Samir and Gael off to Manchester City

City bound?

Sky are reporting that Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy are both on the verge of joining Manchester City. Arsenal stand to make some serious money out of these two deals, especially as both players have only one year left on their contracts. It is reported that Clichy will go for around £7m (not the £15m Sky initially quoted) and Nasri for £20m. If Arsenal can make £20m out of a transfer for a player with only one year left then that is good business in my mind. It also sets the market-rate for any Barcelona deal for Cesc Fabregas - if Arsenal can get £20m for Nasri and his one year contract, then I suggest that the bidding for Fabregas should start at £50m plus (Cesc has four years to go).
Sky claim that City are going to pay Nasri £180,000 per week. There is simply no way that Arsenal could (or ever should) try to compete with that sort of money. It leaves me in no doubt that Nasri, and his advisers, have had their end of this deal tied up since Christmas. That is the reason why he has not had any meaningful contract talks with Arsenal. Given the way in which Arsenal got Nasri from Marseilles is should come as no surprise. If you live by the sword then you will probably get cut in half by one in the future. We knew before he came to Arsenal what sort of a person Nasri was so it comes an no shock to me that he will go where there is big money - in many ways you can not blame him. 
Nasri had a fantastic first half to last season, and should probably have got the PFA award for player of the year. However, those first four months of the season represent the only consistently good form of his Arsenal career. I would not exactly mourn his departure as he has not produced often enough. Lest we forget the chance he missed at Bolton when faced with the opportunity to keep us in the Title race - rather than a calm slide-rule finish we got a ball smashed straight at the goalkeeper. In such moments do we see the true character of a player, and with Nasri I can take it or leave it. That is not to say, however, that we don't need a quality replacement - we most certainly do, and that does not come cheap. There is talk of players making up part of the deal - we better pray that it's more James Milner and Shay Given than Shaun Wright-Phillips and Roque Santa-Cruz!
Gael Clichy, as I said on here a while back, has never fulfilled his potential. In recent years he has stood still (literally at times, to Arsenal's expensive cost) and has failed to become the replacement for Cashley that we had hoped for. It's a shame but, again, £7m wouldn't be bad business in the circumstances. Much like Kolo Toure, who went to City a couple of years ago, I wish Gael all the best. Whatever his shortcomings at times Clichy always gave his best in an Arsenal shirt and that should not be forgotten. He is the last of the Invincibles still at Arsenal, and his departure would represent the end of the final link with Wenger's greatest team. Again, a replacement is needed. I would like to see Leighton Baines forming part of a new look Arsenal back-four, and he is certainly not out of Arsenal's price-range.


These transfers are going to force Wenger's hand in the transfer market. I have never subscribed to the idea that Arsenal need more English players. However, I am certainly in favour of bringing in players from the Premier League. In the circumstances we find ourselves Arsenal have to hit the ground running in August. We can not afford for any player to need a "settling-in" period. If Arsene goes down his usual route that is exactly what we will get (and if we do sign Gervinho he will be off to the African Cup of Nations just as he's ready for the Premier League) so a change of tack and some recognised Premier League players would not go amiss. With pre-season training starting next week, and players on their way out (though seemingly not the likes of Denilson, Rosicky, Diaby, Bendtner, Eboue or Squillaci...yet) Arsenal must do something big, and do it quickly - the fans are restless, and we expect some return for our season ticket money.

New away kit officially revealed, What the hell is going on?

Horrible, disgusting, not Arsenal

My son and I both received glossy brochures from Arsenal this morning (he is a Junior Gunner and I'm a season ticket holder) offering us the chance to buy the "explosive" new away strip. I can honestly say that this is the most hideous, disgusting football shirt I have ever seen. Frankly, it looks like something that would be more at home if it were worn by a jockey at Ascot. Here we are about to celebrate the 125th anniversary of our Club and they saddle us (to keep on with the racing theme) with this complete monstrosity.
The shirt had been leaked (aren't they always?) a couple of months back. When I first saw it I thought how horrible it was, and how "un-Arsenal" it was. Reading around the various Arsenal forums and message boards it was clear that most of us seemed to feel the same way. I started to hope that this was some kind of market research by the Club - perhaps they might have been testing the waters before deciding it's a stupid idea and then releasing a yellow and blue commemorative shirt instead. I should have realised that Arsenal Football Club does not work in this way. They do not care what the fans think. They also know that, even if a hardcore of the "genuine" support refuse to part with their money for it, they will still sell tens of thousands of them all over the World. Despite my hatred for it, and the fact that I will refuse to own one, I know my son will end up wearing one of them - and that is the sort of reason why Arsenal will continue to disrespect us in this way. Just what is so difficult to understand in the fact that Arsenal should wear yellow and blue as their change strip? 


Elsewhere, and more importantly, Lille have confirmed that Arsenal are interested in signing Gervinho and have been in contact about the player. They have also confirmed that, despite this contact, Arsenal are yet to make an offer for him. It is more than a month since the season finished. Pre-season training starts next week. Yet we have not yet made a bid for a player who is clearly a target for the Club. I think I am not alone in beginning to run out of patience. There have been no significant arrivals since the end of the season, and no departures either. Currently the status quo remains unchanged from the disaster that was the end of the season. 
There is an argument that little business has been done as the European transfer window is closed until 1st July. This is, of course, complete nonsense - just because the window isn't open doesn't mean that business can't be done with players officially joining their new employer from 1st July (and it certainly hasn't bothered Man Utd). What you really have to wonder is whether there is actually any desire from the Manager to genuinely address the issues within the squad. The rhetoric before he disappeared in May wasn't exactly encouraging. The silence currently emanating from within Arsenal is overwhelmingly deafening.
Tonight the BBC is reporting that a "senior Arsenal source" has told them that a Barcelona bid matching Arsenal's valuation of Fabregas would probably see an agreement reached. So, instead of news coming from within about any possible signings, we have some loudmouth toad talking about how we will sell the Captain. I hope Arsenal investigate fully who this cretin is and then sack the twat. The only thing I want to hear about right now is players coming in, and the dead wood being shipped out. If, when we get to the customary first day of training photos next week, we still see the likes of Rosicky, Denilson, Eboue and co smiling back at us then I can see a lot of fans starting to get really quite uneasy about what lies ahead.

Clichy to stay with Arsenal? Alex Song in trouble with Cameroon

Gael Clichy - Arsene wants him to stay

Arsene Wenger has been speaking about the future of Gael Clichy. Arsene has stated that he wants his left-back to stay at Arsenal and that talks over a new contract are now ongoing. Clichy has just one year left on his current deal, and his absence from the closing games of the season was a clue to the fact that he had not signed a new one just yet. 
At the start of last season I think most Arsenal fans would have been happy for Kieran Gibbs to replace Clichy in the starting line-up. Subsequent events showed this to be a place where, perhaps, Arsene still knew. However, despite the lack of an adequate replacement currently within the Club, most Arsenal fans would probably still be not too upset if Clichy moved on. Five years ago none of us were too worried when Cashley went to Chelsea - most regulars had been watching Clichy for a couple of years and knew that he was a better defender for his age than Cole had been in his youth. The problem with Gael is that he has failed to develop. He still makes the same mistakes he did five years ago. He still has a major problem with concentrating for the full ninety minutes. Any description of him as an attacking full-back is shown to be stupid by his stats - only two career goals is poor to say the least - and that's before you even look at his crossing.
All in all I hope these latest comments are a ruse by Arsene to squeeze another couple of quid out of any potential suitors for our French full-back. I wouldn't be upset if he went, but I would wish him all the best - he has never given any less than his best for Arsenal.


Alex Song has been fined for refusing to shake the hand of Samuel Eto'o on his return to the Cameroon team this Summer. You might remember that Alex "retired" from international football after being largely ignored during the World Cup last year. He was ostracised by Sven Goran Eriksson following his falling out with Eto'o and is still paying the price for it now. Personally I hope they continue to annoy Alex Song and that he re-imposes his personal exile from the Cameroon squad. They are effectively out of the African Cup of Nations following the recent qualifiers (in which Song didn't play because of injury) but there are World Cup qualifiers on the horizon in darkest Africa, and we could really do without Alex Song jetting off to play in them.


More tomorrow, I hope. Any chance of a signing? Please.

Barcelona getting on my nerves

45 million of these and we might talk

Just who do Barcelona think they are? We hear day after day that they are interested in signing Cesc Fabregas. We also hear day after day that they value him at somewhat less than we are likely to accept at Arsenal. A brief look at the market tells you that the reported £26million bid yesterday is completely derisory. Barcelona continue to say that they have a limited transfer kitty so won't pay over the odds. Fine, sod-off then. If you don't have the money then you can't buy whatever it is you may want - that's a truism for life as much as football. Why should we consider selling Fabregas on the cheap, simply because the only bidder can't afford to pay more? Today we have heard Guardiola saying that Cesc is Barcelona's "priority" this Summer. If that's the case then stump up the readies.
As regular readers will know I am ambivalent about the possible sale of Fabregas. We all know he would rather be somewhere else. However, that doesn't mean we have to sell him on the cheap. Fabregas is under contract until 2015. It is a very well paid contract. Unless Barcelona even begin to talk serious money then we don't need to sell. After all, I imagine Manchester City would be willing to pay far in excess of anything Barcelona could offer - perhaps Arsenal should make it clear to City that everyone has a price as it might just smoke out Barca's "interest."
As much I as I am carefree towards Cesc moving on I believe it would have be for a minimum payment of £40m. If Ashley Young can go for £20m, and Andy Carroll for £35m then £40m is the least we can expect for a supreme World Class talent. Arseblog has coined a new phrase - "cough-up or cock-off" - very apt, don't you think?

How Dennis Bergkamp changed my life forever

Dennis Bergkamp signs for Arsenal

Sixteen years ago yesterday, Dennis Bergkamp signed for Arsenal Football Club. It is generally thought, by the press at least, that Arsenal changed when Arsene Wenger arrived at the Club. For most Arsenal fans that have been around since before Arsene the biggest change occurred with the arrival of Dennis.
By 1995 the Premier League was beginning to grow in to a major European League. The ban on English football teams in Europe had been ended for five years and more and more European players were coming to this country. Up until the Summer of 1995 most of the big names to have arrived were over the hill and looking for one last pay day. Then, on 20th June 1995, a Dutch superstar signed for Arsenal. Dennis was the first World-Class foreign player, still yet to reach his prime, to arrive in English football. Dennis set a trend that is still developing today, though most of the top men are going to Chelsea and Manchester City.
I still remember where I was, and what I was doing when I heard the news of Bergkamp's signing. The newspapers had been reporting that we were in for Dennis, and on that morning there was a virtual confirmation on the back page of one of them (this was in the days before the press felt the need to make up transfer rubbish). Still I think most of us didn't really think Arsenal would be buying this massive star. I had just finished my GCSE's and was playing Konami Hyper Soccer (fantastic game) on my Nintendo console, and listening to Radio One, when the sports news came on. I sat there and couldn't quite believe what I had heard. Arsenal had spent £7.5m on Dennis  Bergkamp and had confirmed his signing in a press conference. We weren't used to paying anything like that kind of money for players - George Graham would have had a fit! Watching the news that night and seeing Dennis walk down Avenell Road in an Arsenal shirt, followed by lots of joyous Arsenal fans, was a bit of a surreal experience really. What I didn't know was that life had changed forever.
Arsenal Football Club suddenly had a World Class foreign player in the squad. A couple of weeks later we splashed more money to bring the England Captain back from Italy. At the time David Platt was a major star and rated among the very best midfielders in the World by anyone who followed England. Of course, Arsenal fans would come to realise that Platt wasn't quite as good as we thought - not a bad player, but not a top player either. Nevertheless, by the end of July 1995, Arsenal had entered a brave new World, and we were now playing among the big boys.
For the next eleven years, with the arrival of Arsene Wenger completing the jigsaw, I watched the greatest player I've ever seen make magical football artworks on pitches up and down the land. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that our successes have stalled since Dennis retired. His presence, his work ethic and, above all, his sheer ability pervaded the entire squad. Dennis acted as an awe-inspiring, God-like figure for both the players and the fans. Dennis carried an aura, and this was reflected in Arsenal Football Club as a whole. We were something special, all the time we had Dennis Bergkamp. The success that followed, and the players that came to Arsenal, were all a consequence of Dennis Bergkamp being here.
As I said earlier, Dennis is the best footballer I have ever seen. I am fairly certain that I will never, ever, see anyone who has the ability as a footballer, or the influence that Dennis had, at Arsenal. In some ways that is a very sobering thought. At the same time it makes me realise how privileged I was to see Dennis Bergkamp play on so many occasions. Part of me hopes that I don't ever get to see a player as good, or as important as Dennis - as the picture on our living room wall attests Dennis is my hero. However, if I do get that lucky then I know that he will have to be some player, and some man, to usurp Bergkamp as the greatest. I wouldn't complain too much if Arsene Wenger managed to sign that man this Summer.
Over to you, Arsene.

Don't do it Arsene, Olympic ticket farce

Barton - not welcome with me

As you know I don't like to comment on tittle-tattle, but it's time to make an exception. There seems to be a growing rumour that Joey Barton is seriously on Arsenal's radar. The very thought of this makes me wince. I despise Joey Barton.
A few years ago our Chairman, Mr Peter Hill-Wood, famously said of Stan Kroenke that "we don't want his sort." This is certainly a phrase I would apply to any idea of signing scum like Barton. He's actually a decent player, but he is an animal who should be be in prison, not on a football pitch. He is the complete opposite to what Arsenal Football Club stands for. I have no desire to watch an Arsenal team in which Joey Barton is a part. 
There is little doubt that a player of Barton's type, a tough-tackling midfielder, is required in the team. We have not had someone who would truly put their foot in since Patrick Vieira was sold. However, the likes of Joey Barton are simply not "Arsenal" players. Barton is the lowest form of scum and I hope all Arsenal fans would have a similar view to myself with regards to his type of personality becoming part of the family. This is one transfer rumour I hope is totally made up.


Elsewhere in the Arsenal supporting wastelands it's all still annoyingly quiet. Aside from the usual nonsense from Barcelona etc there is still no sign of anyone coming in, or anyone going out. We hear occasionally that transfers take a long time to complete these days - this is obviously a lie as we see so many deals done in a matter of minutes on deadline day. The trouble with these long and drawn out public transfer deals is that the sense of excitement that used to be engendered by the announcement of a new recruit is taken out of the whole thing. Be honest, will you be excited if, and when, Gervinho is finally unveiled?


It being quiet I can't let the opportunity pass to say what a complete joke (and not a funny one) the Olympic ticketing debacle has been. As you might have guessed I missed out completely on the tickets I had applied for. I had hoped to take my son to see the Games and applied for numerous tickets across seven different events. To not get any tickets at all is a disgrace. That posh twat Seb Coe can come on TV and claim that things have been done in the best way possible, but that is simply a lie. There would be more sympathy if they admitted they had misjudged things and, in hindsight, had got it wrong.
As one of those who missed out (another thing - how has it gone from one million applicants to more than two million over the past few weeks since the ballot closed? - the fact is that there have been major issues with the computer system, and I suspect some serious foul-play as well) I now have the "opportunity" to apply for other tickets - no doubt more expensive ones, and not for the things I originally put in for. However, instead of a ballot it is now "first come, first served" from 6am on Friday with a limit of three events per application. Two things to say about this - firstly, why didn't they limit the number of events in the first ballot, thus ensuring more people got to see something (they could even have applied this policy retrospectively once it emerged that the events were so badly over-subscribed)? The second thing is that a lot of people work unsociable hours and so can't possibly get in on a "first come, first served" basis this Friday - guess who is among that group?
There is one final issue with this second round and the way the tickets will be sold. Every ticket agency in England will have numerous logins for their staff for the Olympic ticket site. On Friday morning they will all be wired up and hoovering up as many tickets as they can, before selling them on at a premium as the Games approach. You couldn't make it up. It's the most scandalous thing to occur in British sport in my lifetime - the public pay for the Olympics, but none of us can actually go and watch any of it. Disgrace.

Hopefully more tomorrow, and all of it about Arsenal.

Gunners get tough start, Time to offload those who won't make it

Start planning a long Winter

The fixtures are out for next season and they do not make particularly good early season reading for Arsene Wenger and his men. First up is a trip to Newcastle, so you can forget a nice warm August, t-shirt wearing, opening day. Given what happened at St James' Park last season you can look at this in two ways - depending on your view it's either an early chance to banish some nasty demons, or it's a harrowing trip for our weak-minded squad. 
Arsenal's players would do well not to look too far beyond the opening fixture or they will see the looming threats of the rejuvenated Liverpool, who will be our first visitors of the season (with a European trip in the midweek in between), and then a trip to Manchester United (following the second leg of the qualifying round). It's a busy and awkward start to the campaign. Given the form Arsenal displayed over the closing months of last season it's a scenario we could have done without (Spurs face an even tougher opening to their Premier League season).
I said the other week that a bad start would pile massive pressure upon Arsene Wenger. It would also pile massive pressure on the Board to do something. The combination of the three opening League fixtures and Champions League qualifier (a self-imposed problem caused by the players failure to play past February) could create a perfect storm capable of damaging, beyond repair, Wenger's reign at Arsenal. Conversely, if the team can come through such a tough opening in good style then it could set up a vintage season. In my view that can only happen if the right players are brought in, and the right players are kicked out. 


On the subject of getting rid of players I can't believe that only three youngsters were given free-transfers. Of the vast array of men sent on loan last season I am amazed that most of them are still on the books. Beyond Lansbury, Miyaichi, Afobe and Emmanuel-Thomas (and possibly Coquelin) the others seem to be dead-wood who will never make an Arsenal career as long as they possess a hole in their backside. The likes of Giles Sunu and Sanchez Watt, for example, are never going to be Premier League strikers. Samuel Galindo, Pedro Botelho and Wellington Silva have been on loan in Spain and none have been a real success (Botelho's team were promoted to La Liga this year, but three years in the Spanish Second Division is unlikely to produce a top Premier League player - just ask Manuel Almunia). All of the young players are on a very reasonable wage, which is probably why nobody will buy them, so Arsenal should cut their losses and release them. Let's be honest, does anyone really believe that Craig Eastmond is ever going to be an Arsenal player - especially after he failed to make any impact in the lower divisions?
The only one of the "never going to make it" brigade that should be kept on is Gavin Hoyte. He was doing really well in League Two with Lincoln before a serious knee injury ended his season, and possibly caused Lincoln to be relegated. The fact that he has this bad injury is what should see him kept on - it's a matter of doing the right thing by a lad who is an Arsenal boy through and through - a bit of Arsenal class, if you will.