Arsenal has launched a brand for the Emirates Stadium.
Created by marketing agency Red Central – it is intended to be beyond football, and away from the Arsenal brand. It includes a roof icon and lettering from the old stadium.
The Irish Examiner, via the Turkish Vatan newspaper, reports Sol Campbell: “The probability of me joining Fenerbahce is very high.”
“Not because they’ve offered me a lot of money, but because they have challenged me. Everything will be clearer after the World Cup. It is obvious that they are considering me seriously. They made me a good and full offer. We are progressing step-by-step. I will give my decision after the World Cup.
“But, the probability of me joining Fenerbahce is bigger than that of refusing the offer. I know that Fenerbahce is the club which has the best conditions in
The Star says Jurgen Klinsmann, says Arsene Wenger has been the greatest influence on his career. “I have absorbed information from a lot of coaches but the most has come from Arsene Wenger. He has taught me a lot. He impresses me in the way he manages his teams. He always thinks long-term.” [He’d be agood No 2 at Arsenal – and given the similarity in styles, a possible long term successor?]
Mirror reports Arsenal and Tottenham are both chasing the £4m rated, 22 year-old French left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who can also play in midfield.
The Evening Standard reports interest from Real Madrid and Villareal for Jose Reyes.
Prospective Real President Aturo ‘Baldandinsano’ who appears has half the Arsenal first team on his election roster [what about international tapping up , eh?] is attracted by Reyes for £10m.
Reyes’s agent Jesus Rodriguez, hedged his bets by hinting the player would be willing to move on if the Gunners wanted to sell him. Rodriguez said: “Jose is happy at Arsenal but if they want to sell him, who knows what would happen? But they are a buying club and not a selling club. It is great to be a target of clubs like Real Madrid and Villarreal but it is just speculation.”
The wires are alive the sound of … Arsenal for sale. But before alarm bells start ringing it is the Kyiv municipal administration selling the club of the same name [Good one for Arsenal to link up with as a feeder club because when Spursnight comes knocking they won’t be able to tell the difference in the Arsenal signatures at the bottom of documents].
Talking of Spursnight, David Mellor lambasts Newsnight’s programme in his Evening Standard column calling it an ‘unfair trial by TV’ and a ‘show trial without a charge’. Below are selected extracts:
“The fact this was a show trial became obvious to me almost at the outset. Labour MP Clive Betts, apparently an expert on football…, played it the Newsnight way. I didn’t, so when I appeared on the programme I barely got a sentence out in one of my answers, before presenter Kirsty Wark turned away to look longingly at Mr Betts.”
“Why, given we’re supposed to be in a single market, can an 18-year-old Ivorian play in
“Even football is, to some extent, subject to the laws of economics. And if you can get an 18-year-old for nothing, what’s wrong with doing so, when if you wait until he’s 22 you may have to pay £10m-£15m for him.
“All the way through this over-egged Newsnight pudding, I kept asking myself the question – where’s the crime? Unless it be to bring on young African footballers so that the
“FIFA have asked the FA Compliance Unit to look into this. Which is as good as burying the whole thing. Which, unusually for me, I have to say is exactly what should happen.”