Archive for the ‘Arsenal’ Category

What Do Arsenal, Leicester, City, United, Tottenham, Liverpool, Palace & Jose Mourinho Want For The New Year?

Posted: December 31, 2015 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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Arsene Wenger

A new striker because, although Giroud is doing the business, Arsene never seems to be 100% convinced. So much so that there have been games when he has preferred Walcott in the striking role. So far this season both have done reasonably well in the position but Giroud is more consistent. It is reported that Edinson Cavani of PSG is on the radar.

Danny Welbeck to get fit so he can take his place on the bench. The same wish for Jack Wilshere, but he would get on the teamsheet rather than the bench.

Finally, an injury free second half of the season and the Premier League title.

Claudio Ranieri

Maybe a new signing or two depending on how many packets of crisps have been sold!

The success and money to be able to hold onto Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez and also an injury free second half of the season which would enable Leicester to maintain a top four challenge. (more…)

Arsenal Implosion Still Pending!

Posted: December 30, 2015 in Arsenal, Football, Opinion, Premier League
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And what’s more folks, it may not happen at all!

Alright, one or two little sticks of dynamite have been set off lately, but they have barely caused a ripple on the perfect surface of The Emirates. A 4-0 defeat to a Southampton team, who can’t beat anybody else, can be laughed off particularly when it is followed by a 2-0 win in the very next game, over a Bournemouth team who aren’t losing at present. Wait a minute! Isn’t that the topsy-turvy Arsenal of old?

Usually, when Arsenal lost a game in the past, particularly by an embarrassing scoreline, it signalled the end of any title challenge. This season they seem to be getting it more right than wrong.

To begin with, they had a good start to the campaign, apart from losing their first home game, which is becoming an annual occurrence.

At one stage, Arsenal were saving their worst form for the cup competitions. (more…)

Arsenal Scrape Past City

Posted: December 21, 2015 in Arsenal, Football, Manchester City, Opinion, Premier League
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If you were to believe the hype on Sky Sports, this was going to be the game of the century, as usual. The fact that a win for either team would not take them above Leicester City and would only really create a larger gap between the two was not something that was made much of.

Sky has become a mixture of Opta and Football Manager. Every clip is followed by in-depth statistics about how many games are lost when certain players are missing, how many shots there are per game, how many goals per minute. All fascinating stuff if you are Arsene Wenger or Manuel Pellegrini. I suspect the fans only really care about the next game, who is playing, who wins and who scores.

Tonight’s game was variously described as a “title decider”, “title eliminator” and a “winner-takes-all match. All the usual hyperbole that goes along with Sky trying to make sure that the maximum number of viewers tune in to watch it. They would be better served reducing their prices now that people have to pay BT Sport to watch the Champion’s League. They may find more people prepared to subscribe by being magnanimous in their pricing rather than munificent in their match descriptions! (more…)

Arsenal’s Waiting Game

Posted: December 16, 2015 in Arsenal, Football, Opinion, Premier League
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Arsenal sit near the top of the Premier League waiting. Waiting for other teams. Waiting and watching to see if the other teams will do something positive or negative, or will things stay as they are until the end of the season?

The first thing that they need to happen is for Leicester City to start flagging. To sell a player or two in January, and pick up an injury or two anytime. The fact that Leicester don’t have a big squad full of quality players could be their undoing. If it is, Arsenal are ready and waiting.

Another positive for Arsenal would be Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany remaining injured. That isn’t going to happen as they are both nearing fitness, but that is a state of affairs which is usually very temporary. It would also appear that City will have more Champions League games to manoeuvre as they should expect to beat Dynamo Kyiv. Arsenal will surely be free of any European hindrances after two games against Barcelona.

So, from these two clubs who would be seen as direct competitors, Arsenal are looking for some failings and, in the case of Leicester, a loss of form. City just need to carry on being inconsistent. If they do, Arsenal are waiting. (more…)

Arsenal & Chelsea Get The Job Done

Posted: December 9, 2015 in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Champions League, Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Opinion
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Jose Mourinho didn’t need to win this game. He didn’t even need to draw this game. He can be eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage, knocked out of the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge by the Wheeltappers and Shunters social club second eleven, and be relegated to the Championship and it won’t bother him a jot. Why? Because he has what nobody else in Britain has had since Lord Ferg retired. He has job security!

He knows Roman Abramovich so well that he knows the innermost thoughts of the Chelsea owner without being told what they are.

Convinced as he is that he has a job for life that still didn’t stop him urging, cajoling and pushing his team hard for the victory which keeps him in the competition if not important in keeping him in a job.

Chelsea were not their last-season-excellent selves, they were just efficient and did a good job when that was what was required. A 2-0 win sees them stagger into the knockout stage where they will lose to either Benfica, PSG or Juventus. (more…)

Arsenal & Chelsea Win

Posted: November 24, 2015 in Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Opinion
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Before the game against Zagreb, Arsene Wenger was reported as having talked up the Europa League, saying it was a respectable competition which should be taken seriously. This opinion smacks of the pessimist preparing for his team’s imminent participation in a competition Arsenal would surely stand far more chance of winning than the Champion’s League.

Before the game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Jose Mourinho was talking about finishing in the top four and winning the Champion’s League. This opinion smacks of the optimist who, through nothing more than blind faith and an inordinate amount of confidence in his own ability, expects his team to succeed even after a very poor start to the season. (more…)

Arsene Wenger’s Frustrating Game

Posted: November 16, 2015 in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Football, Managers, Opinion, Premier League
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(Arsene Wenger’s reaction upon hearing the news that Sir Alex Ferguson is to retire as manager of Manchester United)

Arsene Wenger’s attempt to achieve godlike status with Arsenal is faltering due to his failure to compete in the Champions League and Premier League for the last few seasons. By compete, what I mean is still be in with a realistic chance of winning both competitions in March.

Having brought in some excellent young French players in the early years, the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Emmanuel Petit and Sylvain Wiltord spring to mind, he has recently had to resort to spending big on famous names, with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez coming to the Emirates. Oh, I nearly forgot, and Danny Welbeck.

You get the impression that this isn’t the Arsene way. He doesn’t like to spend £40 or £50 million and only get one player, he used to expect four or five or even more for that kind of outlay. (more…)

Manchester (United Or City), Versus London (Chelsea Or Arsenal)

Posted: September 19, 2015 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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Oliver Charles T Holt has a theory. It isn’t a theory I agree with, but it is a theory.

For those of you who don’t know him, Oliver Holt is a football writer for the Mail on Sunday. He is the son of Eileen Darbyshire who, for fans of Coronation Street, needs no introduction. He is also a Stockport County supporter, which is fair enough, as he is from Stockport.

Now to his theory. I have heard it a couple of times on The Sunday Supplement, Sky Sports’ programme for ageing writers to pretend they know something about football and, what is even worse, to display their lack of knowledge to two, or even three, hundred viewers.

Hosted by Neil Ashton, another writer from the Mail, the “show” is an interesting concept but, unlike it’s counterpart in cricket which is hosted by an ex-professional cricket player and attended by journalists who also played the game professionally, this one is strictly for amateurs, and it shows. (more…)

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