There is quite a lot of talk out there this weekend about the Cesc Fábregas "deal", as one would imagine. The pundits have come out in full force in the UK Sunday papers; A Cultured Left Foot has a good roundup of these, and rather than give them links directly, it is perhaps better to read Yogi Warrior's summation of them over there. Here, though, are some more links that are certainly worth pointing out:
- Actually, the usually solid Patrick Barclay in the Times offers a counterbalance to the free-market gloom surrounding Fábregas.
- The Guardian has picked up a report that a Nigerian billionaire named Aliko Dangote is set to make a bid for Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith's 16% share of Arsenal. This bodes well for our current stable multiple-owner model (all jokes about wealthy Nigerians and email scams aside).
- The official Arsenal site has interviews with both Arsène Wenger and Marouane Chamakh up for view.
- Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledges who his real rivals are/were (hint: it's not Mourinho).
- Dara O'Briain, a wonderful comedian and humorist, gives his final column for the Guardian his usual soft touch and smart thinking.
- Zonal Marking has a wonderful, deep analysis of yesterday's Champions League final, which should make for interesting reading for Arsenal fans. It's food for thought, whatever one's stance on tactics is.
- And finally, it's not the best quality, but here's a cure for the Mourinho blues (harhar), courtesy of Mr. Ljungberg.