Month: June 2008

Wenger talks about Scolari and criticises appointment

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal4 Comments

Finally a bit of fresh air, news which isn’t related to rumours and crap.

Wenger’s been talking about Phil Scolari – the new Chelsea boss. He’s a good manager, but he doesn’t have much club experience, jut a stnt in Qatar or something?? A good appointment for Chelseas though.

Wenger:

“I like Scolari as a person. I like him as a coach and I think he has charisma. He will add something to the Premier League. You never know what will happen but he is a quality man, a quality manager.”

He reckons that the system at Chelsea won’t change:

“The system he plays looks similar to the 4-5-1/4-3-3 system that Chelsea play. Whether it is down to the fact that they have similar strikers, I don’t know. There will be a change, because every manager brings his own personality and he will buy players, but the system won’t change.

Wenger also criticised the timing of the announcement:

“What’s for sure is that it didn’t give anything to the team, so it could only take something away. It didn’t help Portugal. “France had that situation in 2004 when (Jacques) Santini announced he was going to Tottenham. Once that happens all you hear is ‘who will be next?’ That starts in the camp as well.”

He’s absolutely right, and it seems to me that it miht have even contributed to Portugal going out of Euro 2008.

Speaking of the Euros, who do you fancy tonight? Russia vs. Spain. I’m going for Spain, but I have a feeling Russia might sneak in.

Only a few weeks till the season begins!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

If you can’t wait for Arsenal to start playing some footie again then don’t worry because the first friendly of the pre-season is nearly upon us. In a bout 3 weeks rsenal kick off against Barnet, the traditonal Arsenal pre-season friendly at Underhill.

Then there’s a few European friendlies, the Emirates Cup – Juventus, Real and Hamburg and then the Amsterdam Tournament too.

Arsenal Pre-Season Fixtures

July
19 Sat Friendly A Barnet 3pm
22 Tue Friendly A Szombathelyi H.6.30pm CET
28 Mon Friendly A Burgenland XI 6.30pm CET
30 Wed Friendly A VfB Stuttgart TBA
August

2 Sat Emirates Cup H Juventus 4.15pm SS1
3 Sun Emirates Cup H Real Madrid 4.15pm SS1
6 Wed Friendly A Huddersfield 7pm
8 Fri Amsterdam Tournament A Ajax 8.15pm SS1
9 Sat Amsterdam Tournament N Sevilla

Hopefully we’ll see apperances from Ramsey and Vela and one or two new faces possibly as well!

Who will partner Fabregas next season – Gilberto, Diaby, Ramsey?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal12 Comments

The departure of Flamini to AC Milan eariler this summer was undoubtedly a blow for Arsenal FC. Last season he went from being a squad player, to one of the most influential figures in midfield and forged an excellent partnership with Fabregas.

Now he has left the void has to be filled. Gooners were probably hoping Arsenal would sign a new defensive midfielder to partner Cesc, but that’s not likely now, Wenger seems to be focusing more on the wings, which were a problem area for us last season.

In the centre of we have the option of Gilberto or Diaby, and also Song, Denilson or even Ramsey. The best defensive candidates are Gilberto and Diaby.

Gilberto – already having played the role for a few years prior to Flamini’s emergence has the experience and quality. The problem is he looked poor last season when he did get a few chances to impress, and his passing is always up to scratch. He plays a diffferent game to that of Flamini, tending to hold back, whereas Flamini is always in the oppositions faces.

Gilberto would be a sensible choice to start with as a defensive midfielder, but I don’t think he is good enough anymore to warrant a staring place.

Abou Diaby is my choice. He is a strong and fast player, with a lot of height. We used him on the wing last season, and he got a few goals. The main problem with him is that he is inconsistent – and can be lazy.

Diaby has great qualities for the role though, he is defensive, but very good going forward – his pace, passing and ball control mean that he would be a great partner for Cesc, and he is a long term option.

If he can up his work rate and consistency then he could have a chance, I would love to see Wenger try him out next season.

There are other contenders – Denilson, I think isn’t ready for that sort of role. Ramsey – more suited to the wings, and Song – Wenger thinks that he will better used in defence.

So we start the season with a first team spot up for grabs, we just need to see who takes it.

What do you think – is there anyone I’ve missed – or do you think we should be signing a new central midfielder?

UPDATE 11 JULY 2008: Is Gilberto going? Rumours are he is going to Panathaniakos…

Samir Nasri: Goals for Marseilles and France – Arsenal Signing Video Taster

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers

This is a video post of some goals and other clips of Samir Nasri playing for Marseilles and France.

Nasri scoring against Sedan:

A goal against Metz:

Tennis Football:

Has he, hasn’t he? Nasri’s agent says deal isn’t done – Expect confirmation soon

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers

Nasri’s agent Jean-Pierre Bernes has played down the reports which have been circling, that Nasri had signed for Arsenal.

He told the press:

“Discussions are continuing between the two clubs and the player,”

“Nothing has been finalised, no element of the transfer has been finalised and everybody is still talking. It is premature to announce anything at all.”

The fact that Marseille and Samir’s website – http://samirnasri.fr confirmed a deal between Arsenal and Marseille for the player, and that Arsenal.com have loaded images of Nasri onto their server, means that a deal can’t be far off, but at the time of writing, we haven’t signed him!

Rumours are that the official site is run by Nasri’s father who heard the news and posted it up, without realising that the agent wanted the deal kept quiet. In any case I think it will be done in the next few days. Just an administrative mix-up.

Arsenal Squad Numbers: Manuel Almunia the new Number 1

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal7 Comments

The official squad numbers have been announced at Arsenal.com. Not many surprises, Almunia is the new number 1 following Jens’ departure, further cementing his place in the first team.

Vela has been given the number 12 shirt, whilst new signing Ramsey has the 16. Mannone has number 24, so he will now be third keeper. Players like Randall, Gibbs and Lansbury will probably receive shirt numbers as they play.

Meanwhile, our new signing Samir Nasri will probably get the number 8 shirt, lets just hope he will be as good as the last incumbent.

Updated list:
Theo Walcott is now No.14

1. Manuel ALMUNIA
2. Abou DIABY
3. Bacary SAGNA
4. Francesc FABREGAS
5. Kolo TOURE
6. Philippe SENDEROS
7. Tomas ROSICKY
9. EDUARDO
10. William GALLAS
11. Robin VAN PERSIE
12. Carlos VELA
13. Alexander HLEB
14. Theo WALCOTT
15. DENILSON
16. Aaron RAMSEY
17. Alexandre SONG
19. GILBERTO
20. Johan DJOUROU
21. Lukasz FABIANSKI
22. Gael CLICHY
24. Vito MANNONE
25. Emmanuel ADEBAYOR
26. Nicklas BENDTNER
27. Emmanuel EBOUE
30. Armand TRAORE
31. Justin HOYTE
32. Theo WALCOTT

Thats all!

Cesc’s penalty puts Spain through to the semi-final: Euro 2008

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas took his first ever penalty in a professional game against Italy in the Euro 2008 Quarter Final last night to put the Spanish through to a Semi with Russia at Euro 2008. A dour match where the Italians came with a defensive outlook meant that the scores were still 0-0 after extra time. Some penalty heroics from Iker Casillas meant that if Cesc scored their fifth penalty then Spain went through.

My heart was in my mouth when I saw him step up to take it, and I was very relieved when he scored. There must have been a lot of pressure on Cesc, especially as that was his first professional penalty.

He came on on 59 minutes for Xavi, as he has been coming off the bench for Spain during this competition, he showed his class and really added an extra dimension to Spain’s game.

He had this to say:

“It has been difficult for some people to have confidence in me when I play for Spain, but I know that life sometimes gives you the chance to prove yourself. People have been discussing my role in the team and my status as a substitute so scoring that goal meant a huge amount to me,”

“The boss came on to the pitch and gave the names out, I’ve always felt that he has faith in me, and he showed that by naming me number five which is normally the crucial penalty.

“I just wanted to shoot to score so that everything could come to an end. I wanted to make him think I would shoot to the left as I do in training and then I put it to the right. It was my first penalty in a match since I was 15.”

“I just want to help the team and if that means coming on in the last half hour that is fine, I don’t want the glory just for myself, I want it for Spain.”

Spain beat Russia 4-1 in their opening game, but Cesc knows it will be a different cup of tea this time round:

“If we think Russia will be the same as the opening match we will be very mistaken. We need to keep our feet on the ground if we want to join the teams that have won this tournament.”

Well done to him, I hope Spain go on to win Euro 2008, although the Russians look very dangerous, especially with Arshavin in the side. Maybe we can sign up Arshavin, but I rumours are he will be off to Barca.

Well played Cesc, whatever happens, I’m sure everyone will be happy to see you back at the Grove for the new season.

Nasri is an Arsenal player: An overview of the new signing

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers1 Comment

Samir Nasri has finally signed for Arsenal after months of transfer rumours. It just shows that sometimes the rumour mill does bring up some stories with a real foundation.

Samir has confirmed the deal on his website:

“We inform you with the news that Samir Nasri will not be an Olympique de Marseille player next season.

“We also tell you that he has signed a four-year contract with the London club, Arsenal.”

Apparently the deal is worth £15.8 million, which hopefully will be good business. Nasri has signed a four year deal with us, which is very exciting.

He will take the number 8 shirt, as that one is free at the moment. Whether or not he will replace Hleb or play alongside him remains to be seen, but either way this is a good signing on Arsenal’s part.

The 20 year old played four seasons in the Marseille first team, making his league debut during 2004-2005. He plays as a winger, and can score goals – he got six in 30 games last season.

On an international level he had just two substitute appearances in Euro 2008, but has represented France through their youth squads, starting in the Under-17 European Championship side in 2004. He first played a full France international in 2007, and now has 7 caps. He was also Marseille’s fans player of the year for the 2006/2007 campaign.

We’re still waiting for official confirmation of the signing, but Arsenal.com have uploaded pictures of Nasri (here and here), probably whilst preparing the announcement!

UPDATE

Nasri’s official website is down and Arsenal have removed the pictures – the transfer was leaked too early, and the deal is not totally finalised.

Van Persie’s top 5 goals for Arsenal – A perfect partner for Adebayor? Video Post

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Video2 Comments

Holland are out of EURO 2008 after a 3-1 loss to Russia, but one player who did shine in the tournament was Robin Van Persie.

He has had injuy problems during his time at Arsenal, but I hope that he will recover during the break he has now and be ready to play consistently next season.

He is a great player who can score fantastic goals, he would also be the perfect partner for Adebayor, if Ade does stay. We haven’t seen them play together enough due to RVP’s injuries. If he can stay fit we have an awsome talent, one of the best players in the Arsenal squad.

Here’s some of his best goals from his time at Arsenal.

Barca bid for Adebayor and Hleb? Are Arsenal a selling club?

On By jamesgillespIn Transfers4 Comments

The news is rife with stories concerning Adebayor and Hleb and whether they will leave.

On Thursday we heard that AC Milan’s sole transfer target this summer is now Adebayor. Barcelona are also chasing his signature. AC Milan scout Ernesto Bronzetti says Milan still have a chance, but that Barca already have a deal:

“Let’s say we have a 50 per cent chance, a lot will depend on the wishes of the player in the end. Arsenal want to sell him to Barcelona, for their own motives. Barcelona tell me they already have an agreement with the player. I only know that the Barcelona president, Laporta, after having been doubted, now wants to shut everyone up by buying a big-name forward.”

“I do know they won’t have the economic means to buy him until they sell Eto’o or Ronaldinho, so I’d advise Milan not to buy either of them or they’ll finance the operation of taking Adebayor to Barcelona.

“(Saying the players weren’t needed) was a massive strategic error. Now anyone who wants to buy those players is maybe going to wait until August 29.”

Ade has come forward to say that he won’t comment, although he has said he will stay before, this media frenzy does worry me:

“Now I do not want to comment on anything relating to FC Barcelona, perhaps later it may be necessary but not now,”

“It is better to wait.”

Barcelona are also interested in Hleb and have reportedly offered about 50 million Euros for the pair. I’m not sure if they will leave, Goodplaya says that we will sell Adebayor if the money is right and replace him with Santa Cruz. I don’t like the idea of that happening, not at all. I think Ade is vital to the team and we need to keep it together – but Santa Cruz would be a quality replacement if he did leave.

Hleb, is a controversial issue these days, Wrighty7 doesn’t want to see him in an Arsenal shirt again after all theat has happened in the last few months. I would love to see him stay, but I would be much less worried about him leaving than Adebayor – simply because in Adebayor we have found a top stirker just at the right time, whereas Hleb is replacable.

If either do leave I will be worried about our ambition to be honest, if that did happen it would seem like we have become a selling club, and that isn’t how you become a successful club. I jus hope Arsenal find the right direction.

Talking of Adebayor there’s a great article on the BBC about his life and growing up in Togo, he seems like a genuinely nice chap.

Anyway, enjoy your Saturday/Sunday, I’m off!