Arsenal transfer rumours kick into gear.

Yes I know there has been a lot of stuff about Adebayor, but I'm talking about interesting rumours. And rumours that concern incoming players. Stories circling about Thomas Vermaelen have been gathering pace, quite so that they're now an unmistakable whirlwind which culminated in Wenger almost tying up a £10million deal for the Belgian last night. The article in question where this story presents itself does not state why the deal wasn't finalised or if there were any stumbling blocks, or whether the bid itself was in fact accepted. Actually the whole article is devoid of anything worthy of actual journalism. There is however our old favourite friend who we affectionately like to name 'the insider' giving his 5-daily quote:

"It's true. He's a very good player and could certainly be a success at Arsenal."

I don't know what made this insider say it's true he's a very good player. Presumably someone from the Sun asked 'Is this guy a good player?' followed by 'considering Arsenal's frailties in defence, and the fact this guy is a defender, could he be a success at Arsenal?'. Plus what makes the insider an expert? If this guy says Vermaelen could be a success at Arsenal, then christ we better get him quick because he must know all there is to know about Arsenal, he is after all an Ajax insider. Anyway that seems to be all the information the Sun need that Arsene almost tied up Vermaelen, because they certainly don't give any other evidence. Saying that, I do think Vermaelen is a good player, and I do think he'll do well at Arsenal. He must be doing something right to be the captain of Ajax at 23.

In a transfer rumour that has no where near the velocity of the Vermaelen whirlwind (this is more of a zephyr), the Times reckon we want Chiellini. Well who doesn't? Doesn't mean we are going to get him though. We'll presumably be priced out. Sky sports 'believe' (have made up based on transfer rumours from a year ago that were only rumours in the first place) that Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton are all interested in Oba Martins after Newcastle were unceremoniously dumped from the premier league. Sky sports state that Martins' agent has said that three clubs in the upper echelon of the premier league are after his client. To be fair to sky sports it seems possible that these three clubs may indeed be the three clubs they believe, but then again their article inexplicably changes to italics half way through, and remains like that for the rest of the piece.

Well that's it for the incoming rumours. Perhaps I was a bit mis-leading with 'kicking into gear'. In outgoing news, Eboue admits he is unclear in what his stance is at Arsenal. It's usually on the floor Emmanuel, after an opposition player has come within a metre of you. Apparently Inter are keen on our Ivorian cult hero. Eboue goes on to say he will make his decision before the season starts.

The Sun can apparently see the future. As well as their gift of somehow finding the notorious Insider the eludes every newspaper except for them and the Daily Star, they seem to somehow know that AC Milan will bid for Adebayor this week. Do you how I know they can see the future? Because they haven't given any quotes from anyone, or any evidence in general, that someone told them about this. Therefore they must have looked into their crystal orb and saw that Milan made an offer. Unfortunately they didn't go on to tell us whether it was accepted or declined. That would have saved us a whole lot of bother. Or perhaps the Sun actually subliminally control Milan, and line "AC MILAN will make a bid of £15million for Emmanuel Adebayor this week" was actually an order. Wouldn't that be interesting? Still though, £15 million. Would prefer something around the £20m mark.

In other news Hleb is a target for Aston Villa. Whether Hleb can handle the hustle and bustle of England's second city after arriving from the spanish equivalent remains to be seen. The star reckons Barca will sell Hleb for £7mill less than they bought him for last year to raise some cash for Cesc. Go away Barca, stop bullying us. I don't think Cesc will go to Barca just yet. He knows that if there is one midfield he can't get into yet in the world it is Barca's. However Xavi is flirting with 30. In a couple of years time these Cesc rumours will turn into a worrying reality. Real Madrid appear to be gently nudging us away from Xabi Alonso, as they flex their financial muscles. As a result Liverpool are upping their valuation of the player. That pretty much rules us out for now.

Right, i reckon that's it for now. I'll be back should anything interesting happen. Which it won't.
'Til then Gooners.