Barcelona Signing Adebayor For £22mil-£25mil? Nasri Signing Officially? Clichy Signs Long Term Deal

By Bilal Zaidi

This is some crazy stuff. Turkey somehow qualified tonight with a huge victory over Croatia after the tie went into extra time. Turkey conceded at one end and scored at the other and won it after extra time from the resulting penalties. What a fantastic story and a perfect illustration of what hard work and determination can get you. They never gave up, for three games in a row where they looked to be heading out. Who knows what may be in store for them in the semi-finals.

Congratulations to Turkey and local boy Colin Kazim Richards who went to school just down the road from me. Crazy stuff.

However, the news that has been reported of our thirty goal striker Adebayor to sign for Barcelona for “£22mil - £25mil” is quite amazing. He had a great season for us and I would love for Ade to be staying but it is very difficult to tell who is misleading us all. I know from other peoples comments that many may want to just get rid of him but I would like to see what is actually going on before we start to put down our striker who did very well for us last season. Is this a trick from Barcelona to unsettle the player and the club in order to gain eventually when they buy him or is it simply the truth? It has been going on for a bit of time now and I haven’t written much on it because I don’t like writing about transfer rumours that are thrown around loosely. However, a good few papers have been picking up on the story this morning as the conclusion to this predicament seems to be edging to a final sprint in the coming weeks.

Nasri is expected to sign officially very soon since his French club have already confirmed the deal. Also, his compatriot Clichy closed off any sort of speculation regarding his potential future at another club by signing a four year deal to commit his future to Arsenal. Clichy was outstanding this year, being voted the Premiership’s best left back...unfortunately he wasn’t included in Frances European squad but both Nasri and Clichy on the French and Arsenal left wing could now become a great possibility in the near future.

Any news relating to the futures of the players mentioned will be updated as soon as we have heard of any news. Don’t miss tonight’s game between Holland and Russia and Amir Khan’s fight as well from our live video streams page.

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Exodus? - Hleb To Move For £3mil To Inter - Adebayor Wants £80k p/week

By Richard Popple

What is going on?

The season is yet to finish, champions are yet to be decided and relegation places are yet to be filled and despite all of this the rumour-mill is not only in full flow, it’s bursting and Arsenal seem to be coping it’s force the most. I still try to dismiss the newspapers and television when they talk of a player exodus. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so. Unfortunately it doesn’t just seem to be the players, who are seeking a new challenge. Keith Edelman mysteriously left the club saying he wanted a new challenge, however other reports suggested that he was pushed out of the club. There have been other reports that Gary Lewin will leave as well. A man who has been part of the Arsenal staff for a long time. It might all just be a coincidence, but why is the club having such difficulty keeping its staff together.

Obviously a lot of these stories are exactly that: stories, with very little truth and a lot of conjecture. But the fact is that these rumours and departures are happening at the moment and with alarming regularity. The most widespread one at the moment involves Alex Hleb. His agent has stated that the deal is almost done and that Hleb will be an Inter player within a couple of weeks. The player himself has been reported as saying that he is disillusioned at Arsenal and is worried by what he perceives as a lack of ambition by the club. I presume he is talking about the small number of players that have arrived over the last two years, coupled with the dwindling numbers in the squad.

Arsene Wenger has again played down these rumours about Hleb, just like he did in the Flamini situation. But increasingly it seems that events are happening involving players that the manager does not seem to be in complete control of. I think there are two reasons for this:

1) The finances of the club are very well documented, in fact too much so in my opinion. The salary caps are very rigid at the club which they are infrequently prepared to break. Sol Campbell used to earn a lot of money at Arsenal, as did Vieira and most famously Thierry Henry, who earned £130,000 a week, following the move to the Emirates. It seems due to the cost of the stadium, we simply can’t offer players huge wages anymore, which might offer another explanation as to why Arsene never buys established stars – he simply can’t afford it.

2) Faith is being lost in the manager after three seasons without a trophy and an unwillingness to part with money. I personally hope this is not the case, but I’m starting to dread that it is. Flamini moved to Milan for one of two reasons. Either he wanted more money or he felt that the squad would not be sufficiently strengthened at Arsenal to mount a challenge for honours next year. It is very likely that Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Man City and even Newcastle will spend a lot of money in the summer. Depending on the quality and success of these signings, Arsenal without recruiting could face challenges from not only the big three but Spurs and Man City. Hleb also has been reported as saying he is worried by a lack of ambition.

I don’t care if we have another summer of people writing Arsenal off. It happened last year and despite not winning anything, the team have given a very good account of themselves this season. But Arsene Wenger’s philosophies are beginning to go hand in hand with his stubbornness. If he continues to ignore most established players and continues to buy inexperienced foreign players who need time to adapt, then Arsenal could be in danger of falling behind the other clubs, who have more spending power. I don’t envisage that happening next season, but depending on who leaves this summer, certain parts of the team will have to be improved.

Another aspect of this equation is player greed. Flamini might have gone, because he will earn more at Milan, Hleb might follow suit. I am hoping that Adebayor is not really demanding £80,000 per week, and that his agent is speaking out of turn. Quite frankly Ade is not worth that. He has had one good season, in which he has been given a wonderful opportunity by Wenger to prove himself. I think it would be disgraceful from the player if he ignored all of this for money. Wenger can’t reward the players with huge contracts because of the strict wage structure at the club. His rewards are a chance to prove themselves, to establish themselves even if they are 18,19,20 years old. Perhaps this alone, without trophies and money doesn’t appease players anymore…

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Video: Striker With Goal Every 1.6 Games, Pace, Power, Heading Ability, Cheeky Dance + Best Interview EVER

By Bilal Zaidi

Yes he has been frustrating at times but at the same time he has produced some fantastic football this season. Those that want Adebayor out of the club...here is a reminder of what he has done this season:

38 Starts, 7 Sub = 27 goals

That is a goal every 1.6 games. Only 3 less than Torres...some amazing strikes including that famous goal against Tottenham (shown in video below).

I understand why some don't like him but 27 goals in any team, in any league is a great achievement. There have been so many negative comments about him in the last few months and at times this included me; influenced like a young delinquent by my cousin shouting out "DONKEY! DONKEY! OFFSIDE DONKEY"...to the TV when we played Liverpool in the second leg.

But looking back in hindsight, I would like to say well done Ade...you have been one of the players of the season without a doubt in my mind.

Everyone has their own opinion on him, which is fair enough, but this is mine; where would we be without his 27 goals this season? Where do you think these goals would have come from? Again it is all down to opinion...feel free to share yours in the comments section.

If you still don't like him after seeing some of the goals he has contributed this season (vs Tottenham & Newcastle probably the pick of the bunch) in the first video, then perhaps the second video might just do it for you. If not, then perhaps the third an amazing interview that hs to go down in history. What a legend.

Watch tomorrows games live from our "live video streams page" if you haven't already bookmarked it. Early kick off between Chelsea and Manchester United. Until then. Blessings all.

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