April 8th
What a beautiful Saturday morning it is and with Man United tomorrow lots going on so consider this a quick round-up.
Starting with team the boss has practically a full squad to choose from, there are no new injuries after Wednesday night and he says he’s not inclined to change too much from the Juventus game. Whether we bring in Adebayor or van Persie and go 4-4-2 remains to be seen but the manager is keen to win the game as the pain of losing the unbeaten run at Old Trafford is still fresh in the mind. He says “It was difficult to take because it stops the [run] and the way it happened was very difficult to take as well.”
With Demento urging his men on and suggesting that a win would see them win the title, despite Chelsea’s 7 point lead, and AW also admitting the title race was not over, there’s no doubt both teams are going to be right up for this one and it could be as intense a match as we’ve seen for quite some time. There’ll be no Keane or no Vieira but there’s still plenty of personal rivalry and though our aims are very different this year both sets of fans will want the 3 points as badly as ever.
In other news Jens Lehmann has agreed a one year deal with the club and has apparently won the race to be Germany’s number 1 for the World Cup. Certainly his performances merit it, he’s been absolutely outstanding this season and he’s become one of my favourite players. Despite his oddness (which could be just him being German) I like him a lot more than I ever did Seaman.
In other news Ashley Cole’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, has been charged by the FA for his role in the Colegate scandal when he and Ashley went to meet Chelsea and Mourinho, everyone blatantly lied about it and they all got caught red-handed. He faces losing his licence. And, on a very serious level, I would like to say “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Alexander Hleb has been given some kind of player of the month award by some kind of ex-Russian thingymajig ahead of Shevchenko. Hleb is very happy and talking about our upturn in form, says “This is exactly why I came to Arsenal. I came here to learn and develop, and to play in a team that plays beautiful football. My dream is now coming true. This is to the credit of the manager, and all my teammates.”
Fair play to him, he was probably unlucky that he came into a team which struggled and he struggled to adapt to English football looked a far worse player than he actually is. If he keeps improving then I think we can all admit he’ll have been a decent addition to the squad.
Robert Pires on being dropped for the Juventus game – “I would have liked to have had an explanation. I did not get one. It’s not for me to go into the office and ask why I am not playing. I reckon it’s for the manager to talk to you and enlighten you a little bit. I was very, very disappointed. My representative has been in contact with Villarreal, as he has with other clubs. But no decision has been taken.”
You have to wonder if he’s doing himself any favours talking like that, especially when Villarreal are on the calendar. He’s a seasoned professional and as much as he might have wanted an explanation he knows how things work in football and at the moment the last thing we need is one of the senior players mouthing off in public, especially when the manager’s decision to play Ljungberg was vindicated by the result. Poor form, Bobby.
And finally Arsene has ruled out a move for Fulham’s Curtis Davies saying he’s not looking to buy a centre-half but if anyone needs one he’s got one spare, slightly damaged goods but can fill a goal with his massive arse.
Ok, more tomorrow. Till then enjoy your Saturday.
