Arsenal Season preview -2 August 12, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Carlos Vela, Vela, Wilshere.add a comment
Arsenal have had some very imposing players in the centre of the park and ahead…but recently Wenger seems to prefer players of smaller physical stature, but nimble to adjust with the passing play of the team. So which is why we do not have a replacement for a Viera yet…
Midfield: 3.5/5
Fabregas – The first name on the team sheet and the captain of the team, Cesc is the most important cog in the Arsenal wheel. He proposes the play from the mid-field and strings the passes to the forward line. He is a 4.5 out of 5, but unfortunately his compatriots need to be of his calibre for him to take out his brilliance on the field, which is where we are missing our Viera/Flamini mould of player. A Song or a Denilson is not the solution, unless they improve drastically from their last season performance. Fabregas needs to provide some more bite to the attack, try some more long rangers and contribute to the goals from mid-field. With his new sexy hairstyle, I am sure he will 
Rosicky – Our injury man hopes to be back by September post his latest injury. I truly truly hope he stays fit for this whole season and give us some creative edge in the league. I am dying to see him combine with Cesc,Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin etc etc. He is definitely like a new signing for us and lets keep our fingers crossed on him staying fit.
Walcott – Our boy to man story should get completed this year and he should be making a mark in the Gunners team and then make his mark in the England team. His spurts on the right will have to end in good crosses and goal bound runs should have a final product, if not a goal, atleast a shot on target. But I think he has had enough exposure in the last couple of seasons to mature.
Nasri – An unfortunate injury in the pre-season has ruled him out till October, but he will definitely be a key player for the team once he is back. He scored more goals than Hleb(not that Hleb scored quite a lot of goals) and is a good player to pass the ball and keep possession of. He needs to up the ante in the goal scoring department and the second year in the league, he should be a more thorough player for us now.
Denilson & Song – Wenger’s solution for a defensive midfielder rests on these two players, unless he gives more opportunity to Ramsey. Denilson’s dfensive duties are questionable but I do remember the stats which were provided by a guest columnist in A Cultured Left Foot, where the stats proved on the converse. But somehow, these two players are not visibly showing the efforts or the talents once on the field.
Ramsey – He will be playing in the Carling Cup and FA Cup to start with but will slowly get promoted into the Premier League. He has a lot of potential and I believe he could be the answer to the defensive midfielder we are struggling to buy.
Diaby – Where is he? Injured? I do not know what is the problem with him, is it laziness or lack of talent or sheer laid-backness…whatever it is, he better improve or else this is his last year in London.
Forwards: 4/5
Arshavin – The star of last season. Let me not praise him any more, let him prove that on the field.
Van Persie – The main contributor of our last season, with respect to goals and assists, he has signed a new deal and hopefully signed on a lot of responsibility too. He will have to guide the youngsters in the team and deal with the pressure of scoring for a team which missed out on a lot of scoring opportunities. Look forward to more from Van the man.
Eduardo – Our main target man, the clinical poacher, we would like to see him playing more frequently and staying healthy. We missed him last season and I would like to see him together with Van Persie.
Bendtner – With Adebayor gone, Bendtner will be the default link-up player in the forward line with a lot to prove this year. Wenger has a lot of confidence in him and it is time for him to repay his faith. He needs to miss less chances which anyway this team will be creating.
Carlos Vela – He has had a good start to his career in the league last year. But he will be the player to look out for in this year. He is starting in the Mexico team that is playing US this week. He has the skills and the talent to be a star in this team. We will see a lot of sub appearances from him this year.
Wilshere – Our player of the pre-matches, he has shown a lot of improvement and is pegging for a place in the reserves list, if not in the playing XI. But I think he needs to play more regularly in the Carling Cup and FA cup to justify a place in the League. But we will hear a lot of him this season, that is for sure.
I do not have any doubts on our forward line. They are a good lot and to me they are as good or better than the forward line of many of the top teams in the league. I have a hunch that Vela is going to be a star this year and will shine in the league and Europe.
Realistically we will finish in the top 4 but I seriously doubt if we can win the league. But we can finish anywhere between 2nd and 4th in the league with a chance of finishinng strongly in Europe as well.
The better team won May 6, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Arshavin, Champions League, Europe, Kieran Gibbs, Ronaldo.1 comment so far
There is no doubt in my mind that the better team amongst Arsenal and Manchester United won over two legs and qualified for the finals. Manchester United beat Arsenal 1-3 at the Emirates and with an aggregate of 4-1 will play in the finals in Rome. The other finalist will be decided tonight from the Barcelona and Chelsea match at Stamford Bridge.
Going into the match Arsenal needed to score 2 goals and concede none to reach the finals. The crowd was the loudest I have heard in the Emirates and the flags which were distributed in all the seats were a sight to watch. Maybe that inspired the team for the first 5-6 minutes where they fought tooth for tooth for every ball and was dominating the play. United had no clue. Then came the first killer blow. A advancing Ronaldo on the left side crossed in front of the goal and the youngest player on the field, Kieran Gibbs, who had a mammoth game in the first leg, keeping Ronaldo under control, slipped and could not recover enough to beat Park’s shot at goal. Taanng!!! So now Arsenal need to score 3 goals for a outright entry into the finals.
Within another 3 minutes, Fabregas lost the ball and in trying to recover the ball Van Persie fouled Ronaldo (though Ronaldo went down too easily)and in the resultant free-kick, Ronaldo unleashed a fierce shot which dipped and curled in and caught Almunia by surprise (he should have saved it, but I guess it was one of those things). Well this goal virtually killed the tie. Expecting this Arsenal team to score 4 goals against this United side will be asking for too much. Felt bad for the crowd who had been behind the team and was positive about a fightback from the team though we had conceded a goal. The game was buried in the 11th minute.
The rest of the match was something that just passed by. Arsenal was trying to break through the midfield-defensive wall of United and were unsuccessful.United on the other hand substituted their players who were on yellow card and also scored one more in a counter attack.
So Arsenal’s title hunt comes to an end and probably the only thing left to do for the season is to win all the remaining matches in the premier league, which include a match each against Chelsea(next weekend) and Manchester United. Finishing third looks difficult as it is not in our hands(Chelsea has to lose two matches and we have to win all our remaining matches). The differene between finishing third and fourth is an automatic qualification to the Champions League and playing a qualifier which could also be depending on the luck of the draw a 4th placed team from Italy or Spain or some Eastern European team.
Its time for Arsene to think of what is lacking in this team, a central defender (very urgent) probably. I think with Song and Denilson maturing,Rosicky hopefully back for the next season, I feel we have a good midfield back up. Not to forget Ramsey. If we do not lose Van Persie and lose Adebayor, the forward line will still look healthy with Eduardo, Bendtner, Vela acting as back up to Van Persie and Arshavin. I feel we have a good team for the next season if we can keep the flock together.
More later.
Cesc Injury and Villa preview December 24, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Aston Villa, Cesc, Fabregas.add a comment
Just when you thought the team has held on to it’s ground(be it at whichever level)by beating Man Utd, Chelse and then drawing against Liverpool, comes the news of Fabregas’s possible absence for a period of 4 months!!! That means he will be available in end April 2009.
I just checked our schedule and at most he wil get to play the last 4-5 matches and for your information the third last and the second last match of the season is against Chelsea(at home) and Manchester United (away) respectively. But if ever we thought we had a slender hope of getting anywhere near 2nd or 3rd or even 1st place for that matter, it has just been brushed away by Alonso’s powerful foot. Aston Villa will be the most happiest team this weekend as they know that a win or even a draw will be good enough for them to lay claims to breaching the top 4 in the league.
But where do we go from here. Certainly a Diaby-Song-Denilson combination in the midfield will do us no good. I think except for Wenger everyone else thinks that way. So do not be surprised if Wenger fields these 3 along with Nasri in the midfield. I would love to see someone like Ramsey get a chance. Atleast it would mean some fresh ideas and possible a breakthrough.The biggest question is going to be whether Wenger will buy in the January transfer window(which he has not done for a long long time) to compensate for Fabregas’s absence. I guess only Arsene knows the answer to this question.
So when we go visiting Villa this Friday, we definetely have a match of high pressure. We need to win this one to show some steel in the team ranks. We have to show that we can get 3 points without Cesc and Adebayor. Villa is really looking good and I admire that team when they are not playing us. Ashley Young is actually the kind of player who will fit into our team and will be able to contribute. Anyways, we need three points, for being in the top four and not to compete for the league. If that happens, its well and good. So all the best to the Gunners.
Arsenal vs Manchester United preview November 7, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Bendtner, EPL, Manchester United.1 comment so far
As Manchester United visit Emirates Stadium, the team sheets and confidence levels of both teams can never be so contrasting. Manchester United have more or less a full strength squad to choose from and coming on the back of a victory over Hull City in the premier league (nevertheless a fighting comeback from the opposition) and a draw against Celtics away from home in the Champions League, they will be primed to give the Gunners one more blow to their Premier league hopes. Arsenal on the other hand face a host of injury problems and the draw against Fenerbache will not be encouraging coming on the back of a Stoke City defeat.
On the injury front, all parts of the field except the central midfield looks rosy for Arsenal. Starting from the back, Sagna’s injury means that Toure would play on that role on Saturday. Gallas and Silvestre are both injured and Wenger will take a call on matchday to keep one of them and maybe start with Djourou, who is a good bet to start. I hope he does that because Djorou would be capable of handling the aerial balls better than any of the other central defenders that we have. Clichy is fit and hence that position will be secure.
Coming to the midfield, injuries to both Walcott and Eboue means he will have to again look at Denilson/Diaby/Ramsey in that order to start on the right of midfield. I would prefer him to start with Ramsey but it might be too much for the youngster to start on a unfamiliar role in a high tempo match like this. Central midfield has been the debating point for the last few weeks now. I would like to see how Fabregas and Ramsey can play together in that role and if we can mould Ramsey into a defensive midfield role. Alex Song will also be in the picture when it comes to this match. Nasri retains his position on the left side of midfield, though he was very patchy in the last couple of matches.
Forwards are short in the current team and the only available two forwards are Bendtner and Vela and it looks like we will start with both or if Wenger goes for a 5 midfield we might start only with Bendtner. I would like to see Wilshere also coming through in this position, but maybe in the next match as Van Persie will and Adebayor might miss 2 more matches. But this is one of those moments in a footballer’s career where destiny is giving them a chance to prove a point to the coach and supporters and if Bendtner can make use of this opportunity he will endear himself to the entire Gooner community.
The team is definetely going through a bad patch and this is when they require us to support them and encourage them, whatever be the result. Lets hope Wenger does some magic with this set of players and we do not go down that soon this season.
At home to Hull City September 26, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, EPL, Emirates, Hull City, Vela, Wilshere.1 comment so far
Newly promoted side Hull City, who find themselves surprisingly 7th in the League play their first Top 4 team when they visit the Emirates stadium. When the match kicks off at Emirates, Arsenal could find themselves second or third depending on what happens to Liverpool and Chelsea in their respective matches.
Hull has had a very good start to the premiership – A confidence boosting win against Fulham, score draw with Blackburn, a traumatising loss to Wigan (0-5), an encouraging with Newcastle and a 4 goal draw against Everton. Not bad when you have 8 points from 5 games and the media was speculating if they would be this years Derby County. Honestly a creditable performance indeed. They would be relishing this match, to play in front of 60,000 fans against one of the top teams in England. I am sure they would make sure they give 110% in this match.
Arsenal on the other hand will be wanting to secure the top position come end of the week. They have had a good week’s rest, seeing the young guns go blazing against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup. It would be interesting to see if Wenger gives an opportunity to Vela or Ramsey or Wilshere in this match if Arsenal is leading comfortably in this match. Not that I am demeaning Hull, but I would love to see the kids play in the Premier League.
Here is an interesting point from The Telegraph
Hull manager Phil Brown was Sam Allardyce’s right-hand man when Bolton became Wenger’s bogey team.
In January 2005, Wenger confronted Brown on the touchline during an Arsenal v Bolton game and the pair went eyeball to eyeball. Seconds later, Bolton netted the winner, prompting Brown to celebrate with conspicuous glee. The scorer that day was Stelios Giannakopoulos, who a year later scored again in a 1-0 Bolton victory. Wenger might not have been pleased to discover Stelios signed for Hull this week and could make his debut on Saturday.
Proud to be a Gooner!!! September 24, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Bendtner, Carling Cup, Carlos Vela, Jack Wilshere, Sheffield United.add a comment
Arsenal youngsters 6-0 Sheffield United.
“This is the best group of youngsters I have had in all my time at the club” – coming from Wenger this is ultimate praise for this young bunch.
Take a bow
Hat-trick hero with the match ball
2008-09 Season: Contenders – II August 15, 2008
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 season, Aaron Ramsey, Adebayor, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Champions League, EPL, Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Gerrard, Liverpool, Rafa Benitez, Robbie Keane, Song.add a comment
Liverpool
Having finished the league without any honours, Liverpool will once again start their campaign in the hope that they will be able to challenge for the Premiership. Rafa’s primary target was to get Gareth Barry from Villa but the owners were not keen on shelling out 18 mil on him, instead they bought a proven striker in Robbie Keane. I seriously believe that Keane and Torres would be able to provide the goods upfront with Gerrard also contributing. But if you leave out these three and to some extent Mascherano the team is hardly any quality. With Gerrard not in the team they struggled against their Champions League qualifier opponent also.
Rafa Benitez is never known to make any sensible buys except for lets give it to him, Torres. But in Reina they have one of the best goal keepers in the league. And he has kept them in contention in a lot of matches, including their last competitive fixture. They have bought Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund – free), Andrea Dossena (Udinese – undisclosed), Vincent Lucas Weijl (AZ Alkmaar – undisclosed) Diego Cavalieri (Palmeiras – undisclosed) and David Ngog (PSG – £1.4m) other than Robbie Keane. But honestly how many of them will finally make us sit up and take notice, needs to be seen.
Prediction: Finish 4th
Arsenal
When you get beaten in the Champions League by some controversial penalty decisions and you finish 3rd in the league, you wonder if the team did very well despite some stars leaving the team and some very crucial injuries. Eduardo, Robin van Persie, Tomas Rosicky and Bacary Sagna were among the injured for most of the season and except for Eduardo and Rosicky everyone will be fit once again. Though at the start of the season the players on the injured list include Cesc Fabregas, Rosicky, Diaby and new signing Bischoff. the other one missing is the Olympian, Alex Song.
There has been many a comment passed on why Arsenal is not buying a defensive midfielder to replace Flamini and a central defender as cover for Toure or Gallas. Wenger probably believes that he has the back up for the defensive part and has made his intention clear in getting a holding midfielder before the next leg of the Champion’s League encounter with Twente FC. There are just three new signings – Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff – £5m), Samir Nasri (Marseille – £11m), Amaury Bischoff (Werder Bremen – undisclosed) of which Nasri is probably the only proven player, bouhg to replace Hleb. He has Carlos Vela back from loan who has experienced the La Liga last year. But Wenger will probably be thinking that Persie and Rosicky are back from injury and are like two new signings. Walcott’s biggest problem has been his inconsistency and he will get more starts than last year hopefully. Bendtner would be waiting in the wings to pounce on any let off from Ade or Persie. The team is strong once we buy a new holding midfielder and I cannot wait to see the match against West Brom though Fabregas is not starting.
Prediction: 2nd place in the League and probably Champions League winners
My team for this season
Almunia
Sagna Toure Gallas Clichy
Walcott New-signing Fabregas Rosicky
Adebayor Persie
Walcott, Vela, Ramsey & Wilshere August 5, 2008
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 Squad numbers, 2008-09 season, Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Carlos Vela, EPL, Fabregas, Jack Wilshere, Samir Nasri, Theo, Theo Walcott, Vela, Walcott, Wenger, Wilshere.1 comment so far
Here are four guys who might feature in a few matches this season for the Arsenal first team. It is good to see so many youngsters get a chance and Wenger would have seen something in them to put them in the first squad of 31. Of these four Walcott has been getting tagged as a youngster for too long and I think this is the season where the kid tag will be finally stripped off him. He has matured into a fine player and in the pre-season played well on the right flank.
Vela has proved to be one of the better players in Osasuna last year and he featured in quite a few matches for that side though they did not do well. He scores, he creates and I would love to see him start on the left in the Premier League or ahead in the Carling Cup. I am sure he will exceed our expectations quite a bit.
Ramsey has also impressed Wenger and in his role in the centre of midfield he has also impressed in the pre-season matches. He will get his chances and I am sure he will give some competition to whoever comes to replace Flamini and also Denilson and Diaby.
The surprise of the season or the Theo of this season is definitely this British dude, Jack Wilshere. He has been the most impressive youngster in the pre-season matches so far and I would like to see him at least a few times in the team to play some important cameo. If he can perform at the highest level nothing like it as we have seen Fabregas take his opportunity with both legs and cement his place. Must have taken Wenger some courage to make this guy wear jersey no. 19(Gilberto) instead of no. 55
I am not including Samir Nasri in this list because he is a certain to start on the left flank for the first team and has been a proven player in Ligue 1. He was their player of the season in 2007 and I hope will score more goals than Hleb whom he has replaced. Looks like Arsene is in the hunt for a holding midfielder to partner Cesc in the middle of the park. It remains a mystery as a lot of names are being discussed. Would it be Gareth Barry or Xabi Alonso or De La Red…god knows and ofcourse Arsene knows…
Arsenal start training & the new Villa kit July 8, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Acorns, Arsenal, Arsenal Training Ground, Arsene Wenger, Aston Villa, Clichy, Gael Clichy, Theo Walcott, Walcott, Wenger.4 comments
Arsenal first started training today at their training ground.
Walcott, the new no.14 and Clichy doing the drills
Ramsey was all ears to some wise words from Wenger!!!
Aston Villa finally launched their new kit with the acorns logo. Hats off to them!!!
Transfer news and new kit July 3, 2008
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 Squad numbers, 2008-09 season, Aaron Ramsey, Adebayor, Alex Ferguson, Arsenal, Arsenal Away Jersey, Arsenal Home Jersey, Arsene Wenger, Arshavin, Berbatov, Carlos Vela, Chelsea, David Villa, Deco, Drogba, EPL, Gareth Barry, Liverpool, Manchester United, Robinho, Ronaldo, Samir Nasri, Scolari, Theo, Walcott.3 comments
With the Euros over,time for some transfer news.
Manchester United – Ferguson has come out in the open and has said that he is looking for only one signing this season to strengthen his team. The position has not been specified but I presume it should be in the forward line given the injury prone Louis Saha might leave or get injured again. Lets not talk about Ronaldo and his impending transfer to Real Madrid. I feel United should just cash in as much as they can over him and pay off their debts. Will they go for Berbatov needs to be seen.
Chelsea – With Scolari coming in at Stamford Bridge,the playin style of the club is sure to change. And on his first day in office, he got Deco on board, something that Jose Mourinho could not do. Now this latest addition to the midfield means Lampard and Ballack are going to have competition for the second place. Does that mean Lampard will leave the club, again a debating point. Scolari is also strongly rumoured to get Robinho from Real as well. Now that should be interesting. Will Drogba be their come the start of the season, remains to be seen. Arshavin is the latest one who is tipped to be heading to Stamford Bridge this season.
Liverpool – Rafa is not good at buying players and to make it worse his hands are tied this time around with the transfer funds. The Gareth Barry tussle with Aston Villa is really sad, infact it is worse than the continuing Ronaldo saga. Barry has been asked to train on his own and Martin O’Neil has made it clear to Liverpool that they should pay 18 million if they want to see Barry in a red jersey next season. Fair enough. Do they have the money to buy David Villa??? No I do not think so.
Arsenal – Nasri is in. I hope he plays better than his Euro performance in an Arsenal jersey. Hleb stories have become silent and Adebayor stories on the rise in the last few weeks. Ade’s salary demands if it is true is showing him in a poor light. It is strange how one good season can make a player think so highly about himself. If he had made this demand at the end of next season after scoring 20 goals, it would have looked better.
The official jerseys are on sale from today. Here is the home jersey
And here is the rumoured to be away jersey
Also the 2008-09 Arsenal first team squad numbers have been finalised few weeks back. Notable ones;
12 Carlos Vela
14 Theo Walcott – ya he gets Henry’s number. Now only if he could play like him
