Walcott has been in the news again and after a decent performance in the first half for England on the weekend, it's clear to see he's got a lot of potential and will definitely be a great player for England and Arsenal. I do expect him to play up front in the future, but he is doing a great job on the wing this season. He does need consistency, but that will come with more playing time. One person who is being very vocal this International break is Mr Ihatehim Hleb.
“Theo’s success with the England side has come as no surprise. He is a player who needed some continuity, and if he gets that then Capello will be able to generate much more success with his side. In my time at Arsenal you could see from an early stage he was a player with serious potential.”
Theo was a little critical of his performance, but is planning to get his head down and train hard, hopeful he will start against Belarus. It’s a pretty strong statement of intent and confidence that Capello has in Theo. He has started 2 games now and could start his third.
“I knew the fans would probably expect me to get another hat-trick, but it’s not going to happen every game. I just have to work hard and play as well as I can for the team – that is all you can do. Some fans know that. Some fans want you to push on, but I’ve got plenty of time.
“Sometimes if it’s not going for you it’s not going to be your day. I take my positives out of the Kazakhstan game and concentrate on Belarus on Wednesday. It’s been the same old Theo since the Croatia game. Nothing has changed at all. I’m just going to train really hard and try to play well – and Mr Capello will pick the team.”
We take on Belarus on Wednesday and fortunately or unfortunately, Hleb won’t be playing. He’s been sidelined by an ankle injury which has seen his career at Barcelona yet to start. Capello also spoke about Belarus and compared them to Arsenal.
Cesc has been talking about our performances this season and has highlighted the inability to defend set pieces as the major problem this season. The Spanaird has had a slow start to the season himself but has been more influential in the more recent games. The young starlet had scored many goals this time last season and this season, Denilson has notched a few and Cesc himself got his first goal of the season against Sunderland. The focus and desire to get the equaliser were paramount to what Cesc is all about.
“It’s only the beginning of the season. We started well last season and were first for a long time so now it doesn’t matter. All we can do is focus on the next game and learn from our mistakes.
“We’ve made a lot of mistakes on set pieces and defending and if we really want to win something then our attitude has to change. I want to stay here because this is the best place for me to stay.
“I want to win trophies here and I hope we can do it this year.”
In slightly more club related issues, reports are suggesting that Alisher Usmanov is ready to sell his shares in the club. It’s quite clear that Arsenal don’t want to be taken over and by agreeing the latest deal with Kroenke and the existing lockdown, there is no room for manoeuvre for Usmanov.
Usmanov is now ready to sell his shares and the next question will be who buys them. It could be good or it could be bad.
And the latest player to be linked with a move to Arsenal is a player called Frederic Nimani. A striker from Monaco. The player has just turned 21 and is a highly rated striker. He’s said to be on the radar of both Juventus and Real Madrid too. If anyone has anymore info please let me know…
Life is back to normal now, I’m settled in my new flat, so there shouldn’t be anymore irregularity in the blog anymore.
Til tomorrow…]]>
