Daily Bits and Bobs

Wilshere's double. Rosicky, Cazorla and Walcott all nearing return & Arsene Wenger staying put if Kroenke gets his way…

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

The PL returns this weekend with another away fixture against Swansea and most, if not all of the young guns who secured our next round CO Cup match against Chelsea, will be back watching. Probably a good job too as they must be exhausted after Wednesday night but didn’t they do well. I know the match wasn’t too pretty on the eye but did anyone truly expect the side to play as the first team do so often?

I didn’t, after all, the amount of changes made would disrupt Barcelona, in fact leave out just Messi gives them the collywobbles! To beat a fellow PL side was a great result and to hold their nerve through the penalty shoot-out will have done their confidence the world of good.

We’ll have to see if Arsene Wenger stands by them all for the next round but I strongly suspect he’ll be tempted to play just a few more old heads in the side.

Those old heads will be back on show tomorrow when we face Swansea and for those who aren’t lucky enough to be travelling, the match is live on Sky Sports. I’m sure they only show us live when they think we will slip up!

One who won’t be playing tomorrow is Theo Walcott who we all know has undergone minor surgery which Arsene Wenger has confirmed was a success and his return is pencilled in for the 19th October.

Talking to Sky Sports News:

Walcott had surgery and it went very well.

He’s coming back (from Germany) Thursday so it’s what we expected, there were no complications.

That’s good news, he’ll only miss this weekends game, the CL home fixture against Napoli and a trip to WBA.

In the meantime, Serge Gnabry will no doubt continue in his place which isn’t all bad news, in fact it’s good to see the young getting more chances, he’s only going to get better and better in my opinion and Theo needs competition, it’s all been a bit too easy for him, especially since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered his injury. He needs someone breathing down his neck for a place on the right wing!

Before Theo return though, we should see Santi Cazorla back playing which is a huge boost, via Twitter, the Spaniard said:

I will be fit maybe in one week, I hope I can play at West Brom.

Another boost is Tomas Rosicky who is set for full training on Monday.

Players are starting to return and that has to be welcome news for Arsene Wenger who Stan Kroenke is desperate to see sign a contract extension.

There’s no one I feel more strongly about and I think he is doing a great job. 

We have been very supportive, we have never wavered, we are proud of him, proud of the club, the way the club is run and how it holds itself out to the world.

Asked if the 63-year-old remains part of the club’s long-term plans, Kroenke added:

That’s exactly right. Arsene knows how we feel, what our philosophy is, what we want to do and I feel like we are totally aligned. I think he wants to do it the exact same way as we do.

I really enjoy Arsene – very smart, very intelligent. He has an absolute view on how he runs that team and the club. He has earned that right.

Don’t look for me to interfere with that. I have learnt over the years that sometimes owners try do that and it is not so good.

We’ve always said that there are resources available. There are guys who say that we should push Arsene harder to spend. That’s fair enough – there are always lots of opinions but Arsene is an independent thinker and planner.

He works very hard at it and has a wonderful record. He was trained in economics, my undergraduate study was in economics.

So there we have it, utter support for the manager from the man who matters so unless Arsene Wenger has had enough, I can’t see anything other than a few more years of the Frenchman struggling with his zipper on the sidelines.

Finally, congratulations to Jack Wilshere and his partner who are now proud parents of their second child. A baby daughter named Delilah Grace

That’s it from me for another day…

rico

0 thoughts on “Wilshere's double. Rosicky, Cazorla and Walcott all nearing return & Arsene Wenger staying put if Kroenke gets his way…”

  3. rico says:

    Swansea beat us at home last season but we beat them away 2-0. Going to be a tough match imho, Swansea are on a good run. Apart from their CO Cup defeat..

  4. SD UK says:

    Morning

    I gave up on Sky Sports like 7 years ago, it is not worth subscribing.

    How many Arsenal games will they show in a season ? If we get 6 PL games we are lucky.

    The games have already been divided from the day the fixtures has been produced.

    The only ones left to bargain for are the Last 16 of the Capital one cup, FA cup and depending on how we progress in the Champions League.

    All PL games are filmed but not all are televised, central European countries watch more PL games than people in UK.

    And Sky Sports subscription is the most expensive subscription in Europe.

    The football TV product is not worth the money.

  5. rico says:

    SD – Agree re SS’s, I’m waiting for BT Vision to be in the area I live and then I’m changing…

    Can still get SS’s 1 and 2 without paying the crazy fee Sky charge..

  6. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. Good post.

    So Stan has broken his silence and he obviously has a better PR team than Arsene as he has said all the right things. I would expect Wenger to sign a new contract unless the wheels fall off the team.
    Watching the plonker that Liverpool wheeled out yesterday really shows the dearth of intelligent life up there. He said he was always supremely confident that they could keep Suarez as if it was the quality of the team and club that had persuaded him to stay. As far as I can see it was only the binding terms of his contract otherwise he would have been out of that place like a shot. But this wally was pruning himself with self admiration on camera like a gas meter thief who had struck it lucky on pension day.

  7. rico says:

    Morning Adam, thank you…..

    Either that of things are getting desperate as AW hasn’t signed..

    Didn’t see the Liverpool i/v – but if they think they can keep Suarez, they are truly burying their head in the sand. There is no way he will be a Liverpool player beyond next summer, maybe even January..

  9. Adam says:

    They are readying a new contract while simultaneously admitting that he has damaged their rather needy “brand”. I thought they had been doing a pretty good job of that themselves.

  10. rico says:

    He won’t sign it though Adam, Real Madrid will come a knocking and off he’ll go..

    Unless we offer an extra £1….. 😉

  14. SD UK says:

    It is an Hebrew name but if Wilshire had taken the time to check the meaning of the name , he wouldn’t have named her Delilah. Not a good name i must say.

    Footballers are not very smart are they ?

  22. tsgh says:

    Hmm, can we trust the special needs one?

    Mourinho: ‘We play Man City on Sunday before cup game v Arsenal on Tues, so our Under-21 side will probably have a great experience

  30. rico says:

    Just read about Sol Campbell – there is a picture of him with a line saying ‘ Sol played most of his career at the very top’

    Of course the picture was him in Arsenal colours 😛

  31. Adam says:

    Hi Rico.
    Good old Sol.
    I just looked in to say hello and goodnight really. I’ve had a long day. Hope you have a relaxing evening.

  32. rico says:

    Ok, night Adam, think I will follow your lead…

    You and me both re the long day, have a good evening..

    Night to you and all….

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