january 6th
In an article with an overly dramatic headline, Edu has been talking about his contract situation and says he’s not sure if he wants to stay or go. His contract expires at the end of the season and he’s free to talk to other clubs. He said: “If they had really wanted to sign they should have come up with an offer six months before indicating they wanted to sign me and that’s made me think.” Can’t really argue with that. I like Edu and I’d like him to stay but 5 central midfielders does seem like quite a few and its bound to be hard keeping at least one of them happy.
Thierry Henry has been talking about the gap between Arsenal and Chelsea and is blaming it on the relative budgets of the sides and their strengths in depth. We were without Sol Campbell, Cygan, Lauren, Edu, Gilberto, Dennis Bergkamp and José Reyes because of injury and the players that came in were all about 16 (almost). A lot of people wanted to see more of the youngsters that have done so well in the League Cup in recent seasons, so when they get a game and perhaps don’t beat everything in sight, its a bit churlish to complain. Thierry’s right – we clearly don’t have the strength in depth of Chelsea – but that’s just the way it is. They’ve spent £300m odd and are 7 points ahead. We’re 4 points ahead of our next nearest rivals – take Chelsea out of the equation and we’d be pretty happy. I know Chelsea are also playing well but you have to accept that with the budget they’ve got they bloody well ought to be. Freddie points out that they’ve had a few lucky breaks as well which always helps.
The Guardian also reports that Jermaine Pennant has still not been offered a new contract which seems unfortunate because he did make a difference when he came on against City. It seems his card has perhaps been marked and his time at Arsenal is winding down.
In today’s other news, regular columnist Safety has written a new piece for the new year. Read New Year, New You and learn why you shouldn’t give up on the title race just yet.
