Hello everyone, sorry I haven't gotten to you all in a few days. My girlfriend was over and I really just didn't get around to it honestly. But now we're back and we have some interesting news, Arsene is considering appointing a new captain for next season. This goes right along with everyone and their sister bashing Gallas as captain this year and Wenger seems to have jumped on board. He said he has made no decision for sure yet but he will look at it at the end of the season and make a decision for next year.
I think this could be a really big ripple put into the lake that is the squad if Gallas is removed as captain. I think Gallas himself would surely want to leave. He is very proud and I think having the armband removed would make him a sure-fire candidate for a move elsewhere. This would also mean we would bring in a new center back in all probability. It would also reopen the debate as to who should be the captain of Arsenal. Right now my top three choices would be Kolo, Flamini, and Cesc. We'll see where this goes after the season ends but this could be a big story so we'll be on the look out.
Continuing his talk of next year, Arsene Wenger has said it would be criminal to leave Arsenal right now with such a bright future on the horizon. We really do have a good core of young players but we still need to bring in a couple of new guys. However, if we did lose some of our big young guns like Cesc or Ade or Walcott or Clichy it would really set us back.
“You can go to Real Madrid and Barcelona, but you have no more guarantees to win trophies. It would be criminal not to believe we could do it because we were so close this year. We have a very young team with a great future.”
He is right. Just look at Barcelona this year. Henry went there to win trophies and they aren't going to win the league and they probably won't win the Champion's League either. It's hard to get through to young, ambitious players and convince them that you can win right here at Arsenal but it is crucial to our future success to keep building with the base we have established now.
Gilberto, the man who probably should have been captain this year, (although we wouldn't have seen such a great year from Flamini) has a lot of praise for Theo Walcott who played very well against Reading on Saturday. He said that he has bags of ability and just needs time. When you read all that he said it shows you what a true professional Gilberto is and makes you wonder what happened with Gilberto and Arsene to cause him to be left out so many times this season. Yes Flamini is having a great year, but Arsene couldn't have predicted him to be this good, especially considering how solid Gilberto was for us all last year. I hope he gets a new one year deal honestly. I love having Gilberto around.
In the transfer rumors section of today's post we've been linked with some of the usual lot, like David Villa and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, but we've also been linked with three new names, Niko Kranjcar, Amauri, and Kamel Ghilas. Now I have only see Kranjcar play out of those new names so I really can't tell you much about them but if anyone has any insight feel free to let me know.
That's all I've got for today, I'll be back with more tomorrow.
3 comments:
I really like Gallas as captain. Many criticized him for what went down at the end of the Birmingham match, but personally I like to see fire like that from a leader. All the attacks he got from the English press and some Arsenal supporters made me wonder if maybe the English view of a "captain" is different from the American view. When I hear the word "captain" I think of Jason Varitek of the Red Sox - certainly no stranger to showing emotion or even getting in a fight when necessary. To me Gallas has that. Gallas also seems to have a knack for scoring the timely goal.
I wouldn't mind your other choices though. I feel like Cesc is destined to become Arsenal captain at some point, and Flamini brings the same fire that Gallas has. I'm less sure about Kolo as captain, but I do have to give him credit for a sick pass to Ade for the first goal on Saturday! Never thought he could fit that pass in there.
I don't mind Gallas at captain either, I just have a problem with the Toure/Gallas partnership and I honestly think Toure is a better defender, but he would be the one dropped if Gallas was still captain. We have to give Gallas credit for the way the team played the first 2/3s of the season when we only lost one time. Everyone is quick to bash him now during our run of poor form but he was praised earlier in the season. I just think Arsene saying that he was thinking about who it would be, and on Arsenal.com even, not some bollocks site, is significant.
I think Cesc, Flam, and Toure all would make great captains. I think the team respect Toure more than anyone on the team. You can tell they listen to him and he is always positive in his statements to the press and that may be what we need. I don't know what will happen all I can say is what's best for the team is fine with me!
Put me down for not liking Gallas as a captain. I like having your central defender as a captain...I just don't think Gallas has the temperment for it. And for the record, my family is French and I'm a big fan of the F.F.F. and Gallas as a player, that said, if you remember last summer Gallas was making all kinds of noise after Henry left about how Arsenal wasn't going to compete for trophies and at this point in his career that's all he cares about. I always got the feeling that giving him the arm band was in part to appease him. Anyway, I think the team played well early on for a number of a reasons none of which I think you can say where due solely to Gallas's leadership as captain. I think probably at the most crucial point in this season, the game at Birmingham when Eduardo was injured was the time we most needed a captain's leadership...and we all saw how he reacted. And I've heard you argue about the emotions of that day and what not...but that's why you need a captain who's a leader...christ he made Eboue look like captain material on that day. And when this team started dropping points he certainly didn't do anything to rally the troops. Now that's a bit harsh...I don't blame the end of this season on him, and furthermore with the injuries we suffered and the poor decisions against us I'm not sure you can pin our demise on anyone or any one thing. At the same time...you can't deny that it happened with him as the captain of the team. And the fact that Arsene who is so keen to keep the squad together and maintain the status quo is talking about reviewing the captaincy speaks loudly. I do think if you take it away from him he throw a hissy fit....and I'd really hate to lose him as a defender...but so be it...he's a great central defender, but he's replaceable. Big problem is I'm not sure who the clear cut captain is. I think Cesc is the man for it down the road...not sure I'd want to put all that on him now. I like Kolo a lot, and I love the idea of Flamini as a captain, but he needs to resign first...but bottom line...this is a young squad...I think we need a rock solid captain...veteran or not. Okay...there is my worthless opinion for the day.
These transfer rumors are getting nuts by the way. I read Arsene shot down the David Villa rumor...interesting...though I agree with the WSD guys...if he and Cesc form a dynamic duo at the Euro's you'd be crazy not to bring him in.
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