There has been no shortage of celebrity Arsenal fans over the years, for example even Her Royal Majesty the Queen of England has been accused of following the Arsenal in the past, before she broke Arsenal hearts by confirming that her allegiance lies with the Hammers.
However, these ten celebrities are fully fledged, Arsenal loving humanoids, and may I say, that as celebrity fans go, it is one of the finest lists around…
Click on the North Bank below to see the top 10 celebrity fans who have once graced it
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Well there you have it. The top 10 famous Arsenal fans. Think there’s a celebrity missing from the list? Don’t consider Piers Morgan to be human, let alone a celebrity? Get involved in the comment box below.
Substitute Salomon Kalou struck a minute from time to give Chelsea a controversial 2-1 win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.The sides looked to be meandering towards a 1-1 draw after Sandro and Frank Lampard had exchanged very different long-range strikes in the first half.
But Chelsea, who dominated possession and enjoyed the better of the chances, finally grabbed their winner when Kalou tapped in following a mis-hit strike from Didier Drogba.
The victory leaves Chelsea just three points behind Manchester United, who face Arsenal on Sunday, before Carlo Ancelotti’s men square up to the league leaders at Old Trafford next weekend.
But the Blues needed two huge slices of luck to squeeze past Tottenham, who are now four points behind fourth-place City, having played a game more and with a far inferior goal difference.
It was Spurs who took the lead in emphatic fashion, with Sandro arching a 30-yard volley into Petr Cech’s top right-hand corner after just 19 minutes.
But with half-time approaching, Chelsea got back on level terms in controversial fashion through Lampard.
The England international took aim from 25 yards but, when his strike flew straight at Heurelho Gomes, it looked like a routine save for the Brazilian.
However, the ball squirmed out of his arms, through his legs, and slowly towards the line.
The goalkeeper appeared to claw the ball clear before it crossed the line, but the linesman ruled that it had in fact gone over, and the referee awarded a goal.
And Chelsea’s winner was no less fortuitous. Kalou, who had replaced Fernando Torres in the 62nd minute, appeared to be in an offside position when he stabbed the ball home from close range a minute from time.
But Chelsea cared little about the controversy and celebrated gleefully at the final whistle as they kept their slim title hopes alive.
Manchester United can take a step closer to the Premier League title at Old Trafford tomorrow in what could prove the decisive result. A 19th title will prove a record in English football and see Fergie finally deliver his promise some 20 odd years ago.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Manchester United blogs that includes Ferguson right to question breaks; the recipe of United’s success, while how the Red Devils can solve a problem like Lionel Messi.
We also look at the best Manchester United articles around the web this week.
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How United solve a problem like Lionel Messi
FIVE things we learnt from United’s CL stroll at Old Trafford
VIDEO: Busby, Shankly, Stein – Football Men Part 3
Is Fergie right to question breaks?
A £26m luxury that Manchester United could do without?
Sir Alex Ferguson’s £6m transfer steal
How many more hits can Manchester United take?
What has been the recipe to United’s season so far?
Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘Greatest XI’ of all time
Real Madrid look to hijack United’s late move
*Best of WEB*
Wingless Ferguson – United Rant
The man being tasked with stopping Lionel Messi and Barcelona – The Busby Way
Time For Ferguson To Make It Right Against Barcelona – The United Religion
Lose Against Chelsea And Be Damned To Finish Empty Handed – Red Flag Flying High
Ravel Morrison: when is enough… enough? –Stretford End
Should Chelsea Fans Fear Howard Webb Appointment? RoM
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If reports are correct, it’s Manchester United and Liverpool who are currently fighting it out for Aston Villa wingman Ashley Young. One day Liverpool may be the favourites for acquiring the British youngster, the papers then report that Manchester United are in the driving seat. Regardless of who ends up with Young’s signature, it’s my firm belief that a move to Manchester would be the wrong choice for a player with a lot of potential.
At the moment Manchester United must appear to be a much more attractive prospect. They can offer Champion’s League football and a strong chance of winning trophies next season. They’ve had a successful season and will be looking to kick on again and pick up more silverware next year. Would you really bet against them adding another trophy to their collection in the near future?
It’s clear that Young’s ambitions involve winning trophies: “I’m an ambitious person who wants to win titles and leagues and cups and stuff. Hopefully I can do that. I think they say that players start to peak at 26 or 27, and I’m soon to be 26 so fingers crossed I can start peaking myself.”
Innuendo aside, given his aims, it may at first glance appear that Manchester United is the best possible destination for Young. There’s certainly a much higher chance that United will win silverware next season than Liverpool. But to engineer a move to Old Trafford with this motivation in mind would demonstrate a degree of short-sightedness on Young’s part.
Manchester United already have a wealth of wingers. Nani has been arguably the Player of the Season this year, despite what plaudits that have been unjustifiably lavished upon Gareth Bale this season. Down the other flank is Antonio Valencia whose pace and determination has won him a great number of fans this season. With Ryan ‘evergreen’ Giggs and the tireless Park Ji-Sung in tow, there’s a good argument to be made that Manchester United simply don’t need to purchase another winger this summer.
At Liverpool he’d be given ample opportunity to impress and with the Kop’s support would be nurtured into a star. At Manchester United he runs the risk of being a bit-part player who doesn’t get the game time to fulfil his potential. Young has spoken about his desire to ‘peak’ (ahem) and surely at this moment in time, with United’s squad the way it is, Liverpool offer him a better opportunity to do just that?
Winning trophies is one thing and that’s something that Liverpool will be able to offer Young in the future. More important for a professional footballer, however, is securing regular first-team football. For his sake and the sake of the English national team, I hope that Ashley Young makes the right decision.
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Read more of Harry’s articles at This Is Futbol
Imogen Thomas Joins Paddy Power For a Champion Offer! They will refund losing Champions League Final bets if Man United lose the match Make your bets now!
Sweden will err on the side of caution and rest captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic for their Euro 2012 qualifier against Moldova in Chisinau on Friday.Ibrahimovic, who helped AC Milan capture their first Serie A title in seven years this season, has been plagued by tendon problems in his right foot that have not healed as expected.
The 29-year-old was forced to play with painkilling injections for much of the 2010/2011 season.
Sweden coach Erik Hamren said there would be ‘a risk for a backlash’ should Ibrahimovic play in Friday’s game.
“If Zlatan were to play on Friday, we would have wanted to see his foot better today,” Hamren said.
“That’s not the case so we’ve had a chat about it together. There’s a risk of a setback if he plays on Friday and then both qualifiers would be in danger.”
Ibrahimovic is hopeful of being fit to play in their home qualifier against neighbours Finland on Tuesday.
Melbourne Heart skipper Simon Colosimo says reaching the A-League finals is the minimum requirement for the club in the 2011/12 season.The Heart finished eighth and six points outside the playoffs in their debut season, but Colosimo is confident an intense pre-season campaign will have the club in good shape come the season opener against Newcastle on October 8.
“We need to crawl before we walk, that means getting out there and cementing a finals spot as early as possible,” Colosimo said on Monday.
“Which position that is, hopefully we’ve got a few games up our sleeve to decide where we sit, but playing finals definitely is our number-one priority on the football field.”
Heart have lost a wealth of experience since last season with the retirements of former Socceroos’ John Aloisi and Josip Skoko, along with the departure of mercurial Dutchman Gerald Sibon.
Australian internationals Michael Beauchamp (Sydney) and Dean Heffernan (Perth) are also gone, leaving some room in the salary cap for coach John van ‘t Schip.
But Heart have been somewhat quiet in the transfer market during the off-season and are yet to announce a major signing.
They have been linked with former Melbourne Victory star Fred, who is plying his trade at MLS outfit DC United, and Ukrainian midfielder Yevhen Levchenko.
Even so, Colosimo believes opportunity will knock for a number of Heart’s emerging talents this season, just as it did for the likes of Aziz Behich, Adrian Zahra and Nick Kalmar in 2010/11.
“Our coaches and JVS especially don’t care where players come from, whether it may be State League Division 2, the Victorian Premier League or overseas,” Colosimo said.
“They come in and get the same opportunities as the guys sitting next to them, if they can perform they will play.”
One player Colosimo expects to make an impact is 18-year-old defender Brendan Hamill, who may find himself alongside the skipper in central defence after the departure of Beauchamp.
Hamill made 12 appearances last season and Colosimo has tipped big things ahead for the Sydney-born stopper.
“Brendan Hamill is a future Socceroo in the making, he’s going to be a superstar,” Colosimo said.
Manchester City and Arsenal haven’t had the best of relationships of late. Defender Gael Clichy has switched allegiance from Arsenal to City, Arsene Wenger has had a pop at City’s lucrative sponsorship deal and now the Arsenal boss has attacked City manager Roberto Mancini over comments about Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri.
Manchester City have done little to hide the fact they want Nasri. The Arsenal midfielder is an in-demand asset with City one of many teams reportedly interested in acquiring his services. But with Arsenal insisting the player will not be leaving the Emirates this summer, Mancini admitted that he hoped to sign Nasri “by the end of the month”.
Mancini’s claims obviously didn’t go down well with Arsenal or Wenger. Wenger claimed that the comments “were not allowed” and against “the basic rules of football”. But with penalties or punishment for such practice very rare, should Wenger stop complaining and speak out himself about who he wants to sign?
Tapping up is a complicated yet ever-present problem in football. A quick search of the term on the internet will bring a long list of cases where clubs are reportedly at fault for tapping up in their pursuit of a player. Arsenal themselves have been at the centre of such storms in the past, including their pursuit of Marouane Chamakh back in 2009. Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud then criticised Wenger for reportedly declaring his interest in the player. Whether cases like Nasri’s would be deemed tapping up would be up to investigators if the matter was reported but the culture of expressing an interest in a player is commonplace. In a summer where Cesc Fabregas’ transfer saga to Barcelona continues (with now Barcelona players weighing in with their own public comments), Arsenal may have to resort to playing dirty themselves to really compete.
Mancini’s comments obviously didn’t help the strained relationship between Arsenal and City. Whilst he did mention that Nasri is under contract, he probably shouldn’t have come out and sounded so confident or assured of signing a player under contract with another club within a certain time-frame. A club or manager publically expressing their interest in signing someone can easily unsettle that player but with the risk of punishment so small, making your transfer interests public may be the best way to get a potential transfer moving.
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In his criticism of Mancini, Wenger was insistent that Arsenal “don’t make any comments on players who are under contract in other clubs”. That is a fine moral stance from a well-respected figure in football but if Arsenal are keen to compete for the best players in the world they may have to start making their voices heard in a competitive and tough transfer market.
If you want to read more of my bite size, 160 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
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Chelsea have produced a strong performance in a 4-0 hammering of a Thailand All-Stars XI in their friendly clash in Bangkok on Sunday.Having recorded an unconvincing 1-0 victory over a Malaysia XI last time out, Andre Villas-Boas’ side were more comfortable this time around thanks to goals from Frank Lampard, Jose Bosingwa, Branislav Ivanovic and Florent Malouda.
It took 37 minutes for them to find their breakthrough, with Lampard firing home from the edge of the area.
Having made 11 changes against Malaysia XI at the interval, Villas-Boas was content with just one in Bangkok, with Cech being replaced by Hilario, as a tepid performance from Fernando Torres was prolonged into the second half.
It was not long before the Stamford Bridge side accelerated into a three-goal lead with a quick-fire double within seven minutes of the restart.
Bosingwa, having been denied in the first half, saw his luck change as his 30-yard effort was diverted off the post after a lapse in concentration from the All-Stars’ keeper.
Chelsea had a third on 52 minutes as a deft exchange of passing between Josh McEachran and Ivanovic saw the Serbian apply the finish.
Mikel, impressing in the middle of the park, found substitute Malouda’s darting run and the Nigerian’s inch-perfect pass allowed the winger to rifle home on 72 minutes.
Liverpool’s pre-season has so far been marked by one thing; a propensity to concede goals, and lots of them. What may have first begun as little more than a training exercise is now beginning to take on a more worrying aspect as the dawn of a new Premier League season looms less than two weeks away. Which brings my to the point – have the Liverpool hierarchy missed a trick in recruiting a new centre half this summer?
It’s clear that certain positions required priority with concerns to the club’s transfer policy going into the summer. A winger and a creative midfielder appeared to be right at the top of the pile and in Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam they appear to have purchased wisely. Jordan Henderson has arrived for a large fee based on his future potential and Brazilian goalkeeper Doni has come in to add competition to the ranks.
However, there have been no reinforcements in defence despite the club having little strength in depth and too man square pegs in round holes. A new left back is still required, despite the progress of Jack Robinson, return of Emilano Insua and good form of recognised right back Glen Johnson in that role towards the end of last season.
The position that has gone rather unnoticed in terms of recruitment has been at centre half with side crying out for some fresh blood.
Jamie Carragher is another year older this season and at 33 years of age, he cannot be factored into the club’s long-term planning too much. Not to mention the fact that the whole defence has to play a deeper line to compensate for the vice-captain’s famed lack of pace.
Martin Skrtel can either be exceptional or ridiculous in equal measure. His ability to attack the ball in the air is both a gift and a curse as it means he can either dominate his opposing number of frequently get caught out of position under a high ball. He remains the quickest centre half on option and when in form, he’s one of the best in the top flight, but he needs constant attention and only appears to play at his best when partnered with a calming, steadying influence such as Carragher.
Daniel Agger is a fans favourite. His ability to pick a pass and bring the ball out of defence often draws admiring glances from neutrals. I may be alone in thinking this, but I’ve never found Agger to be the best of defenders. He doesn’t thrive on it. He’s simply not a natural defender and while he may be pleasing on the eye to the puritan, he simply makes far too many mistakes to be a nailed on starter.
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Danny Wilson and Sotirios Krygiakos are acceptable back-up options but nothing more. It would appear that on the surface the side are well stocked, but dig a little deeper and the options are somewhat threadbare.
Crucially, a lot still factors around the presence of Carragher. His ability to organise and co-ordinate the Liverpool back line is of paramount importance. It’s without him that I begin to question the options available.
Daniel Agger stated after the 3-3 draw with Valerenga, of which he scored 2 of them, that: “The amount of goals that we have conceded is not good enough. We need to show we can keep a clean sheet and we have got to defend better.” Pepe Reina echoed his sentiments by stating: “We have a lot of work ahead of us. We cannot afford to conceded so many goals. To let in three is not our identity.”
Fifteen goals in five pre-season games against the likes of Guandong, Malaysia XI, Hull, Galatasaray and Valerenga isn’t the best of pre-seasons, that much is certain. Perhaps too much has been made of the club’s defensive frailties so far – pre-season is often a time to gel new players and improve the squad’s base level of fitness, and while that may be happening, the lack of cohesion at the back is a cause for concern.
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Good centre halves do not grow on trees, but with the club looking to shift towards a more attacking and attractive style of play, based on the evidence so far in pre-season, something appears to have been lost in terms of the overall balance of the side. Tougher tests await the club and while Dalglish is sure to have something up his sleeve, with plenty of time left in the transfer window, a move for a commanding centre back certainly makes sense both in the short and long-term. Gary Cahill is the latest name to be linked and he would certainly signal a step in the right direction.
To put it quite simply, the issue over the tightening up the side’s porous back line now has to be the club’s top priority for the remainder of the summer transfer window, otherwise a season marred by inconsistent results and defensive uncertainty awaits.
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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is happy his team got their first points of the season by beating Wolves 2-0 at Molineux on Saturday, and has praised his new signings.
Goals from debutant Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe clinched the victory for the London side, and Redknapp felt Spurs deserved to get the three points.
“This is a difficult place to come and we worked hard to get a win, but it was a deserved win,” he told Sky Sports after the match.
“It is nice to see them both (strikers Adebayor and Defoe) get on the scoresheet and it is a great start for them. It is a good and positive result for us today as this is a difficult place to come.”
Scott Parker also made his bow for the White Hart Lane outfit, and his new boss was pleased with his contribution and that of third summer signing Brad Freidel also.
“I am delighted with his (Adebayor’s) performance and also with Scott Parker’s. He had a good game in the midfield today, patrolled the midfield for us, broke up attacks and played up front as well.
“I am glad that the two debutants combined for the first goal but we must not forget that Brad Friedel made a good world-class save in the first half when it was still 0-0,” he concluded.
Spurs fans will be relieved to have got off the mark after heavy defeats in their first two games, but the fixtures start coming thick and fast.
A trip to Greece to take on PAOK on Thursday will be followed by a tricky home game against fellow Champions League contenders Liverpool on Sunday.
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