We're all Arsenal Lovers Titi!

We love you too Thierry!

As if to provide an antidote to the venom spewed by former Arsenal player and one-hit-wonder Emmanuel Adebayor, Thierry Henry spoke to the press yesterday and described his abiding love for the Arsenal. The contrast between Henry’s selfless interview and Adebayor’s selfish, blame everyone, screed shows why Arsenal were correct to trade Adebayor and why, despite his one season nearing the heights that Titi achieved, Emmanuel Adebayor was not, nor will he ever be, half the man, or half the player that Thierry Henry is and was.

Love. That’s the word Henry used to describe his former club. Love.

Henry calls himself an “Arsenal Lover” and rather than just say it, anyone can say “I love you,” he shows us what it means to love by saying that he sees Arsenal winning the league next year. That he sees Arsenal always challenging for the league:

But I hope they can win the league and win everything they can, that’s always my feeling about my old club. What I know about Arsenal from my time there was not about finishing in the top four – it was about winning the league. That’s how I saw it when I was there and I still see it like that, they are a big club. Arsene has proved so many times he can win things without spending a lot of money and hopefully they can do it again.The only thing that matters to me is not who is in the top four, it’s who is going to be top and I know that’s how Arsene sees it too.

Adebayor, on the other hand, talks only of himself, his objectives

That’s why I never think in life about going down – only about going up. I know it’s not going to be easy but I will do my best. We have to put all our ambition together and achieve things. The objective of the club is to finish in the top four and I don’t know who’s going to be fifth or sixth but we don’t care.

Titi is like the guy who broke up with his wife, not because he didn’t love her, but because it was best for both of them. Adebayor is like the guy who’s wife kicked him out, got a protection order, and changed the locks. And who does he blame for his eviction?

His ex-wife’s best friends.

This next statement is possibly the most delusional statement I have read from a footballer, well, aside from anything that Joey Barton has ever said, and seriously makes me question Adebayor’s sanity and intellect:

When a player plays well, clubs come in for him. I scored 30 goals for Arsenal two seasons ago and it was not my fault that Milan, or Barcelona or Real Madrid wanted to buy me. The fans never understood that and I cannot understand why the fans went after me. I had played my heart out for that club and gave it my best and the way the fans behaved towards me was not nice. I was in the same position as Cesc. Every summer Barcelona tried to sign him, but the fans never turned on Cesc.

This is the kind of statement that only a retarded person could make. I’m being serious here, I think that Emmanuel Adebayor may be developmentally disabled. How else can you explain the fact that he can’t see the difference between his overtures toward AC Milan and Barcelona and Cesc’s reflexive insistence that he is not leaving Arsenal? I guess it’s possible that he is a paranoid delusional, that might explain it, but you would think that City’s and Arsenal’s doctors would have sussed that out.

If he was developmentally disabled, however, it would explain a whole host of odd behavior over the last few years from the badge kissing to the constant offsidedness to these latest statements.

It could be syphilis, I suppose. No one ever suspects syphilis anymore.

In the interview, Adebayor gets more erratic, and starts talking about how he basically lied last week when he said that he didn’t leave Arsenal for the money. And then he compares himself with the guy who makes £10 a day, saying:

I know a lot of people will be saying ‘he has gone for the money, but I would like one guy – one Arsenal fan – who is honest enough with himself to say that if he worked for £10 one day and was offered £30 the next, he’d refuse it.

It’s true, if I was living on £10 a day, I would jump at the chance to earn £30. But a guy who earns £10 a day is in a financially insecure spot. A guy who earns £11,400 a day is not in a financially insecure place. So, while he is correct, it’s a retarded example.

Fabregas could be earning more elsewhere, why hasn’t he jumped ship?

Adebayor, freed from the minders at Arsenal, has opened his mouth and is vomiting insanity. I wonder if City feel like they got a bargain still?

As much as I liked Ade when he was with us, and as much as I have defended him down the years, he’s really burning all his bridges and that’s just sad. Like I have said before, given this level of delusion and the fact that I think he’s getting bad advice, I think that he’s going to end up sad and lonely and probably broke.

Unlike Henry, who will always have a job at the club and will always be loved.

Transfer Roundup:

Sunderland, who have been one of England’s top spending teams over the last few years are chipping in even more bread to land two guys who are supposed to have been Arsenal targets: Marouane Chamakh and Lorik Cana.  It’s pretty clear that neither of these guys will be coming to Arsenal. Chamakh is being mentioned in the same breath as Darren Bent, which is basically a curse word and Cana is a guy who said he wanted to play at the top level next year and yet is in negotiations with Sunderland. Lorik, Sunderland is not a top level club.

The fact that both of these guys are going for so cheap (Cana in the region of £5m) and to a side who, let’s face it, are notorious for poor signings raises a ton of red flags for me. They haven’t signed for Steve Bruce yet, so I suppose there’s some hope… if we really want there to be.

Huntelaar’s on-again off-again connection with Arsenal is back on-again after the player stalled over the prospect of playing at Stuttgart. That he’s being linked with us or Tottenham is all I have to say about that.

And finally, Alex Hleb is finding yet another way to prevent his current team from scoring! Typical Hleb, to hold up play, now if he could just find the perfect pass to get Barca out of scoring position…

Squad Roundup

Gael Clichy is listed in the big squad that flew to Austria for camp but there’s no word on his back injury and I didn’t see him in the daily training video. If I find out anything, I’ll report it.

Carlos Vela played 40 minutes for Mexico last night, coming on as a super-sub in the 80th minute of their overtime draw with Costa Rica. He then went on to get the winning goal in the penalty shootout. Good on you lad!

0 comments

  1. Vela’s had a prettý good gold cup, from what I’ve heard. I’ll watch the final cheering for los estados unidos, but I’ll definitely be keepin an eye on Carlos. Last time he started against us he was an absolute terror on the left wing. Apparrentlý he’s the only Mexican player with the attitude that games are meant for winning and not to be used as a fashion show, diving competition, or an excuse for a coach to kick or slap an opposing player. The best word I can find to describe Mexico is obnoxious.

    Thierry Henry IS Arsenal and always will be. The guy is pure class on and off the pitch. Could you imagine him still playing for us with the likes of Cesc, Arshavin, and Theo? One can only dream.

    This blog is picking up in popularity daily. Humor, open-mindedness, and no useless Wenger-Bashing or “this is how the club should be run, I know so because I am a 23 year old with a website” bullshit. I love it.

    Guns Up!

    1. @615Gooner,

      spot on with ur last paragraph (actually with ur whole comment abt carlos and henry(love him to bits))..
      read arsenalaction yesterday…was so ticked off tht i had troubling sleeping

    2. Vela has actually been injured for most of the Gold Cup with his recent outing being the longest spell on the field. Dos Santos has been the Mexican player to show promise by chipping in a couple goals and a few assists.

      Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Vela, just pointing out some incorrect info.

  2. Re: Sunderland, dont forget the signing of Da Silva, our best national team’s CB. Maybe they will break into the top 4, LOL.

  3. you need to stop being narrow minded, you say sunderland is a big team, yet the make moves for players, you should be worried about your team getting kick out of the top 4 by Man Citeh!! Cashely Cole thinks so and I’m sure its lurking in the minds of you gunners, why resort to giving Adebayor the stick, the player has left, you ought to worry about your team more. the seam to lack drive, which big name would be leaving next season after you next trophyless season *hint hint* Cesc Fabbregas. stupid cunt

  4. How I do wish Thierry would come back to the club even for a season and play for cut wages or even……….free? I’ve seen other players do this in the twilight of their careers go back to the club they loved the most and give something back.

    As for Chamakh and Cana – I think your presumptions are a fallacy Tim. Just because Sunderland wants them, it somehow means they’re bad signings? Kenwyne Jones is on Sunderland so he’s a bad player right? A team can only have so many players and it’s simply unfortunate that Wenger just seems to be having trouble finding a place for Cana – though I’m not sure who is really taking up those places. As it stands they can help more than harm because let’s face it, a significant number of our youth are still potential and not the final products yet.

    1. @WC, yes, because they are signing for Sunderland they are crap. World class players don’t sign for teams that finish 2 points from relegation.

      Don’t you make the same argument when talking about how Arsenal need to win something or we won’t be able to sign world class players?

      And yes, Kenwynne Mulholland Jjones is crap.

      1. @Tim, That’s total BS Tim. Essentially you’re saying just about every player in the lower teams are garbage. Lescott played for Wolves, Jagielka for Sheffield United, Ashley Young for Watford – they must be utter rubbish players because they played for relegated teams. Stewart Downing must be terrible because he played for a terrible Middlesbrough for so long – though he’s overrated, he’s still better than a large majority of players out there.

        You disappoint me today Tim. One day you hope Wenger signs Cana and the next day you blast him because Sunderland wants to sign him. I’m a die hard Arsenal fan but I’m not so blind as to say anyone who doesn’t play for the Gunners are terrible – which seems to be your implication.

        I don’t remember saying we need to win in order to sign world class players. We haven’t won anything in 4 years but Arshavin signed. It’s really about balance and we’re just not there yet because we still have works in progress trying to be the final products. I hate journo pundits but statistically they must get it right at least once every so often and they all agree we’re just 1-2 players away from being talked about the same way we were in the 90s and early 2000s but the youth pet project continues. I said it yesterday – we have a pretty good chance of winning something in the new season but that’s because the big fish (Man Utd) sold their best player and not because we made the right signings for the right positions.

        1. @WC, are any of those players still playing for rubbish teams?

          Case closed.

          I did not say everyone who plays in the 1st division or for relegation bound teams like Sunderland is crap, that’s YOUR implication, not mine.

          I said that these two players signing for Sunderland should throw red flags. Chamakh I was never too excited about but I will admit that I liked Cana. That said, I’m also willing to admit that maybe I was wrong about his talent as evidenced by the fact that he’s going from captain of l’OM — a team that is in the Champions League, to a squad of such utter shite that their supporters cheer like they won the Champions League when they get a 0-0 draw away to Arsenal.

          … for £5m.

          I have to say, that raises a red flag.

  5. love you arsenal..
    love this entire youth project..
    when the cup finally arrives what a brilliant feeling we all will have!
    to all the fellow gunners, keep the faith!

  6. Re: Sunderland (and Citeh for that matter) again, I think is the old difference of having a squam vs. having a team. If the coach is less than average, good or at least decent players wont give you good results.

  7. Now that I think of it, that’s why Real Madrid will be a really strong team next season. Pellegrini was dubbed the spanish Wenger-I know he’s chilean, but that’s what Valdano said when AW snubbed RM)

  8. Comments of Titi and Adebayor, one word separates them ‘intellect’, one has it, one hasn’t. I don’t need to tell you which is which.

    Anyone who thinks that joining Sunderland is a serious career move, is either mantally retarded, or charitably, badly advised.
    It would only be a ‘step-up’ for a part-timer from a non-league side.

    One law for Gerrard and another for the hoi-poloi? Gerrard acquitted of affray in Southport nightclub, but all his mates are going to be done. How does this equate to the dude, a spectator, who’s got eighteen months for punching a referee at a some junior match?

    Viva!

    1. One thing you seem to forget Viva, is how many players signed with a “shitty” EPL team just to get exposure so they can be hounded by the big clubs. Palacios, Fernamdez, Santa Cruz, Lescott, and a host of others to name a few.

      1. @CaribKid69, Carib shares my sentiments. Marseille is in the CL consistently sure but you’re stuck being a big fish in a small pond in Ligue 1. For some that’s just not good enough – it simply says you’re resting on your laurels and are comfortable with it. Nothing’s wrong with that, but testing yourself against Valenciennes or La Havre isn’t exactly a glittering foootballing story. Even if it is Sunderland, you can say you matched wits with Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool on a weekly basis.

        Additionally the players in the lower half of the table still make as much if not more than some of the top Ligue 1 players. The money is just that good in the EPL.

        I think Cana sees that Marseille had a good run but maybe he just wants a bigger stage now. Eric Gerets almost had to beg him to stay another year and now that Gerets is gone perhaps it’s time to move out of France and if Sunderland is the what he has to do in order to make bigger moves in the future then so be it.

        1. @WC, Well, its being reported that Cana has indeed signed for Sunderland. So I guess we’ll get to see just how good he can be in the EPL.

  9. Hi Everyone, Henry is quite a gentleman; same as Denis Bergkamp. They both have always been true to their words. I am sure that should Arsenal require them to come and give something back one day, they will not hesitate. Not to come and play though.

    Tim, Your optimism today, just like yesterday, has filled me to the brim with joy. I will now not read anymore trash from anywhere today. I want to make sure that I go to bed with a smile on my face, not a grimace. Keep it up.

  10. ade must be on a mission to make more friends at arsenal eh? i dont think you are far off in saying that he mentally retarded. there definitely seems to be missing up there. to say that the fans hated him because other clubs made offer for him is a typical ade comment. it’s right up there with “i’ll play like henry when i’m paid like henry”. the reason why the fans dont turn on cesc is cos he is quick squash any rumours linking him to barca or madrid. and that happens how often? almost every friggin week! and did ade do last year? he hustled arsene for more money, not on his own, but through his agent when his mr 20% basically came out and said “let arsenal show ade the same loyalty he has shown arsenal”… wtf??? how’s staying on for more money loyal? dude.. your sense of right from wrong is seriously screwed up.

    on another note, i am going to see the gold cup final on sunday. i will be hoping to see us win 4-3 and vela scoring a hatrick for mexico with dos santos the spud dog getting a red card. football loyalies does tend to get a bit confusing at times doesn’t it? maybe ade not to blame after all!

  11. Good blog today and it is inspiring what Henry has to say. And you’ve chronicled the dementia/delusion of Ade quite nicely. My one thought on that is that perhaps those qualities are useful for a striker to help maintain confidence–i.e. you focus on the gorgeous goals, not the wild misses, endless off-sides or sitters that got away.

    I saw Vela come on for Mexico last night and his presence changed the game and led to go ahead goal. For me he just moves so pleasingly. He’s not lightning fast but he’s got that low center of gravity that makes him able to get ahead of the defender just enough to do damage. It also makes him seem incredibly strong for his size and for one so young. In extra time he looked just a bit off the pace and made a poor swipe (from a difficult angle) at a nice pass from Gio Dos Santos (still a Spur or heading back to Mex?). Nice to see him get the match winning PK and celebrating with his mates.

    Finally, I gotta kinda side with WC and the argument that if you don’t hold out for Arsenal and sign for Sunderland you must not be any good. With Middlesboro and Newcastle going down Sunderland is the only team in the North East in the PL and they’ve made some good moves, starting with hiring Steve Bruce (who always had a good eye for an Arsenal loanee). They’ll do well this year–top half of the table I predict. Hopefully we can take 6 points off them….

    1. @17highburyterrace, All I’m saying is that Cana can’t sit around by his phone waiting for Wenger to call. He has his own life, career and family to think about and if Sunderland can offer him a new challenge then I can’t wrong him for it. Being captain of Marseille could very well be like being the boss of a mom and pop store, while being a Sunderland player is like middle management of a global corporation.

      Marseille has a rich history of football but in the last decade and a half they’ve been eclipsed with the money being pushed around La Liga, Serie A and the EPL. They’re a feeder league, producing young talent for the clubs in the bigger leagues to snap up – it’s the harsh reality.

      I could look at Milan and say they were stupid for selling Gourcuff to Bordeaux but it’s going to sting them since they sold Kaka and Gourcuff was a ready made replacement. Sometimes clubs just make bad moves in terms of buying or not buying. I personally think not trying to get Cana is questionable but Wenger is sticking to Song/Denilson.

  12. 17highbury,

    Cana is a bit of a cult figure, but you can’t possibly think that going from captain of l’OM and a Champions League place to Sunderland, no matter how great Steve Bruce is doesn’t make you question the player’s talent. Really?

    There’s other fish in the sea mate, there’s always still guys like Etienne Capoue:

    Or Moussa Sissoko.

    1. @Tim,

      good show, but its really hard for me to judge a player from his utube clip. have you seen denilson’s youtube clip for e.g? do you guys actually follow the french ligue and know all these players? i mean i follow epl, la liga and bundesliga and that by itself took up so much of my time that my gf almost broke up with me!

  13. Henry will return to the Emirates eventually … for one last season … Great blog today!

  14. It’s being rumored that Fiorentina is almost certain of acquiring Eboue. Certainly hope not, as he is a versatile player and seems to be well liked by the Arsenal squad members.

    Although he has been a subject of fan abuse, he responded excellently and played well in a number of positions for us when called upon. RB, LB, RM, LM, CM, DM. Probably our most versatile player without being a major drop off in talent.

    For me, this is not a time to be selling off players and bringing a whole new mix to the table which will need time to gel.

    1. @CaribKid69, I don’t want Eboue to go anywhere. Here’s a player who has been up and mostly down in the support he’s received from the fans because of behavioral issues and that one shockening poor sub appearance. He has dusted himself and got back on the horse (scored a brace) and I think has won the fans back. A sign of maturity that Adebayor could learn from.

  15. No Tim, you’re right, when it comes to scouting talent I would definitely think that Arsene (or Giles) Knows Best (AKB). If we’re passing on Cana or Chamakh than I’ll assume they’re not that good (Youtube videos of Cana maiming other players notwithstanding). And Sunderland is not the spot to land (IMO)coming from the South Coast of France, even for a pay raise and elevated profile. Actually, what I was trying to imply is that I think Steve Bruce is wise in using our scouting system (or youth players taken on loan), so I guess what I’m saying is that I think Steve Bruce Knows Best, because he thinks AKB, which, in turn makes me an AKB of the worst sort….Oh well.

    Also, Agree with CK about Eboue, who I’ve always liked. Frankly I would have liked to have seen him at DM a bit last season, but he had his own injury troubles to go with the stupid red card at spurs and the booing vs Wigan. The antics have always been a bit much, but, when he doesn’t “cross the line” I’ve enjoyed them. (I’ll always remember Eboue miming to CRonaldo that he was a diver before making the match winning cross to Henry vs ManU in Spring of ’07.)

    Along with Ade’s “parting shot” the idea of losing Eboue makes me think that we’ve got a pretty interesting dynamic going with the crowd and our support (or lack thereof) for our own players. I’d like to think that a critical eye helps improve things, but maybe not if one’s confidence is shaky to begin with.

    The other thing I wonder is if AW is concerned about the African Cup of Nations. Certainly losing Toure and Eboue (and Song) the February before last did us no favors, especially with the former contracting malaria down there. We’ve got a bruising schedule this coming Feb, so I wonder if a club coming for one of our Africans actually enhances the value of moving them on in Arsene’s eye. Personally, though the timing of the ACN sucks, I like our whole Francophone/West African thing and hope that, long term, we continue to mine the vast pool of talent from that part of the world.

    1. @17highburyterrace, We have a talent for losing talent during internationals or other tourneys. Toure hasn’t been the same since he contracted malaria. It’s such a shame. He’s a shadow of his former self.

  16. Idle thoughts:

    Gerard found innocent of affray because he ‘acted’ in self-defense. This is known as the ‘Joey Barton’ defense. You just can’t use it more than once 😉 What you don’t hear in Gerrard’s statement is an apology to the man he hit who was only doing his job.

    Cana to Sunderland. As I’ve said before, our scouts and Wenger must have found him lacking at worst and no better than Denilson/Song at best. Now we’ll see for ourselves if he’s any good. When I’ve watched Marseilles in CL, they always seemed over matched and short on quality to make the next step.

    The height of irony:

    Wilson Palacios has a trial at Arsenal and can’t displace any of our RM players (Eboue and Walcott). We recommend him to Steve Bruce and he takes him on at Wigan. Now he’s at Sp**s and has displaced Bentley.

    1. @ctpa, Err Palacios and Bentley are different players. If anything Palacios displaced Zokora and Lennon takes Bentley’s place.

      In any case of course Marseille is over matched – they were never expected to win the CL going up against clubs from the bigger leagues. That doesn’t mean all of their players are garbage. If that was the case then Nasri wouldn’t have been bought

  17. Hay man , about your writing about Adebayour wife and the lock door story is it a TRUE STORY or you just made it up as just to show a comparison ?

  18. AC Milan 1-1 Chelsea.
    Chelsea opened the scoring w/ a Drogba lazer from 20-25yds. Then Chelsea took the rest of 1/2 off. AC Milan played a lot of long balls to Pato that failed to work. Finally AC Milan started to actually play football and Ronaldinho held up the ball for Seedorf to blast an 20yder. Flamini got a yellow for cutting down Obi Wan from the behind 🙂 The wide players for Chelsea (Zhirkov and Belletti) are not staying wide for some reason.

    ‘Arry can’t afford Huntelaar’s wages so he’s in for Crouch. Vieira to Sp**s sounds more like wishful thinking than anything else. Reporter: ” ‘Arry, what about Vieira?” ‘Arry: he’s a player I like. Maybe something can be done there.” All rather vague.

  19. True class is unmistakable, and Thierry has always worn his right out on his sleeve. A true Gunner from the first time he pulled on the red and white. I am proud to say that he is the reason that I started to support Arsenal. Now on to Adebayor…
    I think that many have found it convenient to label him the antichrist, however I have to admit that I was ready to put 08/09 behind me and move on. That is why I am supremely disappointed at his decisions and conduct in the past week. The glaring difference between TH14 and the bumbling Togolese is class. Adebayor is built to be one of the most dominating forces in the modern game but alas he does not possess the requisite desire to be 1/100,000,000th the footballer that Thierry has been. Can you imagine if he had Essien’s motor and Arshavin’s attitude (both men of slightly smaller stature than Ade)? He would make Christiano look like Phillepe Senderos.
    I guess the point I am trying to make is Adebayor is everything Thierry is not, and Thierry is everything Emanuelle will never be.

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