Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Nick Simmonett 
Date:Wednesday July 11 2007
Time: 7:31PM
UK time is: 13:05:41
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Babel Set To Sign For Liverpool
Ajax's Dutch international forward Ryan Babel is set to join big spenders Liverpool after agreeing personal terms and completing a medical with the Merseysiders.
Arsenal have been linked on and off with the wing-wizard for the last 18 months until January when Arsenal's interest seemed to come to something when the youngster was seen visiting Arsenal's Ashburton Grove stadium and training ground.
Indeed, the youngster himself said on several occasions that he wanted to play for Arsenal, but not until he had completed one last season with his current employers, Ajax.
He was rumored to have a £6.5Million release clause in his contract, however, Ajax's asking price of around £13Million would seemingly rule that out.
Could that be the reason that Arsenal haven't moved for Babel? Quite possibly as manager Arsene Wenger isn't one to pay over the odds for a player.
Earlier today Liverpool Chief Exec Rick Parry told Liverpool's official website: 'We're not quite there with Ryan Babel yet, but we've now been given permission by Ajax to talk to the player.
We hope to reach an agreement with Ajax very shortly.'
However, Sky Sports News broke the news in the last few minutes that the Dutchman had infact already agreed a deal and passed a medical.
Where next for Arsenal?
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Your Comments
how surprised am I that we didnt sign another player that is in any way famous...not at all is your answer. Cheers for dudu..... sigh
lukychmz
TEVEZ !? :(
HATEtheGOONS
It's a shame as he looks a pretty good player. Nevermind, I'm sure the wizard has got somebody else in his sleeve. Just as long as that somebody isn't Gus Caesar, Stepanovs, Cygan or Jeffers shaped, I'm not moaning 8-)
flv
i think either we seriously didnt need him.. or we have no money at all.... i think hes the perfect arsenal player; fast, skillfull and young.... im gutted to be honest.
D4NNYT
is this Babel chap any good?
REDMAN
IN ARSENE WE TRUST !...........wenger buys who he wants 2 buy....NOT who we want him 2 buy AND NOT who the media wants us 2 buy......!! ps- have we officially signed bakari sagna or not !!!! (Cos he excites me as a gr8 prospect !!)
HENRY`14
Good player just *****ed with his own career,in AW we trust,Goufrann is the man :D
Babeasta
How much credence do we give to transfer gossip? He was supposed to have a £6m release clause yet 'pool are bidding £10m plus for him. So much of this is invention. Often the same people complaining that we have missed out would be insisting that we need proven experience. Could this be available in a 20 year old?
Amos.
I'm afraid you guys are losing your appeal, the rumours are out. These players believe your club are moving in the wrong direction, can't say they are wrong.
Topspur1
As a Liverpool fan Im very happy with the signing of Babel should it be completed. However, Wenger is a fantastic manager and is building a young squad which will grow over the next few years. Unlike Mourinho (we all know what Chelsea have spent) and Ferguson who has bought his new squad: Ferdinand 30m Rooney 30m Saha 14m Ronaldo 13m Carrick 18m Anderson 17m Nani 17m Hargreaves 17m Tevez? 20m?, not to mention Smith 6m, Evra 6m, Heinze 6m. That is around 200 million pounds whereas Wenger has assembled his new squad paying reasonable amounts. Liverpool havnt spent as much as Chelsea and ManU but theyve spent more than Arsenal. Wenger has always done a brilliant job there without breaking the bank.
trader
Well the spuds never had any appeal & still don't, hence the only signings you can make are players that are self confessed arsenal fans who aren't good enough for us & end up at the s*** hole!! Defoe, Bale, Zokora, Bent, Kabul etc etc etc!! Before anyone comes back with the very predictable & very boring 'Berkamp was a spuds fan', no he wasn't he was a Hoddle fan & followed his career not the spuds!! As for Babel, who really cares if we didn't sign him. Apart from the final & about 20 minutes in the semi final of the u21 tournament he was dire. An excellent prospect? yes, but how many of those do we already have, we need players like sagna who can bring some experience. I'm sure Wenger has his targets & we will all know when they eventually sign!!
Ashburton Gooner
Redman, he's a great little player. topspur, Babel has said 3 times he wants to play for Arsenal, not quite losing our appeal.
simmy8_2000
Nice one Trader! Good luck for the new season, and let's look forward to some more excellent battles 8-)
flv
Babel will be World Class!! Great ability and Eye for Goal. Way out of Arses League. When the big clubs get involved The ARSE cannot compete. Very Sad Times At the Immigrants.
cockeril
I realise it's only natural to get offended by my observations, but i can assure you their was no malice intended. Surely you must recognise that in the last 5yrs you've gone from going unbeaten in 40 odd games, to finishing 4th 2 season running. But maybe you believe that’s moving in the right direction, not sure i would.
Topspur1
Topspur, when you don't have the millions of Chelsea or United you have to take a step back in order to move forward. I have absolute faith in Wenger. The crop of players at Arsenal are so close to becoming a force again, all that's needed is a bit of fine tuning and 1 or 2 more additions and we will be back at the top of football. That's not my rose-tinted opnion, it's my absolute honest opinion.
simmy8_2000
Cockeril, we don't need to spend £18Million on a player like Carrick when we can snap up a raw talent like Fabregas and turn him into one of the best midfielders in the Premiership. Or take an average winger and turn him into one of the best strikers in the world. Or take a half decent midfielder and turn him into one of the best defenders in the Premiership. £30Million for Ferdinand, £18Million for Carrick and £12Million for Saha OR £150,000 for Toure, £500,000 for Fabregas and £10.5Million for Henry? Hmmmm.
simmy8_2000
As you know Tops, football is like the tide. It ebbs and it flows. Our low tide was the 2005/6 season (even though the C/L final helped to cloud that), but it is definately turning again (check out Andy Gray's comments after the CC final, for what it's worth). For teams like Utd who can afford to splash (excuse the pun) out, the cycle of change is much shorter. For us it has/will take a little longer as we, due to the financial implications of the stadium, have been forced to take the long route by replacing the old with the young, and we have to wait until they mature. Sorry if that sound a bit patronising, it's not intended, it's just the mellowing result of a few wind down bottles of Abbot Ale after the daily slog.
flv
Like yourself I'm a football fan, and like yourself i believe we are moving in the right direction. Much I would like to say we will finish above you guy's i think it's too close to call
Topspur1
Sorry, I was a bit slow Sim, you kind of already said it for me. It's a real drag being E.T. sometimes 8-)
flv
Doesn't sounds patronising, we adopted the same policy 5yrs ago when we changed the structure of our club. While I will be the 1st to admit you have an exciting bunch of young kids, I believe we are probably just edging you, IMO as I've stated before Wenger is the difference
Topspur1
In my opininion I thought that you really had us on the ropes in 2005/6 season and if you'd invested the money at the beginning/January transfer window of that season, that you have invested this season then you almost certainly would have taken fourth. The thing is, we started to gain a bit of momentum in the second half of last season again, so now we're going to be pretty difficult to catch again. Bearing in mind also that I think that Arsene will bring in at least another 2 or 3 players between now and the close of the transfer window, and even though Arsene tends to use new transfers sparingly at first, it still adds depth to our squad. Arsenal will certainly finish in the top 4 this season, though which position is hard to call. I can also see Spurs finishing about the same amount of points behind us again, but I reckon both clubs final points tally will be more pleasing to the eye than this season. Bear in mind though that my success in predicting football related issues is about as good as a perfectly sunny Michael Fish day 8-)
flv
As football fan optimism comes with the territory, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out. Their is no doubt we need to improve our record in the head to heads, and against the other top 4 sides
Topspur1
Its very intresting to see spud fans point of veiws on the coming season without the usual insults to our club. I have always believed that some talk sense and Topspur1 is one of them. Cheers man your much more welcome here than your fellow spud cockeril.
gunnerkid107
Hey! we all love football
Topspur1
Should be an interesting season all round Tops. I just can't wait for it to start now. It's been a long,long summer without the footy.
flv
Sorry k-chels! I can't stay up until 1.30am to watch your boys as I just can't keep my eyes open, which I'm pretty gutted about. I could watch the re-runs but by then somebody will have told me the score so it spoils it!
flv
spuds ain't welcome here...when are you gonna get into your heads that in the last two years we've reached two cup finals, including a champs lge final, built a 60,000 stadium, finished joint third while rebuilding an entire squad and having to contend with a shocking injury crisis. If you want to see how close you are to us I suggest you go and watch the four games we played this season then start being a bit ******** realistic.
Anon 1
well I'll sacrifice my eyes and watch the argies vs. mexico. Should be a cracker and have a feeling that the overly confident Tevez & co. will end up on their backsides. Good on tommy gun to say some positive stuff and good on Rafa to follow Wenger's hunches. As much as I respect Liverpool, I think Rafa is a clown.
G4L
Yea nice to see a spud on here that can talk football.
Thierry_Power
last season the spuddies where complaing about martin jol, saying there had the right players but jol can use them. wonder what has change? wenger can extract the best from our players. if he dont thnk we need babel, then we dont. nuff said!
NeoGunner
unlike torres im actually quite jealous about this signing i think he will be something else for you guys. the plus is he is in the premiership
mish
for liverpool that is
mish
Come on Mejico!Although I want Brazil to destroy the Argies, having the Mejicanos won't be so bad either.
k_chelski
looks like another corker Kev, both sides totally goin plums out, whens the final fri?
nikolaijns
Is it me.. or has the transfer market become over-inflated? I thought Babel would be something like 6 mil.. he's costing more than double.. he may be a good player.. but 13.5 mil? Arsene is never going to pay that much unless he's convinced.. he clearly isn't in this case.
arsenalrulz4ever
The final will be on Sunday. Brazil x Argentina. We are the underdogs.
k_chelski
If Babel wanted to play for Arsenal, and his price was 6M at the time, then I can only conclude that Wenger didnt want him, for some reason. There were some whispers a few weeks back that Wenger wasnt quite convinced about Babel and since we have scouted him for a while, I can only trust Wenger's judgment. Good luck to Babel though. He has only nice things to say about Arsenal.
prits
Money is not the problem, Wenger has enough transfer funds. I'm sure he'll get the players he really wants, and the ones who don't sign are simply not part of his plans, for one reason or another. In Wenger I trust...
afri-gooner
£12m appears to be crazy price for him, i watched him in the under 21 championship. He looked ok, but IMO their were better players on display that him. That Italian lad Pazzini (the lad that scored a hatrick at wembley) i think his name was, looked far sharper to me.
Topspur1
Anon 1, I for one am grateful that the majority of Arsenal fans on this message board aren't quite as hostile to other opinions as you would appear to be. Football for me is all about opinions; my view would be if you remain on your own message board it would be very easy to become blinkered. I would also feel that I would be missing out on a lot of insightful information as what is happening within other clubs.
Topspur1
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=467846&in_page_id=1779&ito=newsnow
lads check this article out, scroll down and check out this gouffran guy on you tube link they have provided. he looks the real deal, screw sending him back on loan for a year, i'll have him now!
Labwam
Topspur 1, I think anon's comments were aimed at cockeril, who frankly, only spouts tosh on this message board. He doesnt even even do a good wind up job. You wont find any hostility towards fans of other clubs who want to have a reasoned discussion out here. They are welcome here.
prits
Thanks Prits, how do you think De Silva will stack up?
Topspur1
Cheers topspur1. Too early to say abt Dudu. I havent seen him play, and I havent bothered to look him up on youtube, coz we all know how good that makes any player look :). But he did say something to the effect that he would rather score a goal anyhow, rather than score it the 'right' way. Thats an attitude Arsenal need right now. How do you think Bent will stack up?
prits
Well he scored a good goal against England, most people on our site think our No.1 pairing will be Berba & Keane. I however thinks it will be Berba & Bent, especially away from home. I think a lot will depend on an injury free season for you guy's, where i feel we need to get a couple of players in the middle of the park to compete with Gilberto & Cesc
Topspur1
yes wenger isnt one to pay over the odds for a player as he's quite intelligent, whereas liverpool have this summer decided to start paying over the odds for players. lets see how they handle the pressure that comes with the increase in the level of expectancy.
its refreshing to see chelsea not splashing the cash, but relying on free transfers. and when they do buy a player its a take it or leave it situation. good for them. are liverpool the new chelsea?
Dales_Dad
Not only is it good for them Dales_Dad, they will not be over inflating the market which is good for everyone. Personally I want to see all the best players in the PL (preferably at spurs). If Messi decided to sign for Gunners I would be gutted, but please that he is in the PL and we would be able to see him every week.
Topspur1
what is happening here? a spurs fan talking sense-never thought it'd happen! seriously though it's refreshing to see someone of a different club being able to have a reasoned debate with other fans rather than simply resorting to one isukt after another. good on you topspur
Labwam
So any chance of Eto signing for you guy's or is that just paper talk?
Topspur1
Sounds like paper talk to me. That is so unWenger-like, and that would be a shock, as far as I am concerned. If Ledley is crocked again for spurs next season, do you think Rocha and Dawson can take the heat?
prits
No chance prits, Rocha may do a job in Europe but I think he will struggle in PL. I would have more hope for Kaboul, he is a big mother f***
Topspur1
Freddie Ljungberg for £6m, bite their hands off. It amazed me how his career has gone over the last couple of season. Their was a time when he was almost unplayable, strange.
Topspur1
Just read about our new signing Sagna who said something to warm the cockles of me old heart the boss encouraged him to come. It was one of the reasons why, now that in plain talk means the Boss will stay so **** off Barc. and all the other knockers. .
alwaysgunner
Yup...
Bacary Sagna told the club's website: 'Arsène Wenger is a major reason why I have signed for Arsenal. He is an excellent manager with a fantastic record and I am really looking forward to working with him.
'I'm also looking forward to playing at Emirates Stadium and winning trophies for the club and all the supporters.'
SUX2BU
was thinking the same alwaysgunner. ideally another striker would be nice and then we're all set for a good season
Labwam
How ironic is it that we've just signed Le Sagna (lasagne). Sorry, I'll get me coat 8-)
flv
we hv a very good 1st 11 but if we're gonna compete in the 4 cups we need strength in depth, sumthing we lack in comparison with the other title contenders.. i'm very disappointed with our summer acquisitions and would very readily settle for 4th in the league next season.. we hv no cover for rosicky should he be injured and we all know hleb is far more superior to walcott on the right.. up front van persie is a scorer of great goals but not a great goalscorer..adebayor is too wasteful and bendtner and silva has yet to prove themselves in prem league.. if gallas leaves (which i pray not), i hv to admit the dreaded possibility of spurs finishing above us might just materialise.. and now we have missed a genuinely good player who was totally interested in joining us, worse still to our main competition in terms of league standing.. however, once a gooner always a gooner and i'll try being optimistic.. thats all we can do now fellow gooners
McGooner
Might be your lucky charm? he must be S H I T then. Well said Mcgooner atl last a gooner with some sense of realism.
cockeril
mcgooner dont think you've tried too hard being optimistic have you?? how can you be dissapointed in our signings when you've probably not even seen them play? based on the fact they're unknown i would imagine is why you're dissapointed, so i'd assume you were upset when we signed vieira, petit, anelka, toure, eboue, cesc as well? and how you can say babel is a genuinely good player is beyond me. yes he may have the potential to be good but i'll trust wenger for now. as for RVP, again this is not a true statement. 17 goals i think it was by january for him before he got injured which is a fairly good return.
Labwam
Just read Babel signed with Pool, 5yrs for 11.5mil
SUX2BU
Bargain price. he will be worth double that next season. You forgot to mention. Malinger, Tardis, Stepanobs, Reyes, Wallnut, Babtista, Hleb, Jeffers, Wiltord, Lauren.............
cockeril
Anyone watching the world u20 championship, Lima & Pato have just scored 2 cracking goals. Pato is suppose to be on his way to Chelski
Topspur1
We got our asses beaten 4x2. Lima is *****, Pato is a complete player, can kick form both feet , good header, dribbler, has pace.
k_chelski
Mcgooner - I dont think our summer buys are complete. A winger/wide mid-field or 2 might be on their way, especially if Freddie leaves. I agree with labwam, u need to try harder :).
prits
Ah well, so he's gone to Liverpool - the rumours were that Arsene had his doubts about him, and that was why we hadn't pounced. Well, we'll be able to observe up close and personal next season what he's really made of... »»Arsene Knows««
Wingston75
Its the 14 million waste!
Goofle
i dont think you lot are missing out(on bibilbabbel). as a spurs fan i recon you will still finish above us, but both teams will finish with more points.
zzz
He thinks he will be L'Pool's TH14. Babel: 'It is great that some people are comparing me to Henry. I will work hard to get to his level or maybe beyond it in the next few years.' Not under Benitez you won't my friend. Such massive shoes to compare himself to, but an even bigger ego it seems - perhaps why he's a red and not a gunner.
SUX2BU
zzz don't say that, at least till the season starts you have to believe we can beat them and finish above them
Topspur1
i hope ur rite prits.. we need cover for hleb in fa cup.. it could be denilson or even reyes(if he's not sold).. with regards to van persie, he's a player who could be non-existent for 80 mins but exceptional for the remaining 10.. if he can buck that, he'll be great
McGooner
Having listened to his interview on Sky you sensed that he saw Pool as a bigger club than Arsenal! Not what you wanted to hear!
sandgroanun
I've actually got to say the fact that Wenger wanted him is another plus towards Babel, looking good!
Takeabowson!
Didnt Babel himself say there was no 'proper interest' from Arsenal?
prits
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