Archive for July, 2005
July 18th, 2005
So, after all the huffing and puffing, tooing and froing, Ashley Cole has signed a one year extension to his Arsenal deal.
Still, for 70 grand a week, who wouldn’t?
I think this basically means we’re going to give the tumultuous Cole/Arsenal relationship a year to settle down, and if it still hasn’t, he’ll be out the door.
Meanwhile, Arsene has spoken out about meeting Baptista in Brazil, saying, “We approached Sevilla first. At some stage you have to speak to the player. You do it because you have to know if the player wants to join you. When you’re close to ending negotiations with the club, you have to know if you have to put a million more in.”
Well, that suggests he just might want to join us, at least…
July 17th, 2005
Arsenal’s first friendly of our pre-season schedule was our annual trouncing of lowly Barnet. 4-1 this time, with Hleb, Henry (pen), Bergkamp and Hoyte getting the goals.
Hleb, playing from the right-hand side of midfield, scored his in the first minute, cutting infield to fire a left-footed shot inside the near post. By all accounts, the fleet-footed midfielder put in an impressive and skillful performance.
Thierry Henry´s goal came from the spot on the day he was officially confirmed as the club’s new captain. An excellent choice – a wonderful ambassador, and an even better player. Hopefully it’ll help persuade him to renew his contract, too.
Also of note was Dennis Bergkamp’s wonder goal. A bending, dipping effort from all of 25 yards. The man may be a tad slower, but his technique remains second to none.
The game was also notable for the debut of 17 year old former Atalanta goalkeeper, Vito Mannone. With only an injured Almunia and a suspension-hindered Jens Lehmann for experienced goalkeepers, I’d still expect us to add another top quality stopper.
A real surprise yesterday was the trial of former Monaco and Barcelona defender, Philippe Christanval.
Having been released from Marseille, he’s searching for a new club, and it seems Arsene may be willing to take a gamble on him as defensive cover.
He may have had a torrid few years with injury and poor form, but he was once regarded as the future of France’s defence, earning 6 full caps in the process. Often derided now, he was once held in the same esteem as, say, a prospect such as Philippe Mexes. Definitely worth a look.
Meanwhile, various press sources are claiming that Ashley Cole will soon sign a new one-year extension to his Arsenal contract. His incentive for swallowing his pride? A possible 70 grand a week. He’s a very very very lucky boy if so.
Still, we’ll probably sell him in a year.
July 16th, 2005
But, praise the Lord, it’s not Rigobert.
It is in fact his 17-year old nephew, Alexandre Song.
The highly-rated Bastia midfielder has been tracked by some of Europe’s top clubs, but chairman Louis Maltari confirmed, “We have started to talk with Arsene. I think we will make it happen. We should sell him.”
Probably a little young to be labelled the new Vieira, but it’s a start.
July 15th, 2005
Amazing, eh?
Well, it would appear he’s going nowhere in a hurry.
Nor, I should add, is Gael Clichy. That should press Ashley Cole into hurrying up and signing his own new deal ASAP.
It seems that Arsenal are intent on spending the fee for Vieira on Julio Baptista, having offered the exact amount they recieved for the frenchman (20 million euros). Sadly, it was rejected. But fear not, we won’t give up too easily – I expect us to go as high as 15m pounds sterling to get our man.
Tata from Sunny Spain.
July 14th, 2005
But dont worry. We´ve cloned him. Only he´s white. Look:
Oh no, wait…
Anyhow, getting back to the point, I´ll allow Paddy himself to explain:
â??When you spend nine years at the Club, like I did, it is a difficult decision to leave. But in the end you have to make a choice for your future. It was a very difficult decision, but I am happy with it.
“I made the decision to leave because I felt it was time for me to have a new challenge. But that does not mean I was unhappy or that I was having a problem at Arsenal.
“It was just that I had the feeling I needed to grow and meet a new challenge, and I feel Juventus was the best challenge for me.
“Iâ??d like to thank the Arsenal fans. They have been fabulous. Even recently in the street they were saying â??if you are going, then thanks for the last nine yearsâ??. That is really touching and it makes me feel that I gave my best for the Club.
“I can go with my head held high. I did my best every day in training and in every match, and I left shaking the hand of Arsène Wenger and Mr Dein. That was really important to me.”
He´s right. It´s nice that when he finally went, it was amicable. And that his last kick for the club won the FA Cup.
I´m sure there´ll be a significant replacement up Arsene´s sleeve. But in the meantime, don´t panic. As Le Boss says:
“Weâ??ll be strong next season and we need you behind us like you have always been. We will not disappoint you.”
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