april 12th
Thanks to our demented chum in Manchester we have a bit to talk about this morning. Old red nose has been complaining about the semi-finals being played in Cardiff and said “Apparently it was Arsenal who forced this through.”
Of course it’s utter shite and just another swipe at the club by Ferguson who just can’t seem to keep his mouth shut when it comes to us. I’m sure the club really wanted to to play in Cardiff at 12.30 on a Saturday morning with minimal public transport for the fans and the town being invaded hours later by unwashed hordes of scuttery Mancs and Geordies. While Ferguson is right about the semis being played elsewhere and about the cost to fans but his latest cheap shot shows him up, yet again.
He’s quite happy to make stuff up about us but is nowhere to be seen when his team get turned over by a Norwich side propping up the league and who Arsenal beat at a canter the week before. It’s a nice way of deflecting the heat from himself – get the fans who are pissed off at him for United’s season (only 48 league goals) and his team selections and try and direct their ire at Arsenal. I’m sure it’s worked a charm for him especially as the FA have poured scorn on Ferguson’s claims saying any decision about the FA Cup semi-finals were made pre-season and had nothign to do with Arsenal.
That said, despite the transport problems, Arsenal have sold their entire 30,000 allocation and have been offered some of Blackburn’s who have only sold 11,000 tickets.
Ashley Cole says Arsenal need to spend this summer to avoid being left behind by Chelsea. The Chelsea Arsenal left-back says “We’ve got a great young squad, but when it comes to vital games maybe we would have got out of jail with a bit more experience. I think if we would have had a top-class midfielder, or a top-class player to fill someone’s boots, it would have been a little bit easier.”
In The Sun he goes on to say he’d love to be captain of Arsenal one day. Now, I’d have quite happily given him my full backing earlier in the season. I still believe Vieira shouldn’t be captain and as a local boy, brought through the ranks, Ashley would have been one of the outstanding candidates for the job. However, with his Chelsea flrtation barely weeks in the past it’s hard to see how he has the neck to talk about being captain of Arsenal right now. It does seem more and more likely that he’ll stay this summer and sign a new deal.
Read about someone who has the potential to be a captain of Arsenal in the future. Philippe Senderos looks the real deal, he shouts, he organises, he’s a leader and he’s likely to keep his place for the cup semi on Saturday even with the return of Sol Campbell. Robert Pires, who has played alongside some great central defenders for Arsenal and France, says of him “He will be a giant, a great player for now and for the future.”
And that’s that, so it is.
