I, like many Gooners out there can’t wait for this season to kickoff. Despite the several taunts from those folks that never mind their fucking business, Arsenal has shown great ambition in this transfer window, signing three players that have added great quality and of course, quantity to the club.
It has been reported that Frodo Baggins…Santi Cazorla has flown to Deutschland to meet up with his new teammates as they gear up for their final pre-season fixture against recently relegated FC Cologne.
However, it’s Arsenal’s German contingent that have been on the spotlight lately. For starters, this fixture against FC Cologne will mean a lot to Lukas Podolski, as he faces off against the team that granted him his football education and welcomed him back with open arms after his disappointing spell in Bayern Munich.
Podolski has stated that he’s settling well at Arsenal and he’s already relishing the prospect of playing in the Rhein-Energie Stadion one more time before jetting back to London with the rest of the squad. He had declared a few weeks back that he’s ready to give his all for the Red and White and he’ll give 110% in any position he’ll be deployed in this season.
Podolski adds versatility to his game that is already renowned for his venomous shooting, clinical finishing and balanced efficiency in his play. I was on a personal scouting mission on Podolski during the Euros and I was very impressed with the way he offered great support to Phillip Lahm during his forays forward. Crowning his 100th cap against Denmark with his 44th international goal was certainly something to savor.
I’m looking forward to seeing Podolski don the Red and White but I’m still puzzled why he hasn’t been assigned with a jersey number with the Premier League’s curtain raiser around the horizon. Some believe that he’s waiting patiently for Robin van Persie to relinquish the No. 10 jersey by making a move elsewhere but I’ve had mixed emotions over RVP in recent times.
I was among the first set of Gooners to pick up stones to pelt at him after he made that statement but with moves abroad not seeming likely, I think he’ll be better suited with Arsenal than their Premier League rivals from Manchester.
Per Mertesacker also earned a place in the spotlight as well with his recent comments about the club. He has a good first season by my books and I’m pretty sure that he’ll be mindful when playing in the Stadium of Light, as it was the ground that drew the curtains on his first campaign with his new club.
Despite several headed attempts, his Arsenal goalscoring account still remains frozen, and I’m sure that he’ll like to rectify that in the new campaign. Ze Big Fuckin Giant has stated that the team is better than the way they were last season (duhhh!!) and he hopes to play a vital role in ending the much talked-about trophy drought.
In my opinion, it would take some stuffing for Mertesacker to displace Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny but we can only hope that Wenger would rotate the squad efficiently this season. In the yesteryear, many Gunners (Flamini, Wilshere, you name it!) had suffered long-term injuries due to fatigue and I hope that Wenger would get the balance right this season.
Competition for places always brings out the best in players but when some are assured about their places, complacency starts creeping in.
Moving over to this morning’s dose of transfer speculation, I’ll start with the good…better news.
Theo Walcott’s future will be decided soon as he’s bracing up to sign a new long-term contract with the club. The wages haven’t been announced yet but it’s a really sigh of relief knowing that Walcott is going to remain at the Emirates for the foreseeable future. However, those famzers at Liverpool aren’t giving up on signing him yet.
Caen’s Mbaye Niang was fabled to arrive at the Emirates for trails a few weeks ago but other European predators stuck in their noses to hijack the deal. The latest update on this young bloke is that AC Milan are the new favorites to get him in the bag. Yes, Arsene Wenger likes him and he’s tipped for great things but I’m okay with Milan sniffing around for this protegeé.
The lost owl, Andrey Arshavin, is going to have a meeting with the Arsenal hierarchy to decide his fate at the club. Arshavin isn’t in anyone’s good books right now, and Zenit isn’t keen on re-signing him after his harsh comments about how he didn’t give two fledgling fucks on how the Russian fans felt.
He has been strongly linked with a move to Turkish giants, Galatasaray, but no official bid has been made yet. We’ve also learned that QPR is in for the Russian magician as well.
Even if he plays like a lackadaisical and lethargic bitch, I have a thing for Arshavin because he’s a player that can produce those moments of magic for you when the chips are down. He’ll be a great asset to have on the bench but the ball remains in Arsenal’s court.
Moving over to the bad…not too good news, some Spanish media vultures have published a troubling article on how Alex Song has agreed personal terms with Barcelona, and the only left is for both parties to agree on a transfer fee. I really hate the way Barcelona sniffs around Arsenal’s players in their bids to unsettle them, and the Zombie, Andres Iniesta, has started talking about how Song has Barca DNA as well.
I won’t say much on this Song issue but if I had a chance to talk to that midfielder with a tarantula on his head, I’ll ask him to look vividly at Barcelona to know how his fellow African brothers (Eto’o, Keita, Yaya Toure) fared there.
A word is enough for the wise, as they say.
There’s also some bullcrap about how van Persie is “desperate” to join Manchester United.
This is actually the part where I act like Pete Edochie and scream,
“YOU DONT MEAN IT”
Work beckons.
Sayonara.
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