Posts filed under 'Match Previews'
September 10th, 2011
A short time ago in a stadium far, far away, Arsenal were on the receiving end of a defeat so humiliating that it prompted one of the greatest periods of introspection in the club’s recent history. Since then, a great deal has passed. Five new players have joined the club, and another five have left. The club have taken the opportunity provided by the international break to regroup, recoil, and reinforce.
We’re undoubtedly in a stronger position that we were ten days ago. The addition of established players like Mertesacker, Arteta and Benayoun has provided the squad with a depth it was sorely lacking. Arsene Wenger has even suggested the squad may be better than it was twelve months ago:
“The squad is stronger. If you look at the squad now and imagine Wilshere and Diaby coming back, plus the players like Vermaelen who will come back soon and I think we have a more mature squad.”
Only time will tell if he’s right. The loss of Fabregas and Nasri has been a tremendous blow, but if the likes of Mertesacker, Santos and Arteta can make the team more robust, we may see the emergence of an Arsenal side with a different personality. One with less flair, but more fight. Mertesacker and Vermaelen should have the ability to bind in to a formidable defensive unit. Arteta, meanwhile, has “amazed” Arsene with his strength in the tackle – a toughness forged on the battlegrounds of the SPL and the Old Firm Derby.
The new boys in training
We may be lighter on big names. We may be lighter on creativity. But we won’t be lighter in the challenge. It’s important to remember that whilst we’ve lost two lynch-pins of the side, they didn’t lead us to any great success, especially in terms of silverware. Arsene’s additions this summer have been unusual for him, but isn’t that just what people wanted? Fans cry out for a departure from the philosophy of signing unheard of youngsters, and then when he does just that, they ask why we didn’t sign players like Hazard and M’Vila – both less than 21 and without any experience of the English game. I believe Arsenal tried for both – the latter in particular – but right now the likes of Arteta could prove more useful.
It’s our fourth league fixture, our sixth game of the season, and yet Arsenal fans and players alike seem united in the belief that the season starts now. Winger Theo Walcott says:
“We need to start our season against Swansea. We need to forget about the games against Liverpool and Manchester United.
We need to react in a positive way. We need players to stand up and be counted because, if we’re honest, it wasn’t good enough against Manchester United.”
He’s right. We need to be positive. In order to do that, we’ll have to be realistic. We’re currently in 17th place, already 8 points behind the Manchester clubs. With that start and the disruption we’ve suffered, winning the league seems improbable at best. At the moment, our priority has to be overhauling Liverpool and retaining that valuable Champions League spot. If we can do that this season, as well as have a decent stab at the cups, we’ll all be mightily relieved.
That battle starts today against Swansea. I suspect a couple of our new signings will be on show: Per Mertesacker is likely to start alongside Laurent Koscielny with Bacary Sagna and the fit-again Kieran Gibbs at full-back. Andre Santos is not yet fully fit, and will begin on the bench, and Wojciech Szczesny – our player of the month for August – will continue in goal. In midfield, Emmanuel Frimpong and Aaron Ramsey will be joined by Arteta, whilst captain Van Persie is likely to be flanked by Walcott and Arshavin. There is the possibility that Yossi Benayoun could be thrown in ahead of the out-of-sorts Russian, but J. Y. Park is unlikely to be involved: as of last night he was still in Paris awaiting clearance on his visa.
I’d love to see Arsenal come back in style and make a real statement, putting four or five behind a newly promoted side. I don’t anticipate that, however. Swansea are a decent side and won’t roll over. We may need to be patient today: the fans as much as the players.
After Swansea, we face Blackburn and Bolton in the league, and have the chance to build some momentum before the North London Derby. If we can embark upon a winning run, then the Old Trafford debacle will soon seem light years and galaxies away.
It’s time to look ahead. Or as the marketing folk at Nike would have us say: Forward.
 Come On You Gunners.
August 28th, 2011
There is a massive match today, and at the risk of sounding uncannily like manager Arsene Wenger, I’d like to talk solely about that. Â However, with the window creaking towards closing, inevitably there is transfer news on the agenda.
It appears that Arsenal are about to sign South Korea striker Park Chu-Young.  After Monaco were relegated last season, Park, who is captain of his country, has spent the summer searching for a move.  It seemed he’d found it when French champions Lille agreed a fee of €3m + €2m add-ons.  He underwent a medical, and this morning Lille president Michel Seydoux sought out Park at his hotel to finalise the contract.
Only, Park wasn’t there.
A series of furious phone calls to Monaco and the player’s representatives confirmed Seydoux’s fears: Park had travelled to England, to meet with Arsenal.
Park was as surprised as anyone; the deal has come from nowhere. Â On Friday, Arsene confirmed Arsenal’s desire to sign a striker – a decision motivated by the impending departure of Nicklas Bendtner and the fact Joel Campbell has been denied a work permit. Â That evening, Arsenal informed Monaco of their interest. Â By Saturday morning, a formal bid had arrived, and Arsene Wenger had spoken to Park on the telephone. Â As soon as he received the call, the player departed for London.
It’s an intriguing signing, and in my eyes a positive one. Â A couple of days ago I didn’t think Arsene was going to buy a striker, so I’ll be delighted if we do secure one. Â Some fans seem disappointed by he player’s relatively low profile and price-tag, but I think they’re odd criteria by which to judge a signing.
Even so, I expect bigger names to arrive in the areas which require more significant strengthening: defence and midfield. Â Speaking of which, Owen Coyle’s criticism of Gary Cahill’s performance at Anfield, suggesting the player has had his “head turned”, seem to me to be further evidence of a club preparing for the player’s departure.
Anyway. Â More of Park, Cahill and others in the coming days of frenzied activity. Â For now, for today, it’s Manchester United at Old Trafford.
First: team news. Â As you all know, the Arsenal squad is currently decimated by injuries and suspensions. Â From the game against Udinese we lose Song, Gervinho and Frimpong (all suspended), who join the likes of Gibbs, Squillaci, Wilshere, Diaby and Bendtner on the sidelines.
Wojciech Szczesny will continue in goal. Â Thomas Vermaelen will form the bedrock of our defence, with his first-choice partner Laurent Koscielny hopefully able to be picked alongside him. Â There were some rumours yesterday that Bacary Sagna was suffering from a stomach bug – assuming he recovers, he’s likely to continue at left-back with Carl Jenkinson on the other flank.
The central midfield trio will be comprised of Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey and another.  The likes of Oguzhan Özyakup and Francis Coquelin have reportedly been called up to the first team squad, but I suspect Arsene will go with Johan Djourou in a holding role.  The Swiss defender began his career as a midfielder and should be comfortable enough in that position.
The attack picks itself: captain Robin van Persie will be flanked by the in-form Theo Walcott and out-of-sorts Andrey Arshavin.
United have started the season in fine fettle, with plenty of new blood to supplement the established set. Â They’re champions and favourites for this year’s title. Â Arsenal, meanwhile, have spent the first part of the season lurching from one disaster to the next, until the reprieve granted by defeating Udinese in the Champions League qualifier. Â All of that means that we start this game as massive underdogs – a position which ought to suit us.
Considering this is always a huge fixture, we go in to it under remarkably little pressure. Â Hopefully that will liberate some of the younger players in our side, and allow us to at least make a decent fist of it. Â The squad strengthening that will happen between now and Wednesday could dramatically alter our season – but, arguably, a positive result today could be more.
We’re due a win at Old Trafford. Â And we’re due some luck. Â A victory, or even a convincing performance, could rarely be more timely.
Come On You Gunners.
August 20th, 2011
Apologies for the lack of blog yesterday. A sleepless night and a five hour train journey meant sharing my thoughts with you would’ve been an unpleasant situation for us both. Fortunately, I am now slightly recovered, and feeling rather better. About everything, in fact.
This morning I’ll cycle up to the Emirates for my first live game of the season. In fact, work commitments have prevented me actually getting to games since around March. I watched our end of season collapse on the television, or through my computer/fingers.
The summer hasn’t been any easier on the eye. But tomorrow lunchtime, when I’m confronted with the full horror of Liverpool FC and their fans, all I will care about is that the eleven men in red and white triumph over the eleven men in whatever hideous away kit Liverpool’s marketing men have concocted for this season. And that, really, is what football ought to be about.
For ninety minutes, I’m calling a truce with my angst. All I want to do is beat Liverpool. I’m even calling a truce with Samir Nasri, who has been surprisingly recalled to the squad. It shows how stretched we are when the manager is prepared to risk a £23m asset just hours before he’s due to leave the club. The fact that Tomas Rosicky has joined Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, Gervinho, Alex Song, Kieran Gibbs, Armand Traore and Johan Djourou on the sidelines has forced Arsene to reconsider Nasri’s position, and I now expect him to start in a midfield trio with Emmanuel Frimpong and Aaron Ramsey.
It’s certainly a change of position from when Arsene said he was only prepared to use players who were 100% committed to the club. And it’s a change brought about, quite clearly, by desperation. Arsene said:
“You do your job until the last day of your life at the Club – the rest is speculation. That doesn’t interfere with your dedication and the way you do your job.
Nasri is in the squad. If I decide to play him he will play. When you are professional you play until the last day.
Everywhere I have worked in my life I have made sure that until the last second of where I was I did the job properly. He is paid this month by Arsenal Football Club so why should he not play?”
Nasri’s impending move to City has seen his relationship with the Arsenal fans very quickly and very publicly disintegrate. There will doubtless be those in the Emirates crowd who want to vent their frustrations at a player who has reneged on a new deal at Arsenal to double his money elsewhere. My advice to you is this: save it for when he comes back with City. There’s no need for a negative atmosphere around the ground on a day when teenagers like Carl Jenkinson and Emmanuel Frimpong could be making their first league starts for the club.
The team will most likely be:
Szczesny – Sagna Koscielny Vermaelen Jenkinson – Frimpong Ramsey – Walcott Nasri Arshavin – Van Persie (c)
Japanese winger Ryo Miyaichi, having completed his paperwork, is also in contention and is likely to be on the bench. Interestingly, there’s been no talk of whether or not Nicklas Bendtner could be involved, perhaps in one of the wide attacking roles. I wouldn’t be adverse to giving the Dane a game, although his lack of match practise might be a worry.
Regardless, it’s a line-up that tells you a lot about the state of the squad and where we require strengthening – especially when you take Nasri out of the equation too. I was encouraged by the news that Arsenal made an enquiry for Lucho Gonzalez – an experienced, quality player – albeit one whose form has dipped in the last twelve months; but seriously, why would Marseille allow one of their best players, who cost them €18m two years ago, to leave on loan? Much like when we bid only £10m for Phil Jagielka, I think we were being optimistic at best, and naieve at worst.
It doesn’t look like we’ll be getting Juan Mata either, with the Spaniard now set to sign for Chelsea. That’s a shame: he’s a great player and would’ve been a good like-for-like replacement for Nasri.
One player who has signed is Joel Campbell. The teenage striker will now wait to hear if he is awarded a work permit before the club decide the next stage of his development.
It’s a huge game today. Our first two matches have come with creditable results, if uninspiring performances. This is a different kind of test, against the team a whole host of pundits have predicted will supercede us in the race for Champions League qualification. It’s an opportunity to make a real statement, and give both the players and fans a much-need boost ahead of a very difficult week in which we travel to Udinese and Manchester United.
Arsene looked as fiery as he ever has done in his press conference yesterday, swatting away journalists with defiant rhetoric. He’s clearly been riled by those hacks and fans who have openly questioned his decision-making this summer, and feels he has a point to prove. As supporters, we should consider that a good thing. Three good results in the next eight days would certainly silence many of his critics.
Come On You Gunners.
August 16th, 2011
You may feel there’s a little hyperbole involved in today’s headline. I don’t.
This is a huge game, in a huge week, in a huge month for Arsene. With Cesc Fabregas’ transfer to Barcelona now finalised (you can read details of his press conference, including praise for Arsene, Jack and Ramsey here), fans will be looking for some hope to cling to. A resounding victory against Udinese would provide just that.
It would also, of course, help us towards Champions League Qualification. Should we fail to progress, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Cesc money used to compensate for the financial losses incurred by not eating at Europe’s top table. If we do qualify, not only will we have money to spend, but we’ll also have the tour of Champions League football to offer potential acquisitions.
It won’t, however, be easy. Udinese finished fourth in Serie A last year. Like us, they have lost their best player to Barcelona (Alexis Sanchez), but they still have some great players, such as Antonio Di Natale, who has finished as the division’s top goalscorer for two seasons running.
Arsenal, meanwhile, go in to the game with a weakened team. Already shorn of Cesc, we lose both Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie to suspension. Tomas Rosicky also faces a fitness test, meaning their could be a huge creative burden on the trio of Arshavin, Walcott and Gervinho. Hopefully they have enough in them to carry it. There are some suggestions that Nicklas Bendtner could be included – if he is, I can only assume that’s because he is moving to a club where a Champions League cup-tie would have no cost.
Whether Nasri would’ve played tonight anyway is in some doubt. Yesterday, via twitter, he launched a stinging attack in the fans who sang abusive chants at him against Newcastle. It feels very much like a parting shot thrown as he heads out the door – if and when Nasri goes, he won’t receive anything like the fond farewell afforded to Cesc.
Nasri did join in Arsenal training yesterday, as Arsenal.com showed us on this free video, which also revealed the startling and disturbing news that Alex Song insists on training naked from the waist down:
Each to their own, I suppose.
Perhaps it was some kind of protest against his charge from the FA. Arsenal have also decided to appeal Gervinho’s red card, which strikes me as unwise. Unfairly provoked though he was, he did commit a red card offence. Hopefully his appeal won’t see his ban extended on grounds of frivolity.
Song’s partner in silliness, Emmanuel Eboue, is about to leave the club after Galatasaray confirmed they were in talks with the player. A source close to the deal gave me an amusing footnote to this one: Eboue landed in Turkey last night, expecting to be met by the Galatasaray chief exec. Meanwhile, the CEO is landing in London, expecting to meet Eboue there. Only Eboue’s exit could occur in such comical fashion.
Arsene Wenger will not be allowed to take his place on the bench tonight due to a one-match touchline ban. Hopefully those who join him in the stands remember that the players out there in and red and White all take pride in playing for Arsenal. They want to be here, and they need your support. This is a huge test.
Come On You Gunners.
August 13th, 2011
Ordinarily, I would write a full and in-depth season preview, taking an appropriately full and in-depth look at the squad’s various areas of strength and weakness, and assessing our chances for the new season. However, in the current circumstances, it feels impossible to do that.
By the time you’ve read this piece, Cesc and Nasri might have gone. Hell, they might have gone by the time I finish writing it. One thing is clear: they are going, and in doing so leaving a gaping hole in the squad. And that’s on top of all the other gaps we’re yet to fill.
There is a huge amount of work to be done between now and August 31st. And I’m only talking about off the pitch. What’s frightening is that in those two and a half weeks we also have to play some very important fixtures. To me at least, it doesn’t really feel like the season kicks off today, because this Arsenal squad is so obviously unready; so patently half-baked.
I’m praying that feeling isn’t shared by the squad. Arsene said yesterday that “transfer speculation is disruptive but not an excuse”, and he’s right – we simply have to hope the players whose future is with Arsenal are focused on the job in hand.
We do, of course, have a team capable of beating Newcastle tomorrow, even without Cesc, Nasri, and the injured Jack Wilshere. Robin van Persie will inherit the armband and play in the central striking role, supported by Gervinho and one of Arshavin or Walcott. Tomas Rosicky will most likely fill the playmaking role, with Alex Song and Aaron Ramsey patrolling midfield behind him. Wojciech Szczesny will keep goal behind a back four of Kieran Gibbs, Bacary Sagna, a fit again Thomas Vermaelen, and one of Djourou or Koscielny.
There will, of course, be scars for our collapse their last season. To avoid any repeat, I advise going 5-0 up as soon as possible. Surely that will be a bridge too far.
Last season's fixture holds horrible memories for Arsenal fans
In my opinion, Newcastle have bought well this summer, and our centre-backs will have to concentrate to keep out the lively Demba Ba. If I were Alan Pardew, I’d be picking Joey Barton too: there can’t be a player in the country more determined to make a point on the pitch.
We should, however, have enough. We look strong in attack, and as much as we’d all like to see more defenders arrive, we can be thankful that we have our ‘first choice’ defence available this evening.
For the next few days, the transfer market will play second fiddle to the return of proper football. We travel to Newcastle and then we face Udinese at home, when we’ll be without the suspended Robin van Persie. Both games are vital: for morale, for our bank balance, and for ensuring we’re remain an attractive enough proposition to attract the reinforcements we clearly need.
[pullquote align=”right”]”The league may kick off today, but between now and September 1st we have five cup finals.”[/pullquote]And it doesn’t end there. A few days after Udinese, we face Liverpool, before heading out to Italy for the second leg. Then the following weekend we travel to Old Trafford for what an encounter that could define the opening portion of our domestic campaign. There is no respite. No week off in which Arsene can ponder his targets, or embed a new signing within the team. The league may kick off today, but between now and September 1st we have five cup finals. Five cup finals around which the manager has to rebuild his squad.
Joel Campbell is presented in Costa Rica (click to enlarge)
We all know what is required. Certainly a centre-back, and certainly an attacking midfielder if both Nasri and Cesc depart. Beyond that, I think we’re potentially week in both full-back positions, defensive midfield, and indeed upfront, with Nicklas Bendtner still hoping to secure a move away from the club.
The signing of Joel Campbell means the acquisition of another promising teenage talent, but will do little to placate concerned fans: for one thing, he may not even receive a work permit for the coming season.
Those hoping for big names might need to readjust their sights – Juan Mata, for one, this not be arriving this summer.
It is a rebuilding in its truest sense. If you look at the list of possible departures this summer, by September it could should read: Denilson, Clichy, Fabregas, Nasri, Bendtner, Almunia, Vela. That is a generations-worth of Arsenal talent. At one time or another, Arsene has earmarked them all for a significant role in ‘this’ Arsenal team.
That team, Cesc’s team, has now been disbanded. A new one is emerging, with a far more Northern European than Mediterranean flavour. A team dominated by Van Persie, Vermaelen, and a growing British core of Wilshere, Ramsey, Gibbs, Walcott, Jenkinson and Chamberlain. In most circumstances, it would be exciting. But the revolution has come at a time when Arsenal fans do not have the patience for yet more transition. Arsene has nurtured a team around Cesc and Nasri, only to have the creative heart ripped out of it when he thought it was closest to fruition. Now he’s left to pick up the pieces and try and build yet another new side.
With the growing pressures on him, his only option is pragmatism. He has to be more short-termist, and bring in experienced players who represent immediate solutions. We’ve said this before, but never has it been more urgent, and more true.
The season proper starts on September 1st. If Arsene isn’t careful, his position could become untenable before then.
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If you want to follow today’s game, I’ll be doing updates on twitter.
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