It’s fair to say that Ju Young Park’s transfer to Arsenal has been one of the more curious of Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal. Stolen from under the noses of French champions Lille, the South Korean signed from Monaco on deadline day, but has barely featured since, despite the boss promising we’d see more from the striker as the season progressed.
Initially understood to have signed on a short two year contract due to the prospect of him returning home to undertake a spell of military service, it has since been revealed that the attacker secured a ten year delay on such duties thereby securing his ‘freedom’ until 2022.
In a press release Ju Young Park has now confirmed that he had actually got word of the decade-long exemption the day before he signed for the Gunners.
“I asked the Military Manpower Administration in early August last year to grant me an extension of overseas stay permit. The permit was granted on Aug. 29,” reads a statement released by Park on Friday.
The next obvious question is how has this taken so long to come to light? Claiming Monaco have been the driving force behind the silence his lawyer Lee Sung-hee explains:
“In 2009, the Monaco royal household agency granted Park an unprecedented 10-year residence permit in recognition of his outstanding activities there. We found out through a legal counsel last July that it’s possible to delay military service based on a long-term overseas residence permit.
“Additional negotiations about his transfer fee between Arsenal and AS Monaco only concluded recently, and AS Monaco asked us to make it public after the negotiations came to an end.”
Given that we’re now in mid-March, seven months after Park put pen-to-paper on a deal at the Emirates, you have to wonder what these ‘negotiations’ entail. Surely a fee must have been agreed at the time, and if not what exactly were the original terms?
Furthermore, have these behind the scenes talks had an impact on Park’s first team opportunities? At the moment it is not clear, although you can’t help but think someone will ask the question of the boss soon…
very strange transfer indeed. Hopefully he can play a part in the final run in before he inevitably moves on!
this is sounding dodgy..bit like when Man Utd signed that homeless hobo!
Rooney?
Ferguson
Let’s not be mean to Rooney or Ferguson, “homeless hobo” could apply to a lot of Manu players. Giggs, Scholes, Evans, Ferdinand, the list goes on and on.
Fletcher?
Carrick?
LOL I give you guys a clue- he is a winger and portuguese origin and I’m not talking about the MJ look-a-like!
Bebe!
Oh, you mean Mr. Babe?
Quite sad we’ll never see him again after that beautiful goal against Bolton…
How did you come to that conclusion from the above article? You must have read between the lines that were already between the lines
If you were reading between the lines between the lines then you’d be reading the original lines surely
And to think signing Park pissed off Lille and any chance to sign Hazard (not that we would have anyway…)
I have a feeling that a suitcase full of cash would mend our relationship with them pretty sharpish.
Where’s Rosie when you need her!? Here girl!
I honestly thought we had grabbed ourselves a decent little back up striker in this lad. But when your back up to the back up and the back up is Chamackh…..need I say more?
Park again is a failure due to the system we play. Either park up frot by himself or chamakh up front by himself just doesnt work. Put them both up front together and id bet wed see some goals.. they are the type of strikers who make up a front pairing.. I can’t remeber the last time I saw us play 2 up front? Even at reserve grade.. maybe ade-buys-whores and rvp a few years back?
They have played upfront in the reserves together. Park’s scored but Chamakh is still woeful infront of goal
Park could play there on his own. I think he did for Monaco. His ability on the ball is excellent, but his movement off the ball hasn’t been right. I think he just needs time in the 1st team. Chamakh seems to fit the lone forward profile better, and always offers an option, as opposed to Park, who wanders too much. The problem with him is that he is unbelievably weak in front of goal. His confidence is non-existant when it comes to finishing, and that’s unacceptable for a side that’s trying to win the title. I expect Chamakh to… Read more »
Either way its not money lost… I rekon we would of made quite a few bob in Asia just through shirt sales… Ryo is gonna be a massive marketing tool in Asia… Not to mention a Fucking top winger for the arsenal
Shirt sales in Asia is a myth, especially for Ju Young Park who happens to be one of the most hated footballers in S. Korea. No Asian players in the EPL have contributed to shirt sales other than Park Ji-Sung from Man Utd.
Well it’s true that Koreans don’t especially like JYP, being a Korean myself. Koreans generally like Ji-Sung Park more, but actually half of them are getting more frustrated with Arsenal for not letting him play. The other half rolls their eyes and says, “since when has Ju Young ever been good enough to play for Arsenal?”
Send him back to Monaco, cut our loses.
I’ve been negative about him in the past, but for his own good I honestly hope that he finds himself a new club and moves on as soon as possible. This transfer has been a farce that has done nothing but damage the reputation of both Park and Arsenal Football Club.
I just hope that one day Wenger will explain just why we wasted 8 million quid in signing-on fees and wages on a player who was never good enough to play for the club.
Have you ever asked Wenger to explain the numerous financially successful transfer he’s made over the years? No? Funny that.
So Fats, when a transfer goes wrong it’s Wenger’s fault but, when it goes right and money is made, what do you have to say? That it was somehow DD’s magni-luminescent genius or perhaps that Wenger screwed up again by selling someone he ought not to have.
He gets 6 million a year to make the right decisions. When he gets it wrong questions should be asked.
I’ve seen you claim he gets this salary amount before. You do know he’ll only get around £3 million after tax. Yes it’s still a lot of money but you saying £6 million likes it’s the net amount, makes his gross salary actually around £12 million, which no manager gets paid, ever.
How do you claim a 8 million quid sign on fee? From ‘sources’ close to the club? Yeah, thought so. Pure fiction. Park was not a free agent that he required a sign on fee.
This guy sucks. We should sell him and buy Joey Barton. That’s how it’s done fat.
Is ironic trolling still trolling? Thumbs up but if you have either a mustache or a pocket watch I’m taking it back!
The funny thing is, we almost bought Joey Barton and I’m 99% sure he would have gotten a shitload more playing time than park.
All very strange, at the risk of being called a cunt,moron or prick etc from anon. I Wish the bloke luck, seems he may have been used in someway by the club, maybe it will come to light when he moves on in the summer but it’s all very un arsenal like.
Just adds to the joke way in which we handled this summer dealings. Gazidis has a lot to answer for it seems.
Sounds very fishy to me. Maybe additional fees based on appearances, goal scored etc. were not negotiated which would indeed have hampered his playing time.
whats the bet that he’ll play in the pre-season tour of china?
As will probably all of the fringe players at the club, since playing them is common practice in preseason games everywhere. What of it?
I bet he pays in our pre season friendly tour of the Far East! …..then sell him.
Slight subject change: I was watching the Liverpool v Stoke game yesterday, and I couldn’t help but ask myself whether or not I would prefer us to be in the Scousers’ position or ours. Yes, we’ll probably finish in the top four, but here is yet another season without a trophy. Liverpool have one in the bag already and are guaranteed a Wembley appearance and possibly an FA Cup win to give them the double that only we have won before (1993). And we are going to qualify for a tournament that we are not good enough to win. But… Read more »
I would prefer to be in the Champions League than not – maybe we are not good enough to win it (although I dont agree with that – last season we were a dodgy ref decision and a short leg away from putting out the eventual winners) but it is far harder to win a cup if you haven’t qualified for it! (dons a flame-proof jacket in preparation) I know the ultimate aim is to win trophies but at the end of the day what does winning a trophy REALLY achieve other than getting extra money? A mention in the… Read more »
Couldn’t agree more, and I would rather be in CL and have the chance of signing the prestige players that demand CL football, even if we won’t sign them 🙁
I sort of agree withArsene about 4th place being a like a trophy. If you finish 3rd in the championship you get promotion into the prem, which you are not going to win, but it is considered a successful season. In effect the same could be said of finishing 4th.
I would love to win a trophy but if the choice is 4th place or Fa cup I think I would go with 4th.
We are. Our team needs far fewer changes (or LANS) to challenge for the title. Liverpool are 8th after spending 100m?
Totally agree.You have to be in the CL to be considered a top club.Scouse
supporters may go on about league and FA cups but it really hurts them how
far they have drifted away from being a top team.
Some of their recent signings have been absolute garbage .Adam being the
worst.
How long is the Goofy one going to stay if there is no CL football?
Take your choice Thursday night at Minsk,Russia or Wednesday at Barcelona.
it’s an interesting one. i’m really ambivalent about the CL, although I’d disagree with your prognosis on whether or not we win it. If we get through to the knockout stages, if we avoid barca then we’ve as good a chance as anyone i think (but equally that’s a slim chance). on the one hand it’s a horrible competition that exists only to inflate the wealth of a self selecting elite (of which, shame upon shame, we are a part) and squeezes out all the romance and upset many of us love about football, replacing it with a bland, corporate… Read more »
Can’t agree with you that there’s no romance and no chance for a David defeating Goliath situation in the Champion’s League. After all, where did the Manchester teams end up this year? And they’d certainly be considered Goliaths. If it were corporate produced football, APOEL & Benfica would never still be in it.
I think we are better off. Ideally at this moment in time the best thing would be to win the CC/FA cup and qualify for CL. As it is at the moment I have to say CL. I desperately want us to win a trophy(any trophy) but this is for the long term. I’ve supported Arsenal for 30 years and been lucky enough to see us win 5 titles and all sorts of circumstances but if we want to have any chance of winning the league again in the next 30 years then we have to be in the champions… Read more »
Us. No doubt.
I wonder what the response would be if you asked a Liverpool fan? I reckon they’re desparate to get back into Champions League football.
I watched bits and bobs of it yesterday and it struck me that they (and Stoke)are just shit. But as has been pointed out, Liverpool have spent a bollock load to be that bad.
If Kenny wasn’t a Reds legend, he’d be out by now.
Us obviously.
We don’t have to wake up to being Liverpool every day and we’re not being managed by a lychee-faced dwarf.
That’s worth a couple of trophies all on its own.
Surely winning more games over the course of a season is tougher and thus a better indicator of the best teams. Rafa Benitez was good in Europe but never won a premier league trophy.
Raising your game for a cup run is far easier for teams with nothing to play for (Liverpool fall into this catergory) than being consistent enough to go 38 games and finish in the top 4
Dunno why you’re getting so many dislikes as it’s a good thought-provoking question. Obviously, winning a trophy is nice, but personally I’ve never seen the point of putting resources into competing in the FA and Other Cup save to give a run out to kids and squad players. Tournaments are a crap shoot by and large and simply pitting a team against eight random others doesn’t really tell you anything useful. The Champions League obviously makes more sense – because of MONEY first off – but its also ostensibly a test of the best teams in all the national leagues,… Read more »
Thanks for your support, TAMCK.
I was not asking a rhetorical question: I really don’t know if I would rather us win the Carling and FA Cups or be in the Champions’ League. The CL is a fantastic competition, and it’s great seeing the likes of Messi and Ronaldo at the Grove. But it’s depressing that we don’t win things any more.
it’s a fucking good question
people are playing the man, not the ball, with all those thumbs.
Nicely put Sam
For my part I think the pleasure of a carling cup trophy and a run out at wembley, would be sweet far shorter lived than a season of CL. Mixing it with the best clubs in Europe is where it’s at.
Times have been – and are still – not good for us but the last few years have been horrendous for liverpool in terms of not being where they feel they belong which is top four.
Liverpool are fucking shit. I would rather burn the emirates down than be in their position.
End of.
Us. Have you ever been to Liverpool?
Mate you are mental.
I thought it was the FA Cup and League title giving you the double… the League *Cup* does not give you the chance to compete with the best (which we are doing!) and get better players with our status as a Champions League team. Last season we would have beaten B*rca be it not for that silly ref. This season we thrashed Milan. How can you say we are not good enough? Where is your loyalty and passion for this magnificent club? I know mine’s in my heart and mind…this club I’ll never stop supporting and screaming my lungs out… Read more »
maybe there were clauses about goals and appearances in the contract. and wenger, the old scrooch, just didn’t play park because he wanted to keep it cheap and now he will unleash the korean weapon 🙂
Have to agree with “Craig” above, that it seems appearances and and such would be the additional details.
It would perhaps be cynical to claim that we are so tight/in control of our finances that we would rather have hardly played him within nine months so as to not pay more, but it’s possible.
On the other hand, I can’t remember ever thinking this season, “We really need to just chuck Park on!”
If we do ensure 3rd/4th place (or worse lol) before the end of the season I PRETEND to see him at least once from the beginning.
I mean he played once or two and he even scored, Chamakh can’t score against reserves and he’s still getting chances when we need an extra player up front. :\
The simple reason why Park hasn’t featured is Robin Van Persie being fit. If, God forbid, Robin gets a small knock, it wont take Wenger too long to put Park in
If we need chamack to stay he should hav to change his position to defence from atack like kolo habib touré. He can b world class defender.
A completely weird situation. If the squad is bristling with the likes of PV, DB and TH, then you can risk a flier on people like Bischoff and Park. But we’ve been crying out for quality, for three years or more. The argument that the fee is nominal ,is less so, when wages are taken into account and the fact that they occupy a squad number someone else could. This is another indication of how Wenger has taken his eye off the ball in recent years. If we see Poldolski and Vertongen in the summer, it might indicate that he’s… Read more »
It was a reasonable question by Fatgooner. Think some People are getting his question arse upwards. He’s not asking would we rather be Liverpool with thier shit players and crap stadium etc but would we as a club rather be in thier situation as in winning a cup with the potential to win another rather than just the chance of finishing top four. As the question stands ide rather win a trophy but having said that if this team with its injuries this season and the handicap that was handed to us buy the boards dealings in the summer a… Read more »
Agreed, it was a good question that has provoked a good discussion. It’s make for an interesting thread to hear differing opinions.
Thanks, Voldermort.
Id rather win the cups and finish first in the league, then worry about europe. To me fourth is not a trophy, but the absolute lowest semi acceptable finish to a season. I understand you can’t win em all, all the time. But we’re the arsenal and we should be winning things.
And fuck Liverpool.
It is a reasonable question by BigFattyG and you will see many of the comments are sensible responses. Being consistent enough over 38 games to get a good position is far harder than being lucky to win over 8/9 games. Example: Birmingham beating us last year. Would you rather win a trophy and get relegated or not win the trophy and stay in the premier league? Yes, Arsenal are hardly likely to get relegated but it’s about context. It’s taken a team of Liverpools size (whether we like it or not, globally they are a big club) over £100 million… Read more »
I don’t think Wenger owes any of us an explanation any more than he feels the need to explain his substitution patterns. Sometimes the sub works out and Ramsey passes to Arshavin who crosses to Henry for the injury time winner and we all scream like school girls. Sometimes Arshavin gets beat 1:1 and the winger crosses for a goal. Things happen. That’s football. Sometimes signings work out. Sometimes they don’t. I think that’s why Arsenal prefer to deal with lower priced transfers vs. big signings, like Torres (or even Hazard). Overall, our record has been pretty good in the… Read more »
As the matter of fact i dont believe that we had any chance to go further, even we would win over Milan. we are good but not that good, not good enough to challenge Barca or even Madrid and Munich. they have consistancy, which we have not. But at the same time i believe we have big big potential to challenge them next year if we continue like this and buy some decent player and keep our good player at the club too. LETS HOPE WENGER AND BOARD LISTEN TO OUR PRAY AND BUY CLASS PLAYER. ARSENAL 4 LIFE
It’s difficult not to be cynical about Ju Young Park. I wonder how much merchandise we’ve sold on account of his transfer, funny how he came on against Man U and against Milan. Hey, I have no problem with that at all, it’s clever. Man U must have made a fortune out of their Park. And it’s worth mentioning that Ryo is causing a massive splash in Japan. KERCHING! Considering kroenke and his expensively assembled team of marketing executives have done next to nothing to increase our commercial revenues (which was kroenke’s main selling point when he came in), at… Read more »
I think you’re on to something, Manu always seemed to start their Park in the CL or high profile domestic matches up until this year. But then again, he’s a tenacious little fucker that puts in a shift and for some reason always pops up when you least expect it.
How many idiots can you fit in one forum? Put this subject into perspective, we are talking about a guy who has made 6 substitute appearances. Henry didn’t score in the first 8 games, terrible wasn’t he. I would imagine that there is a commercial intention no Parks
How many idiots can you fit in one forum? Put this subject into perspective, we are talking about a guy who has made 6 substitute appearances. Henry didn’t score in the first 8 games, terrible wasn’t he. I would imagine that there is a commercial intention on Parks signing but don’t get
How many idiots can you fit in one forum? Put this subject into perspective, we are talking about a guy who has made 6 substitute appearances. Henry didn’t score in the first 8 games, terrible wasn’t he. I would imagine that there was a commercial influence on Park’s signing but we’ve signed worse players that have done very well for us with a run of games. The same idiots bashing him now will be cheering him after 1 decent game.
Fuck dude, spit it out or shut up. 3 try’s? I’ve never heard of a stuttering blogger.
Maybe the voices in his head kept interrupting him, so he just started again and again
I can definitely count 1.
Feed up of us not.
4 place wow woooopy
We are the Arsenal
Not a company with shares and need a profit
some times lookiing at this blog it makes me sick
fatgooner i’m with you bro
Why doesn’t anyone amongst the press near Wenger ever ask the boss about Park?????? so annoying.
voices of us should effect some boss’ decision makings.
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