Downing was first choice, Mata was second. Quit talking out your arse.

Sorry, I am il informed.

I just don't remember the downing rumours popping up untill after the mata rumours.

kick mars wrote:Arsenal and spurs were interested

He may not have rejected you but he didn't want to join you.

As for liverpool, how come you were chasing mata and when you failed to ge him you got downing?

We agreed Downing deal on July 13th. Mata was still on vacation then, how could he have possibly rejected us when he is on the beach, shagging his bird behind the bushes

Well, I am completely off then. My bad.

Cissokho is cup-tied, so maybe that's a reason why Wenger didn't go after him.

But this Santos deal is totally out of the deal, but a big, big improvement on Traore, who's a Blue Square player.

Hopefully a CB, and 2 attacking players are next.

Cissokho would have been my prefered buy, actually. But the_gooner makes an excelent point and that he's cup tied. No way we're relying on Gibbs for CL football. Santos is solid and experienced.

Arsenal have degraded the the quality from last season.If the plan is to buy Santos they shouldnt have let Clichy go in the first place.He is inferior to Clichy so its a pointless swap.

Wenger said he is letting clichy go because Gibbs is ready then goes and sign an inferior player to clichy.Wouldnt the sensible thing would have been to give clichy a contract in the first place?

I am not bashing Arsenal but this just seems very short sightedness imo.

So now Clichy, who was mocked by everyone for regressing as the seasons went on whilst with us and labelled as a defensive liability , is now somehow superior to a player who is a Brazil NT regular and an experienced veteran of the game?

I'm too tired and lazy to post the facepalm emoticon, so just imagine it in your minds

Clichy is a mercenary who wanted more money and did not want to sign and extension. He can go hold hands with Nasri in ManC.

If u believe Santos is better than Clichy then u are just bitter.Good luck with that.

Sushi Master wrote:Clichy is a mercenary who wanted more money and did not want to sign and extension. He can go hold hands with Nasri in ManC.

He was negotiating with Liverpool before going to City.If he was a mercenary why did he was happy to go to Liverpool who wont increase his wages much from Arsenal?Also Wenger was quoted as saying he let clichy go because Gibbs is ready different from Nasri who wenger clearly said wanted to go to city.

You can try to big him up all you want, Clichy is a slightly above average LB who, instead of going forward with his development, slammed it into reverse and backpeddled all the way to square one

BeautifulGame wrote:

Sushi Master wrote:Clichy is a mercenary who wanted more money and did not want to sign and extension. He can go hold hands with Nasri in ManC.

He was negotiating with Liverpool before going to City.If he was a mercenary why did he was happy to go to Liverpool who wont increase his wages much from Arsenal?Also Wenger was quoted as saying he let clichy go because Gibbs is ready different from Nasri who wenger clearly said wanted to go to city.

He went to City instead of Liverpool... That says it all. The ambition is out, because Liverpool is as prestigious as you can get and they pay well. Would have been guaranteed a starting spot, too. So what that does leave us with? Oh, right: money whore.

Don't take everything Wenger says as literally, he's a massive troll. He just contradicted himself by signing Santos. Gibbs isn't nearly ready enough for a starting role.

Sushi Master wrote:
He went to City instead of Liverpool... That says it all. The ambition is out, because Liverpool is as prestigious as you can get and they pay well. Would have been guaranteed a starting spot, too. So what that does leave us with? Oh, right: money whore.

Don't take everything Wenger says as literally, he's a massive troll. He just contradicted himself by signing Santos. Gibbs isn't nearly ready enough for a starting role.

With all due respect i would would choosen City ahead of Liverpool if i was a player too.No one chooses clubs based on history nowadays.City are in CL fighting for title whereas we are fighting for the top 4 spot.This doesnt make a player mercenary he is choosing the club that has better chance of winning titles at the moment.Maybe i am a realist

My point wasnt that he shouldnt be replacing Gibbs and I agree gibbs should only be 2nd choice.But its that he should have acted fast and replaced Clichy with a better LB rather than waiting till the late window and plugging for Santos.Either that or he should never have sold clichy if he couldnt have lined up a better replacement.Wenger has been very short sighted in his approach to replace clichy imo.

I'd go to City too. If Barry gets paid more than 70k a week, I think I can fit in there nicely.

O.o

Good solid signing. Still need a CB and another midfielder. Could go with another striker too? Or is that why you guys bought the one that was headed to Lille? o.o

Not a bad buy (probably, will have to see whether the Turkish league is proper preparation for the BPL), but everything about it tells that this hasn't been on Wenger's mind exactly from the beginning of the window or even since Clichy left.

When's the last time Wenger has bought a 28-year-old or older player?

Art Morte wrote:Not a bad buy (probably, will have to see whether the Turkish league is proper preparation for the BPL), but everything about it tells that this hasn't been on Wenger's mind exactly from the beginning of the window or even since Clichy left.

When's the last time Wenger has bought a 28-year-old or older player?

Arshavin
Squillaci
Park

ali8775 wrote:

Art Morte wrote:Not a bad buy (probably, will have to see whether the Turkish league is proper preparation for the BPL), but everything about it tells that this hasn't been on Wenger's mind exactly from the beginning of the window or even since Clichy left.

When's the last time Wenger has bought a 28-year-old or older player?

Arshavin
Squillaci
Park

Arshavin was 27 when signed, Park is 26.
Squillaci, OK, looks like he was 29 or 30... but not exactly encouraging, is it xD

it's a panic/pressure purchase but I don't really care at this point, anyone is better than no one.

this is supposed to help them win the league?

Santos got destroyed in Turkey ffs, how is he going to do any better in the EPL?

Very disappointing....

They need top players.

Wenger has a day or so to do this...



Or Arsenal are in for a long season......... Long

Swagg_Johnson wrote:Or Arsenal are in for a long season......... Long

It'll be difficult, yeah. But let's reserve judgement until some of our first team players are back

The United game was a one off freak result that won't happen again in this lifetime

Lex wrote:

Swagg_Johnson wrote:Or Arsenal are in for a long season......... Long

It'll be difficult, yeah. But let's reserve judgement until some of our first team players are back

The United game was a one off freak result that won't happen again in this lifetime

Yeah that is true but Nasri and Fab were two of your best players right? Their loss has to be compensated for some how.. Compared to last year, they're at a "negative balance" if you will

Crimson wrote:this is supposed to help them win the league?

Santos got destroyed in Turkey ffs, how is he going to do any better in the EPL?

Very disappointing....

Any fan with realistic expectation would know we are not contender for the league this year. Top 4 is our priority once again, hard but doable. And lets wait and see how he fair in EPL, who knows what might become of him in different environment.

NOOOO

no no no no no stupid stupid *bleep* arsenal

now fener probably won't sell us gonul... FFFFFFUUUUUUUU