Gooner Daily

*wipes dust and cobwebs from blog* 

*coughs profusely*

There hasn’t been some blogging activity here in recent days and like Arsenal’s transfer dealings this summer, the reasons for my leave of absence are undisclosed. -________-

To be brutally honest, nothing has happened much since I was out.

On the international scene, my Nigeria was dumped out of the Confederations Cup after a Jordi Alba-inspired victory for Spain and the world has been spared of the aberration which could also be known as Tahiti’s performance in the tournament.

OMG! There’s a carpenter between the sticks and a bricklayer on the right wing. Of course there’s the high school striking (still better than Marouane Chamakh) and that good ol’ gardener in attacking midfield. Super Story.

In the other group, Japan and Mexico crashed out of the tournament and one of the highlights of the Japs’ campaign was the enthralling 4-3 defeat to Italy – the kinda game that makes the hair at the back of one’s neck stand.

The first semifinal match took place last night with the hosts, Brazil, seeing out eternal rivals, Uruguay, in a game Diego Forlan would want to forget but on the bright side, no one was bitten by Luis Suarez. Those Aliens from Iberia take on the team they trounced in the Euro 2012 final and we all hope to see a better performance from the Ities, even if we all have a hunch who the eventual winner would…could be.

Moving over to more Arsenal-related issues, a couple of sites have released pictures of what would be the Gunners’ away kit for the forthcoming campaign, as the home kit looks set to be retained.

This may be one of the numerous photoshopped pictures we’ve seen in the past but I have a hunch that it could be the real deal. The official away kit will be released soon but this classic yellow jersey with a blue trim on the collar and at the end of the sleeves reminds me of Arsenal’s O2-sponsored away kit of the Invincibles season.

Many Gooners will have mixed opinions about the jersey, if this is what we are going to settle for. While some are happy to see a vintage Arsenal away color back after last season’s Purple and Black Rain Pain, some feel that Nike has lost their mojo and are waiting patiently for the Puma deal to come to fruition in the start of the 2014/15 campaign for the financial implications.

Should Arsenal conclude the kit sponsorship deal with Puma, it would make the end of a 20-year spell with Nike and in my honest opinion, I’ve seen and bought some lovely kits while I’ve been quite perplexed with some of Nike’s designs in the past as well.

Let’s keep our fingers cross as we wait patiently for the club to release the official away kit for the 2013/14 season. Dunno about you but I’m gonna get me one.

Moving on to more important news, Arsenal fans have been anticipating the potential arrival of Real Madrid’s goal poacher, Gonzalo Higuain, after the Telegraph had reported that the Gunners made a bid in excess of 22 million pounds. Shortly afterwards, the Guardian quoted that the player had agreed personal terms with the club and it was believed that he was set to be among the highest earners at the club.

Apparently, everyone has an opinion in regard to his potential move to Arsenal and I wasn’t surprised when his father, Jorge Higuain, stated that there’s a possibility of the forward joining Juventus, even though they’ve completed the signing of Argentine hot-head, Carlos Tevez, who would fight for places in attack with new signing, Fernando Llorente, as well as incumbent strikers like Alessandro Matri, Mirko Vuninic, Fabio Quagliarella and to a reasonable extent, Sebastian Giovinco.

Out of the blue, Gonzalo’s brother, Nicolas Higuain, has quelled “daddy’s quotes” and he stated that lil’ ol’ Gonzalo will be joining Arsenal after all,

‘If Tevez joins Juve, is Higuain closer to Arsenal? I think so.

‘Juventus is a great club, but Gonzalo is too expensive for them.

‘Napoli are a strong team. Having said that, I cannot deny that Gonzalo is now close to Arsenal.’

When we thought we’ve heard it all, the Times has cooked up a ludicrous story stating that Real Madrid’s new boss, Carlo Ancelotti, is set to offer Fabio Coentrao and yours truly, Gonzalo Higuain, as bait to land Welsh sensation, Gareth Bale. Firstly, I’d learned that Madrid publicly reserved the No. 11 jersey for Bale, now this?

With Barcelona tying up a deal for Neymar, it was believed that their fierce title-chasing rivals were on the look out for a mega signing. Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale were linked to the Spanish outfit but the Tottenham president, Daniel Levy, placed a mammoth price tag on his most prized asset. Swap exchange deals have become part and parcel of the beautiful game and Arsenal had a first-hand experience of this kind of business when that mercenary William Gallas came to North London in a deal that saw Ashley Cole go the other way.

Whether this recent development in the Higuain saga has an element of truth or is just plain bollocks, we will have to keep our fingers crossed as things progress.

With Manchester City losing out to Chelsea in sealing a deal for Edinson Cavani, I won’t be surprised if they poke their noses to potentially hijack Gonzalo Higuain from all his suitors. They certainly have the financial power to make a punt for the Argentine goal getter.

I will monitor the Higuain situation closely and I will give more updates as they happen.

Elsewhere, Arsenal are set to offload their longest-serving player, Johan Djourou, to some Bundesliga teams while Zenit St. Petersburg are odds on to revive Andrey Arshavin’s dead football career. Fairytale stuff for hobbit-sized Russian.

Bonus Reading: Casting Arsenal Players as Hollywood Movie Characters. Trust me, it’s worth a read.

It’s good to be back doing what I love.

Sayonara.

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