Sport

Inler confirms Gunners chance
by Tom Adams, 04 September 2008

Inler in action for his country

Switzerland international Gokhan Inler has confirmed that he deliberated over whether to join Arsenal for a week, before eventually settling on staying with Udinese.

The highly-rated midfielder was a contender to shore up the Arsenal side during the transfer window but eventually decided to stay in Serie A after being handed an improved contract.

Inler has no regrets about his decision and is now looking to improve on his fine debut season in Italian football.

“I have considered for about a week,” Inler told Basler Zeitung.

“You have to see that above all, the more you play the harder the competition.

“And I prefer to remain in Udine and try to build on last season.”

Inler’s decision to sign a new contract meant that Arsenal stayed quiet on transfer deadline day.

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Comments

Dave - 06 September 2008 19:01: Give Stephan Appiah a chance at the Emirates please Mr Wenger we need him; Report this to a moderator

Bertonian - 05 September 2008 13:44: Lets just either sign this guy or come out with a statement saying we are not interested, after a tiresome transfer window I could do without asny more grief. We can then crack on and all get behind the team, we should get through groups & hopefully still be in league contention come January, then Wenger can spend the morning burning a whole in his pocket!; Report this to a moderator

You are all strange - 05 September 2008 12:39: Flamini actually did OK the season before last to be fair, he played well at left back. We did not try to sell him he wanted to leave but Wenger talked him into staying. Wenger was powerless in him leaving so stop harping on about it, it is not worth breaking the pay structure for FLAMINI otherwise it would just snowball from there and our wage structure goes out the window, they did what they could case closed! Plus as its already been said one season doesnt make you amazing, we are hypocrits - we boo Adebayor for asking for a payrise as he is top goalscorer for one season then get on the clubs back for not overpaying Flamini to stay after one good season?!?!?! Eboue is OK and is suffering from the fans because everybody is listening to each other rather than just watching him, he played well against Newcastle. He is young and has changed position, give the guy a chance! I thought he was a really good RB and wouldnt have looked for another one but Sagna is another class so it all gd; Report this to a moderator

MR X - 05 September 2008 09:20: The Arsenal Board have completely lost the plot!! I hear cries of "you don't know what you're doing?!" . Since David Dein left we have been in Freefull, Big Name players have left each summer at an alarming rate!!,I'am ONE HUNDRED PERCENT behind Wenger , he has done an amazing job over the last 3 years without any money and there should be no question marks against him . If the board care about the club they will hand back to David Dein and get us back to where we belong!, the alternative is we see more big names sold nex't summer.; Report this to a moderator

Miltone - 05 September 2008 08:28: Inler will never plays champions leage.; Report this to a moderator

David - 05 September 2008 08:26: Wenger is a genius bt he needs somebody to shake up so that he can make inteligent dicisions the way Dein did. People working with him now are just listening to him without contributing anything leaving Wenger with weak decisions. The man is too buy to move around to get players for the club. Somebody should help him otherwise he is still good.; Report this to a moderator

Femi,Z-town - 05 September 2008 06:15: No flamini,no inla,no alonso,no barry,no gunzman,we can still survive this PL season with full fit diabi,eduado,rosicky,biscouf and the signing of apiah would really strenghten and beefup our midfield.Denilson is still very young and needs more strenght,time and endurance.Wenger pls add apiah to our young team.Gunnaz 4life.; Report this to a moderator

gunner - 05 September 2008 02:30: hello; Report this to a moderator

i love newcastle - 05 September 2008 02:25: Come on lads. lets wake up . we dont buy players that are well known. ive grown to accept that and so should u. wenger is building, simple as. stop complaining about flamini who was a great player for us but had other ideas. i mean...god!!! first ever comment by the way. Lampoon me.; Report this to a moderator

paul - 04 September 2008 23:01: i sometimes wonder why people like Joe continue to support Arsenal - they are clearly not worthy. Such a great football mind that he alone realise that adebayor is not really any good despite the interest shown by ManU, Barcelona and AC Milan. if only arsenal were managed by Joe he would have been able to keep Flamini, Henry, Bergkamp and Adams and they would all be playing for Arsenal now!; Report this to a moderator

Dekko - 04 September 2008 22:31: Joe, you are a rare voice of wisdom in these dark forums and I agree with you, so just read what Joe said as he's hit the nail on the head.; Report this to a moderator

Joe - 04 September 2008 21:47: Well unless there is real quality players available Wenger was right to keep his cash in his pocket during the transfer window but what was inexcusable was letting Flamini leave the club.During the previous season he had developed into a superb all round player who could be played in defence or midfield and was getting better all the time.As for Eboue a really average player who will be found out when the big games come around and up front the Gunner's are lacking as well Adebeyor is a poor mans Kanu and in the last quarter of last season he was very poor as his form took a nose dive when Arsenal really needed goals.So Wenger's squad was too thin last year and now it's anorexic where are the Bergkamp's.Petit's,Henrie's or Adam's.I just don't buy it and sooner rather than later I hope Wenger takes his head out of the clouds.!; Report this to a moderator

gabriel - 04 September 2008 21:47: next time arsenal play , you guys must study the players that have replaced flamini , arsene wenger has better options all the time , he has to be the shrudest manager in premier league.; Report this to a moderator

Macca - 04 September 2008 21:30: Lets not forget the dire season Flamini had the season before. We tried to offload him to Birmingham but they didn't want him. He realised he needed to be better and applied himself more, worked on his fitness but the best improvement he made was his passing. He fitted better with our style and was formidable with Cesc. But 1 year left and a mercenary opportunity for a Sol style contract. No wonder he left after the previous years selling attempt. Would Dein have let him depart??????; Report this to a moderator

Mark B - 04 September 2008 20:04: Flamini paid for his new contract and huge signing on fee. He's a clever guy, can't blame him for wanting to try something new although it wasn't a sporting move (Milan in UEFA Cup). I doubt he'll be a big success over there.; Report this to a moderator

Cesc's Golden Boots - 04 September 2008 19:27: Gooner_14, Flamini was only given a proper chance last season when Gilberto was out . The guy was superb and he and Cesc where the reason we went close to winning the title !!. The game at Fulham showed how lightweight we are in Central Midfield when Cesc is not there. What was the wisdom in letting him leave on a free transfer and losing £15-20M when we are supposedly strapped for cash!, the fact is if he was at Chelsea or Man U they would pay him whatever it takes to keep him happy.; Report this to a moderator

786 goonerman - 04 September 2008 19:14: flamini was good but abu diaby can be lot better he is very good player i really hope he can stay fit once he comes back.; Report this to a moderator

Gooner_14 - 04 September 2008 19:08: ' Cesc's Golden Boots ' Flamini was the desperate cheap option when we signed him from Marsielle due to a technicality in his contract with them. It wasn't till last season anyone thought he was anywhere half decent. He was close to joining Birmingham City. So clearly Wenger Knows.; Report this to a moderator

bob - 04 September 2008 19:05: he just used arsenal to get a pay rise; Report this to a moderator

Cesc's Golden Boots - 04 September 2008 18:43: We should have pulled out all the stops to keep Flamini!!, then we would not have been linked with jokers like Inler, this was always a Desperate Cheap option!!.; Report this to a moderator

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