Nasri ban
I’ll start with a little bit of a shock today with the news that Samir Nasri is likely to miss the next three Arsenal games for stepping on Richard Garcia’s foot in the win over Hull.
Although Nasri received a yellow card for the incident the referee on the night, Steve Bennett, has indicated that the booking was given not for the original stepping incident but for his involvement in the scuffle that followed. That means retrospective punishment is sure to be forthcoming which is extremely likely to see the Frenchman hit with a three-game ban for what was a red card offence.
I can’t see Nasri getting off this charge however if the Frenchman does get suspended then Bennett must deal out the same punishment to Nicky Barmby for pushing him in the face. My feeling is that the pair will both get bans yet if Barmby is not punished then Arsene Wenger and the club will have every right to feel aggrieved.
A ban to Nasri would see him miss our next three games against Aston Villa, Portsmouth and the FA Cup tie with West Ham and would stretch our offensive problems even further. He’s had a very decent last couple of games and seems to be finding his feet again following the injury, so the likes of Theo Walcott and Carlos Vela will have to step up in his absence.
Confirmation of Nasri’s ban will follow shortly.
Porto draw
While I was away over the weekend on a little break the Champions League second-round draw took place – with Arsenal paired with Portuguese champions and perennial European performers Porto*.
I think it’s safe to say that it’s a fairly comfortable draw and a tie that we should win. When you consider that Chelsea drew Inter Milan, Manchester United drew AC Milan and the likes of Bayern Munich and Lyon were both avoided, you could even say that we were a bit lucky.
With all respect to Porto they don’t appear to be the team they were last year without Lucho Gonzalez and the man with the finest beard in world football, Lisandro Lopez, and we will certainly be favourites to progress. And just for the record, yes, I do have a man-crush on Mr Lopez.
For the record we were paired with Porto in the group stages of last year’s tournament beating them 4-0 at Emirates Stadium and succumbing to a 2-0 loss in Porto after progression was already assured. They’ll be a good test for our boys but in all honesty I’m thrilled that we have avoided one of the heavyweights and if we can get through there’s a decent chance we could go further with a number of the bigger teams set to go out early.
Senderos spotted
Many people have been wondering just where the heck Philippe Senderos has been in the past couple of weeks after his consistent omission from the team sheet.
While I can’t answer the question of why he hasn’t been playing I can confirm he was alive and kicking at the Arsenal Christmas party. The always excellent Kickette has a brilliant photo of him looking just a bit sneaky with a ridiculously attractive young woman right here. It’s an easy life sometimes for these footballers. It really is.
I’ll be back tomorrow. Have a lovely Tuesday.
*Enough alliteration for you?
Have your say on Nasri, Senderos or the Champions League by leaving a comment.
its really sad to see nasri being banned, but all in all we still have trust in theo walcott and carlos alberto vela, go arsenal, go. we love you guys
just incase i dont get a chance in the next few days, MERRY XMAS TO YA ANDY AND ALL THE READERS OF THIS WONDERFULL BLOG AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Wat i knw is, nasri fucked up. Why did he do such a thing.
Knowing fully well dat he’s going 2 b purnished. Anyway av forgiven him.
Whispers that Shay Given wants out of City. If thats true we need to make a move
Looks like Big Phil’s scored…
@ MoMONEY – Hmmm. Intriguing.
@ Hey Nonny Mouse – Tell me about it. What a stunner!
😀 @ henrykissinher – Thanks mate, really appreciate your input. Season’s greetings and all that.
But make sure you stick around for the new blog redesign and relaunch…
It’s a bit hard to see – but if you watch the action again – just before the free kick Nasri, who has slid in to win the ball, takes a biff off a Hull player running past him as he’s trying to get up. I think it’s Garcia. He’s basically clobbered him off the ball. Then when the free kick is awarded Garcia is blocking any of the Arsenal players getting the ball. As Nasri comes up behind him to get the ball he seems to kind of shove him away – those two incidents were what I’d say prompted Nasri’s ‘f*ck you’ tread on his foot – at which point Garcia has thrown himself to the ground in the hope of getting Nasri sent off.
I’m glad Nasri did it. It sparked a reaction out of the Arsenal players, made Hull get more dirty – which led to the free kick which led to the goal which led to the win.
I don’t know, I really haven’t seen anything on TV regarding this Nasri foot stamp, I’m not a fan of such actions but I know that it’s often harsh in football and you never know who has begun………. in the end I think such an action or reaction can happen but it should be an exception :n143:
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and thanks for all wishes as I do:
Happy Christmas to all, hope we will ‘see’ us before the New Year..
Howdy fellow arsenal fans , too bad nasri is gonna be banned & it’s also rumoured shay given is set 2 leave city i think it’s gonna be a good catch . Merry xmas & happy new year in advance 2 all gunners fan worldwide.
Hope big phil dosen’t cry after getting it
Shay leaving? Thats a rumour alright
what must exerctly happen since fa got have rules governing matches well known 2players and yet players acts lyk thy’v jst landed from ‘pluto’,never been 2ftbal word ,could it be nasri do not know the concequence of……too sad nwy, may the fa charge justically
Nasri did something bad…l really dont understand why he did such a thing..he is a world class player not an ordinary one..he should emulate the likes of berkamp,henry,pires…very disciplined players and the best in football world.l was even scared that it was going to be a red card…but other ways l thank him for the kind of humility and character that he showed because ge didnt fight…l know that he is really displined and shows great personality….any awy he is human and he is forgiven
‘Leave a Response’ ?? I’m speechless…I thought I was in the wrong place. I like it though. Very much. Well done Andrew. Well done whoever designed it. Definitely better. I presume we’ll be able to put pics in the squares right? What fun. A big thumbs up from me, dude.
I came on though to say that Nasri didn’t ‘stamp’ on anyone. He stood on the player’s foot, quite gently really, and the players fallen over crying like a big wet nance.
Has Nasri been charged? Was there intent? U are not serious man! Forget the Sun,a lot of lies.
@ HeyNonnyMouse – The design is all a bit unofficial at this stage. I’ll have a proper post tomorrow announcing the changes so if you like it be sure to let me know there too to get the positivity going. 🙂
@ HeyNonnyMouse – I was careful not to use the word ‘stamp’. I kept using ‘step’, hahah.
First off I love the new look Andy.
Secondly the Nasri “stomp” was hardly going to injure anyone. Sometimes a team needs a prick. Remember when he toe tapped Joey Barton last year? I don’t encourage dirty play but Nasri will give it as good as he gets. Shame he might get banned, but that’s the risk you take. His antics are much more entertaining than Eboue’s incessant diving.
Third c’mon we all know Sendi is just a big pimp. Either that or judging by the distance between himself and the lady he just ran in the picture at the last second.
I’m certainly not an authority on the laws, but I did review a replay of the match and the incident.
I don’t see how the FA would ever issue any ban for Nasri stepping on a players boot (not stamp, nor kick).
Flair ups like this happen weekly in the league. Using video tape to punish every law offender would deplete most of the teams of their players, and only open the can of worms to support the use of video replay.
A happy Christmas to you all. Now about the so called stamp, I DIDN’T SEE ONE. All i saw was Nasri walking onto Garcia’s foot. The force was not even enough to crack an egg. The player who went down should have been booked for simulation or stimulation. It was imbarrassing to see a player perform like that. Then there was the handbags after that. I remember seeing another player pushing Nasri and another Dull player putting his hand round Nasri’s neck and then all hell breaks loose. I dont believe there will be any further action taken, the 3 match ban is just paper talk. C Bass, the diving is now history lets move on for he is now playing consistantly well. @AndyArsenal, even step is far to strong a discription. Its ‘walked onto’. Changing the focus, i must say the new design is different, maybe it a little lightweight although i do like the heading a great deal.
Nasri did step on Garcia’s foot, but I agree that if he gets anything Barmby should as well. I don’t know who the Guardian has as their source, but on the FA web site, there is nothing listed regarding disciplinary action against Nasri.
where is the picture of senderos and female friend?
@ notes_12 – Follow the links. The picture is via Kickette.
As for Nasri’s stomp, Forrest Gump summed it up best: “Stupid is as stupid does.” It was a stupid move on Nasri’s part. It wasn’t a particularly violent stamp, but it was clearly intentional. Can you imagine what we’d be saying if Rooney or Robbie Savage did it to Cesc or Arshavin? Three matches is harsh, but if it’s the rule, it’s the rule.
I do like it that Nasri’s got a bit of nasty toughness to him – the Joey Barton trip last year was LOL funny – but he’s got to be smarter about what he can and can’t get away with.
Then its time for Walcott to step up, lets see what he can do agst Villa.
As fo Shy Given, I dont think AW would buy him even if he leaves City. Dunno!!
nice to see the new face of your blog. strange but interesting. As for Sam, I loved him so much on the night. A ban for him? Poor Sam but all that I want to say: All the Gunners in the match showed something very positive. And I am proud of that. Hope that Sam as well as our Club will survive all difficulties. COYG. Happy Chrismast!!
This new stuff is hard to see and write in, but all the same, very nice work this ANDY….
The aesthetics is all cool.
Finally, we need to win VILLA.
No nasri for the Villa match? This sucks!
lovin your work andy nicely done
shay given wud be a suoer addition but not gonna happen
ice howd the party go???did you do as well as senderos did????ha ha ha