Roland17:

Lavezzi, Hamsik, Inler, Cannavaro, Edson Cavanni would certainly give City and Bayern a good run for their money in the fight for the soul of that group, i smell an upset in that group.

Matchday 1
BV Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal
Tuesday, September 13
Kick Off: 19.45 UK
To be played at Westfalenstadion, Germany

Matchday 2
Arsenal v Olympiacos FC
Wednesday September 28
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Emirates Stadium

Matchday 3
Olympique de Marseille v Arsenal
Wednesday, October 19
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Stade Vélodrome, France

Matchday 4
Arsenal v Olympique de Marseille
Tuesday, November 1
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Emirates Stadium

Matchday 5
Arsenal v BV Borussia Dortmund
Wednesday, November 23
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Emirates Stadium

Matchday 6
Olympiacos FC v Arsenal
Tuesday, December 6
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Karaiskakis Stadium, Greece

coogar:

the same gervinho gooners were having doubts about when he first signed?
wonders shall never end.

Englishman Cahill joined Bolton from Aston Villa in a £5m move in 2008


Bolton have turned down a bid from Arsenal for Gary Cahill, described by manager Owen Coyle as "derisory".

"When I make an offer for a player, I'd like to think in the right ball park," said Coyle on Friday.

"But this wasn't even close. I'm only passing it on as a third party, but the word derisory doesn't even cover it."

In June Coyle said he was resigned to losing the 25-year-old centre-back - who is now in the final year of his contract - this summer.

The Gunners have a raft of injury problems, and defenders Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci both missed the club's Champions League qualifying win at Udinese on Wednesday.

The transfer window closes on 31 August.

Arsenal have received nearly £60m for the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri this summer, and manager Arsene Wenger insists the money that has come in is available for him to buy players.

duduspace:

Now the media is gleefuly carrying the news, if this transfer goes wrong they will come out and accuse Arsenal of tapping up in the press when its Bolton who have chosen to make this public.

Arsène Wenger reported the following team news ahead of the Manchester United game:

on suspensions…
They are not welcome when you consider the players who are out, especially in midfield. Gervinho is in full confidence and we would not like to lose him for a big game like this. We have shown since the beginning of the season that we have mental strength, a good unity to fight and we have shown that again on Wednesday night. I am confident that will come out in the game on Sunday.

on the players who could be available…
Rosicky came through the Udinese game well and Djourou came through well too. He had a little setback after the game but he will be available for Sunday. Vermaelen has a test on Saturday and Koscielny had a positive fitness test today. There is a little doubt about Vermaelen but he should be alright.

on the players who are not available…
Bendtner is out, Squillaci is out and Gibbs will just fall short. He’s not far away though.

on Jack Wilshere seeing a specialist…
I don’t know anything about it. I know he has seen a specialist but I don’t know the result.

Arsène Wenger says he expects to see Nicklas Bendtner leave Emirates Stadium this summer. 



Bendtner is currently sidelined with an ankle injury but Wenger says the Club will be on the hunt for another striker to cover his departure.



The manager is also wary of leaving himself short of options up front with Marouane Chamakh likely to be involved at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.



“We are looking for one more striker because we know he [Bendtner] will leave,” Wenger said.



“We will be short this season because we also have Chamakh leaving for the African Cup of Nations.”



On Bendtner’s ankle injury, Wenger insisted that it is not serious enough to hamper his hopes of a transfer.
 


“He has an ankle problem. It is not a bad injury and not threatening, but he will be out for two months. But I cannot give you a day that he will be back.”

proudly9ja:

^^^
If you be media man, would you carry that story? Maybe if you change the headline to - "'Manchester City and Chelsea to go bust in a few years' - Platini", maybe dat would work . But seriously, who wants to read about Platini's thoughts?

@Arsene looking for a striker, good news for me and many others who believe RVP needs help upfront. Although, Im sure by now we all know what Arsene wants to do does not usually correlate with what he will do eventually. case study - We've been looking for a CB since last season .

proudly9ja:

^^^
If you be media man, would you carry that story? Maybe if you change the headline to - "'Manchester City and Chelsea to go bust in a few years'  - Platini", maybe dat would work . But seriously, who wants to read about Platini's thoughts?  

@Arsene looking for a striker,  good news for me and many others who believe RVP needs help upfront. Although, Im sure by now we all know what Arsene wants to do does not usually correlate with what he will do eventually. case study - We've been looking for a CB since last season .

debosky:

Wenger claims the offer was more than £6m. . . and was likely an opening gambit.

In my opinion, Bolton is unrealistic in demanding 17m, but we shouldn't Kitty foot - this signing should be tied up by Monday to avoid last minute issues.

dayokanu:

^^ Watch how someone would justify the purchase of Chamberlain for 15m and still in the same breath say Wenger doesnt have money for transfers

coogar:

the last time i checked, it wasn't as if there was a hot pursuit of chamberlain. . . .so what's the rush for? paying £15m for a teenager who is not even ready yet to mix with the big boys is a daft acquisition especially when arsenal's defence resembles one of frank spencer's jokes.
gary cahill is an english defender. . . .by my estimation, he's worth at least £18m. . . . . . .every team must prepare for the '6 + 5' rule but wenger is still living in the past. . . . . . . .the theo walcott he got almost 6 yrs ago is still learning to acquire football brains.

debosky:

A player's value is determined by the interest in him and the length of his outstanding contract. With a mere year left on Cahill's contract, he is definitely NOT worth £18m. I would value him at £12m at best and that is even generous, considering that ONLY Arsenal have put in a bid.

Wenger is well prepared for the 6+5 rule with Jenkinson, Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott, Gibbs, Chamberlain among others.

dayokanu:

None of the "No money" apostles of Wenger still cant tell us the common sense behind buying a teenage Division 2 player for 15m

Bayern bought Nils Petersen a 22yr old who was the highest goal scorer in the BL 2 for 2m Euros.

for 15m Pounds I bet you can get a very good defender in England and two if you go to the continent.

Yet Arsene has no money is the chorus

coogar:

if he has a year on his contract, and he's not more than 25, his value is £12-15 million depending on who's buying.
besides, he is english. . . .young english players are gold in this league. smalling was £12m from fulham, phil jones was £18m from blackburn. watch how tottenham, chelsea or liverpool would make a cheeky bid for him in the coming week.

dayokanu:

None of the "No money" apostles of Wenger still cant tell us the common sense behind buying a teenage Division 2 player for 15m

Bayern bought Nils Petersen a 22yr old who was the highest goal scorer in the BL 2 for 2m Euros.

for 15m Pounds I bet you can get a very good defender in England and two if you go to the continent.

debosky:

Jones had a long contract, so did Smalling, so that would have influenced their eventual costs.

As I said, my valuation is around £12m, which is on the lower end of the scale and I believe this is fully justified, considering a productive attacking player like Young cost only £15m, with bids from a number of rivals.

debosky:

The common sense can only be determined when we see his performances or when he is sold for nearly double that fee.

Smalling was the equivalent of a Division 2 player when he was bought from Fulham, since he was only playing conference footie a year earlier - he was bought for £12m (the upfront fee for Chamberlain) and no fuss was made about that.

Besides, being an English player attracts a premium.

dayokanu:

None of the "No money" apostles of Wenger still cant tell us the common sense behind buying a teenage Division 2 player for 15m

Bayern bought Nils Petersen a 22yr old who was the highest goal scorer in the BL 2 for 2m Euros.

for 15m Pounds I bet you can get a very good defender in England and two if you go to the continent.

Yet Arsene has no money is the chorus

duduspace:

But isn't that what they should be talking about? a players strike to protect wages just delayed the start of the La Liga and Italy will have their own this week but that isn't news worthy while Arsenal's assumed demise is?   how reasonable exactly is that and what will it take for people to realise there is something seriously wrong here in the spending embarked upon by the likes of city and chelsea? Long live FFP, it is the only chance we have of ever competing again.

You want to start taking everything Arsene says Literally again abi?   until that striker deal is announced I believe Arsene is just trying to divert attention from his CB hunt. January Window is still available to rectify that if I'm not mistaken, we need a CB like yesterday.

proudly9ja:

You too should judge for yourself. Which piece of news sells more on NL? Players strike in Italy/Spain or Arsenal's 'assumed demise'? 
If you 'owned' the EPL section on NL and made money from visits, which one of the two stories would you spend more time and energy spreading to us - the 'gullible masses'?

@taking Arsene literally, I already put a disclaimer in my previous post. I won't believe until I see the player on the field 
It sure will be an exciting season though. I can already feel it. Exciting can mean anything to anybody 

coogar:

ashley young clocked 26 in july and he's a forward. he relies on pace to beat his men and stuffs. how many more years do you think he's got to deliver?
gary cahill is 25, a defender - defenders tend to have longer life span on the pitch and this cahill must have played 100+ premier league games at bolton. wenger must be a tool to think he can get him for anything less than £12m. i hope a lower club hijack the deal.

deborah, no one is bothered about arsenal buying a teenager for £100m if the other departments of the team are well packed.
the question here is should wenger have signed chamberlain when there are obvious gaps to fill in the starting xi? united can afford to pay £200m for smalling cos their team is overbloated. the attack, defence and midfield are well packed. . . . . . .but everyone knows wenger's team is full of holes here and there and your gaffer splashed £15m on a teen he does not need now. . . . .how do you justify that signing?