Under – 21’s, Arshavin, The Other Samir, Melo and Henri Lansbury

  

Concerning Arsenal (In Brief)

• England Under 21’s beat Sweden 3 – 3 (5-4 pen) with Walcott and Gibbs each scoring their spot kicks.
• Andrei Arshavin has sacked his agent Dennis Lachter, and will now represent himself.
• Samir Carruthers, (A member of our under – 16’s) has decided to move to Aston Villa instead of signing a new contract.
• Felipe Melo is going to wait until after the Confederations Cup final with Brazil, before deciding his future.
• Scunthorpe United are interested on taking Henri Lansbury back on loan next season.

Concerning England Under – 21’s

Future England Player

England took the lead in the first half, but the Swedes came back to level in the second, forcing the match to go to extra time and penalties. Walcott and Gibbs both converted their spot kicks, in a penalty shoot-out which England eventually won. Unfortunately, Joe Hart, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Frazier Campbell will all miss the final against Italy or Germany. Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs look almost certain to be included in the stating eleven.

 

Concerning Andrei Arshavin

Who can forget the game at Anfield? Four!!!!

Surprisingly, our number 23 has fired his agent Dennis Lachter, and has opted to represent himself. This is a strange move considering it was Lachter who helped him in his transfer to Arsenal in January. Andrei said:

“Recently I sent a formal letter to Dennis Lachter, which said that I do not want him to continue to represent me and that I will act on my own behalf,”
“This is no way associated with my Arsenal contract. On the contrary, I want to express my deep gratitude for Lachter’s help in moving to the English club.

“But now I am having operational problems and Dennis, who has a newborn son, lives in Israel and cannot always be close to me, so it is easier to solve all these problems myself.”

Good riddance, now we’ll have one less agent to start exit rumours this transfer window, and probably the next few. With Arshavin stating that he would like to end his career back at Zenit, you can’t help to but get a feeling like another “transfer saga” is just around the corner. Maybe firing Lachter will make up for all the money he lost from taxes in the UK? It’s a thought eh! (Canada eh!)

 

Concerning Samir Carruthers

Under – 16 winger Samir Carrthers has decided to leave the Arsenal Academy and move to Aston Villa. He obviously isn’t good enough or we would have put up a fight to keep him. He seems to think he will get more first team chances at Villa and that they have better youth facilities. You have to be joking! We have the best academy in England and no other top club relies so much on youth players. Good luck Samir, but next time don’t cover up your lack of talent with a “I’m too good for Arsenal” story.

 

Concerning Felipe Melo

Melo, who is currently on international duty with Brazil at the Confederations Cup, will wait till after the final go decide his future. Apparently he is happy at Fiorentina, but doesn’t rule out a move to London. He would be a great addition to the squad, but for 15 Million Pounds, you have to wonder about better options. How about Gallas + cash, seeing as he wants to leave Arsenal anyway. They’re in the market for a defender, and Gallas only has a few good years left in him, were as Senderos, who they are reportedly interested in, and has tons of future potential.

 

Concerning Henri Lansbury

Back out on loan?

Scunthorpe United have expressed interest in signing Henri back on loan for next season:

“We have asked Arsenal the question about Henri”

“And my understanding is they would be quite happy for him to come back here if they decide to release him on loan again. Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham have all looked closely at what we do with players we take on loan.

“But as far as Henri is concerned, he will train with the first team squad at Arsenal for the first month when the players report back for the new season. Then the club will make a decision as to whether he goes back out on loan again.”

I have no objection to him returning to Scunthorpe. He played well during his last loan spell, scoring several times. For a while, it didn’t seem like Henri would ever make it big, with all the spot lights being focused on Wilshere, but he’s changed my opinion and he was even included in the FA Youth Cup final squad. I would be not at all surprised if Henri became a first team member in the next two or three years.

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Cesc, Ade, and The Under – 21’s. “The Usual”

Concerning Cesc Fabregas

 

 

The Captain has again had to deny reports from the media suggesting he will be moving to Spain any time soon:

 

“I’m not sure how many times I need to talk directly about my commitment to Arsenal as I continue to say the same thing over and over again, but it appears that every time I have spoken to the Spanish media recently, my words have bounced back to England, leaving question marks about my future.

“So, for anyone who is unclear or may have misunderstood what my position is, let me make myself absolutely crystal clear. I am wholeheartedly committed to Arsenal and my future lies with this great Club.

“It is a fact that we have not won a trophy for four years and yes, I am angry about that, but that anger stems from the deep deep desire I have to win things with Arsenal. I care about this Club and believe in this team. I am proud to captain this team and proud to wear the shirt. It really upsets me when people express my thoughts otherwise. The spirit in this squad is fantastic and we have the ability and mentality to compete on all fronts for silverware. Make no mistake, we are focussed and determined to show that we are capable of achieving great things together.”

 

This is reassuring to hear, because if Fabregas were to leave, many others would follow. Giving him the armband was clearly a strategic move by Wenger to fight of interest from Barcelona and Madrid, and it seems to be working. We all except him to end his career there, and if were lucky, we will see him stay for another 5 – 8 years. This is dependant of course on the clubs ambitions, and the trophy cabinet. He also sounds like he’s getting a little desperate. There’s no harm in that. A little desperation would do this squad loads of good.

In other Fabregas related news, Spain has been knocked out of the Confederations Cup by underdogs USA. This gives him a chance to take a break before pre-season training, and might put an and to his exit rumours. At least for a few days…

Concerning Transfers

Emmanuel Adebayor; Any Buyers?

It seems like Adebayor is less likely to play for Arsenal next season, with every passing day. Milan are interested, as talks with Edin Dzeko haven’t made progress, and the clubs administrator, Adriano Galliani said:

“We are only looking for a forward, and our aim is Dzeko.

“If we fail to get Dzeko then (Sevilla striker) Luis Fabiano could be an alternative – as could Adebayor.”

Unfotunatly for us, if he were to leave, we may have to keep searching for a new target as Marouane Chamakh is apparently close to signing an extension with Bordeaux.

No news is good news? I have nothing to report involving Felipe Melo, which isn’t always a bad thing. The only other player we’ve been linked with is Sebastien Bassong, who would only fit in as a squad player anyway.

Concerning England Under – 21

Take it easy, just don't follow Bendtners example...

Arsenal have to players representing England in the under – 21 Championship. One, being Kieran Gibbs, has performed extremely well, scoring two goals in the friendly against Azerbaijan. The other, being the highly rated Theo Walcott, who has underperformed and was even benched in one game. Recently he said:

“Of course I was angry to be left out of the Spain game. I took it out on the pitch and let my feet do the talking because I wanted to show what I can do coming off the bench.

“I wasn’t happy because I came here to play. The manager spoke to me afterwards and I spoke to him.

It’s sort of ironic that Arsene Wenger wanted Walcott not to participate in the Under – 21’s, and then he gets benched. At least when he’s a sub he’s not tiring himself ahead of pre-season. You do have to give him some credit for what he’s saying, because his participation in the tournament is almost like a favour to Stuart Pearce, the Under – 21 manager. I would be pissed too if i were in his shoes…

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