Yeah this one slipped me by. Again I don't think he's as bad as people make out but good lord is he prone to the occasional b*alls up! Unfortunately Djourou is one of those players who'd be fine if he could play week in week out (remember 18 months ago when he was and actually did extremely well). The down side is that even playing regularly at his best he's not as good as Koscielny or Vermaelen. He'd be a perfectly acceptable backup if he could step into the side and continue at his best level (admittedly that's not an easy thing to pull off). He's on an awful lot of money for a 3rd/4th choice CB and I'd far rather we gave opportunities to the likes of Miqeul. ... though I shall always love him for his Johan Djourou end of season awards! That was brilliant.
You know we live in crazy times when a standard unproven defender whos been injured gets paid £50k. I really hope this all ends and ends soon with all footballers. While ill be looking forward to the magnificant 1% payrise after years of pay freeze, the thought of Djourou getting £50k will make my life all the more happier........
I still think that we went for Podolski so early because RVP future remains highly uncertain. Arsene wants to avoid the nightmare scenario of the last summer. Imagine RVP gone in the summer and we are left with no striker as such - Germans would easily demand 18 ml for Podolski in that case knowing that he have no option but to buy.
According to the beeb, AW has denied that a deal has been done From the live sportsday feed: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has denied that the club have already done a deal for Cologne striker Lukas Podolski. "If we sign a player we will inform you and at the moment we have not signed anybody," said the Frenchman. "There's still no agreement. Podolski is a good player. I wouldn't deny that."
Maybe he's saying it to respect Cologne? I think a pre-contract is being written out as we speak.....
I think when you look at pay scales, you cant be subjective about it. You wouldn't like it if the guy next to you, doing the same job was paid 20K more than you. Djourou, whether you agree with it or not, whether you like it or not, has played for the Arsenal first team nearly 150 times. Now you may think he is crap, you may even be right, but from a wage point of view, if he does the job he needs to get paid for it.
Wenger said: "I don't have a lot to say about that because, if we sign a player, we will inform you. At the moment we have not signed anybody. "There is still no agreement. Podolski is a good player. I wouldn't deny that." The Arsenal manager told German media that he thinks highly of Podolski's passing and shooting ability - and is also impressed by the way he can integrate himself into a team's pattern of play. 95% sure it's in the bag. I'm sure he's just being coy until the transfer window when it goes through in case of leg snappage or such like.
They haven't signed him. An agreement might be in place but he won't sign until the Transfer Window opens. That's very different. They won't announce he's an Arsenal player as if he breaks a leg he won't be signed.
I asked this question before but nobody answered ... am I the only one concerned that because he flopped in the Bundesliga for Bayern, that there's nothing to stop him flopping for us too?
He has scored over half of Cologne's league goals this season (16) and is 2 goals behind the leading scorer, Huntelaar
He was doing similarly awesomely for Cologne before his move to Bayern ... where he managed 15 goals in 71 appearances. Which is significantly less than impressive. I'd be concerned that there's something behind that.
Maybe it just wasnt a right fit, like thierry at juventus. Sometimes it doesnt work for managers and players. No need to write them off. Capello didnt really fit at england but is a great manager.
Podolski has 16 goals from 22 appearances, that is a very good goal to game ratio, all of his goals have come in the league though, in 20 league appearances, he has scored 16 times, again, that is an excellent goal to game ration. And he's also doing this in the German league which is not a very weak league, so these statistics are very good if you ask me, and if we do indeed sign him for the price that's being mentioned, 10.9 million, then that my friends is an excellent deal, a great bargain. Let's also not forget that Joel Campbell will be with us as well next season, and he looks to be a very good striker with major potential, so that's other good news for us.
Do we know Joel will get a work permit for next year? Be good to have a Campbell at the club again. I wouldn't be worried about Podolski, if there's one thing Arsenal can do, it's strikers. I mean, look at RvP, Henry, Bergkamp, Ade, etc. etc. (just don't think about Chamakh, Park, or anyone else).
Talking of loanees, what about Wellington Silva? Whats happened to that guy..... But hopefully we'll have Campbell with us soon. It took Miyaichi one year in the dutch league to come to us.
