By Myles Palmer
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NOT MANY new facts around today.
Just speculation, rumour and gossip.
One new fact : Hleb got his work permit on appeal.
His name is not pronounced Kleb.
It’s Gleb.
Hleb is pronounced Gleb, OK ?
The Arsenal stories floating around on Tuesday were (1) Galatasaray claim to have done a deal with Robert Pires and (2)people are saying David Dein went to South of France and met Vieira last week and told him Arsenal were willing to accept an offer from Juventus.
I doubt both stories.
I could see Pires going to Spain, but not Turkey.
Re Vieira, have AFC ever treated a player like that?
Could his nine-year association with Arsenal end in this way ?
No, of course not.
Does Vieira want to leave?
If he does, he cannot leave until Arsenal have signed a replacement.
That is obvious.
AN EXCHANGE VISIT is planned to Brazil this winter.
The Atletico Mineiro youth squad have been training with Arsenal this week.
Sometime this winter the Arsenal academy players will visit Galo, the Atletico training ground, and the hometown of Eder, the left winger whose thunderous free-kicks terrified goalkeepers in the early Eighties.
ALEX GONTIJO describes the fall-out from the league game which Dein and Wenger watched, when Atletico beat Flamengo 3-1.
“Ramon can´t play for six months. He did the same thing that Vinnie Jones did with Gazza, then a Geordie player, in front of Arsene’s eyes in the Flamengo-Atletico clash. Thanks to video evidence, he was suspended by Brazilian Football Association.”
Younger readers of ANR may not have seen the photograph of Vinnie Jones standing in front of Paul Gascoigne.
Jones was snapped reaching back to grab Gazza by the balls.
This photo appealed to the British sense of humour and became a classic.
But in Brazil, apparently, you cannot interfere with a footballer’s masculinity.
We have not seen the video evidence, but a six-month ban seems excessive for a 17-year old striker.
All teenagers make mistakes.
July 13th 2005