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!