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!

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.

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?

CHIT-CHAT

Today is a very important day for Arsenal FC. An important player of our squad,Jack Wilshere is playing tonight for the Arsenal reserves after a 14 month injury layoff that saw him miss the entire season last year.

It will be some time before he makes the first team.But non the less, it is an important step towards making it to the first squad.His return is good news for Arsenal who could benefit from the return of the outstanding player.His return is now more important as Diaby is out injured and we need that "assured" type of player in our midfield like Wilshere who can dictate the pace of the came while also creating countless scoring opportunities.

Midfield however is not at the top list of my concerns because it is a position where we have surplus replacements, also rightly claimed by Le Boss.My main concern is the striker's position. I do not(sadly) see any player in that position at Arsenal who is capable of scoring 20+ goals this season.Even more worrying is the fact that there are 20+ goal scoring talents at clubs that have traditionally been labelled as clubs below Arsenal. Everton have Anichebe and Jelavich (maybe Fellaini too),Sunderland(Fletcher),Aston Villa(Darren Bent),Tottenham(Jermain Defoe,Adebayor and maybe GarethBale), Southampton(RickieLambert), Reading (Shane Long).A club like Arsenal must have a world class striker,I don't see one at the moment. Gervinho could surprise me and score 20+ but he seems to be scared too many times to score especially when it matters(misses against Man City and Chelsea this season).Giroud too seems totally lost at Arsenal.He is already a flop to me.He missed  two chances that could have given us 4 points.Although, I will add that this is his first season and he will take time to settle.Maybe next season he will do better.But I would suggest Arsenal fans not to expect many goals from him this season. Podolski is a great finisher no doubt, but the manager is playing him at the left where he will not get many opportunities to score.And who is our other option?Chamakh? I think the manager knows how "good" Chamakh is.So he would prefer to use a false striker maybe like Barcelona and more recently by Spain.This could be a good option but what we must realize is that WE ARE NO BARCELONA or SPAIN.Our other option,Wallcott is pacey but too "lean" to be a striker in the Premier League.

The way I see it, I think Arsene should mix the "false striker" and the traditional number 9 kind of play with Gervinho upfront and maybe Giroud once in a while.It will be more likely for us to get goals then....ofcourse, from one of our midfielder!