Hleb and Gilberto Part Company with Arsenal

Just yesterday, I said that Hleb was in Barcelona for a medical. Now he's medical is complete, and his move to Barcelona is official. Finally, after months of speculation the smoke is clear. whether it will be a good or bad move only time will tell. Arsene Wenger even paid tribute to him, thanking him for his contributions for Arsenal while he was still at the club.

“We must firstly thank Alex for his contribution towards Arsenal Football Club during his time with us. Alex played a significant role in the three seasons he was with the club.
“We are comfortable with our decision to let him go and we are all looking forward to continuing our preparations for the new season ahead.
“Everyone at Arsenal Football Club wishes Alex the best of luck for the future”

No doubt, I wished that he stayed but it was not to be. Hopefully Nasri would make an even bigger impact than Hleb did, just like how Clichy took over Ashley Cole's role when he left.


Another man on the move is old veteran Gilberto Silva. He left for a cheap fee of only 1 million pounds, but for a 31 year-old it should be good money. His career at Arsenal began at 2002, who came from Atletico Madrid. He have had a great spell at North London, winning 2 FA cups and 1 league title. He had a disastrous last season, but I really feel Gilberto deserved a chance. He's a good backup, he may have had a miserable 1 season but he had fantastic 6 seasons at the club, and I truly believe like jsut how a superstar cannot be born in just one night, a legend cannot die out so quickly too. Anyway, let's just put the past behind us and wish Gilberto all the best. A cheerful guy and good captain, this man puts Adebayor and Hleb to shame. We miss you Gilberto, thanks for he memories...

Hleb in Spain for Medical? + Arsenal to Make Surprising Barry Bid?

It's been a really long time since I updated my blog, this time it's REALLY LONG. Sorry for the delay guys, I'm rather busy at the moment so pardon me. Anyway, here's one from me before I get to bed.


Got this news from Goal.com, they say that Hleb is currently flying (or flown)to Barcelona in Spain to complete his medical before joining Barca in a 12.5 million move, although it may increase by 2.5 million depending on his performances. Sometimes I get really sick listening to the same story time and again (I wonder how many times I've inserted Hleb's picture in my posts); rumours of Ade going to Milan, Hleb to Barca and Fabregas to wherever. It's like eating the same thing everyday, so preferably I want this Hleb transfer saga to settle and come to a conclusion soon. I'm not sure, but I feel it's really heartbreaking to see a "rather-good" player from Arsenal go for only 12.5 million. Please don't tell me it will rise; it will only rise when he plays well, and only by a mere 2.5 million, which means Arsene can't use that 2.5 straight away in this transfer window. I hope he leaves for more than that, compared to Adebayor's 30 million move to AC Milan, it's really peanuts and Hleb's not any of that.

Another interesting news I've heard is that Arsenal may be doing a surprising last-minute swoop for Aston Villa's skipper Gareth Barry, just when everybody thought Liverpool had his move tied-up. Good move, I would say. Great vision from Arsene to think of this move, even I myself did not think of Barry coming to Arsenal. He's a great player, and also one with great influence and experience. The perfect player for Arsenal: Experienced, at his peak, holding midfielder and for those who is a keen supporter of Sepp Blatter's 6+5 idea, he's English. Definitely the right man for the DM role in Arsenal's current first-team squad, the only thing is that he may be costly, and if I were Barry, I would rather go to Liverpool. Barry's good pal Gerrard is at The Kop, plus I'm sure Liverpool would give him more of a "home" feeling for him, having his English teammates to play with. At Arsenal the only person he mix well with is perhaps Walcott, and he's not established as a first-team player yet. So rather than venture into "the wilds" and go to a place full of foreigners, I'm sure he would want to go to a place where he have friends there. I'm not totally ruling out this move though, there's still a chance judging on Arsene's "magical charisma", which was most recently put use on Aaron Ramsey.

Is Barry a good player for Arsenal? Do you think Hleb's 12.5 million fee is too little? Tell me more. That's all for now, and thanks for reading.

Nasri Completes Move, FINALLY

No more bullshits. No more "in 10 days time". No more delays. Samir Nasri moves to Arsenal FC, plain and simple, for an undisclosed fee, although it is thought to be around 11.5 million pounds. A deal which I believe should have been completed weeks ago, he finally signs the contract and moves to Arsenal. Here's what I feel about the transfer of Nasri:

1) This boy should have done it long ago, even before the Euro's. Arsenal's reputation is enough to shut his mouth. Young and French, those 2 things alone should be enough to convince him to sign the contract.

2) Hleb's fate is sealed. When Nasri comes, we all know that Hleb will be going. There's no space in the first-team to fit both talented players, so like I said before rather than let him rot in the stands we must as well cash in the money.

3) What number will he get? My money's on number 8. Nobody got number 8 yet at Arsenal and that is rather strange, considering the popularity of that number. Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard are all good practitioners of the "number 8 wizardry", and if Nasri is as good as those 2, 11.5 will probably be a bargain.

Do you agree with me? Should this deal have been completed weeks ago? Is he really THAT good? Tell me more in the comments section. Cheers from Dariano.

Hleb Burning the Bridges?

Well before I start let me just introduce to you guys a site that I feel you may be interested in going, it's called Soccer Fan Base. It's basically a forum where you can discuss about football. Seeing that the site owner asked me to help recomemnd their site, I did some advertisement for them. Now back to where I stand: Arsenal.

I don't know where this Hleb saga is going to. Firstly he says he wants to stay at Arsenal. Then he says he wants to go to Barcelona or Inter Milan. Now, my fellow Gooners, he is publicly criticizing The Professor, Arsene Wenger, and Super-Fab, Fabregas. I don't know WTF he's thinking, but i feel he's trying to burn the bridges, a move first used millenniums ago, by Julius Caesar. You know you're leaving, your fate is sealed, so the only choice? Kamikaze.

His first complain is that he's not playing in his natural position, the center-midfielder. He's often deployed on the flanks last season, although he has often played as a "hole" behind the striker. Now here's what he said,

“My view of how I should be playing didn’t coincide with the manager’s,”

“I told him last season I wanted to leave and think he was quite upset about it. But ask him. It may turn out he’s happy to see me go.”

Total bullshit. In Arsene we trust, which Gunner doesn't know that? If he didn't trusted Arsene Wenger in the first place, he wouldn't have came to Arsenal. Trust Wenger, he transforms playmakers that plays in the center to ones that can actually play wide and still have the same level of creativity. If he doesn't like it, then don't play. Guess what? He did, he played on the flanks, and he played quite well, even though he played as a support striker at times. What he said contradicts what he showed. Think before you speak, Alex.

Secondly, he had something to say about Arsenal's golden-boy Francesc Fabregas. He further added on that the reason why he can't play in the center is because of the boy wonder of North London, Fabregas. He has dominated the playmaking role of Arsenal's center for seasons, and Hleb's aren't happy about it. Wait a minute, he's not done yet.

“When we get scoring opportunities, Fabregas is much more selfish than me,” said the ex-Stuttgart player, who has often been criticised for his minimal contribution on the score-sheet.

The quote above is still okay to me, although I'm a little pissed by it. But this quote is what really makes me fucked up:

“Given a chance to shoot, he always goes for it — unlike me."

This is nonsense. I don't know about Fabregas being selfish and shooting very often, but what I know is that when Fabregas shoots, he scores. I'm not saying it's a surefire type of thing, but going for goals from long distances (commentators call them "dynamite!" and "thunderbolt!") is not really a bad thing, it adds a level of excitement to football, and there's an okay percentage that he will score. He's our second top goal-scorer last season, behind Adebayor, and you could tell most of them were from long shots. How many goals did Hleb score? 4. Pathetic 4. Maybe he would have scored more if he "go for it when given a chance to shoot".

I'm glad that I feel we shouldn't keep Hleb any longer. Here's the latest news on his future at Arsenal:

“I don’t know where I’ll be next season but I’d prefer Barcelona. It is being negotiated and, hopefully, will be decided soon.”

Good riddance. Screw you for criticizing our "media-darling" and "Professor". We appreciate your contributions to the team last season, but we don't want players with bad attitude. And furthermore, Nasri should be coming (Gulp, I hope).

How do you feel? Was Hleb in a position to criticise Fabregas and Wenger? How do you feel about his comment to the media? Tell me more, cheers from Dariano.

Arshavin's Future Lies in Ade and Hleb's Hands

Well Andrei Arshavin has been one of Arsene Wenger's target during the summer transfer window. If I'm not wrong I haven't given my verdict on him despite all the media spculation. Now let the judging bein:



Andrei Arshavin. Honestly anybody out there who knew him 2 months ago? To be frank I didn;t know him and have not heard of his name till the Euro's began. He rose to fame by impressing with his national team (Russia) and catching all the club manager's attention. Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona are just some of the clubs interested in his services. Now my verdict: Arsene, don't sign this guy. Why? He's 27, probably not worth the money and superstars are not created overnight. No doubt about it, players who are 27 has just reached their peak, so they probably play their best. But in a few years time, let's say 3, he would be 30 and I don't think Arsene Wenger would keep him anymore. Added by the fact that there's much competition for his signature, he would not be cheap so paying over 10 million for a superstar only to play for you for 3 years is certainly not worth it. In fact, Zenit St. Petersburg (his current club) absurdly requested Leo Messi plus cash for him. If you ask me, I would rather get Messi XD. Another factor is that he's so popular now because of his performance during Euro08, and to be specific. He impressed during the match between Russia and Sweden and Russia and Holland. Like I said before, superstars are not amde overnight. Playing really well in 2 matches don't mean that player is good. I am afraid if he comes to Arsenal, he gets a really shit season and in the end lose profit in selling him. So to sum up my verdict, I wouldn't want him to come to Arsenal.

Next on the queue is that Arshavin has recently claimed that whether he comes to Arsenal will depend on whether Adebayor and Hleb goes. So to make sure it's not confusing for some of you, we are like trading Adebayor and Hleb with Arshavin. 3 words: Not worth it. Here's what his agent said:

“The push for Andrei Arshavin has only just got going.
“The clubs who are following him are only just warming their engines.
“Arshavin’s future depends on what happens with Hleb and Adebayor.”

So if Arsene Wenger stubbornly ignored my advice and continue his interest in Arshavin, he better buck up. Cause it won't be a small price tag.

Do you agree with me that Arsenal shouldn't sign Arshavin? And is it really worth it to let Ade and Hleb go just for him? Tell me in the comments section, cheers from Dariano :)

Peter Hill-Wood: Ade Staying, Hleb Going

Nowadays we've always been hearing Arsene Wenger talk about Adebayor, Hleb and all the other stars, and I'm sure you would be quite bored to hear the same person say the same thing day in, day out. Well, we've got a new voice for today. Peter Hill-Wood, chairman of Arsenal FC has actually spoken out for Arsene Wenger, in hoping to get "The Mafia boss is speaking" type of feeling to Barcelona and AC Milan. Well here's what he said:

"We want him (Adebayor) to stay,"

"Adebayor still has a long time left on his contract and we have absolutely no intention of releasing him from that contract."

So I guess that Old Petey is actually an idol of the Togolese striker, hoping he can stay at Arsenal to "entertain" him. Will he give in to money? Or is he "money-blind"? We'll see.

Wait a minute. He's not done yet.

"Hleb has made it clear he wants to go. I think maybe he will go."

Oh, great. I won't rest easy about Hleb's situation until Nasri comes (FYI the deal's not done yet, some people got confused).

The Prof. is Fed Up + Roma Wants Gilberto

It seems that Barcelona has tested Arsene Wenger's patience. It's over the limit, and Arsene has had enough. He's probably lost patience in Adebayor, and will let him go to either Barcelona or Milan, if Arsenal can get a replacement. It's for an astounding 30 million pounds, although Arsenal have set an asking price of 35 million. As expected, Wenger won't "play" with Adebayor anymore, and will give in to Barcelona's heavy bid. But who as replacement? That, I believe, only Arsene knows. I'm not really sure myself to be honest, but it would be good if it's Villa (I don't know how many times I've said this), but the thing is Valencia has offered a contract to Villa, so if we don't striker fast then we may be the ones left crying.


Another news I got is that AS Roma seems to be interested in Gilberto Silva. They may be willing to pay a fee of 2.5 million pounds for the Brazilian defensive-midfielder. Well, I'd say, cash in, Arsene. 2.5 million is good money for a 31 year-old, and furthermore his contract expires at the end of the 2008/09 season. No one can really predict the future, so whether he will sign a new contract is still a mystery but the most logical answer would be he leaves on a free-transfer, just like how many past Arsenal players at the age of 30 and above did (Campbell, Pires etc.). So rather then let him go for free, why not let him go for 2.5 million? I admit that Gilberto would be a good backup if not first-team player, but I don't think Gilberto can cut it out in Arsenal anymore. The 2.5 million can be used to sign other players, so Arsene has got to cash in fast lest Roma lose interest and Gilberto's stuck at Arsenal.

So what do you think? Should we, for real, sell Ade this time? And if Villa's taken, who should we seek as a replacement for Adebayor? Then should Gilberto go? Is it really time? And is 2.5 million pounds good money to you? Tell me more, cheers from Dariano :)