Arsenal’s loan signing of Yossi Benayoun took place so late on transfer deadline day that there was no time for standard medical tests to be carried out.
Israeli website One.co.il reports that last Tuesday Benayoun and his agent decided he had to leave Chelsea, and flew from Israel to London via Frankfurt. On deadline day he had a flight leaving for Israel at 2300 UK time.
They go on to say, “Benayoun did not spend a moment at the Arsenal training ground and the club agreed that he did not have to take a medical. Even the fax was sent to the airport in London, just before his flight was to take off. He signed at the airport and immediately left to return to Israel.”
They then quote an Arsenal source who said they had wanted him to stay in London to close off some of the details of the deal, but because of his international committments he took the 2300 flight back to Israel ahead of their 1-0 defeat to Greece.
Benayoun missed most of last season with a serious Achilles injury and for a club like Arsenal, which already has an injury record as long as a mutant’s arm, to sign him without doing a medical represents something of a risk, even if it is just a loan deal.
Israel travel to Croatia for their Group F European Championships qualifier tomorrow night and Benayoun will meet up with his new teammates at Arsenal on Wednesday.
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Hat tip to Eran
Joy! Well, what’s the worst that could happen?
*Queue hilarious ‘Tom and Jerry’ style chain reaction of death as Benny sips his Dr Pepper*
I’m ok with this. If he’s injured, the boost he’ll give to the team upon his return will be like he is like a new signing.
Haha, Carlos! Well, that’s how our business is done nowadays, I’m afraid. Wait the whole summer and then do something like this on the last day. Better than nothing I guess. Or better than signing Sylvester, even if its before the deadline day.
He was fit and the best player in Chelsea pre-season.
exactly. he will be good for us this season. He was one of liverpools best players when he left, and in my poinion is still probably better than players like Henderson and Maxi.
Spot on, he has been fit all pre season and played well
Yeh true. He’ll probably have both his bollocks fall off or something now he’s signed for us though
That would make him a Benayounach.
very good…
Well seeing as he’s been signed on loan it’s not as big a risk as it first sounds. Anyway, he can’t be any more injury prone than the rest of our squad…ahem…Diaby…
Excuse me sir…..but who is this Diaby you mention?
haha nice
only a year, back up for hazard arrival at january, amen. so it was natural he doesnt take medic test
Benny confirmed today that Na$ri is a cunt.
so what? it was a loan and if he did work out then we would have just sent him back. no problem. now if arteta was signed without a medical then trhat would have been a big problem. but alls well that ends well.
Since when as a club did we do things the right way anyway.
arsenal is such a clown outfit. the board, the manager and the medical staff should be lined up against a wall and shot with a poo cannon. and then fired. arsenal fans should make a law suit forcing the club to withdraw from the league and cups this year to spare us the embarassment!!
With a new back 4 of Sagna, Mertesaker, Vermaelen and Santos I think we won’t be seeing a recurrence of the UTD collapse. A bit of creativity from Arteta will see us pushing on up the table. As long as the red cards stop piling up!
Then hopefully we’ll spend some more cash (don’t laugh) in Jan on a world class player like Hazard or Gourcuff, or a more defensive midfielder.
Really.. all that machine gun activity aimed at the Board, the Manager and the Medics of Arsenal Football Club.. Wow..so inventive in distruction.
lolz, why a spud fan is calling arsenal ‘we’?
Does anyone know the conditions of Benayoun’s loan?
Can Chelski recall him or can we send him back at any stage during the loan period?
No, season long loan means he stays with us until the end. Chelsea can’t recall him.
Woah that’s short sighted now I may be wrong but say he picks up a season long injury who has to pay his wages ?
We do (unless there’s some arrangement with Chelsea, which I doubt)
It’s only a loan deal. A fit player can get injured in the first week and be out all season, so a medical is no guarantee.
Lots of people are finding new and interesting ways to bash Arsenal. I don’t rate this particular one though. Try again son.
Yep! Nobody hates Arsenal like an Arsenal fan. If you want to read something positive try a Spurs blog.
What?
Considering that he was on his way to captain the national team against Greece, don’t think it was too much of an issue – that is of course until the Arsenal injury voodoo curse sets in. I have it on good sources however that the curse only manifests when players begin training at London Colney, so should get through the interlull unscathed, but maybe a doubt for the Swansea game until the home game against Norwich on 5th May. In all honesty though, is anyone particularly fussed about Benayoun? Out of all the signings during the summer (including AOC and… Read more »
I agree with you that this is the least exciting of the transfers; I think for me it is probably due to the fact he is a loan signing that is reminiscent of the Baptista for Reyes deal. That being said, part of me thinks this might be the most brilliant of the signings. It seems that he is coming to provide cover rather than carry the team (provide competition for Rosicky) and then allow for either Wilshire to fully take over or for a signing like Hazard. I would have been livid if he were to have been the… Read more »
Outraged.com
Maybe he was signed on a pay-as-you-play deal? Perhaps.
Most Liverpool supporters I have spoken to were unhappy to see him sold to Chelsea in the first place.
He can do a job for us if he stays fit.
I think it’s sillier that he flew from Israel to London just to sign a piece of paper. I’m not a rabid environmentalist or anything, but geez that is a terrible waste of gas.
I am pretty certain that Yossi B health and fitness is far better than Diaby, a player would have been on our books for so long, yet I have rarely seen him play more than 6 games per year, yet earning an obscene amount of money. Yossi B had one of the best pre -season at Chelsea, and having watched the Israel game last week, he appeared quite fit to me. Not great football but he was better than I expected, having never taken that much notice of him in the past. My concern is having have had so much… Read more »
caveat emptor
although as it’s a loan deal we’re not really the buyer.
His playing for Israel so can’t be in bad shape. Plus if he does get injured he will add excellent experience to the treatment room. We have had players sent back to us after an serious injury, so worst of the worst case… We send him back. For now, his is a midfielder and looking forward to some word up style Cameo performances.
[…] about Yossi Benayoun for a moment, it turns out that he apparently didn’t have a medical before signing. Not really a problem for me in all honesty. I know he had a big injury last season, but apart from […]
[…] the last piece of news today, it is revealed that Benayoun did not have a medical prior to signing for Arsenal. Let’s just hope that this gamble does not fail and we have another injured players on our […]
I understand we did the same with Na$ri, hence the medical team didn’t spot he was a cunt prior to signing. Apparently it’s quite a simple test.
In other news, Manchester City’ medical staff had to call in a gynecologist to confim Na$ri is, indeed, a cunt.
It is surprising- and a sign of how desperate we were/are.
Serve us right if he unscrewed his false leg when he gets back from international duty and then informs us he’s got to play because he’s Mick Bentner the greatest forward in the world.
Amaury Bischoff v 2.0
Have always liked benayoun and think he might prove to be more effective than arteta this season fitness assuming. Torres’ best spells at liverpool were when yossi was dictating from midfield. Direct, skillful, unselfish player. look at this incredible goal he scored in pre-season! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTZGcsZnVw&feature=related
Oh and Na$ri is a crab infected cunt
dosent need one, hes a loan player, not a paid for transfer
Nice one Cromulus. For the record and future reference.
Na$ri shall hence forth be known as the PRIKUNT.
if yossi was signing a permanent contract i wld be worried with the club for risking money that way. he is only on loan, meaning part of his wages still come from chelsea coffers, so arsenal are right to take a punt. after all, an injury free yossi is probably worth two bendtners, two diabys or even three scuillacis. the guy was terrific at westham and his perfomances at liverpool got him snaped up by chelsea. he is not a bad signing at all. me thinks too that this guys was a last minute signing only because his availlability only… Read more »
jeez just the type of business ethics and efficiency arsenal needs 😳
the boardroom down is rotten to the core with inadequate minded people
no, i think arsenal fans are rotten down to their very core in the absence of trophies.
I blame arsene wenger for winning trophies and making arsenal so big that everybody now expect trophies from arsenal every season. Arsene you are at fault for winning so many title in so little time and not spreading them evenly across your tenure.
I have no problem with this either. Yossi’s signing is there to strengthen the squad, and as a loan deal, the risk is minimal. This was always an opportunistic signing – the news of his intention to leave only surfaced on the day. Add to this the fact that he was the best performing Chelsea player during their pre-season indicates that his form is good and that he’s up and running. Not only that, he had also been called up to his national squad and was due to play for them. A very good signing by the club, and if… Read more »
oh c’mon! Did wilshere had a medical before having his injury? If he had then arsenal rightly decided to go for yossi w/o medical. he played good part of his international, medical are not oracle that will tell players gonna remain uninjured whole season. It’s a gamble and it’s worth it.
While there not a oracle it seems daft to take a player who has done his ligiments the season before and has barely played as a result on a season long loan before having a basic medical. Knowing arsenals luck he will play 4 games then have the injury flair up and ruling him out for the rest of the season while arsenal pay his wages. If it was a 3 month deal then yeah but sod being stuck with him on the books for a whole season when he could potentially still be crocked
Fuck it, it’s only a loan, not like we bought him.
[…] […]
[…] risk for a club like Arsenal, which seems to suffer more injuries than most, to sign a player without any kind of medical? Perhaps it’s standard procedure when a deal is done at the last minute but here’s a […]
[…] still gives us the problem of who is going to fill the advanced role of the midfield trio. Well Yossi ‘No medical’ Benayoun could play that role, but I’m not sure having two new signings in the midfield straight away would […]
But still to do a loan for a season with no medical when there on 50k plus is a gamble
[…] that when push came to shove the final details of his move had to be rushed. Indeed, just like Yossi Benayoun, the Spaniard signed on the dotted line at the Emirates without undertaking a medical; a serious […]
[…] more evidence that the summer spending was hasty as Mikel Arteta, like Yossi Benayoun before him, was signed without a medical. At a club like Arsenal, where injuries are as much a way of life as […]