Arsenal

[BlinkyBear]

There's a lot of RvP talk here. Yet we just signed Santi Cazorla.

World-class, peak career, international tournament winning, free-kick scoring, Spanish international wizard motherfucker Santi Cazorla. And we also signed the youngest player to ever win 100 international caps and the top scorer in France last year (who lest we forget, is a fucking dreamboat). What the fuck is going on? Actual signings. Real players. Proper, genuine players. Not prospects. Not kids. Actual, genuine A grade players.

Fuck van Persie. He's had his day in the sun. As soon as I'm back from holiday I'm off to buy one of those awful away kits and get Cazorla's name on the back and start pretending like I'm 10 again and we just signed Bergkamp.

Santi fucking Cazorla.

[hercules]

I'm with you Blinky

[Gotters]

most promising summer of activity in ages as we're signing players that are actually first team ready and not simply prospects for 2-3y down the road

my only shred of doubt on all of them is they aren't tested in the prem. not many of us seen Corzola in any great detail, or Girou for that matter, and Podolski we've seen a bit of for germany, so whilst I am optimistic on all 3 it will be interesting to see how quickly they settle and adapt to life over here.

still its all far better than our usual array of foetuses and last years last minute grab

[Rev]

I've seen about as much of Cazorla as I have any premiership player that's not in the Champion's League. He's pretty good.

[hauk]

Assuming RvP goes, the pressure on Giroud to settle quickly will be immense. And what if he gets injured, can Podolski play centrally?

Arsenal could conceivably finish anywhere from 1st to 10th.

Even without Van Persie (who let's face it even if he stays may get injured for half the season) I doubt we will finish outside the top 4. We finished 3rd last year without Carzola, Podolski, Giroud or Wilshere (fingers crossed he'll be back) and with a terrible start to the season.

Agree with what others are saying Carzola looks the business

[Daley]

Carzola, Podolski, Giroud

My God, what a summer. Just kind of hit me seeing those names lined up like that.

And the new season starts next Saturday.

[toythatkills]

How's everyone else done this summer? I know Man Utd have got Kagawa and Vidic will be LANS so they're going to be pretty strong you'd expect. Have Man City signed anyone? Are Chelsea going to score goals?

Basically, has our business been a lot better than everyone else's, on paper? If Cazorla, Giroud, Carzola, Podolski and Corzola all hit the ground running there's really nothing to stop them achieving something great.

[Dude Ranch]

My God, what a summer. Just kind of hit me seeing those names lined up like that.

Amazing scenes but a tad depressing to think we should have been conducting this kind of business for the last six summers. All the same, things are suddenly exciting. I know hardly anying of Carzola but he's got me feeling a bit saucy already .

[Daley]

Man Utd = Kagawa and this Powell kid who looks good. Decent summer.

Chelsea = Everything that's not nailed down. All about if RdM can build them into a team.

Man City = Nobody. Yet...

[Dude Ranch]

Man Utd = Kagawa and this Powell kid who looks good. Decent summer.

Chelsea = Everything that's not nailed down. All about if RdM can build them into a team.

Man City = Nobody. Yet...

Arsenal = Podolski (nails), Giroud (hunk), Carzola (midget maestro), Wilshere (darling), Diaby (?)

I'm using the Arsene Wenger approach to defining new signings there.

[Lucky Gonk]

Man City need to offload some players before they can buy in. I'm pretty sure they've agreed terms with Tottenham for Adebayor, which means they could still make a bid for RVP. My gut feeling is it won't happen.

Chelsea have been very active in the transfer market: Eden Hazard and Oscar for 50m, plus Marko Marin for 7m. I don't think they're done yet, either.

[Daley]

[The Fox]

Chelsea's buying has been typically haphazard. Loads of attacking midfielders and not much else. Presumably they'll just hope Mikel can be less shit and Ramires can turn into a good deep-lying midfielder, otherwise their midfield is hugely imbalanced.

[Daley]

Essien still going? Not the same player but could balance it out. Plus interested to see if Lukaku gets a game. Anyway fuck them. We've made some signings, they're internationals and the season hasn't started. Bring it on.

[toythatkills]

Yeah, Di Matteo's going to have them a real force going forward, except:

"With the integration of these new players, inevitably we will change how we play a bit.

"But I never said we were going to play attacking football."

Good idea buying all those attacking midfielders, then.

[Liamness]

@ The Fox

I think if they get Romeu and McEachran more involved they'll be okay on that front. They plethora of attackers obviously aren't RDM's signings, so it'll be interesting to see how they line up! Torres misfiring might not be a major issue either, as they have Lukaku and Sturridge who tbh both look better anyway.

Your squad is looking quite tidy if I'm honest. Getting Cazorla is incredible, even ignoring the price. Of all the big signings that have been made so far this summer, he is the most intriguing for me, I never really thought he'd play in England. Considering how well Silva did last season for City, I doubt his stature is going to be an issue.

[Gotters]

loads of technical midget midfielders being signed by chelsea, its almost as if Pep Guardiola is lining up his squad for next season (or xmas onwards) and RDM is just a stooge.

[The Fox]

@ Liamness - I know McEachran plays deeper in midfield, but he hasn't really shown anything so far that suggests he's good enough. He couldn't buy a game at Swansea last season. And he looks like a goblin.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

Really impressed by your signings, it can only be topped off by you getting rid of RvP, ideally out of England (I don't want him at United). Seems like you finished off your midfield and defence last summer and now your attack is ready to fire.. can't wait to see the first games of the season and how you're gonna line-up!

[Jonathan_Kerr]

Am I the only one that would be okay with Van Persie doing a Rooney and apologising and thus, staying at Arsenal?

[Gotters]

Am I the only one that would be okay with Van Persie doing a Rooney and apologising and thus, staying at Arsenal?

I know we won't and if he crawls back we'd re-sign him but I want arsenal to be bigger than that, a better team funded by their own income who don't let players dictate like prima donnas

I want him sold, don't want him as captain, and don't want to see him in the shirt again.

[Mars]

Chelsea's buying has been typically haphazard.

More edenhazard?

[Daley]

Spanish papers/Barca propoganda machine seem convinced Song is on his way to Barca and Darren Dein is his agent I think so that pretty much seals the deal.

Had a good season going forward last year but still feel he lacks something positioning wise and is too wasteful in that position. If we sold him, got decent money and replaced properly (M'Villa or someone like that) and had Coq and Frimpong as back up I wouldn't lose any sleep.

[Rev]

Yeah, it feels like Song is crucial because every now and again he is - he made great goals for RVP last season, he made a bunch of decent saving tackles too. But put together a youtube video of all the times he messed up and you'd convince anyone who hadn't seen him that he was the worst footballer on earth. He's nearly always out of position, he makes silly challenges, he fires hollywood balls off the pitch...Not good.

Basically, we should sign Cana.

Song will be another one on the long list of players who leave Arsenal and their careers go nowhere. He'll be on loan at Birmingham in 5 years.

[The Fox]

Am I the only one that would be okay with Van Persie doing a Rooney and apologising and thus, staying at Arsenal?

Looks that way, yeah. Fuck him.

Spanish papers/Barca propoganda machine seem convinced Song is on his way to Barca and Darren Dein is his agent I think so that pretty much seals the deal.

Had a good season going forward last year but still feel he lacks something positioning wise and is too wasteful in that position. If we sold him, got decent money and replaced properly (M'Villa or someone like that) and had Coq and Frimpong as back up I wouldn't lose any sleep.

I too wouldn't be fussed if Song went and we replaced him. He's simply not good enough to ever be more than a Keita-esque squad player at Barca, but if that's what he wants then great. It's another slap in the face for Wenger from a player he showed a great deal of faith in when everyone else was writing him off as utter dogshite, but he's probably accustomed to it by now.

I wonder if this is the sole reason we're seemingly after Sahin. If so it seems like an odd move. Sahin generally played quite deep when I saw him for Dortmund, but in terms of being a ball winner he's surely worse than Song. Someone like M'vila is a more like-for-like replacement, but it seems we might have been put off by the potential baggage with him.

[Art Vandelay]

It must go through his mind that he'll never get a game at Barcelona? They only get away with playing such a high line because none of their players give the ball away. Ever. He won't last long if he's going to continue firing the ball all over the place like an errant t-shirt cannon.

He's the sort of player who pisses me right off. He was a complete turd when he arrived and he only looked any good at centre half when I watched him in the reserves. He gets countless games where he wants to play and eventually starts being OK then manufactures a move elsewhere? I'd be happy without replacing him. We've got others who can pick up the creative slack and Coquelin seems ready to do some holding work. The only thing we've learned is that Darren Dein is even more of a knob than we all suspected. His dad must be so proud.

[Rev]

I'm taking that as a backing for Plan Cana.

I'll make some calls.

[Shoes]

He won't last long if he's going to continue firing the ball all over the place like an errant t-shirt cannon.

Oh god. I love you, Art.

[Lucky]

As has already been said, if we get Sahin or M'Villa in plus Coq & a fit Frimpong, Song leaving wouldn't be a disaster at all.

In fact, looking at our team now, that's maybe a position that could do with an improvement to the next level.

Even with all this activity (for once) I've still got a niggling little doubt in the back of my mind. Not sure if we need to do anything about it but our goals against last season wasn't good.

Surely Kos & TV starting with BFG, Bartley & Djourou is enough at CB, Sagna needs to stay fit and Jenkinson as cover is ok, Gibbs or Santos at LB are ok I think. Lack of cover for WS could be a bit scary.

Anyway, enough of all that, we're back in the game. Get that trophy cabinet dusted and polished, find the key as we just might be needing it come next May.

[Petrousgyre]

I wonder if this is the sole reason we're seemingly after Sahin. If so it seems like an odd move. Sahin generally played quite deep when I saw him for Dortmund, but in terms of being a ball winner he's surely worse than Song. Someone like M'vila is a more like-for-like replacement, but it seems we might have been put off by the potential baggage with him.

Agreed, Sahin strikes me as a regista in the Arteta mould, not a Makelele style reducer.