Arsenal-Chelsea: a Songful preview

Some say it would be a clash between brute strength and silky football when the London giants meet. In what should be one of the biggest matches in Europe this weekend, Arsenal would have to win to have any good chance at the title.

So far, Arsene Wenger has done an appreciable job of serving his exotic cuisine of attractive passing attacking football. Perhaps one player who has suprised many with the speed of his development is Alex Song Billong.

Many pro-Arsenal blogs like Arseblog, Arsenalist, Arsenalmania and Goonernet have, in recent weeks, portrayed the young Cameroonian as quite indispensable to any silverware ambitions the club may have this season. For me, that is not far-fetched at all.

I was standing behind the goalposts when Ghana lost to Cameroon in the semi of the Ghana 2008 Afcon. Alex Song was mammoth in that game as he'd been throughout the competition. Never mind his size as compared to Ghana's Junior Agogo, Michael Essien or even the bullish Sulley Muntari, the lad played like he had been doing that all his life.

Suprisingly, that Afcon was his first major international tournament. In the end he was so good he was named in the competition's Best XI.

Against Chelsea, I expect Arsene to play him especially after his Man of the Match performances against Sunderland and Standard Liege. The middle of the field was his, that much was clear. And maybe he can even get that rare goal - now that'd be special.

At 22 years and at this rate, the little man from Douala may yet be one of the best central/defensive midfielders in Europe in a season or two.

Ancelloti is likely to employ a rugged midfield - like he usually does - and apart from Song, I'm not seeing who the Arse would employ to match the strength of the blues. Gallas left the last game with eyes like a pufferfish and if he would play, Song may get some respite. Otherwise it's gonna be a tiring day for the man who was loaned to Arsenal on a £1 million from Bastia.

Personally, I'd like an Arsenal win and here's why: in an ideal world Wenger's vaunted scouting and youth development policy must be seen to be beating over Abramovich's ridiculous 'buy-and-win' way of ruling Chelsea since he arrived in 2002-3. Sadly, our planet is anything but ideal.

That said, I cant wait for the game, can you? Especially to see how Eboue fares, too.

Till later.

Kalou going to Arsenal (?) + Chamakh is pissed!

Today, I've more news about Africans moving to England.

Salomon Kalou

The Sun says “Arsenal are on the verge of signing Salomon Kalou from Chelsea. The Gunners have offered £6million for the 28-year-old Ivory Coast striker - but the Blues are insisting on £8m.”

Being a player who has a reputation, especially, of scoring as a sub, maybe Arsene could fashion him into a scoring monster. Well, who knows?

The Ivorian started his Eurpean career at Excelsior (Feyenoord's satellite team) and was later 'promoted' to Feyenoord itself. There, he scored 35 goals in 67 league appearances. Jose Mourinho said Kalou is "hardworking, versatile, eager to improve, and unafraid of the physical side of the game."

The Ivory Coast international has failed to establish himself in the starting XI since moving to Stamford Bridge, often used as a substitute with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka the first-choice strike partnership.

As for Kalou himself, he has admitted having former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry as his mentor. He has previously said he would welcome a move to the Emirates and the opportunity to work under Arsene Wenger.

Back in February Kalou said:

"He is a very great coach and I know that every single player in the world dreams of playing for him.

"I have a lot of respect for him, he is one of the best coaches in the world.

"Arsenal are achieving huge things and watching them play is beautiful."

He has scored 20 goals in 58 appearances for the Blues. Ask me, I'll tell you that he is a good buy.

But, as unpredictable as football players are these days (even worse than the khebabs that gave me stomach ache) now he is reported to be okay with slugging it out with the Blues:

Marouane Chamakh

Now this is a man who wants to move to the Emirates and really wants it like sooo bad. Yet, his people are apparently giving him some stress.

The Moroccan has accused the French champions Bordeaux of pricing him out of a move to Arsenal, who have expressed an interest in the Morocco striker. Chamakh told L'Equipe:

"Going to Arsenal is my dream.

"I am at the end of my contract and the club want to turn this into a money issue. What the club are asking for is not fair.

"I am angry. I am even disgusted. I don't understand why people are doing this to me.

"Ever since I've played football, I've given my all for this club and for the fans. I believe I deserve more consideration."

The Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud confirmed Arsenal had bid for the 25-year-old but said the London club's offer was insufficient. Reports suggest the Gunners offered in the region of £5m for the striker, who scored 13 goals in 34 Ligue 1 games last season and has scored 15 times in 50 games for his country.

Arsène Wenger is thought to be keen to bring another forward in to bolster his attacking options following the departure of Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City, though he has experimented with a 4-2-3-1 formation in pre-season, a tactic that if employed through the season, would lessen the need for a replacement striker.

Toure's first shout after leaving Arsenal to City

Hi all.

Manchester City have unveiled new signing Kolo Toure at his debut press conference since the Ivorian made his move from Arsenal.

Toure, who claims he knew about the move six months ago, says he would not have joined Mark Hughes's side if he did not think they can win the league.

Visual proof: Adebayor is now a City boy.

Togolese striker Sheyi Adebayor is officially now an Arsenal a cash cow - and a big one at that - after joining the Eastlanders for 25 million quid.

This also means that he is the highest ever paid-for African player, overtaking Ghana's Michael Essien.

He's scored some fine goals but his time was up. The downloadable pdf brochure at Arseblog showed how much he had lost favour with the red faithful.

Good luck to him. Let's recap some of his finer Gunner moments, eh?

Chamakh nears Arsenal deal

Sport.co.uk says that Arsenal are in the final stages of completing a move for Bordeaux hitman Marouane Chamakh. According to a source close to the club the Gunners have agreed a fee with their French counterparts and are on the verge of concluding personal terms with the player.

Chamakh will replace Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor who is expected to complete a £25 million move to Manchester City in the next 24 hours.

Frenchman Wenger has been linked with a move for the 25-year-old Moroccan since January but appears to have moved quickly now that the necessary finances have been freed up.

Courted around the continent, Chamakh saw his star rise across Europe having netted 14 times for Laurent Blanc's Ligue 1 championship winning side.

Chamakh admitted recently:

"I want to play in the Premier League and a club like Arsenal would be a dream. If they were to come calling, I would certainly give them a positive answer."

The Morocco international has scored 53 goals in almost 200 matches for Bordeaux since joining the club seven years ago, and we expect the deal to be competed in the next coming days.

Getting ready for Ade's adios

With reports of a medical having taken place and a work permit hearing in Manchester ,it looks as if Emmanuel Adebayor will be a Man City player by the end of the week.

The fee is reported to be around £25m, which would make Adebayor the most expensive African footballer in history. The figures for his wage fluctuate, but at the upper end of the spectrum, £170,000 p/week would make him the highest paid player in England.

They are huge sums - greater than either Arsenal or Adebayor could possibly gain from any other club. Milan’s highest offer last summer was reported as £24m - considering how Adebayor’s stock has fallen since then, an improvement on that would be remarkable.

It’s a signing that makes sense for Man City. They have signed a proven Premier League player from a top four club - they will see it as strengthening whilst weakening a rival.

Adebayor will score a good few goals, and at times he, Robinho, Tevez and Ireland will click with such attacking verve that some fans will wonder if we made a mistake in letting him go.

Adebayor, sadly, was too stupid to ignore the advisors who doubtless surround him and realise that for himself. At Arsenal he had a wonderful platform to go on and write his name among other great goalscorers: despite question marks over his finishing he is well over half the way to 100 Arsenal goals.

Instead, he threw his toys out of the pram until they were returned with bundles of cash, and when they were he lay there and sucked his thumb instead of continuing the hard work that had got him to that point.

It is, in the words of Elton John, a sad sad situation, but fortunately one that it seems will soon be resolved.

The Adebayor brochure

Recently, Michael Owen's representatives produced a now infamous brochure present to prospective new employers as the striker left Newcastle United.

People are torn as to the role this played in getting him a move to Old Trafford.

Now, Arsenal fans have produced a tongue-in-cheek version of the leaflet for Emmanuel Adebayor, their Togolese forward who splits opinion even inside his own Emirates Stadium stomping ground.

You can find the downloadable pdf brochure at Arseblog.

Hilarious.

Ade's big money bag on its way!

Arsenal's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor is looking like a cash cow - and a big one at that - as we speak. That is, if he agrees to join Manchester City.

The Daily Mail says City were last night closing in on a £25 million deal for Adebayor after finally completing the signing of Carlos Tevez.

Manager Mark Hughes has been given encouragement by Arsenal in his move for Adebayor and the deal could even be completed today. And who is surprised that the Gunners want to rid themselves of a man who has become a trouble-maker of sorts for the club's fans?

The Togo forward is expected to open talks on a five-year deal worth £170,000 a week.

City moved for Adebayor over the weekend after giving up on a deal to bring in Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona.

Eto'o tried to push a move through late on but City had grown tired of waiting for him.

Despite Adebayor's status as Arsenal's top striker over the last two seasons, manager Arsene Wenger is keen to sell.

Marouane Chamakh's Arsenal-bound?

The circular nature of the endless cycle of transfer gossip is in full evidence this Friday as many of the papers latch onto old quotes from Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh to spice up a story linking Fulham and Arsenal with the want-away forward.

According to a report in The Times today,

“the Morocco player has refused to extend his contract, which has one year left, and he claims to have a buyouclause of £7 million.”

Back at the end of May many media outlets carried Chamakh’s soundbite that:

“I want to play in the Premier League and a club like Arsenal would be a dream. If they were to come calling, I would certainly give them a positive answer.”

The consensus opinion at the time though was that The Professor was uninterested in answering Chamakh’s come-and-get-me pleas..

Today however, with the fifth estate presuming fans collectively suffer from short-term memory loss, the quotes are freshly spun in order to give way to a juicy tale of a battle of London clubs for the attacker’s signature. The truth remains though that very little has changed in three weeks, and the likelihood of the Gunners making such a move for the striker appears slim to remote.

But that is not to say that the links to Fulham are complete folly. The Cottagers continue to scourer for new striking options as the prepare for a jam-packed season including involvement in the Europa League on top of their domestic responsibilities. Without question the West Londoners require extra firepower up-front, and Chamakh could definitely fit the bill.


Having come through the ranks at Bordeaux, 25-year-old Moroccan international Chamakh has become a pivotal figure for both his club and country. Known particularly for his blistering pace, Chamakh also has excellent ball and dribbling skills as well as boasting a strong aerial ability.

That said, Chamakh’s start to the 2008/09 season got off to a stuttering start with the striker only bagged five goals in the first five months of the campaign. However, since the turn of the year Chamakh’s form improve, with the forward eventually closing out the season with 14 goals in 42 appearances, together with three assists. Internationally, Chamakh has represented Morocco since 2003, playing 50 games and scoring 15 goals.

Enough talk. This, folks, is the man in action.

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Eboue's agent isn't ruling out an Italian job.

The agent of Emmanuel Eboue has declared that the Arsenal player would be tempted by a move to one of Italy’s biggest clubs, but signing a new contract at Emirates Stadium also appears a distinct possibility.

Eboue’s future is in some doubt after a disappointing season for the Ivory Coast international in which he was targeted for abuse by some sections of the club’s support.

The 26-year-old muddied the water further on Tuesday when announcing that he may consider leaving if he is not promised regular football by Arsene Wenger, but only to a club outside England and not one of Arsenal’s Premier League rivals.

Now the versatile player’s agent has encouraged interest from Inter, Milan and Juventus, even if he is open to Arsenal securing Eboue's future on a long-term basis.

"Arsenal offered us a contract extension, proposing to us a four-year deal," Franjo Vranjkovic told Calciomercato.it.

"Emmanuel could free himself soon as at zero cost, but Wenger's offer is very good.

"The player likes the way Arsenal plays.

"I honestly think that Fiorentina and Roma aren't at Eboue's level. The two clubs are not among the top ones in Italy, that's the reality of it. But if any of the Milan clubs or Juventus come after him, that could change things.

"Inter have never contacted us but if they should call us we would be in Italy without any problems. But no one has called me.

"I repeat that the player has a great relationship with Wenger, he's one of his fans.

"There's no problems with the fans either. It's normal that people create great stories about great players but there is absolutely no friction with the Gunners supporters."
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101 great goals of 2008/09: Emmanuel Adebayor

For me, it should have come in a better position than number 81.

But well that's how 101gg saw it. And here is the strike again.



For followers of this blog you may remember that I compared the goal to that of Ronaldinho.



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Adebayor's agent: No contact from Milan but others like my boy

Morning, all.

Cloudy with weather looking ominous here in Accra but I'm sure you're ok?

Right. Emmanuel Adebayor's agent says there's been no contact from AC Milan but admitted other clubs have expressed an interest.

Stephane Courbis said:

"Yesterday I met with Arsene Wenger, but we did not talk about a possible sale because at the moment there is no offer on the table that interests us.

"The Milan owners have made no contact with me. There are other offers, but none that Emmanuel finds interesting. It is not right to talk about things at the moment because Ade is an Arsenal player."

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The Sun: Adebayor's going to Milan for £15m

Even though I do not terribly trust The Sun, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

According to the paper's site, Adebayor is going to be offered a sizzling amount of cash in pounds by the Italian giants:

"AC MILAN will make a bid of £15million for Emmanuel Adebayor this week.

The Serie A club are desperate to give their fans some positive news after Carlo Ancelotti's departure for Chelsea and Kaka's impending exit from the San Siro.

Milan offered £25m for the Arsenal striker last summer but the bid was turned down.

Their valuation has decreased after a mediocre season from the Togo international.

Adebayor netted 16 times last term - which was a huge disappointment after his 30-goal return the season before.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is willing to sell the 25-year-old as he attempts to rebuild a side which struggled to finish fourth in the Premier League last term.

Milan were interested in Didier Drogba but, as SunSport revealed two months ago, the striker is to be offered a new deal by Chelsea.

Drogba, 31, is likely to agree a three-year contract next month."

I leave it to you to do the believing.

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Eboue's future as a Gunner unsettled

The season is over and the transfer windows all over the world are squeaking open. In England and Arsenal in particular, fans expect lots of going in and buzzing off.

Emmanuel Eboue has been unsure of his place in the team and has speaken about his future:

"My future at Arsenal is not clear yet, I did not play a lot in the season and the World Cup is coming.

"There are many clubs interested in me, so let's wait.

"Before the season's start I will make a decision."

The Arsenal blog Arseblog doesn't doubt there are many clubs interested in the Ivorian but thinks the final few months of the season are a good indication that his future lies elsewhere.

He was a barely used substitute for much of it, as clear a sign as any that Arsene Wenger didn't really count on him. There are those who think he's a handy utility player but he's been one of the most frustrating players seen in an Arsenal shirt and many won't be shedding any tears if he leaves.

Arseblog says they might even have a party! Gross...
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Wenger wants Uche's number.

While we are still gawking and wondering how Nigeria beat France, more positive fallout has come out of that game.

According to Kickoff Nigeria, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that he may be asking for Ike Uche's number after watching the striker do a series of fine moves on the French defence as the Super Eagles ran out with a surprise 1-0 win over Les Blues on Tuesday night.

Wenger was a co-commentator on the live game for French TV TF1 and was hugely impressed by the Getafe man's showing at the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard.

"What’s his name again? Ikechukwu Uche. I should ask for his phone number," Wenger said on TF1.

Wenger continually praised the 25-year-old Uche for the duration of the game and Ike's elder brother Kalu has told Setanta Sports that his sibling would not be averse to a Premier League
switch.

Knowing Wenger, he just might pull it off. And I think Uche will not complain if he's tapped!

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Wanted: Essien and Adebayor in Milan!

Brazilian Leonardo has only been the new coach of Milan for a day, but the Brazilian has already highlighted some of the stars he wants.

With Chelsea taking Carlo Ancelotti, it is rumoured that he will take some of his favourite Rossoneri players with him to London. And Leonardo has asked that any potential deal see Michael Essien moving in the opposite direction, according to the Corriere dello Sport.

The 26-year-old missed the first half of the season through injury, but was extremely influential upon his return, especially during Chelsea's Champions League run to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Leonardo is reportedly also interested in acquiring Arsenal hitman Emmanuel Adebayor, who has frequently been linked with the Rossoneri over the past couple of years. The Togolese striker scored 15 goals in all competitions for the Gunners this season and is viewed as the idea man to add some strength to the Milan attack.

The Serie A giants came in third place in Serie A this season and were knocked out in the early stages of the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia, thus enduring a trophyless campaign.

PS: I'm also hearing that Milan could swap with Andrea Pirlo.
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