Emir Spahic to Arsenal?

Posted by Sonuvagun

Well we’ve been expecting the arrival of one more centre back for some time. It’s rare that Wenger states outright that he is planning to go shopping for a particular position, but even he hasn’t bothered denying the obvious fact that we need another defender. A number of names have been mentioned during the summer that have got us excited. Mertesacker, Cahill and Jagielka are the kind of players that could clearly push the unproven Koscielny and the frequently injured Djourou for a starting place alongside TV. Not for the first time this transfer window though we’ve heard the all too familiar refrain of having our bids rejected… (Wenger too tight? Arsenal losing some of its draw in the light of trophy-less seasons? We’re being too respectful to clubs in the light of what Barca are doing to us?)… and so it seems we’re close to signing Emir Spahic.

Who? Exactly. Like most Arsenal fans – if Spahic is our man – then I’m feeling more than a little underwhelmed. It already seems optimistic to hope that Wenger has pulled off a Vermaelen in buying Koscielny. To think he might have done in twice in one season is stretching even my relentlessly romantic disposition. After all Wenger is also the man who signed Cygan, Stepanovs and Senderos. The signing of a 29 year old virtual unknown, who has spent most of his career in East Europe, smacks of a low cost covering defender – and his physique is hardly reassuring. To the eye he is more Koscielny than Campbell.

What makes me really worried however is this fan video. Usually you can rely on the power of video editing to make the likes of Emile Heskey look like a rampant 30-million-pound rated goal machine. But this clip features the Bosnian blocker doing nothing more impressive than skying a number of volleys, fumbling the ball out of play when trying a trick, and taking throw ins. At one point the vid even shows him getting beaten in the penalty area! All of this nonsense is accompanied by the mega-camp ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ by the Scissor Sisters. One can only hope the video is a testament to how crap its director is, rather than its lead actor…

Anyhow until the deal is done there’s no point casting judgement on our Emir, and I guess we’ll have to see the man in an Arsenal shirt before we can really say whether this is Wenger magic or madness. It does make you wonder though, if we are spending more than a few million on a 29 year old journeyman might it not have been better simply to fork out the extra Gallas wanted? Although I’m increasingly of the opinion that the Frenchman does more harm than good in the dressing room (esp. now as he no longer the captain, making him a big ego who doesn’t have to be obeyed – far worse than one who does!), you have to ask serious questions about whether in Koscielny and Spahic (if he comes) we have replaced his quality on the pitch…