Post No.1

Welcome to my football blog. Every week I’ll be sharing my views on the beautiful game. As an avid Arsenal fan, I will focus on the events at Emirates Stadium as well as giving my opinions on the week’s top stories (without being too biased). By the way, I apologise in advance for my presentation, so please bear with me as I get used to this blogging business.

So what’s been happening in the Arsenal camp this summer? Just the usual, it seems. I’m sure all Gooners are used to it by now, the endless rumours about transfers that will never happen, and our best players threatening to leave. And who could blame them, after the season they just had? (Although, it was entirely their fault in the first place).

Players like Fabregas and Nasri have an arguable case for leaving; players with talent such as theirs do not deserve to go trophyless season after season. But it is players like Gael Clichy who really irritate me. It would be unfair to say that he was a bad player for Arsenal, but he couldn’t match the talent of Fabregas and co. if he was twice the player he was. Yes, he was great for us bombing up and down the left wing endlessly, supplying countless crosses only for Nicklas Bendtner to head it miles over from a couple of yards. In some ways, you can understand his feelings. But do you really think he’ll get more success at Man City? I’m not so sure. They only won the FA Cup last season thanks to an incredibly straightforward path to the semi-final, where they met an uncharacteristic below-par United side (not to mention replays against Leicester and Notts County). And I doubt they’ll do well in Europe either next season. They clearly won’t be seeded highly, leaving them to face the big guns in the group stages. I suspect they’ll be on Channel Five after Christmas. That said, I thought Arsenal were going to win the league a couple of months ago.

Clichy: City move a gamble?

Unfortunately for players like Clichy, it is the inconsistent performances in the past that stick in the brains of the fans and some might even say good riddance to his departure. After all, this can only be good news for Kieran Gibbs who is an extremely exciting young prospect, that is, of course, if Arsene chooses not to replace Clichy.

And I wouldn’t bet against it. But Wenger does have to buy – and quickly. I’m a little worried about Wenger’s ambitions – if what I’m reading is true. I know they say don’t believe what you read in the papers, but any bit of transfer news is so rare for Arsenal fans we almost have to believe it. Either that or we just ignore it completely like everyone else. However, while on my Twitter account yesterday, to my surprise Kevin Doyle starts to trend worldwide. And to my horror, it is because he is rumoured to be joining Arsenal. No offence to Doyle, but if that is the calibre of players that Wenger is trying to bring to the side to try and win championships, you do have to question his choices.

Also, on the subject of transfers, am I the only one who thinks Gary Cahill is overrated? Maybe I’m wrong but one thing is for certain and that is he is not worth £17 million. Never. I think Bolton are looking for a bit too much with that price tag. And Owen Coyle still wonders why there haven’t been any offers for him yet.

Hopefully Wenger will steer clear of the likes of Cahill and Doyle, and turn his attention to players like Samba and Gervinho, who are the kind of players who we do want to see at the club. The bottom line is he must spend – he has been saving up the last few years, so he should have plenty in the bank. He might even go for a big star like Benzema – who knows? Unfortunately, however, I’ve got this horrible gut feeling that tells me that we will be disappointed in the transfer market once again.