would be a massive asset to Chelsea – and I’m sure Jose Mourinho would love to sign Cesc and have him comeback to haunt Arsenal in some way.

If Arsenal are stupid enough to let this chance pass them by then Cesc has every right to look for the best option for himself and his family. And if he wants to return to England, then they option is Chelsea Football Club.