Are Newcastle any good?
I don’t know but they’re lively.
They played with a lot of fire and guts to draw 1-1 with Man United and they beat Bolton 1-0 last week and they also beat Coventry 3-2 in the Carling Cup. Super-sub Michael Owen scored the winner against Bolton and Coventry.
They have useful new players in Jonas Gutierrez and centreback Fabricio Coloccini.
Gutierrez is a big, long-striding, long-haired left winger with bottle. He should have been playing with Kempes and Ardiles in 1978 but he wasn’t born till 1983.
Known here as “Jonas”, he played for Velez Sarsfield before joining Mallorca in Spain for three years. He played for Argentina in a 0-0 draw in Brazil last month. That was a World Cup qualifier. Jonas might prove to be more consistent than Ginola or Lauren Robert, who did not sparkle often enough. He will be up against the finest right back in England, Bacary Sagna, so that duel could be fascinating.
N’Zogbia is no left back but he’s a rugged player who crosses a decent ball. He also swings in corners from the right side. Nicky Butt is a good pro in the anchor role, where you always need a good pro. Shay Given is still an exceptional keeper and proved that at Bolton when he saved a penalty by Kevin Nolan.
This game comes after Fulham and FC Twente. In retrospect, the reason Arsenal were so bad at Fulham was because they’re a Eurocentric club who focus too much on the Champions League, especially since losing the final in 2006. They often underperform after a Champions League game, and also before one. And, as I’ve said fifty times, Arsenal can’t play without Fabregas.
We will find out in the next three months whether Fabregas can play without Hleb and Flamini. Those three midfield musketeers did a lot to put Arsenal on top of the table for six months and keep them up there.
Nasri looks better than Hleb and has scored the first goal twice already. Arsene will hope he can keep doing that.
It was a clever goal against FC Twente and came after 27 minutes. Arsenal might have been 3-0 up by then. Nasri dummied to shoot with his right foot, taking out two defenders, swerved to his left, and hit his shot between the legs of a third big defender. He’s stocky, tricky, and not scared to miss, so he should be a big asset.
Like Vieira, Petit, Henry, Pires, Sagna and Clichy, Nasri is playing to get into the France national team, and he’s just been called up by Domenech. Arsenal is France’s biggest club and all their games are shown on TV. It’s so big over there that Sarkozy came to lunch at the Emirates with Gordon Brown.
In his prime the flying Swede scored a lot of early goals and that’s why I used to call him First-goal Freddie. It’s vital to have somebody with the bottle to score the first goal in a game and settle people down – players, fans, staff, everybody. When you’ve scored the first goal, you are in a position to play a good game of football.
What’s this season about?
For Arsene Wenger, this season’s about which of his young players can deliver.
Will Walcott deliver? Will van Persie deliver? Will Nasri deliver? Will Ramsey and Wilshere develop quickly? Will Adebayor score two hat-tricks against Stoke or West Brom or Hull City, just as he scored two hat-tricks against Derby County.
Friday morning’s news was that Gallas and Walcott are doubtful with knee injuries.I think Arsene rested Adebayor so he would be fresh for Newcastle.
Saw a very, very promising singer, Mpho, last night at Book Slam.
Her album is out on Wall Of Sound in January but I dunno if I can wait that long. I love her voice and think this girl might go all the way. But she’ll need the right manager and, as time goes on, the right producers.
A&R is NOT about signing the right acts. It’s about doing the right things with the right acts.
You can quote me on that.