Which of these five players would you like to bring back to Arsenal?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, History, Transfers, Video26 Comments

When people talk about Arsenal at the moment, it is always regarding the future. How will the current team progress in the next couple of years? When will Arsenal be ready to challenge for the title again?

As much as I am not fed up with this talk (because it highlights the huge amount of potential this team has), I thought it would make a change to take a look at the past instead. Let’s take a look at five players from the past and decide which one we would like back.

One thing to remember for this is that these players would be coming back to Arsenal at their peak. Not as they are now – at their best. It is an exercise in which the current crop could do with some help more than anything. Without further to do, what are the five choices?

David Seaman
Some argue that Seaman has never been replaced. He made 566 appearances between 1990 and 2003 and is a true Arsenal legend. Would his ability to lead from the back be valuable in the current team?

Dennis Bergkamp
Quite simply, Bergkamp is one of the best players to have ever played for the club. His vision, his passing, his finishing – the man had everything. Imagine him amongst the attacking threat Arsenal already possess!

Thierry Henry
The first of our five that is still playing now and arguably for the best team in Europe. Henry is another player that will be spoken about in many years to come. His pace, his skill, his influence over his team mates. The man was immense.

Tony Adams
On a number of occasions this season, people have criticised Arsenal’s defence. They have lacked leadership and authority at the back according to some. How about a certain player who made over 650 appearances for the club to steady the ship?

Ian Wright
Wrighty was one of the best goal scorers the club has ever seen. He notched 185 goals during his time at the club and was a firm fans’ favourite. Would you like to see him alongside Adebayor or van Persie?

So there you have it – over to you now. Each of these players would make valuable contributions in the current team, but which would you like to see back the most?

Personally, I find it hard to look past Mr Bergkamp.

By Thomas Rooney

Time to review Carling Cup strategy following FA Cup defeat

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Carling Cup, FA Cup8 Comments

This is a guest post by Vertino of Gunners Today

It might sound strange to mention this now but it is high time we considered this. Last weekend we lost to Chelsea again in a big cup match. Of course most of the blame was shared between the curious case of Wenger’s team selection and Fabianski’s moments of utter madness but that is not up for debate this time round.

Image courtesy of wjarrettc

From next season I believe Arsene should scrap the policy of fielding an entirely youthful side in the Carling Cup. My excitement on discovering the Arsenal youngsters is tinged with disappointment; a realisation that most of these players for many reasons won’t make it at the Emirates. Cesc is the only player in recent years who has made the transition successfully. In that time we have seen the likes of Quincy, Lupoli, Larsson exit the red half of North London.

Does that mean youngsters shouldn’t get the opportunities? Of course not! For me the only youngsters I want to be seeing are those with outstanding talent and/or with the right mental attributes such as determination and composure. Gibbs is a perfect example of the latter specified criteria.

I am looking at it in terms of percentages, and my suggestion would be to field a lower number of youngsters. Perhaps Arsene could involve only 5-7 youngsters in the entire match squad. Or he could filter the numbers as the stakes increase, so start with 7 youngsters in the 4th round, 6 in the next round etc etc.

If you play the best of the best youth it means the rest of the team is fairly experienced. This playing environment fosters a quicker growth for youngsters. This is exactly why Cesc has gone on to become such a pivotal player for the Gunners because he was able to play and learn with the likes of Vieira and Gilberto. Just imagine how much Wilshere and Ramsey can learn if they play with experienced players all the time.

Remember the best players i.e. Gerrard, Scholes, Carrick, etc had a lot of experience surrounding them when they were young. This is a privilege Denilson, Diaby and Song no longer have. It forces them to learn by themselves, slowing their development a great deal and sometimes exposes them in big matches against more experienced players.

I seriously hope Wenger considers this for next season as his current strategy has yet to pay off in terms of competitions won. In Arsene we trust, but we can question his decisions sometimes, can’t we?

By Vertino

Liverpool 4 – 4 Arsenal Highlights from a mental night at Anfield

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Highlights, Video12 Comments

Liverpool 4 – 4 Arsenal: Arshavin 35, Torres 48, Benayoun 55, Arshavin 66, Arshavin 69, Torres 71, Arshavin 89, Benayoun 92. Highlights thanks to the Arsenalist.

Image courtesy of wonker

A scorcher of a game at Anfield produced eight goals, and four came from none other than Andrey Arshavin.The game was nearly ours when Arshavin scored his 4th in the 89th minute. Anfield must have been thinking it was 1989 all over again, but Benayoun grabbed a point for Liverpool in injury time.

Arsenal defended abysmally, and because of that we conceded easily – the left side got mauled – Liverpool were pounding away at us and we found it hard to pass the ball. Gibbs and Silvestre looked weak at times and that is to be expected, and Sagna was at fault for Liverpool’s first equaliser.

On the other hand we were clinical in attack – 4 shots on target and 4 goals.

Arshavin took his first goal, slotting in a Fabregas cross in the first half, after Nasri played him through. Benayoun then equalised early in the second half after Sagna cleared the ball across his own penalty area to Kuyt.

Torres made it 2 – 1 and it seemed that the game was lost! However, Arshavin then capitalised on slack Liverpool defending to make it 2-2, and then made it 3-2!

Torres made it three all after fooling Silvestre to gain more space. But in the 89th minute Walcott countered from a corner as Liverpool committed men forward. He took the ball forward and played Arshavin through on goal and he coolly took his 4th, making it 4-3.

When Arshavin made it 4-3 on the 89th minute I thought the game was ours, 1989 style. Up for Grabs now moment, Kenny Dalglish vacant stare moment. It wasn’t to be. I don’t know how the 4th assistant found 5 minutes added time, but it was inevitable the way Liverpool were pressing our shaky defence that they would get another goal.

Benayoun headed home after shambolic clearing from Arsenal allowed Liverpool to get a cross in injury time.

In any case it was a great game, highly entertaining, although I was disappointed that we never really got going. Arshavin more than made up for it with his performance – he really is a very, very special player.

This keeps the unbeaten run going. Wenger said that 3 points would have been better than one but in all fairness we were very lucky to come away with a point. It was the induvidual brilliance of Arshavin that got us the point.

The first time that 4 goals have been scored at Anfield in the league since the 1940s and who else could do it? What a rollercoaster of a game! How I’m wishing that Arshavin could play in the Champions League.

Get the Arshavin Wallpaper here

Watch all of Arshavin’s goals at Zenit here.

Arsenal can still show what they’re made of against Liverpool

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, History, Injuries2 Comments

We face Liverpool at Anfield tonight, 20 seasons on from the momentous 2-0 win in 1989 and the situation is rather different. Wenger spoke about the game tonight:

“I feel it is always better to win your big games because it makes you stronger for the next one.

“So we will have nothing to do with ‘favourising’ Liverpool or Manchester United because we want to win.

“It’s a big game and we just want to win it.”

After the Chelsea semi I didn’t feel like posting, the result was awful and it felt pretty bad. Luckily we have this game today to get that defeat out of the players minds. Unfortunately it won’t be easy. We still have a rather large injury list – RVP and Ade are both out, and defensively we are missing Almunia, Gallas and Clichy.

Liverpool are just one point behind leaders Man Utd and need to win every game to have a chance of winning the title. We really can decide who finishes where as we play all three contenders in the next few weeks.

As long as we secure 4th place and try our best for any higher then I will be pleased with the league performance. We really must try to win tonight.

“We have not secured fourth place and we can still be third…Wednesday night is Chelsea v Everton and you never know, if Chelsea drop points and we play Chelsea at home we can come back on third.

“We just have to accept what happened on Saturday, to deal with it and not repeat it…We have many big games coming up and we feel we can win them.

“Winning is what we live for. We cannot be happy with only trying to remain fourth.

“We want to get closer to the top and have a good opportunity to come back to six points on Liverpool this evening.

“Third place is important, second place is important and why not first? You never know.

“You do not want to have regrets. We want to win every single game, no matter what competition we play in.

“Of course we are disappointed having lost in the Semi-Finals of the FA Cup, but we want to bounce back quickly.”

That is exactly what we need, a result that will put the team back on the right track. I’m really hoping for a good result, the games at Anfield are always classic so tonight shouldn’t disappoint.

Also check out this article on Five Live’s Alan Green (closet Liverpool fan), it makes a good read.

Highlights and match report after the game!

Arsenal – Chelsea: FA Cup semi at the new Wembley

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, FA Cup, Injuries1 Comment

Injuries have defined Arsenal’s season, today’s game at Wembley sees us with a defensive line-up which is scraping the bottom of the barrel. The likely players are Silvestre, Song, Toure, Eboue, with Fabianski in goal. This in itself isn’t awful – all are good defenders – and Silvestre, Toure and Eboue have a combined wealth of experience. Sagna may recover for the game – but at the time of writing he is still ill, while Gibbs hurt his hamstring against Villarreal, in any case the back line will not be full strength.

The problem for me is that this season none of the above are first choice, excepting Toure (and even he has been dropped at times this season). Instability in selection breeds problems and the biggest challenge we face against Chelsea is going to be at the back.

Arsenal Chelsea Carling Cup Final 2007: Image courtesy of Free-ers

I am quietly confident about the game though, Chelsea have been leaking goals recently – in their last 2 games they have conceded 7 – and we are scoring freely at the moment with Arshavin, Walcott, Van Persie and Adebayor all in form. We can outplay them if we fight like we showed against Villarreal.

If, however, Arsenal don’t impose themselves on the game we may see another performance like the first half at Wigan. We need score and take the game to Chelsea.

Personally this will be my first visit to the new Wembley and it will be exciting to see Arsenal play in a national stadium again. Wenger has his concerns about the quality of the playing surface, it is rumoured that it isn’t up to scratch – but at least we are playing first – Man Utd face Everton on Sunday at Wembley giving the pitch just 24 hrs to recover.

To be a successful club you have to beat the best, I’m desparate to see Arsenal prove themselves this season. So much criticism has been levelled at Arsene Wenger and the players, a trophy is the only way to show that we are still a force, winning this game will take us a step closer to that end.

Under Guus Hiddink Chelsea have transformed and they will be threatening – I’m worried about Lampard’s goals from midfield – we are going to have to be on top form to get the right result.

Arsenal 3 – 0 Villarreal (4 – 1 agg.) Through to the semis!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Highlights, Video1 Comment

Arsenal 3 – 0 Villarreal: Walcott 10, Adebayor 60, Van Persie 69 pen. Highlights from Arsenalist.com

I’ve just returned from a glorious Arsenal win against Villarreal. Three goals, and it could have been a lot more the way we were playing!

Image courtesy of wonker

Walcott’s goal after 10 minutes was sublime, a Cesc backheel fooled the defence and Walcott lobbed the onrushing Lopez. I thought it was going out until I saw the back of the net ripple.

Wenger on Walcott:

“We know he can finish but now he is transferring that to the games. His level of confidence has gone up”

The game progressed well and we passed it around nicely. Defensively Toure and Silvestre looked solid in the centre. Gibbs looked alright, although he wasn’t seriously tested, and Eboue did well. In midfield Song was solid, as were the attacking Fabregas, Nasri and Walcott.

We were first to every ball and RVP was back to his best, battling to win the ball and laying it off for Adebayor – his amazing pass set Ade up for his 9th CL goal in as many games.

The final goal was from a penalty, which at the time I thought looked like a foul on Walcott, but seeing the TV replays it seems there wasn’t contact – Theo tripped on the ball. In any case the goal was deserved, and Van Persie put it away – Adebayor and Eboue got him to do their little dance cameo in celebration.

The atmosphere was very good, and it was nice to hear Robert Pires get a standing ovation several times during the match, and at the end of the game, this was his goodbye to the Arsenal fans.

We now face Man Utd in the Semi’s after their 1-0 win over Porto in Portugal from Ronaldo’s 40 yard strike. Wenger commented:

“I would not like speculate on any weakness of Man United. They will be strong on the day, but it should encourage us to be at our best”

It’s going to be an interesting run in – we now face Chelsea twice and Man Utd at least three times in League and Cup competitions combined. Our form is excellent – but this is a huge challenge for the Arsenal team. Their chance to prove themselves is now.

Arsenal – Villarreal: Our best chance since 2006

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League7 Comments

Arsenal – Villarreal. Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg (1-1). Ashburton Grove. 19:45pm

We play Villarreal tonight in what is arguably the most important trophy this season. After the poor start to the season we have created something out of the ashes – we still may end up with nothing, but a win over Villarreal tonight will put us through to a semi final against Man Utd or Porto.

Wenger has been talking about the mental strength of the side all year and tonight we have to prove it. In defence we are missing Clichy, Gallas, Djourou and Almunia, we looked weak in the first half against Wigan – but we will be up for the game tonight no doubt. Villarreal have also lost players to injury – Senna and Santi Cazorla, and wingers Cani and Mati Fernandez are possibly out too.

This team likes the big occasions the most and tonight Villarreal have to score – so the game will be open – another positive for Arsenal.

Wenger’s Pre-match interview|Comment

Adebayor commented:

“We did everything last season to achieve things and for me it is a little bit of luck in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Liverpool last season that knocked us out,”

“This season we have the chance to do it and just have to take our chances.

“If you want to be a big club, of course you have to win things, which is normal.”

This is a knock-out competition so we have to take our chances, we have the advantage, but it will be hard work. I’m going to be very disappointed if we don’t make it through. We aren’t the strongest contentders for the CL this year, but we do have an outside chance.

We are currently unbeaten in 23 CL matches at home and have kept clean sheets in our last 4 CL home games, but of course form means nothing tonight.

I’m leaving for the Grove in a few hours, if you’re going tonight then get behind the team!

Villarreal First Leg Report & Highlights

Arsene tells the truth about this season

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Injuries, Transfers7 Comments

Arsene Wenger gave a very honest interview to L’Equipe (translated by News of the World) before the Wigan game where he really goes into detail about Arsenal’s inconsistencies early this season and how he feels about it.

“I did make a mistake in perhaps underestimating the harmful effects of last season, especially the loss of the title. I asked myself a lot of questions during the close season about the influence losing the title in the last two months might cause.”

I really felt that the way we lost the title last season was very hard on the players – to think that even after our awful run we were still only 4 points off the top shows how close we were to glory. The fact that players like Hleb and Flamini left also didn’t help in the short term.

Wenger went through his hardest time as Arsenal manager at Christmas, and there were some people calling for his dismissal. A lot of players got slated as well as his transfer policy. He admits that the present is a different story:

“The barometer is confidence and when that seizes up . . . now we are unbeaten for 18 Premier League matches and that leaves with me with a lot of regrets.”

“And I remained faithful to my policy when everyone told me I was heading straight for a brick wall. People reproach me for not having bought Gareth Barry or Xavi Alonso.

“But I am a prisoner of my own policy. Buying Barry or Alonso is killing Alexandre Song, Abou Diaby and Denilson.”

“You can’t do a public job in a big club, not win matches and say they are all imbeciles.”

“The fact that we are remarkably consistent shows we have quality. That is no coincidence.”

This is all very true – but I think he learnt a little more about Arsenal through the hardship. The sigining of Arshavin has made a huge difference, as well as the return from injury of players such as Walcott, Fabregas, Adebayor. Denilson and Song have come on leaps and bounds this season – Song’s performance and goal against Wigan yesterday underlines this fact.

The team is playing as a unit and has been through a lot over the last two years – the experience will only make them stronger and if Wenger keeps them together this youthful team will be one of the best he has produced.

Interviews with Theo Walcott and the Arshavins

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Interviews, Transfers1 Comment

There are several interesting interviews in the press at the moment, Theo Walcott talks to both the Mail and the Guardian. In addition both Andrey Arshavin and Yulia Arshavin have been giving their impressions on settling in London, as well as Andrey’s relationship with Guus Hiddink.

In the Walcott interview with Daily Mail they go into a lot of detail. Firstly how Theo took Henry’s number 14 shirt without realising it – Nasri had already taken the number 8, and he wanted a lower number:

“I asked Vic what the options were. And he said I could have 23, 19 or 14. Without thinking I said I’d take the 14, because it was the lowest.”

How much he respected Thierry:

“Thierry was great with me and my family. He’d offer me advice, take an interest, but he’d also speak to my dad a lot as well. He was a real captain in that way, giving his time to the young lads coming through.”

The shoulder problem:

“The problem with my shoulders was something I inherited from my dad,’ he says. ‘The left one would pop out and then pop back in — absolute agony — during almost every game last season, so I had surgery to put it right last summer.”

“But in Berlin Scott Parker gave me a bit of a nudge, I slipped on the wet ground and the right one went. It popped out and popped back in like the left one always did. So I kept going. We were playing Germany the next day and I wanted to be involved.”

“Then, though, I went up for this ball and when I was spinning in the air the shoulder dislocated again. And this time it stayed out. The pain was unbelievable.”

He is now stronger and faster than ever – and his goal against Wigan should bring back some shooting confidence which Theo lacks at times.

Theo also gave an interview to the Guardian, where he comments on what it was like coming to Arsenal and his run at Anfield in the Champions League last year.

Andrey Arshavin was interviewed by the Telegraph. He talked about the upcoming games against Chelsea and his relationship with their manager Guus Hiddink:

“Hiddink gave me a lot in my life, not just in my football life,”

“If he had not taken over the Russian team I would not be here in England. He made us all believe we were strong, he gave us so much. I respect him and I wish him good luck – except in two games, the FA Cup and in the championship.”

This shows the professional side to Arshavin, he respects Hiddink – but when we play Chelsea his only ambition is to win, and I believe him.

On settling in England:

“Now I’m in a hotel. Next week I will move. I have to settle. Everything is difficult. For example, to get an agreement to rent a house. Everybody is speaking and telling me things but afterwards, when I see it on paper, it is not what I heard.

“I think the quality of life, especially for people with money, is better in Russia than here. Here there are lots of rules and laws. In Russia, if you have money, you can break the law.” 

“I’m happy to be here in English football – it is the best league in the world, I am happy with my professional life but I am unhappy in everyday life, it is very difficult for me. I don’t understand why people do things, or say things, it is a little bit strange. I am alone for the first time in my life, I never left St Petersburg before.”

We also hear Yulia Arshavin’s views on settling in England. Including denial of the negative comments she allegdly made about London:

“To get started, I actually did not speak anything bad about London. Moreover I liked the city especially after the Russian-speaking tour guide took us round”

She likes the match-day hospitality at Ashburton Grove and she enjoys the atmosphere:

“When Andrey takes the ball the whole stadium is already buzzing. There is a simultaneous cry and you feel a total emotional wave”

So the Arshavins are happy at Arsenal, although England is obviously a bit strange for them – they have always lived in St. Petersburg. I’m sure that they will be more settled. As long as Arshavin keeps playing the way he is at the moment I’m sure he will stay happy!

Wigan 1 – 4 Arsenal Highlights, Arshavin’s Magic!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Highlights, Injuries2 Comments

Wigan Ath 1 – 4 Arsenal: Mido 18, Walcott 61, Silvestre 71, Arshavin 90, Song 90. Highlights at Arsenalist.com.

Arsenal came back from a goal down against Wigan to claim all three points in front of 22000 at the JJB Stadium.

Image courtesy of Paul Holloway

Mido’s early goal gave Wigan the lead, but Walcott equalised after 60 minutes, thanks to Arshavin’s skill in the box. Then Arshavin played a through ball to Fabregas who set up Silvestre to score on the edge of the 6 yard line. 2-1!

Arsenal countered for their 3rd goal – Arshavin picking up a poor clearance on the edge of the box to slot home, and Alex Song of all people dribbled past two Wigan players and into the box before shooting to make it four!

A fantastic result for us – just a pity that Man Utd and Chelsea both scraped wins against Sunderland and Bolton.

Injury Worries

We also lost Djourou to injury which worries me. We are already suffering after losing Gallas and Clichy. Today we ended up with Gibbs and Silvestre playing in defence – as long as we keep winning it isn’t a problem – but defensive instability was the reason we leaked so many goals earlier this season.

Champions League Qualification

Wenger said before the game that the league was the priority for the future, the Champions League and the FA Cup the immediate priority. This victory took us a step closer to Champions League qualification, as well as keeping us on the tails of the top three.

We will miss Arshavin on Wednesday, he showed today how much he has brought to the team, he creates chances and scores goals – but he can still help us in the league and the FA Cup.

Oh and also, Happy St. Totteringham’s Day to you all; Spurs can no longer finish above us in the League, haha.

Arsespeak Man of the Match: Andrey Arshavin

Lineup: Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Djourou (Silvestre 35), Gibbs, Walcott (Adebayor 68), Denilson (Van Persie 63), Song , Arshavin, Fabregas, Bendtner.