Arsenal Football Club - The Gunner's Thread
- Thread starter sbs99
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FooFighter
New Member
He is last year's young French player of the year. Ben Arfa (whom Arsenal is interested to sign) is this year's young French player.
AW wants to sort out all the transfers before end of May or better still before Euro 08 starts. Coz if Nasri perform like a "young Zidane" in the competition, you can bet your arsenal that establishment (RM, AC, Inter, Juve etc) would outbid Arsenal to get him.
Interesting summer ahead. Carlos Vela's work permit is approved, AW says he will play him in the first team next season. Striker. :thumbsup:
I am still buzzing that Chelski lost! In such dramatic fashion!
AW wants to sort out all the transfers before end of May or better still before Euro 08 starts. Coz if Nasri perform like a "young Zidane" in the competition, you can bet your arsenal that establishment (RM, AC, Inter, Juve etc) would outbid Arsenal to get him.
Interesting summer ahead. Carlos Vela's work permit is approved, AW says he will play him in the first team next season. Striker. :thumbsup:
I am still buzzing that Chelski lost! In such dramatic fashion!
ahbian
Senior Member
hahah... I am not looking down on english defenders, just that, like the others mentioned, AW doesn't buy them cause he thinks english players are overpriced.:bsmilie:
If only we had the solid 4 this time round, and lets not forget Lee Dixon.. there was a season where we conceded only 18 goals.
FooFighter
New Member
sbs99
Senior Member
the Liverpool csers are having a league game of their own, anybody keen for a gunners cser's league? 
http://www.xperteleven.com
some impressive collections of Gunners kits.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ArsenalShirts
http://the-cannon.com/kits/
.
http://www.xperteleven.com
some impressive collections of Gunners kits.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ArsenalShirts
http://the-cannon.com/kits/
.
FooFighter
New Member
According to the author, we will sign Nasri on Thursday :thumbsup:
===============================
Nasri / Villeneuve / Hleb / Yaya / Vialli
By Myles Palmer
Samir Nasri will feature in the France-Ecuador friendly on Wednesday night.
Then he will come to London on Thursday and sign for Arsenal.
The deal has already happened but the legal niceties of administration have to be respected. The French transfer market only opened at midnight on Sunday.
Nasri will play in France's three friendlies and be in Domenech's 23 but will probably not play a lot in Euro 2008. We'll have to see what formations France use.
Arsene's friend Charles Villeneuve, 66, will be the new president of Paris St, Germain, which will lead to some interesting developments. Villeneuve was head of sports at TF1, the French equivalent of BBC1, where Arsene commentates.
Seydou Kieta, that Sevilla midfielder I like, has gone to Barcelona for £12 million, which frees up YaYa Toure to come to Arsenal, if they can afford him.
Hleb doesn't want his transfer to become a test case. But Arsene does, so that saga could run and run.
And I've been saying, this is a big summer for Arsenal.
The departure of Edelman is an opportunity for AFC. It's a rebuilding scenario. For me the club is a bit like the team. They couldn't rebuild the team with Thierry Henry there, so they sold Henry. And they couldn't rebuild the club with Edelman there, so they fired Edelman. There is so much that needs doing there. Staff need galvanising, retail needs to be made classy.
Guus Hiddink was never gonna take the Chelsea job.
It could be Lippi as Director of Football with Luca Vialli coming back as manager. I know Luca really wants it. I once went to Harlington to interview him when he was a player and that was a fun day when I really saw a lot and learned a lot.Only time I ever went to Chelsea's old training ground, which smelled like an airport and had 747s coming in 20 feet above the crossbar.
It's nice to have a break. We all put a lot into last season and deserve a bit of chill-out time.
And I love not being busy on wet bank holidays when the phone hardly rings. Summer is different. Summer is cricket and pregnant women, summer is parties and holidays, summer is music and dining alfresco, maybe.
Summer began on a wet night in Moscow when Platini handed that trophy to Rio Ferdinand.
We watched the Champions League Final at my best friend's house in Primrose Hill, six of us, and when we came home there was a voicemail message from Allan, a friend I've not seen for 30 years. Yes, 30 years. He was on my floor in Moberley Tower in Manchester and turned me on to Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Jean-Luc Godard. We once saw Yusef Lateef play sax and flute in a tiny jazz club with very spartan furniture. Allan did chemistry and was a TV film cameraman when we lived together in St Ann's Villas, at the bottom of Holland Park Avenue, just opposite what is now the Kensington Hilton.
He came for lunch on Sunday and told us what he'd been doing in Pakistan, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, the Solomon Islands, how he got married in Japan and went to South Carolina at 30 and did a computer science course, and then they moved to Palo Alto, a San Francisco suburb at the top of Silicone Valley. I was excited when I got up on Sunday morning and it was unbelievably heart-warming and fascinating to spend a day with Allan again. My best day of the year, by far.
May 26, 2008
===============================
Nasri / Villeneuve / Hleb / Yaya / Vialli
By Myles Palmer
Samir Nasri will feature in the France-Ecuador friendly on Wednesday night.
Then he will come to London on Thursday and sign for Arsenal.
The deal has already happened but the legal niceties of administration have to be respected. The French transfer market only opened at midnight on Sunday.
Nasri will play in France's three friendlies and be in Domenech's 23 but will probably not play a lot in Euro 2008. We'll have to see what formations France use.
Arsene's friend Charles Villeneuve, 66, will be the new president of Paris St, Germain, which will lead to some interesting developments. Villeneuve was head of sports at TF1, the French equivalent of BBC1, where Arsene commentates.
Seydou Kieta, that Sevilla midfielder I like, has gone to Barcelona for £12 million, which frees up YaYa Toure to come to Arsenal, if they can afford him.
Hleb doesn't want his transfer to become a test case. But Arsene does, so that saga could run and run.
And I've been saying, this is a big summer for Arsenal.
The departure of Edelman is an opportunity for AFC. It's a rebuilding scenario. For me the club is a bit like the team. They couldn't rebuild the team with Thierry Henry there, so they sold Henry. And they couldn't rebuild the club with Edelman there, so they fired Edelman. There is so much that needs doing there. Staff need galvanising, retail needs to be made classy.
Guus Hiddink was never gonna take the Chelsea job.
It could be Lippi as Director of Football with Luca Vialli coming back as manager. I know Luca really wants it. I once went to Harlington to interview him when he was a player and that was a fun day when I really saw a lot and learned a lot.Only time I ever went to Chelsea's old training ground, which smelled like an airport and had 747s coming in 20 feet above the crossbar.
It's nice to have a break. We all put a lot into last season and deserve a bit of chill-out time.
And I love not being busy on wet bank holidays when the phone hardly rings. Summer is different. Summer is cricket and pregnant women, summer is parties and holidays, summer is music and dining alfresco, maybe.
Summer began on a wet night in Moscow when Platini handed that trophy to Rio Ferdinand.
We watched the Champions League Final at my best friend's house in Primrose Hill, six of us, and when we came home there was a voicemail message from Allan, a friend I've not seen for 30 years. Yes, 30 years. He was on my floor in Moberley Tower in Manchester and turned me on to Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Jean-Luc Godard. We once saw Yusef Lateef play sax and flute in a tiny jazz club with very spartan furniture. Allan did chemistry and was a TV film cameraman when we lived together in St Ann's Villas, at the bottom of Holland Park Avenue, just opposite what is now the Kensington Hilton.
He came for lunch on Sunday and told us what he'd been doing in Pakistan, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, the Solomon Islands, how he got married in Japan and went to South Carolina at 30 and did a computer science course, and then they moved to Palo Alto, a San Francisco suburb at the top of Silicone Valley. I was excited when I got up on Sunday morning and it was unbelievably heart-warming and fascinating to spend a day with Allan again. My best day of the year, by far.
May 26, 2008
sbs99
Senior Member
Gunners to continue prudent transfer policy...
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=539282&cc=3888
didn't know they now allow comments to news articles. heh
http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/snet-539282
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=539282&cc=3888
didn't know they now allow comments to news articles. heh
http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/snet-539282
FooFighter
New Member
Arsenal's Nasri shines as Bang!Bang! Bafetimbi grabs headlines
By Myles Palmer
Bang!
Bang!
France 2 Ecuador 0
Sub Bafetimbi Gomis hit a screamer in 59 minutes.
He's 22 and has 16 goals for St Etienne in 27 starts and 8 sub appearances.
Senegalese descent, six foot and 12 stone and explosive.
A scorching goal : power, skill, confidence. Kenwyne Jones, eat your heart out.
Gomis made it 2-0 by scissor-volleying Anelka's cross. Vialli used to do that at Sampdoria.
Just before the first goal, as the game rambled towards the last 30, I was thinking : "France need Fernando Torres - Cisse's not good enough, Anelka's lost his edge years ago, Henry's past it. Without a Torres, France will be Portugal in blue shirts. But maybe Benzema is the new Torres."
Bafetimbi Gomis is not as gifted as Benzema.
But he's what you need. He's fresh and knows where the goal is.The last player to score twice on his debut for France was Zidane 14 years ago.
Ben Arfa is like Limpar with bottle.
The awesome Thuram won his 138th cap.
Lassana Diarra was zippy and good for Nasri .
Right back Willy Sagnol won his 55th cap.
Nasri looked good in the Zidane role. A helluva player. Resourceful, loads of ideas. If one thing doesn't work, he tries another. If that doesn't work, he tries something else .
Nasri is 20 and won his 8th cap in this game and played 90 minutes. He has pedigree. A Clairfontaine graduate, played for France since Under-16 level.
France are in the Group of Death with Italy, Holland, Romania.
Domenech names his 23 tomorrow.
He dropped Trezeguet to bring Gomis into his squad. That was a good idea. He took off Cisse to bring on Gomis tonight. That was an even better idea. Maybe Domenech knows what he is doing.Time will tell.
Benzema could be the new Torres. Or Gomis could be the new Toto Schillaci?
May 27, 2008
By Myles Palmer
Bang!
Bang!
France 2 Ecuador 0
Sub Bafetimbi Gomis hit a screamer in 59 minutes.
He's 22 and has 16 goals for St Etienne in 27 starts and 8 sub appearances.
Senegalese descent, six foot and 12 stone and explosive.
A scorching goal : power, skill, confidence. Kenwyne Jones, eat your heart out.
Gomis made it 2-0 by scissor-volleying Anelka's cross. Vialli used to do that at Sampdoria.
Just before the first goal, as the game rambled towards the last 30, I was thinking : "France need Fernando Torres - Cisse's not good enough, Anelka's lost his edge years ago, Henry's past it. Without a Torres, France will be Portugal in blue shirts. But maybe Benzema is the new Torres."
Bafetimbi Gomis is not as gifted as Benzema.
But he's what you need. He's fresh and knows where the goal is.The last player to score twice on his debut for France was Zidane 14 years ago.
Ben Arfa is like Limpar with bottle.
The awesome Thuram won his 138th cap.
Lassana Diarra was zippy and good for Nasri .
Right back Willy Sagnol won his 55th cap.
Nasri looked good in the Zidane role. A helluva player. Resourceful, loads of ideas. If one thing doesn't work, he tries another. If that doesn't work, he tries something else .
Nasri is 20 and won his 8th cap in this game and played 90 minutes. He has pedigree. A Clairfontaine graduate, played for France since Under-16 level.
France are in the Group of Death with Italy, Holland, Romania.
Domenech names his 23 tomorrow.
He dropped Trezeguet to bring Gomis into his squad. That was a good idea. He took off Cisse to bring on Gomis tonight. That was an even better idea. Maybe Domenech knows what he is doing.Time will tell.
Benzema could be the new Torres. Or Gomis could be the new Toto Schillaci?
May 27, 2008
FooFighter
New Member
Samir Nasri moves from Marseille to Arsenal :thumbsup:
Arsenal last night signed Samir Nasri, Marseille's attacking midfielder, for £12.5 million. The French international's arrival at the Emirates is likely to hasten the departure of Alexander Hleb, who has been interesting Barcelona.
sbs99
Senior Member
got the news link?
sbs99
Senior Member
thanks!
swee lah! new young promising signing.. i love how arsenal has transformed from a really old team that was the leftovers of the tony adams era to the new force that will be fabregas's era. alot of hope was squashed when eduardo got injured and it pretty much wrecked our season. we'll be back this time!
FooFighter
New Member
More interesting Arsenal news 
============
Nasri TBC later / Wenger & Paris / Hleb & Yaya
By Myles Palmer
The Nasri deal is 99.9 % completed but the lad will not sign until after Euro 2008.
And Arsene Wenger is not joining Paris St Germain.
He's not joining them now, or in 2009, or at the end of his contract in 2011.
Forget everything you have read re AW/PSG on the Telegraph website and elsewhere. It's crap. It's garbage. They should know better.
It's true that a huge number of people would love Paris to have a successful football club. But PSG has no history. The club started in 1974 and had a great spell in the early Nineties with David Ginola and George Weah.
Charles Villeneuve was chosen as the new president of PSG before Arsene's advice was sought.
The Nasri story has, unfortunately, confused millions of cynics because it is a conventional transfer deal which is being conducted within the regulations. What actually happened was something very old-fashioned : Arsene Wenger called the president of Olympique Marseilles to ask if Samir Nasri was for sale. He negotiated a price. And then he got permission to talk to the player. And Nasri wants to play for Arsenal. He has agreed a contract.
Like Benzema, Lyon's explosive striker, he's an intelligent, well-advised lad who will have a sensible career. Benzema will play one more year at Lyon, despite a huge bid by Man United.
This info comes from an impeccable source: Philippe Auclair, who did 20 minutes with Arsene on French radio during a two-hour show on Sunday.
OTHER NEWS & GOSSIP : Hleb could sign for Barcelona and Yaya Toure could come the other way.(Foofighter : if this is true, then his information is damn juin!)
Toure is rated at £8m by Barca and Hleb at £15m by Arsenal.
Yaya Toure was an awesome player at Olympiakos. He originally caught my eye playing in the Champions League. Very powerful, able to cruise forward with the ball, as Frank Rijkaard once did for Ajax, Milan and Holland. He's bigger than his older brother Kolo, has superb technique, and can accelerate away from a challenge in centrefield, as Vieira used to do. Yaya Toure is a far better footballer than Flamini. And Barca have already signed Seydou Keita from Sevilla to replace him in the anchor role.
Unlike Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini, Yaya Toure is a big guy.
Arsenal's midfield was too small last year so Arsene had to play the ghastly Eboue. They needed Yaya's muscle and power then. It's a deal that makes sense. Hleb's moved his furniture out of his Hampstead home and has agreed a contract with Barcelona and they hope to sign him this week for £12m. Hleb and Yaya do not feature in Euro 2008, so it would be amazing if a double deal was agreed as early as this week.
Don't fret about losing Alex Hleb, who only scored 10 goals in 109 starts and 21 sub appearances.
This summer's deals are hugely affected by the exchange rate. The Euro has gone up 20% against the pound in the last six months. This means that six months ago 18m euros was £11m. Now it's £14.5m. So it is now much more expensive to buy players from France, Spain and Italy. But cheaper for them to buy players from England.
I've heard that Pat Rice and Gary Lewin are leaving.
Gary saved John Terrry's life and Eduardo's leg. England have doubled his wages and Arsenal apparently cannot afford to keep him. Work that one out, Gooners. Physio Neal Reynolds from Norwich has already joined Arsenal.
The Boss was at the Emirates at the weekend - and I don't mean AW.
Bruce Springsteen, 58, did Friday and Saturday and Friday's show overran the 10.30 curfew by 10 minutes. That cost the promoter £350,000, I heard. Dunno if it cost Bruce £350,000. If so, he can afford it.
Have a good week. And, above all, don't get neurotic about new players not signing yet. Chill out- enjoy the summer rain .
Jun 2, 2008
============
Nasri TBC later / Wenger & Paris / Hleb & Yaya
By Myles Palmer
The Nasri deal is 99.9 % completed but the lad will not sign until after Euro 2008.
And Arsene Wenger is not joining Paris St Germain.
He's not joining them now, or in 2009, or at the end of his contract in 2011.
Forget everything you have read re AW/PSG on the Telegraph website and elsewhere. It's crap. It's garbage. They should know better.
It's true that a huge number of people would love Paris to have a successful football club. But PSG has no history. The club started in 1974 and had a great spell in the early Nineties with David Ginola and George Weah.
Charles Villeneuve was chosen as the new president of PSG before Arsene's advice was sought.
The Nasri story has, unfortunately, confused millions of cynics because it is a conventional transfer deal which is being conducted within the regulations. What actually happened was something very old-fashioned : Arsene Wenger called the president of Olympique Marseilles to ask if Samir Nasri was for sale. He negotiated a price. And then he got permission to talk to the player. And Nasri wants to play for Arsenal. He has agreed a contract.
Like Benzema, Lyon's explosive striker, he's an intelligent, well-advised lad who will have a sensible career. Benzema will play one more year at Lyon, despite a huge bid by Man United.
This info comes from an impeccable source: Philippe Auclair, who did 20 minutes with Arsene on French radio during a two-hour show on Sunday.
OTHER NEWS & GOSSIP : Hleb could sign for Barcelona and Yaya Toure could come the other way.(Foofighter : if this is true, then his information is damn juin!)
Toure is rated at £8m by Barca and Hleb at £15m by Arsenal.
Yaya Toure was an awesome player at Olympiakos. He originally caught my eye playing in the Champions League. Very powerful, able to cruise forward with the ball, as Frank Rijkaard once did for Ajax, Milan and Holland. He's bigger than his older brother Kolo, has superb technique, and can accelerate away from a challenge in centrefield, as Vieira used to do. Yaya Toure is a far better footballer than Flamini. And Barca have already signed Seydou Keita from Sevilla to replace him in the anchor role.
Unlike Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini, Yaya Toure is a big guy.
Arsenal's midfield was too small last year so Arsene had to play the ghastly Eboue. They needed Yaya's muscle and power then. It's a deal that makes sense. Hleb's moved his furniture out of his Hampstead home and has agreed a contract with Barcelona and they hope to sign him this week for £12m. Hleb and Yaya do not feature in Euro 2008, so it would be amazing if a double deal was agreed as early as this week.
Don't fret about losing Alex Hleb, who only scored 10 goals in 109 starts and 21 sub appearances.
This summer's deals are hugely affected by the exchange rate. The Euro has gone up 20% against the pound in the last six months. This means that six months ago 18m euros was £11m. Now it's £14.5m. So it is now much more expensive to buy players from France, Spain and Italy. But cheaper for them to buy players from England.
I've heard that Pat Rice and Gary Lewin are leaving.
Gary saved John Terrry's life and Eduardo's leg. England have doubled his wages and Arsenal apparently cannot afford to keep him. Work that one out, Gooners. Physio Neal Reynolds from Norwich has already joined Arsenal.
The Boss was at the Emirates at the weekend - and I don't mean AW.
Bruce Springsteen, 58, did Friday and Saturday and Friday's show overran the 10.30 curfew by 10 minutes. That cost the promoter £350,000, I heard. Dunno if it cost Bruce £350,000. If so, he can afford it.
Have a good week. And, above all, don't get neurotic about new players not signing yet. Chill out- enjoy the summer rain .
Jun 2, 2008
Our dedicated and long-serving physiotherapist, Gary Lewin is leaving Arsenal after 28 years with the Club. He's joining the England squad on a full-time basis. It's definitely our loss but England's gain. I wish him all the best and I'm sure he'll keep up his great work! :bheart:
FooFighter
New Member
Hleb wants to leave the coach from God
By Myles Palmer
You see headlines like Bayern talk angers Hleb and Hleb frustration at transfer talk.
You read quotes like : "These reports anger me. I have not signed for Bayern, Barcelona or any other club for that matter. So much is being speculated and said, but I just want to have some peace and sit down with my closest friend Niki Spilevski to consider my future."
Spilevski is his agent.
The latest noises from Hleb back up what I said last week : that Wenger wants to use him as test case.
Wenger is saying to Hleb: OK, go to a tribunal and tell them how you have been maltreated, why you are so unhappy.
When I saw headlines saying Hleb is angry about reports that he wants to leave Arsenal, I laughed out loud and thought, "You arsehole ! Youve told your agent to hawk you around to the highest bidder. Youve removed your furniture from your Hampstead house, your pop star wife has cancelled her gym membership in Swiss Cottage - but your agent hasn't got you a deal yet. Because you're not better than what Barcelona already have! And Jose Mourinho has made it clear after taking over at Inter Milan that Alex Hleb is not part of his plans. He knows that Arsenal is your level."
That's what I think : Alex Hleb is not as good as the players Barcelona are unloading, let alone as good as the players who won two titles for them in 2005 and 2006 .
Hleb is 27 and his agent figures, "It's now or never for a big money move. We have to cash in now."
It's either about money or because Hleb thinks Arsenal will not win anything in the remaining years of his contract.
But when was the last time Hleb scored a significant goal against a big team in a crunch game ? When has he ever popped up and changed a game ? Overmars, Pires and Ljungberg all scored vital goals in big games when the pressure was on. In their prime, Overmars, Pires and Ljungberg were all good enough to play for Barcelona.
This guy has only scored 10 goals in three years. He scored two league goals in 2007-2008 and both were against Reading! Two league goals in 29 starts! His other two goals were against Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague.
Hleb is not Arjen Robben, is he? Robben was the most productive winger in Europe for three months until Mokoena broke his leg at Blackburn.
For Hleb to come out now and say, "Everyone says I want to leave Arsenal, so I'm upset about it," is entirely despicable and quite ridiculous. And very insulting to Arsenal fans.
Your bottle's gone, lad. You're beginning to get cold feet about going. Why haven't big Champions League clubs been fighting each other to sign you? This much is now clear :Alex Hleb is starting to think that leaving Arsenal is not such a great idea.
On Thursday I was reading a Lawrence Donegan piece in The Guardian where he said that it was depressing to realise that Cristiano Ronaldo had the heart of a hedge fund manager, that he only cares about money.
That doesn't depress me because I read in Graeme Souness's book, No Half Measures, that footballers care about money more than anything else.
Let's be crystal clear about this : Hleb wanted to leave and planned to leave. He discussed his future with his agent and they both know that Arsene only gives one-year deals to players over 30. And if Arsene Wenger didn't give a two-year deal to Robbie Pires, he would not be giving two more years to Alex Hleb from Minsk, who is not half the footballer Pires was and is. (AW still regrets not giving Robbie two years and still talks about him a lot.)
So Hleb and his agent planned his exit from Arsenal long ago. But that plan has not worked because, I reckon, Wenger has stood his ground and said : You're ridiculing my strategy. If I let you do this, every player will do it after you. And my strategy will be in tatters. I will not be able to sign kids and grow a team because half my best players will walk after two or three years. Therefore, I will make you famous in a way that you don't want to be famous. You will be like Bosman, the first footballer who tests the Webster clause, so you can go and plead your case to a tribunal and tell them how you have been maltreated at London Colney, and how you are depressed by living in the noisy streets of Hampstead.
It's all about money, money, money. Hleb hasn't asked for a transfer because he makes more money from the deal if he doesn't submit a written transfer request.
Alex Hleb is an ungrateful mercenary and I don't want him to play for Arsenal again anyway. But I really can't see what all the fuss has been about. Flamini and Hleb want to go? Fine ! Neither of them are great players and neither is irreplaceable.
Will the biggest club in Europe's biggest city collapse if two competent players leave?
If Hleb is sold to Barcelona for £12million, we should have a big party in Finsbury Park !
My problem is that I can't imagine the tribunal. If he buys out his contract, he has to go to a tribunal. Would they would ask Hleb about this interview in World Soccer magazine:
At Stuttgart I played just behind the main striker and the play all went through me. Then at Arsenal, I got a different role and it took me a while to adapt to the constant movement on the right side of midfield. Wenger is a great tactician, he sees absolutely everything. He knows how to find a key to every player - he is a coach sent by God. I still remember him saying: 'Alexander, I do not just buy any player; I watched you for two years. Everyone finds it hard at first, especially if you come from another country. I am convinced everything will work out.' Those words helped me a lot.
Any tribunal would ask : Why do you want to leave the coach sent by God?
Jun 13, 2008
By Myles Palmer
You see headlines like Bayern talk angers Hleb and Hleb frustration at transfer talk.
You read quotes like : "These reports anger me. I have not signed for Bayern, Barcelona or any other club for that matter. So much is being speculated and said, but I just want to have some peace and sit down with my closest friend Niki Spilevski to consider my future."
Spilevski is his agent.
The latest noises from Hleb back up what I said last week : that Wenger wants to use him as test case.
Wenger is saying to Hleb: OK, go to a tribunal and tell them how you have been maltreated, why you are so unhappy.
When I saw headlines saying Hleb is angry about reports that he wants to leave Arsenal, I laughed out loud and thought, "You arsehole ! Youve told your agent to hawk you around to the highest bidder. Youve removed your furniture from your Hampstead house, your pop star wife has cancelled her gym membership in Swiss Cottage - but your agent hasn't got you a deal yet. Because you're not better than what Barcelona already have! And Jose Mourinho has made it clear after taking over at Inter Milan that Alex Hleb is not part of his plans. He knows that Arsenal is your level."
That's what I think : Alex Hleb is not as good as the players Barcelona are unloading, let alone as good as the players who won two titles for them in 2005 and 2006 .
Hleb is 27 and his agent figures, "It's now or never for a big money move. We have to cash in now."
It's either about money or because Hleb thinks Arsenal will not win anything in the remaining years of his contract.
But when was the last time Hleb scored a significant goal against a big team in a crunch game ? When has he ever popped up and changed a game ? Overmars, Pires and Ljungberg all scored vital goals in big games when the pressure was on. In their prime, Overmars, Pires and Ljungberg were all good enough to play for Barcelona.
This guy has only scored 10 goals in three years. He scored two league goals in 2007-2008 and both were against Reading! Two league goals in 29 starts! His other two goals were against Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague.
Hleb is not Arjen Robben, is he? Robben was the most productive winger in Europe for three months until Mokoena broke his leg at Blackburn.
For Hleb to come out now and say, "Everyone says I want to leave Arsenal, so I'm upset about it," is entirely despicable and quite ridiculous. And very insulting to Arsenal fans.
Your bottle's gone, lad. You're beginning to get cold feet about going. Why haven't big Champions League clubs been fighting each other to sign you? This much is now clear :Alex Hleb is starting to think that leaving Arsenal is not such a great idea.
On Thursday I was reading a Lawrence Donegan piece in The Guardian where he said that it was depressing to realise that Cristiano Ronaldo had the heart of a hedge fund manager, that he only cares about money.
That doesn't depress me because I read in Graeme Souness's book, No Half Measures, that footballers care about money more than anything else.
Let's be crystal clear about this : Hleb wanted to leave and planned to leave. He discussed his future with his agent and they both know that Arsene only gives one-year deals to players over 30. And if Arsene Wenger didn't give a two-year deal to Robbie Pires, he would not be giving two more years to Alex Hleb from Minsk, who is not half the footballer Pires was and is. (AW still regrets not giving Robbie two years and still talks about him a lot.)
So Hleb and his agent planned his exit from Arsenal long ago. But that plan has not worked because, I reckon, Wenger has stood his ground and said : You're ridiculing my strategy. If I let you do this, every player will do it after you. And my strategy will be in tatters. I will not be able to sign kids and grow a team because half my best players will walk after two or three years. Therefore, I will make you famous in a way that you don't want to be famous. You will be like Bosman, the first footballer who tests the Webster clause, so you can go and plead your case to a tribunal and tell them how you have been maltreated at London Colney, and how you are depressed by living in the noisy streets of Hampstead.
It's all about money, money, money. Hleb hasn't asked for a transfer because he makes more money from the deal if he doesn't submit a written transfer request.
Alex Hleb is an ungrateful mercenary and I don't want him to play for Arsenal again anyway. But I really can't see what all the fuss has been about. Flamini and Hleb want to go? Fine ! Neither of them are great players and neither is irreplaceable.
Will the biggest club in Europe's biggest city collapse if two competent players leave?
If Hleb is sold to Barcelona for £12million, we should have a big party in Finsbury Park !
My problem is that I can't imagine the tribunal. If he buys out his contract, he has to go to a tribunal. Would they would ask Hleb about this interview in World Soccer magazine:
At Stuttgart I played just behind the main striker and the play all went through me. Then at Arsenal, I got a different role and it took me a while to adapt to the constant movement on the right side of midfield. Wenger is a great tactician, he sees absolutely everything. He knows how to find a key to every player - he is a coach sent by God. I still remember him saying: 'Alexander, I do not just buy any player; I watched you for two years. Everyone finds it hard at first, especially if you come from another country. I am convinced everything will work out.' Those words helped me a lot.
Any tribunal would ask : Why do you want to leave the coach sent by God?
Jun 13, 2008
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