Milan Want Flamini As Arsene Hits Out At Greed

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal2 Comments

Arsene said here:

“There is something in this team which is stronger than a few bucks here and there,

“What is really important is that this team says ‘lets go to the end of our potential together and not walk out for any simpler reason’ – and that is where I expect them to show strength, and care what they can achieve together.”

“We are not any more in a period where you get £100 more at another club and it decides your life.

“Flamini can earn more somewhere else that is for sure because it would be a free transfer – but how much is he ready to sacrifice to stay here?”

This really sums up what Arsenal mean to Arsene and what he wants to see from this group of players. Good players should not be dicated by money if they are already earning large sums.

They need to make decisions about the sort of team they want to play in – look at players like Anelka – he left Arsenal out of greed and has never really fulfilled his potential in terms of success.

The article also mentions Fabianski, and the effect that conceding 5 goals to Spurs had on him. It’s likely that he will start against Derby on Monday.

Meanwhile Ancelotti has confirmed AC Milan’s interest in Flamini:

“A player like him would be good in any team. Since he is expiring, if he wants to come to Milan for us it would be an excellent purchase.”

Mancini, boss of the other Milan club, Inter, has tried to play down his comments on Hleb (see this article), by saying:

“I have never made any declarations regarding Hleb or other players who are under contract with other clubs, for whom I have the utmost respect”

What a load of crap, Inter have gone about this in a very underhand way, first meeting in Milan, and then coming out to the press. Wenger was right to say he might report them to FIFA. As for AC, they can **** off as well.

Another player we are linked to, by Croatia coach Slaven Bilic, is Niko Kranjcar. He’s an impressive player and would work well for us if Hleb went out the door, he has proven his Premiership quality for Portsmouth already. Expect a prohibitive transfer fee though!

Oh and also, because Chelsea beat Man Utd at the Bridge yesterday, we still have a mathematical chance of winning the title. That is, If Man Utd and Chelsea both gain only one point each in the two remaining games!

Hleb and Flamini, Latest News

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal7 Comments

Wenger has made an improved offer to Flamini to try and get him to stay. Read here. It’s reportedly £55 000 a week. He said this here:

“I believe he wants to stay and we want him to stay. We have made him an offer, if it’s not good enough we will know soon.”I respect our wages structure. We have made an offer. We think it is decent and that is it.”

I am quietly confident that he will sign for us, the deadline is the end of April, so we will know in the next week whether he stays or goes.

Another player linked out, Hleb: and Wenger’s really angry about the way Inter have shown their interest.

“Statements from inside the club saying they are interested in our players, without calling us that is not acceptable. You would never hear me saying that. If I am interested in a player I go to the chairman.

“The newspapers may have the speculation but for a club to come out with a statement like that and not even call… I think it is disrespectful. It is illegal.”

Stupid Inter.. I guess Hleb will stay, why would he want to leave??

Henry. Never say never.

Fabianski to start on Monday and the Boss may not even sign another ‘keeper if Jens leaves.

Sagna out for rest of season, not so suprised about this.

Modric signs for Spurs.

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Gallas, Toure and Adams: Captaincy

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

This morning there’s some controversy about our captiancy.

Toure has said:

“Gallas was really good for us at the start of the season but then after this Birmingham game he made a mistake, he knows that and we all tried to bring him back to the team and he came back well.When you make a mistake it is difficult after that, it was a really important part of our season.”

“I would be really, really proud to be captain. I am now one of the oldest players in the squad so naturally I feel like a captain and it doesn’t matter if I have the armband or not.”

Toure wants the armband desparately. He could be a good captian, but I don’t think he’s a real leader.

Gallas has hit back:

“They [the media] can say what they want… they will not bring me down, I’m stronger than that. It makes me mad because I don’t think [what happened in Birmingham] was our problem. How can you summarise our season with that thing at Birmingham? That is not why we stopped winning matches.

“It’s true, we shouldn’t pin all of our problems on the Birmingham game, we made too many defensive errors in the last few games, that’s what it came down to.

Read the original article here.

Could Adams be the man to sort out our defence? He is out of contract at Portsmouth and willing to come back. He makes a good point about the defence:

“I just feel that people don’t realise that the best back four win the league. The last two seasons Manchester United have had the best back four and, before that, John Terry and his men were fantastic for two years.

“We’ve kept more clean sheets at Portsmouth than Arsenal have, but I’m not going to question the great man [Wenger].

“I love the club, it was part of my life for so many years and if anyone at Arsenal wants to invite me back, I’m willing to give it a shot”

It would be great to see him back, and he could do a good job on the defence!

Thierry Henry: Arsenal Legend

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Video10 Comments

Reading about Thierry Henry, and hearing about how much he loves Arsenal made me feel really nostalgic. The man was most probably Arsenal’s best ever player, and he set the Premier League alight for eight years. He epitomises the Wenger philosophy, and is the club’s all time top scorer.

In the summer of 2007 Thierry left Arsenal, joining Barcelona for £16 million.

The video below is a great compilation of some of his best moments at Arsenal.

Watch more quality videos in the Video section.

Senderos Rumours, Henry Only Loves Arsenal

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal1 Comment

I’ll start this morning by telling you that it is rumoured that Phil Senderos might be leaving this summer. The 23 year old defender might have played his last game for us at Anfield.

This is just speculation, but added to the possibility that we may also lose Flamini, Hleb and Gilberto, our squad will be streched, as I said before. I think that Senderos will become a good defender, if given the right amount of time. That may be too loing for Arsene though!

Henry has been linked with a move away from Barca, he says the only place he would go to is in England is Arsenal.

“I’m happy – I don’t regret leaving Arsenal. “But there’s only one team in England for me. Everybody knows the love and affection I have for Arsenal. I was so into it, I became a fan.”

“There has been since I arrived here a lot of speculation from day one but, hey, go back where? There’s only one team for me in my heart. It took me a while to understand what that club, Arsenal, meant.”

I don’t believe he will leave them, I believe that Arsenal means a great deal to him, you could always see it when he played. Possibly the best player we have ever had. It’s good to hear him talk about the club in this way.

Toure wants to stay at Arsenal and help us win trophies. Good one Kolo, I hope that certain players follow your lead! Click Here.

He also says he really wants to be captain. It must have hurt when Gallas got picked this season, but his position is now under speculation.Toure would make an excellent captain, and the guy will work really hard to get where he wants to be.

Rosicky is on the mend. We still don’t know when he will be back though. Click here.

How many players are we missing now??? Click here to find out.

Finally, Wenger says here:

“Maybe I’ll have to give the players who go to the European Championships a little breather before they go.”

So we may see some squad rotation in these last 3 games of the season. I have no problem with that. It’s been a very hard season, and players need a break, because if they play all summer then they won’t perform so well next year if overtired.

Arsenal Transfer News: Inter Want Hleb, It’s Public

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal3 Comments

After the ‘ice cream’ story in Milan, Inter have now admitted they want Hleb.

There’s a very real possibility he will leave seeing as he has already talked to them whilst in Milan for our Champions League game against AC Milan.

Manager Robert Mancini revealed:

“We have already spoken about the players the club would like to sign this summer and we are interested in Hleb.”

This is bad news Gooners.

If Hleb leaves then our already streched midfield will be seriously weakened. Hleb has amazing control and can take the ball out of the tighest situations. His only problems are a lack of goals and a tendancy to disappear in certain games.

It’s very far from reality at the moment but it could happen.

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Wenger’s Main Priority: Keep The Squad Together

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal1 Comment

Arsene says here:

“My first target of the summer is to make sure what we have here stays here, and after, if there is still money available, to buy players,”

“Maybe we have to add a bit of experience to all that – but we have done the main job.”

“I believe at some stage you need to strengthen the team, but changing the team means kicking some players out and replacing them. That is not the feeling I have. I feel this team has been absolutely tremendous.”

Right now I think that should be our main aim, Flamini and Hleb are rumoured to be leaving as everyone knows. Hleb may have played his last game for us seeing as he got a 3 game ban for violent conduct, see here.

Flamini only has a week to sign a new contract within the deadline that Wenger set. Hleb can buy out his contract this summer. They will be hard to replace if they go.

Wenger doesn’t tolerate disrespect:

“People say you make mistakes, well that is professional. When people say you don’t know what you are doing, that is a little bit disrespectful.”

“At the moment I am trying more to protect the players so they don’t lose their self-esteem and their confidence,” he said speaking before the weekend. “I feel that is important for the future of the team and for themselves.”

Wenger is doing the right thing. He knows that confidence is a very important attribute, and we need to keep our spririts high to be able to start well next season.

The critics seem to forget that we had our best start to the season in the Premiership ever this year and we have great potential for the future.

Hill-Wood Worries About Flamini

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal2 Comments

Thought I would post up twice toady, due to the fact this is important!!

Peter Hill-wood, our Chairman, has said that he is worried Flamini will leave. Click Here.

“We have made what we think is a pretty generous offer and we are waiting to hear whether he will accept or not,”

“You just don’t know nowadays. You think players have a pretty good life but, somehow, someone persuades them the grass might be greener somewhere else.

“So I don’t know the answer, all I know is we think we have pushed the boat out.”

His comments suggest that we have offered the Flamster quite a substantial pay-rise. Thing is Juve are coming in for him with a bigger offer.

If he hasn’t signed by now I think we will probably lose him. Now might be his best chance to make it big, play in Serie A and make a lot of money.

If you’re reading Mathieu, please sign on! We need you!!!

Hleb Banned, Flamini Rumours

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal1 Comment

Alex Hleb has been charged with violent conduct by the FA. Click here.

“Hleb was involved in an incident with Reading defender Graeme Murty during the second half of the match at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 19 April.

“Walton has informed The FA that, had he seen it at the time, he would have shown Hleb a red card for violent conduct.

We have yet to hear from Hleb about why this happened. I have seen pictures but no video, if anyone has a link to a video then post it up!

They haven’t decided how long but I guess it will be three games, which puts him out for the rest of this season. We need his creativity and the midfield is looking strenched right now with so many players unavailable!

Who do you think will fill in for him??

Diaby is another one to add to the injury list after the reserves game on Monday against West Ham. Everyone raved about the performance after Wilshere ‘ran the show’. We won 2-0 and played well.

There are reports that Juve are in the chase for Flamini. All I can say is that this is a rumour, and it really would be very shit if he left in the summer!

Wenger has said how hard it will be for him to watch the Champions League Semi’s. The performance last night would have been hard for anybody to watch it was so boring. The Boss said here:

“It will be extremely painful because it’s our biggest disappointment since I have been here. We should be through despite all that happened.

“If you are played off the park and the team is better than you, then you accept it but when you produce the two performances we produced and lose the games, it is much more difficult to take. I feel we had the potential to win the Champions League and the title this year.”

Arsene really is upset about how our season has finished. I think everyone is. We have played amazing football, and we really really really deserved to get something to show for it.

We just had such an awful run. It’s a pity really, and I think Arsene feels worse than he ever has before, I do too!

Also according to Palermo’s president we aren’t interested in Amauri. We have made one signing!

It’s All About Hleb

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

According to the Telegraph he was caught on camera ‘slapping’ Reading’s Graeme Murty in the second half. It seems to be bery little in it, but he could get a 3 match ban. The FA are going to review the video evidence.

If he is banned he will miss the last 3 games, and we will lose a key player who could help us get to second place.

After the ‘ice-cream’ story it turns out he can leave the club under the ‘webster clause’ this summer. When a player is under 28 it allows him to buy out his contract after 3 years, and this applies to Hleb, whose contact was for 5 years, signed in 2005. It is very possible that he could go to Milan!

Wenger is pretty worried about it, and certainly needs to try and keep this squad together if he wants to push for honours. He has warned Alex that moving clubs doesn’t always bring success!

“I believe Alex will stay but you cannot stop the rumours when players are in this type of situation,”

“But I want Hleb to stay like everybody else.”You can go to Real Madrid and Barcelona, but you have no more guarantees to win trophies. And from this season we should get the belief we can win trophies and come back to win the title.”

Ade is linked with AC, and of course Flamini still hasn’t signed. I don’t expect many key players to leave. Realistically I hope only Lehmann and maybe Gilberto will go. Gilberto says he needs to talk to the Boss about his future. Click here.

Gilberto has been a true professional this season, even thoiugh he lost his place he has kept going with little fuss, and the veteran scored on Saturday, a reward for his hard work in the last 2 games. I don’t think he will stay, but he is good cover if he does.

SkySports have picked up on the Theo interview in the Reading Programme. Theo has said that he will miss his target for this season in terms of games and goals:

“At the start of this season I wanted to make 20 to 25 starts and score five goals,”

“At the moment I’m on 17 starts and five goals, so it looks like I will fall short of that.”

On the subject of Theo, the Boss says here that the Reading match was his ‘most complete game’ yet, and his physical side of the game has improved:

“Theo is not a monster, but he has great body power. When he starts on the first five yards, it is like you throw him away. You do not see him, he is gone. That is more important than just more power. But the way we play, we can take advantage of his qualities.

“Before he was always a bit out of the physical contact side of the game, now he looks for it. I told him he had to be more aggressive and determined. He is that now.
“I feel next season began on Saturday for him. I don’t know yet if I will start with him for the rest of the season, but there is a good chance yes.

“It is down to him now, how much he wants it. But I hope he continues to produce this type of performance and on his account are 10 or 15 goals, because that is what you should aim for.”

Gallas has also urged all our players to stay at the club, to challenge for honours next season:

“For next season we want all the players to stay here,”

“It would be good if we can keep this group together because we know each other very well and we know what we can do.

“We came very close to winning something this year, but you get nothing for being close.

“We want to get second place and to finish the season strongly, by winning every game.”

Gallas is spot on here. If players like Flamini and Hleb leave we will struggle to replace their quality. It is so vital that the squad sticks together, because we really are good enough to be a very successful team.

We should try to finish second this year, and aim to start srtongly next season, with more maturity and experience from this campaign!