Jack Wilshere spoke at length on the goals that Arsenal must meet next season. Andrey Arshavin believes that he will still be playing at the Emirates next season. According to reports, Barcelona have already made an offer fro Cesc Fabregas and are eager to start the negotiations.
Jack Wilshere is getting set to play for England in their upcoming Euro 2012 qualifier, but he still has time to talk about the Arsenal: “One hundred per cent it will be a disaster if we don’t win a trophy next season. We know that. The fans feel it. We feel it. We just need to win a trophy.
“We’re a big club and we need to be winning trophies and we need to win them to keep our big players. Sooner rather than later.
“He’s (Cesc Fabregas) our best player. In some of our games he has been our best player by a mile and we need to keep our best players if we want to win things. He’s the club captain; he likes Arsenal. I’m sure he wants to be at Arsenal. I’m sure if they can reach an agreement then I’m sure he’ll want to stay. He needs to stay.
“He’s been over in England eight years but Barcelona is his home. It’s hard for him so I can understand where he’s coming from. But he’s the Arsenal captain and he’s been great this season and we hope he can be great next season.”
We watched as Barcelona completely dominated Manchester United, the Premier League champions, at the weekend. Barca proved that a side can play football the ‘right’ way and still be successful. Guardiola’s men made United look like boys. Of course, they did the same to us earlier in the year. If Barcelona play their best, nothing can stop them.
Arsene Wenger likely watched the match and saw Barcelona’s free-flowing 4-3-3 at work. Barcelona have shown the footballing world that their passing philosophy can beat United’s physical onslaught. The side playing the traditional English way cannot stand a chance against Barca.
Ferguson’s mistake was playing Barcelona the same way they play against English teams. It works in the Premier League because most other teams play the same way, and United are the best team at playing in that style.
Arsenal are the closest team to Barcelona in England that plays the ‘tippy-tappy’ football. Wenger places extreme emphasis on possession of the football. Barcelona confirmed that their style is not only breath-taking to watch, but superior to all other ways of playing.
Sure, every now and then a team like Mourinho’s Inter can sit back and defend if they are good enough. But Mourinho was unsuccessful at holding Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and co. back this season. This Barcelona side may be the best team in memory and it is what Arsene should strive to build at the Emirates.
We did have a supremely talented team at Highbury back during the Invincible era. Of [...]
Stan Kroenke’s bid to buy Arsenal Football Club has been approved by the Premier League. Aaron Ramsey thinks Arsene Wenger needs to make some serious changes this summer. Gareth Bale is confident that Tottenham can finish above Arsenal next season, a bold statement to say the least.
American Stan Kroenke now officially owns 63% of our beloved Arsenal. The Premier League has made it official yesterday. However, Alisher Usminov has not given up his dream of someday owning the club. Kroenke had this to say after becoming majority shareholder:
“As the controlling shareholder of Arsenal football club, it will always be our intention to do what’s necessary to assure success on the pitch, provide long-term stability and build on the accomplishments and history of the club.
“The club has funds to invest and will do so wisely. Our constant aim will be to compete for silverware and championships.
“Arsenal is not about one shareholder, one player or one fan. It’s a special institution and we look forward to celebrating that further during the 125th anniversary year of the club.”
Kroenke seems like the responsible owner of a club. He does not want to drive the club into debt by borrowing funds to buy the club (Glazers). Stan also is not the guy who will fire a manager a year after he won the double (Ibramovich). Do you think Kroenke can help bring silverware back to Arsenal?
Aaron Ramsey believes that it is finally time for Arsene to be a buyer in the [...]
A lot to cover in today’s post. First, Stuart Pierce questioned Wenger’s motives with Jack Wilshere. Two North London clubs are after Porto star Falcao. Also, the Barca centre backs have another laugh at Cesc and his Arsenal career. Stewart Downing could replace Nasri on the wing if the Frenchman doesn’t sign a new deal.
Here is England Under-21 manager Stuart Pierce: “One thing’s for sure – Arsenal have not left him out of the side in the last six weeks of the season, even though the stats have said he’s in the red zone.
”Arsène didn’t want him to go full stop.”
When asked if he would be angered if Wilshere played during the summer tour: “What he does with Arsenal next season is irrelevant to me.”
It is an interesting point. If Wenger is so worried about overworking Wilshere, then why didn’t he rest Jack in the final games of the season? We could have finished third and the injury to Cesc may be Arsene’s answer. Pierce is clearly showing his displeasure over missing several key players for this summer’s tournament, inlucding Andy Carroll, Micah Richards, and Wilshere.
According to Claudio Mossi, Radamel Falcao’s agent, the Porto striker is gaining interest from Arsenal: “England are crazy about Falcao. Among the leading candidates are Arsenal and Tottenham. They are willing to hit the 30 million (euros) clause.”
Falcao(25-years old) scored the winner for Porto in the Europa League Final. He is a talented striker who certainly has a nose for [...]
Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he would like to sign Karim Benzema. The Real Madrid striker has been linked with Arsenal in the past, but only in rumours. Wenger clarified yesterday: “Signing him does not seem impossible. He’s a player that I like.
“He’s intelligent in his movement; he is capable of combining well with others and making a difference, and of doing individual moves as well.
“So, for me, he’s a player who’s at the top level in the world.”
We definitely need a striker to compliment Robin and to fill in when the Dutchman is injured. If we signed Benzema, it would likely be a record transfer for Arsenal. Would Wenger still be willing to spend even more to remedy the defence, the main weakness with this team? Do we even have enough cash to sign Benzema and a centre-half?
Karim Djarziri, Benzema’s agent, denied any talks with Arsenal: “I went to London for personal business, not to discuss any transfer.
“Karim Benzema has a contract with Real Madrid so let’s wait and see.
“He loves Madrid and wants to play every time as he loves playing football.”
Benzema is unhappy at his limited playing time under Mournho so he could try to force his way to the Emirates. Sky Sports are reporting that the rumoured deal is for £21.6 million. Wenger may be able to convince players like Cesc and Nasri to stay if he pays that much for a player. It would show the club’s commitment [...]
Nicklas Bendtner will likely leave this summer according to his father, who is also his agent. Arsene Wenger took some time yesterday to talk about his transfer policy. Arsenal have announced that they will be embarking on a tour of Malaysia and China this summer.
Wenger will be "very active" in the transfer market.
First topic will be the unhappy Danish striker with a massive ego. Who else but Nicklas Bendtner. Here is what his father, Thomas Bendtner, had to say:
“Nicklas has made his decision and told Arsenal: he wants to leave the club. There has not been any change in his situation and so we have told Arsenal that we will search the market for a new club. I can say that there is serious interest from English and German clubs and it is not going to be a problem to find him a good club.”
Thomas Bendtner even started speculating on clubs interested in his son. He specifically mentioned Bayern Munich, who have had interest in Nicklas in the past. Reports also have Bayern interested in Samir Nasri. Bayern can have Bendtner, but hopefully Wenger can hold on to his fellow Frenchman.
The Guardian are reporting that Wenger wants £8.7m for Bendtner. Bayern will have to dish out the cash if they are truly interested in Bendtner. If they do, they will soon find out that they have an egomaniac, which is fine if the player is world class. Too bad Bendtner is only a second-rate [...]
Arsenal were never able to get on the front foot in this match. Fulham did will to pressure our fragile back four and were rewarded with two goals. We are a mess right now and the end of the season could not come soon enough. Manchester City took care of Bolton to secure the 3rd position, which means we will have to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League next season.
Arsene really surprised me with his starting lineup. It resembled a 4-4-2 with Chamakh and RVP up top. Nasri and Ramsey were out on the wing with Wilshere and Diaby in the center. Ramsey is better in the middle but he can definitely play on the wing if he needs to. Samir may have played his last game for us, depending on how his contract situation works out.
Going into the match, I expected to lose. Our form in recent weeks speaks for itself, despite our victory over United. We have earned 12 points in the eleven matches since the Carling Cup final defeat. If we would have sustained that same form over the entire 38-game season, we would finish with 38 points. That would have seen us relegated this season.
Some of you may have noticed that I have changed the title of this post from “Match Report” to “Match Musings” This is because I feel it would serve the readers better if I gave my thoughts on the match instead of just detailing the match [...]
Well, here we are. The last match of the season. It has been a long, tumultuous campaign for us. Disappointing results combined with clear and predictable weaknesses leave us wondering what the future will bring. It seems as if every pundit with half a brain pointed out our problems in the summer. But does our manager even recognize these problems enough to fix them.
Fulham have done very well under Mark Hughes this season. They are currently eighth in the table and have had success at home this season. Coming off a 2-0 victory at Birmingham puts them in a position to possibly finish as high as seventh. Not much to play for really for The Cottagers. They will be looking to send their fans home with a positive performance, which we were unable to do at the Emirates.
Fulham can be beaten at Craven Cottage. Liverpool really pounced on them in earlier in the month with a 5-2 thrashing. Many were surprised because of how staunch the Fulham defence had been up to that point at Craven Cottage. If we can copy Liverpool’s success, then maybe we have a chance on finishing third.
Fulham still have a chance to play in Europe next season. If they avoid any sort of card, then Fulham will qualify for the Europa League through the Fair Play table. Some managers think the Europa League is a useless competition that only tires out the players for the important fixtures. Maybe so for a team aspiring for the Champions League like Liverpool and Tottenham. But I think [...]
Denilson has announced that he will leave Arsenal this summer: “A footballer’s career is over very quickly so it is time for me to move on. This has been the worst season of my life. I made up my mind eight months ago. But I haven’t said anything because I did not want to disrupt the team during the season.”
We may never see Denilson playing for Arsenal ever again.
This decision also helps Arsenal. Denilson showed us why he is not fit to be a Arsenal player. Instead of improving, his play has declined. It is clear that he will never make an impact here so maybe he needs a new start to jump-start his career: “I need a fresh challenge and although I’m taking a big gamble, I’m ready to take that risk.
“I am a footballer and I want to play every week because I want the chance to play for Brazil. Look at Lucas [Leiva] at Liverpool. He’s been playing regularly and he’s in the Brazil team. That’s where I want to be.”
Denilson is no where close to making Brazil. He does not even play regularly with Arsenal. What makes him think he is skilled enough to play for the premier national side in the world. Footballers tend to have these kinds of illusions (think Bendtner).
“I am so upset. I am a winner and I came here to win trophies but I’ve been here for five years and won nothing. There’s something missing [...]
Can Wilshere handle the sheer amount of football he has (and will) be playing.
Arsene Wenger has been under serious pressure from fans regarding his transfer policy in recent years. The Frenchman failed to replace The Invincibles with replacements of the same quality. Of course, there are not too many Thierry Henrys and Patrick Vieiras floating about. Arsene is determined to keep his captain and midfield play-maker, Cesc Fabregas:
“That’s a question I’ve heard already a few times in a press conference and I expect him to be here [next season].
“I will fight very hard to keep him here. You have always to fight when you have a player of that quality, you must always fight to keep your players, of course.”
Wenger has a belief that players should play out their contracts. He could theoretically lock Cesc in the Emirates for a few more seasons. The question is: How much fight does Arsene have? Will he deal with a sulking Spaniard and force him to stay. If so, then Cesc could have a very messy end to his Arsenal career.
Wenger then gave Cesc something to think about: “What guarantees you that if you go somewhere else you will win trophies?”
“The biggest pride for a captain is to be committed to his club and deliver trophies with his team. A player who changes his club every time he is frustrated or when he doesn’t win a trophy, goes nowhere. I believe the quality of sports life [...]
