Hi Myles,
I keep checking in to get your opinion about our new signings. I realise that you have been busy discussing the World Cup but this is ANR and Arsenal comments have been thin on the ground recently. I haven’t gone through the archives but I am sure I read that whilst you won’t comment on rumoured signings (quite rightly) you would discuss confirmed new players. Sorry to nag but I value your opinions.
Thanks.
Hi Tim,
I don’t know any more about them than you do. Probably not as much.
I haven’t seen Koscielny play. I gather from Philippe Auclair that he was the best player in the second division when he played for Tours two years ago. Another source told me that the deal was agreed a year ago for a smaller sum than has been headlined in UK. The centreback may have cost £2m or £4m, rather than the £10 million some papers suggest.
Chamakh, wait and see. I was 100% sure he wanted to join Arsenal in July 2009, so I wrote about him then.
I don’t want to write about Chamakh again till I see him play, see how he fits in, how he handles a rough, fast league. Wenger waited a year to get him on a free. The board are interested in paying off the debt. So they are not unhappy when the manager signs a striker on a free transfer, or when he says ” Third is a trophy.”
If you’re a long-time ANR reader, you’ll know that Myles thinks pre-season is for managers.
I want to see Liverpool v Arsenal on Sunday, August 15.
I want to see Arsenal’s first 10 games. Then I will have an idea about what kind of season this will be.
If Cesc Fabregas is still captain, Arsenal might be OK.
I’m not following that saga on a day-by-day basis. Angst, rumour and evasive quotes do not interest me.
If Fabregas stays for one more year, it might be cabaret, a farewell tour as he reprises his greatest hits. That could be quite strange. But Fabregas has a five-year contract and is worth £50 million and Barcelona can’t afford £50m.
I have no idea what will happen. I hope he stays. If he does stay, will he be happy?
As I say, I’m looking forward to Liverpool v Arsenal.
I don’t know whether Chamakh or Koscielny will play at Anfield. That Premier League game will tell us more than a friendly in Austria.
Unlike Rafa, Roy Hodgson will pick the same eleven every week, with a tweak or two here and there, and produce consistent performances. I met Roy once at Highbury and he’s lovely guy and a shrewd, capable manager.
I wish him well. If Torres remains fit, Liverpool will not finish seventh again. But the club has huge ownership/financial problems. Arsenal do not have financial problems.
Mainly, I want to see Arsenal’s first 10 games, Man City’s first 10 games, also Liverpool’s.
If Spurs qualify, they will find it quite hard to be consistent in the EPL while playing six Champions League group games. If they go further, and travel more, that will take a toll too. Let’s see how Spurs cope with that. It’s harder than people think.