Pjanic Transfer Encouraging News

NorthLondonPride was the first to report that a few weeks back we was close to signing Miralem Pjanic, It all seems to be coming out now after a recent interview with Metz manager Joel Muller by Setanta Sports.

Muller has agreed to speak about the 17-year-old, who is shining in Ligue 1 and who has been linked to The Gunners in the last few weeks.

“He is one of the rare young talents that show you in a minute that he is going to have a great career,” Muller told setantasports.com.

“As we are going to be relegated we have no choice and have to sell our jewel to earn money. I think that a team like Arsenal would help him to continue his education, with a coach-educator like Arsene Wenger and regarding the football they play, it would definitely be a good option.

“We helped Robert Pires and Adebayor to become great players, so Pjanic could go the same way. His talent needs to be brought out slowly.

“His technique is amazing; he reads the game and knows what is going to happen before everybody. He can play with his left foot, with his right foot and always creates the best situations.

“He anticipates and is a great passer. He can be a playmaker behind two strikers. I know that Arsenal don’t play with a playmaker, but Miralem can be used on the wing as well.

“His weak point is his lack of physical strength, but it will improve with time. The Italian league is not made for him, but I think that the English one is.”

The former Metz coach highlighted the midfielder’s strength of character by recalling an incident in the league.

“Our own fans behind the goal encouraged the opposite goalkeeper when Pjanic was about to take a penalty for us,” he said.

“He scored it, then had to do it again because there was a player in the box, and then went directly to make fun of the fans in front of them in the stands! That proves the winner and competitor he is.”

Muller was then asked to compare Pjanic to the player he resembles the most.

“It is difficult to compare him to another player to be honest,” Muller said. “I think we should wait for one or two years before doing it, but I deeply believe that he will have his own style.

“His football is very original. He loves to play facing the goal, not with his back to it, like Michel Platini did. He has not got Johan Cruyff’s strength, and it is too early to compare him to Zinedine Zidane.

“I expect him to create his own name.”

Muller is of course proud of Metz’s Academy, and he said: “We took him from Luxemburg, where we have great links and relations. He had to go there because of the war in Yugoslavia. His daddy was a professional player there.

“We expected him to play for the reserves but our sporting situation and bad summer recruitment rushed us to play him and he imposed himself.

“If his agents and himself take the right decision, he could have a superb European career. I think that he wants to carry on playing in the top flight. But maybe a team like Arsenal could sign him and loan him back to us for a year. It would be great for us.”

We Lack That Killer Instinct

Its almost as if Arsenal now have drilled into the mentality of the squad that drawing a game is acceptable when to be quite frank it’s not. What are we trying to prove by attempting to keep the lost statistic down? We have drawn 4 games in a row giving us 4 points ok we haven’t lost but what are we really risking by going out with the intent to win, even during that period if we took the risk and lost 2 games but won the other 2 we would still be in a better points position. When you look at past teams of Wenger we would be direct with a high tempo and killing games of in the first half, even when we was down by a goal or two you always had that faith we would create good chances and get back into the game but with this team its far from the case.

Every game we start off with the same tempo and give the opposition time to settle in, even when we are 1-0 up there’s no attempt to kill the game off we just keep to the same game plan and what will be will be giving the opposition the chance to nick a draw and when they do it all dummies spat out like a bunch of children. In my honest opinion I’m not saying we don’t go out to win but we haven’t got that killer instinct, that drive and high tempo and really getting to the opposition, whether that comes down to the lack of personnel in the team who knows what it takes to win or just the obvious fact we think coming away with a point is good.

Is Alex Finally In Tune

Alexandre Song where shall we begin. The young Cameroon defender started his trade in France with Bastia playing at the heart of the defence and it’s at Bastia were he earnt a reputation for ability to read the game at such a young age, Being in the right place and getting his foot in at the right time but his inexperience that told in the end when in high pressure situations but the potential was there and Europe was well aware. He made his move to Arsenal on loan initially making a small 5 appearances before securing a deal permanently the following season. During his full season with us there was an expectation as per normal but that’s just to be expected with Arsene finding and fielding a player at a young age but alot was left to be desired, He put in a number of very poor performances that left the fans in rage at times, He was off the pace, he was feeling the pressure, The ball wasn’t being released quick enough and the fans including myself just had to question was this a young player to far?.Song was loaned out to Charlton Athletic during the winter transfer window in hope he could prove to Arsene he can cut it out in this league, Well his loan spell at Charlton was an unsuccessful one for the club but for the players development it was a big step, He proved why he has what it takes and took his potential from Bastia to the next step. Playing in the centre of midfield for a team who’s struggling for survival in the league he was the bright spark, the tackles were being timed well, He was building in confidence with every game and really progressing as a player, if anything he was carrying that midfield in the last part of the season. I always remember Arsene saying he looks for a player that’s playing well in a team that’s doing bad and Alex certainly did that.

Alex returned to Arsenal this season with some rough experience and high optimism ahead but with the signing of Lassana Diarra I’m sure deep down that was short lived. During this season he has a number of games and a few tough away ties and has looked a different player to the one that left months ago. He’s been chucked in at centre back and thrown in midfield and has delt with the problem remarkably well something he couldn’t off done a year ago, He has certainly come on as a player you can tell by his presence on the pitch he has a calm feeling about him and knows what is required to be at this club. The thing that inspired me to make this post is his performances in the African Nations, He wasn’t thought of as a main player in the squad and maybe just there because of his relations to Rigobert but I’m not having that. Alex came on in the second half of their 4-2 defeat in the 1st game of the tournament and just stole the show he was absolutely everywhere you name it he done it from play making to defensive beast and took the heart of the midfield unlike a certain player could do in Makoun, A guy who was a £10 million transfer target for Manchester United few season back. How could Otto Pfister change around such a drab start from Cameroon? Simple really put Song in the heart of midfield and give him the ball , He certainly done that and Song enjoyed being a key figure for such a high pressure situation and just take the Ghana game for example , Semi Final of a big tournament against the favourites and hosts he out fought , out muscled and out battled the so called machine Essien and done his fair share of getting his Country into the final but you can be assured that Alex Song , The man with no expression , The silent warrior has a big future with us .

Pjanic Negotiations To Start Soon

Arsenal look to have got their nose in front in the attempts to sign the midfield genius who has set the French league alight with numerous dazzling displays. There has been no formal offer as of yet but negotiations are set to start next week for the 17 year old who has attracted interest from numerous clubs in Europe.

Very early breaking news and will try update as soon as I hear something.

Hernanes on The Radar?

Hernanes 22 year old Midfielder has been watched by a few clubs recently and have been told that Arsenal have been looking at him possibly there could be a link regarding Denilson. He’s a midfielder who you could say has hit the scene quite late at 22 but nevertheless he has alot of talent. He plays in centre midfield for Sao Paulo and has a good tactical awareness and can defend when told to but what really makes him stand out from the rest is his body language and ability on the ball. He is flat footed but strolls around like he owns the pitch, A minor point to his game is that you get the impression he won’t be running around for 90 minutes and this is where he saves his energy and uses his brain by taking up positions like he’s been playing the game for years, you can guarantee he will keep the ball for team and create something eventually. He is very composed in tight situation with the ability to dribble and not spur a chance when presented and has shown he can shoot from all ranges which comes from a young age as he grew up as an attacking midfielder. I think the lad will get a move to Europe eventually whether it’s to us or not but with Gilberto Silva potentially leaving this summer he would be a welcomed addition.

Has he failed to fill Pires boots ?

When you take a look at what we had in Robert Pires we was lucky to have such a talented winger who was not deterred by his lack of pace in the league which pace goes a long way to helping you fit in but he was just a magician so elegant on the ball with the composure and technique to put the ball in the back of the net from any range but interests me is his directness, That mentality of wanting to take on the defender putting the defender on the back foot which is something we lack. When Robert left we all knew that the time had to come but later in his career he wasn’t as effective considering his bad knee injury and probably needed a league where he could get that extra touch on the ball so Spain come calling with Villarreal the suitors and Bobby departed to finish off what was a remarkable career.

We the fans was looking for a replacement who was just as good as Robert as his presence was a big loss to the midfield, It was the 23rd of May 2006 when gradually the rumours got stronger and were eventually confirmed that Tomas Rosicky had turned his back from Atletico Madrid to head to the Emirates in a deal worth £7,000,000 and for me it was a shock but I was really excited at the same time!. Most fans would have known who Tomas Rosicky was from his Dortmund days and his games for the national team. Tomas the heart of their attack who was named the little Mozart for his picturesque performances lived up to his £18,000,000 price tag at Dortmund and became a cult hero but there was a different side to him alot like the Germans themselves, he would putting in alot of hard gritty determined performances and not afraid to lung into a challenge when needed it looked like we had a great player coming.

When we look at his Arsenal career he made his debut in the Champions League qualifier against Zagreb in an important game and managed to get his first goal against Hamburg also in the Champions League and what a goal it was, a cracking shot from 30 yards which left the keeper no chance and I think we was all rubbing our hands at the prospect of this season with Rosicky in the team. It was short lived because despite getting only 3 goals that season he showed flashes of brilliance but lacked consistency and can we put that down to the unlucky injuries he had? Or the fact he needed time to settle in the Premier League? I was going to give him that benefit of the doubt with Wenger saying he is the man to replace Pires. This season I’m far from impressed with his performances despite his 9 goals, not only can he not stay fit he is not the same player we brought because I don’t see him putting any defenders on the back foot with runs bursting from midfield taking 3 or 4 players out the game on a consistent level. I feel he should be doing alot more for his talent showing more confidence and more selfishness if you like rather than playing with his back to goal out wide and looking to pass which slows down the attack. So far he has alot of living up to do to fill Pires boots who was the ever reliable but despite his flashes of genius because we have not seen the Little Mozart yet more like the Injury Table Regular but am I being harsh on Rosicky who is a part of a team at Arsenal rather than being the stand out player of a team but it does look like he relishes a role where he is the key vocal point in attack which he isn’t at Arsenal.

Arsenal v Milan preview

Well the big day is not so far away and we couldn’t have had a worse match to come off on after the painful United result but we must keep our optimism up. Milan are one of the biggest clubs in the world who have attracted all sorts of world class players throughout the years they have always kept the same game plan, youth development and tactics with putting defence first and revolving the attack around the playmaker but is there a sense of vulnerability with the Milan team this season?.

Milan currently stand 5th in the table a staggering 21 points behind there city rivals Inter. There is no doubt there defence is still working as a world class unit the record speaks for its self but strangely Milan have been finding it hard to finish off games despite the wealth of attacking talent at their disposal but the new breed coming through like Pato could change that story very soon on what he has shown recently. They struggle like ourselves when the opposition get stuck into them, ruff them up abit and don’t give them time on the ball but allot of teams this season have stopped Kaka from effecting the game by assigning a man marker to keep tight to him and managed to get a result. The danger for me is though is Pirlo, given our weakness at set pieces this is not the guy we want to be delivering balls into the box or to be given allot of time in deep areas starting off their attacks.

When we take a look at what we can do to stop them I think the best option is to assign a 4-5-1 with Gilberto to do what he done to Riquelme to Kaka, I know this sounds ridiculous giving his recent performances but it’s all we have and given he’s trained with him for Brazil maybe he can give out a great performance. Defence wise I don’t think there’s a problem because we have the pace advantage over them to continue to keep a high line and catch their front men offside but we will need to beware of their full backs over lapping on the counter so Clichy and Sagna need to be extra alert. Matthieu Flamini who’s been touted as the new Gattuso would be pointless to have him doing anything else then stopping Pirlo, he has to keep up the pressuring on Pirlo for 90minutes nonstop or we could be in serious trouble as I got the feeling Gattuso will be assigned to do the same to Cesc. If Ade can hold the ball well up top then we could be well in here as I don’t think there defence has come up with such a striker and could find themselves having a torrid evening, but whatever happens the players need to show 110% effort not just for the fans but for the good of themselves. We should all know by now that Milan’s team isn’t very youthful and is full of experienced players but can we believe that the experience in these players don’t mean nothing as they look to be lacking the drive and confidence to succeed with the season they have had, How would they react to an early goal and 55,000 Gooners putting there share of the work in?

Sorry this was rushed and hope you got a good read but what are your views on the game ?

Still the best team in the country

Today was such a bad result for us to lose to our rivals in such a manor but what makes it worse deep down for me is how the team played. What can we actually come up with to find the answer to this performance, was there still bruising in the mentality from the Tottenham result which was exposed by a rampant Manchester United who battled and won every ball who set the tempo and tore us to shreds with a crowd giving them that extra in their performance or should we go for the excuse old excuse of we had a weak team?.Whatever the excuse Manchester United look to have wanted this battle more and I suppose every dog has its day but the truth is that we Arsenal are the best team in the country and the table does not lie come the 38th game we will have won the war and they can have beat us 4-0 all they like because we are the best football team playing in this country and will be going around north London with the premiership trophy waved from the top of a bus signing “ we are the champions “.

 

Short and sweet tonight but remember we can drown this result with a few pints wake up in the morning and we are still 5 points clear at the top!

The Mexicans love him but what can we expect ?

Carlos Vela the young protégé from Cancun started out his trade for Guadalajara in Mexico where he didn’t get to play any games but the hype around the kid was enough for him to earn his place in the Mexico under 17 team for the world cup. Vela the frail looking kid made his name in this tournament where he bagged 5 goals, it was his movement off the ball that caught the eye and his determination to help his team abit like the qualities we see in Adebayor today but he also had something else to his game, that knack to be in the right place at the right time and the ability to not spur a chance and not only was he special the team was special and they went on to win the under 17 World Cup beating Brazil 3-0 in which Vela scored and dedicated his Golden Boot award to his father afterwards.

After the celebrations Vela had a choice now as he had made his name on one of the biggest stages for a youngster. The offers flooded in from across Europe with Guadalajara offering a new contract and alot of money to secure his family financially but he turned the offer down to sign with us in November 2005 for a reported £2,500,000. We was all aware of what player Wenger had brought and couldn’t wait to see him in action but due to the Non-EU citizens rule in the U.K Vela could not play until he had earnt a work permit.

Vela was shipped out to Celta Vigo in February 2006 where he didn’t feature for the 1st team because the current manager felt he was too inexperienced to play him but then was farmed out to 2nd division side Salamanca and this is where he made his mark. He was playing up front and showing signs of becoming a good striker banging in 8 goals and creating numerous assists for his team mates, He became the fans hero here and everyone loved Vela but they knew he had to go the boy had too much talent. His performances was noted by the national manager and made his full international debut for Mexico in a September 2007 friendly against Brazil and got his 1st goal against Guatemala in Los Angeles.

Come the start of 2007 the loan bids were flying in for Carlos who Osasuna were successful in their bid agreeing to a 1 year loan with an extension. Vela had been looking a very different person come the start of the season for Osasuna where he wasn’t the little boy anymore he had put on alot of muscle and grown alot. With that new look come a new Carlos, He’s no longer playing of the shoulders of defenders but just playing on the left wing and dropping deep with the licence to create and get himself into the box but one thing is for sure he has not lost any of his desire and willingness to run for the cause but he’s alot more harder to budge of the ball just ask Sergio Ramos! And has alot of power when running with it too with the technique required to make it at the top level. He managed to get his first goal for Osasuna in a match against Betis which was a mere tap it but his goal against Bilbao showed that he hasn’t lost any of his predator instincts as the ball was lofted over the last line of defence and Vela shaped up and hit a half volley from a acute angle to beat the corner in his near post it was a great goal and I’m sure there is more to come from this great prospect.

Well what can we expect from the Mexican hotshot, has he sorted out our left side problem or is he nudging out a striker?

I would like to hear your thoughts please thank you

Are talented young players being exploited too early ?

After the news of Ronaldo’s potential career ending injury I would just like to ask the question are talented young players being exploited too early?

Age in today’s game is more significant than any other era and alot of youngsters who are put in the mould of potential stars are eventually required to play in the 1st team as soon as possible to gain the so called word ” experience “, although this may sound relevant for the players career im slightly concerned that how many games there playing to get this experience, is more always better?. Professional football is a very physical game and can be mentally draining for a young player which can be caused by such things as the media and pressure to perform to your abilities, but you have to take into account alot of young players bodies haven’t developed fully and it is difficult on the muscles to withstand this sort of intense situations and eventually leads to bad injuries which in effect harms there development and shortens there career or you could say they are hitting their prime to early, there needs to be a little bit of leeway given to youngsters today there’s no rush for a 18 year old for example to be chucked into the deep end and develop so quick because only the exceptional talents will sometimes relish the challenge.

It’s a sad sight when you see such players like Ronaldo in such a sorry state when he should have enjoyed a nice end to his career and should managers be responsible for controlling the extra ordinary talents to make sure they fulfil every year of their career? When you take a look at Juninho Pernambucano whose a year older then Ronaldo and currently playing to a decent level for Lyon and has so for the past couple of years you just have to look at his past he really hit the scene quite late but has a good couple of years left in him still with that burning desire to still play unlike another Brazilian Ronaldinho. Let’s just hope that the current generation of young players like Cesc and Messi can get the most out of their career and still keep their hunger for the game.

What are your thoughts on this?