Arsene Wenger: “Maybe We Have A Good Surprise For You”

Posted on by
30
 

In the post match interview with Sky Sports, Arsene Wenger was asked what will we see in the last 24 hours of the transfer window. His response was:

“You will see what we will announce if we sign someone, we promise that we will very quick to announce it.

“Maybe we have a good surprise for you.”

And he that statement with a smirk.

Now I know we’ve only brought in Mathieu Flamini and Yaya Sanogo on a free during the transfer window and I am being extremely naive (hey, I have to be being an Arsenal fan) but if you read in-between the lines, maybe they already have a deal sorted out for a couple of players and are ready to announce it tomorrow.

Of course, maybe he’s teasing us all (like he has been all summer) but for the next 24 hours, I will be clinging onto that tiny bit of hope that we will make a signing.

So what do you think will happen tomorrow?

Leave your opinions in the comments section below.

“Threadbare Arsenal” Comfortably Beat Big Spending Tottenham

Posted on by
30
 

Arsenal (1) – (0) Tottenham Hotspur
Giroud 23′
The Emirates Stadium, London
Barclays Premier League

Although there weren’t a lot of goals, it was certainly a tense game.

The previous two seasons have seen a 5-2 scoreline but this game was just as engrossing. Tottenham Hotspur, who have spent around £110 million and were full of new, exciting signings were up against Arsenal, who had only signed Sanogo and Flamini on free transfers.

But as we’ve seen in recent games, Arsenal are still a force to be reckoned with. As the scoreline suggests, this was a much closer contest than in recent seasons, and for the first 15 minutes Tottenham were the better side. They controlled the ball well, popped it around nicely and had most of the attacking possession – although in fairness it didn’t trouble us greatly.

Over the 90 minutes, we had the better of the chances and if it wasn’t for Lloris who was in fantastic form, we would have should have scored more goals. Szczesny wasn’t called upon that many times but needed to make two extremely important saves and he did so.

Defensively we were sound and it was only in the final 10 minutes when it got a bit tense. They had a lot of the ball (57% of possession in the end) but didn’t do a huge amount with it. For all their new signings and money spent, Tottenham have yet to score from open play in 3 Premier League games. In the words of AVB, maybe Tottenham are in a “negative spiral” in terms of goals.

The goal when it came was in a vital time in the match. Tottenham were bossing possession but we carved out a great chance on 23 minutes. Rosicky, the king of the pre-assist, fed in Theo who picked out Giroud at the near post. The big striker did extremely well to get ahead of the defender and coolly slotted in at the near post – it was a well taken goal and in the end proved decisive.

The game was a end to end for the most part and Arsenal were unlucky not to add to Giroud’s goal. Theo could have done better when played in by Cazorla but was denied by an onrushing Lloris, and Theo had a chance well-saved with 15 minutes to go.

The other main talking point was the introduction of Mathieu Flamini on 42 minutes when Jack Wilshere came off with stomach cramps. He did well in fairness, organising the team and defending well – and was extremely unlucky when he got booked for winning the ball.

The positive thing was how we played as a team. We attacked well, although lacked a bit of cutting edge, and defended as a team as well. Giroud made a fantastic block on the line from Soldado to deny Tottenham an equaliser. Giroud was deservedly Man of the Match, holding the ball up well and bringing others into play.

The back five were excellent, with Per Mertesacker outstanding at the back. Koscielny was always first to the ball and made some important interceptions, Gibbs and Jenkinson were solid and the midfield again, moved the ball around well and made some goalscoring opportunities.

Cazorla wasn’t as influential as he can be but did well, Rosicky was energetic and made things happen. Ramsey wasn’t as influential as he has been in recent games but never gave up. Theo again showed how much of an impact player he is as he popped up in decent positions to hurt Tottenham and delivered a brilliant cross for Giroud’s goal.

In the end, Arsenal deservedly won in the North London Derby playing the Arsenal way. Tottenham, for all the money spent and new signings weren’t convincing. However, it would be naive to think that they won’t be right up there by the end of the season and once their new players do have time to settle in they will be a force in the league.

Our first eleven is very good but with 24 hours of the transfer window to go, it would be suicidal if Arsene Wenger didn’t strengthen and add numbers to the squad. Giroud is bang in form at the money but an injury to him would be catastrophic. Wilshere has shown he will struggle to play an entire season and while Rosicky is playing well, he is prone to picking up a knock. Defensively we are still “a little bit short” and we need at least one defender as cover.

Overall, a good performance and excellent result, but it still covers over the cracks somewhat. But let’s enjoy the result this week and we can evaluate the state of the squad at 11pm tomorrow evening.

Mathieu Flamini – Part Of The Strongest Midfield We’ve Had Since 2004

Posted on by
16
 

Yesterday we confirmed the signing of free agent Mathieu Flamini. He played for Arsenal between 2004 and 2008 before leaving, again on a free, to AC Milan.

Ever since our last trophy in 2005, our best every season was arguably the 2007-2008 campaign when we finished only 4 points off champions Manchester United. We finished 3rd that season but were top of the table for a lot of the season, until the infamous tackle from Martin Taylor who managed to smash Eduardo’s leg. After that, and the Gallas hissy fit, we lost our form and drew too many games in the title run in.

And that season we probably had the strongest midfield we’ve had in the “trophy less” seasons of late which consisted of Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky, Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini. They midfield was young, dynamic, strong and most importantly hungry. They were playing in the style of Arsene Wenger and teams found it seriously difficult to contain them. Flamini was the steel, Cesc the playmaker and Rosicky and Hleb had pace and an impressive range of passing. Adebayor scored 30 goals that season, with Eduardo and Fabregas chipping in with double figures.

People will remember how close Rosicky, Cesc, Flamini and Hleb were off the field, and that togetherness was displayed on the pitch.

After that impressive season however, Hleb moved to Barcelona for £12 million and Flamini moved to AC Milan on a free. This was one of the earlier examples of how Arsenal were incapable of securing players long term and he was allowed to let his contract expire. Would things have been different if Flamini stayed? It’s hard to say but keeping the midfield together would have been a good base going into the following campaign.

And onto today, and Mathieu Flamini is now 29 years old. He played 122 times for AC Milan and the Italian side chose not to renew his deal, and in his final season last year he was on a one year deal on significantly reduced wages. His career in Italy was blighted by injuries and he didn’t make as many appearances he would have liked.

So will Mathieu Flamini bring back the glory days? Probably not, but he will be a useful utility player if we suffer injuries to the team. He can cover in midfield but also full back if required.

Not the exciting signing we’re all after, but better than nothing.

How Do You Think Arsenal Will Do In The Champions League This Season?

Posted on by
52
 

So we’re in Group F with Marseille, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli.

The first thing people will talk about his yet another visit from “the man that nearly was” Gonzalo Higuain. It seems he just can’t keep away from The Emirates.

Apart from that, in the end it is a tough group.

But I’m staying positive. Arsenal have been in the Champions League for 16 seasons in a row now and most of our players are hugely experienced in Europe – and if anything we play our best football in the Champions League. Players and fans get excited and it seems to bring out the stronger performances from us.

Borussia Dortmund are probably the strongest team, with them reaching the Champions League final last season. And they still have Robert Lewandowski who is a massive player for them.

We all know Napoli lost Edinson Cavani this summer but replaced him with Gonzalo Higuain. I don’t know a huge amount about them to be honest but they did finish second in Serie A last season and only reached the first knockout stage of the Europa League.

Marseille also finished second in their domestic league and did poorly in the Europa League, failing to get out of the group stages.

So we’re in a group where the teams finished second in their domestic leagues, and we finished fourth, qualifying through a play off against Fenerbahce.

So how do you think we’ll do? Are we far too weak to get out of the group? Or will Arsene work his magic once again and we’ll managed to qualify for the knockout stages?

Personally, I love playing against the best teams and they are the games which prove to be more exciting. We strive to be the best and playing the top teams around Europe is a massive challenge.

These are the games we live for and if anything these huge European nights will give us some highlights in our season. Of course, they could be disastrous nights also but in Europe I believe we can beat anyone on our night.

Has Anyone Else Has Had Enough Of All This Sh*t?

Posted on by
22
 

If you’re an Arsenal fan, you know exactly what this is all about.

There are 3 days left in the transfer window and this summer has been hugely depressing. The frustration and disappointment has turned into pure anger. Maybe I’m on my period, who knows, but I am so sick and tired of all this shit, I really am.

It has been 8 years without a trophy now. And I’ve said many times we don’t want the club to put our future in danger by recklessly spending money we don’t have. I don’t think any Arsenal supporter out there wants that. What we do want however, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask, is for a squad that can truly compete. And that means Arsene Wenger assembling a squad that can challenge for trophies.

On the 29th July, which was exactly a month ago today, I wrote about how Arsenal have conned the supporters. I received a lot of abuse about how I was wrong about Arsenal not making any purchases and how it was all a PR stunt and we wouldn’t be strengthening the team.

And now we are 3 days away from the transfer window closing. It’s amazing that after 8 seasons of the same old shit, some Arsenal fans can’t see the wood from the trees.

Look, I am a realist (you have to be when you support Arsenal) and I obviously understand the financial fire power of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City. But spending £100 million in the transfer window is not what I’m asking. All I want is a squad with enough numbers to compete, and with enough quality.

Our first eleven is okay. Let’s now delude ourselves in thinking it is the best in the league, because it isn’t. The starting elevens of Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are all superior (and that has been proven with our abysmal record against the Top 6 in the last 2/3 seasons). All I want is Arsene to bring in some players to help the squad when we do have injuries – which we are experiencing already.

We don’t even need to spend £15 million plus on a player. What is wrong with our scouting system? Swansea bought Michu for £2 million. Benteke joined Aston Villa for £7 million. Clint Dempsey has moved to Fulham and Tottenham for £3 million and £6 million respectively. You may be thinking I’ve lost the plot and pointed out average players – but that’s exactly me point. We are so threadbare we need to make up the numbers with not world class players, but players who are very good and would do a job for us.

The problem is threefold. Arsene Wenger has far too much power. This means he’s a jack of all trades and a master of none, which is clearly evident when it comes to our lack of guile in the transfer market. It is unreasonable to expect one man to do everything and Arsene has enough on his plate than to identify players who will improve the squad.

Then we have our “negotiating team”. I put that in quotations because I’m not sure we have one. Dick Law, the mysterious man who can’t complete a deal is apparently well off the pace. ANR heard a rumour that when negotiating with Phil Gartside of Bolton, they valued Gary Cahill at £12 million and Dick Law offered £4 million. And you’ll remember that’s when Phil Gartside went mental in the press, slagging off Arsenal to anyone who would listen. Cahill then moved to Chelsea. Now you can say that that’s complete bullshit but it makes a lot of sense even if it’s not true. We don’t have the personnel to make deals happen, or we consistently under-value players and therefore won’t offer enough to buy them.

And finally, we have the board. “Silent” Stan Kroenke really is something. Although he hasn’t said anything (he could be a mute) this piece from Arseblog is a great insight into what his plans and intentions are. He’s there for the long term as it is a long term investment to him which will make him money. He won’t pump money into the club and as long as Arsenal is a profitable business, Arsene Wenger will have a free ride and complete control over the club. And then there are the board members, who can only be described as dinosaurs when it comes to footballing affairs.

This all means Arsene Wenger can do what he likes. So we’re in a vicious circle where nothing will ever change. Even the threat of losing out on 4th place in the league and possible Champions League qualification means little now as we are making enough money from the supporters and sponsorship deals. And that means Arsene Wenger will pretty much be here forever.

So I’d make yourself comfortable because things aren’t going to change in a hurry.