‘We need a new midfielder’ admits Arsenal manager - who should he sign?
by stresster on July 23rd, 2008
| 269 words |
Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!
Claude Makalele has left the Premier League, although his legacy will live on for seasons to come in England. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder has pretty much given his name to a new position - ‘The Makalele’ - where a player will sit in front of the defence and break down opposition attacks, before feeding the ball to his team-mates. It appears that Arsenal are looking for someone in this mould to help protect Toure and Co next season.
The Daily Mail reports that Arsene Wenger is in the hunt for a midfield play-breaker, who can win back possession for the Gunners and let Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie do some damage. It’s hardly surprising that they are short in the middle of the park, with Flamini, Diarra and Gilberto no longer around. In Wenger we trust?
Wenger, who has been linked with Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry, said: ‘We need one more body in there. If we find a reasonable target we will get him. There is no special name.’
Wenger is also planning to send scouts to the Olympics to watch Juventus midfielders Claudio Marchisio, 22, and Sebastian Giovinco, 21.
Indeed, the Arsenal manager is likely to pick up an unknown player on the cheap and mould him into a gem as per the norm. He’s done it so many times before, although should Arsenal fans be a touch concerned that they’re threadbare in midfield right now? Their main rivals have got stacks of players to fill this role, with the Gunners still short with only weeks until the season starts.
We're giving you £25 free so show some bollocks and BET NOW!
Tagged Under: Arsenal FC, fabregas, flamini, wenger
Theo - July 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Essien for me!
……but in the real world….. it’s gotta be Yaya Toure! Can’t believe we didn’t do that deal at the same time we sold ‘em Hleb, but who knows….maybe we did and just haven’t got around to telling anyone yet?
Irishgooner - July 23rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
See Comfort….you write tripe for long enough, nobody comes to read your posts. I will keep visiting you though just to watch you crash and burn. Words cannot describe the hatred I have built up for you in such a short space of time. You Twat
'Impossible for Ronaldo is nothing' - July 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Khalifa Ayil. Oman international would be a good signing for Arsenal considering at one time they had Fabrice Muamba and Wilson Palacios on trial.
jpc - July 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Alonso, Liverpool will be looking to offload hime when they get Barry and he admits he admires Arsenal. YaYa would be nice also, but obviously if Wenger wanted him he’d have him by now either last year in exchange for Henry or this year with Hleb or even Adebayor…If no signing, then give Diaby, Denilson, Ramsey each a chance to shine and possibly Song as well. Central Defender is fine with Kolo, Gallas, Djourou, Song, Senderos. It appears even Sagna can fill in the middle in a pinch. I think Simpson, Randall, Wilshere, Barazite have all shown they are ready for Carling Cup and 1st team action as well. We have markedly improved on the wings with Vela and Nasri. we should offload Eboue while we can get something for him…maybe to Juventus for one of these youngsters Wenger covets…
RMW - July 23rd, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Fabrice Muamba wasnt on trial he was an arsenal youth player.
hfhfhgdhg - July 23rd, 2008 at 8:58 pm
xabi alonso
King of north london - July 23rd, 2008 at 9:01 pm
How about Stijn Schaars of AZ Alkmaar…captain of holland team that won the U-21..He is known for his tough tackling and good passing…He is a real fighter and Gem !!!
Reagan Africa - July 23rd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I think yaya toure or even torsten frings wud be ideal in the makalele role as a quality player with experience is needed in such a demanding role. I also feel that arsenal still lack depth in wide midfield, eboue is not suited for this, perhaps quaresma os david silva is needed. I wud also like 2 see adebayor exit and huntelaar enter.
vc - July 23rd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
we need just 2 players a deffender and a midfielder midfielder i would say giovinco from juventus, or xabi alonso deffender we should sign zapata from udiniese
49 Unbeaten - July 23rd, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Alonso and Fabregas would work, Wenger is waiting for Rafa to break down in tears and offer us alonso for £8-10 mil’ so he has funds to get Barry and one other…….
49 Unbeaten - July 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
if this doesn’t then the “1 maybe 2″ players Wenger talks of will be the Juve’ midfielders….
Jack Staniforth - July 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Kiplings poem `IF` comes to mind. `If`, Adebayor hadn`t made himself a little unpopular during the off season and, `if`he agreed to a change of position and `if` he`d agreed to a reasonable increase in salary and `if ` he could show some loyalty and finally `if` Wenger considered it a wise move I would play him as a attacking centre half just in front of the defence breaking down the mid field counter attack and feeding his strikers besides having a go himself.. `IF`?
jj - July 23rd, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I could go for Lalachecheghe of china……….
Antoine Roquentin - July 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm
If money were not an object, I would say sign Barry. What we need is a defensive midfielder who knows the Premiership through and through, not a young player without experience who needs time to settle in. We have plenty of promising young players - and that is great - but for the defensive midfielder position we need someone who is ready NOW, not in a year or two.
Unfortunately, since money IS an object, it will very probably not be Barry, unless Villa are ready to take a player (maybe Hoyte) plus a limited amount of cash deal. Not likely.
Momadou - July 23rd, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Barry wont fit in at arsenal, so its got to Yaya Toure. hes strong and physical, but he does know when to attack and play good football, as he did at barcelona.
what ever happened to Amaury Bischoff?
james - July 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 pm
diarra from real madrid
Cliffard Claven - July 24th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Edu
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 12:26 am
arsene should sign me,i will play for free ,i will kick shit out of anyone who clatters theo an cesc,1 condition i can go job centre an sign on every two weeks on a thursday morning
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 12:34 am
but for real,i have skillz,my passing is definantly better than gilbertos an im taller an harder than matt flamini,i just need to do a bit of pre season jogging an i could definantly take a better corner kick than the ones cesc took last season an didnt beat the first defender an i could hit better free kicks than kolo toure coz his always hit the wall,an if ade leaves id definantly score 30 a season if they needed me to play upfront, plus my names a long name so the shirt sales with my name on would pay the travis perkins emirates stadium invoice,arsene im ready
Optimistic - July 24th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Its a simple matter of finacies and Arsenal aint got any, your skint.
I am putting a50 spot for you to be the 1 from the top 4 to drop out, forget winning anything your squad is getting weaker by the day. Nasri’s shit.
cant waite!!!!
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 12:38 am
lol an ur names optimistic,thats all,optimistic
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 12:49 am
iv had a good idea,we should swap adebayor for flamini plus 10 mill with ac milan,use the 10 mill to buy back gilberto,then play bendtner upfront, everyone will be happy?
portsmouth rocks - July 24th, 2008 at 2:00 am
wenger is of in 2 seasons and who can blame him.
you are gonna have to sell fabregas next and adebayor to pay the bank intrest charges.
everyone wants to leave now and your club is stuffed because of your fancy stadium.
its quite sad really , as im no gooners fan but i have to respect what wenger does to bring thorugh hot talent.
if he has man united or chelsea cheese imagine how your team would be then.
as im pretty sure sunderland have more cash to spend in the transfer window then wenger.
even your captian is off next
stixman - July 24th, 2008 at 2:07 am
ninja - everyone would be happy wth bendtner up front?! by everyone, do you mean every team in the premier league bar arsenal?!
arsenal 4evr - July 24th, 2008 at 4:33 am
optimist is a bloody looser of a spud… his own club is in sixes n sevens after t reports tat berba n keane r leavin n their STINKIN SHIP is headin towards relegation….
so guys dont bother listening 2 a pathetic looser from t SHITE FART LANE…. aint worth t hassle….
arsenal 4evr - July 24th, 2008 at 4:41 am
portsmouth rocks:
just because u won an FA cup doesnt mean uve become a champion outfit….so stop mouthin ur views on an arsenal blog n find a portsmouth blog… nyways half of ur squad is filled with arsenal discards….
none of our players r leaving and we are gonna finish in the top4… so stop dreamin abt champions league football like a spud n concentrate on stayin in the top 10 next season… nyways u aint good enuf to play in the champs league…. maybe u can try ur hands in t uefa cup….
kev - July 24th, 2008 at 5:13 am
Why arent we snapping up Bugduv. he’s supposed to be unreal. Masal Bagduv has been described as one of the most exciting young footballers to come out of Moldocan football. Born on April 14, 1992, he shot to fame playing for his native FC Olimpia B?l?i for whom he scored a hattrick on his competitive debut in an Adzi Cup match in December 2007.FC Olimpia B?l?i is a Moldovan football club based in B?l?i. They play in the Divizia Na?ional?, the top division in Moldovan football. Their home stadium is Olimpia B?l?i Stadium.
Masal whose uncle Sergey Bronnikov is the attacking midfielder on the team has caught the attention of come of the biggest clubs in Europe, especially since he scored a stunning goal against Spain in the qualifying rounds for this year’s UEFA U-19 championship, aged just 15 years and 12 days.
In the process, Bagduv became the youngest player capped at that level by his country and he went on to make his senior international debut aged just 16 years and 44 days when he came on for the national team in their 2-2 draw with Armenia in a friendly international in Tiraspol on May 28. Trailing 2-1 with just ten minutes left, Moldova seemed set to lose until Bagduv lost his marker on the left wing, shimmied inside two defenders and fired in a shot that could only be parried by Armenian keeper Racif into the path of onrushing Igor Bugaev who equalised.
Bagduv has already been named by coach Igor Dobrovolski in his country’s provisional squad for the qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup, in a group in which the country have been paired with Greece, Israel, and Switzerland. He is expected to feature in the starting lineup for the opening World Cup game against Latvia on September 6. He is already attended a team training camp in advance of the friendly against Lithuania in Vilnius on August 20.
Moldovan football has never scaled the heights - Their two best results came within a month of each other in the mid-1990s, during the qualifiers for Euro 96. On September 7, 1994, they beat Georgia 1-0 in Tbilisi with a goal from Ilie Oprea. A month later, on October 12, 1994, they defeated Wales 3-2 in Chi?in?u; the Moldovan scorers were Serghei Belous, Sergiu Secu and Valerii Pogorelov. However, they could not keep up the momentum and finished well out of contention in the group.
However, the arrival of the breathtaking Bagduv has made the top football agents around Europe sit up. He is seen as the great hope around which the national team hope to mount a strong challenge for qualification for South Africa, in a group in which the biggest challenges will be a tiring Switzerland and Greece. Newspapers in Moldova had linked him with a possible move to Zenit St Petersburg to fill the gap being created by the possible sale of many of their stars after Euro 2008.
alan B'stard M P - July 24th, 2008 at 5:24 am
quote
“It appears that Arsenal are looking for someone in this mould to help protect Toure and Co next season.”
why didn’t they pay for Makalele then.
alan B'stard M P - July 24th, 2008 at 5:31 am
quote RMW
“Fabrice Muamba wasnt on trial he was an arsenal youth player.”
It’s Wenger and the Gunner’s board who should be on trial, if you catch my drift here.
They should be shot and fined fourpence.
dan - July 24th, 2008 at 5:37 am
if we don’t bring in a strong classic dm in the mold of vieira, davids, makalele, sissoko, yaya, and a classy right side midfielder with speed and who can shoot and deliver crosses, we are not going to win trophies this year. we just don’t have the horses to compete with the other big sides over an entire season. with the current squad plus one decent dm we start the campaign strong and then fade away at the end, again.
alan B'stard M P - July 24th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Ninja has made the best offer yet. Cheao AND effective and won’t piss off. Hire Ninja!
“Portsmouth rocks” You can have Wenger
alan B'stard M P - July 24th, 2008 at 5:49 am
yes Dan, we need strikers and others that shoot accurately, low and hard and not like tarts, and and who are ON TARGET!
Abe missed plenty others would have got.
This crap is why we played the last 11 games in all comps with only losses and draws. All we needed was 2 or 3 more wins in the PL and we would have won the fucking thing
ak47 - July 24th, 2008 at 5:54 am
yeah buy ninja!!!bt 4 real im also available..u can follow my progress in malaysia wer im playin top flight football….
JOEL - July 24th, 2008 at 7:00 am
I think “clueless” is the best description of the Arsenal situation at the moment.The Toure Gallas partnership needs protecting at the best of times and Flamini isn’t there,obviously,to do the job any more.With the exception of the mighty Fabregas there is a serious lack of experience in the midfield.Perhaps Song or Diaby could fulfill that role.The former is off to the Olympics the latter is permaently injured and as we know,in our heart of hearts,neither is really good enough, if Arsenal are to challenge for trophies.But that’s OK because Gallas and Toure will be able to re-establish their parnership this season without the African Championships getting in the way.Unfortunately Toure has now contracted malaria which will undoubtedly effect his game even once he recovers from this illness.Senderos really isn’t good enough and no credible options seem to be in the pipeline.Another season of “all we need are a couple of extra WORLD CLASS players to win trophies” beckons.Followed by more conjecure relating to Transfer Activity out of the Club.If there isn’t enough money available to either keep players at the club or bring the right players in;then the Board need to completely change there attitude to outside investment.Otherwise what use will the Emirates Stadium be if fans don’t bother turning up to watch a team playing “mid-table” football.Rest assured this could happen!There are quite a few clubs who have been prepared to invest heavily in a bid to usurp Arsenal from their Champions League status.
But it’s not all doom and gloom.Adebayor looks to be staying.A player once described as someone with ” first touch of a rapist” now has the opportunity to frustrate the hell out of everyone again this year with his lack of consistency in fron of goal!
Alan Hansen often described Arsenal as a team without a PLAN B-well,at the moment Alan -they don’t really seem to have a PLAN A either!
alan B'stard M P - July 24th, 2008 at 7:18 am
AK47. Go to London and try yer luck!
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 11:38 am
lol stixman,no one was happy with ade before last season,after scoring 20 tap ins an a couple alrite an a few good goals were all vexed at him for wanting off,bendnter would score goals in the arsenal team
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 11:41 am
i wouldnt say clueless is arsenals situation,id say everyone is assuming doom,but thats coz the press is working not as a source of the truth but more of a propaganda source,if arsene wenger threw hissy fits an refused to do interviews it would soon stop
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 11:42 am
ak47 i went doctors,i need a hernia op,maybe arsene will give u till christmas to shine otherwise i could win my way into the team still
gunner - July 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am
yaya toure wud be the perfect option.. but i doubt it to be true now, or he wud of been included in the Hleb deal so he is out of the list.
miguel veloso and joao moutinho r very good prospects who wenger should and is probably considering.
barry wud be ideal, hes english, fluent passer and controls games.. perfect for arsenal.. but his transfer fee n liverpools interest could see otherwise, however never say never in the premier league.
i think Orlando Engelaar or De Jong , two fantastic dutch players should also be in wengers radar… engelarr moreso, his passing is pin-point, hes big, strong, athletic n not afraid to put a tackle in.. also hes still relatively young.
he could be the next viera, a player who we never really replaced.
nick reddyoff - July 24th, 2008 at 11:54 am
As I’ve said before, Wenger is the problem at Arsenal. He’s too quick to blame other people when it goes wrong for Arsenal. I think him and some of the dead-wood/dissenting voices that Arsenal have i.e. Gallas, Senderos etc need to go and then Arsenal would be right in the mix with one or two TOP quality additions, mainly defensive!
ninja - July 24th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
gunner,ermmmmm viera was replaced with cesc,petit was replaced with gilberto,its matt flamini we need to replace mate,not viera
Jackman (arsenal fan) - July 24th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I want either huntelaar, arshavin or essien anyone of them would be class.
mazza - July 24th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
MIGUEL VELOSO WOULD BE A GREAT SIGNING