Liverpool thoughts: Some positives on a very negative day.

Morning Gooners,

I've tried to leave this blog as late as possible so that I can attempt to hide my depression. Yesterday was our second league game of the season, however it felt like our title challenge depended on it and we were in mid April. The pressure that seems to be on every game at the moment is not healthy for fans or players and the really sad thing is I don't see it stopping any time soon.

I've sat back now and calmed a little and think I've managed to develop a fairer view of the Liverpool game. Although the result is hugely disappointing, as is any loss, the situation the club finds itself in at the moment is the cause of most fans concern. The uncertainty of our squad has become unbearable. Who will be leaving? Nasri and Bendtner both featured but both look likely to leave the club before September 1st. Who will be coming in? Will anyone be coming in? Thankfully we have only nine days left of the transfer window so for better or worse, we will at least know which players we'll be cheering on for the coming season.

Back to the game. There were negatives, we all know what they are and we all have our own opinions of what has caused them but here's my view on the Liverpool game alone.

Negatives:
* We lost!! (Obvious, but surely the biggest negative of all)
* Frimpong showed the result of inexperience can punish the whole team.
* We have another suspension to deal with.
* Koscielny is out for a week, by the look of him probably more (The guy couldn't even walk on his own)
*Complete lack of midfield creativity
* Arshavin, Walcott & RVP were almost non-existent

This will not be the only game we lose this year. The important thing is how you deal with that loss and that goes for fans as much as it does players. Yes Frimpong was the perfect example of inexperience and rashness  but players must go through these stages to learn  from them and under the guidance of Arsene Wenger, our young players like Frimpong will indeed learn from it and become better players from the experience. Frimpong's suspension leaves us with a massive gap on our team sheet for Sunday's game at Old Trafford but Wenger will deal with that problem next week.

Kos's injury looked very bad. His back began to spasm and the poor guy couldn't even walk unassisted down the tunnel. Wenger has said he expects him to be out "for the next two games" at least which is bad enough but on top of Djourou's hamstring and Squillaci's mystery injury that kept him out of the game we now go into the next week(s) with TV5 and Miquel as our only fit centre backs.

Our lack of creativity through midfield is my personal biggest worry at the moment. The responsibility being thrown upon Ramsey is coming too soon. He is not ready to  be our main midfield man, and the pressure coming with that expectation will do more harm than good in the long run. Wilshere will add quality when he returns and Rosicky can still do a job for the team. The only real resolution to this issue is reinforcement. AOC, Ryo and Frimpong will all be new aspects of our midfield this year but with not one of them 20 years old they cannot be expected to be the regular game changers that we need. The Nasri saga will end very soon one way or the other but if reports coming from France are to be believed then talks with Man City have hit problems and Nasri could yet still be an Arsenal player for the coming season. For what it is worth I thought he was excellent yesterday, his attitude was spot on and his hunger to help the team succeed was there for all to see, a big well done to the fans at Ashburton Grove too, the reception for Nasri was excellent and if he does stay it is good to know he will be supported just like every other Arsenal player.

Our front three's apparent absence from the game will not be the same in every game and had a lot to do with the void we had in midfield so unless it becomes a regular occurrence I will not get worked up about it just yet.

OK, enough negatives, now for some Positives I took from the game:

* Frimpong
* Vermaelen
* The teams defensive work rate
* Improvement on defending set pieces
* With 6 first team players missing, Liverpool still couldn't beat us with 11 men

Frimpong almost had a perfect game. Take away the silly first booking and the challenge that saw the 2nd yellow and Frimpong had a......... DEEEEENCH........ game (I still don't know what it means but I'm assuming it's good). He covered the defence brilliantly and added his own spark going forward and other than Van Persie's effort he came closest to providing an Arsenal goal. Alex Song took 3-4 years to convince us he could do the job but Frimpong has showed his class instantly, he did it in pre season last year but then spent the whole season injured and he has returned with the same quality and looks like an immense talent already.

Vermaelen showed us what we were missing last year. His performance yesterday was excellent, especially when controlling Andy Carroll on set pieces. To use a Wenger-ism, he really will be like having a new player in the squad. I would say that the defensive organisation looks better this year but simply saying it's there this season is enough and shows improvement on last season. Liverpool had an uncountable amount of set pieces during the 90 minutes but I can't think of one that we seemed to struggle with so that has to be seen as a positive thing.

Gibbs, Koscielny, Djourou, Song, Wilshere, Rosicky and Gervinho. 7 players that could be regular starters for us this year were all out of action whether it was because of suspension or injury. Which team can take 7 players out of their line up and still produce top quality football?

The biggest positive is that with all the problems we had today, players missing, transfer sagas, fan's discontent etc, etc we matched Liverpool for as long as we had 11 men on the pitch. Don't get me wrong, we never looked like the strongest team but we matched Liverpool throughout and at the end of the day, if you look at it sensibly, that is a positive thing to take away from the game.

Lets remember guys and girls, this is game 2 not game 32 of the season, there is a long way to go. Arsene knows we have to recruit and I'm sure they are doing what needs to be done behind the scenes to make things happen.  My message to you is simple, in the infamous words of Lance-Corporal Jones, Don't Panic! Wednesday will see us (please for the love of all that is holy) qualify for the Champions League proper which will mean a guaranteed cash influx for players but will also just lift a massive cloud of nerves from our team, then before you know it September 1st will be here and we can just concentrate on cracking on with the season until January when we need to put up with Man City making a £45m bid for Frimpong and Barcelona offering for £4.50 and a Curlywurly for Jack Wilshere.

Keep things positive Gooners, the team need us this year more than ever.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Don't forget, for more ramblings you can follow me on twitter here: @goonerfishblog

Three weeks to define Arsenal Football Club

Morning Gooners.

Welcome to what is arguably the most important 3 weeks in Arsenal's modern history.

Reports are leading us to believe that we will see both Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas part ways with our great club within a matter of days for fees of around £36m and £22m.

This, in my opinion is the best thing for the club at this moment and in our particular situation, by which I mean Cesc's love for Barca and the inevitability that he will play his football there in the future. He can never show full commitment to Arsenal football club as a captain should and as a result we will never see the best of Fabregas in an Arsenal shirt. The money is still well below his true worth but some would argue that the extra €10m is worth sacrificing just to end a saga that has already lasted far too long. Plus, if we play hardball with Barca and meet half way with €5m added to the price on August 31st we would have no time to finalise a deal for any replacement and that would be simply unforgivable. We all knew Cesc would leave us for Barca and I truly believe now is the time it must happen.


Samir Nasri looks likely to be staying closer to home. Man City have reportedly agreed terms with the player for around £180'000 a week (not of course that he's moving for money reasons) and the clubs have virtually agreed a fee in the region of £22m.
Nasri has played at the Emirates for 3 years now and he has produced 1 half of a quality season for us, I'll repeat that, 1 half of a quality season. Nasri is another example of an over-egged ego that believes he is far more valuable than he actually is. @DarrenArsenal1 summed it up perfectly with his tweet this morning

"Nasri will be regarded as a footnote in #arsenal history, a very small footnote at that."

I am not going to go into my ever growing disliking of Samir Nasri or his unbelievably low levels of professionalism as at this moment in time he is still an Arsenal player and I will not slag off an Arsenal player to that extent while he is still wearing the shirt......... I'll wait till he leaves.

These two incidents can not be what defines Arsenal's summer although many will struggle to see past it. The real thing that will not only define our summer trading but also begin to define Arsenal FC as a whole will be what we do with the £60m we receive for the pair. This money must be invested in quality replacements, not players that can grow into world beaters, we need players that can do the job now.

Further reports are coming from Spain that Arsenal have agreed a deal with player and club for Valencia star Juan Mata. he will likely cost around the same amount that we will sell Nasri for and will be a good statement for the way wants to move forward. A world cup winner, only just I admit, but the experience of being part of that Spain squad is something only Cesc has in our current set up, and of course Spain U21 captain. He has many qualities that will move us forward and as is the same with any player coming in he will be hungry and eager to impress and succeed.

That will still leave over £30m to spend on new recruits and the squad really needs them. I would hope for another world class addition but expect a couple more squad fillers to come in including the CB fans are screaming for.

I claimed at the beginning that the next three weeks could be the most important in recent history and that claim is not restricted to player movement. By the end of August we will have played Newcastle, Liverpool and Man Utd in the league. These are all games that given our current circumstances we could possibly lose. In my own view, anything less than 6/7 points from those games could have a dreadful long term effect on the team. Also lets not forget by the end of August we will know if we are playing in the Champions league or not, so far this has been Wenger's and the Arsenal boards final say in almost any argument, how may times have we heard "we always qualify for the champions league"? Are Arsenal still a top European club? If we are not in the Champions league then you must surely answer that question no.

If we are not among Europe's elite then the top class players we need will definitely not come, then we have the additional problem of the sudden fall in revenue which despite what the board say will damage us more than anyone understands. These problems, Reputation, Lack of appeal, lack of funds, lack of confidence, seeming lack of ambition could shape the way Arsenal Football Club exists over the coming years.

However, despite all the negativity that is around, if we get the 7 points I think we can from our opening games and sail through to the Champions League proper as we should, sign Mata and revel in the rise of Aaron Ramsey, Enjoy Gervinho scoring 20 goals this year and RVP staying fit all year and hitting 30, we will challenge for every competition we are in and after our first trophy win we will continue to win more and Arsenal will once again be known across the globe as a successful, ambitious, top quality club that rightfully sits among Europe's elite.

By the time September 1st 2011 arrives, we will all have gone through a multitude of emotions but we will know where we stand in world football and we can just get on with it and I think the one point that every Arsenal fan can agree on is that we just want the window to be over and just get on with it.

Hold on to your hats Gooners, it's going to be a mental 3 weeks.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Welcome Gervinho & the Nasregas Saga continues

Morning Gooners.


Let me start with a big fat welcome to Gervinho. The former Lille star has finally completed his move to Arsenal as Arsene Wenger confirmed he is now officially an Arsenal player.

Gervinho was part of a Lille team last year that completed a league and  domestic cup double. The Brazilian born Ivory Coast star scored 18 goals and provided 10 assists in all competitions last year and will hopefully be able to adapt quickly and carry on that form to next season. Gervinho is a player with pace who can take on players, score goals and create chances for others he will be an excellent addition to our squad and personally, I can't wait to see him in action (although that won't be until after our tour of Asia)

Arsene Wenger has been put in front of the press for the first time this year ahead of our first pre-season friendly against Malaysia XI on Wednesday and even on the other side of the world, the questions were the same, 'Is Fabregas going to Barcelona?' 'Is Nasri leaving or signing?' Le gaffer dealt with the questions as we all know he will, speaking lots but saying nothing. I am honestly lost when it comes to the 'Nasregas Saga' as I have now decided to call it. One day I think we could lose one but not the other, the next I sink to being sure that both men are sure to leave Ashburton Grove and then crazy days where I even support the notion that we may have both players in an Arsenal shirt next year. I can only suggest believe nothing and ignore the entire situation until either the season starts and they're still with us or Arsenal.com indeed confirm that one, the other or even both have parted company with our great club and although this is prompting abuse, trust Arsene knows what he's doing.

One place we know Nasri won't be going is to Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson has said he won't be pursuing him as he suggested that Nasri may be heading elsewhere, even suggesting he may stay put at Arsenal.

Wenger also confirmed that Bendtner and Almunia have stayed at home to try and secure moves away from Arsenal with Borussia Dortmund seemingly close to securing our 'almost' great Dane with a £9m deal. Arsenal's current financial structure means that players need to leave before we can bring others in so hopefully more new arrivals (Mata, I'm looking at you) will follow any departures as soon as possible.

You know the season is beautifully close when Sky announce their live games schedule which they have done today. Check with Sky for a full list but our live games come as follows:

13/08 Vs Newcastle - ESPN 17:30
20/08 Vs Liverpool - Sky 12:45
28/08 Vs Man Utd - Sky 16:00
17/09 Vs Blackburn - Sky 12:45
02/10 Vs Spuds - Sky 16:00
29/10 Vs Chelsea - Sky 12:45
19/11 Vs Norwich - Sky 12:45
28/11 Vs Fulham - ESPN 17:30

In addition to this we will have our Champions League qualifier either side of the Liverpool game so our first five games are all live on TV.

Last night the AST were given a presentation by Arsenal last night and in all honesty the highlights I picked up from @DarrenArsenal1 on twitter were mainly survey results which confirm what we already know, fans are not happy about how the season went. To see a more detailed breakdown jump onto twitter and give @DarrenArsenal1 a follow and look down his timeline.

Final point for pondering for you all. I have read a couple of conflicting suggestions regarding squad numbers. With Gervinho arriving and prefering the no11 shirt, Carlos Vela looks as though he'll give it up and it's suggested he'll pick up the no18 shirt as Lansbury seems to have been given his old no12 but then where does that leave Squillaci? God only knows (and he's busy coaching Ajax youth team so I don't want to bother him) so we'll all just have to wait patiently to find out.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

As I mentioned twitter, I may as well shamelessly promote myself too, you can follow me here

Off to Asia but who will be a Gooner by the time they get back?

Morning Gooners,

Our boys fly out to Asia today and as suspected Cesc Fabregas will not be on the plane. The official line is that this is because of a hamstring niggle however, it's suspected that it's to make his move to Barcelona easier if they finally match our asking price. A lot of press is speculating, and I repeat,  speculating that the transfer will be completed this coming week. If it isn't completed within the next couple of weeks I will actually start to feel a little optimistic that he will be staying next year. Wenger won't sell him last minute as he'll have no time to replace him.

Nasri however has travelled with the squad probably because they didn't have enough time to invent an injury for him but being on tour by no means stops the chances of a transfer as Man Utd proved when they parted ways with Veron in the middle of a tour. Todays Telegraph reports that Nasri has agreed a £185'000 a week deal with Man City but Arsenal are still holding out for £25m. I personally don't want Nasri to leave, I think he will be a world beater in coming years but £20-25m for a player in the last year of his contract and showing no signs of wanting to sign a new one is a very good deal. I find it hard to believe that the passion and desire shown in the picture above can be shown by mercenaries so I'm hoping that Wenger can work his gift of the gab and get Samir to sign a new 4 year deal while they're away.

Bendtner and Almunia both stay at home as they try to finalise deals to move away from Ashburton Grove with a couple of side from Germany supposedly interested in NB52 and a couple of teams in Spain that obviously have the worst scouts in Europe have been showing interest in Almunia.

The good news is that some younger players looking to break through are in the squad. Frimpong, Miyaichi and Jenkinson have all travelled and will be looking to impress Arsene Wenger. The full squad list can be found here

Another player unlikely to be taking part is Gervinho. This whole saga has to be the biggest paperwork balls up in recent history. The player has agreed terms and passed a medical and even done all the press stuff such as Arsenal Player interviews and photo shoots and the clubs have agreed a fee but constant cock ups in the visa paperwork have seen multiple delays in completion. Looks like the first chance to see him will be in the friendly against Cologne on July 23rd but hopefully we'll have another couple of new signings joining him.

Arsene and Arsenal will be busy fulfilling commercial commitments over the next week but I expect Ivan Gazidis to be working very hard trying to complete deals so transfer business will not stop because Arsene Wenger is away.

No matter who is and isn't there, I'm excited that friendlies are starting, it feels like an absolute age since seeing the mighty Arsenal in action but I for one will be glued to Arsenal Player on Wednesday.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Nasri speaks out & is it time to get nervous?

Morning Gooners,

I trust you are having a good weekend, despite waking up to stories that all our players are leaving.

The only place to really start is our increasingly Adebayor-like number 8, Samir Nasri. He has had some quotes released in the ever reliable News of the World. In a possible attempt to explain his actions, or more to the point lack of them, to the Arsenal fans he said:

"Money has never been my motivation. I have always taken decisions from a football point of view.

"I don't want to sign for a club where I wouldn't be playing the football that I like, where I wouldn't feel happy, just for the sake of money.

"We already earn huge wages. The priority is to make a big career and to win titles. This is more important than everything else."

Now the one thing fans want to hear from a star in Nasri's situation is "I want to win things at this club" or "I want to stay". Now I'm not saying that he didn't say those thing because as I said, these quotes are in the News of the World so the possibility of quote cutting should not be discounted.

Until recent weeks I honestly thought that Nasri would sign and continue to play his football at Arsenal for the next four or so years and beyond. Now however, I'm finding it difficult to see how he can stay so the game now must surely be get as much money as we can for him. If we got £20m for his services I think it would be a good deal as long as Wenger used it to strengthen our squad now, not in January, not next summer, not players this summer who should be ready to play over the next couple of years, NOW.

The Mail on Sunday have reported that Theo Walcott could be joining Chelsea in the search for trophies but it's rubbish, Theo is one of the few players I am certain will be at the Emirates next year.

Apparently, all the work we have done in securing Ricardo Alvarez is about to be wasted as Inter swoop in at the last minute to secure his signature. Now, if it happens, it won't be the first player we have lost due to the time it takes us to negotiate, sometimes I really wish we would just pay the extra £2m and secure the player before other clubs with more spending power come in and challenge us for the player and ultimately outbid us.
Whether this is true or not is yet  to been seen for sure and we'll only find out the real truth in the coming weeks.

The players start pre season training tomorrow and then start their tour of the far east on 13th July so I expect Wenger to want a lot of his dealings completed by then, both ins and outs. I expect a lot of business is going on behind the scenes and Arsene and Arsenal have always been quite good at keeping transfer deals private so like all other fans I hope to see some real movement over the next couple of weeks before the squad flies out.

I am one of the more positive Gooners in the world but even I am now getting edgy as I watch our rivals strengthen as we become weaker. Potentially losing both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, certainly losing Clichy (to a rival!!) probably losing Denilson and Bendtner and so far only seeing Gervinho as a likely new recruit is a scary vision but I will reserve my nerves as the biggest thing to remember is that is is still only July 3rd and we have 59 days left in the window so business is no where near completed.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Transfer madness - Too much to fit in a title!!

Good God, what a day!!

July 1st was likely to see movements in and out of the club start but it seems they couldn't wait. The last few hours of June 30th saw us lose both Clichy and Nasri to Man City depending on what time you were listening to SkySports News and Gervinho confirm he will be an Arsenal player next year.

We'll start with the impending departure list. It is firmly believed that Clichy will end his 8 year relationship with the club over the next couple of days and move to join Manchester City's moneybags revolution. Liverpool apparently matched City's bid of around £7m but City's presence in the Champions League swung Clichy's decision in favour of them.

Within the same reports it was suggested that City had also almost completed a £20m deal to take Samir Nasri to Eastlands too. This was then downgraded and downgraded some more until it reached City are quite interested in Nasri but haven't made a bid or even contacted Arsenal or Nasri's representatives about his availability.

I have to say my opinion of Samir Nasri has been fading over recent weeks as it seems less and less likely that he will be playing in an Arsenal shirt next year. In fact the whole saga seems to be a repeat of the Adebayor mess from a couple of years back, a player has half a good season and then expects to be paid the same as players who have been long, loyal servants to the club and produced the goods over several seasons. Nasri is saying that he wants to win trophies etc etc, and I'm sure he does but don't fool yourselves guys and girls, if he moves, he's moving for money and if he stays he will have a lot of work ahead of him to bridge the gap he has created between himself and the fans.

I'm personally a bit gutted about Clichy's impending departure. We all know he not the best tackler in the game but he brings so much more to Arsenal's style of play. He has always been a true professional and a great servant to the club. I really wish he would move abroad if he leaves as I will find it hard to see him playing in another teams colours.

Happier stuff now. Over coming weeks I expect transfers to start to be completed and announced and it looks like the first will be Gervinho from Lille. The Ivory Coast player of the year has been quoted in today's Sun saying:

“I chose Arsenal because it’s a young group within which I will be able to integrate easily. I could develop more over there. There’s only a few details left to sort out.

“A risk? Not at all. I’m going to Arsenal to play. The best risk to take is to look to score goals and to play a lot.

“In football you have to take risks if you want to win. I’m going to Arsenal to win.”
“I’m going there to play, not to be on the bench. Arsenal love the game. And I love teams that love the game.

“The Premier League is a notch above. It’s maybe the best league in the world. I want to live that sensation.”

Gervinho will be a good addition to our squad, he is hungry and he is fresh from winning trophies last season and with Nasri's departure more and more likely he could well be looking to be a regular starter completing a forward three with Theo and RVP.

Speaking of Robin Van Persie, some quotes have emerged this morning from the man himself regarding his future:

"we are talking yes, but I want to win trophies and if I don't think i can, I won't sign - this summer will decide"

Now before we all go mental at losing another star, RVP has always been one of our most loyal players and has always spoken out about loyalty to Arsenal. I fully expect these quotes to have been mis-translated or taken out of context, my guess is that is was something along the lines of 'we are talking about a new deal', 'I want to win trophies with Arsenal', 'If i think we can't compete anymore, I won't sign'.

Rosicky has also stated he will be staying at the club:

"On Monday, I am starting pre-season with Arsenal. Before vacation I was speaking with coach Wenger and he told me he counted on my services and that there was no intention of selling me. I want to achieve something with Arsenal."

He must know that he will only be a squad player but squad players are what will win us titles, we can't rely on our starting eleven every minute of every game and I feel Rosicky still has something to give so I'm glad he'll be with us next year. Denilson also may be with us next year but that's because we can't find anyone stupid enough to buy him.

Also, as I type this reports are coming from Spain that Athletico Madrid are interested in buying Almunia....... Happy days, do it quick before they do any 'YouTube' scouting on the guy.

And with that I complete a whole blog without mentioning Fabregas or Barcelona........... Bugger, well nearly did.

I'm off to watch all forms of press as closely as possible in waiting of our many, many new signings that will surely all be announced today!!

Till next time,
Goonerfish

Barca's first move not so Fab & other transfer updates

Afternoon Gooners,

Wow, I've been away for seem like an age but in all honesty there has been no new news to share. In some aspects that's still the same but we have had a couple of teaser stories come out of the woodwork to keep us entertained.

The only real place to start is what can only be the start of another truly annoying summer affair with Barcelona. It was reported yesterday that Barca have approached Arsenal with an opening verbal offer of £27m for our captain Cesc Fabregas. Obviously this was laughed at whole heartedly and Barca were told that the offer was no where near good enough. Although at first read that sounds a good thing, it's not. "The offer is not good enough" is not the same as "Piss off, he's not available" 

I expect Barca to come back with an improved offer and if it reaches the area of £35m plus add ons then I think it will be excepted and if an offer is excepted I am certain Cesc will take the opportunity to rejoin his boyhood team. The good news however is that I don't think Barca will move that high for a player they don't need. Fabregas will not be a regular starter at the Nou Camp, you just have to look at the stats for the current Barca stars to see that, for example Xavi made 3'411 passes last season and had a 94% success rate - that's insanely good, Cesc is a luxury for Barcelona, not a necessity and they will spend or indeed already have spent in other areas.

Samir Nasri's contract is another worry to Arsenal fans everywhere. News has been coming out of the club that negotiations have been progressing nicely and more talks are set for the near future although no target completion date has been set. Personally, I feel quite positive that Nasri will stay, I think more than money, it is a case of Arsenal proving that they will be challenging and winning trophies for the duration of his new contract and I think the influx of new signings and keeping Cesc, or a combination of the two will be enough to convince him of that.

Enough of players leaving, what about those coming in? It looks like the Gervinho deal is still not as complete as we thought. Recent talk is mixed, some saying that Arsenal and Lille are still not agreed on a fee but the more popular theory is that a deal is done and Arsenal are just waiting to make the announcement. Lets not forget, the international transfer window opens on July 1st which is next Friday and we all know how much Arsenal enjoy making announcements on a Friday.

Another transfer that seems to have real legs to it at the moment is Valez Sarsfield's Ricardo Alvarez. Palermo president has spoken in the press this week stating that 

"We had a specific interest we had in hand as early as January. Unfortunately, our mistake we did a quick run at the moment and has already signed for the 'Arsenal'. "

Now before we take that as gospel, Maurizio Zamparini (Palermo's president) is known for both attention seeking and talking bollocks however, Argentinian press is suggesting a deal is very close, if not complete and we know that Arsene was in Argentina a few weeks back so again maybe the magical Friday 1st July will see an announcement on Arsenal.com along with some shiny new photos of new signings posing in their new shirts.


The only issue I have with both Gervinho and Alvarez seemingly close to joining is that it makes it more likely that Arsene Wenger expects either Fabregas or Nasri to be playing elsewhere next year but you never know, with both players unproven in the best league in the world, Gervinho and and Alvarez may both be seen as squad players at the moment given us much needed depth and are more likely to replace the likes of Rosicky in Wenger's plan than Nasri or Fabregas.


I'll leave you on that as I go away and plan my euphoria for next Friday when we announce all of our signings. (What? I can be hopeful can't I?)


Till next time,
Goonerfish.


Don't forget, for more ramblings on all things Arsenal, you can follow me here on twitter.

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.

Thoughts from Brum & all change for the new year?

Morning Gooners,

2011 is here so surely the whole world has now changed for the better. Everything that normally bugs us will not happen anymore and the world will be nothing but Rosy for an Arsenal fan..... What? you're questioning the truth in that statement, how very dare you!! Lets look at the evidence shall we, the new year is only one day old and so far Man Utd have played some of the worst, ugliest football I have seen for years...and won a game that in fairness they should have lost, Torres scored in front of the Kop with a Gerrard assist, the media are up in arms about cheating Arsenal whilst almost ignoring several horrible challenges on our players, Spud fans are shouting about how they are now an established team in the top four and the gap between the north London teams is ever shrinking or in some cases Spurs are now the bigger club, Harry 'twitch' Redknapp is talking about another almost retired footballer as though they are the brightest prospect in modern football in the hope he can sell more shirts, or maybe a new DVD and Wayne Rooney still looks like Shrek after losing a cage fight. Ah well, same old shit for another year it is then!!

I need some cheering up, how about a lovely 3-0 win Mr Goonerfish, why thank you very much that'll do nicely.

Arsenal turned up to St Andrews yesterday with less than fond memories of recent visits. In previous years we have experienced the beginning of the end of a title bid with the horror injury that in fairness ended Eduardo's hope of a long and successful Arsenal career followed by Gallas' ridiculous sit in protest. More recently, last year Kevin Phillips scored an injury time equaliser to rob us of our hard earned points.

If our players were not looking forward to the visit then they didn't show it. We were treated to a wonderful team display by the same team that turned out against Chelsea. Fabianski continued to improve his reputation with some fantastic distribution, especially from his throws and added some strong decision making and a top class save from Larsson's first half free kick. Our defence was solid apart from that niggling habit we have of turning to mush when defending set pieces, Brum should have got a goal from such an occasion in the first half when our back line just fell to sleep. Djourou fro me gets better every time I see him, if he can stay fit and keep his run of games going he will be immense for us.

Jack Wilshere had a happy birthday quietly doing what he does and dictating the pace of the game through clever passing and an incredible ability to read the game, still can't believe he's only 19.

RVP should have had a hat-trick in the first half but his lack of match sharpness showed with some poor first touches and decision making. He got a lot of stick for earning the free kick that he scored to put us 1-0 up with his first goal since May. Yes he made a lot of it but there was contact so surely that comes under exaggeration rather than simulation. Bottom line, there WAS a foul, we got a free kick, we scored from that free kick, I don't see where the issue is. Robin then pushed himself into the highlights again with a clear handball in the box which wasn't given but I had to chuckle at McLeish moaning about it in his post match interview considering the fashion of Birmingham's equaliser against the Mancs.

Samir Nasri was epic. He is slowly becoming an absolute legend in an Arsenal shirt he is just the right mix of Freddie and Pires and is another player that is getting better with every game, at the half way spot he is definitely my player of the season so far. Nasri scored our second with a lovely placed shot into the bottom corner and from that point we never looked back. There were some lovely interchanges between Nasri, Fabregas and Van Persie all the way through the game and when you consider Cesc and RVP are still finding their fitness the potential partnerships that could develop between that trio is mouth watering, then add in the skill of Arshavin or the pace of Walcott or the brilliance of Wilshere and you finally get a glimpse of how exciting our future is.

It was a lovely run from Walcott that started the move for out third and ended in Fabregas smashing a shot into Foster's chest which came back out, took a double deflection and somehow ended up back in the net.

You may notice that I have neglected to mention the challenges that our players were subjected to but truth be told, you can read a review of any Birmingham vs Arsenal game and you read the same thing. Bowyer in particular seemed to have an issue with Sagna as he assaulted him on several occasions. The sooner the FA get to the bottom of this problem and really punish challenges that could in some cases seriously injure the opposition the better. I would say it won't happen until someone gets seriously hurt but the names Eduardo and Ramsey come to mind so maybe it won't happen until someone English such as a Lampard, Rooney or Gerrard get seriously hurt.

All in all we got the three points we needed, we saw a solid team performance, we saw a clean sheet and no one got injured so I would have to say it was a good days work.

Thoughts now head to the last game of the hectic festive period against Manchester City. Both teams are in good form so it should be a good game, hopefully ending in an Arsenal victory.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

It's not the end of the world, Tierry Walcott & Stupid Dutch FA.

Morning Gooners,

I'm still feeling a bit fragile from Wednesday night, the last bits of disappointment are just seeping out of my
body so I can start preparing for the Newcastle game.

Arsene Wenger pretty much wrote my review of the game for me in his interviews after the game. He said:

"I felt we moved out of the game altogether and moved into the game altogether so it was more of a team problem, a kind of complacency problem more than an individual problem."

"We had a good start but after we lost our urgency and let Donetsk come into the game too much. We lost concentration in the duels"

These sorts of comments are coming out  a little to regularly for my liking, we had similar comments after Sunderland and West Brom. We need to stop treating supposedly weaker teams as easy wins an actually follow the old cliche that there are no easy games in football. It seems to me that players come out expecting to win and seem to be sure that they don't need to make the effort because "we're Arsenal, how could we lose?!" We play the best football in Europe on our day but need to treat every game with the same urgency otherwise we will lose silly points in games we should be winning comfortably which will cost us points and inevitably will cost us silverware.

If we were going to lose the game then it was inevitable that Eduardo was going to score the goal but it was the fashion of the goal that disappointed me most, Clichy was inexcusable, that ball should have been punted up field or at the very least put out for a throw but even after that, the organisation in the box was dreadful and Wilshere just let Eduardo jog into the space.

It's not the end of the world though, we lost to a team who are unbeaten at home in over two years, we had eleven players missing, we're top of the group and a point against Braga will see us through, a win will see us win the group, if that was the situation in the Premier League and we needed one win from two games to secure the league title then no-one would be complaining.

Lets not forget the positives either, Jack Wilshere's passing range was superb, Squillaci was solid, Fabianski had yet another good game (a run of good games that have seen him recalled to the Polish national side which will only add to his confidence) Djourou showed he is getting better with every game he plays although I am still worried by the amount of times he gives the ball away in our defensive third of the pitch and Theo Walcott's goal was frickin awesome.

No one else in our squad could have scored that goal, the pace, the control, the composure and the finish we're all perfect and will only add to the comparisons being made between him and Henry. I don't really want to add to those comparisons because Theo still has a way to go before he is on that level but it was a very Henry-ish goal.

Wenger has talked about Walcott moving into the central striking position for a while now and it seems those days are getting closer with Wenger saying he's not far off being ready and Walcott himself is excited about the prospect saying:

"I will play anywhere for the Arsenal, but it is nice to know the manager has got different hopes for me playing up front because for me personally I am a striker,"

"hopefully in the next couple of years you will see me be up front and I am looking forward to that."

I love that attitude from players, makes a change from players moaning that they're being played out of position. Walcott also talked about his goal count so far this year:

"It is nice to get within the goals because I have tended to miss out at times - I am trying to catch up a bit of time."

Theo is in great scoring form this year, his goal on Wednesday made him our joint top goal scorer in all competitions with Samir Nasri.

Talking of Samir Nasri, we need your help Gooners. Super Sam has been short listed for player of the month and needs your votes. Fans votes only count for a part of the process but we need to do what we can. Please follow the link here and vote for Samir (bottom right of the page)

My last note today is used to solely throw abuse and insults ant the Dutch FA. Robin Van Persie has been called up to the national side despite Wenger bluntly saying he is not fit, therefore not available. Wenger has stayed political in the situation saying he is "surprised" they would call him up, I however will not be. How can they be so f*****g stupid? If RVP was anywhere near fit, do you not think that we would be using him? A fit, match sharp RVP is one of the best strikers in the world why the flying f**k would we leave him out if was able to play you stupid dopey f**ks!!!! If he plays for you and aggravates his injury and has to spend more time out of the Arsenal side then I have a good mind to fly over there and smack each one of you round the head with a f*****g clog!!!!!

*breeeeeeeeath*

OK, on that happy note I'll leave you to the rest of your day and start looking forward to the Newcastle game.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.