Arsenal get Green Light on Greek defender transfer

With Arsene Wenger admitting that his Arsenal squad was a bit light on the defensive side of things and suggesting that he may be adding to that area in the next week, there is some good news for the Gunners today, according to a report in The Express.

It had been said in various Arsenal transfer rumours recently that the Gunners were in danger of missing out on the Greece international Kostas Manolas, either because the Olympiakos centre back was concerned about his playing opportunities with Arsenal but more often because the Italian Serie A side Roma were about to beat us to his signature.

Well the paper claims that at least one of those obstacles is not there, because the agent of the talented 23-year old has flatly denied any interest or contact from Roma, leaving Arsenal as the only club making any real attempt to sign him. Maybe the rumour came from his current club in an attempt to bump up the £6 million transfer fee.

His agent said, “The rumours of Manolas moving to Italy have been going on for months now,” Giannis Evangelopuolos said.

“But the truth is that there has been nothing. We haven’t heard anything from Roma.”

Of course, we do now have young Calum Chambers to fall back on but surely we need another specialist central defender, but will it be Manolas?

Tags Chambers Manolas Olympiakos

38 Comments

    1. Goood news if these rumors are true…. I truly tthink CB and DM cover can win us the league *** if u can’t score, then don’t conceive*** gudluck to Arsene The Boss…

      1. And Wish Giroud Fast Recovery from ankle injury… Pls cum back quick and get us 25+ goals dis season… U can Do it, cus u hav got what it takes

        1. “if you cant score then dont conceive” think you might have the wrong word there mate but we know what you meant haha

      2. @ebemka,
        If you cant score and don’t concede, you will be Stoke City and your league tally points will be around 38..relegation zone

    2. Giroud ( our legend ) out for 3 months,
      many of Strikers are available : Shakiri, Chicharito, Remey, Alessio Cerci, Tevez …etc
      I didn’t mention Falcao or Cavani, Wenger won’t spend +50million

      1. Shaquiri = not going to replace 6’4 Giroud as lone striker
        Chicharito = such a one trick pony
        Remy = decent option…but the medical issue is hmm.
        Cerci = is a winger more likely to replace Poldi if at all
        Tevez = wtf?

        Square peg,round hole comes to mind with your options. We have players of similar ilk already in Alexis, Campbell, poldi.

        The point would surely be to get someone with the physical capability of playing the lone striker role we would miss with L’Oreal out. Cavani is the dream, but sadly won’t happen. Best option would be a loan deal for Falcao, but that doesn’t seem cost effective…unless Wenger can use his Monaco links to get a favourable deal??

        Balotelli also would have been a good option. I’m seeing a lot with Welbeck…not stellar, but he’s powerful, very pacey, and still young enough to develop well. Might have enough for Wenger to work with idk. But purely from a physical stand point he is one of the better athletes in the league up front and has good touch, passing ability. Not clinical either so maybe he’s a perfect Giroud cover…

    3. we need a striker as much as we need a defender and a holding midfielder…I just dont think wenger will be able to sign all three in the next week…If I had to pick 2 I would go for a defender and a holding midfielder. I think sanchez and even podolski will be able to do a good job as our strikers. I say give podolski a shot, he can be a quality striker.we have sanchez and campbell who can play aswell

  1. if giroud is out for 3 months (acc 2 rumors) & wenger is considering to sign remy/welbeck or cerci then he has lost it we won’t win a thing this season especially with these players remy was poor against spuds such players don’t deserve to be in our squad rather keep podolski

    if wenger doesn’t win the title he should leave next season before this comedy of errors keep on repeating

    1. Poor planning from Wenger is why we now have to panic buy for a striker,we all knew before the season started that we need another CF but Wenger kept digging his heels in,our squad is nowhere near the Man City squad it’s a shame because we actually have money to spend

  2. Remember when I was calling for Jovetic and then, thumbs down, thumbs down. That boy is a gem. Good movement, pace and finishing. I don’t think Negredo will get many games this season. Can we not put a cheeky little bid for him? He was awesome for city beginning of last season. There are really very few strikers available.

    1. I wanted Negredo 2 years before City got him, great player.

      He would be perfect for our system, he’s technical but a goal machine too…can’t help but feel he would slot perfectly into our first 11 given our system.

      And that’s probably why there’s no chance they would let us have him, regardless of how peripheral he may be for them this season.

  3. Wenger is cursed with all the injury problems that he has had over the years. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t PLAN for these injuries. It doesn’t help that he buys injury prone players. I know, i know, we only 2 games in but if you are not worried, you should be!

    1. well, the reason why he was plagued with injury through out the squad is a vicious cycle:

      -need funding for stadium, decides to skim on transfers.

      -buy quality players on a cheap, mostly available because of injury prone.(arteta, Rosicky, diaby)

      -runs with a small squad for several years, running players on the verge of breaking often with no backup available. several of them did break(vermaelen, wilshere, rvp, cesc, etc…)
      -some these were stress fractures that never healed properly, causing long term injuries.
      -long term, cause several players to be not available, creating a lack of depth in squad.

      it’s only until this year that we are SERIOUS about expanding the squad, capable of competing in more than 1 competition.

      i’m not saying this is the ONLY problem, or that it isn’t at ALL wenger’s fault. Wenger’s indecisiveness in transfer markets from previous seasons also ended up with us signing less than enough players often, or doing last minute signings.

      Wenger is also not the best tactician to make crucial substitutions, or sometimes even make very strange tactical line ups. most of these decisions is him wanting to develop a player and try to fit him in, but ends up disrupting the squad, or even destroying another player in the process(arshavin, Gervinho)

      he might not be the best option ever, and there could very well be better to come, but for now, let be patient and let him finish this season and see where we’re at.
      I know we’re all anxious to get the best players and hopefully win title this season, as we look most promising in several years since 08-09 season. But calm down, everyone of us wants to win, just as much as the players , Wenger and everyone involved in Arsenal. So just chill for now.

    2. well, the reason why he was plagued with injury through out the squad is a vicious cycle:

      -need funding for stadium, decides to skim on transfers.

      -buy quality players on a cheap, mostly available because of injury prone.(arteta, Rosicky, diaby)

      -runs with a small squad for several years, running players on the verge of breaking often with no backup available. several of them did break(vermaelen, wilshere, rvp, cesc, etc…)
      -some these were stress fractures that never healed properly, causing long term injuries.
      -long term, cause several players to be not available, creating a lack of depth in squad.

      it’s only until this year that we are SERIOUS about expanding the squad, capable of competing in more than 1 competition.

      i’m not saying this is the ONLY problem, or that it isn’t at ALL wenger’s fault. Wenger’s indecisiveness in transfer markets from previous seasons also ended up with us signing less than enough players often, or doing last minute signings.

      Wenger is also not the best tactician to make crucial substitutions, or sometimes even make very strange tactical line ups. most of these decisions is him wanting to develop a player and try to fit him in, but ends up disrupting the squad, or even destroying another player in the process(arshavin, Gervinho)

      he might not be the best option ever, and there could very well be better to come, but for now, let be patient and let him finish this season and see where we’re at.
      I know we’re all anxious to get the best players and hopefully win title this season, as we look most promising in several years since 08-09 season. But calm down, everyone of us wants to win, just as much as the players , Wenger and everyone involved in Arsenal. So just chill for now.

  4. I believe the Champions League is holding us back on transfers considering contracts has bonuses on champions league games and etc. Hope for the best for the gunners against Besiktas

    1. Nonsense!
      Why would a good player or an astute manager wait for the outcome of a CL qualifier instead of getting the player in to assist with qualification and a PL campaign early on.

      Stupidest thing I have read today.

  5. Giroud will be a big miss if we stick with the same squad. Manolos is a cheap+good option. Cerci is a wonderful winger. Not so sure as a st. He is very direct,pacey,technical and shoots a lot inside and outside the box. If poldi leaves he is a good addition. He will be a suprise package for epl. Not so sure whether he play as a striker. I always saw him as a winger.

  6. Remy failed a medical at Liverpool what makes you think he will pass one at Arsenal
    but then again we signed kim kallmstrom welcome remy

  7. Manolas is welcome should these reports be true, but whether it’s him or Winston Reid or A another…not really top of the list in terms of what’s needed.

    Take your pick for CB cover, it’s starting striker and dynamic DM that are the areas of real concern.

    I’ll sell my left nut for Carvalho and a top striker.

  8. You can’t keep a good idiot down for long….if wenger doesn’t buy Carvalho and reus or equivalent it is because he puts the interest of the board above the fans….watching city lpool was depressing not just because we can’t match either in several departments but because both show what a determined management can deliver to starved fans with the right mindset….and yes we know about the money backing but anyone siding with some fringe member of the walmart clan as a paragon of football ownership needs their head examined

  9. Wenger will come out with “we have sonogo and podolski, plus Walcott is back soon-we can cope” then the shambles unfolds AGAIN.

  10. I hate injuries. Why always we? 3 games on we have 3 injuries already. Pls does anyone know if diaby is fit or not because I dnt understand why he is not playing. Wenger pls sign us a cdm,cf,cb. I will gladly take reid 1 he can play cb and rb. Cdm I will take gustavo anyday 1) he can play cdm,cb,lb. Cf why are we not going for shaquiri? If wenger wants to play sanchez in the middle I say sign shaquiri as he can play behind the striker or lw,rw or even cf. Wenger pls act fast the clock is ticking..

  11. Leo you said remy was crap against spuds but you have got to consider who he is playing with he is in a very poor team who create nothing for him put him in our team and with chances we create he will score goals he is a natural goalscorer and i think he would do a great job in girouds absence, think we should keep podolski for extra cover in forward area be realistic we will not get falcao or cavarni therefore remy would not be the worse option!!

    1. he is a ddecent striker but then why haven’t have the likes of spuds/chelski or liverlool gone for him we need a top striker + he is also injury prone missed many games for nufc last season there is areason why marilelle sold him for less money

      1. So, soldado is a world beater cos spurs went for him?its very funny how gooners throw names.ridiculously, a gooner named cerci,cuadrado and others as available cfs. Remys 1st,he was class according to some here,second match he is shit.just like the case some already saying he wanted us to buy jovetic just because he scored 2goals but didnt say the same thing when jove was in the physio room last season and will not reapeat it when he gets injured again.most here are quick to say “i clamoured for a certain player to be bought” when such a player is performing but none here would say”i was wrong” on their favourite players(that eventually flop) that we didnt buy.i think i am beginning to understand hafiz now when he named fans favourites: cisse,diame, capoue,victor moses etc.

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