Predictable Friday update: defence, goalkeepers and Cesc 30 July, 2010

I can’t believe the Emirates Cup is tomorrow, I’ve spent all summer moaning that I miss proper club football and now the start of the Premier League season is just two weeks away! The Emirates Cup is always a good day out, nice to be back at The Grove to see Arsenal play, good to see a few familiar faces and it always turns into a day long piss up which is a laugh. This afternoon there’ll be a press conference with Arsene ahead of the tournament which will probably immediately render this blog post out of date and useless but I’m going to go ahead and update you anyway.

Wenger has revealed that he is still in the market for at least one centre back which is suppose is a relief. However as much as we know how reluctant he is to spend cash in the transfer window there’s no way he could avoid this problem. With Campbell finally making his mind up and joining Newcastle we’re left with just Vermaelen, Djourou and Koscielny – A guy who’s had one good season with us, a player who has never had a run in the first team and has consistent problems with injuries and newcomer with unknown potential and work to do to become Premier League standard; I don’t want to sound negative but that’s the reality. Here’s what Wenger said anyway on potential new signings in that area:

“I wouldn’t like to give you any names. There are plenty of names that we consider and we analyse. We look at the financial possibilities and the technical potential. But it is impossible for me to come out with a name.

We are still on the search because at the moment we only have three centre backs and we have seen last season you needed five. I believe we need at least four because we have some other players who can fill in this position but overall we are still on the search.”

I don’t like how he says he found out last season you need five centre backs so he needs to get four. Hopefully he is working to have five just to be safe, however I have a feeling that fifth member will be Havard Nordtveit. Wenger says he is trying to build up his experience by playing him at right back, I guess it’s not as important a position as centre back and mistakes made by him on the right wing might not be as costly as ones made in the middle. It makes sense and he could be the back up to Sagna this season who we’ve seen does need a little rest now and again freeing Eboue up to focus on his attacking play. In today’s Gunnerblog Gilbertosilver speaks to a Nuremberg fan and it does sound that despite his three different loan spells he needs more experience. Maybe the departure of Gallas, Silvestre, Senderos and Campbell this summer will open a door for the reserves captain. I’m expecting him to make an impact in the Carling Cup this year, which might lead to first team opportunities.

We’re still looking weak in the goalkeeping area too, I hear Mark Schwarzer is still our main target but we’ll have to wait and see what Mark Hughes’ plans are for the club and see whether he’s willing to let him go. There’s talk in the Daily Mail of them lining up Rob Green as a replacement for the Australian but we’ll see. Lukasz Fabianski has been talking about how all the goalkeepers are fighting for the no.1 spot this pre-season. He says that the games so far haven’t been very testing for us but the Emirates Cup could be a good chance to impress. I can see him, Almunia, Szczesny and Mannone getting 45 minutes each against Milan and Celtic with all of them in competition for that first team spot. A week tomorrow we’ve got that friendly against Legia Warsaw which is the final chance to pick a ‘keeper out of the four before the trip to Anfield 8 days later. That is of course unless we sign someone, so I’m hoping the auditions are cut short by a new arrival.

Another day, another story about Cesc Fabregas. These quote appeared apparently from him saying he loves Barcelona etc, etc, but is captain of Arsenal and he must respect that or something but they turned out to be old quotes recycled to create a story. However Carlos Puyol has decided to open his trap again and give his thoughts on the situation. Again. Why don’t they get it? You cannot afford him. It’s that simple. I really want a nice shiny new sports car but you don’t see me going into the garage every day with only half the money it’s worth complaining that I really want it and it’s not happy sat in the garage. It’s just not how it works unfortunately, Carlos; otherwise I’d up to my neck in speeding fines.

Well that’s about it for the moment, there should be a load more news later this afternoon from the pre-Emirates Cup press conference so look out for that on the official site. I hope you like the new look of the blog by the way, I’ve taken on board some feedback and changed it a couple times already but I think it’s looking alright now.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the football this weekend.

4-0 vs. Neusiedl, injuries update & Sol moves to Newcastle 28 July, 2010

Last night was the second and final match of our pre-season tour of Austria and we beat SC Neusiedl 1919 4-0. It was easy for us really, they’re a third division side and never caused us any problems. Well, they nearly did in the second half when out of nowhere Chamakh handled the ball in the area gifting them a penalty but Mannone guessed the right way and it was an easy save for him. Our goals came from Walcott, Emmanuel-Thomas, Chamakh (pen) and Vela; good for all of those forwards to have opened their accounts for the season even if it’s in a friendly like this. Vela frustrates me sometimes but now and again he’ll do another trademark lob and I’ll be on good terms with him again!

It could’ve/should’ve been more but what can you do. Wilshere impressed again and broke through twice in the first half but only to be brought down in the area. Neither time a penalty was awarded and on the second occasion he was flagged offside but those forward runs, the intricate passing and skill from Jack was enough to please me even without getting on the score sheet. However the man of the match was Samir Nasri again, he and Wilshere both got 21% of the vote but Samir just nicked it. It’s been a great pre-season for him though, I think he’s been man of the match in every game so far and is looking to start the season running. I’m excited to see him when it really matters once the season starts; I think he could be a very important player for us this year.

The friendly was marred by Johan Djourou being taken off injured after half an hour. Knowing what he’s like, I think everyone feared the worst. With Bendtner and Denilson already injured and Fabregas and van Persie looking like they’ll be short for the first week of the season it’s not going too well so far is it! Well it now looks like Johan was just taken off as a precaution because Wenger says he should be fit for the weekend. Also in that he says Rosicky had a small problem which is why he did not play but it’s nothing serious.

The latest on Bendtner and Denilson is that they wont make the Emirates Cup, Denilson should make the friendly against Legia Warsaw on 7th August but Bendtner looks likely to miss the start of the season. Also there’s another injury revealed in that, Diaby also has a problem but he might return for the Warsaw game too. It’s a joke how many niggles we’ve got already, every season I hope we can stay fit but every season it seems to get worse. Our squad is far to thin to compete for the Premier League when we’re guaranteed to get injuries left, right and centre. I’m going to start a tally on injuries this season and see how it adds up. I’ll do something on the sidebar or a new page at the top.

Edit: There you go, an up to date list with links on the toolbar. I’ll jazz it up a bit soon as I’m looking at redesigning the whole site.

We still need new faces and especially now Sol Campbell has opted to join Premiership-newcomers Newcastle. We had a deal on the table for him but he’s chosen to move up north for the money. I don’t blame him although I am surprised that they’re only offering a one-year deal too. Anyway, good luck to Sol, I’m not going to bother writing another testimony because I did that the other day – what we need to do now though is be looking for at least one more central defender. We’re being linked with German defender, Per Mertesacker at the moment which would be a good addition. He did well at the World Cup and wont come cheap but if Wenger wants quality he’s going to have to spend money. He’s already spent a load on bringing Koscielny in which worries me into thinking he wont spend a lot more but Arsene can’t deny we need signings there. At the moment we have Vermaelen and Koscielny, plus Djourou if he can manage to stay fit but even then that’s nowhere near enough. There’s Nordtveit but he’s a reserve player; we need two in really, one top class defender and maybe another understudy would suit us.

There’s still time to make some new additions and now Wenger’s back in London he might be able to get some business done in that area. This weekend’s games will be a good test of how strong we really are going into the 2010/11 season and I’m looking forward to seeing how well, or badly, we do.

Thanks for reading.

News round up: Akinfeev, Fabregas & more 26 July, 2010

There’s not much going on at the moment as the players knuckle down on getting fit. There are a few quotes from players out in Austria that I will get to in a minute but we don’t look close on any signings at the minute. We play SC Neusiedl 1919 tomorrow, which is our last game of the camp, and then it’s back to London ahead of the Emirates Cup this weekend.

The pre-season camp in Austria is a testing time for the players with two sessions a day in order to get match fit. I suspect Wenger is more focussed on seeing out the remainder of the camp than bringing anyone in at the moment. I think hope that Arsene will do most of his work in the transfer window when he gets back to England this week. We have about 3 weeks until the season kicks off for us at Anfield so there’s still time to do some business.

The latest story is an interesting one though, Igor Akinfeev, CSKA and Russian no.1 has declared his interest in moving to England after talking with Andrey Arshavin:

“Arsenal and Manchester United are two of the very best clubs in the world. If both of them are going to be looking for keepers this summer – or even the next summer – then of course I am interested.

I have spoken with Arshavin about Arsenal and London life. He has only had good things to say about the club and the city. He said some very nice things about me going on to be the best goalkeeper in the world – and that he would like me to reach that goal at Arsenal with him.

He went on to say that it would also be an honour to play for Man United and there could be interest from Juventus but Arshavin has sold Arsenal well to him and believes it wouldn’t be a problem sorting out a move away from Russia.

Good work Andrey! Akinfeev is only 24 but he is a top level goalkeeper and the sort of signing that would bring a lot of confidence to Arsenal fans. At the moment this is just idle talk but hopefully Arsene will look into this and Andrey Arshavin can work his magic on Le Boss too! As I said, there’s nothing in this story yet but I’m hoping there might be in the near future.

There are more quotes coming out of the Barcelona squad about Cesc Fabregas but it actually seems like they’re finally understanding the situation now. Andres Iniesta has been saying that he thinks Fabregas will remain at Arsenal for now and actually wishes him well here! I know, unbelievable! I didn’t think they were capable of talking about Cesc this way but here you have it:

“Cesc wants to be with us, but he told me how close the Arsenal fans are to his heart. He is a special player and I hope he wins the title at Arsenal this season. For them to win Cesc will have to stay fit and injury-free but he deserves to finish with a title. For all the work he has put in at Arsenal it would be a shame if it was all fruitless.

Cesc is such a special player that he could carry a team to the title on his own and I hope he does it this coming season. It would be brilliant if Arsenal’s hero could lift the title as captain during his last season. I think that it would be fantastic for everybody.”

It’s a bit shit him talking so confidently about this being Fabregas’ last season at Arsenal but he’s right. It’s about time we all come round and understand that this will be his last year as an Arsenal player. He’ll give his all this season, I have no doubt about it and I’m sure he’s on the same wavelength as Iniesta there in that he’d love to end his time with us by lifting the Premier League title. It’s a dream and it’s going to take a lot of work to get there but it’d be nice if he went out on a high note.

We can’t just expect to win the league though, it’s going to take months and months of focus and determination but not only that I think Wenger needs to add a couple of signings to turn this into a side really capable of winning the league. Akinfeev would be a big step towards that; him plus a central defender or defensive midfielder would be perfect. Thomas Vermaelen is the type of player we need to fight for a challenge this year and he’s been talking about his title ambitions. There’s no point in judging the team yet because there’s still time to go but as it stands I think we’re going to fall short of the top but a couple of quality additions and we’ll be well up there.

Vermaelen’s defensive colleagues have been talking too, Koscielny has been saying he likes the physical side of the game despite looking one of the least built players in the squad. He still has time to bulk up though and maybe he uses his brain and skill to his advantage to make up for his lack of size, we’ll see. Also, Djourou says it’s time for him to make the first team and he also talks about adding a bit of aggression to our game. I’m really looking forward to seeing these two battle it out for a first team place, they really are in direct competition with each other with neither having any right to Gallas’ vacancy. I saw them both at Barnet the other week but that was very early days, I’ll be at the AC Milan game on Saturday, by which time both should be fit to compete and I’m interested in seeing how they do.

So, we’ve got that match tomorrow at 6:00pm against SC Neusiedl 1919. They’re in the third division in Austria so really we should be knocking quite a few goals past this lot. Seeing as there’s not much else going on I might do some designing for the blog, so look out for that.

Thanks for reading.

Xavi, Puyol and Piqué in protest march over Fabregas transfer 24 July, 2010

[click to enlarge]

As you can see FC Barcelona are pulling out all the stops to get their baby-soft hands on scrumptious Cesc Fabregas.

More as I hear it.

Is Sol the answer for our defence? + other news 23 July, 2010

This summer we found ourselves in a dangerous position with three centre backs all reaching the end of their contracts and all three looking likely to move on. Last week at the Barnet friendly Arsene Wenger confirmed that Gallas and Silvestre were unlikely to be with us next season and have since been removed from the squad pages of Arsenal.com. However he said Sol Campbell’s future was still up in the air, he is still listed on those squad pages and is now looking likely to sign a new one year deal with us. He was in talks with Celtic and Sunderland but it looks as if both of those have fell through and we will stay with Arsenal.

He was a shock addition in January, joining on a six-month deal as back up but ended up playing an important role with Gallas out injured. It was clear that he wasn’t quite as fit as everyone else but his commitment was still 100% there and he could definitely do a job in the centre of defence. Not only that but his leadership qualities were vitally important, he was one of few experienced players in the season run in and I believe his presence really helped us keep going. He knows all about what it takes to play in this league, he might not have the legs so much but he still has the brain.

So what if the rumours are true and Sol is staying another year? I was hoping we would sign another defender in his prime but knowing Wenger if he takes Campbell on for another year I think that might be chequebook closed in that department. It would mean we have four central defenders in the first team; Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou and Campbell which I guess isn’t bad – Koscielny and Djourou will be fighting for that place alongside Vermaelen with Sol taking more of a dressing room role and filling in where necessary. We can’t expect him to play 90 minutes, week in, week out but we can expect him to give everything when the chance comes.

Sol plus one more defender would be ideal but I think we might be just about alright with those four you know. We’d have Nordtveit, Eastmond and Miquel behind them and the former has impressed in pre-season so far. I suspect that Wenger will see how it goes with the current lot and if it isn’t quite up to standard he may add one more before the window shuts but if Sol does sign in the next few days then I don’t think we can expect much more activity in that area, sadly.

Moving on and there’s a bit of injury news to report. Yeah I know – start as you mean to go on! Denilson and Bendtner are missing from the Austrian camp due to two groin problems but Wenger insists they are nothing serious and we can expect them back soon:

“Bendtner has a groin and Denilson has a groin as well. The injuries do not look big but at the moment they cannot fulfil full training sessions. They will be one week behind the rest.”

With Eduardo gone and Wenger not looking to sign another striker this season is another chance for Bendtner to impress. I thought he did alright last year and he still has age on his side to improve his game. I do like Bendtner and I can be patient with him, he knows what he’s doing, he brings players into play well and he has become a lot less selfish than when he first joined. He scored 12 goals last season which isn’t bad going, his target this year should to be to reach the 20-goal mark; if he makes that then I’ll be happy with him.

David Villa has joined in calling for Cesc to join Barcelona. Yawn. Everybody knows that Fabregas wants to go back to Barcelona, everybody knows about his ‘DNA’ and everybody knows that all the players there want him to join them. However everybody knows that Barcelona can’t afford him, so how about upping your bid or shutting the fuck up? That’s all I have to say.

Jack Wilshere’s been talking about his need to play. After tasting first team football at Bolton I think he might want some sort of promise from Mr. Wenger about what kind of game time he can expect next season. I hope he doesn’t opt to go out on loan again because as I said previously I think he could do a great job in our team if we picked up an injury in his position.

And finally Thierry Henry scored in his debut for New York against Spurs, which is just absolutely sweet. I was up late last night to watch the game on the net and there were thousands of Gooners in attendance outnumbering the travelling scum to see Titi put another one past the old enemy. It was great to see and I’m sure he enjoyed that one. If you haven’t seen it yet you can see that goal here.

Happy Friday everyone. Enjoy your weekend.

Goodbye Eduardo + news round up 22 July, 2010

Last night we played our second pre-season friendly of the season and the first of our Austrian training camp. We beat SK Sturm Graz 3-0 with Nasri getting two in the first half and Lansbury getting the other. I did watch the game over the internet but I don’t really feel like I studied it well enough or the game had enough meaning to deserve a full match report! I will say though that Nasri had a good 45 minutes, which is to be expected against lesser opposition, but I am looking forward to his season. I do like Samir as a player and I hope he has a successful year. Emmanuel-Thomas, Frimpong and Wilshere impressed again, if they have a successful pre-season then they could find themselves in the first team squad this year. I don’t think any of them will be in our favourite starting XI just yet but the way we are with injuries I see these lot getting a chance this year.

There was another run out for both our new signings who did alright. They’re still getting used to things here and still need to get to full fitness before we can judge them properly but it’s good to see them in action. Nordtveit did well in defence though and he could be looking at the vacancy left by Gallas and have set his sights on it along with Koscielny and Djourou. This pre-season will be really important for determining which three of those is preferred to partner Vermaelen but I’m still kind of hoping we add one more to the squad.

However the top story yesterday was not the 3-0 victory but the confirmation of Eduardo Da Silva’s departure. We all knew that he might move away this summer and in the past week I heard that he was close to a move to Shakhtar Donetsk. Well a deal was finally done and he has moved to the Ukrainian champions for a reported fee of around £6m.

Eduardo’s Arsenal story is an emotional one, there’s no doubt that he was loved here but it all went wrong for him and we all know why. I’ll never forget that day at St. Andrews in 2008, it was a horrible challenge that Martin Taylor inflicted on Eduardo and we all hoped that he would some day recover to continue his fine form he had just found at Arsenal. He was signed after Henry left to join Barcelona and he was starting to show himself as a goal-scoring machine in the Premiership. We never recovered emotionally from that leg break, went on to drop two points that day and signalled the end of our title challenge.

It was a horrible thing to witness but we had to pick ourselves up and move on. Eduardo was gradually reintroduced a year later; he was finding the net but struggled badly with fitness. We were patient with him but as much as we didn’t want to admit it, it became apparent Eddy was never going to recover from his broken leg. He could’ve become an Arsenal great but his career was ruined before it could hardly get going. It’s a terrible shame to see that happen to anybody but unfortunately all we could do was let him go and move on.

The whole diving incident against Celtic didn’t really help either; he was slaughtered by the British tabloids and thus fans of other clubs. In his return to football he really needed a bit of faith and it was made even harder by everyone’s opinion of him. They forgot what a great striker he was, they forgot about the trauma he had been through and suddenly everyone turned on him as some diving cheat. No one cared about that broken leg anymore, for some reason journalists were determined to break his and Arsenal’s reputation. It was very strange how everyone suddenly turned on Eduardo, it’s not like it was the worst dive ever and certainly didn’t change the game but for some reason everyone picked up on it. Diving goes on throughout the Premiership and Champions League but this became an opportunity to have a go at Arsenal and one of our foreigners and Eddy never recovered from it; he was a great guy, never went out to hurt anyone or cheat but his reputation was shattered by one little incident.

I have no doubt that everybody associated with Arsenal Football Club wishes him all the best at Shakhtar Donetsk and he can find that magical goal scoring form once again. Eduardo has left a message for Arsenal fans thanking them for all their support and Arsene Wenger also expressed his sadness at letting him go. I won’t forget the story of Eduardo and his three years here and I hope he goes on to great things.

Moving on and Wenger has been talking about Jack Wilshere. Gunnerblog has been trying to determine whether he’s ready to step up this season or whether he might go on loan again but Arsene has hinted it’s time for him to stay at Arsenal and push for the first team:

“At the moment I want Jack to gain experience, if possible at Arsenal. So I give him a chance now to play so that he can integrate into the first team. But of course we will make that decision later. Ideally it is better that he gains experience with us.

I am a bit keen not to create too much hype around the young English players. They need to work hard and we have outstanding English talent.”

He’s been playing well so far of what I have seen so if he continues this form them I’m sure he’ll stay with us this season. He could make a big impact this year if we pick up an injury in his position and I know that he would snap up the chance if it came to him. He thinks he’s ready, we just need to give him a chance to prove it. The 2010/11 season could be pivotal in Jack’s Arsenal career.

Arsene also spoke about the goalkeeper situation after last night’s match. He’s given me the impression that all our ‘keepers are on a level playing field this pre-season and it’s up to them to impress and stake their place. It’s interesting that Almunia hasn’t featured at all yet despite being fit and ready and everyone else is getting plenty of game time. Who knows what Wenger has up his sleeves but I’m still hoping that he’s going to open his chequebook to solve this particular problem.

We haven’t got another game now until next Tuesday so it’s time for the players to work hard, get fit and fight for those first team places. I’m looking forward to seeing how we’ve improved by next week. It might also mean some time for Wenger to sit down with Gazidis and make some progress in the transfer market. Who knows?

And that’s a whole blog post without mentioning one particular Spaniard. Isn’t that a refreshing change?

Thanks for reading.

Barnet 0-4 Arsenal – 17/07/10 – (Friendly) 18 July, 2010

So the traditional season curtain raiser ended in a comfortable 4-0 victory for Arsenal. We fielded two different sides for each half, which has become tradition at Underhill but both XI’s easily outplayed League 2 Barnet. Laurent Koscielny started marking his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt alongside Vermaelen at the back; I think the general feeling is that he has a bit of bulking up to do ahead of the Premier League season. He admitted this himself when he signed so I’m hoping he’s planning to get in the gym this pre-season. I thought he did ok though, nothing special but this was against Barnet – against tougher opposition he might’ve been shown up.

Fabianski started the game, which was a surprise; Almunia was nowhere to be seen. Both he and Eduardo were announced in the squad but they were definitely not there yesterday. Wenger said Manuel was ill but I’m taking that with a pinch of salt, both of them are strongly linked with moves away this summer so I think that might be more the reason behind their absence. Denilson was also missing but he wasn’t named in the squad anyway.

Arshavin and Rosicky were the more familiar faces in the starting XI and both played alright. Andrey was his usual self, lazy but brilliant on the ball. He scored after just 90 seconds with a nice bit of skill in the box rounding the ‘keeper making it look easy. I think the first time Barnet touched the ball was from the restart, 1-0 down. He also had a curling shot come off the bar.

Frimpong, Wilshere, Emmanuel-Thomas and Simpson also played the first half and were obviously out to impress. The latter scored two in the first half but it was the other three who caught my eye the most. Wilshere looked great (as he does every pre-season to be fair) and will be bound to be pushing for a first team chance after his loan at Bolton, Frimpong looked strong, composed and reliable at defensive midfield and Emmanuel-Thomas was great in midfield and seems to have grown another foot since I last saw him! He was coming in from the wing well, bringing in players and making some great passes. I’m expecting all three of those to shine in the Carling Cup this season and maybe they will get their chance in the first team. As for Simpson well he’s strongly linked with a move away and yesterday may have been nothing more than a ‘shop window’ display.

It was 3-0 at the break then, both of Simpson’s goals were put on a plate for him by Wilshere. The third was the best of the game; we broke from a Barnet attack with Arshavin who put Jack the left of the box who unselfishly squared it for Simpson to tap into the empty net. Nicely worked goal. There should’ve been another in the first half when Vermaelen struck a loose ball straight at the ‘keeper. He was obviously upset at missing the chance and seconds later blasted a shot out of the stadium, which was met by cheers and applause!

The second half saw a completely changed side including Djourou, Nasri, Walcott and Chamakh. It wasn’t as interesting as the first half with Barnet sitting back more but it was still good to see those players mentioned. It was the first time we’ve seen Djourou in a year but he didn’t have a great deal to do to be honest; he will be fighting directly with Koscielny for a place alongside Vermaelen at the start of the season so both are looking to impress. Nasri looked sharp and it was he who scored the fourth goal pouncing on a defensive slip-up. Walcott looked dangerous too and I have a feeling this season he will be looking to make an impact after missing out on a World Cup place.

It was the first time most Gooners including myself have seen Chamakh play live and I was quite impressed by him. I knew that he was handy with his head and you could see that immediately, not just scoring headers but bringing the ball down from the air and nodding the ball into space. His touch was good and his awareness around him was excellent. He didn’t have a lot of goal scoring chances but he seems like he will fit in well here and I’m looking forward to seeing more from him this pre-season. In the post-match interviews Arsene said he was also impressed with him.

He also answered questions on the goalkeeping situation saying we’re still in the market but are ‘not really’ interested in Mark Schwarzer. We’ll just have to see what happens there, nothing looks like it’s going on at the moment and I can see myself getting worried about that but there’s still time to go.

Of course he was asked about Cesc Fabregas too and he said the stories have to stop because he is categorically not for sale:

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

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

We have shown our love and care for Cesc since the start. I believe Cesc loves the club, has shown his attachment to the club many times and I am very confident the story will end there. We want Cesc to be part of our club next year, and that is it. What we want is to build a team for the future, to develop our team and are not in any talks for next year or the year after – we want our players to be focused on the targets we have at the Club.”

I have to say I was pretty sure Cesc was going to leave but I feel confident now that he’s staying for at least one more year. I don’t think that’s because anything has changed with Barcelona or in Fabregas’ mind but because they simply can’t afford him this summer. I believe he’ll have one more year at Arsenal now which I guess is better than nothing, hopefully we’ll get a decent bit of cash for him in a year’s time and at least it gives us the chance to say goodbye properly. Here’s to hopefully another year of Cesc.

Well that’s the story of yesterday’s game at Barnet then. A nice day out for all, a 4-0 win and by the looks of it – no injuries! Next up we’re playing Sturm Graz on Wednesday. We’ve got more players coming back from holidays tomorrow and I’m guessing we’ll be flying out to our pre-season camp in Austria very soon too.

Thanks for reading.

Cesc Fabregas Latest & Barnet Friendly Preview 16 July, 2010

We play our first bit of football of the 2010/11 campaign tomorrow afternoon at Barnet but there’s also the small matter of whether our captain will be with us or not this season. The speculation continues over Cesc Fabregas’ future but I’m getting a hunch this will all be over soon. Despite us saying countless times that he is not for sale and we will not even think about it unless a decent offer is made, Barcelona are still persisting. However they’re now saying that if nothing is agreed soon then they will look elsewhere for signings. They’re saying they have €50m (£42m) to spend this summer but we’re asking more like €70m for Fabregas. If they were to offer us that full transfer kitty for Cesc we might be tempted to just get this over with but we wont let him leave for less than £40m that’s for sure.

Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell has spoken to Spanish television and this is the latest from him:

“Arsenal feels very hurt by Barca. They don’t want to listen to offers or sell and they are not putting the player on the market. There was a strong dispute a few months ago and they have not forgotten it.”

He will arrive, even if it is not now, it will be next year. We will see. One thing that is certain is that we will not go mad trying to sign him. No shareholder would pay 60 or 70million euros for him. We will not go all out for him. We would only pay his value in the transfer market.”

You don’t see any other club pulling a tantrum over a player they can’t afford. There’s no doubt that Cesc is a special talent and set to have an incredible career, he’s one of the best players in the world and his transfer fee should reflect that. It’s weird how they seem so desperate to have him yet they ‘will not go all out for him’. Cesc stands by his comments that he wants to return to Barcelona but at the moment it looks like that’s not going to happen until next year for him.

Lets forget about Fabregas for the minute and look forward to tomorrow’s day out at Barnet. We’ve announced the squad for tomorrow, it includes our two new signings, a number of first team members and some reserve players. We’ll probably end up fielding all 22 players in that squad, giving everyone a run out and not to tire anyone out. We usually start the game with the stronger XI then bring on most of the subs for the second half but here’s my guess at how we could line up tomorrow afternoon:

Almunia (c)
Djourou – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs
Eastmond
Rosicky – Nasri
Arshavin – Chamakh – Walcott

Whatever the team is, I’m looking forward to seeing Koscielny, Chamakh and Djourou in action and seeing how they get on. It’s no time to judge but it’s a chance to see how they play and what they’re capable of. Djourou’s spent a long time out injured but he has to make a step up this year with Gallas, Silvestre and Campbell all set to leave (despite still being on the squad pages), I’m hoping Johan can recover well from his absence and I’m sure he’ll be keen to make a good impression this pre-season.

I usually go to this season-opener at Underhill and I’ll be there again tomorrow. It’s still not sold out if you are free tomorrow and don’t have a ticket so come along. I’ve seen us win 10-1 there, I’ve seen a 2-1, a 2-0 and last year it was 2-2 but whatever the result it’s just a good feeling going to watch Arsenal again and being with all the Gooners.

I’ll be in the North Terrace hoping the rain holds out for a few hours. See you there.

Thanks for reading.

Time to look forward to the Premier League 14 July, 2010

So with the World Cup finally over it’s time to start thinking about club football again. Hooray! Most of the players have been training for a little while now but those who were involved at the World Cup will have a break before rejoining the squad. Wenger had his first day back at the office today taking charge of training ahead of Saturday’s friendly with Barnet.

I’m really looking forward to the game, it’s always a good day out at Underhill, nice to be back watching Arsenal. It’ll be a mix and match kind of side and nothing too serious, it’s really just an afternoon kick-about for the players and a chance for the fans to see them in action but that’s exactly what I want. If you’re not going and fancy coming along there are still tickets available so get involved. There’s a list here of the 1st team players that are around and could feature along with the reserves but as I said don’t expect to see any of those away in South Africa this summer.

I suppose I should congratulate Spain on winning the World Cup. They were the favourites and despite losing their opener to Switzerland they got the results to lift the trophy for the first time. Cesc looked like he was loving the moment, he came on as a sub and made a massive impact for his country. He was really dangerous to Holland and ended up creating the winning goal. Afterwards he was asked about his future but all he really said was to dedicate the win to Arsenal:

“All I can say is that this is for all the Arsenal players and fans, they are a world-class club. I am an Arsenal player and proud to be.”

Then as I’m sure you’ve seen, Reina and the epic cunts at from Barcelona, Pique and Puyol ‘pranked’ Cesc at the victory ceremony in Spain by pulling a Barcelona shirt on him. It was quickly removed and has since been played down by Fabregas and his Father as nothing more than a practical joke and nothing should be read into it. I was on that wavelength too really, all it did was confirm how I feel about FC Barcelona, their players and staff. Classless wankers.

Now the World Cup is over attention does really turn to club football and that means transfers. Cesc’s future will be decided over the next few weeks. I’m still hoping that he’s going to shrug them off and stay but I have a feeling his time at Arsenal is over. I’d love to be proved wrong but I think the taste of success with the Spanish squad might tempt him to not bother coming back and join up with Barcelona. There’s no point in speculating really, lets just see what happens and get it over with.

Moving on Thierry Henry has signed for New York Red Bulls. It’s hardly been a secret but I hope the move works out for him. I just love this quote though from the transfer announcement:

His debut for the Red Bulls is expected to be on July 22 against English Premiership club, Tottenham Hotspur, in the Barclays New York Challenge at Red Bull Arena.

How amazing that could be. I’ll definitely be watching that if I can pick it up on the internet. I bet Titi is relishing the chance to stick a few more past Spurs. Good luck Tel.

Ok that’s it for today. Remember to get your tickets for Barnet on Saturday. Thanks for reading.

New ‘keeper news & Cesc latest 5 July, 2010

Not a great deal going on at the moment but that’s to be expected I guess. The 2010 World Cup is nearing the end now and once that’s over with there should be plenty of club news. I’m hearing that there should be a bit of major news soon, Koscielny has apparently all but dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s and might even be getting his photos with the shirt today. So I’m expecting confirmation on that in the next few days.

We’re being linked with Portugal no.1 Eduardo who has a buy out clause in his contract at Sporting Braga of £3.4m. I watched a few Portugal games this summer and he seemed a decent enough ‘keeper, an improvement on Almunia but nothing amazing. He struck me as the sort of goalie that put that extra jump in his saves to make them look even more spectacular but if he saves the ball then I couldn’t give a toss what he does. He was destined to sign for Genoa but the Daily Mail are saying we’re coming in to make a late offer. The fact that he’s reported to be moving from Sporting Braga to Genoa doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence though, is that the level of standard we’re at?

Also in that article the Mail reckon we might sell Almunia to bring in both Eduardo and Mark Schwarzer but I don’t see that happening. I can see Manuel staying on with possibly one of those two coming in but as to which one I’m not sure who I’d pick. Schwarzer is probably the safer option but the novelty of Eduardo coming in and taking the no.9 shirt does interest me somewhat.

In other transfer news I’m sure you’ve seen what Gerard Pique said about Cesc yesterday. Well if you haven’t here it is in all it’s glory cuntitude:

“I have known that Cesc wanted to join Barcelona for many years – but now it is more than about wanting to do it. Now it is something he feels he must do.

The World Cup has not been a good thing for Arsenal. It has meant that he has been spending every day with myself, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Victor Valdes – and he has made his feelings very clear to us. He is keeping his mind focused on Spain but his heart is in Barcelona. I think already in his heart he is wearing a Barcelona shirt next season.”

Fuck the fuck off Pique, you fucking fuck. I was always weary that a summer spent with the Barcelona players might tempt him to return to Spain after the World Cup. I think Cesc’s off to be honest with you, as much as I would love him to stay and commit to Arsenal I’ve got to the stage now where I’d be surprised if he was our captain come the end of the transfer window. We’re in a good position because he is well under contract and we have no obligation to sell but if he doesn’t want to be here then we can’t force him to stay. As sad as it is to think about, if Fabregas doesn’t want to be at Arsenal anymore then we have to let him go.

I always hoped he’d stay for a couple years longer but if he feels the time has come to move on then whatever. Barca’s bank balance has just been boosted by the sale of Yaya Toure so they should be able to reach around the £50m mark that would probably get us to sell. There’s talk of Cesc doing one more year in London before moving on (and possibly joining Wenger out the door) but I’m not so sure about having a captain that isn’t fully committed to the club. I love Cesc, and I’d be over the moon if he stays but I’m not holding my breath. We coped when Vieira left, we coped when Henry left, we’ll manage without Fabregas.

He’s just been passed fit for Wednesday’s semi-final if you’re interested. He had a scan on his shoulder but will have pain killing injections in order to play. That’s if he’s selected though, he hasn’t got a lot of minutes this World Cup which might make him think about where his place in the Barcelona set up might be…

And that’s about all I can update you with today. Thanks for reading.

RVP taken for a scan, World Cup stuff and news round up 3 July, 2010

Hello again, it’s been a while hasn’t it? Sorry about that, a mixture of no Arsenal news, a stressful and long house move, some rare English sun and general laziness accumulated in me not getting round to doing the blog. We’ve had the World Cup though so at least that’s something; I’ve quite enjoyed it this year despite all the 0-0 and stalemates, been watching most games including yesterday’s two quarter finals. Robin van Persie’s Holland beat Brazil 2-1 to go a step closer to their first ever World Cup triumph. Just as I type this though Sky Sports News are saying that there’s an injury scare over Robin, he’s been taken to hospital for a scan on his arm so I guess by tomorrow we’ll know just how bad it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to amputate. Let’s just cross our fingers and hope RVP can do the same come tomorrow.

Cesc Fabregas’ Spain are still in it of course and they take on Paraguay tonight for a place in the Semis. They’re the favourites this year but like Holland they’ve never won it, in fact they haven’t even made the semi-finals before. There’s a good chance there could be a tasty Cesc vs. Robin, Spain vs. Holland World Cup Final with both sides fighting for that first star above their badge.

As for Cesc’s club future, no comment. If he’s not going to get into it until after the World Cup then neither am I. Barca say they wont pay over the odds for Cesc and the only way we will sell him if for a figure that represents his incredible quality and potential. Barcelona have just received 20-odd million off Man City for Yaya Toure so they have the cash, they’re just being cunts. We’ll see how this turns out over the rest of the summer but whatever happens lets get it done sooner rather than later.

Back to the World Cup and from an England point of view it hasn’t been the best ever. I did manage to get behind my country despite the massive cunts that played for us. I found myself looking at the badge rather than the faces at the national anthem. England never really clicked that’s what went wrong, there’s a lot of quality players in that team but until they learn to play together they’ll never get anywhere. There were some nice exchanges between Gerrard and Rooney but that was about it. It sounds like a big problem was ‘team spirit’ in the camp and fatigue. Well everyone at that World Cup has just finished an enduring season so that comment is invalid and as for the ‘team spirit’ issue I’ve heard that rather than a lack of togetherness there was more a loathing feeling inside. Apparently the camp was split after a big argument between Gerrard and Terry over who’s shagged the most colleagues’ wives or sold the most crack or something. Anyway once it was all over I couldn’t give a shit and I’m looking forward to the backlash some of England’s ‘stars’ will receive this season. It’s time for Capello to start fresh, get rid of the troublemakers and bring through the talented youth.

I saw this article this morning which made me chuckle, it’s from a Stoke City blog and they reckon it’s Arsenal’s fault England are so useless despite not having a single player in the squad. He reckons our pretty football and our endless diving and moaning have ruined the English game and therefore the national side:

After watching the disgraceful capitualtion that was england’s world cup tournament and seeing the bloated cash rich whinging players moping round the pitch constantly moaning and groaning it seems to beg the question, is the style of arsenal football club ruining the game in england. England seemed to think it clever to pass the ball around in their own half, buliding up possession statistics like they are the important and win games. Arsenal’s fault, the tippy tappy culture in full effect. Everything about the north londoners contributes to the poison spreading through the english game.

It’s laughable really. I couldn’t care less what other fans think of us, I know we’re not the most loved club by some and quite frankly I quite like it. I think it’s funny how everyone’s looking for reasons why England have failed so badly and they’ve pointed the finger at the manager, the players, the FA, the referees and it’s come to nothing so now someone’s thought, “I know! Let’s blame Arsenal.” According to this guy Arsene Wenger should be ‘locked up for crimes against football’, apparently we ‘surround the referee like a swarm of locusts’ and Fabregas is a ‘lying cheat’. Well I don’t know what Arsenal games you’ve been watching mate but you seriously need to get your story straight and if you think Arsenal is the biggest problem in football then you are either blind or insane.

If you want to blame Arsenal for England’s failures then I guess you could say that as a top three Premier League side we should have more players in the England team. It is a shame but the simple fact is we can’t afford English players. However that could be all set to change now with Walcott, Gibbs and Wilshere all looking to be a part of Capello’s next generation.

Right on to club matters now and the new kits have both been released since I last wrote and I must say I am a big fan of them both. I would happily buy the home and away if it didn’t mean £100 for two t-shirts that will only remain current for 9 months. However that home shirt is just too good to turn down; it’s red and it has full white sleeves – it’s not very often that Nike bring out an Arsenal kit as it should be so I’m going to take advantage of it. It seems everyone else is in agreement as opening day sales smashed all the records and we sold double this time compared to the last home kit release. Hopefully that says something to Nike.

In transfer news Lorient defender Laurent Koscielny looks extremely close to signing. I don’t really watch French football so I can’t comment on how good he might be for us but I’m glad to see Wenger investing money in defence. Gallas, Campbell and Silvestre are all out of contract now and all three look likely to sign somewhere else. Sol looks very close to signing for Celtic which is a shame because despite his age he was really important in our season run in. Hopefully we can replace his desire and determination if he leads because he was a great example to the side.

That’s probably enough for today then, feels good to be back. Thanks for reading.