FanHouse Arsenal

Much of what we all detest about modern soccer exists because the authorities who control the game do nothing. Clubs whose fans sing racist songs are slapped on the wrist, cheaters who dupe the referee escape without penalty (and are celebrated in some cultures), the same wealthy teams repeatedly run roughshod over the opposition and Major League Soccer continues to allow every club to play in all-white uniforms.

Now, Michel Platini is riding to the rescue. When it's all said and done, the French legend and UEFA president may be known as much for what he's accomplished as an administrator as for what he did in central midfield. He has spoken out against the oligarchy in European club football and opened the Champions League to a wider variety of teams. Then on Tuesday, his organization handed down a brave and perhaps historic decision -- banning Arsenal's Eduardo for last week's embarrassing diving spectacle against Celtic.

Let's face it, the European method of pulling names out from the proverbial hat to determine the pairings for its knockout competitions is, well, a foreign concept. About the only Stateside comparison is the selection committee drawing up the NCAA Tournament brackets every March.

To whit, Thursday in Monaco, UEFA staged its annual gala to determine the groups for the 2009-10 Champions League replete with glitz, glamor and the former Miss Switzerland pulling balls out of pots. Certainly a far cry from a group of middle-aged men sitting together in a hotel room discussing RPI.

It's no suprise that a club that's dressed in green and white, blue-and-black stripes, and maroon and sky blue, all within 13 years, has had a bit of trouble forging a lasting identity.

The Colorado Rapids have made the playoffs more often than not, play in a beautiful new stadium and have featured players like Carlos Valderrama, Marcelo Balboa and Pablo Mastroeni. Yet they barely resonate on either the American soccer landscape or in Denver, struggling to attract fans (just over 11,000 this season) and media coverage while falling behind several expansion teams in their national Q rating. They have an owner, Stan Kroenke, who's been accused of being more interested in raising his stake in Arsenal than with fielding a winner at home, haven't played a meaningful international match in more than 10 years and count two MLS reserve division titles as their only honors. The Rapids are boring, or even worse, anonymous.

Now, Gary Smith is on the verge of changing that.

When Bill Gates got hitched and became a philanthropist, he and his wife decided to use his billions to try and eradicate several persistent diseases. Somewhere at the top of the list: malaria, which is still prevalent in many parts of Africa.

Arsenal supporters would like the Gates Foundation to work a bit faster, please. Center back Kolo Touré contracted malaria while visiting home in the Ivory Coast and is expected to miss the start of the season. You can hear the Gunners switching to Mac now, can't you?

While some like to call malaria "the gift that keeps on giving," Touré is not contagious and has a very treatable form of the disease, so he could be back in action by early September. That's good news for Arsenal, who are already fearful of losing key players on the transfer market. The last thing Arsene Wenger needs is to lose even more players to diseases that Gates and his billions haven't gotten rid of yet. Barcelona is doing its part to help, though -- which is the least they can do, considering their dogged pursuit of Emmanuel Adebayor.

Waiting for Arsenal to bring in some superstars during the transfer window? Don't hold your breath. Over the weekend, manager Arsene Wenger revealed that the big London club will have to sell off most of their stars over the next two decades to help pay for Emirates Stadium.

What's more, Wenger admitted his utter distaste for the transfer market.

"If I had the power to change anything basic in football, it would be the transfer system which makes mercenaries of players. If they are bad ones, they stay, and if they are good, they think only of leaving."

Clearly, some of these comments stem from the salary demands of Emmanuel Adebayor, who's up for the role of Two-Face in the next Batman movie. First he says he's staying at Arsenal, then he turns around and says he'll only stay for four times his current wages. That demand will likely result in him playing in Barcelona or Milan next season, and the Gunners will end up using at least half the transfer fee on his replacement.

So while Chelsea and Manchester United buy up everyone in sight, Arsenal will settle for developing and selling off youngsters while trying to stay in the Champions League hunt for another year. Enjoy being the new West Ham, Gunners fans. Just be glad you're not stuck with Alan Curbishley.

It's shaping up to be a pretty good day for Arsenal supporters.

For starters, Emmanuel Adebayor, the Gunners' leading scorer last season, has decided to let the world know he's not some Machiavellian egomaniac whose only goals in life are to stay in the media spotlight and break the world record for highest transfer fee. He did that with four words: "I'm staying at Arsenal."

AC Milan was ready to make an offer for Adebayor, but why would he go there? They're not even in the Champions League.

Another Arsenal star, Cesc Fabregas, is having a good day, too. The 21-year-old midfielder is slated to start in Sunday's EURO 2008 Final against Germany after David Villa, the tournament's leading scorer, was ruled out with a thigh injury. Fabregas earned this start after replacing Villa in the semifinal against Russia and setting up two of Spain's three goals in the second half.

Finally, this news should give you Gunners a laugh. German Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has vowed to use the EURO 2008 Final to show Arsene Wenger what a mistake he made by benching him. This, of course, comes just two days after this:

Has anybody else noticed the long line of players exiting Arsenal these days?

First, French midfielder Mathieu Flamini bolted for A.C. Milan on a free transfer. Another midfielder, Alexander Hleb, has been rumored to head to either Barcelona or Bayern Munich, though he would prefer you shut up about it. Now come reports that Emmanuel Adebayor, the Gunners' top goal scorer last season, is drawing interest from both Barcelona and AC Milan.

It's plainly obvious why Barca and Milan would throw upwards of €30 million to get their hands on a tall 24-year-old striker who scored 24 goals in the Premier League last season. What's less obvious is why Arsenal is even considering putting Adebayor on the market, let alone allowing so many players to leave the Emirates. Has the club lost faith in the current direction Arsene Wenger is taking them? Has someone above Wenger decided that four years without a trophy is too long, and thus, drastic changes are necessary?

Selling a striker who has scored 36 goals in 78 appearances seems a little too drastic. Who's going to score the goals if he leaves? And is this a sign that the Gunners are in for a struggle next season? Yes, we thought that last year when Thierry Henry left, but this is a stranger and more problematic exodus from the Emirates than we saw last summer. Wenger better hope his wunderkinder are ready for the Premier League. They weren't ready for the Carling Cup last season.

With all the excitement surrounding EURO 2008, it might have been easy to overlook the 2008-09 Premier League schedule, which was announced on Monday. You can see the full schedule here.

The most interesting thing about the coming season's schedule is that there are no "Super Sundays" that feature the Premier League's Big Four -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United -- playing against each other on the same day. Those marquee matches are spread fairly evenly throughout the schedule. Perhaps the Premier League is trying to distance itself from the notion that it's a top-heavy league where only four clubs have a legitimate shot at the title. I wish them lots of luck trying to convince people otherwise.

Our pals at The Guardian also note that Manchester United's September schedule is a little rough. The Red Devils face Liverpool at Anfield on September 13, then play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on September 20. In between those two games is their first Champions League group stage match. We should hear Sir Alex Ferguson whining about this any day now. "Waaaah! Defending two major championships shouldn't be this hard! Waaaaah!"

Of course, that assumes Ferguson doesn't follow through on his threat to bail on Man United if the club sells Cristiano Ronaldo. The offseason at Old Trafford gets more interesting every day, doesn't it?

Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan would like you to know something very important about the Premier League. It's getting a little stale.

"Maybe (Newcastle) owner (Mike Ashey) thinks we can bridge that gap - but we can't. This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world.

"The top four next year will be the same top four as this year. What I can say to the Newcastle fans is that we will be trying to get fifth and we will be trying to win the other league that's going on within the Premier League."

Keegan makes a legitimate point. A vicious cycle exists in the Premier League right now, where the Big Four -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United -- finish in the top four every year, go to the UEFA Champions League, earn as much as £30 million more than all the other clubs, use that money to buy top players to strengthen their roster, finish in the top four again the next year, and so on and so on, until only four clubs have a real shot at the League title and the rest are left to fend for UEFA Cup scraps.

I believe, however, that there's a way to break this cycle.

That picture pretty much sums up Jens Lehmann, doesn't it? He spends half the week whining about how he never gets any playing time anymore, and what happens when he finally gets a game? He flails hopelessly at a penalty kick, and he stands flat-footed on the wrong side of the net as an Owen Hargreaves free kick flies past him.

Those two kicks gave Manchester United a 2-1 win over Arsenal today, leaving the Gunners 9 points adrift of 1st place in the Premier League and all but eliminating them from title contention. The Red Devils, meanwhile, are 6 points ahead of 2nd-place Chelsea pending the result of tomorrow's Chelsea v. Wigan match, which is now a must-win for the Blues if they want a shot at the title. With four games left, Man U needs 9 points -- either by earning points themselves or having Chelsea drop them -- to secure a second consecutive league trophy.