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God Bless America 2007-08-09 10:54:52   Around this time last year I wrote a post, on a somewhat less reputable site, talking about how crazy football has become.  I voiced concerns over the fact that signings now seemed to attract more interest than actual matches and were viewed as ends in themselves. That summer I was completely demoralised, after all the previous years final premiership table, particularly the top five, had finished exactly in order of who spent the most money, with one exception of course: Arsenal.  So thank God I spent this summer working in America where despite what they may tell you about Beckham mania over here very few people care at all about football.   But when I came back I realised that the world had gone crazy and that my prophecy of football dying as a competitive sport  is actually closer to fruition than even I ever imagined.  Arsenal will be outspent this summer not just by the usual subjects of Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool an ... America

What’s Happened To Kieran Gibbs? 2007-08-08 10:43:07 Anyone who saw the game against Inter in the Emirates Cup will have been amazed at the performance of the young Londoner Kieran Gibbs. Despite his youth and skinny frame, he looked a natural on the left midfield, doing the simple things well, always looking for the ball, and tackling back with ferocity. Had he been an expensive summer signing, I am sure we would all have left the ground happy that perhaps the wide left problem had at last been solved. Forgive me if I have missed something - and I may well have, as I have been computer-less for over a month - but nothing seemed to have been heard of him since that game. He is not even part of the first team squad according to the official Arsenal.com web site, even though Connolly, Randall and Gilbert are on there. Do you remember what squad number he was wearing ‘cos I don't and I have just erased the recording of the game. I thought Arsene had pulled another bit of magic from his magic hat and I was most surprise ...

We Really Do Need A Winger Please Wenger! 2007-08-08 10:27:34   Only a couple of days to go and the new season is upon us (and no I don't include the Community Shield as the 'curtain raiser') and the transfer merry-go-round has somewhat stalled at Arsenal. Nearly every Arsenal fan, no scrap that, EVERY Arsenal fan wanted a new winger to be bought in this summer. Someone with pace, can take places on and has an eye for goal (not asking too much am I?!) I am over the moon we have bought in a keeper, a right back and a new striker BUT I really do think we need a winger (or another striker if 'dudu' is going to play on the left). Eboue has been playing wide in the pre-season friendly (make a note Ajax) games and has done very well. Can he make that position his own? He has pace, he can cross the ball and, unlike some other Arsenal players, he doesn't go all faint and weak at the knees when he is in front of the oppositions net i.e. he doesn't shy away from having a pop at goal. I think he has potentia ...

Arsenal To Finish 5th! Brilliant! 2007-08-07 16:57:04   Good Lord - I can't believe this is my first post since June 11th. The kitchen is nearly finished, but the plumbing, gas fitting, electricianing?, carpenting?, painting etc. have certainly taken their toll - I'm bloody shattered. At the end of June my computer also decided to blow up and I've only just got round to getting it fixed. Hence very little close season contribution from me. If I remember rightly, my last post was entitled ‘Titi to go-go' in which I suggested that we may well have seen the last of Thierry Henry - only to be berated far and wide in the responses section for such wicked, wicked thoughts. I wont say I told you so….. but I told you so. Whilst his last season with us was nothing to write home about, and his captaincy was always questionable, there is no doubt that he was one of the greatest players ever to play for us and we are all lucky to have lived through his time at the club.  So thanks Thierry for all t ...

Over Confidence At Liverpool And Spurs? 2007-08-07 11:08:20   Everytime I speak to a Spurs or Liverpool fan lately its always the same. Liverpool WILL win the league and Spurs WILL finish above Arsenal. Any arguments against those statements are immediately rubbished. It always makes me chuckle a little. I remember last August when West Ham announced the signing of Tevez and Mascerano. Sky Sports News interviewed a few of the fans and one guy said something along the lines of them being up there and being better than Arsenal. I thought of course you are. Everyone is better than Arsenal!!! This really doesnt bother me as much as it makes me happy. I love it when other fans and idiot pundits have such high expectations and  everyone writes off crisis club Arsenal. As far as I can see, we've been written off by everyone; pundits, rival fans and even some of our own fans and I love it. This means there is no pressure!!! This means we get an extra kick out of winning things. I personally have no expectations this y ...

Is This Arsenal Side Strong Enough To Win A Major Trophy? 2007-08-06 08:14:17   Looking at the pre-season games, there are quite a few positives about the current squad but also feel that there are still a few worries as well.   Obviously I was as pleased as all the other Arsenal fans to have won both of the pre-season tournaments and it was very noticeable that,to quote Wenger -"We have built up our belief and confidence. There is a great solidarity in the squad now."- which I am sure is due to,by some measure, the transfers of Henry and Ljungberg out of the club and the adverse effects they had on the younger members of squad last year.  However, although the squad is around 25 first team players (which includes players of limited first team experience like Traore, Walcott, Bendtner, Song, Denilson and the 3 goalkeepers), I still feel that we need at least 2 more experienced transfers to add to the squad to ensure that we have enough players to cover us for all competitions&nb ...

Who Would The Best Arsenal Captain Be? 2007-08-05 13:37:58   As Wenger still hasn't chosen a captain to lead the Arsenal side, many fans ponder and debate the merits of those that could possibly take the role. Most will want a better captain than club legend Thierry Henry was, as even for all his good qualities his spell as captain cannot be marked a success. The majority of Arsenal fans will look back at Patrick Vieira and think of his ability to drive the team on in both the good and the bad moments, and hope Arsenal's new captain will do the same. Here I compare four candidates for the job. Kolo ToureThe Gunners fan favourite's name has been thrown into the hat of those capable of taking up the reins as leader of the youthful Arsenal side. At the age of 26, Kolo Toure is one of the most experienced players in the Arsenal squad, and his enthusiasm and willingness to get forward would surely only help in times of need. However, questions have been posed about his defensive ability, and it could be asked whether ...

10 Points To Ponder Pre 12th Aug… 2007-08-05 04:01:09   Just watched the Ajax game (still Saturday here) and was shocked at just how ruthless it was for a 'friendly'. Both the Arse and Ajax seemed to be out to prove a point. Seemed to me to be the first serious game of the season even if they were just playing for a toy cup full of Kinder Surprise eggs. Very interesting game as the side Wenger put out was much closer to most peoples pick for the regular 1st team (minus Cesc of course). Made me think of a few things that I wanted to whack down here before toddling off to the land of nod. Simple bullets rip ‘em apart at will: 1 ) RVP's temper is a slight worry. Now that he's blossoming into the talent we knew he'd become, he's now the no. 1 target for the 'bring him down' brigade – as we saw with Ajax. With temper flares like that which he showed today, it could be an issue. He showed weakness by reacting and giving up a stupid foul (and yellow card) and in this business tha ...

Pre-Season Thoughts **Not Recycled** 2007-08-04 05:12:14 With the 2007/8 season tantalisingly close now, here are some thoughts (that come from careful observation of facts rather than received opinion) on the Arsenal and how we are fixed for the new season. Firstly, a quick grumble about some shameful reporting/writing in the press and on these blog sites. Most of it, in other words, has been absolute crap. Most annoying of all is the obsession with 'replacing Thierry Henry'. Arsene Wenger is a team builder - he's too smart to think that there 11 holes on the pitch that just need filling with the same type of player. With Thierry gone, and past his best for Arsenal, what we needed was someone quite different from Henry. Enough senior players and coaches (Bilic) have testified to how good Eduardo is, and with Arsenal's main problem last season being finishing, we needed a box finisher. And we have him. I'm sure he'll be better than Jeffers, anyway. So back to the press, I've no doubt that after w ...

Wikipedia Claims Diarra Medical On Sunday 2007-08-03 17:12:35   Though it should be taken with a pinch of salt, as anyone can edit entries, Lassana Diarra's profile on Wikipedia has him currently listed as an Arsenal player, with a medical scheduled on Sunday August 5th. This transfer has been, and remains, hearsay at this point in time. However, if it actually happens it will be yet another remarkable coup by Wenger, providing sorely needed cover for Gilberto in the holding role, at a fraction of the market price. Oh and Arsenal have been drawn against Sparta Prague for the Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round. Tony Lane ...

It’s A Beautiful Start… 2007-08-03 02:44:22   Greetings fellow Gooners. It's been a while since my last post and apart from Freddie sodding off with some rather bitchy parting remarks (I love Freddie, but that's put a solitary dark mark over a stunning Arse career) and some rather promising pre-season performances, nothing much has changed. Scousers, Mancs and Russians are all writing off Arsenal because we haven't wasted millions of quid on so called big names, and the Spuds are making some ridiculous claims about breaking into the 'four' - even though they've re-built their team and will take some time to settle ……more importantly, I've finally cleared out a big pile of stuff I get paid to do and can write about the stuff I care about which is looking better by the minute. Let me start by saying how much I appreciate Cesc, despite all the Reyal Ma-dreeeed nonsense he has shown loyalty uncommon in one so young. Sir - I salute you, long may you wear red & white. ...

The Amsterdam Tournament: Game One 2007-08-02 15:39:58   So we’ve just played our 1st game at this prestigious tournament and have wrapped up a win against a hard working and direct Lazio. I won’t dwell too much on how the game went and how Lazio played, but I will give a few thoughts on its impact on our league campaign.  We lined up with Almunia in goal, a Swiss defence of Djourou and skipper Senderos, full backs Hoyte and Traore, a midfield of Song and Fabregas, wider players Clichy and Walcott, and a strike force of Eduardo (who received his work permit today) and Bendtner.  The early exchanges made it hard for us to settle down into our passing game, but our goal came just as the tempo rose. Good work down the left gave Fabregas acres of space to shoot from outside the box. His shot was deflected onto Bendtner on the edge of the box, and although his first touch was poor, he kept in control of it, took it wide of the ‘keeper before coolly slotting in from a tight angle. The Lazio equalis ...

We Still Need More Members! 2007-08-02 07:48:10   Insidearsenal are pleased to announce the launch of our new members club - a sort of MySpace for Gunners. For a limited time it's competly free to join and have full access of all our great features such as: Instant Messenger, Video, Audio and YouTube Uploads, Member Profiles, Blogs, Forum, Chat Room, Live Video Chat, Free yourname@arsenalsupporter.co.uk email address, Fantasy League, Quizzes and lots more. The idea behind this new members club is to build a community of Arsenal supporters from the U.K. and around the World where we can all search for members and discuss the topics of the day. This new site will run along side insidearsenal.co.uk. Once you have registered you will be able to log into the members club by clicking the button on the right hand side of this page labeled: Members club login" We belive that this is a first for Arsenal supporters and would like your feedback so we can improve the site for future updates. Remember it's totaly fr ...

Eduardo da Silva: A Look At The New Signing 2007-08-01 09:14:09   Most Arsenal fans would have had a vague recollection of the name when he signed with us, remembering that he featured against the Gunners in a two legged Champions League qualifier last year. Although he shone, is he the man capable of filling the giant-shaped hole in Arsenal's squad left by Henry? Even though most would say no, judging from his past experiences there is nothing that says he will not be able to do so. Brazilian-born but a player for the Croatian national team, da Silva has starred for Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian league. His tally of 73 goals in just a 104 appearances speaks for itself, as does the numerous accolades he has won while with them. Voted Croatian player of the year in 2004 and 2006, as well as being the league's top scorer in 2006 and 2007, Eduardo's performances and goals have been instrumental in Dinamo's march to two Croatian league titles as well as two Croatian Cup triumphs. His 34 goals in just 32 appearances la ...

Wenger Builds Quietly 2007-07-31 15:08:04   While most of the attention today was on the aftermath of the Emirates Cup and the countdown to the Amsterdam Tournament, some quiet building work went on at Arsenal as Gilles Sunu, Kyle Bartley, Anton Blackwood, and would you believe it, Tom Cruise were added to the listed ranks of reserves. Without any disrespect to Blackwood and the Cruiser I'll concentrate my article on the first two. The Sunu signing was announced earlier in the year, but then everything went deathly quiet. There were even some whispers that the deal had not gone through. Dubbed the new Thierry Henry, but hopefully an entirely different and original phenomenon, Sunu joins Vela, Merida, Bazarite and Gibbs as the latest attacking starlet in the next gen bubbling away in the reserves at Arsenal. Recent rumours circulated that Bartley had been pinched from under our noses by Manchester City, but these have thankfully proved to be unfounded. As a result we should be looking forward to the developm ...