First things first, fair play to the Stoke lads in Delilah’s Bar who were very amiable towards me and Skin before yesterday’s pathetic showing at the Britannia.
And a heartfelt thanks to the staff at the Stoke box office who, unlike those who wield so-called power on all things ticketing at the Arsenal, were a joy with whom to do business.
Right, that’s the Stoke love-in over. In other news I hate Stoke and Tony Pulis. Moving swiftly on, the Daily Mail this morning reports that our summer transfer plans have suffered a setback after Borussia Dortmund said they won’t sell us teenage midfielder Mario Goetze.
The paper says that with Sami Nasri yet to commit himself to a new contract at the Emirates, AW has been scouring the continent for midfielders and has received good reports about Goetze’s contribution to Dortmund’s Bundesliga title triumph.
But, says the Mail, there was a blunt response to their interest from the German champions, who told them: ‘He is a player money can’t buy.’
The tabloid insists that there are growing concerns over Nasri’s Arsenal future, with just 12 months left on his current contract and little indication so far of a new one being signed.
Inter Milan, it says, have been alerted to the uncertainty and see him as a ready-made replacement for Wesley Sneijder, who is Manchester United’s top transfer target. While we continue trying to reach an agreement with Nasri, AW has assessed potential candidates to step into any breach and has received glowing reports on Goetze from his German scout.
The 18-year old has been an inspirational figure in Dortmund’s title success and has also broken into the Germany team. But with German-born Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin heading for Real Madrid, Dortmund have reacted sharply to the threat of another leading light being enticed away.
Managing director Hans Joachim Watzke warned us off by saying: “We would not even think of selling Goetze until 2014 (when his contract runs out). Even if another club owned oil fields or had billions of euros, it wouldn’t make any difference.”
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
