Michel Vorm linked & Yossi Benayoun – Should Wenger sign him this summer?

May 9, 2012

Swansea’s Michel Vorm is rumoured to be the goalkeeper Wenger wants to challenge Szczesny in goal next season, he’s Dutch, 6′ 2″ and is renowned for his penalty saving skills! On the way out is Almunia and suggestion is West Ham will try and secure his services for next season if they gain promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

Yossi Benayoun….

What exactly has he bought to our squad this season?

Maturity, width, experience and goals!

Stay or Go??

This season he has played in 25 fixtures and scored 5 goals, not brilliant I know but after Robin van Persie, not one player has really found the back of the net, in fact Robin is the only player to reach double figures, a statistic in itself which is shocking!

Since I came to Arsenal I have always been committed to one club until the last game of the season, the only thing I want is for Arsenal to finish in third place, I don’t care about anything else.

When I finish I will have to decide about my future. I am supposed to go back to Chelsea first and then we will see what the future holds.

His loan comes to an end this coming weekend and he has one more year remaining on his current contract with Chelsea.

Back in 2010, Chelsea paid Liverpool just over £5 Million for Yossi so his value right now must be very low, bearing in mind his age and contract situation but should Wenger pay out and keep him at the Emirates?

Experience is something we lack with our current squad and money can’t always buy that. Ok, he hasn’t  ‘been there, done it and have medals to show for it but when things get tough, experienced players have what it takes to keep on going where as some may let their heads drop.

Yossi is one of those players, so should we as a club try and do a deal with Chelsea to keep him at Arsenal for one or two more seasons to come?

Or should we just say thank you, but no thanks?

Another of last summer signings has been rumoured to be leaving and what utter garbage that story was surrounding Per Mertesacker eh:

Sometimes I felt like it was very hard, especially when I first came here, It was tough to settle down and I was  very quickly into the first squad. There was sometimes a lack of performance but I think you have to go through that to improve yourself.

I am very comfortable here now, and very proud to be with this Club. In general you are playing the best players in the world, you always have to perform at a high level.

It is at a constant level and that is what makes the Premier League so good and so sharp.

From that interview with Arsenal Player, it seems our big German is very happy and proud to be playing for the best club in London, sorry, England!

I kind of get the impression that he hoped for a more gentle introduction to the English game but injuries didn’t allow him that time, now he is settled though both on and off the pitch, his second season may indeed be a better one. maybe he’ll even get his head on the end of one of our corners and get himself a goal. ;)

Back to Yossi, would you like to see him stay?

That’s it for today, have a good one all…..

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Posted by rico

Wenger to stay longer? One struggling & one ready to blow us away, who are they?

April 15, 2012

Peter Hill-Wood has been rambling again, this time about Arsene Wenger:

For him to stay longer than that would be perfect. I can’t think of ­anybody better to run the team. He has shown how much rubbish people were talking earlier this season. We had a terrible run of ­injuries and that obviously had an effect.

But a few mindless ­people were saying that he had to go, that Arsene was past his sell-by date. He has shown that is nonsense.

I want him to stay for the long-term and I see no ­reason at all why he should want to go.

Wenger has two years left on his current contract and as PHW went on to say, why would he want to go, he has a relatively young squad, surely he wants to be around to watch them gel together and become winners?

Onto the player struggling, no it’s Diaby, it’s Jack!

I will not take any risks with him, he is making slow progress so we still have to monitor the situation a little bit at the moment. We are now in mid-April, the Euros start in the middle of June.

Jack has not played for the whole season and anyone who knows what is required at the top-level, in terms of intensity, it’s getting short now.

When asked if Wilshere’s spirits were high, Wenger added:

How can you be at 20 years of age when your only dream is to play football? He’s down. Jack is mentally strong. But what is holding him back is that he can’t play football, so he can’t be happy.

That kind of suggests that our man is going through a tough time, he’s desperate to be playing football but he can’t, he’s injured and he’s struggling.

On the other hand, Wenger has very high praise for Yossi Benayoun:

He has been very patient and very professional. He came here with lack of competition and it took him a while to become really sharp.

He kept working and waited for his place. We kept faith in him and put him in for big games because he is an intelligent and talented player. He has a good team attitude.

The problem with Yossi was more physical because he is a guy who plays on his sharpness and quick movement.

He had a big injury don’t forget and it took him some time to come back. After that, when you do not play big games it takes you time to find the confidence again. Now he is there.

So it seems one man won’t be helping us in our last few games of the season and personally speaking, I am glad. I think we all pretty much agree that we’d rather see Jack have a summer of rest and be ready for when our season kicks off in August and not being risked in the Euros or the Olympics. Same can be said for Diaby too, no doubt if he played one of two games before the end of the season, the French camp would call him up for the Euros, what’s the point?

As for Yossi, well the last couple of games his experience and attitude has shone through, he may be a winger but he’s battled back and helped defend when needed and chipped in with an odd goal or two.

You can’t help but love him can you?

I hope he stays, even if it is for just one more year; he’s a useful player to have in reserve….

Finally, thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini who died in hospital yesterday after suffering a cardiac arrest during his team’s Serie B match at Pescara.

Twenty five years old, may he rest in peace……

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Posted by rico

Three points bagged with ease……

April 12, 2012

This is how we lined up:

Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Djourou, Santos, Song, Arteta, Ramsey, Benayoun, Walcott, Van Persie.

Substitutes: Fabianski, Squillaci, Jenkinson, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chamakh, Park.

Three minutes on the clock and Robin had our first chance but his shot was saved by Hennessey in the Wolves goal.

Then, with just eight minutes gone, Bassong made a challenge on Theo Walcott in the box, the referee didn’t hesitate to point to the spot, or to dish out a red card. Wolves were down to ten men and Robin stepped up to break his recent goal drought. 1-0

At this point on HH, devilgunner wrote:

‘Bassong wanted to repay the Swampies back for not playing him regularly. He needs the scum to be out of Europe so that he can play when the rats desert the sinking ship’. :)

Very soon after, Walcott doubled our lead – 2-0 and all was going pretty darn well.

Just before the half hour mark, Santos had a shot on goal but it went wide of the far post.

Mikel Arteta appeared to be the victim of a couple of hard challenges in the first half, the first was by Kevin Doyle, the second by Michael Kightly and a third, again committed by Doyle which earned him a booking. Doyle, despite having just been booked, gave away another free kick, this time for an unfair challenge on Santos. He really was pushing his luck.

Allezkev:

Doyle is gonna get himself sent-off if he isn’t careful. Typical ex-Reading player… :)

Half-time came and went…..

Ramsey had a tame shot on goal, which was easily blocked by Wolves and Robins long-range effort went flying over the bar on the fifty minute mark.

Next in the book for Wolves was Ronald Zubar for a tackle on Yossi Benayoun and shortly after Michael Kightly followed him after a foul on Santos.

Scott from Oz:

Wolves are losing it. We could be against 9 soon.

Kevin Doyle finally did something other than commit a foul, his shot though was saved by Szczesny.

Scott from Oz:

World class Szczesney…….pure brilliance. We are getting complacent.

Just before sixty-five minutes, Michael Kightly had a shot from just outside the area which went wide of the left-hand upright.

On sixty-eight minutes, Yossi settled any nerves with a shot from outside the penalty box, bottom left hand corner and 3-0.

On the seventy-five minute mark, Wenger made his first substitution, bringing on Oxlade-Chamberlain for Theo Walcott.

Ramsey had another shot on goal with about ten minutes left but again it was easily blocked and soon after, Sagna was replaced by Carl Jenkinson.

That was about it really, Wolves had three shots easily blocked by our defence/keeper and after four minutes of additional time, the referee blew for full time….

Great night, not too taxing on the legs and we are now five points clear of you know who.

Now let’s get ready for Wigan on Monday….

Have a good day, I’m not around all day so that should make it better… ;)

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Posted by rico

Twenty players out this summer? PSG want Chamakh for starters….

March 29, 2012

Arsenal are entering that period of the season, when difficult decisions are being made on the futures of many fringe players.

I don’t mean the likes of Sebastian Squillaci, Nicklas Bendtner, Manuel Almunia, Denilson, Carlos Vela and Lukasz Fabianski as it seems fairly certain that most, if not all of the above, will be leaving Arsenal this summer.

There are quite a few others though who Arsene Wenger could be seriously asking himself, if they have a future at Arsenal?

The likes of Craig Eastmond, Sean McDermott, Gavin Hoyte, James Shea, Rhys Murphy, Sanchez Watt, Vito Mannone, Kyle Bartley,
Ju Young Park, Chamakh, Yossi Benayoun, Henri Lansbury, Pedro Botelho and not forgetting Andrei Arshavin!

That’s 20 players in total…

Would Wenger really agree to release 20 players???

I cannot see so many leaving at the same time, despite so many excellent young players eagerly waiting to take their places in the 1st team and Reserve squads.

Wenger will probably send many of them out on loan again and we might very well be surprised at who Arsene retains rather than who he releases.

Take Ju Young Park for example, even if Podolski joins and Campbell gets a work permit, what would be gained by selling him now that he doesn’t have military service hanging over him? Also, we cannot be sure if our annual injury jinx will switch it’s attention away from our defenders, onto our forwards next season so it might be prudent to have an extra striker in the squad, just in case the worst case scenario decides to fall upon us.

Maroune Chamakh – most Arsenal fans are certain that Wenger will sell him, especially if Podolski joins but Arsene Wenger seldom does what we all think he’ll do, so don’t be surprised if Chamakh stays, at least for one more season.

I certainly wouldn’t be surprised at all, despite the newspapers being full of the story that PSG want to sign him for £5-6 Million.

Yossi Benayoun is a good professional and a good team player, but his salary is rather on the expensive side for someone who plays so few games.

What about Yossi, would he accept a pay-cut to stay?

Unlikely in my opinion and that’s why I expect to see our Israeli midfielder returning to Chelsea in the summer.

Bartley, Lansbury, Eastmond, Hoyte, Watt, McDermott, Shea, Murphy and Botelho are all in their early 20′s and need 1st team football at this stage of their careers, playing in the reserves is no good to them.

My own view is that Bartley, Lansbury and Eastmond will stay Gooners but go out on loan again.

The others, well that’s anyone’s guess.

I believe that Botelho is under contract to us for one more year and I strongly suspect that he’ll spend that year on loan in Spain again, before leaving for good in 2013.

Vito Mannone is in his mid-20′s and needs regular first team football, a summer transfer for him would probably be best for all concerned.

Wenger has made it clear that he likes Andrei Arshavin and despite loaning him back to Zenit St Petersburg, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him returning to the fold for next season.

Despite all the rumours, we cannot be certain that Wenger will sign anyone!

It seems that Mario Gotze won’t be leaving Dortmund for another year at least. Jan Vertonghen, despite his come and get me plea, could quite easily end up at White Hart Lane and Lukasz Podolski is now talking up a move to Lazio Roma.

So we might be a position next summer, of having to hold onto what we already have, as no replacements arrive.

Don’t be surprised if next seasons new additions turn out to be Junior Hoillett, Joel Campbell and Ryo Miyaichi…!!!

We all know what Arsene is like, bless him and we all know that we have a CEO who is all mouth and no trousers….

Finally, today Arsene Wenger will find out if he is to face another touchline ban in Europe after the ‘goings on’ in the tunnel after our Milan game. I think we all know what the outcome will be don’t we?

Written by Allezkev

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Posted by rico

The Reverse of Sunday….

December 22, 2011

Just three days after our modest away winning run in league play was snapped at Eastlands, we hit the road again hoping to restart the cycle at Villa Park.

A win last night would get us back on track, especially with winnable Boxing Day (Wolves, home) and New Year’s Eve (QPR, home) fixtures coming up…

Three points would bring us level on points with Chelsea but we would need to score almost double-digits to move into fourth on goal difference.

Nevertheless, with Chelsea visiting the Spuds tomorrow, at least one – perhaps both – of those sides will drop points tomorrow. We had to win last night to make it count…

Arsene had hinted may look for cover in January after our latest injuries but frankly, I’ll believe it when I see it.

For one, the options are not great and for two, I suspect that Arsene may be more concerned about having too much depth at left back if/when Gibbs and Santos return, than he is about bringing someone in to cover here and now. So I expect he will continue with a rotation between TV, Kos and Miquel for the flanks, with the remaining player partnering Mert in the center, and Squil providing the depth…

Arsene had other ideas, omitting Miquel entirely from the squad and drafting Coq into the back four on the right. This allowed us to start Frim in Song’s place. We lined up Szczesny, Coq, Mert, Kos, TV, Frim, Arteta, Ramsey, Theo, Robin, and Gerv.

Al, Squil, Rosicky, OC, Arsh, Benny and Chamakh made the bench.

While I usually try to refrain from discussing personal player milestones and focus on what our team can do, I should be remiss not to mention that Robin had three games to break a certain Thierry Henry’s club record of 34 goals in calendar year 2004, and Alan Shearer’s league record of 36 in 1995.

Both are achievable, so I hope that he can set the new league mark – as long as it is not at the expense of wins in these matches…

Villa kicked the match off and did most of the early attacking. Szczesny was called into action early, blocking Agbonlahor’s header from an N’Zogbia corner. Frim won our first corner a couple of minutes later, but Guzan gathered the delivery rather easily. Agbonlahor then went close, but shot a bit too high.

Villa looked the better, sharper side during the first quarter hour, keeping the ball well and doing most of the attacking…

Then, in the sixteenth minute, Theo cut into the Villa penalty area and Clark tugged him back for a clear penalty.

Robin stepped up and made it 34 for 2011 with no fuss. Theo then had an immediate chance to double our lead, but shot too close to Guzan, who made the block. Then Petrov took a pop for Villa, forcing Szczesny to save, as the game opened up.

Just before the half hour, Coq was booked for hacking N’Zogbia down. Our stand-in right back had looked a bit shaky during earlier passages of play, understandably so…

Just past the half hour mark, Robin put Ramsey clean through but the latter shot poorly and wastefully wide with only Guzan to beat. At this point, we should have been at least 2, perhaps 3, up, but we weren’t taking our chances… Still, we had the initiative and controlled play, unlike the first ten minutes.

In the last five minutes of the half, the teams traded yellow cards, with Clark first fouling Arteta for a booking and Mert returning the favor with a foul on N’Zogbia. Those were the only incidents and the half ended with us leading a goal to nil…We had some spells of good play, but were also occasionally sloppy with our passing and wasteful with our finishing.

We kicked the second half off with no changes to our starting eleven. It didn’t take long for us to pay for our wastefulness. Nine minutes into the half, Albrighton latched on to a poor clearing header from TV and slid the ball under Szczesny to bring us back to square one.

The goal, by the way, was the 20,000 goal in premier league play.

We tried to respond immediately, as Guzan saved from Mert, of all people but Villa now had the momentum, and Hutton fed Clark for a shot that went high and wide. As the match moved past the hour mark, Villa were on top – perhaps a good time for a substitution, Arsene?

He made his first move on 65, replacing Frim – who had a very poor match, it must be said – with Rosicky. The change came midway through a sequence where we forced four corners; we did not score from any of these, but Rosicky’s introduction immediately improved our passing and ball retention, things Frim struggled with all evening…

The match then entered a lull, as the teams exchanged corners without threatening either goal. Then Robin hit the deck in the area. At first I thought he was fouled, but on replay I didn’t think so, so good call by Moss. The referee also booked our captain for diving. In his post-match, Arsene himself implied he didn’t think it was a foul. Petrov then wasted a Villa free kick from a good position…

With ten minutes remaining, Arsene made a double switch, bringing Arsh and Benny on for Gerv and Ramsey, respectively. I would have preferred to see OC for Arsh, but…Arsh set Robin up for a shot, but the latter put it high and wide.

At this point, we did the pressing, as Dunne blocked a Rosicky effort, and Arsh forced a corner with a shot from the edge of the box. From that set-piece, we went back in front, with Robin swinging the ball in and Benny getting ahead of Agbonlahor at the far post to head past Guzan. It was his first prem goal for us, and could not have come at a better time. Right on 90, Arteta shot from outside the Villa box, but Guzan got down to save this one…

The fourth official signaled four minutes of stoppage time, and Kos conceded a corner in the first minute, but Hutton could not connect cleanly. The aforementioned former Tott was booked for a bit of nonsense with Benny, thereby wasting some precious time for his side…

Not happy with that, the Spuddie reject then went in hard on TV for a deserved second yellow, red…That was game, set and match…

Thanks for doing us a favor Hutton – you sabotaged any chance your side had to equalize again. In many places, that is a sackable offense…Once a Spud, always a Spud, I guess…

So we got the job done. As the title says, this was the reverse of Sunday: on that occasion, we played well without getting anything.

Yesterday we played generally poorly but pulled out a win. We drafted two young players in to start this evening and neither played well. For Coq, tonight shows that he is not entirely comfortable at right back and may not yet be a reliable option there. Frim showed that he has tons of energy and enthusiasm, but is a long way from the finished article, and his passing particularly leaves much to be desired.

As it is, Song cleared his suspension, so he should return to the starting eleven on Boxing Day. Luckily for us, we will have him here throughout the African Cup of Nations, as Cameroon failed to qualify…

While Arsh was more involved than in his appearance on Sunday, he still made no impact. Benny was brought on and he scored the winner; he’s already done far more than either Arsh or Chamakh and should be coming on as a sub ahead of either of the aforementioned two.

I would like to have seen OC get a chance ahead of Arsh, but considering that Theo didn’t play particularly well, perhaps we will see him (OC) feature in one of the next two matches. Most of the team looked jaded, I thought. Ramsey, Arteta and Gerv all look as though they can use breathers.

The schedule will stay busy from here, so Arsene will either need to figure out a way to give these players partial rests, or make individual (not whole-sale) rotations in the next few matches.

Congratulations to Villa for showing up today. I would much have preferred the pitiful side that lay down for Man United and Liverpool, but you cannot have everything, I guess…

A win is a win, and we get a small measure of payback to Eck for the Carling Cup final, and Villa for their win on our patch this past May. As far as the former is concerned, I don’t think we can ever fully pay that back, but as long as we can keep beating his teams, I’ll be reasonably satisfied…Arsene praised Villa’s effort in his post-match, but I shall not quite go there.

So we will celebrate Christmas where we started yesterday, in fifth, behind Chelsea on goal difference.

We did, however, put two points between us and Liverpool and will see this time tomorrow whether we gained points on the Spuds, Chelsea or both.

We won while being far from our best but got a much-needed win, so we’ll see where that takes us.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas to all.

Written by Oliver

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Posted by rico

Theo Walcott disappoints! No going back for this midfielder and Robin is not Racist!

October 31, 2011

So then, Yossi had naffed off the Blue side of London having tweeted:

‘What a great win today!!! Well done guys!’

Good man I say, I would have been pretty narked had he thought otherwise and I think we can safely assume he won’t be returning to the Chavs next summer, in fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Wenger kept him on after his deal comes to an end.

The Chav fans certainly don’t want to see him back and have since labelled him ‘Judas’ – Ah, happy days eh….

Don’t suppose Yossi will lose too much sleep over that..

Walcott has been talking about his goal on Saturday and how he is lucky to be alive!

Hhaving missed a chance to pass to Aaron Ramsey who was free, he fell over, got back on his feet quite rapidly and somehow, after getting past a few static Chav defenders, he blasted a heartfelt shot with venom passed a hopeless Cech to give us a 3-2 lead he said:

I managed to lose my balance but get up quite quickly. If I hadn’t scored Aaron (Ramsey) would have killed me because he was free.

Sometimes you just have to be selfish and when it pays off, it’s all worthwhile, I hope this kicks starts a bit more go in the not so young anymore English winger/striker!

However, having put in his best performance for a good few weeks now, Walcott has kind of put his foot in it and said just what we hoped he or any of the other players wouldn’t start saying:

We don’t want to say where we’re going to finish at the end of the season, but the way we’re playing at this moment in time we believe we can beat anyone.

Why?

Why not just enjoy the victory, a victory which still had a few faults within the performance, keep his head down and concentrate on what goes on on the pitch?

Why start telling the world that we can beat anyone? Keep those thoughts in the changing room and don’t set the team up for a mighty fall. We have a massive game tomorrow night and that should be on every players mind, nothing else right now.

Feet on the ground Theo…..

One thing I did like reading though was his comments on Robin van Persie:

He is a great leader, a great captain. Anyone in that dressing room will tell you he is an absolute leader.

Good, it seems we finally have a captain that players look up and believe in his leadership…

About time to eh?

Talking of our leader, he has totally rebuffed the stupid suggestion that he is racist after his celebrations on Saturday:

It is totally ludicrous to suggest that my action of brushing my shoulder could be construed as anything else but a showing of joy and celebration.

Hasn’t Robin celebrated in a similar fashion before?

Funny how this has been highlighted after a game against the Chavs, the side whose captain does have a case against him to answer…

Oh well, onwards and upwards for us, Champions League again tomorrow night and a victory against Marseille should be enough to secure our involvement in the knock-out stages…

Have a good day all….

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Posted by rico

Another Injury, Big Tony talks Relegation and that Weasel Barton talks B****X……

September 22, 2011

Two stories to talk about today, the first has to be the biggest load of poppycock I have ever read – and that is Joey ‘Thug’ Barton reckons he was in with a chance of signing for us and he’d been in talks with Arsene Wenger in August. He goes on to suggest that the incident with Gervinho put a halt to any chance of a move to us……

All I will say is that he is not speaking with forked tongue, then big thanks have to go out to Gervinho.. ;)

Onto the second:

Old boy Tony Woodcock has come out of the woodwork and seems to have jumped on the ‘Let’s talk about Arsenal’ bandwagon…

We’ve seen over the years that clubs can go down that are not expected to, It’s early days, only a few games. This togetherness, this determination, if you haven’t got it to pick a trophy up then how’s it going to be to get away from the relegation zone?

I hope I’m not right, but I don’t want to be sitting here in three or four weeks and they’ve let some more goals in and they haven’t picked up any points. We’ve gone six years without winning anything and are now in this tricky situation.

I’m hoping it’s going to be a bit of a kick up the backside for everyone.
But Woodcock was quick to point out there are currently plenty of positives surrounding the North Londoners as well.

The club are very stable, have got a fantastic stadium, have a fantastic training ground, are making a profit. Although we’re not very happy with where Arsenal are at the moment, there are lots of pluses and positives that have been happening at the club.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a bigger picture there as well.

Tony Woodcock was born and bred in Nottingham, so why does he say ‘We’ – he played for us for four seasons between 1982 -1986 so he is hardly Mr Arsenal is he?

Maybe a few things he says hold a little bit of truth but where was he when we were winning under Wenger, did he speak out then?

No, I doubt it, I guess he’s just another in a long list of ex players who need to earn a bob or two…..

Talking about being relegated so early in the season is just daft, relegation form yes but things can change quickly in football. We haven’t become a bad side over night, we are just down on confidence and if Wenger can sort out the defensive problems, we can soon start to build that confidence back up again.

Little bit of bad news, Yossi Benayoun said on Twitter on Wednesday evening that he is: “Very disappointed as I have a strain and will be out for a week or so.”

Hopefully he won’t be out for long, we need every bit of experience we have in this squad right now.

Benik Afobe has also out with a groin strain, he’s likely to miss the next four months according to Young Guns. What is it with injuries to our young players, just as they get their chance for the first team, injury hits…..

That’s about it for today, have a good one all….

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Posted by rico

Arteta is No Fabregas and he Certainly isn’t a Na$ri!! School Begins Today….

September 8, 2011

Just How Big is that Shirt Merts? ;)

It is like before the first day at school.

Now I have a new challenge in a new country, a new style of play and a new language and I am ready for it.

That’s the big 6’ 6” central defender speaking as he’s ready so say his goodbyes in Germany and head for pastures new in London and he won’t be alone.

Together with Yossi Benayoun, Andre Santos and Mikel Arteta, he’ll be meeting up with all his new team mates today as they prepare for Saturday and the visit of Premier League new boys Swansea.

Mikel Arteta though has already had a couple of days in training and he’s had time to speak about his move and he can’t wait to make his debut. Also, he can’t wait to play at The Emirates in the red and white shirt in front of all the Arsenal fans…

He’s so desperate to slot right into the way we play, he’s been watching videos of the team! One thing he is very clear about though and that’s he’s not Cesc and he’s not Na$ri!

When asked about being seen as a replacement for Fabregas or Nasri, he told afc.com:

No, I don’t want to use the word replacement. They were two top players for the Club, they did really, really well in the last few years and now we have some new players coming in to try and make the same impact.

I am sure we will. I don’t want the fans to be expecting the same as them because every player is different.

We need some time to adapt as well, but I am sure that we will give everything we can to make this team better.

Well said Mikel and all I would add to that is that he’s definitely not a Na$ri, our new man took a pay cut to join us, which just about says it all really….

On making his debut on Saturday?

I am really excited. It has been a bit strange having been at the same club for six or seven years, and it is a big change. Even when you just put a different kit on. But I am so excited, I hope I can do my job well and if I have the chance to play, I will give everything.

He wants to be where he is right now and that is what we need! All our new signings want to play for Arsenal, they have said it and that’s just what we need – ok, they may not all have been at the top of our own shopping lists but let’s get behind them, that’s what they need….

Cesc and the money man are gone, we need fresh ideas and Arteta, along with our other summer signings can bring just that.

They will all be a breath of fresh air in our side and personally, I cannot wait to see what they bring to Arsenal…

As for Mikel, for sure he will never be Cesc, Cesc is a one-off, just like Bergkamp and Henry were…….

Maybe in two or three years time, Mikel will have made his mark, so may have Ryo, Chamberlain, Gervinho and the younger ones like Afobe and Miquel who coming through?

Who knows, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy watching them try…..

Have a good day all….

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Posted by rico

Still Lacking in Leadership?? Fans set to be Very Disappointed….

September 2, 2011

How many times have we all sat back watching our team lose their way on the pitch, moaning that there is no leadership out there??

Well, now there is no excuse, not that there was really before:

Yossi Benayoun –   Israel Captain

Aaron Ramsey – Wales Captain

Andrey Arshavin – Russia Captain

Thomas Vermaelen – Belgium Captain

Tomas Rosicky – Czech Captain

Chu Young Park – Korean Captain

Per Mertesacker – Once club captain and deputy for his country

Robin van Persie – Arsenal Captain

So, no more should we see our side capitulate in games, we have leaders all over the park and now it’s time for them to show that, starting against Swansea a week on Saturday.

That game should see the return of Frimpong and hopefully Jack Wilshere will have recovered by then too. Also, the Swansea game sees the final match for Song and Gervinho’s ban, so it’s all starting to look a lot better.

Even Donkey Diaby may have recovered in time for the Swansea game, if so, he should make an appearance, just a few minutes before hobbling off back to the sick room….

Added to that of course all the new boys will be wanting to make their debut, it really looks as if finally we Gooners could be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, rather than just some b*****d with a dull torch.

Finally, as we all know, it’s international fortnight so keep everything crossed that none of our players pick up any injuries….

I’ll leave you with a few comments from the latest new boys:

Andre Santos:

I am delighted to have signed for Arsenal, It was one of my dreams to play for a major European football club and I have accomplished this. I am very happy to be part of this team.

All the Brazilians who came to this club spoke wonders about it and I am delighted to be part of the Arsenal family.

Per Mertesacker:

I don’t think my transfer was Rooney’s fault, I don’t think that was the reason. I want to believe they were monitoring me for quite some time. For me, a childhood dream has come true.

Arsenal have this ability to play good football and to have Arsene Wenger on top of that as coach is unbelievable.

I wanted this for so long. It is a challenging task which I will tackle because I will also develop further as a player.

Yossi Benayoun:

I sign with Arsenal, very happy and excited about it, thanks for the support.

Mikel Arteta:

It is a big opportunity for me and my family and I think it is the right time for me to take it.

Chu Young-Park:

I am very honoured and I feel very happy to be at Arsenal. They are a team that I dreamed about when I was young. I am very proud to be an Arsenal player

So, some are with us to play CL football, others are just very proud or delighted to be signing for Arsenal, either way, if they give their all, we’ll be happy won’t we…

Unlike Nicklas Bendtner who is quoted as saying:

I’ll never go back to Arsenal, If I can have it my way, I will never play for them again.

I’m sure we’ll all be very disappointed if that turns out to be true……

Have a good day all….

146 Comments | Daily Bits and Bobs | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by rico

Signings Complete but Have they Done Enough??

September 1, 2011

Morning all,

For all those supporters that have been cursing our Manager Arsene Wenger, about how he buys talent and new players, perhaps you will now start to understand how this manager works.

He started off the summer by bringing in Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jenkinson, they were additions to what was in my view a ‘sound base’.

His pattern over the years has always been to leave it as late as possible to get the best deals out there.

Everybody knows the first price of anybody at the start of the transfer window is always the highest and those that did their business early have probably paid through the nose for their players.

Many managers have got the financial backing of very rich owners who are not at all bothered by high prices so it matters not to them what price they pay.

Arsene Wenger will only spend when he believes he can’t get the player for any less and very often he misses out.

If a player has a long contract with his present club the price of that player will be high but if he happens to be in the last year Wenger believes he is in a strong bargaining position.

Not only is Wenger a fine Manager he is also a shrewd negotiator, he leaves it late in the window for players he believes will cost too much at the start of the window but if that player has not been bought by another club he will try and buy them at a reduced price.

Wenger plans meticulously, sometimes it comes off and other times he misses out but when it comes off, he gets a good player for a very good price.

This window has been frustrating for supporters, they have seen our name linked to every conceivable player and naturally expected that player to be joining us.

The press and the media have flogged our club to death, they know we have weaknesses and they have tried to scupper every possible deal and make us pay the highest prices but Wenger see’s things like a kid in a sweet shop.

A kid doesn’t buy the first sweet he looks at, he looks around the shop and would probably want to buy many sweets but only has the money to buy a couple so he takes his time, spoilt for choice you might say. Wenger is like that….

He also looks into the player’s background, looks at their past history and checks whether he has been troublesome, will he fit in with his future plans, will he be a good Arsenal man?

Just because a player looks good on the television doesn’t mean he will fit into the structure of our club, too outspoken can cause unrest in the camp, bad habits can infect the whole squad, so choosing a player is not always about ability, Wenger looks at it similar to a jig saw puzzle and players like one of the pieces.

Supporters believe that we have held back, sold players and were intending to hold on to all the profits. Well, that has been the impression I have got over the last few weeks.

It’s not been about that in my opinion; it’s been about balancing the books.

We still have debts, we still have our running costs and the way Arsenal work, all monies goes into the pot that makes the club financially stable.

The players we have sold have made us a healthy profit and the players boought have been at good prices.

Is that not the way of a good business?

Success is not always about trophy cabinets, it’s about having a sound club which is financially stable with a team that is hopefully improving.

That’s a successful club and Wenger, with his shrewd bargaining will ultimately make us more successful.

Looking back, has Arsene Wenger got it far wrong this summer?

Mikel Arteta

Per Mertesacker

Andre Santos

Chu Park Young

Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain

Joel Campbell (Not Available)

Carl Jenkinson

Gervinho

Yossi Benayoun (Loan)

Jon Toral Harper

Hector Bellerin

Serge Gnabry

Twelve new faces in this transfer window alone, ok Campbell has had to go on loan to obtain a future work permit but Ryo Miyaichi joins us for the first time this season as he has been granted his permit.

Not all looking so bad now is it?

Or do some of you still think Arsene Wenger and Arsenal haven’t done enough?

Written by Steve Palmer

191 Comments | Daily Bits and Bobs | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by rico

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