Arsenal-Related News & Developments - 2014/2015 Season

[anikulapo]

Cheiii Chuba cant even finish the first half as he takes a shot in the mid section and has to be subbed.

Hope this boy no be Aje-butter oh gotta be tougher than that son this is a mans game.

Are you Ozil in disguise?

[kajifu]

ESPN is reporting that Arsenal is close to finalizing a deal for 16 yr old Argentine striker Maximilano Romero. 6 million Euros being mentioned which has got to be an Arsenal record for a non-English teenager. He will remain at Velez Sarsfield for 2 years as part of the deal.
I have never heard of him....he better be the new Messi for all that quid

Well he better be the next Messi but again if he is that good we should be playing him next year.Messi at 17 he started playing here and there.We should go for him befor haters hijack the deal

[kajifu]

Thank you God for allowing City open yash on Easter monday.
Please Father next week should be Chelsea turn oooh.
Thanks for understanding your sincere
Kajifu.

[Waffiman]

Thank you God for allowing City open yash on Easter monday.
Please Father next week should be Chelsea turn oooh.
Thanks for understanding your sincere
Kajifu.

[anikulapo]

So Kondogbia is only 22? Haba Arsene make.it happen this summer please biko ... Liverpool allegedly in the.running to.make a bid

[kajifu]

Thank you God for allowing City open yash on Easter monday.
Please Father next week should be Chelsea turn oooh.
Thanks for understanding your sincere
Kajifu.

No laugh na beg are dey beg God to allow us put Chelsea under pressure befor they enter emirate.

[kajifu]

So Kondogbia is only 22? Haba Arsene make.it happen this summer please biko ... Liverpool allegedly in the.running to.make a bid

He will cost alot oooh.Wenger will sign a guy will dont know.

[Waffiman]

So Kondogbia is only 22? Haba Arsene make.it happen this summer please biko ... Liverpool allegedly in the.running to.make a bid

Wenger has tried to sign the player many a time. He refused us for Monaco's big money when he left Sevilla. I remain confident, Wenger will eventually get one of Pogba, Matuidi or Kondobia.

[Waffiman]

Arsenal have scored 20 goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season; more than any other side.

[anikulapo]

So Kondogbia is only 22? Haba Arsene make.it happen this summer please biko ... Liverpool allegedly in the.running to.make a bid

Wenger has tried to sign the player many a time. He refused us for Monaco's big money when he left Sevilla. I remain confident, Wenger will eventually get one of Pogba, Matuidi or Kondobia.

Pogba is a 50-60 million player which we no fit pay or rather should not .....Kondogbia is our most realistic hope and fills a major need

[blaccat]

So Kondogbia is only 22? Haba Arsene make.it happen this summer please biko ... Liverpool allegedly in the.running to.make a bid

Wenger has tried to sign the player many a time. He refused us for Monaco's big money when he left Sevilla. I remain confident, Wenger will eventually get one of Pogba, Matuidi or Kondobia.

Pogba is a 50-60 million player which we no fit pay or rather should not .....Kondogbia is our most realistic hope and fills a major need

The way I see it, we have more bargaining power than most interested teams, unless they are will to give up 70/80m. IF we get Pogba it will be due to the players we can offer along with about 40/50m.

I do not see Juve spending much of what they get for Pogba on players, they will be creaming at the prospect of a cash and swap deal.

Potential Swaps
Szczesny
Gnabry (Season loan)
Podolski
Maybe Theo?

Szcz and Poldi will do for me, we replace Szcz or not we got Martinez and Poldi has been replaced already.

I am still not entirely certain that Ospina is our ideal replacement for Szcz though. At least he can do a decent job.

[Waffiman]

An outstanding piece from my favourite Blogger.

http://goonersphere.com/columnists/colu ... ou-believe

WENGER DOESN'T DO TACTICS OR SO HE'D HAVE YOU BELIEVE
Written by Tim Stillman on 06 April 2015. Posted in Stillmansphere

“A lie, repeated often enough, becomes the truth.” So said one time Nobel Peace prize nominee and all round cuddly guy Josef Stalin. Over the last 9 years or so, the most levied charge against Arsene Wenger is that he doesn’t “do” tactics. Arsène’s doctrine is one of faith in his players and his unshakeable belief that they can pass any team to death and need not concern themselves with such frivolities as “defending.”

Beneath the hyperbole (you may have guessed that it has been deployed here to service the central point of my article), there is some strain of truth here. Wenger, as everybody knows, likes for his players to be intuitive and figure out in game situations for themselves. He can rarely be seen striding the touchline, yelling instructions to his players via indecipherable hand gestures. His record tells you that it’s a successful strategy most of the time.

Kolo Toure spins a nice yarn about Wenger’s first instruction to him upon making his full Arsenal debut. Arsenal trailed Chelsea by a goal to nil at Stamford Bridge when Edu took a whack to the ankle and had to be substituted. Toure was called for from the bench and instructed to remove his tracksuit. He looked to his benevolent leader for guidance. This was a big game, Arsenal were losing and Toure had never played a game approaching this magnitude. Wenger uttered just two guiding words to Kolo. “Enjoy yourself.”

The Ivorian scored the equaliser and the Gunners escaped with a point. It’s a wonderful illustration of Arsène’s tenet but of course, it doesn’t always serve Arsenal well. (No ‘philosophy’ serves any team well in absolute perpetuity). In 2013-14 Arsenal made something of a leap forward by leading the league table for much of the season, even if they could not harness that momentum through the spring. But their record against direct competitors left a great deal to be desired. Bruising annihilations at the hands of Chelsea, Liverpool and to a lesser extent Manchester City left people questioning the manager’s ‘faith based’ approach. In the new competitive landscape of the Premier League, a more scientific arrangement was required against bigger sides.

Of course, the idea that Wenger does not embrace the science of tactical rigour is untrue. Whilst nobody should try to paint the Frenchman as a clipboard wielding disciple of the Benitez / Mourinho college, there is a body of evidence that he is more than a mere romantic. Obvious examples such as his approach to the 2005 F.A. Cup Final and the 2006 Champions League run point to pragmatism. Though you could argue that both of those examples were foisted upon him by happenstance (playing Flamini at left back wasn’t a ‘tactic’ so much as a symptom of a burgeoning injury crisis). But there are other, more subtle examples that invite exploration.

In the middle of the 2008-09 season, Arsenal trailed Aston Villa in the steeple chase for 4th place and Cesc Fabregas tore his knee ligaments. Wenger responded with a cautious approach, with Denilson and Alex Song twinned ahead of the defence. It took some adjusting to as Arsenal drew 0-0 in four consecutive matches in January and February. In the first 19 games of that season, Arsenal shipped 23 goals, they conceded 14 after Fabregas’ injury. 8 of those 14 goals were conceded in consecutive matches against Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at the Emirates. Champions League and F.A. Cup semi-final exits hurt the team’s confidence and Villa’s challenge had died off. It was enough to comfortably secure 4th place.

Two seasons ago, we saw something similar. A chastening North London derby defeat in March 2013 saw Arsenal trail their neighbours by seven points with ten matches remaining. Wenger dropped Thomas Vermaelen, the captain, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. He abandoned the high line that Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale had so gleefully cut to ribbons. With a more stand offish approach, Arsenal conceded only 5 goals in their remaining ten league games, which was once again, enough to secure a top 4 berth. Generally speaking, however, it is easier to reorganise a team defensively in emergency situations. Tony Pulis is something of a specialist in this regard.

This weekend, Wenger made an attacking tactical switch designed to prey on a weakness in the Liverpool defence. Aaron Ramsey was surprisingly selected on the right of the front 3, with Özil retained in a central position. Wenger knew that Liverpool like to play the ball out from the back and without Martin Skrtel, both of his likely replacements, Kolo Toure and Dejan Lovren, struggle in this regard. Mamadou Sakho is also not the most graceful of players on the ball. If your aim is to harry a back 3 in possession, Theo Walcott and Mesut Özil are not the best players to enact this approach.

Ramsey’s high energy style was much more suited, alongside Alexis and Giroud, to disrupt Liverpool’s centre halves (and their goalkeeper). Kolo Toure turned the ball over 8 times in total. Arsenal’s tactic worked. Yet, little has been said about this by mainstream media outlets. Crucially, the manager himself has not mentioned it either. Compare and contrast with Brendan Rodgers’ minute dissection of his tactical tinkering in their recent win over Swansea. This, I think, is important in terms of perception. Wenger does ‘do’ tactics. Maybe not to the extent that other top managers do, but he just does not talk about it.

I’ve spoken to journalists who suggest that to try to ask Wenger a tactical question in a press conference is akin to drawing blood from a stone. Earlier in the season, when asked by Jeremy Wilson what was behind the shift to a 4-1-4-1 formation, the Arsenal boss hinted that it was a direct response to last season’s hammerings at the hands of direct competitors. When pressed further, he clammed up. Results against the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool suggest his analysis of last season’s failings has been meticulous.

Back in January, I argued that Wenger adopted the same approach in away matches against Chelsea and Manchester City this season. At Chelsea, small details went against Arsenal and it proved unsuccessful, at City, the marginals worked in Arsenal’s favour and it bore fruit. Again, there has been very little discussion about this in mainstream outlets. I am left with the impression that tactical shifts made by managers such as Mourinho, Rodgers and Benitez are pored over at greater length.

I believe this to be a symptom of their image as ‘studious’ tactical managers and I also believe that all three of the aforementioned are a good deal keener to talk about their approach than Wenger. So why is Arsene so circumspect about discussing his own machinations? It could be grounded in plain humility and as an Arsenal fan and Arsene admirer, I would certainly like to believe that. But there are probably more practical reasons. He probably feels that the perception of him as tactical anarchist works in his favour. He probably just likes to keep his cards close to his chest.

But I think the main reason reveals itself when one considers the reaction of the recent win at Manchester City. The Mirror and the Telegraph reported that the players were responsible for the more conservative setup at the Etihad. If you examine Wenger’s quotes, he doesn’t really say that at all and, as I argued earlier, Arsenal played in exactly the same manner three months earlier at Stamford Bridge. Tellingly, Wenger made no attempt to correct the reportage of those quotes. In fact, he probably encouraged them.

For this is the root of Wenger’s raison d’être. He wants the players to be the focal point for all positive attention. He likes his teams to be intuitive, but even when he takes a tighter rein, he likes for his players to believe that their intuition was at the root of the success. It’s a confidence trick of sorts. Managers such as Rodgers and Mourinho play confidence tricks, but in a slightly different way. They try to build an aura based on cult of personality. They want their players to believe totally in their genius, which is a reasonable approach that many managers and leaders have adopted with great success. Wenger, on the other hand, wants his players to believe totally in their own genius. So he’s probably quite happy for his tactical success stories to remain untold.

[kajifu]

Waffi reading this line below,i ask my self why is Wenger only doing this when the chase for 4th place is in danger?
Two seasons ago, we saw something similar. A chastening North London derby defeat in March 2013 saw Arsenal trail their neighbours by seven points with ten matches remaining. Wenger dropped Thomas Vermaelen, the captain, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. He abandoned the high line that Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale had so gleefully cut to ribbons. With a more stand offish approach, Arsenal conceded only 5 goals in their remaining ten league games, which was once again, enough to secure a top 4 berth. Generally speaking, however, it is easier to reorganise a team defensively in emergency situations. Tony Pulis is something of a specialist in this regard.

[Coach]

The Gospel of St.Blogger. May will hold court, at the end of the season, if there is no more to show for all the wizardry and worldly appointments than an FA Cup, acquired last season in the absence of, t'is more an inertia than ascension. The title must remain the aim and failure to equal that aim must remain that which it is, a failure! There are bloggers echoing such sentiment and orators too, Manu Petit, Lee Dixon, Thierry Henry and other rabble rousing demagogues. All of whom once stirred the ship to mutiny might one add.

[anikulapo]

Still cannot wrap my head around why we loaned out The Postman and.got rid of Afobe after all the time and.money.spent in.his.development ...smh

[Waffiman]

Still cannot wrap my head around why we loaned out The Postman and.got rid of Afobe after all the time and.money.spent in.his.development ...smh

Benik needed to play after his injury issues. If he makes the grade, he will return. He is a Gooner and has not given up playing for the club. It is what drives him to succeed. I see him returning one day.

[Waffiman]

So we are now 2nd and if we win all out games we finish 2nd, so long as Chelski do not slip up. Well, I am looking forward to the rest 7 games. I know to is not over, nothing is ever over in this league until the fat lady sings.

Gooners, lets seat back and enjoy the ride. I feel good about this race to the line.

[Skylolo]

So we are now 2nd and if we win all out games we finish 2nd, so long as Chelski do not slip up. Well, I am looking forward to the rest 7 games. I know to is not over, nothing is ever over in this league until the fat lady sings.

Gooners, lets seat back and enjoy the ride. I feel good about this race to the line.

Waffi infact I could not be happier...Look at the improvement we have seen from the team this season? What is it now 7 straight wins?? Look at where we are in the table...

Look at the impact of the new players we signed Sanchez, Welbz, Debuchy, Ospina, Chambers.

Look how Wenger managed to find a system that suits our two midfield magicians Cazorla and Ozil and results since then.

Look at the development of the young players and what it means for the long term..Ox, Belle, Chambers, Coq etc etc.

How much Olivier Giroud & Monreal have improved to the point where they are arguably our best players

Look at what we have in reserve Walcott, Arteta, Gnabry, Debuchy, Diaby, Wilshere etc etc See squad

Progress with regards to injury prevention, it seems the German physio is doing his thing

Better Performances and results in the big games. (still can't wait to beat Chelsea though...)

And there is some money in the Bank....with no FFP worries..

Is this not a lesson in Football Management 101?? And some moaners continue to doubt the one and only Arsene Wenger....a man who has built more that 1 Championship winning Arsenal team. And was always capable of doing it once the funds were made available....

We are here to stay! That is such a good feeling.....we must pursue Chelsea as hard as we can until the end but next season will likely be when it all comes together for Arsenal IMHO.

[anikulapo]

So we are now 2nd and if we win all out games we finish 2nd, so long as Chelski do not slip up. Well, I am looking forward to the rest 7 games. I know to is not over, nothing is ever over in this league until the fat lady sings.

Gooners, lets seat back and enjoy the ride. I feel good about this race to the line.

Waffi infact I could not be happier...Look at the improvement we have seen from the team this season? What is it now 7 straight wins?? Look at where we are in the table...

Look at the impact of the new players we signed Sanchez, Welbz, Debuchy, Ospina, Chambers.

Look how Wenger managed to find a system that suits our two midfield magicians Cazorla and Ozil and results since then.

Look at the development of the young players and what it means for the long term..Ox, Belle, Chambers, Coq etc etc.

How much Olivier Giroud & Monreal have improved to the point where they are arguably our best players

Look at what we have in reserve Walcott, Arteta, Gnabry, Debuchy, Diaby, Wilshere etc etc See squad

Progress with regards to injury prevention, it seems the German physio is doing his thing

Better Performances and results in the big games. (still can't wait to beat Chelsea though...)

And there is some money in the Bank....with no FFP worries..

Is this not a lesson in Football Management 101?? And some moaners continue to doubt the one and only Arsene Wenger....a man who has built more that 1 Championship winning Arsenal team. And was always capable of doing it once the funds were made available....

We are here to stay! That is such a good feeling.....we must pursue Chelsea as hard as we can until the end but next season will likely be when it all comes together for Arsenal IMHO.

I noticed you mentioned everyone except Ramshyt wetin happen nah abi una Bakery don fold

[anikulapo]

Interesting article on Debuchy vs Bellerin ...

http://allarsenal.com/2015/04/news/debu ... -question/

[kajifu]

So we are now 2nd and if we win all out games we finish 2nd, so long as Chelski do not slip up. Well, I am looking forward to the rest 7 games. I know to is not over, nothing is ever over in this league until the fat lady sings.

Gooners, lets seat back and enjoy the ride. I feel good about this race to the line.

Waffi infact I could not be happier...Look at the improvement we have seen from the team this season? What is it now 7 straight wins?? Look at where we are in the table...

Look at the impact of the new players we signed Sanchez, Welbz, Debuchy, Ospina, Chambers.

Look how Wenger managed to find a system that suits our two midfield magicians Cazorla and Ozil and results since then.

Look at the development of the young players and what it means for the long term..Ox, Belle, Chambers, Coq etc etc.

How much Olivier Giroud & Monreal have improved to the point where they are arguably our best players

Look at what we have in reserve Walcott, Arteta, Gnabry, Debuchy, Diaby, Wilshere etc etc See squad

Progress with regards to injury prevention, it seems the German physio is doing his thing

Better Performances and results in the big games. (still can't wait to beat Chelsea though...)

And there is some money in the Bank....with no FFP worries..

Is this not a lesson in Football Management 101?? And some moaners continue to doubt the one and only Arsene Wenger....a man who has built more that 1 Championship winning Arsenal team. And was always capable of doing it once the funds were made available....

We are here to stay! That is such a good feeling.....we must pursue Chelsea as hard as we can until the end but next season will likely be when it all comes together for Arsenal IMHO.

Bros to be honest if Wenger does not win the FA cup and win all our seven games then the season to me is not better than last season.
Why did Wenger wait till January to fix this problem that was there since summer?
Last year we fans was saying this is our year but it looks like we have push it to next year.
The pain in me i will prefer spurs win the league than that clown call Jose.How can Fabregas win the league with Chelsea .
I dont know how we can pray for Chelsea to drop points and we win the league.

[kajifu]

So we are now 2nd and if we win all out games we finish 2nd, so long as Chelski do not slip up. Well, I am looking forward to the rest 7 games. I know to is not over, nothing is ever over in this league until the fat lady sings.

Gooners, lets seat back and enjoy the ride. I feel good about this race to the line.

Wenger should win all our last 7 games and beat Jose for the first time.I dont care if Jose park the bus at emirate we must beat him this time around.
Dam we have 2 tough games sha,Manu away and Chelsea at home.Never like us play Swansea also.I will not be surprise Wenger and the boys mess up and finish 4th instead of first.So let me relax and see how it play out but biko win all your 7 games and give your self a chance to win if Chelsea mess up.

[Robbynice]

So we are now 2nd and if we win all out games we finish 2nd, so long as Chelski do not slip up. Well, I am looking forward to the rest 7 games. I know to is not over, nothing is ever over in this league until the fat lady sings.

Gooners, lets seat back and enjoy the ride. I feel good about this race to the line.

Waffi infact I could not be happier...Look at the improvement we have seen from the team this season? What is it now 7 straight wins?? Look at where we are in the table...

Look at the impact of the new players we signed Sanchez, Welbz, Debuchy, Ospina, Chambers.

Look how Wenger managed to find a system that suits our two midfield magicians Cazorla and Ozil and results since then.

Look at the development of the young players and what it means for the long term..Ox, Belle, Chambers, Coq etc etc.

How much Olivier Giroud & Monreal have improved to the point where they are arguably our best players

Look at what we have in reserve Walcott, Arteta, Gnabry, Debuchy, Diaby, Wilshere etc etc See squad

Progress with regards to injury prevention, it seems the German physio is doing his thing

Better Performances and results in the big games. (still can't wait to beat Chelsea though...)

And there is some money in the Bank....with no FFP worries..

Is this not a lesson in Football Management 101?? And some moaners continue to doubt the one and only Arsene Wenger....a man who has built more that 1 Championship winning Arsenal team. And was always capable of doing it once the funds were made available....

We are here to stay! That is such a good feeling.....we must pursue Chelsea as hard as we can until the end but next season will likely be when it all comes together for Arsenal IMHO.

I could not have put it any better my guy. One thing is certain, the state of our union is STRONG! My hope now is that it gets stronger and we can finish where we all hope to finish, on the mountain top...I still believe...