He may have come out of retirement to play for FC Goa in the inaugural Indian Premier League season, but Bobby Pires still has one eye on Arsenal’s fortunes.
Having trained regularly with the Gunners over the last few years the sexpot ‘invincible’ still believes there’s something missing from Arsene Wenger’s current squad and has called on his former coach to take a chance on Sami Khedira.
The German World Cup winner has been strongly tipped to quit Real Madrid in January before he becomes a free agent next summer and Pires thinks he could be a physical, box-to-box presence like former teammate Patrick Vieira.
“He [Wenger] needs a big player in the middle, like Viera, strong, tall, because this position is very important for the balance between attack and defence,” Pires told Telegraph Sport.
“The quality is there but you need more, maybe [someone] like Yaya Toure in middle. He reminds me of Patrick Vieira, maybe they have an opportuniuty with Khedira. It is likely in the January window. He played very well with Germany.
“My advice is if he can buy Khedira he can be the [new] Vieira, more aggression in the middle. He has a lot of experience. When you play in the middle you need experience, especially when your midfield is young like Arsenal’s.”
Back in August Wenger dismissed suggestions that Arsenal were trying to buy the 27-year-old midfielder instead highlighting the options already at disposal, “I don’t know who has put Khedira on the market – is it his agent or the press? We were never close to signing him.”
There won’t be many who argue with Pires suggestion that we need to strengthen at the spine of midfield, although Khedira’s qualities aren’t exactly that of an archetypal defence-minded player.
Could he fulfil the DM role better than Flamini and Arteta? Quite possibly. Will he be a priority come the New Year? Probably not given we’ve 11 first team midfielders (some of them are still fit) and we’re desperately short of defensive cover.
#findramblingpete
I’ll be watching the ISL just to see him and Freddie play.
Surely the prospect of watching the great Andre Santos is also a lure?
Football rumors must take a bit longer to reach India, this is a very 2 – 3 months ago story. I would still love it to be true.
santos is in IPL? surely for a bollywood movie
Here’s trying to convince you to adopt Chennaiyin FC as your favorite India-based club, please please please
I got tickets to Mumbai vs Goa !
Gonna see Robert Frickin Pires live!
I agree with Bob, but it’s up to the manager. Hopefully, he’d for once listen to other people’s advice and strengthen our weaker areas (CDM and CB) come January.
It is obvious that a player of Khedira’s quality is what we need in midfield in order to secure results against the better teams. The squad we have currently is more than capable of beating run of the mill sides when we dominate possession. We have never truly replaced Gilberto…the last truly world class player we had in that defensive midfield position. The style of football played in this country means that a strong, tall, quick & experienced player is required to get you over the line against the bigger clubs. It’s not rocket science and I suspect the club… Read more »
Won’t happen
No, it won’t and for once that’s probably good. Khedira doesn’t particularly want to come to us, he’s just miffed at Real for not valuing him as much as he thinks he deserves, and his wage demands are obscene. Add to that, he has a poor injury record – just what we need – and isn’t especially defensive. Wenger probably likes him because he’s more or less a replica of all the other players we’ve got: not a real holder like Gilberto, but a central midfielder as prone to bomb forward as protect the back four. Khedira is about as… Read more »
I don’t think we need an injury prone player like Khedira, and Jack really is coming I into form with a bit of steel aggression to his game.
I think we can win the league with what we’ve got and people calling for more signings play to much Fifa, we signed 5 in the summer!
This could be the year we do it!
Jack really is coming I into form with a bit of steel aggression to his game???
Are you for real? steel aggression?? the guy injures himself more often than not??? some on here are probably more deluded than Wenger, its like saying Wenger is now coming on to be tactically adept as Morinho!, unreal comment.
Off topic How did our Gooners fair yesterday for England?
Well enough I suppose. It was San Marino, so it’s hard to properly rate anyone. The next match will be more interesting.
No one got hurt. Huge success in my mind.
Breaking news! Khedira to suffer long term injury in February ’15 !
I don’t think we need to sign players simply to up the overall squad numbers, or even the numbers in certain positions – if that was the case the club could just promote from within (Hayden). What Arsenal are crying out for is someone who can be pivotal in the big games, while not a classic defensive midfielder I think Khedira is extremely capable of that. Having watched him at VfB, Real and for Germany, he is extremely adept at taking control of a game and allowing the other players around him to flourish. He’s extremely competitive as well, and… Read more »
Whoever we want to buy, he must first be able to run through a brick wall and then repeatedly slide tackle john terry from behind and still be able to be first to training the next day ready for round two.
I didn’t see the game as I had to work late (and it was a guaranteed cake walk for the boys from Blighty), but apparently Oxlade Chamberlain did particularly well, while Wilshere was voted man of the match. Most importantly, neither Gibbs nor Chambers (both of whom started) were twatted by a factory worker from a microstate on the Apennine Peninsula.
Wilshere still seems to be attracting a reasonable amount of criticism, even after putting it onto a plate for Rooney twice and then teeing up a presentable chance soon after those.
Chambers too, bizzarely. It’s almost as if a single fullback can’t carry an entire flank against a 10 man defence.
Across the pond perspective:
An English player coming under only a Reasonable Amount of criticism while playing for England is proof positive he was the man of the match.
Doubly so for the Arsenal boys.
its INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE
Very valid points. I recall that season when Bayern topped the German league, went to the finals of the CL and DFB Pokal only to lose out on each trophy. They spent 40m on Javi Martinez that summer and the rest was history. Sure a solid team was already brewing but I honestly think Javi was impeccable for them, especially against teams who just love to counter them ie Dortmund. He even dominated Barca’s midfield on their way to the finals.
Man’s got much needed “mental strength” as well : )
http://www.stern.de/sport/fussball/wm-2014/news/emotionale-botschaft-von-sami-khedira-leute-mit-dem-eigenen-willen-koennt-ihr-viel-erreichen-2124891.html
I’d rather Schniderlin, younger, faster and has proven he can play in the PL.
Doesn’t bring the power we want though, if we accept that a midfielder should cover for the shorfall of the rest of our squad, that’s a pretty important thing to have.
Unless he’s a long term replacement for Arteta, and then someone else comes in to replace Flamini with a bit more presence, I’d go for that.
I’d rather not anyone who considers signing for that lot down the road a good idea, but then I had thought I’d rather not respond to any comment by Rich, and yet I rather did now didn’t I?
Ah Richie, Richie…
To be fair emanuel petit was on his way to spurs when came in at the last minute and he wasnt half bad
not as an accomplished player and southampton won’t sell, regardless. khedira’s contract issue opens the door. how widely, we don’t know.
Khedira isn’t the player we need. We have our versions of Viera in Ramsey and Wilshere. Our problem is finding someone to do Gilberto’s job more effectively than Flamini / Arteta.
Having said that none of the points dropped this season have been Flamini or Arteta’s fault. We couldn’t create enough chances against Spurs, Leicester or Chelsea and our marking from corners led to dropped points against City.
I agree. Khedira does very little defensively. He’s a box-to-box midfielder, and when Ramsey’s on form, he’s probably the best in the world, better even than Yaya Toure. People are just obsessed with the size of the player. “Well if he’s big he must be a ‘destroyer'”. Yes Khedira and Toure are big men. So what? Ramsey does more defensively than both of them. I really hope we don’t spend on another box-to-box player like Khedira, when we already have Ramsey, Wilshere and The Ox. We need a proper *defensive* midfielder, someone like Schneiderlin, Matic, etc. Let’s compare Ramsey, Toure… Read more »
Sanogo:
9 tackles and 3.3 interceptions per game.
No assists or non-penalty goals ever.
The answer is staring us in the face – our own Yaya just needs to be played in the right position….
@fibreGas,….lol….interesting way to look at things, but he might surprise everybody qnd become the new viera?…he has certainly got the physique for it, and might even score more goals!
Not too sure about signing him with injury history
Prefer Morgan Schneiderlin or Carvalho
Isn’t Khedira injured? Like a long term injury? Him or Schneiderlin would slot in perfectly into the team… Will it happen? I doubt it… But will gladly eat my humble pie if it does happen
Fucking hot Pires… sign him up wenger….
Pires is just average-looking. And Arsenal have a fully fit squad.
So it does look to you, but have you tried seeing? You are yet to prove worthy of your moniker, you are.
Lol joke’s lost on most of us it seems. Try harder mate!
sarcasm font.
My bad. I thumbed it down after reading the first sentence. Then I read the rest and realized my error. Sorry.
We are always 2-3 world class players short, we done good business last summer, but I felt that we still needed to strengthen in key positions (CB, CDM) defensively we have been weak for years, vulnerable and lacking in quality in depth to really challenge for titles, I am no way part of the wenger out brigade, however he needs to address and alter his philosophy for us to challenge for major honours.
Indian Super* League, blogs. First sentence. This isn’t the cricket competition, you know.
This of course assumes that Khedira is interested in coming Arsenal and Wenger can close the deal.
Er Blogs.. It is the Indian Super League, not the Indian Premier League 🙂
Do we honestly need another midfield player.
I think a cb definately a another rb so callum can move to dm wohld work a treat.
Hopfully Bellerin plays a great game vs Hull and keeps his place. Chambers then can then come back from suspension and show us whether he’s the DM we’d all like him to be.
yes. a defensive or holding player. the amount of times we get caught on the break should make that clear.
Mainly, we have ceded goals from set pieces.
Goal by Chelsea on the break was not an issue of the DM.
Other goal was again not from a break and again not an issue of the DM.
Had you seen the number of times Chambers got fleeced, you’d be prattling on about needing another RB but the narrative here is of course the old and tired mustard about needing some sort of physical DM which is frankly inane.
I have to disagree with you, a top defensive midfielder like matic would’ve closed Hazard down before he had the chance to run through the defence.
Bobby knows 🙂
What’s with Telegraph Sport copy editor? “Viera”? “opportuniuty”? Is the guy drunk? Blinded by Pires’s fabulousness?
We need to get a physical DM, we need Felipe Melo We need to get a physical DM, we need Yann MVilla We need to get a physical DM, we need Etienne Capoue We need to get a physcial DM, we need Victor Wanyama We need to get a physical DM, we need Luis Gustavo We need to get a physical DM, we need Carvalho. All not good enough, and all have flattered ro deceive at current club or country. Shows you how much bollocks is going about at the moment. We have sufficient cover in Arteta, Flamini in DM… Read more »
Melo? No. He’s a complete cunt. He spends more time suspended from red cards than Diaby does out injured. Wenger looked at him two years ago and again one year ago and said “no thanks” both times, and quite rightly so. Capoop? Fuck no! He’s barely good enough for the Spuds, he’s nowhere near good enough for us. Carvalho? You need to look at more than just the YouTube highlights. He’s nowhere near Arsenal quality. His performances in the CL have been abject, for the most part. Sure he pulls a highlight reel play out of his arse once every… Read more »
You forgot Loric Cana, without whom we would undoubtedly be relegated…. hahahaha
Got he was poor when he eventually moved to the mackems.
If you read 7 am kick off you’ll know Khedira is a bit of an anomoly when it comes to what is his best role/would he be a good DM, his stats are all awful as he always plays along side players who do big jobs around him. He’s never been a DM so maybe he’d actually be quite good. I loke the look of him, he could cost relatively nothing considering it would be a great signing commercially amd as a boost for players and fans and mesut. Maybe it’ll make us more attractive to reus (cazorlas eventual replacement?).… Read more »
“some of them are still fit”. made me lol
Khedira is a big boy for the big games. People get hung up on defensive midfielder/ box to box and all that stuff.
Point is kheidra is capable of dominating the midfield against the big teams and we don’t have anyone else that can do that.. Buy him ffs
I read something recently on the sports pages of the metro that khadira has agreed to join Arsenal in jan lol
He wont be joining Arsenal. No chance.