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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. [Read the rest of this entry »]

The Gunners might not have won any silverware last season, although some of their dazzling performances in Europe seems to have cost them dear, according to manager Arsene Wenger. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Mathieu Flamini buggered off to Milan as soon as he got the chance, and it’s nigh-on certain that Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor will be joining him out of the exit door. Should Arsenal fans be worried? [Read the rest of this entry »]

Amidst the speculation surrounding Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb’s Arsenal future, [Read the rest of this entry »]

It appeared to be a done deal. Many newspapers were last week reporting that Samir Nasri was practically an Arsenal player, thus bolstering the Gunners squad after the departure of Mathieu Flamini. However, the Daily Telegraph report that Arsene Wenger is not so confident anymore, and has conceded that he will have to wait until after Euro 2008 to try and sign the Frenchman.

“Nasri, he interests me,” Wenger said. “I hope I will do it after the Euros. It is more complicated now because the wage differences [between the French and the English league] are not as big as they used to be. Just look at Karim Benzema. He is 20 and recently signed a new deal with Lyon.

“England is considered one of the two top leagues and the best players want to play against the best players.”

It’s surely a dangerous game to wait until the end of the month, especially if Nasri plays a starring role for Les Bleus over the coming weeks. It appears that Arsenal are still in pole position to sign the playmaker, although the issue of the club’s wages is rearing its ugly head once again. Will other clubs come in for the player and offer a higher salary than the one currently on the table?

Despite Robin Van Persie urging Arsenal to change their wage structure so that the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor would stay at the club, it appears that the pair are now going to stick around without doing anything so drastic. The Sun report that, despite Milan showing a great deal of interest in the Togolese striker, Adey is going to stay at the Emirates and ‘fire them to glory’ (whatever that means).

30-goal Adebayor said: “I came to Arsenal with a mission to succeed.

“I’ve assured the gaffer Arsene Wenger I’ll stay because I believe in the team and I want to assure the fans my concentration is here.

“I have no reason to leave so I’ll stay to ensure that together we’ll win silverware.

“Mathieu’s a good player but his departure doesn’t mean Arsenal is about to collapse. Our team is a deep well of talent.

“I am confident we are capable of winning titles and we will return for next season hungrier to be successful.”

So, it appears that just Flamini and Hleb will be leaving the Gunners this summer, so much for the mass exodus! With new signings imminent, particularly that of Samir Nasri, could it be that Arsenal’s squad will be even stronger than last season? Especially with the likes of Adebayor, Fabregas, Van Persie and Clichy likely to continue improving as players.

Who needs Flamini when you’ve got Samir Nasri! Gooners will be delighted to read (in the Daily Telegraph amongst other publications) that Arsenal have landed their man from Marseille for £12.5 million as they start building for next season. It’s clear that Monsieur Wenger has been busy in the transfer market recently and it will especially please him to see that the midfielder has been selected in the French squad ahead of the Flamster. In your face Mathieu!

It seems Nasri, labelled the new Zidane in some quarters, is pretty pretty versatile with regard to where he can play. The midfielder can play centrally and on the left, so it’s not strictly the case that he’s a a like-for-like replacement as far as Alex Hleb is concerned. It will come as a relief to Arsenal fans to see a quality import such as this one, and set their mind at ease that the Gunners squad for next season can be stronger than ever.

Arsene Wenger has described Carlos Vela as a similar player to Eduardo, and Arsenal fans can look forward to seeing the Mexican striker in action next season. Le Boss has confirmed that the 19-year-old will be involved in the first team next season, after the club landed a work permit for the player yesterday. The Daily Telegraph report that Vela has been at the club for eighteen months, although spent last season on loan at Osasuna.

“Vela will be involved with the first team next season. He has played the whole season at Osasuna on the left wing but, for me, he’s a central striker, an Eduardo type. He’s a great young player.”

Who are we to doubt the man who has a proven track record of moulding rough diamonds into polished gems? The same article reports that the Gunners are on the brink of signing Marseille midfielder Sami Nasri, while Lyon’s Hatem Ben Arfa continues to be another Arsenal target. Surely fans of the club must be heartened by this kind of news, despite Flamini leaving and Hleb’s agent continuing to flirt shamelessly with the big clubs on the continent.

Many people were surprised when Lassana Diarra’s frustration got the better of him in January, causing the midfielder to leave Arsenal and sign for Portsmouth where he was almost certainly guaranteed first-team football. Despite the best efforts of Harry Redknapp to massage the Frenchman’s ego at every available turn, it appears as though the player will be moving on again in the summer, although Arsene Wenger claims he only left the Emirates in a fit of panic and might have been a touch hasty to do so. Sporting Life reveals all:

“I came to the conclusion that Diarra could not cope with the fact that he was behind the other players here in midfield,” said the Gunners boss.

“I thought the best option was to let him go because I already had Denilson, [Abou] Diaby and Gilberto all trying to get into the team as well. It was a congestion.

“I bought Diarra in the summer because I thought Flamini might leave at the end of the season and if he was able to be patient, he would get his chance.

“It turned out he wasn’t capable of that. With Euro 2008 in mind, he panicked.

“I did explain when he joined that he might have to be patient, and he acknowledged it, but he couldn’t cope with the situation, and also did not want to go on loan anywhere either.”

Therefore, all those people who said Wenger made a mistake by not keeping hold of Diarra can now realise that the Arsenal manager was pretty much powerless when it came to keeping the diminutive midfielder. It’s interesting that Le Boss expected Flamini to shove off in the summer – do you think he’s regretting the release of Diarra considering his performances for Pompey in 2008?

Arsene Wenger has come under fire for not signing enough established talent in recent years and personally I find such talk laughable, especially when you consider just what his side achieved last season, finishing just short of the title (when most people began the season thinking the Gunners wouldn’t even challenge for the Premier League). Now the French master is lining up two more youngsters to his fantastic squad.

Meanwhile, Arsenal want to add £6m rated Frenchmen Clement Chantome, from PSG, and Laval’s Francis Coquelin to their ranks. (Various)

A statement from Laval states: “We are hearing here and there different destinations for different transfer fees. The truth of the moment it that Francis Coquelin is free.” (Setanta)

20-year-old Chantome is a midfielder in a Flamini vein, has already become a fixture in Paul Le Guen’s PSG team and is on the verge of a full international call up. 17-year-old Coquelin, another midfielder, looks very near to joining the Emirates ranks. What do Arsenal fans think about this potential pair of new signings?

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini has been blabbing to the Independent about how much fun he is going to have at AC Milan, among other things claiming that the Arsenal-Milan game at the San Siro “made me shiver” and that:

“I always knew that Milan would be my first choice if I were to leave Arsenal and I did not do it for the money.

“I don’t say it to boast, but I had lots of offers and I chose Milan because it’s every player’s dream. It wasn’t easy to decide to leave London but I knew what I wanted.”

Good riddance or please come back Flam?

Arsene’s midfield solution is closer to home

Whilst Arsenal fans grapple with the fact that one of their best players this season, if not the most improved, has left Arsenal for the fashion capital of Milan, Gooners all around the world should not be worried, as Mr Wenger really does hold all the cards. At his disposal, despite the bad transfer dealings regarding the sale of Lassana Diarra, is one of the up and coming holding midfielders – Alex Song.

Since Arsenal signed him, fans and pundits have not been impressed with his lack of positional sense and clumsiness. But despite that, time has gone by and as a avid Gooner, Song seems to have grown on me. I watched him in that fantastic game against Blackburn at Ewood Park in the Carling Cup where Arsenal ran out 3-2 winners. Then, in the African Cup of Nations, Song was fantastic throughout in the holding midfield role. Africa always seems to produce some fantastic players in this position, but the true quality of Alex Song was demonstrated when he was named in the best XI of the whole tournament, a testament to his development. Song picked up a injury in the final, but Arsenal fans finally saw the real potential when he started against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Even tho the plaudits went to Gael Clichy, Song was no doubt instrumental in Arsenal’s dogged performance, and subsequently kept his place for the next 4 fixtures.

Gaps are appearing in the Arsenal midfield, but fans should not really worry. What Alex Song gives Arsenal is a tenacious, skillful and confident midfielder who can drop into the centre-back position. Life without Flamini will be hard but he has gone now and Arsenal fans must look forward rather then back. When Patrick Vieira left, Cesc Fabregas emerged. When Nicholas Anelka left, Thierry Henry emerged. The list is endless. Its just all part of the Arsenal evolution process. Wenger believes he is singing the right Song.

What with the mass exodus and all going on over at the Emirates, you’d think that the entire world was coming to an end around Arsène Wenger. With Flamini fleeing for AC Milan and Hleb jumping ship for Inter, the opening to the transfer season has looked as dismal as a Zenit/Rangers UEFA Cup Final. (ooops, that already happened!)

But fear not Gooner supporters, apparently there is hope on the horizon in the form a swashbuckling Paraguayan footballer — one Roque Santa Cruz.

The Telegraph is reporting that Wegner is Interested in making a move for the Blackburn star that bagged 19 league goals in 37 appearances.

Wenger has been impressed by the way Cruz adapted quickly to the particular demands of English football is keen to bring in a player who is familiar with the physical nature of the Premier League and as such would be able to offer a reliable option in an area of the team that was at times found wanting last season. (Telegraph)

If the deal were to go through, the move would further bolster the Arsenal striker group that already includes Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, Eduardo, Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Adeb.. oh, that’s right, there is one hitch to the Roque rumor.

To add more gasoline to an already flaming bonfire, Barcelona is keen to make a swoop for Adebayor in the summer, thus adding another Arsenal dressing room “stalwart” to go right along with Thierry Henry.

“For the moment I’m very happy at Arsenal FC,” Adebayor said. “but we’ll see what happens next.”

In Togolese, “see what happens” means “when’s the next flight to Barcelona?”

Is the French midfielder ‘the one that got away’ for Arsene Wenger. Sky Sports are reporting that Flamini wanted to sign a contract extension at The Emirates last season, only to be told that it wasn’t going to happen. A season later, the player has stood out for the Gunners for many months and, despite Arsene Wenger’s best attempts to keep hold of him, has signed for Milan.

“If Arsenal had offered me a contract last summer I would still be their player now,” Flamini told The Sun.

“Last July I told Arsenal I wanted to extend my contract so, of course, I would have signed if they had offered me a deal – but they didn’t.

“They said they wanted me to prove myself first.

“It was difficult for me at the beginning. I had to see it as a challenge but I won’t lie, it was not easy. You have to be mentally very strong to cope.”

Indeed, Flamini was no more than a squad player at this stage last year and there appeared to be no inkling (apart from the fact that Wenger regularly gets the best out of lesser-known players) that the Frenchman would blossom into one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers this term. On the whole, it doesn’t appear the fans are too bothered by Flamini leaving, especially with the manager’s track record at sculpting raw talent into polished diamonds.

More Arsenal transfer rumours On Sportingo.com – provider of updated Football coverage

Many have cited Arsene Wenger’s decision to allow Lassana Diarra leave in January as a reason why Arsenal lost some serious momentum in the Premier League title race. While it’s probably absurd to suppose that a squad player (albeit a very good one) was central to any hopes the Gunners had of winning the league, the Frenchman may well have been made to feel more welcome if Arsene Wenger had known that Mathieu Flamini was jumping ship to Milan before the season ended.

The Independent reveals that Diarra never felt as though he could please his former manager at The Emirates Stadium, despite what he felt were some very strong performances when he had the opportunity to play. The midfielder has a chance to be an FA Cup winner with Portsmouth this Saturday and doesn’t exactly have anything complimentary to say about his old club.

“I don’t think about Arsenal FC now, I am just focused on Portsmouth,” the 23-year-old Frenchman said as he prepared for Saturday’s FA Cup final at Portsmouth’s Hampshire training ground. “I left Arsenal because I wanted to play every week. When you are in the team, and even if you play well, the manager doesn’t put you on the pitch [for the next game] you have to do something. Every time he put me on the pitch I tried to do my best. For him, I don’t know if it was good enough, but for me…”

As we’ve pointed out in the past, Diarra certainly isn’t short of self-confidence and his performances in a Pompey shirt have been of a very high standard. Indeed, the Premier League outfit will be glad he’s in the team to face Cardiff, especially as a lack of firepower without the cup-tied Defoe means they might have to rely on winning by a solitary goal as they did in the semi-final against West Brom.

Did Arsene Wenger make a mistake in allowing Diarra to leave for the South Coast or was it a case of having his hands tied in so far as he couldn’t offer the player first-team football and the Frenchman wouldn’t hang around to try and hold down a place in the starting XI?

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