Birmingham are set to tie up a deal for Sebastian Larsson in the next 48 hours (as reported here last week) after agreeing terms in an initial £500,000 switch to the Championship leaders.
Meanwhile Sky Sports reports that Lyon lead chase for Lauren after he rejected a move to West Ham. Arsene Wenger has told the defender he is free to go after being out for the past 12 months.
Arsenal have opened contract talks with defender Justin Hoyte, 22, who has 12 months remaining on a deal he signed two years ago, says the ES.
The 22-year-old is hoping for a new four-year contract and a significant wage hike Hoyte has featured in 22 of Arsenal’s 35 games this season, is understood to be the lowest-paid player in the first-team squad.
Philippe Senderos, has a knack for the peculiar soundbite straight out of the Eric Cantona ‘sardines’ mould. He says in The Times: “Every game is another experience that you put into your bag, and my bag is getting heavier.”
He adds:”I didn’t read Ashley’s book, but I was aware of what was in it,” Senderos said. [Cole criticised Philippe in his book.]
“It doesn’t touch me or anyone in the club. If he’s got stuff to say and wants to say things in his book then OK, but as far as we’re concerned it’s all over. I hope he has nothing against me but I don’t worry. As we say in France, ‘you should try to clean in front of your own door first before you look outside’.
“I don’t think we all know how good we can be with this team. The boss is always saying we can become a great team if we continue in this way as we’ve got lots of young players still improving.”
Meanwhile, ex- Arsenal player and current scout, Don Howe, says, in The Daily Telegraph that Arsene Wenger deserves immense credit for managing to get his Arsenal players to produce some of the best football I have had the privilege of witnessing.
“Their highly effective pass-and-move football is a joy to watch and is the best stuff I’ve seen since what I would describe as the brilliant push-and-run football that propelled Bill Nicholson’s Spurs team to the Double in the 1960s.
“The Arsenal squad is full of players who are comfortable on the ball. Touch and technique are excellent, as is their overall awareness.”
Theres a couple of worthwhile reads in the latest edition of FourFourTwo. One looks at the three Birmingham loanees – and from the quotes you can tell Larsson was itching to go; Bendtner wants a Premiership start, preferably at Arsenal; and Muamba wants to do well at Arsenal. The other is a sort of diary going to a series of reserve team games.
Bendtner says:”I needed to gain experience and I’d like to think by scoring these goals I’ve proved to him [Arsene Wenger] that I was ready.Maybe not to go into the first team but to have been in the squad and playing the odd game here and there, like Theo Walcott. But there will come a time when I will play in the Premiership, and I’ll be more than ready for it.”
And in the other article on reserve games, Bendtner says:”But you have to be realistic. There are so many good players at Arsenal, you can’t just expect to get first-team football. The reserves is a good place for a young player to develop. It was great for me last season, but this year I needed a bigger challenge. Nobody wants to be in the reserves too long.”
Birmingham have played 18 league games, his old Arsenal reserves side have played just six.
Seb Larsson says: “I’ve got to the stage in my career where I need regular football and not to have to wait for injuries to get my chance.”
Muamba says he is thriving under new management. “I had three clubs wanting to sign me, but Steve Bruce made me feel wanted straight away and as a first-team player, it’s nice to have regular contact with him. As a young lad, I didn’t have that with Arsene Wenger but hopefully that will change in the future.”
On the Reserves, the average age of fans in the Premier League is said to be 39 and probably half that at Underhill.
The piece says clubs now use their reserve teams as under-21 sides, using advanced training methods to keep the little-used senior players fit (big names don’t much like playing in the reserves).
It says Arsenal haven’t produced any reserves merchandise.
And David Pleat, on the Reserve League Working Party, which reduced the number of games says is most excited by Arsenal’s 16-year-old Spanish midfielder Francisco Merida Perez. “He looks like an outstanding talent”.