A bit of a late start today but am somewhat under the weather. I think this is because of the World Cup. I watched England v Algeria and it appears to have sucked the very life from me, leaving me with aching limbs and torso and extremities.
World Cup yesterday was quite fun for the most part though. A Spanish ref who got a brand new yellow card and was determined to show it as often as possible to Germany and Serbia, while the USA’s comeback against Slovenia made for exciting viewing. Then it was England v Algeria which reverted back to the first round of games and was utterly turgid. Nice of multi-millionaire Rooney to have a pop at the fans who spent so much money to follow their team – how to win friends and influence people. Nice.
I know England were bad but Algeria were surprisingly not that bad at all. I’m not sure they were that not bad that we should buy some of their players but we have been linked with Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra, who says:
Wenger found a few kinds words for me. It’s given me a big boost.
Arsene, meanwhile, has spoken for the first time about potential transfers, saying:
We are not close [to signing anyone] at the moment. We are quiet. But there will be something happening before the end of the World Cup – certainly on the defensive side.
All indications point to Laurent Kopyandpaste who now claims he has met with Arsene Wenger and everything went well. I can only assume that we met with him having been giving permission by his club and if we have permission to speak to him then some kind of acceptable fee must have been worked out. He’s quoted as saying:
I hope they don’t set price too high. I’ve only had 1 top-flight season after all.
It’s a bit of a step up from the middle of Ligue1 to the top end of the Premier League and Champions League. Let’s hope the boss has uncovered another Vermaelen and not a hybrid of the worst centre-halves we’ve seen – the dreaded Stepacyglaridis. If we do sign this chappy I hope he’s the fella who’s going to be hungry to try and get first team action ahead of the experienced, 26+ international we’re also going to sign.
As the search for a goalkeeper, who can keep goal and not give goal, continues the Mail says we have failed in our bid to land Mark Schwarzer. Oh well. I won’t exactly cry too many tears over that one. We now have our beady little eyes on Italian Federico Marchetti who plays for Cagliari and is currently filling in for Buffon at the World Cup. The boss is also having a look at Argentina’s Sergio Romero who plays for AZ Alkmaar but I don’t particularly like his hair. That aside, he’s not like the other South American keepers at this tournament who all appear to have a sideline career as jockeys. Maybe it’s just me but they all look tiny.
Arsenal interest today centres around Holland, who play Japan this morning. Robin van Persie will start for the Dutch, Monchichi Inamato may get on as a sub for the opposition. Then this evening it’s Cameroon v Denmark. Will le Guen swallow his pride and play Alex Song? Who knows. If he does he could come up against Nicklas Bendtner who is, by all accounts, struggling to be fit for Denmark.
And that’s about that. I’m off to try and find some medicine. I know I’ve got some chewable morphine around somewhere. Have a good weekend.
