Ok, so the new season is exactly as far away as I thought it was yesterday. I was labouring under the illusion that we were playing on Saturday and it turns out it’s not happening until Sunday. Oh well.
A few bits and pieces to tell you about this morning. Alex Hleb is dreaming. He has a dream. A song to sing. And Alex’s dream is to score 10 or more goals this season. Which is a nice dream but quite a dreamiful dream. Based on the previous two seasons 10 is really stretching it but who are we to shoot down a man’s aspirations before the season has begun. If he can score 10 goals then he’ll have had a great season – unless, of course, he scores 8 of those goals in one incredible Carling Cup game against Liverpool at Anfield and the other two come as consolation goals in the first and last games of the season. But that’s unlikely. Not quite as unlikely as Hleb scoring 10 to begin with but there you go. I’m right behind you, Hlebinator.
Arsene Wenger, capturing the zeitgeist perfectly, says Robin van Persie has been ‘transformed’. We think he’s been transformed into an 8 ton Mack truck and he now calls himself ‘Robinus Prime’ and he is at Arsenal to stop Megatron (Wayne Rooney) and the evil deceptecons from taking over the world. It’s a big burden for the boy to carry but the manager is confident he can do it, saying:
He has improved and, for me, become a complete team player. Robin’s responsibilities have got higher now Thierry has left. I want him not to worry about that, just play good football, enjoy it and not be injured.
And the last part is vital. Not even Arsenal’s top class mechanics put Robin back together after he broke a piston last season. If he can stay injury free this time around then I think he’s going to be, like Annie Lennox’s boyfriend, a thorn in many sides. He’s capable of winning any match with a flash of brilliance but perhaps what we need from him is more consistent goalscoring. To be fair he was doing that last season before his injury so hopefully he can pick up where he left off.
One of his striking partners up top is Nicklas Bendtner who got plenty of playing time in pre-season. The manager is a big fan of his talent but admits he’s still very ‘raw’ and needs to make a step up to contend for a first team place on a regular basis. What he does give us is a different option up front. He’s massive, strong, quite quick for his size and pretty decent in the air, it seems. He’s got a lot to learn, a lot, and I think people really need to be a bit patient with him. Whether or not he can learn it all in time remains to be seen but the couple of goals he got in the pre-season tournaments will give him plenty of confidence.
Ryan Garry has joined Bournemouth on a six-month deal. Hopefully he can put his injuries behind him and make some kind of a career. Best of luck to him.
And that’s it. For those of you that want to take part in this week’s Arsecast tune in tomorrow for details. It’s nothing major. Just your chance to leave a voicemail with your prediction for the season ahead. Details then.
Finally, if you fancy joining the Arseblog Fantasy Football league on OleOle.com just go to the site, sign up and join the European Super League with the name – Arseblog.com. The password is ‘jamribter’.
Now, I have to go into town and bring back a pair of faulty pants. I got home and it turns out they only have two legs. Pffff.
