Arsenal have a big match tomorrow night against Everton at the Emirates. The Gunners will be without Samir Nasri, who has been a key play this season, for three weeks. Either Andrei Arshavin or Nicklas Bedtner will have to take the Frenchman’s starting spot on the wing. With only 48 hours since their last game and with the their injuries and with Squillaci’s suspension, the Gunners may be running low on players. Today is the transfer deadline and it looks like Wenger will stay put with his current squad. I will keep you updated if their is any breaking transfer news regarding the Gunners.
Speaking of Bendtner, he told reporters today that he thinks Feburary will be the decisive month for the Gunners: “This next month is a bit of a decider, I would say. There are matches that will have a massive influence on the Premier League as well.
“February is a big month for us and at the end of it we will see where we’re at. Hopefully it will all look fantastic. We need to start by beating Everton. They have been doing fantastically. They were a bit unlucky against Chelsea and they played some good football. We have to be up for the challenge and be ready.
“It’s always difficult to play again so quickly. We have played a lot of games but we’re sportsmen and this is what we have to do. Luckily it is a night game and not an early kick-off because they are [...]
This is a new series I’m starting up. These posts will not be by me but by the writers at “On For Goal.” We have a partnership together. This series will give you a look at the rest of the teams in the Premier League. This is the Transfer Roundup:
*Luis Suarez* – Liverpool The deal between Liverpool and Ajax has been agreed at a record fee of £22.8 million. The 24 year old has been at Anfield today and is going to undergo a medical. It is almost certain that Suarez will soon be a Liverpool player.
*Fernando Torres* – Chelsea Although this deal hasn’t as yet been signed, Roman Abramovich, the Blues Russian owner, has committed himself to give £50m to push this deal through, and is intent on pushing through the transfer before the end of the window.
*Andy Carroll* – Tottenham The Magpies have reportedly rejected a £23 million offer from the Spurs. The striker has scored 11 Premier League goals this season and has been impressive. Interest has been looming for a while now but if Spurs really do want the youngster they will certainly have to pay a lot of money!
*Shay Given* – ? Shay Given is an interesting transfer at the moment, he has announced that he is prepared to move to the Championship to play for a first team, and is threatening to sue Man City at Eastlands. However, Tottenham Hotspur, as well as 3 championship clubs are interested, so it [...]
Arsenal, down to 10 men, managed to beat Huddersfield town this afternoon in a thrilling FA Cup 4th round tie. The Gunners were down to 10 mean because of a sloppy challenge from centre-back Sebastian Squillaci, which lead to a straight red. Huddersfield were looking to force a replay but Cesc Fabregas saved the day with a late penalty. Not all good news for Arsenal though. Samir Nasri was injured and taken out of the match in the first half and now will be forced to miss some time.
Fabregas scored the winner from the penalty spot
Arsene Wenger put out a fairly decent side to face the League One side. Chamakh playing striker, with Bendtner and Arshavin on the wings. Diabymade his return in the midfield, along with Denilson and Nasri in the midfield. Squillaci made his return to the squad at centreback, with Koscielny. Eboue and Gibbs were the outside backs. Manual Almunia made his return in goal.
Andrei Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtnerwere Arsenal’s most dangerous attackers from the start of the match. The Russian captain’s form is improving. He is creating chances with his footwork but he is just having trouble finishing. Bendtner, on the other hand, is flourishing out on the wing and scoring goals regularly. I was skeptical about Bendtner on the wing but he has proved me wrong. Bendtner would open the scoring in the 21st minute. Bendtner drove down the right side before firing a shot that ricocheted off Huddersfield defender Peter [...]
The Gunners will take on Huddersfield Town at the Emirates Stadium Sunday in a FA Cup 4th round match. Arsene Wenger has already told us that both Abou Diaby and Sebastien Squillaci will make their returns from injury for the match. I suspect that many of the starting eleven will not see the pitch Sunday because Wenger will likely rest them for Tuesday night’s premier league match against Everton.
Almunia and Rosicky will also return to the squad and Sunday according to Wenger: “Definitely back in the squad is Diaby, Squillaci, Almunia and certainly Rosicky.” Even with Almunia returning, Wenger will stick with polish keeper Wojceich Sczcesny as Arsenal’s number one keeper. “At the moment Wojciech is No 1,” said Wenger. “He’s done nothing for me to take him out.”
Arsenal should be able to take care of Huddersfield at home. Huddersfield sits at third in League One and are looking towards gaining promotion to the Championship. The Gunners hope that they can help Huddersfield by beating them in the FA Cup so that they can focus on their promotional aspirations. All kidding aside, this should be an easy win for Arsenal, even with the reserves playing.
Transfer News
Let’s get to some transfer news. Mexican international Carlos Vela will leave North London to join West Bromwich Albion on loan. Wenger has talked about the need to find a taker for Vela, who hasn’t received much playing time. Wenger doesn’t want the 21 year-old to let his talents go stale while sitting on [...]
Andrei Arshavin has not played up to his skill level in recent games (as I’ve clearly spelled out in some of my match reports). Arshavin has admitted that his play needs to improve. Here is the captain of the Russian national team:
“It’s true that, at the moment, I’m not happy with how I’m playing.
“I feel that I’m making mistakes that I shouldn’t be – not giving good passes and losing a lot of balls. It’s hard to give reasons but I am working hard to get back to my best and am confident it will come.
“It’s an unusual situation because I’m not used to being on the bench this much. Maybe I had one period like this back at Zenit St Petersburg but it was a bit shorter. I can’t complain when the team is doing this well, though – our recent form in the league has been excellent.”
Let’s hope Arshavin can regain his form because he is a really special player when he is at his best. Although he doesn’t work as hard as some players, he can be a scoring threat from on the wing. Arshavin lost his starting job to Theo Walcott, the speedy English winger.
Arsene Wenger revealed today that centre-back Sebastien Squillaci and midfielder Abou Diaby will return to action in this Sunday’s FA Cup match. Here is Wenger: “Squillaci and Diaby will be in a squad. The only uncertainty I have is Rosicky. I don’t know if he’ll be fit or not. He was really sick. “Almunia has a chance, Fabianski no and for Vermaelen we need to be patient. “Sagna is as good as you can be. Yesterday he was at home and he still had a little bit of a headache. All the examinations made at the hospital were clean. He should be available for Sunday. If not Sunday then Tuesday.”
One will have to wonder what kind of form Squillaci will be in. He was not in good form when he left with the injury. Can he be the answer to Arsenal’s centre-back woes? I seriously doubt that but at worst at least he provides a little insurance. Diaby will be a welcome addition back but I will have to wonder how much playing time he will get with Wilshere clearly ahead of him at the moment.
Check back tomorrow night for a preview of the Gunners 4th round FA Cup tie versus Huddersfield.
Sagna Recovering: Arsenal right back Bacary Sagna has left the hospital after an injury to the head that occurred at last night’s match against Ipswich Town. Sagna collided with the keeper, Sczcesny, early in the game and had to be taken out of the game in the 18th minute. Wenger has said that Sagna suffered a concussion but he assured the media that Sagna is “fine”. Here is a statement on the issue that was released by the club:
“Following last night’s match when Bacary Sagna was substituted in the 18th minute, after receiving a blow to the head in a collision with Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. After staying in hospital overnight for observation, Bacary has now been discharged and overall is well and in good spirits.”
Arsene Downplays Rumours: Wenger is at it again: ”Transfer-wise there is no news and I would be surprised if there is any.” This is classic Wenger. The other day he hinted that he was after several players. Few days later, he says Arsenal aren’t looking to make any moves. I wouldn’t read all that much into it but Wengerwill have to move quick if he has any move in mind. The window closes at the end of the month.
Gunners Want Trophies: Both Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere have stated that their team and their fans are hungry for the silverware.
Fabregas: ”It is going to be a very difficult final but [...]
Arsenal beat Ipswich Town 3-0 tonight to advanced to the Carling Cup Final. The Gunners came into this game at the Emirates down 1-0 on aggregate. At the half, it looked as if Ipswich may be able to hold Arsenal off for just enough time. But the Gunners came out blazing in the second half, torching the Ipswich defence for three goals. Arsene and his players will have a chance to win the first trophy for our beloved club since 2005.
Arsene Wenger decided not to start the reserves in the second leg of the semifinal. Van Persie sat up top with Arshavin and Bendtner on the wings. Fabregas played in an attacking role behind RVP and Jack Wilshere and Denilson played as centre midfielders. The defence was anchored by Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny with Sagna and Clichy on the outside. The presence of van Persie surprised me a bit because Arsenal played just three days ago. It’s save to say that RVP is 100% back and in form. The lineup showed the Wenger is serious about the Carling Cup. The players proved it on the pitch.
The match started off with a bang. Ipswich fired the ball at the Arsenal goal right off the tip off. It was an ambious effort from Grant Leadbitter but it did give Sczcesny something to think about. The first half started with back-and-forth oppurtunities for each team. The Arsenal back four were forced to panic at times, but the Ipswich defenders were sometimes left only [...]
Arsenal will be facing off against Ipswich Town tomorrow night in the second leg of a Carling Cup semifinal. The first leg, played at Portman Road, saw the Gunners fall 1-0 to the Championship side. Arsene Wenger knows he is terribly close to his first trophy since 2005 but his side will need to beat Ipswich by two goals or more tomorrow at the Emirates if he hopes to hoist the League Cup trophy.
It will be very interesting to see who Wenger will start tomorrow. He usually gives the kids a run in the Carling Cup, but will he when a chance at the final is at stake? The starting eleven tomorrow will tell us how much Wenger really cares about the tournament. Of course, the League Cup is the fourth most prestigious competition Arsenal are in at the moment, but how desperate is Wenger to get his hands on another trophy?
Now onto some transfer news and rumours. Some reports have said that Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate will leave Spurs and join Arsenal. Well, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp had this to say about the rumours:
“Is he going to Arsenal? No, not a chance. We wouldn’t let him go to Arsenal. I think they are after taking Sol Campbell back again.” The Sol Campbell comment was obviously a joke, but the part about Woodgate clearly wasn’t. Doesn’t look like Spurs are going to give us any defensive help this month.
Arsene Wenger have confirmed that Arsenal are trying to make [...]
Arsenal finally had their best eleven out on the pitch today and it showed against Wigan. The Gunners’ attack tore through the Wigan defense, forcing Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi to make several terrific saves. Robin van Persie continued his great form, shredding the Wigan back four and scoring three times. If you ask van Persie though, I’d bet he’d tell you he could have had five goals.
Robin van Persie scored three today against Wigan
Arsene Wenger put his best forwards and midfield on the pitch today. RVP at the top, Cesc playing behind (sometimes alongside) him, Nasri on one wing, Walcott on the other, Wilshere and Song playing in the middle behind them. It was easy to see from the start of the match today that Arsenal was going to dominate. It didn’t show on the scoreboard until the 22nd minute, when van Persie tucked the ball past Al Habsi. After a good attacking buildup, Alex Song threaded a pass through to RVP, and Robin finished it off.
Even after the first goal, Arsenal still had trouble finding the net. In fact, most teams would find it hard to cough up as many chances as the Gunners did. Hey, but that’s our Arsenal! In the 35th minute, Walcott was able to break into the open field in front of Al Habsi. Al Habsi rushed towards Waclott, who sent the ball to Fabregas. Cesc was slid into and the ball came back for a shot by Walcott but the ball bounced [...]
