Rosicky’s not injured & Vermaelen to wear no.5 30 July, 2009

There are reports that Tomas Rosicky has suffered an injury spreading but after watching last night’s post-match interview I can tell you he’s going to be fine. It’s true he might have picked up a niggle at Barnet – that’s normal after a long period out but Wenger said that both he and Gael Clichy are set to play in this weekend’s Emirates Cup.

It was a bit worrying not seeing Tomas in any of the matches out in Austria but he was only kept back as a precaution. His return to full fitness is going to be a bit stop start but we just have to accept that – you can expect him to come straight back and play every minute of every game.

It’d be nice to see him get a run out this weekend but if it’s taking any risk then I’d rather he watched from the sidelines and concentrated on being fit for Everton.

Also in that interview Arsene was asked about Kolo Toure’s departure and whether the money will be used to bring anyone in. He said we’re not close on anything at the moment but we are looking at what’s available and, “We do not make money to put it in the bank.”

I think that statement could be directed at some of the people criticizing our transfer policy. We’ve still got another month to make signings and typically the last few weeks are the busiest. I am adamant we need new additions but I’m not going to start any Wenger-Out campaigns just yet…

Articles like this sound as if the chequebook is closed but I’m not going to get worked up this early. Yes the squad is thin right now – but the season hasn’t started yet. There are plenty of clubs out there in a much worse position than us.

I believe Wenger when he says we have a good team, I know we do. It’s the squad that worries me a bit. A couple of injuries in the same area and that’s when we need to be worried. We’ll talk about this a bit later down the line though.

And finally today, it has been confirmed on the Online Shop that Thomas Vermaelen will wear the no.5 shirt. If you follow this link and click the drop down menu of shirt printing options you’ll see he’s listed in there as no.5. The Official Store is always first with the squad numbers so I’m pretty sure they’re right, I’m expecting an official confirmation pretty soon.

It’s no real surprise really, we were just waiting for either Kolo’s or Senderos’ departure until the Belgian got his number. My home kit is blank at the moment but I was thinking of getting it printed this season, I’m going to see how Thomas does but he could be a contender for the honour of my shirt. Or maybe Arshavin? We’ll see…

Anyways, that’s you updated. Thanks for reading, speak soon.

Goodbye Kolo & 1-0 vs. Hannover 96 29 July, 2009

It’s a done deal, Kolo Toure has joined Adebayor at Man City for a reported fee of £16m. As good business as it is, this is a sad day for Arsenal fans. He joined us from Ivorian side Asec Mimosas in February 2002 for a mere £250,000 but quickly became an Arsenal great. We loved him for his tenacity and he was extremely good at what he did. He put everything into every game and that pace plus tackling ability he was a tough man to beat for any striker.

He won a lot here and was a vital part of the 2003/04 invincible squad. He leaves today as the last full member of that unbeaten side proving how much we have moved on since then. However, I think it’s fair to say he has been in decline and has not been the same player since he picked up Malaria almost a year ago to the day. You know he would still give everything but he’s just not the player he used to be.

This move has been on the table for quite a while now. Kolo handed in a transfer request in January when City came calling but we convinced him to complete the rest of season. Now we’ve sold him 6 months later and with a few million thrown in on top. It’s a great deal considering we only bought him for a quarter of a million but the fans wont care about that. Arsene always knows the right time to sell a player so I’m going to have to trust him.

We have to move on now. This Arsenal side has been going through a lot of changes in recent years and we just have to get on with it. Kolo will always get a great reception when he faces Arsenal and that’s how we’re just going to have to end it. He is one of football’s nicest blokes and I’m sure he will be missed just as much around the dressing room as he will in the stands. I hope things go well for him and he enjoys his big payday up north but I have to admit it does hurt seeing him holding another shirt, especially another Premiership one.

The future in defence is Vermaelen and Djourou. Gallas needs to be strong for us next season but I don’t see him staying much longer than that. We have to hope that Vermaelen can become our new Toure – chasing after every ball, dispossessing every striker and putting a halt to any attack.

So that’s two African’s to Man City in a short space of time and it looks like we could be down one more very soon. There’s no more news on Emmanuel Eboue’s situation but after tonight’s game he went up to the Arsenal section throwing his boots in the crowd and waving to all the fans. It looked a lot like he was saying his goodbyes and it wouldn’t surprise me if he leaves Arsenal very soon.

We used to suffer quite a bit when the African Nations Cup came around by the looks of things it could just be Alex Song who’ll have to leave us mid-season to represent his country.

Well talking of tonight’s game we beat Hannover 96 1-0 thanks to an 8th minute goal from Cesc Fabregas. It was the captain’s first appearance this season and he got it off to a great start rounding the ‘keeper after getting onto van Persie’s clever ball through.

We fielded quite a strong starting eleven playing a 4-3-3 with Cesc, Song and Denilson playing in midfield and Arshavin, van Persie and Bendtner playing the forward roles. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this formation this pre-season and it could become a more regular thing. It makes sense with the players that we have and it seems to be working for us.

Bendtner had a good first half, he was doing his best to make an impact and was unlucky not to score. Arshavin was a bit quiet but I’m not worried about that. The defence made a few slips letting the striker through on more than one occasion but managed to get back every time. Thomas Vermaelen had to come off early but I’m not sure what went wrong, hopefully it was just a precaution.

I quite enjoyed the game, it was a bit more competitive than the other friendlies we’ve played and against a better quality opposition. Robin van Persie was getting a bit too into it though and had to be brought off to save him from a red card. There was a bit of a shoving match when he went in late, nothing happened but it showed both sides were definitely up for it.

Last night an ‘Arsenal XI’ beat Maidenhead 7-1. The reserves are looking good this season and after the game Jay Emmanuel-Thomas told us he has his eyes on the Carling Cup. Hopefully one year our kids will do it, we keep going so close but it says a lot how our reserve side can compete in a competition like that and still be one of the favourites.

And finally Eduardo has been named in the Croatia squad for a game just three days before our opener against Everton. You just know he is going to get injured in that. He’s also been talking about the threat of Man City and admits it will be hard to win the league.

Ok well that’s it for tonight. Goodbye Kolo, you will be sorely missed.

Thanks for reading.

Toure latest, 5-0 in Hungary & Vieira’s Spurs move unlikely 28 July, 2009

In last night’s post-match interview Arsene Wenger gave a very big clue as to where Kolo Toure’s future lies. He hinted we could know a lot more in the next 24 hours and it looks like a move is on the table. You can listen to the interview here if you have ATVO, if not here’s what he said:

“We’ll see what’s happening in the next 24 hours. We have many centre-backs, seven centre-backs and I’m in a position where we have to play some in midfield. Of course Kolo is a very good player, we’ll see what happens in the next 24 hours.”

Basically Wenger is saying we have too many centre backs and Kolo Toure looks likely to be the first to leave. Most would argue we should get rid of Silvestre or Senderos and keep Toure but I don’t think we have that luxury. Not only would no one be stupid enough to buy Silvestre, but if the reported fee of £16m is correct we could get a load of cash for a fading star.

As much as we all love Kolo we have to admit he is in decline. Wenger always knows the right time to sell a player and I think this summer might be the one for him. City are in the market for a defender so we may as well cash in. It’ll hurt to see him go but we just have to move on.

There’s bound to be a load more news on this in the next few days so I’ll update you then.

In the same interview Arsene was asked about the possibility of players coming in and to be honest he didn’t sound too optimistic. He said at the moment he is concentrating more on getting the current squad fully fit, getting through the next friendlies and then deciding what needs to be done. I’m of the opinion we need at least one player in as things stand but with departures looking imminent we might need a few new faces just to get the squad looking full. We have a good team I think but just a few injuries later and we are down to bare bones. We’ll have to wait and see if Wenger will get his chequebook out again.

Last night be beat Szombathelyi Haladas 5-0 with Bendtner and Eduardo getting two each in the first half and van Persie getting the fifth from the penalty spot just after the hour mark. Despite most of the goals coming in the first 45, we looked a better side in the second period. It looked more like a team that we would see next season and we were gelling really well. We really should’ve made it more than 5 but at this stage it’s the fitness and team play that is more important.

Szombathelyi had a chance to get a consolation goal in the second half when they were awarded a penalty. Barbosa placed the ball on the spot, did a Ronaldo-esque stutter in his run-up sending the ‘keeper the wrong way but then placed his effort the wrong side of the post! I think second half ‘keeper Wojciech Szczesny put it best picking himself up off the floor and giving Barbosa the wanker gesture. Ha! Szczesny was in no mood to concede after pulling off a great double save and making a great stop from a free kick previous to the penalty decision.

As I said on my twitter, I am quiet excited about Eduardo for this season. He scored two good goals and I believe if he stays fit there will be plenty more this season. With Bendtner and Eduardo both playing well ithisn pre-season it wouldn’t surprise me if Wenger was tempted not to replace Adebayor. I don’t necessarily think he needs to, but as I say – when injuries start mounting up that’s when I think we will benefit from a larger squad.

Thierry Henry has denied advising Patrick Vieira on his proposed move to Spurs. All Arsenal fans are dreading a possible move to that lot and Titi is right on our level:

“I am Arsenal through and through, I’d never advise ANYONE to sign for Tottenham. Patrick Vieira is a grown man who will do whatever he has to do for his own career. But I have never advised anyone about their future because it’s not my business.

I can’t have Arsenal fans thinking I am helping Tottenham in any way. The truth is I was talking to Spurs boss Harry Redknapp and he told me he was trying to sign Patrick from Inter Milan. I was very surprised because Patrick is like me. He loves Arsenal. I just said that Patrick would be a brilliant signing. But I also made it clear I would be shocked if it happened.”

I love Thierry.

It is quite scary though thinking that talks have actually happened between Vieira and Redknapp but today the Spurs manager has said the deal looks to be falling through. That has to be great news. It’s still worrying that Vieira hasn’t come out and said anything yet but hopefully he’s decided he can’t move to Spurs after his Arsenal history. It would be nice now if he would come out and give a Thierry Henry style statement but we’ll have to wait.

Ok that’s you updated for today then. We’re playing Hannover 96 tomorrow evening so I’ll try and update you again before we kick off there. Thanks for reading.

News Round Up & Szombathelyi Starting XI 27 July, 2009

Once again I apologize to regular readers for being so shit with my updates recently but I have been all over the place. Moving house is so stressful so please try to bear with me for the moment. I’ll be back to normal by the weekend hopefully.

To be fair I haven’t missed any big news – nothing’s happened yet but there are a few deals that are looking close. Fiorentina are looking to sign Emmanuel Eboue, they are supposed to be sending representatives over here today to organize a move but we’ll have to wait and see about that. Also after John Terry’s Chelsea commitment yesterday Man City are expected to renew their interest in Kolo Toure. However both Toure and Eboue are starting in tonight’s game versus Szombathelyi Haladas. It’s early days for both these stories but it’s set to be a productive week.

We’ve now had the Adebayor money for some time and there has been no news as yet on any possible players coming in. It worries me a bit because although we have a strong squad, a few injures later we’re in serious trouble. If Toure and Senderos go we’re looking very thin at the back and the same goes up front if Eduardo and van Persie get injured.

I still think we need a few more signings, especially if there are players going out the door as it looks at the moment. I think the first priority is a top-class central midfielder to partner Cesc then we need to look at an attacking player. Robin van Persie believes more competition upfront would strengthen us and he’s right. The Dutchman is our no.1 forward at the moment so his place in the side isn’t at risk, however the likes of Bendtner might be concerned about another striker coming in.

Nicklas has today rubbished rumours of a move to AC Milan. I don’t think there was ever anything in that story but it’s good to see his commitment. If we don’t buy anyone in that position then he’s going to get a lot more games this season. As it stands we have van Persie, then Eduardo, Bendtner, Vela and Walcott fighting for places so the Dane has a great chance. One injury and he’s in the starting line up I believe. Two injures though and I think we would regret not replacing Adebayor.

As I mentioned in my last post, Adebayor’s been talking crap and I wasn’t expecting it to be honest. We both had our differences but I thought we were just going to leave it alone and get on with things. Well we wont stand for it, hence my post in anger the other day. Gael Clichy has denied saying Ade left for the money but I’d like to believe he was mouthing Adebayor off, but who knows. I think the real reason he left is because he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Remember at the time when the news broke about Man City, there was that rumour about his agents trying to engineer a move to Man United? Well Alex Ferguson has confirmed that they did contact United and indeed Chelsea. The cheeky little bastard.

Anyway moving on we have a match tonight, we’re playing Szombathelyi Haladas in Hungary. I’m going to be watching on Arsenal TV Online again and like last week I’ll keep my twitter updated with any links, goals and thoughts. They’ve just announced the team:

Mannone
Eboue – Toure – Djourou- Traore
Denilson – Ramsey – Song – Wilshere
Eduardo – Bendtner

Good to see Eduardo in there but no Fabregas or Clichy still, we have a game on Wednesday too remember so hopefully we’ll get to see them then. the bench is as follows: Szczesny, Sagna, Silvestre, Vermaelen, Gallas, Senderos, Van Persie, Arshavin.

That’s about it for today. There’s some fresh news on the whole takeover business with Red & White getting airtime on the BBC. I can’t say I know a whole deal about it but if you haven’t read it already, head over to Arseblog.

OK well I’m going to get tonight’s game on, it’s about to start. Speak to you in a bit on twitter, otherwise in the next day or two. Thanks for reading.

The difference between Henry and Adebayor is clear 24 July, 2009

I’m sorry I’ve been a bit quiet this week. I’ve just been really busy, odd hours at work, people to meet and a house to clean ready to move into my new one. I’ve barely got the time to write this to be honest but I thought I’d better seeing as I don’t think I’ll get a chance tomorrow.

I just want to quickly talk to you about Adebayor and Thierry Henry. Both strikers have been talking about their former clubs recently and the difference between them has been quite clearly shown.

Both players are thought of in two very different lights today by Gooners. Both have gone on to new challenges with our blessing but that’s about the only comparison.

Thierry Henry is an Arsenal legend. We all agree, he was one of the best players the world never mind just Arsenal has ever seen and he had an attitude towards the club we really appreciated. He still loves Arsenal, and we still love him. Things might not have gone 100% right but it doesn’t matter.

He’s been talking this week about how he hopes we can win the league and believes we can do it despite whoever we’ve lost. Also, he says keeping Cesc Fabregas is ‘vital’ to us. A lot of players have been known to publically tell ex-team mates to come join them at new clubs but Titi’s not like that. He knows keeping Cesc is in our best interests and it’s in his interests too. He’s not a cunt.

Adebayor, he’s a cunt though. I never thought I’d be bitter about Ade leaving, just ‘meh’ but after these quotes I just think he’s a bit of a knob. Firstly he has tried comparing himself to Cesc asking why fans didn’t turn on him when Barcelona was interested in him because he reckons it’s exactly the same situation as his. No it fucking isn’t, you deluded prat. Barcelona want Cesc, that’s fair enough – but he denies it every time there’s a rumour about him leaving and commits to Arsenal once again. Do you, Adebayor? No, what you do is flirt outrageously and try get in with all the big spenders in the world.

The worst part though was last summer when Adebayor was giving a press conference for Adidas or something and was asked by the media about all the Milan rumours. He committed himself to Arsenal, he rejected it all and it was all wonderful. I remember the day well; I heard the news and tuned in to Sky Sports News to watch. Then I saw him live, after the official press conference talk to the media back stage saying yeah basically he was looking for a move, he wanted more money and didn’t think Arsenal appreciated him – completely contradicting everything he just said. Then he has the cheek to try and tell us he never tried to construct a move away and ‘can’t help other clubs being interested in him’. That is why you got booed and that is why you can’t compare yourself to Cesc Fabregas.

He’s also been talking about how he hasn’t joined Man City for the money but Arsenal sold him because we needed the cash. He says that is was all Wenger’s decision to sell him to Man City and he did not tell him why. I’ll give you one reason: Because nobody else wanted you or was stupid enough to pay all that money for you. He also reckons Man City will beat Arsenal to the top four next season and is there to get in the Champions League. They sure are going to give us a run for our money but I pray that we finish above them next season.

I think that’s all I’ve really got to say on that. Adebayor can go on and on about whatever he likes but at the end of the day I don’t really care. I know what I’ve heard him say and that’s that. It funny though because he genuinely believes that he’s done nothing wrong. Ah well.

Fiorentina’s president Andrea Della Valle has told us he is still interested in Eboue. At one point it looked like he was going to be part of a swap deal for Melo but they still could try and bring him to Florence. It’s early days on this story but it could develop; we’ve got a lot of wingers now and with Eboue’s best mate in Ade gone, a move away from Arsenal isn’t too far fetched.

Djourou thinks this could be his breakthrough season and believes he is ready to step up. He knows he is young and he knows the competition for a place will be tough but he believes in himself and I like that. So far this pre-season he’s been partnered with Vermaelen a couple of times, we’ll have to see how it continues but it could end up being a partnership for the new season. I think Johan will certainly get more games this year but whether he can fight off the competition we’ll have to wait and find out.

There are some more pictures from the Austria camp. It’s mainly players being held with long bits of elastic as they try to run away. It’s either an interesting training exercise or a new technique to try stop players leaving the club. Either way I like it.

And finally Rene Steer has joined Olham after a successful trial. It didn’t work out for him at Arsenal but I hope things go well for him in the future.

Right I really better go, turned into a much longer post than I had time for. Shit it’s half 10, still got loads to do tonight. See ya.

Quick Austria Update 22 July, 2009

Last night we beat SC Columbia Floridsdorf 7-1 in Vienna (highlights). The amateur side took a surprise lead in the 35th minute after Almunia gave the ball away at his feet. We probably should’ve been in the lead anyway but Bendtner equalized seconds later. The Dane scored another just before half time, the other goals coming from Ramsey (2), van persie (2) and Gallas. It was a good game to watch, we were allowed lots of space and we got to see a load of the senior players make their return.

The next game’s not until Monday so it’s a week’s hard work before then. You can see the lads in training here and there’s also pictures of Cesc Fabregas who has joined the rest of the squad after his extended break. Everyone should be back now so apart from Samir Nasri of course we have a full squad to chose from.

Toure and Senderos both played last night despite being linked with moves away. Big Phil was in an unfamiliar position of central midfield and Toure wore the armband for the second half. After the game Wenger was asked about Senderos’ future and it sounds like it is down to the player:

“It’s open. At the moment he is looking for solutions. He has many opportunities but he has to decide on his future.”

It wouldn’t surprise me if Philippe was told that he can stay, but first team chances would be limited. It’s understandable with Gallas, Toure, Vermaelen, Djourou and Song to compete with. He might decide he must leave in order to get first team football but we’ll have to wait and see.

Right I really have to shoot, I’m sorry. Speak to you soon though.

Samir Nasri fractures fibula – 09/10 Injury #1 21 July, 2009

The squad had only been in Austria 24 hours when news broke today of the season’s first injury. I was kind of hoping we might have a bit better luck this year but it’s not a good start. Samir Nasri has fractured his right fibula and will be out of action for two to three months. Even if he does recover in that time scale, he’s going to have to go through a pre-season schedule again to get him up to fitness. I’m not very optimistic about this and I’m not expecting him around until November time.

He’s very lucky though, it could’ve been a lot worse – It’s not a full break which would’ve totally ruined his season. There’s no word on how it happened but would it surprise you if Vermaelen had a ‘hulk-like’ mood swing and went flying in?

Rosicky’s recovery is now more important that ever. If his pre-season goes well then Nasri’s injury wont put us in too much trouble. Another injury in that area then we could start to get worried but with Rosicky, Arshavin, Walcott, Eboue and possibly Diaby or a striker able to play wide I think we’ll be ok for now. It’s still frustrating news though and I hope Samir makes a strong recovery; 09/10 is set to be a good year for him after a strong start in England, lets hope he doesn’t miss too much of the season out.

We’re playing SC Columbia in half an hour and I’ve got Arsenal TV Online ready to go. I still don’t see any team news but as soon as I know I’ll update the article with the side. I’m gonna have twitter open as I watch and I’ll do my best to keep those of you without ATVO updated. If you’re not following me already, do it here. Also I’ll keep an eye out for an internet stream, if I find one I’ll put that up on twitter too.

Update – I’ve got the team:

Almunia
Silvestre – Vermaelen – Djourou – Eboue
Diaby – Denilson – Ramsey – Wilshere
Arshavin
Bendtner

I’ll do a quick round up of everything else going on today before the game starts. Lyon say they are interested in Chamakh and are “ready to welcome him with open arms.” That’s nice. They understand that he wants to go to England but they’re just letting him know that the offer is there. I think Chamakh had the chance to go to Lyon before but now he wants to go to England I don’t see him changing his mind. Arseblogger says that on Irish radio last night journalist, Xavier Rivoire told us Chamakh will be joining us in the very immediate future. It wouldn’t surprise me you know. More on that as I hear it.

And finally last night an Arsenal XI beat Lincoln City 3-2. Sunu and Emmanuel-Thomas put us 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go but two goals in five minutes for the home side brought things level. It took a last minute winner from defender, Luke Ayling to make it 3-2.

Right then I’m off to watch tonight’s game. Keep an eye on the here and my twitter for updates. Thanks for reading.

Adebayor deal confirmed, what happens now? 20 July, 2009

Arsenal.com have finally acknowledged Adebayor’s move to Manchester City and we can now start to think about where that money will go. It’s not unlike the official website to report news a day or so late but it is unlike them to report on possible transfer targets… Well the main story earlier today was ‘Wenger – We’re keeping an eye on Chamakh‘. We’re a club that is very quiet when it comes to transfer dealings, it makes sense doing business like this and we always keep things on the quiet. That’s why it was a surprise when Wenger admitted he was following Chamakh a few weeks ago.

Now Arsenal.com have published these quotes from Wenger’s post-Barnet interview:

“We keep an eye on him. He is one of the players that we will follow and if we went for a striker then he would be one of the possibilities.”

It’s fairly well known by everyone that we are keeping tabs on Chamakh. The player himself knows it too but in a recent interview with L’Equipe he said he’s not so sure if we’re interested anymore:

“I want a new challenge, I have a weakness for the English league. My dearest wish is to leave Bordeaux. I have repeated it for several months and I hope my officials will listen to my wish.

With my agent, we have agreed terms with several English clubs that are keen to sign me. They are just waiting for my decision. They are notably Sunderland, Blackburn, Tottenham and Fulham. Arsenal? I don’t really believe in it anymore. My officials have not received any offer so far.

I have not made my decision yet. I am studying the offers.

Well if he has offers from other clubs and Wenger really is serious about him then he better hurry up and get a bid in. It is a little off putting seeing clubs like Sunderland, Tottenham and Blackburn are after him but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s shit. There are other clubs in the Premier League with money to spend and the availability of Chamakh is something that probably appeals to him. However I think if we came in with an offer we would become front runners. It’s down to Arsene now.

Gunnerblog has been discussing other possible Adebayor replacements. He names Real Madrid’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as a possible option but Sky Sports are today reporting he has agreed to join Stuttgart. I saw on Twitter there was a bloke at Barnet on Saturday wearing a ‘Huntelaar 25′ shirt; either he knows something I don’t, his name is coincidentally Mr. Huntelaar or what’s looking quite likely he has just wasted £45.

In other news Wenger has been talking about Tomas Rosicky saying he feared for his career at one point. I think we all did really. This season is the moment of truth, Saturday was all good to see him playing again but how will his body react to a full football schedule? If he has fully recovered then it’ll be fantastic for us. I think it will be a bit stop-start for him this season, a bit like when Eduardo returned from his leg-break. So I’m going to treat it as bonus if he does make a full recovery. It’s great to see him back in an Arsenal shirt though.

I mentioned yesterday how I know nothing about tomorrow night’s opponents SC Columbia. Well the club have done a ‘Get to know…‘ article for us. Their full name is SC Columbia Floridsdorf and they play at Stadium *ctrl+C, ctrl+V* Schwarzlackenau. They play in blue and black so it could mean a first appearance in our new 3rd shirt. Some of the facts that Arsenal.com found were a but shocking though:

• SC Columbia are an amateur team with no professional or semi-professionals in the squad.
• They currently compete in Austrian’s Fourth Division.
• Their most prominent player is 44-year-old fee-kick specialist Julius Simon. He scored 10 goals last season and has 23 caps for Slovakia
• Manager Franz Maresch took the helm two years ago after spending time playing for the club. The former-professional striker, 37 (7 years younger than their best player!), used to ply his trade in the Austrian Premier League.

No disrespect to SC Columbia but I think tomorrow night’s game could be the first win of the 09/10 pre-season. There’s no hint of the squad yet but it definitely wont be any of these players who are playing Lincoln City in a friendly tonight. If there is any more news on tomorrow’s game then I might just be able to do that match preview after all.

Thanks for reading.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Barnet Friendly thoughts 19 July, 2009

So he’s gone then. Finally signing for City on a five-year deal after completing a medical yesterday while we were all in Barnet. The fee and wage are both undisclosed but I believe we got up to somewhere between £22m – £25m for him, which is brilliant. You might think we’ve strengthened a serious rival by selling Adebayor to City but for that money they could’ve got someone a lot better. If we reinvest that money well back into the side then hopefully it will turn out that City ended up indirectly strengthening us.

Wenger insists we are in no hurry to buy reminding us that we have plenty of strikers for next season:

“We’re not on the verge of signing anybody but I’m able to spend the money if we find the right players,” he said.

“We’re not in a hurry because we have a big squad. We’ll see in pre-season if we need to make any additions. If we need to add something we will. Chamakh is one of the players we’ve followed and if we need to go for a striker he’s a possibility. We’re keeping an eye on him.

We have Rosicky and Eduardo back so we’ve lost a big striker but have gained two offensive players who were absent last season. We also have Nicklas Bendtner, Andrey Arshavin, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott who can play striker. We have top players we can use as strikers.”

If everyone stays fit then any striker we do buy this summer might end up getting nowhere near the team! That’s a big ‘if’ though really… I’m not too bothered about us signing a striker to be fair. If two of RVP, Eduardo, Arshavin, Bendtner and Walcott are fit then I think we’re sorted. I’d rather we spent the money on that central midfielder we’ve been crying out for since Flamini and Diarra’s departure.

As for Adebayor – meh, good riddance. It’s a shame because he really grew on me. At first I was a bit skeptical, he wasn’t my favorite player but I began to appreciate what he did well and I loved how he worked for the team. But that 30-goal season went right to his head, he started demanding big money or a big move and even though he was our best player of the 07/08 season, we weren’t having any of it that summer. Just read this interview from December 2006 and see how he’s changed…

We’ve seen top players flirt with other clubs before and get away with it – He thought he could do it and everything would be rosey. Well it showed it doesn’t matter how well you play for Arsenal, if you act a cunt you get treated like one. We probably gave him a hard time at the start of last season but we did give him a chance to redeem himself. Nothing happened though; he became very lazy and was useless without his work rate. The semi finals against Manchester United couldn’t even conjure some motivation; there was doubt whether he should be played in those games or not but was given the benefit of the doubt by the manager and did fuck all. Summed up his season really.

When the news officially came through yesterday I will admit I had mixed emotions. I knew I wanted him to leave but once it was all done it felt a bit strange. Part of me had come to terms that he might have to stay this summer and earn the respect of the fans back so I was willing to allow him another chance. In the end the move got sorted so it doesn’t matter. It kind of reminded me of breaking up with a girl – you remember the good times and are sad that it’s all over but then you remember what a bitch they have been and are glad you don’t have to put up with it anymore.

I don’t know how he’ll do at City but for Arsenal’s sake I hope he’s a flop. I don’t really spite Ade that much, I don’t hope he breaks his leg or anything like that – I just hope he was as lazy and pathetic as he was at Arsenal and City wonder why they ever spend all that money on him just as we wonder how he ever was that player he used to be. It’s going to be a bit strange when Man City play Arsenal for the first time on 12th September. I won’t be booing him, he’ll just get a big ‘meh whatever’ from me but I don’t think that’ll be the case from everyone else. I’m thinking there’ll be a repeat of what was sung at yesterday’s game:

Ade-bay-orrrr,
Ade-bay-orrrrrrrrr!
We told him to fuck off,
And showed him the door.

Talking of yesterday’s game, I guess I should cover that instead of going on and on about an ex-player. I don’t think it was fully worthy of an official match report but I’ll fill you in anyway. I was sat in the Main Stand (yeah I know, plastic fan) and if you want to see my camera phone shots I have uploaded them to TwitPic. The score was 2-2 as I’m sure you know but the result didn’t really matter. Apparently it did though to some of the Barnet fans sat around me. The home side were quite up for it and were not afraid to put in a tackle and stand their ground.

For me the real treat was seeing Rosicky, he captained the side (pic) and said afterwards how much he enjoyed playing again. Tomas got a great reception from the crowd and almost scored early on when Arshavin put him through. Those two showed potential for a creative relationship so we’ll have to see how that comes on. He didn’t look too out of shape either considering it was only the first pre-season game and was even on the end of a few of those challenges I was talking about. He was subbed at half time but then so was pretty much everyone else. I’m looking forward to seeing him progress to full fitness in the next month or so.

Vermaelen was the only player to remain on from the first half and ended up playing the full 90 minutes, 45 of which wearing the captain’s armband. It’s a bit early to judge him but I thought he looked alright, he might’ve dealt with some balls a bit earlier but he managed to recover every time. I can see the ‘no-nonsense’ side in him though and I can imagine when things get a bit more serious we’ll see just how mad he can be.

Arshavin opened the scoring with a 43rd minute tap in. Wilshere sent Sanchez Watt down the left who crossed low for the Russian to open the scoring. A couple of minutes later Barnet equalized, a free kick was whipped in and Yakubu got a nod on it to put it out of Almunia’s reach. Nacer Barazite put us back in front with a great goal six minutes into the second half but Barnet made it 2-2 seven minutes from the end. Those final few minutes got a bit faster paced when we realized we weren’t going to win but in the end it was just a draw. The Barnet fans were happy and so was I because I got to watch Arsenal again. I won’t be writing any ‘Wenger Out!’ articles after this result anyway.

Well that’s if for today then. Tomorrow morning the squad flies out to Austria for the pre-season training camp and the day after that we play SC Columbia. There won’t be any match preview for that though as pretty much all the information I could find out about the game was the club’s badge! In fact I don’t know what kits they wear, where they are from or even where the game is being played! All I know is that it’s at 5.30pm our time (I think) and that it’s being played somewhere in Vienna. Aren’t you thankful for all the amazing research I do for you, ay?

Thanks for reading.

Arsenal vs. Barnet Preview: Football is back! 17 July, 2009

We’ve finally made it, tomorrow we kick off our 09/10 preparations after a long, long summer. It’s the annual Underhill opener and as always I can’t wait! It’s just a little run out for the players but getting to see them playing again, mixing with the fans and just having a good day out is what it’s all about.

It would be nice to see a few goals but I think I’m more looking forward to the first glimpse of Vermaelen and a chance to see Rosicky again. He is literally ‘like a new signing’ and if he can recover from his long period out well then he’s going to be a big bonus this year.

The squad has been announced and those two will be involved. There’ also a chance of seeing Almunia, Gallas, Djourou, Silvestre, Arshavin and Wilshere. The rest of the squad is made up of reserves, youngsters and Carling Cup regulars. You’re probably wondering where everyone else is, well the squad was only going to include players that returned from training early and those with summer commitments will join in the friendlies after tomorrow’s.

However, there are a few players that aren’t in the squad that started training with those others above. There’s no Nasri, no Eduardo and no Senderos. Not sure why Nasri or Eduardo aren’t involved but Senderos’ exclusion does point towards his impending exit. There’s no Adebayor either who apparently said goodbye to team mates this morning ahead of his move to Man City. It wouldn’t surprise me if that move was announced right at the start of next week.

Lets concentrate on who is there rather who isn’t and it’s going to be great, if not a little strange, to see Tomas Rosicky back in action. I hope he gets to play but if not just seeing him train before the game is going to be a bonus. Cesc Fabregas is looking forward to seeing his best mate back playing again too. I look forward to seeing them combining this season; just think, Arshavin, Fabregas and Rosicky all going forward in our midfield – add a decent defensive player to that and you have a very good midfield right there.

In recent meetings we’ve usually stated with a strong side with a load of subs at half time and then finishing the game with a complete team of reserves and kids. It doesn’t bother me, it gives everyone a run out – I’m just glad to see Arsenal playing again. It’s hard to guess at the team for a game like this, but out of the squad available I see this as our strongest starting eleven:

Almunia (c)
Djourou – Vermaelen – Gallas – Silvestre
Rosicky – Coquelin – Emmanuel-Thomas – Wilshere
Arshavin
Simpson

I’ve been really impressed with Coquelin; he’s really energetic, gives everything and doesn’t stop working. He’s done well at central midfield and right back so don’t be surprised to play either position tomorrow. Apart from I guess Arshavin, there are no first team forwards in tomorrow’s squad so it’s a chance for some of the kids to impress. With service from Rosicky and Arshavin they could be given some great opportunities. Jay Simpson showed what he can do in last season’s Carling Cup, I’m expecting to see him play.

It doesn’t really matter what the team is to be honest, it doesn’t really matter what the score is at the end of the day! I’d like to see Vermaelen and Rosicky as I said above and it would be also good to see the rest of the first teamers too but I’m not being picky.

My coach leaves Bournemouth at 9:30 tomorrow morning arriving nicely in time for a few beers in Barnet before the game. I’m really looking forward to it, particularly just being in a crowd of Gooners again going to watch a game. As I write this I’m looking out my front room window and there’s a load of Bournemouth and Tottenham fans walking past to the stadium down the road. I’m sitting here in my Arsenal shirt and already had one funny look from a spud! Wish I was going to the game tonight but I have work a bit later, come on the Cherries anyway! I’m looking forward to tomorrow though, you just can’t beat that feeling of walking up to a ground to watch The Arsenal.

If you’re not going I believe it’s on Arsenal TV but it’s still not sold out last time I checked. If you can make it down there it’s always a good day out.

Well here’s to AFC Bournemouth tonight, Arsenal tomorrow and I guess Mother Nature too… hopefully it doesn’t piss it down for everyone standing in the terraces! I’ll bring you a report Sunday hopefully but it could be Monday. See you when I see you.

And it’s all gone quiet over there 16 July, 2009

With the first pre-season friendly just three days away and all the breaking news about Man City’s interest in Emmanuel Adebayor it seems like the summer quiet period is officially over. Things are about to hot up, especially if Ade’s transfer does go through as it’ll leave us £25m in pocket with a striker and/or central midfielder to buy. It’s been a long and enduring summer but it looks as if those no-news days are over.

I opened with this paragraph yesterday and once again I have no idea what I’m talking about. After the sudden burst of Adebayor to City stories it’s all gone a bit quiet again. I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going on; the papers have already announced a passed medical and approved work permit so there’s nothing really more to say until it’s a done deal.

They’re now saying that Ade wants a bit of extra time to think about his move. Apparently he’s worried what his fans in Africa will think about him moving from one of the continent’s favourite clubs to Man City, a team which everyone knows is all about money. I’m sure the rumoured £150,000+ a week will help him make a decision.

There’s also this story from the Daily Mail who have outdone themselves again. They say his agent has contacted United after City refused to pay his wage demands. This summer the Daily Mail has come up with some incredible stories, this isn’t the worst but it’s another to add to the scrap book. This just after Alex Ferguson said there will be no more signings this summer, the Daily Mail think they can get away with a lazy link with a £20m+ striker wanting £170,000 a week. Madness.

The reality is this, Man City are away in South Africa to play Orlando Pirates and Kaiser Chiefs. Once they’re back from that maybe the move can get rolling again. Until then we’re just going to have to wait, speculate and maybe speculate some more.

There is a bit of news though, Felipe Melo has completed his move to Juve. I think a lot of us were quite excited about the possibility of signing him but he did make it clear from the start he wanted to go to Juventus. We were just used to hurry them into an offer and I feel a bit silly now. We have to move on to our next target and I’m sure Wenger is busy seeing where any possible money from Adebayor can go.

Everyone’s saying Marouane Chamakh, even Wenger admitted he is a target. I’d expect that deal to happen fairly quickly after an Adebayor transfer. We should have a fair amount of money left over though and I’d hope Arsene is seeing what central midfielder we can get with that. We could have up to £18m left to spend on a defensive midfielder and that kind of money can get you a pretty decent player.

We have been linked with someone today – a 15-year-old Serbian forward Veljko Batrovic. AC Milan and Real Madrid are supposed to be after him too but Sky Sports understands he’s flying over to London next week for a trial with us. Sky Sports ‘understand’ a lot don’t they?

Ok well that’s it for today. Tomorrow I’ll be able to write the first match preview of 09/10! Unless of course there’s a load of developments with this Adebayor story in which case you’d probably rather hear about that. Either way, speak to you tomorrow.

City confirm Ade talks, more bad news for Hartson & Vieira must not go to Spurs 15 July, 2009

With the first pre-season friendly just three days away and all the breaking news about Man City’s interest in Emmanuel Adebayor it seems like the summer quiet period is officially over. Things are about to hot up, especially if Ade’s transfer does go through as it’ll leave us £25m in pocket with a striker and/or central midfielder to buy. It’s been a long and enduring summer but it looks as if those no-news days are over.

Yesterday Carlos Tevez was unveiled as a Manchester City player and at the press conference Mark Hughes confirmed there has been talks with Arsenal over Adebayor. It’s early days yet but the City manager has confirmed they are indeed interested:

“I think there have been discussions between ourselves and Arsenal but as is my usual response to questions about players we haven’t yet signed, it’s not really the right time or place to discuss it.

Yes, there has been contact. There is a deal to be done, possibly. But it’s not been concluded as we speak here. Until that actually happens it’s not really the time or the place.”

Since then, the BBC have told us Ade has passed a medical at City. Now the BBC are usually quite good at bringing football news, they do it quickly and accurately but I can’t help but think they’ve jumped the gun here. It sounds a bit early for the medical to be done and there’s nothing in that story more than the headline to suggest it has happened. I don’t know, we’ll see.

If they are correct though then we could see a deal being completed as early as today. If City are actually still interested then I see a transfer going through more realistically in the next seven days. I’ll leave all my final thoughts for Adebayor once a deal is announced sicne there’s other news to cover first.

I told you the sad news of John Hartson being diagnosed with cancer a couple of days ago, well I’m afraid I’ve got more bad news. It was initially testicular cancer that had spread to the brain, well today we’re being told that it has spread to his lungs, and he is having emergency brain surgery. Now I don’t know all the details but that alone does not sound good to me. Hopefully the ‘emergency’ brain surgery is to get in early to give him better chances rather than anything more serious.

His family have released a statement today thanking everyone for their kind words and that they are drawing strength from the support. I’m sure it will have been passed on to John how fans of his many clubs have reacted to the news and hopefully it will drive him on in his fight.

You thought the news of Birmingham’s interest in Patrick Vieira was wrong, well it’s gets worse. The Daily Mail have linked him with a move to Tottenham and even have the cheek to mock up a photo of him in a Spurs shirt and suggest he will take a massive pay-cut to ‘prove his commitment’. Fuck. Right. Off. I believe in Paddy that he would laugh off any offer from Tottenham. Alright he flirted with other clubs a bit whilst he was with us but I still believe he is an Arsenal man.

The Independent are even suggesting that he is interested in the move. I don’t believe it for one second but I would like to hear Redknapp say whether he’s interested of not. Just simply so PV4 can tell them to fuck off.

Arsenal.com have announced a bit of team news for the Barnet game this weekend. They’ve said the squad will include some players that returned to training on 7th July plus some reserves and youngsters. It’s pretty much what I was expecting really; in recent years it has been a strong-ish starting line up and ended up being a complete side of reserves, giving a bit of a run out to everyone. Vermaelen, Rosicky, Eduardo, Senderos and Traore could all be in the team and it would be nice to see them play, especially Tomas Rosicky who I think most people have almost forgotten about. On Friday if there’s not too much other news around I should be able to write the first official match preview of the season. Exciting stuff!

The club have also announced details of this years Member’s Day open training session which will be held on Tuesday 4th August. I think I missed it last year but I’m in London for the Emirates Cup the weekend before so I might try get a couple extra days off work and hang around for it.

Right then bit of a long one today but there was a lot of news, which makes a change. There’s bound to be more developments tomorrow so stick around. Thanks for reading.

Sky ‘understands’ City offer for Ade & Gazidis’ no.2 man 13 July, 2009

The top story today is a possible shock move from Man City for Emmanuel Adebayor. It’s only really been Milan who’ve shown any interest but Sky Sports News say Man City have held talks over the transfer. Sky are saying their chief football reporter was told talks are in early stages, no bid has been made yet but it could be £20m+

As I said on my twitter this morning, there is nothing to say there’s any truth in this story and there’s also the fact that Wenger doesn’t like selling to Premiership clubs; especially one of his top players. However if Man City came in with an inflated bid then he might just change his mind! There’ll probably be reaction on this story in the next couple of days from his agent and we’ll find if Sky are talking rubbish or not.

My initial reaction is mixed. I don’t think I really want him going to another English club seeing as he has proved already he can cut it in this league. Although if want the most money for him as possible then City might be the place to look.

It’s early days as far as this story goes so I guess we’ll just wait and see what happens.

It looks live we’re going to appoint a no.2 to Ivan Gazidis called Tom Fox. He refused to comment on the story but it’s believed he will join the Arsenal staff as ‘chief commercial officer’ next month. This is a move to make more of the Arsenal brand worldwide and bring us up to the level of global promotion as the rest of the top four.

It could mean another American getting involved behind the scenes at Arsenal. He’d be coming over with an impressive CV, he has held top brand marketing positions for the NBA, Nike and Gatorade. He sounds like the perfect person to promote Arsenal around the world and bring us more revenue. There’s nothing official from the club but I don’t see any reason why this story would be made up, so don’t be surprised if there’s an announcement on Arsenal.com in the next month.

I’m sorry but I’m going to leave you with a bit of bad news, ex-striker John Hartson has been diagnosed with cancer. Whatever your memories of John (if any) I think I speak for us all when I wish John the very best with his recovery. He took himself to hospital in Swansea where they confirmed he has contracted testicular cancer and it has spread to his brain. I remember Hartson at Arsenal quite well, I remember reading in the Arsenal magazine about his signing from Luton and remember the day quite clearly when he left for West Ham back in 1997, I was at an Arsenal soccer camp and they announced the news to us that morning that he’d left. One of the coaches wore a ginger wig for the day to mark his departure. A touching tribute.

If there’s any news on John’s fight I’ll bring you right up to date with it. He said in today’s Sun that’s he’s going to fight it all the way and I know he can do it. Get well soon.

Ok that’s it for today. Thanks for reading.

News round-up on a quiet Sunday – David Bentley gets punched 12 July, 2009

It really is quiet today. It’s been a long, long summer but we are so nearly there. It’s just six days until our first pre-season friendly against Barnet and five weeks until the Premier League starts up again. Five weeks sounds a bit long but at least we’ll have a load of friendlies to keep us occupied plus we should have some Champions League qualifiers somewhere, I’m not sure when.

I guess the story which caught my attention most today involves David Bentley. It seems someone has done what we have all dreamed of and punched the little prick right between the eyes. He was having dinner with his misses when someone came up to him out of the blue and planted one on him! Alright, he was with his 7-month pregnant fiancée which is a bit harsh but this is David Bentley for fucks sake, the attacker saw an opportunity and took it.

Apparently it was a smash and grab type thing and they had taxis waiting outside. Bentley’s mate tried to chase the guy but ended up worse off that him! I’m in no way condoning violence like this but I will admit I did laugh.

He has to be one of the most loathed players for Arsenal fans. If it’s not his face, it’s his attitude, his hair, his voice, cockiness or that fact he’s really nowhere near as good as he makes himself out to be. The whole ‘next David Beckham’ thing was hilarious because it obviously went straight to his head. Spurs, being the kind of club they are jumped straight on the bandwagon wasting a whopping £17m on him. They’re now looking to offload the flop after just a year at the club Bentley insisted he had supported since a boy and had a massive place in his heart for. Awwww. Even Harry ‘He’s got a twitch’ Redknapp hates him! Who would take him? Who cares?

In news more related to home, Sunderland are favourites to sign Philippe Senderos according to the Sunday Express. I’ve said before that I’m kind of hoping we keep Phil. I don’t think we will but I’ve developed a bit of a soft spot for him, I dunno why I think I just feel sorry for him. I think he’ll be off somewhere this summer though and if Sunderland want him he could end up there. If I had a choice of losing one of Toure, Gallas or Senderos then I’m afraid it’d be the Swiss. I hope everything works out alright for him whatever happens, one of the genuinely nice blokes in football.

There’s a rumour in The Daily Star saying Tony Adams is in the running for the Southampton job. I’m quite confident when I say this story is completely made up, however it could happen you never know. If any truth does come up about Tony’s next job I’ll fill you in, I think we’re all interested in his future.

Yesterday I posted a poll asking if you would sell Alex Song. 70% of you agreed with me saying we should keep him, 20% said take the money and run and the other 10% wasn’t really bothered. It’s not like we’re in a situation where we need to sell so I think he’s definitely worth keeping while he’s still developing. He’s come a long way in the last couple of seasons and there’s no sign of him stopping yet. You never know, in a few years time it could be Alexandre Song who is constantly assuring the fans he’s staying at Arsenal as Barcelona tap him up left, right and centre.

Well that’s it for today. I’ll try writing something tomorrow, hopefully there’ll be a bit of news to talk about. See ya.

Poll: Would you sell Alex Song to Man City? 11 July, 2009

There’s not a lot going on today so I’m going to use this opportunity to try this poll feature. I’ve just came across this story in L’Equipe saying Man City are interested in Alexandre Song. I know the article is in French but it’s the idea behind it rather than what’s in it that I’m interested in.

I started off not a big fan at all of Song at all but he has grown and grown on he. He seems to keep on improving and is growing into that player Wenger told us to be patient for. However there are still glimpses of his old self now and again and could he have peaked already. I think we’ll all agree he has improved a lot since he moved here – but what’s next?

What do you reckon? If Man City came in with a bid would you take it? It could be a big offer seeing as it’s them, that would change things obviously, but just try to think about whether he’s worth keeping or not, rather than the money.

I’ll cast the first vote and I think we should keep him. I would have never have said this a couple of years ago but if he keeps on improving at the rate he is, he could actually be quite good. Wenger could prove all the doubters wrong. We’ll see, I think he’s worth keeping just to wait and see.

Happy voting.

Friday Update: Arshavin, Cesc, Kroenke ups stake & Cygan 10 July, 2009

Lots of little stories to talk about today so I’ll just get straight into it. Arshavin has denied any link with Barcelona and has said it’s nothing more than just a rumour and is looking forward to the new season with Arsenal.

I was never worried about him going to Barca this summer. It just started off a load of crap in the tabloids which Dennis Lachter caught on to and invited them to make a bid. This all after Andrey told us he’d sent a letter to Lachter saying he was no longer required as his agent. Well a couple of days ago Lachter told us that he is still Arshavin’s agent despite what he thinks. If you missed it, here’s what he said:

“We have a contract; this contract will be finished in one and a half years. Until then, I am the manager of Andrey Arshavin.

He sent me a letter, absolutely. Listen, it’s like entering a contract with Arsenal or anybody else; there are obligations. If you think that you can just cancel this formal relationship between two parties only because of a newborn baby it’s…what can you say…well you can’t do it. That’s it. I’m his agent.

And then he went on to respond to the allegations he invited Barcelona to make a bid for his client:

“This is the first time I’ve heard anything about these comments. I haven’t spoken with anybody and it’s quite strange to hear. It appears I’m getting quite famous again, but also that somebody is just trying to use my name.

I’ve never spoken with Barcelona and I think that somebody is just trying to get a story. All this stuff is made up. Two months ago I heard a lot about some kind of conflict between Arshavin and other Arsenal players. It’s bullshit you know. I would say that it looks like your media colleagues are just trying to find some hot news.”

Well I just don’t know who to believe. It seems you just can’t trust anyone so I’m not going to bother going into it. Arshavin will still be with us come the end of the transfer window and that’s that. Well, until January, then next summer, then the January after that, then the summer after that and on and on and on…

Barcelona president, Joan Laporta has said they will try and sign Fabregas if they cant get Franck Ribery. Well that’s just fantastic. He says they want to take Ribery off Bayern Munich but they don’t want to sell so they’re going to move on to Cesc. What, because we want to sell him do we? No, no I don’t think we do. I hate the way Barcelona and especially Laporta just stroll around like some kind of arrogant prick just assuming everybody wants to jump at the chance of joining Barcelona. Don’t get me wrong, they are a great club with incredible players but the way they act off the pitch doesn’t gain any respect from me.

Even if Barca did come in with a bid for Cesc then I don’t think he or we would allow it to happen just yet. There is an absolute minimum of one more year in Cesc’s Arsenal story. I was thinking earlier whether I want Barca to get Ribery or not so they don’t bid for Fabregas and I decided – I don’t care. I hope believe Cesc would politely tell Barca to fuck off (again) and insist he is staying at Arsenal. You never know, he might get so fucked off with it all that he says he will never return to Spain and will just stay at Arsenal forever. Yeah that last bit might just be me praying but we’ll see.

Stan Kroenke has increased his shares in Arsenal to 28.58% moving him closer to the magic 30% mark which requires him to make a bid for the whole lot. It’s a bit scary that. I don’t think his intentions are to complete a takeover of Arsenal but he is getting closer and closer to that 30% after his latest £1.36m purchase. There’s no hint that Kroenke is going to stop buying up shares but in the recent interviews with Ivan Gazidis, he said the club are quite happy with Stan Kroenke and the club is in a very stable position.

There’s some strong quotes from Manuel Almunia today. He’s been saying how we need to gain some more experience and ‘youth doesn’t give you titles’. He says we need to put more effort in if we are going to start winning things too. It reads quite blunt but I don’t expect Manuel to make such a harsh statement about his team mates like that, I’m sure it’s all meant positively. Every year we are becoming more and more experienced and gradually edging closer to that first trophy since 2005.

So Almunia wants to see a bit more experience in the side. Well who better than 35-year-old Pascal Cygan? He’s been joking about an Arsenal return saying Wenger told him the chance to return was always open:

“And as for teaming up with Wenger? He told me that if it went wrong in Spain, the door would still be open. Now I’m awaiting his phone call”

It says he was laughing as he said that but I hope he was actually joking. God could you imagine him coming back to Arsenal?! It would cause chaos. Actually you never know it might work in our advantage, Spurs might do their usual trick of finding out who we’re interested in and claim they’re after them too. Then who’d be laughing?

Ok that’s it for today. Nearly one week until our first pre-season game, can’t fucking wait.

RVP’s contract is done and some fixture news 9 July, 2009

To anyone really confused after seeing my last post today, it’s been deleted. Just ignore it, sorry about that.

Anyway, onto the news then and yesterday Robin van Persie’s new contract was officially announced. It was in the papers last week but you cant be too sure until it’s on Arsenal.com so I’m delighted it’s all done and sorted now. Robin said he couldn’t imagine himself anywhere else and is hungry to win trophies at Arsenal. He said in one interview that his desire is high and he would not have stayed at Arsenal if he thought we were not going in the right direction.

What we need from RVP now is another injury-free season. For me, last year was almost his final chance to prove to me that he’s not just another Arsenal sick-note. Well he has to do it again this year and prove it wasn’t just a one-off. Robin grows and grows with confidence and ability, and each time he gets an injury he’s back to square one again. Over the course of a season he can improve a lot so I’m hoping he can get a good run of matches in again this season.

Talking of matches, the first set of fixtures up to December have been chosen by Sky and ESPN and there’s a few changes to make note of from the original list. Our season opener at Goodison Park has been selected by ESPN and is now a 5.15pm kick off, when Spurs come to the Grove on Halloween we’ll be playing at 12.45pm and Chelsea’s visit at the end of November has been moved to 4 o’clock on the Sunday. There’s a few more changes in there so take a look at that link and update your diaries.

There are some more pre-season fixtures announced too. There are local games against Maidenhead and Borehamwood but before you spend loads of money getting there, they are just ‘Arsenal XI’ fixtures.

Not to be outdone by Arseblog, Arsenal.com have brought out another Exclusive interview with Ivan Gazidis. He must be getting sick of it!

Not much else going on to be honest. Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong says there was an appraoch from Arsenal this summer but with the amount of centre backs we have at the moment I don’t think there’ll be anything in this story. If anything there will be defenders leaving this summer – not any more coming in.

I’m off now, thanks for reading.

1st Training Photos & Dennis Lachter is a c**t 7 July, 2009

I don’t know why but I’ve been really looking forward to the first shots of the players back in training. It’s the first glimpse of the squad ahead of the new season and a chance to see Thomas Vermaelen with his new team mates for the first time. Tomas Rosicky’s there too which is strange to see, as is Eduardo. Go take a look if you haven’t already.

There were a few missing though, Fabregas, Walcott and Gibbs were all absent after their summer international commitments. I could run through who else I don’t see there but that’s just speculating over nothing, they could just not be in any photos; although I’m pretty sure Adebayor’s not in there even after his agent said nothing has changed with his situation at Arsenal.

Gallas, Silvestre, Senderos and Djourou are all there though and I’m glad to see Big Phil back in an Arsenal shirt. As I said yesterday, I don’t expect all of those players to remain with us this season but we’ll see. The latest on Senderos is a story in The Daily Mail who say Bordeaux will bid £5.2 for the Swiss international. Sounds pretty realistic but when can you ever trust what the Daily Mail say?

Not long ago I told you about Andrey Arshavin ditching his agent, Dennis Lachter in a move to represent himself personally. I said at the time that it was great news because Lachter is a slimy little cunt who will try an engineer a move whenever possible. Well, he’s done it. Headlines reading ‘Lachter invites Arshavin Barca Bid’ are appearing all over the net. Now, forgive me if I’m wrong but doesn’t he have fuck all to do with Arshavin anymore? If those quotes about Andrey leaving his agent were true then he’s got nothing to do with this.

Here’s what he said anyway:

“Before anything else, Barcelona should make a formal offer.

Then we can sit down and speak.”

Who the fuck is ‘we’?! It shows true cuntery to whore yourself out to the whole of Europe before finally securing a move to then start all over again just six months later! Fair enough we might have bought him on the cheap but that’s got nothing to do with it.

I genuinely believe Andrey is happy here in London and I believe him when he says, “I am Gooner.” Lachter however is nothing more than a money grabbing, unfaithful twat and I’m glad AA23 did the right thing and got rid of him while he could. I don’t know whether being his own agent is the best idea but I’m sure he’ll get someone a lot less of a dick than Lachter in at some point. Hopefully this story is just rubbished away like all the others seeing as Lachter has nothing to do with Arshavin or Barcelona’s supposed interest.

So Dennis, just fuck off. Thanks.

Arseblog has just put up an exclusive interview with Ivan Gazidis which is well worth a read. He talks about all things to do with the board and club ownership, transfers, how he got the job and more. I think it’s great that such a big figure at Arsenal recognises the blog world for what’s its worth and doesn’t just ignore what a massive fan base there is behind them. I’m sure a business man like Gazidis knows how important the blog community is, not only is it the voice straight from the fans but it’s just as good a way to get information out as the official website. The club has made more and more of an effort to get in touch with blogs and it’s really makes you feel appreciated when they get in contact. So well done Arseblogger for getting the interview and well done the club for letting him speak – more in the future please.

Right I better be off I have a busy day sorting my emails out. As you can imagine my inbox is full of messages from Ivan Gazidis, Arsene Wenger, Dennis Bergkamp, Tony Adams and others trying to get an interview on The Cannon. Jesus just leave me alone for once.

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ps. Just as I finished writing there was some more news. Wenger wants a meeting with Fiorentina and Eboue would be ‘a valid swap’. More on Friday, I don’t think I’m going to be around tomorrow.

News round-up: Almunia, Melo, Keown & more 6 July, 2009

I’m really starting to miss football now. The Confederations Cup and the U21 Euro Championships kept me slightly entertained for a while but now it’s just dead. In just 12 days time I’ll be watching Arsenal play Barnet at Underhill and as always I can’t wait to see us back in action again.

Preparations for the new season started today as most of the players returned to training. I’ve been waiting all day for photos to be put up but it looks like we’re going to have to wait until tomorrow, no doubt they’ll go up just as I’ve finished writing this. Manuel Almunia has been talking about the new season already and has said we must get off to a good start. Last season we started badly and it set us up for a poor season but the year before we began well and mounted a strong title challenge. It just goes to show how vital the first few games are and even though it feels a bit more relaxed because it’s early days we still need the points. Here’s what Manuel has been told July’s Arsenal Magazine:

“Overall we needed to be more focused at the start of the season. If we had all been more involved with the mission at the start of the season, it could have been a better year for us. In the last half of the season I think everyone realised what was required and you could see the results.

I think sometimes something has to be said to make things work right and when certain things were spoken about, it proved to make people focus on things.

The second half of the season showed what we can do, but you have to be fit mentally and physically from the start and be fully involved with the project of the boss. That is what we need to do from July this year, from the minute we get back for pre-season. We need to make sure the group is together and focused after the break and to show our total commitment.

I am sure that because we have the quality, next season will be much better than the one we have just finished.”

We all know that we did improve considerably in the second half of the season and the players do too. Almunia suggest that they weren’t fully focused at the beginning of last season but are ready to right those wrongs this time around. I hope the players have come back today and got in the mentality to put together a title-winning season. It’s not going to be easy, not one bit, but if we commit 100% from the very beginning we’ll give ourselves a good chance.

There’s still quite a long way to go until the end of the transfer market but I’m hoping we can keep this squad together. It might not be perfect but they all know what went wrong last season so they all know how to put it right this time around. The players are just as upset as the fans about the long wait for trophies so next season they should be doing everything to bring an end to that.

Maybe one or two will leave but I think if we can keep it to a minimum it will help us. Of course, there’s still time to bring people in too. Felipe Melo’s name has been brought back up after Fiorentina confirmed we are the highest bidders, however the player has spoken again saying how happy he is in Italy. You know, this could be one of those scenarios where a player is actually committed to a club no matter who wants to buy them. It’s becoming more and more rare but believe it or not there are some players that are just happy as they are.

It’s all very confusing, the Melo saga. Fiorentina, his agent anf Melo himself have all said contradicting things at different points over the summer and I have no idea what will happen. Gunnerblog thinks we won’t meet the buy-out fee on Melo’s contract and will possibly look elsewhere. Who knows?

Martin Keown’s been talking about a number of different things from Senderos and Djourou, to Wilshere and the future. It’s a bit long but it’s worth a read, he always knows what he’s talking about. He believes both Senderos and Djourou have bright futures but I think we all know there won’t be room for both of them. Martin reckons Djourou’s on the verge of making the first team and just has to keep pushing before he makes it

He also says that if Big Phil has learnt from his loan move in Milan he could come back a better player and end up staying at Arsenal. Keown says he has all the attributes to become a world-class centre back but has been very unlucky and accident-prone. At the moment it seems like he is unwanted by both Milan and Arsenal, I’m sort of hoping he’ll be given another chance here but I’m sure we’ll find out what’s going on in the next few weeks.

With the arrival of Vermaelen it’s going to be very hard for either of our Swiss defenders to make the side with a fully fit squad. One of Toure or Gallas could still be off though, so don’t count that out but there’s one thing I’m pretty certain of and that’s we won’t be starting next season with Vermaelen, Gallas, Toure, Silvestre, Senderos and Djourou in the squad.

Another player who’s future is still uncertain is Emmanuel Adebayor. When the season ended in May I think everyone was certain he’d be finding a new club this summer but he’s still here! The latest from his agent is he’s staying at Arsenal which would surprise a few people, including me. Milan have now put in a bid for Luis Fabiano after saying they’d be trying for Ade if they lost out on Dzeko. Well it’s looks like he’s not even their second choice any more! At the moment it looks like he’s staying but don’t be surprised if this one goes right down to the wire.

Well that’s it for today I think. Oh, Arshavin was voted 2nd in Arsenal.com’s player of the season which I think makes van Persie the winner. Don’t quote me on that but I think he hasn’t been picked yet. Make sure you have a look at Arseblog tomorrow, he’s got an exclusive interview with Ivan Gazidis ahead of the new season.

Right then, I’m off. Thanks for reading.

Fiorentina confirm Arsenal offer for Melo & they want Eboue to go the other way 4 July, 2009

Felipe Melo only signed a contract extension at Fiorentina a few days ago but that has brought no halt to the transfer speculation. When he re-signed on the 30th June I ruled us out of a move for him but it looks like I could be wrong. His agent says they are not in talks with any club yet but names Juventus as a club Melo would like to play for. It seems his recent contract extension was meant for one purpose only – the buy-out clause. By creating this they have made it impossible for clubs to bargain with the price, so if they want him they have to pay for him. The price tag on Melo is £21.4m but we rarely spend over £15m for a player – only on special occasions do we splash the cash. I think Wenger has seen the price tag and done his best to get around it by offering a player + money deal – Fiorentina have confirmed we have a made an offer for the player which was not up to the valuation but they would consider a price reduction if the deal included Emmanuel Eboue going the other way:

“Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino, in denying the transfer rumours of the past few hours, which sees Felipe Melo definitely at other clubs and reporting potential meetings to finalise the transfer of the player, underlines the following:

“In case the footballer has already reached an agreement with any club, the release clause fixed with the player himself is €25million. We would not contemplate any exchange, unless it is to the liking of Fiorentina.

“Arsenal is the only club to have come close to the sum established by the release clause.

“Fiorentina in turn proposed to the aforementioned club a reduction in the amount set by the release clause by including right-back (Emmanuel) Eboue in the deal.”

I think many, many Gooners will be delighted at this news. A lot of people want Eboue out of the door at any cost, I am not like that but I will admit that I wouldn’t be too upset if he left! He has changed for the better recently but that doesn’t make him my favorite player. If we can sort something out with Fiorentina then I would be very happy.

I don’t really seeing us paying the £21.4m so by sending Eboue the other way (a surplus player anyway) we can bring the price down to our level. The sooner we enter negotiations the better because now they have announced they will sell Melo for that set price there are bound to be a few clubs interested. Juve might be Melo’s personal choice so if they make a bid we could lose out on him.

This is quite big news, for a club to come out so clearly talking about their transfer business isn’t common. We know Wenger is very against it so hopefully this announcement won’t put him off. More news on this as it comes, it seems the Melo story isn’t over yet.

The Independent are reporting that Robin van Persie has signed a contract extension until 2014. It hasn’t yet been announced on Arsenal.com so I’m not taking this as set in stone just yet. Yesterday I spoke briefly about how I was concerned by him not signing on yet but it looks like it will be wrapped up shortly. Hopefully The Independent do know something and it will be officially announced soon.

I also spoke yesterday about Marouane Chamakh and Wenger’s possible interest in him. Well the Bordeaux coach has said any deal must the be sorted out quickly so he can plan ahead of the new season. We are tied down until Adebayor’s future is sorted so we can’t offer anything yet. On the subject, Arseblog has a leak of a Michael Owen-style brochure for Ade which is worth checking out.

Right I better be off, I have my second work shift of the day in an hour and I need food. See ya.