Senegal's Arsenal thread 2005/6 - A redcurranty farewell to the Home of Footballâ„¢

[mark g]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Father Senegal:

Just watching the end of season dvd. There are highlights of the 79 final on there </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's just the last 5 minutes, isn't it? That was a truly awful game otherwise.

[wycombe]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Lauren

Small Talk battled past an army of hacks, PR people and legal advisors (!) to secure five minutes with Arsenal full-back Lauren.

Paul Doyle

Friday June 24, 2005

Hi, Lauren

Hello, Small Talk.

Are you the hardest player at Arsenal?

[smiles as if flattered] I don't know. I'm a defender so it's my job to get the ball. Sometimes that means tackling hard but I never deliberately hurt people. I'm not that type of player.

After a Champions League match in Norway last year, there were reports that you and Patrick Vieira had a scrap before being rudely interrupted by the police. Who was winning at the time?

[stares at Small Talk in a way that makes it clear he has no intention of answering]

Gabriel Heinze caught you in the face with an elbow when you played Manchester United last season, didn't he?

[Warily] Yes.

What chance a crazed revenge attack next time you meet?

I told you: I'm not that type of player. I'll just be thinking about my work and my team.

When you came to Arsenal originally, you were a midfielder. Would you prefer to still be playing in the middle?

I've been playing in defence for the last five years and I've won lots of trophies so I'm not complaining.

How good is Emmanuel Eboué? Any chance of him taking your full-back berth next season?

He's a very good player, definitely one for the future.

Do you have any pre-match superstitions?

Not really. Me and Ashley Cole always sit beside each other in the corner of the dressing room and just spend a few minutes talking about the game and helping each other to get focused.

What's the funniest prank anyone's ever played in the Arsenal dressing room?

[Chuckles] Sylvain Wiltord is gone! [Fondly] We still have fun but Wiltord was the big joker.

Deep Heat in Arsene Wenger's jockstrap, that sort of thing?

Something like that.

How does the banter in the Arsenal dressing room compare to what you experienced with Mallorca and Cameroon?

They've all been good. I'd have to say Mallorca was the best, because of the Spanish mentality.

Is Spain a racist country?

[Looks Small Talk straight in the eye] There's racism in every country. It's something that needs to be taken out of football and out of life.

Who's the toughest opponent you've ever faced?

There's been a few. Probably Ryan Giggs or Damien Duff.

What's the last CD you bought?

I like lots of different types of music: techno, Spanish music, R&B, a bit of everything.

What's your favourite TV show?

There's a chat show on Spainsh TV that I really like.You know, celebrities and gossip, that sort of thing.

Which celebrity would you most like to meet?

Nelson Mandela. Just to thank him for his amazing work and for giving confidence to Africa - but not just to Africa, to the rest of the world too.

Can you tell us a joke?

[surprised laugh] A joke! [Lauren's agent dives in front of him like a bodyguard taking a bullet, and barks, "no jokes! no jokes!"]

Er, OK. Bye Lauren, thanks for the chat

Bye Small Talk.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

lifb

[Olly Kenney]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> WENGER MAKES STRIKER BID

Arsenal have made a bid to sign Monaco's Emmanuel Adebayor and the striker admits it would be difficult to turn down a move to Highbury.

The Togolese forward had a good season with the Principality outfit last term, bagging nine goals in 34 games, and has experience of the UEFA Champions League.

Arsene Wenger is interested in raiding his former club in an attempt to land the lanky 21-year-old and pep up his attack.

"Considering what I know, Monaco received two firm transfer offers during the last weeks," Adebayor told France Football.

"One from Toulouse and a later one from Arsenal.

"For the moment, Monaco are not pursuing it. But I can tell you, it could change if I don't prolong my contract.

"You can't refuse a club like Arsenal.

"I think the two most tempting clubs to hire me are PSG and Arsenal.

"I like Paris and I like Marseille.

"Personally, I will do anything to find an agreement with Monaco.

"Monaco consider me to be an important player but they treat me as a young player from the academy."

French sources claim Arsenal are prepared to pay €8 million for the African attacker, who is determined to secure a wage hike.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Don't know much about him apart from he was top scorer for me when i was Monaco manager in FM.

[Olly Kenney]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Arsenal to start talks with Hleb

Arsenal have been granted permission from VfB Stuttgart to open talks with Belarus midfielder Aleksander Hleb, according to reports.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, in Germany commentating on the Confederations Cup for French television, is keen to conclude the transfer quickly.

Wenger has reportedly already held preliminary talks with the player.

Stuttgart have agreed to sell the 24-year-old after Arsenal increased their offer to £6m.

New Stuttgart coach Giovanni Trapattoni has already made it clear the player can leave the club.

"It is fundamentally not a good idea to force a player to stay when they want to leave," he told Bild magazine. "The team is far more important than one individual."

Hleb has scored 13 goals in 137 Bundesliga appearances for Stuttgart, and has won 10 senior caps for Belarus.

The midfielder has three years left on his deal with the Bundesliga club.

Last week Hleb's agent insisted both Arsenal and Chelsea were interested in signing the Belarus midfielder.

"Chelsea are also genuinely interested, however Arsenal have priority as Arsene Wenger has been dreaming of having Alexsander in his team for two years now," said his representative Nikolai Spilevski.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[wycombe]

6m would be fb

[wycombe]

I have never seen Emmanuel Adebayor

[wycombe]

where did you get the Adebayor story from btw?

[Olly Kenney]

Main story on Planet Football

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=28722...hannel=football_home

[mark g]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The Togolese forward had a good season with the Principality outfit last term, bagging nine goals in 34 games, and has experience of the UEFA Champions League </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'd say 9 in 34 was a good season for a midfielder, not a striker.

[Slightly Damp Shrew]

he got 11 in all competitions, and I suppose we have to consider that he was playing in a team of goalscoreres, (Kallon, Saviola, Chevanton, Nonda) so maybe he was more of a provider.

[Olly Kenney]

He is top scorer in the African World Cup qualifiers too

[Mikkel Blue]

the whole emmanuel whoever story sounds like a story to get a new contract.

"i've had an offer from another french club" (toulouse)

"i've had an offer from a foreign club" (a big one, oh, and handily they're 'always' buying frenchies like me

"i like paris" they're a big french team

"i like marseille too" they're also a big french team. i don't care that saying i like both paris and marseille is like saying i like liverpool and man united.

"i want a new agreement with monaco" despite all the **** i'm spreading

"my club are treating me like a youth player" seriously.. i have no other offers i just wnat a new contract and am trying to scare you into making it a bigger one than i really deserve.

[pjburrage]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wicom:

6m would be fb </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Top Bargain of the summer as he is worth twice that.

[Father Senegal]

A togolese player eh?

[wycombe]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Al Qaeda attack Arsenal in C4 film

By Luke Leitch Arts Reporter, Evening Standard

24 June 2005

An Al Qaeda attack in which more than 1,000 Arsenal and Chelsea fans are killed is to feature in a new film backed by Channel 4.

Incendiary - described as a satire - tells the story of a woman whose son and husband die when 11 suicide bombers target Arsenal's new £357 million Emirates Stadium.

It is based on a novel by first-time author Chris Cleave, in which rival fans fight and lynch each other after the attack. It later emerges that the Government and police allowed the attack to go ahead, despite a two-hour warning, to protect the identity of a mole within the terrorist cell.

The book, which goes on sale next month, is described by publisher Chatto & Windus as "a devastating satire of a Britain giving itself up to fear and self-interest".

Film Four bought the film rights with Archer Street Films, which made Girl With A Pearl Earring. It has hired Sharon Maguire (Hilary and Jackie, Bridget Jones' Diary) as director.

Arsenal, it is understood, were not consulted about the novel or the film, which includes as characters Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Gael Clichy, and Robin Van Persie.

Cleave writes of his protagonist - a self-confessed "chav" - watching the match on TV while having sex with a reporter when al Qaeda strikes.

Her policeman husband and son are at the match. When Van Persie hits a goal-bound shot, the novel says, "you could see the ball curling towards the goal tighter and tighter and then the whole East Stand burst in flames". Cleave adds: "All those fans that had been standing up to scream for the goal. Well. They were just gone."

After the blasts in the east stand of the stadium, 200 are killed instantly, 500 lose their lives in the crush to get out and 300 die from their injuries.

Neither Film Four nor Arsenal would comment on the Incendiary project. Chatto & Windus says it is "an impassioned response to the atrocities of the war in Iraq and the Madrid bombing".

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

haha wtf

[wycombe]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Father Senegal:

A togolese player eh? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Father Togo sounds wrong

[Olly Kenney]

That sounds like the worst book ever.

[James07?]

eh? thought osama was a gooner?

[mark g]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James07?:

eh? thought osama was a gooner? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good point. in fact, why isn't "links to terrorist organisations" one of the criteria for the fairplay league?

[Jongi]

Was surprised too James

[James07?]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">you could see the ball curling towards the goal tighter and tighter and then the whole East Stand burst in flames". Cleave adds: "All those fans that had been standing up to scream for the goal. Well. They were just gone." </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

He certainly knows how to build up the tension and describe the horror of the event

anyway, wont RvP be languishing is a dank prison cell for the foreseeable?

[Jongi]

Maybe Osama has high standards. Not winning the league might be totally unacceptable.

[Olly Kenney]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Cygan staying at Arsenal

Pascal Cygan is staying with Arsenal after rejecting the possibility of a summer transfer.

The French centre back was targeted by Nancy recently with the newly-promoted side confirming their intentions on their official website.

However, after their declarations that Cygan was not interested in joining them, clubs from Turkey and Germany were prepared to throw their hat into the ring.

"I didn't have any contact with Nancy," asserted the former Lille captain, who still has two years left on his contract at Highbury.

Philippe Senderos is now firmly ahead of the defender in the pecking order under Arsene Wenger, but the 31-year-old, who joined The Gunners in 2002, is willing to stay and fight for a first team spot.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

link

[wycombe]

bloody hell we gave Pascal a long term contract :/

[Springbok256]

Well it could be much worse and we could have Stepanovs instead of him. At least Cygan sometimes looks reasonable

[Jongi]

Springbok256: You from SA by any chance?

[MickE]

Wenger Confident

Seems a little strange that Wenger would say something like that, he's usually very coy about possible transfers.

[Springbok256]

How much did we offer the first time? Doesnt seem very much 6million sice they were trying to hold out for more

[Cottager]

Kammy said Fratton Park was the home of football

[Olly Kenney]

Think we were meant to have had a £5million bid rejected. Most of the reports linking him to us were saying he was valued at £12million, so who knows.

[Olly Kenney]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Cottager:

Kammy said Fratton Park was the home of football </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

He lied

[Father Senegal]

lifffffffffb

Small Talk battled past an army of hacks, PR people and legal advisors (!) to secure five minutes with Arsenal full-back Lauren.

Paul Doyle

Friday June 24, 2005

Not given to crazed revenge attacks. (Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty)

Hi, Lauren

Hello, Small Talk.

Are you the hardest player at Arsenal?

[smiles as if flattered] I don't know. I'm a defender so it's my job to get the ball. Sometimes that means tackling hard but I never deliberately hurt people. I'm not that type of player.

After a Champions League match in Norway last year, there were reports that you and Patrick Vieira had a scrap before being rudely interrupted by the police. Who was winning at the time?

[stares at Small Talk in a way that makes it clear he has no intention of answering]

Gabriel Heinze caught you in the face with an elbow when you played Manchester United last season, didn't he?

[Warily] Yes.

What chance a crazed revenge attack next time you meet?

I told you: I'm not that type of player. I'll just be thinking about my work and my team.

When you came to Arsenal originally, you were a midfielder. Would you prefer to still be playing in the middle?

I've been playing in defence for the last five years and I've won lots of trophies so I'm not complaining.

How good is Emmanuel Eboué? Any chance of him taking your full-back berth next season?

He's a very good player, definitely one for the future.

Do you have any pre-match superstitions?

Not really. Me and Ashley Cole always sit beside each other in the corner of the dressing room and just spend a few minutes talking about the game and helping each other to get focused.

What's the funniest prank anyone's ever played in the Arsenal dressing room?

[Chuckles] Sylvain Wiltord is gone! [Fondly] We still have fun but Wiltord was the big joker.

Deep Heat in Arsene Wenger's jockstrap, that sort of thing?

Something like that.

How does the banter in the Arsenal dressing room compare to what you experienced with Mallorca and Cameroon?

They've all been good. I'd have to say Mallorca was the best, because of the Spanish mentality.

Is Spain a racist country?

[Looks Small Talk straight in the eye] There's racism in every country. It's something that needs to be taken out of football and out of life.

Who's the toughest opponent you've ever faced?

There's been a few. Probably Ryan Giggs or Damien Duff.

What's the last CD you bought?

I like lots of different types of music: techno, Spanish music, R&B, a bit of everything.

What's your favourite TV show?

There's a chat show on Spainsh TV that I really like.You know, celebrities and gossip, that sort of thing.

Which celebrity would you most like to meet?

Nelson Mandela. Just to thank him for his amazing work and for giving confidence to Africa - but not just to Africa, to the rest of the world too.

Can you tell us a joke?

[surprised laugh] A joke! [Lauren's agent dives in front of him like a bodyguard taking a bullet, and barks, "no jokes! no jokes!"]

Er, OK. Bye Lauren, thanks for the chat

Bye Small Talk.

[wycombe]

why are you copying and pasting my posts father?

[Father Senegal]

I never read your posts

anyway worth a second post because lifffffffb

[Nick OGS20]

Senility kicks in with a vengeance

[Father Senegal]

Can I blame the three pints of San Miguel?

Three pints ffs.

[Cesc Fabregas the Phenom]

Three pints?! Embarassing tbh

[wycombe]

if we can't have fixtures then at the very least can this link be put in the opening post, ta

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=213009&navli...vigation+-+Match+Day

[Slightly Damp Shrew]

Don't we usually play Beveren pre-season? Or is our relationship to purely steal their players?

[Nick OGS20]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Father Senegal:

Can I blame the three pints of San Miguel?

Three pints ffs. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

At least it wasn't Budweiser. Imagine the embarrassment then

[Olly Kenney]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Slightly Welsh Shrew:

Don't we usually play Beveren pre-season? Or is our relationship to purely steal their players? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, we usually send over our reserve team towards the very end of pre season.

[drainedvitality]

C'mon Summer Signings!!!

[Hoista!]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wicom:

if we can't have fixtures then at the very least can this link be put in the opening post, ta

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=213009&navli...vigation+-+Match+Day </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Okey dokey

[wycombe]

thanks

[vidoy]

Come on Wenger sign someone! We need cheering up after it seems everyone is "leaving us"

[Slightly Damp Shrew]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by vidoy:

Come on Wenger sign someone! We need cheering up after it seems everyone is "leaving us" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident Belarus midfielder Alexander Hleb will be at Highbury next season.

"The transfer will be completed in the next few days. I think he can start packing his bags to come to us," Wenger told the Stuttgarter Nachrichten paper.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[exchampionsfan]

What's with the desperation for signings? We have a young squad so they'll be better than they were last year next season so will be able to mount a better challenge to Chelsea. Remember there was only a six week or so spell where we were drastically worse than Chelsea, for most of the season we were matching them - the improvement needed is not as great as it may seem. Of course we need a couple of people in but there's no sudden need for a load of players to come in with some of them being huge.

[wycombe]

its still only june ffs

look basically if we sign Hleb then we are left with two positions that need strengthening, upfront and the goalkeeper.

[vidoy]

im the first to admit we have a brilliant squad and the youth players we have great protential.

Im just bored and want a signing

[OMDave]

As a Marseille supporter, I was wondering what the take is amongst Arsenal fans concerning Arsène Wenger's interest in Samir Nasri, our 18-year-old attacking midfielder. He's still under contract with l'OM until 2007.

You still owe us for Flamini, by the way, and apparently there is going to be a ruling on that in the next few weeks.