Best/Worst of 2008 #3; Euro 2008. Plus, £12m for Arteta?

I WON SOMETHING!!!

I make no secret that I’m not a fan of international football. At best I tend to look at internationals as “the time that Arsenal players go away and get injured” rather than “a glorious moment for Spain!” And at worst they are an exercise in antiquated nationalism.

Whether I like them or not, Arsenal’s players love internationals. It’s a huge deal to them to just be selected to represent their national team and if they win something well, that’s the biggest thrill. So, kudos to Fabregas for his part in Spain’s triumph at Euro 2008. It’s his first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup and even though I’m no fan of internationals it’s always good to see an Arsenal player lift a trophy.

The only down side to the Euros was that Cesc had put in some 50 matches for club and country that year, then went off and played 6 more matches in 20 days. Wenger rightly gave him some time off instead of getting him back into the squad during pre-season. But to me, he hasn’t looked like his old self quite yet. He looked tired at the start of the season, and for the first time in his career has come up with a major injury. What part his 54 matches in 2008 played in that injury we’ll never know.

Regardless of the grueling schedule, Euro 2008 gave Cesc the chance to win a trophy alongside some of the best talent in the world and I think we’ll be feeling the effects of that for years to come.

Transfer Rumors

Today’s transfer speculation is brought to you by Arteta! The Telegraph is reporting that The Sun has it on good authority that Arsenal have bid £12m for Mikel Arteta. Arsenal can bid all they want but unless Arteta throws a wobbler and demands a transfer I would be surprised to see Everton let him go. Though I guess Arsenal are offering a nice salary increase, international exposure (hey Euros can work for Arsenal), Champions League football (well, 2 more games — I keed, I keed), and a classy club, given all that maybe Arteta could agitate for a move.

Meanwhile Arsenal’s £8m bid for Shay Given seems to have been rejected, with Kinnear reportedly saying, “Arsene? Where is he? [points at Arsene] Listen here you f*cking c*nt… Shay Given is the best f*cking keeper in the f*cking world. All of f*cking Newcastle loves him. I’m not letting some sh*tty f*cking bid from some c*nt like you prise him away. Now f*ck off.”

I think I read that quote in The Sun.

The Arshavin saga drags on and I’m almost 100% convinced that he is not coming to Arsenal. Here’s my evidence:

  1. £20m? HA HA HA From Arsenal???  HA AHA HAHAHAHA HA Come on, Arsenal sold Thierry Henry for £16m, are we really going to bid £20m for Arshavin?
  2. Zenit and Arshavin’s agent are driving all the talk. You will find no quotes that show Arsene Wenger with any interest in this guy.
  3. In fact, they seem increasingly despirate to move Arshavin. Going so far today to say that Arshavin is lowering his salary demands.

This whole thing stinks. From the overt racism of the club, to the despirate flailing of Arshavin (his dream is to move to Barcelona, no wait, Man U, no wait, Tottenham, no he meant Arsenal — where do they play again?) and now the obvious dangling of this guy in front of the Arsenal supporters trying to whip up some support for their stupid transfer demands.

Don’t do it, Arsene, this stinks of “massive flop.” We’re talking flop of Tottenham porportions: Darren Bent, Pavlyuchenko, Rebrov, and Juande Ramos all rolled into one. None of those guys had beg people to take them and offer half off their salary demands — it’s a clue.

Finally, Toure is supposedly agitating for a move and Man City are supposedly going to offer £10m — according to the Daily Tits. Oh wait, I mean Tits Star. Damnit, it’s the Daily Star (with tits). I think of this as good news and bad news. The good news is that if Kolo leaves, I won’t have to hear people say “Arsenal should get Yaya Toure” ad nauseum for the next 2 years. The bad news is that if Kolo leaves, Arsenal will be without Kolo Toure.

Have no fear Kickers, Arsene Wenger has said that no one is coming in and no one is going out. Not even Bendtner.

Ok, that’s enough, I’ve got the Best/Worst of 2008 #2 article already written and I’ll probably publish it tomorrow morning, so check back… hangover and all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Let’s hope this one is better than last.

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