It’s very much a double-whammy of irritating news this morning, my fellow Wengerites. Kolo Toure is next to head for the Emirates exit, according the majority of the papers and there is a stark warning from (indirectly) Alisher Usmanov that we are going down the pan at a rapid rate of flushes.
The Daily Mail reckons Manchester City were in talks with Arsenal over a £15million deal for the defender following Emmanuel Adebayor’s £25million switch last week. “City are hopeful negotiations will go just as smoothly for Toure,” it claims and Kolo’s imminent departure and lack of transfer funds means the Gunners are in danger of slipping out of the Premier League’s top four, according to a report in the Sun.
They say Kolo is on his bike to Eastlands for £14million and carry an interview with “an adviser of Arsenal shareholder Usmanov” who is full of doom and gloom over our future.
Farhad Moshiri said: “There is no question that Arsene Wenger has a talented squad but there have been limited additions and you cannot help but feel that there is still not enough depth to that squad.
“Adebayor averaged 20 goals a season so, unless we replace him with a striker of that talent, we’ll be weaker going forward.
“That is the most worrying thing because Man City, with their enormous firepower, are one of the challengers for the fourth spot. I’d have felt better if he had been sold to any club other than Man City.”
>Obviously this Farhad geezer is a mouthpiece for the Russian moneybags and the Guardian have picked up on the quotes which originated on BBC 5live yesterday.
They report him saying: “Based on our analysis any money is very limited and possibly spent already and I don’t think there are any spare funds with the exception of Adebayor’s proceeds,” he said.
“Arsenal are the only club in the land that rejects an offer to pay their huge debts in these troubled times, I’m truly mystified. It wasn’t just about today, it was about making sure the club was well placed to compete at the highest level of European football for the future.”
Meanwhile, the struggling Daily Mirror limp in last with a report that has been doing the rounds for at least three weeks.
“Arsenal look set to win the race to sign Fluminense’s Brazilian wonderkid Wellington, 17. He has been attracting interest from Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea, but it seems Wenger has managed to secure one of the best young talents in the world. Wenger is determined to strengthen his squad following the departure of Emmanuel Adebayor and is hoping to tie up a deal before the end of the year.”