The Starting Line-up: Ivan Gazidis said on Thursday that Arsenal can “cope” and “compete” without participation in the UEFA Champions League. Aaron Ramsey finds relief in playing for Wales after the poor start to his Arsenal season. Robin van Persie said that he is unsure of his future (again).
Let’s start with the chief executive of our football club. Ivan Gazidis spoke at a football conference, and he said that Arsenal will be fine without the money generated from the Champions League (from ESPN):
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis
“We would rather qualify for it but we have a really sustainable model that can cope without it. Not just cope, but we can do well and compete. It would be very foolish to build a business model that relied on being in the Champions League for perpetuity and I don’t think any clubs do that and, if they do, then they probably aren’t being run as responsibly as they should be.”
You have to be an extremely positive Gooner to believe that we will finish in the top four this season. Obviously, Arsenal’s budget does not need that £26 million (amount Arsenal made from the UCL last season) to run the club. But the Champions League is symbolic to players and supporters. Top players want to play in the competition, and supporters know their club is at an elite level when they watch them on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Gazidis went on: “Every club has the temptation to think that money is the [...]
Robin van Persie scored four for Holland. Park Chu-young had a hat-trick for South Korea. Aaron Ramsey scored the winner for Wales in their European qualifier. Theo Walcott played very well in England’s victory over Bulgaria.
Holland defeated San Marino by a score of 11-0, and RVP contributed four goals for the Dutch. His first tally came in the 7th minute. Van Persie controlled a beautiful cross and then calmly slid it past the San Marino keeper to open the scoring. The Dutchman’s second goal came after he tapped the ball into an open net in the 65th minute.
Van Persie hammered home his third of the match in the 68th minute. After a shot bounced off the keeper, RVP finished the job by scoring the 7th goal of the game. His last goal came after a brilliant string of passes in the 79th minute. Van Persie finished off the total football with a hard, low finish.
San Marino were humiliated in the match, and it was tough not to feel sorry for them. Van Persie went through a similar struggle when Arsenal lost 8-2 at Old Trafford. After the match, many jokers on Twitter compared the Gunners to San Marino.
New Gunner Park Chu-young helped South Korea pummel Lebanon 6-0 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. Nine minutes in, Park opened the scoring with a fantastic volley. A long pass was floated towards Park, and the captain decided to pop it into the net before letting it drop. Hopefully, we [...]
Arsenal narrowly defeated Udinese in the first leg of the Champions League Play-off on Tuesday. Theo Walcott’s early goal was the only tally of the match. Arsene Wenger may face action from UEFA after he contacted the bench during the match.
Theo Walcott broke the tension at the Emirates early with a goal in the 4th minute. Aaron Ramsey made a run down the flank, and then curled a low cross into the box. Theo Walcott volleyed the ball into the net. It is was good finish from Theo, who looked dangerous the entire match.
Udinese were clearly not afraid to play at Ashburton Grove. They lived up to their billing as a free-flowing, counter-attacking side. Antonio Di Natale lofted beautiful chips into the box for his teammates, but the Italians were unable to convert. Pablo Armero, a quick wing back, was the best performer from Udinese, using his work-rate and pace to create a variety of chances.
Gervinho seems to be unable to cross or shoot without hitting the nearest defender. The Ivorian has great ball control and pace, but once he approaches the box, he either holds onto the ball for too long or smashes it into the closest opponent.
Udinese decided to play four in the back instead of three, which was customary for them last season. Their attack was fluid, particularly in the second period, and was fueled by a number of skilled wing players, like Armero, Mauricio Isla, and Giampiero Pinzi.
Arsene Wenger will again be subjected to the ire of [...]
Arsenal will be without three key players as they take on Newcastle at St James’ Park on the first day of the new Premier League season. Twitter outlaw Joey Barton may be in the starting eleven for Newcastle.
Arsene Wenger announced yesterday that Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas will miss the match. Both players are strongly linked with moves away from London. Nasri will sit out due to sickness, while Fabregas is not yet match-fit.
Jack Wilshere will be forced to miss the match due to a real, genuine ankle injury. Wilshere said on Twitter: “Gutted not to be playing tomorrow but wish all the lads the best of luck! We need a good start! #gooners.” Abou Diaby will also not feature in the match after undergoing ankle surgery.
On a positive note, Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen, and Kieran Gibbs are expected to be on the pitch after injury concerns during the pre-season. Van Persie will captain the Arsenal squad tomorrow.
Newcastle, meanwhile, will be looking to revive the magic of their four goal comeback in this fixture last season. After selling Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique, the Magpies will be starting the season with a distinctly French feel.
The new arrivals at Newcastle include Gabriel Obertan, Johan Cabaye, and Demba Ba. But the Toon summer has revolved around the Joey Barton saga. Barton has strongly criticized the club management on Twitter. The English midfielder was not pleased by the sale 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 [...]
The England-Wales match has just ended and the Three Lions have come out victorious by a score of 2-0. This Euro 2012 qualifier was special for us Gunners because we saw Jack Wilshere match up against Aaron Ramsey. Both started and played reasonably well. These two could be the future of our midfield. Ramsey was a first-time skipper for Wales. The 20 year-old is believed to be one of the future Welsh stars. In the end, England outclassed the sluggish Welsh defense.
Wilshere again started in the holding midfield role. There were some scary moments. Twice in the match, Wilshere was slow to get up after a tackle. He shook the knocks off though and continued. Wilshere is always involved in those hard tackles because he is all of the pitch and always wants the ball. It is his determination, along with his elusiveness, that makes him prone to the aggression of the opposition.
Aaron Ramsey played a bigger role in his team. He had to because Wales found it hard to muster an attack. He played well, though some of his passes were less than spot-on. Wenger should strongly consider starting him alongside Wilshere and ahead of Diaby and Denilson. Although I do not think Diaby has been all that bad, Denilson has been consistently poor.
So, that is about all I have to say. Neither player had a magnificent showing and neither played poorly. Both are still young and have plenty of room to grow their talents. Let’s hope [...]
