It’s been a while since Arsenal mounted a serious title challenge and their fans have become increasingly frustrated at Arsene Wenger’s seeming refusal to be competitive in the transfer market. This summer, at long last, Arsenal have been splashing the cash, but it looks as though as it may be too late to convince captain Robin van Persie that the club is ambitious enough to win trophies. Today’s papers claim that United are set to sign him.
Andrew Weber from Arsenal FC Blog has shared his thoughts on the coming season.
Scott the Red: What would have to happen this season for you to class this as a successful one?
Andrew Weber: I think with the excellent summer we have had, bringing in three quality attackers to freshen things up and avoiding the transfer mishaps of the previous seasons, we have reason to be optimistic. It might be ambitious to say ‘winning the Premiership’ but that is exactly what Arsenal fans will be hoping for and I have to count myself among them.
STR: How do you feel about your club’s business in the transfer window this summer?
AW: Extremely good. This stuff is alien to Arsenal fans in recent seasons. Cazorla looks a brilliant signing while Podolski and Giroud offer us options that we simply haven’t had: a direct snap-shooter with experience and a powerful centre-forward. The Robin van Persie situation has been a pity — more in the manner it has been handled than the actual event — however the club has been proactive with their dealings and that suggests lessons have been learned.
STR: What do you make of the RvP transfer saga? Which club would you like to see him at in 2012-2013?
AW: The way RVP’s agent delivered THAT media release was tasteless and ill-mannered however the club has managed the situation well. It remains to be seen whether this was some masterstroke of a ploy by our captain to provoke some spending from the club — although I highly doubt it — but the club has created a situation where whether he stays or goes we are in a good place. Regarding which club I’d like to see him at it would be Juventus, followed by Manchester United and then City, for obvious reasons.
STR: Who do you think will be your most important player this season?
AW: Mikel Arteta. He gives us something that nobody in the midfield possesses to the same level: a sense of calmness and tactical nous. He allowed Alex Song to flourish as a more attacking player last season and will likely accelerate Santi Cazorla’s integration into the team.
STR: How do you rate your manager’s ability to take your club forward?
AW: I personally have no questions about Arsene Wenger’s ability to continue moving this club forward. There is so much mystery around what he has to spend in recent seasons but this season suggests the Frenchman may have put his foot down. In an era of mad spending he has played to his strengths and the fact that we finished third after a shocking start last season and can even harbour outside hopes of a title victory this season speaks volumes.
STR: Where does 8-2 from last season rank in your worst days as an Arsenal fan?
AW: It was bad, but the novelty of it somehow lessoned the pain. Level-headed fans knew the ridiculous situation we were in going into that game and took the beating with a pinch of salt. Jenkinson had a shocker and Armand Traore, for example, was on the eve of a move to QPR and smiled his way through the game, giving a serious insight into how lightly he seemed to be treating the occasion. In all honesty the 4-3 loss a week later against Blackburn, featuring two own goals, was a much harder pill to swallow.
STR: Were you glad to see Chelsea win the Champions League because it denied Spurs their place in Europe for next season?
AW: The short answer: no. By winning Chelsea became the first club from London to become Champions of Europe and we will never be able to take that back. For all the rivalry that bubbles between Arsenal and Spurs I would much rather they have qualified for Europe than Chelsea anyway. Although I won’t say I didn’t enjoy the laugh!
STR: Who do you think will win the league this season?
AW: City are the best bet and no amount of loyalty or bias will change that.
————
Read the Arsenal FC blog and follow Andrew on Twitter.
Man Utd News 24/7
Hey you saw it.
Interesting thoughts re the 8-2
I have similar feelings re the 6-1. Shocking though it was, there were other league results which were worse. In the league 0 points is 0 points (I know the large goal margin was ultimately costly but you can never account for things falling like that), and it would’ve been the same outcome, in the short and long term, if we’d lost 2-0. The OT loss to Blackburn, and the OT capitulation to Everton were both far worse moments in the season.
i love those interviews before the season..
sky sports : Universidad de Chile striker Angelo Henriquez has travelled to England to undergo a medical with Manchester United.
Out of interest what’s the feeling with reagrd to RVP at United? Do you guys want him there?
If so would you be pleased if the club pay 25 million for him?
My feeling on it: He’s played one full season without longterm injury in 8 years for us, and he was truly outstanding last year but can’t help feeling that 25 million for a 29 year old with a bad injury record (that we signed for around 2.5 million) wouldn’t be that bad.
However it would also be terrible if yet another cub captain leaves and I would obviously hate to see him playing for Manchester United and bearing down on our goal….
hahaha me to, on the side, a pile of warm Poodle poo please. And a water chaser.
8-2 game Fox Soccer had one of RoM’s favorite sons on as a guest, Pierced my dick Morgan, his meltdown was funny as fuck.
25 mill for RVP would be to much,15mill would be about right
Wayne – £15m about right. Or £12m with add ons. If not, let him see out his contract.
Thanks Scott, you did have the VftE planned after all!
Gooner, personally I’d rather see the money spent on a mf player, though I must admit RVP is tempting. So tempting that some of us on here aniticipate death via orgasm watching him team up with Rooney.
77 cruse the past 5 threads, do you think AW and SAF had a RvP chat. Arse, why ship another to shity, RvP wants a class team with a history, not a fat kid who grows up to be rich and has a small dick to make up for.
Gooner : for 25 mil he is overpriced.. But who wouldnt want a striker of his qulsity in their squad?
Welbeck signed a new contract.. That for me is better than getting RVP
Rvp and £25m in the same sentence? Never! At least £10 will be reasonable.
What puzzles the fuck out of me is that we seem to be really serious about paying in the region of 20 mil for rvp and yet struggle to find a new home for Berna at a decent price. Where’s PSG when you fucking need them?!
Jeet, From what I understood, the biggest stumbling block in a sale of Berba are his wages. His demands can only be met by certain clubs and those clubs might not need him right now. It would be a sad state of affairs to see Berba have another season like last one.
Essentially I was asking whether you guys felt he was over priced at 25 million and if you would be happy if the club paid that for him. I agree that 25 million is way too much.
@zibbie I havne’t been on the other threads, I just came onto this one as it appeared in my newsnow feed. I don’t think City are in a position to sign anyone right now are they? They need to offload some of their overpaid players to conform with the new financial regulations or am I wrong?
Angelo Henrique is having his medical for United.
Balaji, that’s exactly what I’m trying to say, where are the sugar daddy clubs, for whom wages aren’t a constraint, when you need them?!
What the hell is going on, united is the center of transfer gossip and speculation for about whole this summer.Personally I see RVP as a gamble, we usually have a bad luck with injury prone player, do I need to rememebr you?Lewanowski would be much more ideal signing, if not then the Chilean star Henriquez.
77 cool, what these guy’s say. $ is high but so I’m I most of the time. So I say what ever SAF does is fine with me. But yes my greedy side says get him.
Fuck RVP, we’re getting The Angel of Death
Gooner77 … I agree totally and have said as much. Nothing against the guy. He really is very good. But I don’t get the logic of bringing in a 29 year old. You would have to imagine RVP would have some expectation of playing regular football, and we all know Rooney’s a given. So where does that leave Welbeck and Chicharito? Is RVP prepared to stand in line behind either or both of them? Are either or both of them prepared to stand in line behind RVP? In recent years, we have been told over and over that there’s a policy against buying players older than 27 (or was it 26?) and that we are committed to bringing the younger players through — that they are our future. This time last year, we were told that Wee Wesley was too old — didn’t fit our policy. He had just turned 27. Now we’re thinking of buying someone who’s 29; who has a terrible injury history and has only just completed his one and only full injury-free season; and who has only topped 20 goals in a PL season once. I just don’t get it.
I am a manchester united fan, i wouldnt mind if RVP came in and carried on where he left last year…but if he doesnt then i think we payed way too much for him. Honestly…looking at point of view of Arsenal..the no 2 team i support after Man Utd…i wudnt want him to play in england at all. And guys regarding the 8-2….it was a one off…nt gonna happen again…That match…Man Utd was almost at Full Strenght…and Arsenal…No proper defender.( if i remember most of the good defenders were all injured…) So it was a Complete one off….and basically was just a day when u hit anythin and it goes in….As rightly said by a couple of u fans up here…it din hurt much..
Level headed and a good read. Thanks to Andrew for a good chat.
RE new signings:
Agree that RvP to United seems a long way from a done deal.
This thing with Henriquez has been in the cards for a much longer time and recall us having first option in his contract at some point.
Lots of forwards seem to be in the mix.
Hi all
As if dealing with a recovering hole in the eye wasn’t enough I’ve been going through an inflamed left gum which has truly and absolutely knocked me out – fuck me sideways as Cedars would say – quite literally.
In some good news – On Saturday I was down in the Olympic city meeting up with my film director – in fact it’s a little bit of incredible news though still have to take it one step at a time
The 12 minute screenplay is out of the window Ladies and Gentlemen – we are looking at a whole feature film – I’m still a little dazed and confused how fast it’s happening but hey 20 years waiting for it should be enough fire power to see it through.
With every bad turn comes a silver lining – let’s hope the bad turns now fade out – had enough of them for 3 months.
19
The most important thing here is not how much he will cost but that we buy another striker. All we need are strikers and wingers. Central midfielders and fullbacks are a luxury we do not need, ever.
Jeet, lol@12:33, god one mate.
Balaji, g’day mate, how’s things? If the problem with unloading Berba is his salary deal, that’s a problem of the club’s own making. The club designed this idea of a prearranged, unilateral 1-year contract extension precisely so that he couldn’t walk on a free. They activated that clause, but now can’t find a buyer who will pay his wages (and not fucking surprising, either, given the way he was pushed aside last season). I don’t know why SAF doesn’t want to use him, but since SAF’s big toe knows more about football than I ever will, I can live with that.
But surely, if we don’t want to use him and his contract is up, then the decent thing to do would be let him walk. Instead, we fuck around with legal machinations designed to prevent him walking on a free, then bitch when no one wants him. If we had let him go on a free, he might well have been prepared to compromise his future wages (since, with no transfer fee, he could have haggled a decent sign-on fee for himself).
” and their fans have become increasingly frustrated at Arsene Wenger’s seeming refusal to be competitive in the transfer market. ”
Sounds familiar
How much have we spent on how many players again?
Just don’t believe the papaers at all. £25mill for someone with an injury record, 30 next year and going free next saeon? £15m with add ons seems a fair price.
Nope. Going into the season with only Rafa and Evra as fullbacks seems like a really good idea… You can NEVER have too many strikers, and when the injury crisis hits we can always play them out of position.
Hey MG – many congratulations to you!
@FletchTHEMAN
Deal was signed in 2009 which gives us the ability to formalise the deal at anytime until 2014. It’s simply been a case of waiting for the right time to formalise it to aid his development
@Gooner
Wenger took him from a very cheap winger to a classy striker, albeit a crocked one, so any profit your lot make after all those years of service is a blessing. I know Parlour reckons we’re being “cheeky” but Arsenal are the ones holding out for approx 20m profit! If anything Ferguson are being reasonable by offering a 10m return on your investment with our initial bid. We could just wait 12 months don’t forget, and for some reason I think we’re his first choice.
Great player when fit but anything more than our initial bid should be add-ons. I wouldn’t mind us paying 5m extra if he has a repeat of last season in a United shirt. But holding out for 20m up front is more than cheeky.
@lawman10
I’d be very interested to see if the recent Angelo Henrique rumours are true. If he signs before the window closes all this RVP talk can finally be put to bed.
@Gooner
More to the point we don’t NEED him, but Arsenal do if you seriously want to challenge, regardless of who you’ve just signed…
This whole ‘only two recognised fullbacks’ business.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Zeki Fryers is still on our books isn’t he?
That’d make three, plus Jones, Smalling and Valencia all options at RB, and Evans an option at LB. Not disastrous. Still wouldn’t say no to Baines, should we have the resources.
@United Till I Die
Won’t have any impact on RvP signing. He won’t get a work permit so will be loaned out either to a country like Holland to get an EU passport or somewhere else where he will get games and push his claim for Senior caps so he will get a Work Permit
Damn I missed these kind of threads, excellent stuff…….. As for RvP, oi, those abusing him will only get my full wrath! ha ha
MG
It can only get better mate, hang in there
A really interesting read. Agree with most of the comments on here. Personally, I don’t want to see RVP go, this is the longest run he’s been on without injury and he had an outstanding season. Also, selling our best player, Captain from last season is not good from whichever angle you look at it.
£25m based on his age and injury history is a bit risky but what he does give you is a great attacking force to choose from (Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez).
Gooner in peace and all that.
Van Persie to OT could be a bad deal for both clubs: he’s class, so will of course improve your squad, but he ain’t what you guys need most (any money the Glazers haven’t hoovered up has to go on midfielders, surely). He’ll also be top dollar on transfer fee and wages, with no sell-on value, and is likely to be available only half the time. And it’d be poor for us too, no matter how much money we get, as it’ll unsettle our squad and demoralise our fans in a season where we can genuinely afford to feel optimistic, and even if only fleetingly, will strengthen a direct rival (we like to think we’ll give you more of a challenge this season, anyway!).
But Ferguson is the game’s most successful manager, so perhaps there is genius in this madness.
How on earth can we not do with RvP at the club for 3 or 4 years? What are folk on about? One of the best finishers in world football
Gooner here…. nice to see a balanced blog. I’d agree about the 8-2 as a *bit* of a one-off, but it still hurt, and it wasn’t so long ago that there was another big loss – was it 6-2? – infamous to gooners for the performance of Igors Stepanovs, possibly Wengers worst ever signing, at CB…
It’s a real pity, but I think RvP has burned his bridges at the Emirates, with the fans at least. Nasri got a pretty hostile reception last year when he played the first league game, days before he signed to Citeh, and it’s hard to see how RvP can win them back now. ( Although Rooney managed it with you guys) IMO, we should sell, if necessary at a cut price £15m, outside of the EPL, though it seems that Juve are out of the race, unfortunately.
If I was AW, I’d accept a bid of £20m from SAF, with some frustration at losing another captain, just when our tight transfer policy of recent years is easing. Then, TBH, hope that injury, form and rotation prevent him from really making much of a difference for you this season. I suspect that as he turns 30, vP’s powers will wane quite badly. His style of play is all about movement, balance, momentum – rather than power, or pace, and the list of ankle, knee and soft tissue injuries is pretty long…. they will catch up with him sooner rather than later, I think.
From a partisan point of view, I wouldn’t be unhappy to see you buy him for 25m and put him on a 4/5 year contract at £150k+ a week – he wont be worth that in two years time, let alone three, IMO. I’d rather he signed a 2 year extension with us though…
In all honesty, this year is the most optimistic I’ve felt as an arsenal fan for 3-4 years, with or without RvP. We will be in the mix for the EPL this year, and I fancy us for a cup too. So bring it on, mancs
Cedars – Hello mate. Great finisher he may be but as it’s been said, one injury free season in 8 years doesn’t bode well for a £20 million investment. We have to be sensible with our money and I think it’s a luxury signing that we don’t need….
@united till I die
Even if Henrique signs I don’t think he will get work permit. RVP is not our major concern, we need good fullbacks and a more defensive minded mid fielder. Kagawa, chicharito, Rooney and welbeck are all good attacking forwards.
RVP has got a great first touch and always gets away from his marker or wins a free kick.
He reads the game in England as well as anyone and I feel his days on the treatment table
are behind him.
If you get him for £22m you’ll be doing well because he’ll get 10 goals before Xmas.
Last season at Arsenal the whole team was playing to set up chances for him and I think SAF
will do the same for your lot.
He’s got a mean streak and like Bergkamp he has never relied on pace so he’ll be able to play
for many seasons to come.
He was an excellent captain last season because he has a strong winners personality and he
doesn’t moan when things go wrong.
As a Gooner I am absolutely gutted that he’s going.
It took him a long time to grow up mentally and physically. Losing RVP will be a massive loss.
Much worse than any of the others who have gone recently.
It will only end in heartbreak, tears and a lot snot…..especially for Cedars.
@Clint
That’s not snot, mate…
Eric Keane @ 12:31: “Welbeck signed a new contract.. That for me is better than getting RVP”
BEST COMMENT.
kanchelkis
i thought Fryers had already signed for Spuds?
Welbecks signed a 5 year deal. Brilliant piece of news.
@utd_fc
That’s what I thought, but http://www.manutd.com/en/Players-And-Staff/Reserves/Ezekiel-Fryers.aspx
Rai
How the fuck have you been pal? Bloody hell mate get posting more often and how is Lahaina? Bet she is a sweet little angel ….
Now as for RvP, yes he does have a history with injuries, but so do many players. Last season he remained injury free and showed us what he is all about. If we can get 3 or 4 years like that out of him then it would be a great bit of business in my opinion. There are reasons that Sir Alex has been after him
Good article. Nice to see the gooners on here talking football. Not like the bitters, or dippers who only come on to spout waffle!
If Arsenal get over £20mill for RVP, that’s a result for them. 29, with a history of injuries. Last year of his contract. Great deal for them, not so much for United. Quality player, though.
Tell you fucking nonsense that get’s printed,i know Utd were linked with Rodwell last year but never seen one article linking the club this summer,i’ll stand corrected but certainly wasn’t one of Utd’s main targets.
Now headlines all over the place on City beat us to the punch and how it’s going to effect us,what a bunch of bollocks
kanchelskis
apparently he hasn’t signed as yet so officially he’s still a Utd player. Barely, though i’d say. The twat can fuck off if he really wants to join the Spurs.
£25m “ROBIN BASTARDS!!!!”
Cedars, she’s crawling and saying “Dadda” now! Will be on in about 6 weeks. Spoke to King Eric yesterday he’s enjoying fatherhood too, and Kings is keeping busy.
With RVP, if we could get 2 seasons out of him fully fit he’d be worth the money, it just seems to be against everything SAF has gone for in the past….unless he’s changing his transfer approach for this one target?
£20m for the best striker in England last year isn’t bad business, but only if he stays fully fit. I guess the whole thing depends on whether SAF wants to gamble of play safe
Wayne – Never really been impressed with him. Type of player, age etc that if SAF wanted he would have got…..City’s panick buying policy has started ☺
Apparently the “Massive Club” were sniffing around Henriquez, trying to steal one of our targets again after we did the scouting job. Absolute cunts! Anyway, they’re a fucking flash in the pan, as evidenced by the fact that none of the big players they went after this summer wanted to sign for them (RVP, Hazard, De Rossi, God knows who else) and they’ve ended up with Everton reject Jack Rodwell as their big summer signing.
Now don’t get me wrong, City have some fantastic players, particularly in attacking positions, but they’re about to find out the hard way that you can’t stand still in this game. The title is coming home.
Great to see the Gooners on here again, they’re always up for some good banter.
Rai
Bet you drooled like a toddler when you heard her say that! Bless her
The whole RvP issue has left me baffled to be honest, everyone on here knows how much I admire the fella but with already 4 recognized strikers on the cards its a strange one, but it could certainly signal the end of Berba at the club if it does happen
Interesting comments from both sides of the divide. I miss the close rivalry of Utd/Gunners which was always fireworks on the pitch but unspoken, grudging respect off it. Hopefully we’ll give you a better run this season.
My overriding feeling is that Utd need good midfielders desperately. I was genuinely surprised that you got even 2nd spot last term, with what I thought was a well below par team. SAF did a brilliant job, plus the fact is you have a better club mentality.
RvP would be a gamble at anything over £15M IMHO, but you may get another gem of a season out of him. If it was my money, I’d spend it elsewhere. I would worry with your overdraft!!
Also a bit surprised you all seem to rate Welbeck so high. I think he has a way to go yet.
@Barndoor
Welbeck certainly has room for improvement in some aspects of his game (finishing, decision-making), but he’s already shown that on a good day he can be unplayable. With the right attitude, he’ll become the league’s best striker. I’m sure of it.
@Wakey @Gentle
Cheers lads didn’t know he hasn’t played enough senior games for a permit. We’ve been following him for a while now so if he’s still that young he must be a precocious talent?
@Gentle – I agree we don’t need RVP mate, but the manager seems very serious on signing him and he’d hardly bring down the quality of the Squad? My only grumble, if I’d even call it that, is the price we end up paying. Otherwise I see no problem, Hernandez kept Berbatov out the team and Welbeck kept both out the team. Whatever happens the best performers will play, and nothing wrong with competition, especially when the manager seems so keen on bringing somebody in. As for midfield I disagree mate, in addition to the new trio of Kagawa Ando and Tom we’ve still got Carrick, Scholes and Giggs, not to mention Powell who we signed for CM. Jones can also do a job in midfield so all in all I think we’ve got enough cover for 2 CM (4-4-2) or 3 CM (4-5-1) positions. I also disagree about WB mate, we normally only play with one anyway, the other 3 defenders normally stay put. They might not all be fit for Everton but we’ve got enough defenders for the season imo, and Fabio will be back at Christmas if we need him. The way I see it we’re good to go right now, any additional signings are extra gravy imo.
Cedars – I think the end for Berba is already here. It’s a shame that someone so talented can’t be integrated in our team more. Seems a real waste of talent and we’d be losing a good bloke
When I seen reports of this `Pussy Riot` in the papers, I got excited. Then realised it’s a fucking punk movement!
Rai
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love Berba, top talent and top bloke. However he hardly featured last season, I am sure the boss has his reasons and I for one will never question the boss
Rai – he is a good player, but he only had one good season out of 4, if we can even call last season a season for berbatov. Talent alone does not get you into the team, and when there is rooney and welbeck infront of you, its always a tough one for him to break that partnership up, there is also the brilliant kagwa, who can and will score more than berbatov, and can do the creative part that berbatov did in flashes. So it makes sense to move berbatov on now, and it is best for him. I thought breaking up rooney welbeck partnership is hard, but adding kagwa, his time is up
United Till I Die – it seems to me, the boss wants to play a diamond formation but using 2 wingers. with either carrick or cleverly sitting deep, with kagwa supporting the front 2
DDG
rafeal ferdinand vidic evra
carrick/cleverly
valencia nani
rooney RVP/welbck
sorry my mistake on the team, forgot to add kagwa to that 11
FITB – I agree his time is up, just a real shame. When he was at Spurs I was desperate for United to sign him, shame it hasn’t worked out. Similar scenario with Veron (can you all believe that was 10 years ago).
Cedars – I don’t see any harm in questioning the boss, of course he’ll always have the answers and he does know best, but the Berba scarario has been a strange one.
haha @ Shady
@FITB – alright mate? FKnows how we’ll line up, especially in a 4-4-2 as we’ve only got 2 CM positions! As far as pre-season I thought we best with Nani and Valencia on the right, Giggs and Evra on the left and Kagawa Ando and Tom in CM. Agreed that Kagawa looks like the most forward midfielder, but tIme will tell how the manager sees things. Im expecting loads of rotation anyway, we’ve got the players and system for it.
Rai
No harm at all, personally I am just too blinded mate…… I am so in love with the man that I can never be critical of him!
Cedars – Fair enough mate…..I feel the same about Scholes…I’ve never seen him play a bad game
Rai
Oh the Ginger Prince, bloody hell! Makes me chuckle when he goes in with one of him ‘trade mark’ tackles then gives the ref that innocent baby face look! Epic
We’ve got some quality in midfield with Carrick, Cleverley, Scholes, Giggs, Kagawa, (possibly Anderson)…..FUCK Barca
RVP looks quite a gamble in my opinion. But then, other than in FM12 game, I’m no true football manager. I believe SAF has good reasons for wanting him. And also, the keyword here for me is ‘quality’. I’m not bothered if we don’t sign a CM. It’s the left back position that gives cause for concern. However, Michael Keane did a decent job there methinks.
When you watch Van Persie live he is one of the few players that, when he gets the ball, you genuinely get nervous because you know, more often than not, that the guy will produce an end product. In the 8-2 last seen, despite his penalty miss, the guy still looked a completely different class. He has presence, an aura and his left foot is a wand.
I’m sick of my season ticket cash being spunked on interest payments and keeping the Glazers’ shopping malls open. Could I give a crap if it costs us £25 million?? Could I heck as like! Bring on Van Persie. It’s not often that you get the chance to sign a genuine world class player in his prime. This is one such occasion so everyone chill on the price, or where he’ll fit in. Van Persie will fit in and he will be a regular.
Remember the really big games last year when we played Giggs or Park as the second striker? Next year it could be Kagawa and or Van Persie/Rooney. Tell me that is not improving your team? I can’t wait!
Oh what a read!
MG awesome, at first your post’s caught my eye. Then transformed into the stories. Back ground at most, a heavy oak desk, an Old English Mastiff. You have a talent. Honed it into an artful transcendence of self.
Be well 19.
Interesting read – I think it follows the logic of many Arsenal supporters (including myself).
I’d say I have to agree with ManU fans who think 20-25M is too much for RVP. Yes, he did show his immense talent last year. Yes, he has the rare combination of shooting and ball handling that any club would want. But it’s hard not to look at last season as one where it was actually luck that kept him in the campaign from beginning to end. He’s shown a bit of fragility over the past 6 years, so I’d consider it a big risk for any club looking to spend up front. Probably why so few clubs are making offers.
At their respective ages I too would prefer Welbeck over RVP any day and saturday. I’m frankly surprised Manchester wants to spend on that area. They’d do better working on a world class central defender to slot in after the rubberbands holding Rio together snap loose. I’m of the opinion that there are only so many of them around. Even the so-called best defenders in the world (Mertesacker e.g.) show certain deficiencies. Where’s the next Maldini? That’s where my money would go.