Friday, March 29, 2024

Benitez says Benzema is going nowhere

He’s become the player that many Arsenal fans want to see arrive at the club this summer, and while a move was always unlikely, it’s become even more so after the latest comments from Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez.

The former Liverpool boss was asked about the Frenchman’s future and insisted he was not for sale.

“Benzema will stay with us,” he said. I can’t see any reason why he would leave. We are very happy with him.”

It follows comments from Arsene Wenger yesterday who said reported Arsenal interest in Benzema was wide of the mark.

“No, nothing is happening,” said Wenger. “Honestly no. I don’t know who brings that up. Is it Spanish media or English media? I don’t know.”

Of course things can change in the transfer market quite quickly, but if Madrid were to let him go, they’d need a replacement. And with the dearth of top quality strikers on the market right now, the transfer merry-go-round is pretty much stuck on stop.

Europe’s top strikers

Zoltan Mufflovic – Paris Quadrants
Dirk van der Pimple – Trafford Warriors
Juan-Pablo Pablo – Constantinople Athletic
D’Jasper Probincrux III – New York Man City Franchise Pumps
Steve Dallas – Bloom County FC
Eamonn Foamy – Cork Patriots
Rapscallion Magooley – Dynamo Wolves
Quincy Thundersnow – Celtic PowerRangers
Dunk Cashmere – Turin Magnets

Pretty much all of them are out of our price-range. Slim pickings, folks. Slim pickings.

Related articles

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

80 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Cornelius P. Snuffington III

What we’ve got is good enough to win the league anyway.

I don’t think Benzema is as good as many English fans believe. He’s just as profligate as Giroud is and only really adds a ‘little more’ in the goals out of nothing column to our side. So for the money he would cost us he’s not much of an upgrade. Obviously he would improve our squad but then we’ll have players completely redundant.

I would take Lewondowski or Muller over him any day (would be a similar price) but then there’s even less chance of them coming for the same reasons…

Chris

Are you saying that English fans have overhyped Benzema? Puh-leeese.
Have you not seen him on Youtube? You’re clearly delusional, because that’s clear proof of his world class tekkers.

Rage

I’m not sure if your being sarcastic or not. I agree Benzema, however, I would put it as Giroud being underrated (rather then Benzema over hyped).

His goal record is very similar in a far less competitive league. He would no doubt improve us as a team but he won’t be the ‘striker Arsenal have been crying out for’.

Chris
Cas

I think you’re spot on man. Benzema is good but isn’t the sweetheart I’m thinking about. Most club fans don’t like their club being “outdone” when it comes to signing stars in the window.

Billy

Having a brother who is a Real Madrid fan I have seen him play quite abit. He does not play as an out and out striker, but lore as a deep number 9 and is the hub Ronaldo and Co plays through. Heplayed about the same number of games that Giroud did last season but he completed more passes than Giroud even attempted, He created allmost twice as many chances for team mates, bagged 10 assists vs Girouds 3, and scored 15 goals. The guy is a starter for Galacticos and have been for several years and in my opinion… Read more »

Cornelius P. Snuffington III

He also played on a team that scored more goals just in the league than Arsenal scored in all competitions. You can’t compare goal scoring records between the Premier League and La Liga. Do you think Messi and Ronaldo would be scoring 50 goals per season in England? Of course they wouldn’t.

Clarkeycat

Giroud’s not walking into Arsenal’s starting 11 at the moment either.

lordgunner

10 assist to ronaldo, when you someone who score 60 goal a season you assists stats will always look far better
they keep him because he is happy to be 2nd to Ronaldo and score a few too

he wouldnt dare to be the main man, when he play for france and he has to play as one half the time he is just plain shit and you can clearly see his limitation .

MTZ

I agree completely. Unlike Benzema, Lewandowski would be a proper upgrade. Cavani another option, perhaps after the di Maria thing is done. Still, getting any of them is very hard, in which case I see no point in buying someone just for the sake of it. We’ve already got the needed numbers.

CLEgooner

I think you’re right from an attaching POV.

Lack of cover / competition for Le Coq makes me nervous though…

ArseMansBackInTown

Chelsea are in roughly the same situation. Big drop off in quality if Matic picks up an injury.

Lord Harris of Peckham

Plus,does anyone else feel he’s exceptionally mentally weak?

GoonerN16

Of whom do you refer Lord Harris?

Lord Harris of Peckham

I’m referring to Benzema,old chap.
Seriously though,he always strikes me as two misses away from a goal drought.

mhmzz

That’s how Giroud strikes me as.

Kos

Where the fuck is Hingle McCringleberry!!!!

We were linked with him 2 years ago and he still hasn’t turned up! We need him, sign him up now Wenger FFS!

Proff Gooner

Haven’t made a comment in a while but noticed people have already forgotten the the Theater of Dreams Killer!

Damn, we still got Welbeck!!! He may not be as prolific, but I feel he still wants to prove a point to those fuckin dirrrty mancz.

Forever COYG!!!

thw14

Had me till Steve Dallas.

Paul

If that is true…oh dear! 🙂

CB

That’s a real shock, surely all the papers can’t have got it wrong over and over and over again?

And wasted all our time.

assistantref

A transfer rumor being completely made up?

UNPOSSIBLE!

Caleb

“D’Jasper Probincrux III”. Watching Key&Peele eh Arseblog. hahaha

The Only Olivier is Giroud

That Probincrux III bloke is not only a beast on FIFA, but would also be a favourite for the Arsenal Gent. Sign him up, I say!

Chris

We dont really need Benzema for real. We got so many strikers already from Giroud, theo, welbs, sanchez. Who got doubt in Sanchez really? I even have more doubt on benzema than on sanchez to be honest. And we got so many wingers as well so theo and sanchez could be rotated to ST role so player like rosicky could get some game time. Man i miss that man so bad in the pitch.

Trez

Just like we didn’t Ozil when we signed him because we had santi and jack or Cech because we have Ospina and Scz.

Trez

Did we NEED ozil or Cech when we signed them?? After all we had santi, jack and rozza in midfield and Ospina and scz in goals.
Benzema is def an upgrade over giroud.

Goonerestgooner

I know a man who knows a man who knows a man that can get us Rapscallion Magooley for just shy of 2.4 quid. Should I give Wenger a bell?

keirangibbs'legs

I can’t help but wonder if we ACTUALLY need him? Because we have Olivier who is excellent with link-up plays with the team and on the other hand we have Theo with his blistering pace. Of course, Giroud’s finishing is below par at times and Theo could go missing for a match or two but we have Aaron, Alexis and others who could bang in goals all season. The only area I think we need to improve would be Coq’s position. Because if Coq gets injured, we have no one to cover him (and please don’t say Arteta could do… Read more »

Papas

Every team needs a rapscallion

Mesut Ohno

Giroud is a weird one because he scores these ridiculous out side of the boot flicks that very few strikers in the world could score but does struggle with some of the stuff that a standard Premier League striker should be finishing.

No doubt Benzema is a more clinical striker but Giroud suits Arsenal better due to the link up play, his aerial ability offensively & defensively.

For $50m it’s not enough of an upgrade but if it happens, it happens.

Trez

Benzema is an upgrade over Giroud. Does all that giroud can (in an attacking sense) and more. If we sign him, he’d thrive alot more with us than at Madrid. I hate how he got turned into a target man by mou and ancelotti.

Trez

Did we NEED ozil or Cech when we signed them?? After all we had santi, jack and rozza in midfield and Ospina and scz in goals.
Benzema is def an upgrade over giroud.

henry.terup

They could sell us Benzema and they can buy TGSTEL. way better!

InTheArse

And you forgot Lord Pikolas kentner from sheepsberg in the elite list. I am disappointed blogs

David Seaman's Ponytail

Pretty sure we can afford Dirk van der pimple!

Paul

He’s been spotted by Barca…

Arsepedant

With a name like that, isn’t he already spotted?

Tom

Zoltan Mufflovic of Paris Quadrants has long nose.
Couldn’t recognize anybody else!

Thierry Bergkamp

It would be a great signing but never gonna happen this transfer window

EuripidesMac

I agree with Bloggs, we definitely couldn’t afford any of those guys.

We’ll just have to suffer with what we got:

Alexis 25+ goals in all competitions
Dat Guy Welbz 12+ g.i.a.c
Feo 13+ g.i.a.c
Olivier 24+ g.i.a.c
Rambo 16+ g.i.a.c
Chambo 16+ g.i.a.c
The Wonderful Wizard 11+ g.i.a.c
Jack 10+ g.i.a.c
Santiago 10+ g.i.a.c
…that’s probably enough goals, though you can never have enough goals 😉

Me So Hornsey

You missed out Tunde Adebayo from Dynamo Lagos.

I received an email from his mum yesterday saying he’s available for a bargain £50,000 as long as we pay direct to her bank account and no juju would be involved. Seem legit.

santori

I mean honestly, you only have to ask yourself who will Real Madrid replace him with that is better? Why would they sell him?

Arsepedant

And if there is someone better who is available, then that’s who we should be going after.

Yankee Gooner

Steve Dallas could really take up the social media slack since Podolski moved on, but I don’t know if we could get him away from the Dandelions.

Andy Mack

Juan-Pablo Pablo is pretty certain to be moving to Rubin Alacazam for a barrow load of tax free doshes (approx. $55m using the national fixed ROE). which seems a lot for a guy that only scored 10 per season.

VeryXerioz Gunner

Why go for Benzema when we can totally recall The Lord of the circle, master of taxi scoring competition, superman in iron pants, and the Greatest striker ever liveth who even single handedly defeated one of our old foes as a show of prowess and dedication to our cause…
All hail the return of Lord Bendtner

Chaandwa

Dude please…you cracking my ribs.

Papas

If Lord Bendtner can do that to a cab, just imagine what he could do to John Terry whom we all know is a…

GoonerN16

And as sick as a parrot on top of being the proverbial cu*t, judging by his face post game yesterday. Hehe, what glee…..

WengersNoseHair

Too bad we missed out on Crispin Bentekkers, we should have struck when the iron was hot, now he’s gone to the Sousser’s Museum he’s sure to bang in 30 goals at least in the league alone.

Paul

Sorry Nose, but I have to give you a… “are you feckin’ sure???”…as well as a thumbs down!…unless your s/c isn’t on patch?

TommyGun

The papers are just using this story as click bait. Very much doubt it will happen but Rafa would hardly come out and say Benzema is not in his plans as it would drive his fee down and if a replacement for him falls through he would be left with a disgruntled player. I suspect Arsenal are still on the hunt for someone but Ozil came out of left field because Wenger keeps his cards close to his chest. Let’s see what our squad looks like come the end of the transfer window. If it is the same as it… Read more »

Fred

Guys, let’s not delude ourselves, we NEED a striker (its not easy to get one, but we need one all the same) – remember, there is absolutely NO difference between this season and last with regards to playing personnel upfront. Sure, Ox might score more and Theo might too. Or they might not. Or they might be injured. If Giroud or Theo get any sort of injury (which they both have the last couple of seasons), then we are back to square one. And Welbeck is really concerning … he seems like he might miss a large chunk of the… Read more »

Mesut Ohno

but if all 25 players get injured, then we are f##ked. we need a squad of 50 to cover possible injuries.

Cas

Hahahaha. . . Yea that’s the right response

Fred

Nice straw man argument.

Miranda

You’re right we need better and more. Actually all the English clubs need better and more, with the possible exception of City, assuming they don’t lose Aguero. But, as you suggest, better is in short supply. Wenger only wants someone he considers an upgrade on what we’ve got already and it’s difficult to attract that kind of talent. No one is going to leave Bayern, Barca or Real, not unless they’re forced out, which is why United are probably losing De Gea and gaining Pedro rather than Messi or Neymar. Prestige counts for more than money right now. If it… Read more »

GoonerN16

Apologies Miranda, was trying to thumb up. Stupid smart.phone

Trez

This is exactly what I’ve been saying. People talking about internal improvement like Costa or Aguero or even bloody Kane will sit still and wait for giroud and welbeck to score more than them.
Anyone who looks at the frontline of the top 3 will tell you ours is the weakest.

Aden Mooosiefate Joseph

We should at least put in a bid on Dallas! (I still have the record of “death tongue” somewhere)

gar14

But to be fair, even if discussions were taking place between the clubs, it’s not like Benitez is going to come out and say yes, there is a chance Benzema might be leaving.

He wouldn’t say anything until a replacement is found and the deal is all done.

Not saying it’ll happen but you can’t believe what these guys say to the press.

ferngunner

So he’s signed by midnight today eh?

dkgÖÖnér

gar14 – ferzakerly. Benzema going nowhere (not before Aug 31 anyway).

Benvnc

The article appeared as a notification on my phone saying “Benitez says Benzema is going now…” :'(

Cracked

As a French man I can say Benzema is easily our best player. If he were available we’d be mad not to get him. Unfortunately it looks like he is not going anywhere

matt

That is alright.
Giroud, Theo, Sanchez, Ozil is way better than Costa, Willian, Hazard and Fabregas anyway.
We’ll have Benzema next year

Ex-Priest Tobin

I don’t think we’ll win the league this season as our strikers just aren’t good enough. On the other hand, there’s not many quality strikers available either. So the best we can do is probably just wait until next season.

Paul

Tobin, you suggest that we all “wait” because basically we have no chance at the title this season.

My problem with following your “waiting” advice is, that in your negative world we will all probably be dead by next year anyway!
COYG! 🙂

Ben

There’s nothing slim about Rapscallion Magooley.

Alexstratz

Well the BBC are reporting that Benitez said “My answer is that I think Benzema is going to stay with us. I’m very happy with him.” That doesn’t sound like a definite “nope”. Anyway I wouldn’t read too much into what anyone says in the transfer market period.

Steve Boulds Bulge

‘My answer is yes I think he will stay with us,’ – Benitez

Slight alteration of the quote blogs?

Arsenalfanman

What we need and I believe we will get is more goals from the Ox, Ozil, Walcott, Ramsey and Wilshere. And a more stable defense. We have a really good chance this year, and still have Sanchez to come back, who always provides a threat. Welbeck and Gnabry will probably chip in with a few goals too when fit.

mo974

i will take a duo benzema -sanchez anyday with ozil and santi behind. giroud walcott and welbeck to battle it out in trying to dislogde them. But i said it here before, Benzema don’t get along with GIroud in the french national team.But the boss has rediscovered his ruthless side.If the opportunity arise he will sacrifice Giroud for Benzema.

mollers

I’m actually kind of relieved. Everyone talks about the squad togetherness and team spirit and I’m not sure benzema would do anything but disrupt it. Giroud would obviously be unhappy, being they’re going for the same international spot, and Welbeck would be all put pushed to the periphey. Mostly, I’m just not convinced he’d push us to a new level like ozil and Alexis did.

GoonerGreg

I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that one Mr. Oshaug Hennessy comes available before the deadline.

Dark Hei

TGSTEL: Woe unto thee Arseblog for you have forsaken me

Share article

Featured on NewsNow

Support Arseblog

Latest posts

Latest Arsecast

80
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x