Robin van Persie!
Wednesday, 08 July 09, 07:48 AM · Comments(9)
So much to get through, so little time.
1) Robin van Persie, announce Arse.com, has signed a new contract with Arsenal. The deal is thought to be £80,000 per week for the Dutchman's best day of his career. Now, I'm what Agent Mulder might have termed a van Persie sceptic, but even I have to admit that his Arsenal statistics, 63 goals in 177 appearances, are pretty good for someone who has spent more time on the treatment table than the football pitch over the last half a decade. Whilst 20 goals from 44 appearances last season is a clear improvement. When he talks of his heart being with Arsenal, and how much he loves the club, it might sound to some like he's trying to keep the fans sweet but I am reminded of his comments two years ago, prior to the season that ended in so much heartbreak, where he talked about people not realising the potential of this club. We need players like that at this club.
2) As you know, I tend to stay away from the financial/ political side of the football club- and there is very much a political side to it, but the board have decided that they are on a sound enough financial footing, without needing to resort to an Usmanov suggested rights issue. It's not that surprising, is it? Gazidis has been talking, both to Arseblog and the official site, and I think he's sent a clear message that success can't be promised for ever, it must be delivered at some point. What better time to send that message, then as pre season training commences?
3) Speaking of pre season training, I'm sure there isn't an Arsenal fan out there that won't be heartened by the sight of... the rain hammering down on our players. I got drenched on the way back from work yesterday (twice), so it's nice to see that footballers can suffer a right good soaking too. Seriously though, I was talking about being heartened, and it is heartening to see Eduardo, Rosicky, Gallas and, to a lesser extent, Senderos being put through their paces. Could Senderos still have a future at Arsenal? The presence of these players only serves to highlight the amount of talent at the manager's disposal. Hopefully, both Eduardo and Rosicky will still be at the manager's disposal in a couple of months time.
4) It seems, sadly, that Felipe Melo is on his way to Juventus. The search for Gilberto's successor goes on...
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RocktheCasbah
London, GB
Truth, justice and the Arsenal way
9 Comments · Add yours
I don't think we were ever going to pay the money Fiorentina wanted for Melo.
It's hard to see Wenger being happy paying around £20m when you consider how much he went for only last year. If we were to get him at anything near that price, I think it would be a massive sign from Wenger that he is deeply unhappy with what Denilson, Diaby and Song offer, and I just don't think that would be the case.
And you can't beat playing football in the rain.
Reply to Tam:
It's great for sliding tackles.
Unless you play on Astro...
Reply to RocktheCasbah:
That can be more than a little nasty.
You end up looking like someone has taken a cheesegrater to your arms!
Reply to Tam:
It's the carpet burned knees that get me.
Ah, I wear trackie bottoms usually, no skinned knees for me
Something I meant to mention earlier about Van Persie's reported wages. This irks me a bit to be honest. We're apparently paying him around £80k-ish, but I don't think he's really earned that yet, just as Ade didn't when his wages doubled, and the same for Walcott. I want to see not only them, but the the whole team, deliver performances throughout the season worthy of those wages. Right now we're paying top dollar based on market values and not performances. It's about time we got a reasonable return for the high wages these guys are paid.
Reply to Tam:
You're spot on about these players wages. We haven't seen enough from Theo in particular to justify the wages he gets.