You know a story has credibility when you read about it in the last paragraph of a story that quotes another story that quotes anonymous sources.
See, it turns out that Theo Walcott’s cousin’s sitster’s boyfriend saw Theo at 31 flavors last night and Theo is really mad that Arsenal haven’t opened negotiations over his contract which expires in 18 months.
He was doing well for both his club and country but still nothing happened on the contract front. The fact is, he feels as if he’s being taken for granted at the moment, as if people simply expect him to sign a contract.
Theo’s anonymous source is absolutely correct, Wenger is taking advantage of the player by giving him playing time when he’s healthy and paying him a salary while he’s out with a shoulder injury.
Seriously though, my suspicion is that Arsenal were waiting for new CEO Ivan Gazidis to come on board before negotiating contract extensions with Theo and RvP. Given his comments earlier in the week about how he’s building this team on a budget I’m 100% certain that Wenger wants to keep Theo at almost all costs. Comically though, the Telegraph raises the spectre of Theo pulling a “Webster” and buying out the final year of his contract. I’d be worried about that happening if all signs didn’t point to Theo Walcott being a very well balanced young man who appreciates all that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal FC have done for him. You know, if he was more of an asshole like Alex Hleb.
As if that story wasn’t funny enough, the Telegraph throws in a transfer bone at the end there, linking Arsenal to Stephen Ireland in a straight swap for Kolo Toure.
I hate Stephen Ireland… when he plays against Arsenal.
Ireland’s a good little player who has some steel in his game, a decent passing range, a good shot, an understanding of the game, and is having a career season on a dreadful Citeh squad. Why Citeh would let him go for Kolo Toure is beyond me. Also, there’s no evidence that Arsene Wenger would buy a player like Ireland, he’s just a little too, well to be frank he’s not continental enough. Also, his character is questionable and Wenger has placed a very, very high value on character.
The story that surfaces every time there is a transfer window is that N’Zogbia will be coming to Arsenal. This transfer window has the player speaking to the French press and describing Arsenal as his dream club: it’s all cotton candy clouds and technicolor dreamscapes for Charlie! Unfortunately, N’Zogbia as a player is more of a nightmare than a dream so this transfer has -0% chance of happening — no matter how much the player dreams of it. Hell, I dream of being on the Arsenal board, eating prawn sandwiches with the big boys while we take in the game from a luxury box. IT COULD HAPPEN.
My other favorite story is Mathew Upson coming to Arsenal in exchange for Bendtner. I just want to remind you all that Arsene Wenger has categorically ruled out taking players back once they have left and so there is no chance that Upson will come back to Arsenal.
Further, add in that Arsene Wenger has ruled out anyone leaving the club over and over this week and the fact that Silvestre picked up an injury that will see him out for 3 weeks in yesterday’s match and you have to think that rather than a defensive player leaving, Arsenal will be bringing one in. I mean, where do they get these stories? Don’t they read their own press reports?
FA Cup Roundup
Arsenal swept aside Plymouth with either a commanding performance or a steaming pile of shiat, depends who you ask. I didn’t watch it, but did listen to the match on the BBC5 online audio stream. My only impression is that we went into the half at 0-0, came out and got 2 goals, and then did the thing that is now epidemic at this club: lost concentration immediately after scoring and let our opponents back into the game.
Losing concentration and conceeding goals in general is now a hallmark of this team. This happens when a team has no leader or when a team has other internal problems. It’s also something that can’t be solved by bringing in new players. I’m not saying Arsenal don’t need new players, rather that just bringing in some new faces won’t fix the concentration problem.
Chelsea seem to be suffering from the same problem, managing only a 1-1 draw against Southend United at home. It’s so bad over in West London that pretty much everyone is claiming Scolari’s reign is over. They just seem to throw good money after bad over there, don’t they?
Anyway, the Arsenalist has the highlights of the Plymouth match, saunter on over there and take a gander if you are so inclined.
Right, that’s it for the day, oh yeah, I nearly forgot, Arsenal travel away to Cardiff in the next round of the FA Cup. I’m sure Aaron Ramsey will get a warm reception on his old stomping grounds and here’s hoping that Arsenal get a win as well.
Now… see you tomorrow.
