Hleb Join Barcelona

One of this summer's longest running transfer sagas is over, hleb has left Arsenal and has joined Barcelona for £11.9M. Hleb's departure from the Emirates Stadium has seemed likely all summer after he admitted he was "mentally tired" of the combination of living in London and playing top-level football. Some reports state that Hleb's mind was made up to leave the Gunners after seeing the horrific injury to Eduardo.

Barca confirmed Hleb could be presented as early as Thursday and reports in Spain suggest they will pay the Gunners £11.9million.

Hleb arrived in Barcelona on Wednseday to undergo a medical. He later took part in the usual photocall at the Nou Camp. Hleb will team up with former Gunner Thierry Henry at the Nou Camp.

Hleb joined Arsenal in 2005 from VfB Stuttgart and made 89 appearances scoring 7 goals.

Is Wenger a Good Poker Player?

Wenger has not been rushing into the transfer market; his two forays have produced Nasri and Ramsey. Wenger is cool student of football politics. Whilst others have been bleating in the press, Wenger has remained silent and his silence will now pay-off.

AC Milan wanted Adebayor but Wenger resisted the calls from San Siro, knowing that AC Milan did not have the money to buy Adebayor. AC Milan went on record as saying it was Ronaldinho (£14M) or Adebayor (£24M), not both. AC Milan have bought Ronaldinho and earlier also bought Zambrotta from Barcelona, unless they sell a few players or offer Arsenal cash plus two or three players, AC Milan are no longer in the transfer market. This leaves only Barcelona as a possible destination for Arsenal’s want way striker. This, however, is not as easy as it sounds. Barcelona have spent big this summer on Alves and Keita from Sevilla and Caceres from Villareal for a combined total of £50M, they are only about to complete the Hleb signing due to the sale of Ronaldinho. Any move for Adebayor will have to involve players plus cash and Barcelona are only offering Eto’o, whilst Arsene Wenger wants Yaya Toure as part of any deal.

Liverpool have been tracking Gareth Barry openly in the press, this has annoyed Martin O’Neil who has increased the price to £18M. Liverpool did not have the finances to buy Barry and were relying on the sale of Alonso to Juventus for £16M to help facilitate this move. Juventus have signed Poulsen from Sevilla for £7.6M and have announced that they have closed their transfer book. This leaves Liverpool with Alonso and no money, leaving the way open for Wenger to approach O’Neil and settle the Barry move to Arsenal for less than £18M plus Hoyte.

The departure of Juventus from the transfer market allows Arsene to contact Udinese over the transfer of Columbian defender Zapata. Arsenal made one approach earlier this summer, but Udinese turned this down in the hope that Juventus will come in with a higher bid, this now looks unlikley leavign Arsene a clear run for the highly
rated Columbina central defender.

Wenger’s slow, quiet and calculated approach to the transfer market could see the arrival of Barry from Aston Villa and Zapatta from Udinese for a combined outlay of £25M, and Adebayor signing a new extended contract all by the end of July.
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Australian Transfer Off

Australina under-23 international Mark Milligan has seen his dream of joining Arsenal dashed by British immigration rules.

Milligan who had a trial with Arsenal towards the end of last season looked to be joining the Gunners this summer. Sky Sports reported last night that he was in talks with two Premier League clubs, the other thought to be Manchester City.

Milligan who captains the Australia under 23 team and also helped Sydney to success last season falls foul of the strict immigration rules that apply to footballers wishing to play in England.

Milligan has two options, Arsenal sign him and he either plays in Spain whilst he gains the sufficient number of international caps for Australia or Arsenal apply for a special dispensation to the Home Office to obtain a work permit for him; or he goes to France where the rules are slightly relaxed.

Milligan will spend August in Beijing trying to lead Australia to Olympic glory.

2008/09 - The Year of the Terminator - Abou Diaby

Abou Diaby’s career at Arsenal has been frustrating for both the player and Arsenal, but next season could see the France international come of age..

The tall, powerful midfielder was signed from Auxerre in January 2006; he played in 16 games for Arsenal and scored one goal in his first season. The season ended in disappointment for Abou when he suffered an injury at Sunderland, this kept him out until January 2007. .

2007 was not much better for the giant midfielder as he only appeared in 18 games, again scoring one goal.

The 2007/08 season proved to be a start-stop season for Diaby, as he made 28 appearances, scoring four goals. Abou did not appear in his favoured central midfield, but was played on the left wing. The season once again ended in injury for Diaby.

With the departures of Diarra, Flamini and Gilberto, 2008/09 is a make or break season for Abou Diaby. Unless Wenger pulls a rabbit out of the hat, Diaby should partner Fabregas in the centre of midfield, a position that Arsenal fans have been pleading for Arsene to play Abou. When he has played in this position, many fans have seen how commanding he is, using his long longs to make vital challenges and his upper body strength to shield the ball. Diaby is not short of pace and is not scared of shooting when the opportunity arises. Diaby could be the powerful player that fans have been yearning for since Vieira’s departure. The two are not too dissimilar, though I would suggest that Diaby is likely to score more goals than the legend Vieira did.

Given the chance and a relatively injury free season, Diaby will be a colossus fro Arsenal and France.