Archive for May, 2006
May 26th, 2006
A sad but predictable day yesterday as after six wonderful years Robert Pires left Arsenal Football Club. Most of us knew it was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier. His reasons for leaving are the security of a two-year contract, and arguably the prospect of a sunny farewell out in La Liga. Doubtless Villareal are a good side, but whatever he achieves there, he will always be regarded as a Gunner.
After a promising but imperfect first season, Le Bob bounced back with some outstanding form in calendar years 2001 and 2002. It’s hard to list highlights, but the wonderful lob over Peter Schmeichel has to be up there.
The 2001/02 season was his finest hour, but sadly it was ended by a cruciate ligamate injury sustained against Newcastle. In spite of this, he still picked up the Football of the Year award as Arsenal won the Championship. The players bowing to him as he limped up to get his medal is an image I’ll never forget, and one that confirmed the Frenchman’s standing in the game at that point. As arseblogger also suggested this morning: at that point, there wasn’t a better midfielder in the world.
He scored so many crucial goals for us, including the 2003 FA Cup-winning strike. Goalscoring was his gift, and in the last couple of years when his performances dropped a little, it became his main contribution to the side. And that’s what will be so hard to replace. Having Bobby in the side basically guaranteed 15 goals a season. Rosicky and Hleb are not finishers, Cesc hasn’t yet developed that aspect of his game, and Reyes and Freddie have been well off-form in front of goal. Next season, we will have to develop some way of scoring that isn’t “hope Thierry does it again”.
Perhaps the man to turn to is Theo Walcott, who played 30 minutes for an England B side last night. You had to feel for the lad: the ball was launched at him about sevent feet in the air against a defence with 8 men behind the ball. He showed a couple of nice touches though, and I’m sure he’ll impress in the two upcoming International friendlies.
Still, expecting him to step into Robert Pires’ goalscoring boots is a huge ask. For in years to come, when we look back we will remember that Bobby was a goalscorer supreme – a footballing musketeer – whom it’ll be very hard to replace.
Cheers Le Bob, best of luck.
May 23rd, 2006
There we are. A done deal. Arsene says:
“We are delighted to welcome Tomas to our squad. He has great technique, skill on the ball and sharp passing. Tomas has good experience at all levels for club and country, and we look forward to welcoming him to Arsenal after what will hopefully be a successful summer for him at the World Cup.“
Tomas says:
“Iâ??m really happy to be here at Arsenal, it is a great day for me. The team showed its strength recently in the Champions League and it has big potential with a lot of young players, I think we can be even better next season. This is the best club in Europe and I will give everything for Arsenal.“
Nice words from the mercurial midfielder, whose likely to wear the number 10. Don’t go and get it printed though, because when I say “likely“, I mean “I’m completely guessing“.
A great start to the summer, and yet another reason to have all eyes peeled on the World Cup. Tony Adams, meanwhile, is on the verge of becoming manager of NAC Breda.
Interesting.
May 23rd, 2006
Fantastic news broke last night, as it emerged that Tomas Rosicky, nicknamed “The Dumpling“, is on the verge of signing for Arsenal. The fee is expected to be around £7m, with Arsenal taking advantage of Dortmund’s financial troubles to capture a player signed in 2001 for a whopping £18m.
Rosicky is a key figure in the Czech side expected to impress at this summer’s World Cup, and his international team-mate Pavel Nedved recently urged his club Juventus to buy him. Indeed, in previous summers he’s been a big target for Italian clubs, with bids of up to £30m being rejected before Dortmund’s financial implosion.
The arrival of Rosicky suggests that Robert Pires will indeed move to Villareal. Rosicky began his career as a left-sided midfielder, though he is also equally adept in the central attacking midfield role of a 4-5-1, making him a perfect replacement for Robert. Although he scores less goals than the Frenchman, Rosicky provides many assists and has a Ljungberg-style work-ethic.
This is a fantastic signing for our football club, and should silence all those who clamour for “big names“. It’s also great to get it tied up before the World Cup, where a good performance could push the price up.
However, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the signing is no good in isolation. The other night I lay on a park bench at Kings Cross for an hour as part of my “Paris Grieving Process” to work out who we need. I concluded: a centre-back, a central midfielder, and a goalscoring winger/striker. Rosicky fulfills the last of the three, but the other two are still real priorities.
Especially if the man I’ve nicknamed “The Dumpling” moves on. Despite the claims on ANR, Sol Campbell has not yet been sold. However, it is my understanding that he will be allowed to leave if he can find a club. I think this is probably the right decision. However well he performed in Paris, he’s obviously past his peak, and with an excellent English alternative in Curtis Davies still available, it’s more than likely we’ve seen the last of Sol in an Arsenal shirt.
Hopefully Rosicky will be tied up today, and then we can all begin praying for that defensive midfielder.
Zokora, anyone?
May 20th, 2006
For Arsenal fans, the Champions League Final was about the balance between despair and elation. The despair of Jens Lehmann’s sending off, followed by the elation of Sol Campbell’s goal. Then the heartbreak of defeat, followed just two days later by the joyous news that Thierry Henry has signed a new four-year contract.
The Champions League Final was an incredible occasion. Be it the banter with the Barca fans, meeting the beautiful Peter Beardsley, or playing football in the streets with the guys from arseblog, it was just an amazing day. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every fan, Barcelona or Arsenal, who helped to make it such a special experience. For accounts and pictures of my trip to France, check these new blogs.
The game itself was a real rollercoaster experience. Should Jens have been sent off? Probably not. Allowing the game to go on at 11 v 11 and 1-0 to Barca would’ve been better, but I didn’t see many Arsenal fans at half-time who would turn down 1-0 up with ten men. As for Sol Campbell’s goal, what a moment of retribution for him. Although I’ve criticised Sol’s performances since his return, he was a giant in Paris, and deserved his moment of glory.
The subsequent 50 minutes of holding on was nail-biting stuff. Barca’s first goal, created by a sublime touch from sub Larsson, broke the back of Arsenal’s resistance. As soon as the ball hit the net, you could sense the air of resignantion amongst out fans. Although we’d played superbly, it was just one miracle too far.
The thought of what might have been is inextricably linked to a sadness for the players and particularly Arsene Wenger. Yet the overriding emotion is pride: pride in the way in which we dispatached the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus, and above all pride in the manner in which we played in the final. It was the gutsiest of performances, and one that showed we were not out of place on that stage.
Perhaps even more importantly, it was a performance that convinced Thierry Henry that his future lies with Arsenal: a fantastic piece of news for our football club. In my eyes, we have the best football player in the world, and one of the gretatest ambassadors for the game you could ever wish to find. Without him, Wednesday night would’ve felt like the end of an era. With him, it is a new beginning. Under his tutelage, the youngsters we’ve blooded this season can be added to new signings in the most exquisite of footballing cocktails, to be savoured next season at the Emirates Stadium. I can’t wait.
Henry’s presence will doubtless lure new names to join the burgeoning Arsenal squad. Lillian Thuram was in the stands on Wednesday, but after Sol’s performance it might not be neccessary to read too much into that. However, Wenger knows full well that we need a couple of experienced players to replace the likes of Bergkamp and possibly Pires. Whatever he may say to the press, there will be arrivals this summer.
And so now is a time to look forward, not back. In my previous piece, I prayed that we wouldn’t leave any regrets in Paris. Given our performance out there, I don’t think we did. Do not waste time worrying about the “what ifs“. The wonderful thing about football is that come August, you get a clean slate, and a chance to start again. Thanks to some dodgy lasagne and Thierry Henry, we’re in the Champions League once more next season. And with Henry, I wouldn’t bet against us reaching the final again in the next four years.
With eleven men, we might even win it.
Exciting, isn’t it?
May 14th, 2006
I’ve watched three cup finals this past week. In each of them, the underdog has failed. Middlesbrough, Gretna, and West Ham all had a definite chance of victory, but fell at the final hurdle.
Next week, Arsenal will be up against strong favourites Barcelona in the Champions League Final. I can’t help but hope that they players watched the performance of West Ham yesterday, in their FA Cup Final defeat to Liverpool.
They certainly ought to have watched: after the favour West Ham did us by beating Spurs, we all had to be right behind the Hammers. And if they did tune in, what they would’ve seen was a team who fought for 120 minutes against the tide of expectation for a Liverpool victory. You could see from the way Liverpool played that they thought they would win. But you could see from the way West Ham played that they knew they could win.
I hope Sol Campbell, if he starts in Paris, saw the performance of Daniel Gabbidon, who fought tooth-and-nail for every ball. I hope Emmanuel Eboue saw Lionel Scaloni still getting forward to attack in the 115th minute. I pray that Gilberto saw what an inspirational midfielder like Reo-Coker can do to galvanise a team’s performance, and I hope Thierry witnessed his outstanding leadership.
West Ham may have lost. But they did so in such a manner that even the fiercest Liverpool fan would have to applaud. On the day, they were beaten by one exceptional player. When Steven Gerrard is on-song, he is unplayable. The same is true of Ronaldinho. However, the difference between Arsenal and West Ham is that we have Thierry Henry – a player who is more than capable of producing a match-winning performance in one of these huge games.
Arsenal can beat Barcelona. Personally, I believe Arsenal will beat Barcelona. There is a belief and a confidence about the group that drove us to victory over Wigan last week. I know Wigan are not Barcelona, but surely one underdog will triump out of all those cup finals? I’m desperate for it to be us.
But if we do lose, let’s lose like West Ham. Let’s make sure we’re applauded off the pitch by ever fan in that stadium. Let’s leave every drop of sweat and blood that we have on that Parisien pitch.
And let’s not leave any regrets.
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