Wrap this one up, alongside Cazorla, Get Bouldie working hard on the defence and team shape, and we could have a season worth remembering once again.

flobaba wrote:

qs! wrote:

Its pretty much a rebuild and it seems Wengers not happy to wait for a load of kids to grow up this time.

He's not immortal.

Seriously, I think he has realized he has only a few years left to dedicate to coaching and managing the pressures and responsibilities of a top club. You may say look at Fergie, but that guy has been extremely lucky his health has held up so far. Wenger doesn't look as vibrant as he used to, and I believe he wants to end our trophy drought before he calls it curtains.

I think that too. And I think he wants to win another trophy or 2 before he goes. I think Wenger is the type who'll have a plan for retirement, Fergie will probably die on the sidelines.

Hadn't really thought about that as a possible reason for the shift in policy.
It could definitely be a factor.
I also think Fabregas and Nasri leaving as they did last summer, the fact that the force of his influence over them could not dissuade them, woke him up to the reality of what he will face with young players who make the grade and catch the eye of clubs who can afford to pick them off.

I think regardless of what Wenger wins in the next two seasons, he will retire by 2014 when his contract is up. I say this because there has been virtually no talk of him renewing his contract

Of course he wants to win the big one (Champions League) before then and leave the squad in good shape.

Shift in policy is due to the shift in circumstance. It's not a change of heart, it was planned just as definitively and irrevocably as a 60th minute substitution. Financial freedom = better signings = less reliance on youth. Everything is going according to plan as far as they're concerned, just that we didn't happen to get lucky and win anything along the way. Wenger's even wanted Podolski for ages. The man has an extreme case of farsightedness.

As expected, it seems like the Tottenham link is stronger: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/907020-jose-mourinho-to-meet-with-nuri-sahin-to-decide-on-tottenham-loan

Thats probably why the deal hasnt happened yet, i imagine if it was arsenal he would have been here last week, but because its totenham in the loan deal he doesnt want to go and decided to join the real madrid pre season.

or they're a non-event.

Only The Metro saying this though. Every other journo and paper saying we are in pole position, including Sid Lowe just last night.

Sid Lowe from the guardian tweeted there was serious interest from our side. Read somewhere he wants to play CL so rules Spurs out.

Hope this happens, Sahin is a monster footballer.

Have a sneaky feeling Cazorla will be play on the wing

Same.

Captain wrote:

Hope this happens, Sahin is a monster footballer.

Me too. Giroud, Podolski, Cazorla, Sahin in and 'only' losing RVP seems a summer too good to be true though. If we sign both Sahin and Cazorla I think Walcott is off.

Captain wrote:

Hope this happens, Sahin is a monster footballer.

I've not seen all that much of him (shock horror!), what makes him so good?

---------------giroud
-------podolski---Walcott
Gervinho--cazorla---chamberlain
--------wilshere-arteta-sahin
---------------koscielny
---------------szczesny

Ricky1985 wrote:

Captain wrote:

Hope this happens, Sahin is a monster footballer.

I've not seen all that much of him (shock horror!), what makes him so good?

Top player. Only thing I'm not keen on, is his tendency to go for Steve g type Hollywood balls. Go banega

Talk about 'diamond' formations, eh?

Ricky1985 wrote:

Captain wrote:

Hope this happens, Sahin is a monster footballer.

I've not seen all that much of him (shock horror!), what makes him so good?

Complete technically, mean intelligence, superb passing range. Right up your alley I reckon. He's a pure midfielder in the sense that he excels anywhere. He played both as a defensive and attacking midfielder for a while in Dortmund. Imagine him, Arteta, Song and Cazorla on the same pitch at the start of next season. That's a recipe for greatness right there.