Towards the end of 2010, Emmanuel Eboue signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal! Roughly ten months later and after his squad number was given to Gervinho, he was gone, sold to Galatasaray.

Why did Wenger bother to offer him a new contract?

To make sure we got a half decent price for him, that’s no doubt why and the amount we got for him was €3.5 Million.

So, just because Johan Djourou has recently signed a new long-term contract, it’s not a foregone conclusion that his future career remains with us, a contract means nothing these days, other than if and when Wenger decides to sell him, he’ll make sure we get a fee for him rather than let him walk away for nothing.

After Eboue signed on in 2010, he went from scoring in a 3-1 victory in April assuring that were still in with a chance of winning the Premier League, to being at fault for the last-minute penalty against Liverpool which cost us two points! This in turn left us six points behind the then leaders in the league. A blatant shove in the back of Lucas Leiva cost us dear that season.

After that result we went on a rotten run until the end of the season and from having a chance to win the league, we finished fourth.

My point, Johan Djourou hasn’t had the best of seasons, he’s not managed to reach the standards he displayed last season prior to his injury. Having been asked to play right back hasn’t helped his cause and that isn’t his fault but he’s slow, clumsy and without sounding too harsh, he’s not ever likely to be our first or second choice central defender is he?

Why was he given a new contract earlier this year we all wondered?

Well maybe that was down to the number of injuries we had suffered, maybe JD was getting itchy feet as he hadn’t been playing much in the centre, who knows but one thing we do all know is, should Arsene Wenger decide that our Swiss internationals career belongs somewhere else, we’ll get  a fee for him and that’s the reason I think he was offered a new contract….

I’d still rather him than Squillaci on the bench though.. 😉

A joint statement released yesterday by the London Chest Hospital and Bolton said:

Fabrice Muamba remains in intensive care at the London Chest Hospital and is continuing to show signs of improvement this evening. He is now able to breathe independently, without the aid of a ventilator and he is able to recognise family members and respond to questions appropriately. These are positive signs of progress.

However, his condition remains serious and our medical staff in intensive care will continue to monitor and treat him.

Other reports have said that Fabrice is speaking in both French and English to friends and family so it’s all sounding a lot more positive than before.

Hopefully it won’t be too long before he’s back home with his family….

Fantastic news, just fantastic and on such a bright note, I’ll end….

Have a good day all…..