You can’t help feeling that Arsenal’s summer is going to turn on the next few days.
The possible sale of Emmanuel Adebayor, approached by Manchester City and apparently on his way north, will very likely dictate the order of Mr Wenger’s business at least until pre-season kicks off. The figures quoted are likely to be unreliable, and I’d certainly like to see Ade pulling in a hefty fee, hopefully pushing £30million. £20million is Robbie Keane money, and though Ade certainly isn’t on anyone’s list of beloved Arsenal players right now, his European pedigree alone ought to guarantee a serious figure, especially if they’re going to be paying him anything like the numbers quoted.
People may also start to get a bit jittery about his sale. It’s easy to get carried away over how much you dislike a player when they end the season in poor form and give a series of foolish interviews. Some people have taken this too far, turning him into the solitary scapegoat for another frustrating climax to a season that stuttered, sparked, promised, then collapsed.
But with his exit now looking more and more likely, thoughts turn to what we’d be missing.
His crossbar-busting volley against Tottenham. His ridiculous overhead kick against Villarreal. The marvellous chest-and-smash finish at St James’ Park. These are not the goals of an ordinary footballer.
There’s also the sulking, the shrugging, the offsides and the non-commital strolling – of course. He has seemed to change visibly since Milan’s interest last summer. From the eager, enthusiastic big kid wowed by the Premiership playground, he has turned into a scowling, brooding presence, all heavy knees, trudging feet and hands on hips.
It happens to too many of the players who owe their stardom to Mr Wenger and Arsenal, far too many. Mr Wenger may have a wonderful eye for potential and an astute sense of how to turn it into top class footballers, but even he, it seems, can’t teach loyalty.
Still, he’s not gone yet, and an Ade-Rebirth may be round the corner, awkward as this would be.
And if he goes? We’d need a striker, and a serious goal-grabbing striker at that. The word is Chamakh, which feels for me like a sensible, like-for-like option. But it also feels like we’d probably be weakened overall by gaining the Moroccan at the Togolese’s expense. Less experience of top class football (though the same age at 25) and an inferior goals record. And still a hefty chunk of every second season away in Africa.
Chamakh has a famous work-rate and is a generous team-player. The goals he does score are very often with headers from crosses. Now, you might argue that that would add a much needed dimension to our team, but then is the midfield set up to provide the kind of service he’d need? I’m not so sure.
For me, the big question would have to be how much of a premium Mr Wenger sets on aerial ability. If this is what he’s after, he’ll need another Ade, and Chamakh would do. But then we already have a promising (that’s right), aerially imposing centre forward – Bendtner – who has a better goals ratio and is settled in the squad. Surely it wouldn’t be very Wengerish to bring in an older player of similar profile – or am I conflating the two players’ styles too simplistically?
Personally, I hope Mr Wenger thinks seriously about Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Ludicrously sidelined by the marquee signing jamboree and seemingly available for around £18m, I can’t think of a more natural goalscorer in Europe, and as the teams with the big wallets seem to follow the headlines and the fashion it looks like he’s without a major suitor. He’s not big, but he’s brilliant in the air and his style of play would complement any of RVP, Eduardo or Bendtner. We couldn’t use him as a target man, but then you could argue that Ade isn’t great in that role either.
I think he’d score a tonne.
Tags: Arsenal, Emmanuel Adebayor, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, man city
July 14th, 2009 at 1:31 am
If we sell ade, we will definitely need to buy & this huntelaar chap sounds promising…
July 14th, 2009 at 2:01 am
i’d rather see van der vaart come in, as he can play every role in the midfield. his creativity and experience would be welcome, and he could provide the service that you questioned midway through.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:21 am
Well written, accurate article. But RvP doesn’t get along too well with Huntelaar, believe it or not. VdV is definitely more interesting to me as well, but I don’t think Wenger will buy either one if Ade is sold or not.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:28 am
If Wenger want another Dutch, I like to see Robben coming. But i don’t think wenger will buy him.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:57 am
I thought RvP didn’t get along with Schnider? regardless, i have thought the same thing ever since Real went on their spending spree!
i believe Huntelaar is the perfect replacement for Ade and i hope Mr Wenger shares our thoughts.
van der vaart is more of an attacking midfielder however i agree he is a fantastic player. if Mr Wenger can mold him into the DM position he would do a better job than Flamini ever did.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:10 am
I’d love to see Robben too!… I thought our team have a lof of forward and walcott will be shining in this season with da right position!
July 14th, 2009 at 3:18 am
good piece here mate. Bendtner is too young to be relied upon, have to bring in. Chamahk and Huntelaar would be best along with a dm(flam?).
July 14th, 2009 at 3:39 am
nice lines really. Huntelaar would be a better replacement if ADE leaves.as a matter of fact, whether ADEBAYOR wishes to leave or not, the Prof. {ARSENE WENGER} should sell him cos we are really tired n fed up ADE’s lukewarm approach in front of goal. ADE, please u can go 4 all i care…..speacial love goes out to my gunner ex-love EVELYN JAMES ANIEBOK out there in Oklahoma, USA. love n miss u ‘DIAMOND’.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:57 am
dont think he’ll go……if he does go….then would’nt expect huntalaar…..i would rather, it be a unknown eduardo like striker for us…..chamakh? ya maybe….but berg is more likely!
in wenger we trust…..
July 14th, 2009 at 4:23 am
Ruud V Nistelrooy’s a better poacher than Huntellar. Also, cheaper and even quite familiar with the Gunners back room staff. Wenger should grab this bargain.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:02 am
Well, if Arsenal are really willing to sell Ade,then we better sell him to Milan,we will get 20m plus Flamini,i would love to see Flamini’s return.he is the guy that we need in the midfield.
he is a perfect back up for Cesc.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:03 am
Rud is almost 30,we dont need him at all.And wenger is much know for his youth and Potential squads.So to me he will or he must go wth Hunterlr to componsate the possible exit of Emanuel adE.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:08 am
buy huntelaar , robben and inler , sell adebayor, senderos ,traore and denilson
July 14th, 2009 at 5:27 am
no way…..
Traore is one for future….a real promising talent….dunt point ur fingers towards him mate….
July 14th, 2009 at 5:29 am
I personally believe we all ready have great goal scorers at the club without ‘ole greedy boy. In fact I’d go as far as to say that he is probably the least natural goal scorer of all our strikers ! 1 on 1 with the keeper, who would you rather see, Ade, or say , Arshavin, RVP, Eduardo or even Vela ? Then there’s Theo (who I believe Wenger will play up front this season) and even Bentner. So please, lets off load this lazy 1 season wonder and get the top class defensive midfielder we so desperately need, and if there’s any change left another hungry young striker who wants to play for our great club !
July 14th, 2009 at 5:30 am
Well, the issue of Ade leaving the clube is now a recurrent strory, and am sure our boss, Mr WENGER, has plannedfor his replacement, there is no doubt that chamakh will be a very good replacement, he will be finetuned to the very finished product we need, he will smoke at arsenal, Afterall, Ade was not like this beferoe he came to arsenal. he was worked upon , I trust wenger , he can make chamakh the best striker in the world.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Sel Ade 4 £30m nd get us Huntelar d goal hunter, Robben nd Inler plz…. Mr. Wenger.
July 14th, 2009 at 6:39 am
I think we should go for rud or huntelar the 2 players are goalmachine and this the kind of player that arsenal need. Rud would be the choice if arsene want to spend bid on a dm if not then huntelar will match. But certainly not chamach I am a regular watcher of ligue 1 and to be honest chamach is not good for arsenal his style is very similar to ade but not better he certainly won’t be a good addition for arsenal. And there is third attacker that I would like to see at arsenal and he is gignac he plays with toulouse and he is a goalmachine.
July 14th, 2009 at 6:39 am
If we get 25m for adeb .. we shud get a player, n Huntelaar is the nly name .. Proven goal scorer ..RVP countrymate .. If they sort out tat feud btw them (prof futballers have to) then no prob .. Cos ive a feelin 8m Chamakh cannot live up to expectation cos he has a bad finishin .. Also Huntelaar plays in a tuf league n has more exp ..So my vote for him.. N pls get DM posn sorted pls Mr.Wenger .. Veloso or Cana fast pls .. Pre season is approachin !!!
July 14th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Let jst wait and see.because if we start predicting we may fall on the ditch.
July 14th, 2009 at 6:47 am
I don’t think m. Chamak is a good replacement for ade because he is not a proven goal scorer like huntelaar. If ade leaves and we replace him with chamak, it will mean we have suceeded in replacing ade with another ade which i seriously think is the wrong thing to do. The hunter will be a sure replacement. We have a striker like rvp that can score outside the 18-yard box, all we need is another that has predatory instincts and dangerous in the penalty area, the hunter meets this requirements.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Sell ade, diaby nd get us d hunter. Plz mr Wenger get us a dm b4 pre season.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Wenger should go for ikechukwu uche of gatafe. He is a Nigerian, he has the power to unluck every defence. Even wenger watched him play against france. He disgraced Evra. We should go for him
July 14th, 2009 at 7:25 am
..think klaas can do better than this chamakha thing.he has played in champ’s league & ajax which plays almost similary to arsenal.Mr. Wenger put a smile on our face pls.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:26 am
..think klaas can do better than this chamakha thing.he has played in champ’s league & ajax which plays almost similary to arsenal style of play.Mr. Wenger put a smile on our face pls.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I think it is good if we sell Ade. He does not want to stay and it is time we allow him go. I don’t care if he joins Man city or any of our rivals.
His replacement? For me it is Hunterlaar and maybe Cana. Chamak will be off to the Nations cup next January which isn’t too good for us at the moment.
http://soccerfanbase.com
July 14th, 2009 at 7:56 am
i wuld lik to see Cana and Huntlr in case of ades’s deptur brfore pre-season.We hav got to do somthng this season.IN the werge to prove we are 1 of the top leagues in European football.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:58 am
@ ganesh
absolutly rit abt Chmuk.Guess he nt worthy enouh to replac Ade or the Strike what Wnger lukng for.He shud go wth HUntelar instead.
mke mony and some Big transfer mR.Wenger.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:32 am
I wnt everybody 2 knw dat prof already has his plans.bt i’m beggin him 2 plz buy an xperience DM bcos dats my major concern & sugest he get rid of ADE “WAWA”, Abou nonsense & he shld use silvestre as addition on Ade & get us a very gud striker dat he tink his gud 4 d team bt nt lyk Ade. Prof plz put a smile on our face… Gunners till dealth
July 14th, 2009 at 8:58 am
What is with wrong with everyone who are leaving comments saying Arsenal should buy the cheating snake that is Ruud van nis. Do you not forget him getting Viera (one of the greatest) sent off and all the other shit he caused when he played against Arsenal. Even in his biography Viera had a piece about how he had the highest respect for Roy Keane who was a true warrior, but how he wouldnt ever speak to Van nis and how he was a cheat and a horrible person. I’d stop supporting Arsenal if they got him but dont even fool yourself thinking Wenger would bring that greasy rat to Arsenal.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:14 am
If ADE is sold, i think our team need a replacement with premiership experience if premier leagu title would be one of our priority. In this case, I think an Obafemi Martins would be more suitable than a Chamakh or an Huntelaar.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:21 am
let adebayo go and find a replacement like torres upfront
July 14th, 2009 at 10:56 am
pretty sure Huntelaar is heading or is at Stutgart already so thats maybe not an option,I would have Chamakh or even Martins his explosive and um sure he can pull summ outta the bag…either way i jus cant wiat to see the back of Adebayor…dont remember if i have ever been this excited for a player to leave so that shws you how much we feel this idiot has taken the mik
July 14th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Ade should be sold but to AC Milan. Their offer of Flamini plus 20 million is the best and pls Mr. Wenger let us go for that and get Chamakh or Klass Huntelaar as Ade’s replacement.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Good we can sell adebayo and i know what is doing and the right player needed by the team.
July 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
now see this is why you should do more frequent posts (although i do understand the lack of real news recently), by far the best post on arsenal on the net over the last few months.
ade was definitely made the scapegoat by most gooners, who forget the workrate he put in not so long ago-and i do feel it is at least partially up to arsene to sort this out. What happens if we do get chamoukh and he turns out to be half decent?will he then bugger off a year later?
July 15th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
also kb ‘let ade go and find someone like torres’?please get real, how many players like torres are there,let alone available ones, let alone available ones in our price range. dont talk trash for the sake of talking.
March 21st, 2010 at 4:35 am
i was beginning to believe i may perhaps be the sole man or women whom thought about this, at least now i recognize im not loonie
i will be sure to look at various different articles immediately after i get a tad of caffeine in me, it can be very difficult to read with out my coffee, I was really late last night jamming myspace poker and after downing a few brewskies i wound up melting away all my zynga poker chips cheers 