Vieira Coming, Senderos Going, Toure and Wilshere

Morning all. I'll be the first to admit I haven't been posting nearly enough this Summer, but I've been reinvigorated by the upcoming start of the season and so I'm back and I wanted to give my thoughts on everything that has happened in the past week or so while I've been in New Hampshire.

So first off we had the Kolo Toure transfer to Manchester City. My thoughts on this are that, while it's a shame that Toure left after all these years, he hadn't been at his best ever since he contracted Malaria on that African Nations trip. So I think it was good business to sell him. When you look at our center back situation now, do you feel that it is a strong enough area without him? Arsene is clearly convinced that Thomas Vermaelen is the real deal and is ready to go right away, and he also must have a lot of faith in Johann Djourou as a back up for both him and Gallas. After that I think it's a little weak, as Silvestre is just terrible and Senderos looks to be on his way out. (more on that later) Of course Alex Song can cover at the back if need be but that isn't ideal. So while in terms of numbers I don't think we have a lot of cover at the back, but I think in terms of quality, losing Toure isn't a huge deal. He's been a great servant to the club and always had the right attitude, but it was time for him to go. I wish him the best of luck when he's playing United, Sp*rs, the scousers, and Chelsea, and of course horrible luck when he plays us.


Speaking of great servants for the club, there's been a lot of talk in the past week about Patrick Vieira returning to Arsenal! This one is a really tough one for me, because I love Patrick Vieira. He's probably in my top three players of all time. But didn't we sell him 4 years ago because he was getting older and wouldn't be able to play at the same level much longer? And now he's 32 years old, has a lot of trouble staying fit, and Arsene is saying he may bring him back. No offense to the legend that is Patrick Vieira, but is he good enough at this point? Even on a pay as you play deal, surely we should be able to find someone younger, healthier, and better to play as a defensive midfielder? Maybe Wenger thinks Vieira can still get it done, or he just wants him to play sparingly in some of the big matches, which I'd love. To clarify, I would love to see Patty back at Arsenal, I just wouldn't want to leave the midfield too thin if Vieira gets injured or isn't up to the level we need to compete for honors.

So earlier I mentioned Philippe Senderos, and it looks like he may be on the way to Everton. There have been lots of reports that the deal has already been done, but I won't believe it until it's on Arsenal.com. I kind of think we'd be better off keeping him, but if we can get 7 or 8 million quid for him I wouldn't be too upset about it. I do think he's always gotten a bad rap though even though he's a pretty decent player, but it doesn't look like he'll be an Arsenal player much longer.


So on to what everyone is talking about at the moment, and that's Jack Wilshere, who's performances in the Emirates Cup were nothing short of magical. And they would still have been magical if he was 27 instead of 17. The guy is just so far ahead of his time it's ridiculous. Arsene Wenger has moved to calm everyone's expectations about Jack, seeing as he hasn't even made it onto the pitch in many first team matches yet. At the same time though, you've got to wonder how long we can afford to keep this boy off of the pitch. He brings so much to the table, that especially with Nasri out early on, I think we need to get him on the field. His composure and skill on the ball rivals that of Cesc and Arshavin already, and frankly I'm obsessed with him. I've already put in my order for a Wilshere kit for this year. At the same time, we need to not do like we did with Theo Walcott, and put unneccessary and unrealistic expectations on Jack at a young age. He's not always going to have fantastic games and score crazy goals and make much more experienced pros look like schoolboys. We can still be excited for one of our home-grown talents though!

That's about it for the day. I'll probably post again tomorrow, amazingly, and I intend to keep that going too. A couple more quick things, make sure you sign up to win tickets to World Cup 2010! It's really easy so don't pass up that chance. Also, I recommend you all have a look at ThirdGen's Portal e-mag. It's good already and it's only going to get better. Alright everyone, have a good one. Cheers!

Arsenal Beat Sp*rs In FA Youth Cup

Check it, you know how I be. Hello everyone. How is everyone doing today? That's fantastic I'm actually doing ok but I'm a little sick, sore throat and all that fun stuff. Not a whole lot going on in the world of Arsenal today, but I did watch the FA Youth Cup game Arsenal versus Sp*rs last night and it was great, so I figured I'll talk about that a little today.

When I turned the match on it was just about to start but I had to shower so I missed the first part. When I came back we were already 1-0 down. We settled in though and we were playing well. I thought our passing was as good as, if not better than, our first teams passing and movement. Watching Jack Wilshere among the rest of the younglings is like watching men against boys. While he isn't THAT much better than all the rest of them, every time he touches the ball I still half expect him to score.

I was talking to Joaquin throughout the match and we picked out a few players that really looked the business to us, and had a chance of making it to the big time. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored a great goal to give us the win in extra time, and I thought he played a great game. His versatility is astounding, as he looks comfortable really at any position on the pitch. There was no better example than in extra time in the 2nd half. He was playing up top as a third striker, brought the ball in, dodged two defenders and launched a cannon into the net to give us the lead. Next thing you know, he was back playing as a third center back to make sure Sp*rs didn't get another of their own. That doesn't even mention that he played in the midfield almost the whole game. It's fantastic and I really am looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future.

Gilles Sunu looks like he also has a great future. The guy is just electric quick and can accelerate and turn on a time. He should have had a goal probably late in the first half but he still looked very good when he was out there. I wouldn't be surprised if he maybe went on loan somewhere in the lower divisions next season.

Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin pretty much ran the midfield along with Thomas and Wilshere and they both look pretty good too. Coquelin was the one to set up the final goal with a long ball to Rhys Murphy on a counter attack. Rhys Murphy is one of the top scorers for the youth team for the season and his finish after bringing in that long ball was out of this world. Bendtner and Adebayor could use some tutoring from Murphy on half volleys like that.

So it's on to the FA Youth Cup Semi-Finals for the youngsters. We'll face the winner of Manchester City and Norwich city, who play tomorrow. It'll be a two-legged affair, with the second leg of it being back at the Emirates. Liverpool is already into the other semi-final, and they await the winner of Birmingham City and Ipswich Town/Watford. It'd be great for our youth academy to win the whole thing. Imagine the kind of talent you can attract if you have the best youth academy in all of England, and maybe all the world judging by how they have come through in the last few years.

The matches really are enjoyable to watch and as soon as I get the date of the semi-final matches then I will get it all to you.

Tonight I have my first practice with my new team of 8 year olds, so it's time to whip them into shape. Let's go Green Monkeys!

Arshavin Deadline Today, Who Cares?

Morning all. Today is a big day for Arsenal and for me. I just got my copy of the Official Illustrated History of Arsenal and I am facking stoked. I'll probably read through it a good seven or eight times this weekend. For Arsenal though, it's the last day (supposedly) for us to work out a deal for Andrey Arshavin. Zenit say if there isn't something worked out today then he won't be coming to Arsenal.

I'm just going to come out right now and say, to quote John Leard, "Fuck 'em." If they won't take 15 million for a 27 year old who is probably not any better than Nasri, who is younger than him by six years and only cost 12 million, then why would we want him? He's not worth as much as they want to our team, and I'm sick of this story over and over with him. Zenit should be nutting themselves over 15 million for someone who is going to buy out his contract in a couple months. Then we can get him for free and laugh in their faces. Arsene Wenger has been asked if Arshavin was the only player he was targetting, and Arsene Wenger said no, so there are other options. This isn't the end of the world.

I don't see why everyone cares about us signing him anyway. He's played in the Russian league, doesn't really fit into our team once Cesc is healthy, and he'll have no resale value. If I asked people who they WOULDN'T like to see leave the club, I think two answers I'd get for sure would be Theo and Nasri. Both are young, they keep getting better, and they bring something special to the team. Of course Cesc will always have his place at Arsenal, so where does Arshavin fit into that team? Does he take Nasri's spot on the left? Then we've wasted 12 million in the summer buying him. Does he take Theo's place on the right? I think we need Theo's pace down that wing, which Arshavin can't match. And while Theo and Carlos Vela may one day be strikers, right now I think they are at their best on the wings and I'd sure as hell rather have them than Arshavin's whiny ass. Wenger says it takes most foreign players six months to adjust to the English game, so would he help us this season anyway? I don't think so. In 8 months his contract can be bought out for free, so why pay 15 million now for a player who is free in 8 months if you want him.

So my question is what would Arsenal get for the 15 million? A player we don't need in a position where we do actually have some semblance of depth. Let's move on to what we really need, which is defense and defensive midfield! Maybe instead of ignoring the obvious holes in the team and signing an attacker, we could actually address the team needs and get someone defensive minded! What a novel idea.

I think us losing out on Arshavin would be just about the best thing that could happen to Arsenal right now. If we make NO signings just because we can't get him then that would make me upset, but I think us signing Arshavin would make me even more upset than that. It just isn't good business.

Everyone, including me, Joaquin, you, Kolo Toure, my mom, my dog, your dog, Samir Nasri, and Samir's mom, knows we need help defensively, so that is where the money needs to be spent. I like goals as much as everyone else but it doesn't matter how many you score if the other team scores more! Gallas and Toure can't play together, and Silvestre is shit. Djourou has been a bright spot but for the love of God can we just bring in a quality, established defender for once in history? Arsene has worked with Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Sol Campbell, and other great ones, so he does know what a good defender is, he just seems to have forgotten we need them. As for defensive midfield, when you lose Flamini, Diarra, and Gilberto all within six months, you probably need a replacement for at least one of them!

If you can't tell, I'm a bit pissed off and it's led to a bit of a rant this morning. I want your opinion. Do you agree about Arshavin not being needed or are you a part of the Arshavin blow-fest that a lot of the Arsenal community has become this month? Do you think defense is the more pressing need? Leave your thoughts. FA Cup tomorrow, get excited. I think Little Jack Wilshere might get a run out. Fingers crossed. Cheers.

No Bid For Arteta, Wilshere Signs Pro Deal, Wenger Going Nowhere

Morning all. A pretty good bit to get through today so let's get right down to it.

We've been linked with Mikel Arteta quite a bit going into this transfer season, but Wenger says no enquiry has been made. Now this could just be trying to throw off potential competition for his signature or he could really be serious about, and I have a hunch that maybe they really aren't interested in Arteta. The rumor was made up first by News of the World or something first, which gives it about zero credibility, and has just taken off from there. I still think he would be a good signing, but as of this point there is no move for him.

Wenger was a little more clear when asked about Andrey Arshavin, saying that there is no progress on him, not saying that we haven't put in an offer or an enquiry. I think Arteta would be a better signing than Arshavin as I've said but many people think he is the answer to our problems. I just think the price tag is too high and the standard of league he has been in does not make for a quick transistion into the Premiership. However, as Wenger said, there has been no progress towards signing him so we'll have to wait on that, which is the usual way Wenger operates. Usually when we buy a player we wait till closer to the end of the transfer window so that we can get the price down a bit.

Moving on to some good news, yesterday was Little Jack Wilshere's 17th birthday, which saw him sign professional terms with the club. It is believed to be up to an eight year deal, which is fantastic. I'll confess that I'm a bit obsessed with Jack Wilshere in a completely not-gay way, but just the same way I'm obsessed with Cesc Fabregas. He's just really, really awesome. I think we can expect huge things from him in the future if all goes well, and I sincerely hope that it does. In other young gun news, Jay Simpson has gone on loan to West Brom and Gavin Hoyte has gone on loan to Watford. It'll be nice to see how Simpson does with the Premiership matches and I'll be looking forward to Hoyte's development as well.

And the latest Arsene Wenger rumor is that he is leaving Arsenal for Real Madrid and taking Cesc Fabregas with him. However, Wenger has rubbished these rumors saying that nobody can doubt his commitment to the club.

“I don’t think anyone can doubt my commitment here. You can question my decisions and I accept that, but not my commitment.

“No [no one has spoken to my representatives], because I represent myself.”

So that clears that one up. He's had the chance to go to Madrid before but I really don't think he wants to. Arsenal gives him the freedom to essentially run the club how he wants to whereas Madrid or say Barca he would always have to be bringing in big names and he would have to take a lot of input from others as to how to run the club. I just don't think that is his thing.

And the last piece of news today is that Shay Given is not a target for Arsenal. It has been rumored by many sources that we would pursue him this January but Arsene says he is not interested in signing Shay from Newcastle. Personally I am a fan of Almunia and think he's proven that he is good enough to win. Is he as good as Petr Cech? No, but only two other people in the world I'd say are as good as him, so what can you expect? I'd rather spend the money on a defender or a midfielder personally.

So that's all there is today. Quite a lot going on, or not going on depending on which way you look at it. Maybe we'll get a new signing today, but then again maybe we'll have to wait three more weeks. We shall see. I'll keep you updated right here though. Cheers.

Michel Platini Is A Disgrace

What an absolute wanker. I know I'm a day or two late on this but I'm busy sometimes too. This man, who somehow weaseled his way into the job of Uefa President just because he used to be a great player, should be removed from the game. If you haven't heard, Platini went on a rant attacking our manager Arsene Wenger.

He started off by claiming that Arsene Wenger wasn't about football, just about business:

"I like to talk about football, him (Wenger) about business. We must stop with Wenger and all that."

He said he would never support goal line replay technology in football because:

"It would make me happy that Arsene Wenger never sees it."

When asked about Romanian side Cruj's victory over Roma, the massive cunt said:

"That is what makes football so great," Platini said. "It is what people like Wenger do not want, little clubs beating the big clubs, because they want their business."

So clearly the Uefa President has it in for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger and he should be forced to resign. Why is he allowed to say anything he wants attacking a manager with no reprocussions? This attack was unwarranted and entirely untrue. Wenger doesn't care about the football side of things? Well we're top of the leauge, have the best youth setup in England and also run a profitable business. If you've seen the number we're making quite a hefty penny from ticket sales and will be making more from the Highbury square apartments starting this year. So is he mad because our club is self-sufficient and doesn't rely on a fat Russian oligarch? Would he prefer for the club to be taken over by someone who will spend hundreds of millions on new players so the club goes into debt like Liverpool and United? He needs to be held accountable for these statements.

The League Manager's Association has defended Wenger, as has the rest of the world outside of the insane asylum that is Platini's mind.

"Platini has made serious and personal comments about one of football's greatest ever managers, who is also counted among our most respected members. "If Platini wishes to address certain issues with Arsene Wenger this would better be done privately and not in the public domain. "I believe Arsene has always acted in the best interests of the game."

So the moral of the story is everything thinks Platini is a cunt, and you should too. Fact is, you can't say Wenger doesn't care about the football side of it when he's won almost everything there is to win in this league. And most people support the use of goal line technology you wanker.

And the last bit for the day is Arsene Wenger talking about Jack Wilshere. He compares the young man to Gooner Legend Liam Brady and says that he'll nurture the boy's talent by not putting too much pressure on him. Little Jack scored his first goal against Sheffield United and I have to say he's the most exciting young player I've watched in a long time. Wenger is right though, he has all the talent but he has to keep applying himself and not be weighed down by all the expectation on him.

So that's about it today. Remember to check out SoccerPro.com for all of your Arsenal and football related needs. Cheers!