Thoughts on RVP’s future + This morning’s meeting: LIVE

Posted on May 16, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season | 35 Guns

As you probably all know by now, Robin van Persie will meet with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis this morning to discuss his future. The get together will take place in Arsene Wenger’s house, of all places, at 10.30am. It’s been splashed all over the web and papers for the last two days as if its big news. In reality, it’s not news at all. For six months now Arsenal and Robin have made it clear talks would take place between the end of the season and Robin joining up with the Dutch squad for the Euros. That time has now arrived.

It’s hard to see what can be accomplished in just one day. Robin leaves for Holland tomorrow, and it’s unlikely anything concrete could be sorted and signed so swiftly. Perhaps Van Persie already knows what we’re offering, has been mulling it over, and this is his opportunity to give us his answer. Perhaps this is genuinely the first time they’ve talked any kind of terms. Either way, I can’t see us having a definitive resolution until much later in the summer.

RVP was pretty cagey after the West Brom game, but that’s understandable. It wouldn’t be much of a negotiation tactic for him to say “I’ll definitely be signing a new deal”. Even if he does decide his future is with Arsenal, he’ll want to squeeze us for as much money as possible – this is, after all, his last major contract. And after his performances this season, who could begrudge him a big payday?

If I had to make a prediction – and it remains a hard one to call – I’d say he’ll stay and sign a new deal making him Arsenal’s highest paid player. The reason being is that I can only see him really being tempted by a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid, and he doesn’t seem to be on either club’s radar this summer. If he was, they’d have made their move by now, and we’d be reading a lot more quotes about his “DNA”. I think he’ll be impressed by the arrival of Podolski, by Arsene and Ivan’s plans, and by the money we offer him. And you know what? If things don’t work out, he can always hand in a transfer request at a later date and leave for a decent fee. He’ll still have plenty of suitors in twelve months time.

The stories this morning say that even if he doesn’t want to sign a new deal we’ll hold him to his existing contract. That’s all well and good, but it does present some conflicts: do you want a player who you know is leaving to be the captain of your club? Seems to happen to us all the time, but it’s hardly ideal.

Anyway, for a bit of fun, I’m live-tweeting this morning’s meeting over at @Gunnerblog, covering the conversation, the croissants, and the contract. Follow me, it might be a laugh.

In other news, Euro 2012 is just around the corner, and at 1pm today we’ll find out if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joins Theo Walcott in the England squad. Personally, I hope he does: if he’s not at the Euros, he’ll be at the Olympics, which is far more disruptive. A host of other players are already ‘on the plane’ with their respective nations, and if you do me a little favour I could be too. I’ve written this piece on 5 Rising Stars at Euro 2012 (which includes a profile of reported Arsenal target Yann M’Vila). If you could give it a read and click the ‘Like‘ or ‘Tweet‘ button I might just win a competition which takes me all the way to Poland. Would enjoy blogging to you from there.

Whilst we’re on the subject of doing me favours: if anyone out there has a company that would like to sponsor Gunnerblog for next season, do let me know. Traffic is particularly high during the transfer window so it’s a good time to get on board. Apologies for being so public about it but I’ve got to find a way to pay for my season ticket somehow! I can be contacted here.

Right. By tomorrow, we might know a good deal more about the future of RVP, and quite how painful this summer might be. Don’t forget you can follow all that and more @gunnerblog.

WBA 2 – 3 Arsenal: Arsenal complete The Great Escape

Posted on May 14, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Featured, Match Reports, Premier League | 48 Guns

Arsenal players hold Pat Rice aloft after the final whistle

West Brom 2 – 3 Arsenal

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

Arsenal were not able to raise a trophy aloft at the end of this season. We were, however, allowed to lift up Pat Rice, and give him the send-off he truly deserves. A traumatic season ended on a high as Arsenal secured third place with this win at the Hawthorns. You might not get any baubles for qualifying for the Champions League, but one need only look at our post-match celebrations to realise its significance.

This has, in my humble opinion, been the most exciting season in the history of the rebranded Premier League, and it had a final day to match. Events in Manchester will rightly take the headlines, but for any Arsenal fan the only thing that mattered was our game against West Brom. Arsene gambled a little in his team selection, dropping Gibbs and Ramsey for Santos and Coquelin, and playing the inexperienced Jenkinson at right-back. The result would suggest that this brave move paid off.

We certainly owe a lot to West Brom’s stand-in goalkeeper, Marton Fulop. Early on, his dallying over a back-pass allowed Yossi Benayoun to steal in and grant us a lead that should have settled the nerves. Instead, as against Norwich, his goal was a cue for complacency to creep in, and we ended up going behind. First Shane Long was wrongly ruled onside and fired past a hesitant Szczesny, before poor defending allowed Graham Dorrans to reach his own flick-on and fire home from the edge of the box.

Fortunately, we got a goal back before half time. Without that I’m not sure we would have had the bottle to turn it around. Andre Santos, playing in the “false three” position (credit to Barney Ronay), strode forward and thumped a 25-yard shot that took a slight deflection before beating Fulop at his near post. Again, the Hungarian could have done better.

At half-time Spurs led Fulham comfortably. Arsenal knew that only a win would be good enough. I said then I felt that if we could cut out our defensive errors, we’d have enough to win the game, and so it proved. Again we owed a debt to Fulop, who flapped horribly at a corner, allowing Laurent Koscielny to stab home. Interestingly, Fulop spent three seasons on the books of one Tottenham Hotspur, in which time he failed to muster a single competitive appearance. Judging by yesterday’s evidence, he’s still feeling a little sore about that.

This rolercoaster game was by now horribly reminiscent of that fateful 3-3 with Norwich, and I was dreading a heartbreaking late equaliser. That we didn’t see one is due largely to Kieran Gibbs, who produced this stunning tackle in stoppage time.

There were other heroes on the day. Wojciech Szczesny recovered from his positional error on the first West Brom goal to put in a commanding display, especially when you consider that Arsene Wenger revealed he has been playing with a bad shoulder injury. It was fitting that Koscielny, our best player over the season bar Van Persie, should score the vital goal. As for Yossi Benayoun, what can I say? His contribution has been enormous, and his role in final day folklore will make him a firm favourite among Arsenal fans for years to come. It seems unlikely Arsene will give him a permanent deal – Yossi himself has intimated he’d like to move somewhere he’ll play more regularly – but I’d certainly consider trying to convince him to stay. Whenever he’s been called upon, he’s shown more commitment than many players on more lucrative, long-term deals. The guy is a real pro, and whoever gets him next season will be lucky to have him.

At the full-time whistle, the relief was palpable. To have finished third in a season which began with four defeats from seven feels like we have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Disaster threatened to engulf us on so many occasions this season, and yet we’ve actually managed to improve upon our league placing from last year. And, crucially, we’ve edged above Tottenham. Not so chatty now, Mr. Van der Vaart.

Personally, I’d like to extend my congratulations to Arsene Wenger. If another manager had arrived in September and shepherded us to this position, he’d be hailed as a messiah. Instead, I’ll doff my cap to an ordinary human who is an extraordinary football manager.

There are other challenges ahead, starting with resolving the future of Robin van Persie. After that we have the summer transfer window, next season’s Premier League, and (thankfully) a Champions League campaign to worry about. I hope you’ll excuse me if I forget all that for now, and enjoy the moment. My glass is half-full. In fact, it’s more than that. It’s Fulop.

If I were giving today’s team-talk…

Posted on May 13, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Premier League | 26 Guns

At around 2.50pm this afternoon, Arsene Wenger will look out at his Arsenal team, and attempt to cajole just one more performance out of them. Fortunately, he’s a man steeped in experience, who will doubtless know just what to say to his men. The situation is clear: win, and third is ours. Fail, and we’re at the mercy of others, and quite possibly locked out of the Champions League. As supporters, we can only imagine what words we might summon up in such circumstances. Imagine it, and then write it down. Like this.

I’d start be spelling out what’s at stake. Champions League football is a massive thing for Arsenal. It maintains our status among Europe’s elite clubs, significantly boosting our reputation and our bank balance. That’s vital. It’s easy to say that you wouldn’t mind dropping out of it, but it’s less easy to accept the possible consequences. Falling out of the top four would make it far harder both to sign new players and keep our current ones.

Even putting aside our practical concerns, every player in the squad should want to be in the Champions League. Being a sportsman is all about pushing yourself as far as you can, and testing yourself against the best. As far as European football is concerned, the Champions League is that arena. The likes of Tomas Rosicky must recognise that they won’t get many more chances on that stage. At the other end of the spectrum, lads like Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain surely know that competing at that level is vital to their development.

For a long time this season it looked impossible. Following our 8-2 mauling at Old Trafford I was roundly mocked for saying I still felt we’d finish in the top four. Chelsea’s success in reaching the Champions League Final has meant that even the top four did not provide the requisite security: it had to be third. And that, for such a long while, looked out of reach. Spurs were flying, until Bacary Sagna launched himself at the ball and powered home a header of such force that in that one moment it flipped the North London hierarchy in our favour.

Everything that followed – our tremendous run, Spurs’ collapse – was to try and claw us in to a position where third place was in our hands. We have attained that. We have ninety minutes in which we are masters of our own destiny. When fate contorts itself to hand you that kind of opportunity, you simply do not pass it up.

The mention of Spurs is important. As much as this is about European football, it’s also about local rivalry. Do this group of players really want to be the first to finish below Tottenham since 1995? Especially when it’s so easily avoided?

All we have to do is win one game. I’d make it clear to the players: we’re not asking them to run through walls. We don’t face a Herculean task. On paper, this is a game that Arsenal should win. We simply need to do our jobs. We need to be focused and switched on for ninety minutes, plus every second of stoppage time. We need to take individual responsibility for marking our men and tracking runners. West Brom have nothing tangible to play for: we have no excuse for not showing more desire in every fifty-fifty. The Baggies aren’t a hugely physical side, either. This isn’t a match in which we need to drastically adapt our game. We simply need to do what we spend every day drilling over-and-over again: touch, pass, move. If we control the possession we will create the most chances. And we have the league’s best striker on the end of them.

If we do the simple things right, we will win. And if we do we will be able to reflect on ending this traumatic season on a relative high. Defeat would bring a summer of uncertainty and cast a shadow over the forthcoming campaign. And, after what we’ve been through this season, the fans don’t deserve that.

The players must recognise that the supporters have stuck with this iteration of the Arsenal team through quite a lot in this long campaign. Early on, the majority of supporters recognised the limitations of the squad and realised that negativity was not helpful. Better Arsenal teams would’ve been met with jeers and boos for some of the performances we’ve seen this season. This term, everyone has stuck together to try and drag us out of a self-inflicted hole.

Now it’s time to reward the fans. To allow them to celebrate something – not a trophy, but something: a place on the European stage, and getting one over on a rival. It’s time to reward Pat Rice for 44 years of outstanding service to Arsenal with a good send off. It’s time to put down a marker for next season, and show that despite the loss of key players, terrible injury problems, humiliating defeats and plenty of bad luck, this club will not be broken. We are Arsenal, and winning this one game is well within our capacity. Keep focused, keep fighting, keep the faith, and get this done. Come on boys.

The Party Before The Storm

Posted on May 10, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season | 25 Guns

Yesterday the playing staff held the annual End of Season party, at which they’re invited to bring their families and socialise. This was a particularly poignant occasion, as it marked the forthcoming departure of Pat Rice, after 44 years of service to Arsenal. Several players tweeted their thanks, and whilst the club have yet to officially confirm his retirement, it seems that there’ll be no last-minute change of heart.

Pat Rice is embraced by the playing staff at yesterday's party

He’s set to be replaced by Steve Bould, current boss of the U-18s, with Reserve team manager Neil Banfield stepping in to a new role as first-team coach. It’s the first major shake-up of Arsene’s backroom team in his entire reign, so it’ll be interesting to see what impact, if any, it has upon the squad.

Pat Rice obviously deserves an enormous amount of gratitude and respect for a quite incredible spell at the club. The term ‘legend’ gets banded around rather freely these days, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a man who has given more to a single club. I’m sure you all join me in wishing him all the best for his retirement.

Of course, he still has one more game to go. Although it seems that the players made him a lovely big card, the best possible send-off would surely be three points at West Brom. It’s a day that will be laced with a potent jumble of emotions for a number of squad members. As well as Pat, it could well be a final game with the squad for the likes of Yossi Benayoun and forgotten man Manuel Almunia, who remains a popular squad member. Hopefully their Arsenal careers, and our season, can end on a high.

It’s worth noting that yesterday’s little do was not a ‘welcoming party’ for Yann M’vila. Indeed, the indications are that several journalists have severely jumped the gun on that particular deal. From what I hear, this deal is far from done, and everyone at the club is far more focused on the upcoming match than any potential transfers.

Oh, and a little party for Pat.

Let-offs, leaks & livery

Posted on May 8, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Premier League | 15 Guns

Does anybody want to finish third? After we made a right royal mess of our game with Norwich, we found ourselves needing favours from elsewhere. Thanks to an abundance of dark prayer and a good degree of fortune, we got them: City beat Newcastle to set themselves on course for the title, and Aston Villa managed to hold ten man Spurs to a 1-1 draw. It is somehow back in our hands.

It’s a reprieve that I’m not sure we deserve. Arsene was clearly furious with the performance on Saturday, and fiercely critical of our play at both ends of the pitch. Of the defending, he said:

“Again we made the mistakes at the back which were absolutely unbelievable. It is a big disappointment because when you come back into the game like we did from 2-1 and then give a goal away in the way that we did.

At the back everybody was absolutely horrendous for the third goal. It is just not acceptable.”

The forwards didn’t escape criticism either:

“When you look at the chances we created, it is absolutely unbelievable that we scored only three goals.

Again we are punished because Robin had to score and many times we do not get enough goals from elsewhere. We had so many obvious chances that you would want somebody else to score one. That doesn’t happen enough.”

Even Robin could have been a little sharper. Everyone – from Szczesny to the skipper – will have to be markedly better at West Brom on Sunday.

It is now devastatingly, heart-stoppingly simple: win at West Brom, and third is ours. There’s no trophy on hand, but in many other respects it resembles a cup final: ninety minutes that will determine if this season lives in the memory as a blessed relief or a painful disaster.

It’s a fantastic opportunity, and one which we really shouldn’t have. One can only hope the players recognise their good fortune and seize the second chance that’s been afforded to them. However, after taking just three points from the last four games, a degree of doubt among supporters is more than understandable. The bad news is that if results go against us on Sunday (and in tonight’s game between Liverpool and Chelsea), we could end up as low as sixth. Anyhow, there’s time later in the week to discuss what is sure to be a massive day for the club.

If you listen to the chatter on Twitter and forums, many supporters’ minds have already turned to next season. The winds of change haven’t yet blown the transfer window open, yet already the rumours are whipping up a frenzy. The two names cropping up most commonly are those of Yann M’vila and Jan Vertonghen. As far as I’m aware, stories suggesting a deal for either of these players is imminent are somewhat premature. Whilst I don’t doubt Arsene admires both, competition for their signature and the limitations of our 25-man squad and wage structure make their arrivals far from a certainty. Vertonghen, for example, is far closer to signing for Spurs, and I understand that: we have plenty of centre-backs.

There’s also been debate about just who will replace Pat Rice as Arsene’s assistant manager next season. Le Grove say it will be Steve Bould. If that turns out to be the case, I’d welcome the appoint. Bould has done a fantastic job with the U-18s, and I’m sure will carry that work over to the first-team. However, expecting him to drill a back four to match the one he played in is probably unrealistic. Only recently Bould spoke about the impossibility of replicating that sort of unit:

“You could not step up with your arm out and scream offside like we used to. That is not an area you can really coach any more. Also, you cannot get away with going to ground or any real aggressive tackling the way we used to nowadays.

So, while there are some principles that persist, passing on what I used to do as a player has to be adapted.”

Certainly an internal appointment would make most sense, and if Bould is the man chosen I expect we’ll hear something about it in the days following the West Brom game.

Another change for next season will be our home strip, with the club unveiling Nike’s latest offering:

It doesn’t seem to be particularly popular, particularly compared with this year’s classically simple 125th Anniversary effort, but I must admit I don’t mind it. The regularity with which we change our kits around means that there will inevitably be arbitrary changes introduced, like the blue trim, and I’m happy to put up with it for a season or two.

Right. This is going to feel like a long old week.

Arsenal 3 – 3 Norwich: Advantage Spurs

Posted on May 6, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Featured, Match Reports, Premier League | 69 Guns

Arsenal 3 -3 Norwich

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

This game was a rather neat microcosm of our entire season. A fairly abject first half, a spirited improvement in the second, due largely to the unquestionable brilliance of Robin van Persie; and a heart-wrenching collapse at the finale. Having dragged us ourselves back from the brink to lead 3-2, we handed Norwich an equaliser, and in doing so may have handed third place to either Spurs or Newcastle.

That guaranteed Champions League spot seems to have been in our hands for a little while now. We’ve treated it like a hot potato, fumbling and flustering, and have now well and truly dropped it. Both chasing sides know now that if they win their remaining two games, they will finish above us – even if we beat West Brom on the final day.

If we play like we did yesterday, there’s little chance of us doing that. The first half was every bit as poor a performance as the one we put in against Wigan – worse, really, because it showed we’d learnt no lessons from that game.

The key area of the pitch was central midfield, where we had no shape or discipline. Alex Song and Aaron Ramsey were ostensibly the holding pair, but there was almost no protection provided for the back four. Norwich were canny and left three attackers up the pitch at all times. As Song and Ramsey bombed on, we were left vulnerable to counter-attack after counter-attack. Similarly, when the likes of Vermaelen pushed forward, neither Song nor Ramsey showed the initiative to fill in. Ultimately, would prove costly.

It all started so well when Yossi Benayoun, celebrating his 32nd birthday, curled home a peach of an effort with barely a minute on the clock. Unfortunately the rest of the team took it as a cue to sit back on their imagined laurels. Norwich were all over us in the first half, and their two goals were undoubtedly deserved. The first came after a simple move down the right-flank, although Wojciech Szczesny will be disappointed to be beaten so easily at the near post. He could do little about the second, which cannoned off Kieran Gibbs and looped over his head and in to the net. It reminded of the goal Louis Saha scored for Spurs when they led at half-time. Arsenal would need a similarly remarkable comeback in the second half to salvage anything from this game.

To give credit to the players, we showed a lot of spirit. The likes of Gervinho, abject in the first 45, suddenly sprung in to life. Of course it was Robin van Persie who scored the two goals to restore our lead – his 29th and 30th league goals of the season. The first saw him collect yet another of those clipped Alex Song passes to volley home; the second spin and fire in after a lucky deflection inside the penalty box.
At that point, there were 80 minutes on the clock. It tells you something about how dangerous Norwich looked, and how poorly we had defended, that I had absolutely no faith we would see through the game at 3-2. And so it proved: Alex Song gave the ball away, Kieran Gibbs inexplicably allowed Steve Morison to run beyond him, and the lifelong Spurs fan fired expertly past Szczesny, rooted to his line.

There was still time for Arsenal to spurn a couple of chances to win it, but in truth Norwich deserved at least a point. On the touchline, Arsene Wenger was as frustrated as he’s been all season, and that’s saying something. His irritation was with his own team. Yes, we should have a penalty, but so should Norwich. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.

There were mistakes and poor performances all over the pitch, but what stood out for me was how badly we missed Mikel Arteta. It remains the case that we have not won a Premier League game in his absence. Without him, I’m not sure Alex Song has the will or the nous to play as a true holding midfielder. Perhaps that’s something we need to address in the summer.

It was a particularly bad day for great Arsenal right-backs. This was almost certainly Pat Rice’s last home game before retirement, and he deserved a better send-off. Also, in a sad footnote to the game, Bacary Sagna broke the same fibula bone as earlier in the season, and will now miss the Euros and quite possibly the start of next season.

Before that there’s plenty to be decided. We’re now in a position whereby we need favours from other clubs: namely Man City, Aston Villa, Fulham, Everton and possibly Bayern Munich. Both Spurs and Newcastle face their hardest games today. If we’re to get a reprieve, it will surely come at Villa Park. It’s unlikely, but you never know.

As many said in the build-up to yesterday’s game: if we can’t beat Norwich, we don’t deserve Champions League football. Perhaps they were right.

Confessions of an anxious Arsenal fan

Posted on May 4, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Featured, Premier League | 27 Guns

It’s all so simple. Win two games, and third is ours. Other teams’ results can do nothing about that single, unalterable fact. It should be utterly reassuring. And yet…

I must confess that I am an anxious Arsenal fan. If you’re a regular reader of the blog, that won’t surprise you: the enormity of wrenching third place from this most nightmarish of seasons, and the potential heartbreak of handing it back to Tottenham on the final day have combined to fray what little nerve I ever had. It seems it’s catching, too. Amusingly, after Newcastle and Spurs both picked up impressive wins in midweek, a reader tweeted me declaring the results were my fault, as I’d been giving out “negative vibes” all week. I question his reasoning, and yet apologise profusely.

I appreciate the arguments against anxiety. We’ve only got to play Norwich and West Brom. The Canaries seem to have preempted their summer holidays, losing three on the bounce and conceding an average of almost four goals p/ game across those fixtures. West Brom, meanwhile, are also playing for nothing, and are led by a manager who has admitted to the press he would have preferred to resign in order to focus on his forthcoming responsibilities as England manager. On paper, these are distinctly winnable fixtures.

The problem is that Arsenal have a habit of losing distinctly winnable fixtures. Even in the midst of our best run of the season, we managed to come unstuck against Wigan and QPR. Common perception is that we’ve stalled; our positive momentum halted by an unshifting metaphorical handbrake. We’re all looking nervously towards Robin van Persie, a figure whose form this season has been so stupendous as to take on a mythical quality. He, we all hope, is the Arthurian figure who can release the handbrake from the stone and set us on the roll again.

My panic reached its peak on Wednesday night. Whilst things have been in our own hands for a while now, I can’t help but hope for favours from others. Going in to the game, we knew that a draw between Chelsea and Newcastle, coupled with defeat for Spurs, would leave us needing to win just one of our two remaining games to guarantee third spot. At a certain point, it looked as if we might get our wish: Newcastle held a slender 1-0 lead at Stamford Bridge, as Bolton equalised against Tottenham. However, Papiss Cisse’s wonder goal and Bolton’s defensive collapse soon put an end to that. Spurs and Newcastle have now closed to within a point of us, and suddenly we’re under the cosh.

After a brief period of catastrophising, during which I began to cancel all my post-August appointments for Thursday nights, I consoled myself with the thought that in these end-of-season tussles for league positioning, the dynamic can shift very quickly. Look at the battle at the bottom: the favourites to join Wolves in the Championship seem to change on a week-by-week basis. This Saturday, Arsenal have a tremendous opportunity. Beat Norwich – as we know we must – and suddenly the pressure piles back on to the chasing pack. They would know that defeat on Sunday, when Newcastle face title-chasers Man City and Spurs travel to a relegation-threatened Villa, would leave us out of reach.

There is no reason we shouldn’t do it. When you take a step back, talk of our ‘poor form’ is somewhat overblown. Yes, we haven’t won in three, and the defeat to Wigan was very disappointing, even taking in to account their recent giant-killing exploits. Draws against Chelsea and away to Stoke, however, are creditable results. At the Britannia, there were signs that the fighting spirit so crucial to our second half of the season resurgence is returning.

We have all the ingredients to win both remaining games. Our first-choice back four is fit and in form. We have the league’s best player, and he’s back among the goals. And, as supporters, we have the reassurance provided by having been in this situation before, and come out on top – albeit with a little help from a dodgy lasagna and a certain Yossi Benayoun.

The squad must know now that there is absolutely no margin for error. Spurs have had their dip, and are now right back in form. Newcastle’s dip came and went months ago, and they look like they could overturn anyone at the moment. The pressure is back on us now, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s when we were comfortably clear that we began to look a little complacent. Beat Norwich tomorrow, and the pendulum swings once again.

Come On You Gunners. Please.

Podolski confirmed; Third place far from it

Posted on May 1, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season | 11 Guns

So the worst kept secret in football is finally out: Lukas Podolski will join Arsenal this summer. It is, you won’t be in the least bit surprised to hear, a ‘long term contract for an undisclosed fee’. Media reports suggest we’ll end up paying about €11m for the Germany striker – a very reasonable fee, and a consequence of the fact that he has just a year remaining on his contract.

Back in September few Arsenal fans would have bet on Arsene Wenger being in charge for 2012/13. Now, however, it seems planning for next season is well underway, and Podolski is an important part of that. Arsene says:

“We are delighted to secure the deal for Lukas and see him as an important part of our future. He is a top-class player, a very good finisher and a proven performer at club and international level. He is a very strong player and will provide us with good attacking options.

We are happy to have made this signing early and we are looking forward to watching Lukas contribute at the European Championship over the summer, a level where he has already made 95 caps at the age of 26. That is a phenomenal record and just shows his quality as a player.”

It’s interesting that in the week in which he’s admitted we have an over-reliance on Robin van Persie, Arsene makes a point of heralding Podolski’s ability in front of goal.

The player himself, meanwhile, seems excited about the second major move of his career:

“I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal Football Club and to play in the Premier League. Arsenal is one of the top clubs in Europe with a huge history. There are many top quality players at Arsenal and the style of football which the team plays is fantastic. I’m proud to become an Arsenal player and am looking forward to playing my first match at Emirates Stadium and doing my best for all the Arsenal fans.”

It’s quite the coup to have secured his signing this early. A good European Championships would only have increased demand for Podolski, and probably his inflated his demands beyond our means.

Like his countryman Per Mertesacker, Podolski fits the new profile of Arsenal signings: mid-twenties, internationally decorated, and continentally-known. His Bundesliga experience and muscular build mean that adaptation to the Premier League shouldn’t be too problematic, whilst his direct running and powerful shooting offers an immediate improvement upon the likes of Gervinho, Park, and Chamakh. I expect him to be deployed on the left of a 4-3-3, although he also provides an option through the middle.

And therein lies the first concern with this signing: that it might be a replacement for rather than an augment to Robin van Persie. I can’t pretend to know whether that will ultimately be the case, but I can say with a degree of conviction that it is not Arsenal’s intention. Indeed, one hopes signings like this will help convince Robin to sign on and stay. The second concern is Podolski’s failed stint at Bayern Munich, but as this article by Raphael Honigstein suggests, the player has matured significantly since then. All in all it’s a good addition and something to be excited about ahead of next season.

As I write, Roy Hodgson is on the verge of being named as the new England manager. I think it’s the right appointment, for various reasons, but it does mean our final game of the season will see us travelling to West Brom for Hodgson’s farewell. He’ll want to end on a high, so that looks an increasingly tricky game.

The situation remains simple: win our two remaining games, and third is ours. However, my dwindling confidence has inevitably got me hoping for slips elsewhere to make our lives easier. Tomorrow night, Spurs travel to Bolton and Chelsea face Newcastle. If Chelsea are held to a draw, and Spurs are beaten, a win for Arsenal against Norwich on Saturday would all but guarantee Champions League Football a week in advance. Wishful thinking perhaps, but my nerves could use a bit of relief.

Stoke 1 – 1 Arsenal: Arsenal escape from Mordor with a point

Posted on April 29, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Match Reports, Premier League | 25 Guns

STOKE 1 – 1 ARSENAL

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

Let me start by declaring a bias: I really dislike Stoke. I dislike their manager, their players and their fans. I dislike their ‘style’ of play and their indeterminate evolutionary heritage. So if anyone who is not an Arsenal fan accidentally stumbles upon this entry, and feels it’s a bit partizan: it is. I dislike Stoke.

I do, however, have a grudging respect for the effectiveness of their set-piece based game. With that in mind, I would gladly have taken a point before the game. The bonus of seeing Newcastle hammered at Wigan makes it an even better result.

It could arguably have been more. Arsenal outplayed Stoke, and even Tony Pulis was forced to admit we coped better than ever with their aerial assault. We looked like a side who were focused, determined, and eager to take all three points. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, as we fell behind early on due to our sole lapse in concentration – Bacary Sagna failed to close down Matthew Etherington, and from that point on we were helpless – the cross and Peter Crouch’s header were both inch-perfect.

We recovered in impressive fashion. The goal we scored was a combination of some great harrying and hustling from Yossi Benayoun to win the ball high up the pitch, an outstanding cross from the rejuvenated Tomas Rosicky, and classic movement from RVP to pull away at the far post to tuck home.

There were moments where we flirted with a second goal. Gervinho ducked out of a a simple header, Ramsey fired wide from the edge of the box, and Yossi Benayoun took a tumble in the box, asking for a penalty which he’ll know in his heart of hearts would have been a very soft award. Despite our dominance, Stoke are always a threat when the ball is out of play, and they nearly punished us from a late Rory Delap throw-in; Bacary Sagna redeeming himself with a spectacular clearance from under our crossbar.

And so, a point it was. Although we haven’t won in our last three league games, this was by far our best performance since the victory over Manchester City. Particular credit is due to Aaron Ramsey, who put in a committed and industrious display on a ground which must hold some dark memories for him. As for the Stoke fans who booed him? Well, it’s a level idiocy beyond comprehension. I hoped the empathy and compassion between football fans that sprung up off the back of terrible incidents like the Fabrice Muamba collapse might help put an end to such hateful attitudes. I was wrong. Arsene speaks with great eloquence about the situation here:

“I don’t think you can be especially proud to boo Aaron Ramsey, I don’t see what he has done wrong. It’s an old story where the fans of Stoke stand behind their player but it shouldn’t go as far as booing Ramsey.

I think sometimes when I go out on the pitch at the end of the game, and people are angry or hateful, I would like a little picture to send home for them to show their son or daughter, and then come back next week and see if they will do it again, see if they are proud of you.”

Beautifully put. We can, however, be proud of Ramsey and his team-mates for a very creditable point. Two games left; two wins required. Play like we did yesterday, and it’s eminently possible.

Three. It’s a magic number.

Posted on April 28, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Match Previews, Premier League | 6 Guns

Three games left, three wins required, with third place the prize.

As you all know by now, fourth place is a risk we cannot take, rewarding us with only the a fifty-fifty chance of having an opportunity to qualify for the Champions League. Third place takes you straight in to the group stage, and is currently in our hands. To lose it now, having been granted so many repreives already, would be simply ungrateful.

Today is undoubtedly the trickiest of our remaining three fixtures. It is a sad and unsatisfying fact that we have not won at Stoke since the game in which Aaron Ramsey picked up that horror injury. Whilst Stoke, Norwich and West Brom all ostensibly have nothing to play for, Tony Pulis’ dislike for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal is so strong that he simply won’t allow his side to roll over today in the manner they did at St. James’ Park last week. Make no mistake, they will be up for this.

Arsenal’s defence will have to be at their very best to cope with the catapulted throw-ins of Rory Delap or Ryan Shotton. It is just this sort of game, facing the height of Peter Crouch, that 6 ft 6″ Per Mertesacker was bought for. In the absence of the giant German, Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen will have to be at their springy best to keep our Crouch, Shawcross, Huth and more of Stoke’s lumbering orc army.

In midfield, we’ll miss the discipline and steel of Mikel Arteta. It’s possible Francis Coquelin could be drafted in, but the most likely starter is Aaron Ramsey. What better place to recover his form than ‘the scene of the crime’, as it were?

Ahead of that, Theo Walcott’s injury means that Yossi Benayoun will come straight back in to the side. The other wing spot will most likely go to one of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho – although there is always an outside chance that Ramsey or Rosicky will be shunted wide to provide some more defensive stability. We’ll once again be looking to the newly-crowned Footballer of the Year, Robin van Persie, to score the goals to fire us to victory.

It’s not an exact science of prediction, but last night I dreamt about the game in some detail. Arsenal came from 2-1 behind to draw 2-2. We scored a third, from a set-piece, that was wrongly disallowed. In the end, I was fairly happy with a point, and I think I would be today too – seven points form our final nine should – SHOULD – be enough. Crucially, it’d be enough to guarantee we finish above Spurs, regardless of what happens with Newcastle and Chelsea.

You can hear me discuss Stoke, the race for fourth, and our potential new kits in my first appearance on the Arsenal America Podcast. Have a listen.