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Tuesday Roundup

Dec 8th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

Tuesday RoundupWe have quite a bit going on at Arsenal FC at the moment. I won’t beat around the bush and get straight into it. The first of which is the news that Eduardo will be making a comeback from the injury he sustained at the hands of that cunt Martin Taylor in February. Eduardo is expected to play against Portsmouth on the 16th and this is great news. Eduardo was looking quite menacing just before his injury and had settled in nicely. I suppose the real task would be to see how well he comes back and wether he’s the same player as he was prior to picking up the horrific injury. If we look at Diaby, he has still not been able to come around since and on the flipside we have the example of Henrik Larsson and I don’t think I need to tell you about him. We’d have to wait and see how things shape up.The boss has also revealed that Rosicky might be out till March and he returns we’d put him to the stake. Seriously, I’m sick and tired of Tomas Rosicky, for fuck’s sake, even Eduardo has returned to first team action before him.Right then, moving on, there are reports Juventus are ready to join the battle to sign Arsenal malcontent William Gallas. Milan had been widely tipped to make an offer for Gallas, but it seems they may have Serie A competitors in the race for his signature. According to Sportmediaset, Juve boss Claudio Ranieri is keen to be reunited with the man he worked with at Chelsea in 2001. We’re talking Gallas here, I really don’t care any longer where he plays just as long as its not at Arsenal.There’s also an article about Ivan Gazidis being unhappy with our current sponsorship deals and is looking to better them. Smart man. Should we get a better sponsorship deals, we can use that money to buy more players. yes, thats definitely what Arsene would have in mind won’t he? Oh no, wait.Right then, thats the lot.Tas van Danya



Pre-Chavski news

Nov 29th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

Ahead of tomorrows clash with Chelsea, the news that Emmanuel Adebayor, Nasri & Sagna being available for selection is great news.Arsene Wenger during his pre-match conference had this to say:”We have no injuries from the Kyiv game and Adebayor, Nasri and Sagna will be available, if nothing bad happens in training tomorrow. They all came through [training] well today. It’s good because we were experience-wise a bit short.”A bit short is a bit of an understatement really. Anyhow, this is a significant boost nonetheless. With our attack having looked somewhat toothless in recent weeks, the return of Ade in particular couldnt come at a better time: when he has been in the side, we have averaged 2.3 goals per game. When he hasnt been present in our Champions League or Premiership line-up, weve mustered a rather miserly 0.76 goals per game.Chelsea are missing Drogba and we all remember how many problems he’s caused us over the years but then again they have an in-form Anelka. I know we can probably up our game but going to Stamford and coming back with a point is a big thing so lets hope we come back with something to gloat about.Till next time you gooners.Tas van Danya.



Coming back to life?

Nov 25th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

After the appointment of Cesc Fabregas, which to my mind was the ideal choice all along and Im pretty sure hes the ideal choice for 90% of the fans out there. Despite us hoping that this is when our season officially gets underway, we can be under no illusion that Senor Cesc faces a very difficult time ahead, well for the next few weeks at least. This, as I mentioned in yesterdays blog, is a step in the right direction, the seed of change, but it is not an instant panacea. Were struggling for form and overwhelmed with injuries. Our long term solution lies in Uncle Scrooge taking his cheque book out and injecting some quality into the squad. This can only happen in January and till then; the going is to be very tough indeed. The team that we do have needs to step up and show quality and repay the belief that the boss has shown in them. We need to be consistent and we need to do that every game, week in, week out. We need to start playing as a team and less like a group of individuals who are having a kick around for the first time.And this is the main responsibility in Cescs job description. He has to somehow unite these players, to make us look like a team again, to function as one. This is by no means a simple task; its a lot to ask from anyone one in the world and its especially difficult to ask of such a colossal feat by a 21 year old. But this is no ordinary 21 year old, hes one of a kind, a one in a million type of player and Im fairly confident hed be able to pull through. Cesc has never been afraid to speak his mind, to stick up for himself or his teammates, to get involved and he is a winner. He has that drive that we’ve been missing a bit this season. Arsene has given him the definitive responsibility as a player at Arsenal, we’ve asked a lot of him, but the club has to do likewise. As mentioned in yesterdays blog, the team needs to built around him, he needs players who can deliver instantly, players he can rely on, players who can allow him the space to roam about freely and express himself on the pitch. The boss has to now deliver that set of players and create an environment where Cesc can flourish.I know he can and will be an exceptional Arsenal captain, ranking right up there with the likes of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira and we already know hes a dazzling player and we know what a radiant player he is but it’s too much to ask him to be radiant without help. He needs a quality experienced partner alongside him, he needs quality players all around the park, he needs assurance and that will ultimately bring out the very, very best in him. As much as Cesc now has a responsibility to Arsenal, Arsenal has a responsibility to him.This appointment will be also be extremely popular with the players and that’s vital. It’s obviously very clear that a few of our players have had some strifes with Gallas. As unprofessional as it was to point fingers, it was detrimental that Arsene address the root cause and hes finally done that (no matter how long it took). This decision should have been made a long time ago but it’s definitely a case of better late than never.All hail Fabregas. The new king of Arsenal football club.



Arsenal vs Wigan

Nov 11th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

Arsne Wenger has named the 18-man squad for tonight’s Carling Cup tie against Wigan Athletic at Emirates Stadium. The squad is as follows: 12 Carlos VELA 16 Aaron RAMSEY17 Alex SONG 19 Jack WILSHERE 20 Johan DJOUROU 21 Lukasz FABIANSKI (GK) 24 Vito MANNONE (GK) 28 Amaury BISCHOFF 35 Francis COQUELIN 39 Rui FONTE 40 Kieran GIBBS 41 Gavin HOYTE 42 Henri LANSBURY 43 Fran MERIDA 46 Abu OGOGO 47 Mark RANDALL 50 Jay SIMPSON 56 Emmanuel FRIMPONG Bischoff is included in the squad and could perhaps make his first-team debut following his transfer from Bremen. I defintely want to see more of Wilshire, Ramsey and Vela and I hope they come out guns ablazing. Wigan are a decent side. Amir Zaki is the unsung hero of the Premier League so far with 8 goals, while Valencia, Kapo, Palacios and de ridder all add quality. On the flip side lets not forget they have have Titus Bramble at the back so that’s something we should be looking to exploit. Seeing Vela tear him to shreds would definitely make my night. Overall though, it won’t be an easy game of football but we have the quality and the reserves have that never say never attitude which should make this a fun game of football.Here’s hoping for all three points.Come on you Gunnnneeerrrssssss!!!



Roy Keane defends Arsene + News Roundup

Nov 10th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

Theres a lot to be reported today so Ill dive straight in, well start this morning with Roy Keane defending Arsene Wenger against the heavy criticism he has received following some bad performances against the likes of Sp*rs, Stoke and more recently Fenerbahce. Keane whilst blasting the TV pundits for their mindless assessment of games and says that they are often trying to ’sell something that is not there’. “I was asked by ITV to do the Celtic versus Manchester United game but I’ve done it once for Sky and never again. I’d rather go to the dentist. You’re sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they’re trying to sell something that’s not there.”Anytime I watch a game on television, I have to turn the commentators off. They say ‘he’s playing well’ and I’m thinking ‘no, he’s not’. My advice to anyone is not to listen to the experts, just watch the game and gather your own opinions.”There was a debate about Wenger on Sky and how crazy is that? People are actually getting interviewed saying he shouldn’t be doing this. What that man’s done for English football is amazing and will be remembered in 25, 50, 100 years’ time. Will those on telly yesterday be remembered for what they’ve achieved? Absolutely nothing whatsoever.”I wouldn’t trust them to walk my dog. There are ex-players and ex-referees being given air-time who I wouldn’t listen to in a pub. Okay, there will be one or two who’ve done something in the game whose opinion you would take on board, but I’m on about every Tom, Dick and Harry.”You cant but agree with Roy Keane on this, I know we as fans have been frustrated by Arsenal this season and that has led to a lot of shite being levelled at Le boss, but what all of us have failed to see is the bigger picture. I remember Alex Ferguson going through the same and look how that turned out. I am not a fan of these so called pundits and 90% of them are shite. It doesnt apply to football in general, but to every other sport as well. I say burn them at stake!Moving on, Senor Fabregas has been speaking about the win over United. Cesc feels Arsenal went a long way to silencing their critics with victory over Manchester United, whilst also claiming the title is an attainable target.The title is attainable only if we churn out such performances on a regular basis, we need to get 3 points from sides like Stoke which make 3 points from sides like united a bonus which not only distances your competition from the ultimate goal but also takes you one step closer. Anyhoo, Cesc who heaped praise on Arsene for maintaining his calm inspite of such pressure from the media had the following to say:We did it for the manager, because he has believed a lot in us. Without him, probably apart from Gallas and Silvestre, all the rest of us may never have had the chance to play football. We owe him a lot and have to show that on the pitch.This is very true, without Arsene having the faith in these players, they would probably still have dwelling somewhere in the reserves of Barcelona and now here they are, at the apex of the midfielders hill. Fabregas further added:We definitely knew there would be some talk about whether Arsenal were capable of winning anything if we had lost this match. Sometimes we lose playing the same way and everyone says we are not good. Sometimes you are more fortunate in front of goal and sometimes you are not. This is football, this is life. With losers, their heads go down. We have shown we have character. We played against a great team and won under a lot of pressure. So we are happy. Lets hope for our own sake that we can begin to do this on a more regular basis and avoid any more hiccups along the way to the title in May.Asked for his view on whether Arsenal can win the title, Fabregas replied:Oh yes. We have shown we have the qualities to do it. Now thats what I call, keeping the faith. Now, tomorrow night we face Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup and its time to bring on the kids. I personally cant wait to see the kids play, the way they go about their game in that fearless manner with an over abundance of skill is awe-inspiring. A very young and inexperienced team will be put forward and the likes of Bendtner, Vela, Fabianksi, Ramsey, Wilshire, Gibbs etc will come into the team. Players who do not care about who they are facing and I think Wigan are in dire need of being taught a lesson. I cant wait for Carlos Vela to rip apart our good friend Titus Bramble into tiny little pieces. Should be a laugh and a half. (Excuse the pun). Speaking about the youth, Mark Randall is struggling to be fit in time for the game tomorrow night so lets hope he does manage to play and impress the manager enough to make that transition into the first team.And finally, Arsenal have opened up negotiations with Theo Walcott over a new contract that has 18 months left with those assholes Chelsea and Real Madrid already sizing up bids. According to the News of the World, Arsene is willing to hand out a 60,000-a-week contract to the wonder boy. Further good news for Arsenal and Wenger is that Robin van Persie looks likely to rebuff interest from Italy in order to pledge his future to the club. RVP is said to want his salary doubled to 80,000-a-weekRight then, thats the lot.Tas Van Danya.Come on you Guuuunnnneeeerrrrssssssssssssss!!



No Arsenal Today

Nov 2nd, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

Hello All, I seriously don’t feel like talking anything Arsenal today, the last two games have been horrendous and its now an uphill task for the manager to get the lads focused and determined to make amends by winning a trophy or two by the end of May. That said, i’ve decided to post a few “Little Johnny” jokes that would undoubtedly make you feel better, so here you go:NO BATHROOM BREAKOne day there was this little boy named Johny he had to go to the bathroom so he raised his hand and asked the teacher “can I go to the bathroom.” she said no. Then 5 mins later he raised his hand and said “damit I have to piss can I go to the bathroom.”She said “no not with that mouth.”She said now go to the corner and say your a,b,c’s.frontwords and backwords .He went to the corner and said “a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z” Then he said “z,y,x,w,v,u,t,s,r,q,o,n,m,l,k,j,i,h,g,f,e,d,c,b,a” Then she said “Where is the p.” Little Johnny replied “Running down my leg.” DINNER TIMELittle Johnny comes home from school one day and asks his mother what “shit” meant. Thinking fast she replied “food on the table”. Next day he comes home and asks his mother what does “son of a bitch” mean. Again, thinking fast again she says “It’s a priest”. Next day he comes home a asks what does “fuckin’” mean. She says it means “getting dressed”. That same night a priest was coming over for dinner. Johnny is just finished setting the table when he hears the doorbell ring. He yells “got it”. He opens the door and says “Hey son of a bitch, shits on the table and mom and dad are upstairs fuckin’ “.DO HEARTS HAVE LEGSLittle Johnny once asked his teacher “Do hearts have legs?.” The teacher answered “Why do you ask that?” Johnny replied “Yesterday, I heard my dad say sweetheart open your legs.” JOHNNY NEEDS A BIKEA few months after his parents were divorced, little Johnny passed by his mom’s bedroom and saw her rubbing her body and moaning, “I need a man, I need a man!” Over the next couple of months, he saw her doing this several times. One day, he came home from school and heard her moaning. When he peeked into her bedroom, he saw a man on top of her. Little Johnny ran into his room, took off his clothes, threw himself on his bed, started stroking himself, and moaning, “Ohh, I need a bike! I need a bike!” Well, I hope those will have cheered you lot up, heh. Did anyone catch the drama in todays race? Excellent stuff, what a way to win your drivers championship. The look on the ferrari’s camp was priceless. I couldn’t stop laughing.



Dressing Room Bustups, Players To Be Dropped and a Happy Halloween to you!

Oct 31st, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

Morning All,We are still living with the repercussions of the draw on Wednesday night. The Sun, according to an inside source, reported today that the Arsenal “stars” were heard shouting and arguing after Sp*rs hit two late goals to seal the 4-4 draw on Wednesday. The article added that Le Boss was also seen in a rare fit of rage. The “source” claimed:“Everyone was blaming each other for Spurs’ two late goals and the manager was as angry as anyone has seen him for a long time.”According to the source, the crux of the argument was the usual lack of leadership from Gallas and Silvestre. Clichy was particularly distraught at his part in Sp*rs third goal and questions were also asked about the way possession was surrendered in the dying embers of the game to allow that cunt, Lennon, a last-gasp equalizer. According to another article in The Mirror, Clichy was almost inconsolable, blaming himself for Jenas the “Penas” third for the cunts and there was some genuine concern over his psychological state. Le Boss lambasted the trio of Gallas and Silvestre. According to this, Gallas was one of the players singled out by boss Wenger - along with Mikael Silvestre - for criticism during a paintblistering dressing room inquest that followed Wednesday’s draw. Wenger has also finally awoken to the fucking joke that is our defense and bearing in mind the physical aspect of Stokes game, the boss believes he cannot count on his “stars” anymore. Isn’t this what we have been fucking lamenting about since the past couple of seasons Arsene? Anyhow, the article goes onto say that following the bitch slapping Gallas received at the hands of Arsene; he has “conveniently” declared himself unfit for the trip to stoke claiming a hamstring “injury”. When exactly did he pick it up is beyond me. The article goes onto say that the boss was anyways going to drop him and this could see Toure and even Djourou return to the side which, quite frankly, is an improvement over Gallas and Silvestre. Clichy and Sagna may also have been shown the door had we any back up. Taking points Arsene? We need backup, we need replacements, we fucking need to spend money you miser. Adebayor confirmed this saga taking place by adding:“It is best not to say too much right now because there would be a lot of words that we aren’t supposed to use to each other. It is best to go home, have a rest, learn our lessons from this match, then get together and tell the truth. We need to let our nerves calm down and then we will all have to accept the criticism.” He further went onto add:”To be champions in this way? You can never be a champion. There is a lot of disappointment because we did everything to get the three points and we ended with one. It was one of the most difficult games in my life because I cannot understand that after 90 minutes we were leading 4-2 – I don’t know how we finished with a draw. It’s very easy to give up because we were 4-2 up and maybe thinking the game was finished. With five, six or seven minutes to go, maybe in our head the game was over.”“I am tired of saying that we cannot drop any more points and then we end up dropping more points. It was not even against a top-four side but against a lot of cock sucking shitbags that are Tottenham and incidentally who are also bottom of the league but act like they are the biggest club in the world” Great point there Adebayor, but I don’t think there’s much we can do anymore but aim for a top four finish and concentrate on trying to lift a trophy in the remaining three competitions. Trying times these, no? Anyways, Happy Halloween everyone. Tas van Danya.



What a night at The Emirates

Oct 30th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

I don’t even know what to write today. I’m so damn pissed off right now that its not even funny. I’m sick of having to live with the fact that the fucking scum from the shittier side of north London will be celebrating a glorious “draw” on our ground and will undoubtedly have DVD’s out by tonight of last nights game. The pundits will undoubtedly, for the millionth time, mark last nights sordid affair as the coming of age for sp*rs and how they are going to make a clean sweep of every trophy possible. Cocksuckers.Arsenal should be able to hold onto a two goal cushion for 5 minutes against any team in the world and we bloody well couldn’t. And what the fuck was Clichy doing? He’s prone to committing one stupid error per season that somehow causes the most damage to us and there he goes doing it again. If you don’t know what to do with the ball, just fucking kick it out you cunt.And as for alumina, can you for fucks sake stop trying to be so damn melodramatic all the goddamned time? Stay in your fucking line and catch the ball when its supposed to be caught instead of punching it.I swear to GOD, I am pissed off today. Had this been again anyone else in the entire world, I wouldn’t have been the way I am, but seeing as it is sp*rs, AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! I’m strongly fighting the inclination to punch a wall right now.Afterwards, Mr. Wenger had the following to say:”I am angry. We have to look at ourselves and improve. The players are very down. We were two levels above Tottenham and they were there for the taking. It was damaging. On the positive side, we were really superior to Tottenham, produced the game we wanted, lots of energy in the game.””The only down side is we didn’t win. That was down a little bit to a lack of maturity. I would like to keep the positives tonight because I believe we were really outstanding.””We were too cautious rather than scoring number five or six. The right pass would have seen us score. The maturity problem will improve with intelligence. They will learn from their mistakes.”Mr. Wenger, firstly, the maturity problem is what we have been screaming about since the past few years, why don’t you quit being scrooge mcduck and fucking spend some money? Oh and yes, did I fail to mention our defense is a fucking joke?ARRGGHHHHHHHH!!!!P.S. To David Bentley with the best of regards, FUCK OFF YOU COCKSUCKER!!



Tuesday Roundup

Oct 28th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

Good Morning Everyone,There’s not a lot going on this morning in terms of Arsenal news so it’s going to be a quickie. We’ll start off first and foremost with former Arsenal captain and legend Patrick Vieira singing it up for Arsenal.Following Le Boss’ comments that he made a few days earlier about the lack of support that the fans have been showing to the team, Le ex captain Vieira says the Arsenal faithful do a pretty good job as it is and then demonstrated by singing his own chant for the camera. Vieira also had the following to say about the supporters:”What I love about the English fans is that they always remember what you give to the club, I’m sure if after 15, 20 years, I go back to Arsenal, they will remember the nine years I spent there, so that’s why Arsenal will always be a special club for me.” “When you have 50,000 people singing ‘Vieira, woa-oh-oh-oh, he comes from Senegal, he plays for Arsenal’… it’s fantastic!”The man is undoubtedly one of the finest players ever to grace an Arsenal shirt and he would without a shadow of a doubt be given the best receptions whenever he returns to the club. However, I do feel that the supporters have been a little too quiet and we need to make The Emirates the noisiest place on earth, the atmosphere can become quite daunting at times and we need to do our utmost to make it as uncomfortable for visiting teams as possible.In other news, Abou Diaby is glad to be finally back from injury and we’re glad as well, we definitely needed some depth. He claims that the times spent on the sidelines were harsh but they’re what made him stronger and had this to say: “It was hard but I regard it as part of my evolution if you like.I stayed positive and kept doing things right, like eating the right food and living the right way. Hopefully the problems are now behind me.”Lets hope his injury woes are well and truly behind him and he can go on to being the true successor to PV that he was initially tipped out to be. Fingers crossed.Finally, another Arsenal legend, our favourite Freddie Ljungberg has signed for the MLS outfit Seattle Sounders and will be unveiled tommorow. I wish him the very best. Right then, that’s the lot.Tas van Danya.



Yippe .. Ki .. Ay

Oct 27th, 2008 | Source: Hail Gunners | Category: Latest Arsenal blogs

We started the game rather brightly but despite some fine spells of possession, it was Manuel Almunia who was being worked the hardest of the two keepers on the field last night. On the 20th minute mark, a counter attack saw Theo strike the cross bar when he could have passed the ball onto Bendtner at the far post for us to very easily have taken the lead. We were a bit sloppy and that essential ball was lost through misplaced first touches by van Persie, Song and Bendtner. On the 23rd minute mark, Robert Green very clearly handled the ball outside his area, to prevent Bendtner collecting a long ball, had the assistant referee (who was about 84) have been in the position he ought to have been, then Green would have been sent off. Arsenal went on the back burner and this saw some good play by WHU, they launched an exhilarating counter attack after Eboue lost possession and the pass forward found Bellamy in on goal being chased by Clichy. Bellamy’s shot was all but goal bound until a stunning save by Almunia’s trailing foot sent the ball over the bar for a corner. At the restart, things did not change much, the hammers picked up where they left off and began applying pressure. A corner rebounded off the chest of Matt Upson from 2 yards out and Almunia saved easily. On the 54th minute mark, we saw another fine run from Theo from right hand side. He slid a ball across the box into the far post which was blocked over the bar by the defenders. A large chunk of West Ham’s second half pressure appeared to come primarily at the courtesy of Eboue’s natural errors; luckily they were unable to make the most of the opportunities. At the 67th minute mark, Diaby and Adebayor came on for Nasri and Walcott and Arsenal suddenly began to find their groove and the instant change of gears was very obvious. RVP suddenly became alive and unleashed a fierce shot from the left hand side of the box which was parried by Green and Bendtner was unable to convert the rebound. A couple of minutes later, RVP almost scored as following a silly free kick conceded by Scott Parker on Fabregas in a nice position from 25 yards on the right side. RVP’s shot cannoned off the far post with Green absolutely beaten.The dreadlock was finally beaten as Adebayor, demonstrating some fine close control and cut inside three defenders from the right and unleashing a shot that forced an own goal from Julien Faubert. 1-0 To The Arsenal. Song made some nice inquisitive runs and RVP was a regular threat down the right flank. In the first minute of extra time after a scurried clearance from our 18 yard box, saw Bendner, who was 15 yards inside his own half down on the left, launched a transcendent ball some 35 yards over the hammer’s defence and right into the feet of Adebayor, who rounded past the on rushing Green and struck the ball calmly into the back of the empty net. 2-0 and game over. Afterwards Arsene, whilst speaking about the game had the following to say: ‘It was a big win for us today, to come out of it with a frustrating 0-0 would have felt like a wasted ­opportunity to get closer to the top. We knew before the game we could not drop points. West Ham can also feel ­frustrated because they defended well.’ Arsene Wenger further revealed that he had taken a conscious decision to give Adebayor, a rest by saying: ‘Last year I over-used him and now we go into a period where we play every three days, which is why I want to rotate a little bit.’ Which is true actually, we’re playing a lot of game up till December and it is of utmost importance that the squad is rotated as much as possible and the other players be given a chance to prove themselves. I however cannot wait to see Carlos Vela find his groove as he is one helluva prospect. And finally, Juventus have been linked with making a £6million bid for, wait for it, wait a little more, just a wee bit more, Emmanuel Eboue, ladies & gentlemen. According to this article which you can read here, it claims that Juventus were keen on Eboue during the summer transfer window, and it has been reported that they remain interested and will make an offer in the New Year. Is there a possibility that we pay them the said amount and throw in a Bentley for their brilliant manager so as to ensure that this deal absolutely goes through? Right then, that’s the lot. Until next time, ladies & gentlemen, this is your host, Gonner14, signing out. Tas van Danya.