When you last heard from me, I was cursing Olivier Giroud for what I saw as a costly late miss against Chelsea. Â Since then, both he and Arsenal have been significantly rehabilitated. Â The team bounced back with 3-1 wins over Olympiakos and West Ham, with Giroud grabbing an assist in each and a goal in the latter.
Perhaps I should go away more often. Â I saw most of the Olympiacos game and highlights of the West Ham match. Â The Champions League tie was typical of most Arsenal group stage games – we got ourselves in a bit of trouble with the usual defensive sloppiness, but pulled through thanks to our overwhelming attacking power. Â The pace at which we attack is often too much for sides in Europe. Â It tends to be at the back that we undo ourselves – see Milan last year for the perfect example.
West Ham was a real test – Carroll and Nolan are handle for any side, particularly one as aerially vulnerable as ours – but we got the breaks and continued to play our football. Â Santi Cazorla was, of course, instrumental. Â His thumping third goal was great, but the turn, spin and pass inside his own half to set Giroud away to set up Theo’s crucial strike was in some ways even more impressive. Â We were reassured also by the return of Per Mertesacker, although a worrying trend is developing in our defence.
It was well publicised that in Arsenal’s first three games of the season they kept three clean sheets. Â Steve Bould was declared as a defensive deity, and all was as rosy as a bank account named by Harry Redknapp at the back. Â Well, since then, Arsenal have conceded at least a goal in each of the following seven games – many of which have been from crosses.
The lesson there, I suppose, is that we should not in such a hurry to judge performances. Â The same lesson could be applied to Olivier Giroud, who is showing some encouraging form. Â Against Olympiacos he was used as an impact substitute, and was desperately unlucky not to score with two good efforts, although he did head on expertly for Aaron Ramsey to chip home. Â Against West Ham, he started as much for defensive reasons as offensive ones, but grabbed a real strikers goal, playing a one-two with Lukas Podolski before toeing the German’s cross home. Â It’s clear he’s feeling a lot better about things, and he continued his momentum with a crucial headed equaliser for France against Spain in midweek. Â What’s important now is that he gets a run of games – as impressed as I’ve been with Gervinho’s efforts upfront, having a genuine centre-forward would improve this team immeasurably.
I feel the same about Jack Wilshere. Â I know we’re supposed to be cautious and protective, but I just know how much he’ll be able to add to the side. Â He’s tantalisingly close now, and whilst this weekend has come soon I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the bench for next Saturday’s game against QPR before starting in the Carling Cup at Reading.
Things are looking up. Â We have several very winnable games before the next ‘season-defining’ clash with Man United at Old Trafford. Â It’s a good time to be back. Â For me, Olivier, and Jack.
Everyone in the media seems to view this game as the true barometer of Arsenal’s potential. Â Yes, they’ve been impressive thus far, but we can only really gauge their prospects after this game against City. Â There’s an element of truth in that: City will be by far the strongest side we’ve faced this season, and the way we equip ourselves against them will determine our capacity to compete at the very top.
However, I do think a caveat is required. Â Just as our results thus far don’t necessarily make us contenders, nor would defeat on Sunday render us useless. Â It’s still very early: Sunday’s result will be indicative, but not definitive.
That said, I think Arsenal should approach this game with confidence. Â We are in a good run, unbeaten this season, and appear to be a little more solid defensively than in previous seasons. Â City are a very good side, but come in to the game on the back of a draw with Stoke and last-gasp defeat in the Bernabeu. Â Their confidence may not be what it was just a week ago.
I expect Arsene to name the same side that faced Montpellier. Â Whilst Olivier Giroud may not be in the best of form, he adds to our physical presence against a very powerful Manchester City side. Â His ability to defend at set pieces may also come in handy.
If you want to hear some more of my thoughts on City, and indeed the win over Montpellier in midweek, why not listen to the latest episode of the Arsenal America podcast? Â No, seriously: why not?
In other news, you’ll all know by now that Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong are now both back in full training. Â Whilst Frimpong could be in contention relatively soon, Wilshere is still a good few weeks away, but I have to say that just seeing him able to rejoin training after 14 months made me feel a little emotional. Â For a player who loves the game as much as Jack, being away from the pitch will have been agony. Â Arsene has preached caution, but at the same time has said “it is certain” that he will return to the levels he showed before his injury. Â A mouthwatering prospect.
Another Engishman, Theo Walcott is expected to be left on the bench against City once again. Â When he sat down with the print media yesterday, Arsene was asked directly whether or not the winger’s precarious contract situation has a bearing on team selection. Â He responded:
“I haven’t picked him, it’s true, and it’s quite a good question. I still hope to sign him and the next two months will be vital because, after that, the longer this situation lasts the more difficult it is.
Let’s hope we can find a solution in the next two months but the fact he doesn’t play regularly at the moment is right, but it’s not necessarily linked with his contract situation.”
Our friend over on arseblog says Theo’s agent and the club are further away from an agreement than ever, and that’s easy to believe.  Prior to the closing of the transfer window, the club made it clear that they would be willing to increase Theo’s wage to £75k p/week – an offer that the player refused, despite a tentative ‘sign or be sold’ ultimatum.  Having seen Arsenal buckle and allow Walcott to stay, his agents aren’t likely to back down anytime soon.
The timeline Arsene is drawing up leads ominously to January.  If a new deal hasn’t been finalised by then, surely Walcott will be encouraged to leave early for a knock-down fee of £5m or so.  In the meantime, his situation has seen him fall behind the developing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and a rejuvenated Gervinho in the pecking order.  Until some resolution is found regarding his long-term future, I do not expect that to change.
Walcott could get a rare start in next Wednesday’s league cup tie with Coventry, which would be as good an indicator as any of his fall from grace. Â Until then, all eyes are on the Etihad.
Arsenal have made an enquiry for Borussia Mönchengladbach attacker Marco Reus. The 22 year-old has scored seven times in 12 Bundesliga appearances this season, and has clearly caught the eye of Arsene Wenger.
“Jens Lehmann has given Wenger an tip-off. After that Arsène has called me.
I had to be honest. I told Wenger he (Reus) was a very good player. But I want to keep him.”
That’s hardly surprising, considering just a day or two ago Favre described Reus as “one of the best players I’ve ever trained”. Raphael Honigstein described Reus to me as “the white Ashley Young” – and, like the Manchester United winger, Reus enjoys cutting in from the left-flank on to his preferred right foot. You can Rafa’s profile of the player here, and watch some clips of him in action below. The boy strikes a ball very clearly indeed:
A release clause of €18m comes in to play next summer, but Arsenal could be forced to pay even more in January. The other major stumbling block is the supposed interest of Bayern Munich, who are perhaps a more natural destination for a player who is far from certain to excel on foreign shores. Wait and see, I guess.
Over the next two transfer windows, Arsenal will be as much at pain to hold on to players as acquire them. The last few months have seen Samir Nasri follow Cesc Fabregas out the door, and serious questions raised over the future of current captain and talisman, Robin van Persie. In that climate, it has been particularly heartwarming to hear the words of Jack Wilshere. Although currently on the sidelines through injury, there can no doubt that he’s one of our most important players, and his commitment to the club appears to be unwavering. When asked if he wanted to remain with Arsenal “foreverâ€, Wilshere said:
“I promise that, yeah. I’ve been at the club since I was nine and learned to love it.
“From the [Patrick] Vieira days, to [Dennis] Bergkamp, [Cesc] Fabregas, I’ve watched them come through and move on. There’s a crop of new players, [Aaron] Ramsey, myself, Kieran Gibbs hopefully we can really create something special. I love the club and I want to be part of its future.â€
I think that it’s never a wise for a footballer to make those kinds of promises. Let’s just hope his resolve is not severely tested by circumstance.
In the build-up to today’s crucial match with Bolton Wanderers, Arsene Wenger has compared himself to ursus maritimus – that cuddly killer, the polar bear.
“Since I arrived in England there have been a lot of things said.
Personally I do not complain. I am supposed to take the bullets and absorb them. Like a bear, a polar bear.
In fairness, they don’t hurt me too much. You worry more about the young player who gets in the team at the moment and gets slaughtered. I remember when I was 19 that was much more difficult for me to take.”
Whilst I understand Arsene’s intention – to depict himself as a shield for his players, taking the weight of criticism upon his experienced shoulders – I would question some aspects of his chosen analogy. I’m not sure where Arsene’s got his info, but I’m not convinced polar bears are “supposed” to take bullets at all. When plucky Tommies went over the top in the Great War, they did not send a squadron of polar bears out first as cannon fodder. Shooting a polar bear is, I’m pretty sure, illegal. They’re endangered, after all.
It’s here that Arsene’s analogy begins to right itself and come bobbing up on the side of truth once more. The threat of global warming has led scientists to suggest polar bears could be eliminated within 100 years. Lose against Bolton today, and Arsene could find himself under an even more immediate threat of extinction.
The team will be very similar to the one that started at Blackburn. Tomas Rosicky has recovered and is back in the squad, but is unlikely to dislodge any of Song, Ramsey and Arteta. The only possible changes are on the flanks – Arsene Wenger will have to choose between Kieran Gibbs and Andre Santos, and is likely to reintroduce Theo Walcott, most likely at the expense of Andrey Arshavin.
“With the ball, he’s ready. Off the ball he plays now like a young talented boy and he has to take responsibility in the senior team.
That will demand two or three months and after he will be there.”
If we’re in a winning position he might get off the bench today to make his home league debut.
I’m optimistic we’ll begin to turn out form around this afternoon, but the day’s undoubtedly been clouded by some bad news: Jack Wilshere will undergo surgery on his ankle and is likely to be out until Christmas at the earliest. It’s huge blow. With Cesc and Nasri gone, Jack is comfortably our most accomplished and inspirational midfield player. This team ought to be being built around him – instead, he’ll be absent for half the season. The only positive spin I can put on it is that I’d rather have him fit for the second half of the season than the first, when we reach the crunch period and the accumulation of points is all the more vital.
Whether or not we get Champions League football, there are already ominous signs for next summer. The quintet of Andrey Arshavin, Thomas Vermaelen, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott and Alex Song all have less than two years to run on their existing deals. If new contracts aren’t tied up this season, we could find ourselves over a barrel as we did with Samir Nasri. Arsene doesn’t exactly sound confident of reaching agreements with all players concerned:
“We will try to convince them. Our desire is there to do it and we are ready to sit down with them.
After that we see where we go but the gap on that front has become bigger for us so, today, I cannot say that if we go to the maximum [deal] we are sure to sign a player – even if we do that we are not sure.”
To compound your distress, Arseblog reports that Darren Dein (the machiavellian marketeer behind the exits of Henry, Clichy, Cesc & Nasri) is now representing the interests of both Song and Van Persie.
I have to say, what excited me most about the signing of Mikel Arteta was the possibility of once more seeing an intelligent, technical midfielder alongside the prodigious Jack Wilshere. It seems I will be waiting some time. Yesterday, Jack took to Twitter to confirm he’ll miss at least two, possibly three months with this mysterious ankle problem.
To put that in context, that’ll be more than a third of the season and is in danger of becoming half. Also, that recovery schedule assumes no set-backs, which considering our injury record seems more than a little unlikely. It explains why Arsene was so keen to pursue Arteta alongside other reported midfield targets like Rennes’ Yann M’Vila. The Spaniard has now joined up for training at London Colney, and is already making a good impression – it’s good news, as he’ll need to hit the ground running. Sprinting, even.
Arsenal may find themselves still reliant on Tomas Rosicky, who helped create an equaliser for the Czech Republic this weekend with an outstanding slide-rule pass. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and I doubt he’ll ever be the player he might have been, but he does work hard and keep the ball moving. If he could add some goals to his game he would remain an important squad member.
Considering the injuries and departures elsewhere in the squad, it’s increasingly unfortunate Gervinho managed to get himself suspended for three league games. Arsene has spoken in his press conferences about how quickly the winger has settled and how he’s showing real confidence in training, and yet so far we’ve only seen glimpses. He was on the scoresheet for Ivory Coast at the weekend, which will have helped keep his form and fitness up. Swansea on Saturday will be the final match of his ban, and after that I expect him to become a regular name on the team-sheet.
Right. That really is all that’s going on at the moment. There’s another round of internationals tomorrow night – let’s hope our players come through unscathed and we can begin looking forward to a few debuts on Saturday…
