I’m sure we have all seen the headlines so far after Arsene Wenger’s comments about Karim Benzema, just like his comments about Eden Hazard earlier on this season. They are headline makers for sure – but real options in the transfer market? I would love to see the day when he could make those comments and back them up with action.
Arsenal are definitely in the market for a striker, we need a goalscoring alternative to Robin van Persie, we have a decent player in Chamakh but I really doubt his ability to knock in 20-25 goals a season, Benzema has the ability to do this and at 23 he still has time to improve too.
Looking at the situation Benzema is in there is definitely scope for a deal to be done. With Aguero and Tevez seemingly heading for Madrid (lots of noise suggesting the latter), Benzema will be one of the players that will need to be shifted out and this means that regarding price, the ball could be in Arsenal’s court. However, we would have to considerably surpass our record transfer. That said, we have never been in a better financial position to do so.
Commercially a signing of this magnitude would be a boost, shirt sales with his name on would rocket and it would be a big signal of intent. It is funny that when I mention a ‘signal of intent’ a lot of people tend to think I mean splashing the cash – that isn’t the case at all. We need to bring in some renowned quality to boost the squad and appease fans, these days I don’t think you can get upcoming players from obscure leagues at the cut prices that were possible a couple of years ago. The coverage is much more extensive and as soon as a talented player is recognised they hyped up in this Football Manager generation.
I feel Arsenal need to spend some considerable cash this summer, the majority of this can be made back through player sales and savings on wages – some of which are surprising given the place of certain players in the squad. Trim it down, get rid of the deadwood and hell, we could even break even if Fabregas or Nasri up sticks and leave.
On the case of Nasri – I think we are being taken for a ride now. I was 100% assured that everything was in place to be signed, everyone was happy. If his agent wants to dick us about then lets threaten to transfer list him, try to steal back a bit of the initiative. He is a marvelous player but one we can replace. If he doesn’t want to be here he can go, nobody is bigger than Arsenal Football Club.
With the membership and season ticket renewal period starting to draw to a close a cynic may believe that these are the headlines that Arsenal want. I do hope that is not the case. We need to see intent and ambition. Over to you, Arsene.
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why unrealistic. Last time Wenger spoke about a player directly to the press was Chamakh and we got him. Was told we will twice breaking our transfer record this summer!!!
The only way we will get Benzema, is on a loan deal, and if that is a possibility for us, MCFC will offer him much more than we can.
Plus it is a Euro 2012 year, the only way he can guarantee himself being there is constant football, points towards a loan back to France if Madrid sign strikers,and that means Marseille in my eyes.
We failed with the Beast when he came on loan to us.
Another thing, we need a striker that can complement RvP and play without him……Adebayor showed that a lot, Benzema is a striker who likes to operate exclusively on his own, so doubt he will connect with RvP.
I like Benzema but cannot see him coming to AFC. Daniel Sturridge is an option i would like us to pursue. Equally adept at playing as a top 3, but clinical in front of goal and english bull dog spirit….bit of backbone is what we need. Will Chelsea sell him to us? Maybe, as they are looking to bring in strikers like Lukaku and Neymar….
With our record, I don’t see us replacing Nasri too eaily, personally. And this has become part of our problem – selling players we should be fighting to keep.
Letting him go would mean bringing in someone else who also has to settle. Next season could be a big one for him at Arsenal next year and it’s time we said to players “you wanna leave? Too f***king bad, mate.” Not being bigger than the club means they can stay.
Look at how we let Flamini, Hleb, Diarra go for examples that we need to retain people to remain strong.
On Benzema, I hope the rumours are true – I really think Wenger has had enough this time. And I don’t think his price will be any higher than Reyes or Arsh tbh.
Why the fixation anyway with french players?!! if we want a prolific striker, go get Falcao, someone who has proven his ability and won stuff,Benzema last had glory of note with lyon years ago. lets get real already wenger!
chamakh should have never come to the club,no use having strikers that don’t score. or inclination to shoot.
Sakho, Hazard, Benzema and Parker and I will be a very happy man.
the nasri thing, i doubt it is about the money, it is can he win titles with us. i see nothing wrong with allowing him to walk free next summer we signed him up for 4 years,let him complete those 4 years and if he doesn’t help us win titles,shift him on, no use keeping players if all they want is cash.
saw martin commenting on twitter that liga sagres is soft??
carvalho was a monster,ronaldo became a monster, falcao has scored tons in europe, why doubt him?
i don’t watch mexican footie, but hernandez looks like he has adapted.
we need agoal poacher, not someone playing outside thebox, someone decisive.
GoonerDEU you obviously know nothing, without Chamakh we would be out of the top 4, he has done amazingly considering his first season, it is not normal for strikers to have their first season like Chicharito.
chris, i disagree big time.
look at chamakh’s stats, he is not aplayer who will plunder goals, which is exactly what we need.
i am not afan of his and never have been. we cannot hope to win championships with players like him in the squad,adebayor was much better,wheather you admit it or not.
I agree with Chris on Chamakh, although I think being dropped shattered his confidence big style.
His goals away at Wolves are examples of getting the job done, I don’t think we should drop him like that. He is good back-up but has come into a team brimming with anxiety and fan pressure – imagine that in your firt season, the new guy getting a lot of hate.
I’d say he just needs to believe in himself again and bloody well shoot, but I think retaining him will be the kind of nod he needs to refind his form, albeit always from the bench.
but i think it will be an advantage to sign Benzema cuz:
.Nasri and Benzema are best frnd and this will be important
.It will show that in next season Arsenal are more determined..
By the selling of Bendtener,DEnilson,ROsicky we could have enough money to sign atleast three players…and also the departure of Almunia,Vela and if possible Squillaci we can have a good wage balance…
We have to sign Parker,Benzema,Cahill or Sakho and if Clichy is sold then Baines…
We always go for four competition so even keeping Squid won’t be bad….i know he his horrible but depth is needed.
Fabianski
Sagna Cahill/Koscielny/Djourou Vermaelen Baines
Song/Parker
Nasri Fabregas Wilshere
Van Persie Benzema
Szczesny
Sagna Djourou Koscielny Gibbs
Ramsey Parker Henderson
Walcott Chamakh Arshavin
i know i made the formation which impossible cuz walcott is needed as always for Arsenal..
@Arsene4ever
Chamakh was on a FREE… Big difference..Do you see Wenger spending £25m
lets put it like this,chamakh is our 2nd best striker right? and he only has 7 goals? do you not think we need a better number 2 striker then?
I would hate to see Nasri go, but if in fact he is dicking around trying to pry a bloated wage then let him go, like said, no one is bigger than AFC, get the money and buy Hazard, that will teach him a lesson!
@Omar Riaz, disagree with your option to start fabianski he is not of the same quality as Szczensny, a major option for arsenal is CHRIS SAMBA he is a complete complement to Vermaelen,
Arsenal should buy Shay Given or Ben Foster (Birmingham relegated and Man United already on the verge of signing Atelitico Mardrid keeper) Benzema,Cahill,Samba,Hazard,Parker, if clichy goes buy Leyton Baines (best left back this season)
Ben Foster/Shay Given
Sagna Samba Vermaelen Baines
Fabregas Wilshere/Parker
Hazard/Walcott Nasri
Benzema Van Persie
There are better strikers available in the market than benzema, he ll be an average signing not better than bendtner, we need a better striker to partner RVP.
On our current two young keepers, I have the feeling that Fabianski is the better all round keeper of the two. Szczesny with all the hype is just not there yet. I feel Fabianski is better than him on the ground and at actually securing the ball and kicking it. I know Fabianski had a rough start, but his humble demeanor made him work hard and he actually started to show what he’s made of before the injury sets in. I am not saying Szczesny is a bad keeper, but I believe Fab is a better all round keeper and more likely to make a save in dangerous areas than Szczesny. Fabianski has actually kept us in games and in the league on back to back performances before he got injured, i don’t think Szczesny would have done the same in that position at least not at the moment.
wenger is bullshit , dont believe wenger
no chance arsenal get benzema , trust me
TrueGooner, thank you for sticking up for Fabianski. Most Gooners seem to have fed into the Szczesny hype. He’s has the potential to be great, but he is not there yet. Fab has actually won us points this season, whereas Szcz has lost us a few. This is not a dig on Szcz, just merely an opinion that right now Fabianski is better. I have a feeling Wenger might hand the No 1 shirt to Fab next season and be roundly criticized.
He ain’t going to a shitty club and you can’t afford him. Sick with buying league 2 players from France!
You summed it up perfectly in the last paragraph: ‘With the membership and season ticket renewal period starting to draw to a close a cynic may believe that these are the headlines that Arsenal want.’
That’s exactly what’s happening. Haven’t we heard enough Wenger bullshit to know what he’s like by now? Wenger’s comments are right up there with his other gems like “My players have a fantastic attitude”, “4th place is like a trophy” and my personal favourite – “We have shown great mental strength.”
We won’t sign Benzema.
xavier you sad b’tard-f**k off back to your knuckle dragging MANURE/SPUD blogs-honestly,what a prick!
yep Joe, we gooner love to believe the hype of young players who succeed elsewhere forgetting the kind of league we play in and the team we have that does not have anybody to actually schooled these youngings. I never once thought Szczsney was ready when he was on loan. from the clip I saw he did not seems to be able to catch a ball and cuff it. His first choice seems to be to push it out. He does have the potential to be very good, it all depends on how hard he is willing to work and he has to learn to be humble.
Fabianski is not a bad keeper but he is not our no1. You seem to foget that although he is a good shot stopper balls in the box are a big problem for him and opposition players know that.
What we need is an experienced goalie to bring Sczezny through. Will we get it…I doubt it.
If Wenger does not bring one in I guarantee that this will be what people will complain about the most next season
Agree that we need a two-footed workaholic striker to complement Van Persie.
I’m surprised, though, at a few comments regretting the departure of Adebayor. My memory of his last season at Arsenal was of a lazy mercenary who did little on the pitch and who wanted away for cash.
We were well rid.
Totally agree with Omar on Benzema. Yes he is good but he is not brilliant like RVP, which i feel is what we need now, though if we get him i would be “satisfied”
Wenger wont spend 25m on Benzema, dont know why he does this to the fans (even though i think this would show a real statement of intent) Wenger has already stated he will add players but he wont spend BIG…
Benzema will be used to divert attention away from his real transfer target. It’s an old trick Wenger is fond of doing. It’s done to avoid a bidding war. As soon as we go in for a player, H.Redknapp will immediately have interest, so will Barcelona (to simply derail Arsenal’s intent and then pull out of the deal at the last minute – like they did with Arshavin the Summer prior to to January transfer window we bought him), plus Man City will double the offer out of boredom and offer a quarter of a million quid wages per month just for a laugh, and so on. Like with Vermaelen, there will be false appraisals made about a player we’re really after (like Adams did) to divert attention. What is absolutely certain .. Wenger would not be bigging up any player he’s hoping to sign and there’s zero chance of him praising him. The rule of thumb is .. If Wenger is talking about him, we aint buying him. I can actually see us signing a player for 20 Million by the way, especially a 23 year old. The transfer policy is now different because of Kroenke, the signing of players of 30 and over is now different because of Kroenke (including deals greater than a year too as with Squilaci), the wage bill as well is no longer rigid because of Kroenke. These are all telling signs that we have a real reason to be hopeful and for the first time since David Dein parted company. As a recap -> Benzema aint even on the Arsenal Radar.
i could understand clichy wants to move on after six years (not our best six, hm?
).
but wtf is it with nasri, this ungrateful brat? he had one decent season and is already blackmailing the club?!
Believe me Chamakh was a waste from d word go,we need a proven striker that can creat chances nd also score goals on his own effort.Benzema is a better option,nd its time Wenger got rid of som useless players in the team.Six yrs without a Silverware is a shame to us,no more complain Mr Wenger.We d fans are been mocked.
Joe, Fab has lost us points as well as won some. Szcz is the better of the two, it’s not hype. Bob Wilson and Lehmann have both been impressed by him. What points has he lost for us, exactly? If you can actually come up with valid reasoning for that claim, let’s hear it.
Truegooner and Joe you’ve just stated what I’ve been saying all along. Chezzer is not there yet. I’ll take fab over him anyday for now. He’s let us down so many times but somehow his errors are overlooked. The way he punches for supposedly easy catches is so amateur.
In Nasri’s case , I don’t think it’s the wage or trophies. No, he feels he is being wasted on the flank while he wants to play in the center ala fabregas. I think that’s the biggest factor. But unfortunately every single attacking player we’ve got wants to play in the center. If Arsene is to appease ever one then there’ll just be a straight line from one goal to the other
.
Benzema is fantastic, if we can get him great. But please get rid of that error prone Djourou. We need a better CB with Vermalen. Sagna is great and I think Clichy has actually gone backwards.
daniel sturridge would be intreasting
Benzema was bought by Valdano, and Valdano has just now been sacked by Madrid for conflicting too much with the wishes of Mourinho. Mourinho doesn’t like Benzema…
Man City aren’t going to compete with us for everyone…they already have enough up front.
Wenger can afford a Real Madrid cast off. They’ll look for £20m+. We can probably scrape it.
Wenger only talk openly about false leads or dead certs. Villa = false lead. Chamakh = dead cert. Benzema…this summer only…i think we have the money for it.
If we sign Benzema I’ll cry tears of joy.
Benzema is not what is most urgently needed.
Wouldn’t be surprised if wenger promoted afobe as the cheap option. Plus lansbury, bartley and frimpong.
Average age gets lower and wenger can continue with the age excuses.
We will get 4th and wenger achieves his objective again