Got Melo?

By: Martin | June 29th, 2009

The big news this morning is that rumored Arsenal target Felipe Melo asked former Gunner Gilberto Silva about the club, and Gilberto told him he should join the club:

We heard rumours and he asked me. I said it’s a fantastic club and if he’s interested he should go without thinking. He is exactly what they need – a powerful player with quality. I’m sure if they got him it would be a good signing. I have told him Arsenal is a great club and I am sure next season they will improve.

There are several great things going on here. First, it’s nice to hear that Gilberto still has warm feelings for the club. He was a great player in his time at Highbury and the Emirates, and his attitude and workrate were second to none. But it’s undeniable that his last year or so with the club didn’t exactly go all that smoothly. First, he looked like the heir apparent to Thierry Henry as Arsenal captain, but was passed over in favor of William Gallas. Then, he took part in the Copa America tournament with Brazil, which made him miss training camp, only to return to the club to find that his place in the first-choice eleven had been usurped by Mathieu Flamini. He and Wenger were at odds, and frankly, when he did play during the 2007-2008 season, his form was really poor. He was sold to Panathinaikos at the end of the season. I think a lot of people, having gone through an experience like that, would have a lot of bitterness and resentment toward the club and manager, but it’s nice to hear otherwise. Given how classy Gilberto always was for us on and off the pitch, though, I guess it’s really no surprise.

The more important news, though, to me, is that this basically confirms that Arsenal are really after the guy. And he’s seriously weighing the possibility of joining the club. As far as I’m concerned, this is all very good news.

I haven’t really talked too much about Melo on this site, and I’ll give my usual caveat that I’ve only seen him play a couple of times and I’m certainly no scout. But the bottom line is that he’s 25 (perfect age–just entering his prime), he’s a holding/defensive midfielder, and is pretty big and strong. In other words, pretty much exactly what we need. I like Alex Song a lot, and he came on a lot at the end of last season, but the bottom line is that he’s still very young and can be inconsistent. I also don’t feel comfortable with no insurance policy, since if Song gets hurt we’re looking at either Denilson, Diaby, or Nasri in that role, none of which are appealing in the least.

The article reports that Barcelona is also after Melo. Now, obviously, that’s an appealing option for the young man as well–they’re the reigning best club in the world, they play beautiful football, and he’d get to play alongside fellow national team member Dani Alves. He’d also get to live in Barcelona, one of the world’s great cities. On the other hand, Arsenal just came off a 2nd consecutive disappointing season, haven’t won a trophy in the past 4 seasons, and many people are predicting we will get knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester City.

Call me crazy, though, but I think we’ve got a good chance of beating Barcelona for his signature. London’s not a half-bad place for a wealthy young man to live, either, we also play beautiful football, and we’ve got a young, up-and-coming side. The main thing we can offer that Barca can’t, though, is this: guaranteed first-team football. Melo has to look at Barca’s squad and see that they just re-signed Yaya Toure, who plays the same holding midfield role as Melo and is only 1 year older, and they also have Seydou Keita, who also plays the same role and was impressive when he played last year. He would win trophies with Barca, to be sure, but can you really even call it “winning” trophies when you’re just sitting on the bench? Honestly, saying Alex Hleb “won” the Champions League last season is like saying that a mosquito on Secretariat’s ass “won” the Triple Crown in 1973.

On Arsenal, on the other hand, I think Wenger could honestly look Melo in the eye and say, “We’re building something great here, we’ve got a great nucleus of young players for the next couple of seasons, and if you sign with us you’ll be a member of the first team right off the bat.” For a 25 year-old just entering his prime, I would think this would be a tough offer to turn down. We also have more Brazilians than Barca with Denilson and Eduardo, though neither of them plays for the national team.

Reports also claim that Fiorentina have shown interest in Phillipe Senderos, so Senderos could be sent the other way in any deal between the clubs.

Again, I won’t pretend to be able to predict whether Melo will turn out to be a good player in the Premiership. But I think the bottom line is this–going into this offseason, every fan wanted Wenger to go out and get some players who could help the club immediately. Specifically, every fan knew we needed at least one defender and probably a defensive minded holding midfielder. And Wenger went out and bought what we hope will be an impact defender, and appears to be on the scent of an impact holding midfielder. Both of whom played last season at clubs which, though not one of the world’s elite, are well-established in top leagues and play in European competition. So at the very least, I think we all need to be happy that Wenger understands the squad’s shortcomings and is working very hard to address those issues.