Just Arsenal News

Could Kolo Toure be on his way back to Arsenal on a one year deal? by SS

He is going to be out of contract this summer and he and Manchester City have confirmed that there will be no new deal. He has said he would like to stay in England because his family is based here and he could be available on low wages compared to his Man City pay packet.

Arsene Wenger will surely be keeping his eye on proceedings concerning Toure because the Ivorian of course played for Arsenal for many years during the glory years. He was in the team when Arsenal last won a trophy in 2005 and was even in the squad when they won their last Premier League title. .......Read the full article here

Thomas Vermaelen has played just once for Arsenal since the devastating derby defeat at Tottenham, and that was only because Per Mertesacker was suspended for the Norwich game. At least the Belgian international has not fallen so far in Arsene Wenger’s estimation that Sebastien `the squid` Squillachi was preferred to him, but there is a growing belief in the football media that Vermaelen could be sold during this summer’s transfer window. .......Read the full article here

Johan Djourou has once again stated his desire to stay in Germany with the Bundesliga club Hannover, as he is plasying regularly and getting back into form, following ten league starts since moving on loan from the Gunners in January. Arsene Wenger had seemed reluctant to let him go, telling the 26-year old last summer that there was a place for him in the team to keep him at the Emirates. .......Read the full article here

It would be the strangest Arsenal transfer move for quite a while if one of the players to be signed in the summer was Carlos Vela. The 23-year old Mexican striker spent most of his time out on loan after signing for the Gunners back in 2005. Until Wenger finally let him go permanently to Real Sociedad last summer, Vela had played just 62 times for Arsenal, most of them being in cup competitions, scoring just 11 goals. .......Read the full article here

All of the talk and information coming out of Arsenal Football Club suggests that the days of scrimping and saving to pay off the Emirates Stadium are over. The latest financial figures show a big cash reserve and good profitability, with new sponsorship money on the way. It is not just the money to be able to compete with the big spenders over transfer fees that has seen Arsenal lose it’s best players and miss out on big name signings, however. The current wage structure at the club falls way short of what top players are earning, but that too is going to be torn up, apparently, so we really should be able to compete. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal will be signing at least one defender this summer, that much is clear. With Squillachi’s contract due to end and Johan Djourou hoping for a permanent move to Hannover where he is currently on loan, Arsenal have just three centre backs. Even if you think they are good enough, that leaves the Gunners one short in the squad, but most Gooners would agree that Arsene Wenger needs to sign a central defender who will improve the starting line up, not just be cover. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal have let Johan Djourou go out on loan to the Bundesliga club Hannover for the rest of the season, and Arsene Wenger will happily let the move become permanent. That leaves Arsenal with just three proper centre backs, bhecause I do not class Squillachi in that description. The Gunners do have some talent in the under-21s, but really need at least one more quality defender in the squad.

One player who fits the bill and has impressed Wenger considerably is the 28-year old captain of Wales, Ashley Williams. The centre back had another fantastic game last night as Swansea stopped Chelsea from scoring and went through to the final of the Capital One cup. Arsenal will have to pay way over the odds to sign Williams now, but are looking at bringing him to the Emirates in the summer, according to the Mirror. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has admitted to his frustration that Arsenal left themselves too much to do to get back into the game against Man City. The players did brilliantly in the second half and were a little unlucky not to score, but the poor defending in the first half that allowed City to score two goals put the team in too difficult a position, and should have been avoided.

It was always going to be difficult once we went a man down to the Premier league champions, but once Szczesny saved the penalty, we should have been concentrating on keeping solid at the back, but the defenders switched off for both goals, and Wenger cannot blame the strikers because they did not get many chances. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal have already released a couple of players on loan deals during this transfer window, with Marouane Chamakh off to West Ham for the rest of the season and Johan Djourou joining Hannover in the German Dundesliga. There have been expectations that Squaillachi and Arshavin might also be on their way out of the Emirates, but Arsene Wenger has said that Arsenal are not looking to offload any more players at the minute.

“At the moment, no.

“We have a good squad, a balanced one. At the moment, nobody can go out unless we buy somebody. At the moment our focus is to keep everybody. In every position we have two players. Three is two many and one is not enough.” .......Read the full article here

Arsenal were expected to sign a few players in the January transfer window anyway, but they have already agreed deals with West Ham and Hannover for Chamakh and Djourou until the end of the season. With Squillachi and Arshavin also expected to leave, either permanently or on loan, Arsene Wenger has even more options and wages to play with.

If Squillachi does leave, it will allow Wenger to sign two top quality defenders, and the German international Benedikt Howedes is likely to be one of them. The 24-year old captain of Schalke has halted the talks he was having with the German club about extending his contract which runs out in 2014. .......Read the full article here

Bonjour Sebastian by AH

Squillaci, well what can you say about this guy. He has been absolutely diabolical for Arsenal in my opinion. But now it seems that he is on his way out of the Emirates. Costing us a reported £4 million from Sevilla back in 2010, the Frenchman went on to make 39 appearances scoring 2 goals in the process. Squillaci is out of contract this summer and the former French international had this to say on his future; .......Read the full article here

With the January transfer window looming, Arsenal are becoming linked with lots of players. The poor start to the season for the Gunners, and the statement by Ivan Gazidis that there was money available to Arsene Wenger means that speculation is rife about who will be coming to the Emirates in January. Rumours on Twitter this weekend said that Arsenal had agreed a deal with a young French striker to join from Lyon in January, but there is more than a slight whiff of rodent to the whole story. .......Read the full article here