Transfer

It looks like Adebayor and Hleb will be on their way out of Arsenal. Arsenal's valuation for Adebayor is 30 mil while Hleb is around 15-18 mil. With the stupid price other clubs are expecting us to pay to buy players, then Arsenal too are entitled to ask for silly prices.

In all, thats around 45 mil. Which is good enough to bring in more than two players with experience. Maybe one of them a prolific striker. The squad needs more depth as we all saw last season and it cannot be replacements... Otherwise we'll be back in square one at the end of next summer discussing what went wrong and when.

And then this is my own thoughts on Wenger's transfer policy:

There are surely money available, maybe even the suggested 30 mil pounds (excluding the possible sale of players). But Arsene has a transfer cap for each player that he chooses. And any clubs demanding more than that value will officially be strike out from Arsene's list. With the prices and events that are currently on going, I am guessing that the cap is around 20 mil. Think about it, when was the last time Arsene signed someone who is above 20 mil? NONE in his entire time with Arsenal.

So, lets check some examples (too many to link if to put all in) from the list:

Players linked officially by press:

Huntelaar - above 20 mil

Arshavin - above 20 mil (Zenit kinda asking for crazy price)

David Villa - above 20 mil (with the competition of clubs who wants to sign him)

And here are the strikers that we are seriously linked to:

Roque Santa Cruz - 13 mil (as stated in reliable sites that usually has reliable sources)

Nasri - 13 mil (signing imminent)

Aaron Ramsey - 5 mil (signed)

* Obefemi Martins - 13 mil, but i sincerely think its his agent who's trying to up his price.

Players signed previous seasons:

Tomas Rosicky - 7 mil

Aleksandr Hleb - 15 mil

Eduardo - 8.5 mil

Bacary Sagna - 7.5 mil

Theo Walcott - 12 mil

William Gallas - Swap deal with Ashley Cole + 5 mil (actually Arsenal earned).

*Arsene Wenger admit after Man Utd signed Wayne Rooney that he made a bid of 20 mil, but that was all he could afford. Man Utd signed Rooney for 30 mil.

Subsequently, Arsene told the press that Arsenal is now a selling club. I'll write again on the logics of that matter soon.

Telegraph reported that Arsenal has signed Samir Nasri. The first big player or rather should I call him 'exciting' player that Arsenal has signed. Nasri can play in Hleb's role at the flank and through the middle, just behind the striker. I hope he scores more than Hleb does over his entire career in Arsenal. Nasri is not shy of shooting, thats what the team need. What are the chances that he will be as effective as Cristiano Ronaldo? A player who can open up defense even when they park a bus in front of the goal mouth? I'm excited!

On Hleb, I am not sure if he will be leaving. But if an offer of 12 million pounds comes in for him, by all means sell him and use the cash to either buy a striker or defender. 12 mil for a player who doesn't score much. Certainly a good piece of business. However, if he decides to stay, it will not be a major problem for the club. Just make sure he signs a new contract, otherwise he will play for another 2 season and walk out like Flamini for FREE. We can use the money for Hatem Ben Arfa. Remember, Arsenal should not be replacing players but rather build a bigger squad with quality even from the bench. So, please don't let this signing be a replacement. We have all seen what a thin squad can do to the title run in.

I doubt there will be time for Arsenal to sign another player who will be on duty for Euro 08. So, I hope this is only the first out of three big name signings for Arsenal. For now, let's enjoy this signing that we all have waiting for the whole summer. I can't imagine how many articles about Samir Nasri since the last two weeks, must have been a zillion.

Telegraph's link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/05/29/sfnars...