Time For Table-Topping Arsenal To Crank Up The Pressure

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Before tomorrow’s football starts, the top of the Premier League table looks like this:

Screen Shot 2013-10-25 at 11.47.09

[Courtesy of Google]

Arsenal are still 2 points clear of second and third placed Chelsea and Liverpool, while Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are 3 points behind. Reigning Champions Manchester United are in 8th place, having amassed 11 points.

If you asked any Arsenal fan this summer, especially before transfer deadline day and securing the signature of Mesut Özil, where we’d be on October 25th, you would find it hard to find an Arsenal fan who would have said we’d be top of the league.

But that’s where we find ourselves after an excellent run of form since the opening day defeat to Aston Villa.

Tomorrow, Arsenal have the early 12.45pm kick off against Crystal Palace and before the 3pm games even start, we could be 5 points clear. And with Chelsea hosting Manchester City on Sunday then at least one of those sides will drop points. Liverpool face West Brom at home, which won’t be an easy game and Tottenham play Hull where they will be strong favourites to pick up all three points.

Manchester United have a Mark Hughes side at Old Trafford, so don’t count on Stoke getting anything from that game.

So it is vital that this weekend, especially with Liverpool next Saturday, that we win and get the three points tomorrow.

But with the fixtures coming thick and fast, will Arsene Wenger rotate too much? There’s been talk of Thomas Vermaelen starting tomorrow, as well as Nicklas Bendtner spearheading the attack and Jenkinson playing at right back.

While on paper Crystal Palace are in all kinds of trouble, they will have absolutely nothing to lose and we found it hard at places like QPR last season. A lot has been made of the strength in midfield but my fear is with too much rotation, it could come to slap us in the face.

Tomorrow’s game is massive in defining our season and setting the tone. We have Liverpool and Manchester United coming up in the league and it is vital we collect as many important points before those games.

And don’t forget, BT Sport are having a free weekend of viewing which means if you don’t have a BT Sport subscription then you can watch the Crystal Palace v Arsenal game on Sky Digital and Freeview tomorrow. For more details, click here.

The Reason Why Arsenal Lost To Borussia Dortmund

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Arsenal have been excellent this season and before last nights game, our only defeat was against Aston Villa on the opening day of the season. Unfortunately for us, Dortmund got the rub of the green and did just enough to beat Arsenal by two goals to one.

Before the game and with the run we’ve been on, for me a defeat against Dortmund wouldn’t have been the end of the world. And even the day after, it still isn’t. We’ve been really excellent this season and two defeats in 14 games is nothing to be ashamed of. We’re still top of the Premier League, top of our Champions League group and in a better position this season so far than any Arsenal fan could have imagined this summer.

Arsenal have been playing some really exhilarating football this season, and the goal by Jack Wilshere against Norwich at the weekend summed up our season – great football, huge confidence and a mental toughness in the squad we haven’t seen in a lot time. But last night, we looked a little jaded.

We beat Napoli with high intensity football a few weeks ago but we couldn’t reach those height last night. We looked a little tired at times and it’s worth remembering this is the team (minus Gotze) that reached the Champions League final last season. If anything, we showed a little naivety in the closing stages and got hit with a sucker punch when we probably should have seen out a draw.

But by the same token if Arsenal didn’t go for the win then would it have been the same Arsenal? We’ve scored late winners before and one thing we all love about Arsenal is they never give up and always fight until the last second.

The problem I thought we had was the absence of Mathieu Flamini. Without him we lose some bite in midfield, and he has been one of our most important players this season. We’ve been playing some sintilating football this season, scored a lot of special goals but every team needs that enforcer in midfield to organise the team and we missed his endeavour and defensive prowess. His energy also sets the tempo for Arsenal to launch their attacks.

Mikel Arteta is a very good player but I’m not sure he is best in the defensive midfield position. Flamini has more pace and releases the ball quicker to the creative midfielders such as Ramsey, Wilshere and Rosicky.

We have a lot of options in the attacking midfield areas – Ramsey, Rosicky, Wilshere, Cazorla and Oxlade-Chamberlain, but in defensive midfield we really only have Flamini – Arteta is better in a more advanced position. I’m not sure how long Flamini is out for, but he is a player we desperately need back.

Abolish International Football? Here’s My Ingenious Solution!

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Every time International football comes around I die a little inside. Anyone following my Twitter feed will know that I hate International football with passion, and there’s a few reasons why:

  • It breaks up the Premier League campaign, when all I care about is watching and following Arsenal.
  • Because our squad is full of International players, it is inevitable that we will pick up injuries.
  • And even if they don’t come back injured, then they’re shattered from flying half way across the world.
  • England will never win anything again.
  • English footballers are some of the most overrated and over pampered footballers going. The British media make out they’re world beaters and then they get found out against other International sides.
  • England play some of the most boring football known to man. I don’t even watch them any more because it is less interesting than watching paint dry.
  • International football just funds the corrupt organisation that is FIFA and Sepp Blatter.

And the Jack Wilshere situation shows how ridiculous International breaks are. Who cares about who players for which country? I could name a million players that technically shouldn’t be playing for their “country” but do so.

Football is a global sport and International football isn’t as important as everyone makes out. We have ex-Arsenal man Eduardo, who is Brazilian, Deco was the same but played for Portugal, and most of the World Cup 98′ winning France squad weren’t really French – but what is French? You had Zidane (Algeria), Vieira (Senegal), Desailly (Ghana), Pires (Portugal), Djorkaeff (Armenia) and Henry and Thuram could be classed being from Guadalupe.

Personally, none of that bothers me and if you qualify to play for a certain International team then good on you I say. Plenty of Welsh, Irish and Scottish players were basically English. How Tony Cascarino ever played for the Republic of Ireland I’ll never know.

But I’m not completely oblivious to the demand of International football. People do like it (for some reason) and I admit, I do get caught up in the hype surrounding the World Cup and European Championships. What I would like to see, is a complete overhaul of International football.

In the summer, the years we don’t have a World Cup or European Championships, we should just have all of the qualification group games played within a 2 month period. There would be no distraction to domestic league campaigns, and no backlash from the Football Associations of different countries.

And more importantly, it would capture the imagination of the fans again. Obviously it wouldn’t be like a proper World Cup or European Championships, but having a qualification tournament in the summer would allow the fans to get completely behind their team without this ridiculous situation where domestic and International games are mixed together.

And furthermore, there wouldn’t be arguments from International managers and club managers about injured players, blah blah blah.

Really, FIFA should sign me up now, I’m a genius.

Was West Brom 1 Point Gained or 2 Points Dropped?

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As the boring International break begins (does anyone actually care about International football anymore?) and the Premier League is one hold for a couple of weeks, Arsenal sit at the top of the table, pipping Liverpool to top spot after the away draw at West Brom.

But was that a point gained or two points dropped?

On the face of it, it was a decent result. West Brom were full of confidence after beating Manchester United at Old Trafford and gave us a very tough game. They could have even been two goals up as well in the second half, if Nicolas Anelka managed to take one of the two excellent chances he had.

But as it turned out, we dug in, and Jack Wilshere scored a valuable goal to equalise and give us a point at The Hawthorns.

Now though, a few Arsenal fans are questioning Arsene Wenger and his team selection that day.

The main points people have been “unhappy” with were:

  • That Arsene started with Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini meaning we had two holding midfielders.
  • Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere had to therefore play unfamiliar roles (in wide positions) which for about an hour, meant they had no real influence in the match.
  • Because of our midfield selection, Olivier Giroud was far too isolated and couldn’t bring other players into the game.

Personally, I thought West Brom where always going to give us a hard game and it would be unreasonable (but not impossible) for Arsenal to keep up their winning streak going into 10 games. Steve Clarke is a decent manager and knows full well that we have won 10 games on the bounce so changed his tactics accordingly.

Is it reasonable to think that Arsene Wenger should be clever enough to get through this and find another way to win?

I just think that if this was the Arsenal of old, we would have lost that game 2-0. Of course we struggled at times with West Brom but we never gave up and for me, it was a valuable point.

But what do you think?

So Would You Have Harry Redknapp or Roy Hodgson As England Manager?

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As parts of Harry Redknapp’s autobiography start to come out in the Daily Mail, today’s serialisation touches on his opinions on the England managers role, and how the FA are “clueless”.

He said:

“I wouldn’t trust the FA to show me a good manager if their lives depended on
it.

“This isn’t about them giving the England job to me or Roy Hodgson, but English football being run by people who really haven’t got a clue – and they get to pick the England manager.

“Everyone said I was the people’s choice, the only choice. All the senior players seemed to be up for me to get the job.

“I got quite a few text messages at the time from players saying they would love me to manage England: Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry.

“But the FA went for Roy Hodgson to be the England manager – a man who is more their cup of tea.”

But do you agree with that?

Personally, I think Harry Redknapp would have been the better choice for England manager. I know Woy Hodgson has more International experience (coaching Switzerland, Finland and the UAE) and has vast European coaching experience, but for England I just think ‘Arry would have been the perfect choice.

Forget the fact he used to manage the idiots down the road, he would have been the most popular choice.

The fact of the matter is, yes technically, Roy Hodgson is the better manager. He’s managed International teams, European sides and won trophies across Europe. But that’s not what England need.

They need the a manager with a personality, a manager who can relate to the players. The truth is the vast majority of the England team are overpampered, overpaid nancy boys who need a buddy. Harry Redknapp is that man. He will lift moral, and get the best out of the limited brain capacity most of the England players have.

Roy Hodgson is too technical and like when at Liverpool, the players will probably not understand his methods. England need a man who can get the players motivated and perform at their best.

So who do you think is the best man for the job? Redknapp or Hodgson?