Well, that's only half the story, but yes, the usually uninvolved Arsene Wenger has decided to interfere in player affairs.

Adebayor's celebration this season has largely involved running towards the fans, sliding across the turf on his knees. However, Wenger has asked him not to celebrate in this way because of an incident that happened in 1997 with Patrick Vieira.

Vieira went for exactly the came celebration, but ended up injuring his knee, and spent 5 weeks out. At the time, Arsenal still had David Platt, Manu Petit, Ray Parlour and Gilles Grimandi to provide cover in central midfield, but if Adebayor got injured now, the team would be in serious trouble.

This also reminds me of another incident back in 2000 (or maybe it was 1999), where Thierry Henry ran towards the corner flag to celebrate - he pulled it back, and unfortunately was injured when it rebounded and hit him!

Do you know of any weird celebration related injuries? Let us know below! 

A lot of Arsenal fans are quite happy with the Milan draw. I am too, but because it's going to be a good contest, with brilliant football and matchups, NOT because I think it will be a walkover like others fans seem too. It's a great chance for Arsenal to progress, because playing against a defensive team would be harder, but a lot of people have this perception of AC Milan as being full of "ageing old man" and a one-man-team based on Kaka.

People seem to easily overlook Andrea Pirlo in any mentions, but he's the most important player for them. Kaka is replaceable, and they can win without him, but not without Pirlo. The key is the Kaka-Pirlo-Seedorf trio, because they are constantly operating together all over the pitch. They are not as much of a one-man team as everyone is making them out to be. Kaka and Seedorf drag defenders all over the place, and rarely lose the ball even when under pressure, and Inzaghi is always there waiting to move into the space they create. Gilardino is finally playing well consistently too.

As for Kaka, even though I don't think Milan are a one man team, he's still their best shot at winning matches, and can do so on his own. Arsenal don't have anyone like that in the squad, who can just turn it on and take on the opposition like Thierry Henry used to, so everybody has to be playing well. Let's hope they are.

Milan aren't playing that well, and they generally don't create that many chances, but they have players like Inzaghi, Ronaldo, Kaka and Seedorf on the end of them, and those guys don't miss. Arsenal create loads of chances, but have Adebayor, Hleb, and Rosicky frustratingly missing most of them. Cesc is more clinical this season, but Robin Van Persie will be crucial.

Also, Ronaldo will be fit and ready by then - you can never rule him out, and don't forget about Pato... he is eligible from Jan 3rd onwards, and even though he's still quite raw, he's got amazing natural ability. I saw him play in only his 7th or 8th start for Internacional, and he completely tore Carles Puyol to pieces.

As for Gattuso, he's got a reptuation for being a nutter and a hardman ni midfield, but he's really not that physical. The Premiership offers much tougher tests, and he gets more of a reputation for that than he should, probably because he's such an oddity for an Italian/Serie A player. I was never a big fan of his, but he's worked hard on his game, and his ability to foul tactically is tremendous. Physically, his main asset is the non-stop running, which I guess is Flamini's as well, but Gattuso is much quicker than Flam, and so can press harder and faster. They also play with two defensive midfielders, and Ambrosini is definitely the stronger of the two. If Emerson plays I think Arsenal will take over the midfield, because he's completely past it.

Milan's main weakness is that fact that they don't have any fullbacks. Jankulovski and Oddo are clueless, but love going forward. Maldini and Bonera are basically centrebacks, and are on the slower side. Ancelotti has this really bizarrely weird habit of only playing them in pairs, so it will either be Maldini and Bonera, or Oddo and Jankulovski. They are still class in the centre of defence, but Kaladze has his dodgy moments. Adebayor will be key against them.

Ultimately Arsenal's main strength will be pace, especially with the fullbacks. Even with Jankulovski and Oddo bombing forward, those guys aren't super quick, and Milan don't attack with as much pace (Kaka excepted). I think that's always been Wenger's strength against the Italian teams, especially when he lets them attack with their slow buildup and then massacres them on the counters.

I think Arsene's record against Italian teams so far (post Wembley) is: P 10, W 5, D 3, L 2

That's home wins against Juventus (x2) and Lazio, and wins away to Inter and Roma. The draws were away to Lazio, where we were unlucky to conede an own goal, away to Juve when we had already won 2-0 at Highbury in the first leg, and a really poor 1-1 home draw to Roma after Totti had been sent off. The losses were of course the 3-0 at home to Inter, and the 1-0 away to Juve where we were virtually out of the group stage already, and Thierry Henry missed a penalty.

That's only 3 bad showings in 10 games, and all of those were in the group stages. Arsenal have won all their knockout stage ties against Italian sides, so the signs are good.

Ex-Arsenal "legend" Ian Wright has been talking up Arsenal's chances this season, and about how Thierry Henry's departure was a good thing for the team:

"Thierry had an influence in the dressing room which was becoming too stifling for a lot of people...That showed in the way he played sometimes because he had his arms flailing and was upset with what they were doing. I think his departure was great for the club because a lot of players are coming out of their shells. Everybody's playing with more freedom and they all want to be the man by doing their bit."

Which is all well and good, except for what you said earlier in the season Wrighty:

"However, I think the hole left by Thierry Henry is just too big.

I was obviously sad to see him leave this summer. It’s not just his goals that will be missed but his presence as well. Any Arsenal fans who thought his departure would not cause a problem were kidding themselves."

So then you're not an Arsenal fan? Make sure you have someone to help you clean up the egg off your face.

Remember that old saying - "Empty vessels make the most noise"? Well he's is a perfect example of it (just listen to him on the radio, or see him as a pundit if you need more proof).

Arsenal have signed 24 year old Croatian striker Eduardo da Silva for the usual "undisclosed" fee. In this case, I would think it is lower, rather than higher... probably in the range of £6-8 million. Arsenal have finally signed a "Fox In The Box", because that seems to be this guy's speciality - headers, left footers, right footers, he seems very composed and clinical in the box, and that is what the Arse have been missing. They don't need anymore players to dribble past 3-4 guys and hit a curling wonder goal, they need someone to pick up the scraps from all of that, and this guy seems like the business. Here:

Da Silva, who came to Croatia from Brazil when he was 15, has been prolific in the Croatian league, scoring 73 goals in just 104 appearances for Dinamo Zagreb, and 10 goals in 15 games when on loan at Inter Zaprešić. Since taking Croatian citizenship in 2002, his national team career has been very impressive as well - he's scored 7 in 12 games for Croatia, and previously had 8 in 12 for the Croatian U-21s. Incidentally, Eduardo was also the first player to score at the Emirates Stadium in a competitive match, when Dinamo Zagreb played Arsenal in Champions League qualifying.

A lot of fans will be underwhelmed by this, when they were expecting an Eto'o or Torres or someone big (that's not to say that no one else will be signed), and despite his goalscoring record, he obviously is not a proven talent. Still, I have a good feeling about this, because from what i've seen, he really does know how to score goals... and remember, the problem for Arsenal has not been creating chances, it's been putting them away. In Da Silva, Arsene has bought the most conventional striker he's seen in years.

There's also of course the worry that he might be another Bosko Balaban. Yes, the wonderfully alliteratively named Croatian, who top scored in the league for Dinamo Zagreb, and scored 5 goals in 8 matches in World Cup 2002 qualifying. Aston Villa snapped him up for £5.8 million, and he scored precisely ZERO goals for them, got homesick, and ended up leaving on a free transfer a year later. Buttttttttttttttttt, let's try and be optimistic.

In anycase, Balaban might not be the only striker signed. Arsenal lost 3 forwards this summer (Thierry Henry, Jeremie Aliadiere and Julio Baptista), and they have only brought 2 in so far (Eduardo Da Silva, and Niclas Bendtner has returned from his loand spell), so there is certainly room for one more.

And this interview with Cesc Fabregas's agent seems to indicate the same. He was being asked about whether Cesc wanted to join Real or Barca, or leave Arsenal because of Henry's departure, but said that Cesc wanted to stay and was looking forward to the new season, because Arsenal were going to sign lots of new players. Quotes are below:

"Thierry was a very important player for them and it is normal that now he is no longer there, everyone thinks it is very bad news for the club.

But Arsenal are going to buy a lot of good players and they are going to be a major team both in the Premier League and Champions League.

Without Thierry, Cesc is one of the best players at Arsenal and this is fine for him, he is happy with the responsibility."

Barca's radio station, Cadena Ser has announced that Henry has signed for Barcelona for 4 years, for €24 million.

Sad if it's true, and many Arsenal fans will not be very happy with Henry.

The most frustrating thing is that there doesn't seem to be any sign of Eto'o coming the other way, and the fee that we're receiving for Henry is pitiful considering a player of his stature. He signed for just under £11 million, and he's being sold for about £16 million.

I don't think there's any question that he needed to go, because he was making his position at the club very difficult with his comments about David Dein and all the goings-on. It's not what you expect from a player committed to the club, and most definitely not the captain of Arsenal Football Club.

Last season, when Henry wasn't injured, he seemed to not care much. Many speculated that his heart was elsewhere, but by the end of the season, with both our top strikers out, fans were desperate enough to believe whatever excuses were on offer.

I can't really hold any grudges against Thierry for what he's given to the club, but the way in which he's behaved over the last year has been awful, and a bit reminescent of Patrick Vieira. He's openly flirted with other clubs, made vague and misleading statements, and set an awful example for the younger players. His comments about people within the club (and allusions to some of his teammates) have been very destabilising, and it's hard to take many positives from these events. He had almost become another Mr. Arsenal, and his lack of honesty more than anything else has been most frustrating.

I'm sure Arsene Wenger has a plan, and to be honest after his absences over the whole of last season, the team has learnt how to play without Henry, and to be honest, played better without him on many occassions.

But Arsenal is a big club, and needs its star power, so a big name will have to come in. Will it be Torres? Will it be Eto'o? At least we know what Arsene Wenger was meeting Barcelona for, but hopefully he will not be following TH over there.

It's a testing time for Le Professeur as well... he's lost his main ally David Dein, he's lost his two major protegees in the last two years (Vieira and Henry), and with all the politics at the club I suspect there might be doubts over his future as well. Maybe Henry knew that Wenger wouldn't be there to take care of his future after this season?

 

Fucking rubbish news if it's true, but France Football is reporting that Thierry Henry has reached a 3-year agreement with Barcelona after meeting with their officials in the South of France. This is an odd one from FF, because they are usually very good and reputable, and don't do large scale speculation like the rags. But they've really nailed their colours to the mast with this one, because it's their cover story:

Again, all this has been complicated by a statement from Henry's agent Jerome Anderson read out soon after saying that the article is pure bullshit, that Henry hasn't been to the South of France in years, and that they are conisdering legal action.

Let's see what unfolds, but after very bold moves from Henry in backing the departed David Dein and criticising some aspects of the team in an exclusive interview, this is an equally bold move from the usualy reserved and reliable France Football. It's nervy for everyone, and not what you wan't to see from your captain. I hope he stays, but if this is all part of some game, then things will be very, very bitter.

Those of you who've watched Arsenal this season, will have known the eventual outcome within 15 minutes of the start of yesterday's game against West Ham. It was the same old story. Arsenal created a glut of chances and didn't score. You wondered whether West Ham would pinch one off a counter-attack, and sure enough on the stroke of half-time they did. And then Arsenal continued to create a glut of chances but to no avail. SAME. OLD. STORY. One-nil not to the Arsenal.

There was all the intricate passing, pretty football, and scintillating build-up play and movement that you'd expect of Arsene Wenger's sides, but nothing at the end of it. To take Arjun's “just can't score” metaphor a step farther, this Arsenal team have all the foreplay imaginable, but when it comes down to getting the job done, they just can't raise themselves to the task. There's far too much fannying around, and the look completely impotent without their big guns. Excuse me for that series of puntences please. I just couldn't help myself.

The point is that Arsenal can't really find a goal from anywhere at the moment with Robin Van Persie and Thierry Henry both out for the rest of the season. Judging by his overall lack of mobility and effectiveness, Julio Baptista has proved to be more of an “immovable object” than an “unstoppable force” - talk about the biggest let down of the season.

Emmanuel Adebayor, is always a threat, but is not prolific, and can't be expected to shoulder the goalscoring burden alone for long periods. He does so much, so well, but needs people around him to finish. Aliadiere? Well he's quick, slippery, works hard and holds up the ball well, but has all the threat and accuracy of a water pistol. And that's about it.

It was a 3^rd straight league defeat, and things are becoming pretty serious now. They are 5 points behind Liverpool, and 3 ahead of Bolton, and barely clinging onto that last Champions League spot with a game in hand. The problem is that there is absolutely nothing to look forward to in terms of personnel, because everyone who could be fit right now is fit, they're just not good enough to score goals, and ultimately that is the basis of football. Wenger might wax lyrical about how Cesc, Hleb, Rosicky, Denilson and Freddie pass and move and dribble, and how unlucky Arsenal are to not be winning, but he's not fooling anyone. It's the old cliché of “goals win games”, except by having a team devoid of finishers, he's in a way responsible for them being unlucky. Some solution will have to be found to solve this problem for the remaining league games, then come the summertime, it's time for some investment.

With Arsenal's most potent strikeforce consigned to treatment tables for the rest of the season, nostalgia has taken over amongst the fans, who tired of the tootless duo of Julio Baptista and Jeremie Aliadiere, have glossed over the problems in the partnership between Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie, and decided that they are in-fact Batman and Robin.

Well, there is no doubt that if Van Persie and Henry were still fit and playing, that Arsenal would be in at least 1 of the 2 remaining cup competitions, and playing much more imposingly in the league. But as a pair, it is very hard to judge if they combine well or not, especially since they are both such brilliant individual talents, but not always the best fit for each other.

Well, here are the statistics i've collected below, and hopefully you guys can draw your own conclusions:

Games Started Together: 15 (won 8, drawn 3, lost 4)
Goals scored in those games: 24
Games in which both have scored: 2
Goals scored by Van Persie: 6
Goals scored by Henry: 8 (2 pen)
Assists by Van Persie for Henry: 1 (1 pen)
Assists by Henry for Van persie: 1 (1 pen)

Van Persie - All Appearances (starts + subs): 31 (25+6)
Total goals scored by Van Persie: 13 (1 pen)
Assists by Van Persie: 8 (3 pen)

Henry - All Appearances (starts + subs): 27 (24+3)
Total goals scored by Henry: 12 (2 pen)
Assists by Henry: 4 (1 pen)

* note that for assists, pen = when that player was brought down and a penalty was awarded

Well, closest to home, Arsenal lost 1-0 to PSV in Eindhoven and have it all to do now. They dominated the first half, probably should have scored at least one, if not two, and then started to get sloppy in the second half and Edison Mendez fired a longe range shot in. It was very shabby all in all, the defence just let him have a go and Lehmann didn't react at all. The shot wasn't the greatest, but it did the job. The Arse tried to forward, and PSV looked very threatening on the counter-attack. That worries me for the second leg, because PSV are very clever and adept, and they will probably adopt the same strategy of trying to hit Arsenal on the break, and being very stubborn to break down. One away goal and, in my mind, the tie is over. Arsenal look a bit tired, bereft of attacking threat, and most importanly Thierry Henry is in his worst patch of form since joining the club. He doesn't look confident, he can't outrun people, can't beat them, is showing a very sloppy touch, and generally doesn't look like threatening or brilliant. It doesn't help that he seems petulant, disaffected and a bit disinterested. Maybe he needs a rest, maybe he needs to be tripped off the armband, maybe he needs a good telling off, but realistically none of those are going to happen because with Robin Van Persie out, and Julio Baptista showing all the touch and composure of a boxer, he has to play. But quite honestly this season, we have played some of our best stuff without him, and he really hampers the team on days like this. Last season, and at several points over his Arsenal career, he has carried the team, but right now the team has to carry him, and the weight seems to be too much to bear. Hopefully he can reach into that moody mind of his and bring out that fire that seems to be lacking.

At Parkhead, Celtic played out a 0-0 draw at home to AC Milan, and I think that's a great result for them. Milan are having a terrible season domestically, and are under pressure to do well in the Champions League. Wee Gordon Strachan has got his team playing decently, and with committment, physicality and Shunsuke Nakamura, Celtic have every chance of making it through. The Scots play very "British" football - they will fight for everything, never give up, and with Nakamura there is always the danger of them scoring from a free-kick, or having the Japan international create chances for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink or Jiri Jarosik. If they score first, they will fight unbelievably to try and hold on, and if Milan score first you can be sure they'll sweat blood trying to equalise. Either way that away goal will be important, and I see Milan having to score at least 2 to go through.

In Madrid, two ailing European giants squared up against each other. Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 3-2, but those two away goals are crucial for the Germans. Both teams are former European champions, and stalwarts in the Champions League, but they are struggling badly in their respective leagues. Real have always been known for patches of comedy and inconsistency, but Bayern have always had a reputation for consistency and toughness. This year both are hovering around the top of their leagues, but unable to seriously challenge for anything. The Real circus has proved very difficult to stop, and Bayern have attempted to rectify things by bringing back the legendary Ottmar Hitzeld, their former coach and man who has won two Champions League titles. Raul scored 2 and Ruud van Horsefacerooij the other as Real went up 3-1 in the first half, Lucio had briefly answered for the Bavarians. But if Bayern were sloppy in the first, then Real were in the second, and they conceded a very late goal, Mark van Bommel scoring to make it 3-2. That's a significant away goal advantage, and I think Bayern can pinch the goal they need. Real are on the way down - Capello has been unpopular and not too effective, and has allegedly tried to hand in his resignation, but Hitzfeld has only just arrived in Munich and is still working his magic. By the time March 7 rolls around I expect Bayern will be in much better shape.

And lastly to Lille, and the most controversial game of the round so far. Man United won 1-0 right at the death with a quickly-taken free-kick that Lille were very unhappy about. The Lille players walked off the pitch in protest, and there was chaos everywhere. The fans were enraged and throwing things on the field, and it was not just Giggs' goal that made them unhappy, but the fact that Peter Odemwingie had had what seemed like a perfectly good header disallowed for a foul earlier in the match. It was a game that Lille had been brightest in, driving forward and attacking United's goal, but eventually United had more experience and solidity. You can't really blame them for taking a quick free-kick because the referee allowed them too, but at the same time the referee did not do a particularly good job. I still think it's not over for Lille, and the second leg will be interesting because Lille are a very, very feisty side. Having conceded an away goal, they will have nothing to lose, so the second leg in Manchester looks like it will be a very, very exciting game.

France played Argentina in a friendly on Wednesday, that failed to really deliver as much excitement as it could have. France were bright throughout the game, and attacker purposefully, but were wasteful and lacked an end product. Argentine didn't really have much position, but were very alert and sharp on the counter-attack, and once they took an early lead through Saviola, the game sort of balanced on that premise - France trying to drive forward, and Argentina content to sit tight and attack on the break, and in the end nothing more came of it. 1-0 to the South Americans.

The goal was a mixture of good play, and good luck. Saviola played a lovely backheel for Zanetti to run on to, and he in turn crossed the ball across the face of goal. The ball eventually landed at the feet of Saviola via a few scuffles and rebounds, and he fired it in.

For France, there were good performances, but like I've said already, the team ended up doing nothing, so they didn't count for much. Without Zizou, Thierry Henry is a different player, coming deep to get the ball, creating the play; finally after so many years, Zidane has gone and now it is Henry's France, but what is so ironic is that after so many years of it being Henry's Arsenal, it is now Fabregas's Arsenal, and Thierry's style of play has changed a lot.

But Vieira was a huge presence - style, skill, strength, all combined. Ribery was very lively, but very raw. Sagnol who is supposed to be such a good crosser wasted loads of opportunities. In defence, the inexperienced pair of Squillacci and Escude did OK. Malouda was very good, going forward and combining well, and pitching in all around. Trezeguet, well what can you say about him... he tries hard, and he is a brilliant finisher, but he needs service, and he got none today, so effectively he was useless. Anelka came on as late sub, but did nothing but get a yellow card after getting into tussle because a couple of defenders kicked him. I was hoping Flamini would make his first appearance for France, but he didn't - hopefully he will have more chances.

I didn't really see any outstanding performances from the Argentines - Lucho was everywhere, but had a tough time up against Vieira. Cambiasso was hard-working but ineffective, and Crespo although adept and alert didn't really get any service. It was nice to see Javier Zanetti back in the team, and he was very bright. There was a lot of good play on that side of the pitch with both Zanetti and Malouda working up and down. Saviola did well and showed some nice dribbling throughout the game. Gago was very good, neat touches, a few tricks, and good awareness. Argentina suffered from a lack of width, and to be honest playing 3 defensive/deep-lying midfielders in Lucho, Cambiasso and Gago was always going to make it a drab game.

I'm saving the last word for Ayala. The old guy (who will be joining Villareal in the summer) had a good game, but showed some exceptional streaks of cunning and dirtiness. At one point Henry nutmegged him on the left flank and tried to run past, and wily Ayala blocked him. If this foul wasn't enough, Ayala also cheekily swung his back leg up and around, giving Henry a little kick in the ribs and trying to make it look like it was his running stride. Later, when Anelka was brought down by Heinze (or Milito?), Ayala contributed with a nice little kick on L'Enfant Terrible. Still, his defending was excellent, and he is one of those guys who just reads the game brilliantly. He's old now, and he was never the biggest or quickest defender, so we are seeing the end of him these days.

Good luck to him in his European retirement spell at Villareal. It will be a big, big loss for Valencia for whom he has been such a big character for so many years, and they will really need to sign a good commanding centre-back this summer. Marchena doesn't really look good enough.