Dagens Arsenal - 4 & 5 Februari 2009
Klubben
En hel del frågetecken rörande Arsenals värvning av Andrei Arshavin existerar fortfarande. En del klubbar (därbland Aston villa) undrar vad som egentligen försiggick och om allt utfördes på ett korrekt manér. Aston villas manager, Martin O’Niell: "Paul Faulkner (Villa director) has told me that there is a Premier League meeting on Thursday and some points are being raised. Not necessarily by us at Aston Villa. There just needs to be clarification on the extension."
Mannen som i mångt och mycket höll i affären, Ivan Gazidis, hävdar dock att allt gått rätt till och att inga fel har gjorts, i varefall från Arsenals sida. Gazidis om dramat i Arshavin-affären: "We probably bored everybody, and I think everyone got a bit tired of the ongoing story. It took longer than anybody would have wanted to get to a conclusion, but we got there in the end. People dramatise these things a little bit. It was never on until it finally got done, but it was not on and off through the day either.” Ivan Gazidis fortsätter också med att tala om Arsenals position i ligatabellen och om lagets chanser till sportsliga framgångar denna säsong: "I haven't given up on the title race and I know Arsene hasn't. We are going to be fighting for every single point until the end of the season. This club will never concede defeat, not while Arsene is manager or while I am chief executive." Och om de kontraktsförhandlingar som kommer ske under våren med ett antal spelare uttalade han sig följande: "I am going to be talking with some of our key players over the next months about extending their contracts. We would like to keep this group together. We believe this group of players want to stay at Arsenal, and are very happy with Arsene and the club."
Ännu mer från Chief Executive Gazidis! Denna gång så talar han om Arsène Wengers och klubbens framtid – förhoppningsvis går ju dessa hand i hand: "It is difficult to imagine Arsenal without him now. Arsene is looking to the long-term. I think he loves the club. There's no situation I can imagine that would lead to Arsene wanting to leave Arsenal. We have one of the best managers in the world, if not the best, who has redefined the club and has taken us to a point where everyone outside of the club is talking about fifth as a crisis. Arsene isn't happy to be fifth place, but we believe and he believes, more importantly, in the group of young players that he has. He believes that there is unfinished business."
Wenger
Mycket har det skrivits om ovannämnda transfern. Den lille Tsaren väcker ett stort intresse i fotbolls-England bland både fans och managers. Arsène Wenger talar nu om de talanger han tycker att Arshavin besitter och kan tillföra laget i dagsläget: "He is a versatile player with great experience, who will add real quality to our squad. Andrey is an exciting impact player with a huge amount of ability and has been an influential force with both Zenit St Petersburg and the Russian national team in recent seasons." Arshavin själv fortsätter på lite knackig engelska: "I moved because I like the Arsenal style, Wenger as a coach and I like some of their players. I followed each game and from the moment when I met Arsene Wenger. He told me every time I talked to him, he said: "I want you to come to Arsenal". He had confidence in me." Låt oss nu hoppas att Arshavin snabbt kommer in i laget och kan börja producera i både Premier League och Fa-cupen.
Spelarna
Tonårssensationen Jack Wilshere donerade sina skor efter Carling cup segern mot Wigan (4-0) tidigare under säsongen till förmån för Arsenals Charity of the Season – Teenage Cancer trust. Dojorna lades ut på Ebay och summan ligger nu på lite mer än £200 000. Jack Wilshere: “We were really pleased to raise over £200,000 for the charity at the dedicated matchday in December and I wanted to donate something to the cause to bring us even closer to the target. I hope the boots can raise a good amount of money for the cause.” Bud kan fortfarande läggas på skorna fram till den 18 Februari
Emmanuel Adebayor talar idag med Arsenal TV om sina ritualer och trosuppfattningar. För dem som är intresserad av detta.
Cesc Fabregas som förnärvarande befinner sig i Spanien och Katalonien talar nu om att han och den forne Arsenalmittfältaren Alexander Hleb ser Arsenals matcher tillsammans: “I watched the Everton game on Wednesday night with Alex Hleb in Barcelona. It wasn’t being shown on general television in Spain, but eventually managed to find a place where it was on, but it was a very strange place! It was nice to watch it with Alex, and I was very pleased for the team that they got the equaliser.”
Skadeläget
Inga nya skador och inga nyheter kring de existerande skadorna. Detta innebär att duon Eboué & Diaby (förmodligen) kommer vara borta mellan två till tre veckor. Detsamma gäller för Mikael Silvestre som fortfarande har problem med sin sträckning. Eduardo kommer vi med största sanolikhet få se på bänken i nästa match mot Tottenham. Theo Walcott är fortfarande en månad från spel. Medans Cesc Fabregas och Tomas Rosicky räknas vara borta i 2 månader.
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Tack för visat intresse!
