Arshavin scored 51 goals at Zenit, watch them all here.
Hopefully he can continue his good form at Arsenal!
Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/arsespeak
Arshavin scored 51 goals at Zenit, watch them all here.
Hopefully he can continue his good form at Arsenal!
Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/arsespeak
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.
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.
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.
The Mirror is linking us to Andrei Arshavin. They say we will pay £10 mill. The guy is a 27 year-old midfielder, he plays for Zenit St. Petersburg and he’s very, very good. I’ve seen him play a few tiomes and been impressed.
As for Arsenal signing him, I think it’s unlikely. We hear these sort of rumours everyday, and something with no evidence whatsoever can officially be classed as a ‘rumour’ at this stage.
That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to see us sign him, but we have other options. The benefits of signing Arshavin is that he has experience, is at the peak of his career, and is an excellent attacking player.
We’re also linked to a kid called Camacho from Spain. He’s apparently an impressive, young Atletico Madrid midfielder, and Chelsea want him too! He is captain of Spain’s Under-17 squad, and to be honest, I think he’s probably on the Arsenal radar, but we won’t sign him either!
Oh yeah, we’re not signing Albiol either! His agent said it!