MET GARY LINEKER IN L.A LAST WEEK, THIS IS WHAT HE SAID ABOUT BALE...

So I'm walking around the Melrose flea market in West Hollywood with the family and my mate Eric, (a sorry Scouse Liverpool fan but he can't help it) and we spotted Gary Lineker with his wife.

Poor attempt at a photo-bomb

Eric eagerly went up to congratulate him on life - me on the other hand, slightly less reserved due to his Tottenham ties, I nodded then flashed him my Arsenal tattoo which he sneered at.  But he seemed friendly enough, so I let him off.

After Eric chewed his ear off, I managed to ask him what his opinion on Bale to Real Madrid was?

This is how the conversation went...

Me: "So Gary what do you think will happen regarding Gareth Bale and Real Madrid?" (i.e does he have the balls to leave the comfort of London to play with the big boys?).

GL: Yeah he's off.

Me: He is?!? (All excited!) You know for a fact?

GL: No but I think he'll go.

- And that was it. Short and sweet.

Take it as you will, I'm hoping old 'Salt n Lineker's' correct! He has to have some sort of inside scoop right?

After the response I even tried to get some supposed ITK's to retweet it in an attempt to give 'hope' during another dire transfer window (thus far). They didn't...

And yeah if he does leave for an astronomical £85mil (or whatever?) then the Spuds bank account doesn't bode too well for us with such a hefty sum.
But then again - they are a one man team who'll be even more f#*ked when he leaves!
I'm sure AVB will still struggle to get first-rate players to a second-rate club with no CL even with that sort of bank balance. We'll see.

I managed to find pictures of him and the missus from the same day at the flea market on the Daily Mail website...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2381293/Gary-Danielle-Lineker-look-glum-browse-antique-books-Hollywood-flea-market.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

THIS IS WHAT SUAREZ WILL LOOK LIKE IN AN ARSENAL SHIRT...

This much convoluted saga that is - 'Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz' to Arsenal F.C has many fans torn regarding opinions of the controversial Uruguayan.

Personally I can't stand Suarez, he's a shitty example of a human being. I've alway's loved to hate him and whenever I see that ugly mug, be it on TV, poster, website or even the mere recollection makes my skin crawl!

But that's just me.

The player is definitely an expensive liability. He's also a World class striker that would fill the RVP shaped void left up in attack.

Pride and respect for my values aside - I've started to warm to the prospect of this lama-faced racist joining our squad.

Basically I'm desperate for us to succeed, and Luis Suarez plus a few more additions would definitely increase our chances of silverware this season.

Have a gander...

IT'S "INCONCEIVABLE" THAT SUAREZ'S £40 MIL ISN'T A BUYOUT CLAUSE!

These are the words that respected 'Times' journo Tony Barrett conveyed in his recent radio interview with the Liverpool based station 105.9.

Barret who is also based in Merseyside said:

TB - "It's inconceivable that it (buyout clause) isn't, to be honest. Suarez signed a contract last summer at a time when it was doubtful that Liverpool would qualify for the Champions League the following season. So when that happens agents of top players sit down and 'say we want an insurance policy for the event of Liverpool not playing at the top level' .... I'm led to believe that Suarez has a £40m buy out clause."

So, that explains the much talked about £40 mil and a cheeky £1 bid then. Quite obvious really John W Henry you muppet!

However the Scouser's are now holding on to the 'technicality' that we are not yet qualified as we're not passed the group stages...

I'm hearing It's only a matter of time before Suarez is pulling on the red, white and blue. Granted Wenger up's the initial bid a little.... Great, and once again the fans hearts sink!

Have faith Gooner's. At least we want him enough to send in the legal team. It's looking positive.

AFC SELL 20 SHARES SO FAR TODAY - WHO'S BEHIND IT...?

An anonymous party has so far purchased twenty shares in our beloved club at 14.42. between £14,950 and £15,000 a shot.
That's 6.25% below the exchange bid price.

Not a bad deal if you can afford it.

Obviously there is speculation that Alisher Usmanov has upped his stake from 29.11% toward the 30% mark bringing him closer to that coveted place on the Arsenal board.

However, in Usmanov's case he would have to be formally invited by the existing members as he's you know, a tad bit shady and all that!

Either way it's significant news for AFC.

WHO WOULD YOU RATHER...?

Who would you rather have at Arsenal...
	HIGUAIN
	JOVETIC
	BENTEKE
	ROONEY
	BENZEMA
	D VILLA
pollcode.com free polls

AFC WEEKLY ROUND UP:

Another week in to the transfer window and nothing but speculation and bullshit headline's, this makes it very hard to dissect what's actually woth posting.

After sifting through 'the good, the bad and the Gareth Bale' these are the most interesting and feasible articles from this week...

AFC TARGET CLEMENT GRENIER SPEAKS RE NORTH LONDON LINK:

Wenger replied to questions regarding the 22-year-old Lyon midfielder:

AW: "We are following Grenier. His intelligent play pleases me."

The French International has scored four in Lyon's last seven games, scoring an absolute belter of a free kick in his final game (below).

Arsene continued:

AW: " He has interesting qualities and reminds me of Samir Nasri".

When Grenier was asked to comment on his future he replied:

CG: "Have I made a decision? Yes. More or less. I keep it for myself as I care for my discussions I have had with the president and the coach. I just want to say that I've never had demands. Moreover, either with the club or with my advisors, figures were never mentioned. My choice is a sporting one."

He added: "A fight between Arsenal and Lyon for me? Maybe. The competition at Arsenal? There is already that here [at Lyon]."

CG: "It is the same in all the major clubs and it is not a hindrance in my decision making. I'm still a young player. But I always set goals and do everything to surpass myself. Whether it is at Lyon or elsewhere. For now, I'm still a Lyon player and I may stay next season. I do not know myself what will happen. The only thing I expect is really at a sporting level, and my desire is to progress."

So, what does this mean?

It means we (Arsene) are obviously not shying away from our interest in the lad, and when I hear Wenger so candid in his response to a player, I automatically smell a rat-fish!

I guess I expect Wenger to hold his cards closer to his chest...

Although, a preliminary deal may have already have been agreed between the clubs which would explain his veracity. Why deny what's inevitably on the cards (exscuse the pun)...

I don't know? But what I do - is that this boy looks promising and he's also mentioned our club with probable intent.

Do we need another attacking midfielder?

No, but it's healthy competition for our existing AM's and Grenier's fancy footwork and speed means he can also play wide-right.

Possibly Grenier's last goal before becoming an Arsenal player?

JULIO CESAR TO ARSENAL...

Supposedly Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Julio Cezar handed in a transfer request after the London club were relegated.

Reports on 'Italia Sky' are saying that he's already agreed terms with Arsenal for a 2-year deal worth around £3.6 million.

The 33-year old ex-Inter player is said to be favored over want-away Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes who we are also supposedly tracking.

Cesar would be a much cheaper option to the 31 year-old Spaniard, Valdes may however still remain at Barca for one more year.

JOVETIC SAGA BORING THE PANTS OFF EVERYONE!

Fiorentina's GM, Sandro Mencucci spoke regarding the Montenegrin attacker's future :

SM: "Jovetic wants a new experience and we'll try to make him happy, but only if a suitable offer comes in."

The Italian club values Jovetic at £25+ mill and Wenger is only prepared to offer £20m.

For once I agree with Wenger's tight-ass approach to the Jovetic situation.

The boy has not proved anything apart from prospect for the future. He had a pretty poor performance last season in comparison to his hype (12 goals in 33), his age and injury record are a defining factor in my eyes.

For £20 mil I'd much rather have either Benteke, Llorente, Adrian, Rooney or David Villa in our squad.

OVER THE HILL-WOOD?

The Telegraph, have reported that Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood is planning to retire after an 84-year family legacy on the Arsenal board.

Hill-Wood himself has sat on the board for 51 years and after a recent pneumonia and a heart attack scare the 77 year-old is ready to step down.

“Nothing has been decided.” Was Hill-Wood's response but good sources are saying that an exit strategy is being considered.

The current board is said to be vying for a former-player or a female to take of PHW's seat in an attempt to bring some passion and variety to the crotchety, decaying and stubborn board.

I say bring in King Henry and Adriana Lima to spice things up!

It's always a shame to see the end of an era; I wish PHW all the best regarding his family and heath.

Arsenal are ready to embark on fresher pastures and this is a step in the right direction for all.

Next is to get Kroenke out and then ____________ (fill in the blank!).

WORTH A READ...

"No - stop, please! It hurts so good though! Aargh... senal..."

A very well written article for those of you with some spare time.

It's a long read but the points are very hard to ignore...

http://sabotagetimes.com/football/how-wengers-spanish-obsession-stopped-arsenal-winning-things/

PODOLSKI SCORES AFTER 6 SECONDS!

Prince Poldi put Germany 1 nil up against Ecuador in todays friendly in Boca Raton, Florida. The fastest goal in the German National teams history.

The Gooner was quick to dispossess defender Gabriel Achilier after Ecuador hastily retreated from the kick-off. Podolski mugged-off the timid defender and was left to half-volley the bobbling ball low past the keeper from the corner of the 18.

The weak German squad managed to go 4 - 0 up against the South American side who are currently ranked #10 by FIFA.

The goals didn't stop there. Lukas bagged an early brace as did Lars Bender before a slight resurgence from Ecuador in the second half.

The game finished 4 - 2 and Podolski's double strike will do wonders for his confidence and hopefully fill that gap between Olivier Bierhoff's chin and nose for a little while.
The German squads General Manager had this week stated that Podolski had had a "unsatisfactory performance over the last season." And questioned his inclusion in the national team.

Shut your pie-hole! There's only room for one 'Hoff' in Deutschland!

Ok - so he may have a slight point here. I agree that Lukas should have shone a tad brighter than he did given his obvious quality.
I just get a bit defensive when I hear non-Gooner's talk shit about our good players.

Podolski responded with: "If it seems that way to Mr Bierhoff, then that's his opinion. You don't have to discuss it. I do not care, I know what I have in me."

Although, Podolski's infrequent inclusion by Wenger gives a strong debate for Lukas's dip in form, only the Frenchman seems to know why Podolski was kept on the sideline so much during a seemingly injury-free debut season...

Anyways, hats off to Prince Poldi and may there be many more!

Check out the goal here...

http://deadspin.com/lukas-podolski-scores-goal-six-seconds-into-match-again-510366169

ASHLEY WILLIAM'S - ALMOST A DONE DEAL?

So it looks like Swansea center back Ashley Williams is set to be a Gooner!

Do we need another CB you ask?

Well if the reports that Thomas Vermaelen is on his way out then yes he's an awesome third choice (granted Le Prof doesn't break up the 'Mertercielny').

Then again, if it was up to me - we'd keep the 'out of favor' Belgian as he's obviously still a World class talent suffering a slight career slump.
In regards to our poor luck with injury's, it would make sense to have these four to rely on. Koscielny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Williams sounds pretty good doesn't it!
But if The Verminator does vie for first team football - then now is probably the most lucrative time for his departure.

The word on the street is that an agreement of around £10 million has been accepted after Arsenal started the bid at £8 mil. The Pre-contract negotiations are said to be be for three years at around £60 grand a week for the 28 year-old which us a significant jump from his reported £10 grand a week income.

Williams leads Europe (top 5 leagues) for total blocked shots for last season at a total of 53, the Welsh International will become an instant fan-favorite at Arsenal for one other reason than his impressive stats.

Here's why...



Oops!

PIC ('S) OF THE DAY...

A number of the Arsenal squad are tweeting this picture taken in the locker room after todays 1 - 0 win over Newcastle.

Here are some more beauties...

Happy Trolling!

1 - 0 TO THE ARSENAL! EUROPA LEAGUE FOR THE SCUM!

Now we can all relax...

Let out a deep sigh of relief and then laugh uncontrollably at the expense of 'Tottenham Not-So-Hot-Spur'.

After all that Adebayor sh!t-talking, Villas-Boas's attempted mind games, Gareth Bale's sickeningly good performances and pretty much the entire EPL fan-base hating on us Gooners.

ARSENAL FC ARE IN THE CHAMPION$ LEAGUE FOR THE 16th YEAR RUNNING!

Take it!

"How does it feel!?!"

"Now f*#k off to Madrid!"

Laurent Koscielny (probably the EPL's best performing defender) scored the only but vital goal in the 52nd after a pretty dire first half at the Sports Direct Arena.

It was a weird goal - the ball crossed in by Walcott from a wide free kick. The ball skims off Podolski's head, Laurent Koscielny instinctively rolls Fabricio Coloccini and gains an inch to re-direct the ball. The French defender's high kick pinged off the keepers head and in to the far corner. That's all it takes.

At first glance it could have looked in inch offside (which it wasn't), and garnered almost a muted reception from the traveling fans who were a little surprised it was in the back of the net.

Meanwhile at White Hart Lane, Gareth Bale was booked for a dive in the box in the first half against Sunderland. And then a little later 'monkey-boy' hits the post with a low and long drive before scoring an absolute belter from over 25 yards out in the 90th minute to make it 1 - 0.

Fingers were being chewed down to the bone in dying seconds, in the 91st a Walcott break ended in the Newcastle post being rattled as Theo's clever toe-poke deceives the keeper.

Newcastle threatened to do Spurs a favor as the clock rounded up to 94 mins of extra time but we held out with the ball in possession for the final whistle.

Chelsea's 2 - 1 victory over Everton leaves the final standing looking like:

All we need now is for Arsene to spend all that cash!

Watch this space...

AFC BEAT WIGAN DESPITE MIKE DEAN'S BIAS

He looks like Jasper Carrott and he's from Wirral, Merseyside which is right next to Wigan (29.9 miles).
Just saying...

My heart dropped when I saw that Dean would be reffing this crunch match. We win and we go one point above Spurs. Wigan loose and they're relegated just after sealing the FA Cup against Man City.

So when Dean blew for a weak foul after after Malony leans in to Arteta you could feel it wasn't good.
25 yards out and Malony rockets a curling and dipping ball in to the far corner. Szczesny's hand on the ball was no deterrent to the power and placement of the ball.

Podolski's first half header and Arsenal's early domination were cancelled out by the incompetent ref.

Going in to the second half it didn't look good. End to end stuff and with a disallowed offside effort saw Szczesny picking the ball out f the net for the second time.

But 3 goals in 8 minutes all on swift counter attacks added Walcott, Podolski (2nd) and Aaron Ramsay to the score sheet. 4-1 to the Arsenal!

All in all a very tense, hard-fought much needed win.

In fairness to Wigan the scoreline didn't reflect their effort. Arsenal definitely deserved to win this but it's a shame it's at Wigan's expense as the Northern club head down in to the English Championship.

Take that Spurs!

DON'T BELIEVE 'HIGUAN' YOU READ

Thank you to 'Here Is The City.com's' Dan Coombs for breaking down some transfer bullshiz which is extremely refreshing to read: HITC.com...

Sometimes I feel I don't post enough AFC news here on TalkingoutmyArsenal.com. The main restriction being my full time job and family to consider, but also because on a day to day basis there's so much absolute desperate tripe written out there - mostly transfer tripe on 'done deals' and 'release clause triggering!'.

Ironically, most of the misleading headlines and fact-less body's of work are spawned by the established -or should I say infamous- tabloid sports blogs.

Rule of thumb - If it ain't confirmed on Arsenal.com it ain't confirmed. I get so tired of reading the same misleading trash.

I don't care what the Daily Mail or Caught Offside choose to report. It will be a different story tomorrow with a calculated re-visit a fortnight later in an attempt to validate.
The red-tab newspaper's have been using this contriving format for years. Sometimes it works out, the 'said information' has to come from somewhere right? I mean if the story isn't at least feasible you'd have no readers to start with.

For most of these 'sports writers' it's a win-win situation. The sheer volume of top-class footballing talent either coming to the end of their contract or looking for potential suiters are plentiful, then you throw in one of 20+ top-flight teams of media interest, throw in some figures and you've got yourself a feasible story.

I'm not saying Gonzalo Higuan to Arsenal for £19 million isn't true, nor am I saying that I wouldn't welcome him to North London with open arms, but really...

It's almost a full time job rummaging through the trash to find the true sources (if any) to many fabrications out there.

Again - Higuan may not be a fabrication but I'm definitely taking it with a pinch of salt.

NEWCASTLE ARE SAFE - PARDEW MAY BE A GOONER...

What does Newcastle's 2-1 victory over QPR mean?

Well it means unfortunately they won't be relegated this season. They did come close though. - Oh how I would relish in Alan Pardew's excuses for failure. I love to see that impudent bitch squirm.

Never been fond of the magpies, I'm not gonna lie. They're a dirty, cheating, tactic-less team; even with Joey Barton gone I worry we'll either get a retaliation-red or end up with a player injured.
Enough of my rant.

For us, Newcastle staying up is actually a massive plus in relation to the last game of the season.

Alan Pardew was obviously delighted after today's result telling reporters:

AP - "We got an important result today. I don’t really care if Arsenal win 4-0 if I’m honest – I’m sure Spurs will – but I only care that our fans enjoy themselves."

So hopefully he'll either field the Newcastle B-team or rest his prized assets next week?

We shouldn't have too much trouble, even though St James Park can be a torrid place to go despite Newcastle's lackluster performances.
I do however believe that they'll be especially relaxed coming in, and hopefully we'll be intensely hungry.

COYG!

PIC OF THE DAY!

Saw this brilliant photo on the Mail. So true...

SIR ALEX RETIRES - GREAT NEWS FOR US!

So there is some light at the end of this tunnel.

For us Gooner's, this dire and stressful season is coming to a close and there's only one thing in mind - a 4th place finish.
For Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham it may only be a few games remaining but this is far from over.

Today's Chelsea vs Tottenham result will shed a whole new light on a turbulent end to another disappointing season.

Manchester United on the other hand have had quite the opposite experience.

If there was one team this season that I prayed would fail, it was United. Much like last season with Manchester City...
Do you see a pattern forming?
With Nasri and Clichy leaving in such traitorous style and then to go on and win the League, then Van Pussy to go and repeat that hurt the following season. Wow - the two shittiest fairy-tail endings I've ever heard of!

To be fair to United - there's never been another team for me, I've always hated them for as far back as I can remember. They are officially #1 on my shit-list, and I grew up in the 80's and 90's when it was predominantly Liverpool running amok with Ian Rush, John Barnes, Steve McManaman etc.
But United, they made my skin crawl. They still do.

And to be honest, this despise I have for them is actually inadvertent expression of my respect for the Manc bastards.

They are an awesome display of success! Oh it pains me to write that but it's true.

And primarily because of Sir Alex Ferguson. Without the beetroot-faced Scotsman I can guarantee they wouldn't be the second richest team in the World.
And despite sounding like your stereotypical park-bench drunk nobody else could have led them to Champions of the Premier League for the 20th time, and sure as hell wouldn't have stolen our prized player last season to do so...

So what next for United?

Everton's David Moyes is in pole position to take over from Sir Alex which scares me as Moyes is a great manager, I believe he'll take off from where Ferguson left off with great ease.

I was more hoping that United would 'pull a Chelsea' and just go for some big-name manager who can't gel with the egomaniac squad and in tern be one of three different managers fired per season.

We should be so lucky. It would be a shame for the fellow Scot to leave Goodison Park but it almost looks set in stone.
It may mean however that Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini will look to Arsenal as potential suiters...? Maybe.

With Sir Alex a probable contender for United's 'Director of Football' it will also be some time before United are severed from the positive influence of football's most decorated manager.

For Arsenal - this is still positive news. Psychologically United's squad next season will be in tatters (I hope!)

I know that opinions are divided but I'm hoping the sudden retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson starts a trend of fresh-blooded managers replacing significant footballing tenures . Sometimes you just can't see the wood from the trees.

ARSENAL KIT TO BE MADE BY HI-TEC. SORRY, PUMA.

Old-school dogshiz!

Say it ain't so!

I mean £170 million isn't chump change but I'm sure we can do better than Puma...

That's if these reports are true?

The Daily Mirror are the tabloid responsible for the rumors, saying that Arsenal are set to earn up to £170m over a five year period (about £30m per year).

As reported earlier in the month, Adidas were speculated as the successors to Nike who currently have one more kit to produce for the 2013/14 season.
Nike expressed recently that they would like to continue there relationship with the Gunners but not at 'any' price.

It seems to me that the people upstairs are commanding a kit deal as lucrative as the likes of Man Utd, Real Madrid and Barcelona demand to produce their strips.

Why not. We should be striving to compete with the top. On and off the field.

Take a look at the reported mock-ups that have been leaked of the possible future kits. Any comments...

IS THIS THE NEW 2013/14 AWAY KIT?

I'm not a fan of yellow really, I say Norwich City can keep it. But at the same time yellow and blue were first started in 1950's and it's been a good 14 years since we've seen the two colors together.

It's cool to switch it up with the 'purple reign' and variations of blue and even the white 3rd kit wasn't too bad. Burgundy on the other hand I can live without. It was actually the original Dial Square color back in 1886 - still no excuse!

This above... if it is a legitimate picture - This I could live with, I won't be buying it, but it's true to our history, it's not trying to be clever and we'll definitely be able to see each other on those frosty winter evenings.

And judging by the slightly different variation that Theo's wearing and then that picture at bottom which has been doing the rounds for some time now. I think we can safely say it's gonna be yellow next season.

Bring it on!