Andre Santos set to join Arsenal

Fenerbahce left-back Andre Santos to join Arsenal, subject to medical and personal terms


Arsenal are set to sign Brazilian international left-back Andre Santos from Fenerbahce for £6.2m, BBC Sport understands.

The 28-year-old from Sao Paulo was bought by the Turkish club in 2009 from Corinthians in his homeland.

After Sunday's 8-2 defeat by Manchester United, manager Arsene Wenger said he was chasing new players before the transfer window closes on 31 August.

Wenger is also on the verge of signing striker Park Chu-young from Monaco.

Santos played for Brazil as they won the Fifa Confederations Cup in 2009, but he did not make the 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup Finals.

Having seen left-back Gael Clichy join Manchester City, Wenger played 21-year-old Kieran Gibbs in that position on the opening day of the season against Newcastle United.

Gibbs then injured his hamstring in the Champions League qualifying play-off first leg against Udinese.

Wenger used Bacary Sagna at left-back during the 2-0 Premier League defeat to Liverpool on 20 August, and the second leg against Udinese, where Arsenal qualified for the Champions League group stage.

He opted for another left-back, Armand Traore, against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Traore is now on the verge of leaving the Gunners for Queens Park Rangers.

Source BBC
do you think this is a right move by arsenal ?

Well they do need a left back so it fills one of the holes in the Arsenal team, and as he's managed to make 17 appearances for the Brazil national side he can't be too bad a left back.

i believe once he was wanted by Real Madrid and his not that bad ive seen him play

Denilson played for Brasil also!

An important part of working out how good a move it is, is to know the price and let him play a few games before making the judgement.

I thought Denilson had only played for the youth teams, also he is only 23 there is still time for him to improve.

You mean... theyve signed a player who plays for a big club AND the national side?!? but I still don't think Wenger should be allowed to run this club!

Santos, Benayoun, this South Korean fellow, do any Arsenal fans see these as desperation signings? They aren't exactly household names, and they aren't 'world class', seems like it's buying whats available rather than actually paying good money for players?

Don't want to be a killjoy but Santos is a pretty average player, always verging on being overweight and pretty limited compared to most Brazilians. Solid enough but no spectacular.

seriously wenger is so desperate for anything its getting embarrasing. i cant believe things have turned so bad for him n arsenal. these players are average he has 60 million. wenger is no spring chicken its his last hurrah now - spend big - cahill, hazard n they should of got parker.
szechny
gibbs
sagna
vermaelen
cahill
walcott
hazard
wilshere
parker
RVP
gervinho

not great but better than what there gonna get ova the next 48 hrs

Looks more like thickening the squad to me, which is a good thing, particularly at the back.

I think on top of this, one marquee name is required. They need the confidence boost it would bring, and the fans definitely need to be brought on side!

So Santos, linked with Alex and Benayoun and the Korean fella, seems like decent signings to bolster the squad to make it better filled out, but we still need a big name midfielder to take hold of the ball, Morinho has stated that Gago and Pedro Leon can leave Madrid as they will not feature for him this season, those would be 2 good cut price buys

Andre Santos is an experienced player and will definitely strenthen Arsenal's defence, Park Chu-Young is another experienced player who can score goals- but Benayoun I don't realy understand, he's alright but not the creative spark in the middle or someone who adds steel.

Trending on Twitter:
Mertesacker signed for Arsenal on Monday night.

Y I Man wrote:Trending on Twitter:
Mertesacker signed for Arsenal on Monday night.

Hope thats true. Benayoun I would say is being tracked as cover for the likes of Walcot as he can deliver a ball and is not a bad squad player to have.

Need to look at a midfielder that can win a ball and doesn't mind doing the dirty work.

BBC reporting they are in 'advanced talks' with Mertesacker.

Maverick wrote:

Y I Man wrote:Trending on Twitter:
Mertesacker signed for Arsenal on Monday night.

Hope thats true. Benayoun I would say is being tracked as cover for the likes of Walcot as he can deliver a ball and is not a bad squad player to have.

Need to look at a midfielder that can win a ball and doesn't mind doing the dirty work.

Parker? or has he already gone to Spurs?

Parker would be ideal, but cannot see Wenger signing someone thats 30 breaks all his ridiculous rules

Maverick wrote:Parker would be ideal, but cannot see Wenger signing someone thats 30 breaks all his ridiculous rules

Wenger probably thinks he's hiring basketballer Tony Parker to coach his legendary mental strength, because, as you know, mental strength would save you of your poor tactics and lead you to glory

re-sign Lassana Diarra....? 26 atm

One of the many signings that is needed at Arsenal.

Y I Man wrote:Trending on Twitter:
Mertesacker signed for Arsenal on Monday night.

Sky have been reporting today that the German national side allowed him to go to Arsenal to sort out the details, then on that annoying transfer clockwatch thing on Sky Sports News the status thing said "Medical".

he's passed his medical and agreed terms db

it's official Santos has signed, Arsenal have now confirmed it. Just waiting for an official announcement from the club on Mertesacker now.

Now we just need a midfielder or 2 once mertsacker is confirmed. Rumours surrounding Kaisuke Honda but then who knows....

once Mertesacker has been confirmed it will be the 3 signings Wenger said he wanted to make before the transfer window closes. Yes a couple more players may still be needed but at least Wenger came good on his original plans. We desperately needed these new players and although I am unfamiliar with them I am relieved by the fact that they are experienced players who also have international experience too playing for their home nations. We have too many inexperienced teenagers in the team who have been forced to play first team football too quickly due to the injuries and suspensions. That is partly why Man U were able to beat us so emphatically. Now with these new signings we'll have a greater physical presence in the squad and the experience to keep a cool head in tricky situations that when our backs are against the wall we won't just capitulate. However, it is going to be extremely difficult for us to secure a top 4 finish this season.

Liverpool fan in peace.

I feel for Arsenal and for Wenger.

He's done very good things at the club and made them virtually everyone's second team with their style of football.

His downfall has been his policy with buying young players to develop. Someone mentioned previously how much Arsenal had missed the likes of Adams/Merton to bring some steel and experience.

As Fabregas/Nasri have left, they need Wilshere/Ramsey to step it up bigtime as I doubt they'll get a replacement for either of the same quality. Arshavin needs a rocket up his jacksy aswell.

Ultimately though, they're a club that deserves trophy's, and he's sticking to his self-imposed rules which means that I dont see the club winning things for the foreseeable future.

This current crop of youngsters may come good and dominate the league, but how many times has that been said about Arsenal before....

exactly Comfort, this has been the story of Arsenal for the last 6 years - we've had the potential but never managed to turn it into success. Before these new signings I feared for the squad as the only summer signings Wenger made were again teenagers - youngsters with no PL experience no matter how talented they may be. As well, despite having good spells last season Wilshere and Ramsey are still too young to have the responsibility of carrying the team to title success this season. I hope we've now got the balance right between youth and experience and can hopefully win something and finish top 4.