Win Tickets to the 2010 World Cup!

Hello everyone. Today I have a really fantastic offer for all of you, a chance to win a free brand new SE W995 handset courtesy of Sony Ericsson. It's a £500 value, and all you have to do to win is answer a simple trivia question! Even better is that one of the handset's will come with a golden ticket (Willy Wonka style) and if you find that, you could win a trip to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa! The prizes are as follows:

Grand Prize: 1 x 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Golden Ticket
This golden ticket entitles the winner to a pair of tickets to every game their country plays – including the final. This once in a lifetime prize includes flights and 4-star accommodation are included.

Weekly Prizes: 2 x pairs of tickets to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™
Winners will see the drama unfold. Each week we’re giving away two pairs of tickets to a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ match. Flights and three nights in 4-star accommodation are included.

Daily Prizes:1 x Sony BRAVIA TV
Every day a stylish 40-inch Sony BRAVIA TV will be won so fans can follow all the action live for edge of the sofa viewing.

I don't think it gets any bigger than that for a football fan really. Imagine taking your new phone on your trip to South Africa to watch every match your country plays at the World Cup. I think that's something everyone wants to do.

So how do I enter you ask? All you have to do is answer this trivia question by emailing me at ArseNole[at]arsenole.com. The question is: Who scored the first goal in the 2006 World Cup in Germany? The winner will be randomly drawn from all of the correct answers and you'll receive your handset from Sony Ericsson in the mail shortly after. The contest runs until August 23rd.

So get to answering! Remember, all entries must be receieved and in my inbox by August 23rd. If you win, I'll contact you for your shipping details and then your handset will be sent to you shortly after.

I hope everyone enjoys this contest! Start entering!

I Like Turtles

Yeah, I could talk about Adebayor leaving, or who his potential replacement could be, or even about tomorrow's friendly match. But instead I'm going to show this video, because I haven't been able to stop laughing at it, even after watching it at least a hundred times. Enjoy.

I'm Going to Try To Defend Adebayor (Sort of)

Morning all. Hope everything is going well for you. Not much has been happening with Arsenal in the last week or so, besides the ongoing Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City stories. Just yesterday it was reported that a fee (25 million pounds) had been agreed and a he was given a work permit for the move. Now though it seems there has been a snag, and Adebayor has asked City for a little bit more time to think if this is the right move for him. Financially it certainly has to be, as he'd be making much more money there than he ever would at Arsenal. However, he doesn't want to be seen as greedy back in Togo, where apparently Arsenal is much more popular than Manchester City (go figure).

Everyone is eagerly awaiting this deal getting done, because nobody wants Adebayor at Arsenal it seems. And while I think 25 million for him is good business for us, I don't think he was nearly as bad for the club as most people think. I've compared him side by side with RvP, who everyone loves, in the past. Adebayor has been a more accomplished goal scorer for Arsenal, a player who manages to be in the side much more, and has lead the line on his own countless times. Sure, sometimes it looked like he was being lazy, but Bendtner looks the same way running around up top on his own. He's also been criticized for everything from being offsides too much, to missing easy chances, to kissing the badge on his shirt. (which almost every player does at some time or another) He's taken more stick from Arsenal fans than anyone I can remember that has played for this club. So why on earth would you expect him to be loyal? Can you blame him for wanting to display his talents somehwere that they might actually be appreciated? If your own fans aren't even going to cheer for you that isn't exactly a motivating factor. Do you think it's coincidence that players that the fans have loved over the years have stayed longer? If I felt like I was getting no love from my own club's fans despite scoring 30 goals in a season then I would want to be somewhere else too. So yeah, he may be a bit greedy, but it's no different than anyone that came from a poor background and made it out. Wanting to get paid for your craft isn't wrong, so yeah, when you combine the money and the fans giving him so much shit, I can't blame Adebayor one bit.

As for his potential replacement, Marouane Chamakh, he's biding his time and waiting for an offer. Sunderland is interested, as well as Arsenal, and I would expect a bid to be tabled for him should the Adebayor move go through.

"I have good contacts from clubs and the possibility to join a Premier League club. I will take my time because there is some very interesting interest and I have to make the best choice."

I don't really watch Bordeaux, but I'll expect he's a pretty good player or else Arsene wouldn't want to sign him. Either way, when we're getting in 25 million and only spending 7 million for the replacement, it should leave us lots of cash so spend on a defensive midfielder.

That's about all I've got to talk about today. I'm going to go drink some coffee, eat some goldfish, then go to the gym in a little bit. Boom, outta here.

Kroenke Leapfrogs Usmanov, Melo Goes to Juve

Morning everyone. A couple of things have been happening in the world of Arsenal in the past few days so I figured I'd keep everyone up to date.

First of all, it's only 8 days until the first preseason match! We'll get to see that annual match vs Barnet, which while not an overly competitive match usually, it is the return of football each year and that is something to be celebrated. I'll get more into a preview for that match in a couple of days.

The big news I guess this morning revolves once again around one Alisher "The fat Uzbeki money grubbing cunt" Usamanov and one Stanley Kroenke. A few days ago, Usmanov offered to inject 60 million pounds into Arsenal's coffers for transfer activity. Mind you, all this money is questionable and sketchy at best. Needless to say, Arsenal rejected the offer. Ivan Gazidis had this to say:

With regard to players, the Board decided not to issue permanent capital in the hopes of signing one or two players in an inflated transfer market. Instead, the focus continues to be on securing the services of talented young players we have on long-term contracts and making very selective acquisitions, only where a new signing will add real value to our already strong squad.

Some of you will say, "Shite, why would you turn down 60 million quid to spend on the team?" Well because it's not how Arsenal does business. It never has been that way, and I hope it never will be that way. The club is built on a sound business model that, while sometimes is frustrating, is crucial to the club's long term success.


Along these same lines, Stan Kroenke has today increased his shares by 1,600 shares to now own 28.5% of the club, making him the club's largest shareholder, passing Usmanov. Some people are still skeptical of Kroenke, but I personally place my faith in the Arsenal board, who have been around Arsenal for decades. There's a reason they invited Kroenke to join the board and continue to reject Usmanov. Kroenke, they feel, is someone who has the club's interest at heart, while Usmanov is a horrible person who eats kittens for lunch and baby seals for dinner.

This increase does put Kroenke awfully close to the limit of 30% before you are obligated to make a full takeover bid. It seems almost inevitable that there will be an eventual bidding war between Kroenke and Usmanov, and I'm fairly sure the board is doing their damndest to make sure Kroenke wins that war. And I'm backing him too. While I'd rather have the ownership split up like it is right now, if it's going to be one of these two it's not even a question.

In other news, Arsenal target Felipe Melo has signed for Juventus, effectively ending that transfer saga. I did think he would be a perfect fit for us, but I guess we didn't want to spend as much as Juve did. The question is who do we look at for that holding role now? There's Inler of course, and Veloso, but my guess is that Arsene will go for someone totally off the wall that we've never heard of. Your thoughts?

That's about all I've got today. Thoughts on Kroenke, Usmanov, Melo, and Barnet are all acceptable, as well as anything else you want to say. Have at it. Cheers.