Arsenal Should Sell Cesc Fabregas

I think Cesc Fabregas’ time at Arsenal is nearing it’s end. He has been a great servant since joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole. Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best interest to take that kind of cash?

The importance of Cesc to this team over the past few seasons is undoubted. He has led from the front for the most part, and he has been a loyal servant since he first arrived from Barcelona. His talent is world class, and any team would love to have a player of his quality. My fear is that this current Arsenal team have become too reliant on Cesc, and when he is injured like he was for a good portion of this past year, we seem to lose our way.

Selling Cesc would give us the freedom to change formations into what I think we most suited for, the 4-4-2. That would allow Jack Wilshere/Samir Nasri/Aaron Ramsey to have the creative slot in the center of midfield next to Alex Song. Up front we could have both a target man like Marouane Chamakh or Nicklas Bendtner (if we keep him) next to the brilliance of Robin van Persie. Or we could move Theo up front with RvP and play them in the Bergkamp/Henry roles. The wing positions could be solved with a number or options, including Arshavin (again, if we keep him), Theo, Nasri, or Wilshere, along with potential signings Eden Hazard and Gervinho. I think our players are more suited to a 4-4-2 formation that has been so successful for the club over the years as opposed to the 4-3-3 we have been operating with the past few seasons.

The other benefit of selling Cesc, obviously, would be the large amount of money we would be getting for him. If you need to bring a lot of players in to revamp a lineup, then you are going to need a lot of money to do it. While we’ll get some money for selling Denilson, Bendtner, Almunia, and some others, all of that won’t even add up to the money that we would get for selling Cesc. He wants to go back to Barcelona, and I can’t really blame the guy. If you watched the Champions League Final you know how brilliant a team they are, even if they are a bunch of twats. Let’s take that big money for him and reinvest it into the team instead of keeping a player around who doesn’t want to be here and eventually selling him for a lower price or losing him on a free when his contract eventually runs out.

Cesc has been a good servant to the club, but at some point you need to move forward without certain players. Arsenal sold Vieira, we sold Henry, and we can sell Cesc too. You can’t replace a player of his talent level one for one, but with a squad that needs so many things fixed, I’d prefer 3-4 very good players to one great one. Let’s make the move that will make everyone happy and sell him this summer.

Feel free to agree or disagree with me, and if someone wants to write an article opposing what I just wrote, you have an open invitation to email me your article and I will post it here unedited tomorrow. ArseNole{at}arsenole}dot}com. Cheers and up the Gunners.

PS: I'm still going to marry Cesc's sister ;)

Thierry Quits France, Joins the Red Bulls

'Ello boyos! Been almost 4 months since I wrote anything on here. Full time jobs will do that to ya, not to mention our season didn't end in the best fashion, and the World Cup has been on for the last month, so those are my excuses.

So Thierry Henry, Arsenal legend, made two big announcements this week. The 2010 World Cup was a disaster for the French team, and Henry has decided to retire from International Football in the wake of the fiasco. He's France's all time leading scorer, (as well as Arsenal's of course) but will probably be remembered as much for his hand ball against Ireland as he will for being a part of the side that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Honestly I couldn't give a shit about the French team so I'm not arsed that he's retiring from internationals. But it is a blow for France for certain any time you lose a player from the golden generation.

The second big announcement this week was that Thierry is moving to my beloved United States to play in the MLS for the New York Red Bulls. Now I'll be the first to admit that I think MLS is a shit league with shit players and overpaid fucks like David Beckham only make the league look worse. This however, is in my opinion a brilliant signing. Henry still has plenty of gas in the tank, and against lower quality teams and players he should be able to get into top form. He doesn't have the pace that he used to, certainly, but he still has that knack for finishing and finding the right spaces on the pitch. When you look at him paired with Juan Pablo Angel, the Red Bulls instantly have the best strike force in the league.

Awesomely enough, his debut for the Red Bulls is going to be against some huge cunts, Tottenham. If there's one thing I can guarantee in that match, it's that Thierry scores a goal. Out of all the people who love scoring against Sp*rs, Thierry is especially good at it. While he'll only be here for half of the MLS season this year, I would put a good bet on him to be the league's top scorer next year. I wish him all the best and hope that I can make it up to one of his matches before he finally retires.

In other news, Barcelona are absolute fucking cunts. I don't think there has been one day since the summer began that one of their players came out and said how much they'd love to have Cesc Fabregas with them at Barcelona. Well that's good for them. Ya know, I think Cesc would fit in perfectly with my 7 a side team. We've been looking for a good midfielder this whole season and I think he'll fit right in. Cesc isn't going anywhere, so Barca should really keep their holes shut.

The World Cup was fun, but at the same time it kinda sucked. The matches didn't really stand out, with the exception of the Ghana-Uruguay match. That was mental. I really couldn't believe the insanity that happened at the end of extra time. The Final was awful. The Netherlands played like a bunch of cunts, fouling all over the place and never trying to actually do anything. Spain wasn't brilliant but they got the job done and so fair play to them and especially to our Captain.

Ok that's about all the time I have since I have to get back to work. I might do another post in the next few days (gasp!) with an Arsenal season preview. If not then I predict that we win the Treble - League, FA Cup, and Champions League. Cheers.

Carlota Will Be Supporting Arsenal vs Barca, but Birmingham Comes First

Being a blogger is like working as a web designer or a fashion designer. You really only work when you feel like it and if you don't work then nobody is really going to notice or care. Every once in a while you'll have a really great article and get a few comments, and other times you'll be lucky enough to piss off a whole group of people who will leave you angry comments, (just look at this post) but most of the time you're pretty much writing for yourself and a few other people who stumble upon your page and have nothing better to do. So for those of you who have accidentally rolled onto this page, here are a couple thoughts about Birmingham, Barcelona, and whatever else I think of.

Barcelona is the match everyone is talking about, but I'd argue that Birmingham is the more important one. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the Barcelona match as much as anyone, but it's dangerous to overlook Birmingham just because Barcelona is a more attractive club. This weekend we'll be without Thomas Vermaelen, because of his suspension for a red card that should have never been, and without William Gallas, still out with injury. That leaves us with Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre. Not exactly a top class center back pairing for a big club. While Sol has done well, Silvestre should never be in the starting lineup for a team trying to win the league. The boss has indicated that he may rest Campbell for this match, which leaves us with Song and Silvestre in the back, which not only gives us a weak center back pairing but weakens our strength in midfield too, against a team that haven't lost at home since September. It's a scary possibility, and for a team that needs to win every match for the rest of the season, it's really making me nervous. The focus of the team needs to be 100% on Birmingham, and we can leave Barcelona until next Wednesday. Anything less than 100% will see us lose at St. Andrews and be out of the title race.

I have to give some thoughts on Eboue while I'm writing since I haven't given him his proper due since I've been out so long. I was one of the ones criticizing him last year for his poor (and sometimes completely dire) performances. Well this year he has completely changed his attitude, his performances, and my opinion of him. He's been nothing short of brilliant for us this year, whether he's in the front three or playing right back. His runs, his movement, and his work rate have made him one of my favorite players to see in the team. I'll go far enough as to say that without him, we wouldn't be where we are in the league right now this season. So fair play to Emmanuel Eboue, maybe my player of the season to this point.

The West Ham match last Saturday really gave me hope for the title challenge. We could have crumbled after Vemaelen's red card. It was a BS call, and we could have gone down to a team that is fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table, but we didn't. Almunia pulled out a moment of brilliance to save Diamanti's penalty, and the team stayed strong with Song and Campbell in defense. Then Cesc completed the victory by nailing that penalty after his strong run (aided by Eboue, who again was excellent.)

Speaking of Cesc, you'll remember that about seven months ago I had a post about marrying Cesc's sister, Carlota. Well as it turns out, she finally found that I had written that and I ended up talking to her a bit on twitter. She's a very nice young lady and said that Florida is a beautiful place. I'd have to agree with her. So cheers to you Carlota and if you're ever back in Florida dinner is on me.

Speaking of Carlota, and Cesc, and Arsenal...we play Barcelona in the Champions League! It's got to be one of the most exciting matchups in the history of, well, history. The best club in the world at the moment versus the team we all love and the team that plays by far the best football in England, if not the world. I like our chances, I have to say. Xavi and Iniesta versus Cesc and Nasri/Diaby/Denilson, Clichy versus Messi...the prospects are mouthwatering. I'll get into breaking it down more next Monday or Tuesday, but I will say that I think it will be one for the ages. Get your DVR's and your TiVo's ready to record, because these two matches should be ones you'll want to show to your grandkids one day. For the record, Carlota will be supporting Arsenal.

CarlotaFabregas @ArseNole I'll go to the two match and I'll support Arsenal, so don't hesitate it

That's about all I've got for today. Let's focus on that Birmingham match and the Barcelona match can wait until next week. Come on Arsenal, let's get it done!

I'm Going to Marry Cesc's Sister, Portsmouth Preview

Hello everybody. How's your Friday going? First home match of the year is tomorrow, and we're playing Portsmouth, who are shite. In face, they're probably going to get relegated. I've put some money on Arsenal to win -2 goals, so we pretty much need to win by three for me to get paid. I'd very much appreciate it if you could pull that off Arsenal.

Theo Walcott, Rosicky, Djourou, and Nasri are all out with injuries, and Carlos Vela is apparently sick at home with Spattergroit. I really have no idea what has happened to Vela, but I wish he'd get a chance to play sometime, yet there's been no sign of him. Eduardo is passed fit for tomorrow's match though and he could maybe make a start.

We need a win, simple enough. For one, I can't handle seeing Sp*rs at the top of the table, and for two, we need to keep ahead of Man U after their loss to Burnley. We play them next weekend too so this match is really important to take all three points from. I don't think that sentence even made sense but you know what I'm getting at.

There's really not a whole lot more to say about the match. Let's just get three points and get it done and get out of there. That's like the shortest preview I've ever done but I really can't think of a lot to say about it. I'd expect to see most of the same team we've had for the other two matches to play, but maybe we'll give Song or Denilson a rest along with RvP. Diaby could start or Ramsey could start, but we'll see.

Now on to more important topics.

I've figured out how to be related to Cesc Fabregas. It's going to be tricky, and take a lot of work since she lives in Barcelona, but I've got the right attitude and resolve to see that I complete this goal of mine. You see, I've decided I'm going to marry Cesc's sister, Carlota. How am I going to pull this off you ask? Well. That's the tricky part. I suppose I'll just move to Barcelona and woo her with my delightful American charm. I haven't really thought it through much more than that, but that's the plan anyway. I can cook pretty well too, seeing as how I do attend culinary school. Now I just have to learn to speak Catalan. I believe with hard work and perserverance and a lot of luck, I'll soon be related to the Arsenal captain. Love it.

Wish me luck.

C'mon you Gunners.

Cheers.

Arsenal's Problems All Down To Teeth, Bring in Lorik Cana

Morning all. How are things? I'm doing just swell, except the whole not having any money thing is getting a little old. So when you're wondering, "Hmm, I wonder why the ArseNole hasn't posted in 3 days..." it's probably because I'm sitting around trying to think of a way to make money without getting a second job. I tried the lottery, but amazingly I did not win. I think I'm going to branch out into sketch comedy or something else that will be completely hilarious and cause people to throw kajillions of dollars at me, so I can just sit around and write about Arsenal all the time. That's the plan.

So what's new with Arsenal, you ask? Well, not a lot really. Not a lot besides discovering the cause of all of Arsenal's problems! Actually just Robin van Persie's injury problems, but if you figure we have a fully fit RvP for the full season, it could definitely solve some of the problems we have had. His doctors say that the reason he suffers from so many muscle injuries is because of his wisdom teeth.

"I fear I'll be forced to drink porridge through a straw. My osteopaths think there may be a connection between my teeth and the muscle injuries I suffer."

That's a bit odd isn't it? How bad does that suck that you get a couple more teeth in and suddenly you're pulling groins and hamstrings and every other muscle that isn't anywhere near your teeth.

"It could have an influence on the recovery time my body needs after an injury. Three of the four specialists I chose were rejected by the club."

Both of my Grandpa's are dentists, so I wonder if the club would approve either of them for the operation. I know they've done a lot of wisdom teeth in the past so maybe we can get RvP over here to Florida and get that done. If somehow this has been contributing to his muscle injuries and removing the teeth makes him stay more fit, I'll be absolutely amazed and thrilled. We all know what an important player he is when he's fully fit so let's hope he gets this done and it has the effect they say it will for him.

The other news is not really news at all, but Cesc wants Xabi Alonso at Arsenal. Of course we've heard this before, just last summer, but we didn't get him or anyone else for central midfield.

"We need someone in the middle to make competition and make a difference, plus give us a new dimension. I think that is all we need. The rest is perfect. Xabi would be great. He's experienced and can score goals. I'm sure the boss is aware of that fact."

Yes, Xabi is a good passer, he does have experience, and he can score goals. However, he does not kill people. I'd like to have someone in our team that loves killing. Patrick Vieira would not have hesitated to kill someone, and we need that mentality in the team. Lorik Cana is exactly the type of player I'd like to have. He's the captain of Marseille currently and he pretty much smokes chumps and lights up fools all over the field. He's a f***ing animal really and if you don't believe me watch this video. I've watched him in several Marseille matches and I just really like what he does on the field. Who knows if Arsene thinks he's Arsenal material though.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is all I have today. I'd like to say I'll do a podcast soon, but I pretty much can't guarantee anything with how my schedule is lately. Class every day, Karaoke on Tuesday, Poker Wednesday, the Baseball all weekend. It's hectic I tell you. I need to get a sponsor for that thing. Or sell drugs. That would make it way easier.

Alright, I'll get back to you all tomorrow. Subscribe to the website if you haven't already. Follow me on twitter, for the good of your souls. Follow Miley Cyrus too, cuz she is my future baby mama. Hit me up on my Myspace. Or Ole Ole. Or join the forums so we can get those started back up again. Just do all of the above. It will make supporting Arsenal THAT much more fun for all of us.

Arsenal-Manchester United Prediction Contest/Preview

Morning all. Going to be a quick one this morning as I've got some stuff to get done today to make sure I have my afternoon clear for tomorrow's match. Everyone getting excited yet? I've been thinking about it since last week's match on and off but I think it's just now setting in that the game of the season is tomorrow.

Today I want predictions, thoughts, and everything else to go along with the match tomorrow. If you've got what you think is the score, share it with us, and if you think you can guess Arsene Wenger's lineup then go for it.

I think the match really depends a lot on the first 20 minutes. If we come out and we're playing well and controlling the ball, even if we haven't scored I think that will give us a huge boost for the rest of the match. If we could get an early goal that would be immense because theoretically we could win the match 1-0 and still go through on penalties but that is leaving too much to chance and I don't know that any team can shut out United when they need a goal in a match this big. It's all down to how our midfield and defense can stifile players like Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, and Berbacunt and control the ball. Against Portsmouth we had a lot of possession and the game turned out like you'd want any game to. The last United match though we were pressured and couldn't hold onto it like we needed to and well, we were awful going forward.

The key to the day is yet again Cesc Fabregas. Wenger needs to play him in his central midfield role and not as a support striker. His passing, vision, and control, not to mention his cool, are just what we need in midfield. He dictates our tempo and sets the table for players like Walcott, Adebayor, etc. Speaking of Adebayor, I'm not sure if he'll get to start or not tomorrow, with Bendtner having a good match against Pompey Saturday and Robin van Persie training today. A player like van Persie is important to have because he has a dimension that Adebayor and Bendtner don't really have, and that is some trickiness and cleverness with the ball. I don't know if he will start or not but I'd expect to see him at some point for sure.

Obviously if United score the task becomes a lot more difficult a lot more quickly. Clichy and Gallas are still both out but Silvestre is back training so he should start. Eboue could play at left back again or Gibbs could slot in there. Either way they have a rough task on their hands. United aren't going to sit back with just a one goal lead, nor do they every just sit back and defend. Ronaldo and Rooney are real game changers, who even if United aren't playing well can score a goal on their own that puts us in a really tough spot of having to score three goals. Almunia needs to have another top notch day but he really needs some quality help from his defenders.

Theo Walcott will be important down the right-hand side. Patrice Evra hasn't had his best season for sure at left back and we'll need to try to get him into some space where he can use his pace and quickness. I hope to see Nasri on the left instead of that awful central midfield role that Wenger had him in last week which was really not playing to his abilities. And I'd like to see Alex Song continue in the team in the holding midfield role. Of all our players, I think he's improved the most this year and his work ethic in trying to shut down the other teams attack is one to be admired. He's certainly not the prettiest out there, but he has been effective and we need him in there for such a big match.

So like I said, I want to hear from all of you today. I want score predictions, lineup predictions, and how you think the match will go as a whole. I'm going to make it into a little bit of a contest, with the winner getting a £10 gift card from Arsenal.com. All you have to do to win is predict the match score along with the scorers. I'll even pay for the shipping. So submit your predictions either to my email, which is ArseNole[at]arsenole[dot]com or just leave it in the comments with your name. Remember, you have to be IN the contest to WIN the contest, so you might as well get your name in! Come on you Gunners!

Arsenal Are Getting Me Hot And Bothered

That's right, they get me all hot and bothered. Why you ask? Well if you saw how we played against Manchester City yesterday then they would be making you wet as well. Remember when I was talking about that 4-2-3-1 formation? Well we went with it and it worked incredibly well. The lineup looked like this:

Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Toure-Clichy
Song-Denilson
Walcott-Cesc-Arshavin
Adebayor

Adebayor and Cesc were both making their returns from long term injury absences and neither one of them was the least bit disappointing. Two assists for Fabregas, two goals for Adebayor. The first was from a free kick that Adebayor headed in, and the second was a nice ball from Cesc over the top that Ade controlled, dribbled around the keeper and finished easily. It was great work from them both and it showed just how much potential our team has on their day. With Cesc, Nasri, and Arshy working those attacking midfield roles it presents a scary proposition for opposing defenses. Adebayor was back to the Ade of old, running hard, scoring goals, and putting in maximum effort the whole time he was out there. One instance particularly stands out to me, when he gave the ball away in their half just a little outside of the box, and ran the full length of the field to track down the ball and help in defense. It made me really happy to see that kind of effort and if we could get all of our players to show that kind of effort then I think we could honestly win every match we played.


Song and Denilson were pretty good in the holding roles, and they really allowed Cesc to have a much more attacking role, which was great. In the second half we completely dominated the game, with City barely seeing the ball and having approximately zero scoring chances. So while we were great, it must be said as well that City were horrendous. They couldn't hold on to the ball, they wasted the few chances they had, and didn't look at all like contenders for anything except relegation. Money doesn't solve everything City.

So up next we have the Champions League vs Villareal in Spain. They had an awful result this weekend, losing 3-0 and Robert Pires got sent off. Not the best match leading up to the Champions League, but all the better for us. I tell you, if we don't get any weird injuries and play like we played yesterday, we'll win in Spain. Not just score an away goal, but win outright. I fancy us to go through to the next round, and I think you'll see a good performance from us on Tuesday.

So we're seventeen league matches unbeaten which is quite an impressive streak. We still have to face Liverpool, United, and Chelsea this season though, and we also play Chelsea in the FA Cup and United if they beat Porto and we beat Villareal, so it is a tough road ahead. On current form though, would you argue that those teams would beat us? Liverpool are playing really well, but we've shown ability to break them down and score some goals against them. Chelsea and United both seem to be in a bit of a slump, so I certainly am not counting out three points against either of those teams.

The season seems so much brighter now than it did just a few short months ago. We're headed to Wembley for the FA Cup Semi-Finals, we're in the quarter finals of the Champions League, and we're playing loads better in the league and almost have our Champions League spot cemented for next year. It's much more fun to watch football when your team is winning, and that time is now.

Come on you Arsenal!

PS: Yesterday I bought the website www.ArsenalYouth.com. If you have any ideas for what you think should go on there relating to Arsenal's youth and reserve teams, feel free to let me know!

Cesc Back To Face Manchester City And More

Morning all. I'm watching Family Feud this morning, because there isn't much else on tv and for some strange reason I do enjoy family feud. This braniac on there just had this question:

Host: "Name something that has wings."

Wife: "A bird!"

Host: "Do I see a bird? Yes, number one answer! Ok now you sir, name something with wings."

Husband: "A chicken!"

Host: "Amazingly sir, the judges classify a chicken as a bird. Try again."

Husband: "A pidgeon!"

Yes, he really had that exchange. That is why I watch this show, because of fools like that man there.

On to Arsenal news though, and it looks like Cesc Fabregas is going to be back playing this weekend against Manchester City! Arsene Wenger had this to say:

“He is ready to play again. But he needs three games to be back [at his best]. We are due to play eight games in 25 days, which are all decisive.”

It's true they are all key games. We've got the match ups with Villareal which are of course a huge priority and we also have to keep the space between ourselves and Aston Villa with some tough league matches left to go. Cesc is the captain of our team and the creative force behind it, one that has been sorely lacking before the arrival of Arshavin. With Nasri, Arshavin, and Cesc in as creative hubs, the goals have the potential to start flying in, granted our strikers can finish.

Striker could be a problem for the weekend, with RvP and Bendtner injured on international duty. It looks like Adebayor is ready to go though, as he made a scoring return for Togo over the last week. He could be paired with Eduardo, which would be interesting, or he could be up front on his own, which would allow a five man midfield with Cesc, Nasri, Arshavin, Denilson, and Song. Either of those would be good to see and we need to avenge the beating City gave us earlier in the year. We were playing like shite back then though and we're playing well now, not to mention we have Arshavin and Eduardo with the squad now who we didn't have back then. I'm really looking forward to Saturday.

Bakary Sagna has been linked with a move to Juventus, but he basically told them that they could blow him. He said he's happy at Arsenal and has a contract till 2014, which I thought was a ridiculously long contract when I read it until I realized that that is only five years. Can you believe in five years it'll be 2014? Crazy. But yes, he said he enjoys playing for the club, likes the team, likes the manager, and doesn't want to leave. That's the best answer you could possibly give. Full credit to Bak on that one, and that's why he's one of my favorite players.

There isn't much else today. Match Saturday, NBA playoffs coming up (Go Celtics!), and baseball starts again for me tonight so there is a lot going on in the next couple of weeks. Hope you all have a good one. Cheers.

I'm Following Cesc Fabregas On Twitter

He's never had a single update but he has managed to get 202 followers somehow. Such is the magical power of Cesc Fabregas. If he ever does update it will probably be in Spanish like Sergio Ramos' anyways, meaning that I can't even read it. F my life. I like twitter but there's not a lot of things you can do with it. 140 characters is not a lot to speak your mind so you can pretty much only say things like "off to the Grocery Store" and "Robbie Keane is a cartwheeling cunt." However if you do want to take part in the twittering you can follow me here.

Not a whole lot in the way of news today besides that Adebayor is going to play for Togo. He wasn't going to supposedly when we allowed him to go join up with the squad last week but now it has come out that he will indeed be playing even though he's been out for quite a while with a hamstring injury. It pisses me off a bit because if Arsenal didn't want him to play then they shouldn't have even let him go to Togo. At the same time though, if Togo said that they wouldn't play him to Arsenal and then they decide to play him later, then that is just wrong.

It won't matter at all in the long run as long as he makes it through the match without getting injured again. In fact, then it will be a bonus that he plays because he can regain some match fitness. When he returns it opens up another whole debate about which strikers (Eddy, RvP, Adebayor, Bendtner) should play the majority of the matches the rest of this year. Personally I like RvP and Adebayor together and I think they compliment each other pretty well, but a lot of you will probably disagree with me.

Oh yeah, this is completely irrelevant but I figured I'd throw this out there. That 4-2-3-1 I was talking about yesterday? I said I would try it out on Football Manager and indeed I did. I went with this as my default lineup:

Almunia
Sagna-Toure-Gallas-Clichy
Denilson/Diaby-Cesc
Nasri-Maxi Rodriguez-Arhavin
Adebayor

I signed Maxi Rodriguez because Walcott is still learning to play center attacking mid plus he's incredible so that helps too. The formation has worked remarkably well though, having beaten Liverpool, drawn away to United, and not lost a league match through eleven games. Unfortunately we're not top of the league though because Chelsea haven't drawn a game all year and they've only lost once. Eduardo is getting pissed because I never play him but I do try to get him in for the cup matches and group stage games.

That has nothing to do with anything really but there really isn't a lot to talk about during these long breaks so sue me. You know who I hate? Tim Tebow. That's right.

I don't have anything else to say really. Time to make some coffee. My last exam of the quarter is tonight, on safety and sanitation in the kitchen. I got that on lock though. Cheers all.

Arsenal Draw Villareal, Then Man United

Morning all. The Champions League draw was this morning for the next two rounds, and would you believe it, we've avoided another English team and drawn Villareal. I don't think it could have happened much better for us. Barca get drawn with a tough team in Bayern Munich, either Chelsea or Liverpool HAVE to go out since they are drawn against each other, and we won't have to face the Mancunian scum until next round as long as we both get through!

I have to say that I'm thrilled with the draw. I think Villareal are a team we should be able to beat if we're playing at our best, plus it means the return of Robert Pires to Arsenal! Everyone loves Robert Pires, so it should be just look Henry or Vieira returning in terms of the warm reception he'll get.

Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis, who remember is somewhat newly arrived, said this could be our year in the Champions League after he saw the draw this morning, and although this quote from his is really long, it's really good so I want to include the whole thing.

"We are laser-focused on the next round. We think we can get a result, but when we played them in 2006 we only just squeaked by. It will be a difficult test.

"The one thing we do believe in is not just the quality of the team, but also the character of our team. I think we saw that in the really difficult environment in Rome.

"Young player after young player made their penalty kicks when they had to. And we will have to draw on those reserves of character to get past Villarreal.

"We have never lost belief in ourselves. We have a superb group of young players. We still believe there is a potential for a really great season for us.

"We can beat anybody on our day. But we can't think beyond Villarreal. We will worry about the next step if we can get by the Yellow Submarine.

"In 2006 we missed out on this trophy by a nose. It might be our year this year. But it is not going to happen just because we want it to. Don't underestimate the depth of character we have."

He's absolutely right I think. The draw sets up favorably for us, and Roma I think really did give our players a leap of confidence. Remember Theo after we won the shootout said it was like celebrating winning the World Cup in the dressing room. I'm getting really f'ing excited about the chances of winning the FA Cup or the Champions League this year. Obviously I want the Champions League more but just winning a trophy again would be magnificent.

Liverpool vs Chelsea for the 5th straight year is really a worry for me. Don't they know that these ties between these two teams are the most boring ties in the history of football? What's worse, I'm sure these will be the matches choosen for television coverage here, because they always favor Liverpool, Chelsea, and United over here in the states. So with two of them in the same match it's a given, which leaves me watching Arsenal on my computer. I'll live through it though, because I think we have a good chance to make it through to the semi-finals for the first time in...I think ever, since 2005.

In other great news, Cesc Fabregas was back in training for the first time yesterday. That's the most welcome news I've heard in months. Imagine him back playing with Arshavin. Won't that just be amazing? I hope we have room for Arshy, Nasri, Cesc, and Theo though once they're all healthy. It would be a crying shame to have to leave any of those magicians out.

There is however, some bad news today, as Theo Walcott suffered a knee injury in training. Arsene Wenger says it locked up while walking back from training, and thinks it could be a cartilage problem. He said he is "surprised and worried" which is never good, and it makes me surprised and worried as well. Theo has been great since we got him back from injury and he brings a whole new dimension to our attack when he's able to go on the right side. They are scanning the knee to see how long he'll be out but fingers crossed that it's only minor.

That's all I've got. I'll try to get a match preview up for Newcastle tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the fact that we got a good draw and Cesc's return! Cheers

Phil Brown vs Cesc Fabregas

Morning all. After our great comeback against Hull all the talk has been about Cesc Fabregas' alleged spitting instead of our comeback win to get us to Wembley. It's a shame but that's just how the media is. I wanted to be a journalist once, then I realized that if I ever had to write bad things about the Jaguars or the Seminoles or the All Blacks or Arsenal then I'd want to stick my head in a fryer, so I decided I'd rather be a chef. Maybe Phil Brown should have stuck his head in a fryer at a young age too so we would never have to listen to his horrible lies.

Vs.

So the story is as follows, apparently as the teams were walking down the tunnel, Phil Brown says that Cesc Fabregas came and spit at his assistant manager's feet. Cesc of course denies any such incident occured.

"I will leave it in the FA's hands for the time being - I will wait to see what they say," he told The Sun. I've absolutely nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. The simple fact is I did not spit at the assistant manager of Hull City."

And of course Cesc is completely right. Phil Brown was just pissed off that his team can't win a match to save their lives or their season and so he made up a story that he knew would be damaging because it's our captain, even though he didn't play in the match.

Phil Brown's story, on the other hand, went like this:

"The pictures in the national papers verify the aggression he was showing towards players and staff after the game."

"I could go on but I am not one for crying over spilt milk.

"I then witnessed him going down the tunnel and turning around and spitting at my assistant manager's feet.

"Whichever way you want to look at it, he addressed that spitting incident at my assistant manager, who has managed probably 1,200 games in his career. Disgraceful act.

"I am not going to report it, I am not going tittle-tattling to the FA - if they want to investigate that is their decision, and if Brian Horton wants to take it further he will get the full support of Hull City."

The problem is that he DID go report it and the FA IS investigating the incident, or lack thereof. He's spent the last two days moping about telling anyone who will listen how terrible Arsenal is and how they need to be punished for doing nothing wrong. If Cesc had spit at Phil Brown he's still be right, because Phil Brown clearly deserves it, the cunt.

Brown also claimed that Arsene Wenger refused to shake his hand after both of the matches against Hull in the league this year, even though there is video and pictorial evidence showing that handshakes did indeed take place. He also decided criticizing Cesc's attire would help his case, which is totally unfair because I think, in a non-gay way of course, that Cesc looked quite good in his jacket and jeans, while Phil Brown looks more like Vince with ShamWOW.


The headset really makes the resemblance there. In fact that's possibly the only thing they have in common, but whenever I see Phil Brown and his queer headset I think of Vince with ShamWOW.

The moral of the story is that Phil Brown is a cunt, who's charges will not lead to any punishment against Arsenal or our beloved captain, and it would be nice if he would just do the world a huge favor and pour meat all over him and jump into a tank full of sharks.

Champions League draw is tomorrow morning. I'm hoping for Barcelona but I think most of you want Porto or Villareal. I want to see Henry come home though. Plus I think we can take Barca. Maybe I'm just hoping, but I can see it happening. Cheers all.