Cesc in Barca shirt!

[MK Gould]

I wonder how the true catalan people feel about spain winning the world cup - these people refuse t accept they are spanish yet their barca whores (puyol, pique, xavi and iniesta) celebrate like they are madrid born and raised and their official club site is reporting glowingly on the celebrations and enjoying the cesc shirt joke I know if I was a pure catalan I would be less than impressed with the sell out especially for a region that plays a match every season representing catalonia

Catalonia covers Northeast Spain and South West France. Most true catalans hate all things Spanish and have their own flag and language. Unfortunately, even they have been seduced by winning the World Cup especially with so many Barca players involved. I think it's called jumping on the bandwagon......

Nationalism sucks Nice to see people opening up and embracing each other in victory, irregardless of what their ethnicity is

You're right! It was great to see a nation with such a diverse ethnic mix celebrating together..... Even non-humans like Puyol were allowed to join in!

[JMascis666]

I wonder if anyone in the Basque country wanted Spain to win?

(There were 2 Athletic Bilbao players in the squad)

[Bergkamp-Genius]

Does anyone really believe he is staying? Think about it... leave Arsenal, the underperforming has-beens living on the glory of a great team from 5 years (HALF A FUCKING DECADE) ago and go to the all conquering Barcawhores, team of your childhood, back to the country of your birth as a world cup winner, to play with world class players every day, win medals every year, cap your career in the glory your talent deserves... it's a no brainer for me, unfortunately.

Also, the other thread about his "it's for Arsenal" quote? What he actually said was;

"I am really proud to have been an Arsenal player."

Past tense. It was a goodbye to us.

Does that mean if he doesn't go you've got no brain


I hope Cesc doesn't frequent Arsenal forums...if he does he must be mystified and demoralised to say the least at what has gone on over the last three months. The guy has been absolutely demonised by his own fans on the back of what has been no more than a mass of shite and nonsense concocted by the press..

If as the press tried to imply Cesc spoke to Wenger at the end of the season requesting a move then he would be either gone or about to go, because there is no way Wenger would force him to stay at the club if he wanted to go.

If you look at the one or two factual stories between the mass of concocted rubbish written in the press..the only thing we know for sure is that just before Laporta left a few weeks ago he made a bid for Cesc, it was knocked back and in his words Arsenal were not prepared to enter in to any discussions on the matter...fast forward a few weeks Barcas new president flys to SA, in his words to discuss buying Cesc with Wenger, according to him he was blanked and told no discussion was going to take place on the matter, Cesc was not for sale....

So apart from the mass of quotes from mysterious sources and Barca staff wanting him to sign, plus the re interpretation of everything that comes out of Cesc's mouth and everything he does to make it sound or look like he wants to go.. there has been absolutely nothing of any substance to say he is going..
He hasn't said he is going or wants to, Wenger said he isn't going, the board said he isn't going..and yet three months of anger and antagonism aimed at a guy who has done nothing but give his best for us on the back of a load of nonsense written in the press....it's unbelievable...

I would have thought that anyone who sat through three or four years of this exact same shit stirring by the press with Vieira would have learned the games the press play and to take everything they read or hear with a pinch of salt..
Until i hear Cesc come out to a reputable source or on Tv and say he is leaving, he wants to leave. Or Wenger or the board come out and say we are selling him or he is sold, i'll just assume everything i read on the subject of him leaving this summer is utter crap because there is a 99% chance it is...

[rigsby]

Really mate thats all anyone can say on the subject. Great post

[USMartin]

Cesc said 'have been' first and then quickly changed it supposedly.


There's no way Arsenal will sell Cesc this summer, it would make Wenger look too big a mug after saying what he's said. However, it's nailed on that he will leave after this coming season, probably after getting a final sweetener of a couple of million for his last season like Henry got. It's a farce. The guy has been fantastic for Arsenal but wants to leave, there is no point in keeping him because he DOES NOT want to play for Arsenal. He'll still do a decent job for us next season cause that's the guy he is but he won't be 100% committed, you can't be when you don't really want to be somewhere.
Arsenal football club are terrified of losing him because it shows us up for what we are.......wannabe's, a club with what they purport to be ambition but realistically they are clinging to the hope that in the next 10 years other clubs will fall BACK to where we are because of their financial state. It's hard to accept as an Arsenal fan but what else can we do?

I do not agree with this one bit, he is like thierry Henry, he loves playing for arsenal football club and always will. Even when he moves, he would move for completely different reasons. Your mind has been infected ! This is what the media does to you.

With all due respect Euphoricone if Henry simply loved playing for Arsenal then either he left because as he said he wanted to win trophies again and wasn't going to under the current policies in place here or he was sold to raise money that had to be raised because of the Board's decision not to sell Highbury. I wouldn't say if Cesc left now it would be because of the latter but the former certainly.

[USMartin]

So much I want to write in response to some of the posts, but for brevity's sake, I'll limit it to saying that essentially I agree with g88ner. This is a major over-reaction and people seem to be falling into their pre-set positions.

Those that were/are convinced that Cesc was/is leaving - for the myriad of reasons always mentioned, i.e. boyhood club, Arsenal's lack of ambition, etc - and think it would be best for the club that he did, still think so and are (wrongly, in my opinion) blaming the player;

And those that, although they may agree with a lot of the reasons, want Cesc to stay regardless - even if only for one more year - and don't question his commitment or think he has done anything to deserve the anger being directed at him.

Well that's my take on things anyway.

*I blame the board for re-developing Highbury!*





*copyright: MartinUS*

Who the FUCK is "MartinUS" anyway?

BTW you are right - the re-development hamstringing investment in the team has led to these issues. Think about if we'd sold Highbury and used those proceeds to pay off the stadium loan from 2005-2008 might there not have been more investment in better players and thus more achieved then keeping a Champions League place and thus top players might be less reluctant to stay. If the club provided our best players with more silver or a better chance to win more silverware would they be so eager to leave as some have been?

And the reason our club did not provide it was because it was financially over-stretched by the decision to re-develop Highbury instead of selling it. Why else do you think think that the one time Arsenal officials have mentioned the Highbury re-development and transfer spending in the same discussion was this spring after the loan was paid off?

Look it up - I have yet to find a single reference before the announcement on Arsenal.com linking spending and the re-development in the previous four years. Curious, no?

[mrgnu1958]

2o pages by midnight.

[Eboue-Why?]

B-G that was a very good and well written post. But, what you have to understand is that football fans work in simple terms. If Cesc had come out pre-World Cup and said something along the lines of, 'I'm flattered by Barcelona's interest, but I'm under contract to Arsenal for another 4 years and want to honour that contract' then everything is sorted and we don't have to spend hours on Forums debating what may or may not happen. But he hasn't, mainly because he wants to go...at some stage. So without that sort of confirmation from our Captain, we will all fear the worst. I'm not criticising Cesc, because he must be in a difficult position but all Arsenal fans want to see their best player stay and as well as you put your point, none of us really know what is going on. Until Cesc says he's staying, what are we to think?

[flash gunner]

So much I want to write in response to some of the posts, but for brevity's sake, I'll limit it to saying that essentially I agree with g88ner. This is a major over-reaction and people seem to be falling into their pre-set positions.

Those that were/are convinced that Cesc was/is leaving - for the myriad of reasons always mentioned, i.e. boyhood club, Arsenal's lack of ambition, etc - and think it would be best for the club that he did, still think so and are (wrongly, in my opinion) blaming the player;

And those that, although they may agree with a lot of the reasons, want Cesc to stay regardless - even if only for one more year - and don't question his commitment or think he has done anything to deserve the anger being directed at him.

Well that's my take on things anyway.

*I blame the board for re-developing Highbury!*





*copyright: MartinUS*

Who the FUCK is "MartinUS" anyway?

BTW you are right - the re-development hamstringing investment in the team has led to these issues. Think about if we'd sold Highbury and used those proceeds to pay off the stadium loan from 2005-2008 might there not have been more investment in better players and thus more achieved then keeping a Champions League place and thus top players might be less reluctant to stay. If the club provided our best players with more silver or a better chance to win more silverware would they be so eager to leave as some have been?

And the reason our club did not provide it was because it was financially over-stretched by the decision to re-develop Highbury instead of selling it. Why else do you think think that the one time Arsenal officials have mentioned the Highbury re-development and transfer spending in the same discussion was this spring after the loan was paid off?

Look it up - I have yet to find a single reference before the announcement on Arsenal.com linking spending and the re-development in the previous four years. Curious, no?

US Martin with all respect why do you have to bring the board into every thread? You dont see Sid saying Wenger out, ...... or Augie moaning, ...... or Swale kissing Wengers arse, ...... or brazilianGooner camping it up like a ladyboy in every thread......

oh fuck it carry on!!!!!!

[mcdowell42]

2o pages by midnight.

It will be if USmartin keeps posting

[USMartin]

So much I want to write in response to some of the posts, but for brevity's sake, I'll limit it to saying that essentially I agree with g88ner. This is a major over-reaction and people seem to be falling into their pre-set positions.

Those that were/are convinced that Cesc was/is leaving - for the myriad of reasons always mentioned, i.e. boyhood club, Arsenal's lack of ambition, etc - and think it would be best for the club that he did, still think so and are (wrongly, in my opinion) blaming the player;

And those that, although they may agree with a lot of the reasons, want Cesc to stay regardless - even if only for one more year - and don't question his commitment or think he has done anything to deserve the anger being directed at him.

Well that's my take on things anyway.

*I blame the board for re-developing Highbury!*





*copyright: MartinUS*

Who the FUCK is "MartinUS" anyway?

BTW you are right - the re-development hamstringing investment in the team has led to these issues. Think about if we'd sold Highbury and used those proceeds to pay off the stadium loan from 2005-2008 might there not have been more investment in better players and thus more achieved then keeping a Champions League place and thus top players might be less reluctant to stay. If the club provided our best players with more silver or a better chance to win more silverware would they be so eager to leave as some have been?

And the reason our club did not provide it was because it was financially over-stretched by the decision to re-develop Highbury instead of selling it. Why else do you think think that the one time Arsenal officials have mentioned the Highbury re-development and transfer spending in the same discussion was this spring after the loan was paid off?

Look it up - I have yet to find a single reference before the announcement on Arsenal.com linking spending and the re-development in the previous four years. Curious, no?

US Martin with all respect why do you have to bring the board into every thread? You dont see Sid saying Wenger out, ...... or Augie moaning, ...... or Swale kissing Wengers arse, ...... or brazilianGooner camping it up like a ladyboy in every thread......

oh fuck it carry on!!!!!!

Actually you do see all that from them - its just more obvious from me for some reason I haven't quite figured out yet I'll get back to you when I do

[northbankbren]

The cesc situation gets worse and worse every day.

Im sorry but there is no defending the guy.

OUR captain in a Barca shirt with a nice big smile on his face. I dont give a fuck whether it was put on him or not, he didnt exactly fight them off did he.

I don’t understand why so many people want to stick up for a guy who we all know has asked to leave.

Not just the shirt last night, but the entire summer saga has put me off him. Very little loyalty or class shown by our captain.

He’s gone the way of greedybaymoneywhore for me if he stays....i wont cheer him, sing songs about him (not that we have many). If he stays its because he has no other choice.

ARSENAL DONT NEED CESC OR HIS TYPE................SELL HIM NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[augie]

Does anyone really believe he is staying? Think about it... leave Arsenal, the underperforming has-beens living on the glory of a great team from 5 years (HALF A FUCKING DECADE) ago and go to the all conquering Barcawhores, team of your childhood, back to the country of your birth as a world cup winner, to play with world class players every day, win medals every year, cap your career in the glory your talent deserves... it's a no brainer for me, unfortunately.

Also, the other thread about his "it's for Arsenal" quote? What he actually said was;

"I am really proud to have been an Arsenal player."

Past tense. It was a goodbye to us.

Does that mean if he doesn't go you've got no brain


I hope Cesc doesn't frequent Arsenal forums...if he does he must be mystified and demoralised to say the least at what has gone on over the last three months. The guy has been absolutely demonised by his own fans on the back of what has been no more than a mass of shite and nonsense concocted by the press..
If as the press tried to imply Cesc spoke to Wenger at the end of the season requesting a move then he would be either gone or about to go, because there is no way Wenger would force him to stay at the club if he wanted to go.
If you look at the one or two factual stories between the mass of concocted rubbish written in the press..the only thing we know for sure is that just before Laporta left a few weeks ago he made a bid for Cesc, it was knocked back and in his words Arsenal were not prepared to enter in to any discussions on the matter...fast forward a few weeks Barcas new president flys to SA, in his words to discuss buying Cesc with Wenger, according to him he was blanked and told no discussion was going to take place on the matter, Cesc was not for sale....

So apart from the mass of quotes from mysterious sources and Barca staff wanting him to sign, plus the re interpretation of everything that comes out of Cesc's mouth and everything he does to make it sound or look like he wants to go.. there has been absolutely nothing of any substance to say he is going..
He hasn't said he is going or wants to, Wenger said he isn't going, the board said he isn't going..and yet three months of anger and antagonism aimed at a guy who has done nothing but give his best for us on the back of a load of nonsense written in the press....it's unbelievable...

I would have thought that anyone who sat through three or four years of this exact same shit stirring by the press with Vieira would have learned the games the press play and to take everything they read or hear with a pinch of salt..
Until i hear Cesc come out to a reputable source or on Tv and say he is leaving, he wants to leave. Or Wenger or the board come out and say we are selling him or he is sold, i'll just assume everything i read on the subject of him leaving this summer is utter crap because there is a 99% chance it is...

I'm sorry but I cannot agree with that - cesc has not be demonised by his own fans (if this forum is anything to go by) and if you read the postings on here you will find quite a large % actually defending him and supporting his reasons to leave. That is not to say that we do not want him to stay cos all of us want him to stay but there is only so much shit you can take and how much bullshit from the manager and board that you are willing to listen to

I have to say also that telling yourself that cesc hasnt asked to leave is wishful thinking in the extreme - I accept that cesc hasnt said much publicly but cant you tell a lot by his silence ? Think about how many times in the past the guy has come out publicly rubbishing these rumours and ask yourself why this time is different. Fact is, in my opinion at least, cesc has asked to go but respects wenger too much to force his way out but that does not dilute his wish to go and if you think wenger wouldnt keep a player against their wishes try and think back to PV4 and henry and you will find two examples of where you are wrong on this

[flash gunner]

I must admit i couldnt be bothered to go through it all again with Berg-genius.... Well said Augie

[storrmin571]

Total lack of respect for the club. Sooner the better he goes in my opinion. TH never ever showed himself up like this clown.