Morning all, it’s Friday, the World Cup is about to begin and Barcelona are shooting their mouths off about Cesc again. Seems like a normal day so. Apart from the World Cup thing.
Barcelona? I don’t need to give you links, do I? Little Big Mouth has been talking again about Cesc’s DNA. He’s like a vinyl record stuck on the same bit again and again and again. And one of the Presidential candidates has said it would be a ‘dream’ to sign Cesc if he got elected. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if, when they do eventually bring Cesc back to the land of his DNA, they cast him bronze, set him atop a plinth and make him live out his days as their trophy, rather than use him a footballer.
Sepp Blatter is on Twitter now, perhaps Arsenal fans might like to, politely I should stress, ask him why he’s got nothing to say about Barcelona’s public tapping-up of our captain. Maybe he’ll get the hump and flounce off like a big Mary too.
Perhaps Xavi and Ingla might want to pay heed to the words of Arsene Wenger who said of Cesc:
What is important is that Cesc has a great World Cup and that he comes back to Arsenal with a great desire to do well for the club. We want to keep our best players – that’s my huge determination – I built this team for years from 16 and 17 years of age with most of the players.
We want to continue to work with them because we feel we are very close, and strengthen the team in a very strong way.
Doesn’t sound to me like a man who is ready to negotiate or accept a miserly Barcelona bid. It’s a long way removed from some of the definitive statements some people were making, suggesting Cesc’s move was just a formality. The boss also added fuel to the Joe Cole fire by saying of the former Chelsea man:
I like him as a player because when he played against us he always did a lot of damage. He can create impact through his creative play. He can dribble, he can pass, he can score goals.
Sounds to me like we might be interested. I ignore yesterday’s made-up exclusive, simply because it’s all kinds of wrong. One minute he’s signed a contract, the next he’s agreed a deal ‘in principle’. Pffff. Not suggesting that Cole won’t join but I don’t think we’ll hear anything for sure until after the World Cup. I mean, if you believe the newspapers, he’s signed for us about 4 times already.
This morning’s Mirror says we’ve upped our bid, again, for defender Laurent Koscielny. We’ve now offered £8.2m apparently, a cool £0.2m more than the last one. With William Gallas’s destination of the day now Juventus we do need to get buying some defenders.
Sol Campbell talks about the possibility of joining Celtic. The Scottish club are very keen, it seems, with new boss Neil Lenin willing to allow Sol time off to go on his honeymoon after his July wedding. As our first batch of players are back in pre-season training on July 6th this is obviously an issue for Sol and his Arsenal future. The more I think about it, the more likely I think it is that he’ll be playing in green and white next season, not red and white.
And from an Arsenal point of view that’s about it, unless we look at the World Cup. Which we shall. There’s Arsenal interest in tonight’s late game between Uruguay and France. Bacary Sagna, Abou Diaby, William Gallas (spurious Arsenal connection, I know) and former great Thierry Henry could all start while Gael Clichy will be hoping, along with many of us, that Patrice Evra wakes up without his legs. In the first game Carlos Vela provides the Arsenal interest.
I know I’m not really one for international football but I have to say I’m looking forward to this. Football, beer, football, beer, football, beer, football, beer, football, beer. As I’m out injured from real life football at the moment I’ll have to live my life vicariously through the TV. And beer.
Still, I’m sure Mrs Blogs is going to enjoy the World Cup just as much as I am. 30 days of football, what more could a wife ask for?
Till tomorrow, folks.
