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!

WHERE DO WE STAND AFTER THE 1 - 0 WIN AT QPR?

I hardly had time to get comfy on the sofa today. My two and three year-old are pretty good at recognizing the red and white and hastily clearing the 8" battle ground between the sofa and the tv. Not today...

GOAL!!!

Theo Walcott, 21 seconds after kick off. Almost an identical strike to last weeks against Man Utd, this time the opposite end of the table but just as important.
And I almost missed it amongst the three foot crowd of toddlers, in fact my entire celebration was muted in comparison. It felt like I already knew the score, who scored and in what minute. I hate that!

But it's a goal none the less!

Walcott's next four strikes throughout the 90 minutes were all candidates for goal, his closest being the first half strike low against the post. Shame there was no poacher around for the rebound.
You just feel that Theo is lacking just the slightest predatory instinct to permenantly cement his center forward position. If Podolski continues to get lost like he did today then it may be a no contest between the Brit and the German.

We were desperately missing Giroud today. And Loic Remy didn't do too much to impress as rumors surround him as a possible addition to our squad in the summer.

We desperately need a World class striker. Number 1 priority.

Santi was exquisite as always in the center of the park. I'm starting to think we should have him push forward into the Lionel Messi role...
His vision seems wasted on the current forward candidates and his reputation from outside the 18 yard box has him quickly closed down by opposing defenders.
With a fit Jack Wilshire and an advanced inclusion of young Oxlade Chamberlain it's not a consideration that's too off the wall. I think he'd be great up front with his low center of gravity, two footed ability, pace, power and that endless bag of tricks.
We have a lot to play with in terms of potential formations, it's just up to the players and of course Wenger picking the correct squad...

All in all it was a fairly tedious game to watch. Very little flow, very little anything really.
As usual, around the 80th minute I started to absolutely shit it when QPR dominated all possession. I'm mumbling curse words in to my fingernails wondering why I was passed down this monumental burden of supporting such a team.
But a scrappy battle ended 3 minutes after the official 90 and we're clear in third place for another day.

Two games to go, 67 points and a goal difference of +31. Next game is Wigan at home. Then Newcastle away to round it off.

Tottenham got lucky today in the 86th today with 'Monkey-boy Bale' sealing the 1-0 win over Southampton. 65 points, +18 GD. Next game is Chelsea away then Stoke at home and close the season at Sunderland.

Chelsea (65 points, +33 GD) travel to Man Utd tomorrow and then face Spurs the week after, followed by Villa (away) then Everton (home).

It's a good chance for both Spurs and Chelsea to drop much needed points in the coming weeks. Technically Spurs can finish the season one point ahead of us if they win there last three games. Chelsea could end 3 points up at 77 for the season.

The only thing we can be certain of is that one of the pair will drop points when they clash next week. Chelsea can afford to. Spurs can't!

But again that all depends what happens tomorrow at Old Trafford.

Come on you blues!

AFC NEWS ROUND UP:

So what started as a news round-up turned in to a rant. I apologize. The round-up is down the bottom somewhere...

When there isn't really anything of real substance to report apart from the usual 'Jovetic to Arsenal update' or some story that implies that 'Aaron Ramsey's not actually as shit as his performances suggest', I'm stuck reporting on some of the more feasible junk in the news.

I'm sorry to 'Ramsay on your parade' but even Stevie Wonder can tell that young Aaron isn't good enough to pull on the red and white anymore.
Please stop making excuses for him. I agree - it's a damn shame, he was a top prospect until Ryan Shawcross ruined his career.
I too want Aaron Ramsay to be better than Lionel Messi, but in reality he's slow, uncalculated and wasteful.

And no he's not - 'Relishing in his new role' - no matter how many bloggers like to post about him; it's only vindicating there's an issue there in the first place.

Has Wenger found Ramsay's new role? No - there's just nowhere to put him anymore, at least anywhere he won't give the ball away too much. The safest place seems to be somewhere close to the middle so that he can safely rack-up an 80% pass-back statistic.
And don't try justify his performance based on the 'Wenger has faith' and so should we mantra.
Arsene Wenger sold the league directly to our biggest rivals for £24 million.

What a joke, we would probably be close to United's position had we held the Dutchman to his contact. I said probably...

Nobody seems to know exactly how much, but the general consensus is that the prize money for the EPL is in the range of £15 million. Coupled with the automatic Champions League qualification income of £16.5 million (£5.8 for playing the group stage and £10.7m for broadcast rights based on the 2011/12 season).
So that's a total of approximately £31.5 million for both the League and CL qualification.
Ok now subtract the £24 they paid and United sit with a profit of £7.5 million.
And of course Robin is on a hefty £200 grand a week which is why he left in the first place. That alone commands around £10.4 million a year plus possible add-ons and bonuses.
So the £10.4 million salary minus the £7.5 mil profit that leaves Man Utd about £2.9 million in the red. Oops!
No, not a lot for a team like United or even Arsenal - that's pennies.
...But then we forgot all about the shirt sales.

Van Persie 's replica shirt sales alone amassed over a quarter of the entire Premier League's this term (25.4%). That's one hell of a lot of glory supporters!

Did RVP cost United money - no!

Did the sale cost us?

I'll let you figure that one out.

WENGER TO PSG...?

Worth a mention. Will it happen? Unfortunately I doubt it.
After the 1-1 draw with United Wenger addressed the press regarding the rumored move:

AW: "First of all I don’t know too much about what’s been said about me. Then I’m concentrating on the next game and the next season. At the end of my contract I’ll see what I can do. I’ve always respected my contracts. I can’t see at my age why that should change."

Arsene's contract isn't up until the end of the 2014 season, Carlo Ancelotti's potential move from PSG to Real Madrid (José Mourinho is reported to be wanted back at Chelsea by Roman Abramovich) is making way for a vacancy at the super-rich French club.
The move makes sense but Wenger has it made in North London. The only pressure Wenger has at Arsenal is from us fans and what does that tell you...

Unless fans start to boycott games, our cries for change will never be taken seriously.

CAZORLA WANTS TO FOCUS ON SILVERWARE AND CONSISTENCY

The lovable pint-sized Spaniard told the club website:

SC: "What I've taken from this year is that as a team we weren't very consistent for half of the season, which cost us in terms of reaching the higher positions in the league. Now we're a lot more consistent and that's the form we were lacking before - being consistent and getting the three points whenever we could. We're a long way off the top because of this lack of form, even though it was only for half the season."

USMANOV IS SICK OF STUBBORN STAN

It's ironic that Arsenal's answer to overachieving, over spending and success has been staring us in the face for quite some time now.
Alisher Usmanov is Russia's richest man at an estimated fortune of £20 billion and just can't give his money away when it comes to Arsenal FC.
Stan Kroenke's  67% controlling share over Usmanov's 30% has the Uzbek oligarch more than miffed, he can't pry the American's shares away at any price it seems. The prospect of another season with no real direction from the existing money-men must be as frustrating for a man like Usmanov as it is for us fans.

AU: "The team has no superstars now. In our understanding, Kroenke has no plans to sell his stake, but we also won’t sell out, as we are the team’s fans.”

I have to side with Usmanov here. Stan and the board seem to be content with a 4th place spot and the squeaky-clean profitable machine that Arsenal has become.
Usmanov on the other hand, whatever his motive, actually wants what us Gooners desire which is silverware and bragging rights.

He can stick his tongue out at his mate Abramovich and the rest of the New World Order, and we can give RVP and Spurs the 'one finger salute' all the way to Wembley.

It's pretty simple really. Boost the squad whilst being mindful of the FFP rules and regulations.

CARLOS VELA ADMITS HE COULD RETURN

CV: "Going back to Arsenal? It could happen at any moment, but I don't want to think about it," he told L'Equipe.

"My life is at Real Sociedad, and it is with that shirt that I want to play in the Champions League next season."