Final Press Conference of Messia in Barcelona

 

Messi is now speaking in his final press conference in Barcelona. It is almost certain that he is leaving the club within a very short time.

You can watch the conference in YouTube

Arsenal’s Business Well Done, A Few More to Come?

Arsenal has uncharacteristically done so much of business so early this summer that with three weeks left in the window the question hovering around Arsenal is not that of a common one: who are Arsene Wenger going to sign?

But for this season, it has been transformed into: will Wenger bring in more? If Arsene Wenger’s words are anything to go by, then the answer is ‘yes’ surely.

“Who’s next [to sign for Arsenal]? I don’t know. There could still be one signing. Just the one, maybe two maximum,” said Arsene Wenger recently when asked about any possible new recruit.

So far, Arsenal has spent 60 million pound and Wenger’s transfer kitty still has a significant portion untouched, after making 4 new signings including Chile forward Alexis Sanchez, France international Mathieu Debuchy, Southampton academy graduate Calum Chambers and Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina. 

All of them are pretty much exciting signings. More importantly, no major player has yet left Arsenal this summer, something which became more or less a trend in the recent seasons at the Emirates.  

Speculation, however, is rife that club captain Thomas Vermaelen is not going to extend his current deal with Arsenal expiring next summer, signaling his looming departure with Manchester United, Barcelona and Napoli showing interests in the 12 million pound-rated Belgium international.

Wenger had earlier said that if Vermaelen left, he would have to bring in someone to replace him even though the former Ajax star is not the first choice center-back now.

The Arsenal boss has reportedly identified Germany international Mats Hummels as a possible replacement in what would be a real coup after the Borussia Dortmund defender’s exquisite display during this year’s world cup in Brazil.

However, a central defender does not feature prominently in Arsenal’s almost-done transfer wish list. Rather, the Frenchman intends to bring a robust central midfielder to add some much-needed steel in his midfield with Arteta and Flamini aging and often falling exposed.

Sami Khedira and William Carvalho have been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates almost throughout the summer with both men believed to be leading Wenger’s targets for central midfield.

There are some who are suggesting that Arsenal should buy an out-and-out striker who can compete with Olivier Giroud who shouldered Arsenal’s goal-scoring burden to a large extent last season. Wenger has, however, already indicated that he has no intention to sign another striker after the acquisition of Chilean Sanchez, not least following Sanogo’s 4-goal haul against Benfica in the Emirates Cup and a vibrant arrival of Costa Rica striker Joel Campbell in the same tournament.

Meanwhile, Arsenal is experiencing an e-commerce boost after the summer unveiling of the club’s new Puma Kits which are available for sale here at Arsenal Store. 

Arsenal Facing Challenge from Bayern Munich and Liverpool in Pursuit of Signing Gary Cahill

Bolton Wanderers’ England international Gary Cahill is gradually attracting more and more clubs in Europe. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is believed to have been tracking the 25-year-old talented defender for some time now.

The Gunners boss is reportedly planning to swoop for the player in summer, but now it seems he has to face challenge from the likes of Liverpool and Bayern Munich in the race to land Cahill at the Emirates.

Naturally, it would give Bolton more ground to demand a high price for the player who has so far been rated at £18million.

Wenger is facing some serious problems in his defense and it is pretty much clear that the Frenchman would reinforce his back line at the end of the season. However, Wenger is also known for his reluctance to splash big amount in the transfer market.

So, it would be interesting to see if Wenger would spend an Arsenal-record amount to sign Gary Cahill.

Cesc Fabregas: I want to Come back Stronger than Ever

Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas is now looking to make a strong come back with the home match against Blackburn Rovers on April 2, 2011. The Spaniard suffered an injury during Arsenal’s Champions League defeat at Barcelona earlier this month and has remained sidelined since then.

The 23-year-old has recently revealed via Twitter that he has recovered from the injury and is now looking to come back strongly against Blackburn Rovers.

Fabregas wrote in his Twitter account, “My injury is getting better. I started running on Monday and everything is getting better. I want to come back stronger than ever and hopefully fitter than ever so it wont happen again. Hopefully you will see me play against Blackburn if I am fit.”

No doubt, the news would boost up the confidence level of the Gunners who experienced some mixed performances in the past one month. In the Premier League, they did considerably well, despite few frustrating draws, but then at the same period they lost the Carling Cup final and got out of Champions League and FA Cup.

The International Break: A Sigh of Relief for Arsenal

Once again, Arsenal is facing injury curse. After last Saturday’s 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion, the North London club is now 5 points behind leader Manchester United, though the Wenger boys have a game in hand.

With a home game against Manchester United approaching, Arsenal is still very much in the title race. However, their only problem is injury which could be eased to some extent thanks to the current international break.

Arsenal will play their next match at home against Blackburn Rovers on April 2 and this two-week gap would definitely help Arsene Wenger to get some of his injured players back in action.

Cesc Fabregas has already been back in training and there is a good chance Theo Walcott and Alex Song could also be back in contention for the Blackburn game.

Should Arsenal Buy a Goalkeeper in the Summer?

Once again Arsenal is very close to winning their first title in many years (read six years for time being) and once again injury has turned out to be their prime foe.

With Arsenal trialing leader Manchester United by 5 points with a game in hand, they are facing a number of serious injury concerns. Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Djourou, Vermaelen, Wojciech Szczęsny and Lukasz Fabianski are all out injured at the moment.

Goalkeeping problem is perhaps the worst with Almunia being the only fit regular keeper. So, the question remains to be answered is if Wenger would buy a goalkeeper at the end of this season.

Reports available in the media suggest that Wenger is interested in Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina and Ajax keeper Maarten Stekelenburg, and the Gunners boss is reportedly facing competition from Manchester United for both the keepers.

Now, let us see if Wenger finally splashes the cash to land a world class goalkeeper in Summer 2011.

Arsenal fans have to Support Almunia for 4 Months At Least

The transfer window is over and many fans are surely unhappy over Arsene Wenger’s failure to get a good goalkeeper. It seems that the main reason for the failure was that he was too much focused on getting  Mark Schwarzer and Fulham did not sell him. It was simply like the case of Cesc Fabregas.

Barcelona wanted to get Fabregas and Arsenal was not ready to sell him as Fabregas was the best player. Anyway, Wenger should have targeted another 2-3 good goalkeepers and try to get one with good amount of money.

Now, Arsenal fans have to support Almunia. Criticizing him will not improve anything but make things much worse. In fact, Almunia is not eager to stay in the club either. So, both the fans, Wenger and Almunia have to wait another 4 years.