Arsenal [Archive] - Page 3 - PESGaming Forums

Scarface

12-01-2005, 13:14

Ronaldinho admits he would be more afraid if Barcelona were playing Arsenal, rather than Chelsea, in the next round of the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona will face Premiership leaders Chelsea in the second round of Europe's most prestigious competition at the end of February.

It is arguably the tie of the round and Brazilian ace Ronaldinho is looking forward to coming up against an expensively-assembled Chelsea side.

But, while respectful of The Blues, Ronaldinho concedes he is a bigger fan of Arsenal and feels the current Premiership champions are a classier team than their London rivals.

"Chelsea look comfortable with the team they have, they are playing well and our meeting will be a very good game."

"But I don't believe they have the same class as Arsenal yet. Arsenal have some of the best players in the world and have great movement.

"Every goal they score is perfection. You rarely see them score a boring goal.

"I admire Arsenal most. Their skill is fantastic and it would be an honour to play with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.

"In Arsene Wenger they also have a coach who seems to bring the best out of players and is highly respected in Europe."

Ronaldinho picked up Fifa's World Footballer of the Year prize in December, fending off competition from Henry for the award.

The fleet-footed attacker, though, feels France international Henry was a more deserving winner of the title.

"It is fantastic when people call you the best player in the world. You want to be the best whatever job you do and no matter how much you get paid.

"But I feel Henry is the best in the world, he's the complete striker.

"There's nothing he can't do. He's a footballing genius."

Well said Ronald ;)

Figо10

12-01-2005, 13:38

Well said Ronald ;)
:D I haven't heard a winner who says, "I deserved to win this absolutely, and I should win it again next year." :D

Though Deco did say he should win the award which Shevchenko won :confused:

cracky

12-01-2005, 13:41

i think arsenal should get rid of lehmann cause he just makes too many stupid costly mistakes. his goalkeeping skills are good but his attitude is crap and hes just basicly not good enough :)

Scarface

12-01-2005, 13:43

Figо10

12-01-2005, 13:54

It would be good to hear someone be that honest, and say that :D

That's real modesty from Deco's part ;) I don't like Deco, but over the year, I think he achieved more than Sheva. It was probably more of an award for consistent greatness on Shevchenko's part.
Yeah, though Deco really did rise that year. From team-player of a Portugese club to a Champions League and domestic league winner, playmaker of famous Spanish club Barcelona, and regualr Portugese international guiding his nation to the Euro 2004 final :)

Figо10

12-01-2005, 14:22

Arsenal line-up £16m swoop for Essien

Arsenal may be forced to splash out £16million for Lyon's Ghanaian star Mickael Essien to bolster their midfield ranks and ensure they are not beaten in the race for his signature.

Mickael Essien: Arsenal target (ShaunBotteril/GettyImages)
Highbury manager Arsene Wenger is waiting for developments on the futures of Brazilian duo Edu and Gilberto. Gilberto has a back injury which has already kept him out since late September and could finish the rest of his season, while Edu is refusing to sign a new contract.

Sources close to the club believe both outcomes will be negative.

And if neither situation improves soon, Wenger will almost certainly try to sign Essien, a 22-year-old Ghanaian midfielder, who has been attracting interest from across Europe with his impressive form for French League leaders Lyon.

He has caught the eye of Gilles Grimandi, the former Arsenal defender who is now the club's scout in France. Wenger would prefer to wait until the summer to make any move for the player, who is valued at around £17million by Lyon.

But his hand may be forced by the lack of numbers in midfield. Needing reinforcements for the rest of the season, and with Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid also watching Essien closely, Wenger may have to make his move immediately.

Lyon would like to keep Essien, at least until the end of the season, because they are still in the Champions League. But they have shown in the past that they find big-money offers difficult to refuse - as was the case with Steve Marlet and Steed Malbranque who both joined Fulham.

Arsenal are not usually big spenders in the same manner as Manchester United, Chelsea or even Liverpool.

But their record signing, Spaniard Jose Antonio Reyes, signed a year ago out of the blue for what will amount to £16 million - including appearances and achievements - from Sevilla.

And none of Arsenal's three potential competitors for Essien would baulk at the asking price.

Lyon signed Essien two years ago in a £6million deal from Corsican club Bastia after fighting off interest from Paris Saint Germain.

From www.soccernet.com

Scarface

12-01-2005, 16:12

Not good news for Gilberto Silva and Arsenal. He is not likely to retun till mid-April at the earliest :( I know, many Arsenal fans do not rate him highly, but I am one of his supporters, and rate him as a terrific holding midfield player.

Manager Arsene Wenger said: "The news I had from the specialist he (Gilberto) has seen was rather good. But we want to check that with our own specialist."

Wenger said mid-April would be the earliest date for a return "even if it (the news) is positive" from the club's experts.

With the 28-year-old all but ruled out for the rest of the season and fellow Brazilian Edu free to talk to other clubs, Wenger could be tempted to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window.

Norwich loanee David Bentley has also suffered an injury setback, and looks to have played his last game for Norwich. Despite, DB Jnr not consistently setting the world alight at Carrow Road, he has showed his tremendous potential at times, and helped Norwich to a rare win against Bolton recently, with 3 assists.

David Bentley, on loan from Arsenal to Norwich City, has been ruled out for up to three months after tearing his medial knee ligament during last Saturday's FA Cup defeat at West Ham United

Norwich City's Premiership survival hopes depend on big game players such as Bentley and our England Under-21 international has been waiting for the results of a scan on his knee.

Canaries boss Nigel Worthington said; "David's had a scan on the knee and it's quite a severe tear of his medial knee ligament. He'll see a specialist today when the picture will become clearer but it could be anything up to three months."

Bentley has made 21 appearances, scoring once, since moving to Carrow Road on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal.

adams9802

12-01-2005, 19:33

Yeah Wenger already said that if Edu didn't sign that he would get a new midfielder regardless of the Silva situation. Its funny because they said not to long ago theat Gilberto would be back on January 10th. ALas not to be. As for all this talk about Essien I'm not too sure cause I know nothing about him. 16 sounds like a mighty price, but hey if Grimandi says its worth it then it must be. :rolleyes:

Nturtle

13-01-2005, 14:50

Well, I only knew that Essien was good in WE8/PES4 heh heh. Sounds like he is doing ok for Lyon, but the price tag is pretty steep. I think Gilberto has always had his moments and I rate him over Edu actually. I've only ever seen Edu play brilliantly once I think.

In any case...bad luck for Mr. Silva and Mr. Bentley...can Fabregas and Flamini hold the fort?!!? It sounds like Wenger wants backup/reinforcements for the cause!

pier69

13-01-2005, 15:09

i heard from my friends that gilberto needs 1 or 2 months to come back and play soccer

martin_cranie

13-01-2005, 15:16

I think Gilberto has always had his moments and I rate him over Edu actually. I've only ever seen Edu play brilliantly once I think.

No way mate, Gilberto is good but Edu is way better. his skill on the ball, his slick passing, his eye for goal.... Wenger is an idiot to refuse him a better contract. I don't often have cause to attack Wenger apart from his GK's, but for Edu i'll make an exception. He is a brilliant player, Gilberto is only 'above average'.

adams9802

13-01-2005, 15:18

No way mate, Gilberto is good but Edu is way better. his skill on the ball, his slick passing, his eye for goal.... Wenger is an idiot to refuse him a better contract. I don't often have cause to attack Wenger apart from his GK's, but for Edu i'll make an exception. He is a brilliant player, Gilberto is only 'above average'.
To be honest I think that its Edu who's the average player, he only had one good season so I think he's getting a little uppity about his contract. Its not as if he has been offered one unlike Pennant.

Figо10

13-01-2005, 15:19

adams9802

13-01-2005, 15:23

Edu is the best defensive midfielder at Highbury, after Vieira of course.

And he's better than Kleberson and Gilberto as well, because of his offensive abilities from the middle which are priceless to Arsenal.
He's looked fairly average this season when he's been on. Maybe when he has two good seasons back to back then maybe he consider himself good. Besides he's always seemed like he was gonna try to move away from Highbury.

martin_cranie

13-01-2005, 15:23

To be honest I think that its Edu who's the average player, he only had one good season so I think he's getting a little uppity about his contract. Its not as if he has been offered one unlike Pennant.

I agree that last season was his best by a mile but Gilberto hasn't really done anything, ever. we all saw his first game where he scored against Liverpool in the Community Shield and thought 'wow he's amazing!', but he isn't. Edu is much more effective in our Midfield, he contributes way more assists and goals. Gilberto genuinely doesn't bring much to us

adams9802

13-01-2005, 15:29

I agree that last season was his best by a mile but Gilberto hasn't really done anything, ever. we all saw his first game where he scored against Liverpool in the Community Shield and thought 'wow he's amazing!', but he isn't. Edu is much more effective in our Midfield, he contributes way more assists and goals. Gilberto genuinely doesn't bring much to us
I have to disagree there, I think that Gilberto does all the donkey work that no one on that team likes to do, espcially when you have a lazy midfielder like Pires. He sits back and mops up. Edu gets forward more but then we're caught out more when he's in. To me the middle of the park is far more secure with Gilberto. Vieira's current loss of form to me is somewhat down to the fact that GIlberto isn't there, Vieira got used to not doing all the work and can't cope now that he actually has to get stuck in...

martin_cranie

13-01-2005, 15:50

Vieira's current loss of form to me is somewhat down to the fact that GIlberto isn't there, Vieira got used to not doing all the work and can't cope now that he actually has to get stuck in...

well last season Vieira played mainly alongside Edu and we unbeaten. he hasn't played alongside Edu this season, so i don't think it can be put down purely to Gilberto's absence. besides there's noone better at clearing up a midfield than Vieira, when he's on form, so we don't need 2 players doin the same job at the same time. i think Gilberto's good, and i like having him in the squad, but i'm just not convinced that he gives us something essential.

adams9802

13-01-2005, 16:00

. besides there's noone better at clearing up a midfield than Vieira, when he's on form, so we don't need 2 players doin the same job at the same time. essential.
Well for one you're wrong about Edu play last season in the middle of the Park, Gilberto had 35 League appearnces. and only 3 of them were as a sub. I kinda view the situation like Tony Adams did, at home we can play Ljungberg and Pires no problem, away from home we really need to either have them track back orhave other midfielders hold for them.

Edit: also his passing is very good too, he has a pass completion percentage of nearly 86%.

Plus he never gets sent off which is refreshing.

Nturtle

14-01-2005, 08:30

adams9802

14-01-2005, 15:36

TRIO IN AT HIGHBURY?
As well as having registered an interest in Lyon midfielder Mickael Essien, Arsenal are considering moves for Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres, say The Times and AC Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, say The Guardian.

From Football365

Seems a little bogus?
Seems outrageous. There are no transfers stories for Arsenal so the media is just trying to create some. those three would cost around 40 million euro !

Scarface

15-01-2005, 01:03

Wenger rubbished the Essien rumours today.
Abbiati we seem to have been following over the past year, but that's the case for a number of keepers.
Torres has probably only been linked as Reyes wants him at Highbury. He has told Wenger to sign him in 2005 before another team gets him, as he is the best young player in Spain and possibly Europe. Personally I think he is very over-rated and will be far too much money, but Reyes has seen and played with him first-hand so he should know.
I think we will sign another player in the window, despite Wenger again saying he won't (just like last year). I doubt it will be any of the 3 mentioned though.

LiamK

15-01-2005, 19:17

Being the thoroughly pleasant bloke that I am, I thought I'd update you as to Arsenal's recent match against Notlob.

Arsenal suffered their first-ever defeat at the Reebok stadium as Bolton got their tactics spot on to severely damage their opponents' title hopes.

Bolton's deserved win leaves Arsenal 10 points behind leaders Chelsea.

Stelios Giannakopoulos stole in at the far post to head Bolton's winner after keeper Manuel Almunia failed to collect El-Hadji Diouf's teasing cross.

Robin van Persie came closest for Arsenal, but saw two efforts well-saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen.

However, it was Arsenal's keeper who was the busier as Bolton carried out Sam Allardyce's obvious instructions to attack Arsenal aerially.

And a lively Diouf duly provided the questions which Almunia failed to answer.

The Senegal international wasted little time in testing whether the Spaniard is less error prone than Jens Lehmann, the man he has replaced.

Diouf provided an almost constant supply of crosses, as he targeted another chink in the Arsenal defence, the nervous-looking Justin Hoyte at right back.

Time and again Almunia flapped and hesitated - crashing into team-mates Sol Campbell and Patrick Vieira in one instance.

After another missed cross Gary Spend sent a shot over the bar, with the Spaniard stranded.

Credit must be given to Hadji for the teasing cross which led to Bolton's goal.

But Almunia once again proved unreliable as Giannakopoulos was left in space to nod home with ease into an empty net. Diouf had already delivered a centre into the box which narrowly evaded Kevin Nolan by then.

And later, Nolan almost converted when the entire Arsenal defence, aside from Cole, allowed him to run free on to a loose ball.

Arsenal's defence of their title appears destined to fail because of their porous defence.

Earlier in the day Chelsea moved 10 points clear at the top of the table and set a Premiership record by winning their sixth consecutive match without conceding..Last season, it was Arsene Wenger's men rewriting the history books, but currently you would not take any odds on them surpassing the Blues' new mark.

In contrast, Bolton looked solid at the back.

Aside from one clear-cut chance in the first half when Van Persie turned and shot straight at Jaaskelainen, they kept Arsenal at bay.

But Arsenal's response after the interval almost resulted in an immediate equaliser.

However, Jaaskalainen kept out Van Persie's close-range shot and Robert Pires headed the rebound wide.

Bolton, though, gradually took control of the game.

And Gianakopolous broke free after latching on to Ricardo Gardner's throughball but steered his effort over the bar.

Arsenal continued to look shaky, and Bolton's fans roared their team's every corner.

Midway through the second half Arsenal brought on Dennis Bergkamp and Jose Antonio Reyes.

Van Persie, who had been well-marshalled by Bruno N'Gotty and Cesc Fabregas, who had lost his midfield battle with Jay-Jay Okocha, made way.

As the Gunners searched for an elusive equaliser, Bolton launched a counter-attack.

Diouf turned Campbell inside out but pulled his shot wide when it appeared he was about to make certain of the points for Bolton.

Arsenal offered little offensively, with an Henry shot easily smothered when he perhaps should have pulled the ball back to Freddie Ljungberg.

Henry tried his luck again with a free-kick late on, but Bolton were not to be denied.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Ben Haim, N'Gotty, Gardner, Campo, Okocha (Pedersen 79), Speed, Nolan (Hierro 87), Diouf, Giannakopoulos.
Subs Not Used: Poole, Vaz Te, Fadiga.

Booked: Nolan, Giannakopoulos.

Goals: Giannakopoulos 41.

Arsenal: Almunia, Hoyte, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Ljungberg, Vieira, Fabregas (Reyes 66), Pires, Van Persie (Bergkamp 66), Henry.
Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Senderos, Clichy.

Booked: Van Persie.

Att: 27,514

Ref: M Clattenburg (Co Durham).

ChelseaDave

15-01-2005, 22:56

slip sliding away, you're slip sliding away...

just thought i'd rub it in ;)

Stella Artois

16-01-2005, 03:16

I don't mind. If it costs you £200 million to win the title, what does that say about Arsenal.

Begone from this thread, you taint it, Chelsea Scum!

Figо10

16-01-2005, 04:09

Without Mourinho Chelsea wouldn't be anywhere near where they are today. Even if they were to spend £500m.

For Arsenal and United, we'll just have to wait for Chelsea to slip up. I don't reckon it's gonna be anytime soon judging by their recent performances.

adams9802

16-01-2005, 04:46

slip sliding away, you're slip sliding away...

just thought i'd rub it in ;)
:o sigh, oh well always next season. Its continues to be a very long hangover from "49", but I'm not too worried out team is so very young. I'm just glad that youth is finally getting the time of day.

Figо10

16-01-2005, 04:49

I think there's going to be a three-club race for the second Champions League berth.

Arsenal 48
United 47
Everton 46 possibly

;)

Jonny2J

16-01-2005, 08:18

TRIO IN AT HIGHBURY?
As well as having registered an interest in Lyon midfielder Mickael Essien, Arsenal are considering moves for Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres, say The Times and AC Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, say The Guardian.

From Football365

Seems a little bogus?u gotta be kidding me right? there is no way Arsenal could afford Fernando Torres

vanNistelrooy

16-01-2005, 10:28

Figо10

16-01-2005, 11:37

u gotta be kidding me right? there is no way Arsenal could afford Fernando Torres
Who knows if Arsene has some of his "secret cash" left??? Reyes and his 17m price tag came from nowhere, maybe Torres would mysteriously appear at Highbury as well???

Jonny2J

16-01-2005, 11:45

Who knows if Arsene has some of his "secret cash" left??? Reyes and his 17m price tag came from nowhere, maybe Torres would mysteriously appear at Highbury as well???Torres would most likely cost a Rooney kind of fee and i can only see Chelski being able to afford that

Ronaldo_is_fat

16-01-2005, 12:04

Arsenal don't need Torres firstly Arsenal already got lots of strikers including the youngsters and secondly Arsenal is not going to spend all their money on him.

Talking about Arsenal's current form, it's already stated clear that Vieira seems over the hill to me this season. His partnership with Fabregas or Flamini seems not convincing enough. Edu and Gliberto have proven how important they are in the Arsenal squad without them Arsenal's midfield lacks alot of possesion

Stella Artois

16-01-2005, 12:43

Mr Figo10, dear old Mr Mourinho has not actually brought much in the way of players to Chelsea; and are you honestly telling me that they wouldn't be in the position they are if they had a different manager?

Figо10

16-01-2005, 13:40

I never said Mourinho has brandished Abramovich's cash on players.

If they still had Ranieri as their manager, I'm sure they wouldn't be doing as well as they are now. They wouldn't be as solid and consistent as under Mourinho. If it was another manager in that place instead, Chelsea perhaps might not be doing as well as they are right now.

Stella Artois

16-01-2005, 14:09

Sorry but you don't know that, therfore it's an awful assumption to make.

Figо10

16-01-2005, 14:15

I just don't think any manager would do better in Chelsea's manager position than Mourinho. I won't know for certain, therefore I don't make any assumptions.

LiamK

16-01-2005, 20:41

I loved the chants on Wednesday night "YOU'RE NOT CHELSEA, YOU'RE NOT CHELSEA, YOU'RE NOT CHELSEA ANYMORE!"

I'd like to find someone who can give an honest argument against that. Clubs like Man Utd and Arsenal had to work to get where they are, Chelsea on the other hand, are sellouts.

You stopped being a football club many moons ago. Your away support is the only thing worth a light these days. Everything else is prawn-sandwiches, shares and boardroom executives. Daring to criticise Chelsea for changing is laughable.

LiamK

16-01-2005, 20:43

adams9802

16-01-2005, 21:10

And if Arsenal still had Bruce Rioch?

Jesus, talk about stating the bleedin' obvious.
IF We had Rioch we'd have 3 Champions League medals right now :p

Although LiamK I find it hypocritical of you to laugh off suggestions that you are aren't a football club anymore simply because United have been like that for ages. Chelsea is killing the game in England, much more of this and people won't start watching anymore, who wants to watch a season that is over with 5 months to play? I know its been 50 years since you won your damn title, but think about the consequences for football in general.

LiamK

16-01-2005, 21:21

I find it quite the opposite, although that's unsurprising.

Chelsea have added a little more excitement into the Premiership, it's now a 3 horse race. Chelsea have brought in some great players into the Premiership that can only be a good thing for English football, and The Messiah has spiced up the usual pathetic amateur mind games and general whinging between Fergus and Arsene.

Not only that but since the Abramovich/Kenyon arrival, Chelsea have given the supporters demands for the old badge to come back, as soon as we can get Batesy to sling it we'll knock down that stupid hotel and become a proper football club again. Ticket prices have been evened out so it's no longer £55 to watch Chelsea - Tottenham from up in the clouds and the Pride of London flag is coming back!

kallum

16-01-2005, 21:44

I personally, just find it hard how there players and the manager can be arrogant...when they know that they almost certainly would not be in their position if Abramovich didn't take over.

LiamK

16-01-2005, 22:05

...but Abramovich did take over.

If we're being like that, where exactly might Arsenal be right now if you really did merge with Fulham?

Or what if your owner didn't bribe the FA into unfairly allowing you promotion after the WWI? Years later he did the same thing, bribing FA officials into an unfair promotion at the expense of Tottenham who were relegated- and you wonder why they don't like you.

Let us also not forget that you founder and owner, Henry Norris, was himself somewhat of an Abramovich type figure at the time. With even less integrity. He failed to win anything at all, despite all his spending at the time.

What about if Arsenal had actually been punished for the doping offences committed in 1924?

Do you feel ashamed knowing your clubs arrogance after learning about your own history?

Remember that when your lot start singing about Chelsea's history.

Gary G

16-01-2005, 22:22

I personally, just find it hard how there players and the manager can be arrogant...when they know that they almost certainly would not be in their position if Abramovich didn't take over.

Mourinho has every right to be arrogant after what he did with Porto, he didn't just suddenly become arrogant when he joined Chelsea.

It seems like every thread involving Chelsea turns into an arguement about buying success etc, it's tiresome, just like all the Arsenal/Man Yoo arguements were not long ago.

Yi-Long

16-01-2005, 22:25

Not really sure why we're discussing Chelsea in the official Arsenal thread, but here's my tak on it; I dont give a shit if it's because of the money or whatever, but at the moment Chelsea are playing nice, attractive attacking football. I used to hate Chelsea, but now they have a good coach, some great players, and most important, a REAL team that fights for eachother and wants to win games and wants to win by playing attacking football.

So, as I said, I dont care if thats because of Abramovich or money or whatever. I enjoy seeing them play football.

Now about Arsenal, which is still my favourite club ofcourse:
I know not everyone is going to agree with my theory about the decline in form of the team over the last few months, but I personally feel it's because they miss Bergkamp. He's kinda the guy that everyone relies on. The guy the whole team KNOWS will have 1 or 2 or more great passes that will set someone in front of the keeper. He gets the ball to where it should go, he spreads the play, he's calm in possesion and thus brings confidence and rest into the group. I feel/think that Arsenal has always played better when he's in the starting 11. No matter if he's making goals or not, but just the general level of quality passing play etc etc just seems to go easier and more flowing and the rest of team seems more relaxed when he's playing alonside them.

Arsenal were doing great at the start of the season. Dennis drops out because of an injury and perhaps now being benched in favour of Van Persie, and immediately Arsenal seems restless and without confidence in the attack.

I also think the change of goalkeeper hasnt proved positive. You need a strong personality in goal. Someone to keep the defenders on edge. Almunia hasnt been doing that. Lehman does.
I'm not a Lehman fan (I think Arsenal should have kept on to that Austrian keeper Manninger), but after again seeing Almunia making a fool out of himself and his defence, I think it's time to bring Jenz back.

Hopefully Arsenal will from now on field it'sbest 11 players from the get-go, instead of messing about with young players etc (although I think Fabregas is among the best 11, and van Persie very close to being one of those best 11...)

codename 47

17-01-2005, 09:36

i don't think its all over for arsenal just yet, remember a couple of months into the season when everyone was saying how ''arsenal are gonna bllitz the league'', ''that they'll go all year unbeaten again'' then look what happened,so as long as arsenal avoid any more sily defeats to teams then they still could have a chance and maybe if they brought a goalkeeper and maybe a center half(center back)
i think for the summer they need to buy a target man to sort of replace henry when he's injured or needs a rest cause at the moment he's playing with a bad injury maybe a striker like yakubu who's powerful and has alot of pace

Yi-Long

17-01-2005, 10:18

Perhaps Arsenal already have the perfect replacement for henry; Quincy Owusu-Abeyie. Wenger had told Quincy he wants him to become the next 'Henry', scoring a century. He's still a bit young though...

codename 47

17-01-2005, 11:08

that could be the problem for arsenal, i'm sure that quincy is a good player but can they keep relying on these younsters ?

vanNistelrooy

17-01-2005, 18:16

You stopped being a football club many moons ago. Your away support is the only thing worth a light these days. Everything else is prawn-sandwiches, shares and boardroom executives. Daring to criticise Chelsea for changing is laughable.

There is changing, then there is selling out.

martin_cranie

17-01-2005, 19:01

Do you feel ashamed knowing your clubs arrogance after learning about your own history?

Remember that when your lot start singing about Chelsea's history.

What in god's name are you on about Liamk?! There's no one here that is suggesting Arsenal are saints, the fact is simply that no football club is squeaky clean.

It's nice of you to bring out these failing in our past but you haven't aknowledged your own. the fact is that none of us, not even Chelsea executives, know where Abromovich's cash truly comes from and if it's clean, so what the hell is Chelski's history? huh?

With corruption and underhanded tactics indemic in Russia - trust me i've been there - the fact is that your transfer funds may well come straight out of public funds. Roman is probably doing more damage to Russia than to the premiership

The point is that as the teams stand now, you haven't earned the right to be where you are. Manchester United may well be all about board meetings and businessmen, but at least they've earned the right to explore those areas.

It summed up Chelsea's attitude towards the cash issue when Mourinho had a go at Arsenal saying something like "where did Henry come from? you had to spend loads on him, so don't moan about not having as much cash as us". but we all know that we bought Henry with SOME of the profits from the sale of Anelka who we bought for a mere £500,000.

Arsenal players love their club as do Man utds, yours are there because they know with all the cash they'll get paid loads and probably win something

you wouldn't even be above mid table if it weren't for your OIL backing, whereas Arsenal made their own way up thru excellent FOOTBALL business.

LiamK

17-01-2005, 19:33

Please don't deliver that old line about Chelsea being mercenaries and everyone else huge fans of their clubs. It's absolutely ridiculous.

What was Patrick Vieira deliberating over this summer if he loves Arsenal with all his heart?
Was Thierry Henry stood on the North Bank drinking Bovril with his red and white scarf as a kid?
Don't get me started on Sol Campbell.

Everyone's a mercenary, football is a business as much as it is for Charlton, Portsmouth, Arsenal and Chelsea. Dont' start denying it.

As for all the Norris business, I was merely illustrating how alike Chelsea and Arsenal are in terms of 'dodgy business'. Which is suddenly the Chelsea-dig-of-the-month for all Arsenal fans. In fact, it's only Henry Norris which has actually been found guilty of anything! It was a response to Kallum's post.

Arsenal have the audacity to give it 'Carefree wherever you may be, Chelsea ain't got no history' when they've no idea what history is!

Arsenal fans believe that history equates to silverware. We may not be as old as you, we may not have won as much, but at least we weren't bought up by a crook who wanted to close us down, shift us away from our roots, and then bribe his way into the elite. That's your history. Not sure you should be so proud of it, let alone try and mock our history - which looks a damn sight prettier than yours. As for 'considering Chelsea's past' - Chelsea's past involves 90,000 attendances, 'Save the Bridge' donation buckets, Kings Road glamour and the Golden 70s. There's our history, don't know why you wanted me to consider it.

Chelsea have made Europe every season since Gullit. Don't give it that 'Roman rescued you from midtable mediocrity' - simply not true.

ChelseaDave

17-01-2005, 23:23

This anti Chelsea stuff is bullshit.

"You havn't earned the right to be where you are now" Shut up, seriously. It really pisses me off when people go on about the same old bollocks concerning Chelsea, their players, and Roman Abramovich.
Liam speaks the truth, you should get some sense and actually read his posts.

Nturtle

18-01-2005, 03:20

Heh heh...calm down folks. Everybody can say what they feel. Let's stick to voicing an opinion then letting it lie - after all we're here as we are all football fans (I hope) not just internet holigans.

This IS the Arsenal thread as mentioned by Yi-long but I do think other fans can give a different opinion about the team - sometimes it's interesting and adds something to the thread.

Whoever plays best, has the most luck and can actually score the goals needed wins - look at Brazil in the world cups etc - it isn't all about the facts sometimes. I keep saying the ball is round and can go any way!! That's football folks!

Let's see how things play out this season...and I'm looking forward the Champions league too in Feb!

Scarface

18-01-2005, 17:10

Timo Hildebrand, linked with a move to Manchester United in some quarters over the weekend, is ready to leave Stuttgart.
The highly-rated keeper is behind Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann in the pecking order for Jurgen Klinsmann's Germany side but has been a consistent performer in Die Bundesliga.

Despite being offered a new contract to stay with the Schwaben, the 25-year-old has decided that his future lies elsewhere by rejecting the final offer from his club.

Stuttgart have already declared an interest in acquiring Lehmann as a replacement, and Arsenal could consider Hildebrand as a potential recruit themselves if Arsene Wenger seeks a new keeper in the summer.

However, it was Premiership rivals United who were linked with a move for the Worms-born shot-stopper in some tabloid newspapers on Sunday.

"We regret his decision but accept the fact that Timo has decided to reject our offer," lamented Stuttgart president Erwin Staudt.

The Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion outfit were reportedly prepared to increase Hildebrand's salary from an estimated €500,000 to around €1.8 million but the keeper's mind was made up.

The news will doubtless increase speculation over his future and England might not be the obvious destination.

Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin have been credited with an interest in the past but denied they were lining up a swoop for the Stuttgart number one

Link:
http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=250598&cpid=22&CLID=3&lid=&title=Hildebrand+snubs+last+of fer&channel=Football_Home

What a great signing he would be. Hildebrand or Frey would be fantastic. Hildebrand maybe slightly more so as he has a winning mentality and has won trophies already in his young career. Lehmann plus around £2m may do it, due to the fact his contract is nearing it's end. That would certainly be goalkeeping problem solved.

martin_cranie

18-01-2005, 19:23

We may not be as old as you, we may not have won as much, but at least we weren't bought up by a crook who wanted to close us down, shift us away from our roots, and then bribe his way into the elite.

I'm not trying to fan the flames but i just wanna point out the hypocrisy here. You say "brought up by a crook" - but like i said none of us know exactly what foundations the mighty Roman Empire is built upon, so lets not get try to create a void between where we were 70 odd years ago and where you are now.

And believe it or not i don't think that respect is earned thru winning as much stuff as possible, or the age of the club.

The fact remains that your current status has been brought about by massive, unearned, financial inputs, whereas that of other clubs has been brought about by years of hard work and, as you say, some dubious actions too.

I totally agree that we were a bunch of cheats in the past. i'm not trying to be anti chelsea, but i just think that a team should only dominate football because of football matters, not the oil revenues of a guy who wanted to bring championship manager to life.

If you can't acknowledge the fact that you'd still be crippled by debt and barely near a UEFA cup spot without Abromovich then thats your problem mate.

LiamK

18-01-2005, 20:42

I personally, just find it hard how there players and the manager can be arrogant...when they know that they almost certainly would not be in their position if Abramovich didn't take over.

^

That's what I was replying to.

I never doubted that Roman's helped us out of a shit load of financial trouble, merely took the opportunity to point out the hypocrisy in the above post. I'm fully aware of our current situation, that's why I didn't feel it neccesary to broadcast it. It wasn't ignoring our sudden income, I was indicating hypocrisy, not being a hypocrite myself.

The fact remains that your current status has been brought about by massive, unearned, financial inputs, whereas that of other clubs has been brought about by years of hard work and, as you say, some dubious actions too.

Other clubs...such as Chelsea?

Years of hard work turning a shit old division two side into a Top 6 Premiership side after saving it from bankruptcy by buying it for a quid. Batesy investing a lot of his hard earned money into the club, not to mention the 'Save the Bridge' campaign in which donation buckets where passed around the Bridge while fans coughed up the money to save our ground.

Followed by some dubious actions by our favourite oil-magnate.

Our history is frighteningly similar to yours. That's what I was saying. So all these remarks about 'Chelsea getting into the elite the easy way while we all take the hard way' are nonsense.

gollan

18-01-2005, 21:56

Oh you lot leave him the fuck alone.
First of all - and sadly I don't Mod the football section - this is the ARSENAL OFFICIAL THREAD. So here we all discuss OFFICIAL ARSENAL SHIT. OK? Good.
There is a growing tendency to get really boring around here - meaning digging and digging into stupid, endless, and humor-lacking (which can sometimes justify endless stupidity, but since we're talking 'bout un-funny stuff then there ya go) bullshit arguments. LiamK supports Chelsea. It's very legitimate that he'll advocate his side - which sadly he does pretty well in a convincing, yet annoying-LiamKish-style.
Some clubs have better financial years than others, this year and maybe for the next few years it'll Chelsea. Let it go. Even though they have so called unlimited funds they didn't go out and buy the flashiest players - they bought the right players and created the right mix. And it works together well. Sadly.
Hopefully they'll slip, but even if they don't - we should all start being men and not bitches and stop complaining about all this Roman money blah blah blah. fact of the matter is that most EPL clubs are much poorer than Arsenal or ManU and we never ever accepted their whining "oh you are richer blah blah blah" as the answer to this kinda bitchin and moanin would be "shut up cunt face". So shut the fuck up already about this.
Thanks

LiamK

18-01-2005, 22:06

Missed the point slightly there I believe. Despite the obvious Chelsea references in this thread, the debate was very much about Arsenal as well.

Of course I'm going to bite when the incredibly annoying urban myth about Chelsea getting it easy and illegitimately, while Arsenal fight tooth-and-nail like hard-working honest men for their footballing status. Besides, I think my posts have shared a little education about Arsenal for some members, as well as defend my own clubs honour. No need to thank me though :)

Nturtle

19-01-2005, 06:26

LiamK - quit while you're ahead mate! Arsenal thread it is gollan!! Here's me bit:

Alexei Eremenko Jnr....

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=249828&CPID=21&CLID=3&lid=&title=Finn+flattered+by+Gunner s&channel=Premiership

Must have missed it before...(apologies if it has hit this thread somewhere)...

pier69

19-01-2005, 07:18

he looks like trezeguet ...

Scarface

19-01-2005, 16:11

^^ Yeh, I can see the similarities from the photo there.
He doesn't usually look so similar though :D

I haven't seen him play a great deal, but going by the praise many give him, he seems to be a very talented young player. Arsenal need to concentrate on improving their defence rather than offence, but he could be the sort of attacker we need to succeed in Europe and improve domestically. We often lack a talented playmaker in midfield i.e Rosicky or Kaka, or even Lampard & Scholes!

codename 47

19-01-2005, 16:17

what do you think arsenen will do during the window do you think he'll buy before the end of january ? i can sense a big money move for arsenal in the summer maybe it'll be Wright -phillips which would be a good signing or valeri bojinov who has been strongly linked with arsenal

Scarface

19-01-2005, 16:37

I have a feeling Wenger may recruit one other player before the window closes.
I doubt this will be a big money signing such as Shaun Wright-Phillips, but probably a reasonably priced capable central midfielder, who we could rely upon if we need to call upon him. Although I hope Wenger does, I can't see him bringing in a keeper, unfortunately, although Stu Taylor may return from Liecester, where he has performed admirably.

I have a feeling in the summer, there will be much more transfer activity at Highbury.
I'm hoping for Hildebrand or Frey, Cristian Chivu, Wright-Phillips, Eremenko Junior, Mascherano and maybe Ronaldinho :p Edu, Lauren, Almunia, Lehmann, Cygan on yer bikes.

codename 47

19-01-2005, 16:42

Scarface

19-01-2005, 17:03

i think wenger will be very active come the summer as well,he would have seen the way chelsea have just over taken arsenal and he will then look to see what his teams weakness is a new goalkeeper ? or perhaps another defender ? when campbell is out the defence can look shaky ia striker is a must i'm not talking about a striker who can come deep i mean a proper goal scorer if so to give henry a rest as he playeing with damaged achilies which i'm sure is very painful especially if someone was to rake their studs down it
what of vieira ? how do you think he's been doing as of late

Yeah, a number of positions could do with a bit of strengthening. A poacher in the mould of Trezeguet would be tremendous. Aliadiere and Lupoli (in particular) i'm sure Wenger has big plans for. If Ali wasnt so injury prone, he would have made a large number of appearances for Arsenal by now. I hope his injuries don't ruin his career. Last year, Kolo Toure was incredible. He seemed to be the perfect partner for Campbell, but this year Kolo has looked shaky. Chivu would be a great defender for Arsenal, and shouldn't cost too much, being one of a number of good centree-backs at AS Roma. A new keeper is obviously a neccessity, and I hope Wenger signs an attacking midfielder, such as Alexei Eremenko Junior, or preferably, Tomas Rosicky.
Maybe that is striving for perfection a bit too much, as this season is far from over, but if we want to compete with the best, and win the CL, the team does need bits of fine-tuning, here and there.

Regarding Vieira - don't ask! :mad: He has been absolutely appalling this season. A huge number of Arsenal fans wish he had left for Real Madrid, so we could have strengthened all over the team.
Although, it's not by no means the only reason, as Chelsea have been fantastic this season so fair play to them, Vieira's inability to make his mind up throughout the summer completely blew our season's preparation out of the window. All the respect I once had for him, has nearly all disappeared. He can go to Real in the summer for all I care. He should realise how lucky he is. The majority of the footballing world would love to be in his position.

codename 47

19-01-2005, 17:07

I'm suprised wenger didn't go in for mexes when he was leaving auxerre as i'm sure he'd know a bit about him
a new creative midfielder would be good for arsenal as well

as for vieira the game that he dived against liverpool is when alot of arsenal and football fans lost patience with him.I think the return of giblberto would be good for arsenal, he may not be a driving midfielder but he can do all the simple stuff very well

Scarface

19-01-2005, 17:19

Mexes seemed to be heading to Highbury. I was shocked to hear him join AS Roma but not upset as his not the most solid defender available. Wenger apparently didn't think too highly of him, and you'd think if he had of done, a bid would have been made well before the summer, as he had been hot property since the age of 20, and well-known to top European clubs from about 17.

The sooner the return of Gilberto Silva the better. He does a wonderful job at protecting the defence. We need him back, particulary as Vieira seems to think he is the new Zidane, and wants to be the Arsenal playmaker. When, in fact, we have a 17 year old who is better at the job than him.

codename 47

19-01-2005, 17:38

We need him back, particulary as Vieira seems to think he is the new Zidane, and wants to be the Arsenal playmaker. When, in fact, we have a 17 year old who is better at the job than him.

:D ,but it seems it could be a few months before silva's back.Didi you know the cesc fabregas has played something like 26 games this season ?

Scarface

19-01-2005, 17:44

Yeah, Fabregas is starting to show signs of burn-out. He has done well to keep going as long as he has, considering his age.
We have been desperately unlucky that Gilberto Silva has been out for months, Flamini has missed a number of games through injury, Vieira through suspensions, and Edu has been a pain in the arse.
Unbelieveable that Cesc hasn't picked up any siginificant injuries by now. *Touches wood, knowing now i've said that, he will be crippled by Lee Bowyer at Highbury on Sunday* ;)

Gilberto keeps saying he feels good and wants to make his return against Bayern in the Champions League, but I can't see Wenger throwing him into such a big game when he has been out for so long, unless he manages to play 1 or 2 Premiership games previously. Wenger says mid-late April is more likely. :(

martin_cranie

20-01-2005, 02:26

I have a feeling in the summer, there will be much more transfer activity at Highbury.
I'm hoping for Hildebrand or Frey, Cristian Chivu, Wright-Phillips, Eremenko Junior, Mascherano and maybe Ronaldinho :p Edu, Lauren, Almunia, Lehmann, Cygan on yer bikes.

Yeah i couldn't agree more. i've been a massive fan of Chivu from the first time i saw him in the CL, a defender like that would be awesome for us. Hildebrand or Frey would be great, i'm not sure which i'd prefer, then again beggars can't be choosers, so with Lehmann and Almunia i'd be happier if we brought back Seaman or Jennings. I've never even heard of Eremenko Junior, but someone like Rosicky would be the icing on the cake! if your gonna buy a young playmaker it has to be him! I think it's only a matter of time before SWP comes to Highbury, it's the place he needs to be. Chelsea or whoever else would only get him if we didn't make an offer, and that aint gonna happen ;)

but i really pray that we do the deal with Stuttgart this month - Lehmann for Hildebrand. we'd be a 1000 times more solid at the back with him; undoubtedly one of the best young keepers in the world.

Nturtle

20-01-2005, 06:43

Yeah - I think it'll be a good deal for sure - building for the future whilst still doing reasonably well seems to be the approach. Here's the story:

http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=socce r/05/01/19/manual_174456.html

As for Viera...yeah...I really think the money would have been useful and a more all round midfield be gained. Rosicky sounds good,but I also agree Ermenko Jr sounds great as an attacking player...maybe bringing him back to a more Bergkamp-like position.

But hey, we aren't that bad at the moment, just unlucky at some time. Look at the goal vs. Bolton, the ball HAD to bloody arrive perfectly for Stelios! HA! For once I had to say well done to Diouf...

Scarface

20-01-2005, 08:48

Another defender who would be phenomenal.

http://www.worldfootballers.com/news.php?id=1649

I'd still probably prefer Chivu though. Not only is he superb in possession of the ball, he can strike a mean free kick from just about any range, and is very versatile so could fill in, at left-back, centre mid, and left-wing if need be.

Shame the Dellas rumour comes from a travesty of a football site though.

Skysportsnews are reporting Lauren has signed a 2 year contract extension.

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/Article.asp?id=250862

Lauren has agreed terms on a new two-year deal at Arsenal.
The African defender's future had been in doubt due to a wrangle with The Gunners over the length of his new deal.

Lauren wanted a two or three-year deal while Arsene Wenger would only offer him a 12-month extension.

With his current deal expiring in the summer, Lauren looked to be heading back to Spain with both Barcelona and Real Madrid keen admirers.

However, it now seems that Arsenal have relented and offered Lauren a two-year deal, which he has agreed to sign.

The 28-year-old was thought to have been offered the chance to sign a pre-contract with Barca to move to Spain in the summer, but the offer of a longer deal at Highbury has convinced him to remain on North London.

Nturtle

20-01-2005, 08:50

You're right about that site Reyes9...popups galore...Dellas hey?

I'd rather keep Lauren, and also one of our BEST players...Ljungberg!

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=250687&cpid=8

gollan

20-01-2005, 10:28

Is there a deal cooking for us getting Timo from Stuttgart? WOW!
I join the prayers...

codename 47

20-01-2005, 10:43

Timo is a excellant goalkeeper i remember a couple seasons back he set a record for longest period without conceding a goal
my only worry about him going to arsenal is that he is given a proper chance,what i mean is if he makes one mistake he isn't dropped from the first team straight away never to come back in it

Scarface

20-01-2005, 13:12

If a keeper of the quality of Hildebrand were to join Arsenal, it surely would be as the no.1 keeper. Wenger only seems to make big decisions (such as dropping Lehmann) when he feels there is something very wrong.
There are a lot of rumours that Lehmann & Wenger had a massive bust-up which led to the German being dropped, and other rumours allege that Arsene Wenger called the whole team (apart from Cesc and Ljungberg) in individually for crisis talks, and a number of the defenders said they didn't feel at ease with Lehmann in goal. That kind of talk would obviously be disturbing for Wenger and he would feel the need to take actions. They are only rumours but I don't think it is just for footballing reasons that Lehmann has been given the axe. He is a better keeper than Almunia, that is becoming very apparent now.
So, if Hildebrand were to join, he wouldn't be dropped for making one or two mistakes (that's more the way Fergie works), it would only be if he was causing the team harm like Lehmann was, but Timo doesn't seem like that, fortunately.
A swap deal would make sense for both parties. Hildebrand seems certain to leave, and I would imagine he wouldn't mind a move to Arsenal, and Lehmann is wanted by Stuttgart, so it looks quite promising. Fingers crossed.

Nturtle

21-01-2005, 03:29

Fingers AND toes crossed here! I think Andy Gray may have hit on the virtues of a reliable keeper here:

http://www.football365.com/opinion/andy_gray/story_140021.shtml

I have some sympathy for Jens Lehmann even though there's a touch of arrogance about the lad. I can understand his frustration because it's true that goalkeepers are the ones blamed whenever a goal is conceded, and it's fair to say that from an outsider's point of view he looks pretty hard done by.

But I'm not Arsene Wenger and I'm not paid to make those difficult decisions, thankfully, and at the moment it's difficult to argue that he's done the wrong thing. Manuel Almunia has kept several clean sheets and the Gunners have been unbeaten since he took over - though I think that may be more to do with the rest of the team getting their house in order than his own goalkeeping prowess...

Brian Clough used to say that a good goalkeeper is as important to a great team as a good striker and I agree absolutely. That's one of the areas where Chelsea have a massive advantage over Arsenal and Man United this season - in Petr Cech they have a settled, impressive keeper, with Carlo Cudicini waiting in the wings.

United and Arsenal have question marks about which is their number one keeper, and even whether a completely new face will arrive in January. That's not good for the keepers involved or indeed for the rest of the team, who appreciate stability behind them.

The problem with keepers at those two clubs is that they have very hard acts to follow. David Seaman and Peter Schmeichel both made big mistakes but they were so few and so rare and you never had to question who was the best keeper at the club when they were in their prime.

That means that anyone who wears the goalkeeper's shirt at those two clubs is being compared with a true master of the craft and they're always going to compare unfavourably because a keeper like Schmeichel comes along once in a blue moon. With all due respect, who at Chelsea is going to put pressure on Petr Cech because he's not Ed de Goey?

Roy Carroll is a perfectly good keeper - last week's horrendous mistake aside - but he's not what Fergie wants from a keeper, just as the five or six keepers that came before him were not what he wants in a keeper. He's tried all shapes, sizes and styles but none of them have filled Schmeichs' shoes. And you get the idea that he'll keep looking.

You might say that there are a lot of good keepers lower down the Premiership - people like Mark Schwarzer and Antti Niemi - but goalkeepers' form can be misleading. They look a lot better on the highlights package because they've got lots more to do and lots more chances to impress - it's a great deal easier to look impressive when you have ten saves to make rather than two.

But if you're in goal for a Chelsea or an Arsenal, you might do nothing for 25 minutes and then someone takes a pot-shot from 30 yards that's bound for the top corner and you have to be on your mettle straight away. If you're a striker and miss an early chance, you know you'll probably get a couple more, but if you're a goalkeeper, that mistake might be the reason you lose.

That's one of the ways goalkeepers are different - they have very different and probably greater pressures. They are part of the team but in a way detached. After all, theirs is a different art. They train differently and have their own coaches away from the rest of the group. That gives them a different mentality, they can't hide in the comfort of numbers like the rest of us.

When you have a special goalkeeper, as an outfield player it makes a massive difference. I was lucky enough to play with Neville Southall at Everton and he was one of the finest keepers of the last 40 years. He gave you oodles of confidence because you knew that all you had to do was score one goal and you would probably win, or at the worst draw 1-1. All the great, great teams have a great, great keeper like him.

On the other hand, I've played in teams when I've thought 'If someone takes a shot at goal and it's on target, it's probably in the way this keeper is playing' and that's an awful feeling as an outfield player because you're wondering whether all your work will be wasted by a second of madness from the man in goal.

At the moment the Chelsea players know that with Petr Cech that's not going to happen. You get the feeling that in years to come Chelsea goalkeepers are going to suffer in comparison with him....

Yi-Long

21-01-2005, 07:02

Fingers AND toes crossed here! I think Andy Gray may have hit on the virtues of a reliable keeper here:

http://www.football365.com/opinion/andy_gray/story_140021.shtml

Well... i dont really agree with Andy. I think Almunia has been pretty mediocre in goal, especially in his communication with the back 4. He looks shaky.

I also disagree with his statemnets that Seaman was the very best at the club and there was no doubt about it. I felt that when Manninger was in goal, Manninger did a brilliant job, and he looked more reliable and confident then Seaman did in his last 2-3 years.

Scarface

21-01-2005, 16:33

Hideous looking new Arsenal kit shots released:

http://img37.exs.cx/img37/1213/vfdv5lv.jpg

http://img37.exs.cx/img37/4083/fdvsfdv5qr.jpg

The front cover of this month’s Arsenal Magazine shows Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry revealing a glimpse of the commemorative kit that will become the first choice strip for next season, 2005/2006 — the Club’s last at Highbury.
Inspired by the first kit ever worn at the ground in 1913, the strip will be one of many initiatives to celebrate the Club’s time at Highbury. Club research and sporting memorabilia within the Arsenal Museum confirm the very first kit worn at the stadium was a much darker red, similar to that of Sparta Prague, who actually based their kit on Arsenal’s original kit way back in 1906. The Club is returning to this deeper shade for one season only — the very last season at Highbury — to recreate and reflect the origins of this unique stadium.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger is delighted with the initiative: "It will be very emotional when we move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium and it is great that the Club is finding ways to celebrate our last season at this fantastic stadium. Personally, I love the fact the team will be wearing a home kit that is inspired by the first one ever worn at Highbury. It’s not only a way of encapsulating more than 90 years of memories, it also takes us right back to when we started at this ground in 1913."

Club captain Patrick Vieira is also looking forward to remembering Highbury in this unique style: "The last season at Highbury will be very, very special for everyone at the Club not to mention the fans. That’s why I think it is fantastic that we will be wearing a commemorative kit that represents the history of this magnificent stadium. The kit is different to the red and white one we have become so attached to but this special season deserves a special kit and having seen it, I for one think that going back to the first ever kit from 1913 is a really nice touch."

Finally, Thierry Henry, who will be hoping to be wearing the new kit as the Club’s record goalscorer next season, agrees with his Manager and skipper :"I think the kit is great. It's back to the roots, back to what the first kit was like," said Thierry. "I like the fact that it's traditional and it is exactly how it was at the beginning of Highbury. This is the proper colour, right from the start of our time here, I'm sure people will appreciate that and will like it.”

News of when the entire kit will be revealed to Gunners fans will appear in a forthcoming Arsenal Magazine and on Arsenal.com.

It's nice they want to go retro for the last season at Highbury, but that shirt looks revolting. I hope it looks drastically better with the full kit, logo, sponsor etc. First impressions of it make me want to vomit, we usually have among the best kits in Europe, but this one is looking horrible.

Lauren/Campbell/Hoyte/Djorou sign new contracts

Sol Campbell and Lauren have signed new contracts to remain at Arsenal. Both defenders deals were due to expire in the summer, but Lauren has signed up for another two years while Campbell agreed to stay for at least that long.
Right-back Justin Hoyte, 20, who made his Premiership debut this season, and 18-year-old Swiss youth international Johan Djourou, have also agreed to two-year extensions to their deals.

"We have extended Lauren and Campbell, as well as Johan Djourou and Justin Hoyte, for a minimum of two years each. It could be longer," said Wenger.

"I am, of course, delighted but there was never any doubt about Sol staying. That's why I wasn't especially worried. Lauren, of course, it was dragging on as well. The young boys were no problem as they are good prospects
But in less promising matters, Wenger believes Edu is likely to leave for Valencia.

Wenger said: "I thought we made some progress but now my belief is more that he will go to a different club and I would bet on it being Valencia. I'm disappointed. I would have loved him to stay but he is free to choose."

Less promising? Who cares? Get rid of the whore!

Good news that Campbell's new deal has finally been sealed. This won't be the last contract Johann Djorou sings at Arsenal, i'm sure of that, he looks an amazing talent, and i'm starting to see why Swiss football experts claimed he was a greater prospect than Phillipe Senderos.

PETIT REVEALS ARSENAL COACHING TALKS

Emmanuel Petit has admitted discussing a coaching role at Arsenal with Arsene Wenger.
The former Highbury favourite was keen to get involved in that side of the game after retiring from football this week.

However, Wenger feels it is too early for the World Cup winner to adopt such a role with the Premiership champions.

"When I simply run, I have no pain but, to play at a professional level is another matter," the 34-year-old told L'Equipe.

"I had a talk with Arsene Wenger and he said he expected that.

"We also talked about a coaching job.

"He thinks it is a little too early for me. But I realised I had excellent relationships with the players."

Petit had hoped to feature at Premiership level again but also revealed an offer from Down Under.

"My first choice was to rejoin the Premier League," he admitted. "That league gave me the most fun; it suited my character best.

"I had an opportunity to play in Australia, one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

"I told myself: 'Why not that new professional league?'

"I did everything to find my fitness again. Now, in one day, it is 20 years of my life that have stopped.

"It is like a little death."

martin_cranie

21-01-2005, 17:00

It's nice they want to go retro for the last season at Highbury, but that shirt looks revolting. I hope it looks drastically better with the full kit, logo, sponsor etc. First impressions of it make me want to vomit, we usually have among the best kits in Europe, but this one is looking horrible.

yeah i agree, but it's a smart initiative. it'll bring in loads of extra revenue and it's the right thing to do. still the new look emirates sponsorship will look horrible even on our nice normal kit, so we haven't got much to look forward to in the kit department.

Less promising? Who cares? Get rid of the whore!

Good news that Campbell's new deal has finally been sealed. This won't be the last contract Johann Djorou sings at Arsenal, i'm sure of that, he looks an amazing talent, and i'm starting to see why Swiss football experts claimed he was a greater prospect than Phillipe Senderos.

Yeah i'm beginning to agree about Edu. i still think he's a fantastic player but he's a whining little bitch too.

I know all about the promise that Senderos has, so if you say this Djorou guy is meant to be even better then we have 2 of the most promising young centre backs in the world. now thats some good stuff, just as long as Wenger gives them a chance, for once.

Scarface

21-01-2005, 17:21

Yeah i'm beginning to agree about Edu. i still think he's a fantastic player but he's a whining little bitch too.

I know all about the promise that Senderos has, so if you say this Djorou guy is meant to be even better then we have 2 of the most promising young centre backs in the world. now thats some good stuff, just as long as Wenger gives them a chance, for once.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, i'm a fan of Edu as a player, he does a great job in midfield, and after just watching the Arsenal 49 Unbeaten Dvd, it became apparent to me, that he was actually a very important part of the team, but his been going on for so long now with contract threats, he can piss off to Valencia for all I care. Money is not the only issue with this, he is feeling threatened by Cesc Fabregas, and hasn't got the balls to stick around and compete for his place, so wants to head for the hills. We will still have 4 fantastic centre midfielders at the club (Vieira, Fabregas, Flamini, Gilberto Silva), providing Vieira finds his form at last.

I'm not sure if Djorou is already better than Senderos, as I have seen a lot more of Senderos than Djorou, but when he first joined I can remember a Swiss football person (?), (although hopefully not his agent :D) saying how he has followed his career since his early teenage years and he is awesome and the best young defender the Swiss have produced in years, and an Italian journalist was saying on talkSPORT the other day how good Djorou is going to be, when talking about the current crop of youngsters at Arsenal In the Carling Cup he has outshone Senderos for the majority of the time, but hopefully he will be able to step up and make the grade in the Prem in the future.

pier69

21-01-2005, 17:21

my god....thats the worst ever jersey i've ever seen

Scarface

21-01-2005, 17:40

my god....thats the worst ever jersey i've ever seen

They were my feelings when I first saw it aswell :o. Hopefully, it may look better when you can see the front of it, with the logo, sponsor etc. They were the colours we wore for the first ever season at Highbury, but it just doesn't look 'Arsenal'. I'd have much preferred a retro-red shirt rather than claret, but then I suppose that's not what they wanted to achieve.

codename 47

21-01-2005, 17:44

Scarface

21-01-2005, 17:47

Regarding the new kit has anyone seen any shots of it from the fron rather than just the side ? and is that really gonna be arsenal home kit for next season ? a third kit maybe but a full home kit :eek:

That is the only shot released so far. News of when the entire kit will be revealed to Gunners fans, will appear in a forthcoming Arsenal Magazine and on Arsenal.com.

It is most definitely going to be our full home kit though, but just for the one season (thankfully :D), as it's going to be our last at Highbury.

Stella Artois

21-01-2005, 17:51

Reyes9, you do a fantastic job at updating us all. Thanks.

And I actually think the kit will turn out really nice. Bleh.

Scarface

21-01-2005, 18:01

Reyes9, you do a fantastic job at updating us all. Thanks.

And I actually think the kit will turn out really nice. Bleh.

No problem at all, i'm glad you appreciate it. :)

I've thought Arsenal kits have looked horrible at first in the past, but then they have really grown on me, so hopefully that will be the case with this one aswell. Something tells me i'm not gonna have a change of opinion over this kit though :( But at least it's only going to be for a season.

Dellas' agent denies Arsenal bid

Traianos Dellas's agent has denied reports that Arsenal have made a bid for his client.
The Greek international is out of contract in the summer and is being linked with a move away from The Stadio Olimpico.

Reports in Italy have reported that The Gunners were keen on landing Dellas during the transfer window and had lodged a €1.5 million bid.

However, the player's Italian agent Stefano Antonelli has denied that Arsenal have been in contact.

"In the last few days, there were rumours saying Arsenal are interested in Dellas, but it's true that we have never had contacts with them," Antonelli told skysports.com.

"It's clear that if we were asked, Arsenal are a really important club and with a big prestige and we would talk with them. But at the moment, there haven't been contacts."

Antonelli admitted that there were clubs interest in Dellas - one of the stars of Euro 2004 - but he is likely to wait until the summer before making a decision over his future.

Hmm, Hildebrand & Dellas for free in the summer, yes please :D

Stella Artois

21-01-2005, 18:04

Meh, maybe I just enjoy the old school look. :p

What's your opinion on how we are playing lately? If I'm honest I haven't seen us play well for a long time.

Scarface

21-01-2005, 18:11

To be honest, I don't think we have performed to an acceptable level since the 3-1 victory over Aston Villa at Highbury. Obviously, we can't perform to that level every single week, and we are human, but in my opinion we have been playing nowhere near good enough to win a Premiership title. We only have ourselves to blame though. It took us far too long to get over the defeat at Old Trafford, and I still don't think we have that completely out of the system, but when we meet them at Highbury on Feb 1st that will give us the perfect opportunity to.
I can't really see Arsenal winning anything this year, as I don't think the hunger is there as much as it needs to be, but I suppose it's understandable after winning a Championship Unbeaten, but yet again we will have failed to win back-to-back Championships which is becoming annoying now.
We must beat Newcastle on Sunday if we are going to get into any momentum to give us any chance in the FA Cup and Champions League this year.

Stella Artois

21-01-2005, 18:15

In a nutshell, you've said what I think. With that in mind, do you think it's now time to start allowing the youngsters to play a bit more?

Hoyte, Djorou, Aliadiere (when he is fit), Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy etc..

Scarface

21-01-2005, 18:30

I would definitely like to see them given a bit of time in the team. I'm not saying the likes of Quincy & Senderos should be starting but when we arent playing well (i.e half of this season) i'd like to see them given a go. If Quincy can destroy Everton in the Carling Cup, why not give him a game in the Prem?
After seeing some of Justin Hoyte's performances for the Arsenal reserves, England u-21's, and the handful of games he has played in the full team, I thought he was ready to take over from Lauren, but after the Bolton game i'm not so sure. But then on the other hand every Arsenal player was shit in that game, so maybe that's unfair.
I've heard a lot of Arsenal fans who aren't impressed by Aliadiere, but if he can stay fit I think he could be of great use to us. He looks a lethal finisher, quite good in the air and has good pace, so he could certainly come in handy.
I don't think either Senderos or Djorou are ready yet, but they along with Ryan Smith (who are all 18 I think) have really got awesome potential.
Van Persie has always impressed me; he has yet to show his true potential for Arsenal I feel, but has shown some glimpses of it (such as his late cameo v Rosenborg and his well-taken half-volley v Charlton). I think Henry prefers having van Persie as his partner than Reyes.
Stuart Taylor should be our keeper for the remainder of the season in my opinion, if we aren't going to buy one in this window.
I think David Bentley will start make an impact at Highbury next year; he appears to be Wenger's pick of his young guns.
With all the talented youngsters we have, we surely should be making much greater use of them. But, Arsene Wenger sees them everyday first hand, so must know more than us fans, and see something that makes him feel they aren't ready. I just hope the same thing doesn't happen to most of our youngsters as has in the past with the likes of John Spicer, Jerome Thomas, John Halls, Matthew Upson, Steve Sidwell etc.

Stella Artois

21-01-2005, 18:34

I wholeheartedly agree (again) with what you've said (I sound gay now).

I can't understand all this 'keeper nonsense. We have 2 perfectly good 'keepers out on loan!

Scarface

21-01-2005, 18:59

I can't understand all this 'keeper nonsense. We have 2 perfectly good 'keepers out on loan!

Exactly. Also, it's not as if Stuart Taylor hasn't shown in the past what he can do for Arsenal. He has performed well in the Premiership and in the CL. He was excellent against Juve in the Champions League in the 3-1 victory, and denied Pavel Nedved one-on-one twice, for christ sake, what more can he do?
Wenger's reasons for not playing Stuart Taylor are 'medical'. How ridiculous, he has had one long term injury, after a pre-season game, when he came out bravely at the feet of an attacker, and the attacker jumped studs-first into his shoulder/neck :rolleyes:

woodsy

21-01-2005, 19:02

eh WTF , is that the arsenal kit for next season , its fuking horrible

Stella Artois

21-01-2005, 19:05

Begone from this thread, United scum.

Especially when you have the grammatical sense of a toddler.

woodsy

21-01-2005, 19:10

Begone from this thread, United scum.

Especially when you have the grammatical sense of a toddler.

fuk off , no need for stupid comments like that when im just giving my opinion u wanka

Stella Artois

21-01-2005, 19:16

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I am actually laughing at you irl.

Anyway, if you could spell maybe your insults would bother me. :D

Nturtle

22-01-2005, 01:49

There's probably not much sense in just posting a comment like that woodsy - everyone else has kept it civil really. And take things with a pinch of salt will ya? Stella Artois ain't the most diplomatic! ;) LOL

You must be able to laugh at yourself if you want to laugh at other people. :cool:

adams9802

22-01-2005, 10:40

eh WTF , is that the arsenal kit for next season , its fuking horrible
I agre with Woodsy here our new kit is the worst fucking thing I have ever seen. Its worse than this year's away kit. Fucking disgrace!

gollan

23-01-2005, 12:32

I would dare say that the reason we suck so bad this year is our BLUE away kit.

Scarface

23-01-2005, 18:09

I would dare say that the reason we suck so bad this year is our BLUE away kit.

I hate Arsenal using the blue away kits. Have we ever won a title wearing them? Yellow is our traditional away colours, so why can't we keep it that way? :confused:

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle

How on earth that finished 1-0 I have no idea. It could have been 17-0. ;)
It reminded me of the same match at Highbury a couple of years ago (when Wiltord got the goal after a good Luzhny run, if I remember rightly), where we put on so much pressure and had a zillion chances but only put the 1 away. At least we got the win, I had the nasty feeling we would be robbed in the last minute.
Shay Given was unbelieveable. Without him it could have been a cricket score.
Flamini was superb, Vieira played better than he has done for the majority of the season I felt. Almunia only had 1 save to make, but did well to keep it out.
We looked to be getting back to some sort of rhythm, with quick flowing football, and we created enough chances to win 5 matches.
Back into 2nd spot then.

martin_cranie

23-01-2005, 18:12

I would dare say that the reason we suck so bad this year is our BLUE away kit.

You've gotta be kidding me! I think the blue away kit is really nice, much nicer than the yellow one. yuk.

still the best ever away kit was, without doubt, the gold SEGA sponsored shirt in our last double season. oh baby was that a beauty :)

Nturtle

24-01-2005, 02:34

I think the blue is ok, but somehow it isn't very Arsenal-like...I agree the gold was interesting and actually pretty classic - wouldn't have been good for the away strip to go with the centenary one!!

I agree with you Reyes - what a game! Shay Given...wow...just don't know how he kept all those balls out!! A shame we didn't get a 1st minute goal to crack the door open...maybe that gave him confidence...but his positional play was great! Too bad about the penalty...hard to see I suppose, but very clear on the replay.

Personally, I was disappointed about Toure and the reply showing him whack Shearer with his elbow after a header...no place for that in this game...it ain't rugby!!

At least we are still in the chase...waiting...waiting...fo r Chelsea to slip up...

gollan

24-01-2005, 08:06

Oi. Let the Blues (tphoo) wear blue. Let us wear our colors. The gold was class, yellow+blue was OK (even though it's Maccabi Tel Aviv's - the team I hate the most) but that blue is killing me. I'm not saying it's not a nice outfit - it's just not our color.

AgentZero

24-01-2005, 11:13

edus confirmed he wont b w/ arsenal next season

martin_cranie

24-01-2005, 11:57

Well as long as he doesn't go to Man utd, like some reports hinted at, then i'm not that bothered anymore. i still think he's good, but if he can't agree terms then he's just gonna upset the balance of the team. let Valencia have him, i hope he does well for them.

pier69

24-01-2005, 13:12

i think its best taht valencia have edu , its also best for edu to leave arsenal , there's a lot of competition in midfield .

Scarface

24-01-2005, 18:41

Arsene Wenger has confirmed he will buy a 'good, experienced central midfielder' as a replacement for Edu before the window closes. Providing Edu leaves before then that is.

I have to laugh at Edu, every day he comes out with a pathetic announcement regarding his future. Along with a number of other Arsenal fans, I gave up caring around about 4 months ago :p
We all know he is going because he will only be sitting on the sidelines, as Fabregas is too much for him to compete with. Flamini is looking excellent at the moment, Vieira was looking close to his best against Newcastle, and with Gilberto Silva also returning soon, there really is no need for that whining little girl that calls himself Edu at the club.
It'll be interesting to see who the experienced replacement turns out to be.

Edgar Davids? ;)

gollan

24-01-2005, 19:25

I'd rather have an offensive midfielder who can play Denis' part - behind Henry (when we play in the formation of Denis behind Henry). Someone who's a little more attack oriented.

Scarface

24-01-2005, 19:39

I'd rather have an offensive midfielder who can play Denis' part - behind Henry (when we play in the formation of Denis behind Henry). Someone who's a little more attack oriented.

Maybe another Inter Milan player - Dejan Stankovic?

I'm not sure if he is being played regularly at San Siro, and he has a lot of experience. I'd imagine he would only cost around £4m aswell.

I would prefer Tomas Rosicky or maybe that Alexei Eremenko Jnr guy, mentioned the other day, but I guess they wouldn't fit the required experience that Wenger is seeking for.

Here's what Wenger said:

"I thought we had made some progress with Edu, but finally it looks like he will go to a different club. If I really had to make a bet I would say Valencia," said Wenger.["I would have loved him to stay here. But we have to deal with that now and focus on what we want to achieve. If he goes now it will change my plans in the transfer market.

"You must always prepare for solutions, but I haven't entered into any negotiations yet because I had always hoped Edu's situation would be sorted out.

"However, it will be an experienced player because we already have two very promising young central midfielders in Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas.

"Will we make a big signing? If you mean big money then no. But if you mean a good player then yes."

In case anyone hasn't already heard, and/or hasn't seen the Pennant drink-driving thread, he has joined Birmingham on loan for the remainder of the season. As his contract expires in the summer, it looks like he will not make another appearance for the Gunners.

Birmingham have signed Arsenal's Jermaine Pennant on loan for the rest of the season.
The 22-year-old winger becomes Steve Bruce's second loan signing of the transfer window after Salif Diao joined from Liverpool.
Pennant spent last season on loan at Leeds, but had wanted to earn a place in Arsene Wenger's first team this term.
The former Notts County youngster was arrested at the weekend after being involved in a car crash, forcing him out of The Gunners' clash with Newcastle on Sunday.
He has to attend a February 1 hearing at Magistrates Court to answer charges of drink driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance, as he was already on a 16-month driving ban.
Pennant, however, had not earned a regular slot in Wenger's starting XI, and he has been linked with several loan moves away from Highbury.
His current contract at Arsenal expires at the end of the season and it remains to be seen if he will get another chance with The Gunners.

adams9802

24-01-2005, 20:04

In case anyone hasn't already heard, and/or hasn't seen the Pennant drink-driving thread, he has joined Birmingham on loan for the remainder of the season. As his contract expires in the summer, it looks like he will not make another appearance for the Gunners.

Yeah his time at Highbury is gone he'll go to some other club for free which is a shame because he was starting to look good this season. Oh well its his own fault.

LiamK

24-01-2005, 20:23

Maybe another Inter Milan player - Dejan Stankovic?

I'm not sure if he is being played regularly at San Siro, and he has a lot of experience. I'd imagine he would only cost around £4m aswell.

In Ranieri's book he mentions Inter Milan ringing him up and offering him Stankovic, so I imagine he's available.

adams9802

24-01-2005, 20:38

In Ranieri's book he mentions Inter Milan ringing him up and offering him Stankovic, so I imagine he's available.
Isn't he a winger though? I thought we needed a central midfielder..

Scarface

24-01-2005, 21:28

Isn't he a winger though? I thought we needed a central midfielder..

He sometimes plays on the left wing, but when i've seen him at his best, he has been in the centre. His got a lethal long range shot on him, is a good passer, an aggressive tackler, and is about 27, with 25
+ international caps (I think) and a fair bit of Champions League experience, so he could be a good signing in my opinion.

S-D-P

24-01-2005, 21:34

essien and vieira would be a fantastic midfeild pairing.

LiamK

24-01-2005, 21:37

Essien's an incredible player, if Arsenal were to get him I would be most upset!

Oh, and who was the prophetic Chelsea fan who foresaw the Hildebrand to Arsenal rumours about 5 pages back? :)

Scarface

24-01-2005, 21:45

Oh, and who was the prophetic Chelsea fan who foresaw the Hildebrand to Arsenal rumours about 5 pages back? :)

:D I hope the rumour becomes reality. No doubt they'll be stumbling block, such as him being too well-known and/or highly-rated a keeper for Wenger to sign :o

essien and vieira would be a fantastic midfeild pairing

Yeah it would, but I can't see Arsenal signing Essien. The 4 centre midfielders we have already I am happy with to be honest, but I do think we are a bit in need of an attacking midfielder. Man U have Scholes, Chelsea - Lampard, and the rest of Europe all seem to have one, so it's about time we acquire one.
Tomas Rosicky should do nicely ;)

S-D-P

24-01-2005, 21:48

what about rio mavuba.

Scarface

24-01-2005, 22:04

Mavuba is linked with Real Madrid and Man U isn't he? He would be a good signing for most teams.

I like him, his a good little player. His career is an interesting story aswell. He was a refugee and born on a boat or something.

edit:

The 20-year-old is now fully eligible for selection in Raymond Domenech's international squad after the French government decided to make him a French citizen. Mavuba was born in a boat off Angola while his parents fled the civil war in the African nation and came to France as a refugee.
"I'm very happy to be French now," said the highly regarded midfield anchorman. "I have been living here all my life and now it is my country." Mavuba played in France's 1-1 friendly draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Rennes on 18 August, but is now eligible to play full competitive internationals for his country.

Scarface

24-01-2005, 22:50

Dutch wizard Dennis Bergkamp has said he wants to stay at the club until 2006 and then retire. Dennis is out of contract at the end of the year and he said: "It would be nice to have another year, to experience the last year at Highbury.

"My decision would be to have another year, but I don't know what will happen. Everything will be sorted out at the end of the season."

He added: "Sometimes it is difficult to know what the boss and the club are thinking. I am in my 10th year at the club and as for a testimonial, we are thinking about it.

"But I am still focusing on my playing career and we will have to see what happens. A testimonial, as I see it, is the last game of your career."

Speaking after the win against Newcastle where he scored the winning goal, Bergy said: "It was very important to get a result because we are looking to get our form back," he said. "We did not get the goals we should have got but we did not give anything away and to battle like this gives you something extra."

"We have been struggling for top form so we try not to look at the table at the moment. But it is a big period coming up for us with the Champions League and the FA Cup as well. We have to get our form back and start playing like we used to.

"It feels like we have lost too many points [in the League] at this stage and we have to get this right by trying to get our normal game together. As soon as we do that we might look at the table again."

Thierry added: "He fancies playing another year I also fancy him playing for another year.
"I have played with a lot of great players and he is amazing. He always has a great desire when he is on the pitch and you can never complain about him.

"At his age, to be doing what he is doing, it is unbelievable. I don't know if I will still be playing at his age. He is a great guy."

http://arsenal.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=880&p=2&stid=8371378

Then after that, he could stay just for the 1st season at Ashburton Grove :D

Yi-Long

24-01-2005, 23:36

http://arsenal.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=880&p=2&stid=8371378

Then after that, he could stay just for the 1st season at Ashburton Grove :D

I would love seeing Bergkamp play as long as he's still able to cope at this level. He doesnt show his age so he should continue. He's one of the game's most valuable player; so very special in his touch and vision. Gorgeous player to watch. :)
It is becoming a bit funny though, as this retiring stuff has been going on for 4 or 5 years already, everytime he just stays at top-level and postpones retirement :D

martin_cranie

25-01-2005, 00:16

Yeah there's only one Dennis Bergkamp alrite. I think he's got the capability to go on for years to be honest. As Yi-Long says it's his technique and vision that make him so incredible, so as long as he keeps his flexibility and stamina up then he's sorted.

I'm stating the obvious when i say this, but i've never ever seen anyone pass the ball over short and middle distances like he does. He finds a pass out of nothing with the greatest of ease. I worship this guy :)

Nturtle

25-01-2005, 02:18

adams9802

25-01-2005, 10:05

Yeah, I think we are really missing "the next Bergkamp" as Reyes9 mentions - a kind of player of his class is unique and really adds the Scholes / Lampard factor into a team. Good passer / good scorer etc.

Well, I see Dennis staying on as he still looks sprightly and his positioning skills are great - when you have that, do you really need to outrun the rest of the world? Heh. We'll see what Mr. Wenger comes up with as an experienced player then...maybe we can just remind him that we can use Bergkamp as an AMF! Ha!
Maybe if he signs and he's not first choice then yeah let him stay, the occasional start and a great sub. But its time to start moving on, his well timed comments to win himself another year on his contract won't fool Wenger though.

codename 47

25-01-2005, 11:26

I was checking teletext last night and it said something about arsenal being banned from transfers for 2 years after they used unregistered agents for a deal can anyone confirm if this is true ? as all skysports news were talking about was craig bellamy and his stinking interview

Combo

25-01-2005, 11:59

Yep its true, the player concerned was Qunicy awusi abeiye.

O well just hand Chelsea the league next yr.

codename 47

25-01-2005, 12:08

Yep its true, the player concerned was Qunicy awusi abeiye.

O well just hand Chelsea the league next yr.

so no transfers for two years :eek: thats beyond bad for arsenal,with almunia and lehmann for goalkeepers,edu going and the potential fear of hery getting injured it could be a long struggle for arsenal.the only good thing is that they've got some excellant young players,are they going to appeal as it wouldn't suprise me if they did ?

LiamK

25-01-2005, 14:20

I saw the term 'suspended transfer' or something and assumed it meant a transfer block, but surely that would've been big back page news and stuff?

Anyone know what suspended transfers actually mean?

codename 47

25-01-2005, 15:13

JoeyM

25-01-2005, 15:30

Arsenal were caught using an unlicensed agent, and have been warned if they're caught doing it again that they will face a ban from all transfers for 2 years

codename 47

25-01-2005, 19:28

i'm starting to understand now,but i would have thought there would have been more media coverage about,theres not even one story about it in the papers i've read

adams9802

25-01-2005, 19:38

Arsenal were caught using an unlicensed agent, and have been warned if they're caught doing it again that they will face a ban from all transfers for 2 years
Its a suspended sentence and a fairly minor techinical issue, we'll get the fine and appeal the transfer ban which will probably be overturned. We'll proly get some probation any way.

Scarface

25-01-2005, 21:02

i'm starting to understand now,but i would have thought there would have been more media coverage about,theres not even one story about it in the papers i've read

I've heard a few stories mentioning it, but it's not as big a deal as it sounds. Arsenal are apparently deciding over whether to appeal the decison. But the suspended 2 year transfer ban is just a warning. If we were to commit the same offence again we would then get a 2 year transfer ban.

In fact, Arsenal are looking to appeal the FA charge according to this site I just read.

http://www.worldfootballers.com/news.php?id=1863

More worrying news today is that Kolo Toure has been charged for nudging Alan Shearer on his shoulder ;) He looks likely to miss 3 games including the Man Utd game at Highbury. Hopefully, his behaviour in the past and good reputation may earn him a lesser sentence but I doubt it :(

LiamK

25-01-2005, 21:06

More worrying news today is that Kolo Toure has been charged for nudging Alan Shearer on his shoulder ;) He looks likely to miss 3 games including the Man Utd game at Highbury. Hopefully, his behaviour in the past and good reputation may earn him a lesser sentence but I doubt it :(

Shearer's game consists entirely of elbowing and kicking defenders. Then as soon as he gets it back he turns into a whinging drama queen.

There should be an FA rule allowing defenders to elbow Alan Shearer.

S-D-P

25-01-2005, 21:15

i have only seen mavuba play once and that was against ireland,he seemed a capable player but he wasn't that much involved in the game.Utd see him as a replacement for scholes.

Scarface

25-01-2005, 21:44

Shearer's game consists entirely of elbowing and kicking defenders. Then as soon as he gets it back he turns into a whinging drama queen.

There should be an FA rule allowing defenders to elbow Alan Shearer.

Haha, true :D. Toure had a great game (his first in ages!) against Shearer, and kept him quiet the whole game, shame he felt the need to elbow him, it looked completely needless and will probably prove costly :o Cygan in the centre of defence to face Man U is a bit worrying.

i have only seen mavuba play once and that was against ireland,he seemed a capable player but he wasn't that much involved in the game.Utd see him as a replacement for scholes..

Potentially he would be a good signing, but replacement for Scholes? :eek: He looked more of a Makelele than a Scholes when i've seen him play. I think he would be more likely to play the anchor role for Man U, if they signed him.

On Arsenal.com they are doing a vote on the Highbury commemorative patch

Here are the choices:

*The Art Deco façade of the East Stand with the outline of Herbert Chapman's bust in the middle.

*The Art Deco façade of the East Stand with '1913-2006' underneath and a representation of the trophies won whilst at Highbury around it.

*A circular badge listing the trophies Arsenal have won while at Highbury and their years. The words and dates would spiral inwards towards the centre where there would be space for the words "Success 1886-2006"

*The clock face from the Clock End

*Images of players from the past and present in the different kits