By Ian Grant
PLAYERS
Sol Campbell was named in the World Cup all-star team and was the only England player to make the final 16 players chosen by a team of football experts including Brazilian legend Pele.
Freddie Ljungberg will have surgery on his hip this weekend and will miss the first month of the new season.
David Seaman was told this week he should extend his career with Arsenal and England because he is still the “best goalkeeper in the country.” Wenger made it clear Seaman, who is 39 in September, would be offered a new contract.
David Seaman admits he has been amazed by the warm welcome he has received since the team returned home, says a Birmingham paper.
The Independent reckons Ashley Cole and Jermaine Pennant will make the England side in 2006.
Robert Pires is ready to sign a one-year extension to his contract. He is undergoing rehabilitation at a sports clinic in St Raphael in the south of France
Ashley Cole seems at Saturday’s Safeway Picnic 2002 Concert in London’s Hyde Park said playing Brazil was his World Cup highlight.
Tony Adams said: “We always felt at Arsenal when we came up against Barcelona that Rivaldo could hinder them at times. He can stop the ball moving when he receives possession, halt the momentum of the team. The best Brazilian sides relied on ball circulation.”
Sylvain Wiltord is still the third top import to the Premiership after Veron and van Nistelroy.
TRANSFER TALK
Arsene Wenger is not planning a major overhaul of his playing staff and does not want to sign Japan’s Parma midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata, he was quoted as saying by a Japanese newspaper. He said “(Dennis) Bergkamp, (Sylvain) Wiltord, (Nwankwo) Kanu, (Robert) Pires, Edu are all staying next season. (Patrick) Vieira is staying too.”
Most papers on Saturday say Arsenal are entering the bidding for Rio Ferdinand, after making three enquiries. Some say Fredinand is excited by the prospect of joining Man U. But others say joining up with his international collegaues and being close to family in London could swing it Arsenal’s way. Any transfer is likely to be a British record.
Arsenal’s offer to PSV for van Bommel for £8m and Kanu was dismissed by the Dutch club. A spokesman said Arsenal wouldn’t be back for van Bommel unless Vieira left Arsenal, and added that both van Bommel and Hofland are staying.
The Express reports that Newcastle have landed Titus Bramble for £5.5m. The fact that he knew Kieron Dyer was a factor him choosing Newcastle before Arsenal and Chelsea claims the paper. In fact the deal is hold pending recovery from a heel problem.
Arsenal are set to pip Roma to the signing of Holland international Edgar Davids, according to reports in Italy. Davids, out of favour at Juventus, was expected to move to Roma but the deal fell through.
There are also reports of Juventus offering Thuram and Davids for Vieira.
The Daily Telegraph reckons Arsenal are to make a £10 million offer for the 18-year-old Spanish prodigy, Reyes. Arsene Wenger, has been monitoring the Seville striker for some time
The Mail on Sunday says the £20m tag on Ronaldinho has put Arsenal off.
The Observer reckons Arsenal are chasing Senegal defender Ferdinand Coly. Mirror says Arsenal are involved race with Greek club Olympiakos to sign Coly from Lens.
The Daily Star and Evening Standard reckons Arsenal will complete the £3m signing of Lille central defender Pascal Cygan this week. The player’s agent Frederic Dobraje says a deal is almost complete, despite interest from other clubs. Cygan came to prominence during Lille’s Champions League run last season.
People says Arsenal see US World Cup star Tony Sanneh as a possible replacement for Gilles Grimandi. Sanneh, who can play in defence or midfield, can leave German club Nurnberg for £1.5million. The Independent says Arsenal have bid £1.6m.
Arsenal have been told to expect a big-money offer from Juventus for Ashley Cole. Their left-back Gianluca Pesotto has a cruciate knee ligament injury and is out for a year.
Sunderland are targetting Ray Parlour – the £7million long-term transfer target of manager Peter Reid. The club who twice tried to sign Parlour last term.
The Mirror says having dropped their interest in Patrick Vieira, Real have turned their attention to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who has scored 57 goals in only 89 appearances for Chelsea.
The Mail says Arsenal and Manchester United are keen to bring 29 year-old Turkey and Fenherbahce goalkeeper Rustu Recber to England after his outstanding World Cup showing. One paper added that the N.London Turkish community would help him settle.
According to the FT, negotiations between Arsenal and Turkey’s Emre Belozoglu began before the World Cup began.
The Express says Lee Bowyer is even more determined to leave Leeds following the shock departure of manager David O’Leary.
Japanese reports suggest the Japan midfielder Junichi Inamoto, recently released by Arsenal, could be on his way to Fulham for £2.8m.
The Independent says Steve McManaman is up for sale at Real Madrid at a bargain price of £4m. However the former Liverpool player’s high wages are putting off interested Premiership clubs, the list of which is headed by Arsenal.
BUSINESS
The Express says Premiership finance directors have reported back to their boards a willingness for Premiership clubs to act more sensibly in the pursuit of seemingly unobtainable success. The result will be that clubs are not going to become snarled up in an auction by agents pushing up the values of their players’ worth in the open market.
Sunday Business says Arsenal are estimated to make around £5m a year from the sale of merchandise. Manchester United makes almost £40m.
Deloitte & Touche announced that the Premiership’s income grew by 18% to £1.27bn during the 2000-2001 season, which is nearly a quarter of the top European leagues’ combined revenue.
Manchester United has seen its shares slide nearly a third in the past year, according to the Dow Jones Stoxx Football Index.
According to Stefan Syzmanski, a football economist at Imperial College Management School in LondonL: “A club like Arsenal, which is successful and has the advantage of being in London, will always consider going public. It’s a bit of a mystery why they haven’t.” he told the Wall St Journal.
GROUND
Telegraph says Harry Platt Spurs fan and boss of Workspace, a company which develops commercial space on brownfield sites, had mixed feelings over the sale of Ashburton Grove to Arsenal for its new stadium. It reported that he got a good price.
LADIES
The Arsenal striker Marieanne Spacey has joined Fulham Ladies. She had been with Arsenal since 1994.”Hopefully this will show that professionalism is the way forward for the game,” she said.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Arsenal are in Pot 1 (first seeds).Liverpool have been provisionally placed in the group of second seeds below Manchester United and Newcastle are in Pot 3.
OLD BOYS
Ex-Arsenal player, Brendon Batson MBE, 49, will be appointed as Managing Director of WBA, specifically charged with responsibility for footballing matters.
Arsenal and N Ireland soccer international of the 1950s Billy Dickson has died suddenly in hospital. He was 79. He also was an Arsenal scout and instrumental in taking Northern Ireland international Terry Neill to Highbury.
Carpetright has hired Ian Wright, the former Arsenal striker, to spearhead a new advertising campaign.
Niall Quinn was named as a player-coach at Sunderland.
MISCELLANAEOUS
French Federation vice-president Michel Platini said it will not pursue Arsene Wenger for the French team’s manager job.
David Miller said Herbert Chapman’s third back innovation at Arsenal, with the change in the offside law in 1925, was the beginning of the end of extravagance.