Another bollocks story links Kompany to Arsenal. He's a great utility player for Man City and would obviously sync well with Tommy V at the back, but again another player who not only has featured in every City game this preseason but also plays a vital part in their team. I'd love him to come but it's extremely unlikely we'll pick up any of Man City's trimmings. Link
One transfer story has been gaining some credence. Last week I reported extensively on the Spahic story, now it looks quite likely he will arrive. Montpellier played last night against Bordeaux and the defender was quite obviously saying his goodbyes. All by himself, he went over to the fan section and threw his shirt into the crowd. An unofficial Montpellier site reported the following:
“Is he really in contact with Arsenal? His lack of formal response to reports on Wednesday, as well as his gestures towards the crowd make his departure look inevitable. We’ll find out in the coming days what could be a big disaster for the Montpellier defence.”
Spahic did not play in the game due to suspension, and reporters in France have suggested he won't play on the 22nd against Caen as he will have already left by then.
On a different note, Liverpool have loaned out Phillipe Degen to Stuttgart. This frees them up to sell us long-time target Serdar Tasci. He's received about as much aplomb as Spahic, but is younger and probably fitter. Spahic however is the captain of his Bosnian side. Ups and downs to both of them, right now Spahic looks likely.
Now, I've tried to put this off, but I simply must put in some input on this weekend's friendly with Legia Warsaw. It was disgusting. Everyone knows we can attack. It was no surprise to see Nasri in fine form and Chamakh putting in a fairly good display. What was a surprise was to see Frimpong fail to exert his influence on the game. He looked a bit tired and was taken off at halftime. The defense throughout the game was in shambles. It was our strongest defensive side available. If we don't get someone soon in defense, all bets are off. Although I will remind everyone that at the beginning of last season, Soccernet was hyping a big 7, with Aston Villa, Everton, and Man City providing major competition for the big four. That played out poorest for Liverpool and does anyone really believe Joe Cole is going to make a signifigant difference this year? I predict City taking their place in the top four, not ours.
I'm digressing. The main problem in the Arsenal side on Saturday was the connection between the midfielders and the forwards in Wenger's 4-3-3. As a football team, for the last few years Arsenal's best defense has been a strong offense. However, in Poland our passing wasn't working. The reason was Rosicky and Walcott. For the middle three, when the ball comes up from the back, the two wingers provide outlets, stretching the other team's midfield back towards their goal, allowing our midfield some room in between the opposition's forwards and midfielders. Without anyone to pass to beside Chamahk up front, our middle three were left stranded and were picked apart by a hustling Legia side. They also benefited from a number of lucky breaks but I thought they showed our weaknesses more than our strengths. One bright side from the game was Carlos Vela. Man of the match by my count. He had three assists and almost a legendary goal from twenty-five yards. He had a hand in three of our six goals and he was only in the side for a a half. He really played well. If he's feeling up to it after his international on Wednesday which I foresee him taking a large part in, expect him to start against Liverpool.
Godspeed.
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