₦airaland Forum

mukina2:
i don tell you shey serious now . .do not advertise your blog in here

Can I quote?

ABD77:
Thank u mr lecturer 'go take 'gooner' collect money from bank'
I blive wen u type fast u make some t.graphcical errors.am not surprised it is ur way off life ; looking for mistakes of others and missing ur own goodies.
u still have alot of things to learn about life.
PLS GO AND READ ARTICLES ON Emotional Intelligence and understand how to react to people's opinion.
When u see something that's beneficial to others do u keep to urself or share it.
Wait , dont answer, cos ur answer is 'I WILL KEEP IT'
IF U ARE NOT FLEXIBLE IN LIFE , BUT RIGID AND SAY THIS AND THAT ARE NOT ALLOWED HERE IN LIFE PEOPLE HAVE LEFT STATUS QUO THEY ARE EMBRACING INFO ANYHOW & ANYWHERE PROVIDED IS USEFUL THEY DONT WANT TO KNOW WHERE IT COME FROM.
THE INFO THAT MADE ME TO HAVE VIRTUAL VISA CARD THAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR FOR MONTHS WAS NOT POSTED ON BUSINESS SECTION [/b]OF YAHOO MESSENGER BUT ON [b]ROMANCE AND IT WAS USEFUL FOR ME 2DAY.
I HAVE BOUGHT A LOT OF THINGS ONLINE WITH MY VIRTUAL VISA DEBIT AND I SUBSCRIBED TO TV.ARSENAL.COM WITH THE VIRTUAL CARD. I STILL BELIEVE THAT MANY MORE THINGS WILL BE BOUGHT THRU THE INTERNET WITH MY CARD SO IF I HAD CRITICISED THE MAN WHO POSTED THE HIS BUSINESS LINK ON ROMANCE FORUM WLD I HAD BENEFITED FROM THE LINK ? THE ANSWER IS NO!
U BETTER COME OF UR CLOSET!!!, Gooner!

Your last post is so off point that all I can say is that I don't need a Virtual Visa Debit Card as I have an actual Mastercard!!!

By the way, I think the moderator has deleted your Treble Winning Thread and might just delete this one if the banter keeps going on.

allboyz:
worry less. . . we always bullets in our guns niggas. . . .

ARS 3 - 1 Celtic

Seconded!

allboyz:
Celtic 1 - 3 Arsenal FC

Seconded!

I'll spell it out line by line

1. If you took the time to read the topic, you would see that there was a question mark at the end of it. It reads Lionel Messi To Arsenal? and not Lionel Messi To Arsenal!. . .get it?

2. It would interest you to note that I copied the post from my b**g. I've been told not to advertise here. I wrote the entire article too! It was a rhetorical question designed to first attract attention to the joke Wenger was making.

3. Arsenalshorts.com is not my website nor is it an advert site. You claim to be an Arsenal fan and you don't even know about it. You are incredible

4. You claim to be able to give information but you can't even spell properly and you keep typing in all caps like a scammer.

5. I'm not trying to attack you but the evidence is glaring as to who is looking sheepish.

Now if you were a Spud I'd understand and let if fly but you claim to be a Gooner hence the retorts.

Ok?

@ ABD77

You remind me of Abuzola. . .I wonder what he's been up to today.

Now back to my reply,

~Gooner~:
Before I take the time to reply, I have something not very nice to say to you.

You are an idiot!

<mukina please forgive me>

Before I take the time to reply, I have something not very nice to say to you.

You are an idiot!

<mukina please forgive me>

slimshay:
Gooner, i have just visited your blog, errm!!, dnt take this wrong, but it feels totally wierd, visiting anything arsenal and not being bathed in red and white, its the red and white army man!!! abeg any touch of red will do, abeg!! i know cultured left foot has this funny blue and grey thing, but i aint digging that scheme either.

to the red and white army!!!!!

I've been asked to stop advertising my blog here.

Green White and Green for Nigeria becomes Green White and Gooner for Me.

I thought green would do because it's supposed to be from a Nigerian perspective as we are synonymous with green. I'm going to be working on the headers and will see if I can get in a couple of non-green items in there. Besides, the theme isn't exactly mine but it serves my purpose.

What did u think about the content.

mukina2:
Stop advertising your blog in here

Waka o!

yes ma. . .but he asked for the link. what was I supposed to do? Lie?  

If I post without linking, is it still advertising?

edoyad:

@gooner if viera isn't asking for a link i is.

nice thesis though, i enjoyed it. So where did you copy it from, tell us before i google the whole darn thing and spill the beans.
Unto more serious matters, i would like to see that new 4-3-3 thing without Fab in it. You know, just incase .

I think a 4-3-3 without Fabregas should see Ramsey thrown into the mix with a fit Diaby and Song at the expense of Denilson.

edoyad:

@gooner if viera isn't asking for a link i is.

nice thesis though, i enjoyed it. So where did you copy it from, tell us before i google the whole darn thing and spill the beans.
Unto more serious matters, i would like to see that new 4-3-3 thing without Fab in it. You know, just incase .

It's from www.arsenalnigeria.com/thegreengooner *modified from original text*

It's not that straightforward to hyperlink within text on NL. . .please visit and leave your
comments.

I think you might have been the victim of the spam bot. . .it's an automated system that goes throught post and if it suspects it's spam it blocks the user till the Moderator determines otherwise. It's possible that you posted too many links or over published the same posts repeatedly.

~Gooner~:
The Island seemed pretty dry this morning as it had been pouring with rain on the mainland when I left. That aside, Abou Diaby is back in the squad to face Celtic tonight and he is in contention for a starting place as Cesc and Denilson and Sagna face late fitness tests today.

Speaking to the press yesterday, Arsene said;

“Theo Walcott is not fit but Abou Diaby is with the squad here,”

Apparently Walcott failed a fitness test yesterday as his back issue flared up again. However, he was more positive concerning the others.

“From Everton we have Sagna who has a knock; we will make a decision about him tomorrow. We have some uncertainties about Fabregas and Denilson as well but we will make a decision about them tomorrow as well. It is more than 50 per cent that Cesc will play, much more. He has a tight hamstring; I took him off at Everton because of that. Denilson has a groin problem.”

For me that is all positive as Eboue could come in at right back for Sagna and I won’t be surprised if the boss decides to start Diaby in place of Denilson. With Cesc he seemed almost certain that he would play so it’s more of who comes in for who rather than who will play where.

I must admit that sentiment aside, we do have a tough game on our hands and its important that we silence the home fans at Parkhead possibly with an early goal as if we’re still locked at 0-0 with 10 minutes to play, the 12th has been know n to tilt the tie in favour of the hosts. On the line up, Arsene said;

“We will play the best possible team tomorrow, the team which I think has the best chance to win the game. It is a very important game for us because we know what is at stake and we know how difficult it is to play here.”

I don’t think there is more to be said on that. Everyone knows how massive the tie is and it’s important that we give our best in the first leg as an emphatic result away will almost certainly mean qualification for the group phase. On the game in general, he had this to say

“You expect a massive support at Celtic. Scotland is always a very special atmosphere, a special noise in the stands. But we have played everywhere in Europe and we can deal with that. It will be down to us and how well we play. We don’t go into this game with fear. We go with respect for Celtic, but we know it is a very important game for us and we want to come home with a positive result.

I always prepare my team first with determination and not with fear. We have played everywhere and have good experience in the Champions League. But every game is different and we know what we will face on Tuesday night – a very determined Celtic team with quality.”

As it’s our very first competitive fixture with them (rather surprisingly), Declan Taylor of Arsenal.com caught up with Ronnie Cully of the Glasgow Evening Times for the lowdown on Tony Mowbray’s side. He had this to say on tonight’s game;

“I think it’s to Celtic’s benefit that the first game is at home because I would’ve feared for them going to the Emirates first of all. I think Celtic fans are aware of just how good Arsenal are – they compete in the latter stages of the Champions League year after year while if Celtic emerge from the Group Stage it is a huge achievement.

The draw couldn’t have been tougher for Celtic, with Moscow and now Arsenal, but they achieved what many folk didn’t think was possible against Dinamo. They need to come away from the first game with something positive – if they can sneak a win anything can happen at the Emirates.”

Tony Mowbray too has been speaking rather codedly if I may say about Celtic’s prospects in tonight’s game. He said;

“There is a cunning plan, but, of course, if it doesn’t work, then it’s there for you to beat me across the head with it afterwards.”

Not letting much slip are you Tony eh? Well I hope it doesn’t mean subjecting us to some horrible singing from Phil Brown before kick off or the team bus pelted with rotten eggs and tomatoes on the way to the game. Anything other than that and I think the boys will be fine! He has also come out on record to state that he is an admirer of Arsene Wenger. I must confess that I was impressed by the way his West Brom team organized their attack last year even if they were not the most skilfull players but they were willing to play football the way it should be played. He said;

“Who doesn’t admire Arsène, He has been at one of the biggest clubs in the world for so long, and he can be there for as long as he wants to be, because of what he has achieved. He’s thoughtful about the way he builds his team, and he’s also got total control of the club because of what he’s done. Arsène hasn’t won the league in [five] years, but do you now see Arsenal banging it off a big man up front? Do you see him playing the long ball at Everton at the weekend when they won 6-1? Not at all. He does what he believes in.”

Well said Tony; I hope you do what you believe in tonight as Arsène Wenger has pinpointed Aiden McGeady as a major threat to Arsenal’s European hopes.

With two major events in Glasgow tonight, important travel advice has been given out for fans who are attending the game at Celtic Park. An estimated 120,000 are expected to throng the city for both the Arsenal game at Parkhead, and the U2 Concert at Hampden Park. We’ll see which venue fills up first!

As mentioned on the blog yesterday, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has signed for Blackpool on a one month loan deal. We sincerely wish him all the best in his time there. In some other news, Rio Ferdinand seems set to miss the clash with Arsenal after being sidelined with a thigh injury. Good news or not? We’ll see!

Nevertheless, with the return to fitness of Diaby, I reckon Arsene might decide to stick with the 4-3-3 from Saturday (I might be wrong) with the line up looking a bit like this

Almunia
Sagna/Eboue Gallas Vermaelen Clichy
Song Diaby
Fabregas
Bendtner Van Persie Arshavin

Subs: Manone, Gibbs, Silvestre, Ramsey, Wilshere, Sagna/Eboue

Prediction: Celtic 1 Arsenal 3

It might interest you to know that the last time an English club prevailed in a European game at Celtic Park was on Dec 7, 1983, when Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest won 2-1 in the first leg of their Uefa Cup third-round tie. Even Arsene was surprised at that statistic.

Come on boys, let’s rewrite history then!

Till tomorrow…Get Your Boots On! Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Vieira:
Why did you not post a link to your article??

yeye.

Are you going to ask me for the link too?

The Island seemed pretty dry this morning as it had been pouring with rain on the mainland when I left. That aside, Abou Diaby is back in the squad to face Celtic tonight and he is in contention for a starting place as Cesc and Denilson and Sagna face late fitness tests today.

Speaking to the press yesterday, Arsene said;

“Theo Walcott is not fit but Abou Diaby is with the squad here,”

Apparently Walcott failed a fitness test yesterday as his back issue flared up again. However, he was more positive concerning the others.

“From Everton we have Sagna who has a knock; we will make a decision about him tomorrow. We have some uncertainties about Fabregas and Denilson as well but we will make a decision about them tomorrow as well. It is more than 50 per cent that Cesc will play, much more. He has a tight hamstring; I took him off at Everton because of that. Denilson has a groin problem.”

For me that is all positive as Eboue could come in at right back for Sagna and I won’t be surprised if the boss decides to start Diaby in place of Denilson. With Cesc he seemed almost certain that he would play so it’s more of who comes in for who rather than who will play where.

I must admit that sentiment aside, we do have a tough game on our hands and its important that we silence the home fans at Parkhead possibly with an early goal as if we’re still locked at 0-0 with 10 minutes to play, the 12th has been know n to tilt the tie in favour of the hosts. On the line up, Arsene said;

“We will play the best possible team tomorrow, the team which I think has the best chance to win the game. It is a very important game for us because we know what is at stake and we know how difficult it is to play here.”

I don’t think there is more to be said on that. Everyone knows how massive the tie is and it’s important that we give our best in the first leg as an emphatic result away will almost certainly mean qualification for the group phase. On the game in general, he had this to say

“You expect a massive support at Celtic. Scotland is always a very special atmosphere, a special noise in the stands. But we have played everywhere in Europe and we can deal with that. It will be down to us and how well we play. We don’t go into this game with fear. We go with respect for Celtic, but we know it is a very important game for us and we want to come home with a positive result.

I always prepare my team first with determination and not with fear. We have played everywhere and have good experience in the Champions League. But every game is different and we know what we will face on Tuesday night – a very determined Celtic team with quality.”

As it’s our very first competitive fixture with them (rather surprisingly), Declan Taylor of Arsenal.com caught up with Ronnie Cully of the Glasgow Evening Times for the lowdown on Tony Mowbray’s side. He had this to say on tonight’s game;

“I think it’s to Celtic’s benefit that the first game is at home because I would’ve feared for them going to the Emirates first of all. I think Celtic fans are aware of just how good Arsenal are – they compete in the latter stages of the Champions League year after year while if Celtic emerge from the Group Stage it is a huge achievement.

The draw couldn’t have been tougher for Celtic, with Moscow and now Arsenal, but they achieved what many folk didn’t think was possible against Dinamo. They need to come away from the first game with something positive – if they can sneak a win anything can happen at the Emirates.”

Tony Mowbray too has been speaking rather codedly if I may say about Celtic’s prospects in tonight’s game. He said;

“There is a cunning plan, but, of course, if it doesn’t work, then it’s there for you to beat me across the head with it afterwards.”

Not letting much slip are you Tony eh? Well I hope it doesn’t mean subjecting us to some horrible singing from Phil Brown before kick off or the team bus pelted with rotten eggs and tomatoes on the way to the game. Anything other than that and I think the boys will be fine! He has also come out on record to state that he is an admirer of Arsene Wenger. I must confess that I was impressed by the way his West Brom team organized their attack last year even if they were not the most skilfull players but they were willing to play football the way it should be played. He said;

“Who doesn’t admire Arsène, He has been at one of the biggest clubs in the world for so long, and he can be there for as long as he wants to be, because of what he has achieved. He’s thoughtful about the way he builds his team, and he’s also got total control of the club because of what he’s done. Arsène hasn’t won the league in [five] years, but do you now see Arsenal banging it off a big man up front? Do you see him playing the long ball at Everton at the weekend when they won 6-1? Not at all. He does what he believes in.”

Well said Tony; I hope you do what you believe in tonight as Arsène Wenger has pinpointed Aiden McGeady as a major threat to Arsenal’s European hopes.

With two major events in Glasgow tonight, important travel advice has been given out for fans who are attending the game at Celtic Park. An estimated 120,000 are expected to throng the city for both the Arsenal game at Parkhead, and the U2 Concert at Hampden Park. We’ll see which venue fills up first!

As mentioned on the blog yesterday, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has signed for Blackpool on a one month loan deal. We sincerely wish him all the best in his time there. In some other news, Rio Ferdinand seems set to miss the clash with Arsenal after being sidelined with a thigh injury. Good news or not? We’ll see!

Nevertheless, with the return to fitness of Diaby, I reckon Arsene might decide to stick with the 4-3-3 from Saturday (I might be wrong) with the line up looking a bit like this

Almunia
Sagna/Eboue Gallas Vermaelen Clichy
Song Diaby
Fabregas
Bendtner Van Persie Arshavin

Subs: Manone, Gibbs, Silvestre, Ramsey, Wilshere, Sagna/Eboue

Prediction: Celtic 1 Arsenal 3

It might interest you to know that the last time an English club prevailed in a European game at Celtic Park was on Dec 7, 1983, when Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest won 2-1 in the first leg of their Uefa Cup third-round tie. Even Arsene was surprised at that statistic.

Come on boys, let’s rewrite history then!

Till tomorrow…Get Your Boots On! Victoria Concordia Crescit.

[size=14pt][center]PARKHEAD LOOMS[/center][/size]

I shall start this morning’s blog on a rather serious note…NOT! But then, for some reason I wonder why Denilson has never played for the senior national team of Brazil after playing and captaining Brazil at every level since he was a member of the under-15 squad. Could it because he is not as defensive minded as Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo or not as creative as Ronaldinho or Kaka?

Or is it because he plays for a team that has gone four years without a major trophy. All he has to his name is one call up in 2006 with him ending up as an unused sub. In my opinion should Arsenal have a title winning season with Denilson in the midfield, I’m pretty sure Dunga might decide to give him another shot. Wait! That presupposes the fact that there might be no new signing in the midfield and Denilson whose stats last season were pretty impressive will play a major role in the season. Time will tell eh?

Elsewhere, Emmanuel Adebayor has taken a jibe at the Arsenal fans who single handedly drove him out of the club. He told the Man City website;

“The most important thing is that we won the game, but I’m very happy. The fans showed that they love me – the noise they made was unbelievable. It was very different from Arsenal. I want to give back to them what they give to me. It’s not difficult to give 100 per cent for fans like that, and I look forward to keeping this going.”

Shut up Ade! Start talking about Beyonce and AC Milan and see if they’ll love you like they do now. Citeh fans forget his last two transfers have been less than pleasant. Maybe he has turned a new leaf? We’ll see  20 games down the line!

Pep Guardiola has finally admitted that it would be impossible to lure Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp this season. Duh! He says;

“Cesc will not come. I believe it will not be possible this season. He is an important player for Arsenal and they have already sold Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor”
Ok…see you next summer then eh?

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas seems set for a loan move to Blackpool this season. After his exploits as Captain of the double winning youth squad last season, I’m pretty sure he needs to go on loan to game some invaluable experience playing at a higher level. We’ll look to the Arsenal.com for official confirmation when it does go through if not I’m sure he’d get a good run in the Carling cup and feature prominently for the reserves.

Ahead of tomorrow’s game at Parkhead, former Celtic winger Alan Thompson  seems to expect the Gunners to be in line for a culture shock in Glasgow. Speaking to the Telegraph, he said;

“Believe me, the Arsenal players will be in for a culture shock when they arrive in Glasgow because it will be nothing like the like the Emirates or any other Premiership atmosphere because it’s really spine-tingling stuff. When they are signing You’ll Never Walk Alone before the game, it is something that opposing teams are taken aback by. It makes the hair stand on back of your neck stand on end. Night matches at Celtic Park under the floodlights are extraordinary. Without a doubt it’s an enormous help to Celtic because the players have 60,000 fanatical supporters behind them because it gets your adrenaline going that little bit more and in big games like this that can count because the margins between success and failure and so slender. To understand how magnificent Parkhead is on a European night you just have to look at how good Celtic’s record has been there in the Champions League over the years."

I must admit that their record at home in the Champions League is pretty daunting but then, we’ve won away at the Bernabau, San Siro (twice), and Istanbul. Parkhead shouldn’t be any scarier in that regard. However, if it’s the singing that he thinks would get to us, he should forget it as I believe the boys will stand up and be counted. Besides, we blew away the Scottish Champions (who are supposed to be the better team) a fortnight ago!

I believe Celtic are going to try to play like Hull, Wigan and Stoke did in the earlier part of last season. Physical anti-football is what I call it, and quoting Aiden McGeady;

“Sides like Wigan and Hull gave them some problems last season, we should not give them too much respect. We have to get in their faces and play our own style of football. I think they can be got at.”

He forgets that these teams were trashed the next time we played them as we seemed to have come up with a way around this approach. Against Everton, the team showed a willingness to take teams on and to attack every ball. Song and Denilson proved that they could be tactically disciplined to match the opposition ball for ball and get into crucial blocks and clearances. 

I wonder how we will line up away from home in Europe this season? Will we stick to our newly adopted 4-3-3 or make a cautious shift to 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1? Too much Fifa 2009 you say eh?

Till tomorrow…Victoria Concordia Crescit!

Please visit http://arsenalnigeria.com/thegreengooner/ for more.

Arsene Wenger says Barcelona have as much chance of signing Cesc Fabregas as Arsenal have of signing Lionel Messi. He says

“Cesc is committed to the Club, he has told me that and told that to the press. We cannot master the noises coming out of Spain.”[/i]Neither can I, even the Italians seem to think he will be unveiled as a Milan player on Monday. He goes on to reveal that he had made a bid for Lionel Messi, Cheeky Wenger! Apparently, there are only about 10 players in the world we can’t afford. I’m supposing that at £125million, Messi will be close to the top of the list.

Ahead of today’s late kickoff at Everton the boss reflected on the previous season

[i]“I look at last year’s season as a product of bad circumstances, we had a bad start and that is why maybe we feel a little bit under pressure to start well this time because we know that last year after 14 games we had lost five and that was too many.”

“At the moment, nobody looks at us as a potential fighter for the title. Maybe that should not add too much pressure on our shoulders but it can. Basically there is a demand there to show how good we are, so I believe that we have to keep serene, focused and not put unneeded pressure on our shoulders. We should just focus on how we want to play.”


There are no new injury concerns ahead of today’s game, but  one player not set to feature is young Jack Wilshere.  While affirming that Wilshere was still part of his plans, he said:

“Tomorrow no because he is not in the squad but during the season, yes. On one side people say ‘you are too young, you do not have enough experience’. On the other people say ‘why do you not play people who are 17 and win the league?’ “We are already very young and Jack Wilshere will play a part in our season, but not the whole season. He is 17 years old.”

Enough said on that, hope that keeps the press content for a while. I believe we have a unique chance this season to challenge for the title. The lads are roaring to go and with the experience of the last two seasons behind them, they ought to be able to give it a go early on.

Arsene reckons it will be the most open race for years and that the ambition is to finish as high as possible. He says;

“In the Premier League, the target is to always be over 82 points if you want to win the championship. In a league of that quality, you need to win at least 25 games.”

The difference between the top four last year was not just goals conceded but in the number of home wins. Champions Manchester United came away with 16 while the best of the rest could only garner 13 wins. BBC Sport football pundit Mark Lawrenson gives us his views on Arsenal ahead of the new Premier League season. The major expectation is for the team to win a trophy. He also pointed out that we have too many similar players in our team but miss the grit and character of the Adam’s years

Elsewhere Emmanuel Eboue says he’s honoured to be linked with Barcelona. He is cautious in his remarks as after the brouhaha that was Fiorentina and Atletico Madrid, he’s still an Arsenal player!

I think we may be lining up in our new third kit today as our away kit would clash with Everton’s home kit. If you still haven’t got yours, you can visit the Arsenal Online Store or Kitbag for international deliveries.

For those of you who love the stats, Arsenal have only lost at Goodison Park four times in 17 Premier League games. Everton were walloped 4-1 on the opening day of the season at Goodison Park in 2004 and the same scoreline was repeated on Merseyside, in December 2007.

The Toffees are kicking off their Premier League campaign at Goodison Park for the sixth successive year, but have lost four of those matches. (good sign for us then) while Arsenal have only lost one opening day Premier League fixture in 15 years, a 1-0 reverse at Sunderland in 2000.

Arsenal were the top scoring away team in the Premier League in 2008-09, with 37 goal and are on a 12-match run away in the Premier League away since their 3-0 loss to Man City on November 22, 2008.

Your Verdict?

Till tomorrow…Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Please visit http://arsenalnigeria.com/thegreengooner/

For some reason, Nicklas Bendtner has decided that the number 52 will bring him better luck in the new season. He is also offering a offering a full refund to anyone who bought merchandise with his old number from any of the Arsenal Stores.

Speaking to Arsenal.com he said

“I appreciate that a good number of fans have bought their kits for 2009/10 already with names and numbers printed up so I’d like to personally cover the cost of replacing anyone’s shirt that has my previous number. It means a lot to see supporters wearing your name and number, and I want to ensure people aren’t inconvenienced by the change.”

But why 52? Could it be because 26 x 2 = 52 hence he’d be more productive with the number or does it have anything to do with Adebayor’s departure? We all know he never got on well with the Togonian and they had that famous altercation in the Carling cup game against Spurs. Maybe it’s to spite him and to tell the fans that he’s going be the exact opposite as 52 is the inverse of 25! We’ll wait and see.

Elsewhere Theo Walcott was an unused sub as England fought from 2-0 down at half time to earn creditable 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Robin Van Persie was withdrawn at halftime. Eduardo was on target as Croatia won 3-1 away in Belarus to help strengthen their World Cup qualifying claims. William Gallas and Bacary Sagna both played for 90 minutes as France laboured to a 1-0 win over the Faroe Islands in World Cup qualifying. 

Andrey Arshavin was on the wrong end of a 2-3 home loss to Argentina in another friendly. Senderos also had a  full run-out as Switzerland played out a  0-0 draw with World Champions Italy. Johann Djourou had earlier been withdrawn from the squad.

I can’t seem to find a match report for the Tunisia vs Ivory Coast game which ended 0-0 but an Achille Webo brace secured a 2-0 away win for Cameroon in Austria. Aaron Ramsey played 75 minutes as Wales lost 2-1 to Montenegro in another friendly.

Seems like Alex Hleb is regretting his move to Barcelona. Speaking to ESPN he said:

“For me, leaving Arsenal was not a good move. A footballer only exists when he takes to the field and makes a proper contribution to the team and even though I was part of a Barca squad that was almost unstoppable, it was hard not to feel detached from all the happiness and celebration at the end.

“Barca were my dream club as a kid, but I couldn’t continue with them if the chance to play was not coming. I’m 28 and who knows how much time I’ve left in the game. I needed to move on and the chance to go back to a place that I feel happy in was the best solution.”

Serves you right for leaving! His career has clearly taken a backward step as he is back at Stuttgart on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona who clearly did not want him.

Apparently, Barcelona have offered us 27m for Cesc Fabregas. If it’s true then its a ridiculously low amount to bid. Could they just be testing the waters? If he plays against Celtic on Tuesday then he’d be cup-tied for Europe and they’d have to abandon their bid.

Ray Parlour thinks Andrey Arshavin and William Gallas will be key players for Arsenal in the new season and I quite agree. Defensive stability and attacking creativity are two areas we have fallen short on in recent times. If they are at their best I’m sure they can act that solidity and experience to the entire team. He also thinks we need to strengthen in certain areas (what else is new Ray?)if we are to come close in the title race.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he says

“I’m hopeful, but I think it’s going to be tough for them, I still think they need a couple more players. I think Arsene Wenger’s still looking at the market and saying ‘can we strengthen?’

“A central midfielder for me is vital. Maybe a centre-half.

Neven Subotic (the Dortmund defender we were linked to yesterday) says he has had no contact from Arsenal. Not strange given the fact we are practically linked to every up and coming young player in Europe these days.

Stuart “Psycho” Pearce insists that young Jack Wilshere should not be over hyped. After his herioics in preseason as well as making his U21 debut this week, you’d expect there to be much talk about him everywhere. Speaking to the daily telegraph he said;

“I find it a little bit sad that we over-hype players, because I know what is around the corner,”


However, this is a point Wenger has been making for a while that you need a player to develop at the right pace and should not overawe him as it could affect his progress. I’m glad the England bosses know this and hope they will allow him develop as he should.

Finally, According to the daily mirror, we seem to have called off our bid for Maroune Chamakh after Arsene decided not to raise his intial offer. So who will we sign We’ll see eh?

Till tomorrow…Victoria Concordia Crescit!

Three days to the start of the Premier League season, my blog is still not up and running and it’s becoming a worry as I can't seem to get off Fifa 2009. . .(oops)

The boss too seems to be rather excited. Speaking to BBC sport, Arsene Wenger shared his thoughts on the season ahead

"I envisage only one order, that is Arsenal finishing on top and all the rest can do what they want. "To rate our potential, look at our pre-season games. We are a team who has a way to play and we are a team who are ready to fight. "Let's have a go. Let's not talk too much. We know that people are sceptical about us but I let people talk. Let's win the games."

This is heartening and tells of his unflinching support of the team.

That said, news from Switzerland say Djourou has been withdrawn from the Swiss team with some knee trouble. . .hoping it’s not too serious. Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told the Swiss FA's official website:

"We don't want to take an unnecessary risk shortly before the start of his club's season."

Kudos to the Swiss National team for giving player/club consideration at the beginning of a new season. . .usually a row would erupt about should he or should he not play.

In other news, Jack Wilshere made his debut for the England U21’s  against Holland in a game that ended  0-0. Two other young guns Kieran Gibbs (England) and Nacer Barazite (Holland) were also on show with Armand Traore in line to start for France in their friendly clash with their Polish counterparts on Wednesday evening.

An amazing 13 players are also away on internationals so it’s quite a busy midweek given that the number is nearly half our first team squad. Hopefully, they’ll come through it without too many knocks.

Congratulations to ‘Dare who got his first Arsenal Tickets (for the Portsmouth game) today, Upper tier and all.

Till tomorrow, Victoria Concordia Crescit!