I have out my Hungarian roots now and tell you guys you are all crazy! First of all, he's been one of the best keepers in the EPL since joining Palace. So he can adapt. Secondly, no track record??? This guy manned the posts for Hertha Berlin for several years, including the best period in recent memory for that team, when they were playing champions league football in the late 1990s. He faced off against Jens when Jens was making strikers rejoice back in Dortmund. Granted he is older now, but are these criticisms really on the mark? Lehmann is crap, everyone knows that, and Almunia is not the long term answer (or even the short term). Gabor wouldnt be too expensive either, but he would be an upgrade
Refer to my previous post. Anyone watch Bundesliga football, or at least Palace in recent weeks? This guy has proven himself.
Martins reminds me of a younger Freddie. A real firecracker of energy and never gives up. He seems like perfect Gunner material and would fit like a glove in Arsene's passing and constant motion style of attacking football.
I admit that I wasn't watching German soccer in that period so I can't say much about his performance then. I'm judging him on more recent (and probably relevant) data. He was a huge upgrade for Palace and had a nice run of form but he is certainly helped by their playing strategy. They keep everyone back and try to disrupt the attack and then release AJ on a counter to make use of his speed. This strategy requires a different kind of GK than ours. We will almost always have more space between our defense and GK than Palace. The keeper has to be more than a shot stopper to work under this added responsibility. I haven't seen anything in Kiraly that makes me confident that he can play that role for us. My point is that he is certainly not anything close to a clear upgrade, he is already complaining about being tired despite playing less games, and he is fairly old so we can't bring him in as a long term solution. BTW, as far as I can see Kiraly has little CL experience and played most of his europe matches at Hertha in the Uefa Cup. Not quite the same thing as the quarter-final of the CL.
Anyone seen this article yet? http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=321657&cc=5901 Looks like a promising one....especially if Edu is gone and Gilberto is knackered. Lyon, however, is doing well in the CL right now so it seems odd (even for the money) that they'd part with him right now. Thoughts, anyone?
He really caught my eye in the game against United at Old Trafford. A tough, no-nonsense tackler in the midfield, more in the Makelele mould than the Zidane. Could be just what we need although £16m seems a bit over ther top. I can't see how he'd be worth any more than half that.
I didn't see the match between Lyon and United....although I do recall it being one of the CL matches televised on ESPN2. 16m seems like a lot, I'll agree.....of course, unfortunately for us, the article is quick to mention that his other possible suitors won't balk at that price tag.
16m is a lot of money but might not be too bad if it is a deal like the one we made for JAR. FSW is showing the Sochaux v. Lyon match this afternoon so I might watch it to see how he looks.
Perhaps pricing is commensurate with need? We need someone to partner with Vieira in mid for long term (esp. with it appears no Edu or GIlberto) or take his spot in the future-is this guy the man? If so spend the $. If not get someone for back up that is cheaper and develop what we have here Flamini, Cesc, etc. Also he would be cup tied if he came now right? Does that stand until Lyon loses? If they lose?
I'm been emailing back and forth with some of my friends in Lyon, and they all tell me this guy is the real deal, very athletic and a smart player. Doesnt seem like it will happen though... of course as many have pointed out, Arsene always acts as if nothing will happen. For a club of our stature, and for one with such a thin bench right now though, we definitely need to do something.
To be honest, Sky Sports are about as bad as tabloid newspapers when it comes to prices to be paid for players (not surprising as Murdoch owns Sky sports and The Sun). He's cup-tied for the Champions League now whatever. He still won't be able to play for us ecen if Lyon get knocked out.
I am fairly certain he is cup-tied until the end of the CL, regardless of how far Lyon advances. However, the FA Cup is wide open for him.
Some other sources are listing the price about the same. Not cheap but if he is very talented, its probably worth it. And the price is supposedly why Lyon would be willing to let him go. Another factor is that some other big clubs are supposedly interested in him. Not only is it need deciding whether Arsenal will go after him now, but also the fact that they might lose out on him to another club if they wait. And waiting til summer could mean a bidding war for Essien.
I don't know much about contracts so correct me if I'm wrong. But if we don't manage to get him in this window, can't we get him to sign a contract with us so he joins in the summer with us no matter what?
You can only sign a pre-contract agreement like that if you are within six months of the expiry date of your current contract. Therefore Edu, Campbell and Pennant could do this right now if they want. However, I doubt if there's anything to stop us signing a contract with Lyon, with the player's agrrement of course, to sell him to us in the Summer.
I think Edu already has, but anyway Essien reminds me of Djemba x2. I hope I'm wrong but we can't afford to gamble with 16m.
i agree MT... Essien is a good player.. but that price is OVER THE TOP!!!! insane money for this guy.. hell, go a little higher and grab a joaquin (sarcasm) just put it in perspective.. that argentine maschereno would be half that..
Olympic Lyon is one of my darkhorse teams in this years Champions League. If they lose Essien, they immediately revert to pretenders as there is no one there to adequately replace him now, nor i'd imagine, with the short amount of time left in the january transfer window. OL would be stupid to let him go now, rather than in the summer, where his price could inflate(Champions League performance, League 1 Champions again) and a suitable replacement can be found. Its true that Wenger needs to bolster the midfield now...but he's going to have to look elsewhere. Plus, Arsenal really need someone that can play in the Champions League for their all important clash against Bayern and perhaps beyond.
Signing a player who is in the final three months of their contract is a Bosman free transfer. No compensation has to be paid to the team. That's how Sol Campbell became a Gunner. As someone said, Arsenal come to an agreement with Lyon to buy Eissen in the summer. That would eliminate the concerns over competition for the player. But it wouldn't lower the price of the player and it wouldn't help out with the midfield depth issues they have right now. As for Mascherano, I don't know if he would be much less expensive. I've heard it will cost at least $10m to get him, and maybe more, considering he is being looked at by a lot of clubs. There are also work permit issues. And there is more of a question whether he can adapt his game to the European style. With Eissen, there is much less concern over that, as well as settling in should be easier.
Yes, but how many high quality midfielders exist right now that could.... 1. step into the Arsenal first team right now 2. are possibly for sale during the January window and are affordable for us 3. are NOT cup-tied. It's a very short list, I'm quite certain. It, therefore, wouldn't suprise me if Wenger is being more realistic and would possibly sign Essien regardless of his cup status. Especially considering the fact that the FA and Prem fixture list provide more than enough congestion on their own.
[a href=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/4170225.stm[/a] I know that the Essien rumor has been discussed at length but I like him quite a bit, and is the Torres thing gaining steam or has it just slowly spread out to everyone? I don't know much about Abbiati, would this be a good move?
Didn't we try to buy him before getting Jens? He was quite good before he lost his place to Dida but I haven't seen him much since then. He did replace Dida when Dida was redcarded at the start of the season. Did ok but certainly not much to write home about. Difficult to say what type of form he might show now. However, he is one of the few keepers I've seen linked to us who: 1)might be available and 2)might be an actual upgrade over Jens. No idea if he'd want to move since he seemed happy to see out his time in Milan last time we came calling.