It's been a while since the season ended in fantastic style for us gooners, pipping our rivals to the final Champions League space on the last day. But as many have pointed out, we aren't a club that should be content with 4th and as the rumour mill has started we've been linked with everyone under the sun. I'll deal with these links at a later date but this summer is of vital importance for Arsène Wenger. After a difficult season the pressure is on and with one year left on his contract his actions this summer could dictate whether we start the 2014/15 season looking for a new manager.
The spotlight is on Wenger after it was revealed by himself and the board that we have money to spend and a lot of it. The reported £70m war chest according to various papers. With the fans demanding the money be invested in top quality players Wenger must be very careful about how he spends this money. If he barely invests at all he has shot himself in the foot if we fail to compete next season and there is no reason to suggest why continuing with the same squad would make any difference to our standings. If we invests very little then once again he is in the same boat. If he invests all of it and we finish 4th again, he at least has the defence of he invested the money he was given.
Now of course spending £70m on any old player is not the way to go about building a team that can challenge, it needs to invested in the best quality players in the positions we need. What those positions are I will leave for another post. Along with who we have been linked with. At the moment there is very little point speculating whilst the media are in a post-season frenzy, once things have calmed down I will do another potential ins and outs similar to last season.
So this is a pivotal summer for our manager as he has the pressure heaped on him from all angles, but managers get paid to deal with the pressure so we can only wait and see what his course of action is. Until next time.
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Monday, 20 May 2013
The end of the 2012/2013 season
Football is a game of agony and ecstasy. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Yesterday was definitely one of the highs. A moment where finishing above your rivals, denying them Champions League football and securing your own place in Europe's top tier rested on 90 minutes of excruciating football. But we did it.
In all honesty we offered very little in terms of threats, in the first half there was a wayward header from Koscielny who ultimately scored the winner (again and was easily MOTM) and one of the worst efforts from Cazorla I can remember but I'll let him off because he's been sensational this season. Apart from that Newcastle looked like they were going to score and there were warning signs. We went in at the half 0-0 as did Tottenham. 8 minutes into the second half the breakthrough came when a Walcott delivered free kick was nodded goalwards by the Poldi and similarly to last season Koscielny hooked it, rather nicely, over the line.
The remainder of the match was horrific, Newcastle had fits and starts at goal. One of the many moments of brilliance however was when pictures from SHL emerged with their fans celebrating falsely believing Newcastle had equalised, thank you Lord Sugar for that. Then of course the news we all new was coming MonkeyMan at scored for the spuds and we had to hold on, seconds after that we should have wrapped it up when Theo went through one on one after beating 2 men and managed to hit the post. I genuinely feared the worst then but we held on and the celebrations began.
All the drama and celebration of yesterday aside ultimately for me this has been a disappointing season, particularly in the domestic cups. The fact that last season there was a 20 point gap between us and the champions and this season there is a 16 point gap shows virtually no improvement in the league either. Gary Neville for me hit the nail on the head yesterday he said that the players deserve to celebrate and they should celebrate because they've earned their place, but this summer we need to just go for it.
For now though, before the summer of stupid rumours, stupid money moves and no doubt countless links between everyone and Arsenal, we should ENJOY this moment. These are the moments we follow football for. I'll be back at various points throughout the summer when the transfer mill goes into overdrive but for another season NORTH LONDON IS RED!
In all honesty we offered very little in terms of threats, in the first half there was a wayward header from Koscielny who ultimately scored the winner (again and was easily MOTM) and one of the worst efforts from Cazorla I can remember but I'll let him off because he's been sensational this season. Apart from that Newcastle looked like they were going to score and there were warning signs. We went in at the half 0-0 as did Tottenham. 8 minutes into the second half the breakthrough came when a Walcott delivered free kick was nodded goalwards by the Poldi and similarly to last season Koscielny hooked it, rather nicely, over the line.
The remainder of the match was horrific, Newcastle had fits and starts at goal. One of the many moments of brilliance however was when pictures from SHL emerged with their fans celebrating falsely believing Newcastle had equalised, thank you Lord Sugar for that. Then of course the news we all new was coming MonkeyMan at scored for the spuds and we had to hold on, seconds after that we should have wrapped it up when Theo went through one on one after beating 2 men and managed to hit the post. I genuinely feared the worst then but we held on and the celebrations began.
All the drama and celebration of yesterday aside ultimately for me this has been a disappointing season, particularly in the domestic cups. The fact that last season there was a 20 point gap between us and the champions and this season there is a 16 point gap shows virtually no improvement in the league either. Gary Neville for me hit the nail on the head yesterday he said that the players deserve to celebrate and they should celebrate because they've earned their place, but this summer we need to just go for it.
For now though, before the summer of stupid rumours, stupid money moves and no doubt countless links between everyone and Arsenal, we should ENJOY this moment. These are the moments we follow football for. I'll be back at various points throughout the summer when the transfer mill goes into overdrive but for another season NORTH LONDON IS RED!
Friday, 17 May 2013
Newcastle United (A) - Last game of the season
For the players they know what they have to do. Newcastle will be no pushover however, they've taken some real beatings at home recently and will want to give their fans something to cheer about this weekend. Let's not forget Wenger and Pardew don't exactly get on. Hoping for Sunderland to get a result at the Lane is pointless because it's unlikely and if we do our job we don't need it. Personally I see nothing but a Tottenham win.
Wenger has some decisions to make this weekend as it looks like Arteta will miss out due to a problem he picked up against Wigan, that means that Wilshere is the most likely candidate to replace him. Upfront a decision also has to be made. Podolski scored twice against Wigan after two lacklustre performances beforehand. I think Giroud holds the ball up better and gives us a man to aim at, but I think on his left foot Podolski is the best finisher we have. It's a tough one and that's why we pay Wenger a small fortune to do his job.
Newcastle have some dangerous players including Cisse upfront who can score given half a chance. They have had injury problems this season but that aside they are still a threat and will cause us probems given the chance. We will have to hold the ball and use it wisely, I noticed we gave the ball away a lot on Tueday and that's something we just can't afford to do on Sunday.
Whether you believe the papaers or not, the motivation of some players is the Champions League but it is not the be all and end all. However it end's up, we have to address the problem that we will be 20 points behind the Champions and that is something that is just unacceptable. A lot of business needs to be done over the summer, money is there to be spent and players are there to be bought. A vast improvement is needed for next season and if we do our business having finished 4th fantastic, if we do it having finished 5th we'll all be gutted but we'll be back.
Once again no prediction due to the nature of this game. Have we got the bottle? only Sunday will tell. COYG!!
Monday, 13 May 2013
Wigan (H)
Well due to Chelsea's inability to see out a game we're in a position where only 2 wins will do. As expected Tottenham beat Stoke and have jumped us back into 4th. The importance of Champions League football is pivotal and decides who and what we can do this summer. We take on a Wigan side who are literally fighting for their survival, if they lose tomorrow they are down. A game that is simply must win for both teams, they will be buoyed by their FA cup win over City and us having 10 days rest. Anything over than a win tomorrow leaves us praying for a favour from Di Canio's Sunderland at the lane on the last game of the season.
I'm worried about this match. Wigan are a team we don't seem to perform against, we absolutely have to perform against them. With Newcastle safe, we can go there knowing they don't need a win but it's almost irrelevant if we can't take 3 points tomorrow. With Giroud serving the last of his ban, Podolski looks most likely to retain his spot up top. Apart from that we have no injury worries the central role in the midfield will be up for grabs between Wilshere and Rosicky. I think Rosicky will probably be the preferred option and that's not necessarily a bad thing considering he isn't afraid to shoot unlike the rest of our team.
Wigan on the other hand will probably field a side similar to the team that beat City on Saturday. With stand our performances from McManaman who ran the show along with threats from their other players Kone, Gomez and co. However they have defensive problems with Alcarez in at right back which may be our best option to get in behind them.
This will be a hard game, a really hard game and we know that Wigan play good football and they are dangerous. But if we come out and really go at them and play like we all know we can, we can do it. We can't bank on other teams to do us favours but as it stands we have our destiny in our own hands.
As it's such a crucial game and I'm superstitious I'm not going to predict this one, just pray for an Arsenal win.
I'm worried about this match. Wigan are a team we don't seem to perform against, we absolutely have to perform against them. With Newcastle safe, we can go there knowing they don't need a win but it's almost irrelevant if we can't take 3 points tomorrow. With Giroud serving the last of his ban, Podolski looks most likely to retain his spot up top. Apart from that we have no injury worries the central role in the midfield will be up for grabs between Wilshere and Rosicky. I think Rosicky will probably be the preferred option and that's not necessarily a bad thing considering he isn't afraid to shoot unlike the rest of our team.
Wigan on the other hand will probably field a side similar to the team that beat City on Saturday. With stand our performances from McManaman who ran the show along with threats from their other players Kone, Gomez and co. However they have defensive problems with Alcarez in at right back which may be our best option to get in behind them.
This will be a hard game, a really hard game and we know that Wigan play good football and they are dangerous. But if we come out and really go at them and play like we all know we can, we can do it. We can't bank on other teams to do us favours but as it stands we have our destiny in our own hands.
As it's such a crucial game and I'm superstitious I'm not going to predict this one, just pray for an Arsenal win.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
QPR (A)
After a draw with United last weekend, we sit a point ahead of Tottenham but a point behind Chelsea who both have a game in hand against each other. We have 3 games left this season and if we win all 3 I think we'll be there. That starts against QPR this weekend. QPR as I'm sure you're well aware have been relegated and therefore have nothing to play for, that said Redknapp would love nothing better than to spoil our run in.
It won't be an easy game but we should have more than enough to beat a QPR team who have been poor so far this season. We start again with Podolski upfront as Giroud serves the second match of his ridiculous ban. I thought Podolski was so-so on saturday but he's really the only dangerous striker we have, regardless of just how fit he is. I expect the team to be the same, Rosicky should retain his starting place after playing well on Sunday. The only position that might change is left back where Monreal will give Gibbs tough competition.
As for QPR they have Zamora returning from a suspension that saw him attempt to take Jordi Gomez's head off his shoulders. Samba is the only doubt though after missing the game with Reading. QPR will be dangerous going forward with Remy, Taarabt and Zamora playing upfront all of whom have 5 goals this season. However with 3 in their midfield we should look to dominate the game in the middle of the park, despite the power of M'Bia. If we can boss the midfield then hopefully we'll be able to play our football and do our thing.
Chelsea play United on Sunday and if we can get 3 points, we'll put the pressure on them to get a win at Old Trafford and with any lucky, they'll slip up. COYG!
Prediction: QPR 1-2 Arsenal
It won't be an easy game but we should have more than enough to beat a QPR team who have been poor so far this season. We start again with Podolski upfront as Giroud serves the second match of his ridiculous ban. I thought Podolski was so-so on saturday but he's really the only dangerous striker we have, regardless of just how fit he is. I expect the team to be the same, Rosicky should retain his starting place after playing well on Sunday. The only position that might change is left back where Monreal will give Gibbs tough competition.
As for QPR they have Zamora returning from a suspension that saw him attempt to take Jordi Gomez's head off his shoulders. Samba is the only doubt though after missing the game with Reading. QPR will be dangerous going forward with Remy, Taarabt and Zamora playing upfront all of whom have 5 goals this season. However with 3 in their midfield we should look to dominate the game in the middle of the park, despite the power of M'Bia. If we can boss the midfield then hopefully we'll be able to play our football and do our thing.
Chelsea play United on Sunday and if we can get 3 points, we'll put the pressure on them to get a win at Old Trafford and with any lucky, they'll slip up. COYG!
Prediction: QPR 1-2 Arsenal
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