How Can Cesc Fabregas Be Barcelona's No1 Target?

There hasn't been many peeps out from the Camp Nou regarding Cesc Fabregas lately but I'm sure there will be over the summer.

I have heard and seen little snippets. Apparently after the Champions League final Carles Puyol said: "I'm convinced Cesc will play with us soon."

It does make me wonder though. Are FC Barcelona really, and I mean really, desperate to get our captain like they say?

By all accounts last summer the bastards put in a bid that wouldn't even have bought Andy Carroll. Bit of a piss-take don't you think? Was it a sick joke?

For all the 'Barcelona DNA' and 'We love Cesc' bollocks Barcelona are, for the second summer in succession, set to announce a major big-money signing before even making a bid for Fabregas.

Last year David Villa signed for the Catalans and this time it is believed that Giuseppe Rossi is set to join the club.

So for the second year running Cesc Fabregas could find himself the 'second-choice' transfer target. Hmmmmm, they really want him don't they?

All Barcelona will do this summer is butter Cesc up and flirt with him, trying to turn his head and wanting him to put in a transfer request.

He isn't their number one target and surely the 'supposed' capture of Rossi should confirm this to him.

Of course on the other hand it shows Barca's ambition by trying to get both players but the truth is they can't afford both at their market price.

Rossi will cost a fortune and so will Cesc but I honestly feel for a second summer running FC Barcelona will leave our skipper hung out to dry.

They will toy with him but will not put in a 'proper' bid. Cesc needs to realise that Barca don't want him as much as they say and knuckle down.

Keep It Goonerish.........

Arsenal Show Class But Will Barcelona?

When I saw that Arsenal have given Barcelona a helping hand by letting them use our training ground as a base for their 'Cup final' this weekend I thought to myself; Why?

After all their disgraceful tactics in trying to lure Cesc Fabregas back to the Camp Nou (and it has been a liberty) we have done them a favour.

Either we are Barcelona's bitches or we are the classiest club in the history of mankind.

If it was down to me when they asked to lend the facility's at London Colney I'm afraid my language may have been more colourful than Joesph's Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

In my opinion Barcelona play the greatest football of all time but as a club they stink. They stink more than Isonitriles. Now I don't know what an Isonitrile is but, by all accounts, it is the sixth worst smell in the world.

Arsenal have shown an amazing amount of courtesy to Barca here. And loads of class. The media would do well to remember this in the future when they slag us off.

As for the Champions of Spain I hope they remember this.

We have shown them a huge amount of respect, more than I can show them, in doing this so I hope they respect us as much too. Especially regarding Cesc Fabregas.

If Pep Guardiola enquires about our captain and gets a knock-back then that should be that. No more of this talk about Cesc's Barca DNA or him wearing Camp Nou print underwear.

Leave him be and respect Arsenal's wishes. Our act of kindness should not be forgotten by the Catalans.

Sadly I reckon their memories are like a Goldfishes.

They are probably laughing at us behind closed doors. Not only do they try to tap-up our players they also talk us into letting them use our training ground.

You couldn't make it up.

I hope that they show the class we have shown them this summer. Unfortunately I'm not too confident Barcelona, and anyone associated with them, have any.

Follow me on Twitter @_Wrighty7

Keep It Goonerish........

Arsene Wenger Has Had Enough

I've never seen Arsene Wenger look as frustrated as I did on Sunday during the defeat against Aston Villa.

He looked like a man who was told he could spend the night with Nicole Scherzinger but, unfortunately for him, he suffers from impotence.

His demeanour and the angry looks tell me a thousand words. He is pissed off.

I know people will say that Wenger is a stubborn man and that he won't change his policies but I honestly think he will this summer.

Wenger put a lot of faith into this squad and a lot of them have let him down. Massively.

The five-year-project has failed, like my car failed it's MOT, so it will be ripped up and Arsene Wenger will start again.

I'm sure some of the players have been playing for their futures recently and I expect some will be out the door quicker than you can fart.

Arsene has received a lot of criticism lately, some justified, some not. He hasn't become a bad manager over night but he does need to make changes. And he will.

The summer of 2011 will be the start of a new era for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. Mark my words.

Players with better attitudes are needed. I'm sure players with the desire of Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Jack Wilshere will be brought in.

A few tweaks and Arsenal will be champions next season.

Things seem like a load of bollocks at the moment. I know that as much as anyone. These are frustrating times.

But don't listen to people like Ian Wright saying Arsenal will struggle to get into the top five next season.

Things aren't that bad!

Wright said that last summer. And the summer before. And the summer before that. He was wrong. Like many others.

With the right departures and acquisitions we will be in the mix next season. I'm very confident of that.

Wenger knows that too. He knows how close we were this season. And no matter how bad things appear to be at the moment we were close whether you like it or not.

(Follow me on Twitter @_Wrighty7)

Keep It Goonerish...........

Robin van Persie - A Shining Light In The Darkness

(I would like to start by saying that I have succumbed to modern technology and I am now on Twitter. @_Wrighty7)

I don't really want to write about the shambles that we saw earlier in the day. The less said about that the better in my opinion.

Because, the more I think about it, the more I want to go out and pick a fight with someone smaller than me. Knowing my luck I'd start on a Ninja or something, so I'll leave it.

We all know since the end of February this Arsenal team have struggled. They have struggled more than my old man making a bacon sarnie without burning it.

Players have underperformed, Wenger has underperformed, and more most important of all, the UK underperformed on the Eurovision song contest.

But throughout all that under performing, and the 'darkness' surrounding the club like Beth Ditto's shadow, one man has shone like a beacon.....

Robin van Persie.

How I love this man. I love him like a brother or close family member.

Sometimes I wish that some other members of the squad had half his commitment and desire for Arsenal Football Club.

You can tell how much pulling that red and white on means to him. He loves the club. The Arsenal, and he loves us too.

This last couple of months he has tried his heart out for us. He could do no more.

It is not RvP's fault that some of the other players don't match his attitude but I wish they did.

Early in his career with Arsenal I would never have believed how important he would be to the club and how much influence he would have like he does now.

How much has he matured this season?

If Robin had been fit for the whole campaign he would have finished top scorer in the league by at least 5-7 goals. Easily.

He has gone up so much in my estimation and I hope that next season he remains injury-free. He deserves it.

If we had more players with his attitude I doubt we would be moping today. We'd be celebrating because we would have just won the league.

Wenger needs to look at van Persie and get players in who have his desire for winning and showing fight for the Arsenal.

(Don't forget Twitter @_Wrighty7)

Keep It Goonerish..........

Sales Not That Good Merse?

What is it with former Gunner's these days?

Most of them can't wait to have a pop at Arsenal or Arsene Wenger.

The latest is from 'comedian' pundit Paul Merson.

By all accounts during his time with Wenger at Arsenal players were given a 'yellowy product' and a 'dark tablet'.

In my opinion Merse is a sandwich short of a picnic and knowing how dopey he is it was probably banana milkshake and a jelly bean.

If indeed players were injected with a 'yellowy product' why wouldn't they question what it was?

I wouldn't want anything injected into me unless it meant I could shit out £50 notes after.

I can only think that Paul's book isn't selling that well.

To me (maybe I'm being paranoid) he loves to having a little dig at Arsenal whenever he gets the chance.

Maybe he feels a little bitter at his exit from the club but it has to be pointed out that he left for money not Arsene or Arsenal forcing him out.

I just wish that some ex-players would big up the club a little more.

We have enough people slagging us off, let alone our supposed 'own' jumping on the band-wagon.

I don't mind constructive criticism, but when the likes of Paul Merson love to have a go because its fashionable to do so then it really gets my goat.

Then again if you spunked a few quid up the wall on horses and drugs and have a book to sell, I suppose its okay to 'invent' some stories or dig away until you reach Australia.

Keep It Goonerish.......

The Gooners Who Went To The Britannia Stadium Deserve Their Money Back

I'm annoyed with that performance today but if I was one of those Gooners who went to the Britannia Stadium I would be very, very, very, very pissed off.

I know players can have an off-day, they are only human after all.

But when there appears to be no effort whatsoever then that is taking liberties.

I can accept defeat if the players have given their all but some of those lot today wouldn't have even needed a shower after that game.

You would never have believed that there was an outside chance of still winning the title would you?

I concede that chance was very small. Smaller than an ants dinner but there was still a chance.

Yet what sort of performance do we get? It was the most diabolical shambles of shit I've seen in a long time.

I can count on one hand the amount of players who grafted and tried today. Szczęsny, Sagna, Wilshere and van Persie.

The others were strolling around the pitch like my Nan on an OAP's day out in Brighton.

Do the players not think about the fans who travelled for miles and miles to see a disinterested pile of crap like that?

Only the other day I saw a video where the likes of Song and Walcott were geeing up the supporters. That's nice I thought, they really do care.

What a mug I was.

Of course it isn't all down to the players. Arsene Wenger is to blame too.

Has he lost his motivational skills? I don't know. What I do know is that this squad have let him, and us, down time and time again.

They have been mollycoddled and babied so much they only turn up when they want.

Complacency is breed throughout and its all began since we treated the domestic cups with utter contempt.

How can Wenger say that the Carling Cup has no meaning but was desperate to win it this season? It's double standards.

I don't want Wenger to go. I want him to have a shake up, and I think he will, to refresh this squad.

Believe me this squad is highly talented. In my opinion it is the most talented in the Premiership but the attitude is terrible.

Arsene Wenger will rectify that this summer. He has too.

People are losing faith rapidly and with performances like today's who could blame them?

The club has made a lot of bad PR errors recently.

They would go a long way by offering the Gooners who travelled there today some kind of refund or gesture.

Our away fans are the best in the league. They deserve so much more than what they saw today. We all do.

Apart from those players mentioned (in my opinion) the others should hang their heads in shame.

Keep It Goonerish.........

Am I A Dope...For Still Having Hope?

I might be a little deluded.

In fact I could even be strung up and tossed into a mental institution for thinking such an outrageous thing.

But I can't help it.

I can't help believing that the title is not beyond Arsenal, that we can still win it.

I know it seems there is less chance of Arsenal winning the league than spotting Osama high-fiving Obama after fooling us all but it's possible.

Miracles can happen.

Over the last month I have kept my mouth firmly shut. I wanted to see how the season panned out.

To me it seems we have thrown it away. It was ours for the taking but we haven't taken it.

Arsenal have put themselves into a position of what 'might have been'.

However, despite these sick feelings, it is still not 100% over.

Whilst I concede I would probably be more likely to see Harry Redknapp do at least 46 winks and twitches a second before Arsenal win the league I'm still clinging to the hope that miracles do exist.

I may well be a dope, I may well be dumb, but if Chelsea beat Man Utd this weekend, and we win too, Arsenal will be only 3 points off the top with 2 games to play.

Had you been offered that, when all the experts were saying Arsenal would come 6th, at the beginning of the season I'm sure you would have taken it.

Yes I know the last couple of months have felt like Mike Tyson continuously punching you in the genitals.

Yes I know we have 99.9% thrown it away.

Yes I know Wenger has made mistakes.

But I do know something else too. Until it is mathematically impossible for us to not win the title then I will believe we can until my last breath.

Or until Beth Ditto, the largest female singer of all time, sings at the top of her voice naked on a mountain.

Keep It Goonerish..........