Hail Gunners - "It's Gunnerific"

Post United Rage

2009-08-30T12:38:00.000+06:00

Last night was another atrocity, that we’ve become rather accustomed to seeing time and time again since the past 4 seasons and believe me when I say it, its beginning to get on a lot of people’s nerves.

There comes a point when you begin to ponder what the purpose really is? The first test this season and we buckle under the pressure again? There was no way in hell United deserved to win and there was no way in hell we couldn’t score another goal and yet both happened which raised a lot of questions in my mind, the first being the mental strength of the players and the second being what the fuck is wenger thinking?

After going down 2-1, we should have thrown out all our fire power and that certainly did not mean throwing out Bendtner, it meant putting out Eduardo, a natural goal scorer, who tends to pull something out of nothing, like Arshavin and produces results and yet it was the other way around? Why didn’t you go for the jugular Mr. Wenger? What was the purpose of hiding your players behind what they may have done in a previous match? This isn’t a fucking charity event, if you want to achieve something you need to take those risks.

Now at this point two instances stick out like sore thumbs, the first being the tie against Chelsea last season where we had a fit Arshavin who was also cup tied for the upcoming game against United in the Champions League and there was no point in resting him, instead of going straight for the jugular, the boss fielded a defensive side which once again crumbled under pressure and that midfield consisted of players we’ve come to know very well as the midfield that is “maturing” with every game, yet you fail to see it often.

Another instance is the well known issue of buying a DMF, we’ve had this problem for a couple of seasons now and I’m sure the boss can see it as well, yet he’s fucking about, trying to sell diaby as the answer to all our problems when even a 2 month old baby could tell you that that isn’t working. Here’s my point, Diaby has played in what 101 games for Arsenal thus far, he’s injury prone, error prone and yet despite all that, why is wenger continuing to force such players down our throats?

We, the fans are paying for those wages, for virtually everything, then why is it so difficult for him to splash the cash? We aren’t asking for a billion pound signing either, I’m sure, wenger can infact find a player who is well within our budget and also well within the specifics of being world class.

A lot of people, at this point will cry, we don’t have money and we’re broke as fuck, but let me ask you something, have you seen our financials? We’re in operating profits, our cash flows are positive, we seem to be heading in the right direction, yet how hard is it to splash 10 odd million to bring a player that will surely solve the only problem that we seem to be having at present? Hell, the money from the Adebayor & Toure sales, despite balancing the books, is still enough to buy a decent player.

Another instance is the stubbornness of the boss, last season when we needed a midfield player, at first Wenger couldn’t up his bid for Alonso (a meager 2 million pounds more) and when the need for a defensive minded player arose, he bought a CAM in the form of Arshavin, with greatest of respect to Arsha, who is world class and perhaps my favorite Arsenal player at the moment behind Cesc, wasn’t what we needed at the moment and that fact came back to haunt us when we went crashing out from every competition we were in.

Diaby isn’t the answer to our problems, he simply isn’t ready and neither is denilson, these players really need a world class player to learn from. You can’t keep throwing them in with Giggs and expect them to learn when the outcome has become rather repetitive instead of productive.

I mean look at our bench, wenger keeps crying, look at the squad, when we have those player back, its difficult to choose from but what’s the point, I mean it’s the same bunch of crocks on the operating table time and time again and even now if you look at it, who do we really have to cover for cesc? Look at the list of injured players, Nasri, Theo, Rosicky, and all of them are attacking players, what do we have in terms of pure midfield players like Vieira? What was the point of selling one of the most loyal Arsenal players ever in the form of Gilberto? Would he not have made a difference last season and last night and yet he was cast aside like a rat on a marooned ship eating out the last of the bread.

I know, these are early days, but if we’re so obviously going down the same path as season before, what difference is it really going to make whether we cry “wolf” now or at the end of the season?

Arsene Wenger needs to change his tactics and he needs to understand what the fans want from time to time. This project youth isn’t ever going to work unless this youth has some mature, experienced head to learn from and understand the art of keeping it together and for that he needs to bring in a couple of experienced players and phase out some of the excess fat we’re carrying around under false pretenses of “talent”.

You may want to disagree with me just for the sake of it, but if you really think about it, isn’t this what is going on in every fans mind? You can’t repeating the mistakes of the past and yet that’s what we seem to be doing, unless we don’t make drastic amends we are going to lose some of our best players and you can see the level of frustration on their faces as well, they may not speak it, but if you read between the lines, they too have been crying for the same course of action that we, the fans have been and yet it seems to be falling on deaf ears.

I love Arsenal, I really do and it hurts to see us going down to such teams who are obviously not as good as us but there are some harsh realities that we need to face up to if we’re going to becomes the world class club that we’re so used to being labeled as.

Straight from the vault: An RVP Stunner

2009-08-24T19:42:00.004+06:00

Hello All,

Here's a clip of one of the first goals scored by Robin Van Persie, RVP has fast grown into our main strikers and one of the best in the world, this goal should be enough to wet your appetitie for the season that lies ahead. Lets hope we have plenty of moments like these from RVP that takes us all the way to a couple of trophies!

Tuesday Roundup

2008-12-09T06:16:00.002+05:00

Tuesday Roundup

We have quite a bit going on at Arsenal FC at the moment. I won't beat around the bush and get straight into it. The first of which is the news that Eduardo will be making a comeback from the injury he sustained at the hands of that cunt Martin Taylor in February. Eduardo is expected to play against Portsmouth on the 16th and this is great news. Eduardo was looking quite menacing just before his injury and had settled in nicely. I suppose the real task would be to see how well he comes back and wether he's the same player as he was prior to picking up the horrific injury. If we look at Diaby, he has still not been able to come around since and on the flipside we have the example of Henrik Larsson and I don't think I need to tell you about him. We'd have to wait and see how things shape up.

The boss has also revealed that Rosicky might be out till March and he returns we'd put him to the stake. Seriously, I'm sick and tired of Tomas Rosicky, for fuck's sake, even Eduardo has returned to first team action before him.

Right then, moving on, there are reports Juventus are ready to join the battle to sign Arsenal malcontent William Gallas. Milan had been widely tipped to make an offer for Gallas, but it seems they may have Serie A competitors in the race for his signature. According to Sportmediaset, Juve boss Claudio Ranieri is keen to be reunited with the man he worked with at Chelsea in 2001. We're talking Gallas here, I really don't care any longer where he plays just as long as its not at Arsenal.

There's also an article about Ivan Gazidis being unhappy with our current sponsorship deals and is looking to better them. Smart man. Should we get a better sponsorship deals, we can use that money to buy more players. yes, thats definitely what Arsene would have in mind won't he? Oh no, wait.

Right then, thats the lot.

Tas van Danya

Pre-Chavski news

2008-11-30T02:54:00.000+05:00

Ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Chelsea, the news that Emmanuel Adebayor, Nasri & Sagna being available for selection is great news.

Arsene Wenger during his pre-match conference had this to say:

"We have no injuries from the Kyiv game and Adebayor, Nasri and Sagna will be available, if nothing bad happens in training tomorrow. They all came through [training] well today. It's good because we were experience-wise a bit short."

A bit short is a bit of an understatement really. Anyhow, this is a significant boost nonetheless. With our attack having looked somewhat toothless in recent weeks, the return of Ade in particular couldn’t come at a better time: when he has been in the side, we have averaged 2.3 goals per game. When he hasn’t been present in our Champions League or Premiership line-up, we’ve mustered a rather miserly 0.76 goals per game.

Chelsea are missing Drogba and we all remember how many problems he's caused us over the years but then again they have an in-form Anelka. I know we can probably up our game but going to Stamford and coming back with a point is a big thing so lets hope we come back with something to gloat about.

Till next time you gooners.

Tas van Danya.

Coming back to life?

2008-11-25T23:37:00.001+05:00

After the appointment of Cesc Fabregas, which to my mind was the ideal choice all along and I’m pretty sure he’s the ideal choice for 90% of the fans out there. Despite us hoping that this is when our season officially gets underway, we can be under no illusion that Senor Cesc faces a very difficult time ahead, well for the next few weeks at least. This, as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, is a step in the right direction, the seed of change, but it is not an instant panacea.

We’re struggling for form and overwhelmed with injuries. Our long term solution lies in Uncle Scrooge taking his cheque book out and injecting some quality into the squad. This can only happen in January and till then; the going is to be very tough indeed.

The team that we do have needs to step up and show quality and repay the belief that the boss has shown in them. We need to be consistent and we need to do that every game, week in, week out. We need to start playing as a team and less like a group of individuals who are having a kick around for the first time.

And this is the main responsibility in Cesc’s job description. He has to somehow unite these players, to make us look like a team again, to function as one. This is by no means a simple task; it’s a lot to ask from anyone one in the world and it’s especially difficult to ask of such a colossal feat by a 21 year old. But this is no ordinary 21 year old, he’s one of a kind, a one in a million type of player and I’m fairly confident he’d be able to pull through. Cesc has never been afraid to speak his mind, to stick up for himself or his teammates, to get involved and he is a winner. He has that drive that we've been missing a bit this season.

Arsene has given him the definitive responsibility as a player at Arsenal, we've asked a lot of him, but the club has to do likewise. As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the team needs to built around him, he needs players who can deliver instantly, players he can rely on, players who can allow him the space to roam about freely and express himself on the pitch. The boss has to now deliver that set of players and create an environment where Cesc can flourish.

I know he can and will be an exceptional Arsenal captain, ranking right up there with the likes of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira and we already know he’s a dazzling player and we know what a radiant player he is but it's too much to ask him to be radiant without help. He needs a quality experienced partner alongside him, he needs quality players all around the park, he needs assurance and that will ultimately bring out the very, very best in him. As much as Cesc now has a responsibility to Arsenal, Arsenal has a responsibility to him.

This appointment will be also be extremely popular with the players and that's vital. It's obviously very clear that a few of our players have had some strife’s with Gallas. As unprofessional as it was to point fingers, it was detrimental that Arsene address the root cause and he’s finally done that (no matter how long it took). This decision should have been made a long time ago but it's definitely a case of better late than never.

All hail Fabregas. The new king of Arsenal football club.

Winds of Change

2008-11-24T23:53:00.003+05:00

Arsène Wenger announced during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Champions League clash tommorow night that Cesc Fabregas will be the new captain of the club. Whilst speaking at the pre-match conference he had the following to say:

“Gallas will play against Kyiv, but he will not captain the team, it will be Cesc. This is a permanent thing. But I don’t think I especially have to explain why. I have given you information but I do not have to explain to you why I make these decisions. This subject is now closed. You have to respect a little bit of the team’s privacy.”

Cesc has described his elevation to the Arsenal captaincy as “a great honour”. Cesc was handed the armband as a replacement for Gallas (Thank GOD). At 21, Fabregas is one of the youngest captains in the Club’s long history and he admits it will be emotional experience to lead the side out for the first time against FC Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday night. He had this to say:

"It is a great honour for me to captain one of the biggest clubs in the world. It is a proud moment. I know it's a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential."

This is truly great news. so many of us had been pleading for this very decision and now it seems Arsene has finally relented and made a bold move because players like Gallas have been a very negative influence on the club. The seeds of change have been planted by this decision but this is not the end. Arsene needs to add to the squad in January and must also realise that Song, Eboue, Bendtner and Diaby just aren't Arsenal material whatsoever. they're average players who do not deserve to be in a world class team like Arsenal.

I personally believe we need to buy some quality CB's (think vidic) and a CM (for the love of GOD, get one already) and a genuine wide player and we need to do that now. The past few weeks have been very depressing, so much so, that I was at a loss of words as to what to write on the blog.

Well, lets hope Arsene continues with this trend.

All Hail Arsenal.

Arsenal vs Wigan

2008-11-11T22:07:00.000+05:00

Arsène Wenger has named the 18-man squad for tonight's Carling Cup tie against Wigan Athletic at Emirates Stadium. The squad is as follows:

12 Carlos VELA

16 Aaron RAMSEY

17 Alex SONG

19 Jack WILSHERE

20 Johan DJOUROU

21 Lukasz FABIANSKI (GK)

24 Vito MANNONE (GK)

28 Amaury BISCHOFF

35 Francis COQUELIN

39 Rui FONTE

40 Kieran GIBBS

41 Gavin HOYTE

42 Henri LANSBURY

43 Fran MERIDA

46 Abu OGOGO

47 Mark RANDALL

50 Jay SIMPSON

56 Emmanuel FRIMPONG

Bischoff is included in the squad and could perhaps make his first-team debut following his transfer from Bremen. I defintely want to see more of Wilshire, Ramsey and Vela and I hope they come out guns ablazing.

Wigan are a decent side. Amir Zaki is the unsung hero of the Premier League so far with 8 goals, while Valencia, Kapo, Palacios and de ridder all add quality. On the flip side lets not forget they have have Titus Bramble at the back so that's something we should be looking to exploit. Seeing Vela tear him to shreds would definitely make my night. Overall though, it won't be an easy game of football but we have the quality and the reserves have that never say never attitude which should make this a fun game of football.

Here's hoping for all three points.

Come on you Gunnnneeerrrssssss!!!

Roy Keane defends Arsene + News Roundup

2008-11-10T13:20:00.004+05:00

There’s a lot to be reported today so I’ll dive straight in, we’ll start this morning with Roy Keane defending Arsene Wenger against the heavy criticism he has received following some bad performances against the likes of Sp*rs, Stoke and more recently Fenerbahce. Keane whilst blasting the TV pundits for their mindless assessment of games and says that they are often trying to 'sell something that is not there'.

"I was asked by ITV to do the Celtic versus Manchester United game but I've done it once for Sky and never again. I'd rather go to the dentist. You're sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they're trying to sell something that's not there.

"Anytime I watch a game on television, I have to turn the commentators off. They say 'he's playing well' and I'm thinking 'no, he's not'. My advice to anyone is not to listen to the experts, just watch the game and gather your own opinions.”

"There was a debate about Wenger on Sky and how crazy is that? People are actually getting interviewed saying he shouldn't be doing this. What that man's done for English football is amazing and will be remembered in 25, 50, 100 years' time. Will those on telly yesterday be remembered for what they've achieved? Absolutely nothing whatsoever.”

"I wouldn't trust them to walk my dog. There are ex-players and ex-referees being given air-time who I wouldn't listen to in a pub. Okay, there will be one or two who've done something in the game whose opinion you would take on board, but I'm on about every Tom, Dick and Harry."

You can’t but agree with Roy Keane on this, I know we as fans have been frustrated by Arsenal this season and that has led to a lot of shite being levelled at Le boss, but what all of us have failed to see is the bigger picture. I remember Alex Ferguson going through the same and look how that turned out. I am not a fan of these so called “pundits” and 90% of them are shite. It doesn’t apply to football in general, but to every other sport as well. I say burn them at stake!

Moving on, Senor Fabregas has been speaking about the win over United. Cesc feels Arsenal went a long way to silencing their critics with victory over Manchester United, whilst also claiming the title is an attainable target.

The title is attainable only if we churn out such performances on a regular basis, we need to get 3 points from sides like Stoke which make 3 points from sides like united a bonus which not only distances your competition from the ultimate goal but also takes you one step closer. Anyhoo, Cesc who heaped praise on Arsene for maintaining his calm inspite of such pressure from the media had the following to say:

“We did it for the manager, because he has believed a lot in us. Without him, probably apart from Gallas and Silvestre, all the rest of us may never have had the chance to play football. We owe him a lot and have to show that on the pitch.”

This is very true, without Arsene having the faith in these players, they would probably still have dwelling somewhere in the reserves of Barcelona and now here they are, at the apex of the midfielder’s hill. Fabregas further added:

“We definitely knew there would be some talk about whether Arsenal were capable of winning anything if we had lost this match. Sometimes we lose playing the same way and everyone says we are not good.”

“Sometimes you are more fortunate in front of goal and sometimes you are not. This is football, this is life. With losers, their heads go down. We have shown we have character. We played against a great team and won under a lot of pressure. So we are happy.”

Let’s hope for our own sake that we can begin to do this on a more regular basis and avoid any more hiccups along the way to the title in May.

Asked for his view on whether Arsenal can win the title, Fabregas replied:

“Oh yes. We have shown we have the qualities to do it.”

Now that’s what I call, keeping the faith.

Now, tomorrow night we face Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup and its time to bring on the kids. I personally can’t wait to see the kids play, the way they go about their game in that fearless manner with an over abundance of skill is awe-inspiring. A very young and inexperienced team will be put forward and the likes of Bendtner, Vela, Fabianksi, Ramsey, Wilshire, Gibbs etc will come into the team. Players who do not care about who they are facing and I think Wigan are in dire need of being taught a lesson. I can’t wait for Carlos Vela to rip apart our good friend Titus Bramble into tiny little pieces. Should be a laugh and a half. (Excuse the pun). Speaking about the youth, Mark Randall is struggling to be fit in time for the game tomorrow night so lets hope he does manage to play and impress the manager enough to make that transition into the first team.

And finally, Arsenal have opened up negotiations with Theo Walcott over a new contract that has 18 months left with those assholes Chelsea and Real Madrid already sizing up bids. According to the News of the World, Arsene is willing to hand out a £60,000-a-week contract to the wonder boy. Further good news for Arsenal and Wenger is that Robin van Persie looks likely to rebuff interest from Italy in order to pledge his future to the club. RVP is said to want his salary doubled to £80,000-a-week

Right then, that’s the lot.

Tas Van Danya.

Come on you Guuuunnnneeeerrrrssssssssssssss!!

Arsenal 2 - 1 United

2008-11-09T00:09:00.003+05:00

Finally, something to celebrate about, I'm esctatic. For now, here are the links to the two goals by Samir Nasri. Enjoy.

1-0: http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1744141/

2-0: http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1744208/

Tas van Danya.

A chance to make amends

2008-11-05T12:55:00.001+05:00

With the Champions League fixture tonight comes a chance to make amends by giving fenerbahce a well deserved thrashing and regaining some vital confidence ahead of United’s visit to The Grove.

Le Clichy has been speaking to the media and had the following to say:

"We have the quality to do it but it's just a fact of being focused and working as a team because in football when you play a collective game everyone has to turn up, everyone has to defend, to attack and to run for each other."

"I think now it is time to realize that we have got the quality but we need to work harder because football is not only about playing nice football and goals."

An obvious hint towards the fact that some players in the team do not have the focus and think they have it made too soon. Focus is detrimental to any job, anywhere in the world as is determination. If you tend to get arrogant, you’ll find yourself, well, you’ll find yourself in a position we are currently in. And if one is to bear in mind the horrendous trip to Stoke that prompted Le Sagna to comment that we lacked focus, then a bitch slapping is the order of the day.

Moving on, we know the team will be rotated and with the likes of Gallas, Adebayor, Theo and Eboue more than likely to miss the game, a lot of young blood could be drafted in, which could see the likes of Vela, Bendtner, Ramsey, Djourou and even Fabianski making starts. I say fabianksi because Wenger is a bit ticked off with Almunia and unlike Fabianksi; Almunia just isn’t world class material. So we’ll have to wait and see till the press-conference by Le Boss. In any case, I do not want to see Alex Song playing tonight, next week or ever again for the club.

A win tonight should definitely see us qualify for the knock-out stages and it would be a welcome boost for everyone; players, fans, the manager etc. We need to set our agenda right and that is to straight for the jugular from the word go and just hope our attacking play clicks. November is a tough month and we definitely need to straighten out the current train wreck that is Arsenal and get back to the only way we know. And that way is The Arsenal way. The way where we steamroll opponents by playing fast, attractive football, only this time, we end up with a trophy in whichever shape or size.

Here’s hoping for a win tonight.

Until next time.

Tas van Danya.

No Arsenal Today

2008-11-03T02:48:00.005+05:00

Hello All,

I seriously don't feel like talking anything Arsenal today, the last two games have been horrendous and its now an uphill task for the manager to get the lads focused and determined to make amends by winning a trophy or two by the end of May. That said, i've decided to post a few "Little Johnny" jokes that would undoubtedly make you feel better, so here you go:

NO BATHROOM BREAK
One day there was this little boy named Johny he had to go to the bathroom so he raised his hand and asked the teacher "can I go to the bathroom." she said no. Then 5 mins later he raised his hand and said "damit I have to piss can I go to the bathroom."She said "no not with that mouth."She said now go to the corner and say your a,b,c's.frontwords and backwords .

He went to the corner and said "a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z"

Then he said "z,y,x,w,v,u,t,s,r,q,o,n,m,l,k,j,i,h,g,f,e,d,c,b,a"

Then she said "Where is the p."

Little Johnny replied "Running down my leg."

DINNER TIME
Little Johnny comes home from school one day and asks his mother what "shit" meant. Thinking fast she replied "food on the table". Next day he comes home and asks his mother what does "son of a bitch" mean. Again, thinking fast again she says "It's a priest". Next day he comes home a asks what does "fuckin'" mean. She says it means "getting dressed".

That same night a priest was coming over for dinner. Johnny is just finished setting the table when he hears the doorbell ring. He yells "got it". He opens the door and says "Hey son of a bitch, shits on the table and mom and dad are upstairs fuckin' ".

DO HEARTS HAVE LEGS
Little Johnny once asked his teacher "Do hearts have legs?."

The teacher answered "Why do you ask that?"

Johnny replied "Yesterday, I heard my dad say sweetheart open your legs."

JOHNNY NEEDS A BIKE

A few months after his parents were divorced, little Johnny passed by his mom's bedroom and saw her rubbing her body and moaning, "I need a man, I need a man!"

Over the next couple of months, he saw her doing this several times. One day, he came home from school and heard her moaning. When he peeked into her bedroom, he saw a man on top of her.

Little Johnny ran into his room, took off his clothes, threw himself on his bed, started stroking himself, and moaning, "Ohh, I need a bike! I need a bike!"

Well, I hope those will have cheered you lot up, heh. Did anyone catch the drama in todays race? Excellent stuff, what a way to win your drivers championship. The look on the ferrari's camp was priceless. I couldn't stop laughing.

Dressing Room Bustups, Players To Be Dropped and a Happy Halloween to you!

2008-10-31T16:42:00.004+06:00

Morning All,

We are still living with the repercussions of the draw on Wednesday night. The Sun, according to an inside source, reported today that the Arsenal “stars” were heard shouting and arguing after Sp*rs hit two late goals to seal the 4-4 draw on Wednesday. The article added that Le Boss was also seen in a rare fit of rage. The “source” claimed:

“Everyone was blaming each other for Spurs’ two late goals and the manager was as angry as anyone has seen him for a long time.”

According to the source, the crux of the argument was the usual lack of leadership from Gallas and Silvestre. Clichy was particularly distraught at his part in Sp*rs third goal and questions were also asked about the way possession was surrendered in the dying embers of the game to allow that cunt, Lennon, a last-gasp equalizer. According to another article in The Mirror, Clichy was almost inconsolable, blaming himself for Jenas the “Penas” third for the cunts and there was some genuine concern over his psychological state.

Le Boss lambasted the trio of Gallas and Silvestre. According to this, Gallas was one of the players singled out by boss Wenger - along with Mikael Silvestre - for criticism during a paintblistering dressing room inquest that followed Wednesday's draw. Wenger has also finally awoken to the fucking joke that is our defense and bearing in mind the physical aspect of Stokes game, the boss believes he cannot count on his “stars” anymore. Isn’t this what we have been fucking lamenting about since the past couple of seasons Arsene?

Anyhow, the article goes onto say that following the bitch slapping Gallas received at the hands of Arsene; he has “conveniently” declared himself unfit for the trip to stoke claiming a hamstring “injury”. When exactly did he pick it up is beyond me. The article goes onto say that the boss was anyways going to drop him and this could see Toure and even Djourou return to the side which, quite frankly, is an improvement over Gallas and Silvestre. Clichy and Sagna may also have been shown the door had we any back up. Taking points Arsene? We need backup, we need replacements, we fucking need to spend money you miser.

Adebayor confirmed this saga taking place by adding:

“It is best not to say too much right now because there would be a lot of words that we aren’t supposed to use to each other. It is best to go home, have a rest, learn our lessons from this match, then get together and tell the truth. We need to let our nerves calm down and then we will all have to accept the criticism.”

He further went onto add:

"To be champions in this way? You can never be a champion. There is a lot of disappointment because we did everything to get the three points and we ended with one. It was one of the most difficult games in my life because I cannot understand that after 90 minutes we were leading 4-2 – I don't know how we finished with a draw. It's very easy to give up because we were 4-2 up and maybe thinking the game was finished. With five, six or seven minutes to go, maybe in our head the game was over."

“I am tired of saying that we cannot drop any more points and then we end up dropping more points. It was not even against a top-four side but against a lot of cock sucking shitbags that are Tottenham and incidentally who are also bottom of the league but act like they are the biggest club in the world”

Great point there Adebayor, but I don’t think there’s much we can do anymore but aim for a top four finish and concentrate on trying to lift a trophy in the remaining three competitions. Trying times these, no?

Anyways, Happy Halloween everyone.

Tas van Danya.

What a night at The Emirates

2008-10-30T16:14:00.001+06:00

I don’t even know what to write today. I’m so damn pissed off right now that its not even funny. I’m sick of having to live with the fact that the fucking scum from the shittier side of north London will be celebrating a glorious “draw” on our ground and will undoubtedly have DVD’s out by tonight of last nights game. The pundits will undoubtedly, for the millionth time, mark last nights sordid affair as the coming of age for sp*rs and how they are going to make a clean sweep of every trophy possible. Cocksuckers.

Arsenal should be able to hold onto a two goal cushion for 5 minutes against any team in the world and we bloody well couldn’t. And what the fuck was Clichy doing? He’s prone to committing one stupid error per season that somehow causes the most damage to us and there he goes doing it again. If you don’t know what to do with the ball, just fucking kick it out you cunt.

And as for alumina, can you for fucks sake stop trying to be so damn melodramatic all the goddamned time? Stay in your fucking line and catch the ball when its supposed to be caught instead of punching it.

I swear to GOD, I am pissed off today. Had this been again anyone else in the entire world, I wouldn’t have been the way I am, but seeing as it is sp*rs, AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! I’m strongly fighting the inclination to punch a wall right now.

Afterwards, Mr. Wenger had the following to say:

"I am angry. We have to look at ourselves and improve. The players are very down. We were two levels above Tottenham and they were there for the taking. It was damaging. On the positive side, we were really superior to Tottenham, produced the game we wanted, lots of energy in the game.”

"The only down side is we didn't win. That was down a little bit to a lack of maturity. I would like to keep the positives tonight because I believe we were really outstanding.”

"We were too cautious rather than scoring number five or six. The right pass would have seen us score. The maturity problem will improve with intelligence. They will learn from their mistakes."

Mr. Wenger, firstly, the maturity problem is what we have been screaming about since the past few years, why don’t you quit being scrooge mcduck and fucking spend some money? Oh and yes, did I fail to mention our defense is a fucking joke?

ARRGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

P.S. To David Bentley with the best of regards, FUCK OFF YOU COCKSUCKER!!

Tuesday Roundup

2008-10-28T14:05:00.003+06:00

Good Morning Everyone,

There’s not a lot going on this morning in terms of Arsenal news so it’s going to be a quickie. We’ll start off first and foremost with former Arsenal captain and legend Patrick Vieira singing it up for Arsenal.

Following Le Boss’ comments that he made a few days earlier about the lack of support that the fans have been showing to the team, Le ex captain Vieira says the Arsenal faithful do a pretty good job as it is and then demonstrated by singing his own chant for the camera. Vieira also had the following to say about the supporters:

"What I love about the English fans is that they always remember what you give to the club, I'm sure if after 15, 20 years, I go back to Arsenal, they will remember the nine years I spent there, so that's why Arsenal will always be a special club for me.”

"When you have 50,000 people singing ‘Vieira, woa-oh-oh-oh, he comes from Senegal, he plays for Arsenal’... it's fantastic!”

The man is undoubtedly one of the finest players ever to grace an Arsenal shirt and he would without a shadow of a doubt be given the best receptions whenever he returns to the club. However, I do feel that the supporters have been a little too quiet and we need to make The Emirates the noisiest place on earth, the atmosphere can become quite daunting at times and we need to do our utmost to make it as uncomfortable for visiting teams as possible.

In other news, Abou Diaby is glad to be finally back from injury and we’re glad as well, we definitely needed some depth. He claims that the times spent on the sidelines were harsh but they’re what made him stronger and had this to say:

“It was hard but I regard it as part of my evolution if you like.I stayed positive and kept doing things right, like eating the right food and living the right way. Hopefully the problems are now behind me.”

Lets hope his injury woes are well and truly behind him and he can go on to being the true successor to PV that he was initially tipped out to be. Fingers crossed.

Finally, another Arsenal legend, our favourite Freddie Ljungberg has signed for the MLS outfit Seattle Sounders and will be unveiled tommorow. I wish him the very best.

Right then, that’s the lot.

Tas van Danya.

Yippe .. Ki .. Ay

2008-10-27T14:31:00.002+06:00

We started the game rather brightly but despite some fine spells of possession, it was Manuel Almunia who was being worked the hardest of the two keepers on the field last night. On the 20th minute mark, a counter attack saw Theo strike the cross bar when he could have passed the ball onto Bendtner at the far post for us to very easily have taken the lead. We were a bit sloppy and that essential ball was lost through misplaced first touches by van Persie, Song and Bendtner.

On the 23rd minute mark, Robert Green very clearly handled the ball outside his area, to prevent Bendtner collecting a long ball, had the assistant referee (who was about 84) have been in the position he ought to have been, then Green would have been sent off. Arsenal went on the back burner and this saw some good play by WHU, they launched an exhilarating counter attack after Eboue lost possession and the pass forward found Bellamy in on goal being chased by Clichy. Bellamy’s shot was all but goal bound until a stunning save by Almunia’s trailing foot sent the ball over the bar for a corner.

At the restart, things did not change much, the hammers picked up where they left off and began applying pressure. A corner rebounded off the chest of Matt Upson from 2 yards out and Almunia saved easily.

On the 54th minute mark, we saw another fine run from Theo from right hand side. He slid a ball across the box into the far post which was blocked over the bar by the defenders. A large chunk of West Ham’s second half pressure appeared to come primarily at the courtesy of Eboue’s natural errors; luckily they were unable to make the most of the opportunities.

At the 67th minute mark, Diaby and Adebayor came on for Nasri and Walcott and Arsenal suddenly began to find their groove and the instant change of gears was very obvious. RVP suddenly became alive and unleashed a fierce shot from the left hand side of the box which was parried by Green and Bendtner was unable to convert the rebound. A couple of minutes later, RVP almost scored as following a silly free kick conceded by Scott Parker on Fabregas in a nice position from 25 yards on the right side. RVP’s shot cannoned off the far post with Green absolutely beaten.

The dreadlock was finally beaten as Adebayor, demonstrating some fine close control and cut inside three defenders from the right and unleashing a shot that forced an own goal from Julien Faubert. 1-0 To The Arsenal.

Song made some nice inquisitive runs and RVP was a regular threat down the right flank. In the first minute of extra time after a scurried clearance from our 18 yard box, saw Bendner, who was 15 yards inside his own half down on the left, launched a transcendent ball some 35 yards over the hammer’s defence and right into the feet of Adebayor, who rounded past the on rushing Green and struck the ball calmly into the back of the empty net. 2-0 and game over.

Afterwards Arsene, whilst speaking about the game had the following to say:

'It was a big win for us today, to come out of it with a frustrating 0-0 would have felt like a wasted opportunity to get closer to the top. We knew before the game we could not drop points. West Ham can also feel frustrated because they defended well.'

Arsene Wenger further revealed that he had taken a conscious decision to give Adebayor, a rest by saying:

'Last year I over-used him and now we go into a period where we play every three days, which is why I want to rotate a little bit.'

Which is true actually, we’re playing a lot of game up till December and it is of utmost importance that the squad is rotated as much as possible and the other players be given a chance to prove themselves. I however cannot wait to see Carlos Vela find his groove as he is one helluva prospect.

And finally, Juventus have been linked with making a £6million bid for, wait for it, wait a little more, just a wee bit more, Emmanuel Eboue, ladies & gentlemen. According to this article which you can read here, it claims that Juventus were keen on Eboue during the summer transfer window, and it has been reported that they remain interested and will make an offer in the New Year.

Is there a possibility that we pay them the said amount and throw in a Bentley for their brilliant manager so as to ensure that this deal absolutely goes through?

Right then, that’s the lot.

Until next time, ladies & gentlemen, this is your host, Gonner14, signing out.

Tas van Danya.

I'm back.

2008-10-07T01:01:00.011+06:00

Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry for not being able to post regularly but I've had my hands full as of late. In any case, it has now become apparent that almost everyone is now writing us off as usual. We definitely have lost our way after putting in some great performances but its definitely not the end of the world. A lot of work needs to be put in by Le Boss and now that we have a break.

Arsene definitely needs to go back to the drawing board and instead of drawing up Wile E. Coyotesque plans, be direct like the Road Runner and kick ass. I probably didn't make too much sense there but the fact of the matter is that this is definitely a make or break season. I'm not worried though as there's still a long way to go and other teams will also drop points and Hull will very soon be back to where they belong but now that our backs are somewhat against the wall, we must bounce back in style and i'm fairly confident we will.

I don't want to indulge on the gloom and doom wagon that everyone else is so mad keen on getting the front seat on so in order to make you guys feel better, I've dug up another quality goal from the Arsenal archives and I'm sure you lot would love to see it, so here it is:

Right then,

Until next time,

Godspeed.

There's nothing to "blog" about today!

2008-10-02T20:57:00.002+06:00

Hello Everyone,

There's very little to talk about today as all one can find is the smoke blowing over from the match against Porto. I could go about it all over again but as I've already covered that in yesterday's blog I can't be arsed about re-rounding up the same stories again.

So instead, I'm putting up this video of a Freddie Ljungberg fan which is simply put, uproarious. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Godspeed.

Back In Black

2008-10-01T18:29:00.004+06:00

Arsene Wenger had demanded an ardent response from his team following the shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hull, and they delivered in irresistible fashion. Whatever was said on the training ground prior to the match by Le Boss appeared to work as Arsenal, particularly in the second half, ran riot whilst Porto crumbled.

We started the game brightly, spare a few nervy moments where Porto seemed to be getting the better of us and were actually playing some very good football despite all our dominance and possession. We gradually settled in to the game and therefore it was only a matter of time before we grabbed our first of the night in the 30th minute courtesy of Robin van Persie. Ade & RVP combined proficiently down the right of the field, creating space for Ade who with the greatest of calm looked up and delayed his pass to RVP, who fired the ball home. It was a lovely goal to open our account and settle any jitters that we had.

After that it was all Arsenal, the champagne began flowing more swiftly and we grabbed the game with both hands. We began to ask even more questions of Porto’s defense and one of the moves resulted in a corner. RVP fired the ball in to penalty area which after finding Ade’s head bounced rather awkwardly and sailed over the heads of Helton and Benitez and landed in the back of the net. It was 2-0 to the Arsenal.

Soon after play resumed, we were back to our usual antics but with much more fluidity and much more composure. 3 minutes into the second half and we added a third. This time a rather brilliant move sparked by Theo Walcott found its way to RVP, who showed strength to fend off Bruno Alves and stab it home.

The fourth goal was scored off the penalty spot by Adebayor after Bendtner was brought down rather gauchely by Guarin who made a stupid tackle when there was absolutely no need for one. In any case it was now 4-0 to the Arsenal. It was a night which had a bit of everything, an outstanding team performance. Everyone seemed to have the touch of magic. We scored four lovely goals and missed another four sitters. We saw Eboue doing some brilliant step overs which would have put the best to shame before trodding on the ball to put an end to that exuberance of talent. We saw how good Carlos Vela is and just how much potential that lad holds. In short it was a complete performance; the boss also seemed to agree by saying:

"It's difficult to measure our best performance of the season but this was maybe our most complete performance."

You can’t argue with that can you? The boss also hailed the king of Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas by saying:

“He was outstanding tonight. He was good offensively and good defensively and overall it was the complete midfield performance.”

It’s taken a while for him but knowing the quality of Cesc, it was only a matter of time. I actually know some jackasses who actually had the nerve of writing him off and declaring him as crap. I’m serious fed up of such fans, why don’t you go support Chelsea or something? You’d get along great, they too have no class like you lot.

Moving on, Manuel Almunia also hailed last night performance and states the claim that the win displayed our true colors by saying:

“It was crucial to have a clean sheet, have a victory like this and play fantastically like we did. think Arsène was furious before the Porto game and we said to ourselves that we had to play the Porto game as Arsenal know they can. We had to show we were a very great team.”

He makes a valid point of Arsene being pissed off. He very rarely criticises the team in the media but after the Hull game he was absolutely seething. As I said in yesterday’s blog, the players need to be given a kick up their arses and dropped from time to time to show that they aren’t indispensable to the Arsenal.

Moving on, Adebayor believes that the understanding that is developing between him and Robin can fire us to glory on all fronts by saying:

“Robin and I are working hard for the team. We are here to help this team win something so I am pleased with the way he played last night. I give him a pass, he gives me a pass so this means there is a good relationship between him and me.”

They have so far netted 11 goals in 9 games that they have played together and that is a good figure. What worries me is the erratic nature of their performances. They net 4 goals in one game combined and then fail to score for 3,4 games in a row. There is no doubting in their quality but the levels of consistency need to built up and maintained. If they are able to do so, I have no doubts that they will indeed fire us to quite a few trophies down the years.

To wrap it up, this win has undoubtedly restored the confidence in the team and it is crucial as the month ahead holds some very crucial games and we absolutely cannot afford any more slip ups like the one we had at Fulham and more recently at home to Hull.

And finally I’d like to wish the readers an Eid Mubarik.

Right then,

Until next time folks.

Come on you Gunnnnneeerrrrssssssssss!!!

It's time to go Gallas + Porto Preview

2008-09-30T20:43:00.013+06:00

We face Porto tonight at the Emirates and its also a chance to put to rest any demons we may have been carrying around since Saturdays brilliant encounter with Hull. It will by no means be a walk in the park as they are a tough nut to crack and it is going to be a real test of character for
us.

Anyhow, we'll start with the team news first and the highlight of which is that Samir Nasri is back into squad and will be vying for a start. The rest of the squad remains unchanged although Le Boss has intimated that the squad will be rotated. Whilst many of us would be led to believe that this is out of punishment for the outstanding displays on Saturday le boss made it very clear that it was not the issue. He said:

"Punishment? No, you know sometimes you make changes because you consider the other team, you consider the balance of your team, sometimes because one player is not at his best. If a player or two do not play tomorrow it is not a punishment, it is just because of a rotation in the side. You cannot play every single game with the same 11 players."

Le boss has made it crystal clear why the rotation is being taken into effect but I personally believe that he need not hide behind this & just drop those that deserve it however fragile their unwarranted ego's may be. In any case, some big decisions need to be made in terms of who stays and who goes and the biggest decisions need to be made in that of the defence and the striking departments. Arsene needs to ask himself wether he wants to continue playing the highly erratic, lethargic and offside prone Adebayor and RVP or is it high time the hardworking and highly deserving duo of Bendtner or Vela be brought into the mix? If we look at the defence then 95% of the gooners would like to see Gallas dropped in favor of Djourou but as always it will be Kolo Toure who would be the most likely to be dropped.

The game, as I have mentioned earlier is not going to be a walk in the park and tonight is an game we must absolutely win otherwise we'd find qualification into the group stages a little too daunting.

Moving on, William Gallas has pointed out his ambitions for the season ahead whilst speaking to the official website after the Hull defeat and had this to say:

"We have to try to stay in the fourth position. It's very difficult to accept."

This is very ambitious indeed, finish 4th without any trophy is exactly what is required. I have never heard of a more ambitious captain and people like him have certainly put to rest former captains like Patrick Vieira and Tony Adams to shame.

I seriously feel that Arsene needs to get rid of Gallas asap. The centre of defence is becoming a major problem and even so early into the season we have conceded too many goals off set pieces and defensive errors for comfort.

We really miss a strong presence at the back, like Tony Adams or Sol Campbell and in Gallas or Toure, we don't always have that. Why doesn't Arsene Wenger see this? When it comes to Gallas to being out-muscled in the box from set pieces, it's happening far too regularly. If you look at the other top teams in the Premier League, namely Liverpool, Manchester United etc one can see got the commanding centre halves who will not allow you any space to score off against, whatever the situation maybe.

Arsene Wenger after the Hull defeat even came out and said:

"I believe that we have more a size problem than quality in our defending problem. Our centre backs are not very tall. I don't know what we can do. It's not only centre backs who defend. As a team we are a bit short."

I find this statement, "I don't know what we can do" a little hypocritical of Arsene. This isn't something that happened 5 minutes before the Hull game but has been eminently apparent for a long time now. We've had Gallas and Toure our first choice centre backs for quite some time and something could have so easily been done in the summer about this obvious lack of size.

The problem is that William Gallas cannot be dropped. Why you ask? Well its largely due to the fact that Arsene Wenger has made him club captain and not only stuck with him but also made the promise of playing regular games at centre back. What a magnanimous mistake this now looks in retrospect.

However, we must concentrate on the task that lies ahead and hope that Mr. Gallas can keep his act together and not concede any stupid goals as usual.

Here's hoping for all 3 points.

Come on you Gunneerrrssssssssss!!!!

Horrendous

2008-09-28T23:45:00.000+06:00

I'm sure all of us are feeling rather gutted after seeing what we did and what hurt more was the fact that we lost at the Emirates, our first league defeat since April of last year. It was a pathetic performance to say the least, one where the enitre team failed to perform and its now the second time in six games we have lost to a team that actually taken the game to us and we've ended up losing. The boss agrees here and says:

"We don't know how costly it could be but they were committed. It was a bit similar to (Arsenal's match at) Fulham."

It really sucks to say the least, I seriously think Le Boss needs to think things through and some of the players need to be given a dressing down. The lack of competition for some positions is insane and hence the procrastinating behavior of some players on different occasions. The Boss says:

"Everything that makes you win football games was not there from the start. The concentration levels were not high enough from the start. When we went 1-0 up our focus dropped and we gave them too much room."

Arsene also thought that we had been handed a good lesson by yesterday's defeat. He also demanded improvement in the overall attitude of the team. He's right as well, we were caught out for our own laziness and also for tyring to score that fucking perfect goal when we really should have been scoring. The boss said:

"We had the chances to win the game. The commitment was on the high side but we weren't completely switched on to the level you need to be to win the game. It was a good lesson for us. We now know that if our attitude isn't right, we can lose games."

No one had the hunger to go out and win the game and it was really disappointing. That said, its not the end of the world, really it isn't. Its not like the other teams will not drop points over the course of the season or its not like we won't gain any. We need to keep the faith and remain hopeful that we don't keep repeating such horrendous performances.

Until next time folks.

What we would we do without you Arsene?

2008-09-27T21:06:00.003+06:00

We have Hull coming over today and the anticipation of having some football to watch after a rather long week is very exciting. We are going into today’s game on the back of some cracking performances that has seen us score 14 goals and concede just 2 in all competitions and one must not forget that 3 out of those 4 games were by no means easy. The way we literally tore those teams apart has been a treat to watch. We’ve shown great resilience, composure and never compromised the Arsenal way of playing football. The most important aspect is that you can’t single out one or two players either; the entire team has stood up and come through where it mattered. Therefore, to expect an absolute decimation today would be quite fair.

Onto some team news now, nothing has changed thus far since what I told you lot in yesterday’s blog. To give you a brief overview though, Clichy & Silvestre are fit and apart from Silvestre returning to fitness, the team remains unchanged. Samir Nasri is still out injured. I swear, the left side of the pitch is jinxed for us.

While we are on the topic of left midfielders who are always out injured, one can not help but mention Tomas Rosicky. We were expecting to see his make his way back to the squad (finally) sometime in December but now the club is now rather “speechless” about him. It is not very surprising to hear that they can now not give an exact date towards his return. For a player who has been out since January for reasons unknown and who’d be coming back after Eduardo, you have to seriously think that his days at the club are numbered. This is the season where he has to come out and prove that his sole duty at the club is to not keep the physio’s occupied but also to perhaps sometimes play a little football as well. It’s very frustrating, I’m a big fan of the player but I think the shit has all but hit the fan with him.

In other news, it’s all Arsene Wenger today who has had a lot to say. He speaks about the possibility of packing up and leaving the club by the time his contract runs out in 2011. He says:

“I've not thought about my contract, “I will give myself to the end of my contract in 2011 and then have a serious check-point. You don't want as well to go on too long.”

It would be really sad to see him, should the day ever arrive. I don’t even know who we would replace him with. He’s one of the best manager’s in the world and I’d only place Alex Ferguson in the same category as him. This man is Arsenal, through and through.Its even in his name, Arsen – e. Arsen – al. Its going to be really hard. *sighs*

The boss also speaks about the fact that his upcoming anniversary on Sunday, that will mark his 12th year at the club (amazing in this day and age) is not a time to sit and gloat over past achivements but to remain focused on the future. The boss says:

“I’m not very happy to speak about my anniversary because what interests me in life is what is in front of me and not what is behind me.”

"I also believe that is part of the sickness of this job, as you know what you've done is forgotten and what is important is what happens tomorrow. You spend your life worrying about the future, and are always expecting the next game, the next game and the next game”

"It becomes something almost perverse. It takes over your brain completely and you never take time to look back."

He’s very right at this. The job of a football manager is the most thankless one in the world. No matter how good you are a sudden slip and the world climbs on top of your head and jumps on it. We’ve seen this happen with Alex Ferguson as well. The amount of trophy’s he’d won for United counted for nothing when they hit a barren phase whilst the team was in a state of transition. The club fans were calling for his head and the same has been apparent with Arsene Wenger. People who tend to do this are not fans and are just an ungrateful lot.

Finally, young Denilson has been looking to follow in the footsteps of Patrick Vieira & Gilberto Silva. Not the worst of role models to follow are they? Heh! He says:

"He (Patrick) helped Arsenal to achieve beautiful things so it’s an important reference for me. But it’s the same with Gilberto Silva. He is also an example for me to follow.”

"They have both made their mark and now it is my time to write my history in the pages of Arsenal."

We’re waiting as well Denilson. We hope you make 600+ appearances and score 200 goals for a midfielder and help us win a ton of trophies in the process.

Right then, a couple of hours to go till kick-off.

I can’t wait.

Come on you Gunnnnnnnneeeeeerrrrrrrrrssssss!!

You're one in a million Cesc!

2008-09-26T23:47:00.005+06:00

Our beloved midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas has vowed that, he will never, never, NEVER EVER quit The Arsenal. Whilst talking to The Sun, the king of Arsenal had this to say:

“I am so happy here that I will never think about moving as long as things keep going the way they are. For me it’s not a problem. My mentality is the same since the day I signed for the club.”

“What’s the point in having millions and millions in the bank if you don’t enjoy playing and you are not happy? I am happy, I love the way we are playing and the fact I’m still here after three seasons’s without winning anything means something.”

“It’s because I love the game, I love the club and I love the way we play football. I really enjoy the way we play on the field and for me, that’s the most important thing.”

An obvious jab was taken at all the footballers who had prioritized money before anything and very openly stated that money wasn’t everything in the world. Footballers such as Cesc don’t come by that very often anymore and I must say I am extremely pleased to hear someone not bleating about money for a change. He is a sublime player and an excellent individual. A perfect role-model for everyone out there who is in need of one.

Cesc also claimed he was “Sleepless in London” because of the up and coming kids at the club. The king even said that he needed to raise his game in light of the snazzy displays by Wilshire, Ramsey & Merida against Sheffield United. He said:

“I was really excited on Tuesday — it was sensational. You can see all the players have ambition; they want to show how good they are. I cannot go to sleep as one day or other they will want to play more and more and the manager will want them to play more.

“I will have to be better and better. Wilshere, Ramsey, Merida — they all play in my position. This is great for me. I love competition. If the players are so young you can feel your place is too secure. So it’s fantastic to have competition — to wake you up and make you a better player.”

For someone as established as Cesc is, for someone as talented as he, for him to be actually talking about how important it was to up his game and make sure he deserved his place in the Arsenal side is truly remarkable. With the truly altruistic way that he has complimented these players, it too shows how down to earth he is and how much he has Arsenal in his heart.

Cesc also spoke about the lack of trophies at The Arsenal and how it didn't bother him so much. He had this to say:

“People can say ‘They will never win’ but it’s not in my mind. I’ll never think we won’t win anything. But sometimes when you feel so good during the game and play the game you enjoy so much, even if you haven’t won anything in the last three seasons, I have felt so good, so free. I enjoy it so much.

“Of course you want to win but when you have this recompense inside that you are playing so well maybe it’s much better than to be in another team that wins trophies but you don’t enjoy it so much.”

He really has the maturity of a 60 year old and it’s just amazing to see a player of his kind. He has all the makings of an Arsenal legend that will fall in a category even higher than that of Dennis Bergkamp or even Thierry Henry. Come on Arsene, make him captain. Make him le captain right now.

We all remember how much criticism le boss faced when the transfer window closed without any player arriving into the club. Football “pundits” as usual wrote us off completely and yet again tipped this year to the year that sp*rs will win all major trohpy’s around the world. Yes, they will win the Bundesliga, the Primera Liga, The Premiership, the Euro Cup, The Champions League, The World Cup and “Go fuck yourselves” award for being the shittiest lot of rejects in the world. Now however, with us being top of the League, Sp*rs being 20th and the children having just hammered Sheffield United in the Carling Cup, the issue all but disappeared.

The pundits are nowhere to be found and Arsene Wenger now finally explains why he did not add to the squad. According to the boss it was last term’s improvement, coupled with the youngsters rapidly rising through the ranks, that helped convince him that a signing was not the order of the day. The genius said:

“I believe we have many good players here and we try to sort out any problems collectively as a team. We lost some top-class players in the summer but we always try to produce good young players and develop them. I always feel with the youth policy, the Club has a security and even if one or two players leave, we are strong enough to cope with it.”

The boss also spoke about going that extra mile this time around to show everyone that we had truly learnt from our mistakes.

“Having been in that position before, our determination not to lose our advantage is certainly greater than ever. We experienced a big frustration last season and, in a highly-competitive league, we want to stay where we are. We were very close last year and it will be close again. We want to show we have learned.”

I have to admit, after patiently watching the boss creating this monster, it would be truly fucking sweet to see these young lads lifting a trophy or two. I swear, would it not be fun seeing Le Boss having the last laugh? I can’t wait. I honestly believe it is coming, we were so close last time around, we could only possibly build on a great season much like what United did last time around. I really can’t wait.

It seems that those utterly despicable cunts, namely Inter Milan are now trying to get their grubby little hands on Jack Wilshire. The only thing I have to say to this is, go fuck yourselves Milan!

Finally for some team news ahead of our clash tomorrow against Hull. As reported in yesterday’s blog, the squad remains unchanged to that which beat Bolton a week before, the only addition to that is of Silvestre. Samir Nasri is still sidelined and I’m really becoming convinced our left hand side of the midfield has been jinxed since the departure of Robert Pires to Villarreal.

Right then, that’s the lot!

Come on you Gunnersssssssssssss!!!!

Bits & Pieces

2008-09-26T00:46:00.002+06:00

We’re a bit high and dry in terms of Arsenal news right now but I’d still try my best to put together some meaningful bits & pieces together to fulfill your blogging needs for the day.

We’ll start off with Le Genius heaping more praise on our new Liam Brady. The compliments don't come any bigger, especially if happen to be a 16-year-old chap trying to make your way in the professional game and Arsène yesterday did not hesitate for a second in mentioning Wilshere's name in the same sentence as the words "Liam" and "Brady". The boss had this to say:

"He is a quiet boy, very determined and focused. For the rest, the talent is there. You have seen that again"

He also stressed the importance of taking time to nurture his talent and this is very important in his overall development.

"When you are a manager of a boy like that who has the talent, you are always cautious to put too much pressure on him and too high a level of expectation. I believe it is all in there, but also that I have a responsibility to nurture him and get him in the right development over the next two or three years, that will be vital. From 16 to 19 is a very important age for a football player – and Jack has skipped a few classes.”

Le boss stands true and this is very important obviously; otherwise if we heap too much pressure on any player we can very easily pull a Michael Owen or a Robbie Fowler on them.

AW was also full of praise for Carlos Vela, and said:

“Carlos is a player who has everything in his locker. He is agile, has a good first touch and is very calm in front of goal. Also, he is a clinical and quick finisher and I just think he is top class."

Oddly enough, I think so too. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, I thought Carlos Vela was top notch, his calmness in front of goal reminds one of Eduardo and yet his finishing is one step beyond that, infact his finishing reminds me of Dennis Bergkamp even. I’m really excited to see more of Vela in the coming games. He certainly special.

Moving on, ex-Gunner, Nicolas Anelka has heaped praise on le boss.

"We are used to watching them play like this. They have always played extraordinary football. They have a super coach who knows how to get the best from his players.”

He himself scored some absolute crackers whilst at the club and it was a shame that he had to be a jackass and screw it all up. On the other hand, we got Thierry Henry and a new training facility, so it all worked out well for us, didn’t it?

Onto some team news now ahead of the clash with Hull, it seems that Mikael Silvestre is available for selection and Gael Clichy after receiving a nasty lump on his shin against Bolton. Alex Song faces a late fitness test and apart from that, the rest of the team is available.

And finally, RVP is on the verge of getting a new contract.

The weekends around the corner and there’s some Arsenal to look forward to as well.

Here’s hoping for a million goals and all three points.

Godspeed.

Trés Magnifique

2008-09-24T20:51:00.005+06:00

There’s just one word to describe the events taking place at the Emirates last night, and that word is “Slaughter.” Yes, slaughter, a youth team against an experienced Championship side, whose lawyers have been arguing that they should be in the Premier League, were made to look like amateurs by a team comprising eight teenagers with an average age of 19, who put on a footballing masterclass that was a joy to behold.

After a rather edgy start to the game, where the possession of the ball was sacrificed too readily, The lads recovered their composure to put on a mouth watering show, headlined by the Carlos Vela hat-trick and the support being in the shape of a Bendtner brace & a debut goal by Jack Wilshire.

The game started with the first real chance falling to the Blades. Gary Speed found Danny Webber who cut in from the left but failed in his attempt at goal. From thereon in, it was all about The Arsenal. Vela in possession managed to hold off Morgan before finding Bendtner, who calmly stroked the ball past the Sheffield keeper to put our young Arsenal side ahead.

Bendtner got a second, 11 minutes late after, Ramsey found him with a back heal and Bendtner got in behind the defense before finishing past Kenny. Only 2 minutes later, it was Bendtner again who this time put Carlos Vela through to add our third of the night.

Soon after play resumed, Kieran Gibbs got the ball down to the left, and found Vela who cut inside and beat Morgan before lifting the ball over and about the keeper. Sheffield United then went into suspended animation, a quick short corner by Arsenal left Wilshere to pick his spot in the bottom corner Aaron Ramsey got his second assist of the night, once again finding out Carlos Vela on the left who smashed the ball passed Kenny to make it 6 for the night for The Arsenal.

It was an incredible display by the lads, especially by that of Carlos Vela who could more than likely be the 18 yard box finisher that Arsene Wenger has been searching for. Vela showed remarkable composure (very similar to Eduardo) for his 3 goals, I’m certain this lad could find himself challenging the more established players like RVP & Ade in no time. Le boss agrees:

"I think he’s a player who has everything in his locker of a good striker. He's agile, good first touch, very calm in front of goal, clinical and quick finisher and I just think he’s top class."

Not to forget, Fran Mérida also demonstrated the class that has had club insiders purring in expectation for several years, Ramsey taking to the grandeur of the Emirates Stadium like a fish to water and Jack Wilshere, 16, confirming his vast potential with a first senior goal struck from the edge of the penalty area. Le boss was very impressed by Wilshire and singled him out for a lot of praise and even talks of a comparison to Liam Brady were made, the boss said:

"He was 15 [when he first impressed] he’s 16 and last year a few times I integrated him in our [first team] training sessions. He didn’t look at all out of place. Straight away football was natural for him.”

"People tell me he is a little bit like Liam Brady because he has good balance and change of direction. I dont know Liam well enough.I believe later [in his career] he will be a central midfielder or behind the strikers."

Post match though Le Genious, was obviously full of praise, he said:

"I believe every one in his position has done very well. From goalkeeper [Lukasz] Fabianski up to [Nicklas] Bendtner and Carlos Vela of course up front they were great. You know already Bendtner and you discovered maybe a bit more about Vela. He is a clinical finisher. I am pleased as well with our midfield, and our defence was serious and stayed strong - we looked like the complete team and I’m very happy and proud of that.”

He even went onto state that this was the “cream of the youth crop” (sorry, Goon! :P) he’s had thus far, he said:

“Yes [these are the best crop of kids] Yes. Because there is not one player who has not the real quality of the Premier League in any position."

Even Kevin Blackwell, the Sheffield manager was full of praise for the youth side that tore apart his Sheffield United side, he said:

“Life has a funny way of bringing you back to earth, we knew they were a good set of lads, but no one knew quite how good they were. That side could play in the Premier League. It was like trying to swat a fly and we couldn’t catch them. I asked Arsène at the end if I could borrow 11 for Saturday.”

Bearing the slaughter in mind, Phil Brown, the Hull manager would be more than happy to face the first XI this weekend. Heh.

Finally, that sad fuck platini has been bleating on as usual and I find him so nauseating that I don’t even want to divulge into the details. My good friend, The Goon is covering this department and if you want a better look into the details, do so by clicking here.

All Hail Arsene.

Arsenal for life.

All Hail Arsene

2008-09-22T18:21:00.001+06:00

We’ll start off today with le boss hailing the gunners for their exceptional performances over the past week. The team, which had been written off entirely before the start of the season, scored 8 goals and conceded only 2, securing 2 wins and a draw over the past seven days. These games were all away and not only required a lot of traveling but also required a lot of character from the lads. We were faced with testing Premier League trips to the outposts of Blackburn & Bolton, journeys that we do not always relish, but eventually negotiated with little bother, securing a 3-1 win at The Reebok and an exhilarating 4-0 triumph at Ewood Park. And lest we forget, a late Gallas goal secured a point at Dynamo Kiev, (another place we seem to have issues) in match day one of the Champions League.

The boss whilst reflecting on these games had this to say:

“We’ve dropped points at teams like Blackburn and Bolton in the past but we have won convincingly at both places in the last week. We had an international break, then three away games, including a Champions League tie in Kiev, so what this team has done in the last week is exceptional.”

The boss also claims he sees vast improvements over the squad from last year and we all remember the squad we had that time around, the boss had this to say:

“This team has learned and improved from last year. Look at my team today. Denilson is 20, Cesc is 21, Song is 21, Theo is 19, Bendtner is 20. When you have players of that age and can still fight for the championship it bodes well.”

This, by no means is an understatement, we do seem much more composed and much more focused than last year and I said yesterday, the team will only improve. If you look at the players who are about to make a return, the quality they have to offer is exceptional. The most important part is that we continue playing as a collective unit, maintaining a single objective with a single direction and this naturally creates the hunger to win. I, therefore, don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be able to bring a trophy or two back to the Emirates. The boss agrees with me on this and says:

"We want to win the title and the Champions League. We have the quality, we are hungry, and we have a good spirit. What I like about this team is that they have a good attitude and share the same vision and express themselves well. We want to win first of all, but if it's possible we want to win with style."

And finally, Le Boss has been full of praise for Alex Song, he said:

"[When I signed him I liked] his personality, his technical quality, his composure, his strength in the one against one, the way he uses his body in the fight and, overall, his intelligence. I believe in him”

When he first came to the club, I have to admit I didn’t like him at all, most of the Gooners agreed with me on this and almost everyone wanted Alex Song to be kicked off the team, much the same case with Almunia, but you have to hand it to both players, they took all the criticism quietly, worked hard, got their chance and now have begun to silently make their mark amongst the best in Europe.

Arsene Knows. There’s no doubting this fact.

All Hail Arsene.

Arsenal is in a state of 911.

2008-09-22T01:11:00.002+06:00

After the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal has moved to the top of the table. Add the impressive numbers generated by the football side of the business that were announced yesterday and suddenly the “pundits” who had tipped sp*rs to enter the “big four” at our expense have gone very, very quiet indeed.

Whilst all the pre-season talk was focused on the players we had lost, how we were in crisis, how this was the year the scum that is sp*rs will take over the throne at our expense and the search for a defensive midfielder, a young squad trained hard to improve on a season of missed chances.Both on and off the pitch, there is only one individual with the vision to make this happen but certainly he couldn’t do it alone. Then who can we credit for this resurgence? Can we name one or two players even? No. It is a collective effort. Le Boss, has released the demons, so to speak, in the form of players such as Theo Walcott, Denilson & Carlos Vela and who have electrified the squad into a side with seemingly boundless talent, flair and creativity. Throw in the summer signings of Samir Nasri & to some extent Aaron Ramsey who have both adapted well to the finesse that is Arsenal. Mikael Silvestre and Amaury Bischoff have yet to enter the fray and knowing le boss, I’m fairly confident the change of atmosphere will bring out the very best in both players. Not to mention the return from injuries of Eduardo, Rosicky and Diaby, who with their technical affluence can single-handedly transform the entire scenario. One can only see one way for The Arsenal and that way is UP, UP & BEYOND.

Now, we have a midweek Carling Cup fixture against the likes of Sheffield Utd. We’d undoubtedly get to see our youth team let loose and a chance to see potential Gunners given carve a niche’for themselves. Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere who have talent oozing out of their feet and enough potential to light up the League Cup and even the Premiership on fire for many seasons to come.

So, where is wenger’s head? where exactly is this “crisis” and where exactly are these pundits? Where exactly are sp*rs after spending 70 million pounds on players?

Well, there never was a crisis, the people calling for le boss’ head, the self-proclaimed “real” fans, are just pathetic little ingrates, My personal suggestion to you fine lot is to FUCK OFF to your pathetic existence and go support Chelsea. These pundits, how about back under the rock that they crawled out from? And Sp*rs, well 20th on the table. Wouldn’t it be funny that instead of finishing in the big four, they get relegated. I’m sure Juande Ramos should be able to win them a trophy and enable them to finish in the top four next season, albeit not in this league. Think about it lads. I’ve heard life down there is a lot more fun. At least, you “might” manage to win a “real” trophy and have something “real” to “celebrate”.

In other news, Cesc was pleased that we were able to cope to our yearly trip to Normandy quite well. He said:

"We showed great character and if you are going to win the league you have to win these games. We don't want to stop here. We want to keep going."

He also demanded to know why Kevin Davies wasn’t sent off for that malicious tackle on Gael Clichy. We had Diaby sent off at Bolton last season for a challenge on Steinsson, quite similar to the one we saw last night on Clichy. Cesc clearly felt Davies, who was booked, should have seen red too for his lunging tackle on the full-back.

"Look at his leg! Why not the same punishment?"

Firstly, I’m quite pleased as to how well we were able to step up to challenge and showed absolutely no fear, its something that we have built up quite positively on since last season and while sterner tests are yet to come, these sort of games are where there are no excuses to take all three points and are ones that ultimately settle the title towards the end of the season. Secondly, I agree with Cesc, the difference of attitude is shocking. I’m sick of this biasedness we tend to face everywhere we go.

Le Genious has praised the attitude of the Gunners.

Finally, please take a moment and send out a quiet prayer to those slain mercilessly in the suicide attacks at the Marriott. May GOD grant their families the courage to cope with the situtaion. Terrorists have no religion and may these suicide bombers and the others responsible burn in eternal hell.

That’s the lot.

Godbless.

Live & Let Live

2008-09-20T01:31:00.008+06:00

"Look at the shoes your filling. Look at the blood we're spilling.

Look at the world we're killing. The way we've always done before. Look in the doubt we've wallowed.Look at the leaders we've followed. Look at the lies we've swallowed.

And I don't want to hear no more."

A little after the fast broke here in Islamabad a massive suicide truck bomb devastated the heavily guarded Marriott Hotel, killing at least 40 people and wounding another 200. A dozen more are feared dead, trapped inside the rubble including Danish, US, Saudi and citizens from various other countries.

A recent rash of civilian deaths from U.S. airstrikes and military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been feeding widespread outrage and anger in these countries toward the U.S.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned recent U.S. attacks in his country, while the Pakistan government had filed a formal protest. The backlash of these actions to rid their personal problems is being faced by the innocent men & women of these poor developing nations.

To top if all off, the nation's leadership only sits and gives feeble comdemnation statements that anyone least concerned with pakistan would make. When a government official was contacted , instead of accepting the blast as a security lapse, he comforts himself with the thought that no one of "importance" was killed or hurt.

The rest of the people of this country seem like cattle to our honorable leadership. Had that not been the case, concrete steps would've been taken to avoid such a massive loss of life and property. They wage a war which even the US themselves admit is going nowhere, all the while piling the blame on Pakistan. Simply demanding "do more, do more". Pakistan has yet again given sacrifice in the shape of our own citizens being slaughtered by their brethren. How much "more" do you possibly want from us?

Today we have witnessed yet again that Pakistan has suffered the most through cooperation with the US on this so called "War on Terror", which should rather be called "War of Terror" to befittingly describe its impact on our own country and the US Government's image around the world.

We, the Pakistanis, dont know what to do. To mourn the impotence of our government or to condemn US attacks on our soil or to blame the self created " Taliban". For a war that never was ours . We vehemently condemn all forms of terrorism and loss of life. But that is not what this so called "War on Terror" has set out to eliminate. Rather the "War on Terror" is a intelligence-blunder littered mismanaged war to take control of all the worlds strategic assets for the sole benifit of the american agenda of world dominance.

On record , US has always been all-smiles to Pakistan , coining terms like "Non-Nato Ally" just to exploit the current situation , falsly assuring us of not attacking our soil or our sovereignty . We , the Pakistani's, have only one thing to say to "Uncle Sam" or simply "Sam" since we'd never like to consider him as our Uncle.

We want nothing to do with you or your War of Terror. Leave us alone. We hope that atleast these words could affect the mere strands of moral fiber that may be left somewhere in the west. That this message can get to someone who isnt brain-dead or soulless.

We mourn the loss of the lives of our brethren as well as the loss of the lives of foreign citizens, whose protection was our duty once they stepped into Pakistan.

May those responsible, burn in eternal hell.

"War is enjoyable to those who've had no experience of it" - Erasmus

"My hands are tied. For all I've seen has changed my mind, but still the wars go on as the years go by. With no love of God or human rights. 'Cause all these dreams are swept aside, by bloody hands of the hypnotized. Who carry the cross of homicide and history bears the scars of our civil wars"

UPDATE: According to an official statement, the death toll has risen to 53 and the injured at 250. The Czech Ambassador to Pakistan, has also been confirmed as the ones amongst the dead.

Bolton Today

2008-09-20T01:31:00.000+06:00

What a tricky tie it is today. A trip to Lancashire has never been easy for us and every victory we have had has been nothing short of a trip to hell and back. It goes back all the way to a difficult cup tie at Burnden Park in the early 90s. The Gunners have always seemed to struggle with Bolton’s tactics, succumbing to a series of tame defeats, the most forgettable of which was a 2-2 draw back in April 2003 which effectively put an end to our title hopes.

There have of course been happier times as well. Who could forget the stirring comeback last season when Arsenal, two goals down and a man down at half time, rallied to a delightful 3-2 victory? The bizarre F.A. Cup Fourth Round replay the season before which saw Arsenal win 3-1 in extra time, two players missing penalties in the process, Bolton having a man sent off and Adebayor missing an open goal & then getting two? And of course the incredibly tight 1-0 victory in March 1998 that constituted part of Arsenal’s awesome 10 match winning run to the title.

Today isn’t going to be a walk in the park either. It’s going to be a hard fought physical battle reminiscent of Normandy. We are going to be kicked about as usual but its now down to our character and how well we respond to the challenge. That said I’m fairly confident we have the quality & the determination to come back with all 3 points in the bag.

Speaking of getting kicked about; Le boss is urging the referees to not allow Theo getting kicked out of football by the games bully-boys. Theo has recently become the target after scoring that sensational hat-trick against Croatia and is now a marked man (as we saw in Kiev). Le boss said:

“Unfortunately for a player who gets a name for being dangerous, the first answer he gets is harsh treatment. We do not expect presents from anybody but we want protection from referees.”

“I thought Wednesday night, for example, the target was not the ball. If a guy plays hard it is down to Theo to deal with it. But if the guy targets Theo, he has to be punished.”

He has a point there as well, if a foul is being committed, deal with it accordingly. The ref’s are exactly like two-faced from Batman, the ugly side is for arsenal & the normal one’s for Chelsea and other despicable clubs ran by *****. For instance, If Theo was a Chelsea player, the Kiev captain would have been sent off, but since he plays for the Arsenal, the ref turns a blind eye and calls it a “part of the game”.

Moving on, Samir Nasri could make his return to the side today.

In other news, Arsene believes Denilson can effectively fill up the void left by Flamini. I had been expecting to hear this since quite some time. Speaking to Arsenal.com, Wenger said:

“Denilson has different qualities to Flamini but if you look at the numbers at the end of the season you will see he is a very good player. You look at the assists he has had since the start of the season, the balls he wins, the interceptions he has and the distance he covers”.

He more in the mould of Cesc but he has the quality and the temperament to succeed at the highest level. He has put in a few good performances (spare the one at Fulham) and my guess is as good as anybody else’s. We’d have to wait and see at the end of the season.

Finally, Robert Pires thinks we are better than last season despite losing three mid-fielders (Does Hleb even count?) and reckons we can lift a trophy or two this season. He says:

“I think they have moved up a level. The players are much stronger; they are a young side that has gained a lot of experience.

“I have a very good feeling about Arsenal this year. I don't know whether it will be the Premier League or the Champions League but I believe they will win at least one title this season.”

Don’t you just love Robert Pires?

Here’s hoping to all 3 points today.

Cheers.

Ye Olde Arsenal

2008-09-19T18:31:00.003+06:00

Afternoon all,

We'd start first and foremost with the team news today. According to le boss:

"The good news from last night is that nobody has come back with any knock or severe injury, we have no injuries from last night and we have no-one coming back as well, so the group will be stable."

This comes as a surprise after seeing the Ukranians trying their best to completely annihilate Theo Walcott. I suspect he's going to kicked about even more at Bolton, but the prospect has not daunted our young superstar, he says:

"It’s a nice feeling when a defender is scared of you straight away. I got kicked a few times in Kiev but I got up and got on with it. I just love playing for this club and for my country."

This is exactly what you want to hear from a player like Theo and how he's ready to step up to the challenge, especially since after scoring that hat-trick, his profile has risen tremendously and it now seems that most defenders have taken the "kicking him to stop him" route.

In other news, it seems that our injured French trio of Nasri, Silvestre & Diaby (remember him?) will not be playing tommorow either. Why am I not surprised? What I would really like to know is why the boss brings in players solely to keep our physio's hands full?

Onto Bolton team news now, Johan Elmander is hoping to feature tommorow after recovering from a hamstring injury, Matt Taylor remains on the sidelines with a broken toe but may get the go ahead following some consultation & Gary Cahill is also missing as he completes his two-match suspension. The rest of the squad is as we remember it. Still a bunch of *****. The game is going to extremely tough (it never is otherwise) and following a long week of travelling about, I really hope the fatigue element doesn't finally catch up with us.

Right moving on, Fergie's been talking about Theo Walcott and has some nice things to say as well. He talks about how important it is that the young lad keeps his head down and works on his football and not on his image. He said:

"It's the first time we have a young Englishman who, having scored a hat-trick against Croatia, will be faced with the same issues we faced with Ryan. Everyone will want a piece of him, agents will fall over themselves to get to the boy."

He also acknowledged the fact that Arsenal was the BE place to be for the young superstar.

"What he requires is one strong manager and Arsenal will give him that, without question. The boy must also have the understanding that what is being done for him is for his own good."

Shocking to hear him say anything nice about Arsenal, isn't it? Whats even more shocking is that Le boss & Alex Ferguson seem to have been singing:

"Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring My summer wine is really made from all these things Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time And I will give to you summer wine Ohhh-oh summer wine"

No seriously, they really have been. Go have a look.

In other news, Stan Kroenke has joined our board and this is a move to further distance that fat **** Alisher Usmanov from Arsenal Good stuff!

And finally, our financial results have been announced to solidify our financial well being. Right then, lets have those 30 million signings then.

Right then, I had best leave, the game is at 17:30 GMT tommorow and here's hoping to all 3 points and a billion and one goals.

Come on you Gunneerrrssssssss!!!!

Frustration & Relief

2008-09-18T17:28:00.014+06:00

Morning All,

We ended up drawing the game 1-1 in Ukraine last night and it came as no surprise owing to our poor record in the former Soviet Union. In the past we've been beaten twice by Dynamo, in 1998 and 2003. We went down 3-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2000, while their record in Russia was also poor, with two defeats from three visits.

We managed to get a bright start to game. In the second minute of the game, RVP got a great pass through Walcott, but his low angled shot was saved at the near post by Stanislav Bogush. In the 19th minute, Adebayor capitalized on poor control by Roman Eremenko & sprinted into the Dynamo penalty area. However he sent his shot wide when he really should have hit the target.

As half-time approached, RVP shot the ball into the side netting following good work from Sagna down the right. We cut out an even better chance when Adebayor fed Van Persie with a ball across goal, which was cut back for Fabregas who could only manage a tame shot straight at the keeper from six yards out.

At the start of the second half, Kiev almost snatched the lead when Eremenko got clear down the right and cut inside Gallas, our brilliant goal keeperAlmunia get a fingertip save. Walcott was soon back in the action as he set up Van Persie down the left, only for the him to skew his shot horribly wide. Fabregas was on target again with a 25-yard drive, but once more hit the ball straight at the Kiev keeper. A mistake by Gallas allowed Bangoura to get away down the right. Although Arsenal tracked back, the ball was eventually played into the penalty area where Ognjen Vukojevic went down under pressure from Sagna. The referee "apparently" had seen enough contact to immediately point to the spot before booking him. It appeared to be quite a dubious call, Sagna himself was not too convinced either and according to le boss', "The penalty was harsh, Sagna is convinced he was pulled with two hands on his own shirt as the guy went down." also seemed to have convinced me even more.

No use crying over spilt milk, Bangoura took the shot and sent Almunia the wrong way. 1-0 to Kiev. We were now chasing a game which we should have had in the bag following all out first-half dominance. Alex Song was then replaced by Nicklas Bendtner. Arsenal, though, still looked vulnerable to the counter-attack as they chased the game, and Bangoura hit the side netting following another quick break down the Dynamo left. Emmanuel Eboue replaced Sagna for the final 13 minutes before a far-post header by Adebayor almost sneaked in. Mexican striker Carlos Vela was then brought on for Van Persie. It was beginning to become quite frustrating and at this point all my friends had gone haywire (you lot need to relax a bit).

In the 88th minute of the game, we managed tol rescue a point when Gallas bundled in at the far post following a low cross by (who else?) Theo Walcott for the skipper's third goal of the European campaign this season.

William Gallas was none too pleased with our performance, Le Captain, whilst speaking to Sky Sports had this to say:

"It was really hard, we played well in the first half and in the second we didn't play at all well. We didn't defend well and conceded the penalty. I think everyone was disappointed with the second half. It's not bad to get a point but we feel we should have done better, because we feel we should have won, it's normal to feel disappointed."

Le Boss too was a tad frustrated and had this to say;

"The game is a mixture of frustration and relief. The game should be over at half-time because we had clear chances in the first half, but it is a relief because with three minutes to go we were 1-0 down. I felt our level dropped in the second half and we did not create as many chances as we would have liked to. We feel we have lost two points today."

And I must say I have to agree, with all our dominance and flash, we were unable to yet again unable to finish what we started and this is beginning to become quite a habit. We need to be more clinical. We miss that poacher's element to our finishing, something Ian Wright brought to us and something that is required on such occassions. We need not be exuberant, just effective. Anyways, we've gotten the haunted former Soviet Union out of our systems, hopefully we can put them back in their place once they visit our hallowed turf.

In other news, it is being said that Stan Kroenke will be appointed on the Arsenal board in order to get rid of that Man Utd supporting ****, Alisher Usmanov. You can read the full report, here.

Right then, I'm off.

Here's hoping for a fantastic display against Bolton this weekend.

Come on you Gunnnneeerrrrsssss!!!!

Kiev Preview

2008-09-16T23:30:00.006+06:00

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for not posting earlier, but my final presentation for the damned dissertation is tommorow and as you all are by now well aware of my habit of procrastination, It would come to you as no surprise that I am STILL trying to get the powerpoint presentation sorted out.

Anyways, onto Dynamo Kiev now. It is not going to be an easy task at all. What with fatigue factor and all the travelling and to top of it off, Kiev are a tough nut to crack.Iits going to be quite an iffy affair and the game should be a mid-field affair with lots of hardwork having to be done, if we are to get a decent result out of this. Le boss also agrees by saying:

"For me, Dynamo are a bit of an unknown quantity - it really depends on the quality of the generation of players they have at the moment.They can be dangerous. We know that because we played them when they had Shevchenko, Rebrov and Luzhny, and they were a very, very difficult side."

Onward to team news, we have had a massive boost with Gael Clichy having shaken off the knock he picked up at Blackburn and is now in contention for a starting place tommorow. Samir Nasir & Mikael Silvestre are missing out due to injuries (Welcome to Arsenal lads). Carlos Vela & Jack Wilshire have also travelled with the squad and could feature as subs.

Onto som transfer news now, it seems we have now parted way with Mineiro and we will not be signing him afterall. I just hope this means we land Appiah instead. On the flip side, according to this piece of news, we have been given the green light to go ahead and sign Yaya Toure. Oh well, lets wait and see what becomes of this.

Finally, I was digging around and found this video of one of the most skillful players in the game, a video guaranteed to put a huge grin onto your face. Heh

Right then, I had better run.

Godspeed.

Rags to Riches

2008-09-15T20:33:00.007+06:00

A very quick round up of news today as now yours truly has to worry about the final presentation of my dissertation, which by the way I have come to loathe on a basis quite comparable to my loathing for Sp*rs.

The Times has has reported that Arsenal are set to announce record profits this year. According to the article, our annual results (which will be made public Sept 26th), will show that turnover from the whole business has rocketed to about £225m. Club sources say the figures for the year ending May 31, 2008, will also reveal record pretax profits of nearly £40m, while the group’s operating profit is expected to comfortably exceed £50m and therby making us the third richest club in the world behind Real Madrid & Man Utd.

Third Richest you say? But how is that possible? But were we not down in the deep end? Where they'd love to watch us drown? Down with Arsene Wenger I say, what does he know about Arsenal? Lets bring in Jose Mourinho. Yes, now he's a man who knows the way around football. Don't you agree? I am so enjoying this, it was so much fun to stay quiet all summer long, watching, listening, reading up on the "pundits" and their "professional opinions" only to wait for this very moment where I could say, Fuck off you naysayers. Twats!

Ain't this life so fuckin' great?

It has now come to light that Mineiro (Carlos Luciano Silva) took part in a behind the doors friendly with Fulham the other day and also scored. Le boss was present on hand to assess his fitness and wether or not he will be given a contract or not, we'd have to wait and see. He'd be more of a squad player in any case, he'd add depth and the experience factor, but wouldn't Appiah have been a better buy overall?

Le boss thinks Manchester City could muscle in on the top four this season by spending big in January. I don't see that happening this season, but next season, when they have the entire summer to splash the cash and build a team, I can very well see them finishing in the top four. Money does make the world go round, doesn't it?

Finally, a link has been exchanged with Wrighty7 & The Goon and you can view their fine blogs by clicking on their names.

Finally, here's a video, you lot would certainly enjoy;

Here's hoping for all three points at Kiev.

Cheers!

P.S If I sound a bit disoriented today then its because of that @#&@#$@% dissertation of mine. I hope it burns in helllll!!! ARRRGGHHHHH!! (Well it can burn after its been approved & graded :p)

Blackburn Rovers 0 - 4 Arsenal

2008-09-14T17:55:00.004+06:00

Emphatic. Resounding. Supreme. Absolute.

We went ahead full guns ablazing. Theo was oozing confidence and it was showing. He helped open our account after a sublime run, which saw him skip past a few challenges and feed the ball to RVP who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

Blackburn too were very lively and we were lucky a few times to not have have seen them level things up. They worked very hard and opened our defence up on a few occassions and more than deserved to get a goal. Their first chance fell to Santa Cruz who scuffed the effort wide. Following which Steven Reid went close and finally Keith Andrew somehow failed to convert a low cross from the right. In the last minute of the first half Santa Cruz nodded over at the far post. What I would like to say here is that the Kolo-Gallas partnership is very shaky and it saw them commit a few blunders which should have been avoided. We were very lucky yesterday, but what happens when the likes of a Berbatov, Ronaldo, Torres or a Drogba are lurking about in the box?

The game moved deep into injury time of the first half and Denilson (who had a really good game) floated over an inviting cross to the far post on to the head of Adebayor, who calmly headed it into the back of the net opening his account in the Premier League this season.
Soon after the restart, Blackburn tried to come back at us but their efforts soon fizzled away and arsenal took complete control over the game.

At one point it began to look more of a practice session rather a top-flight football match and in the 81st minute of the match, all matter were soon resolved after Adebayor converted a penalty after Eboue tumbled in the box and was stretchered off (He had a really really good game thus far and I was of the mistaken opinion that maybe he had outgrown such antics - apparently I was wrong *sigh*).

Jack Wilshire (who became the youngest player to represent Arsenal at the tender age of 16 years 256 days) and Aaron Ramsey then came on for Eboue & RVP and immedieatly we began to see their quality. They showed a lot of promise and were very composed. A lot of promise for the future.

Aaron Ramsey then played a lovely ball onto a well timed run from Adebayor who went past Robinson and slotted the ball home for his hat-trick (his 50th as an Arsenal player). An interesting fact is that we've now put 46 goals past Paul Robinson in 14 games!! HAHA!

The game also saw Manuel Almunia make a cracking save and is improving by the minute, the England callup seems imminent. Overall, spare the defensive frailities that I mentioned earlier, we put on a complete performance and by now I'm sure we have put all the nay-sayers at ease. Again. Its been fun seeing them writhe around after writing us and Arsene Wenger off as well as claiming that it was Tottenham's turn (who by the way were languishing 20th yesterday) to take over us in the top 4. I know its early days but it gives me no end of pleasure when I say this, F*** OFF back to under the rocks you crawl out from you TWATS!!

Onto transfer speculation, we're now being linked with the £16million-rated Portugal star Miguel Veloso and according to this article we'd be facing competition from the likes of United & Sp*rs in order to land his signtaure in the Januray transfer window. Veloso is a highly rated player and is very versatile, he can play as a defensive midfielder, centre-half or left-back. He's a pay for one and get three deal and would add great depth to te squad. Oh well, we'd have to wait and see I guess.

Right thats that then. I suggest you lot gloat about a bit more in yesterday's victory and collectively we can hope for more to come!

Come on you Gunners!!

Arsenal's Back! Hurrah!

2008-09-13T12:56:00.007+06:00

Morning Everyone,

The football's finally back. Yay! Its been an awfully long wait and I have to say I didn't enjoy it one bit. But I now thankfully stop ranting and start looking forward towards The Arsenal take on Blackburn.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, the game is not going to be an easy affair. Its going to be a tough, physical affair and bearing in mind the fatigue factor that most of the squad must be facing, it could prove to be even more daunting. I do however have faith in our quality and thus I see no reason why we shouldn't come back home with all three points in the bag. Le boss says:

"After Mark Hughes, they have another tough boy in with Paul Ince. So we don’t expect any changes. Blackburn is always a difficult game but I believe it is down to us, how good we will play and most importantly how we switch on.”

As for injury news, there aren't any significant changes over what I reported yesterday although I am still hoping that Samir Nasri (who was to have a fitness test yesterday) is fit enough to play today. Especially due to the fact that we have to travelnearly 3,400 miles in eight days, its important the players return to full fitness so that the squad can be rotated as much as possible. Arsene Wenger says:

“This week is a tough obstacle, but I am convinced we can be successful in all the three games. Let’s prove that we can switch on quickly, use the positive experiences [from the internationals] bring them in-house and be efficient at Blackburn."

It is essential we pick up as many points as possible if we are to set any realistic sights on achieving any silverware this season. Therefore, a good start could set the right tone for a pivotal week ahead.

Moving on, AW speaks about the day he knew he wanted Walcott. A one “special” performance in the FA Youth Cup Final was enough to convince him that Theo was an Arsenal player in the making. He goes on to tell us that there was interest in him from Sp*rs, Liverpool & Chelsea but as Theo was not a c***, he chose to sign with the greatest team on the planet.

Speaking of Theo, there's an interview (a slightly oldish one) which you can read here. One can see the makings of a fine, mature player in the making who above everything has his head screwed on right. He is an exciting prospect, he really is. I do hope we get to see him play and he scores 5 fantastic solo goals.

Finally, after AW publically came out and categorically denied he had any interest in signing Ghanian midfielder Steven Appiah, the word around the street now is that Chelsea are set to challenge us in trying to land the signatures of the player. I don't know what to believe anymore, are we interested, are we not interested. I know its typical of le boss to play mind games, but just sign the damn player already. Wasn't the summer enough for such shenanigans?

Right then, here's hoping for all three points and a billion goals!!

Come on you Gunners!!

Blackburn Preview

2008-09-12T18:47:00.015+06:00

Hello Everyone,

Its been two weeks since the mouth watering thumping of Newcastle United at the Emirates when at that point Kevin Keegan was in charge, we were hoping for a signing and Manchester City were a normal average football club (that's how long its been!) The wait is almost over boys & girls. The real football is back as Blackburn Rovers host Arsenal tommorow at Ewood Park at 1500 GMT.

Our boys, spare Almunia, Denilson & Adebayor (who refused to play), were all away on International duty and therefore the fatigue factor of travelling about & playing has to be taken into consideration. The game, by no means, is going to be a walk in the park. Blackburn play a rough physical game and Paul Ince's men cerainly have a point to prove after the embarassment they faced at the hands of West Ham. That said, I personally think we should be able to cope with their direct physical approach by playing our usual game. The confidence is high, after the Newcastle drubbing and I'm hopeful we should be able to bring all three points home albeit not with the glitz & glam we saw a couple of weeks ago.

Moving onto team news for tommorow, it seems we're waiting on a fitness test on our creative wizard Samir Nasri before he can be declared fit to play. Carlos Vela also looks set to be given more recovery time following a late return from international duty with Mexico. Silvestre is still out injured and we may also rest Theo Walcott as le boss had the following to say:

"Will Walcott play? I don't know. I will have to rotate the squad now, You can't expect the players who have played for their national teams to play three times in a week."

Speaking of Theo Walcott, AW believes that Theo has it in him to be as good as Thierry Henry, but cautioned that time and patience is required and one should not overburden him with expectations, he says:

The potential is there - but do not make him Thierry Henry before he is Thierry Henry, one game is one game, a career is something different, it is consistency. I am convinced it is in him, but let it get out and give him time."

I agree with the boss a 100%. He has the class and the quality, time is of essence here.

Moving on to other fitness news, it has now been revealed by Petr Rada (Czech Republic's head coach) that Tomas Rosicky's comeback has suffered some sort of set back (suprise, surprise). Petr had the following to say:

"Tomas has started another stage of recovery, including training with the ball. But recently his knee reacted badly to that. It is very difficult to predict if he will be ready for the World Cup qualifiers against Poland and Slovenia in October."

I know Rosicky's a great footballer but truth be told I'm beginning to get sick and tired of all this and I think he'd be better off plying his trade where the demands aren't as high as England.

Onto Blackburn now, Paul Ince has handed a three-month performance-related deal to Robbie Fowler. The former Liverpool striker, a free agent after leaving Cardiff, will come straight into the first team and his first match back into the prem will be against us. I haven't seem him play for some time now but on his day he can put in some good performances. He is well past his best now though and even if he does eventually deliver the goods for Blackburn, I doubt it will happen as soon as tommorow.

Finally, there's a bit of news regarding Giovinco. Have a read yourself and make what you will.

Here's to all three points & a million goals by The Arsenal.

Come on you Gunnneeerrrssssssssssss!!

Ladies & Gentlemen, Theo Walcott

2008-09-11T18:32:00.004+06:00

Following last nights sensational display by our 19 year old winger, Theo Walcott, has seen everybody talking about how he'd pull England out of the "dark ages" and how he will be the "saviour" of English football. He's been displaying his class ever since he burst onto the scene and even has inspired the nickname "The-orry" and such a performance was to come out sooner or later.

The hat-trick was stunning, it was incredible watching the 19 year old darting about, playing some of the most sublime football I've seen him play in a long time. Even David Beckham, was amazed by the display, he said:

'If he plays like that every week he can put any defender in the world to shame. Everyone saw how fast he was, the speed of him is incredible.'

This is obviously what the influence of people like Arsene Wenger have on your career when they very patiently develop you and don not over burden you with expectations. David agrees when he says:

'I don't have to say anything to keep him calm. He is at the right club [Arsenal] and under the right manager [Arsene Wenger], everyone knows Arsene Wenger looks after his players. The only thing I would say to him is to enjoy it.'

I have been a long term fan of this lad and the stunning display last night can only mean no end of good for us.

That said, what I do fear is that owing to a couple of snazzy displays by the young man would have no doubt raised a lot of expectations over in England (especially since the latter involved Croatia). If he fails to perform in the next few games, the ever vulture-esque press would undoubtedly be all over him and I'm not sure how he'd be able to respond to that pressure.

Thats what I hate the most over in England, the hype the press tends to create out of absoulte bollocks is very frustrating for both fans and the players. I mean, they are human beings too for f*** sake, can't they have an off day? In any case, I hope things don't come to that and Theo instead puts in week-in, week-out displays like the one we saw last night.

Onto premiership news now, Blackburn's defender, Andre Ooijer will miss the game against the Gunners due to an injury he picked up whislt on international duty. Silvestre should also be back and wether he's in contention, we'd have to wait and see.

Speaking of injuries, Mr. Metartarsal made it back unscathed and seriously its only a matter of time now before he sneezes and pulls his hamstring. Its very frustrating, every year we go, this will be the year, but every year is the same sad story. Oh well, there's always hope.

Philippe Senderos, our soon to be ex-gunner, said he was disappointed by the result on his debut. Get used to it mate, Not everything is as good as Arsenal.

It was recently reported in the news that Henry & Gallas had a bust up after France’s 3-1 defeat in Austria at the weekend but Henry insisted:

'The news is wrong. There are no tensions, just discussions, like every other team after a defeat.

This is sad, really, no, not this but the fact that there's actually so little of Arsenal news left that I'm forced to add this to the blog!!

Right, I'm off, Real footy's back in 2 days and I can't wait!

Come on you Gunners!!

Wednesday Roundup

2008-09-11T00:20:00.008+06:00

Good day to you all.

The Blackburn game is still 3 days away and the ever annoying meaningless,fruitless international break is gona be over tonight,hurrayyy,yeah its true damnnn true infact. As you can well imagine not much is happening Arsenal wise these days.

But still a few bits and pieces to share.

I’ll begin with the news that our Crozilian goal poacher Eduardo is doing well in rehablitaion process and he hopes to make his long awaited come back in the Xmas period. Now that’s quite a miracle given how horrible the extent of his injury really was. Pre-Birmingham,we were on a roll and comfortably atop of the table and Dudu’s remarkable lefty goals was a treat to watch. But the nightmare struck that day at St.Andrews and we all know what happened next…………….We were pissed off, so went Dudu so went the title aspirations. We are well aware that our frontline is one of the besties in the league,I mean Ade and RVP forge a real decent partnership upfront ,theres Bendtner who is a useful sub and theres Mexican whiz Vela who I must say is a Dudu CC. But Dudu gives us something extra special,and owing to RVP’s suspect fitness, we gona need his repertoire of skills. I must admit the comeback will be tough for him as little niggles can bring back to the stands but then again hopefully we will see the Crozilian we all know!

Moving on to ever intensifying Arsenal transfer’speculations:

The Italian wonderkid Sebastian Giovinco is going to sign a new contract. Not a surprise,even though loads of bollocks were put in by the tabloids about the guy and we were told that Wenger is a big fan.

Stephen Appiah is anxious to solve his future out. I have already voted for this guy ,so don’t need to say much yet again.

The internationals are rounded up tonight and we got the clash of the night Croatia vs England (Theooo.....after having a blinder vs Andorra , I hope does it again and i just sense hes going to score ), Euro champions Spain take on Armenia(Oleee Fabregas), France face Serbia(Nasri has some knee pain so hes not featuring lets hope its nothing serious and we see him on Saturday) and finally for those of you anxious to watch RVP break his infamous metatarsal theres Holland vs Macedonia.

Hope you enjoy the internationals (yea right).

Godspeed!

Yawwwnnnn!!

2008-09-09T22:49:00.003+06:00

Yours truly is back from the brief hiatus which I was forcibly made to take. I'd put it all down to my procrastination and therefore putting my dissertation all down to the very last minute which still hasn't been completed. Anyways, my compliments to Gooner7 for coming out with yesterdays blog. Trust him to save the day. Our Hero! Yay!

Right, err, moving on to all things Arsenal, Adebayor has refused to fly with the rest of the Togolese squad after some row erupted between the players and the board and thus missing out for their World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Zambia. I remember something of this sort happening before and make what you want to out of it.

New boy Amaury Bischoff claims that he'd fit right into our style of play as well as repaying the faith of le boss in him. He says:

'I am not really a dribbler, but I like to get on the ball, to pass and move - the same game as Arsenal really, It is a style I have admired for many seasons. Arsenal play the most beautiful football in Europe. It is the best to watch on TV and for the fans as well. That is why I have come to such a great club.'

Its good to see such hunger by the player. I'm a strong advocate of the fact that nothing is impossible, if you want something, work hard and you'd damned well get it. Here's wishing you the best of luck Amaury.

Finally, Peter Hill Wood has not ruled out a possibility of a takeover, he had this to say:

“If somebody came and made a really huge bid then you cannot recommend shareholders turn it down because we don’t like it. We want the club to stay in its current ownership and, of course, you have some concern that someone will try to buy the club. The directors don’t want to sell but we are a public company. It depends on the price.”

I don't want the club to be sold out, but should it happen (which seems rather imminent) I would prefer having someone with a footballing background (an Arsenal fan will do) of sorts who doesn't just take over the club seeing it as a business. An individual who sees eye to eye with Le Boss and therefore is willing to put in the effort to help the club reach the lofty aspirations that AW seems set out, well, aspire. In short, anyone but those cunts Usmanov & Dein.

I've an idea, lets all pitch in and buy the club!! Fantastic, now I've 30 quid, Gooner7 has about 20, hmmm, this could take a while ..

Right then, I think I've gone on long enough (Did I make any sense?)

Cheers!

Monday Roundup

2008-09-08T23:40:00.003+06:00

Morning all,

I'm fulfilling your blogging needs as Gooner14 is struck trying to sort out his dissertation which is due tommorow. Lazy arse. Anyways, hope all you gooners are fine & dandy this lovely morning despite the rather obvious lack of football to keep one's otherwise deteroriating brain stimulated. I know all of you are anxiously awaiting Saturday but it seems as far away as an oasis to a man stuck in a desert fro 5 days without water.

Moving on to all things Arsenal, I'm still trying to find out what actually happened on the transfer deadline day. Its really annoying to realize the fact that Arsene didnt sign anyone despite the obvious lack of bodies in the centre of the field. Every fan expected le boss will pull out a gem like Sagna or Eduardo from absolutely nowhere. A host of names were linked to the club as you all know (those being the likes of Xabi, De La Red & Gokhan Inler to name a few)but ultimately we were left with the highly experienced Denilson, ever-so-fit Abou Diaby, the most versatile player in the squad Alexandre Song to partner the maestro Cesc Fabregas in midfield. Truth be told, I have crapped my pants a little fretting over the issue and it has annoyed me to no ends.

Going back to the transfer deadline,we all know Arsene tried in vain in a last ditch attemp to sign Alonso. Now apparently, another name has been headlined and that is of the Rennes midfielder Stephane M'bia who has revealed that the French side did not let him realize his Premiership dream. You can read out on this story here.

So yet another case of what actually might have been.Meanwhile,we have been linked with Ghanian ace Stephen Appiah,who is attracting interest from clubs in Germany as well as Pompey, Hammers and our beloved Arsenal. In my opinion he isn't a gamble but a jackpot, he's a free agent since leaving Fenerbehce, he's experienced, versatile, 27 and I'm a huge fan of the man. The reason why many fans are apprehensive (as Gooner14 already has pointed out) is largely based on the fact that he's an injury prone playerbut then again we have Bischoff,Rosicky,diaby and RVP so it must not be a serious issue and the gamble is worth taking, so please sign him Arsene for Heaven's sake!

In other news the present backup to Clichy, future sensation Kieran Gibbs says he is honoured to be his deputy and has a great chance to learn from the man. I think gibbs is an exciting prospect, but with Traore currently ahead of him in the pecking order, I'm not so certain as to the extent of his playing chances at the club.

Right then, thats your lot, have a nice one.

Cheers!!

Cesc for Captain!

2008-09-07T18:00:00.005+06:00

Morning Everyone,

Our beloved Cesc Fabregas as usual made all the right noises yesterday when he claimed that a move to Manchester Arab would be 'suicide' for his career. Following the takeover at Citeh, Cesc was believed to be amongst the top few on their shopping list but the player made it crystal clear (again) that he is not interested in a move. Whilst talking to the Telegraph he said,

'It would be suicidal for my career at 21 years of age to move to City. It would make no sense.'

This little bit of news further proves what a mature, sensible, committed young footballer he really is and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Cesc Fabregas should be made club captain as soon as possible. Since the Tony Adams & Patrick Vieira days the club has desperately lacked sufficient leadership and when you compare the zeal, dedication & committment of Adams & Vieira to Henry (take nothing away as a player) & Gallas (one can see how disillusioned players are when he's giving those pep-talks before a game) you can clearly see the difference.

As for current captain William Gallas (who really isn't as good as he thinks he is), how many times already have we seen him give away vital goals already just because he's a lazy c***? He should be able to marshall the defence and on mor than one occassion has failed to do so.

I personally don't want him club captain any longer. even since the arrival of Gallas, Kolo toure has also struggled somewhat to perform at the levels he was performing at whilst playing alongside Sol Campbell and I know for a fact that when paired with Djourou, Toure will hit his best again and the problem of giving away those 'I-might-make-an-attempt-at-trying-to-defend-but-I-am-a-lazy-c***-so-why-bother' type goals.

We need someone having the hunger, we need someone to grab the game by the balls, to stand up and be accounted for and the hunger that Cesc has within him is enough to stir the entire squad around him. He's a great influence to all those around him, his astute playing style would clearly transcend into captaincy and that I believe is what we're sorely lacking right now.

Moving along, Danny Fizman was talking to News of The World where he defends the policies of le boss, he says:

'You can understand the mentality of other managers who say they have to buy the finished article because the average 'life' of a manager is so short. But Arsene has not gone down that route. His words were ... ''I want to leave it in better shape than when I came''. Now hopefully we'll have trophies along the way but he doesn't want to buy success this year and next year we have a bad year and the next we haven`t got a pot to piss in. We`ve seen all that too often.'

He added in support of Arsenal being able to compete for big money signings in the market as:
'We are a profitable club, self-sustaining, the cash is there. It's up to the manager. Our repayments on the stadium are under £20m a year and it`s producing an extra £50m a year. Our annual costs are fixed for 25 years. They will not rise. Our income will rise and our gate income will rise. Those payments are fixed. So in not too long it will look like a few pennies.'

The transfer incomings and outgoings were also defended;
'We believe in him but its his head on the block in the end.People talk just because Flamini left. He had one great year - one. Before then, he was just a squad player. And while Alex was a lovely player at holding the ball, there was no end product. We have swapped him for Nasri, who already has two goals.'

Finally about Arsene:
'You either believe in Arsene or you don`t. We do. We believe in the way he manages the club. We have total confidence in him.'

What more could I add to this, every word makes sense and is enough to shut up every cynic out there who just wants signings for the sheer hell of it. They don't realize what a great manager Arsene Wenger is and its only because of him that we're so damn spoilt in the first place. Ever one hits a low once in a while, united went through 3 seasons without a major trophy! Why not stop ranting & start believing?

In other news, Theo Walcott was given a start last night, I didn't watch the game but you can read about his performance here.

We still haven't signed Steven Appiah as of yet, I'm beginning to wonder, after keeping in mind AW's ambition to sign Xabi & Inler to bolster the midfield, does it actually make sense to sign another player in the midfield area who has a penchance for injuries and has not featured very regularly for Fener either? Don't you just think that waiting till January to try and sign some real proven quality (Xabi) would make more sense? Although, if we sign appiah and xabi, I wouldn't mind at all, but if we had to sign him, wouldn't we have done so already? Why the delays?

Finally, there's a great post by Fab4 where he gives a great review of our midfield maestro's, you can read that here.

Right then, I'm off.

Have a great day.

Godspeed!!

Oh won't you join us Steven Appiah?

2008-09-06T14:50:00.006+06:00

Morning Everyone,

Its another wet day here in Rawalpindi and I'm absolutely loving it. I know, most of you don't like rain much but its been so terribly hot over here the past few days that this is a welcome relief. There's no football today and that totally pisses me off, I'm so NOT a fan of internationals anyways and especially not with them being held so early into the new season. Club football is where one gets to see the real side to a footballer and in my opinion we should have it going on all year round (I understand the physical strains but one can wish, can't he?) Even Arsene Wenger agrees with me on this one, he says:

"I’m not a big fan of international football because they destroyed it. Take Russia: once it was one country and now it’s 21. Yugoslavia was one and now is six. As a result the level has dropped. Then you add countries like Andorra, Faroe Islands and San Marino and suddenly three games out of four are of no interest. When you think of international football you think that it’s a level up but 99 percent of the time it’s a level down. That’s why I prefer club football. The World Cup winners are all from countries with a minimum of 50 million people. Ryan Giggs never played in World Cup. If Maradona was born in Luxemburg he’d never have played in a World Cup –but he’d still have been the best player in the world. In club football you get to put the best players in the world together. That is real justice."

As you all are well aware of the recent link we've had with Steven Appiah and with the lack of activity during the official transfer window, most gooners would be more than happy seeing the squirrel seen at Highbury during our CL match with Villareal in 2006 be put into an Arsenal shirt and stuck in the middle playing instead of Eboue. In this context Steven Appiah would be a rhino and a very welcome rhino at that!

It seems that the rumour is now gaining some strength (maybe by about a fraction of an inch over yesterday) as Appiah marked his return to fitness as he appeared on the pitch for Ghana for 22 minutes in the WC qualifier against Libya.

We are all well aware of the interest WHU had in the mid-fielder but following curbishley's departure from Upton Park has seen him reconsider his options (because of Arsene's interest perhaps?) as he has gone on to say:

“There are contracts, there are talks – I can’t say anything yet, I am not going to put people off, my agents are talking so I have nothing else to say.”

As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, Appiah would not be a bad signing whatsoever. He's strong, he's more than capable and offering him 40 k a week plus CL football+football at the very highest level week in, week out will not be a very tough porposition to offer. Arsene has been a long admirer of the man they call the "Tornado" and thus one can be hopeful that Arsene may yet reinforce the midfield.

Right then, That's the lot.

Come on you Guuuunnneeerrrrsssss!!!!

Update: According to a sky sports "understands" job The representatives from West Ham, Portsmouth and Arsenal were all watching on Appiah at the WC qualifier, while another top European side are also thought to be interested.' It seems the Appiah story is gaining steam by the minute!

Little Bits and Pieces

2008-09-05T15:16:00.011+06:00

Hello everyone,

Lovely weather here in Rawalpindi. Its been raining all morning and thats quite a welcome relief from the scorchingly hot weather that we have had to endure over the past few days.

Moving on to all things Arsenal, there still isn't a great deal happening around the club as you can imagine, there are however little bits and pieces of Arsenal related news floating about that yours truly has been able to find.

The first of which is that Steven Appiah (how many times have we heard this before?) has been offered to Arsennal boss Arsene Wenger. Steven, 27, is now a free agent, having left Turkish club Fenerbahce. I'm not sure who exactly has offered Appiah to us. The player is available for free, he's 27 (rouhgly where most players hit their prime) and was during his Juventus days an excellent defensive player as well as who could play the offensive game. In hindsight, the player has a penchance to injuries and would go off to play the African Cup of Nations (reschedule the damn thing please!!) during the definitive times in the premiership.

There is however no gamble on signing him, he will certainly add depth, bring in some experience to the midfield and as I mentioned earlier, he's available for free and when fit is certainly a better option than having Eboue cover as a CDM.

In other news, Armand Traore has been talking about how Tony Adams inspires him and how he would like to learn a few tricks of the trade from the old dog. He says:

“Tony can bring lots of things to my game like positioning, how to defend when you’re one-on-one and where I need to be when we don’t have the ball. He’s got so much experience."

He also goes on to talk about life with the new club and at the end of the day I'm very glad Traore is gaining valuable experience at a Arse-mouth which no doubt would prove rather beneficial for us as well.

Le boss is very confident that we can still deliver the goods despite not adding reinforcements et al. I personally have no doubts over our abilities but I still stand of the view that a defensive midfielder is the need of the day.

Finally, the blog has just been added to http://www.goonernews.com/ the one stop to all things Arsenal. I'm very thankful to their team for this honour.

Right then, I'm off to enjoy the rather lovely weather.

Have a good one!

Come on you Goonnneeerrrssss!!

Arsene, Arsene & Still More Arsene!!

2008-09-04T18:56:00.011+06:00

Hello all,

We have exactly 9 days to go before some proper football is back. I can hardly wait. The annoying part is that international break has come so soon after the scrumptious win over Newcastle. Its like when you were little and your mum would bake a lovely cake with you, complete with chocolate icing and a cherry on top and then she'd tell you that it was to be given away to some charity bake sale or something. You'd go AHHHH F***! Then those giant tears start welling up in your eyes making you decide that you'd run away from home that very instant and you'd make a great big fortune and all the best chef's in the world would bake you all the cakes you could possibly eat and everyone would be sorry but then you'd realize that its getting dark outside and its best you save your running away plans for tommorow. In short, it sucks big time (what I wouldn't do to get rid of these international breaks)

There's not a lot going on in the world of Arsenal at the moment as all the players are busy with international duties. There is however a Q&A with Arsene Wenger, which you can read here. It is a good read, he answers all sorts of questions asked by fans and answers questions ranging from letting Vieira & Henry go, to the media & Sepp Blatter and all things football.

This interview is just light banter by le boss but reading between the lines makes you realize what a remarkably level-headed & intelligent individual Arsene Wenger is and just how truly lucky we are to have in him, a manager who has single handedly transformed Arsenal into the biggest clubs in the world.

Whilst on the subject, there's another interview from the ex-King of Arsenal (we all know who the new king is), which you can read here.

There is still more Arsene as he reveals the decision on the new Chief Executive will be made very very soon. I wonder what sort of an effect that will have on the club on as a whole.

Samir Nasri is again in the news as he talks about life with Arsenal. He talks about how pleased he is to have settled in so quickly, regained his position with the French side and is looking forward to a bright future with the club. He says:

"I am very happy. (so are we Samir) I have been able to regain my place in the national side, there is a good atmosphere at the club, and we have a very young squad that shares my excitement, I do not feel that I am in a foreign country - with all the French speakers around I am not in an unknown territory. I have settled in very well."

Talking about the very obvious comparison with Robert Pires, he said:

"The comparison is flattering. But I need to adapt to the style of play and to acclimatise over here. I would love to have the same sort of career he had for the club."

Right, thats the lot then.

Cheers!!

Keep The Faith

2008-09-03T23:58:00.012+06:00

Hello everyone,

There's pretty much f*** all happening at the moment. As you all obviously know most of the squad is currently away on international duty (do away with international breaks this early, please!!). Keeping in view le boss' refusal to sign any player in the summer window, it has now become vital that none of our players pick up an injury of any sort between now and January otherwise any title hopes that we may have could fall to pieces.

Speaking of the transfer window, Arsene Wenger has sees no reason to worry despite not adding to the squad. He rather confidently said,

"We have the squad to cope with every problem we face during the season, I really think it's more interesting for us to look at our strengths and at our quality rather than looking outside. I know that makes headlines but it doesn't win games."

I'm not too sure I agree with the boss on this, what happens if Cesc were to get injured? What strengths is he referring to that could essentially replace the magnificient Cesc? Eboue? Denilson? Ramsey? Wilshire?

Peter Hill Wood also added:

"We have plenty of money but are not going to splash out stupidly - a lot of the prices clubs ask are ridiculous.

We've heard a lot about how the books need to be balanced and how we have the funds and blah blah but no one was asking for a 30m signing. All we wanted was a decent midfielder in the range of 8 to 10 m. Surely there was a player out there somewhere who fit the bill. Didn't we find a gem last season in Sagna who cost only 6.1 m!

It is not a hidden fact that the fans now want a trophy. They don't want to hear about balanced books anymore. Its just maddening to hear this talk all the time.

In othernews, Dos Santos admitted that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry would be one of the former team-mates he would most love to have at Shite lane.

“I can't pick one, even if you forced me to, because there are too many players to choose from. Ronaldinho, Messi, Henry, how do you choose between them?”

I must admit that mexican c*** has lost his mexican brain.

Moving on to injury news, which currently stands as:

Diaby (13th Sep) Thigh
Silvestre (13th Sep) Thigh
Rosicky (27th Sep) Hamstring
Bischoff (N/A) Groin
Eduardo (Dec 08) Broken Leg + Dislocated Ankle

Not minding the last two, this is great news as two mid-fielders would be returning to fitness and adding depth and quality to our squad. Diaby on his day plays some good defensive football and is currently better than either Eboue or Denilson in that position and with him in the squad Fabregas will be able to play further up front in a position that he likes to.

Rosicky can play both central as well as wide and with him coming back into the squad, le boss will have more options in terms of team selection.

Right then.

Until Next time.

Godspeed.

Boring!

2008-09-03T15:54:00.000+06:00

Morning Everyone,

There are still a whopping ten days to go before our next game away at blackburn. You can all well imagine how boring it can be without having any football to watch. Why can't the international break be eliminated? I mean the season starts after months of waiting & just as soon as things start gaining some heat, in comes the #@#^@*# international break.

I've tried to sort out some news to report but as you can well imagine its very quiet. Spare the obvious rants & raves of the cynics calling for le boss' head and then the very level headed cool-as-a-cucumber types preaching patience and asking the aformentioned cynics to have faith. Fascinating stuff really.

Samir Nasri has been making all the right noises on the pitch and I for one am fast becoming a big fan of the French International. Arsene is very slowly building a team around Cesc Fabregas which is very essential if we are to replicate the successess that we have enjoyed over the years with the current squad. Anyways, Nasri is rather keen to emulate Robert Pires for both Arsenal & France, he had this to say:

“They were expecting a successor to Robert Pires. It’s flattering but hard to live up to, I would like to have the career he had at Arsenal.”

Now this I would seriously not mind at all!

Here's a good read regarding the evaluation of our current squad with that of the years gone by.
Right, that's your lot.

Lets hope all of our players come back unscathed from international duties.

Rama'dan Mubarak to all of you!

Come on you Gunnneeerrrssss!!!!!!!!!

Nothing!

2008-09-02T14:32:00.000+06:00

Hello all,

What a frenzy it was yesterday, It just showed how much football has depreciated with Robinho's move from Real Madrid to Man City further adding to the old "money can buy you everything" adage.

It was also a day, where most of us thought that le boss would address the very obvious problem we have in centre of the midfield but that day came and passed with le boss doing nothing but giving Randall & Gibbs new contracts as well (how very typical of Arsenal)

One has to argue that couldn't Arsene, with our world renowned scouting network, with le boss knowing the second name of every player in Europe and knowing what he ate for dinner the night before, be able to a player, who could be bought to replace flamini?

Why was it left so late? One can't find any sense in the actions of Wenger and I have to admit it saddens me to a great extent that le boss is so stubborn to prove that he can win titles without spending big as the other three clubs are doing and in that process refuses to acknoweldge the problems we have.

Sadly though, we got the "I can spend 30 m on a player but I'd rather scratch the bargain bins because thats where the real quality lies" routine all over again.

I understand the frustration, but lets just have patience and see wether this gamble pays off or not. We have Rosicky & Diaby (whose last games were played in 1750 & 1896 respectively) about to return from injury. Eduardo's all set to return before time and we can keep pur fingers crossed that the rest of squad remains injury free from the season in its entirety.

I did hear that Wenger was trying very hard to lure Xabi from liverpool and the player desperately wanted to join us but the trouble arose due to both clubs not being able to match a price. One has to understand the fact that Liverpool would have tried to stall the situation as much as possible, becuase lets face it, who would want to sell their title rivals a player who could so efficiently strengthen their squad? Would we sell Cesc to Liverpool without causing as much of a ruckus and possibly trying to milk the situation as much as possible?

I don't doubt the fact that Arsene didn't try to bring in a player or two, lets face it, what if he had bought in a player in the mould of an eboue meets wes brown. Would we have been happy then? Obviously not. So its necessary to try and incorporate a player who would add quality and depth to the squad as well as balance it not to create further issues.

Whatever the case is, every week the players we do have will put on an Arsenal shirt (our shirt) and run on the pitch and play their hearts out.

We have two choices, either sit and bitch about it like 12 year old girls or get behind our team and support them like never before.

Its not the end of the world.

Come on your Gooners. Its the Red & White we're talking about. Its the club we've loved for so long. It's the club that has given us so much over the years.

Come on Arsenal, win us a title or two!

Deadline Day!

2008-09-01T16:15:00.000+06:00

Morning all,

The final few hours to go for Arsene Wenger to sign a midfielder or two. We're again being linked with the German left back Christoph Metzelder as I've already reported to you. How much substance there is, we'd find out in the next few hours.

Personally, I prefer we sign a midfielder or two as its essential we bolster our midfield. I'm not sure there is need for another leftback at this moment in time.

In other news, this weekend marked Cesc Fabregas` 200th appearance. It is remarkable that at the tender age of 21, this young Spaniard has played so many games at the top level for Arsenal.

He made his debut for the Gunners at Highbury in the Carling Cup against Rotherham United in October 2003, becoming the youngest ever first team player for Arsenal, at the age of 16 years and 177 days. In that same competition he also became the youngest ever goal scorer when he netted his first goal against Wolves in December wearing the number fifty seven. 25 goals and 49 assists later, Cesc has matured before our eyes into one of the most influential midfielders in the world.

I hope he stays with us till the end of his career, helping us win many many trophies along the way.

Right, thats the lot.

Come on Arsene!

Come on Arsene

2008-09-01T03:08:00.000+06:00

Hello all,

Its just a few more hours to go until the deadline. I sincerely hope that le boss is burning up plenty of midnight oil and should he run out, I'd gladly buy him some.

There's nothing much to talk about, the only bits and pieces I've found by rather curiously clicking around the marvel known as the world wide web have been that according to the various websites that Scolari has remarked that le boss approached him with a bid for Salomon Kalou! Scolari said:

'If you ask Arsene Wenger, he wants Kalou as a centre-forward and Arsene is an intelligent man. He wanted Kalou two or three months ago when we started negotiations for some players. I said no. If he loves Kalou as a number nine, I [will] try it sometimes. But I have Anelka, Drogba and [Franco] Di Santo.'

I know for a fact that Arsene knows, although what I personally think about Kalou, well Its best I just leave it out of the blog (heh!)

Scrolling around further, I found another piece of shite .... err news that we have been looking over an offer of 8mn for Djourou. For one, djourou is an excellent CB at this very young age, he is young therefore he is allowed to make a mistake or two but apart from that, whenever he plays alongside Gallas or Toure, he always manages to bring out the best in them.

Another bit of news is that Arsenal are now trying to land Metzelder on loan from Real Madrid. I don't know the subtstance in this bit of crap but we'd have to wait and see what develops. Metzelder hasn't been able to carve out a niche for himself as he did at Borrusia Dortmund and is also considered to be surplus to needs.

Finally, there has been some news (not confirmed yet) out of the Arsenal Medical Facility that RVP is only suffering bruising and should be back to full fitness soon.

Right then, thats your lot. I'm off to watch the 100 goals of Dennis Bergkamp.

Come on Mr. Manager, bring us a midfielder or two!

Yabba Dabba Doo!

2008-08-31T16:39:00.000+06:00

Morning everyone, An excellent, all round vintage, Arsenal display last night. A resounding victory by no means. Right from the word go it was clear we had moved up a gear from last week. We were playing some vintage football and had the Magpies held back essentially in their own half the first 45 minutes. The first goal came via penalty as Adebayor attempted to put in a cross, which was stopped via a handball through Charles N’Zogbia. The spot kick was then taken by RVP who coolly converted it in the bottom left corner, giving Shay Given absolutely no chance whatsoever.

As the first half wore on Newcastle, as mentioned earlier, struggled to get a hold in the game, Arsenal’s comfortable possession and pace on the wings - particularly on the left with Nasri and Clichy (forming a lethal partnership reminiscent of Pires & Cole) - keeping them at bay. One such move down the right eventually worked the ball to Fabregas. The spaniard played a measured through-ball to van Persie who produced a brilliant cut-back to Adebayor. The stunning build-up warranted more than the frontman’s shot sliding past the far post.

In the 41st minute of the game, Emmanuel Eboue (shocking no?) did some excellent work and squirmed away from three Newcastle players before he passed the ball towards the right to Adebayor who turned on the pace before returning the ball to Eboue. The move looked over until he produced a delightful backheel into the path of the onrushing van Persie who thundered his shot into the roof of the net. Given was left grasping for air.

The third of the night came through some good work. Nasri was instrumental in the build-up, but Adebayor it was who eventually was the put the young Brazilian through. His low shot was deflected past a motionless Given.

Newcastle did have some good chances, but failed to convert and Michael Owen looked good. Joey Barton later come on as a sub and tackled Samir Nasri rather maliciously. Barton ought to have been booked but go away with it. Nasri decided to repay the favor and did some of his own tackling on that cunt (and got booked for his efforts).

Highlights can be viewed here

After the match ended, Gallas & Keegan got into a bit of a spat whereby I personally think Gallas ought to have kicked Keegan in his balls. Keving Keegan though later added:

"Joey has done nothing wrong. I'm concerned about my team, not individual players. "Joey came on, got a good tackle in on Nasri. Then the guy sliced him down. That's what happened and that's what I saw, which is what I was upset about."

Yeah Right.

Moving on, le boss, who was rather ecstatic after the resounding win had the following to say:

On The Match:
"We played the game we love, the game we know how to play and could have scored more. I am pleased that we didn't concede any goals."

On RVP:
"He is having an X-ray and we have to check his ankle. Hopefully nothing is broken but I don't know yet."

On Nasri vs Cunt:
"I don't know why [Kevin] Keegan was angry with Nasri. He had an incident with [Joey] Barton and was booked rightly so."

On Potential Signings:
"We are trying to buy but the problem is availabliltly, as well as the fact we have to find players better or as good as the ones we have."

Its good to hear le boss is actually trying to find a player or two to sign before the transfer deadline. Even though last night was amazing, we still need not forget the weakness we currently have in midfield. Just imagine if Cesc gets injured for a month where we have to play United, Liverpool and bolton away with a midfield comprising of Denilson & Eboue *shudders* Although I have to admit, playing alongside Cesc, they both have looked far more astute than they did playing together.

Patrick Vieira was also present at The Emirates to watch a vintage display of the Gunners (something he helped incorporate) and it did end up raising some rumours (mostly through a friend of mine) that we may even end up signing him.

I have to admit this, it doesn't sound at all likely to happen but if we were indeed to sign him, it wouldn't be a bad deal. We could land him on a free transfer, he willingly takes a pay cut, agrees to play as required and voila! Not only could he provide essential backup but the experience he would be bringing in would be excellent for the youngsters around at Arsenal.

I think I've gone on long enough, I'd better get cracking at my dissertation which is due tommorow.

Come on you gunneerrrssss!!!

Le Boss looking to burn some midnight oil!!

2008-08-30T20:49:00.000+06:00

Hello all,

Hope all of you are in a great mood what with kick off looming just around the corner. Its going to be international break after this so its rather vital that we go into that break with some positives (like 3 points and 20 goals) otherwise the next two weeks could turn out to be rather long.

There isn't much to happening today, there still hasn't been a signing made and today le boss also strongly insisted that there is absolutely no interest in Jonathan de Guzman either. I still believe there is a signing looming in the not too distant future (remember the Gallas deal in 2006 and the Diarra deal in 2007?) Anyways, Arsene had the following to say:

"Last year it was at midnight - and we are ready to stay up all night this time if it is needed.We have still a long time to go. For a while they all talk the talk and nothing happens, then in the last four or five days every half-an-hour there is a headline saying someone has signed somewhere. "

"When you have experience of transfer dealings, you know that as long as something is not signed you know it can change very quickly so you can look very silly, so you don't want to come out and announce it."

"We are out to look, if we find the right players we will do it, one or two. However, I believe it's more interesting for us to focus on our strengths and quality rather than looking outside. I know it makes headlines, but it doesn't make you win games."

"I buy the players I feel strengthen the squad, after that I consider the price, I do the job I think it has to be done, considering the resources of the club and considering our ambition, and the players we have. I know the media and supporters sometimes too are happy with big numbers, but for me what is most important is big quality. Sometimes both are linked, but not always."

You have to agree with the boss on that and one also understand swhat he is talking about, but then again Arsene, we have only been asking you to spend 6 odd million to land another pires or a sagna to partner senor Cesc, thats it! Honest! You can do it for us, can't you Arsene? Please? Pretty please with sugar on it?

Anyways, moving on, Arsenal are at last saying openly, "read our financial statement & reports" in the face of endless and rather mindless media commentary about Arsenal having no money whatsoever.

What hasn't been reported is that Manchester United's position is so bad that they are now having to cut costs anywhere & everywhere possible. Apparently the problem with the Berbativ signing lies in the fact that United are not being able to pay match the (over the roof) demands of sp*rs. While only last year they were able to splash out a hefty 30+ million on Tevez. This isn't good news for all United supporting friends of mine (I'm sorry guys) but at the same time you have to develop respect for Arsene Wenger's economic prowess to have guided us to a very strong situation (in monetary terms at the moment).
I had better run now.

Here's hoping all 3 points to the Gunners tonight!
Come on you gunners!!

P.S After seeing Arshavin in last night's game vs United, it just baffles me why a player would want to leave a club on the back of a UEFA Cup win, a Super Cup win & a season in The CL and join sp*rs who have never played in the CL and the last two trophies they won are the Carling Cup (a trophy that le boss doesn't even give a hoot about) and one for making the least number of appearances in a season for any club!!

Nothing on the Horizon!

2008-08-29T20:34:00.001+06:00

Hello all,

Another day closer to the transfer deadline and there's still nothing no sign of us signing that essential midfielder that we all have craved for all summer long. Danny Fizsman revealed we had the money to spend if and when required but Arsene simply refuses to do so, Fizsman said:

"If Arsène said he needed £30million for a striker, he would get it, no problem at all."

Fizsman also added that the aim is to still to win trophies but its upto the manager to change our youth poilcy (personally the youth is just fine, but throwing in some experience here and there wouldn't hurt would it?)

"But that does not mean all we are interested in is the artistic achievement award. We are not settling for second-best. We want to win trophies and I think it is time we did, but Arsène also believes in creating teams with a certain style."

Now if theres money to be spent, and when theres such an obvious flaw in the centre of midfield and the existing players that we have thus far failed to pull a flamini, I have to admit it becomes a little more than frustrating.

Moving on, the team news for Arsenal's game this weekend we have no fresh injury worries ahead of the clash with Newcastle at Emirates Stadium. Theo & Gallas have recovered from thelittle knocks that they picked up and Nasri is back as well after recovering from a virus (how does he manage doing this in between games? of well, as long as he's fit!) Btw, Joey Barton could be back in the Newcastle squad!

As for Carlos vela, Le boss has cited International football and intense travelling as the reasons behind Carlos Vela’s continued absence from the team. But he did add:

“But I am confident he will play an important part in the season, but at the moment he is away. He is a top class player.”

I for one am rather excited of the prospect of having Vela play in our squad, the little I saw of him in preseaon, he looked sharp, fast & didn't look afraid to get stuck in.

As for the draw, well we've drawn Porto, Dinamo Kiev and Fenerbache. A tough draw I'd say, but something we should be able to get through what with Wenger's belief in the young squad.

Here's hoping for all three points and a trillion goals tommorow!

Come on you guuuuunnnnnnnerrrsss!!

Back on Track!

2008-08-28T20:08:00.002+06:00

Hello all,

Everyone must be doing quite well today following the rather emphatic victory over FC Twente last night which ensures our 11th successive season in Europe’s elite competition . I admit, most cynics would point out its only FC Twente, but I'd like to point out that Twente must have some quality to be in this stage in the first place and secondly, the victory will do our confidence no end of good (remember the 7-0 thumping where everyone was scoring for fun and look how that turned out the rest of the season). So yes, I'm wearing my Arsenal shirt & my Arsenal Cap and as you can see in the picture below, I have a huge smile plastered all over my face.

As for the match, well judging from what I saw and what I read (both on other blogs as well as my friends via text) we played some sublime football and the instant difference with a team with and without cesc fabregas was apparent. I'm sure you all have probably already the match reports elsewhere but for the sake of it, I will now give you a brief of the game as well, here goes:

New boy Nasri (isn't he looking really really good?) settled any lingering nerves with a sparking solo goal in the 26th minute. Gallas scored the second of the night just after half-time. Theo-rry steered in classy third just past the hour mark and finally Bendtner tapped home a fourth towards the end.

Good stuff all around, lets hope we get a reprise of this as often as possible over the course of the season. Anyways, I was on Arsenal.com and I saw this picture of Gallas', If anyone also notices something wrong with it, well then you aren't alone

Heh!

Anyways, moving on, it seems Arsenal are now close to landing the signatures for for 20 year old Jonathan de Guzman. He's a midfielder in the mould of Hargreaves and could even be the next vieira (how many times have we heard this before?) Anyhow he had this to say:

“My dream clubs are Arsenal and Barcelona. If clubs of that stature are interested in you then you cannot say no. I’m certainly open to interest from Arsenal and from what I hear Feyenoord are happy to hear from them as well.”

We all the know the dire need for a midfield signing and no matter how much I stress the importance it still isn't enough. Although if we could also snap up Xabi Alonso somehow *drools*

In other umm news, Gael Clichy does not remember his first kiss. I have no idea how this could be treated as news but according to posts, we the non footballers are the purists and they are womanizing scum. Hmmm, I wonder how fortune, fame and all that would somehow not allow women to be attracted to them.

Okay, Okay, I ought to stop now, The Champions League qualifying draw is less than 2 hours away now. We're seeded 5th in Pot 1.

Newcastle on Saturday!

Come on you Gunnnnneeerrrsssss!!!

Are We Doooooooooooommmmeeedddd??

2008-08-27T20:19:00.000+06:00

Hello all,

Well, I was clicking about looking for "Arsenal sign David Villa" type of news and well, we all know what could have happened next. Anyways, the recent comments by le boss that we'd sing one more player has thus far yielded nothing and instead has seen a player go out.

Yesterday Gokhan Inler apparently "snubbed" a move to the Grove and today I found a bit of news floating about that Arsenal have not yet made an approach to Liverpool for Xabi Alonso.

If all the players that have been categorically linked with a move to the grove have now been "unlinked" then does it really actually mean that arsene is happy with the current squad and actually thinks that this squad can realistically challenge for titles this season? Is this the end for Arsenal? Are we doooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeddddd?

Well it all comes down to your personal perspectives on this, do you seel the glass half empty or half full?

For me personally, I know Arsene knows, The squad we had last year was completely written off and instead got off to a flyer and then sort of umm came across a bit of turbulence and then well err made an erratic landing but what we did do is prove everyone completely wrong.

Even if we don't make signings, I know le boss loves the red & white and he knows what he's doing. And yet, I have this sneaky feeling we'd be making that elusive signing just a second before the transfer window closes.

FC Twente tonight.

Come on you gunners!!

Cesc's Back! Hurray!

2008-08-27T02:49:00.000+06:00

Hello all,

Well, firstly I'd like to bring you all some good news, Arsene Wenger has revealed that Cesc Fabregas is now fit for the upcoming clash against FC Twente. Arsene Wenger had this to say:

“He is in the squad, whether he starts or not I can not give you an answer now."

I suspect he'd be forced to come on at some point as the rather hapless looking midfield of ours needs some bolstering and if nothing else it will give cesc some playing time ahead of our premier league clash this coming saturday.

Speaking of which, Le boss also stated, “From Saturday, we did not lose anybody [through injury]. But we still have Rosicky and Diaby out.” Which i suppose is good news in some ways (seeing how synonymous injuries and arsenal go) which brings me to Mikael Silvestre, whom the boss revealed that will be out till September 13th.

Anyhow, moving on, former Arsenal man Lee Dixon has had quite a pop at William Gallas, Lee said:

"It was the worst performance I’ve seen from an Arsenal team in a long time."
“Tony Adams was sitting just behind me and I said to him, ‘Where’s the leadership?’
“I blame the captain for that. I reckon Gallas is to blame. He’s not leading that team.”

Now some people would obviously state that he's being too harsh on Gallas & that we should have faith in Arsene blah blah but I have to say, I have the utmost of faith in le boss, I have an utter lack of repspect for william gallas. Enough said I guess.

Anyways, moving on, It has now come to light that Gokhan Inler has snubbed a move to Arsenal, claiming it is too early for a move to the emirates. If you don't want to come, dont. Rot at Udinese then. If you're lucky you may get to play in the Intertoto cup somewhere along the line.

Lets hope we bounce back well come tommorow night. I know its still early going and a lot of us are being all panicky & fidgety, but have faith in Arsene and have faith in the Arsenal. Things'll come together fine.

Come on you Gunners!

Senderos gone, Djourou to follow?

2008-08-26T00:49:00.000+06:00

Arsene has lost his marbles, I'm now very assured of this fact. We already had frailities within our squad & now le boss has gone and done this. I know, I know, we all didn't rate Senderos too high but I personally thought he did rather well last year when kolo got injured and this year I though he'd only improve. Now here goes le boss giving him away as well.

In addition to this, young JD (who again was very impressive in pre-season & against W.B.A -spare the one error which he made up for) has also been linked away with a loan move out of the grove.

What does this mean? Lack of depth would mean Adebayor covering in as CB for an injured kolo and Le boss' sperm sample covering up as striker. it also mean, that the sad git who wears the number 10 at our club will now be fully assured that no ONE can take his spot and he can be as big a tart as he so pleases.

Whats gone wrong? Where did it start going wrong? Are we actually bankrupt?

Are you actually enjoying this arsene? First you break apart the invincible team and now you go and start breaking up the team that came so close last season and the only way next would have up?

Arsene says we're no closer to making signings

2008-08-25T17:26:00.000+06:00

Morning all,

Well the boss has revealed that, "We are not close to signing anybody." It has to be said, that know Arsene, he could be playing his cards close to his chest, but if this stands true, then we really are in for a long summer.

Arsene Wenger has so far let Flamini, Gilberto, Hleb & Diarra leave and has thus far not addressed the problem and for some odd reason seems to be content with Eboue playes a CDM! I mean for fuck's sake! How is it that he aims to achieve anything with a squad that Emannuel Eboue as a CDM?

Arsene really has a LOT of decisions to make, the first of those being the captaincy issue. when Gallas was made captain, I was as surprised as anyone as I had my money on the table for Gilberto (and what a season HE had) but instead this cunt from chelsea was made captain. I thought, okay, lets not be too bashful, afterall Arsene knows! 2 years laters, I ask myself, does Arsene really know or has he lost his marbles a little bit? For me there is only one man who has is suited for this role & thats Cesc Fabregas. he has the spirit, the raging fire, the determination within him to lead this squad as well as set an example and I think le boss must address this issue at once.

Secondly, I think we don't need just the one signing, if at all we do make one, we need at least two in mid-field (Inler & Xabi) in addition to a quality centre back so that that arse can be dropped and someone with a bit more zeal can come in. Personally, I think the time has come for Arsene to stop procrastinating and get on with the job. We're really frustrated Arsene! where are the pires' & henry's gone? surely, there have to be more gems in the world unlike eboue & gallas?

In other news, Gervinho has stated;

"I have dreamed about that club. To play for Arsenal will be the best day of my life and I will do anything to play for that team. But it will depend on my good work for Le Mans. I need to keep working and Arsenal will open the door for me."

Now this is what you want to hear a lot more, players wanting to be a part of Arsenal, wanting to help Arsenal, Cesc said, Traore said it, its time we begin to hear some words of determination from the rest of our squad.

Come on you gunners!

Inler on his way in?

2008-08-25T15:55:00.000+06:00

Gokhan Inler could be on his was to the club. According to reports, the 24-year-old has agreed a 4-year deal with the club after his agent, Dino Lamberti, revealed talks went well with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal officials in north London just a fortnight ago.

Udinese general director Pietro Leonardi rejected reports linking the hardman with a transfer to Arsenal last month by dismissing the reports as ‘absurd’, these latest updates suggest different.

Inler joined Udinese from Swiss side FC Zurich in 2007, and made 32 appearances for them last season, and has 15 caps for Switzerland.