For some reason, my account was disabled after I tried to change my email address. After a while I gave up trying to reactivate it and stuck to my mailing list and posting on the web. Then my email servers went bonkers and I ended up doing only web posts.

I've endured draws, defeats and disappointments with you all. . .but I'm back.

I hope I haven't missed too much.

The new posts go here from today.

Victoria Concordia Crescit

~`Gooner`~

I’m cautiously optimistic about the future as I write today’s blog as in a few hours we take on Liverpool in  a must win game that will ensure we put some distance between ourselves and all other contenders for fourth place.

While clarifying his remarks after the Chelsea game at yesterday’s press conference, the boss was quick to add that while he was a sore loser, he did give Chelsea praise for their performance. He said

“I just would like to say that I was full of compliments and praise for Chelsea after the game and I find completely unfair from the press that you take one word of my press conference to turn it into a kind of probe every time,” he said. You did that at Villa, you did that at Chelsea and every time if you look at the intent of my press conference it was positive towards the opponent.

“I am long enough in England to know that the team who wins can say what they want. They are right. But it is my job to take a distance from that, analyse the game in a calm way with a cold head and to analyse what is right.”

It also looks as if it will be one man in and one man out in the summer. While we look set to clinch a pre contract agreement with Maroune Chamakh on Friday, it looks increasingly likely that due to Wenger’s insistence on a one year deal for over 30’s, William Gallas might decide to call it quits with the club in the summer. Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood revealed further details on the situation. He said;

”Arsene has had a policy with players who are aged over 30 to offer them one-year extensions. He has not asked us to make an exception for Gallas. If he did I am sure the board would agree to it. It is not out of the question, but it is certainly not on the table at the moment.”

That is in no way reassuring for a 32 year old looking to secure his final playing days. The question is whether or not we have a suitable replacement for him within the ranks. The answer is NO. We’ve got Vermaelen, Campbell till the end of the season, Djourou by September and Silvestre who is out of contract in the summer. It’s a very dangerous game the boss is playing and I sincerely hope that we don’t suffer for it as we did when Flamini did a runner two years ago. Rumour has it that Milan are also interested in the French defender…hmnn! Does he chose to be patient like Bergkamp or decide to leave like Pires and Lehmann…time will tell!

This morning, we woke up to news from Spanish Radio Cadena Ser that Cesc Fabregas had reached a verbal agreement with Barcelona to join them in the summer. The report went on to add that several meetings had taken place and, following those meetings, Cesc told Barca that he wanted to rejoin them from next season. That clearly sounded like tapping up to me and despite the boss playing down such rumours yesterday, they just wouldn’t go away.  It even had me rethinking yesterday’s blog. However, later on probably after remembering the nice letter we wrote them,  Barcelona chose to refute the speculations by releasing a statement on their website as follows;

[b]“Given the exceptional repercussions created by the stories that have appeared in different media with respect to an agreement with Arsenal FC player Cesc Fàbregas, FCB flatly denies that there have been any negotiations or agreements with the player. In accordance with FIFA regulations, FC Barcelona’s contract policy has always made it a priority to negotiate with the club of origin before making any particular agreement with the player.”

“FC Barcelona wishes to stress that it has always maintained excellent institutional relations with Arsenal FC. Given the exceptional repercussions created by the stories that have appeared in different media with respect to an agreement with Arsenal FC player Cesc Fàbregas, FCB flatly denies that there have been any negotiations or agreements with the player.”

“In accordance with FIFA regulations, FC Barcelona’s contract policy has always made it a priority to negotiate with the club of origin before making any particular agreement with the player. FC Barcelona wishes to stress that it has always maintained excellent institutional relations with Arsenal FC. ”[/b]

For me that smacks of someone trying to cover their tracks after being caught with chocolate on their face in the middle of the night.  They’d probably be slammed with a hefty fine if it came out that they were the source of these rumours.

And next I face the ardous task of telling you my thoughts ahead of tonights game at the Emirates. For me, it’s plain and simple; don’t get caught on the break if not we’re pretty screwed. Here’s what Rafa had to say;

“If you play them at the Emirates they have more confidence and they try to go forward all the time, it is the way they play. You cannot control the game unless you are strong in defence. You can score if you play good counter-attack – like United did the other day. When you are playing well and winning everything is fine. If you don’t win you have to change things and you have to play as you can – sometimes ugly, sometimes nicely. If you are strong and work hard against them you will always have a chance.”

They are clearly up for it and if they come away with a win, the pressure will be on us as they’ll be only two points behind us. If beat Liverpool, does that mean Villa are a better team than them? We are unbeaten in our last 11 games against Liverpool at home and haven’t lost to them in 10 years. Tonight sounds like a night such records could be shattered!

It’s shocking that after starting the season on a goal spree, we have only scored once in the last 3 games as it appears our make shift strike force is tiring. The key for us is to be clinical and to take our chances as they come.

Don’t hold your breath for another 4-4 draw; it won’t happen. I expect to see scrappy finishing on both sides (Super Nick Bendtner anybody) in a highly nervy encounter.

My verdict: Too close to call.

Till tomorrow (if we win) or Friday (should we lose) I remain loyal to the cause!

Victoria Concordia Crescit!

welcome back bro!
we missed you.

Here goes. . .the spam bot ate the original posts

Speaking in football terms, it was a fairly uneventful weekend for me…yeah it was Valentines’ Day weekend but how does that put three points on the board for the Gunners? Go figure!

Already, the gauntlet has been thrown to us in the Champions’ League by Porto keeper Helton who insists they will beat us over two legs. He said;

“We’ve been watching ­Arsenal’s last few games closely and they’re not as strong as they’ve been in recent years. That can be to our advantage. The tie is very balanced. We certainly don’t see Arsenal as the favourites. We’ve not had much luck against the English clubs in the last few ­seasons Now is the moment for to break that run of set-backs and reach the Champions League quarter-finals.”

“We’ll ­settle with a 1-0 victory in the home leg because we truly believe we will score in The Emirates Stadium when we visit London. Without Emmanuel ­Adebayor and the injured Robin Van Persie in attack, Arsenal are not as explosive in attack. Arsenal have a good squad but I believe that we will defeat them this ­season.”

This could only mean one thing; that we’ve got a massive game on our hands as once your opponents refuse to show fear it means they are prepared to take you on. They’ve got an attacking monster in Hulk and a clinical finisher in Falcao so unless we can stop their offensive threat before it takes off, I don’t believe Almunia will stand a chance in one on one situations with either of the two. A consolation might be the fact that due to a lengthy domestic suspension, Hulk may me short of some sharpness which might just edge the offensive battle in our favour.

It is in games like this that the importance of physical players like Bendtner, Diaby and Song come to the fore. On Diaby, the boss was eager to point out reasons why we need him to be fit at all times.

“Diaby for me is the player who is going step-by-step higher and standing really as a strong player. He offers height and a physical presence. It gives us the pair with Alex Song and even when Denilson plays, when Diaby is there we look strong in the challenges and strong in the air as well. When you add Nicklas Bendtner and him, suddenly when you set-up on set pieces, who do we have? We have four or five who really can jump for the headers and it makes a difference. He gives us goals as well – a fantastic contribution. It is great and he scores important goals as well.”

I noticed he didn’t mention Fabregas in the comments rather preferring to say “, and even when Denilson plays”. With all this speculation over the future, the boss will be foolish not to plan for life without Fabregas in his mind either through long term injury or a possible departure to Catalunya. While I think he will stay, I believe that one day we may get an offer we cannot refuse, and whether it is in the summer or two years down the line, its best we are prepared for the worst. It’ll only make us stronger.

Shifting thoughts back to the Porto game, you’ll agree with me that most of the goals we’ve conceded of late have been as a result of poor defensive performances rather than a reflection of the quality of the opposition. This is something Cesc Fabregas has highlighted recently, he said;

“In the past few years, we have been doing very well, but whenever it comes to important moments, maybe we haven’t been up where we need to be. We have always tried to play our football, but the goals we have conceded lately have come from defensive mistakes.”

Essentially on the big stage, we have faltered defensively. Could it be a mental thing where we see that there is a win to be had and we switch off defensively forgetting that not only do you start the attacks from behind, you also start the defending from the front. You should be able to figure that one out if you’ve got half a brain!

Speaking after the win against Liverpool, the boss shared his thoughts on our defensive attributes. He said;

“We know that when you go to Porto you need a solid defensive performance. I was reassured on Wednesday – that was maybe the biggest part of our game against Liverpool. We looked solid defensively for the first time in the last three big games, and that was vital before you go out for a Champions League game. I believe in the first leg our defensive performance will be important because against Manchester United and Chelsea we were 2-0 down after 20 minutes and that is massive in games. So let’s keep our defensive discipline we had against Liverpool and I am sure we can score when we play.”

Well said Arsene! I believe he’ll have more to say on the topic when he speaks to the press tomorrow or Wednesday. There is a hint of caution though as he also talks up the quality of the opposition. He said;

“Porto is a tough draw. They don’t look like a prestigious team but every year they are in there and they can surprise people. They have been playing very well recently.”

In some other news, it has emerged that Liam Brady will be stepping down from his role as Assistant Manager of Ireland in April. He said;

“The decision to end my involvement with Ireland has been taken in light of my continued work as Director of Youth Development at Arsenal. The Ireland role required me to be away a lot of time and although Arsenal made it clear they would have been quite happy for me to continue, I have decided it is not right in the circumstances to remain in position after I complete my contract this April.”

I have my thoughts on why he did but I won’t speculate. I’ll be fine if it was because the thought of having to work with Robbie Keane drove him raving nuts!

I’ll close with news that The Premier League has launched a proposal that the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th teams in the Premiership will have to face post-season play-offs with a place in the Champions League at stake. That’s something I’m staunchly against as it’s really more about the extra money it would generate and less about the football. A spokesman for the FA had this to say;

“The play-offs would mean extra matches, which would be sold to pay-television and so generate more money for all clubs.”

Rubbish! What happens if the fourth team finishes with 79 points and the fifth to 7th could at best gather between 65 and 57 points. Is that fair for them?

Food for thought; we better finish third or better then!

Till next time…Victoria Concordia Crescit!

For the first time in a long time, I think we are gonna lose tonight.

I have very low expectations given our injury situation and if we end up earning a draw, it would be a fantastic result in my opinion.

Gallas, Almunia, Eduardo, Song, Arshavin. . . scary!

My head is spinning when I think of the prospect of having Fabianski in goal tonight. Arsene rates him highly but his last performance against Stoke left a lot to be desired about his abilities. We’ve got Sol Campbell in line for a first start in Europe for Arsenal since 2006 and Carlos Vela is available after 45 years out injured.

Still, my lone desire is that by some freakish design, Bendtner gets on a loose ball and scores from an impossible angle to end the tie 2-1 to the Arsenal.

I’m braced for the worst. Should we lose, I shall not be disappointed.

You can preview the game on Yahoo, BBC Sport or at Arsenal.com

During the game, you can also follow me on Twitter or join the debate on Nairaland.

Irrespective of result, I shall be bare my thoughts on what Arsenal did next!

Till then. . . Victoria Concordia Crescit

I’m sitting at the departure lounge of Lagos Airport staring at some dude who strangely resembles Julius Aghahowa and I’m wondering what Gooners around the world have done to deserve the comedy of horrors that was on show last night at the Dragao in Porto where two clangers by Lukasz Fabianski led to Arsenal losing the first leg 2-1 to Porto.

By now if you didn’t see the game, you will have probable read or heard the match report. By the way it’s Julius Aghahowa and if Wikipedia is right, he played for the Police Machines at 11…what a prodigy how come I never heard of him back then…lol

I was in no way disappointed by the loss. Rather, what was painful was the way in which we conceded both goals. It’s strange to think that in his last three crucial cup games, poor old Fabianski has been involved in down right howlers.

Need I refresh your memories; Chelsea, Stoke, maybe Citeh and the Porto game. The funny thing which I must point out is the fact that while he seems to be a pretty decent short stopper, he seems to have a penchant for clangers and last time out was no exception.

Poor positioning of a goalkeeper is bad enough but is yet forgivable. What is unacceptable and highly disappointing is the fact that a 24 year old did not know better than to pick up a back pass however accidental as it may have been.

We can go on and on about how Porto were unfair and took a quick freekick but we’ve profited from situations like that in the past. I do remember Thierry sneaking one past Cech and or Van der Sar a couple of years ago.

Whilst we can argue that Sol’s path was obstructed by the referee, our goalie should have at least tried to hold up play and prevent Porto from taking the free kick even if it would most have probably resulted in him getting booked.

Sometimes, you need to take one for the team and on that occasion, I’m wondering where everyone else was…still smarting over our shouts for a penalty a few seconds earlier? Replays show it was a stonewall penalty, but these things happen and there are no what if’s but only then what’s! I doubt it if most of the other players knew what was going on as even Cesc admitted to being about 30 metres away when he happened. Tis a shame!

In my honest opinion, our best two players on the night were Campbell and Diaby who apparently is injured again. What is it with the French man, I’d wager the fact that he couldn’t stay fit to keep himself alive. What is that?

So what next for us? With what I saw, Porto don’t stand a chance at the Emirates, and I see us running out winners by 2 or 3 clear goals. Yes, you can bookmark this post. I think I’ve watch the Gunners for long enough to know what they are capable of. It also looks like Song and Almunia could return for the game at the weekend for a game which we can and must win at all costs.

I’m away from the Greenland for three weeks, but as always I’ll have Arsenal in my heart.

Oh there goes Governor Saraki; let me get an autograph!

Till next time…Victoria Concordia Crescit

I’m wondering where to start from this morning. I really shouldn’t be doing this but hey, I can. Maybe it’s because I haven’t yet summoned enough courage to brave the cold outside. Its freezing and I can’t check in till 3 so I might as well speculate on our the future of Arsenal for a bit. What do you say? Maybe I’m suffering the ill effects of a long haul flight without any inflight entertainment added to the -4 degrees temperature!

On second thoughts, I have no time to speculate. There may or may not be a match preview later today or early tomorrow. I’ve got an early start to take care of business so you may be disappointed. Nevertheless, keep your fingers crossed Gooners, I have crossed the pond.

Till then. . .Three points to the Gunners against Sunderland

I won’t speculate on what I didn’t see. I didn’t watch the Sunderland game. While the Gunners were battling to a 2-2 draw with Sunderland, I was busy trying to stay awake at my Marketing seminar. Bummer, I could have followed it on my mobile, but I’d used up the battery all morning making notes while I was better writing on the free printing paper in the lobby. I’ve seen the goals and with the reports I’ve seen, we should have buried it early.

Still it’s another three points in the bag on a day when Man Utd lost to an in form Everton side leaving us with the thought that them playing Chelsea and Livepool later on in the campaign makes it look like we have a shout at second spot and *** Who knows?

I’ve seen the goals and Eboue was brilliant in the build up to Bendtner’s goal. Cesc’s penalty late on took his tally for the season to 15(12 League). Apart from that, it was pretty much a fair result given the possession we had throughout the game.

Now I’ve just seen Andy Gray on Sky and I’m furious. I guess I have to take back most of the things I said about Lukasz Fabianski and agree with Arsene Wenger that referee Martin Hansson was sh*te in his build up to Porto’s second goal on Wednesday.

Replays actually show that Fabianksi did make an attempt to hold on to the ball at first by refusing to give it to the Porto player then relinquishing it to the referee. He then proceeded to attract the attention of the assistant referee whilst running back to his position. It then shows Thomas Vermaelen call out for a wall only to discover that the referee had dropped the ball for the Porto player who wasted no time to square for Falcao who easily found the net for their second. All this happened while the referee was obscuring Sol Campbell’s path and before he raised his hand for the free kick. You can find a link to the video here…I can’t shout!

An interesting thing though is that only one point separates 4th and 7th place in the league. With the Premier League considering a radical play off system for the Champions’ League, our best bet is to pull away from the pack, not just now but all the time just in case that crazy idea manages to go through. We are now two points behind Manchester Utd and six behind Chelsea. My take is that we take the games as they come especially our crunch tie against Stoke on Saturday. I wonder where I’ll be able to see the game given that by then I’ll be on the other side of the pond. . .

Till then…Victoria Concordia Crescit!

There comes a time in your life when you know you must get off your arse and do something right. Such definitely must have been the case with the Nigerian Senate ammending sections of the constitution to empower Vice Presidents and Deputy Governors and should have been the case with John Terry simply apologising to Wayne Bridge after getting jiggy with his ex. I think he's an idiot for that but like Arsene, I'm staying out of it. It's 2am in the morning and my body rhtymn is still pretty much messed up, I'm wide awake and starving on the other side of the pond. What do you know, let's write a blog eh?

From where should I begin? The boring stuff or the interesting stuff? If I start to bore you with news about the finances you'll probably just moan and say "can't we talk about the Stoke game" and if I decide to talk about the Stoke game and injuries you might say "I heard we made a profit of 35m quid, how true is it?" In life you can never please anyone so I guess I'll take if from the top and work my way down to the bottom and who knows, there might be a surprise in there for one or two.

This morning, the club announced the half-year financial results which show significant reduction in group's debt following progress at Highbury Square. You see I know what that does to your more having only repaid a significant portion of my own debts in the last month or so. That means more disposable income to the layman. Also, it also shows that the strong policy of prudence that has been adopted by the club in the last few years is finally paying off. I won't bore you with too many details as you can do that yourself but here are the major highlights as reported on the official website.

[b]Profit before tax of £35.2m (2008 - £24.5m) with increased contributions from both the Group's football and property businesses.

Sale of 261 apartments at Highbury Square generated revenue of £96.6m (2008 - £58.4m) with all proceeds used in repayment of the project's bank debt. The

Group's property business recorded a pre-tax profit of £9.3m (2008 - £4.9m).

Pre-tax profit from the Group's core business of football increased to £25.8m (2008 - £19.7m).

Completed first stages of a programme of capital investment in the appearance and "Arsenalisation" of Emirates Stadium.

Further significant investment in determined policy of re-signing first team players to new long-term contracts.

By 30 November 2009, the Group's total net debt had been reduced to £203.6m (31 May 2009 - £332.8m).

Since 30 November, there have been a number of further positive developments in relation to the Group's property projects:
Of the 655 private apartments in the Highbury Square development, sales have now completed on 524 units with a cumulative sales revenue value of £217.0m.

The balance on the Highbury Square bank loan has been further reduced, from £35.7m at 30 November, to £12.9m (31 May 2009 - £123.6m).

Sale of part of the Queensland Road development site means that the Group's other property activities are now debt free.[/b]

While Messrs Ajani, Atoki & Akanni might probably in a better position to analyse these results, allow me to point out my joys and personal observations.

Let's not kid ourselves, Arsenal Holdings Plc is a business. End of story! The sooner the vast majority of fans understand that, the better for us all. Nevertheless, the group is involved in several business of note are the Football and Property sides. What many do not understand and find hard to appreciate is the fact that they both go hand in hand. Whilst an outlook on the results look thrilling, it is important to keep it all in perspective with our overall objectives.

This is a view also held by CEO Ivan Gazidis. He said;

"The reason we run a responsible, profitable and self-sustaining business is so that we can deliver success to the Club and invest in the Club and ultimately deliver success on the pitch, something that our fans can be proud of. That's what we're after. So while we're satisfied with the results, that's not the end objective."

That my friends is the reason for it all! Sucess on the pitch ultimately results in better financials and a better financial state can more often than not end up in sucess on the pitch. I am cautious as I use those words as the standards for measuring sucess over the last few years have been skewed for many a football fan.

I'm also happy that the club is sticking to its policy of reinvesting all revenue generated back into the club both in the existing squad and on the transfer market. I know it is the transfer market dealings that get most fans excited but we must give credit to the club for being able to offer our present squad improved deals and guarantee their long term future with us. At least even if we don't end up buying, we shouldn't lose the players that we already have. We've got tremendous talent available in our young squad but then I won't go into discussing that just yet.

My biggest joy is the fact that we have been able to significantly reduce our debt on the Higbury Square project by about 80% in the last 9 months. Note that the balance has shrunk from £123.6m as at 31 May 2009 to £35.7m on 30 November and now it stands at £12.9m. That to me is the biggest achievement of the club and the fact that this was done without jeopardising our success on the pitch shows that we indeed have a tremendous squad which when the time comes to add to it will definitely be world beaters at any level in the not too distant future.

In the light of our financials, and the high level of prudence observed at the club, I stand at a cautious distance to mourn over Portsmouth who have just become the first Premier League club to enter Administration. It is a sad day for football and I cannot imagine what hurt and pain Pompey fans will be experiencing at the moment. They've gone from the highs of winning the FA Cup and European Football to the lows of battling against relegation, four different owners in a season and now administration. They will be docked 9 points and will certainly be relegated at the end of the season. I wish them all the best for the future and truly hope that the will be able to pick up the scraps of whatever is left of their football club.

I leave you with the words of Arsenal Chairman Peter Hill-Wood in response to the recently released financial results.

"There has been remarkable progress at Highbury Square over the last twelve months and it is clear that the next couple of years will see our property activities delivering surplus cash. This is very good news, although I would not want to speculate on the exact quantum or timing of this. How we will use this surplus remains undecided but, in addition to investing in the team, I think we will examine investment in Club projects and infrastructure, both in and around Emirates Stadium, which will provide a long lasting benefit to the Club and our tremendous, loyal supporters."

I leave you to speculate for PWD on that.

Till later when I do the regular blog , Victoria Concordia Crescit.

The one thing about going on vacation is the fact that if you don’t have anyone to fill in, you usually return to discover that you have more work to do added to all the stuff you left unfinished.

I recently reached the point where I realised that sooner or later I have to decide what I want to do with my life; speaking of course strictly in non-footballing terms. As such a lingering question is whether or not I’m mentally up for writing a blog about Arsenal either now or late summer when all that exists is speculation over who has signed and who hasn’t. As for me, that’s all bollocks, I ride with Arsene Wenger’s Red Army; I am The Green Gooner!

My last blog post was on Friday the 26th of February. It was 2am and I was halfway around the world, my body had clearly not adjusted to the time difference. In true “Gooner On A Holiday” fashion I headed out to Fados Irish Pub early enough the next day so I could catch the Stoke City game which was on at 1030 in the morning. Its not always easy getting the owner of an Irish pub to switch the channel on a teeny weeny LCD at the bar when every one else was watching Ireland hammer England at the 6 Nations tournament…let’s say that I succeeded only after convincing him that the teams were about to line up as I had already seen the team sheets!

Fast forward two weeks and here I am, sitting at my desk at 6:15 on a Thursday morning wondering why I do this to myself all the time. Aaron Ramsey is recovering from a broken leg, William Gallas is back to square one with his calf injury and like I predicted a few months ago, Nicklas Bendtner is on fire. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t care if he has no first touch, can’t dribble and has a thing for pink boots. 6 goals in 5 games, give the lad some credit! At this rate he’s on course to match his overall total of 15 from last season.

I know we’re sitting pretty in 3rd place 12 points clear of Spurs who have a game in hand and one off City who have two in hand and err Liverpool who are looking like they are going to miss out of the Champions’ League next season barring any last minute collapse by the teams around them! I refuse to get carried away and will simply take the games as they come.

Next season already promises to be big as in the summer, with all our loan players back, possibly Chamakh and one or two other new signings we could be all set to consolidate on either a fairytale finish to the season or build on our near miss. In a few months we’ll know.

Yesterday, thanks to Arseblogger I came accross a possible new kit for next season which seems to have been leaked. I had heard in the mill that it was going to be a commemorative one and this proved to be no disappointment. Although I’m not sure if Emirates will be happy given their logo is only on the breast and not strewn accross the chest. You can find it here. I don’t know how long it will be there for though. If this is it, you bet I’ll be the first one on this side of the pond to get it in the post!

The draws for the Champions’ League are tomorrow and I can’t wait. I hope we get a good draw. After that, we can talk about West Ham at the weekend.

Till then, Victoria Concordia Crescit!

P.S
D**o! How did you think you were going to get into the Emirates without the membership card? You owe me £40.65. Please do the needful!

You can also follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/thegreengooner

Thanks for nothing scousers! You ruined what should have been a perfectly enjoyable weekend for me. 3 points against West Ham on Saturday had taken the Gunners temporarily top of the league and if they had read the script properly, they would have known that this was the weekend the outsiders were supposed to get back into the race to meet their targets. Look at it, 3 points for a 10 man Arsenal side against West Ham on Saturday, 3 points for the almost certainly relegated Portsmouth against Hull, and a fantastic draw for Blackburn against Chelsea.

I know I said we shouldn’t rely on other teams to get results in our favour but I was disappointed by the fact that Liverpool couldn’t even pull off a draw against Manchester United. Torres’ early goal seemed to have set the tone but after Wayne Rooney scored off the rebound of a missed penalty you just knew that they would crack. Ji Sung Park scored the winner on 60 mins (Nigeria Beware) clearly demonstrating why Fergie picks him for the big games time and time again.

This weekend’s results see us lying pretty in 2nd place two points behind Man Utd and two points ahead of Chelsea who have a game in hand and admittedly looked a shade of themselves in the draw against Blackburn. My wonder now is who else we can hire to do a hatchet job against both Man Utd and Chelsea so we can pip them to the title in May.

If your heart skipped a beat after reading that then you clearly don’t know anything about football. We’ve got eight games to go; it’s time to start talking about the title. Andy Gray believes that Manchester Utd will be champions on goal difference from Arsenal, while Chelsea will be in third, two points behind. However, Arsene Wenger still believes we can win it. He said

“We are not under any special pressure because we are beyond expectation. We want to win the trophy because we are all conscious we have won nothing yet and the hunger is there, the talent is there and I think the nerves are there. So all we can do is rely on the other results of the other teams, so the only thing we can do is master our own results.”

We’ve reached the point in the season we all looked forward with trepidation, what happens when Gallas and Vermaelen are out. Here you go! My initial worry after Vermaelen was sent off against West Ham was how we would cope in his absence. Whether it was a penalty or not is open to debate but my thoughts were that he could take off Samir Nasri and bring on Silvestre to slot in at centre back; on a good day, this would be the logical choice that would follow through the next few games. However looking forward, I pondered that the best bet would be to draw Nasri into the midfield and deploy Alex Song as the new centre back. He’d played there before and he did not look out of place at all through out the game. On that the boss had this to say

“I think he was absolutely outstanding. It looked so easy to him to play in this position. I know he can play there, but he was outstanding in midfield earlier in the game. I have no fear to continue with him at centre-back.”

His decision to continue this might spark the end of Silvestre’s time with us as he would have ordinarily expected to fill in alongside Campbell in the absence of Gallas and Vermaelen. Alternatively, given our next few fixtures in the league are Arsene might choose to rotate between Campbell and Silvestre (age and fitness issues) as a defensive partner for Alex Song while Vermaelen is unavailable for the next 3 domestic fixtures. A good thing though is that he will be available for Europe. An advantage? Not necessarily. Lionel Messi scored another hatrick at the weekend!

Arsene Wenger also revealed after the game that Robin Van Persie would return to training this week. While it is fantastic news, it is no surprise to me as the four weeks he needs to get back to sharpness would take us right into mid April which is much closer to the estimated return date given last year. His return would be a boost squad wise but to go as far as saying it would be decisive as to which way our fortunes swing, I don’t know. He also revealed that Aaron Ramsey has been able to walk without crutches as he paid a visit to the training ground last week. That’s some good news and I reckon it won’t be till late August or early September till we see him running in an Arsenal shirt.

As usual, we’ve been linked with a string of players and while the rumours usually seem to go away, one or two seem rather plausible. Apparently Chief Scout Steve Rowley was sent to watch Wigan midfielder James McCarthy recently. I’m not sure where he’d fit in the squad, but if we’re watching him, then he must be good enough. One other player we have also been linked to is Argentine goalie Sergio Romero. If it’s true then I’m not surprised as the 23 year old impressed against us when we played AZ in the Champions’ league. While we ponder on that for a bit, there’s more Nicklas Bendtner news on the horizon as it looks as if Bayern Munich are mulling over a move for the 2009 Danish player of the year.

Shush Karma from The Bleacher Report in his article United’s April Fixtures and Chelsea’s Poor Form Means Advantage Arsenal provides an insight into the final fixtures of the season, and it makes for an interesting read.

That’s all for now, as I have to get to some other cheeky business this morning.

Don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter here

To subscribe to the blog, please send an email to list at thegreengooner dot com.

Till next time… Victoria Concordia Crescit!

Where are my posts?

Cristalz, v3 Help please!

Why does everyone I speak with think we are going to get a hiding from Barcelona tomorrow? I know I’m usually extra confident but the vibes I’m getting from all around me seem to suggest that a place in the semi finals is done and dusted for Barcelona. Imagine this, here I am at the bank this afternoon and all I’m hearing is about how Arsenal are vastly inferior to Barcelona and that Xavi, Messi and co will tear our midfield and defence into shreds. Such arrant nonsense! These dunces seem to forget that the worst thing a team can do when competing against Arsenal is play the ball around the park and actually try to play football. This is what Barcelona do best and whilst I must admit that they are actually very good at it, I believe that it is this fact that tilts the tie in our favour.

I also believe that due to the fact that Barcelona are super world beaters and that Arsenal have gone without a trophy in 5 years or so, their strengths are grossly overhyped for this game while not enough credit is given to this Arsenal teamwho year after year, stand up to be counted in Europe.

Yes, we have home advantage and that usually counts at this stage of the tournament but in this instance I doubt if if it will have any bearing on the outcome of the game. The Barcelona team the world has come to know and respect gained their reputation as world beaters from their ability to construct the game play beautifully, seamlessly switching from defence into attack and vice versa with lethal effect tine and time again. They did this without considering which side was the home team.

What most people do not countenance is the fact that both teams play the same style of football. Whether or not they may be better at it is open to discussion. What however is not questionable is the fact that the Arsenal team has much faster players who can probably keep the tempo at a higher pace for longer periods. I’m tempted to do a full pre-match rundown here but I’ll hold my horses till tomorrow.

Word from London Colney is that while Cesc Fabregas fights hard to be fit as he awaits the results of his scan, he must come through training today unscathed to stand any chance of playing against Barcelona at The Emirates. There’s going to be an open training session in the morning and then the press conferences later in the day. Just so you know, Thierry Henry won’t be on for Barcelona, it’ll probably be someone like Xavi or Valdes. I don’t think Puyol will get on well with the English media. For Arsenal, it just might be Cesc Fabregas. We’ll see!

In some less dramatic but equally important news, Bolton boss Owen Coyle has expressed his desire to keep young Jack Wilshere on loan for another season. I’m not quite sure Jack is ready to step into the Arsenal team on a regular basis at the moment but his brief loan spell at Bolton has shown that he indeed is a gifted player with immense potential. However, I believe that any decision over his future, short or long term is at the discretion of the manager. Does he feel he has learned enough or does he think there is more to be gained in future spells. Time will tell.

Till tomorrow…Victoria Concordia Crescit

By the way, my posts are going missing. I may have to stop posting links. . .I was just trying to be helpful!

This morning, I’m not even going to speculate on team strategy, or the best way to cage Messi, Ibrahimovic, Xavi and the entire Catalan army that have marched out to North London in defence of their crown. It’s been raining this morning so you expect they are already upset by the English weather…thank you mother nature! I’ll just face the facts of what I believe and trust that the Gunners will deliver on what promises to be a glorious night of football at The Emirates.

The facts remain as follows; I believe Barcelona are beatable and nothing short of an outright victory for Arsenal tonight will be acceptable for me. I spent the better part of last night gloating after Man Utd succumbed to a late late Ivica Olic goal which had the commentator screaming “It’s 1999 in reverse”. I couldn’t stop grinning with glee! With Rooney falling victim to the wishes of millions of anti-Man Utd fans around the world by managing to trip on his own weight and sprain his ankle, I wonder how they will fare in his absence should he fail to be fit for this weekend’s crunch tie against Chelsea. Any way it goes, one or both teams will drop points. If it were possible, I’d rather they both lose the tie but then that is just downright wishful thinking!

What is not wishful is my prediction that Barcelona will succumb tonight to three goals from a rampant Arsenal side who tonight will put on a footballing spectacle as never seen before.

Yesterday morning as I reported in the live updates on Nairaland, Cesc Fabregas failed to emerge for training from his fitness test with Wenger admitting that they would leave it to the wire before taking a decision on whether or not he would play. I’m thinking he’ll hold out until the warm ups before deciding. Of note was the fact that Gallas was spotted training again with the first team and the boss confirmed that he did have a chance of playing.

My take on Gallas is this, if he isn’t ready, stick him on the bench and play Campbell instead. By the time we welcome Wolves at the weekend he should be fit to start. But then, if he’s fit why put him on the bench! The big worry now is Cesc, fingers crossed he makes it through. Nevertheless, this is what Arsene had to say yesterday;

“If it were today, he wouldn’t play. At the moment he cannot play but we will give him another 24 hours”

On Barcelona, he said;

“They are an exceptional side, but we are an exceptional side too”

I leave it there and leave you to your imagination. For me, my prediction is as follows

Possible line up: Almunia, Eboue, Gallas/Campbell, Vermaelen, Song, Diaby, Fabregas/Denilson, Nasri, Bendtner, Arshavin
Prediction: Arsenal 3 Barcelona 0 (Vermaelen, Bendtner[2])

Arsenal Legend David Rocky Rocastle passed away 9 years ago today; he shall be remembered.

It will also be an emotional night for Thierry Henry tonight, let’s give him all the love he deserves.

Till tomorrow when I either have egg on my face or a grin bigger than Phil Brown’s best…Victoria Concordia Crescit

There is no proper blog post this morning, just moaning. Seriously, with all that traffic this morning I’m in no mood to even start to share my thoughts about what I think will happen tonight. Ahead of the first leg with Barcelona, I was in a highly confident mood that we would win and even though we came away with a draw, I was satisfied that the boys had done their best. This morning, I have the same feeling I had just before the away games at Olympiacos and Man City (Carling Cup).

Injuries and suspensions have depleted both sides to the extent that it seems to have balanced out their strengths and weaknesses. For Barcelona they have Puyol and Pique suspended while Ibrahimovic is out due to injury. For Arsenal, the list is endless. Picking only the recent injuries, I’d mention Gallas, Fabregas, Song and Arshavin. With Rosicky and Campbell doubtfull we face an uphill task to get the win we need.

Possible line up: Almunia, Sagna, Silvestre, Vermaelen, Clichy, Denilson, Nasri, Eboue, Diaby, Bendtner, Eduardo

I think the boss should go with Walcott on the bench and leave him with the role of the impact player. If it’s still a draw at half time, he could then withdraw Sagna and push Eboue to right back with Walcott slotting into the attack. We also need Diaby to wake up and have an ON day while Denilson needs a repeat of his performance in the second leg. Barring that we are in deep trouble.

I won’t even talk about the title race because at the moment, the only thing on our minds is the Nou Camp. News that Iniesta trained yesterday is sure to send shivers down the spines of many an Arsenal fan but I suspect he will be rested as the have the tie with Real Madrid at the weekend. Maybe that would work in our favour.

Till then, I leave you with the words of Daniel Karbassiyoon on Twitter

“We once beat Inter at the San Siro 5-1. We beat AC Milan at the San Siro, and we also beat Real Madrid at the Bernabau. Belief and character”

For me, I’ll just hope that Thierry Henry scores an own goal!

My Verdict: Arsenal 0 Barcelona 1

I feel sick this morning. I haven’t felt this bad since Michael Owen scored two late goals for Liverpool against Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup Final. After that, you’d probably have to go back to ACN 2000 when Nigeria lost to Cameroon on penalties in the final. Still, we have to move on from the disappointment of a disappointing night in Barcelona.

I will not read the newspapers, or visit the sports websites. I will not join in the debate as to whether or not the result would have been different if we had all our players fit. That my friends is a luxury our millions have been unable to afford for a very long time. I would like to wallow in my sorrows alone and not be crowded by idiots who always seem to be pleased when Arsenal lose. If you are reading this and are secretly smirking, I’ve got news for you. On June 12, it will be Argentina vs Nigeria. We’ll see who will be gloating then.

I’ve got three questions for us to ponder this morning given that the game ended 4-1 in favour of Barcelona.

1. What if Abou Diaby had released Theo Walcott instead of Bendtner when we were 1-0 up?
2. What if Tomas Rosicky had controlled the ball before blasting it over the bar in the second half?
3. What if Nicklas Bendtner had pulled the trigger in the box before trying to control him.
4. What if I was an Arsenal player?

What if never helped anyone. The truth is that we had our chances and we didn’t take them. Like I said previously the game will be won by the team who makes the most of the chances to be had. While I still think Barca are packed with a bunch of diving twats, they are a great footballing side and are easy on the eye and I must give credit to the genius of Xavi and Lionel Messi who simply ran riot at the Camp Nou. I didn’t intend for today’s blog to be this long but I simply must speak my mind about a few more things.

I’m frustrated at the fact that Rosicky never puts in a full shift when he steps on the pitch. Is he a done job or is he still a work in progress? I seriously doubt that. We all know that Eduardo head is not quite there yet so I won’t even go there. I praise the efforts of Nasri and Denilson and while Abou Diaby tried to be an effective thwart for the Barcelona attacks, he proved once again that he is no Alex Song…we’ve only got one Song! sob sob

In all we must focus on our remaining objective. With automatic Champions’ league qualification in sights, the title is still there to be had and Wenger must rally the lads to ensure we decimate and annihilate Spurs at the weekend. We must also get rid of that disgusting white kit and like one blogger rightly pointed out, if you dress like Spurs, you play like Spurs!

Come on Arsenal. They think it’s all over but we’ve still got a few games to go!

Once again I salute litle man, Lionel Messi – Playstation Player of The Year.

Till Tomorrow…Victoria Concordia Crescit

PART 1.

So yesterday the big news in the media was the fact that Lady Nina’s shares had been put up for sale via the brokers Blackstone. Big deal! What most people don’t know is the fact that her shares had been unofficially available since about September last year. For those of you who don’t have a clue as to what I’m talking about, Lady Nina Bracewell Smith is the fourth largest shareholder of the club with a stake of around 15.9%

She was ousted from the board in December 2008 when it became apparent that she seemed sympathetic to the cause of Alisher Usmanov, the club’s second largest shareholder after she had refused to amend a lock-down agreement among the directors that would have stopped shareholder Danny Fiszman from selling more than 8% of the club to Stan Kroenke who now owns 29.9% of the club.

Usmanov doesn’t seem interested in buying at the moment and neither is Kroenke. If he waits till May 1, he’d save close to £90m as he would only have to pay about £8,500 per share according to trading rules in the UK. Only yesterday he agreed to match a takeover bid for his shares in the St Louis Rams by deciding to buy up the remaining shares in the Club.

What this means is that unless he has as stash of cash elsewhere, he won’t be making a takeover bid at least until he sells his stake in the Avalanche, Nuggets or Rapids as per NFL rules. I doubt it if he will be allowed to purchase the stake on debt as that will put us and him in the same pool as the Glazers of Man Utd and Hicks and Gillet of Liverpool. As such Lady Nina’s shares won’t make much sense to him at this point in time.

What this implies in turn is that Lady Nina would need to look for new buyers for her stake. This is probably why she hired Blackstone to facilitate the sale. Her shares would fetch roughly about £90m on the market but the big question is who that new investor would be? Jay Z? Time will tell!

PART 2.

The big news this afternoon is Wenger’s revelation that Robin van Persie would be included in the squad for the trip to White Hart Lane tomorrow. I must say that this is the first time I have been disappointed by my usually reliable source. When this news first broke about 4 days ago, I did some asking and I was told that it would seem a bit quick if he did return against Spurs. Nonetheless, in his press conference this afternoon, the boss confirmed that RVP who has been out for 5 months would play some part. He said

“He will feature. He lacks a bit of match practice but when I pick a player it means he’s fit and sharp. There’s always a gamble in such decisions but we have been a bit cautious in his case. But Van Persie is a very important player at this club. He is important for the confidence.”

“Robin is an important player for us. He looks sharp, fit and it may be premature for him to start but he wants to play. In training it looks as if he has never been away. He can contribute a lot in terms of goals and set pieces too.”

Fingers crossed he comes through unscathed!

The boss also chose to sidestep the questions on Lady Nina and ownership as usual.

More Later…Victoria Concordia Crescit

I came across this quote from Andrey Arshavin’s website yesterday and believe me, I got a real laugh from it in the context of tonight’s big game.

Q:
Hi there, Andrey, I hope you are enjoying life in London. Now that you have been with Arsenal for just over a year now I have one simple question. Do you hate Tottenham yet?

AA:
I’ve been told about this by the club’s employees. As I am a gunner, Tottenham games are crucial for me

Pity he’s injured and is unlikely to feature again this season. Nevertheless, tonight’s game is crucial in deciding our league position this season. Of course we always love to beat Spurs but a win would set us nicely in second spot before our final run in of games. One player the boss wished didn’t get injured earlier in the season is Robin van Persie who looks set to return to the bench against Spurs tonight. He said;

“That is the biggest frustration because he had started to compete as one of the best players in the world and suddenly he was out. You would have talked about van Persie alongside the likes of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney – of that I am sure. He is a leader. He has a football brain and is a football thinker. All his vibes are in the game. He is a winner and he has matured a lot in the last three or four years as well. What is important is that we get him back and I believe that we can have a go until the end of the season and hopefully have a big challenge next year.”

We murdered them at the Emirates back in October and whilst I don’t expect the same to happen, I am looking forward to what should prove to be an interesting game. With Aaron Lennon ruled out due to injury, I don’t anticipate any trouble down the right. Wilson Palacios is suspended down the middle and with Niko Kranjcar, Jonathan Woodgate, and Jermaine Jenas also injured, Harry Redknapp might be forced to play Younes Kaboul as a holding midfielder. Whilst Ledley King looks like he might return in defence for Spurs, one man that would not be welcome at the lane is Sol “Judas” Campbell. The former Tottenham captain who joined Arsenal on a free in 2001is set to play in the North London derby for the first time since 2005. Harry Redknapp expects him to get stick from the fans tonight.He said;

“I’m sure he’ll get some grief, it’s no good me sitting here and pretending he won’t. It has been a long-running saga but they have got the hump with him and are not going to forgive him. They pay their money and they’re going to do what they want, aren’t they? I just hope they don’t do or shout anything silly. If they want to jeer him or whatever then fine, but we saw the trouble at Portsmouth with people making remarks that isn’t right.”

On transfers, Arsene Wenger was pretty firm when speaking about the future of skipper Cesc Fabregas. He said;

“You want to see the length of his contract?” The players who are at the end of their contract can sign where they want but, with the players under contract, we decide on their future. We are not under any financial need, we are well-managed and that gives you one luxury in that you can decide about the future of your players.”

“Secondly, we want to be a better team next year than we have been this year and that means we always want to keep our best players. Some people try to be specialists at making players unhappy. But up till now, all of the players who have left have wanted to come back so that means they are not as unhappy as they sometimes look. I believe that this team is on the way up. We don’t work for four or five years with young players, stand up for them, let them come through and, when they are ready to perform, sell them. That would be irresponsible. But I cannot stop them from talking in Spain.”

I guess we can choose to ignore Lionel Messi’s comments then!

Finally, I close with news that Red and White Holdings have issued a statement in relation to their shareholding at the football club. They said;

“At this stage Red & White retains all its options and does not wish for the purposes of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers to reduce its future flexibility and accordingly no particular course of action is ruled in or out,”

Looks like they are leaving the door ajar to any possibilities that arise. Till then we can only hope that we get past Spurs at the Lane tonight. I predict a tough physical battle between the two sides but I am hopeful that we will prevail.

My Verdict: Arsenal 2 Tottenham 1

Come on Arsenal


Edit This

So much has happened in the last few days that it’s unbelievable that only last week there was barely enough happening to make three paragraphs of a blog; any blog

On Friday, the club finally announced the signing of striker Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux on a free transfer thus providing us with suitable distraction from the Cescgate saga. Chamakh who will wear jersey number 29 is an established international with Morroco and has scored 27 goals in 53 appearances for the North African country. His record for Bordeaux is equally interesting, 79 goals in 293 appearances. If you dont know anything about him, I suggest you check out youtube videos of him and see for yourself. I expect him to make an immediate impact in the squad as we do need experience and depth in attack. Arsene Wenger had this to say about the player who we tried to sign last summer;

“Chamakh is a striker of real quality and has all the attributes suited to come to England and do very well. He is also a fighter, not only a good football player, but a fighter as well. He is very good in the air and also a good team player. He is a great addition to our squad.”

Our new No. 29 also had this to say after signing the dotted lines;

”This is a dream come true and a great joy to be joining Arsenal. My goal was always to play in the Premier League and Arsenal was the choice of my heart. Without any hesitation, Arsenal was my preferred club. The team and history of Arsenal, they make me dream. My goal was to join Arsenal out of the all the English clubs because it is a club that makes me dream and I have been a fan since I was a child.”

“I’m very excited about playing at Emirates Stadium in front of the Arsenal supporters. I have heard many great things about the stadium and I cannot wait to be playing there in an Arsenal shirt. I will give my best to this Club, the Club that I used to support. We have many great players at Arsenal and I will be giving everything to help the team win trophies next season”

Throughout his interview, Marouane kept saying “WE”. That to me is important as he already considers himself as part of the team and joined to a cause. We can rattle on about how every new player says Arsenal is his dream club but it is good that he has immediately set his eyes on trophies. He won the double with Bordeaux last year so he clearly still has a hunger and it would be night if he can transfer some of that to the players here who haven’t really won anything. At the end of the interview, he made the most remarkable statement I have ever heard from a new signing. He said in English“I am happy to be a Gooner“. On hearing him say Gooner and not Gunner, I can guarantee that he knows what it means to put on the Red and White of Arsenal and most probably hates Sp*rs too! By the way we’re changing kit next season so don’t go printing Chamakh on last season’s kit only to realise that a new one is out in July! #justsaying

Now we have six strikers! The manager has kept to his word and has signed a player before the world cup as he promised. We wait to see what his next move is now as he stated clearly that we will get one or two more signings for sure. Speaking of which, Atletico Madrid have confirmed the signing of Spanish midfielder Fran Merida from Arsenal also on a free transfer. The Barcelona born player best known for missing a penalty against Nigeria in the final of the U17 World Cup in 2007 and scoring a belter against Liverpool in the Carling Cup last year had been on the periphery of the first team for a while and failed to agree terms for a new contract at Arsenal. Whilst he was a good player, he won’t be missed as he never did look like breaking into the first team ahead of the likes of Fabregas, Nasri. I do hope he does much better at his dream club and in the future we can describe him as “one that got away”. Just so you know, nobody remembers Amaury Bischoff; such is life!

I’m particularly interested in what the team structure will look like next season, particularly in the Premier League as the home grown quota rule kicks in from next season. We currently have 30 first team players; thanks to Merida’s departure and this could drop to 28 if as expected Gallas and Senderos leave the club. Should Barcelona sign Cesc we’d be down to 27 although the new signings promised would take us up to 29 first teamers. I have not even included the reserve players who are on loan and could potentially be promoted to the first team. I believe the manager has a bigger headache this summer as not only does he have funds available to invest in the team, he has to balance that with the team’s current strengths as well as take the existing rules into consideration. I reckon a number of the first team players won’t be registered for the League next season to balance it all out. However, this is discussion for another day.

Yesterday, I was startled with speculation that Nigerian Billionaire Aliko Dangote was interested in bidding for 16% of Arsenal currently put up for sale by Lady Nina. I snooped around, asked a couple of questions and it turned out that most of it was true anyway. Apparently, Dangote – Africa’s riches man has expressed interest in purchasing Lady Nina’s shares. He seems to be on a shortlist of about 10 drawn up by investment firm Blackstone. There seem to be a lack of clarity at the moment as to what the true state of affairs is. The Telegraph reports that there has been no contact between Dangote or his advisers and the Arsenal board while the Guardian states that he has registered his interest in the shareholding. John Cross of the Mirror is of the opinion that the two largest shareholders Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov are not interested in making a full takeover bid at this time.

My biggest worry at this time is the fact that the shares are currently overpriced as her brokers Blackstone apparently seek to obtain close to £15,000 for each of Lady Nina’s 9,893 shares. Whilst the shares are being marketed as a unique investment opportunity, I am unable to understand why anyone would pay so much for the shares which on their own do not even guarantee a place on the board. It is common knowledge Stan Kroenke has paid as low £8,500 for some of his shares. For Dangote, the possible reasons why he would be interested in the shares are unclear at this point in time but still could prove relevant to the movings and shakings in the Arsenal Boardroom. The shares could prove a long term financial investment for the tycoon who was the former head of Nigeria’s Stock Exchange. He is reportedly a keen lover of football and it could be a one time opportunity to get a piece of one of the truly great football clubs. The Nigerian media have already got their eyes watery over this story and it will be interesting to see what the tabloids will come up with this week in response to the story. Till then, let’s talk about Cescgate!

Nothing new on that front. Word is that Barcelona will make a formal bid today! What is shocking though is the fact that Barcelona’s pursuit of the Arsenal skipper has been given the green light by the Spanish FA to continue right until the eve of the World Cup. Personally, I think that is just wrong as the FA should stay out of such issues as not only is it unethical but I also fail to see how Barcelona/Spanish FA are not breaking any rules by publicly discussing the transfer. Rob Kelly of The Telegraph thinks FIFA should adopt the approach of the NBA; his article is quite a read!

Congratulations to Rossi for winning the End of Season Competition and correctly guessing that Marouane Chamakh would pick 29 as his kit number. He’s won himself an Arsenal T-Shirt. Now if he’d just get off Twitter and send me an email, we’d probably be able to arrange how he’d get his gift

That’s all for now folks. If you are bored during the day, you can simply follow me on Twitter

Till next time…Victoria Concordia Crescit!

It’s a quick one today; I’ve got lots to do and an entire company to save!

In a sharp turnaround, Nigerian Billionaire Aliko Dangote yesterday stepped down his interest in aquiring Lady Nina’s shares in Arsenal Football Club. In a statement yesterday, he is quoted as saying;

“Following recent media reports of my interest in acquiring 16 per cent of Arsenal Football Club, I believe it is necessary to clarify my position. I am a longstanding supporter of Arsenal Football Club and have been involved in conversations around investment in the past. “However, I can say categorically at this time that I have no intention of investing in the club and will not be acquiring a stake. I wish Arsenal Football Club the best for the future and will continue to follow the team as a fan.”

I’m not surprised at his decision to do so as he’s probably been advised that he’d do much more good investing in Nigerian football than in Arsenal. The only person I think will be disappointed is Lady Nina herself. Hehehe I ain’t shedding a tear for her or her overpriced shares! Good luck to Blackstone in finding a bidder. In my opinion, I think she is desperate to sell before the emergency budget on June 22, which is likely to increase capital gains tax on specific forms of investment. A increase in the tax rate could cost her several millions.

Young defender Kyle Bartley has sensibly stated that he would be open to return to Sheffield United on loan next season. He’s probably looked at the squad, considered potential signings and judged his ability and realised he’s probably better off getting games at Sheffield while he improves his game rather than playing reserve team football. I’m sure the boss will do what’s best in the interest of both player and club. For the official website to be running this story, you’d think the deal would happen sooner rather than later.

Not surprisingly also is the news that Newcastle are keen to take Jack Wilshere on loan next season. The Magpies who made a swift return to the top flight after one season out are keen to consolidate knowing that funds for transfers will be limited in the sumer and they have identified the Arsenal starlet as one player who could do no harm to their cause. Perhaps, it may have have a role to play should Arsene decide to step up his long standing interest in Steven Taylor whom have been linked with yet again.

The Sun is reporting that Arsenal are holding out on selling Cesc Fabregas until after the World Cup as they hope a good performance would skyrocket his value close to the £80m price tag they have placed on him. In a remarkable fashion, ex Arsenal star Alex Hleb has warned Cesc Fabregas against making the same mistake that took him to Barcelona in the summer of 2008. He said;

“He and Gael Clichy are both very good players who must make their own decisions about their future. But I would advise them to stay. It didn’t work out for Arsenal this season but, if Arsene Wenger keeps the side together, they can really go far next year. They play great football. It’s partly a question of experience and next season Arsenal will have more of it if everyone stays. All things being equal, I think they have a very good chance of the title next season.”

What else can I say then!

Till next time…Victoria Concordia Crescit

It’s June; the summer is here! It’s been nearly a month into silly season and surprisingly we actually signed a new player before for June. What is not surprising is the fact that we all knew Chamakh was going to join us at the end of the season. Apart from the World Cup, there is really nothing else save for the fact that William Gallas has apparently missed a deadline to sign a contract extension with the Club and that Barcelona are insistent on signing Cesc Fabregas.

Where does this leave us? With Sol Campbell still yet to commit his future to the club we could potentially end the month of June with only two recognisable centrebacks – Thomas Vermaelen and Johann Djourou. Arsenal might be a bigger club but the lure of easy Scotland and possibly Europa League footie might prove a bit too much for the veteran Campbell to resist after a highly succesfull six month return to the Gunners. With that in mind, I wont be surprised if the boss attempts to sign not one but two centre backs. Notice I haven’t mentioned Silvestre who I believe will not be expecting an extension nor Bartley or Nordveit who I do not quite yet rate as ready for the Premiership. The names currently in the bag as of yet are Lorient centre-back Laurent Koscielny and Dynamo Kiev’s Pape Diakhate, the latter of whom Bacary Sagna has claimed would be a welcome addition to the Arsenal squad. Unconfirmed reports claim we had an bid turned down for Kiscielny who would probably be a Vermaelen type signing.

With defence sorted out our next worry lies with whether Cesc stays or leaves. It’s clear the club want him to stay and I wont even go into talking about goalkeepers as I’m not convinced Wenger will sign a new keeper. Sad, but true! For me I think the longer the drama is drawn out, the better it is for us as Barca simply cannot be allowed to tap up our player and then get him on the cheap. If you look at all the tactics they have employed, it’s a wonder FIFA haven’t stepped into the situation. Using presidential candidates, staff, media, family (excluding @carlotafabregas of course), international team mates, etc. It’s crazy! Do they expect us just to roll over and say hey you can have him for £30m and we’ll throw in a free Silvestre and an Almunia. Joe Cole has been touted as a potential signing as he could be available on a free transfer and he’s one player I’m sure would clearly improve our squad. The absence of a transfer fee will probably make more funds available for wages too. At the back of my mind after hearing of Cesc’s conversation with the boss is the thought that the midifield signings we make could either determine whether Cesc stays or leaves, or be dependent on his departure. Over to you Arsene, work your magic!

Finally I would like to thank all those that responded to my late rally to get the blog nominated in the Best Health, Fitness or Sports Blog category of the 2010 Nigerian Blog Awards. The final nominees were announced and www.thegreengooner.com made it through to the final stages. Voting opened yesterday and is open for a week until 11:59pm EST on June 6, 2010. Winners will be announced as soon as possible on June 7, 2010. Please click here to vote for The Green Gooner. Do feel free to forward to your family and friends to help support the blog.

Till next time…Victoria Concordia Crescit