First one in the bag

[Dunny]

ARSENAL have completed the signing of Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax.

Vermaelen, 23, joined Ajax in 2004 and has made over 100 appearances for the Dutch club.
The undisclosed fee is reported to have been in the region of £11million.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has moved quickly to strengthen a squad which was often exploited at the back last season, when Arsenal eventually recovered some consistency to finish in fourth place.
Arsenal face a play-off to reach the group stages of the Champions League, but Vermaelen is in no doubt of just what his new club — who were knocked out at the semi-final stage of both the FA Cup and in Europe — can achieve.
Vermaelen said: "Arsenal is a great club with a world class manager, high quality players and a fantastic stadium.
"Everything is set up for Arsenal to be very successful for years to come and I joined this club because I know Arsenal will be challenging for trophies.
"I have had a good taste of the Champions League during my time with Ajax and this is something I am looking forward to experiencing again with Arsenal."
Vermaelen, who captained Ajax last season and played against the Gunners in the 2005/2006 European campaign, added: "I am also looking forward to playing in the English Premier League, which for me, is the best league in the world.
"I just want to assure the Arsenal fans that I will give everything for this club and I hope we can enjoy winning some trophies together next season."
Wenger was keen to add to his defensive options, which were depleted towards the end of the campaign by injury to veteran William Gallas, who could now be allowed to leave Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners boss is confident Vermaelen will add some steel to the rearguard.
Wenger said: "Thomas is a solid performer with good experience of Champions League and UEFA Cup football and is also a regular with the Belgium national team.
"Thomas is primarily a left-footed centre-back, but he is multi-functional and can also play at left-back.
"He is strong technically with a positive winner's attitude and I have no doubt his arrival will strengthen our team.
"Thomas Vermaelen will be a huge asset to Arsenal."

[Sensi]

Hey Dunny my Arsenal bredrin, any word about Rosicky? Has he recovered yet, and is he ready to go for the upcoming season? Just gimmi di news as yuh get it!

[Paul Marin]

And here I was thinking that you were referring to Glen Johnson signing for Liverpool...he he...

Vermaelen ain't no portion a balla...you were better off with Gallas.

[Dunny]

Hey Dunny my Arsenal bredrin, any word about Rosicky? Has he recovered yet, and is he ready to go for the upcoming season? Just gimmi di news as yuh get it!

Tomas Rosicky believes his fitness is in a better condition than when he joined Arsenal, but the midfielder remains cautious over his return to action.
The Czech Republic international endured a wretched 2008/09 as a series of injuries saw him sidelined for the campaign.
Rosicky returned to training with Arsenal's first-team in May, but manager Arsene Wenger resisted the urge to select the former Borussia Dortmund star.
The 28-year-old, who arrived in England in 2006, is now confident about his cardiovascular fitness, but admits he will need to ease himself into Wenger's plans.
When asked how long it will be before he can feature in the first XI, Rosicky told deniksport.cz: "I cannot tell. According to (fitness coach) Tony Colbert, I could have been playing at the end of the last season, he saw no reason why I shouldn't, as he thought my fitness was okay. The club decided not to play me.
"They did not consult with me. They saw that I was okay and maybe they just did not want to take the gamble. I think that it was obvious from the training that I was ready to play, if not for 90 minutes.
"Until I play in a league match I will not be able to tell what my chances are. When it comes to fitness alone, I must say that I am in a better shape than I was when I came to Arsenal.
"But I don't know what will happen after I make repeated sprints from one end of the pitch to the other."

[Dunny]

And here I was thinking that you were referring to Glen Johnson signing for Liverpool...he he...

Vermaelen ain't no portion a balla...you were better off with Gallas.

Yow paul me want you fi know that Arsene dont spend the people dem money willi nilli,the youth is a quality player only thing me worry about is his size.He is about 5ft 10,i wanted him to get a big imposing centre half.

[Paul Marin]

Yow paul me want you fi know that Arsene dont spend the people dem money willi nilli,the youth is a quality player only thing me worry about is his size.He is about 5ft 10,i wanted him to get a big imposing centre half.

Maximum respect to Wenger (smartest manager in football), but time will tell.

[Dunny]

Hey Dunny my Arsenal bredrin, any word about Rosicky? Has he recovered yet, and is he ready to go for the upcoming season? Just gimmi di news as yuh get it!

ARSENE WENGER reckons fit-again Tomas Rosicky can fill the void left by Emmanuel Adebayor.

The injury-hit Czech midfielder, 28, played his first game in 18 months in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Barnet on Saturday.
And Gunners boss Wenger insists having him back will soften the blow of Adebayor's £25million switch to Manchester City.
Wenger said: "We have internal players lined up for Adebayor. I'd feared Tomas wouldn't play again but now he's back."

[Warlord]

Maximum respect to Wenger (smartest manager in football), but time will tell.

Not exactly tha smartest manager in football. Maybe tha most budget-conscious of all managers of tha top 6 clubs in tha premier league.

[Dunny]

Not exactly tha smartest manager in football. Maybe tha most budget-conscious of all managers of tha top 6 clubs in tha premier league.

Welcome back Warlord!!!!

[Warlord]

Welcome back Warlord!!!!

Thank you boss. Been away from this board due to a number of business projects that I have undertaken ova tha last few months that have become very successful ventures. I will pop by every ever so often to follow some of your interesting threads. We will agree to disagree on Wenger though, but all in all Im hoping Arsenal has a good year.

[OJ]

again how can you bank on a player who has not played a full season in almost two years.