Just Arsenal News

Arsenal Transfer Window Game! By Rory Capel

Right end of the season, thank god Arsenal have made it into the Champions League, still feeling shaky today after those four added minutes! To calm everything down, I have created a transfer window game. The evaluation of a player’s price and wages are dependent on current wage, the amount of years left on their contract, and their form over the past few seasons. The targets I have put on are not of personal choice they are just targets that Justarsenal readers have discussed throughout the season.

Start with:
70 million split into:
£50 million to spend on players
£400k p/w available wages .......Read the full article here

Could The Ox Be Arsenal’s New Fabregas? by FD

What is it with modern day footballers? They all seem to want to play in the centre of the park. What happened to all the dashing wide players of yore? Nowadays it’s as if players are trying to stay as far away from the pitch side fans as possible.

If it’s not Bale the spud one minute insisting to all and sundry that he’s really a central striker, it’s our own Theo the next, bemoaning his lack of opportunity in the middle of the Arsenal attack. Perhaps Theo’s thinking is that if Arsene Wenger was able to transform Thierry Henry from a winger to an inside forward with such success, he could do it again with him. Maybe. But whilst the Arsenal boss has seemed reluctant to commit to Theo’s wishes on a consistent basis, he looks to have fewer reservations about playing Oxlade-Chamberlain in the middle. .......Read the full article here

The Enigma- Andrei Arshavin by Dan S

Andrei Arshavin’s four and half seasons at Arsenal can be summarised as the following, the first two and half he looked a good signing, then he lost his form, his confidence and then he lost his place in the team – and that was that! Without there ever really being an explanation.

The Russian maestro’s signing in January 2009 was the last time we actually brought someone who gooners were actually aware of. His performances in the 2008 UEFA Cup and European Championships (a tournament his country should have won) had many saying he fitted the Arsene Wenger role. With a style similar to a Robert Pires, Fredrik Ljungberg and Samir Nasri. Arshavin liked to have the license to move around the midfield, popping up in different areas. Arshavin, even in cameos this year, always offered something different, a desire to take on his man. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal fans celebrate mediocrity yet again whilst silverware goes begging by Adam Kemp

Arsenal fans will be glad to see the back of a season that has proved the most difficult during Wengers reign. I was embarrassed to see the players celebrating like they won the title as they should have been reserved with a fourth placed finish. Any player for the club should have exerted a sigh of relief as they have delivered another mediocre finish. Over the past three seasons we have given optimism to Tottenham by lacklustre results and inadequate management. Tottenham have no right to be anywhere near Arsenal and yet we have allowed them to close the gap. Wenger was damn lucky to clinch his most ‘favoured trophy’ by qualifying for Europe’s top competition. .......Read the full article here

Ramsey shows his worth by DG

Aaron Ramsey has not had an easy run of it. After showing so much early promise at Arsenal he missed almost a year of football thanks to Ryan Shawcross. On his return, Ramsey struggled to win over Gooners with some varied performances. However, the absence of Jack Wilshere and the sale of Alex Song this season has meant that Arsene Wenger has had to rely on the young Welshman more and more, and he is finally starting to reap consistent rewards. .......Read the full article here

It has been a testing time for everybody concerned with Arsenal Football Club this season, but the players made sure that it finished with a bang by beating Newcastle United at St. James’ Park yesterday. You could see the elation and relief on the faces of the Gunners and the Gooners who had traveled to see the game, but we really must do better next season.

From the position that Arsenal were in at the beginning of March, it has been a remarkable achievement. Morale was at rock bottom after a Champions League humbling by Bayern Munich and we were seven points adrift of the spuds after losing at White Hart Lane. We had also just been knocked out of the FA cup by Blackburn Rovers, so Wenger and the players did brilliantly to come back from that. .......Read the full article here

Koscielny comes of age by DG

After yesterday’s Newcastle v Arsenal match report here, Neil wrote:
“Player of 2013 so far is Koscienly. Once Wenger went for him instead of Vermaelen…he proved that he is considerably better than any centre back around.”
Neil – I couldn’t agree more.

One of the most pleasing things about this season has been the signs of solidarity we’ve started showing at the back. Conceding 37 league goals this season may sound like a lot, but it’s a big improvement on the last several seasons. In our last eleven league games we’ve won 9 and drawn 2, conceding only 5 goals along the way. So where did it all start going right? To me, we started finally defending as a unit on the 13th March…when Wenger dropped Vermaelen for the crucial away game against Bayern Munich. We won 2-0…in the stadium that Barcelona lost 4-0 in a month later. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal fans should be used to having our hearts in our mouths towards the end of just about every game since Christmas, but with so much at stake yesterday’s game at Newcastle was even nervier than most. Laurent Koscielny’s goal calmed us all a little, but we still had to suffer right to the end of the 90 minutes.

Wenger was obviously relieved, but was proud that his team stood up and fought the nerves as well as our opponents. The manager was asked after the game if he was “happy and relieved”. “Yes I am.” he replied. “We knew before the game that we had to win and any other result could kick us out of the potential Champions League group stage. We were right because Tottenham and Chelsea won and we had the big disadvantage to play away from home. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger was able to name an unchanged Arsenal side after Mikel Arteta passed a late fitness test on his calf. Although Olivier Giroud was available to play after his three game suspension, Wenger left him on the bench. Newcastle United were determined to try to spoil the party for Arsenal, as were Sunderland at Tottenham.

Having handled the pressure brilliantly over the last couple of months, the final day nerves seemed to affect the players more today. Newcastle were working hard and probably had the best of the first half, which stayed goalless. It was agonising to watch at times, as Arsenal just couldn’t get going in an attacking sense. The defence, especially Mertesacker, looked tentative as well. The only good thing at halftime was that there was no score at the spuds as well. .......Read the full article here

5 Reasons Why Arsenal Might Expect Help From Sunderland by FD

So now it’s down to the final match and all Arsenal have to do is beat Newcastle United on Sunday to secure a place in the Champions League for the 16th consecutive season. It’s not a task that should be beyond an in-form and confident Arsenal team who brushed aside the challenge of Wigan at the Emirates last night. But nerves can affect anyone, and it’s possible that the importance of the occasion could serve to stifle our game. So it would be comforting to think that the spuds might not have it all their own way when they face a Sunderland side, now no longer under threat of relegation, in a match that, at least potentially, has important implications for the Gunners. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger watched his side finally come good in the second half against Wigan last night, but he thinks the game was much closer than Arsenal’s winning margin suggests. He said after the game: “We had a quick start and a strong start for the first 20 minutes. We were really dominating and after that we became a bit conservative and pushed forward less and allowed Wigan back in the game.

“We were unfortunate to go to 1-1 because I think it was a free kick for us. It was a big blow for our team and you could see that when we came out in the second half – we were not as fluent or as confident as we wanted to be. Wojceich made a great save at 1-1. At that stage we were on the brink of conceding a goal. .......Read the full article here

This was always going to be ab open and exciting game, with Arsenal and Wigan needing to win for different reasons. Arsene Wenger made just one change, with Gibbs coming in for Monreal and the young England international did brilliantly against one of Wigan’s main threats Callum Mcmanaman.

Arsenal made a great start and looked like they were going to blow Wigan out of the water. Walcott was really in the mood and was tormenting them down the right flank. It was one of Theo’s crosses that produced the corner that led to the opening goal. Podolski, playing as centre forward got a proper striker’s goal from it. .......Read the full article here