Arsenal Team and Transfer News – 29th August 2011

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger knows he faces huge criticism after humiliation at Manchester United.

But Wenger stands by his past record of success over 15 years.
He said: "I am in a public job and I have to accept that. I try to make the right decisions for the Club and I will continue to do that. The players we have sold are players I brought to the Club. If you look at the 15 years I have been at the Club, I have brought in some good players.
"We have played three games in the Premier League, give me more time before saying that I have got it completely wrong. There were patches in the game where we had quality. I feel we collapsed physically more than anything else today."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger cannot guarantee they will buy in the final days of the summer market.

After their 8-2 humiliation at Manchester United, Wenger refused to declare they will definitely make signings.
"I am very open if we can find the right players. We have the money to sign players. If we find players who can strengthen our team then we will do it," he said.
"But I am not the only one to work on the case, we have 20 people who are working on that. If we do not do it, it is because we don’t find them. We have plenty of players out today, too many players missing. We do not have the squad to compete when we have this many players out. At the moment, we have not found the solutions to our problems outside.
"When you look at today, you cannot predict how many players we have out. We did not expect to have Wilshere out, Diaby out, Gervinho out, Vermaelen out and Gibbs out."

• Arsenal hero Paul Merson feels the club misses former chief executive David Dein after their 8-2 humiliation at Manchester United.

Dein was a close ally of manager Arsene Wenger's and assisted him in recruiting a number of big-name signings prior to his departure in 2007.
"They miss David Dein," Merson said. "Since he went out, it's gone down.
"He was someone to do the signings, someone to talk to. David Dein was part of it when they signed the (Marc) Overmars, (Emmanuel) Petit, (Patrick) Vieira and (Thierry) Henry.
"Since David Dein went, the players haven't been like that. Arsenal is a saga, haggling over money for players, making it (deals) last three days.
"Sir Alex Ferguson will be sitting on a beach next week. Wenger will be in his office trying to sign a player."
Merson also stood by rookie defender Jenkinson, who suffered a nightmare day.
"One minute he was playing non-league football, today he's playing at Old Trafford...," he added.
"The poor lad got sent off, he didn't deserve it."

• Kenny Sansom says Arsenal have to buy before the end of the transfer window.

The Gunners were hammered 8-2 by Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, their worst defeat for more than 100 years.
And the calls are now growing for Arsene Wenger to splash the cash to put things right.
Sansom told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast: “He’s got to buy. The next three days are very important for Arsenal. If he doesn’t sign players it will be a long tough season. The fans are arguing about whether Wenger should stay or go and you don’t want that.
“If he’s got money to spend, let the club make a statement to say that. Everyone knew Nasri and Fabregsas were going to go, so buy before they go. Once you let them go, who’s going to want to come?
“Arsenal need a leader. The youngsters need some experience around them.”

• Russian football identities are upset with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger over his treatment of Andrey Arshavin.

Wenger has been accused of making Andrey Arshavin a joke in his homeland by misusing his skills.
"He's become a caricature of himself," claims pundit Sergei Vedeneev.
"Wenger has a history of positioning players wrongly. Arsenal exploit Arshavin insolently."

• Gervinho feels betrayed over Samir Nasri's move from Arsenal to Manchester City.

Gervinho admitted he has been left in “pain” by Nasri’s £24million move to Manchester City, because he was desperate to be in the same team as the France midfielder and Cesc Fabregas, who the Gunners have sold to Barcelona.
Gervinho, in an interview with French radio, said: “I wanted to play with Samir because he is a big player. His exit has left me in pain.
“He promised to be there this season – and then changed his mind. Samir and Cesc have left for new challenges but I wanted the chance to play with them.
“This is a different Arsenal. A new team without Nasri and Cesc. But we need to forget that and to turn the page. Now we must only think about the future.”

• Gervinho would love to be joined at Arsenal by his former Lille teammate Eden Hazard.

Arsenal may struggle to meet Lille’s valuation, but Gervinho has made it clear he would love to see Hazard follow him to the Emirates.
Gervinho said: “I haven’t spoken to Wenger about Hazard, but Eden was my companion at Lille and if Arsenal can complete the deal then I’ll be content.
“Wenger has had some difficult moments and each match comes with big pressure. But the coach is one of the best and I’m convinced we will find a solution to the situation."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed they're signing South Korea captain Park Chu-Young.

The AS Monaco striker is set to undergo a medical in London with reports suggesting the fee of around £10million as the club look to offset the loss of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.
Speaking after Arsenal's 8-2 drubbing against champions Manchester United, Wenger revealed he hoped a deal could be completed as soon as Sunday evening.
He added: "We are close to signing a striker at the moment but we still look for a defender and a midfielder as well.
"It's difficult to find excuses after a game like that but wages-wise we are of course behind the other teams.

•  Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has cooled talk of a deal for Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta.

Wenger denied newspaper reports that he's lining up a move for Arteta.
Asked if there were any truth in the rumours, Wenger simply said: "No."

• Arsenal are launching a bid for Chelsea defender Alex.

The desperate Gunners boss Arsene Wenger finally realised he had to act after his depleted side were humiliated 8-2 at Manchester United yesterday.
The Emirates outfit have contacted Chelsea about Alex and the Blues are ready to sell.
Arsenal value him at around £7m but their London rivals want £10m.
Alex, 29, was an unused sub against Norwich on Saturday and is unsure of his future at Stamford