Arsenal Transfer Gossip: Blackburn skipper Christopher Samba…. is he good enough to be a Gunner?

This player has been linked numerous times and constantly for the past year or so, to a move to the Gunners. This player was tipped to move in January, but didn’t happen. The player that I’m talking about, is again heavily linked to move to the Gunners. The player I’m talking about is Blackburn centerback and skipper, Congolese international Christopher Samba.

Christopher Samba is a Congolese international born in France, on March 28, 1984 in the city of Creteil. Samba is known for his toughness, aggressiveness, his physical capabilities, and aerial ability (he stands at 6’4” tall), as well as possessing leadership qualities shown by him becoming the captain of Blackburn. He started his career with lowly French side FC Rouen before leaving to Sedan, where he played 4 times with the regular side and 26 times with the reserves. He left to Germany, joining Hertha Berlin in 2004, where he struggled to get playing time. Samba made 28 appearances with the reserves and 20 appearances with the first team in 3 years with the club.

It is at Blackburn, where he finally began to show his ability, then coach Mark Hughes gave him his chance, when he offered him 5 day trial with the club and later signed for Blackburn for around 450,000 pounds in January 2007. Samba has turned into one of the most consistent and reliable centerbacks in the league, putting in notable performances, his last against the Gunners in the 0-0 draw at the Emirates which is probably the main reason, Arsenal fans want to see him as a Gunner next season. He has made 165 appearances so far with the Rovers, scoring 16 goals.

Christopher Samba is valued by the press at around 12 million pounds, which I believe is a ridiculous and over-hyped value, I don’t think he’s worth near that at all, along with another heavily-linked defender in Gary Cahill who is rated at 15 million pounds (that is the same Giorgio Chiellini’s value, who is a proven, world class defender), which just shows how over-hyped Premier League players are. I believe there are better centerbacks at more reasonable prices like Mamadou Sakho, Giorgio Chiellini, Cristian Zapata, just to name a few. In my opinion, Samba’s value is in the 6-8 million pound range and other than the Gunners, he has been linked to Tottenham, Manchester City, Aston Villa and various other clubs around Europe.

Below are some videos of Christopher Samba. What do you think? Is Samba good enough for Arsenal? Is he overrated? Is he overvalued? Should Wenger sign him?

Cheers and take care,

Omar – www.o-posts.net

 

Chris Samba’s interview