3 comments September 5th, 2004 04:57pm gilbertosilver
None. Not even a little ickle bit.
That’s why there hasn’t been update.
Internationals are shit. They destroy all club-related news.
I’ll be back when there’s something worth remarking upon. Which might be never. Who knows.
Until then, here’s a picture of Pingu:
Don’t ask.
1 comment September 2nd, 2004 01:36pm gilbertosilver
He does. Honest. It says so here.
It’d be a great game. Arsenal and Barcelona are arguably the two best pure footballing sides in Europe at the moment. Their signings of Belletti, Sylvinho, Guily, Deco, Larsson, and Eto’o make them worthy joint favourites for the Spanish league. I can’t think of many matches I’d prefer, actually.
Fear not though – we’ll go out to Valencia long before then.
Interestingly, Patrick Vieira has thrown a strop because Arsene has decided not to play him despite the skipper’s insistence that he is fit. The fact is that at the moment, we don’t need him. Gilberto and Fabregas is proving a fairly reliable midfield axis. I’m sure the additions of Vieira and Edu will only improve us, but there’s no need to rush. So, in the words of William Shakespeare: “If you love the club so much, shut the fuck up.”
In other news, Jose Reyes is the best player in the Premiership. If it’s in the OPTA Index, it must be true. Oh, and Tel is the 2nd best. And Pires is the 3rd. It would seem we’re fairly sorted.
1 comment September 1st, 2004 10:14am gilbertosilver
And aren’t you glad about it.
Yesterday was transfer deadline day, and Shrek made waves by signing for Man U for what could eventually total £27m. To be honest, it’s a pretty decent buy. Fairly panicky, and very expensive, but Rooney is already an iconic player. Only his potential exceeds his marketability. Man U and Shrekky will make each other a lot of money, and probably have a fair amount of success on the field too. However, I don’t expect it to make much of a difference this season. If anything, it just means that they’ll have to drop the in-form Alan Smith.
We, on the other hand, bought no-one. Not Trabelsi, not Angulo – no-one.
Angulo looks suitably confused by the prospect of joining Arsenal.
Oh well. Whilst some fans seem to think it’s a bit of a disaster, I can’t see any reason to worry. Being away from all the hype for the first few games of the season has allowed me to watch them from an objective view-point. We really don’t need anybody. What’s more, Mr. Keith Edelman says we’re going to be able to spend “LOADSA MONEY” really soon. Hurrah.
In a move that no press seem to have really picked up, Seb Svard has joined Brondby on loan. Apparently John Jensen is now something to do with Brondby. I can’t pretend I’m interested. Anyhow, Cesc’s success in midfield may have spelled the end of Svard’s Arsenal career, for now at any rate.
Other transfer deadline day news of note involved Sylvain Wiltord moving to that good French team without any famous players, Lyon, Jun-ichi Inamoto being back (again), this time with West Brom, and Jay Bothroyd returning to England by switching Perugia for Blackburn. Good work, Jay. It’s a lovely place. Ish.
4 comments August 16th, 2004 12:58am gilbertosilver
Arsenal rampaged to a 4-1 win over Everton today, sending a message to title rivals Chelsea and Manchester United, who played out a dull 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The Arsenal line-up contained one change from Cardiff: Freddie Ljungberg regained his place ahead of Jermaine Pennant. This meant that Cesc Fabregas became our youngest ever Premiership debutant. Having received international clearance, Matthieu Flamini made the bench, and would later replace Gilberto to make his debut.
23 minutes into the game, and Everton had a corner, and a rare opportunity to put Arsenal under pressure. Toure, however, headed away to Reyes, who played a quick one-two with the alert Bergkamp before exchanging clever passes with Thierry Henry. Jose then charged on into the Everton half, as their three defenders backed off. Eventually, Stubbs put in a brilliant tackle on the edge of the area, but unfortunately for the former-Celtic man, the ball broke to Henry. The Frenchman released the arriving Dennis Bergkamp, who took a touch before blasting the ball beyond Nigel Martyn and into the back of the net.
Arsenal began to really get a grip on the game at this point, and in the 39th minute, they doubled their lead. A cross from Lauren had just missed Jose Reyes, but with little defensive pressure applied, Ljungberg was able to retrieve the ball and cross it back into the area. With the defence flat-footed, Reyes was able to get across to the near post and powerfully nod the ball into the corner of the net. 2 nil.
After half-time, Ljungbergâ??s goal effectively killed the game off. An attempted clearance by Yobo was headed straight back by the impressive Fabregas. Bergkamp picked the ball up and found Henry, whose ball across the box was stabbed home by the Swedish midfielder.
Everton gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a lovely goal courtesy of the fantastically shit Lee Carsley, but this only served to force Arsenal to step up a gear once more.
And step up a gear they did, restoring their three goal advantage through substitute Robert Pires, who prodded home after Ashley Coleâ??s follow-up to a Thierry Henry shot crashed off the bar.
Player by Player:
Jens Lehmann
Relatively untroubled. Probably couldâ??ve done better on the goal, but beyond that, nothing really stood out.
6/10
Lauren
Was very good going forward and providing width when Freddie roamed, but was caught a couple of times for pace by players who arenâ??t actually that quick. Seems to have lost his sprint a bit, but still has great technique and awareness.
6
Kolo Toure
Very solid. Made a couple of crucial blocks and clearances, and is undoubtedly now one of the better centre-backs in the division.
7
Pascal Cygan
Gave away a lot of free-kicks, and Everton had decent arguments for two penalty appeals by his hand. I thought he was weak, but others have disagreed. Whatever, itâ??s my site.
5
Ashley Cole
Very solid defensively. Didnâ??t get to show off his full array of attacking talents, because the man in front of him, Jose Reyes, spent so much time going forward. Still, he matures as a defender with every game.
7
Freddie Ljungberg
One of his best games for a long-time. He was, like in the pre-season game against Ajax, very busy, and one of our better players. Scored a typical Freddie goal and created one for Jose Antonio. Was replaced by Jermaine Pennant, who looked bright enough on the counter.
9
Gilberto
Was his usual tidy self. His game was probably hindered by the fact that he spent most of the match getting kicked to pieces by the Everton midfield, and eventually had to limp off for Flamini, who continued his run of Gilles Grimandi impressions with aplomb.
7
Cesc Fabregas
This kid makes me (and Arsene) rave. Heâ??s so neat. He can tackle, he can pass, he can dribble, and he can shoot. In a post-match interview with Sky, Arsene said heâ??s already ahead of a 27-year-old midfield player in the pecking order. Donâ??t know who he meant by that, but it can only be good news for the youngster.
8
Jose Reyes
Was again superb. Ran Everton ragged. Heâ??s still a â??rough diamondâ?Â. Heâ??s not perfect. And he still loses the ball quite a lot. However, his pace and panache make him such a threat. I genuinely believe that Pires will have difficulty in reclaiming his spot. Having Reyes, Bergkamp, and Henry all playing together is like Christmas every Saturday. Was replaced by Bobby, who did well, and notched a goal.
9
Dennis Bergkamp
Pulled the strings like only he can. With Reyes providing genuine width, Den found himself in a load of space which he used to drop off and pick some quite brilliant passes out. It looks like heâ??s going to have another great year.
9
Thierry Henry
Didnâ??t have his best game, but was still a threat, and set up two of the goals. Should have scored himself, but over did it when one-on-one with the last man. More to come.
7
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Well, Iâ??m off to Scotland on the ‘morrow. Enjoy yourselves â?? the next update will probably be on the 1st September.
Till then.
10 comments August 15th, 2004 03:08am gilbertosilver
Friday was the most important day of our pre-season. It was the day that Patrick Vieira didn’t move to Real Madrid. It was not the day that he discovered that the place his heart truly lay was Arsenal, but instead the day that his move to sunny Spain failed to materialise. I don’t want to say too much on it, but I feel I ought to pass comment. The question of “why?” is one that everybody is asking. Some suggest that Vieira had a problem with being offered a sub-“Galactico” standard wage-packet. However, I am starting to believe Arsene and “Double D” David Dein when they insist that money was not a factor.
I believe that in the end, Paddy didn’t have the balls to go through with the move. Michael Owen left behind everything he grew up with to join Real Madrid. He accepted that he wouldn’t be a top earner, and didn’t even demand an automatic starting place, such was his determination to join the star-studded Spanish outfit. I’m sure Dein is right when he says that Paddy was “within the hour“ of joing Real. However, I don’t think Paddy could go through with it. He has everything he needs at Arsenal, and in the end, I think Madrid was just too big an adventure for our wantaway skipper. He couldn’t gamble 8 years of his life away on a glamour-driven change of lifestyle. To be succint: he bottled it.
I don’t know how it will affect our season. Ask me in a month.
Today we take on Everton at Goodison Park. The team should be similiar to the one that faced Man Utd in the Community Shield. Pires and Ljungberg are both available for selection, but Cesc could keep his place in the centre of the park. He faces competition, however, from the newly-registered Mathieu Flamini, who could play some part.
On Monday, I go away for two weeks to the Edinburgh Festival. I’m performing. That’s right, I’m a big limp-wristed am-dram type. Anyhow, during that period, the site might not be updated. Apologies. I could well be back as soon as after this afternoon’s game though.
Tata.
The man in form.
