Morning, morning.
Well can I just say:
FUCK YOU INTERLULL. I HOPE YOU GET KNOCKED DOWN BY A BUS. THEN RAPED BY A BEAR. IN THE FACE.
Leaving aside the fact we’ve had no Arsenal for two weeks the hysteria over last night’s handball by Thierry Henry has been ludicrous. The ire of Ireland fans I can fully understand but the vitriol levelled at Henry from some quarters has been way over the top.
Some have suggested that Henry’s status as an Arsenal legend is tarnished because of this. Erm, is it ok to point out that, you know, he’s a Barcelona player now and what he did last night has nothing to do with anything he did at Arsenal?
John Cross from the Mirror said on his Twitter:
Next time Arsenal are cheated, no one can complain. This was a big game.
Again, what the fuck does it have to do with Arsenal? Henry Winter gets in on the shrieking hysteria:
Why Thierry? Why ruin your reputation for sportsmanship? Journalists are now running thru Stade de Fraud looking for you. Why did you cheat?
WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!! WHYYYYYYYYY? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY??!!!!
Then there are no-marks like Tony Cascarino saying shit like this? Fuck off. Cascarino was the man who played for Ireland 90 times or something and he wasn’t even Irish! I don’t mean he wasn’t Irish like so many of the ‘granny rule’ players, he had no connection to us whatsoever and now tries to make a living as someone who knows something about football. And even at face value Thierry at least had a football reputuation to tarnish, not one for gambling and beating up women. And he calls Henry insincere? Fuck off, you toothless, Chelsea prick.
Myles Palmer, who writes an Arsenal site remember, says:
What a scumbag ! What a pitiful, cheating scumbag ! Thierry Henry, you are the scum of Paris, the scum of world sport, the scum of the earth.
The scum of the earth? Can people now treat that site and that writer with the absolute disdain he deserves? Fucking leech. He’s never forgiven him for making him look like a chump for this:
And remember, Thierry Henry is not a striker. He is not a goalscorer. He scored only 20 goals in 103 games for Monaco. And he did nothing at Juventus. Henry is a right-footed left winger who is quick and skilful. He can also play wide on the right.
Even Arsène Wenger cannot make Henry into a striker. So lets get that straight in our minds before we read any more ignorant tosh in the papers. Got it?
Look, it was a handball, he cheated, no question about it. Would I have preferred he didn’t do it? Of course. Is it the only reason Ireland didn’t qualify for the World Cup? No. Thierry is now Ireland’s most hated man, there are Facebook groups and websites with Guestbooks where you can register and call him whatever name you want, but for me it’s a real shame that professional sports writers are talking about Henry ruining his reputation as if this is what defines his career. They ought to hang their heads and get some perspective.
You had pundits last night, players who actually played the game, who suggested that Henry should have told the ref he’d handled it. Seriously! As if they would have when they were playing. As if an Irish player would have if he’d done it. The soapboxing was unreal and, frankly, bullshit. For anyone who has played the game – AT ANY LEVEL – to say that they would have told the referee they handled it out of good sportsmanship is a liar. And when World Cup qualification is on the table? Give me a break.
If it had been against Serbia, for example, would anyone give a shit? Same thing as the Eduardo dive, isn’t it? Everyone’s got a soft spot for good old Celtic and sure aren’t the Irish great craic, therefore the anger and outraged is multiplied. And I’m an Irishman so I won’t be lectured to by English journalists about how I should feel about what happened or Thierry Henry. But there wouldn’t be 10% of the fuss if he’d done the same thing against some swarthy eastern Europeans. And if the shoe had been on the other foot, or the glove on the other hand, perhaps, would there be such a ferocious reaction about how the nasty Irish had cheated the French? I don’t think so. I dare to say those in the English press might have had a good laugh at the expense of their cross-channel rivals. And how many Irishmen laughed at Maradona in 1986? Perhaps it’s not quite so funny now.
He should not have handled it but he did. Ireland should have scored at least one more goal but they didn’t and how many times have we watched football for something like this to happen? Thierry has been a magnificent footballer, he has won practically every medal there is to win (sadly one in particular with that scabby lot in Spain), and that for me is how he’ll be remembered, despite the efforts of some to sully that.
Is Michael Owen remembered only for his blatant dive against Argentina? Wayne Rooney for diving to win that penalty at Old Trafford? No. They are all pieces of instinctive cheating, it happens in football since time immemorial and will continue to do so. And let’s not jump on our high horses as Arsenal fans when we’ve had players who have, down the years, done exactly the same, to score goals and win games for us.
By all means be pissed off at Henry but if you let what happened last night somehow tarnish what he did for us then, in my humble opinion, that’d be wrong. No more to say on that now – and if you do want to comment in the arses feel free, just remember this is an Arsenal site, not an Ireland site and comport yourself accordingly.
Of more concern, to me at least, is that we get everybody back and fit for the weekend. Gallas and Sagna played 120 minutes last night so the manager is going to have to look at that and consider their fitness. Cesc and Eboue scored goals for their countries but it’ll be later on before we know the full extent of the Interlull damage. Fingers crossed.
There were two pieces of good news yesterday too. Firstly Eduardo has signed a new long term deal at the club. Wearing the biggest watch in the world, it’s like a gold plate with hands, he put pen to paper under the watchful eye of Ivan Gazidis and said:
I am very pleased to have signed a new long contract with the Club. I’m very happy and I hope to stay at Arsenal for as long as I can. This period is good for me now. I feel strong in my body and I feel ready to play 90 minutes every three days if it’s needed.
And it’s going to be needed, Eddie. With the injuries racking up we need him fit, healthy and on target. It also puts paid the ridiculous News of the World rumour that he was going to sign for Liverpool.
Then there’s Kieran Gibbs. Despite fears he’d broken a metatarsal it turns out his foot is just badly bruised and his absence is listed as ‘short term’. Who replaces him at the weekend remains to be seen. Last we heard Traore was injured and with potential changes in the centre of defence it’s all a bit up in the air. I suspect it’ll be Sylvester though.
Not much else going on – I’ll remind you of the competition to win the Dennis Bergkamp canvas from Modern Canvas Art (who do have other Arsenal related canvases. Worth a look before Christmas if you need present ideas). Anyway, see yesterday’s blog for the question and I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.
Right then, time to baton down the hatches. I mean because it’s windy here. Not because I expect a reaction to today’s blog. Oh no.
More tomorrow.
