Gunnerblog

Coventry Preview: What a night for Nico Yennaris

866 comments September 26th, 2012

Tonight’s League Cup with Coventry City is a sell-out.  Considering it’s not included in season tickets, that means 60,000 seats, all sold and accounted for.  That’s the same as Chelsea and City’s combined attendance from their games last night.  Even taking in to account reduced prices, it’s a pretty extraordinary feat, and a demonstration of the appetite to watch Arsenal football club.

Tonight will be a vision of the future: a young team, and a young crowd too.  Here’s hoping it’s an enthralling game that wins the hearts of the next generation of Gooners filling the stands.

Arsene has indicated it’ll be a strong side sprinkled with a smattering of youngsters (update: the 18-man squad has now been named).  One of the more inexperienced players likely to start is Nico Yennaris, completing a remarkable double: the last time we played Coventry City, at Highbury, he was the mascot.

Suffice to say he looks a bit different now.  If you were wondering, the other mascot went on to become Michel Salgado.

When it comes to picking tonight’s team, there are a few certainties: Argentinian youngster Damian Martinez will make his debut in goal, Ignasi Miquel will play at centre-back, Emmanuel Frimpong will be on the bench as he continues his recuperation, and Andrey Arshavin will get a rare opportunity to start.

Filling in the gaps, I expect Johan Djourou to partner Miquel, and probably captain the side to boot.  That’ll mean leaving out Sebastien Squillaci, but I can hardly see the point in giving game-time to a player who is highly unlikely to feature this season and beyond.  At left-back Andre Santos is badly in need of game time, so I expect him to step in.  On the right, Arsene has a few options, but I suspect he might be tempted to deploy the young Spaniard signed from Barcelona, Hector Bellerin.

That’d mean shifting Yennaris in holding midfield – a role he has played regularly while skippering the Reserves.  With Frimpong unlikely to play more than twenty minutes, Francis Coquelin will presumably he handed another chance to impress.

Ahead of that is trickier to predict.  Arsene is keen to unleash the talent of 17 year old Serge Gnabry, but there are a queue of first-team players ahead of him looking for game time.  Arshavin has pretty much been guaranteed an opportunity, and I think he may find himself switching positions between the left flank and a central play-making berth, also occupied by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.  The youngster did not get on at the weekend and will be wanting to impress ahead of the Chelsea game.

On the right flank, Theo Walcott is due a game, and will probably start.  Of course, Arsene does have the option of switching Chamberlain and Arshavin to the flanks, and playing Walcott through the middle alongside another striker.  It’d be an interesting formation to look at, but I can’t see Arsene conceding to Theo’s demands so swiftly.

That other striking role will come down to one of Marouane Chamakh and Olivier Giroud.  I’d pick Giroud.  For me, Chamakh is in the same boat as Squillaci – treading water until he leaves.  Furthermore, the Frenchman is desperate for a goal, and you have to think that tonight will be as good an opportunity as any to get one.

With City and Everton both out of the competition last night, I hope we make a real fist of the League Cup this year.  We’re all aware it’s not a priority, but it’d be great to have a good run at it.  Starting tonight.

City Preview, Wilshere’s return, & Theo thoughts

712 comments September 22nd, 2012

Everyone in the media seems to view this game as the true barometer of Arsenal’s potential.  Yes, they’ve been impressive thus far, but we can only really gauge their prospects after this game against City.  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.  Just as our results thus far don’t necessarily make us contenders, nor would defeat on Sunday render us useless.  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.  We are in a good run, unbeaten this season, and appear to be a little more solid defensively than in previous seasons.  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.  Their confidence may not be what it was just a week ago.

I expect Arsene to name the same side that faced Montpellier.  Whilst Olivier Giroud may not be in the best of form, he adds to our physical presence against a very powerful Manchester City side.  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?  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.  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.  For a player who loves the game as much as Jack, being away from the pitch will have been agony.  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.  A mouthwatering prospect.

Another Engishman, Theo Walcott is expected to be left on the bench against City once again.  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.  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.  Until then, all eyes are on the Etihad.

Montpellier Preview: Arsenal led Bould-ly in to group stages

302 comments September 18th, 2012

Arsenal travelled to France yesterday ahead of tonight’s match with Montpellier.  The headline news was that Wojciech Szczesny failed to get the flight – not because he forgot his passport or had a Final Destination-style premonition that the plane would crash – but because he has an ankle injury.

It’s an intriguing situation.  During the second half of Saturday’s game with Southampton, in which Szczesny dropped an already infamous clanger, Vito Mannone was sent out to warm up.  At the time I wondered if Arsene was trying to keep the Pole on his toes by reminding him of the competition.  Now it seems more likely there was already concern over Wojciech’s fitness – with some suggesting he may have landed badly on his ankle just as he dropped the ball and allowed Fox to score.

When quizzed after the game as to whether Szczesny was fully fit, Arsene dead-panned back, “That’s what I am told”.  He seemed to be harbouring an irritation – perhaps with Szczesny, who irked by the threat of Mannone and eager to put the horrors of EURO 2012 behind him, may have come back before he was entirely ready.  With a huge game at Man City on Sunday, no risks will be taken at this tage, and Mannone will start tonight, with youngster James Shea on the bench.

The only other change to the 18 man squad is that Abou Diaby has returned and takes the place of Andrey Arshavin.  It’s telling that in Saturday’s game, Arshavin was not even ushered from the bench to warm up.  It’s clear he is way down Arsene’s current pecking order.

The same fate could befall Theo Walcott if he fails to sign a new contract.  Since the breakdown of talks with him at the back end of the transfer window, he hasn’t started a game, and the longer those talks go on without conclusion the further away from the first-team he’ll find himself.  When asked if the situation had an effect on team selection, Arsene said:

“It can, but at the moment, I still hope to extend his contract so, at the moment, it doesn’t effect me. Of course at some stage … if, in April, it’s not done, you can think it will be difficult to do.”

There’s due to be some rotation tonight, so perhaps Theo will benefit.   I’m not so sure myself.  Aside from Mannone, I think Laurent Koscielny is the one man guaranteed to come in.  I also anticipate starts for Andre Santos and Olivier Giroud.  Abou Diaby would not have travelled if Arsene wasn’t giving serious consideration to playing him, and whilst there’s an outside chance of Aaron Ramsey replacing Santi Cazorla, the Spaniard is already so integral to our game that I simply can’t see him being left out.

If Giroud does start, he’ll be immediately under the spotlight once again.  It’s funny – Arsene said he left him out of the Southampton game to reduce pressure.  Perhaps it would’ve been smarter to play him against the Saints and then leave him out of what’s sure to be an emotional night against his former club.  Giroud, however, will be desperate to play – and I think we need him to.  I think Arsene needs to take another look at him before deciding between him and Gervinho for the centre-forward role at Man City – the two have such different styles and the manager will want to be making an informed choice.

I think we’ll go with:

Mannone – Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Santos – Arteta, Diaby, Cazorla – Gervinho,

Giroud, Podolski

It’s a strong side and one that should be capable of getting a positive result against an out-of-sorts Montpellier.  Arsene Wenger is banned from the touchline, so Arsenal will be under the command of Steve Bould – something I have a growing suspicion and hope we might see more of in the future. Come On You Gunners.

Southampton Preview: Today is about far more than Olivier Giroud

395 comments September 15th, 2012

Olivier Giroud has started just two games for Arsenal.  He has had just two noteworthy chances.  And yet already there is talk of him being ‘under pressure’.  Football has truly never been quite so hysterical and reactionary.

I won’t deny he could go with a goal.  The way he struck his wayward efforts against Sunderland and Liverpool suggested a player hurrying his shot in order to accelerate his adaptation with a first strike in Arsenal colours.  What he needs is composure and confidence.  That will come with time and, of course, goals.

There is a growing sense of expectation that journey will begin against Southampton.  By an odd quirk of fate, Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry all opened their accounts against the Saints, and a home game against a newly-promoted opponent does seem likely to offer up at least one presentable opportunity to our primary centre-forward.

Should be score, I’ll be delighted.  Should he not, I’ll be completely fine with it – as long as Arsenal win.  It’s clear that Arsene’s transfer policy this summer was largely dictated by a need to spread goals around the team after Van Persie’s departure.  He is hoping for Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud to match the Dutchman’s tally over the season collectively.  He will help do that over the course of the season, whether or not he gets off the mark today.

The only important prize is victory, and anyone who saw Southampton play against City and United knows they’re not likely to roll over without a fight today.  Much has been made of the fact that our defence have conceded as many goals as Giroud has scored, but I think we’ll be tested by a side who play, quite rightly, as if they have nothing to lose.  In the likes of Lallana, Lambert and Ramirez they have attacking talents who can cause us problems.

I expect the defence to be unchanged.  Laurent Koscielny is fit and raring to go, but how can you justify dropping Per Mertesacker after his start to the season?  The same could arguably be said of Vito Mannone, but the fit-again Wojciech Szczesny is sufficiently senior to the Italian to guarantee his inclusion.

I’d like to go on record and say I think our defensive excellence has been somewhat overstated in the early part of this season.  Just as us conceding ten in the first three games of last season was anomalous, the three clean sheets could be a similar statistical oddity.  It will take a longer run of consistency before I declare that Steve Bould has replaced the current back four with clones of our well-drilled mid-90s heroes.

Anyway.  In midfield, Abou Diaby’s muscle problem is almost certain to be rested ahead of sterner tests against Montpellier and Man City.  Arsene Wenger then has several options to replace him in midfield, notably Coquelin, Ramsey, or a repositioned Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (about whom he speaks with customary enthusiasm here).  My hunch is he’ll opt for Ramsey.  Coquelin’s defensive nous shouldn’t be required with Arteta in the side, whilst Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 120 minutes for England could see him rotated to the bench.

Upfront we all expect Podolski and Giroud to make up two components of the attacking trio.  I’ve got a suspicion that the third element could be Gervinho.  Unlike many of his team-mates, the Ivorian only played one game during the international break, picking up a goal and an assist against Senegal.  Add this to his impressive pre-season displays, and I think Arsene might be tempted to throw him in.  Theo Walcott is only expected to make the bench after a bout of sickness earlier this week.

It’s the first game this season I’ll be able to attend in person, and I can’t wait.  A win would be fantastic, and a goal for Giroud the icing on the cake.  But let’s not forget, cake is pretty delicious, icing or no icing.

I want some cake.  Come on Arsenal.

Nuri Sah-Out as Arsenal travel to Stoke

61 comments August 25th, 2012

In discussing Alex Song’s move to Barcelona earlier this week, I was guilty of talking about the imminent arrival of Nuri Sahin as his replacement as if it were a done deal.  In my defence, I wasn’t the only one.  Almost every major media outlet had him ‘on the verge’ of joining Arsenal, with some newspapers even reporting that a medical had been undertaken.

Now, as you’re probably all well aware, the deal is dead – or, as Arsene quipped at yesterday’s press conference, “not alive”.  The answer as to why became clear a little later in the presser.  When asked by a journo why it is Arsenal fail to push certain deals over the line, the manager responded that “99% of the time it is because we don’t want it”.  He cited that all too often the “financial conditions” of the deal do not match the club’s expectations, and so we walk away.  It seems that this is exactly what happened here.

Real Madrid knew of Arsenal’s public and pressing need for a central midfielder.  They also knew of rival interest from Liverpool and Spurs for Sahin.  To the outside eye it looks as if they were probably asking  for too much money on three counts: for the loan fee, for the percentage of Sahin’s wages we would pay, and crucially for the option to make the deal permanent.  We’ve buckled.  Liverpool, the club who paid £35m for Andy Carroll and £20m for Stewart Downing, seem happy to oblige.  Good luck to them.

So now Arsenal have just over a week to find an alternative.  To be honest, we’re still pretty well-stocked for central midfielders, although I do worry about the absence of a physical presence in the Song mould.  Arsene is talking about the possibility of adding players in “one or two” positions – I’d imagine those to be defensive midfield, and possibly right-back.  However, as he’s shown with Sahin, if the deal isn’t right he’s happy to go in to the season with the squad he has.  It is a very different situation to last August’s trolley-dash.

There are still many who could leave: Squillaci, Arshavin, Bendtner and Park are all still on the books.  The revolving door at Colney could soon be whirring in to a frenzy.

Before all that, however, there’s a very important game at Stoke to contend with.  Laurent Koscielny is still out, but with the giant Per Mertesacker available that’s not the blow it might otherwise be.  Per’s height will be important in surviving another aerial onslaught.  The back four will probably be unchanged from last weekend’s draw with Sunderland, whilst I won’t be alone in hoping that Wojciech Szczesny comes through a fitness test and prevents Lukas Fabianski from returning to the scene of several heinous crimes.

In midfield I expect Arteta and Diaby to continue in the deeper roles.  Arsene may look to bulk up the midfield a little, shifting Cazorla in to a wide role and bringing in someone like Ramsey or Coquelin.  Upfront I expect Lukas Podolski to start, although Olivier Giroud’s physical presence might give Arsene some food for thought.  Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also back in the squad and pressing for inclusion, but I expect him to start on the bench.

It’s always a tough fixture, but a victory would provide a real lift.  After another topsy-turvy week in the transfer market, we could all do with something to celebrate on the field.