In all honesty, I can hardly believe I am writing this article regarding the possibility of Jermain Defoe joining Arsenal this summer – a move which has left me a little shell-shocked.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour recently told talkSPORT:
‘They [Arsenal] need a striker.’
‘Marouane Chamakh found it difficult [last season]. He did well in the early parts of the season but went off the boil a bit.’
‘They should get someone who’s a little bit different, who can score a goal, like an Ian Wright.’
‘Jermain Defoe would be a good signing for me. Tottenham fans won’t like it but that’s how it goes these days. I was there when Sol Campbell signed and he was a great player for Arsenal.’
Now for me, much has been said on Chamakh, so evidently I’m not going to cover this, and while I do agree that Arsenal need another striker on board, I am not 100% convinced that Defoe fits the bill for me.
I am aware that we’ve had Sol Campbell and William Gallas in the side before, who both came from London rival clubs, but there is always that little bit of a worry for me in taking a player from Spurs.
Anyway, the question is – could Defoe become the next Ian Wright type player at Arsenal if we sign him this summer?
In my opinion, no he can’t.
Ian Wright in his heyday was a great player, but there were lots of issues that surrounded him. Defoe doesn’t have the same temperament as Wrighty, which in my opinion is a good thing, but I’m not sure that he can be compared to the great man.
There is no doubting that Jermain is a good player. However, because he is a spud, it does worries me a little. I think the age of an Ian Wright type striker is long gone now. In my opinion, I don’t think you will ever find a player like again, and in some ways it’s a good thing.
If we were looking for a forward this summer, which I believe we are, then I’d like to see a Dennis Bergkamp type player come through the doors – but of course this is just wishful thinking on my part.
If we do sign Defoe, then I reckon I could accept it as time progresses, but he will need to be strong enough to deal with the concerns and pressure of being an Arsenal player.
I commented 10 days ago about Sol Campbell coming out of the woodwork and making comments about Arsenal, and now Ray Parlour has done the same – do these players not realise that negative comments have a bad affect on the club, the players and those who support it?
In any case, I completely disagree with Parlour’s assessment. I don’t believe that Defoe would be the next Wright at Arsenal (if we signed him this summer), purely for the fact that I don’t think that there is a player out there that could emulate Wrighty’s greatness.
Could Defoe be the next Ian Wright if he joins Arsenal?
Give us your thoughts on the matter
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NO WAY….
Your use of grammer is aweful, I can’t take your views seriously just based on that. Don’t they check the articles before posting them? The other thing is when someone states that a player could be the next ‘john smith’ for example, they are not actually claiming that the player will literally become that exact player. I thought I would venture out and read a few blogs but I think I will have to just stick to arseblogs with the real fans and the knowledge is. Good luck with whatever ‘this’ is that you are trying to do.
There is nothing wrong with the grammar that the writer has used, and if thats all you care about rather than the actual topic, then your comment is absolutely pointless and needless at the same time.
Also, the writer, nor the headline for that matter, claim that Defoe WILL be the next Ian Wright…hence why the first word in the headline is ‘COULD’.
If you don’t like what you read then why do you job on this and comment for?
Peace!
@ Titi
Take a closer look:
“it does worries me a little”
“don’t think you will ever find a player like again”
It’s a pretty good article, but silly mistakes like these undermine any writer’s work because they imply incompetence. They’re elementary mistakes that are easily fixed. Lets hope they are next time around.
Every striker we now have has more skill on the ball then he does. He is more of a wing or two position striker, and we have Vela and others who can fill that role. My question is”when are they going to spend some money and bring on Samba or Cahill?”
If we brought in Defoe, Alvarez, Chamberlain and Gervinho to replace Bendtner, Rosicky, Nasri and Vela and made a little profit, then i would say that is excellent business. Even if we broke even. Add those 4 to RVP, Walcott, Chamakh and Arshavin and that is pretty powerful forward line.
Defoe would be a quality signing. I agree with Parlour on this. I’ve always thought he’d do the business with us. He’s direct, can score all types of goals and has great technique. That said, i would prefer Benzema or Falcao…
defoe will make an excellent addition , hes a more selfish and direct player compared to chamakh . his off the ball movement is more purposeful and he pack a shot in his right peg ..never afraid to take a punt from distance .. yes he has ties with the seven sisters across the road but it didnt stop him from moving from spurs when he was getting game time .. as it is now vander vaart ‘s arrival has shoe horned the strikers position in2 one so its either crouching tiger , the russian pav for the remaining striker position…. arsene make it happen at least he wll do much better than nicklas bendtner
Defoe is quite similar to Ian Wright but Wenger would have to use a different tactical formation and he has proved totally inflexible on tactics. Well in fact Wenger doesn’t do tactics.
Your assessment of Jermaine Defoe proves that you do not know much about football at all. Check Defoe’s stats at West Ham, Bournemouth, Tottenham & Portsmouth. All teams who up until last season were not anywhere near Arsenals standards. If he was in the Arsenal team & could remain uninjured, then he would be the first 30 a season player for Arsenal since Ian Wright & Thierry Henry. The very reason I reckon that Wenger hasn’t signed or attempted to sign Defoe since he first attempted to do so in 2001 is because of his close relationship with Ian Wright. It seems that Wenger doesn’t like Wright. Hence the reason he never went in for any of Wrighty’s sons. Wrighty has rightly criticised Wenger for not signing or giving english talent the chance to shine. He would only let the talent we had play in the Carling cup. I believe this is why most of his ex English players are cock a hoop when Foreign Arsenal lose. It is his own fault. A true leader can admit when he is wrong, but at the end of the day, if the blind want to follow the blind, then they cannot complain at where they end up. I personally believe that Wenger has been hampered by the board & also hampered by himself. Too much quality has slipped through our hands & that is that. The best players in the prem could have been Arsenal players long ago, but now we are starting to see the evidence of this. Defoe, Darren Bent, Drogba, Ronaldo, Simpson, Bentley, Boothroyd, Jerome Thomas, DJ Campbell, etc… Just an example of a few players who could have done the business for us. Throw into the mix Ashley Young, who is an Arsenal fan since a kid. We could have signed him when he was still at Watford, but instead saw others usurp us. I believe that Wenger’s time is coming to an end. It has already started & patience has been a virtue for 6 years. Wenger, unlike Ferguson had early success, which he should have built on. Unfortunately he didn’t & now the fans are discovering what stubborness can do to you.
i like this idea!!!! defoe is the last of a dying breed. we should get him, he’ll do wonders for arsenal. he’s got pace, dribbling, wicked shooting, and he INSITINCTIVLEY finds space and a good position on goal, like it comes naturally to him. there not too many strikers out there that are as dynamic as defoe, he is the closest thing to ian wright i suppose. he could also play on the wing and put pressure on walcott. i’ll be over the moon if we get defoe!!!!
defoe is also quite strong for such a fast and tricky dribbler, he’ll do main at arsenal. he reminds me of old skool strikers that have high work rates