Why Are Pundits And Experts Against The Arsenal?

15 games in and Arsenal are leading the English Premier League by 5 points from their closest rivals. Arsenal fans could not have asked for more especially considering Arsenal's disastrous start last season.

Arsenal have stood firm this campaign when teams around them are leaking points here and there. Much of the good performance can be credited to their efficient use of the ball as well as their collective play when they lose the ball.

Pundits On a Mission....to Write Off Arsenal

This has meant we have had a lot lesser possession than we are used to in recent years but we have been far more efficient in front of goal while also being solid at the back.

This brings me to the point I want to make. The so-called "Pundits" and "Experts" just cannot let go of their habit of taking Arsenal seriously. Why?

A lot of that I believe, is down to the fact that Arsenal have not won anything since 2005(Yes that is a long time ago!). Also, it is a fact that we have been guilty of completely losing our way (2006/2007 season comes to mind) when we were sitting at the top. It is also true that we are relatively inexperienced at winning trophies(Ok make that "very" inexperienced).

To be honest, I don't have a problem with pundits writing us off regarding our title challenge. It is not that I don't believe Arsenal will not win a trophy but because I think it is still too early. Premier League fans will testify to the fact that the league winner was decided on the last minute of the last day of football a couple of seasons ago!

That was after 38 games and we are not even half-way through! So, I don't think you can say team A will win or team B will not.But I do think Arsenal have a very good chance.

The thing that has bugged me the most about the pundits comes mainly from some of their comments following our 1-1 draw with Everton in the weekend.

These were the pundits who have been shouting at the top their voices, year-in year-out that pretty football alone will not get Arsenal anywhere. They have said on numerous occasions that Arsenal need to learn to grind out results and win by playing "dirty" if need be so that they can win games even when they are not playing well.

When suddenly, they saw Everton playing a better passing game than Arsenal in the weekend, they stick with the "pretty football" and disregard "dirty football" again! If that is not farcical, I don't know what is.

My intentions are not to take away the gloss from Everton's performance. They were excellent and they have been excellent throughout this season so far. Yes, they out-passed Arsenal and enjoyed better possession. But out-passing the opponent or having more of the possession will not win you matches.

Wait a second.Isn't this the same thing Arsenal have been criticized for by the pundits for all these seasons? I am forced to use the "F" word once again.

FARCICAL.

Massive Fixtures Ahead : Arsenal Title Credentials On The Line

They said "Arsenal will be tested by Swansea"; Arsenal won the match. They said "It will be Napoli who will really test Arsenal"; Arsenal won the match- comfortably I should add. We lost against Dortmund but they were champions league finalists last season and Arsenal did not make it a walk in the park for them did they?

Arsenal Flying High But Tougher Tests Lie Ahead

Arsenal are 2 points clear at the top of the EPL and there still remains doubts, in the minds of the so-called football pundits at least, whether Arsenal are genuine contenders to the title. Who cares what they think, Arsenal are top of the league and Arsenal fans are loving the view from the top :). My honest opinion is that it is too early to predict who will win but we will get a better idea at the end of December.

Moving on from foretelling the title winner, Arsenal are heading into the start of a very difficult period in the season with some tricky ties coming up. Staring with the home match against Chelsea tonight in the Capital One Cup, Arsenal host Liverpool followed by a visit to Dortmund in the Champions League and then to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the League and they face an equally daunting task against a flying Southampton side at home in the league.As if that was not enough, Arsenal will arguably have an even tougher December to follow with games against Everton(H), Machester City(A), Napoli(A) and Chelsea(H). It is incredible how these big fixtures have all been put together. No wonder people are reserving their thoughts on Arsenal's credibility, because if Arsenal get past this storm of massive fixtures unscathed, or at least not battered, the title would be Arsenal's to lose.

A short note on tonight's match. Arsene knows that a critical phase is approaching in the season and I think he will be forced to prioritize here. He would want his best players to be fit for all these fixtures ahead and I think he will take a big gamble if decides to start with any of his regulars in tonight's match. Whether he will take that risk remains to be seen.

Fellaini To Arsenal And The Negredo Connection

Fellaini Could Be Heading To Arsenal Next Season

First of all, let us answer an important question : "Will Fellaini be a good signing for Arsenal?"

The answer would be a resounding yes. A combative midfielder, good in the air, good on the ground...he  is exactly what Arsenal have been missing since Patrick Viera.

Fellaini, with a price tag of £22m , would be a dream signing for any Arsenal fan, especially because we have never spent so much on a single player. Its too good to be true right!

That brings me to my other question. "Is it really true or just another fabricated rumor?"

I cannot be 100% sure.Until Fellaini actually signs for Arsenal no one can be fully certain. But, I can tell you that Sky have reported it and usually when they report it, it turns out to be true!

We could end up signing the player...or not signing him if he decides to stay at Everton. But, what I am happy about ( and I am sure most Arsenal fans and critics are too) is that for once, we are showing some intent to strengthen the team and take a step forward after all these years of dissapointment.

Moving on to my final question "Where does Negredo come in all this?"

A few days back, Sky revealed, what I call, the "Negredo incident", according to which, West Ham had a  £14.5m bid rejected for Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo. Here was a guy who scored 31 goals in all competitions for Sevilla last season, who was apparently, linked with all the top clubs in Europe and then receives a bid from a team that finished 10th in the EPL. Fantastic...maybe. If you don't have wings, it does not mean you cannot dream of flying one day!

This tells something about the intent of this "10th placed club". To move ahead to; to reach for the next level. This is what is/was severely lacking in our own club Arsenal, needless to say. We have sold our best players each season and replaced, or at least tried to replace them with unproven talents.

We have never spent money on marquee signings and all of a sudden we come up with a massive bid for Fellaini! The "Negredo incident" might just have woken up our board from their slumber!

Arsenal Vs West Ham: Preview

After 22 games in the EPL, Arsenal are sitting "comfortably" at 6th position, 7 points adrift of the fourth placed Tottenham Houtspur and 4 points behind Everton. I don't think I need to emphasize on the fact that we have been poor this season.

It seems like this is going to be the season that Arsenal will finally finish outside the top 4 as it stands. People had been predicting Arsenal to finish outside the top 4 ever since Henry left the club. They were proved wrong every year. Every year, they predicted Arsenal to finish outside the top 4 and every year, they were proven wrong. This year in no different. But, we are still in it mathematically and until the end of the season, you never know. We might yet pull it off again.

Tonight's game is against West Ham, who are themselves going through a bad patch of form. They were very promising at the start of the season but have been quite inconsistent from then on.( It is almost like I am talking about Arsenal!)Arsenal too had a good start but then the inconsistencies crept in.

In all honesty, we could win this match very easily, 4-2 or 5-3( We cannot defend well to keep clean sheets at the moment.Fact) or we could lose 2-1, 1-0,2-0. That is what the problem is with Arsenal this season. We cannot predict what they will come with because they have been so inconsistent. Yet, it is also a fact that we seem to win quite a lot of the matches against Allardyce's men, although most are goal fests(which I don't like as I love our team to keep clean sheets). I still remember the 5-2s and 4-2s scorelines which we achieved against Blackburn when they visited the Emirates with Sam in charge.

Gilbert Imbula? Just What Arsenal Needed

Another Youngster To Arsenal?

News has surfaced in the media that Arsenal are looking to sign Gilbert Imbula, a promising 20 year old from the French Second Division side Guingamp. I need not say more.....

I can never understand Le Prof. When we are 1st in the league, we go for an unknown French youth, when we are 2nd.....the story repeats itself.....and even when we are 3rd or 4th or 5th or 6th......same old story. Why can't we produce our own youths rather than buy them from elsewhere? So much has been invested...time and money on our academy and still we need to buy promising youngsters? Only Gibbs and Wilshere truly represent Arsenal academy at the moment. I do not see a "genuine" academy player coming to the first XI for the next 4 years! It is funny how Arsenal are lauded for their youth policy and actually we produce very few of our own. Aston Villa, Southampton, Everton and Leeds are way ahead of us in terms of actually producing good young players. We buy youngsters from somewhere else....they play for a few years in our team....and then they go back to their beloved clubs or somewhere else because they do not have a deep connection with our club.

 If we can produce more players like Gibbs and Wilshere through our Academy who are born and bred Arsenal players, they will stick with their club. Just look at how they signed new deals for staying at Arsenal without much fuss. We all know how Wallcot, a player bought from Southampton at age 16, almost dumped us. I don't need to say more about other players who were bought young before being sold off (Fabregas 16yrs, Nasri 19yrs, Adebayor 19yrs,Van Persie 19yrs........ Hleb, Flamini, Clichy, Toure...too many to remember!).

It seems Arsene will wait till the last minute of the transfer window to buy players because, as he admitted himself, the prices of players fall drastically in the last moments of the window. So, I would suggest everyone to be patient till the last second of the transfer window. Big names have been linked with Arsenal....Cavani, Zaha,David Villa to name a few. But we all know who we will get in the end. A promising youngster from the French......you get the point.

We Won't Sign Anyone of Note In January

Wenger Playing Waiting Game.....Again?

It is already January 11th and although Arsenal have been linked with many players, they have not made a single singing. The manager has conceded that Arsenal need reinforcements and that we will only go for "exceptional" signings.

 However, it is a fact that there are only a few "exceptional" talents available for transfer and only the clubs that are quick to snap them up will get those players. Most "big" clubs are quick to get the players they want. Arsene himself resorted to the prompt signing of Cazorla this season, which would suggest, unlike the previous years when he waited till the last second of the transfer deadline, that he has realized that good players need to be snapped up quick.

It now seems however, that he has resorted to his "age-old" practice once again. Rumors are ripe that he has already missed out on Lewis Holtby, who, as I already mentioned in my previous post, would have been a great signing for us(He is a free transfer too!). I dare say we will miss out on a few more. In the end, even if Arsene does sign an "exceptional" player, it will be at an expense of not singing 5-6 "exceptional" talents. Maybe Arsene has a different way of looking at Mathematics.

Ba's Gone As The Eve of The Transfer Window Is Upon Us

Demba Ba is In Talks With Chelsea

So, we are finally there. The eve of the New Year 2013(HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!) and most exciting of transfer windows approaches. Not that transfer windows were not exciting before. But the Manager himself has come out and claimed that this transfer window will be busy for Arsenal, which is not something you heard from him recently.Who goes in, who goes out, to Arsenal, from Arsenal, to the Premier League, from the Premier League....fans love the transfer window(if your club does not lose its best players!).
Arsenal have been linked with quite a few names this time around, like always. But as Arsene himself claimed, Arsenal would only be looking at "exceptional talent". Llorente,Holtby,David Villa, Demba Ba among others would perfectly fit the tag of "exceptional talent" and are apparently available for transfers if rumors are to be believed. Demba Ba is however holding talks for a move to Chelsea. He would have been a good addition to our squad given his proven abilities in the EPL and his price tag (7.5mil Pounds). But, it seems he is destined for a move to Chelsea, although you never know unless he actually completes the move.
Arsene, after the game against Newcastle claimed that Arsenal are not "short" in forward area. So, it could be an indication that he would go for a mid-fielder and/or someone to play in the back four, especially the left back position where we are desperately short on numbers and quality.
We can speculate all we want, but the transfer window always throws up quite a few surprises. Brace yourself, because there will be more than a few this time around. 

Reading Vs Arsenal Preview : Another 12 goal Thriller On The Card?

The last time Arsenal met Reading was in the Capital One Cup a month ago when the teams played in a 7-5 goal-fest, in which Arsenal managed to prevail. It was a remarkable turnaround from Arsenal's point of view, given that they were 4-0 down at one stage. Given how poorly Arsenal have been playing, if anyone could replicate the scoreline again, the bet would be on Arsenal!

Arsenal are currently eighth in the league while Reading are rock bottom. However, by no means will it be a walk in the park for Arsenal. Reading are decent at home and their only problem has been that they have failed to score enough goals which has also been the Achilles's heel for Arsenal. It will also be interesting to see how Arsenal's players react especially after the demoralizing mid-week defeat at the hands of Bradford City in the Capital One Cup Quarterfinals.

Santi Cazorla has claimed that Arsenal's inexperience has cost them this season while Jack Wilshere has called everyone to be united in these tough times. It shows the players too are concerned about the club like the fans, unlike reports in the media that they do not care. There are still doubts whether Arsenl will deliver, not only in this match but the upcoming fixtures, consistently, because only consistency can give them the a top four finish and respect from all corners. 

Arsenal Vs West Brom: Another Banana Skin On The Cards?

West Brom are a team which started very well in the league this season, which saw them stay in the top 4 of the EPL table for much of the season so far. Infact, they only dropped to 5th after last week's defeat. However, most expected their fine run to come to an end.

Giroud Not "there" Yet?

West Brom, by no means, are in a disaster. They are still 5 points ahead of Arsenal and 3 clear of 6th placed Everton. They might not be as potent as they were early in the season when they often outplayed even the big boys of the Premier League but they did enough to prove that they could hurt even the best. They certainly have quality players in their team who could hurt any team with Odemwinge and Shane Long leading their ranks.

Arsenal have been far from convincing this season. Our performance is quite rightly reflected by our current league position, a paltry 10th! We are yet to see a convincing performance, both attacking wise and defensive wise from Arsenal this season. When we have tried to be defensive, we have found it hard to score goals at the other end. And when we have tried to be attacking, we have left gaping holes at the back for the other teams to exploit. We just have not found that balance yet.

Podolski and Wallcot are out for the match and I don't know where the goals will come from. Giroud has been improving but he has not become "dependable" yet(maybe that is why he recently claimed he picked the wrong time to join Arsenal!). With Odemwinge and Shane Long in the opposite team, Arsenal will do well if they can keep a clean sheet, which is most unlikely. I have a "Banana-Skin" feeling about this match....again!

Llorente Confirms And Another Defeat

Llorente Is Hot Property In Europe

So, Llorente has finally confirmed that he will be leaving Athletic Bilbao. However, Arsenal fans will be slightly disappointed as he only plans to leave at the end of the season. Asked at a press conference if he will be leaving, he said:

"Yes, I'm leaving on June 30. I want to try other things."

Guess what.
Arsenal slumped to another defeat.
A 2-1 defeat at the hands of Olympiakos last night means that Arsenal finish second in their group behind Shalke. It was hardly a shock really.  A second-string side playing in one of the most difficult places in Europe did not make it any easy; although it would not be wrong to claim that even the first team would have struggled with the kind of football that they are playing, or not playing lately.
I had mentioned in my previous post that Arsene is looking to concentrate on the EPL by sacrificing  the top spot in the group, which is justified in my view given our poor league position at the moment. We cannot expect Arsenal to do a "Chelsea" and win the Champions League. We have to be realistic.

Ox Took to Twitter To Express His Frustration

 I do not want to get into details of yesterday's match but, the better team won. The positive from the match was that J.Meade's performance at left back was really impressive. Ramsey et al failed once more. Alex "The Ox" Chamberlain vented his frustration at the defeat through twitter: "Its times like this a club needs to stick together to pull through. Trust me this hurts us just as much as it does the fans #AFC". Are these signs of dissatisfaction spreading across the Arsenal dressing room? Only time will tell.
Looking forward to the weekend's match against West Brom followed by the mid-week Capital One Cup tie against Bradford City.

CAVANI,VILLA,LLORENTE OR GOTZE? EVEN MESSI WON'T DO

FRUSTRATION APLENTY AT ARSENAL

Where should I start?
Well this had been coming. We had doubts before this game even kicked off. We were expecting a comeback from Arsenal but deep inside, we knew (atleast I did) this could prove a banana skin(once again!). The most ardent of Arsenal fans had feared for the worse. So, it was not, in many ways, a complete surprise was it?

CAN WE STILL EXPECT FROM WENGER?

Arsenal keep getting poorer and poorer! Just when we thought it could get much worse, our team consistently proves us wrong.The press, the media and the fans had been pointing fingers at the club for 5-6 seasons that "Arsenal are going in the wrong direction","They cannot expect to win like this", "They will not and cannot challenge for trophies....". Our board and Le Boss completely ignored what others said. Yes, they have the right to take things their way but complete,absolute ignorance......It has only meant they have bigger pockets that keeps getting bigger every year and the scary thing is that they are satisfied with that!

Arsenal have the worst start to the premier league since 1994/95. FYI we finished 12th that year!
We as fans feel so helpless at the moment. We have never been heard for all these years and I doubt any changes(which we need desperately) will be made very soon. We can just hope that the worst part of this "storm" is over and will give way to clearer skies ahead.

 

WENGER: WE WILL CHALLENGE IN THE FUTURE

ARSENE WENGER

Arsene Wenger recently told the media that Arsenal will challenge the best teams financially in the future because we are well placed financially at the moment. In saying so, Wenger revealed a critical facet of his character : living in the future and neglecting the present.

There is no doubt the future looks bright for Arsenal off the pitch. But what about our exploits on the pitch? Yes the off-the-pitch aspect is as important as on-the-pitch aspect but neglecting one for the other can only spell disaster as we have seen so many times with so many teams in football and other sports. What Wenger has done is that he has prioritized the "off field" aspects while almost completely neglecting the "on filed" aspect. This has been felt more and more every year since 2006. The figures speak for themselves. We have made more money and won absolutely nothing after 2005/06! We have been steadily increasing the number of sponsors and the amount of money they "pay" us while at the same time, we are experimenting with young and inexperienced players and expecting them to deliver trophies on the pitch!On top of that, we are selling our best players to get some extra cash! 

ARSENAL FANS WOULD LOVE TO SEE WENGER IN THIS PICTURE!

 Wenger is not, however,  responsible for everything, we all know that.In fact, some even speculate that it is entirely the fault of our board. But we are tired of hearing such statements like "we will challenge in the future","our future is bright", "we have a young team" every year, Mr. Wenger. We desperately want to hear "This is our year......","This our night.......","This trophy is for the fans......".

POST EVERTON : TOP 4 SPOT SLIPPING AWAY!

I don't think I need to say too much after the match. The facts speak for themselves:
1) After 14 games,Arsenal are in 7th position
2) We are 12 points behind league leaders Man United(its goodbye to the EPL trophy....again!)
3) We are 5 points behind 4th placed West Brom
4) We are 2 points behind our rivals Spurs and 1 point behind top 4 hopefuls Everton

WILSHERE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO STOOD OUT

 Yet, the most important fact is that we are not playing well and, it does not look like we will be very soon. Yes, some players like Wilshere had a decent game but what about the rest? Wallcott scored and was almost anonymous for most of the game( like always). Ramsey got into good positions to score and wasted everything( like always). The rest.....we do not plan to finish mid-table do we? Surely we must do better. I dare say we were lucky to just draw 1-1 yesterday night. We were outplayed many times especially in the second half. Its against the high-flying Swansea next and honestly,things do not look good for Arsenal.

WILL IT BE MIDWEEK MISERY OR JOY FOR ARSENAL?

WILL OUR DEFENSE BE AS HAPPY AT THE END OF THE MATCH TONIGHT?

 Arsenal travel to the Mersyside to face Everton in their mid-week EPL fixture tonight. The match carries much importance to both the teams as teams look to battle for the top four this season along with Spurs and this seasons' surprise package in the form of West Brom.

This encounter has always served up some classics,especially in recent years. Everton have always given made it tough for Arsenal and are expected to do so again. They have always been a well balanced team under Moyes. This year however, they seem to be even more potent, thanks mainly to their impressive attack. Jelavic,Mirallas,Fellaini and ofcourse, Leighton Baines,who has created more scoring opportunities than any other player in the league this season, have been the key figures in propelling Everton to  new heights this season. Everton can hurt teams, no doubt. Just ask Manchester United. Defensively too, they have been very solid.

A few years back, many would have gone for Arsenal to nick it in the end. Infact, when the "Invincibles" were around,very few would have expected Everton to get a result. How times have changed. Pundits and the media put Everton as firm favorites for the match tonight. Sczesny pointed out indirectly,how things were stacked against us by claiming that this is a "six pointer".

Arsenal have been far from convincing this season and tonight's match could be a turning point for the club and the manager who is under pressure to perform. Win and Arsene will be hailed as the savior again. Loose and fans will be braying for his head. We don't want a draw do we?