Reyes Finally Gone

Well hello all, let's start with some good news. Jose Antonio Reyes has been sold! Atletico Madrid have bid for him and the move has been completed. The transfer fee is around 8.1 million quid. We all knew he wouldn't be coming back to London so it's good that we got this deal done sooner rather than later. There's a month left in the transfer window and it should give Arsene some time to use this money effectively. We should have quite a good bit to spend and I still believe we need a wide player so hopefully Arsene will find whoever he is looking for and bring him in. Any ideas anyone?

Kerrea Gilbert has gone on loan to Southend for 6 months. This is a good move for him because with Hoyte, Sagna, and Eboue at right back he wasn't going to get a chance to play. He's a good young talent but we just may not have a place for him.

Robin Van Persie is the latest in a number of gunners to talk about the team having a chance to challenge for the title this year. He said that despite the young age of the team we could overcome the teams that finished ahead of us last year, and I'm really starting to agree with him. The confidence among the team is great and hopefully all the really young lads will respond to it and put in some good performances.

Arsene Wenger also spoke to the press saying much of the same things, about our solid chances for the year ahead. He spoke about how we brought in Da Silva and brought back Bendtner to replace Henry, and also said Walcott will be used a lot more this coming season.

Also, I gave an interview that you can read here. If you want you can vote for my blog which is always nice.

That's about all. Cheers

Reyes to Atletico, Diarra to Arsenal?

Hello all, back again with some more posting goodness. Let's get down to some news shall we?

Atletico Madrid look set to buy Jose Antonio Reyes. No word yet on the transfer fee but Wenger seemed to confirm it as well as Reyes himself. He had this to say:

"I am delighted to be staying in Madrid. It is certain I will be staying in the capital, although we'll have to wait a little to see where I will be playing," Reyes told Spanish television station La Sexta.

"It has been difficult working by myself and not being able to share a pre-season with my colleagues. For this reason, I am pleased everything is about to be resolved."

This isn't confirmed or anything, but...I have heard that Sergio Aguero could be on his way to Arsenal in a part exchange...

Bakari Sagna is enjoying his time so far at Arsenal. He has said he's adjusting well and it really helps that other players in defense (Gallas and Clichy) speak French.

"I have integrated well," Sagna said in L'Equipe. "On the pitch I am not completely free yet, I have work to do.

"The fact that there are several French-speaking players in defence will help me."

Good to hear that Sagna is enjoying his time, because he will probably fit right into the first eleven.

Several sources are saying that Arsenal are going to move for Lassana Diara. He is currently playing for Chelsea, and by playing I mean sitting in the stands because he never gets a game there. He's a big center midfielder that could maybe work well with Cesc, although I hope if we do sign him that he doesn't affect Denilson or Diaby's development.

Tomas Rosicky says he's confident about the upcoming season. He mentioned Henry's departure of course but says that the Gunners are capable of big things in the coming year. This is the latest in the long list of players saying we are capable of big things this season. It gets me pretty excited to see them feeling confident and hopefully that will spread to the rest of the squad.

That's about it for the day. Reyes gone, maybe Aguero/Diarra coming in? Let's see what happens...

I Found Some Internet!

Hey guys, I'm on my family reunion in Montana and happened upon some internet so of course I thought of you guys and decided to write a new post. As all of you know, Arsenal won the Emirates Cup today with a second strong performance in as many days! The brilliant winner by Van Persie is posted just below.

1-2 Persie
Uploaded by Nvboy

I don't have time to write up reports for both of the matches, but it is very pleasing to beat two quality teams and win the first Emirates Cup, even if it is preseason. I think the squad will take a lot of confidence from this going forward and it has even given way to title talk from Cesc Fabregas.

He said that even without Freddie and Henry we can still fight for the title, and I think more and more people are beginning to think the same way with our preseason performance and the confidence the squad is showing.

"While I respect the decisions of Henry and Ljungberg, I believe this team can fight for the title," he told the News of the World.

"The Premiership favourites are the same as last year - Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and us."

Great to hear from Cesc and I'm really starting to believe in this team. Do you all feel it as well?

Arsene Wenger has also fed speculation and made us all jumpy by saying he could sign up to two more players this transfer window. He pretty much ruled out a bid for Nicolas Anelka, but has said that if he finds the players he wants, he could sign one or even two, and that he has the money to do so.

Arsene also made news by having dinner with old pal David Dein. He said it was just a friendly dinner and that it had nothing to do with a potential takeover, and I have to believe him. Arsene has always said he generally stays out of matters that don't concern him, and a potential takeover really isn't in his realm of control. Further, the board has already said they won't sell at least for this year, so I'm pretty confident this dinner had nothing to do with that.

Jose Antonio Reyes looks set to move to Atletico Madrid as Wenger confirmed he will not be returning, but didn't say much more about it.

"We will make an announcement shortly, but he will not come back here," Wenger added.

"I cannot tell you more than that at the moment."

Thank God he'll be on his way and we'll have a bit more cash to spend. Probably not what he's worth but what can you do.

That's about all I have right now for ya, looking forward to the new season, less than a fortnight to go. Later all.

Henry Speaks On Arsenal

Morning all, this will be my last post for the next week, because I'll be in Montana for a family reunion. My best mate Patty is going to try to fill in when he can, so check back every now and then, and if we happen to find some internet in Montana then I'll be sure to write something up.

Now then, on to the news.

Thierry Henry has said that Freddie Ljungberg is entitled to his opinion about the state of Arsenal and that they share the same view about the team.

"Like I always say, Freddie is a grown man and he says whatever he wants to say," said Henry on Sky Sports News.

He did then go on to talk about the upcoming season, and said that Arsenal should be able to challenge for the title in the coming year. Speaking about the young team we have he said:

"A year ago, we were in the Champion's League final with that team. I think last season so many key players were injured - I'm not trying to find any excuses, but so many were injured.

"I'm sure this year, with everybody back, Arsenal can compete for the league. Everybody has to get behind the boss and I know they will."

Now this all seems very strange to me, because didn't Henry leave because he WOULDN'T win trophies soon at Arsenal? Didn't he say we didn't match his ambitions and it was the time to leave? Now he says we can win the title this year which makes absolutely no sense following what he said when he left. But it is what it is.

Mark Randall is hoping for first team football with Arsenal this year. He trained with the first team on the tour of Austria and made some pretty good performances in the games we had out there. He said though that if Wenger wanted to send him out on loan he would be open to that, he just wants to progress as a footballer and make it at Arsenal.

Jose Antonio Reyes has been linked with Lyon again, with their coach this time stating his desire to bring him in. They've already said how they wanted to sign him a couple of times now, I wish they would just come in for him already. Just give us a couple million and shut up about it then you have your player and we have one less cunt on the team.

Gilberto will miss the first match of the season. He's on a prolonged holiday right now after Copa America and will report back to training on August 7th. He's doubtful for the Fulham match though, which makes sense, as he'll have only had 3 days of training.

Also, there have been a lot of rumors linking Arsenal with Ricardo Quaresma. I'm not verifying them or anything but it is my job to report the news. The transfer fee would be around 15-16 million according to the rumors, but remember, these are just rumors...for now. *Crosses fingers*

That's about all I've got. Have a good day all and if you don't hear from me for a while that means we have no internet in Montana.

Cheers

Red Bull Salzberg 1-0 Arsenal

Alright, our first loss of the preseason, but since it's the preseason it doesn't matter much. I didn't get to see the match yesterday, I really need to get Arsenal TV Online, but I'll just give you what I've gathered from highlights and such.

We started off with this lineup: Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Traore-Hleb, Diaby, Denilson, Rosicky-Da Silva, Van Persie.

William Gallas was named the bloody captain! Are you effing joking Arsene!? The guy talks bad about his team the whole summer and we name him captain. Am I the only one mad about this!?

Anyways, Eduardo Da Silva had a good full debut, making good runs but his finishing was off.
Salzberg had a good chance right away, but they hit the post. Lehmann was beaten though and it served as an early warning.

Rosicky then sent Da Silva through right away but the keeper saved it. The next time he got it he took a dive in the penalty box, which you wouldn't want to see but there it was.

Diaby made a good run in the 26th minute, going through the entire defense but the finish wasn't there.

Denilson had a few long range attempts, but they were pretty much speculative. But it's nice to see someone shooting outside the box.

Half time came and the score was still 0-0. Not any great chances for either side but we had most of the possesion and Da Silva, Diaby, and Denilson were all looking good.

In the 58th minute came our best chance to score, when Hleb fed Bendtner in the box who squared for Da Silva right in the center of the box and but he sent his shot wide. It really would have been easier to score than to miss, but he did.

Fabianski had come on at the start of the second half and made a crucial error in the 65th minute. He came out to grab a ball in the air but went outside the area and had to drop it, with an opposing player right next to him. A bit of a sketchy moment for him and I think we can count him out as a potential starter this year.

Da Silva had another good run in the 70th minute, beating the defenders but once again failed to score. He held the ball too long and the keeper came out to claim it.

The goal came in the 76th minute. Red Bull had a few good chances but fumbled it around but finally they got in a shot from the edge of the area and Fabianski was out of position and it deflected off a defender and went in the back of the net. 1-0 to Salzberg. Quite shoddy defending and goalkeeping there.

After that not much happened, Da Silva missed another chance wide and Bendtner headed over the bar from a Hleb corner kick.

The match ended 1-0.

Man of the Match: Alexander Hleb - I'm sure a lot of people would say Eduardo Da Silva here, but I wasn't impressed at all with his finishing, which was really disappointing. Hleb was a constant threat, continually beating defenders with his skill and making good passes after.

Needs Work: Fabianski - He's definitely not ready to be the first choice keeper for Arsenal, and probably not even second choice. Almunia and Lehmann are both better options for the team at this point. He had some very nerve-racking moments.

That's about it for the match report.

I'm deeply upset about Gallas being captain of Arsenal. I know it was only a friendly but he has done nothing to deserve that honor. If William Gallas is named the captain of this club, I will never write on this blog again. I will go into hiding and never be heard from again because Arsene Wenger will have surely lost his mind. What do you think?

Also, Happy Birthday Gael Clichy! He's 22 today!

Cheers mates

Juve Want Big Phil, Blues Want Djourou

Morning everyone. Or afternoon if you live across the pond from me. Not much news today but we'll get right down to it.

Various Sources say that Juventus are interested in Phil Senderos and will make a 3 million pound bid for him. Are you joking? Only 3 million? Yeah he hasn't always had his head in the game and he gives you a couple of moments where you just really don't want to watch, but I like the guy. He's a good defender, tall and strong, a bit slow but that's why we have King Kolo. Gallas isn't exactly a spring chicken and besides he talks bad about the team every other day. If I had to choose one to sell it would definitely be Gallas. Kolo and Big Phil were the pair that got us to the Champion's League Final, along with Eboue and.......Flamini. If we do sell Phillipe, please don't let it only be for that price. We need him.

Johan Djourou is wanted on loan at Birmingham. This is hardly a surprise as they take any of our young players they can get on loan (Muamba, Bendtner, etc). I don't know if they will get him or not. Of course it matters if we sell Phillipe because if we do Arsene would never send him out on loan because he'd instantly be the back up at centre back. It'd be nice to get him a full season of top flight experience, because he certainly wouldn't be first choice at Arsenal yet, but we may need him too much to send him out for the year. More to come on that.

In the rumor department, we've again been linked with Stephen Appiah. It doesn't make much sense as he is a central midfielder and that seems to be the position we have covered the best. Who knows, I didn't think we needed a right back either.

Now for something I wanna do every now and then called Reader Interaction! Since most of us are in agreement that we need a winger, I want everyone to leave a comment just stating which winger you think we should buy, realistically. Whether it be Ricardo Quaresma, Martin Petrov, SWP, or any other, just let it be known and see what other Gooners think.

That's about it for the day, hope it's a good one for you all.

ArseNole

Fiszman Not Selling Arsenal

Morning all. I'm ridiculously tired today. I know, interesting. On with the news.

Arsenal's largest shareholder, Danny Fiszman, says he has no intention of selling his 24% stake in the club "for the foreseeable future." Good news for people that were worried about a takeover bid by Kroenke or that Ecclestone lad. He had this to say:

"I publicly stated my position back in April and to eradicate any uncertainty supporters may have, I would like reiterate exactly where my position is again.

"I have been a member of the board for 15 years now. The club has experienced many successes both on and off the pitch in that time and being part of the Arsenal family is something that is not only in my mind, but also in my heart."

Sounds like a pretty firm statement from him and a welcome one too. A takeover really wouldn't be good for the club, at least if it was Kroenke or Ecclestone. Hopefully the current board will be around a whille longer.

Arsene Wenger spoke about the huge amount of transfer money being spent in the Premiership this summer. Of course he goes on to say that he thinks we have a deep squad and his is concentrating on developing his players that are already here. Since many people, including myself, think we need a winger, this is what Arsene had to say about that:

"In the wide positions we can play Alexander Hleb, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue.

"All these players are on their way up. They are not over the hill.

"Their level is still rising and they are getting better and better."

So we have 3 wingers and a wing back to play in the wide positions. Yes, we need a signing there Arsene. That doesn't seem like a lot of depth, but maybe that's just me.

Skysports has an interesting bit on how Freddie has gotten to be more and more shite in the last few seasons, check it out if that stuff interests you.

And that's about it for today. If you have a comment about Freddie or Fiszman or Kroenke or whatever, speak your mind and let us hear it. Good day all.

ArseNole

Freddie On the Way Out

Morning all. I'd like to proudly announce that we now have moved to ArseNole.com! I have a test today which is bollocks. Can't wait till the season starts. But anyways, here goes for the day.

Contrary to what had been previously said by Arsene Wenger, his agent, and himself, Freddie Ljungberg is on the way to West Ham. The deal is said to be worth up to 3 million pounds subject to conditions in the deal. Freddie had said just a week ago that he wouldn't go to any Premiership side, but I suppose he changed his mind. He had this to say about the move:

"I'm coming here because I want to build a great team," said Ljungberg. "And why I want to join is because of Magnusson. He wants to bring them forward to be top of the country.

"He's willing to go to the transfer market to buy top players and mix them with youth players. West Ham have a great academy.

"He wants to help take the club up and take them to the top in England. It's a big challenge for me."

Then in a cunty move for a loyal ex-gunner, he goes on to trash Arsenal's ambition, saying several things didn't match his ambition. Freddie's ambition for the last few years has been staying hurt as much as possible and missing the net. But this is what he said:

"Two years ago when I signed my last contract we talked a lot about the future and about bringing great players to the club," said Ljungberg. "Despite building the new stadium we wanted to stay top in England and do well in Europe.

"For me that didn't really happen.

"I stayed because I wanted to stay loyal to Arsenal. But when Henry left this summer it felt like the end for me unfortunately.

Well Freddie, West Ham are clearly a worse side than Arsenal, so let's see if they match your ambitions next year. When your best player is leaving for Man United it's hard to win a lot of matches. I hope they get relegated.

Freddie has been here a long time but it was time for him to move on. He could have done it without saying all that bollocks though. 3 million is also a far cry from the 6 million that was being talked about from Fiorentina. Oh well, hopefully we use the money to get a new winger.

That's pretty much about all I have today because I have to finish studying. Good day all. Leave a comment about Freddie if you want.

Cheers

Reyes to Lyon?

Alright sorry I missed yesterday so I'll try to make this one especially good. Hope it's been a good weekend for all of you.

First off, Jose Antonio Reyes has been linked with a move to Lyon. Their president spoke about and said he's a good player that could enter into their plans, but so far no offer has been made. He did go on to say though, that "If you offered me the player, I would indeed say I'm interested." So this is good news, more suitors for Reyes, who clearly isn't staying in London, so maybe this will help us to get a better price for him. I've also heard that Sevilla, his former club, might be interested. Right now Madrid is bidding 2 fatted calves and a goat for Reyes so if we can get a better offer from anybody that would be good news for us, since the money would probably go to getting us a new winger to replace him.

Carlos Vela has joined Osasuna on loan for the season. He still can't get a passport until he plays a bit longer in Europe so we're loaning him out to the First Division side. It'll be nice for him to get some good experience in top flight football, he'll get to play against Barca and Madrid and all the other quality teams and it should prepare him for his return to Arsenal. He could qualify for a work permit as early as January, so surely we'll see him at the club next season. Arsene Wenger thought about keeping him at the club but has decided he might as well let him get some good match experience while waiting for the work permit.

The Arsenal Board are still saying they are firmly against any takeover bid, which is good news. I had kind of gotten the impression they may have been letting the idea into their heads and started to think about it, but Keith Edelman had this to say about any foreign takeover attempt:

"If you look at some of the other clubs with billionaire owners, their debts are mounting up.

"Anybody who invests in a club, particularly from overseas, who maybe doesn't love the club the way our shareholders do, will be looking for financial returns in the short, medium or long term.

"And if someone is looking for financial returns, they will in the long term take more money out of the club than they put in."

And he's absolutely right. Credit to him for coming right out and saying it so that the Arsenal fans who saw a takeover as a good thing will see that it isn't beneficial for the club. Not everyone is a Roman Abramovich who will put all of his own cash into a club. Most of the foreign investors don't care about the club, they just care about money. Let's hope the board holds down the fort for a long time.

In other news, just a few rumors...

People Sport says Freddie Ljungberg will seal a move to West Ham this week. I don't see this as likely because Freddie said he wouldn't ever play for another Premiership club.

We've also been linked with Stephen Appiah, but I haven't heard any of that before so I doubt it.

Also, as a random side note, Edgar Davids broke his leg. Serves him right for playing for Spuds.

That's about all the news for the day. Hope you have a good Sunday. Cheers!

ArseNole

Genclerbirligi 0-3 Arsenal

Another good preseason win for the Gunners. A confident performance with only a few minor slip-ups. So now that I've downloaded and watched the match twice, here's the report.

The starting lineup for Arsenal went like this: Sagna, Toure, Song, Clichy-Walcott, Denilson, Flamini, Randall-Adebayor, Van Persie.

I guess Arsene feels obligated to play Song at all different positions on the pitch, possibly to see which one he is the most shite at. It was good to see Denilson in the lineup, because he went off on a stretcher against Barnet, so I guess the injury wasn't bad at all.

I'm beginning to really like the white kits as well.

But anyways, on to the match.

Manuel Almunia (who is sporting a new blone haircut) was forced to make a critical save inside the first minute as Song let the striker clean through on goal and he fired at the top right corner, but Almunia played it superbly. Other than that, most of the early game was spent down at the opposition's end of the pitch.

Theo Walcott made a good run in the 7th minute and got a good ball from Van Persie, but nobody could get on the end of his low cross and Adebayor gave away a free kick.

A great bit of skill almost made it one nil to the opposition, who I'll now just call Genc because it's too hard to spell. Song and Clichy were both well beaten by Sandro and he got a shot off but it hit the post and bounced for a goal kick.

Adebayor made a good run in the 12th minute and beat all the defenders and squared for Van Persie who had an easy chance and ended up skying it. He wouldn't have scored if there had been another goal on top. Great set up though and should have been 1-0.

A bit of a boring game until the 34th minute where Walcott got on the end of a cross but he hit it into the ground and the keeper saved well.

The action continued in the next minute as Adebayor got on the end of a long ball, passed back and wide to Randall who layed it in for Van Persie on his left foot, but the keeper made the save.

In the 45th minute the breakthrough finally came for Arsenal. Walcott ran by his defender with blistering pace and made a perfect low cross to the far post and Van Persie made sure of the finish. A great way to round off the first half. 1-0 to the Arsenal.

The start of the second half saw Arsenal come out flying, with Walcott going close and Adebayor just missing on a cross.

In the 51st minute, Denilson made a great run through the middle and fed Adebayor, who played it back to Denilson who left it for Walcott and he did not disappoint, drilling it into the far corner. 2-0 to the Arsenal.

Arsenal maintained more and more of the possession as the match went on, and the superior quality was really starting to show. In the 65th minute Van Persie finished off the game. Adebayor ran at the right back with pace and then cut inside marvelously. He looked like he was aiming to shoot but then made the pass to Van Persie who curled it home. 3-0 to the Arsenal.

Eduardo Da Silva came on in the 69th minute, along with Hleb, Djourrou, Bendtner, Diaby, Ljungberg, and Fabregas.

He looked good with a couple of crosses, but the game was pretty much over as a contest at this point.

Bacary Sagna looked good in his debut, making runs and was solid in defense. I think he'll be quality once he settles in. Anyways, the match ended 3-0 to the Arsenal, and it was an all around good performance from the lads.

Man of the Match: Really a toss up here between Walcott and Adebayor, but I'm going to have to give it to Ade. He made 2 quality assists and he was always dangerous and full of energy even though it was only preseason. A good sign for the year ahead.

Goal of the Match: Theo Walcott. The finish alone wouldn't have made it the best of the game but the setup of the goal by Ade and Denilson was superb. Great movement and a typically great Arsenal goal.

Needs Work: Alex Song. Well really I think he always needs work. He didn't work out as a midfielder and he's not going to work out as a defender either. Please Arsene, sell him. It's painful to watch him play in our side. He could be good somewhere else but please, not here.

And that's about it. A couple of other notes, I'm trying to buy the rights to ArseNole.com. It costs 8.95 per year, which isn't a lot, but it would help me to improve the site a bunch. In the top corner there is a place where you can donate to making this movement happen. Even if you can only spare 5 cents, that would go a long way to make this site this best it can be.

Also on the right there is a link where you can vote for the ArseNole in the blog rankings. Right now the site is number 95 and number 94 is a hubcap thieving scousers site, so we can't have that. Please vote if you can. Thanks all.

Cheers

Kroenke Eager to Have Talks With Board

Hello all, not much goin on today so let's just get right down to it.

Stan Kroenke, who met with Peter Hill-Wood last month to discuss his intentions, is now set to meet with the rest of the Arsenal board. He is now a significant shareholder, owning over 12 percent of the club. Most say that he will try to increase this stake if possible, but for now he is just trying to meet with the rest of the board to see the availability of the shares. Most Gooners that I know don't want him to takeover the club, and I'm one of them. The club is owned now by people that really actually care about it and are used to running it the Arsenal way, and a takeover could change all of that. The board has already said they will not sell any of their shares for at least one year, so let's hope they hold strong and keep this from happening.

Cesc Fabregas is in the news again today, because he is saying he wants the captain's armband now. In his interview with Arsenal.com he had this to say.

Do you want to be captain in the future?

"Of course. Everybody wants this kind of responsibility and 100 per cent me as well. It something that I have liked ever since I have been young and it would be no problem for me to be captain of this club."

Well now Cesc may be captain someday, but he's only 20 and needs to learn to not buy in to all the speculation about him in the transfer window. We've been through our last 2 captains who both also were linked with moves all the time and did nothing to dispel them. We need captains who are going to stay, Cesc. I hope he is with us for the next 12 years honestly, but it doesn't look likely. After Gilberto's reign is over, I vote for Kolo.

Arsene Wenger spoke before the match today when asked whether Bacary Sagna and Eduardo da Silva were the "super, super signings" he said he would bring in. He conceded that it was his intention to only buy super quality and this was not what he had in mind but he hadn't planned on Thierry leaving so that's what changed his strategy.

“Yes, I said at the end of the season I would not necessarily buy unless I found a super player,” he said. “But at that time, in my mind, Thierry was staying. Then the Thierry situation was raised when I had him on the phone in the holidays."

So that's that. Maybe there are more signings to come, but you never know with Wenger. I see one more player coming in, probably after Reyes leaves. Hopefully a wide player to replace him. Bring back Le Bob. Nah I'm not serious about that as he's too old but I do miss seeing wingers that can score for us.

That's about all guys, cheers.

ArseNole

A Bit of Wednesday News

So, hello all. Since I last left you we've had some news but nothing too exciting. Here goes.

Rodrigo Palacio had been linked with a move to Arsenal recently, but Palacio's agent has since come out and said these stories are false as they have received no offer from Arsenal. This rumor got many people excited to see him in the red and white because he is a quality player but turns out it was just a rumor after all.

Jose Antonio Reyes continued with his usual rabble about wanting to continue as a Madrid player. Jose, we get it, you don't want to come back to London. Now shut your fat hole until we get someone to pay for you.

Carlos Vela and Francisco Merida are both being considered for loan offers this season. Vela has not yet qualified for a work permit to play in England so he has not been able to play at Arsenal at all throughout the time he's been here, since 2005. He's a quality player so hopefully he gets the most out of these loan spells and improves his game, because in January he can qualify for his work permit. Fran Merida is someone I think we're all looking forward to seeing play, because he's one in the mold of Cesc Fabregas. He's quite young, still 16 or 17 can't remember which, but a bit of first team football would do him quite well and prepare him to break into the Arsenal first team next year.

Speaking of Cesc Fabregas, our beloved midfielder has said that he expects Arsenal to challenge for the title this year. Opinions seem to be quite mixed with this team, and I don't think anyone really knows what to expect. We could be great or we could be mediocre and end up 4th. But anyways, Cesc had this to say:

"We are Arsenal," he told the club's official website. "We are one of the most important teams in Europe.

"Definitely we have to be fighting for the title because it would not be Arsenal if we are not doing this."

He added: "Collectively this side is very good. That is what we have to keep showing to ourselves, that we are good enough to fight for everything."

Good stuff to hear from Cesc and I hope his confidence inspires the rest of the squad.

Last but not least we see Kolo Toure saying that he expects Wenger to stay at Arsenal.

"For me, I think he will stay," said the defender. "Mr Wenger brings something special to this club and to keep him would be a great thing.

I think we all along with Kolo want Wenger to stay, so hopefully he'll sign that new contract soon. Cheers all. Off to the beach today.

ArseNole

Nothing Going On Today

No big news today at all, not even a Cesc to Real Madrid rumor, so you know it's a quiet one.

Arsene Wenger did say that he did not want Thierry Henry to leave for Barca. He said that Henry is a world class player, the type that no team ever wants to lose. This is true but I don't think Wenger would have come right out and said, "He was getting old so I figured he could piss off and we wouldn't miss him that much." Just doesn't sound like something he'd say.

Sky Sports did a little bit comparing our three main right backs (Hoyte, Eboue, Sagna.) It's actually pretty interesting and you'll see things you wouldn't expect like Justin Hoyte having the best tackling statistics.

There are rumors going around that we have been linked with Rodrigo Palacio as well as Nery Castillo. Both of the players are quality and were at Copa America so we'll see what happens, but for now they are both just rumors.

That's really about all today. Next match is on Thursday in Austria against a team who's name I can't pronounce. We'll probably get to see the new signings make their debuts. Looking forward to it. Cheers all.

Barnet 0-2 Arsenal

Well this is my first match report, and it's tough because I couldn't actually see the match as it wasn't broadcasted anywhere but Arsenal TV, but here goes, Barnet vs. Arsenal.

We started off with an interesting lineup, some of the regulars and a few young guns as well as one really shite player, Alexandre Song. The starting lineup was like this: Almunia, Gilbert, Toure, Song, Clichy, Randall, Denilson, Flamini, Walcott, Van Persie (Woohoo!), Adebayor. Interesting having Song play in the back, surprising that Barnet didn't score. The only other REAL surprise was Mark Randall getting the start. He's one to watch for the future and hopefully he'll be quite good. Also good to see Walcott and RvP back in action after their injuries. Eduardo Da Silva was there in the stands but neither he nor Sagna were in action on the day.

So anyways, on to the match.

Kolo Toure was given the captain's armband for the match, which is a brilliant choice in my opinion, but I do love Gilberto. Van Persie had some speculative efforts early on that were no real danger, and Barnet had a few goes as well but neither ever looked like scoring early on. Adebayor had a good chance pretty early, but was denied by the Barnet keeper.

Arsenal opened up the scoring not too long into the game. In the 18th minute we got a corner kick and Van Persie sent it in to Walcott. He flicked it across goal to Adebayor who was waiting and he knocked the ball home on the half volley. 1-0 to the Arsenal!

Just after we had opened the scoring Barnet had a chance of their own. Jason Puncheon got a ball on the left hand side of the area with a scoring chance but Almunia did well to come out and smother the chance.

Adebayor had another good chance but the ball was just out of reach as he slid in to try to make the play. In the 25th minute Walcott sent in a cross for Van Persie who headed it off the bar but then was ruled offside. Denilson later had a long range attempt that was off target and Gael Clichy also missed the target after a rebound from the keeper.

Half time came and along with it came 6 new Arsenal players: Fabianski and Nordtveit came on to make their debuts, along with Armand Traore, Kieran Gibbs, Nacer Barazite, and Gavin Hoyte.

Rui Fonte, Fran Merida, Paul Rodgers, and Henri Lansbury would later come on.

Theo Walcott made a good run right after half time and passed to Adebayor who flicked it back to the trailing Kieran Gibbs who sent his shot wide. Adebayor then had another chance after Flamini sent him a ball forward to the edge of the box, but he sent it wide.

Denilson got injured in the 56th minute and had to go off on a stretcher, although it was announced later over the PA that he only had a minor injury and Wenger says he should be ok in a couple of days, so good news.

Soon after, Walcott sent in another cross for Adebayor which he again failed to convert.

In the 66th minute however, Nacer Barazite sealed the deal. There looked no real danger when he got the ball on the right channel but he sent a screamer past the keeper into the top of the opposite corner. A brilliant strike by him and hopefully will give him some confidence going forward.

The only other real action after that was a hard shot by Traore that was saved by the keeper and also a few shots from Barnet, but the game was effectively over after the second Arsenal goal.

So now I'll give out a few post game awards, which I plan to do for every match.

Man of the Match: Theo Walcott - He sent in several good crosses and got the assist on the first goal of the match. Good to see him back

Goal of the Match: Nacer Barazite - A real cannon from the young gunner sent across the goal into the top left corner.

Needs Work: Adebayor didn't have a good game finishing. He had several chances and although he converted one, he could have had many more. It's only the first match of the season though so we'll give him time of course, because I for one think he is a real quality player.

And that's about if for this one, let me know what you think of the style of the reports. Later all.

ArseNole

Barnet Preview and More

Arsene Wenger has said that he will probably field a "very strong" squad for tomorrow's friendly against Barnet. It will probably be some first team players and then anyone who Wenger thinks is on the verge of breaking into the first team. He gave a list of the big names that could feature.

“Basically the players that are back in training are available, so you could see Kolo Toure, Manuel Almunia, Gael Clichy, Mathieu Flamini, Denilson, Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor. They are all likely to be included so it should be a very familiar side.”

So Flamini is back in training? Doesn't he want to leave? I guess nobody has really shown him much interest. He's kindof had it rough, he can't get a chance to play regularly here, which affects other teams' interest in him. Hopefully we can offload him and get a couple of million before the end of the transfer window.

There is no official squad list for this one but that's what we have from the boss.

Elsewhere, Alex Ferguson has said that Arsenal are better off without Thierry Henry.

'They'll be in the top four,' said Ferguson on Sky Sports News. 'I'm more convinced they will be in the top four without Thierry Henry. 'I just thought it was time for him to go. Arsene Wenger knew that, and I think they'll do better.'

That's the first person that has come out and said that he thinks we'll be better without him. I have looked at it both ways myself and have moved on mentally from having him in the team. We played most of last year without him, and we will be fine this year and for years to come.

Cesc Fabregas said that he did talk to Real Madrid, but after talking with Arsene Wenger, decided to stay with Arsenal. He just signed an 8 year deal last year and it's a bit disheartening that he had to have a talk with Wenger just to think about it. You'd think he really loved the club by the length of his deal but I get more and more worried about him leaving sooner rather than later.

He added: “I would try to sign Eto’o — he would be the ideal replacement for Henry. I know it’s difficult, maybe impossible, but it would be the perfect solution.”

That's right about all. Good day lads

Sagna Arrives, Hoyte on the Way Out?

Hello all, another rainy day here in Florida. Hope it's a good day for all of you.

First off, Bakari Sagna was officially signed yesterday. The fee was around 6 million pounds. He stated that Arsene Wenger was a big reason that he signed with Arsenal.

'Arsene Wenger is a major reason why I have signed for Arsenal. 'He is an excellent manager with a fantastic record and I am really looking forward to working with him.'

Sagna creates more competition at the full back spots, as he can play both. He was called into the French squad for the first time but has not yet received his first cap. He looks a good player and I am looking forward to seeing him play. Hopefully he will get to play against Barnet this Saturday, although I am not sure if he is in the squad yet.

'We have youth and the fact that no-one really rates us means that maybe we can surprise people,' he added. 'The young players want to prove what they can do and I want to prove what I can do. And all of this together will help us have a good season, I hope.'

That's a good thought from him. Many people (read what Drogba said a week ago), think that we won't be able to compete this year without Henry. I don't know if Drogba knows this, but we drew with Chelsea when they badly needed a win last year...and we didn't have Henry then either. I think teams really will underestimate the squad and that will work to our advantage.

We may also get to see Eduardo Da Silva for the first time this Saturday. He looks set to debut and let's hope that he adapts to our game quickly. I think he will.

Reports say that now Manchester City has made a 6 million pound offer for Freddie Ljungberg. This is good news because that creates competition with him for Fiorentina and may drive the price of him up. 6 million is already more than I expected to get for him and we could make a good bit off of him. He's definitely on the down-side of his career so 6 million for him would be a great deal.

There are rumors today that Reading could be making a bid soon for Justin Hoyte. I think Justin is a quality player and hope we don't sell him. He is only 21 I think and has a good future ahead of him. He made some good performances last year and I think he is a better defender than Eboue. If they do come in for him it probably wouldn't be a large fee so I hope we hold onto him. More to come on that.

Arsenal target Ryan Babel has agreed a 11.5 million pound switch to Liverpool. This is fairly disappointing to me because I liked Babel, but that price is way too high for him at this stage in his career. He is an Arsenal fan but for that much money he really had to move to the scousers. Liverpool does seem to be adding quite a bit to their squad and will be a formidable team next year I would imagine.

I have also heard that Arsenal are looking to sell William Gallas and Sevilla and Real Madrid are interested. If he is sold then Curtis Davies could be targeted as a replacement.

Nery Castillo has recently been linked with Arsenal as well. He plays for Olimpiacos in Greece and also for the Mexican National Team and is currently away on duty for the Copa America. He is rated at around 6.5 million pounds and can play forward or in the midfield. He is only 23 and looks to be a good player, so we'll see what happens.

That's about your news for the day. Cheers mates.

Freddie Could Leave

Well it's been reported all summer that while Arsenal was ok with selling Freddie Ljungberg or releasing him on a free transfer, Freddie himself has said he is determined to stay with the Gunners and complete his tenth season in London. It appears that now that might be changing. Freddie's agent Claes Elefalk has said that talks between Arsenal and Fiorentina are going on right now. Arsene has reportedly asked about getting striker Valeri Bojinov in the deal as well, although Arsenal would have to add cash to get the 21 year old. Another striker at a discount price seems like a good deal to me personally. Freddie has been a great player for Arsenal for his entire career here, but he really is just not getting the job done anymore. He rarely scores (2 goals in the last 2 seasons) and he is constantly injured. He used to be a 10+ goals per season type of winger, and along with Pires, that accounted for most of the midfield scoring we are sorely lacking now. I wouldn't mind seeing Freddie go if we can get in Bojinov for him. He spent last season on loan at Juve and I don't know much about him but he is young and Arsene has a gift for working with youngsters. Tell me what you think.

Bakari Sagna completed his transfer to Arsenal today. They have agreed to terms and he was reportedly in London yesterday completing his medical. He will wear the number 3 shirt vacated by Ashley Cole. He's a good player and has just broken into the National Team for France, but I just wonder if it's too many players at one position. As I wrote yesterday, I am not for putting Eboue at the wing, I think he is shite at defending and would be even more shite on the wing. But nonetheless, Sagna is on his way. Funny looking bloke really, here's a picture of him putting on the new kit here.

That's about it for the day today. It's 2.99 Tuesdays at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Delicious. Oh and one more thing, if you want to subscribe to the site so you can get any updates as soon as they are posted, click on the link in the side bar. Thanks.

Get Lost Gallas

So Billy Gallas is at it again. He's been talking on his blog about how he's not at Arsenal to play for third place and how we have a lack of ambition and he does not know if he will be an Arsenal player much longer. Please do us a favor Arsene and sell him. Madrid wants him. As I have said earlier, Reyes and Gallas to Madrid for Robinho. We'll even throw in our entire rest of our transfer budget. Just get Gallas out of here. I'm so sick of him whining and I can't stand it anymore. He came here and played half a season and now he acts like he's the team captain and by far the best player, and not only that, he thinks he's the best board member and manager of the club as well. Let's hope he's out of here soon. If anyone disagrees I'd love to hear your side of it.

It's surprising to me that we haven't heard from Arsene Wenger lately. He hasn't made any REAL statements since Henry was sold. He didn't say much of anything about Da Silva and hasn't spoken at all since. This could mean a couple of things: maybe he's working on a new signing, maybe he's working on his own new contract, or maybe he's just having a rough time of it at the moment like most of the rest of us and doesn't feel like speaking to the press just so they can link him with Madrid again. Hopefully he'll give an interview before the friendly this Saturday and we'll get some kind of updates.

On to another point. I've been hearing A LOT of talk about bringing in Bakari Sagna and moving Eboue to right winger. What is our MAIN problem about the wings this past year? Everyone has complained about a lack of goals from the midfield. Is Emmanuel Eboue honestly going to solve that problem? He's a defender! His passing is no better than Hleb's and his dribbling and finishing most certainly aren't as good. There seems to me to be no point in putting him at right midfield, because it doesn't solve any of the problems we have at the position. I don't think Eboue is a very good defender, but I don't think the solution is to put him on the wing. Find a new one or leave Hleb there, but we don't need a defender in the midfield. Let me know what you think.

In other news, Matthew Connolly has gone on loan to Colchester United for the year. He seems really happy about it so that's good for him. Hopefully someday he'll break into the first team squad. I think Wenger rates him pretty highly so we'll see how he does over the course of his loan spell. Best of luck to him.

And that's about it. I'd really like to know what you think about Gallas and Robinho and Eboue. Cheers all

Yoan Gouffran to Arsenal

Yoan Gouffran has signed with Arsenal for a reported 2 million pounds. He has signed a four year contract. I had not heard anything about it but I saw it on a rumor page and decided to look into it and found it on several other sites as well saying we have signed him. He plays for FC Caen, and will apparently be loaned back to them for the upcoming season. He is a winger/striker, but usually plays up front. He played at the U-21 Championships last year and scored one goal in four appearances. He would the French League 2 player of the season award for last season in helping his team get promoted. I haven't seen him play personally but I'm sure you can find some highlights of him somewhere. More on him to come when the move is confirmed officially by the club.

Theo Walcott has said he has recovered from his injury and is ready to go for the new season. He continued by saying he has set himself a goal of 10 goals this season and at least 25 starts. He says he can make up for the loss of Thierry. Good to hear from Theo because I think he'll be great for us. We have to remember that he is still only 18 years old and needs time to improve like every other player. I think he will factor in more this year though and am looking for big things from him in years to come.

Reggina's Rolando Bianchi is being looked at by Arsenal, Portsmouth, and Manchester City. He was on the verge of moving to Napoli earlier but they pulled out at the last minute. He plays striker and he's another young one, so I don't know very much about him (I can't stand watching Italian football unless it's Milan). I'll keep you posted if there is any more news about him.

Fernando Torres gave an interview thanking Cesc Fabregas for convincing him to move to the Premiership. This is clearly a clever trap by Cesc, who along with Gilberto will kick in his shins until his lower legs fall off and he can no longer play.

That's all the news today but I just wanted to throw one more thing in here. We need a winger, and there's been talk of names like Malouda (now at Chelsea) and Ribery (now at Munich), but no talk of Shaun Wright-Phillips. He's clearly available, Chelsea haven't been playing him and now they even signed another winger. You'd think his adoptive dad Ian Wright would say, "Hey son why don't you play for the Gunners? They need a winger and you can kick the shite out of Chelsea then!" Sounds good to me. What do you think?

Cheers mates

ArseNole

Reyes Staying at Madrid

Jose Antonio Reyes is looking very likely to stay at Madrid, with negotiations ongoing with Real Madrid and Reyes' agent. His agent said that Reyes has no intention of returning to London, which we already knew, and had this to say about his fee:

'Arsenal are not asking for 20 million euros (£13.6million) but they are asking for a reasonable fee in accordance with what they paid to Sevilla. The negotiations are on the table.'

Reyes won the title for them after coming off the bench to score two goals to win 3-1 in the last game of the year. Let's hope that knocked the price for him up a little bit more, because there is no way we're going to get back all we spent for him. Let's just hope we get rid of him.

Gilberto Silva is going to be a great captain. The first thing he did after becoming captain was to blast Didier Drogba saying that Arsenal would not be able to compete next season.

"So Drogba said we're already out of the title race, did he? Well, let's wait and see what happens," Gilberto told The Sun.

Sounds like one of those statements you would make if you had an Uzi under your kit for the Chelsea match. Very nice Gil, very nice. He continued with this, and it's quite a laugh because it's true.

"What I do know is last season Chelsea spent a fortune on new signings and still couldn't beat Arsenal once in the league.

"They didn't defend their title either, so I think Drogba is talking a little bit too much."

I love Gilberto. He's going to be a great captain for us and will hold us together after the Henry departure. Looking forward to a big season from him.

Mathieu Flamini is a target for Valencia. Flamini is wanting to leave the club and may buy out the rest of his contract. He was a useful player but never really was going to be good enough to be a first team regular, so hopefully something will work out for him. Best of luck mate.

The squad numbers have been released and you can see them here.

Also there is another Cesc to Madrid story but we know those are all rubbish anyway.

That's about it. A fair bit of news today and hopefully more tomorrow. It'll be my brother's birthday so wish him a happy birthday. Cheers mates!

Wenger NOT in Talks With Real Madrid

Absolutely no news at all today folks. The only thing we've got is Real Madrid saying that they spoke to Arsene Wenger about their vacant manager's position. Arsenal came out right away and said that Arsene had not spoken to them at all about the manager position, and honestly who would want it? Capello got sacked after winning the title! But anyways, Arsene isn't going anywhere, and there is increasing talk of him signing a new Arsenal deal, which would be huge for us, because it shows his commitment and most likely keeps Cesc here a lot longer.

The Telegraph is reporting that Gilberto Silva will be given the captain's armband and that young Cesc Fabregas will be the new vice captain. Not really a surprise if this is the case, most would've expected Gilberto to get it after being Vice Captain so long. He'll be a better captain than Henry was, he's more of the type to lead by example I think and not much of a motivator, but he does work hard and he can direct the team more from midfield. Kolo would have been my other choice, but I think Gilberto is a great leader and will wear the armband proudly.

That's seriously all for the day, absolutely nothing in the news. Look for more tomorrow.

ArseNole

2 Full Days Of News...Which Means Not Much

Well hello all, I was out celebrating independence yesterday here in the states so I didn't get a chance to write, so I'll make up for it today.

First off, the ArseNole has reached its first 1000 hits. Here's hoping for many more to come. I hope you all enjoy it.

Now today's news, then I'll do yesterday's.

Former Gunner Paul Merson stated that he was worried about the Gunners next year, and wondered if we could finish in fourth. Well Paul I don't know if you've forgotten, but we ALWAYS finish ahead of Sp*rs. Always. He goes on to say that Da Silva is a decent signing but it will be hard to replace Thierry Henry. Was this really a news story? I think anyone that has ever watched football could say it will be tough to replace Thierry Henry. So enough rubbish out of Paul.

Eduardo Da Silva has given his little bit about how he hopes he can step out of the shadow of Henry and make his own mark for Arsenal. He's wearing number 9 and any GOOD mark he makes will be the first in that shirt in a long while. But seriously though, I do hope he adjusts fasts, we've seen a lot of times where it takes up to a year to adapt to the English game, and we can't really wait that long, we need the goals to come fast and early.

Freddie Ljungberg's agent is in the news again, this time refuting a reported move to Fiorentina. He's said it's just speculation and Freddie is intent on completing his 10th year here. Why is it that when player's get old and shite then they want to stay but when they are good they decide to leave? I don't know but that seems to be the pattern.

Five of our Young Guns have been awarded professional contracts, so they will be continuing their careers at Arsenal for a awhile longer at least. Nacer Barazite, Rui Fonte, Paul Rodgers, Jay Simpson, and Wojciech Szczesny were all given deals with the club. All of them featured in the FA Youth Cup run to the semifinals last year, so it is good to see their efforts rewarded and hopefully they will be big players for the club in years to come.

In other news, the striker that many Gooners wanted to see come to Arsenal is apparently close to signing with Manchester United. It's been reported that the transfer fee has been worked out and he will sign for them after the Copa America. This is miserable news for us and let's hope the Glazers sell Manchester to some Sheik's from Saudi Arabia and the move the team there and sell all of their players and make them slaves building pyramids or something.

And that's about all I've got for you today. Enjoy. Cheers

Pete H-W Pleased...Are You?

Well today fellow gooners we have clinched the singing of Eduardo Da Silva. He passed his medical and everything has gone through, so he'll officially be with us next season. Peter Hill-Wood is pretty happy about it, you can read what he had to say here.


Da Silva seems to be genuinely really happy about joining the club, so let's hope he will be inspired to work hard and put in some really good performances for us. We'll certainly need it to make up for the loss of Thierry. He scored on us in the Champion's League so he does have quality, we just have to see if he can stand up to a full season of English football, which I imagine is far different from the Croatian League. He will wear number 9, so hopefully he will do better with it than Baptista, but then again, I myself probably could've done more than Baptista.

Cesc Fabregas has said he expects Thierry Henry to be at his best for Barcelona next season. Who really bloody cares? Shouldn't Cesc have more important things to worry about? It's time we move on from Henry. He is a legend for the Gunners, but he is gone and we move on with the players we have. The current players and us as supporters need to be talking about what we have now, not what Henry might do in Spain.

Mathias Jorgensen has turned down a move to the Premiership and instead signed a contract with FC Copenhagen. Wenger rated him highly and wanted to bring him in but he apparently isn't keen on a move, at least not yet. If we get defensive help he will need to have more experience anyway.

About it for the day really. Have to be off to class and it's pouring rain. Wonderful. Cheers all.

ArseNole

Eduardo Da Silva...Wooohooo

Well we have finally signed a striker! Tevez? Nope. Martins? No. Eto'o? Wrong again. We have signed Eduardo Da Silva of Croatia. He played for Dinamo Zabreg and scored 34 goals in 32 appearances last year. The fee is 16 million pounds, the same amount as we sold Henry for. He is 24 years old, so older than both Tevez and Martins. Does anyone think this guy is anywhere near as good? I've honestly not seen him play much if at all so I don't know what he is capable of really. I'd love to trust Wenger on this and I do of course hope he will be a quality signing but it seems very strange to me that we wouldn't get a proven goal scorer in one of the top leagues. He had recently signed a massive 10 year deal with Zagreb but as long as he passes his medical he'll be on the way to the Emirates.

"I am excited and happy in the same time, also very proud that I am going to play in such a big club," da Silva told Uefa.com.

"Every football player wants to play for Barcelona, Real [Madrid], Manchester United or Arsenal one day and so do I.

Well at least he sounds like he's really happy to make the move to North London. Let's hope he can make up where our captain left off. We need to give him time to adjust to our game and to English football but we really have the right to expect big big things from this lad because of his transfer fee. I'm a little skeptical, let's hope I am very very wrong.

And that's about all really. Leave your thoughts about Da Silva. Thanks. Cheers all

Eto'o still coming?

So sources today say that we may still yet bid for Samuel Eto'o. They are saying 20 million pounds will do it. I'd think we would have swapped him for Henry if we were really going to make this happen, but as I'm reporting the Arsenal news it needs to be said. While Eto'o is probably the best of the strikers we've been linked with in my mind, I don't think it will happen. If it does I'll be even more confused, because it would make no sense to give Barca all their cash back for Henry and more.

Barca: We'll take Henry, you get Eto'o, sound like a plan?
Arsene: Well I don't know if that's fair for you, he is our all time leading scorer ya know?
Barca: Ok then I guess if you want to throw an extra four million in...
Arsene: Ok deal, sounds good.

Yeah, confusing isn't it?

In other news, Arturo Lupoli has officially left the club and has joined Fiorentina. He never really did much for the club and spent last season on loan at Derby where he had a good enough year to warrant a return to Italy.

As I posted yesterday, Real Madrid are interested in keeping Jose Antonio Reyes, but they want him cheap, which isn't surprising. You rarely hear about teams asking if they can pay more for a player. Eventually I think we will let him go for cheap, but for now we are supposedly sticking with 9.5 million pounds for him. Some people are saying we should keep Reyes, but I don't think that's really an option. He doesn't want to play for Arsenal or live in London, so let's get him out as soon as possible.

Didier Drogba has opened his yap today, saying that Arsenal are no longer in the title race without Henry. If I was as ugly as him I'd try to stay out of the press personally. I really hope we beat those chavs next year.

Florent Malouda has been linked with us, but now says his intention is to move to Chelsea. He says he has spoken with Jose Mourinho and is keen on a move to Stamford Bridge. Best of luck you overrated twat.

And that's about it on the day. Hopefully some more news tomorrow. Cheers