Borussia Dortmund have signed Marco Reus, a right sided attacking midfielder. That surely means they're prepared to sell Mario Goetze, if they're already signing a replacement for him. The Reus signing won't go through until the summer though, so we need Goetze to have a poor second half of the season, to keep the likes of Barca away.
But it means Goetze is available. Why would they sign a slightly crapper version of Goetze unless they were prepared to sell the real one? And yes, we were after Reus, but i'm glad we didn't get him, from what i've seen he's basically a german Stewart Downing.
Well that means they must be intent on selling Kagawa then. Hell, i'd take kagawa if he was available, good player.
Sorry about the false hope, it's just that i've seen this happen a million times, where a team signs a direct replacement before the star player has even been sold. Maybe Dortmund expect Wenger and Gazidis to hurry up and try and sign him.
I find the optimism suprisingly high considering our track record of trasfers of recent. Even if he was available, other top teams will be coming in for him and our offers of £1.50 and a packet of pork scratchings, simply won't cut it.....
Let's hope they pull their fingers out and seal the deal now even if it means he joins us in the summer. For once I would like us to get the jump on other teams. Unfortunately this has as much chance of me getting a ticket to the Bayern India game on Tuesday. Who knew the Germans were so bloody popular!!
I think Goetze would be a great signing if we could pull it off. The trouble is that he is well and truly on the radar now and if one of the more money than sense clubs start sniffing, we can forget it. It's a shame that our bid for him was rejected in the summer. Apparently it was quite a significant fee, although none of us really know the details.
i honestly think he's long gone. he's already said he'd be more suited to Spain than the Premiership, and I think he'll go to Real Madrid.
I think it was, which if true means that Wenger is prepared to spend big when needed and the board are willing to give him the money to do so. I think we also had a significant bid for M'Vila rejected too.
I fear you might be right, If 35 million euros wasn't enough to secure him, then I'd hate to think how much Dortmund or holding out for. Somone like Madrid could easily bid £45m for him in the summer. There's no way we'd match that.
Every player is overvalued in January - this is because it's known that clubs panic if they're in danger of not reaching their targets, whatever level you play at. The Bury left back suddenly becomes worth £100k and the likes of Torres are believed to be worth £50m. More chance of getting closer anyones true value in the Summer...
you never know, if Arshavin is angling for a summer move, Gervinho going to the ACON and him being promoted to first choice might just be what he needs. If he plays well for 6 months he'll be a lot more valuable. Now is the time for him to turn it on to win that final transfer and big pay cheque for the last couple of years of his career - it worked for Nasri, I'd definitely take it from Arshavin.
I still think Arshavin is a decent player (albeit a lazy bastard) If he can rediscover his form - we'd want to keep him right?
Piskie - I thought about abandoning this board because of you - but here I am again glutton for punishment.. No many of us do not want to keep Arshavin. He was brilliant at the start. Suddenly effort stopped, running back to cover stopped, odd 'funny' remarks were attributed to him. He moaned about misleading info on his UK tax position....etc etc. As if by coincidence his form plummeted. He couldn't be clearer - he wants out. Lets oblige him.
Why Wenger has never ( well almost never, when he did once or twice, Arshavin delivered) tried him in an advanced attacking central midfield position? This is his natural place, he has an eye for a good pass and can score. He is completely lost on the wing and clearly hates this position. How many times he was absolutely alone in a great position on the left and never got the ball? I lost count. He is not a player to cover large spaces. He is good in a crowded central area, because he thinks quickly, loves one touch football and he changes directions quickly. Arshavin always played there, for 10 years with Zenith. And now this area is a sort of a no-go territory to him. He is just wasted, frustrated and lost all his confidence. With Fabregas he could at least get the ball. Now it is such a rare occasion that the guy simply does not know what to do when he gets it. I think it is time to go for Arshavin if he wants to enjoy his football.
