Transfer Rumors-The Good and the Bad (Part-2)

Arsenal had the team with the most depth in the PL last season.That is a fact.But we lacked players who had a driving force,a player who could conjure up some real magic in our most desperate moments.

We discussed who all could be leaving in the first part of this post.Now we shall talk about who all could be coming in to the squad.

Probable New Gunners


Gervinho

What we need?

The Ivory Coast international who plays as striker or winger for the Ligue 1 champions Lille FC  has been constantly linked with Arsenal throughout the summer.Latest news from various papers say that an agreement has been made and we are waiting for the player to return from holidaying to get his signature and get the personal terms agreed.He is supposed to cost around 11 million pounds and is seen as a strike partner to RVP.He is a skilled player who can play as a lone striker or a right winger,even work as a support striker.He has got good pace and dribbling skills,also he is very strong,also we can even polish his forehead and use it as a distraction to goalkeeper during set-pieces (lame-joke),

Eden Hazard

New Ronaldo?

Another player from Lille FC who is in Arsenal's radar is Eden Hazard.Him and Gervinho were two of the main reasons behind their first title in years.At 20 years old,he is already an established player and also he would be one who could stay in the line-up for years to come.He has got a lot of pace and is very comfortable with the ball,always looking to beat the defender (beats the defender most of the time!).He can play on both wings and also in attacking midfield. He is a player of very high standard and skill and don't come cheap.Lille will be looking at something between 20 and 25 million pounds.Maybe Wenger will be willing to break bank for this shining star.

Christopher Samba

Aerial Prowess

The 27 year old defender was rumored to join Arsenal in the winter transfer window and it still hasn't changed this summer.The Rovers center-back is a very strong and tall defender with bucket-loads of premier league experience.At this age,he would be at the peak of his career and he would be the perfect defender to use against the lesser teams of the PL against whom we struggle.He could also be a fantastic asset for us while defending set-pieces,With Rovers already down a CB,it would take some convincing (and spending) on Wenger's part to bring this Congolese player to the Emirates.

Gary Cahill

Winner in the air

A player similar to Samba in most aspects Cahill is a aerially powerful center back with good ball-winning ability.But his price has been inflated because he is English and Wenger will have to shell out 20 million pounds to sign him.At 26,he too will be at his best and could be a good partner for Vermaelen.As good as it seems,I couldn't see Wenger giving off such a huge sum for one player.But weirder things have happened and maybe he could end up at the Emirates next season.

Thats all the rumors we have for you today folks.Goodnight and have a great day tomorrow.You can follow Goonerburgh on Facebook,Twitter & Tumblr as well! Take care!

Transfer Rumors-The Good and the Bad (Part-1)

Well a season has come and gone and Arsenal are once again left wanting.At one point in the season we were in for a historic Quadruple,but as they say it, "We Choked",again.What went wrong? What is it that needs to change? Goonerburgh discussed this on its post on 27/04/2011,so we won't go more into it.
The topic of this post will be mainly about the transfers that could take place at the
 Emirates,the entries and exits.We shall take a look through on who all could be 
leaving and also a look at possible newbies.


PROBABLE Ex-ARSENAL PLAYERS


Nicklas Bendtner

Supremely Confident

Bendtner joined Arsenal in the summer of 2004 from the Danish club  Kjøbenhavns Boldklub.He has had a pretty decent time in the club considering he has being played out of position by Wenger most of the time. In 196 appearances for the club,he has had 58 goals and 31 assists, a decent return by any standards,and in this season he has had 32 appearances (18 as subs) and gave a return  of 9 goals and 8 assists.This,after being played on the right wing as a sub of Walcott,should be considered a good contribution.But the Danish Mr.Confident has fallen down the pecking order and with possible recruits coming in this summer,he could fall further down the ladder.He has gone as far as saying that he wants to leave publicly and supposedly Sporting Lisbon and Dortmund have made bids.With him down the pecking order,I would like to see him play some good football for some other club rather than sit idle in ours.And he is the kind of player who doesn't sit idle.Dortmund is the more exciting offer and I hope he gets it.

Carlos Vela

Mehican Chipper

The Mexican International,joined Arsenal in November 2005,but was unable to play till 2008 due to the lack of a work permit.He has had a disappointing time at the Emirates despite his massive promise.He will be remembered for his 'Chips' and was a classy finisher,but he failed to make even one PL start for Arsenal this season and his winter loan off to West Bromwich was a failure as well.With him being 5th choice (RVP,Chamakh,Nicklas,Arshavin)and with the emergence of J.E.T,chances of him starting for Arsenal in the future are getting slimmer.There are many clubs interested in signing him,with Galatasaray and Swansea City being the main 2 in the race.

Manuel Almunia

The man who fumbled...a lot

The Spaniard joined Arsenal from Celta Vigo in 2004 and since have made 109 appearances for the club.He has had quite a lot of opportunities to prove himself and has shown flashes of brilliance,but never was it consistent.He started this season as first choice goalkeeper,but fell down the ladder behind Fabianski and Szczesny. Even when both of them were injured,Wenger brought in the Mad German to play b/w the sticks rather than have him play.This showed the fall of faith in this once touted keeper.A lot of clubs are said to be interested in this glovesman and maybe he will go somewhere where he will get a lot of playing time.

Denilson

Not the no.1 prospect anymore

Maybe the most underrated player in the squad after Rosicky,Denilson has been very vocal about his desire to leave Arsenal.He joined from Sao Paulo after making only about 12 appearances for them.But Wenger was supremely confident when he signed him and early sights of him were very promising and it looked a bright future for this young Brazilian.This season has been anything but great,after making 32 appearances (12 as subs),he failed to score a goal or even make an assist.He was even criticized by many fans for his side passes.But they for one failed to see that the much touted "Best Passer" in the world made more side-passes than poor Denilson.He has been pretty disappointed,but chances have come plenty and well,he hadn't shined as much as he could have.Personally I would like to see him play for another season and then make a judgement.But he has been saying he wants to leave and we should respect it,also his loss is affordable,with the emergence of Wilshere and Ramsey.We could see him going to a German club mostly.

Thats it for the day people.Will come back later with the second part,where I will talk about who all could be coming in to the squad. Have a great day folks.You can follow Goonerburgh on Facebook,Twitter and Tumblr.

Sky TV changed Football

The 1990's saw a change in world football that was of epic proportions.The Premiership was born (with the help of Sky TV) and English Clubs discovered marketing.Till then,most of the football clubs ignored the most basic marketing strategies.The relied on meeting just the basic fundamental needs of the fans,which were,broadcasting the 90 minute game and selling a few replica t-shirts.They never imagined the untapped possibilities that lay in front of them.

Other brands envy football clubs.They don't have customers who are as fiercely loyal as club fans.They stick through thick and thin with the club.The trick for the clubs would have been to maintain and build future audiences by seeing them as customers as well as fans.

The Big Four

TV has been the main catalyst behind football's speedy commercial development.The worldwide broadcast of the Premiership brought in more number of fans than the clubs could imagine.All these fans were potential customers who could help in the rise of a club's revenue.This increase in number of fans brought the clubs to improve on its merchandising strategies.More replica shirts were made,along with other things like coffee mugs,key-chains,scarfs,watches etc. Merchandise stores started popping up in other countries,slowly expanding their worldwide market reach and value.This in-turn helped raise their revenue.By 2000, it was evident that some clubs were way better at marketing themselves than others.The vast gulf in b/w the top 4 teams and the rest in the Premiership showed and 'Superclubs' emerged.

Galacticos,batch of 2000

The revolution also changed the relation b/w club and player.The players have become more aware of their commercial power and now make more money than the older generation footballers could dream of.They have become media savvy and have a high valuation of themselves,a good example being the policy of 'Galacticos' favored by Real Madrid FC, where they have a group of star players with enormous commercial power.This brought about the formation of a team of stars rather than a star team.The trick is to bring about a balance in b/w the club brand and the player brand.

Arsenal in the Community

Brands need to be loved.Football Club Brands have a great advantage over brands of other kinds.They bring about not just love,but undying loyalty.Brands have the power to make money and even influence people.The can change minds,mood and behavior.So with all this power,comes responsibility as role models.So a perfect club brand would be the one which has a good balance b/w club and player and is a force for commercial as well as social development.