Ribéry

[DoctorK]

Rick's favourite daily is calling it a deal!:
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1839406,00.html
:D
Franck and Freddie on the flanks!!! Oh my... If this is official, what a great signing!

[phishy]

reyes
hleb
rosicky
ljungberg
walcott














....
AND ribery? just dont get it... creative little player though.

[mobjack]

Man, we have a lot of midfielders. Ribery had a great WC and all, but I wish AW would pick up some CB's.

[PsychedelicCeltic]

reyes
hleb
rosicky
ljungberg
walcott














....
AND ribery? just dont get it... creative little player though.
I think Walcott'll be a centre forward. It's also unlikely he plays a lot of first team games this year, whether Ribery is here or not.

Other than Rosicky - who is new of course - I'm not wildly confident about anybody on that list, so I would appreciate Ribery coming.

[flyerhawk]

I guess TH14 really liked having Ribery as a strike partner.

That's the only thing that makes sense to me. Having Ribery and Van Persie gives us some flexibility upfront.

[phishy]

I think Walcott'll be a centre forward. It's also unlikely he plays a lot of first team games this year, whether Ribery is here or not.

Other than Rosicky - who is new of course - I'm not wildly confident about anybody on that list, so I would appreciate Ribery coming.

walcott is a centre forward as much as reyes is (:rolleyes: ).
ya, he isn't. he may play upfront, but that is irrelevant.

hleb, reyes, ljungberg... not wild about? mind-boggling.

[Jasonisimo]

Huh. I wonder which source has it right.

Here we have Wenger expressing a sentiment conflicting the Guardian's report. (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=375199&cc=5901)
However, the Arsenal manager insisted he would not buy just for the sake of it, having been linked with both French World Cup winger Franck Ribery and Chelsea's William Gallas.

'There are plenty of players in the world who want to join us,' the Gunners boss noted.

'I am more concerned with turning down people who want to join us than negotiating with players who want to go.

'If you look at the flanks we have [Tomas] Rosicky, who is not an average player, [Alexander] Hleb, [Jose Antonio] Reyes, [Theo] Walcott... also Ljungberg - where do I put a player like Ribery?'

[Gunner Phan]

walcott is a centre forward as much as reyes is (:rolleyes: ).
ya, he isn't. he may play upfront, but that is irrelevant.

hleb, reyes, ljungberg... not wild about? mind-boggling.
maybe arsene is going for the "we'll score more than they will" tactical approach.

[KevTheGooner]

maybe arsene is going for the "we'll score more than they will" tactical approach.

Well...its fun to watch.


If you include nail biting tense games against even the lowest competition as "fun." :o


I'd love to see us add more bite and a little less flair. And if Ribery misses great chances all season the way he did during the WC...well, I think we're all set on those kinds of midfielders right now.


That aside...this would be a great signing. And at £13.5m thats a good bit of business.

[antifan]

Huh. I wonder which source has it right.

Here we have Wenger expressing a sentiment conflicting the Guardian's report. (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=375199&cc=5901)
Exactly. I don't think this deal is happening. It only makes sense if Reyes leaves, which i don't think he is. I guess we'll know by tomorrow, if Reyes takes the field we'll know he's staying.

[Rewinder]

Wenger would never spend 13.5m on Ribery when we have Rosicky, Reyes, Hleb, Freddy, and to some extent RVP who can all play every role Ribery can fill.

Something must be up, either Reyes is gone, someone else is leaving, or this was a signing to keep Henry happy. Normally I would celebrate this kind of news, but I'd almost rather we used it on Davies - and I despise the guy(but at least he plays a position we need cover in).

Either they have this wrong, or something bigger is going on. Such as Reyes leaving and wenger already knows gallas would accept a move here. In such a case, I'd say other than DM we are set.

[PsychedelicCeltic]

walcott is a centre forward as much as reyes is (:rolleyes: ).
ya, he isn't. he may play upfront, but that is irrelevant.

hleb, reyes, ljungberg... not wild about? mind-boggling.
Walcott played up front at Southampton, and is equally at home there as he is on the right wing. And he's still 17. The odds of him playing significant first team football are low.

As for Hleb, Reyes and Ljungberg, the number 11 mean anything to you?

[CT_Gunner]

if we're selling reyes and cole and bringing in gallas and ribery then i'm beyond excited. but if we're selling cole to get ribery then i'm less enthusiastic and much more confused. since i don't think reyes is leaving, i'm going to assume that either gallas comes or arsene spends a little now to cover LB and then saves the money to make adjustments in January.

[blackjack]

Wenger would never spend 13.5m on Ribery when we have Rosicky, Reyes, Hleb, Freddy, and to some extent RVP who can all play every role Ribery can fill.

Ribery is better than every one of those players, and not by any small margin. I am worried about this signing. He will be a great asset to you lot, and 13.5 million is an absolute steal.

[deeplennon]

Wow. The Guardian. That's far far far from the BS that fills the News of the World or the Sun.

still doubt it though.

newsnow link to all stories 'ribery' (http://www.newsnow.co.uk/newsfeed/?search=ribery&x=0&y=0)

[Cannon]

Ribery is better than every one of those players, and not by any small margin. I am worried about this signing. He will be a great asset to you lot, and 13.5 million is an absolute steal.
Sure...just lend Wenger the Russian's checkbook and it'll be a done deal.

Someone forgot what "budget" means in the term "transfer budget" ;)

[Schu419]

It looks to me that the Guardian has been pretty speculative this Silly Season, as respectable as it seems in general. It could almost be seen as just guess work knowing well have a cash influx from, who else?, Cashley.

That said, claiming the Ribery deal is happening so definitely seems TOO speculative for the Guardian to risk. Plus, they credited the story to a few people in Zagreb, which makes me believe they could actually have inside info from the Arsenal camp.

We'll see soon....if it wasn't true I assume Wenger will outright deny it at the post-match after the qualifier. That makes me think even more so that the Guardian is right; if they knew they could be publicaly refuted in less than 24 hours, why bother with breaking the news?

[Cannon]

We'll know soon enough. If it is true, you have to think that one of the other widemids is gone or that Wenger is now just collecting them for fun. Like Spurs do with their 80 new mids each transfer window. ;)

If we go into the season having bought Rosicky and Ribery, lost all the old vets Bergkamp/Sol/Pires, and sold Cole without bringing in any dmid/defensive help...well, let's just say my already fairly modest expectations will drop much further.

[Schu419]

We'll know soon enough. If it is true, you have to think that one of the other widemids is gone or that Wenger is now just collecting them for fun. Like Spurs do with their 80 new mids each transfer window. ;)

If we go into the season having bought Rosicky and Ribery, lost all the old vets Bergkamp/Sol/Pires, and sold Cole without bringing in any dmid/defensive help...well, let's just say my already fairly modest expectations will drop much further.

so you thinK Reyes might be gone? Or just that losing a widemid is so unlikely that the Ribery signing didnt happen?

[antifan]

so you thinK Reyes might be gone? Or just that losing a widemid is so unlikely that the Ribery signing didnt happen?
We'll find out in about 12 hours, if Reyes doesn't play, then its obvious he's leaving. And if he's leaving, then its likely Ribery will be coming in to take his place.