The Interlull, as it is commonly called now, what a total bore… It’s almost as bad as the Close Season and at times like these, many of us start to think back a little.
I was sorting out some old papers recently and came across a couple of old newspaper cuttings i’d kept from 2006/07. They were reports on two Champions League games played that season.
In the first, Arsenal were away to a Dinamo Zagreb side containing Modric, Eduardo and Corluka, so a good side…
The Arsenal XI was; Almunia, Eboue, Justin Hoyte, Toure, Djourou, Hleb, Gilberto, a 19-year-old Fabregas, Rosicky, Van Persie and Adebayor.
The subs; Poom, Cygan, Traore, Song, Reyes, Aliadiere and Flamini.
The starting XI, by its composition, must have played 4 4 2.
Arsenal recorded a fine 3-0 victory in Croatia with Fabregas scoring twice and Van Persie getting one as well.
Apparently it was Fabregas’s 100th appearance!
This was only 6 years ago, the season Arsenal moved into Ashburton Grove and only a few months after Paris but the turnover in players since has been quite amazing.
Robert Pires had been allowed to leave that summer [ a blunder in my opinion]. Dennis Bergkamp had retired also that June and in July Sol Campbell had ‘worked his ticket’, a free transfer to a foreign club…. namely Portsmouth.
Jose Reyes joined Real Madrid and we got the totally ineffective Julio Baptista in exchange for a season!
Pascal Cygan left to join Villarreal for £2million [lucky them]. Lauren also joined Portsmouth that summer for £500,000 and finally Ashley Cole left us on deadline day to join Chelsea in a swap deal involving William Gallas.
The loss of so much experience, winning mentality and nous was bound to have an effect, coupled with the lack of funds provided by the Board for reinforcements.
Arsenal went from Champions League finalists, to where we are now…
Over the following three summers Arsenal haemorrhaged a whole team of talented players; Lehmann, Ljungberg, Henry, Diarra, Reyes, Flamini, Gilberto, Hleb, Adebayor and Toure.
Looking at all those names it seems quite amazing that Wenger has managed to keep Arsenal in the Top Four.
Losing Nasri, Clichy and Fabregas this summer has to be some kind of watershed… Signing up Vermaelen was crucial in stopping the rot, but the Board cannot hide behind Wenger anymore. Gazidis and Co have to make a statement of intent, they simply must ensure that Robin Van Persie stays.
By the way, the other game I found among the cuttings was a 2-1 win at SV Hamburg.
The team; Lehmann, Eboue, Gallas, Toure, Djourou, Hleb, Gilberto, Fabregas, Rosicky, Adebayor and Van Persie.
Subs: Almunia, Flamini, Baptista, Ljungberg, Song, Walcott and Justin Hoyte. Goals: Gilberto penalty and Rosicky.
Hamburg: Kirschstein; Demel Reinhardt, Kompany, Mathijsen; De Jong; Jarolim, Ljuboja, Wicky, Trochowski, Sanogo.
Substitutes: Fillinger, Berisha, Laas, Benjamin, Mahdavikia, Wachter, Guerrero.
We were good, weren’t we?
Written by Allezkev
Morning guys and gals…
Good post Kev, can’t believe that in such a few years, so many players have left us, some make me think ‘if only they’d stayed’ – but a few i think the opposite……
Diarra and Reyes – they could have been good for us, and I was sad when Gilberto went….
Morning HH….great post AK. You are my inspiration.
Morning rico…I personally miss the flamster. Great player. If only…
Morning goonster, i don’t – the rat that he was….
where is he now??
Ricoooooo! What are you talking about? Flam wanted to stay but just like henry before him arsenal didn’t give him what he wanted.
I don’t buy that goonster – he led Wenger to believe he’d stay, so Wenger let Diarra go – then Flamoney had his head turnedby money just like so many others – then shafted us….
We were left with neither, but it’s only my humble opinion…..
We had Gilberto, Flamoney and Diarra, who of the three is still playing at a high level?
Well lequipe posted an article back then saying he wanted to stay but wenger and the board couldn’t meet his terms. Like it or not flamini would have improved us. With him anchoring the middle we could have won a few trophies over the years.
Flamini is! He’s currently injured that’s why he has not being featuring.
Morning Gooners,
Morning Rico/Stan.
Looks as if, according to Karren Brady, that West Ham were trying to take Squillaci on-loan, but as it seems he’ll be leaving in January [hooray] that the deal fell through.
Pity Bartley didn’t go to West Ham, playing for them would have done him more good than in Scotland.
Come on goonster, do you honestly believe that? he waited until he was free to leave, knowing full well that AC would be able to pay him a higher wage as no transfer fee, Just like Na$ri was prepared to do in the summer, but because Citeh tapped him up, we ended up getting a good price for him….
Don’t believe all you read… 😉
Your inspiration am i Stan…? 🙂
Well, i’m glad to help.. 😀
Gotta say that i don’t feel very inspirational, gotta a few jobs to do in the garden and am putting them off.
Rico, i always regretted Gilberto leaving, big-time.
And i could never understand how badly Wenger handled the Diarra situation.
Especially with Flamini poncing about over a contract.
what the post highlights is..
since the last time we won something, we havent kept a squad together for longer than 5 mins..
our turnover of players has been higher than any other top PL club i reckon..now if you cant keep a squad together and all its best players? how do you expect to realistically challenge for honours at a top level???
Rico…he wasn’t offered a new deal. That’s why he left. The board waited till he was on his last year of his contract before offering him a new contract.
Morning Kev, I read her diary the other day in the sun, apparently if he goes there on loan he can’t be sold in Jan, like you say, either way it looks like he’s a gonner, not a gooner 🙂
Great post by the way….
Agree re Bartley too, he’d learn a lot under Big Sam….
hi jj, why do you think that is??
goonster, we will have to agree to differ 😉
Morning JJ, how’s Pedantic George this morning? 😉
He always cracks me up. 😀
Agree totally on not keeping a settled squad.
How can you build anything if your losing a couple of key componants every summer.
Who to blame JJ..???
A money motivated Board? Or.
Wenger??
Thanks Rico.
You definately ARE my inspiration… 🙂
So Rico, have LG gone over to Facebook or something?
😆 re the inspiration
No, somewhere else, there own web i think, very smart too…
oh no..not the flamini thing again..
this one is so obvious i cant beleive ppl still beleive that he screwed us..
heres what happened…
1…wenger didnt want him
2..tried to flog him to brum
3..he didnt want to go to brum he offered to stay and see out his final year so he could pick his own club..
4..diaby was injured, diarra was a mug, gilberto went to copa and so wenger used flamini
5..flamini shows the form of 2006..only in midfield..
7..wenger sees the light, asks him to stay..
8..flamini doesnt want to stay..cos his intention from the start of the year was to leave..
how can anyone who we tried to sell the year before lead the club into beleiving he was staying?? he offered to see out his contract..that was it..and thats what he did..
PG is ok Kev.. 😉
we argue all the time but hes one of the best guys on there..stands his corner and makes me laugh..i think theres a mutual respect, even though we cant agree on the colour of the grass 😉
its a mixture of all things kev..
reluctance to spend money in transfer windows
keeping faith with players who werent good enough
not offering the best players enough money..
basically all the stuff weve been talking about over the passed 5 years..
😆 jj – you know me and you differ on this one…
I’m staying out of it now as i’m one who thinks he took the pee out of wenger…
On 23 July 2004, Flamini signed a professional contract for English outfit Arsenal, rejecting Marseille’s long-term senior contract offer to which he had already verbally agreed.
He had previous, he only really was good for us for one year. He already knew the terms of his Italian deal when we offered ours , he was out of contract and got a signing on fee.and about £5 million a year. It will be interesting to see if he does it again.
Hi Potter, Nasri was about to do the same to us…..
JJ i agree re; PG.
Always enjoy reading the chat over there.
Gotta say that his judgement on certain players over recent season’s has been flawed.
You have to be stubborn to be a successfull manager, not letting yourself be swayed by all the ‘advice’ your gonna get.
But Wenger’s stubborness over certain players, in recent times, worked against him.
he should have been offered a new deal in 2006..when he played as a lb and was part of the defence that conceeded zero goals until we got to the final..
he was a good player for us before 08..
as for milan..they were his boyhood club..he modelled his game of gattussos..everyone in the club called him gattuso..so it was a no brainer as far as he was concerned..we didnt want him until they did..
if we’d have offered him a deal in 06 and he would have turned it down id have said yeah he screwed us but you cant try sell a player, then offer him a deal when hes got 6 months left and then expect him to stay when hes got other top clubs chasing him and then say he screwed us..
it was dissapointing he left cos he was a good player but to solely blame him is wide of the mark..
we only need to look at how many players have left us over the years to see there has been flaws in the way we as a club operate regarding wages and keeping our players happy..we dont have a good track record over the years, as todays post highlights..are we gonna blame the players or blame the system cos the numbers of ship jumpers would suggest its the system..
Hi Potter, you good today?
What’s the view on Song to Inter Milan..?
It’s not going away…
kev
song has recently hired darren dein as his agent..
it doesnt look good..
Morning all………….. 😉
I would think that his agent is making the noises to up his deal with us. I see that he has been linked with Barca too as a replacement for Kieta . It’s all part of the pre-contract pissing contest that agents put you through. Back to Flamini had we offered a new deal in 2006 , as he had only been a bit part up till then it is unlikely he would have agreed it.
Doesn’t he have some kind of financial degree ? I just think he had it well planned out in advance , but I don’t necessarily blame him.
and it could be why wengers looking at mvilla cos songs playing silly bollox over a new deal..
You are not living in the real world,if you take the players from any EPL side that played in 2006 you will scarcly find two remaining the exceptions are usually always top class,players who have missed seasons with injury or hard working squad players who dont always start, five years is a long time for a footballer and in that time they have either peaked or passed it,we are no exceptions to that rule and this FACT should be excepted, not ill advisoredly used to beat the club with.Evaluton of teams is totally normal.
Flamini is a CNUT end of…….!!
🙂
Just for you JJ…….
But I am 100% right as usual…!
WATH 🙂
my man..good to see you..
even though your wrong..as usual 😉
Bye Bye Song…… Hello Yann…… That’ll do me !! Add Gotze as well and I’d be a very happy chappie indeed then just another striker to help out RVP and Bob’s ya Uncle JJ is a green spandex wearer and we’re all chuffed as punch..!
if songs messing about then we should sell him now..
theres no point in hanging fire with it and seeing how it pans out..
as soon as a player (whos not robin) starts saying ‘ooooh well i dunno yet, lets see’ then his mind should be made up for him..
hes a good player so as far as money is concerned he should be offered a top deal but if hes wanting to jump ship (which is what DD is an expert at) then we should kick him out now and go get a replacement because we are at a transitional stage where we need fighters and not players who are thinking about there next move..
Hiya Wath, ‘ere we’ve only just got JJ back, don’t start with all that spandex lark or else we’ll lose him… 😀
I might be out on my own here, but i’ve never been a massive Song fan.
M’Vila in, Song out, i’d sign for that Wath.
if song left and we got mvilla and gotze and added a striker id be one happy robin hood lookalike mofo..
the squads done..
although id still take cahill to piss spurs off 🙂
It seems JJ, that when a player takes on Darren Dein, it’s au revoir Arsenal.
Funny way to treat your Father’s big pal..?
Cahill or Vertonghen would be good.
Not sure Wenger is looking at that area of the team, but either, imho, would be a sound investment.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3378/international-friendlies/2011/11/13/2754933/netherlands-boss-bert-van-marwijk-arsenal-manager-arsene
I’d take Flamini back in a heartbeat.
I’m with you AK as much as Song does a decent job he isn’t a great player at all, he gets far to carried away thinking he can win tackles and then jig past the next four players and score, he gets caught with the ball far to often and slows the game down far to much, doesnt do the basics enough, win the ball lay it off thats his job and he doesnt do that anywhere near enough
if tv, koz and big per can stay fit then im not sure we actually need another CB..
a tricky wide player and a striker for sure and depending on song then mvilla or fellaini (whos stalling contract talks with everton)
maybe baines but we aint that far away really..
Spot on AK another tasty cetre half would make us a lot stronger again…! You said the swear word JJ… “IF” they stay fit… whats the chances…? Zero…..! we need another CB… the more the merrier so we never ever see Squilli again…!
i actually think songs the best solid mid in the league right now..
he does have his weaknesses like leaving arteta to do the holding and then doing his diaby inpressions up the pitch but as far as everything else is concerned hes a top player..
thing for me is i dont think cahill will command a first team spot..but theres a chance we can get him on the cheap therefore i wouldnt pass the opportunity up..
it will only make the squad stronger..he might have to spend time on the bench but the best teams have got the best benchs..
strenght and depth is key..
JJ you are a legend! Flamini didn’t screw us, we did him in! That’s what I ve been saying for years. We practically pushed him overboard. Poor fella.
weve got JD too..
cahill would be 5
5’s a good number..
different styles as well..good assortment of options.
JJ, i have to admit that, to me, Song is having his best season so far, whether that is with a transfer in mind ,i don’t know.
But as Wath says, i think he does slow things down and looks a bit clumsey, but as you say, i can’t knock him this season so far.
So he must be leaving then… ;D
Hi Wath and Esp…
Song hired DD, what a fool – as said, bye bye to Alex then….
haha goonster..ive been called a few things on the blogs over the years..
legends a new one 😉
are u sure you dont mean leg-end..??
Goonster don’t be so blinkered…… Poor is hardly a way to describe flamini….. he shagged us to go earn 130k a week with Milan…..! a typical mercenary footballer merely looking at his bank balance…! We offered him good money to stay he fucked us off….! Simple..!
JD is awful at the moment JJ Cahill would be 3/4 for me…! least we’d have 4 very good centre backs… rotate and be happy that they all good….!
Nobody else think S18 could have the greatest second season of all time and become the PL best defender ever?!
Would like to see how Diaby would do we a season fit, not going to happen though…
DD is rvp agent as well 🙁
but i think rvp is different i think he wants to stay but he needs assurances..
8 years..one trophy..best striker in the PL..its gonna take some convincing..especially with DD involved..
maybe a few new players and a top 4 finish would be enough..maybe an fa or cc to top it off..
JJ, if we got Cahill, i think he’d be in front of Djourou mate.
As you say, a strong bench/squad. And if, God forbid, we picked up a couple of injuries, and it does tend to happen to us when we threaten to do well, then how bad to have Cahill [or Vertonghen] coming into the team.
The question is, will the Board sanction the wages needed to get him, plus A.N.Other or two?
oh yeah wath cahill will be 4th for me too..
If we get decent money for Song and re-invest it into buying M’vila I won’t be too upset!
Regarding Flamini, he was a huge loss to us, his departure meant we no longer had the players capable of playing 4-4-2. He did the job which we now need two players to do. Fabregas really developed with Flamini beside him to do the donkey work.
i wrote that wrong haha..
basically meant we’d have 5 good cb’s
cahill would be ahead of JD though..agree
So Dein jnr is RVP’s agent as well..!
Didn’t know that. Hmm put a different spin on things.
Junior defo seems to be getting some form of pay-back on his Dad’s previous chums.
Doesn’t look so good JJ.
Chores to do, a noise in my ear [nagging].
Gotta go guys/Rico.
See ya lata.
ESP, nor would I be too upset…
Does Squilli wear 18 😉
WATH…get off my case. You still owe me lil man. And don’t you forget it.
Don’t worry Stan it’s only a small MATA….! flamini = skank…!
W.A.T.H – I still think Flamini was a huge loss to Arsenal.
I’m off for a bit guys, catch up later…
so was cesc and nasri but that doesnt stop them from being twats does it..
end of the day this club is bigger than any one or 11 players..even though we needed them it doesnt stop them from being arseholes but theres different circumstances under why all the different players left..
i put flamini in the category of wanker but can understand why it happened..
i put cesc and nasri in the category of just wanker..what cesc did to us is a million times worse than what flamini did..
JJ agree with you there.
Jj cesc was no twat! At least he left us for his home town club. What was that prick nasri’s story?
cesc was a bigger twat than nasri
nasri was in the last year of his deal..
cesc still had 4 years to run before he demanded to leave..
if cesc didnt want to stay he shouldnt have signed a new deal he just took the ‘golden hanshake’ the captaincy and then fucked us over good and proper..
Jj I know you re hurting and stuff but he has been with us all his adult life. He has seen players come and go. He has played with class(bergy) and shit(denilson) alike. Nasri on the other hand has been with us a few years and the little pricks chose shitty over us at least cesc left our shores and back to his boyhood club. Nashit is the bigger twat to me!
ESP, Agreed flamini was a big loss at the time he was the engine that allowed Cesc free run to pull the strings in midfield and after letting Diarra go was an even bigger loss..!
Don’t cesc look a right tosser with that greasy long hair and girlie head band…..
Good morning all!
Song out?
Song out? Jm? Really?
Afternoon all, lazy ole sunday.
Kev, we all had a chuckle when we heard Sol was looking for a new challenge abroad and only made it as far as Portsmouth !
And what happened to the old papers, did you end up shredding them, you didn’t say.
Wath, i said the same yesterday about Cesc, he looked awful…
A mini Ramos….
im not hurting goonster im glad hes gone..
good player but never should have been made captain and we held on to him for too long..
he made that clear in his last season..
anyway water under the bridge now fuck him and his greasy girly hair..
id be more upset if we lost rvp..
a minnie mouse
Hi JM and Micko
goonster, could be on the cards if we believe what we read 😉
Another player mentioned was Gilberto, just done the simple things so well, protected the back four, broke the play up and passed the ball to the playmakers, never seeked attention or made a fuss.
It was only when he got injured and was out for a spell that some fans started to warm to him and realise what a big miss he was to the team, there were supporters around me who slagged him off week in, week out at one stage, couldn’t understand it.
I loved Gilberto, is he still playing for Brazil?
gilberto was alright..didnt have an engine though
good pro and good squad player
edu was better
we should have hung on to him.
but between them both they gave a good balance and depth to the first team and weve missed them both over the years..
I can see why Edu was allowed to go jj, just after leaving he suffered serious injury, don’t think he really played much after that did he….
maybe both he and wenger knew he was injured?? went on a free and gor the best wage he could? just a thought…
Gilberto was better than a squad player – you are a hard man 😉
when we talk like this and bring up the likes of gilberto and edu and flamini it really does make me wonder why wenger stuck with denilson for so long..
i just cant fathom it out..you see when we watched players like them and then you watched denilson and you just think what the hell was you thinking boss..
im sure theres reasons for it but those reasons i have no clue..
Edu played just 61 games in five years after leaving us 🙁
Might play for the brazil veterans team now rico.
He was another player who split the supporters JJ, remember him scoring the fastest champions league goal at the time in about 27 seconds against PSV.
Theo Walcott has just won Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 😉
Just had a wikki moment, he retired last year from Brazil Micko…
his injury was a broken leg rico..
and it wasnt playing for us 😉
seriously though, i think the main reason why edu was allowed to leave was cos he wanted a good deal after years of service and with the move to the emirates the club didnt want to add to the wage bill..they were already ripping the invincibles up to get it down so edu had no chance
it was a finanical decision..and he never wanted to leave but if the club aint offering a deal then what can you do??
to be honest i dont know why he splitt the fans
he was no vieira but he wasnt shit..he did a job..
i always liked him and yeah when he did his back in or neck whatever it was and was out for a stretch we did miss him..
He didn’t have any corner flags to run into rico, he just had to go round and round.
That’s what i mean jj, maybe he had a weakness in his leg 😉
I agree, so many only relasied just how good he was until he was out…. he’s one of my favs…
😆 Micko
only speculations..
u-18: we won at Ipswich 2-0 🙂
AK, can’t wait for intersnoozzzze to end. We’ve lost a fair number of players before we were ready to be rid of them, I agree. AW has reposed unfounded faith in more than a few (Cesc, in particular; Nasri, I think), but they’re gone, so good riddance!!!
As for Flamini, pffft. I’m with rico on this. I monitored his transfer with keen interest in 08 and from January to April, he sang the I’m staying tune, only to leave. Arse. So happy his bum was left to gather splinters in Milan for swathes of his seasons there.
Oh, and hello, all!
Good afternoon guys and chicks.
Good post AK. Brought back some memories.
The starting team vs Zagreb played 4-4-1-1 with RVP playing behind the main striker, the guy from who is with the scum and who would zoom his way to a needle in a haystack if it meant getting some money in return.
Afternoon JM and agag –
looks like he’s playing a bit more this season at AC – 22 games but whether thats from the bench I don’t know, hopefully one of the splinters gets stuck 😉
Afternoon DG, sun shining where you are today??
Haha, rico. And now Flamini, is injured. Boo-hoo. 😉
I hope Song stays. It won’t do to keep on losing players. Robin is top priorit of course. I should think he would be persuaded, if some tp names are brought in. 🙂
Hi, DG, I hope you’re having a lovely, lazy Sunday.
I’d rather Song stayed agag but if he goes and we get M’Vila or someone bigger, stronger and better then it won’t be all bad – but if he goes and we don’t replace him, I think we’ll suffer..
Coq and Frimps are going to be good but i think they are still a little bit too young and inexperienced right now….
Oh, and a tad short 😉
Nein Frau Rico. Here its showers. We had a game this morning, half of it was in showers, however we did not mind seeing that we walloped the opponents. 🙂
Regarding Ratini or the ratster this season he has not played that much since he is recovering from a broken leg and is not due to return until the new year…..if he returns.
With him in the team we can play 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 since he makes up for the others with his enerygy. However with Song we cannot and it will remain 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 until he remains there. Actually I see the future of AFC without Song but with Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta, backed up by Frimpong, Coquelin,Aneke, Lansbury and Ozyakup.
Since we have a history of not replacing players, I wish he would stay. You have to wonder how big a role the player’s agent has in all this. Song has been one of the most vocal of his love for the club… but then again money talks, and talk loudly.
I haven’t seen much of M’vila. I like Hazard though.
Wish I have lazy sundays Agag. After the game it was dinner then it was off with a little prince on his bike and me and the missus jogging. Now I am resting a bit, but then its preparation time for the little prince’s school tomorrow and off to bed.
Wow, that’s quite a schedule, DG!! I had a lazy Sunday. And then remembered I had to rush some things for work, and it wasn’t so lazy, after. Nothing like spending time with kids though. 🙂
But its tiring Agag. And remember, I spend my life working with kids and their problems, than at football its kids again and when I come home their is my son as well. Mentally its exhaustive and sometimes I am emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and physically tired.
Just read that RVP has been sent back from the dutch training camp upon AW’s request. Good. We need to protect him especially his delicate fingers, at least until he holds the pen that signs on the dotted line.
DG, you make sure, you don’t get burned out. I find that a break, even a short one does wonders. 😉 I am an advocate for hols, hols, and more hols. 😀
For a change we have had sunshine today DG, good to hear your side won, and so well… 😛
No-one will guess what i have been doing today 😉
DG, good to see the Dutch stick to their word too…
rico, shopping?? Ha.
Well, the Dutch know RvP’s injury history, and if he is to be of any use to them, they would do well not to put him on the line for meaningless matches. 😉
Hey hiya all and afternoon Gooners.
Mick; 2.21. Still got papers. Sending them to a friend. And yes, Sol really did turn Wenger over.
Suprised he gave him a second chance, must have been desperate [yes we were]
But he didn’t give him a 3rd chance after he’d buggered off to Newcastle.
Intersnooooze… Like it Agag.. 😀
😆 no agag, baking……
Hi Kev, you had another busy day 🙁
I think there was more to Sol’s situation than we all know…… Wenger wouldn’t have put up with it otherwise… Would he ?
agag, doesn’t normally stop the dutch, just glad they are a bit more sensible this time, he’s back in london ordering his pizza right now 😉
Rico, i luv rock cakes, don’t forget to save me one if you did any.. 😉
Had a bit to do out the front.
Then we went out with some neighbours for sunday lunch.
Very civilised.. 🙂
Bonjour, Allez-k! 😉 How are ya? Boring beyond belief! And Cesc looks slimy, what is it with that boy? He looks so unkempt. Eeek.
Ooooh, baking. 🙂 I like! Tarts and pies? Watch the woofa. 😀 😀 You must join Master Chef. 😀
Re: the Dutch Rico. I think even those pillocks realise it’s in their own interests to keep RVP fit.
Hiya AK.
You gave me some memories with the above article. Good step back in history.
Rico…..I think you were preparing lasagne for dinner. I am right no???
We bounced back from last week’s loss. We even went behind in the first minute before any one of my players had touched a ball. I was thinking, here we go again. But then by the 20th minute we had banged in 5 and if the players stuck to the original plan it would have created a new record. As it is all the team was lining up to shoot from a distance and that is how it remained for the rest of the game. I did encourage it too (the shooting) however I think that if we stuck to how we usually worked out it would have resembled the rugby score between New Zealand and an italian team.
I hope you were in your Sunday best, AK. 😉 I bake literal rock cakes. Ha.
Glad the Dutch have wised up. Hope everyone else on international duty escapes unscathed, rico.
Yeah Agag, i thought Cesc looked a right greaseball.
His standards have certainly slipped since he went back to bankrupt Espana.
And as someone mentioned, he looks just like that geezer with a chip-pans worth of oil on his barnet, Ramos. That guy must literally slip and slide everywhere.
On a hot day you could fry an egg on his bonce!
Kev, what are you suggesting about my cooking 😉
I love rock cakes, when we all get to meet up at The Ems, i will bring some with me 🙂
Hey Kif Int DG.
I’ve got loads of cuttings, i used to keep scrap books, but i threw them away in a fit of temper after York knocked us out of the FA Cup.
Had stuff going back to 1968. I must have been mad.
Just shows how those knobheads play with your emotions… grrrrrr
masterchef agag, no chance, i tell you what i bake, but never reveal how dreadful the end result is 😆
DG – lasagne is only cooked when we play the tiny totts 🙂
Rico, that sounds great. Don’t forget the pizza and 3 beany thing… 😆
Kev – i thought the same about Cesc, what i would like to say cannot be written here, it may offend… 😉
Talking of cooking, did any of you try coconut oil to cook with after Pat7’s post??
No, have you tried it Rico?
How did it go?
AK, I gave away my Cesc jersey when he was playing that will I stay or will I go game with us. Woman scorned and all that. 😀 He stayed another season, and I felt bad it was gone. With how things panned out, it doesn’t matter now. 😉
Maybe they have no barbers in Barcelona. 😉
Haha, rico. Your recipes always sound so yum. You got me good!
Coconut oil, although expensive, is very good to cook in. However the best has to be Krill oil. It is the most expensive oil but the most beneficiary on the planet. Experts have documented that health benefits to using krill oil can include reducing arthritis pain, decreasing inflammation and raising the nutrient flow to the bloodstream.
Is it me only or everyone else who was hoping that during the England game that Cesc would fail big time??? I liked him as a player but I was willing to see him fail. How I wish that the Champions league final would see us win vs Barca 1-0, a la Copenhagen style,(I still have the photos AK) and then we frustrate the shit out of their pants for the remainder of the game.
Every dog has it’s day DG.
Arsenal beat Barcelona for the first time last season.
Next step is to knock them out of the Champions League, Semi-Final would be nice!
No amigo. ITS THE FINAL I WANT TO DEFEAT THEM.
Then we can rightly tell Cesc……….”You are the weakest link. Goodbye”
I did Kev, it’s really good, doesn’t make the food all greasy – found it in Cornwall and it was a really good price….
Rico, the longer Cesc is gone, the more direct Arsenal have become.
Not in a Stoke way, but the way we used to play with Henry/Pires/Vieira/Bergkamp/Ljungberg.
A couple of times Spain overdid the passing and i just thought to myself ‘Who does that remind you of..? ‘
Good read as always Ak, you have an elephants memory i envy you. I must admit that when i look at some of those names i am not that concerned, i find it amazeing how Wenger has done what he has with some of those names, not knocking those players but we can do better than some of these i know, this clearout we had at the start of the season was a must in my mind, even some of the players on loan, wouldn’t upset me if we moved them on. But now i think that the financial strains have been released i think we can recruit a better quality player. and maybe upset a few higher than us in the league. by the way evening all been on the golf course what a lovely day.
Rico, it sounds good.
I use a combination of veggie oil or light olive oil, depending on what i’m cooking.
During the game I was thinking on the same lines AK. And I kept saying to myself, that is how Arsenal used to play and they were facing a team playing in the way Arsenal are playing now. Capello realized the team’s limits and adapted the style to the players. Had WR and JT been playing England would have lost. Simple as that.
Blimey rico, your other half must have been starving by the time you got back from cornwall, probably thought your were popping down to the corner shop.
Not again with them recipes! Hey guys you lot are making us look bad….guys that can’t cook that is. Hey agag, ran into a hot mamachita last night here in phuket thought it was you. Kev gave me a hint though said you are way too “high maintenance” for me. Is that true? Cause I was really hoping I could take you scubberdiving(spelling)
🙂 agag…
You know what guys, no matter how we love loved Cesc, for me he was our weak link!
Wenger’s tactics were always about Cesc, and i know i have said this before but when he played he ‘demanded’ the ball, despite where he was on the pitch which all too often was not in the best position.
Everything was too focussed around him, we almost became a one man team…
Ok, right now RvP is scoring the goals, but that is his job. What has happened for the first time in a long time imho is that we have finally become a team and not a one man band……
Hi StevieP and thanks…
Agree buddy, but Arsenal Must Keep Robin Van Persie, even if it means a record deal to keep him.
Time to slog off………..I see that Goonster’s here again!!!!
😉 😉
Micko 😆
Goonster, liquid lunches don’t require any cooking, your alright.
Goonster…you still liquidizing your lunches????? biggrin
Evening Steve
DG, that’s why i like the progress the team is making.
They seem more of ‘a team’ and i think this stems from RVP’s leadership and the changes Wenger has been forced to make by losing Nasri & Cesc.
I’m very optimistic about the future now.
But we must keep Robin Thighs Persie.
It’s vital to both the team AND to Rico.. 😉
Your right there AK, while he’s playing like he is, it would be suicide to lose him.
evening Ricolicious, not had a chance to read the comments but the old womans about to serve dinner and i hope its big, a few beers makes for a big appetite. i could eat a BFG
Bon Apertite Steve…. 🙂
goonster, there are a lot of “mamachitas”/lady friends in the Phuket/Krabi, etc.; I am not one of them. 😀 SCUBA, you mean?? You should dive Tubbataha, then. I hear only good things about it. And everything AK says is true. 😀
I think Cesc was told time and time again how good he was (the Coach, teammates (offhand, I remember interviews of RvP, AA, Theo, Tomas, Jack, Rambo, Song) , media, fans); and while he was awfully good; over the last two years, I detected a sense of impatience about him when playing with our less naturally gifted players.
Like rico said, he always demanded the ball; so when he was having an off game, we suffered. Shame, he and Robin were not fit and firing for long periods together, because they play well together and seem good friends as well.
Exactly agag – we have to keep RvP at all costs….. 🙂
You enjoy dinner Steve, poor old Merts 😉
Stuff to dream of agag, both of them fit at the same time and for a long time…..
Hey ho, life goes on and Arsenal are and always will be bigger than Cesc fabregas, or any other single player or manager…..
https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14605
Stop the Government funding of the scummers.
Hi, Steve, bye Steve. 🙂 And Micko, howdy?
I know Cesc left us under a bit of a cloud and we hated it but he was a player and still is i will never see his loss in a detrimental way he was a Gooner and still has the red in his veins. good luck to him i say unless he plays us then i fucking hate him
i’ll be signing that Kev
Micko, i think stanley has nodded off 😉
I think Stanley’s gone scuba diving.
Well, i hope so..
😆 Steve – you have to admit he looks a bit rough though…..
Has Goonster cleared orf??? 😀
Good.
Steve, I agree with many things you say but please lets not start this red in his veins or his DNA shit thing. I have got fed up of it and the more we steal players from Barca and they make it the more we will hear about it. I tell you this…..the only way to stop barca taking players back is when we steal around 5 or 6 from the same year group and they become great players. Let;s say they cost around 35 million each, I cant see barca paying 210million for the lot of them.
Didn’t realise goonster was out in thailand, he’s probably enjoying the local scenery as we speak rico.
Imagine we play 4-3-3 and AFC steal the 3 midfielders and 3 strikers from the same year group. They are already bankrupt. I can assure you that they will end up with bankrupt DNA in their banks.
Mick, Stan could be in Thailand, the Philipines, Brockley or just about anywhere when he’s on the amber nectar…. 😉
Oh it’s like that kev, maybe I was a bit too quick on the trigger.
Micko, wise man say only………….!!!!!
I am not going to fall in love with you but be careful about trigger fingers. Once you pull it you cant push it. 🙂
No, i’m not saying he’s not out there mate?
Just hope he doesn’t get himself into trouble….
He does like a beer…
….or two!!!!!
Devil i ,can see where your coming from the reason i say that is for what he did for us in the eight years he was here, not his fault that we had our hands tied as far as money was concerned, plus he wanted to go home, you can take a horse to water but you cant make him drink,but i bet our result is the first one he looks for on a weekend.
Gotta say sunday lunch was pretty damn good.
I can fully recommend the Rose & Crown, Old Romney.
And no washing-up.
It’s win win… 😀
Devil, the book of life begins with a man and a woman in a garden and it ends with Revalations.
Are you preparing for Christmas AK????
Here we have already started mate.
I am 43 years going on to 7 years old at this time of the year.
😆 Micko, i don’y know where goonster is, i asked and he told me he was in an office 😉
And what are you going to reveal to us from your book of life Micko??? We would like to know. lol
I can see both Steve’s and DG’s point of view.
You’ve gotta wonder though, how things would have panned out with Cesc, if those tight-gits on the Board had financed that move for Alonso, or even Arteta at that time?
I don’t begrudge Cesc leaving, not one bit and for the reasons you say Steve – in fact, i wish he had gone the summer before… and, i think we all know that when he was with us, he gave all he could….
He still looks rough these days though 😉
Rico… 😆
Devil, I would say, your not here for a long time, your here for a good time.
That’s my best offering.
I am immortal Micko………. 😀
Here we are, Born to be kings,
We’re the princes of the universe,
Here we belong, Fighting to survive,
In a world with the darkest powers,
Perhaps those Spanish girls like the tramp look Rico, looks like the dress code has changed a bit.
Kev, that’s a good question, but, i think he still wanted out…. he wanted to be home and with the slime balls we know as Barca and Spain……
I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings,
I have no rival, No man can be my equal,
And that is one of my favourite songs. Guess from which film and from which group it is mate???
All i can say then Steve, is i am glad to be english 😉
Showwaddywaddy DG..?
I love English girls rico and spanish italian and so on. I have i’m sure heard that Devil but i have to ask you who
Gotta hold my hands up Devil.
Rico its a situation which in scientific terms we call Call of the tribe. Ultimately Cesc was hearing the call of the tribe. He knows that his heart is part of that tribe and for him its better to be just one part of that tribe than the leader of another. However, alhtough he was a great player for us, he was aloof from the majority of the team. And that is unforgivable. No one is bigger than the club.
At least he does not mouth us off. And yes he still looks for our results. But that does not stop him from being a slime ball.
That;s from Queen…..Princes of the universe.
Steve…..you like English, Spanish and so on. You should taste the Maltese ones or Italian ones mate. They are more exquisite. 😉
And to think I was gonna say that………………………….
Enjoy whats left of the weekend people, over and out.
Have you got Queen’s first album DG..?
That’s a really good rock album.
See ya Mick
Sounds good, no wonder they call you Devil
Nte Micko
Cu Micko. Have a good week.
AK, …….. I have got Queen Ozzy, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Metallica. Trans Siberian orchestra plus loads of classical music.
The missus thinks that 95% of them are all thrash due to the loud music but I think they are all legends
I have many favourite songs, but two of my most favourite are Princes of the universe by Queen and Dreamer by Ozzy.
Mind you, she likes soft music, especially Irish, Celtic and all the ballads you can imagine. I like them too but not as much as the ones mentioned above.
Speaking of Music…….when are Arsenal going to have a club Anthem??? One which could make us stand out as different from the rest. Any ideas mates???
Fair point DG
Night Micko, have a good one….
you guys talking about girls? Nice that’s my specialty. I love me a little filipino girl like agag or a colombian goddess like shakira. Don’t blame me guys. There’s something arousing in speaking spanish in bed!
DG, i was listening to some Led Zep last night when i was on here.
Got Hendrix on now, courtesy of You-Tube.
I’m done for the day too guys, got an early start and out first thing, tomorrows post will be a bit later…
Have a good night all, catch you tomorrow…
Stay safe, nighty night….
Stan………… down boy, take some chill pills… 😉
Good night Rico, thanks for the sub-edit.. 😉
Spanish in bed Goonster??? That’s slimy. Slippery as an eel.
Good night mates. Off to bed. And I DONT SPEAK SPANISH IN BED.
😀 😀
See ya DG.
strictly’s on catch you all tomorow
Come on guys…..I just got off the beach. Hey DG get your butt back on here. Kev you still there my man? Come on you guys am done with fooling around. Its blogging time y’all!
Oh poopie….they ve all gone. Great, now am bored!
Stan, i’m still here.
What time is it where you are?
Well, Stan, you must have gone back to the beach.
Don’t get yourself arrested now, ok… 🙂
New Post up