Asian Tour and all the Itsy-Bitsy of the Transfer Market

Hello Gooners. 23 days is what separates us from another mad exciting season of the Premier League. The situation is such, the first thing I do after waking up in the morning is calculate the number of days to the 18th. This has been, I should say, one of the least boring pre-seasons, and that has been partially helped because of the European Championships.

Of course, there have been those days when you wake up to a realy grisly hangover, to find absolutely nothing on the footballing internet. The Robin van Persie saga has made me track around all websites, to of course find out the latest in the situation, but we all know, how the newspapers can make a meal out of everything. Supposedly, van Persie was spotted in Manchester, and the next day the newspapers ran the story that he is house hunting. For all you know, he may be searching for his lost Skittles. But, that’s how overboard people can get.

Anyways, let’s focus on Arsenal now. Thanks to the magic of the cable television, I was able to watch the game between Malaysia and Arsenal live, and it was a really good excercise I felt. The players looked completely knackered, like they’d been out of a casino in Las Vegas, but that’s the whole point of the pre-season, ain’t it.

In the first half, there were more first team players to watch out for. I thought Abou Diaby was impressive, and I really hope he can build on his fitness. Well, yeah. He has been really unfortunate with injuries, and I feel he is a fine talent. I hope he doesn’t end up crocked for the rest of his footballing years. He is an able cover for Alex Song. It was also good to see the younger players like Yennaris, Aneke, Eisfeld and Afobe in action. We have been hearing big things about them, but with very limited visual evidence to support it.

It is great to see such passion in Asia, year after year, when thousands of fans throng the stadium, to witness first hand some of their favorite stars. Of course, the town was painted in red and whi..Er, purple. It was good to see the players re-bond through the journey, as the little clips littered all over the club site seem to depict. For all you may know, all of them might just be acting nice to Alex Song, who did like he was getting on the nerves of some younger players. There was this funny moment, when Carl Jenkinson confused Abu Dhabi and Abou Diaby. Who was that fella who said footballers are dumb?

Anyways, as expected Thomas Vermaelen was given the captain’s armband for the Asia tour, while all the shirt numbers have been released as well. Lukas Podolski hasn’t been yet handed a jersey number, yes, thus fueling the speculation, that almost everyone has resigned to the fact that van Persie is well on his way out. Olivier Giroud has taken 12.

Arsenal and Manchester City, both came together for a promotional meet, in Beijing ahead of their friendly on Friday. One of the pictures that was snapped up of the event was Patrick Vieira and the Toure brothers with Arsene Wenger. Of course, you could run a captions competition with it. Kolo Toure has been a peripheral since his move to the Middle Eastlands, while Vieira moved from Juventus to Inter to Manchester City, since he left the club in 2005. He is now the Football Development Executive of course of the Citizens.

A bespectacled Arsene Wenger has stated in a press conference, that there can still be more players coming into the club before the transfer window closes. The nerdy economics professor, with a degree in electrical engineer, who also manages a football club, however, refuted claims that the club is looking at Yann M’Vila. Of course, there is emphasis now on getting Diaby and Wilshere fit, and M’Vila will just be another number, in an already bloated looking midfield.

Santi Cazorla, from Villarreal and Spain fame, and presently with Malaga, is also been heavily linked over the past few days. Whatever I have seen of the lad is impressive. He is of the same stature as Andres Iniesta, but completely different attributes as a footballer. His versatility does set him apart. He has played all over midfield for Malaga, and I think he would be a coup. While earlier reports in Spain stated that Arsenal is leading the chase to sign him, the recent reports state that Malaga are not looking to sell him, despite the financial difficulty the club is in. If he does make the move to North London, he will be breaking the club transfer record of £15 million paid for Andrey Arshavin.

Of course, he may be no Fabregas, but what we really missed last season is a bustling attacking midfielder. Tomas Rosicky only came to life around February, and while Wilshere still faces time out till September, he wouldn’t be a bad bet at all.

Another player, who should be looking for clubs elsewhere, looks set to stay. I am talking about none other than Marrouane Chamakh. He has stated that he is willing to work had and give his best. Really, to be fair to him, he has barely got his chances last season. van Persie was fit and emphatic throughout, and there was no chance, for any other striker, lest alone Chamakh to break into the squad. It will be interesting to see, if Wenger decides to keep him or move the player on.

In other news, Thierry Henry has stated that he would love to come back to the club on a different level, probably as a coach. Of course, they say great players never become great managers, but would be lovely to see Henry as manager and break the jinx.

Some good news, then that Laurent Koscielny has put to paper a fresh long term deal, which will see him strut his stuff at the Emirates till 2017. Supposedly, he rebuffed an offer from Barcelona, and stated his desire to stay in North London. He has been a nomad, not sticking at a club for more than 2 years, and this is what led him to taking that decision. Hopefully, we can see the best of Koscielny during the coming years.

Finally, the Premier League has released a set of guidelines to make players more responsible on social networking sites. This means that midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong could be facing a charge, after one of his tweets was aimed at a Sp*rs fan, who himself had posted something despicable.

That’s all for today. Keep strong. The opening day of fixtures is coming closer and closer.

Jai Arsenal 🙂

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

I am sorry I had to repost this article, as it wasn’t indexed the first time round. 😦

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

While you are about it, follow Blazing Cannons on twitter. @blazingcannons

And do like, the Facebook page as well.

Go ahead you lazy bum, that’s all I ask of you!