Arsenal are a team with no leaders is what has been heard time and again from whichever expert has decided it is his turn to pronounce judgement upon them. Despite this so called fact Wales decided to make Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey their international captain. He's only 20 years old, and he has just recovered from an horrific injury inflicted upon him by Stoke RFC's Ryan Shawcross. It's a great honour for such a young man, and I hope it will inspire him to return to the player he was before that injury.
He's not the only Arsenal player to captain his country though, as both Tomas Rosicky and Thomas Vermaelen have the same honour with their countries. It's interesting to think that all three of those countries consider Arsenal players to have enough leadership qualities to captain them, but Arsenal are seen as a team devoid of leaders. Added to the three of them, Samir Nasri was captain for the French national team yesterday, as they won 2-0 away to Luxembourg.
I suppose Ramsey, Vermaelen and Rosicky could all be said to have played little or no part in Arsenal's season so far, but Nasri has been one of the most impressive players in all of the Premier League. The big question for Arsenal though, is whether those players have shown leadership on the pitch for their club. It's hard to tell whether that is the case or not, but it certainly looks like Arsenal don't have a player on the pitch making the all important calls to the rest of the team.
Most teams at any level of football have a player who's job it is to make the calls for offside, and who tells the other players who they should mark at set pieces. Usually that job is undertaken by a central defender, or a central midfielder, but it appears to be more of a collective role at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has said in the past that he has plenty of leaders on the pitch, but in my opinion he needs one man to take complete control.
I have no doubt of the love current captain, Cesc Fabregas, has for the club, and he is one of the best players in the world. His style of leadership is in the style of a player who leads by example, rather than shouting at the rest of the players. Vice captain Robin Van Persie has a similar style when he takes the armband, and it's hard to find a player in the mould of previous captains such as the great Tony Adams. At times it seems to me like Arsenal are a little too nice for their own good.
When do you ever see Arsenal defenders resorting to the tactics which Nemanja Vidic or Ricardo Carvalho use in every single game they play. They don't care how they win, as long as they win, and nine times out of ten they seem to get away with those tactics. It might be slightly unsightly at times, but it's very effective, and it has helped their clubs to win trophies.
It's not easy to point out any particular player who might be available this summer to fill that role. Even if a player who fills that role at another club was to be signed, it would be difficult for them to come in, and almost overrule the current captain. It is possible for a player to lead the team on the pitch without being the captain of course, and it's a role which comes naturally to some players.
If you go to any park on a Sunday afternoon you will see men(and women) of varying ages and skill levels doing their best to play the beautiful game. You will also hear at least one player on each team shouting out the orders to his team mates, and telling them where they have gone right and wrong. I played that role for many years myself, and I still find myself talking to all the other players in my five-side team non stop, when we are playing. If the role comes naturally to a player, there is little he can do to stop himself.
Maybe that part of the game is disappearing at the highest level, as players seem to become more pampered by the day. I still find myself going back to the incident at the Emirates last season when Arsenal were playing Everton. Denilson was running with the ball, and he suddenly stopped, and fell to the ground for no apparent reason. I know players are told to go down when they are hurt, but surely they should not collapse as if they have been taken out by a sniper. It removes them even further from the fans, who pay their hard earned money to see their club in action.
On that occasion Everton almost scored, as he lay there prostrate on the ground. He didn't miss too many games after that game, as he made a quick recovery from a seemingly serious injury. Compare his actions to those of other grown men who play the game for the love of it. I got a ball in the face on Wednesday night from a player who hits the ball harder than anyone I know. I'm more than a few years past my best, but after picking myself up off the ground almost immediately, I wiped the blood from my face, and got on with the game.
I'm not trying to make myself out as a hero of any sort at all, but if I can take it then surely a fit young athlete can take a knock or two without reacting to such an extreme. I played football again last night with no nail on my big toe, a swollen nose, and a burst lip, but I wouldn't have it any other way. When you love the game that's what you do, and sometimes I have to question the love of some professionals for football. It's easy for me to say that of course, but surely if players loved the game as much as true fans do, then they would give all they have in every single game.
In the modern era, players live a very privileged lifestyle, and maybe they need to connect a little with the fans to make them realise how lucky they are. They play football for a living, while the fans have to work hard all week to earn the money, to see them do just that. It's something I always wished I could do, but the closest I got was a little bit of representative football, and playing against Niall Quinn many years ago. I have always said I would buy a private box at the Emirates, and an apartment at Highbury, if I won the lotto, but I'll have to keep dreaming for the moment.
That's it for today.
Here's a look at how Tony Adams played.
See You Tomorrow.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Which Arsenal Players Will Be On The Move This Summer? - Part Two.
I started this feature yesterday by running through some of the more important members of the Arsenal team, and the chances of them being sold this summer. Personally I would like Arsenal to keep all of their best players, but I also know players can move to other clubs for various reasons. Money is always a big factor, and the desire to win trophies can be important to some players too. I know Arsenal pay their players very well, but they cannot compete with the money on offer from teams who make no attempt to balance their books, and instead depend upon donations from the mega-wealthy.
If Arsenal are going to be competitive at the very top of the game, then they need to have better players than Denilson as back up to their first team regulars. He's in a very difficult situation at the club, as the feelings of the fans become more obvious with each game he plays. I'm sure he should be able to find a club where he can become a regular, and thrive on the chance to play every week. Every team has to have players who don't get to play regularly, but those players need to show what they are capable of when the chance arrives, and Denilson just cannot do that in my opinion. With Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere now making themselves far more important for Arsenal I think his first team chances will be very limited if he stays. If I had my way Arsenal would sell Denilson, and I think Henri Lansbury would be more than capable of stepping up, and doing a better job than him when called upon.
Abu Diaby is another player who divides opinion among Arsenal players, and many of them would be happy to see him sold this summer. It's now been five years since he had his leg horribly broken against Sunderland, and although he has managed to come back, he is clearly still suffering from the effects of that injury in my opinion. I can't remember Diaby ever being available for more than four or five games in a row, before succumbing to another niggling injury associated with the leg break. I'm sure he rues the day he had his leg shattered by Dan Smith, and who knows where his career would have gone if it hadn't happened.
The reality for Arsenal is Diaby is only available to play roughly half of their games in a season, and he gets very well paid for that. It's tough to know what his best position is, but it would probably be as an attacking midfielder. Arsenal have an awful lot of attacking midfielders at the moment, and Diaby's appearances are usually limited to filling in for Alex Song in a defensive role. His habit of holding on to the ball for too long can be very infuriating, and at his stage in his career he needs to be playing more regularly. He will be 25 years old in a few weeks, and it seems as if he will never fully recover from the leg break. It's hard to know what clubs would be interested in signing him if Arsenal decided to sell him, but I suppose there are bound to be some.
It goes without saying that Manuel Almunia needs to leave Arsenal for his good, and the good of the club as well. I have never thought he was a good enough player to play for a club which wants to compete at the very highest level, and it seems Arsene Wenger eventually agrees with that opinion. He would have been sold last summer, but no replacement could be found. He was going to be sold in the January transfer window, but Arsenal suddenly developed an injury crisis among their goalkeepers. I will be absolutely amazed if he is still an Arsenal player next season.
Unfortunately due to the injury crisis among Arsenal's goalkeepers, he is now first choice for at least the next four weeks, and it puts fear in the heart of almost every single Arsenal fan. On the Arsenal bench there is only Jens Lehmann, and at 41 years of age it's probably too much of a risk to play him. It means Arsenal have to put their faith in Almunia for the next few weeks, and there will be a lot of fingernail biting among their fans every time the ball enters their penalty area. I don't blame Almunia for the current state of affairs, and he must be feeling like he is living through a nightmare. He wanted to leave in January, the fans have no faith in him, but he still finds himself as Arsenal's first choice.
If you were to believe what Nicklas Bendtner says, he is one of the best players at the club, and maybe in the world too. When he gets his chance to play for Arsenal he doesn't always show that ability he claims to have. He has managed to score some very important goals at times when Robin Van Persie has been injured, but he is one of the players who really divides Arsenal's fans opinions. He has hinted in the past that he would consider moving elsewhere if he could not command a regular first team place, but as long as RVP is fit he will more than likely warm the bench.
When he does play, his first touch can be a long way short of the rest of the Arsenal team, and he can look slow and awkward at times too. He gets played on the right wing at times as well, and it clearly does not suit him, but at least he tries his best. I think he has an awful lot to learn about how to play the role of a centre forward, and he doesn't seem to be learning it quickly enough for me. Ideally I would like Arsenal to sign a top class centre forward to challenge RVP for a first team place, and take the role when RVP is inevitably injured again. If that means Bendtner decides to move on, I could live with that, but otherwise I think he will stay for at least one more season.
The last player to look at today is Carlos Vela, and again he's a player who divides opinion among Arsenal fans. When he was bought by Arsenal he was seen as a bright young star of the future, but he had to be loaned out to various Spanish clubs, as he wasn't eligible to play in England. When he eventually arrived at Arsenal he hadn't quite lived up to his potential in Spain, but he still looked like he was a great prospect. At the moment he is on loan at West Brom, and he has scored a couple of important goals for them recently, but he still can't command a regular place in their team.
He is a very skillful player, and his ability to chip the keeper when faced with a one-on-one is unrivalled, but he has had very few opportunities at Arsenal in reality. When he has played, it has usually been on the left side of the front three, despite the fact Wenger says he's one of the best finishers he has ever seen. It's very hard to see how he will get more opportunities at Arsenal, but I have a feeling he will be kept for at least one more season.
If all of those players were to be sold in the summer it would leave a hole in the Arsenal squad, but I think the purchase of two top class players would make up for that. The savings in wages could be used to pay for those two players, and a few of the reserves are capable of stepping up to the first team squad as well. With Ramsey hopefully back to his best next season, and Lansbury looking capable of stepping up too, I would be happy enough to see them both play a bigger role for Arsenal next season.
That's it for today.
Here's a look at some of Patrick Vieira's best goals for Arsenal.
See You Tomorrow.
If Arsenal are going to be competitive at the very top of the game, then they need to have better players than Denilson as back up to their first team regulars. He's in a very difficult situation at the club, as the feelings of the fans become more obvious with each game he plays. I'm sure he should be able to find a club where he can become a regular, and thrive on the chance to play every week. Every team has to have players who don't get to play regularly, but those players need to show what they are capable of when the chance arrives, and Denilson just cannot do that in my opinion. With Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere now making themselves far more important for Arsenal I think his first team chances will be very limited if he stays. If I had my way Arsenal would sell Denilson, and I think Henri Lansbury would be more than capable of stepping up, and doing a better job than him when called upon.
Abu Diaby is another player who divides opinion among Arsenal players, and many of them would be happy to see him sold this summer. It's now been five years since he had his leg horribly broken against Sunderland, and although he has managed to come back, he is clearly still suffering from the effects of that injury in my opinion. I can't remember Diaby ever being available for more than four or five games in a row, before succumbing to another niggling injury associated with the leg break. I'm sure he rues the day he had his leg shattered by Dan Smith, and who knows where his career would have gone if it hadn't happened.
The reality for Arsenal is Diaby is only available to play roughly half of their games in a season, and he gets very well paid for that. It's tough to know what his best position is, but it would probably be as an attacking midfielder. Arsenal have an awful lot of attacking midfielders at the moment, and Diaby's appearances are usually limited to filling in for Alex Song in a defensive role. His habit of holding on to the ball for too long can be very infuriating, and at his stage in his career he needs to be playing more regularly. He will be 25 years old in a few weeks, and it seems as if he will never fully recover from the leg break. It's hard to know what clubs would be interested in signing him if Arsenal decided to sell him, but I suppose there are bound to be some.
It goes without saying that Manuel Almunia needs to leave Arsenal for his good, and the good of the club as well. I have never thought he was a good enough player to play for a club which wants to compete at the very highest level, and it seems Arsene Wenger eventually agrees with that opinion. He would have been sold last summer, but no replacement could be found. He was going to be sold in the January transfer window, but Arsenal suddenly developed an injury crisis among their goalkeepers. I will be absolutely amazed if he is still an Arsenal player next season.
Unfortunately due to the injury crisis among Arsenal's goalkeepers, he is now first choice for at least the next four weeks, and it puts fear in the heart of almost every single Arsenal fan. On the Arsenal bench there is only Jens Lehmann, and at 41 years of age it's probably too much of a risk to play him. It means Arsenal have to put their faith in Almunia for the next few weeks, and there will be a lot of fingernail biting among their fans every time the ball enters their penalty area. I don't blame Almunia for the current state of affairs, and he must be feeling like he is living through a nightmare. He wanted to leave in January, the fans have no faith in him, but he still finds himself as Arsenal's first choice.
If you were to believe what Nicklas Bendtner says, he is one of the best players at the club, and maybe in the world too. When he gets his chance to play for Arsenal he doesn't always show that ability he claims to have. He has managed to score some very important goals at times when Robin Van Persie has been injured, but he is one of the players who really divides Arsenal's fans opinions. He has hinted in the past that he would consider moving elsewhere if he could not command a regular first team place, but as long as RVP is fit he will more than likely warm the bench.
When he does play, his first touch can be a long way short of the rest of the Arsenal team, and he can look slow and awkward at times too. He gets played on the right wing at times as well, and it clearly does not suit him, but at least he tries his best. I think he has an awful lot to learn about how to play the role of a centre forward, and he doesn't seem to be learning it quickly enough for me. Ideally I would like Arsenal to sign a top class centre forward to challenge RVP for a first team place, and take the role when RVP is inevitably injured again. If that means Bendtner decides to move on, I could live with that, but otherwise I think he will stay for at least one more season.
The last player to look at today is Carlos Vela, and again he's a player who divides opinion among Arsenal fans. When he was bought by Arsenal he was seen as a bright young star of the future, but he had to be loaned out to various Spanish clubs, as he wasn't eligible to play in England. When he eventually arrived at Arsenal he hadn't quite lived up to his potential in Spain, but he still looked like he was a great prospect. At the moment he is on loan at West Brom, and he has scored a couple of important goals for them recently, but he still can't command a regular place in their team.
He is a very skillful player, and his ability to chip the keeper when faced with a one-on-one is unrivalled, but he has had very few opportunities at Arsenal in reality. When he has played, it has usually been on the left side of the front three, despite the fact Wenger says he's one of the best finishers he has ever seen. It's very hard to see how he will get more opportunities at Arsenal, but I have a feeling he will be kept for at least one more season.
If all of those players were to be sold in the summer it would leave a hole in the Arsenal squad, but I think the purchase of two top class players would make up for that. The savings in wages could be used to pay for those two players, and a few of the reserves are capable of stepping up to the first team squad as well. With Ramsey hopefully back to his best next season, and Lansbury looking capable of stepping up too, I would be happy enough to see them both play a bigger role for Arsenal next season.
That's it for today.
Here's a look at some of Patrick Vieira's best goals for Arsenal.
See You Tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Which Arsenal Players Will Be On The Move This Summer? - Part One.
With no meaningful football to write about for another week at least, I think it's time I took a look at the prospects of the current Arsensl squad this summer. The general consensus among a lot of Arsenal fans is that quite a few of the current squad have had enough chances in the team, and it's time for them to move on. I'm not sure I totally agree with those sentiments, but I have decided to take a look at the possible candidates for an exit from the Emirates this summer. First of all I'll have a look at the players who are rumoured to be unsettled, but I certainly would like Arsenal to keep.
The most high profile player Arsenal have at the moment is Cesc Fabregas, and he is coveted by all of the top teams in Europe. He has proven to be invaluable to Arsenal over the past few seasons, and it's difficult to imagine how they could possibly replace him if he left. Last summer his exit seemed imminent, but Arsene Wenger refused to sell him to Barcelona despite their best efforts to unsettle the player. His roots at Barcelona are well documented, and if he ever leaves Arsenal they are the most likely destination.
I still think Arsenal will do all they can to hold on to Cesc this summer, and I hope they succeed. Barcelona's lack of money has been well documented, and so has their unwillingness to pay the going rate for Cesc. Fernando Torres joined Chelsea from Liverpool for £50 million in January, and Cesc has a lot more to offer than Torres in my opinion. When you consider Andy Carroll cost Liverpool £35 million, then the price for Cesc should be at least £70 million in my opinion. I would of course prefer if Cesc stayed at Arsenal, and he has stated his desire to win trophies as their captain. The current squad could possibly deliver a league title this season, but if it doesn't I think Cesc will make his decision based on what players Arsenal sign this summer. If he decides he wants to leave I would be surprised if the boss was able to stand in his way again.
Another played who could possibly leave this summer is Andrey Arshavin. He has not been overly happy since he joined Arsenal, as the tax regime in England meant he actually took a pay cut rather than the rise he expected. Added to that his form has been up and down all season, and some Arsenal fans are of the opinion he doesn't try hard enough all the time. There are rumours his old club, Zenit St. Petersburg, are interested in re-signing him, and I think he would seriously consider a move if an offer was made. The big question will again be whether the boss would be willing to let him go or not, and I have a funny feeling he might well be on the move.
There have been consistent rumours of Gael Clichy joining Juventus for the last couple of years, and I have no doubt they will emerge again this summer. Like quite a few other first team regulars Clichy has come in for a fair deal of criticism over the last couple of seasons. There is a school of thought which thinks his best Arsenal performances are in the past, and it might not be a bad thing to cash in on him now. That same school of thought would probably have Kieran Gibbs installed as the first choice left back at the club.
While I think Gibbs has potential, his performances this season have been far from impressive, and he seems to have inherited the injury prone status of so many other Arsenal players. If Clichy was sold, and he was installed as first choice, I would imagine Armand Traore would return from his loan spell at Juventus to act as cover for Gibbs. The main reason for wanting to play Gibbs ahead of Clichy for many Arsenal fans is because he is English, but I don't think that's a good enough reason. He still has a long way to go to take Clichy's place in the team, and I think a top class replacement would have to be purchased if Clichy was sold.
Samir Nasri has only one year left on his Arsenal contract, and he is reported to be holding out for a massive pay rise before he signs a new one. If Cesc was to leave in the summer the most likely candidate to take his place is Nasri, and I would be very surprised if Arsenal allowed him to leave. However, with only one year left on his contract the ball is firmly in his court, and it's quite possible that he could decide to see that contract out, and leave next year on a free transfer.
I'm sure there are rules concerning some sort of reimbursement for Arsenal if that happened, but I'm also sure it would be nowhere near his market value. In the past both Mathieu Flamini and Edu left Arsenal at the end of their contracts, with no fee involved, but they were different to Nasri. When their contracts were allowed to run down they were not integral parts of them, even though they played a significant role during their last season. I think it's vital for Arsenal to keep Nasri, but if his wage demands are too high Arsene Wenger will not break the wage structure either.
There is also a train of thought among some Arsenal fans that Robin Van Persie may be a great player, but he misses too many games through injury. If it was possible to sell him and bring in a top class goalscorer who is not injury prone, a lot of fans would be very happy. Who that player might be is another question altogether, and I certainly couldn't nominate him. There is no doubting RVP's importance to the team, and how the team suffers when he is missing, and I would prefer to keep him. Maybe it would be possible to buy a better back up for him, who could fit easily into the team when he is injured. I wouldn't dare suggest his injury problems are behind him, as that would be tempting fate..
If it was up to me I would keep all of those five players, but I suspect at least one of them will be gone this summer. It's anyone's guess which player or players that will be, but I sincerely hope Cesc, Nasri and RVP stay. There are players who cannot be easily replaced, and if all three of them left I don't know what state it would leave the team in.
Those five players are all integral parts of the first team, and if any of them left they would have to be replaced by players of a similar nature. There are other players who of course have not been so important to Arsenal this season, and a few of those fringe players are in danger of being sold whether they want to leave or not. I'll look at the possibility of any of those players leaving this summer in tomorrow's post.
That's it for today.
Here's a look at some of Ray Parlour's best goals for Arsenal.
See You Tomorrow.
The most high profile player Arsenal have at the moment is Cesc Fabregas, and he is coveted by all of the top teams in Europe. He has proven to be invaluable to Arsenal over the past few seasons, and it's difficult to imagine how they could possibly replace him if he left. Last summer his exit seemed imminent, but Arsene Wenger refused to sell him to Barcelona despite their best efforts to unsettle the player. His roots at Barcelona are well documented, and if he ever leaves Arsenal they are the most likely destination.
I still think Arsenal will do all they can to hold on to Cesc this summer, and I hope they succeed. Barcelona's lack of money has been well documented, and so has their unwillingness to pay the going rate for Cesc. Fernando Torres joined Chelsea from Liverpool for £50 million in January, and Cesc has a lot more to offer than Torres in my opinion. When you consider Andy Carroll cost Liverpool £35 million, then the price for Cesc should be at least £70 million in my opinion. I would of course prefer if Cesc stayed at Arsenal, and he has stated his desire to win trophies as their captain. The current squad could possibly deliver a league title this season, but if it doesn't I think Cesc will make his decision based on what players Arsenal sign this summer. If he decides he wants to leave I would be surprised if the boss was able to stand in his way again.
Another played who could possibly leave this summer is Andrey Arshavin. He has not been overly happy since he joined Arsenal, as the tax regime in England meant he actually took a pay cut rather than the rise he expected. Added to that his form has been up and down all season, and some Arsenal fans are of the opinion he doesn't try hard enough all the time. There are rumours his old club, Zenit St. Petersburg, are interested in re-signing him, and I think he would seriously consider a move if an offer was made. The big question will again be whether the boss would be willing to let him go or not, and I have a funny feeling he might well be on the move.
There have been consistent rumours of Gael Clichy joining Juventus for the last couple of years, and I have no doubt they will emerge again this summer. Like quite a few other first team regulars Clichy has come in for a fair deal of criticism over the last couple of seasons. There is a school of thought which thinks his best Arsenal performances are in the past, and it might not be a bad thing to cash in on him now. That same school of thought would probably have Kieran Gibbs installed as the first choice left back at the club.
While I think Gibbs has potential, his performances this season have been far from impressive, and he seems to have inherited the injury prone status of so many other Arsenal players. If Clichy was sold, and he was installed as first choice, I would imagine Armand Traore would return from his loan spell at Juventus to act as cover for Gibbs. The main reason for wanting to play Gibbs ahead of Clichy for many Arsenal fans is because he is English, but I don't think that's a good enough reason. He still has a long way to go to take Clichy's place in the team, and I think a top class replacement would have to be purchased if Clichy was sold.
Samir Nasri has only one year left on his Arsenal contract, and he is reported to be holding out for a massive pay rise before he signs a new one. If Cesc was to leave in the summer the most likely candidate to take his place is Nasri, and I would be very surprised if Arsenal allowed him to leave. However, with only one year left on his contract the ball is firmly in his court, and it's quite possible that he could decide to see that contract out, and leave next year on a free transfer.
I'm sure there are rules concerning some sort of reimbursement for Arsenal if that happened, but I'm also sure it would be nowhere near his market value. In the past both Mathieu Flamini and Edu left Arsenal at the end of their contracts, with no fee involved, but they were different to Nasri. When their contracts were allowed to run down they were not integral parts of them, even though they played a significant role during their last season. I think it's vital for Arsenal to keep Nasri, but if his wage demands are too high Arsene Wenger will not break the wage structure either.
There is also a train of thought among some Arsenal fans that Robin Van Persie may be a great player, but he misses too many games through injury. If it was possible to sell him and bring in a top class goalscorer who is not injury prone, a lot of fans would be very happy. Who that player might be is another question altogether, and I certainly couldn't nominate him. There is no doubting RVP's importance to the team, and how the team suffers when he is missing, and I would prefer to keep him. Maybe it would be possible to buy a better back up for him, who could fit easily into the team when he is injured. I wouldn't dare suggest his injury problems are behind him, as that would be tempting fate..
If it was up to me I would keep all of those five players, but I suspect at least one of them will be gone this summer. It's anyone's guess which player or players that will be, but I sincerely hope Cesc, Nasri and RVP stay. There are players who cannot be easily replaced, and if all three of them left I don't know what state it would leave the team in.
Those five players are all integral parts of the first team, and if any of them left they would have to be replaced by players of a similar nature. There are other players who of course have not been so important to Arsenal this season, and a few of those fringe players are in danger of being sold whether they want to leave or not. I'll look at the possibility of any of those players leaving this summer in tomorrow's post.
That's it for today.
Here's a look at some of Ray Parlour's best goals for Arsenal.
See You Tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Arsenal Hope To Benefit From The International Break.
It's that dreaded time of the season again when Arsenal's players head off to the four corners of the world to play for their countries. Usually I detest international breaks but this one is an exception, as it could actually be of some benefit to Arsenal for a few reasons.
Firstly it gives some of Arsenal's injured players two weeks to regain their fitness before they have to play again. With any luck that should mean Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Theo Walcott will be available for their next game at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday April 2nd. If Arsenal are to have any chance of keeping pace in the title race it's vital they have as many of their best players as possible available.
Cesc is Arsenal's captain and best player and when he doesn't play the team are missing their most creative player. It's no coincidence Arsenal have been struggling to score goals in recent games with Cesc missing, as statistically he creates more chances per game than any other player in the top five European leagues. It hasn't been helped by Arsene Wenger's insistence on starting Samir Nasri in a wide role when he is clearly the best player to cover for Cesc when he is out. In recent games Nasri has been switched into a central role after roughly an hour, as the boss shows some signs that he is giving in to the demands of the fans.
I read a startling statistic on Twitter yesterday about Arsenal's performances without Alex Song this season. Apparently Arsenal have won 71% of their league games when Song has started this season, but their win percentage without him in the team is 0%. It's an amazing statistic and it illustrates how important he has become to the team. It also illustrates the fact that Abu Diaby and Denilson are not capable of filling in for him when he is unavailable. Another thing it illustrates is that the boss was wrong in not buying cover him last summer or in the January transfer window either.
The form of Walcott has been pretty erratic at times this season, but he has shown his ability to score goals when they are needed. Unfortunately he has missed a lot of games through various injuries, but he was an integral part of the team when it looked so impressive in the Premier League throughout January. At that stage of the season Arsenal looked like they were playing football capable of beating any team in the world, but when the injuries started to return their form slipped.
If things go well enough over the next two weeks Arsenal will be short of only two players from the team that performed so admirably in those games. Unfortunately the two players missing from that team are Wojciech Szczesny and Johan Djourou, and their absence is being sorely felt. The goalkeeping crisis at Arsenal has been quite unbelievable this season as first Lukasz Fabianski and then Szczesny picked up injuries in strange circumstances. It meant Manuel Almunia was recalled from the wilderness to strike fear into the heart of every single Arsenal fan, as he rushes from his goal to cause mayhem in the Arsenal defence. I had hoped to have seen the last of him in an Arsenal shirt, and after Saturday's performance there is every chance he will be replaced by 41 year old Jens Lehmann in the team.
To be fair to Almunia I'm sure he thought his Arsenal career was over, and it looked like he would find a new club in January. When Fabianski got injured he was kept as cover for Szczesny, but even Vito Mannone was more likely to start than him. Mannone then picked up an injury on loan to Hull City, and when Szczesny damaged his finger my greatest fears were realised, as Almunia made his return to first team duty.
In my opinion he has never been good enough to perform at the highest level, but he is a good shot stopper. However, there is so much more to goalkeeping than just shot stopping, and he has proved time and again that he doesn't have the capabilities to deal with many of the other aspects of his role. Time and again last season he stuck to his line when he should have advanced, and then he eventually decided to advance when he should have stayed. It leads to the defenders have no faith in him, and that in turn leads to players making decisions they otherwise would not make.
It seems to me he has a problem with his concentration as well, as he showed on Saturday against West Brom. There was very little for him to do throughout the match, but all of a sudden he raced from his goal for no apparent reason to hand West Brom their second goal. Surely a goalkeeper who has been concentrating on the game could not have made such a ridiculous decision. As I have said already though I do feel sorry for him because he has been forced back into the team due to circumstances, and I really don't think he is mentally right for the role any more.
The real crunch for Arsenal will come when they face The Spuds, Liverpool and "Manure" within 14 days of each other in the second half of April and the start of May. If by some miracle both Johan Djourou and Szczesny can manage to recover from their injuries for those games there is a chance Arsenal can actually get the results they need. With only the league left to play in there will be hopefully no additional injuries, and our two main challengers for the league are still involved in other competitions.
"Manure" play Chelsea in the Champions League and Man City in the FA Cup, and as it stands they are struggling defensively with injuries and suspensions too. The tackle which earned Johnny Evans a red card against Bolton was a very bad one in my opinion, but all the so-called experts seem to have decided "he's not that type of player", and he was going for the ball. Try telling that to Bolton's Stuart Holden who now faces a six month lay off as a result of the incident.
When Owen Coyle was asked about the tackle after the game he chose not to talk about it, and concentrated on his player instead. Do you think he would have held back his opinion if it was an Arsenal player who was the culprit? I doubt it very much, but everybody seems to be afraid to voice their opinions on Alec Fergusson, as he permanently flaunts the rules with regard to TV interviews and just about anything else he wants. Don't forget this is a man who got the club doctor to testify that he had a bad case of diarrhea to get him off with a charge of driving in the hard shoulder of a motorway to avoid traffic. Do you really believe he was suffering from such an affliction?
Finally for today don't forget to keep your fingers crossed for the safe return of Robin Van Persie from the current international break. Arsenal have suffered badly in the past when RVP has played for his country and picked up injuries, and they can't afford for that to happen again. There would be no point in all of the other players recovering from injury if RVP was to pick one up himself, as his goals will be crucial if Arsenal are to have any chance of winning the league.
That's it for today.
Here's a little bit of Lehmann in action.
See You Tomorrow.
Firstly it gives some of Arsenal's injured players two weeks to regain their fitness before they have to play again. With any luck that should mean Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Theo Walcott will be available for their next game at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday April 2nd. If Arsenal are to have any chance of keeping pace in the title race it's vital they have as many of their best players as possible available.
Cesc is Arsenal's captain and best player and when he doesn't play the team are missing their most creative player. It's no coincidence Arsenal have been struggling to score goals in recent games with Cesc missing, as statistically he creates more chances per game than any other player in the top five European leagues. It hasn't been helped by Arsene Wenger's insistence on starting Samir Nasri in a wide role when he is clearly the best player to cover for Cesc when he is out. In recent games Nasri has been switched into a central role after roughly an hour, as the boss shows some signs that he is giving in to the demands of the fans.
I read a startling statistic on Twitter yesterday about Arsenal's performances without Alex Song this season. Apparently Arsenal have won 71% of their league games when Song has started this season, but their win percentage without him in the team is 0%. It's an amazing statistic and it illustrates how important he has become to the team. It also illustrates the fact that Abu Diaby and Denilson are not capable of filling in for him when he is unavailable. Another thing it illustrates is that the boss was wrong in not buying cover him last summer or in the January transfer window either.
The form of Walcott has been pretty erratic at times this season, but he has shown his ability to score goals when they are needed. Unfortunately he has missed a lot of games through various injuries, but he was an integral part of the team when it looked so impressive in the Premier League throughout January. At that stage of the season Arsenal looked like they were playing football capable of beating any team in the world, but when the injuries started to return their form slipped.
If things go well enough over the next two weeks Arsenal will be short of only two players from the team that performed so admirably in those games. Unfortunately the two players missing from that team are Wojciech Szczesny and Johan Djourou, and their absence is being sorely felt. The goalkeeping crisis at Arsenal has been quite unbelievable this season as first Lukasz Fabianski and then Szczesny picked up injuries in strange circumstances. It meant Manuel Almunia was recalled from the wilderness to strike fear into the heart of every single Arsenal fan, as he rushes from his goal to cause mayhem in the Arsenal defence. I had hoped to have seen the last of him in an Arsenal shirt, and after Saturday's performance there is every chance he will be replaced by 41 year old Jens Lehmann in the team.
To be fair to Almunia I'm sure he thought his Arsenal career was over, and it looked like he would find a new club in January. When Fabianski got injured he was kept as cover for Szczesny, but even Vito Mannone was more likely to start than him. Mannone then picked up an injury on loan to Hull City, and when Szczesny damaged his finger my greatest fears were realised, as Almunia made his return to first team duty.
In my opinion he has never been good enough to perform at the highest level, but he is a good shot stopper. However, there is so much more to goalkeeping than just shot stopping, and he has proved time and again that he doesn't have the capabilities to deal with many of the other aspects of his role. Time and again last season he stuck to his line when he should have advanced, and then he eventually decided to advance when he should have stayed. It leads to the defenders have no faith in him, and that in turn leads to players making decisions they otherwise would not make.
It seems to me he has a problem with his concentration as well, as he showed on Saturday against West Brom. There was very little for him to do throughout the match, but all of a sudden he raced from his goal for no apparent reason to hand West Brom their second goal. Surely a goalkeeper who has been concentrating on the game could not have made such a ridiculous decision. As I have said already though I do feel sorry for him because he has been forced back into the team due to circumstances, and I really don't think he is mentally right for the role any more.
The real crunch for Arsenal will come when they face The Spuds, Liverpool and "Manure" within 14 days of each other in the second half of April and the start of May. If by some miracle both Johan Djourou and Szczesny can manage to recover from their injuries for those games there is a chance Arsenal can actually get the results they need. With only the league left to play in there will be hopefully no additional injuries, and our two main challengers for the league are still involved in other competitions.
"Manure" play Chelsea in the Champions League and Man City in the FA Cup, and as it stands they are struggling defensively with injuries and suspensions too. The tackle which earned Johnny Evans a red card against Bolton was a very bad one in my opinion, but all the so-called experts seem to have decided "he's not that type of player", and he was going for the ball. Try telling that to Bolton's Stuart Holden who now faces a six month lay off as a result of the incident.
When Owen Coyle was asked about the tackle after the game he chose not to talk about it, and concentrated on his player instead. Do you think he would have held back his opinion if it was an Arsenal player who was the culprit? I doubt it very much, but everybody seems to be afraid to voice their opinions on Alec Fergusson, as he permanently flaunts the rules with regard to TV interviews and just about anything else he wants. Don't forget this is a man who got the club doctor to testify that he had a bad case of diarrhea to get him off with a charge of driving in the hard shoulder of a motorway to avoid traffic. Do you really believe he was suffering from such an affliction?
Finally for today don't forget to keep your fingers crossed for the safe return of Robin Van Persie from the current international break. Arsenal have suffered badly in the past when RVP has played for his country and picked up injuries, and they can't afford for that to happen again. There would be no point in all of the other players recovering from injury if RVP was to pick one up himself, as his goals will be crucial if Arsenal are to have any chance of winning the league.
That's it for today.
Here's a little bit of Lehmann in action.
See You Tomorrow.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Arsenal Snatch A Point Against West Brom When Three Were Needed.
Due to other commitments I was unable to review Arsenal's trip to West Brom yesterday, but I have decided to run through my thoughts on the game today, as well as Arsenal's prospects for their remaining nine games this season.
Arsenal made the trip to West Brom on Saturday knowing a win was a must to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders "Manure". West Brom are struggling at the wrong end of the table, and their defensive record was pretty poor going into this game. They had managed to win the reverse fixture back in September in a game which saw what was probably Arsenal's worst performance in the league this season.
With injuries mounting Arsene Wenger didn't have an awful lot of options in his team selection. In my preview I had hoped Denilson wouldn't play as I just can't see what he brings to the team, but unfortunately the boss doesn't share that opinion with me. Due to the goalkeeping crisis Manuel Almunia was again Arsenal's first choice, and I'm never too happy when I see his name on the team sheet. Added to those two there was also the central defensive combination of Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci which just doesn't seem to work. Aaron Ramsey was included in the Arsenal starting like up for the first time in over a year, as his recovery from his leg break continued.
Arsenal had not conceded a goal in the first 15 minutes of any league game this season, but after only three minutes that statistic was altered. A corner was swung in from Arsenal's right hand side and Steven Reid rose to head the ball home unchallenged. It looked to me like Ramsey was the player who should have being marking him, but unfortunately he had let him go. After the trauma of exiting three competitions in two weeks it was exactly the start Arsenal didn't need. The question was whether the Arsenal players could respond to that early setback, and get the vital three points.
For the remainder of the first half Arsenal didn't really do enough to show how much the game should have meant to them. There were a few chances though and the best of them fell to Ramsey. Gael Clichy made a fine run and put an excellent cross into the box which Robin Van Persie headed against the bar with the keeper looking on helplessly. The rebound fell to Ramsey six yards from goal, but his attempt was saved by the keeper. He really should have scored, but I'm sure he still has a way to go before he's back to his very best.
At half time the boss decided it was time to make a change and he withdrew the ineffectual Denilson to be replaced by Marouane Chamakh. It meant Samir Nasri moved to a more central role, but still Arsenal didn't get their free flowing football going. With just 58 minutes gone the boss decide to replace Ramsey with Nicklas Bendtner, and quite what the formation was after that I'm not too sure.
It wasn't long before things got even worse for Arsenal due to the complete inability of Almunia to understand how to play as a goalkeeper. In the past I have always said he is a good shot stopper, but there's a lot more than shot stopping to good goalkeeping. If the official statistics for the game are to be believed then West Brom only had three attempts at goal in the whole game, and only two of those were on target. It's an indication of the defenders lack of faith in Almunia that both of those shots on target ended up in the back of the net.
After 58 minutes Squillaci was tussling for a long ball with Peter Odemwinige, and it didn't look like there was too much danger for Arsenal. However, Almunia then demonstrated why he is just not good enough to play for a team challenging for the Premier League by rushing from his goal to join in the tussle for the ball. It didn't seem to matter to him that the ball was well outside the penalty area, as he proceeded to push Squillaci to ensure Odemwinige got the chance to roll the ball into an empty net from outside the box. Koscielny had done his best to get back and cover his keeper when he saw him make his kamikaze run, but the ball beat him to the goal and Arsenal were 2-0 down.
Only Almunia can know what thoughts raced through his head as he decided to come for a ball he had absolutely no chance of getting, but the boss has to consider how much of a liability he is for the last nine games of the season. When the international break ends Wojciech Szczesny will be approximately three weeks away from returning from his finger injury, and those three weeks cannot pass quickly enough for me. The boss has to seriously consider playing 41 year old Jens Lehmann in goal in Arsenal's next two games against Blackburn and Blackpool or their chances might well be ended in those games.
After that goal West Brom sat back and Arsenal tried to throw everything they had at them, but seemed to be going nowhere. It took a moment of inspiration from Andrey Arshavin to get them back in the game, and that came in the 70th minute. He exchanged passes with Chamakh on the left edge of the West Brom box before taking a touch and absolutely burying the ball into the far corner of the net. Suddenly there seemed to be hope and arsenal went looking for an equaliser.
The equaliser arrived only seven minutes later, and Arshavin was the man behind the move yet again. He was under pressure from two defenders by the left hand corner of the pitch, but he somehow managed to get a cross in to the penalty area. Bendtner managed to get some part of his body to the ball beyond the far post and it went back into the six yard box. As Abdoulaye Meite tried to clear the ball it got stuck under his foot, and Robin Van Persie slid in to tackle him. He just about got his foot on the ball and it barely trickled over the line to put the sides level with enough time for Arsenal to take all three points still.
At that stage the "Manure" game against Bolton was still level and it looked as if a desperately disappointing day could turn out to be a joyful one after all. Try as they might Arsenal just could not manage the all important winner, but at least they had taken a point from what seemed like a hopeless position at one stage. Unfortunately "Manure" managed a winner in almost the last minute of their game as Jussi Jaaskelainen very generously handed them a lifeline. It means Arsenal are now five points behind the league leaders with a game in hand, and "Manure" still have to visit them in early May.
Unbelieveably Arsenal are still the masters of their own destiny in the league, as nine victories in those games will result in a league title for the first time in seven years. I don't for one second think they will win all nine of those games, but there are still a lot games to be played by all teams involved in the title chase. Those teams now have to include Chelsea who beat Man City on Sunday to close the gap to Arsenal to just four points. They have to travel to "Manure" yet this season and it all makes for a very interesting run in for all clubs concerned.
The battle to avoid relegation is so tight this season that no team can be taken for granted, as they are almost all fighting for Premier League survival. On the face of it Arsenal's next two opponents are teams they should easily dispose of, as both Blackburn and Blackpool are on very poor runs at the moment. However, both teams are scrapping for their survival, and both games will be very tense affairs. There is no more room for slip ups for Arsenal, and if they don't win those games I firmly believe the Premier League title will be beyond them this season.
Hopefully the return of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Theo Walcott after the international break will add the impetus which is so sorely missing from the team at the moment. I am also hoping the boss has finally decided Denilson is just not up to the task, and he will be left on the bench from here on in. He is the first player substituted in almost every game he starts, and against teams in the lower end of the table he has too little to offer in an attacking sense for me.
At least Arsenal found some goalscoring form again after only managing one goal in their last two Premier League games. With Almunia in the team they are always going to have to score at least two goals in a game to have any chance of winning in my opinion. I'm not trying to be too hard on Almunia, as it's not his fault Arsenal have to play him at the moment, but he's clearly not up to the task. He sticks to his line far too often, and then eventually decides to leave it when everybody else can clearly see it's the wrong time to do so. The boss is quoted as saying Lehmann needs "a bit of decision making practice", but surely practice will put that right for him, and nothing can put it right for Almunia. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed Lehmann gets that practice over the next two weeks before Arsenal play again.
That's it for today.
Here's the highlights from Saturday's game.
See You Tomorrow.
Arsenal made the trip to West Brom on Saturday knowing a win was a must to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders "Manure". West Brom are struggling at the wrong end of the table, and their defensive record was pretty poor going into this game. They had managed to win the reverse fixture back in September in a game which saw what was probably Arsenal's worst performance in the league this season.
With injuries mounting Arsene Wenger didn't have an awful lot of options in his team selection. In my preview I had hoped Denilson wouldn't play as I just can't see what he brings to the team, but unfortunately the boss doesn't share that opinion with me. Due to the goalkeeping crisis Manuel Almunia was again Arsenal's first choice, and I'm never too happy when I see his name on the team sheet. Added to those two there was also the central defensive combination of Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci which just doesn't seem to work. Aaron Ramsey was included in the Arsenal starting like up for the first time in over a year, as his recovery from his leg break continued.
Arsenal had not conceded a goal in the first 15 minutes of any league game this season, but after only three minutes that statistic was altered. A corner was swung in from Arsenal's right hand side and Steven Reid rose to head the ball home unchallenged. It looked to me like Ramsey was the player who should have being marking him, but unfortunately he had let him go. After the trauma of exiting three competitions in two weeks it was exactly the start Arsenal didn't need. The question was whether the Arsenal players could respond to that early setback, and get the vital three points.
For the remainder of the first half Arsenal didn't really do enough to show how much the game should have meant to them. There were a few chances though and the best of them fell to Ramsey. Gael Clichy made a fine run and put an excellent cross into the box which Robin Van Persie headed against the bar with the keeper looking on helplessly. The rebound fell to Ramsey six yards from goal, but his attempt was saved by the keeper. He really should have scored, but I'm sure he still has a way to go before he's back to his very best.
At half time the boss decided it was time to make a change and he withdrew the ineffectual Denilson to be replaced by Marouane Chamakh. It meant Samir Nasri moved to a more central role, but still Arsenal didn't get their free flowing football going. With just 58 minutes gone the boss decide to replace Ramsey with Nicklas Bendtner, and quite what the formation was after that I'm not too sure.
It wasn't long before things got even worse for Arsenal due to the complete inability of Almunia to understand how to play as a goalkeeper. In the past I have always said he is a good shot stopper, but there's a lot more than shot stopping to good goalkeeping. If the official statistics for the game are to be believed then West Brom only had three attempts at goal in the whole game, and only two of those were on target. It's an indication of the defenders lack of faith in Almunia that both of those shots on target ended up in the back of the net.
After 58 minutes Squillaci was tussling for a long ball with Peter Odemwinige, and it didn't look like there was too much danger for Arsenal. However, Almunia then demonstrated why he is just not good enough to play for a team challenging for the Premier League by rushing from his goal to join in the tussle for the ball. It didn't seem to matter to him that the ball was well outside the penalty area, as he proceeded to push Squillaci to ensure Odemwinige got the chance to roll the ball into an empty net from outside the box. Koscielny had done his best to get back and cover his keeper when he saw him make his kamikaze run, but the ball beat him to the goal and Arsenal were 2-0 down.
Only Almunia can know what thoughts raced through his head as he decided to come for a ball he had absolutely no chance of getting, but the boss has to consider how much of a liability he is for the last nine games of the season. When the international break ends Wojciech Szczesny will be approximately three weeks away from returning from his finger injury, and those three weeks cannot pass quickly enough for me. The boss has to seriously consider playing 41 year old Jens Lehmann in goal in Arsenal's next two games against Blackburn and Blackpool or their chances might well be ended in those games.
After that goal West Brom sat back and Arsenal tried to throw everything they had at them, but seemed to be going nowhere. It took a moment of inspiration from Andrey Arshavin to get them back in the game, and that came in the 70th minute. He exchanged passes with Chamakh on the left edge of the West Brom box before taking a touch and absolutely burying the ball into the far corner of the net. Suddenly there seemed to be hope and arsenal went looking for an equaliser.
The equaliser arrived only seven minutes later, and Arshavin was the man behind the move yet again. He was under pressure from two defenders by the left hand corner of the pitch, but he somehow managed to get a cross in to the penalty area. Bendtner managed to get some part of his body to the ball beyond the far post and it went back into the six yard box. As Abdoulaye Meite tried to clear the ball it got stuck under his foot, and Robin Van Persie slid in to tackle him. He just about got his foot on the ball and it barely trickled over the line to put the sides level with enough time for Arsenal to take all three points still.
At that stage the "Manure" game against Bolton was still level and it looked as if a desperately disappointing day could turn out to be a joyful one after all. Try as they might Arsenal just could not manage the all important winner, but at least they had taken a point from what seemed like a hopeless position at one stage. Unfortunately "Manure" managed a winner in almost the last minute of their game as Jussi Jaaskelainen very generously handed them a lifeline. It means Arsenal are now five points behind the league leaders with a game in hand, and "Manure" still have to visit them in early May.
Unbelieveably Arsenal are still the masters of their own destiny in the league, as nine victories in those games will result in a league title for the first time in seven years. I don't for one second think they will win all nine of those games, but there are still a lot games to be played by all teams involved in the title chase. Those teams now have to include Chelsea who beat Man City on Sunday to close the gap to Arsenal to just four points. They have to travel to "Manure" yet this season and it all makes for a very interesting run in for all clubs concerned.
The battle to avoid relegation is so tight this season that no team can be taken for granted, as they are almost all fighting for Premier League survival. On the face of it Arsenal's next two opponents are teams they should easily dispose of, as both Blackburn and Blackpool are on very poor runs at the moment. However, both teams are scrapping for their survival, and both games will be very tense affairs. There is no more room for slip ups for Arsenal, and if they don't win those games I firmly believe the Premier League title will be beyond them this season.
Hopefully the return of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Theo Walcott after the international break will add the impetus which is so sorely missing from the team at the moment. I am also hoping the boss has finally decided Denilson is just not up to the task, and he will be left on the bench from here on in. He is the first player substituted in almost every game he starts, and against teams in the lower end of the table he has too little to offer in an attacking sense for me.
At least Arsenal found some goalscoring form again after only managing one goal in their last two Premier League games. With Almunia in the team they are always going to have to score at least two goals in a game to have any chance of winning in my opinion. I'm not trying to be too hard on Almunia, as it's not his fault Arsenal have to play him at the moment, but he's clearly not up to the task. He sticks to his line far too often, and then eventually decides to leave it when everybody else can clearly see it's the wrong time to do so. The boss is quoted as saying Lehmann needs "a bit of decision making practice", but surely practice will put that right for him, and nothing can put it right for Almunia. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed Lehmann gets that practice over the next two weeks before Arsenal play again.
That's it for today.
Here's the highlights from Saturday's game.
See You Tomorrow.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Arsenal's Premier League Trip To West Brom Previewed.
It's been a very tough time recently for Arsenal fans as they have seen their team exit from one competition after another in quick succession. All that's left for them now is the hope of overcoming "Manure" in the race for the Premier League title. Only three weeks ago Arsenal were due to play Birmingham in the Carling Cup final and they were very clear favourites to win their first trophy in almost six years. Unfortunately a costly last minute defensive howler saw Birmingham snatch an undeserved win in my opinion, and then Arsenal went out of both the Champions League and the FA Cup in a matter of days.
The manner of both of those exits could have been worse, but it doesn't matter as the rest of the footballing world saw what they considered to be another Arsenal collapse. The only way to prove the doubters wrong is for Arsenal to pick themselves up and win enough of their last 10 league games to claim their first title in seven years. The game against West Brom is the first of those games, and it could possibly prove to be one of the toughest.
On the face of it West Brom are struggling to avoid relegation, but they seem to have turned things around recently. A win for them would prove to be a real boost in their relegation battle, and they know they are capable of it. In the reverse fixture in September Arsenal gave West Brom a three goal head start at the Emirates before getting two late goals, but they still lost. It was a dreadful performance from Arsenal, and the man in goals that day was Manuel Almunia. After a strange turn of events Almunia is now Arsenal's first choice goalkeeper again, but that has more to do with injuries than his abilities.
Defensively Arsenal are down to the bare bones in goal as well as the centre of their defence. With Lukasz Fabianski out for the rest of the season and Wojciech Szczesny out for another five weeks approximately, it means Almunia is now the first choice. It had looked like his Arsenal career was over, but he is now crucial to their chances. Things have become so desperate with Arsenal's goalkeeping crisis that Jens Lehmann has been tempted back from retirement to act as cover for Almunia for the rest of the season. In his day Lehmann was a fantastic goalkeeper, and hopefully he can find some of that form if he is called upon to play.
Arsene Wenger admitted on Thursday that Thomas Vermaelen is out for the rest of the season, and Johan Djourou will not play again for at least six weeks. It leaves Arsenal very short at the centre of their defence, and the most likely combination is Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci. They have played together a few times already this season, and it has never been a good combination in my opinion. Hopefully they have spent the last week in training working on their game together, but I still can't see Arsenal keeping too many clean sheets for the rest of the season.
With Djourou and Koscielny at the back Arsenal had looked very strong defensively in the Premier League, with seven clean sheets in their last nine league games. The only goal conceded with both of them on the pitch was against Everton, and the othere four goals against Newcastle came when Djourou had left the game injured and Abu Diaby had been sent off. The most likely reserve to back both Koscielny and Squillaci up will be Ignasi Miquel. He has very limited first team experience for Arsenal, with a couple of FA Cup games making it up.
There is obvious criticism of the boss for not signing a centre back in the transfer window, and with his admission he never thought Vermaelen would play again this season, that criticism is justified. If Arsenal fail to keep up their challenge in the league due to a leaky defence the fans who want him out will rightly point the finger at him. It's a big gamble he took in January, and at the moment it's right on the edge of slapping him in the face.
I can only imagine he will pick his strongest team possible today and with the other injuries in the team it doesn't take a rain surgeon to work most of it out. Besides the players already mentioned Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy should be the full backs, and Jack Wilshere will definitely play in midfield. Diaby has apparently picked up another injury which means the dreaded Diaby and Deilson axis will not be seen at least. The boss has to decide whether he will play Denilson or Aaron Ramsey alongside Wilshere. I hope he picks Ramsey, but I fear he will pick Denilson.
In front of those two players he just has to play Samir Nasri in the role usually filled by the injured Cesc Fabregas. In recent games Nasri has played in a wide role and drifted inside when he can, before having to try to rescue the game from the central position late on. There is of course the possibility of both Ramsey and Denilson playing with Nasri still in a wide role, but I really hope that isn't the case. Both Cesc and Alex Song should be available after the upcoming international break, and so should Theo Walcott.
I can understand why the boss plays Nasri on the right with Walcott injured, and his options in that position limited, but he will probably have to play either Tomas Rosicky or Nicklas Bendtner there today. On the other side Andrey Arshavin will no doubt start, but hopefully he can have one of his better days, as his form seems to have dipped yet again. That leaves Robin Van Persie as the central striker, and his goals could be crucial in the last ten games for Arsenal. He was in great form before his injury in the Carling Cup final, and he seems to have being playing with an injury since he cam back.
He did come back at least three weeks ahead of schedule, and possibly it has affected him, but I'm hoping the last week without a game will have given him a chance to regain full fitness. When he is on form there are few better players in the Premier League, and he is Arsenal's top scorer in the league this season despite the fact he has only started nine games and come off the bench six times. I'm backing him to be the player that makes the difference today, and scores the goals to get Arsenal the three points.
I'm predicting a 2-1 win for Arsenal with RVP bagging both goals, as Arsenal look to make it through to the international break with their league chances intact. When the break is over they will hopefully have those injured players back, and then they can concentrate on the task of winning their first league title in seven years. I still think they have a great chance of taking that title, as "Manure" are now starting to suffer from the same injury crisis Arsenal have had. It could open the door for Chelsea if both teams slip up, but I'm hoping the fact both of those teams have to play each other in the last eight of the Champions League will have an effect on their league chances.
I'll be hoping to get a stream somewhere to watch today's game, and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Arsenal will have found enough confidence to get the win. They still have some fantastic players available, and those players need to step up and be counted today. I expect both Nasri and RVP to show what it means to them to play for Arsenal, by doing what is required to win the game and keep the chances of a trophy alive this season.
That's it for today.
Here's a little bit of action from Samir Nasri.
See You Tomorrow.
The manner of both of those exits could have been worse, but it doesn't matter as the rest of the footballing world saw what they considered to be another Arsenal collapse. The only way to prove the doubters wrong is for Arsenal to pick themselves up and win enough of their last 10 league games to claim their first title in seven years. The game against West Brom is the first of those games, and it could possibly prove to be one of the toughest.
On the face of it West Brom are struggling to avoid relegation, but they seem to have turned things around recently. A win for them would prove to be a real boost in their relegation battle, and they know they are capable of it. In the reverse fixture in September Arsenal gave West Brom a three goal head start at the Emirates before getting two late goals, but they still lost. It was a dreadful performance from Arsenal, and the man in goals that day was Manuel Almunia. After a strange turn of events Almunia is now Arsenal's first choice goalkeeper again, but that has more to do with injuries than his abilities.
Defensively Arsenal are down to the bare bones in goal as well as the centre of their defence. With Lukasz Fabianski out for the rest of the season and Wojciech Szczesny out for another five weeks approximately, it means Almunia is now the first choice. It had looked like his Arsenal career was over, but he is now crucial to their chances. Things have become so desperate with Arsenal's goalkeeping crisis that Jens Lehmann has been tempted back from retirement to act as cover for Almunia for the rest of the season. In his day Lehmann was a fantastic goalkeeper, and hopefully he can find some of that form if he is called upon to play.
Arsene Wenger admitted on Thursday that Thomas Vermaelen is out for the rest of the season, and Johan Djourou will not play again for at least six weeks. It leaves Arsenal very short at the centre of their defence, and the most likely combination is Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci. They have played together a few times already this season, and it has never been a good combination in my opinion. Hopefully they have spent the last week in training working on their game together, but I still can't see Arsenal keeping too many clean sheets for the rest of the season.
With Djourou and Koscielny at the back Arsenal had looked very strong defensively in the Premier League, with seven clean sheets in their last nine league games. The only goal conceded with both of them on the pitch was against Everton, and the othere four goals against Newcastle came when Djourou had left the game injured and Abu Diaby had been sent off. The most likely reserve to back both Koscielny and Squillaci up will be Ignasi Miquel. He has very limited first team experience for Arsenal, with a couple of FA Cup games making it up.
There is obvious criticism of the boss for not signing a centre back in the transfer window, and with his admission he never thought Vermaelen would play again this season, that criticism is justified. If Arsenal fail to keep up their challenge in the league due to a leaky defence the fans who want him out will rightly point the finger at him. It's a big gamble he took in January, and at the moment it's right on the edge of slapping him in the face.
I can only imagine he will pick his strongest team possible today and with the other injuries in the team it doesn't take a rain surgeon to work most of it out. Besides the players already mentioned Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy should be the full backs, and Jack Wilshere will definitely play in midfield. Diaby has apparently picked up another injury which means the dreaded Diaby and Deilson axis will not be seen at least. The boss has to decide whether he will play Denilson or Aaron Ramsey alongside Wilshere. I hope he picks Ramsey, but I fear he will pick Denilson.
In front of those two players he just has to play Samir Nasri in the role usually filled by the injured Cesc Fabregas. In recent games Nasri has played in a wide role and drifted inside when he can, before having to try to rescue the game from the central position late on. There is of course the possibility of both Ramsey and Denilson playing with Nasri still in a wide role, but I really hope that isn't the case. Both Cesc and Alex Song should be available after the upcoming international break, and so should Theo Walcott.
I can understand why the boss plays Nasri on the right with Walcott injured, and his options in that position limited, but he will probably have to play either Tomas Rosicky or Nicklas Bendtner there today. On the other side Andrey Arshavin will no doubt start, but hopefully he can have one of his better days, as his form seems to have dipped yet again. That leaves Robin Van Persie as the central striker, and his goals could be crucial in the last ten games for Arsenal. He was in great form before his injury in the Carling Cup final, and he seems to have being playing with an injury since he cam back.
He did come back at least three weeks ahead of schedule, and possibly it has affected him, but I'm hoping the last week without a game will have given him a chance to regain full fitness. When he is on form there are few better players in the Premier League, and he is Arsenal's top scorer in the league this season despite the fact he has only started nine games and come off the bench six times. I'm backing him to be the player that makes the difference today, and scores the goals to get Arsenal the three points.
I'm predicting a 2-1 win for Arsenal with RVP bagging both goals, as Arsenal look to make it through to the international break with their league chances intact. When the break is over they will hopefully have those injured players back, and then they can concentrate on the task of winning their first league title in seven years. I still think they have a great chance of taking that title, as "Manure" are now starting to suffer from the same injury crisis Arsenal have had. It could open the door for Chelsea if both teams slip up, but I'm hoping the fact both of those teams have to play each other in the last eight of the Champions League will have an effect on their league chances.
I'll be hoping to get a stream somewhere to watch today's game, and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Arsenal will have found enough confidence to get the win. They still have some fantastic players available, and those players need to step up and be counted today. I expect both Nasri and RVP to show what it means to them to play for Arsenal, by doing what is required to win the game and keep the chances of a trophy alive this season.
That's it for today.
Here's a little bit of action from Samir Nasri.
See You Tomorrow.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Predictions For Premier League Gameweek 30.
It's that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcome of this week's Premier League fixtures. It hasn't gone too well for me this season, but I have at least moved back up to fourth place in my predictions league, and there's a possibility I might finish as high as second. If I do manage to finish second I'll be pretty happy, as my Fantasy Premier League team has picked up a lot of ground in recent weeks and I'm finally in the top 50 in the league I'm running in conjunction with 11Gunners. With prizes for the first three teams there's still plenty to play for although those prizes are beyond me this season. However, my son's team sits proudly in third place, and he has every chance of winning a prize and possibly the league too.
Here's a look at how my predictions league table stands.
SATURDAY
Tottenham v West Ham
Tottenham have had another very good season so far, and the fact they went out of the domestic cups so early has helped them concentrate on what's really important. They will be delighted to have gone further than Arsenal in the Champions League, but Real Madrid will be a very tough opponent for them in the quarter finals. They have 10 league games left, and if they are to qualify for next season's competition they will have to win most of them. I can't see them doing that, and I think this season will have been a one off for them in Europe's top competition. However, they will still be big favourites to win at home to West Ham who have only managed two victories on the road this season.
West Ham have put some pretty good results together recently, but most of them have come at home. Their form on the road is still that of a team threatened with relegation, and there are so many other teams in that boat with them. Any team which wins two or three games in a row will give themselves a real lifeline, but I don't expect West Ham to manage it in this game.
The Spuds may have some injury problems, but I still expect their home form to carry them through and keep up the pressure on the teams above them.
Prediction: 2-1
Aston Villa v Wolves
Aston Villa may have turned thing around recently, but they are still only two points above the relegation zone. It looks like it will take more than 40 points to stay in the Premier League this season, as things are far more open than they have been in a long time. Villa have had a few in house problems recently, and they need to put them behind them and take all three points in this game, or there could be a real crisis for them.
Wolves have had some great results at times this season, and they are capable of beating any team in the Premier League at home. Their away form is awful though, as they have lost 11 of their 14 away games and won only one. The fact this is a local derby might make things a little easier for them to get a result, as their desire and commitment are beyond doubt. If they could just manage a few clean sheets to go with their good performances they might just manage to stay up.
I think Villa have enough good attacking players to just about edge a very tight relegation battle.
Prediction: 2-1
Blackburn v Blackpool
Blackburn have slipped down the table recently, and they are only one point above the drop zone. Despite that their home form is pretty good, and they are very sound defensively at home too. If they are relegated the decision by the new owners to sack Big Fat Sam will prove to have been very expensive, and I would say they are regretting it already. I thought they should have waited until the end of the season, and then went about it in a proper fashion with a new manager having time to do things as he wanted.
Blackpool will welcome Charlie Adams back from suspension, but it looks like their slide towards relegation is gaining too much momentum for them to stop. They are behind Blackburn on goal difference only, but they are conceding an awful lot of goals and that's not a good sign. There away form was very good early in the season, but teams have figured them out, and if they can't shore things up at the back I think they will be relegated.
I think Blackburn's good home form will see them get all three points in this game, and ease their relegation worries for another week or two at least.
Prediction: 4-2
Man Utd v Bolton
"Manure" are looking to emulate the famous treble winning team of 1999, but in my opinion their current team isn't good enough to do that. They have drawn Man City in the FA Cup semi final, and Chelsea in the Champions League quarter finals and they have a few tough league games left as well. They will see a home game against Bolton as an ideal chance to keep the pressure on the teams below them in the league before the two week international break. Their injuries are building up at the moment, and if they get a few more their whole season could be in jeopardy.
Bolton are seventh in the league, and through to a FA Cup semi final against Stoke RFC. They have already over achieved this season, but they still have sixth place in their sights. To do so they will need to improve their away form in the last few games of the season, but doing so at Old Trafford will be very difficult for them. They might see "Manure's" injury problems as an opportunity, and the five game touchline ban for their manager might help them too.
Despite missing a few players I still think "Manure" will have far too much for Bolton, and they will win this game without having to do too much.
Prediction: 2-0
Stoke v Newcastle
Stoke RFC will be delighted at winning their way through to the last four of the FA Cup, and they will now want to ensure their Premier League survival for another season. They are only three points above the relegation zone, but a win in this game would give them some real breathing space. Their home form has been pretty good, and they will look to play their usual style of high pressure, long ball anti-football which has been so effective for them.
Newcastle have done quite well on their travels with five wins, and they are looking just about safe from any chance of relegation at this point. A loss in this game would see them worry just a little, but I think they have enough to stay up. They are just as fond as Stoke RFC of getting stuck in, and there could be a few meaty challenges in this game. It certainly won't be a game for the purists.
Here's a look at how my predictions league table stands.
 | 1 (1) |  |  | _Bradley08 | 1480 | +55 | 0 |  |
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| | 2 (2) |  | | essexgooner1965 | 1070 | -20 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
| | 3 (3) |  | | preetgreet | 1060 | +15 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
| | 4 (4) | | | aranmichael | 975 | +60 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
 | 5 (4) | | | Nickmc1980 | 910 | -5 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
| | 6 (6) |  | | billygooner_29 | 815 | -35 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
 | 7 (9) | | | Imjola | 740 | +55 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
| | 8 (7) | | | COSGOONER | 680 | -30 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
| | 9 (8) |  | | Sinesladael | 660 | -40 | 0 | |
| | ||||||||
| | 10 (10) | | | oakhamgooner | 615 | +55 | 0 | |
SATURDAY
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Tottenham v West Ham
Tottenham have had another very good season so far, and the fact they went out of the domestic cups so early has helped them concentrate on what's really important. They will be delighted to have gone further than Arsenal in the Champions League, but Real Madrid will be a very tough opponent for them in the quarter finals. They have 10 league games left, and if they are to qualify for next season's competition they will have to win most of them. I can't see them doing that, and I think this season will have been a one off for them in Europe's top competition. However, they will still be big favourites to win at home to West Ham who have only managed two victories on the road this season.
West Ham have put some pretty good results together recently, but most of them have come at home. Their form on the road is still that of a team threatened with relegation, and there are so many other teams in that boat with them. Any team which wins two or three games in a row will give themselves a real lifeline, but I don't expect West Ham to manage it in this game.
The Spuds may have some injury problems, but I still expect their home form to carry them through and keep up the pressure on the teams above them.
Prediction: 2-1
 |
Aston Villa may have turned thing around recently, but they are still only two points above the relegation zone. It looks like it will take more than 40 points to stay in the Premier League this season, as things are far more open than they have been in a long time. Villa have had a few in house problems recently, and they need to put them behind them and take all three points in this game, or there could be a real crisis for them.
Wolves have had some great results at times this season, and they are capable of beating any team in the Premier League at home. Their away form is awful though, as they have lost 11 of their 14 away games and won only one. The fact this is a local derby might make things a little easier for them to get a result, as their desire and commitment are beyond doubt. If they could just manage a few clean sheets to go with their good performances they might just manage to stay up.
I think Villa have enough good attacking players to just about edge a very tight relegation battle.
Prediction: 2-1
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Blackburn have slipped down the table recently, and they are only one point above the drop zone. Despite that their home form is pretty good, and they are very sound defensively at home too. If they are relegated the decision by the new owners to sack Big Fat Sam will prove to have been very expensive, and I would say they are regretting it already. I thought they should have waited until the end of the season, and then went about it in a proper fashion with a new manager having time to do things as he wanted.
Blackpool will welcome Charlie Adams back from suspension, but it looks like their slide towards relegation is gaining too much momentum for them to stop. They are behind Blackburn on goal difference only, but they are conceding an awful lot of goals and that's not a good sign. There away form was very good early in the season, but teams have figured them out, and if they can't shore things up at the back I think they will be relegated.
I think Blackburn's good home form will see them get all three points in this game, and ease their relegation worries for another week or two at least.
Prediction: 4-2
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"Manure" are looking to emulate the famous treble winning team of 1999, but in my opinion their current team isn't good enough to do that. They have drawn Man City in the FA Cup semi final, and Chelsea in the Champions League quarter finals and they have a few tough league games left as well. They will see a home game against Bolton as an ideal chance to keep the pressure on the teams below them in the league before the two week international break. Their injuries are building up at the moment, and if they get a few more their whole season could be in jeopardy.
Bolton are seventh in the league, and through to a FA Cup semi final against Stoke RFC. They have already over achieved this season, but they still have sixth place in their sights. To do so they will need to improve their away form in the last few games of the season, but doing so at Old Trafford will be very difficult for them. They might see "Manure's" injury problems as an opportunity, and the five game touchline ban for their manager might help them too.
Despite missing a few players I still think "Manure" will have far too much for Bolton, and they will win this game without having to do too much.
Prediction: 2-0
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Stoke RFC will be delighted at winning their way through to the last four of the FA Cup, and they will now want to ensure their Premier League survival for another season. They are only three points above the relegation zone, but a win in this game would give them some real breathing space. Their home form has been pretty good, and they will look to play their usual style of high pressure, long ball anti-football which has been so effective for them.
Newcastle have done quite well on their travels with five wins, and they are looking just about safe from any chance of relegation at this point. A loss in this game would see them worry just a little, but I think they have enough to stay up. They are just as fond as Stoke RFC of getting stuck in, and there could be a few meaty challenges in this game. It certainly won't be a game for the purists.
I think it will be a very close game, and both sides will probably end up even.
Prediction: 1-1
 |
West Brom are fighting very hard to avoid relegation, and they are now a point above the bottom three. Their home form has been good recently, but they score and conceded a lot of goals, and they will have to play with their backs to the wall if they are to get anything from this game.
Arsenal have gone out of three competitions in two weeks, and the football world is waiting for them to fall apart in the Premier League too. This is an absolute must win game for them, but it won't be easy with all the injuries to key players they have at the moment. They had to sign Jens Lehmann until the end of the season, as their goalkeepers are falling like flies, and their best two central defenders look likely to miss the rest of the season too. Add both Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song to that injury list and things look bad for them. However, they still have enough class in their team to beat West Brom, and they should have both Cesc and Song available for their next game.
I think Arsenal will manage to beat West Brom, but it won't be easy. The key players for them are Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri, and those two players need to show what Arsenal means to them in this game.
Prediction: 1-2
 |
Wigan might play nice football, but they don't score enough goals and it looks likely to cost them their Premier League status. They are four points away from safety with nine games left, and this is an absolute must win game for them. Birmingham are the team they have to catch if they have any chance of staying up, and they won't get a better chance than a home game against them.
Birmingham need to come back down to earth after their Carling Cup victory, or they could be playing European football from the Championship next season. Like Wigan they have a lack of firepower and two wins in 13 away games is relegation form. If they do go down I certainly won't be sad to see the back of them, but I think they will manage to stay up.
I wouldn't be surprised if this game ended scoreless, but I think it will be a draw anyway.
Prediction: 1-1
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Everton can't seem to get a good run of form going and it means they are stuck in mid table with a team which could potentially have challenged for Europe. They have drawn far too many games, and now that they have a few injuries they will be looking to get the two wins needed to ensure Premier League survival for another season.
Fulham have drawn far too many games as well as Everton, but they are a tough side to beat. They don't win on their travels very often, but they are finally getting all their players back from injury, and they have the capability to get a result in this game.
I can't predict anything other than a draw between these two draw specialists.
Prediction: 1-1
SUNDAY
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Sunderland will see this as an ideal opportunity to beat Liverpool, and open up the race for sixth place in the league. Their home form is still pretty good, and their opponents suffered a European disappointment on Thursday night.
Liverpool have only got the league left to concentrate on, and the best they can realistically do is finish sixth.
That might just about ensure European qualification, but it's a long shot at this stage. Their goals have dried up recently, and they have lost nine games away from home already this season. Only three other teams have done worse than that on their travels, and it's a statistic they simply have to change.
I think Sunderland will win this game without the aid of a beachball this year.
Prediction: 2-1
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Chelsea still have an outside chance of retaining their league title and the Champions League is within their reach too. They need both Arsenal and "Manure" to slip if they are to win the league, but that is quite possible. They were well beaten at home by City last season, but I expect City to be very negative in this game, and play for a draw.
City went out of Europe on Thursday night and a lot of the criticism rightly went to Mario Balotelli after the game. He stupidly got himself sent off and the task was just too much for ten men no matter how hard they tried. They now need to get enough points in the Premier League to ensure Champions League qualification for next season or their season will end in disaster.
I think Chelsea will manage a win, but I still don't think they are playing well enough to win a trophy this season.
Prediction: 2-1
As always feel free to tell me where I have gone right or wrong as the case might be.
That's it for today.
See You Tomorrow.
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