Fabianski signs new deal; Madrid turns its evil eye towards North London

By: Martin | June 12th, 2009

Well, you guys, your prayers were answered–Lukasz Fabianski has signed a new long-term deal with Arsenal. In all seriousness, despite being very shaky in the FA Cup semifinal loss and most other appearances against top-class competition, I still think Fabianski has a pretty bright future, and this is a good move for the club. He was great in the cup competitions for most of the year, and is big, aggressive, and athletic. And every indication is that Almunia has a stranglehold on the first-choice keeper job, which means Fabianski will continue to serve as an apprentice/back-up/cup keeper for a few years. And he’s a decent back-up at the very least.

In much more alarming news, Real Madrid has turned its evil, all-seeing eye towards the Emirates, and it’s not for who you think. Apparently the Spanish giants are looking to possibly swoop in for left-back Gael Clichy. Now, Clichy had a disappointing season last year, and Gibbs was pretty impressive when called into action after Clichy was injured.

However, I would state in the strongest possible terms that this does NOT in any way mean that Clichy is surplus and someone we should be looking to move. Clichy’s still an enormously talented and skilled young man who had to fight through injuries and adjust to playing with several new players last year. Frankly, the thought of him and Arshavin pairing up on the left has me salivating–those boys could really pin some teams down on the flank. And if this season has taught us anything, it’s that depth matters. If we go into the season with Sagna and Clichy as our starting full-backs, with Gibbs and Eboue the back-ups/spot starters, that’s a good situation. If Clichy goes, all of a sudden we’re looking at Sagna and Gibbs, with Eboue a back-up on the right and Silvestre on the left. Injuries always happen, and you have to plan for them.

That being said, everyone has their price–if Madrid came in with £20-25 million, it’s hard to see Wenger turning that down. But I really, really hope it doesn’t happen–despite his struggles last season, Clichy is one of my personal favorite Gunners, and I think he’s a very important part of the club’s future. Plus, at 26, Sagna is probably going to start declining at some point over the next few years, and I’d always thought of Gibbs being his replacement at right back. At any rate, it’s just a rumor at this point, and I always got the impression Clichy was pretty happy at Arsenal, so here’s hoping nothing comes of it.

There were also rumors yesterday that Madrid was interested in buying Fabregas from us. Cesc, being the good lad he is, immediately put such rumors to rest, saying:

Of course I see my future at Arsenal. I have a very long contract with the club. The boss knows that I really want to stay here.

What you cannot stop is what people say about you. The press can write or say whatever they want. Here, I do not get involved at all. Since I am 18, they have been saying that – but I am still here.

And that, boys and girls, is how you deal with a b.s. transfer rumor. I wish more players would watch and learn from Cesc about how to deal with stuff like this–he really is the anti-Adebayor. We love you, Cesc.

Finally, I mentioned the other day that I could see Kolo Toure leaving the Emirates for Manchester City. The Telegraph is today reporting that Kolo is definitely considering such a move. Now, this would make me sad, and I’d like him to stay. But the price being thrown around by the Telegraph is £15 million. Now, Kolo’s only 28, which isn’t that old. But my word, he looked old at times last year–much older, you’d have to say, than 31 year-old Gallas. Since he’s a defender without a lot of size, Toure needs pace, and he just didn’t have much last season. £15 million wouldn’t be bad value for Kolo, and as long as Arsene put that money right back into the team, specifically right back into buying another center back, it wouldn’t be too bad of a deal, though I’d be sad to see him go.

No new news on the Vermaelen or Bassong fronts. Frankly, a bit of a worrying day, since there’s more news about players leaving than players coming in. The silver lining, though, is that the rumored buyers are Real Madrid and Manchester City–both those clubs have more money than brains at the moment, so if we do lose a player there, I have every confidence Wenger will be able to extract a lot of money from those clubs which he’ll be able to use to strengthen the side.

Hope you all have a great weekend.