So there we have it, the first of what many think could be a few exits out of Arsenal Football Club.
Gael Clichy signed for us back in 2003 as a young un and now here we are, eight years later and he’s left us for Manchester City and as far as I know and can make out, he will be up against Aleks Kolarov for the position of left back, both players are the same age…
Clichy is the last of The Invincibles to leave us but over the last few seasons his performances have dropped, he dilly dallies on the ball in dangerous situations and many have proved costly….
So, as our French left back departs us for pastures new, have a think…
Has Arsene Wenger weakened our squad, or has he weakened City’s?
Surely Clichy on last seasons form, will not push out Kolarov will he? Maybe the Man City boss will bring the best out of him, something Wenger certainly hasn’t been able to recently…
If not, will we see another player leave us and stick his butt on the bench at his new club? Clichy has struggled to perform at his best when he plays week in week out so what would he be like coming on as a sub?
Hey ho, his problem, not ours anymore eh…
But, I wish him all the best, I really do – he’s stayed loyal for many years but now he and Arsenal together have become stale….
So, who to replace him then?
Gibbs is not and cannot stay fit for long enough so he can’t be relied on, Traore, well he’s not really a left back is he so surely Wenger will spend money and replace Clichy, unless of course Thomas Vermaelen slips sideways and we just buy another centre half…
Another one for us to guess at but with the players soon departing for the pre-season tour of Asia, I don’t think we will have to wait too long for the answer…..
Never fear though, apparently we have signed up eight scholars….. 😉
Owen Coyle has spoken about Gary Cahill, he has asked for any club interested in buying him to either make the right offer now or shut up and leave his player alone. Well said Mr Coyle, Wenger knows the price you are asking and if he really wants Cahill he should just pay the money or say he is not interested.
After all, don’t we all wish Barcelona would do the same??
Finally, news is coming out from Africa about Alex Song – reports suggest that he has been involved in an incident which, if he is investigated and found to be guilty, could face up to two years behind bars….
When will we get some good news….
Have to go out and will be back later, I look forward to reading this and the comments.
According to The Daily Mirror’s John Cross, the journalist considered to be closest to Arsenal, Diaby is ‘available for transfer’ but is unlikely to be sold this summer because ‘he is injured and is likely to miss the start of the season and Arsenal will struggle to shift the £60,000-a-week midfielder in that condition’.
Presuming that figure is roughly correct and that Arsenal would expect to receive £10m for the French international, his latest setback thus adds up to a £15m setback. Food for thought, surely, for those Arsenal supporters contemplating a 6.5% increase in the price of their season tickets.
It remains unclear, meanwhile, just when and how Diaby’s latest injury was inflicted given that the Gunners only returned to training on Monday and, after a month on the sidelines, he briefly returned to fitness for their final match of last season.
Morning guys and gals….
Tevez realises Clichy is not so good, he wants out already 😉
Never be afraid to embrace the future. That’s what it said inside my Christmas cracker this year.
Couldn’t send a box of them to Wenger could you adam….
Seems to be a perennial problem for us , Diaby , Gibbs, Rosicky,Cesc , Van Persie and Vermaelen. We seem to suffer perpetual injuries that never quite go away. Obviously it is more difficult to sell crocks for the right money, it just appears that we know how to buy them.
potter, there has to be something wrong with either training, diet or both – we suffer more than others…
I would Rico but one of them says Never Be Dissuaded From Your Chosen Path.
Well, I wish wenger would and start spending some money….
Rico. Perhaps one of them might contain the advice Spend Some Effing Money FFS.
I’m not overly concerned about Clichy’s departure. It seems worse than it is because it feels like part of a crescendo. Take Nasri and Cesc out of the picture, and it’s not such a great loss. Replacing him is a concern though.
Personally, I remain unconvinced that Cesc is going to leave. I do still think there’s a possibility he might be forced to stay.
I wish someone would “force” me to stay on over £ 100k a week.
well it would be good news if songs gets locked up..he is supposed to be our steel in the midfield however in the big games the players walk thorugh him. not forgetting the 27 fouls he commits per game. they guy tackles like a crab…..
I wish adam, i don’t understand why he is waiting…
Hi Savage, I’m not either, i’m more interested in who will replace him? Not sure about Cesc, can’t see Wenger forcing him for another season but at the end of the day, Barca ned to cough up of shut up…
hi lance, it may force wengers hand to buy another DM…
Talksport:
Arsenal have failed with a last ditch attempt to hijack Roma’s deal for Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, sources in Holland have confirmed.
He is off to Roma….
Clichy was now 3rd choice at Arsenal after his defenceive mistakes las season. Wenger said the defence had to be improved. With Arshavin being a attacking winger. Arsenal do not need a attacking left back He is behind Kieran Gibbs & Armand Traore. He was told he was not going to make the 25 man squad next season. He was also on higher wages than Gibbs & Traore. Who are both younger. Wenger has all ways known when players are starting to get past there best, & it was time to sell for both partys. He has served Arsenal well for the last 8 seasons. He did not want to play just league cup games. If he can get 1st team games at Man City good luck to him. Thanks for what you have done for the Arsenal in the past but its time to move on.
I bet you Wenger is feeling frustrated. The outward impression is that we’re getting outbid on everything.
The trouble here is that there are a certain select group of players that can improve our squad, and there are 10 or so big clubs trying to secure those players. As soon as it becomes clear that they’re available at a fair price, it means that you’re into instant competition with big names who have more money and are higher up the league table.
We can all talk about signing a player for 17 million, but this season we have to strengthen in a number of positions, so that budget has to go into 5 or 6 players. It’s possible we spend big on 2 or 3 players and then find we’re short in a position.
Welcome, D
I’m not sure he was 3rd choice, neither Gibbs or Traore are good enough yet – he could very well have been told he wasn’t up to another seaosn though – but i’m only guessing…
I have to pop off for a couple of hours, back around lunchtime….
If Arsenal is a flying plane, it is surely on auto-pilot right now, with the captain (Ass-ne Venga) in deep slumber. Venga’s co-pilots (the Board of Arsenal FC) is also snoozing and hallucinating – visualising a huge feast off the proceeds from the sales of Clichy, Fabregas, Nasri etc. Meanwhile, the plane (Arsenal FC’s) engine has developed fatal engine failure is looking to crash from a high altitude. The passengers (Arsenal FC fans) are meanwhile singing “In Arsene We Trust”, as the cabin crew (Nasri, Clichy, Walcott, Fabregas etc) secretly collect parachutes to jump to safety!
good morning everyone!
Beautiful Moses, but the story about Wenger sleeping is a non-starter. You can say he’s stubborn, but to say he’s not trying is misinformed.
@D Morris If Clichy was 3rd choice and that was the plan why hasn’t Wenger replaced him before he sold him like City replaced Bridge before they sold him? Also why did Wenger offer Clichy a new contract which he declined to sign if Clichy wasn’t in his plans? You need to read reports on Traores loan not very inspiring and if we had any sense we’d get rid of him. Gibbs isn’t ready so Clichy is still better than both of them.
@Savage maybe the outward impression is what the Club want you to perceive as the truth. Coyle has come out today and said no bids for Cahill, Velez said only bid for Alvarez is from Inter, Southampton say no bid for Chamberlain from us. Gervinho not concluded if indeed we have agreed a fee in truth. So who exactly are we being outbid on when the only player we are linked with is Gervinho?
What’s interesting is the supposed fee City paid for Clichy. Firstly, we have no guarantee it was 7m – it might have been more, but in my mind, Roma would have offered something similar, as well as PSG. In my mind, Wenger like us would have not wanted to strengthen a rival.
My conclusion is:
a) City paid more than 7m
b) Or Wenger doesn’t believe that Clichy is that great
c) Or Clichy made a big noise about wanting to join City over the other offers
Afternoon Gooners…
Chelsea & Man City are strangely inactive for clubs with their financial muscle, could UEFA’s FFP be having an effect?
Make that Morning Gooners…!
I think the Clichy/Nasri scenarios are just down to poor management, even if you want to move a player on, why let him get into the last year of his contract?
Shame about the Diaby rumours [Rico]. A player who divides opinion, but one i’d quite happily seen moved on.
Isn’t just typical for him to be injured when Wenger [at last] seems to ready to dispense with his ‘services’..!
The guy has never fully recovered mentally from his broken ankle, hench his reaction to Barton’s hard challenge/foul last season, So a move to a more sedate non-contact league would be best for him, and us…
I have a hunch cesc is staying…no way wenger will sell the best player from project youth that low. Nasri on the other hand I think will leave cause he’s not gonna get cesc’s role in the middle….I for one would not be losing sleep over his departure…..morning all.
Hi AK, what’s the word? Kin quiet in AFC land….thought we’d of been more pro-active in this window…then the alarm went off!! Same old penny pinching shite methinks…..
Hi Stan, you could be right mate, the longer the saga drags out the more optimistic i become. Mind you we’ve got until September 1st before we can relax, a lot can happen in those 57 days [is it?]
Hiya Lee, hows things mate? You know i was hoping for at least one signing, on top of Gervinho, before i got back home from London, and we’ve not even had the Gervinho transfer finalised, what a drag man…
Gotta stop having those Bombay Potatoes before you go to bed Lee, then you wouldn’t keep having all those fantasy-like dreams of Wenger signing Hazard and Mata. The alarm-clock can be cruel.
Happy day……am so happy clichy is gone..he frustrates me a lo with his final ball..good riddance..
rumours are we’ve lost out on this Alvarez guy down to £1.7m……
Guys, inter has signed alvarez….we lost out again over a few millions. Yet again we lose a class player just because we dilly dallied. Am sick of it. Alvarez might not be your typical heart racing mouth watering signing but its significant cause yet again we are too slow. Spend some fucking money dammit.
AK how’s you mate I did tell u sweet FFA would happen while your away and you come back to mayhem and chaos of the whole team jumping ship 😉
A last ditch attempt to buy stekelenburg… why the fuck wait til the last minute….. Alvarez cos we would not pay an extra million kind of says it all……..! If I was getting charged 20quid a week to watch us i wouldn’t give a rats……….. BUT………..!!!!!
Ally cissokho is being linked to us apparently to replace clichy. From what I remember of him he’s no better. I hope am wrong though.
GS, make you right there mate Cissoko is average…..! Moussa Sissoko on the other hand as well as M’Vila for central midfield would be great buys…!.
Having sold Clichy the only players wenger should really be looking at to make us solid is Baines…! Him and Cahil and that defence all of a sudden looks far better…!.
“Arsenal are resigned to losing Gael Clichy this summer but manager Arsene Wenger is insistent he will not sell the full-back to another English club.”
This was from June………. more lies from wenger ???? OR did money talk..?
Hi WATH, we might get cahill, can’t see us getting baines…..all this last ditch attempt shit is so very boring!Show some fuckin intent…
I don’t think we will get cahill WATH…..if wenger wanted him he would have already I think he has a cheaper option in mind…..Sylvain distin anyone? He’s being linked to us.
Afternoon, no news i take it….
GS, if it’s cheap that is a great fit for Arsenal then, its what we’ve become…! pathetic…!
On Clichy , in 8months from now he will find out that he has made a terrible mistake and will not get a permanent shirt and will be punished immediately for any mistake he makes.
Then he will find out that money is not everything and will be singing Wenger’s praises in countless interviews like Hleb.
Man City is about the money and therefore they are unforgiving just ask Toure, it was Wenger that made a supporting statement on his behalf,which City busy banning him.
Clichy should have concentrated on improving his game and the team not jumping the ship to the club he once condemned Adebayor for joining.
Tell me about it….we are a joke. Question..how long did it take city to complete clichy’s deal?
Hi!
I’m not satisfied with the output of Clichy. I think he was underutilized in recent years could not attack the tactical organization (and many of the games, was the only team to play esquedino) was helpless to defend, because no one stood in front of him.
Still, it was left of the best defenses in the League.
I think that was not sold well, despite having another year of contract.
Coentrão, (which sold for 30 million, which in my opinion it is not anything more and it seems that Benfica has received an international defense), not worth 5x more …
Why is that manure pile scholes running his mouth…….why do every ex footballer think they know us…..why don’t he concentrate on his own former team or better still enjoy his fucking retirement…God I hate paul scholes! What a turd.
Hi JM
Stan, he’s horrid but is he not saying what we sometimes think?? Pretty football is ok, if you are winning medals….
good post,
clichy signing will hopefully weak city…
but kolarav and clichy at lb make am good pair if one doesnt perform he will be shipped to the bench….but kolarav can also play as left winger
Yeah rico but his darling team went through their own drought too….why does every pundit and ex player have it in for us….I especially hate hansen and redcrapp..Liverpool have not won the title since like forever….I don’t remember seeing liverpool lift the league title aloft….yet nobody attack them like they do us
Hi AF – i suppose Clichy isn’t a bad back up LB
I know Stan, don’t get me wrong, i cannot stand the man and you are right, he should just shut up, but we are an easy target right now….
wenger and the board with their inactions and slack happy approach and making us an easy target for all and sundry if we had been pro-active the last few weeks and shown some ambition none of these storoes would have come to the fore ppl would have nothing to gossip and cause shit about…! the club is our own worst enemy…!
am afraid rico…..wenger might revert to 442….I know most on here will question my judgment but I will rather we continue to play 4231 and I have a sneaky suspicion that he might not buy a left back but promote fibbsy and traore. He’s done it before…cole for Dixon and clichy for cole……notice the trend.
Agree WATH, gutless, useless and lack ambition, i’m fed up with all of them right now……
we are all afraid stan……
we are our own worst enemies…
God help us……
Aren’t we just Lee, and indeed Stan…
Someone needs to help us, thats for sure, wheres the big russian 😉 .
GS, can we sign him? I think we’re gonna need him!!!!
Actually we’d fuck it and refuse to pay the extra £500k… 😉
I fear wenger doesnt think that jenkinson is clichy replacemnet….anyone interested in andre santos of brazil as lb..looked good when i watched him at copa america
Anyone slit their wrists yet?
real madrid just signed fabio coentrao…one lb option gone…….
Not much fun at the moment Will….
Paramedics just been round, slit mine ten mins ago, got the wrong bloody vein 😉 😉
No ways we’d have paid 27m for Coentrao. But you got to ask – where the hell are Madrid getting these kinds of funds from?
And if you think that’s what he cost, imagine what Newcastle and Everton are going to be asking for their men. No wonder the market has been slow for us.
Savage, it is called debt.
Hey fellow Gooner from India , its been quite some time since I posted here. Rico ,Just wanted to ask you a question considering you have been on the blog world a lot longer than us especially at fellow Arsenal blog Le Grove. Why is that there is so much hate for Arsene Wenger particularly over there? I have never seen any orther blog spout such vitriol against him
Here are his exact quotes regarding Wenger,
“I just have no respect for him and he lies all the time.
He puts his own interests first and always has done, his softly spoken bit is a sham.
And he really is a shit businessman and I hate the way he is talked about as some kind of financial guru because he passed an exam at school.
But I don’t hate him.”
That blog being so popular could be used by him to do so much good instead of adding fuel to the flames of negativity but its almost as if he thrives on it.
And banks loyal to clubs. And governments loyal to clubs.
Exactly and so you see what we are up against when we go to get players.
Relax.
Let’s see which team will travel to Asia come Sunday.
I am sure Fabregas will go as I can’t see Barca will match our price……and best for Cesc to stay one more year with Arsenal to nail down a place in SPain Euro2012 squad by playing regularly with Arsenal rather than warming the bench at Barca.
And there is no guarantee that an ex-Arsenal player cna make it into Barca team immediately…just ask Henry and Hleb…..and Flamini at Milan…..Adebayor at CITEH….
My feeling is Wenger and PHW will play hard-ball with Barca who thought that they can get Cesc for less than 40-mil.
If Cesc is so desperate to leave, he can always join Real for 45-mil quid.
Nice new entry on .com with pictures from training. Good to see the squad again, but who’s the big guy in photo 14?
Also great to see Ryo in there. Interesting thing about Ryo is that he’s one of the few loanees who has gone out and genuinely made a huge impact.
Frimpong?
The white guy is Jenkinson and the black guy, Pingpong 🙂
Boo! Have we bought anyone yet?? 😉
Have faith.
Boo to you agag, you know the answer, that idiot of a manager is waiting for the sales 😉
And now the rumours are that the chavs are about to bid 26 million for Theo…..
Hi Jill & shrek,
sorry for the delay, all first comments go into moderation and i was busy baking 🙂
Busy baking?? Send some over, rico. 🙂
While AW seems bent on playing hard ball with just about everyone, and again we may suffer for it… I’m optimistic(ish) about our window though. Don’t know why. 😉 (I did say the exact same thing on the Camp Nou leg of our CL tie and we all know how that went…)
jill
fabregas won’t join Madrid and i dont think wenger has the balls to just sell him to who ever offers the best price – and in all honesty, i think the club will sell him to barca for less that what they are hanging on for..
we’ll probably end up getting a barca fringe player included in the deal….
shrek – as you know i began my blogging days on Le Grove and have great respect for Pedro and Geoff…
The hatred for Wenger is born out of frustration I am sure, the fact he penny pinches, sticks with players who are not really up to the PL, let alone AFC – he wastes money on so so many young players when he should be addressing the weaknesses in the first team. I am personally not bothered if he buys youth, as long as we have a strong first team and squad but right now we don’t and we haven’t for a few seasons now.
‘Wenger the liar’ – he is, he tells us all he is going to buy a defender back in january when TV was injured, he didn’t!
And that is not the first time he has gone back on his word over transfers….
This summer he said he was going to be busy in the market and early on, what has he done?
The board say we have money, he says we haven’t, then what we do have he wastes…..
The 1996 manager has gone, for us to get stronger, we need him back…..
Two loaves and a pizza agag 😉 I’ll email you a slice of both 😆
Talking of emails, I will reply I promise, just been really busy 🙁 🙁
No chance wenger will sell theo to the chavs…all paper filth. Mark my words y’all we will end up keeping all our stars and deadwood too..though I want nasri out..I will advice him to leave though. He will have a torrid time with the fans..especially at home.
Arsenal Rumour site – one guy/gal posted this:
1. that Arsenal have accepted a bid of £40 million and Maxwell (left back) for Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona. This deal will be finalised on friday.
2 that Sami Nasri has signed a new 5 year contract worth £100, 00 a week.
3. Denilson has agreed a deal to join Deportivo for
£3 million pounds.
All 3 of these deals were confirmed this morning after each of the 3 players and their representatives held discusions with Wenger this morning and argreements were reached.
😆 😆
That will tide me over til brekkie. 🙂 Don’t worry about the email. 🙂 I’m off several more times this year, you’ll get tired of them. 😛 I’m actually a bit tired myself rushing work pre-hols and catching up post-hols. 🙁 😉
Well, Cesc should take it on the chin. He signed a reaaaaallllly long contract, and we’re entitled to his services. It’s not as if he’s on minimum wage. Help us get a few titles, then he can go. It’s a cop out to go to Barcelona now. What’s he proven with us?
I can see why you say that about Nasri stan….
A bit disappointed in Nasri myself, GS. Such hubris. And this from someone who was fantastic for half a season, and was nowhere to be found when we were looking to be inspired. 🙁
I like those rumors, rico. Especially, the third.
Just saw the pics of the team back in training,
one thing miyachi is looks likes hes gonna be a star a player who just oozes with confidence……
According to rumours steven savic of partizan belgrade is having a medical at man city……so then surely now we must get gary cahill…..
Afternoon housers.Rico maxwell is absolute shit.i hope that isn’t true.
But will they come true agag 😉
AF, the Chavs will get Cahill….
Hi Kt, it’s only from a rumour site, it won’t be real…
Rico ,thanks for replying.
I understand frustration and getting occasional thoughts of hatred ,I have experienced it myself on a personal level as well . That doesn’t mean instead of actual discussion ,vitriol is spouted on almost each and every post there. Personally speaking,we have been spoiled because of Wenger’s tremendous early success and achievements .I must ask you a question ,Could Arsenal have been the brand that it is today without Wenger’s influence?
The reason I am asking you this is Arsenal in comparison to Man Utd & Liverpool has never been what you could call a European giant on the likes of Milan ,Madrid,Bayern,Barcelona,Ajax etc.This includes the eras under Wenger and before him as well.
Under Wenger our league standings are as follows for the first 8 years:
Winners: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04
Runners up: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05
As you know this indicates we had been competing for the title . Nowhere in our history have been so competitive apart from the glorious era in the 1930’s.
Where Wenger has at least got us is on a level where some top quality players at least bother coming to us . No offence to any of our previous legends , I do not know a single legend from Arsenal before Wenger’s era who has shined on the world stage .
The bar has been set incredibly high by Wenger and sadly he is falling below his own expectations nowadays mainly being let down by our players.
re fabregas agag, he’s wengers baby, he’ll look after him throughout this move… i’m sure
The Catalans can throw in Affelay. I won’t mind. 😉 KT, I’ve seen a little of Maxwell. Not much good.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed on Denilson, rico. 🙂
No Chance A.F gary cahill will sign for chelsea…..arsenal will huff and puff yet won’t put in a bid…besides I heard owen coyle has placed
an ultimatum on signing him
There is an excellent column by a fellow Gooner, please read his views on Nasri’s current stance . Interesting …
http://www.goonsofanarchy.com/2011/06/09/club-politics-nasris-holdout-is-more-about-fabregas/
shrek..
no probs and good to see you back..
not everyone can stomach what is going on right now at our club and the blog world is the best place to let off steam…
wenger was a great manager, i’m sure that he still is but, since 2006/6 he has gone backwards and is now as close to destroying us as he was to making us world beaters in 2003/04…
he has bought this outrage upon himself imho….
shrek – re ‘being let down by players’ we have too many who are just not good enough…
Who bought them and continues to stick with them??
3million though agag, i thought he’d go for a bit more than that 😉
Interesting read shrek.
Hi, Shrek. Howdy? Well, it’s a bit silly of Nasri as he has never been consistent. If it were Robin, say, perhaps the argument would hold more sway.
The “letting off steam” part often translates onto the stadium from what I’ve heard which is a little sad to say the least. At the very least , the level of Denilson hate is disgusting. The Denilson sale on Ebay is comparable to the disgusting chant Man Utd fans spout at Wenger. For his sake , I hope he goes to another club and fulfills the potential AW saw in him when he signed him.
Regarding the finances of the club , I can’t comment as I don’t have access to the account books nor am I aware of the info of whom the control of spending these funds lies with. So we have no idea who is saying the truth here. He probably thought TV was on his way to a recovery . Personally speaking he has handled a top club going without funds much better than say Leeds United or possibly Liverpool.
Anyways whats the link of the site you saw this rumour on?
Hi agirlagunner,nice to meet you too.Hope you are doing well. The problem with RVP despite being a top performer is his injury problems. My honest feeling regarding Cesc is he performed much better without captaincy for us especially in big matches. At times I have felt it has overwhelmed him in the big matches, often tried too hard in the matches against Barca and was overeager to impact the match. Samir Nasri , if I am not mistaken ,skippered the entire if not a small part of the game against the Spuds at WHL in the Carling cup. I thought he took control very well. Sounds outlandish to say the least , but I feel he has the makings of a decent captain in him.
shrek, the rumour site is just full of people making stuff up – mostly suggesting they know someone who knows someone who owns a cats that wees on the Grove turf 😉
that cat tells all 😉
we have money shrek, wenger chooses not to spend it….
Where do you normally blog Shrek??
Evening Gooners, good to see everyone is so optimistic and positive about the forthcoming season.
Alvarez to Inter so it seems. Good old Ivan, his first big summer test and he’s just as effin useless as the rest of of those tossers in the Boardroom.
Happy Days…
Nowhere in particular ,I just tried blogging on Le Grove today for the first time as civilly as possible and at times could hold them suprisingly to debate in an civil manner. But more often than not every 2nd post had phrases like down with Wenger, Wenger is a c**t, Wenger needs to go, He is a French idiot etc blah blah. It got boring after some time. I had compared Wenger’s first 8-9 years with Graham’s 8 years. One “fan” had used the amazing subject of Maths to discuss the average no of titles won by each of them . According to him, because Graham had won 2 titles in 8 years and Wenger 3 in 15 yrs , hence because of averages Graham is a much better manager than AW.
I responded quite late as i had other things to do and its possible he may gone offline to his own thing as I didn’t get a reply for the following stats :
Player Name WC years Appearances Goals
Thierry Henry 1998 6 3
2002 2 –
2006 7 3
2010 2 0
Total average : 6/17= 0.35
Javier Hernandez 2010 4 2
Total average :2/4=0.50
Howdy Doody AK 🙂
Hiya boss, baking? Rock cakes? I luv em…
I’m fine now, Shrek. I wasn’t yesterday. Ahaha. Au revoir, Monsieur Clicky. 😀
Night, rico. Lovely, pizza, but I think you forgot the pepperoni. 😀
Hi, AK. 🙂 And bye, AK. 🙁 Quite sleepy. Yawn. Good to have you back. 🙂
Clearly going by the above stats and using his own logic Hernandez is a much better goal scorer than Henry at WC’s.
I read a lot of Arsenal blogs Aculturedleftfoot,Arseblog,Goodplaya,LadyArse,Thebeautifulgroan,Goonerholic,ArsenalArsenal,yours,Heartinhighbury,Desi gunner etc.
I have only ever posted in yours , ArsenalArsenal ,Desigunner, Ladyarse,Thebeautifulgroan mainly because these are all peaceful blogs.
LG has been running for many years shrek, G&P have many many regulars and its the most popular/visited afc blog around… Other than Highbury House, it’s the only one I always read each morning..
For youth, Jamies Young Guns and jeorge bird sites i also read..
GG was great in his day, Wenger was great in his day, the biggest question is, has wenger had his day with us??
Right now i think that answer is yes…..
Also, the two cannot be compared imho..
Oh no agag, you going… I was gonna tell ya about the shops in Ashford…
Nevermind, you get your kip, goodnight, see ya 2moro.
Cheeky Cheeky, re the rock cakes :P:
Bread and pizza AK, the pizza has gone 😉 😉
You are a baddies agag, pepperoni 😉
Rest well, see you soon… Nighty
I was busy consoling myself yesterday, hence, the considerable credit card damage. Tut tut. Hopeless. You can tell me all about it tomorrow, AK. Lol.
Pizza will do, yummy…
Didn’t Wenger pay £3.4million for Denilson???
Good bit of biz there then!
No meat AK 😉
Garlic, Mushrooms and cheese on a tomato base funny enuff 🙂
Sounds good to me Rico, i can handle a veggie pizza…yummy
Rico, Le Grove let many comments go un-moderated that are actually quite personal and rude. And to be honest , They can’t handle criticism well,and from what I’ve heard ,any comment possibly opposing their opinions takes quite a while to actually get approved while other comments which agree get posted quite faster.
Hey Shrek, don’t you fret buddy, your in safe hands in Da House… Lady Rico doesn’t allow any rough-house treatment on here. You can say your piece and get a fair hearing pal.
Rico, re:the rumours you read, were they from a khoshar source [not an HP…]
shrek, lets leave LG alone now please, HH does not condone slating other websites, and for me persoanally, not LG,,,, Thanks..
AK, just let me know when you are heading my way, i’ll nip one in the oven 🙂
shrek,
AK is right, you can say as you feel, BUT we all have to listen to eachother, we may not agree but we don’t get abusive and we don’t get personal with insults…
Right now, emotions are running high, just have to remeber that 😉
Hiya Shrek, welcome! HH is friendly site any dick heads get their just desserts rather lively!!!!
No worries rico , I am ok as longer as the other person doesn’t get involved in mudslinging. I am a little used to the angry debates online. I used to that when I was batting for my fav ship on Harry Potter forums . Listening is great ,skillfully debating and exchange of thoughts is even better. Nah ,I don’t see a point in slating LG as well so I’ll stop.
I am curious, how much does a Season ticket cost and what does it entitle you to?
Shrek, the cheapest season ticket at The grove is around £900.
Rico, it’s a date boss, hmmm i can almost taste it.
AK,what does it actually entitle one to?
Please read this . Absolutely hilarious!!!!!
http://bigfourza.com/blog/2011/07/delay-in-cesc-fabregas-deal-owing-to-cesc-fabregas-growing-a-new-head/
Thanks Lee, I like to think it is 🙂
Shrek, no mud slinging on here, rest assured….
Date it is then AK 🙂
Shrek, you get all the EPL games and about 8 cup games. If AFC play more cup ties the cost is added to the following seasons ticket price.
The old days when you was certain of a cup final ticket/tickets has gone with the new stadium.
Hey Lee, i’m up in Harold Wood tomorrow, for a ruby with my son, could be the one by the station??? If your passing, have a look in… approx 8pm
Unfortunately, I’m visiting my mum in hospital AK….hopefully our paths will cross at the Grove next season with a few pre-match beers?
One day, for one game, we should all try and get are arses in gear and get a seat at The Ems …. 🙂
No probs Lee, hope your Mum is ok mate…
Interesting piece on Nasri Shrek, could be a grain of truth in there.
Rico, do you believe that rumour on Nasri re:100grand per week. Maybe Stan is over sorting things out?
What we have to remember is, we are all Arsenal.
Please don’t let the media slime win.
Hey Lee,please give our regards to your mum as well. Hope she has a speedy recovery.
AK, I believe we don’t need a yelling type captain to lead us to success. What we do need is players who oppositions fear. We used to have TH14 who could make defenders crap their pants whenever he had the ball , I personally like the Brazilian Ronaldo who in my opinion was a better player (don’t kill me!! 😛 ) than TH14.Sadly a great career cut short due to horrible injuries.
AK, I believe nothing until .com say it;s true.. at the end of the day, we are tied, if he wants to take the easy option out and not stay and fight…. let him go i say, he’s hardly proved himself to be world class…
Yet …..
Great idea Rico.
Lee, hope nothing too serious with with your Mum – send her love from HH 🙁 🙁
Rico, good idea…. Christmas HH do!!
Shrek, RVP could be that player if he can stay fit for 10 months.
Yet… Yeah, i know what you mean Rico… He’s still only 23 with a lot of growing to do, hopefully in our team.
She’s having chemotherapy for leukaemia…thanks for your kind wishes guys/gals!!!!!!
Lee/Rico, pick a game in December…
I’m sure she’ll just fine Lee, our hospitals, despite all the poor publicity, do a wonderfull job. They’ll sort her out mate…
Good luck to your mum Lee. Hope she beats it.
Let’s wait and see what side we will be watching 😉
I’m up for it peeps!
So am i, we can all turn up with black scarves haha.
Have a beer then join another ‘we want our Arsenal back’ march to the ground.
Ok, keep that all in mind and lets wait and see what happens …
Black scarf for me AK…. I have plenty 😉
What’s the latest on Song, is it true that he could go to prison? And is it Cameroon where he has the trouble?
Every top team in Europe has a top class striker & an excellent support striker . Rooney & Berba/Hernandez for Man utd, Villa & Messi for Barca(Messi does the job of 2 strikers and a midfielder), RM with Ronaldo with Higuain/Benzema etc. We had that with Henry & DB10. Right now DB10’s place is taken by RVP but we need that Henry like player who can score with both feet and terrorize defences because RVP is not that type of player.
What do you say?
AK, i’m not sure, don’t think he was in the training photos though 😉
Rico, that means Frimpong/Coquelin in the squad maybe?
Shrek, Gervinho maybe? Also Doyle could be an interesting option if AW can bring him in…
According to the vulture press, yes & yes AK!
I didn’t see Coq AK, but Pingpong was def in there looking lean and very mean :P:
I’d love Doyle to be signed, Gevinho, well, a winger in is all i can say 😉
shrek, Doyle could be our goal scorer, but also, lets not forget Chamakh could settle to be a very good CF….
Apparantly Ryo Miyaichi had a good first day at training. Now Ryo getting a work permit would be a right result…
I’m heading out soon guys….
Rico, wasn’t that Terry Henry a winger???
http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2011/07/wenger-helps-seal-aliadieres-lorient-move/
Phew, No Alliallialliallidiare 😉
What’s your impression then Lee, re: Song, a load of bollox or something to worry about, could it be another RVP scenario???
AK, Terry Henry was never a winger 😉
Mind you, nor is Walcott, nor is Gervinho….
Blimey, just imagine what could be soon, if Wenger has the doo daa’s to play them where they should be played….. 🙂
Turned ok in the end didn’t he? 😉
Yeah Rico, haha, i just saw that… Lucky old Lorient eh? Swapped Gameiro for Jeremie…
Load of old bollox!!
Ok, that’s me done for the day, I need my beauty sleep 😉
You guys be good and stay safe…
Nighty Nighty….. Cuppa tea calls me….. 🙂
Yes he did Lee. Sometimes Arsene does get it right…
Doyle,really? Hard working player but not that classy to be in Europe. I think we missed out on signing Kevin Gameiro. He seems to be a very good player,quick ,technical and nice finishing skills.
You have good kip boss, you’ve earned it. See ya bright & breezy tomorrow…
Glad to hear that Lee. Not really followed the story. I hate the Press so much that i rarely buy or read a newspaper anymore…Not suprised that it’s crapola mate.
Shrek, yeah i know, but Doyle would do well for us in the EPL and it’s at home where we need to do the biz. Wenger’s obsession with europe has resulted in the squad we have now…betwix and between!
But Shrek, i totally agree with you over Gameiro, a very good player… But Paris SG have a lot of dough and could be a major player in the near future…
Bye rico!!
Possibly he might do it for us in the EPL , but he is not the powerful striker I envision to be honest. PSG being loaded with funds now will thorw a major span in the works of any good French players going out of the French league.
allezkev says:
July 5, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Shrek, Gervinho maybe? Also Doyle could be an interesting option if AW can bring him in…
Wash your mouth out.
Hey Lee, thoughts are with you and your family re your Mum mate… Hope all goes well and wishing her a speedy recovery from that fuckin awful disease….!
Ak you geriatric whats this I hear about you having a trail for left back 2moro 😉
http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/kickoff/blog/2011-07-05/cross-i-think-wenger-wants-bring-british-feel-defence?
Cheers WATH!
I think what Wenger wants is a British feel to the defence when we face the usual long ball teams like Stoke ,Blackburn etc . Any other occasion we use such a defence , we are sure to get screwed by classy teams like Barca. Just look at Man U’s pride Rio’s performance in the CL final .
I really think all we need is a commanding centre back as we have a few classy ones. A brutal bastard in the centre of midfield who will stop the bully boys and a clinical striker who can last a season and get us 20-25 league goals a season.
Job done, give us the league.
Add getting rid of a lot of the rubbish Will and a few more plus the three you mentioned and you might be close…. U missed out a keeper…!
Funny how even that reporter says we pay the crap players to much money hence we cant shift any of them….! Another cock up from wenger, reward mediocrity and failure with new 5yr contracts. No wonder they have no ambition and fight to succeed.
Apart from that we need one good winger .Walcott for all his postives , doesn’t have the dribbling abilities to take on an 1-2 opposition players . Walcott has the pace to go past players which is how he is normally effective . We release a ball and set him free and then he crosses the ball to RVP who is in position. But what if that through ball doesn’t come ? What if for example the ball is near the corner flag and he not only has to shield it but put himself in a position to cross it as well?
Not every player is successful at every club he plays at. DB10 was considered crap at Inter, Henry was considered quite poor during his tenure in Juventus , both clubs which were & are bigger than Arsenal. Wenger was taking a risk signing TH14 and changing his position , it worked out,right? Some signings work out ,some signings don’t. How does a reporter have access to the salary slips for players of a private club?
Wath, I don’t think we need a keeper and yes, get rid of the crap, give them away if need be.
I would move Walcott up front and maybe get a winger.
Walcott up front would be interesting but again ,I feel he has the pace but not the dribbling skills & not the upper body strength to shrug off defenders .
Shrek its pretty well known the kind of money diaby,denilson,bendtner,almunia and Ebooie are on…! Far to many of the youth players are given 5yr deals and have proved basicalyl nothing and are driving around in Mercedes Maclarens…! Fundamental bad money management from the club, paying players to much who don’t deserve it and then we cant sell them. I’d take a few million Will just to get rid of a few of them Will cos they gonna leave for free anyway if we have to see out their contracts and what a waste of time that will be. Walcott def through the middle. He doesnt need to dribble if the service is good through on goal……….. Simple…! put it in the net…!
anyways good nite guys
Will try to catch up tomorrow
I’m offski, take it easy all, chat 2moro…..!
Typical, i turn my back for 10 mins and Wath appears and then disappears.
How did you know i used to play left-back..?
Many a cold Sunday morning on Hackney Marshes.
So Will, you’re a big Kevin Doyle fan then???
rico, Denilson – Depor? But Depor is now in the 2sd divison… is for win titles too?
Gameiro was a nice dream… but now PSG is like M. City: the arabs are the owners of the club.
A center-forward? Go fight for Lorente (A.Bilbau) .
I read somewhere something about a goalkeeper from Bolton…
Do you know if Almunia go to Malaysia ?
The Invencibles ! with photo!
from http://www.eurosport.com
Premier League – Arsenal’s Invincibles: Where are they now?
Tue, 05 Jul 14:31:00 2011
Note: Gremio from Porto Alegre ; Corinthians from s. Paulo
Gael Clichy’s £7 million move to Manchester City means he is the last of the Gunners’ title-winning ‘Invincibles’ side of 2003-04 to leave the club.
Arsenal won the last of their 13 league titles in some style, going the entire season unbeaten. In all, they went 49 Premier League games without suffering defeat, a run which started following a home loss to Leeds United in May 2003 and was ended by Manchester United at Old Trafford 15 months later.
Clichy only made 12 league appearances in the ‘Invincibles’ campaign, but it was enough to see him past the 10 required to earn a championship medal. His departure marks the end of an era for the Gunners, as he was the last player at the club to contribute to that title victory. It was current Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas’s first season at the club, but he did not make a single league appearance that term.
So what became of the rest of Clichy’s unbeaten title-winning comrades?
Jens Lehmann: ‘Mad Jens’ started every match of the campaign in his first year at the club following his move from Borussia Dortmund. The eccentric German was sent off in the 2006 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in Paris, but that failed to dent the fans’ affection for him. Left for Stuttgart in 2008 but, after retiring last summer, made a brief return to the Gunners squad last season to aid their goalkeeping injury crisis and put in a characteristically madcap performance in April’s 3-1 win at Blackpool.
Lauren: The Cameroon right-back left Arsenal after seven years at the club to join Portsmouth in 2007. He spent two years on the South Coast but missed out on an FA Cup winners’ medal as he was not included in the Pompey squad for their victorious 2008 FA Cup final. Made a handful of appearances for Spanish side Cordoba before retiring last year, although he remains a resident of southern Spain today.
Sol Campbell: In the absence of the retired Tony Adams it was the former Tottenham defender who led the Gunners’ defence to glory. Scored in the Champions League final defeat against Barcelona before leaving for Portsmouth in 2006 and leading them to FA Cup glory two years later. A bizarre and ill-advised move to League Two outfit Notts County in 2009 lasted a single match, a 2-1 defeat at Morecambe. However, the cancellation of his contract at Meadow Lane allowed him to sign a short-term deal back at Arsenal for the second half of that season. He made 14 appearances for his former club that year, and even scored in a Champions League defeat at Porto. Spent last season at Newcastle, where he only made eight appearances, and is now a free agent.
Kolo Toure: After being converted from a midfielder to a centre-back by Arsene Wenger, Toure formed the bedrock of Arsenal’s defence alongside Campbell. Made over 300 appearances for the Gunners before moving to Manchester City in 2009. Currently suspended for failing a dope test, which the Ivorian claims is due to him taking his wife’s slimming tablets.
Pascal Cygan: The French defender was viewed as a hot prospect when he was signed from Lille in 2002, but he never truly convinced in Arsenal colours. Still, he made 18 league appearances in 2003-04. Moved to Villarreal in 2006, and now plies his trade at Spanish second division outfit Cartagena.
Martin Keown: The rugged centre-back just snuck his way to a third league winners’ medal courtesy of seven substitute appearances along with just three league starts. One of those appearances was the ill-tempered 0-0 draw with Manchester United, when he famously goaded Ruud van Nistelrooy after the Dutchman had missed a penalty. He was fined £5,000 by the FA for his conduct. His second spell at Arsenal ended in 2004, and he retired after short spells at Leicester City and Reading. Keown now works as a part-time coach and scout for the Gunners, and is also a television and radio pundit.
Ashley Cole: Cole’s eight-year spell as a professional at Arsenal ended on a sour note in 2006 when he moved to Chelsea. It was not so much his cross-London switch that irked many Gunners fans, but the manner of it. In his autobiography, published after the World Cup in Germany, he famously described how he almost crashed his car upon hearing that Arsenal would only offer him £55,000 a week instead of his desired £60,000. Since moving to Stamford Bridge he has won another league title, married and divorced the nation’s sweetheart, Cheryl Cole, shot an intern with an air rifle and been fined for swearing at a police officer. Recently announced he is opening a restaurant in New York in partnership with rap megastar Jay Z.
Fredrik Ljungberg: The Swedish midfielder scored with real consistency for much of his time at Arsenal. Easily distinguished by his spiky dyed red hair, Ljungberg netted 72 goals in 328 games for the Gunners between 1998 and 2007, when he moved to West Ham. A year at Upton Park was enough to send him packing to America, where he spent two years with Seattle Sounders and a less successful four months at Chicago Fire. Returned to Britain last season for a short-term contract with Celtic but is now a free agent.
Ray Parlour: ‘The Romford Pele’ was one of the last of the Arsenal old guard still at the club during the ‘Invincibles’ campaign, which came at the end of his 13-year tenure. Had a forgettable three years at Middlesbrough followed by a four-month stint at Hull which is remembered by few outside of Humberside, but much of the money earned in those spells went to paying for his landmark crippling divorce settlement. Now works as a media pundit.
Patrick Vieira: This campaign saw the rangy France midfielder at the very peak of his powers, and his captaincy was so often the driving force behind his team remaining unbeaten for the entire league season. Arguably the best midfielder of his type in the world at the time, Vieira would only stay at Arsenal for one more season before sealing a long-mooted big-money move to Juventus. That only lasted a year due to Juve’s relegation as a result of the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal, but his switch to Internazionale garnered four Serie A titles in as many years. Returned to England for an 18-month spell at Manchester City which, although he was largely a bit-part player, still ended with him picking up a fifth FA Cup winners’ medal.
Gilberto Silva: Arsenal fans must have thought they were getting an archetypal Samba-style player when the Brazilian scored on his debut against Liverpool in 2002, but his run of three goals in his first 11 games for the club was deceptive – he was actually a sturdy, canny and intelligent holding midfielder who struck up a key partnership with Vieira. Regularly captained the side following Vieira’s departure before he too left in 2008, for Panathinaikos. His three-year spell in Greece has now ended and Gilberto is back in his home country with Gremio.
Edu: Often forgotten in the shadow of his more exalted midfield colleagues, but the Brazilian still made 30 league appearances in this campaign, although more than half were from the bench. Left Arsenal in 2005 for Valencia, and in 2009 made the move back to Brazil with his first club, Corinthians, from whom he had joined Arsenal in 2001.
Robert Pires: Nicknamed D’Artagnan for his Musketeer-inspired facial hair, but that in no way defined the France winger’s time at Arsenal. In six years at Arsenal he scored 84 goals in all competitions and set up countless more as he surged down the left flank with his distinctive gait, which was somewhere between a waddle and a glide. Left in 2006 to spend four decent years at Villarreal before returning to England with Aston Villa last season on a short-term contract. That underwhelming cameo at Villa Park will not dim his memory among the Gunners’ faithful, but it may mean he will struggle to find a new club at the age of 37.
Jose Antonio Reyes: Only joined Arsenal midway through the season for a sizeable fee of £10.5 million, but got enough game time to claim a title winners’ medal within five months of his arrival in England. Never fully blossomed in the Premier League, and was loaned out to Real Madrid in 2006, where he again won the league in his first season. Now plying his trade across the Spanish capital at Atletico Madrid.
Dennis Bergkamp: The technically supreme Dutchman may have been in his mid-30s by this time, but he still started more than 20 league matches in 2003-04, scoring four times. Retired from football in 2006 – his testimonial was the first match to be played at the Emirates Stadium – and after a break from football is now a coach at Ajax, his boyhood club.
Thierry Henry: The undisputed star of the ‘Invincibles’ team, Henry scored an incredible 30 league goals that season (including four in one match against Leeds), contributing to his winning both the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards for the second year running. Left for Barcelona in 2007, where his three-year spell saw him endure two under-par seasons either side of an excellent one which won him a Champions League winners’ medal. Now living it up stateside as a striker for MLS side New York Red Bulls.
Jeremie Aliadiere: It is a bit cruel to follow up an Arsenal legend with Aliadiere, who in eight injury-ravaged years at the club made just 29 league appearances and scored only the once. However, 10 of those appearances came in 2003-04, earning him a medal. Three years at Middlesbrough yielded 11 league goals in total, and he was released in May 2010. As a free agent, Aliadiere was welcomed to train with the Arsenal squad and he turned out in the same reserve match which saw Lehmann’s return to the club, leading to jokes that he might be next in line for a recall to the first team. That never happened, and he has now been picked up by French club Lorient.
Nwankwo Kanu: Another player to leave at the end of the unbeaten season, Kanu made the requisite 10 appearances to take a winners’ medal with him to West Brom. After two years there, his career was resurrected at Portsmouth, where he scored the winning goal in the 2008 FA Cup final. He made it on to the Wembley pitch again in the 2010 showpiece as a substitute, but could not stop Chelsea retaining the trophy. Kanu turns 35 in August, but still has two years left on his current Pompey deal.
Sylvain Wiltord: Initially a big player for the Gunners following his £13m move from Bordeaux in 2000, by the time he had clocked up his 12th and final league appearance of 2003-04 it was clear he was on his way out. Returned to France with Lyon, where he won three Ligue 1 titles before re-joining his first club, Rennes. At 37, he is now a free agent following spells at Marseille and Metz.
Tony Mabert – Follow Tony on Twitter @tony_mabert / Eurospor
Morning all
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