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!

Just A Rant On The New Home Kit

by Rachid

Above is a picture released yesterday of some of our players modeling our new kit. Looks as boring as I expected it to, to be honest. It looks like a training kit at best. Why the socks have no design but the Nike Swish is beyond me and what's even more bizarre to me is the reaction from many regarding it as 'fantastic', 'marvelous' and 'a dream'. What I've noticed also is that the only people who seem to love this kit are the English fans but every international fan of the club that I've spoken to that's seen it has said it looks boring, bland and unfinished.

What's there to like about this kit? Yes we've gotten back the traditional white sleeves but the red trim on it leaves a whole lot to be desired. It looks so feminine and Tomas Rosicky, who already looks like a lesbian, will look even more girly now. I'm not pleased because minus the broken collar and the gold streaks down the sides, this kit is no different from our kit in our first season at The Emirates, as shown below:

Even this kit was better because the trim on it was nicer and of course the gold streaks added a nice touch. If they felt that this needed those features back then, why do they suddenly feel that it needs nothing at all added to it this season?

Many of those who like this kit like it for the reason that it's bringing us back to our roots. I can understand that but it annoys me that every season we unveil a new kit we claim to be commemorating something. My problem with this is that when you spend every season commemorating something, it takes away from the value of the tribute. It's kinda like when you see couples foolishly celebrating every month they've been together. What's the magic in it if it doesn't happen every once in a while?

Why do we always have to be commemorating? It seems like just an excuse when whomsoever's designing the kit can't come up with anything aesthetically pleasing. We keep releasing boring kits season after season now and how can you expect a kit that was worn way back in 1971 to look relevant in 2010? That's just totally fucking ridiculous! I don't see any reason why we couldn't have paid homage to the team of 1971 with a kit that looks like theirs but also has some more modern touches and designs on it.

I think it's rude of Arsenal FC to expect us to pay £40 for this very bland, boring and done design. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Cya next time, Gooners.

Have A Look At What Might Be Our Fugly New Home Kit

by Rachid

Annoyed, disappointed, underwhelmed. Just a few words that come to mind when I look at this ugly new kit that's supposedly ours as of tomorrow that I found on EPL Talk. God I hate it! The sleeves have such an ugly trim and the design on the torso is so bland and boring. Why did we take this long to release this kit? The design (or lack there of) of it looks like a template at best. I think the bold trim on the sleeves also makes it look a bit too feminine for a bunch of men to be wearing. Here are a couple more shots of it, if your eyes can bear the pain.

It's not confirmed that these are authentic but they definitely don't look photoshopped to me. Anyway, leave a comment and let me know if you find it as horrid as I do.

Until next time, dust.

Back To Merseyside On Opening Day!

 by Rachid

Arsene Wenger may not know what manager he'll be facing on the opening day yet but he does now know that he'll be making a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool. This is because the fixture list for the Barclays Premiership has come out earlier today.

We traveled to Liverpool last season but to take on Everton, rather than Liverpool FC. We won the game 6-1 and there's not a Gooner in the world who'd want to see this result repeated as much as I do. If there's one team in the world I really fucking hate...it's Liverpool...or Cesspool as I refer to them.

We've done the double over them last season and I'd love for us to do it to them again. How perfect would it be to get our season off to a flying start than to beat them? Not only would it be perfect for our season but it would also be perfect seeing them start their new campaign, under a new manager on a sour note.

I just hope we get our team straightened out with all the necessary signings in by that time.

Some other notable fixtures from the opening weekend are:

• Aston Villa v West Ham
• Chelsea v West Brom
• Manchester United v Newcastle
• Tottenham v Manchester City

For a list of all the teams' fixtures for the entire season, click here.

Later, Gooners.

More Thoughts On The New Kit

by Rachid

If you read the last post on this blog you'd have seen me saying I love our new away kit because of the design and the colour of it. My views have since changed. When you look at a picture of the kit at first glance you'd think it has pinstripes. This was one of the main reasons I loved this shirt when I first saw it. It made it look unique and also modern. I'm tired of seeing Arsenal trying to rehash old jerseys and it annoys me to hear the stupid, old, fuddy duddy geezer fans who can't let go of the past raving about how cool these designs are. This is 2010, not 1971. I want to see a kit that fits our era. Not some outdated shirt that looks like it should be worn with a Beatles styled mop top.

Unfortunately though, I saw a video yesterday with the players wearing the kit and it seems that what I thought were pinstripes were actually stitches in the shirt. Also, the long sleeved version looks even worse. It looks so old and outdated, as if it was made 60 years ago. When you have a look at it as it in the video it actually looks a lot like the white away kit we wore 2 years ago except, it's of course, yellow. Here's the video so you can see for yourself:



Now that you've seen it in a real life shot, what are your thoughts on it? Have your views changed, like mine? Have your say in the comments section below.

Dust!

A Glimpse At Our New Away Kit

by Rachid

Well here it is. This is supposedly our new away kit for next season. I have to say I am really loving this. The choice of yellow and red currant looks classy and it's made even better by the trim around the sleeves and the pin stripes. I'm a big fan of this kit and I'll be getting one as soon as I can. Will you? Give me your thoughts on it in the comments section.

Check back tomorrow for a look at the new home kit. Until then, dust!

Theo Made His Bed, Now He Must Lie In It.

by Rachid

Hi there. I'll start with a quote from Arsene Wenger from last November:

For me, the big season is with Arsenal, not at the World Cup. We do not pay players to go to the World Cup, we pay the players to do well for Arsenal. The first pride of a man is to do well for the guy who pays you in life, not to go to the World Cup.

This was obviously because Theo Walcott was constantly talking to the press about his chances of making Fabio Capello's England squad for the 2010 World Cup. If you read my post season review of the players a couple weeks ago you would've seen where I commented that Walcott spent too much time talking to the press this season about his World Cup chances and it affected his performance negatively.

Well surprise surprise. Capello cut his list from 30 down to 23 and guess who didn't make it. That's right. Theo Walcott missed out and I can't say I'm surprised either. I rated him at 6/10 for his performance this season and it was due to how inconsistent he was. I'm sure that must've been Capello's reason for not including him in his squad and he had no one to blame but himself.

Of his omission from the England squad, Walcott had this to say:

I am very disappointed not to be included in the squad going out to South Africa, but completely respect Mr Capello's decision. I would like to wish the team the best of luck and hope they have a really successful tournament.

Clearly Arsene Wenger was right with what he said last November. Theo had spent all of the Arsenal season worrying about whether he'd be going to the World Cup and as a result his performance suffered because he didn't go into the games he played with the required concentration level. It goes to show how that players in the team still lack a certain level of maturity. What I mean is, had he been mature enough to focus on the matter he had in front of him - helping Arsenal in the title chase, his performances would've been better and him making the final 23 in the England squad would've been axiomatic.

There are positives to take from this though. It's no secret Walcott suffers from injuries. At least him not going off to South Africa means he won't run the risk of getting injured over the summer in an international game. It means he can have a proper rest and focus on making better showings for Arsenal next season. He can take some time out and think about this and use it as a learning curve. He can use it to motivate him to push harder to be a mainstay in the England squad. This would be by putting his focus on his club, the people who give him his pay cheque. As I said above, top notch performances for Arsenal equate to international selection. It's that simple.

Of the 6 wingers in the club, Walcott joins a list of 4 who won't be making travel arrangements for South Africa. The others being Samir Nasri who, like Walcott, wasn't selected, Tomas Rosicky and Andrey Arshavin. Their respective teams the Czech Republic and Russia failed to qualify for the World Cup.

I'll leave you with a video to enjoy before you comment on this post and go click "follow" over to the right of the page.



Until next time, dust!