Adebayor's Soap Opera

Morning everyone. I'm back. I was down in Orlando the past couple days watching Less Than Jake and Rancid play some shows. It was pretty amazing, not gonna lie. So what did I miss? By the looks of it not all that much. Some big teams are out of the Euros: Holland, France, Portugal. Turkey and Russia are looking really good and Spain versus Italy today. Should be a dandy.

I guess you could say the main Arsenal news over this weekend still revolves around Emmanuel Adebayor. When did I do that last podcast? I think I might do another one just to talk about this subject. It seems now that the situation has escalated even more, with sources reporting that Arsenal are prepared to accept a 25 million pound bid for him, should the bid be made. Adebayor's agent says that Arsenal would rather sell him to Barcelona than Milan, "for their own motives." Like I said, it has to be Yaya Toure. I can't see us wanting anyone else from their team that we could actually get. We couldn't get Xavi, Messi, or Iniesta and I don't really think we'd want anyone else besides them and Yaya.

This article again links us with Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz, who had an impressive first season in the Premiership last year, if Adebayor does leave. He's not really a player I want to see at Arsenal and I think it's probably just speculation but I'd think for 25 million pounds we could get in someone else. Goodplaya, however, reckons we really do want to sign him.

The Sun, (which is of course complete bollocks on a daily basis) says that Barcelona have agreed a fee and terms with Adebayor and hope to complete the signing in the next few days. Yes I know the Sun is a terrible paper but even they have to get one right sometime you'd think.

So the moral of all this is I think I've changed my mind on this one. For weeks I've been saying that Adebayor definitely won't leave and that he's loyal and loves Arsenal and all that, but I digress. I think he may very well be leaving now, and it would surprise me if he doesn't go really. I'll admit though that I would be very upset if we did lose him, but 25 million pounds would probably help to ease the pain.

Who do I want as his replacement if he goes? Well I've got a couple on my list. Of course I like David Villa, if you read this site often then you know that. I like Podolski, I don't mind Santa Cruz, and honestly Eto'o wouldn't kill me either. Like I said though, I think Ade is probably going and I'm 110% positive that Arsene already knows for sure one way or the other if he's staying or not. So if he is leaving than Arsene knows it and he's already looking for that replacement now. Things could get very interesting in the next few weeks...

In news apart from all this, Gael Clichy has signed a new long term contract. Like I said on the podcast, this is why we love Clichy and Sagna. They have brilliant seasons and still show no desire to move clubs and in fact both signed new deals this month. It's outstanding. I hope they're our fullbacks for the next ten years. I know it's unrealistic but would anyone complain if it were to happen? I think we should be thankful that Clichy and Sagna didn't get selected to play for France. That team was destined to be shite and now we can be thankful they weren't injured.

Speaking of the Euros though, Russia beat Holland 3-1 yesterday and Andrei Arshavin was the main reason why. Now he's been linked with a move to Arsenal after saying that he wants a move to a bigger club. He's currently plying his trade for Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia, so it would be quite a step up to the Premier League. He's 27 years old which is a bit old for Arsenal's usual signings but he's been absolutely fantastic in the last two games for Russia. I wouldn't mind seeing him replace Hleb and Nasri replace Rosicky at all. Or just bring him in and have them all compete for places. That would be nice.

Apparently we're also trailing some Brazilian named Diogo from Portuguesa. I don't know anything about him but the club are claiming to have rejected an Arsenal bid for him of 6 million pounds. They say they want 12 million for him. I bet they do.

So yeah, the speculation is getting crazy. It's going to be interesting guys so hang in there and don't let it frustrate you too much. Enjoy the match today and maybe I'll do a podcast while I watch it! PS, listen to the first one, I still need feedback on it. Cheers!

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.