^ Source? Last I heard both he and Clichy will discuss during the summer.

Where would Nasri go, anyway? Real Madrid won't buy, they just bought Sahin and gutted the Dortmund squad for 12 million Euros (I think). Barca? lol, not if they buy Fabregas. Any other English team? Doubt it. Back to France? Backstep for his career.

so...where? Bayern?

it seems Inter Milan are looking for the bargain price of $15 Million euros. I'm at work but i'll send you the link later, I think it was on caughtoffside.com

oh HIM? psh. Dortmund isn't letting him go, they're still annoyed about losing Sahin, but Madrid is overpaying (as usual) so they can go out and buy someone else now.

The mirror is full of crap usually IMO.

Nasri @ Inter? I can see that IFF Sneijder moves to Manchester. ONLY if that happens does it make sense.

Nasri has never won anything, even at Marseille, hes hungry for silverware and the prof isnt doing anything to improve the team. Relying on youth talent to win you championships will never work. We have a solid enough keeper, but I have a feeling we might be like Chelsea this summer and have a mass exodus at the emirates, I wouldnt be surprised one bit if Nasri and Fab go glory hunting at another club, I've never seen a season that began with so much promise go down the shitter in such a hurry like we did. Granted, we've had major injuries, particularly right when it seemed the team was beginning to gel, but I cant say i'd blame either one of them for wanting to leave. Losing gets old.

See Red? Chill. Let's just wait and see what happens in the summer. Nasri's body language on the pitch is still very positive (compared to Cesc's, who is undeniably hobbled right now, and whom we haven't seen in a while anyway.)

Not sure about a complete fire sale or exodus at Chelsea, but there are players that need to go. Bosingwa, Anelka, Kalou, should all be released in my opinion. I don't think we need to blow up the entire squad, but these players should be sent on their way. Essien and Lamps haven't looked the same since coming back from injury, and JT is starting to show his age. I don't think Essien will end up at Milan, given the quality of Seedorf, Pirlo and Abrosini, I don't see where he'd fit. He may end up back in France though.

I don't know if it comes from the manager or if we need to rid ourselves of dead weight on the team, but there does need to be a change. I would like to see us bring back Sturridge from loan, and add McEacharan to the starting 11. Sturridge wants to be an out and out striker, but I think he can be molded into a winger, like a Nani or Valencia. He has the pace and the ability to put balls in the box, and cut inside and put shots on target. I would also like to see us move back into a diamond shape in midfield, with a quality holding midfielder(aka Makalele) available to break down attacks, but also link the defense to the offense. A deep lying playmaker like Schweinsteiger or Pirlo. Another solid winger would help tremendously as another attacking threat, to replace Kalou. Biabiny, now of Sampdoria or Coutinho of Inter would fit this role perfectly, IF either of those clubs would let them go. Giving Josh McEacharan starting experience has got to happen sooner than later, so why not introduce him to play alongside Lampard?

Defensively, we have been shaky, but I think the players on our back line are still pretty good. I understand Luiz had a rough day yesterday, everyone has those moments. He's still young, I and I have faith in him. Ivanovic is solid, but his very slow, and found it hard to mark Rooney/Hernandez all day yesterday, which got him into trouble with Howard Webb. He probably should have seen red yesterday. A long term replacement right back may not be a bad idea; Ignazio Abate of Milan would be a dream signing for us, although I don't think Milan would let him go. Lastly, we need a long term replacement for JT. I love the man for his heart and his tenacity, but his body has been letting him down. He clearly wasn't at his best yesterday. Bolton need some cash, we could use a one Gary Cahill to be a replacement for JT should he decide to hang up the boots within the next few seasons.

Question for your Arsenal guys, where would Nasri go should he leave? He's already at one of the top clubs in the world, you can't go much higher than Arsenal. He could follow his compatriot Ribery to Bayern, but I can't see that move happening. They don't really need him at Barcelona, and Real Madrid are already up to their noses in midfielders, unless they unload Kaka. I can see him in an Inter shirt, as they'll be looking to reload and reclaim the Serie A title next season. I can see him playing alongside Sneijder. Nasri was more of a winger during his time at Marseille right? He could easily slide into a wide position, where he would replace Pandev. Pandev was a free transfer from Lazio, so I don't see Inter losing anything by doing this, and at €15 million, he'd be a great signing. Sneijder prefers playing at the top of a diamond attacking formation anyway. It would resemble:

------Sneijder------
Eto'o---Milito?---Nasri

^ dibs on Cahil!!

and Jon, I responded exactly that to Red a few posts back. I can't see Nasri excelling anywhere else except Arsenal, and MAYYYYBE Serie A with a team like Inter, but circumstances will dictate that, and to get him, I think they will actually have to offload Sneijder to make the money work.

lol I raped someone as Inter last night. They're too good in this game if you know how to use them. And +1 to Bayern. That was sad lmao

It's more fun when u play a noob who doens't know how to use them, they try to hard to counter attack...

then Fabregas *ping* over the top to van Persie...1-0

Fabregas to van Persie...2-0

Nasri wing magic...3-0

...wtf?

disconnect :rofl2:

Yeah I use the lob pass all the time and destroy people with it. I loveee playing noobs its hilarious.

it's more ridiculous if a player like theo walcott latches on the end of those. *ping* and off he goes to the races!

should try with southampton and see if oxen-chamberpot is rated as fast....

Was talking to one of my English friends in London, apparently Benzema is all but sealed, Fat headed Dane for a prolific scorer, yes please. Apparently Bayern are looking to pay $10 mil for Bendy, which will cover half the cost of the frenchman, can you imagine RvP and Benzema on the same pitch? A target man and a creative scorer, I actually have hope for winning something next year now.

Can I ask a newb futbol question?

yes sir.

When is the Champions League Final? Have I missed it? Is it still some weeks away?

I was watching pretty steady up until about a week ago.

you haven't missed it. man u plays barca @ wembley i believe on may 28th.

Karim Benzema for Arsenal? Sorry Gunners Fans, Not This Summer - FanHouse UK

^ i agree with this though red, what system would we deploy to put benzema on the pitch? i don't see wenger moving away from his tweaked 4-3-3 formation anytime soon, and even with all three of our strikers out against stoke, we never once went 4-4-2 and bombed away into the penalty box. it's not in our blood.

the only way i can see RvP and benzema on the pitch is if
1) we do adopt the 4-4-2, with van Persie behind benzema to act as an AM/CF, and benzema as an out and out ST.
2) we lost fabregas, drop van persie into a 'classic' 10 role, keep the 4-3-3 with nasri and walcott still on the wings, benzema becomes a target man.

...either way, it doesn't feel right.

28th of May

Cool. I was worried that I'd missed it.

I didnt read about that online, i've got good intel from local English newspapers according to my friend Laura, who actually has an apartment in the Ashburton area, lucky ass.

Not sure how we'll add him to the system, but i'm all for letting RvP settle into a more midfield position, in fabs old spot. He's an amazing creator and distributer of the ball, he also holds possession well, all depends if he feels like leaving his old spot up top, which I dont think he will.

I'm thinking a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield would suit us well, something like this:

-----0-----
-----------
-0--0-0--0-
-----0-----
-0-------0-
-----0-----
-----------
-----0-----
-----0-----

RvP as a creative forward and Benzema as the target man, I mean, we've got all summer to try new things out, friendlies n such, so i'm not worried.

I don't really have a team yet. I just mainly follow players who I recognize from World Cup and international play. But I enjoy watching the matches.

ah, the diamond formation, the chelsea of old.

so...i still see a problem

....................szczesny
..sagna.....vertonghendjourou.....vermaelen....clichy (still don't see this guy leaving :ugh2:)
.....................song......................... ..
.......wilshere.................nasri.
...................ramsey.
..............van persie...................
........................benzema..................

1) this assumes fabregas is gone, and i really, really hate to assume that. i still want cesc to be in red and white next season. if not, slot him behind van persie, but then i worry our spacing of our two most creative players is all off. cesc to rvp is like a ball on a string, and playing them that close together will make that very, very difficult.
2) walcott goes where? in fact, wingers go where? you could play theo instead of jack, but then where does jack go? also, our spacing on the wings goes to hell, and id be more concerned that we'd try even more to walk it through the middle of the defense than anything else.
3) people always claim jack wilshere = claude makalele. okay...then suppose he takes song's spot, where does song go???

this is why i'm not a football manager :ugh2:

i wonder if we're still going for eden hazard?

2nd thought, if we get benzema, do you freeze out chamakh? i imagine he didn't come out here just to warm the bench and get pittance minutes. i know everybody's turned against him lately b/c he's devoid of confidence, but i still appreciate his contributions early in the season, and i think with the summer training he'll get back to it. he deserves better imo.

players who do NOT deserve any further chance though: almunia, eboue, diaby, rosicky, denilson, bendtner (unfortunately...he's running his mouth too much for my liking, and his skills aren't where his talk is)

also will be interested to see if arsene takes a gamble and promotes young emmanuel frimpong to the first team. i think it's too early for him, but this is arsenal FC, so you never know.

Walcott IMHO is always going to be our super sub, the guy that comes in in the 70th when the opposition is already worn out. I've seen us shift formation to accomodate subs, so I would assume he'd be a replacement for Benz or RvP, and instead of a link formation up top, they'd open up to a LF and RF combo.

I've resolved to Fabs departure, Marca is already claiming his family has met with Pep, and honestly, I think fab has become more a liability to the team than anything, he doesnt play with heart and gusto anymore, he has too much respect for the club to come out publicly and say he wants a transfer, but you can see it in his play, hes made up his mind. If he doesnt go to Barca, he'll be bought by City for whatever Arsenal wants to sell him for.

Not sure about hazard, but I do know we've sent a transfer inquiry to Dortmund for Goetze, according to Laura, his agent is currently in negotiations for a transfer fee. I also hear that we may even try for Tasci to fill a CB position.

vertonghen and vermaelen in the back! let's bring ajax to arsenal :rofl2:

how is vertonghen?

Dont get your hopes up on Benzema!

good summary of everyone we're linked to.

Arsenal Transfer Rumours: 5 Players Linked with a Move to the Emirates | Bleacher Report

Lukaku will go to Chelsea, the dude is practically fellating Drogba with how much praise he gives the Ivorian.

Tasci would be an excellent signing, no mistake about it.

We like FC Lorient players, don't we? What, do our scouts get free tickets and some "benefits" when they go there? :p

Dont so much care about Lukaku, However, I'll take Gameiro if Benz flops, hes in the mold of RvP, can you imagine two of him?

Dont know much about the midfielder, but if hes free, why not?

Why is Fabs leaving Arsenal? Is it money?

According to douchebag extraordinaire Xavi, he has Barcelona DNA.:rolleyes:

He was prised from Barcelona's youth academy when he was 16, Barca didnt want him, he came to Arsenal, was molded into one of the best midfielders in the world, now they want him back.

They dont too much like the fact that he was purchased for pennies and is now valued at $40 million+

Gameiro highlight vid, his goals are very Van Persie-like

arsene should just say fck it and clone RvP :p

starting xi

szczesney

sagna samba vermaelen young (lol!)

van persie

van persie van persie

van persie

van persie

van persie

:roflpuke2:

then when the injuries hit, we go "oh ****" bwahaha

That sux, because in the few Arsenal games I've caught recently, he seems to be pretty fantastic in the offensive zone with RvP

hahaha :icon18:

in all honesty though, not suckin the mans ****, but behind Messi, all around skill wise, RvP is probably the best at what he does. Imagine if he stayed injury free year round, hes easily a 25+ goal a season forward.

BTW, Gameiro seems to be a pretty class player, i'd love to have him.

You should have seen him before all the Barcelona tapping up began, he was on a different level. Anymore, it seems his heart isnt with Arsenal like it once was.

i'll have to look when i get home.

who do you think we might go for LB red? honestly, i still like clichy, he's quick and agile for an LB, bombs forward, even got that random goal this season. but his head is too far in the clouds sometimes.

i think though, that can be fixed with a new no. 2 and a defensive coach who will 'bollock' him everytime clichy fluffs his lines lol

shado watch some replays of fabregas two seasons ago, and even last season. el capitan was unstoppable.

Not gonna lie, i've heard rumors that Leighton Baines might be on his way in, and to be honest, hes had some pretty impressive showings for Everton this season. I'm not ready to give up on Clichy though, his pace has saved our asses many a time, and while he does ball watch constantly and occasionally loses his man on set pieces, his positives outweight the negs. We better not get rid of the Bakery though, he was easily the best RB in the premiership this year.