Charlton Preview 29 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Premiership.6 comments
Just a quick look towards the trip to the Valley. The main news is something quite amazing: Gunnerblog reports that Gary Lewin is some sort of miracle worker as Djourou and Gallas might now be fit. It’s an amazing turnaround seeing as Gallas was looking at about three weeks. It would be great news if the two do make it back and would stop us having to play Song! And play him in defence! The worst scenario? Maybe not, it would be worse having to play him as a striker I suppose…or ‘keeper.
Wenger has praised Thierry Henry saying him becoming captain has made him more mature:
Different positions watch the game differently. For example when you are a striker you are served by all the other players. When you are a goalkeeper you watch everything. But Thierry is very intelligent and he can put himself in the position of all the other departments then analyse them. Before he looked up and just thought ‘OK, Bergkamp has the ball I’ll go’. Now he has to think about the whole global part of the game. It has forced him into more maturity.
I’d agree that Thierry has matured as a player since taking the armband. I’m not sure if he was the right choice as captain and I don’t know if it was anything to do with helping him stay but it has changed his game.
Arsene’s also been talking about Bill Gallas. He said how he’s suited to Arsenal and he adds alot to our team. I think Gallas is an amazing addition to the squad and it’s quite incredible how we got him. Hopefully he’s fit to face Charlton.
And also Wenger’s been talking about himself saying if he was playing he’d be a midfielder. A bit crazy but it kinda makes sense.
We should have no trouble at the Valley, Charlton’s last game was a 2-0 loss to Villa and they’re not in an incredible run of form. I’m expecting us to come away with all 3 points, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.
Sorry about the shortness of the post, will have a match report up soon. If you’re going, enjoy it, cheer on the boys for me. I don’t know where I’m following the game, probably on the radio. Anyways, see you later.
Happy Anniversary Arsene 28 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Uncategorized.6 comments
10 years ago today the Premiership’s greatest ever manager joined the Premiership’s greatest ever team.
It’s been an amazing ten years under Arsene Wenger, I vaguely remember his arrival. I remember having Bruce Rioch and then no manager for a little while, the fans were calling for a big name, someone who could take this team to the next level. What we got was some unknown Frenchman, he was meant to be quite good and had just come from a spell in Japan. I wasn’t annoyed with his appointment but I thought he’d be crap and wouldn’t last until the end of the season. He had a steady first season with us, he had lots of new ideas and it looked like a new Arsenal. The following season though his plans kicked in and he won the League and FA Cup double of the 97/98 season. It was a great time for the club and Arsenal were the most feared team in the land. We won the charity shield at the beginning of the 98/99 season and we were tipped to get back-to-back titles…instead Man Utd did the treble. Shit.
"Arsene Wenger's magic, he wears a magic hat. When he saw the double, he said I'm having that."However we didn’t have to wait long for our next double. The 2001 to 2002 season delivered the Premiership and FA Cup once again, and we won the league at Old Trafford thanks to Wiltord. There was no doubt that in Wenger’s first few years at Arsenal he had turned us into a UEFA cup place battling team to a team which everyone feared and were genuine title threats. After Manchester United European triumph it was now the target to improve on our Champions League form, Arsene didn’t quite master it and we were knocked out unluckily a few times. Gooners’ didn’t expect us to win the Champions League but it was on our to-do list. At the present time we were delighted with our domestic progress. Before the 02/03 season Arsene came out saying he thinks we could go a whole season without losing. It was a bit of a crazy target and surely it couldn’t be done. We didn’t have a terrible season: We won the Charity Shield and the FA Cup, but it wasn’t the unbeaten season Arsene wanted.
"Arsene, give us a wave. Arsene, Arsene, give us a wave."However the Gaffer’s wishes were granted the season after when we became the 2003/2004 Premiership Champions after completing the whole campaign without a single loss. It really was an amazing achievement; something that hasn’t been repeated since and I hope it won’t for a long time. I was there at Highbury on that last day of the season against Leicter when we went a goal down and the unbeaten record was in doubt. Luckily we came back to win and it was an amazing day. It’s one of my favourite Arsenal memories, we went fuckin’ mental and so we should have. A whole season without losing one game. Pretty amazing when you look back on it. I remember the trophy celebrations from that day and the Upper tier of the North Bank was actually bouncing up and down. It was Arsene’s vision from a year before, nobody took him seriously when he said it but one he achieved it everyone respected him. And the best part of that Premiership title win was the fact we secured it at the shit hole…WHL’04
"We won the league. At White Hart Lane. We won the league at White Hart Lane. We won the league at the shit hole, we won the league at White Hart Lane."I was also at the game where Arsene won his next trophy, the FA Cup final 2005 in Cardiff. I think it was the birth of the new Arsenal we know today, we played a 4-5-1 and left out Campbell in favour of Senderos. We didn’t play very well but we still came home with the goods thanks to converting all of our penalties and Lehmann stopping Scholes’ effort. Since then we haven’t won anything else but I think last season was quite special. It was the last year at Highbury and beating Spurs to that 4th Champions League place with the last game at our famous ground. Really was a special day. It still gives me goosebumps thinking of it, especially the sound of “We are the North Bank Highbury etc…” ringing around. Even though it was quite a poor finish of fourth place I think that was forgiven by making it to the Champions League Final. Arsene deserves alot of credit getting us to Paris, he mastered the 4-5-1 for us and worked out how to beat Real Madrid and Juve amongst others to make it to the final. In Paris we were unlucky on the night, don’t want to go into it but I think we’ll get another chance very soon to add to our European trophy cabinet.
"Arsene. Give us a wave. Arsene, Arsene give us a wave."That was quite emotional recapping on those last ten years, it’s been really exiting to be a Gooner and it’s all thanks to Arsene. I love this club. I love Arsene. But it’s not just the silverware he’s brought us, think of all those amazing signings he’s made. It’s too hard to list them all but he’s made so many minor/cheap signings that have emerged into world class players. To name a few: Thierry Henry, Jens Lehmann, Kolo Toure, Cesc Fabregas, Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira. Those names are just a small percentage of players Arsene has raised and I hope for many more in the near future.
It’s been a fantastic decade with the club and I’m not surprised that David Dein has said he’s got a job here for life. Arsene said last week though that he wont be here for another decade and a move to Africa is one option. I’d love for Arsene to stay here or another 10 years but I don’t blame him for wanting a change.
I could go on but I think that’s enough for today. This has been one of my most enjoyable posts on The Cannon and I feel really proud to be a Gooner right now. Thanks for all the support on the comments recently, I really appreciate it and I read every single one. Bear with me at the moment whilst I’m at college but I’ll do my best to keep the site updated. A preview of he Charlton game to come, until then.
Arsenal 2-0 Porto – 26/09/06 – (Champions League) 27 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Champions League.11 comments
No Problemo.
Porto didn’t cause us anywhere near as much trouble as I thought they might and we ran out comfortable 2-0 winners. I was about 5 minutes late for the game as I was getting The Beast 9 on the back of my new shirt (pic below). I just asked some bloke in the Arsenal shop what they’re doing about the peeling logos. He just tells me to go and get a new one the same size and he just gave me it taking my old one in return. Easy Peasy. I didn’t even buy my shirt off Arsenal; so now you know what to do if your shirt is buggered.
Anyways when I finally got inside I saw lots of attacking football from the Gunners and it didn’t stop for the rest of the game. I seriously cannot remember a single threatening attack Porto made. Oh there was that one near the end where Lehmann spilled it but that was no trouble. Most of the game was us attacking, not necessarily well, but we still were on top. Alot of the time RVP drifted wide and there was nobody in the box for when he crossed it in. This happened alot, not only with Van Persie but with anyone who made a run down the wing. When they got in a position to cross there was nobody in the box to aim for; this is something Arsene needs to sort out.
One of the attacks resulted in a disallowed goal for Toure. A cross came in and was going off wide and Cesc played in back into the 6 yard box and Kolo was there to tap it in. It was disallowed because the lino said it’d gone off when Cesc was trying to keep it in, I personally don’t think it went off. I had a pretty good view of it in the South/West corner and even seeing it in a slow-mo replay on the TV I still believe Cescy kept it in. I was going mad at the ref who was total shit again, the one for Sheff Utd was shite and this one was bollocks too. What’s going on? It didn’t matter too much anyway because we scored not long after that.
For the goal Eboue made a good run down the right and only had Henry in the middle to aim for but he managed to pull off a pin-point cross which Titi headed (yes headed again!!!) into the far corner. 1-0 to the Arsenal, a really nice simple goal and it shut those bastarding Porto fans up. One day I want to sit right next to the away section, I’d absolutely love that. I shout at them wherever I am but it would make more sense if I was actually near them. For the FA cup final I was right next to the Man USA fans, that was funny, waving them goodbye haha. Also I want to sit in the North/West corner of the Grove, aka the singing section. Looks so much more fun over there.
And then some other stuff happened and it was half time.
During the interval they showed the goals from the Real Madrid match and one of them was another tap in from Ruud Van Nistelcunt, and another was a volley form Reyes on the edge of the box. A really nice goal and honestly I wish him all the best in Madrid. He got booed when he scored, I don’t think he really deserved that, I mean cAshley Cole yeah, but Reyes didn’t do that much. Oh well, don’t really care.
The second half started well and we’d gone two up before most people were back from buying their ₤6 pies. Would you believe it Hleb actually shot and it paid off! Credit must go to Gallas though: he picked up the ball in their half and drove past the Porto defence skilfully and almost Beast-esque. Then he cut it across to Henry who drew some defenders out of the way before squaring it to Hleb who hit a first time shot nutmegging a Porto defender on it’s way to the far bottom corner. A really nicely worked goal and I thought there was going to be more to come but it ended up two nil.
The only bad point from the game was Billy Gallas picking up a hamstring injury in the last few minutes. Arsene said that it is a scare for us but he won’t know any details until today, last night he said it looks like a hamstring strain and could be out for three weeks. Bad news for us but we should be able to cope, The back four will change to Hoyte, Djourou, Toure and Eboue which isn’t that bad and will do us fine for now.
Anyways, must dash. See ya later
Arsenal v Porto Preview 26 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Champions League.10 comments
I was only at the Grove on Saturday and now it’s another short trip down to north London again tonight. It’s nice for the fans having two games in such a short space of time but I suspect Wenger isn’t over the moon about it. All our players should be fit in time but there’s a bit of a scare over Ljungberg and Djourou as Arsene announced they missed yesterday’s training session but they should be back in the squad tonight despite this. Wenger also said that Henry is now match fit, so that means Saturday’s performance wasn’t down to fitness. Lets hope he gets more stuck in tonight.
I spoke about how Ashburton Grove was starting to feel like home yesterday and Arsene has also had his say on the matter. He’s been at Highbury for a decade and everyone to do with AFC it’s finding it weird not being at our old home. Arsene says he’s getting used to the new stadium now and is finding familiar places within the ground. As am I.
At Highbury I used to have quite a few superstitions: I used to buy two bags of sweets for a pound from the same stall, I wore my long Arsenal socks and always used to wonder round to the marble halls and watch the team bus come in wherever I was sitting. When we moved to the Grove I wiped the slate clean, the sweet stall had gone by the DB10 game, I couldn’t find the lucky socks and you can no longer watch the team roll off the bus. We still won 2-1 but for the Villa game I wore the socks and we drew so I don’t wear them anymore. You probably think I’m strange, but I am. The only superstition I’ve got so far at the new stadium is to take a picture of my view on my camera phone every match and set it to the wallpaper, every time I do that we seem to score. However I forgot to do it on Saturday and we won 3-0. Something tells me I shouldn’t have any superstitions but I’m sure I’ll get some set in stone over the coming season.
The team tomorrow night should be pretty much unchanged, RVP might come in for Adebayor but I really don’t have a clue if I’m honest. I’d like to see Baptista start, but I don’t know if Wenger feels he’s ready yet; he’s certainly exited by him though:
It is more adaptation to the pace of the game and the movement here – intelligence wise he has no problem, quality wise he is a big player. He is massive and he looks like a boxer. When you see his body, he does not have fat at all. He is muscular and is in the gym every day. He looks after himself and takes care of his body. Once he is on his run, nobody can stop him, with that penetrative power. Once he is running with the ball, you just feel this guy cannot be stopped. He is a killer once he is in front of goal.
Wenger confirming there what a beast he is. I’m sure he’ll get his first start pretty soon, he impresses every time he comes on and makes defences seem non-existent. You can really sum his game play up in his nickname: THE BEAST. There is no doubt anymore that I will get The Beast – 9 on the back of my shirt but I don’t know whether I’m getting a refund or not yet as the Fly Ashburton Grove bit is falling off (anyone else’s doing that? how have you solved it?).
I think Baptista is exactly the sort of player we will need tonight in what will be a tricky, physical tie. Wenger’s not underestimating Porto one bit and I know he’ll field the strongest possible side; hopefully it includes Baptista.
I’ve got to go now, need to be at college at nine A.M!!! Grrr….It’s off to the Grove tonight though, hoping to see a strong Arsenal performance that lets people know our ambitions this year. A match report as always to follow, until then
All talk is of ‘The Title’ The Champions League
25 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Champions League.
4 comments
A couple of weeks ago when results weren’t going our way we were still confident about the Premiership and all talk was of ‘The Title’. Now after a one nil win against Manchester United and a three nil win against Sheffield United we’re talking about going one step further that Paris last year. I know we can do it, I was in Paris in May and felt the emotion of coming so close. Even with ten men and playing against Barcelona I thought we could hang on and win the biggest prize in football, in the end it wasn’t to be and I left thinking of what could’ve have been.
Now our target is to make it to Athens and pick up the trophy. Kolo Toure reckons we can:
It’s very important to win the first game and I think we did that very well in Hamburg. That gave us some belief to show that to the others teams that we are really ready again to make it. This time we try to win it, definitely. It was all okay last season, but it’s a new season and we’re doing well for the moment. We hope on Tuesday it will be a good game for us again.
Last year we beat Real Madrid and Juventus on the way to the final and to do it again this year we’ll have to put in some great performances like that again. Thierry Henry for one is determined to win the Champions League, he chose Arsenal over Barca in the summer because he felt we had the best chance of winning. The skipper has been talking to the Daily Star:
As a youngster I looked through big wide eyes and wanted things, I have achieved a lot, the Champions League is the last thing left. The desire here this season is amazing. We all want it very much, possibly even more now our manager is celebrating 10 years with the club. I would like the players to buy him something to celebrate 10 years, maybe the Champions League and title will do?
I hope he doesn’t mean ‘buy’ the trophy like Chelsea do and you won’t find that kind of thing on eBay either Tel. But I think he’s right, what could be better than celebrating Wenger’s decade by winning the Champions League? There’s nothing that they could buy him that could be better than a Champions League medal, or is there?
Wenger also believes we can win the Champions League and it all starts at our next game against Porto tomorrow night:
We had to gain respect and we are looked upon as a big scalp. The next step is to win not once but two or three times to go into the history of European football. I want to win the Champions League but it’s step by step.
I am convinced that if we beat Porto we are close to qualifying. But when you look at the Portuguese teams they do not lose easily in England. It’s a big, big task. I hope we are able to keep the ball and adapt to their pace and take advantage of any situation created.
Arsene’s right that Porto wont be a walkover, they are not the same team that they were under Jose Mourinho and have made lots of changes including the addition of Tottenham’s Helder Postiga, Wenger also had a word to say on the ex-Spurs striker:
cunt
But seriously, he had this to say:
We do fear him, I rate him very highly. I was surprised he didn’t make it at Spurs. He is a player we must overcome if we want to progress in a competition where I feel we are now one of the feared clubs.
I’m sure he’ll get a wonderful reception at the Grove tomorrow, but I don’t see him as a threat. Porto are a strong team but I still think we should be winning these sort of games if the ambition is to go all the way. We certainly want to be winning our home matches even if the Grove doesn’t feel like home yet. For me, Ashburton Grove feels familiar and ‘homey’ since Saturday, I don’t know how it is for the players but for me it feels like home now.
That’s enough for today, hope to be back tomorrow. If not, enjoy the game. Bye
Arsenal 3-0 Sheffield United – 23/09/06 – (Barclays Premiership) 24 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Premiership.1 comment so far
Lovely Jubbly.
We got our first domestic win at Ashburton Grove yesterday but the three nil score line doesn’t tell the full story. We didn’t really play that well and it was very nearly a 0-0 draw. We were definitely the team with the possession ad we had the most chances but we really weren’t on form. We played much better in the games against Villa, Man City and ‘Boro yet this was the only one we managed to win. To be fair, we were playing Sheffield United, and they had 9 players out for this game; they battled but there were just not good enough really. Our defence was on form though and were proving impossible to break down, in fairness we deserved to win, maybe not 3-0 though.
We started off well and the 59,912 watching thought we were in for a real footballing treat. Then after about 15 minutes we got sloppy and careless. Gallas had an amazing chance to open his account for Arsenal and was played through on goal but his shot went just wide. We needed that early goal really, I think if he’d of scored then or if we scored in the first half an hour it really would have been a thrashing but we went to half time with the scores still tied at 0-0
I thought it wasn’t going to be our day and it’d end up nil-nil or even worse, them grabbing a late goal. I was thinking it’d been a poor performance but if we do score and win it I’ll still say how crap we played. One goal doesn’t make things all better, we still played shit football for an hour; but when we scored we found our confidence and added two more.
Also Henry was terrible today. People have been saying he doesn’t give a shit and should be left out until he’s fit/bothered but I’ve always stood by him. However today I saw what everyone was talking about, he made sloppy passes and seemed to just amble around the field. He just didn’t seem to give a shit at all. The weird thing is that on paper it’ll show one assist and one goal and he’ll think all is forgiven. However I think I speak for us all when I say I want to see a bit more effort from the skipper and show us why he’s the best striker in the world. I wasn’t calling for him to be subbed unlike some of the others sitting around me because I know sometimes Henry is quiet all game but then has little flashes of brilliance which is what wins games.
Bill Gallas might have been rueing his miss in the first half but he made up for it on 65 minutes as he made it 1-0 to the Arsenal. It was started by Henry who had one of those moments of genius I was talking about; he found Cesc and gave him the opening and he battled through the United defence and played it to Gallas who smashed it into the back of the net. Ashburton Grove erupted in joy and relief.
Not long after Gallas’ first Henry made a run down the left wing beating The Blades defence, he cut inside and played a short cross which was deflected in by Phil Jagielka to make it 2 goals in 5 minutes.
The 3rd goal was scored by the skipper, Thierry Henry but it was Eboue that should get the credit for this one. He made a surging run down the right and whip in the perfect ball for and unmarked Henry 3 yards out who headed (yes headed!) past Ian Bennett. 3-0. Game over. Those dirty northern fans who’d be shouting at us all game had had enough and were leaving to which we replied: “We can see you sneaking out. We can see you, we can see you, we can see you sneaking out.”
So for the majority of the match we were awful, despite that I think we deserved the win. All we needed was the confidence from the first goal, even though this came well into the match, that’s what got us going. Three points in the bag and we are racing back up to the top of the Premiership. Sheffield United are still bottom, our next games are against 19th and 18th so no excuse to drop points there.
Yesterday could’ve been an even better day for us as Chelsea left it late to get the points against Fulham and Reading were beating Man Utd 1-0 until Ronaldo equalized with 15 minutes to go. Pompey play tomorrow but Chelsea are top again for now.
There’s some more good news this morning: The Beast wants a permanent deal and says he’s not just here for the loan. Things look the same way in Madrid with Reyes so I think everyone will be happy. He had this to say to the News of The World:
I am not at Arsenal simply for the loan period. I feel that my future is here and I want to show that The Beast can triumph in England. One of my big motives in joining Arsenal was to repeat the success they had in Europe last season.
For me the best part of that quote is him referring to himself as ‘The Beast’ and in the 3rd person. Legend.
Also we drew West Brom in the League Cup yesterday, that’ll be a good test for the kids. I think it would be brilliant for our youngsters to win the League cup one day, I’d go to Wembley Cardiff to see the final. Our next match is Porto at home on Tuesday, it won’t be an easy match. Hopefully some more build up to that in the next few days. See ya.
Arsenal v Sheffield Utd Preview 23 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Premiership.1 comment so far
Apologies for the lack of updates on the site recently, I've started college and finding time to do this is hard. I started The Cannon in the summer holidays so I didn't realise then what it'd be like during term time. Anyways on to today’s game...
It’s back to The Grove again today for The Arsenal to take on 20th place Sheffield United. A good win against a different United last weekend should provide enough confidence for a convincing first Premiership win at the new ground. Henry and Van Persie are fit and will probably play pushing Adebayor to the bench after his late winner at Old Trafford. Back four will be unchanged and will remain that way until our injured players return; I think Big Phil Senderos is back training in two weeks but admits he’s going to have to battle with Djourou for that place alongside Kolo. The midfield will probably be Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb and Ljungberg/Rosicky. Whatever team we field today we shouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever; I mean if we don’t win questions will have to be asked but I am pretty confident we’ll take all 3 points today.
It’s a decade under Wenger next week but ‘Le Boss’ is trying to play it down and says all he thinks about is the next game. He has given a hint away that it might be time to move on soon; he says he won’t manage another English club. I remember a couple of years ago he said he’ll get us settled at Ashburton Grove and then move on, it would be strange if Wenger left, he’s been here so long and made us one of the top teams in the world. I don’t know who would be able to step into his shoes but we’ll worry about that when the time comes; however I want a proper manager, not one of these ones who take bribes. Arsene has been talking about the bung managers scandal, he said that in his ten years here he’s made over 150 transfers but not one of them has been with these bribes.
He also said that he keeps football very much just business and if you went to his house you’d never know he’s a Premiership manager, he gives away all his medals and admits he doesn’t know where most of them are. I understand him but that’s not what I’d do, he also told us he didn’t even take his Champions League runners-up medal home with him. I can understand that, it’d be pretty emotional looking back on that and thinking what might have been and how close we came.
For the last home game against ‘Boro the underground was completely fucked and meant I had to leave on 85 minutes, something I’d never normally do, it took hours for people to get home and was total chaos. Expect much of the same today as those problems on the Underground are scheduled for today too. Last time I went to this station called Cannonbury, was quite a walk about but was empty.
Sheffield United have got 9 players out today and skysports.com are predicting 4-0 to the Arsenal. Anything along those lines would be lovely. Enjoy the game.
p.s. Just remembered this from a couple years ago.Legend
Arsenal Reserves 2 Pompey 0 20 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Uncategorized.6 comments
I decided to go to the Arsenal v Portsmouth reserve game at Underhill tonight. I wanted to go for three reasons: Walcott, Merida and Denilson. It was the Brazilian kid’s debut in an Arsenal shirt and I’m sure many eyes at Barnet were on him. I did take some photos but I can’t find the bloody connector to send them to the computer, I’ll put them up if I find them.
I was late but I didn’t miss the first goal, as I walk walking along the front of the north terrace to find a place to stand I saw Walcott rocketing down the left wing at some pace. He managed to beat the defender and cut inside and delivered a short cross to Aliadiere who was waiting in the 6 yard box and it was a simple header from the Frenchman to make it one nil to the Arsenal. Aliadiere was impressive tonight and looked threatening whenever he got the ball. He also got the second goal which was quite a nice finish but he did seem quite selfish at times and wanted to take every free kick. But yeah he was good but to be fair it was against Pompey reserves. Theo also impressed in the first half, he was subbed after 45mins to beat the autograph hunters but in the 3/4 hour he did play he looked dangerous. He showed off some silky skills and some blistering pace, I can’t believe the boy’s only 17, he’s going to be one of the Premiership’s top players in his future. He might play a part on Saturday but I don’t see him starting a game for a while yet but he still has got something to offer us.
Denilson had a good game; he played some good balls and controlled the middle of the park well. He seemed to know where everyone was and knew exactly what option to take, he didn’t mind having a go at their defence either. Certainly an ambitious play, definitely one for the future. Unfortunately he didn’t last the full 90 minutes as he picked up and injury in the second half, he was fouled by one of the Portsmouth players, it didn’t look to serious but he was brought off anyways as a precaution. The Pompey reserves were quite dirty actually, there were tackles flying in all over the place and some quite bad ones, they had one man sent off for two yellows. Hopefully Denilson’s injury isn’t too bad.
Randall also stood out for me, he played some pin-point balls and some clever passes. Whenever he got the ball he was good and could possibly be man of the match. Another star of the night was Fran Merida; it was my first look at the kid and he looks like quite a skilful little player and a battler. Not afraid to have a go at people and has the ability to do it too. He also has a great determination; he lost the ball a couple of times but worked his arse off to try get it back. It’s really easy to compare the ex-Barca boy with Cesc but they are really similar players. Fran is a bit quicker but they have the same kind of attitude and flair in centre midfield. Looks like another young prospect for the future and it’s going to be exiting watching the development of this kid.
Our defence looked pretty solid too, the captain Connolly looked good as usual, and I think he’ll be a big player for us in the future. He was joined in the back four by Justin Hoyte who’s pushing for a place in the first team. He played well and got forward a few times, a good performance like this is always good especially in front of the watching Arsene Wenger who had a whole stand to himself and Stevie Bould.
Was a good evening in all, I go to quite a few reserve games as they’re just around the corner from Borehamwood and they’re free. If you’ve never been maybe you should, they play their home games at Barnet’s Underhill stadium and games are usually on a Monday night at 7pm. Definitely worth a peek, it’s also worth checking out the line-up on Arsenal.com beforehand, sometimes you get some big stars playing and in a couple of weeks we’ll probably see Lauren, Senderos, Diaby and Clichy as they look for match fitness after their injuries.
The only other real piece of news is Arsenal’s financial year’s results. That’s really not the sort of thing that interests me as a fan so if you want to know anything about it you’re gonna have to read it, all I know is we’ve got a massive debt but I’m not too worried about it. Oh yeah and another thing, Edelman has just said there’s 32,000 people on the season ticket waiting list which made me quite sad, I don’t know when I’ll get mine 
More build up to the Sheffield Utd game to come this week, until then.
The season starts now 19 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
We haven’t really found our feet yet this season and I think the confidence from beating the old rivals will help us push forward. Wenger has put our slow start down to the World Cup and he’s probably right. Some players only joined up with the Arsenal squad a couple of weeks before the season after a long a tiring summer in Germany. Henry picked up an injury after making it all the way to the final and is suffering from that now. He should be back for Saturday but he might be rested again.
We’ve proved we can beat the top teams now we just need a convincing win this weekend to let people know our ambition for this season. First place is still in our sights but it’s going to be a hell of a battle to get there; this could be our year, I wouldn’t have said so last week with the start we had but and couple of wins in the bag and you never know. We’ll have a look at the table standing after a few more games in, it’s hard to predict anything this early. I mean Pompey have won every game and haven’t conceded but I don’t see them as champions this year…
I also hope Adebayor can take the confidence he’s gained from scoring the winner on Sunday and use it to become a great player for us. Gunnerblog has a good piece on him and it’s true what he says about him thinking he’s Kanu. Our ex-Nigerian is Manu’s idol but he is not the same player at all; they are both tall and African but the similarities end there. I’ve never been his biggest fan but I hope he can prove me wrong and get a few goals this term. I know Henry likes him, they work well together but I think most people would rather see Titi paired with someone else.
Jens Lehmann also had a big input in Manchester with a series of fine saves but he’s being questioned by local police after kicking his water bottle into the crowd. He was being taunted by the United fans, we all do it but to a limit; Jens was being called a Nazi and other crap so the kicking of a water bottle is nothing really. It’s all a load of crap and I’m surprised that the Manchester police don’t have anything better to do really.
Ray Domenech has said he can’t believe Chelsea got rid of William Gallas and has called him the best defender in the world. There’s no doubt we’ve picked up a great player here and any striker in the world is going to have trouble getting past Gallas and Toure. The French coach had this to say:
I can’t believe what Chelsea have done. I can’t believe they let Gallas go. For a coach, he’s the best defender in the world. Look at the positions he can play – anywhere along the back line, all with exactly the same ability. If I had been Jose Mourinho I would never have done it. Any club lucky enough to have William should never allow him to leave. Since I’ve been French coach, we’ve lost only one game, against Slovakia this year – and that was the only one in which he didn’t play.
And finally Porto midfielder Raul Meireles will be fit for their trip to The Grove a week today. I’ve sorted my ticket out for the game and I’m looking forward to another night of Champions League football at Ashburton Grove.
Thanks for reading, see you soon.
Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal – 17/09/06 – (Barclays Premiership) 18 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Premiership.16 comments
Yesterday was a proud day to be a Gooner. Who the fuck are Man United? So much for their 100% record then ay. We played amazingly and definitely deserved the win, even Ferguson admitted it. That was our first win of the season and we’ve shown what depth our squad has as we beat Man Utd without Henry, Van Persie, Senderos, Lauren and Clichy. I’m starting to think whether Senderos and Clichy will actually get in our team; Djourou was amazing yesterday and if Gallas doesn’t mind playing left back then he could stay there too. It a nice problem for Wenger to have: he’s got a choice of several top class defenders to pick from, and if there’s an injury or anything there won’t be any trouble finding back-up.
Onto the game though and what a game it was, a brilliant performance all round and Wenger got the squad and tactics just right. We got an early penalty from Adebayor being tripped by Kuszczak and it was the captain Gilberto who stepped up to take it. He scored one against Hamburg and I knew he’d try to score in the same way again, I was telling him to put it down the middle, down the middle, down the middle. And he slips up and Kuszczak makes the save. I was thinking that we’d come to regret that penalty and right up to half time I was thinking we should be one nil up. Also, not long after that penalty there was a bit of a goalmouth scramble that came from a corner but we just couldn’t manage to get the ball over the line. Gallas was there who tried to squeeze it in on the near post but got his shot blocked. Another chance to take the lead but it didn’t happen. Rosicky was trying to repeat that belter against Hamburg a few times, he had one shot in the first half that tested their ‘keeper but wasn’t like Wednesday’s unstoppable bullet. It tested Kuszczak but still, not a goal. Just before half time Lehmann made a magnificent save which he took like a man, right in the face. Ronaldo smashed a shot from an angle at goal from close range, the speed it was travelling there was no time to get a hand to it and the Crazy German stood his ground and took the blow to his head to keep the scores level going into half time.
In the half time break I was thinking that we were running things and we’re unlucky not to be winning. I was still confident but nervous at the same time, anything could happen, one little mistake by anyone and that’s it. We started the second half well to and both sides had some chances early on. Just after the hour mark Eboue stole the ball of Wes Brown and sent Adebayor clear, he had most of the pitch to run and had a defender chasing. I never thought he’d score it, it was just a feeling I had. When he finally got to the box he shot but it had no placement or power in it and was a comfortable save really. Julio Baptista came on in the second half replacing Alex Hleb who actually had quite a good game. With 10 minutes to go The Beast was driving at the United defence and was looking to unleash a shot, in the end it went just wide but he showed us what he can do and just how he can drive through defences. To be fair on him he hasn’t had many games this season, he didn’t get much pre-season action with Real Madrid and has on had a few substitute appearances from Arsenal; his best is still yet to come.
I was thinking about today’s blog towards the end of the match, I was going to say about how we should have won and it really should’ve been our day. But on the 86th minute, we got that moment we’d been hoping for. Fabregas, who was excellent, had a great game and a well deserved man of the match at only 19; it’s hard to believe that this kid hasn’t even reached his peak yet. Anyways, Cesc dispossessed Ronaldo in their own half, he battled through the United defence and got a lucky rebound of a Man U player, then he provided Adebayor with the inch perfect ball and Ade held off Wes Brown and was able to slide the ball under Kuszczak. North London erupted and we all hoped it was the late winner. You can see the whole wonderful move here.
Now I thought right, we must concentrate, don’t want to concede now. And we nearly did. The ball came to Solskjaer who managed to squeeze a shot out to the far post along the ground before Toure threw his body at the ball. It was edging towards the far corner of the goal and somehow Lehmann managed to get down to it and push it past the post, it really was a special save and if it wasn’t for him then we wouldn’t have won. An inspiring save.
Lehmann wasn’t the only star performance, as I said Cesc had a great game, Adebayor played well, Rosicky was the play-maker that he was meant to be, Hleb did well, Toure was unbeatable, Djourou was outstanding, Gallas was great, Gilberto was amazing too, I could go on, it’s easier just to say we played well as a team. It just shows that when we get it right, we get it right. We can beat absolutely anyone on our day, lets just hope we can pull out a few more performances like that one this season. Someone is in for a right thrashing from us soon, we’ve had so many chances in our games and have just had rotten luck; it’s Sheffield United at The Grove next weekend, I think it might be one to remember.
We are now 10th with a game in hand, say we get the three points from that then we are only a few point away from Chelsea and Man U. Wenger thinks we can still win the title, I think we can still win the title, we can still win the title. We just need a bit of luck, some good performances and our rival dropping points here and there. It’s going to be an interesting season. Yesterday was also the Premiership record for attendance…they only came to see the Arsenal. I leave you with this wonderful picture, see ya later.
United game will make or break our season 16 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Premiership.5 comments
Even though we are only a handful of games into the season, tomorrow’s ‘Grand Slam Sunday‘ will be extremely important.
However if we draw we’ll carry on as we are and we will still be in the blue about what this season will bring. Man U would still have their massive point difference and nothing would change.
If we get beaten we’ll lose momentum (which we don’t have much of anyways) and we’ll be shakey and it will not be good for the team at all. If we don’t take any points it’ll mean they’d take a 13 point lead over us this early in the season and will be hard to fight back, I think we’d end up come may as we did last season in the 4th-6th bracket.
If we win though, it will be the start of our season and with the confidence from beating Manchester United we’ll go on to greater triumphs including stuffing Chelsea four nil with a Gallas hatrick and a Theo 40-yard belter. Even if it’s a scrappy win like the ’05 FA Cup final, if they dominate us the whole game but we grab a last minute winner I will be fucking delighted. If we beat them tomorrow and then win our game in hand the difference will be down to a much healthier 4 points, I still think we can become Champions again but the fight to bring our title home will start at Old Trafford. To be fair, the next team to win the Premiership other than Chelsea will be ecstatic and it will be a great footballing achievement to beat a team who can buy anyone.
I’m quite optimistic about tomorrow even though Henry is very unlikely to play; in fact in my mind I’ve accepted that Thierry won’t be playing. He might get a place on the bench just to come on and change things if need be but I’m not expecting him to play. I do expect Wenger to play Adebayor and Ljungberg, Freddie was rested in midweek probably for this game, I think Wenger wants to chose him because of his impressive record against United but that was 5 years ago, I don’t mind if he plays I just hope it’s not instead of Rosicky.
Wenger has said his attacking options are Adebayor, Baptista and Walcott. I definitely know Walcott won’t start, he can hardly take a full match as it is never mind one against Man Utd. Therefore I think we’ll line up something like this tomorrow, it’s a team I hope we field but I’ve kept in mind W.W.W.D. (What Would Wenger Do):
That last place on the bench will either go to Henry or RVP depending on who is/if they’re fit, otherwise it’ll go to Hleb. Right I’ve got to go now, more build up to the big match tomorrow morning. Until then.
Henry, Van Persie and Toure might miss Sunday 15 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News.1 comment so far
A trio of our top guns could be set to miss Sunday’s clash with Manchester United. Kolo Toure looks likely to return though with is very good news. RVP picked up a hip problem when he got his studs stuck in the pitch when trying to keep the ball on against Hamburg. Thierry is still suffering from the injury that left him out of Wednesday’s match, but I think there’s more to this story than Arsene says.
Henry had the injury on Saturday but was able to get an injection to take away the pain so he could play against ‘Boro. There’s no reason why he couldn’t get this done again on Sunday. For some reason Henry doesn’t always play his best against Man U and Wenger has left him out on many occasions. I think Wenger is using this injury to say he can’t play because if he said he could play under these circumstances but has chosen not to play him he’d get slated by Arsenal fans. I hope Henry does play because he is a top player and is what we need for top games. We’ll just see what Wenger does.
One of those doubtful players for Sunday, Robin van Persie has been speaking about the penalty incident in the game where he picked up his injury:
At first it was on my mind to shoot straight away. I just had a first touch and passed the keeper. There was a little bit of contact. It is never my intention to make a dive. I am not like that and I think it is bad for the game if that happens a lot.
I mean of course he’s going to come out and say that, not being bias as a Gooner for one second: It was a blatant dive and you could tell that he was looking for it. He probably could have continued and scored but thought he might get a red card for the ‘keeper and a penalty instead.
The Sun were saying this morning that we are lined up for a posssible takeover. I hate for that to happened to be honest. I’d absolutely hate to be like Chelsea with the backing of a millionaire and be able to buy anyone. It has ruined football and I’d hate for Arsenal to be a part of that. Thankfully it is all bollocks as ‘Arsenal Holdings PLC’ have released a statement this morning saying we have not been approached.
The last piece of news today is from Didier Dogshit who’s said Gallas’ departure is a big blow for Chelsea. He said:
William Gallas’ departure is a massive loss. He is one of the greatest defenders in the world. When it comes to the ability to play anywhere, he is the best on the planet. It is very hard to part with a player of Gallas’ quality. But if that is what is the club have done, it must be because they see sense in the deal.
Well thank you for those kind words on our new defender Didier. I too think Chelsea are insane for letting Bill go but I’m delighted that we’ve got him here now. I hope he can put in a big performance for us on Sunday and maybe grab a couple of goals this season too.
I’m off, have a good day, Click here for a little clip which might make you smile. Plenty more of these please! See ya later.
Hamburg 1-2 Arsenal – 13/09/06 – (Champions League) 14 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Champions League.2 comments
Wahey we won! We dominated the game as we’ve done in all matches this season but this time we managed to come up with the goods. We claimed all 3 points, which was all we went for, and it was a formality really against a 10-man Hamburg. Our next game in Europe is Porto at home, I hope to sort some tickets tomorrow but I’ve already missed out on Liverpool tickets and all that left are the very expensive ones so I’ll just go to a pub down there instead. There weren’t many surprises in the team, Hleb was preferred to Ljungberg and there was a starting place for both RVP and Adebayor who didn’t play too badly, he was alright I suppose, he had a big hand in the first goal. The only bad news from the game was Kolo Toure picking up a back injury. It looked like he jumped and landed funny causing something to tweak in his lower back, he played on for a few more minutes but was eventually replaced with an unimpressive Justin Hoyte and Gallas switching into the middle.
The first goal was on the counter attack, It was two on two with Adebayor running at his defender and the man who was meant to be picking up Van Persie’s run drifted over to the ball leaving RVP out in the open. Adebayor gave possession to the Dutchman who just had the ‘keeper to beat and attempted to round him but was brought down in the box and their goalkeeper got shown the red for it. A bit similar to Lehmann’s misfortunes in Paris. The skipper Gilberto made it one nil from the resulting penalty; the keeper went the right way but it just brushed his fingertips and was unable to stop it. Some say Robin dived and nothing should have happened but there was contact; alright maybe not alot and he probably could have kept on going but that’s football today. Any other player would have done exactly the same in his position.
We dominated the rest of the game really, I mean Hamburg had a few attack but it was mainly us. After half time we doubled the lead with a magnificent strike from Rosicky. In the world cup he scored some belters against USA I think it was and I hoped he could repeat it again for Arsenal. And he did. It really was a great goal and up there for goal of the season, lets hope he can produce a few more of those this season. Robin Van Persie played Rosicky in and he unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top-left corner. It looked like we were going to finish two nil winners but in the final minute Sanogo broke Jens Lehmann’s 850 minute clean sheet by finishing a cross from David Jarolim. It was a consolation goal and he knew it, they’d worked really hard to fight back but they knew they couldn’t possibly get any points and the game finished 2-1.
Julio Baptista came on with 20 minutes to go but I hope e gets a starting place on Sunday, he’s a physical yet skilful player and I thing he’ll run riot at Old Trafford. I was dreading the game a couple of days ago but with an impressive Champions League performance under our belts and with The Beast to unleash I think we’re still in with a fighting chance. More build up to that in the next few days but it’s back to college for me today… I’ll try to post as often as I can but if it’s not every day please bear with me! Catch ya later!
Fuck off Ashley Cole 13 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Champions League, Uncategorized.6 comments
I swear every time I go onto the sky sports website there’s a new rant about Arsenal. Alright we get it, you didn’t like it here; just leave it at that. It’s mainly lies anyways and I didn’t even bother reading the latest one. It’s something to do with our youngsters. Enough of your bollocks mate, I can’t be bothered with you until you got something interesting to say, fuck off back to Chelsea.
Right, onto more important matters and Cesc Fabregas has shown us what a little legend he is by agreeing on a whopping 8 year contract. Cescy is one of the most important players here and he’s only 19, imagine what his future holds with Arsenal. It doesn’t mean he’s definitely staying here for at least 8 years, that’s just the length of his contract. Of course he can leave but whoever wants him will have to fork out big bucks. I remember not so long ago Cesc saying he wants to become an Arsenal legend, well mate, you are well on that path.
Tonight sees us face Hamburg in the Champions League group phases. Thierry Henry will not take any part in the game as he’s picked up a minor injury. I’m not that bothered about that, I think we’ve got ample quality to beat Hamburg without Henry. He was feeling the injury on Saturday but had an injection before the ‘Boro game, I think he’s being allowed time to recover before we play Man United. One man who’s trying to push his way back in the team though is Justin Hoyte, he was a bit iffy last time he played and I’d prefer Gallas to Hoyte any day. I expect it to be the same back four as the Boro game, I think that will it for a while until our injured players return.
The midfield is another story though, I suspect Wenger might go for 5 across the middle and one striker. It’s just who will get a place in the midfield. Theo Walcott might be one of them and he might get his full Arsenal debut tonight. However I reckon he’ll come on maybe at half time, or on about the hour mark. I hope the 5 man midfield includes Cesc, Gilberto, Baptista, Rosicky and Ljungberg/Van Persie. RVP has done well for Holland on the right wing so maybe he could do a job there for Arsenal but personally I’d prefer him to be our lone striker but I think Wenger will go for Adebayor. Baptista would play there but I’m not so sure if Wenger will pick him, I think he’ll be ideal for Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.
The main thing you’ll notice tonight won’t be the team or anything like that, it’ll be the shirts. We will be wearing a special shirt for tonight’s game because as part of UEFA’s regulations two teams that play each other cannot have the same shirt sponsor. It’s a quite strange rule I know but it does mean we’ll be sponsored by ‘Dubai’ tonight, and when Hamburg visits The Grove they’ll change their sponsors. It’s a really weird rule and you have to wonder why UEFA have it, I don’t remember this ever happening before but it will be interesting.
The game is on Sky Sports Extra and I hope its the main feature game, I’ve got NTL and I think that’s got the channel but you can’t do the red button multi-screen thing. So I hope I can find the channel/it’s the main game otherwise I’m going to have to find somewhere to watch it. Anyways, enjoy the game, I think 2-0 to us. C’MON THE ARSENAL!!!
Arsenal Round-up 12 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Champions League, Transfers.add a comment
There’s more shit from Ashley Cole which really is getting quite boring now. Never has a transfer gone like this where the player brings up so much bollocks about their old club. Usually a player just talks about being happy playing for their new team and that it. Of course there’s reasons why they left their old clubs otherwise they wouldn’t have left but would don’t just go spreading all this crap.
The Swiss coach Kobi Kuhn has praised Phil Senderos saying he’s an exceptional player with great determination and charisma. I can’t wait till this lad’s back in our team. I’m not so negative about our season anymore; I mean it’s just a bad start. We’ve got lots of players out at the moment and when they’re back we’ll be up there fighting. However Philippe might not get into the team with Gallas expected to partner Toure in the middle. But it creates a great problem for Arsene and also great back up for if we lose anyone.
Thierry Henry has promised Arsenal will get into some form soon, he talks about how we’ve had some really bad luck and some great shot saved as well as hitting the woodwork a number of times. He also reminds us that we’ve got a game in hand to most of the others to catch up. Our next game is Man USA, I can’t say it’s a must win because you can’t really go into a game against them expecting to win but I think it’s a must not lose. I think we can earn a draw at Old Trafford, however I’d say put the tougher players in: A back four of Eboue, Toure, Gallas and Flamini at left back. Then across the midfield I think we need a 5 of Rosicky, Cesc, Gilberto, Baptista, Ljungberg. And then up top have Henry. On Saturday Cesc was getting pushed all over the place but he can do some clever plays and it’s worth having that element in there. Also I think we need the option of having Adebayor on the bench as just something extra, I think this is the sort of game where he can prove himself and get an opportunity to get in the Gooner good-books.
Update: Flamini won't be playing at left back so it's going to have to be Gallas there with Kolo and Djourou in the middle.
But it’s a trip to Germany tomorrow as we face Hamburg in Champions League matchday one. Hamburg have had a terrible start to the season and have been all over the place. They lost to a 3rd division side or something like that recently. They bout Juan Pablo Sorin over the summer but still, I’m not that worried. This would be the perfect match to get back to wining ways and continue our 100% record in Europe this season. A bit more of a preview on that game tomorrow.
Have a good day.
Ashley Cole’s Book Extract 11 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Transfers.31 comments
The times has a large extract from cAshley Cole’s book which can be seen here. It’s basically about why he left Arsenal, there are some juicy quotes in there to pick out and just shows you how much of a knob he is. It’s probably best if you give it a read yourself but here are just a few quotes that sum him up:
It all started while I was sitting in the sunshine at Sopwell House, the hotel in Hertfordshire used by England before we flew out to Portugal for Euro 2004, when an eager voice called out, “Ashley!” Mr Dein was stood there. He told me I wasn’t earning enough and my salary was going to be increased. My face- cracking smile told him all he needed to know. I was buzzing, really buzzing. His tone soon wiped the smile from my face. I felt his attitude suggested he was doing me a favour, like I was a 17-year-old trainee.
The deal he offered was a £10,000-a-week increase to £35,000. A hell of a lot of money. But, when taken in the context of football wages and his own estimated value of me of £20 million, and when placed next to those other Arsenal wages of between £80,000 and £100,000 a week, his offer was a piss-take. It was a slap in the face, not a pat on the back.
Is there anything I can really say on this? We offer him a pay-rise, he takes it like a slap in the face because he doesn’t think it’s enough. If at work you we valued as a vital member of the team and you boss tells you that you’re getting pay-rise. So he tells you what your new salary is, you wouldn’t go: “Are you having a fucking laugh? I’m worth much more than that.”
“Ash! Are you listening?” said a virtually hyperventilating Jonathan. “I’m here in the office and David Dein is saying they aren’t going to give you £60k a week. They’ve agreed £55k and this is their best and final offer. Are you happy with that?”
When I heard Jonathan (Barnett) repeat the figure of £55k, I nearly swerved off the road. “He is taking the piss, Jonathan!” I yelled down the phone. I was so incensed. I was trembling with anger. I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. I suppose it all started to fall apart for me from then on. I’d trusted Mr Dein to push the deal through.
So you’re not a greedy money grabber? But you’re desperate for that £5,000? The £60k agreed was including all expenses so when that dickhead Jonathan Barnett asked for his salary on top of that, that’s what caused the fuss. Why should be pay him? Does he do anything for the club? No. I’m sure none of this would have happened if it weren’t for that twat of an agent.
Arsenal’s final game at Highbury on May 7 was an emotional day for everyone, but even more so for me. “I can’t believe this is going to be my last game in England wearing an Arsenal shirt,” I thought as our coach pulled into the famous marble halls. There was no future left for me at the club any more. I knew that. Cheryl (Tweedy, his wife) knew that. Mum knew that.
My worst fears were confirmed when, as Thierry (Henry) and I sat in the centre circle after the final whistle, his name was sung from the rooftops while my contribution was recognised by a deafening silence. As his chants faded away we waited for mine. And we waited. And there was nothing. “They’re not bothered about me,” I said, resigned to the fact. It was like I was the invisible man.
I’m sorry Ash but you are not Thierry Henry. As much as you might want to be, and as much as you might want his money and talent. You are not Thierry Henry. He is a true great for Arsenal and has never done anything wrong and has been loyal. So you expect to just sit there and expect the same praise as Thierry Henry after all the shit you’ve had with us?
That night I went out and got hammered at the Embassy nightclub but, unlike other years, no other Arsenal player joined me. Instead, I found myself at the end-of-season Premiership bash with John Terry, Joe Cole, Carlton Cole, Damien Duff and a few of the other Chelsea lads. The champions were out on the town, celebrating and sticking together; the kind of camaraderie that used to bind Arsenal together.
“That night I went out and got hammered”. Just shows what you are like Ashley. With the fucking Champions League Final around the corner it’s not the sort of thing you can afford to do. And have you not got any friends to go out with?
When I got back it became clear that Arsenal were late to open up negotiations, Madrid were nowhere and all the paper talk was about Chelsea. Peter Kenyon made a £16 million offer but David Dein wanted £30 million; the same man who had told the FAPL inquiry that my value was between £15 and £20 million. I felt like a bargaining chip, with the stakes too high. It felt to me that Arsenal had done nothing to keep me and now it seemed obstacles were piling up at the exit door.
If we can get a bit of money from the sale of you why is that a problem. If anyone sells anything in the world they’ll try and get the best possible price for it won’t they? And that thing about being valued at £20m and trying to get £30m. 1. It was Chelsea we were selling to. 2. They are a Premiership rival that will be enhanced by your signing. 3. You are English. 4. You are one of the best left-backs around. How can he possible say we’ve done anything wrong?
We’d also discussed Chelsea after the boss told me not to rule them out. Somehow, while lazing in the sun in the Indian Ocean, the switch from north to west London didn’t seem so bad.
“I’ll get hammered if I go there, the Arsenal fans will never forgive me,” I said to Cheryl one evening. It took her to point out the blinding obvious: “They’ve hammered you anyway and they’ve never forgiven you for the past 18 months . . . so what’s the difference?”
How did we ‘hammer’ you? Just because we didn’t sing your name on May 7th that doesn’t mean we ‘hammered’ you. We weren’t exactly singing fuck off Ashley Cole. Oh Well, I’m glad he’s gone now.
The point of Ashley Cole’s book was clear his case and make him look less like a money-grabbing idiot, in fact I think it’s shed light on what’s really gone on and made him look like a fool.
I think that’s enough for today, I wanted to talk about our team and why we’re not working etc but I’ll save that for another day. Until then.
Arsenal 1-1 Middlesbrough – 09/09/06 – (Barclays Premiership) 10 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Premiership.5 comments
Fuck sake.
Much like the Villa came we dominated but could convert and of our chances mainly to the fact we just wouldn’t fucking shoot. Hleb is the main offender on a few occasions he had a clear shot on goal inside the box yet he chose to pass it wasting the chance. The goal that we did get came from a debatable penalty, at least Thierry scored it. I haven’t got long to write today, I need to be at work in 25mins. Gunnerblog has an excellent analysis of what went wrong yesterday. So we’ve got 2 points from 3 games and our next match is against United. Fuck. Am I the only one who can’t bear to watch? I don’t think we are the Arsenal of old anymore and I wouldn’t blame Henry if he thinks he’s made the wrong choice. We need to step up and kick into gear. Start playing proper football and fucking shoot when we get the chance.
We deserved to win, ‘Boro had one chance the whole game and that was the one they converted. The rest of the game was us dominating but we couldn’t core a goal from open play against fucking Middlesbrough. Forgive me for being angry and negative: at least we didn’t lose. We’re still stuck on 17th and I don’t expect us to move off it for a while yet with Man U away next. A draw would be nice but…
We’ve got Hamburg in midweek in the Champions League, maybe we can concentrate on that? Oh well. Sorry about the short write up people, I’ve really got to go now. Bye
Back to The Grove 9 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Premiership.5 comments
It seems like ages since I last went to Ashburton Grove, Dinamo Zagreb was the last time I went but that seems ages ago. I know many of you will have gone last weekend to watch Brazil v Argentina but still it wasn’t to watch The Arsenal. It’s nice to be back to a sunny Saturday afternoon of Premiership football and it’s Middlesbrough. I went to last year’s home match, I was bored at home with no ticket and my little brother was having a birthday party and I just had to get out the house. So I thought, I know, I’ll go down to Highbury, not so much in hope of getting a ticket but just to soak up the atmosphere etc. Anyways I asked a tout how much he wanted for a ticket and offered me it for ₤90, I thought about it and came back later and got it for ₤70, which was quite good. So when I sat down in the North Bank I was thinking to myself, seventy quid woah, I better get my money’s worth, and I did. I got 7 goals in the demolition of ‘Boro, was a good day and one of my great Highbury memories. I’m not expecting another goal-fest today but I get the feeling it’s going to be the first classic at The Grove.
Djourou is fit and I think he’ll start, but Gallas will definitely start at left back leaving Hoyte out. I’m really happy that Will’s playing left back today, not only because we’ve got a top quality player playing there but because it’s like a slap in the face to Chelsea as he wouldn’t play there with them. So we’re looking at a back 4 of Eboue, Djourou, Toure and Gallas.
As for the midfield well Baptista is in the squad and Wenger has said he’d make a great defensive midfield. Arsene also said he’s a great striker, of course, but I think I see him playing The Beast more in midfield. I don’t expect him to start but I think he’ll play some part in the game. He’s great player to have because you can bring him on to a number of positions and if he’s on the field as a midfielder and things aren’t going to plan then Wenger can just tell him to get up front. Baptista’s ex team-mate Jonathan Woodgate has praised him but they will be playing against each other this afternoon. Also Walcott is not in the squad today after playing for the under 21′s. I think the midfield today will be Hleb, Gilberto, Cesc, and Rosicky.
And up front of course, the captain, Thierry Henry come in after scoring for France it’s just a case of who will partner him. It should be Robin Van Persie after his great performances and incredible goals for Holland, however Wenger may opt for someone else because he has played a game in mid-week and may be suffering from a lack of fitness, this shouldn’t be a problem for RVP but it’s up to the boss who plays. I hope to see him start but Wenger’s also got the option of partnering The Beast with Henry, I’m sure they’d be a great partnership, I can just see them working, but for some reason I see Arsene going for Adebayor again. I think he’ll pick him because he wasn’t away on international duty and is fit and ready to go. Also he’s keen to get rid of his Ashburton Grove block and finally get some home form. Obviously I want Adebayor to improve, but I’d much rather Arsene picks one of the other two.
Right, I’m just going to watch the end of Soccer am then its time to take a little trip to North London. C”MON YOU GUNNERS!!!
All talk is of ‘The Title’ 8 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Premiership, Transfers.add a comment
In alot of the recent interviews with Arsenal players they’ve hinted that the aim is first place this season. We haven’t had the best of starts to the season but we’re looking to put a stop to that tomorrow against Middlesbrough, Gooners are waiting for our season to kick start with a ban and hopefully these new signings are what we need. A draw against Villa and losing to City isn’t a great start and we find ourselves in 17th place, 8 points behind leaders Man Utd already. However, the Arsenal players aren’t getting down about it, in fact they’re doing the opposite; their eyes are still firmly on the title challenge and they still have belief. Julio Baptista had this to say on arriving here: It is my hope that I can win a title with Arsenal this season,” explained Baptista.
Arsenal are one of the best clubs in Europe. I am very happy to be given the opportunity to come here, where I know the manager a little.
Also Robin Van Persie has had his say on the coming season:
This season I want to be more consistent and to develop myself. Every game I play I have to stand out. I don’t want to be satisfied with a supporting role and a goal now and again. I have to give my colleagues the feeling I can be decisive for them. There are three or four teams this year chasing for the title and we are one of them. Of course I believe it is possible to be champions. Last season we were happy we qualified on the last day for the Champions League but that is not the aim for this year. We are aiming for the highest and the team is strong enough to do it.
If you asked me before these new signings had come in and after Man City my predictions for the season I would have said we’ll luckily scrape 4th again. But now I just want to see how our new players settle in and how we can perform against ‘Boro. If we play a good 90 minutes and get a convincing win then I’ll be happy and maybe I’ll believe in what RVP and The Beast are saying but at the moment I can’t quite see it. I’m not saying we have to get a result like last year’s at Highbury but a nice 2 or even 1 nil but where we dominate the match and are deserving winners. If you asked me right now where I’d put my money on us coming, I’d say 3rd; but that can all change. It’s football, and that’s why we love it.
There isn’t really much news about really, Carrick has revealed he nearly joined Arsenal, Rooney’s got in trouble again, Ronaldinho says Chelsea will be a walkover this season and our old players have been unveiled at their new clubs:
This is the first picture I’ve seen of Reyes in a Madrid shirt and it doesn’t seem that strange to me, the thing that’s weird is that he’ll be playing alongside Van Nistelrooy this season. Jose seems very happy to be over in Spain but I wonder how long that’ll last as he’ll be warming the bench most of the time with Raul, Ronaldo, Robinho and the likes standing in his way. Well at least he won’t be cold and wet. Another of our deadline day departures has arrived at their new club and that’s cAshley Cole.
So he’s finally arrived at Chelsea and it does seem a little strange seeing him in the new kit. What’s even more weird though is him coming out saying the move wasn’t about money! Hah! What a blatant lie, him and his agent are always fighting over the last penny. Not only is he a liar but he’s also stupid as he revealed that he wanted to go abroad and had an offer from Madrid. But for some (money) reasons he decided to go to Stamford Bridge. Quite a while ago he said he could never go to another English club and couldn’t imagine playing against Arsenal, and we were all thinking yeah, that’d be terrible, now I can’t wait for the Russian’s little trip to The Grove.
That’s all from me, have a good day.
ooh to be a Gooner 7 September, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Premiership.9 comments
Looks like promising times are ahead for the Arsenal faithful. I was just looking at our squad options ahead of the ‘Boro game and we’ve now got quite a good side with back up. At the moment our defence is good but it hasn’t got any out-and-out good replacement due to injuries to Senderos, Lauren, Clichy and Djourou who picked up a minor shoulder injury last night which will see him miss a few games. SO that makes our back four at the moment: Eboue, Toure, Gallas and Hoyte/Flamini. I’d like to see Matty start on Saturday, he did so well there last season and Hoyte hasn’t been on form recently.
Now for the midfield we’ve got several options, as wingers we’ve got Rosicky, Ljungberg, Hleb and Walcott. We’ll pick two of them which I think will be Rosicky and Hleb but I expect to see Theo coming on later in the game. Also we could see Ljungberg start ahead of Hleb which is another option for Wenger. Now, for the two central midfielders which we have a choice of: Baptista, Flamini, Denilson, Song, Gilberto and Fabregas. I think Wenger will go for Cess who had a great game against Northern Ireland despite losing and Gilberto who captained Brazil at one stage and put in some great performances.
And then our options for up front are: Van Persie, Henry, Adebayor, Walcott and Baptista. Van Persie scored 2 great goals for Holland and set up one in their 3-0 win over Hleb’s Belarus. He put in two great performances in Holland’s internationals this week and I think it’ll earn him the starting place for Saturday alongside Henry; I think The Beast will start on the bench against ‘Boro but he is a great option to be able to bring on. Also I don’t think Walcott can quite play up-front yet for us although he scored for the England under 21′s again last night as they beat Switzerland 3-2. And then there’s Adebayor…well I’d rather just not see him play that’s all.
So we can field a strong positive side for Saturday and have some great talent on the Bench too. We’ve also got the option of going 4-3-3/4-5-1 with Henry the central striker with player coming in from the flanks to help. There are lots of options and problems we have which Wenger will love, lets just hope we can get the points.
There’s not much news doing the rounds today. Chelsea are interested in Bendtner and have apparently been watching him for some time. Well great, so have we, that’s why we got him. I just love this quote though from Chelsea about him, just shows what arrogant twats they are again:
“Bendtner is the only player from the Danish national team who is good enough to play for Chelsea.”
Whilst on the subject of the Russians, Bill Gallas is staying quiet over the infamous statement and just had this to say when asked about it:
“No I don’t want to talk about that. Now I speak only about the victory today, and I will see when I come back to London with my new team Arsenal. I’m very excited to train with Arsenal.”
Thierry Henry is a great friend of Gallas and they grew up in the same town together and have been team-mates for les bleus for some years. Thierry had this to say after scoring in the re-match of the World Cup final as they beat Italy 3-1:
“At the moment for me he is one of the best centre backs in the world and he showed that tonight again. That is amazing and he scores some important goals sometimes.”
I think we’re all looking forward to William Gallas being a part of this strong Arsenal side and I look forward to seeing him on Saturday. Have a good day people, see ya later.
