Ribery to Bayern and not Arse’

So, we didn’t sign Franck Ribery. Bayern Munich did. This comes as a shock to most as he’s long been tagged as an Arsenal target and we’ve long been the favourites to win the race for his signature. Ribery went to Bayern because their offer put off any other interest, including our own. We wasn’t beaten to his signature, he didn’t choose Bayern over us and contrary to popular opinion, we weren’t too slow, Wenger just wasn’t prepared to pay what he saw as over the odds for a player. There might well have been interest on his part but Wenger, along with most managers, is surely interested in a number of players. He obviously wasn’t interested enough to pay £17M, or else didn‘t have that kind of cash to splash. I’m not sure which but just because we didn’t match the offer, it doesn’t necessarily confirm the latter. Even if you can afford a player, he still might be overpriced and Wenger strikes me as the type who wouldn’t spend more than he thought a player was worth, no matter how much he had to spend.

This is no great cause to worry. The summer transfer window’s far from over and I’m sure Ribery wasn’t the only target Arsene had in mind. I trust his judgement and ability to spot talent. All in all, I’m confident he’ll sign someone good, and at a reasonable price too. So, any outbreak of panic is uncalled for. Have a little faith. I know I do.

And in other news…

• We’re widely reported to have hijacked Liverpool’s bid for Florent Malouda. I didn’t watch much French football last season so I can’t possibly comment but word is that he’s not Arsenal quality, or so I’ve heard. Of course, if Wenger did go in for him he must see something in the player and I do trust Wenger’s judgement. He was awarded French player of the year though so he must be doing something right. It is said Wenger has chosen Malouda over Ryan Babel, who we’ve also been linked with in the past.
• There’s been a lot of bets made on Henry going to Liverpool, something which made me laugh. And something that won’t happen. He’s unlikely to go as it is and if he did, it wouldn’t be to Liverpool, it would be to a European club outside of England.
• Robert Pires has said Henry should join him in Spain. He claims Arsenal are at the end of a cycle and he’s right, but we’ve begun a new cycle and if Henry wanted to leave at the end of the last cycle, along with the likes of Pires, Vieira and co, he would have done.
• There’s a little talk that Freddie Ljungberg could be off to Celtic. It’s said that Wenger could let him go on a free transfer.
• We’re also linked to Yaya Toure, brother of Kolo, but that’s unlikely to happen and is agent talk more than anything. Wenger could’ve bought him before if he wanted and for cheaper. He didn’t. We’ve also no need to further strengthen the central midfield. Just because he’s Kolo’s brother, doesn’t mean we’re in for him, nor does it mean he’s as good.