Cesc to Stay at Arsenal

Eat this Barca!

Barcelona as a whole have really rubbed me the wrong way during all of this! The players calling out Fabregas to go home and asking Arsenal to let him get his dream move. Then the administration publicly saying that they want him. At the same time they are cheap enough to offer less than 40 million Euros although they forked up something similar fro a 28/29 year old David Villa.

I'm glad this ordeal is over for now and if they want Arsenal's captain they might as well pay up for one of the best midfielders in the world. And yes he's only 23!

Hats Off to Mr. Wenger for coming out on top in this ordeal and I'm sure his closely knit relationship with Cesc was key in convincing the Spaniard to stay

Cesc Said this earlier:

"Firstly, I would like to apologise to all the Arsenal fans for not speaking sooner about my future but I have not known what I was going to do until this moment"

"I cannot deny that joining a club like Barcelona was not an attractive move for me.

"This was the club where I learnt my football, it is my home town where my friends and family are and a club where I have always dreamed of playing.

"There are not many players in the world who would not want to play for Barcelona.

"I have had many conversations with Arsene Wenger both in person and over the phone over the last few months and although the content of those conversations will remain private, the conclusion is that Barcelona have had two formal offers rejected by Arsenal."

"I am an Arsenal player and as soon as I step out on to the pitch, that is the only club I will be thinking about. I am looking forward to the start of the season and putting this speculation behind me."

"I am a professional and I fully understand that it is Arsenal's prerogative not to sell me," he added.

"I owe a lot to the club, manager and the fans and I will respect their decision and will now concentrate on the new season ahead with Arsenal."

Come on Arsenal

UEFA Champions League: The Semis

This week we were treated to two very highly tactical games of football. Both ties are far from over and I will be excited to see the conclusion come next week.

On Tuesday Inter took on Barcelona at the San Siro and two master tacticians in Mourinho and Guardiola took center stage. There is no doubt the the reigning European champions are favorites in all their games. Their philosophy of playing highly entertaining football has reached its peek under Guardiola last season with an unprecedented treble (actually six cups if you count the European Super-cup, Spanish Super-cup and the Club World Cup). Mourinho had other plans. No one would blame you in thinking that it's just another Barca route after Pedro scored the first goal. However you will have been gravely mistaken. Pedro, one of the break out stars this season, scored the opener in the first half after some great work by Maxwell on the left side. Pedro mind you had never scored a senior goal prior to this season. He has now scored in every competition he has played in and I think he is all but sure to be in Del Bosque's squad in the World Cup. Inter responded superbly and Diego Milito was always threatening with his great control and pace (not to mention his finishing ability). He missed a couple of chances but then provided the assist for Wesley Sneijder to even the game up. The second half was a much more tactical affair. Mourinho managed to close up space and pressure Barcelona all through the pitch. Messi was made to go deep to get the ball and found many bodies in front of him. He had no room to manoeuvre. Mourinho used the attributes of his team well. They are very much a physical team as they are technical and the likes of Zanetti, Maicon, Cambaisso, Motta and Stankovic bossed the Midfield and out powered Sergio, Xavi, Pedro and Messi. Inter scored the second goal from a Maicon tap in and Mourinho closed up the game after replacing Pandev with the excellent Stankovic who will be missed in the second leg. The third goal came via Milito after an excellent counter attack. Miltio could have been marginally offside but he deserved the goal. He was fantastic and like I've said before I rate him very highly. To me he is now one of the best strikers in the world and It would be a real shame not to see him in South Africa. He is better than all the big name forwards in the Argentina squad and yes he is better than his direct competitor Higauin. Barca had a clear penalty denied towards the end when Sneijder hacked down Dani Alves in the box, but like Mourinho had said it seems Barcelona have a short memory. In last year's semi final against Chelsea they escaped three clear cut penalties, one of which was a blatant handball by Pique. Mourinho learned his lesson after facing Barca twice in the group stage. He has managed to dismantle both Chelsea and Barcelona, but this tie is far from over. At the Nou Camp the Bluegrana are a different team. The size of the pitch will make it difficult to contain the likes of Messi but as always Jose will have a plan. Inter have a two goal advantage but I won't count Guardiolas men out just yet. Their home record has been unbelievable and they seem to score at will at the Nou Camp. I know I should not be supporting Inter as a Milan fan but they have grown on me in the Champions League and tactical master piece after another, how can I not enjoy their play? One last thing I have to say is that in my humble opinion Alves is one of the most overrated players in the world at the moment. He is a wing back that can't tackle or cross the ball. Maicon is twice the player he is or he ever will be.

The other semifinal between Bayern and Lyon might not have attracted much hype as both teams are not as flashy as Inter and Barcelona. The casual follower would not have cared to watch or even enjoyed the game had he did. The game however was won and controlled by the tactical master that is Louis Van Gaal. Lyon, make no mistake are not a weak team. They beat Liverpool at Anfield, Knocked out Real Madrid and won a close tie over Bordeuax who destroyed both Bayern and Juve earlier in the competition. Lyon had only conceded 6 goals in the competition so far. Bayern made them look like an average team. Right from the off Bayern controlled the game missing a number of chances but as the first half progressed Lyon started getting into the game. Towards the end of the half Ribery, who was having a good game thus far got rightly red carded for an over the top challenge on Lisandro. Robben was nowhere to be seen. Sissokho had the better of him. Bayern where down to ten men at half time and it didn't look good. The second half Van Gaal introduced Tymoschuck for Olic. Pundits and fans a like thougth Van Gaal was looking for a draw and not to concede an away goal. Well it did not look that way come the second half with Bayern dominating possession against 11 man Lyon. It seemed Lyon were the ones who had ten men. They did after a while, when Toulalan was sent off for 2 bookable offences. 10 against 10 Lyon had no chance. Claude Puel tried to shut things off by introducing Makoun but it had no effect. Robben now was running ragged, thanks to his ability but in no small part to Phillip Lahm. Germany's number one right back (miles better than Alves as well) continued to bomb forward at every opportunity down the right flank giving Robben more freedom to cut inside and use him as a decoy. The goal came just like that with Robben given time and space to unleash a left footed strike that took a slight deflection off Muller into the back of the net. Bayern could have won by a bigger margin if Muller and then Gomez had taken their chances. I got the feeling that Olic would have finished off one or two of those. Robben seemed to have another goal in him but Van Gaal took him off much to his contempt. I think the man was protecting him after putting in much effort and knowing his injury record he might have been right to do so. Bayern losing him and Ribery in France would have been a huge blow. This tie is not over yet but I think Bayern have a huge edge by not conceding an away goal. They also have a very good record away from home and Lyon will find it difficult to stop them from scoring. Anyone taking bets on Robben scoring in France?

Champions League Quarters

Football Battles are about to commence today and tomorrow. The quarters finals of the UEFA Champions League are kicking off with some mouth watering encounters too look forward too. Two games stick out from the draw, obviously Arsenal vs Barcelona and Bayern Munich vs Manchester United.

The latter will be a tightly contested affair. A lot of people don't give Bayern enough credit when it comes to European Cups. Sir Alex and United had better not underestimate the 4 time winners! United are on a role at the moment and after last weeks results I think they are now clear favorites to win the Premier League, unless Chelsea can beat them at Old Trafford on Saturday. The team as a whole is reaching it's top gear at the right time and with one of Europe most on from strikers leading the line in Wayne Rooney, they have a lot to be confident about. Hopefully too confident for their own good. They are facing experienced opposition and make no mistake this will not be the Milan games. Bayern have a very strong squad. They are only really weak in goal, Butt is not up to standard. Defensively they have been inconsistent but the returning DeMichelis will be a boost for the team. They have arguably two of the best wide players in the world in Ribery and Robbin and if the latter if fit for the clash tonight Gary Nevile will be looking forward to a miserable time. On their day these two are unstoppable and with Klose upfront to finish off their moves they will always be a threat. They have grit in midfield too with Van Bommel playing the role of the enforcer and the technically gifted Schweinstiger distributing play. This will be a real battle and I think Bayern may just pull it off.

The Arsenal/Barcelona clash is truly mouth watering. I have been excited ever since the draw was made. I would have definitely preferred that Arsenal play anyone else, CSKA to be more accurate but this clash just promises to be too good. The positive thing here is that the risk of the managers spoiling the game is almost non existent, both team are programmed to attack. They are almost identical to one another. They depend on ball possession with slick passing and incredible off the ball movement. I think Arsenal are the more on form team at the moment. Barcelona overall are having a bit of a dip with Messi the obvious exception. The midfield battle will be an exhilarating one. Cesc, Song and Diaby (Densilson) vs Iniesta, Xavi and Toure. On current form I'll give the edge to Arsenal, however this is not the full story. Although defensively Barca have been lacking a bit this season I don't feel Arsenal have the strikers to punish mistakes. Bendtner is on a good run but is he that good? Arshavin needs to be at his best if the Gunners are to fashion anything. Nasri too, but will Wenger surprise us with Theo? I think Theo would be useful at the Nou Camp with counters if Arsenal can get a positive result tomorrow. Defensively is where I think Arsenal are going to have the most trouble. Containing Messi is almost impossible these days. On an average day he is unplayable. Not sure if Arsenal would have it in them to stop him even if Gallas was playing. I think he will have a great time dribbling past Clichy today. Zlatan is another problem, his technical ability and physical presence are a huge threat but I think Sol can play a good game on him. As for Henry , I think it might be difficult for him to play at his best or maybe not since this is the Emirates and not Highbury. Overall I think Barcelona have more quality and killer instinct than Arsenal but don't underestimate the young gunners just yet! Iniesta is likely to miss the clash at the Emirates and Cesc is facing a late fitness test.

Who Are Ya?

Rarely would I have expected that watching a Premier League football game would instill such rage and anger inside of me. I was not counting on Mad-Ebayor to pull off so much crap out of his bag. Sitting down to watch the Arsenal versus City game I knew it was always going to be an interesting game. City were unbeaten and looking to establish themselves as a new powerhouse in English football. Two X Arsenal players, Adebayor and Toure were facing off against their team. Being a Gunner myself I held no ill feelings towards either player. They had a good run at the club and if they felt they want to leave then they should. I am never a fan of keeping players against their will as they will never give 100% if they are unhappy. Although sadly in Egypt Clubs tend to think of players as slaves of some sort and anyone who dares think about leaving clubs (especially from Ahly and Zamalek) or actually succeeds in doing so is deemed to have "escaped", yes this is a direct translation of the word used to describe such player, the same word we use to describe convicts and prisoners!

Anyways the game ended in a 4-2 win for City, a shock by itself for me and possibly a reality check that Wenger's youth project is all but doomed to failure for another year. Arsenal were again conceding at periods of the game were they were dominant just as they did versus United, they showed once again they are a team of boys and not men, sadly. I hope Mr. Wenger can prove me and all of his critics wrong.

Saddened by the result I was however left infuriated by Adebayor. He started out with a studs challenge on Fabregas that could have left him injured, an elbow here and there and so on. He then upped his game and decided to step on Van Persie's face while Robin was on the ground. This action was of clear malice. It had bad intentions all over it. One replay angle showed it very clearly, he knew were he was and what exactly he was doing. He should have been sent off. Luckily Robin was not seriously injured except for a bloody face. Why the violence?

Adebayor then scored the third goal that effectively clinched the game for City, good enough.. Not for him! He proceeded to run the full length of the pitch and celebrated in front of the Arsenal away fans, the fans were undoubtedly annoyed and only a miracle stopped the situation from escalating. Why the hate? By then I was fuming and like a friend was telling me if Viera was there Adebayor would have been out on a stretcher, I wished he was!

Adebayor then claimed that he didn't mean to step on Van Persie's face and he was run with emotions and wasn't thinking when he ran 70 meters to celebrate infront of the fans he claimed jeered him last season. These set of excuses are as lame as it can get. Adebayor had an agenda against Arsenal and Arsenal fans and frankly he has no reason to act this way. He was jeered at the start of the season because he had openly talked about moving to Barcelona and Milan, no loyalty from the player...no loyalty from the fans. However the jeers stopped towards the end of the season even though it was obvious to everyone how lazy he has become. When a good offer came to him Arsenal sold him so he can make the money he wants and fulfill his dreams, Arsenal were under no pressure to sell him, he was under contract for sometime. Another person would have appreciated this. Not Adebayor. Toure did and he was a gentlemen as always.

As an African I'm always supportive of talented players from the continent. I'm possibly one of two Egyptians who adore Drogba. With Adebayor I'm breaking the trend. I will cheer on United for the first time in years next week as they take him on. City have now become my new Zamalek/Inter, I used to like them. I will be laughing out load when City finish 5th. Most of all I will be looking forward to seeing Adebayor drop down the table after the FA hits him with a six game ban, boy I hope they do. Just heard he's being charged on the both incidents.

P.S: I'm not putting a picture of Adebayor in my blog:)