Saturday round-up and West Brom preview.

September 25, 2010

Today sees us take on West Brom at the Emirates. Kick-off is at 15:00 GMT and coverage will begin on J-Sports Plus at 22:54 JST.

 

The manager revealed that both Diaby and Rosicky are doubts for the game and were set to undergo fitness tests yesterday. As of yet, I haven’t heard anything with regards to the results of said tests. Though I think that we can assume that Diaby won’t make the game as he has a history of taking time to recover from injury. Perhaps Rosicky will make the bench. Squillaci missed the Spuds game with a muscular problem and he may make the team today. Eboue is also struggling to be fit due to a knee problem. I would be fairly certain that Gibbs will not be involved in the match day squad as there is no point in taking any kind of risk with him. He will probably be back for the game against Chavski, even though the manager has said that he has a chance to be involved in the Champions League game in midweek.

 

That should see us line up with Almunia, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Song, Denilson, Arshavin, Vela and Chamakh. That’s assuming a worse case scenario in that only Squillaci shakes off the ‘small’ injury he had. I think that if we didn’t have so many players carrying small injuries, that Wilshere would certainly have been rested for this game, but I don’t think that we can afford to rest him considering that Cesc is definitely out and there may be a small question mark over Rosicky and Nasri. Though Nasri said after the Spuds game that he should be okay. Who the third man in central midfield will be will depend a lot on the outcome of the fitness tests, otherwise it will go to Wilshere, or one of JET, Eastmond or Lansbury or Nasri.

 

The team needs to re-focus quickly for this game as it is a game in which we must get all three points. We are already playing catch-up on Chavski and cannot allow them to get any further ahead before our against them next Sunday.

 

Yesterday, following the announcement to the club’s finances, there was the inevitable outcry as to why we don’t spend money and that Arsenal has gone from a football club to a business. However, I think that much of the criticism has been grossly unfair on both the manager and the club. Given the number of rich benefactors that have entered the game, had Arsenal stayed at Highbury they would now be dead in the water as they just wouldn’t be able to, or have any future chance to, compete financially. Therefore, the move to the Emirates was vital in order to secure the long-term future of the club, without the need for rich investors. In order to make this move work, the club had to put itself into a scary amount of debt and for this to work we had to embark on a youth development oriented approach to the future. Financial prudence had to be exercised.

 

This approach was accepted in the beginning by most, if not all, fans as we all knew that it was what was needed. However, over time, some quarters became more and more angry and disillusioned with the club and its seeming reluctance to spend. What sometimes has gotten lost in the argument is that in the beginning the money just wasn’t there to invest and then in the more recent years, although the money has been available the manager has not wanted to buy a player that would block the progress of the young players that he had spent the last four, five or six years developing. The manager himself said as much himself in Matt Law’s article in the Daily Express:

“We make a profit because we don’t spend – simple as that. What is unbelievable is that people reproach me for making a profit, but nobody says a word about those who lose money.

I manage in a safe way, but it looks like we are in a business where the quality is to lose money. You know I have the wrong reputation. I’m not scared to spend money, but the job of a manager is not to spend as much money as possible.

To get Chamakh for free – instead of getting credit I get accused for getting him for free. ‘Why did you not spend £20m for him?’ If I bought him two years ago for £20m, then it’s OK. But when you get him for free it’s, ‘Oh, Wenger didn’t spend money again’.”

 

The manager really must feel like he just can’t win. If he spends money and buys players he will either get stick from the fans for bankrupting the club or from the media for fielding a team of foreigners. Likewise, when he is financially prudent and tries to bring through young talent, he gets killed for turning the club into a business and being reluctant to spend. It seems that no matter what he does he will get castigated by someone, so I prefer he continues with the policy he has now.

 

In the same article, the manager went on to defend his youth oriented policy:

“I am reproached for not buying players but, for example, if I buy players Jack Wilshere doesn’t come through, so you cannot have everything. I have a development policy to educate the players and the most difficult thing is to stand up for the policy and play them.

I’ll give you one day the list of those players at the top level who have made careers with me. You will be absolutely astonished – nobody else in the world has made so many careers.

How do I know? First, make a list of the players who started their top-level careers at Arsenal. People like Djourou, Senderos, Clichy, Gibbs, Fabregas, Song, Ashley Cole. If you go all the way back through the names it is unbelievable the number of players who started at this club.

But I speak about me. When I go back to Monaco, the number of players that started with me – Petit and Thuram. When I arrived in England nearly all the Manchester United team had started there, but not recently.”

 

The Daily Mail somehow manage to get a big article today out of the fact that Wenger doesn’t generally share a drink with the opposing manager after a game. Quite why this is an actual story is beyond me. Why would ANYONE want to share a drink with the likes of Pulis or Allardyce? Now, I could envisage him sharing a drink with Ancelotti as he seems like a genuinely nice bloke. But, why would he want to share a post-game drink with two managers that have had nothing but bad things to say about him? Speaking on the matter Wenger told the official site:

“I’ve got nothing against it. When you play away from home you are in a hurry to catch the plane and you are playing three days later. Once I do my press, and my press can last quite a while, I have no time. Most of the time my assistant will go and have a drink.

 
I recognise that [can make me seem aloof] but there’s no bad feeling in that, I just feel after the game you stay on your own and you don’t want to disturb people. I’ve always had that philosophy, even in France. When I arrived here I didn’t know anyone. The managers all knew each other and played alongside each other but when you arrive from a foreign country you don’t know anyone.

I’m not shy, I didn’t even know this tradition existed before I came here. And it’s not that we have nothing in common – we love football and we both love to win. I’m always happy to meet people at the Emirates but away from home we want to get away as quickly as possible. After the game my mind is on the next game but sometimes other managers go quickly as well. When we are at home we always invite them in.”

 

That’s about all I have for today. I’m glad it’s Saturday and that Arsenal are live on TV again. No need to go chasing the stream today.

 

Have a good weekend. I’m off to debate (with myself) whether or not I should go out drinking in Tokyo/Yokohama tonight, or just have a chilled evening at home with cans of Kirin and shouting expletives at the TV.

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It’s a long one today – (that’s what she said)

September 17, 2010

Yesterday saw the annual shareholders Q&A taking place with the manager. There wasn’t a huge amount of new information to come from it, but it is always nice for the shareholders, who are also fans, to ask questions to the manager and hear what he has to say. For more detailed comment on, and quotes from, the Q&A, check out The Goon Blog which has a three part post on the event: Part One; Part Two; Part Three. Arsenal Insider also has an in-depth post on the evening.

 

Wenger spoke about how Almunia and Fabianski were exposed to a lot of pressure in the summer, but neglected to mention the fact that all of that pressure was put on them by the manager himself by carrying out his open quest to sign Mark Schwarzer, always refusing to confirm who would be the club’s no1 for the current season.

 

There were some questions about signings and club ownership but the manager did a Matrix style dodge of the latter by just saying that he is a club employee and it is not his position to try and influence the ownership structure of the club. Regarding signings, he said that he is happy with the business that we did in the summer and that he always makes sure to meet a player before signing them. Unlike Ferguson, who signed Bebe without even having seen the player, neither in the flesh nor on DVD. I don’t understand why someone would sign a player without ever having seen him play or met him, especially when you consider that millions of pounds are at stake.

 

Anyway, on the financial side of things, the manager defended his spending policy by pointing out that in his time at the club we have built both a state of the art training ground and a new stadium which are the envy of most clubs across Europe. Whilst this is a very important point to remember, it also seems clear that there has been some money there to spend and the frustration that the fans feel, and vent, stems from the fact that we know there is money available and that over the past few seasons we have always been just one or two signings away from being a trophy winning team, but the necessary player investment has not happened, or at least the investment that the fans have perceived to be necessary anyway. Knowing the team is so close to being great, but for the required investment not to happen is hard for fans to take.

 

However, the manager should be applauded for keeping the club in the Champions League, and competitive, throughout the transition phase from the start of construction on the Emirates until now, despite such a restricted financial environment. To an extent, I can understand the slight reluctance to spend the available money as he knows that if the signing doesn’t work out, then he has chucked money away that he couldn’t afford to chuck away. Unlike someone like Redknapp, Wenger thinks long-term, but fans think short-term and get frustrated. He did reveal that the club is trying to get him to look at lucrative pre-season tours and it is something that he is open to as long as it isn’t in the same year as an international tournament and that it is for the right reasons.

 

There is an article in The Daily Mail where Keown talks sense and Townsend talks through his chocolate starfish about Wenger’s call for players to get more protection. The frustrating thing about this whole issue is that people are conveniently ignoring that Wenger isn’t calling for more protection for Arsenal players, he is calling for more protection for ALL players and an end to reckless tackling where players have no intention to play the ball. There is a difference between a hard and fair tackle where a player is honestly going for the ball, and a tackle where the player is more interested in stopping the other player than going for the ball. Anyway, it seems like the media and the English managers have once again begun circling the wagons and Wenger’s calls for change will get lost under the tag of ‘whinging.’ Warning, the above link has a horrible picture of the Eduardo injury towards the bottom of the article. Surprise, surprise, Graham Poll also misses the bigger point that Wenger is trying to make.

 

Following Wenger’s calls for a crackdown on bad/reckless challenges the media have, predictably, trotted out the xenophobic and moronic views of Allardyce and Coyle. The former being a long-time walrus lookalike and the latter probably being a bit bitter that he didn’t get Wilshere on loan again this season. I’m just waiting for them to complete the unholy trinity by cracking out the comments of Pulis over the coming weekend, whether or not the article with his comments will come with a picture of a naked head butt remains to be seen. Googplaya talks a lot of sense on the issue here.

 

Speaking of stupid tackles and recklessness, Aaron Ramsey has been talking about his comeback from injury. Fingers crossed that his recovery continues without any major setbacks, though I suppose some niggling muscular injuries are to be expected:

“No, I won’t have any second thoughts. I’ve seen the X-rays, I’ve seen the scans and the leg is strong so I won’t be thinking about the injury when I go in for a challenge. I have started running now and I have had good days and bad days but it is coming along and hopefully I can get back soon. There is no pain anymore.

The only good thing to come from this is that it has helped me realise how much my career means to me. Now I can’t wait to get back training and playing.”

 

Jack Wilshere has been talking about his breakthrough into the first team and how much he enjoys playing alongside and learning from Cesc. Let’s hope that he will have more than just this season to learn from our Catalan captain:

“It is perfect playing with Cesc and Alex in midfield. Playing with people like Cesc Fabregas makes it easy for you. He will talk to you and talk you through games. You saw what Cesc could do against Braga – it is perfect for me to learn from him.

It is good to get games and hopefully I can push on from here. I am just trying to break into the Arsenal first team. Last year, I had to go out on loan to get some games because there were some world-class players at Arsenal, but I have come back with more experience and the boss thinks I am ready to challenge for a place. All I can do is challenge and show them what I can do.”

 

On the injury front, there must have been some flying pigs over north London on Wednesday evening as the team came through a full game without picking up any new injuries. The news got slightly better when it was revealed that both Vermaelen and Diaby have been penciled in to be back for the West Brom game. Though it is disappointing that Vermaelen won’t be available for the trip to Sunderland tomorrow and his recovery has been a bit slower than expected. The squad for tomorrow’s should be the same as for the Braga game but there should be some rotation of the starting eleven.

 

Cesc and Clichy have been talking about how they feel that we can win the something this season and the fact that the Champions League final is going to be taking place at Wembley just serves as extra incentive to do well.

 

Right, I think that I have written enough for today, hopefully you have managed to stick with it until the end.

 

Have a good Friday. I have a busy weekend of high school festivals during the day and evening drinking sessions ahead. I will TRY to make a post tomorrow with a match preview, but may not have the time.

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We’ve got Six Fabregas.

September 16, 2010

Good morning. I think that we can all be happy with the result of last night’s game and especially with our performance. The team played really well and it is a great sign that even with so many players absent due to injury the team can still put in top quality performances.

 

Granted, Braga may not be the greatest team in the world and they made the team’s job a lot easier by allowing our players space and time on the ball. But, we shouldn’t forget that they dispatched Celtic and Sevilla in order to get to the group stage and they finished ahead of Porto in the league last season. So, they are by no means pushovers.

 

As expected, the team, lined up in defense with Almunia, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci and Clichy. Though, in midfield, we started with Song, Wilshere, Nasri, Fabregas and Arshavin with Chamakh playing up front. I had thought that Wilshere may have been rested for the game as he has played quite a lot so far this season but he had a good game and his cheeky little back-heel for Chamakh’s goal was the icing on a good all-round performance by him. Let’s hope that he can keep his feet on the ground, because if he can do that he will develop into a world class player.

 

The goals came from Fabregas (penalty and header), Chamakh, Arshavin and two for Vela. Fabregas was great again and I think he is now back to his normal level, which is great. I also think that the arrival of Chamakh has made a difference too as his link play, holding up the ball and work rate is something that we were missing up front and it is nice to have a striker that is not afraid to get hurt in order to get on the end of a cross.

 

The most exciting thing about this season is that the team seems to have grown, learned and improved when compared with the last two seasons. That is great to see and it is also good to hear the manager say that we can no longer use being young as an excuse for not winning. The manager, players and fans all know that it is time for this team to deliver, no excuses. I, for one, really have a feeling that this could be a big year for us.

 

I’m not just getting carried away on the basis of last night’s result, but if you look at our games this season we have certainly grown as a team and the only blemish on our record is the 1-1 draw at Anfield, which is never a bad result, especially when you are a goal down with one minute left on the clock. Compare that with ManUre, whereas we are gaining a point late on, they have twice lost points late on.

 

The team has character and is showing signs of a greater resilience. Let’s hope that they can continue this vein of form as we can all remember them starting well before only to let their work-rate drop and as a result the performances and results  reflected that. Hopefully this year they will put right that issue.

 

After the game the manager spoke about the quality of our performance:

“We won the game but I believe as well we played the game we wanted to play, at a high pace, with top technical quality and with a lot of creative attitude and a good concentration and collective spirit. Our game is based on that. It’s our philosophy and, for long patches of the game, we managed to express that. I believe we had many good performances on the pitch. Everybody played quite well, we were sound at the back, Wilshere had a very good game as well. Everybody played well.”

 

I suppose the only real downside of the performance was the poor accuracy of Arshavin’s passing and that is an area that he needs to work on. At one stage his passing accuracy was around 56%, which just isn’t good enough at that level. Defensively we could be a bit more solid, but hopefully that will come as Koscielny and Squillaci get used to the league and each other. Clichy is also a bit of a worry and it can only be a good thing that he now has Gibbs breathing down his neck.

 

The manager also revealed that Diaby has some bruising and ligament damage. We can only hope that they crack out some Oleg Luzhny placenta to help his recovery along and that he is back in training sooner rather than later.

 

Next on the agenda is a trip to the Stadium of Light at the weekend and it is a game where the team will need to stay fully focused in order to keep our current good run going and to keep pressure on Chelsea and ManUre. The game is a 17:30 GMT kick-off, which means that it’ll be a delightfully convenient 01:30 JST kick-off here… I hate when we have a late kick-off, though at least Sunday is a day off.

 

That’s about all for today. Check out Arseblog and Gunnerblog who will probably have a more in-depth report on last night’s game. Though, I suppose that’s what newspaper websites like The Guardian are for.

 

The shareholders’ Q&A session should be taking place this evening from 6pm-7pm, so hopefully there will be some interesting things to come out of it.

 

Right, that’ll do for today. Take it easy and enjoy the feeling of a 6-0 victory in the Champions League.

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A brief Sunday round-up.

September 5, 2010

Greetings from a hot as hell Yokohama. It’s mid-30s here and that is just wrong for the first week of September.

 

Anyway, there isn’t a whole lot going on really. The international break is a pain in the arse and is made worse by the fact that Spain play games because, as now seems the norm, quotes emanate out of various publications and sources regarding Cesc. If the current quotes are accurate and not distorted by translation, it is clear that Cesc is still at the club because he was told that he would not be allowed to leave, not that that fact was ever in doubt.

 

There are two ways that you can look at that, if you take it in a negative way it means that Cesc has his heart set on playing for Barcelona and may not be able to fully focus on Arsenal, particularly as the end of the season approaches. However, looking at it in a positive way, you could also say that it is great that the club stood up to Barcelona and fought to keep a player that is key to the club and also the fact that Cesc accepted the club’s stance on the matter and didn’t try to agitate for a move should be commended.

 

I prefer to look at it in a positive light and I don’t think that Cesc will ever give anything less than 100% while representing our club. So, let’s just enjoy watching him play football while he is still playing for us. Of course, the newspapers are trying to spin it as he is being held against his will by Arsenal. We just have to be smart enough to see through that nonsense.

 

Elsewhere, John Lukic has been talking about how the club really ought to have signed a top class goalkeeper during the summer. You won’t find many that will argue with those sentiments, but there isn’t a lot we can do about it now. We should just accept that Almunia will be our no1 for the whole season. I just hope that he doesn’t get injured because I would cry if Lukarse were to play for any extended period of time.

 

Adebayor has shown yet again how much of a tool he is by claiming that if Man Shitty win ten games in a row people will begin to believe that they are a bigger club than Arsenal. This from the man who was trying to get out of the place just 2wks ago. Fool.

 

That’s about that for today. Hopefully you will begin to see the blog appearing in the NewsNow feed from this week onwards as things seems to have been sorted on that front, fingers crossed.

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

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Posted by thenorthbank

A routine run-out.

July 18, 2010

Yesterday saw the long-awaited return of The Arsenal in the game against Barnet at Underhill. The team ran out comfortable 4-0 winners and were never really put under any pressure. The goals came from Arshavin, Simpson (2) and Nasri. The assists came from Rosicky, Wilshere (2) and the fourth goal coming from a defensive calamity by Barnet. There is no point in going into any kind of great detail on the game as for a better report on it you should check out Gunnerblog whose Gilberto Silver attended the game.

 

Our two new boys got some playing time under their belts and from first impressions it is clear that Koscielny was right when he said, upon signing, that he needed to build up his strength and power. He is a bit gangly looking and will need to build up his muscles if he is to be an effective centre-half in the premier league. That said, he is still very young for a centre half and has time on his side. Also, it was just the first game of pre-season, with new teammates, so it is much too early to make any kind of prediction on how he will fare over the course of the season.

 

Chamakh got a 2nd half run-out and by the looks of the way he plays, he could pick up a few yellows over the course of the season and may not be as prolific as we might hope. But, as long as he helps to create goals, as well as score some, then he will be a good addition to the squad.

 

I though Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had a good game and I was surprised at how big he looked. Though, maybe the midgets around him just made him look bigger than he actually is. I thought Traore was a bit suspect and I am glad that he will just be our third choice left back next season. Frimpong also impressed.

 

In his post match interview, Arsene confirmed that six of the eight players yet to return from their post-World Cup holiday will return on Monday, in time to join the team for the pre-season training in Austria. In a roundabout way he also referred to Koscielny not doing so well with aerial challenges early on but slowly adjusting and becoming a bit more competitive in them. It will take time for him to get used to the English game and bulk up, that’s for sure. He also commented on the fact that Chamakh is good at linking play and involving the players around him, which should suit our attacking midfielders and style of play. I wonder if it means he will spend more time outside the box than in it. Let’s hope that he can get the balance of linking play and finishing a move off right over the season.

 

Although Wenger said all the right things in terms of Cesc staying at the club and any idea of such a move being over, looking at the video it wasn’t the most convincing of statements. However, I may be reading too much into that, but it’s just the impression that I got from watching it. However, in an interview which appears in today’s Guardian, the boss is much more emphatic about the situation:

“There was a lot of unneeded talk. It is not pleasant to read that every day. Now, the story has to stop. Cesc is our captain, he is so important to us and we want to keep him, that is why we were not listening to any offers. It was not a problem of money, just the desire to keep him at the club.

We can only influence our own behaviour and I believe things have now gone straight again with Sandro Rosell. We always had a consistent attitude and were always reluctant to talk about Cesc’s departure. It is very important we give the impression that just because somebody wants a player from us, we do not just give in.

We have shown our love and care for Cesc since the start. I believe Cesc loves the club, has shown his attachment to the club many times and I am very confident the story will end there. We want Cesc to be part of our club next year, and that is it.”

The first sentence in the second paragraph of the above quote is very telling as to the club’s views of Laporta and his regime and is about as close as Wenger will ever come to calling Laporta a c*nt in public. Great stuff. It also has the added effect of forcing Rossell to act appropriately and respectfully if he wants to differentiate his regime from Laporta’s in order to seal a deal for Fabregas at some point in the future. The attachment that the boss feels for Cesc is also evident by his talking about the ‘love and care’ that the club has for, and has shown towards, our Catalan captain. It was also good to see that Wenger wants to show that Arsenal are a big club that can resist the overtures from one of the world’s so-called big two. We need to show the world that just because a club wants to buy one of our players, it does not mean that they will be able to prize one of our prize assets away from us.

 

It was interesting to see the link to Schwarzer being played down, with the excessive fee being asked as the main stumbling block to any such deal going through. That, for me, is good news as any fee in the region of, or above 3m is just way too much money for a 37yr old. I could only justify an outlay of that magnitude if it also included his signing on fee and salary for the duration of the contract. There is also a rumour that Wenger told a fan that he hasn’t decided on his no1 for the coming season. Does this mean that a search for a keeper is still underway? The grapevine indicates that it is, judging from word I received during the week.

 

There are reports that we have had a 14m bid for Jagielka rejected. That’s a lot of money to bid for a player that recently had a serious knee injury. The boss was also very quiet on any alleged deal for Joe Cole.

 

Talking about Gallas and Silvestre, the club expect them to sign with another club while Campbell is currently in footballing limbo. While none of the three have been definitively ruled out, one suspects that out of the three the only one that has a chance of being here when the Premier League kicks off in mid-August is Campbell.

 

Right, that’s enough for today. 1,000+ words is more than enough for anyone to digest on a Sunday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

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Summer starts here (for me anyway).

July 15, 2010

Greetings from a hot and humid Yokohama. It’s river-down-your-crack hot today, but I am not complaining as I have also started my summer holidays today. So, all is good.

 

Things are a bit quiet on the Arsenal front. I heard a very interesting story last night but that’s about all I can say for the moment. If it comes to pass, we will be a good deal stronger going into the new season. But, as like many stories you hear on the grapevine, they don’t all come to pass. Regardless of whether or not it does bear fruit, I have been very much reassured, just by hearing the story, that the boss does indeed intend to make us competitive again. Sorry for being so horribly vague, but that’s how it has to be. I’ll just leave it by saying that it involves two players, neither of whom have been linked with us yet this summer.

 

Former Arsenal player, and legend, Thierry Henry yesterday signed with the New York Red Bulls on a multi-year deal. He is set to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon today, Thursday, so if you want to submit a question for consideration for Jimmy to ask Thierry get yourself on Twitter and send a message to Jimmy Fallon pronto. I submitted two, no idea if they will be asked. He will make his debut for his new team on July 22nd, against Spuds.

 

There are reports that Cesc actually bought himself a brand new house about a month ago which, if true, would certainly indicate that our captain isn’t ready to leave these shores just yet.

 

It’s all depressingly quiet today, I must admit. Hopefully things will start to pick up in the next day or two. The squad for the friendly against Barnet this coming Saturday is set to be announced on Friday. Expect it to be a young side, along with  some of the players that didn’t go to the World cup and our new boys Chamakh and Koscielny.

 

There is a discussion with Arseblogger on the Young Guns site today, where they talk about the youth system at Arsenal. Check it out.

 

Right just a short one for today as there is nothing much else to talk about. Have a good one.

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Posted by thenorthbank

A short(ish) Wednesday round-up.

July 14, 2010

Not a lot going on today. There is still a little bit of fall-out following the stitching-up of Cesc by those Barcelona Bastardos. Arsenal themselves are remaining a dignified silence, as they have done throughout the entire summer with regards to the whole Cesc situation. The player’s father had this to say about the incident:

 

“It was a day of celebration and anything goes. If anyone misinterprets it, they have to see that it was part of a celebration.

 
"Cesc has it very clear what Arsenal has been and is for him. He is super grateful to them and it has never crossed his mind to do something wrong towards them.

Cesc said what he wanted to do the day after the end of the league so that Arsenal had time to react. It would have been nasty to say it today, when they are almost on the verge of starting the pre-season. But he always did so thinking about Arsenal. It remains to be seen how everything turns out.”

 

From those statements it is clear that the entire Fabregas family has a great deal of respect and affection for Arsenal. While none of us really knows what was said at that meeting between Fabregas and Wenger at their meeting at Colney just before Cesc went off to meet up with the Spain squad before the World Cup, you do get the impression that is was indeed to say that he was thinking that it might be time to move home. There is no evidence that he said he definitely wants to move home this summer, he may just have said that he was thinking about it but that he would leave it to Wenger to decide when the time was right for him to move home. The one thing we know for sure about Cesc is that whatever happens, he will do it in a mature, classy and very respectful manner.

 

One final thought on the Cesc situation is regarding Cesc’s sister. It would appear that some people may have gone over the top in their reaction to the Barcelona shirt incident and may have sent her some messages on Twitter that were out of order. These people should not be doing this and they should feel ashamed of themselves. Cesc’s sister has nothing to do with his career and she should not be getting grief from Arsenal fans, though to be honest I think that those people that sent her rude messages are not true Arsenal fans, they are just idiots.

 

Wenger has spoken about how he still sees Eduardo as part of his plans and that he has high hopes for him in the coming season.

“Eduardo is an Arsenal player and I am expecting a lot from him this season. He had a terrible injury – he went through hell – but I think his work rate is fantastic and his determination, which is exceptional, will be of great use to Arsenal.”

 

I would love it if Eduardo could stay with us and have a great season, but part of me feels that he will never be the same player that he was before his shocking injury and that we should let him move to another club in order to try and revive his career. If he does stay, let’s hope that he can stay free of the niggling injuries that have plagued him since returning to fitness following said injury.

 

As an aside, one thing which is still really annoying me since the World Cup is the praising of Suarez for his handling of the ball on the line in the Uruguay vs. Ghana game. The reasoning for this championing of his actions is given as something along the lines of “his handball wasn’t cheating because he was caught.” Well, I’m sorry, just because he was caught doesn’t mean he didn’t cheat, or attempt to cheat. To use that line of reasoning, Jeffrey Dahmer wasn’t a murderer, because he was caught and sent to prison. Cheating is cheating, regardless of whether or not it was seen by someone. Just because he was caught cheating, doesn’t mean that he wasn’t cheating. Venting done, sorry to drag that up again, but have just been listening to the 5Live Football Daily podcast… The same people that are praising Suarez lambasted Henry. Pricks.

 

Right, that’s that for today. I’m not going to talk about the Frey link as that is a link we have been seeing for years.

 

Take it easy.

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Cesc gets stitched up by a bunch of w*nkers.

July 13, 2010

The World cup is at an end, brilliant, but the cuntishness of the Barcelona players that are part of the Spain squad continues unabated. Throw Liverpool’s Reina in with them, too. At last night’s celebrations in Madrid, where Reina was acting as an impromptu MC, he called Cesc to the front of the stage saying something along the lines of Cesc being the future of Barcelona and, on cue, Puyol and Pique (the one that was captured in an intimate, gay, pose with Ibrahimovic  in a photo taken earlier this year) pounced on Cesc and forced a Barcelona shirt on him. What a bunch of cunts and you have to feel sorry for Cesc and the way that they stitched him up. Also, it makes me pray that Reina will get roundly booed throughout each game that we play against Liverpool in the coming season. If you haven’t seen it, and if you want to, here is the video. *SPOILER ALERT: It’ll just make you angry. However, it is clear to see from the video that Cesc was embarrassed by the whole thing and couldn’t get the shirt off fast enough.

 

Thankfully, Cesc will soon be heading off on holiday and away from the shit stirring of those utter ballbags that play for Barcelona. Anyway, at least the whole tournament is over and done with and hopefully things will begin to calm down on the whole ‘Cesc to Barcelona’ and ‘Xavi the DNA expert’ stories.

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Speaking after the final whistle, our captain demonstrated his class and maturity when taking the time to dedicate his achievement to Arsenal and its fans and also taking the time to spare a thought for his teammate, Van Persie.

“All I can say is that this is for the Arsenal players, for the Arsenal fans, for the manager and for all of the staff. I am really proud to have been an ­Arsenal player…to be an Arsenal player. For me, it is for all of them because they deserve it and they have a ­world-famous club. I am an Arsenal player and I am really proud to be able to give this trophy to all the fans. I have had lots of texts and Blackberry messages. My phone is full.

I had a text from Arsene. He said, ­‘Congratulations, you deserve it’. I replied, ‘Thank you very much’, and said this is for all the Arsenal club, ­manager, fans and players who have helped me be where I am today.”

I thought about going to my family, but the first thing I did was go to ­Robin. I had to go to Robin, ­instead of celebrating with my friends, because I think he deserved it as well. It is ­really hard for him as he has been ­injured for a long time. Of course if it wasn’t us that he was playing against, I would be on his side.

Even though I was really happy, I was sad for him because he deserves it as well. He just said ­congratulations and told me to ­enjoy the moment. I really hope he has his chance again and that he wins it. He is a great guy, a great leader, but has been really unlucky with injuries. I really hope he can have his moment next year or in two our four years and that he can win something.”

 

It’s great to see him speak so warmly about Arsenal at a moment when you wouldn’t blame him for being lost in celebration. He exudes class and it really would be a massive loss for the club if he were to leave this summer.

 

In other news the Daily Mail links Besiktas, Valencia and Aston Villa with making a move for Eduardo and perhaps a move would be the best thing for him, in order to help kick-start his career again, especially if we were to sign Joe Cole.

 

With the World Cup now at an end and most people having returned to whence they came by the time you read this, I fully expect things to start moving on the transfer front. The Telegraph yesterday linked us with sealing deals for both Schwarzer and Cole sometime this week. Both deals, if they happen, would require relatively small amounts of money up front, thus leaving Wenger with a still reasonably hefty kitty for the procurement of another central defender.

 

Bendtner announced that his 35yr old missus is expecting their first child and I suppose all you can do is congratulate them both and hope that it will lead to more focused performances on the pitch now that his private life is becoming more stable.

 

Just a short one today as there isn’t a whole lot going on. Hopefully things will get a bit more lively as we approach our first pre-season friendly against Barnet this coming Saturday, 3pm, at Underhill.

 

Have a good one. I’m heading out for some pints in Tokyo tonight.

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The end (of the World Cup) is nigh.

July 11, 2010

Greetings from Yokohama. Thank Jaysus it is still Sunday as I don’t think I could face work this morning. Anyway, today sees Spain take on Holland in the World Cup final and from tomorrow onwards things should really start moving in the transfer market for most clubs, hopefully we’ll have a few more deals to announce, too.

 

Talking ahead of the World Cup final, Cesc spoke about how he is looking forward to coming up against Van Persie and how it is a good tribute to Arsenal that they have two players involved in the game. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Cesc will get onto the field. Cesc also took the time to mention how Arsenal are already back at training preparing for the new season while both he and Robin are still finishing last season. Nice to see him keeping Arsenal in mind even though he is about to be involved in the biggest game of his life. One way or another, we will have a World Cup winner in our squad when the final competition ends tonight.

 

Elsewhere, Owen Coyle has again said that he would love to take Wilshere on loan again for the coming season and I must admit that I would be in favour of that in order to get him the games he needs so as to continue his development. He would certainly get more games there than if he stays with us for the season. Then, he can come back to us and challenge for a midfield berth in the 2011/2012 season.

 

Sandro Rossell yesterday demonstrated his lack of intelligence when stating that Barcelona want a short, definitive answer from Arsenal on the Cesc situation. They want a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Well, all he needs to do is visit the club’s website and he will see the official statement the club made about a month ago. That was about as definitive as you can get with regards to Arsenal’s position on the situation.

 

Some media outlets are linking us with the Udinese goalkeeper Handanovic but I’m going to try and avoid all keeper-related speculation as the same media outlets also ran with the Wenger non-interview interview a few days back without verifying their source. So, it’s a bit like me pulling a tenuous link out of my arse and printing it as fact. Given that Handanovic is 25yrs old, I’d be surprised if Wenger signed him and thereby block Szczesny’s route to the first team for the foreseeable future. If we are to sign a keeper, I’d expect him to be in his 30s, with plenty of experience and would allow our younger keepers to develop some more before being thrown into our starting eleven.

 

In other news, Wenger spoke of his anger at how poorly France played and how unprofessionally they behaved at the World Cup. Though, is seeing a group of French people going on strike such a surprise? Anyway, it still doesn’t excuse how poor they were in each game that they played at the tournament.

 

Finally, best of luck to Robin and Cesc in tonight’s World Cup final. Let’s hope that both are involved and that it is a cracking game. Though, I have a feeling that there is a bigger chance of the former happening than the latter. I’m not all that enthused about the game, I must admit. Neither team has set the world on fire so far, despite each boasting a very impressive record.

 

Right, that’s all for today. I’m going to spend the afternoon debating whether or not I want to get up at 03:30 to watch the game, or to just wait and watch it on MOTD before going to work in the morning. It’s all been a bit quiet on the Arsenal front this weekend, not all that surprising considering the World Cup final is today. Take it easy.

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Two deals done. How many more to go?

July 8, 2010

Today marks the earlier than expected return to blogging following my World Cup hiatus.

 

So, yesterday finally saw us officially unveil one of our most widely expected, but least commented on in an official capacity, transfers of the summer, that of Laurent Koscielny. As usual there has been no confirmation of the actual fee paid, but it is believed to be somewhere in the region of £8.5m-£10m, which represents a good turnaround for Lorient as they just paid about £1.5m for him a year ago. Let’s hope that the deal turns out to be as good for Arsenal as it was profitable for Lorient.

 

Anyway, he will wear the no6 shirt and, considering those that have worn that jersey before him, there are some big boots to fill. At just 24 years of age, his best years as a central defender are most definitely ahead of him. Hopefully, he will be able to make the transition from Lique 1 to Premier League and become a mainstay of our central defence for the next eight or nine years. Unless, of course, Wenger goes out and signs someone like Chiellini whereby Koscielny would then become a mainstay of our bench for the next seven or eight years.

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The player himself seems delighted to have joined us, which I for one am taking as evidence that Silvestre won’t be at the club next year. It’d be hard to be so delighted if you knew you had to look at the Elephant Man in training every day. He also appears to have eyebrows that look like thick strips of Velcro, so one can only assume that these act as some kind of adhesive device to which the ball will stick once he gets his head on it. The player himself had this to say about his arrival:

“It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. It is exceptional to have a club like Arsenal wanting to sign you. I don’t believe any French player would have refused to come and play for Arsenal. It is a very big club that plays in the Champions League and it is always near the top of the Premier League. Arsenal is a reference for football and we all know the quality of their game.

The decision was quickly taken. I took the decision the day after hearing about their interest in me. I know the club have the means and the ambition to get that Premier League title and to go as far as possible in the Champions League.

 
It is nice for French players to come and join a team like Arsenal where there are so many other French players. It will help me to integrate easily in the team. I have great respect for Arsene Wenger. He uses lots of young players and he allows them to play.

 

Taking time out from his duties at the World Cup, Wenger had this to say:

“Koscielny is a central defender with great ability who performed extremely well last season for Lorient. We identified him as a very strong centre half, who has made big progress very quickly. He has shown he is mentally strong, he’s a fighter and a very strong competitor. Koscielny is a great addition to our squad.”

 

That leaves us with Vermaelen, Koscielny and Djourou as our recognised centre backs going into the pre-season training. Therefore, you would expect that it is an area that the club are still looking to strengthen. Just who they may have in mind to fill that fourth centre half berth well, your guess is as good as mine at this stage. I have a feeling that the other players we sign this summer will be Premier League based. I imagine that Campbell will only be resigned should we be unable to find a suitable player at an even more suitable price in the post-World Cup transfer market. One thing is certain, his skipping out on pre-season training in favour of going on honeymoon won’t do him any favours in securing a new contract with us.

 

One player that is unlikely to be coming is Joe Cole as I think that if we were really in for him, we would have sealed the deal already. Maybe Arsene declaring his interest in Cole was an attempt to get buffoons like Redknapp to follow suit and waste some of their own transfer budgets on his huge salary and signing-on fee, not to mention huge hat’s for Cole’s Silvestre-shaped head.

 

Last week saw the club unveil the new home shirt for next season and it really is a nice jersey. This is the first season for a while where I have really liked both the home and away shirts and am considering buying one of each, though I am not sure if I will be getting Cesc’s name on the back this time around because, regardless of whether he stays this summer, it is clearer than ever that he is seriously considering his long-term future. Maybe the news of financial strife at his boyhood club will help him decide to stay with us for another year or two. I certainly hope he will stay for a few seasons more. Realistically though, if he does stay this summer, I think we will just have him until the next European Championships when he will again be relentlessly tapped up by all and sundry in the Spain squad, prompting his return to Barcelona. Maybe this is the ideal time to get Van Persie on my jersey.

 

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One thing that crossed my mind over the past few days was how, with the new UEFA financial rules soon coming into play, can Man Shitty pay the likes of Yaya Toure a reported £200,000 per week? Crazy money for anyone, let alone a defensive midfielder. It will be interesting to see what their wages to turnover ratio is next year.

 

Reports today are linking us with Shaun The Sheep Wright-Philips, but I am hoping that they are as wide of the mark as a John Jensen shot. We really need to sign players of a higher caliber than him.

 

Right, that’ll just about do for today. I’m off to enjoy what is left of the afternoon sunshine. I’ll be back on Sunday with a look at the papers and other assorted thoughts.

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