And like any much in such a position, he knows it. Look at those eyes. Pained.
Another man who knows it is Safety over at arseblog. If you stick with this one, it’s a good read, and another shot fired in the blog-based PR war over the takeover. Hill-Wood and his posse will be quaking in their boots after learning that Arsenal Muse have joined ANR in the Kroenke corner. Who knows where I stand. I suppose I’m Switzerland.
The Independent have said what anyone with half a brain already suspected – that the “we won’t sell for a year, honest” deal put together by the clubs major shareholders is “reversible”. And not like this. I have a feeling this takeover thing is going to drag on for a hell of a long time.
Arseblogger reckons we might sign Pele. Yohann Pele, that is – the Le Mans goalkeeper. I would write one of those Signing Suggestion thingies to accompany this news, but truth be told, I know little to nothing about him. Any French fans reading who could enlighten us, feel free to contact me. A french-speaking ‘keeper can’t be a bad idea seeing as that’s the first language of every defensive squad member we have, bar Justin Hoyte. Poor Justin. I imagine they all sit at the back of the bus, from where they throw garlic, baguettes and berets at him.
Don’t forget yesterday’s competition, which could afford you the chance to run around in a Pires t-shirt, remembering the days when we were good.
Michael Owen has been conspicuous by his absence this season. However, recent weeks have seen speculation that he’s about to return constantly dampened by Newcastle United, his club.
A couple of weeks ago The Times suggested that this might be in order to draw as much financial compensation for his absence as possible. During the course of his recuperation, 50% of Owen’s wages have been paid by a private insurance policy that the club had taken out on the player, and United are now demanding that the FA pay the remaining half.
As I read this, I couldn’t help but think of the decision not to rush back either Thiery Henry or Robin van Persie before the end of the season. With Peter Hill-Wood & Co currently scrabbling for spare pennies down the back of the sofa to make up our transfer budget, is it that crazy to wonder if we’re drawing out Henry’s comeback in order to rake in a few quid on a hefty insurance policy?
Just a wild conspiratorial thought…
Seeing as we’re all so keen on “tradition” and all that, why not sell the club to this lot? Mind you, they’re all mad and foreign too. I’d probably rather have Romanov.
Just a note on the transfer link with Birmingham ‘keeper Colin Doyle: he’s only been in their team for two months, and has no previous experience of any note. If he is our goalkeeper next season, then I might cry,
Over the coming months, Gunnerblog will be giving you the opportunity to win some smashing t-shirts, courtesy of our friends over at retrofootballtshirts.co.uk.
Retrofootballtshirts.co.uk are helping to “Bring back the good old days†by stocking over 700 t-shirts of former terrace favourites – their Arsenal range includes the likes of Ian Wright, Liam Brady, and Perry Groves – and almost all have a classy name and number on the back.
Probably the coolest thing about the site though is that the t-shirts are fully customisable – you can either pick a ‘Dream Team‘ of your own, request a t-shirt for a player that’s not yet available, or even get your own face super-imposed onto a football photograph. And of course, any t-shirt you buy through the link to the right helps keep Gunnerblog out of the evil clutches of Stan Kroenke.
This week I’m delighted to be offering you the chance to win this Robert Pires t-shirt, to celebrate the waddly-running genius’ goalscoring debut against Barcelona on Sunday. Pires scored in a 2-0 victory for Villareal to keep the title race in La Liga wide open, aswell as gaining a measure of revenge for being withdrawn so early in the Champions League Final.
All you have to do is answer the question:
Which club did Arsenal sign Robert Pires from?
Answers by midnight on Thursday GMT to pires@gunnerblog.com, and we’ll announce the winner on Friday.
Yesterday, Cesc Fabregas came second in the race for the PFA Young Player of the Year aeard. The winner was a deserving Cristiano Ronaldo, who is having a fantastic season. For Cesc to come second in a year in which some fans have criticised him form is truly remarkable, and shows how respected his in among his peers.
The two are very different players, but both share the potential to be the best in the world in their position. Although Ronaldo is just 22, Cesc is only 19 – one can only imagine how good he’ll be in three years time. Let’s just hope he’s still at Arsenal.
So congratulations Cesc. You might not have been number one this year, but your time will come.
If you want to know why Arsenal didn’t win this game, you need only know that no side in the entire Premiership has kept less clean sheets this season. Not Watford, not West Ham, not even Spurs. We might not have conceded the most goals, but when you face Arsenal, you can be certain they’ll give you something.
Spurs found that out as early as the 30th minute – Michael Dawson rose above William Gallas to head in the direction of Robbie Keane, who escaped Gael Clichy to turn it in. To be honest, the problems had begun before the corner was even taken – some of Jens’ traditional antics managed to get he and Diaby both booked for next to nothing, as well as disrupting our concentration.
Spurs had started well, and were probably decent value for their lead. A wrongly disallowed goal from Emmanuel Adebayor aside, we had seemed to lack penetration – Freddie Ljungberg had appeared to be carrying an injury from the get-go, and was eventually replaced by Cesc after 40 minutes.
However, the second half saw Arsenal come right back into the game. When we play Tottenham at White Hart Lane, they tend to put all their running into the first twenty minutes, before sitting back and trying to defend an often assailable lead. And so it proved in this game. Cesc’s introduction gave us much more fluency on the attack, although Alex Hleb was still doing his best to slow down our attacking play.
With an hour gone, we were back on level terms – a whipped Cesc free-kick was turned in by Kolo Toure at the far post. We were beginning to boss the game, and the Spurs fans were audibly showing their disapproval. Julio Baptista replaced the ineffective Tomas Rosicky, as we started to crank up the pressure.
At this point, Abou Diaby moved into his third position of the match – having already operated in central midfield and as a support striker, he shifted out to the left-flank. They say a good footballer can play in any position – well, Diaby is a very good footballer. Although still raw, we are a better team when he plays. It’s up to Arsene to find a way to accommodate him regularly.
When we did take the lead, that fact in itself was no surprise. The scorer, perhaps, was. Since returning from suspension, Emmanuel Adebayor has had no luck whatsoever. This game was no different – a wrongly disallowed goal, a missed sitter, and a header that crashed off the crossbar. However, when Cesc Fabregas swung in a free-kick from the right, he rose highest to head into the near top corner. I alluded to his knack of scoring in big games earlier in the week, and he didn’t let me down. His celebration was a roaring proclamation of his love for the club. Well Ade, I for one love you back.
It had been a dominant, forceful second half display from us – our best league performance since the win over Manchester United at the Emirates. Julio Baptista should’ve made it three after great work from Adebayor, and Spurs’ heads appeared to have dropped.
However, there was to be a 94th minute reprieve – a stunning thirty yard strike from Jermaine Jenas. Spurs promptly celebrated as if they’d won the League Cup. It kind of reminds me of when they got a last minute equaliser against us to draw 2-2, and went crazy, although it meant nothing: we had won the title on their patch. Ah, still hilarious.
The truth is, they were outclassed. Berbatov aside, their players couldn’t cope with our athleticism and technique. The two points dropped is fairly meaningless – we will get Champions League football. What was meaningful was asserting our dominance over our local rivals. Arsene reckoned we could have had five – I think that’s a bit much, but there was certainly a class gap.
Now there’s one other major fixture left on the horizon. Can you see that blue hulk coming towards us?
Three points from that, and we’ll all have a much better Summer.
I can’t remember a week when there has been less hype has surrounded a clash between Arsenal and Tottenham. The reasons are two-fold: the departure of David Dein has detracted attention, whilst both sides’ seasons are petering out into meaninglessness. However, this is the North London Derby we’re talking about – a fixture that’s already provided three of the highlights of our somewhat drab season. How nice would it be to steer through the fourth without giving Spurs the “revenge”they so desperately crave?
If you want news about Kroenke and Dein, shares, and Arsene’s future then use the links to the right-hand side of the homepage and go to another website. All of those things are secondary to what happens on the field, and today, that’s what will take precedence here on Gunnerblog.
Team news: Freddie Ljungberg and Cesc Fabregas are both named in the squad, though there is some doubt over their involvement, particularly the little Spaniard. If he misses out I’d expect Diaby to play in midfield with Freddie upfront with Adebayor. If Ljungberg doesn’t quick make it, it’s possible that Baptista will be given an opportunity to relive his Carling Cup heroics.
The motivation: Yes, there isn’t much life left in our season, but it’s all a matter of perspective. We should play this game and the game against Chelsea as if they’re our cup finals – an opportunity to put a smile on the faces of our fans and lay down a marker for next year.
This week I’m delighted to be offering you the chance to win 
When we did take the lead, that fact in itself was no surprise. The scorer, perhaps, was. Since returning from suspension, Emmanuel Adebayor has had no luck whatsoever. This game was no different – a wrongly disallowed goal, a missed sitter, and a header that crashed off the crossbar. However, when Cesc Fabregas swung in a free-kick from the right, he rose highest to head into the near top corner. I alluded to his knack of scoring in big games 
The truth is, they were outclassed. Berbatov aside, their players couldn’t cope with our athleticism and technique. The two points dropped is fairly meaningless – we will get Champions League football. What was meaningful was asserting our dominance over our local rivals. Arsene reckoned we could have had five – I think that’s a bit much, but there was certainly a class gap.
I can’t remember a week when there has been less hype has surrounded a clash between Arsenal and Tottenham. The reasons are two-fold: the departure of David Dein has detracted attention, whilst both sides’ seasons are petering out into meaninglessness. However, this is the North London Derby we’re talking about – a fixture that’s already provided three of the highlights of our somewhat drab season. How nice would it be to steer through the fourth without giving Spurs the “revenge” 
