I have finally setup The Arsenal 4 Life Forum and it can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
Feel free to talk about all things Arsenal, and even things which aren’t related!
It’s free and simple to join so get on board (no pun intended) and discuss the best football team in the world!
Just A Question Of When…
Ashley Cole will not be wearing an Arsenal shirt this season. That is clear.
He has publically slagged off the club that raised him, he illegally met with Chelsea representatives and he wasn’t in this years official team photograph.
So why isn’t Cashley at Chelsea yet?
It’s because Chelsea are making Arsenal sweat. Flexing their proverbial muscle if you will.
Don’t be fooled – they’re going to go ahead with the Cole signing, and they’re going to stump up the £25 million Arsenal want.
They’re just taking their time.
Why? Because they can.
When you spend as much money as Chelsea do on transfers you can do what you want. You control how things are done.
Why give Arsenal £25 million in July when they can hand it over in late August?
You don’t want to give a team like Arsenal a substantial amount of money early on in the summer – with Wenger’s eye for a bargain he could buy 3 or 4 brilliant players for that cash.
And William Gallas?
When you have the financial needs of Chelsea you can easily afford to let the guy rot in the reserves if he doesn’t play by the rules.
At any other club in the world, any player can engineer a move away from his club.
But not at Chelsea.
Here you are just another name on the list. You don’t want to play for us? Then you can see out the rest of your contract in the reserves. It doesn’t matter how big a player or how good you are – Chelsea can bring in 3 or 4 players of equal ability and reputation.
Don’t like it? That’s tough!
Deserves To Be Dropped?
Don’t get me wrong, I was one of the many that said Beckham should be dropped once in a while – if anything a guaranteed first team place can bring about complacency. And there is no doubt that Beckham had a poor World Cup.
But dropping him from the entire 25-man squad?
If I had to pick the best 25 English players available then Beckham would probably make the first 15 without any problems. Partly because of the lack of English talent, but also because when Beckham puts on an England shirt he gives nothing but 110% – when some of his colleagues don’t.
The thing I worry about is why McClaren dropped Beckham.
The press and most of the country wanted Becks dropped and he has now just followed public opinion and done exactly that.
Is McClaren doing the best for the team, or just trying to get a public vote?
Of course, Beckham is not at his peak any longer but can still do a job for England. But are you telling me Phil Neville and Stuart Downing are more worthy of England places than Beckham?
And yes, Beckham had a poor World Cup.
But so did everyone else!
I just hope the public and the press don’t turn against Wayne Rooney otherwise McClaren might just drop him as well and we’d be in real trouble if that happened!
Which One Of These Guys Is Leaving Arsenal?
Looks like Chelski have apparently ‘broken off’ talks with Arsenal over signing wantaway left-back Ashley Cole because Arsenal want too much for the England International.
Mourinho has spoken out and said Chelsea have given Arsenal an ‘excellent offer’ and how the Gunners won’t move from their own valuation which is evidently higher.
Well Mourinho, you can f*ck yourself.
First you illegally meet one of our players, and now you want him on the cheap.
Arsenal should not and hopefully won’t lower their valuation of Cole and sell him a penny cheaper than they want for him. I don’t care if Cole wants to leave – the little b*stard isn’t going to hold the team to ransom.
What Arsenal are doing is spot on.
You cannot bow down and let Chelsea run the show. If they want Cole they’re going to have to stump up and pay full price. It isn’t an eBay auction here!
I don’t like Cole but if he stays he has two options.
He can play for his place and give it 110% when he wears the Arsenal shirt, or rot on the bench or in the reserves.
But maybe this is when Real Madrid or some other team come in and get Cole? Who knows – football is full of surprises so don’t rule anything out yet.
The other wantaway player Jose Antonio Reyes however has made better progress with his desire to return to spain and Real Madrid now appear serious to buy the left-winger.
Even though Reyes has engineered a move away from Arsenal, for some strange reason I don’t have the same hatred towards him as I do towards Cashley.
Maybe it’s because he didn’t slag Arsenal off in his biography, maybe it’s because he’s actually shown the club some respect. Or maybe it’s because even though he’s never really been happy in England he’s always given us 110% – and you can’t ask for any more than that.
Things will be much clearer when the Premiership kicks off in 9 days time…
Well tomorrow Arsenal take on Dinamo Zagreb in possibly one of the biggest games in this season’s fixture list. Arsenal cannot afford to lose at any costs.
Does anyone know anything about Zagreb?
Well not much, and that will be a problem. They did beat minnows Ekranas 9-3 on aggregate in the previous round and the only player I know of them is the German Jens Nowotny.
It’s a major August for Arsenal as we play 2 Champions League Qualifiers, the first Premiership match at the Emirates Stadium and many of the squad are involved in another useless International friendly on the 16th – I pray we don’t get any bloody injuries!
Is it notable that the Official Arsenal page doesn’t include Ashley Cole as an Arsenal player involved in an International friendly?
I think it’s generally accepted that the team that started against AZ Alkmaar last Friday will be the team that starts tomorrow night in Croatia.
With Lehmann suspended (again), Henry just returning to fitness , Senderos injured and Cashley Cole left at home the first eleven will be:
Almunia, Eboue, Toure, Djourou, Flamini, Hleb, Gilberto, Fabregas, Reyes, Adebayor and Robin Van Persie.
Which is the strongest line-up Wenger could pick from the players available.
The only real concern is how Arsenal will play. This is Arsenal’s first competitive game of the season while Zagreb are well underway after starting their domestic league in July.
In other news, Freddie has praised Arsene for his ‘brilliant ability’ to build a team, and also targets the Villa game to come back. Nice to know there are some players who appreciate what a manager has done for them.
And 18 year old prodigy Freddy Adu has criticised Chelsea for their performance in a friendly against MLS All Stars. I like the kid already.