Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was a key figure for the England Under-21s as they crushed Iceland 5-0 on Thursday night. While The Ox failed to score, he did prove why Arsene Wenger spent so much cash to bring him to Arsenal. Fabio Capello may bring Chamberlain to Euro 2012, but the media pressure could affect the 18-year old.
Chamberlain was one of the youngest players on the pitch, but you wouldn’t know it from watching the match. He seemed to beat at least one defender every time he touched the ball. The Ox has great pace, but what is more astonishing is how quickly he can reach his top sprint. One moment, he will be standing still with the ball, and the next moment he blows past the poor soul trying to mark him.
The Arsenal winger created a brilliant opportunity for himself to score in the first half. Chamberlain took advantage of a lackadaisical defender to narrowly keep the ball from crossing the end-line. He approached the goal from an extremely tight angle and his chip almost hit the back of the net.
England scored a flurry of goals near the end of the game. Tihe fifth and final goal was set up by The Ox. Chamberlain played a give-and-go off a short corner. He then used his speed to reach the upper corner of the penalty area before sending in a low pass across to Gary Gardner, who stuffed it in the far corner.
Despite all of the positives from Chamberlain, he does seem [...]
Andrey Arshavin has taken a bold stand against Arsene Wenger. The little Russian said that his manager will not listen to anyone regarding tactics. The comments could jeopardise Arshavin’s future at the club, though he did say that he does not want a move at the moment.
Arsene Wenger has primarily used Arshavin on the wing, even though some believe that the little Russian is more effective playing centrally. Arshavin had struggled at times and seems to want to shift inside when Wenger does play him on the wing. The frustrated Arshavin revealed that no one ever questions Wenger at Arsenal (from The Sun):
“When you have a mundane, domestic problem, he’s always very supportive. But when it comes to Arsenal, no one would dare approach him with questions about football or suggestions to change something round. Everyone knows what the answer would be.”
Many Gooners, including myself, will not find it surprising to hear that Wenger is completely in charge at the Emirates. Some have said that Wenger has possessed too much power at our club since the departure of David Dein. This issue usually relates to the transfer policy. When it comes to tactics, the manager should have the ultimate power.
Arshavin also expressed dissatisfaction over his limited time on the pitch: “It is better to play all the time like I did at Zenit rather than sit on the bench. I still want to play. If you are a footballer you want to be on the pitch — [...]
Jack Wilshere promised that he will never leave the Emirates Stadium. He also targeted mid-December for his return to training. In other news, Szczesny would put money on Arsenal grabbing the league title, and the keeper is also embracing a leadership role.
Jack Wilshere
As we all know, our promising 19-year old English midfielder has yet to play this season. His recovery has been slow and delayed. Wilshere told iFilm London: “It’s going really slow at the minute and obviously I’m really frustrated. I should be back in training by mid-December, then I can crack on and it’s up to the boss when he picks me.”
Wilshere’s return has not been on my mind as much now that we are starting to win games, but he is still a massively important player. When he comes back, Arsene Wenger will have more options in the centre of the midfield.
When asked whether he would promise to stay at Arsenal “forever,” Jack replied: “I promise that, yeah. I’ve been at the club since I was nine and learned to love it.
“From the [Patrick] Vieira days, to [Dennis] Bergkamp, [Cesc] Fabregas, I’ve watched them come through and move on. There’s a crop of new players, [Aaron] Ramsey, myself, Kieran Gibbs…hopefully we can really create something special.
“I love the club and I want to be part of its future.”
With all the transfer drama of recent years, this has to warm your heart as a Gooner. Jack really wants to be an [...]
Arsenal’s annual general meeting was held on Wednesday. Arsene Wenger gave a powerful speech, while Stan Kroenke’s comments supplied supporters with little insight. Shareholders were clearly frustrated with chairman Peter Hill-Wood. Reports are saying that the Gunners have opened up contract negotiations with Robin van Persie.
Wenger’s speech at the meeting was clearly from his heart. He stood up for the values of our club and the class with which the club operates (from Daily Mirror):
“I believe that the values we defend are highly defendable because we want to do things with class. We want of course to be very ambitious. We want to be very brave. I believe that this club has always been very brave in its decisions. The courage is a quality I admire because it is a highly needed quality in the modern world.”
Arsene believes that the fans need to get behind the team, and together Arsenal can achieve success. Wenger said that he believes that his squad have the right attitude and are ready to fight. He said this near the end of his speech (from Daily Mirror):
“And if I just would like to achieve one thing today it is: trust us, this team has qualities, this team will fight.” Click to read the full transcript of Wenger’s speech at the AGM. Stan Kroenke took a few minutes to introduce himself to the shareholders and supporters. The American majority shareholder has been quiet since his takeover last season. He was interested in several [...]
Carl Jenkinson will miss two to three weeks due to the knee injury he suffered on Wednesday night. Johan Djourou is the likely candidate to fill in at right back, and he said that he is ready the challenge.
According to The Guardian and other sources, Carl Jenkinson will be out for two or three weeks. The 19-year old hobbled off the pitch at the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday night. Arsene Wenger had this to say about the injury (from Arsenal.com):
“We don’t know yet but it is very unlikely he will be available for Sunday. He is having a scan and we will know some time on Friday.”
Johan Djourou replaced Jenkinson against Marseille, and it was Djourou’s cross that found Aaron Ramsey for the winning goal. But Djourou was awful at right back against Blackburn. The 24-year old defender believes he is up to the task of playing on the right (from The Guardian):
“I am a centre-back first … I love my game, I love playing football and when I can play, it’s a relief. So if I have to play right-back to help the team, then I will do it. It worked out against Marseille because I played the final ball for the goal. But I just want to play football.
“I have played a few times before at right-back and it’s a completely different game. When you play centre-back you can see the whole game in front of you but when you’re on the wing, you have [...]
Centre-back Thomas Vermaelen has signed a contract that will keep him at the Emirates Stadium until 2015. Arsene Wenger was delighted that Arsenal were able to sign a deal to keep Vermaelen at the club long-term.
Some of the best news of this season arrived on Monday. Thomas Vermaelen has committed to the Gunners by signing a long-term contract. The Belgian centre-half was mentioned as a player who could depart from the club, but he has made his intentions clear by agreeing to the extension.
Vermaelen told Arsenal.com: ”I am really happy to have signed a new contract with Arsenal. I always had the intention to stay here. I feel there is a big belief in me from the Club, from the boss and from the fans and that is one of the reasons why I stayed. Arsenal is a fantastic Club. We have great supporters, we’re doing well financially and we are playing with some quality young players now and they will develop, which is very good for the future.”
Arsene Wenger told Arsenal.com: “We are absolutely delighted that Thomas has signed a new long-term contract. Our plan is always to sign top quality players and with Thomas extending his contract, we have done just that. Thomas is a special player, who has always made a huge contribution on the pitch and we are looking forward to him being a part of our future at Arsenal Football Club.”
With the lack of quality at centre-back, it was absolutely essential to sign Vermaelen long-term. He and Bacary [...]
Wojceich Szczesny answered several questions after Arsenal’s loss in the North London derby. His answers were fairly tame and uncontroversial, but that did not stop the media from twisting his words to make an interesting headline. Interesting headlines at best, stonewall lies at worst.
A headline on the ESPN: “Szczesny: We’re better than Spurs.” The headline and article gave you the impression that Szczesny rushed to them to proclaim that the Gunners are still the best team in North London despite the loss. Here is what Szczesny really said (from ESPN):
“You can’t make such a statement after a couple of months after our poor start to the season or after just one game. I think Spurs are a great club and they have shown today that they can play really good football, but are they better than Arsenal? I don’t really think so.”
Judging by his answer, Szczesny was asked the obvious question about a possible power shift from Arsenal to Tottenham. Yet the media want you to think that he went out of his way to make the comments. What else is Szczesny going to say? He plays for Arsenal, so he is not ready to admit ultimate defeat in the battle against Spurs.
The Sun are not only good at manipulating photos. They also manipulate quotes. Their headline: “Szczesny: I want to be Arsenal captain, not Van Persie.” Szczesny never mentioned Robin van Persie (from The Sun):
“I feel that when I say something, everyone listens to [...]
Wilshere posted this picture on his Twitter account after the surgery.
Jack Wilshere is set to miss “four or five months” after undergoing ankle surgery. He sent out a message to Gooners after the surgery.
The 19-year old midfielder’s recovery will take “four or five months” according to Arsenal.com. His ankle surgery on Monday was successful. Wilshere wanted to notify his fans of his status (from Arsenal.com):
“I’ve had my operation this morning and all went well. My ankle is little bit sore, but I’m already looking forward to working hard to get fit and playing again.
“I would also just like to say thanks for the many messages of support I have received from you – the fantastic Arsenal supporters. See you all soon at the Emirates.”
I am starting to wonder whether we will see Jack on the pitch this season. At first, his injury was deemed fairly minor. A month or two seems to be added to his recovery time daily, and Arsene Wenger will not want to see Wilshere’s career tarnished by injuries. Maybe Wenger and the medical staff give Wilshere a year off and start fresh next season.
Most are predicting that Jack will return in late Feburary or early April. It is possible that he could provide a boost for the next North London derby on 25 February. Wenger and his squad will face Spurs at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
In other injury news, Theo Walcott will not feature on Wednesday night [...]
Robin van Persie said he does not want to negotiate a new contract with Arsenal at this time. Arsene Wenger compared the Dutchman to Lionel Messi and said that he does not think that Van Persie will leave the Emirates.
The Dutchman’s contract at Arsenal runs until the end of next season, and the rumours are starting already.
Van Persie said (from The Guardian): “I still have almost two years left, so for the moment that’s fine. I’m happy with my contract. I can’t look into the future. I can’t see us talking now because we are so busy. Maybe we will leave it until the end of next season”
Manchester City are rumoured to be interested in RvP, but Arsene Wenger said he does not expect the Dutch striker to go (from The Guardian): “It’s true that we had a meeting during the summer. It is understandable that he would want that when you lose players such as Fabregas and Nasri. I don’t think we will lose him.”
Wenger also said that no one would be leaving Arsenal shortly before Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas did just that. City are clearly trying to weaken our squad while strengthening their team. Reports say that Manchester City would have to pay £ 30 million for Van Persie. That is a low value considering the price paid for flops like Fernando Torres (£50m) and Andy Carroll (£35m).
People will point to his injury-riddled past, but I would rather have Van Persie for [...]
Robin van Persie scored two goals against Bolton, including his 100th for Arsenal. The Gunners came out firing in the second half, and dominated the match after Bolton centre-back David Wheater was shown a straight red card.
Arsenal were tentative in the first half, but the Dutchman hit the net less that a minute into the second period. Van Persie took the pass from Aaron Ramsey and blasted the shot near-post. Jaaskelanien was caught standing straight up, and the low, powerful strike was too much for the keeper.
Arsene Wenger needed his team to score another goal against the 10-man Wanderers to close the match out. Van Persie completed his century of Gunner goals in the 71st minute. Theo Walcott broke free down the wing and sent a low cross towards the Dutchman. RvP finished it off with a tap from the outside of his foot.
Surprisingly, it was Alex Song who scored Arsenal’s third. He curled the ball into the upper corner in the 89th minute. Song’s strike was the best goal of the day, but it will be Robin who takes the praise for the win.
David Wheater was sent off with a straight red in the 55th minute. Aaron Ramsey played a perfect through ball to Theo Walcott. Theo had too much pace for Wheater, and the Bolton center-half pulled him to the ground. It was a clear break, so Wheater had to go.
Walcott was terrific. He burned the Wanderers’ back four throughout the match, but especially after Bolton [...]
