Toure - Was fan's favourite at Arsenal !!

Kolo Toure is now a Manchester City player after completing a transfer believed to be worth around £16 million. The Ivorian’s move has been confirmed on the official Arsenal website as well as the City one with Toure signing a four-year deal with his new club.
First things first I want to say that I wish Kolo all the best at his new club. He has served the Arsenal Football Club as good as anyone else under Arsene Wenger and has never given anything less than 100% in his eight years at the club. He’s experienced some outstanding moments since his move from the right wing to the centre of defence, forming an outstanding partnership with Sol Campbell during our ‘Invincibles’ year as well as scoring the goal that got us into our first and only Champions League final.
Toure has always been a fan favourite at Arsenal because he works his socks off, something that supporters value above all else. I wish him every success at City and I hope he plays out the remainder of his career with the same enthusiasm that he has always done. Unlike Emmanuel Adebayor, who acted foolishly throughout his final year at our club, I don’t think Toure deserves to be criticised by the Arsenal fans for joining City.
At the age of 28 he had reached a difficult point in his Arsenal career - stuck behind William Gallas, new signing Thomas Vermaelen and up-and-coming Johan Djourou in the pecking order - and with consistent first-team football a certainty in Manchester it is understandable to see him move on. From a purely personal level it would have been foolish for Toure to stay, just as it would have been foolish for Arsenal to ignore a £16 million offer for a third or fourth choice central defender who has performed poorly for the past season-and-a-half.
There will undoubtedly be a lot of Arsenal supporters calling for Toure to be replaced, but I won’t necessarily be among them. In William Gallas I believe we have one of the truly great central defenders in the Premier League - perhaps bettered only by Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Daniel Agger - and in Johan Djourou a player who is more than ready to become a big player for the club, as indicated by his early-season form in the last campaign. Throw in Thomas Vermaelen - who is obviously rated highly by the manager and will compete strongly for a starting position - and Philippe Senderos - who has had a year away from the spotlight and Didier Drogba to improve his game at Milan - and I believe we’re looking a lot stronger in this department than many people believe.
I still believe the way to significantly improve our defence is to sign a top-class defensive midfielder rather than to sign another centre back. As an attacking force we have good variety and depth, out wide at the back and in midfield we look terrific and the quality I see in Djourou leads me to believe we’re deceptively strong in defence. It’s just the middle that needs improvement.
Despite an excellent final third of last season Wenger’s “seven central defenders” comment from a couple of days ago suggests that Alex Song’s future may lie in defence. Meanwhile I still hold the opinion that - statistics or no statistics - Denilson does not have the stamina or physical presence required to give Cesc Fabregas the freedom he needs to wreak havoc from the middle of the park. It’s clear via the interest we showed in Felipe Melo that the manager is looking to strengthen and I can’t see why he would give up after one failed attempt. Wenger’s scouting ability is legendary and I think it would be foolish to believe that he doesn’t have other options (could it be this man?) to consider.
I should state here that even if a defensive-minded midfielder is not brought to the club I think we’re in a very good position going into next season. We have good depth in almost every area of the park, three top class attacking players that we didn’t have at the start of last season in Andrey Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo, and every single one of our younger players is a year older and a year more experienced. Contrast that with Manchester United (who have lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez), Liverpool (who have signed no-one) and Chelsea (who will have to adjust to their new coach and have only brought in a left-back) and I think of all the top teams (City excluded) we’re the ones who will improve the most on last season’s result.
I find it almost laughable that the Australian bookies have pushed Arsenal out to $9 to win the league after Toure’s exit while United, Chelsea and Liverpool are at $2.65, $3.25 and $3.50. Even City - a team with an average coach and a huge amount of imbalance in their squad - are almost on top of us at $13. While I’m not necessarily stating that I think Arsenal will win the league I think it’s a huge underestimation of our chances of doing so and if you’re a betting man I’d be putting the money down right now before we bring in any signings and the odds drop significantly.
To finish off today I just want to touch on the other very important Arsenal news item - the 1-0 pre-season win over Hannover 96. Cesc Fabregas got the only goal of the game in the 8th minute after a lovely Robin van Persie pass, but the big story of the day was Emmanuel Eboue’s apparent “goodbye” wave at the end of the match. I might be reading too much into it but with Eboue taking his shirt and boots off and giving them to the crowd and waving to the Arsenal fans it suggests he’s on his way out of the club as well, most likely to Fiorentina. Check out the video here (4:12 in) and let me know you think.
And on that note I’ll leave it there. Have a wonderful Thursday.

Being the Doer of the WORD

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does." James 1:22-25 NIV

The scripture describes character development. It clearly states that it's not enough to listen to God's Word--we need to do it. Jesus said, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice." Luke 11:28 NLT

The Bible teaches us right from wrong--and how to make right choices. In a world that claims there is no absolute truth and no right or wrong, people are floundering, doing their own thing, and often ending up making bad choices--choices that harm themselves and others. How comforting to know that God has provided absolutes to guide us. We can find them in his Word.
If we are willing to continue looking into the mirror of God's Word ... and then trusting him to help us line our attitudes and actions up more closely with his Word ... we will begin the road to godly character.

Consider this...
Think back over the scriptures you have studied during the past year or so. Are there any that you read, but didn't apply to your life? Spend some time in reflection, asking God to show you what you have ignored ... and what steps you should take now.

Prayer
Father, sometimes I rush through my daily Bible reading and fail to seriously consider what you are saying to me at that moment or how I might apply what I have just read to my life. Help me to read for transformation, not just information. Help me to be a better doer of your Word. In Jesus' name ...

Through the Bible

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (NIV)9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

A book on this passage has recently become a best seller. The author aptly describes all the implications of this passage, of which I will try to make a brief summary. Jabez means pain. Imagine having a name like that! A name was often an indication of destiny. Jabez refused to accept the destiny handed to him in his name. Instead of yielding to what was handed him, he stood as a man more honorable than his brothers. He held himself to a higher standard.
Reaction to difficulty will make or break a person. If you see it as an excuse to justify self and compromise, it will cripple you. If you see it as a reason to strive to an even greater extent, it can be your prodding to a life above the norm. Jabez chose the later. He asked God to change his destiny. He asked for the blessing of God to be on his life and for his territory to be enlarged. Territory implied the space of his influence. We need to ask God to increase our ministry for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Do you desire to be even more effective?

He recognized the need for God's hand to be with him. Then he asked for God to break that destiny that his name held him to. He asked for God to keep him from harm so that he would be free of pain. God granted his request.

Consider: Do you feel trapped by expectations others have placed on you, or your environment, or abilities? If you are asking in line with God's will, you can break those boundaries and be all God means for you to be.