The Soccer Blog: Bonjour: Sebastien Squillaci Joins Arsenal

Thursday, 26 August 2010

Bonjour: Sebastien Squillaci Joins Arsenal

By: Martin | August 26th, 2010

Well, although the official website hasn’t confirmed it yet, Wenger stated at a press conference today that it was a done deal, and given how cautious he generally is about speaking out about transfer targets, I think we take him at his word — Sebastian Squillaci has joined Arsenal FC from Sevilla. Reports peg the deal as being worth around £6 million, and Squillaci agreeing to a 3-year deal with the club.

The 30 year-old center back has been at Sevilla since 2008. Before that, he was at Lyon for 2 seasons, and had spent a lot most of his career at the old stomping grounds of Wenger (and Thierry Henry, and Adebayor) at Monaco before that. He’s 6′1 and has a reputation for being a bit of a physical “hard man” in the center of defense. Supposed to be pretty good in the air, too.

I have to say, I think this is a decent signing. He’s not young, of course, and in that sense is an atypical Arsenal signing. But his experience will be a good counterbalance to the rest of our defense’s youth. This is a guy who has played for teams that have won trophies (won 2 Ligue 1 titles and a League Cup with Lyon, won a domestic cup with Sevilla, won a League Cup with Monaco), and has plenty of European experience (was at the heart of the Monaco defense which shockingly made it all the way to Champions League final in 2003-2004, and has also played in Champions League fixtures with both Sevilla and Lyon. He also is an experienced full international, having been a part of France’s World Cup team in 2010, although he did not get into a match in South Africa.

It’s unclear where he fits into Arsenal’s plans. Specifically, it’s unclear whether he will become first-choice over Laurent Koscielny, or whether he’ll even be given that chance. What is important, though, is that he gives us another option. We’re dangerously thin on options at center back at the moment, and to have a veteran of real quality is a huge improvement over playing an unproven youngster or having to move Alex Song back from midfield to play out of position.

How good is he? I have to admit, I have no idea. I’ve probably seen Sevilla play a couple of times over the past few seasons, but I don’t specifically remember a thing about him. The estimable Sarah, who runs the Marseille site and writes for France World Cup Blog, and who is a very, very knowledgeable observer of Ligue 1, says that he is very solid, and a better option than Gallas or Koscielny. If true, obviously, that would be outstanding. I certainly would be happy with even less than that, though — if he’s a guy that provides experience and leadership to a side that need both, and can help rotate and provide injury cover for Vermaelen and Koscielny, that’s a good thing. It’s also a plus that he speaks French, since that will allow him to easily communicate with all of his fellow defenders and Alex Song right away even if his English takes a while.

There are some dissenting voices as well, though. Regular commenter Kxevin, who holds court over at Barcelona Football Blog and is a much, much more keen observer of La Liga than yours truly, said in the comments section here last week when the Squillaci rumors first broke that he was slow and tended to give away a lot of fouls. A slow, aged Frenchman past his glory days brought in for his leadership skills but who can’t hack it at this level any more? Gee, doesn’t that sound awfully familiar? If that’s the case, I would implore Wenger to at least not give him the # 18 shirt so he doesn’t bring back too many bad memories of the Disastre era.

So I’m not sure how good he is. He made the France World Cup squad, which is good. Then again, it was picked
by Dumbenech, which is bad. He plays for a Champions League side in Sevilla, which is good. Then again, they may not even make the group stages and he’s not even necessarily in the first-choice XI for them, which is bad. As I’ll admit again, I’ve probably only seen him play a couple of times, and never took notice of him, so your guess is probably much better than mine here.

It is encouraging to me that he’s so keen on the move, though. He apparently pulled himself out of the lineup for Sevilla’s Champions League playoff match against Braga, even though his manager wanted him to play, because he didn’t want to jeopardize the deal or his chances of playing for Arsenal in the Champions League by becoming cup tied. Squillaci has said:

“If a French player receives an offer from Arsène Wenger, it’s practically impossible to turn down. It was a sensational offer for me and I was happy Sevilla let me go.

Arsenal were always the team I watched out for. For any spectator like me, you had to watch a squad with Henry, Pirès, Vieira and Gallas [Editor's note: Which one of these things is NOT like the others?]. Now, I’m happy to have my name in the history books. For me, this is a great new challenge and I’ve gone there purely to be part of that. I don’t think my age is a problem. My experience in football is great and players of my age tend to be at the peak of their playing career.”

Sounds like he has a good attitude and really wants to contribute, and that’s good to hear. Anyway, he’s a good pick-up that fills an area where we desperately needed a new signing, so I’m very happy to have him here. Honestly, even if he’s fourth-choice behind Djourou, he’ll be a big help, and I suspect he’ll be better than that. Welcome and best of luck Sebastien Squalliaci. Please help us win trophies.

Oh, and folks on Twitter already have a great song picked out for him — to the tune of the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer:” “Psycho Squilla, qu’est-ce que c’est? Run run run run run away.” Genius.

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Category: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger, Hello, Transfer News and Player Movement, Transfers

Tags: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger, Hello, Transfer News and Player Movement, Transfers
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TJI didnt realize they were from serbia. that's sucks.Darren_VArsenal, Shakthar, Braga and Partizan....
Why couldn't we get Twente exactly?
So we are going to Ukraine, Portugal and Serbia.
Can't wait to see Eduardo, travelling should be fun.JlombardiOK, NOW i SEE, KUDOS, ITS REALLY (sorry didnt realize the big letters) new tech now, you can actually see comments alphabetically/ popularity (ouch that one will hurt my feelings haha) and reply to people directly!

So, Us, Shaktar, Braga and Partizan, maybe not the easiest, maybe we will get surprises, but definitely a takeable group! Go GunnersssssTJGroup A and Group G look toughTJI like our group. Alot.Darren_VManchester United has a easy group. Valencia, Rangers, BursasporTJShakthar sucks though. If we somehow get Rubin Kazan, that would piss me off.Darren_VAgreed.TJehh... Portugal isnt that far, compared to some.Darren_VArsenal, Shakthar and Baga... We are travelling folks.TJfuck barca. UEFA even makes their odds easy. Somehow....Darren_VTottenham draws Inter and Weder Bremen... Good luck SpudsDarren_VBarca has an easy group...GigiYeeesssss!!!!!!! Great news thx Martin for giving the heads up when the official site didnt!
Hey noticed you changed the format around here?
I actually was going to say to Martin that I really liked it here because the steps to comment were so damn easy ( I am no informatic genius!)
But lets see if I oput the good bottn now hahaTJSHAKTHAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!TJReal Madrid, AC Milan in the group next to us.TJBut i forgot about the redraw for the knockout stages. FMLDarren_VARsenal have Shahkter... spl?Darren_VLucky AC Milan, they have Real MadridDarrenSo why is Sairax a moderator now?MartinI'm going to be moving on Monday, and will be traveling without internet access for most of next week, so won't be able to blog. Sairax has kindly agreed to fill in next week so the blog doesn't lie dormant. Don't worry -- I've already told her she should just complain and bash internationals all week.MartinGroup stage draw starting in about 15 minutes. We can discuss it here, obviously, but I'll give the immediate update on Twitter, and then I'll have a post up as soon as I can.DarrenApperently Denilson is now fit. Please please PLEASE don't EVER pick him over Wilshere, Diaby, Song, Rosicky, Cesc, or Martin.CasimirWow, what happened to the comments sectionsJlombardiI know! I said the same, haha, its a change, its nice, but man was I used to write in a simpler way...ah simpler times :)brentonwaltersAnyone else hoping for an Arsenal, Panathanaikos, Copenhagen, Cluj draw today?

As much as I love the rivalries and testing ourselves, it would be nice to get an easy draw.MartinAgreed. I want teams that we can definitely beat that would be pretty easy to travel to.brentonwaltersThough the recent stadium issues in Greece should give pause. What the hell was that, anyway? Who digs up their own pitch?Isabel GhoseInstead of Copenhagen I'd take Rangers, beatable while also easy to travel to. I wouldn't mind getting Werder Bremen though, their defence is really shaky and it could end up being a very exciting game.MartinAlso, it has to be said that the team is uncommonly healthy going into Saturday -- only Nasri, Ramsey, and Bendtner are unavailable.DarrenDon't worry, Interlull is right around the corner. Just intime to destory RVP, Rosicky, Diaby et all!SairaxAaaaaand you just jinxed it.DorbellHaha, on the one hand Dumbenech picked him for the 2010 France World Cup Squad. On the other hand, Dumbenech picked him for the 2010 France World Cup Squad (emphasis on Dumbenech). On yet another hand, Dumbenech picked him for the 2010 France World Cup Squad (emphasis on 2010 France World Cup Squad).FelegyMartin, you may need to give us all a tutorial on how to use this new system :)
Do I have to type my email address and name every time I post? Not that is will stop me but it's a bit annoying. It is nice to be able to respond to specific comments though.Jlombardiyep it happened to me as well, I have to wrtie everything all overMartinHmmm...does it not keep you logged in? Once I log into Disqus, it seems to keep me logged in so I can just post pretty much as normal. I'm sure I'm going to be incredibly unhelpful about this, because I really have no idea how to work all this.FelegyPretty sure I figured it out, maybe I'm not as dumb as previously stated.Jlombardioooppssss, that makes me still dumb then hahahaFelegyHmmm...logging in....I'm a computer idiot but I'll figure it out.SairaxWelcome Squizz!! Wooooo!!

I don't care if he's slow, I care if he can sit on Drogba's faceLollardWhy does Sairax get a fancy star by her name?SairaxCuz I'm a star. A big bright shining star.

Homey maybe you can make your name Homey_ or Homey! or something like that?Isabel GhoseGlad thats its been made official. We are now just a goalkeeper away from having a very good squad. Do you think that Cesc/RVP will be match-fit enough to start against Blackburn or will they just have cameos?MartinI think they'll start. At the very least, I'd expect to see van Persie start. They've had 3 weeks of training, and both played about 30 minutes on Saturday, so I have to think they're fit, although they may not go the whole 90 minutesIsabel GhoseYes I'd say your right. I expect the midfield trio will be Cesc, Diaby and Song. Denilson is back but I'd be very surprised if he started.GunAAI am curious to see where Rosicky will fit in, given his fine form recently. He should really start over Diaby.Isabel GhoseOn form yes, but for this game we need height and strength which Diaby provides. Cesc looked quite rusty so I wouldn't mind if Rosicky was given the nod to start over him.FelegyAt this point they better both be ready to start, I see no other teams sitting their guys out due to having played in the World Cup. We need our best 11 out there on Saturday morning, and yes Almunia is part of that best 11 at this point.FelegyThis guy seems to be exactly what we needed in that we already have three relatively young CB's in Koscielny, Djourou, and Verms. Hopefully his experience will help them grow and he will become an option sitting behind those three guys in a year or two. He is gonna see plenty of first team action this year though, although Wenger did rule out that he would be available for Saturday.
It also just shows how ridiculous the "transfer News/Rumors" are. No mention of this guy a couple of weeks ago yet here he is in an Arsenal jersey. Number guesses? 12 is available right?MartinMy guess is 18, since we've had three French defenders in a row to wear 18 at the club -- Grimandi, Cygan, and Disastre. Although given how awful Cygan and Disastre were, I would humbly submit it's time to change that little tradition.LollardOK, I dunno how to post as Homey anymore. If I log in from Facebook, it just shows my full real name. Anyone care to tell me how I can be Homey? I don't want to lose all my street cred.MartinHmm. You could try setting up a Twitter account with Homey as your username if it's not already taken, or some derivation (@TheRealHomey?). You wouldn't actually ever have to Tweet, of course, you could just use that as your username/account stuff.

But I'm no expert on this new system, either. Anyone else got any ideas?KanzuYay we got the Squizz and the new commenting system! All rejoice!PeevishMind you Homey/Lollard/Dr. X - Arsene tends to say he's "not close to signing anyone" up to about 15 seconds before a signing is announced, so I don't read too much into this comment of his. But I too, remain worried about the keeper situation.MartinAgreed. I'm very, very worried, too. It will be interesting to see if Almunia can do the job on Saturday against Blackburn, who will definitely be crowding him and jostling him as much as they can. Also a good test for Koscielny, to see how well he can deal with physical attackers.

But there really aren't even any rumors of Wenger being in for another keeper, it seems like it's Schwarzer or bust, and that move appears to currently be on the rocks. Apparently Mark Hughes came out today and said he would not be selling Schwarzer.Isabel Ghosei heard we were interested in a Mongolian keeper, but there hasn't been any recent updates on it. It really does seem that if Fulham won't agree to sign him we are left with Almunia. But I do think Blackburn will be one of the sternest tests for Almunia so lets see how he does.JlombardiAhh the keeper sitcom. Maybe now that experience is filled in the CB section, Manuel can be more ..at ease..?
Still praying for Schwarezer though, I thin hes a good choice by experience and then letting the other youngsters to step in in a year or two?Isabel GhoseWell he has until next Tuesday to pull someone out of the bag!LollardMartin,
I need to work on this new commenting system. This is actually Homey, but that name was already taken by Disqus, so I wasn't sure what to do. I'll try to figure out a new way to comment so it will still be Homey as always. I wouldn't want the group to think there were now 2 people with dumb questions all the time. Ha.
I'm still shocked at the Squizz deal. So do we have a strict over-30 policy or not? Or does it just apply to Gallas? It's just so unlike AW.
Also, AW said some comments about the goalie situation in the same press conference, I believe. I think he said we're not close to signing one now, but he also didn't rule it out. I'm not optimistic though.SairaxHe signed Sol back in January and he was over 30. I believe this over 30 policy has more to do with renewing existing contracts for players over 30, not about not signing someone over 30. Plus what Ilan said ^^Ilan WeissbergI think we still have a strict over 30 policy, but you can't sign good players without giving them financial security. I like watching Sevilla and I've always been impressed with Squillaci. He's not the fastest, but he's not afraid to get stuck in when he needs to.blog comments powered by Disqus