Archive for May, 2008
May 12th, 2008
This win at the Stadium of Light took us to 83 points – a massive improvement on last season’s 68. In 06/07 we were 21 points off the title – this year, it was 4. Quite remarkable progress. Alright, we didn’t grab the trophy we crave, but for me this goes down as a decent season.
It ended with what appears to have been a fairly uneventful game at the Stadium of Light. I say that because truthfully, I don’t really know – for what must have been the first time this season, I was without a ticket or a stream, and so had to follow the match with snatches of Audio from ArsenalTV and the BBC Livetext service.
One goal was enough to win it, and it came from Theo Walcott. Gilberto, captaining the side in potentially his last game for the club, slid an exquisite through-ball between the centre-half and full-back, and Walcott charged onto it before finishing cooly at the near post. It was a classy goal, and reminded me of his predecessor on the right-flank: Freddie Ljungberg. If Cesc Fabregas can provide Walcott’s well-timed runs with ammunition in the same way that Dennis Bergkamp supplied Ljungberg, Walcott could solve our right-sided problem for years to come.
It took his tally for the season to seven. His four in the league is double the amount Hleb has managed in nearly three times as many starts. He’s in the England squad again, and after a couple of tricky developmental years, Walcott’s star is seemingly on the rise. He surely enters next season as our first-choice right-winger, whether or not Eboue and Hleb are still here come August.
After the game, Arsene warned newly-crowned Champions United that we would be in the race once more in 2009. I think a lot of that depends on his activity this Summer.
Finally, commiserations to relegated Reading – a club where a close family member of mine works, and who actually live up to the stereotype of ‘a nice family club’. Â I’m sure they’ll bounce back.
Season officially over: let the transfer madness begin…
May 11th, 2008
So no news on any prospective Ben Arfa deal, but plenty of other transfer tidbits to get your teeth into. Almost all of which, I suspect, are untrue. Have a gander at these:
- Steve Stammers, who used to transcribe Arsene’s programme notes, tells the Sunday Mirror that we’re after Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez, Valencia defender Raul Albiol, and Cardiff midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
- The People, meanwhile, suggests we’ll go for Kolo’s Barca-based brother Yaya and Atletico Madrid’s teenage sensation Ignacio Camacho.
- The News of the World think we’ll plump for Manchester City’s plump centre-half Richard Dunne in a cut-price £1m deal.
I can debunk most of these rumours now. The chances of us signing a striker are slim-to-none, which rules out Gomez. Arsene has had the opportunity to sign Yaya Toure on a couple of occasions and turned it down, and I can’t see the Ivorian moving on after just one impressive season at Barca.
Whilst a centre-back is urgently required, I’m not sure Richard Dunne is of the required quality to make an immediate improvement to the side. Raul Albiol is perhaps a better prospect, and has learnt from one of the best around in Roberto Ayala. I’m entirely unqualified to speak about Camacho, having barely seen him play.
One player who Arsene is interested in is Aaron Ramsey. Wenger is enamoured with the teenager’s precise passing and skill on the ball, which have led to comparison’s with our own Cesc Fabregas. Le Boss and Ramsey share an agent, and I’ve heard that a £5m bid could see the midfielder arrive this Summer.
Today is the final day of our Premier League season – a season which I’m sure we’ll have time to reflect on at length over the Summer. Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall could be handed league debuts in what will certainly be an unfamiliar looking line-up. Certainly the likes of Bendtner, Denilson, and Fabianski will be handed another chance to impress.
The Premier League title will also be decided today. I have to say, it would be rather funny to see the look on Ronaldo’s face if they chucked it away…
May 10th, 2008
Last night, like a few other privileged people, I heard the rumour that Hatem Ben Arfa will sign for Arsenal for £16m.
Since then The Sun have also picked up on the story, but haven’t had the confidence to run it as anything other than a piece of ‘News In Brief’. It seems like we’ll have to wait and see on this one.
It would certainly be a promising move by Arsene. He’s tracked Ben Arfa since 2004, and has long been an admirer of his pace and trickery. In a squad that desperately lacks width, his addition would significantly redress the balance.
As I trawled the French newspapers for more on the Ben Arfa story (unsuccessfully, I might add), I came across this story (originating in German publication Die Wilt), linking Jens Lehmann with a move to Stuttgart. However, as Arsene Wenger conceded this week, it’s equally likely he could retire. That would be a shame in my opinion – I still think he has plenty to offer at the highest level.
Tomas Rosicky has joined Eduardo, Abou Diaby, and possibly Bacary Sagna in being ruled out of Euro 2008. Whilst Arsene is hopeful Rosicky will be ready for the start of the 2008/09 season, from what I hear I think it’s getting to the point where a fit Rosicky will be an occasional bonus rather than a consistent reliability. Perhaps the signing of Ben Arfa would in part be an admission by Arsene that Rosicky will never be able to regularly fill that left-wing spot.
Finally, I thought I’d end with these quotes from Emmanuel Adebayor:
“I am very happy here. Reports which suggest I have threatened to quit are rubbish. I love the club and the fans.
We have a great set of players here with a fantastic team spirit. We have had a good season but next season we want to go one better by winning a trophy.”
At a time when Flamini has jumped ship to Milan, and Aleksandr Hleb is markedly reluctant to issue such denials, it’s pleasing to see an under-contract player declare his loyalty to the club and the manager that made him the player he is.
So, now we wait for confirmation or denial on the Ben Arfa story. Could be an interesting weekend…
May 9th, 2008
Hello all. I’ve missed you, having had a barely-earned day off from blogging yesterday to facilitate a thoroughly enjoyable lie-in.
We’ll start with the news that Aleksandr Hleb will seemingly be on his way within the next fortnight. Allow his agent to explain:
“Alex is preparing to make one of the most important moves of his life.
He is leaving even though Arsenal want to offer him a new long-term contract.
Only time will tell if it is the right decision but there’s no way back now. Everything will be settled in the next two weeks.”
He doesn’t leave much room for doubt, does he? Whether or not Hleb will invoke the Webster clause and leave for around £3m, or whether Inter will come in with a more reasonable offer and preserve the gentlemen’s agreement struck between the former G14 clubs not to abuse the ruling remains to be seen. Either way, it would be a significant surprise to see Hleb at the club come August, despite Arsene’s protestations.
Something about Hleb’s departure leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I suspect it’s the fact he will presumably cite our failure to win trophies, ignoring the fact that his plain refusal to score goals is a major factor in that failure. Whilst he is extraordinarily technically accomplished, I think the Belarussian would be easier to replace than Flamini – the Frenchman has a mental toughness that Hleb clearly lacks.
To be honest, I’m feeling pretty excited about who Arsene is looking to bring in this Summer. The AST revealed that he is looking for a powerhouse centre-back and a creative player (possibly to replace Hleb). Throw in a replacement for Flamini, and our team could be surprisingly different come next season. Hopefully ‘good different’ – ‘bad different’ is the kind of different teachers use to describe odd children that grow up to become serial killers.
Speaking of difference, who knows if we’ll even have the same captain next time round?
Anyhow, on to the Cesc Fabregas Show Competition. Congratulations to Tom Watt, who correctly answered that the shirt that Fabregas was just too cescy for on his debut was adorned with number 57. By a horrible coincidence, that was the same question that was posed over on The Cannon. I hope Tom didn’t win there too – that’d be rather unfair. Regardless, your tickets are in the post – enjoy!
I’d like to finish by offering a hearty congratulations to my pal arseblogger, who is about to make arseblogging his full-time, real-life ‘proper job’. At this point, I’d like to say that if any mildly idiotic (and overtly generous) businessman wants to pay me vast sums to write this garbage for half an hour each day, I might just be available. Thanks.
May 7th, 2008
If you’ve read pretty much any Arsenal blog in the last few weeks, you might have come across some of the promotional material for Cesc Fabregas’ forthcoming TV Show, in association with Nike. It promises to be quite an occasion – the programme will reportedly feature a host of cameo appearances from other athletes and stars of the game, including Arsene Wenger.
Only 400 tickets are available, and one lucky Gunnerblog reader will win a pair of them. All you have to do to claim the tickets is answer the following question:
What number did Cesc wear on his Arsenal debut?
Email your answers to cesc@gunnerblog.com and I’ll announce the lucky winner on Friday. You should be forewarned that the filming takes place on the evening of Tuesday May 13th in a London Studio – only fans who would be able to attend need apply. Good luck!
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