march 22nd
13.24 – Arsenal go out of Europe and almost immediately the transfer speculation starts. Yesterday, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira were linked with a £35m move to Real Madrid. While the fact that Vieira in particular has not signed a new contract, we have to believe Arsene Wenger when he says “I am 100 per cent convinced that Patrick and Robert will sign new contracts in the summer…if you want to have a bet with me on that, I am ready”
He sounds pretty sure, so that’s good enough for me. Le Boss has also warned Everton they could face an Arsenal backlash, as the team try to put the disappointment of Europe behind them. After last season’s Champions League exit, we spanked Newcastle 3-0 in the FA Cup. Here’s hoping we see a similar response against Everton tomorrow (without the cruciate injury to a key player though).
Robert Pires says he would stop playing football as an anti-war protest. Note the use of the word ‘would’. He’s not saying he will, or he’s going to, just that he would. Whether you agree with him or not, isn’t it nice that a footballer can speak about something other than football, without using terrible clichés and without sounding somebody whose education stopped at 15. Anyway, I believe one of Arsenal French players should take a stand on this thing and go on strike. I would like to nominate Pascal Cygan.
Speaking of the war, we know the world has gone completely mad when people do shit like this. Nutters. And this is not quite The Salon, but expect America to invade the BBC once they’re finished with them pesky Iraqis. Oh, and you’ve probably already seen this, but it’s worth posting just in case.
Finally, just a reminder that if you feel like becoming a regular match reporter here on Arseblog, feel free to leave your scribblings in the match reports forum. It started fairly well, but it’s been a bit quiet there of late. So all you wannabe Joe Lovejoys and Amy Lawrences get going…
