lupoli definatly deserves a chance,seen him grab the winner in the amsterdam tournament v ajax last summer,and hes averaging more than a goal a game in the reserves,i really dont understand why wenger extended hoytes stay with sunderland though!was it not obvious we needed cover at the back with toure and eboue leaving for african cup duty!good job lauren retired from international football,whos going to come in for sol if he takes a knock? would be great to see bergkamp partner van persie up front though. my prediction is a 3-1 win! pires might start playing again now that he to earn a new contract,personally on the evidence ive seen this year,id be using him as part of a swap deal for a younger hungrier player,hes looked lazy all year!
I dunno, i may be the only person who has seen this but Pires for the past 3 games or so he played i think he provided what alot of our players didnt. His composure and passing i think is what makes him. He isnt exactly flying from one side of the field to the next but from the last 3 or so games i watched him play he made some intelligent passes, didnt waste most of em (unlike pretty much the rest of the team), and has alot of experience. I think we should extend his contract especially because we dont know whats happening with Hleb at the moment.
I agree that Pires has picked up a bit of late. I do think that Wenger is right in only offering him a contract for one year. He's seen what has happend with Bergkamp and he'll know that if he's playing well at the end of next season he'll get offered an extension.
In all fairness to Bobby too, Wenger has been sitting him on the bench a lot this year, and if he gets into a game, its usually ten minutes and that's it... hard to make an impact that way. Otherwise if he gets 90 minutes, usually he's either good or at least not out of place on the pitch.
For the statisticians amongst us: Arsenal begin their defence at home, in their last season at Highbury. They have never lost to a lower division club during Wenger's reign; the last time was in the season before the Frenchman arrived, when they were knocked out in a Third Round Replay by First Division Sheffield United in 1996. CARDIFF CITY famously beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Wembley final of 1927 to become the only non-English club to lift the Cup. Gunners keeper Dan Lewis fumbled a first-time shot from Scottish centre-forward Hugh Ferguson to hand the trophy to the Bluebirds. It's said that Arsenal's Welsh International keeper blamed his error on the non-adhesive quality of his shiny new jersey. The clubs are meeting for the fourth time in the Third Round since the war. On the last two occasions they've been drawn at Ninian Park, and Cardiff have held Arsenal to goalless draws, only to lose in the replays. Leeds were the last Premiership club that Cardiff knocked out of the FA Cup - a memorable Third Round, 2-1 victory at Ninian Park on 6 January 2002, with goals from Graham Kavanagh and Scott Young. This will be the first meeting of Arsenal and Cardiff since the 1982/83 League (Milk) Cup, when Arsenal won both legs in the Second Round.
Nope we sure don't. But if we're lucky someone with a computer might cap it and put it on ********.com..
Urg. What time of day is this. Stupid 1 o'clock kick off. Just so those Welsh twits can't bet beered up. And on that note - who's meeting in the Tavern? Rick? Lanersa? Grimster? BillyHo? Jatm? Dave_M?
LINEUP from Arsenal.com Almunia Gilbert--Senderos--Djourou--Lauren Pires--Gilberto--Flamini--Reyes Bergkamp--Van Persie Subs: Poom, Hleb, Larsson, Quincy, Lupoli
announcers on henry ... still speculation, but signs are encouraging based on the reports. arsenal.com only will report when there is a signing, etc. Pires! 2-0