Holtby="Exceptional Talent"

Lewis Holtby is Undoubtedly an "Exceptional Talent"

Lewis Holtby has recently claimed that he will be leaving Shalke after he confirmed that he will not sign a new contract with the club. Now, there is no doubt about the talent instilled in this particular player. He has proven time and again how good he is through his exploits on the fields. He has not yet reached the heights of Mario Gotze, who has arguably become a world-class player and is a Bundesliga hot property at the moment. But the good thing is that most people admit that Holtby is next in line to "greatness". I still remember a few seasons ago when he was so influential in getting Mainz, a team that had just been promoted to the Bundesliga that season, to the top of the league for half the season beating almost all of the heavy-weights of the Bundesliga on their way. Holtby took the Bundesliga by storm that season. His performances even got him a place in the German senior side. He was all over the news that season and although he does not make the front page as often now a days, very few can question his performances and talents.

The news that he will not be extending his contract would have alerted a lot of clubs, ofcourse. Le Prof would also be looking at this as an opportunity, to strengthen our beleaguered squad as well as to add an "exceptional" talent, as he puts it. It will be difficult, but if he pulls this one off, it will be one of his major coup during his reign. 

WHAT WE WILL ACTUALLY GET IN THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW

WILL THEY DON THE ARSENAL COLOURS NEXT SEASON?

        








As the January transfer window approaches, the talk of the town is- who will get in and who will get out of their club. If you are a Man City fan at the top of the league or QPR fan at the bottom, every fan likes to see quality players(players in their FIFA dream team :-)) to come into their clubs and the player(s) they loath most in the club to leave the club. The transfer window is always an exciting period for all fans alike.

Arsenal have been linked with a gazillion players before this window(hardly a new thing). Interestingly, although Arsenal have almost always signed youngsters and unproven players, we have been linked mostly with some of the best in the business than with rising prodigies this time around. Not that we were not linked to bring in big name players in the seasons gone by;somehow, it is different this time. Most of the rumors are ofcourse  pure works of fiction. But are they all fictitious?

Fact or fiction, what is undeniable is that Arsenal fans have their hopes raised sky high. The mere thought of players like Huntelaar, Llorente, Cavani, David Villa,etc coming to Arsenal gives us goosebumps. What fuels the excitement even more is the fact that Arsenal have recently given preference to signing proven players like Arteta, Mertesacker, Podolski and Cazorla. Also, Arsene is coming under more and more pressure form the fans as well as the media to buy proven talents. The signing of a new and, as claimed by Ivan Gazidis, a "huge" deal with Emirates is another reason for the fans to get excited about.

It won't be an understatement to say that Arsenal fans expect something big in the window; no doubt about that. There are enough reasons to believe that we could get the names(at least one if not some) that we are linked with in the January transfer window. However, I don't need to remind everyone about how many times we have been let down on this front in the past. So, lets keep our feet on the ground yet be optimistic, cautiously.

WALLCOT OUT! AND CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREVIEW

WHERE DOES HIS FUTURE LIE?

Arsenal play host to Montpellier in the Champions League tonight and it has emerged that Theo Wallcot will miss the match due to injury. On the bright side, Gervinho is back in the squad and so is Gibbs. In the case of Gibbs it now seems as a matter of "when" rather than "if" he gets injured again. Such a pity.He is a decent player but injury has ruined him.

The situation with Wallcot is getting stretched by the day like rubber. There have been news of breakthroughs but until the deal is not done, anything can happen. Personally, Wallcot is not among my favorites and I would not mind him leaving especially after Wenger admitted he would replace him with "one of the best" if he was to leave.(Oh Mr.Wenger, we won't fall for that again!)

There are also rumors in the media that Henry is signing for us on loan again.Mr. Wenger too told the official Arsenal FC site www.Arsenal.com that Henry could be given a chance.Well, it would be a welcome no doubt for fans like us.Although on the downside,Henry is not the Henry of old. Yet he can give the team a lift and score some important goals too like last season.

Amidst all this, Arsenal host Montpellier in a crunch tie in the Champions League.Securing a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League depends on the result in these final two matches.It is not ideal to leave qualification till the final match but that is the case right now and we must face it.Only a win tonight and at least a point from our next match will guarantee progression to the next match.Arsenal must be ruing the two goal lead they allowed to slip in their last match against Schalke.One thing is certain,it is a must win or Arsenal.However, it won't be that easy as many think it will be. Montpellier will be coming with confidence after they played well against a strong PSG side in the French league. Added to the fact is that they have nothing to loose. Arsenal did defeat their bitter neighbors Tottenham 5-2 in their last match but they were not convincing when they played against 11 in that match. It will be an interesting tie tonight.  

THE BUSINESS END

So, the international break is over and we are back to some club football. We are in for some cracking matches this weekend and the weekends to follow.It is now what is described by many as "The Business End" of matches when games come thick and fast.

Points gathered during this time of the season often decides where a team finishes in the table. Arsene described this in his own words recently:

"In October the moment of truth starts for the team.The league establishes itself a little bit and the Champions League goes to decisive moments."


Especially after an International break, matches are often very difficult for teams to cope with as players are fatigued and not in ideal condition for matches.Added to it is the fact that international breaks are always accompanied by injuries to some players(Kos and Wallcot are out for at least the next game!).This makes the matches even more important.

Our next 4 matches read Norwich(A),Shalke(H),QPR(H),Reading(A).The very next match is against Manchester United(A) before we head to Shalke(A) and then host Fulham(H).Only then will we get a 7 day break before we host the North London Derby against Tottenham.It will be breathless football before that!
So, hold on to your seats, because we are in for some treat!