Posts Tagged Arsenal

115 results.
May21

Is this the end for Vermaelen? Is the role of Club Captain misunderstood? New Poll

by WiganGooner on May 21, 2013 at 8:00 am
Posted In: Arsenal

It has been said many times that Arsène finds the position of Captain in a football side a rather archaic, unnecessary role in the modern game. Arsène believes that every player should be a leader, driving the team on and that no-one should look to one man for inspiration. His point is clear to understand, when your game is based on collective creativity, speed of thought and execution and a smattering of individual flair it is foolish to rely on one man to inspire 10 other men.

Yet the effect at Arsenal has been clear to see, dropping Club Captain Thomas Vermaelen and passing the armband to the experienced Mikel Arteta and there seems to have been a change in dynamic. Arteta is a talker, he plays the simple stuff first and he is someone that the likes of Ramsey and Wilshire look up to. He is a role model, exactly what you want as your Captain and he has a great understanding of the game, on and off the pitch.

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Our resurgence towards the end of the season is not wholly down to Arteta, there have been some exceptional performances from several players – Rambo, Koscielny, the BFG, Rosicky, Gibbs and of course the mercurial Santi Cazorla but it is a testament to the weight that he puts on Arteta that he started him on Sunday even when he wasn’t fit. Arteta is the football equivalent of the little book of calm and we have missed that cool assurance in the centre of the park. Few could argue that his position as Vice Captain isn’t merited, in fact, I would be confident that the majority would accept him taking over as Captain until Jack is ready and the BFG becoming Vice Captain.

So where does this leave Vermaelen, Club Captain and Central Defender. I think if we took a poll (and I just might put one up today) on who should become Captain for next season and of course what should we do with Vermaelen. We have seen him degenerate as a player and I wonder whether he will get that confidence back at Arsenal. The important thing to remember is that he is a top-class defender and we need more than the BFG and Koscielny to compete. We need strength in depth so to get shot of Vermaelen would mean that we would need to replace him, but will he be happy with a squad role and the chance to win his place back in pre-season?

I know Vermaelen is a good player, I think the Captaincy distracts him on the pitch and I think taking it off of him would release him to do what he does best, which is anticipatory, strong defending. I don’t think he is a suitable partner for Koscielny, but I can certainly see him playing off of the BFG if he starts communicating better (again the removal of the Captaincy should help). Could a change of position benefit Vermaelen? If we moved him into the defensive midfield role currently occupied by Arteta could he do the same job and shield the defence whilst providing the springboard for us to base our attacks on? What do you think?

I think it is always a terrible idea to let good players go if you can do something about it. We are getting rid of enough dead wood this summer, as delighted as we are that they are going it is an awful amount of upheaval in the playing staff – even though they are not first teamer’s they are on the training ground every day. The likes of Squillaci, Arshavin, Chamakh will have friends in the Arsenal squad and we need to bolster the existing playing staff with excellent players and we could do a lot worse than ensuring Vermaelen is still there after the summer transfer window. He is a good player and still has plenty to offer if he is committed to Arsenal. If the picture above is anything to go by then he looks pretty committed to me.

 

WG

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May20

When 4th becomes a trophy – just for a day

by WiganGooner on May 20, 2013 at 8:55 am
Posted In: Arsenal

It seems a ridiculous concept that 4th position in the league could cause such happiness for the Gooner faithful. However it wasn’t just 4th that we were able to celebrate yesterday, it was also St. Totteringhams Day. Arguably the best day of the year.

It wasn’t a remarkable performance yesterday from Arsenal. There were no spectacular 30yrd goals nor any incidents which left pundits and fans alike bawling in frustration. What we saw was a professional, albeit nervy performance from Arsenal. We played a tight game, not over-committing going forwards and did what was required to seal the three points and 4th.

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Arsene said that there has been a great spirit in this squad and I cannot fault that analysis. When we lost to Spurs it asked an awful lot of questions about the quality of these players and they were not found wanting. It hasn’t always been extravagant, classy football but it is a results-based business and we got the results we needed. 11 games, 9 wins, 2 draws – not bad for a team in a negative spiral. Thank you AVB for that ill-judged comment which will have galvanised that shell-shocked Arsenal side.

Several Arsenal players have commented that it took a meeting between the Arsenal players to sort out our lack of cohesion and defensive frailties and it was a successful enterprise. It shouldn’t be rocket science and perhaps it should have happened sooner, but I am delighted that the players took the responsibility to sort it out themselves. The manager can only tell them what he wants them to do, during games they have to act on their own initiative and the players had to sort it out. Far too often we have conceded goals when we shouldn’t, we have dropped point and crashed out of the domestic cup competitions well before time.

Has it been a successful season? We have achieved the minimum requirement. We have reached the qualification stages of the Champions League and most importantly we have once again reminded Spurs that Arsenal are and will always be the Kings of North London. North London is Red.

I have to say, I like this new, mature, composed and determined Arsenal. The players have built a real platform to kick off from next season. We have to take the belief and confidence into next season and strengthen the squad further. Transfer rumours are flying around already and I really like the idea of Yaya Sanogo, so I hope some business can be concluded there. There have been mentions of him being injury prone, but a broken leg and a torn abductor  in two years isn’t a sign of a injury prone player, just one that had a couple of untimely injuries, so lets hope we can sign the talented forward. 9 goals and one assist in 11 games this season speaks for itself, he can finish. If Amaury Bischoff was “a bit of a gamble”, I would suggest that Sanogo could be considered “a dead cert” and I would be delighted if we could convert the rumour into reality. Arsene has said we are in the advanced stages but nothing is completed yet, but perhaps this could be some early business concluded. Contracts generally roll over on the 1st June, so unless Sanogo has signed a pre-contract agreement, then don’t expect any announcement until then.

Most would argue that we need more than a striker, so I hope Arsene is already contacting clubs to start negotiations. We need to be sharp and our recruitment activities need to mirror last season which saw us complete early purchases for Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla. Importantly Arsene has said that the instability of previous seasons where players “were half in and half out” certainly affected the pre-season preparations, but there will be no such distraction this year, with the only notable speculation regarding Vermaelen, side-lined for much of the second half of this season due to the excellent form of Koscielny and the BFG and of course Bakary Sagna who only has a year left on his contract.

I would prefer if we could keep both, but if there is money to be made then I cannot see any reason why we couldn’t sell Sagna or Vermaelen provided sufficient replacements are promoted or purchased. Corporal Jenkinson is looking better and better, but he will need challenging in the same way that Gibbs has been forced to perform by the purchase of the excellent Monreal.

So much still to talk about following this season, but for now – it’s just great to be a Gooner.

WG

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May16

Where will Arsene Wenger go now?

by WiganGooner on May 16, 2013 at 9:15 am
Posted In: Arsenal

Revered in France, highly respected across Europe and of course the globe for the brand of football that he created at Arsenal. In years past the French leagues used to be his hunting grounds, unearthing gems from obscurity, shaping and buffing them into sparking diamonds.

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Where can he go now, the quality of the French talent has dropped firstly in relation to the Spanish and now Germany. We all know these things tend to go in cycles, but now is not the time for France. In Germany, Pep Guardiola is swiftly vacuuming up the top talent in the Bundesliga, so what is left for Arsene? Will he look at top talent like Cavani or Falcao? I honestly don’t believe he would because you cannot add shine to a star and Arsene makes stars, he doesn’t buy them.

Will he take a considered punt on Loic Remy, the talented forward at the relegated QPR? He has a rumoured escape clause of around 8m and it would be an easy transition for the Frenchman who is oft likened to Henry. Personally, I think he is more of an Anelka type, who relies on mobility and positioning rather than his ability to beat a man with pace.

It is clear to see for me that we need to score more goals, we need someone like Remy, but would the fans be satisfied with him? Are we fans so frustrated that we need to see a bigger sign of intent? Do we need to sign a Cavani? Or do we just need to make the right purchases in the positions where its required. In my opinion we need a new Defensive Midfielder and another top Striker. In terms of Defenders, we need to look and see what happens with the Sagna situation, if he stays then I would be happy for him to mentor Jenkinson and bring him along and share the right-back duties with him.

If Vermaelen goes then we need to take a serious look at Iggy Miquel, who at some point we need to show him the path to the first team or we will lose him and I think he is too good to let go. I think he could step up and slot in, he’s mobile, good in the air and he is fearless. He has an awful lot of promise.

Lots of things to consider, but first lets smash Newcastle at the weekend to make sure of European Qualification and then we can get introspective about Arsenal and start rebuilding for 2013-14.

WG

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May15

One giant leap for Arsenal, one trapdoor for brave Wigan

by WiganGooner on May 15, 2013 at 9:14 am
Posted In: Arsenal

The twitter fallout after the game was telling, naturally the Arsenal faithful were delighted with the win, but there was a definite sense of sadness at knowing it came at the expense of Wigan Athletic. Martinez’s side were brave, tenacious and lucky at times, but overall you feel  that it was their ability to self-destruct at the back that defined their season, similar to our own plight at one stage.

With Kone and Maloney firing the goals, I thought Wigan had a strong chance this season of avoiding a relegation dogfight altogether, but as mentioned above, defensively Wigan have not been solid enough and conceded some awful goals. It is easy for me to empathise, I know an awful lot of Latics fans, it’s a shame their football didn’t get what it deserved.

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For Arsenal however it was just one giant leap towards top four safety and another season of Champions League football. We have a game against a Newcastle side that has floundered since January, but because of Pardew’s daft comments regarding this game, I expect them to be fired up. For those that haven’t seen it, Pardew (the bounder!) laughingly suggested that now Newcastle were safe from relegation he didn’t care if he lost 4:0 to Arsenal. I hope we do beat them 4:0, it would be funny to watch Pardew squirm as he is asked if the result is legitimate.

We go into the game in good form after the second half last night. We took advantage of the tired legs of Wigan and really put them to the sword by breaking with pace, using the guile of Cazorla and Rosicky to penetrate Wigan time and time again. It was great to see Poldi grab a couple of goals, it will be interesting to see if Giroud is now benched for Sunday’s game or whether he is restored to the starting line-up, I suspect he will be restored but credit where it’s due, Poldi has done OK for us up there as his two goals showed last night.

Theo was very bright last night too, attacking well and scoring a great goal and then doing the donkey work too. He kept Wigan’s defence stretched and burnt Scharner for pace on more than one occasion, the 34yr old didn’t know what hit him. I was delighted to see Rambo score too, the lad needs goals because the rest of his game has really got back to where it should be, but he is missing his goals that he used to get regularly, I can see them returning as he keeps getting in the right positions, it’s just the composure and now the monkey is off his back, perhaps he will grab one or two in the last game – here’s hoping!

We have enough quality to put the Barcodes to bed, I thought Wigan would be more of a banana-skin and so they proved with Maloney’s free-kick just before half-time ensuring Wigan went in at the interval level at 1:1 but Newcastle will offer a different threat. Newcastle without Ba seem a bit toothless at times. Papiss Cisse up front seems to be struggling for goals and defensively Newcastle appear to be at the races but they always seem to motivate themselves against us so expect no favours. I just want the three points and at this point I really couldn’t care less how we get them.

Injury news so far is that Arteta is feeling his calf after last night with Arsene citing him as a major doubt. This is a massive problem as the work that he does is often lost in the razzmatazz of the attacking by Cazorla and Rosicky. I hope he can pass fit, otherwise I expect Ramsey to take that role and Wilshire to come in for Ramsey’s current position. This might leave us open defensively as Arteta and Rambo both put in an awful lot of miles just chasing and tracking back, so it will be interesting if Wilshire does the same, I suspect not but hopefully we will score enough so it doesn’t matter.

Fingers crossed for more team news on Friday.

Come on you Gooners! It’s firmly in our grasp!

WG

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May14

Wigan believes, but so do I – Arsenal v Wigan preview

by WiganGooner on May 14, 2013 at 7:47 am
Posted In: Arsenal

I have been an Arsenal fan from the minute I could distinguish colours on the television screen and comprehend why Dad and my Grandad were screaming at the television on when the football was on.

I enjoy football, so I enjoy watching sides that play good football as well as my own beloved Arsenal and I have to say I have more than a passing affection for what Martinez has done for Wigan during his tenure here. Think back to the days of Steve Bruce, who signed the enigmatic Amr Zaki, Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia and most wonderfully of all Emile Heskey. Look how far Martinez has taken this Wigan side whose first instinct was kick and run to the devastating, continental pass and move football that Wigan now employ.

It was just before christmas when the Father-in-Law said that he didn’t think Wigan would stay up this year. I countered that Wigan always start playing football from February onwards and that I thought they could escape again, citing that there are worse teams in this division than Wigan.

Yet here we are, Wigan need 6 points from 6 to stay up and Arsenal need 6 from 6 to get in the top four.

What a fixture!

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Off the back of a 10 day rest our team looks pretty healthy with the beleaguered Abou Diaby being the only long-term injury, other than that we have a clean bill of health which is frankly both surprising knowing us and yet a bit refreshing to not blame injuries for form.

News has broken that Jack needs minor surgery to remove a pin in his ankle, but this was actually news about four weeks ago when the Ox said that Jack was still feeling a bit of pain from the pin itself and that it needed removing. Arsene has said that they will continue to manage the injury and play Jack only when completely necessary.

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Apr19

Rosicky must start in crucial match against Fulham

by WiganGooner on April 19, 2013 at 11:02 am
Posted In: Arsenal

As we take in our annual boat trip down the Thames there has to be a certain sense of trepidation considering previous form, the result against Everton and the news from Arsene that Santi, Jack and the Ox are all carrying knocks from Tuesdays battle.

You could see these knocks coming with cynical body-checks happening throughout and the Barkley incident where he rolled back and up Santi’s standing leg was enough to make me wince. Something that perhaps looks an awful lot worse in slow-motion, but also that requires looking at by the FA. There have been a few incidents of this recently and perhaps something needs to be done about it.

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That said, I liked the Barkley kid, he is a bit like Rooney, big, strong, creative and he doesn’t hide in the big games. It will be interesting to see if Everton can keep hold of him.

So we take on the Cottagers again in yet another must win game knowing that a win would put us back up into 3rd overnight and leaving Chelski to play Liverpool and Spurs to play Citeh. Psychologically a win would be a great boon, putting the pressure back on both sides and we need to pick up our momentum again. I don’t think there will be any dropped heads following the game on Tuesday where we fought well but we just didn’t manage to nick it.

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Apr16

Arsenal vs Everton – The Toffee’s are Coming!

by WiganGooner on April 16, 2013 at 7:04 pm
Posted In: Arsenal

Tonight we welcome the Toffee’s to the Emirates in a game that could really kick us on in the run in, or it could really derail us and put a halt to our great run. There is real positives on the teamsheet today as Rosicky and the BFG are both back available and I could go a long way to find an Arsenal fan who wouldn’t want both of them in the first team right now.

The BFG has been consistently good all season and whilst he doesn’t have pace, he has a calming assurance at the back and he brings a level or organisation. Vermaelen came in at the weekend for him due to the red card he picked up against West Brom and whilst he had a good game, I think Arsene know that Koscielny and the BFG are a great partnership and he would be foolish to choose against returning to that formula tonight – especially with the height options that Everton have. Incidentally, once I wrote the above Arsenal.com published the teamsheet and Arsene clearly agrees with me, or vice versa…or whatever..

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Apr08

Rosicky ignites Arsenal’s gunpowder

by WiganGooner on April 8, 2013 at 10:30 am
Posted In: Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, West Bromwich Albion

We find ourselves at the business end of the season. Teams with nothing to play for now start thinking of warm beaches, blue seas and elaborate cocktails delivered by a nubile waitress on a pittance whilst they laze for days upon end during the hellish period of the close season.

For us it’s just plain limbo, we yearn for every scrap of news about football. Be it signings, rumour, managerial changes , we just want anything to sate our desire for football. For the players it is a well earned rest, a chance to recharge those batteries and re-focus on the new season, or look forward to new adventures with a new club.
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Tomas Rosicky is the anti-thesis of this as he seems to turn up towards the end of the season. This is largely due to Arsene leaving him out of the starting eleven earlier on in the season, but Arsene knows what Tomas can give us at this stage of the season. Where Arshavin continues to wander in the football wilderness, Tomas is blazing a path of professionalism, dedication and desire. He is the taper that can set our season alight and finish with a bang. Preferably with that bang ensuring Chelski and Spurs finish below us once again.

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Apr05

Boing Boing Baggies! Arsenal head to the Hawthorns

by WiganGooner on April 5, 2013 at 10:30 am
Posted In: Arsenal

Arsenal head to the Hawthorns with a skip in the step. The results have been positive recently and more than that, the performances have given us much to enjoy in the last three matches. Us Gooner’s have had enough of kamikaze defending and gifting goals to opposition at times when we should be killing games off. It had to stop if we were to finish this season well and I hope the team continues in this miserly vein.

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Apr02

A welcome surprise

by WiganGooner on April 2, 2013 at 10:00 am
Posted In: Arsenal

It is fair to say that I wasn’t surprised at Santi running the game against Reading. He is a top class player who could get into any of the top sides in Europe. His stats match up against any player doing the same job and our little wizard tops the pile.

What did make me teeter upon the edge of disbelief was how well Gervinho performed. He showed us once again how good he can be if he just keeps his confidence high. When he is in this form he can terrorise any defender with his pace and dribbling ability. Gervinho performs a critical role in this side as he is one of the few players in our squad (Jack, Gervinho, Rosicky, Diaby and Santi) that can carry the ball past players and turn a defensive action into an attacking action in a few short strides. As we saw against Reading for Giroud’s goal, Gervinho waited in space for the ball to break and used his pace intelligently, waiting for Giroud to join him before hitting a simple, yet well paced pass across the turf allowing Giroud to hit it plumb, first time and leather it into the back of the net. On this form Gervinho looks every inch the player we hoped he could be.

A revtalised Gervinho was happy to score his second goal in successive matches
(Looking every bit the player we all want him to be)
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