Transfer Update - William Saliba

Guess who's back, back again...

Despite having been forced out of a job by the banter fans of the club and replaced by a greasy Spanish tapas waiter, I am back and better than ever. 

Where better to start than with a transfer. And in usual Arsenal style, a transfer that makes no sense. 

So it seems that we are closing in on highly rated French star William Saliba, currently of St Etienne. Exciting? 

Until you find out were planning to loan him back? Make sense for a club struggling doesn't it. 

Transfer Update - Khedira

So, there's been a lot of speculation surrounding the signing of a new defensive midfielder and the
transfer most likely to happen is that of Sami Khedira from Real Madrid.

It has been reported that the Arsenal and Real Madrid have reached an agreement over the asking price of £20million according to Sky Sports News. It looks as if both sides are content with the final fee with 'personal terms' the only thing left to be discussed. 

Reports from Spain have suggested that Khedira is demanding a sum of around £150,000 a week which would see him become Arsenal's highest paid player with Özil and Sachez just short at around £120,000 a week. 

Khedira's German compatriot, Lukas Podolski has voiced his desire to see Khedira make a move to Arsenal where he would see himself join other German internationals Per Mertesacker and Mesut Özil. 

It will be another few days before anything more is confirmed, however signs are positive. 

Up the Gunners 

Keep the Faith

Arsene Wagner

Sami Khedira - A new Arsenal ?

Khedira celebrating his most recent World Cup win with a small peck on footballs finest trophy. 

German international, Sami Khedira looks set to pledge his future with Arsenal in the next few days which could see the start of a new era for what looks like to be North London’s finest team, with Tottenham falling behind in the transfer market so far.  

Khedira 27, comes with bags of experience having won the La Liga, Champions League, Copa del Rey (twice) and most recently, footballs biggest prize - The World Cup. Being a defensive minded player, Khedira would offer something new to Arsenal, something which hasn't been available since the days of Viera and Gilberto.

As a holding midfielder, Khedira would provide Arsenal’s more technical and advanced players the freedom to play their free-flowing football that everyone loves. Thus, allowing the likes of Özil, Ramsey and new boy Sanchez to prove their worth by showing their attacking capabilities, without the burden of having track back in attempt to break up the oppositions play. 

Moreover, the potential transfer would allow Wenger to chop and change when his plans aren’t going as expected and to rotate when players get injured (a major problem last season), with Khedira’s replacements being Wilshere, Arteta and (if fit) Abou Diaby.

With all that in mind, Khedira demands at least £150,000 a week in wages which seems to be the only reason he’s not in an Arsenal shirt as of yet. However, uncharacteristically, Arsene Wenger has spent large sums in the past few windows, so I personally wouldn’t be that surprised if he broke the bank and gave Khedira what he wants. All in all, it looks set to be a promising season for The Gunners. 

Up the Gunners 

Keep the Faith 

Arsene Wagner 

Arsenal vs Marseille - Match Review

Jack Wilshere and Bakary Sagna celebrating Arsenals first goal.

So i'm back again after a few months out of blogging. I had suffered from a typing injury. It was suspected that I would only be out for a few weeks but various setbacks held me back from writing more blogs.
I'll stop being an idiot now, however starting my A-Levels and moving schools had unfortunately taken priority yet i'm back and ready for action.

What better place to start than a cold Tuesday night Champions League's match?

First Half

Im going to be honest and say that first half was a tad boring. I love my Arsenal and will always will however, there are times where we must be critical in order to develop as a team. Scoringa few seconds after the first whistle always damages the opposition. It crushes their confidence and single handedly destroys their tactics and plans. Im guessing we all saw the marvellous and comical performance Tottenham showed on sunday and it was the perfect example of a team conceding within the first few seconds and their tactics for the game being shattered.

The first goal was a lovely piece of counter attacking football, combined with woeful defending on Marseilles behalf. Wilshere was played through, in between the Marseille full back and centre back before cutting the ball back on his weaker foot, curling the ball past French international keeper Steve Mandanda and getting his name on the score sheet.

It was a wonderful start and things started to look positive, yet for the next 44 minutes, I sat there watching a thoroughly mediocre performance. Playing a weak Marseille team who have little to play for, you would expect to see a clinical performance but I guess you all agree with me in saying it was pretty dull. Why not go out and put in a dangerous performance that would intimidate all the teams competing in the Champions League as well as the Premier League?  Its was the perfect chance to show the world that we are serious title contenders and that we have the ability to finally succeed this season. 

Personally, Özil's penalty reflected our first half performance. It had the potential to be powerful, clinical and ruthless, yet was rather tame and halfhearted. After playing such a weak team, you would expect us to take advantage and show all football fans that we have the steel in our squad to compete against teams at the highest level. In a first half like tonight, the Man United of old would have gone into the second half with a 4-0 lead and would have killed the game off, ensuring that the opposition had no way of pulling the game back.

Second Half

You might have thought after a lacklustre first half display, all would change and during the team talk at the break, Wenger would have spurred the team on to turn things up a notch and cause more damage. I don't think that was fully the case and there didn't seem to be that much of a change. But I don't think the game was necessarily all negative and I certainly don't want this blog to slate out performance. So....

There were a variety of positives one could take out of the game. Firstly, the build up to the second goal was perhaps "Typical Arsenal". A wonderful pass from Ramsey, threaded through to Özil who yet again got another assist with a square ball to Wilshere, who scored for the second time this evening. 

The game may have not ended with a 5 goal demolition, however we created enough chances to do so and that is always nice to see as a fan. 

Looking at individual performances, as a lone striker Giroud's work rate was once again second to none. He ran the channels, pressed their back line and continued to force keepers into errors. (Thanks again Artur aBoruc). Having not had many chances himself during the game, it would have been nice to have seen him take the penalty and get his name on the score sheet. 

I felt that the most important player happened to be Flamini. Like Giroud, his work rate was admirable. Nowadays, it is rare to see players want the dirty work and patiently sit and hold you position while the others look for glory. But Flamini did that with no complaint. The majority of Marseille's rare chances were broken down by Flamini who provided the more creative midfielders with freedom to roam forward and pose a threat. 

Finally it was a pleasure to see Szczesny so reliable and focused throughout the duration of the match after not having much to deal with. He pulled off a string of wonderful saves and looked as if he really strengthened the defence. Good on him for coming back stronger after the criticism he received last season and hopefully he will be Arsenal's number 1 for years to come. 

The most important thing is that we got the three points and that we are within touching distance of topping the group which was the aim from the start. 

Man of the Match : Mathieu Flamini 

The next month of fixtures are crucial if we want to show the doubters that we are in fact genuine title contenders and have the squad competent enough to challenge the best teams in the world. 

Up the Gunners

Keep the Faith 

Arsene Wagner

Fresh start, Team news and Villa predictions.

The Emirates stadium awaits. 

So here we are, back again for another Premier League season, filled with goals, gaffs and drama. I must say, Its a pleasure to be back and who wouldn't be excited for a new footballing and blogging season because I certainly am. There is no doubt in my mind that this season can be better than the last, with there being many more teams fighting for the title.

Before I start, I would just like to let you all know that I wrote this article at  3AM in my bed in Israel. I don't know about you, but that is sheer commitment. Hopefully, some of the players could learn a good lesson from this and implement some of my commitment into their weekly performances.

What better way to start a new Premier League season than a home fixture against Aston Villa. Its been a difficult and disappointing summer for us fans regarding transfers whereas its been a much brighter summer for Villa bringing in 8 new faces. It may not look all that promising but don'
t forget we are a top club and Villa did struggle to stay up last season.

We go into the first game with a "Thin" squad (as quoted by Arsene himself) leaving us quite short with options and making it harder to pick our strongest side. Both the sale of 17 squad members and various different injuries has left us with no choice but to dip into our reserves side and contemplate on bringing in young starlet Gedion Zelalem who shone in our pre season tour of Asia and Emmanuel Frimpong who played no part in the pre season tour.

It may look a tad worrying and in all honesty I am slightly worried, yet I'm trying to remain as optimistic as possible. We go into this fixture with huge amounts of confidence and belief. It also seems the players feel they might be able to get their hands on some silverware, after an intense pre season schedule and fitness regime.

It would be interesting to see which approach Villa take going into this game, after such a woeful campaign last year. I wouldn't be surprised to see them put on a terrific attacking display in order to get some early points on the board and boost confidence and morale. Surprisingly, Benteke remained loyal to the club and looks to make a strong start to his season, so it seems as if he will be their danger man and the one to pose a threat.

But enough on Villa. Time to focus on us. With the team being as weak as its been, we will have to make good use of what we have and my ideal line-up would be :

Szczesny

Sagna Koscienly Mertesacker (c) Gibbs

Rosicky Chamberlain

Walcott Wilshere Cazorla

Giroud                      

It may not be a title winning squad. In fact, its not a title winning squad, yet it is more that capable of beating a side of Aston Villa's calibre and stealing the 3 points.

Expect Giroud to hit the ground running after the pre season he had. I saw a great stat about Giroud a few weeks back that stated - "The last person to score 8 goals in a pre season campaign, was Dennis Bergkamp" (Giroud scored 8 in pre season) so who knows whats to come from the Frenchman this year.

Hopefully, tomorrows game will be dictated by the midfield 3 of Walcott, Wilshere and Cazorla who all need big seasons this year, especially after our lack of movement in the transfer market. They will look to control the pace of the game and put pressure on Villa's young, shaky defence in order to come away with the 3 points. Its strange, but for once I don't seem to have many doubts over our defence, just as long as the take off the way they finished last season in order to keep Benteke at bay.

Prediction : Arsenal 3 - Aston Villa 0 (Giroud, Chamberlain, Walcott)

And on that note, I hope you all enjoy the start of the new season and lets look to get behind the boys start with a bang

Up the Gunners

Keep the Faith

Arsene Wagner

"Brendan, I want to leave"

Bad boy Suarez, faces off with Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic moments after Suarez nearly took a chunk out
of Ivanovic's arm.

So, with the new Premier League season only days away from beginning, much transfer news has been floating about, and clubs are doing all they can to scoop up big names in preparation for the new season.

The big news from this week is that Luis Suarez has gone public about his desire to leave Liverpool and feels betrayed by the club who are adamant that he wont leave. After going to The Guardian newspaper asking for an interview, plenty of Liverpool fans have been infuriated at Suarez's lack of respect to both them and the club. 

Its pretty obvious to see whats going on here and it seems all too familiar to us Arsenal fans. He just doesnt want to play for Liverpool anymore and wants to play for a club with more ambition and quality in Arsenal. It seems pretty identical to the Van Persie scenario that occurred last season, but happens to be a tad more fiery. 

Every football fan has a point of view that is either agreed or disagreed with but with a situation like this, you have to look at it from both Arsenal's and Liverpool's perspective. 

Arsenal's Perspective 

Its unusual to see Arsene Wenger put in a £40 Million pound bid for a footballer but its shows huge signs of change and ambition. Suarez is a Premier League winning footballer who deserves to be playing at the highest levels, in the best competitions with the best players and a move to Arsenal would ensure that.

For years the transfer window has been an Arsenal fans worst nightmare, seeing other clubs splash out left right and center while we hobble along buying mediocre players. The Suarez transfer brings a new feel to the club and changes the direction we are going in. There hasn't been many times where during pre season I have had a feeling that we might be able to challenge for a trophy and compete with the best teams but this season brings a new feel.

He may not have a perfect attitude, but sometimes thats what football teams need, especially Arsenal. Its not great to say it, but every team needs a Tw*t in their team. A player who scares the opposition and who players dont want to tackle. Its blooming obvious that Suarez is that type of player and EXACTLY what we need.

Liverpool's Perspective

Its pleasant for once that it isn't us losing out on our star man, yet I do happen to sympathise with Liverpool for the way in which Suarez has handled the situation. He's their star player, their main goalscorer, their only hope of getting back into the Champions League and the man who last season signed a new contract pledging his future to the club. 

Even more so, Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers backed Suarez through the biting and rascism scandals and protected him from all sorts of threats and media speculation, for it to only be thrown back in their faces by Suarez claiming to the media that Liverpool lied to him about moving to a Champions League side. 

As Arsenal fans, we have been in this situation before, so when a player decides that hes had enough at the club and wants to leave, you have to give him what he wants. If I were Liverpool, I would sell Suarez, take the money and reinvest it into new talent and to build a new squad. There is no point having Suarez moping around the dressing room and training center because it creates bad vibes around the club and rubs off on the other players. 

Brendan Rodgers will have to act quickly and show the fans that there is no player bigger than the club and that all that is shown on the football pitch is for the name on the front of the shirt and not on the back.

For now we will just have to be patient and wait and see what happens with this situation because quite frankly its a bit of a mess. Hopefully, Arsene will do all that he can so sign Suarez and put him into his place and Liverpool will finally realise that they will have to up their game if they wish to hold on to their best players. 

Up the Gunners

Keep the faith 

Arsene Wagner 

Transfer Update - How good is Higuain ?

Higuain celebrates scoring for Real Madrid and stands to become Arsenal's record signing at £20Million+

The time has come!

With the summer transfer window on the horizon, much speculation has been floating over North London in particular. Its that time of the year when every Arsenal fan with a twitter account believes he is "In the know" and has that "Inside source" or "My dads gardener knows someone". But to be perfectly honest, a rumour or completed deal is not legitimate unless it has come from Sky Sports News.

One name that has been mentioned quite often is Gonzalo Higuain. Yes, I said it... Gonzalo Higuain.

How good is he? 

After scoring 28 goals in 43 games for both club and country, Higuain has deservedly made himself one of the most high profile, prolific strikers in the world. Over the past few weeks, I've heard various different people say he isn't what we need, he lacks in pace and the doesn't pose a huge threat. Looking at the situation as a whole, Higuain plays for Real Madrid, one of the greatest footballing sides in footballing history and I can assure you, if he was not good enough he would not be playing for them. 

Being a busy man and all, I wasn't able to watch the majority of Higuain's matches, however, I saw the odd game here and there and use a thing called YouTube. So here is a short YouTube video compiling all of Higuain's greatest goals. Watch here. 

Having watched many videos and seeing him play, the Argentine would be the game changer for Arsenal if the deal was to go through. He may not be lightning quick but its his footballing brain that separates himself from the others. It comes as an advantage to a striker if they have speed and strength, but the top strikers are the ones that are able to use their brain faster than others. This is where Higuain becomes deadly. 

At every footballing level, having the mind for the game gives you a leg up above everyone else and this is Higuain's forte. He isn't the fastest of players, however he is able to use his mind to create that extra space to run into or to create that extra yard to get a shot away. Being a defender back in the day, it was always difficult to mark the clever strikers and Gonzalo is an example of this. 

His ability to make space for himself allows him to use his short burst of pace to get past the defence leaving everyone for good. (If you watched the video you would see this very often). Once hes past the defence, the rest is history. He is clinical infront of goal and has no problem scoring. 

Over the years, many people have stereotyped Arsenal to be the ones who "Try and walk the ball into the net", but Higuain can change that seeing as though he has a left and right foot and can score from distance.

Lets hope and pray. 

We can all see that Higuain is good enough for the Premier League and is the man that can introduce some silverware into our lives. He is a proven world class striker and just what we need.

It is believed that a fee of around £22-£25 Million has been agreed with wages and personal terms standing at £100,000-£130,00, but new manager Carlo Ancelotti believes Higuain may still have a future at the club leaving the transfer at a slight stand still.

However frustrating it may be to have not won a trophy for nearly 9 years, it is great to see the club finally showing some ambition and realising that football has become something else in our modern day. 

All we can do now is wait...

Up the Gunners

Keep the Faith 

Arsene Wagner