Obafemi Martins £13m option 29 June, 2007

Sam Allardyce has revealed that Martins has a £13m buy-out-clause in his contract and Michael Owen’s is only £9m. It’s really quite crazy for a quality player like Martins and I think he’s a player that would fit in at Arsenal perfectly. He’s strong and technically good but he’s also fucking quick and I can just see him now at Arsenal banging in the goals. I have always liked Martins, I remember saying when he signed for Newcastle he was a good signing and I wish Wenger had looked into him.

Wenger comes back from his holiday soon and I hope he has a think about Martins too. He’s got a nice little list of options now so I’m hoping we sign someone in the next week or two.

Wenger himself could be signing a new deal. Something about the BBC saying le boss and Grimandi holding an emergency meeting to have talks about a new deal. Grimandi being Dein’s replacement. I don’t really know what this is all about but I thought I’d let you know.

That Auxerre bloke, Sagna is looking more of a possibility too. Whether or not we need another right back I don’t know but it’s looking quite possible he will sign. Also there’s the option of converting him to a right-winger so maybe if Arsene is actually looking at him he could be thinking about moving him to the wing.

If we sign someone next week, I think that is a positive start. I’ve got to go, sorry about the short/shit post. Laters.

Three players that want to come to Arsenal. 26 June, 2007

Firstly I’d just like to say I’m not going to depress you with loads of pictures of Henry in the Barca strip and all that. If that’s what you want to see there’s plenty of other sites around showing them. Sorry, but I haven’t quite got over him yet.

Ryan Babel:

“Nothing concrete has happened. Next season I definitely play at Ajax. There will be a time that I will play at Arsenal. But there is nothing at the moment.

That is a quote from the man himself to a Dutch website. He also said that all the rumours linking him to Arsenal are just rumours at the moment but it’s interesting him saying ‘I will play at Arsenal’. So he obviously wants to play for us and surely him coming out saying this isn’t going to make the people at Ajax too happy and maybe they will get rid of him if they think his focus and commitment isn’t with Ajax.

His Dutch side won the under 21′s championship but all I’ve heard from people who had an eye on him was that he didn’t look good enough. He had flashes of good play but didn’t really look anything special overall. He seems pretty sure he’s going to Arsenal even though he says he’s had no contact with them…hmmm. We’ll see what happens with that one.

Another player who’s wants to move to Arsenal is Carlos Tevez. He says he’s exited about the possibility of Arsenal but adds he would also be interested in a move to Inter Milan. I’m not really sure whether I want Tevez; towards the end of last season I saw he is technically quite good and does know how to score a goal. He took time to adjust to the English game but I think he sorted that one out towards the end. He says he likes the Premiership and it would be good if he could stay in London and play for Arsenal. Whether or not we want him is a different story but I’ll leave that one up to Arsene. It is certainly interesting though.

Also, the Auxerre full-back Bakari Sagna has got an eye on a move to North London. He says he’s spoken to Diaby about the club and Abou said he’d like for Sagna to come. Auxerre have said there is a low possibility that he will be leaving the club however Sagna said he will not let them stand in the way if Arsenal do come in with a offer for him. I don’t know whether we actually need this player but the squad is looking very thin at the moment and I think he would be a nice little addition to the squad especially with our luck with injuries.

So there are three decent quality players who are licking their lips over the chance of moving to Arsenal. I’m sure all of their clubs will not be too happy about these recent quotes but oh well, at least they are letting it known that they want to come. I’m sure Arsene will know about this and maybe he’ll have to have a little think about each of them.

There is one player that looks likely to come though, and that’s Anelka. I’d just quickly like to say he can fuck right off. I don’t want him here. However it’s looking a strong possibility and I’ve heard he was at Arsenal last week on a good source. If he does come then I’m not going to be his biggest fan and he’s certainly going to have to prove himself to win me over. More on that one as it develops.

Right I’m off, see ya.

Henry, Gone. 23 June, 2007

Well I suppose it was going to happen, it wasn’t out of the blue but when I got a phone call yesterday afternoon saying Henry had gone to Barca for 16 million I still couldn’t believe it. The news hit me hard and I didn’t know what to think. I checked out to see if he was having me on but I knew this was real. The greatest player to ever play for this club has gone, even after saying he love’s this club and wants to end his career here.

Possibly one of the best strikers to have ever played the game, I just feel lucky that he was an Arsenal player. I will never forget him. I will always love Thierry Henry. Despite what he’s said about never playing in Spain and he would be Arsenal forever. I do feel like a bit of an idiot for believing him and I had no doubt in my mind that he would be staying. You have to respect his decision though. If you look at it not as a Gooner and think about Henry’s age, fitness, hunger for a Champions League medal and the state of Arsenal at the moment, it’s probably a good decision for him.

As much as I hate to say it, I wish him the very best of luck at FC Barcelona. To be honest, I don’t think he’s going to do that well there. It’s obvious he’s not the player he once was and he’s very injury prone at the moment. We’ll see what happens but I hope he’s happy there but I hope he never forgets Arsenal and the millions of Arsenal fans he’s touched.

So he’s gone now. We must move on. If there’s anything good about this it’s that he made his mind u and we got a deal done as quickly as possible. We now have some time to find a replacement, and I mean it. We must replace him. I can see Wenger just saying we don’t need to replace him, we have the youngsters. That’s bollocks, we need someone. We now have lost Henry, Aliadiere, Reyes will go and don’t forget Baptista’s loan is up. We have Van Persie and Adebayor, they are good but we need another player of probably their quality to add to the strike force. If Wenger tells us that Bendtner is that man then I will be fucking livid.

I do worry about us now. From Henry’s quotes coming out today he’s saying a main factor is that Wenger won’t extend his contract after next season. So he’s off, you can’t help but think Fabregas will pack his bags too. If you think of the squad, I think it’s quite obvious which players would quite happily fuck off. Gallas is one name I think of, Bendtner another. I do hope the squad put their faith in the club, commit to it and help turn this team in the right direction. We have an incredible youth set-up, but that’s not going to be any good if players decide they want to leave because Arsenal isn’t a top Premiership side anymore. We need a kick up the arse. We need to get stuck in. We know we can perform without Titi now we have to prove it. Let the critics talk, and show them what we can do. If we’re to do this I think Kolo Toure is definitely the best man for the captain. I’m quite sure it’ll just get passed on to Gilberto but I think it should be Kolo. No doubt. I hope Arsene has a think about it rather than just automatically giving the armband to Gilberto.

I’m going wrap this up but because I will go on forever rambling about rubbish. Lastly I’d just like to mention the price tag. Nothing official’s come out of Arsenal yet but it seems like it’s ₤16m. Apparently we could’ve got nearer ₤30m last season and that was with one year left on his contract. I think ₤16m is ridiculous. Fair enough he’s getting old, and yes I know I’ve said he’s on the decline but still. I think ₤20m would’ve been more like it but oh well.

Just finally, one man who might be brought in is Ryan Babel. He says he hasn’t been approached though but he does admire the club. More on that to come I hope.

Right see you later. I’m just about to go and do something very hard and remove Thierry Henry from the squad page. Thanks for reading.

La Liga finished, Thierry needs to decide 18 June, 2007

Last night the Spanish season came to an exiting close with Real Madrid winning the title. Their 3-1 win over Mallorca was enough to beat Barcelona to the championship. Real came from a goal down to go two up in a 15 minute period of the second half, one own goal and two from our own Jose Reyes. Those goals will surely up his price tag this summer but it won’t convince Wenger to keep him; I’m sure he’d like to but Jose wants to play in Spain and he will, I expect his move to be sorted in a few weeks.

It was lovely seeing Barcelona cry after Paris last year but I’m sure they will want to bounce back stronger than ever and the will look to strengthen their squad this summer…possibly with Thierry Henry. Now the season’s over we can expect something to happen, if anything will at all. I’m in two minds about Henry, his recent quotes have been very confusing but I’m reassured by the knowing the tabloids will have twisted his words to the infinite degree to make them sound like he’s moving.

You see the thing is I know Thierry loves(/loved) Arsenal and has said not so long ago he wants to carry on playing at Ashburton Grove, but the things he’s been hinting recently have not been something to smile about. Also speculation from elsewhere is not helping; such as Giuly saying Henry hasn’t contacted him and the board saying it’s up to Wenger. I don’t think it’s really up to Arsene anymore; this is solely Thierry’s decision.

Well whatever happens I’d like it to be resolved quickly. I’m praying he stays, if he leaves it could cause knock-on effects for the rest of the squad and maybe he wouldn’t be the only high profile name to look towards the exit. It’s tough times for an Arsenal fan and I don’t blame you not wanting to read about it, I don’t really want to write about it. All I know is I love Arsenal and I’ll be there however we come through these next few years.

Patrick Vieira is also pretty worried at Arsenal’s state of affairs. Pat can relate to the current players and particularly Thierry Henry with the position he’s in. Here’s what he said:

“It is a difficult time for Arsenal because the players need to know what’s going to happen. “Arsenal are going through a difficult period – so many things have happened in the last few days. David Dein has left and, whether you like him or not, he has been a fantastic servant for the club. One has gone now so the base is not as strong as it used to be. All the speculation affects the team. Players need to know who’s going to be the manager, which players are coming and which are going. If Arsenal do lose Thierry Henry it will be a big blow for the club and for the players who stay there.”

He’s mentioned David Dein again, a name that seems to be coming up a lot. I knew he got on well inside Arsenal but I never knew he was such a key man at the club. It seems the ex-vice-chairman had an extremely good relationship with the players and manager and his departure might be a very bad thing for us. At the time I wasn’t really bothered…didn’t really think it would mean a lot.

That’s all the news there really is at the moment. I expect there to be some more in the week…hopefully it’s good news.

Is Henry leaving? Don’t have a clue. 15 June, 2007

I was certain Henry would be staying after last year, with him signing a new contract I thought this was all over and he’d just be an Arsenal player, but no. The rumours stared in the papers, which were probably inevitable, but I just dismissed them as ridiculous. However it seems more and more likely that there might be some truth in this and maybe he will be off to Barca and playing in red and blue next season (he could also be doing that at Arsenal in our new third shirt). I think any team in the world would be interested in Henry but I’d be very surprised if he was playing anywhere other than Barcelona or Arsenal next season.

Ronaldinho says he’s exited about the possibility of playing with Titi, and the man himself has said before how he’d love to play in the same team as the Brazilian star and Eto’o. However, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o have apparently had a falling out behind the scenes at the Camp Nou and there is a chance we could see Eto’o as part of a swap deal. It sounds quite far-fetched, but if you think about it, it does make sense. If these stories of an argument with Ronaldinho are true then Eto’o could be looking to leave and it’s most players dream to play in the Premiership (or ‘Premier League’, I prefer the old name). If Henry left (touch wood) then we’d definitely have to find a quality replacement and Eto’o would fit the bill perfectly, I can see him and Van Persie working well. One thing though, he said the other day he wants to stay at Barca…but Henry said he wanted to stay at Arsenal too. Hmm.

He needs to make his mind up about it pretty quickly though. If he’s leaving it’s better for us to do it sooner rather than later so we have time to look for and find a replacement. Eto’o is one option, maybe Torres is, but most importantly I think Wenger must realise that this time he can’t just say our squad is strong enough or go out and get another youngster. He must buy big names.

This whole thing is really confusing at the moment but things may become a little clearer next week once the Spanish season is over.

One player we are being linked with is Ryan Babel. He’s just admitted he’d love to play for Arsenal under Wenger and has been as fan since a young age. The 20-year-old currently plays for Ajax and is doing well for the Dutch Under 21s side in the European Championship. I don’t know whether Wenger is actually interested in him but it’s good that we’ve got talented players that want to come.

And finally we managed to sign Håvard Nordtveit the 16-year-old Norwegian defender. I think the fee is about two million pounds depending on appearances. There’s a link here but I can’t read it. [EDIT] Wait, I found another link in English…he’s agreed on a 4 year deal and it will go through at the beginning of July.

I’m off now. Think it’s been a bit of a strange blog, not feeling very literate today…ergh. Have a good weekend

Djourou looking for a loan move away from Arsenal? 9 June, 2007

Johan Djourou has told The Express that he might seek a loan deal next season to gain more first team experience. He’s a had a fair few games this season but he’s serious about his future at Arsenal and wants to get more top flight games under his belt. With Kolo Toure and William Gallas around I think Johan realises he cant realistically push for a starting place. I think a loan deal would be good for him; he’s the type of player that would thrive on more football and doesn’t seem to get phased by games. Also he’s promised that he will be coming back and won’t decide that the grass is greener somewhere else like we’ve seen recently with other players we’ve loaned out. He’s what he had to say:

“I will find out more when I get back, but my long-term future is very much at Arsenal. I have shown people I have enough quality to play in a number of different positions – midfield, right-back and centre-back. I have got a lot to learn still, so maybe I need to move to another club to get some more experience. I will have a discussion with the boss.”

I think it’s quite clear that he’s not moving just to get away, he genuinely just wants to, to improve his chances at Arsenal.

The only other bit of news really is on Aliadiere’s move to ‘Boro. He still hasn’t officially gone yet but it’s been announced that a deal will be done; it’s just that Jeremie is on holiday at the moment.

Thanks for reading, see ya.

Cesc off if Arsene is? 5 June, 2007

We all know that Cesc Fabregas loves Arsenal and is not going to be leaving but he’s just come out saying his commitment lies with Arsene Wenger more than the club. He just signed and eight-year deal recently but he has revealed that if the Manager goes, he will have to consider his future.

With David Dein leaving not so long ago, there’s been a bit of speculation about Arsene’s future. He’s meant to be selecting Dein’s replacement this summer but it’s unlikely he will be able to strike up the same sort of relationship he had with David with this new guy. I think I remember a few seasons ago Arsene saying that he would like to get us settled into the new stadium, and then move on. I think there would be a couple of players that would have a think about their Arsenal future if the great Arsene Wenger was to leave. He will one day.

It’s quite scary as a Gooner but there’s nothing we can really do about it. We just have to hope our players love Arsenal not Arsene. Cesc is a very big part of our future and I don’t really want to think about the possibility of him leaving.

Apart from the usual crap about Henry there’s a transfer link for Bakari Sagna. The Auxerre defender has set his sights on the Premiership and his agent has confirmed he wants to leave Auxerre and go to England. Whether or not we’re looking at him is another story, do we need him? Probably not. But we’ve been linked with him and now I’m just telling you.

One of our most promising youngsters, Fran Merida has caught the attention of Athletico Madrid. They are interested in a possible loan deal for next season, we would never sell him and I think Athletico have noted that. A good move for him? Well the lure of possible top-flight Spanish football is quite a good thing and the experience would do him a lot of good. However we’ve seen in recent years how Spanish players find it difficult to adapt to the Premiership and if Fran got used to La Liga then it might not be so much of a good thing.

Over on the other side of Madrid, Jose Reyes is focused on the remainder of the season and will think about his future when it finishes. In a few weeks he’s officially an Arsenal player again but don’t expect him to return to North London. He’s already said he wants to stay in Spain. Maybe he’ll join up with Merida at Athletico next season.

Thanks for reading

Gamst Pedersen to Arsenal? / Aliadiere all but gone 2 June, 2007

Hardly surprising news but ‘Boro are sorting out a deal for Jeremie Aliadiere. He’s spent 8 years here but never really lived up to his potential. I’ll do a proper good-bye Jem post when he officially moves but it does look very much like his next stop is Middlesbrough. The fee is probably not gonna be a great deal, couple million I’d guess but all the money we can get is very welcome and hopefully Arsene will do something with it.

Seeing as we’re selling Aliadiere and Baptista won’t be signed, we might be lacking strikers, especially if we’re hit with injuries like we were this season. One top striker the papers just wont stop linking us with is Samuel Eto’o. I know it’s stupid for me to keep bringing him up but what the fuck else is there to talk about? The latest on that is that Barca will do everything in their power to keep Eto’o at the Nou Camp. We wouldn’t be able to afford him anyway. Possibly one of the other top 4 clubs will have a go at getting him or maybe he could go somewhere else in Europe but really, I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere, it’s just a load of bollocks being stirred up by the Spanish press.

Apparently one player we are actually in for is Morten Gamst Pedersen, according to the player’s agent, the top 5 English clubs are looking at him. I would be delighted if Pedersen came to Ashburton Grove, I’m a big fan of the player and I think we could really do with him here. The story could be a bit of a lie from his agent just to raise interest in his player but if Arsene is actually serious about signing him then I think it’s great news. I believe he is one player that we could actually sign, Eto’o is nonsense we’re never getting him, but Pedersen, that sounds more realistic.

I went to Wembley last night for the big England v Brazil game, it was nice to see the amazing new stadium but the game wasn’t all that amazing in my opinion but it was a good night. Gilberto captained the visitors and scored a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside. Here’s a list of all our other players out on international duties.

Right then. Have a nice weekend.