British tabloid The Daily Mail claims that Arsenal is again interested in Barcelona defensive midfielder and Ivory Coast international Yaya Touré (25).
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger could launch a bid for Touré in the January transfer window after the Ivorian player seems to have lost his first-team place in Barcelona this season.
Arsenal has a lack of midfield players and Touré could possibly jump at the chance of teaming up with his older brother, Arsenal central defender Kolo.
Read more:
Toure would like to play with brother at Arsenal
Wenger wants Touré to replace Vieira
Swap deal including Toure and Hleb looked at
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Arsenal could launch Toure bid in January
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If good offer comes, I say why not?! He'll become frustrated if Guardiola doesn't treat him like starting XI. Anyway, Barca should try to get rid of Henry and Gudjohnsen in January and try to get another striker, because Barca create a lot of chances but not the goals.
That jump on the picture... What an athlete!
I say sell. Bad thing about this is that not every club has the deep pockets that FCB has. Anyone we sell him to wont be able to pay the "correct" amount for him. The good news for us is that we dont need anybodys money! We're very well funded.
But when we try to buy, everyone inflates their prices. And it will always be like that. But we can use this money for a new LB and or LW.
U are all saying sell! WHo would cover himas Keita is too attack minded to sit infront of the back 3.. because Alves plays in the midfield everytime. We could concede loads and loads of goals or what would be the point to sell him and start looking for a replacement. Or Even when Keita plays the role and get injured ot tired, then we play Iniesta there? That would be very silly!!! KEEP YAYA. He is one of the best 3 in the world for that role (DM) .. enuff said!!!
Sry to say that, normally I'm very humble, but to the 2 guys who already posted a comment, have you lost your brains last weekend?
This lad played his heart out for us and was the most consistent player last season, despite a serious back injury.
And you'd jump on the first chance to sell him, because of what? Money in the region of 10 Mio. €???
Shameful, to say the least.
Yaya is an exquisite DM/CM and hasn't even reached his peak, it would be absolutely ridiculous to sell him.
Those suggesting we sell Yaya r silly. The guy is young and is one of the few that can give us the physical presence we need. As a DM he is very good and can fill in in defence too.
He may not look pretty and what he does is often not noticed, but that is the case with DMs. They do the dirty stuff to free up the flashier guys to do theirs.
There r definitly other players ahead of him if a sale of Barca players is discussed.
No fucking way Barca will sell Yaya. We need him.
Sell the best defensive midfielder in the world? Yeah. Right. I wouldn't even sell Yaya if they threw in Adebayor.
Good defensive mids are invisible. You don't realize the value of one until you don't have one. Edmilson, anyone? Didn't think so.
Yaya has speed, ball skills, passing ability and works his heart out every last match. Don't forget his size and strength. He came in against Sporting, and the midfield was officially closed. That's his value.
I just don't understand sometimes. I know that press folks need something to do. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Xavi and Messi are about the only players on the roster who I wouldn't sell before Yaya. And I'd think hard about Messi.
@Kxevin: Agree with most of your points, and like I wrote earlier, it would be completely sheer madness if we would sell the Ivorian Warrior!
One point I don't agree though is that Yaya has speed, maybe he isn't yet in his best physical shape after the surgery, but I think his lack of pace is something Guardiola doesn't like... Anyway, there isn't another DM available who is as complete as Yaya.
And don't forget, he will get tactically stronger to in the next years, this guy has so much potential.
I wouldn't even mind him playing in CM, because he has great skills on the ball and superb vision too. Would be a possibility to include Yaya and Keita in the line-up.
Sadly, ATM it seems like Pep is prefering Keita over Touré.
Keep him. He rocks!
you guys only speak in superlatives.. toure is good not the best dm, he is fast, but not the fastest, he is strong but not the strongest. tactically he still has a lot to learn, his passing ability is fairly average and he is a decent but not great tackler, and sometimes he trips on the ball and can look a little clumsy.. and pep being a better evaluator of talent than everyone on this board myself included, doesnt seem to think he merits a spot in the starting eleven.. maybe for lack of form or fitness, or dare I say ...talent, we cant be sure but he is not a starter for us. Do I think he has talent.. absolutely.... but I am worried about this tall young man and his chronic back problems ( never a good sign) so.. if arsenal want to come up with >16 million...I say its worth thinking about. Busquets,marquez will cover for keita.
Ha!! funny if some of the players have some few bad games you guys want them out just like that ..let me guess who next on ur list MEssi just cuz he hasn't been scoring and having good games u guys r silly... !!!toure is SOlid no question about it!!
Disagree, Marc. Find me a team with a better defensive mid. In any league. I agree that Yaya's sort of rumbling style can look a little awkward. But if you look at his results, his continued presence is impossible to argue with.
His presence, or lack thereof in the starting eleven has more to do with horses for courses. Keita is much more offense-minded. None of the sides that we've seen have really been of any significant danger offensively, so Keita is a safe play. Against more dangerous sides, trust me....you'll see a lot more Yaya.
And I said he had speed, size and strength. Didn't say fastest, biggest or strongest. Don't think that anyone did.
I did say that he was the best DM in the world right now, and definitely the best for our system. Keita is an addition to add a different twist. Yaya broke down over the course of a long season. Nobody can play every match in a team competing in Copa, CL and the Liga and not break down. We'll see lots of Keita and Yaya this season.
I think the back problems are part of the heavy game load. The surgery was successful, and he's looked very good. He does lack match fitness, but that will come.
Marquez is a band-aid for Yaya. He can't close down the midfield the way that Yaya can, particularly in tandem with Keita. Busquets will be ready in a year or two. He was very impressive against Racing, but that was Racing. No real danger there.
wow so hes got a lot of fans, "hes the best", "oh hes the greatest" Why is anybody refering to last year for anything? If hes SOOO AWESOME and SO GREAT, why did we finish third last year. The way you people talk hes like a god. Get off his balls already, he wont win us anything single handedly, so if he wants to leave, well then sell his MEDIOCRE ass! We dont need him. If hes so great whys he not playing? hes healthy. Keita IS better!
We dont need a DM in %95 of our matches anyway, WE DOMINATE possession! Always have always will. We can play with three CB in the back line as long as Abidal is not one of them. After what i saw in the Sporting match Iniesta Xavi and Keita looks like the ticket to some trophies this season.
I know ive offended some "mediocre" yaya fans so follow him to arsenal when he leaves then. Start a religion. Call it Yayaism. Oh there i go again bein..what was it.. oh yeah "Silly"
Bottom line, im not a fan, if he stays he stays and i say F*ck it give him another shot! I really havent seen anything impressive from him. AT ALL! If he leaves, im not against it. Yeah and we will only get about 10 for him. Considering its Arsenal its fair, but some of you will demand 60 from what i can see.
Memo, Yaya's play isn't the reason we finished third last season. His play kept the side in many games by controlling the midfield and stopping opposition attacks, however. We finished third because of collective suck. That's Xavi, Messi, Rijkaard, Henry, Eto'o, Puyol, Valdes, Abidal, every member of the starting eleven.
And we need a DM because of our back line, which tends to get a little funky sometimes. Keita is an excellent offensive-minded DM, Yaya is a pure defensive DM. The versatility is nice to have.
To my mind, Yaya was as important as Messi last season. One prevents goals, the other scores them. A great team needs both.
If Guardiola continues to treat him like a bench player (no play time against Racing and only a sub against Sporting) he will leave. I just can't see why he chooses Keita over Touré in two consecutive games. On the other hand if we can get Clichy then it will be worth it.
To the people that say he is the best, have you watched any football beside Barca?
Here is a little list of better players: Daniele De Rossi, Esteban Cambiasso, Jeremy Toulalan, Javier Mascherano (the best), Marcos Senna.
And those that probably will be better in a few years: Miguel Veloso, Lassana Diarra.
I wouldn't be devastated if we sold him. He is incredible at recovering possesion, but he simply is not a threat offensively. Keita fits the bill much better tactically in my opinion (and peps). Busquets has also impressed lately so depth isnt really an issue.
If a yaya-adebayor switch is on the cards I would play that hand, but only because of the way teams defend against us, and only if arsenal value yaya at atleast 20 mil euros.
If that opened a slot in midfield maybe we could actually buy an attacking mid who can score. Frankly, Iniesta couldnt score with a million dollars in a whorehouse.
I watch Serie A (where you can see most of the players mentioned), EPL, Ligue 1 (via TV5-US) and anything else I can get my eyes on. I wouldn't take any one of those players mentioned. Actually, I'd take Mascherano+cash for Yaya.
But it's kind of pointless to argue about something that almost certainly is never going to happen. It's also pointless to argue about players, since people like or hate players based on qualities only they know. Yaya sucks, Abidal is single-handedly responsible for all the losses that Henry isn't directly responsible for.
Logic is always hard to deal with when it comes to team fervor, and the players that engender that passion. So some will say sell, others will say keep. And that's life.
Sorry for being Anonymous all the time, haven't figured out how to get a name.
I think Yaya is a excellent player and I prefer him in the starting XI over Keita since he is a lot safer but he definatly isn't the best DM out there. He is a damn good one but not the best. The same goes with Abidal and Henry they are excellent players, but there are players out there that would fit the bill better.
Also we can't really say how good Yaya is this season (last season he was excellent) or what form he is in when he have played a total of ~90 minutes competitive football this season.
Kxevin believe me i know that. I was just refering to the way he is portrayed by most of you in here. Like the greatest DM in the history of the game. And all the real football fans know thats not the case.
And exactly what you said, yaya is a defensive minded DM, which hes i guess the "best", but what im saying is that with our dribbling skills (Xavi,Iniesta) we OWN possesion in every single game. Hence we dont need him.
Yeah our back line flops now and then, but look at the Sporting game Mr. awesome(Abidal) didnt play and we were spectacular! Sure Puyol has lost a step, but hes twice the defender Abidal is. The only goal came on a set play, which means we just gotta work that kink out during practices and such. We can improve, we are the best!
Keita as you said is offensive minded, which is what we need! more support with the lack of scoring. And for those who think we'll break with the powerhouse teams, youre wrong. Take last years CL, we lost to the eventual champs by the score 1-0(both games put together) We DOMINATED Man U in the possesion, we didnt need yaya messing up the offensive rythim with his defensive style, we needed someone like Keita up front. 2 goals at the Camp Nou wouldve been enough to beat Man U.
Hate being anonymous, will get around to working it out like the otehr member said.
What good is all that possession? We play aorund with the ball, lose it and get a goal scored against us. This high possession worked when other teams didn't quite have us figured out and also when Dinho was in top form it was just impossible to stop.
Our brilliance in the past papered over the cracks. We lose in set pieces because we lack physical presence and I for one do not consider Yaya to be the best, however he is good at breaking down attacks and sures up a weak backline. Our GK is suspect, Puyol is losing it, we need to play we need to give them cover.
Seems some of you only want to c the beautiful stuff, but no point having 4 defenders and 1 GK with 6 flashy players taking up 80% possesion when we lose 1 nil to a counter attack.
At least Yaya gives the opposition a bit of a headache at set pieces, same can't b said of the other midgets.
Memo,look @ it this way, Sporting did not attack. Do you think that back 3 would cope against Arsenal? and u said we dont need yaya,since we have Xalvi, Iniesta and Keita who are al Offensive players, I personally feel we need a balance, since our midfield contains 3, I would say 2 very offensive and 1 defensive. How many has Keita scored or how many direct assists has he provided since the pre-season? I am not aving a dig @ his abilities but you are saying we make Yaya sound like a word class, Is Keita world class, You cant have 11 world class players. it doesnt work like that.. But like Kxvein said, we are not likely to reach compromise on this issue. God help Barca and I hope Pep.G is wise enough to manage his team.
And @ anonynous, all u need do is click on Name/ulr and type the username u desire
I think what memo is trying to say is that the best defense is playing more offense. while this may be true in some respects, memo, teams do counter attack. you more than likely will never see a football match where a team has 100% possession, that being so, if they have 1% possesion and score a goal, its better than 99% posession and no goal (as was evidenced by numancia). So its good to have insurance and yaya provides that. his size makes almost perfect for defending set pieces which we seem to struggle with, and he can score a header given the opportunity. he can tackle and ensure we recover the ball when we lose it, keita can do these too but as you said he's more offensive which means he'll be out of position more, so he wont always be there in the midfield to tackle. i could go on and on why it is good to keep him and play him but i think you should get the idea by now...right?
P.S. He may not be the best but he's not far off. Above him would probably be Hargreaves, toulalan. i think he's on equal footing with mascherano. And lets not forget Yaya's young and will improve
Didnt say Keita was world class, and i know toure isnt. All i said was Keita was better. Of course Sporting did not attack, THEY NEVER HAD THE BALL! And yes i know we did not have %100 possesion, and believe me this team is very capable of recovering possesion without the services of Mr toure.
Our offence drops back to help recover possesion almost all the time, with Messi and Eto'o, not so much Henry, but Bojan does too. Its a thing of beauty when one of them recovers possesion. Then the offense moves forward as a whole. so if thats the case you want to make for yaya then i fail to see why he should be in the starting 11.
And like i said before our set piece defence just needs to practice and work out the errors. We have competent defenders for christ sake, well except 1(we ALL know who this is).
I loved the line up vs Sporting, our CBs never had to push forward and were always aware of the counter (which wasnt really there i know) You all saw how many offsides Sporting had. TEN! That was product of our back line working in harmony with each other.
And yes i know we are not likely to reach compromise on this issue. All i know is that Pep G. was wise enough to make the nessesary changes to win that game.
You know funny thing i just noticed..after watching that Sporting goal about 15-20 times in replay off my Tivo, about 3 of these were in slow motion too. Guess who was standing right where Tonel scored from? Guess who the tall lanky bastard was that let that ball go right by their head?
Thats right it was your beloved yaya. I guess when it happened i was just upset that they scored i didnt even go back and check who was to blame. His size didnt do shit for defending that set piece.
Go ahead youtube it or whatever if you dont believe me. Although youtube vids are known to be blurry as hell. Im sure the highlight vid is out there somewhere.
And no i dont hang people on one game, like some of you might think for me pointing this out. In my personal view this guy has been mediocre since last season for me. Same as Abidal, i didnt judge him on one or two performances. Its week in and week out with that guy. However i never said yaya was shit, i just said he wasnt anything special.
why should he be sold?when u have a keita that is always attack minded and when he gets front he waste the ball,thou he is a fantastic player in the mildfield but in my own view toure is a very good lad for that defensive mildfield role and sergio as a back up.he shouldn't be sold for god sake.
yeah yeah yeah. sell yaya... Thank God Pep G is the one in charge of this team and not us. Yaya wld STAY!!! period.. live with it dude!
Yeah thank god he is, and thats why he will stay...on the bench.
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