News on Melo, Diaby, Arshavin and Bendtner 22 June, 2009
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News.trackback
Just a few little stories to bring you up to date with today, so I’ll give you a few little thoughts on those. The time shortly after a signing is usually a quiet one so I must take whatever news there is and make the most out of it.
First up, Fiorentina’s Felipe Melo has spoken about Arsenal’s reported interest. News of this came up last week whilst I was away so this is the first time I have covered the story. It sounds exciting doesn’t it? Straight after buying an established centre back we’re linked with a Brazilian holding midfielder. He played 90 minutes in Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Italy but was outshone by a certain Gilberto Silva playing a similar role. Melo is 7 years younger than the Arsenal legend though and has plenty of time to fit into his mould.
Here’s what Melo said about Arsenal anyway:
“Obviously it is a good thing that great clubs are interested, as it shows that I worked well. But as I said, I have a good relationship with Fiorentina, with the directors and the fans.”
He hasn’t said anything right or anything wrong but more importantly he hasn’t denied or confirmed anything. Despite only seeing clips of him in action with Brazil I’d be quite excited if we did put a bid in for this guy. He was an important part of the Fiorentina side that finished 4th this season and was well known for his no-nonsense aggressive football. If anything more on this develops I’ll bring you up to date on it – however, last week Eboue’s agent said Fiorentina aren’t good enough for his client but I know I’d take some sort of a swap deal…
Abou Diaby has been hard at work this summer; instead of spending his spare time on holiday he’s been working with a personal trainer ahead of the new season. His trainer has been speaking to the French media saying Diaby wants to improve his physical power to be able to be stronger in the challenge. Obviously, this is positive news; Diaby is a player I wouldn’t normally associate with putting in extra effort so this is good. He has the stature to be just as strong as Vieira but at the final second he can be seen pulling out of challenges or giving up. If this training goes well for him we could have a much improved Diaby next season.
He did have that awful leg break up at Sunderland a couple of years ago so I guess you can’t blame him too much for pulling out of challenges but it’s not helping his football. There is another part of his game that he needs to work on and that’s his work rate. He has a lot of talent and from time to time he shows us but too often he is seen ambling around the field giving the impression that he doesn’t give two shits. This news of him putting in extra training suggests that he’s going to buck up his ideas next season. It might turn out to be very well timed too; last season his appearances were few and far between not to mention being all over the midfield whenever we had injuries. Clearly Wenger doesn’t know what to do with him and 08/09 could be his chance to prove his worth.
Andrei Arshavin has been talking to Radio Zenit in Russia about all things football and has revealed he might not retire at Arsenal. He played for Zenit for a long time and wanted to play abroad, but he says he wants to return to St Petersburg to finish off his career there:
“I played for Zenit for a long time and now I want to play abroad and then return to St Petersburg to finish off my career there,”
That’s fair enough. It reminds me of Thierry Henry’s situation who still says he wants to return to Arsenal one day. However I think now that Titi’s return will come after he has retired as some sort of coaching or ambassador role.
And finally, Nicklas Bendtner’s agent/father/fathent has been speaking about his son again and this time he says he’s staying at Arsenal. There’s been a bit of speculation about a possible move to Roma but the fathent says he was simply there on holiday. I believe him.
Ok that’s you up to date for today then. Thanks for reading.
hey, i’ve bin an ardent reader of ur blog for the past few yrs and i must say your blogging and analysis are by far, the best arsenal blog online.. sori i’ve neva drop any comments here, i’m one of ur quiet readers.. Just wanted 2 commend you..
I agree, altough i pair that comment with GoonerTalk. These two blogs by far are the best and most Arsenal-like.
The Cannon, you get my vote for the Best lOOking blog around.
Melo would be a great acquisition seen him a few times and he is still raw but a 25 my goodness he has alot ahead of him,but so does Cana and Veloso so really any of them I would take.
I was jus thinkin ever since Adebayor’s last interview i aint heard a word from him or really about him,am i to assume he is more likely not to go anywhere anymore???um not too sure i woud be happy wiv that situ…
We need to sign RVP on an extended contract,Diaby beefed up is really somethin i would welcome that dude could do loads of stuff and it really begs the question what happens to Song and Denii???
denilson by the time he is 25 will be 10 times the player melo is today,
nice to see diaby training it shows he has real determination to be a really good player
If Arshavin is already thinking of his next move, then he is not committed and should leave now, plus he is already complaining about paying taxes.
I agree Mike. Danielson does something I really don’t see Melo doing a lot. Which is breaking up plays. Danielson does a better job in my opinion. Melo looks good joining the attack, but defensively he’s not better than what we have already, accept for one area heading due to his height. this can be useful on set pieces.
Denilson will never be anything other than a very average player. He has no physical prescence at all , passes sideways all the time, never score any goals, cannot shoot and provides no defence at all. If he was any good – why has no one ever made any offer for him. He will never make the Brazil first team! Song is only slightly better at least he can tackle and has some physical prescence but can only be considered as a reserve player – will never be and should not be a first team regular. Dialby could do the DM job if he beefs up and learns how to tackle properly plus passing accurately to team mates.
Interesting viewpoint as far as Diaby goes, however, I thought that over the past season he has improved and his presence is felt.
Compared to Song and Denilson, I thought he had less errant passing and so he would be stronger.
His body strength would be an improvement, and it would serve him well to get stronger, sort of like Vieira was but he is more an attacking midfield versus Patrick.
It was great to see Gilberto but I did not see much in Melo (only this match).
who’s Danielson?
Danielson is the dude from karate kid. Is wenger mr miyagi?
Would it surprise you, Rory?
Would it not be – season 09/10 we would see an improved diaby as we already have had 08/09
hw cn u b a tru gooner if ur talkin bout danielson?
Gooner90 i don’t agree with you at all about Song or Denilson. Wenger obviously sees something in them or they would’nt be in our squad, and for your information bayern munich tried to buy Denilson after 1 season at arsenal but we were reluctant to let such a promising talent go. I think he and song will play a big part in our quest for a trophy this season. In Wenger we trust
Mr Wenger…..pls give Danielson more chance of playing, well i know Song is better but is still need more time of playing
Gunner90 dont dismis denilson just like that. His sideways passing was seen as a bad thng just because he was passing to the likes of eboue. Flamini is perceived to be better because his sideways passes got either of rosicky hleb or cesc. Denilson didnt hav the above 3 considering cesc was out for 4 months. Give him this season when his sideways passes find arshavin rosicky or cesc hoping all are fit and in form i assure u you wil even buy all three of his shirts….. Melo doesnt even have the workrate th flamster had but he’d be a very welcomed signing though…..
The thing with diaby is he’s already ridiculously strong. Ive seen him many times turn while holding off two or more defenders. Imo hes already stronger than vieira, he just doesnt have the drive or willingness to beat ppl to the ball very often
The pleasing thing about the comments is the attitude, it sounds like hes really willing to work to improve, which is great. Hes got all the talent, he just needs to apply himself more it seems.
Its possible his injuries and perhaps physical weakness in some areas has held him back at times. I was almost hoping he’d leave this summer but if he’s attitude is right then Im confident he will improve, and hes world-class potential imo.
Melo looks good but 15m is a lot.
Denilson and Song will improve further, and anyone who didnt think song was one of our top 3 players in the last couple of months is nuts. Denilson’s form dropped towards the end but he put in some great performances earlier in the season which shows he does have potential.
Saying that Id be happy for an experienced midfielder to come in for a year or two while denilson and song add the finishing touches but melo looks too expensive. He looks good but its not necessary to pay 15m for that sort of player. Hitzlsperger would be a better deal imo – captain of his side and has all the qualities we need. Plus he does have more experience to pass on.
Hitzlsperger is the one we want, cheap and premier league experienced and an established international.
WE NEED CANA
Pete, no way mate, he’s shit. Just because The Sun linked us with him for some reason does not mean he ‘is the one’.
Yes he’s cheap, but you wonder why?
He’s got premier leagye experience. Yep he has, and that was loosing mostly.
As for being an established international, well a question is raised for how long it will last.
As for the people slating Denilson. You clearly haven’t been watching much games of him playing and you clearly have no clue about his name. Danielson? WTF?!?!
Oh and to actually see what Melo actually play’s like check out that youtube video called, Melo vs Juventus. You’ll get the point. He is EXACLTY what we need.
He’s a defensive midfielder thats 6ft, strong, aggressive, has more than just ‘side ways passing’ and he fast!
It is a myth that Denilson only passes sideways. True, most of his passes are sideways. That comes with the position that he plays. You rather retain possession than to punt it upfield meaninglessly don’t you? If the forward pass is not on, then pass the ball around to probe the opposition’s defence. Yes, he needs to bulk up but the basic ingredients are already there.
It`s good that arsenal mgt staff is planning a head of next season to strengthen the team, and it may come out as interesting, since every body is hangry for trophies.
melo? he still doesn’t convince me, particularly after watching him play the spaghettis. i’m still in for the vicious Lorik Cana as first pick, and i’m counting on Diop’s quitting Marseilles to push the instability factor up.
and anyway, if we get this guy, what do we do with a certain Alexandre Song, who’s just started to mature in every department –defense, disruption and attack.
we need mathieu bodmer or mamadou diarra hes on the cheap and knows hw to tackle the so called big boys loads of champions league experience so wat more do we need?
Re Diaby
What’s important is effectiveness… Diaby can be a great runner with the ball. When defending Diaby has not used his height enough and sometimes seems to get to challenges a fraction too late- . So getting fitter and stronger may add to his effectiveness. He could be a great counter-attacking goal scoring midfielder- possibly world class- so give him some encouragement- and a chance.
I agree with Kumbi, i haven’t been all that impressed with Melo. Lorik |Carna would be my preference. i’d like to see him kick kevin davies bollix out his ears, the big dirty lump.
I think Melo fit for Arsenal Squad this season, And Always BEndtner is my Favourite Player
Melo is good. Brasilian’s have lots of talent. That’s why clubs from all over the world snatch up as many of the young players as they can Bobby Gee Check out my blog.
http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
if our current squad of defensive midfields were so good then why did we play like school boys last season. We were terrible. It seemed as though we would concede goals every time a team attached us. Arsenal supporters are good in talking rubbish. We need to beef up our squad. Tired of useless players kicking us at will without a fight back. WE NEED SOMEONE URGENTLY. Also a striker. Ade is good but not great. To play for the Gunners you have to be great. Ade as no first touch. Classy strikers must have a great first touch. We need benzama from lyon. One strong holding mifielder. We already bought a quality defender. Sell eboue. Lone out Denilson for a season. No Time to learn at Arsenal.
tbh we need some experience n pple hungry to win coz if we got bendtner challengin adebayor for a place hes nt gna pull his weight is he n if it means having a bit of debt then y nt splash out coz we not gna win tryin to save up money tht aint ther n the grounds emptier by the game so hw we gna pay it bk if we dnt win
I think xprience is key but the lads hav done so well.i think their tym is now 09/10.a good striker is key