Last week Arsene Wenger was quick to squash any hope Alex Song may have had of returning to Arsenal. Song has failed to establish himself in Barcelona's star studded midfield and was hoping that a return to the Emirates might be his solution to a lack of game time at the Spanish giants.
Take a second and think...what if no one had left Arsenal? What if all the players that are still influencing their new teams (or would still have a place in the Arsenal team) were still at Arsenal? Guys like van Persie, Nasri, and Fabregas. Or how about Cole, Toure, and Hleb? Though the names of some of these players will make Arsenal fans worldwide shudder and most likely hurl expletives at their respective computer screens, it's hard to disagree that nearly all of these players played massive roles at Arsenal.
We've all done it. Screamed at Gervinho, I mean. When the match is
firmly encamped in the tenterhooks phase; both teams engaging in thrust and cautious
counter-thrust; the tension so palpable that you could cut it with the switch-blade Steve Bould
undoubtedly carries around in his back-pocket: Gervinho gets the ball, attempts a dribble, jinks
impressively past his man, and tonks it woefully out of play.
It struck me yesterday that Arsenal's starting lineup against Sunderland was almost an entirely
different team from even two seasons ago.
After years of being fairly quiet in the transfer market (apart from selling the occasional top
player and signing the occasional teenager), Arsenal have now gone the other way: last summer saw
Clichy, Fabregas and Nasri leave, with Gervinho, Santos, Mertesacker, Arteta and Chamberlain being
added to the first-team; this year we've seen van Persie and now Song leave, with Podolski, Giroud
and Cazorla coming in.
What a summer: Euro's, Olympics, Wimbledon, early Arsenal signings and our usual transfer
nonsense with our best player. And now the real stuff returns.
Mo Farah started the pre-season off well and I am sure Arsene's red and white army will continue
to lead from the front, 3 points today will be a fine start.
What a summer: Euro's, Olympics, Wimbledon, early Arsenal signings and our usual transfer
nonsense with our best player. And now the real stuff returns.
Mo Farah started the pre-season off well and I am sure Arsene's red and white army will continue
to lead from the front, 3 points today will be a fine start.
Arsenal: Right idea, wrong time Mr Van Persie? is a post from: Just Football
by Michiel Jongsma
Ever since the last serious claim to success Arsenal had, losing the Champions
League-final to Barcelona in 2006, there has been a steady exodus of high-profile players who have
gone in pursuit of trophies and medals.
Why leaving Arsenal never wins you trophies by KJ On Sunday Arsenal managed to put the final nail
in the coffin of Manchester City's title hopes. They now trail their bitter rivals Manchester
United by 8 points and they look dead and buried in the title race. However, this wouldn't be so
satisfying for Arsenal [.
Arsène Wenger has never seen so much pressure from his own fans. His ability to manage this
Arsenal team is being questioned, and according to some, he is losing his grip on the modern
game. But is he the only one to blame?
The year 2006/07 saw a major introduction into the Arsenal unit.
I have not been blogging recently and I must say, I've not really missed it. It would not be fair
to solely blame the gradual declining form of Arsenal for the gradual declining form of this blog
but the seemingly perpetual cycle of poor defeat followed by gentle recovery followed by poor
defeat does not help.
After 224 seconds into his Arsenal debut, Samir Nasri had already opened his Arsenal account with a
simple tap in from a pass from Denilson. One of the best talents ever to be discovered by Arsene
Wenger from France, Nasri was playing the football of his life. In his first season, he won over
the [..
Over the past few years Arsenal have had some exceptional players. For all the bemoaning of the
lack of trophies, there has remained a bountiful supply of top talent strutting their stuff at the
Emirates Cesc Fabregas remains the best young midfielder in Europe, one we kept for seven years,
and we have more that could be labelled 'amongst the best in their position, or for their
age' the likes of Vermaelen, Van Persie and Wilshere can certainly be counted in those
categories, with others knocking on the door.
Seriously, just do it, Ladbrokes are offering a mighty 12/1 for Arsenal to finally break their
Champions League duck this season and I can see it happening with so much clarity in my mind.
Wembley will forever hold much history for Arsenal come next May.
We reached the final in Paris 2006, however, the best team we have had in recent years was the
2008 model that contained Cesc, Flamini, Rosicky, Hleb and Adebayor.
Right then, shut up hangover. Sorry, had to get that out of the way.
There's no more team news than we had yesterday other than the revelation that Laurent Koscielny
is out of today's game with a back injury. I'm now firmly of the opinion that all of our players
should remain in a cryogenic fugue state between games.
Just as it looked like Arsenal's injury list was easing, we find out that Bacary Sagna has injured
himself in training with the French squad. As usual on the international break we have yet another
injury to an Arsenal player and are we surprised? NOT! The French defender is not in a hurry to
return and [.
After my rant the other day, I thought I should take a different route. The general view on
world football is very negative at the moment. When people talk about our beautiful game, they
often talk about money. Transfer fee's and wages are often the debating point in many conversations
in pubs and clubs.
The mysterious, cockney and self satisfied voice seemed to be coming from everywhere and
nowhere. More specifically, it seemed to be coming from a derelict speaker system lodged in the
beachball-like-thing on a 40-foot version of Tottenham's crest.
The ex-Arsenal midfielder Alexandr Hleb left the Emirates a couple of years ago in dubious
circumstances, as he pulled out all the stops to force Arsene Wenger to sell him to Barcelona, but
now he returns to the Premier League with Birmingham with his reputation and confidence in tatters.
He realises that he made a BIG [.
Mais um amistoso, foi realizado no dia 09/02/2011, na cidade de Antalya-TUR, no Atatürk Stadium,
onde jogaram as seleções de Belarus (36º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção do Cazaquistão
(137º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram: Eliminatórias Continentais
2010Brest 10/10/2009 BLR4:0 (1:0)KAZ First stage2010Almaty 01/04/2009 KAZ1:5 (1:0)BLR First
stage
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Veaceslav Banari-MDA
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Vyacheslav Hleb, aos 44 minutos do primeiro tempo, ele que é
jogador do Dinamo Minsk-BLR, fazendo seu oitavo gol pela seleção mundial.
Mais um amistoso, foi realizado no dia 17/11/2010, na cidade de Seeb, no Seeb Stadium, onde jogaram
as seleções de Omã (96º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção de Belarus (42º no ranking da
FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções nunca haviam jogado.
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Abdul Rahman Al Amri-KSA
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Aleksandr Martynovich, aos 5 minutos do primeiro tempo, ele que é
jogador de Belarus.
Amistosamente no dia 11/08/2010, na cidade de Kaunas-LIT, no Dariaus Ir Gireno Stadium, jogaram as
seleções da Lituânia (52º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção de Belarus (77º no ranking da
FIFA).
Slovakia have already upset Russia at home which other teams are capable of following their
lead?
The Euro 2012 qualifiers are underway, and though it is still early in the process, it is never
too early to start making predictions! At this point, most teams have already played two games
and its mathematically possible for every team to still qualify.
Futbolitinos, the transfer deadline window is now shut! Seedy
agents all became instant millionaires when "under the table" deals were finalized yesterday,
including Coutinho's loan move from Inter Milan to Espanyol
(above).
Every summer, there seem to be more and more quality players offloaded from the big spending
clubs. As these big money clubs are constantly trying to make a splash in the transfer market, some
really good players are often pushed out the door. I think this is happening more often now than
ever, due to clubs like Man City, Chelsea, and the Spanish giants.
Liverpool travel to St Andrews for their next Premier League outing, hoping to take more than
the point that David Ngog's strike earned them on their last visit.
With Liverpool drawing both games last season against Birmingham, 2-2 at home and 1-1 away, plus
the previous 4 Premier League games before that, when these teams have met, they will certainly be
looking to improve on their away record.
Those were 150.000 Euros not well spent for Wolfsburg. Felix Magath loaned
Aliaksandr Hleb from Barcelona for a special €100k per game and €50k per goal fee. Thus,
Magath's total expenses for Saturday's trip to Dortmund added up to €150k, not counting the
damage Dortmund's fresh in form offense caused all afternoon.
Will Olic End His Goal Drought This Weekend And Put Bayern Munich Back On Track?
Saturday's Bundesliga action featured the highs and the lows of Bundesliga life: from Mainz
taking their winning streak to seven in a row and equalling the record for best Bundesliga start of
all time, to Felix Magath's Schalke stumbling to a disappointing loss at Nurnberg.
James Collins grabbed a point for Villa with a well taken half-volley from close range to cancel
out Roger Johnson's fortuitous opener early in the 2nd half in a game that was low on quality, but
high on chances, and will have done little to ease the nerves of fans of either team.
Once again it was a case of early chances wasted, Gabby practically served the opener on the
plate thanks to some comedy goal keeping from Ben Foster, only to slice his effort over the
bar.
How can I afford myself in fantasy? How can I afford not to? Jeremy Spitzberg: what have I missed?
Neal Thurman: no Rooney :-( but Nani in and with an assist Neal Thurman: Chicharito goal Neal
Thurman: Brum goal from Hleb Neal Thurman: WBA lost another defender to injury (Cech) Jeremy
Spitzberg: and thus the barn door conundrums begin Neal Thurman: Philips started for BPL - probably
should
Iain Spragg returns to join Adrian Clarke & Iain Macintosh for half an hour of devilish debate
on all the hottest stories dominating football this week.
Fact or Fiction Should Capello get the axe if England fail to start their Euro 2012 with two
victories?
