Eduardo Finds Greener Pastures In Donetsk

Brazilian born Croatian striker Eduardo Da Silva has signed a 4 year contract with Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine for a fee believed to be around £6M.

Many had expected this transfer to occur because it became a fast spreading rumour as of Saturday when he missed the first preseason match against Barnet. He struggled to get into the team last season, making 10 minute cameos here and there before Arsene Wenger eventually decided to stop playing him altogether.

Some would argue that his departure came because Arsene Wenger forced him out of the team when he switched from the 4 4 2 formation to the 4 3 3. Some say he didn't belong out in a wide position and he didn't belong in the target man role up top either and his best position was as a secondary striker. It means that his natural position wasn't one afforded a role by this formation. I see it differently though.

Eduardo's days at Arsenal became numbered on February 23, 2008. That was the day he picked up this horror tackle (don't click if squeamish). How Martin Taylor was given only a 3 match ban for that is beyond me. Eduardo spent 18 months on the sidelines as a result of the injury he sustained. A whole issue was created out of the incident when members of the British press and Birmingham City supporters made Taylor into the victim and Eduardo the villain by saying Eduardo made a meal of the tackle and some even went as far as claiming it wasn't a foul. They claimed that Arsenal players are just too soft and that Martin Taylor was the real victim because of the emotional anguish he was put through. Never in my life have I heard such rubbish!

As I mentioned before, it took him 18 months to make a full return from the injury and it came against Cardiff City in the FA Cup. He scored that night and looked quite sharp. We all thought and hoped we got back that clinical striker who had a 23.5% conversion rate in front of goal but as the months rolled on they proved that it wasn't to be. His time ever since the broken leg was spent in and out of the team due to niggling injuries which arose as a result of the initial severe one. From there Eduardo became a mentally broken man. His conversation rate fell to 6.3% after and this made it clear that it was now the beginning of the end of his Arsenal career.

His demeanor on the pitch had changed. He no longer harried the ball in 50/50 challenges and in one particular game against Celtic last season he was so afraid to challenge for the ball in a one on one with Artur Buruc that he backed off, lost his balance, fell and won a penalty. The media had a field day with this, labeling him a diver and a cheat. These claims against him were both harsh and untrue as it happened due to the trauma from the incident in 2008. He saw himself reduced to a substitute role and when he did get the rare appearance he had ineffectual performances. Such performances frustrated Arsene Wenger who chose not to play him in the final 6 or so games of the season.

Credit should be given to Eduardo for his whole attitude, given what he's gone through. Not once did he give up hope on a return to the game and not once did he complain or show dissent in his body language because he wasn't being given playing time. He was always a class act and it's reflected in his parting message to the fans:

Before I start a new chapter in my career with Shakhtar Donetsk, I just wanted to send a message to all my friends at Arsenal.

The past few days have been very emotional for me. Although I am excited about the challenge ahead with my new club Shakhtar Donetsk, I am so sad to be leaving my home for the past three years – Arsenal Football Club.

Arsenal is a very special football club and I will miss so many people - my team mates, all the staff and of course, the wonderful Arsenal supporters.

I would just like to thank everyone for your support during my time at Arsenal. When I first came to England, I could not speak the language and knew nobody, but as soon as I arrived I was made to feel at home and part of this big family. Also, I want to say thank you to the Arsenal supporters  - you have been fantastic to me and always sung my name and I will never forget this. 

I had some very difficult times with my injury, but Arsenal was always there for me – the medical staff, the management, the players and the supporters. Thank you everybody.

Although I have now left the Club, Arsenal will always be in my heart. I will always look for the Arsenal results and of course, I wish Arsène Wenger and the great players at the Club well for next season and the future.

I can safely say that everyone associated with Arsenal Football Club - the players, management, and supporters all respect and thank Eduardo for all he's done in his 3 years at the club. He will definitely be missed by us all. We wish him and his family all the best in Ukraine and we wish him only the best in his future endeavours.

Now here's a very poignant video tribute to the former Arsenal number 9.



That's all for now. Until next time, take care.

Our New Number 6

by Rachid

Well it was really no secret but Arsenal have officially announced the signing of 24 year old central defender Laurent Koscielny from French side Lorient. According to the officials at Arsenal, the fee is said to be undisclosed. While this is something they do every time we sign a player to take pressure off him should he not live up to expectations, it is believed that the fee agreed is somewhere between £8.5 and £10 million. Koscielny will wear the number 6 shirt for us.

Since Arsene Wenger's in South Africa at the moment there weren't any statements made by him today about the signing but Koscielny had some words himself to say about the deal:

I'm very excited to be joining Arsenal. They are one of the biggest teams in Europe with many great players. I'm really looking forward to playing in the English Premier League and the Champions League with my new club. Also, in Arsène Wenger, Arsenal has one of the best managers in the world and I can't wait to work with him and do my best for the Arsenal supporters.

So what do we know about him really? We don't know how long his contract runs for but we do know it's a 'long term' deal. Like I said about him signing for an 'undisclosed fee', this is kept private to take pressure off the player.

Before coming to Arsenal, he made 40 scoreless appearances for En Avant Guingamp from 2004-2007. He then moved on to Tours where he scored 4 goals in 34 appearances from 2007-2009. He then moved away to spend a season at Lorient, scoring 3 goals in 40 appearances.

This is a typical Wenger signing as it's a player that no one really heard of until he was linked to us. Many are saying that he could very well be another Thomas Vermaelen in that he was a relative unknown before signing for us and had a significant impact on our performances right away. I can understand why people are saying that but many don't know that Vermaelen was actually Ajax' captain before we signed him and he was already a Belgium international. He was a relatively experienced player that we signed. This is not the case with Koscielny. He is an uncapped player who's only had 1 season of regular first team football. His other appearances for clubs before Lorient were made coming in off the bench as a youth player.

It's anybody's guess just how well Koscielny will do at Arsenal but he's been given the number 6 shirt and that shirt's been worn by Arsenal legends such as Terry Neill, David Court and Tony Adams. If Wenger had plans for him to take Senderos' place in the team as a backup then he probably would've been given a number in the teens. For him to get this number suggests that Arsene Wenger rates him highly and sees him as a potential starter.

I wish him the best of luck and a very long and successful Arsenal career.

Before I end, here's a little highlight reel of his career to date.



Are you excited about this signing? Let me know in the comments. Cya next time.

Don't Be A Sheep

by Rachid

Cesc Fabregas had more to say on the silly rumours linking him with Barcelona. According to the Arsenal skipper:

I haven't said that I will definitely leave Arsenal. Everything is possible. Now I have my head and my focus on the World Cup. I am very proud to be captain of Arsenal and I love the club and have respect for them. It gave me such pride to be made captain.

Quite frankly I don't see why we're still on this. Yeah it's clear Cesc is considering going to Barcelona but it just won't happen. The last time he spoke on this issue he said he'll leave it in Wenger's hands and what that means is that Wenger will decide his future, not Cesc.

When Barcelona offered us a measly £25M for him we told them it's not enough and we will not be making counteroffers with them nor entertaining further negotiations. In other words, we said 'That's that, we're not selling him and that's final'. You'd think that the board saying this to them would kill those rumours, but no, they still persist.

Is it that the media just want us to lose our players that badly that they'd help Barcelona continue their bullying and tapping up tactics? I certainly think so. What's even worse is the group of mindless Arsenal fans who are willing to believe anything at all they hear or read or see on tv. They're the ones who allow these rumours to continue as they're the ones who keep falling for them and reacting to them as if they were true about him leaving. Why must Arsenal fans be like this though? Why are Arsenal fans so pessimistic? More importantly, why is it that whenever stories like these circulate and officials inside the club make comments to kill them, many fans prefer not to believe these quotes but take everything spewed out by media houses such as Sky Sports and BBC Sport as gospel? Don't they see that it's their mindless following that is allowing the media to perpetuate this kind of bullshit?

Moving on...

There's word Lorient's Laurent Koscielny has agreed personal terms with Arsenal and both clubs have agreed on a transfer fee but the deal's yet to become official as all that's left to be done is for Arsene Wenger to dot the Is and cross the Ts. Apparently it's hard for him to do that though, when he's in South Africa without his Blackberry. What it means, however, is that we can rest assured that we have a defender coming in.

Word on the street is that we upped our £6M bid on Everton's Phil Jagielka by £4M and David Moyes has urged his board not to give in to our request. What I've heard is that this has caused us to turn our attention elsewhere - to Werder Bremen in fact, where Steve Rowley has been scouting Per Mertesacker. It is believed we're looking to offer Bremen the £10M we were gonna offer Everton for Jagielka for his services.

We're also being linked to Rangers' Madjid Bougherra and Benfica's Rafik Halliche. Both of these defenders are Algerian and if these rumours are true then it suggests that Wenger's had a firm eye on the proceedings in Group C at the World Cup.

Something that really irks me is that people are stupidly looking at the fact that we've let Senderos, Silvestre, Gallas and possibly even Sol Campbell go and we haven't made any defensive signings as yet, to suggest that we're not going to be making any signings at all. What the fuck?! Seriously? Are people that fucking inane? If we really weren't planning on signing replacements then it would mean we'd enter the new season with Vermaelen and Djourou as our only two senior defenders in the team. It doesn't take rocket science to see that that certainly can't work, especially for a team with title ambitions. Of course we're going to be signing more players. How many times does Arsene Wenger need to say it for people to believe it? He doesn't even have to say it. It's actually a given that we will, really.

People need to chill the fuck out and relax. This is the summer and a World Cup summer at that. There are many players who have their focus on the World Cup right now and those that already participated and got eliminated are off enjoying their well earned summer vacations. It's hard to do business with players right at this moment.

Not only are players off relaxing but so too is Arsene Wenger. He's in South Africa doing media work for French TV but as peculiar as it sounds, this is how Wenger is used to spending his time off from the club. The man is off enjoying himself, relaxing and recharging for next season and it's quite fine if he's not ready to make his signings yet because there's a time and place for everything and right now he's not at work for us.

Are people really dumb enough to think that they realise that the team needs strengthening but Arsene Wenger doesn't? How dimwitted do you really have to be to actually believe that? Seriously!

I think while there are the sheep who are stupid enough to follow every maniacal ranting spewed against Arsene Wenger, there are those who look to chastise him for every single reason they can find. Whether it's because we haven't won a trophy since fuck knows when or because they got soaked walking home in the pouring rain. I don't get why Arsenal fans have to be so negative all the time and create panic around the club when there really needs to be none at all. I just urge all of you reading this not to be as mindless as those who give those jerks creating drama around the club a soap box to stand on and speak. Think for yourself and question authority.

Anyway, this is the end of my rant for now. Leave your thoughts below. Dust!

Fran Merida Has Left The Building

by Rachid

Fran Mérida has opted not to renew his contract at Arsenal and decided to sign for Atlético Madrid on a Bosman's. It is believed that he agreed terms to a 4 year deal at Estadio Vicente Calderón.

A quote from the club's official site says:

The Club Atlético de Madrid have closed the signing of midfielder Fran Mérida from Arsenal, whose contract expired with the London club on June 30.
The Catalan midfielder has been committed to the institution for the next four Red and White seasons and will be officially launched on Friday 28 May at 12:30. The event will take place in the VIP room of the Vicente Calderón Stadium and the player will be joined by Don Enrique Cerezo, President of Club Atlético de Madrid.

Now some of you reading this might think this is just sour grapes when I say this but I genuinely don't believe Mérida is a more talented footballer than Aaron Ramsey or Jack Wilshere. He's quite skilled but they're better than him. With that said, I think his reason for leaving is because he felt first team opportunities were not coming his way and he felt frustrated seeing others such as Ramsey and Wilshere get into the first team ahead of him.

I understand why he wants to leave but he's being too hasty. He's only 20. He can't expect to be a regular starter already. Our problem in this team is that we don't have enough leadership and experience. It's axiomatic that he's not ready for the first team yet. He should've sat and waited for his turn. Ramsey did and it was paying dividends until Shawcross' vicious assault. He would've had his chance if he waited. He's immature and he's gonna find out that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence.

Atlético Madrid struggled this season. Sure they won the Europa League but aside from that their season mirrored Liverpool's in so many ways. If he thinks his career will be better there than it promised to be here then he's joking. I hope he gets what he wants when he makes the signing official, that is to get into the first team straight away and play regularly but I just have a feeling it won't pan out exactly as he has it in mind. I'll be watching his progress at Atlético to see what becomes of his career.

Good luck Fran, don't let the doorknob hit you on the way out.

Cesc Finally Speaks...Well Kinda

by Rachid

I've stayed away from the Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona rumours for as long as I could but today I saw something that forced me into giving my two cents on the matter. It was this video interview I found here on Sky Sports.

As I watched a few thoughts came to my mind which I'm now gonna share:

• In the past Cesc would've just categorically denied any claims about him wanting to go to Barcelona within hours of the rumours coming out in the press yet today he's saying he doesn't want to say much about it. It's just like when a celebrity's asked about their sexuality. If they're not gay they'd just be frank about it and say "No I'm not." but when they are, they beat around the bush because of the controversy it creates. It's the same thing here. Cesc wants to leave and it's pretty obvious. He would've shot this rumour down when it started two weeks ago if he didn't want to.

• I don't get why he wants to leave now. I mean, if he had said this last year it would've made more sense given the poor season we had then. Why now? Why now when we had a better season this year than last? Although the season didn't pan out how we hoped it would, there were definite positives to take from it. Wenger clearly has more money at his disposal this summer to spend on quality players to improve us. If we the fans know this then shouldn't the captain of the team know it as well? Why the impatience now?

• He knows there are fans who are gonna turn on him if he goes. In fact, there are some who already have. He's trying to be gracious and diplomatic as to not piss the fans off. As such he's sugarcoating the interview by saying how much he feels at home here and how much he respects Arsene Wenger. To me it sounds like a man who's in two minds and he wants to play it safe just in case he does leave.

• Cesc saying he had the most important conversation of his life with Wenger is a bit ambiguous. It could mean that he told him how important it is for him to leave and go back to Spain, confirming all the stuff Guillem Balague had been bleating about for weeks or it could mean he gave Wenger an ultimatum to improve the quality of the squad or he's gone.

• If Cesc wants to leave we still call the shots. He's still contracted to us and we can either hold him hostage here or demand a hefty price tag for him. If he goes we get quite a lot of cash to replace him with a player of equal calibre. On the other hand, if he stays we have an unhappy player on our roster who we might not get the most out of because he'd rather be playing elsewhere. It has the potential to be a lose/lose situation.

• Why is it that we seem to be changing captains every 2 years? We need some sustainability to the captaincy and if Cesc goes then Arsene Wenger needs to make sure we have a proper captain to replace Fabregas and make sure we don't have another Gallas situation on our hands.

Watch the video for yourself and tell me what you think in the comments section below. Be sure to click the follow button to the right of the page and follow the blog for updates on new posts. Until next time, take care fellow Gooners.

Marouane Chamakh Is Finally An Arsenal Player

by Rachid

He's heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!

In typical Arsenal fashion, the signing of Marouane Chamakh was drawn out and became an uneventful matter but it finally took place today.

Chamakh signs for us on what Arsenal.com refers to as a "long term deal", which I'm guessing is 4 years. He'll be wearing the number 29.

About the deal, Arsene Wenger says: 

"We are delighted that Marouane Chamakh has joined us. He is a player we have admired for some time now and I know he will provide our squad with great quality. Chamakh has proved he is a great player with his performances for Bordeaux and Morocco in recent seasons and we’re all looking forward to him joining us.

"Chamakh is a striker of real quality and has all the attributes suited to come to England and do very well. He is also a fighter, not only a good football player, but a fighter as well. He is very good in the air and also a good team player. He is a great addition to our squad.”

Chamakh had a few words to say too:

“This is a dream come true and a great joy to be joining Arsenal. My goal was always to play in the Premier League and Arsenal was the choice of my heart.

“Without any hesitation, Arsenal was my preferred club. The team and history of Arsenal, they make me dream. My goal was to join Arsenal out of the all the English clubs because it is a club that makes me dream and I have been a fan since I was a child.

“I’m very excited about playing at Emirates Stadium in front of the Arsenal supporters. I have heard many great things about the stadium and I cannot wait to be playing there in an Arsenal shirt.

“I will give my best to this Club, the Club that I used to support. We have many great players at Arsenal and I will be giving everything to help the team win trophies next season.”

Now while I'm obviously delighted we've signed a player this soon and we're showing early intent for next season I'm curious about the role Chamakh will play. I've seen him play for Bordeaux in a 5-4-1 formation in two different roles. He can be employed as a wide right or left striker, much like Cristiano Ronaldo but he can also be used in a target man role in the center of attack. It means he's a very versatile player and I look forward to that.

I hope Arsene Wenger doesn't use him as a target man unless necessary. By that, I mean I don't want to see him competing with the likes of Bendtner and van Persie for the target man role and he should play it those players are unavailable. Chamakh is a lot like Nicklas Bendtner as a target man. He even misses sitters just like he does. What I'm saying is that we need to add to this team - add things the team doesn't already have.

We need more consistent wide players as the likes of Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin have days where they perform and days where they go silent. Chamakh's pace and technique on the wings would be very useful to us because his crafty footwork makes him a bit of an unpredictable entity in our team. Do I think he has all the technical abilities of Thierry Henry? No I don't. I don't think we can bring back the flair to the team Henry has for a while but I think Chamakh can go a long way to provide that 'something out of nothing' to our football that it's lacked since Henry left. This is of course, if he's allowed to play a wide role where he's free to roam the pitch a bit. He's very energetic and I believe his work rate will allow him to be more consistent than Walcott and Arshavin have been for us over the course of the season. I'll even go out on a limb and say if used correctly in a wide role, he could do for us what Ronaldo did for Manchester United.

I'm very excited about this signing and I can't wait til the preseason matches start to see exactly what role he'll be playing in this team.

Are you excited too? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and follow the blog by hitting the 'follow' button to the right of the page. Until next time, dust!

Leave Andrey Alone!!! (Sob Sob)

by Rachid

There hasn't been much football to sink our teeth into and as a result Arsenal fans worldwide have been scraping the barrel for Arsenal related content on the internet. As such, many were up in arms when they came across some comments about Arshavin wanting to play for Barcelona. According to claims by majority of the press, this is what Arshavin said:

 “Even playing just one season for Barcelona would make a pinnacle of my whole career,” the Arsenal midfielder said.

“Barca are the best team in the world and I enjoy their style of play so much,

“But after watching them against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals the enjoyment has quickly turned into sorrow. They are so much better than anybody else at the moment.”

According to what I've read, these words came from an interview Arshavin did while in Russia. The first thing I thought when I saw this was "oh here we go again". Everyone's gonna get on his back about this just like they did with what he said in January (while the transfer window was open) about us needing new players, which was rehashed after the window closed to make it just seem like he's complaining idly. It's obvious that this whole nonsense came to being to not only try to unsettle the player but also to turn us against him. He's been pretty inconsistent this season and it makes him an easy target for the ire of Arsenal fans. It wouldn't be far fetched to think that the contents of the interview were changed during translation to create controversy. It doesn't seem to have crossed many Arsenal fans' minds though. Arsene Wenger, while not pleased with the whole issue, seems to be taking it with a pinch of salt though:

"Yes, I’m very disappointed [by this story] because he shows a completely different attitude [to me]. He wants to extend his contract with us and stay with us so the noise coming out of Russia is very difficult to explain. He looks to be very happy here.

"You should ask him where it comes from. Usually you have direct access to him, you can ask him where that comes from. I don’t forbid you to talk to him. But I take with a little bit of distance what comes back translated sometimes with the help of some agents who want to move the players.

"I think everybody has the freedom to speak but you want to make sure first of all that you respect your club. I just put a question mark on the things that come back translated.”

I think what Wenger's saying is that he's skeptical to believe that Arshavin really said this but at the same time he seems pretty annoyed at how often this is happening with him. He's known as a very frank individual and he should know better than to trust these journalists who look to create shitstorms from his comments.

There's a lot of vitriol directed at him from Arsenal fans on the internet too. Many are now criticising him for his on and off performances throughout the course of the season and some are even saying we should sell him to Barcelona. What most people are on his back about though is that he's lazy. People are making it seem as though he didn't contribute this season. He's scored 11 goals this season and had 9 assists. We couldn't possibly ask more of him when he got two significant injuries this season and also was being played in a position where his height (or lack thereof) put him at a major disadvantage. There's no need to single him out for criticism. There are far lazier people in this Arsenal team and if you're gonna talk about laziness, their names should be called first. Names such as Almunia, Denilson, Diaby and Sagna to some extent.

Apart from all that though, there's not much else happening with the club this week. Arsene Wenger revealed a little more of his transfer plans yesterday. He says we'll be signing a player before June 11th (when the World Cup kicks off). He says:

“We have a basic squad and I believe in the squad I have,” he said. “But if I can make an addition – two or three maximum – then we will do it.

“I will try to do what I want to do as quickly as possible but I am not the only decider. It doesn’t only depend on me.

“Ideally, you would want to do the job before the World Cup. It is difficult to give yourself the right timing.

“Certainly, we will announce one player before the World Cup. After that we will see.”

 It's obvious the player he's talking about here is Marouane Chamakh. I think the only reason we're so hush hush about it is that we can't announce anything about him coming here until his season with Bordeaux is over. What concerns me though is that he claims we are gonna make two signings, three tops. Most agree that our current squad needs a new goalkeeper, maybe two center backs, a defensive midfielder and a striker to get that improvement that will put us over the top and make us truly competitive with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona next season. If we're gonna sign only 3 players, at most, it leaves you a bit anxious about whether we're going into next season with the same depth issues we faced throughout this season.

A factor in Wenger's decision might be the new regulations set by the EFA though. It's now been made official that next season we're supposed to register 8 home grown players and 25 total for the Premiership. In seasons past that number was 30. It obviously means that our current Premiership first team squad of 30 players will have to be cut by 5.

At first I was a bit upset about what Wenger said about spending because this is something he says at the start of every transfer window - that he's looking to sign just two or three players maximum. Where it might be different this season however is that we need to trim the fat from our team. It means that he's probably looking to just make 3 additions maximum to the team and replace whoever else is leaving. It doesn't mean we're getting rid of 8 players and signing 3 in their place. It just means that Wenger now knows what areas of the team are lacking and he's probably gonna sell those players that are the weak links in the chain that's the Arsenal team. He's gonna sell them and probably replace them with like players but players who possess the qualities those other players didn't.

Also, the 25 registered player restriction doesn't necessarily mean we can only have 25 players in our squad. We can have as many as we like and if we have players who are underperforming or injured we can always deregister them and replace them with other players who are fit(ter) and performing better in training. We could always do this during the January transfer window.

A player that is a doubt to be in the team next season however is William Gallas.

Of Gallas Wenger says:

"There is a cut off point for Gallas. It doesn't depend only on me. Gallas can come and say 'Boss we will stop the talks because I signed somewhere and that's it'.

"I could set a deadline for us and that will certainly be before the end of May because we then have to look for someone else. We have more talks planned."

Many want Gallas to leave but I believe he's had very good performances when he's managed to stay fit this season. He and Vermaelen have forged a solid partnership at the heart of our defence. Many claim his constant bitching has been a blight on the team but ever since he was stripped of the captaincy he's been very professional and his game has turned around significantly. I'd rather not see him go but I'd like to see us sign another center back regardless of whether he's in the team next season.

What do you think? Let me know in a comment below. That's it for today. Dust!