Untold Arsenal: the stories no one else runs » 2008 » May » 14

14/05/2008 by Tony Attwood.

This is it – every single Arsenal transfer story of the summer – including the ones that haven’t been written yet.

Goal – Arsenal need a new world class keeper and are buying [insert name]

Central defence – Arsenal need a new world class central defender and are buying [insert name]

Captain – Gallas’ performance as captain was [insert negative word] and so [insert player] will be captain

Midfield – Yaya Toure will sign cos he wants to be with his brother.  (Easiest if you cut and paste this same story that you ran last year and the year before and the year before).

Midfield – Hleb is leaving / has left / buying out his contract / flying to the Moon / doesn’t like the noise of cows outside his Herfordshire farmhouse.   Arsenal immediately fall apart.  Do not mention that Theo is ready to play every game, and Merida joins in August.

Midfield – Cesc is being tempted away for $billions and Arsenal will fall apart.

Centre forward.  Arsenal need a world class centre-forward and are buying [insert name]

Depth of squad – Arsenal were “woefully exposed” (important that you always use that phrase) after the assault on Eduardo, and so need to buy buy buy.  (Vital that you do not mention that we have already got Vela and Merida, with Denilson sitting there waiting).

Finance – Arsenal don’t have money (fail to mention that the Highbury money arrives next season and that Arsenal made a profit last year, unlike every other club that lost money).

Easy, isn’t it.

14/05/2008 by Tony Attwood.

For weeks the journalists have been telling us that Hleb is going to buy out his contract.  Wenger said no, that wasn’t on, but the journos ran the story on and on.

Now Nikolai Shpilevski the agent for Hleb has also said that Hleb is not buying out his contract.  Some of the journalists have now run this point, but none has apologised for the weeks of misleading nonsense that they have been publishing.

What the agent is clearly up to is getting the best deal for his client – and that is his jo.  It is not a very pleasant job – a bit like being a lawyer or an estate agent – but its a job and you know what you get.   So he is now talking about Hleb wanting to move in the normal way for a fee.

That’s understandable, because Hleb’s salary is not among the highest, but last season he finally came good and put in a terrific set of displays.   Obviously, with two years left on his contract he could choose to go for a new offer from Arsenal, or move elsewhere.  If he goes, Arsenal will get a transfer fee worthy of last season’s display.  If he stays he can either let the contract run out, or go for more money and another long term deal.

There won’t be any apologies for all the misleading rubbish printed – so its rubbish as usual in the press.

14/05/2008 by Tony Attwood.

Fran Merida signed a long-term contract with Arsenal in April – although judging by the way the media ignored it, nothing happened.

He’s 18, he was transferred from Barcelona in 2006, and this past season played on loan for Real Sociedad. Wenger described him as an “absolutely amazing” talent. Wenger’s view is that Merida is not strong enough physically for the EPL but he has all the footballing ability.

This week he scored the winning goal in Real Sociedad’s 2-1 win over Hercules Alicante.

He is a creative central or left-sided midfielder, who scored on his AFC debut in August 2006 in a friendly.   He has been in the Little Cup squad but didn’t get a game. He was also part of the Spain squad which won the Uefa Under-17 Championship, creating the only goal in the Final against England.

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