Quick update on the Arsenal players involved over the past few days of internationals.

Theo Walcott scored another lovely, Thierry Henry-esque goal for the England Under 21's. He's been doing well for them for sometime now, especially on the goalscoring front (he had an average game today), and let's hope he can shift this form over to his club games:

Things are not going so well for his teammate Mathieu Flamini however. Having finally broken into the France squad with his super performances for Arsenal this season, Mathieu picked up an ankle injury while playing for France's 2nd team against Congo today. It was a pretty under-the-radar friendly, and an odd one, since France are also playing Spain on Wednesday. They somehow contrived to do 2 friendlies this week - with Clichy, Sagna, Flamini and Diaby playing against the Congo, whilst Gallas is in the squad that will play France. Anyhow, let's hope it's not a serious injury, because he's one of the main reasons why the team is ticking.

And lastly, just a word for the much-maligned Alex Song. Even though he's played most of his games for us at centre-back this season, he remains a contender for the midfield role, especially after Lasagne Diarrhea's departure to Portsmouth. His performances at the African Cup of Nations have been excellent in that role, and he provided yet another assist, clipping a ball over the defence for Mbia to head home the opening goal against Tunisia. He came on as a sub in the first game, immediately had an impact, and hasn't looked back since.

I know most Arsenal fans verge on hating him (probably because of the work of a few irate bloggers, rather than too much wrongdoing on his part), but he does have a lot of talent, and he might come back a changed man from this ACN. I remember Manu Eboue returning from the one in 2006 after having had a shifty season until then, and he was a changed footballers on his return, and one of our best players in our adventure to the Champions League final. 

And for once he's not talking about how wonderful he is, or how regretful Chelsea should be, or how nobody around him is good enough. That's right ladies and gents - it seems that when the going is good, it gets Gallas going (or something like that). Seeming happy and cheery before France's Euro 2008 qualifier, he's talked about the various goings-on at the club, including his own absence, as well as giving his optimistic opinions on a few teammates.

He starts off by apologising for his behaviour during his enforced absence through injury, in stark contrast to last season's hissy fit at the alleged "incompetence" of the Arsenal medical stuff, and says he's looking forward to playing for both France and Arsenal:

"It's difficult for everyone. I have experienced it before when I have been injured, and it's always the same. The first week or so you can deal with it, but three, four, five weeks later? Trust me it's hard to keep smiling. So I want to say sorry to all of the players, and also the staff at the training ground, because they could see I wasn't always happy. It's just that I really want to play."

Fair enough I suppose.

He also talks about Gael Clichy's absence from the France squad, which is quite puzzling given his excellent form this season. Clichy was named along with Gallas, Sagna, Flamini and Diaby as provisionals for the squad, but was the only one not picked. The best thing Clichy can do now is to just keep plugging away, because he's one of the best left-backs in Europe, and that cap will come sooner rather than later. Gallas:

"He has to be patient now, and I know what he is feeling because I was in the same position as him when I was at Chelsea and all I can say to him is to be patient because it will come."

Discussion moves on to another young, French left-back - the exciting Armand Traore, and Gallas clearly sees a big future for him:

"There are lot of great youngsters at Arsenal so it is difficult to say one name above the others. The one who has monster potential and can achieve something special is Armand Traore. He is only 18 and plays for France’s Under-19 team. If he keeps his head on his shoulders he can do something big in the future."

Thankfully for Armand, his head seems to be quite small and dainty in proportion to his shoulders, so hopefully it stays firmly there. Which is in stark contrast to some very big-headed people at the club:

And lastly, our great captain shares his wisdom on Eduardo, our Crozilian striker who is still in the process of settling in, and hasn't yet had the chance to show us what he's capable of:

"When you are on your own you ask yourself questions on your sporting performances. In such moments you have to feel mentally strong. Eduardo is not a different person. Everybody has to go through this. I can reassure Arsenal fans that he is a talented striker. We will see the Eduardo we know from Croatia in a couple of months."

Well we look forward to that, and to Gallas's return to action from injury. It's a bit annoying that he's going to play for France in the qualifiers, but he looks to be doing so with Wenger's blessings this time, and hopefully he comes through unscathed. Things are going well with the team at the moment, and Gallas even talks about how the French Gunners are all happy in the national training camp because of how well they're doing in the league:

"It's a great feeling, though, for us all to meet up for France when we are top of the league, and top of our Champions League group. Of course nothing is done yet, and I would prefer to go to the national team as champions, because then you feel very strong - but at the moment things are fine, things are going well."

I have no problems with a happy, committed Gallas coming into the first team, because he's a classy defender with a wealth of experience. It's when he's in his whingey, self-centred psychosis that he starts to become a complete pain. But so far, so good, and it's nice to see that the youngsters aren't the only ones starting to show a bit of maturity.

Well, after months and months of speculation, it looks like Arsenal are about to wrap up a deal for Auxerre and France right-back Bakari Sagna, for about £7-8 million.

It's a big fee for a player that many regards as a relative unknown, and I must confess that I don't know too much about him other than that he's very fast and athletic, and was the best right-back in France last year (and some even say he was the best right-sided player overall).

One thing is for certain - this makes things a bit confusing for the fans, with Eboue and Hoyte already in the side, and the promising Kerrea Gilbert there as well. Will Hleb be sold, and Eboue pushed up to the wing? Will Sagna be the new right-winger? Maybe Freddie is on his way? It will be interesting nonetheless, because this transfer seems certain to finally take place, and it's also the kind of transfer that indicates that one of our current players will be moving on.

It will be a pleasing signing, in some ways moreso than Eduardo da Silva, because Sagna is a really, really highly-rated player, but it won't satisfy the fans, because more than anything else, they are still crying out for a star (preferrably) a striker to come in. 

Arsenal are sort of confirmed as having signed promising striker Yoan Gouffran. The young Frenchman (surprise, surprise) has had rave reviews over the last two seasons, developing well for French minnows Caen. The 20-year old was responsible for getting them promoted, and he will be a participant in their first season back in Ligue 1 because he will spend the coming season back at Caen on-loan.

He is a seriously highly-rated prospect and like other Wenger buys is very quick and technically gifted, and can play up front or on the wing. He can finish clinically with either right or left foot (although he is not a prolific goalscorer yet).

Gouffran is an exciting one for the future, but he still will not satisfy the demand for established signings that fans have at the moment. In any case he will stay in France on-loan next season, although at 20 he is a bit old to be an "Arsenal youngster".

It's a good signing for the club at a reported fee of £2-3 million, although i'm not quite sure where it fits in the larger scheme of things. Recent signing Eduardo da Silva is 24, Adebayor is 23, Robin Van Persie is 24, and Nicklas Bendtner is 19. The quicksilver Theo Walcott (18), although being trained on the wing, is being groomed to be a striker, and 18 year-old Carlos Vela (on loan at Salamanca) is considered to be one of the most promising young forwards in the world. That's a whole heap of competition for places upfront... in 2010!

Fucking rubbish news if it's true, but France Football is reporting that Thierry Henry has reached a 3-year agreement with Barcelona after meeting with their officials in the South of France. This is an odd one from FF, because they are usually very good and reputable, and don't do large scale speculation like the rags. But they've really nailed their colours to the mast with this one, because it's their cover story:

Again, all this has been complicated by a statement from Henry's agent Jerome Anderson read out soon after saying that the article is pure bullshit, that Henry hasn't been to the South of France in years, and that they are conisdering legal action.

Let's see what unfolds, but after very bold moves from Henry in backing the departed David Dein and criticising some aspects of the team in an exclusive interview, this is an equally bold move from the usualy reserved and reliable France Football. It's nervy for everyone, and not what you wan't to see from your captain. I hope he stays, but if this is all part of some game, then things will be very, very bitter.

Various sources have proclaimed that it's a done deal, and to be honest this rumours has been rumbling on for months, and seems like a quite likely one.

He's French, he's very experienced, he's won loads of titles in France, and made great progress in both European and international football. He's left-footed, and can scrap and work hard just as well as he can charge forward. He's a decent finisher, if not a prolific goalscorer, and is a classy player, even if he is underrated by many (mostly because they are busy complaining about how overrated he is).

He's played a lot with Thierry Henry, and is a determined character. He'd probably be everything that Reyes wasn't, and i'm sure he'd love to work with Arsene Wenger. Plus, he's been linked many, many times before as well. Before he joined Lyon in fact, so Wenger has seen his potential ages ago.

If rumours that Gerard Houllier is going to take over as Director of Football at Arsenal are to be believed, then that makes this story even more likely than before.

A pacy, energetic winger with a bit of steel and no small amount of ability - sounds like he's needed, especially with him being left-footed (there's no one left in that department apart from Van Persie and Clichy, and of course Armand Traore in the reserves; compare that to a few years ago over overlapping periods when Edu, Silvinho, Overmars, Cole, Upson, van Bronckhorst all gave the team great balance).

France played Argentina in a friendly on Wednesday, that failed to really deliver as much excitement as it could have. France were bright throughout the game, and attacker purposefully, but were wasteful and lacked an end product. Argentine didn't really have much position, but were very alert and sharp on the counter-attack, and once they took an early lead through Saviola, the game sort of balanced on that premise - France trying to drive forward, and Argentina content to sit tight and attack on the break, and in the end nothing more came of it. 1-0 to the South Americans.

The goal was a mixture of good play, and good luck. Saviola played a lovely backheel for Zanetti to run on to, and he in turn crossed the ball across the face of goal. The ball eventually landed at the feet of Saviola via a few scuffles and rebounds, and he fired it in.

For France, there were good performances, but like I've said already, the team ended up doing nothing, so they didn't count for much. Without Zizou, Thierry Henry is a different player, coming deep to get the ball, creating the play; finally after so many years, Zidane has gone and now it is Henry's France, but what is so ironic is that after so many years of it being Henry's Arsenal, it is now Fabregas's Arsenal, and Thierry's style of play has changed a lot.

But Vieira was a huge presence - style, skill, strength, all combined. Ribery was very lively, but very raw. Sagnol who is supposed to be such a good crosser wasted loads of opportunities. In defence, the inexperienced pair of Squillacci and Escude did OK. Malouda was very good, going forward and combining well, and pitching in all around. Trezeguet, well what can you say about him... he tries hard, and he is a brilliant finisher, but he needs service, and he got none today, so effectively he was useless. Anelka came on as late sub, but did nothing but get a yellow card after getting into tussle because a couple of defenders kicked him. I was hoping Flamini would make his first appearance for France, but he didn't - hopefully he will have more chances.

I didn't really see any outstanding performances from the Argentines - Lucho was everywhere, but had a tough time up against Vieira. Cambiasso was hard-working but ineffective, and Crespo although adept and alert didn't really get any service. It was nice to see Javier Zanetti back in the team, and he was very bright. There was a lot of good play on that side of the pitch with both Zanetti and Malouda working up and down. Saviola did well and showed some nice dribbling throughout the game. Gago was very good, neat touches, a few tricks, and good awareness. Argentina suffered from a lack of width, and to be honest playing 3 defensive/deep-lying midfielders in Lucho, Cambiasso and Gago was always going to make it a drab game.

I'm saving the last word for Ayala. The old guy (who will be joining Villareal in the summer) had a good game, but showed some exceptional streaks of cunning and dirtiness. At one point Henry nutmegged him on the left flank and tried to run past, and wily Ayala blocked him. If this foul wasn't enough, Ayala also cheekily swung his back leg up and around, giving Henry a little kick in the ribs and trying to make it look like it was his running stride. Later, when Anelka was brought down by Heinze (or Milito?), Ayala contributed with a nice little kick on L'Enfant Terrible. Still, his defending was excellent, and he is one of those guys who just reads the game brilliantly. He's old now, and he was never the biggest or quickest defender, so we are seeing the end of him these days.

Good luck to him in his European retirement spell at Villareal. It will be a big, big loss for Valencia for whom he has been such a big character for so many years, and they will really need to sign a good commanding centre-back this summer. Marchena doesn't really look good enough.

Not by any means the most talented player on earth, but at the same time one of the most consistently underrated, Mathieu Flamini has finally stumbled upon some kind of recognition in the shape of a call-up to the French national team by coach/nutcase Raymond Domenech. It's a great moment for the Flamster, who has had an interesting career so far.

He started off at Olympique Marseille, and broke through to the first team fairly late, but with considerable impact - at 18, a spate of injuries led to his inclusion in central midfield, and he kept his place, helping to drive Marseille to the UEFA Cup final. He showed a lot of determination, and quite a bit of creativity and enterprise in taking the team forward, as well as supporting the defence. He was one of the most promising midfielders in France by the end of that season, and what was most surprising was that at the ripe old age of 18, he was still on a youth contract. Compare this to players like Fabregas, Walcott, Rooney, etc, who sign full-time pre-contracts that go into effect on their 17th birthdays, and you have Flamini almost 19 and still not on a senior contract.

This provided a loophole, because since Flamini hadn't signed a professional contract yet, he was free to go wherever he pleased without compensation. At the time he was having problems at Marseille, and when he met Arsene Wenger on a plan and discussed his problems with him, Wenger moved quickly to snap Flamini up. It was a transfer that was deemed legal according to FIFA rules, but Marseille disputed it in the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). Technically, the CAS had no jurisdiction over his transfer, but Arsenal were keen to avoid controversy and let the player and team get on with their work, and so they paid the compensation.

Flamini has since proved a very handy player for the Arsenal, but perhaps a different one to what French fans might have envisioned. At Marseille he was a smart box-to-box player, who could drive a midfield. When Arsene Wenger signed him, he said that one of Flamini's talents was his ability to play creatively in both defence and offence, and to use the ball well. Mathieu has since been regarded as more of a workhorse at Arsenal - a young, modern day Ray Parlour or Gilles Grimandi; full of determination and spirit, but not the most technically gifted. This is unfortunate because Flamini is really a very underrated player with more-than-admirable technique, but unfortunately in a midfield that has had Vieira, Edu, Cesc Fabregas, Pires, Bergkamp, Reyes, Van Persie, Rosicky and Alex Hleb since his arrival, his light has shone a bit dimmer than it did in France. Those guys are amongst the most talented players in the world, nevermind Arsenal or the Premiership, and it's easy to see why Flamini has been viewed as a water-carrier whilst playing alongside them.

The truth is that Flamini is a very talented guy. Physically and mentally, his workrate, determination and doggedness equal if not surpass those of the names I previously mentioned. He is also a quite decent player, although you don't see that from him when Cesc, Hleb and Rosicky are on their game, because they take over as playmakers. He is happy to play his role for the team, and chip in with goals wherever possible. However, if anyone watched the Arsenal v Portsmouth game from 2005-2006 where the Gunners were 4-0 in 15 minutes (that was my last time at Highbury), you would have seen two exceptional through balls from Flamini to Henry, who scored off both of those. That day a lot of players were missing, and the Flamster was in the centre along with Gilberto, and duly took the initiative. Flamini definitely has bags of talent, but in the context of the team, he always plays the supporting role, and you have to give him some credit for that.

Flamini also possesses remarkable intelligence; he chugs around the midfield well, but in Arsenal's run to the Champions' League final last year, he was terrific as a left-back. He got up and down the field, and kept some of Europe's top wingers quiet. It's not easy to just step into a completely unfamiliar position like that and do so well. He also has played at right-back, and over the past two seasons has played in a midfield three, a midfield five, and on the left and right flanks, and done decently. He is not the kind of player that is going to beat his man and score a stunning goal, but he understands the game well, understands what he needs to contribute to it, and understands how to support his teammates. These are all highly important, but highly underrated traits.

So people should look at all these things when they immediately write him off as a Grimandi or Parlour or Deschamps (the latter two did some great things in my opinion), and also remember that he's just 22. Not every footballer is perfect from the age of 17 like Fabregas. Some develop much slower, and imagine in 2-3 years when Flamini has significant international and club experience under his belt, has won a few things, and has played and done well in so many positions. He will be invaluable, and one of those players that you never ever want missing from the squad. Technically, he will probably never take the world by storm, and physically, he will probably never tackle the opposition into submission, but hard work, determination and intelligence are all equally important characteristics, especially in a team full of artists like Arsenal.

Well done Mathieu, and congratulations!

It's 2007, and the blogging goes on. It's been a good weekend of football, and Arsenal beat Liverpool at Anfield 3-1 with two absolute corkers from Tomas Rosicky. Henrik Larsson scored his first goal for Man United, and Kiraly did his first blunder for Villa, as the reds won 2-1, and Tottenham embarassed themselves a bit with a goalless draw against Cardiff at Ninian Park. Charlton and the lovely Alan Pardew went one step further and lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest.

There are some interesting blogs kicking around the site, with a distinctly Arsenal flavour. There's one on Freddie Ljungberg, Arjun's done a great bit on Flamini and tackling, Mauricio brings us the latest news on Alexandre Pato, and you can enjoy Footie Girl's excellent FA Cup Preview with a good dose of hindsight. Teo gives us the latest on the Melbourne Victory, and our Chinese correspondent Zhixiang gives us some info on Charlton's new signing - China captain Zheng Zhi.

Enjoy! And please get in touch with your feedback, or if you would like to write.

Hello readers,

As you may have noticed (or may not have, obviously), we've now got a little User Contributed News section going on the site, and i'd like to encourage you to play around with it, and obviously send us the football news that you think people should know about.

We've also added a handy little login feature on the right hand side, and we hope that our live scores, fixtures and tables will be ready for you quite soon as well.

So keep checking in, and if you have a minute, then register.

We're busy here at OleOle, but we're going to enjoy a few days off for the festive period, and we'd like to give our best wishes to all our readers and contributers as well.