Sign. Him. Up.

Despite all the bad news coming out of the Emirates recently regarding injuries, and the numbers amount to a whole side, there has been some good news also.

Several players have signed new contracts at the club, the latest being Eduardo. Now forgive me if I'm wrong but I'm sure that I read somewhere that Eduardo was disillusioned at Arsenal because we were hesitating to offer him a new long-term deal. This was Sunday. What happened today then? Someones 'sources' were wrong. As usual.

It's a healthy sign to see players like Eduardo and Vela signing new long-term deals at the Arsenal but there is one other player I hope we can persuade to sign a deal as well. William Gallas.

Gallas' current contract expires next summer. This means he can walk away from Arsenal for nothing at the end of his deal and he can talk to clubs from January about discussing a contract with them. I really hope that this doesn't happen.

Over the years we have lost players this way and every time it has been very frustrating to see. If Gallas runs down his contract and leaves then surely Arsene Wenger and Arsenal must begin to question the way they handle negotiations in the future.

We cannot allow Gallas to leave the way Edu and Mathieu Flamini did because it means we haven't learnt from previous lessons in the past. Personally I think that letting players get into the final year of their contracts is criminal. It gives the player the power simply because of the Bosman ruling.

Regardless of this, the reason I want Gallas to sign a new deal is not to prove that Arsenal have learnt their lessons from the past but because I rate Gallas as one of the best defenders in the world and I believe that Arsenal are stronger with him than without him.

He may not be everyone's cup of tea but he is some player. People have questioned his mentality in the past, well I believe he has answered his critics in the best way. By performing on the pitch.

Since being stripped of the captaincy Gallas has been the ultimate professional and I reckon that he deserves a huge amount of credit for that. Many said he would spit his dummy out and throw his toys out of his pram, well he has shut those people up!

We are seeing the best of Gallas now. This new look Arsenal side and the partnership he has created with Vermaelen has revitalised him. I hope we can get him to sign a new deal and in the future start negotiating new contracts with players a little earlier than in their last year!

Keep it Goonerish.........................

He must be irritating Manchester City fan's as much as he did us by now!

A few years ago a film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar called The Grudge came out. I won't lie, that film scared the shit outta me. There's a part when this little Japanese woman/ghost crawls out from under the duvet and it petrified me. I couldn't sleep for days.

Why are you mentioning The Grudge I hear you ask? Well, I know somewhere along the line a sequel was released and I never watched it. The first one scarred me for life, I'm not stupid enough to watch the second. But I hear a third could be released soon. In fact it's out already. It's called;

The Grudge-Adebayor V Arsenal!

Now I never hold a grudge. Grudge rhymes with fudge and I don't like fudge. Despite disliking fudge and it rhyming with grudge that is not the main reason I don't hold a grudge. I don't hold grudges because it's simply not worth it. It's sometimes better to let go and this is something Adebayor is finding very hard to do.

Again and again Adebayor mentions Arsenal and us Gooners. It's an obsession and this obsession cannot be good for his health. I don't really care about his well-being but the way he goes on it will eventually take its toll and Adebayor will become ill.

According to the latest Adebayor thinks that we believed he was a terrible player. I'm one Gooner who never thought he was a bad player. In my whole entire stinking existence I've always said he was a great player. The only problem was that he is a terrible person with a bad attitude.

This attitude will soon become apparent to Manchester City fan's. I'm pretty sure that he is even beginning to piss them off already. The explosive early season form has gone and the fact he keeps rambling on about Arsenal, and how he never wanted to leave us, must rankle around the City of Manchester stadium.

If Arsenal had just spent an absolute fortune on a player and he didn't stop whinging and going on about his former club I'd begin to ask questions about his desire to play for us. Surely that must be going through some of City's fans minds now?

Some people have agenda's and I believe that Adebayor has one with Arsenal. We have let go but he clearly can't. The only time I, or most other Gooners, mention him is when he has another little pop or when he declares how he never wanted to leave.

I won't lie. An Adebayor who is up for it and focused is a great player and would be a tremendous asset to any side. An Adebayor like City are seeing now is the one that we saw last season. He will do it anywhere.

I guess its not Arsenal's problem anymore and for the mood-swings and pettiness I'm thankful. It's City's problem now and I remember several of them coming on here to gloat when we sold him to them.

But I wonder if they still feel the same? I know if I was in a City fans shoes I'd begin to really think and ask myself some serious questions about Adebayor and his loyalty to my club because he has made it pretty clear he never wanted to leave Arsenal.

Keep it Goonerish.............

Be honest, are you surprised about RVP's injury?

I really really feel for Robin van Persie. The geezer is in the form of his life, has been injury-free for a long time and then BAM! This happens.

A torn fucking ankle ligament.

I'm no doctor so I have no idea how long these type of injuries last. I've googled it and there are various time scales but I'd say it is safe to rule him out for a while.

Knowing van Persie's luck we will probably be eating Easter eggs before he is kicking a ball again.

Of course teams will always suffer losing players to long-term injuries but it seems to me that Arsenal suffer them more than most. Especially in recent years. Has some gypsy put a curse on us? Have we pissed off the footballing gods?

I suppose we have to just get on with it and not feel sorry for ourselves but it is hugely frustrating when you see how influential he has been recently and the type of form van Persie is in.

Lets be honest here, it is a big blow to Arsenal but we have to believe that whoever steps in as the main striker is more than capable of doing the job. I believe that whoever comes in, be it Eduardo, Vela or maybe even Arshavin, can thrive there.

Eduardo or Vela have proved in the past that they can finish for fun and at a club like ours, where chances are always created, either will really relish the chance to put the ball in the back of the net. Maybe even more so than RVP has recently?

So while van Persie's injury is a negative perhaps a positive may evolve from the situation. Eduardo was bought by Wenger as a striker. Now maybe his chance to play there and regularly score goals.

He has been used mainly from the left this season and while he does a good job there we could do with him in the box where he can get on the end of things.

Keep it Goonerish.............

So are Arsenal/Manchester City weaker without/with Kolo Toure then Stan Collymore?

If you really fancy a giggle then have a read of Stan Collymore's column in the Mirror. Now I would never claim to be the brains of Britain but this fella takes the biscuit.

He changes his mind more than I change my socks. And I do that at least four times a week.

Every week I look forward to reading his column because he makes me laugh. The problem for Stan is that his weekly ramblings are not meant to be funny.

He loves to have a pop. Especially at Arsenal. Around a month ago Collymore said the top four are all poorer than they were this time last year and that the halo of invincibility which has surrounded the four teams in recent years is certainly over.

So what you say?

Well in the same article Stan Collymore wrote about the top fours failings and he said of Arsenal; Arsenal for their part have lost Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City and I can guarantee Arsenal will be looking over their shoulders.

Looking over their shoulders at the emergence of Manchester City I presume.

Fast forward a month and Stan the man has changed his mind about Kolo Toure. Now instead of City being stronger and Arsenal being weaker, and these are Stan's own words, Manchester City have paid ridiculously over the odds for Toure and that he is simply not up to the job.

So what is it then Stan?

Are Arsenal weaker without Toure and Manchester City stronger with him? Or are Manchester City weaker with Kolo?

I'm sure he will change his mind next week and maybe he should think before he writes his articles in a national newspaper because people like myself read the little digs about Arsenal and remember them.

I suggest Collymore goes back to the woods and cracks on with dogging because thats all he appears to excel at. Oh wait, he got caught doing that too.

Keep it Goonerish................

Darren Fletcher owes Arsene Wenger an apology.

Who ever said that 'footballers have no sense of humour'? I don't know either. I just made it up.

If that quote did exist though then Darren Fletcher would be exempt. He believes, wait for it, that comments made by Arsene Wenger earlier in the season have resulted in him being singled out by referees.

I needed that good laugh!

So there you have it, Wenger has made referees hate Darren Fletcher and now the poor little darling is suffering for it as a result.

How Fletcher has even come to this conclusion I don't know. Old red nose must be spoon feeding him whatever he drinks because as far as I'm aware Wenger has never even named Fletcher as the culprit who booted our players up and down the pitch during the clash with United earlier in the season.

What Darren Fletcher needs to realise is that instead of blaming Wenger for the amount of fouls he gives away in a game he should take a look at himself. Its not Wenger's fault that he runs around kicking players and is in fact, a dirty little fouling bastard.

Reading what Darren Fletcher said made me laugh and I pissed my pants. So I want some new ones. Then again reading a lot of stuff coming straight out of Old Trafford makes me wet my undies. So they owe me loads of new pants.

So much crap comes out of the corridors of Old Trafford and most of it is very hypocritical. Nothing is ever Manchester United's fault and is always everybody else's.

I think that Fletcher should come out and give Arsene Wenger an apology. Wenger has never named him as the player who ran around booting players in the air and perhaps Fletcher should look a little closer to home before announcing that Arsene Wenger influences ref's.

Because Alex Ferguson doesn't do it does he?

Keep it Goonerish..............

And I thought that the Emirates had no atmosphere!

Many have taken the piss out of the atmosphere at the Emirates in the past. They did about Highbury too. But they can't deny that it wasn't a wall of noise on Saturday against the Spuds!

It was electric and a right smack in the face for those who have a dig about us Gooners being the silent type.

We Gooners were bang up for this game. I had the feeling we were dying to get revenge over that lot down the road because of the way we gave away a 4-2 lead the last time we played them at the home of football.

The noise was more impressive because early kick-offs are well known for lacking in atmosphere mainly due to the fact people aren't drunk and because most are still half-asleep!

Of course games against the Spuds will always get the blood pumping and you are more up for it than most other games but wouldn't it be nice if it was always like this at the Emirates?

As said the place was rocking and if we could get the atmosphere going like this at every game it could create the Emirates into one of the most intimidating stadiums in Europe. Easily.

I'd say that on the road Gooners create as much noise as anyone. If not more. They deserve a lot of credit for that. Lets try and match that commitment at our own home like we did on Saturday and turn the Emirates into a regular hotbed of noise and intimidation.

It was that loud that even Arsene Wenger couldn't get his point across and he threw he jacket in frustration. I'd like to see Le Boss do that more often! In a good way of course!

Keep it Goonerish.................

Wrighty7 apologises to the offended Irish and Irish Gooners

In my last post I wrote;

"As per usual there was the pre match lip coming from the Lane. Robbie Keane AKA pointy shouty Leprechaun bloke was full of it."

I believe I offended some Irish people and Irish Gooners. Let me say sorry if I have offended you.

The comment about Robbie Keane was made in jest and I didn't mean to cause offence.

Keep it Goonerish...................