Tevez & Mascherano In Shock West Ham Move

By Bilal Zaidi

Oh my GOSH….who on Gods green Earth would have guessed that all the reports of Tevez and Mascherano’s agent being in London was so that they could go on a season long loan to…wait for it….WEST HAM. It is apparently on their clubs official site and was reported on Sky Sports News moments ago so I assume this is 95% true.

I am now officially going to poke myself in the eye with a pen…Yes I didn’t expect either to sign for us as my last article says, BUT no way did I think these two would be on there way to West Ham…no disrespect to West Ham or its fans…just that they are two of the most promising players coming out of South America and for West Ham to get them is fantastic business for them…and you would have expected some of the “bigger” teams like Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal etc to be interested in them at least. It just means two out of those players listed aren’t coming to Arsenal…

I will now leave so I can pass my time and hopefully by the end of the day we would have purchased someone…£500,000 for the Scottish striker is my best bet…I really can’t contain my excitement…Well done West Ham and come on Arsene I have hope in you :|….Good day all.

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“In 2days we will have Gallas, Mascherano, Tevez, Cole, Reyes…”

By Bilal Zaidi

This is quite possibly the most ANOYING two days possible for an Arsenal fan…two days to go before the dreaded transfer window closes and so far we have only signed Rosicky all summer…then to ADD TO THE annoyance you have stupid blogs on the internet falsely reporting that we are about to sign the whole world…saw a headline the other day saying “we will have Gallas, Mascherano, Tevez, Cole, Reyes”. Are you having a laugh or are you just realllly realllly stupid…

So im not going to be like those idiots and lie…here is the truth…The truth of the matter is that we all hope that Wenger has something up his sleeve, that he whips out a world class player ready for us all to love…someone proven yet has fantastic potential to be even better….but I am finding it increasingly hard to accept that anything is going to happen at all. Another youngster was here for a two day trial from Scotland and that is perhaps the only deal that could go through for about £500,000. Some may not want a signing but my own personal opinion is that our squad is thin at the moment and we need experience, especially a the back and in defensive areas like Gilberto’s role.

Cole has been told to concentrate on Arsenal and if in two days time he is still here then I will write a special piece just for him because we love him so much and I just cant wait for him to be here all season…. Hmmm…

The truth is that out of those players mentioned, the one that would really be a good signing would be Mascherano…just for the simple fact that our defensive midfield options are literally limited to Gilberto, Flamini and Diaby. Gilberto is a sound player who does a great job for the team…but on his own he isn’t enough, with Vieira he bought the best out of him and vice versa. Flamini did wonderfully last season at left back, but could that be because we didn’t expect him to?…Our expectations were low so when he performed to a decent standard we all got extraordinarily hyped. I haven’t seen Flamini show that same level of performance as a defensive midfielder once…not even one game where I thought he added something to the team or controlled the midfield. The only thing I could see when you watch him over 90 minutes is that he seems to never get tired…which is fantastic, but not enough on its own. Throw in one of those long distance runners from the Olympics into an Arsenal midfield and that wouldn’t be enough…BUT I still have great hope that slowly he can develop into a decent squad player, but I don’t think he will ever reach the heights of a Fabregas or to a certain extent to a level I believe Diaby could potentially reach.

Diaby is unfortunate to injure himself already for a long time…he will be out for most of the season but you can see from his stature, his build and athleticism that he could add some steal into midfield. Alex Song is another but he has yet to impress me in any shape or form, I think I speak for most Arsenal supporters on that note, but the apparent fee of £2.5 million for him seems to show us that Wenger has great faith in him, lets hope what he watches in training is more accurate than what we have seen on the pitch. So Mascharano would be a lovely acquisition…is it likely? Perhaps not?....but his agent has been in London for the past few days and that might suggest a move to England is eminent.

As for Tevez…I would say firstly…what a player he is, a beast of a player with pace, power and finishing ability with dribbling skills of a basketball player. Do we need another striker? Henry, Van P, Ade, Walcott…if he came then I would expect one of those to leave in the window, unless Walcott is seen as a winger which I hope not. If we did manage to sign Tevez it would mean it would stop the other three from developing, but I doubt VERY VERY MUCH that there is any truth in this rumour at all...

Gallas would only come if Cole goes….and with Reyes I have absolutely no clue what the hell is going on just like everyone else. Im not one to make up rumours and over exaggerate them so the whole universe can come and read my articles, but if there is any concrete evidence of an imminent signing I will confirm it for sure on here so check back for the very latest news as it happens in the next two days especially. Have a nice day and enjoy the cricket ;)

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Reyes says: “I never want to play for Arsenal again!”...

By Bilal Zaidi

The latest twist of words in the ongoing debacle of Jose Reyes transfer saga is this apparent quote from him in “Marca”…

“What I want is to come to Spain. I won't play again in England,''
"I want to return. If it's to play for Atletico I say yes, if it's to play for Real Madrid I say yes, if it's to play for Sevilla I say yes.''

Can we swiftly expect yet another rejection of his words on the official Arsenal website similarly to what happened last time these sorts of words came out in the Spanish press? If it isn’t true that he said these words then surely after the amount of times it has been reported “wrongly” as quotes from the player himself…he or his representatives or Arsenal are in a strong position to take legal action against media who make up quotes of players. It is for this reason why I’m slightly apprehensive about these words actually being true because I don’t think huge press like “Marca” can get away with “making up quotes” on several occasions.

I guess we will know the result of this transfer speculation shortly as the window shuts on Thursday. All I can say is that we wouldn’t want players in our team that aren’t happy to play for the club…it is fair enough if he is completely homesick and wants to leave but not if a club makes stupid offers of £8 million that Wenger called an “insult” and rightly so.

However, after losing SO MANY experienced players in the past few seasons it is quite clear to see our squad is quite thin as it is, if we let Ashley and Reyes go then fair enough…but without bringing in replacements it is treading on thin ice. If a couple of our key players got injured we could be in a bit of a state….hopefully that wont happen and we can bring in Mascherano and Gallas to really strengthen our squad…am I living in a dream world…lets hope not.

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Arsenal Have To Be More Ruthless…PLUS GOOD NEWS…

By M. B. Zaidi

Ok well yesterday I had a bit of a moan about how I was so disappointed with Arsenal and their inability to shoot when they have opportunities, instead choosing to pass unnecessarily for 52 more chances to pass by…but after having a second look at the game I will still admit that on another day we would have won that game 6-1.

Van Persie played tremendously well and was unlucky once again by hitting the woodwork with a sizzling shot after he let the ball run past him. Toure also hit the woodwork and Henry, Rosicky and Van Persie had a good few chances between them to seal the win. Add to that a penalty that should have been given and we would have easily drawn/won the game.

I think the second half was still in my mind when I wrote that yesterday and the second half was quite poor. We didn’t look like scoring apart from one or two chances…it was more in the first half where we were our usual selves in creating golden opportunities but putting them wide.

HOWEVER…the good news is that we created a ton of chances and that is encouraging as Wenger put it: “We will take positives out of this game.” Even though he tends to say this after most games that end in a draw or loss, it is quite fair to say this game wasn’t a terrible display, just a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal…THAT WILL COME in time…Fabregas put through attackers in on several occasions and had a decent game too. Nothing to worry about TOO MUCH after only two games…BUT if it continues then obviously it will cast a shadow over the current crop of players ability to challenge for the title, where we are already 8 points adrift of rivals Man Utd.

Next 5 games: Middlesbrough at home, Hamburg away, Man Utd away, Sheffield Utd home, Porto home.

Tough few weeks ahead…lets hope our boys have their shooting boots on.

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Who is to blame for this shocking performance?

By Bilal Zaidi

Today is a depressing day…a 1-0 loss to Man City is simply not acceptable for a club looking to challenge for the title. I know it is only early days…and yes I accept that one loss isn’t the end of the world…there are still 36 games for us to play to win the league…but who can really expect it after only the first few performances we have seen.

We played our first leg away to Zagreb well but to be perfectly honest we shouldn’t expect anything less. Am I being harsh? Not really…if only the team and manager had this harsh attitude we might actually try to shoot instead of pass the ball every time an opportunity occurs to shoot! No excuses…none of that “it’s a young team” stuff…none of that “we have to settle in our new stadium” talk either…todays match was a disgrace and even though against Villa we were tremendously unlucky after hitting the bar etc, it is still fair to say one point from the first two league matches against two teams who aren’t in the top 6 of the league…JUST ISNT GOOD ENOUGH.

Our second leg to Zagreb again wasn’t brilliant by any means…we struggled to create clear cut opportunities and the ones we did we didn’t put away. The whole world knows how to defend against Arsenal…sit back…pack the midfield….over crowd us…and let us continuously pass from side to side trying to score wonder goals.

Im a HUGE fan of both Hleb and Rosicky…but with both of them continuously drifting into the middle and looking to always pass inside…Hoyte being right footed and doing the same…is just meaning we are passing it from left to right all day. The other night Walcott came on and gave us real width…even though it looked like he came on at first to stay up front…today he did the same…coming onto the left and at least trying to get to the byline. We badly missed Reyes on the left who gives us a left foot and direct runs…Cashley again would have provided us with similar attributes but lets simply erase his memory away from our brains….

Rosicky played very nicely in the first leg away to Zagreb and his zippy passes and inside runs looked to suit us perfectly…BUT today we saw that we don’t have another route…no ball over the top, a direct lash across goal or even a conventional cross for a header. Arsene has never played like that and up until last season his revolutionary method of play was still successful in breaking the opposition down with slick passing, cute through balls executed at a rapid pace from athletess…add Thierry up at the top and that is a winning formula…UNTILL somebody realises that they can just sit back and let us pass…passs….passss some more and snatch a winner from a free kick, corner or on the break.

Perhaps I am being overly harsh…but im not being stupidly harsh…to say our team isn’t good enough would be…they just need to open their eyes and realise that teams have a game plan that they will stick to and a lot of the time it works. After our heroic run in the champions league last year, I hope people don’t forget that we just scraped into qualifying for the very same competition with 11 league losses in 38 games…THAT’S EVERY THREE AND A HALF GAMES we lost…today it was our attackers who really let us down…that means midfielders and strikers…so far its two games played…one draw and one loss (in the league)…I hope that we can recover from this early set back and really take it to the other teams who we are better than…teams that could never play the sort of football we play or achieve what we have the potential to achieve, without meaning any disrespect to those other teams…Arsene you are an absolute legend in the world of football, there isn’t a character like you…BUT PLEASE can you realize what the whole world has realised last season, if you lose so many players over the course of 3 or 4 seasons, and you replace them with youth team players, they wont perform to the same standard over a 38 game league…over a cup competition like the champions league perhaps…but its time we get to the top again where we belong…

What did you think of today’s display?

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£16mil for Mascherano The Argentinian Ace

We are set to make a bid for Argentine World Cup ace Javier Mascherano. What a fantastic signing he would be, exactly what we need to add some muscle to our side of youngsters. It has been reported that his agent was at the Zagreb game and it could be brilliant business for us even if it is the £16 million transfer fee reported.

If we compare the fee to Michael Carrick's transfer...another "defensive midfielder" even if they are different types of players and Carrick is English...I would still say this is a top transfer if it goes through... Hopefully there will be more on this transfer gossip shortly as the transfer window is closing very soon. Good day all.

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Full Champions League Draw

After last nights 2-1 victory...we are through to the next round of the champions league and the draw has lined up us against ex-Mourinho club Porto, CSKA Moscow and Hamburg. Not exactly an "easy group" with a cold away leg away to Moscow and decent sides...but to be perfectly honest...we should top this group and anything less shouldn't be acceptable. Here is the full draw:

Group A
BARCELONA
Chelsea
Werder Bremen
Levski Sofia

Group B
INTER MILAN
Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon
Spartak Moscow

Group C
LIVERPOOL
PSV Eindhoven
Bordeaux
Galatasaray

Group D
VALENCIA
Roma
Olympiakos
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
REAL MADRID
Lyon
Steaua Bucharest
Dynamo Kiev

Group F
MANCHESTER UNITED
Celtic
Benfica
FC Copenhagen

Group G
ARSENAL
Porto
CSKA Moscow
Hamburg

Group H
AC MILAN
Lille
AEK Athens
Anderlecht

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Simao Sabrosa To Sign For Arsenal?

Just a quick one...reports are suggesting that we have made an offer for the 26-year-old who has been tipped to leave Benfica for some time now. He almost signed for Liverpool last season on a £10 million deal but that was finally turned down by his club Benifica.

It has been reported that we have whipped out an offer of £12.3million for the player who is rated as a top class winger. If these reports are confirmed I will write more on him and his abilities as well as what he can add to our team. However this may just be "a couple days before the opening of the season" speculation. More on it as I get it. Enjoy the first ever game at our new stadium today against Villa...im backing us to win...with Ashley Cole Left Back....In the changing rooms....

Good day all.

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Theo Walcott's First Goal In England Shirt - The Video

Theo Walcott's First England Under 21 Goal...3 mintues into his debut...considering his height and size I didnt really expect him to be brilliant in the air, but from this goal it is clear to see his technique is top class...already beats Henry's aerial abilities! Hope we get to see a bit more of this...let me know what you think of his performance the other night.

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Baptista Coming To Arsenal For Reyes?

By Bilal Zaidi

Reports are that Baptista…”The Beast”…who we tried signing a year ago but failed when he joined Real Madrid instead…is on his way to the Emirates with Reyes going the opposite direction. If this is true it HAS to be Baptista + Cash otherwise it isn’t acceptable at all. Baptista seemed a fantastic player before joining Madrid but hasn’t impressed at all to be perfectly honest in the season he has been there.

Put this down to being played out of position, or not getting regular chances to play etc etc…it is fair to say he hasn’t been anywhere near to his best or full potential. Other reports are that we are holding out for just a cash deal but the valuation that has been thrown around baffles me to the greatest extent…We signed him as our most expensive signing and he was 20 I believe…a few seasons down the line he is a better player than before he came (that isn’t to say he plays better, just in terms of ability plus experience). I say that because his ability hasn’t deteriorated…but his experience in the premiership, champions league and international level has made him a better player. I just think the Spanish league is different to the Premiership and some players look absolutely fantastic in that league…AHEM…Forlan…

Reyes hasn’t looked a bad player here but to be perfectly honest he hasn’t really met those expectations of a potential £17.5 million deal that he arrived on if he is judged to this present day. But to sell him for a loss would be ludacris…we don’t need to sell him or want to sell him particularly…why sell him for less than we got him for to a club like Madrid who always pay over the top prices for players. Reyes isn’t Ashley Cole…if he stays he WILL play for us without making a big fuss and writing a book to tell the whole world how terrible Arsenal are…He just hasn’t settled and isn’t happy…but a month down the road he may be fine…its totally unpredictable…

From his wonder goals in his first full games against Chelsea…we all witnessed a golden child in the making…BUT my own opinion is that he hasn’t been 100% happy all season and this could and would effect his game. He still had a very good season in my opinion after getting the most assists in the premiership (after Drogba apparently!) and he ripped apart Real Madrid at the Bernabeu…if he stayed at Arsenal he would become even better if he made an effort to adapt to life in London.

If he felt at home…learned the language like his mate Cesc has in rapid time…then playing in the champions league in a 60, 000 seater stadium is something that I believe he will inevitably crave for and can make him the best left winger in Europe….ONE DAY…he has the potential to do so…its not that hard to see, he has the most amazing direct dribbling style in the premiership…pace, an eye for a pass and if he had more chances up front then I’m sure we would see a lot more goals than we did last season. I still think he can reach those levels he set himself in the beginning of a couple of seasons ago when he was the top goal scorer in the premiership after the first 5 or 6 games. I watched every match out of those and he did everything right…made the right runs…bursts of pace…dropped back when there was no need to run past the last defender and he finished like an old pro….but after that he never really got back into that rhythm. I wish for Reyes to stay and I hope he can be that player for us once again…if not then good luck to you sir. Let us know what you think of Reyes potentially leaving by pressing the "comments" button...Good day all

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Arsenal Absolutely Fabregas...But Will We Miss Goals This Season?

Dinamo Zagreb 0 - 3 Arsenal

By M. B. Zaidi

What a great start to our European campaign…two SUPER SUPER goals from my man Cescy…another neat finish from Van the Man…and don’t forget his fantastic control and lay off…which was very Bergkamp (c)esc…Fabregas…stood up to show he is as important as any other player in our team and im backing him (hopefully not cursing *Fingers Crossed*) to score a lot more goals this season.

With Bobby Pires moved on and Bergkamp retiring…Ljungberg not as prolific as previous seasons…the question does come to mind…”Will Arsenal be missing goals/goalscorers this season?”

My first reply to that is quite simple, we have the best striker in the world still at our club and he has been the leading goalscorer in the premiership several times and as ever it is quite probable that he will score majority of our goals this season…Now you are probably thinking, how does that differ to anything in the past few seasons?

Well Pires has been for a long time the second most probable player to score in an Arsenal jersey after Henry…and he always seemed to score goals even when not starting regularly like last season. I would say the same about Ljungberg, but last season was definitely a disappointing one for him and now with Bergkamp gone many do think his goals may dry up.

So is there a single player able to really fill the boots of Pires?...who always seemed to get goals from midfield…always popped up at the back or near post for a tap in…well Reyes (if he stays) should perhaps be expected to score a few more than he did last season to be quite fair…don’t get me wrong because he was quite superb last season in setting up goals for others but so was Pires for such a long time. So Reyes if he stays will have to up his game on getting a few goals here and there if he is to be a big part of our season but with the signing of Rosicky it looks as if Reyes wont be an automatic starter so he will have to fight for his place. Rosicky isn’t known for scoring lots of goals…more that he scores good goals…but I think he will get a few more than he was used to getting at his previous club if he remains on the left side of midfield because he seems to have a lot more freedom to attack without having to worry about leaving a massive hole in the centre of midfield. Tonight’s game showed he can definitely operate on the left and he made an impressive debut…well done Tomas.

Then we come to the obvious players that have a responsibility of scoring goals…the strikers of course. Van Persie got one today and looked lively as ever up front with an impressive Adebayor. It still remains to be proven if either can become at least a 15-20 goals a season sort of striker and I have high hopes for Van Persie who probably would have got that last season if he hadn’t got injured. Adebayor scored at a decent rate since his arrival in the January transfer window but the main test for him will be sustaining those goals scored throughout an entire season in the premiership…WHILE also taking into account that he will not be the automatic choice up front to partner Mr. Henry.

I have no problems over Hleb and I hope he will continue his progress next season as he did last term because his quality and class ooze from his play everytime I see him play…fanstastic acquisition by Wenger and this season should see a lot more from Hleb.
Now we come to Cesc Fabregas who tonight showed what I have been thinking for a long time…of course people will say this opposition are of a low standard etc etc…but they really aren’t that bad a team and they defended just like most teams in the premiership will defend against us in our new stadium. They will drop deep and pack the midfield, not let us get any room to slot in anyone for a clear shot. Last season at times we were stuck for goals because teams did this successfully…HOWEVER I believe that Fabregas has the potential ability to add this goal scoring ability to his game to an even greater standard than we have seen from him previosly. He is only 19 years old and is improving EVERY GAME…he was fantastic tonight and deserved his two goals. His first was a sublime finish in the far corner and the second as good as the first after taking on a couple of defenders.

We saw in the champions league he can score crucial goals when he popped up against Juventus to grab that crucial goal but I’m quite sure that this season he will be making MORE attacking runs into the box...having MORE shots on goal because he will be given the freedom to and have more confidence than ever before…and this should hopefully result in MORE goals for a young jubilant midfielder who just loves playing football.

Tonight was perfect for us…three cracking goals…full domination of the match with a young team….and a clean sheet for a new look Arsenal defence. As you may have realised after what I have wrote on our attacking players…I’m not TOO CONCERNED with our attacking options being limited…I AM HOWEVER slightly concerned about our defensive cover and ability to compete against top players and teams. BUT I don’t want to take anything away from the lads today because they did very well, Djourou had a solid game and made a spectacular recovery tackle, Hoyte was quite correct most of the match but got beaten a few times by a flairy Brazilian winger but overall did a lot right…BUT I will write more about my defensive issues later. Tonight/This morning you should relax and feel happy that this exuberant young looking team looks as good as we can expect at this stage…a lot to be done but a very positive day for Arsenal Football Club. Well done boys…see you in the Emirates.

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Reyes – Up And Down Like A Merry Go Round…HEADACHE

By M. B. Zaidi

It has been reported on several occasions that Reyes has said in Spain he wants to leave and go to Real Madrid…but then every time this happens, the very next day there is a denial of his comments from the player himself!? Perhaps Reyes has an evil twin brother who is causing all sorts of mayhem in Spain so the REAL Reyes can go back to Spain and live with his twin brother and parents….

OR the more likely scenario is that he is trying to get away with trying to hint to Real Madrid he is more than interested without completely ruining his reputation with the Arsenal fans. Arsenal.com said this on his reply:

“I did not say these words,” said Reyes in response. “I’ll tell you once again, I am happy at Arsenal and I am looking forward to the coming campaign. We have a new stadium this season and we are pushing for honours in all competitions. I do not want to leave Arsenal."

That’s great to hear but I have to admit….I haven’t heard Reyes say that many English words in one sentence before…but as it is from the official website (even though I’m sure you will all agree it cant beat this website ;) ) I’m quite sure it is more trustworthy than the reports in Spain. I guess we will have to wait and see but it is a bit of a weird situation.

Reyes played last night and got an assist for the first goal, I do wish for him to stay…not just because he has great ability but because our squad will get awfully weak compared to last season and we cant afford to lose one of the quality players we do have.

Lupoli stood out in the other game we played and he is one of the youngsters I hope gets more of a chance this season because he definitely seems to be more than a decent player. Bendtner has also gone off on a loan to Birmingham…I was looking forward to him getting a chance this year too because he is another who cant stop scoring in the reserves and is something we don’t really have at the club….in terms of his style of play. He is gone until January and hopefully that means Wenger isn’t looking to sell him off without giving him a go in the first team. More later…enjoy the cricket all ;)

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Letter of Farewell To Ashley Cole

Dear Mr. A. Cole,

How you doing mate? All good with Cheryl I hope...Just thought I should send you a letter as an Arsenal fan as a "letter of farewell" as you seem to be going to our old chums down the road at Chelsea shortly...Just wondering...

Seen the world of Chelsea recently…The William Gallas saga? Still think Arsenal treats players so bad? Yes our club wont pay you stupid amounts of money “earned” from notoriously cynical business deals in the world oil trade (Mr. Abramovich…yes im taking to you)….BUT we treat players with the respect they deserve when they do deserve it, not when you go behind their back and commit adultery with Chelsea Football Club…our club has history and honour…not a couple years of success from buying the most expensive players in the world. If Arsenal treated players so badly then great legends of the game from foreign lands wouldn’t have stayed here for so long…Like Dennis Bergkamp…Thierry Henry…but then again those players aren’t after huge sums of money just to feed their popstar wife.

In contrast to what Chelsea have done or are saying they will do to Gallas for his minute crime in contrast to your deception attempt…we have been pretty graceful and generous to forgive you for what you did in the first place…you got a nice new contract and that’s that…BUT NO….get it over and done with and leave for your own security…not physical so much (even though that is debatable) but more your mental security…if you stayed now you would STILL be hated by all of the Arsenal fans and would never be the same player again.

Thank you for what you have done in the past, you truly are a great player…but a stupid one who will look back and read M. B. Zaidi’s famous words on ArsenalReview.com in five years time and realise what a stupid mistake you made.

I once met you…down at the Chigwell parade of shops…I had a picture taken with you and you seemed like a nice guy…I had a laugh and a joke with you and then you drove away…the first time I had met a footballer face to face…you were one of my favourite Arsenal players on the pitch and when you played for England you were the first one I looked for on the sheet…I truly DON’T THINK YOU ARE A BAD GUY or anything of that sort, just one that made a mistake and now after partially redeeming yourself…have jumped back into the cockpit of hell where your potential “Arsenal Legend” title has disintegrated and is tainted with the memory of this betrayal.

I will tell you why I am speaking harsh words because you are one of our own and have grown up as an Arsenal boy…your football is truly as fluid and brilliant as our team plays and that is why you fit into OUR TEAM…a team that plays attacking football with verve and incisive passes…you are a limited supply of “one of our own” players…and that is why it feels so terrible that you are doing these stupid things a second time round. That is why you are now going to be hated by Arsenal fans when you could have easily been the next captain and a true Arsenal legend…it’s a terrible shame and a pity because the time I met you I really felt glad that you were one of “our own”…It feels like my child has run away from home and gone to live with my worst enemy…for a bribe…a cheap bribe of simple cash…not being part of a great club playing in the best stadium in the UK for the fans that have supported you for so long….

Ashley…good luck for the future and beyond…thanks for the memories of the “un-beatables” season and everything else, that goal you scored in the champions league…BUT there are some actions that carry consequences…and this time the consequences are not so pretty…Have a nice life…

Yours Sincerely

Mohammed Bilal Zaidi

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Why Ashley Coles Transfer Fee Is So Substantial

By M. B. Zaidi

There have been a few figures thrown out in the media of the potential value of Ashley Coles transfer fee to Chelsea if that ever does materialise which it seems it will. Ashley Cole is a fine defender, he is at a perfect age, is English and has vast experience at both club and international level. I cant think of a better left full back to sign in the entire world and think he is a class act for sure.

Ashley has grown up at our club and has always been a crowd favourite…that is of course until the stupid tapping up affair with Chelsea ruined his reputation with the fans and the club. He now for some reason feels that the club has betrayed him even though he was the one going behind the clubs back doing illegal things…anyway forget that its all in the past…the point now is we are about a week or so away from the Champions League tie on the 8th August and Clichy has been ruled out for the beginning part of our season along with Diaby, Lauren and Senderos. If Cole was to play in that match he would be cup tied for the Champions League if he was to move to Chelsea, which would significantly reduce his transfer fee.

It all seems a bit stupid to me that people are happy with the squad we have, even though most I have talked to are extremely worried about our lack of signings that are actually solid enough to be considered acquisitions that have improved our squad. Signings like Hleb…who cost a bit at the time but has slotted in and his class has shone threw…Hopefully this time next season I will be saying that Rosicky is another signing that made an immediate impact.

The price that Chelsea apparently wanted to pay was a mere £16 million…at a time where Carrick has just gone for a stupidly high price of £17.25 million. Other figures thrown out have been £20 million and £26 million. I read on another site that we are being greedy and I 100% DON’T AGREE WITH THAT…why the hell shouldn’t we be greedy…he is our asset, has 2 years left on his contract and is arguably the best left back in the world…YES £26 million is higher than he is worth to a normal club, but this is Chelsea…not just that they have the spending power of Mr. Abramovich but also because they are one of our biggest rivals in terms of winning the title. AND also that they pay stupid fees for everyone else that is a nobody or scored a few goals in the champions league for one season, or was highly rated on championship manager….We are giving up a player who is quick, strong, defensively quite brilliant and attackingly superb…

Let me take you back to a few seasons back where Shaun Wright Phillips was about to leave Man City…apparently we wanted him too as well as Liverpool….he got a bit greedy and went to Chelsea and how many games has he played?...EXACTLY MY POINT….Chelsea purchased him just so their rivals couldn’t…so if that was £21 million (from the top of my head) then why the hell would we settle for anything less…

Chelsea would pay £26 million JUST TO weaken our side…and I for one cant wait until it is all over with…im getting bored to death by it and think it will do everyone good once he leaves…Traore looks a real talent and Clichy and Flamini are competent…£26 million that can be invested in making our squad stronger (the debt repayment of our new stadium)…

More on what I think is necessary for us to spend on in the transfer market later but I will say we shouldn’t settle for anything less than £20 million…anything higher is a bonus…Beg to differ? Leave your comments by clicking that little comment thing on the bottom right…more later all…good day…

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