So the tedious saga that is the Julio Baptista transfer drags inexorably on, and to be frank, I’ve had enough. If he’s not 100% sure he wants to come to Highbury, then be done with him say I. An English winter is hardly going to persuade an uncertain player that he’s made the right decision, is it? But if he does want to come, then he should hurry up and say so. Why are transfers so convoluted and complex? I’ve just solved that one in a paragraph. My invoice is in the post.
And onto someone who has caused us absolutely no trouble in his five years at the club: Captain Thierry Henry. No painful drawn out will-he won’t-he transfer sagas, no wrapping someone else’s car round lampposts, no being duped by foreign radio presenters into saying something crass: Just container lorry loads of goals and mesmerising skill.
There was nobody else Wenger could have chosen for captain, and as we hoped/expected, the feeling is mutual.
He’s also convinced our magic boss will pull rabbits out of hats.
“You have to trust Arsene Wenger,” he said. “How can you not trust a man who has won four FA Cups and three league titles?”
Never a truer word has been spoken.
And on that note, I take my leave.
Trust has to be earned – they’ve earned it. Trust Thierry, trust Arsene and
Bugger Baptista.
Amen
Roto, your post says it all. I have already said I’m fed up with this beast business but I’ll say it again “I fed up with this beast business” If he’s like this now, what will hapeen after say, two great seasons playing for us when barca or real come knocking??? No thanks.
How about some more of our all time great teams. Groves? A joke yes?
True words I agree with you, I have had enough of this Baptista soap opera, its going on for to long, let him stay in spain and go to Barcelona or Real every player has his choice, AW should forget him, he is not the only midfielder in the world I agree he is good but heck. We need a Keeper, right back and also midfielder someone young not some who need an upto date MOT, Jens for example and lets get on with other things, and a look for a good striker.
Name me a better player who cost £60,000?
Yep they know what they’re talking about!
Henry also thinks the magician will make a couple more signings – sounds promising!
In the same rag that printed the above story, they have a small bit saying DD has convinced The Bap to move to North London over a move to Barca – hes getting more expensive by the day – i hope hes worth the £18m being touted around!
Im sure Wenger could find a similar player alot cheaper!
Also, i think Hleb looks like a true Arsenal player already! Great skill to round the keeps the other day! how quick was that drag!
Re The Beast – I understand his line – he’s after an EU passport. After all why wouldn’t a Brazillian want to come to London – Oh, well there is that Stockwell incident -Still at least it’s not South London…….
If he says “I want to play in England” this is hardly the motivation for processing his Spainish passport quickly. Technically it’s sponsored by Seville, so they can’t be seent o be selling him, despite their need for cash.
However it IS boring, and I expect this will drag on, don’t expect to see him (if at all) until the January window.
Vince – be careful about what you say about Perry – we’re after re-naming the stadium in his honour !
To be honest i think if Wenger is putting this much effort into buying the player (the beast) then he must be worth it. Would Wenger really spend months trying to sign a play that he didn’t think would make a difference? i don’t think so. The beast is exactly what we need
This Baptista business is dragging on way too long…I’m simultaneously hooked to it and fed up with it; it’s bloody annoying.
I like what Hleb said about snubbing Chelsea. Those are the kind of players we need. I have a good feeling about him. If Baptista wants to get a Spanish passport it means his long-term plans are not in London and are either in Madrid or Barcelona.
PREDICTIONS:
-TH14 scores over 30. We miss out on any silverware this year
The reason why the Beast Baptiste is in 2 minds over whether to join us due to his EU citizenship. This is hugely important to him, as it would be to any non EU national. It’s quite simple, Baptista wants to join us indefinately – but wants to wait for his passport before any such move is finalised. If he came to Arsenal today (i.e before being granted his EU citizenship) then he would have to wait a further 3-5 years before he’d be granted the pasport. Can u understand what he’s going through. with the passport in his back pocket, he’ll feel liberated and a part of Europe – but without, he’d feel like an outsider. He wants to come to arsenal as he knows he will do well in the EPL – he has everything that Adriano has, but i feel he has better technique, vision and can play with both feet. He would be what Arsene needs – to complete his 05/06 side. With The beast – i guarantee we will win the prmiere league and the champions league this season. watch this space.
Roto…I thought it was about great Arsenal teams not cheap Arsenal teams. If we do that I’ll just name our current crop of youngsters, all of whom, in my humble opinion are better. anyway, I think you were joking!!!
I haven’t seen him yet but I like what I’m hearing about Hleb.
I agree with the last poster (although I, it is not that hard to understand and if as some have suggested it could be a little as a month before its sorted then we shouldn’t panic.
Arsene has spoken to him and could have known the situation at the start, and he certainly must have done before he put in the second and third bids.
The fact is if he is attempting to rush through this passport then saying that he only want to leave next week is hardly likely to help his application. Btween the player and AFC I’m sure the resources are there to get this processed quicker than normal, but the spanish legal system is notoriously slow.
We all only getting so anxious because we’ve been hearing so much about it and because of the distressing PV transfer, not something that Julio is really to blame for.
So for all the ‘sign now or your a w*nker Baptista’ brigade I have two words. CHILL OUT!
Could you please stop slagging off Baptista before he has even joined and engage your thought processes for a moment? The guy can get EU citizenship as a Latin American in Spain for two years. By moving to the UK he goes back to zero and it will take five years. He believes there is a chance of getting this in August. The very fact we are still negotiating and waiting suggests he is willing to move to Arsenal once he gets it. If he really wanted to stay in Spain there would be no negotiations ongoing. Yes, we may not have him available for the first couple of matches this season, but a central midfielder (those who call him a striker are in fact wrong) who can notch 50 goals in two seasons in the top Spanish division is a rare talent indeed. If we get him it is a real coup.
I’ve caused no trouble yet, but I am not yet signing this contract extension, I wonder if that is why maintenant je suis le capitaine?
Lets not sign Beast until next season, he does seem overpriced,
considering he only have 1 yr left and compared to Gilardino’s (17.5 mil to Milan), who I think is better than baptista.
We not that short upfront, only lacking physical presence. Let beast get his citizenship, and see if he wants to come next season, In the mean time, good luck to Van Persie.
If he scores a similar amount of goals again this season and is availble for a fraction of the transfer fee (he isn’t out of contract just will have served three years which means he is available for less) I think his wage demands will place him out of our reach!
Bongo…Geoff where are you? It’s not the same!!!
Come back, you know it makes sense. I don’t like seeing gooners fall out over what we all love….The Arsenal. Forgive and forget. And, as I’ve told you both before, wouldn’t it be boring if we all agreed
I still regard this site as the best for chatting about Arsenal matters. Arseblog makes me laugh but, have you read any of the comments or arses as they call ’em, what are they on about??? Some are funny but…….
I love Thierry. Last night I dreamt that he had left with Vieira. I actually cried in my sleep…
I reckon we will have the Beast in the next few weeks. Probably better not to think about it until then.
What the fuck are anti-spam filters? And why do we have to leave our e-mails?
I lost a comment I’d been working on for 15 minutes.
Course I was joking Vince – Groves would never make my all-time XI. Martin Hayes gets that spot every time.
‘La Bestia’ could be the difference between silverware and fat nothing this season. How many times do you recall a ball played across the 6-yard box with our players applauding the ball 10+ yards away? DB10 obviously can’t cover the ground he once did and cant provided enought of a physical presence to unsettle defenders (As seen in the FA Cup final). With ‘La Bestia’ feeding off our new-look creative midfield we would hopefully see more tap-ins and headed goals we’ve lacked for too long.
The wait is justifed for his own personal reasons and also because any fee we receive from him (in the event the move doesn’t work out in the next 3-5 years) will be greater from other EU countries if he has an EU passport.
I have a vid of ‘La Bestia’ in action i am willing to upload somewhere if someone would kindly provide instructions. It appears he is a forward @ Antony… (Appreciating the fact he must always be near the goal to score!). Many reports indicate the same fact. It makes more sense buying another forward to provide goals in TH14’s absence (As seen in the FA Cup final). However Sir Wenger could redeploy him.
I have to applaud the earlier comments made by Mark & Anthony Guffmonger-Trump IX , the end of the day if Spurs had a genuine chance of signing Bap then why haven’t they come in for a 2nd bid. And why would a man who needs a passport to be considered a eu citizen come out and say “I WANT TO PLAY FOR ARSENAL FC” He would be swiftly denied the opportunity and there you go. The player is clearly interested otherwise Wenger would say the deal is dead, and anyway why would Wenger say the deal is close if Bap it trying to get a Spanish passport. Spanish people read the internet too. I think it’s gonna be a late August signing boys and girls so we’re just gonna have to be patient and hope he gets his passport then so he’s free to move to Arsenal without a fuss. In the meantime I think if Song & Christenval are good enough they will be welcome additions to a defence that needed strengthening especially now Campbell injured. We just need a keeper UNLESS Wenger thinks Mannone is ready to be a number 2
Join, The Baptista.
Nice one Roto. This Beast saga is almost worth it just so we can see how many puns you can make with his name.
SOD THE BEAST AND SOD SEVILLA why do we pander to a two bit team and to hell with him if we are talking teams our about the worse here’s mine: Barnet,Devine,Blockey,Mancini
Mcgoldrick,Ross,CarterRostron,Groves,Hawley,Hankin pick the bones out of them,sorry if some of you are offended but lets not get rude and angry its only a bit of fun afterall we are on the same side alls well in goonerville,PS TH14 what a STAR.
no way is gilardinio better then baptista.
baptista is a TRUE footballer he can playing many different positions unlike gilardinio who is totiesqe in his ability to throw tantrums.
baptista started his carrer in brazil as a defensive midfielder, where he excelled and scored a lot of goals. seville bought him and played him as an offensive midfielder in his forst season once again he excelled and in the process out scored the teams strikers. last season he played as a striker and did not disappoint.
Wenger loves players like this. sadly i think his hert is set on playing for barca or real. its the way with osuth amrican players their ambition is to play for one of those two as it gets great kudos in SA. robhnio cose real over us for that reson. plus culturaly and language is the same makes al the difference in having a happy settled player. look at the problems aith reyes and homesickness.
IMHO we should go and sign ANELKA, he has great talent and a point to prove. we would also get him back at half the price.
I just hope that something is going on behind the scenes that we are not party to; e.g. Baptista has told AW he aims to join us late Aug, maybe subject to progress on his Spanish passport, and AW is happy to go with this. He could not say this publicly, as it would surely scupper any chance of a Spanish passport. Of course he could just be messing us about, but I would hope that AW & DD would not be allowing this to happen.
We might be able to get him him cheaper next season, but we need him (or someone like him) now, and you can’t put a price on that. Similarly, I wouldn’t be surpised if he starts acting up Vieira-style for a big move, maybe to Barcelona, in a couple of years. But if he does a job for us in the meantime and we get a good price when he goes we will have to live with it.
Good Afternoon,
I thoroughly enjoyed the everybodys best AFC elevens- that was a great idea!
I would also like to analyze the Beast Business. The Big Centre Forward- is obviously in an enviable dilemma. Barca, real And The Arsenal are all in pursuit of him.
The soundings I get is – the Passport issue is a smokescreen. If we pay him what he thinks he can get at the Spanish Clubs (and possibly even more!) he will come. Pound notes will win over Passport principles!
Sad But true!
So even though i would love to see the marauding magician in maroon. Indeed (my first ever blog suggested in buying this player)
We should stick to our wage structure- stick to our policy. And move on.!
As my mum used to say- Bongo ‘ there are plenty-more of fish in the sea’
And Mrs. bongo was (as usual ) Right!
Bongo (off to the golf course)
Uncle Fester – what about Gus Ceasar instead of Mancini?
Ah, Gus Caesar. An emperor he was not.
Yep i agree the thought of Caeser makes me shiver
Martin Hayes….how could I have forgotten about him! Did score some goals for us though….wasn’t he top scorer one season or am I going mad!!!
Bongos worst eleven!
1. G.wood.
2.P.Lyderson
3.D.Grondin
4. Gus C
5. Pates
6.Malz
7.McGoldrick (Captain)
8. D,price
9.Jenson
10.Hankin
11. Chapman -lee
Manager. S. houston
Unc- do not go back too far. some of us are not as old as you!
A late Bongo
No, your sanity is intact. He scored something like 25 goals in 1986/7 – our top scorer. Though half of those were penalties, but still.
And wasn’t he a Ford salesman on Highbury Corner for many years after?
Cr@p, Real Madrid have now come in for Baptista, they’re offering €30M to Sevilla, but for him and Ramos together, and also he’s been quoted in Marca saying that “he’s never said no to Madrid” and that he’s turned down Arsenal’s offer because “there are a lot of factors against it, like having to leave Spain and having to adapt o a new league in a World Cup year, now when I’m starting to play in my national side”.
Looks like it’s a NO from Baptista, but on the other hand Marca are a bunch of lying tw@ts, so…
On the subject of dodgy Arsenal players – remember Andy Cole was once a Gunner.
Lets not fool ourselves Baptista is out…..lets talk about Anelka.He made mistakes and left us half broken,but pipo change.He will be cheaper to get,then we can get another like diarra.Rather than plan to spend on someone with other plans
I used to think Anelka coming back to us was a good idea, but then I realised if Wenger thought so he would Fener & Man Citiy ago. You would think Henry & Anelka would be an awsome strikeforce but I just dont see it ever happening even for France
Anelkakaka….why not….surely he wouldn’t do us over twice would he…..I think he would! The bloke has now had a few clubs and it seems he has had problems were ever he has been. Suppose you could argue that, whilst he was actually playing for us he wasn’t a problem, it’s when he wanted out that the trouble started.
I don’t know, maybe he could do a job for us and, as Luxon said, we could still go for Diarra or ANother…or two! Still not sure though….does he still come with his brothers?
Anelka! It’s terrifying but it’s almost appealing – him and th14 would scare any backline. But, seriously, no. Bring Quicy into the first team instead. Anelka plays for himself, not the team.
I want the bap to come but only if his heart’s in it and I don’t get the feeling it is.
Sorry Bongo cant help it the thoughts of these players wearing our colours brings me close to tears what about Bobby Gould he could figure in worse elleven see ive gone back along way again.
Anelka would jump at the chance to link up with Henry especially in world cup year. we play in the CL and always challenge for the big trophies. his reputation has become on monkey on his back but his talent is undoubted. he has scored goals wherever he has played and lots when he played for us.
WAKEY WAKEY WENGER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are some fans becoming so desperate to want that money grabbing toerag back some of you must have short memories.The way he engineered his move to Real by bouncing between Lazio Real and one other team i cannot remember also his poncing brothers will be back in tow i dont care how good he can be he will become restless sooner rather then later the man’s a firstclass ponce and always will be if the Arse resign him i will not go to Highbury again or Ashburton ever .
No to Anelka. Talent, yes, but he screwed us over once. Whether he’d do it again or not is besides the point, it sends out a bad message; that of desperation. We don’t need another centre forward as such, Baptista is being sought for the unique physical attributes he will provide and his ability to play in midfield. For a man his size Anelka has never been great in the air and I doubt he’ll play in midfield if he has to.
Anthony Guffmonger: Baptista began as a midfielder, defensively in Brazil and then offensively in Spain, but moved up front when Reyes joined us. Trust me on this as I was following Spanish football when Reyes signed for us and I know for a fact Baptista was converted to “replace” Reyes.
Noone gets 20 goals in 30 games from midfield (not even Le Bob). That’s what he got last season. His 10 goals the season before were from midfield. As you can see the numbers make a lot more sense too.
peeps should forget baptista now that REAL have shown their hand. there is o way he will come to us now that the biggest team in spain are on his case. he has everything to gain by staying in sapin. a spanish passport, a move to one of the 2 big teams inspain and a massive signing on fee plus large wages as he will be available for euro4mill next year as that is the way the system works there.
why would he want to come to rainy UK when he can be in sunny spain?
what would you do?
If I had a choice between playing for Arsenal and Real Madrid? Easy RVP. The Arsenal.
Have you seen how crap Real are at the moment?
Booby gold
The Baptiste deal now looks like it needs his namesake JOHN to revive the deal.
He will not be coming here. And thats not a slight on The Arsenal or indeed the Beast. He suits Spain- and Spain suit him. As I posted days earlier- its REal who will have the currency to scupper our deal!
But what with Wenger loaning out Allierdere to The Hoops of Glasgow- there is a vacancy for a centre forward.
We now know the prototype foward our manager desires. But who is he? And where is he?
As Chelsea Village have found out- even with their plethora of tainted silver
you can not buy a decent centre forward for money or money!
My preference would have been ( short-term):
D. Vassell.
I think we will also see The ALsatian pursue D. Kuyt from Feyernood, or even DEan ashton.
One thing that has staggered me is- how this Canary has not been snapped up by a premiership club.
Either way- fans have to be patient- Transfer deals these days are long, drawn out affairs(similar to moving house- it takes bloody ages!).
Wenger knew the baptiste deal might not work out- AND HE WILL HAVE SOMEONE UP HIS SLEEVE- .
we will find out soon…
A tired bongo et al (i scored 82 at Wentworth today!)
I will be honest- me and Bongo did not get a winks sleep last night.
I think I was too harsh on Geoffrey! I did not mean it Jeff! You know my passssssion for The Arsenal!
We all miss your unique slant on all AFC matters. Me and Bongo would like to offer you a fullsome apology and hope we will see the return ‘our geoff’ soon.
a relieved Bongo et al
dean ashton is not Arsenal material. none of the big clubs have gone for him as he does not possess what it takes to make it in the big teams. he does not have pace and is not a striker or a midfielder.
we need to sign someone like ANELKA or OLivera form betis. he is as deadly as the beast.
Bongo you remember Bobby Gould you must be older then you are letting on i worry for you you and this Bongo lark it is a bit strange xxx.
Thankyou bongo for the apology, I also apologise for my part in what was a very silly argument!! Having spent just under 10 years of my life as an amateur boxer I can safely say I am sick of arguments & fights. That is why I have always liked this forum, as the subject was totally afc not silly insults thrown back & forth. If nothing else boxing taught me respect which is what I always try to give others now. Anyway bongo & everyone else I hope we can just agree to disagree at times in the future & keep this site for what it is, a place for true arsenal fans to discuss our great club.
Moving on, or backwards depending on how you look at the baptista situation, did anyone get the feeling wenger was holding back last night after the match, when he was interviewed by arsenal online tv. Although he again rated his chances at 50-50 he seemed very relaxed & assured about the whole thing, like he knows something we dont. I am probably way off mark but just maybe there is something in the pipeline even if the baptista deal does not work out.
Having watched the match (as best I could on that service) it appeared we have the same problem of not having people in the box. Hleb on several occasions & bentley too got into areas to put the ball into the box only to find no-one there. This was even more evident in the first half when henry went to the left wing beat his man, looked up & nothing, so he had to go backwards. This style will really not suit Hleb throughtout his so far fairly short career his best seasons have been when he has played with an out & out striker.
Anyone else hope we sign song?? I think he could be some player, at only 17 he moves the ball on quicker than vieira ever did. Alright he has no chance of being as good as vieira at present but all the signs are there that he will be a great player.