Well now, when it comes to football, one man has for many years been the most noticeable, the most controversial, and occasionally the most successful blogger this country has ever produced. His pithy words and abrasive style make him as famous off the pitch as he is on it. This man is Escapini. "I love football. Football she's a cruel mistress. She's, she's more than a mistress. She's a wife, she's a mother, she's a daughter, she's an errant child. She's a… she's a… she can make you laugh, she make you cry. She can bring tears me eyes. She can bring blood to me shoulders. She can bring a kettle to the boil." "Cause football is about nothing, unless it's about something and what it is about, is football."

1 min readPublished 6 May 2011, 20:12

Arsenal Football Club

Premiership On Red Alert: Bargain €12M Ivorian International Quits Contract Talks

France Football Magazine is reporting that Lille forward Gervinho has rejected a new contract to stay at the French club.

The Ivory Coast international has turned down a request from Lille for further contract talks, and the club have reportedly set a €12m asking price for the player as they don’t want to lose him for free next summer.

The 23 year old, who has scored 25 goals in 54 appearances for Lille , is rumoured to be interesting the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal , Newcastle United, Sunderland and Bayern Munich.

The player could find himself in a bidding war here. As a knock on effect of the last transfer window in the Premiership Newcastle and Sunderland both found themselves pretty much striker-less. Tottenham have three forwards on their books yet cannot seem to buy a goal. Arsenal don’t have a problem scoring goals but they too don’t have a front man who is truly firing on all cylinders.