Arsenal are lining up an audacious bid to land Premier League boss Richard Scudamore as their new chief executive.

The 47-year-old is understood to be among three leading contenders on the club’s wanted list to replace Keith Edelman, who quit as managing director almost a month ago.

It is not clear if Scudamore can be persuaded to leave the £1million-a-year chief executive post he has held with the League since 1999, but he is certainly held in high regard at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal are in the market for both a chief executive and a chief financial officer following the departure of Edelman and last year’s acrimonious split with former vice-chairman David Dein.

City headhunting firm Spencer Stuart have been appointed to assist with the search and senior club figures are keen to fill the top job with someone from a football background.

The club were initially looking for a director of football, but that brief has changed with key director Danny Fiszman now wanting a leader who can also boost their commercial income.

Spencer Stuart are due to report back to the club’s board next month with a list of possible candidates which Fiszman and his fellow directors will then narrow down to a shortlist for inter-view. The club do not, however, need consultants to be aware of Scudamore and his capture would be a coup as there are few administrators with a better knowledge of the football industry.

Under his leadership, the Premier League’s income has dramatically increased and the former advertising executive has been widely hailed for negotiating record media rights deals, including the latest £2.7billion broadcast bonanza for the League’s 20 clubs.

But Scudamore’s time at Gloucester Place has not been without troubles. There were calls for him to resign over the bungled handling of the Carloz Tevez affair and the abortive attempt to introduce the “39th step” overseas fixture.

Other names linked with the Arsenal post have included Birmingham City’s Karren Brady, London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton and former Chelsea business affairs director Paul Smith.

Source: The Telegraph

Article By James Dinkton and Gooner Chris

German international Jens Lehmann will hang up his Arsenal boots on July 1st, and we’ve found a video of the Legend himself which was filmed just a fortnight before he announced his departure; an advertisement for Euro 2008 which includes Gilberto and Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJdmmv1r1jo]

Quality video! Good luck to Jens in the European Championships of course, and whatever club he decides to join for next season.

News Round-Up

In other news, Arsenal have been linked with a possible move for Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure in a deal which could see Alex Hleb move the other way.

Gunners’ Under 18’s coach Steve Bould says that the academy are “ready” to produce talent for the first team.

Finally, Bruce Springsteen put on a performance at the Emirates Stadium last night, apparently it was a thoroughly enjoyable night and a great night out for all. Click here to see a taster of last nights gig.

When Arsenal’s Croatian striker Eduardo da Silva suffered that horrific double compound fracture of his left fibula against Birmingham City on 23rd February 2008, few, if any, commentators believed the player could possibly return to full fitness less than 5 months later.

However, this is the astonishing claim made by the player’s Brazilian medical team, backed up by impressive images and video of Eduardo making rapid one-touch passes on a mini trampoline.

Setanta Sports confirmed the news that the Brazilian born Croatian international could be back before the start of the season. Not only is this brilliant news for Arsenal but also Slaven Bilic’ Croatian side who will need the important 25-year-old striker for World Cup Qualifiers later on in the year.

Eduardo said:

“I am returning to Europe from Brazil at the beginning of August, perhaps even the end of July,” said Eduardo. “Doctors tell me by then I will be fully recovered and able to play football again. I hope so too.

“I’m feeling well and my rehabilitation is going better than I would ever have hoped.”

Gooner Talk have found some photos (Thanks Gaffer from TGF) of Eduardo recovering in Brazil as well as a video of the front man kicking a ball for the very first time since the injury with interviews in Brazilian with both Dudu and his doctor Odir De Souza.

Thumbnails

Click Here To View The Video

It’s another Friday and it’s another edition of the Gooner Talk Transfer Rumour Weekly Round-Up. Strangely, this week fewer players have been linked to Arsenal. However, tonnes of news still revolves around the name Samir Nasri. It’s still a mystery that Arsenal have not signed anyone yet, especially the so-called “New Zinedine Zidane”, but we’ll talk about it a little more in the next section.

This week’s edition won’t be any more interesting as the rumours seemed to have reduced for certain unknown reasons. Maybe the European Championships are around the corner and thus all the media focus are now on Switzerland and Austria and the teams which qualified for Europe’s elite national team competition. Yet, we’ll still provide some news which might be more credible than last week’s rumours and raw speculations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has said that he is keen on maintaining the special relationship between the Midlands club and Arséne Wenger’s Arsenal.

The Gunners have loaned several players to City, providing their young stars with valuable Premiership experience.

McLeish said:

“It’s a system that’s in place and one that rightly should used.

“Premier League clubs that have given loans to Birmingham in the past - like Arsenal and clubs of that ilk, know that if one of their players comes to us they will be playing with a bit of pressure on them because of the demands of this club.

“We’ll be playing in a hugely competitive league so I don’t think we should be saying ‘no, we won’t be taking any loan players in and that we’re just going to do it ourselves and buy players for big money to get back to the Premier League.

The Scot also spoke about the helpfulness of Arsenal as one of the clubs “contacts”:

“We will certainly use the system if we can get players of the calibre of Sebastien Larsson, Fabrice Muamba and Nicklas Bendtner.

“At the end of the end of the day we’ve got contacts, but who is to say that my Championship competitors don’t have the same contacts?

“Sometimes it can help, but the main thing is what suits the club that’s loaning the player?

“If they think it suits them for their player to come [to] Birmingham they’ll do it regardless of the friendship and if they feel it benefits their club and it benefits their player.”

Gooners Views:

SPUDMASHER - McLeish should be told in no uncertain terms to fuck off. Why would we want our young talent playing there when we know their philosophy is to “stuck it up them boys”? Surely if Wenger wants to loan our lads out it should be to a team in the lower reaches of the Premier League and not a Championship club run by crooks.

khalid_red - Why would we send players to play alongside “Tiny”? Even Eboue and Big Phil wouldn’t deserve that kind of punishment Laughing He seemed to be developing a good relationship with Fergie while in the Prem so why doesn’t he keep it up?

Magic Merse - I think the top two team’s we will loan to will be Wigan and Norwich. Apparently Roader has already been told he can have one or two of our younger guys. Wigan have Steve Bruce and I think Wenger won’t mind dealing with him.

Pictured Above: FIFA President Sepp Blatter

Fifa have voted in favour of the ’six-plus-five’ rule which would place restrictions on foreign players.

The president of football’s world governing body, Sepp Blatter, hopes to see the initiative implemented by the 2012/13 season.

The ruling would limit the number of overseas players any one team can field in their starting XI to just five.

Fifa have grown increasingly concerned by the number of foreign stars infiltrating Europe’s top leagues, with the English Premier League standing out as the most obvious example.

Despite fears from the European Union that the introduction of the rule would contravene freedom of movement regulations, Blatter insists that Fifa would proceed “within the limits of the law”.

The good news though, is that the EU have completely rejected the claims that the rule is to go ahead, here’s what John McDonald—spokesman for the European Commissioner for Sport—told BBC why he does not expect Blatter’s ambitions to succeed.

“It is a non-starter as far as we are concerned,” he said.
“Interestingly, the wording that Mr Blatter mentioned this morning at his press conference
was that FIFA’s resolution is to explore within the limits of the law the six-plus-five rule.”
“And they can explore as much as they like, but, unfortunately, a six-plus-five rule is against Community legislation.”

Source: BBC Football

For the supporters that would like to know how many English players we have in both First and Reserve & Youth teams, here they are:

Goalkeepers

Charlie Mann - Youth

Defenders

Gavin Hoyte - Reserves

Paul Rodgers - Reserves

Abu Ogogo - Reserves

Anton Blackwood - Youth

Rene Steer - Reserves

Kyle Bartley - Reserves

Luke Ayling - Reserves

Thomas Cruise - Reserves

Oliver Nicholas - Youth

Rhema Obed - Youth

Sam Byles - Youth

Midfielders

Mark Randall - First Team

Theo Walcott - First Team

Justin Hoyte - First Team

Kieran Gibbs - Reserves

James Dunne - Reserves

Henri Lansbury - Reserves

Jack Wilshere - Reserves

Craig Eastmond - Reserves

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas - Reserves

Conor Henderson - Youth

Emmanuel Frimpong - Reserves

Chuks Aneke - Youth

Rorie Deacon - Youth

Forwards

Sanchez Watt - Reserves

Jason Banton - Youth

Jay Simpson - Reserves

Rhys Murphy - Reserves

Luke Freeman - Reserves

Benik Afobe - Youth

The end of another progressive season at Arsenal football club is preceded by an exciting summer of European Football. For some time now we have known that one of the worlds most prestigious tournament will take place without are most beloved home nations, In the next few weeks I believe we will see the designs of the major corporations had on our football frenzied nation, but whatever they have conjured up to prize away your pounds, I do doubt there chances of commercial success. Need I be as bold as to say I wouldn’t let kicking a Mars bar promoted ball distract me from the criticism and spin which followed England’s failure to qualify. With the lack of British stars within Arsenal’s team as a whole would it be fair to blame one of the Premier League’s superpowers for not blooding enough homegrown talent within the it’s ranks? I think not…

Arsenal has often been singled out for being one of the main reasons the national team is failing but I beg to differ. The Clubs has had a mixed history with buying home grown talent. I believe Wenger had realized at a early point in his Arsenal career that good British players could easily be slotted within the back four of his team but then eventually found out the same methods of player integration wasn’t as suitable for other roles. The point is, someone like Francis Jeffers who had already learned his trade at another club will still to improve & adapt his game a lot to be considered Arsenal regular, However premier league price tags would suggest such a players on sale was the finished article with plenty of room to improve. With that said, in today’s market do domestic transfer fee reflex the players true potential or more their tried and tested value?

Does this mean to get domestic value for money you have to grow your own players? Well I think so, although we still seem to be buying British with the likes of Walcott, it’s no substitute to an academy talent raised to play the Arsenal way. The thing is our English stars are unlikely to stay and battle it out with their foreign counterparts to cement their places within the first team. However the likes of David Bentley, Ashley Cole, Steve Sidwell & Matthew Upson have all found themselves at least one England cap better off since leaving the club which goes to show what maybe isn’t good enough for us is still international & domestic quality. With that said I’m sure there’s still hope for the likes of Graham Stack in the Championship becoming first team and Justin Hoyte and Kerrea Gilbert if they don’t make it at the Emirates.

All clubs more or less have no choice but to buy foreign to get the quality in there teams at a affordable price, but should clubs really buy foreigners if there not producing home grown to put back into the system? Now we as a club are producing English youngster that will be sort after but what are the other big clubs doing? The last notable Manchester United produced player was Richardson, but before that was it Brown about 8 years ago? How about Liverpool and Chelsea?

If the top teams buy the best British players from the other smaller teams isn’t this just adding to the problem of not producing the talent while you have the mentors in your club? (Think of Beckham not ever training with Cantona) There are so many ex-West Ham players in the Manchester United and Chelsea teams that you have to wonder if the people who are running the FA are quite happy that the cream of British talent are coming from lower tier clubs and not the cream of the crop in the top four.

With all that said I’m extremely happy with everything Arsenal has done for developing British talent and hope they continue within the same manner while the other big clubs point the finger. I’m extremely excited by the British talent to come…

Article By Deaje

Gooner Talk are giving you the chance to vote in Arsenal’s ‘Top and All Time’ categories, which will be included in a Arsenal Book to be published in late September which will hopefully be the definitive fans’ guide to Arsenal’s all time greats.

These Are The Categories:

Top 5 Managers
Top 40 Players (top 10 keepers, top 10 defenders, top 10 midfielders, top 10 forwards)
Top 5 Matches
Top 5 Goals in terms of spectacle
Top 5 Goals in terms of significance
Arsenal’s all-time worst players
Arsenal’s all-time worst haircuts
Arsenal’s all-time worst own goals
Arsenal’s all-time dream team

E-mail your individual thoughts on who/what you’d feature in each of these categories to tim@writeflankmedia.com

You may even get a mention inside the book! (space permitting)

Many thanks, and start voting!