Back to School + Arsenal move for Niang

868 comments July 9th, 2012

The Arsenal squad recommence training at London Colney today, and they’ll be buzzing with the usual ‘back to school’ excitement.  What’ve they been up to over the holidays?  Has Mikel Arteta’s hair shown any sign of moving?  What cool new pencil case has Andre Santos got?

Of course, not everyone will be in attendance.  Term might have started, but most of the boys are still absent.  Anyone involved in the European Championships will not return to training for a week or two yet.  Another absentee will be Yossi Benayoun, who has returned to Chelsea after the end of his loan spell.  Clearly, no-one told Andre Santos:

Oh dear.  The cuddly Brazilian will be gutted about the departure of his pointier Israeli chum.  I am a little too: Benayoun’s commitment to the cause last season was greater than many on far longer-term deals.  Whichever club ends up signing him will be very lucky indeed.

Another man unlikely to be at Colney is Aaron Ramsey.  The Welshman flies to Spain this week to train with Team GB ahead of the Olympics.  He has, however, spoken briefly about the situation with another absentee, Robin van Persie:

“I don’t know and we as players don’t know what is happening so we will just have to wait to see what happens.”

Basically, he doesn’t know.  With Arsene Wenger now back doing his day job as opposed to commentating at the Euros, I think it’s highly likely he’ll be asked to comment on it sooner rather than later.  When he does, it should make interesting reading.

Unsurprisingly, since the RVP news broke we’ve been linked with a few forwards.  I actually don’t think that his departure would prompt a major signing: Olivier Giroud would simply be hurried in to action more swiftly than Arsene had envisaged.  However, the likely departures of Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-Young, along with the fact that Joel Campbell has joined Real Betis on loan, mean we could have room for another striker in the squad.  Someone like M’baye Niang.

Reports in France suggest 17 year-old forward Niang is about to join up with Arsenal for a trial period.  His club, Caen, were relegated from Ligue 1 last season, and would be keen to cash in on their prize asset.  Niang is a phenomenal athlete, who started playing top level football aged just 16, and would clearly be an exciting capture for Arsenal.  You can read a fuller profile of him here.  Of course, even if he did sign there’s every chance he’d be loaned out again, so I wouldn’t rush out and get your shirt printed just yet.

Pre-season training is upon us.  The players will be suffering, but for me it’s sweet relief.  The season creeps ever closer.

Midweek musings: RVP, Podolski, Andre Santos

32 comments February 29th, 2012

Greetings, one and all.  I’ve been so busy of late that a midweek blog has become something of an unaffordable luxury.  However, with the horrors of Internationals upon us, I reckon it’s probably best that we huddle together and warm ourselves by a reassuring, Arsenal-flavoured fire.

I don’t know what percentage of the readers of this blog follow me on twitter.  If you don’t yet and are considering it, abandon that plan:  I will only stress you out, as I seem to have devolved in to the football fan equivalent of Chicken Licken.  In the last  48 hours I have stated, on separate occasions and with a worrying degree of certainty, that Robin van Persie and Mikel Arteta were both suspended for the game at Anfield, and that Van Persie had picked up an injury in training with Holland.  On each occasion, I was incorrect: the fact that Arteta and RVP have reached five yellow cards ceased to be relevant after December 31st, and the decision to let Van Persie sit out training with Holland last night was predominantly precautionary.  The sky, it seems, is not falling after all.  Apologies: I shall endeavour to be more thorough in the future.

Of course, we’ll still all be praying that RVP and others come through tonight’s internationals unscathed.  We have a massive game at Anfield on Saturday morning, and to be without the Dutchman in particular would be an enormous blow.  There’s rather a nice piece by Henry Winter here which makes clear his importance to the club.  Some papers have attempted to attach some drama to the fact that Van Persie will not enter in to discussions about a contract renewal until the end of the season.  To most Arsenal fans, however, it comes as no surprise.  Van Persie will want to know whether or not Arsenal will be competing in the Champions League, and in the interim one cannot question his absolute commitment to making that happen.  When those talks do happen, I don’t doubt that Arsene and Ivan will attempt to throw money at the problem by offering Robin a very competitive contract.  In some respects, they’d be better throwing it elsewhere: what’s most likely to keep him is a competitive Arsenal team.

Perhaps one of the summer recruits will be Lukasz Podolski.  German tabloid Bild claims the player has decided that his future lies with Arsenal – the sole obstacle is for the two clubs to agree a fee.  Knowing us, that remains rather a big obstacle, and the article itself seems speculative at best.  Let’s wait and see on this one.

A bit of good news to end with: Andre Santos has said on Twitter that he expects to be back playing in the next fortnight.  That’s a huge boost for us – prior to his injury, his form was outstanding.  Although Kieran Gibbs recovered from a shaky start to have a strong second half against Spurs, for me Santos is a superior player, and certainly provides a more experienced option at left-back.  When Santos returns, we’ll discover if Arsene sees it the same way – if, that is, Gibbs can stay fit long enough to make Arsene have to choose.

Right, that’s all from me. Enjoy your Wednesday.

Are you Ready, Brek?

43 comments November 4th, 2011

Greetings, one and all. After my Iberian escape, I have returned the British Isles and indeed the blogosphere.

I should probably begin by talking about the 0-0 draw with Marseille. Usually my blogs are laced with the sort of relentless positivity that occasionally veers over the line in to genuinely annoying, but in this instance I do have a bone to pick with Arsene Wenger. Before the matches against Chelsea and Marseille, he spoke of how Arsenal were facing “two cup finals”. Now, the last time I checked, you don’t rest your captain and top scorer in a cup final.

It’s not certain that had RVP started, we’d have beaten Marseille, but given his extraordinary form it certainly would have improved our chances. Van Persie is now set to start tomorrow’s game against West Brom – a game which, with respect to the Baggies, seems a more suitable opportunity for him to get some rest.

Maybe I’m speaking out of turn and the Dutchman is nursing an injury none of us know about. I do understand the caution surrounding our most prized asset, but a win against Marseille would have enabled us to secure qualification and leave Van Persie out of our two remaining games altogether. Strange logic from Arsene, and a gamble which (by his own admission) somewhat backfired.

Now, for something a bit more fun: Andre Santos. I have to say, I find the criticism of his defending a little bit joyless. He’s not a masterful marker or a text-book tackler, but we knew that when we signed him. Forgive the stereotyping, but he’s a proper Brazilian full-back, with all the carnival fun and chaos that entails. There’s a brilliant piece about his idiosyncratic style here, and I suggest you give it a read.

A club the size of Arsenal ought to able to afford one slightly mad attacking full-back. Arsene may feel Kieran Gibbs offers more solidity, and when fit I expect the Englishman will remain first-choice, but having the option of starting a full-back who is prepared to get to the byline and who can actually cross and shoot is quite a thrill. If United can play Antonio Valencia at right-back, we can certainly find room for Santos on the left.

Finally today, a little note on the source of today’s headline: a man called Brek Shea, a man with a name so preposterous it could only have been conjured in the United States of America. The 21 year old left-footer is the bright young thing of FC Dallas and indeed the entire MLS, and will spend a month training with Arsenal this winter. Although not an official trial, Shea has been earmarked as a potential Premier League star, and will be keen to make an impression on his hosts. Reports about him are positive, and he can certainly strike a ball – see video here.

Right, I’d better hop it. Let’s hope there’s not too much boing in the Baggies tomorrow. It’s Arsenal who are supposed to be bouncing back.

Arsenal 2 – 1 Olympiacos: Arsenal Avoid Greek Tragedy

238 comments September 29th, 2011

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wheels away after opening the scoring against Olympiacos

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s Pat’s reaction

Arsenal picked up their first win of the Champions League group stage last night, meaning we were the only English side to win in Europe’s premier competition this week.  We also now have more Champions League points than Manchester City and Manchester United combined.

Arsene gambled a little with his team selection, and got away with it.  I support his decision, and would have done even if it had backfired.  We have a huge squad now, as the fact that even with the amount of injuries we’re carrying we were able to rest players demonstrates.  The XI he picked was plenty strong enough to win this game at home.

With that said, I think we all may have been guilty of underestimating Olympiacos a little.  Granted, we don’t see much of them in England, but I thought they were great last night – all technically capable, and organised too.  They were smart in their tactical play, looking to break against our attacking midfield, and closing down Mikel Arteta whenever he got the ball.  Their goal was the result of some intelligent thinking: recognising that we’re adapting to a new zonal marking system, they threw a spanner in the works by taking short corners.  Frankly, we looked as if he hadn’t covered that situation in training yet.

They looked the more dangerous side for long periods of the game, but fortunately we were already two goals ahead thanks to strikes from two recent signings.  First, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continued his impression adaptation to top-level football by dribbling inside from the right and firing left-footed across the goalkeeper to become the youngest ever English goalscorer in the Champions League.  The second and third youngest, in case you’re wondering, are Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere.

Andre Santos’ goal also came off his wrong foot.  He galloped forward to meet a Tomas Rosicky through-ball, but his cross for Chamakh was cut out.  When the ball rebounded back to the cavalier left-back, he skipped in side his man and knocked a right-footed effort in at the keeper’s near post.

We did struggle to retain possession at times – Emmanuel Frimpong looking particularly raw in midfield – and Olympiacos gave us the fright of our lives by striking the crossbar from range in the second-half with an effort that probably deserved better – but we held out for the win.

There were plenty of positives for me, particularly with the makeshift centre-half pairing of Song and Mertesacker.  Song was tenacious and calm on the ball, and the German had his best game in an Arsenal shirt.  I’ve noticed an interesting trend in his play: unlike most Arsenal centre-halves, he doesn’t charge straight towards the ball.  At times he backs away or runs in to an area which seems to make no sense – only to be perfectly positioned to clear when the cross comes in.  He’s economical and efficient – at times last night he knew when his best option was just to boot the thing away.

I also felt Santos played well, and the battle between he and Kieran Gibbs looks set to run and run.  Santos has a remarkable upright dribbling style – his touch is immaculate and last night he showed some steel to match the flair.

It’d be impossible not to mention Chamberlain.  Although I felt he faded before being withdrawn on the hour mark, it’s clear we’ve got a huge talent here.  The most obvious comparisons to make are with Theo Walcott – not just because of their Southampton heritage, but because they’re competing for the same spot in the team.  Last night Pat Rice said:

“From Arsenal supporters’ point of view, they are going to be seeing a lot of this boy. Whenever he breaks in permanently he has a big, big challenge to now get in front of Theo. I know that Theo is a very strong-willed guy as well and he won’t give in easy. It all bodes well for England anyway.”

For England – and, more to the point, for Arsenal.

In summary: we won.  United’s home draw with Basel shows how treacherous these games against ‘lesser’ opposition can be.  The Greek league is significantly stronger than the Swiss, and we came out on top.  I’m happy with that and you ought to be too.

Transfer frenzy: 5 signings in 2 days

768 comments September 1st, 2011

Two days. Five signings. One goal: Regeneration.

I expected activity from Arsenal.  I hoped for three, maybe four additions.  But five signings in two days is more than I could have wished for.

The 8-2 defeat to Manchester United brought the club to its knees.  But it also brought a change of ideology.  Arsene saw how on that day how vulnerable his young squad was, and has moved decisively to reinforce it with experience and quality.  The cavalry has arrived.

On Tuesday we completed the signing of Park Chu-Young, and Wednesday afternoon saw us secure the anticipated signings of Andre Santos and Per Mertesacker.  That saw the defence and attack sorted, but huge concerns remained about the midfield.  As night drew in and the 11pm deadline inched closer, fans were deeply concerned: could Arsenal really go in to the season without adding to a midfield shorn of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas?

They needn’t have worried.  An impeccable source tells me that Mikel Arteta was at London Colney as early as 6.30pm.  After some haggling over wages – it seems Arteta may have taken a pay-cut to secure his four year deal – his signing was secured, right on the deadline.  Not only that, but he was joined by Yossi Benayoun, on a season long loan from Chelsea.

The signings all bring a wealth of experience and character to the table

Per Mertesacker – 26 years old, Former Werder Bremen captain, 75 Germany caps
Andre Santos – 28 years old, 22 Brazil caps
Mikel Arteta – 29 years old, 161 Premier League appearances – more than any other Arsenal player
Yossi Benayoun – 31 years old, Current Israel captain with 83 Israel caps
Park Chu-Young – 26 years old, Current captain of South Korea with 53 caps

And all that for a total outlay of about £28m.

The negative element of the fanbase with complain that we haven’t made a marquee signing – someone of the stature of a Cesc or a Nasri.  To a degree they’re right – although I consider Mertesacker and Arteta to be unusually high profile signings for Arsene.  What we have done is significantly strength the squad – certainly since Sunday, and perhaps even since last season.  I expect Santos, Mertesaker and Arteta to make a significant impact on the first XI this season, whilst Benayoun and Park will provide capable options in attacking areas.

The big German centre-half is what we’ve been crying out for, and I’m looking forward to him forming a mean looking partnership with Thomas Vermaelen.  Santos will provide stiff competition for Gibbs – you don’t play for Brazil regularly without being a half-decent footballer – and Arteta is an absolutely vital addition.  He knows the league inside out, he can pass the ball, and score goals.  We’ve seen how someone like Ashley Young has stepped up to another level since joining a Champions League club, and I believe Arteta has the talent to do the same.

I think Benayoun is regarded a little harshly by Arsenal fans, perhaps because he’s played for several rival clubs.  I believe he’s talented and capable of scoring goals – and he hasn’t cost us anything yet!  Remember, this is the man who scored the goal for West Ham that put us in Europe ahead of Spurs after lasagne-gate, so we owe him a little goodwill.  Park, meanwhile, seems like a very solid pro who will fit right in to our technical style of football.

It’s all unprecedented for Arsenal on so many levels.  To make so many signings – and this kind of signing too.  Mertesacker is the tallest player Arsene has ever bought.  He’s added two veterans of the Premier League.  He’s signed players who are ready to go now – and for some of whom time is actively running out!

For those who wanted a global superstar: Arsene will tell you that within twelve months, the likes of Wilshere or Gervinho could reach that level.  These players will provide the platform they need to do that.  My favourite aspect of deadline day was seeing the tweets flood in from young Jack:

Maybe Arteta will give him the support Cesc needed but never had.  Against Manchester United, we saw an Arsenal team that didn’t believe in themselves.  Now, they might just have a reason.

There were departures too.  Henri Lansbury joined West Ham on loan, and with his contract close to expiry he may not be coming back.  Nicklas Bendtner also joined Sunderland on a temporary deal – his long-term future is harder to call.  We might get him as a proven Premier League goalscorer.  Gilles Sunu got himself a four year deal at Lorient, who have also taken Joel Campbell on loan for the season.

It is a radical overhaul of the squad.  At a glance:

Out: Denilson (loan), Clichy, Fabregas, Eboue, JET, Vela (loan), Nasri, Traore, Lansbury (loan), Sunu, Campbell (loan), Bendtner (loan)

In: Jenkinson, Gervinho, Chamberlain, Miyaichi (WP granted), Campbell, Park, Santos, Mertesacker, Benayoun, Arteta

I’ve probably missed some out – but still, you get the point.

Over the international break there’ll be plenty of time to analyse each signing individually and their potential impact on the side.  For now, I’m exhausted, and need to rest for a long time.

It’s a new look Arsenal squad.  It might not be good enough to win the league, but it’s certainly good enough for Champions League qualification.  Also, it’s one I can take pride in, which is more than I can say for the situation last week.  I’m glad that Arsene, too, seems to have shown some humility and amended his transfer policy.  It was, I’m sure we all agree, entirely necessary.

The season starts against Swansea.  I can’t wait.

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