Transfer madness 3 go, 2 in and £9m!!!

Well, the dust seems to have settled to reveal the full picture of yesterdays mayhem.

Cashley has gone to the bank of Chelsea and in return we get Gallas and £5m. Not sure who has won out of this deal, but at least Mr. Pop Idol has left the club that got him where he is today, I hope he doesn’t have a recurrence of the injury that forced him to miss most of last season!!!!!! As for Gallas, yes he is versatile, yes he can add some much needed strength to the midfield, so lets see if he wants to be a Gunner?

The simpleton has gone back to Spain, thank God I won’t have to bump into him wandering aimlessly around Brent Cross with his vertically challenged family – Adios Jose Antonio and thanks for the 3 or 4 good games. In return, Arsene has his Beast, Baptista along with £2m. Possibly a good signing if he can settle in London, Gilberto, its down to you.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, was Villa Real, not satisfied with an injured Bobby, have paid £2m for Cygan – there is a God out there.

At the end of the day, I think we have come out of this debarkle pretty well, £9m to hopefully put towards the January 31st deadline, and 2 quality players that need to settle in quickly.

How different this team looks to the ‘invisibles’, at least now there is some physical strength in the side again, and the bully boy tactics of Bolton, Wigan and the like won’t carry any weight this season. Let’s put our trust in Arsenal’s most successful Manager to get it right once again, and get behind the new Gunners.

Arsenal progress to next round of Champions league

A rainy night at the Emirates saw the Gunners progress to the group stages of the Champions league and guarantee £12m to add to the coffers to pay for the new stadium!!!!

The first game under the floodlights should have been a memorable occasion, however a weakened team saw us struggle against a Zagreb side intent on defending a 3-0 disadvantage. It wasn’t until the introduction of Thiery, Gilberto and finally Theo that saw us show any intent and finally edge past Zagreb in the final minute to win 2-1, and secure our first home win in the new arena.

Arsene chose to put out a weakened side, perhaps to rest our premier squad for the task ahead, however this team is clearly not yet performing at an acceptable standard to grace the world’s best stadium. There were flashes of brilliance from Van persie, and Freddy had a solid game, when not being brought down by a cynical Croatian. Cesc was fairly anonymous, and the defence looked suspect when put under the pressure of set plays, Kolo was left too much to do in this company. Hleb, whilst great when running with the ball has for some reason a lack of confidence when in sight of the goal, perhaps Rosiky will prove to him its OK to have a shot now and again. Whilst we never looked under threat of losing, we equally didn’t threaten the Zagreb goal nearly enough, a couple of goal line clearances aside, we lacked the killer instinct, and whilst Adebayor may have potential, last night he showed just how far he has to travel.

The arrival of Thiery, created a unanimous roar within the stadium and merely the threat of him being on the pitch was probrably enough to unsettle the Croatians, Gilberto steadied the midfield and Theo, showed some of the form we hope he will show in the Premiership, setting up his second goal in as many games for a persistent Flamini.

The crowd at the Emirates is still finding its voice, and it still seems strange to hear chants of we’re the north bank, and we’re the clock end  from people sitting side by side in what is the new north bank. There were a few occasions that the passionate Zagreb fans made considerably more noise, however the introduction of a thrown bottle at Cesc raised the spirits of the home crowd with one common voice more of this please!!!! Lets hope the middle tier of well to do’s rattle their jewellery louder for the forthcoming games.

Also slightly disconcerting is after spending a grand on a season ticket in the lower tier is to find out that the forst 8 rows have very little protection from the elements, still what do you expect for £357m?

Sorry for the lack of new posts recently, I’m now back and look forward to giving you the story from the lower east

Dein confirms talks

David Dein today confirmed that Arsenal have had preliminary discussions with Chelsea regarding Cashley, the talks have been very civil. Dein denied that Cashley was going to Chelsea stating that he is still an Arsenal player, he has been a player since the age of 16 and remains an Arsenal player.

arsenalHopefully this episode of Arsenal’s history will be confirmed early next week and we can invest the money in creating a stronger squad. I think we could do with some English players to strength our squad and meet future Champions League rules, however you can see Arsene’s reluctance as you currently don’t get value for money, Curtis £10m+, Carrick £15m+ etc. etc.

Not much other news today, apart from Rosicky is fitting in well in Austria on the pre-season tour.

Wenger confirms speculation over Viera

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed he has no interest in bringing Patrick Vieira back to the club this summer. The French international is set to quit Juventus this summer after their relegation to Serie B for match-fixing, and some Gunners fans have called for Wenger to bring the player back to North London.

Wenger is happy to let let Barca and Inter battle it out for Viera’s signature:

“That is not something we are pursuing at the moment. Ther are a lot of players on the market in Italy but the wages are still very high clubcall.

Following Arsenal’ 2-1 win last night in Austria, Arsene also stated for the first time that Cashley may not be an Arsenal player next season – what a surprise. Speculation continues over the fee from between £20-£30m?gunnerblog.

Cole to Chelsea???

Looks like a deal is close to being struck with Chelsea as reported on
arseblog.

There was a time, that Cole featured high up on my list of committed Arsenal players, being able to stand alongside, Winterburn, Keown, Dixon, Seamen etc. now the little shit is nothing more than a bad smell to scrape from the bottom of your shoe, an anoyance and nothing more.

Anyone who thinks it clever to bid £110,000 for one of Beckham’s rapper style watches, clearly has no respect for money, in a blatant display of personal PR – hidding behind the facade of ‘its for charity’ Cashley sunk to yet lower depths than before – what a complete knob.

Tonight sees Arsenal in their first of 3 pre-season friendlies in Austria, or as Arsene called them ‘Team bonding sessions’

gunnerblog.

Bergkamp Testimonial – Arsenal V Ajax

A fitting game for the first match at The Emirates Stadium, graced by some of the world’s greatest footballers. Today the Emirates received its first real test, 50,000 fans – it passed with flying colours.

A fairly lacklustre 1st half saw Ajax take the lead on 35 minutes, with the Ajax No.9 slip the ball past a stranded Poom. Some poor defending by the reserve side saw a cross whipped into an empty box and Huntelaar side foot the ball into the net. The only other activity prior to this was the inaugural Mexican Wave, snaking its way round the stadium after about 5 minutes. Arsenal were lucky not to go in at half time 3 or 4 down, Trarore was caught out of position a number of times and with Larsson sleeping in the midfield putting Poom under unnecessary pressure and was forced to handle outside the box luckily the ref was on Arsenals side for once. Poom produced a great save on the stroke of half time  from a powerful shot from Ryan  Babel.

The second half was played at a more sedentary pace as we saw the introduction of the Ajax and Arsenal legends. The introductions went on for about 15 minutes,with Bob Wilson acting as compere. the biggest cheers were reserved for Viera, Henry and Ian Wright, with the chants echoing round the new stadium, clearly an extra 20,000 supporters made the noise greater than anything heard at Highbury. The scum had a single representative in Davids and on 75 minutes he beat the aging defence’s offside trap, got passed Seamen, and with an empty net threatened to spoil the party. Grimandi to the rescue, saw a sliding tackle from behind scythe down Davids and earn a penalty, Ronald de Boer dutifully obliged by blasting the ball over the bar. With 2 minutes of play left, and after a plethora of Bergkamp opportunities, it was left to Kanu to win the game for us, a powerful shot, took a wicked deflection and crept into the left corner of the Ajax net, passed the hapless Menzo.

The football was almost the side show at this event, with the stadium taking centre stage, chants started up and died out as the crowd tried to find its voice in these strange surroundings. The stadium, whilst truly impressive, is cut in 2 by a set of club level and executive box supporters, who perhaps aren’t there to cheer as loudly as the old die hards? a little of the Highbury intimacy has gone forever in this commercially driven corporate environment. Lets see how the atmosphere develops when the Premiership kicks of for real in a few weeks.

Despite, what appeared to be vast open spaces on Tuesday afternoon, come match day the public spaces soon filled, the vendors did a roaring trade and the toilets, could barely cope with the half time rush, not a great sign for the future!

It was great to witness Dennis christen this new chapter in Arsenal’s history and I look forward to supporting the gunners for another 35 years in their new home.

Members Day Compilations (report below…)

Emirates The Magnificent – Members Day

Where do I begin, the walk from Arsenal tube station, turn right and not left, giving an emotional glance to the now forlorn Highbury; so many memories. As you turn into Drayton Park you get your first glimpse of the new stadium, across one of the 2 new bridges, past what will house the Arsenal Museum and down the steps to turnstile ‘H’.

A flash of the membership card and the turnstile whirs into action and you’re in. The reception areas are enormous, we are greeted by a team of girls handing out members day brochures which detail the days event. Up the stairs (very reminiscent of Highbury, although a bit cleaner) and out into the upper tier concourse, with its floor to ceiling glass walls, and magnificent views over the old home.

Gone are the cramped conditions of the old Upper East, the vendors still look the same although they have manage to increase prices significantly, £7 for a Burger, £4 for a slice of Pizza, £3 for a pint and £1.80 for a small bottle of water!!!! suppose they have to pay for the new place somehow.

A quick dash to one of the many toilet for my first Emirates Piss, not as smelly yet, lets see on a match day.

Through gate 111 and out into this magnificent amphitheatre, its awe-inspiring, a truly magnificent spectacle. I was first struck my the sheer size, and space, along with a pitch that actual puts Highbury to shame (the ground staff will surely maintain their reign as the premierships best pitches). I take a seat, pure comfort, padded luxury, (lets hope they stay that way, and respect is shown) my knees are’nt jammed around my ears, and the raking means views over the person in front are totally uninterrupted. This day gave us the opportunity to sample the stadium from any position in the Upper tier, a unique opportunity of which I make the most, finally settling in one of the corner positions that give s a great view. I was also able to look down on my new season ticket seats, row 4 lower tier on the edge of the 18 yard box.

Apart from the mountaineering equipment needed to scale the heights of the back row all other seating is easily accessed. The only disappointment for those sitting so high up will be the obscured view of 1 of the HD giant screens, however a quick glance to your side and its like sitting in the front row of the cinema.

Even with such a small crowd, and inpromtu round of ‘There’s only one Arsene Wenger’ left goose bumps and a realisation that the atmosphere inside, despite its openess is going to be outstanding.

The training, was secondary to the stadium, with none of the world cup stars taking part (sorry Song still looks crap!). Rosicsky was on show, taping the ball between, himself Adebayor and Tourre nothing to strenuous.

After the hour or so training Arsene spoke, and yes, there will be more signings before the start of the season – who will they be?

Arsenal (0) V Barnet (0)……highlights??????

The most exciting event of the afternoon was seeing the new kit get its first competitive airing… hoo f**king ray!! The new season’s on its way.

It was good to see some of the youngsters get a run out, and also to know that none of this team were at the twat Coles wedding, what a knob, clearly that arogant c**t of an agent has convinced the intelectually challenged Cole that the whole Chelsea fiasco was Arsenal’s fault. What a pair of complete knobs!!!Arseblog.

It was a fairly one sided afair, with the young gunners having the majority of the chances, check out the full report at The Cannon.

Almunia looked excited being back at Underhill after his last game some 60 days ago in Paris?

 

By far the most impressive player on the pitch was Jeremie Aliadiere, who looked sharp, fast and hungry, just needs to work a bit on his finishing or was it just the Barnet keepers had a blinder? Captain for the 1st half was Zinedine Cygan (no head buts!!) even he looked impressive against a fairly lacklustre Barnet attack, their best chance falling to some short fat c**t who managed to sh*t himself when finding himself in the box with the ball at his feet, taking a swipe and tripping himself up as the ball just managed to roll into touch. TAXI for Mr. Short Fat C**t from Barnet…..

Ever wondered why Arsene can’t fill the team with young English talent, have a look at Stokes, clearly dodged a few salads over the summer break, lose some weight you fat bastard, and as for Alex Song, I hope we never see him grace The Emirates Stadium turf… you’re shite!

Members Day – here we come