Could summer '09 be the most settled at Arsenal since...Forever?

I'm feeling strangely optimistic about Arsenal at the moment. Almost content. It's almost as good as eating BBQ spare ribs and I love BBQ spare ribs. Loads.

Fingers crossed the media have given up on bitching about Arsenal. It'd make a change! At present it seems that they are focused on John Terry filling his wallet even more at Manchester City.

I hope this rumour goes on throughout the summer. Let Chelsea be unsettled for a change. It makes me wonder though, why would John Terry want to join City? The obvious choice is money.

Maybe his mother's thieving sprees at M&S aren't bringing in the readies as much anymore so he needs a more legit way to earn his dough. He has a 50% stake you see.

Something else I'm fed up with hearing is that Chelsea were robbed against Barcelona last season. Now they know how M&S feel after Terry's mum has been in there.

As I say, long may it continue. The robbing sprees and links to City are keeping the media off our backs and it is as refreshing as that first pint after work on a Friday.

Back to Arsenal I get the vibe that there is real harmony in the squad at the moment. It gives me a warm feeling inside. Not that sicky feeling when you are pissed and the room is spinning but a nice one.

In recent weeks we've had a number of players signing new contracts and I think there is a real bond at the club at the moment. If we can keep everyone, even that useless more off-side than not tosswank Adebayor and add one or two more then we have a real chance next season.

I really believe that. I look at the squad and I'm so excited. With that little extra I might even piss my pants with excitement.

This summer could the most settled at Arsenal since Wenger was appointed manager. The first I can remember that I'm not shitting myself expecting one of our star players to leave. I hope it will continue and next summer I'm thinking the same!

Keep it Goonerish......

It's time for Adebayor to be a man!

I won't deny the fact that Adebayor has pissed me off over the last 12 months, even more than when I heard that a Spud had 'apparently' buried a Spurs shirt under the pitch during the construction of the Emirates.

He has pissed a lot of Gooners off and the worst thing is it seems he doesn't really care. Instead of being apologetic he has thrown his toys out of his pram and moaned about the fact that some Gooners had got on his back.

Adebayor could have just rolled up his sleeves, put in hard-working decent performances and won the fans back. We haven't seen that. Last season we saw the opposite. We saw a player who just went through the motions picking up his fat cheque every week.

It was stark contrast to the season before where Ade grafted for the Arsenal cause and that endeared him to the Arsenal fans. Well, it did me. Thierry Henry he wasn't (although he thinks he is!) but he worked hard and scored goals.

True he was injured a lot last season, but even when he wasn't it appeared he was! He didn't put in the work of the previous campaign and appeared content with his big pay-rise.

Football fans aren't stupid. We can see when someone isn't pulling their weight and sometimes, even when things aren't going well it pays just to work hard and at least put in some effort. Effort is a word that Ade didn't understand last season.

I think he has a chance to redeem himself. If he leaves us he is taking the easy option. If he stays and we see the Ade of old then there is every chance the bridges he burnt between us and him can be rebuilt. He just has to want it enough.

This is his chance to prove us wrong and I would be more than happy for him to do so. I have slated Ade over the year and if he shut me up then I wouldn't be complaining because an Ade with a point to prove is a dangerous weapon in Arsenal's armoury.

Adebayor, when he wants it, is a thorn in any one's side. Ask John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. Both have said how tough it is to play against him. He is a menace when he wants to be and a big threat, who gives us a different option in our play.

I hope he wants it. I don't like his behaviour over the last 12 months, I don't think Arsene Wenger does either but there is no doubt in my mind that Adebayor can become a major player for Arsenal again.

Lets wait and see. Is he man enough?

Keep it Goonerish................

Why can't people forgive William Gallas?

William Gallas is like marmite; You love him or you hate him.

I happen to love him. Lots. Like a brother. And will continue to do so at the best of my ability.

Most people hate him. Cool, that's their opinion. But I can't really understand why.

Sure, he made himself look a bit of a croissant when he started crying on the pitch at St Andrews but why is the grudge still held?

I reckon it's because of his Chelsea roots. Some still see him as that Chelsea bastard. I've heard with my own ears.

Yes he is outspoken and clearly has a high opinion of himself but after the things he has achieved in his career hasn't he got every right to be?

Remember back to the time he was stripped of his captaincy for 'that interview', can you honestly say that you didn't think the same things as he did?

As I read that interview I found myself nodding more than that damn Churchhill dog in agreement. The bloke made sense and it clearly hit home in the squad.

I don't think it was coincidence that performances began to pick up soon after.......

I still hear Gooners say get rid of him. I don't agree. How do you replace the best defender at the club?

How do you replace the most experienced player at the club?

The man has won plenty of silverware. He is a proven winner. We need more players like Gallas in the squad. A man with a winners mentality.

The only thing most of this Arsenal squad have won is a pound on a lottery scratch-card.

Gallas became the most hated man in the world after the incident at St Andrews. Judging by the reaction from the media and some Gooners you would have thought he had pulled down his pants and had a shit on the pitch.

He had just seen a fellow team-mates leg snapped worse than snap, crackle and pop, seen his side's title chances slip away and his only crime was it became too much for him.

Hand on heart can you tell me how you would have reacted? So what if he is a footballer, he is still human and has emotions.

Had Fabregas done the same would you react the same? Had John Terry done the same would the media have hounded him out like they did Gallas.

I thought it was a witch hunt!

If Arsenal cash in on William Gallas because he has one year on his contract and is coming up to 32 years of age then something is wrong. If anything we should be looking to increase his stay because believe me, we are a better side with Gallas than without him.

Forget his Chelsea roots, forget his outbursts, forget the media perception of him. Gallas is world-class and the best defender at the club.

Keep it Goonerish................

Has Arsene Wenger become....untouchable?

I've always believed that no man is above criticism but it seems one man, in the eyes of some, is immune from any type whatsoever.

People reading this post should not take it as a pop at Arsene Wenger, far from it, all I'm saying is surely the great man can be criticised. Can't he?

I love the man and everything he has done for Arsenal Football Club. He has given us trophies and we play the football that most teams in world football could only dream of playing.

But does that mean he can't be questioned?

Of course Arsene Wenger knows a lot more about football than me. But I know when he has made a wrong decision and I'm sure when he looks back at some of his choices he does too.

Some people take everything Arsene Wenger does and says as gospel and I don't think that is healthy. It creates complacency.

I know Wenger analyses everything he does with extreme detail, so whats the point of me doing it I suppose? But surely I can give an opinion on him can't I? Whether you agree or not?

Because that is all it is, opinion. It's not the end of the world because it isn't something that we agree on. Debate about it.

Don't come on here and just hide behind an anonymous comment calling me something because you don't agree. Talk about it.

Or do you have no argument because you are a sheep who follows every Arsene Wenger move? Can you not get your point across? Or do you not have one?

I'm of the belief that Wenger will bring the good times back to Arsenal. I trust him. But I will still question him when I believe necessary.

Look back at my posts over the last year or so. You will see a Gooner who still believes in Arsene Wenger and that he is still the right man for the job, even when some didn't.

Even when some were calling for his head. I didn't. But I still have the right to give my opinion on him whether you like it or not.

You may not agree with me, many don't. But Arsene Wenger is not untouchable by any means.

He is the right man for the job and I hope he will be for a very long time but immune from criticism? He is not.

Keep it Goonerish............

Stuart Pearce is a bit Arsene Wengerish. Just a bit mind.

I've just watched the England under-21's vs Germany under-21's final and I have to be honest; England were smashed more than a plate at a Greek restaurant.

It was embarrassing at times and it just confirms to me what I've always believed. England, at all levels, aren't as good as most of us English people think we are.

We tend to have this belief that we are as good as all the top nations of world football. We aren't. Far from it.

We talk the talk but cannot walk the walk. We are all mouth mate. Proper lippy bastards.

The game was so frustrating to watch. And that's why I say that Stuart Pearce, tonight anyway, drew slight parallels to Arsene Wenger.

As soon as ze Germans scored their second, a superb free-kick hit harder than a Mike Tyson uppercut and one that the keeper had no chance with (a-hem) went in, I was hoping that Stuart Pearce would provide some inspiration and make a change.

Just something to get England back into the game and have a chance.

What did I see? Nothing. Just the same players toiling around until the game was effectively over when ze Germans scored their third and killed England off quicker than Usain Bolt can sprint.

How many times have you seen Wenger make the same mistake? Too many?

The amount of times I've been crying, with snot and everything, for Arsene Wenger to make a change because the game is running away from us and something is needed to provide a spark from somewhere and it hasn't come.

I was doing the same same tonight. Waiting for the change. I waited. And waited. And it was too late.

Wenger is a genius. A legend. But his substitutes are rarely before the 70-80 minute mark when it's usually too late to help a lost cause.

It is a flaw that Wenger needs to brush up on and I hope next season he grabs the bull round the horns more often if need be.

Keep it Goonerish...............

Good. But not good enough

Those five words are exactly how I would describe Philippe Senderos.

I like the man. He always tried his heart out for Arsenal and for that I will always have a soft spot for him to go with the soft spot in my head.

I'm no Derek Acorah or Mystic Meg but unfortunately I don't see him having a future with Arsenal. Not after he was sent out on loan last season and after the signing of the Belgian bun.

He will be a very good centre back, just not in an Arsenal shirt. The Premiership is too fast for him.

Philippe should look for a move back to Italy, a place I've always believed would suit him a lot more than England.

Senderos did Okay at Milan but obviously not enough to warrant a permanent move there. I wonder if Carlo Ancelotti leaving the club is the main reason for the move not happening?

Arsenal now have got quite a good bargaining tool in Senderos for any potential transfer target. Especially in Italy.

We could use him in a swap-deal kind of way. Maybe Senderos+£10m could nail Melo?

Keep it Goonerish................

Imagine the uproar if William Gallas had said we were 'impotent'

I didn't believe that Cesc Fabregas' comments were malicious even though they were screaming at me through the BP garage's window at 6:45 this morning.

The headline made laugh more than anything. Arsenal are 'impotent', Ha Ha!

Are we as impotent as Pele though? Perhaps he could lend Arsenal some of his viagra.

Of course for the millionth time in 23 minutes Fabregas has had to deny the comments and reassure Gooners of his commitment to the club. How boring! For us and him.

It quite a pain in the arse really. Its old regurgitated news from the English media with add-ons. Not strap-ons. Add-ons. Although I do wonder if the reporter who wrote this shit did so with a strap-on up his jacksie.

How many Arsenal captains are the English media gonna try to destroy? Its like its a mission to see who could hound every Arsenal skipper out of the club the quickest. Do they win a prize?

We will see this same story be repeated more than E4 shows Friends repeats on Sky TV. And that is a lot. Trust me, my missus loves the programme and it pisses me off because people say I look a little like Ross.

Do I? There's a picture of me on the blog on the right somewhere.

Anyway, it will never end unless Arsenal do something about. Sue the fuckers is my suggestion. Especially The Sun. Wanky piece of shit.

The media successfully got William Gallas removed from the job last season and will persevere until Fabregas goes back to Spain. One day he will of course but I hope it isn't because of the English press.

I can't help but imagine what would have happened had it been Gallas, still as captain, who said Arsenal were impotent. There would be uproar.

The harsh treatment of William Gallas from the English media, and some Gooners, when he was appointed captain still grates with me.

Most of what he said was true. Especially the statement that finally got him removed as skipper. He only said what many Gooners were saying at the time.

If Cesc said the same would he be as vilified as Gallas? I doubt it.

We see Cesc as one of our own and I think Gallas is still seen as a Chelsea bastard by some.

As I've said, of course Fabregas has shown his loyalty to Arsenal, yet again, but the fact is he still said Arsenal were impotent.

Why is it we react different to him saying things and Gallas, when skipper, saying things?

Double standards?

Keep it Goonerish.................