Tag: hleb

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.

Also if you haven’t subscribed to my RSS feed then do it here!

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!

Wenger Talks Plus Hleb and Flamini Rumours

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal1 Comment

Morning,

Just thought I’d mention, if you haven’t subscribed to the ArseSpeak RSS feed you can do it by clicking here! It makes it much easier to keep up to date with the latest posts, why not try it!

Wenger says he’s not afraid to spend big in the transfer market, I guess we all knew that anyway though, he just doesn’t always need to. Really we just need a few quality players, big or small amount doesn’t matter.

There are rumours concerning Hleb and Flamini see here.
Bayern and Juventus are linked to Flamini, while Hleb is being followed by Inter (more ice-cream promised) with more interest from Real Madrid, Juve and Barcelona.

It would be very damaging to us if we lost these guys, they have been two of our most crucial players this year, and to lose half of your first choice midfielders would be hard. I think it is speculation, but a very real possibility.

The Flamster will hopefully sign a new deal in the next few weeks while he’s out injured. Hleb I hope will also see how good he has it here at Arsenal.

They should remember the curse! Players who have left under Weneger never do as well at their new clubs!

Sagna says he could spend the rest of his career at Arsenal. He loves the club and it shows, he has been one of the most consistent performers this year making the right back slot his own! I hope he does stay for a long time.

Glen Little really wants to beat us on Saturday. It’s funny, because Reading players always seem to make these comments, I remember Dave Kitson saying something similar a few months back!

Ade says here that the team owe it to the fans and his mum to win the remaining games.

“What we have to do to achieve things. That is the most important thing now.”

“It is difficult, but I know my mum will be somewhere watching the TV, so I have to play for her, all my family and all the people who love Arsenal.”

“We have to win all those games now, to play for our honour and for our fans.”

“The fans have been great to me this season, always singing my name and taking me into their hearts.”

“I hope to do something better next season than what I have done this year and hopefully bring something home for this club. Those are the things I am fighting for.”

Rosicky is continuing to recover from his injuries back home in Prague.

Interesting stuff here at Arsenal Vision, some really great analysis on the untruths of the media and our squad. Turns out we have a good goal return from the strike force, just lack goals from midfield:

“The fact still remains that Arsenals strikers; Adebayor, Van Persie, Bendtner, Eduardo and Walcott have scored more goals than any strike force in the league except Tottenham’s.”

“56 goals from the Arsenal frontmen. United’s Tevez, Rooney and Saha have 39”.

Wrighty7 backs Gallas against the backstabbers out there, I have to agree. People seem to be looking for scapegoats, especially Adebayor and Gallas. They were both being praised by everyone two months ago, Gallas was a fantastic leader and Adebayor a goal machine. Now Gallas apparently should lose his captaincy and Ade is awful.

How stupid, people should get real and see how much good work they have put in this season. Wrighty also bigs up our excellent full backs Clichy and Sagna.

Hoping we can keep the squad together,

Cheers

Arsenal Out Of The Champions League and Highlights

On By jamesgillespIn Champions League3 Comments

Two injust decisions cost Arsenal a place in the Semis. First Kuyt’s blatant foul on Hleb in the 1st Leg – Definitely a penalty –  not given.

In the 2nd Leg after a wonderful Arsenal goal – Arsenal had just pulled back to 3-3 on agg. (in front on away goals) Toure brushes Babel in front of the Kop, given! Liverpool go on to win the game. The highlights: click here

Match Report:

Liverpool

Hyypia 30
Torres 69
Gerrard 86 (pen)
Babel 90

 5-3 agg.

4-2
(1-1)

 Arsenal

Diaby 13
Adebayor 84

We started the match very well, good passing play really put Liverpool on the back foot. We had a few close chances where Liverpool managed to escape.

Diaby got his goal after 13 minutes, he took one touch on Hleb’s pass down the side of the penalty area and then placed the ball between Reina and the near post, Reina got a slight touch but it was in.

I thought then that we could do this and by all means we could have.

We then dominated the match, until the 30th minute when Liverpool got a corner, Senderos lost Hyypia who headered towards the post, over Fabregas’ head.

Liverpool back in it.

10 minutes Flamini went off after a knock to the ankle, on came Gilberto, I wasn’t thinking positivily about this! It looks worrying.

Anyway 1st half ended 1-1, Liverpool started the second half closing every ball down, not giving us any time to settle on the ball.

Then a lull in Liverpool’s play and we were attacking, a long ball forward by them was flicked on by Crouch to Torres, who turned and shot from just inside the corner of the penalty area, his shot went into the opposite top corner. Senderos shouldn’t have given him the room.

2-1 Liverpool (3-2 agg.)

Minutes later an attacking change. Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie on. Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue off.

Adebayor came close later, put through by a pass by Hleb, which had slipped trough the Liverpool back line. It caught him by suprise and he sliced it wide. Horrible to watch this missed chance.

Then with just a few minutes to go Theo sets off on a wonderful run. In my head all I could hear was “its up for grabs nowwww!!” as he skipped past four Liverpool players, ran the length of the field before squaring the ball for Adebayor to slot home. Ecstasy!

Then the worst thing that could have happened did…

Within 90 seconds Toure had a penalty harshly awarded against him as Babel fell in the area.

Gerrard slots it away and I know there’s no way back, our moment of magic was over. Theo’s wonderful assist cancelled out.

We pushed forward trying for an 3rd, at a free kick we left it exposed at the back, Ryan Babel broke, held off Cesc’s challenge and put the ball past Manuel.

Game over.

It was sad to see, we had come so close, but victory was snatched away from us. Even Gerrard admitted afterwards that Liverpool were ‘passed off the park’ by Arsenal, and hinted that they were lucky to win.

If it hadn’t been for the penalty I’m so sure we would have won, but it sums up our season, defensive errors have cost us everything this year.

It was commented here on my preview about the line up, and it didn’t work for us.

  • Top marks for Walcott, Adebayor, Hleb
  • Diaby, good, Flamini, good, Clichy good.
  • Fabregas looked tired.
  • Almunia performed pretty good, went the right way for the penalty, the goals weren’t his fault.
  • Eboue proved that he can’t play in the final 3rd of the field, he is not a right winger
  • Van Persie looked lost.
  • Toure has made a few mistakes but was alright.
  • Senderos was also ok, but at fault occasionally.
  • Gilberto was variable as well, sometimes good touches, sometimes poor.

Click here for Wenger’s comments:

“I felt the game was over at 2-2. Then there was a dodgy penalty and we started to lose concentration.”

World of Arsenal is devasted too – click here..

Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford.

Sevilla vs. Arsenal tonight in the Champions League

On By jamesgillespIn Champions League1 Comment

Arsenal are playing Sevilla away tonight in our penultimate Champions League game. Arsene is resting Gallas and Adebayor, he defends his choice here. He makes a good point, that those two have played a lot of games recently, and the players coming in should be almost the same standard. Clichy has also not travelled due to a thigh problem he picked up at Wigan.

Against Slavia he made 8 changes and the team looked very unincisive, but tonight there is the incentive that a win will mean we top the group (and therefore play our first second round match away). Having said that even a draw leaves our fate in our own hands, with Steaua Bucharest at home to beat after. The younger players will hopefully take this as encouragement. I trust Wenger on this one, the players coming in are of good quality and fatigued and injured players are no good to anyone. Wenger says:

“Bendtner will get a start. He has played well when he has come on. But he had not the best game in Prague so I want to give him another chance.”

This is great, I think that Bendtner has looked really good when he has come on in games, especially against Wigan, he can win headers and is tall and powerful, as well as having passing, pace and goalscoring ability. Steve Bruce, who had him on loan last year with Birmingham, said he would love to have him back, so I reckon he has the potential to be a first team player. Lets hope he takes this chance to impress!

Kanoute says here that he is ‘relishing the challenge’..

Congratulations to Hleb, he has won the Belarus Player of the Year award, he must be getting used to it as he won it in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 and was the 2004 runner up!!

Keown, the old stalwart has commented on Fabregas and I couldn’t agree more with him when he says:

“Cesc is the orchestrator of everything. He’s developed into an outstanding player and looks like a natural winner,”

What more is there to say!!!

According to the Mirror Henry wanted Tevez at Arsenal…

An interesting link here about Arsene’s rebuilding..

Ok then, here’s to a win tonight!!

Gallas Gets Us There

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal2 Comments

A good 2-0 win over Wigan this weekend. We were without Fabregas (suspended), Flamini (thigh), Diaby (back) and and Gilberto (fatigue). Also we lost Hleb for 3 weeks, these Opta stats on Setanta are interesting.

The match itself was not particularly entertaining. I went down to the Armoury to get a stripy scarf before the kick off, but they were all sold out! They are really popular right now..Its great when all of the North West corner start jumping and swinging them, the atmosphere is improving all the time in Ashburton Grove.

Wigan came out to defend and that is what they did with little in the first half of note. Diarra and Denilson in the centre of the park looked ok, but not as incisive as Fabregas & Flamini who are the centre of the team when they play.. We missed that a bit I felt.

Second half, more and more frustration from the crowd and players.. A dirty tackle on Denilson from Bent a few minutes after a shove was the cause for a bit of a scuffle.. Bent got off with a yellow.. We came close a few times but Wigan still defended well. I started to think we wouldn’t score. Adebayor was very quiet. It looked bad when Walcott went down and was stretchered off after a bad tackle from Heskey, it seems he is ok and not badly injured, he played well which was very pleasing. The Boss brought on Eduardo and Bendtner (who looks very promising). The in the 83rd minute a good passing move saw Gallas play the ball near their area and continue with his run forward, making it to the near post as Sagna put a great cross in.. The header was immense and the celebrations were great, Gallas ran over to us as he seems to a lot now and all was happy, the frustration over, within a minute we broke again, Bendtner making an excellent run and playing it to Rosicky who played a good shot just inside the penalty area in off the post.. Wigan were undone from then and it was a great feeling when we heard Man U lost, so top of the table by 3 points and a game in hand. Not Bad..

I really am warming to Gallas, Toure says here about how great it is to be playing with Gallas as captain! I was sceptical about him but he really is showing his worth. Leading the side, scoring goals when we need them most and looking solid in defence. The resilience and patience of the team is amazing and there is an interview with Wenger here.

Meanwhile, Gilberto going the other way, out of the team with transfer stories rife, the Sun has story on him wanting to go to Juve.

“I would adapt myself well to the Italian league, however Juve should know that I have no intention of starting a war with Arsenal.”

This is fair enough for Gilberto, not in the team now, he obviously wants to play and if that means moving in January so be it. I worry about this as he brings experience and consistency to the team, and while we are playing well it is fine without him in the team, but what happens when we are facing tough opposition with a weakened midfield and little cover. It does seem a bit dodgy, but ‘Arsene knows’ what hes doing!

Our Premiership next game at home is Chelsea on the 16th. That will be a cracker! Cashley Cole says in an article here:

“Compared to what happened to the England guys, I am sure I will get much worse when I go back to Arsenal”

I’m sure he will, he’s a complete idiot and I have very little respect for him. What a *£$%.. Clichy is better than him, as has been shown this year..

Anelka, good on him for the goal on Saturday, has said:

“If you look now at the situation Arsenal are in and look at where I am, then you could say maybe I should have stayed.”

That is so funny, I remember how petulant he was, the whole saga, him joining Real.. What an idiot, now look at him, played for Man City, now Bolton, fighting relegation. Just shows how some players don’t realise how great Arsenal is to be at till they leave. Anyway glad we sold him cause since he left there have been some excellent seasons I wouldn’t change!

Finally a little on the trial of Tresor Mputu, loads of people are reading the articles on this guy, Wneger says here:

“He is a creative player and wants a chance in Europe. He has impressed so far.”

So not giving to much away, that would only fan the flames of speculation, but it sounds interesting, Wenger seems to like him!

See you tomorrow, Sevilla on Tuesday..

Almunia Matures, Gallas Has Fun With Wenger

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal1 Comment

Almunia speaks here on how he is maturing into his role in the first team, he has come in and played well this year, looked solid, without really being tested too much. He is still adjusting and maturing as he hasn’t been playing first team football for us before. He reckons the team are playing amazingly well, but rightly says there is stil a long way to go.

“I like to compare myself to a wine which gets better with age. I hope that I can keep getting better when I am 31, 32. I do not know how long I will go on for.”

Hopefully he will keep maturing, but I don’t see him as the long term option for Arsenal unless something changes drastically. He’s obiviously worried about the threat of Lehmann saying:

“If I am thinking about January or February in the next game I could make a couple of mistakes and be back on the bench. Football is very cruel – and especially with goalkeepers. That is why it is such a difficult position to play.”

Well at least he has a bit of pressure to keep him on his toes, I’m sure Lehmann would quite like to see him slip up, but lets all pry that doesn’t happen. I like Almunia, so hopefully he can go on and continue to do well for us.

Willy Gallas really has fun talking to Arsene Wenger and he’s chuffed to bits that he got made captain (over Toure and Gilberto)..He tells SkySports

“Before, I used to keep to myself. But I like those new responsibilities. I really have fun with the talks I have with Arsene Wenger.”

He says the reason for his injuries last year were because he wasn’t properly settled, he is looking a lot better this year, I am starting to like him, especially for that goal against Man U, although he still can only make one pass.

Euro 2008 qualifiers gone, we can all get back to the good stuff. No teams from Britian or Ireland in the Euro, how about a Home Nations next summer? Not with McClaren thats for sure he’s out, click here..

Reuters look forward to the weekends games here. With “Arsenal look set to show England how its done“. Well yeah, cause we don’t just hoof the ball to a freakishly tall man..

Our women’s team has been knocked out of the UEFA Women’s Cup after losing 3-2 on aggregate to Lyon, so they won’t have the chance to retain the title this year. It was their first defeat in 21 months!! Click here for more..

Bendtner has scored twice in 5 days for Denmark, round up of his performances and the other internationals here at Arsenal.com

Hleb was taken off at half-time due to injury in the Belarus – Holland match last night, Gunnerblog says it’s likely he will miss Wigan on Saturday.

Clichy talks about the foreign quota rubbish which is boring now but he makes a good point we have heard before:

“The nationality is not the main important thing, it is just the quality you want your team to play.”

As well as that they also have reviews of our 5 loanees, including Vela and Djourou here!!

Thank You, and Goodbye!