august 1st
07.39 – Bloody hell, August already and most of the summer is gone. It seems like it’s dragged on and on with all the interminably boring stories about the millions of players we never ended up signing, Vieira’s contract, Bergkamp’s contract, Pires’ contract, Igors contract….er….but we’re now just a matter of a couple of weeks from the big kick off. Hurrah. Football again. Soon.
Here’s a nice quote to kick off the month. “I want Arsenal and myself to grow bigger together. So I will remain faithful to the club despite all the rumours being put out by my pseudo-agent. I have reached the stage where I can manage by myself, even if I may need a lawyer for certain matters.”
This is in an article by Mark Irwin in today’s Sun. I don’t know where the quotes have come from and while I’m loath not to believe them, when it comes to Paddy and new contracts, I won’t believe it till I see it on arsenal.com – and even then I won’t believe it until it stays on the site for a day or two without being changed. And even then I won’t believe it until I see the contract tattooed onto Vieira’s back. Seeing as Mark Irwin was the mouth-piece for Marc Roger a couple of summers ago, it might all be another dastardly trick.
However, it’s widely believed that there will be an announcement regarding Vieira’s contract very soon. Possibly today. Fingers crossed.
There’s been lots of speculation over the last few hours about Kanu and whether or not he was going to leave. The President of Qatar, or some club from Qatar or something, says “The official contract is to be signed in London within the upcoming few hours.”
That was some time yesterday, so maybe hours are longer in Qatar than on Earth. We’ll see. In some ways it’ll be a shame to see him go. He’s been cast as a villainous character over the last little while, unfairly in my opinion. Remember the magic moments, the Chelsea hat-trick, the Deportivo dummy and the storming game in the centre of midfield at Anfield during the last double season. That’s if he ends up going at all. Update: According to the Sun article above, Kanu has rejected £90,000 a week to go to Qatar and will stay at Arsenal for the final year of his contract.
An Arsenal XI beat St.Albans last night 3-1. German Moritz Volz got 2 and was the most impressive of all the youngsters on show apparently, while defender John Halls got the other. Not much more from arsenal.com.
Former Gunner Stephen Hughes could sign for Charlton. Alan Curbishley said “He scored a great goal against Peterborough for us last weekend and has given me something to think about.” Good luck to him.
Meanwhile, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has been urged to quit Highbury for the good of his career. The person giving him this advice is also the one who wants to sign him for his own team. PSV boss Guus Hiddink says “The chances of him getting first-team football are a lot bigger if he comes to PSV.” When you consider Gio has started just 22 games since his £8.5m move from Rangers, you’d have to say Hiddink has a point.
Right, all we have to do now is wait for this announcement. Should happen aaaaany tiiiiiime nooooooowww….
