It's been a very quiet few weeks in terms of Arsenal news. The team flew out to Jakarta for the first leg of our Asian Pre-Season tour. Aside from being a huge money spinner for the club it's fantastic to see just how excited the fans over their get and it's only right that they get their chance to see the team.
In other news we've released our new Away kit and its a very nice yellow and blue number which is supposedly a tribute to the Invincibles. I much prefer it to the purple kit we played in last season and compared to some of the monstrosities Nike have rolled out over the years its certainly not a bad way to end our manufacturing deal with them.
Right now onto the less than concrete news on transfer business. We'll start with players leaving first. The news from Germany was initially good, Francis Coquelin has joined Freiburg on a season-long loan. I like Coquelin and I think he's certainly got some talent so if he gets games out there then it can only be a good thing. Then the news from Germany then turned bad with Bendtner's requests supposedly wide of the mark for Eintracht Frankfurt who have now ended all negotiations. This is not the first time this has happened so maybe its time he realises that he isn't worth what he thinks. I must admit its hard to see why nobody would want to pay a weed smoking, shisha puffing, reckless driving, party animal...
Other possibly positive transfer news for us is that Santos could be on his way back to Brazil and to Flamengo, a club where he previously played. However with the Brazilian window closing soon a deal has to be pushed through sharpish. I think some of the criticism of him has been a little harsh and he has been used as a scapegoat but that said he's never really been an Arsenal quality player. I think it would be best for all parties if he returned to his homeland.
OK now onto in's and really the biggest story since my last post has been the news that Arsenal have reported had a £30m bid turned down for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. Now initially I thought this was just some very unsubtle brinksmanship from the club by trying to force through the Higuain deal by bidding for a player that Madrid are reportedly interested in. But if reports are to be believed we're supposedly returning with a higher bid in order to try and lure the wantaway striker from Anfield.
Whatever the intentions this is a very un-Arsenal like move. Firstly if it was to try and drive the Higuain deal through it definitely didn't work as everything has gone quite on that front. Ancelotti is supposedly meeting him on Monday to convince him to stay and quite honestly I think any chance of seeing him in an Arsenal top next season has gone. Suarez has certainly divided opinion amongst Arsenal fans with some hoping that he will join and provide the firepower that we need up front. Others find him repulsive and would hate to see him in an Arsenal shirt.
Now there's no doubt that he's a top class striker and on his day he's unstoppable. There's also no doubt that he has had his problems, racism, biting and even pre-dating his Liverpool career he's always been a bit of a mental case. Personally I'd love to see him sign to not only provide the goals upfront but also because he's a nasty bastard. Something we've missed since the Viera, Keown and Adams era. They weren't afraid to get mean when they needed too and let's face it they had their own problems. Viera has one of the worst disciplinary records in the history of the league. Adams had his problems with drink but both players delivered on the pitch and contributed to the teams overall success.
I don't fall into the mentality of many Arsenal fans who seem to think we're better than signing someone like that, if he puts in a shift and does his job then I don't see a problem. Now I want to say I'm not condoning racism or aggressive behaviour such as biting on the pitch, far from it. But a bit of spirit and fight wouldn't go amiss. However there is a problem with such a player, he is currently serving a 10 match ban for biting Ivanovic and still has 6 to serve. If he joined us there's no doubt that the FA will uphold the ban and they certainly have his number. If he causes problems again what the ban be that time? 15, 20 matches? That's a big risk to take for a £30m plus investment.
I personally don't think we'll sign Suarez but stranger things have happened and at the moment all we can do is wait and see. For those of you on twitter, give me a follow for more Arsenal related nonsese @fisher_mr.
