Arsenal players could still win four different competitions….

Just a couple of headlines about Kyle Bartley…

‘Cool Kyle is Head Boy for Gers’

‘Bartley eyes Euro Final’

I think Rangers and the fans have taken to our not so young anymore defender…..

Tonight Kyle Bartley will be turning out for Rangers in the centre of defence against PSV Eindhoven, any kind of win will see them progress further. Rangers also sit second in the Scottish Premier League, just two points behind Celtic with a game in hand.

Another league title quietly being chased down is in the Championship, by Delia Smith’s Norwich and funny enough another one of players, Henri Lansbury is very much part of the reason they are where there are. So much so, he has just been shortlisted in the division’s Young Player of the Year category in the Football League Awards 2011.

Norwich sit seven points behind the leaders QPR.

Cardiff are also involved in Championship title race, albeit a little further behind in fourth place and eleven points behind the leaders but they could still be in for automatic promotion. Another Arsenal player is there trying to help them in their challenge and that’s JET.

So, interesting times ahead for these three ‘young’ players and whatever the outcome for their current sides, the journey to this season’s end will be good for them, they all may end up with a medal of some kind, maybe even Bartley will come back with a Euro medal? Now that would be something wouldn’t it.

One thing that worries me though is their current clubs like our players a bit too much and try and secure a permanent deal during the summer, surely Wenger wouldn’t entertain such deal would he?? Of course he wouldn’t I tell myself, after all that would go against all he has ever said about our youth project….

So, come the beginning of next season we could have an SPL winner, a Euro winner, a Championship winner in our squad and of course, theres still a chance of a PL medal to be won – sounds good eh?

I just wish though that these three players were with the first team right now and ready for West Brom at the weekend…..

Thats it for today, have a good one and good luck to Rangers for tonight….. (well, Kyle Bartley)

Woops, I forgot – Good luck to the Ladies too who face Linkopings in the UEFA Women’s Champions League today at Boreham Wood FC – KO @ 14:30.

293 thoughts on “Arsenal players could still win four different competitions….

  1. W.A.T.H says:

    Morning Rico 😉 Morning weedman 😉

    The problem for me is a few young players come back and get improved contracts and have as yet not proved anything with us….?

    Think a few are gonna have to move on as the next crop are already knocking on the door.

  2. W.A.T.H says:

    The club must stop spending money on executives who don’t contribute and also get rid of playing staff that are deadwood who cost a fortune…! Aslo go get decent sponsorships as the ones we have are far behind what others have got. Very poor from the commercial dept…!

  3. rico says:

    morning WATH & Erick

    Im optimistic over this three, there are a few others in the lower ranks though that seem to have been on loan for years and are still no better – they need to go…

    we should be looking to bring through chuks and afobe next season, get the on the bench for a game of two… and give them minutes in the real world, not a false one…

  4. Erick says:

    Rico take it easy..you will be ok. Wath very true we are paying wages for some players who are crap,raising ticket price is not fair because we have nothing to show for it

  5. rico says:

    freeman got two goals against the dipper reserves last night, they won again at last…

    shea was in goal, so does that mean jens on the bench saturday…

  6. W.A.T.H says:

    Spot on Erick, has it actually been confirmed anywhere that Jens has signed…? I’ve not seen it confirmed as yet.

  7. Erick says:

    Wath AFC still silent and that just annoys me more…Rico we play Man u ,Spuds and say what you like but they are trouble and Liverpool we are in real real trouble

  8. JonJon says:

    nice post rico
    i think everyone on here agrees
    we want those players back next season…
    and instead of hiking the tickets they should be reducing them..
    they need to cut costs and that starts by clearing out the deadwood…

  9. W.A.T.H says:

    To many ppl full of their own importance at the club and trying to cut off the hand that feeds them. They do a job poorly and merely pass on the payments to the “customers” !!! Pathetic, they live in cuckoo land…!

  10. JonJon says:

    some of our players deserve their wages
    others dont and their wages are ridiculously high
    nikki on 50k a week, cant finish his dinner and moans got he cant go skiing
    bless him…
    hes much worse off than the average arsenal fan on 50quid a day who cant afford his dinner nor his arsenal ticket

  11. JonJon says:

    rosicky on 50k a week
    for what??
    one goal and one assist in 25 games..
    well done and thanks..your contribution has been monumental…

  12. W.A.T.H says:

    It’s disgusting JJ and the worst thing is the club doesnt give a flying fuck cos we not the coorporates who they sucking up to on a weekly basis, we are not financially a worry so why bother about us. The fands that have been going 20/30/40//50/60 years are not considered anymore they are just ones that turn up cos they love the club so why pamper them and worry about them, thats the attitude and it stinks…!

  13. JonJon says:

    culling almunia, diaby, denilson, rosicky, nikki, eboue and AA would save the club almost 500k per week for a start…
    we could promote the reserves and not be no worse off squad wise…
    then we’d have the money and the space in the wage bill to buy a bit of quality and we could lower season tickets..
    but no..lets give them all contract extentions instead and then bum the fans cos thats how we roll cos weve got vision

  14. JonJon says:

    thats the problem wath
    the club dont give a shit…they wanna moan about supporters yet gooners who have been going through the bad times and gave this club their money when we were shit are now being told to fuck off…
    their support is not needed…why?? cos they cant afford to support arsenal so they dont deserve to go..
    customers not fans and they should remember that the next time they call the home support shit…

  15. W.A.T.H says:

    Think there are two avenues to look at JJ, the fans, the ones who will go through think and thin and who have supported the club since they were born are the ones the club take for granted treat like shit and generally dont care about as the fans only bring in a much smaller revenue stream than what the “customers” do in club level and boxes etc etc, their match day experience must be top notch and they are the ones that matter, for every fan they lose they have ones lining up who will replace them but “customers” have a choice of where to go and there are other choices so they must be pampered and looked after, hence for me the difference between the two. Just the way I see it mate.

  16. Will says:

    Nik B needs to be sold, I don’t care who too butr he needs to go. I doubt he would get a game at Cardiff so why is he considered for us?

    Denilson, still don’t know what he does.

    Diaby, when do you say the promise has not been met and it is time to leave?

    Rosicky, we have been good to him, can he say the same?

    Almunia, thanks, bye.

  17. rico says:

    Talking of Rosicky, his situation pees me off no end..

    How long was he injured for, two seasons?

    His reward is a new contract and he’s just not cut it.

    Eduardo, injured/out for just over a season, no fault of his own, his reward, he’s sold!

    I’m not suggesting it was wrong for Eduardo to move, it was best for him but why not Rosicky? He should have been sold on to another club in a league where he would look good…

    Double standards if ever there was…..

  18. JonJon says:

    prob no more than 10
    which would triple if they play regular in 1st team and would triple again if they become the real deal..

  19. oliver says:

    morning all…good post rico…cl q/f and s/f draw tomorrow…we get to ponder what might have been…

  20. rico says:

    Its a simple chicken/egg situation but this one is easier to see which comes first – buy the players to win things, winning trophies brings following, following brings in bigger sponsors and both sponsors and trophies = money to pay for the players….

    sheet, i’m good 😉

  21. JonJon says:

    kyle, lansbury, frimpong, jet are on less than AA put together…
    they probably on less than nikki put together….

  22. rico says:

    jj, is that 10k a week?

    520k a year – and we poss have 5/6 reserves on that who will never make it, thats a lot of wasted money….

  23. W.A.T.H says:

    I’d say there are quite a few earning that kind of money Rico and when he have something like 50 odd pro’s on our books thats huge money thats being ( i won’t say wasted ) mis=spent…??

    As said….. trophies and success means you earn more from sponsors as they all like to be associated with winners…. Who seems to have missed the boat on that school of thought at the club then……????

  24. JonJon says:

    exactley
    AW pays his players on potential…
    he doesnt make them work for their deals he gives them what he thinks they’ll be worth in 5 years time but thats a pampering mentality

    when u consider that our wages are basically the same as manu and chelsea and yet they pay some of their players 25ok a week considering we have a structured system where noones on over 100k it really does show we have too many over rated over paid players

    the squad is too big and it needs culling
    keep the cream and cut the crap from first team to youth team and reduce the bill

  25. rico says:

    jj, i was kind of thinking more about the Hoytes and Randalls of our club and even Eastmond – they were once part of the CC side, didn’t really do a busting lot to show their worth, now they are on loan but not shining or even playing – its those kind of players we need to move on.

  26. JonJon says:

    yeah rico
    the reserves needs culling as much as the first team..
    randall hoyte aint gonna make it we dont need to keep them move them on..im sure theres a few more that come into that category as well..

    we could let upto ten players go this summer and we wouldnt notice they were gone and it would save a wad…

  27. rico says:

    Hi Will,

    I still cannot believe Niks attitude, that article you posted about him being out just after the barca game really summed him up….

  28. rico says:

    Absolutely jj, wenger seems to loan players just before they get their chance in the first team squad, well if these players can’t even get a game for the lower league sides, what hope do they have making it with us?

    Sanchez Watt is strange one…

  29. W.A.T.H says:

    The whole thing for me with these young players is that very few will have the fire and the desire and the passion to wan to make it when in theory many have “made it” at 17/18 earning 10k a week and yet most have not even kicked a ball for the first team…..? how ridiculous is that????? Where is the ambition and the pressure going to come from to push themselves to wanna get into the first team when everything is on a plate for them, for me its all about giving them the wrong impression, rewarding them to early for doing very little and then instilling the wrong mentality.

  30. JonJon says:

    funny thing is that ave and me talked about this about 2 years ago..
    we said the problem the academy and having a young team as well is that it will create a situation where all our players will have a 2-3 year age difference and as the years roll on we will end up with a squad of 60 players and a stupid wage bill if we dont trim it every year
    aw hasnt been culling it hes been keeping them, stockpiling them in case they all make it and now we have that situation…

  31. JonJon says:

    nik was dropped for the manc game
    the club said he was ill but he wasnt he was disciplined for partying after the barca defeat
    hes gone in the summer..

  32. JonJon says:

    exactely wath
    how the hell do you create a winning mentality when you spend 5 years giving players what they are worth in the future, telling them its ok to finish fourth, and not giving a shit about the domestic cups..
    now in the year we needed them to step up they dont know what fight is cos theyve spent so long being silver spooned…

  33. W.A.T.H says:

    JJ i can understand thats its a consequence of the Bosman ruling and we want these players tied down for 5/6 years so they can’t leave for free BUT surely there are more sensible ways…? put in 10million buy our clauses, pay them 2k a week as a standard and you get an extra 1k a week if you train with the first team an extra 1k if your in the first team squad, and extra 1k if you play and extra 1k when you’ve played five games for the 1st team, if all this is performance related and incentive related they get their 10k a week if they live up to the potential and perform…? Whats wrong with that and why isn’t it done this way so that at 18 they still have fire in the belly to want to make it properly instead of us rewarding talented kids we reward them when they actually perform for the 1st team. I’d also structure the 1st team wages like that as well.

  34. rico says:

    Trouble is though WATH, we all want a few home grown london boys to step up and be the future, be like Jack is now. We could buy English players but it won’t be the same as coming through the club unless thay are Gooners in their heart..

    Thats another issue, just how many of these young kids we have are not english? yes they may one day count as home grown but i want us to have players like the great ‘Rocky’ in our side, players who bleed red and white….

  35. JonJon says:

    agreed wath
    the bosman and webster have fucked it all up but theres better ways of doing it
    clauses bonuses and such
    keep the bill down, keep the players happy and create motivation mentality…the cream will rise the ones that dont werent good enough to begin with and we dont wait 5 years and 150 apps later to find it out
    wath for ceo.. 😉

  36. JonJon says:

    by the way if anyone wants to see what kyles got i recommomend watching rangers tonight
    he’ll prob play midfield like he has for them most games but hes coming good crunching tackles winning 50 50s and scoring too..hes a big lad he towers over the rest of the team and he looks 25

    AW confirms jens is back

  37. Joaquim Moreira says:

    hi!
    I think our main goal for this season is still standing and this is the objective that should point the guns.
    The main games are today, are in Porto, Paris and Manchester. In Porto, the world has an eye on him (players and coach). I don’t know cases of indiscipline at Arsenal, but Porto won part of their reputation based on a code of discipline and internal Praetorian without cases to jump to the media. It’s sad to look at the eight clubs in the CL and not see the Arsenal.
    We have to win on the WB because the month of April will be decisive.
    Finally the Reserves won. In case of frustration, we are left with the women’s performance.

  38. JonJon says:

    no will
    they were trophy motivated..
    they were winners…real winners..

    hes played there a couple of times rico but smiths been using him as a dm
    be interesting to see where he plays tonight

  39. W.A.T.H says:

    JJ, spot on the players at their ages need to be motivated by wanting to succeed not to be motivated by wanting a contract that sets them up for life and means the football is secondary…. It’s totally the wrong way round. It’s whats fundamentally wrong. Have had this conversation with a mate of mine JJ you know the fella you as well Rico and he says, pampered and they do nothing to know whats it’s like to WANT to be a pro footballer…!

  40. W.A.T.H says:

    Had a few tips from mates for the weeks racing JJ thankfully aint done any of them which is funny as most are still running…..! 😉

  41. rico says:

    just teasing you jj 😉 either way he’s doing well and getting really good reviews, going to try and stay awake for that game

    😉

  42. rico says:

    Thats what i don’t get, playing for the Arsenal should be enough motivation in itself, everything else should just be a bonus….

  43. W.A.T.H says:

    Rico, playing for anyone should be motivation who ever it is…..! Pride alone in your own game and pushing yourself should be enough but to much to young maybe give them the wrong incentive and the wrong impression so its then a lax way to carry on…? who know’s but I think it can be done a better way than it is to still make them want it more…!

  44. rico says:

    I just kind of accept that side of it WATH, if someone can’t do that for themself then they shouldn’t be in sport, but then if a player cannot play for a club who has belief in then they shouldn’t be playing either..

    Like you and others said, they are pampered and given far too much and all before they have even proved themselves….

    Its wrong..

  45. W.A.T.H says:

    DG, we’d have to pay Rangers to get Bartley back so not much chance of that happening is there…!

  46. W.A.T.H says:

    JJ, the fact only now do they say TV out all season is something we all said would happen in January, talk about deja vu……. What utter shortsightedness as per usual. No surprise what so ever is it. Really is a pathetic situation to be in when wengers great retort was well we always have Song as cover….!

  47. JonJon says:

    we knew what would happen re tv
    and we knew what would happen come end of season…
    we always have regrets yet wenger never learns..
    the jan window is there for a reason and we keep ignoring it and being left up shits creak…

  48. JonJon says:

    only the fans lee
    the fans will bollock him but when has the club ever give a shit about the fans??
    when they are raising tickets prices???

  49. JonJon says:

    even if we wanted to sell denilson we couldnt
    whos going to pay his wages that hes beeen getting for the last 5 years here..??
    we are stuck with him until his contract runs

  50. Lee says:

    tell you what, we’ve come pretty close again this season, and you never know if i’d brought a couple players in Jan we might of won something…ho hum eh? tell you what let’s just put the price of season tickets up….it’s a fcking liberty!!!

  51. K-TR7 says:

    Hi all.fabianski,fabregas,mannone,vermaelen,walcott,song,diaby,djourou,szczesny all out.what shit luck!what makes it worse is that djourou was injured by sagna.

  52. JonJon says:

    you know
    sometimes you can get a good player for 8 mill
    tv koz were pretty good deals..
    but your not going to get bargians all the time your going to end up with the odd donkey and sometimes youve just got to pay the money and get a luiz if you want quality
    in most cases you get what u pay for..
    30mil in summer would have got us luiz and koz
    but for half that we got koz and squil and hey presto..
    youve saved money but you got what you paid for
    one worked out one didnt..

  53. agirlagunner says:

    rico, next season, Lansbury is doing so well, good for him! 🙂 Meanwhile the D&D dross start for Arsenal.

  54. Joaquim Moreira says:

    If we increased the stadium capacity prices not drop?
    Luiz and Kos 30 000. in summer? Kos, ok. With 15 000. maybe we took a leg of Luiz. But for me, is not an interesting player. I repeat: Rolando is the best option.

  55. JonJon says:

    hey agag..
    yeah koz has come good
    jm
    whos rolando??
    can u be more descriptive please…
    and yeah i think the emirates was designed to hold 80 thousand if we expanded but if we dont start winning again we’ll struggle to fill 60

  56. K-TR7 says:

    JJ i must say 2 aspects of madrid impressed me so much.the speed and tempo at which they played was impressive.ronaldo and di maria were very direct and were comfortable cutting in or blasting past the fullbacks.theo can do both but nasri only prefers the former.we need 1 more quick and direct winger.i was also in awe of the threat posed by their fullbacks especially marcelo.gibbs is decent going forward but poor at the back.clichy isn’t the best going forward.we must improve on this aspects.

  57. JonJon says:

    yeah i agree ktr we need a winger with more cutting edge..
    it helps when u have a striker like benzema too who doesnt spend most of the match on the wing
    clichy aint the best either at going forward or defending but he’ll do..
    dont know what happened to gibbs but in summer we’ll have 4 lb’s as traore and bothelo are returning from loan so who knows what wenger will do
    probably give them all new contracts and keep them all

  58. Joaquim Moreira says:

    yes, Rolando from Oporto.
    Another interesting article:

    Date: 16th March 2011 at 2:55 pm | Written by Tony Merakli
    Arsenal midfield duo Abou Diaby and Denilson should be the first two players (on a very long list) to pack their bags and head straight for the Emirates exit doors when the summer transfer window opens.

    As a diehard Arsenal fan, I am simply fed up of watching these two midfielders parade on the pitch like their great when clearly they’re the opposite.

    In my opinion, both players lack desire and heart, and quite frankly, have overstayed their welcome at the North London side. To be honest, I’ve just had enough of them.

    This is not just a sudden outburst due to Saturday’s result against Manchester United in the F.A Cup at Old Trafford. Truth be told, I have been watching Arsenal intently this season (as I have been every year), and see Diaby and Denilson as major liabilities to the team.

    I know some Arsenal fans will be reading this thinking I’m off my head and that I should be positive, but whilst these two ‘footballers’ are on the Arsenal payroll my doubts over the team lifting some silverware will remain intact.

    As stated earlier, my opinion on these two are not purely based on their performances from Saturday’s game, it’s based on the entire season and years gone by.

    Here are my reasons to support my case over why Abou Diaby and Denilson need to be sold at the earliest opportunity:

    Let me start with Abou Diaby. Although the 24-year-old appears to have some skill in those lanky legs of his, honestly, the Frenchman lacks movement (in terms of tracking back) and holds the ball for far too long in my opinion. I know he has suffered a lot of horrible injuries in the past (and even earlier on in the season) as an Arsenal player, but when I watch him play, I truly believe he doesn’t care about the club. I know that sounds bad to say, but that’s what I perceive from his body language and facial expressions whilst he’s on the pitch. The midfielder has been likened to the legendary Patrick Vieira by several journalists and Arsene Wenger himself in the past, but I fail to see the comparison. The only thing similar between him and Patrick is their nationality, that’s it.

    I don’t see what Abou offers the team apart from making up the numbers at the club. Yes he is still young and will supposedly learn and improve his game as the years pass by, but you simply can’t teach football knowledge…you either have it or you don’t. 6 years he’s been an Arsenal player, and in my view, doesn’t seem to have developed since the day he arrived.

    Moving swiftly onto Denilson. In my opinion, this guy is just frustrating to watch. The 23-year-old Brazilian lacks pace, desire and above all his positioning, and all round awareness, is appalling. Although his statistics may show that his ball distribution is great, my argument would be – 5-10 yard passes aren’t exactly hard to pull off are they? Like Diaby, I don’t quite get what Denilson offers to the team. It’s come to the point where by when I see him in the starting line-up I know we will struggle to get a result. Reports suggested that Wolfsburg were plotting a move for him during the January transfer window. However, nothing transpired as I believe (in my opinion of course) that the Bundersliga side realized they would have wasted £12 million on a very, very average player.

    Thanks to official statisticians on Twitter I was able to find out that Arsenal’s win percentage with Abou Diaby & Denilson starting (since June 2008) stands at 41%. Whilst with only one or neither starting is vastly superior at 64%. This ultimately proves that the Arsenal team suffer when both or either one of them start.

    As stated earlier, I think Arsenal must offload a number of players during the upcoming summer, but in my opinion Abou Diaby and Denilson must be the first two out of the door.

    Please Wenger do us all a favour and get rid of the deadweight when the transfer window re-opens. Recoup a nice amount of cash from Diaby and Denilson in the summer (as we don’t need them anymore) and find a proper midfield enforcer to challenge Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey and young Jack Wilshere for a place in the Arsenal midfield next season, or simply splash the cash elsewhere on the team. I’m not really fussed, just as long as those two are not at the Emirates next season.

    Read more of Tony’s articles at the excellent Gunnersphere

  59. JonJon says:

    that is what we have been saying about those two for years…
    i dont need the stats to know we dont win when they play…
    but im glad ive now got them and i’ll use them in future
    cheers jm
    good read

  60. K-TR7 says:

    Rolando plays for porto and portugal.he is just over 6″2 tall.he is good in the air and the ground.he rarely gets injured.

  61. K-TR7 says:

    JM good read.i’ve been persistent with diaby but id have no problems with letting him go.denilson is a no brainer really.rosicky,Almunia and bendy are also in that list.AA will be soon.

  62. K-TR7 says:

    JJ last night i had internet connection problems so i had to leave early.Eto’o has just turned 30 by the way.

  63. W.A.T.H says:

    Lee, we been pretty close the last few seasons and only when 4th place looked in danger did wenger go out and buy Arshavin, why the other times when so close to win things has he not bought a player or two in Jan to help us win a trophy especially with the injuries we had and have had over the past few season, again failure due to his ego not allowing him to correct mistakes that he has made before, that shows pure ignorance…!

  64. W.A.T.H says:

    An article on NN states – Gunners to chase 25million Benzema…..! What planet are these idiots on….. Where have we ever paid anywhere near that for any player, it’s not going to happen with wenger in charge counting the shekels….!

  65. K-TR7 says:

    No chance of madrid letting Benzema go right now.he has 20 goals already this season.even if we offer 25 mil they won’t let him go.

  66. JonJon says:

    when wenger was questioned about how bigger blow tv was wenger replied hes been out since september he never expected him to return
    so why the fuck didnt we buy a cb in jan then???

  67. agirlagunner says:

    Good read, JM. 🙂 That’s a lot of goals, KT! Shame, he’d now be staying put at Madrid.

  68. JonJon says:

    kt if etoo if 30 then hes not going to be worth more than 20 mil and hes got 2-3 years left in him
    i think we should sell nikki and go for etoo
    or use nikki as part of the deal and get etoo at a knockdown price…

  69. K-TR7 says:

    JJ thats why the man is frustrating;a flawed genius if you may.he has failed to invest when we need to and as a result we are always the best losers.we are like a woman who always get left at the altar by her groom.we may as well be regarded to as Next Season Fc…

  70. agirlagunner says:

    Haha. No shoes, KT. 😉 Plane tickets and hotel bookings though. 🙂 I shouldn’t be binned again. Not good for my savings…

  71. rico says:

    F-Me, England have just beaten the Windies by the skin of their teeth….

    What a game, I thought we’d gone……

    Sorry, had to share my immense joy….

    Afternoon all….

  72. JonJon says:

    Highly rated Schalke striker Mario Gavranovic is being lined up as a potential summer signing for Arsenal

    The 21-year-old star has been a key figure in Schalke’s run to the Champions League quarter-finals, scoring in their 3-1 last-16 second leg victory against Valencia to seal a 4-2 aggregate win.

    His impressive performances in Europe as well as the Bundesliga have alerted the attention of Gunners boss Arsene Wenger who is in the market for striker additions when the transfer window reopens in June.

    He has earmarked Gavranovic as a potential signing, and is considering a £7million bid to try and bring him to the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season.

  73. K-TR7 says:

    JJ eto’o is a very fit player.Inter would be very reluctant to let him go as Milito is struggling to get back his form and fitness.eto’o is very underrated and dare i say it id pick him over David villa any day.

  74. JonJon says:

    he would fit in italy agag..
    or germany..
    hes great nikki anyone who buys him is getting a quality finisher….
    loads would buy him
    please buy him 😉

  75. rico says:

    This summer, for a change I am going to expect nothing in the transfer window. Every summer over the last five years i have believed that each one would be the one we sign the players we need, not just players for the sake of adding like Squlli and silvestre etc….

    All the time wenger is at the helm i just don’t see our transfer policy changing….

  76. K-TR7 says:

    All i want us to do is to add 2 pacy players in attack:a striker and a winger.as long as they are quick,decent dribblers and can provide superb movement i’ll be satisfied.

  77. allezkev says:

    Afternoon gooners, blimey there’s some doom & gloom on ‘ere today.
    KT, how about Theo on the right and Ryonaldo on the left to give us ‘that’ pace?
    JJ, Eto’o sounds good to me, plenty left in the tank!
    Vgd post Rico. Bring on the Kids…

  78. K-TR7 says:

    Barca players are going to undertake doping tests conducted by UEFA tomorrow.xavi,iniesta,pique and messi are among the 10 players expected to undergo the tests.

  79. K-TR7 says:

    AK ryonaldo may not get his work permit soon.he also was just playing in high school a few months ago.lets not rush him yet.

  80. W.A.T.H says:

    JJ if they say he worth 7mil you know we’ll offer 4….!

    Watched the cricket Rico as usual they made hard work of it.

    JJ the wenger comment on TV is in fact a big two fingers up at the fans, absolute piss take in my opinion, he knew he was out lied in Jan (AGAIN) and fails to buy proper cover…!

  81. allezkev says:

    Kt, your our european expert, how is it Arsenal seem to have so many problems doing business with Portugese clubs???

  82. agirlagunner says:

    JJ, I almost wish we could donate Bendy. 🙂

    KT, don’t you worry. There are always ways to balance the (pass)books… in my favor, of course. 😉

  83. agirlagunner says:

    allezkev, the kids will come good. I really hope they come soon. There are some in our team that I can’t stand.

  84. JonJon says:

    from arsenal.com january

    If Arsène Wenger buys anyone in January, it will be a centre back.

    Speaking at Tuesday’s press conference, the Arsenal manager ruled out buying a striker, midfielder and goalkeeper. And he will only consider acquiring a defender if Thomas Vermaelen suffers a set back in his rehabilitiation.

    The Belgian has been out since late August with an Achilles injury and is due back at the end of this month. If that is delayed then Wenger may go back into the market. Otherwise, he will keep his cheque-book closed.

    “In the offensive department, [a new signing] is completely excluded,” said the Frenchman. “In midfield, completely excluded. Don’t forget we have a big squad with Diaby injured, Lansbury and Ramsey is coming back too. He played a full game with Nottingham Forest yesterday.

    “With the goalkeepers, I stand as firm as ever.

    “At the back, it just depends on Vermaelen. I am just waiting to know more about him, and then at the end of January we will have to make a decision.”

    from arsenal.com march

    “For Thomas Vermaelen the season is over,” confirmed Arsène Wenger at his pre-match press conference.

    “In fairness he has not played since September, I never expected him to be fit before the end of the season. He is not out on the field yet and it is impossible [for him to play] after six months without competition. I am confident he will have a full recovery but for this season we cannot rely on him.”

  85. K-TR7 says:

    I have this gut feeling that the chavs will win the CL.Ancelotti won the CL in 2003 and 2007.i can see him winning it again this year.

  86. rico says:

    jj, we all know wenger is a liar, anyone who didn’t, should read that again and have a re-think…..

  87. K-TR7 says:

    AK thats a difficult question to answer.i don’t particularly think that we have any problems with portuguese clubs.

  88. JonJon says:

    fans wath??
    fans??
    unfortunatley i cant find my reciept that says im an arsenal fan so i dont know what im classed as..

  89. rico says:

    KT, i don’t think the chavs will win, can’t see anyone beating Barca, they are all too frightened of them….

  90. K-TR7 says:

    Rico im serious about it.allegations of doping were made in the rife in the Spanish media this week and am not surprised UEFA have acted.Barca only have a senior squad of 20 players and if you watch how intense they play week in week out with basically the same 11 suspicions are bound to arise.

  91. rico says:

    WATH, spot on re wenger, he must think we are all bloomin stupid, we all could see there was little hope for TV… They may have dressed up his operation as a ‘little procedure’ but an operation, is an operation and for ages they didn’t even know what was wrong with him….

    Stinks!!

  92. allezkev says:

    agag, the Kids keep me sane, they keep my spirits up when i’m watching all that crappy dross on 50 grand a week mugging us off….
    btw, i got a lovely pair of sandels yesterday, i think you would have approved….lol

  93. K-TR7 says:

    Rico its not always that the best team wins.i just have that sneaky suspicion that i can’t shake off.

  94. agirlagunner says:

    If shopping is poor, it’s “not nice”. You don’t know your basics, Wath. Tsk tsk.

    rico, I can see the stains losing. They’re too full of themselves, it could happen.

  95. JonJon says:

    yeah ktr theres been a thing last few days where some dude from the anti doping agency has said theres many many times that representative from his organisation that get handed brown envelopes..

    so uefa have gone OTT and have been testing around the clock the dutch and germans and the pl have already been tested recently and only kolo got found out..

    it seems its la ligas turn next
    lets see what happens

  96. allezkev says:

    Rico, you have a good old grumble as much as you like girl, we’re just happy to have ya back…lol

  97. agirlagunner says:

    rico, you had that feeling, too. Haha. 😉 I really just want them to lose… I hope they’ve all taken diet pills, etc.

  98. allezkev says:

    The thing is, the cynic in me makes me think that UEFA would cover up any indiscretions they find at Barca. Nothing is going to come between Platini and his dream of Barca at Wembley…

  99. rico says:

    Don’t remind me KT, how he missed that i will never ever know, a proper striker would have buried that chance….

    Drogba would have thats for sure, no messing….

    I just hope no spanish or english team win the CL now…

  100. W.A.T.H says:

    JJ, told you, we fans cos they dont give a shit about us, its only the customers they care about. I knew u wasnt taking notice earlier 😛

  101. JonJon says:

    i dont know if they can do that
    they will thow barca out but i think whoever they would have played next gets a bye..
    we are talking about arsenal here

  102. rico says:

    Thanks KT,

    Oh well, we wont have any players left to represent their country, wenger should make a deal with france, they can have diaby but not nasri or kos…

    Brazil can have Denilson on a one way ticket….

  103. Lee says:

    If this were another industry, and you were paying the apex for a shit service you’d just tell whoever to poke it…

  104. allezkev says:

    You know, out of all the wasters we have in the senior squad, the one that really pisses me off is Diaby, because i always get the feeling that there’s a good player inside, trying to get out of a dozey idiot.

  105. K-TR7 says:

    I honestly think barca was the only team that could’ve knocked us out of the CL this year and they did.madrid to me can be beaten as do the other 6 teams left.we are so close to having a great team;why can’t Aw see that?

  106. JonJon says:

    diaby is the most frustrating
    prob the most skillful
    but hes got no drive, no passion no self motivition
    dribbles around 5 players and then thinks his jobs done for 89mins
    ball watches

  107. Lee says:

    But as you guys/gals have pointed out the hierarchy don’t give a shit as long as they’ve got a queue of people trying to get season tickets…

  108. rico says:

    kev, he himself cannot let it out though if it is in there, he can’t stay fit and he’s a liability – out him 😉

  109. agirlagunner says:

    WATH, France can have you. 😉 😛

    JJ, teammates rate Diaby so highly, too. On the pitch though, I just don’t see it.

  110. rico says:

    agag, i think their bottle carrier is sick, so posssibly…. he’s been told he doesn’t need to bring his boots 😉

  111. K-TR7 says:

    JJ recently chamakh said that diaby has really surprised him due to how good he is.theo said he was our most skillful player.rosicky said he is the most difficult player to get past.why doesn’t he show it consistently on the pitch where it matters the most?

  112. W.A.T.H says:

    Clichy is cod did you say AGAG…. he’s not that good but hardly a fish….! KT i knew you’d back me up 😉

    JJ you missed out dithers on the ball and disappears up his own arse….! Funny how all teh other players only rate him on the training pitch though JJ…! Says it all

  113. K-TR7 says:

    WATH i really hate it when clichy tries to dribble the ball out of defense.against barça we were lucky we didn’t concede when he tried it.

  114. K-TR7 says:

    Against the Hawthorns we’ll have rosicky (ramsey won’t start),denilson,Arshavin,kos+squid starting together!…May God have mercy on us.

  115. agirlagunner says:

    Trying to push my buttons, I see, WATH. But you won’t succeed. He’s still our first choice LB. For whatever that may be worth. 🙂

    KT, even Eduardo thinks Diaby is the biz. I’ve been hoping to see more than flashes of such skill… But…

    rico, Gibbs was all sorts of bad. 🙁

  116. rico says:

    Rio Ferdinand is out for the season…

    Vidic is out for their game this weekend, hope Coyles side are up for the game…

  117. W.A.T.H says:

    AGAG as if I would, I don’t mind Clichy though in my opinion since his cock ups against the yids the other year in the 4-4 game he has gone backwards, his positioning is awful and his awereness is also terrible, he gives a 100% but he is a weakness in our team that ppl are exploiting more n more, look and the long diagonal balls that get played and teams put a big man on clichy then win headers into the box, also happening more n more. Gibbs isn’t ready just yet BUT needs a run of games and will def be better than Clichy for sure.

  118. K-TR7 says:

    I think Sagna would make a great captain.he has been the definition of consistency in our defense.he also has the right attitude every time i see him play.when shrek took him out at the weekend he just looked up,got back and sprinted back to his position.players like Sagna are rarely in the media headlines and i feel he deserves a major trophy for his efforts.

  119. JonJon says:

    i dont know whats happened to gibbs, hes defensively as dodgy as clichy but he was better going forward..
    hes regresses 5 years in the last few months
    clichy is like what waths says
    dodgy at the back and going forward but hes got speed and he gives 100%
    maybe a role in midfield??

  120. W.A.T.H says:

    Gibbs is still a kid though JJ he’s only gone back a bit this season but still gonna be better than clichy has ever been he aslo has the build as well big long balls wont catch him out.

  121. rico says:

    jj, no more square pegs in round holes, if players can’t do their own job, we need to get rid rather than ‘fit’ them in somewhere else….

  122. Will says:

    JJ, do you think that is UEFA saying, yes you were right and the ref cocked up but we need to be seen to be backing him?

  123. Joaquim Moreira says:

    No, we have many problems in playing in Spain / Portugal and Russia / Ukraine. Here is the weather and the pitch and in Portugal/Spain, many are technical (they have many Brazilians, Argentines, etc.), study a lot thee opponents and have a great enthusiasm. Benfica are playing at home in Paris now …
    Have we find 11 players to play Saturday? is a set of vital importance, in my opinion.
    Madrid cast suspicions over Barcelona. However, what has happened recently in cycling and athletics swelled suspicions. I think that Madrid will be in the final.

  124. JonJon says:

    they had to take action
    i reckon there was a bit of argie bargie in the tunnel
    to slag him of on the telly was ok
    but tag teaming him and elbow dropping him in the tunnel wasnt
    but a 1 game ban just shows they thought the ref made one of the biggest cockups in cl history….

  125. rico says:

    That says a lot, good for uefa, yes they shouldn’t have ranted ‘abusively’ but they understand why they did….

    good result for nasri, wenger doesn’t do a lot from the bench anyway so it matters not what he got really…..

  126. K-TR7 says:

    UEFA bans are different from FA bans.they are much more strict meaning that Aw will not be allowed anywhere close to the pitch,technical area,tunnel or dressing room.he’ll not be allowed to communicate with the players before or during the game.

  127. rico says:

    KT, i still don’t think it will make a lot of difference, he can say what he needs before they leave the hotel… it will only be for a qualifier anyway the way our season is going….

  128. W.A.T.H says:

    KT, Balotelli is a complete twat, another spoilt brat, to much to young, unquestionable talent but also a big time Charlie with a terrible attitude, more trouble than he’s worth.

  129. K-TR7 says:

    I must admit am finding it hard to get excited for the CL draw as we aren’t in it.am sad to be honest and its sickens me to see the spuds still in it.i love the competition and would give anything for us to win it.i just hope Aw makes those changes that we need to achieve greatness.

  130. rico says:

    Hard to get excited KT, have to say, i couldn’t give a hoot about it – shan’t be watching the draw or any of the games and i don’t give a hoot who wins either really….

  131. W.A.T.H says:

    I’m excired by the draw…… I want mancs v chavs so they kick shit out of each other, want yids to get Barca and smashed to bits and I want a Shalke v Donetsk final 😉 Nice !!

  132. K-TR7 says:

    Rico im a European football nut.you have no idea how sad i am that we are not in that draw.i understand why you feel that way but am different.every year we lose in the CL am usually devastated.i usually lose interest in football completely.right now i don’t even give a damn of how we’ll play in the league to be honest.

  133. allezkev says:

    KT, i respect your love of european football, but for me, it’s the league. To me the Champions League is all about those parasitic wankers everyone has been moaning about today. You only have to look at the ticket prices for the final, to see that UEFA don’t give a flying fudge about us ordinary fans. Well as far as i’m concerned, they can take their CL and stick it up their arshavin. With all due respect…..

  134. allezkev says:

    That’s just my view mate. I suppose the fact that i always get the feeling that English clubs get stitched up in europe. Platini hates the fact that the EPL is so powerful and would love to undermine our league.

  135. K-TR7 says:

    What id like us to do is give our best in the final 10 games.if we win the league i really hope we beef up the squad and go for the CL as champions of England.Aw also has to retain the league title a feat he has never achieved.

  136. allezkev says:

    I actually used to really enjoy Serie A when it was on Channel 4, i kinda took a shine to Sampdoria.
    I also liked the Bundesliga when it was on sky. But i got shot of Sky a couple of years ago, so i don’t really see any foreign footie anymore.

  137. K-TR7 says:

    AK in all my experiences as a footy fan Paris 2006 remains painful till this day.i remember i spent that whole day in hospital as i was very weak,sweaty and much worse symptoms that i won’t mention.i could barely open my eyes and my head was pounding but i had to watch the final as i had waited for it for so long.when lehmann was sent off and pires was sacrifised i was devastated;pires was my favourite player in the Arsenal squad.you know how the story ended and my friends did not let me rest despite how ill i was.i really hope i see us win it a couple of times in my lifetime.

  138. allezkev says:

    KT, i was in hospital myself 3 years ago, and the best medicine i had was watching Arsenal beat Slavia Prague 7-0.
    My three worst experiences as an Arsenal fan was being in Brussels 1980, Copenhagen 2000 and Paris 2006. Maybe that explains my feelings as europe has kicked me in the balls so many times…

  139. Lee says:

    KT, if wenger were to look on here and see what the majority of people wanted, he’d buy those 3 players and his team would be world beaters!! I think……

  140. allezkev says:

    Lee, if AFC blow the league, and the criticism from the fans/media grows, we may get our wish of 3 new quality players. One thing i’ve learned from following Arsenal for more years than i care to remember, is that the Arsenal Board are ultimately a bunch of chickenshit

  141. Lee says:

    Just picked a take-ruby up (sorry AK) and the Indian bloke in there, just said we were “a spine” away from cleaning up…..

  142. K-TR7 says:

    AK Anfield 08 was pretty painful too.the first 20 minutes of that match we played some of the best football i’ve ever seen which was capped by diaby’s sublime goal.senderos then lost the plot and then were behind.ade then missed a very easy chance after being setup by hleb.all looked lost but theo had other ideas sprinting the entire length of the pitch to setup ade.i went bananas at that point but when the game was back on Gerrard was taking a penalty.i was like WTF?we then collapsed…

  143. W.A.T.H says:

    Right seems I’ve missed a bit of chat while watching a bit of a few of the games going on….! Bartley look a bit “large” to me…. he has a very big reaer end looks bit cumbersome as well, rangers are getting played off the park as well. PSV left wing Dzudtzak ??? Hungarian we been linked with before, he’s very good… quick skillful and a wicked shot, we’d soon stop him shooting of course 😉

  144. Lee says:

    Just watched a bit of dippers v braga, bet there’s not too many of them on 50k a week, but they are grafting!!

  145. allezkev says:

    Oh noooooo. Lee, you are punishing me.

    KT i took my ‘better-half’ out for a meal thet evening, to escape the tension Then spent most of the evening with my ear to my mobile. As i left the restaurant, my eldest lad rang me up screaming down the phone that Ade had put us into the next round. 10 mins later as i walked in my front door i heard my youngest boy shouting “Oh fcuk”…. Cue a ruined week… And so it goes mate, more pain.

  146. W.A.T.H says:

    Lee. ur right in my opinion, 3 players away from a great team, along with selling the deadwood and promoting the good young ones who are hungry as well as have the ability.

  147. K-TR7 says:

    That 07/08 team was broken up too soon.the flamini/cesc/sicky/hleb midfield outplayed 99% of the teams we met.with a couple of additions that team would’ve dominated England and Europe for some time.

  148. allezkev says:

    Hleb was a mug. He didn’t realise how lucky he was until he jumped ship. Losing Flamini was a disaster, but he ran out on Marseilles and did the same to us.I wonder if he’ll do likewise to Milan?

  149. W.A.T.H says:

    Rangers have gone 4-4-2 and are playing much better so to is Bartley, they also should of had a penalty as well blatant hand ball but the 5 refs didnt see it from 2 yards away, utterly useless officials so its not just us get shit decisions.

    Diarra was a player we should not of let go, very stupid from wenger.

  150. allezkev says:

    Well that’s rich… Why couldn’t Wenger tell him he’s under contract, get on with it… It’s called management…. how’s the curry???

  151. K-TR7 says:

    Diaby was quite decent in that season lee.who can forget the absolute belter he scored against derby.

  152. allezkev says:

    Can’t see Rangers scoring twice. Shame, the experience for Bartley would have been invaluable.

  153. K-TR7 says:

    Wenger refused to sign Anelka in that jan transfer window.we lost eddy and rvp to injury and ade stopped scoring.anelka went to the chavs and they did very well and they overtook us and reached the CL final.

  154. K-TR7 says:

    Abidal’s 3 hour long surgery was successfull and without complications.he is expected to be released from hospital in 1 week.

  155. W.A.T.H says:

    Spot on KT, wenger had the chance to buy Anelka and failed had the chance to buy last yr in Jan to make us stronger but failed had the chance this jan to buy and cover for TV and failed yet again….! what does that tell you about the man…..

    Am so so so pissed off………. My commiserations to citeh n the dippers 😀 😀 😀 Ooooops….! lol

  156. W.A.T.H says:

    Did we need to get approval to sign mad Jens seeing as he wasn’t contracted to anyone…????? If thats the case I wonder can someone pls kick wenger in the balls n get him to sign Keown and Bould for 6 weeks….! maybe even throw in Frank McLintock for good measure.

  157. K-TR7 says:

    I don’t think free agents require any permission to sign.we would’ve only required permission if we were getting a loan signing from another club.

  158. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Arsenal II (Braga) it is in next round!!!
    Porto too. Benfica too. 3 Portuguese teams !!!!
    Twente and PSV – two Dutch. Vila Real (spain) and Spartak (Russia) and Kiev (Ukraine).
    It’s cute. Mean leagues in europe: Spain (3), england(3), Italy(1) and Germany (1) – 8 clubs in the CL. Second level: Portugal, France, Holland and Russia and look where came from the teams now in Europe League !

  159. W.A.T.H says:

    AK am still talking to Keown about getting his boots out the cupboard for saturday no time to read… cheers 😉

  160. allezkev says:

    Morning Rico, notice it’s 6 years since Liverpool won a trophy. Will the media mention that fact, you can bet they won’t? No, nothing to upset ‘King Kenny’ [gag]…..
    What is it, 50 years since that so-called ‘big club’ in Middlesex won the league….. Not a peep from all their ‘mates’ on the Press, but we go 5 years and it’s the end of the World. God how i hate the football media in this country. Rant over…

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