Truth About M’Vila Quotes, Van Persie Talks, Podolski & Fixture List

By Daniel Cowan
In Arsenal
Jun 18th, 2012
24 Comments

Today’s post is a bit of a mishmash of news and views. I’m still working hard on my next serious piece but I’m having to do a lot of research so I might have a few more posts like this one before my next blog so I hope you enjoy this one.

I had a quick surge of popularity yesterday on Twitter after commenting on the M’Vila quotes. I’m not an ITK type and do not wish to portray myself as one either.

M’Vila was recently featured in the Italian paper Mercato making comments on Arsenal. Supposedly these quotes are fake but that didn’t stop Twitter going mental with “M’Vila is coming to Arsenal” quotes.

M’Vila quotes are about as real as Katie Price’s breasts

The original quotes in Italian were:

“Anche qui in Ucraina sono giunte delle voci circa l’interessamento dell’Arsenal nei miei confronti. È una squadra che mi piace, così come mi piace la Premier League. Non so cosa accadrà nel mio futuro, ma la mia aspirazione è quella di indossare al più presto la maglia di un club prestigioso, quale è l’Arsenal”.

Which when translated into English word for word (or by Google Translate as so many did) is:

“Even here in Ukraine came of the rumours about the involvement of Arsenal to me. It’s a team I like, as I like the Premier League. I do not know what will happen in my future, but my aspiration is to wear as soon as the shirt of a prestigious club, which is Arsenal.”

Now the problem with most translations is that when done by software (like Google Translate) grammar is completely ignored and words are translated for their literal counterparts. The M’Vila quotes when translated using proper grammar (and I’ll admit that my Italian is not fantastic so cannot say for certain that this is 100% accurate) should be something like this:

Even here in the Ukraine [at the Euros] I hear rumours about me and Arsenal. They’re a team I like who play in a league I like. I do not know what the future holds but my aspiration is to wear the shirt of a prestigious club. Arsenal are a prestigious club.

Or

Even here in the Ukraine [at the Euros] I hear rumours about me and Arsenal. They’re a team I like who play in a league I like. I do not know what the future holds but my aspiration is to wear the shirt of a prestigious club such as Arsenal.

When translated like that you can see that M’Vila is at best admitting that Arsenal are a club he could see himself playing for which is good however I am taking his comments as a diplomatic answer to a question forced on him.

At any rate the comments are being dismissed as fake but ironically the “these comments are fake” came from a source as likely to be fake.

M’Vila: These comments are fake. Why would I give an interview to an Italian paper before I gave one to a French paper.

Source: El Mundo – A SPANISH newspaper

Now if that isn’t the definition of irony I do not know what is. Hopefully that clears things up with regards to M’Vila.

I spent most of last night flicking between the two Euro matches and was quite pleased to see Holland go out. I actually like Holland as a team and as a country and they have some fantastic players but I’m not a fan of Bert van Marwijk and the way his Holland team play but mostly I am glad they went out because now the Euro’s are over for Van Persie and that means we can restart contract talks with him.

I’m still of the opinion that he will stay but even if he doesn’t sign a new contract I am still unconvinced that the money we would get for him would be better than actually having him for a year.

It was also nice to see Podolski score. It was a well taken goal on his weaker foot which I think will be extremely beneficial to Arsenal next season which leads me nicely onto the last part of this post.

The premier league fixture list was released this morning and we start with a potentially tricky match with Sunderland at home. Sunderland will most certainly aim for a shut out which will be an extremely frustrating way to start the season but I’m hoping that our team will be pretty sharp and a little too much for Sunderland so early in the season.

We have the fixtures to potentially have as bad a start as we did last season with us playing Livepool, Manchester City and Chelsea away in our first 6 matches. We are also playing away 7 times in our first 10 matches and 11 times in our first 19.

I’m actually really optimistic about this because I think we can be in a strong position for the second half of the season where most of our games are played at home and from March to the end of the season we only have two “tough” games against Spurs and United. I have already eyed the United match on April 27th as a potential title decider.

The start of the season is a little unkind with so many away games but I think that we have a pretty good run in so all we have to do is make sure we’re still in with a shout come March.

I’m pretty confident that next season this could be a reality.

A dream or a potential reality?

Thanks for reading! Please comment on this post, subscribe by email, share with friends and follow me on twitter (@thedanielcowan).

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About "" - 509 Posts

I am a South London born Gooner now living in Leigh-On-Sea, Essex. I'm a husband, daddy, podcaster, trainer enthusiast and aspiring author. My work is my passion and for that I will always be grateful. Here is where I write my thoughts and views on Arsenal Football Club, the greatest team the world has ever seen.

24 Responses to “Truth About M’Vila Quotes, Van Persie Talks, Podolski & Fixture List”

  1. Ephils says:

    i just hope all is well with arsenal this season cause we cant afford not to lift any trouphy this coming season,if not,let wenger be sacked!

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      I don’t think he should be sacked.

    • Bertie big boobies says:

      I just cannot understand why people say this and it really gets on my man boobs.
      I personally would rather lose any of the players and keep Wenger if it were to ever come down to it. I believe rightly or wrongly that Wengers hands have be shackled many times in the past. I would like to see David Dein back (yes I know it won’t happen) but when he went was a pivotal moment and if he had still been involved at Arsenal I’m sure we would of had better players in the team.

  2. Madge says:

    nice to see your optimism regarding the new season. I feel the same.Roll on August…..

  3. Matt says:

    The Chelsea game’s at home isn’t it?!

    I agree. If we can get past the cloggers of Stoke and take some serious points from Anfield, Eastlands and Chelsea at home then we could find ourselves atop the table come end of September.

    Unfortunately, if we dick about in the transfer market and don’t have a settled squad for the start of the season as per last season, then we could see ourselves at the opposite end of the table again.

    January, with the return fixtures of the above could be equally testing!

    The M’Vila quotes I think is a bit of flirting from him to us following his end of season fracas with that 17 year-old. Personally, if true, I’d snap him up!

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      If we can get him great. If not I’m personally not too bothered.

      I think if we can get 8 points out of September then we’ll have a decent start. January I would like to see maximum points but the fixture list is decent enough for us to mount a serious challenge as long as we are in touching distance come March.

      Yes, you are correct, Chelsea is at home.

  4. sharpgunner says:

    I disagree with you on the issue of Van Persie. If he insists on moving on, let him leave so that we can use the money from his transfer to buy another quality player when the transfer window still has good players to offer. Let us not make the same mistake we made with the long, agonizing Fabregas saga. Bear in mind that once a player is determined to go, trying to hold unto him is as useless as holding water in a basket. So if he is determined to go let him go!
    But I dare say I support him to leave. Wenger in his usual miserly manner has not shown any serious determination to buy quality players and relies as ever on fringe players to perform miracle. Van Persie loves Arsenal but the way things are going for him both at club and national levels, he should want to win trophies before it becomes too late. And going by the way Arsenal have been going in the past years, there may be no hope for him achieving that objective. So the decision lies on Arsenal to convince him that we are in serious contention for trophies and I know he will stay.If not, we should please be considerate and let him go.

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      I don’t think selling him is a good idea. We would not get good money for him and certainly not enough to buy a direct replacement. We either sell him and spend really big on top of the fee he would get to buy someone who could be a direct replacement like Higuain or Benzema or we take the hit on him leaving for free and let him fire us closer to the title than we would be without him with a cheap replacement.

  5. Cupsui says:

    I agree about RvP i think we should keep him for the year even if he doesn’t want to sign. He still loves the club and has said he will always be a gooner…good let him be one for another year AT LEAST!

    If the season goes well (which we have a better chance of happening with RvP on board) and we pick up a trophy or two he might just change his mind and go F$#k it! i belong here…sign me up Arsene!!

  6. Matt says:

    There are a couple of people suggesting we keep RvP and let him see out the last year of his contract if he doesn’t sign an extension.

    The arguments seem to range from ‘we won’t get decent money for him’, or ‘maybe we’ll win something and he’ll decide to stay’, or even ‘we’ll be closer to winning something with him than without him’.

    Firstly I don’t believe we won’t get a great fee for him if he decides to go. I appreciate he’s getting old and he has a nasty injury record, but when you look at what he provides when he’s healthy he would be the first name on the team sheet for most teams when healthy.

    However, keeping him without him signing an extension is too risky.

    There’s no guarantee that just because he’s been injury free for 18 months that we won’t see a return to the pre-2011 injury days at some point next season which means he’s no help to us and we have no money for him when he walks away next summer.

    If he gets injured with us or someone else but he’s on a 3-4 year deal then you won’t be too heartbroken. Injured for us without an extension would be dire!

    • Cupsui says:

      its a fair point…but i still think we should keep him…

      lets just hope he resigns and we don’t have to worry…

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      I agree that injured for us with no extension is dire but it’s a risk I’m willing for us to take.

      I don’t see us getting a big fee for him because of his injury record and age. How many 29 year old with 18 months of fitness do you see fetching £30m+?

      I think we’d be lucky to get £20m for him and it won’t all be upfront. I’d rather keep him and lose him for nothing than sell for less than he is worth to us. He could be the difference between champions league qualification, finishing 6th or even winning a trophy which is paramount to our ability to attract players in the future. It would also take the pressure off Podolski (& possibly Giroud) if they do not have to come up with his 30+ goals in their first year.

    • Matt says:

      If you look at some of the fees doing the rounds for players at the moment, not least with us: €12m for Giroud (no EPL experience), £10m for Arteta at same age with similar injury record, or £30m reported for Hazard (and no EPL experience) etc, I don’t think a fee of £25m is unreasonable.

      You get one of the best strikers in the world, with proven experience in one of the toughest leagues in the world, with probably 3-4 more years left in him (longer if he learns to adapt his game).

      I realise he has a bad injury history, but he’s been ‘clean’ for 18 months and you have to plan on the basis that he’d be good for the majority of a 3-4 year contract.

      I agree I’d rather he re-signed and stayed with us, but as I’ve said before, £25m + a bit more from the TPA and we could be looking at tempting someone like Cavani, Higuain or even a swap for Tevez!

      If you look at Man City, Aguerro and Dzeko both joined last year (admittedly Dzeko in Jan), but the point is they were their main strikers last year and slotted in just fine.

      Okay, it’s a risk, but you buy a world-class player and the risk is less!

      If we sold him and left it as Podolski, Giroud (probably), with Campbell and Joselu (rumoured), as back up, then yes, we’d be at serious risk of not qualifying for CL.

      That said, if no one comes in with a decent offer (in excess of £20m with cash up-front and not based on appearances), then yes, keep him to his contract for the last year.

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      I appreciate what you are saying and £25m is not unreasonable…. in our eyes.

      A couple of things though. It’s not what we consider reasonable it is what is considered reasonable for other clubs. Giroud, Arteta, Hazard etc were all under contract with more than a year left. Podolski only had a year left. That is a better comparison. A proven striker at national and international level being bought for £10m and he is younger than RVP and has a better injury record.

      RVP is worth at least £30m on contribution but we’d be lucky to get £20m for him considering his age, contract status and injury record. Whether he has been fit or not he still has a history of being injury prone. If he was out because of one problem then it’s easier to say “well that’s cleared up so he’s no risk” but sadly he has had many problems. It’s like trying to sell Diaby for £15m because he was fantastic in 08/09 so surely that proves he is worth the money when fit.

      I personally think we need to get at least £30m, no less, to consider selling as a direct replacement would cost £30m easily and contrary to popular believe we do not have significant funds in the TPA.

      I’d take Tevez in a swap deal but where we’re going to find £200k a week to pay him plus the extra he’d want for the higher living costs in London I do not know.

  7. Tina Daley says:

    Just can’t wait for the season to begin!

  8. Domhuaille MacMathghamhna says:

    This entire article is,of course,purely speculative like 99% of the posts. We don’t know who is paid what at AFC and will likely never know for certain. Nor do we know how AW and Gazidis have handled the negotiations with RVP. Perhaps the media blackout and RVP’s disinclination to resign before the Euros is due entirely to a desire to focus his mind on one thing at a time and handle the AFC issue once he is settled and ready and not a disinclination to stay?
    M’Vila is a nice option as is Giroud but as AW often says, we do have quality players available in both positions already…the need to sign additional players is not because we lack strength there but because our current ones are made of glass and sugar…and end up seriously crocked all too often.
    Teams that compete with us also lose players BUT not as often and not as long. City had the fewest injuries last season and had the strongest bench BUT it cost them almost 1 billion Euros to get to that point….one we will NEVER be able to afford. AFC prefer to take a more frugal and rational road to success, it takes a little longer but it is,in the long run, short term pain for long term gain.

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      Domhauille, do you actually read my posts? Your comment is completely out of place as none of it fits the topic of the post.

    • Matt says:

      Nice bit of speculation and personal opinion!

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      I can’t see where the speculation is and I wrote the damned thing!

    • Matt says:

      Not you Daniel.

      It was the irony that Domhauille’s comment was just as much speculation as anything that might be discussed on here.

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      I know. I was adding a comment to your comment rather than questioning it 🙂

  9. G says:

    Calm down boy’s, If rvp does not sign, then let him go !!!! 15,20,or25mill is better than nothing, which is exactly what we will get for him next year, keeping him makes no sense, he alone will not bring us a trophy, nothing for 7 years what difference will it make if its another,, Podolski,Giroud, ox, wallcott, we will have enough, of course better if rvp signed another 4 years, but,but, but,he is either in or he’s out in my opinion

    • Matt says:

      Spot on!

    • Daniel Cowan says:

      I couldn’t disagree more. If the money is not right it makes no sense to sell. Of course he won’t win us a trophy on his own but his 20-30 goals on top of what the rest will get would probably be the difference between winning a trophy and not winning trophy. If we keep selling and replacing with “potential” and that’s all Podolski and Giroud are at the moment as they have no experience of the league then we will always be the nearly men. One more year of being trophyless would be a big deal as the longer we are in a drought the harder it is to improve the team.

      Selling the best player in the league for average money would be a mistake. People complain about us selling players and not replacing them and we will not be able to replace RVP for £20m and we won’t put much more to that from the bank account. Podolski and Giroud should be seen as improvements not replacements. If we keep RVP as well as having Podolski and Giroud we will have a devastating attack with fantastic depth with the likes of Walcott, AOC, Gervinho and potentially Campbell or Afobe fighting for a place too. Podolski and Giroud will take some pressure off of RVP and RVP’s goals will also take pressure off Podolski and Giroud and allow them time to settle. If we win something RVP might decide to stay but regardless of whether he stays or goes at the end of the season we’ll have two fully settled strikers with minimal pressure for the season after.

      I’d much rather take the £20m hit and lose him for free than sell him and potentially struggle without his goals.

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