Should Arsenal Sign A Striker In January? And If So, Who?

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There’s no doubt that Arsenal were second best yesterday but there are ration reasons why this was the case. We had a tough run in with Chelsea, Liverpool, Dortmund and United and Olivier Giroud has been leading the line pretty much single-handedly. So it wasn’t a huge surprise that he struggles now and then.

Manchester United looked like a team that had done their homework and they basically bullied Giroud out of the game with their physical approach. More often than not, he would come out of 50-50 challenges holding his face as if he’d been hit there. That’s not a slight on the way Manchester United played, they targeted Giroud as a threat and dealt with it well.

The problem is with Podolski injured, Giroud is the only recognised striker. And even then, it could be argued that Podolski is more of a wide player than a typical centre forward. So we have a problem.

It is not unreasonable to think that Giroud could get injured, or at the very least will need a rest. We have been relying on him far too much so what will Arsene Wenger do? Will he fight on with the same squad or dip into the transfer market yet again and bring in a striker?

Because I don’t care how you look at it, Nicklas Bendtner is a joke and can’t even be considered to be a realistic option. I bet the Manchester United fans laughed when Arsene brought him on yesterday.

So the January Transfer window could be an important time in our season. We have a solid and settled back five, our midfield options are plentiful even with injuries to Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby, but up front is where we are light.

So who are our realistic options?

Robert Lewandowski is someone who I’ve wondered about, but last week he came out and told potential clubs not to bother getting in touch as his decision was now made up and he would announce it next summer. It doesn’t take too much guessing to figure out that he will be staying in Germany.

So who else is there? If we focus on the Premier League then we could always rekindle our love affair with Luis Suarez. But there’s more chance of Bendtner playing for Real Madrid next season.

We have Christian Benteke, who has proven to be able to score goals at this level and impose himself on games. Other names that have been bandied around are Benzema, Remy, Llorente, Hernandez and Michu amongst others.

So what should we do? Stick or twist?

Manchester United Defeat Means Little In The End

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Tonights disappointing result was hard to take, especially when Manchester United celebrated as if they won the league, but the bottom line is that it isn’t a disaster by any stretch of the imagination.

We had a run of games where we faced Chelsea, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United. This was supposed to be a period that would “prove our title credentials” and if you look at it objectively, we’re still in a great position and real title challengers.

We’ve won 14 of the last 15 away games in the Premier League. That is a hugely impressive record and although it’s disappointing to lose to the team I hate with a passion, we’re still top of the league by two points.

We gave Manchester United too much respect and were unlucky to concede a goal from a set-piece. They parked the bus once they went one goal ahead and even though we should have scored at least one goal, we are more than capable of picking ourselves up and giving a positive response to the defeat.

Manchester United will be “galvanised” after this win and despite wanting the win more and showing a lot of character, they still struggle to do this against the smaller teams in the league. It’s one thing to give 110% against Arsenal in a big game, but they didn’t turn up against West Brom and really struggled against Stoke and Sunderland. Arsenal on the other hand have been extremely consistent since January 2013, so maybe Robin van Persie should concentrate on that before thinking he’s scored the goal that has won Manchester United the title.

We’ve only lost twice this season while Manchester United have lost 3 times and Manchester City 4. We’re still 5 points ahead of United and if anything, this could act as a warning to Arsenal that they need to get back on another impressive winning run.

Everyone will be talking about how it was a great weekend for United but it wasn’t a bad one for us. Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham all failed to win and we’re still at the top of the league by two points.

Annoying? Perhaps but a disaster? Hardly.

Arsenal Player Ratings [v Manchester United]

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Wojciech Szczesny: 7/10

Could do nothing about the goal and apart from that had nothing much to do.

Bacary Sagna: 9/10

One of the few players who turned up today. Lively down the right hand side and up and down throughout the 90 minutes. Made two simply stunning crosses which should have been converted – they were gift wrapped goals. Couldn’t have done any more.

Laurent Koscielny: 8/10

Solid at the back and organised the defence well. Was quick to Rooney and Van Persie and made some important tackles and interceptions.

Thomas Vermaelen: 7/10

Only called upon this morning after Per Mertesacker was taken ill but performed well. Kept Van Persie relatively quiet and protected Szczesny well.

Kieran Gibbs: 7/10

Wanted the ball, tried to drive forward and was unlucky not to head in Sagna’s cross in the second half. Coped with the threat of Valencia and Smalling well and limited their influence.

Mikel Arteta: 8/10

Been excellent in the last couple of weeks and was very good again. Always wanted the ball, tried to drive the team forward and really wanted to make things happen. Made some excellent tackles and covered a lot of ground.

Mathieu Flamini: 7/10

Did well and along with Arteta, and was energetic in midfield. Wanted the drive the team forward but was let down by the midfielders in front of him.

Santi Cazorla: 5/10

Struggled to make an impact and just wasn’t in the game. Didn’t cope well with Manchester United’s physical approach and was bullied out of the game for large parts of the match. Couldn’t link up at all with Özil and Ramsey with any real threat.

Aaron Ramsey: 6/10

Wasn’t his game today and struggled to find space in a compact Manchester United midfield and defence. Showed determination and desire but was let down by his fellow attacking midfielders.

Mesut Özil: 5/10

For me, has been cruising for a couple of weeks and was anonymous today. Didn’t really stamp his authority on the games against Liverpool and Dortmund, and the same happened today. Should have been taken off for Gnabry and I still don’t know why he didn’t throw his head at the ball when Ramsey played him in. He is in the team to make chances but couldn’t create anything today.

Olivier Giroud: 7/10

Was up against a physical Manchester United team and was asked to taken on the whole defence on his own. Was unlucky with a lot of decisions (with the referee giving fouls against him when they weren’t) and ended up getting more and more frustrated as the game went on. Bottom line was he didn’t have the service.

Substitutes:

Jack Wilshere: 7/10

Gave Arsenal that extra bit of urgency when he came on but didn’t have much to work with. Couldn’t get through a United team that parked the bus.

Nicklas Bendtner: 5/10

We needed to throw on another forward to give United something else to think about but Bendtner is not the man to call upon. The sooner players like Theo and Podolski come back the better as our forward options are limited.

Serge Gnabry: 7/10

Arsene Wenger should have brought him on sooner and he made an instant impact, getting down the line and showing for the ball. Wanted the ball and showed in the 10 minutes he played that he could provide a real threat.

Arsenal Could Have Beat Manchester United But Were Too Scared

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Going into this game, Arsenal were high on confidence after beating Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund, but today, despite Manchester United not firing on all cylinders not having Alex Ferguson in the dugout, comfortably beat us today because we were far too scared.

The amount of respect we showed Manchester United was pathetic and if we played anywhere near our capabilities we would have won. Sagna crossed two unbelievably good balls but we were far too soft to take advantage. The first Gibbs and Giroud couldn’t connect and for the second, Bendtner, who is a useless lump, couldn’t tap in from 2 yards.

The disappointing thing was not just the limp performance, but the massive confidence boost this has given Manchester United. They have beaten the league leaders and this result could turn their season around. Whichever way to spin in, United will be loving this result.

We weren’t at our best but can feel unlucky to lose. Szczesny had nothing to do and apart from the header, United didn’t look too much of a threat. We played better in the second half but they parked the bus, which you expect from a team that weren’t what they used to be.

That first goal was vital and our response was poor. Özil was put through by a great ball by Ramsey but instead of heading in a certain goal, he simply decided not to connect. Cazorla struggled to get into the game, Ramsey found it hard to impose himself and Giroud was so isolated. Even when United lost Vidic at half time, we struggled to make any clear cut chances.

We had a lot of half chances but why on earth didn’t we shoot? There were so many times where the Arsenal players should have just put their foot through the ball but didn’t, trying to play that one pass too many. Özil had a great chance which he blazed into the side netting and Sagna’s killer crosses weren’t taken advantage of.

It’s disappointing to see David De Gea have a relatively easy game.

We gave Manchester United far too much respect and should have learnt lessons from Stoke and West Brom who attacked Manchester United and scored a couple of goals in those games. Manchester United would have been scared of ending up 11 points behind Arsenal but it was the visiting team that looked scared. Against Napoli, Liverpool and Dortmund we were resilient, determined and focused. Today we were off the pace and United took advantage.

Manchester United were how you would expect – they were aggressive, quick and played to their capabilities. There were a lot of long balls as they can’t play through midfield and once they scored, I feared the worst. Once they scored they had something to hold onto and defended in numbers.

We found it hard to break them down and it is a massive opportunity lost. Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham all lost points and now, Manchester United are only 5 points behind us.

The bottom line was Manchester United were more desperate for the points and the game mattered more to them. Now they are right back in the mix and even though we’re still top of the league at the end of the weekend, it’s a shame that we couldn’t at least get a draw.

Is The BT Sport Champions League Deal Good For Football?

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It has been announced that from the 2015-2016 season, BT Sport will have exclusive rights for all Champions League football matches in the UK. After beating off competition from Sky Sports and ITV, the newest sports channel to hit our shores has mixed it up and secure the rights to show Europe’s premier competition.

Details about how much the channel will cost in those seasons has yet to be announced, but currently the BT Sport subscription is £12 a month plus you need to pay a £15 joining fee. The channel is free however if you have BT Broadband in your home.

Select matches during the group stages and knockout rounds will be shown live if you don’t have the channel, and the final will be free as well. So the question is will people pay an extra £12 a month to see their team play in the Champions League. Obviously, this could effect Arsenal fans as we are usually in that competition.

My initial thoughts were that fans of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal would probably not pay the extra £12 a month. This was because people are struggling these days and if they are big football fans, the likelihood is that they will already have a Sky package. That is expensive in itself so adding on an extra £12 (which we would have to do now) just adds to the bills.

If you already have the channel then fair enough, it won’t make a difference to you but I have the full Sky package and along with the free terrestrial channels, all my Arsenal football needs are met. Do I really want to pay an extra £12 a month? It doesn’t sound like a lot but as every homeowner knows, the amount you pay on bills can rack up quickly.

So what are the alternatives? People will either not bother with BT Sport and there will be a rise in the number looking for online streaming websites where they show these games or the other option is to sign up to BT Broadband. As I’m not fussed about my broadband provider, the chances are I’ll just do that. And I suppose that is what BT want – more and more people signing up to their broadband packages.

And I’ve never watched an online stream of a game before, because when I’ve seen friends do it, it’s more pixelated than a Nintendo Gameboy.