More transfer stuff: £8m bid for Samba & Arshavin commits.

Morning Gooners,

Still loads of transfer 'news' flying about in the press. It seems that as Wenger has stated he is ready to spend some cash, we are being treated to even more transfer links than before. I don't mind it too much myself, without the mix of possibility and obvious bollocks the summer would just be boring.

Here's a few from the last couple of days:

GERVINHO: The Brazilian turned Ivory Coast star is moving into the last year of his contract at Lille and has stated that he would like to play in Champions League which will have no effect on a transfer as Lille have qualified but he has also said he would like to play in England. With Eden Hazard committing (verbally at least) to the French club they may well let him go and reported choices include us, Spuds, Scousers and Newcastle, that's where the Champions League wish comes in. It could have legs to this story but only time will tell.

STUART DOWNING: Downing looks ready to leave Villa in search for Champions League football. Personally I don't see him fitting into our system very well so unless we switch to a solid 4-4-2 next year I don't know how many games he'd get, saying that, it's my understanding that we have sent scouts to watch him closely on several occasions. If he could choose, I'm sure he'd pick us but whether or not Wenger opens an invite to him remains to be seen.

CHRISTOPHER SAMBA: The 27 year old Blackburn defender is reportedly the subject of an £8m bid. Samba was close to joining us in January and Wenger has been following him for a while. A solid, no nonsense centre back could be what we need but will he really want to come to a club where he will be fourth choice? If Samba sees it as a challenge he wants to accept, this deal could well be possible.

KARIM BENZEMA: A couple of days ago, Benzema was apparently Arsene Wenger's number one transfer target, now mainstream press has gone quite on the story. It's probably due to the fact that Benzema himself has come out and said he expects to be playing at Real next year, more importantly, he wants to be playing there. Unless something changes such as Mourinho telling him he's unwanted I think we can assume this saga is over.

RADAMEL FALCAO: Porto's star striker has been playing tough with his current club and refusing to sign a new contract. He currently has two years left but it seems it would still take a bid of around £25m to secure his services. No comment has been made about him from the Arsenal camp but he has been scouted by Arsene's team. As always, a player with this kind of price tag would be a massive change of habit for Le Boss so until I see or hear something solid, this will remain just a rumour.

ANDREI ARSHAVIN: AA23 has come out and said he intends to be an Arsenal player at the start of next season. This is good news as far as I'm concerned. Yes he frustrates the living hell out of anyone and everyone connected with the club but considering he joint top of the league's assist table he can't be all bad. He is currently training with Zenit in an attempt to remain fit for Russia's upcoming games which lead to theories he would sign for them over the summer.

CESC FABREGAS: AC Milan have said they will not be bidding for our captain because he is too expensive. Nothing to do with the fact that he would laugh in your face whilst rejecting you? No? oh OK.

CARLOS VELA: Vela has been told by Wenger he expects him back at the start of pre-season ready to go. This apparently means that he's not going to be sold in the summer. Personally I think that if a half decent offer comes in for him, well take it to help fund our own transfer activity.


Moving away from rumours and speculation, Arsenal have secured the signatures of two Barcelona youngsters Jon Toral and Hector Bellerin on 5 year contracts. I am assuming that Arsenal are waiting for the results of their DNA tests before announcing it on Arsenal.com. Bellerin has already started talking about how he will return to Barca one day, it's sad that we're going to have to relive the Fabregas saga with Barca in ten years time but if the young men can produce the talent and ability whilst wearing the Arsenal shirt that Fabregas has we will certainly enjoy it while it lasts.

Obviously all eyes are now on the Champions League final, hopefully this time next year we will be getting all nervous and excited before Arsenal take to the pitch in the top game of European club football. Personally I'm really looking forward to Messi making Evra look like the royal tit that he his.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Transfer rumour latest - Benzema to Nasri

Morning Gooners,

I love and hate the summer in equal measures. I love the hustle and bustle of the press pushing as hard as they can with any transfer link story they can put together and laughing at the most ridiculous of them. I hate reading quotes that have obviously been picked apart to make a story, I hate having no football for these two and a half short months and I hate the frustration caused by Arsene's transfer habits. However, this summer I've found something else I hate, I am hating the fact that thanks to Arsene admitting he needs to change his transfer policy and his recent quotes such as "very active" I now find myself looking twice at almost every story and thinking to myself "That could actually be true, it may happen".

We will know nothing for sure until we see a picture of a new signing on Arsenal.com but here's a round up of the past couple of days rumours:

I'll start with the big one KARIM BENZEMA: Rumours have been fuelled by Arsene Wenger's recent comments which half been published in the Sun (Therefore taken with a pinch of salt) and then picked up by everyone else who then rushed it to print. Arsene reportedly said

"Signing him does not seem impossible. He's a player that I like."

"He's intelligent in his movement, he is capable of combining well with others and making a difference, and of doing individual moves as well."

"So, for me, he's a player who's at the top level in the world"

If Benznema is to wear an Arsenal shirt next season it will not show as big a change from Wenger's policy as some think. He is young, talented and struggling to make his true mark at his current club, sound familiar? a certain Thierry Henry springs to mind. Whether this is true or not, the possibility of it excites me.

RICARD ALVAREZ: Mixed reports here. Some said that a deal has been done and we will announce his signing when the transfer window opens. Newer reports are now saying that Alvarez actually still has 3 years left on his contract at his current club and will cost us up to £15m.

CARL JENKINSON: This signing has now been confirmed........ by the Finnish FA. They announced that Carl was an Arsenal new signing and have received permission from Arsene Wenger for him to play. Jenkinson has said he cannot talk about anything until everything is made public. It seems this is a completed deal but don't expect Arsenal to announce it until July 1st as this is when his deal with Charlton expires.

GAEL CLICHY: Reports linking him with a move away are becoming more frequent with many linking him to Inter Milan. There has been no official comment from either club, the player or an agent and unfortunately when a story gets this much press, no comment from anyone normally means something is happening.

NIK BENDTNER: Our shy Dane seems to have let his dad do all the talking even going as far as pointing reporters back to his dad's comments. Bendtner will leave this summer if we get an offer the board see as acceptable. The latest club sniffing around is Bayern Munich.

ALEX SONG: Inter Milan again seem to be looking at our players. Song has been reported to be high on the Italians shopping list as they prepare a £15m offer - NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN - Moving on.

SAMIR NASRI: I'll start with this..... EVRA IS A KNOB...... there we go. Evra has come out saying:

"Each year it is a guarantee of a title. I have been at Manchester for five years now & I can't remember how many trophies I have won. 13? 15? So, 'Petit Prince', if you want to become King you know where you have to go."

Will players from other teams please stop talking about our players. Annoyance aside There is a real threat that Nasri could leave. We could get a pretty pocket of cash for him and only has two years of his contract left. It's understood that contract negotiations are ongoing but if Samir does not sign soon Wenger may look to cash in. But not to Utd.

That's the main updates floating about at the moment but as the transfer window still isn't even open, don't expect any new faces on Arsenal.com just yet.

Til next time,
Goonerfish.

In, Out, In Out, Change it all about - Arsenal Hokey Cokey,

Morning Gooners,



2010/11 is finally over and soon may it be forgotten.

As soon as the game finished at Craven Cottage and Wenger could finally say goodbye to the end of an awful second half of the season and start to think of the future. Arsene Wenger knows that many of his squad are just not good enough and changes in his playing squad have now become inevitably necessary.

The following are my thoughts on what could happen during the summer and to some extent what I think must happen. I have no secret evidence or inside sources, I am simply putting together what I have seen, read or heard together and sharing my opinion on them.

I'll break it down into positions:

GOALKEEPERS:

OUT
Almunia surely has played his last game for the club. The hardest thing for Arsene will be finding a club to take him. I'd expect to see Vito Mannone go out on loan again too, hopefully to a Premiership side but more likely to the Championship again.

IN
This all depends on Jens Lemahnn. If Mental Lemon stays on for another year, which I think he may well do - albeit in a player/coach role - I don't think we will sign another keeper. If Jens either leaves or moves into a completely coaching role then I would expect Wenger to bring in a third keeper but he will be just that, a THIRD keeper. Szczesny and Fabianski will start the season as our number 1 and 2.

DEFENDERS:

OUT
The biggest name likely to find himself a casualty here is Gael Clichy. With his contract quickly running out, if the king of interception does not sign a new contract quickly he could find himself on the way out. A number of clubs have reported their interest including Real Madrid and Liverpool but reports are suggesting that a deal with Inter Milan is very close and could be agreed within the next couple of weeks.

Eboue could/should be following him. He has proven himself a liability for a title chasing team and his mistakes cannot be afforded next year.

The only other defender that could possibly feel the axe is Squillaci. His failure this year is not completely his fault. Squillaci is our fourth choice CB, TV, Djourou and Kos are all ahead of him in the pecking order and I don't think Wenger expected to have to play him as often as he has.

IN
This will be dependent on who (if anyone) leaves. I invite you to argue but in my opinion we do not need a big name centre back. I have always said you need three decent CB's and an 'OK if needed CB'. I will be happy going into next season with TV, Djourou and Koscielny as our main defenders with Squillaci's replacement as fourth choice.

A big shout for our fourth CB is Mamadou Sakho. Currently playing in France for PSG, Sakho has just been named France's young player of the year. Wenger has monitored his progress for a few years an he would be able to push Kos and Djourou to improve while fighting to partner Vermaelen. Some parties are saying a deal has been done already and will be announced after PSG play in the Emirates cup but I doubt that although PSG's inclusion could be an opportunity for bigwigs to thrash out a deal while everyone is in London.

If Clichy parts company with Arsenal then Wenger will have to look for a top left back. Kieran Gibbs is a very good back up but he is not yet ready to be our first choice. If you look at our rivals, their left backs are Evra and Cashly, we need someone of that calibre, nothing short. The fans choice seems to be Everton's Leighton Baines and I would be very happy with that but he will be very expensive, more than that though there has been no talk among channels that are worth listening to about there being any real interest.

We have already agreed a deal to bring full back Carl Jenkinson in from Charlton for around £1m.

MIDFIELD:

OUT
Denilson has made his position with the club very clear. He wants out. He has said that he has spoken with Arsene Wenger who has agreed to let him go this summer. I think this will be done quite early and I don't think it will be for a large fee, Wenger has a habit of feeling sorry for players and making it as easy as possible for players to move on.

Rosicky is another favourite to leave Ashburton Grove but I'm worried that if we let too many people go then we will be leaving our squad very light in the case of an inevitable injury.

I also suppose there is the little matter of Cesc Fabregas potentially popping off to Spain and playing the rest of his career in a Barcelona shirt. If I had to make an educated guess, I feel Cesc will still be with us next year. His actions towards the end of the season are not those of someone expecting to leave and his love for our club is real, however saying that, if Barca come in with a big bid and we accept, Cesc will take his chance to play for his boyhood club and if he does he should go with the supporters thanks for what he has done for our club during the time he's been here.

For those of you who are desperately wanting Diaby to be among those leaving, don't hold your breath. Diaby is a favourite with Wenger and although I will only whisper this very, very quietly, I actually think Diaby will be a player that grows into a consistent talent for us next year as players like Flamini and Song have done for us in the past.

IN
If Fabregas leaves a replacement will need to be found and although this is cheating, Nasri will come in to that central role and as we saw at the start of this season, he will make it his own.

Eden Hazard has been linked very heavily with a move this year however, after comments on Monday it seems very unlikely that he will move this year so we will have to wait for him. Hazard's Team mate Gervinho on the other hands looks more and more likely as a target. Wenger has expressed admiration for him in the past, he's young, has bags of skill and flair and as he's about to fall into the last year of his contract so he'll be available for around £9m which for his talent is very cheap. The downfall of any possible deal is that Man City seem to be interested too and if it becomes a bidding war, we will lose miserably.

A likely looking deal is a move for Ricardo Alvarez who currently plays for Velez Sarsfield in Argentina. Alvarez is 6'3", well built, pacey and has a great shot on him. I saw first reports on Friday evening that a deal has been done and he will be announced as our first summer signing in the coming weeks but as always, don't believe anything until it's formally announced by Arsenal.

One area we definitely need to fill is the defensive midfielder role. Alex Song has been excellent on the whole this season but lately he has started to play like a man who knows he will not be replaced. In our current squad if Song is fit, he plays despite form and he knows it. Scott Parker seems to be favourite for this role and with the Hammer's relegation his price will have dropped and he would add much needed experience to our squad as well as a winner's attitude which could easily spread into our current players.

FORWARDS

OUT
We have an obvious excess of strikers at our club and they cannot all play. Nik Bendtner's father has come out and said that his son is "100% open" to finding a new club. Personally I think he will go, I also think that wherever he goes he will clear 15 goals next year. Bendtner is a very good player but does not fit our style of play and despite Wenger's best efforts is not a winger.

Carlos Vela has had chance after chance so turn his promise into performances but has failed. If a striker cannot get into the starting line-up at West Brom, how can he expect to start for a team challenging for titles and trophies? If someone comes in with an offer, he will go.

IN
Two questions need to be asked. What formation will we be playing? If we stick with our current formation then we do not need to over invest. RVP and Chamakh can battle for that solo spot up front with possibly a youngster as backup. If we are playing 4-4-2 then we will need another 'proper' striker who can pick up 20 goals a season. RVP can play the role in the hole fantastically but will need an out and out striker to help him and there lies the second question, is Chamakh that man? If he can rediscover his early season form and maintain it then hell yeah, he's the man and we will need to bring someone in to come off the bench when needed. If not then we need a new striker to partner RVP while using Chamakh as our effective super sub. Theo could well make the move into the centre next year but we will have to wait and see.

The biggest named linked with a move in is Karim Benzema. I just don't see this happening, he will cost £25m and despite Wenger admitting that he needs to spend, but such a big chunk of change being spent on one player when he clearly needs 3 or 4 brought in is unlikely. If this happens at all, it will be a deadline day special.

So, there we go. I obviously haven't covered every player that has been linked with us but I have tried to cover those that seem to have some realism to them.

I expect a busy summer from Wenger but it will still be adjustment rather than major surgery. Wenger has spent so long building this Arsenal squad that to suddenly destroy it by changing half of it would be madness. We would spend another two years in transition as our new players melded with the old ones so we would be no better off.

In my opinion we do not need an influx of big name signings, we need maybe 3 players brought in who are 27 years old or over and have experience of winning things. Players who can come on if we concede a goal while winning a tight game and calm others down and help us see the game out. Players such as Giggs (Oops, forgot I'm not allowed to mention his name) for Man Utd or Vieira for City.

Who would you guys like to see come in (Be realistic now, it's not Football Manager)

Lets hope Wenger acts quickly, a summer of rumour and waiting for something to happen will not be fun and will frustrate the hell out of many Gooners.

Till Next Time,
Goonerfish.

3rd is a must, Ladies win FA Cup & Jack to get summer off

Morning Gooners,


Here we go boys and girls, after 10 months of ups and downs we find ourselves at on the last day of the season.

This year we finish off at Craven Cottage against Mark Hughes' Fulham. It may not be for the title but we still have something to play for today so I'm hoping the players decide to turn up hungry and committed to getting the three points that could see us jump back above Man city to finish in third.

Fulham don't really have anything to play for so won't have any extra motivation, however, neither do Bolton which is where City travel to today. Here are the possible outcomes from today's games:

1 - Arsenal win, City win = City finish 3rd
2 - Arsenal win, City draw = Arsenal finish 3rd
3 - Arsenal win, City lose = Arsenal finish 3rd
4 - Arsenal draw, City lose = Arsenal finish 3rd
5 - Both teams draw = City finish 3rd
6 - City win = City finish 3rd

In my opinion, finishing 3rd is a must for our team, we are already set to finish with less points than last year but that is almost acceptable considering that almost everyone will be finishing with less points but finishing in 3rd last year means it is the minimum we should expect this year, anything else is simply moving backwards.

Arsenal Have won the FA Cup!!! - Arsenal Ladies beat Bristol Academy yesterday to lift the FA Cup. Goals from  Kim Little and Julie Fleeting in the first half hour secured a 2-0 win. A massive 13'885 people turned up to watch the game live and it was broadcast live on Sky which shows signs that the Women's game is starting to receive some of the credit it deserves. Well done ladies.

An early report today in the Mirror today has claimed 'an exclusive' that both Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll will be left out of the England U21 squad for the European Championships this summer. This is good news for both Arsenal and Liverpool. As we have learnt from the world cup last year, players that have an extended run in a competitive during the summer will suffer during the following season, just look at Cesc and Torres, both played in the final and have both had severely below par seasons.

If called up I am sure that Jack would say yes, and so he should, but if he is not called into the squad in the first place the decision in taken out of his hands so he doesn't have to upset Arsene Wenger by giving his all for his country in the summer and I am sure that Wenger himself has been putting the pressure on England to not select his young superstar.

I will leave you all now to enjoy match day for the last time this year. I will personally be cheering on Blackpool to survive. Blackpool are my choice for two reasons, firstly, the Premier League is a better place with Ian Holloway in it and secondly I have a pound a point bet with a Man Utd fan at work so every point saved with save a little more humiliation for me.

I'll see you after the game with a whole load of gibberish including a season review but for now, enjoy final day.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Farewell Denilson & other ins and outs.

Evening Gooners,


So, it begins. The clear out many Arsenal fans have expected and in a lot of cases wished long and hard for seems that it will start - but will by no means end - with our little 'Deni' Denilson. The Brazilian youngster has had his interview published in The Sun today in which he has talked about his desire to to play his football away from Ashburton Grove. He said:

“This has been the worst season of my life and I am so upset, so frustrated. I am a winner and I came here to win trophies but I’ve been here for five years and won nothing."

“A footballer’s career is over very quickly so it is time for me to move on. This is not a sudden decision. I made up my mind eight months ago. I was fed up of coming home and feeling down but I haven’t said anything until now because I did not want to disrupt the team during the season and I haven’t caused a big scene. I’ve simply been to see Arsene Wenger and told him how I felt and he’s agreed to let me go"

He went on to say some nice things about the club:

“I know some people will think I am crazy. They are right. It is a great club with a great organisation, a great manager and so many talented players"

Than on his future in the game:

“Yes, I make a good living at Arsenal but other things in life are important. I need a fresh challenge and although I know I’m taking a big gamble I am ready to take that risk.”

“I can't see myself returning in a Chelsea shirt, or Liverpool or Manchester City – and definitely not Tottenham. I think my future will be in Spain or Italy.”

I had to giggle at the last bit, you're right Deni, you won't end up playing for Chelsea, Liverpool or City, because as much as it hurts, I don't think you'd get in their teams. In all honesty I think the Italian league would suit Denilson down to the ground and I think he has the attributes to do really well. Some quotes flying about have provoked many fans to be quite hostile to Denilson but please remember, he has been a good servant to our club during his time here but more importantly, it's been printed in the Sun so before you make assumptions or judgements, find and read the whole interview, not just what the journalists have selected to print. Good luck to you Denilson, wherever you may end up.


Transfers filled a big bit of Arsene's press conference on Friday (considering it was a pre match conference I was surprised not to hear Fulham's name mentioned once. In fact apart from injury news, no one even made reference to the game). The two players that got mentioned were Arshavin and of course Cesc Fabregas. When asked if Cesc would be moving, Arsene replied by saying he would fight to keep him which one journalist tries to twist instantly by asking "Why? Do you think you will have to fight to keep him?". Wenger seemed both adamant and confident that Cesc Fabregas will still be Arsenal captain next year however, when he was answering questions about Arshavin, the strongest response was that he expects AA to be at Arsenal come August. Personally I would like to see him stay as despite his lazy appearance I think he still has a lot to offer the team but I have a feeling that if a decent offer comes in (by decent I mean the same as we paid for him) we will accept it and he will leave.


Of course, we can't have all the talk about people leaving. As is now becoming the norm, we seem to have a multitude of new players being linked with a move to our wonderful club. Recent players that possibly have some weight behind the rumours include Lille attacker Gervinho. The Ivory Coast front man only has a year left on his contract this summer and is reportedly available for around £9m which is the kind of money Arsene will not mind spending.  I remember watching Gervinho at the World Cup in the summer and being impressed. He would be a good addition to our squad with his flair, skill and attacking attitude and I for one would be very happy to see him week in, week out next year.


Gervinho's team mate Eden Hazard has also been greatly linked with us and Arsenal have first refusal on the player. If there is no offer accepted from another club, I do not expect us to sign him this year, however if the other teams such as Liverpool have a formal offer accepted Arsene Wenger will have a decision to make. I can see one or the other moving to London but I would say that Lille would be reluctant to let both men go and after their qualification for the Champions league I don't think Hazard will be in a rush to leave just yet.


A player possibly returning to Arsenal next year is our highly rated, scarily hyped up Japanese wonder kid Ryo Miyaychi. He has experienced a very successful spell in Holland and Wenger has confirmed that he will be with the team during pre-season where he will be accessed and a decision made whether to push for a work permit or not. It will be good to see how he shapes up with the rest of the squad and personally I look forward to seeing him in person during our pre season games.


After reading all that we still need to remember that the season isn't even over yet, let  alone the transfer window being open and as we know Arsene and Arsenal are never the quickest in the market so don't expect movement too early.


Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Champions League possibilities, Clear Out? & Shares.

Morning Gooners,


I'm more relaxed today I promise.

I'm writing this just after Man City jumped above us into third and the thought of having to qualify for the Champions League next year is sinking in and in all honesty at the moment, I'm OK with it, actually, I'll rephrase that, I've accepted it.

With City only needing to match our result against Fulham when they visit the Reebok on Sunday most Arsenal fans are already looking ahead to who we could face in the two legged play off. Good news is that Arsenal will be seeded which means we will not be drawn against a 'big' team. If all the seeded teams win in the 3rd qualifying rounds then Arsenal will play either Udinese, Dynami Kiev, Twente, Kazan or Standard Leige (Team info taken from @jamiedalton82 on twitter). It not as if we have to play the mighty Young Boys.

I'll look more at what we COULD have to do once the season is over, for all we know, the players may actually decide to turn up and win our game at Fulham with Owen Coyle getting his boys to do us a favour and we won't have to think about anything other than who will be in our group when the competition really starts.

Other news floating about at the moment is mainly - unsurprisingly - transfer related. Lots of players being mentioned as joining but the worrying thing is the amount of stories linking our players with a move away from the club. Sagna, Clichy, Fabregas, Wilshere, Arshavin, Nasri and Van Persie have all been linked with moves away from London in recent weeks and Wilshere is the only player to come out and put the record straight letting us know he's going absolutely nowhere. Sagna and Van Persie are reported targets for Real as is Clichy who is also getting attention from several other clubs. You may not have read this anywhere, I've searched high and low for some contacts, had to make some dodgy deals with journalists and sold some body parts for this exclusive........ Barcelona are interested in signing Cesc!! I know, shocking news, I just never saw that coming. Arshavin is being linked with a move back to Russia and Nasri is supposed to be considering a big money move to Bayern. I'd love to say this is all rubbish, and most of it is but I honestly think we will see a lot of movement in the market this summer so right now, I'm not ruling anything out but again, same as our Champions League fate, I'll look at it more once the season is over.

Silent Stan has now completed the purchase of his shares however at the same time our favourite fat man Usmanov is still buying up single shares here and there. He has purchased a further 8 shares which confirms that he has zero intention to sell to Kronke which in all honesty could be a good thing, it'll mean that Kronke cannot get to a point where shareholders HAVE to sell so our club will not be run by a single person and also fans who have participated in the ShareSave scheme can keep their little part of the club.

It's been short and sweet today. We're at a weird point now where I just wish the season was over so we could concentrate on summer trade and look forward to fighting next year.

Till next time,
Goonerfish

Don't forget, if you so wish, you can follow me on twitter for more random gibberish on all things Arsenal.

Arsenal's 12th man? - My Arse!

Morning Gooners,


Ok, first of all I will point out that I know I will get a load of abuse for this next blog and that's fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Here's mine.

I don't live in London so usually average about 6 - 8 games a year at the Emirates and I feel privileged every time I am there. This year - more towards the end - I have witnessed something that quite honestly annoys the hell out of me and whilst at the Villa game on Sunday this 'thing' reached it's pinnacle. This 'thing' annoys me more than Wenger's 'reluctance' to spend, more than our rate of injuries, more than more than our trophy drought and more than the press' opinion of the over hyped grassmonkey Gareth Bale...... OK, maybe not that much, but still quite a lot.

This 'thing' that has annoyed me is all around the stadium, in every corner, on every level, it's us, the fans. OK, I'll rephrase that it's SOME fans, a small minority but the number in this group is growing. The attitude that seems to be slowly filling our stadium is worrying to say the least and it shows no sign of stopping.

I know that supporting a football club is tough, it's full of more disappointments than championships but before we come crashing down on the players for not being good enough, losing faith, lacking effort, having the wrong attitude and seemingly giving up before the game has finished  we need to take a good long hard look at ourselves.

I will use the Villa game as my example for these arguments. Can we really slate our players for lacking effort when the crowd can't pull together more than a dozen verses of 'We love you Arsenal' and about the same number of 'Arsenal, Arsenal' chants during the entire game. The away fans have put us to shame on every occasion I've attended this year and from talking to other fans, it's the norm. We outnumber them 19/1 how are they consistently so much louder than us?

How can we accuse our players of not being good enough when we can't show our support for them during a game? It took less than five minutes of the game for the crowd around me to go crazy shouting abuse, and I mean proper abuse, when a player misplaced a pass. Surely we have more patience than that..... don't we?

How can we scream at our players for giving up before the game has finished when the ground is less than half full by the time the final whistle goes? People were leaving the ground on Sunday 15 minutes before time. 15 MINUTES!!! There was a steady of stream of people leaving as soon as there was 10 minutes left. I know it's a pain in the arse queuing for the tube after a game but come on people, seriously, don't tell the players they're useless for giving up before the final whistle then leave 10 minutes before the final whistle! Here is a picture I took of a corner of the stand just after the full time whistle went:

Lets not also forget that the players were participating in a lap of appreciation after the game. If you were in Cesc Fabregas' boots at the final home game of the season and this is the crowd applauding you then why on God's green Earth would you not want to go to Barca? If he leaves I guarantee part of it will be because he feels let down by the support (Although he'd never say it publicly). Even before the game the amount of tickets still available was astonishing, especially for the last game of the season.

Finally, we cannot abuse players about attitude when half way through the second half we were singing "six percent, your having a laugh" in reference to next years price raise. FFS people, people are moaning about losing the values of our club, one of our biggest values has always been class, Sunday's chants were far from classy, now I don't like the raise either but there is a time and a place like the Q&A coming up or even during the marches/protests that took place before the game (although I didn't witness any). During the game surely our job as the team's 12th man is to support the team. We have the best away record in the league this year and one of the worst home records of recent history, there has to be a reason for that.

Now again, I want to point out that this rant does not apply to all fans, but the number is growing rapidly and If we want the team to succeed we need to help them do it by showing support in our own stadium rather than looking for the first excuse to slate everybody.

Arsenal is our club and we should support our club through thick or thin, in an over dramatic comparison, if your child was under performing would you continually remind them of their faults and shout abuse at them or would you support them and try to bring the best out of them? If Arsenal is still a family then why do the same rules not apply? I am not saying that our players have been faultless because we all know they haven't but just like our stars, we need to look at our own performance to see where we can improve.

I want to end on a good note though, my faith in Gooners was somewhat restored by the 25'000 or so that did stay behind after the game and applauded the players. Even after the disappointment of this season and the extreme disappointment of the Villa game itself, Gooners saluted our players and even managed a rendition of 'We love you Arsenal' showing that our love for our club will prevail all.

We have one last game to get through this season and now face the very real possibility of finishing fourth so for those going to the Fulham game I'm sure as always our away support will be superb but for everyone else lets take the summer to think about why we love Arsenal and come back next year and prove ourselves as the best fans in the country.

Till next time,

Goonerfish.

Stoke Blues, Early rumours & Kronke's plans hit snag.

Afternoon Gooners,

I have come out from my hiding place in the hope that all the Stoke-ness in the world has been evaporated and we can all move on from what has to be 90 of the most depressing minutes of the season. Never have I felt so crap watching a game. All I wanted was a spark of enthusiasm, a droplet of effort, a trinket of passion and all I got was 11 players plus subs who thought pre-season had already started.

No player can take pride from that performance on Sunday and I hope they are made to watch the game in full by Arsene Wenger over and over again in a hope that they will realise just how bad they were and decide to at least turn up for the final two games of the season otherwise we could well find ourselves having to play a qualifier for the Champions league next year. If that happens then despite reaching further points in the cup competitions and challenging for longer for the title, the season has to be seen as a backwards step from last year.

I desperately tried to find some positive points in recent day’s news to pick me up but failed miserably. Instead I found a load of ex players saying we weren’t strong enough, Sagna speaking out saying we had no fight and Wenger sounding more beaten and pessimistic as I have ever heard him since he first came through the front door at Highbury. However, in his depressing press conferences and interviews of late I very much get the impression that Wenger finally believes that something must change but more than that is already planning ahead and making decisions on how to improve our squad in the summer. He said:


"We have our plans and we know what we will do"

Now I know eleven words hardly make a complete argument that change is imminent but this is a quote at the end of a long period of acceptance for Arsene Wenger and maybe it’s just my new way of channeling optimism but I honestly think we will see a busy summer this year with up to 3 or 4 players coming in as well as going out.

One of those players linked has been linked with us for a while and is the mountain of a man Christopher Samba of Blackburn fame. In fact, Samba has gone one step further and claimed that he was close to joining us in January, now I personally don’t think we need a world class centre back to come in so someone like Samba could do the job but I’ll look closer at transfers once the season has finished.

Slightly higher caliber player linked to us again recently is Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. Wenger is a fan of Benzema and has publicly admitted liking the player and although he would not pay the £35m that Real did, a cut price of £15m-£20m may tempt him to bring in the big name player many fans are craving.

Players are still being linked with moves away but there are seemingly more and more stories claiming that Liverpool have joined Real Madrid and Manchester City in the chase for Gael Clichy. Now the fact that many teams would be interested isn’t a shock however the fact that the price being flung about is only £5.5m has literally had me on the floor in stitches, a much needed laugh for Gooners in this miserable week. £5.5 million... Really? Anyway, as I said I’ll look at transfers in a bit more detail at the end of the season.

Other news floating about at the moment is all about Stan Kronke’s takeover.  Just when Silent Stan thought that a fat greedy Russian was the only thing standing in his way of a complete takeover, the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) have contacted their members advising them not to sell their own shares to Kronke.

There are about 1’000 shareholders and supporters in the AST and last year they set up Arsenal Fanshare which has seen 1800 fans buy small stakes in the club but the total investment has risen to above £650’000. The deadline for Kronke’s offer is May 27^th but AST have said they feel the future of the club will be safer if it is not controlled by a single owner. A letter sent out by the group included quotes such as:

"The AST believes that Arsenal is stronger when supporters are represented in its ownership structure,"

"This arrangement means we can ask questions at an AGM and scrutinise the official report and accounts, something the AST has gained a reputation for doing with clarity and expertise.

"We also think that having supporters involved in the ownership helps to give the club a real sense of 'belonging' and acts as a check and reminder to those that run the club that its most important asset is its supporters."

I have to say that on many levels I agree with them but in all honesty as long as the takeover doesn’t turn hostile and cause issues behind the scenes at the club I don’t have much preference on which way it turns out.


Anyway, I’ve muttered on for too long today so I’ll leave you now to mentally prepare yourself for tonight’s game between City and the spuds. I can’t decide what result would make me smile more, obviously City dropping points is good as the bigger the gap between us and them the better but at the same time, knowing even a sixth place finish for Spurs wouldn’t give them European football of any sort next year makes me smile a lot. I guess the best result would be a draw as that would leave Spurs behind the scousers and would mean one win from our last two games would guarantee us third place and avoid those annoying qualifiers in July/August.


Until next time,
Goonerfish.

Szczesny's defence, Wilshere for England and Cesc to Real?

Hi Ho Gooners,

Can I just start in saying my love (in a purely professional sense of course) for our new number one Wojciech Szczesny is growing daily. His recent defence of Arsene Wenger made me swell with pride and showed just how mature even the youngest of our young squad can be, when questioned about the criticism coming Wenger's way he said:

“It’s ridiculous really, If you ask any of the players they will stand by the manager. He built this team from nothing and I believe he is the best manager in the world.
 

“We are a young team, we still believe we have a lot of years ahead of us and a lot of trophies to win. Let’s be patient and show that we are good enough.

 “We all take individual responsibilities for our mistakes. Everyone has played their part in this season’s disappointment and I think we have to take it as a team. You can’t blame the boss because he stood by the team the whole season and supported us.

Well said Mr Sczcesny!

Other news this week includes Wilshere being called up for the under 21 squad for the summer. Now although I want our star players protected and Jack is definitely a star player and will be for years to come, I actually support him playing in the summer. I remember when David Bently was called up for the U21 squad a few years back while he was playing for Blackburn and he came out and said he didn't want to be in the England squad  because he was tired. My initial response to him was that he could F**k right off, how dare he say no to his country. So many kids, even adults, would sell organs and limbs to have been in his position. What right does he have to say no because he was tired?! If I phoned work and said "sorry, won't be in this week because I'm a bit tired from working the last couple of weeks" they would sack me on the spot for being a knob. Playing for your country is a privilege, not a chore!!

Whenever Wilshere has been asked about it he has remained professional and always said that it's not his choice, it's up to the FA and on twitter proclaimed "I will never say no to my country" All I can say is good on you Jack, good on you. However if the FA are by any chance reading this, please don't pick him, he's a senior international and could really do with the rest!!

I wasn't going to mention this next bit about Cesc Fabregas on this blog but I keep thinking about it and laughing a little then turning really angry and then get really nervous but finish with a feeling of pride inside. There is a piece I read today on the Online Gooner (I'm not going to provide a link because I don't want to give the author any more hits) that claims a £45 million deal has already been agreed for our captain and it will  be announced early June that Cesc will join......................... Real Madrid!! The author claims it will be announced in June because it is after the deadline for season ticket renewals. The author then goes on to claim that we need to buy several world class players to compete and Nasri is useless etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.
I'll concentrate on the main issue that Cesc has already been sold to Real Madrid. Firstly, Jose Mourinho may not even be there next year so I doubt they will be allowing him to spend that amount of money before the season ends and a decision on his future has been made. Secondly, does anyone think we would agree a sale without allowing a bidding war to commence? Thirdly and most importantly, Cesc will only leave our beloved Arsenal for one team and that is the team he has supported since he was a boy, Barca. As I said, I keep thinking of this article and laughing, then get a little angry about the constant rumours and 'inside sources' we'll have to put up with again during the summer, then nervous that another trophy free season may be too much for Fabregas and he may actually complete his move to Barca but then end with a sense of pride in our captain as I remember the way he has dealt with all this nonsense in the past. Cesc loves Arsenal. Cesc loves Wenger. If Cesc leaves it will be to wear the number 4 Barca shirt that was annoyingly reserved for him last year. The author of this article has claimed to have written proof of this transaction (although declines to share it) and claimed he will give up writing on the site if it doesn't happen. I hope he enjoys his newly found spare time.
(I just want to point out that the above is in no way an attack or criticism of Online Gooner, I thoroughly enjoy the site. It's just this particular article that got to me.)

Anyway, the weekend is finally here. It feels a little annoying watching Champions League in midweek knowing we're no longer involved but our long wait of a full week to see the boys in action again is almost at an end as we look forward to a trip to Stoke play the closest thing to a rugby team we can see in the Premier League. Great news in the build up to this game is that Vermaelen is available for selection again after coming through 90 minutes in the reserves against Man Utd. I don't think TV5 will be starting against Stoke but the knowledge that he is ready to go is fantastic and if given a problem free pre-season he can once again claim his reputation of one of the leagues top centre backs.

Well, there ya go, that's my two cents worth. I'll leave you now the rest of your evening,

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Rambo guns down Utd, New home kit & Fergie's a comedian.

Good Morning Gooners,


I have been away for God knows how long due to personal reasons that I'm not going to harp on about but what a time to not be blogging, I've missed the depression of the Carling Cup final, the ecstasy of knowing the title is in our own hands and the misery of watching that control disappear with a run of miserable results including that ludicrous run of draws, but enough of all that, it's all in the past, I've missed my chance to rant over them and like everyone else I must move on.

So what a welcome back to the blogsphere. The unbeatable Manchester Utd that people were seriously considering could finish the season with four trophies and unbeaten in the Premier league but yesterday saw them  lose their fourth game of the season to ............... hold on a second, just let me check my notes.......... Oh yeah, Arsenal!!

The team deemed not good enough to be crowned champions all the way through pre-season and the year so far spent 90 minutes dictating to the almighty red devils how football should be played. We showed them that Arsenal are not a team that rolls over to die and can compete with the very best teams in world and we can even do this without our best centre back and one of the best midfielders in the world.

There are times I am truly proud to be a Gooner, yesterday was one of those days. The commitment, togetherness and passion shown by our players was immense, the point proven by Arshavin's second half performance. The magic little russian (although didn't really offer much going forward) showed how much he seems to be concentrating on improving the defensive side of his game and produced no less than four crunching challenges to regain possession from Utd.

Szczesny has continued to grow in his role as Arsenal's new number one and produced yet another faultless performance. Koscielny was seen wandering around the Emirates at about six 'o' clock in the evening, apparently he still had Hernandez in his pocket, where he had spent all afternoon, and Kos was wondering who to return him to. Djourou was solid throughout and I really hope his injury isn't too bad. When Vermaelen returns, which could of course now be much sooner than expected, he can rest assured he will have a top class partner in defense regardless of which player Wenger gives the nod to.

We beat Utd in the midfield yesterday and if you asked anyone to pick a midfield that will win that game at the beginning of the season I guarantee no one would have given the answer Song, Ramsey and Wilshere. All three were immense throughout the full 90 minutes Ramsey dictated the play for the whole game and Wilshere's forward runs were sublime, yet again proof of just how good the depth of our squad is.

Walcott has really started to discover himself this year and when he suffered his injury in the middle of the season I fully expected to see him whither up for the rest of the year but sweet Jesus has he proved me wrong. Theo has gone from strength to strength this year and did anyone else notice he was rotating with RVP  when it came to central duties? He spent a lot of time in the first half in a central possesion and although I hate to draw comparisons between players new and old, a lot of his movement was very Henry like.

So, in achieving this and realising 2011's 'Happy St Totteringham's Day' as we secure yet another season where the Spuds need to look up the table and stare at our arse and dream of reaching our heights and also secured Champions League football for another season. (Both points are assuming we avoid complete catastrophe of results and really need another point to be certain but as a Gooner I'm nothing if not optimistic)

My final comment today is on the new kit which is now available for preorder and here it is:



Now in all honesty, I actually quite like it. It celebrates our 125th anniversary and has the simple motto 'forward' below the badge which is rather fitting for the current stage of our club but was also the motto on the kits from our early years. I saw a lot of 'potential' designs floating about the internet and the big issue with me was those bloody leaves on the crest however, they have actually grown on me and if you look at some of the other images available it looks a lot better on, now yes I would prefer to have kept the white collar but we can't have everything we want.

Even though I know our title challenge is over, yesterday's result can't help but make me go over all the mathematical possibilities of how we can still be crowned champions and regain a little bit of (realistically unfounded) hope. You will read a lot today about "why couldn't we perform like this all year" and "it's only one game" and other negative rambling but I urge you to ignore them and just enjoy making Fergie sulk.

I'll finish with a joke. A Skysports presenter goes up to SAF after the game and asks him about the game and when talking about the penalty decision says "We're not going to get decisions like that in a major game" when questioned on his statement he continued "it's too big a game and we don't seem to get these decisions"................. That is all. Is Fergie serious? Ah well whether it's the real world or Fergie's fantasy land one fact is the same, Utd lost, Arsenal won!!

Until next tme Gooners,
Goonerfish.