Arsenal-Manchester United Reaction

Morning all. Well, it was pretty bloody awful wasn't it? This match is like Chlamydia, it's awful and disgusting and yet it just will not go away. While I'll admit to not being confident heading into yesterday, I was at least hopeful. I thought maybe we could at least get the first goal and give ourselves a chance to prove we could hold them off, but I was wrong. Most of the match, I sat in my chair, not making a sound, just kind of absent-mindedly gazing at the screen in hopes that maybe an Arsenal goal would snap me out of my trance.

We did start brightly, holding the ball for just about the whole first five minutes of the match and flowing well. No real end product though meant it all went to waste, and it only took United one attack to deal a hammering blow to us. Ronaldo crossed into the box low, Gibbs tripped and fell, and Park finished. The crowd was stunned, I was stunned, I think everyone in the world was stunned. Nobody had envisioned it going like that. Three minutes later, Ronaldo went down from a soft foul, rolled around like a girl, then got up, took the free-kick from 30 yards out and of course sent it right into the net.

The tie was pretty much over after just 11 minutes in the second leg. Watching the rest of it was like sitting through torture. We couldn't get a goal back and we really went off of our game after that second goal. It sucked the life out of the players, the fans, and even Arsene Wenger, who was visibly shocked. I have never seen him with his hands over his face so many times in one match. To the fans' credit, they did keep singing a few times even though we were dead men walking. That always makes me proud to be a Gooner.

The second half wasn't really any better. They scored another on a ridiculously good counter attack while we were pushing everyone forward to try and score four goals in 45 minutes. That one really put it to bed. We managed a consolation goal from an RvP penalty, but it didn't matter. I didn't cheer when it went in or anything. I was just too downhearted. In our biggest match ever played at the Emirates, we failed miserably.

I felt bad for Kieran Gibbs. While he's certainly at fault for the first goal, he's so young and inexperienced and was forced into the match by a lack of cover for injuries to our defenders. With experienced players like Gallas and Clichy out, we have to turn to Gibbs against a team with Ronaldo in it, and that's a tough matchup for anyone in the world, and certainly for an 18 year old. I hope he recovers from this one. Mentally it can be a huge blow when you make such a big mistake so early in a huge match.

Nobody really had standout performances for us, but if I had to pick two players that I thought did well I'd take Nasri and Song. Nasri was running everywhere chasing the ball, and when he got on the ball he made some really crafty runs with it. Sure, the end product could have been better but that's a given when you look at the scoreline. Song did pretty well breaking up play in the middle and worked really hard again. He's definitely having the best few months of his career lately.

Although it's unpopular to say, Cesc had a pretty bad game. He didn't get on the ball much, and when he did, a lot of his passes missed their targets. I said yesterday that he would be the key to the match, and he never really got into it. I'm definitely not blaming him for the loss, because that would be incorrect. I'm only pointing out what I saw in the match, and I didn't see a lot of Cesc Fabregas.

So it's another season without silverware. That makes four straight years. It is what it is. When you have a manager like Arsene Wenger, you can always expect a few things, including beatiful football and stubborness. The board have backed the youth project, and that's how it's going to be. We have to remember that Cesc, Theo, Clichy, Bendtner, Song, Nasri, Denilson, and Djourou are all under the age of 23, so it's not like the window to win trophies is closing. We need to be able to keep our players though and also add some more. We've seen the impact that Arshavin has had on this team, so why not add a few more players with his type of experience in the summer?

Remember Gooners, we're all Arsenal supporters. Some people are mad at Wenger, some are mad at the players, but nobody should be mad at the other supporters. We're all one club, and we all want them to win everything every year. Sometimes it just doesn't go that way. Arsenal have gone a lot longer that four years without a trophy before, so let's be patient. Manchester United were a much better team this year, but we've seen that we can beat them on our day, and I think we're only going to get better. So while it feels miserable right now (and believe me, it bloody well does) tomorrow is another day. They'll be giving away trophies again next year, so let's all hang in there and be ready to back the team again next year, hopefully to many finals and championships.

Come on you Gunners!

Who sits, Nasri, Theo, or Arshy? Should Arsenal Play 4-2-3-1?

Morning all. Not a whole lot going on this week. I really wish I had a lot to write about but there just isn't anything to write about. Everyone is away on international duty for the next week plus, so stories are few and far between, but I'll try to come up with something mildly entertaining as I drink my morning coffee.

First off we may as well start with some transfer rumors, and the first one is Raul Albiol of Valencia saying he would be interested in a move to one of the "big clubs in the Premiership." While I don't watch him week in and week out I do think he's at least the type of defender that would be a good addition to our squad, and with Gallas not getting any younger and Valencia being cash strapped, it could maybe happen.

Gael Clichy has been linked with a move to AC Milan, and was asked about it by a reporter.

"I don't know anything.

"I am very happy at Arsenal. It is true AC Milan are a great club. It is flattering to know you are followed by such a team."

I think Clichy is the type (hopefully) that would like to stay at Arsenal for a long time so I don't really see a lot to this story. Hopefully we'll secure our Champions League spot for next year pretty soon and that should kill off some of these transfer rumors of our big players leaving. Clichy hasn't been at his best this year but there is a reason that AC Milan are following him and a reason he was in the team of the year last year, and that's because he's absolute quality. Not only that but he's a perfect team player, never runs his mouth, and always has a great attitude. He's the type of player great teams are made of.

Alright so on to my main topic today, and that is one I have been discussing with Joaquin over the last few days. With the return of Cesc soon after the international break, where do all of our attacking midfielders play? Obviously Cesc, being the captain and being brilliant and amazing, gets in the side no question. But what about Theo, Nasri, and Arshavin? While Theo was out and Cesc was out there was lots of space to move Nasri and Arshy around, but with all of them healthy, as well as having Adebayor back up front, it does give you lots of options.

Of course this is a good problem to have, much better than having everyone injured like we did, but I really want to know what you all think. What is your ideal first eleven for Arsenal with everyone healthy? I suppose mine would look like this:

Almunia
Sagna-Toure-Gallas-Clichy
Nasri-Denilson-Cesc-Arshavin
RvP-Adebayor

But Joaquin had an interesting idea that I'd like to throw out there now. What if Arsenal switched it up and ran a 4-2-3-1? I know 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 are Arsene's ideal formations but with the players we have a 4-2-3-1 could work effectively. Have a look at this:

Almunia
Sagna-Toure-Gallas-Clichy
Denilson-Cesc
Walcott-Nasri-Arshavin
Ade/Nik/RvP/Eddy

Obviously RvP and Eddy at least have the ability to play in that line of 3 instead of Theo, Nasri, or Arshy too if needed and Ade and Nik can both play a lone striker role fairly well. I think it's something that should be considered maybe because the possibilities are endless. Imagine what all of those guys on the pitch at the same time could create. I'm actually about to try it out on football manager now and see if they can pull it off. Not that that is a good sign or anything but its still fun for me.

So I want to know your opinions on this one. If we stick with 4-4-2, where does everyone get into the team, and what do you think of at least the IDEA of the 4-2-3-1? It gives you something to think about over the international break at very least.

Hope you all have a good day. Cheers.

Nasri Makes His Impact, Fenerbache Preview

Morning all. It appears Arsene Wenger is quite happy with Samir Nasri's start to his Arsenal career. While it sometimes takes time to settle in for foreign players in a new league, especially younger players, Nasri has caught on to the system quite quickly.

"I didn't count Nasri in here for the first six months of the season, like I do for everybody we buy at such a young age.

"When you look at the impact he had already here you can say he's ahead of what I planned for him."

Yes, Arsene I agree with you, he's a really, really good player. The scary thing is since he's come here he's been injured a good bit. It's a scary thought because of what has happened to the last player we've bought from another country and played on the left wing...When he has been fit though he's been great, and I've already ordered my Nasri home kit and am looking forward to it. We need him to have a big match for us if fit against Fenerbache.

The best news heading into the match against Fenerbache tomorrow is that Johan Djourou and Nicklas Bendtner have been declared fit after missing the last match against Everton. Djourou's return is especially key because Gallas and Toure will both be missing the match. So Djourou should slot right into the center of defense, probably along with Alex Song or Silvestre. My guess would be Silvestre.

Here's how the lineup will probably look:

Almunia
Eboue-Silvestre-Djourou-Clichy
Walcott-Diaby/Denilson-Cesc-Nasri
Rvp, Adebayor

I know Walcott is worn out and Arsene really wants to rest him but he can't really afford to at this point because we don't really have much cover there. If he knew Walcott would get tired during the season he should've invested in another winger during the transfer window. Plus, right now he's our biggest impact player and we need him in the squad. Big ups to Theo, keep it up lad.

Want to hear some funny stuff? Tottenham have played 8 games this season so far, and guess how many points they have...TWO! That's right, they lost again yesterday, this time to Stoke City, and they are still without a win. It's one of the worst teams I've ever seen in the Premiership, and even Derby had more points last year than Sp*rs have after 8 games. I really hope they get relegated, because I hate them so very, very much.

Some transfer rumors you say? Well it appears that we are scouting Standard's skipper Steven Defour. He's only 20 years old of course, because anything older than that is much too old for Arsene Wenger. He's a midfielder and has an 8 million pound value stuck on him. I've never seen him play before, and don't really know anything about him. I know he's about the average age of our squad and that's about it. Maybe he's a holding midfielder though, or could at least play there. He's a Belgian international already, so that can't hurt.

Some other weird transfer(ish) news comes from Julio Baptista who says he would have loved to stay at Arsenal. He says the only reason he didn't get to stay was because Real Madrid didn't want to buy Jose Antonio Reyes.

"I wasn't fed up and don't regret it at all. I learnt a lot of things from Wenger, one of the top-class coaches in Europe today, and I wanted to stay.”

He wasn't very good for us when he was here, but it does make me feel a bit more fond of him hearing these nice things. I give you props Julio.

Alright other than that I don't have much else. Get your emails in for me to read on the next podcast, just whatever shite you want, funny stuff, talk about Arsenal, make fun of Sp*rs, or just leave some feedback. Email me at ArseNole@arsenole.com and it'll be awesome. Best email gets a prize from SoccerPro.com. So get them in and enjoy the match tomorrow. Cheers all.

Working With What We Have

First things first my fellow gunners, Don’t Panic. There is no need for some of this in-fighting that I have witnessed on different blogs and message boards between those of us who truly love the sport and are passionate about the Arsenal. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, regardless or not if it questions the wisdom of our fearless leader Mr. Wenger. He has been doing this a long time and our season is just getting started. Remember if you will last season, Chelski and ManUre both got off to rocky starts and finished above us in the table whereas we shot out from the gates untouched and did not falter until the second half of the season. Perhaps we need some perspective on the fact that this is a really long season with plenty of opportunity to right the ship.

That being said, I do not think that I have EVER seen the Gunners play so poorly in my life as they did against Fulham. We should give credit to Hodgeson and his squad, they came out and put pressure on our inexperienced midfield, causing havoc on any and all attempts to play out of the back, and forcing our boys to play the same kind of calamity football that we make other teams play.

The most disturbing thing about Saturday was the passing completion rate, only Nasri’s 81% (53 passes) was of the level that we were used to seeing last year whereas Walcott’s 81% (16 passes) was basically a waste of space on the field. He is still not in form yet this season and I am not sure when and if he is going to be able to cut it at this level day in and day out. I think he adds a great spark off the bench but as a starter he just does not have the muscle.

I must agree with Arsenole about one of his latest posts, Gallas is shit. Why he has the armband I will never know. I wonder what it must be like on the practice pitch everyday. From all of my days of playing football, the captain must be the engine on the team, the one least likely to make mistakes, and the one who inspires greatness. Gallas is none of those things. Toure should have the band but I also feel that Cesc could also carry that weight especially since in his absence the wheels have come off the bus. He should be back soon so… DEEP THOUGHT #1- Cesc is coming back! I know that we should not be so dependent on one player but shit ya’ll, he is Cesc-fucking-Fabregas! This is a player who can change games and get everyone on the pitch involved in a positive way.

Keeping up with the positives, Adebayor can still play and he will get goals when he gets the service. We all know how good he is, we all know how fast he can change a game. So here it comes…DEEP THOUGHT #2- Our target man up front is still of the highest quality! Let Cesc give him a few well placed balls and watch him blow up the back of the net. We can put the off season drama behind us and get behind him despite his greed. Not all of our players can be like Cesc and we must accept that.

Of all of the points I could make to lift the spirits of those who still get goosebumps when Arsenal take the field, this is my favorite… DEEP THOUGHT #3- We got NASRI!

This kid is good. He has almost made me forget about Hleb leaving us (although I almost cried when I heard he was leaving, he is a remarkable player). The way that Nasri cuts and attacks will be such an asset once we get our midfield sorted and I have a really good feeling about the partnership between him and Clichy. One would be hard pressed to find a better left side of the pitch than when those two are firing on all cylinders.

For my final ray of sunshine, DEEP THOUGHT #4- We have two of the best outside defenders in the world. Sagna and Clichy are still stunning players. Their ability to defend, their speed, and their attacking skills are second to none. Again, once the center of the field is fixed we can go back to dominating our opponents.

So the question is what do we do in the meantime?

The problem is our soft gooey center. Denilson is not ready but he did show signs of quality against Twente in the Champions League. Putting Eboue in the center was Arsene’s biggest mistake. With Cesc back on Wednesday, Denilson will do behind him supporting the attacks. Eboue can sit out wide with Nasri on the other side and Walcott can come on in the 70^th min. I would like to see Adebayor up front with Carlos Vela. Let’s see what this kid has got. Van Persie looks terrible and if he gets one more chance for a free kick and blows it, he must turn in his boots and sit the fuck down. In the center of defense, Toure and Silvestre could be good together, so let’s get a good look during Champions League play when we are up on aggregate and playing at home.

-Contributed by fellow Gooner Paul

The ArseNole Podcast - Episode 3

Morning everyone. The ArseNole's 200th post is also the post for the third ArseNole Podcast. I know you're all so excited, and so am I. Joaquin and i recorded it during the first half of the Stuttgart match yesterday. The sound quality should be better than the last time but we're still trying to improve it every time we do it. Comments and feedback are much appreciated and you can send any comments or topics you want us to talk about to ArseNole@{removethis}arsenole.com. Thanks for listening and please comment!


You can listen to the podcast here, or you can download the podcast here, or you can subscribe using iTunes by clicking here. Or just visit the podcast page and catch up on the previous ones here.

Cheers!

Boats 'N Hoes

Morning all. That video is hilarious. If you don't know what it's from it's from the movie Step Brothers that just came out. I saw it last night and I didn't stop laughing.

So it's been a quiet few days in the world of Arsenal. No matches till Monday so I suppose they've just been training away. One bright spot however is that Kolo Toure appears to have made a miraculous recovery from his malaria. It's the Sun reporting so take it for what it's worth but they say he could start light training as early as next week. That would definitely be a boost for the team and hopefully he'll be ready by the beginning of the season and fully fit. Now that 's recovering I can start my "Sell Gallas" campaign again!

Samir Nasri, as expected, will be playing out wide this season. I thin we all knew he was a replacement for Hleb but now Nasri himself is talking about playing out wide in the coming year:

"I've spoken with Arsene Wenger and I'm going to play on the wing, because that's where the playmakers evolve, overlapping with the fullbacks," Nasri told French sports daily L'Equipe. "That system suits me, I played that way for four years with the French youth team and at the last European Championship. Either on the left or the right, it hasn't been defined yet."

He went on to talking about how he needs to improve his game to succeed in England and pretty much said all the general things that new players arriving say. He seems genuinely excited to play for Arsenal, and I really don't think you can ask for much more from him in the way of how to act and what to say so far.

Manuel Almunia had some nice things to say about Aaron Ramsey, saying he could be the New Cesc. He has looked pretty decent in preseason so far, but it's preseason against much weaker clubs than ours. So let's keep it all in perspective for now, but yes he does look a very good player and Wenger wouldn't have signed him and promised him that he could be in the first team at age 17 if he wasn't special.

There really isn't that much else. Go see Step Brothers. I still haven't seen Batman, but I'll be doing that at some point. Cheers.

Szombathelyi H. v Arsenal Match Preview

Morning all. It's hard to write up match previews for these friendlies because there isn't shite for news before them. You can't find starting lineups, you can't find anything on the other team, and the manager doesn't speak before them. But we're going to throw one out here anyway because I'm just that nice.

Today's game could possibly bring about the debut of Mr. Samir Nasri, who I am very excited about seeing. He just got into training yesterday so I can't be sure that he'll play but I would think he'll get some amount of time today. Depending on his injury status we could also get to see Carlos Vela make his friendly debut. I think it'd be cool to see Nasri on one wing and Vela on the other today at the same time. That would be an exciting combination. I think they both primarily play on the left though so that may not happen, along with the fact that Arsene Wenger said Vela is more of an Eduardo type forward than a winger.

The rest of the squad is also back in training (not sure about Cesc), so we could also see the return of Robin van Persie, Phillippe Senderos, Emmanuel Adebayor, William Gallas and others. Cesc I think might have gotten a longer break because Spain going so far in the Euros, and I'm not sure what Adebayor's status is really.

I'd expect the lineups to be stronger overall than against Barnet but I think it'll probably be a game of two completely different halves again, since Arsene won't want to work the players for a full 90 minutes yet. I think Aaron Ramsey should get some more good playing time, which is good for him and us, because he's fun to watch.

Pat Rice spoke about the preseason in Austria and explained why Arsenal go to Austria instead of going on a long summer tour:

"What happens is whenever we get there, we have a block of about nine days," explained assistant manager Pat Rice earlier this summer.

"Obviously that is interspersed with a few games but this is when we can get some good, hard pre-season training into the players which will help them and make sure they are in good shape for all of the season. Not just the start of the season but the whole campaign.

"Some managers think there is no problem with that [long-distance summer tours] but we are not one of the clubs who go down that route.

"Our Austria training camp has proved very successful for us for the coming seasons because we have always been in the top four and we think the preparations we get there is good for our young players."

Thanks Pat for that quality information. If you want more information on Szombathelyi you can find out here.

And that's about it. That's probably the worst match preview I've ever written but I'm sorry there's really not much information about the match ahead of time. I'll go out on a limb and pick 3-0 to the Arsenal. Time to go watch the match. Cheers.

Adebayor, Arshavin, and Other Transfer Stories

Howdy. That's how we do it here in Florida, with a howdy. We've got a good bit of stuff today actually, so that's good because there hasn't been much to write about for oh...about six weeks. So let's get right down to it!

First off, Robert Pires has been selected as the 6th greatest Arsenal player of all time! Well deserved for Le Bob as he is quite the legend. Unfortunately he's not still in the team because he's still doing brilliantly for Villareal. How we could have used him last season. That leaves only five left and it's going to include Henry, Adams, Vieira, Wright, and Bergkamp almost certainly. There's definitely a more modern bias about the rankings but that makes sense as younger people will have voted for more recent players and not old legends like say...Ted Drake.

On to the Adebayor news and according to Ade's wanker of an agent we've apparently offered him to Milan for "just over half" of the 32 million quid we originally asked for. Milan said they weren't going to pay 32 million and they're probably smart not to. Now with Hleb seemingly headed to Barcelona Milan don't really have any competition for Ade's signature. There is word that the sticking point in the deal could be the inclusion of Yoann Gourcuff. He's never really made much of an impact at Milan even though he had lots of promise, but he does seem like a Wenger type player. Young, with lots of talent that others haven't been able to fully use. I'm not sure if this is all talk or not but I'm thinking that something is up if our price for Adebayor has dropped that much.

Andrei Arshavin, who wanted to go to Barcelona last week, wants to come to Arsenal this week.

"Andrei is desperate to join Arsenal. His style of play would suit them perfectly."

That's from his agent today. Zenit St Petersburg apparently already turned down a 19 million pound bid from an "unnamed English club" and if they're turning down 19 million then there is no way he'll come to Arsenal. Good player, but not THAT good of a player. I'd much like to see him and Nasri in the same team honestly but unless they really want Emmanuel Eboue in a swap deal or something I can't see Arsenal paying that much for him.

Have you checked out Samir Nasri's girlfriend? She's a fox.

Charles N'Zogbia of Newcastle says he has dreamt of playing for Arsenal for his whole life. He says he'd love to join the Gunners, but if not, then he'd like to join Sp*rs. What? I've wanted to play for Arsenal my whole life too, but I would never, ever join Sp*rs. What a twat.

Meanwhile, several sources are claiming that Arsenal may come in with a Justin Hoyte + cash deal for Gareth Barry, since Liverpool still haven't locked up that deal. Call me crazy, but I don't really want Barry. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he isn't the Arsenal style, the fee is too high, and he's English. I have nothing against the English, don't get me wrong, but they couldn't even get in to Euro 2008. Regardless of whether I want him or not though, it could be interesting if we do make the offer. Barry really seems to want to go to Liverpool but it'd be nice to do one on the scousers.

So that's about it, good bit of discussion to be had today, so let's have at it! Forums, comments, all that good stuff. Up the Arsenal!

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!

Cesc Speaks About Hleb and Adebayor, Senna Linked

Morning all. Sorry I haven't been updating as recently as I'd like, I've just been really busy lately.

So Samir Nasri hasn't been officially signed yet, which makes my prediction from two days ago wrong. I'm positive he will sign though, but I am going to stop predicting when. I would assume it will be this week but every other time anyone has guessed it's turned out to be wrong so I'll just wait until it's officially announced. Marseille's president seems to agree with me.

Setanta Sports reports that Pascal Cygan has heard about Arsenal's interest in his team mate Marcos Senna of Villareal. I wouldn't understand that move at all. People say Gilberto is too old at 32 but Marcos Senna is 31. That's certainly not a typical Arsenal signing. He's a good player and all but how much do you shell out for a 31 year old? He was sensational in Euro 2008 but in my opinion he's too old and I can't imagine that Arsene is really interested in him.


In other BS stories, Adebayor's agent says that his client is not greedy. HA! You're having a laugh.

“Emmanuel is a man of heart, not of money. He is not greedy. He is a kid from the street, has sensibilities and is humble.

“If this was a money problem, then he would have asked to leave. I know that Arsenal’s political position is that they don’t pay high salaries.”

“It is important for Emmanuel that Arsenal show their motivation to keep him,” Courbis said. “Whatever they will decide, the decision will be taken with respect.”

Well if this isn't about money, then what were all those statements a few days ago about how he deserves to be compensated the same as Thierry Henry was at Arsenal? Why would he be interested in a move to Milan (who have pulled out of the race to sign him) who aren't even in the Champion's League next year? I think he's all about the money. He pretty much said that when he said he needed to start thinking about his retirement already. His agent is a twat.

Cesc spoke about Adebayor and Hleb and said he hopes to see them both when he arrives for preseason training. It's tempting for me to say, well since Cesc wants them both to stay I should want them to stay too, but I just can't. I think it would be awkward for them to come back at this point. When you make all the statements that Hleb and Ade's agents made you don't just walk back all happy into the locker room and everyone think the same about you. Players want to know that all the other players are just as committed to giving 100% as they are. You think Kolo Toure or Gilberto, who never complain about money, are going to be really happy with these two? They won't say anything about it because it's not their style but I can't see Kolo especially being thrilled with them. Kolo remember came to Arsenal in very much the same way as Ade. The both were born in Africa and ended up at Arsenal for fairly small transfer fees because they were not developed players. Arsene made them into what they are now. Kolo has been here since 2002 and not looked for a move, Ade has been here for 2 years and now he's ready to bail when people finally think he's a good player.

All I can say is if they do stay I hope it doesn't really upset the locker room chemistry, because that would be a far worse problem than not bringing in Samir Nasri on time or losing Mathieu Flamini.

Goonerholic's article is great today. I think the transfer season would still be a lot better without newsnow honestly. People just sitting there watching it all day, waiting for Nasri to sign, it's terrible.

That's all I've got today because I've got to go prepare for the second podcast which we should be doing today! So look forward to that, and remember that we have arrived in the month where we start the preseason, so we have something to look forward to! Cheers!

Nasri Finally Signs, The ArseNole Turns One

Ok so it took a lot longer than we all expected, but Samir Nasri is finally an Arsenal player. Sky Sports is reporting the fee at a massive 15.8 million quid, which is a lot more than I expected, and also makes me wonder if they really know what they are talking about. Arsenal almost always signs people on "undisclosed fees."

However, this signing has not yet been confirmed on Arsenal.com. I'm basing this headline on the fact that generally Sky Sports is a respectable news source who doesn't usually make things up just to get people to read. For those of you that are skeptical, I have heard from several sources that he will be taking pictures with his Arsenal shirt this week. It was also confirmed on Nasri's official website, but it seems that the site has now been taken offline...interesting.

Are you all really excited and satisfied that Wenger knows how to manage a football club now? For all of you out there giving him shite about taking a holiday and not signing anyone, well we've now signed two players in less than 2 weeks, even while the Euro's are going on, so piss off. I can't even get that excited about the Nasri signing because of all these wankers that bitch and moan every day about how this club is going down the tube. Go support Chelsea you glory hunting arseclowns. Here's a story for your type about us trying to sign Messi and Henry. It's completely made up so you'll probably like it.

Yeah I don't know where that rant came from. I know it's so terrible of me to think that our manager knows what he's doing. But I'll lay off the coffee.

Disclaimer - For those of you that actually think Wenger does know what he's doing and realize we won't sign every player on the planet, that rant does not apply to you.

As for the Euros yesterday, it was supposed to be a great one with Spain vs Italy. It wasn't great at all. Luca Toni started the whole tournament for Italy and couldn't get one goal. Great return from "one of the best target men in the world." Italy never really had any attacks, and Spain were mostly limited to long range attempts that weren't ever really going to cause Buffon any problems. The one part of the match I did enjoy (other than the ending) was seeing the two best keepers in the world in the same game. They are both absolutely fantastic keepers. It would be nice if we could somehow discover the next Buffon in our youth academy.

But anyways, the match ended 0-0 and had to go to penalties. Spain won 4-2, with Cesc Fabregas netting the winning penalty against Buffon. It was incredible and I honestly cheered. I hope Spain win it all. It'd be great to see Cesc get that trophy. I think he may get to start next match but you know how Aragones is, the old twat. We'll have to wait and see.


The new Arsenal squad numbers are out for this coming season, and there are only a few new ones so far. Aaron Ramsey will be wearing number 16, so it does indeed like he'll immediately be a part of the first team. Manuel Almunia has moved up and taken the number 1 shirt from Mad Jens, who of course has signed with Stuttgart. Carlos Vela, the Mexican prodigy and future Arsenal hero, has chosen number 12. That was Lauren's number. I miss Lauren. He was my favorite. Other than that everyone has stayed the same, which means Samir Nasri can choose between numbers 8, 14, 18, 23, 28, and 29. I'm betting on him picking number 8. You watch.

Speaking of numbers you can pre-order the new kit now. I actually just pre-ordered mine right now. I got Bacary Sagna on it. Are you getting a new kit? If so, who are you getting on it? Vela or Ramsey would be a nice one...although I wouldn't get Alexander Hleb or Adebayor just yet...

Last for today is a nice article on Vito Mannone, who has just been promoted to the first team squad. Congrats Vito, be that next Buffon.


Now is my moment to talk about my website's birthday.

I missed it while I was out of town but on June 18th the ArseNole turned one year old. How crazy is that? When I first wrote I had no contacts and no readers, I just wanted to write about Arsenal. Now a year later we have some frequent readers, some up and coming forums, a podcast, and loads more. If that same kind of improvement happens in this next year then who knows what this site can become. I want to thank you all. Those who read, who comment, who post in the forums, who tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, who clearly know more about it than I do, and those who have made the past year of writing this fun. Everyone have a Guiness to celebrate, and here's to many more years of The ArseNole!

Adebayor Not For Sale For Money Or Gold

Morning all. Today is an absolutely fantastic day. The Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship last night for the first time in my lifetime. It was a real massacre of the Lakers, and it couldn't have happened to a bigger set of cunts. So here's to the Celtics, and hoping for another one next year.

But now on to Arsenal. We've got an update on Emmanuel Adebayor today. Reports say that AC Milan received a fax directly from Arsene Wenger warning them off of Adebayor.

“It was quite bizarre," a club official has been quoted as saying.

"A fax arrived signed by Wenger in which he warned us against any bid for Adebayor.

“It went on to say that the player is not for sale - not for money or gold.”

I had quite a laugh about that one. Can't you just see pissed off Arsene sending that to Milan? Hilarious. It's good news though, Arsene said that Ade wouldn't be going anywhere and now he's backing it up. As I said on the podcast, I think I'd let Adebayor leave for the 32 million that's been reported. I think that's enough money to find a replacement and more. But on the other hand I do love Ade and am glad he's going to be staying. Anyone that can score thirty goals in a season would have a starting place in my team, and Arsene Wenger seems to feel the same way.

You've got to be f'ing kidding...somehow Cuntley Cole was voted in at number 25 on the Arsenal 50 greatest players poll. Number 25! He shouldn't even be ranked! Whoever voted for him should have their voting privileges taken away.

It's Sagna week at Arsenal.com and they have some interesting statistics about the year Bacary had this season. He has some amazing numbers, like how he only lost 1 tackle every 4.8 Premiership matches. He won over 80% of his total tackles, while Wes Brown was at 69% for ManUre. He also had a dribble completion rate of almost 80% along with 4 assists and that great goal against Chelsea. What a great year Sagna had. Can't wait to see him back next year.

A short while ago it was reported that Barcelona were getting frustrated at the inability to get a deal done with Arsenal for Alexander Hleb. It looks like they are proceeding with negotiations though, with this coming from a Barcelona spokesperson:

“The negotiation with Hleb is still in progress and despite him being a player with special qualities, if his club are not ready [to sell him], we have other options in mind.”

Again, as I said on the podcast, which if you haven't listened to then you should, I want Hleb gone. I'm sick of him and this whole transfer saga. If someone gave Arsenal 8-10 million quid for him, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

In Euro 2008 news, Robin van Persie played 90 minutes for Holland yesterday and managed to score a pretty good goal. Italy beat France 2-0 so the Italians got through and the French are out, which could speed up the official signing of Samir Nasri. Today we've got Spain vs Greece and Russia vs Sweden. Spain already won the group but the winner of Russia vs Sweden will be who joins them in the quarterfinals.

As I said, make sure you listen to the podcast and tell me what you think and what you want to hear on it. If you want to contribute on one in the future you can email me or leave a comment and let me know what you have in mind. That's all I've got today. Have a good one. Cheers!

You can subscribe to the podcast using iTunes by clicking here

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

Hleb Off To Spain, Euro 2008 contest.

Morning all. Nasri has again not been confirmed today in case you were wondering, but this is most likely due to the fact that he was playing for France last night. Awful hard to be in London when you're playing for France. Try it. Arsenal News Review says he played well. Le Grove said he didn't play all that well. I didn't watch it so take your pick of the reviews of his performance if you're that into it.

Nasri's agent did however confirm that the deal will be done in the coming days and it will be to Arsenal. Read this.

Biggest news we have today is about Alexander Hleb and if it is anything it's confusing. Apparently Hleb's agent met with Txiki Begiristain (nice name), the Barcelona director, yesterday in Germany. They reportedly reached a verbal agreement on the player's terms and now an agreement must be struck with Arsenal to complete the move.

At the same time, Real Madrid have declared their interest in Hleb, with coach Bernd Schuster saying this:

"Over the past two months we have had a plan and we know what we want, but now Hleb has been added. We did not know he could leave Arsenal but in recent days it has been more positive. We were surprised that he might leave there."

Remember also that Inter Milan was thought to be leading the race to sign him for ages until the Spanish gians got involved. Personally I couldn't give a shite where he goes to, I'm just ready for him to be off. This reminds me of the Jose Antonio Reyes story last year, where we didn't know where he was going to go we just knew we didn't want him back. It took weeks of him being linked with Real, Atletico, and Sevilla before the move finally went through. There are some people that may still want Hleb in the team, but I'd take 10 million quid for him right now in a heartbeat.


If you're looking for a laugh you can laugh at Mathieu Flamini, who was dropped from the France squad for Euro 2008. A lot of people probably feel sorry for him, but not me. I like ex Arsenal players this is true, but I only like ones who were great players here for years, like Pires, Henry, Vieira, etc, not money grubbers who leave after one good year. Flamini deserves all the hardship he gets in my book. If you disagree, please name your reason why.

Robin van Persie has said that Arsenal need to raise their wage limit to keep players happy and make them stay at Arsenal. Of course he wants the wage limit raised, he's a player and he wants more money. I like van Persie and all but he can talk about all this when he becomes club director, or at least stays healthy for a whole season.

As you probably all know, Cesc Fabregas' new agent is Darren Dein, David Dein's son. With Cesc getting ready to go into contract negotiations with Arsenal, the talk is that he's going to play some hardball with the club. Cesc is going to re-sign, trust me on this one. There is no need to worry that just because Dein is his agent he is going to go to Barcelona this summer. He'll probably get a deal about 100,000 quid a week. This story is meant to get all the Arsenal supporters nervous but don't worry about it.

And in other news Mad Jens made the final cut for the German squad for the Euros. Good job Jens.

That's about all I've got for the day. I'm pretty stoked for the Euro's so if you want to give me your prediction on the finals, give me the two teams that will play in the finals and the final score and I'll give the winner a free ArseNole stein mug and maybe some other stuff too. It's used to drink excesses of beer, like Yuengling. So post your prediction on the forums or the comments and I'll write em all down and the winner will get that. Or you can email your prediction to me at ArseNole[at]arsenole(dot)com. They have to be in before June 7th.

Nasri Confirmed, Hleb is a Cunt

Ok I have not been into following the Nasri story every single waking second like many sites seem to be but I have been keeping everyone someone updated so now I can officially confirm that Samir Nasri will sign for Arsenal in the coming week, most likely on Tuesday. Monday is a bank holiday in the UK and so it may happen then but most likely not.

Even Arsene Wenger said the signing was highly likely, and said it would happen before the Euros start on June 7th.

So that is one signing we have down, and he could definitely be classified as our "creative player" signing that Wenger said would happen this summer. However, we don't know if he is a replacement for Hleb, who appears to be on the way out, or if this is another player and Arsene will sign another to replace Hleb. Arsene has said on countless occasions that he does not plan on having Hleb leave because he has not received any transfer bids for him, and from what I hear that is still the case. As it has been said on the forums, I think Wenger's first choice for the creative player was Niko Kranjcar, but it looks like he is set to stay at Portsmouth, which probably led to Wenger going for Nasri, his second choice. I think there is still a possibility, but not a probability, that Wenger will look for another player to replace Hleb. If Hleb does go it will not be without receiving a transfer fee, and I think another signing would depend on how much we received for Hleb. If we make up a good bit of the 11.2 million pounds we paid for him, I think another signing could be likely. If it is less than that I would expect Wenger to keep his faith in Walcott and, sadly, Eboue.

On to Hleb, I have to say that he is a complete and utter cunt. He is leaving strictly for money, not because he can't settle in London. Madrid, Barcelona, and Milan are not small quiet towns. He is 27 and wants to get a huge payday before he is past his prime. Granted, his prime has not seen all that much production out of him. We have all talked about his lack of goals, but we have only even talked about him being quality for just this past season. Before that all we talked about was how he gave the ball away too much. If you don't believe me then read my season review from last summer, which was my very first post on this website. I said he was a waste of money then because he never shot and gave the ball away too much. So should we really be upset about him leaving? Hell no. We should be happy someone is willing to take him off our hands, give us money for him and then waste their own money paying him wages. I can't be the least bit upset if he leaves.

So that's my rant on Hleb and good riddance to him.

Now on to what I think Arsenal will do next. I think after Nasri defender is the next target. My personal feeling is that it will be Kompany or Albiol, but I could be completely wrong and it could be someone we have never heard of. Whenever a team finds out Arsenal is interested in one of their players, the price for that player skyrockets and usually causes us to have to go in a different direction, and this could turn out to be the case here. Kompany at least I've heard is valued at 15 million, which a shiteload for a defender, I don't care who it is.

But I've done enough rambling so now I'll try to go over a little bit of news. Oh wait, there isn't any bloody news because every single site spends hours nutting over the Nasri story.

For all the idiots saying that Wenger should be sacked and that Arsenal should let Usmanov take over so we can spend billions of dollars you should read this article and realize just how stupid you are. I'm being kind of harsh today aren't I?

The Man from East Lower agrees with me that Diaby could develop into the new Vieira, or something like a replacement for Flamini at least, in the new season.

And that's really all there is for today. I'm so over the Nasri stories, so unless there is a picture of him holding an Arsenal shirt tomorrow then there will be no mention of him in my post. If you really need to hear about how Nasri likes his croissants baked or something then you can read about it on 823,508 other sites. I know it seems like I'm in a pissy mood this morning but really I just am sick of every news story being about him. So yeah, more to come tomorrow, hopefully there will be news about something else. Until then, join the forums, talk on em, leave a comment, or do something useful other than waiting for Nasri to sign. Cheers.

Nasri, Robinho, Meteor in Moscow

Good morning all. Incredibly, I am still sick, which makes it like five days straight now. I've also been working massive hours at the ACC baseball tournament so sorry for not posting the past two days. Today there isn't any massive news that I can find so I'm just going to go through even more transfer news/rumors/rubbish, etc.

We'll start off with a post from Online Gooner that caught my fancy. He talks about how nobody was calling for the signing of Samir Nasri before the transfer rumors started and now everyone is talking about him like he's the best thing since sliced bread. Nobody really knows what he will be able to do in the Premiership. He's only twenty, he plays in the French League and it's expected that he'll switch positions to winger once he gets to Arsenal. Does that sound like he'll make an immediate impact? He makes a valid point about the Bergkamp and Campbell signings too. They were big names when we signed them and we knew they could come in right away and play and look how they turned out. Wonderfully, if you didn't actually know how they turned out. If Nasri is the "established player" that Wenger said he was going to bring in, then maybe he really is losing it. We've signed big players under Wenger before, and we need to hope we do again. (PS: I'm not asking for Villa, Robinho, and Kaka, just a player that we KNOW can play at this level already.)

Robinho's agent was in London this week, which of course led to rumors of him heading to Arsenal, Chelsea, or Sp*rs. Not sure what to think of this one. I like Robinho as a player, I really do. I'm just not sure if he'd be the right fit for what we're doing at Arsenal. If somebody who watches the Spanish league could give some insight on what they think in the comments or something that would be great.

Several sources have reported that Arsenal have signed 17 year old Francis Coquelin. He is from Laval, a small Ligue 2 French club. He spent 7 days on trial with the club last month but it was cut short due to injury. He is a defensive midfielder and is definitely one to watch for the future. Young Guns wrote a good article on his reasons for signing with Arsenal over competition from Lyon and Nantes.

Arsene Wenger spoke about Lasagna Diarra, saying that he panicked and couldn't handle not being first choice in midfield. It's pretty funny reading, as apparently Diarra refused all loan moves and said he could handle not being first choice before complaining about exactly that for half of a season before pissing off to Pompey. Whiny little cunt.

Thierry Henry says he may quit International Football after the Euro's, which would be a shame because I love watching him in the French team. He'll be 31 in August so 2010 would be a long way away so he said he'll wait and see after the coming tournament what he wants to do. He also used his old fashioned line he used at Arsenal for all that time, "I have a contract at Barcelona, therefore I am a Barcelona player for now." At least he didn't only do that at Arsenal.

And last but not least I suppose I should comment on that cuntfest Wednesday night in Moscow. I'll admit I was working for the most part of it, and I only got to see extra time and the shootout. I hear it was a pretty good match, but I can't agree. Anytime you have that many people who's heads you want to bash in on one pitch it can't be that good of a match. I, like many, was hoping for a meteor or tornado or something to hit the stadium but it just didn't happen, which was highly disappointing. The shootout made me laugh though, as Ronaldo missed his penalty and Terry missed his penalty. That was the best part for me. I didn't watch the celebrations, I couldn't. On the bright side, Chelsea losing means we can still be the first London team to win the Champion's League. On the downside, ManUre won the double. I hope they all are hit by buses.

Remember to join the forums so we can get something going on there, or leave your input in the comments, or whatever else suits your fancy. Cheers!

Oh and try out this Brazilian nickname converter I just discovered. My name translated to "Sayreca Pau." Interesting...

Is Kolo Mad at Gallas?

Morning all. Still sick so not doing so hot. Not much in the news today but we'll get through most of it.

We'll start off with a story involving Kolo Toure. The Sun (yes I realize it's the Sun) reports that Kolo is fed up because he thinks Arsene Wenger is giving preferential treatment to William Gallas. This could very well be true and I have often thought of this myself. Let's look at the details. Gallas comes in well after Toure, yet is handed the Captain's armband. Gallas makes much more than any player on the team currently. Gallas has been able to continue at center back for the whole season even while Kolo has been forced to play at right back for the last month of the season. Kolo has been here for some six years, and I might be a little upset about all the treatment Gallas has gotten too. I for one was all for Kolo getting the captaincy last year if Gilberto didn't, but for some strange reason it went to Gallas. Kolo doesn't ever say much so nobody really knew if it bothered him or not but this story could show that he isn't all that happy with the way things are going.


We know Arsene is going to bring in another central defender. What I personally hope is that it's someone who is brought in to partner Toure and not to partner Gallas. Toure loves this club and has proven his value for years now, and shouldn't just be thrown to the curb. If Gallas is removed from the captaincy, I think he'll get all pissy and want to leave anyway so we could sell him if we have to. I just don't want to see Kolo replaced by an older and not any better William Gallas.

As I reported two days ago, all the signs are looking like Arsenal will sign Samir Nasri very soon. I'm putting together this link list of all the articles linking us so if you want to check them out you can, or you can just take heart that I told you about it two days ago.

Fans FC
Arsenal Analysis
The Guardian
Football Corner
BBC Sport

And there are a bunch more as well but I don't have time to list them all. It does look like he's coming though so that'll be the first big signing in a while. He's not a natural wide player though so who knows if Wenger will bring in another winger or not.

In other transfer news we've been linked with Miguel Veloso of Sporting Lisbon. He's a 21 year old defender who we've been linked with before. He's valued at 24 million pounds though, which Arsene would never pay especially as that would be almost all of our transfer funds for the summer. I've seen the guy play a couple times in the Champion's League and that's about it, so if you know more about him feel free to share.

And yet again we've been linked with Sebastian Frey of Fiorentina. He's a goalkeeper that we are linked with about every six months but we never seem to really go after. I don't expect us to sign him but maybe this year will be the one.

That's really all I feel well enough to write at the moment so sorry it's so short and crap but when I'm better I'll get something good up. Cheers.

Arsenal To Sign Nasri

Ok so it's a very very late post today, and it's not going to be a long one because I am sick at the moment and I'm also tired after work. I was going to wait until tomorrow for this but it appears our first signing of the summer is going to be Samir Nasri. Quotes from the Marseille playmaker seem to point to a move to Arsenal in the next week.

“I’ve maybe played my last game at Stade Velodrome,” said Nasri. “In any case I wanted to finish well.”

Several sources are reporting that the fee is going to be 13.5 million pounds and that it should be completed within the next ten days. It looks like Alexander Hleb may be moving to Barcelona and Nasri is seen as his replacement.

This article contains a quote from his agent confirming that there have been approaches for Nasri.

In other news, Roman Domanech has again proved how much of a cunt he is by leaving out Gael Clichy AND Bakary Sagna from the Euro 2008 squad. They both were in the team of the season and yet can't make it into the French squad at all. Absolute bollocks.

Also, Justin Hoyte has been linked with a 4.5 million pound move to Aston Villa. I like Hoyte more than I like Eboue, but I think Wenger likes Eboue more and he isn't really listening to me, so I'm guessing he'll probably be off. At least it'll bring us some money. I'd be sorry to see Hoyte go though.

That's about all I have time for right now because I've got to lay down. More tomorrow if I get a chance but cross your fingers on the Nasri thing. Cheers.

Cesc to Get New Deal, Kolo Toure Review

Morning all. Sorry I didn't get anything up yesterday but there was just about nothing for news and I just really wasn't up for it. My Under 7's finished our season today with a 5-1 win so that was good news, but the bad news is that now with no Arsenal and no team to coach football is officially over for a couple of months. But enough about that, we'll get on with the Arsenal.

Carlos Vela will be on his way to Arsenal for the start of next season, and Arsene Wenger says that they have applied for his work permit. Carlos has played at Osasuna all season, and he has played fairly well on the left wing, but Arsene says he will be used as a striker at Arsenal, and compared him to Eduardo. I wouldn't be surprised however, if Rosicky isn't healthy, to see Carlos get some games on the left wing.

Cesc Fabregas is set to sign a new deal, just 2 years after signing his 8 year contract. We don't want to take any chances after what happened with Flamini and what could happen with Hleb, and nobody deserves a new deal more than Cesc. He's going to be making the most money on the team, which he should, and it just shows that Arsene didn't think Flamini was so irreplaceable because he'll break the wage structure for Cesc just like he did with Thierry.

Arsene Wenger has tipped Alexander Song as the next great Arsenal centre-back. He did well in the last few games of the season but I hardly think he's at the level where we'd put him in against Man United or Chelsea and feel comfortable. Imagine Drogba versus Song...

There isn't that much else for news so we'll just get on with the transfer news/rumors.

Several sources are reporting that Diego would be the preferred target if Hleb were to leave this summer. He's a 23 year old attacking midfielder playing for Werder Bremen. He really is a quality player. However, he is not the answer to Hleb leaving. He is a central midfielder that plays behind the strikers, not a right winger. He is a great player but we want an out and out winger, not another player who is going to come inside and take away all of our width. If he is used the right way, I'm all for bringing Diego in, but if not then let's not bother.

Samir Nasri has also been linked with us as our "creative player" that Arsene said he wants to bring in this summer. He's a good player as well by what I have seen but since I do not watch the French league I only get to see highlights, which is what everyone is going by when they say he's amazing.

We've also been linked with Aaron Ramsey of Cardiff, who is playing today in the FA Cup Final. He's a young winger who people think very highly of. He's valued at 5 million pounds and supposedly Arsenal and Manchester United are both after him. Update: Portsmouth have just won the FA cup with former Gunner Kanu scoring the winner.

So now for our player review on Kolo Toure.


In the Past: Kolo is currently Arsenal's longest serving player, having joined the club in 2002 for only 150,000 pounds. What a buy that turned out to be. He started his career as an attacking midfielder but Arsene moved him to center back to partner Sol Campbell at the start of the 2004/2004 season. It turned out to be a great partnership because we ended up going unbeaten that season and won the league. Since Sol left our center back combinations have been missing the strength and height that Sol brought combined with the speed and agility Kolo has. The two were great together and Kolo became an essential part of the squad. He has started at center back ever since.

This Season: Toure has been partnering for a good part of the year with William Gallas. While they can both be considered elite defenders, they have not formed a good partnership in central defense. Most people think it is because the players are too similar as neither is especially good at marking the taller, stronger forwards in the league. Kolo has scored some goals this year, most notably against Middlesbrough to equalize late in the game and also on a free-kick against Bolton. He's had to play at right back for the last month of the season due to the injury to Bakary Sagna. He suffered an injury at the African Cup of Nations in January and seemed to be slow to find his feet upon his return, so Philippe Senderos took his place during that time.

Next Season: Kolo Toure to me should be the next Captain of Arsenal. I personally think he is a better option in the middle than Gallas is and with a taller, stronger back next to him I think we would be able to return to the defensive strength we had when he partnered Sol Campbell. Toure is one of most experienced players, and is a world class defender. I expect him to have a great season next year, and hopefully he is not removed from the starting eleven when a new center back is brought in.

That's about all I've got today. Remember to email or leave a comment if you have any ideas for the podcast, and I'll try to get something together tomorrow. Cheers.