If he has the quality...

As Arsenal fans we have heard this phrase way too often for our liking in recent years. When we hear it, we usually suspect we don't target any particular player, rather, it's an excuse for buying no one.

The reasons could be different. We don't have the funds (no longer the case), we cannot lure top players away, our salary policy is no match to that of City's or Chelsea's. In other words, more often than not, this phrase meant (you won't argue with the past tense, would you?) that a couple of youngsters and an experienced centre-back is best we, as fans, can hope for.

For years we could have pinpointed the positions that needed strengthening, and bemoaned the Club's inaction to operate properly in the transfer market. This resulted in wild chases for the top four spot, unexpected and complete downfalls from the first positions, lost finals, missed opportunities, etc. etc. Even last year's transfer window can be considered a flop of sorts. Don't get me wrong, the acquisition of Ozil is great, a step forward in many senses and, most importantly, a statement of intent, but we didn't buy a striker. Simple as that. We knew Giroud isn't the type of forward to score 30+ goals a season, even if provided with enough service. Yet we failed to get anyone and this resulted in one of the lowest-scoring sides under Arsene Wenger. Just 68 goals in 38 games, 34 less than City, 33 less than Liverpool and even a couple less than Chelsea, who, may I remind you, had Torres, Ba and Eto'o for strikers. Definitely less of a force than Giroud, Podolski and Walcott.

It's not like Arsenal didn't try, I get it. We fell just a bit short of signing Higuain (is £32 million a lot to ask for Gonzalo? After this World Cup, it seems that it is. But he still managed to have a very good season with Napoli). We then tried to sign Suarez, but John Henry, Brendan Rodgers and Co went out of their way to stop us from acquiring their star striker, even though the latter has bitten Ivanovic. Liverpool pretended they didn't have to sell Suarez if someone offered them more than £40 million and forced Luis to stay. It later turned out John Henry lied about that clause and Gazidis took him to court, but it was too late.

Then there was what I consider our stupidest bit of business up to date: Wenger tried to loan out Ba. Maybe our manager didn't expect he'd go so low on the transfer priorities list, but he had to, something that resulted in an attempt to sign Ba on the last day of the transfer window. Had I been Arsene's adviser, I wouldn't have included any player over whom we'd have to deal with Mourinho in the list, knowing full well what a twat the Portuguese is, but then again I wouldn't have allowed Arsene to make a bid for Suarez, which would also have been a good thing and...I'm being carried away here.

Point is, Wenger comes at things from a much more informed perspective than I do, which is why I would have been a bad adviser. Except for Ba. And Suarez.

Anyway, we were all set to acquire at least one striker (on loan, but still) which would, in it's turn, have allowed Bendtner to go, when suddenly (surprise, surprise), Mourinho pulled out of the deal, leaving us with only Giroud as a spearhead. You just can't do business with Mourinho.

This year, however, the phrase about quality takes on a whole new meaning. It was clear early in the summer that the Club was bursting with cash. It was also clear we needed to reinforce three positions at least, five is better. And then came this question: "Who should we buy?" If I'm to put it Johnny English-style: "A simple question, but one that, I believe, has a complex answer".

Seriously though, you can't just buy every good player available and then hope it'll work out. In England, such tactic has only worked out for City, but every time I think how many good players have been polishing the bench for sheer numbers to finally make up for the quality, I shudder. Pantilimon, Kolarov, Richards, Rodwell, Negredo, Jovetic (for God's sake). They were all basically deemed surplus to reguirements. They didn't play, they are unlikely to become a catch for any top club for that reason and some of them are bound to leave (like Pantilimon, who already did). Hell, even their leader and top scorer Toure is considering an exit, though for different reasons. Sometimes it seems the Citizens don't  have a clue as to who they should buy and how should they operate in the transfer market.

However, I've given you a quite shiny example of not having a method to one's transfer market madness. I've touched on Barcelona and how they can have a second trophyless season if they don't start buying the players they really need (and quickly), but there are also less fortunate clubs. Look at Tootenham last season. More than £100 million spent, 9 (or was it even more?) new players and such a failure. Everyone laughed at Arsene when he warned Boas against trying to glue together so many newcomers, but the Frenchman was right. Only Eriksen had a good season, everyone else (including a much-hyped Lamela) had a lame year. Spurs finished sixth, well behind us and even a couple of points behind Everton (and the Toffees didn't spend £100 million on new players, mind you), crashed out of all the cups, thrice has lost to Arsenal (yay!) and some of their other losses won't be forgotten in a hurry. Like a double combo against Liverpool.

They will now have a hell of a hard time building a new team with a new manager and the board wants Spurs to finish in the top four, or else they fire Pocettino. Madness.

This year, Liverpool and Chelsea have picked up the mantle of buying loads of players they don't really need. Liverpool is trying to plug a huge hole left by Suarez by buying ten players who have ten times less quality in a wild hope that it will work out (just like Tottenham last year) and Chelsea is cementing their reputation as dickheaded moneybags. They have bought Costa and Luis after having seen the pair thrash them in the semi-final, returned Courtois (same reason) and bought Fabregas only to stop Arsenal from signing the Spaniard. They have also tried to hi-jack Kroos deal and are now desperately trying to convince Khedira to join them instead of us. No thinking process involved, it seems.

Chelsea let Luiz go to replace the guy with Luis (it's only one letter, isn't it?), I'm pretty sure they don't know what to do with brilliant Cech and they definitely have a packed (even without Lampard) midfield to not need Fabregas, Kroos or Khedira. Seriously, where is Fabregas going to play? Where Oscar now resides? Mata has been sold to let Oscar flourish, is Mourinho going to drop the Brazilian for an older Fabregas, maybe not used to playing in Premier League anymore? How about Matic, Ramires? Are they going to give way to Khedira? And Kroos. Same position as Oscar and Fabregas. So tell me, why exactly does Chelsea need all those palyers?

The answer is simple: they don't. The Blues just try to buy everything that moves and hope this strategy works. Well, we'll see.

That's why I like what Arsenal is doing this summer. We have a plan, we are acting on it, we are succeeding. Fabianski and Viviano left? Why don't we sign a quality back-up keeper, like Ospina, who'll push Szczesny all the way. Sagna gone to play for City? Debuchy (a player with experience in the PL) will be our number one, while Manquilo (young right-back from Atletico) may provide cover.

Have an ageing Arteta and no one to replace him in that holding role? Why not nick an unsatisfied reigning World Cup champion from Real Madrid for a meagre sum. Problems in attack? Here's one of the best strikers if this World Cup, 25 and fresh from Barcelona. It even looks like we are not letting Vermaelen go to United, unless they provide us with Smalling so we won't be left short on numbers.

And, mind you, I'm sure all these players will fit in, because, unlike other managers, Arsene always looks at a broader picture. He always says the team comes first, so when he signs a player, the chances of him not fitting in are minimal.

Because we only buy players, if they have the quality...we need

Germany does it better

Evening everyone.

So, Germany has become champions after beating Argentine yesterday. It took Die Mannschaft 120 minutes to do so and, in the end, that's what Lowe's side deserves.

The German coach sprung a bit of a surprise by starting Christoph Kramer ahead of an injured Sami Khedira, but the former was substituted at the half-hour mark. The unfortunate German collided with Garay, taking a hit to his head in the process, and had to be replaced by Andre Shurrle. Kramer looked dazed and not quite realising what's going on around him even after the final whistle blew, so fingers crossed he's now alright and the injury didn't have any lasting repercussions.

The game itself was, on the one hand, very tedious, but, on the other, a defensive masterclass from both teams. Argentine tried to counterattack, while Germany took matters into their own hands, but all this lead to only three moments in the entire first half. Higuain put a shot wide after being clean through, then scored after being flagged offside. Germany only came up with Howedes header which cracked against the post.

The second half was more of the same. Messi really had to put Argentine aheaNearly on, but missed from a killer position, while substitute's Palacio finish was as bad as his haircut.

Germany struggled to create chances of their own, much of this was down (I suspect) to a quiet game from Toni Kroos. And so the game went to extra-time.

Gotze came on for Miro Klose (who was applauded all over the stadium) and turned out to be the one Germany needed. In the 113th minute he received a brilliant pass from Andre Schurrle, chested the ball down and sent it into the bottom corner with his left. Beautiful goal right at the death, leaving Argentine with basically no time to respond.

Of three our guys only Ozil started, with Mert substituting Mesut before the final whistle, but Poldi really stole the show by taking to the pitch first and then making a bunch of epic selfies (Schweinsteiger and Merkel ones stand out). What an experience for our three Gunners.

I also wanted to say a few words on Mario Gotze. Though I generally dislike the guy (maybe because he left Borussia for money), he did this to earn back some of my respect. If he makes a duplicate of the medal for his buddy, that'll be just great.

In other news, three German Gunners may just become four, as reports from Spain suggest Arsenal has reached an agreement in principle with Real over Sami Khedira and now we just need to finalise the details. I don't quite understand the sum of €29 million for a guy with twelve months of the contract left, but what the hell. Our coffers are full of cash, let's get rid of it. Even after the acquistion of Sanchez, Debuchy and Khedira we'll still have a few quid left. Which could have been spent on Fabregas. Aargh, forget it.

Speaking of Fabregas, I don't like what Chelsea is doing. No, rather, I don't UNDERSTAND what they are doing. It looks to me like the Blues just buy off players that had a good season (Costa, Luis) and try to hi-jack Arsenal's deals (Fabregas). They behave exactly like people tell they behave: like moneybags. Buy everything that moves and hope it works out. If not, get rid of them and buy other players. No thinking process attached. Buy expensive players and also try to hinder Wenger by buying who we really need and they obviously don't. Despicable. But it looks like this time Arsene has the upper hand. Quickly and quietly buy Sanchez and Debuchy (stand by for official confirmation. Should be any minute now) and lure away an unhappy Khedira using our lads in Germany's national team. If those three two join us in the not-too-distant future, Mourinho will be helpless. Gosh, I'd like to see his face upon the announcement of Khedira. Om-nom-nom.

Finally for today, pre-season will kick off for those Arsenal players that didn't participate in the World Cup and it will start with a game against Boreham Wood on July 19th. We are expected to field a relatively strong side there, so I'll do my best to find a broadcast. Should be worth it.

That's it for today, until later

Brazil gets thumped a second time + World Cup overview

Hello everyone.

So, yesterday's game didn't exactly go according to plan for Brazil. I've turned the thing on in the 8th minute and Scolari's side was already behind. Before I could digest this info, Daley Blind smashed a second goal into the roof of the net. It was 17th minute.

Now, before I go any further and say how bad Brazil looked for the second game running, I have to state they suffered from atrocious refereeing. To start with, there was no penalty. Robben was fouled outside the box and it was clearly visible on the replays. Yeah, he did his usual thing, screamed, fell to the ground like he was shot (at the slightest of touches, mind you), but the foul itself happened outside the 18-yard box.

In case with the second goal, the guy who crossed was clearly offside. It was below-par defending from Luiz and even worse showing from his teammates that have to provide cover, but there also was a gross mistake from the linesman. People can joke all they like about how even a blind man can score against Brazil, but this mistake is going nowhere.

After that, Brazil had to respond, but were only able to come up with something from set-pieces. For a while it looked like they could get back into the game, but Scolari's side was so toothless up front (without Neymar and Hulk) that they couldn't get the most out of their possession. The culmination happened late in the day when Oscar got booked for diving (the first time someone got booked for diving during this tournament). Then Holland added another goal (deep into injury time) and it was all over.

Personally, I feel sorry for Brazil, but nothing comes close to how I hate each and every Holland player. I especially despise Robben for all his antics. He's got to the point where he performs several dives a game and still the referees are disinclined to do something about it. Cheating is so deeply ingrained in his DNA, that on a couple of occasions Robben dived, though he was clean through and staying on his feet could have proved a better option for the team. I really pity no one injured this guy. If Neymar deserves what he got for all his diving, Robben should spend the rest of his life in hospitals for all the cheating he's done. Don't want to talk about this guy anymore.

Today is the final day and the final game of this marvellous World Cup and it's Germany vs Netherlands in, erm, the final. Yeah, final in the final game on the final day. Something like that.

Anyway, as this tournament will be behind us in less than 11 hours, I thought a bit of overview is due. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this World Cup, so I'll start with:

South American teams

To start with six (out of seven) teams made it out of their groups. The only team that failed to make the grade was Ecuador. Three teams then marched into the quarter-final and I suspect this number would have been higher, had these teams not been paired with one another. Chile, Mexico and Colombia all fought valiantly and I maintain they would been better placed in the semis, than Brazil, Argentine and Holland. But it is what it is.

Goalkeepers tournament

Ochoa, Bravo, Ospina, Navas, Enyama, Howard and Boli all deserve the highest marks. To demonstrate just how good they were, it'll suffice to say that the record for most saves in a single World Cup game now resides in third place. Howard set a new one against Belgium, when he performed 15 (or 16, it's still unclear) saves, while Navas bagged 14 saves in the quarter-final game against Holland. Three of the keepers I mentioned have already found themselves new clubs (Ochoa to Atletico, Bravo to Barcelona and Navas to Bayern Munich) and one is on the verge of a transfer (more on that later).

Goal spectacle

Up to this point, 171 goals have been scored. It matches the previous record (set in France in 1998) and, if we don't see a goalless draw today, a new record will be set. True, the goals have dried up in the last eight and, had it not been for two horrendous defeats Brazil suffered, we would not be looking at a new (possibly) record, but not much we can do about these defeats now.

Individual showings

Apart from goalkeepers there were a lot of other players to like. Neymar and Messi for almost single-handedly taking their teams so far, Sanchez and Rodriguez for having a marvellous tournament up front, Klose (who set a new record at the age of 36) and Muller (10 goals in 12 games) and a lot of others. Pick your personal favourite yourself, there are tens of worthy candidates.

Germany

Alright, they are here just because I like them and think they are worthy of lifting the World Cup. But still, it's hard for anyone not to feel attracted to the way Die Mannschaft plays under pressure and for how well Germany plays as a team overall. They have a lot of  bright individuals, but none of them is irreplaceable. There will be no tradgedy if they lose Klose (have Muller), Goetze (have Schurrle) or Boateng (have Mertesacker). Unlke Argentine, Brazil or even Holland, Lowe's side doesn't rely on one player to do the bulk of the work. All the luck to them in the final.

Finally for today, Metro has run a story linking Arsenal to Ospina. Don't know, if there any truth to that, but I surely hope there is. Ospina is at the end of his contract, costs only £3 million and is a quality goalkeeper. He's shown what he's capable of during this tournament and will likely push Szczesny all the way. A decent buy for such a meagre sum.

Phew, enough for today. Back here tomorrow with a review.

Meanwhile, keep all your fingers crossed for Germany

On Arteta, Khedira and trolls

Good day to you.

It's funny how things progress after you sign a player, especially if it's a world-class one. For you (and I mean all Arsenal fans) the joy is there alright. If a signing comes on the back of a long saga, which was splattered all over the newspapers, not only are you happy at the signing itself, you are relieved this soap opera is finally brought to a close. Knowing how deals have gone south for Arsenal at the last possible moment, your relief is doubled, while your happiness borders on disbelief for quite some time. There's only one better feeling than when Arsenal signs a player after a drawn-out saga: it's when the Club does so completely unexpectedly, in such a quiet manner, that you get to know the details only after the official confirmation. Nobody (including the newspapers) knows that Arsenal is after this player until the player is signed, and then your joy is unprecedented.

That's what happened last year with Mesut Ozil. Everyone was so happy for so long simply because it was a move no one expected and anticipated. Besides the fact that's Mesut is the best playmaker in the world from one of the biggest clubs. Fans and newspapers were sent into overdrive upon the announcement and it took at least two or three weeks for a simple fact to bed in: Mesut Ozil is a Gunner. I remember I grew real tired of all the fuss in a week or so, but I was still no less happy than on August 31st.

However, even then Internet trolls show their ugly faces. It happened then and it happened now, upon the acquisition of Sanchez, that's why I decided to write about it.

I have a groupmate (former groupmate, fortunately. He was chucked out and we'll now study not only in different groups, but even in different years. There really must be a God), who is, simply put, an Arsenal-hater. You know, there's a "fan" category and then there is an "un-fan" category. I don't think he supports any club the way I support Arsenal, but he's always ready to take a stab at the Gunners. Even if things go well (which they didn't up until this season), he'll always find something to try and spoil the mood. I've already banned him from commenting on my posts in VK (Russian analog of Facebook) and I'm seriously considering to ban him from sending me personal messages. I've already stopped reacting to them. Let him write whatever he wants. Because he has a psychology of five-year-old, he'll stop doing something as soon as I stop reacting to it.

You know what were his first words when we signed Mesut Ozil? "A decent footballer, but he won't help you much, cause he disappears in big games". When we won the FA Cup? "Oh, I laughed my ass off when Gibbs missed from 3 metres out".

And now we have signed Alexis Sanchez. His reaction? "Sometimes he has a good game, but a couple of years back the whole Spain was laughing at him, because he missed from a metre".

You know, there are just people who can't be happy when others are. He's from that category. I'm sure he'll find something nasty to say even if land ourselves a treble this season. He'll probably point out the hilarious way we lost to City in the final of Carling Cup.

Another troll of this kind popped up yesterday. He said, we owe it to Wenger's stupidity that Suarez hasn't joined Arsenal a year ago. A quote from him (as it is):

"No, Arsene wenger made stupid bids like £40 million and £1, his stupidity saved us.

Everytime a player has a buyout clause, the buying club tries to pay an amiunt over and above the buyout value, so wenger should have paid something like £44-£45 million to try to persuade liverpool".

I'm disgusted. Not only is this guy not familiar with simple grammar rules, he decided to get in a fight over a matter he knows nothing about. In case with Suarez, there was a buy-out clause which, if triggered, allowed the club interested in buying the player to do just that. Buy him, should the player express his desire to join that other club. It wasn't a starting point, meaning we had to pay more, it wasn't a clause that allowed us to start negotiating with the player and/or the club. It stated that if we pay MORE than £40 million, the player is ours. Simple as that. Hence the £1 bid.

Why I'm writing all this? My blood is boiling. I also want to warn you, my fellow readers, against such kind of people. Don't fall into this trap like I did. Don't respond. Ignore them. These people thrive on attention, when they don't get any, they begin to starve. Don't get in a fight with them, it's what makes them happy. You'll only ruin your nervous system, but you won't be able to prove them wrong. You can only prove a person wrong if he has some logic to his actions and/or arguments, but Internet trolls do what they do for no logical reason and they don't base their arguments on logic., hence you can't beat them in a fair fight. Their logic (or, rather, lack of thereof) is summed up brilliantly in a quote from "The Dark Knight", one of my favourite movies (the quote is slightly paraphrased):

"So why troll them?

Well, because they think it is good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn".

Spot-on, precise and elegant. So keep your nervous system intact (especially as we all are going to need  it when the season starts) and don't give these trolls something to smile about.

On more Arsenal-ish news, and Mikel Arteta has given an interview to one of the guys over on Arseblog. Among the usual guff about the excitement of signing someone of Sanchez stature, the Spaniard also touched on the matter of his contract:

"I had my conversation with the manager, he knows my opinion and I know his opinion and we’re all good. That’s all I can say. I can’t stop the rumours, but you can be sure that I’m really happy here. I feel valued, I’ve been given a lot of responsibility and I like it. Until the club thinks something different about me, I’m happy here".

Sounds like our vice-captain will stick around a bit longer and that's good to hear. He's obviously an influence on and off the pitch, has joined Arsenal at a hard time and did what he was asked to do without any fuss. I was especially impressed by the way he handled his new defensive responsibilities. Arteta wasn't young when he was asked to play deeper in-field, but he still slotted in perfectly and his presence is soothing both to the players and the fans. You feel the team just isn't as balanced without the Spaniard, so Mikel staying is good news. If we don't buy another (quality) DM to replace him, Arteta becomes integral to our plans.

But, from what it seems, we seem right on course to purchase a replacement, Sami Khedira. I wouldn't have been so confident, if it wasn't for the comments from Stan Collymore on Twitter:

"Spoke to agent. Arsenal in advanced talks with Sami Khedira. Fuck me, they're getting serious".

"If Arsenal get Khedira, they win it. A great, great all round midfielder. The FA Cup parade has lit that Arsene fire again. Good to see".

So, apparently we ARE in for Khedira. He seems to have declined a new contract from Real Madrid and Ozil and Mertesacker did the "luring away" thing. If this deal goes through' it'll be a great addition and will considerably boost our chances. Hope it will happen. Fingers crossed.

Right, that's it for today. A little rest, then on to Brazzil vs Netherlands. I'll be back tomorrow to report on it.

Until then, beware of trolls

Alexis Sanchez: case closed

As you are no doubt aware by now, Arsenal have signed Alexis Sanchez. The transfer fee is rumoured to be around £28 million. It's a remarkably good piece of business we've done, considering Manchester Untited bought Shaw and Herrera £30 million apiece, while Liverpool has purchased Lallana for £25 million.

This deal is remarkable in more ways than one. Not only it is a bargain financially-wise, we have landed ourselves a player everyone wanted to have after this World Cup. Is it Arsene we have to thank for that? Well, he definitely played a key role, convincing the player Arsenal is the club to go in a private talk. He did the same stunt a year ago with Mesut Ozil, remember?

Truth be told, I don't understand the way Barcelona operates. They have let Valdes and Pinto go, Puyol has retired, Xavi will go play in the USA, Fabregas is in Chelsea. Neymar is injured, let's not forget that. And though the Catalan club has bought Luis Suarez (I'm not kidding, look it up), Sanchez is another blow. And I'm only talking about this transfer window. Six players leave them permamently, Neymar is injured and Messi will be knackered after going all the distance in the World Cup and their response is to buy Bravo and that bitey racist with a four-month ban? Pffff.

Not that I care one bit about Barcelona. As far as I am concerned, they deserve a special place in hell for beating Arsenal in 2006. There's nothing quite like watching them fail miserably. If this happens, be sure to check my blog, cause I'll be here, gloating in full swing.

However, back to Sanchez. That's what he said upon signing a deal with us:

“I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal, a club which has a great manager, a fantastic squad of players, huge support around the world and a great stadium in London. I’m looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and to be playing for Arsenal in the Premier League and Champions League. I will give my best to Arsenal and want to make all the supporters happy.”

All the usual things new players say upon joining. His quotes are there for you just to prolong and savour this wonderful moment.

And here's the manager's reaction:

“Alexis will add power, creativity and much quality to our squad and we are all looking forward to him joining up with us in a few weeks. He has consistently produced top-quality performances at the highest level for a number of seasons now and we are all excited to see him integrate into the Arsenal squad. I’m sure all Arsenal supporters will join me in welcoming Alexis to our club.”

You bet we will. There already are tons of messages and pics all over the Internet greeting Sanchez. I've already said a lot about the player's qualities here and here, so I don't know what more there is to add really. Sanchez will play in number 17 shirt at Arsenal, while Monreal will be shifted to 18. By the way, Gibbs will now be our number 3, with Debuchy all set for taking number 2. You can also read about how well Alexis fared in the last couple of seasons compared to Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez. And if you are interested in Chilean ability to score goals, check out this Youtube video. Well worth your time.

If we are talking about this deal from our point of view, not only do we get a wonderful player in his prime (he's 25), who's able to play across the front three, we also send out a statement to all other clubs. It's less of a bomb we've dropped last year when announcing the signing of Ozil, but the message is loud and clear nonetheless.

To buy a player EVERYONE wanted to see on their team after the World Cup in such a quiet and quick way is an enormous achievement. Sanchez had other options, but he chose us. While everyone thought we were interested in Balotelli, Arsene has been quietly hijacking Sanchez from Barcelona. Moreover, look at the calendar. It's July 11th. And we already have one of the most (if not the most) important piece of the jigsaw in place. Alexis will be able to play for us from August 3rd, when the Emirates Cup kicks-off.

Debuchy's deal is also as good as done, all we are waiting for now is official confirmation and, if talk about Khedira wanting to join us is true, then we'll be all set for the new season well before August kicks in. We still should be on the lookout for a central defender and a back-up keeper, but both these signings are low-priority ones. Doesn't mean we shouldn't get through with them, we should, but they are not urgent. The keeper will only be second fiddle to Szczesny and that central defender will at best be third-choice after Mertescielny.

Of course, I've seen some worrying quotes that Sanchez is a replacement for one of our high-profile players, that'll leave Arsenal this summer. As earlier Cazorla said something shady about his future, I feared it might be him. Fortunately, the little Spaniard denied all talk of exit today, so we can be quite calm on that front. It's interesting, that there are only two years left on his contract, as he has recently signed a new one, but apparently the new deal was about improved conditions, rather than prolonging the thing. Either way, I don't think we should worry about the Spaniard right now. We can have this talk again a year from now, if he doesn't sign a new contract by then.

For me, the likely candidate to leave (if, and only IF, I stress, the rumours are true) is Podolski. The German is, for better or for worse, only a sub at the moment. The arrival of Sanchez will likely see the German fall even further behind in the pecking order, something he may not be too happy about. It's hard to find a place for Poldi on the team, but I'll still be devastated, if the German leaves. He is a clinical finisher, a kind of super-sub and his transfer elsewhere will definitely weaken us. Still, it's all talk, don't forget that.

Amidst all the excitement of signing someone as good as Sanchez, I completely forgot Arsenal have officially launched a new PUMA kit yesterday. Here's a short video about the event, as I can't be bothered to search for a long one. Here are the pictures of this kit. It's goodbye to Nike, so "thank you" for them is in order. They've been providing Arsenal with equipment for 20 years, paid off some of our stadium debt and, at the end of the day, their logo looked great on Arsenal's shirts. Now PUMA takes over.

Finally for today, I've failed to report on Holland vs Argentine match. Truth be told, the game was mind-bogglingly dull, one of the most uninteresting games during this tournament. Higuain did score a wrongly disallowed goal during normal time, but that was easily the only bright spot in the entire game. I got the feeling both teams just didn't want to face Germany in the final, so it all petered out to penalties. With no sub in hand, van Gaal had to stick to Cilissen and he didn't impress. Romero was the hero, as he saved two spot-kicks and carried Argentine feet first in the final. If the South American team doesn't burst into life on July 13th, Germany will make short work of them. Which is what Argentine deserve, honestly.

Phew, that's it for today. Enjoy Sanchez and all that entails.

Until later