Just Arsenal News

Six Reasons Why Arsenal Can Dominate English Football Next Season by FD

Recent years have been frustrating for followers of Arsenal. The trophy drought has been bad enough, but we’ve also had to endure the regular exodus of our best players and the apparent reluctance of the powers-that-be to compete with the other top clubs on an equal footing. Yet, at last, there appear to be some solid grounds for optimism. A combination of events elsewhere and the seeds of something stirring at home might just be pointing to a period of Arsenal resurgence ahead. Here are six reasons why the coming 2013/14 season could be one to finally reward the patience of all Gooners. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has had a fair bit to say recently about the short term thinking displayed by a lot of football clubs these days, while trying to end the speculation about his own future as the Arsenal manager. We know that the Frenchman is a man of principles and will stick to them, although the Arsenal fans wish he would be a bit more flexible sometimes.

There has been speculation about his future at the Gunners for most of the season, more than ever before from the club’s own fans after the worst ever start under Wenger. Following a great improvement as the season has progressed, culminating in a run of nine games unbeaten that has put Arsenal above Tottenham and into the final Champions League place, the talk has been more about whether Wenger would decide to move on, with PSG the most keen suitors. .......Read the full article here

So we now face the final game of the season, and Arsene Wenger knows that Arsenal simply need to win at Newcastle to confirm our place in the Top Four for the 17th season in a row. But which team is Wenger going to pick?

There are certain to be changes from last week’s nervous home win over Wigan, as the Spaniard Mikel Arteta is nigh on a certain casualty. Wenger said yesterday: “For the weekend, we have the uncertainty over Mikel Arteta, who had to come off just before the end of the Wigan game with a calf strain. Honestly, his chances of being available are minimal. I have to be realistic and prepare for another solution.” .......Read the full article here

Next season could be an extremely important, even pivotal, one for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. If the Gunners finish the campaign with no trophies and way off the top spot in the Premier League again, it could be all change. The Professor will be at the end of his contract and will probably not get another. That could have a bif affect on the future of the club as well, but I think that Arsenal will be much more competitive next season for a number of reasons. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has not announced his Arsenal team sheet for the crucial last game of the season yet, but it does no take a genius to work out that Olivier Giroud will come straight back into the starting XI to face Newcastle United. The big French international was sent off against Fulham and the FA rejected the Gunners appeal, even though it was clear from the replays that he had got the ball and slipped.

Lukas Podolski has grown into the role in the three games Giroud has missed, especially with his double against Wigan, but he will be back out on the left again on Sunday, if he plays at all. The manager is usually cautious about saying whether a player will be in the team but, when he spoke about Giroud today, he used the word will rather than might. .......Read the full article here

Why All The Surprise At Wenger’s “Hair-Dryer” Outburst? by FD

There’s been a lot of media talk since Arsenal’s victory over Wigan at the Emirates on Tuesday about the apparent rocket Arsene Wenger delivered to his under-performing players during the half-time interval. Theo Walcott was quoted in the Guardian as saying: “We got a rocket,”

“We’ll keep that in the dressing room. But it’s great that the manager has that passion and it got a bit more out of the players. We all knew how big it is, not just for the manager but the fans, the players and the club itself. It’s massive to be in the Champions League. The manager gave us a kick up the backside. I felt we did show some good play in the first half but we didn’t manage to take our chances. Thankfully we did in the second.” .......Read the full article here

It was looking increasingly likely earlier this year that Arsenal were going to continue the unwanted recent tradition of selling the club captain in the summer. In 2011 it was Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, followed last summer by Robin van Persie to Manchester United. The rumours and speculation about the current captain, Thomas Vermaelen, have died down recently and, from his own words, it appears that he will still be at the club next season. .......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

When I first heard the rumour about Wayne Rooney and his possible transfer to Arsenal from Manchester United, I laughed it off as one of the more ridiculous rumours in recent times. It was right up there with the idea that Nicklas Bendtner would go to Juventus and pick up a title winning medal.

A few things have made me think again, however, even though the deal still seems unlikely for a number of reasons. At first, United denied that the rumours of the England striker handing in a transfer request were true. They have since admitted that Rooney does want away, although the new manager David Moyes is going to try to persuade him to stay. Rooney knows Moyes because he came through the ranks at Everton, so if he doesn’t want to play under him it is not because he needs to get to know him. Rooney is fairly stubborn and is unlikely to change his mind. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal could possibly make the most of the uncertainty and confusion at Manchester City to beat the oil rich club to one of the transfer targets we have in common. The Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanich has been linked Tottenham as well, but if the Gunners can continue the fantastic recent run and grab six points off Wigan and Newcastle, we will have the lure of Champions League football and will be a much more attractive proposition to potential signings. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger thinks that he has now achieved a good balance in the Arsenal team, and if they can carry their (already nine-game) unbeaten run through to the beginning of next season, they will definitely be challenging for the title.

He said: “Last year we made 70 points and finished third. This year, we can make 73 points and finish fourth, so what you want to do is have a consistency and fight for the Premier League,”

“Finishing fourth is the minimum required. You could see that when Chelsea’s Champions League position was under threat, they came out quickly and said ‘no, what is most important for us is to be in the Champions League next year’. .......Read the full article here

I know that Cesc Fabregas is no longer an Arsenal player, but if he signed for Manchester United this summer, it would feel as bad to me, personally, as if they were signing him from us. The 26-year old Spanish international will be parading the Spanish La Liga trophy through the streets of Barcelona today after Real Madrid could only manage a draw on Saturday to hand the title to the Catalan club. .......Read the full article here