The World of Arsenal

Well, for the last time this season, it’s a match preview. It feels kind of weird, I just hope it goes quickly! I’m totally addicted to watching my team play… we’ve got a good set of friendlies happening, some transfer speculation of course and don’t forget the England-less Euro 2008 tournament… so it’s going to be a packed Summer none the less….

The final game this season sees us travel to Sunderland for a game against “Keano”, the ex-caption of our arch rivals, Man U, don’t forget. They tried really hard when they came to the Emirates, and a sluggish first half saw us quickly go 2-0 up, but the final score was 3-2 - doesn’t that seem an age ago!!!

It should be an exciting game, I’m sure Sunderland are up for it and will do everything they can to beat us! I’d expect the team to be pretty much the same as last week. With Cesc out injured, VP out, of course Edaurdo, Flamini off and Hleb suspended, we’ll probably see Randall come into the squad.

Arsene has talked about giving a few people a rest, so we may see Clichy & Gallas rested to the bench… most of the other players won’t feature in the Euros, so I’d expect this line-up…

With Mannone, Randall, Djourou, Gibbs and Clichy on the bench.

I’d expect to see second half sub appearances from Gibbs & Randall too…!

More later today…

What a performance by Real Madrid today. An embarassed Barcelona had to line up a tunnel for their arch rivals. For a team who had already won the title, Real Madrid started liked they meant business. A strange selection from Rijkard saw Henry, Messi, Bojan, Giovani, Gudjohnsen and Xavi start with Yaya Toure holding. Extremely attacking and Gago and Diarra easy controlled the midfield. The champions left Robinho & Ruud Van Nistelroy on the bench, but first half goals from Raul and Robben put the home side 2-0 up at half time. The second half got worse for the visitors as substitutes Higuan and Ruud Van both scored, the former a good run and good finish, the latter from the spot. Thierry Henry did try hard, but was thawted by a disciplined defence. He did get a consilation with a trademark finish in the last minute before Xavi saw Red. An action packed “El Classico”, end-to-end and one player in particular, Messi, outshone the rest of the Barcelona team. Boy, that kid is a talent…

Anyway, back to Arsenal, Arsene and Ade… I’m feeling Quotey

Arsene and Ade have been exchanged words in the media. Arsene believes Ade has room to improve and if you think about how many chances he missed, it’s clear to see that he can definitely improve on his 30-goal tally this season. Arsene spoke a couple of days ago…

“There is some room for him to improve - and that makes me very positive. I believe he has to keep a good working attitude. We have seen players before, when they start getting the recognition, they ease off in their teamwork, and very quickly, they die. If Ade keeps his work ethic, there is still 20 per cent more to come from him. Does he want it enough - to get this extra 20 per cent out? Well that is where his future lies. If you lose that desire, you quickly become a nobody”

Ade was also self critical and acknowledged he has to perform this season to be recognised as a good striker.

“I know the most important thing is how I perform next season. People are going to be looking at what I can do, but as a player you have to be ready for that.  Next season will be a new challenge. I know I can do it now, so I have to push on. 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.”

Ade believes he can emulate legends like Dennis Begkamp and especially Thierry Henry to become an Arsenal great. He has no intention of moving and wants to become a legend.

“I am at the right team at the right moment playing some good football and scoring goals so of course I am happy 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.”

Extra quotey smokey today, but an interesting insight into the relationship of our top striker and the gaffer, come Ade, 40 goals next season would be awesome, VP, take a look at Ade and try your best to get 20!

In other news, the board have publicy declared that Arsene has money and that they are looking for Arsene to buy a player or two. Arsene has recently talked to AST (The Arsenal Supporters Trust) and discussed his thoughts on the close season.

One defensive player, one creative player. Cheers.

A summary of Arsene’s notes basically talked about bringing in a creative player and a defensive one. He said we’d been undone “down the middle” for long balls, I expect that player to be a big, tall, strong defensive midfielder. For the creative player, you’ve got to think it will be a player who can play on the wing. We’ve got Carlos Vela coming back too, don’t forget, I hope it’s in addition rather than the Mexican himself. We’ve been linked with Niko Kranjar of Portsmouth, but so have Liverpool and Man U, and we’ve been heavily linked with Matias Delgado. I’d expect to see of them to join, if indeed Arsene wants to invest in this area. Both aren’t wingers, which is the only issue, we do lack width.

Arsene also commented on the departure of the board and commended the board for offering the final package which was in the region of £3.5m per year for 4 years, which is a total of £14m. At the end of the day, Flamini had his heart on leaving, so fair play to him, adios, and good luck in Milan.

Arsene also talked about the webster clause, but also insisted he wanted Hleb to stay and that he expected Hleb to stay. He mentioned having already lost one player, he didn’t want to lose anymore.

I’d expect to see hear more from Arsene and the AST tomorrow…

Til then…

Alexander Hleb?

Just who is he? What does he do? What makes him tick? How well does he play for us?

He is undoubtedly a talent, but after 3 years at Arsenal, a title challenge, an FA cup, a Carling Cup final and a Champions League final later, does he have the desire to continue plying his trade in North London?

Hleb joined us three years ago from Stuttgart for a fee in the region of £10m. He’s scored just 7 goals for us since joining and most have been this season. He was also called “Zauberlehrling” or “the Magician” for his silky skills and dazzling tricks for the German side…

But is 7 goals in three years and 11 assists is just not good enough for a winger or second striker, is it? Do we expect too much from him? Do we play him in the right position? Well, we’ve played him left, right, central and up front.

Why all the hoo haa about him leaving?

David Hytner of The Guardian recently commented…

“Wenger is aware that Hleb, 26, has the option to buy out the final two years of his contract under Article 17 of Fifa’s regulations and leave for a fixed fee, which would most likely be far less than the £11.2m Arsenal paid in July 2005.”

What does Hleb say?

Well, Alex has said many things. A few weeks ago we heard we was happy at Arsenal.

“Who knows what will happen? All I can say is that I enjoy the game here and enjoy playing for Arsenal. There is more to come from this team and from me.”

But a lot changes in two weeks, hey?

What does Arsene say?

Well, Arsene wants to keep Hleb. What does Hleb bring to us? He brings flair, he brings athleticism, he has a good short passing range? He’s had dazzling performances against many teams, and often been our best player…

“I believe Alex will stay but you cannot stop the rumours when players are in this type of situation, but I want Hleb to stay like everybody else.
 
“You can go to Real Madrid and Barcelona, but you have no more guarantees to win trophies. And from this season we should get the belief we can win trophies and come back to win the title.”

It’s an intriguing saga that beginning to unfold… The times ran a story yesterday saying that the Belarussian has confided that he is no longer going to be here next year.

Media Speculation

Matt Hughes at the Times is quoted…

“Alexander Hleb, the Belarus midfield player, has confided in several of his team-mates that he is planning to join Inter Milan and his representatives are understood to have agreed a four-year deal with the Italian champions. With two years remaining on his contract, Arsenal will battle to keep hold of Hleb, with Wenger threatening to report Inter to Fifa allegedly for making an illegal approach that has yet to be made into a firm bid.

Hleb, 27, is understood to be frustrated by Arsenal’s failure to win silverware, as well as concerned that the club’s pay structure will prevent him earning what he could pick up elsewhere, particularly given the policy of awarding only one-year extensions to players approaching 30. “

Keep your eyes open, there is no smoke without fire…

A day in the life of an Arsenal fan. It’s a great feeling.

Knowing that despite the loss of a key player, despite the speculation around our best players, despite the money available and despite the fact we won’t win silverware - despite all these things - I have a big smile on my face.

Why? For the simple reason that I love what my club are doing, I love the fact God made me a Gooner. The fact that Arsene is masterminding our past, present and future so beautifully and so tactically. Without a big tycoon like the Chelseas and Man U’s of this world, we have the provision to become one of the biggest teams in the world. We have one of the biggest fan bases, a stadium to match and football far beyond many teams in the world.

And how was this built? On £30m players like Torres, Shevchenko or Rooney? With £120,000 a week players like Ronaldo, Lampard and Gerrard? No, it’s built of the vision of not just one man, but a team of people dedicated to the beautiful game.

To identify the world best youngsters and make them the world’s best players is a gamble but at the same time an art. For all the money in the world, is there a better left back than Gael Clichy? For £100m, could we find a better all-round midfielder than Cesc Fabregas? For £7m, an amount that Portsmouth paid for David Nugent, we’ve got ourselves a 30 goal a season stiker who’s got more skill than Pennant, Bentley and Aliaidiere all put together and magnified by 10.

We’ve got a board who refuse to sell and eject the bad apples who have different motives. It’s not about making a quick buck, it’s amount creating something special. Creating a legacy of which future generations can be built on.

A day in the life of an Arsenal fan. It’s a great feeling.

Evening all, and what a hot evening it is… as discussed oveer the last couple of days, Flamini has finally departed for pastures new and we’ve got a defensive midfielder to replace now… here’s a look at some of the names linked and some not linked… a quick examination of possible players that could come in and be better than the Flamster… it’s not going to be easy…!!

Promotion From Within…

Denilson

With Denilson, we have a midfielder with flair and vision… he’s definitely a player built in the Arsenal way and the Arsenal mould. He can defend, but there would be a few questions surrounding the young Samba star. Firstly, his fitness - he has been in and out of the team due to injury this season quite a lot. Is that something is part and parcel of a player his age, well no, look at Cesc, so you’ve got to think he may be a little injury prone. Secondly, although he has played alongside Cesc in the close season, does he like to get forward too much? Does he defend enough? I’d say he is an option for more of an attacking midfield role. But he does have stamina and a good shot…

Abou Diaby

When Vieira left, many people thought Abou Diaby would be the natural replacement. He’s a combative midfielder, but like his current midfield compatriots, he isn’t as defensively minded as the Flamster or Mr Gilberto Silva… he does have a tendancy to dribble the ball out rather than pass it out, which is a dangerous tactic for a defensive midfielder. But he has height and ability which are the flipside qualities… and of course pace. The major problem with Diaby though, like Denilson, is that he has spent most of his Arsenal career on the injury bench. Can we trust him to be fit for a full season?

Alex Song

Alex Song is someone with a bright future, but which position is commonly asked by Arsenal fans. He has played in central midfield before, and his performances often co-incided with losses. He was loaned out to Charlton where he played in central midfield and had a marvellous season. Playing under a different sort of pressure gave him the chance to express himself and he not only broke up play, but his vision was awesome! When he came back to Arsenal, Arsene has decided to deploy him at centre back and it’s a position that he’s played in during the last 3 games and not looked that bad too. He does have a tendancy to be attracted to the ball, which is good for a defensive midfielder but sometimes not so good for a centre back. The jury is still out on Mr Song in midfield, but again, an option to be considered.

Gilberto Silva

A player who lost his place to Flamini this season, a player who has also potentially lost his pace too. We know he can do the job, but his limited appearances have given him a rusty feel this season and he’ll be in his 33rd year by the time the next season starts. I doubt he can be our first choice next season, albeit he can be a squad member - but of course, will he want to be a squad member? That’s another story.

Ready To Buy Replacements

Lorik Cana

A name that will be familar to Football manager players out there, but I’ve read a few articles about the youngster. His wiki profile states…

“Currently talks with Arsenal FC have been in Transfer Media speculation. Real Madrid[2], AC Milan and SL Benfica have also tabled their interest.”

He’s twenty four, from Yugoslavian descent and speaks French… plays for Marseille and has a mix of passing and physical, which could make him an ideal candidate to replace the Frenchman.

Jean II Makoun

A story that seems to have circulated the papers this weekend is the link with Makoun. Fuelled mostly by his agent who said:

“Makoun is on Arsenal’s shortlist if Flamini leaves. It is planned that he will leave LOSC at the end of the season and moving to England is part of his objective,” he said.

“I can tell you for sure that Jean II is appreciated by Arsene Wenger, but the transfer period has not started yet so I will not lie – negotiations are yet to start.

“He is short and not a monster but his involvement on the pitch is huge and he is a fighter. He is not the only one on Arsenal’s list.”

Makoun is a Cameroon midfielder who currently plays for Lille. But then, reading the Sun doesn’t get you that far does it in terms of transfer truths…!

Jeremy Toulalan

Toulalan currently plays for Lyon and has been touted by French manager Raymond Domenech as the long term sucessor to Claude Makelele. He supposedly been linked with a move to Chelsea this summer, who is also a player that Arsene has monitored for some time now. A bidding war with Chelsea? No thanks!

Gareth Barry

Could be a good player to have on board, but with Liverpool currently willing to part with up to £12m and £60k a week, a player who is suddenly out of our price range. Chelsea are also rumoured to be interested…!

Michael Johnson

We’ve been heavily linked with the Man City midfield maestro, but with a very rich owner, is it likely that Man City will sell one of their young star assets?

Here’s what the Times has reported…

“Arsenal are likely to make Johnson their prime target. The North London club have asked to be kept informed of Gareth Barry’s position at Aston Villa but fear that, even if the England player is made available for transfer, they would not be able to compete with the financial packages on offer from Liverpool and Chelsea, who have also expressed interest. Liverpool have been linked with Johnson, too, but Wenger’s top target is Barry and favours a move for the 20-year-old. “

 A player who may fit the bill…

Mark Noble

The young West Ham midfielder is a also a player that Arsene knows about and has mentioned in good light over the last two years. A mix of defensive abilities and attacking runs could see him a a potential replacement. Media attention on this hasn’t been there like on Michael Johnson, but then Arsene does like to do things on the down-low! £8m is the reported price…

Loic Perrin

A 17 year old? I wouldn’t put it past Arsene, but I doubt this is the replacement we’ve all be looking for.

Mathieu Bodmer

Another Lille player, who currently plays in the defensive midfield position, but can also play in defence. He’s apparently been interesting Rafa Benetiz for Liverpool, but both us and Man U have also been touted as potential suitors…

What are your thoughts?

Til tomorrow…

Evening all, it’s a brisk Sunday evening in London and I’m back in London after my short trip to Barcelona… and what a trip it was. I’ve been there many times, but Barcelona is a truly amazing city. My scouting mission for David Villa hits various snags, considering Valencia’s eventual 6-0 drubbing from Barcelona and also the fact that Sp*rs have gone in for the Spanish maestro…

Cheers JAT

Massive thanks to JAT who has been blogging in my absence, with two excellent posts reviewing the season so far and the Everton game… Cheers Big Man! I owe you at least one bottle of Jack Daniels!

Adios to the Flamster

No sooner did I get off the plane did I find out what we all thought was going to happen, Mr Mathieu Flamini has signed for Milan on a four year contract for £60,000 a week. We’d supposedly gone up to £50k, and some newspapers even reporting we’d gone up to £55k, but it looks like the $$$ were too alluring for the young Frenchman and despite being a boyhood Juve fan, he’s signed for their arch rivals, AC. Vice-president Adriano Galliani said after the win against Inter:

“Flamini is set to arrive tonight. He will sign a four-year deal”

And that seems to be it. Arsene has been playing Denilson in recent games in the holding midfield position, but knows he’s got to dip into the transfer market to replace the Flamster.

“We have done what we had to do, it is now down to him to make a decision. At some stage you have to make a decision and if he goes we have to look at our options.

 

“We can’t wait until July. You could lose players if they come on the market. My ideal solution is that he stays, so I am not happy if he goes - but we’ve done everything we can.”

It will be interesting to see who Arsene brings in as we’ve got to progress on this season’s results and to have someone new brought into the team and integrate immediately is a big ask. A defensive midfield version of Sagna will do? Arsene?

Lehmann Leaves

Well, the most obvious secret of modern football, Jens Lehmann has played his last game for the club. Arsene brought him on today for a cameo appearance (more on the game later) and that signalled his final game for the club.

“He is a super professional and super talented. In the seven years I worked with Jens I could not fault him.

 

“He was focused every single day and worked very hard.”

There have been mixed words from the big German but ultimately he was a great signing at the time, and had a good few years at the club… not sure if it was 7 Arsene, Jens seems to think it was 5!!

“The moment at the end was an amazing feeling for me - after five years and a lot of emotional moments. It was a great farewell for me and I am really grateful to the supporters and they will always stay in my heart.”

Well, thanks for your years of service Jens, and good luck to the future!

Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton…

When I boarded the plane, it was 0-0 just about to kick off and when I landed, the game was 1-0 to the Gunners and that puts us one point behind Chelksi who can hand Man U the title if they lose to Newcastle tomorrow which will surely be an interesting game at St James Park.

Niklas Bendtner struck in the 77th minute to gain all three points on the day. Here’s a line up overview:

Arsenal (4-4-2):
Fabianski (Lehmann 70’), Toure (Traore 70’), Clichy, Gallas, Song, Denilson, Gilberto, Walcott, Eboue, Adebayor (Senderos 87’), Bendtner.
Subs not used: Djourou, Gibbs.

Everton (4-1-4-1):
Howard, Hibbert, Lescott, Yobo, Jagielka, Carsley (Yakubu 80’), Fernandez (Baines 90’), Pienaar, Neville, Osman, Johnson (Anichebe 80’).
Subs not used: Wessels, Rodwell.

Arsene agreed with most of the 909 / 606 listeners that I heard on the way back…

“The fluency was a bit difficult sometimes, and you could see that it was a little bit an end of season game, especially with the fact that they didn’t open up, Everton, at all. They played with Johnson up front, but we were sound at the back, controlled at the back, didn’t create as many chances as usually but we scored a great goal and in the end, I think we just deserved a win today because they didn’t create a lot, Everton, and overall we deserved to win this game.”

But did find time to single out the progress of the young Dane, whom has come on leaps and bounds this season. A player that maybe not all fans like and definitely some players, but some of the callers on the radio today were bang out of order saying his was the weak link. He’s just a kid and if it wasn’t for injuries to VP and Eduardo, he’d have been blooded more slowly, but everytime he has come in he’s looked impressive. So good luck to Niklas, continue improving and show us you can be an Arsenal great in years to come…

“Bendtner? Fantastic. I think if you look at Bendtner on the 1st of August and Bendtner on the 1st of May there is a massive difference. He has become a good player, and if you look at the chances he has created, in the time he plays, and the times he has scored, especially the goal he scored today… You need to understand the game because he’s on the move, he meets the ball, he finishes well, I’m impressed by him.”

Well, that’s me back in the country… I’m going to watch Real Madrid lift their title trophy and catch up on MOTD on a day that saw Stoke promoted and Leicester relegated.

Football, eh? A funny old game…

Til tomorrow!

Good day to you all.

Some interesting news coming from Arsene’s pre-match press conference yesterday. Alex Hleb is not for sale, and Mattie Flamini’s deadline has been extended to Monday due to ‘negotiation problems’. For me that basically means Arsenal are, as I suggested yesterday, succumbing to the threat of him leaving on a free and are trying to convince him otherwise by revising their original offer. Who knows – we’ll have to wait and see.

Good to hear that Alex Hleb is not for sale, although I very much doubt that this statement will stop the press making up stories about him going to Inter, Juve etc etc. Indeed we are linked with Niko Kranjcar of Portsmouth, whose father says Wenger ‘has been tracking for some time’ (if you say so, Mr Kranjcar senior), and that he would be the perfect replacement for Hleb.

It is something we Gooners have come to live with in recent summers. ‘Cesc is off to Barca’, ‘Hleb to Italy’, ‘Adebayor to Italy’. We know it is coming, but the bottom line is all these players are contracted to the club, and cannot go unless Arsenal is willing to sell. As the boss said yesterday, the only player free to leave the club is Flamini, although we’re all hopeful that won’t be the case come Monday.

It is, in my opinion, crucial that this team sticks together. All the progress we have made in recent seasons is down to the fact that the core players have remained with the club. We really don’t want an exodus of players this summer because it will mean we have to start again from scratch, which is not an option. If the team continues to improve at the same rate then we will be champions next season, but we do need this group to stick together in order for that to be possible.

Everton Team News

Everton tomorrow is our penultimate game of the season, and last home game. Team news sees the squad remaining more or less the same as against Derby, with Robin Van Persie being rested as a precautionary measure (thigh) and Flamini possibly returning to a place on the bench. I must say that RVP’s injury situation is of great concern. He is such a classy player but you can only be incredibly frustrated with his injury problems in recent seasons. If he had been fully fit all season perhaps we would be parading the league trophy tomorrow at the Emirates. RVP and Rosicky – we need them fit and strong next season, but if they cannot meet this requirement then we really need to think about replacing them with players who are more reliable in terms of fitness.

I think we can expect Fabianski to retain his place in goal, and with RVP not playing it seems likely that Ade and Bendtner will play up front. Theo should get another start alongside Eboue, Cesc and Denilson in midfield. The back four of Toure, Gallas, Song and Clichy will no doubt stay the same, although the Boss may well decide to give big Phil Senderos another chance after having not played since that miserable night at Anfield.

This game is not an easy one to predict. We pretty much have nothing to play for if Man Utd win against West Ham today, which is expected if we’re being honest with ourselves. However Everton are 3 points ahead of Villa in 5^th, but with an inferior goal difference. With 5^th place offering the only UEFA Cup spot this season Everton will be giving everything to take something from the game. If we are going to reach our target of 83 points this season we will need to be fully focussed and committed tomorrow or we will be punished. The game up at Goodison was one of my favourite away games attended this season, in spite of the fact that my car had been broken into when I returned to it after the game! Here’s a tip to those of you who go to the away games – use the travel club for the Liverpool matches!

Everton will be without Cahill and Arteta and this could be decisive in terms of the result. I fancy us to nick it, what do you reckon?

With Dev deciding to leave rain-soaked Britain for sunny Cataluna (what were you thinking Dev?) I have been given the privilege of blogging on WOA in his absence. Greetings to you wherever you are in the world.

I woke up this morning with a horrid thought. There is only one more afternoon to be spent at the Emirates, and only two more games left overall this season. What am I going to do at 3p.m. on Saturdays until August? Granted, we do have the Euros in June, but that will only last for 3 weeks, and England won’t even be there!

The season is coming to an end and, naturally, transfer speculation is hotting-up. Names are being thrown left, right and centre but I, for one, try not to pay too much attention to these rumours. Let me ask you a question: How often does media transfer speculation actually materialise with Arsenal??

Think of Sagna, Eduardo, Adebayor, Rosicky, Hleb, Flamini (to name a few out of many). Until the day their transfers were confirmed, nobody had a clue that these players would be joining the Gunners. So, my advice for this summer is not to get carried away with the rumours you read/hear about. Chances are they are untrue, and normally they are generated by agents trying to promote the names of their clients. Personally, I am never convinced of a transfer until I read it as confirmed on the official website.

Who will be joining us this summer?

It is great having names like David Villa strongly linked with a move to Arsenal. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we know le Boss is not going to splash out a casual £20-25m on any player. In fact, I was talking to Dev recently about our financial situation. Through various sources we were able to work out that the amount of disposable money Arsenal has to spend on transfers is not £70m, as is commonly quoted in the papers, but more like £25m. We have to remember a few factors when it comes to transfers and Arsenal:

1.     Arsenal only spends disposable money on transfers. It will not take out a loan to cover the costs of an excessive transfer fee as is often seen with clubs like Chelsea, Man Utd etc. This is a GOOD thing because it ensures the club does not go into debt and it helps to safeguard long-term financial stability (note that there is a separate fund for the stadium, the debt of which will be comfortably returned over the next 20-25 years, according to the directors of the club).

2.     The transfer kitty also has to take into account wages and other aspects of a player’s contract. Essentially a new player’s wages will form a major consideration in deciding what would be a reasonable transfer fee.

3.     Le Boss is not prepared to spend £20m on a player when he can find an equivalent for half the price. This partially explains why he does not buy English and/or other established players, often preferring to go for players of Eastern European or African origin (or indeed young prospects).

From the above points I reckon we can assume that there will be 2-3 new signings this summer costing in the region of £8-15m each, depending on the number of players signed. This is also on the assumption that we will be retaining most of the current squad. (Can we assume Matty Flamini is on his way? I’m still holding out and hoping that he is using the interest from Italy as leverage to get Arsenal to offer a better remuneration package, even though technically Arsene gave him a deadline of this past Wednesday).

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have players like Villa and Robinho at Arsenal, but it is important to remember that the motives behind limiting transfer expenditure are genuine and worthy of praise. These are just my thoughts. I know many an Arsenal fan that would happily see us spending hefty amounts of money on big names on the assumption that it would reap instant reward.

It is easy to slip into the ‘dark side’ in this respect. But it will be so much sweeter when we win trophies as a result of this current philosophy. Man Utd and Chelsea can buy all the trophies they want. We’re going to win them having spent a slither of the money they have. We will be in PROFIT after having done so. And we will be the REAL achievers. At the current rate of progress, we won’t have to wait much longer – our time is coming.

King Thierry coming home?

Having watched the interview on football focus last weekend with Thierry, I am sure that the words of Kolo Toure echo the thoughts of all Gooners:

‘I think he’ll come back to play in England, at Arsenal, because he did so much for the club and I know that the fans still have him in their heart.’

 

Thierry is my hero, but I don’t see him coming back unless the deal is significantly cheaper than the one that sent him out to Spain. Perhaps Dev can take a few moments of his time to pop into TH’s villa and have a few words…

Thank you Keith Edelman

One final note about MD Keith Edelman, who tendered his resignation yesterday. No doubt the media will milk this for all it’s worth. I genuinely believe this decision was a personal one, and not because of ‘boardroom unrest’ etc etc. It is with regret that he has decided to leave as he has clearly contributed very positively to the welfare of the club. We supporters really do not know what goes on behind the scenes, and I truly admire the tremendous efforts of Mr Edelman and his colleagues in bringing us to the Emirates. I’m sure I am not alone when I say I am very grateful for what he has done for Arsenal Football Club.

More thoughts and team news ahead of Everton to come tomorrow. Here’s to an awesome bank holiday weekend!

Your comments, as always, are welcome…

Wow, it’s been a crazy morning… and we’ve just heard some breaking news that Keith Edelman has left club. At first glance, you’ve got to this wow, what’s going on? Why is Edelman leaving, but you’ve got to look at it in perspective. He did his job of moving stadiums, earnt a fair share of money in the process and now believes it’s time to move on.

Just a quite note to say thanks to the big man for all his work over the last 8 years…

Keith spoke:

 “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Arsenal. It has been a very exciting period for the business and I am proud to have contributed to the Club’s many off-field achievements over the past eight years, not least the Emirates Stadium project. Now that we have completed our second season at Emirates, I believe it is the right time to seek pastures new and embark upon fresh challenges.”

Peter Hill-Wood, Chairman, also spoke:

“Keith has played a major role in the growth of the Club since he joined in 2000. In that time we have successfully implemented the move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium that has underpinned the future of the business and confirmed our position as one of Europe’s leading clubs. We are grateful to Keith for his crucial role in this transformation.”

Mr Edelman has quite a few ventures of his own going on, namely a project for a £600 million eco-centre.

Anyway, reaction to this will come over the next few days… what’s your views?

Morning all, and it’s a good old fashioned Thursday today… the 1st of May which sees the conclusion of the season, the winners of the premiership crowned, the FA cup final and of course the Champions League final. It’ll be an all English final this yesterday courtesy of Barcelona and Liverpool’s inept performances this week.

It’s frustrating to see United & Chelsea clawing it out for the top two prizes as most of us feel that Arsenal are as good as if not better than those two… we should surely be up there fighting it out too.

Arsene has admitted mistakes this season and something he plans to rectify by bringing one or two players in this summer.

Sucess Built on Defence

Two areas he won’t have to worry about are our full back, who were both included in the PFA team of the year, but both are not first choice for their national teams, albeit will be travelling with France to the Euros. Arsene spoke about his full backs:

“I think our two full backs have been great, they have two very good statistics. If you ask any Arsenal fan what they think of Clichy and Sagna I think you will have unanimous praise.”

Can’t argue with that… and talking about Clichy, he’s been quick to praise the whole defensive unit. I don’t think I’d be that quick. We haven’t been great defensively when it mattered most this season and it’s the defence where our season has cracked.

Clichy on the centre-backs:

“I think with William (Gallas), Kolo (Toure), Philippe (Senderos) and Johan Djourou we’ve got some great centre backs.”

Clichy on Senderos’ mistakes against Liverpool:

“And once again when you make mistakes people are talking about you. That’s a shame for Philippe because this game, away at Liverpool, was a big game, he made mistakes, of course. But I’ve made mistakes as well, everyone makes mistakes and you cannot just judge a player on one game. Philippe has been there for five years now and he has done well. He’s the one who replaced Sol Campbell for many months, and Sol Campbell is one of the best centre backs. So that means the guy has qualities and you cannot deny that. You have to take your responsibilities and that is what he has done against Liverpool.”

Clichy on the future of the defence:

“I think with all the players we have got, with Alex Song, we’ve got enough quality.”

Well, it’s clear to see that the debate is still out on big Phil but Arsene knows these players better than anyone else. In my opinion, I’m not a fan of the Toure-Gallas combo, it just doesn’t seem to work, and at right back, young Hoyte or Eboue just are no way as good as Sagna…

Transfer Round Up…

Well, it looks like Mr Ramos at Sp*rs has nicked Arsene’s scratchpad. It seems all the players we have gone to watch in the past two years end up at our North London rivals.

First, Luka Modric signed for £16.5m, next it looks to be Robinho, David Villa and Jean II Makoun, with the Brazilian being someone Arsene has been particulary fond of over the last few years.

Meanwhile, back at the Emirates, we’ve supposedly signed a rather chunky 16-year striker called Nikos Karelis… hmm, not in the same category as above, but one for the future.

More Praise for Jack Wilshere

Promising youngster Jack Wilshere has been lauded with praise over the last few weeks but for a good season. He’s been dubbed the new Hleb because of his silky skills. Papers such as the Telegraph have written about him for all to see. The boy is only 16, but Arsene also believes he will arrive in the first team sooner rather than later…

“The next generation is Lansbury, Gibbs, Randall and of course Jack Wilshere. I don’t think he will stay a long time in the Reserves.”

I’m sure we’ll hear more about the youngster very soon..

And Finally… The Scouting Mission

Yes, I’m off to Barcelona today for a little bit of a scouting mission (and stag do) with “The General”, it promises to be a fascinating weekend, and I’ll be attending the Barcelona vs Valencia match at the Nou Camp, where I’ll be scouting Yaya Toure, Messi, Bojan, Henry & Eto… all whom will be joining us at the Emirates next season… okay seriously that’s never going to happen, I’ll be hopefully seeing David Villa in action, a real potential transfer target…

Don’t worry, I’ve got a nice little something for you guys in my absence… JAT will be on board from tomorrow keeping you up to date with his views & the news on what’s happening in the World of Arsenal, and of couse an Everton preview…

Til then, have a good ‘un…