Leicester Preview

Hello Gooners!

[Week’s review coming up tomorrow, so stay tuned for that one!]

An interesting clash before we start banging our heads against the wall to the beat of the monotonous humdrum of the Interlull.

The last time these two sides squared off, Bergkamp was ice cool and deadly that day. “It was one of the best hat-tricks – and certainly one of the best goals – I’ve seen,” Arsene said of the third goal. “It is absolutely a masterpiece of intelligence, technical quality and finishing. On the night, Dennis scored one of his greatest goals.”

Today however, a completely different line-up to that Invincible squad, and some reshuffling from midweek. Podolski and Ospina have travelled with the squad, so the pair may finally pick up a start this season (although I’d imagine Ospina’s first start to be against So’ton in the League Cup) while Rambo returns from his midweek suspension. That will allow our attacking prospect to look a touch more flamboyant, adding the clinical nature perhaps, as Arsene discussed the topic saying:

“We looked powerful going forward, we looked mobile. The negative is that we couldn’t transform our chances into goals. But that’s the easiest [thing] to improve. We created chances – you cannot do that in training but in training you can work a lot on the finishing and improve that.”

As a newly promoted team, Leicester will be adamant in stamping their mark on the Premier League this term, however, not a glance is required to establish which of the two teams should be walking away with the big 3. Speaking on Leicester, Arsene was cautious of the threat they pose:

“It is a tough proposal for us because they also drew 2-2 against Everton at home and we need a great performance again. Hopefully we have recovered from our game against Besiktas and can focus on the Premier League, because that’s one of the important targets of the season.”

It’ll be all about being clinical. Won’t be an easy feat against a defence that was the second tightest in the Championship last season, but with the quality in our side, you’d expect us to pull it off.

So who do I expect to see today? Well, considering our injuries, to continue our “unbeaten run” my line-up would be as follows:

Szcz-Debuchy-Kosc-Mert/Chambers-Monreal-Flamini-Santi-Jack-Rambo-Ozil-Alexis.

I’m far more fond of Ozil playing in the centre as he prefers, but I just don’t see Arsene adjusting the formation as such. He’s more effective in that manner and on the right wing where he can cut back in, however, on the left, it’s a tad more difficult for him. But more on that later this week.

I’m going for 2-0. What’s your prediction? Leave it in the comments below.

‘Til next time Gooners. Keep it classy.

-Sir Gunner

Besiktas Preview

Hello all! 

Going to try and keep this piece succinct, but as wholesome as necessary.

Tonight’s qualifier would normally have been one to march into with a bout of confidence, especially since it’s all to play for at our own home ground. What’s the issue then?

1. We’re without our main centre forward – A broken ankle according to media reports. Sounds like a lengthy ordeal from any and all reports, but unconfirmed until at least tomorrow, by Arsenal. If so, there’s a blatant expectation for Arsene to spend money on a striker. However, I have a feeling it won’t be a huge name. In Arsene’s mind, that would upset the core balance once players are in peak condition.

2. We’re without our in form, goal scoring midfielder – Rambo’s red card from the previous leg means he misses this clash. Here’s hoping we won’t require a last gasp winner.

3. We’re once again without our Captain. (Seriously, do we have a Captain’s curse? They’re always sold a season or two after being Captain. Cursed armband!)

The central issue is the central striker (harity-har-har) position. Do we play Alexis there? You would hope so. Playing Sanogo there would present a massive gamble on a night where gambles ought not to be taken. The Champions League is at stake here. 

On that front, we should be looking to drop Wilshere deep into midfield next to Flamini (the obvious choice) where, like Ramsey (but since his injury, not as well), he moves from box to box. That would allow Ozil, whom I expect to play tonight, to move back in behind Alexis to orchestrate our movements as only the German mastermind knows how. Despite a veritably visible incoherent chemistry at the beginning of this season, I’d envisage with pace on his right in Ox and the drifting diminutive Spaniard to his left, our midfield to be creating a few chances, especially considering the pitch won’t be a “Springdale old road” disaster. We could see Campbell, or Podolski in the line-up as well which would be very interesting to see. After reports circling that the eccentric German would be leaving, Arsene moved aptly to quell such talk with an insistence that Podolski would remain at Arsenal. Being respected in the changing room and on the training ground, it would be a shame to see the back of him so soon. I have a hunch however, that this season or next, might be the last we see of Podolski in an Arsenal jersey. For some reason unbeknownst to Arsenal fans worldwide, he just isn’t fancied by Arsene. Alongside these two players, another face we haven’t see in a while is that of the Czech mastermind, Tomáš Rosický. One of my current favourites in the squad for his loyalty, passion, dedication and positive minded approach on the field, I would love to see him get a chance tonight.

We will need to be alert defensively though. Ba as always will be a major threat. With Koscielny a doubt with an Achilles issue, it’s likely that we’ll see Chambers next to Mertesacker again. They’ll need to be very calculated in their defense tonight.

Take slight heart in the fact that besides a bare few, most European teams have travelled to the Emirates and faltered, and Turkish teams don’t travel well at all. History of course, won’t make any difference, but it’ll hold some kind of bearing on what we type of result we can expect.

The line-up I’m expecting to see is as follows: Szczesny-Debuchy-Chambers-Mertesacker-Monreal*-Flamini-Wilshere-Ox-Ozil-Cazorla-Alexis

*Remembering that Gibbs is out with a hamstring injury til at least after the International break.

What are your thoughts on the team line-up? Agree or disagree? Who would you have in there?

Defend as a team, attack as a team. Crucial game tonight. Let’s see what this team is made of. Still hungry for success?

‘Til next time Gooners. Keep it classy.

– Sir Gunner

Giroud the Benchwarmer?

 Hello fellow Gooners.

Well that wasn’t easy watching. I think it’s important to get a difficult match under your belt as early on as possible, as you can gauge exactly how far you’ve come since last season. I also think it’s vital to get a tough game in before the transfer window ends so you have time to correct the issues. Remember last season when we were on a roll and all we heard was ‘you haven’t played anyone yet’. Well Everton away 2nd game if the season is about as tricky as it gets i suppose and it was never going to be easy, especially as the last time we played them there they made us look like a complete shambles.

Our starting line up was exciting to say the least, with Sanchez starting in the centre forwards role and Ozil, Rambo and the Ox behind him, Jack and Flamini sat behind them and a back line of Debuchy, Chambers, Per and Monreal with Chesney in goal. I’m going to spend too much time on the actual game itself so I will give a brief summary.

We started strongly and had the ball in the right areas although didn’t do much with it. For most of the 1st half we had the majority of the ball. Long story short we didn’t create enough and Everton did, thus we went in at half time 2-0 down. The first goal was actually very good with a great cross in from Barry and a superb header from Coleman. Although Ozil didn’t do a good job of marking Coleman you have to remember he has 3 weeks less training than the others and he is rusty. The same can be said for Mertesacker who showed signs of rustiness a few times yesterday not least in the build up to the second goal when he came off second best to Naismith for the Scot to make it 2. That said, the replays show clearly that Naismith was offside but the ref missed it. I’m never one to moan or worry too much about injustices like that though as it happens to every team and we’ll get our share of luck at some point no matter how hard done by half of our fans make out we are.

The 2nd half began with Giroud coming on for Sanchez, a decision that shocked and angered a few Gooners, but I have read that Sanchez took a knock so it makes sense. In truth the 2nd half was no better than the 1st and it was all very frustrating to watch. This season though, as a fan I have that little bit more confidence. I looked at the clock on 79 mins and we were still 2 nil down and didn’t look like changing that. However with players like Rambo, Cazorla and Ozil on the pitch you always feel something will happen regardless of what sort of game we are having. On 83 mins Cazorla showed exactly why we can not let him go as he picked up the ball out wide and with his usual trickery beat 2 defenders going into the area and knocked a fierce low cross in for our Messiah Ramsey to tap home. 2-1 and i fully expected at least a point now. For the next 5 minutes Everton were up against it but dug their heals in. On 90 mins Monreal probably did the best thing he has ever done for our club and whipped in a perfect cross for Giroud to equalize with his head on the 6 yard box.

Pictures via The Telegraph and The Metro.

So the match finished 2 – 2, a decent result away at Everton, but I feel we have some issues to address still. Lets face it we got out of jail in that game and didn’t deserve that point! However it’s not all bad, because as i said you always felt that we were going to do that, and we proved we have enough quality now to do that. Also previously we would’ve crumbled at 2 nil. But why do we always make it so hard for ourselves. I find it increasingly frustrating when I see us just playing the same way regardless of the opposition. We never seem to be able to adapt our game to who we’re playing. Everton are a team that defend deep and are happy for the opposition to play in front of them. That is exactly what we did, we stuck 1 up top and 3 playmakers behind, like we always do. We had the majority of the ball and got as far as their box and they mopped up every time. Why not against a team like that line up with a more physical side, or a different formation. You can see why we don’t line up with a more physical side, because we don’t have the stronger players. Jack and Flamini is as tough as it gets for us. So straight away as i’m sure we all know we need that strong midfield player who is going to boss it, there has been several names linked – let’s get one in!!!!!

I do hear a lot of moaning about Giroud but like it or not, he is a handful and yesterday showed that. I know a lot of people will say he had 3 clear cut chances yesterday before he netted, but isn’t that the case with most strikers? In the past couple of weeks Giroud has come of the bench a couple of times and caused problems so maybe that is his best position – starting on the bench? I think we all know he can’t carry the team liked at times we’ve expected him to, but make no mistake, this guy isn’t a BAD player, he’s just another option up front and shouldn’t be the only option.

Another thing that struck me watching that game, is what a good player Debuchy is, he’s hard working, lightning fast can put a cross in and loves to get stuck in. You can’t really ask for more than that from your full back can you? Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Monreal. I know he’s a back up but he really is a worry, i worry that when we come up against sides like Liverpool and United (especially with Di Maria imminent) that if Monreal is playing they will target him and destroy him, exactly like Ronaldo used to do to Clichy. We have to be realistic, Gibbs is injury prone so we need to have a quality back up because that particular back up is going to get a lot of games. For me Monreal is terrible and is certainly our weak link.

The rest will be fine I think, we just need a few voids filled but I think the boss knows that now. We have a massive game on Wednesday against Besiktas, once we secure CL football as per, we will see some movement again in personnel.

Again overall  2 all at Everton is a great result and certainly progress from last season’s shambes at Goodison, I just think we’re a few tweaks away from turning that draw into a win next year.

 

Til next time …………..

 

@northbankmen

Jack attack & zero dark Turkey.

Travelling to Istanbul for the first leg of our Champions League qualification was always going to be a mean feat, even if we’re expected to go through. In the end, we ground out a nil all draw in what was quite a mysterious result, given the chances created on both sides. Zero dark Turkey.

The game’s kick-off was tantalising in itself as ex-Chelsea hitman Demba Ba sent a shot as soon as the ball was rolling, which thankfully hit the bar as Szczesny was doing his best Flappyhandski impersonation in the memory of his fellow Pole moving to Swansea. Our passing game was never on as the ball bobbled on the abhorrently uneven pitch. Honestly, I’ve seen Sunday League games in better shape. In saying that though, both teams created chances, so to not score was bizarre. Guilty of squandering some gilt-edged chances.

Alexis is looking more and more in his comfort zone as he made darting runs and displayed some quick feet down the right wing. All he needed was a poacher in the middle, something we sorely miss. Giroud’s just not that poacher. He brings the team into the game, sure, but it is not our poacher. With Rambo marked out of the game, Jack was given a lot more freedom to express himself, coming close a couple of times to putting us through on a difficult night.

Which brings me to Jack’s overall performances. After returning from his major injury a couple of seasons ago, he’s never quite come back to his Xavi/Iniesta-fighting best. Instead, Rambo has taken up that mantel and outshone most in the squad. He’s made himself a regular with his hard work and determination. Something that’s been invisible in Jack over the last season. And then some. Hopefully he can start pushing himself during games, mentally, to achieve greater peaks of performance. Arsene said:

“For me the most important thing for him is not to have any problem with his ankle. It looks like he’s on the right way on that front. As for the rest, he looks sharper every week.”

Along with myself, Arsene is hoping that Jack can maintain his physical fitness which will see him ascend to the heights his abilities should take him to.

“At the moment, I believe he should just focus on that – being fit, present and to improve physically. The rest will come along. I told him the target is for him to have a whole season of being available to play.”

Insightful from Arsene as usual. Here’s to Jack producing a injury-free season.

Back to the Besiktas game, and it’s veritably visible that our 19 year old signing this Summer will leave an indelible memory with his scintillating performances at the rate he’s going. Chambers made some incisive passes while launching out from defence. He kept Ba in his back pocket for most of the game, bar his slip which allowed Ba a one on one, only for the Senegalese forward to skew it well wide. Very bright future ahead of Chambers.

The key from Istanbul’s performance was the clean sheet. Both teams are still in it so it’ll be all to play for, come Wednesday.

‘Til next time Gunners. This is Arsenal.

-Sir Gunner

Do we need an upgrade on Giroud?

There has been much made is the last few days that we need to sign a better striker than Oliver Giroud, I tend to agree although I do rate him I don’t see him as the man that will score the goals for us to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League. I think the top 6-7 sides in the Premier League all have better options up top than us at the moment, He scored 16 goals in the Premier League last season and `I think we should really be looking to sign that striker that can take us to the next level, a striker that can score 25-30 goals in the league. Now these are obviously very hard to come by and very expensive to buy as well. So lets have a look at what could be the more cheaper alternatives-

Wilfried Bony – 15 league goals for Swansea last season

Edin Dzeko – 15 league goals for Man City last season

Loic Remy – 14 league goals for QPR last season

Jay Rodriguez – 14 league goals for Southampton last season

Christian Benteke – 10 league goals for Aston Villa last season

Danny Welbeck –  9 league goals for Man United last season

 

Now with the above options you could argue that they are not an upgrade on Giroud and you would proably be correct but by signing one of these players would give Giroud the much needed rest he didn’t get last season and this is where I think his form suffered. Now let us have a look at the strikers that could really push us on to the next level- 

Edison Cavani scored 23 times in 43 games for PSG last season in a season where he found a lot of his time spent out on the right of midfield, He is said to be unhappy at this and maybe could be available for transfer but much of this may depend is PSG secure Angel Di Maria.

Radamel Falcao made 17 appearances scoring 9 goals in what proved to be an injury hit season for the striker, he would be on massive wages at Monaco and with apparent interest from Real Madrid to join his former team mate James Rodriguez he may favour a move their if the offer is on the table,

Jackson Martinez would probably be the cheapest option out of the three strikers he scored an impressive 25 goals in 44 appearances so he knows where the goal is for sure, The Colombian would be an instant hit at Arsenal i’m sure.

     

I think these three strikers would all be great signings and score the goals for us to really mount a serious challenge, can we sign any of them? It’s too early to say, certainly the money is ready to spend if we wanted. What I think is that if we can’t sign a striker that will make us real title and Champions League contenders then we should probably not sign one and still have Giroud as our main man and maybe try Sanchez and Walcott in that position sometimes.

Thank you for reading and i leave you with the question – Do we need an upgrade on Giroud?

Until next time, take care…

Curtain Raiser

Hello and welcome, to all our readers around the world.

Our curtain raiser at home against Crystal Palace game can only be summed up as patchy. Even though Palace didn’t have a man at the helm on Saturday, they had the entire team behind the ball which was more than enough for 90 minutes of football. Thankfully though, their time wasting tactics came back to bite them on the ar** with Rambo the man with tap in, in stoppage time. Ended the season as we started then, Koscielny & Rambo scoring crucial goals and crucial moments.

The team fielded was: Szczesny, Debuchy, Koscielny, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Alexis, Cazorla, Sanogo. Same XI that we started off with in the Community Shield and one has to think that it was due to fitness issues that Giroud wasn’t started. This handed Arsenal Premier League debuts to Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy and Alexis Sanchez. Chambers thus far has looked superb, very mature in his reading of the game and his passing has been immaculate. Whilst clearing as well, he tends to find an Arsenal player, rather than just hoofing it into the audience, or to the opposition defence. According to Squakwa.com, Chambers boasted a 92% pass accuracy and made 4/4 successful tackles. A very impressive debut. When Per is back into the line-up, I’d like to see Chambers tested in the defensive mid position since all his attributes signal the possibility of a very successful tenure in that position. Even with the yellow to his name, he looks very promising. Thanks once again, to Southampton.

Speaking of which, should Arsene possibly be arrested for robbery? £16m for Chambers is an absolute STEAL.

Throughout the game  predictably, we maintained the lion’s share of possession. A lot of our attacking play went through Alexis (who was involved in both goals), looking to hook up with Debuchy, who needs to realise that once there’s no space to forward, or if the path is blocked, he can of course, look to the left. With time of course, our new signings will gel seamlessly with the team. At the moment, it’s visible that our marquee signing so far, isn’t quite on the same wavelength as the rest of the team. Perhaps the weight of expectations is weighing him down as he attempted too many dribbles on his own, losing it more often than not.

Someone though that I think needs a hell of a lot more time, with an impeccably desperate need for a loan, is Yaya Sanogo. He can’t sort his feet out, his touch isn’t remarkable and he’s trying a might too much, perhaps with the expectations of his first official league goal, still pending. I think loaning him out to another Premier League club would be ideal, which would then require us to pick up someone off the market for our frontline. I really wouldn’t say no to Eto’o who’s made his intentions clear about joining us, even if not for the best reasons. He’s a poacher and still pops up in the right positions and the right time. We can’t expect Rambo to do that for us all season. Giroud doesn’t look it anyway.

Our perennial weakness was yet again exposed on the weekend as Brede Hangeland danced around unmarked to nod home off a corner. Most bizarre however, was that no man was on the post. Personally, I’ve always had at least one man on the back post, where every keeper is blind to. Two men is even better but leaving both posts open? Questions galore. Our patchy game continued while even though we delivered wayward shots aplenty for Speroni to collect, Ramsey Jack and Alexis were all guilty of handing over possession multiple times. Given our weakness on set-pieces, you can imagine the surprise when our boys leveled on the brink of half-time off a dead ball. Alexis lifted the ball, only for Koscielny to keep his record of scoring important goals and important times.

Koscielny’s game was quite superb in fact. At one point, Szczesny came a mile off his line at one point, making a torrid hash of a clearance to the opposition which allowed them to take a pot shot from 40 yards out. Luckily for the Pole in goal, the Boss was prepared and intercepted the shot by sticking out a boot. He also made a last ditch challenge to stop an on-rushing attacker from finishing off the chance after recouping from Koscielny’s first block.

Going into the break level, we hoped Arsene to work his words of magic but after a 53rd minute forced change with Nacho Monreal replacing Kieran Gibbs (hamstring – 2 weeks), our second half was a mirror image of our first, with our attackers struggling to break down Crystal Palace following tactics left behind by Pulis, which probably included the ridiculous amount of time wasting.

With most of our players still coming back into shape, it’s a rather useful 3 points.

‘Til next time Gunners. This is A Gentleman’s Arsenal.

-Sir Gunner

Christmas Turkey? How about Turkey Besiktas?

The norm is to wait til December for Christmas turkey. But while Santa’s on break, I wonder if the Arsenal boys can bring home some merriness a little early this year. Might get lucky with that mistletoe I’ve been saving up.

Travelling to Turkey won’t be easy for the players as the atmosphere over there (credit to the Turkish fans) will be electric and absolutely daunting. It was among the couple of teams that we really wanted to avoid but Arsenal has never been the luckiest of clubs (take a quick peek at our injury list or even our Round of 16/QF Champions League opponents over the last few year) so why would this be any different? No amount of mistletoe will help us, unfortunately.

Of course, all that isn’t helped by our efforts either. Injury list included. Avoiding 4th place would mean we could have a breather this week and next between the Premier League clashes while our players returned to premium fitness. Right now, they’re half baked.

So who can we expect tonight? Well, to start off with, “We left Kieran Gibbs at home. He had to come off during the game with a hamstring problem. He will be out for two or three weeks.” Flamini down with “sickness” as has been publicly announced, but we all know the truth is that he’d probably break a few legs with the crazies over there taking a billion photos of themselves wielding their Mother’s kitchen knives. How about putting those knives to good use and carving me some Turkey? Or maybe we can leave the carving to the artists on the pitch. Sanogo had a hamstring to deal with so he’s still in London. Koscienly had a small knock, but he’s fit to play. We won’t be making an ePergency call after all. Testament to Calum Chambers for that as well, adapting to the tough ask at Arsenal so well. At just 19 years of age as well. What a feat. If he keeps a steady head on his shoulders, he’ll be world class in years to come.

Here’s wishing Gibbo a healthy, speedy recovery. We’ll also be welcoming Oguzhan Ozyakup onto the pitch after he was allowed to leave in 2012. Best of luck to the former Gooner, but not too much.

After Saturday’s patchy performance against Crystal Palace though, Arsene will be wary of the shortcomings of the squad and will need to address them immediately. Possession was sloppy, link up play was awry and awareness had ironically gone to sleep. So wake up lads, we’re up for a test tonight.

We’ll be playing at Ataturk Olympic Stadium tonight due to reconstruction at Besiktas’ home ground. They’ll have some rough memories there, with Ataturk being the ground where Liverpool gave them a right 8-0 romping in 2005. Remembering also however, that Arsenal have scored 8 goals in last 2 trips to Istanbul: Adebayor, Walcott, Diaby, Song, Ramsey (2), Gibbs & Giroud.

So what team can we expect on the pitch tonight? Here’s my team. Virtually unchanged from Saturday, bar the injuries.

I’m expecting Arteta to start, solely because retaining possession will be essential. Arsene won’t have our key goalscorer dropping to defend I don’t think, so Rambo will be pushed up next to Jack. However, Jack is erring on the edge of neglect with his performances leaving much wanting. He’ll really need to step it up a notch or two if he wants to stay in contention for a starter’s position once everyone is fit. Tonight is a chance for him to flaunt his previous ebullient, charismatic style of play. Giroud should be back into the starting line up tonight. While fans have been praying & begging for a new striker, it doesn’t seem like a Cavani is on his way with Arsene opting to back Giroud and his tenacious link up play with the team, having a hand (or a foot) in both of the most vivacious goals we scored last season. Let’s hope he can take that to another level this season, ‘starting’ tonight.

Santi spoke to Arsenalplayer about the intimidating atmosphere the Turkish will attempt to conjure, however, he’s on point when he said:

“We will go there to play football, thinking about what we have to do and trying to separate ourselves from the atmosphere.”

It’ll be vital to not let the crazies infect them. We don’t need a case of the crazies, even if they bring their knives. They have to realise, they’re bringing knives to a gun fight.

The other factor to be wary of is new signing from Chelsea, Demba Ba. Decent goalscorer with a knack for showing up at the right time. A true test for Chambers at centre back, if there ever was one. Are we ready?

Christmas jeer or Media jeer? What do we face in Turkey tonight? Let’s find out.

-Sir Gunner

The Community Shield – Another one for the trophy cabinet.

Good Evening (Morning for our Australian readers)

Well I’ve had worse Mondays. So yesterday we took to the Wembley pitch to play Man City in The Community Shield or Charity Shield as I still call it. Didn’t we do well.

Both sides were missing key players from their line ups, and I thought on paper both sides lined up pretty evenly. For once I didn’t look at the opposition’s line up with dread. That’s no disrespect to City as their side as ever is full of quality, but our side for me looked frightening even without the Germans.

Although to all intensive purposes it was a friendly, it was a chance to fire a massive warning shot to the rest of the premiership, and that is what we did. From kick off Arsenal looked in control and City were up against it. Every Gunner on the pitch looked up for it, Jack and Rambo played pivotal roles, everything went through them. Sanogo was charged with leading the line with Sanchez floating behind him. The back line line had new signings Chambers and Debuchy included and on the whole looked pretty solid.

Every time we got the ball going forward you felt something was going to happen and after 21 minutes Santi opened the scoring after a driving run and lay off from Sanogo, Cazorla then turned the defender and fired a low shot into the bottom corner on the edge of the box. Its easy to forget what a gem with have in Santi Cazorla, its great to see him score and it’d be a travesty for me if we let him go.

Sanogo did a good job up top in the first half, he was a handful for a rusty City defence and played a big part in the 2nd goal aswell just before half time. It was really exactly what we wanted to see as we swept up a half chance from City in our own box with ease calmly playing it out to Sanchez in our half still. Sanchez then used the space in front of him before taking out a defender with a great pass to find Sanogo on the edge of the City box, then in a gangly fashion drawing out 2 defenders and laying off once more this time for Ramsey to somehow give himself another yard of space with a world class dink before despatching into the bottom corner. Our messiah looked fresh and better than ever, an all round great goal.

So 2 nil at half time so far so good. That must have been a very straight forward team talk for the boss, not so straight forward for Pelligrini who’s team were still stuck in the traps. That was all from Sanogo as he was replaced by Giroud for the 2nd half. Not a bad performance at all from the former postman and hopefully we see more of the same, as he certainly proved he can be a handful.

The 2nd half proved to be as easy as the 1st, as City rarely threatened, I don’t know if they weren’t really taking it seriously but their heads certainly weren’t in the game. Or perhaps we were just too good. Either way I don’t think that will be the City we will see in the forthcoming season.  The game was sealed for us on 60 minutes when we saved the best til last. Substitute Giroud was clearly playing for his place in the starting line up and from out of nowhere looking to pose no danger looped a shot from 25 yards over an out of position Caballero. Giroud was by no means in a goal scoring position surrounded by blue shirts but showed his class moving the ball onto his trusted left foot before letting rip. Amazing what a bit of healthy competition can do.

On the whole it was a great game for Gooners, whether it was a friendly or not, every single player in a red shirt took it as a chance to prove their worth, and to send a signal of intent to the rest of the Premier League. The new boys looked like they’d been here for years. It looks like we have a big deal on our hands with Chambers,  he looks like he has everything, and I bet if they were honest Debuchy, Per and Kos would tell you they are worried for their place. That is how it should be though, and that is what drives success. Sanchez just looks a cut above but we knew that anyway. I’m convinced he will become a hero up there with the likes of Bergkamp, Pires and Henry.

With the German contingent signing back in today, we are looking like we mean business. Of course the other sides are strong and have the quality and money to win the league, but there is just this feeling now that this is our time again, and again if honesty was compulsory, other fans, players and managers will fear us more than any other team right now.

 

Happy Monday.

 

@Northbankmen

 

Raise The Curtain Please.

So the hour is upon us (well nearly). For the first time in years our season starts a week early. Yes,it is a friendly but it is still a privilege to be there. Also for the first time in years there is a feeling of being almost prepared to start the season. How nice is it to have done a few deals before the season has begun, yes there are still gaps but on the whole I think we should be more than happy with the business we have done so far.

So how well are these new additions going to do? Based on last week I think we can be optimistic. Calum Chambers seemed to fit in like he’s grown up with these boys, and he’s only 19! Alexis Sanchez is just one of those players. He has a presence that drives fear into the opposition, from the minute he stepped off the bench last week you could feel we have a player on our hands. For me I hope he is used in a central role. Every successful team has that player eg. Suarez, Aguero, Hazard and I believe that Alexis is that player for us. Lets face it we’ve had good players, but we’ve not had anyone on that level since The King himself, not forgetting Ozil who has that ability and this season he will prove that!

The players that stood out for us, and I’m sure most Gooners were Campbell and Sanogo. Firstly in my opinion it would be a travesty if we let Campbell go without giving him at least a season in the EPL. He looks a composed player who can get goals for fun, he also now has 3 seasons worth of European experience which could prove invaluable. On to Sanogo………. this player has divided fans, and the north bank gents. My fellow Gent doesn’t rate him. I said since I watched him on Eurosport in the U20’s championships last summer that he could be brilliant. I have always said when he gets a goal you won’t stop the man, well now he has 4 in 1 match so please prove me right Yaya. He could for me be the next Samuel E’to – bold statement I know.

When you summarise our options up front, suddenly the picture looks much brighter than at the start of previous seasons. Alexis, Giroud, Sanogo, Campbell with Poldi and Theo all being able to play there. When you look at that mix, you have frightening pace, strength, clinical finishing and desire. If were City, Chelsea, United or Liverpool I would be very worried right now. With midfield options of Jack, Rambo, Ozil, Santi, Rosicky, Flamini and the Ox, I think we have more goals in us than ever.

Defensively however, I still worry a little. Per, Kos, Gibbs, Debuchy and Chambo II, all more than capable players but they need protection. With Vermaelen on his way we definitely need another World Class CB and we need that elusive stopper in front. Every successful team has one. I think for years Wenger has lived in hope of Diaby getting fit. As I’ve said previously Wenger’s weakness is he has to justify his signings, but at times he lacks the balls to say ‘it’s not working out.’ The Diaby thing had probably gone on too long 3 or 4 seasons ago. The good thing is though, I think the boss has come to that stage now, and I reckon he will get that man whoever that may be. One thing I guarantee you as well is he will get him at the right price.

So are we ready? In my opinion 90% yes, with 2 more players, we will be great again and we will be the team to beat. Wenger stated last week that the 15 days between the start of the season and the transfer window closing will be busy, let’s hope so.

So let’s raise the curtain on what promises to be the most exciting season for years our wonderful football club and get this show on the road.

until next time…………

@northbankmen

Solving the Wilshere conundrum

This season appears crucial for Jack Wilshere. It’s a theme echoing through many Arsenal fans currently. The manager has admitted as much during his Emirates Cup press conference.

On many levels, it’s almost synonymous with the situation Aaron Ramsey faced during the 2012/2013 season. Having struggled following his return from injury, he was the lightening rod for all Arsenal fan vitriol. His confidence shot and his place lost, a meeting Arsene Wenger was crucial. He stressed to Ramsey the need to simply go back to basics.

We were struggling behind the Spuds at the time (downward spiral?). Our defensive capability was especially suspect. Consequently we changed from one holding midfielder to two. We placed Ramsey in a double pivot with Mikel Arteta do provide a solid defensive basis. He abandoned any flamboyancy and returned to fundamentals of positioning, pressing, tackling and simple passing.

Gradually, he began to impress. I remember thinking of him much like a Scott Parker (ahem!). Having ended the season strongly, he resurrected last season to become the Welsh Jesus we all now know and love.

Returning to basics gave Ramsey the platform with which he has sprung from. The practise the basics requires games. During the latter end of 12/13 there was a need for Ramsey. What he was lacking in end product, he still delivered drive, energy and stamina.

Thus we now have a predicament with Wilshere. A prodigiously gifted player of whom, having also started his career so brightly, has struggled with injuries and form. It appears he requires the same prescription – games. Providing Jack with the required game time seems a little more difficult however. The competition for places has increased further. Ozil/Cazorla/Rosicky are arguably ahead of him in the No 10 role, and I’m not sure he has the positional knowhow or aerial ability to play the anchorman. Thus there is only the No. 8, or the box-to-box midfielder. Unfortunately, Ramsey, being our best player, holds that role.

It’ll be interesting to see how this story unfolds. Undoubtedly the ability is there to carve out a first team spot in the side, wherever that may be. His finally has a full pre season under his belt. Hopefully his body holds up. If it does, it is up to Jack to seize the opportunity when it presents itself.

Gooner Clarence