Transfer news...

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Arsène Wenger should have considered Arsenal's past before panic-buying[/h] Wenger has betrayed his own legacy following a last-gasp rush to bring in players before the transfer window closed

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- David Lacey
- guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 September 2011 15.30 BST Article history
Arsenal fans with a banner in support of manager Arsène Wenger before the woeful performance at Manchester United. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images

Arsenal used to be referred to as "The Arsenal", like they were the definite article. For a postwar generation of football-mad schoolboys the ultimate in security could be defined in three ways. Things were as safe as the Rock of Gibraltar, the Bank of England or the Arsenal defence.
Born too late to admire the prewar solidity of George Male and Eddie Hapgood, Herbie Roberts, Jack Crayston and the granite-like Wilf Copping, they grew up with headlines and newsreels recording the deeds of Walley Barnes, Laurie Scott, Leslie Compton, Alex Forbes and Joe Mercer. Arsenal might have scored goals by the bucketful but everything stemmed from the organisation and discipline of their defending.
When Arsène Wenger's team lost 8-2 at Old Trafford last Sunday, Gary Neville, who as a former Manchester United player could have been forgiven a certain degree of schadenfreude, sat in the Sky studio sadly shaking his head. A heavy defeat is one thing, outright humiliation another. This was like watching the Tower of London being bulldozed to make way for a new Tesco.
Wenger has reacted with three days of hectic activity, otherwise know as panic-buying, before the transfer deadline. By the time the bar came down a Brazilian left-back, André Santos, a German centre-back, Per Mertesacker, and a Spanish midfielder, Everton's Mikel Arteta, had joined a South Korean striker, Park Chu-young, on the last-minute shopping list along with an Israeli, Yossi Benayoun, who was signed from Chelsea on loan.
It would appear, then, that Sunday's catastrophe has turned Wenger from abstemious buyer into transfer junkie. Whereas previously he had put his faith in the natural growth of youthful talent he is now attempting to buy his team a new spinal column. He may be successful, although Mertesacker's strength in the air is offset by a lack of pace and Arteta has had bad luck with injuries, while expecting newcomers from abroad to settle quickly into the high intensity of the Premier League is a mite optimistic.
Arsenal's collapse at Old Trafford, where Manchester United showed what Germany might have done to England in Bloemfontein last year had they not been saving their legs for the World Cup quarter-finals, was not simply the result of losing players to injuries. It was as much about a state of mind which has developed in the side over a number of seasons. Players no longer track back when possession is lost and the art of closing opponents down and denying them space has been forgotten.
When an unbeaten Arsenal won the championship in 2003-04 they showed that having a strong defence does not mean playing defensively. That season they were the Premier League's highest scorers and most parsimonious defenders. Only three times did they concede more than one goal in a league game and never more than two. Wenger has not betrayed the legacies of past Arsenal managers so much as his own.
He could do worse than retrieve a film clip of the 1952 FA Cup final, which Arsenal lost 1-0 to Newcastle United after playing for more than an hour with 10 men, Barnes having gone off with damaged knee ligaments. During that game Newcastle's Bobby Mitchell dribbled past four opponents only to be tackled by Mercer, who had doubled back to cover, before he could shoot. This is what Arsenal's defending should always be about.
The 8-0 defeat suffered by Woolwich Arsenal at Loughborough Town in 1896 is a distant curiosity. Arsenal's reaction to losing 7-1 at Sunderland in the autumn of 1953 strikes a more relevant chord now because it also happened at a time when the supporters felt the team needed strengthening. Tom Whittaker's side had been champions the previous season but were getting on a bit and had begun the new campaign with six defeats and two draws.
The manager's response to the rout at Roker Park was to sign an ageing legend, the 34-year-old Tommy Lawton, from Brentford, where he was not having much success as player-manager. It took Lawton seven months to score his first league goal for Arsenal and although the team quickly shook off the Sunderland trauma by winning nine of their next 12 fixtures, Highbury did not see another trophy for 17 years.
The Emirates should not have to wait that long. All the same, Wenger's worry lines are beginning to resemble a contour map of the Himalayas and the last time Swansea City, their next opponents, came up to the top-flight, they beat Arsenal twice.

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Arsène Wenger should have considered Arsenal's past before panic-buying[/h] Wenger has betrayed his own legacy following a last-gasp rush to bring in players before the transfer window closed

Comments (235)

- David Lacey
- guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 September 2011 15.30 BST Article history
Arsenal fans with a banner in support of manager Arsène Wenger before the woeful performance at Manchester United. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images

Arsenal used to be referred to as "The Arsenal", like they were the definite article. For a postwar generation of football-mad schoolboys the ultimate in security could be defined in three ways. Things were as safe as the Rock of Gibraltar, the Bank of England or the Arsenal defence.
Born too late to admire the prewar solidity of George Male and Eddie Hapgood, Herbie Roberts, Jack Crayston and the granite-like Wilf Copping, they grew up with headlines and newsreels recording the deeds of Walley Barnes, Laurie Scott, Leslie Compton, Alex Forbes and Joe Mercer. Arsenal might have scored goals by the bucketful but everything stemmed from the organisation and discipline of their defending.
When Arsène Wenger's team lost 8-2 at Old Trafford last Sunday, Gary Neville, who as a former Manchester United player could have been forgiven a certain degree of schadenfreude, sat in the Sky studio sadly shaking his head. A heavy defeat is one thing, outright humiliation another. This was like watching the Tower of London being bulldozed to make way for a new Tesco.
Wenger has reacted with three days of hectic activity, otherwise know as panic-buying, before the transfer deadline. By the time the bar came down a Brazilian left-back, André Santos, a German centre-back, Per Mertesacker, and a Spanish midfielder, Everton's Mikel Arteta, had joined a South Korean striker, Park Chu-young, on the last-minute shopping list along with an Israeli, Yossi Benayoun, who was signed from Chelsea on loan.
It would appear, then, that Sunday's catastrophe has turned Wenger from abstemious buyer into transfer junkie. Whereas previously he had put his faith in the natural growth of youthful talent he is now attempting to buy his team a new spinal column. He may be successful, although Mertesacker's strength in the air is offset by a lack of pace and Arteta has had bad luck with injuries, while expecting newcomers from abroad to settle quickly into the high intensity of the Premier League is a mite optimistic.
Arsenal's collapse at Old Trafford, where Manchester United showed what Germany might have done to England in Bloemfontein last year had they not been saving their legs for the World Cup quarter-finals, was not simply the result of losing players to injuries. It was as much about a state of mind which has developed in the side over a number of seasons. Players no longer track back when possession is lost and the art of closing opponents down and denying them space has been forgotten.
When an unbeaten Arsenal won the championship in 2003-04 they showed that having a strong defence does not mean playing defensively. That season they were the Premier League's highest scorers and most parsimonious defenders. Only three times did they concede more than one goal in a league game and never more than two. Wenger has not betrayed the legacies of past Arsenal managers so much as his own.
He could do worse than retrieve a film clip of the 1952 FA Cup final, which Arsenal lost 1-0 to Newcastle United after playing for more than an hour with 10 men, Barnes having gone off with damaged knee ligaments. During that game Newcastle's Bobby Mitchell dribbled past four opponents only to be tackled by Mercer, who had doubled back to cover, before he could shoot. This is what Arsenal's defending should always be about.
The 8-0 defeat suffered by Woolwich Arsenal at Loughborough Town in 1896 is a distant curiosity. Arsenal's reaction to losing 7-1 at Sunderland in the autumn of 1953 strikes a more relevant chord now because it also happened at a time when the supporters felt the team needed strengthening. Tom Whittaker's side had been champions the previous season but were getting on a bit and had begun the new campaign with six defeats and two draws.
The manager's response to the rout at Roker Park was to sign an ageing legend, the 34-year-old Tommy Lawton, from Brentford, where he was not having much success as player-manager. It took Lawton seven months to score his first league goal for Arsenal and although the team quickly shook off the Sunderland trauma by winning nine of their next 12 fixtures, Highbury did not see another trophy for 17 years.
The Emirates should not have to wait that long. All the same, Wenger's worry lines are beginning to resemble a contour map of the Himalayas and the last time Swansea City, their next opponents, came up to the top-flight, they beat Arsenal twice.

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]City welcome back Toure and banish Bridge[/h] Published 23:01 02/09/11 By David Anderson

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KOLO Toure has been welcomed back into the Manchester City fold by manager Roberto Mancini.
Toure was boosted yesterday on the day his six-month drugs ban ended when Mancini named him in his Champions League squad for the group stage.
The former City skipper has been training with his team-mates at Carrington and the Blues boss is keen to get him back playing as soon as possible.
Toure's first game back will be today for the Ivory Coast in an African Nations Cup *qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali.

The Ivorian federation obtained clearance from FIFA to name the centre-half in their squad while he served the last few days of his ban. Toure, 30, is free to play in City's next game against Wigan on Saturday, although Mancini may want to build up his fitness before pitching him into action.
The former Arsenal star was suspended after failing a random drugs test carried out at the Manchester derby in February because he had taken some of his wife's slimming pills.
Mancini stood by Toure and insists he still has a future at the Etihad Stadium, even though he took the captaincy off him last year.
He feels the ex-Arsenal star's *experience will be helpful in City's first Champions League campaign and included him in his squad list submitted to UEFA.
"I feel totally recharged and as fit as I've ever been," said Toure. "Hopefully it will be like having a new signing because I want to challenge for a first-team place.
"I know it won't be easy because the team is playing so well but I'll be pushing hard for an opportunity. I'm just so happy to be back and I will give everything I have to the team, this club and our fans. I can't wait to get going."
Mancini has not been so sympathetic towards Bridge and the City boss has shunned the former England left-back.
He has excluded him from his Champions League squad and the ex-Chelsea star faces a bleak future at the Etihad.
Mancini is annoyed Bridge turned down offers from Celtic and Fenerbahce before the transfer window closed.
He was the one outcast City failed to move out this summer as no club was prepared to take on his £90,000-a-week salary.
Mancini has ditched Bridge, signed by Mark Hughes in January 2009, from his first-team squad and is adamant he will never play for him again.
He has also left out Owen Hargreaves, but that is because no-one knows when the former Manchester United midfielder will be fit to play.
Free signing Hargreaves has managed just 11 minutes of action in the last two years because of injury – and Mancini did not want to name him in his Champions League pool if he was not certain he could play.

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Everton starlet backs himself to replace Arteta[/h] Published 22:59 02/09/11 By Mike Walters

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http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...following-move-to-Arsenal-article794444.html#

Jack Rodwell stared into the void left by Mikel Arteta's £10m defection to Arsenal and insisted: "I am ready to fill his boots."
Everton midfielder Rodwell watched Arteta abscond through the transfer window in a beat-the-deadline move to the Emirates which, at face value, shrivelled the club's prospects of returning to European football next season.
But Arteta's departure has handed the England Under-21 international and boy wonder Ross Barkley the chance to step up and prove there is life after the Spaniard at Goodison Park.
Rodwell, 20, said: "What I've been missing in my career is a sequence of 30 games back-to-back and getting a good run of form and confidence - hopefully this is going to be the season when I achieve that.

"Obviously it was a shame to miss Mikel - he's a great player, a good lad in the dressing room and he will be sorely missed.
"But it's a good opportunity for him, so we wish him all the best and we've got a lot of young players who will relish the chance to take his place.
"I feel I'm ready to step up and fill his boots if asked - I'm ready now, I feel fit, sharp and focused, and this is the season where I need to push on.
"Last year was frustrating: I had a lot of injuries and I couldn't really get a pattern of football going because I wasn't really fit.
"But hopefully I will put together a run of games for Everton, and that extra responsibility will transmit itself to Under-21 level with England as well.
"Although international football is different to the Premier League, if you get the experience at club level it definitely helps when you hook up with the Uner-21 squad because the gaffer trusts you."
Everton also sold striker Jermain Beckford to Championship big spenders Leicester for £4.5m on deadline day, but manager David Moyes moved quickly to plug the gaps in his squad by landing tongue-twisting Argentine striker Denis Stracqualursi and Real Madrid winger Rosyton Drenthe.
Rodwell added: "I know Denis was the top scorer in Argentina last year, and I think he got a hat-trick against Boca Juniors, so hopefully he can get us a few goals, and obviously we hope Drenthe can do the business."

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Dos Santos seething that he's still at Spurs[/h] Published 22:59 02/09/11 By Mike McGrath

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...club-tried-sell-him-Italy-article794431.html#

giovani-dos-santos-tottenham-spurs-cropped

Giovani dos Santos and Tottenham are at *loggerheads after the player's proposed move to Spain broke down.
The 22-year-old Mexican had set his heart on a move to La Liga club Sevilla, but a deal was not finalised despite *negotiations over the summer.
Italian clubs Lazio and Genoa also made bids, but Dos Santos did not want to move to Serie A.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was said to be angry, as the club would have got their money back after the midfielder's arrival from *Barcelona three years ago.

"I already felt I was at Sevilla and we had almost all the *negotiations done, and in half an hour they changed their minds," said Dos Santos.
"Both my agent and I have been disappointed, sad and angry with Tottenham and how they acted."
Dos Santos arrived from Barca in a deal worth £8.6million, but struggled to establish himself.

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Petrov amazed Cahill's still at Bolton[/h] Published 23:01 02/09/11 By David Anderson

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...on-teammate-Martin-Petrov-article794443.html#

Bulgaria-England-Gary-Cahill-European-Qualifier+cropped

Martin Petrov claims Tottenham and Arsenal missed out on the Premier League's best centre-half when they failed to land Gary Cahill.
Spurs and Arsenal lost out on Cahill - who scored England's first goal on Friday night as they beat Petrov's Bulgaria, 3-0 - because they would not pay Bolton's asking price for the England international and Petrov says he would have been a great signing.
The winger is delighted Cahill remained at the Reebok, but fears the club will inevitably cash in on him.
"For me, he is the best defender in the whole league," said Petrov. "He is strong, quick and can head the ball well.

"Am I surprised he is still at Bolton? That is not a question for me.
"For the team, it is very good that he stays. But if the club choose to sell, I think we must understand that he is a very good player, who wants to go forward in his career."

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Chelsea omit £18m striker Romelu Lukaku from Champions League squad[/h] • Belgian forward sacrificed as Blues struggle with 25-man squad
• Only five 'homegrown' players available to André Villas-Boas

Dominic Fifield
guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 September 2011 19.17 BST Article history

Romelu Lukaku missed out with Chelsea able to name only 17 non-homegrown players. Photograph: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea have been forced to sacrifice the £18m new signing Romelu Lukaku from their Champions League squad for the group stage of the competition.
The Belgium international, bought from Anderlecht after protracted negotiations albeit always with the future in mind, was not included in a 22-man A-list squad – three short of the permitted 25-man party – submitted to and confirmed by Uefa on Friday. Chelsea have effectively been frustrated by the fact that they were limited to 17 non-homegrown players and unable to fill their eight-man allocation of homegrown personnel in their party for the competition.
With that in mind, the manager André Villas-Boas appears to have opted for the experience of Salomon Kalou up front – he also boasts Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and Nicolas Anelka as central forwards – and, more significantly, the defensive cover provided by Paulo Ferreira at the back, rather than Lukaku's raw talent.
The 18-year-old made his debut as an 83rd‑minute replacement against Norwich City last weekend and is expected to be used as an impact substitute while he settles into life at Stamford Bridge.
Ferreira, who was omitted from the squad at the same stage two seasons ago for similar reasons, had to be included this time around with Chelsea denied any other cover at left-back for the first‑choice, Ashley Cole. Ryan Bertrand, the England Under-21 international, has also missed out as, of the allocation of eight homegrown players, only four can be "association trained" as opposed to "club trained".
Bertrand, signed from Gillingham in 2005 as a 15-year-old, has spent periods on loan at Bournemouth, Oldham, Norwich, Reading and Nottingham Forest and, with his Chelsea career so interrupted, therefore does not qualify as "club trained" – John Terry is the only player in the squad that falls into that category – with Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Ross Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge making up the "association trained" group.
Michael Essien, who is in rehabilitation after suffering knee ligament damage in pre-season, has not been named as he is unlikely to be available for the group stage of the competition. The A-list can be tweaked in January ahead of the knockout phase. Players such as Josh McEachran and even Nathaniel Chalobah, who featured heavily in pre-season, will be available as they are included on the B-list.

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Forest cough up after McClaren 'quit' drama[/h] Published 22:59 02/09/11 By John Percy

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http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...-agree-fund-loan-signings-article794442.html#

Steve McClaren has reached an uneasy truce with his Nottingham Forest bosses after being promised funds to bring in three loan signings from the Premier League.
McClaren will have a meeting with chairman Nigel Doughty on Monday, but is now expected to stay on at the City Ground after crisis talks on Friday night.
The former England coach had been considering walking out after running out of patience with Forest's failure to back him in the transfer window, just three months after taking the job.
It is understood McClaren and Doughty had a heated row on Wednesday when it became clear no signings would be made on deadline day.

But Doughty has assured the manager that cash will be made available when the loan market opens on Thursday in an attempt to ease the tension.
West Brom striker Simon Cox, Chelsea defender Ryan Bertrand and Spurs winger Andros Townsend are all in McClaren's sights.
McClaren, currently in Holland with his family, has admitted his reign has been difficult so far.
"I can't deny that it has been a frustrating time and some things have not worked out the way I had hoped in the first three months," he said, "but it is a building process and still very much early days.
"I would like to emphasise that my only concern is getting on with the job at Forest and achieving the goal of taking the club back into the Premier League.
"I'm certainly no quitter and I am as enthusiastic about the task as I was on the day I arrived in Nottingham in June.
"I am desperately keen to succeed at Forest and as far as I am concerned it is onwards and upwards with everyone pulling in the same direction in order to achieve our aims."

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Leicester were never getting Maynard say Robins[/h] Published 22:58 02/09/11 By Football Spy

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http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...City-chief-Colin-Sexstone-article794434.html#

nicky-maynard-bristol-city-leicester-cropped

Bristol City turned down a "much improved" offer for Nicky Maynard from Leicester just before the transfer window closed.
The Foxes had made three earlier bids for the striker, thought to have peaked at around £4million.
"Leicester were very determined to get Nicky right up to the deadline," said Robins chairman Colin Sexstone.
"The last offer was far in excess of the previous ones and very difficult to resist.

"But we would not sell to a rival Championship club. If it was a Premier League outfit, it might have been different."

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...City-chief-Colin-Sexstone-article794434.html#

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 3, 2011

[h=1]Newcastle MD defends fruitless striker search[/h] Published 18:53 02/09/11 By MirrorFootball

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...ny-of-six-striker-targets-article794440.html#

Derek-Llambias-Mike-Ashley-Newcastle-cropped

Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias has defended the club's failure to sign a striker on the final day of the transfer window.
Having missed out on the likes of Kevin Gameiro, Gervinho and Mevlut Erding earlier in the summer, the Magpies turned to Modibo Maiga, Papiss Demba Cisse and at the death, Bryan Ruiz.
But as the clock ran down to Wednesday's 11pm deadline, their hopes dwindled and ultimately died to leave frustrated manager Alan Pardew without a replacement for Andy Carroll for the second successive window.
However, in the wake of a furious backlash from supporters, Llambias tonight insisted the club would not make knee-jerk reactions as it sticks to a strict recruitment policy.

In a statement, he said: "Work to bring a striker into the club began early in the summer.
"Negotiations were complex and protracted and unfortunately it was disappointing that ultimately we could not secure our priority target.
"Whilst we did turn our attention to alternative prospects in the latter stages of the window, we have a very clear transfer policy and will not make knee-jerk decisions at the last-minute which are not in the best interests of the club.
"We understand that supporters will feel frustrated that we did not sign another striker during the window, but it was not for lack of trying that we did not bring our final target in."
The task of scoring the goals to maintain Newcastle's promising start to the new Barclays Premier League season will now rest, until January at least, with summer signing Demba Ba, Shola Ameobi, Leon Best and Peter Lovenkrands, while Ameobi's younger brother Sammy and fellow youngster Nile Ranger currently provide the back-up.
But while the debate over the striker situation rumbled on, Llambias instead pointed to the players the club did manage to secure as evidence of the success of Newcastle's approach.
He said: "Now that the transfer window has closed, we have had some time to reflect on the business we have conducted over the summer.
"Our aim was to secure young players who represented value for money and could add real strength to the squad.
"The majority of our transfer dealings were completed in the early part of the window and we feel we have signed some players of exceptional quality.
"Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Mehdi Abeid, Demba Ba and Gabriel Obertan were all brought in early and we have seen these players settle quickly into the squad and perform well on the pitch.
"Earlier this week we were delighted to sign Davide Santon from Inter Milan to fill our left-back position after the departure of Jose Enrique.
"Davide is an excellent young prospect and we are sure he will be another superb addition to the squad.
"We also welcomed young goalkeeper Rob Elliot from Charlton Athletic who will help us retain healthy competition for that position after loaning out Fraser Forster to Celtic.
"Of course we had also hoped to secure a further striker in the window, in addition to Demba Ba."

PongLenis · Sep 3, 2011

mkuu hii thread yako imeka uchafu ... jaribu ku edit kabla ya kupost

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

[h=1]New blow for Arsenal as Jack Wilshere ruled out for another two months[/h] • Midfielder's ankle injury is worse than previously thought
• Wilshere not expected back until November

Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 September 2011 14.28 BST Article history

Jack Wilshere is not expected to recover from his ankle injury before November. Photograph: Simon Dawson/AP

The Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere faces a further two months on the sidelines due to the ankle injury which has blighted his summer.
Wilshere had been hoping to be back in action by now, after suffering the injury in June. The 19-year-old was thought to have recovered by late July but he limped off after just seven minutes of Arsenal's Emirates Cup match with the New York Red Bulls.
He then suffered a setback in training last month, and his manager, Arsène Wenger, predicted he would miss "two or three weeks". However, Wilshere is now not expected back until November.
Arsenal said on Sunday: "He will be out for a couple more months, he needs to rest and then we will see where he's at."
Wilshere wrote on Twitter: "I can confirm I will be out for around 2-3 months! I am working hard in the gym to stay fit and I am gutted but I will be back stronger!"

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

mkuu hii thread yako imeka uchafu ... jaribu ku edit kabla ya kupost

fafanua sijakuelewa hata chembe..........................mithali uchafu upi ambao wataka uondolewe?

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

[h=1]Arsène Wenger's enforced deadline dealings could prove a good thing[/h] The arrival of Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun show a move away from the quiet cultivation of youth

- Paul Hayward
- guardian.co.uk, Saturday 3 September 2011 22.55 BST Article history
Arsène Wenger's transfer deadline signings will give Arsenal some much needed experience. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

The moment when Arsène Wenger pinched his nose, rolled up his trouser legs and jumped into the swamp of transfer deadline day was a late compromise with reality. Suspended, for a day or two, was the Arsenal manager's disdain for the crowded market place, with its desperate remedies and snap decisions.
In 24 hours on Wednesday English football witnessed a form of humbling for the most idealistic of coaches. It was not that Arsenal's transfer targets were picked out randomly in some painful sleepless night. More, it was the haste in Wenger's willingness to grab at reinforcements which spoke of a conversion, either temporary or permanent, from the Kew Gardens principle of quiet cultivation.
For years Arsenal's greatest leader had disavowed "financial doping" and sugar daddy lunges at the world's most famous players. To buy a ready-made star had come to seem vulgar. All laid out at the university of London Colney were the means to shape globally scouted youngsters with rich, natural talent in Wenger's own image. Then came a run of two wins in 14 Premier League games, an 8-2 massacre at Manchester United and a jump into the sweaty dramas of Wednesday night.
When it was over Arsenal had borrowed Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea, coaxed Mikel Arteta away from Everton and confirmed the signings of Park Chu-young (striker) from Monaco, André Santos (attacking left-back) from Fenerbahce and Per Mertesacker (centre-back) from Werder Bremen. This phalanx joined a group of players bought much earlier and in more orderly fashion: principally, Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson, the teenage full-back who made eight appearances for Charlton Athletic and four for Eastbourne Borough before being asked to stop the left-sided raids of Liverpool and Manchester United.
Park is a 26-year-old South Korean who scored 25 times in 91 appearances at Monaco. He takes the No9 shirt. Benayoun, who played only eight times last season, was a makeweight in Chelsea's rejected offer of £40m to Spurs for Luka Modric. Arteta struck the most romantic chord of the night, telling Everton shortly before 9pm that he was ready to take a pay cut in order to leave Goodison Park and play in the Champions League.
A different complexion is placed on Arsenal's frantic efforts by a report by Bild in Germany claiming that Wenger filed a £35m bid for Borussia Dortmund's Mario Götze, who would have been a straight replacement for Cesc Fábregas, himself one half of a double saga Wenger now describes as "draining". With the Götze offer turned down, Arsenal have effectively replaced Fábregas and Samir Nasri with Arteta and Benayoun: not like for like, on the quality scale, but with a dramatic shift in emphasis towards experience, age and toughness.
The most juicy question now is whether Wenger has turned his face away from slowly maturing youth or has merely sent out for help to allow them even more time to deliver. The artistic project was to build a continuum of homemade dazzlers who would conquer the sport with sweeping one-touch football. This was Wenger's riposte to Manchester United's imperial power and the wealth of Roman Abramovich (Chelsea) and Sheikh Mansour (Manchester City).
Wenger was sending an idea into battle against a vast army of limitless cash. Neutrals applauded his audacity and retain their admiration even as Arsenal have to loan one of Abramovich's cast-offs. Worse still, Chelsea's big summer signing, Juan Mata, is on a long list of targets Arsenal coveted but failed to acquire as a consequence of financial squeamishness or moving too slowly.
Most Arsenal fans are glad to see extremism on the retreat. "Too kind" is how Nasri described Wenger's attitude to underachieving youngsters. The allegation of softness at the heart of this Arsenal side flies in from all angles: supporters, the media and former players, who are under-represented in the current Arsenal coaching set-up.
The call by Lee Dixon, Alan Smith and others to promote Steve Bould from youth coach to first-team defence strategist runs into the problem of Wenger's pride, his reluctance to concede defeat. Martin Keown is among those who say Arsenal have "too many technical players" at the back and too few who simply want to defend. The pursuit of Bolton Wanderers' Gary Cahill was half‑hearted and late.
Arsenal's followers see Patrick Vieira influencing impressionable players at Manchester City and wonder why he is not dispensing that wisdom at the Emirates. There is a sense all around the club that Arsenal have travelled too far from their original hard, stubborn, cussed selves. Other Premier League managers express relief at no longer having to send their strikers in against Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Bould, Keown or authentic guard-dog midfielders such as Vieira or Gilberto Silva.
The beautiful football excuse Keown accused some of these players of hiding behind has fallen away, too, because Arsenal no longer entertain to compensate for their deficiencies. Nor are they adept at keeping 11 players on the pitch. Many seasons ago, after a ruinous run of dismissals, Wenger called his squad together after Oleg Luzhny had been sent off and told them it had to stop. Three red cards in successive league games this term point to a loss of personal responsibility and discipline.
But immense strengths are concealed by all this unhappiness. A clear-out has removed Emmanuel Eboué, Armand Traoré, Denílson, Carlos Vela and Nicklas Bendtner, who has moved to Sunderland to tell the people of Wearside he is a genius. Many will feel Wenger took the right step with his trolley dash. It was just that the trauma of the 8-2 defeat in Manchester forced him to shop more manically than he would have liked.
A core of names now offers hope of recovery. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Emmanuel Frimpong (if he learns self‑control), Arteta, Thomas Vermaelen, Gervinho and Robin van Persie are talents to build a new side around while Mertesacker brings knowledge to the back line and Park will aim to be an upgrade on Marouane Chamakh.
Wenger may have had to hold his nose on Wednesday but the air is freshening.

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

[h=1]Barcelona VP says €29m for Cesc Fábregas from Arsenal was a bargain[/h] • Josep Maria Bartomeu pleased with 'very good deal'
• 'He lowered his value by saying that he really wanted to go'

Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 September 2011 22.24 BST Article history

Barcelona's midfielder Cesc Fábregas has made a fine start to life back in Catalonia following his move from Arsenal. Photograph: Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images

The Barcelona vice-president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has said that the club's €29m (£24.5m) acquisition of Cesc Fábregas from Arsenal was "a very good deal" for the European champions, because the Spain midfielder is worth double that amount.
Fábregas completed his protracted return to his boyhood team last month, eight years after leaving to sign for Arsenal as a teenager, in 2003. The 24-year-old has since made an impressive start to life back in Catalonia. He scored a stunning goal in the European Super Cup against Porto and also scored against Villarreal on his La Liga debut, prompting Bartomeu to observe that the World Cup winner's real valuation is closer to the €60m Arsenal initially demanded than the €29m – which could rise to €40m – they eventually got.
"The transfer of Cesc was a very good deal for us," Bartomeu said. "The price on the open market wouldn't have been €29m but he lowered his value by saying that he really wanted to go to Barcelona. His real price was what Arsenal initially asked – at least €60m. The fact that we announced in advance that we would only spend €45m this summer worked to our advantage. Clubs were already aware of our position."
Bartomeu is hopeful that the coach, Pep Guardiola, who has taken Barça to three successive La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns since taking over in the summer of 2008, will commit to the club beyond this season.
"He's very smart and he will say [when he's ready to talk]," said Bartomeu. "We will give all the tools so that when we talk it will be very difficult to say no."
Reports on Sunday night claimed that Barça had reached a pre-contract agreement with Santos for the Brazil striker Neymar to sign in two years' time – something the Brazilian club deny. Bartomeu was coy on the topic.
He said: "He's a great player and young. There are European clubs who want him. It is Barcelona's obligation to follow young talent who will be good."

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

[h=1]Barcelona VP says 29m for Cesc Fábregas from Arsenal was a bargain[/h] Josep Maria Bartomeu pleased with 'very good deal'
'He lowered his value by saying that he really wanted to go'

Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 September 2011 22.24 BST Article history

Barcelona's midfielder Cesc Fábregas has made a fine start to life back in Catalonia following his move from Arsenal. Photograph: Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images

The Barcelona vice-president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has said that the club's 29m (£24.5m) acquisition of Cesc Fábregas from Arsenal was "a very good deal" for the European champions, because the Spain midfielder is worth double that amount.
Fábregas completed his protracted return to his boyhood team last month, eight years after leaving to sign for Arsenal as a teenager, in 2003. The 24-year-old has since made an impressive start to life back in Catalonia. He scored a stunning goal in the European Super Cup against Porto and also scored against Villarreal on his La Liga debut, prompting Bartomeu to observe that the World Cup winner's real valuation is closer to the 60m Arsenal initially demanded than the 29m which could rise to 40m they eventually got.
"The transfer of Cesc was a very good deal for us," Bartomeu said. "The price on the open market wouldn't have been 29m but he lowered his value by saying that he really wanted to go to Barcelona. His real price was what Arsenal initially asked at least 60m. The fact that we announced in advance that we would only spend 45m this summer worked to our advantage. Clubs were already aware of our position."
Bartomeu is hopeful that the coach, Pep Guardiola, who has taken Barça to three successive La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns since taking over in the summer of 2008, will commit to the club beyond this season.
"He's very smart and he will say [when he's ready to talk]," said Bartomeu. "We will give all the tools so that when we talk it will be very difficult to say no."
Reports on Sunday night claimed that Barça had reached a pre-contract agreement with Santos for the Brazil striker Neymar to sign in two years' time something the Brazilian club deny. Bartomeu was coy on the topic.
He said: "He's a great player and young. There are European clubs who want him. It is Barcelona's obligation to follow young talent who will be good."

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

[h=1]Sir Alex Ferguson expects Chelsea to challenge Manchester United[/h] • United manager says Chelsea are not past their prime
• Says 'anything is possible' for André Villas-Boas

Agencies
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 September 2011 18.29 BST Article history

The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Chelsea will pose a big threat in the Premier League. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA

Sir Alex Ferguson has said that a "big threat" will be posed by Chelsea in the Premier League this season. The two sides' first meeting of the season is later this month, at Old Trafford.
Ferguson said: "They have tremendous experience with the likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, John Terry, Alex, Nicolas Anelka, Fernando Torres – there aren't any young kids in that team. But they don't have 36- or 37-year-olds like Ryan Giggs. Lampard and Drogba are 33, Anelka is 32 – not dissimilar to [Michael] Carrick and Rio Ferdinand, and we wouldn't be saying they are dead and buried, would we? So why should they be? They'll still be a big threat and we expect them to challenge."
Ferguson was asked if he could draw a parallel between his experience of being a young manager, when in charge at East Stirling at 32, with the situation facing Chelsea's new manager, the 33-year-old Portuguese André Villas-Boas.
The Scot told the club's official magazine, Inside United: "He has a different set-up there to me, but I'm sure he'll get plenty of advice from others and he'll do fine. I don't know much about him. He's a young man and it's a big step coming into the Premier League from the Portuguese championship, but given time and support anything is possible."
The Portuguese winger Nani told the United magazine of his ambitions for the season.
"Last year was my best year, definitely my most consistent season," he said. "Now I hope this is my year. I will do my best. If I am fit for every game, I am 100% sure I will do my best and will do well for my team. This is a big chance to show I can do much more, that I'm a good player with a very strong mentality. I always work hard to be successful and help my team to win titles."
Nani has been promoted to a position of greater responsibility within the team. "It's true. I'm one of the old players now. This is my fifth season here and yes, five years is enough to learn everything about this club. I've been in the most important moments of this club in the last few years, and it's great, the life I've had here."
While optimistic about what lies ahead for him this season, Nani also sought to end comparisons with his compatriot and former team‑mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
"For five years, every time the question is the same," he said. "It's all about Ronaldo. You have to be him. Are you doing the same? Do you think you can do it now?
"Always when I do something good it's the same. When I do OK, it's nothing. When I do something very good, they come with this question about him. But it's OK. It doesn't change anything in me. This is my fifth year here and people know what I can do. Sometimes I play a nice game, sometimes I play not such a fantastic game, but I think everyone knows me and what I can do. Maybe my form has to be more consistent and my performances in the past should be like that.
"Now I'm in this position I'm more confident, more consistent. I can do for 90 minutes what in the past I just did for 45, and that's the most important thing.
"I don't need to show anything to anyone because I know who I am, which player I am, and now I just need to put everything on the pitch. When I do that, I do it for me, for my family and for my team. Of course I know when I do that, it's always for the fans as well. They take everything good from the game. They love goals and skills as well. But I don't do it for the media because when you try to do it for the media, nothing goes well. I think the most important thing is to be natural and play the way you are."
Inside United goes on sale Wednesday 7 September (£3.85)

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

[h=1]Walcott: Losing 8-2 at United was nothing after being dropped for World Cup[/h] Published 23:01 04/09/11 By John Cross

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...rtbreak-says-Theo-Walcott-article795081.html#

Theo Walcott admitted Arsenal's humiliation at Old Trafford last week was one of the worst moments of his career.
But he rates his World Cup *heartbreak as his lowest point and it is that which drives him on ahead of next summer's *European Championship.
The Arsenal winger told how being left out of Fabio Capello's England squad for South Africa felt "like running into a brick wall".
"That was a massive disappointment for me. I was so down after [missing] the World Cup, the emotions I was going through," said the 22-year-old.

"I had my bag packed, everything was already prepared and then it was like running into a brick wall.
"But now I've shown people what I can do, I've shown the manager what I can do and he's seen something different from me as well."
Walcott responded to the disappointment with his best season in 2010-11. He scored 13 goals for Arsenal, re-established himself for England and silenced some of his biggest critics.
If ever Walcott needed to inspire a similar revival it is now for Arsenal after the 8-2 defeat at Manchester United and a poor start to the campaign for Arsene Wenger's side.
Walcott has been in decent form – scoring three goals so far – but Arsenal find themselves fourth from bottom after taking just a point from their opening three games.
"Old Trafford was probably one of the worst games I have ever been involved in," said Walcott. "We shouldn't be losing games by that much and the fans were absolutely fantastic, the last 20 minutes *especially.
"That's all in the past now, we can't dwell on it. Now we must concentrate on playing Wales on Tuesday and then I‘ll be reflecting on Arsenal *– and probably get a battering from Mr Wenger!
"It was completely dead in the dressing room afterwards, it is hard to recover from that result and it could hurt a lot of players.
"We've a couple of players who will lift the spirits. You can't sulk, if that situation does happen again and you have younger players there. You have to help them out because you don't want them to be a part of that.
"Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his debut in that game and I'll be picking him up. Carl Jenkinson got sent off, so we will be picking them up. But you're at Arsenal which is a big club and you have to be able to react to those sort of moments.
"I've been involved in so many massive games. We lost 5-1 at Tottenham in the Carling Cup. I just forgot about it. There's no point sulking about what you could have done better. The better team won on the day.
"A lot of people dropped their heads as soon as that fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth goal went in. I wouldn't say we gave up. We tried our best, but Man United were very strong. They scored some great goals.
"I ended up playing right-back and gave away a penalty. Maybe the *organisation wasn't quite there either. We're just going to have to catch up now in our results."
In surveying the wreckage of Old *Trafford, Walcott also reflected on his row on the pitch with rookie right-back Jenkinson.
"We just had a slight sort of argument involving our positional play," said Walcott. "That was all it was about really. Pat Rice spoke to Carl about that, so he learned from that.
"I had an argument with Robin van Persie in the Carling Cup too. Robin is a great character. Everyone knows he's very vocal as well and I think he respected that. He saw a little bit out of me then and I think Robin and I have been gelling ever since."
Walcott, who impressed against Bulgaria, oozed confidence as he spoke ahead of England's Euro 2012 qualifier with Wales tomorrow.
He says there is a new buzz around the England camp which he puts down to Capello being less of a disciplinarian than before. "He's slightly changed and is more relaxed," said Walcott. "He just gets on with his job."

ndetichia · Sep 5, 2011

Rutashubanyuma said:
<ul><li> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport" target="_blank">Sport</a></li><li> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football" target="_blank">Football</a></li><li> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchester-united" target="_blank">Manchester United</a></li></ul> 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sir Alex Ferguson expects Chelsea to challenge Manchester United                                      • United manager says Chelsea are not past their prime 
• Says 'anything is possible' for André Villas-Boas 
                               
               <ul><li> <ul><li> <a href="http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Ffootball%2F2011%2Fsep%2F04%2Fsir-alex-ferguson-chelsea-manchester-united&title=" target="_blank"> <img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/static/a9b0ad56c623ad58a804eba39f3299147ac89706/common/images/icon_reddit.gif" border="0" alt="" /> </a> <a href="http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Ffootball%2F2011%2Fsep%2F04%2Fsir-alex-ferguson-chelsea-manchester-united&title=" target="_blank">reddit this</a> </li></ul>
</li></ul>                   
                                                                                                                                                                          <ul><li>                                Agencies</li><li>             <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/" target="_blank">guardian.co.uk</a>,                                                                                                       Sunday 4 September 2011 18.29 BST                                              <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/sep/04/sir-alex-ferguson-chelsea-manchester-united#history-link-box" target="_blank">Article history</a> 
                                                  <img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Clubs/Club_Home/2011/8/11/1313100217808/Alex-Ferguson-007.jpg" border="0" alt="" />                                         The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Chelsea will pose a big threat in the Premier League. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA 
                     
          <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/sir-alex-ferguson" target="_blank">Sir Alex Ferguson</a> has said that a "big threat" will be posed by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chelsea" target="_blank">Chelsea</a> in the Premier League this season. The two sides' first meeting of the season is later this month, at Old Trafford. 
Ferguson said: "They have tremendous experience with the likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, John Terry, Alex, Nicolas Anelka, Fernando Torres – there aren't any young kids in that team. But they don't have 36- or 37-year-olds like Ryan Giggs. Lampard and Drogba are 33, Anelka is 32 – not dissimilar to [Michael] Carrick and Rio Ferdinand, and we wouldn't be saying they are dead and buried, would we? So why should they be? They'll still be a big threat and we expect them to challenge." 
Ferguson was asked if he could draw a parallel between his experience of being a young manager, when in charge at East Stirling at 32, with the situation facing Chelsea's new manager, the 33-year-old Portuguese André Villas-Boas. 
The Scot told the club's official magazine, Inside United: "He has a different set-up there to me, but I'm sure he'll get plenty of advice from others and he'll do fine. I don't know much about him. He's a young man and it's a big step coming into the Premier League from the Portuguese championship, but given time and support anything is possible." 
The Portuguese winger Nani told the United magazine of his ambitions for the season. 
"Last year was my best year, definitely my most consistent season," he said. "Now I hope this is my year. I will do my best. If I am fit for every game, I am 100% sure I will do my best and will do well for my team. This is a big chance to show I can do much more, that I'm a good player with a very strong mentality. I always work hard to be successful and help my team to win titles." 
Nani has been promoted to a position of greater responsibility within the team. "It's true. I'm one of the old players now. This is my fifth season here and yes, five years is enough to learn everything about this club. I've been in the most important moments of this club in the last few years, and it's great, the life I've had here." 
While optimistic about what lies ahead for him this season, Nani also sought to end comparisons with his compatriot and former team‑mate Cristiano Ronaldo. 
"For five years, every time the question is the same," he said. "It's all about Ronaldo. You have to be him. Are you doing the same? Do you think you can do it now? 
"Always when I do something good it's the same. When I do OK, it's nothing. When I do something very good, they come with this question about him. But it's OK. It doesn't change anything in me. This is my fifth year here and people know what I can do. Sometimes I play a nice game, sometimes I play not such a fantastic game, but I think everyone knows me and what I can do. Maybe my form has to be more consistent and my performances in the past should be like that. 
"Now I'm in this position I'm more confident, more consistent. I can do for 90 minutes what in the past I just did for 45, and that's the most important thing. 
"I don't need to show anything to anyone because I know who I am, which player I am, and now I just need to put everything on the pitch. When I do that, I do it for me, for my family and for my team. Of course I know when I do that, it's always for the fans as well. They take everything good from the game. They love goals and skills as well. But I don't do it for the media because when you try to do it for the media, nothing goes well. I think the most important thing is to be natural and play the way you are." 
Inside United goes on sale Wednesday 7 September (£3.85) 
 
                                                                                              </li></ul>

another challenge is from city fc..

Rutashubanyuma · Sep 5, 2011

[h=1]Everton defender begs for move to Turkey[/h] Published 22:55 04/09/11 By Alan Nixon

Recommend

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...-for-Fenerbahce-loan-move-article795059.html#

Everton's Joseph Yobo is urging owner Bill Kenwright to let him join Turkish giants Fenerbahce on loan for the season.
Yobo wants Kenwright to change his stance after the Goodison supremo blocked the move at the weekend.
Everton want to sell Yobo and are looking for a fee before the Turkish transfer deadline today.
But Fener cannot commit to a cash deal due to their current *plight.

The Turkish FA are to decide whether to relegate or penalise the club after match-fixing *allegations. It means they can only currently take players on loan.

Transfer news...

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