Cesc and Nasri, don't let door hit you on the....

Fans of football, Barcelona and Arsenal are all waiting for the soap opera that is Cesc to come to an end. All signs indicate that the Arsenal captain will be heading back to his former club shortly. This has been long time coming and the soap opera for the past few seasons has been a distraction and quite frankly nauseating. Add to this all the horse bleep that has come out of Barcelona and the likes of Puyol and Xavi doing their best impersonation of John Calipari on the UK recruiting trail. I said this a few years ago when there was all kinds of smoke around Titi Henry and his leaving Arsenal, at some point it is better to sell the player rather than force him to stay. That is if you have a plan in place to leverage the revenue from the sale to back fill the position...

Chasing each other out of town

When it comes to Cesc, I can understand the desire to head back to where his heart is. While I cannot blame him, I still feel slightly bitter towards the Spaniard. I will admit, much of this is linked to his being anointed as he replacement for Vieira, he was even given the #4 shirt! My respect for Pat is nothing new and to me the way Vieira was shown the door at Arsenal is directly linked to the arrival or Cesc. From a footballing stand point I understand what Wenger was doing and seeing Vieira's career since leaving Arsenal indicate that Wenger was slightly vindicated. Or would Vieira's steel resolve been valuable the past few seasons? Cesc doesn't want to be here anymore, let him go, thanks for your time here, too bad you couldn't lead us to any silverware.

As for Nasri, his reputation as the "Petit Prince" has not been diminished in his demands for more money and subsequently forcing his sale, most likely to Manchester City. One characteristic that should never be criticized (not because it isn't criticize-able but just because it is a simple reality) is the desire of an professional footballer to seek more money.  I do not discount the frustration that must be felt by the likes of Nasri at a legitimate inability to challenge for silverware by Arsenal. But I am sure that if Arsenal met Nasri's pay demands, the lack of silverware contention would be quickly forgotten.

I would ask Wenger to get these two out of town as soon as possible, and with as much time as possible left in the transfer season. Not that Wenger or Arsenal will take advantage of that time. The Gunners have become the epitome of a club that is more concerned about the cash flow and balance sheets rather than the score sheets and trophy case. Granted the most recent transfers have Arsenal in the red:

Arsenal FC -15.474.800 £

Arrival Gervinho (Lille) 10.560.000 £ Francis Coquelin (Lorient) * - Pedro Botelho (FC Cartagena) * - Armand Traoré (Juventus) * - Carl Jenkinson (Charlton) 990.000 £ Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton) 12.144.000 £	Departure Jens Lehmann (End of career) - Mark Randall (Chesterfield) free transfer Gaël Clichy (Man City) 6.820.000 £ Denílson (São Paulo) * ? Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich) 1.100.000 £ Pedro Botelho (Rayo Vallecano) * 299.200 £
Total: 23.694.000 £	Total: 8.219.200 £

However, if they sell Nasri and Cesc, receiving the expected to add close to 60m £ that would rapidly swing the negative into a 40m £ + positive. Now if Wenger is
willing to take that windfall and actually invest maybe I will be play with all this. 
But I fear he will buy a few bargain basement players and 
call it a day.

Alas, we might be looking at another season of no silverware and maybe even, 
gasp a place in the Europa League! Wenger's war chest must be quite 
healthy, unfortunately that money sitting in a bank does not score goals, make
tackles, dribble defenders or make passes.


Use it Wenger, otherwise what's the point?

Time for Cesc to go...and truly rebuild Arsenal

Just a matter of time

After another terrible game where Arsenal fell to their boogie man - Bolton - it is time to admit we are going nowhere fast and must change. That change starts with selling Cesc. I realize his statements this week mirror much of what many Arsenal fans think: get some more veteran talent on the squad. Yet as the captain of the team you cannot allow yourself to come out and make such comments, I realize the media can sometimes twist your words and statements. Just do not allow yourself to be in such a position.

Add to this the fact that Cesc did not appear too averse to all the wooing that occurred last summer from Barcelona and you have a volatile situation. Wenger cannot stubbornly rely on youth it just does not work, especially not in a league with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City, all clubs with deep pockets who are willing to spend on veteran talent. As I stated in a prior post, it is time to clean house, spend some money and bring in a team that will get over the hump.

Cesc needs to be the first to go.

Arsenal v Chelsea - Wenger's title hopes come down to this derby match

I realize the season is not even half way done and Arsenal remain within striking distance of leaders Manchester United - 5 points back - however the season rides on the London derby this Monday between the Gunners and Chelsea. This is by no means an exaggeration, if Arsenal do not win this match their title hopes are finished. Why? Arsenal are 0-2 against their main competitors for the title - Manchester United and Chelsea (they did defeat Manchester City, but I am no ready to pronounce them a true competitor for the league title). More shocking is the fact Arsenal, since the 2003 Champions League 1/4 finals have fallen victim to their London neighbor more often than not. Prior to that season, it was the Gunners that usually had the upper hand on the Blues (Chelsea have only dropped 2 of the last 18 matches to the Gunners in all competitions). This continued this season when Chelsea handled Arsenal in an early season fixture.

More of this attitude please...

If Wenger and the Gunners are serious about contending this season they must take the full 3 points from the Blues.  The Gunners are currently sitting one point ahead of Chelsea, so losing or even drawing this match will not mathematically eliminate the Gunners, but it is the mental aspect that will take a hit.

Recently, Wenger and Arsenal have not been able to hold their own versus the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. What is telling is the comment from team captain Cesc who admitted that he and  his clubmates were "too scared:"

"Sometimes we seem scared of losing these big games. We don't really go for it and we're tempted to drop back and see what the opposition will do" Cesc

Not words of confidence,not words you want to hear from your captain, not words that you would have heard from an Arsenal team led by Bergkamp, Vieira, Keown, Parlour, Henry, Pires, Wiltord, Seaman or the likes. Arsenal have constantly been chasing some of that snarl and attitude of former teams. It is in games such as the one coming up Monday where championship aspiring sides need to find some of this fight. No one would question the talent playing for Wenger, but I would still question whether or not the heart and attitude is there to match. The only way Arsenal can truly contend for the EPL title is to show the metal to go with the talent they unquestionably possess. This has to start from the top and the captain. We will see if the Gunners can dig up some of this attitude and desire, otherwise I fear that Drobga and his mates will once again emerge victorious from their London derby.

Come on you Gunners!

Already the lost season for Arsenal?

More injury news out of the Emirates - Cesc is out for 3 weeks due to an injury picked up over the weekend. He will join Walcott, Van Persie and Bendtner on the injury list. Add to this the fact Song will miss the next match, Diaby is not 100% and Nasri is coming off an injury and you might have to say that Arsenal might find themselves out of the title race before we even start using the yellow Nike soccer ball...I realize that the Gunners are only 4 points back from league leaders Chelsea. However there looms a large fixture against the Blues at Stamford Bridge, if Arsenal drop that match and go 7 back it might be lights out...already.

Why? First the injuries are a bit disconcerting. I realize that teams need to deal with this during the season but the injury bug has struck the forwards and offensive players heavily. Couple this with the fact Arshavin has seemingly lost his goal scoring touch (at least in the league...no counting FA Cup games) and you might have a situation that could prove too difficult to over come. Second, the inability of Wenger to sign a true #1 keeper means that the Gunners cannot hope to steal any games on the back of their keeper. Ironic that Given has recently come out stating he wants a transfer once the winter window re-opens so he can get 1st team time...maybe he should have thought about this when Fulham and Arsenal were linked to his services over the summer.

Teams need to deal with adversity, not doubt. However I do not see Arsenal with a strong enough base to fight through some of the adversity - namely having a keeper that can win a game or 2 for your club. It is unfortunate because I fear that we have seen the last of Cesc in an Arsenal kit. Wenger will need to find his midfield pillar to replace Cesc and that is not something easily accomplished.

Barcelona - the rich get richer

The smoke is turning into a raging bonfire (I stole that line from Sam) around the departure of Cesc to Barcelona this summer which seems to be in the negotiation phase currently, the latest is that the inclusion of Yaya Toure in the deal is holding up the finalization of the transfer. However I think it will be highly unlikely that the deal does not go through whether more money be added to the transfer or another player be put in the deal - a list of those options. I personally would chuckle and cry if Busquets came to the Emirates...Sam might have to be restrained in his rage.

Of course while this fire is picking up, the David Villa to Barcelona seems to have started and reached the negotiationstage in lightening quick pace - according to Sport.24 report - Valencia and Barcelona have agreed on a transfer fee of 40m Euros. With Henry leaving, probably for his retirement home in the MLS and with Ibra apparently on his way out of the Catalan side, the addition of Villa will fill the void at striker. This begs the question - where will all this go? With a midfield of Xavi - Cesc - Iniesta - Keita - Busquets (unless he is wearing the #4 shirt for Arsenal) and the attacking formation of Villa - Messi - Pedro you have a frightening offensive side, add Alves to the mix and you will be asking a lot of Abidal - Puyol - Pique to hold down the defensive side, but if you score 4 goals a game why play defense?

This also begs the question - what will the response be from Real Madrid? After losing the title to their hated rivals one more time and now seeing Barcelona add two jewels from the transfer market - 2 Spaniards at that - to their stable of players what will the counter be from the Madrid? Could a major offer to Manchester United for Rooney be in the works? Ribery? Tevez? Lampard? Gerrard? Of course much will be determined on who shines at the World Cup. Should be an interesting transfer season to say the least!

Look for the latest Frog&Gooner podcast where we spend some time discussing these potential moves for Real and Barca...the rich keep getting richer!

World Cup looming - injury concerns

As we draw closer to the World Cup - less than 50 days until kick off. The injuries are mounting up and taking its toll on some stars of the upcoming tournament. Players such as Gallas, Torres, Essien, Cesc, Davies, Beckham, Adler to name a few are all at risk of missing their respected flights to South Africa. None will carry as much of an impact as Michael Essien.

The Ghana captain is the catalyst for the Black Stars - he is the engine, the leader and the glue that holds the midfield together and makes the team a legitimate threat to advance in the tournament. With a nagging knee injury curtailing his Chelsea season, it is now feared that it might also keep him out for the summer tournament.  Ghana has some real belief that it can make some noise this summer, after a run to the African Cup of Nations finals, with a young team, it was thought that add the veteran metal to this side and you have a great combination of youth and veteran talent. Being in group D, with Germany, Serbia and Australia, Ghana will need its dynamic midfielder to carry the Black Stars through what should be a very physical group. Without the Chelsea man, the mountain will get much steeper to climb.

What about Espana? Del Bosque is continuing to watch nervously as his star players deal with injuries - Cesc, Senna, Torres to name a few. While there remains a tremendous amount of talent available, these are players expected to shine at the World Cup. What about Iniesta? Will he be fit in time to partner with his Barcelona teammate, Xavi, to work the midfield? Torres is going to be operated on, Cesc has a broken leg...even if they are fit in time, will they have enough time to get into game shape? Who will hold down the defensive role if Senna is not available? Alonso could slot into the role, but Senna remains the player most capable of holding that slot and allowing Xavi, Iniesta et al to work their offensive magic without concern of defensive responsibilities. Cesc was expected to be a 3rd creative midfielder or a super sub off the bench - without him del Bosque losses one of his key midfield options, one that would have allowed for a rotation keeping  his players fresh during the tournament. Finally if Torres does not make it back 100% what will that do for the offense? Granted with Villa in form he can carry a team on his own, but if Spain is looking to reach what many see as a finals appearance if not better they will need the Liverpool striker to be in his usual form. The one good note for Spain is that they should get out of their group with relative ease so may not need to lean on their injured players until later in the tournament.

What about other injuries? Gallas might be out which will only exasperate the problems France have at central defense. If Gallas is out I think the France might not make it out of the group stages...

Germany is without, who many thought, would be their #1 keeper Alder. The US has a gaping hole up front with Davies on the shelf after a horrific car wreck - he is back on his feet but not ready to resume training let alone playing.

There are still some games to go for the top players, so unfortunately more injuries might strike some of the key players and nations. Let us hope that those on the shelf return to good health and no other big names see their World Cup dreams go by way of the trainers' room.

Cesc to Barca?

The rumors of Cesc heading back to where he started keep coming up in the press. Similar to the rumors years ago about Henry leaving for the same squad, where there is smoke there is fire. Clearly the Catalonia team wants to see their once youth player come back to the Camp Nou. With their hated rival, Real Madrid, on a huge summer spending spree, Barcelona need to add some reinforcements to the squad. The pursuit of Cesc is not new, this is at least the 3rd season where there have been rumblings. The fact that Arsenal have placed a 40m pound price on their skipper demonstrates the fact that Arsenal is considering selling their Cesc.

If Arsenal sell Cesc they will struggle to remain in the top 4. I think being in the top 4 will be difficult enough, without their midfielder I think it will be close to impossible. How the mighty have fallen...come on Wenger, bring back the glory to the Emirates.

Titi to leave Barca?

The latest out of Barca is that they Catalan giants will look to move Titi Henry in the off season, possibly to make room for another frenchie - Gourcuff or Ribery. This would be a surprising move for Barca, since Henry has settled in nicely on the left flank of the Barca attack.

http://www.sport24.com/football/transferts/actualites/henry-sacrifie-236659/

Going after "Kaiser" Ribery would make sense, since he is a natural winger and would slot in nicely on the wing, shouldering Xavi and Iniesta. Ribery would be allowed to roam one of the wings with Messi on the opposite wing. That move would make sense. The move for Gourcuff would make no sense to me. First I think Gourcuff needs to stay at Bordeaux, regardless of who comes calling. Second, his role would be redundant based on the presence of Xavi and Iniesta. Finally, if the rumors are true, that Barca might also go after Cesc, Gourcuff would fall even further down the pecking order.

Big names in football will always be linked to the big clubs like Barca, but sometimes just because the name resonates does not mean the player will fit. I think that Barca should keep Henry, and if they are to seriously pursue anyone look to Cesc. He would slot in nicely in support of his Spanish midfield companions.