Life goes on, i also think Vieira's performances last season weren't befitting of the "world's best defensive midfielder". He's reached his peak a few seasons ago. It's time to move on. Bring on some fresh blood.
I like that fresh blood attitude for sure.. some hungry replacement would be hopeful. it seems this is the first summer the Arsenal Board are interested in selling off Vieira.. stunned AW wants too.
Am I missing something? Why is everyone so resigned to this transfer happening this time around? The reports don't seem any less sketchy than last summer, IMHO.
I mentioned this the other day on another board but I that we're selling Vieira to fund a huge bid for SWP. I began thinking this the other day when the Vieira to Juve rumors really heated up and AW made his comments about wanting SWP. He knows the only way we could compete with Chelsea for his signature is to sell a player and put the funds towrds the bid...and now, Vieira is apparently gone. I may be way off base here but I think this is what's happening.
This seems a more likely reason than any other I've heard. There's just something that bothers me about letting our captain go.
IF this is true then I think AW is just sick of the crap that goes on every summer with Vieira and feels that this is the right time to let him go. AW can always find players so I'm sure he has someone to step into the CM role if Vieira does leave.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=337013&cc=5901 If it is true that he is all but gone, the question for me is what kind of central midfielder AW will bring in. I have a hunch that AW is going to surprise everyone and go for a big name as opposed to a young, promising player or a squad player. I don't know who, but my guess is that it will be our second of three "world class signings". Sol Campbell for Captain, if Vieira goes.
I don't think so - not enough playing time. DB10 for his last season seems more fitting, but he'll have the same problem - not enough playing time. Therefore, I propose your favorite and mine, TH14.
what was madrid's bid last summer? 10 mil (if it is true) seems quite low compared to what, IIRC, like 22 mil...now did PV4 give arsenal 12 mil worth of effort? hmmmmm.....not so sure. Looks like (if it is true) we are takin' it up the arse.
If Vieira does end up leaving this summer, then we can look back and realize that we should have sold him last summer. And if we learn our lesson from the whole thing, I think Pires will be following him out the door this summer. I am a big fan of both players, but I think it may be time for them to go.
this is really dissapointing, just saw it on the 1hr sky sports bit on fsc. 10m for our captain, who is one of the finest dms in the game today... Who does wenger think is going to replace Vieira...for 10m I wouldnt mind selling him for something in the region of 16-20m+ but 10 is a slap in the face. Taking the most successful english team this decade's captain, and all round world class player for 10m is outright insulting. All i can do now is hope i log on tomorrow and find out that wasnt true. If it is, then i better hope wenger has a much larger transfer chest then we all think, because a replacement isnt going to come cheap. Pires though one of our best players, can be replaced by several players, but precious few can fill vieiras boots, and none of them come for 10m.
All that's left to do is smile, smile, smile... Let's wait and hear it come out of the "captain's" mouth. I stand by my sig...Wenger is a Jedi.
Mad rep for you on that one, especially with the "He's Gone" ref. Now he's Gone Lord he's gone Like a steam locomotive rolling down the track He's gone He's gone and nothing's gonna bring him back He's gone
+++ £10m saved from paying our highest earner. This deal works out to be more than it appears to us. That money saved on Vieira's wages can be funneled into our transfer deals for new players. Assuming that we have £10-12M already reserved, as it would appear from our Baptista negotiations. Add to that the £10M+ transfer fee for Vieira, coupled with the release of his wages, then we are looking at a transfer kitty of upto £30M to invest in new players. That is more than enough for Wenger to dine out on.
Last season? I don't see why most people assume we rejected Real's overtures. It was in fact Vieira's decision not to leave last year. Financially motivated no doubt as Real wouldn't meet his demands. Wenger said at the time that we had more or less accepted Real offer and were only waiting for Vieira to give the final okay. Anyway, Vieira's importance to us has waned over the last year. We performed for a large part of the season noticeably better without his influence than with him in the side. The club positions has also changed as we aren't currently sitting on top of the tree domestically, we need lean, hungry players to win back the title from Chelsea and Vieira's performances of last season casts doubts over whether he fits into that description. For me, it's the right time to go. We are unlikely to ever see the Vieira of '98-'02 again. There are other players out there who can replicate if not better the performances we saw from Vieira last season. And that is all that really matters at the end of the day.
agree with all of this. from the independen t..... The departure of Patrick Vieira from Arsenal after nine years at the club came a step closer yesterday when Juventus officials met their counterparts at Highbury for a deal that could be worth around £15m if the two parties can agree a fee.
I know that many here disagree, but letting Vieira go is a huge mistake. Who will become captain is just one of many problems. Look at the end of season performances when both Paddy and Gil were finally healthy. Is there a better central midfield anywhere? Not in my opinion. Patrick is the link from defense to offense, he is the best interceptor of opposition attacks we have, he is the guy the offense looks to when we need to reset and resume the attack. No other single players performs so many roles so well. And don't forget his absolutely brilliant goal against Everton. And who will be captain- who else do all of the other players respect? Sol may only start half the games, Lord Dennis may start less; Titi, for all his massive talent, can disappear at crucial moments. It goes on and on. Replacements? Cesc, great as he is and will be, is still too young to play the number of games required. At the end of last season, you could tell he was worn down. Flamini? Still unproven IMO. Who else is there? (Please, do not say Hleb). And, what does this say of Arsenal. Are we building a team for great things, or are we now a selling club? Vieira is only 29 and gven his athleticism may have 6-8 good years left. 15M pounds seems awfully low. Juve must think we are idiots. Liverpool fought to keep their captain, don't we have at least as much ambition as they do?
I agree with you TopCat, I mean i understand that Paddy of a few years ago is not the same player we have now, but look at the way the season ended, and you see how much he is worth to us. I think this is a big mistake.
Does his injury record suggest that? I think not. Not to cause offense, but, have you not been paying attention for the last 5 or 6 years? I was as happy as the next man when Vieira finally started to perform for us but the problem is the ship had already sailed by that point. I'll try and address some of your other points in the morning.
Wow, how could I be offended by a statement like that? Not to cause death, but I'll just empty this revolver into you! To each his own. I think he still has a lot to offer. I don't think any argument I make will dissade you from your point of view.
Wow. El Capitan is gone. That sucks. I'm gonna totally miss Vieira...glad I got to see him hoist one more piece of hardware as a Gunner before the move. It just feels like Arsenal is getting ripped off, unless one of AW's 'one or two' other signings comes to fruition and blows us all away. Anything short of Robinho or that caliber of player is a disservice to the club.