Two stories broke yesterday, the first we all discussed and probably will until the day OUR club announce the sale of our number 4.
We went through it all last summer during the transfer window and no doubt we will go through it all again. Unless the deal is done and he leaves as soon as the Premier League season is over, or of course, if Wenger and Arsenal come out and say that Cesc is categorically not for sale – to any club or for any price!
The second story came from Russia, well Zenit St Petersburg.
Our little Russian joined us for around £15million in January 2009 but he hasn’t really hit the heights we all thought he would. He breezed in, lifted the morale of the team, hit four fantastic goals against Liverpool and followed that by an odd goal or two here and there and plenty of assists.
This season he has struggled, big time.
Zenit are reported to be keeping an eye on what’s happing with Arshavin and they are planning on buying him back if he remains unhappy.
I think he’ll go – he is yet to sign a new contract and by the time the transfer window comes along he will be 30 years old – we all know what happens when our players reach that age don’t we. He‘ll be offered a one year contract only and no way will he accept that, would you?
Zenit’s sporting director Igor Korneev said:
Zenit’s doors are always open for Andrey, If his situation at Arsenal does not improve and he’s not comfortable in London, we can study this issue in time for next season.
So, that could be two down and despite both stories being around, OUR club is yet to make a comment on either. The Arshavin one I can understand but the Cesc one, well I am surprised they have not denied this ‘inside source’ story yet.
Watch this space with both I guess……
It’s looking more likely that Pat Rice will retire at the end of the season. Not only is his contract due for renewal but he is suffering from a persistent knee injury which is causing him problems during the day-to-day training. Pat Rice is yet to make a final decision but it seems Wenger will have to find himself a new assistant for next season, I really hope it’s Steve Bould or Martin Keown that takes over.
Bit of good news, ‘new signing’, Thomas Vermaelen is scheduled to make his return tonight for the reserves against the Mancs in their last game of the season – lets hope he finally plays, comes through unscathed and is declared fit and ready to face the older version on Sunday 🙂
Finally, we are trying to snatch a youngster from under the nose of Fergie. Kevin Mbabu, a 16-year-old from Servette has already spent time at United but has now been invited by Liam Brady to take part in this week’s Ferroli Cup in Italy and could feature in the first game against AC Milan.
Mbabu is a defensive midfielder who can also play centre half or right back, I’ll tell you more about him in six or seven years when he is at the right age to play for the first team.
Pity he’s not 26 years old rather than 16, what we need is ‘now’, not five or six years time and even then he’s not a certainty….
That’s it folks, have a good one….
Morning all..
WATH, I thought you list yesterday was rubbish, if you were manager you’d be sacked 😉
Thank you for those kind sincere words I expected no less from you being such a ruthless task master…..
I’ll get me coat…………
Wath has left the building….. Distraught, out of work and skint !!!
Spuds might need a manager WATH when Harry takes over England 😉
What do you make of the TV return? Young Guns are reporting it so it’s got to be right, JS is normally spot on…
…………. I’ve left the building, can’t comment..!
Ok, laters – when you have stopped sulking 😉
😛
I need to find a job someone just sacked me !!
Will TV playing do him any good…? should he not of been given an extended holiday and told to come back 2 weeks b4 pre-season so he’s 100% and raring to go for August..?
Well I can’t see the point of him playing either, train yes but play in a game, no.
You wait though, if he comes through tonight, I wouldn’t bet against Wenger playing him on Sunday.
I see the CL semi’s are all the talk around the blogs today, bit of cheating and diving going on i read…
The cheating and the diving was quality Rico, half of that lot should be doing auditions for swan lake or as stunt men getting shop by snipers…….!
They have been no different for years the pair of them…!
Wenger might need a new assistant, hang on until the summer 😉
😆 – wish i’d seen it now, love a good ballet WATH
Hope Cesc was watching….
He’s sack me in about 20mins after I’ve told him all that I disagree with 😉
As long as we get 35mil minimum then I don’t really care anymore…!
That could be twenty minutes worth taking 😉
Tongue in cheek re cesc, he is welcome to join a bunch of cheats if that’s what he wants…
just seen a few highlights, cracking second goal by messi but the diving was hideous in just a three minute clip 🙂
Jose wan’t happy afterwards was he …
I will just say, the myth that Barca are the second coming is way off the mark. They are moody, cheating, snidey bastards.
As for TV coming back, what’s the point?
Pat Rice should go, I am not sure what he brings to the club apart from history but I would rather have Keown in there telling the defence to kick a few and what it actually means to play for The Arsenal.
Let’s hope that Wenger see’s who we need and get’s them no matter the cost.
Morning Will,
should be interesting at wembley, hope scholes plays….
Emirates Cup…
Emirates Cup 2011 will see Arsenal joined by MLS side New York Red Bulls, who currently boast Gunners’ legend Thierry Henry in their ranks, leading French club Paris Saint-Germain and Club Atlético Boca Juniors – the most successful Argentine and South American club of all time.
Good morning all!
Three possible alternatives for Pat Rice:
a) Steve Bould
b) Martin Keown
c) me!
I am certainly the cheapest !
We need a bit of a devil in the dressing room as W’s #2 – somebody who can put fear and passion into the team after W has talked style and flair. Somebody who the team will fear having to face if they don’t win everytime. somebody normally kept in a secure cage but only let out on a leash from time to time. Ideally the team have to walk past the cage as they exit the dressing room and have to walk through it if they don’t produce the win. Let me introduce the new Assistant Manager – Roy Keane.
Morning all.Real madrid’s perfomance last night has really put things into perspective.we troubled barca more at the Emirates than madrid could at the Bernabeu.
JM, get in the “Q” my friend I’m at the head of the “Q” and I’m not cheap I’m free 😉
I agree as well it must be Keown or Bould, two proper Arsenal men who will both push Wenger question him and get the best from him, NOT yes men…..!
Have not seen any i/v’s with Jose Rico but I can imagine they were entertaining to say the least…!
The art of cheating summed up in 90mins of footie…!
Jose’s rant after the game was more interesting than the game itself.Barca are investigating his quotes and will report him to UEFA if they deem it necessary.
Morning JM, i like that – I’d opt for you 🙂
Serioulsy, either Keown or Bould, someone to tell wenger how it is, not just sit there like a stuffed dummy
Hi John…
Roy Keane????? No thanks 😉
Hmmmmmm interesting call that John, Your spot on with the mentality needed but I’d still prefer an Arsenal man but I think Keown or Bould would give us that as well, Keane def on the right line though.
morning kt, wonder why jose didn’t play Ade??
Rico, take your blinkers off…….! He’d also bring winning mentality to the team, he’s had a good teacher in fungusbum so think about it, not a bad call at all although I can’t see wenger picking someone who would question him so I reckon it’ll be a yes man….! Only time will tell.
WATH, it was funny, the longest ever i think, his comment,
‘if i say how i feel about the ref my career will end today’
Made me chuckle…..
Even Ronaldo slammed the tactics used by Mourinho.i can’t see madrid putting up with his style irregardless of trophies won just ask Capello and Heyckenes.
Hi wath.messi showed again last night how special he is.im really enjoying his 2nd goal.
Hi KT, problem is mate how ever good Messi is and how ever well he plays I just detest the way that shower of shit cheat….! Their cheating and play acting overshadows everything else that they do….! How does the manager put up with that crap…? they r a disgrace and there is no need for it what so ever when they are as good as they are…!
I don’t wear blinkers WATH, I can see where John is coming from, he has the right attitude yes but the man, an ex manc, no way thanks…
Kt, his second was awesome but they couldn’t find a way through until Real went down to ten, just like against us…
That German ref has a cool name-Wolfgang Stark.
Rico that just shows how good we can be when we decide to play.madrid can only dream of doing what we did to barca at the Emirates.with a little investment…
Morning all,
Rico, I always find it amusing when you always go for an Arsenal man,Arsenal men are used to failure and are not the best, bring in new blood that’s what I say, Hungry people with bottle and the need to make changes to produce winners, inter breading has always produced flawed fledglings and nepotism is just as bad.
We know how good we can be Kt, we just don’t have the ability/mentality to do it week in week out, we were also very good defensively that night, something again which we struggle to do regularly…
Hi Steve, yep, i prefer an Arsenal man, we need someone who will remind the players what our club is about…
As anyone heard Ronaldo comments aftar the match yesterday?
Brady no alternative?
Another coach: domingos (Braga)
But, me will be sure the best option.
SP, I’d hardly say Keown or Bould are used to failure mate….!
I’ve just watched the Jose interview………. he isn’t very happy is he…! Ooops. No JM have not seen the CR comments.
JM, you can be my assistant we so are assistant and assistants/assistant 😉 say that when you’ve had several cold beers 😉
Messi has 100 goals 34 assists in 104 games…
That’s not what I meant Wath, they have been around losers for too long and that rubs off, if they were to put their two pennath in they would have done it by now New Blood is the order of the day.
Jm, haven’t seen his comments but he wasn’t happy either with Jose’s tictacs…
Jose reckons he was about to change the game by bringing on Ade and Kaka, like us, they had soaked up the pressure from barca and he felt they were tiring, then came the sending off and all plans went down the swanny….
JM i saw them.he wasn’t happy with the tactics used by Mourinho but had to adjust.Higuain hit a hattrick at the weekend,kaka had a brace with Benzema scoring the other but none of them started.whats the point of having such top quality players if you aren’t going to use them?
Rico that was also our gameplan at the camp nou.we intended to bring on Arshavin late in that game but the red card spoiled that plan.
Merse Wrighty Smithy Dixon have all at sometime given their opinions, and Wenger has taken no notice what so ever assistants are not the problem, Wenger is
I know Kt and it was working, mind you, we had the chance still, but Nik fluffed his lines….
I can understand why jose is pretty fed up, not saying Real aren’t without their faults but …
At least he also had the balls to admit robins sending off was wrong and Real should have been playing us, i know a bit of that was to wind up Pep…
Keown was around in 06 and got us to the CL final and Bould hardly in a position to put his 2 penneth in so I think either of those two would be spot on and def not yes men and they both know what it means to play for the Arsenal.
Steve, they are not on the payroll though, agree whoever comes in can’t be just another yes man but surely we need an arsenal man in there, drum home to these players what playing for our club means and either bould or keown would soon sort out the defence…
Wenger came in and changed all arsenal ways and no one says anything, a few years of rubbing shoulders with Arsenal men have turned him into a loser and thats the way to go is it.
I think you got it the wrong way round Steve, it’s since the Arsenal men have all gone has wenger lost the plot…! I think Rice has always been a yes man so he’s a different type of Arsenal man but Keown and Bould completely different mentality entirely. There is noway wenger will be sacked or will leave so we need a No2 that will come in and challenge him thats the best we can hope for and we need to believe that he is genuinely pissed off with the players he’s shown blind faith in and that he gets rid of them and replaces with the quality that we all know we need. Thats the best I see we can expect.
You have really had enough of Wenger haven’t you Steve?
My main gripe with him is buying too much youth and not enough experience, letting are entire English defence go and replacing them with one or two good ones but many rubbish ones…
Not replacing great players with great players…
Oh and just moving players around the pitch like its a game who will fit where….
The top[ Managers in the world have all stood up and spoken about the the officials and thats nothing new but to try and shut them up in a free football world is disgusting, corruption from Mafia style committees is killing our game off and if you watched the game and saw how Mourinho was shielded to his enclosure out of the way by three assistant officials shows how eufa have it all sown up absolutely disgraceful in my eyes and then hold them in their rooms until they realise that a few words could lose them their jobs is embarrassing.
Spot on SP, uefa, fifa are tarred with the same brush mate, if your face don’t fit your not getting the right calls…! they have their favs and if your in then your in if not you get striped up time n time again…!
I have no respect for a Manager that accepts restraints from board members to the detriment of the team, Managers in my eyes should always be looking to improve his squad. And reading everything I can about how Arsenal do their business, and if they are true and Wenger has been working with his hands tied, is unacceptable to me. A Manager of any standing, would walk away from a club that has no vision, and not try and con loyal supporters with blatant lies, just to keep them paying their money without all hope of progressing, infuriates me that’s all
Off for a bit, catch you later….
I guess it depends what the board have said to hime steve, if they said – it will be a 5 year plan for example and wenger knew that at the end of it he would have money then i can see why he would accept the deal.
if there was no money for him, there wouldn’t be for any other manager..
The club should have honest, honest to those who pay for our club…
That’s Us…
Right, laters..
What we have to understand is.
For the FA, MAn Utd are the golden ticket, the “name” club so they have to be kept in the limelight and winning.
For UEFA, Barca are the chosen team, the team that had UNICEF instead of shirt sponsors. The team who are their meal ticket. The team who keep the sponsor money rolling in.
SP your not wrong…. But maybe just maybe AW stayed around to put things right after the board lined their pockets and did the off…? maybe he looked and thought I can keep em top 4 who else can do that and then I will repay the fans when the money is available….? just a thought…?
That abt sums it up WIll, and now they creamin their pants at a manc v barca CL final……!
I think Keown would be a perfect number 2.
IF the Premier League refs are going to continually favour Man Utd in crucial decisions during critical games (Vidic v West Ham, twice! And the penalty they were awarded!), and UEFA are going to blatantly continue to favour Barcelona, all competitiveness is gone, and we should give it all up.
It does leave a bad taste in your mouth when you see so many crucial decisions being made incorrectly in the favour of one team.
We all get dodgy decisions being a big club but these two get way more than their fair share.
Don’t think you’ll get any arguments from anyone here Will we know we get stitched up left right and centre and yet while we loosing it just sounds like sour grapes…!
All Mourinho said was that Barcelona won a European Cup in 2009 that they should be embarrassed about. We all hate Chelsea, but they had three or four blatant stone-wall penalties not awarded in their CL semi-final 2nd leg, and Iniesta scored an injury-time equaliser to put them through on away goals. And what a game we’d have given them in 2006 if the referee had shown common-sense and given Lehmann a yellow card. Football is already in a bad state, if they discipline Mourinho for this, it sends out totally the wrong message to football fans everywhere.
Not just us but most teams. Man Utd seem to get the lions share of 50/50’s in every game and it is huge news when they have a player sent off.
HC correct with what your saying but i’ve said many times b4 its nothing new is it…? Before we just had a better team that actually overome all the crap decisions and still won things…! dis-allow a goal we’ll score another deny us a penalty we’ll score anyway etc etc and we did it…! Doesn’t make the decisions better but least it allows us to stick up our 2 fingers at the refs and the establishment
Wath,
our great club’s history is steeped in traditional values mirrored by the establishment. Woolwich Arsenal, Royal Arsenal, The Arsenal, Old Etonians running the club. We are ingrained in the establishment.
Diaby,vermy and fabianski are the only players who will miss the mancs clash.
Afternoon…
HC we are an establishment but we not part of “the FA establishment” they can’t stand us and never have done…! I think that stems from the 30’s….!
Afternoon Rico, bought up the whole of Tesco’s..?
Been out walking WATH and looking after neigbours two dogs too – no time for Tesco 😉
TV definately in the reserves squad for tonight….
Roll on Sunday….
Yes, agree with you on that Wath.
It makes you wonder the kind of enemies we made via Henry Norris and is it due to that as well that there is an ingrained hatred of all things Arsenal within the FA…? is that a little to paranoid…?????
Wasn’t that all something to do with us getting promoted even though we came 4th (i think) or 5th in our division??
And it happened again later didn’t it? I recall reading something about when doing the HC post, we were promoted ahead of the swampies (HC era i think) and some suggested it was fixed??
And, in the modern day, david dein didn’t help, everyone thought he was pulling strings for us at the FA…
Pay back time maybe??
My 3.06 & 3.07 could be the same thing, just had a read 😉
morning all whatzzup?
Hi Osi, typical end of season time, not much to chat about really until our first new signing comes in 🙂
Yesterday, I saw more than one comment/response from Ronaldo. In Portuguese tv and in Portuguese, in addition to boring said “it was always the same thing … was the same with Arsenal, Chelsea in a semi-final, again referring to Arsenal, Inter, always play against 10 … They have a good team? yes, of course, but ever played against 10 is easier … ”
Someone knows something about Lukatu (Anderlecth)? We were interested in him but is able to go to chelsea.
Tonight there are two good games. The Porto-Vila Real to be very good.
Vermaelen, hopefully be not another Rosicky or Eduardo that after major stop not be the same again.
Boo!! Boring old day. But I must admit, it would be nice to see TV back. To amend your statement, rico, let’s hope he finally plays, comes through unscathed and is declared fit and ready to face the creakybones version on Sunday 🙂
rico this was season was the worst compared to the all otheer missed seasons because in previous seasons we had a team full of immature players, or unfit players, but this season we had luck with injuries in the finishing line and had experienced teaam. What happened that made us collapse like this? It’s a big question that need to be answered as quickly as possible. We failed at the mental level, but can it be repaired?
agirlgunner life is beautiful and football was beautiful last night don’t you think?
Messi is genius; he didn’t only beautified an ugly game last night as one commentator claimed, but beautify this cheating team of Barca. He’s the decoration of the beautiful football in this world.
JM, he’s been labelled the ‘new drogba’ and the chavs are favs to sign him, thats ok, we can go get the real drogba for free 🙂
Hi agag, i’m not sure it would be worth risking him on sunday, we’ll beat them with JD and Kos 🙂
I’m watching the replay, Osi. It gets worse the more you see it. 😀 Fully-grown and fit players flinging themselves to the ground at the slightest contact. Haha.
Next thing you know, the UEFA would be issuing a ruling declaring that opposition teams are not allowed to so much as exhale in the vicinity of these Catalan players lest they be red carded! 😀
Osi, add to that, we have missed so many chances to win the league this year, when all others failed, so did we…
Dreadful…
I really hope we beat them, rico. Maybe, Nasri could score two against them again. I wouldn’t be able to stand the Mancs gloating again. 🙁
If they play like they did against Everton agag, we are in with a cracking chance, it’s whether or not our lot are up for the game..
If we play like we did against Bolton, who were thrashed by Fulham last night, we will get notheing from the game….
We know we’re only playing for pride now, and I really hope our boys give us something to smile about.
They have to try a little harder. It’s been a while since we saw them really up for a game. 🙁
The last time was Barca at home and the Chavs at home i think 🙁
So long ago… 🙁 See, that’s the thing, how can a team that shows so much spirit against the Stains and the Chavs surrender so tamely against the Mighty Barcodes or the Fearsome Bolton? It doesn’t make sense.
agag, I think when we face ‘better’ sides, it seems the players know they need to raise their game and they show fight..
When we play the ‘so call lesser sides’ I think they believe the game is already won before they turn up, the CC Final is a perfect example.
How many matches against those ‘lesser’ sides do we start slow, sluggish and looking really disinterested?
Too many and we all know if we come out of the blocks fast we take control of the game early.
Also, a similar thing happens when we go a couple of goals up, they think the game is won and they switch off instead of playing at the same pace and killing the game off…
Arsène Wenger blames himself for what he regards as his most frustrating season as Arsenal manager since the Club last won silverware in 2005.
By the end of February the Frenchman had guided his squad into a position to challenge for four trophies but one by one they fell by the wayside. A dramatic Carling Cup Final defeat to Birmingham was followed by further cup exits at Barcelona and Manchester United before Arsenal’s title bid effectively ended last weekend at Bolton.
Wenger will finish the campaign empty-handed but he believes Arsenal are closer than ever to success.
“Yes [it has been frustrating] because if you look at all the numbers, it is the closest we have been,” he said.
“Just look at the last week, we could have had nine points quite easily against Liverpool, Tottenham and Bolton and in the end we finished with two points.
“We feel more frustrated than ever because we are closer than ever to winning this league. Of all the trophies, the most important above all for me is the league and this year we had the quality to win it.
“The unfortunate thing is that there are plenty of moments to look back at with regret. We missed many opportunities.
“The players gave everything and I am responsible for the results so if there is someone to blame, it’s me. I have to stand up for the results and the way that we play and the way that we behave, and that has not changed since last Sunday.”
It’s terrible, really. Too easily they forget that three points v. the weeny ones count for the same against the bigger clubs. 🙁 Our players may need to attend one of those motivational seminars.
So did you get around to watching the Madrid-Barcelona match? I have read Xavi’s post-match interviews… Haha. He really is fully of himself; but then again, the Stains are an obnoxious lot.
I have been saying for a few years now that it seems to be illegal to tackle the Barca players. You just have to sit back and admire them.
It’s like the old saying here in the UK agag, look after the pennies as the pounds look after themselves – if we beat all those ‘below’ us we are in with a good chance of winning something…
I didn’t see the Spanish Farce, they are all full of themselves, don’t know why Cesc wants to play for them really, other than being part of a Messi team – he is sheer class…
I think we should sign Messi 🙂
Fine, rico. Cesc to Barca it is then. But we get Messi plus cash plus a box of bonbones. 😀
It was funny, rico. I almost feel bad for Maureen.
But the way the articles have been written, one has to wonder why there’s not too much about Real not registering a shot on goal when it was 11 v. 11. When it was AFC, how rubbish we were was all we read about. Ah, the press have it in for us.
Deal 🙂
That was his tactic agag, very similar to us when we played them, soak up all the pressure, tire them out and then bring on Ade and Kaka to try and win the game. He was close to the changes but then the red card stopped his plans…
But yes, big fuss when we played that way but it’s clear Maureen learned from Wenger to play such tictacs 🙂
Are you sure you don’t want us to negotiate for Villa over the box of bonbones? 😛
Let’s include a proviso granting me the right to punch Xavi’s face. 😀 Or Pique’s. Or Puyol’s…
We did fantastically well at The Emirates, compared to how Madrid fared at the Bernabeu last night. And our team had an aggregate cost of a tenth of their lot. 😛
Shame, Maureen’s tictacs didn’t work.
agag, i have given up on dear David Villa 🙁
Ahaha. I haven’t given up on Torres. In an alternative universe, Chelsea want Diaby and Denilson and Almunia so they give us Torres plus cash. 😀
Ah, the recurring theme of Barca getting players sent off. Surprise, surprise. I just may be tempted to cheer on United at Wembley (a Schalke miracle barring).
back in a bit, dinner calls 🙂
agag, i think you and i can safely give up on both 😉 😉
You ladies need to get back to reality!…
Hey, KT! Good night, KT! 🙂
You off agag??
A girl can dream Kt 😉
I’m off for the day folks, got to leave early in the morning to get to Westminster Abbey 😉 😉
Have a good evening all, catch up tomorrow
Nighty night….
hi!
at the moment, Porto 4 – Vila Real 1 and benfica 2 – Braga 1
Very good game in Porto. Falcao score 3 times. Two great teams.
15 minutes til the end
5-! !!!
Falcao again! 4 goals!!! two excellent goals from head!
women: Arsenal 1 Birmighan 2 – again !!!
reserves MU 0 Arsenal 0 Vermalen is comming and Aladiere too!
Morning all
Not good results for the ladies or the reserves, let’s hope the chavs lose both their last two games in the reserve league…
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