In today’s press conference, Arsene Wenger was asked if there was any interest in Fulham’s 6’4″ twenty year old central defender Chris Smalling. The dot com is officially reporting that there’s “no truth in the rumor at the moment.” And sure enough he did say that, but the full quote is more revealing:
Journo: You have one too many central defenders at the moment but you’ve still been linked to Chris Smalling, the Fulham youngster, can you tell us is there any truth to that?
Arsene Wenger: [smiles, measures his words] He’s a player we, uhh, we, know, yes but there’s no truth in it at the moment.
Journo: Maybe in the future?
AW: Maybe in the future. [wry smile]
Journo: But not this transfer window?
AW: [smile and shake of the head] “At the moment” is at the moment [laughs all around]
It’s that last bit about him being coy over whether he’s going to do something in this transfer window which interested me. There are two ways to take that. The first is as an admission that he’s made an initial contact, and the second is as him taking the piss out of the press.
Which do you think? Is Wenger seriously looking at Chris Smalling in this transfer window or is he taking the piss out of the press?
Is Wenger seriously looking at Chris Smalling in this transfer window or is he taking the piss out of the press?
- Something is up (59%, 117 Votes)
- Nothing is going on (41%, 80 Votes)
Total Voters: 197
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He probably has the guy already signed and in training
Otherwise he would not get that cute.
I just noticed… Is Smalling somehow related to George Muresan? It’s the same face.
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:35 am
@WinTheTrebleIn2010, smells like cabbage
Wikipedia suggests he’s out for the rest of the year injured. Is this accurate?
January 22nd, 2010 at 7:33 pm
@ArseChicago, Then we’d definitely sign him.
But, no I don’t think so, I can’t find any info suggesting he’s injured.
Who knows what the wily fox will do?
My source, ‘RH’ says there has been no bid. I trust my source. Besides the timing is all wrong.
Reality bites ‘Arry as he admits Sp**s can’t afford RVN’s 100k/wk salary. What was ‘Arry thinking when he was paying the likes of John Utaka 80k/wk at Portsmouth. Have you seen Utaka play? You must have blinked. I saw him a couple of weeks ago in a Cup game and it was excruciating.
Gold of Gold and Sullivan want to pay a “special player” 100k/wk. Guess who? They’ll have to beat out Hamburg for a 35yo back from injury striker who is the striker of last resort at RM.
Amazingly Man U managed to entice some institutional investors to buy their 504mil bond issue. Must have been that extra 4mil in interest (total now 45mil up from 41mil) the Glazers were willing to pay that closed the deal
Will they allow ‘supporters’ into OT if they’re wearing the clubs original colours of green and yellow (or was it brown) in silent protest.
He wouldn’t have signed Campbell if he was interested in signing Smalling. And if he’s intent on letting Senderos leave, he sees no reason to have four central defenders. Wenger might do something at season’s end, but for the moment, he’s not interested.
Bendtner’s imminent return is the main reason Wenger won’t purchase another striker in January. Is this the same Bendtner who has scored all of one league goal this season and is likely to miss more time due to the inevitable niggling injuries that are sure to accompany his return after being out for so long? Is this the same Bendtner who, when you-know-who couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a banjo, couldn’t force his way into the starting lineup because he too couldn’t hit said structure, not even with a ten feet pole? There must be some logic in there somewhere. What the heck, Arsene knows, right?.
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:36 pm
@Fleetstreet, Agree
arsenal wont win anything–too tightfisted to spend—same excuse will be used as last year and the year before-INJURIES.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:13 am
@geoffreid, This is the best chance we’ve had in years. We can win 3 trophies this year. And yet you still whinge. You are not a real fan. Go support that “Bus Stop in Fulham” or Manciteh. OR buckle-up and enjoy the ride.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:15 am
We’re top of the league, still in the Champion’s League and FA Cup, what more do you want at this time? If you had expectations of signing big name players like Villa then you’re slightly deluded. Come on you Gooners!
Reckon there’s s lot to do with trying to sign Gallas up for another year. If that falls through then smalling may be the target?
Is there any thing going on with Remy?
If Bendtner were playing as the #1 striker on a club in France or the Netherlands or Germany, he’d probably score a goal every other game and we’d all be imploring Wenger to sign this tall Bendtner kid. If he keeps working hard, he’ll be a dangerous player for us. I understand peoples’ frustrations, but if Arsene sees Bendtner to be of similar quality to a player like Gignac or Chamakh, why pay 15MM when you have a similar player coming back off injury? After several weeks of having no one in the box to head in a cross, I’m looking forward to his return. Not as a savior, but as an important cog.
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:38 am
@ArseChicago, likeanewsigning indeed