Join, The Baptista

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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.

Jim

Arsenal since about 1979. Thick, thin and all that.

This Post Has 66 Comments

  1. Farnborough Gunner

    AW may be relaxed about the Baptista situation because he genuinely believes we do not need to strengthen our squad. He may be alone with this view. Of course, he may be right 0 he usually is – but I doubt it.

    I have believed that maybe AW/DD have a genetlemen’s agreement with Bap and are just waiting for his Spanish passport to arrive in the post before formalising it. But Baptista’s actions don’t support this theory. I now believe more & more that he is looking for a move to Barca or Real Madrid and we have been stooges in this. Time will tell. Maybe.

    PS Geoff – welcome back!

  2. Vince

    Just a thought

    We are looking for a man to be on the end of things, in the box, someone to pick up the loose ball back off the keeper or a defender. As long as it doesn’t matter about physical size i.e big, we do have Lupoli who is a proper striker, Quincy is not the same and Aliadiare is away proving his fitness. I have seen him a few times last season playing for the reserves and he is a very good, hard working, skillful player who would offer something different. Before anybody says anything, I know he is not proven at the top level but untill anyone is given a chance, nobody is.

    It would be good to get this bap bloke but I am getting a bit pissed off with the whole saga.

    Like I said, just a thought.

  3. uncle fester

    Welcome back Geoff good to see your posting again ,i think what FG said is right we have been made to force Real and Barca to move for the beast and nothing irritates more then feeling we have been used by these bloody toerags,it time to stick two fingers up to Sevilla and most of all Baptista this could be a blessing in disguise who wants him sulking about the place thinking of Spain.I still think we should give Owen a go if we were prepared to pay £17 million for Baptista why not Owen and he would get goals.

  4. Geoff

    I think Lupoli will be a great player for us, but his physique is against him at the moment. I certainly feel he will go on to be one of the best in time though. I would love to see more of quincy this season but I wonder if wenger sees him as a striker or as a winger where is has played for years.

    My own thoughts are that we need a player exactly like baptista (it does not have to be baptista) just someone similar. He can play as a striker or midfielder & thats why wenger wants him so much because of the options it would give him. We dont have a real physical presence in our attack & against the very best defenders our players find it difficult to get through. Apart from the goalkeeping position & maybe a central defender I think wenger is right that our kids can fill the gaps, I just feel we need that one special player (not a big name) just a special player that can make a difference in a couple of areas of the field.

    Does anyone agree that arsenal’s passing this pre season has quickened considerable?? I know the opposition has been quite weak so far but the passing would be the same no matter who we had played.

  5. vivb

    Real appear to have made an approach to for Baptiste with the deal due to be agreed by 3 August, what that does for Owen’s prospects, I don’t know.

    Surely AW has an alternative, would have thought Davids on a free would have given our midfiield some experiance but I guess he didn’t play much for Inter last season.

    Just feel we are going to be a little lightweight this season, Liverpool have improved, Man Utd probably can’t perform as badly as last season, Chelsea are certainly stronger but will have to tinker to keep everyone happy I just fear we have gone backwards losing both Edu and Vieira, I think if Edu had known Vieira was going he would have stayed.

  6. Geoff

    Just a thought here, but if arsene really was given or allowed to spend 30 million on new players this summer, then on top of that you can add the 17 million for vieira & pennant & minus the 10 mill for Hleb giving a rough total of 37 million left. Now if he does not spend that you can safely assume he would be giving around another 10-15 million to strengthen next summer making a total of around 50 million to spend. Can you imagine what a manager like wenger could do with that sort of cash especially as arsenal will be an even more attractive proposition next year what with the stadium opening etc!! Our young players will all have a good seasons experience (some even more than that, ie cesc). Although all this could be at the expense of this season I think our priority should be making sure we qualify for the champions league again, sounds easy but some teams will be much stronger this year. As long as we do that, we could build through youth & experience an awesome team to have for the opening of Ashburton.

  7. bongo et al

    Good Afternoon,

    If real get The Key’bab’ it is a great coup for them. if they get the brilliant S.Ramos as well- they really are signing some class as well.!
    THey will have then: Raul, Ronaldo, Robinhio, Baptiste, Owen. So much for their debts. ( i think Chelsea are giving them interest free- aid to scupper us! And yes i am serious!)

    I think it is more and more likely OWen will be highbury bound. Not ideal but a good experinced forward will have been signed, netherless. I in fact am going to have a little wage that the little one will be a gunner with my local turf accountant!

    ps. welcome back Geoffrey!
    bONGO ET AL

  8. wengerball

    I would love to see Owen in maroon at the HoF. He would have been in my top five choices anyway.
    Alright so he’s not tall but he is young, hungry, talented, a natural goalscorer, has great attitude and is the ideal foil for th14 – the original fox in the box.
    We have players putting great through balls into the box and no one’s there to pick them up – Owen’s the man to fix it.
    Ah! Geoff and Bongo – aka the ying and yang of arsenal opinion, reunited again.

  9. robinvp

    owen has lost a bit of pace since his long injury layoff. thats why both pool and now real are prepared to let him go.
    he is in no way an Arsenal player. Wenger will not be signing him as we had the opption to do so beofre he went to real.

    Anelka is the man I think would best suit our system. he has laready played in it once and Wenger always wanted to pair anelka and henry together.

    he would cost us £7-8mill and hes only 26 and way faster then owen will ever be.

  10. wengerball

    Maybe, but Anelka’s a total w*nker who dragged the club through the mire and it would choke me to pay to watch him play – never again.
    Owen has scored hatfuls of goals wherever he’s gone – Real don’t know what they’ve got. It’s only because they’ve got an obsession with Raul, or at least the Raul of three or so seasons ago, that he’s on the bench.

  11. Bongo et al

    Good evening,
    No to Anelka – not because of his undoubted quality BUT IF YOU TURN DOWN THE ARSENAL- YOU DO NOT COME BACK. It is enshrined (or it should be ) in our constitution!
    I did indeed put some guineas on Michael g-owen to Highbury.
    It was a smelly price- but netherless- he has to go some where if The beast is Bernabeau Bound.
    where do others think owen will end up?
    a. ARsenal b. Chelsea Village C. Man U. D. Barca E. Any italian Club F. The Barcodes G. Liverpool H. The Oldfirm I.Valencia. J. Sevilla
    Fascinating?
    A gambling Bongo et al

  12. Farnborough Gunner

    No to Anelka. No way back after the way he behaved before. He is not a “fox in the box”, particularly physical or good in the air. He doesn’t offer much, if anything, that we don’t already get from RvP, Reyes, etc.

    Do we really need senior pros like him to set an example for the youngsters?

    I’m still more concerned about cover for goalkeeper and central defense than strikers anyway.

  13. wengerball

    I see Owen going either to us, the toon or the mancs. I’d like it to be us but Fergie’s a fan and keeps being linked with him, whereas were not even in the frame and the toon have just that sort of money to spend on a striker and would die to have him… it’s a tough one to call.
    I’m not so concerned about the defence (Toure and senderos as first choice with sol as cover and Cygan as last ditch, only in a total emergency, back-up) but a good second/ first string gk is a must – but who? No idea. Not a huge fan of anyone in the premiership except for Cech (obviously) and Given.

  14. Geoff

    I think we should stick with Mark Howard as back-up goalkeeper, yes he is young but everytime I have seem him play he has looked the part. Every goalkeeper in the premiership (cech apart) was making silly errors last season. If you can get a top quality goalkeeper that is young & still at a cheap price then great, but clubs with decent keepers are all overpricing them so I would take a chance on Howard. If it works out we would have a great keeper for years to come.

  15. Geoff

    Has anyone else noticed arsenal’s ever decreasing squad of players?? when I say this I am not talking so much about the first team, although that is also getting smaller, but if you look at the reserves & youths section it is quite a small group of players now. They used to have 1st year scholars, 2nd year scholars etc but that seems to have all been done away with, now there is just a first team squad & a reserve squad. The under 18’s are made up of the reserve squad. It has certainly been noticeable how many youngsters arsenal have let go over the past two years, infact I think 16 were allowed to leave last pre season. Is there a reason for this such as to get a whole squad of manageable players or is it just another cost saving exercise???

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