Why Robin Is Going To Be Sold…
The football season is officially over… well, nearly over… tomorrow represents the last day of the footballing calendar, with key games being played to see who will be promoted through the play offs and who will be crowned kings of Europe. It’s a tough decision to make about who you want to win the Champions League. If Chelsea win, then Sp*rs are demoted from the Champions LeagueContinue Reading
Hartson – Arsenal will survive without Van Persie. They always do….
Patrick Vieira and John Hartson have both spoken to the press about the Robin van Persie transfer rumours. Vieira claims that Arsenal have slipped up, by allowing the striker to get to within a year of a possible free transfer. He also thinks that the departure of the Dutchman would be disastrous for the Gunners. [...]...Continue Reading
Perhaps Arsenal players should stick to their job descriptions?
Getting the job done by Richard B Perspective is a wonderful thing, not least because everyone has a different one. Facts and opinion become blurred; things that are joyful to some are painful to others. I am sure that the feeling of any Arsenal fan that saw John Terry’s performance against Liverpool when they were [...]...Continue Reading
Robin – He’s still our Captain Fantastic.
There are rumours abound that he hasn’t signed/isn’t going to sign, there are rumours that he’s holding out for more money, that he wants assurances about signings, that he wants this, that and the other. It’s all dross and hyperbole, no one outside Arsène’s house knows what happened on Wednesday morning. What I say is this, regardless of the results of the contract negotiations this sContinue Reading
Bad news – Van Persie joins Holland squad without new Arsenal contract
It seems that the rumours flying around yesterday are true and Robin Van Persie has gone off to join his Holland colleagues for pre-tournament training ahead of the Euros, despite Arsene Wenger promising that the situation would be resolved as soon as the season finished. The trusted UK paper The Independent is reporting that Van [...]...Continue Reading
Patrick Vieira tells it as it is. Deal with it people | Robin and Theo stall on Arsenal deals
Contract Rage This is what makes me laugh about project youth. Loyalty swings one way. Arsenal… Put players who aren’t ready into the first team Sacrifice trophies Persist with players that aren’t ready for 200 games Pay players that aren’t ready based on potential Then when they come good… those players do one. Apprenticeship done. Scrap that… how can it be aContinue Reading
Jack needs a cripplectomy + Arsecast 242
Morning all, another week comes to an end as we push further forward into the “summer” and there are a few bits and pieces going on this morning. Firstly, Jack Wilshere is off to Sweden to have a ‘minor procedure’ on his knee which the club say shouldn’t significantly delay his comeback next season. Of course it’s easy to be worried and to think the worst aboutContinue Reading
Arsenal Season Review – Midfielders – Strong but lacking maturity?
Midfield Analysis: by SV Yesterday, we looked at Arsenal’s defence. I suggested that we needed one versatile defender who could play centre-back and in one of the full back positions. Others disagreed. Anyway, today I want to look at the midfield. As expected, our midfield didn’t exactly set the League alight this season, with a [...]...Continue Reading
Vieira – If Van Persie leaves Arsenal many more will follow
The ex-Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, who went over to the dark side and now helps Man City to poach the Gunners best players, thinks that Arsene Wenger has left it too late to nail Robin Van Persie down to a new contract and if he doesn’t persuade the Dutchman to re-sign it will start a [...]...Continue Reading
One Of Us Speaks – Don’t Forget Where We Were
I hope it never happens, but if one day an unreasonable person puts a gun to my head and asks who I’d prefer as a friend – Nasri or Fàbregas – I think I’d take the former. Here’s why – I reckon most footballers are quite difficult to get on with. All that money at such a young age must make them feel a bit too important. And the drive that gets them to the top of their sport meansContinue Reading
Can’t pull the wool down
So the season is over and another summer is upon us. It’s been here for four days and already I’m bored of it. As Mick Jagger once drawled, “the sunshine bores the daylights out of me.” Not that that presents a problem in London, but stick with the metaphor . Already I find myself looking ahead to those glove handed, dribbly nosed November afternoons. Watching your breath visibly pour outContinue Reading
Podolski proud to be a Gunner and names his favourite Arsenal players
The new Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski seems to be really excited about coming to the Emirates next season and can’t stop telling the media how much he is looking forward to it. He also revealed that he has been watching a lot of Arsenal games on TV this season and he names the players that [...]...Continue Reading
What’s Your Highlight of the Season?
Having watched a video of some spuds struggling to find a highlight to their ‘best ever team’ season, I started to ponder which were the highlights of my Arsenal season. As I went back through the games, I realised that, even though this was a big dipper of a ride, with lurching troughs and exultant peaks, there were so many truly memorable moments this season I could have chosen. 5-3 at the BContinue Reading
Ox Need For Carts In England Squad But Is Silence Golden?
“…talks which have been described as tense and tetchy“ No, not the Greeks trying to bluff their way out of oblivion but Arsenal’s attempts to persuade Robin van Persie to sign a new contract. The self-imposed deadline of Arsène is unlikely to be met and the European Championships will get underway with the Dutchman’s future no surer than it was on Monday. Or at leastContinue Reading
Squad assessment â
So, yesterday I looked at the keepers and defence and sent them home to get their report cards signed by their parents otherwise they’d get 100 lines I must not do that thing I do which makes us concede goals” . Today it’s time to look at the middle and top end of the pitch and see how they got on. Starting with: Midfielders Mikel Arteta: A signing we should have made a couple ofContinue Reading
No deal for Robin. WHAT! | Some Arsenal options | Oxlade-Chamberlain travels to Euros
Sign it Robin... no wait? Well, well. Failure from the Arsenal Directors. A day after the contract talks have taken place, I’ve seen no evidence of a signed deal. What’s up with that? What are we paying you for Ivan? There are various rumours flying around the web about how the talks went. I believe none of them. It looks like this is going to drag on. Like a dog, caught under the wheContinue Reading
Van Persie refuses to sign unless Arsenal spend big this summer
There have been ominous reports coming out of the crucial meeting between Arsene Wenger and Robin Van Persie yesterday, and it seems that the Dutchman is refusing to extend his contract unless Arsenal show that they will really challenge for the top trophies next season. Arsenal have already secured Lukas Podolski, but the usually well-informed [...]...Continue Reading
Which Were the BEST Parts of Arsenal’s Season?
Season’s Highs: by SV A couple of days ago, I wrote an article which showed what I thought were the lowest points of this rollercoaster season of ours. The 8-2 loss made the list, but so did surprisingly the 3-3 against Norwich. Anyway, today I’m leaving the lows behind and focusing on the highs which [...]...Continue Reading
Arsenal Season Review – The Defence – Lack of Depth?
Defence Overview: by SV The season has now finished and the transfer window will open on the first of June. We already know that Lukas Podolski is on his way to Arsenal, but we also know that we are still a few key signings away from challenging once again for England and Europe’s top honours. [...]...Continue Reading
The Ox is “buzzing” as England call up Arsenal wonderkid
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been described as the future of Arsenal and England, but even he must be pinching himself after a brilliant season was capped off with a place in England’s Euro 2012 squad. The dynamic Ox was told of the decision a couple of hours before the official announcement and has been on cloud [...]...Continue Reading
Arsenal interest in top Ligue 1 defender confirmed plus video
Aymen Abdennour “the Tunisian beast” – By JG For a short while a couple months ago, Aymen Abdennour was at the top of Arsene Wenger’s transfer list in relation to defenders . This was exciting news because I had been watching his games for months and was extremely impressed. Abdennour was named defender of the season [...]...Continue Reading
Jack Wilshere is a big fan of Gary Neville and Oxlade-Chamberlain!
Jack Wilshere is going to miss Euro 2012 but hopefully will be fighting fir for the start of the Premier league season. He does believe that another young Arsenal star, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, should be at the tournament and could help himself and England if he does appear. “If the manager picked him, it would be [...]...Continue Reading
Arsenal set to battle Tottenham for free-agent Junior Hoilett
The chances of newly relegated Blackburn Rovers being able to persuade Junior Hoilett, their 21-year old Canadian star are wafer thin. The player is free to leave and according to the Metro he is being pursued by Tottenham and German giants Bayern Munich as well as the Gunners. Rovers manager Steve Kean will offer the [...]...Continue Reading
The collapse of Arsenal’s defensive wall.
Our 2011/12 goals against of 49 was the worst defensive display we have experienced since we conceded the same amount 1994/5, however 1994/5 was a 42 game season so in terms of goals against per game 2011/12 was our worst ever in the EPL at 1.29 per game versus 1.17 in 1994/4. To find a worse season one has to go back nearly 50 years to 1965/66 when we conceded 75 or 1.79 per game. Our defensive vContinue Reading
Squad assessment â
So the season has ended and we can take stock of where we are and the way we’ve performed. I’ve decided to a player by player analysis of each player and assign them a mark, just like in school. I just need to find a red pen with which to scribble on their report cards. It’s broken up into two parts today and tomorrow , and we start at the back with goalkeepers and defenders. GoaContinue Reading
So Arsène, Deal Or No Deal – Don’t Let The Bankers Decide For You
The media-politick has finished, spin spun and now the Machiavellian dealings return to the corridors of Totteridge whereupon very little will be publicly announced. D-day for Arsenal and Robin van Persie; D for Deal, that is although if negotiations run smoothly I am sure that a tabloid headline of VP Day will surface. Aah, I saved them the trouble. Sealing a deal in one day of negotiations wouldContinue Reading
Le Champ of the season suggestions please | Errr… something about Robin Van Persie
It's all they had in Trophy World. Welcome to Wednesday. Turns out Robin is having his meeting today. Whoops. My theory about his contract came a day early. The problem with that is now I don’t really have anything to talk about today. Which is irritating to say the least. Well, as it’s the end of the season, in traditional Le Grove fashion, it’s time to start testing the watContinue Reading
Proof that Theo Walcott will sign a new Arsenal contract this summer
The Arsenal winger Theo Walcott is in exactly the same position as Robin Van Persie, having only 12 months left on his contract at the Emirates. Everybody has been trying to decipher Van Persie’s statements to see whether the Dutchman is really going to re-sign, but little or nothing has been said about Theo Walcott’s [...]...Continue Reading
Third Place.
Morning Gooners, Never in doubt right? Sure! Sunday’s game against WBA brought down the curtain on what has been the most ‘rollercoaster’ seasons in recent memory. A much needed first win in five against the Baggies meant we successfully limped over the line for 3rd place. The game itself was consistent with recent performances but it really didn’t matter. In the end it was only the resultContinue Reading
Younes Belhanda refuses to discuss Arsenal rumours…..yet
Arsenal’s target Younes Belhanda has publically declared that he is interested in a possible move away from France in the summer, but he won’t go into more details before the season will be over. Arsene Wenger said a little while ago that he really liked Belhanda, but it was up to Montpellier to decide whether [...]...Continue Reading