Champions League Draw, And a Youngster Could Be Leaving

Morning all. 2-0 loss to Porto yesterday with a sub-par side shows us finishing second in the group. It really was an abject performance and I'm pretty sick of seeing a midfield of poor players (Song) and out of position players (Ramsey, Diaby). It didn't help that we had Clichy and Sagna out in defense either but the fact of the matter is the game didn't mean a whole lot since we were already qualified. Being in second though gives us an option of Roma, Panathanaikos, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Juventus in the first knockout round. Obviously you'd think the easiest draw out of all of those would be Panathanaikos, and it would also see a return for Gilberto Silva, who would certainly get a good reception. I'd like to see us draw them but I really wouldn't mind Roma or Juventus. Panathanikos finished top of their group over Inter Milan and looked really good throughout the group stages, so it wouldn't be an easy tie for certain but I think we are the better team there. Plus, I want to see Gilberto back. If we HAD finished top of the group, the possible opponents would have been Inter, Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Lyon. Probably a bit easier as a whole considering you have the second leg at home then but that's what happens when you play a below par squad in a Champions League match, you lose.

So the draw for that knockout round will be made next Friday, and I'll try to get the results of that up right after they come out if possible. Who would you all like to see us face?

Johann Djourou says it doesn't matter to him that we finished second in the group.

"I don't think it matters.

"When you get through to the last 16 they're all great teams, so I don't think there's anyone in particular we want to avoid."

Right you are Johann and the moral of the story is to win the competition you have to get all the other teams out at some point anyway, so it doesn't really make much difference who you beat first.

In some young gunner news today, it appears Jay Simpson will be allowed to go out on loan, and it will probably be to a Premiership club. Hull and West Brom are thought to be the favorites to sign him for the rest of the season according to Sky Sports. I think it would be fantastic if he could go out and get some playing time for either of those teams, particularly Hull. Playing time at a young age is very valuable especially in a side that is overachieving and willing to go and attack like Hull is. If they put the offer in I really think Arsene should accept it. He won't play here so we might as well let him go somewhere and play in the same league to really see how he does.

And last but not least, Mike Silvestre says there is still time for the squad to "grow up" before the end of the season and win some silverware. Maybe if Silvestre was a better defender then it would help contribute to that hypothesis. Still though, his point is valid. There is still a lot of season left to go and we can still win the FA Cup, the League, or the Champions League.

C'mon you Gunners!

One more thing, if you are into theme parks then please do check out the link at the right for Amusement Life. They are a great up and coming hub for all amusement news, reviews, reports, and information. It's being run by my best friend, so please do check out his website. Cheers.

Will Arsenal Win Trophies Under Arsene Wenger?

Just the title alone will bring out the morons who think "true fans" can't question anything about the club, but I'm willing to risk it in hopes that we get some real, honest, thoughtful, opinions. I really want to know what people think in regards to if we will ever win another trophy under the management of Arsene Wenger. I don't feel like I need to reiterate the fact that I am thankful for what Arsene Wenger has done for this club and acknowledge that he has made us a more attractive and succesful club.

Having said that, Arsenal, for the last few years, has been on the decline. In my last post I compared our current squad to the one from a few years ago and it wasn't even close. We are much worse off now than we were a few years ago. Our best player, Cesc Fabregas, will not stick around and battle for 4th spot in the league every year when he could make more money and win trophies somewhere else. He's been very loyal since he came to Arsenal but we can't expect that to last forever without winning.

We've had some seriously confusing dealings in the transfer market, like selling Gilberto Silva because of his age and then buying Mikael Silvestre who is the same age. Arsene Wenger has ignored our deficiencies in defense and midfield, as well as overall depth, and it has hurt our squad. Now yet again our depth will be tested, with Adebayor out for three weeks, RvP suspended for an act of abject stupidity, Walcott out and Sagna out as well. Gallas and Eboue are out this match as well and who really knows what sort of squad we'll have out there. A midfield of Nasri-Denilson-Cesc-Diaby is not acceptable at a top club in the best league in the world. While other clubs improve their squad year after year we settle for letting players leave. I'm not saying spend as much money as Chelsea or Sp*rs but it's no excuse for sticking with a weakened team. It should be common sense that when a key player leaves you should replace them with another key player. FFS we could've gotten Senna to replace Flamini for pretty cheap, and what was wrong with that? He was too old? Silvestre apparently wasn't, and Senna is a much better player than Silvestre.

Arsene Wenger's stubbornness is causing him to continually stick with a youth policy that isn't working. Yes, some of the youth players will one day become good key players in the squad, but not all of them are going to be great players and we shouldn't assume that. He seems determined to prove that you can win without spending any money at all, but it isn't going to happen. When Cesc Fabregas leaves, what do we have left then? Is that going to get other players to want to come play for Arsenal when our best player is leaving? We need to adjust this problem now, yet I can't see Arsene going out and really spending in January to try to help our cause either.

Wenger has lost the plot. Instead of saying "yeah we fucked up and lost to Stoke and Fulham" he blames them for trying to injure our players intentionally, which is absolute BS. Just because they try to play tough doesn't mean they're trying to injure us. Even with my Under 8's team that I coach, before every match I tell them to "Man up!" I think a lot of the current Arsenal squad could use someone telling them to man up. Beautiful football is wonderful and I love it as much as the next guy but it makes little difference when you don't win anything. A state of decline for Arsenal is not acceptable.

Somebody needs to tell Arsene Wenger that he isn't guaranteed a job forever. If bad results continue then something has to be fixed. If players can be sacked, then managers can be too. This isn't a call for his head, but it's a call for the board to tell him to wake up and realize that this isn't cutting it.

So I ask you all the question, will Arsenal win anything while Arsene Wenger is still the manager?

Absolutely Gutted...Mental Mistakes Sink Us

Morning all. It's still early in the day and it's already been terrible. This is of course compounded by what happened yesterday at the Emirates...which we shall discuss.

If you didn't get to see the match, in which feelings went from distress to glee to absolute disaster, then you missed one hell of a match, if you were a neutral supporter. I, however, am not a neutral so the match was absolute shite for me. We were up 4-2 with 2 minutes to go in the match and managed to let them score 2 goals in those two minutes to tie it up, which was as good as a win for them. Let's face it, Tottenham are not a good team, they were way behind us in possession, never really looked that threatening, and yet came into our home and came away with an undeserved draw.

Some people will say that I should maybe give Sp*rs some credit for their comeback, but let's face it, it wasn't their efforts that created this result, it was mental mistakes by Arsenal players that let them come back and snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.

Manuel Almunia has been a fine keeper for the last year or so, but yesterday he went back to the Almunia that was from a few years back. He pretty much gifted them their first two goals. The first one he should have been able to get back and make the save on. The ball was so high in the air it seemed like it took an hour to come down yet he couldn't get back for it, and Lord knows what he was doing that far off of his line anyway.

Then we got back in it through Silvestre of all people and it seemed like order would be restored. This proved to be the case when we came out and scored early in the second half through William Gallas who seems to be able to attack set pieces much much better than he can defend them. We got another on a great play from Nasri and finished by Adebayor and you figured that 3-1 up at home was going to be a win.

We didn't want to make it easy on ourselves though so we let them get a goal on yet another gift from Almunia. Huddlestone shot from outside the box and Almunia just let it drop in front of him after making the save and Darren Bent knocked it in after just coming on. It was a save he really should have been able to hold on to and it made you a little nervous at 3-2. Robin van Persie made it 4-2 just a minute later though and it was comfortable again.

What happened next was absolutely shocking. Arsenal went into a period where we held almost all of the possession, just trying to run the clock down, and it was working. Heading into extra time with a 2 goal lead and they couldn't even get the ball. Then the unthinkable happened. Gael Clichy had the ball stopped and was looking around for where to pass next and came under some pressure from Jenas, the cunt. Next thing you know Clichy trips over the ball, Jenas steals it, dribbles 25 yards or so and knocks another past Almunia. So 4-3 at this point but still almost know time left...we'll be fine right? Not so. A header dropped to Luca Modric who had a shot come back off the post which we failed to clear or save and Lennon came in to snatch a draw. They celebrated like they had won the league and I wanted to kill myself.

It's not just the result that really makes this bad though. Of course I want to beat Sp*rs, who doesn't? But the point is the WAY that we drew the match. Mental errors and not being able to have the strong mentality to close out a game. Where is the leadership in the 89th minute when up 2 goals that says, "Let's close this game out and make sure we don't let them even have one chance of getting back in this." How do we let them score on 2 rebounded goals, and trip over the ball while trying to play keep away, and let David Bentley, the talentless cunt, score from 40 yards away when no other team has had trouble with them all year? I don't care if they got a new manager or not, it's the same players that have them bottom of the table and we made them look like title contenders with that comeback.

How much would a player like Gilberto Silva have helped in this situation? Imagine if he came on instead of Diaby or Eboue, would he allow them to make a comeback like that? He's the kind of intelligent, experienced player we need in these situations, and we let him go. I just can't see him coming into the match up 2 goals with 2 to go and not making sure everyone knew to keep their heads on straight and to hold onto the ball, and if they did get the ball from us I know he'd be fighting tooth and nail to get it back.

Everyone has a few bad games but Almunia was absolutely shocking this match. I thought Theo Walcott was fantastic but of course he came off to be replaced by Eboue who did nothing. I actually thought Gallas (who you know I am a critic of) had a very good game. He looked solid at the back and scored a great header. He is the captain though and some of the blame for a meltdown has to go to anyone in a leadership role. The team as a whole was at fault though. Silvestre could have closed down Jenas on the 3rd goal, Almunia and Clichy could certainly have had better games, but the fact is we completely blew it.

Arsene Wenger was as pissed as he's been in some time:

Well I am angry. I believe we produced an outstanding game and got the minimum result. We didn't keep the ball. We were there for the taking. We should have had a negative passing game but instead we exposed ourselves by trying to go five or six up. The team has outstanding potential. They learn from moments like that tonight.

It comes down to leadership and experience. You have to keep the ball away from them up by 2 with 2 minutes to go, and certainly after they pull 1 back. It should be common sense. My 8 year old team knows that.

I'm absolutely sick about it is the moral of the story. I don't want to think about the match anymore so I let all my feelings out on here. Feel free to do the same in an email or the comments and I'll read em on the podcast tomorrow. We've gotta recover from this loss and get ready for the next one, it's still a long season. Up the Gunners.

Wenger Glad To Be Rid of Hleb

And it doesn't sound like he gives a toss about him leaving either. Hleb was unveiled at Barcelona yesterday formally, and I'm happy to see him go. As I said yesterday I think Nasri, Walcott, Vela, and Rosicky (if healthy) are all better assets to have on the wing than the Hlebanator. Arsene thanked him for his service but didn't seem too upset:

'We must firstly thank Alex for his contribution towards Arsenal during his time with us. 'He played a significant role in the three seasons he was with the club. 'We are comfortable with our decision to let him go and we are all looking forward to continuing our preparations for the new season ahead. 'Everyone at Arsenal wishes Alex the best of luck for the future.'

Except for me. I wish him terrible look in the future and hope he never wins anything and his career ends when he's 29 because he loses the ability to kick a ball. Nah that's a little bit harsh but not too far off. Isn't it ironic that we won a trophy the year before Hleb arrived and haven't won anything in the three years that he's been here? Hmmm...he may have brought a non-trophy curse?

I think Arsene had this whole thing planned out really. When people originally came in for Hleb he said "No, no we'll never sell Alexander Hleb, he's a big player for us and won't be going anywhere." I think this was just to get as much money as possible for him, and what do you know, we've made a profit from when we bought him even though he's three years older! Great bit of business Arsene.

Arsene is very happy about the transfer.

So I want to go over what has happened thus far in the transfer window, in case you aren't keeping track. We've lost Hleb, Gilberto, and Flamini, all midfielders, and Jens Lehmann. We've brought in Nasri and Ramsey, who are also both midfielders. So why does everyone seem to think we are going through some sort of a crisis? It looks like Adebayor will be staying now, we replaced Hleb and Ramsey could be a big player for us in the future, and we still have some money to spend if Arsene wants to. He may be confident enough in Song, Diaby, or Denilson to not bring in a replacement at defensive midfielder. Nobody thought Flamini could do the job before last season, and look how well that turned out. Frankly I think most people thought Flamini was a bit shite before last season, now he's making loads of money at Milan. Arsene Wenger knows what his players can do. We'll find out in the upcoming preseason games, starting in two days with Barnet, which player he's going to try to fill in that role with.

I have to say though I'm sad about losing Gilberto. I'll miss that man. He was a good player for us for a long time and Arsenal.com have put together a great picture special that you should really check out. Good memories they are.

There really isn't that much else. I'll get something together tomorrow to preview the Arsenal vs Barnet match on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it. Other than that let's talk on the forums or the comments, they are much appreciated. Cheers.

Sergio Aguero Could Come To Arsenal

Morning all. You know when you sleep for like a pretty long time and you really shouldn't be tired but you're tired all the same? That's how I am right now. I'm also in the mood to eat some Subway, but that's another story entirely.

So on to the news. What news you might say? Well it seems Sergio "El Kun" Aguero has been linked with Arsenal after some quotes from his agent.

"I can't say more until I've spoken to the club about the offer. All I can tell you is that it's one of the best teams in Europe and it's not Chelsea"

Interesting quote that is. These days agents usually tell you every club that is interested by name to try to work up more speculation and to try and draw other parties into the mix. I don't know exactly why everyone thinks it's Arsenal after such a broad statement but we have been linked with him in the past. He's a player with absolutely astounding skill on the ball that could certainly help out Arsenal, as long as he could handle the physical nature of the English game. We just saw how Alexander Hleb got sick of the physicality after only three years and Aguero is even smaller than Hleb. He is a brilliant player though and any team would love to have him. So keep your fingers crossed and maybe, just maybe, we'll sign him.

Arsenal Legend Nigel Winterburn has joined Blackburn's coaching staff as a defensive coach. I guess Arsene Wenger didn't think he could help out our defense or surely we would have given him a job. Winterburn is class. I hope Blackburn is still shite though.

Gilberto Silva looks to be on his way for 1.2 million pounds to Panthinaikos in Greece. Arsenal Analysis reports that the papers have been signed and sent to Athens for everything to be finalized and Gilberto is having his medical on Wednesday. I'm sad to see him go. You were a good player for us Gilberto, good luck to you mate.

Here's a picture of Cesc in our new away kit. I'm not sure what to think of it. I don't think I'm a fan though. It is definitely a lot more Arsenal than the white one last year for sure.


The Arsenal interest in Gareth Barry was very real indeed. According to Martin O'Neil, Pat Rice called Villa to ask how the transfer to Liverpool was going because Arsenal "might be interested." When Villa told Rice how it was going, Pat (according to O'Neil) said "That's fine, we'll let you know." So it seems that Arsenal were interested but it doesn't look like are going to follow up on it with a bid. Villa want about 17 million for him and Wenger will never pay that for him. Interesting to see that we did make the call about him though.

That's about all I have. Discussion is good, so get on the forums and chat it up. What do you think about Aguero and the Barry situation? On a scale of 1-10 how sick are you of the Adebayor and Hleb stories? I'm at a 10. Cheers all!

Nasri Finally Confirmed By Arsenal.com!

Morning all. The transfer we have been waiting for all summer it seems like has finally gone through. Samir Nasri's signing has been confirmed by Arsenal.com. In usual Arsenal fashion, it's a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. I love it. People speculate on fees all summer for this guy and when he finally signs Arsenal just says an "undisclosed fee." Arsene Wenger had a few things to say about the boy:

"We are delighted to be signing Samir Nasri. He is young, quick and technically an outstanding player. He has shown great potential with his performances for Marseille and the French national team over the past two seasons and he will add great quality to our squad."

Then Nasri spoke about joining Arsenal:

"I'm very happy to become an Arsenal player, it means such a lot to me. This is a very important step in my life as a football player because Arsenal is a massive club. I really hope everything will go well for me here. I will do my best for Arsenal and its fans and I am honoured to be part of such a great football club."

So it seems everyone is all very happy and I have to say that I am too. It was drawn out for ages but we all knew it was going through and now it has. There are pictures of Nasri in the new home kit as well if you click on the link above. He's on schedule to join up with the rest of the squad July 21st for training. He's taken the Number 8 shirt, so if anyone wants to go ahead and get me one as a free gift that would be awesome!

You can also read an interview with him here. It's good stuff.

In other news, Gilberto looks to be on the way out, having agreed personal terms with Panathinaikos. The transfer fee could be about 1-2 million pounds, but it hasn't been officially agreed yet.

Gilberto had this to say:

“I am very happy to come to Greece…Panathinaikos is a big club and if an agreement is reached with Arsenal I will be very happy to join you”

And Ken Friar said Arsenal will not stand in the way:

“If Gilberto agrees personal terms then we will not stand in his way. If this happens then it seems that we will agree a transfer fee with Panathinaikos"

So it looks like Gilberto will be moving on. He has been a great servant to this club and I will be sad to see him go. Thanks to Arsenal Analysis for keeping up with that story and sharing it with everyone. Assuming everything works out with the transfer, I just want to say good luck to Gilberto.

The Sun says a Columbian named Falcao is one of Arsenal's top targets. I've never heard of him honestly which probably means that we'll sign him. Although with Eduardo last year not a single paper ever linked us with him until we finally signed him. Strange how these things happen isn't it?

There really isn't much else. I'm putting a Nasri video on here that you can all watch to whet your appetite to see him play in the preseason. Should be good stuff. Cheers all!

Hleb On The Way Out...Finally

Morning all, or afternoon depending where you are. Amazingly, I have been struck by illness yet again and so decided to sleep for a very long time indeed. So when I awoke, I was surprised to see that Alexander Hleb appears to have been sold. Now this has not been confirmed on Arsenal.com but Barcelona seem to feel like the deal is done and dusted.

Apparently the offer is 12.5 million pounds plus an additional 2.5 million in add ons if he meets the incentives. Setanta Sports says that Hleb will likely take a medical this weekend and sign during next week to make it official.

Honestly if/when he does go I'll be quite happy. That'll give us more money than we spent on him originally and we're getting a player in Samir Nasri that can score more goals and hopefully will do all the things that Hleb hasn't done, like pass and shoot. It's a good bit of business by Arsenal here, because the player clearly wanted to go, so getting back all that we paid for him is great work by the club. Is anyone really too sad to see Hleb go for 12 million? I don't know how you could be. 10 goals in 3 years is not good enough. We need wingers that can score at Arsenal a la Pires, Ljungburg, etc. Nasri can hopefully be that man.

As for Adebayor, we'll throw out one interesting bit if true...Arsenal News Review says the club have stopped printing Adebayor shirts. I have no information that will tell me if that's true or not but take it for what you will.

Kerrea Gilbert has joined Leicester City on loan for the whole upcoming season. I remember him playing in the first team a couple of years ago when we had loads of injuries but not much has been heard of him since. I guess the club still regards him as a good upcoming player though or I don't think they'd bother loaning him out, they would just release him.

Arsenal Analysis keeps us up to date on the Gilberto Silva transfer situation, and it looks like he may indeed leave the club this summer. The question is, where will he go? It looked like he may head to Greece but now Ajax appear to have entered the picture. I think it would be a big loss for us if we sold Gilberto this summer. I think this must mean that we have a holding midfielder lined up to come in or else Wenger is really convinced that Diaby or Denilson can do the job. Guess we'll wait and see.

Alright that's all I've got. Cesc Fabregas was named the Arsenal.com player of the season, not surprisingly. And if you didn't see the post yesterday we're having a Premier League Fantasy League competition. The winner will probably receive a home Arsenal shirt or something similar, so join now!

1: Go to http://premierfantasy.soccernet.com/

2: Click on Register and go through the registration and team selection process - it's totally free to play

3: Once you are on your team line-up page click on Mini League and type the following information in the Join A Mini League boxes:

League Name: ArseNole Premier League
Password: arsenal

Cheers folks!

More Preseason Fixtures Announced

Ok guys, I had to work this morning so this is a really late post. It's almost 9 pm in England. The readers in Australia will think this post is tomorrow's, but there will be a new one then too.

The podcast is really going to be picking up here soon. I've got a new co-host lined up, Joaquin from Los Angeles. That's right, another American Arsenal fan. I'm also in discussions with some other bloggers to see if they want to appear on some of them and I'm hoping to work a few of those out in the next few weeks. Keep the ideas coming in with what you'd like to hear. I want to make it almost a radio show type podcast, so if you have questions you want us to answer on the podcast, or if you want to leave a comment that we can read on there, feel free to email me with it and we'll go over it on the show. It may turn into a pretty long podcast with all the emails and stuff but that's good. More Arsenal for everybody! My email address is listed on the ArseNole About Me page or you can message me on skype or MSN. My msn is ArseNole@hotmail.com and my skype name is The_ArseNole. So you have no excuses now for not contributing at least a comment or an email so get them in!

So what do we have for news today? Well we have some new preseason fixtures announced; on July 22nd we have Arsenal vs. Szombathely and on July 28th (my mother's birthday) we have Arsenal vs. Burgenland Select Team. I'm getting very excited that we start friendlies next month and I always enjoy seeing the new signings and the young players getting a chance in the first team. It'll be interesting to see players like Vela, Barazite, Randall, Ramsey, and Nasri. Which players are you most looking forward to seeing? I'm looking forward to Vela the most.

Gilberto Silva is being tracked by Valencia, Juventus, and Panathinaikos. I'd be very surprised if Gilberto was sold this off season. He'd be a big loss not only because he is probably Flamini's best replacement, but also because he is a good leader and his experience adds a lot to the squad. If I was predicting a starting eleven next year he'd be in the middle next to Cesc so I'm really hoping he decides to stay.

There isn't really much else today. I've started a new Football Manager game managing Real Betis. I've signed a couple Arsenal players, Barazite, Diaby, and Denilson are my starting midfield (I play a 5-3-2 with attacking wing backs) and I've gotten them into the Uefa Cup. No trophies yet after two seasons but we're a team on the rise.

That's all I've got. I'll do something on here before work tomorrow but yeah other than that just get all your emails and stuff in for the podcast or you can post it on the forums. Whatever floats your boat. Cheers all, have a good one.

Song Signs New Deal, Euro 2008 Stuff

Hello all. Sorry I haven't gotten to you all in the past 2 days but I've been watching the Euro's and couldn't really be arsed to write that much considering there has been almost no news at all.
Have you been enjoying the Euros so far? I thought the Italy-Netherlands match today was fantastic, but the rest of the matches have been pretty dull. Croatia's penalty they got was never a penalty to me, and while I was rooting for Croatia, I still wish someone other than that Sp*rs twat had taken it. France looked awful against Romania. Without Thierry they couldn't do anything at all, and Nasri didn't do anything of any significance when he came on. Germany looks fantastic, full of pace and movement. They, along with the Dutch, have been leagues ahead of every other team in these first few days.

As far as Gunners and ex-Gunners in the tournament, William Gallas was ok for France. Romania never really looked like threatening but France's defense did well enough anyway. Patrick Vieira was injured and didn't play, and as I said Henry was hurt as well. Mathieu Flamini didn't play either. Giovanni van Bronckhorst was excellent for Holland, and RvP got a run out near the end and did well. Cesc plays tomorrow so that'll be fun to watch.

So give me your thoughts on the Euros. Predictions for the next round of the group stages are fun too. Netherlands and France should be fun to watch.

So on to some Arsenal news, Alexander Song has signed a new deal with Arsenal. It's a "long term deal" according to reports, but I haven't seen a definitive length. I don't really know what to think about Song. Every time I saw him play for us in midfield I thought he was never going to be good enough for Arsenal. In defense he looks a lot better but I'm still not convinced. Arsene Wenger has said he thinks Song can be a great defender so I'm guessing that's why he signed him long term.

Gilberto Silva has warned Arsenal's team that leaving isn't always the best choice, saying they could develop and win a lot together at Arsenal. He's absolutely right and while I hope Hleb leaves I want everyone else (besides Eboue) to stay.

Carlos Vela scored for Mexico against Peru and looked really good in the half I got to watch. I can't wait to see him playing for Arsenal.

Alright that's all I've got time for at the moment. I'll try to get something together tomorrow. Cheers and Go Cesc!

New Kit Leaked and More!

Morning all. A special shout out to Dr Whiff today for being such a cunt. Thanks. Top bloke there.

To start off with we've got the new home kits for next season! I for one have to say that they're good looking kits. I know the sleeves aren't all white this time around but I think they still have enough white to keep them traditional. It seems like there's extra white down the sides too which is cool. I'm going to be getting one, just not sure if I want a Sagna one, a Cesc one, or a Clichy one. Or maybe even Adebayor. The away kit I've only seen low quality pictures but they go back to the yellow with a bit of blue. I'm not as much of a fan of those but I haven't seen any really good pictures. What do you guys think?


Sky Sports reports that Arsenal had a 10 million pound bid rejected for Cristian Zapata of Udinese. He's their star defender and captain even though he's only 21 years old. He could be just the type of defender we need to bring in and if we really did bid for him then that is great news to hear. He's 6' 2" (I don't know metrics well enough to convert, sorry) and is big and strong enough to challenge for the long balls, which has been what we couldn't do in the past seasons.

This morning one of our readers, Joshua, and myself were talking about if you could sign ONE defender in the whole world, who would it be? He said Per Mertesacker and I said Sergio Ramos. Who do you think our best defensive option would be if you could choose one from anywhere?

Everton have also joined the race to sign Aaron Ramsey, and have had a bid accepted. So it's really up to him to decide where he wants to go now, but I think he'll probably end up and Man United. I don't really care though. We have 17 year olds that are coming up that could probably do most of what Ramsey has done in the Championship. This article says that he will wait until he is able to speak to Arsene Wenger though.T

Bacary Sagna signed a new deal, so my favorite player gets to stick around longer.

"I love Arsenal, they are a great club," Sagna stated.

"The manager is also very good and next season we will be fighting for all the trophies."

Sounds like he actually enjoys it here, who would have thought? If you read other stories you'd think everyone hated Arsenal.

Here's a story that Gilberto washed his Visa in the laundry and that made him late for training. Sounds like Gilberto needs to come up with better excuses.

There have been several reports such as this one in the Telegraph saying that Emmanuel Adebayor has agreed personal terms with AC Milan. I think it's probably all bollocks. He just said he loves the club and will be back next year a few days ago. It's all sources from Italy saying it so it's probably just trying to unsettle our best striker. I think he'll be here though.

Alright that's a wrap on this one. Apparently posts are only good if they get comments but if you actually have a life and are too busy I understand. Till tomorrow, cheers!

Walcott Picked For England

'Eyyyyyyyyyyyy. That's my greeting today in true Fonz style. Anyways, got some news and lots and lots of rumors to go through today so let's get right to it. We'll start with the Sunderland match yesterday, the last of the season, which we won 1-0 through a goal from Theo Walcott. It was a beautiful through ball from Gilberto that Walcott ran on to and finished easily.

Mark Randall also had a goal but it was ruled out for offside. While it was by no means our best performance, it was good to finish the season with three straight wins especially while sitting some top players out. The pass from Gilberto really was wonderful and I have to tell you I hope he stays for next season. He's still got something to give even at this age and he does have experience and leadership that you need in a club. He spoke to Arsenal TV yesterday, saying his future will be sorted out soon. Let's cross our fingers and hope he stays.

Theo Walcott has been putting in some great performances since he has gotten into the starting lineup and has been rewarded by being called up to Fabio Capello's England squad to face the United States. Arsene Wenger even revealed that he thinks Walcott can be a regular starter for Arsenal. I think he could be just what England needs, some pace and freshness and I hope they keep selecting him as well as Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Lennon, etc if they want England to improve their teams instead of having the last few years of mediocrity. Hopefully Theo gets a run out in the match but obviously I'll be hoping for a US win.


Robin van Persie says Arsenal will be back to getting silverware soon. He goes on to say that it will create a lasting memory in people's minds if we win trophies with the style of football we play. If van Persie could stay healthy next season it would definitely be a big boost for us as we have missed him for large portions of the last two seasons now. It's a shame he has to go play the Euro's this summer because I would much prefer him getting some rest. Let's just hope he can work out a better fitness plan and stay in the squad next year.

Tomas Rosicky has said that he is going through "the worst time of his career." No, it's not another player wanting out of Arsenal, he's speaking about his injury. He has an operation tomorrow to try to see what is wrong with his hamstring and there is no timetable for his return at this point. The ligament has apparently separated from the bone and it's going to take a minimum of two months to recover from it but it could be more depending on what they have to do to repair it. You have to feel bad for the guy. He's had injury troubles since he got to Arsenal and if he could just put together a whole season of play I think he definitely has the quality to help us out. Get well soon Tomas.

And now time for all the transfer rumors:

Lyon's Hatem Ben Arfa has said that he has spoken "about" Arsenal. He did not say he spoke to Arsenal, just about them. It was reported by many sites that we had signed Ben Arfa already but the deal is not done and it appears no contact specifically with Ben Arfa has been made by Arsenal.

The new name today (there is a new one every day) is Mario Gomez of Stuttgart. Some in the media are now linking us with him because someone updated his Wikipedia page saying that he was moving to Arsenal for 20 million Euros. This has since been removed from his page and I find this story to be just a rumor. I don't see Wenger buying a striker as he said he wanted a defender and a creative player (midfielder by my estimation) and I don't think he would spend that kind of money on him either.

Sky Sports has linked us with Jean II Makoun of Cameroon. Sorry I would have put his club team but it rhymed so that was too tempting. He plays for Lille and is a defensive midfielder that looks very good in my opinion. Can anyone tell me what his middle name is? Is it the number two or something? Ridiculous. Apparently Tottenham are also interested so they'll probably pay him 20 million just to go there or something. The article also says we could bid for Sevilla's Seydou Keita.

I need your help! I've been trying to think of what to do for the end of the season and I have thought up a few ideas. Please let me know which one(s) sound good and I'll do it.

1. Player reviews - I thought it might be good to do a review of each player, one per day complete with stats and analysis going into the new season. I'd do pros and cons for each player, etc.

2. A Season review - Just a one time season review where I wrap everything up in one post, quick player grades, etc.

3. Transfer news/rumors - This one is pretty obvious

Just let me know what you want to read and I'll do it. I want input to make this as good as it can possibly be! Also, if you read the site often, think about registering for the forums by clicking the link in the top right of the page. It'd be nice to get a community going on there that can talk Arsenal 24/7 between posts.

And that's about all I've got today, I'm sure it'll be another day packed full of a bunch of nonsense and rumors tomorrow so you have that to look forward to. Cheers.