After some good league and European performances tomorrow night we travel to the Hawthorns to take on West Brom in the Capital One Cup or whatever it is now. I first expected Wenger to make wholesale changes but then realised that our squad is so bare that we may have to play some first-team players.
Guessing the squad will be hard but I think it's fairly safe to assume Viviano will start between the sticks to make his debut. I've heard good things but hopefully tomorrow will give us a better look at the Italian. The back line will more than likely include the likes of Jenkinson, Vermaelen and Monreal. The midfield is an area where we are short so I expect it to remain roughly the same, we may see more of Arteta depending on how he came out of the last 10 at the weekend. Ozil trained but I doubt he'll be played. The front line is an interesting one. Bendtner has been included and may start, I think Gnabry will start after his weekend performance and on the other wing we might see Myiachi start.
West Brom will take the match seriously and it will be a difficult game regardless of what team we put out. West Brom have had a rough start this season but they're still a dangerous team especially with the likes of Sessegnon adding to their ranks. But without Lukaku this season they have struggled for goals scoring just 4 in the league from 5 matches.
It's a really difficult game to call with us more than likely fielding a weakened team and them below their best so far this season. It'll give some players the chance to shine, Viviano has his chance to show why we signed him from Fiorentina and keep SZCZ on his toes, whilst players like Gnabry and Myiachi have the chance to show off their potential.
I'm not gonna predict this one cause it's such a strange match up, hopefully we can do the business and keep this little run going.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Monday, 23 September 2013
Stoke City Match Report
Right first off it's been manic at work, sale weekends really don't allow much spare time. Thus I've missed my last 2 blog posts. So yesterday we beat Stoke, relatively comfortably, with 3 very untypical Arsenal goals. Many are saying we "out-stoked" Stoke but I don't like to associate us with that mob of gommoids in any way.
It started fantastically with Aaron Ramsey getting a goal that surely he has dreamt about since his horrific leg break back there in 2010. His subtle celebration was clearly a pop at the fans that booed him ever since and I loved every second of it. It was also the first of a hat-trick of assists from Mesut Ozil who again proved what a playmaker he really is. A free kick that was originally a shot was spilt by Begovic and Ramsey was there to slide it underneath him.
Then Stoke pulled on back when a fantastically floated ball was spanked against the post by Arnautovic before Cameron placed it into the far corner. But we didn't let it effect us and moments later we were back in front. Ozil again the provider, this time from a corner which was flicked across the goal by Mertesacker. The two Germans combining well to give us a lead going into the half.
In the second half the game slowed a little there were a few efforts from both side but the final blow came in the 72nd minute when Bacary Sagna headed the ball high and over the Stoke keeper from another Ozil corner. This effectively ended the game and from there on we were in control. Ozil made way to a standing ovation and was replaced by Mikel Arteta in his first appearance for us this season.
The only downside of the game was the loss of Theo Walcott before the match with whats been described as a muscular abdominal problem, Wenger admitted that he didn't know how long the winger would be out or even what exactly the problem was which is worrying for us and our already thread-bare squad. He was replaced by Serge Gnabry who held his own relatively well and with game time and experience could be a very tidy player.
We travel to the Hawthorns on Wednesday night to take on West Brom and I suspect the squad will be fairly different to the one yesterday but a report on that will be up soon. Until then enjoy your day.
It started fantastically with Aaron Ramsey getting a goal that surely he has dreamt about since his horrific leg break back there in 2010. His subtle celebration was clearly a pop at the fans that booed him ever since and I loved every second of it. It was also the first of a hat-trick of assists from Mesut Ozil who again proved what a playmaker he really is. A free kick that was originally a shot was spilt by Begovic and Ramsey was there to slide it underneath him.
Then Stoke pulled on back when a fantastically floated ball was spanked against the post by Arnautovic before Cameron placed it into the far corner. But we didn't let it effect us and moments later we were back in front. Ozil again the provider, this time from a corner which was flicked across the goal by Mertesacker. The two Germans combining well to give us a lead going into the half.
In the second half the game slowed a little there were a few efforts from both side but the final blow came in the 72nd minute when Bacary Sagna headed the ball high and over the Stoke keeper from another Ozil corner. This effectively ended the game and from there on we were in control. Ozil made way to a standing ovation and was replaced by Mikel Arteta in his first appearance for us this season.
The only downside of the game was the loss of Theo Walcott before the match with whats been described as a muscular abdominal problem, Wenger admitted that he didn't know how long the winger would be out or even what exactly the problem was which is worrying for us and our already thread-bare squad. He was replaced by Serge Gnabry who held his own relatively well and with game time and experience could be a very tidy player.
We travel to the Hawthorns on Wednesday night to take on West Brom and I suspect the squad will be fairly different to the one yesterday but a report on that will be up soon. Until then enjoy your day.
Friday, 13 September 2013
Sunderland (A)
After the boredom of the international break we return to Premier League action tomorrow and all of the buzz around the club is about our record signing potentially making his debut. However reports suggest that Özil missed training today due to illness along with fellow German team-mate Per Mertesacker. Must have been some dodgy Bratwurst or something.
So we may be made to wait until Wednesday or possibly even next weekend to see our new boy play. Either way we travel to the Stadium of Light short of players as it is. Rosicky, Sanogo and Zelalem add to our list of woes which now really does leave us with one striker. I said at the start of the window we were desperately in need of another striker and whilst I'm over the moon with Özil we still lack back up for Giroud.
In more positive news Thomas Vermaelen is back and in with a chance of playing which gives Wenger options to cover Mertesacker playing either him or Sagna at right back. With
Özil a doubt too we may see Wilshere slot in behind Giroud with Ramsey and Flamini holding the line in front of the defence. Despite the arrival of Viviano who I already can't help but like after watching his interview with Arsenal.com I think SZCZ will keep his place in the starting line up.
Sunderland have a team that is barely recognisable with Di Canio signing nearly a whole new starting 11 in the transfer window. There are some players that I know of and others that I don't but I would expect a few of them to start. Andre Dossena (if you remember from Liverpool) is a bit of a bruiser and could give Theo a few problems, however if Theo can get in behind him he'll struggle to keep up so that could be a potential area we could exploit.
Giaccherini is a doubt but Fletcher is back and could partner another new boy in Jozy Altidore upfront for Sunderland. We know Fletcher has goals so he'll be a threat, Altidore had a blistering season for AZ Alkmaar last year and he certainly knows where the net is. Despite scoring against MK Dons the other week he hasn't quite found his feet in the league yet but that could easily change against us. This is not an easy game and we'll need to be ready for it if we're to take all 3 points.
Let's hope our current run of form continues and we can ease to 3 points.
Prediction: Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal
So we may be made to wait until Wednesday or possibly even next weekend to see our new boy play. Either way we travel to the Stadium of Light short of players as it is. Rosicky, Sanogo and Zelalem add to our list of woes which now really does leave us with one striker. I said at the start of the window we were desperately in need of another striker and whilst I'm over the moon with Özil we still lack back up for Giroud.
In more positive news Thomas Vermaelen is back and in with a chance of playing which gives Wenger options to cover Mertesacker playing either him or Sagna at right back. With
Özil a doubt too we may see Wilshere slot in behind Giroud with Ramsey and Flamini holding the line in front of the defence. Despite the arrival of Viviano who I already can't help but like after watching his interview with Arsenal.com I think SZCZ will keep his place in the starting line up.
Sunderland have a team that is barely recognisable with Di Canio signing nearly a whole new starting 11 in the transfer window. There are some players that I know of and others that I don't but I would expect a few of them to start. Andre Dossena (if you remember from Liverpool) is a bit of a bruiser and could give Theo a few problems, however if Theo can get in behind him he'll struggle to keep up so that could be a potential area we could exploit.
Giaccherini is a doubt but Fletcher is back and could partner another new boy in Jozy Altidore upfront for Sunderland. We know Fletcher has goals so he'll be a threat, Altidore had a blistering season for AZ Alkmaar last year and he certainly knows where the net is. Despite scoring against MK Dons the other week he hasn't quite found his feet in the league yet but that could easily change against us. This is not an easy game and we'll need to be ready for it if we're to take all 3 points.
Let's hope our current run of form continues and we can ease to 3 points.
Prediction: Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Transfers In: Ozil and Viviano
What a whirlwind 48 hours for Arsenal fans. Beating Tottenham in derby who had at that point spent £100m on 7 new players. They didn't really get going and we restricted them to mainly off-target long shots. Olivier Giroud scored in his third PL game in a row, that's every league game so far this season. It was a gritty hard fought win but well worth it and who wouldn't have taken that beforehand. It also shut a lot of big-mouthed spurs fans up who had been spouting all season.
In a cheeky press-conference after the game with a sly smile that Arsenal fans have seen many times, Wenger said: "We might have a good surprise for you". Following Bales departure everything kicked into gear and rumours started about Mesut Ozil. Deadline day promised to be a good one.
Before anything else we signed a goalkeeper on loan from Palermo who spent last season at Fiorentina. Emiliano Viviano is 27 and a keeper I know very little about but from what I saw he kept something like 11 clean sheets in 32 games. That's a fine season and if he provides some good competition for our current keeper then great.
Then our attention turned to the signing of Mesut Ozil. Various media outlets suggested it was done at around 6pm but like many until I saw official confirmation I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. We waited and waited and waited, Sky prolonged it and then with around half an hour left it was official much to the excitement of Arsenal fans everywhere, no less outside the Emirates.
As the Sky reporter was eager to point out this has destroyed our record transfer fee beforehand by £27.5m almost tripling our fee for Arshavin. But there is no doubt that he is worth every penny of it, a player who is easily within the top 10 midfielders in the world and a player who was described by Jose Mourinho as the best CAM in the world. He is a player who's close control, technical ability and reading of the game is second to none and also the player with the most assists across Europes top 5 leagues for the last 3 years.
He is a totally unselfish player and is more than happy to set up others. I can see him doing great things behind our striker.
Now it's not all sunshine and rainbows. We didn't get another striker and there are questions that need to be asked about how we conducted our business and Ozil isn't going to suddenly make us title contenders. But this is more a statement of intent from Arsenal that we are coming back and we are willing to spend the top money to get the top players. Sky reported last night that it was a combination of Wenger, Gazidis and (yes, believe it or not) Kronke. Kronke and Gazidis really wanted to get this one in and I really hope that is true and it shows backing from the businessmen and hopefully is a sign of windows to come.
What makes this signing even more prevalent for me an Arsenal is that we bought him with money that we earned. We weren't given it by a rich owner, we made it as a club and as a business.
But for now all I am excited about is seeing Mesut Özil in an Arsenal shirt. COYG!
In a cheeky press-conference after the game with a sly smile that Arsenal fans have seen many times, Wenger said: "We might have a good surprise for you". Following Bales departure everything kicked into gear and rumours started about Mesut Ozil. Deadline day promised to be a good one.
Before anything else we signed a goalkeeper on loan from Palermo who spent last season at Fiorentina. Emiliano Viviano is 27 and a keeper I know very little about but from what I saw he kept something like 11 clean sheets in 32 games. That's a fine season and if he provides some good competition for our current keeper then great.
Then our attention turned to the signing of Mesut Ozil. Various media outlets suggested it was done at around 6pm but like many until I saw official confirmation I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. We waited and waited and waited, Sky prolonged it and then with around half an hour left it was official much to the excitement of Arsenal fans everywhere, no less outside the Emirates.
As the Sky reporter was eager to point out this has destroyed our record transfer fee beforehand by £27.5m almost tripling our fee for Arshavin. But there is no doubt that he is worth every penny of it, a player who is easily within the top 10 midfielders in the world and a player who was described by Jose Mourinho as the best CAM in the world. He is a player who's close control, technical ability and reading of the game is second to none and also the player with the most assists across Europes top 5 leagues for the last 3 years.
He is a totally unselfish player and is more than happy to set up others. I can see him doing great things behind our striker.
Now it's not all sunshine and rainbows. We didn't get another striker and there are questions that need to be asked about how we conducted our business and Ozil isn't going to suddenly make us title contenders. But this is more a statement of intent from Arsenal that we are coming back and we are willing to spend the top money to get the top players. Sky reported last night that it was a combination of Wenger, Gazidis and (yes, believe it or not) Kronke. Kronke and Gazidis really wanted to get this one in and I really hope that is true and it shows backing from the businessmen and hopefully is a sign of windows to come.
What makes this signing even more prevalent for me an Arsenal is that we bought him with money that we earned. We weren't given it by a rich owner, we made it as a club and as a business.
But for now all I am excited about is seeing Mesut Özil in an Arsenal shirt. COYG!
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