Arsenal Linked With Matuidi, Madrid Want Alonso

Hello everyone. Not a lot happening in the world of Arsenal today but I'm posting anyway. I'm pretty much starving by the way, but that does tend to happen at lunch time. I'll probably make some coffee and have a microwave pizza, because that's clearly a good combo.

First off today is Arsenal have been linked with St. Etienne midfielder Blaise Matuidi. He's 22, plays as a DM, and really wants to join Arsenal.

“I asked myself questions at the end of August after Arsenal showed their interest. An opportunity to join them is not something ordinary. It gives you great self-esteem, it is Arsenal."

I tell you, it is REALLY hard to find any videos or anything on this guy, but I did find this one of a really nice goal he scored this season. If anyone knows more about him, feel free to fill us all in.

If Xabi Alonso is really a target again this summer for Arsene Wenger, then the competition for his signature just got a lot tougher. Real Madrid are interested in signing him, and since they'll pay just about anything to get the players they want, it could price us out of the picture. I've given you my views on this subject. Xabi Alonso is a good player, one who I would certainly like to have at Arsenal, but I'd rather have someone who will knock some dudes out. The only dude I remember seeing Xabi Alonso knock out is...well, Cesc...last season. Not nice. Still, if that's the way Arsene wants to go with it I'll be quite happy to have him because he really is an excellent passer with mounds of Premier League experience.

Kolo Toure has called for the squad to stay together this summer, and says it is the key to really improving.

"I think keeping the team together is the most important thing. When you stay with your team-mate for three or four years you start to learn how he plays. That helps you for the games and I think we have been together for a while now. It's important for our improvement next season. Sometimes when you bring somebody else, these players have to settle and that can take a year sometimes. The Premier League is already difficult so if you play six months badly it's difficult to come back."

That's a really long quote but it all needed to be shown. While I agree in principle with Kolo on this, and would like to keep most of the squad together, there is no doubt in my mind that we need additions to it like Andrey Arshavin was last year. The impact he made was unquestionable, and it didn't take him six months to adjust to the league. So yes, keep the squad together, but add to it as well. Depth never hurts any team.

And last but not least today, good ol' Jens Lehmann is getting set to make his film debut. He's apparently going to play a talent scout in the movie Themba, which is a pretty weird title to me but fair play to Jens.

So yeah, that's about it. Join the forums and start talking, because it makes the world a better place. Follow me on Twitter too. Man's game. Cheers.

Adebayor to Recieve Footballer of the Year!

Morning all. Still no signings, but try not to panic. This morning brings the news that David McNally, who has been Fulham's managing director for the past three years, has left the club. This has of course sparked speculation that he could be heading for the same job at Arsenal, which was vacated by Keith Edelman's departure. McNally was responsible for both the employments of Lawrie Sanchez, who made a bunch of buys that appeased the fans (hmmmm...Arsenal fans?) and was shite, and also for Roy Hodgesen, who saved the club from relegation.

This article also links us with Sevilla's managing director, Ramon Monchi. Too bad managing directors aren't like players where you can just watch them every week and see how good or bad they are. You have to just go by what you here and what you know about the clubs. I couldn't tell you much about either of those men but I do know the board did appoint headhunters to find the right man for the job so it does seem they are taking this very seriously. Whoever we do end up getting will be the very best for the job.


The BBC reports that Emmanuel Adebayor will be given the African Footballer of the Year trophy in Lome tonight. He got 42 percent of the public vote, so even though a lot of the Arsenal fans want to get rid of him, at least the African public realizes what a good player he has become for us. Thirty goals in all competitions...wow. Keep it up Ade, you deserve that award!

Sky Sports says that Arsenal target Aaron Ramsey has agreed a deal with Manchester United. This will undoubtedly lead to several blogs and fans calling for Wenger's departure. It doesn't seem all that big a loss honestly to me. First fans say they want established players and now they have a cow over this 17 year old. I just am going to wait until we get some signings in and not worry until then.

Update: Apparently there have been two bids accepted for Ramsey, one from Man U and one from who is believed to be Arsenal or Liverpool. We'll keep you updated.

To fuel your transfer rumor fire, I have this one for you. Tribal Football says that David Villa is officially for sale for 17 million quid. Not a bad price for Villa huh?


And for the last thing, Jens Lehmann has officially agreed a one year deal with Stuttgart. That means he has at least one more year to do some crazy mad things that we can all laugh about.

Sorry so short today. Not much going on really. Oh and if you didn't read Arseblog today he provides the perfect example of how Arsenal fans are acting this summer. Be patient you crazy bastards. Cheers.

Nasri To Sign After the Euros

Now before you rip your hair out, kick your baby kitten, or jump off a bridge...this isn't that big of a deal. Arsene Wenger spoke about Nasri to the French press, where he is on holiday.

“Nasri, he interests me."

“I hope I will do it after the Euros.

“It is more complicated now because the wage differences [between the French and the English league] are not as big as they used to be."

Many sites are calling for Arsene Wenger to be sacked or someone else to do the transfers or to never let Nasri sign because of this delay but it really isn't a big deal at all. We all want a transfer in, so isn't it much easier to just sit and wait than to stress about it every day? What Arsene said in that comment is basically that Nasri MIGHT want a little more money than is on offer but clearly it hasn't put off Arsene because he still said he is hopeful of getting the deal done. And guess what, if it doesn't happen, we will still all live. Shocking I know. If he doesn't come, then we'll get somebody else in that Wenger thinks can be a great player for us.


Why is there all this not trusting him? Do people already forget that we got 83 points this season and were top of the league for 6 months of it? Wenger is doing his job I promise. The squad will have new players for next season and they'll be players who can do a great job for us. So don't spend every day waiting for news on Samir Nasri, who nobody even wanted before the stories came out. Just be patient and wait and let Wenger do his job.

Jens Lehmann has gotten a contract offer from Stuttgart. Good for him.

Arsene Wenger decided to join the Euro 2008 competition and gave us his prediction here.

Here's a new one, Arsenal being linked with Ronaldinho. Honestly, it's never going to happen, but it is probably just as likely as 90% of all the other transfer rumors that have been posted already this summer. I just can't ever see Wenger bringing in a 28 year old, especially one that has been injured, fat, and out of form like Ronny.

We have an update to the Hleb to Barcelona story. Barcelona's whipping boy newspaper, Sport, report that the "days are numbered" until Hleb signs with them. Sport will post anything to try and kiss up to Barcelona but in this case I hope it's true. Hleb has become one of my least favorite Arsenal players in the past few weeks and I hope he's gone.

Reports from Holland say the whole nation is waiting on the fitness of Robin van Persie. I wouldn't be that depressed honestly if he missed every game in the tournament. I know it at least gives me someone to cheer for if he plays but if he doesn't I'll actually get to watch him play at Arsenal, which is more important.

That's really all there is today. Try not to do anything drastic over the Nasri situation, you all have a lot to live for. Cheers

Wenger Loves Eboue, Fabregas Review

Morning all. I'm right tired this morning honestly so this one may not be as long as usual. It sucks not having any matches to look forward to. Can you believe it thought this blog is almost one year old now. Next month will be one whole year. Ridiculous.

Arsene Wenger enlightened all of us who were baffled as to how he could keep playing Eboue on the wing. He said that you cannot only go by assists and goals but by how the team plays and how many team goals and chances there are. He said Eboue brings defensive balance to an offensive side, but I'd say he's lost his mind. He compared Eboue to Ray Parlour saying that Parlour didn't score many goals on the right side either. First of all, Parlour scored more than Eboue does for sure, plus he was just a better f'ing player Arsene! Also, Parlour was a central midfielder so I don't know what on Earth Wenger is talking about. Moral of the story is that now we know why Wenger plays Eboue, because he thinks that he's the new Ray Parlour. You're an idiot Arsene (in this case).

For those of you interested in what happened during the recording of The Cesc Fabregas Show, there is a good report on it here. Basically he won new kits for the enitre audience, answered questions, talked about his past, said the goal against AC Milan was his most important goal, and said he would like David Villa at Arsenal. Yes, he really said that. He was asked if he could bring back one player with him from the Euro's who would it be, and he said David Villa. Would be nice Cesc.

Gael Clichy is reportedly very close to signing a new 4 year extension on his contract, which is great news. Sagna and Clichy have both been reported to be getting new contracts and as we have seen with Hleb and Flamini, it's really important for us to tie down our best players for as long as possible.

"We're at the end of our discussions," Clichy told www.francefootball.fr. "Everything's going well because my intention is clear: I want to stay at Arsenal."

Now that attitude is just what we want to hear! Just one more reason of many to love Clichy. He continued to say that he'd love to stay at Arsenal for a long time and leave a mark on the club like Vieira and Henry.

There have been reports of Emmanuel Adebayor wanting to go to Milan and Madrid, and recently they have been Barcelona. Ade again shot those down with a response on Arsenal.com.

I don’t know why people want to put words in my mouth. As I said on Friday, I love Arsenal and I will be here next season. I am off to Togo tomorrow but will return to Arsenal for pre-season training in July.

I feel for the guy. I wish the Spanish press wasn't as bad every transfer season. We lose one star striker to Barcelona and the very next summer they're after another striker of ours. Ade wants to stay thought so we won't have any Henry-like departures for Barca this year.

Mad Jens is in the news again, and he's talking about Manuel Almunia yet again. This time it's actually nice though, telling him not to take anything personally and that the competition in the past year will help Manuel to improve. He said if he sees him in the summer or anytime after he can shake his hand and there will be no problem between them. That's good to hear because I was sure Jens wanted to murder Almunia last year.

Ok so now time for round three of player reviews, starring Cesc Fabregas.

In the Past: Fabregas came to Arsenal in 2003 after starting as a youth at Barcelona. Wenger snapped him up when he was sixteen and put him in the Youth Academy. He was something of a prodigy though and made his first appearance on October 23rd, 2003 in the League Cup versus Rotherham United. This made him Arsenal's youngest ever player at sixteen years, 177 days. He became the youngest goalscorer not long after in a win against Wolves that same season. Once Patrick Vieira left, Fabregas really got to shine in the first team, with the climax of the transition coming in the Champion's League when we were drawn against Juventus and Cesc completely out shined the former Gunners captain. In 2006/2007 he made 13 assists in the league which was good enough for second in that category. He was also named Arsenal's Player of the Season that year and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year.

This Season: This season Fabregas had, by most people's opinions, his best season as a footballer. He won the O2 Player of the Month award for the first three months of the season while chalking up many goals for a player that hadn't scored many for us in the past. He made 45 total appearances, scoring 13 goals and making 24 assists, 19 of those coming in the league, which is tops. He was at his best earlier in the season, when he was putting in goals almost every match. He stepped up in big moments as well, scoring the decisive goal in the San Siro to beat AC Milan in the Champion's League, the only English team to ever win against them there.


Next Season: Fabregas is the essential part of our team that we can't play without right now. If you watch matches where he isn't playing the movement seems to be off as well as the pace of the attacks. He dictates almost the entire game for Arsenal and his passing skill allows us to play our high pace, passing style. The day we lost Cesc Fabregas is a sad, sad day indeed. For now though, he is still only 21 years old and (scarily for other teams) he will keep on improving. I expect him yet again to be our best player in the coming season and to be the key in our drive for trophies. Keep it up Lord Fabregas.

One last note, I'm still looking for contributers for the upcoming ArseNole podcast. If you would like to co-host with me I am looking for one and if anyone can think of anything funny or interesting to put on there that would be great. Just add it on the comments, forums, or email me, ArseNole@arsenole.com

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.