Note: I wrote this post last evening (Hawaii time), just sort of punching it out in response to a thought I had at the time.  After posting it, I continued to mull the topic over and realized that there was more to the story than I had written.  I have since revised this writing as of 12:36 pm Hawaii time.

Today I am wrestling with an internal conflict.  Arsenal played one half in the 4-4 dance that was the Arsenal-Liverpool match.  This match had title implications, as Liverpool had really been nipping at Man United’s heels, and in fact had surpassed them on goal differential.  Here’s where the conflict comes in.  Arsenal’s draw with L’pool means that United have the opportunity to go three points clear this weekend, and still have a game in hand.  I despise Manchester United and the last thing I want to see is Arsenal helping them to the top of the table…a place they hold now for the third year in a row.  But I can’t help being giddy at the irony of Arsenal ending Liverpool’s title hopes this year by drawing them late in the season.  It was Liverpool that arranged for our Champion’s League exit last year at The Emirates with a 4-2 win capped off by a Steven Gerrard penalty.  It was Liverpool that, earlier that same week, ended any realistic title hopes the Gunners had with a 1-1 draw.  Seeing them out of the CL and pushed to the brink of being out of the title race in the same week is gratifying to me, in an immature revenge seeking kind of way.  And then I came upon this comment in my blog archives:

“Bit of a wimpy response, mate. Face the facts, there has to be a major overhaul of the squad. The other big three have left us well behind because we didn’t SPEND ENOUGH! Senderos, Hleb and Aboule – and probably Bendtner – are out of their depth. That’s why Ces is always so tired lately, and therefore not as effective. Those four have got to go and need to be replaced. Otherwise, next year, more of the same dross…”

As some of you may know I have a personal blog, and that’s how I got started writing articles about soccer-related topics.  Last year I wrote an article called “The Utter Heartbreak of Arsenal’s 2007-08 Season“.  I criticized the hesitation to spend enough money to bring in an experienced player or two to help the young squad gel.  They fell off at the end of the year due to a lack of grit, and little else.  Grit is something that comes with experience.  The above response was written to me at that time.  At the time I refused to say that the squad needed overhauled because I felt that Wenger new what he was doing.  I despise the large clubs who buy the biggest name at every position to try to gain immediate success (*cough* Real Madrid *cough* Chelsea).  I believe this squad will show it’s steel in the future…and I’m willing to be patient.  But I really felt they needed some experience now to help this squad find itself.

Cut to a year later.  Arsenal has bought mostly young players in the past year, with one exception.  We’ve been through a horrible run of injuries that has masked what this squad can do.  But that with the squad beginning to get healthy and the youth beginning to take the mantle at Arsenal, that one player that Wenger did splash cash on (by Gunner standards anyway) is doing exactly what is needed to help carry that mantle with the young players.  Andrei Arshavin pulled Arsenal along today and provided that last bit of grit in the final third that the Gunners have needed and lacked for so long.  And he’s been brilliant since he got here.  With a healthy squad all it took was that one piece and away we go.  Arsenal has looked a different squad since Arshavin arrived…at it only really took one player to add to the existing squad, even with a few losses that were considered key at the time.  I stand behind Arsene Wenger as one of the greatest managers in the game, one of the best minds in charge of a club’s future and direction in the game, and stand behind Arsenal as the lone exception in the top four in terms of the amount of MONEY that takes the field and maintains a high level of competition.

That, and they’re just beautiful to watch…

Arsenal is benifiting from Arshavin's grit this year in it's domestic campaign

I just purchased my ticket to see Chelsea vs. AC Milan this summer in Baltimore, MD.  The World Football Challenge is on tour in the US staring the previously mentioned teams as well as Club America and Inter Milan.  All of these teams will be in preseason mode, yet the opportunity to see top level football is to much to pass up.  Many of these teams will also be taking on MLS teams while on tour including Seattle vs. Chelsea and AC Milan vs. LA Galaxy (as part of the Beckham return deal). Check out these dates, venues, and matches:

Sunday July 19th Club America v Inter Milan @ Stanford Stadium Palo Alto, CA

Tuesday July 21st Chelsea v Inter Milan @ Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA

Wednesday July 22nd AC Milan v Club America @ Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA

Friday July 24th Chelsea v AC Milan @ M&T Stadium Baltimore, MD (yeah!!!)

Sunday July 26th AC v Inter @ Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA

Sunday July 26th Chelsea v Club America @ Cowboy Stadium Arlington, TX

Check out: www.worldfootballchallenge.com for tickets and info

And here I come, crawling back like a puppy with his tail between his legs…

I know it’s been a seriously long time since I last posted.  I can only offer a few pitiful excuses involving moving half-way around the world and taking a new teaching job, but in the end they’re still just excuses.  I’ve missed you all.

Just because I’ve been horribly busy doesn’t mean I’m that far out of the loop though.  I’ve been keeping up as best as I can and there are definitely a few things happening that are worthy of my glorious return to the blog-o-sphere.

First, and in my opinion most exciting, is the return of Andriy Shevchenko to A.C. Milan.  I was not a huge fan of his move to Chelsea in the first place, and mourned his dip in form as the aforementioned London club sucked the soul out of one of the truly skilled and class players of our lifetime.  I don’t know why he made the move in the first place, and I’m not going to go into that kind of speculation, but the Blues were obviously not the place for him.  Was it the club or the English game?  I think it was the club…others might argue otherwise.  I hope that Sheva can return to pre-Chelsea form, and I suspect that if he can the Rossoneri’s other players will follow suit and they will be an extremely dangerous team this campaign.

The other interesting piece of news that I’ve been following the past few days is the LA Galaxy’s swoop on Bruce Arena after having fired Alexi Lalas and Ruud Gullit having left the squad mid-season.  Arena is a coach that I have gone back and forth on over the past 10 years or so as he lead DC United, the USMNT, and the NY Red Bulls.  At times he seems like the strong figure a team, and certain players, have needed to draw the best out of them.  At his worst he has been overly conservative and predictable.  Given the strange composition of the Galaxy squad to start with I think Arena’s tenure will probably get off to a bit of a rocky start until he’s able to get more of the defensive players he wants.  He made, in my opinion, a great move getting rid of Carlos Ruiz for more defensive help.  If Arena can’t get that squad into some form of defensive discipline, maybe it’s time to think about ditching some of the stars and re-building from the ground.

18.3 – A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player’s current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him. A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months. Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions.

I think it should be said, first and foremost, that I am not a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. I have my reasons, and say what you will, but I remain unconvinced over a lot of things about this guy. Neither am I a Manchester United fan. Again, I have my reasons. But I’m intrigued, and a bit nauseated, over this business between the two mentioned parties and Real Madrid. According to the wording above, Madrid have done nothing technically wrong, that we know of, and United’s reporting of Madrid can only be out of indignation over Madrid’s media courting of the young winger.

Now, I don’t want to hear about United’s “past” dealings or any of that. I’m not here to look at that, I’m here to talk about the situation at hand.

The situation as I see it is this: Madrid have done nothing wrong according to the rules, but what they have done is rather despicable. To continue to use the media as a conduit to players in this way so that you can test the waters and yet keep your hands clean is as bad as if you had just outright approached the player. I don’t like it. It’s yet another way that larger clubs, who get more media attention, can undermine smaller clubs to get players that they want. Madrid have always been more in the business of buying players than playing football if you ask me (as have United and Chelsea for that matter), and this unsubtle approach is better left out of the game.

Ronaldo has complicated matters, of course, but saying he would like to play for Madrid. It burns my blood to see this rampant disloyalty to clubs who have nurtured young players. Cesc Fabregas has had interest from all over the world, but he’s stuck with Arsene Wenger because he knows that he owes Arsenal something still. There comes a time when players need to move on despite a history with the club, as David Beckham did when he moved to Madrid from Manchester, but this reeks of disloyalty from Ronaldo.

And I had just gained back a little respect for him after not having to watch him spend all season diving on the ground…