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.

Thierry Henry Reaction, World Cup Better Off With France In It

Long, long ago, when the world was still new, there was once an Arsenal blog, written by an American. It was updated daily with all the latest news, transfer stories, and thoughts on Arsenal. It was called The ArseNole. And now, The ArseNole is back. That's right, after a shocking absence of over a month, I've made a return to the blogging realm, since there is finally a lot to talk about. Sure, I could have written a lot the past month of how well we have played and how I think we're going to win the league this season, but that would probably have just jinxed us and I'm very superstitious about Arsenal. But as I said, today I have quite a lot of things to burn on, so we'll start with what seems to be one of the most controversial topics in quite some time, and that is Thierry Henry's hand ball that put Ireland out of the World Cup and France in it.

Let me first clarify, that I am not Irish, and I am not French, and if this had happened to the USA I would have been pissed, but I would still not show the hate to Thierry that he has been getting from every corner of the globe. My loyalties lie with Arsenal first and foremost, so in that game I was hoping for a France win due to this simple math:

French:
Arsene Wenger
William Gallas
Gael Clichy
Thierry Henry
Bacary Sagna
Patrick Vieira
Robert Pires

Irish:
Robbie Keane

Yes, I know there have been other Arsenal players that were Irish, but the one that stands out is captain cunttastic, Robbie Keane, the cartwheeling cunt himself. Keeping him as far away from the World Cup as possible is just fine with me. And personally, I'd rather watch the French play all summer next summer than have to watch just one Ireland match. So yeah, it was a hand ball by Thierry, but I think it was mostly instinctual. The play happened so fast that I don't think he thought, "Oh shite I better stick out my hand here to keep this ball in play." I think he just had it as a natural reaction in the spur of the moment. It's the referee's job to make the call, not Thierry's, so why should he have to be the one taking the heat for it? Did you all expect Eboue to tell the ref he dove for that free kick in the Champions League Final? No, because it was Arsenal. And you shouldn't expect Thierry to do it either because at the end of the day, he got his country into the World Cup, and all the Irish can do about it is bitch for four years while they watch.

To me, the fans that say Henry is no longer thought of as a good person, or as an Arsenal legend, or they see him as a cheater now, are ridiculous and stupid. That one millisecond play made you forget about all the things he did for Arsenal, all 226 goals, countless moments of magic, and some of the best teams this club has ever had? Bollocks I say. Thierry Henry is the greatest Arsenal player of all time, and if you want to bitch about him and say his legacy is tarnished because of that one hand ball, then you're full of shit. He didn't launch a terrorist attack, he didn't molest his daughter, or set his ex-wife's house on fire. He fucking hand balled. Get over it. Do I feel bad for the Irish as a whole? Sure I do. Just not for the ones that act like Thierry Henry is no longer an Arsenal legend and instead is the scum of the earth.

Right, so that's about covered, so it's on to other matters.

Eduardo signed a new long-term deal with the club. Solid move. He's going to have to start quite a lot while Bendtner and more importantly RvP are out injured, so we need him to stay fit and start pounding in the goals. I think he's perfectly capable of doing everything that RvP has done for us this season, in terms of goal scoring and making assists. Arshavin, Theo, Nasri, Rosicky, and Cesc are going to all have to step up their games though to make it through this period. First big test for us is this weekend when we play away to Sunderland, who are a tricky opponent. They're playing well this year under Steve Bruce, and Darren Bent has been banging in the goals. We'll probably have Silvestre in at left back, which is a worry, but hopefully our attacking play will be able to put a few past them. This is the type of game you have to win to be Champions. No slip ups allowed just because we have some injuries. Let's get it done boys.

We also have good news on the injury front. Fabianski, Carlos Vela, Armand Traore, and Denilson are all back, and Denilson will definitely be making the trip up to Sunderland this weekend, which is great news. I'd expect he may have to start right away with Diaby being out, although Arsene could opt to use Rosicky next to Cesc in the midfield. Traore could possibly slot in at left back with Clichy and Gibbs out, and honestly I'd prefer that to having Silvestre in there, but I reckon the boss will pick the experience over the youth.

I'm really quite happy to have Denilson back, even though he seems to not get much love from the majority of Arsenal fans. He's clearly better than Diaby, that is for certain. He can pick out a pass almost as well as Cesc, can hit the long shots, and is solid defensively. I think he'll be a real boost to the squad over the next few months.

Ok, that's about it for the day. Leave your reactions about Thierry and Ireland, or Arsenal, or whatever you want to in the comments. I'm expecting a lot of angry Irish folk mostly. Also, if anyone plays Football Manager Live, let me know so we can play a match on there. My keeper is Fabianski, woohoo! That's about all I've got. Vive Les Bleus, hehe.

France Away Kit and Adidas Copa Edge Backpack

Morning everyone. A fantastic Tuesday to you all. Hope you all enjoyed the win over Birmingham at the weekend, which I missed because I was out of town at my cousin's first birthday party. Good result though, and we're right back in the title race with Chelsea losing. But on to other things.

A while back I talked about receiving an offer from SoccerPro.com when they allowed me to review a pair of Nike Talaria IV's. Well their generosity knows no bounds because they have given me the opportunity to yet again use some of their fantastic products, including an Adidas France away jersey and an Adidas Copa Edge backpack. I've gotten the privelage of using both of these products for the past week and a half or so and I want to share with you all my opinions on them.

I'll start with the France kit first because that was what I tried on right away as soon as the package came in the mail. I had never gotten an Adidas kit before so this was my first experience with the brand, and it's probably already one of my favorites now. The shirt feels great when you put it on, whether it's for playing a match or just wearing it to watch a match on tv. The embroidery is perfect and if you saw me wearing it you would most likely mistake me for being William Gallas or Thierry Henry, that's how authentic it looks. The shirt has Adidas' Clima365 technology so it is perfect for any weather, hot or cold, rain or shine. It really looks great and if you're a fan of France or any other nation, I highly recommend you check out the wide variety of club and country soccer jerseys they have available at SoccerPro.com.


The other product they let me use was the Adidas Copa Edge Backpack, which I was extremely excited about. As you know if you read the blog regularly, I coach a team of Under-9 year old boys, and it is a real hassle carrying my ball, cleats, socks, keeper gloves, keeper shirt, cones, whistle, and other stuff to practice and to the games. Well with this backpack, I can fit everything I'm carrying all into this one bag. It's got a pocket with ventilation for your ball and cleats, a large pocket for carrying any other stuff you have like your jersey, shorts, or shinguards, or for coaches like me your cones, keeper gloves, and anything else you need. It even has a cell phone pocket on the inside to keep your phone safe while you're out on the pitch. I really don't know how I ever lived without it now, it really is an amazing product. And on top of that, for all you Arsenal supporters, it's available in a variety of colors, including red and white, which I got of course. It makes transporting all of your soccer gear extremely easy and I highly recommend it to anyone that plays or coaches. You will not be dissapointed and I guarantee that this product will make your life easier and less hectic when you're trying to get ready on match day.


SoccerPro.com has been good to me, and they will be good to you. They have great prices on a variety of soccer gear, including cleats, balls, soccer jerseys, and anything else you could possibly need. They also give out regular discounts and clearance sales where you can find great products for real bargains. I recommend you conduct all your football related business with them, as you will not ever be dissapointed. Cheers!

Arsenal To Sign Nasri

Ok so it's a very very late post today, and it's not going to be a long one because I am sick at the moment and I'm also tired after work. I was going to wait until tomorrow for this but it appears our first signing of the summer is going to be Samir Nasri. Quotes from the Marseille playmaker seem to point to a move to Arsenal in the next week.

“I’ve maybe played my last game at Stade Velodrome,” said Nasri. “In any case I wanted to finish well.”

Several sources are reporting that the fee is going to be 13.5 million pounds and that it should be completed within the next ten days. It looks like Alexander Hleb may be moving to Barcelona and Nasri is seen as his replacement.

This article contains a quote from his agent confirming that there have been approaches for Nasri.

In other news, Roman Domanech has again proved how much of a cunt he is by leaving out Gael Clichy AND Bakary Sagna from the Euro 2008 squad. They both were in the team of the season and yet can't make it into the French squad at all. Absolute bollocks.

Also, Justin Hoyte has been linked with a 4.5 million pound move to Aston Villa. I like Hoyte more than I like Eboue, but I think Wenger likes Eboue more and he isn't really listening to me, so I'm guessing he'll probably be off. At least it'll bring us some money. I'd be sorry to see Hoyte go though.

That's about all I have time for right now because I've got to lay down. More tomorrow if I get a chance but cross your fingers on the Nasri thing. Cheers.