To The End

Tuesday, 30 June 09, 07:45 AM · Comments(0)

What about the tennis then? I got in from work, had dinner, watched Andy Murray and then I went to bed. Makes you wonder why this roof wasn't put in place a long time back. But what a thriller it was, you could see both men were gone by the end of it. It just came down to who was less gone and that was Andy Murray. What drama

Moving on, where are we in Arsenal world today?

Well, it seems that Felipe Melo is not interested in joining Arsenal, just yet anyway. He has agreed a one year contract extension with Fiorentina, it seems Gilberto's powers of persuasion just weren't enough for him.

Andrey Arshavin has said that he would be "really happy" to have the chance to play for Barcelona. As would 99.9% of the footballers on the planet. I guess the difference here is that Arshavin probably is good enough to ply his trade at Camp Nou. Even so, it's not a chance I think he'll be allowed in the near future even if he hasn't fallen victim to the loaded question converted into next days headline ploy so beloved of sports editors the world over.

And with that, I've probably given that little piece too much brain space, so I'll move on to eight concrete departures, the most high profile- well, I say high profile- of which is Amaury Bischoff. Yes, simmer down, dry your eyes, the "gamble" taken by the gaffer last summer has come to nought. It's difficult to get excited really, I mean I saw his spectacular goal against Fulham reserves, but if he couldn't get near the first team last year, pre Arshavin and with lengthy injuries to Walcott and Rosicky, there wasn't much you could hope for. Likewise, Rui Fonte was a name I kept expecting to see in the Carling Cup squads for the last couple of years, but it never really happened for him either. When you consider the amount of talent barring Jay Simpson (who apparently had some attitude problems at West Brom, or so I am informed) and his route to the first team, it's clear that Fonte was never going to cut it here.

Also on the departurtes list are Abu Ogogo, Rene Steer, Vincent van den Berg, Anton Blackwood and Paul Rodgers, last seen thrashing about at Turf Moor as Burnley put us out of the Carling Cup. I suppose the departure of 8 youngsters will free up some serious cash for the boss eh? Or is it the high maintenance youngsters in the first team that are the problem?

Although 8 of the boys have been let go, there are 4 who survive to try and make their way into the Arsenal first team squad as professionals; they are Luke Ayling, James Shea, Craig Eastmond and Cedric Evina- a 17 year old Frenchman affiliated with the club since he was 9. I hadn't realised we caught them that young..

There seems to be some speculation that Stuttgart's Serdar Tasci is seen as the man to replace Kolo Toure, should Kolo be ending his long term stay in North London. Now, I ask you, in the name of all things sane, does replacing an experienced centre back with a youngster with just over 100 appearances to his name sound like an Arsène Wenger move? I mean, come on...

Enjoy your (hot) afternoon.

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