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Good Riddance – Robin van Persie

Otis Maloney — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 15:42:00 +0000

4th July 2012 – The day that Robin van Persie’s reputation with Arsenal and their fans was tarnished. At the beginning of the day there was the usual rumours, speculation and discussion until 4:03pm when Robin van Persie released a statement simply titled “Update for the Fans”. This simple message would end up shocking, angering and breaking the hearts of so many Arsenal fans.
There it was, the confirmation that Arsenal captain had no intention of staying at the Emirates. At first, Gooners were speechless. That silence slowly turned into anger, and most done the only thing you could do – vent their frustration. The fans felt let down and betrayed by their hero. For whom the fans sung hearts out all season has not only stated his desire to leave Arsenal, but he has also stabbed the man that nurtured him.

Arsene Wenger brought a young Robin van Persie to North London and helped him develop to be one of Europe’s most wanted strikers. How did Van Persie repay him? He wants out, calling his boss’s policy and plans for future as worthless. He stabbed the man that stuck by him through all his injuries, frustrations and attitude problems. Arsene must be feeling awful after being betrayed again by one of the players that reached star status under his guidance.
It took 8 years for an injury prone Robin van Persie to play a whole season. In that season, he scored 30 league goals and most probably got Arsenal into the Champions League. However, he has let the club and fans down badly.

Fans knew the possibility of the Dutch striker leaving, but not many thought it would happen. With the season he had and with 12 months left on his contract, there were bound to be the oil-fuelled, billionaire-driven vultures sniffing around. And after previous experiences with Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal fans knew it was possible. But yet they believed – they believed that RvP was not like that as he claimed “I know I can win trophies with other clubs. But I only want to do it with Arsenal”. He loved the club, city and the fans. They thought that the crest was imprinted into his heart. But yet again, the gunners are made to look like fools and reminded that there’s less loyalty left in the game.
His main reason for not extending contract is that he didn’t agree with the direction the club was going and the ambition they were showing. One good season and that attitude is unbearable. He’s no Thierry Henry, Pat Rice or Tony Adams. Three or four years ago, his name wouldn’t have flickered an eyebrow in north London if he was sold. What has changed, just one good season.
Then again, what ambition did he expect? Wenger signed two top class players in German star Podolski and last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer Giroud to strengthen the squad, yet van Persie comes out and questions club’s ambition. Was he expecting Falcao, Gotze and Neymar? If he doesn’t think this is ambition, he can go to one of the clubs that has bucket loads of cash in their hands. Talking about love for the club, ask any fan that truly loves their club if they would swap teams based on success. Van Persie does not love Arsenal, infact it seems that the fans never knew this man at all.
In my opinion, If the ambition shown by Arsenal is not enough for him then its not about winning trophies. This is the £200,000 a week contract calling his name elsewhere. He knows that his statement will and has attracted interest from top European clubs. Basically, this statement is a “come and get me” plea.
Arsenal should now sell van Persie to the highest bidder, even Manchester City and then reinvest cash in a top class replacement. If gunners keep Van Persie, it will disrupt the squad. He has not only destroyed his relationship with the Arsenal faithful, but he’s also dented it with his teammates. How would it feel to play for a captain that doesn’t believe you’re good enough to win trophies? He will only become a hinderance to progress of the club. It’d be like having an unwanted loanee at the club. He will not be committed to the cause, nor have any desire to give 100 percent.

It’s time for Arsene Wenger and the board to prove to fans that they are not just a feeder club. They’re still a top European team with ambitions because many Arsenal fans are beginning to believe that.
As for Robin, he is no longer worthy of the Red and White shirt that so many of the fans only dream of playing in. Arsenal have replaced bigger players than the dutch striker and will do so again. The fans can thank him for that one last year and say adios, Good riddance Robin and do not forget.

“Play for the name on the front of the shirt and they’ll remember the name on the back.” – Tony Adams

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Zinedine Zidane – Simply the Best

Otis Maloney — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:43:52 +0000

On Zidane’s 40th Birthday, our writer Otis writes on his prolific profile. Without a shadow of a doubt Zidane, probably the best player of his generation, is among the names that Footballing World can never forget.
Zinedine Zidane – a name that is known to football fans worldwide. Zizou blessed us with his footballing ability for 18 years. He had everything – strength, balance, vision, skill and throughout his career, won trophies. However, Zidane’s on the pitch antics often conflicted with his serene character – especially his infamous head-butt on Marco Matterazzi at the 2006 World Cup final.
A three time World Player of the Year, “Zizou” first made a name for himself by leading the Juventus midfield for five seasons. He then made a move to Real Madrid for a world record fee believed to be around 73 million euros. Zidane became a vital part of the “Galacticos” project, appearing in a team filled with stars such as David Beckham, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo. Zinedine Zidane is widely regarded to be one of the best football players ever to grace the football field.
Club Career:
Zidane was spotted by a Cannes scout playing in a youth tournament. What was supposed to be a six week stay turned into a four year stay playing at professional level. During those four years, he helped them qualify for the UEFA Cup in the 1990/1991 season.
Bordeaux signed Zidane in 1992. At Bordeaux, he played with a midfield combination with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Duggary, which would later become an essential part of France’s 1998 World Cup winning squad. He won the 1995 Intertoto Cup and came runners-up in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup. The Frenchman scored 10 league goals in the first of his four seasons, and six in each of the next three.

Zidane made the move to Champions League winners Juventus in 1996 for a fee of £3.2million. It was at the Turin club where he made a name for himself. He scored 31 goals in 209 appearances for the Italian club. At the Stadio Delle Alpi, he won Serie A twice, Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup. Although not scoring regularly for Juventus, he provided for stars such as Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet. The biggest disappointment for Zizou was that despite making two Champions League final appearances, he lost both times. Once against Borrusia Dortmund in 1997 where he failed to make an impression in the match because of the close marking by current Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert and the second time against his future club Real Madrid in 1998.
Real Madrid signed Zinedine Zidane to make him the most expensive player in world football. He was signed as part of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez’s future plan of making Real Madrid a star studded team. This humble figure was thrown into the limelight at the Bernabeu, but Zidane dealt with it brilliantly. He fitted into the team with his dazzling performances and became a cult hero among Madrid supporters. Zidane will best be remembered for “That” goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final. A first time volley with his weaker foot helped Madrid on their way to winning their 9th European cup win.

Zidane was part of a classy midfield with Zidane, Makelele, Figo and Beckham all accompanying him in the middle of the park. And with Ronaldo as the man they provide, Madrid were spectacular to watch and even better to play in. His last season with Madrid finished trophyless. Zidane announced he will retire after the 2006 World Cup. At his last home match for Real Madrid, the squad wore commemorative kits with “ZIDANE 2001-2006” under the club crest. This more or less sums up how much the Real Madrid faithful had taken Zidane as one of their very own.
International Career:
Zidane got his first cap as a subsitute for France in a friendly match against Czech Republic. Zidane scored twice to make up a 2 goal deficit, the match ended 2-2. After Eric Cantona was given a year-long ban for assaulting a fan, Zidane was made to step up to the playmaker role in Euro 1996. France had a successful tournament before being knocked out by Czech Republic in the semi-finals on penalties. 2 years later, World Cup 98 was being held in Zidane’s home country. It was the first World Cup Zidane had participated in. This turned out be the highlight of Zidane’s glittering career by scoring two goals for Les Bleus against Brazil in the final to help them onto a 3-0 victory, and hand France their first ever World Cup.

He would also help them win Euro 2000 held in Netherlands and Belgium. Zidane’s last game for his country was tarnished by his head-butt on Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup Final. Materazzi reportedly made a remark about Zidane’s sister. It was a sad last image of Zidane walking past the trophy that would of made the ending of his career so much sweeter.

The ending of his carrer might not be very high still nobody can deny Zidane his place in the list of the greatest. Thank you Zizou and Happy Birthday.

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Podolski and Giroud Signed but Will Van Persie Stay at Arsenal

Otis Maloney — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 08:39:22 +0000

Before the end of the season, Arsenal were put in an uncomfortable position of maybe losing their captain and star player Robin van Persie. Arsenal fans, going by previous experiences with Cesc Fabregas, perhaps thought that they might have to rely on out-of-favour players like Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-Young for the upcoming season.
However, Arsene Wenger had other ideas in mind. The Frenchman quickly snapped up German international Lukas Podolski for £11million before the season ended. This quite rightly blew Arsenal fans away. Very rarely do Arsenal go for proven players and it’s even rarer that it is done before the transfer market even opens.
This week Arsene Wenger claimed on a French TV channel TF1, that a deal for Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud is “90% done”. Adding to that, another confirmation might be from the striker himself who tweeted “Gunner” only to delete it afterwards. Giroud was Ligue 1 top goal scorer last season, and is another French international. The fee is believed to be around £12million which in total adds up to £23million for the two signings.

It seems “Le Professeur” has opted not to have another deadline day scramble like last August and quite brilliantly has wrapped up his two main deals before July. These two deals could prove massive for Arsenal’s title chances next season. The Gunners desperately needed more attacking options upfront as they over relied heavily on Van Persie for goals. All this has come at a cost of £23million – £7million less than Andy Carroll and £27 million less than Fernando Torres. Wenger has once again captured quality signings for cheap as he always does.

We already know about Lukas Podolski, a man who has made 100 caps for massive footballing country like Germany at the age of 27. His 18 goals in 29 games for relegated side FC Cologne in Bundesliga has made everyone wonder – What can he do at a top European club?

While Podolski was battling relegation with FC Cologne, Giroud was netting for fun to earn Montpellier the Ligue 1 championship. The 6″3 Frenchman netted 21 goals for the club last season and will be hoping for similar success at Arsenal. The only concern about Giroud is that it has been one season that he has scored on regular basis at the top level. However, this didn’t stop French boss Laurent Blanc choosing Olivier Giroud for his Euro 2012 squad. Whether he will come good in tough premier league remains to be seen.
So, where will they both play? It looks like Arsene Wenger wants a three man attacking lineup of Podolski, Van Persie and Giroud. That will be brilliant for Arsenal and their supporters. A front three with a combined goal tally of 69 league goals last season will strike fear into any opposing defense. But, there’s still that niggling last remaining piece to an exciting attacking prospect which is whether Robin van Persie will extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium or not. If he does, Arsenal have every reason to be optimistic for August 18th and the upcoming season.
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