Morning all.
Santi Cazorla has been voted PFA Player of the Month for December. Well done to him and long may his good performances continue…
The deal for Podolski has gone through and it’s even been confirmed on the official website. It’s a loan deal for the rest of the season but I can’t see him coming back. A great shame really when one considers the kind of player he is. A true goal scorer with a great left foot but obviously one Arsene Wenger didn’t believe in. Podolski is expected to make his debut tonight for his new club….
Yaya Sanogo will be the next out the door on a loan deal, but before then, I hope we see a couple of arrivals.
Winston Reid is being heavily inked to us and Big Sam believes his player has already struck a verbal agreement with a PL club. If by chance that club is us, I think Arsene Wenger is taking a big risk waiting until the summer just to save a few million as we need him now. He’s not the only one linked to us of course and before the transfer window closes they’ll be plenty of names plucked out of the sky and turned into a headline.
In some ‘proper’ news, reports suggest Wojciech Szczesny has been fined £20,000 for smoking in the showers after a game. Apparently, his misdemeanour took place at St Marys after his horror show in goal. If true, I can understand this fine for smoking because Southampton’s changing room would be a designated no smoking area. You just don’t do that kind of thing.
The Mirror report that they contacted Arsenal for comment yesterday but funny enough, the club chose not to respond.
Sticking with our keeper, former midfielder John Jensen dropped a story on Danish TV – he reckons Szczesny has been punished after a dressing room row and won’t play for the club again. Someone at Arsenal has strenuously denied that one..
But what if it’s true and that’s a big thing for Jenson to make up and what reason would he have to do such a thing? None as far as I know. I’m not sold on Szczesny, he reminds me a bit of Nik Bendtner, neither are as good as they think they are. He’s quick to talk the talk but his game is so erratic and he doesn’t seem to be improving.
If Wenger replaced him with Petr Cech, I’d be thrilled but the manager doesn’t do that kind of thing does he.
I hope he’s set for a spell on the bench at least, he needs to grow up, learn and improve and in the meantime, David Ospina can show us all just why Arsene Wenger signed him. We saw glimpses of that on Sunday and I hope we see more of the same against Stoke this weekend.
We are off to Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup, a side who sit very close to the relegation places in the Championship but that means little when it comes to this competition. We played them not long ago in but in the fifth round back up in January 2013. Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott ensured we progressed further that day. The match will be played over the weekend of January 24 and 25.
Bit of injury news ahead of the Stoke game. Arsene Wenger says that Mathieu Flamini should return and Aaron Ramsey could also feature at some stage of the game.
He also said he has been impressed with Francis Coquelin… 🙄
That’s it for today, have a good one….
Apparently, Pod rolled up at training and scored a scorcher with his left foot…. 🙁
First?
Marvellous!
As many govt spokespersons have said in the past, “I have no comment to make at this time”.
Good start Rico. I’ll be back shortly
Second then?
Good read rico.. and morning again.
I guess we can all wish ‘Hose’ will sell Cech to us? lol
Get used to it, he will take Italy by storm and at the end of the season will have great stats rather like Cesc will at Chelsea.
Sanogo en route to Bordeaux….
And Sanogo at Bordeaux…. 😉
Lee, is he going to stamp on some grapes?
He’d miss….. he couldn’t trap a bag of cement that waste of internal organs!
Thanks Ts & Wavy, morning to you both..
Has the postman actually gone?
Morning all.
Of course Podolski will score goals in Italy,….he has everywhere he’s played.
Something very, very strange about this situation, and I think it can only be personal.
Bendtner and Szczesny are both bloody good players, but their ego doesn’t let them show their best.
Szczesny has all the talent in the world and I thought he was starting to come good of late, but after Soton he can go for mine.
As with Fabianski in the cup final…..it’s all it taks for me to lose them for good.
Wenger will lose even more support if he fails to sign 2-3 players this month.
That will mean he’s lost the balance of support as i still think it stands around 50-50 at present.
He can’t afford that, and nor can we.
Right, here we go…..Pod to Inter is a disgrace. He is a consumate finisher, ‘the best in the club’, Wenger’s take on him. He will not track back, enough, so his contributions to the ‘team’effort and his influence ve on the game is limited, Wenger again, my paraphrase. He is a big personality, a live wire off the pitch, too big for Wenger, beyond his control! Wenger the old reactionary’s response, drop him, humiliate him, try to prevent him from leaving with talk of loyalty, earning his wages, contributing to the play on the field. Problem was Wenger’s manipulative spite, and his control of the destiny of his players, according to the creed of Arsene the Great! So, Podolski has gone, never to return? Well, maybe. There is one chance that he will return, if Wenger goes at the end of the season and a new man comes in who may want the Pod’s left foot hammer, playing regularly!
Sadly, Podolski goes into the Arsenal record books as another very good player whose career has been blighted by our manager and his favouritism, and his abject failure to set aside his personal differences for the benefit of the team effort!
Still, after thirty years in management what can anybody tell Wenger about football and players etc etc.
after 6 months we will get return to sender. Actually it might work for him , first team learning curve in his own country might be good .It might build up his confidence and his fee , hopefully Chuba will get his place and not give it back.
Not yet Rico, apparently he wants to go to Bordeaux, Arsenal to say yes or no in the next day or so.
Morning again…
Bumps Scott, it’s all about the bumps 🙂
Wavy, when does Pod contract expire? I can’t see him returning now as you say, AW couldn’t manage him yet one of the best finishers in the PL…
I was talking about Sanogo , Podolski ? I am in Wavy’s camp , too big and too outspoken for Wenger’s spiteful mindset.
Adam, the cheques in the post… 😉
Morning All
Morning Rico.
Yep, forget Schneiderlin, Arsenal definately won’t pay the fee Southamption are asking.
Sissoko is a possibility, as long as he isn’t part-ex’d to PSG.
Can’t see any midfield signings in January.
Coquelin is Wenger’s ‘get-out’ card.
And as it stands, he seems a better option to Flamini…
Look, we ain’t gonna compete for the EPL, despite any garbage AW comes out with.
So the club ain’t gonna spend big…
Reggie Perrin is a possibility, but with Koscielny fit again, AW had another ‘get-out’ card…
Syrup doesn’t care. All that fcukk ‘ idiot is concerned with is the Los Angeles Rams
Hope Sanogo wants a French return for good, maybe he doesn’t like the PL hence turning down a move in England..
Thanks Bt, morning to you….
Lol. Rico.
Pod has app. 18months left.
What waste of talent by us.
You looking at me?
Funny how a lot of our injured players seem to get fit when the transfer window opens….
You looking at me?
As for Podolski, he would have been gone in the summer if Walcott had been fit…
Theo is fit, Pod is out…
Lee, is DIABY fit then???
I’m looking at you two and just shaking my head 🙂
Scott, Poldi’s situation can be attributed to his links to dench. I mentioned over a year ago that Poldi will be gone too…
‘Diaby fit’, hmm, now those two words just don’t look right…
‘Diaby in traction’, now, that looks about right…
Morning Kev…
I so hope you are wrong…
Mind you, you are not about Kroenke….
Rico, forget the January Window, it ain’t gonna happen…
There’s more chance of Lee having pie n mash ‘without’ liqueur.
And that’s never gonna happen… 😉
A huge waste Scott..
Apart from Diaby Lee….
It might in Dry January Kev.. 😉
Ts, perhaps too much social media too…
Ginge, Wenger needs to be bigger and better than that.
The man is employed to do his job, so his friends should be irrelevant.
Wenger is employed to best utilise the players on hand and should keep personal feelings out of it.
Very, very disappointing.
Trouble is Scott, he isn’t and it’s costing us….
Come on Rico, it ain’t all bad, think of that shiney new stadium in Inglewood, that’ll cheer you up…
I reckon that Mick was down the local last night ‘giving it large’ about the LA Rams…
Yep.
Afternoon all. I won’t bother talk about Sczesny, as you’re right to compare him to Lord Bendtner (just too full of themselves). But I would blame AW though for Sczesny’s errors. How;
1. I still question, why throw him straight back into the fray when he returned from his injury after the Manchester United game. Martinez was doing superbly well. Sczesny’s been made to feel, made to know he’s undisputedly Arsenal’s no. 1.
2. I saw him scramble at the West Ham game anytime a cross is in the air. Makes me question our trainings again. We only practice pass, pass, and more/all pass during trainings. We don’t do cross, free-kicks, penalties, corners, set-piece defending/attacking tactics, shoot. That’s why it’s safe to always go for a commercial break when it’s time for an Arsenal set-piece. We RARELY score from corners/free-kicks.
The remainder of my points all falls on Sczesny, and I don’t wanna go there.
🙂 Kev, I’d rather be thinking about it knowing it’s been paid for by Kroenke selling his shares….
Now that would cheer me up…
JD, many said the same one here re Martinez, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it and that’s how it was with Martinez…
Merts would argue re our corners though… 😉
As soon as Wenger started praising Coq that was our midfield signing sorted! I’ve actually always liked him as a player but the fact that he is getting booked every game will hurt us eventually when he sees red in a big game. As for a centre-back. Perrin seems to be the name but as he is not even a French international, it hardly fills you with confidence. As for Szczesny, he needs to be brought down several pegs. Think the Bendtner comparison is perfect. Ospina deserves to stay in. Merson used to be known as son of George due to the amount of chances he was given. Szczesny shares Wenger’s trait of making the same mistake over and over without changing!
The last paragraph of your post stirs me to laughter, cos I’ve seen it before. It happens everytime transfer window opens, and Arsenal are in dire heal their Achilles heel. Wenger did the same at august with Arte. Giving him the captain’s arm band means there would be no William Carvalho nor Morgan Schnederlein or others es que. It’s january again, we are in need of a CB and DM, but AW’s waiting on a cheap Wiston Reid, and is IMPRESSED with the traveller (Francis Le Coq sportif) #Scoffs. I am impressed by the lad too, but I’ve seen the same zeal, enthusiam, desire to stake your claim, and take your place (..when there’s no other) from Johan Djourou (the season we had no CBs’), the returningFlamini (early last season when he’ld chase and hunt anything close to the defence). But that’s not all we need. I’ld love to see Le Coq against Geoffrey Kondogbia (when the day comes), Maroune Felliani, Nemanja Matic, Yaya Toure et al. Let’s see if he shines, and when he does, I’ll kiss his boots, studs, and jersey. Till then……………….
Podolski, is too good to be treated as such. Winger is wicked man.
Wavy, you know the answer to the wellbeing of half man half mattress……. it remains constant!
Bob, spot on re Coquelin and I thought he was rather fortunate during the last match with a couple of naughty tackles… I think there is a booking amnesty from today, thankfully!
If Coq wasn’t considered good enough before, then how come he is now? Him and quite a few others aren’t Arsenal quality really. It’s all about making do.
Nonsense really.
Jd, you’ll be waiting forever…
Exactly Adam…
Adam, you better get used to the squad as it is, because we ain’t seeing any significant signings this month, just put that thought outta your mind, accept the inevitable, what we have, is it…
The ‘new signings’ as they are, will be Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere, Arteta and Diaby 😀
Happy new years everyone from a lovely beach.
We all know what we need and we all know what needs to be done. Lets hope that big player comes through the door, or window. (No, I dont rate Reid)
I wouldnt get too twisted about Wengers comments on Coq or anyone else. He gets asked 100 stupid questions a week for the purposes of luring out a headline. I mean, when asked about Coq what do you expect him to say? ” oh the guy is deadwood and I wish I didnt have to call him back from Charlton!” He has to keep the squad motivated and interested, and when buying players keep cards close to his chest. Thats all. Same with that Diaby comment a while back on whether he would get a new contract. What do you expect Wenger to say when he probably hasnt even had that conversation with the player. Of course Diaby isnt getting another contract.
relax, breathe, hope we get Carvalho or Schnederlein. Make angry faces when we dont because its hard in Jan. Be happy Sanogo is off. Be a little sad Podo didnt fulfil his potential (left foot like Thors hammer but not much else). Have a little run in the CL, make 4th in the PL, beat UTD in the FA cup final, and try again in the summer window.
Back off to the beach!
Lev. That’s another £20k fine for you. Or, alternatively, a slice of Pear tart in Maison Bertaux. 🙂
Lev?
Le Coq? Well named the little chicken, well, he ain’t no spring chicken is he? Is he Wenger’s new Viera? Or is the new Alex Song? Or just a Flamini clone? Might he turn into the best find since Paddy? Or will he be a complete dud? Somewhere in between, I should think and so he will not be good enough to make a difference in the long term. Imo.
Wenger, get the cheque book out and pay the price for whomsoever and make it snappy. Give us all a boost and give the team what they know they need! Oh, and don’t get cute by playing your new DM on the wing!
I’ll take the fine if we’re dinking your chateau d’yquem monsieur Wenger….
The Charlton Athletic footballing finishing school will be pissed off with you Adum! They’ve grafted many a long hour on Le Cock!
Adam 😆
Happy New Year to you too Roger, enjoy the beach..
Off out for a while, catch up later…
D’yquem it is brudder. Preferably the ’47.
Wavy. Surely he’s the new Coq.
Surely not the whew Coq more likely a replacement Nob! We’ve been short of a real live nob since Bentdane left!
He’ll be like a new singeing! Burnt out by the end of January! He’s not used to playing, you know.
Whew= new.
Sarasota
You gotta Larf at the Daily Excess.
£64million for Isco….
What are those Arseholes smoking ffs…
Good super market though Kev….. I’m a Sainsbury man myself!
Caramel?
Amazing though that so much faith was shown in Sanogo and when he finally scores a goal and then plays in a 4-1 away win he doesn’t play again!
Le Club Coq..
A player who was so bad at Freisburg defensively; after 2 games he was played as a LW when SC Freisburg only had 16 senior players…
Only AW sees Le Coq as a CM… Lorients’ coach Gourchuff said Le Coq is not a CM/DM and played him as a RB/RW during his year loan spell..
BJ- Park’s record comes to mind.. he scored a goal in his second appearance and then found himself on the scrapheap…
Talking of Isco; has Emma been around recently?
Maybe the super shrewd Wenger beast has just popped him in the shop window, in the hope that some sad sap of a club come along and make an offer…..any offer! Arsenal meanwhile will offer to wrap him in xmas paper and post him first class!
Well it’s possible….I wish!
Sarasota???………ipad, my arse! No I’ll rephrase that ass rotas!
The postman could post himself!
Le Coq for me has better ball control and passing than Flamini and tackles instead of just pointing.
He also seems to have the discipline to stay in front of the back four and join the attack at the right time instead of leaving the two Central defenders to fend for themselves.
i actually think that he would be able to pivot well with Wilshere. We thought Song was shit until his one hit wonder season so I say go with it if wenger won’t buy.
Spotted on the Paddy Power website:
“Steven Gerrard’s birthday falls on the same day as the FA Cup final, what a fitting send off it would be if someone could get him a ticket.”
I’d completely forgotten about Wilshire.
“Steven Gerrard’s birthday falls on the same day as the FA Cup final, what a fitting send off it would be if someone could get him a ticket.”
He He He He he !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fuck Wilshire, bow legged smoking hobbit!
My son and I were discussing how much we could get for him if and when he gets fit. His fitness record is virtually percentage wise equal to Diabys’
Just seen wenger in Aldi’s
Potter, I was discussing him with Adam a few weeks ago….I’d sell him personally, citeh or the scousers would pay £25m ish for him????
Fred you sure? Pound shop I heard………
Think he was looking for some cheap french chrackers Lee
Schneiderlin isn’t moving this window is he?
What an Arsenal player love in going on today
Will he be back this season? Jack Wishire.
Lee. It can only be a matter of money. Most things are I believe.
If the price is right..He will go.
Fred. I am with you there.
All this time wasted again,as far as transfers go,Adam
We seem to get tied up in the Will we Wont we deals.
Brad, I agree Le Coq has better ball controll but imho you are over estimating his positioning and tackling…
Do you not recall the stupid 2 footed- tackle he made against Hull in the last 5 minutes which could have resulted in him getting red-carded for no reason?
I am not picking on him but I can’t understand how even at youth level with the FA youth squad in 2009 he could not be trusted to play as a CM; he played RB behind JW who was then a RW in that team most times with the likes of Lansbury,JET, Frimps, Watts, Sunu, Eastmond etc…
Similarly, Christian Gourchuff and Streich never played him at DM/CM for ‘smaller’ teams; in fact he fell out with both managers because they refused to play him as a CM…
More tied up in the “won’t we” bracket…
Smug Doug won’t be told on transfers will he? In fact he does the polar opposite to what is needed….. ho hum!
Instead we’re linked to the Polish 17yr old Krystian Bielik….
AW will buy; just not the high profile DM we want…
I hope we don’t waste money on W. Carvalho 😉
Ah reverse psychology….
Rick if you are around what do you think of Maitland-Niles? Although, he is another ‘convert’ I think he is best DM we have at the club. He did very well when he came on in Istanbul…
Ajayi opted for Nigeria… any chance of him making it with us, will be diminished me think…
I just saw Wenger in a food bank…
Bielik; is he Scez’s younger cousin? lol
Great to see our players getting fit to play this month,
what a coincidence…
You couldn’t make it up….Could you
Apparently, Arsenal have popped Liverpool to the signature of Argentine striker Jonathan Calleri of Boca Juniors…. 🙂
Never heard of him.
He’s probably 15 years old…
Popped???
Pipped…
😀
Does anyone know when Hayden back from injury?
I cant wait for the grand unveiling of Abou Dhabi… just before the window shuts…lol
Someone mentioned Stevie Me earlier. How sick making was the commentator last night? Gerrard scores a header against a fourth tier team – Commentator “He writes his own scripts”!!! I’m sure he macaronied his y-fronts when the free-kick went in!
Abba Dabba Who to you Ts
No wonder he was in my local Aldi Fred, and I wasted so much time looking for him…
Evening all…
Totally agree Bob, anyone would have thought he was retiring… Just because he’s English eh, no mention of his off field naughtiness…
Having learned from the best spelling policeman I know, Wilshire is Wilshere 🙂 🙂
Tut,tut…Rico
Interesting to hear Durham complaining that Wimbledon were over physical against Liverpool even used the word dirty. This from the man that promoted the get in their faces method as a way to beat The Arsenal.
Which bit Bt 😉
Just why Ts hates him Potter…. What a tit that man is.. Durham, not Ts 😉
The Wilshere bit, Rico
I suspect his own mother doesn’t like him..Durham, not Ts……
🙂 Bt, Adam will like it I hope…. lol
Durham shouldn’t be given the time if day, what does he even know about football?
Lol Rico… the truth comes out first.. 😀 definitely Ts
Lol… BJ,Fred
Has Stevie G been knighted yet?
The Ginge Durham was like a 1 penny groupie when he met AW in Brazil last summer…
Ts, did you see the photos of the Super Hornet breaking the sound barrier?….. Stunning
If any of you have a thought about football which you could magically turn into a post, please feel free to email me 😉
Evening all,
Didn’t think it was possible to have a crafty smoke in a shower, ole chez ain’t exactly well furnished in the brain department is he, wouldn’t be the first time he’s been dropped !
Kev, he’s a thought for you, lose Kroenke and we lose our American fanbase, Team Arsenal wouldn’t be the same !
Evening Micko, I guess Ches was quicker dodging the water than he is getting to a cross….
The stray arm sticking out of the shower probably gave him away rico lol.
He should have vaped surely.
Ha ha Micko, or perhaps he just made a mad dash to the side of the shower block…
That’s me done for another day, catchup tomorrow….
Night all…
Nite rico.
Kev :- A follow up to the Kroenke saga , the plot thickens.
http://www.denverpost.com/News/ci_27259980/Stan-Kroenke-proposes-80000seat-stadium-in-Inglewood-Calif
The comments on Kroenke are quite interesting
When you read all that stuff Potter, it’s crystal clear where Syrups priorities are.
His involvement in the club I support, makes me want to throw up…
Anyway Night All…
Night Mick
Come on the Rams
They paint quite a picture of Stan and it’s not pretty. At the end of the day he is and always will be, first and foremost, a business man with a plan…..A long term plan.
Morning Rico and all…
Scott, you must be lurking somewhere in cyber space… lol
Bt; apparently the F/A-18 might have caused the light earth quake in California last April when it broke the sound barrier with the sonic boom…
Morning Ts and all..
New post up now…
Wegner is a douche