SUMMER TRANSFERS - Your thoughts on who did and did not sign

[Red Gunner]

Arsenal plan £8m summer move for Swansea captain Ashley Williams

Arsène Wenger wants to sign Ashley Williams from Swansea City at the end of the season having lost faith in his central defensive partnership of Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker.

Wenger has identified the Wales captain as someone with the leadership qualities to control and organise Arsenal's defence in a way more reminiscent of when the club built a large part of their success on having a dominant figure such as Tony Adams, Martin Keown or Steve Bould in the heart of their back four.

Arsenal face competition for the 28-year-old Williams from Liverpool, with Brendan Rodgers also prioritising the signing of at least one established centre-half in the summer and keen to recruit a player he previously managed at Swansea. Williams, contracted to 2015, would cost in the region of £8m.

Williams has been an integral part of Swansea's success since joining the club from Stockport County, in the Roberto Martínez era, establishing himself over the last five years as a key figure in defence with his reading of the game and ability to organise and take responsibility.

The absence of such a player has been repeatedly exposed during some of Arsenal's key matches this season, not least the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur that leaves Wenger's team seven points behind their rivals with 10 games remaining, facing the distinct possibility of finishing behind them for the first time since Gerry Francis was the manager at White Hart Lane in 1995.

Wenger had already made up his mind that he needed a new centre-half well before the north London derby and, ideally, wanted to bring in someone in the January transfer window. What happened at the weekend is hardly likely to have persuaded him to rethink bearing in mind the soft nature of Tottenham's goals and the way neither Vermaelen nor Mertesacker, experienced internationals with Belgium and Germany respectively, seem capable of taking charge of the team's defence.

Wenger, whose appointment of Bould as assistant manager this season has failed to find a solution, had hoped Vermaelen could be that controlling, organisational player but there are few signs of it happening. The Belgian was particularly culpable on Sunday when Arsenal's poor defensive line let in Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon to score in quick succession.

[augie]

From mertesacker to ashley williams.......great, just fcuking great Fits right in with this big splurge in quality signings we are told to expect in the summer eh

[g88ner]

From mertesacker to ashley williams.......great, just fcuking great Fits right in with this big splurge in quality signings we are told to expect in the summer eh

Why do it to yourself, mate? I reckon about 99% of these rumours are bollocks, so unless you have a talent for extracting that 1% from the rest, I'd ignore it. It's just not worth the effort.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned this summer can't possibly be any worse than recent years, because we've finally run out of players worth getting worked up about if they did leave. Sagna? meh. Vermaelen? meh. Podolski? meh. Diaby?? meeeeeeehhhh!

I can't see Wilshere and Cazorla leaving this summer, so fuck it. Bring it on. I reckon, with or without the lure of Champions League football, we can only improve on this bunch of average joes.

[rodders999]

Every summer since way back when, our captain F's off causing great angst among the masses but this year it's the summer transfer that I'm most looking forward to.

Vamos Vermaelen. Like so many of my relationships it started of so well but ended in tears.

[armchair]

Bring it on. I reckon, with or without the lure of Champions League football, we can only improve on this bunch of average joes.

Mmm. I wonder...................
Every season the quality gets worse. Sell a decent/good player, buy a lesser player.
Be hard to get worse than Squillachi, Gervinho, Arseshavin right enough. But I can never underestimate our manager.

[officepest]

You morons!

Don't you know we have £70M quid to spunk on utter bollo... I mean super quality signings this summer? Ignore what has happened for the last seven years, this is the year Wanger will get it right in the transfer window, allow his coaches to coach and ship out all our perrenial loan players.

Next year is our year, we will again go unbeaten in the league and defintely win the European cup, who'd heard of Gervinho and Giroud two years ago?

Have none of you worked half-a-day in football?

Arsene Knows!

[N1Goon]

Hmmm, let's think...


Get managed by Laudrup, the best young manager in Europe, win trophies, play with a great, well drilled team OR

[g88ner]

Bring it on. I reckon, with or without the lure of Champions League football, we can only improve on this bunch of average joes.

Mmm. I wonder...................
Every season the quality gets worse. Sell a decent/good player, buy a lesser player.
Be hard to get worse than Squillachi, Gervinho, Arseshavin right enough. But I can never underestimate our manager.

Yeah, I'm still amazed by our wonderful dealings in the summer of 2011.

We sold Cesc and Nasri, and signed Gervinho , Park , Santos , Mertesacker , Arteta and Chamberlain.

To think that Park and Santos are now out on loan, Mertesacker has failed to even remotely stem the flow of goals conceded and as for Gervinho...

And all that despite finishing top 4. If that's the shite the manager can achieve WITH CL football, imagine what he'll pull out of his magic hat if we're in the Europa league!

[green gooner]

One transfer that needs to happen is Mertesacker out the door. He now openly claims he 'switched off' during the spuds match ffs this man is meant to be our first choice CB and yet he tells us he is shit but is still guaranteed his starting place

Is the culture of defeat now so instilled in our team that they can get away with this kind of open, dumb and sickening admition of guilt in defeat and still expect us to accept it

[p206ab]

Not really relevant, but I just bought myself a new scarf today, do we have enough money to buy Villa now?
Thought that I paid for two minutes of Gervinho's life is making me return that thing

[Red Gunner]

Barca track Prem pair

Thomas Vermaelen and Daniel Agger are top of Barcelona’s wish-list.

The Spanish giants want a centre-back who fits their style of building attacks from the back.

Barca know Carles Puyol, 34, and Eric Abidal, 33, are coming to the end of their glittering careers.

Borussia Dortmund wanted too much money for Mats Hummels, so Liverpool ace Agger and Arsenal’s Vermaelen are in the frame.

La Liga leaders Barcelona sniffed around Agger, 28, in the summer when Manchester City had a £20million bid rejected.

Vermaelen, 27, is well thought of at the Nou Camp and the Spaniards believe a bid of £15million would test the Gunners’ resolve.

[mcdowell42]

the way tv5 has played this season if a very good offer came in id be inclined to take it.


Alex Song being linked with a move back to Arsenal from Barcelona and Vermaelen being linked with a move to Barcelona.,here we go again!!

twitter

[mcdowell42]

L'Equipe. reporting Arsene Wenger and Gilles Grimandi have met with Auxerre star striker Yaya Sanogo about a possible move to the Emirates

[Top Londoner]

the way tv5 has played this season if a very good offer came in id be inclined to take it.


Alex Song being linked with a move back to Arsenal from Barcelona and Vermaelen being linked with a move to Barcelona.,here we go again!!

twitter

Oh, the irony.

[Top Londoner]

Arsenal-plundering Manchester City are now eyeing up Carl Jenkinson.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/ ... er-1747547