Gunners on International duty

 

 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott

San Marino v England, March 22

Montenegro v England, March 26

Theo Walcott was included but picked up a groin injury.

Ox played against San Marino

 

Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal

Spain v Finland, March 22

France v Spain, March 26

Santi Cazorla started for Spain but came off at half-time which is a bit worrying.

Cazorla didn't play against France but Monreal played the full 90 minutes.

Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker

Kazakhstan v Germany, March 22

Germany v Kazakhstan, March 26

Against away to Kazakhstan Mertesacker played the full 90 for Germany while Lukas Podolski came on as an early sub.

At home BFG did 90  but Podolski was an unused sub.

Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud

France v Georgia, March 22

France v Spain, March 26

Olivier Giroud got a very nice goal with header for France against Georgia.

Agaist Spain Koscielny played the whole game but Giroud came on very late on.

Wojciech Szczesny

Poland v Ukraine, March 2

Poland v San Marino, March 26

Aaron Ramsey

Scotland v Wales, March 22

Wales v Croatia, March 26

Ramsey is suspended for  the Croatia game due to the red card he received against Scotland.

Ramsey scored Wales' first goal against Scotland with a well taken penalty



Thomas Vermaelen

Macedonia v Belgium, March 22

Belgium v Macedonia, March 26

Played full at both games against Macedonia

Tomas Rosicky

Czech Republic v Denmark, March 22

Armenia v Czech Republic, March 26

Played full games against Denmark and Armenia.

Gervinho

Ivory Coast v Gambia, March 23

Johan Djourou

Cyprus v Switzerland, March 23

Emmanuel Frimpong

Ghana v Sudan, March 24

Emmanuel Frimpong is in line for his Ghana debut after being named in the squad for their World Cup qualifier against Sudan.

Source: www.arsenal.com

Another season brings about another trophyless campaign for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. The last time Arsenal lifted silverware was at the end of the 2005 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. In truth, they were fortunate to win that game.

Since then, the likes of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Kolo Toure, Ashley Cole, Mathieu Flamini, Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri, and Emmanuel Adebayor have left the club only to be replaced by players of inferior quality. While Arsenal battled bravely against Bayern Munich, it is painfully apparent that the team lacks the necessary quality to compete at the highest level. Does Arsene Wenger have what it takes to rebuild this team and guide Arsenal to a trophy, or is it time for a change of manager?

"In Arsene We Trust" is something that could often be seen or heard at the Emirates, with Arsenal fans showing their appreciation for Wenger's management. Lately, there has been less appreciation and more apprehension. Arsenal football tickets are at exorbitant prices, yet the team continues to suffer. The best Arsenal can hope for from this season is a fourth place finish, which would get them into the Champions League for next season. But, what good is making the Champions League places, when the team has no chance of winning the competition?

It is easy and convenient to blame finances for Arsenal's demise, and there is some truth to it. The pre-Emirates stadium spending at Arsenal was close to 2 million pounds a season on transfers. The post-Emirates spending is at -15 million per season. This means that Arsene Wenger is instructed to make an enormous transfer profit each summer, in order to maintain the club's financial standing. Now that the Emirates debt is paid, and Arsenal's shareholders make a healthy profit each year, it is time for things to change.

The time has come for Stan Kroenke and Arsene Wenger to take responsibility for this decline. There are many football tickets available for Arsenal games as more fans tend to stay away due to the team's lack of quality. Arsenal need to buy a few top class players so they can challenge the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea.

Another problem with Arsenal is a lack of leaders. The team seems to perform the worst when the most is at stake. During the Bayern Munich clash, Arsenal were horrendous at home. They shrank under the spotlight and suffered a 3-1 defeat. However, once the pressure was off, and no one expected anything from the team, Arsenal managed to turn in a terrific performance and win back their pride. A team that only performs when they have nothing to lose is a team that does not win trophies.

During the past eight years, Arsenal have lost a League Cup final to Birmingham City, who were relegated the same season. They have lost League Cup ties to the likes of Bradford City, who are in the third division. Money cannot be blamed for these defeats. It points to a lack of team spirit, identity, and belief.

Arsene Wenger has given everything to Arsenal for the past 15 years. He has achieved considerable success and almost won the Champions League. Now, his job is on the line. He needs to be backed in the next transfer window so that he has one more season to turn it all around. If he cannot, it may be time for Arsene and Arsenal to part ways.

by @LandrySubira 

 

My youngest sibling says I tend to talk in superlatives and it's true. Songs are always awful or excellent, as are books, movies and so on.  Now it's stuck in my mind and I try to keep my outlook as close to the middle as I can. Even with those blinds on I still don't like what I see when I look at my team.

The game against Spurs* was quite disheartening but sadly normal.  We started quite well and understood pressing for the first 30 odd minutes. They really had no real control of the ball. The first goal we conceded was only bad because the second was even more dismal in that it was an exact copy. I watched ManYoo defend against Real Madrid and Juve against Celtic and it hurt. I can't FU CKING stand it! Why can't we fucking do something as simple as defend? It's like everybody gives up at the same time. The run by Lennon was FiFa - obvious, something we see coming a mile away.

The argument that u have to give up defence for attack is shit. It's all about team shape and transitions. I saw ManYoo get from Rio to Rooney in 3 passes tonight because the transitions are very smooth. I think our team shape is awful. There are never any passes open to the player with the ball. Indulge me a second and look at how our team is set up when we're in our opponents box.

 

                                                  OPPOSING TEAM GOAL

 

                                                       Giroud                                                 Walcott

 

           Podolski**

 

                                             Cazorla                                             

                                                                                                                                Sagna

                  Monreal                                                     Wilshere

                                       

                                                                       Ramsey**                                                Arteta

 

                                                           Vermaelen.                            

                                                                                                            Mertesacker

             

I know that the diagram is pretty shit but i hope u get my point. I don't  get what it is about Arsene that he seems to think that this is the way to attack teams. I do understand that Arsene has forgotten more about football than I will ever know, but I just don't get how this system could work. With the two full backs up, we're short on the wings which means both CBs move outward and ordinarily a central defensive midfielder would sit back. However, with Arteta not always being defensively minded and the forward players needing assistance, there is usually many gaps in behind our midfielders. As soon as Jack or Rambo is dispossessed, all it takes is one pass and the opposing team is facing our not so great centre backs.

Also with Walcott playing a second striker, no one helps the right sided full back at defending or even worse at attacking. So many games, Sagna has been a lightning rod for abuse  when it's not his fault. He has no forward options, his most common passes being Arteta and BFG. I have no stats; these are just things I see with my eyes. He  (Walcott)is USELESS with his back to goal and no one in our midfield sees his runs so i don't see why Wenger persists with him in that position. Furthermore Giroud is shit. I've tried it's him as much as I can. Perhaps he will improve a lot in his second season as Suarez has done but I just don't see him as Arsenal's first choice centre-forward long-term. Having no pace at all is harmful against us. It seems too that he doesn't understand Santi or Walcott, his runs always opposite to what they think they he should be doing. He just runs about at a canter and in a  team so averse to crosses , he gets no service. In my opinion we badly needed a defensive mid in this team. And a less selfish Walcott. The team is too unbalanced. Also the team lacks bravery; all the passes that are not from Cazorla and Wilshere are textbook, not much guile or ingenuity. Thats the one reason I ADORE Coquelin. He makes mistakes but I prefer "try-errs" to people who don't take any risks.

The defending problem comes from a lack of area specific players. With no DM, our attack and defence has no springboard or protection. Watching Chelsea v the Mancs a couple of days ago showed the difference. Carrick ruled the middle until Mikel came on and he won everything that Carrick and Cleverly did in the first half. If we could free Arteta from defensive duties I'm sure he would thrive in the metronomic role he was accustomed to and excelled at last season.

I have struggled to blog this season because I have been disheartened too many times.

I've never seen Arsenal as average until this season. I'm not necessarily an Arsene Out guy but I simply don't think that the players are good enough and the tactics are even more poor. However, the last 4 players to be signed have been very good on the whole and excellent with regard to Cazorla. I just don't think we will ever get another TH14 or Dennis because those players will cost over twenty million and Arsene will never go there and that's sad. Just to end this blog on a slight positive I'm really liking how Ramsey is coming back. I really do like him. He's versatile, he'll run himself into the ground for the team and he will always look for a forward pass. Just for one game I'd like to see Rambo, Coq and The Ox playing together. They usually play with no fear, an emotion Arsenal fans would love to get accustomed to again.

* - Spurs - because i'm really far away from and don't understand the hate we have for them. it doesn't quite cross-over. I HATE Manchester United. hate them.

** - usually one or the other.

Follow me on twitter @LandrySubira 

 

By Filip Urbanio

Hello Gooners,

 

We are in the middle of another rollercoaster season for Arsenal. From the lowest lows to the highest heights in a couple of weeks. Our recent form is good but we still have loads of things to improve. Mainly our defending which sometimes seems so silly, not good enough for Arsenal.

 

Wenger made all of us very happy when he extended the contracts of Jenkinson, Ramsey, Wilshere, Gibbs and Chamberlain. Mainly Jack Wilshere makes you believe that players like Adams still exist. His recent performances were great and he said there is still more to come.  

 

It feels so great to see Walcott doing so well upfront as a CF, his preferred positon. On the other hand it hurts to think about him leaving. Thanking to the fans after his hat-trick against Newcastle was propably the most worrying sign we have recently seen or read. Why would he want to leave? He seems to be so happy at the moment playing for Arsenal. If the only problem is his wage I would be very disappointed. He wants to play as a CF and managers of other clubs know it well. It seems so easy just to give him extra 10k or 15k a week more than Arsenal plus an assurance he can play as CF and he is gone. That would break my heart if that really happened. Henry will propably talk to him but it depends whether he wants to a be a legend at Arsenal or thinks that grass is greener elsewhere.  THEO SIGN DA TING!

 

 

Name: Adrián López (Adrián López Álvarez)

Age: 24

Place of birth: Teverga, Spain

Height: 1.80 m(5 ft 11 in)

Weight: 74 kg

Position: Striker / Winger

Current club: Atlético Madrid

Estimated cost: ??

YouTube clips: Link

Article where linked: Link

Likelihood: 5 %

Do we want him? Adrian Lopez seems like an ideal replacement for Theo Walcott. He is a player with great vision and pace. To be honest I don´t know this player well apart from him being a quality winger. Cazorla might help to seal the deal together with  our other Spaniard Arteta. In my opinion a possible deal depends only on Walcott´s stay or departure.

 

 

 

 

Name: Simon Mignolet

Age: 24

Place of birth: Sint-Truiden, Belgium

Height: 1.90 m(6 ft 3 in)

Weight: 87 kg

Position: Goalkeeper

Current club: Sunderland FC

Estimated cost: £5-8m.

YouTube clips: Link

Article where linked: Link

Likelihood: 10 %

Do we want him? Simon Mignolet seems like a great future prospect with some impressive saves he has made this season. I remember him well from the matches against Arsenal, he always has a good game against us. Sunderland are doing well and he is a big part of their “success“ this season.

Vito Mannone had a relatively high number of opportunities and the beginning of the season but his position at the club hasn´t been improved. Lukas Fabianski seems to be free to leave the club in January. Even though he has made so many mistakes I wish him all the best in his career together with Vito, who will probably follow him. Damien Martinez will be promoted to the 1st team as a no.3. We all know that Wojciech Szczesny is just too young to have such a strong no.1 postition at the club. He needs another quality goalkeeper to compete with and Mignolet is a great option from my point of view.  

 

Name: Demba Ba

Age: 27

Place of birth: Sévres, France

Height: 1.89 m(6 ft 2 in)

Weight: 84.7 kg

Position: Striker

Current club: Newcastle United

Estimated cost: £7.5m

YouTube clips: Link

Article where linked: Link

Likelihood: 35 %

Do we want him? YES! As we all could see, in a 7-3 victory over Newcastle, Demba Ba is a strong CF with a great positioning and physical presence that our squad sometimes lacks. Gibbs made it a lot easier for him to score twice but he just showed a bit of his magic.

Wenger is criticized for not playing 4-4-2 instead of 4-3-3 all the time but at the moment we don´t have another quality CF to cooperate with Giroud. A player like Ba would help us against deep defending teams by taking down crosses and by his physical side infront of goal.

 

 

...and some more TT:

 

• Thierry Henry is training with the team and we can only Wenger can reach an agreement with NYRB. I would love to see Henry play once again!

• Clubs might make a move for Walcott in January together with Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea. Link

• Chamakh is wanted by Inter Milan. Link

• Huntelaar´s case is closed. He signed a new contract with Schalke 04 until 2015.

 

I wish all the members of our great GunnerTalk family the best of luck and health in an upcoming year 2013!

 

Follow me on Twitter: @ice792

 

 

 

By Gavin Milligan

 

Some would say, with recent performances, the North London Derby couldn’t have come at a worse time. For me, the one single fixture we all look for more than others, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

It seems like the squabbling fan base is on the brink of civil war. I keep expecting to see Oliver Cromwell having a “Tony Adams” in Piebury Corner. Last season, going into the home derby we were up the creek, we hadn’t just lost the paddle, the boat had more holes in it than a Chelsea racism allegation. If there is one thing that can unite us all again it would be beating the big timers from the High Road. 

Remember:

There were ten Tottenham points in the gap

There were ten Tottenham points in the gap

There were ten Tottenham points, ten Tottenham points, ten Tottenham points in the gap.

And the boys from the Arsenal shot one down. SHOT ONE DOWN.

If we can pull off a win this time it could, once again, kick start a stuttering season. Unlike our last victory in the home derby, there’s enough of a season left to go onwards and really do something. I mean win something, yes it’s great to finish above the shadow dwellers but listen, I want to be back to the time when being above Spurs was pretty much a given, not a task in hand. A win against the old enemy could re-instil some pride and confidence into this team. It could put some added fire in their belly. It may give Arsene the sparkle back in his eye and take the heat off ever so briefly.

In football you are only as good as your last result. If we get this one right it will put some semblance of a smile back on even the most miserable faces.

Seventeen years, seventeen long years, they are desperate for this and their team will be up for it. Our squad must be as well and then some.

I want more immortal goals this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLkrRdTB8K4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUT8J8YHuno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvyxpdX7WRw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZvBLoFlhoE

AND I WANT LOTS OF THIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-my_caYrRM

To the fans:

Lets face it, things aren’t great, you can go all Ostrich and stick your head in the sand and just enjoy supporting, that’s your prerogative. If you still believe in the way things are, more power to you. You can vent and say you want change, that is your right and you may be correct, or you can stand in the middle smiling while all around you Rome, supposedly, burns. At the end of the day, however, don’t lose sight of the one thing that binds us all, the one thing we should want the best for, Arsenal Football Club.

Here’s a revolutionary idea, rather than slate each other for holding these various views why not accept we all have our own opinions and pull together a bit more. When a city is under siege, if the people inside it start fighting each other instead of the enemy, the city will fall.

It’s our job as supporters to get together for ninety minutes, to rock the ground to its very core. To make so much ruckus that the foundations shake.  

 You need look no further than our motto….

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

Hopefully you Gooners don’t need a degree in Latin to translate that proverb.

To the players:

Yeah I know you’ll never read this but it’s about time the “professionals” at this club started playing for the shirt. It’s blood sweat and tears time lads. Take a look at the fans around you when you walk out on that pitch. This fixture means more to us than you’ll ever really understand. Take a look at the pictures of past glories hanging on the walls as you walk through the player entrance towards the dressing room. Those great moments, those great players, their past successes, they form the fabric of this club. The individuals with pride of place on the wall and the teams they played in, they had rough moments. It wasn’t all plain sailing, but they had the hearts and desires of winners. Frank McLintock, one of the greatest captains this team has ever seen had to endure four Wembley defeats as a player, Then in 1971, one nil down in extra time against Liverpool, staring at a fifth defeat, he gripped his team by the balls and drove them to FA Cup glory. That’s why the fans cherish that sort of effort so much. They will remember a victor in red and white forever.

There’s a place on the wall for you if you have the guts to take it.

It’s not always about who has the most talent, look at what happened to Barcelona at Parkhead recently. Belief and fight can take you just as far as talent and skill. There’s enough of the later in this side, without doubt, I want to see what else you have to offer. So when the whistle goes on Saturday think hard about the words of one of our greatest ever players, the immortal lines uttered by a man that bled Arsenal Football Club, David Rocastle:

“Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent”

COME ON THE ARSENAL

You can follow me on Twitter @Gav_AFC

 

Below is a piece The Denver Post published in the summer

By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post

LONDON — What do Colorado Avalanche fans and soccer superstar Robin van Persie have in common? Disgruntled with a championship drought, they both call billionaire sports mogul Stan Kroenke names:

Cheap. Cheap. Cheap.

Signs on the sidewalk point to the Arsenal Football Club in the Islington neighborhood where I'm camped out for the Olympics. So a ramble past a restaurant selling curried goat and a shop promising permanent leg hair removal for 39 pounds sterling, ends with a craned neck to inspect the giant soccer stadium towering above me.

"It's an expensive plaything for a rich man," says Mike Peacock, a soccer fan on a pilgrimage from Cambridge with his 9-year-old son to visit the home of the Gunners,

one of the most storied and beloved clubs in the English Premier League.
Arsenal is owned by Kroenke.

"Right," says Arsenal supporter John Wilson. "I think they call him 'Silent' Stan."

Oh, boy. Now it's a nickname that Kroenke can dislike on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The beauty of sports is how fanatics eat and sleep the same high-octane passion, no matter what country they call home, regardless if the team of their dreams plays soccer or hockey.

Avalanche fans, aching because there has been not even a sniff of the Stanley Cup since the last happy championship toast in 2001, constantly complain Kroenke cares more about the bottom line on his worldwide sports portfolio than stocking Colorado's roster with talent. Despite the acquisition of free-agent P.A. Parenteau and extending the contracts of young players such as Erik Johnson, the Avs are $16 million beneath the NHL salary cap.

In England, any resentment for a national sporting treasure being owned by an American seems to have died. "There once was an ideology that an English football club should be owned by an Englishman," says Peacock, a healthcare administrator. "But I think most fans have come to accept ideology doesn't buy you players who can win. We are willing to sacrifice ideology for trophies."

The problem for Arsenal is it has not won any major soccer silverware since the FA Cup way back in 2005. That's an insult to the club's heritage, so disturbing that van Persie declared in July he would have to win his trophies elsewhere and asked to be shipped out, despite a year remaining on his contract. Didn't Kroenke get the same headache from Carmelo Anthony with the Nuggets?

While hockey fans in Colorado won't like it, Arsenal recently made a financial commitment reported to be in excess of $15 million to acquire forward Lukas Podolski, who has the skills to wear No. 10.

Nevertheless, the second biggest shareholder in Arsenal blasts the leadership of Kroenke. "Victory is absolutely not ruled out, but the current politics of the club's management will leave (manager) Arsene Wenger and his team fewer and fewer opportunities in the long run," billionaire Alisher Usmanov insists in a recent interview with the Russian edition of Forbes.

Sound familiar, Avalanche fans?

At the massive store selling team merchandise inside Emirates Stadium, a van Persie jersey is marked down 33 percent. Something else catches my eye: It's a T-shirt printed with a quote from Wenger: "We don't buy superstars, we make them."

Funny, but those same words would be a perfect fit on any current piece of Avalanche gear.

But if it's truly funny, why aren't fans of Arsenal or the Avs laughing?