By JOHN BOSCHINI
Jens Lehmann could be heading back to the Emirates.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is reportedly interested in signing the 41-year-old goalkeeper to a short-term loan deal to help stem Arsenal’s goalkeeping crisis. Lehmann left the Gunners in 2008 after five years and nearly 200 appearances.
Despite the transfer window being closed for well over a month, Arsenal believes it can sign the German goalkeeper because he is without a club and three of its senior keepers have been injured. Wojciech Szczesny has been ruled out with a dislocated finger and Lukasz Fabianski has been out of action with a shoulder injury. Vito Mannone is currently on loan with Hull City but has been out with a thigh injury.
Lehmann moved to Stuttgart after his stint with Arsenal and has been working as a media pundit since his retirement in 2010.
Here are some more stories to help you through the afternoon:
BARCELONA FACE INJURY WORRIES AFTER SEVILLA DRAW
Barcelona may have let Real Madrid back into the title race with a 1-1 draw with Sevilla over the weekend, but a more pressing concern for the reigning Spanish champion comes from injuries to some of its top players.
Most concerning for Barcelona is the possible absence of Lionel Messi after the Argentine forward injured his knee following a collision with the Sevilla goalkeeper. Also in doubt for Saturday’s match against Getafe are Pedro Rodriguez (groin), Adriano (leg), Daniel Alves (ankle) and captain Carles Puyol (knee).
BIN HAMMAM TO ANNOUNCE PRESIDENCY DECISION
Mohamed Bin Hammam is expected to finally make a decision on his candidacy for FIFA president in a press conference scheduled for Friday.
“I will clarify my position regarding the FIFA presidency elections, which will take place in June 2011,” Bin Hammam posted on Twitter. “I will hold a press conference on Friday, 18 March, at 1300 hours at AFC house.”
Bin Hammam, the Qatari Asian Football Confederation president, is considered the most likely challenger to the incumbent, Sepp Blatter.
NANI COULD PLAY AGAINST MARSEILLE
Despite Manchester United’s claims that he could be out for close to a month, Nani could feature in Manchester United’s Champions League match with Marseille. The Portuguese international went down with a leg gash in Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Liverpool earlier this month.
Michael Carrick has also been named in the squad after being out with calf and groin injuries.
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Do you think Lehmann can make a difference for Arsenal? Is Barcelona in trouble? Do you want to see Bim Hamamm win the FIFA presidency? Surprised to see Nani in contention to play so soon?
Share your thoughts below.
I hope he comeback to play soccer match. Nice article post!
Wenger needs to realize that there are things called transfer windows where you buy players. If you open up the wallet and buy good players, you won’t have to sign some crazy person on a three month loan.
C’mon, they’ve offered plenty of match fixing. I agree, twice as shady.
Cool…I didn’t see the video (at work) but I can imagine…Arsenal hosting ManU with game tied at 0-0 in the 93rd minute…Arsenal controling play until ManU breaks out on the counter…Scholes to Nani to Rooney who shoots it into an empty net…where is Lehmann???…the crowd is hushed…and the portapotty is flushed!!! (hey, if they install a portapotty at the Emirates, it ought to be a nice one that can flush).
Eh, sorry for the lame humor.
Keller has been playing this past year, though…
Is it too much to hope that he can buy a pretty good GK in Guzan in the summer?…I mean anything is better than this desperate attempt…
Obviously this is a stop-gap measure, and it’s not like there are a ton of other decent keepers out of contract at the moment. Besides, he’s no older than Keller.
Yep.
If you wanna win some trophies, either bring up a Messi or a Rooney, etc,through your system, or buy an Akinfeev, Honda, etc. You’re not doing the first, so it’s time to open the pockets…on people who haven’t had mental meltdowns…
Love it! Any league could use a little dose of his craziness
Aha! Lehmann’s potential return explains the installation of the portapotty behind the home side’s goal at the Emirates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvGJkFf5bts
Haha! Exactly!!!
Where “fan support” = “petro dollars.”
Either Wenger is losing his mind, or he is desperate and needs to work within the confines of FIFA law that prevents transfers at this point in time. That being said, Lehman in goal is a hilarious proposition. Can you make saves with a walker?
It doesn’t seem very sporting for Bin Hammam to challenge for the office only a few months after Blatter delivered the WC to Qatar under such cynical circumstances.
how many are out of contract and available outside of the regular transfer window?
If this Lehmann deal is true, it borders on the ‘What the f&%ck!!! Seriously… Arsenal cannot find a top quality keeper in all of professional soccer all around the world??? Just off the top of my head I can think of three Americans, two Mexicans, two Argentinians and several Dutch, French, Spanish and young but not so young German keepers that can foot the bill perfectly. Wenger is just getting plain bizarro!
So….will FIFA under Bin Hamman (if he wins) be half as shady as it has been under Blatter, as shady, or twice as shady? I’m going for twice. Interesting that the power in FIFA seems to be shifting to regions (Middle East and Asia) that have so far offered very little to the game besides massive fan support…
no love for grant wahl’s candidacy
maybe lehman can remind the others gunners that in his day, arsenal would actually win silverware rather than merely flattering to deceive.