Just Arsenal News

The Emirates cup will be back at Arsenal this summer after missing last year because of the London Olympics. It will be played at the start of August and, along with Arsenal, will feature Napoli from Serie A, FC Porto of the Primeira Liga in Portugal and Galatasaray from the Super Liga in Turkey.

These are all good teams and will provide a useful test for the Gunners. It should be a great couple of days for the fans and will help to get the players match fit for the coming season. It is a season which the Gunners are under severe pressure to mark with a trophy. .......Read the full article here

Paolo Di Canio appreciation thread by NS

According to respected (and usually accurate) British news outlet, BBC, Paolo Di Canio really wants Sunderland to put in 100% against Gareth Bale FC.

He feels his team should honour our efforts against Wigan, which saved his club from the threat of relegation, with a performance against Spurs. A real case of you scratch my back…

Just look at this quote from Paolo:

“I told them we can win, draw or lose with dignity, respecting the club’s name and the fans. But if not, I will reduce their holiday,” .......Read the full article here

A lot of Arsenal fans have been buoyed by the recent performances of Wojciech Szczesny in the Gunners goal and convinced that Arsene Wenger no longer has to sign a new keeper in the summer transfer market. The Polish international is still only 23-years old and is showing again the talent and potential that made us believe we had a world class player on our hands.

The thing is though, and Wenger has realised this, that Szczesny needs the competition. The manager previously tried to encourage Szczesny by telling him that he was the number one and the young keeper got complacent, maybe even arrogant. He has reacted well to being dropped in favour of Fabianski, but he clearly needs strong competition to bring the best out of him. .......Read the full article here

Sharing is caring; Arsenal’s high scoring forwards by DG

If I were to ask you which Premier League team has four players that have scored more than 10 league goals this season, which would you guess? Man Utd only have two – RVP and Rooney. Man City? Two – Dzeko and Aguero. Chelsea actually manage three, but only if we include Demba Ba’s goals for Newcastle in the first half of the season. No, the only team to hold that particular record is Arsenal. Walcott has 14, which is quite impressive considering he missed a large portion of the early season. Cazorla has popped up with 12 which is a fantastic return from midfield, especially in his first season at the club. As well as these, both Giroud and Podolski have now netted 11 times each in the league. Spoilt for choice? You better believe it. .......Read the full article here

Theo Walcott is Arsenal’s top scorer this season with 21 goals so far. Olivier Giroud will need to score four against Newcastle on Sunday to equal that, so I think that Theo has got no reason to worry there. What he is worrying about, though, is breaking the 15 year run for the Gunners under Arsene Wenger.

Never in those 15 years have Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League, but the striker knows that anything other than a win at St. James’ Park could spell the end of that proud record. Theo believes, however, that the top four record and the fact that Arsenal have been finishing the season’s strongly in recent years is actually motivating the current team to do the same. .......Read the full article here

Ever since Arsene Wenger took over as the manager of Arsenal Football Club back in 1996, the Frenchman has made the academy and youth development parts of the club very important. Ideally, Wenger would like to follow the Barcelona example of being able to field a whole team of players who have come through the Arsenal ranks.

This would be great for financial reasons, but also because it would mean the players would have huge ties to the club. They would, hopefully, be more reluctant to leave and would be more determined to help bring success. That is all well and good in principle, but it hasn’t really been working too well. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has a few decisions to make in his selection for the Arsenal team that travels north to St. James’ Park on Sunday in the hope of beating Newcastle United and ensuring a top four finish, at least. The Prof will not want to change too much with the Gunners being on a fabulous run, especially with last night’s goal-fest against Wigan.

Wenger may not have the option of keeping the same starting 11, however, if the calf injury picked up by the Spanish midfielder and vice-captain, Mikel Arteta, turns out to be as bad as first feared. Wenger suggested in his post match interview last night that it would be Jack Wilshere who replaces Arteta if necessary, but that comes with it’s own problems. .......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

Arsenal have one foot in next year’s Champion’s League by DG

Arsenal duly dispatched of Wigan 4-1 in last night’s match at The Emirates, with the result leaving us poised to secure a top 4 spot this Sunday. In contrast, the result was the final nail in the coffin for newly crowned FA Cup winners Wigan. They must now face up to the dreadful reality of not performing as well as they should have all year. The FA Cup is a wonderful achievement, but Premier League survival means so much more to the future of the club. The result leaves Arsenal on 70 points, just 2 points behind Chelsea in third spot. .......Read the full article here

There is no room for error for either team tonight as only a win will do for Arsenal and Wigan Athletic at the Emirates stadium. Although the Gunners would still have a mathematical chance of overtaking Tottenham on the final day of the Premier League season if we drew or lost tonight, realistically it would mean that Arsenal would be consigned to the Europa League next season.

Arsene Wenger has made just one change to the side that beat QPR 10 days ago, while Roberto Martinez starts with exactly the same side that started at Wembley on Saturday. The Spanish manager will be hoping their confidence and adrenaline from that trophy win gets them through. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal must beat Wigan – but a win would help our rivals by FD

It does your head in. You’ve got twenty clubs each playing 38 matches over the course of a long Premier League season, and yet we always seem to arrive at the final stages of the campaign with the remaining fixtures contriving to throw up a set of possible permutations only an evil and twisted mastermind could have devised. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal vice-captain is not expecting an easy game against Wigan tonight, in fact he thinks the FA cup winners will give it everything they’ve got. He is, however, confident that Arsenal can get the win and the three points we need, as long as they don’t let the occasion get to them.

“They will play for their lives,” said the Spaniard. “For them it’s massive to stay in the Premier League. I’m sure they will give everything they’ve got.

“I don’t know how much they’ve got in the tank but, whatever they’ve got, they are going to give it. They are a dangerous team as they showed here last year when they played against us.” .......Read the full article here