Ramsey & Hill-Wood speak… 7 July, 2008
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News.trackback
Aaron Ramsey has spoken to the media for the first time since his transfer to Arsenal earlier this summer. Aaron has spoken to the press in Wales about his move and how excited his is to be playing for us next season. He says he’ll always have a place in his heart for Cardiff City but Arsenal is a great opportunity for him. He also says he’s aiming towards that first game of the season vs. West Brom and will fight to make the first XI. Here’s what he had to say:
“I am just so looking forward to the start of pre-season training on Tuesday. Obviously the plan for me is to have a good pre-season and try my hardest to get up to the fitness levels the Premiership requires. I will try my best to get in the starting line-up at the beginning of the season against West Brom.
I’m so happy to have signed for Arsenal and I can’t wait to meet my new team mates. I am joining one of the biggest clubs in the world, one which always gives young players an opportunity at the highest level. I am going to work my hardest to be part of future successes there.
I supported Manchester United as a youngster because they were on the TV the whole time and my footballing idol was Roy Keane. But once I had spoken to Arsene Wenger, the way he described the Arsenal set-up and their plans for the future impressed me. I just had a gut instinct that the right move for me would be joining Arsenal. It was my decision. I thought about where the best place would be for me to develop as a player…and that was Arsenal.
I don’t think too many people wouldn’t look forward to coming under the guidance of Arsene Wenger and playing next to someone like Cesc Fabregas. Arsene is a great manager and Cesc can make something happen out of nothing on the pitch.”
I like his ambition, and I’m sure if Wenger sees that Ramsey is giving 100% in training, then he will give the boy the game against West Brom to prove himself. Arsene loves a player that is committed and tries his hardest so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him starting along side Cesc.
As he is a new player, he’ll get plenty of action in our pre-season friendlies. I’m quite looking forward to seeing what this guy has to give. I’m guessing he’ll start against Barnet on the 19th, we’ll all get our first glimpse of him in the Arsenal shirt then and I bet he’ll be out to impress.
The top story today comes from the mouth of our Chairman, Peter Hill-Wood. He’s been speaking to the Daily Telegraph about various things and of course Adebayor’s future was the first thing he was asked about:
“We want him to stay, definitely. Adebayor still has a long time left on his contract, and we have absolutely no intention of releasing him from that contract. You want to keep your best players and Adebayor is one of those.
Personally, and I think most fans are of similar opinion, Ade has gone too far and I have lost interest in him. The club might be doing their best to keep him but at the moment I hope we flog him for a decent price. He is under contract though, for three more years, so we aren’t forced to sell him. That gives us the advantage because a large fee will have to be paid if we are to let him go. This story goes on and on, there must be an ending soon…
Hill-Wood goes on to talk about the contemporary footballer; the way that contracts now must be renewed every year to secure their future and that money rules everything. The chairman believes there is no loyalty any more like their used to be:
I’m afraid that’s the way of the world. It’s annoying, but it is modern football. The idea that you are going to have a number of your team playing for you for 15 years, as one used to have, has disappeared. It makes it harder for the manager, but he is fully aware of what is happening.
It’s the modern way, so we have to adapt. Arsene will manage the situation to the best of his ability. But it’s true though, years ago you never used to get worried about Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp, Tony Adams, Ray Parlour etc leaving every summer, you just knew they would be staying, unless they said otherwise.
The chairman also admitted that Hleb might not be an Arsenal player for much longer:
Hleb has made it clear he wants to go. I think maybe he will go.”
I thought he would be long gone by now but the search for a club goes on. It’s gone a bit quiet over Hleb recently, but that could just be because it’s been overshadowed by the Adebayor saga. Recently, I started to think about whether Alex might stay, but Hill-Wood today confirmed that his intention is still very much to leave.
And finally, Cesc Fabregas is our official Player of The Season. Well done to him. He did have a fantastic season, and at the start he was unstoppable when he went on that goal scoring run. He was an inspiration to us every single game and truly deserves his award. Thank God some people have some loyalty and we can look forward to him doing the same again next season. Nice one Cesc.
Ok that’s it for today. Every Monday I think about whether we’ll come any closer to some transfers in the next 7 days; and usually I say we are. However this week I’m predicting precisely fuck all.
The players go back to training tomorrow. Yipee.
There’s no question that if Ade stays, he must extend his contract with us. if he refuses to extend then we must sell him this summer. his value will not reach this level again, especially with only 2 years left on his contract.
If Ade stays and plays on at 35k a week he might sulk. A because Barca offered him what he wanted in wages, and B because the fans will almost certainly be frosty towards him. his record for Togo proves he is well capable of a sulk. Personally I would bite Barca’s arms off for that £30m!
Ramsey is gonna play with cesc like flamini used to play.
King of north London,
What you mean he’s going to play with his balls?
Seems to me that Ramsey has already got too much to say for himself.As a substitute for Cardiff(yes Cardiff)he should now get his head down and get on with trying to improve enough to eventually warrant a place in our Carling Cup squad.
We will NEVER get offered £30M again, take the money and run! I’m not even arsed if we don’t spend it on new recruits, just the thought of missing out on £26M profit for what is basically an unproved striker who may or may not re-create last season’s form.
P.S. Brian The Gooner – are you fucking mental? The lad says he’s looking forward to arriving and is pushing to be in the first team squad ASAP – he has goals, he has targets, he is driven, and as far as I can see, not one ounce of cockiness. And you think that’s out of order?
I would be very suprised if Ramsey starts in any competition other than the CC next season, but you can’t fault his attitude.
let’s keep ade because no doubt, he will soon become a predator that all premiership club will be fearing and i don’t fans to forget that players have different ways of develop; so i foreseen another great player coming for in ade. though people might believe it but give him a chance not because of the saga over him but due to the achievement we made the season and thirty goals margin is not small and i hope we add to what on ground like huntelaar,diogo and martins.finally gunner4life.
hurray for wenger,
At long last he has said what any arsenal fan who doesnt wear blinkers has been saying for years now, we’re a selling club. for the best part of a year me and others have been shouted down on this decent blog for stating the obvious and all those idiots that come on here pleading for arsenal to sign players of the villa, ben arfa and quaresma quality are either under the age of ten or fucked up in the head, the best we can hope for is raw talent and get out of them what we can until they decide to move on. Fabregas thank god has and is showing some kind of loyalty but some would say that is misguided as he could earn treble what he gets at arsenal elsewhere and even he will probably up sticks in the next three years.
Let adebeyor go, he has had one good season ( like flamini and hleb) and has decided he wants to visit pastures new. Last season he was outstanding in several games and the goal against spurs was a joy to watch but he also let the club down on several occasions missing stone wall sitters and his inability to pass to a better placed player purely because of his hell bent intention on being top premier scorer, eg the away game at birmingham. he also showed a lack of maturity when he had his spat with bendtner. I say let the bloke go, 20 mill + for a good player but not world class is good business. And unlike united we should ecxept that we are a selling club, it sticks in the throat i know but that is the reality of the situation and again unlike united we do not consider ourselves the biggest club in europe so shouldnt get so hung up when players decide to up sticks, lets get rid and move on.
Ade’s issues were said and done I think; most of the fans want him to go with big money coming in while another group, like me, feel good either way. If he stays then we’ll get 20 goals from him for sure, I don’t care what anyone said.
I think BRIAN THE GOONER is just taking a piss at the seventeen year old, yeah he’s fucking 17 years old, give him a break. Or did you want him to say that he won’t make the first team and probably don’t play any part in the team? Are you mental? The kid is being positive and it’s the right attitude. Wait ’till you see him play before you decide to talk shit about “your” team’s player.
Latest update: HLEB STARTED TALKING SHITTTTTTTT!!!!!
This is what he said about OUR CESC
‘When we get scoring opportunities, Fabregas is much more selfish than me,’ he said. ‘Given a chance to shoot, he always goes for it – unlike me.’
WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why the hell did he has to talk shit like that, I just can’t understand. Well that explains why he scored like 3 goals last season, NOT!!!! He just made this up to displease the club and supporters ‘casuse he’s so damn excited to go lick Barca’s new manager’s balls. Yeah, Cesc is selfish, he’s only had THE MOST ASSISTS last season and season before that, go to hell Hleb.
And this is more interesting, this is what he said about Wenger:
‘My view of how I should be playing didn’t coincide with the manager’s,’
Hmmmmmmmm, and this came out from the mouth of someone who was transformed by ‘the manager’ he was talking about.
I said that Hleb hasn’t talk any shit before so I was glad and thought he would leave on a good term. Boy, how was I wrong. It’s one thing to demand and want to move for MONEY. It’s another to start talking shit about a player like Cesc and a manager who made him ABLE TO demand and got a club like Barca interested. You arrogant and selfish fool! Good grieve, Nasri will do so much better that I hope Hleb leaves NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.
PS: I think I finally got Wenger’s message. He’s willing to sell this type of player every year.
Calm down diseman what we have there are rehashed Hleb quotes and quotes with no context again. Top notch journalism there. The thing is sky sports news are running it as Hleb blasts Wenger and Cesc whereas a more realistic stance is taken by Setanta, saying we know they are friends and the quotes re Cesc is more of an obversation from Hleb on his own game against how Cesc does it.
You know, Arsenal’s probably the only big club in the world where a guy like Ramsey could say something like that without sounding like a complete idiot. You know that, if he plays bloody well, he WILL get a chance to partner Cesc. I mean, it’s not like there’s an Essien, a Mascherano or an Anderson to stop him… Ramsey made a good choice when he opted for us. Good lad.
And someone should really just muzzle Peter Hill-Wood. Why give the guy air time? He’s a walking catastrophe. Honestly, does anyone put any credence on what he has to say?
Hill-Wood could be trying to bump up Ade’s transfer value, by saying we are prepared to keep him and do not need to sell.. but do agree with Connolly’s agent about Ramsey, i really like what Ramsey seems to be about.
We have always signed relatively unknown players or players that do not demand a high transfer fee but the facts are that Vieira, Ljungberg, Pires, Sol Campbell..(the list goes on) were better than Flamini, Hleb, Rosicky, Gallas. Hence us not winning anymore.
v vh h h