Up the Arse! Goons thread. :)

[windyhill]

Remind who the home side was again ? Fabregas, M.O.T.M, superb display. The Beast !!!! Hopefully, somehow we can hold onto him, horrible waste just rolling him out for The Carling, he`d take The Prem by storm if he could get a regular gig. "2 nil and you ********ed it up" Arsenal boys were in good voice.

 

[snakebite01]

Remind who the home side was again ? Fabregas, M.O.T.M, superb display. The Beast !!!! Hopefully, somehow we can hold onto him, horrible waste just rolling him out for The Carling, he`d take The Prem by storm if he could get a regular gig. "2 nil and you ********ed it up" Arsenal boys were in good voice.

...for once.

 

[windyhill]

Always good going there Snakey

 

[Vieira]

...for once.

"Stand Up if you hate Tottenham"

 

[desie]

Gunners ready to snare Babel, 'the new Henry'
By Jason Burt
Published: 25 January 2007
Arsenal are expected to sign Ajax's Ryan Babel, the hottest young talent in Dutch football, after apparently beating off interest from both Newcastle United and Portsmouth.

However, a deal for the 20-year-old, who will cost between £7m and £10m, will not be finalised until the summer. Sources in the Netherlands claim that Babel has set his heart on joining Arsenal, whose interest in the forward was revealed by The Independent earlier this month, although he is under pressure to sign a new deal at Ajax.

Babel's friendship with the Arsenal forward Robin van Persie has helped persuade him to move to the Emirates Stadium. He is predominantly a left winger but can play as a central striker or on the right and already has eight Netherlands caps. He was also part of last summer's World Cup squad.

Babel's contract at Ajax runs until next year. Negotiations have taken place to extend that but Babel is apparently insisting that a minimum-fee release clause is inserted which will allow him to move to Arsenal before the start of next season. Ajax are opposed to the idea and are keen to tie down their brightest prospect.

Babel made his debut for the Netherlands in March 2005, coming on as a first-half substitute in Romania for Chelsea's Arjen Robben and scoring in a 2-0 win. This made him the fourth-youngest goalscorer in the history of the Dutch national team, while the coach, Marco van Basten, was prompted to claim that Babel, who is very quick, "has all the potential to be the next Thierry Henry".

Newcastle, who are believed to have lodged an informal bid of around £5m, and Portsmouth have made contact with Ajax, hoping to secure a deal in the January transfer window. But it is understood the player only wants to move to Arsenal, where he is regarded as a replacement for Fredrik Ljungberg.

The Swede, who was the subject of an inquiry by West Ham United earlier this month following his limited first-team opportunities this season, is expected to leave in the summer. He has fallen down the pecking order since the arrival at the club of Tomas Rosicky and Alexander Hleb.

Babel, who was born in Amsterdam and made his Ajax debut three years ago, recently said that he was fully committed to the club but also admitted that he was "impressed" by Arsenal and Barcelona, and would like to eventually move abroad. "Like every other player I have my dreams," he said.

With his adaptability - as well as his ability and pace - Babel fits the mould of the type of player Arsène Wenger is looking to add to his squad. The Arsenal manager, who insists he will not be making any signings this month, also appears committed to reducing the average age of his team, which is partly why Ljungberg, who is 30 in April, is understood to be surplus to requirements. The midfielder is expected to move to Italy but will also continue to attract interest from the Premiership.

 

[Benno_900]

Eboue looked good as a RW, we should play him there more often. Hopefully, his and Hleb's injuries aren't too serious.

 

[DB10]

I would have preferred to lose than have them injured.

 

[Corrosion]

Losing Eboue and Hleb is a blow, but with Gilberto coming back, and Hoyte more than capable of holding his own in the defensive line-up, I don't think we will suffer.

Was impressed by Denilson's game this morning. Looks the goods.

 

[DB10]

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?...-+Hleb's+hamstring+injury+'doesn't+look+good'

Lovely.

 

[Benno_900]

Damn, any update on Eboue? Because I wouldn't mind us playing him as a RM with Hoyte as RB.

 

[DB10]

Check arsenal.com later on, Wenger usually has a press conference today. In fact it's probably on right now.

 

[DB10]

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?...ng+will+keep+Hleb+out+for+'a+good+four+weeks'

RVP = 10 weeks

Hleb = 4 weeks

Eboue & Aliadiere = fit for Sunday.

Great.

 

[Darealrath]

The injury page seems to think Eboue and Ali might still miss this weekend. We could do with Freddie back.

 

[DB10]

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?...Title=Ray+Parlour+poised+to+return+to+Arsenal

Razor returns.

 

[Darealrath]

He was a gun.

 

[Rocco Jones]

Great to see after the excellent service he gave to our club.

Who replaces Hleb? Rotate his spot between a few perhaps?

 

[Darealrath]

I like Benno's idea of Eboue.

 

[Rocco Jones]

I like Benno's idea of Eboue.

Yep, then it becomes a case of Hoyte taking Hleb's spot in the side. Would we rather Hoyte at RB or Flamini/Diaby/Theo/Denilson on a wing?

 

[Darealrath]

Yep, then it becomes a case of Hoyte taking Hleb's spot in the side. Would we rather Hoyte at RB or Flamini/Diaby/Theo/Denilson on a wing?

I would. Theo would be my next option, and Ali third, with Hleb out. You ?

 

[Rocco Jones]

I would. Theo would be my next option, and Ali third, with Hleb out. You ?

Just have doubts over Hoyte. I would have Theo, Denilson, Diaby and Flamini ahead of Ali. Wouldn't mind seeing Theo or Denilson get a crack with the big boys.

In terms of Sunday I think we need to attack Bolton. A draw would be horrible due to having to play them away and fixture congestion. Would like to see Theo get a start.

 

[giantroo]

Eboue looked good as a RW, we should play him there more often. Hopefully, his and Hleb's injuries aren't too serious.

Hleb out for 4 weeks.

 

[giantroo]

Great to see after the excellent service he gave to our club.

Who replaces Hleb? Rotate his spot between a few perhaps?

Yep rotate, bring in walcott, or another player.

 

[Jeffers]

Time to give Theo a crack this time IMO.

 

[Benno_900]

Hoyte is a decent defender and I think Eboue will be very damaging playing in the midfield. It wouldn't bother me playing either Eboue/Hoyte or Walcott/Eboue really.

 

[Dipper]

I think the Beast might get a go on the wing in place of Hleb in the league.

In the cup reckon he might get a go up front if Henry is rested or starts on the bench, dunno if they'll rest Henry or not though it tends to happen but he's had a big break this season so maybe there's less need than normal.

Clearly Baptista's better in the middle whether as the second striker or coming from midfield but needs must & I still think he can be dangerous, it's not like our wingers have to hug the touch line anyway.

Can't help wondering how the Beast & Henry would go as a partnership.

Baptista as well as being strong seems to have good game smarts as well as a fair degree of skill.

I like the cut of his gib.

RvP is a big loss, especially for the CL.

As for Anelka coming back, no way.He's never been consistant in his whole career, even when he played for us he was good but it was always about his potential.

I remember Anelka & Henry being paired together for france in Euro 2000 & it did seem to have a lot of potenial but after a couple of games Anelka was binned.

I'm not in the 'let's boo Anelka the ungrateful prick' camp but I remember when he was part of the 3 man attack with DB & Overmars & he whinged that they only passed to each other & not him, which was ridiculous & really we don't need his brand of self obsession back at the club.

Clearly what has worked for us over the years is a guy playing off Henry & before that someone playing off Anelka, to play them both is gonna change the focus of our attack, already Henry & Adebayour is a bit different to what we're used to & in the game with Man U Henry was really quiet, might have just been one of those things but it might have been him struggling to deal with playing alongside a proper centre forward rather than a withdrawn semi creative striker like RvP or DB.

My answer to everything now is to just unleash the beast.