Morning all, a relatively quiet one at this early stage.
We’ll start with the Telegraph’s story about how relations between Arsenal and Satan Kroenke are at ‘a new low’. To be honest I’d have thought the old low, brought about by Kroenke trying to buy the club and Tango the rest of the board, was quite enough to be going on with but it seems not.
Apparently the marketing agreement between Arsenal and the Colorado Rapids remains unsigned. Here’s my suggestion. Tell the Colorado Rapids to go fuck themselves because, frankly, nobody gives a fucking shit about them and every time we see a story on .con about them it’s a little bit embarrassing given the circumstances. Plus they’re fucking rubbish. As well as that Kroenke’s commitment to buy half of ITV’s stake in Arsenal’s broadband venture seems not to have been honoured.
The article says that the unhappiness comes from Arsenal’s desire for him to sign a ‘lockdown’ agreement for a year and Kroenke’s not into that. I’d suggest that it’s not unwise for the club to try and keep him where they can see him given the way he tried to buy up the club the last time and if there was any way they could get rid of him then all the better. Can’t see that happening though, unfortunately, so in the meantime we just have to cope with the uncertainty his presence, and that of Double-D lurking in the background in his Speedos having just stepped off his sunbed, brings.
Better news though is the club’s confidence that Arsene Wenger will sign a new deal. The Guardian reports that no successor has even been discussed as they’re sure AW will sign on again. We haven’t yet heard anything from Arsene bar soundbites (Henry leaving, da Silva arriving) so it’ll be interesting to hear what he has to say when he’s speaking normally.
The lads were back for pre-season training yesterday and the first pre-season friendly is in just 9 days. Excellent. Some pics of the training on Arsenal.com.
Freddie Ljungberg was yesterday linked with an €8m move to Fiorentina but again his agent has reiterated his desire to stay at Arsenal. Given how quick we are to castigate players for not being loyal then it seems rather churlish that some people are criticising Freddie for his loyalty. As a squad player, and if he stays fit, then I’m sure he’s got something to offer next season although €8m and £70,000 off the wage bill would be a good move for the club.
Five youngsters have been handed professional deals by the club. They are Nacer Barazite (Dutch forward), Rui Fonte (Portuguese forward), Jay Simpson (English forward and scorer of the first ever hat-trick at the Grove), Paul Rodgers (English defender) and Wojciech Szczesny (Polish goalkeeper). Good luck to them all.
The Mirror reports that Man United are after supposed Arsenal target Carlos Tevez at £20m while the Sun reports that Man United have to sell in order to buy any more players. The wonderful world of transfer rumours.
And that’s yer lot. More, including what could be a short Arsecast, tomorrow.
