Flamini to Juve, Hleb slapped with ban and Fab to start…
Yes folks we’re bringing you this exclusive ground breaking story that midfield maestro Mathieu Flamini has gone and put pen to paper and signed up for I-ti giants Juventus. OK this isn’t a title to pull in even more hits on the Allgoonerdup site or upset Gooners and we might have jumped the gun but given the silence coming from Mathieu Flamini, the noise coming from Juventus and the statements raised by The Arsenal chairman and Eton old duffer ‘Sir ‘Peter Hill-Wood saying “We have made what we think is a pretty generous offer and we are waiting to hear whether he will accept or not,” So to me I think it’s a done deal. I could be putting two and two together and getting a peanut butter sandwich but I think we have seen the last of The Flamster. It doesn’t make good reading or isn’t a great indication when someone at the club and the chairman at that doesn’t know what a player is thinking. I would love to be proved wrong or in the words of former afro sporting Kevin Keegan - “I would love it, just love it” but I don’t think I will be. That’s your cue Flamini by the way.
So it seems after four seasons trying to get the midfield berth he so craved and not only making it his own but being a key figure in The Arsenal squad Flamini is set to ride into the sunset with The Old Lady. Given the calculations he still has about eight days to remain at The Arsenal, however the silence coming from the Frenchman is speaking volumes.
Hleb charged: Three words you wouldn’t normally associate with each other Hleb and violent conduct. But now you can as the ice cream loving Alex Hleb has been hit (excuse the pun) with a violent conduct order by The F.A. Hleb was ‘alleged’ to have hit Reading player Graeme Murty and sees his season end early with a three game ban. The media seem to be instigating a move away from Ashburton Grove for Hleb by naming any big European giant interested in him which is what we probably come to expect with any ’star’ Arsenal player nowadays. All I would say on the incident is that he shouldn’t be banned for the ’slap’ but the manner of the slap - he slapped like a netball playing girl. Joe Calzaghe should give Hleb lessons, if you’re going to smack someone - smack them, don’t tickle them. Not that I am condoning violence ont he football pitch of course readers. So given the mass exodus predicted by the media of Arsenal players this summer, we all might of seen the last of the Belorussian non-shooting midfield man in an Arsenal shirt…
Fab to play: So that’s just great we’ll start next season in another ‘transitional phase’ as The Arsenal will be without two key men (in the word case scenario) in midfield, that’s just bloody great that it! Anyhoo some sorely missed good news is that we do have a player staying and that’s Polish keeper Lukasz Fabianski who will play the remaining games this season
April 23, 2008 at 1:00 pm
So our best player this season departs because this football club is not prepared to pay up. IT IS A TOTAL FARCE. We pay a fortune for tickets & if its not bad enough that our erstwhile manager refuses to participate in the transfer market we are now not even prepared to keep our best players.
April 23, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I make you right, obviously we wont know exactly how much AFC have offered compared to Juventus. I read somewhere Juve were paying Flamini 10K more than the 50K we offered plus a five year contract compared to our four year contract. Does that really make sense? All this penny pinching by Wenger is starting to get to me. It’s not as if we’re doing a Leeds or anything. Does he not realise that Flamini is one of our most important players. Given the state of the game and wages I’m not saying Flamini should be given everything he wants (within reason) but paying him 60K a week is reasonable if you compare the 90K Darren Bent is getting at sp*rs. I just don’t get it - what we might save in Flamini’s wages - will have to spent on a top DM! Or probably not as Wenger will believe one of our ‘kids’ can do the job. But why have to juggle with that thought when you already have a top quality player YOU KNOW can do the job!
April 23, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I think if Wenger had really thought Flamini was indispensable (cf Fabregas) then he would have been able to keep him - I believe he has said that the only person he really regrets having to let go was Anelka. Most of the others seem to have been pretty well timed, except maybe Pires. Certainly Henry, Viera, Overmars, Petit, Edu, Ljunberg etc didn’t perform as well since they left. I don’t think that any Arsenal fan can really complain or seriously question Wenger’s acumen on the transfer market.
April 23, 2008 at 1:45 pm
if he wants more money and we won’t pay it then he has to go. We are a sinking ship. To keep flam would be like a signing in its self. How comes man u and chels players continue to sign new contracts our just run theirs down and put the money into the pockets.. this should have been resolved with a 5 year contract when flam had the run in the side leading up to the champions league final!
April 23, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I simply despair .We produce our best ever team in 2004 which goes through the season unbeaten.We then sell the whole team to fund a new stadium. We have to wait whilst Wenger slowly builds another team. What then happens ? We start selling again. When is this madness going to stop ?
April 23, 2008 at 2:11 pm
At arsenal we have always had a wage structure, partly to avoid divisions in the squad. Flamster has been great, but he’s never worth £60k a week. He’s had 1 1/2 great years at the club out of 4, and greater consitency is needed to justify making him our second or 3rd best player. As soon as you break a wage structure you have to pay everyone else more. I think it would be short sighted of him to leave as he will have to re-establish himself at Juve or anyone else, and woudl proabably have less chance of challenging for silverware. Although it does look like he’s off…..
April 23, 2008 at 3:07 pm
He hasn’t gone anywhere yet has he so stop whining you muppets. At least wait until he’s out the door ffs. I know! Let’s all have a whine about some other stuff that hasn’t happened yet - erm …. I know! Hleb is going to leave and so is Adebayor according to some red top British press - must be true …. oh it don’t matter anyway as far as the fans are concerned both players are rubbish. Get a grip.
April 23, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Henry went last summer and everyone thought that was a mistake but look at him now the moping flouncy twat … useless at Barca and the fans think he’s a lazy sod - they’re right!
I say we should sell Hleb and get some $$$$$$$ for him and bring in a midfielder that can score some goals.
April 23, 2008 at 3:21 pm
this flamini situation seems a bit odd to me.the guy wanted out last summer due to lack of game time ,arsene said ok but then decided to stay and is arguably the first name on the team sheet . now he decides to leave ,why ? boyhood fan of juve or for 10/15k more a week. i find either of those hard to believe .
wonder who arsene has in mind as a replacement .i hope it’s a new signing and not denilson/diaby !!
i really hope when arsene said one or two new signings he didnt include replacements in that number.i hope we retain hleb maybe sign a central midfielder ,centre back ,goalie .wishful thinkin i hope not .we need a bigger squad not another season saying we cud have done better if we didnt have 2/3 players injured.
i like most gooners have faith in arsene but it’s insulting for fans paying top money for tickets(arsenal ticket prices are the most expensive ?) and seeing a talented yet threadbare squad come so close and fail.
come on arsene spend .it may not be the solution but no harm in trying eh !!!
April 23, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Must admit El Tommo when TH14 went last summer most people were in despair as he was one of our instrumental players, however I think most of the Gooners in the know realised Cesc was the real star at The Arsenal, so that blow was softened. Add to that how temperamental, injured Henry was (I’m not knocking him fellas - he’s probably my all time Arsenal player) and given his age, again it was the right time for Wenger to cash in, no one would of thought so at the time. But Flamini is only 24, for some people to think simply because he doesn’t want to sign up he wont win silverware elsewhere is very short sighted. Henry thought he was the star of the team, Flamini is a very important cog in the machine and his will he/wont he can’t be compared to Henry.
The way I see it though the players or their agents more to the point talking about other clubs wanting to sign them can fook right off. That’s not commitment in my book.