Arsenal vs Sheffield United Highlights

assnal sheff ccup
by Gretna2008

Teenage Gunners rout Blades

Carlos Vela took centre stage as Arsenal's teenage sensations destroyed Sheffield United to progress to the Carling Cup fourth round with a display of scintillating football at Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger named a side with an average age of 19 and they simply tore their Championship opponents apart to suggest the future is bright in North London, with Mexican Vela claiming a hat-trick.

The young Gunners took the lead in the 31st minute with Nicklas Bendtner measuring a shot into the bottom corner of the net from outside the box after good work from Fran Merida and Vela.

And it was 2-0 three minutes before the interval with Bendtner again providing the finish after Aaron Ramsey's driving run and audacious backheel had foxed the Blades defence.

Bendtner then turned provider for the third goal in added time, lifting the ball over the Sheffield United defence for Vela to run on and produce a delightful finish beyond a baffled Paddy Kenny.

Things did not improve for Kenny after the break, with the brilliant Vela making it 4-0 with an outrageous close-range chip which left the Blades keeper on his backside.

Jack Wilshire made it 5-0 as he collected a corner and drilled in at the near post from the edge of the box before Vela completed his hat-trick three minutes from time after Ramsey's pass.

Cech understands Rosicky woe

Petr Cech understands the mental torment Tomas Rosicky will be suffering as he battles to regain full fitness.

The Arsenal midfielder has not played since January, with the most optimistic prognosis that he could be back in action before Christmas.

Rosicky has been sidelined by a hamstring injury which eventually required surgery in May, but his initial comeback date of September had to be shelved when he suffered a setback in his recovery.

The Czech Republic international has even had to cope with rumours that his career could be over, a situation compatriot Cech understands only too well.

Chelsea goalkeeper Cech spent a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a fractured skull against Reading in October 2006.

And he has told Rosicky that his luck will eventually change and to remain focused on getting back onto the football field.

Serious

Cech told his personal website: "Tomas lives for football, he works a lot on himself, although it must be mentally very difficult.

"He must somehow get over the last phase of the treatment. Once the luck turns to him, everything will get better very quickly.

"I can imagine well how hard it must be if he does not know when he will return on the pitch.

"They also told me that I might get back in five months or a year and a half. He is in the same situation.

"He has not played for eight months and it is still getting longer. Moreover, he has never had such a serious injury before.

"It will not take much time before a player with such a talent gets into his usual form. He will only need a few games to get back to shape."

Muka baru yang bakal menyinar

Selepas Jack Wilshere muncul pemain termuda Arsenal beraksi untuk EPL, awal pagi Rabu nanti seorang lagi muka baru akan diperkenalkan iaitu Emmanuel Frimpong dan Jay Emmanuel Thomas. Aku langsung tek kenal kedua-dua pemain ini dan salah seorangnya muda 9 hari daripada Wilshere.

Seperti musim-musim lepas, edisi Carling Cup kali ini kembali seperti biasa dengan muka-muka baru akan diperkenalkan. Purata umur pemain yang akan beraksi menentang Sheiffield United adalah dalam lingkungan 16-18 tahun.

Pemain senior yang dijangka beraksi seperti Lukasz Fabianski, Johan Djourou, Alex Song dan Nicklas Bendtner dijadikan penunjuk kepada pemain-pemain muda ini. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey dan Carlos Vela dijangka berada di dalam kesebelasan utama nanti.

Berikut formasi yang aku rasakan akan digunakan menentang Sheiffield United di Emirates:

GK : Lukasz Fabianski
CB : Johan Djourou, Alex Song
RB : Gavin Hoyte
LB : Kieran Gibbs
CM : Aaron Ramsey, Fran Merida
RW : Mark Randall
LW : Jack Wilshere
CF : Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela

Senyum Lagi..haha

Itu la, eksyen sangat, yakin dengan duit yang korang ada untuk nak bermegah-megah dengan membeli player yang dirasakan hebat..haha. Tahniah Gunners, top of the league. Masih jauh lagi perjalanan tetapi berada diatas liga menunjukkan yang Arsenal musim ini adalah competitor yang perlu diberi perhatian.

Amat yakin sekali aku dengan Wenger walaupun signing yang dilakukan musim ini memang tidak meriah tetapi aksi semalam menunjukkan skuad Arsenal musim ini lebih mantap dari musim lepas dan aku menjangkakan nama-nama seperti Denilson, Song, Eboue dan Bendtner mampu menenggelamkan populariti Fabregas dan Adebayor.

Malas aku nak ulas panjang lebar, korang yang tengok game Arsenal sampai sekarang tau la bagaimana pemain-pemain Arsenal berkerjasama untuk meraih kemenangan. Superb-kan. Oh yaa, disini aku serta highlights game semalam dari MOTD. Happy watching yaa.. here

Bolton v Arsenal preview

Arsenal head to the North West to take on Gary Megson's Bolton Wanderers for their third successive away encounter in the space of seven days.

The Gunners secured success over Blackburn Rovers last weekend while on Wednesday a late goal from William Gallas salvaged a draw against Dynamo Kiev.

Bolton, meanwhile, have had a week to prepare following their defeat at Fulham and face Arsenal looking for their first win in four league attempts.

Last season's corresponding fixture was fraught with drama, and supporters heading to the Reebok Stadium on Saturday teatime will be hoping for similar entertainment.

A 10-man Gunners side triumphed 3-2 on that day back in March to end a run of three consecutive defeats, however their form this time around differs greatly.

BOLTON GOALS

Arsene Wenger's men are aiming for a third Premier League victory on the spin, and have lost just once in their previous 11 games in all competitions.

Megson's men have struggled for firepower this season, having hit the back of the net just four times in four top-flight matches, and face the Gunners who boast an unrivalled three clean sheets.

Bolton are hopeful that record signing Johan Elmander will make a return to action after his spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Matt Taylor is nearing a recovery from his broken toe but remains absent, while centre-back Gary Cahill is also missing as he completes his two-match suspension.

FRENCH TRIO

Loanee Ebi Smolarek, brought in a day before the transfer deadline, only linked up with the squad on Thursday and will be given time to settle.

Arsenal are without three of their Frenchmen as Samir Nasri, Abou Diaby and Mikael Silvestre all sit out.

Summer signings Nasri (knee) and Silvestre (muscular problem) are likely to recover for next week's clash against Hull while Diaby (thigh) is not expected to return for another fortnight.

POSSIBLE STARTING XIs

Bolton:

Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, A O'Brien, Shittu, Samuel, J O'Brien, Gardner, Nolan, McCann, Muamba, Davies.

Arsenal:

Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson, Fabregas, Walcott, Bendtner, Adebayor.

PREDICTION

Bolton 1-2 Arsenal

Tenkiu Gallas

Macam yang aku jangkakan, Dynamo memang bukan lawan yang mudah. Pergerakan Fabregas, Walcott dan van Persie dikawal cukup ketat oleh lawan. Permulaan yang cukup hambar dan berhati-hati oleh kedua-dua pasukan di separuh masa pertama buatkan aku menguap beberapa kali. Aksi babak kedua tampak lebih baik cuma bola banyak dikuasai oleh Kyiv.

Di separuh masa pertama, enam peluang yang terhidang gagal dimanfaatkan. Damn! Finishing RvP dan Ade memang tak menjadi. Dua kali rembatan kaki kanan RvP cuma mencium net sahaja manakala Adebayor gagah nak menjadi Henry untuk jaringkan gol secara plessing namun macam bangkai jer. Penat aku taruk gambar kau untuk post sebelum ni, lepas ni jangan harap la...hehe

Formasi yang digunakan bagi perlawanan ini adalah 4-5-1 di mana Eboue berada di bangku simpanan dan digantikan dengan Alex Song yang bergandingan dengan Denilson untuk menjadi defensive midfielder. Susah gak kalau takde Eboue ni kan, patut Wenger sayang si master pass ni..huhhh

Di minit ke 61, aksi peluk memeluk antara Sagna dan Ognjen Vukojevic membuahkan hasil kepada Dynamo apabila referee lek-lek mat kojek jer kasik penalti. Aku nampak challenge tu fair. Sepakan penalti Kyiv disempurnakan oleh Banguoro yang nampak macam kembar Adebayor tu. Pastu dia dive nak free kick, amik kau kad kuning..hahaha

Lepas tu boleh la nampak kelam-kabut Arsenal mencari gol penyamaan. Dan akhirnya cross rendah dari Walcott di tahan lemah Adebayor sebelum Gallas merembat bola lebih kencang pada jarak kira-kira dua kaki di depan gol. Syukur la gol, at least dapat satu gol, satu point dan away gol dari dapat point seri, pastu tak gol di tempat sendiri...haha

Misi di Kiev - Seri Sudah Memadai

Mungkin lepas titik Rovers semua fans Arsenal mahukan rentak itu diteruskan kembali sewaktu menentang Dynamo Kyiv di Kiev awal pagi Khamis nanti. Tapi kita harus ingat bahawa Dynamo Kyiv bukanlah seperti FC Twente, Rovers, Newcastle mahupun dinamo basikal atau cuci baju tu yang suka hati nak main titik-titik kalau tidak kena caranya.

Realitinya kehadiran Arsenal dibawah bimbingan Wenger ke Kiev sebanyak dua kali menyaksikan kedua-dua game Arsenal tumbang. Itu statistik lepas, tetapi aku masih lagi optimistik yakin bahawa Arsenal mampu membawa pulang 3 mata berharga dan memulakan kempen liga juara-juara Eropah dengan bergaya.

Sewaktu sesi kelayakan sebelum menjadi 32 pasukan terbaik Eropah, Kyiv telah menewaskan Spartak Moscow 4-1 dikedua-dua pusingan menjadikan aggregat 8-2. Dan bagi aku mereka adalah lawan kedua terbaik bagi kumpulan G bagi Arsenal selepas Fenerbahce dan ironinya peluang bagi kesemua pasukan adalah 50-50.

Jika aksi terakhir Arsenal menyaksikan empat gol dan tanpa bocor, Dynamo Kyiv pula menewaskan Olkom Melitopol dengan lima jaringan tanpa balas. So dua-dua team on fire. Sengaja aku taruk gambar Adebayor dengan gaya sambutan gol pertamanya di dalam liga musim ini dengan harapan dia akan membantu Arsenal menewaskan Kyiv.

Jika seri bagi perlawanan ini aku rasakan cukup memadai bagi memberikan kekuatan mental bagi pasukan dan aku tidak tercenderung mengimpikan seri, sudah pasti 3 mata. Dengan Samir Nasri dan Silvestre masih lagi belum fit, ia sesuatu yang agak sukar bagi pasukan tetapi kehadiran Clichy dan Eboue ke dalam pasukan agak melegakan.

Berikut adalah 18 pemain yang akan berkunjung ke Kiev serta formasi yang aku jangkakan:

Kesebelasan utama:

GK - Manuel Almunia (GK)
CB -Kolo Toure, William Gallas (C)
RB - Bacary Sagna
LB - Gael Clichy
CM - Cesc Fabregas, Denilson
RW - Emmanuel Eboue
LW - Theo Walcott
SS - Robin van Persie
CF - Emmanuel Adebayor

Simpanan:

Carlos Vela
Aaron Ramsey
Alex Song
Jack Wilshere
Johan Djourou
Lukasz Fabianski (GK)
Nicklas Bendtner

Prediction:

Dinamo Kyiv 1- 2 Arsenal

Highlights Rovers vs Arsenal and August BPL Goal of the Month (Fred54)

Rovers vs Arsenal highlights: here

August Goal of the Month: here

Both highlights is MOTD (Fred54) version where the visual of video is the best to watch that taken from BBC. The file is big but it is reasonable with the visual. It's take a long time to download but you will glad to have it.

Credit to Arsenal News and Videos website.

hehe...senyum sokmo

Tak sia-sia kalah dengan Fulham, tengok camner Arsenal comeback dari kekalahan yang memalukan kepada pujian yang melambong. Dah berada di kedudukan ketiga liga. Thumb up!

Kudos aku sedekahkan kepada Adebayor yang menunjukkan penyudah yang cukup baik dengan menjaringkan hatrik dan kepada flying Dutchman, gol anda membuka rentak Arsenal.

Walaupun game ini nampaknya menang besar tetapi masih ada kelemahan, bukan kelemahan besar cuma kelemahan kecil di mana tahap kecergasan pemain menampakkan kurang bertenaga dek sesi kelayakan World Cup 2010.

Mereka-mereka yang fit seperti Sagna dan Clichy sebelum ini nampak agak keletihan dan gagal memberikan aksi overlap yang kerap dilakukan seperti biasa sehingga master pass, Eboue (hehe) beraada di posisi kiri manakala Walcott disebelah kanan menutup kelemahan ini.

Aksi kedua terbaik dari Eboue secara berturut-turut membuatkan semua peminat Arsenal tersenyum lebar. Jujur la weh, tak payah menipu! Dan misi Wenger memberikan Eboue posisi yang baru tampak mula berhasil.

Kepada Adebayor, sila senonoh sikit, aku rasa gaya ko sambut gol tu sama dengan budak rumah sewa aku yang berlagak tough tapi keding (tapi ko punya badan ok, Ade..hehe). Dan kelibat Adebayor untuk game kali ini meneruskan aksi cemerlangnya sewaktu menentang Magpies.

Budak kecik Walcott tu lak nampak sikit letih, larian berdesup tak berapa banyak, patut dikeluarkan awal, khidmat dia untuk lawan Dynamo Kiev amat diperlukan selepas ini. Dengan injury list yang bertambah, aku harap mereka cepat sembuh.

Oh yaa, orang yang aku gelar 'The Next David Silva' iaitu Jack Wilshere memecahkan rekod Fabregas dimana dia menjadi pemain termuda beraksi di dalam BPL. Tahniah, semoga gelaran yang aku kasik kat ko tu berhasil! Good luck.

Si Fabregas pun main nak tak nak jer, bukan apa, cuba untuk menonjolkan Denilson yang menampakkan peningkatan dan aku rasa dia nak rehat sikit, nak dapat Gold Class Tiket untuk seketika..hehe. So far bagus gak, boleh dia prepare awal untuk game di Kiev.

Lupa lak, kepada Ramsey, assist anda kepada Adebayor sesuatu permulaan yang baru dan aku harap sumbangan seperti itu sentiasalah disalurkan. Aku dah nak tidur, bila-bila lak sambung, tidur dalam senyum sebab The Reds kalahkan MU dan menang besar..hahaha

Masa nak mengubat kebosanan

Lama gila aku tak update. Bosan la minggu game qualifier world cup ni. Cam takde life jer.

Pertama kali nya aku ucapkan tahniah kepada Walcott yang berjaya mendapatkan first cap dia untuk England sewaktu menentang Andorra dan melakukan hat-trick sewaktu menentang Croatia.

Kekalahan ke atas Austria membuatkan Domenech memasukkan Clichy sebagai defend kiri dan nampaknya ia sesuatu yang berhasil apabila Perancis berjaya menundukkan Serbia di Stade de France, 2-1.

So balik dari perlawanan antarabangsa, pemain mungkin keletihan tetapi aku harapkan pengalaman yang ditimba digunakan sebaik mungkin. Walcott, please on fire, aku amik ko sebagai striker fantasy aku ni!

Dan khabarnya Nasri mengalami kecederaan di lutut dan kemungkinan untuk dia beraksi masih lagi 50-50 manakala Silvestre yang dijangka turun pada game ni dipostpone kan kepada pertemuan menentang Dynamo Kiev.

Lawan seterusnya adalah menetang Blackburn Rovers yang langsung tak hitam tu. Nama-nama blacklist seperti Bentley, Savage dan Mark Hughes dah takde dalam pasukan ini, so aku yakin dan pasti, pemain-pemain Arsenal tidak akan dibantai oleh sialan tiga orang ini walaupun Mark Hughes tu coach, dia tu la kepala sebenarnya.

Aku predict game ni menang 2-0 (RvP dan TJW14). Saje jer aku taruk gambar Bergkamp dan Overmars sewaktu menentan Rovers di Ewood Park, aku rindukan dorang sangat-sangat dan ini adalah line up yang aku jangkakan:

GK : Manuel Almunia
CB : William Gallas (C), Kolo Toure
LB : Gael Clichy
RB : Bacary Sagna
CM : Cesc Fabregas, Denilson
RW : Emmanuel Eboue
LW : Theo Walcott
SS : Robin van Persie
CF : Emmanuel Adebayor

West Ham, Pompey and Gunners all watching midfielder

The midfielder is a free agent following his departure from Fenerbahce last month and as such available for transfer.

He has had injury problems in the past but proved his fitness as he played for Ghana against Libya on Friday night.

Ghana lost the match 1-0 but Appiah produced an excellent performance to impress the onlookers.

Representatives from West Ham, Portsmouth and Arsenal were all watching on, while another top European side are also thought to be interested.

27-year-old Appiah recently admitted that it would be 'his dream' to play in the Premier League.

Mereka yang berjuang untuk negara

Ni bukan cerita berjuang pergi perang, ni cerita kelayakan World Cup 2010 kat Afrika Selatan tu. Malaysia? Tunggu la sampai ada munajat datang. Bagi coach macam Guus Hiddink ke, Arsene Wenger ke manage pun sakit kepala. Boleh rosak karier dorang, silap-silap bunuh diri..haha. Ni adalah senarai mereka-meraka yang akan beraksi bagi negara masing-masing. Semoga berjaya!!!

Austria v France, Sept 6, France v Serbia, Sept 10
William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna

Spain v Bosnia, Sept 6, Spain v Armenia, Sept 10
Francesc Fabregas

Mozambique v Ivory Coast, Sept 7
Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue

Holland v Australia, Sept 6, Macedonia v Holland, Sept 10
Robin van Persie

Andorra v England, Sept 6, Croatia v England, Sept 10
Theo Walcott

Zambia v Togo, Sept 5
Emmanuel Adebayor

Hungary v Denmark, Sept 6, Portugal v Denmark, Sept 10
Nicklas Bendtner

Wales v Azerbaijan, Sept 6, Russia v Wales, Sept 10
Aaron Ramsey

Cape Verde Islands v Cameroon, Sept 6
Alex Song

Israel v Swiss, Sept 6, Swiss v Luxembourg, Sept 10
Johan Djourou

Poland v Slovenia, Sept 6, San Marino v Poland, Sept 10
Lukasz Fabianski

Jamaica v Mexico, Sept 6, Mexico v Canada, Sept 10
Carlos Vela

Jangan Boros di Bulan Puasa

Mungkin itu kata-kata yang sesuai diluahkan Arsene Wenger kepada peminat-peminat Arsenal. Tiada lagi signing di penutup musim penghijrahan pemain. Sebenarnya aku dapat merasakan itu tindakan yang akan dilakukan Wenger disebabkan pembelian dua orang center midfield (Ramsey dan Bischoff) sebelum ini, so aku yakin dia tidak akan berbelanja lagi untuk seorang pemain tengah yang berikutnya.

Jika dua musim sebelum ini Wenger telah memasukkan beberapa pemain di akhir dateline, kali ini tidak. Yang aku rasakan mampu untuk menjadi best signing bagi musim ini cumalah Samir Nasri. Musim ini Arsenal akan dipandang rendah lagi walaupun musim lepas berjaya berada di kedudukan ketiga dengan mengumpul 83 mata tetapi skuad kali ini nampak lebih kerdil dari musim lepas!

Sekiranya Arsenal ingin mencapai sebarang piala musim ini, keyakinan aku akan kukuh sekiranya pemain-pemain senior yang akan kembali seperti Rosicky dan Eduardo tidak mengalami kecederaan lagi. Pemain-pemain seperti Fabregas, RvP, Clichy, Toure, Sagna dan Nasri mestilah sentiasa bebas dari kecederaan berpanjangan, jika tidak, harapan itu sia-sia saja.

Dan lebih perit sekiranya musim ini Arsenal gagal meraih sebarang piala, ia merupakan tempoh terburuk dalam sejarah Arsenal ditubuhkan iaitu selama 4 tahun berturut-turut tanpa piala. Berbalik kepada kisah pasangan Fabregas? Siapakah yang layak? Dua orang saja yang aku rasa amat sesuai pada masa ini, Denilson dan Song.

Harapan aku bagi musim ini, biarlah sekurang-kurangnya satu piala tersergam di Emirates. Kalau ada stadium yang cantik pun kalau takde perhiasan pun buat apa. Baik lagi Highbury yang penuh dengan sejarah dan tidak menghampakan langsung...huhhhh!!!

Arsenal vs Newcastle Higlights (Fred54)

Ni link untuk highlight game Arsenal vs Newcastle di Emirates. Agak lama untuk di download tapi hasilnya memuaskan, file pun agak besar tapi pixels cukup cantik...here

Randall and Gibbs commit to Arsenal

Arsenal youngsters Mark Randall and Kieran Gibbs have signed new contracts with the club.

Both players penned professional deals last year after joining as scholars in 2006.

18-year-old midfielder Randall has made six appearances for Arsene Wenger's side, mostly in the Carling Cup.

He spent the second half of last term on loan at Burnley before returning to Arsenal and featuring heavily in pre-season.

Gibbs, also 18, played twice for Arsenal in the Carling Cup last season and also enjoyed a loan spell in the Championship with Norwich.

Gibbs is a versatile performer who can play at left-back as well as in midfield.

Wenger asked about Kalou

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has revealed that Arsenal enquired about Salomon Kalou this summer.

Arsene Wenger made his approach during the close season, but was informed the Ivory Coast international was not for sale.

Scolari feels the Frenchman's interest in his young striker proves Kalou can be a valuable member of the Blues' squad this season, but admits he has plenty of options in the attacking department.

Intelligent

"If you ask Arsene Wenger, he wants Kalou as a centre-forward and Arsene is an intelligent man. I need to follow his idea," said the Brazilian coach.

"He wanted Kalou one, two or three months ago when we started negotiations for some players. I said no.

"You know what players I want and now you know what players Arsene wants.

"If he sees Kalou as a number nine then I must try that sometimes. But I also have (Nicolas) Anelka, (Didier) Drogba and (Franco) Di Santo."

Who? Who? Who?

Xabi Alonso, Liverpool, £10-12m

Let’s start with the name that has been thrown around most frequently this Summer - Liverpool’s master-passer, Xabi Alonso. In many ways, he fits the bill: experienced, pals with Cesc off the pitch, and best deployed as a deep-lying midfielder. However, signing Alonso would still be quite a radical alternative to Flamini - he is not a harrier, or a tackler. He is more similar to Cesc, and would even provide us with a creative outlet when the Catalan starlet is unavailable. But would he give us the high tempo and defensive stability we got from Flamini? Alonso has undoubted quality. It is the distribution of these qualities that would make his signing a gamble. The chances of this happening will be dictated by Alonso’s own stance. If he has made it clear to the Anfield hierarchy that he wants to leave, then we’re in with a chance. The fact he is Champions League cup-tied might even shave a million or two off his price. But with Gareth Barry staying at Villa this Summer, don’t be surprised if Liverpool decide to hang on to Alonso after all.

Likeliness rating: 3/5

Mark Noble, West Ham, £5m
From one that’s been all over the papers, to one that I don’t think has been mentioned at all. A little known fact is that Noble played for Arsenal as an 11-year old, only to move to his the club he supported, West Ham. Arsene Wenger was apparently disappointed to lose one of our brightest prospects at that age level, and has since spoken in complimentary terms about the industrious midfielder. While he’s hardly the Champions League calibre player we’ve been crying out for, his fiercely competetive spirit, youth, and low price tag might appeal to Le Boss.
Probably not though.

Likeliness rating: 1/5

Wilson Palacios, Wigan, £8-10m
Just over a year ago Palacios was ours for the taking, but feeling that our midfield was already overstocked, Arsene rang then Birmingham manager Steve Bruce and told him of Palacios’ burgeoning talent. The Honduran duly signed for Brum, and followed Bruce to Wigan in January. Since then, he has developed into one of the most wanted midfielders in the Premier League. Would Arsene go back for a player who offers us Baptista’s power with the advantage of not being completely useless at football?

Likeliness rating: 3/5

Jimmy Bullard, Fulham, £4m

The newest member of the England set-up might be getting on a bit at 29-years old, but if his display against us last week is anything to go by, there’s plenty of oil still in the tank. Would be a squad option rather than a regular starter, but I’d enjoy it, if only for the fact that his curly locks would remind me of the great Romford Pele, Ray Parlour.

Likeliness rating: 2/5

Stephen Appiah, Free Agent
Although he’s had a very difficult time with injuries, the Ghana captain remains an excellent player. Having been released by our Champions League opponents Fenerbahce, he has been linked with moves to West Ham and Portsmouth. However, as an experiened Champions League campaigner, surely he can do better than that - if Bischoff is worth a gamble, then Appiah definitely is.

Likeliness rating: 4/5

Rino Gattuso, Milan, £3-5m
If Milan have signed ‘The New Gattuso’ in Mathieu Flamini, perhaps they could let us have the old one, who was never too bad in the first place. There were rumours earlier this month that Gattuso has fallen out with manager Carlo Ancelotti, and (partly due to the influence of his Scottish wife), the tigrish midfielder has often stated his desire to return to Britain. It’d be a short-term solution, but the fact Arsene’s left himself just 24 hours to fix the team’s biggest problem suggests this is hardly a time for long-term planning.

Likeliness rating: 4/5

Tiago, Juventus, Available on loan
Back in the days when Tiago was a free-scoring Benfica midfielder (he once bagged 13 in the 2002-03 season), Arsene was reportedly quite interested in bringing him to London. When Tiago did turn up in the capital, it was with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, from whom he played 51 times as they won the Premier League and Carling Cup. Since then, Tiago has had a successful season at Lyon, and a disastrous time at Juventus, which is ending inrather undignified style. Still, players have come from Juventus to Arsenal and not fared too badly before, so maybe he’s worth a gamble. Not world class, but better than a lot of what we have.

Likeliness rating: 4/5

Jeremy Toulalan, Lyon, £10-15m
Well, he’s a holding midfielder whose good enough to play for France. Beyond that, I don’t know a whole lot about him. What I do know is that if you’re going to negotiate with Lyon’s somewhat mad chairman, it’s a good idea to give yourself more than 24 hours to do so.

Likeliness rating: 3/5

Blaise Matuidi (St. Etienne) / Stephane M’bia (Rennes) / Another unheard of Franco-African player from Ligue 1 in their early twenties

Why have I bothered with the rest of this piece?

Likeliness rating: 5/5

You may think a lot of those are pretty far-fetched, but it’s Deadline Day:all kinds of crazy rumours appear. All that effort, and I bet we end up signing no-one.

The above is a bit of fun, but in seriousness, surely someone will arrive. Last year it was Lassana Diarra, the year before that Gallas, Baptista, and Denilson all turned up. One midfielder is a neccessity, two would be nice, and I think a couple of youngsters (Gibbs & Co) might head out on loan.

Who knows: maybe Patrick Vieira’s presence at the Newcastle game was on business rather than pleasure…Within the next 24 hours, all will be revealed. Tick-tock Arsene. Tick-tock.