A Conversation With…Arseblog

Since joining Arsenal, Robin van Persie hasn’t put prolific back-to-back seasons together for the North London club. Is it fair to say he will not have the same success next season and that now is the time for Arsenal to cash in on the Dutchman? How would Arsenal shape up tactically without him? And what is the scoop with Theo Walcott and his unrest? Could Arsenal afford to lose either or both of these players? What has become of the Gunners? What is the identity of this team? Why does everyone always want to leave?

Andrew Mangan joins us in A Conversation With sharing his insights like no other Arsenal blogger out there. Fans trust his opinion and thousands follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He is undoubtedly one of the most influential voices in the Arsenal community today. He doesn’t hold back as we dissect the team on and off the pitch. Put your slippers on and enjoy the conversation.

Money, money, money…

Forbes magazine announced the top 10 richest clubs on the planet yesterday and Manchester United still rule the school when it comes to money.

Biggest surprise is Barcelona dropping from 4th to 5th place, even after their treble winning season. You would expect them to be in the top 3.

1. Manchester United {$1.86 billion}   2. Real Madrid {$1.45 billion}   3. Arsenal {$1.19 billion) 4. Bayern Munich {$1.1 billion}   5. Barcelona {$975 million}   6. AC Milan {$838 million}   7. Chelsea {$658 million}   8. Juventus {$628 million}   9. Liverpool {$552 million}   10. Inter Milan {$441 million}.

The richest players list was also revealed by Forbes yesterday. The one surprise here is that Ronaldinho is still bringing in some large coin. And John Terry must be a bit peeved that Lamps made the top 10 and he didn’t!

1. David Beckham {$40 million}   2. Cristiano Ronaldo {$38 million}   3. Lionel Messi {$32 million}   4. Ricardo Kaka {$25 million}   5. Ronaldinho {$24 million}   6. Thierry Henry {$21 million}   7. Wayne Rooney {$20 million}   8. Frank Lampard {$18 million}   8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic {$18 million}   10. Samuel Eto’o {$17 million}.

Cristiano Ronaldo once said “footballer’s are like slaves.” What do you think?

One thing is for sure, the next round is on one of these guys. And if  they were getting in the drinks, who would you like to be buying yours?

Hand of God Part Deux…

01_cheat_350x475_931628aThierry Henry is one of the world’s greatest football players. He is undoubtedly one of the best to have played in the Premier League. He has dazzled us with his beautiful football for many years. He has played for some of the world’s biggest football clubs. Last night, he showed us an ugly side to his game. He did something that we are all taught not to do from a young age. He cheated. In fact, he did more than that. He ripped out the hearts of a nation and robbed Ireland of a chance to make it to the World Cup Finals.

I wonder if Thierry Henry can look at himself in the mirror today? And if he can, I wonder what he sees? When I see Henry now, I don’t see the legend. I don’t see the magician. I see a cheat. I see a man who was unable to use his God given talent to help his country win. Instead he stooped to Maradona’s level and just like the Argentine superstar robbed England in the 1986 World Cup with his infamous Hand of God, Henry has now done the same. This time, Ireland are the victims. Since 1986, Maradona’s image has been tarnished because of his actions. People never saw him in the same light and I think Henry will suffer the same consequences.

Millions of football fans around the world saw what happened on the pitch last night. If we could all see it, then why couldn’t the officials? Was this the work of fat cat Blatter and Plantini the snob? Did the executives who head-up our football governing body want to ensure France made it to the World Cup Finals? When something like this happens, we can’t help but think there is something else to it. The handball was so blatant. It was so obvious. It was so disgusting. It shouldn’t have been the deciding factor on such an important night.

Sure Ireland had their chances. They could have finished off the game, but they didn’t. And who knows if they would have won the penalty shoot-out. The point is they were never given the opportunity to get to that point because of an incredibly bad decision by the officials. Boyhood dreams were shattered because someone didn’t do their job. These players have worked hard and tirelessly for their country. It’s more than just the incident itself. It goes beyond what happened on the pitch. I believe a fair result would be for FIFA to arrange a replay of the game. It would set a precedent and perhaps going down this road would open a can of football worms, but surely someone has to be accountable for what happened. The World Cup only comes around every 4 years. The process for qualifying takes 2 years. And in a split second, an entire football team and nation were robbed of the dreams they’ve shared for years as kids and adults.

Did anyone believe we would see the Hand of God Part Deux?

Fabregas the fabulous…

cesc_280x390_901840aFabregas turned on the sexy football against Blackburn this weekend and watching him play was like observing an artist create the perfect painting. It was as though a masterpiece unfolded before your very eyes and witnessing the process felt like something very special. Fabregas made 4 goals, scored a peach of a volley and hit the bar as well. He was simply fabulous. No wonder Barcelona want him so badly.

Fabregas masterminded Arsenal’s performance from start to finish and on a day when Arsene Wenger was celebrating his 13th anniversary as manager, his captain and team did not let him down. Even former captain Thierry Henry was cheering from the stands and marvelling at the Gunners display of beautiful football.

They tore Blackburn to shreds and played their best football so far this season. Sure there were question marks about their defense at times, but Arsenal weathered the storm, stood strong and showed some grit and determination against a very tricky Blackburn team. In seasons past Arsenal could have easily lost a game like this after going 2-1 down, but they had a little something extra this time around and the belief in their ability to win the game was evident. From Fabregas, to Rosicky, to Vermaelen, to Arshavin and even Walcott the sub, Arsenal’s quality and class shone through in abundance.

By the way, I’m wondering if Vermaelen is a better striker than defender? The Belgian international has scored 5 goals in 8 games for Arsenal and is definitely proving to be one of the best summer transfers by a Premier League team. Do you think he’s worth the money so far? How did you rate Fabregas this weekend? If Arsenal play like this, can they win the title? Who scored the better goal, Vermaelen, Fabregas or Bendtner?

It wasn’t a particularly exciting week in the Premier League. Chelsea bounced back really well against Liverpool. The scouse house looked weak again for me and if you look closely, Carragher was responsible for both goals and Gerrard gave the ball away so cheaply in the last 20 minutes of the game. Torres missed a couple of exceptional chances but he just couldn’t find his magic touch today. If Torres isn’t scoring, Liverpool aren’t winning right now. With this loss to Chelsea, are Liverpool’s title hopes over?

Manchester United were lucky to escape with a point. It wasn’t a great performance but it was worth watching the game just to see Berbatov’s goal. It was delicious. Darren Bent’s goal wasn’t bad either and he is proving to be a great signing for Sunderland. United are going to have to play better than that if they want to retain the title. Were they lucky to get a point in your eyes?

Bolton had their best performance in a long time against Tottenham. They deserved the point and really showed some guts in that game. Crouch missed a great opportunity to win the match for Tottenham. Kranjcar was Tottenham’s best player by far and Lennon had another quiet game for the blue side of North London. Not very good in front of Fabio Capello. What did you think of Tottenham this week?

Well done Portsmouth for winning a game. Well done Hull for winning a game. Well done Burnley for continuing to entertain.

Team of the week = Arsenal. How about yours?

Goal of the week = Fabregas volley. How about yours?

Player of the week = Cesc Fabregas

Who will lift the Champions League trophy..?

champions_league_trophyThe two sexiest teams in Europe have a hot date in Rome on Wednesday. But who will come out on top? Manchester United? Barcelona? Let’s hope it’s us fans that are the happiest at the end of the game, for this really is an exciting Champions League final and we hope it lives up to every expectation.

This game will also solidify who the best player in the world is for the 2008/09 season. It’s Ronaldo vs Messi. Have you already decided who is the best? Are you waiting for the game to play out before you choose? Who will rise to the occasion and be crowned king of the soccer world? We all know it takes a team to win, but let’s be honest, everyone will be watching the battle between these two talents to see who shines on the big night.

There’s no doubt the talent on display in this game will be too sexy for the pitch. Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney, Samuel Eto’o, Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry and Yaya Toure can all be match winners for their team. And don’t forget legends like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. Let’s hope all of these players can stay injury free for the final.

This is when the summer starts to sizzle in Europe. As fans, we crave moments like this. My money is on the boys of Manchester to do it all over again…

Ba Ba Barcelona…

Spain Soccer La LigaFor Real Madrid, Saturday’s game against Barcelona was more El Miserablo than El Clasico. For a brief second, it looked like both teams could score lots of goals. But in the end, it was the Catalan Kings that had their happy fans singing well into Sunday morning.

Let’s not beat around the corner flag here people..Barcelona gave their rivals an absolute beating. Raul and co. are probably still applying ailment to help ease the pain after the many lashings they received. Barcelona were sensational. Henry’s performance was vintage Arsenal and Messi was sublime and brilliant as usual. But Xavi and Iniesta tore the Real Madrid midfield apart and proved once again why they are two of the best players in the world. They carved- up Diarra, Gago and Robben like a Christmas turkey and slice by slice we devoured their perfect display of beautiful football. I was stuffed at full-time but could have had plenty more if they were willing to serve it up. Wow.

Next is the Champions League semi-final agains Chelsea. Should the Blues be afraid of getting a football whipping on Wednesday? Will their physical strength see them through to the final in Rome? Will Barcelona choke? Can anyone beat them? Soak it up footie fans. This is the beautiful game at it’s beautiful best and we’ll all be watching.

Legend Eric Cantona…

eric_cantona_caricatureThis week’s legend is French genius Eric Cantona. Before Arsenal played beautiful football, there was King Eric spreading the ball about the pitch as smooth as nutella on a slice of toast. He mesmerized the Old Trafford faithful with his magical feet and unbelievable passion. He made goals, he scored goals, and even created a litte bother along the way.

Long before Zinedine Zidane’s infamous head butt in the World Cup Final, Cantona was doing a little Kung Fu fighting with an abusine Crystal Palace fan. The fan yelled profanities about his mother and before he could yell some more, Cantona took his magical feet to the fan Bruce Lee style. After his moment of madness, Cantona was banned from the game he loves for a good few months. And it wasn’t just Manchester United fans that missed him. Everyone loved to watch the King.

Just who is the greatest player to have served in the Premier League? Zola? Bergkamp? Henry? Giggs? They are all world class players, but did Eric Cantona have that little extra that made him more special? I think he went beyond a footballer and entertainer. Cantona possessed the torture and angst of a great artist. We loved the beast that lived within his footballing soul. He painted beautiful pictures for us with his feet and we couldn’t get enough of him. He powered the Theater of Dreams. Long live the King…