Hleb Off To Spain, Euro 2008 contest.

Morning all. Nasri has again not been confirmed today in case you were wondering, but this is most likely due to the fact that he was playing for France last night. Awful hard to be in London when you're playing for France. Try it. Arsenal News Review says he played well. Le Grove said he didn't play all that well. I didn't watch it so take your pick of the reviews of his performance if you're that into it.

Nasri's agent did however confirm that the deal will be done in the coming days and it will be to Arsenal. Read this.

Biggest news we have today is about Alexander Hleb and if it is anything it's confusing. Apparently Hleb's agent met with Txiki Begiristain (nice name), the Barcelona director, yesterday in Germany. They reportedly reached a verbal agreement on the player's terms and now an agreement must be struck with Arsenal to complete the move.

At the same time, Real Madrid have declared their interest in Hleb, with coach Bernd Schuster saying this:

"Over the past two months we have had a plan and we know what we want, but now Hleb has been added. We did not know he could leave Arsenal but in recent days it has been more positive. We were surprised that he might leave there."

Remember also that Inter Milan was thought to be leading the race to sign him for ages until the Spanish gians got involved. Personally I couldn't give a shite where he goes to, I'm just ready for him to be off. This reminds me of the Jose Antonio Reyes story last year, where we didn't know where he was going to go we just knew we didn't want him back. It took weeks of him being linked with Real, Atletico, and Sevilla before the move finally went through. There are some people that may still want Hleb in the team, but I'd take 10 million quid for him right now in a heartbeat.


If you're looking for a laugh you can laugh at Mathieu Flamini, who was dropped from the France squad for Euro 2008. A lot of people probably feel sorry for him, but not me. I like ex Arsenal players this is true, but I only like ones who were great players here for years, like Pires, Henry, Vieira, etc, not money grubbers who leave after one good year. Flamini deserves all the hardship he gets in my book. If you disagree, please name your reason why.

Robin van Persie has said that Arsenal need to raise their wage limit to keep players happy and make them stay at Arsenal. Of course he wants the wage limit raised, he's a player and he wants more money. I like van Persie and all but he can talk about all this when he becomes club director, or at least stays healthy for a whole season.

As you probably all know, Cesc Fabregas' new agent is Darren Dein, David Dein's son. With Cesc getting ready to go into contract negotiations with Arsenal, the talk is that he's going to play some hardball with the club. Cesc is going to re-sign, trust me on this one. There is no need to worry that just because Dein is his agent he is going to go to Barcelona this summer. He'll probably get a deal about 100,000 quid a week. This story is meant to get all the Arsenal supporters nervous but don't worry about it.

And in other news Mad Jens made the final cut for the German squad for the Euros. Good job Jens.

That's about all I've got for the day. I'm pretty stoked for the Euro's so if you want to give me your prediction on the finals, give me the two teams that will play in the finals and the final score and I'll give the winner a free ArseNole stein mug and maybe some other stuff too. It's used to drink excesses of beer, like Yuengling. So post your prediction on the forums or the comments and I'll write em all down and the winner will get that. Or you can email your prediction to me at ArseNole[at]arsenole(dot)com. They have to be in before June 7th.

Wenger Reacts to Flamini Departure

Hello everyone. I think I need a new pillow because mine seems to give me a headache every day. Anyways, on to Arsenal.

We'll start today with Arsene Wenger reacting to Mathieu Flamini opting to leave Arsenal and sign for AC Milan. In his comments there was a lot of talk of being close to the title and player's not having the fight to come back and give it a go next year, which is what a real "winner" would do. While Flamini was certainly allowed legally to leave, you would like to see more loyalty to the club, especially since we aren't exactly Birmingham or Sunderland that never win anything.

"I must say I am disappointed that he did that but legally he can do it.

"We were close this year but we did not win and what I expect from my team is for them to say 'let's come back next year and win'.

"If our players are not capable of doing that and just want to walk out for bigger contracts, for me that would be the biggest disappointment."

You have to agree with him there. If every player left after their contract ended then no team would ever be able to build a squad and we would all have to turn into Chelsea and buy all the superstars in the world just so that we had a good chance to win for one or two years. I am holding a grudge against Flamini for this. Don't hold our beloved Arsenal under the water and try to make us give you more money. Either say you're leaving or say you're staying but don't toy with the club like that.

In other non-loyal-to-Arsenal news, it's Alexander Hleb back again and it's looking likely that he's going to sign with Inter Milan after the match vs Sunderland this weekend. The Guardian reports that Inter are prepared to pay him much more than the 50,000 quid per week he gets at Arsenal and The Times says that Alex has already confided in some of his team mates that he is leaving. Don't you wish they had just smashed his face in when he told them that? I don't care if Hleb leaves. He just doesn't do it for me. Let's let him leave and get his salary off our hands and just put Theo out on the wing every game. At least he can score goals.

Emmanuel Adebayor is keeping his head up after the disappointing end to the season, and at least he isn't talking about leaving for anywhere.

"I have scored 30 goals this season - but also missed a lot so that tells me I can score more. I realise now what I can do, so let's just keep doing it."

And in regards to his future he had more positive words:

"I am at the right team at the right moment playing some good football and scoring goals so of course I am happy," he declared.

"The most important thing is playing for the fans, and having the opportunity to play with so many great players at the club.

"As a footballer you want to make history and leave your name at a club.

"I hope I can do that at this club because I love the club."

If you read this site you know I love Adebayor even while everyone else who is an Arsenal "fan" seems to hate him. This is further proof of why he is a player to love and not to hate. He knows what he needs to work on, admits it, and is going to try to improve on it for next season. And, unlike Hleb and Flamini, he loves Arsenal and wants to make history here. Keep it up Ade and you'll have your name in the history books one day!

Jens Lehmann had some very nice things to say about the squad, which is in sharp contrast to his bashing of Almunia all season. He says the squad has more talent than at any other club and while there will be some changes in the summer he thinks the team will develop further and be ready for the challenges ahead. It's nice to hear from Jens and it really is making me miss him already. Good luck at the Euro's Mad Jens.

And last but not least we'll have some transfer rumors of course, and this time we've been linked with Inter Milan's Maxwell. Maxwell's agent has been quote as saying that Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Valencia have all enquired about his availability. No idea if that's true as it could just be an agent trying to stir up interest in his client. Never trust those agents the sneaky bastards.

And that's all I've got for you today. Off to work now so have a good one. Also, I finally got a subscription to Arsenal TV Online yesterday so if anyone wants any old highlights or anything feel free to email me and I can find a way to send them to you. ArseNole[at]arsenole.com

Flamini and Jens are Gone

And that's how it is in football. Players can depart at any moment, no matter how long they've been there. Flamini and Jens are two completely different stories at Arsenal.

Jens was the mad keeper who got us to the Champions League Final in 2006 with his penalty save against Villareal and kept us unbeaten through 49 straight games. While he got a little bit (quite a lot bit actually) angry this year when he was dropped from the first team, we cannot forget all the things he has accomplished while he was here. He was on the decline of his career and it has gotten to the point where he wasn't our best goalkeeper. I will miss Jens though and all he has done for Arsenal over his time here and I wish him all the best.

Flamini, on the other hand, didn't really accomplish anything of note at Arsenal. He was shite for three years, got to be a quality player in our system this year, and then pissed off to Milan for more money. His career at Arsenal was just starting to look up this year and he could have tied down a partnership with Cesc for years to come but greed overcame him and he decided he'd rather go to Milan. Now he has to be replaced, which probably won't be quite as difficult as people seem to think, and I'm not even going to wish him luck at Milan. Why would I? As I said he's done nothing of note here and then once we make him into the player that he is now he leaves. Plus I hate those Italian bastards.

I really don't have time to write much else today because I've got work in an hour. I'll get something up again tomorrow but for now let's just think about the good times with Jens and Flamini. Oh I remember that 90th minute penalty...Riquelme vs Lehmann...I was honestly worried about it even though I knew Jens could save some spot kicks. He saved it though, and then acted like it was no bid deal. Typical Jens, mental, but we love him. Have a good day all.

Flamini Past His Due Date, Edelman Leaves

Hello all. So we're finally into May and Mathieu Flamini still hasn't signed a contract with us even though Arsene set him a deadline of April 30th, so it's safe to say that he is gone. He is healthy again so he may play against Everton Saturday in what would be his last home game with Arsenal.

According to the Daily Mail, Flamini has asked for the ridiculous sum of 144,000 quid per week, which is "similar" to what Milan offered him. Piss off then Flamini, it's as simple as that. If I was Arsene I wouldn't be offering him over 50,000 a week either. That's how Arsenal works and if you throw it off now because of one good year it's going to mess up our whole system. Flamini has been at the club for four years, and while he has been great this year, before that he was shite. Why would we give him that much money off of one good year? People say it will be hard to replace him but I've got the solution. Re-sign Gilberto and bring in a 22 year old that can learn from him. Gilberto did well against Chelsea and against United and clearly has something left to give, plus he is a true leader and loves the club. He isn't going to ask for ridiculous wages and he won't ever be a problem in the locker room. Get rid of Flamini, let him piss off to Milan for that kind of money and play in the UEFA Cup, ya mug.

The other big news currently with Arsenal is the departure of Keith Edelman. Now there are a lot of different stories surrounding this departure but I'll tell you what they all say and then I'll tell you what I personally think. The Mirror says that Edelman and Arsene didn't get along very well and Arsene sort of encouraged the other board members to get him out of there. ArsenalInsider says that not being able to re-sign Flamini may have cost Edelman his job, and also says that Stan Kroenke could be asked to take a bigger role on the board now. Remember when everyone hated Kroenke before Usmanov came along? Kroenke looks like a saint next to that pudgy twat. And The Times says that Edelman was just a penny-pincher and that Arsene never really had all the money to spend that we thought he had.

Now I don't think that Arsene forced him out of his job. I really don't. Keith was a big player in getting us our new stadium which has really brought in a lot of money for the club. I think what it really is is a combination, Keith is all about business and not football, so he tried to save a lot of the money that came in to run a better business and not caring so much about the product on the field. Feel free to disagree, this is just my view.

Arsene Wenger spoke about the wage structure of the club and reminded people that while Arsenal do bring in a lot of money there is 360 million in debt on the stadium that is being payed off, which is yet another reason not to pay Flamini ridiculous wages.

And lastly, in transfer news we have been linked with Sydney FC's Mark Milligan. He's apparently had a trial with Arsenal before and word is he was about to sign with us previously but couldn't get a work permit. I've never seen nor heard of the man and think that the A-League to the Premier League is quite a stretch but who knows.

Match report if I get time before I go coach tomorrow, if not enjoy the game. Cheers. I'll leave you with this video of Cesc Fabregas on fire. He's the greatest.

Wenger Ready To Spend Big

Morning everyone. The transfer talk has started in full since we're out of every competition, so there's going to be a lot of talk and very little action for the next few months by my estimation. It's amazing how every single year people, including the media, think we are going to go on a spending spree and by five great players for big money that are ready to play right away. It never ever happens. We'll probably buy one or two players who Wenger think have the potential to start, but not overpriced players, and then we'll buy a youngster or two. This is how it works every year.


So today we start with Arsene Wenger saying he is not "scared" to spend big money if he finds the right player whom he thinks is worth it.

"Scared of what? I would not be scared." "If we have the money, and I am convinced it is worth it, we will do it."

Now something interesting is said here. Wenger says "if we have the money." Listening to Keith Edelman and the rest of the board it sounds like Arsene has loads of money, in fact the stated number was 70 million pounds. So why would Arsene say if we have the money when clearly we do? Who knows? Maybe it's to try to work down other teams that would want more money if they thought we had tons. Anyways, I think maybe for once this talk from Wenger could be heading toward a signing we have heard of before.


Now for some exit talk, and of course it starts with Hleb and Flamini. Hleb's agent (who has become quite a prick) is linking his client with every team imaginable just about trying to drum up an offer for him.

"I'm often approached about Hleb...I have nothing to hide; Aleksandr is a world-class player. Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona are interested in him. But there are no official offers."

There are reports of a huge transfer fee for him, and if we did get an offer with anything over 10 million quid I say sell him. He is a good player but he never scores and if he wants to go we may as well let him.


As for the Flamster, he's wanted by Bayern and Juve. I want your opinions on Flamini, I really do. Do you think he's staying or going? I have to say my opinion is that he is going. It's mid-April and there's no news of him even being close to signing a new deal, while the list of clubs after him add up. I think he's gone, what do you think?


Now as for players coming in the player on most everyone's mind is Hatem Ben Arfa. He hasn't been playing as much at Lyon as he would like and seems to know of our interest because he says his future will be sorted out at the end of the season. He does, however, say that he is happy at Lyon and his talks for a new contract are progressing. I think it could be good that he is getting less playing time, maybe they are preparing to sell Ben Arfa so they want to give other players a run out. Guess we shall see. We've also been linked with his team mate Karim Benzema, but I don't see that one happening.


For news on the dressing room atmosphere, it is once again Emmanuel Adebayor saying to pick ourselves up and finish strong this season.

"It is difficult, but I know my mum will be somewhere watching the TV, so I have to play for her, all my family and all the people who love Arsenal.

"We have to win all those games now, to play for our honour and for our fans."

It's always Adebayor encouraging us on. Adebayor, Toure, and Gilberto are always the ones providing us with the motivation and are always willing to work for it.


This is going to set me off on a rant so here goes, scroll down if you want to skip it. I'm SO SICK of people criticizing Adebayor at every opportunity! If you read other sites posts or their comments all you see is how crap Adebayor is or why he shouldn't be in the team. He's scored 26 goals! Nobody else is even close to that for us. Not only that, he's scored important goals too. He scored in both legs against Liverpool, scored at Milan, scored in countless league games, and a lot of times he is playing up front by himself! Since when was 26 goals a terrible return worthy of you being shipped off to play for a shite team? Does van Persie ever score 26 goals? No, but nobody is saying how he should be sold or given away for free. Is it just because he is not Thierry Henry? No, his finishing isn't brilliant. But his work rate is unmatched and his runs are good and he is out there for us every single game without fail trying to get us wins. I'm sick of reading ridiculous articles like this one and reading comments like these. He is not to blame for us losing out on the title. There are, believe it or not, eleven players on the pitch at a time and they all had a part in it. Robin van Persie hasn't scored since his return except for that one penalty and nobody blames him because of the injury. But they blame a guy who is NEVER injured and has worked all year when he doesn't score every match. Point is, Adebayor is our best striker and we'd be well worse off without him so piss off you whining scumbag fans who hate him.

There, that feels better. Leave your comments on Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor, Ben Arfa, or anything you want. There's also quite a good discussion going in yesterday's comments if you wanna have a look at that. Good day everyone.