Having played down the prospect of a move for Fulham’s Dimitar Berbatov yesterday, Arsene Wenger also dismissed speculation linking Arsenal with a January move for Atletico Madrid’s in-form striker Diego Costa.
Pointing out the Brazilian-born attacker would cost a far bigger fee than the often quoted £32 million buyout clause, Wenger admitted that he was focused on more realistic targets during the now open transfer window.
“What, £145m?!” joked the boss when asked if 25-year-old Costa was a likely recruit in the coming weeks.
He has a point. When you consider Atletico, under the stewardship of Gilles Grimandi’s mate Diego Simeone, are level on points with table-topping Barcelona it’s pretty obvious they aren’t going to get shot of their main man just for a few quid in the bank when they could end an 18-year wait for a La Liga title.
Admitting that he does need a new attacker if Nicklas Bendtner is ruled out for more than three weeks, Wenger also weighed up the quandary of going for someone who offers value in the short-term against picking up a long-term gem.
“Is it for short term or a stop-gap? Ideally, you want a longer solution. But a longer solution looks much more difficult to find in January than a short gap.
“You can find a solution somewhere – a club that has financial trouble and wants to get rid of a big contract for five or six months.
“But to find in January exactly the player who will be tomorrow’s star on the longer term is much more difficult.”
With one two rumours killed off, two new names came to the fore overnight with Juventus’ Mirko Vucinic and Bayern’s Mario Mandzukic the latest to be linked with a move to the Emirates.
Arseblog News suspects they’ll be dismissed out of hand next week.
I saw wenger at the market getting discount fried chicken
He’s making meth for the guy I heard, that’s why..
seems not everyone watched the show 🙁
It was a brilliant, for those in the know.
In 2 years, the fried chicken will be worth £22M.
Abel hernandez
I recently watched an Interview which Wenger gave to some blokes and garnered a few insights into why we do not sign certain supposedly talented footballers. A case in point is Suarez before coming to the Mugmashers. The journalist asked Wenger if he had known Suarez and he said yes. He then went on to say before moving to Ajax, Suarez played for another smaller team in the Netherlands and that was when he expected the scouts to spot him, not when he is playing in the Champions league with Ajax. The same goes for Banteke, if we spend 20… Read more »
Makes sense, except clearly everyone made a mistake not picking out Suarez – look at his scoring record for Uruguay, Ajax and Liverpool…so yeah often times the scouts get it right but Suarez is a horrible example as the scouts clearly over-looked a gem. Not all players blossom at lower levels, sometimes they need to age before they explode.
Not sure about all the down votes here, the guy is a good age and Palermo aren’t in a position to demand a massive fee despite the potential he has. You can dismiss him as being in serie b but he has 7 goals in 11 games for Uruguay. Obviously a world class player would be nice but i’d imagine a cover player is all we can expect and you may struggle to find better.
5 of those goals came in one game against Tahiti.
Jay Rodriguez ?
peter crouch
That’s actually not a bad shout at all
I’m not having that lanky sp*rs cunt in a Arsenal shirt.
I’d take back Adebayor if it won us the league
Da Fuq is wrong with the two of you?
I really really really want us to win the league! Why, dafuq is wrong with you??
Apart from the fact Crouch is completely shit, it’s still a terrible idea.
And the idea of Adebayor being back and us winning the league is incompatible. The reason we haven’t won the league is because of shit heels like him who thought they were better/bigger than they were. Watch him in a few months time (if that long) revert to his usual, slack, self-indulgent self.
Besides the obvious and astronomical difference in quality, plenty of Arsenal fans were pretty prepared to get behind a bitey racist. So let’s not get all pious.
And I thought the Adebayor thing was pretty obviously tongue-in-cheek
I actually thought that the main reason we haven’t won the league is because we have sold our best players every season since we moved to the Grove. It’s no coincidence that the first year we did not and added quality to the squad, we are in the mix.
I think Morata is the most viable option,he is quality player(second fiddle at Madrid) whom we could get on loan,but it will be difficult him being the second… ,Madrid would’nt let him go easily.I would really like wenger to push for this deal,it ticks all the boxes(Cheap,short term and QUALITY).But anyway “IN ARSENE WE TRUST”
Morata would be a perfect fit, on loan until the end of the season. We can then reassess.
If Joel Campbell has his work permit I’d recall him from Olympiakos. I’ve watched him about 15 times this season and he seems more mature playing-wise than Chuba or Afobe by a mile, think he could be a decent alternative to Oli (or Lord Nick)
He’s done well, but isn’t he basically another wide forward rather than a central striker? We’re pretty well stocked with options either side of the main man.
He’s played in a 4-4-2 system with him and Ruiz up front for Costa Rica but he mainly plays out on the wings for them and Olympiakos. We’d be better off just playing Podolski or Walcott up front than dragging him away from first team football into a role he’s not suited too yet.
Your comments are gold Blogs. Even after reading your articles, I’d scroll down for your banter. Cheerio mate.
Ah yeah that’s definitely true, I meant if Wenger sees him as a striker then it could be a good idea. If Wenger sees him out wide, then with Chambo coming back and Gnabry showing loads of potential we aren’t really in need of another wide man. Might be in all of our best interest’s for him to stay at Olympiakos till the end of the season and maybe get a year loan to a Prem team next season.
I’d fancy Simeone to take over from Wenger when the time comes.
Imagine having HELLBOY on the sidelines… Brilliant!
Steven Fletcher
actuallly not a bad idea.ok not the greatest signing ever but let be realistic,none of the striker anyone here want (lewandoski,mandzukic,..) are avalaiblre to buy this month. Morata could be great but then he has to adapt to the PL , some of young striker in championship (ings,rhodes) could be better gamble than a young spaniard
we could get kevin Phillips for free
Mandzukic is never going to happen at this time of year. He is pretty much Bayerns (who also happen to be our next opponent in the CL) main striker. Sometimes the ignorance of people and the media that people subscribe to astounds me.
He seems a bit out of favor with Guardiola. But I agree it won’t happen now, perhaps in the summer after they secure Lewandowski. He’d be a fine choice!
Crouching Peter, hidden Chu Young. Fine west Costa feeling Gerd.
When they send a journo somewhere, he’ll have to send back a story.
And ‘Striker-x deal is defo off’ simply doesn’t sell as well as ‘Arsenal to snub Falcao’.
This is even true even if they haven’t sent a ‘journo’.
How about Remy?
Hasn’t he got a rape charge to answer too or has that been dealt with?
remy is on paid loan until the end of the season at newcastle,we cant have him
Arsene should go for Michu.Fits the bill perfectly.
mandzudic isn’t viable as bayern wont sell him to us in january as lewa being cup tied they wont be able to field a proper #9 in ucl which they have a strong chance of winning and creating history too..blogs explained about costa so all in all arsenal signing a top top quality CF are pushed till the summer..so it would be nice if these transfer rumour could halt and let wenger do his magic and do what he wants to with his squad..peace!
Michu wouldnt be a bad addition! Obviously i’d love either Diego or Edison but can’t see either of them coming!!
Dutch skunk back? Stranger things have happened
Only if he came crawling back, and by crawling I really mean crawling. For example stating that United sucks in every possible way and Arsenal is superior at everything. And then some crying. Actually, lots of it. Followed by a hat trick of own goals for United. In several matches in a row.
Wagnar. Buy all da playas for dis teem, wiv dem we will win da titel.
Gunnars 4 lyf.
he nids 2 by ronoldo cos he scors lot of goles. or else wagnar out.
WENGA BY DIS PLAYA OR SACK WENGA
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in the country.
No, he’s not. He’s in wales!
Wouldiego to us at this time of the season anyway?
i dont think so!
Fabio Quagliarella
Menez free of contract at the end of season. Gomis…etc Shor term solutions are around I think
ho no not gomis he is sh*t,we dont need menez
Well, Menez isn’t a striker and gomis is not going to move until the summer
Guiseppe Rossi, would he be good enough of we need a striker?
he just arrive at fiorentina where he score lot of goal,why fiorentina would sell and him leave
Definitely good enough, but he has a similar release clause to Costa (35m)
If w’re looking for a stop-gap, I liked the look of Bony the other day. And then Costa, Martinez or Lewandowski in the summer! Simples 🙂
The free transfer (bosman) of Lewandowski to Bayern in the summer was announced yesterday, so there is no way he’ll come to us.
I like Bony but I don’t think he’d suit our system (like he hasn’t fitted that well with the swans).
Will we go back in for Demba Ba….gulp!
I think Pato would bring some buzz with him. Some positive energy. He just needs to feel loved. I remember the excitement when Milan 1st signed him. His youtube videos at the time, prior to his arrival, were legendary.
I would love to see Pato play for us.
And he’s injury prone as well…jackpot!
I know, its great isnt it. Here we find a young, fast and technically gifted player with a wealth of european experience. A guy that will benefit most from atacking defences of a less shut up shop nature. The frenetic pace of the premiership and the countless opportunities to take the ball past people more likely to commit to a tackle could make for entertaining viewing. Assuming you enjoy, as I do, watching opponents get humiliated on the pitch by outrageous skills. Ya? Ya.
Pato always disappointed in games that actually mattered, prime example was when they played us, Pato was anonymous for 180 minutes
I don’t see any signings happening in Jan. There’s no point in signing ‘potentials’ as we already have enough of them in Akpom, Sanogo, Afobe and Joel Campbell. A proven young goalscorer who can play upfront will only happen in the summer. Let’s see what we can do with what we have. Now that our master creator is back, let’s set Theo running shall we?
It’s been said before by many people on here. A world class striker is never going to move in January!
Well, Chelsea bought Torres from Liverpool in January IIRC, and he was considered world class at the time. Liverpool then bought ol’Andy (haha!) and Suarez in January. Buying in January is not impossible, but it’ll cost extra, so I don’t see it happening.
Did suarez move in Jan?
If he did, he’s the only example you’ve made that’s world class.
How about Kostas Mitroglou?
Just signed a new deal with Olympiakos, re gamoto.
He looks like Eduardo on steroids. I like this.
Carlos Vela? With the buy back clause he’d be a good cheap option. He’s playing very well this season.
Vela can’t play as a lone striker. He is a winger at Sociedad (or a wide player in a 4-3-3). At best he would be an option for Walcott, but that doesn’t solve our striker problem. I’d go for Berbatov as a short term option. Well, we’ll just have to see.
Fantastic work by the mirror backing up their made up story with their own made up story
“Mirror Sport has reported on Arsenal’s scouting missions on Costa and even revealed last August that they started looking at him as a back-up option for their main summer target Luis Suarez”
Jelavic at Everton would be a good option- he’s a player, but his confidence is shot. Forlan could also do a job
Mind
The
Gap!!!
SHANE MOTHEREFFING LONG.
I’m desperate.
Not only can I not see Atletico selling Costa, I can’t see Costa want to go either. Not when Atletico are doing so well in la liga and the CL. And not in a world cup year. Then again, I couldn’t see him choosing to play for Spain over Brazil when he’d almost be a guaranteed starter for the Seleção and the world cup is going to be in fricking Brazil!
PAPISSE DEMBA CISSE, hes been horrible recently but the quality he showed in his first 6 months cant completely evaporate.
Some1 who could lead the line after giroud and fits the criteria la prof is looking 4 and could bag in some goals with the style of play and service hed get at ARSENAL…cheap, overlooked at newcastle and would jump at yhe chance to join us
I would rather djabril cisse. But he is injury prone.
Lavezzi? I always used to buy him on FIFA. Great ball control (on FIFA).
(Joseph Yobo was rated an 84 on Fifa 10.)
What About El Sharawy? didn’t milan want him out as soon as possible? or Maybe one of the other colombian strikers that classified for the world cup, like Teofilo Gutierrez. Or who knows, maybe we find the striker in stranger lands such as united states of north america.
what about Jackson Martinez-self confessed gooner
Should have a look at Son Heung-Min from Leverkusen. Consistent goalscorer, two-footed, young and would keep Park Chu Yong company!
Wonder how much the fines would be to recall Joel Campbell from loan?
Bring back Thierry! That’s what I say.
Morata fits the bill if a loan can be done. No reason for us to sign a player like that on a permanent deal with giroud, bendtner and Sanogo all looking to play that role. Poldi and theo are our “something different” so again no need for that! Young prospect at centre back required!
How about Carlos Vela? Apparently we have a ~£5m buy-back clause for him and he is pretty decent. I don’t know if he would fit in the system though.
Am I the only one who thinks Pato is thoroughly average..? Wouldn’t want him anywhere near us. If we’re gonna buy someone surely needs to be someone who can hit the ground running, which I think he most certainly would not.
I know we’ve been saying it for years and most times he’s got the chance he hasn’t really done much with it, but I’d still rather give Walcott another go than most of the names banded around here. He seems a far more intelligent player this year, his runs off the back of defenders are looking absolutely top notch.
can we bring henry on loan. i would prefer him over berba. vela could be good too, if that buyback clause exists.
What about bringing back Eduardo and pretending we signed Diego Costa?
As mentioned, I think we’d be chasing shadows with Costa and there will be very few top strikers available in the market. Those that may come on will have plenty of suitors. This is a world cup year and any agent worth his salt will likely play the game and drive prices up, there will be no compunction to sell ahead of the summer. Thereby : 1) Michu – Good enough. Intelligent, decent in front of goal, lanky and suitably quick/mobile. Won’t cost us a fortune (likely 12m) and can be re-roled to midfield in the summer (in lieu of… Read more »
ADEBAYOR!
Godzilla + HULK. That sounds incredible.
Sign up Wang Chung.
So we can sing “Everybody Wang Chung tonight”
What about Adrian Ramos from Hertha BSC! He’s in fantastic form this season ,scoring 12 in 17 games.
He’s great in the air and can run with the ball. kinda similar to Giroud.
What about… wait… my FM Genie Scout took longer to load.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug!
Aren’t we all forgetting that Giroud is not actually injured so we have our first choice Striker available. Nicky B is only out for another 2-3 weeks after the next game.
I don’t see us signing anyone
Exactly, Podolski is also available to cover for Giroud in the meantime too. And how far away is Sanogo?
I love our new Depth Squad. Bring on the next victims!
I don’t think Shane Long would be a bad buy at all – he’s young, talented, works his boll*cks off when playing and would not cost a fortune either. He’s improved dramatically in the past few seasons and is continuing to do so.