How’s your Saturday? You having a kick around? Good! Because there’s really no news to talk about today, but here’s your lot irregardless.
First off, I’m no shill for the dot com, but they have what looks like a pretty good deal to me; subscribe to Arsenal TV Online and get to watch all of the pre-season matches live. At £3.99, that’s a smoking good deal, hell, that’s the price of a pint, you’ve got to get in on that!
I will be subscribing, in fact, I might liveblog the first match.
Anyhoo… like I said, there isn’t much going on today. L’Equipe has some kerfuffle about Manchester City talking to Arsenal about buying Alex Song. L’Equipe is usually very relaible so I have to wonder if there isn’t something going on here? Possibly a swap deal for Micah Richards, if he survives his Swine Flu?
As for the transfer, I’d wager that no one saw that coming. Alex Song isn’t exactly the most respected player on the squad and so the idea that someone else might want him is probably a bit mind-boggling to many of you. But L’Equipe is reporting it, and they are rarely wrong. I’d like to think of this transfer speculation as vindication for my undying support of Alex Song.*
And of course, I link Richards back to Arsenal because, well, because it’s not officially a transfer period unless “Arsenal Fan” Micah Richards is linked to the Gunners. Also, it makes a bit of sense.
Of course, Toure could be in there too… whatever, it’s all a non-story really.
Another player who might be leaving is Mikael Silvestre, with the Mirror reporting that Bordeaux is lining up a bid for the man with the largest head in the EPL. It’s understatement to say that a lot of Arsenal fans wouldn’t be sad to see him go.
Another funny transfer story is that former Arsenal great Amaury Bischoff is a target of either Cologne or West Brom. We’ll rue the day we let him go for free.
There’s a lot of reports that have Inler coming in to Arsenal but that could be just lazy reporting. You know, kind of like the “Cesc to Spain” and “Arshavin to Barca” stories. All of which have been incessantly rejected by each of the players.
Like I said, it’s quiet today.
I do have a special treat for you all though! Given the overwhelming requests to make tee-shirts for the site I have come up with two designs. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to print both so what I need is for you all to choose which one of the following designs we will print (yay! a poll!)
The shirts will be red American Apparel shirts (check the sizes on their site, they run a bit ‘tight’), the ink will be white, they will have one of the following two designs on the front, and on the back there will be the name “LIKEANEWSIGNING” and the number “09” (thanks to Travis for the idea!)
Here are the two designs:
This is the Arshavin design, it will fill the entire front of the shirt.
This is the crest design, it will be smaller and just cover your heart!
For both designs, you’ll have to imagine the red as see-through, mmmkay?
Here’s your poll:
[memedex: pollid#489903]
Shirts look like they will be $20 each (plus shipping) and if you want to pre-order just drop me a note via email: 7amkickoff at gmail dot com
That’s it for today, have a good Saturday!
*this might not be entirely true.
please can they take denilson aswell and give us ireland in return,micah and ireland to swap denilsong happy days
Song is going nowhere. He’s a beast and he’s staying. Lay off him.
dont underestimate Denilson….
He z a gud player…and song z a valuable asset 2….
But dat Silvestre deal makes sence…… wld b great if we can sell him 4 a gud price.
song is amazin well underated i think he plays beta at cb thoe cesc should stop bein lazy and do some defending he is no where near as gd as inesta and xavi and they still do there bit and y did we realse paul rodgers great player amaury bischof what a waste of 5mil which we cud do with now cz are budgets only 15mil nice1 wenger
I like the crest one with the clock at 7am
@jay
What are you talking about? We got Bischoff on a free. Apart from wages, we haven’t really lost any money. Besides, he wanted to leave when Wenger wouldn’t guarantee him first team football. This means he’s obviously not good enough.
Wages and a huge medical bill for nothing. Arguably the worst acquisition by Arsene and reeked of nepotism, seeing that Arsene is a friend of Bischoff’s father.
@CaribKid69, he wasn’t a bad player at all. In an interview, Bischoff stated that they mutually agreed not to renew the contract. He didn’t help the first team at all but I thought the few times we saw him play, he managed to justify his place on the team. Biggest problem is that we didn’t need another RM last year and definitely won’t with Rosicky back this year.
As for his worst acquisition: have to forgetten Baptista or Reyes? Reyes cost us 12 million pounds and was crying about the weather after a month. We got “the Beast” on loan but had to pay that huge salary (that RM negotiated with him) to watch repeatedly miss from 9 yards out.
Also – quick note about Arsenal TV. You DO get to watch EVERY game that they play. You do not, however, get to watch them all in real time. When other media (ESPN, Setanta, FSC) have the rights to broadcast the games, you will not be able to view them until midnight of that day (at the earliest) – usually the next morning. You do get to listen to the announcers in real time – they are pretty good – supportive of the team (of course) but generally keep their opinions to themselves.
Wenger isn’t buying anyone else. Wake up, he’ll go with what he’s got
first, i dont think alex will be leaving the club anytime this summer. second, i dont like buying shirts with player names or pictures on them because players have no loyalty anymore not even thierry henry. paulo maldini and ryan giggs are the exeptions and i dont think we have any absolutely loyal players in arsenal. i have 4 arsenal jersies and several arsenal training gear and none have a single player printed on them, why? coz i will not be loyal to a player that is not loyal to my club.
@scgooner, I have Henry, Vieira, Flamini, Eduaro, and Fabregas. I love them all.
But anyway, you can buy one of my shirts with “LIKEANEWSIGNING” on the back and then you’ll never have to worry about loyalty!
Well Tim hows things?
Really cant see Song going to City, I have alwys been a fan of his but think differently to a lot of others and think he is a far better central midfielder than a centre half. It’s looking like the Matuidi deal should happen now, which would mean 4 players fighting for that slot beside cesc (or a 3 man midfield with Cesc and Nasri) I think if we get him that will def be it for the summer (barring a big turn around from Ade which wont happen)
@Gareth26GOONER, I’m kind of tired, I stayed up all night with my daughter.
I actually see Song as a defender and not a midfielder. That’s the beauty of Wenger! We’re always guessing where his players are best suited.
I’m in for Song as a MF.
Well we all know he knows best…. let’s just hope he knows that Alex is a midfielder lol You take it easy today man, it’s Saturday after all 🙂
Song is super average. He’s no Vieira. No Makelele. No Mascherano. Never will be. Good squad player.
Like this blog!
I believe alex song is needed in arsenal, we need him to fill behind injuries that we will have, He has been really impressive in the second half of the season. WE should not sell him to MAN CITY arabs because it will be just wastefull. HE is also a really good defender… lets not sell and just improve on the squad.
Ok, I noticed that my poll was broken! It should be working now, vote away.
Anyone knows which Arsenal games will be available to us in the US market now that ESPN has taken over from Setanta? I have, until now, relied on a Setanta subscription, together with Fox FSC and Arsenal TV online, to get my usual fix of all things Arsenal.
Probably wont affect us in the USa as they only purchased UK rights. Setanta and Fox still have US rights.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=659920&cc=5739
If Citeh came in with a substantial offer I wouldn’t doubt Wenger could consider it in order to fund an established CM. Song just simply isn’t there yet but adds depth with his versatility. However, versatility is the career killer and it shows on someone like Wayne Rooney who had no problems playing left wing, but that killed United in Europe at the back end of the season when he’s a much better striker. Football is all about specialists nowadays and Song hasn’t found his yet. No one wants to be the player who has to wait until someone else gets injured in order to get a chance on the pitch. Grab 8-10M for Song and pass it right onto to Marseille for Cana!!!!
The only thing that killed Man Ure in Europe was Barca being unplayable. Rooney didnt hurt United with him playing wide when they steam rollered us
@Gareth26GOONER, False to some extent. Sure United didn’t really show up to the CL final but playing Wayne Rooney out of position affected his game in a very negative way. Even Rooney acknowledged this but he was willing to do anything Fergie asked. Theo pretty much suffers from the same thing in the English squad – he’s asked to play right wing, support striker, last striker, central midfielder etc. It showed in the U-21 that putting him in various positions throws his game off substantially. This is also why Eboue cannot get a start in our strongest starting 11 to save his life – he’s too versatile. It’s a double edge sword to be able to play multiple positions because a good manager will start 11 specialized players first and use the versatile player as rither a late sub or as someone to fill in gaps which is not a recipe for consistent performances or consistent weekly game time.
@WC, Theo for England always occupies one of the 2 positions he’s supposed tob good at or trying to develop into, its not like hes playing centre half. Eboue just isnt good enough to get into the Arsenal 11, nothing to do with being versatile. If you are good enough you play
@Gareth26GOONER, Look again at the U-21 this summer and Theo was playing right wing, support striker, last striker all in one short tournament. I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t play well because every game he had to adapt to a new position. Versatility is a curse if you play in a big European club, no matter how good you are. The big clubs have the money to buy 11 players who know what to do in the position they are bought for – Eboue unfortunately is just a back up player to about 3-4 different positions.
@Gareth26GOONER, Yes, all positions he can supposedly play, plus the under 21 side rely on him more than the senior side. So what you are saying is Eboue doesnt know what to do in any of his positions = he’ isnt good enough for our starting 11, sod all to do with versatility
Thanks Gareth26GOONER.
A fan of the blog, been reading for a while, but the last couple of posts rehashing dribble from the tabs is a bit ave, prefer you just ridiculing it without giving it any credibility!.. looking forward to the season so we can all move on.
Can’t believe how much shit Song gets.. I’m far from certain he’s going to be a club great but towards the end of the season once his confidence grew he drove forward with power and skill and his height and heading ability is a massive boost to such a small squad. He can look a bit lazy at times but i think its just his languid african movement.. Massive potential. The question i guess is whether or not its worth the punt relying on him (and denilson/diaby/nasri) this year as our CDM, particularly with the ACN being on this year. It depends on how much improvement another player would make- Cana?.. doubt it very much, given that 99% of arsenal fans would never watch either a french league game or an albanian international I can’t see how we can comment. Just because he can break an opponent in half doesn’t mean he would actualy suit arsenal. Melo might be a different story given the high regard he’s held in by most in Italy, but is he wourth 25m??
Peace Yankee
Up the Arsenal
@SofaKingGood, But the 1% that do watch Ligue 1 can comment and know he’s not just some mindless wrecking ball. Just because he’s Albanian and huge it doesn’t mean he just breaks legs. As a matter of fact, as has been pointed out before, he actually has a fairly average foul history. There’s far more players out there with more cards than him playing in positions that require very little tackling. Why would he suit Arsenal? Because Marseille play a very similar formation and style of game. Ligue 1 is very much like a poor man’s EPL – I think it’s a very underrated league.
Since when is Italy the measuring stick for “high regard” in modern football? Even more so Fiorentina, a team that barely scratched into 4th place in an overrated league. If Melo wasn’t Brazilian or played in the Confed Cup, he’d be just another name and not held in, as you say “high regard”. His price is due in large part to the media hype with the Confed Cup because one season at Fiorentina doesn’t make you a 20M pound player of world class quality. Just a year ago he was a nobody playing at Almeria and now he’s held in “high regard”. Rubbish.
Claiming a permanent starting place on the Brazilian national team does help to jack up your price.
@CaribKid69, I don’t think anyone is saying Brazil aren’t a good team. They could even win the WC 2010 but the Confed Cup is like the Intertoto Cup of international competitions and it’s a bit of a farce that it upped Melo’s price so much for a rather Mickey Mouse tournament.
@WC
Was not talking about the Confed Cup, he has made numerous starts for Brazil throughout the year. Just about all Brazil first team players are big money items.
@SofaKingGood, Come on man! Does the average Arsenal blog take a day like today and put up two pieces of hand-crafted artwork for their readers to vote on so they can have custom shirts?
i like song. i think every team needs one or two squad players and song can play that role very well. i was watching that insane game vs liverpool again last night and song was by far one of our best players. his first errant pass came deep into the 2nd half and even the commentator said “that’s the first wrong foot he’s put fwd all game”. whether you like him or not, you have to admit he’s come leaps and bounds from where he was at the beginning of the season – and i believe he’s going to keep on improving. he’s not that good going fwd, but defensively he’s pretty solid. he can cover at both CDM and CD, and that kind of versatility can be quite useful when you are dealing with suspensions or injuries (which we do every f###ing season).
that said, a player like him has his price. if city came in with and offer of 12-15mil EUR, along with a sell-on clause, which would help us buy a more quality CDM this year, then i’d definitely consider it. however, i doubt city would value song that highly and i suspect song’s an integral part of wenger’s plans this year to let him go for cheap.
we need silvestre out of our wage bill. I dont care if he is sold or goes on free, but id rather senderos stay and silvestre goes. Every1 is talking aobut let senderos goes and they keep forgetting silvestre. SIlvestre is past his best, and if we want to be the best in england and europe, we must have a great sqaud as well. Every season there is a player that springs to life, last season was song, the previous season was flamini. If song improves again as he did last seasson, then he would be a famous Defensive midfielder. HE impressed and he was comanding in the middle and he can pass well. ARsenal cant afford to buy players with the new stadium bill and not sugar daddy owner, so grooming playters is cheaper way. ANd we cant sell a player that we sacrifice points to build into a great player. Song will be great in DM. We need another DM like blaise matuidia cuz of African cup of nations and song would be off along with toure, eboue and sagna in defence and adebayor in attack. SO this season we need the young players like vela to step up when ade goes to ACN, Djourou, Denilson, and gavin hoyte.
@JESUS_SAVES, Sirry mate but Sagna’s French and Togo’s qualification aint certain and if Ade is playing like last season we wont miss him 🙂
The shirts are awesome. Arshavin is a bit fuzzy, but the crest is just class.
Overwhelming, heh, I have finally impacted the world. in such a small, small beautiful way.
You rule Tim.
Alex “can’t kick a ball straight” Song is without doubt one of the worst players to be so present in an Arsenal team. It’s players like him being so prominent in our team that has reduced us from champions to also-rans.
If we can get a Freddo chocolate bar and a Capri-sun for him, it’ll be an excellent piece of business!
@Dan,
Sir, If your supervisors at work berates you as much as you do this young man, I am pretty sure than you will run to find a lawyer, won’t you?
Irrespective of whether you are a fan, you must have respect for another human being trying his damndest to do his job. You are not the only Arsenal fan are you? Well, more than half of Arsenal fans so far think that he has done a good job, quite a few believe that he did a very good job in the second half of the season.
Out of respect to others, why don’t you try putting forward a constructive argument rather than sweeping, unsupported statements?
Were you an Arsenal supporter when Arsenal went 17 years without winning even a cup of water? What about the 8 years up to 1978 when we couldn’t win a teabag? How could you know the 7 years up to 1986 when our dear club could not win itself a cup to even make tea? Arsenal was a founding member of the FA Premier League, aka EPL, 1992/93. That year, we came 10th but improved to 4th the following year 1993/94. Come 1994/95, we came a magnificent 12th until Dennis Bergkamp & Ian Wright help to move Arsenal back to 5th in 1995/96 under Bruce Rioch. Then came Wenger and the worst we have ever done was come 4th.
Can you appreciate it when majority do not criticise quite in the same way as you do? I am sure that you want improvements; We all do. But you are surely not going to get it by hanging your most hardworking players out to dry because you think that they do not have enough skills in your opinion. Man ure has the likes of O’shea, Fletcher, Park, etc who would never make an Arsenal 11. Sir Alex keeps using them, not for their skills, but because they work hard for the team. that’s what makes the likes of Denilson and Song very important to the Arsenal. Our famous back four, including Adams, were not as skilful as our defenders of today but they work harder to synchronize their movements.
I really don’t wanna go on so as not to give ammunition to anyone with which to bash the Arsenal. Sorry to have gone off on a ranting trip.