Roma’s Kostas Manolas is the latest defender to be linked with a move to Arsenal, according to the Daily Mail.
It’s not the first time the 25-year-old has been touted as a possible target for the Gunners; the Greece international was rumoured to be on Arsene Wenger’s radar two years ago before he swapped Olympiakos for the Italian capital.
Manolas featured for Roma last night as Luciano Spalletti’s side – featuring Wojciech Szczesny in (and out of) goal – lost 3-0 at home to Porto and failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage.
As we’re all aware, Arsenal need to sign defensive reinforcements before the transfer window shuts in just over a week’s time.
If you believe everything you read in the gossip columns we’ve so far drawn lines through Messrs Mustafi, Toprak, Kjaer, Fonte, Gimenez and Evans and put Steve Bould on an intense training regime in case we need him against Watford.
Given Manolas’ profile, you suspect he might Kostas a lot.
Yeah, we’re getting our coat.
I don’t think we will buy anybody during this transfer window.
I think Ramsey new haircut is awesome.
We are fucking losers. I agree with everything that Blogs said this morning it his article, I think it is only going to get worse. With Kroene running this club, we are 100% fucked. He has run every single one of his US franchises into the ground. He even fucking moved the St Louis Rams to another fucking state!! Why? because it made more financial sense to have a team in LA then in St Louis. This is the level of cunt we are dealing with at Arsenal. Bracewell-smith and all those other cunts that sold up to Kroene should… Read more »
I think Rambo’s done ever so well with the haricut
It could well be the only silver we’ll see this year….
Bayer Leverkusen have just signed a new defender, might mean Toprak is on his way….
It is really hard not to feel apathetic about Arsenal at the moment. Whilst it is foolish to think our season is dead and buried after two games, we have dropped five points already and I can’t see how we will win the league. Even in the unlikely event that we do buy a CD and a striker they will need time to bed in. Maybe we save ourselves 10m by buying players at the end of a window but I don’t see how. Selling clubs know we are desperate and don’t have time to replace their players at that… Read more »
Manolas is not just anybody though! He is the guy who was badly skinned for Porto’s brilliant 3rd goal in the UCL qualifier last night. Sounds just like the right Wenger buy!
Sadly starting to feel that way isn’t it? I really thought we turned the corner with the early Xhaka purchase. Remember how optimistic it felt back then?
Anybody else tired of all this transfer speculation? I don’t want to hear about Arsenal being linked with another player. Just a confirmed signing or no signings to confirm.
I agree. Once again, there’s no way Arsene is going to bring in a 7th CB on the books. That’s ludicrous. We usually carry 3 or 4. If he didn’t think Chambers could do a job he would Santos him. He BELIEVES in his players. (For better or worse) We’re definitely not signing anyone. Is it May yet?
Kroenke – I didn’t get into sports to win championships.
Gazidis – Arsenal can’t compete & can’t mistakes in the transfer market.
Wenger – I look for value. I have to pay 600 employees.
We are signing no one lads. Because –
A) We are a club with absolutely no ambition.
B) We are no longer an attractive club to join due to those three above, killing the spirit of our club.
Already bought him in FM along with lukaku and bernando silva although it must be said it’s easier to ruthlessly sell computer players and thus I have sold giroud, mertesacker and walcott. :S
Sell Sanchez and use the funds to give Walcott a new 250,000/week contract. Then look down, frown, and come to terms with the horrible person that you are. Then close your profile, and start a new profile on FM
😛
Last football manager I player (albeit a cpl years ago now) I just stuck Walcott training with the kids and fined him every week.
It’s become boring now.
Not just the transfer stuff, but everything surrounding Arsenal has become boring. It’s all just so predictable with us. The same shit happens every single year. There’s hardly any excitement anymore around this club.
The main feeling I have nowadays supporting Arsenal is apathy. I hardly find myself getting angry now after horrible results, just become numb to it really. I don’t think fans of any other team can compare, the situation we have at Arsenal is truly unique. Boredom should never be part of supporting your club. Sadly, it won’t change until Arsene leaves.
Arsene, Kroenke and the tea lady. Depressing stuff. Fair play to Arseblogger for continuing with this stuff but it’s like putting Jessica Alba on your Xmas Wishlist. It’s just never going to happen. In Arsenal, we don’t trust.
I’m sorry, but people who are becoming apathetic to everything surrounding Arsenal just aren’t doing this “Gooner” thing right. When Arsenal doesn’t perform to your expectations it shouldn’t affect you the way that your favourite TV show would affect you if it suddenly became repetitive and boring. The correct feeling should be very much like a parent feels when their only child develops a drug habit and starts committing more and more serious crimes and gets involved with a biker gang. You should be devastated, You should be desperate for a solution. You should feel lost and powerless and scared… Read more »
While I understand your sentiment, it’s always dangerous territory telling people how they should or should not feel. People respond to similar things in different ways.
If my only child’s drug habit had been going on for 12 years, he was about to start his 10th stretch inside and nothing I or anybody else had said or done throughout that time had made the blindest bit of difference, then I might be starting to feel a little bit helpless and apathetic by now.
Not at all, my friend, I’m delighted we’ve been linked with him! Why, you ask? Well, because it improves my favourite drinking game. Every time I watch a European game of football, I drink a shot on every occasion that the commentator mentions a player whom Arsenal have been linked with. Higuain? Drink. James Rodriguez? Drink. Mustafi? Drink. (Hic!) Lacazette? Drink. You can get nice and drunk within the first fifteen minutes quite easily.
When Wenger goes Kroenke will replace him with a yes man who does what he’s told and doesn’t have too many troubling ideas on how a Club should be organised, and then Arsenal will become a mid-table team. Kroenke will still be able to take his 3 million a year consulting fee (“Are we going to try to win the CL this season Stan?”, “No”, “Thanks Stan, your cheque is in the post”). Perhaps more with all this TV money sloshing around. I wish people would stop trying to bring this on us sooner rather than later. We’ve been mediocre… Read more »
So what you’re saying is Eddie Howe is coming to Arsenal next season? I’m okay with that.
I read that if Roma sell this year they will have to pay 50% to Olympicos. Not happening if so.
Henry?
This reply should hav gone to the post below. Big thumbs
“Given Manolas’ profile, you suspect he might Kostas a lot.”
BRILLIANT! lol
When was the last time we bought a player from Italy?
Flamini a couple of years ago no?
We din’t buy Flamini. He was a free agent
Correct! Titi then…
Mannone 05/06
Lupoli 04/05
Viviano on loan 13/14
Mannone from Atalanta?
It’s not just boring but it is also a big tension. I cannot believe that the club is after all these players we’ve been linked recently. It seems like people from arsenal are in desperate race to sign someone but it is (by all means) unbelievable. Most probably we’re not even on the market and the media is just making up stories so they will put additional pressure on the club, like from dozen linked players you didn’t manage to sign anyone.
I agree with JustAGooner, we are not buying anyone.
or the press know absolutely nothing, you choose
Am I the only one thinking Arsene is hiding a big coup just like it happen with Ozil? if I remember correctly Ozil name was not mentioned (albeit either vaguely or on some dubious website) until the last 48 hours of the windows and it send us into a frenzy. C’mon Arsene surprise us all!! Lewandowski or Cavani anyone?
Those guys are good but would you buy them when you could sign The Greatest Striker That Ever Lived on a free transfer?
I’m here, Open the door
I’ll hold the door
Its actually got to the point where most of us don’t care anymore, and that’s a terrible state of affairs. if we dont sign any more players in this transfer window, any Arsenal supporter that still believes Arsene is the right man for the job needs to be sectioned and im not joking, its inexcusable
While one game doth not a bad striker make, and bearing in mind internet highlights are seldom the best way to judge a player, I nevertheless feel that this clip deserves a watch. Taking to regular watchers of French football has made me think that this isn’t an isolated occurrence:
https://amp.twimg.com/v/180e064f-a0a5-4334-b5e6-f63c1ce6987c
I follow French football and you are correct-ish…He may not be that good but partly because he was behind Zlatan in the pecking order or Blanc put him on the wings. It will be his first season as the main guy for PSG. For Uruguay he plays well if I remember correctly.
It was more to make a point about big name we barely heard so far that could turn into a surprise.But I ll take (and hope we get) Lewandowski over Cavani any day I ll give you that!!
It will be once again business on the final day of the window
Annoying:
* Not buying the players we need.
* Being already 5 pts adrift after 2 games.
* Lester players turning us down.
* Trying to sign johny evans.
* Trying to sign phil jones.
* That this season has only just started.
Roma will never sell to us. We sold them Gervinho. They’ll never forgive us for that.
Hey, didn’t he actually play decently once he got over there? Better than he did for us, at least?
Probably. All I remember is this though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5FbLaQhf7U
Sigh, I can’t deal with this anymore. No more I say! No more! This is like Christmas shopping anxiety all over again!
Mustafi, Vardy and Mahrez. We chased and failed. Time to keep “tabs” on players, then say in interviews later. “Look, we tried, but the right quality wasn’t available. We’re prepared to spend, on the right quality. If you know someone, let me know.”
I just hope we don’t head into the international break with not a single victory and another deadline day signing, that’ll be depressing.
Vardy turned us down yes, was there interest in Mahrez? or was it just his agent. Mustafi, Valencia are trying to get us to pay twice what he’s worth at the max. Everton let him go for free remember.
Zzzzzzzzzzz
Fuck this shit. I’m done torturing myself during the transfer windows.
*refreshes twitter feed one last time*
One of many we could (and should) bought beforr their big move happened. If Roma paid some 10+M for him, they would expect big money for him now. If we won’t for out for Mustafi or any other player of this calibre, for sure we will not pay for Manolas now that he is an established 1st team player at Roma.
After our useless and meaningless transfer activities I’ve lost all ability to trust anything. I feel sad and depressed. I don’t believe in anything anymore. Life means nothing.
Wish it was possible to post a blank comment. That’s arsenal. Blank with money in the bank.
.
Who really gives a shit anymore?
A manager and owner who couldn’t give a fuck about success, unless that includes the bottom line on your bank statement.
I’ve gone full ten evacuation on this one.
This isn’t the time to keep tabs. That time has come and pass. It is time to pay up.
That Szczesny clip of him going on a walk about last night is hysterical… Can’t wait to have him back in Red and White!
Manolas is much better than mustafi and others…
Manolas is best choice
What makes wonder is if you take our overall inactivity in the transfer market and the general line from Wenger that “we are always on the look out” then at what point are we coming back with players suitable. On the one hand we have been looking on the market for years for a striker and the best option we find is one season striker in Vardy (not to say he won’t do it this season)…that’s not evidence of top class scouting or the years of searching for a striker. Also take the line from Wenger that the transfer window… Read more »
This seems to be a common misunderstanding.
If the window would close before the season begins, the deals that go through on deadline day would still be done before the season begins. Hence…
The rest of your post is spot on.
Roma are skint and got eliminated from the CL preliminaries last night.
Apparently there’s a 50% sell on clause if they sell him before Sept 1st.
Unless they can negotiate that clause down I don’t see him leaving until next summer.
Top player though, if prefer him to Mustafi
Mexican kid giving Manolas the runaround last night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=sI6Akm9R3K0
Can we panic yet? Can we cancel the season? We are a laughing stock. Maybe we can all agree that paying more to actually have new players we need is a good thing after this shitshow? All that money, doing nothing.
No rush… plenty of time left to buy… what do you mean it’s 24th August already? Really… shit, Quick get Evans and Nicklas Bendtner in…
I remember a time when waiting for the season to start was an exciting time. Not anymore unfortunately. Wenger has seen to that. so tired tired of all his lies. Why can he not see what everyone else can. HE HAS PASSED HIS SELL BY DATE
haha keeping ‘TABS’, like there is only one week to go!! My god…
“TABS”
Try Another Bullshit Story?
From The Arses comment policy:
You may not link to the Daily Mail because it’s a noxious, lying scumrag that employs lying scumrags like Adrian Durham who continue to exist because people keep linking to them.
I know it’s not a link but…
He’s been right about our club and manager for a long time
Wash your mouth out with soap Greg! 🙂
Yes folks, we left Highbury for this….
Well worth it.
Not sure we could have bought Ozil and Sanchez if we stayed at Highbury though…
Didn’t we buy Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, Vieira, Overmars and Sol (technically we didn’t need to buy him, hehe) whilst we were at Highbury?
That’s when we used to buy and sell players in the transfer windows to improve the playing squad, what a novel idea!
On another note the article on the main Arseblog was very good, I thought. If we compare the Wenger of the pre-Emirates to the Wenger of now, I don’t think much has changed. In terms of Arsenal the ownership has changed drastically which has altered (it seems) the boards thoughts about ambition and profit. Whilst I think Wenger does have certain deficiencies as a manager. I don’t think the current problems with Arsenal are his fault. We can go on about not signing players x,y and z; but the fact of the matter is we used to sign players for… Read more »
Shameful of those on the board who sold kroenke their shares
Hey, so there have been a couple of comments like yours today since the blog earlier. I understand this point of view and I agree that the board/Kroenke’s lack of ambition is the root cause of our issues. That said, I don’t see how Arsene has done or said anything to suggest he doesn’t agree with that approach. He’s said many times he wouldn’t work in an environment he feels inhibits his ability to manage the team and I can’t imagine he needs the money. I get the idea that Kroenke wants a yes man but I don’t think he’s… Read more »
I agree it does seem like Wenger doesn’t disagree with the ‘conservative policy’ the board may have in place. But if you were in the final year of your contract and wanted to stay on to ensure the continuity of your team, and every public Comment you considered making was dissected on public forums by fans and critics alike, don’t you think you’d be as limited in what you can say about your employers? I do think you’re right to an extent, and Wenger is conservative in many ways. But that doesn’t mean he’s unwilling to sign big name players,… Read more »
I’d rather Manolas to Mustafi – it strikes we if we are potentially willing to pay circa 25 mill for an average CB, it would be better to pay more upfront with probably similar wages circa 100k. The lifetime contractual cost then becomes closer and surely more beneficial to go for the better player. I know it stands to reason, but lets put the boat out and go for real quality – its as if he wants to sign someone of equal ability to Mertesacker, so he can still compete to get in the side. Upgrade man, don’t maintain a… Read more »
He is shit. So are koulibaly and Stones. And yeah Mustafi is shit too and so is every defender above £15m.
^^Arsene Wenger’s state of mind right now
Calm down guys. You only have 9 months (one season) more of these boring, annoying, frustrating, top top quality, mental strength stuff. At last, bye bye to Wenger!
I stopped reading at ‘according to the Daily Mail’
I thought this might resurface.
Given Roma failed in their quest for the Champions League, losing to Porto, it was inevitable he would be linked with us again.
We just need someone competent and he fits the bill if Mustafi is out of the question now.
Regardless of whether we get anyone in or not we’ve already dropped 5 pts this season (yes they were tough games, but most of them will be this year) some of which can be attributed to lack of early activity in the transfer market to bring in that CF and CD that we need especially when we knew we’d be missing players from the Euros early. Of course you don’t spend millions of pounds to cover for two matches, but this could be the most competitive season in the league in years in fighting for the top six spots. Of… Read more »
Haha.. Funny how the media wants to taunt us fans by linking Arsenal to every different!
They have no idea of how we guys have already made up our minds that we aren’t signing anyone!
Another episode of Kostas Manolas it seems! Haha..
Which one of those slow Roma defenders who were all left in the wake of that attack and left Szczezny so exposed was Manolas. I guess it doesn’t really matter. He was one of them and that means he is too damn slow for the PL.
Manolas was destroyed by Corona in the Porto third goal purely on skill. Manolas is fast enough for the Premier League, just not good enough overall. See my mail below.
Sorry, but Woj exposed hmself a lot more than what his defenders did for that goal, he didnt have to go out that far away, giving the defenders no time to run back. Also, Porto third goal was in Woj near post..
Manolas’ biggest asset is his speed. He’d probably leave Mertesacker 30 meters behind in a 100m dash (then again who wouldn’t).
Manolas will not be beaten on speed by anyone, not even Bellerin. He’ll get to the ball first no matter what. He can be beaten on skill however.
Other than that he’s very average with the ball, certainly not a center-half that can build attacks from the back.
Great defending, very average attacking player.
My verdict: Not an Arsenal player (well, I’m thinking of what we used to call an “Arsenal player” in the good old days).
what? have you even seen Manolas play? Ive watched him like +20 times. twice live from Stadium. he is actually really good and comfortable with ball at his feet. his passing and its range is one of the bests as a centre back. actually he is far far far far better than our choices of centre backs. Gabriel Chambers or Mertesaker of late? Manolas not an “Arsenal player”? maybe because he actually is good and reliable with ball.
isn’t Phillipe Mexes available 😉
instead of these fantasty stuff give us some real news. dont tell me there isnt any new kit number changes
Another bang average player that we’re linked with.
Whoever we by will just end up on the bench anyway.
We need a manager who will stand up to the board, demand a bigger budget and do whatever it takes to win big trophies.
*buy
Would this mean he is cup tied for us in the Champions League if he played for Roma last night?
Not ideal…
yeah that could even stop us winning the title
Arsenal is like a spotty teenage boy trying to pull a girl – I’m on the lookout but can find an outstanding girl!!! Meanwhile everyone else is laughing knowing he has not got a chance with any girl, let alone an outstanding one!!! Spotty teen then resorts to his comfort blanket – I have loads of money (because he never goes out anywhere or gets invited out).
Should say can’t find an outstanding girl
I would be more than happy if Arsene just said, I won’t get anyone as the board does not approve it.That actually would be fine as I will know where we stand.
At present what he says just messes with fans.
And the ticket holders who are paying the highest price for supporting a mediocre team with a mediocre manager with one of the highest wage bills in the league.
p.s. Even Arsene wont approve if this.
p.p.s. Thinking ahead, even Sky sports/BT might cease to be top quality any more if they increase the prices again.
Since when did PLC men tell the truth?
As long as Silent Stan is the majority shareholder and the board is run like it is this club is screwed. And it will be even worse when AW goes and Stan get’s in a yes man 🙁