USMNT No. 1 Goalkeeper Matt Turner Leaves Arsenal (After 1 Season) For Nottingham Forest

 

    If you saw the headline that USMNT starting goalkeeper Matt Turner was bolting from Arsenal after one forgettable season and going to Nottingham Forest, let me do my best to quickly talk you off the proverbial ledge. It is simple really, while the Gunners finished second in the English Premier League last season-46 points ahead of Forest who were just two places above the relegation zone in 16th place-Turner only appeared in seven total matches, none of which were in the Premier League. At the age of 29, he is in the prime of his soccer career and as a pro athlete, he does not have the luxury to wait a few years in North London, hoping to grab the No. 1 spot for Arsenal at some point. The move that had been rumored for weeks was made official today, as he signed a four-year deal worth a reported $12.75 million with Nottingham Forest.

    With the USMNT, Turner is in a good position in terms of job security. He really does not have anyone that is coming for his place anytime soon. Still, to reach his pinnacle as well as the USMNT's, they need him playing as much as possible. The fact that Nottingham Forest will be underdogs in most of their Premier League matches is a good thing in this case since it means that Turner will get plenty of action in every game as they try to avoid relegation in 2023-24. While it is far sexier to say "wow, our goalie is at Arsenal (or one of the other powerhouse clubs in Europe)!" rather than at lowly Nottingham Forest, this temporary move should benefit him and the U.S. men's national team both in the short and long term. In an amazing twist of scheduling fate, Turner and his new club open their regular season on Saturday morning (7:30 am, USA Network) as they visit Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Haha what are the odds of that? Hopefully he is ready for suit up in that one because that would be a pretty cool footnote to his stint in the Premier League.

    Keep in mind that if he plays well with Forest, he is unlikely to be there for the entirety of his contract. God bless European soccer since as soon as a guy blows up at a smaller club, he is usually snatched up by a bigger and more powerful team with the quickness. So who knows, Turner could end up back at Arsenal or one of the other title contenders in no time. No matter what sport you play in, you can only get so much out of practices and non-game situations. It would be one thing if Turner was a teenager and while goalkeepers typically have longer professional careers than field players, there is no guarantee of anything when you compete in the top soccer league in the world. 

    If you know anything about Turner and his Disney movie like backstory, you will never doubt his ability to exceed expectations in short order. This is the same guy who thought he would be a baseball player when he was growing up and never played competitive soccer until high school. He played at a very low level Division 1 college-Fairfield University in Connecticut-and then nobody knew him before he burst onto the MLS and USMNT scene with the New England Revolution. The USMNT has always been known for quality goalies and Turner is the latest in a long line of quality shot-stoppers. The difference now is that there is way more talent around him than ever before so ideally, he won't always have to stand on his head when the U.S. plays top competition from around the globe. 

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Thierry Henry Returns On Loan To Arsenal In Smashing Fashion With A Winning Goal

It's pretty rare in professional sports that we see moments that can only be described as magical. It takes a lot for a cynical person like myself to sit back and say wow but yesterday's FA Cup match between Arsenal and Leeds provided such a moment that I will honestly never forget.

Thierry Henry made his debut for Arsenal; the former Gunners icon is on a two-month loan in London from the New York Red Bulls (MLS). Would you believe that after coming on as a substitute, he provided the winning goal in a 1-0 game that propelled Arsenal to the fourth round of the FA Cup?

The game was at Arsenal's home stadium, the Emirates, so Henry gets the proper reception when he comes on, after he scores and at the final whistle. Granted, there probably won't be many more goals or moments like this for Henry in the next few months but how sweet was last night? It proved that he still has something left in the tank after a long and glorious career.

On first blush, the classic finish by Henry into the side netting appears to be very close to offside but notice that Leeds has a defender on the other side of the box. That guy kept Henry onside; props on the through ball from Alex Song. It was perfectly placed, right on his foot. All Henry had to do was take one touch to settle it before curling it around Leeds's goalkeeper.

Just from my studying abroad experience in the winter and spring of 2005 in London, I will always have fond memories of Henry. He was at the top of his game then and he will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest goal-scorers of his generation. Furthermore, he's a good guy and he has done so much for the game of soccer both internationally (for France) and domestically (Arsenal, Barcelona).

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U.S. Men's Roster Announced For France & Slovenia Friendlies

As usual, the U.S. men's national team friendlies are sneaking up on us. Did you know it's a little over a week before the U.S. faces France? Likewise, they'll meet Slovenia is less than two weeks.

Today, U.S. men's head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named the 22 players (2 goalkeepers, 7 defenders, 10 midfielders and 3 forwards) that will make the trip across the pond to face two decent European teams.

These matches represent the last games of 2011 for the U.S.; two more chances to impress Klinsmann and his coaching staff. Time is running out before things get really serious as far as World Cup qualifying next year and figuring out who will be on the field for the U.S. in the 2014 World Cup (in Brazil).

There are mostly familiar names, albeit with a backup goalkeeper (Bill Hamid) that we still don't know anything about, a German-American midfielder (Fabian Johnson) that was going to play in the last couple friendlies but was pulled at the last second due to injury/fatigue and a German-American defender (Alfredo Morales) that plays for Hertha Berlin (Bundesliga). All three should get their first U.S. caps during one of these two matches.

Here's the U.S. men's roster for November 11 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN 2, UNIVISION, ESPN3.com) in France and November 15 (12 p.m. ET, ESPN 2, UNIVISION, ESPN3.com) in Slovenia.

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton), Bill Hamid (D.C. United).

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hanover), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis).

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim).

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Edson Buddle (Ingolstadt), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Players on MLS teams that are still alive in the MLS Cup will report back to the States after the France match. On a sidenote, Shea will train with Arsenal for a month after the friendlies while Hamid is currently training with West Brom. These will also be Klinsmann's first games with Donovan at his disposal. The U.S. stalwart missed the U.S. games this summer and fall since he needed a break between all the MLS and international contests he had in the past year.

UPDATE 11/7: Donovan is out for these two friendlies since his club team-the Los Angeles Galaxy-is in the MLS Cup.

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The Revolving Door Out Of Arsenal Keeps Spinning

It has got to be agonizing to be an Arsenal fan right now living in England. Sure, I enjoy the Gunners but I'm far removed from the club here in the States so I can only observe all the moves that have left the team a shell of what it's been the last few seasons.

Defender Emmanuel Eboue is the latest player to transfer from Arsenal to greener (get it? MONEY!) pastures.

Turkish club Galastaray signed him to a four-year deal.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger confirmed earlier this summer that Eboue, 28, was likely to leave the club during the current transfer window.

The Ivory Coast international arrived at the Gunners from Beveren in 2005 and went on to make 132 Premier League appearances, scoring four times.

Eboue joins Gael Clichy, Denilson and Cesc Fabregas in leaving Emirates Stadium this summer, while Samir Nasri, Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia's futures are the subject of conjecture.

Routinely the top club in Turkey's Super Lig, Eboue will join familiar EPL names of yore like Milan Baros and Harry Kewell.

Arsenal hosts Udinese in a few hours in a Champions League playoff match before Liverpool visits Emirates Stadium on Saturday morning (7:45 am EST) in a pivotal early season EPL match. If the Gunners don't win both matches and more importantly, don't start to replace all these solid players that are leaving London, they'll be in big trouble with the fans and media that cover this beloved team.

The post-Fabregas era begins with Robin Van Persie assuming the captaincy role for Arsenal starting today.

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The Worst Kept Secret In European Soccer Has Come True

In the last year, if you had Internet access and or a Twitter account, you've no doubt seen the constant rumors of Cesc Fabregas moving on from Arsenal to Barcelona.

Well it looks like you won't have to waste anymore of your life waiting for this foregone move to happen, because it went down today.

Coming a day after Arsenal's mostly lifeless 1-1 tie with Newcastle and the same day as Barcelona's scintillating 2-2 tie with Real Madrid in the Super Cup (Spain's version of the Community Shield), this big transfer will make the Gunners worse while also increasing the incredible talent level on Fabregas' hometown team.

On Twitter yesterday, English writers reported that Arsenal fans were left to chant "spend some fucking money," while they watched their mostly starless team struggle. Haha I wish American fans were smart or unified enough to come up with something like that.

Despite Arsenal insisting throughout the summer that they would not sell Fabregas for less than £40 million, it is thought that a £35 million fee has finally been agreed.

Manager Arsene Wenger said: "We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case. However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his home town club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona. We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success."

Fabregas, who joined the Gunners from Barca as a 16-year-old in 2003, will now agree personal terms and undergo a medical on Monday before sealing his return to the Nou Camp.

The midfielder's move will bring an end to a saga that sparked into life last summer when Fabregas told Wenger that he wanted to return to his boyhood club. Wenger stubbornly refused to let the Spain international leave at that time, but just over 12 months later he has given up on the battle to keep the wantaway star.

It has been suggested that Fabregas is willing to take a pay cut in order to force through the move, underlining his desperation to join the Champions League winners.

He played no part in Arsenal's pre-season campaign or their Premier League opener at Newcastle, with Wenger citing a lack of focus and a niggling injury.

Fabregas, who has won 58 caps for Spain, winning Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, made 303 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 57 goals in all competitions and claimed the record for youngest first-team player and goalscorer.

His departure will increase the pressure from fans on Wenger to use some of the transfer fee to bring in a big-name signing before the end of the transfer window. Shakhtar Donetsk claim that Arsenal have shown an interest in Brazil international midfielder Jadson, while Wenger is known to be keen to add a central defender.

It remains to be seen whether Arsenal will be able to hold on to France international Samir Nasri, a target for Manchester City and a player who the Londoners could lose on a free transfer next summer when his contract expires.

Ordinarily Nasri would have been earmarked as the natural successor to Fabregas in a central role but, with his future up the air, Wenger may be forced into the transfer market.

As ESPNsoccernet's story says, Nasri is the other Arsenal player that has been the subject of constant rumors. It'll be interesting to monitor what the Gunners do in the next few weeks (the transfer window closes on August 30). If they want to get back into the top four in the EPL (and clinch a Champions League spot), the club needs to open their checkbooks and start spending some money. If not to appease their dedicated fans, but also to keep up with the Man U's, Man City's, Chelsea's and Liverpool's of the EPL.

Fabregas will take some time to adjust to the more skillful La Liga style of play but since he's played with many of Barce's players on Spain, he should be better suited than most to make an impact sooner rather than later. You can never have too much talent in sports and Barcelona is living proof of that in club soccer.

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There Will Always Come A Day When A Great Player Will Leave Arsenal

It's hard to relate it to American sports since they're a great club team that spends money and is always one of the top squads in Barclays Premier League and Europe but it's a proven fact (over and over again), that almost all great players will leave Arsenal at some point.

The latest to join his fellow French countrymen (Patrick Vieira, Kolo Toure) at Manchester City is left back Gael Clichy, who signed a four-year deal with the team that finished third last season in the Premier League and captured the FA Cup.

Arsenal was forced to sell the 25-year-old Frenchman because he had only one year left on his contract and could have moved on a free transfer at the end of next season.

Clichy spent eight years at Arsenal after joining from Cannes in August 2003. His ability on the left of defense was one of the reasons the Gunners were able to allow England international Ashley Cole to make a high-profile switch to Chelsea three years later.

Clichy was backup to Cole when Arsenal won the 2003-04 Premier League title with an unbeaten record, making him at the time the youngest player to earn a Premier League winner's medal - aged 18. He was the last member of that squad still with the north London club.

"I can't wait to get started and I think anything is possible with this team,'' Clichy said. "When I first came to England, it was Kolo Toure and Patrick Vieira who took me under their wing and really looked after me.

"Kolo would pick me up and drop me at home and his wife used to cook meals for me. Patrick was always there to offer me advice, so it's wonderful to be back and at the same club they are at.''

City did not say how much it paid for Clichy. British media widely reported the fee to be about 7 million pounds.

"I'm really happy to be joining such a great club,'' Clichy said. "I hope I can add to the quality we already have here because we have a fantastic squad who I believe will continue to get better.''

With their playing style, supporters and history, Arsenal is one of the most likable club teams in the world. British author Nick Hornby wrote the book Fever Pitch about them before it was adapted into the terrible Jimmy Fallon movie about the Boston Red Sox.

So if you're a fan of the Gunners, you must go to sleep every night worrying that their current superstars Andrey Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas will eventually leave you at some point. That's no way to live.

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Samir Nasri voted best French player of the year

With rare exceptions (Henry, Florent Malouda, Ribery), we don't tend to be big French soccer fans, look no further than their fiasco in the 2010 World Cup for some reasons why.

However, Arsenal's Samir Nasri is quickly earning our love with his stellar play this season for the Gunners in the EPL and Champions League.

For his work this season, he was voted France's best player of the year by France Football Magazine.

Nasri wasn't involved in France's World Cup fiasco. Then-coach Raymond Domenech left the midfielder out of the squad that crashed out in the first round in South Africa.

New France coach Laurent Blanc recently said Nasri - who finished ahead of Chelsea winger Florent Malouda and Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the voting - is currently the best French player.

The 23-year-old Nasri has already scored 10 goals in the Premier League and Champions League this season for Arsenal.

If France is going to region its top form with the national team, odds are Nasri will play a vital role in that turnaround.

A little hatred goes a long way

Ahead of Monday's big match: Manchester United vs. Arsenal, Man U star Patrice Evra took some time out of his day to make fun of the Gunners.

Arsenal is a point clear of second-place United, which has a game in hand, heading into Monday's match at Old Trafford but Evra has cast doubt on the Gunners' title chances.

"For me, it (Arsenal) is a training center,'' said Evra, speaking on Canal+ Sport show Les Specialistes on Thursday. "I hear them being compared to Barcelona but people in 20 years' time aren't going to remember Arsenal's football.''

The France left back said defending English champion Chelsea, which is a point further back in third, is United's main threat in this campaign.

"Arsenal is a great club which hasn't won anything in five years - that's a crisis,'' Evra added. "Our real rival is Chelsea.

"We can lose against them (Arsenal) but then what is there? There is nothing. There's no trophies, nothing.''

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger shrugged off Evra's comments.

"We do not want to go into any unneeded talking before a game like that,'' he said. "We want to focus on the way we want to play and ignore any provocation before a game.

"We are motivated by the desire to win the game and by the quality of the football we want to play. Personally, I believe if you are a big player you always respect your opponent and that is what we try to do.''

I love stuff like this, there's not nearly enough of it in professional sports these days. Not to sound like your grandfather but sports were always more interesting when guys genuinely hated each other, versus these days were they're all best friends and overpaid mercenaries.

All I know is this makes me even more excited for the game. It only adds to the hype after Ferguson told his home fans not to rip Wenger. I'm sure that'll work out for Sir Alex.

Shady goals lead to shady fines in the EPL

One of the craziest finishes in recent EPL history took place on Saturday as Arsenal looked like they would hang on for a 1-0 win at Sunderland.

They survived the allotted four minutes of injury time so they were understandably shocked when Darren Bent banged home a rebound in the 95th minute. There was no reason for the additional time after the first four minutes and that's what Arsenal coach Arsene Wegner was so pissed that he reportedly pushed a referee following the goal.

Today, Wegner was formally charged by the Football Association with a misconduct charge.

The Arsenal boss remonstrated with match officials and appeared to prod the fourth official, Martin Atkinson, in the back. The FA has taken a dim view of his actions.

A statement from the FA read: "Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been charged with using insulting and/or abusive language and behaviour amounting to improper conduct. The charges relate to Wenger's conduct towards match officials at the conclusion of Arsenal's match against Sunderland on 18 September.

"Under The FA's new fast-track procedures, Wenger has until Thursday 23 September to respond to the charge and he has been offered a standard sanction of a one-match touchline ban and an £8,000 fine should he accept the charge. If he denies the charge, the case will be heard by a Regulatory Commission."

Wenger could not see why any additional time should have been played beyond the allotted added time.

Speaking after the match, refereed by Phil Dowd who sent of Gunners midfielder Alex Song for two yellow cards, the Arsenal manager lamented: "It was outside the four minutes. I know the referee can give more than four, it's a minimum of four minutes, but in the four minutes nothing happened to justify the extension of the time. But I cannot do anything about that."

Asked about a suggestion he had put his hands on Atkinson, Wenger replied: "Take the pictures and look at it. I complain to nobody, especially not to you."

Last season, Wenger received an apology from referees chief Keith Hackett over his dismissal during the Gunners' 2-1 loss to Manchester United during August 2009.

Wenger was sent to the stands by referee Mike Dean in the dying moments at Old Trafford on the advice of fourth official Lee Probert after the Arsenal manager kicked a water bottle following a disallowed goal which would have been a last-minute equaliser.

After his sending off, Wenger was unaware of where to go and firstly moved to the Arsenal dugout, then the main stand before being ushered along the touchline to the tunnel.

If it's true or not doesn't really matter since Wegner will likely pay in one form or another. I don't hold it against him one bit since it was a joke call that went against his team on the road against an underdog. Arsenal got jobbed: he knows it, Martin Atkinson knows it and the FA knows it too but the later two are trying their best to cover up for each other.

Poor Theo Walcott, his bones is very brittle they is

Picking up tons of injuries or not being in shape when you're still at a very young age (21) professionally is never a good sign of things to come.

I shutter to use the Michael Owen comparison but Theo Walcott's career is taking an ominous turn that looks exactly like Owen's: playing for England at a ridiculously young age (17) which gets everyone's expectations way too high then never getting healthy or fit enough for the club team.

Adding to England's woes (Defoe's injury), Walcott will be out four to six weeks with an ankle injury of his own.

Walcott turned over on his right ankle in the early stages of England's 3-1 win over Switzerland and was stretchered off before being taken to hospital for scans on the problem.

Arsene Wenger now admits that with Nicklas Bendtner still out for "three to four weeks" and Robin van Persie absent until the end of October, his attacking options have been hit further by the loss of Walcott.

The news comes as a cruel blow to a player who has suffered extensively with injury problems in recent seasons, but had scored four goals in his past two appearances for the Gunners.

"The tackle looked quite bad," Wenger said. "When you see how it turned his ankle I thought it would be three or four days or it would be four to six weeks. Unfortunately it will be four to six weeks.

"We had some good news about the scan because at some stage we were scared it could be worse. But overall it is a question of patience and rehabilitation."

Gallas turning up at Tottenham

Once upon a time, William Gallas was one of the top defenders in the world. He played for Chelsea then Arsenal domestically and was a stud for France.

Father time has caught up to the former Arsenal captain and that's why his free transfer move to Tottenham is hardly headline material anymore.

He will undergo a medical exam tomorrow at Tottenham and then he can move to White Hart Lane.

Gallas, 33, looks set to be added to Spurs' defensive ranks as Harry Redknapp looks to strengthen his squad before the end of the transfer window.

Spurs looked decidedly unconvincing at the back during their 3-2 Champions League qualifying play-off defeat to Young Boys, and the arrival of Gallas would offer them some much-needed top level experience.

Gallas has been available on a free transfer since June, having been released by Arsenal after being unable to agree a new contract at Emirates Stadium.

And the France international, who played for Les Bleus during their disastrous World Cup campaign, will become only the sixth player to have joined Spurs having played for their bitter north London rivals.

The last player to do so was David Bentley, while Rohan Ricketts, David Jenkins, Laurie Brown and Jimmy Brain are the others to have crossed the divide.

Gallas played for Arsenal for four years after moving from Chelsea in 2006, making 101 Premier League appearances for the Gunners.

Race against time: Can Gallas get fit for the World Cup?

France cut down its 30-man roster to 24 with one question mark remaining: the health and fitness level of defender William Gallas.

He was last seen with Arsenal getting carted off against Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League matchup.

Marc Planus of Bordeaux is retained in case Gallas fails to make it to South Africa.

Mickael Landreau (Lille), Rod Fanni (Rennes), Adil Rami (Lille), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille) and Jimmy Briand (Rennes) have not received invites from Domenech to link up with the training camp, which begins in Tignes on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Mathieu Valbuena was finding it hard to believe he'd made the squad.

"I still cannot believe it,'' Valbuena said on his personal website. "I feel total happiness and a tremendous pride. Being in the France squad which will contest the World Cup, who could believe it? Not even me. I will work hard to make the most of the opportunity.''

Valbuena's place in the squad completes a meteoric rise from playing as an amateur for Libourne Saint-Seurin just four years ago.

France is in Group A with South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay. The French open up with Uruguay on the first day of the tournament, June 11.

Arsenal reloading the stock

It has been well-documented that Arsenal have not won any trophies in quite a while - the 2005 FA Cup to be exact. But it appears the London club finally has some real firm transfer targets lined up to reload the Gunners stock.

This may be the make or break moment for the club because its star player Cesc Fabregas has been linked more and more with a move to Barcelona, and the manager Arsene Wenger seems to be nearing his end of the line with the Gunners as his contract runs out in 2011

Fabregas himself has said he wants to return to the Blaugrana, it seems sooner rather than later even though he contracted to Arsenal until 2014, but wants to find out what Arsenal's plan of action is for the summer until he makes up his mind whether or not to move back to Spain. He has also said he wants an answer about his future before the World Cup, so that a potential transfer is not hanging over his head in South Africa.

But getting back to the transfer targets, Arsenal has already signed French Lique 1 and up-and-coming former Bordeaux sign Marouane Chamakh, who led the club with 10 goals scored in league play and five in the Champions League.

This would be a welcome addition for the club considering I have lamented for a long time how much they need front-line forward depth. When Robin Van Persie went down with a lengthy ankle injury this year, the club really struggled to find regular scoring from its forwards. Fabregas and Arshavin picked up their games - although both those players had injury issues as well - and Nicklas Bendtner also picked up his game, but trust me the guy is no stud like Chamakh

With William Gallas making absurdly extravagant wage demands about a new contract, it appears he will see the door this summer, which will hurt the Gunners' depth on the back-line, but to be honest is not the worst loss ever. He has had plenty of injury stays on the bench and since being stripped of the captaincy two seasons ago to me has not had his heart set on the club.

Two potential replacements for Gallas the club have talked about are Fulham's center back Brede Hangeland and Senegal defender Pape Diakhate.

I love the idea of Hangeland coming to Arsenal. Although soon to be 29, the Norwegian has long been linked to bigger clubs because he is probably Fulham's best player and certainly their best defender. He would a great partner for Thomas Vermaelen, who was a revelation for Arsenal this season, and the two would be fearsome towering targets on corners and restarts in the offensive end. Vermaelen scored 7 goals this past season and Hangeland at 6-5 would be another monster in the box.

The last man that appears to be coming to the Emirates Stadium, Ivory Coast international and current Barcelona defensive midfielder Yaya Toure, who has been very unhappy at the amount of playing time he has received this season at the Nou Camp and said there is a 90% chance he will leave. Toure's brother Kolo was a stalwart for Arsenal in the center of defense until being sold to Manchester City last summer, but Yaya is an even better and more valuable player.

His agent claims, "he is the best defensive midfielder in the world." Although I am not willing to go that far, Yaya is sensational and he would be a tremendous pickup for the Gunners. Manchester United also appear to be a potential destination, but according to Yaya's agent, Arsene Wenger has the inside track.

''Unfortunately, this season, Toure has not played what he would have liked. I think that this is due to a clause in his contract renewal. He has a major financial bonus if he plays more than 60% of official matches of the season."

"Toure is the best player in the world in his position. He can play in defence or as an attacking midfielder, which he showed at Monaco, where he played in five different positions in five games," he added.

"He is happy in Barcelona but I think most clubs in Europe are interested in the services of Yaya Toure. In any case, Arsenal are interested in him and I think we can do something with the club of Arsene Wenger."

I just puked in my mouth a little, Arsenal out of title picture

Arsenal, just doing what they do, fired off one of their typical befuddling losses today going up 2-0 on hapless bottom feeders Wigan only to fall in a shocking 3-2 result by giving up 3 goals after the 80th minute.

Although their midweek loss to Tottenham was vindicated when the Spurs went ahead and defeated their second straight London rival in Chelsea, 2-1, on Saturday. Arsenal could not take advantage of one last potential opportunity to get back in the English Premier League title chase.

Unfortunately the loss again exposed all of Arsenal's key points of need; 1. Depth 2. Goalkeeping 3. A star front line forward

Manuel Almunia is certainly no prince between the pipes, but his backup Lukasz Fabianski makes the Spaniard look like royalty. Fabianski made another key gaff - remember the Porto cross he fumbled into his own net. Well the Polish man this time dropped a corner right on to the head of Titus Bramble for a free header to tie the score at 2-2 in the 89th minute. He also completely whiffed on Ben Watson's (no not New England Patriot tight end) first goal for Wigan, but I could probably give him a pass on that one if he didn't make such a crucial blooper later on.

But when you look at a team like Manchester United - who when Wayne Rooney is out send in Dimitar Berbatov or Ji Sung Park - or Chelsea - who when Anelka or Drogba sit send in Salomon Kalou, Arsenal just don't have that depth. Without Fabregas and Van Persie and Arshavin, they have no one that can replace that production.

They still have talent to win matches, but unfortunately if you are a Gunner fan like myself you come to expect these inconsistent, laughable, absurd, horrific, "insert bad adjective here" performances.

Although I did not actually see the game, from what I've read and watching these brief highlights this Arsenal fan's reaction below is about how I feel. Enjoy it's pretty funny.

I have no comparison for being an Arsenal fan. I think the closest thing I can come up with is the Tampa Bay Rays in baseball.

Like the Rays, who developed most of their stars through their own drafting and minor league clubs, Arsenal are filled with young exciting homegrown talent.

Like the Rays who have a brilliant manager in Joe Maddon, Arsenal have absolutely one of the most creative geniuses running their club in Arsene Wenger.

Like the Ray, who play in the AL East with the top two high pay rolls in baseball in the Red Sox and Yanks, Arsenal play in the league (the EPL) with the top two spending clubs in the world outside of Real Madrid - Chelsea and Manchester United.

Like the Rays (World Series 2 years ago), Arsenal have gotten close to the summit in recent years, but ultimately came up short in the 2006 Champions League final.

And like the Rays, because Arsenal play alongside clubs in the EPL like Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City - the Gunners will always struggle to compete for trophies because they don't have the resources of those other big clubs.

I guess what I'm trying to say is Arsenal like the Rays have a promising future and any year could be their break out year. But then again when you have the Red Sox and the Yankees of soccer in your same league, it's tough to define what kind of expectations you have year in and year out.

All I can say is I have some serious heart burn right now, maybe the Gunners stirred it up with this dreadful loss or maybe its from back-to-back nights of drinking a lot of bud light. I'm not sure, but does it really matter.

Fabregas done for Champions League and maybe World Cup

First of all, I'd like to apologize for Shimer and myself. The lack of posts lately has been embarrassing and it's something that both of us feel terrible about. It won't happen again.

Last week, the big news out of the Arsenal-Barcelona Champions League quarterfinal after the first leg, was that Gunners star midfielder Cesc Fabregas broke his leg (after a rough challenge and then taking a penalty kick) and will be out for the rest of the tournament.

That's also relevant to Spain, Fabregas usually comes off the bench for the Spanish who have a real shot to win the 2010 World Cup and now it looks like he'll miss out on South Africa which is a shame.

He'll miss at least the next six weeks after cracking his lower right fibula during last Wednesday's 2-2 tie with Barcelona at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners have five more EPL games left before the season ends on May 9. On May 11, World Cup teams submit 30-man rosters and on June 1 they're cut down to 23. Spain opens up play at the World Cup against Switzerland on June 16.

This is terrible news for Fabregas because he's been one of the stars of the EPL this season, scoring 19 goals in 36 matches.

Arsenal had a stirring comeback from down 2-0 to tie the first leg but it was costly as not only Fabregas but William Gallas (calf strain) and Andrey Arshavin (calf strain) are also expected to miss three weeks.

Didier Drogba pisses excellence

After finally receiving my orange Didier Drogba Ivory Coast jersey (it only took a couple months) on Thursday, I was quite happy to see my man net not one but two goals today as Chelsea killed Arsenal's dreams of an English Premier League title with a nip and tuck 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea (58 points) is now two points ahead of Manchester United (56 points), Arsenal is third (49 points) and Liverpool is fourth (44 points).

Off a Chelsea corner in the eighth minute, John Terry deflected a header right to the far post where Drogba was able to blast it into the net.

His strike in the 23rd minute was a thing of beauty, kind of like Rooney's goal for Manchester United last weekend where he made a full field run, as the Blues counterattacked.

Frank Lampard carried the ball through the midfield then put it out wide for Drogba. He cut across to his left foot and avoided not one but two Arsenal defenders before he unleashed a rocket past Gunners goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal had some great chances to chip away at the lead but Chelsea goalkeeper Peter Cech was up to every challenge. His best saves included a leg save on Andrei Arshavin and a pure reaction save on Cesc Fabregas' grass-cutting free kick.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=270081&league=ENG.1&cc=5901

Arsenal not ready for bright lights

Wayne Rooney showed today why he and England will be a top favorite going into the summer World Cup, while exposing the young Gunners major problems yet again.

In the match of the weekend between the second place Red Devils and third place Gunners, Manchester United showed why it is still a top heavyweight in the footballing world despite the offseason sale of the world's best player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Needing to get all three points to keep pace with the premiership's top club Chelsea, who dispatched of Burnley just a day earlier 2-1 on John Terry's header (as previously mentioned), Nanni and Rooney were at the heart of an enormous win on the road in north London.

Nanni put United on the board late in the first half with a brilliant chip that goalkeeper Manuel Almunia slightly deflected into his own net while trying to tip over the crossbar. The Spaniard Almunia has been a major question mark for Arsenal ever since overtaking the duties of then German No. 1 Jens Lehman, playing well at times, but again failing on the biggest of stages last night.

Nanni then hooked up with Rooney just before the end of the half on a blazing quick counter attack that started in the Man U goal area. Taking the ball in his own end of a feed from Rooney, Nanni's pace stretched the Arsenal defense thin. Nanni then returned the ball to Rooney, who made a bursting run down the middle of the field, and hit the ball on a dead sprint one-time for a sensational finish into the left netting - a truly remarkable show of world class skill and grand way to celebrate his 100th premier league goal. Park Ji Sung then finished Arsenal with a third goal early in the second half, negating any chance of a dream come back for the Gunners. See the highlights in this youtube clip. http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTN_afmaRks

A goal from Thomas Vermaelen just over 10 minutes from time was little consolation to the home supporters, who left disappointed after the Gunners dropped points for the second straight game and slipped into third place in the EPL standings five points behind leaders Chelsea and four points behind Man U.

Goal of the weekend

Alvaro Negredo provided the goal of the weekend for fourth place Sevilla in a terrific win 2-1 over third place Valencia in the Spanish La Liga action. The Argentine scored both goals, but the second was truly a piece of magic taking a beautiful feed then beating the Valencia keeper with a perfectly placed chip into the right upper netting. See the youtube link for highlights. The second Negredo goal occurs at the 2:30 mark. http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlfIdlr699k