Food For Thought: Has Steven Gerrard Lost It?

Steven Gerrard's Pub Brawl - Has He "Totally Lost It"?

Liverpool captain and England talisman Steven Gerrard was arrested in late December just hours after their Premier League match against Newcastle United. Gerrard was detained along with five other men after being accused of assaulting 34-year-old DJ Marcus McGee at the Lounge Inn in Liverpool.

Stevie G claimed that he was merely trying to defend himself during a brawl over music but recently released CCTV footage clearly demonstrates that Gerrard was quite aggressive and had to be held back by his friends.

During the court hearing on Tuesday Gerrard was accused of having "totally lost it" and of hitting Mr.McGee with "the style and speed of a boxer" rather than a professional footballer.

Now, it is not abnormal for anyone to get into a brawl at a pub and end the night behind bars. This can and does happen frequently not only in England but elsewhere but since it is a major footballer who has been found under such circumstances - and it is not just a come-now-go-now footballer but a world famous top notch footballer, Liverpool captain and England international Steven Gerrard - it has hit the headlines.

At the moment it appears likely that Gerrard will face punishment for his actions that day. The trial will resume on Wednesday.

Can Arsenal Cope With Samir Nasri's Loss?

Most Arsenal supporters would never admit it but with Manchester City's apparent threat to break into the Top Four attested by their spending this summer, the Gunners are apparently in a worrying position of not being able to retain their place in the top four in the English top flight. They are the apparent weak link in the Big Four and with Arsene Wenger's reluctance, or perhaps inability, to spend in the transfer market, things are not looking too rosy for the Londoners.

Last season the Gunners were destroyed by the wholesome injuries their squad suffered and missed several of their key players at various points of the season. Of course, injuries are part of the game and hiding behind some crippled excuses is pretty much lame. But there is hardly any doubt that had the Injury God been kind to Arsenal, then they could have done better than they actually did and what they did included reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.

And now the same old woe has returned.

Samir Nasri should be out for at least three months after suffering a broken fibula at the club's training in Austria where Arsenal are for their pre-season preparations. The 22-year-old will now miss the opening weeks of the 2009-2010 Premier League campaign.

This is of course a huge blow to Arsenal's chances of winning the league next season as even though Nasri might still not have proved himself to be the next Zinedine Zidane and quite possibly will never do so, the Frenchman has developed into a very important player for the Gunners.

Of course, Arsenal still do have a strong squad (although they do need to sign a replacement and a better one for Emmanuel Adebayor) and with Arsene Wenger in charge can still challenge for the league title. Moreover, the transfer period is still not over yet, so Wenger still has time to reinforce his squad.

But will he?

Subhankar Mondal