A funny thing happened as soon as I saw the story saying that Arsenal are looking at Huntelaar on loan; I shook my head.
The other day I told one of my friends that I really do think Wenger’s got someone in mind, specifically someone who is cup-tied, and I think he’s going to go balls out to get him. In fact, I said, it will be the first story you see linking a player over the next few days. Sure enough, this was the first story I saw and while I know that it would bring a lot of joy to the “I told you so brigade” who have been banging the Huntelaar drum for two years, I have to wonder.
Obviously, if Wenger does it, then I trust him but the facts are that from every angle this looks like a really strange move.
- Huntelaar is cup tied, having come on as a sub.
- He’s only played 10 matches this season, most as a late sub.
- He’s only scored two goals, both in the same game, when he came on in the 83rd minute, against relegation bound Catania.
- He’s the same type of player as Eduardo and buying him would signal that Eduardo is basically surplus, despite the fact that Eduardo has 3 goals and 3 assists in 16 matches — an arguably better haul.
That said, it does smack of “Wengernomics” since we’re basically getting a trial on a £14m player for the price of his salary. If it doesn’t work out, he can go back to Italy. If it does work out, then Arsenal will get some good service in the league at a time when we need a player who can score goals and possibly have a replacement for next year.
As much as I don’t think it’s a good loan, I have a feeling in my bones that Wenger does. Like I always say, “we’ll have to wait and see” and of course “what the f*ck do I really know about talent?”
Finally for today, Phil Brown and Hull City Chairman Adam Pearson had another moan in the press about Arsenal, the referees, Samir Nasri, and the FA. The comedy here has gotten to the point now where I’m starting to actively pray to all of the gods that Phil Brown and Hull City stay up in the Premier League: they are the gift that keeps on giving.
Admittedly, the Hull Chairman was “subtler” with his criticism, saying
We expected nothing less. Presumably we should all just accept it when a player gets kicked for no reason at all off the ball. It is a passionate game and if the FA see fit to charge us for that reaction to a very poor challenge then we will accept that charge and move on together as a team. God forbid what will happen if we actually provoke an incident.
The irony here is off the charts since Stephen cHunt took pretty much every dead ball as his chance to try to knee Almunia in the head for the first 45 minutes of the game. And that’s just the stuff that I can think of off the top of my head!
Meanwhile, Phil Brown took a much more direct approach, outright calling the FA and Nasri a bunch of cheats:
There was an incident for some reason, and I can’t answer the accusations against Nasri. He decided to light the touchpaper. It was there for everybody to see. It needed to be dealt with more severely and hasn’t been. Why we are up for a charge I don’t know.I defend the players to the hilt. As far as I am concerned that lad has gone in there with the intent to start a fight, to start a ruck. Maybe it was because Arsenal were hitting a brick wall in terms of the way they were playing, I don’t know.
Or, maybe, just maybe, you orange prick, your team was running around trying to decapitate the Arsenal players and Nasri stood up to them?
Man, I hope these clowns are around next year.
Arsenal News 24/7
I hate Phil Brown more than Cashley cole and Adebayor put together!!! Fuckin hate that guy!!
A loan move makes a a lot of sense economically. If he does well then can consider a buy in the summer. Waiting till the summer is also good because there will be a lot more options available which would strengthen our hand with the agents ‘hawking’ their players. Maybe Simpson comes back a stronger player and we won’t have to buy in the summer.
I’m not opposed to Huntelaar at Arsenal but only if it make monetary sense. I don’t want the club to get burned on another dud after the Baptista disaster. I was just watching Baptista come as a sub for Roma last weekend and
his 1st touch still sucks.
Chelsea have a little injury hiccup to contend w/ in addition to their ACN departures. Anelka has a torn hamstring and will miss “2″ games. That remains to be seen. Anywho Chelsea will be forced to go with a reserve (Boroni?) striker and Sturridge. If you know Ancelotti, you know he prefers “age before beauty”.
Nice of SAF and Steve Bruce to rally around Mark Hughes. How much of their ire comes from seeing another ‘Great British Hope’ going done the tubes for a foreign manager?
when you bring a ‘near’ murderer into the stadium(hunt- cech)yet things dont go your way i can understand the frustration. phil brown is feeling it BIG time.he cant understand why an(softly) arsenal player was allowed to stand up to his in ya face thugs, thereby preventing a repeat of last year’s ‘heroics’. it was brown’s well worked plan to prevent at all cost arsenal playing their normal game. Hunt was at the centre of the plan, as seen by his continued marauding, deliberately late runs on almunia. his madness at Reading when he alsmost killed patrick cech don’t seem to concern him at all.
My fondest hope for the new year will be that Man City now do a ‘Middlesbrough’. As in drop points and places and come out looking like fools for firing Hughes.
Phil ‘detestable’ Brown, a Scumbag with nasty brown teeth, and a stupid captain scarlet style microphone, what a twat if ever there was one. The guy thinks he is more important than his team, and will do anything to get in the limelight.
Merry Xmas Tim and everybody at 7am! You all make part of a good day everyday for me! Cheers! (posted also on the ‘Twas the night, but just in case.)
There are players that just need to find their place in the football world. It cant be that Huntelaar scored for fun at the Eredivisie (I know, a lesser league, but “irregardless”), and suddenly his goals dried up). Remember that he didnt have too much games at Real, who preferred to add Diarra to the Champions League roster instead of him. He wasnt given a lot of games either at Milan. As everyone pointed out, a loan makes a lot of sense financially speaking.
I want to add too, that previous to the Verminator signing pretty much all of us were expecting that he would be introduced little by little to the team, that we had kolo, and that he lacked Premiership experience, bla bla bla, then he came and took the EPL by storm and never looked back.
I hope that’s the kind of player that AW is targeting again.
Oh, and as a last comment, in case Huntelaar doesn’t work, there is always Benfica’s Oscar Cardozo
December 24th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
@Yan, Yeah Huntelaar has the quality for sure. His stats at Madrid were (iirc) pretty good per game and he’s not really gotten a real shot in Milan. With Eddy’s chances over the last few weeks he’d have 5 or 6 goals i’m sure. But i share Tim’s concerns about what that would mean for Eduardo because i love that little fucker. Here’s to 4 Eduardo goals in the next 3 games and an end to this striker mania, with the transfer-target focus shifting to the back.
Merry nondenominational holiday times everybody!
December 24th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
@b, I dont think bringing in Huntelaar would mean an end to Eddy, remember that he is still struggling to find his fitness again.
with the way football is moving wenger should go all out and spend 25-28mill on david villa he wont though, and ill be happy with a wenger signing ohh to be a gooner
Thanks to Patrick Bartram for alerting us to Romelu Lukaku. 16yo, 6’3″ and signed through 2012.
If you ignore the ‘defending’, this kid is still one big scary dude because of his timing and positioning in the final third.
December 24th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Young guns had a post few backs that we had some scouts having a look at the lad.
http://youngguns.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/arsenal-scouts-make-second-check-on-lukaku/
Consider this. Remember when Wenger said he’s managed 500 EPL games and only failed to shake the opposing manager’s hand in 3 of those matches. Pardew, Jol, and Hughes. They’ve all been fired. The last 2 being sacked in a similar manner: they were the last to know what every Tom, Dick and Harry already knew before the FT whistle.
nd the ‘hits’ just keep coming for Lehmann:http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=717499&sec=europe&cc=5901
December 24th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
@ctpa, And…
A loan does make sense for all parties, and there is little risk if it doesn’t work out. But, I don’t really want Huntelaar…
no no no…this fuss about huntelaar is all bullshit spread by bullshit media. Huntelaar is a possibility but the real possibility is the tall Russian Pavlyuchenko. This guy will be available close to 11m and wenger will try to press a deal about 8m.
For Christmas this year Arsene gave his wife the vase he knocked off the dresser (but then managed to glue it back together, sort’ve. placenta was involved.)
it’s like a new present!
cheers to you Tim for the most comprehensive Arsenal writing being (daily!) cranked out from either side of the pond. You’re routinely hysterical and that U.S. travel guide was so thorough that it has me thinking about flying over to London for the first time in five years. Never seen the Arse, and now I feel like it’s pretty feasible. On student loans, of course.
Also, congrats Arsenal fans. We genuinely make supporters of Chelsea and Liverpool look like scum. I never see the sort of OMGZ LETZ SIGN MESSY!!11 (credit Arseblog for the spelling) type of unrealistic transfer speculation around here. We tend to like our club, disagree with Wenger without calling for his head, and actually analyze performances.
Another decade of brilliance is just around the bend.
Lehmann for Germany. C’mon! for entertainment’s sake. yeh.
Merry Christmas from Detroit.
Traore is back but Fabregas is still 50-50.
Hey Gooners… V’v been calling 4 a new song @ Emirates 4 some time now..
a fellow Gooner hv cmup with a good song (its free)
http://www.redarmysong.com/index.html
go 2 d site and help d cause f getting it played @ d Emirates..
I just made it ma ring tone…
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Red Army – Lyrics
Who are we – red army
Who are we – re army
In red or white both day or night
Gonna show you how to play this game alright
Have you moving in circles til your head starts spinning
Only one team winning only one side singing
Gonna make you stare like you won’t believe it
Watch and learn coz we think you need it
Gonna pull the trigger and release it
So you’d better start running when the gunners start gunnin’
C’mon
Who are we – red army
Who are we – re army
All words and music by Trevor Jones ©2009 All rights reserved
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