The Future & The Past?

It’s still only July and Arsenal have signed yet another player.

I’m getting giddy as we speak.

And apart from my terrible headline (I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist) the signing of Sagna looks like an excellent addition to the squad. Wenger said:

“We are delighted to have signed Bacary Sagna. He is a very capable defender and has played consistently well for Auxerre in recent seasons.

He plays mainly at right back, but can also play along the defence or in midfield. He is strong, quick and enjoys defending but also has a good offensive side to his game. He has a fighting spirit and will be a very good addition to our squad.”

So Arsene can see Bacary Sagna playing across the back-four or even in midfield, so his versatility will be a valuable asset to the team. The guy is only 24 just like new arrival Eduardo da Silva so will be hungry next season with having something to prove.

You can also see exclusive photographs here on the official Arsenal website.

But as Arsenal add to their squad it looks like Freddie could be on his way out – possibly following Lupoli to Fiorentina. If he does leave then I wish him all the best because he’s been excellent for the club, and been one of the best finishers I’ve seen.

With Eduardo and Bacary coming in, you just sense this isn’t the end of the signings.

Do you feel it too?

Well here’s a link to Will.I.Am Gallas’ official website with the interview which is causing so much attention.

I have to say that reading his official site there’s nothing really outrageous in the statements he’s actually made, and he has even acknowledged the costs of the new stadium for restricting Arsene’s ability to splash out big money. Although saying that it’s not Wengers style to spend £20/£30 million on a single player like the other top 4 would.

And on the recruiting front, reports have been saying that the signing of Bakary Sagna will be completed soon – so we could have another player by the end of the day. The article also says that Sagna can also play on the left which could be useful since Gael Clichy is our only recognised senior left-back. People have pointed out to already having Eboue and Hoyte but at centre back we already have Gallas (maybe), Djourou and Senderos to cover Kolo. Eboue will be missing but could be used as a winger with Sagna’s possible arrival – he’s been more effective than Hleb and Rosicky in the few games he’s played further up and Manu isn’t afraid to shoot either.

The Online Gooner has an interesting article on our new Signing Eduardo ‘Dudu’ da Silva which is well worth a read.

Another Arsenal target looks to have been snapped up by our rivals, as Liverpool look to buy Ryan Babel for around £13.5 million. I haven’t seen Babel in action much to be honest although I’ve heard he’s a decent player. Arsene should really target a few crap players and then let the likes of Chelsea, United and Real Madrid get them – that’ll teach them to go after our transfer targets.

Our old striker (no, not that one) has backed Fiorentina’s bid for Freddie. There has been a lot of speculation about Freddie leaving and he clearly wants to stay, but ultimately it’s Arsene’s decision.

New Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has expressed his admiration for Cesc Fabregas, sparking yet more transfer speculation about the young Spaniards future. The interesting thing is that in none of the quotes does he actually say he wants to buy Fab, but of course that doesn’t stop the silly season transfer news.

There’s no way that AW would let Cesc and Henry leave in the same summer.

And if I was Bernd I would be thinking about where he’s going to work next year after Real sack him after one season!

Meanwhile Willie Gallas has shown once again how egotistical he is by claiming to know what’s best for the team. He has his own website for God’s sake. While many will probably support what he’s on about most of you would agree that a public rant isn’t exactly the best way to go about things – and not exactly great for team spirit. If he has any problems he should speak to Wenger privately.

Our old captain has said what most gooners think about young foriegn talent over English youth – it doesn’t matter what your passports says as long as you’re good enough. Would you rather have Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry or David Bentley, Jay Boothroyd and Matthew Upson?

Exactly.

There have been many reports recently on Arsenal signing Bakary Sagna, and the players have even come out and said publicly that he wants Auxerre to let him join us. Wenger’s transfer dealings are usually very secret, although it would make sense with Kolo and Eboue missing some of the season on ACN duty.

And finally, a few of Arsenal’s fixtures have been re-arranged to accommodate television rights – mainly to Sky Sports and Setanta. 3 (Pompy, Liverpool & United) will be shown on Sky, while 2 (Sunderland & Reading) will be on Setanta. I don’t have Setanta Sports because Sky is bloody expensive as it is and I probably won’t next season by the looks of it if they’re showing games like Sunderland.