This is going to be a very short post today as I am shattered after staying up late to watch the game and then having to get up early for work, too. Not a good combination. Thankfully, yesterday saw us secure the third place that we really ought to have secured a week or two ago. But, at least they made it over the finish line and, as it turned out, didn’t actually need a result out of the game at all as the Spuds were turned over by Burnley.
I won’t go into the game in too much detail as it has already been pretty well covered on Gunnerblog, so there is no real need for me to get into it today as time is at a premium, unfortunately. However, as you know, the points were secured by goals from Arshavin, Van Persie, a Baird own goal and Vela. A nice result to wrap up the season, though it doesn’t go far enough to make up for the disappointment and frustration of the last five or so weeks.
Elsewhere, some isolated speculation today links us with an aborted move for Akinfeev in January, where we apparently withdrew from the deal after terms had been agreed. To be honest, I find this kind of rumour a bit hard to believe as given the time Wenger puts into watching someone before ever making a bid, once he makes his move it would be extremely unlikely that he would pull the deal after personal terms have been agreed. But, you just never know.
Arsene said one or two scary things in his press conference, the most notable of which being that he believes that Lukarse has the required skill and ability to be an exceptional goalkeeper. Hmmm, unless he has gone a bit mental like the guy in the song ‘Turning Japanese’, I am not sure where he has noticed this hidden ability.
One journo said to Arsene that Arsenal fans want him to sign big name players for big money this summer and would that be likely to happen? Arsene rightly took a slight issue with this and I haven’t heard any sensible Arsenal fan saying they want him to sign big names for big money. I believe that the majority don’t care about the name or the fee, just so long as the player is quality and improves the team. I’m sure the marketing and merchandising department at the club would love a big name in order to flog club merchandise off the back of it, but I don’t feel most fans want a big name, just big players. I think I would cry out my brown eye if we signed a big name, such as Ibrahimovic, for big money. Arsene made a good point in that big names don’t necessarily mean big players. I agree. Another two or three players of the caliber of Vermaelen would do nicely.
The Sun links us with Wright-Philips, great, another short-arse is exactly what our team of giants needs…
The Mirror is reporting that everyone’s favourite ex-captain is demanding a pay rise if he is to sign a new contract. Is he off his rocker? With the amount of time he has spent out injured and given his age, does he really expect a pay rise? Eh, thanks but no thanks. Bye, bye William.
Anyway, that’s all for today. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Fulham all the best in their Europa League game this week. I hope they win it.
Arsenal News 24/7
The North Bank - "It's got va-va-voom" (An Arsenal blog) 